by Eric Vall
I thought that my punch would have knocked the man out, but he flipped to his feet as if my blow and merely been a slap, and then pointed at me.
“Take the princess and kill the others!” he roared, and his broken jaw wagged from side to side like a dog’s tail and spewed blood everywhere.
Without hesitation, the soldiers bellowed and charged forward. As they thudded and clanked toward us in their impressive armor, the men placed their sinister bears helmets on their heads.
“Wrong choice,” I clicked my teeth as I shook my head.
In one fluid motion, I drew the God Slayer from my void pocket and raised it to block the leader’s attack while I kicked the other soldier in the stomach and sent him reeling. A sharp clang resounded in the air as the head swordsman’s weapon struck my own. While his partner was on the ground curled up in pain, he seethed at me and attempted to push forward, but I held my ground.
I glowered back at him used a small fraction of my strength to push him back. My efforts proved far more successful than his as I sent the soldier stumbling back with a shove. As he attempted to regain his footing, I tore the blade of my halberd clean through his right arm. His armor was impressive, but God Slayer cared little about such trifle things, and its blade ripped apart the metal as if it was paper. As the limb dropped lifelessly to the ground and blood sprayed from the remaining stump, the leader howled in pain. He dropped his weapon and clutched at what remained of his arm and glared at me intensely. I walked toward him and raised my weapon to point at his throat.
“I warned you,” I said to the man in a menacing tone. “You realize I can’t allow you to live.”
“There will be others sent here to retrieve her,” the lanky man hissed as blood from his wound trickled between the fingers that clutched it and dripped down. “Someone will find her just as we did. There’s no use in continuing to run. Our king will not stop until his daughter is brought back,”
“Why did Annalíse run away?” I commanded. “Tell me now, and I’ll grant you a quick death.”
The soldier ignored my question as he rambled on, weakened from his rapid blood loss. “It doesn’t matter where she runs, she will be found. She must fulfill her duties as the princess of Tamarisch.”
I grunted in frustration. He wasn’t going to give me any further information, he was no longer of any use to me, so I gripped the God Slayer in both hands and guided the blade through his neck. His suffering ended quickly as his severed head fell away from his body and dropped to the ground.
Meanwhile, his companion finally got back on his feet, gaped at his now-dead superior, and then flew at me in a rage. He attempted to slash at me with his sword, but I parried his attack and knocked away the weapon. Before he could make another move, I brought the God Slayer down on his helmeted head. The soldier wailed in agony as the bear helmet crumpled beneath the sudden impact, and my spiky blade drove through it and into his skull. With a hard yank, I unstuck my halberd from his head, and the tip of the blade dripped with his blood and brain matter.
The man swayed for a bit, blinked lazily in disbelief, then dropped stone dead to the ground.
I looked over my shoulder to see how my minions had fared and saw that they had nearly disposed of the remaining men. Two were on fire, Carmedy’s doing no doubt, while two more were lying in pools of their own blood, victims of Rana and Annalíse’s blades. The last was suspended in the air before Morrigan, caught in the merciless clutches of her dark magic. The soldier’s helmeted head slacked to one side as his soul was extracted from his body. Within seconds, his lifeless frame plummeted to the ground.
Morrigan quickly whispered something to her ravens, and they flew from her shoulders to feed on her victim’s soul energy. Not only did they feed on him, they fed on the rest of the felled soldiers. The ravens were doubtless hungry since there had been no souls to feast on during our sea voyage here.
“You know, all I wanted was some downtime, a little peace and quiet,” Rana said as I returned to my minions. “I was looking forward to a comfy warm bed, a nice meal, and I don’t know… not having to get into a brawl with some crazed soldiers on the street. We’ve been in Ficcha for less than two hours, and we’ve already gotten ourselves into trouble thanks to the undercover princess over here.” The fox gestured to Annalíse.
“I didn’t intend for any of this to happen,” Annalíse sighed. “I-I’m so sorry I put you all in danger for my sake.”
“We are aware that you would never intentionally put us in harm’s way,” Morrigan said flatly as Fea and Macha returned to her. “However, I believe now is the time for you disclose what you have been concealing from us.”
I placed a reassuring hand on Annalíse’s shoulder. “Let’s get to the Golden Lamb. Once we’ve settled in, you can tell us your story.”
The female warrior nodded solemnly, and the five of us gathered up our riding lizards to make our way to the inn. We finally knew who Annalíse really was, and at long last, we would discover the true reason why she was on this journey.
Chapter 12
Rana led the way through the sandy streets of Ficcha to the Golden Lamb, and the fox took a few extra twists and turns here and there just in case we were being followed by more soldiers. I too took a precaution and dispatched a handful of shadow slaves to the surrounding area. There didn’t appear to be anyone pursuing us, and we met with no other trouble on our way to the inn.
As we stood outside of the inn and tavern, I could tell the Golden Lamb was appropriately named. Its sign indeed bore the symbol of an intricately carved golden lamb. Before we entered, we stabled our lizards in the area behind the inn, and once inside, we were met with smells of fragrant spices and roasted meat. I recognized it as the scent of zendabii meat, and my mouth began to water at the recollection of the taste and tenderness. After the events that had transpired today, I looked forward to feeding my empty stomach.
The room we entered was bathed in sunlight that reached through the framed windows. The knotted wooden floors were dotted with grains of golden glittering sand that had been tracked in by various patrons. An unattended bar stood to one side of the room, a few barrels of ale stacked behind it. Above the bar were shelves stocked with green bottles filled with a light colored liquid I guessed to be mead.
Six or so circular wooden tables sat in the middle of the room, only a few of them were occupied by men who nursed mugs of ale and calmly chatted amongst themselves. The men glanced up at our group when we came in, and I saw their eyes linger on my minions in appreciation before they noticed my dark plate armor. Then they glanced down at their drinks and drifted back to their conversations. Other than the voices of the patrons, the inn was fairly quiet. It was unexpectedly peaceful, and given the past few days we’d had, I was glad for that.
On the back wall was an unlit fireplace which would assuredly be a welcome amenity come nightfall while various tapestries decorated the remaining wall space with what I assumed depicted Valasara’s major wars and historical events. The vivid pieces of artwork showed scenes of armies engaged in battle, dragons of days past soaring through the clouds, and a few familiar deities. One tapestry, in particular, caught my attention, and I walked over to inspect it. It was of a man with a rather sinister looking horned helmet and coat of furs pointing a spear at an enormous brown worm creature that emerged from the sand. The beast’s mouth was opened wide as though it were attempting to devour the man whole with several rows of large jagged teeth.
“Ew, gross, what is that thing?” Carmedy said from behind me, and I turned to see the petite feline wrinkle her nose.
“What’s it look like? Obviously, it’s a giant worm,” Rana shrugged.
“Look at those teeth,” Annalíse said with wide eyes as she and Morrigan walked closer to look at the tapestry. “I’ve never seen such a creature.”
“That, dear lady, is a Valasarian sandworm,” a voice behind us called out. We turned to see a small bearded man emerge from a door off to the side of the room.
His bald head was shiny from sweat, and he pulled a handkerchief from his vest pocket to pat away the moisture. “These fearsome creatures have roamed the sands of Valasara for centuries. Sadly, they have become an endangered species.”
“Aww, poor worms, how did they become endangered?” Carmedy asked with genuine concern.
“Poor worms?” Rana snorted. “You just called them gross and now you feel bad for them?”
“I did think they were icky, but that doesn’t mean I want them to go extinct,” Carmedy stuck out her lip.
“The king has… perhaps it’s better if I don’t say.” The man hesitated and lowered his eyes to the floor.
“Why?” Rana asked as she leaned against one of the walls. “What’s that creep Alistair done this time?”
“Y-you do not favor the king?” the bald-headed man said slowly as he looked at each of us suspiciously.
“No way, we can’t stand him,” Carmedy said with a sour expression. “He’s a real jerk.”
“And we know about the water shortage,” Annalíse said to the man in a hushed tone.
I nodded gravely. “Yes, a man called Makar told us about everything that’s happened here. In fact, he’s the one who sent us to stay here.”
“Ah, you are friends of Makar,” the bearded man sighed in relief. “Any friend of his is indeed a friend of mine. My name is Kifi.” He extended his hand and firmly shook mine. “Come, let’s get your rooms sorted out. I will give you my four best rooms, and you shall sample the best Valasarian cosine Ficcha has to offer.”
Kifi gestured for us to follow him to the bar, and after we had paid for our rooms and he’d handed us our keys.
Then Annalíse brought up the matter that we had previously been discussing.
“Before, you were about to tell us how the Valasarian sand worms became endangered,” Annalíse said. “You said it had something to do with the king?”
“Yes, there were once many on our great continent, but little by little, King Alistair captured them all for his own sick uses,” Kifi said sadly. “He uses them as steeds for his mercenaries or pits them against each other for sport, so they’ve died rapidly through the years. Now there are said to be only a handful left in existence.”
“How terrible,” Carmedy breathed.
“It is indeed.” The bald man nodded. “Just yet another reason why King Alistair must be overthrown. Our nation was once great. Our people were happy and thrived under the rule of Alistair’s father and his father before him. But Alistair is ruthless, greedy, and cares only for himself.”
“He has to be stopped,” Annalíse said bitterly as she looked at me.
“He will be,” Kifi said with hope in his voice and a small smile came to his lips. “The rebel army grows stronger every day, and I’m confident that they’ll put a stop to him and make our continent a place of pride once more. Now, no more of this talk. Please sit down, and I’ll have our cook prepare something for you.”
Kifi waved a hand to the tables, and he quickly disappeared behind the door beside the bar. The five of us sat down at one of the tables near the unlit fireplace.
“Boy, that king sure is a menace,” Rana said as she settled down in one of the creaky wooden chairs. “Wiping out a species, taxing people to death, hoarding water, being a creepy creeper on our ship for two weeks, and stalking Annalíse like a creeper. It doesn’t get any eviler than that. And that’s just the stuff we know about, I’m sure he’s done loads more terrible things.”
“Why did he have to be picked to be king?” Carmedy huffed as she drew circles in the table with her finger.
“Kings don’t get picked Carmedy, you know that,” Rana said. “They’re born into that sort of thing.”
“I know, but couldn’t things have been done differently just that once?” Carmedy winced.
As she spoke, a tiny woman with short blonde hair and a crisp white apron came toward us with a tray of ale mugs. She placed a cup in front of each of us and bowed her head slightly before she walked away.
“The next king is always the first-born son of the previous king,” Annalíse said after she took a long gulp from her mug. “It’s just like Rana said, his title was set in place as soon as he was born. There was no way of knowing Alistair was going to be a tyrant when he was born.”
“Speaking of royalty,” Rana narrowed her eyes at the female warrior, “time to come clean Annalíse, if that is your real name.”
“I withheld the truth of my status, I didn’t lie about my name.” Annalíse rolled her eyes and took another long sip of ale.
“Well, go on,” I urged, my voice firm. “Tell us what happened.”
The swordswoman looked down at the table, avoiding our gaze and hesitated for a moment before she spoke. “My full name is Annalíse Sophia Decathmor,” the chestnut-haired woman said with a sigh.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Rana waved her paw. “Decathmor? As in the Decathmors?”
“Yes.” Annalíse nodded glumly.
“I can’t believe it, I had no idea you were… I mean…” Carmedy breathed, unable to finish her thoughts. Morrigan didn’t speak, but she blinked at Annalíse in surprise.
“I take it the Decathmor are well known?” I was unaware of the significance of this name, it must have been some noble house that rose since my imprisonment, but the others seemed quite moved by its mere mention.
“That’s an understatement,” Rana said with a dry chuckle. “Her father is the king of all of Tamarisch, not to mention most of Tintagal.”
“Didn’t we already establish that?” I said with a frown. “The soldiers mentioned that he was a king.”
“No, he’s not a king, he’s the king,” Carmedy said, her eyes filled with awe as she continued to look at Annalíse.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I said slowly.
“Let me explain,” Annalíse said with a displeased look. “Most other continents only have one king to rule over them. The twin glacial continents Tamarisch and Tintagal, however, have a hierarchy of kings. There are six altogether.”
She held up one hand with fingers spread. “Five of them are what we call subsidiary kings. They are each equal to each other in power and rule over a single country within the continents.” She then held up the index finger of her other hand and placed it above the other. “They are all under my father, High King Ainmere, who presides over both continents. Both Tamarisch and Tintagal used to have a ruler for each of their countries, but one by one, my father conquered each of them and absorbed their land into his own kingdom. In fact, there is only one country in Tintagal that is not under his thumb.”
I nodded slowly. “I see.” I was somewhat impressed that Annalíse’s father had conquered so many countries in his lifetime and managed to spread his domain. It was a very pleasing concept to me, one I thought I might indulge in myself now that I was free of my dungeon.
“Alright, now that we’ve finished with our history lesson, let’s hear that explanation of yours,” Rana chimed in. “Why in the world you leave a cushy life in a castle filled with servants, fancy food, and basically anything you could ever want in this life? I mean being a princess is already pretty luxurious, but to be like the top princess, c’mon. There’s gotta be some perks there.”
“Of course there are privileges to being the daughter of the High King,” Annalíse rubbed at her forehead with a look of frustration, “but as a princess, there are particular things that are expected of me. I have certain… obligations that I’m expected to fulfill. Seeing as how I am my father’s only daughter, those obligations weigh even heavier upon me.”
“What do you mean by obligations?” I asked the princess.
Annalíse opened her mouth to speak but then shut it when the blonde woman with the apron returned with a large tray filled with food. The serving woman set down steaming plates of sizzling zendabii meat, vegetable soup, freshly baked bread, and ripe fruit. Carmedy’s eyes bulged at the feast, and she licked her lips greedily.
“O
oh, I’m starving,” the cat said as she piled her plate high with roasted zendabii and bread. The rest of us proceeded to serve ourselves and began to eat. For a few minutes, the only noise that came from our table was fervent chewing and the occasional clatter of dishes. Once we had tamed our hunger, we returned to our discussion.
“Explain this obligation that you spoke of,” Morrigan said to Annalíse as she raised her ale mug to her lips.
“Like other princesses, I’m expected to marry well.” Annalíse shook her head disapprovingly. “My mother calls them advantageous marriages.”
“So, you have to marry some royal rich pants, what’s the big deal?” Rana shrugged as she bit into an apple.
“It’s a big deal because I have no choice in the matter.” The female warrior frowned. “It’s not a simple matter of me only being allowed to marry someone of royal breeding, my husband is chosen for me.”
Carmedy scrunched her nose. “Well, that doesn’t sound very romantic. Falling in love is just supposed to happen on its own, you can force it.”
“It’s not about love, Carmedy, it’s about acquiring wealth, power, and territory,” Annalíse muttered as she gripped her ale mug tightly between her hands.
“So, you ran away from home because you disagreed with this?” I asked the swordswoman.
“Yes, but there’s more to it than that,” Annalíse said as she plucked a plump grape from the vine and turned it in her fingers for a moment before she popped it in her mouth. “My husband was recently chosen for me.”
“So, what, you don’t like the guy or something?” Rana put her elbow on the table and cradled her chin in her paw.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Annalíse grumbled. “For one thing, he’s old, even older than my father. He’s about thirty years older than I am, which unfortunately is common in royal marriages. For another, he’s a cruel man. He’s so vile and greedy that he’d give Alistair a run for his money.”