Servants and Followers

by Courtney Bowen

  * * * *

  “What’s going on here?” The commander asked.

  “We’re having a debate for a mayoral election.” Lapo said. “Could you kindly speak to us about your business and then depart?”

  His wife Mawen squeezed Lapos’s shoulder as their two youngest children clutched their legs. Talia and Jawen wished they could be up there with them.

  “Very well,” The commander pulled out a piece of paper. “I’ve a warrant here from my Lord Fobata, Duke of Coe Aela, to search for and arrest some fugitives who’ve escaped my lord’s justice. They’re a trio of youths, two boys and a girl approximately sixteen or seventeen years of age, with a falcon accompanying them who claims to be a royal messenger bird.”

  Some people glanced at each other, confused that a falcon could claim anything. A few people cried out from the direction of the side road as they were forced back by ten more soldiers blocking that direction.

  “Something’s wrong here,” Iibala muttered. “I feel it.”

  “I get a funny feeling, too.” Sisila glanced down.

  “Maybe we should get out of here,” Talia hissed.

  “No, I need to speak with them before it’s too late!” Jawen glared at Sisila and Iibala.

  “One’s called Basha, a young man with brown hair, another’s Oaka—” The commander started to read out.

  “Those are my sons!” Habala cried amidst murmuring in the crowd. “What have they done? What right have you and your lord to demand their arrest?”

  “Madam, they’re miscreants who absconded with my lord’s treasure, assaulted my captain, incited a riot and lied about their identities and motives. For all we know, you’re sheltering them and hiding the treasure. We have full authority from Lord Fobata to search any building, question anyone, confiscate any of our stolen property and arrest our suspects and those aiding them.”

  “It can’t be true,” Jawen said, stunned by the accusations.

  “Jawen! I’m getting out of here, come with me!” Talia pulled on her older sister.

  Jawen followed after Talia for now, though she swore she’d find out what was going on with Sisila and Iibala later.

  A couple people started shouting at the Coe Aela guards. “Those boys might be troublemakers, but they wouldn’t steal or assault anyone without good justification,” Geda said. “And they left weeks ago heading south on a quest for Tau’s Cup. They haven’t returned.”

  “A likely story, just a cover for their thievery,” the commander said amid boos.

  “What exactly are they accused of stealing?” Habala asked.

  “None of your business!”

  “You’re sure this isn’t a cover for something else?”

  “As to your authority, this town doesn’t fall under Lord Fobata’s domain.” Hastin said as the crowd agreed with him. “He has to go through the proper authorities and ask permission from Baron Augwys or the higher lords of Coe Baba before his soldiers come tromping through here!” The townspeople cheered.

  “My lord doesn’t need permission from a lowly baron or any other lord. His authority trumps yours.” The commander and the other soldiers clutched at their swords and weapons amid the rising discord. “Now stand aside, peasants, and let us search for these fugitives and the missing treasure or we’ll have to use force.”

  “What are you doing?” Lapo hissed at Habala and Geda. “Are you trying to get us all killed? These soldiers are trained professionals, armed to the teeth in service of the Duke of Coe Aela. They probably have some authority here.”

  “We can’t let them bully or threaten us without standing up for our rights, our homes, and our families.” Geda said. “Are you really going to cower and let them walk all over us?”

  “I’d rather do that than lose my family!” Lapo said.

  “We all have family and friends here, but that doesn’t mean we should just give up and stand aside, especially when they might still hurt or take advantage of us later,” Habala said.

  “At least they’d spare us this time, and you don’t know what they’ll do next,” Mawen argued.

  “They’re certainly setting a poor precedent,” Geda said.

  “Get out of here, or we’ll have you arrested!” Hastin shouted as others clamored the same, and even started moving towards the soldiers and their horses.

  “I’m getting into the action!” Iibala cried as she left Sisila alone and joined the crowd advancing on the soldiers.

  “Iibala! Wait!” Sisila shouted, but her voice was drowned out by others.

  Sisila lifted her head, hoping to spot Iibala in the crowd whipped up into a frenzy. But finally, she decided to take the plunge, and go after Iibala.

  “You’ve forced my hand.” The commander unsheathed his sword, and the other soldiers followed suit. “We won’t go until we search for the fugitives and the treasure.”

  Habala unleashed a fiery blast into the air, startling the soldiers and the crowd surrounding them. “Leave Coe Baba and don’t come back. You’re not welcomed here if you threaten us.” Some of the townspeople regained their voices and started shouting the same.

  “Jawen!” Hastin spotted her and her younger sister Talia. “I’m glad to see you. Have you seen my sister?”

  “She was back in that direction,” Jawen pointed before she was forced to push on, at Talia’s insistence, towards the alleyway near the post office. Hastin moved forward towards Sisila against the tide of the retreating crowd.

  The soldiers hesitated, a few of them considering Habala’s warning and the swarm facing them, when something terrible happened.

  * * * *

  A few minutes ago, Fence and Rajar had been watching the escalation, not quite understanding everything going on, but they feared there might be a fight soon.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Fence turned away from the town square and walked off towards the end of the alleyway.

  “What about mother and father and Jawen and wait for me, Fence!” Rajar cried, following after.

  Fence emerged from the alleyway, and crossed an open field towards Danueve River and Mila Forest beyond. Suddenly he stopped, peering at the shadows beneath the trees. He thought he saw something moving.

  * * * *

  Urie, a guard from Coe Aela, squatted in the underbrush just outside the outskirts, searching for any signs of the fugitives trying to escape and avoid capture. An arrow was notched to his bowstring, but currently his bow was lowered, along with about nine others beside him.

  Urie was nervous and tired of waiting, especially since he didn’t know what was going on. A few years ago, he’d been recruited from the servants’ quarter, and joined the guards as an opportunity for advancement.

  He’d been outfitted and trained in some basic maneuvers, mostly marching and patrolling, but at least he’d gotten in some fighting and target practice, so that he could defend himself if he ever got into a fight. Urie was glad to be a guard and did whatever his commanding officers told him, hardly ever complained, and occasionally partook in salty, brash conversation with his fellow privates whenever the officers weren’t listening.

  However, as they traveled farther away from Coe Aela than he’d ever gone before in pursuit of the fugitives, he worried about his chances. Would he survive or be left behind as a hopeless casualty not worth mourning for, because he wasn’t a real guard, but a servant they didn’t really care about?

  He wanted to prove himself and stay alert, watching the town of Coe Baba, difficult as it was to see anything beyond the forest through the tall underbrush. From where he was, Urie and the other Coe Aela guards could hear the sound of panic and anger rising from that direction, not to mention glimpse a fiery blast.

  Suddenly, a figure burst out from one of the alleyways, and Urie raised his bow, along with nine others, and prepared to fire. A leaf on a stick brushed up against his pant leg, but he ignored it.

  They paused and lowered their bows slightly, seeing that it might be a younger child than the fugitives they�
�d been chasing. But what if they were wrong and allowed someone to get away, or if this person posed a threat?

  Suddenly Urie and the rest of the guards felt something tighten around their pants legs, a branch twining around them. Before they could fire their arrows, they were wrenched onto the ground and pulled back by the branches towards the darkness of the forest.

  Bows and arrows fell from their hands as they scrambled at the ground, trying to find a purchase. But the force was too great and the clutch of the branches too tight, and they were pulled away, screaming at the top of their lungs before they were abruptly silenced.

  * * * *

  The screams from the forest echoed across the meadow and into town as Fence stared in horror at the writhing bushes suddenly stilling.

  “There are more soldiers in the forest!” Fence shouted, running as fast as he could away from the town square and the forest across the meadow.

  Rajar heard Fence’s cry and turned around to face an overwhelming mass of people pouring into the alleyway, trying to escape the town square, Habala, and the soldiers.

  “Stop, it’s a trap!” Rajar cried, but he was forced to jump out of the way to avoid being trampled.

  Everyone in the square heard the screams, fearing it was their neighbors, friends, allies, and family in trouble. The townspeople turned their attentions back to attacking the soldiers on horseback or trying to get away, and the guards either had to fight or flee as well.

  * * * *

  They reached the castle late that afternoon and went up to the massive gatehouse at the base of Coe Wina’s motte. Once the portcullis had been raised, they entered the first bailey, which included subsidiary buildings like the guardhouse, forge, and kitchens. The guests were forced to dismount as Talan, Deja, and Joko were taken away once more to the stables.

  The horses put up a bit of a fight after having just been reunited with their original owners, and Basha, Monika, and Oaka didn’t exactly blame them. Fato fluttered down onto Basha’s shoulder.

  “Do you just choose people to land upon to please yourself?” Basha asked the bird in a low voice. He was drained by the entire experience, everything was too hard to deal with.

  “Consider it an honor I regard you so much,” Fato remarked.

  “He does seem to favor you.” Gnat stood next to Basha now, but at least she wasn’t clinging onto him as she’d been on Talan.

  “I didn’t ask to be honored or favored like this.” Basha said.

  Monika glanced over at him, surrounded by bird and girl, and laughed. It was rather embarrassing.

  After the prisoners were escorted into the guardhouse and down into the dungeons, the guests were led up the barricaded slope, featuring obstructions and traps designed to impede invaders, to the second bailey at the top of the plateau. Here was the castle with thick walls surrounding everything.

  They stopped here as one of the guards went on to announce their presence.

  “This place is massive.” Oaka said.

  “One of the largest and most well-fortified castles in the world,” Fato said.

  “Indeed, what do you think?” Basha asked Monika.

  “It’s one of the most redoubtable fortresses I’ve ever seen, although I may have seen one or two that go beyond.” She said as Basha whistled.

  “Are you joking?” Gnat asked.

  “Do I look like I am?” Monika teased.

  “No talking.” A guard hissed.

  The group fell silent until the castle door opened. An older gentleman of about fifty-nine years stepped out, dressed in fur-lined robes that overwhelmed his slim body.

  His face was a crag of weathered and brow-beaten lines, by storms, erosion, avalanches, and eruptions that had taken their toll upon him. His face also contained bright, yet penetrating eyes that overwhelmed others with a glamour of their own.

  His smile seemed genuine, though faulty. His graying hair, which appeared to be originally chestnut, reminded Basha of the steward Marlo they’d briefly met in Coe Aela, but he blocked that tainted memory.

  The group bowed their heads, assuming this was Lord Lagotaq since the guards did the same. He waved a trembling hand at them.

  “Don’t bother, I’m not here just for pleasantries. Welcome to Coe Wina, I’m Lord Lagotaq, your host and Duke of this castle. Which one of you has the fire power?”

  “I do, Your Grace” Oaka lifted his hand.

  “Prove it.”

  Oaka closed his eyes and concentrated on Sisila until sparks and flames appeared in his hands, glowing with the intensity of a small sun. “Is that enough, Your Grace?”

  A small light danced off of the edges of his vision then, coming from the castle, until he’d quenched his flames.

  “It’s enough.” Lord Lagotaq turned around and whistled.

  A page emerged, carrying a long, narrow, and short case, which cracked at the edges, rusted on the hinges, and had a thick layer of grime covering its surface, as well as other signs of indeterminate age. A prickle of lightning went up Oaka’s spine then and he shuddered.

  The page conveyed it to his lord and held it up as Lagotaq delved into his pockets, retrieved a key, unlocked all of the clasps, and removed them to reveal a shimmering haze. A blaze of bright orange, red, green, gold, yellow, magenta, copper, black, gray, and white hit their eyes and blinded them.

  It hypnotized them into seeing nothing else but the flames full of sparkle and life, flickering and dancing lazily until the flames roared into a monstrous inferno that swept across and swallowed everything whole. The blaze finally settled down into a sheen of bright-red, almost brighter than blood, along its cracked leather hilt and scabbard.

  The blade curved incrementally up its long, straight path to a sharp point, yet the lines forged into the steel wavered constantly, with a glow of their own. Oaka stepped forward, awed and attracted by the light, as Lord Lagotaq removed the Red Sword and scabbard from the case, holding them out for the young man to grasp.

  Oaka felt at once comforted by the warmth and lightness of the Red Sword as it reminded him of Sisila lying against his chest underneath the bushes, breathing with him as their hearts beat together. He almost thought he could hear and feel her heartbeat and another in that moment.

  “My name’s Oaka, and I bind this Sword to me. Thank you,” he whispered.

  Oaka stepped off to the side, marveling at his weapon as Lagotaq reported, “A couple nights ago, when there was a storm on the Old Smoko mountain range, the Red Sword stirred in its case. It caused a commotion where it was stored, and the servants brought it up before it damaged other items. I was informed, and came down to see what could be done to quell it.

  “A light shone forth, which grew even brighter as I opened the case, and narrowed to a pinpoint, straight out a window. I saw its light reflected back here from somewhere on the mountainside, a faint, distant beacon. I assume that was your friend here,” Lagotaq nodded at Oaka, who appeared to like the Red Sword with a wide grin on his face. “I ordered some of my men to go investigate and then late last night, this bird Fato arrived and told me about your troubles before I sent him back to my troops.”

  “We reached the foot of the Old Smoko mountain range yesterday afternoon, and concealed ourselves in prime positions, Squad A in the grove and the rest of us in the copse, to defend or attack whomever might be coming.” One of the guards explained. “We sent out scouts, one of whom met you all, and another spotted the approach of Coe Aela’s men. The bird arrived early this morning and told us everything. We judged the situation accordingly, and reacted as we saw fit. We only took you all into custody to be extra cautious.”

  “Why am I always referred to as ‘bird,’ even after going back and forth all night long?” Fato said.

  “You touched the Red Sword, Your Grace, without getting burned.” Basha said to Lord Lagotaq. “It’s been my experience so far that those who have a certain power can touch their respective Sword, or if they can touch the Black Sword, they can touch all of the ot
her Swords without getting burned. They might feel uncomfortable, but they can.”

  Oaka sheathed the Red Sword, satisfied for now he’d a Sword of Arria, and was indeed a potential Knight of Arria, just like Basha and Monika. He wouldn’t be left out, a follower or hanger-on. He was indeed grander than any nobleman Sisila might’ve had.

  Who’re you?” Lagotaq asked.

  “My name’s Basha, your Grace. I’m on a quest from Coe Baba to fetch Tau’s Cup, and I wield the Black Sword. This is—” he started to say.

  “Monika,” she spoke up, stepping forward and bowing. “Your Grace. I’m of the Windbow society from the Za Desert, I was trained in the Water techniques at the Vaolo monastery in Angoria, and I’m an associate of your country’s Border Guard. I wield the Blue Sword.”

  “It’s an honor to meet you.” Lord Lagotaq said.

  “That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say, concerning your past.” Basha told Monika.

  “Maybe I just don’t feel like talking much.” Monika said.

  “My name’s Gnat, your Grace,” the girl said, “I was a servant at Coe Aela until they came and changed everything.” She indicated the group. “Basha said I should come with them after I helped them escape and fetched back the Black Sword. Goga was going to use it,” she insisted. “That would’ve been scary, your Grace. I can touch the Black and Blue Swords without getting hurt, but they don’t belong to me. Nisa touched the Black Sword once, but she got burned just handing it over to me. And Goga could touch the Black Sword as well without getting hurt. I wonder if that means anything.”

  “I think it does. Thank you for helping this group out, Gnat, you’ve done well.” Lord Lagotaq stared in astonishment at the girl. “Perhaps we might go inside to continue this conversation.”