Nature Abhors a Vacuum (The Aielund Saga Book 1)

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Show me that,” Sayana asked in her usual peremptory fashion. Aiden walked over and handed it to her, watching with interest as she stared at it for a long minute. “I thought as much,” she whispered to herself.

  “What is it?” Aiden asked cautiously.

  “Its power is nearly depleted,” she answered, handing the sceptre back to him. “The crystals have been damaged, and you would be lucky to get one or two more uses from it.”

  “Is there any way to fix it?” he asked pensively, upset at the thought of losing the mighty weapon.

  “None that I know of, but my experience is limited.”

  “Maybe I can ask the dragon,” he muttered, loud enough for only Sayana to hear. She glanced over at Colt, who was starting to cook breakfast over the fire, then grabbed Aiden by the shoulder and pulled him closer.

  “Did it speak of me?” she whispered harshly, looking him straight in the face.

  “I – yes, actually,” he sputtered, caught off guard by her sudden intensity. “I asked why it attacked you in the dream and it seemed angry when I mentioned you, saying that 'you were not invited.'“

  Sayana continued looking at him for a long, searching moment, then reached up and touched the shard hanging from around Aiden's neck. She instantly flinched in pain, shaking her hand from what seemed to be a mild burn. He looked at her hand and indeed, saw a small red welt where she had touched the shard.

  “Something is wrong,” she whispered, staring in to Aiden's eyes. “You're different, somehow. I don't know what it is. Something is... missing.” The hairs on the back of Aiden's neck stood on end at this, and he didn't know how to respond. Sayana backed away from him a little looking coiled and ready to run away at a moment's notice.

  “Sy, it's me,” Aiden insisted, scarcely believing her reaction. “I don't feel any different, I don't think any different. I'm the same man I was yesterday.”

  “That creature has taken a part of you as payment,” she hissed, “you may not feel it now, but eventually you will find out what it took. You have become its puppet, Aiden, and I'm not sure I can trust you.” She turned and stormed out of the clearing, leaving Aiden to stand there confused.

  “What's all that about?” Colt asked from nearby.

  “I wish I knew,” Aiden replied, genuinely mystified as he looked off into the foliage where Sayana had vanished.

  “Bloody women are all the same, am I right?” Colt grunted in reply.

  Chapter Twenty

  The morning meal of sausages and bread was eaten in silence, partly because they were hungry and tired, but also because recent events continued to drive them apart. Sayana ate an entire day's worth of rations in one meal, which no longer came as a surprise to Aiden.

  Concerned about Nellise’s continued absence, he left the camp to look around for her. After a few minutes of searching through the bushes and sparse trees that dotted the landscape he, eventually found her kneeling on the other side of the mausoleum.

  She looked bedraggled as she gazed up at the stone structure before her with wide, red-rimmed eyes while clutching her tiny sword amulet in one hand. Moving closer, Aiden realised she was praying.

  It was a peaceful scene, a moment of quiet reflection after the chaotic times they'd gone through in recent days. Aiden stood a few yards away, idly pondering Sayana's words and what she could have meant, until Nellise spoke up.

  “Why us?” she asked quietly, still looking up at the mausoleum.

  “Excuse me?” Aiden blurted, having taken a moment to realise she was talking to him.

  “Of all the people who could have dealt with this problem, why did it have to be us?” Nellise clarified. Aiden thought for a minute before answering.

  “There's a power vacuum in this country just now, as we've learned in our travels,” he explained. “I didn't realise the peace of the Kingdom was such a fragile thing, but there it is. Take away nearly all of the people keeping us safe, and we find out what it was they were keeping us safe from. Someone has to step into that gap I suppose, it's the way of things.”

  “I read a saying among my research,” he continued after a moment’s pause, “from a wise man who lived so long ago his name has been forgotten - 'nature abhors a vacuum', he said. If we hadn't done it, maybe the akorans would have taken over. Maybe callous noblemen like Ronald Bartlett would have divided up the kingdom for themselves. We were in the right place at the right time to make a difference.”

  “They could have sent more rangers in, or gathered up some real soldiers instead,” Nellise disagreed.

  “If 'they' - meaning Olaf and Tara - could have done that, I'm sure they would have,” Aiden told her. “It's not like we were completely inexperienced in this sort of thing, a fact that I'm sure made us look like the answer to their manpower problems. Mind you, I'd be the first to admit that we were in way over our heads.”

  “That is an understatement,” Nellise whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek and turning to look directly up at Aiden with knowing eyes. “The price was too high though, for all of us.”

  “Oh, I don't know about that,” Aiden replied lightly, trying to cheer her up. “Pacian seemed to come through it pretty much unscathed as usual.”

  “I fear his price is yet to be paid,” she predicted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I saw his face when you were fighting the men holding me captive. I have rarely seen such unbridled savagery, even in the barbarians we fought.”

  “Of course he was angry, he cares about you,” Aiden protested. “I would have thought you'd appreciate a little righteous anger, given the situation. I was filled with it myself, as it happens.” Nellise put her healing crystal back into its pouch and retrieved a small selection of herbs, as well as a mortar and pestle.

  “There is a difference between righteousness and enjoying the slaughter,” she admonished him, whilst grinding the herbs together. “I fear Pace has come to an important decision, and despite my best efforts to show him a better way, he has chosen a dark road to walk. He may have listened to me once, but I fear he has crossed a line.” Aiden remained silent, finding the bleak assessment of his closest friend a little too discomforting.

  “You seemed to be praying when I arrived,” he eventually said, as a way of changing the subject. “Does this place hold some special significance to you?”

  “The grounds have been sanctified and blessed,” Nellise breathed, “and I am attempting to cleanse my body and spirit of impurities.” Colt, Pacian and Sayana walked into the small clearing at that moment, packed and ready to go.

  “I don’t mean to rush you or anything,” Colt grunted, “but we’re all pretty eager to get back to Bracksford.”

  “I'm just about done here,” Nellise informed them, pouring her mixture into a small vial of water, and shaking it vigorously.

  “What is that?” Pacian asked curiously.

  “Bitter,” she muttered as she drank it down, screwing her face up as she swallowed. “Now, gather around, and I shall take care of those bruises you seem to enjoy complaining about.”

  “You seem a little better than before,” Pacian observed hopefully, sitting close to her, but wary about sitting too close.

  “I’m trying to deal with the issue, with God’s help,” she informed him tiredly. Her eyes seemed to stare at nothing for a long, still moment, and then she added, “I'll survive, but I think my days of adventuring are over. I shall be returning to the chapterhouse at Culdeny after I rest up in Bracksford, and fall back into a normal life of hard work and prayer.”

  “I don't think any of us would dispute your decision,” Aiden said soberly, “just know that if there's anything we can do to help, you only have to ask.”

  “For example, I have spare pants,” Sayana offered. Nellise nodded slowly, saying nothing but apparently taking her up on the offer. The two girls stepped out of view for a few minutes, and when they returned, Nellise was more appropriately attired in leather from the waist down. Despite her fatigued state, she took out her
crystal and began whispering her healing prayers.

  Sayana remained a source of troubling thoughts for Aiden. She was obviously keeping her distance from him, leaving him to ponder her earlier words as they travelled.

  Was she correct in assuming the dragon had turned him into some kind of puppet? It had mentioned there was some kind of important task to be done, and that Aiden would have to do whatever mysterious undertaking it wanted alone.

  Once they set out, it wasn’t long before the terrain around them gradually transformed from the snow-covered hills of the south, to the open plains of Bracksfordshire's farmlands. The sky remained clear for the rest of the day, and having the cool winter sun shining down on them made it the most enjoyable journey he’d taken in recent weeks.

  Bracksfordshire was renowned for remaining clear of snow, even in the depths of winter, while the surrounding lands were covered in a thick, white blanket. A quirk of the weather patterns kept the farms producing food all year round, making it one of the most important regions in the kingdom and referred to as 'Aielund's breadbasket'.

  It was just as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon when, under the wary eyes of the local militia, they arrived at Bracksford's eastern gate. Clearly, Aiden and his companions had been recognised as they approached, for the gate swung wide before they reached it, and Tara, accompanied by several of her men, waited within.

  “Glad to see you made it back in one piece,” she welcomed them. “Some of the lads thought you might be a pack of raiders looking for prey and were of half a mind to shoot you.”

  “I’m glad they didn’t,” Aiden replied dryly, stifling a yawn. “You won't be having any further trouble with raiders. Erag Black-Tiger is dead, and Morik Far-Eagle is attempting to reclaim power. But even if he fails, they'll be so disorganised I doubt they'll be any further trouble. Also, I stole their battle plans, which might hamper them a bit.” He pulled out the rolled up sheet of parchment and handed it over to the sergeant.

  “This is incredible, Aiden,” she breathed, not so much at the map, but the overall scale of their accomplishment. “Did you find Duncan and the other ranger well enough?” Aiden didn't answer, instead looking to Colt to tackle this one.

  “The bastards got 'em before we reached them,” he grated, still angry at the loss of one of his few friends, or at least the closest thing to a friend he had. “Couldn't bring the bodies back, but I aim to return there in the near future to see they got a proper burial.”

  “I'm sorry for your loss,” Tara replied soberly, diverting her attention to the map in her hands. “This seems fairly straight forward,” she mused after examining the plans for a moment. “Plunder, rape and pillage. It looks like they wanted to move in instead of destroying the town itself. Fair enough I suppose, must be hard living down there in the mountains all year 'round. It also says something here about another group supposed to come in from the north?”

  “I noticed that too,” Colt added. “Damn generous of them to write it down in Aielish. I think they were going to try a flanking manoeuvre, but since they've lost their leadership, I doubt that's going to happen now.”

  “I'll have my people keep an eagle eye out anyway,” she replied, turning her attention to each of his companions. “God, you all look like you've been through hell.”

  “You have no idea,” Aiden muttered, finding the effort to keep standing more difficult with each passing second.

  “How about we get you back to the inn. I'll go debrief the mayor after he's finished talking with Princess Criosa,” Tara continued, drawing a look of surprise from Aiden at this information.

  “The princess is here?” he asked Tara incredulously.

  “Yes, didn't he mention an important personage was coming through town from Fort Highmarch soon?”

  “I vaguely remember something about that being mentioned,” Aiden recalled, “but I didn't realise that's who he meant.”

  “Well it's a good thing we stopped the akorans then,” Pacian said. “Imagine if they'd come through here tomorrow morning, while we had bloody royalty staying in town.” Everyone was silent for a moment as this hastily blurted opinion was digested. A terrible feeling welled up within Aiden as his tired mind started putting things together.

  “Why would the akorans write in Aielish?” he mumbled, glancing at Colt.

  “They wouldn’t,” the ranger answered slowly, with both men slowly realising they were missing something very important.

  Tara suddenly stiffened and gasped, prompting Aiden to wonder just what had occurred to the soldier. She staggered forward as a trickle of blood escaped her lips, before she toppled face first into the ground. The horror of the moment didn't instantly register for any of the militia, but Aiden noticed the crossbow bolt embedded in her back and quickly drew his sword.

  At that moment, all hell broke loose in Bracksford as crossbow bolts started flying through the air, taking down the militia in rapid succession. A cry of alarm went up and the remaining militia moved to respond. Looking around frantically for the archers, Aiden spied half a dozen men crouched near one of the houses lining the road through town, their crossbows sending a steady stream of bolts into the surprised defenders.

  The men were wearing chain mail armour, full-face helmets, and tabards emblazoned with the symbol of a great cat, possibly a tiger. Until that moment, Aiden had been paralysed with shock and fatigue but he now realised who was attacking –the mercenaries of the Steel Tigers, under the command of Robert Black.

  The militia, devoid of leadership, began loosing bolts at random back at the attackers. The enemy’s shots were far more accurate and deadly, and fully half of the dozen men and women stationed at the gate had already fallen in the onslaught.

  Sayana blasted a stream of fire at the mercenaries, torching one of them and forcing the others to pull back. Aiden and Colt, thinking alike, took advantage of the diversion to join the militia advancing on the enemy. With their combined assault, they finished off the remaining soldiers in a furious exchange of steel, then paused for a moment’s breath and took stock of the situation.

  The sounds of screaming women and children echoed down the street, but the remaining militia nearby were engaging more soldiers. Colt swapped out his greatsword for the longbow and began to string it, while Sayana began to glow softly as she wreathed her body in a shimmering layer of spectral armour.

  Looking back at the gate, Aiden saw that Pacian was comforting Nellise, who was crouched on the ground next to Tara, her hands over her face and clearly distraught. Aiden felt a pang of sympathy for her, knowing she was still trying to cope with recent events.

  Aiden rushed back over to Tara's side as Pacian gently turned her on to one side. Her eyes gazed vaguely ahead as she was slipping away.

  “Get... to the... inn,” Tara whispered with her last breath. Nellise closed her eyes and let her go while they took a brief moment to mourn her passing. Aiden's tired brain tried to formulate a plan of action while Colt was aiding the town defenders where he could, loosing arrows at opportune targets.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Pacian asked loudly, as if expecting the world itself to answer.

  “We have to get to the inn and secure it,” Aiden replied distantly. “Nel, I hate to ask this, but we need you to focus. Innocent people are dying here, do you understand?” The distraught girl looked up and nodded silently, her eyes rimmed with red.

  “Don't worry Nel,” Pacian assured her, “if anyone so much as looks at you I'm going to shred them.” Nellise gave him an unreadable look, then put on her helmet and hefted Clavis' repeating crossbow.

  “I could use some support over here!” Colt yelled, evidently running low on arrows.

  “Keep together and support each other, don't let them divide us up. These are professional soldiers, not a bunch of morons.”

  “Don't be so sure about that,” Pacian warned cynically. “They may surprise you.” Aiden ignored him and pressed forward, charging into a small group of merce
naries who were cutting down twice their number in overwhelmed militia fighters. Able to provide little more than a distraction, he swept his blade back and forth, striking armour more than flesh.

  Two of them turned to engage him, and Aiden kept them busy enough to allow Pacian to get into position. With a flurry of daggers, Pacian made short work of the unsuspecting warriors then he grabbed Aiden by the shoulder and pulled him aside, just as a stream of crossbow bolts struck the remaining mercenaries.

  The militia fighters were upon them in a flash, taking advantage of the diversion to overwhelm the soldiers who were being struck from two flanks.

  “Keep moving towards the inn!” Aiden cried aloud, hoping the militia would recognise the order and assist him and his companions in reaching that goal. The main street ahead of them was a scene of chaos, with townsfolk trying to get to safety and wounded defenders struggling to aid them.

  As much as Aiden wanted to intercede in every engagement, he knew the real prize was Princess Criosa Roebec, the King's only heir. Killing or even kidnapping a member of the royal family would have far-reaching ramifications.

  They pressed on, moving down the mud-filled street as fast as they could manage with Aiden trying to ignore his screaming muscles. A townsman trying to defend his wife and child from a mercenary who had burst into their home cried out for help, and received it as Nellise and Colt sent a hail of arrows and bolts to cut down the enemy in short order.

  “Barricade the door and do not come out until this is over!” Aiden shouted over the din of screams and bloodshed as he slammed the front door and kept running for the inn. The smell of smoke started to fill the air and the glow of fires could be seen against the twilight sky as they moved onward, until they finally spotted the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn just up the street.

  Four mercenaries were holding the front of the inn as militia crossbowmen attempted to cut them down. The soldiers held their shields locked together, providing a wall of steel to protect them against attack. Sensing time was of the essence, Aiden raised his magical sceptre and spoke the command word.