“No…” Rift shook his head. “You just stole a lot of liquid for the Princess of Ballahran, the land of endless oceans and the only territory with peace in mind.”
35 - Intruders
Barish offered to take a turn holding the liquid canisters up to the clay tubes but Esh had refused the offer. He wanted to be there if Dashine came to her senses in her sandy tomb like hole. As of now, there hadn’t been any remarkable changes in the Princess but enough that he felt relieved. Her gills were having a much easier job of filtering the air from the liquid and he had jumped once when her body twitched. Besides that, there was nothing.
Xep entered the dungeon sometime that evening to ask about the tournament. Esh barely noticed his coming, being hypnotized by the repeated motion of spraying the canisters, replacing, then spraying again. Barish was asleep by a cleaned plate that had once been covered in slabs of red meat. His stomach, now bulging, rose and deflated with slow sleeping breaths.
Xep walked over to Esh and sat next to him, the sand silencing every step. “This must be the female all of Zel is searching for. So many stories about what happened are floating from mouth to mouth.”
“What did you hear?” Esh asked, his mouth forming a big yawn. This would have been interesting news if he hadn’t been so absolutely exhausted.
“Well, myself and the Order have heard many different stories coming from our scouts on the streets. A giant topples over the king. A large male with a horrifying mask rips the king’s head off. I knew they were talking about you, but you couldn’t have killed the king.”
“How do you know I didn’t?” Esh’s head was now drifting to his chest.
“Because one of ours did.”
Esh awoke instantly to this. “Yemesh?”
Xep nodded, his eyes on Dashine who was covered in sand.
“Does he know who I am?”
“No.”
“Well then why did he blame me?”
“The agents of the Order want to live just as you and I do, Esh. They will go through extreme means to see themselves survive, even if that means someone else taking the blade to the throat.”
“Oh.”
They were quiet for a while, both watching the gills flap open and shut as the liquid glistened over them. The female’s breasts had become visible at certain points in the showering process and Esh had covered them no matter how much he hadn’t wanted to. He didn’t want the others to see the Ballahranian in that light. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, it was just… jealousy? It was crazy to think that he could be jealous of a female he just met but… he still didn’t want them to see.
“What happened to Yemesh? Did he return to the Order?”
“He did. They celebrated him for a completed mission, one that took a very long time to construct. I hadn’t been informed of the mission and was very… shocked when I found out.”
“Why wouldn’t they tell you? I thought you were high up in the Order?”
Xep shook his head, “You have to realize something, Esh. The Order is very well organized, but it is still an organization of assassins.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that missions are often classified against even high ranking agents. It makes sense, really. The less humanoids to know about an objective the less amount of threat there is to the mission’s internal corruption.”
“I see.” One of the canisters extinguished itself and he threw it aside. The left part of the female’s body started to dry almost instantly and her gills started to flap faster than the right side. Without looking, Xep grabbed another canister and handed it to him. “I don’t know how long we can keep her like this.”
Xep nodded his head and tapped his chin. “I have never seen her highness in the flesh before. Only heard.”
“What do you know about her? Master doesn’t seem too keen on speaking much about her. All I know is that she is important to the Blue kingdom.”
“Oh very important. They say the Ballahranians are the key to everlasting peace.”
“That’s what Master said… but that’s all he said, really."
“There is a good reason for that. Our Master was in love once, a long time ago. Even before he trained me.”
“Don’t tell me he was in love with the Queen of Ballahran.”
“Well, she wasn’t the Queen. Not yet anyway.”
“So, he was in love with her when she was still the Princess?
“Yes. And like you, I don’t know much and I don’t think it is our place to know. But you know the rest of the history.”
“I do,” said Esh. “The King and Queen were murdered by a corrupt Vivreon. Some say through sorcery and others say it was poison.”
“Yes, and we still don’t know which or why he did it but I suspect it had something to do with currency or power. It always does.”
“And so Master’s lover, the Princess, became Queen and by custom she had to marry.”
“That’s right.” Xep nodded, still looking down at the unconscious female. “And it was a good move. The Ballahranians needed a King.”
“I suppose that’s true. But why couldn’t she marry Master instead?”
Xep looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I think you know the answer to that one.”
“But wouldn’t a cross between Red and Blue bring two kingdoms together?”
Xep paused for a moment. “I guess it would have if Master Rift had been in a position of power.”
He had Esh there. A Queen of the Blue territory would not have made peace with the Red by marrying an unheard of assassin. It might have even made matters worse for both the kingdoms.
“Don’t get any ideas, Esh. I see the way you look at her.”
Esh’s body went rigid and he pulled his eyes off Dashine. “It’s not like that.”
Xep yawned and stood up. “I hope not, for your sake. Love is only a hindrance for agents of the Order. That’s why it’s forbidden."
“Forbidden?”
Xep went to the rope and began to climb. “Yes. Forbidden.” And he was gone, leaving Esh alone with the Ballahranian Princess and his thoughts. A nipple became uncovered and he quickly bent down to cover it.
“Lad, let your friend take over. I have something I need to show ya.” Master Rift walked out of the secret room and into the sand pit. His face was overly sweaty for a male of pure Reahlic blood. There were dark circles under his eyes that matched Esh’s. “Come on, hand over the canisters. She won’t die just because it isn’t you wetting her down.”
Esh stalled for a moment, readjusted the canisters on the tubes, and took a deep breath.
“Don’t you worry, lad,” said Barish with a yawn as he rose from his sleep. “She’ll be in good hands.”
Esh stood up and handed Barish the canisters with a of reluctance. He followed Rift back into the room while looking over his shoulders to make sure Barish was working the canisters to the tubes adequately. His heart wanted him to trust the charming gladiator, but his mind refused. His Master had made damn sure to shape him into a very skeptical and overly cautious humanoid. Esh could still barely believe he had actually entered a tournament and left with a Ballahranian. If a teller of fortunes would have predicted such a conclusion he would have laughed in their face.
“Lad, I’m getting old… as you can see.”
Esh turned his gaze forward, leaving Barish to his work. Rift was gesturing to the way he was walking, which was with a slight limp.
“You still move as graceful as ever, Master.”
“Oh don’t give me that shit, lad. I’m tired and I think it’s about time I went into retirement.”
“Retirement?” Esh stopped walking and blinked his eyes a few times as the thought registered. He had never heard these kinds of words leave his Master’s lips and now it seemed he was ready to give it all up.
“Yes, that’s right, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Well… kinda… just come look for yourself.”
Rift wobbled to the b
ack of the room in an even worse limp than before. Esh observed the change and now realized that the Elder had been feigning his wellbeing for a while. He wondered how long his Master had kept this ailment from him and why it was now that he decided to reveal it.
“This is it. What I’ve been working on half the moon-cycle.” Rift picked up a small tarp and unveiled Esh’s old armored suit which had taken an almost completely different look.
A blue aura radiated over a small box that was attached the back piece of the torso armor. The different pieces of the armor, which had once been entirely separate for maneuverability reasons, were now connected by a thin black material. All along the suit were thin metallic like veins that sprouted from the black box behind the neck.
“What is it? An eco-suit?”
“Sure is. Could’ve been better, maybe even prettier, but I didn’t have a lot of time and my skill in this sort of sorcery is… well… sub-par to say the least.” He pointed to the blue aura which fluttered crazily from two pipes that extended from the black box. “Thing has a mind of its own! Sure hope it takes to her."
“What is that?” Esh pointed to the box.
“Ahh,” exclaimed his Master. “That is where I stored the alchemical solution to our problem! Within that box is a complex recipe that allows for water to be created, used, filtered, and used again. However, I can’t take credit for this one. I learned how to do it a long time ago in a place much farther from here.”
Esh guessed that his Master had probably learned it during his time in the Blue territory. He dared not say anything, afraid he might give Xep away.
“What are you saying, Master? I don’t understand.”
“She can’t stay here, lad.” Esh looked away from the suit to see his Master gazing up at him, slumped over and holding his lower back. “You know as well as I do what must be done.”
“But I’m not finished! I can’t… I don’t know how…”
Rift laughed and Esh could hear a bit of phlegm knocking around in his lungs. The Elder coughed it up and spat it out. “And what is it that you don’t know?”
“Well, I have more training to do, don’t I? I can’t be finished just yet.”
Rift closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Training is never over with, just the manner in which the training takes place comes to an end. You’ve out grown me… literally."
At that moment, something didn’t feel right and it wasn’t his Master’s words that sent a shiver down his spine. Something was off.
“Master-”
“Shh!” his Master hissed, hopping over to Esh and covering his mouth. They both looked up at the ceiling. He let go of Esh’s mouth but kept a finger to his to keep from any more questions being asked. Rift shifted his head to one side and listened. And then Esh listened. The feeling of strangeness refused to leave his body but he couldn’t hear anything.
The Elder’s eyes widened for a moment and his mouth dropped a bit, his head turning to Esh. And then he was hobbling out of the room.
“What is it, Master?” Esh asked, walking briskly beside him. “What? Is it guards? Soldiers? What?”
“We’ve been betrayed. These are no mere soldiers that have come to us in the dead of moon-cycle.”
As soon as they exited the secret room, Esh sprung onto Barish’s back and held him in a tight head lock. “You! I knew you couldn’t be trusted!"
“Wha-” crackled Barish, the canisters flying out of his hands and into the air as he reached up to grab Esh’s massive forearm. “I didn-”
“Let go of him, lad! He is not the betrayer.”
Esh didn’t let go but looked down at Barish’s head which was now turning a deep purple. He could easily take him out from here… but he trusted his Master. He released the gladiator who fell over gasping for breath.
“What the four hells was that for! Have you completely lost it?” he rasped, rubbing his sore neck.
“Never mind that now.” Rift pointed at the female. “You two, grab the Princess and take her to the back. You must suit her and be quick about it! I’ll take care of the intruders.”
“What? Intruders?” asked Barish. “What do you mean? I don’t hear anything”
“No time! Do it now!”
Esh grabbed the Princess under the pits and Barish grabbed her feet. They swept her out of the hole and double timed it to the secret room. This was the first time Barish had been in this room and his face showed the same wonderment that Esh’s did when he had first stepped foot into the room years ago.
“Look at all this stuff! Is that a shrunken head?”
“Yeah, yeah, we can tour later. Here, put her down there.”
They placed her in the sand beside Esh’s old armored suit. The blue aura, sensing its kind nearby, tried to stretch itself to the female but she was too far way and so it just hung there off the table reaching out.
“Now what is this? Some trick?”
“It’s sorcery,” Esh said, unstrapping the pieces of armor. “Lift her up while I slide this under her.”
Barish was still, his face gawking. “I have never seen… something so… beautiful! How does it work?”
There was a crash of metal against metal followed by a throaty grunt, the sound of a death blow. Esh wanted to call out to his Master to check on him… but that would have been disgraceful. The Elder could take care of himself… he hoped. But still, he worried. The sorcery it must have taken to power such a suit in such a small amount of time must have been terribly taxing.
“Explanations are going to have to wait, for now we have to get this on her.”
Barish picked Dashine up and Esh slid the back plate under her. They strapped the chest plate over it. Next was the neck piece, the black box holding the alchemical recipe was humming on top of the table excitedly. Esh picked it up and felt his fingers go numb with cold. The blue aura crawled up his arm but quickly retreated. He was not the one it sought.
Esh clasped the neck piece on her, being sure to move her dark blue hair out of the way. The box rumbled to life and it wasn’t long before a wet mist poured through the exhaust pipes on each side of the suit. The blue aura became spastic as it traced the female’s body through the metallic veins. Something wasn’t quite right with the way it moved. It was as if it were searching for something.
“What’s that thing doing?”
Esh grabbed the other pieces and started to fit them on, sweat running down his back in a stream. “The suit needs to be fully assembled before the sorcery can work its magic.”
“You say these things as if they were normal.” Barish said, pulling a legging up the female’s pale thigh. Esh didn’t care to respond to that for he would find out soon enough on his own.
There was no help from the female, her limbs limp as a babe’s. Many times they had pinched the skin accidentally in the clasps and were forced to redo it all over again. More metal panged loudly in the other room which were followed by screams of voices Esh did not recognize. He kept a mental count of the bodies that where thumping into the sand.
He was up to eight.
With each kill Esh hoped it was the last, but the fighting did not stop. The space of time between the clanging of weapons became shorter as more intruders made their way down the hole. It wouldn’t be long before Master Rift was outnumbered.
“Done!” Barish yelled as he snapped the last piece of footing in place.
The blue aura answered this by relaxing itself back into the box. The metal veins turned an icy throbbing blue as the aura crept inside its new home. There was a loud hiss as the eco-suit adjusted itself to the Ballahranian’s body.
“Who’s attacking us?” asked Barish, standing up.
“I’m not sure.” Esh stood up beside him. “But whoever they are, they’re no ordinary mercenaries. If it wasn’t for the Master’s hearing…” He stopped himself before going on. He’d had the strange feeling, sure, but it was nothing to go on about. It was his Master who had saved them all and now he expected Esh to jour
ney on all by himself.
He wasn’t ready.
“I don’t care who they are! Let’s go join in on the fun!”
Esh nodded and they both sprinted out of the secret room. He planned to grab a weapon off the wall and leap into the action… but there was nobody to fight. Not now, anyways.
Rift was standing in the middle of the dungeon, facing towards him and Barish. His sleep robes were ripped and bloodied. He was panting heavily.
“I don’t need your help, lad,” Rift said with a tone Esh had never heard. It was a mixture of exasperation and slurring. He was leaning on his sheathed sword, his right knee shaking. "But she does.”
He walked a little closer to Esh, pointing to the secret room. Esh gasped as he now saw the reason why his Master was talking in such a strange way. One of the intruders must have gotten lucky enough to cut the side of his mouth, slicing a deep gash all the way to his right ear. The skin flapped as he spoke. “She needs to be escorted back to her territory from which she was abducted.”
Rift took a step towards Esh, his hand out to be placed on his shoulder but he stopped moving. His face became contorted, his eyes wide. He hiccoughed a drop of blood onto his chin and collapsed face down into the sand. Two daggers lay deep in his back.
36 - Betrayal
“Master!”
Esh and Barish rushed to him and were about to pick him back up but the Elder waved them off. He sat back on his heels and laid his sheathed sword over his legs.
“We can’t just leave you here! We need to fight!” cried Esh.
The Elder wiped the blood from his mouth, the flap of skin moving over his hand. “It looks as though my time has come. Esh, you must take the Princess back to her home; she is the key to this awful world’s only hope at peace!"
Esh closed his eyes, attempting to keep the tears that threatened at bay. “But, but I don’t understand! Why is she the key? And why can’t you come with us?"
A groaning sound came from behind them in the secret room. “Uughhhhhhh.”
All of them turned to see Dashine crawling towards them in the sand. Her mouth in a wide gape, her eyes searching the room. She stopped her crawling once she noticed the three Reahlic Males.
The Four Territories Page 25