“Yes. I was considering a larger prize, I think we are prepared to attack them directly.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Which tribe will you attack? What will be the intent? Are you going to kill them all, or only free their humans, or perhaps just take equipment from them?” He went back to his book and made careful marks in it. It seemed that he was going to be ignoring my response.
“I hadn’t planned that far, actually.” I felt my insides seethe. Fuck me. I would never make this mistake again. Entas was too smart and I should never come to him without working out the details. I was always thorough when I devised our other raids. Emotion had gotten a hold of me this time. Maybe I wasn't ready.
“Do you know who would be best suited for this mission? Who will go? How are you going to bring everyone? If you leave one of your commanders behind, how will they respond?" He didn’t make eye contact with me as he spoke.
“I will prepare that for you immediately,” I replied as I began to plan which tribe we would attack and our goals.
“You aren’t preparing that for me, Kaiyer,” he said suddenly as he stopped writing and looked back to me. “The plan is for you and the O’Baarni. I have already done what I can for you. I taught you this magic, I instructed you in battle strategies, I explained to you what I understand of leadership. I lack the charisma, intelligence, and battle prowess you possess. You are the only person that can lead this army to victory.”
I nodded and was about to speak when he continued.
“Why did you come here to visit with me?”
“I wanted to ask you about the eight years,” I fumbled over my words.
“What about it?” His brows knit together. Entas never got angry, only a deep expression of concentration ever alerted me when he wasn’t pleased.
“I lost track of time. I hadn’t realized that much time passed since you found us.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“It is mine, obviously.” I let out a deep breath and saw him smile slightly.
“So why are you coming to me? Did you want to tell me how happy you are that the skills that took me hundreds of years to learn only took you eight?” His smile got bigger. He was always digging into my answers as if I knew something that I never told him.
“No. I was upset that we had not made a major move against the Elvens yet. I was angry at you, but that is foolish. If I am going to get agitated, I should blame myself for not keeping track of time and preparing.” I smirked. It was almost worse that he never got mad at me
I felt like even more of an idiot.
“So go plan, if you want my opinion of your efforts come back so I can see.” He looked back to his book and scribbled more. This was him dismissing me. I looked over his hunched form and wondered how old my teacher actually was. He often hinted that he had been alive for over two thousand years. Sometimes, when he coughed for what seemed like an hour and spit blood out of his mouth I believed his tale. Other times when he was excited about something, he almost appeared younger than all of us.
"Kaiyer," he said as I turned my back to leave.
"Yes?" He had an unusual expression on his face.
"Do you ever feel as if we have had our conversations before?" He squinted at me and coughed a little.
"There are many lessons you've had to teach me over and over before they could penetrate my thick skull." I laughed at him, but he looked worried. "Why?"
The old man sighed and turned back to his burning incense. Finally, he spoke again.
"I never taught you anything you didn't already know. You were always the teacher." His voice was sad.
He did this sometimes, speaking in riddles that never made sense to me. I used to lie awake at night and try to puzzle through his confusing references to our relationship. He'd given me the permission I thought I needed now, and I would act.
I left the old man’s tent without another word. As I made my way to my own dwelling, the cool night air cleared my mind and eased the anxiety his cryptic words caused.
“Kaiyer!” a voice called from a nearby campsite. I recognized Malek’s tenor, so I walked over to a group of his warriors that gathered around a small cooking fire. I remembered all of them by name and could recall the circumstances that brought each one into our group. Malek sat cross-legged near the flame. His gray-streaked hair was tied back in a ponytail; he was the only one I knew of who had experienced a change in his appearance after being changed.
“Hello my friend,” he said softly as I walked over to his fire.
“Malek,” I said to him in greeting. I turned to his group of five warriors, two women and three men, and nodded to them. “O’Baarni.” They nodded back and smiled nervously.
Malek was the third commander to be promoted under me after Thayer. We rescued him six years ago when our small troop of magically enhanced warriors sacked a caravan, delivering a slave trade between the Elven tribes of Balist and Turring. We only had a small group of warriors at the time and had managed to kill the fifty Elven soldiers who protected the merchandise. Malek had impressed me then. As soon as the attack started, he found himself a sword and butchered a few of the guards himself, an almost impossible task for a human.
“Did you eat yet?” he asked me.
“I had a small meal a few hours ago, but I could eat again,” I responded. His warriors quickly disappeared and within a few seconds gave me a large dish filled with lamb, asparagus, and fruit. I nodded to them and sat down on a small block of wood around the fire. Malek grabbed a plate from one of his lieutenants and moved from the ground to a seat next to me. The food was delicious and dripping with juices. I used to be concerned with the logistics behind feeding the soldiers, but in the past few years Shlara, Alexia, and Gorbanni took over those roles and delegated them down through their own ranks.
“Did you talk to Entas?” he asked around a mouthful of his meal. I noticed that we were now alone by the fire, the only company we had was the full face of the bright green moon. It hung above us so close that I felt as though I might be able to jump up and grab it.
“Yes. I will be planning an attack shortly.” He nodded, and we were silent for a few minutes as we ate.
“He isn’t doing very well,” Malek said with worry in his voice.
“He has been sick for a long time, but he’ll eventually outwit what ails him,” I said with a smile. Malek continued to look worried and he glanced up to the moon to avoid eye contact.
“I spend more time with him than you since he is helping me with my magic. He doesn’t show it around you, but the coughs have become worse. He has to use that incense all the time now or he feels intense pain. He doesn’t want anyone to worry, but I can see the agony he is trying to hide.”
I finished consuming my food and set the rounded piece of metal down on the ground out of the way. I didn’t know what Malek wanted me to say or do about Entas. The old man was dying, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. He had been dying for a long time.
“We will not be lost without him,” I said to reassure my graying friend.
“I know. I know. I feel like I will be lost for a while though. He seems to understand me better than anyone here, including you.” His eyes met mine and quickly glanced away.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing really Kaiyer.” He smiled grimly, his mouth a rictus of irony, his eyes sad. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought it up.” He hesitated
“Don’t pull that shit. You did bring it up, explain,” I demanded. Malek was often moody and overthought problems.
“Sometimes I want to talk about things that don’t have to do with killing Elvens, or training other people to kill Elvens, or the logistics of managing an army of people intent on killing Elvens.” He laughed suddenly. “Entas is good conversation during those times.” He looked at me over his now empty plate.
“You can speak to me about whatever is on your mind my friend,” I reassured him.
“Ha ha! I’ve tried that be
fore, Kaiyer. Remember when I carved the wood block into the bear a few years ago, after we met Shlara?” I nodded. “You asked me what it was, I said: ‘A bear that I carved.’ You asked why and I said, ‘Because I wanted to.’ You said: ‘I want your troops to launch their Fire blots farther.’ Then you stared at me like I was an idiot.” He laughed again. “No my friend, I love you in many ways, but you have little appreciation for art or other creative outlets.”
“I respect art!” I said in my defense.
“You respect a finely made weapon or the random arrangement of Elven corpses after you kill them. But anything that doesn’t have to do with their annihilation is a waste of time in your mind.”
I frowned as I considered his words. It only took me a few seconds to realize that he was right.
“It will change after they are dead, Malek. I will devote myself to other things. I want to focus on what is important. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I look forward to that day, Kaiyer. What will we do with ourselves when there is no more war left?” He smiled wistfully and looked back up to the moon.
I shrugged and heard a throat clear half a dozen yards behind me. Malek and I both spun around to see Alexia in her dark leather armor walking toward us. Her short blonde hair shone orange as she got closer to the fire.
“Sorry to interrupt.” She looked at Malek and then back to me. Her eyes were a light bluish-white and they made her seem almost as alien as the Elvens. Alexia was pretty, not as beautiful as Shlara, but she had sharp bird-like features I found pleasant.
“No, no. Sit down,” Malek said to her as he gestured to another wood stump near the fire.
“I can’t, I need Kaiyer.” Her eyes stared intently into mine even though she addressed Malek. “My scouts reported a group of Elven riders leaving the Goulix tribe lands and traveling northward.”
“How many?” Malek and I said as one.
“Almost half a thousand.” Her lips curved as she looked to Malek. “I think that they are trading some of their human smiths.”
Malek and I both shot to our feet in excitement. Her face was a full smile now that she couldn’t hide. Goulix was known to have the finest weapons and armor within a three months’ travel. We had gathered enough information to suspect that most of it had been crafted by magically changed human slaves. They had been one of the tribes that I had desired to destroy, but their numbers were too great, their warriors too well-trained, and their equipment outclassed the goods we had pillaged.
“How can you be sure?” I asked her as we set off toward my tent. Malek signaled for his men to get Gorbanni, Shlara, and Thayer.
“I am not, but my scout reported several caravans full of ore, weapons, armor, and smithing tools.” My mouth watered, even if the human smiths weren’t part of the group, the ore and weapons would be worth taking.
I nodded and realized that Malek wasn’t with us anymore. I frowned in annoyance and then predicted that he would probably meet us at my tent shortly.
“Will you come to this attack? We haven’t worked together in a while,” Alexia asked as we neared my area of the camp and approached the large leather tent.
“We will talk about it inside my tent,” I said carefully. I hated committing to battle strategies without knowing the full details.
“Bah. Just say you will come. My warriors have almost forgotten how fearsome the legendary Kaiyer is in battle.” One of my guards opened the tent flap as we approached and asked if I needed any food or drink. I nodded to the offer of water and then took my place by the thrashed planning table that held our territory sketch. There was no one else in the tent but Alexia and I.
“Kaiyer,” she said gently, and I looked up from the map.
“Just say that you will come.” She smiled at me reassuringly. “I have done well with my soldiers. Reward us with your presence.” Her eyes showed no hint of weakness in them and I knew that I should give her this.
“Fine,” I said with a smile. “But only if it makes sense after we plan.” She nodded but didn’t hide her smile, it softened her face and bridged the gap between pretty and beautiful.
She almost never smiled.
The flap opened and Shlara entered.
"You need to tell me how you did that. I've been trying to get him to spend time with my team and he always wiggles out of it."
"Persistence!" Alexia laughed and shook her short blonde hair back.
"I thought I was." Shlara looked at me and pursed her lips in annoyance. I was saved from her next words by Gorbanni and Thayer's voices outside the tent. The flap opened and the two muscled warriors joined us at the table. They were wearing various pieces of leather and chain armor that we pillaged from raids on caravans. Malek was thin enough to wear Elven armor, but Gorbanni, Thayer, and I were too large, so we had to make do with what we salvaged.
"Feed us the info, Alexia," I said as we moved to the wooden table in the corner of my tent. It had a map of our territory etched on a piece of patchwork parchment. There were marks on it for each of the tribes within a two-week travel.
"Malek?" Gorbanni asked.
"He'll get here when he gets here." It wasn't like him to miss strategy meetings, but he could make his own decisions.
"An assembly of Goulix are moving from their estate. They left this morning and appear to be heading northwest. I would bet they are going to the Hoittor Tribe. My scout said they are escorting ore and smith tools."
Everyone got the implication and tried to hold back their excitement. We lacked anyone in the camp that made arms, and while we had some rudimentary forging equipment, every army needed a skilled smith.
"Could it be a trap?" Thayer asked.
"Possibly, but we've never attacked Goulix or Hoittor. We've just been focusing on the smaller tribes. If they knew our camp was here, they would crush us." Alexia smiled while she made light coal marks on the map.
"How many?" Shlara asked.
"Five hundred or so. My scout made a rough deduction and came back quickly to report. It is a three-day ride back here. They work in trios, so the other two are still observing. I should get another update in four days. We will be able to guess their route better at that point." My friends nodded and turned to the map on the table.
We had established a great working relationship when planning the moves of our army. It had been built on trust, accountability, and the understanding that we would make mistakes and learn from them. Within half an hour we solidified a plan for the possible routes that the Goulix caravan might take. I would be positioned with Alexia's forces overlooking a small canyon that the convoy would pass through to reach the Hoittor estate. Thayer, Gorbanni, and Shlara would cover alternate passages in case we were mistaken about Goulix's destination.
"We'll adjust once we get the second report from Alexia's scout," I confirmed after we reached a conclusion. "I will update Malek." I heard his familiar boot steps approaching.
"I am here." His face was white and a frown of pain replaced the normal smile.
"What is wrong?" I asked.
"Entas has died."
Chapter 5-Kaiyer
Entas's passing wasn't as devastating as the death of my brother and father, but the memory still felt like a hole in the chest. I didn't have to carry the pain alone though. Malek, Shlara, Thayer, Alexia, and Gorbanni were surrogate children to the old man. We comforted each other and the troops. Our friendship and love got us through the hardship, and then we had focused on what had really mattered: killing our enemies.
But that ache lay in my distant memories. Perhaps I remembered him because of the loss Jessmei just experienced. Thoughts of her made my heart sink in pain. I wanted to be with her now, to comfort and help her get through this. But we had finally agreed that I should journey back to Nia alone. She was understandably clingy and scared, but I had assured her that I would return to her. Though she was scared, she was not selfish enough to insist I remain with her after the initial shock wore off. Princesses were accustomed to sacrifi
cing their needs for those of their country and family. She had lived her whole life resigned to the fact that she would be married to someone she did not love, or even know, just to pad Nia’s coffers. Losing me when she needed familiarity and comfort came naturally to her and she bore our parting with grace. Her initial passionate and uninhibited displays of agony had subsided and she regressed to the composed, if less cheerful, girl she had been.
I untied myself from the large oak tree in which I slept and checked my surroundings. My lofty bed was about a six-hour jog to the north of the capital of Nia and a two-week run from the village of Merrium, where the princess hid. I had decided to leave the horses with Jessmei and our adopted family for a variety of reasons. I moved faster through the forests on foot, and therefore, avoided the main roads. I also felt that I owed Greta and Rayat for our time at their home. Jessmei agreed and figured that the gift of the steeds, plus my help around the ranch, was fair compensation for our stay.
I opened my pack, grabbed a handful of jerked beef, and slowly chewed on it. The tough, sinewy meat helped wake up my mouth so I could focus on my task. I had traveled at an easy-paced jog for the last two weeks, sleeping for six hours every night before journeying onward toward Nia. I caught a rabbit or two almost every day, so my travel rations hadn't suffered. Even as I ate in silence, I heard several rodents scurry about the forest floor. I was the perfect hunter, and it would be almost trivial to catch and cook any of the game that roamed these forests.
But I did have somewhere to be, and the smoked breakfast helped remind me of the beautiful girl I had left back in the small village. She prepared these rations before I departed and had insisted that I use them. Thoughts of Jessmei made me smile and I almost regretted taking this journey. I could have been waking up in her soft, comforting arms instead of the cold tree branch.
The Destroyer Book 2 Page 5