by D N Meinster
Without a map, Aros hadn't a clue which direction he was traveling in. Was he going to run into another town? Or was he on his way to Oblivion? He was prepared to jump into the harsh dark space if it provided relief from this weather.
The distinct sound of breaking wood and swooshing grass made Aros stop again. He looked at the patch of trees to his right. Something was moving right toward him.
Aros leapt back as a wild four-legged creature emerged from between the trunks. Its ears were almost as extensive as its vertical horns, and its fur was an uneven mix of brown and white. It was more slender than a caribou and less hairy, and Aros did his best to recall what these animals were called as he studied it.
"Antelope!" he called out before it charged at him. "Right. Temper." He turned and started running, hoping he was faster than the ornery beast. It caught up to him within seconds, knocked into his side, but kept going. He watched the antelope disappear, and was reminded of how totally defenseless he was out here.
"Am I supposed to follow it?" Aros asked. "Or should I look to where it came from?" He hoped for an answer from the Goddess because he wasn't sure what to do.
He listened inside his own head for a response but heard nothing. Magenine's silent streak continued.
"Fine," he said, and he looked back to where it had jumped out at him. "I guess I'll go this way." And for the first time since he had left Magenine's Haven, he was no longer going in a straight line.
Aros grabbed onto one of the branches and navigated his way through the trees. This wood was denser than he would have thought. How the antelope had even managed to squeeze through was a mystery.
A few stray twigs scratched his arms, and he came close to bonking his head on a particularly low-hanging branch, but he eventually made it through to the other side. Alas, it was exactly as he had pictured: more rolling hills, and more grass. He couldn't have at least come upon a stream?
Aros hung his head and considered turning around. There was nothing on this path that he wasn't going to find on the other. The antelope had distracted him. He should've kept going. And he would have known that if Magenine had answered him!
Why wouldn't the Goddess speak to him anymore? He knew he had asked for Her silence, but he had since retracted his request. He needed Her; especially in this land, without his friends. Maybe she wasn't listening to him anymore. This might have been his fault.
Aros was about to turn back when he noticed something rolling down an extraordinarily steep hill up ahead. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it appeared to be a rather uneven ball. There could be children playing. He might be closer to a village than he thought!
He headed straight for the hill, hoping the kids could point him to where they lived. The coins in his pocket jangled as he picked up the pace. He could use them to buy a meal. Finally.
But as he neared the hill, he realized he did not hear any children. Or anyone at all. It certainly did not seem like he was near any sort of settlement.
And then he got a look at the ball. There were two, no three, of them now, rolling in his direction. But they were definitely not balls.
Aros instinctively reached for his clawblades, only to find that he still didn't have them. He froze as the "ball" rolled into his legs.
It wasn't a ball. It was a head, with rather thick tufts of brown hair and yellow eyes. He wanted to kick it away; to run away. But he was too shocked to move.
The other heads rolled right by him, and then a rather horrid laugh sprung through the air. It was, unfortunately, familiar to him.
Aros glanced to the top of the hill and saw Sarin standing there. Rows of freestanding spears floated at his side. Each had a head impaled on top, save for the three that he had let tumble down the grass.
"Aros!" Sarin cried out with an eerie affection. The remaining spears turned upside down, and the heads of his victims gradually fell from the spears and rolled down the incline.
Sarin shifted to the bottom, right beside Aros, but kept his eyes on the heads. "Which do you think is gonna come in first? I'd say the bald one."
Aros had completely lost his appetite. As the heads rolled by his feet and Sarin cheered that he had been right, Aros felt like he might throw up on the last Resurrected. Not only was this race obscene, but he was inches away from achieving his goal, if he only had a weapon. But he didn't even have a sharpened stick. He was at Sarin's side and incapable of fulfilling his promise.
When the heads had all passed by, Sarin turned his sights on Aros. He patted him on the back. "Good to see you, my old Kytheran friend."
Aros couldn't hide his disgust. "What you just did Sarin – "
"I know. Wasn't it wonderful!" Only half his grin was visible. "You guys preventing the Door from opening was the greatest event in history. Hatswick asked me to come here after, and I've never had so much fun. It's way better than the old days. They all put up such a fight now. When I let them see me coming, that is."
Aros noticed more stains on Sarin's navy-blue garb. Blood from his victims, most likely. The crack around the eyehole of his mask had grown slightly since their last meeting. But he was otherwise the same. The last piece of Milo's soul was still inside him. He had to die. Leidess wanted him to die.
He could feel the thirst for blood rising within. Aros may not have had a blade, but he was in the perfect position to jump on top of him and start strangling. He began to see it in his head, and he wanted to enact it so badly. But another voice spoke to him. Not the Goddess, but Pudo. "Choose peace."
Almost instantly, his rage abated. Was choosing it so easy? Or did Pudo have that effect on him? Either way, the calm overtook his violent urge.
"Sometimes it's more fun to appear out of nowhere and kill them, rather than go through the buildup," Sarin continued talking. "If I wasn't supposed to do that, why do I have these abilities, ya know? Besides, I'm getting enough challenge from these cloaked fellows. It's kinda irritating how hard they are to kill. But I'm not even sure they're Fauns, with those hoods. So who cares?"
"Who were they?" Aros asked, one of the heads still resting by his feet.
Sarin bent over and picked it up by the hair. "Soldiers. Serving one of the proclaimed emperors." He bounced it around so its mouth opened and closed with the motion. "We chased Sarin after he stole it, but we were no match for him." He tossed the head away. "Which reminds me." Sarin reached into his cloak and pulled out a silver key that matched the one hanging from Aros' waist.
Aros was so startled to see it, he nearly fell over. "The Key!"
Sarin twirled it around as it dangled from his fingers. "They only made five of these. And they're going fast!"
Once Aros readjusted himself, he studied the silver object. Though its intricate twists and turns were slightly different from the first Key, it was the exact same length and shade. This was no forgery. Sarin had accomplished what he and his friends could not. "How?" was all Aros could say.
"Emperor Ku...Lu... The Faun Emperor. He had it around his neck. They think it's some symbol of power or something. So I had to take it from him. But oh boy, was he mad when he figured out it was missing. Sent these men after me." Sarin pointed to the heads. "He mustn't have known that was part of my game."
"But..." Aros couldn't determine how exactly he'd managed it. There was an army in the Emperor's camp.
"I shifted, my dear lad." Sarin faded away and reappeared on Aros' other side. "Fauns don't expect magic. They never liked it, and I think they've tried to forget it existed. So I had to remind them." He giggled with glee. "Why didn't you three use it?"
Aros thought back to how they didn't want to start fighting an army. Only Sarin would be so bold as to think he could. But if they had used magic to get the Key, would they really have ended up in a worse position? Doren kidnapped. Rikki gone. And Milo's soul stuck in limbo thanks to the bastard before him. This whole journey had ended in such failure that now Sarin had the Key.
"Speechless, eh?" Sarin said. "I know. I'm amazing." He ensn
ared the Key between his palms. "And I want to live for as long as I possibly can. And that's not so easy when you've got Fauns and cloaks and Magenites after you. So, in this most fortuitous of circumstances, I'd like to make a deal."
Aros raised an eyebrow. He couldn't fathom making a deal with a resurrected monster. But then, he did have a key, and Aros had zero weapons. "What's your deal?"
"It's simple really. I give you the Key. And then you and your two pretentious friends move on to the next kingdom and leave me be."
Aros didn't believe him. "You'd hand it over so you could be left alone? Doesn't seem like a fair trade."
"We each get what we want," Sarin said. "Which is why it's a brilliant deal. One you should take. Before, you know, I accidently drop this key somewhere."
Aros eyed the Key before staring his rival in the eyes. "Hatswick brought you back. You'd betray him so easily?"
"Yes," Sarin said without a moment's hesitation. "Hatswick won't care about me once you have the Keys. He'll be after you. He's bent on getting that door open. I don't want it open. I like things exactly as they are. Who needs some ancient king or demigod or whatever to come and mess it all up? I owed him back in Kytheras. But now? I'm in Faunli. I'm free to be me."
Aros would need to discuss this with Rikki and Doren. But they weren't around. He was inclined to accept the deal, as they would get the Key and finally be able to leave this place behind. But he had made a promise to Leidess. Sarin had to die. He couldn't break his vow, could he? Thinking so much was giving Aros a mighty headache.
Sarin held out the Key. "The offer's not good forever."
Aros covered his eyes so he couldn't see it.
Sarin laughed and a spear appeared overhead. "You could fight me for it if you prefer. But it looks like you don't have any swords. It'd be so easy to take your head right off your shoulders. In a show of good faith, I won't. That's how serious I am about this."
Aros peeked between his fingers and took another glance at the Key. Taking this deal would avoid another fight. Is that what Pudo wanted him to do? Retrieve the Key through peaceful means? "I – "
An arrow narrowly missed Aros' other shoulder. "Not again."
Sarin turned and saw another cadre of soldiers in pursuit of the Key. The spear above his head multiplied and he matched their arrows with his own pointed sticks. "You have until tomorrow. I'll find you."
Sarin shifted away but the soldiers kept coming. Aros raised his hands in surrender as he was encircled by an army of men dressed in heavy golden pads and caged helmets. These weren't the same men that had chased Sarin after his theft.
The men spread apart to allow their leader to pass through. Emperor Luewen donned layers of Ligold armor, so it appeared as if his body was made of the metal. He lacked a helmet, to make room for the crown atop his head. His mustache was all that covered his face, and it had grown longer since their last meeting.
"Aros Asilias," Luewen said. "Why do I find you out here collaborating with the manslayer? Where are your companions?"
Aros was almost too ashamed to speak. He was considering letting Sarin be so that he could continue to unjustly murder the people of Faunli. And all to stop a monster even worse than him from being unleashed into the world. Why did it all have to be so complicated?
"Emperor," Aros replied with a slight bow. "I was indeed talking to Sarin, as I do not have the means to fight him." He tapped the empty straps that once held his clawblades. "My swords, and Prince Doren, were taken by the Lady Yveen."
Luewen's face grew somber. "Such plagues have overtaken our empire. Three hundred years of stability tarnished now by my brother and hateful scum like Yveen and Sarin. I fear Faunli may not survive this war."
He took the crown from his head, and Aros was almost afraid he was going to offer it to him in some sort of deal.
"Why would my brother even want such a burden?" Luewen looked it over before returning it to his head.
"Do you know where Lady Yveen is?" Aros asked. He was hopeful that the Emperor could guide him to his friends and his blades.
"Yes," Luewen said. "We are heading in their direction."
Aros let out a breath in relief. Then another thought crossed his mind. Why was the Emperor out here and not safely behind the walls of Radite? "If I may ask, what brings you so far from the capital?"
"I've come to end the war, before my brother has a chance to finish it himself." Luewen placed a hand on Aros' shoulder. "You know I'm out here. So, you'll be coming with us." He let go and turned his back on the guardian. "I do hope we run into Lady Yveen's camp for your sake. But we have spare swords, if we come upon Kuwain before then."
Two men stayed at Aros' side while the rest regrouped and prepared to march onward. This was not what Aros had intended. He almost would have preferred shifting away with Sarin to this. He was basically the Emperor's prisoner until they reached their destination. He was thinking strictly of Faunli and his own troubles, not of that which endangered all of Ghumai. And Luewen was supposedly the good brother.
Aros felt a slight push and started walking along with the men at his side. When they encountered one of Sarin's stray heads, the soldier punted it away.
He glanced back at Luewen's army. Bounding down that steep hill was a coalition of men unlike any Aros had seen. Velizards, riders, and soldiers marched down, ignoring the incline and keeping a stable pace. And they kept coming, like an endless supply was right on the other side. Luewen intended to end this civil war with an overwhelming amount of bloodshed, and Aros was not given a choice of whether to go along or not. But he knew what he would do if given the chance.
He would choose peace.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Pledged
The sunlight revealed the extent of the devastation. Half the members of Yveen's gang were dead. Most of their rations had been burned. The charred remains of velizards lie amongst partially incinerated weapons and smoldering foliage. Slythe had only shown mercy to Doren and Yveen. To the rest of the Fauns, he and his Roamers had not been so kind.
Yveen tended to her velizard first. The creature had emerged from the battle mostly unscathed, except for a stray arrow embedded in one of its thighs. After the injury was bandaged, she moved on to the rest of her men. She looked down at the deceased with pity but wept for none of them. The wounded, she cared for as best she could, usually ordering the unharmed to do their best to treat the injuries. When she finally made her way to Doren, she stripped off his shirt and examined the punctures.
He could feel her hand slide down one of his shoulders. "It's not very deep. He must not have wanted to do you much harm."
"A dead hostage wouldn't have been very useful," Doren remarked. He shot a glance back at Yveen. "I'm sure you would agree."
Yveen straightened back up before shuffling to Doren's side and taking a seat in the grass beside him. "You can leave if you want. I won't stop you."
"You could at least offer me some bandages first," Doren smirked.
She tossed a roll of white linen into his lap. "I've got a cut," she said, stroking the sliced fabric near her stomach. "You don't see me whining for a bandage."
Doren shook his head as he unfurled some of the linen and began wrapping it around one of his shoulders. She might not have been concerned about infection, but he was. This was still a foreign land to him, and there were many miles left to travel. Where he was going to travel was a more open question.
He peered at Yveen. She had left Aros out in the open, injured. He would have to go back for him and hope he was still alive. And that he would still have the Key.
Doren couldn't help thinking Yveen had gotten what she deserved. She had brought all this chaos onto herself, by intruding on matters far greater than she realized. And yet he did not hate her. He empathized with her struggles against the Emperor. For all he knew, she had saved him from even worse captors; ones that may not have been so generous after events similar to those of the prior night. But, of course, that was only spec
ulation.
He began wrapping up his other shoulder before he spoke again. "I have to go back for my friend. You could help me. You owe it to him."
Her one eye lingered on him. "How do you figure?"
"You shot him and left him for dead."
"It was only in the shoulder," she replied.
Doren threw the linen at her face when he was finished with it.
Yveen caught it before it made contact. "I'll tell you how to get back to Little Sprite, but don't presume you'll have company."
Doren pulled his shirt back over his head and gently tugged it down his chest. "That'd make me easy prey for Slythe."
"You Kytherans really are arrogant," Yveen responded. "You expect your kidnappers to help you." She snorted and stood back up. "Fine. I'll see who is up for the journey."
Doren's relief only amplified when he concluded Aros had to be alive. If his friend was dead, Slythe could have easily grabbed the Key from his body. Since the Roamers had come for him, Aros must have been in better shape than Doren had considered.
That was, unless they hadn't even bothered going after Aros. But Slythe knew they were traveling together. Why wouldn't they seek the one who held the Key first?
Doren hopped back to his feet. Aros was not only still alive, but probably in better shape than he was.
He picked up his shield and slipped it onto his back.
Once they found Aros, then they could resume the search for Rikki. The three of them would be back together in no time. He was sure of it. His heart sped up just thinking of their reunion. And this time, he would make sure they stayed with each other. Rikki wasn't going to be shifting alone. And Aros wouldn't be pushed away. They had set out to stop Hatswick together, and that's how they would stay.
"Excuse me?"
Doren skipped back as he noticed a man standing only a few feet away. He took out his shield and prepared to pounce. "Who are you?"