“What’s the price?” Cathy asked.
“One thousand,” Burt asked.
“We don’t have that on us,” Natalie said.
“Then I don’t have information for you,” Burt responded.
“You don’t give us that information and the only threat your family will face is me,” Natalie said, drawing her blade.
Burt’s son rushed forward with a short sword and Burt stopped him. “Settle, settle,” he said, turning to Natalie. “I can’t budge on this. You pay the price or you get out.”
“Then how about this,” I said, removing the gauntlets of my armour. “I’ll trade you my armour for the information. This is official Thurlborn guard armour. In the right networks, you could sell it for a good price to any thief or spy looking to get into the White Castle.”
“A suit like that would easily send you on vacation when you sell it,” Natalie said, jumping in on the idea.
“Yeah, when I sell it,” Burt said, dismissing his son. “Not an easy feat.”
“You and I both know Dexter is looking for a suit and is willing to pay handsomely for it,” Natalie said. “Come on, Burt. This is easy gold for you.”
“Alright, alright,” he said. “Throw in both suits and you have a deal.”
“Both?” Cathy asked shocked.
“Asking price was a thousand each,” Burt explained. “Throw in the weapons and I’ll give you a replacement suit and sword, my Lady.”
He smirked at Cathy and she smiled politely. “A decent suit, Stitches. Don’t think I can’t tell the difference.”
“I wouldn’t dream of ripping off the Lady of Davalin,” he said sweetly. “Didn’t think I recognised you, did you?”
“If you were any good, you would have done it sooner,” Cathy responded in the same sweet tone.
Burt chuckled and began examining the armour. “What’s with the dents?”
“It’s been broken in,” Cathy answered. “Looks more authentic.”
Burt chuckled and motioned for his son. “Bring her your best suit of iron.” His son ran to the storage area as Burt turned to me. “You want anything, Mage?”
“A short sword,” I answered.
“Fifty gold coins,” he responded with a creepy smirk. “You know, because we’re friends.”
“Pass,” I said, finishing with the armour.
“This better be worth it,” Cathy said, grabbing at the bulky looking iron armour Burt’s son brought out.
“Your knights were heading up to Silvermist Marsh, south-east of Davalin,” Burt said.
Natalie shook her head. “Right through Rattlers’ territory.”
Burt nodded. “They were looking for Diamondback Joe himself.”
“Well this just got more complicated,” Natalie said to me.
“Don’t worry,” Burt said. “Old Joe would recognise the little prince. So there is a guarantee that he would only be taken captive in hope of ransom.”
“Yay for small victories,” Natalie said sarcastically, turning to Cathy and me. “Are you sure you want him? It would be easier to just let Michaels win.”
“Following that logic, it would be easier to let Desroche take over Kalenden,” Cathy said. “Michaels is too focused on himself to see the threat of Ghanlar before it’s too late. If this kid is our best chance, then we go find him. Everything depends on us.” Cathy turned to me. “Did I just say that?”
I nodded.
“Very well, my Lady,” Natalie said. “Hope you’re ready for this.”
Chapter 16
We had the destination but we didn’t have the time. Natalie moved with a purpose and I was glad I was light enough to keep up. I didn’t think I would see her so fired up about this mission. It could be the payment from Lord Cook that motivated her, but something told me not to judge too quickly. When I asked her, she just laughed and assured me it was the money. Even Cathy didn’t look too convinced.
Our journey through the countryside was short as the grasslands gave way to a forest. We had entered the part of Balendar where people rarely venture. According to Natalie, it was the shortest distance between Davalin and Riverside, but travellers would always take the long way through the farm lands. Aside from the harsh conditions in the marsh, its secluded nature made it a perfect place for thieves and highwaymen to gather. Only heavily armed caravans and troops walked through the Silvermist Marsh.
When the forest finally gave way to the Marsh, Natalie slowed down. I was disappointed that the mist wasn’t silver when we entered, but Natalie assured me that it is quite silver in the moonlight. With the sun sinking lower into the sky, I would get to see if she was accurate soon.
“Stay close and watch where you step,” Natalie warned, after I had already stepped into a puddle of mud.
Cathy shifted her armour around again. “Damn clunky thing.”
“At least we stopped to pick up boots for me before heading out,” I said, shaking the excess mud off.
“Stop complaining,” Natalie said, stopping the group. “You’re giving away our position.”
“I would sense them before they could attack,” I assured her.
“Either way, I’d like to have the element of surprise if we need to attack anyone,” Natalie said.
“Fair enough,” I said.
“As far as I can remember,” Cathy started, dipping into Lady Middleton’s memories, “this is just a straight road through the Marsh. Where could a bandit camp be hiding?”
“The mist will play tricks on you,” Natalie answered. “This whole area is a network of beaten paths and hiding spots.”
“Chances are the knights won’t know that,” Cathy said. “We should stick to the main road until we’ve confirmed that they have left it.”
Natalie shook her head. “I’m not much of a tracker though. It’s going to be hard to pick up trails out here. We’re better off searching the clearings for camps and seeing if they are within one.”
“We’d survive longer if we aren’t charging each clearing,” I said. “Lady Middleton is a trained scout, you know the area and I can scan for life. Well, sort of. There’s a lot of insect life in here that will screw me up. We’ll find tracks and take it slow from there.”
Natalie looked at Cathy. “You’re a scout and I had to take the lead?”
“I didn’t want ‘the expert’ to feel like her skills were going to waste,” Cathy responded.
“Void, I could have pointed you in the right direction and gone home,” Natalie said. “Screw skills.”
“You have to admit it is more fun to come with us,” Cathy said.
Natalie nodded and looked around. “I did get to see this slice of paradise.”
“Alright, I think we’ve proven that if someone was going to ambush us they would have by now,” I said. “Let’s start moving again.”
“Ladies of the Court first,” Natalie said, motioning for Cathy to take the lead.
“Great,” Cathy replied, heading forward.
Natalie and I followed behind her slowly while she scanned the road ahead of us. I scanned the area with my mind and confirmed my suspicions about the insect life. The buzz of all their minds was too distracting to scan any further than a few feet around us. It would still be useful in denser areas, but for now, I stopped.
“We’ve spent a few days together but we’ve rarely had the chance to talk one on one,” Natalie said quietly to me.
“Yeah, I know,” I responded in the same volume. “I thought you were avoiding me so we wouldn’t talk about Aaron.”
Natalie turned to look at me. “I hadn’t thought about that. It was more because you are all buddy- buddy with Lady Middleton. You have some expensive taste, Demon.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You can’t fool this girl,” Natalie answered smugly. “I knows what I sees.”
I chuckled softly. “And what do you sees?”
“You know,” Natalie smiled. “Just be careful and don’t get hurt.” I looked at he
r confused and she suppressed a laugh. “I suppose we can talk about Aaron now to change the subject for you.”
“There’s no need for that,” I said. “He already explained and doesn’t hold any ill will towards you.”
“It didn’t seem that way when I left,” Natalie said thoughtfully. “According to him I was the ‘hot headed wild girl who didn’t belong in his world’. What story did you get?”
“More of a ‘you getting bored and him not wanting to hold you back’ story,” I answered.
Natalie shook her head. “That silly boy.”
“What happened?” I asked. “Why would he tell you different?”
“What happened was I got scared,” Natalie answered. “It felt like I was turning into an old person. I didn’t picture myself settling down at this point of my life. I still wanted adventure. I guess he sensed that and knew the only way I would go is if he told me lies.”
“Sounds weird,” I admitted.
“Relationships are a strange beast,” she said. “I knew how much he cared for me and... how much I cared about him. I guess the real question is would I have left if he had just told the truth. Could I just leave knowing how much it would hurt him?”
She looked sad and my mind raced for something suitable to say. “You could always go talk to him after this. He’s protecting the farm against corrupted animals from Archanion. The family could use a valiant protector to help him. War is coming too. They’ll need blade wielding bad girls as well as archer farm boys when the time comes.”
Natalie smirked. “You make it sound tempting.”
“Better than prison,” I pointed out.
“That’s true,” she agreed. She looked into the swamp thoughtfully for a second before turning back. “Thanks, Demon. I was intending to mock you but instead you helped me.”
“Every once in a while I do something right,” I said.
Cathy came to a stop and bent down to examine something in the mud.
“Finally find something?” Natalie asked.
“The footprints are all over the place but most are old,” Cathy explained. “This looks new and it breaks off the main path to run towards something.” She stood up and pointed towards a break in the trees. “Both sets of footprints head into there.”
“I’ll take it from here,” Natalie said, taking the lead by stepping through the mist.
Cathy followed without hesitation and I stepped carefully through the mud. We hadn’t ventured far when the sounds of battle rose. Iron met iron and a scream cut through the air. Cathy took off towards the sound in an instant and Natalie and I struggled to keep up.
In the distance, two heavily armoured figures were being pushed back by a large group of bandits. The bandits blocked our way to them as we approached them from their rear.
When I was in range, I reached out with my arm and launched a Pulse. The nearest bandit was thrown forward into his friends, knocking them to the ground. The group was alerted to our presence and Cathy lowered her shield and charged into them. She was unstoppable as bandits ricocheted off her and fell to the ground. Natalie reached the group and leapt onto the first bandit foolish enough to swing at her. Cathy, having stopped in the middle of the group, attacked everything around her with impossible speed and the happiest smile on her face.
It truly was the scariest sight I had ever seen.
With the girls doing the heavy damage, I tried to circle around to check on the knights. The younger one, I assumed Squire Markus Paul, was still fighting strongly while the older knight was staying back holding his side. I needed to get the pressure off of them quickly.
I spread my power into a couple of nearby trees and took control of them. The trees shifted towards the bandits as I smashed the branches into the ones closest to the knights, causing the bandits to back away from them and straight into the cyclone fury that was Cathy.
A couple of bandits broke from the group to attack me and I used the trees to pick them up and throw them out of the marsh. Somewhere it would be raining very surprised thieves.
The remaining bandits were struggling to retreat now that the forest and some crazy people had showed up to ruin their party. I switched control to different trees to stop the ones that Cathy and Natalie couldn’t catch. When the last one fell, we moved in towards the knights. Natalie studied the two as if she recognised them for somewhere.
“This is a surprise,” Ser Scott said. “I wasn’t expecting any travellers to be heading up this way. You have our thanks.”
“It was no problem,” Cathy said. “How are you holding up?”
“Lady Middleton?” he asked shocked. “I-I’m fine. What brings you out this far?”
“Him,” Cathy answered, pointing to Markus.
Markus looked worriedly toward Ser Scott and the old knight just studied Cathy. “What do you need with him?” Ser Scott asked.
“Have you not heard about Thurlborn Peak?” Cathy asked unsure.
Ser Scott nodded. “We were in Riverside a couple of days ago.”
“Then you must know that Markus is the last living heir?” Cathy asked.
Ser Scott looked genuinely surprised, but Markus stepped forward. “No, what about Cousin Gregory? Last I heard he was in Malkia.”
“He rode with Lord Cook when we retook the castle,” Cathy replied, drawing from the memories. “Ser Gregory, uh, didn’t make it. It was believed that you had died when Davenport poisoned the family. How did you end up here?”
“We’ve been undercover for Lord Cook for a season,” Ser Scott answered then groaned, dropping his sword. “Blast it!”
“Kairu, can you heal him?” Cathy asked.
“Yes, my Lady,” I answered and stepped towards Ser Scott. “Sword or arrow?”
“Sword slash from the back to the front,” he answered, lifting his arm tenderly.
The armour had been cut and the skin was bare and raw. The attacker had got him good. If we hadn’t intervened when we did, he might not have been able to survive a prolonged battle. I placed my hand close to the wound and power flowed between me and the old knight.
“You’re the one that made the trees come to life,” Markus said to me.
“Figured it would be the most effective against a bigger group,” I replied. “Throw them off balance and lower morale.”
“Very effective strategy,” Markus said, impressed. “You don’t look like a fighter though.”
“Don’t let the lost tourist look fool you,” I said, finishing with Ser Scott and handing him his sword. “I’ve seen more battles than I care to remember.”
Markus turned to the old knight. “How are you doing, Ser Scott?”
Ser Scott chuckled. “The Mage is good. Just a little stiff now.”
“Please continue now, Ser Scott,” Cathy said. “You were undercover?”
“Yes, my Lady,” he answered. “After the death of Mongoose there was a power struggle amongst the local gangs in Malkia. Diamondback Joe won the battle and The Rattlers started wreaking havoc across the land. Lord Cook asked for me to visit him to work on a plan. Young Markus had been my squire for many cycles and joined me.
“Lord Cook’s plan was simple. Disguise ourselves as travelling merchants or local thugs and disrupt Diamondback Joe’s operations as much as possible. Our mission was to be kept secret, only he and the king knew in case Joe had informants. We built our fake identities and soon Joe’s operation was hurting enough for the Malkia guards to attack Carendath Mine. He escaped and we went after him. Chased him all over Balendar until we found out he had moved up here. There would be no escaping for him this time and he knows it.”
“Hence sending an army after you,” Natalie said.
Markus chuckled. “I’d hardly call thirty bandits an army but we are glad you showed up.”
“You look familiar,” Ser Scott said, studying her. “Have we met?”
Natalie didn’t answer and Markus studied her too. “You wouldn’t happen to have a brother named Nathan, would you?”
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“Yes, actually, I do,” Natalie answered.
“You can see it in the eyes,” Markus told Ser Scott before turning back to Natalie. “And what’s your name, miss?”
“Emily,” Natalie answered without hesitation.
I suppressed my smile as they bought it. Natalie was right. People only saw what they wanted to see.
“Well next time you see him, tell him thanks for the tip about Carendath Mine,” Ser Scott said.
“Will do,” Natalie smiled.
“What’s our next move?” Cathy asked. “We need to get Markus back to the capital before the Yellow Jackets find him, but I get the feeling you two aren’t in a hurry to leave until you’ve completed your mission.”
“That is correct, my Lady,” Ser Scott said. “Silvermist Marsh needs to be cleared out for when things get back to normal. If we leave here now, by the time we return, Diamondback Joe will have become too powerful to take down. We have already weakened him severely here. We must finish the job.”
“How many more members do The Rattlers have?” Cathy asked.
“My guess?” Markus said. “Forty. He will have retreated back to his main camp by now and fortified it, waiting to see if we survived.”
“With the addition of you, my Lady, your Mage friend and the...?” Ser Scott started.
“Expert,” Cathy finished.
“Expert,” Ser Scott continued, “we should be able to take the camp tonight.”
“It’s only eight bandits each,” Markus said. “If my eyes serve me correct, you had taken down ten within the first minute of our last fight, my Lady.”
“Well, I didn’t want to brag,” Cathy said happily.
“I’m not good in an open fight,” Natalie said. “I’m going to have to say no to this one.”
“Neither am I, so stick to what you do best,” I said to her. “Let the armoured fighters charge in head first. You and I can go up ahead and sneak into the camp to disable defences.”
“Good thinking,” Ser Scott said.
The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 Page 13