He could read my thoughts. This was bad, if he was loyal to the Valantian Imperium in any way. I didn’t know how to block my mind. There really wasn’t anything that I could do. They had my weapons and could read my mind. So the truth seemed to be the only option. I hoped that the older man was Eric of the Five Hammers, although he seemed to be missing all his hammers…
“Yes, you are right, Karn. I am Kazena and I am a thief. I have lived all of my life in luxury, stealing whenever I had any need. I never believed that this land was great and I didn’t really care enough. Then I stole this spear–like sword and I was chased like I never had been before. The events that followed led me to believe that our world needs to change.
So I decided to find the revolutionaries, tell them about my experiences and give them this spear weapon. It was important enough to be kept in the most secret and well-guarded location in the High Seat. In my search for them, I realized it was difficult to reach them through the blockade, especially as I didn’t know where the revolutionaries were. I was in Welehölla when I saw a blinding white light. When I realized that the Round Lotus barracks had been destroyed, I figured it had been carried out by the revolutionaries.
I wanted to track you until I was sure you were with the revolution. But you guys caught me before I could be sure.
So there. That’s my story. So… now tell me… am I wrong? Are you with the revolution or do I have to defend myself?”
Karn and Dev looked at each other.
Dev spoke. “I see… thank you for sharing. Unfortunately for you, we are not associated with the revolution. We are not with the Valantian Imperium either. I’ll share what we do and where we are going in a bit, once we can trust you. I think we can still help you with this weapon. And about your overall objective of making the world a better place, well there isn’t too much we can do there. We are just three people.
Before we proceed, we need to know that you are not a spy for the Imperium. With your permission, Karn will explore your mind to confirm your identity.”
Karn looked at this young man as if he was slow. Karn said, “I don’t need to check. I trust her. Look at her. She is so trustworthy!”
I knew the sort of man Karn was. I knew why he thought I was “trustworthy.” I didn’t trust him at all.
I looked to the man who was supposedly Eric. “Hey old man. If you are Eric, where are your hammers?”
The old man said, “Well, in the Round Lotus blast, most of my hammers were damaged. So now I carry them around in a bag until they can get fixed.”
Saying that, he pulled out fragments of various hammers. They looked authentic. I had actually seen one of them at Amurazon, when it was separated from Eric briefly. I recognized it in the fragments. He was Eric of the Five Hammers, there was no doubt. I remembered the tales of how savagely he fought for the hammer that was taken from him.
“So you are, Eric! It is an honor to meet the man who terrorized the Valantian troops across the entire east coast. What are you doing with these men?”
Elbir said, “Thank you Kazena. I am with these men, because they are among the finest human beings I have ever met. The three of us were responsible for the Round Lotus destruction to prevent those men from attacking a defenseless village in the forest. These two saved my life before and during our attack.”
I felt much more reassured now. But I was still disappointed. They weren’t revolutionaries, they were just terrorists. It was so sad that Eric of the Five Hammers, would resort to such an act, no matter what the justification.
“I see. I am disappointed that you aren’t with the revolution. Could you return my swords?” I wanted to leave these people as soon as possible.
“Sure, here you go,” Dev said, handing me back all three blades.
Karn interjected. “I have a question—how desperately do you want to know the true nature of the sword you stole?”
I was interested. But I didn’t trust the sleazebag. I asked Elbir, ignoring Karn. “What does he mean?”
Elbir smiled. “We are travelling to the village we just saved. There is a man there who is probably the best Azmoq expert outside the High Seat. He might be able to help you.”
That was an interesting prospect. Knowing what this sword could do would give me a great clue as to why the Valantian Imperium had it so well guarded. I wasn’t sure I could travel with these people, especially the smartass, Karn.
“That is interesting, Eric. I think I would want to explore this chance. If you could tell me the direction, I will get there myself.”
Dev shook his head. “It is impossible to get to this village without having someone who has already been there. The path is exceedingly difficult and it is easy to lose your way in the Deliganti Verde, which can have fatal consequences.”
That wasn’t great news. I really didn’t want to travel with them.
Elbir spoke. “You are welcome to join us if you wish.”
I was considering it. Eric was a great warrior, with an incredible reputation for honesty. Dev seemed decent, innocent. I wasn’t happy with Karn, but I had met men worse than him. There was no harm in joining these men and meeting this Azmoq expert. But then there was an extra detail—the murder of thousands of people in the barracks. I couldn’t ignore that.
“I am sorry, but I can’t travel with men who kill innocents. I would have to pass.”
I could see the rage in the eyes of the three men. I couldn’t help it if they chose to ignore the truth.
The youngest reacted the fastest. “How dare you accuse us of that? Do you even know the lengths we have gone to, to make sure we don’t kill someone who is innocent?”
No amount of shouting and boasting could change the truth. “Obviously, I don’t know. But what about the innocents you killed in the barracks? I am sure there were soldiers who were going to attack an innocent village, but there must be others who just take care of the barracks right? What about those innocents? I saw the state of the barracks. No one could have survived that. Admit it, you killed them. You are no better than them.”
The young one was silenced. He looked crestfallen, as if he hadn’t thought about that. He really seemed innocent, dragged to carry out this terrible act by others. I was sure it was Karn who planned the whole thing. But still, it did not reduce the burden of guilt on the young one. Then, the sleazy one spoke. He sounded recalcitrant.
“You seem quite unaware of how a barracks works. Yes, usually there are innocents in the barracks. But not during mobilization for an attack. For security reasons, no one who is not part of the army is present in the barracks. Except prisoners of war, if any. They are all sent out weeks before the preparation starts, to prevent any leaks. That is standard Valantian protocol. All tasks, menial or otherwise, are then done by the soldiers.”
That sounded logical. But he could have been cooking up these facts. I did begin to doubt my conviction of his character as he continued, in what now seemed to be the tone of a person with a lot of regret. Karn continued to talk.
“So not one soldier in the barracks was innocent. They were going to attack a village full of innocents. That doesn’t take away from the fact that we killed so many people. Nor the fact that we were prepared to die as well, but didn’t due to a moment of luck. A lot of people died in that explosion. We have to live with that burden for the rest of our lives. The only silver lining is that this saved thousands of innocent lives in that village, and probably thousands of lives besides that.”
I was really doubting myself and my judgement of these men. I tried to sound dismissive in my reply.
“You sound confident of the facts. Were you a Valantian soldier yourself? And how, may I ask, were thousands going to be killed? There was no news of any mobilization? What was the army mobilizing for?”
Karn exhaled hard. “Yes, long back, when I was but a kid. I was one of the high potential for the Final 100. I left the army, rather unceremoniously, after the Battle of the Bloody River. You seem a little slow. They were mob
ilizing to attack the village—we already told you that. Their objective, which would be the reason for additional deaths—we are not close enough to you to tell you more.”
Something in my mind clicked. I remembered Karn. Yes, he was a potential. He was one of the most wanted men in Valantia, even more than Eric. But I knew from rumors in places like Amurazon and other prominent thief markets that he had a heart of gold, and was never known to attack anyone but in self-defense. How did such men get together? I felt bad for having completely misjudged these men and their actions.
“I am sorry. I spoke without knowing the details of the episode. I let my own biases get in the way.”
Eric seemed the most forgiving. “It’s alright. You didn’t know.”
I was relieved that they didn’t hold it against me. “If your offer is still open after my insults, I would like to join you all. If you all are comfortable with that, I’ll travel all the way to meet the master you spoke of.”
Dev nodded. “That’s alright. Welcome to the group!”
Karn nodded as well, and spoke, but without any hint of a flirting tone. “Welcome to the group Kazena. We don’t know you well, and despite what you might think, I haven’t looked into your head beyond the first minute of our meeting. It is not the right thing to do. I don’t think you are suspicious. But if you give me any reason to suspect you, I won’t stop until I know every detail of your life. I will find out if you are a Valantian spy, and you will rue the day you chose to pick this assignment.”
This guy wasn’t the fleabag I thought he was initially. I had misjudged him the most. I would get to know them better as we travelled together.
I nodded, commenting on his tone, noting my intrigue. “I pegged you as a flirty man, and I have seen my fair share. You don’t seem to fit that mold.”
Karn smiled but said nothing. I didn’t know what that smile meant. I had just joined a group of men who I thought were terrorists, but instead were survivors of an explosion aimed at saving innocent lives, at the cost of their own. This was completely new to me. This was going to be an interesting journey.
“So, where to?” I asked. “If it is far off, I would probably need a horse.”
Elbir stared ahead. “We will travel to Khratosh, where we plan to lie low and recuperate. Then we can travel to the village we spoke of earlier. And of course you would need a horse. Please take mine until we find one.”
That was so courteous of him, but totally unnecessary. To demonstrate that, I swung my arms around, disappeared and reappeared a few meters away, right next to Elbir.
“Do you still think I need to take your horse?” I asked, in a mock innocent tone. They were all understandably surprised, but they accepted it faster than I expected. Karn and Dev laughed at my tone and question as Elbir smiled. He said, “Ah… so your weapon can do fancy things as well. With a power like that, why do you need a horse at all?”
“Well, it might look odd to onlookers to find three men on horses with a woman who keeps disappearing and reappearing every other moment.” Dev and Karn laughed harder. Trying to ignore them, as difficult as it was, and trying unsuccessfully to suppress a smile, I continued. “But actually, I can’t keep teleporting over long distances. So I would need a horse.”
Before Elbir, who was also smiling, could reply, Karn said, “You’ll fit right in Kazena. We should get a horse in the next village. With our destination set, we could pick up a rental as well. We can get a good one for you in Khratosh.”
I nodded. “That sounds good,” then added with a smile. “I am glad you guys enjoy my sense of humor.”
We slowly started to walk over to the closest village. I realized that these were the first people in my life I had shared my secret with, and that too on the first day we met, for no particular reason. The only other person who had an inkling of my ability was my co squatter in Capitol Hills, and that too, it was something he realized only after years of knowing me.
The village was a small, quaint little place called Einesbrook, named after the small brook that ran beside the village. I wasn’t sure a place this small would have a rental horse. Rental horse’ availability was based on traffic between places. You rent a horse in one town and release it in another. They were mostly run by the same enterprises, with there being only two in Morgenia. This allowed people to travel faster between cities, having a fresh horse for every part of the journey. With this arrangement, a person could travel over a hundred kilometers in a day with just a couple of horses. It was the fastest way to travel… in this continent. But for a horse to be available, the place had to be on a frequently travelled route and a reasonably attractive one to make people stop over. This definitely did not seem like such a place, although it was close to the road to Khratosh.
We reached the village, and stopped for a bite. Over lunch I saw Dev getting happy over some vegetable stew and boiled eggs.
“Why the excitement, Dev?” I asked.
Karn spoke before Dev could stop chewing and reply. “This young man was a vegetarian which this bad bad world has not allowed him to be. So he relishes vegetarian food wherever he gets it.”
“Vegetarian? As in…” I was confused by the term.
“As in, eating only plant based food along with dairy products… and eggs.”
“But vegetarian should mean only vegetables… right?” I was even more confused by the term. “But anyway, who am I to question the definition? Why are you a… vegetarian?”
Dev spoke. “Well, in my village, most people are vegetarians. We never had the need to eat meat. Some still do, but it’s not the norm.”
That seemed strange. Why was this village so different? But I didn’t push it. It was just another quirk of this group. Be it age, with Dev being in his late teens, Karn and I in our mid-twenties, and Elbir in his late thirties, or gender, with three men and a woman, or color, with my tan yellow skin, Elbir’s dark skin, Dev’s brown skin and Karn’s fair skin, we were all different, physically, upbringing wise and mentally.
We walked over to the local stable, to locate a rental horse. We were in luck, barely. There was just one horse available. Thankfully it looked in reasonable health. Definitely fit for a ride. I had my fake papers ready for the record. The stable was owned by an old woman. She was a sweet old grandma, who was happy that we were taking that horse out. And that there was someone to listen to her woes. And boy did she make us listen.
“I am so happy you young people have chosen to take this horse. I can finally get rid of it and close down this stable. You might ask me. ‘Aunt Em, why do you want to close this stable down?’”
None of us were going to ask that, but she didn’t really care.
“I’ll tell you. No one comes to this small village to rent a horse. There was an extension planned for the Weltosh road, which would have been quite close to this village and would have generated a lot of business. That’s what the people from ‘Horses for all’ told me. But the extension is still being planned and not one person has been hired to clear the path. So I have no idea when it is going to be completed, and when that business is going to come in.
“You will then ask, ‘But what does that have to do with closing the stable Aunt Em? This might not get you a lot of business, but you can use it for something else right?’
“I’ll tell you. The people from the company don’t allow you to use their stable for anything else. There is a huge fine if I do that. The company people come for inspection every month almost. I am already losing money on this, I don’t want to lose any more. So I keep the stable as it is, as recommended.
“Then you will ask, ‘But Aunt Em, why didn’t you close the stable earlier? Why wait for this horse to get rented out? You will be able to save on stable rent that you have to pay monthly.’
“I’ll tell you. The people from the company don’t allow you to close the stable, not unless the stable is empty for more than six months. They charge you for almost two years if you did that. Now that I got my stable empty, I can
afford to relax. Six months more and I can finally close this stable down.
“But then you’ll ask, ‘But Aunt Em, what if we want to return through this route on our way back to see you? Can’t we leave our horse in the stable then?’
“I’ll tell you, ‘Of course you can see me on your way back. Of course, you can leave your horse here. But I ask you not to do that. You would put your Aunt Em in a spot. I can’t refuse you and then I can’t close my stable.’
“But then….”
Karn butted in, thankfully. “No but’s, Aunt Em. We promise you we won’t bother you by bringing a horse back to your, hopefully soon-to-be-closed stable. Don’t worry about that at all.”
She smiled, but then gave a frown. “That’s sweet of you, young man. But let me tell you, don’t stop yourself from coming to meet your old Aunt Em. I’ll take care of you folks. But just don’t leave your horse here.”
She laughed. “You’ll ask me, ‘Aunt Em, we would love to see you again. But what do we do with the rental horse?’ Then I’ll….”
Karn stopped her again, politely, before she told us her whole life story. “Don’t worry, Aunt Em, we will take care of the rental horse. We will mostly be buying one soon enough.”
“Take care, Aunt Em,” we all said as we hurried away, before she took an hour to say bye. She was a sweet old lady, and I felt bad for her. I hoped she would be able to close the stable. It was sad how the less fortunate were being squeezed by the more fortunate. She had to run the stable at a loss to put money into the pockets of the greedy vultures of the “Horses for all” enterprise. She couldn’t even go against them, because she would risk getting imprisoned. All the countries on this continent always backed these enterprises. It was a sad state of affairs.
Chapter 34: The first steps
After escaping from the Valantian troops, Kazena’s journey begins in a terrifying new place…
Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium Page 36