Chapter 2: A Thief and a Rabbit
Neibelung City was a marvel of modern technology, an enormous futuristic city full of sleek machines and crowds of strangely dressed people. Nonetheless, Rienna stood out immediately. A woman in a ruined wedding dress streaked in mud and blood, carrying sword and dagger, will never blend in anywhere you will ever go.
So there she stood, in the heart of the city, and though it was dusk, in this place the bright glow of lights made it seem like midday. Rienna had stopped to ask where this Haveshing Mark place was and from the way she was answered, she was guessing that it was located in a not-so-bright part of the city. She couldn’t help but smirk Seije had never been the sort to treat her with kid gloves just because she was the Commander’s precious daughter.
So she mounted again the tired horse she got there on and steered it on towards the dark district. As she plodded on, the modern lights gradually gave way to lantern-lit streets of partial neglect and buildings erected long before its oldest citizens were alive to witness it. The bustle of the bright, steely city slowed to a trickle of nervous passersby and the occasional uninhibited drunk. If not for the pace of the exhausted horse, she could have easily missed the small, crooked sign proclaiming her arrival at Haveshing Mark.
Rienna dismounted from the horse, tying it up to the beaten wooden post outside, knowing full well that there was a distinct possibility that the horse would not be there when she returned but not really caring. She looked up once again at the sign before entering the tavern.
It apparently wasn’t a very popular tavern as the patrons were relatively quiet, all seedy-looking strong men covered in scars, tattoos, and/or liquor. All eyes were drawn to her immediately, if only for a moment. Some men smirked with interest; others couldn’t care less and turned back to their drinks or card games. Rienna kept her eyes locked on the bartender as she approached and slid onto a wobbly stool.
The bartender did the very best bartender move he could do: he began to wipe at the bar with a rag and followed it with, “Rough day, I take it. Can I get you anything?”
“Whatever’s on tap is fine,” Rienna said with disinterest. She sat on the barstool with her hands in her lap and legs crossed at the ankles, back straight. Her father might have thought her etiquette classes had paid off. In reality, she had only been trying not to lean on the sticky bar but it did nothing to help her blend in, sitting so prim and patient.
The bartender nodded in compliance and pushed a questionably clean mug under the tap, setting the foamy brew in front of her. She picked up the glass and drank half of it at once, setting it down and wiping her mouth with the sleeve of the dress that now held no meaning. The bartender watched her with cool curiosity, knowing with that intuition his vocation developed in him that the lady had more to say.
“I didn’t just come here for drink,” Rienna stated plainly. This time the bartender smirked.
“I gathered that. The beer here is no better than anywhere else
and I’m sure that one could find a much better bar with little problem,” he offered back, fighting not to grin. “I’m looking for someone. A man named Krose,” Rienna quickly asserted. It did not escape her attention that several heads turned at the name. Again, though, she did not care.
The bartender seemed wary of her suddenly and again wiped at the bar he had already cleaned to avoid her gaze.
“I’ve heard the name. What business do you have with him?” the bartender carefully asked.
“A friend of mine by the name of Seije sent me here. He told me the man I seek would be here,” Rienna said with undertones of authority, warning him not to play games with her now.
Without her knowing, a young man stood behind her, smiling only with his mouth, his forest green eyes unamused. Suddenly, she caught the quick flick of the bartender’s eyes behind her and she swung around with her fist. The quick young man caught her arm but didn’t quite expect the fight to continue. Her knee swung into his stomach as she leapt to her feet, thrusting him onto a rickety table. The table’s legs gave way and he crashed to the floor with it. With rapid instinct she stood over him and pressed her foot into his collarbone firmly, staring hard and cold at the man. The man laughed bitterly, a bit embarrassed by his predicament, amidst the whistles and enthusiastic yells of the rowdy bar patrons.
He spoke with difficulty. “So why would my brother send such a lovely vixen after me, eh?” the man choked out, grinning despite the pain. ‘Lovely vixen’ sounded like a quick improvisation for ‘insane bride.’ Or another b-word altogether.
“Your brother…” Rienna repeated slowly, not quite following the enigmatic turn the simple words were taking in her brain. She hadn’t thought much about who Seije would be sending her to meet, but it certainly made more sense. Maybe it hadn’t been her best idea to stumble into this scheme so one-track minded. There was still too much she couldn’t bear thinking about and she shook those thoughts away.
“Seije. He didn’t tell you I’m his brother? It wounds me so,” he replied with mock hurt. All the more awkward for the actual pain he was in.
“You’re Krose, then?” she asked suspiciously.
“That I am. Mind removing the foot?” Krose pleaded around choked words. Rienna granted his request. She offered her hand and helped Krose. He brushed at his clothes, smirking at the picture this girl made.
Rienna studied him carefully now, taking inventory of a man who looked nothing like any brother she could picture Seije having. Krose was wiry and short, for one, head to toe in forest green like some house elf. He wore tight fitting pants without pockets and a torn tunic that ended where his legs began. A lopsided carry-all belt hung about his waist with tiny satchels adorning it. His brown leather boots reached up to his knees and he wore fingerless gloves in the same color. About his neck was a plain silver chain, a strange silver symbol dangling from it and matching loops threading the tops of his ears. His hair was a shade of brown so strange it appeared to look purplish in the light and the hair at the front swept randomly over his eyes, the hair in back standing back and up at a bit of an angle. He looked every bit the brash young thief. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot with amusement, as she scrutinized him with cool observation.
“This is a joke, right? You can’t possibly help me,” Rienna cruelly taunted.
Krose took no offense to this and held out his arms, still grinning.
“You’ll have to fill me in, miss. I’m not a mind reader,” Krose laughed.
Rienna started to head out of the bar. Krose frowned and chased after her. As she predicted, the horse was long gone.
“Look, miss, I’m sure I could help you if Seije thinks I can, but you’ll have to tell me more,” Krose pleaded, his curiosity driving him crazy.
Rienna spun around violently and her look chilled him to the core.
“Stop calling me miss. My name is Rienna. Today, I became bride then widow and orphan and I need to find the man who did this and make him pay!” Rienna seethed through gritted teeth, an edge of desperation in her voice.
Krose looked thoroughly shocked then frowned darkly. This kind of thing he was always a sucker for. Anyone who knew him would know he could not turn down a job like this.
“So you need a tracker, someone who knows the ins and outs of the land,” Krose quietly asserted, nodding resolutely. “You’ve got it, Rienna. But it’s not so simple.”
Rienna started to walk away.
“Either you can help me or you can’t,” she tossed back at him. Krose ran in front of her, blocking her progress.
“I can. But I need your help too. Call it an advance in payment for my help. You see, I just found out that a slave trader is holding a dear friend of mine and I need to get him out,” Krose shrugged helplessly. “I can sneak in anywhere and find anything, but I’m no warrior like you, Miss Rienna. I’d end up dead or captured myself, you see. So if you can help me break him out of Scryshaw Caverns, I’ll help you find the bastard that killed your loved ones. It’s not even out of y
our way— we have to pass there anyway.”
Rienna raised her hand to her chin as she always did when she needed to think. Her eyes met Krose’s finally.
“Very well, Krose. I’ll help your friend. It is fair enough payment for what I ask,” Rienna finally gave in. In truth, she needed something to keep her busy. She wasn’t quite ready to slow down and face the hard truths.
Rienna and Krose awoke early the next morning in an abandoned barn just outside of Neibelung City’s rural outskirts. Not far from this place were the natural caverns of Scryshaw, where his friend was being held. Normally, you would infiltrate a place at night but Krose had assured her that daytime would give them the greater advantage.
Rienna had heard the infamous story of that place; she heard how the slave traders sold the elusive ‘animal-men’ they captured there. She wondered if Krose’s friend Dinsch was one of the socalled rabbit-men. Rabbit-men, properly named Bryfolk, were hybrids of rabbits and humans created over 200 years ago in human-animal hybridization experiments. Because of their mindboggling agility, awe-inspiring jumping ability, and overall amazing leg strength, those labs could not hold their experimental subjects in and droves of them escaped. Eventually, they integrated into societies. But the Bryfolk were not the only ones of their kind. There were hybrids of birds, foxes, and big cats that also found their freedom and blended into human society. Tending to favor living among their own kind or with small groups of open-minded humans, Rienna had unfortunately never met any in her life. They avoided the capital city and all the larger cities and Rienna’s knowledge of the world was thus far limited to such places.
Krose stretched his limbs carefully, his face far away with serious thought. Rienna hesitated for a moment.
“Krose…” she started.
“Uh, yeah?” Krose urged her to continue.
“This friend of yours, Dinsch … is he…?” Rienna stopped, unsure of how to continue the question.
Krose grinned kindly and nodded in anticipation.
“He’s one of the Bryfolk. You’ve never met any of the Folk, have you?” Krose guessed correctly.
Rienna shook her head, unable to voice anything suddenly. Despite Ersenais being the center of Vieres, Folk were not a common sight there either. The Bryfolk especially tended to shy away from big cities in favor of quiet burrows, the birdmen liked mountain peaks, the foxes were the most elusive of all on Vieres and the big cat Folk nearly unheard of, having moved on to their own continent in the east. Krose relaxed visibly when he saw her genuine curiosity.
“All the Folk are kind of shy to society. They are both proud and self-conscious, you know? They know they shouldn’t have been made but also believe that they belong nonetheless. Rightly so. All the folk alive today are natural-born, you see. The Reishefolk, the bird Folk, are a sight to see. They lay eggs as birds do and the hatching-birth is one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see,” Krose was visibly proud of this knowledge and smiled. “Perhaps after we get this villain of yours, I could take you to see them.”
Rienna nodded distantly.
“Perhaps…” she said softly and left it at that. Without another word, Rienna opened the barn door, squinting against the sunlight and headed off towards the formidable dark masses that were the Scryshaw Caverns.
Rienna and Krose were crouched behind a currently unused slave wagon, watching the traffic of the huge dark-skinned ogres, ugly gray hulks that usually kept to themselves, loading the poor Folk into vehicles to be sold away. Krose looked nervously at Rienna.
“You sure about this, Rienna? These guys look like they can take on a charging elephant,” Krose whispered shakily.
Rienna fought the urge to laugh at that. They didn’t look too far from elephants themselves.
“I could take on ten charging elephants. I might look like a woman, but I’ve the heart and skill of a warrior,” Rienna assured him softly. However, she had to swallow past a lump forming in her throat. She did have that warrior’s tendency to overestimate herself on occasion but her matching ego wasn’t about to admit that aloud.
Rienna had stopped on the way there to rid herself of the dress in favor of the garb of a lady warrior, but her finger still wore the symbol of her love for Belias. Krose looked at that finger now as if seeing it for the first time but kept the sorrow he felt for her masked; wisely so, for it would do neither of them any good now for Rienna to lose her head.
“All right, Krose, now’s the time to prove your usefulness. How do we get in there? I might be confident, but only a fool would fight more than needed,” Rienna supplied, adrenaline surging in her veins now.
Krose nodded in full agreement and gestured to a dip high up in the rock face.
“That opening up there leads into a guard’s lounge. If we can scale the wall unnoticed and slip into that room now, that’s our best chance. Most of the guards are helping with the loading so we stand a good chance of making it in. After that, we’ve only to get through each chamber until we reach the one I think Dinsch should be in,” Krose offered.
“The one you THINK he’ll be in?” Rienna questioned unhappily.
Krose nodded, oblivious to her dismay.
“Yeah, the one they keep the Bryfolk in,” Krose replied, shaking his head with dismay of his own. “That’s supposing the bastards haven’t killed him or shipped him away yet.”
Rienna’s eyes narrowed.
“And what of the others? Will we free no one else?” Rienna cruelly asked.
Krose had the good sense to show anguish at that.
“And just how do you propose we just slip out with an army of scared Folk? Sure, there are some warriors in the bunch, but most of them are just scared women and children,” Krose stopped to moan quietly in despair. “We’ll be lucky to reach the chambers at all and even luckier if we manage to get out again. It’s bloody impossible to hope for more than that.”
“Maybe not; either way, we would have to free whoever he is locked up with so why not just free as many of them as we can?” Rienna hissed softly. She grabbed a brown bag from the slave wagon and smirked with secret knowledge at Krose. “I’ve got a way with pressing odds in my favor.”
Without another word, Rienna waited for the right moment then rushed quickly to the copse of trees just below the opening in the rock face. Krose took a deep breath then followed suit.
Rienna grabbed a grappling hook from her new leather bag and expertly threw it up the wall. The hook grabbed and anchored to the opening soundlessly. Rienna sighed with relief and Krose looked at her curiously.
“See? Luck is on our side after all. I’ve never had much luck with grappling hooks,” Rienna said with a sly smile, laughing at the look of stupefaction on Krose’s face. Rienna was up the rope in a matter of seconds and Krose, not to be outdone, did so as well. Lucky for them, the room was empty and they slipped in so far unnoticed.
Rienna reeled in the rope and nodded with satisfaction at Krose.
“So far, so good, right?” Rienna said, the ease of the mission now draining from her face. Krose had seen that look before. Adrenaline was honing her senses; this was the look of a warrior charging into battle.
Voices on the other side of the door brought them both to attention. Without a single thought, Rienna charged for the door and dove, hitting the lock mechanism and sliding her body against the wall out of view of the glass windowpane. She looked to see that Krose had done the same on the other side of the door. They heard the men laughing now as one tried the door twice. The gruff, snarling voice became angry.
“Damn that stupid boy, he went and locked the damned door again! When we find that little son of a bitch, I’m gonna wring his neck!” the voice said, slightly muffled by the door. Krose and Rienna sighed their relief as they heard the footsteps pounding, fading away gradually. Krose braved a quick look then nodded and smiled at Rienna.
“Looks like I was right about bringing you. I’ll lead the way from here on,” Krose said, winking at her with respect.
It was Rienna’s turn to be completely awestruck. She marveled at the beauty of these hybrid humans. They were ALL magnificent, not a single flaw in their form but for the occasional nasty scar or the buildup of dirt from days, even months, without water to bathe in or decent food. Suddenly her heart was fueled with anger. Krose must have sensed that and kept his hand on her shoulder. About twenty of the lumbering giants filled the antechamber, laughing and abusing the poor Folk. Children cried and mothers wailed. Krose’s eyes filled with tears and in his heart, he knew he could not leave these Folk to this fate. He would die here if need be. His eyes met Rienna’s and he knew then that the feeling was mutual.
Without warning, Rienna leapt onto the back of one of the tormenters and slain him easily, killing four more before the others could even gather their wits and attack. Krose gathered himself in a stance and leapt out to fight as well. Only a few men remained when Krose was struck through the shoulder with a sword. Rienna turned to see that and rage filled her, her battle aura seemed almost visible as she struck down the rest of the men and rushed to kneel beside Krose.
“Krose! Are you okay?” Rienna gasped out, keeping her eyes watchful.
Krose nodded weakly and struggled to his feet, Rienna assisting him. Tearing a strip from the bottom of his shirt, he tied off the steady flow of blood and smiled shakily at Rienna.
“You think this’ll stop me? I’ve survived worse,” Krose said, grinning at her. His face became serious rather quickly. “Tell me there’s a way we can free all of them.”
The Truth about Heroes: Complete Trilogy (Heroes Trilogy) Page 2