“I...see.” Bravoosa turned to Trav. “Explain.”
“It’s simple really,” said Trav. “I can make enchanted armor and weapons.” As the room grew noisy again, Trav spoke over it and said, “Everything I gave to the soldiers were gifts, but I am also prepared to gift you with a few choice weapons for your guards in order to help pay for my rescue.” He smiled at her.
An older harpy demanded as she strode forward. Decorations on her leather armor flashed in the artificial light. “No! Bravoosa’s soldiers are lowest! Those weapons should be given to the other companies!”
Hravalin gave the older harpy an irritated look. “I just corrected Ursha, Colonel Wesnyag. Are you trying to annoy me?”
“No Guide, I just—” As the older harpy spoke, Trav could clearly see that while most of the harpies in the room respected Hravalin, this soldier did not.
The Guide held up a clawed finger. “Soldiers’ personal property remains their own. If we take personal items, we will not have an army left. Do you want us to lose the royal tree before we’ve even had the trial, Colonel?”
Trav saw the perfect opening to speak again. “The trial is the next way I can help.”
“Oh?” Hravalin turned to face him again, and Trav admired her poise, but he had some of the memories and experiences of an ancient Restless in his head. Now he could see right through her, and recognized her anger and fear. Hravalin was very good at acting like she was tough and in control, but she knew she was on a losing team.
“Yes. The challenge for the royal tree will be combat-based, right? That is all anyone knows. We don’t know when it will happen, but I suggest that while we wait, I can continue to supply Bravoosa’s Pinions with enchanted gear and other advantages. Haven’t challenges like this in the past usually been restricted to one company-sized group of soldiers commanded by each Guide?”
“That is mostly correct.” Hravalin nodded, and she leaned slightly forward, waiting for Trav’s response.
Gotcha, he thought. “I am suggesting that I am integrated into Bravoosa’s Pinions as her superior, to be of equal rank with you when you are leading. So you will be like a general, and I will be the Sergeant Major.”
“What is a Sergeant Major?” Hravalin frowned, and Trav mentally cursed. He might be losing her.
“It doesn’t matter. You can use whatever title you want. But if I am part of your force, my valkyries will go with me as bodyguards, or secretaries, or assistants, whatever you need to call them to explain them being there.”
Hravalin thoughtfully tapped her lip with a claw. “The company size for most trials in the past have been right around 40 strong. Mmm.”
“You can’t seriously be considering this can you, Guide?” Colonel Wesnyag’s feathers were all but spasming, and she flexed her claws.
“I am considering it, Wesnyag. As the Guide of the East tribe, it is my responsibility to verify new information about the trial. It is also my responsibility to keep an open mind and do what I must for our tribe and our family. Everything this...Trav has said is ridiculous on its own, but I trust Captain Bravoosa, and I do not think Yaakova would follow someone weak. The fact she is following a human, and begged me to give her soldiers to find him before is extraordinary by itself.”
The old soldier began to complain again, but Hravalin cut her off with a slashing gesture. Then she said, “Trav, you have given me much to think about. I want to verify everything you have told me, and interview the harpies you traveled with. After that, if you can truly be of use, we will have a meeting.” She frowned at their surroundings. “In private.”
Most of the harpies around the room were spellbound at this point. Many likely didn’t believe what Trav had said, and some were still angry, but they were fascinated by what was taking place before them. Also, a tiny few of them really had begun to believe. Trav could feel it.
He caught sight of a female Demona in the guideroom, glowering at him from the corner. Not everyone was happy about what was going on. This thought made Trav eye the invisible listener on the dais. The hidden figure had moved back and forth a few times, like they were debating running away, or staying.
Trav said, “I understand. But Guide, while you think about it, I have a question.”
“What?”
“Tell me this—do you have an invisible member of your court standing near you on that dais?”
Hravalin’s eyes widened, and she began to turn even as the invisible watcher moved toward her. With his magic sight, Trav thought he caught sight of a weapon. He’d been prepared for something like this to happen, though.
Trav Shadowwalked to the side of the figure, summoning Hex as he did so. He caught the attacker’s wrist, savagely clamping down with his strengthened hand and using a bit of magic to shoot a current of electricity from his thumb to his fingers. The watcher made a surprised noise and released a weapon right before Trav drove home Hex.
“C02!” he thundered, triggering a preloaded rune equation. A great torrent of air burst from the dagger, causing an immediate, violent reaction. The powerful blast of gas delivered directly into the wound did horrible damage to Trav’s target. As its invisibility dropped, the watcher was revealed to be a harpy, flopping on the ground as she thrashed in agony. Trav winced. He’d gotten the idea for this rune spell by a weapon back on Earth. It was definitely effective.
The harpy had died fast, but was still having horrible reactions to what Trav had done to her. She had on some really sleek, polished-looking dark armor. Nearby Mist family guards gasped. “North tribe! North tribe was here!”
“Spy! A spy!”
Not all of the harpies understood what had happened, and they surged forward, believing Trav was a threat again. Some of the guards rushed forward to look at the fallen spy. Trav felt a clawed hand grab his arm, and Hravalin gently pulled him behind her.
“That may have been an assassin,” she said.
Trav nodded and whispered, “Good. I’m glad I could help and I mean you no harm, truly. But you really do need me, and if we win, you don’t even need to give any credit to anyone else for your win. Guiding deities don’t get the same sort of recognition. Think about that.”
Hravalin’s cheeks were pale, but she was keeping her composure. She gave the body one more look and glanced at Trav. Then she held out a forestalling hand to the nearest guards who had just noticed how close Trav was to their Guide. “I must think now. Guards, take him away, somewhere...safe. We need added security in this room. I want a complete sweep.”
“Am I under arrest?” Trav carefully modulated his tone, not sounding aggressive nor weak.
The young guide seemed startled by the question. “What? No.”
“So I have my freedom? I am a guest?”
Narnaste was no longer in her huge wolf form. Trav’s valkyries were almost being ignored now, and they picked their way carefully over to where Trav was on the dais.
Meanwhile, word seemed to have already spread about what happened, or maybe it’d just taken more guards this long to arrive. New harpies poured in from outside, rushing through the door and moving to inspect the body of the harpy Trav had just killed. The room was full of noise and chaos, with some guards pointing at Trav, and others beginning to push each other.
Hravalin waved her hand, moving to the corpse as well. “Yes, yes, you are a guest. Stay out of trouble, please. You have made everything more complicated, but you truly might have just saved my life, so we’ll continue this later.” She turned and waved over a couple of competent-looking guards. “Make sure they are protected.”
As the guards acknowledged the order, Trav bowed graciously and hid his smile.
***
Trav and his valkyries were ushered down a hallway and into a side room, with heavy guards placed outside. Outside the doors, screams, hisses, and even the sounds of fighting echoed through the heavy wood. No matter how the situation shook out, Trav had made a huge impact. He probably couldn’t have asked for a better setup than revealin
g a spy in such a flashy way.
The screaming outside intensified; there was a thump as a body hit a door.
Trav was a little troubled now that he wasn’t directly involved with what was going on out there. Because of his actions, a new religion was probably coming to the East Tribe. Between the faith he knew he had with some of Bravoosa’s Pinions, and what had just happened, it was inevitable. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with it, but if he was willing to kill a whole lot of Kin, and maybe some humans on the way to his goals, it didn’t make sense to shy away from building his own cult full of monsters.
Trav motioned Yaakova over, dropped his mouth near her ear and asked, “How long does it take to get a message back to the capital of Demona, mobilize an army, and make it here?”
“About two months, New One.” The realization in her eyes showed she knew why he’d asked.
He sighed. “We have two months then. How long will it be before we know what the test for the royal tree will be?”
“Maybe a week, a month? No more than six weeks.”
Trav nodded. “No time to waste.” He turned to meet eyes with all of his family. “Now where is my wife? We need to tell Tiffany she’s probably about to get a new temple.”
Ysintrill frowned. “Shouldn’t we stay here? The crowd, and everything else going on…”
“Yeah, of course.” Trav nodded. “We’re going to give it an hour or two to die down, but I expect word to spread fast, and the other tribes might try taking a shot at us. Let’s all wash up first, then head out. Can you tell the guards please, Yaakova? Hopefully they really are our guards and not our jailers.”
The harpy gave Trav a long look before slowly shaking her head. “I don’t know exactly how I feel about all of this, but even though it is for selfish reasons, I think you may have just given my tribe some real hope. Not for the first time, I am glad I did not kill you when we had first met.”
“Me too.” Trav grinned and gave her a playful swat on the ass as she headed to the door. She rolled her eyes at him and Ysintrill giggled.
Narnaste ignored them all as she headed to the bathroom. “Can everyone please wash? I have a sensitive nose, remember? We have been on the road for a long time.”
“Sorry, Narn.” Trav suddenly remembered her burns and the wounds she’d taken minutes ago. The wounds probably weren’t as bad in her Kin form, but he rummaged around in his pack for some salve and followed her to the bathroom. She’d taken care of him, now it was time to take care of her.
Chapter 16
While Trav cleaned up, he heard Rahim’s voice. When he got out of the bathroom and saw that Rahim was safe, he felt himself physically relax. The soldiers that had been with the boy—some of Bravoosa’s company—told Narnaste that the captain had ordered Rahim brought to Trav.
Then after making sure Rahim was safe and settled, Trav had left the room with two of his valkyries. Ysintrill and Rahim stayed back in their borrowed chambers.
Trav, Narnaste, and Yaakova were armed again, and three harpy guards followed them—one wore the colors of the Mist family, and two of them were from the royal tree. The guards hadn’t tried to interfere in any way, but they weren’t being very helpful, either. Trav had already asked where Tiffany was and none of them had answered.
“You’re sure that Tiffany is at this cottage, Narn?”
“I think so, Master. It’s where she was when we left.” Narnaste shrugged apologetically.
Yaakova said, “It is possible that they moved her.”
Narnaste nodded. “Yes, but I actually hope they did. The cottage was not exactly...good, and we owe Lady Tiffany a great debt.”
Trav absently nodded. During the entire time his group had traveled from Najila’s cabin to Bernacia, he’d heard stories of how Tiffany had been cool under pressure and had made decisions that might have saved the lives of Trav’s valkyries. They might not have liked the Restless woman before, but now they openly respected her.
His group moved down remarkably empty streets, and Trav wondered why until he looked up. In this part of town, almost all the buildings were connected by simple skyways, and a lot of harpies seemed to prefer them.
At first Trav had worried that his group might be stopped or slowed, especially with what had just happened in the guildhall. Thankfully, most of the harpies paid them no mind. There were other humans and various Kin walking around, so Trav wasn’t notable other than the fact that he was armed and armored. If any of the harpies passing by slowed to look at him too long, a growl from Yaakova sent them on her way.
Some of the harpies they passed took one look at Yaakova and immediately turned the other way.
“Just what the hell was your reputation like before you left?” muttered Trav.
“My life was complicated, New One.” Yaakova ran her claws through her hair. “You have still not seen the true range of the magic I’ve learned. When I was young and rebellious, I studied curses for years.”
After a sidelong look, Trav began, “So what—”
“Trav? Trav is that you? It is you! What a treat!”
“Uh oh, Master,” murmured Narnaste.
Trav didn’t even need to look to know who it was—he could recognize the voice. “Oh hell, this idiot? Why is he here? How? This guy is like a cockroach.” Trav sighed and turned. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.
Thomas, the third Restless who’d been at Faith with Trav and Tiffany, sauntered up with a wine bottle in both hands, and two young harpies on his arms. As the inheritor of the mantle of Thanatos, a god of death, Trav had never understood why the man only ever seemed to drink and party.
As usual, Thomas wore a dark leather duster, a jaunty hat, and tanker boots. The rest of his outfit was very Asgardian. He had dark circles around his eyes, probably mascara, and had a tie in his long, wavy hair. His earrings glinted as they caught the light. Despite the man originally being human and speaking accented English at times, he refused to admit that he’d come from Earth too.
Trav slowly shook his head. “Thomas. How are you here?”
“It’s nice to see you too, old chum!” Thomas took a swig from one bottle. Both the harpies that were hanging off of him looked highly intoxicated.
“I thought all the humans here were slaves. How are you just walking around like this? Again, how are you even alive?”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “You aren’t the only bloody Restless on this rock, mate. Do you know what I call people who always have to fight out of every situation? Suckers. Look at me! Knowing you, you ran around, getting into scraps. Me? I had a peaceful travel, almost a vacation, wound up here, grabbed a pint and a willing woman or two, and relaxed!”
“Willing?” sniffed Narnaste. “They smell drugged, or drunk.”
“Just because they aren’t repressed little wolfies like you doesn’t mean they aren’t happy, waggy little Narny.”
When Narnaste frowned and her tail bristled, Trav decided he should step in. “Don’t talk to Narnaste that way, Thomas.”
“She started it! Did you hear what she said?” He stroked the cheek of one harpy companion, nuzzled the neck of the other, and asked, “Are you girls unhappy? Would you rather be anywhere else, loves?”
One harpy just moaned, and the other said, “Of course not, Cupcake.”
“Cupcake?” Trav eyed the other Restless and shook his head. “Actually, I don’t want to know.”
Thomas huffed and switched to English. “Oh, look who is all high and mighty now, your Lordship. You think you’re better than me, but here you are, walking around with a couple bints of your own, right?”
Trav shook his head. “You deny coming from Earth, but listen to you. Tell you what, if you’re brave, say what you just said so these two can understand.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Thomas scoffed. “Besides, it might not go so well for your little strumpets. I am Restless too, ya know.”
“What I know is you are beginning to annoy me, and you don’t train and I’ve
never seen you fight.”
Thomas took another swig from one of his bottles. “I should probably bugger off now, right?”
“Yes. Now.”
The irritating man shrugged, then wandered off with his two harpies and Trav released a breath. “What was that all about?” asked Narnaste.
Yaakova nodded. “I would like to know too. You were speaking English?”
Trav nodded. “He was just talking nonsense.”
“Would it make us angry if we’d been able to understand?” asked Narnaste.
“Yes.”
“Figures,” said Yaakova.
“I really do not like that man.” Narnaste’s ears quivered and Trav felt for her. Thomas could definitely be a dickhead and Trav always felt an urge to punch the other man in the face, but dislike for Thomas had created a religious crisis for Narnaste. She was Faithful, and was basically a member of a religion that had been waiting for the Restless to return.
Now that they had, some of the Faithful had realized that they didn’t like some of their new gods and were already picking teams. Welcome to religion, thought Trav.
Narnaste and Yaakova led him to a line of cabins at the edge of town, and before they’d even reached the porch, Leonard was already outside, giving them a carefully measured bow. “I am glad to see you well, my lord. The lady had informed me that you would be arriving.”
“Hi Leonard.” Trav felt a little awkward. How was he supposed to address his wife’s servant and high priest? He absently noted that Narnaste and Leonard both wore rapiers now. “If you could use a new weapon, remind me later to make you a new rapier.”
“My lord, this sword was crafted by a master smith.” Leonard sounded indignant, and Trav understood. The weapon was beautiful, much finer and more detailed-looking than Narnaste’s.
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