by Shawn Sodman
Fernando quickly gets to his feet and says, “I do not think that is a wise choice for you.”
Brock ignores the warning and takes a step towards him. As he does so, Fernando draws his family's sword. Brock swings his weapon, but Fernando stands his ground and brushes aside the attack. Brock loses his balance and falls as Fernando steps back to wait.
“Don't do this,” Trisha says to them. “Please, stop.”
“I have no wish to harm this man,” Fernando says calmly as he stands ready. “I am merely defending myself.”
Brock lunges again, thrusting his sword at Fernando. This time, with a quick rotation of his wrist, Fernando disarms him, making Brock's sword fly out of his hand. Fernando quickly lifts his sword and places the point just below Brock's chin.
“I told you that was not a wise choice for you,” Fernando says.
Brock, realizing he has been beaten, slowly raises his hands and replies, “I'll be going now, just as soon as I get my sword.”
“Not just yet,” Fernando says as he continues to hold the tip of his sword at Brock's chin. “First you need to apologies to these young ladies.”
Brock grunts and mutters, “I'm sorry.”
“That was not good at all. Try it again,” Fernando says.
Brock looks at Faye and Janette and says, “My ladies, I am sorry to have bothered you.”
“We forgive you,” Janette says as she tries not to laugh.
Just then, an old man enters the front door. “What happened here!” the old man exclaims.
“Lo siento, Mr. Forester,” Fernando says to the man. “Brock was just about to pay for the damage before leaving.”
“Good,” Mr. Forester replies. “I feel like I'm constantly repairing those tables.”
Brock reaches down and takes a pouch off his belt. He opens it and tosses two silver pieces to Mr. Forester. “Can I go now?” Brock asks.
“Yes, you may,” Fernando replies.
Brock walks over to his sword that still lies on the floor. He picks it up and, with his head held low, he hastily makes his exit. The four young women begin to laugh.
“Thank you,” Janette says to Fernando.
“It was my pleasure,” Fernando replies. He then turns to Mr. Forester and says, “I am going to need to reserve my room for a few more nights.”
“Sure, Mr. Greythorn,” he replies.
Lee looks at Trisha and the twins and quietly says, “You guys go tell the Captain he isn't going anywhere. I'll stay and clean up.”
Trisha leads the girls upstairs as Lee begins to clean the mess made from the fight. Fernando begins to help Lee and says, “I am also going to need a warm bath to get the ale washed off of me.”
Mr. Forester calls up to Trisha who is at the top of the stairs, “Trisha, when you get a moment would you please draw Mr. Greythorn a warm bath?”
“Yes, sir,” Trisha answers. She opens the door to her room and enters as the twins follow. Trisha says to them, “Go back to the ship now and tell the Captain that it looks like Fernando is staying here a while. Tell her that Lee and I will watch over him. You better give me another piece of that slumber root before you go though, just in case.”
Faye takes out the jar and opens it. She takes out another small root and hands it to Trisha. She closes the jar and says to Janette, “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” she replies. “Goodbye, Trisha.”
“Goodbye,” Trisha replies as Faye and Janette hold hands and disappear.
Chapter 5
City of Dury
Chance is flying south along the eastern coast on his way to the city of Dury. Carved into the rock facing the eastern sea, Dury is a key supplier of limestone to the continent of Bruen. The city itself was once a quarry until the lords of the land began constructing buildings upon the tiered levels of the quarry. The main quarry was moved outside the city, and instead of hauling away the light colored stone, the lords brought back tons of it to construct the beautiful white buildings and walls. Dury's beauty rivals that of even Sheathelm, which previously was the main purchaser of the stone.
Before the city comes into view, Chance can see smoke rising into the sky ahead. Concerned, he flies faster to see what has happened. Soon he can see that the smoke is coming from the city. He comes closer and finds that all of the non-stone structures have been burned. Chance looks out to the sea, but does not spot any ships. He shifts his attention back to the city and looks for any movement. Soon he sees several people wandering the streets. He looks even further ahead and can see a long line of people traveling south on the main road.
Chance flies lower to scout out the group moving south. Soon he is flying over them and can see they are humans. They are all women and children, and they seem to be carrying with them as much as they can. He turns back toward the city and lands before transforming. Chance looks around and approaches a woman, asking, “What happened here?”
“Orcneas,” the woman cries. “They attacked in the middle of the night from the sea.”
Chance spots the body of a man. He is face down and his blood flows across the white stone of the street until it reaches one of the open drains. All of the narrow drain ditches run with blood, making it look as though a crimson net has been cast over the city. Smaller channels join together to form larger ones, until they all drain into the sea.
“Are there any men left?” he asks.
“No,” the woman sobs. “They spared us women and children but killed all the men, including my husband.”
“I am very sorry for your loss. I apologize, but I have to ask one more question. Where is everyone going?”
“We're on our way to Sheathelm. One of the orcneas told us to leave or we would be next.”
“Thank you,” replies Chance. The woman heads off to join the others as Chance walks down the street. Towers of white stone still stand, but are heavily damaged. The carnage is clear everywhere and the once-beautiful city is now scorched with fire and stained with the blood of its own people. Chance makes his way up to the walled keep, hoping that the fortifications protected those inside. The massive door is smashed and he finds that there are no survivors. All of the men have been slaughtered.
Knowing that the orcneas could have easily killed the women and children if they had wanted to, he concludes that they will be safe as long as they heed the warning to leave. Chance takes to the sky once more and begins to head back to inform King Arioch. During his flight, he is haunted by images of his past. He remembers telling the orcnea women, in their own language, to leave the lands of the north. He remembers the orcnea villages burning as the women and children fled. The few orcnea warriors that Chance came across were hopelessly outmatched by him. As long as he had his talisman, Chance encountered no real threat as he moved quickly across the north, from one village to the next. Chance left each town burning before the orcnea soldiers could catch up with him.
Now, years later, it is the orcneas who are pressing the attack, and with an army of shamans. Chance is unsure what to do next. He makes great haste back to King Arioch. Pushing himself to near exhaustion, Chance finally reaches Arioch and the army as they continue to march south back to Sheathelm. He lands and approaches the King, who is riding on horseback.
“I have urgent news, Your Majesty,” Chance says, out of breath.
“What is it?” Arioch asks as he stops his horse.
“It's Dury,” Chance answers as A'ranah joins them. “They were attacked in the night.”
“Are the orcneas still there?” Arioch asks.
“No,” Chance answers as others come to a halt. “There was no sign of them. The women and children are now fleeing to Sheathelm. Apparently only the men were killed.”
“An act of mercy by the orcneas?” A'ranah asks in amazement. “That is not like them.”
“No, it isn't,” says Arioch. “If the orcneas are able to mount land assaults from the sea they may attack Sheathelm before we can get back.”
“We can try to c
reate a gate so we don't have to travel back on foot,” A'ranah suggests.
Arioch says, “We will need to be sure that we keep some of the troops between the orcneas coming from the north and the people fleeing Dury.”
“Your Majesty,” Chance says, “I propose that you return to Sheathelm with the Amazons. They will be best suited to see an orcnea attack coming. You would also have the option of opening another gate for more of us to return.”
“What about you?” A'ranah asks.
“I'll continue to move the troops south,” Chance replies. “Once all the people of Dury are safe at Sheathelm you can send for the rest of us. In the meantime, we must stay between the orcneas and those people. I don't wish to gamble their lives on the hope that the orcneas will have mercy a second time.”
“Very well,” A'ranah says. “I'll gather the sisters at once.”
A'ranah rides off on her horse as Arioch says to Chance, “I wonder how Kianna and Ya’leigh are doing.”
“A'ranah showed them to me again last night in the water,” Chance says. “They have joined forces with the Amazons, so they should be much safer now. It also sounded like they hadn't run into anything yet.”
“I'm sure most of the orcneas are on the move,” Arioch says, “and it looks like they're using the same tactics we used in the last war.”
“Yes,” Chance says, thinking back to Dury, “including leaving survivors.”
Chapter 6
Flowers and Thorns
To the north, the Amazons and others have been making their way east along the base of the mountain range. They have traveled most of the day and have come upon a small farm. The rocky terrain has allowed them to approach the farm unnoticed. There is a long stone wall as high as Isen's waist enclosing a field that contains woolly swine.
The group is hidden behind the wall as Lyra looks over the swine pen at three adult male orcneas. She has her invisibility spell up, allowing her to watch the orcneas work. One of them enters a large hut made from the hides of the swine and a thatched roof. There are two wagons on the far side of the farm, and two oxen fenced in nearby.
“I only see three of them,” Lyra says quietly to the others.
“Did she say she saw bees?” Garrin asks. Isen shakes his head no and holds up three fingers. Garrin nods his head and says, “Well then, Isen, Sven, and I can handle this.”
“I know that he didn't just say that,” Rehma grumbles to Gelana.
“Wait,” Kianna says as she holds Garrin back. “We don't know how many more may be inside.”
The other two orcneas enter the hut as Isen takes a peek over the stone. “There's only one way to find out,” Isen says as he stands up and jumps over the wall.
“Isen,” Kianna whispers loudly, “what are you doing?”
“My job: keeping you safe,” he replies as he draws out his morning star. Flames emit from the magical weapon as Isen charges across the swine pen.
“All right, everyone,” Evelena says, “move in.”
Rehma wastes no time in jumping over the wall in pursuit of Isen. Gelana, Garrin, and Sven follow behind them. Ya’leigh looks at Kelik and Ambra and says, “I'll stay here with them.”
“I guess I'm staying, too,” Gena says with a sigh. “I can't just leap over that wall like the others.”
Kel'ana draws her bow and aims it at the doorway of the hut as Ja'noa draws her daggers. Kianna jumps over the wall, along with Evelena. By this time, Isen is already entering the structure.
“That man Isen is an idiot,” Kristieana says.
Ya’leigh, Kristieana, Ja'noa, and Kel'ana wait with Ambra and Kelik as the others rush in. They hear a few orcnea screeches from inside, and then there is only silence. Kelik and Ambra stand up and look over the wall. Just as Kianna and Evelena reach the door to the hut, Isen walks out.
“I guess he got them,” Ja'noa says.
Kristieana shakes her head. “He's just lucky there weren't ten of them in there.”
“Come on,” Ya’leigh says, “it looks like the hut is clear.”
The rest of the group joins Isen as Sven looks inside the hut and says, “Good work, Isen.”
“No,” Kianna says angrily. “That was not good work. You should have waited for the rest of us.”
“There were only three of them,” Isen replies.
“There could have been more,” Kianna points out.
Isen shrugs. “Then I would have come back out.”
“Not if they killed you first,” counters Kristieana.
“If they were strong enough to kill me,” Isen says, “then you would know to run and use the gate stone.”
“Wait,” Ja'noa says. “Are you saying that if you can't handle something, then all of us together couldn't either?”
“I'm just saying,” Isen explains, “that if I died before the rest of you could even help, then you may want to retreat.”
“You're just putting yourself in unnecessary risk,” Evelena says. “Aren't you supposed to be the Princess' personal bodyguard?”
“Yes, he is,” Kianna answers before Isen has a chance to.
“Then stay back and guard her,” Evelena says.
“Sven agrees with Evelena,” Sven remarks.
“That's a surprise,” Kristieana says. “Sven may be smarter than I thought.”
“Next time,” Sven continues, “you let Sven go first.”
“I take that back,” Kristieana says with a sigh.
Rehma angrily says, “I am tired of these men thinking they need to protect us.” She walks up to Sven and says, “Do you want to know what we really should do?” Before he can answer she says, “We should be sending Lyra in first, while she's invisible. Then she can tell us everything.”
“Absolutely not,” Sven protests.
“Why not?” Kristieana asks. “Don't you believe she can handle herself?”
Sven looks at Lyra who seems to be waiting for his answer. “Of course Sven believes in Lyra,” he answers, “Sven just doesn't want anything to happen to her... o-or any of you.”
“Sven,” Lyra says as she walks over and looks up at him, “I am glad that you care about us, but you have to start trusting in us.”
“You are right. Sven did not mean to show you any disrespect,” he says as he places his hand on Lyra's shoulder, “but if anything ever happened to you...” Sven looks up at Kristieana who is glaring back at him. “Never mind,” he says as he walks over to the swine pen. Wanting to change the subject Sven says, “So, it looks like we have plenty of fresh food for dinner tonight.”
“Ew gross,” Kel'ana says.
“It's not that bad,” Ja'noa says. “You eat meat all the time.”
“I know,” Kel'ana replies, “I just don't like to think about where it comes from.”
“Well, I love meat,” states Garrin.
“Me, too,” says Isen.
“Hey, everyone,” Lyra calls out, “look at this.”
Lyra is standing off to the side of the large hut. Looking behind it, she can see a small willow tree with large white blossoms scattered throughout the long thin branches.
“That's a thorn willow,” Ambra says.
“The flowers are beautiful,” Lyra says as she starts to walk towards it.
Ambra warns, “I wouldn't get too close.”
“Why?” Lyra asks as she stops and looks at the tree.
Sven takes Lyra's hand and pulls her back. He explains, “A thorn willow can be very dangerous.” Sven takes two steps towards the tree and slowly holds out his hand. The willow's branches begin to sway as if they are being blown in the wind. They move towards Sven's hand, but he is just out of reach.
“Is the tree doing that?” Gelana asks.
“Yes,” Sven says as he moves a little closer. A branch with a blossom moves close to Sven's hand and he grabs it. The vine-like branch wraps around his hand as he pulls out a large knife.
“What are you doing?” Lyra asks, sounding worried. “Be careful.”
Sven cuts the branch free and pulls back his hand. He is holding one of the flowers while the branch remains wrapped around his wrist and arm. He plucks the flower from the branch and hands it to Lyra. “For you,” he says.
“Thank you, Sven,” Lyra says, smiling brightly.
“You're welcome,” Sven replies as he starts to pull the vines off his wrist. Blood runs down his arm from where the thorns have impaled themselves into his skin.
“Sven, you're bleeding,” Lyra says, concerned.
He tosses the branch back under the tree and replies, “Sven is all right.”
They start to walk back to the others and Lyra says, “I didn't need the flower, Sven. You shouldn't have done that if you knew it could hurt you.”
“It only stings little,” Sven says. “Besides, it was worth it for Sven to see you smile.”
“Oh,” Lyra replies shyly as she begins to blush.
“That is so sweet,” Kel'ana says, “it makes me want to cry.”
“That was stupid,” grumbles Kristieana while staring at Sven.
“What is the matter with you, Kristieana?” Gelana asks.
“I know,” Isen says. “She's just mad because someone didn't get her a flower.”
“What?” Kristieana questions, sounding annoyed. “That's not it at all. I just—“
“Don't worry,” Isen says with a smile, “I'll get you one.”
“No, don't,” Kristieana says as Isen walks up to the tree.
Isen holds out his hand just as Sven did. He grabs hold of one of the branches. He tries to pull it from the tree, but it is too strong. He asks, “Sven, can I borrow your knife?” Sven rushes over and hands the knife to Isen so he can cut the thin, wisp-like branch free. Isen hands the knife back to Sven and untangles his arm from the vine. He walks over to Kristieana with the flower.
“I can't believe you just did that,” Kristieana scolds, still sounding angry. “You really are an idiot.”
“If you don't want it,” Isen says, “maybe Gelana or Yentroc would.”
“Well,” Kristina sighs, “since you did go through all the trouble...” She takes the flower from Isen and smells it. “Thank you,” she quietly says as she tries to hold back her smile.