The Redemption, Volume 1

by Clyde B Northrup

  “Well,” Grelsor began, wiping the sweat from his brow, “I don’t know whether to be relieved or offended!” he finished, smiling at the others.

  “That did seem easy,” Hrelga added, “a little too easy, if you ask me.”

  Delgart looked around, then looked behind them; he could see the sickly green glow flashing from the other side of the ruined hall. He turned and looked toward the south in their direction of travel; he saw in the distance the same sickly green light flickering between the trunks of the cypress trees. “There are more ahead,” he noted, pointing. “They were either taken completely by surprise, or hold us in such low regard . . . ,” but he did not finish his thought.

  “Maybe this is meant,” Thal said, after a few moments of thoughtful silence, “only to be a token resistance, to make us think there is a reason for coming here.”

  “Then why kidnap Tevvy’s Elanor,” Delgart retorted, “ensuring that Tevvy, at least, would come after her, walking into a trap and inducing his fellow chosen to rescue him?”

  Thal shrugged. “There are still too many unknowns,” he replied.

  Delgart laughed once at this. “Which is, of course, why we are here.”

  They traveled south for only another half-a-mile before meeting a second group of the bloated nekerpum at the edge of one of the wider waterways that they had to cross.

  “Let us try, this time,” Thal said, “I’m pretty sure that we can do it.”

  “Besides,” Klaybear added, “it will give you seniors more time to rest, and the front line a chance for some exercise, apart from running.” He grinned.

  Grelsor laughed and nodded once; Delgart gave the command for shields.

  Thal held up his rod and sang, “wedro-pleugikel,” and a brilliant blue globe of ice, larger and brighter than the previous two had been, flashed into life; Klaybear touched the globe and began to sing, “reu-komhilu-demaghu-gleubespi,” and the brilliant blue changed to a blindingly brilliant emerald, causing Delgart and the rest of the command squad to shield their eyes. Klaybear continued to sing as Thal pointed toward the bloated nekerpum blocking their path.

  Grelsor looked surprised; Hrelga spoke: “I think you should send it further beyond them than we did: yours looks to be quite a bit more powerful,” she said with a note of admiration in her voice.

  Thal nodded once; Klaybear continued to sing, and both of them had beads of sweat running freely down their faces. The green-glowing globe hurtled forward, passing over the bloated figures; its bright color attracted the attention of the nekerpum, who turned their faces and followed its progress as it passed over them.

  “Now,” Hrelga noted, and Thal jerked his rod up, causing the globe to explode; the concussion that followed shook the ground, and the shards of ice ripped through the bloated nekerpum even as it froze them, blasting glittering shards in all directions. Delgart was surprised when, instead of being sickly green, the shards of frozen flesh glowed with emerald light, and none of the pieces crashed into the shields held up to protect the command squad. Instead, these green glowing shards of frozen, dead flesh were drawn toward bloated nekerpum outside the range of the original icy blast, crystallizing and shattering the next rank, and then sending fragments into the next rank, and so on.

  When the other kailum and maghem realized what was happening and after shouting that Klaybear and Thal continue to sing their ortheks, they each put a hand on their respective junior’s shoulder and joined him, adding more energy to the ortheks. The chain reaction continued until they heard, one by one, the wailing and receding cry of each purgle struck by the combined ortheks, and the Mariskal fell silent around them. The six tekson slumped onto the ground; the rest of the command squad stood looking at them in shocked silence.

  Grelsor, panting, broke the silence. “Did you two intend to do that?” he asked incredulously.

  Both of them shrugged. “We wanted to get rid of them quickly,” Thal replied, “knowing that we needed to move on, so we just poured a little more energy into the ortheks.”

  “A little more energy?” Hrelga said, sounding shocked. “If I tried to handle that much energy alone, I would not survive.”

  “And you’ve never used those ortheks before?” Luthina asked, awe in her voice.

  Both shook their heads. “Never had an occasion to try,” Klaybear admitted, “as we’ve never faced nekerpum or purgle before.”

  “They are like our commander,” Lidelle said softly, but before he could say more, Blakstar, Hrothlo, and Mitha were moving and brandishing their weapons. Delgart turned to see what new threat they were responding to and saw over the channel they had to cross, two tall figures, white-haired and gray robed, hailing them.

  “Hail chosen and well met!” one of them shouted.

  “We have been expecting you,” the second shouted in exactly the same voice, “come across, for there is much we must discuss,” and with those words, the two waved once and disappeared in the shadows beneath the cypress and cedar trees.

  Chapter 17

  Feminine intuition is very close to prophecy; I have learned that one is wise to listen carefully to one’s wife’s, or one’s mother’s, feelings of impending doom, lest one become an unnecessary casualty of Fate and it be recorded on one’s tomb: ‘The fool didn’t listen to his mother,’ or ‘the idiot ignored the advice of his wife!’

  from Wisdom of the Kailum, saying attributed to Headmaster Shigmar

  Marilee squatted next to her three company captains–Kella, Belgan, and Akwora–just inside the Mariskal; they were all examining the map Marilee had brought, each of the three captains holding smaller, folded versions of her larger map.

  “Belgan,” she said, “you and the Fourth move east to this point,” she pointed to her map and he marked the spot on his, “then work your way south to this point,” she pointed and then looked at Akwora. “Akwora, take the Sixth south to this point; I will go with Kella and the Second to the southeast to this point. We will all have to stop for the night at those points; send me reports, here, where we will camp,” she indicated a spot on the map, which the three captains marked. “Early tomorrow, continue to push south. Belgan, check these bridges here, and here,” she pointed, “we are not sure what this one is for, and we have been told that this second one is broken. If you can repair it and cross, do so, and we will meet you here just after noon tomorrow. If not, then you will have to backtrack and meet us here,” she pointed, “we are fairly certain the sponsum have a means of crossing this deeper channel.”

  “And if we are outnumbered?” Belgan asked.

  “Retreat back to the way you came, if possible,” Marilee replied, “if that is not possible, if you become trapped, send up the emergency signal, get everyone together, and I will have Klare get you out of there.”

  Belgan nodded. “I only asked as we will be the most exposed,” he said, “both to the sponsum and the swamp wedaterem.”

  “A valid concern,” Marilee noted, “and the farther south we all penetrate, the more difficult it will become to retreat: in those cases, it would be best for you to try and cut your way to where we are. Also, remember we are trying to thin their numbers, so destroy them wherever you come across them, but do not go out of your way to engage them: I fear this move will land you in great difficulties.”

  “Our maghem fear,” Kella began, “that, as Gar has had a hand in tampering with the sponsum, the element of fire will have little effect on them. They suspect we might have better luck with cold-based attacks, as this element is the opposite of Gar-favored fire,” she finished, nodding to her commander.

  Marilee smiled and returned her nod. “If anything changes, or I hear anything from our commander, I will pass that information along. May the One go with and keep you,” she said, clasping each hand. They folded their maps and put them away, bidding each other farewell and returning to their companies. She watched in silence as the three of them issued orders, and the three companies started to move, each squad forming into a diamond a
nd taking its proper place in its respective company. The Fourth started to jog east; the Sixth jogged south. Marilee’s eyes traveled east ahead of the Fourth, and she wondered how far Delgart and the command squad had gotten, and if they had engaged any wedaterem; she resisted the urge to touch her verghrenum, signaling him that she wished to communicate with him. There was no need, since, thus far, things had gone exactly as they had planned. Yet, there was something nagging at the back of her mind, something that troubled her, although she could not determine precisely what it was. She jumped when Kella touched her arm.

  “We are ready, commander,” Kella said, but then when she saw Marilee jump, “are you all right?” she asked.

  “Sorry, Kella,” Marilee noted. “I was wondering if the commander and the others had engaged the enemy yet: seeing Belgan and his company go off in that direction made me think of hi-them,” she finished, stuttering on the last word.

  Kella kept her face straight, although Marilee saw that she wanted to smile, so she looked toward the departing Fourth. “I’m sure that, if they have met any of the enemy, they have had no trouble dealing with them,” she said reassuringly, still fighting not to smile.

  Marilee nodded, and when she spoke after a moment’s pause, her voice was once again firm. “Let’s go,” she said, and followed Kella to take her place at the center of the Second Company’s command squad. She nodded to Kella, who gave the command, and the Second Company jogged forward under the fir, pine, and cedar trees. Marilee stumbled after they had gone only a short distance; Kella caught her commander deftly with one hand, as the two of them jogged side-by-side.

  “Are you certain you are fine, commander?” Kella asked as she steadied Marilee, “I’ve never seen you stumble before,” she went on, noticing that Marilee’s face, the half of it not covered, looked paler than usual.

  “I do not feel ill,” Marilee replied, “if that is what you mean, but,” she hesitated a moment, and lowered her voice before speaking again, “I feel something is wrong, or I have forgotten something of vital importance, and I cannot decide what it is.”

  Kella looked around, making sure her company was moving in the right direction and all were alert. “When did you first get this feeling?” she asked when she looked back at Marilee.

  Marilee jogged in silence for a few moments before responding. “I think it began after we entered the Mariskal,” she said slowly, “and it just got stronger, much stronger, as the other companies left.” She thought for another moment. “It’s like I’m missing something, some piece of information that if I had, we would not be doing what we are.”

  Kella looked slightly alarmed but controlled it. “Maybe you should contact our commander, after all,” she noted softly.

  Marilee looked surprised. “How did you know I was thinking of contacting Delgart?” she asked.

  The corners of Kella’s mouth twitched, but she kept from smiling. Instead, she shrugged. “Just a hunch, from what you said before,” Kella said.

  Marilee eyed her for a moment before looking away; she did not reply immediately. “No, not Delgart,” Marilee said after some thought; she stumbled a second time and would have fallen had not Kella been there to steady her.

  “Who, then?” Kella asked, although she wanted to ask again if Marilee was ill, seeing that the visible half of her face was paler than before, if that were possible.

  “Klare,” Marilee replied without thinking, and then she wondered why she had said that was who she wanted to contact.

  “Why her?” Kella asked, and when Marilee stumbled for the third time, going down onto one knee. “Halt!” Kella shouted, raising her hand and signaling, and the squads of her company stopped, all squad leaders issuing commands to their squads, then turning to see why their captain had halted them.

  “I don’t know,” Marilee said weakly, struggling to rise but unable to stand; Kella’s two kailum were beside her instantly, green-glowing hands on her head, infusing her with health and energy, then helping her to rise. As they did so, she tried to touch the kailu symbol on her verghrenum, but she could not bring her hands together.

  “Send out the scouts!” Kella shouted. “And send squad four to inform Belgan and squad six to inform Akwora that we have stopped because of the commander’s altered condition.” Her two scouts nodded and ran off.

  Marilee struggled again to rise and bring her hands together; she heard the sounds of battle joined on either side of them. Marilee wondered if the Fourth and Sixth had already encountered the enemy, and since neither company was very far from her company’s position, she reckoned it would not be long before they were also attacked. She felt someone moving beside her and saw through a haze that Kella knelt beside her, looking into her eyes.

  “Is she under some kind of mental attack?” Kella asked, not speaking to her. She tried to answer but could not form the words.

  “Not as far as any of us can tell,” someone replied, “whatever it is seems more emotional than mental in nature, which is why our healing ortheks failed to energize her.”

  A strange lassitude had settled over Marilee, and she knew that it came from outside herself, and she also knew that she had to stay conscious, but she did not know why. The figures and faces around her were swimming in and out of focus, and she saw for a moment Kella’s concerned face looking at her. Marilee tried to grab Kella, but her arms flailed helplessly, and she could not tell whether or not she had caught hold of anything that Kella, or anyone, for that matter, was wearing. So she struggled to form words, but her voice sounded slurred and too soft for anyone else to hear; she tried again and saw Kella’s face swim into focus, more concerned than before.

  “What?” Kella asked, putting her ear closer to Marilee’s face.

  “Slap . . . wake,” Marilee said in a barely audible whisper.

  “I think she wants us to slap her awake,” the voice who had spoken before said, sounding mortified at the thought of striking her commander.

  Kella looked at Marilee. “You want us to slap you, and wake you?” she asked.

  Marilee’s head nodded forward, her chin hitting her chest.

  Kella grimaced as she lifted Marilee’s chin and gently slapped her exposed cheek.

  “Harder,” Marilee’s slurred whisper hissed.

  Kella’s face wore a disgusted expression as she swung her hand a little harder, slapping her commander.

  “Harder,” Marilee said again in a weak whisper, “and keep doing it.”

  Kella turned her face away as she slapped her commander’s face again and again, the sound of each slap making Kella flinch.

  “What are you doing!” a new voice exclaimed, and they turned and saw Klare’s head floating in the air. “I’ve been trying to contact Marilee,” she went on, “and I find you slapping her senseless!”

  “If I were senseless,” Marilee said weakly, “you would not be able to get through, which is why I asked Kella to slap me; I was losing consciousness, and I was trying to contact you, but I do not know why,” she admitted.

  Klare looked troubled. “You must pull back,” she said without preamble, “I’ve seen what will happen if you proceed.”

  Klare watched her husband and brother-in-law lead the command squad into the Mariskal and felt an extreme disquiet, but she knew at once that it had nothing to do with their leaving and entering the swamp, or with the fact that she held breath-giver rather than her husband. She sighed and watched the place where they had gone for a few moments longer before turning away and moving back into the seklesi camp. She looked for, and soon found, Captain Rellik, whom Delgart had left in charge of the four companies set to clear and patrol the road from Kilnar to the Forsaken Outpost.

  “Captain,” she said, “you mentioned a place where I could rest?”

  “Yes, Mistress Klare,” Rellik replied. “This way,” he added, indicating that she should follow him.

  “It is enough if you have one of your messengers show me, captain,” Klare said, “as I know you have much to do
.”

  Captain Rellik smiled. “I was given strict instructions concerning you, mistress, by the commander himself.”

  One of Klare’s eyebrows rose dangerously. “What sort of instructions?” she asked, her voice amazingly calm.

  “Only that your comfort and protection was my first priority, mistress,” he replied carefully.

  “And did these instructions actually originate with your commander,” she noted sweetly, “or were they an addition of my over-protective and meddling husband?”

  Rellik grinned at her. “I assure you, Mistress Klare, that the instructions came from Commander Delgart, himself.” He held out his arm to indicate the direction. “Now, if you will follow me,” he said, and he turned and moved in the direction he had indicated.

  Klare thought that she would have words for her brother-in-law later on as she followed Rellik to the tent that had been reserved for her use. A seklesa stood on guard outside the tent; Klare took note of this as she passed through the tent-flap, held open by her guard. She forgot her irritation and forgave Delgart when she saw the comfortable looking pile of cushions and blankets ready for her to rest upon; she quickly unlaced her soft, leather boots and lay down on the soft bed, falling almost immediately asleep.