“They were a little weird,” Banji said. He was going to say more, but thought better of it when Arajin glared at him.
“As Banji noted,” Arajin added, “they were a little different. They were friendly, but didn’t really have any friends. I chalked that up as them being new to the Gitano way of life. Since they were hard workers and didn’t cause any problems, I didn’t worry about it.”
“Is there anybody else that is new to the group?” Michael asked.
“No, not really” Arajin answered. “We have had between 45 and 50 people for the last four or five years. The only fluctuations have been new babies and an occasional teenager who leaves and usually comes back. The last new additions other than those two were Dimitri and Lucas. They joined us around the same time four or five years ago.”
“What about Dimitri?” Michael asked, “Do you trust him?”
“I think so,” Arajin said. “He has shown a genuine hatred of the Northern Kingdom since the day he came to us. Looking at the events of the night, it appears that he did protect Mat when he killed Andre.”
“Persephonie, can you do that Druid thing and make him tell the truth?” Mat asked.
“I can try,” she said, “but it is very difficult and it isn’t always effective. A strong willed person may not be affected and there is no way I can say for sure if he is telling the truth. It works best when a person is distracted and can’t focus on resisting. Dying is a pretty big distraction so I think what Andre told us is true.”
“If it doesn’t hurt to try,” Arajin said, “I don’t see any reason not to at least ask him a few questions. It won’t guarantee he is telling the truth, but it may tell us if he is lying.”
“Let’s do it now then,” Persephonie said. “With his fresh wound, he may be distracted by the pain which should help.”
“I’ll go get him,” Arajin said and left the wagon.
A few minutes later, Arajin returned with a weary looking Dimitri. He had his left shoulder bandaged up and his arm in a sling to keep it from moving.
“Dimitri,” Michael said, “thank you for saving Mat tonight. There is no doubt that you defended him, but we need to ask you a few questions to be sure.”
“I have nothing to hide,” Dimitri said. “I hate Anton and everything about him and the Northern Kingdom.”
“Dimitri,” Persephonie said, “I am going to hold your wrists and use a little Druid magic when I ask you questions. Basically, what I will be doing is encouraging you to tell the truth. You won’t feel anything or even know that anything is happening. When I ask the questions, answer them simply and honestly.”
“OK,” he said. “I don’t have anything to hide. This does make me nervous, though, but I want to prove to you I have nothing to hide, so go ahead.”
Persephonie sat down next to Dimitri and gently grabbed his wrists. She closed her eyes and projected her will onto him. After a minute, she opened her eyes and started asking questions.
“What is your name?” Persephonie asked.
“My name is Dimitri,” he replied.
“Why are you here?” she asked next.
“To live in peace with my friends,” Dimitri replied.
“Why did you leave the Northern Kingdom?” Persephonie asked.
“Anton is a cruel man and he strives to rule everything,” he answered.
“Do you have any intentions to hurt Mat?” she asked.
“I have no desire to harm Mat or any of you.” Dimitri answered.
“Do you know anything about the quest we are on?” Persephonie asked.
“You are seeking something in the mountains,” he answered. “It is supposedly in a cave. That is all I know.”
“What about my sword?” Mat interjected. “Why did you ask about my sword?”
Persephonie glared at Mat, but Dimitri was already answering “I believe you possess a legendary sword. There are prophecies in the north of a powerful sword whose wielder could defeat the north. I believe that is what Andre and Rhoda were after.”
“Is there anything else you want to tell us?” Persephonie asked.
“Only that I will not harm any of you,” Dimitri replied, “and I will do anything I can to help.”
Persephonie released Dimitri’s wrists and leaned back against the wagon wall. She was exhausted from the effort.
“Ok, that is all we need, Dimitri,” Arajin said. He led Dimitri out of the wagon and returned several minutes later.
While Arajin was gone, the group sat in the wagon in silence. Each person was thinking through the events of the night and what the future may hold. Arajin returned a few minutes later with a troubled look on his face.
“So where do we go from here?” Arajin asked.
“That depends largely on you,” Michael replied. “If you are going to help us, we have to decide what we need to do as a group. If you are not going to help us, we will be leaving today and will ask you to keep everything you have learned a secret.”
“I cannot ask my people to get involved in this,” Arajin said. “For the most part, they are peaceful people and they have no place in this type of conflict.”
“But we can’t just let them move on without helping!” Banji interrupted.
Arajin glared at Banji. “Quit interrupting me,” he snapped. “I’m in charge here. Besides, I wasn’t finished. I was going to say that I would go with them into the mountains and would ask you and Lucas to accompany us.”
“What about Dimitri?” Michael asked.
“I’m not sure,” Arajin replied. “He is skilled with a sword and knows the mountains we are going to be searching. He appears to be on our side as well.”
“I didn’t sense any deception in his answers,” Persephonie added.
“And he did save my life tonight,” Mat said.
“If we are all in agreement then,” Michael said, “we can ask Dimitri if he is willing to join our journey. We won’t share any details with him unless he agrees to join us.”
“I will ask Lucas as well,” Arajin said. “I am sure he will agree, but I will make sure.”
“I think the best thing to do is stay together with the whole group until we reach Westport,” Michael said. “After that, we can head into the mountains as a small group.”
“Agreed,” Arajin said. “I will get our answers and be right back.”
After a few minutes, Arajin returned with word that Lucas was happy to serve in any way he could and Dimitri was willing to go on the quest into the mountains as originally planned.
And with that, the group of three became a group of seven. Banji was excited to be on a real adventure. Mat and Persephonie were glad to have more help, but in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, they were predictably less enthusiastic. Arajin and Michael were determined to do their duty to protect the rest of the group and Solandeus as a whole. Lucas was a silent guardian (figuratively and literally) and Dimitri was still a wildcard that nobody fully understood yet.
Only time would tell if this group had what it would take to re-assemble the Armor of God and save Solandeus.
Chapter 24
Anton stood at the window looking south towards the Great Divide and Solandeus beyond. It was the dead of winter and, unlike the warm winters in the South, it was bitterly cold outside. However, the cold air didn’t even begin to cool the rage burning inside of him.
Anton stood almost seven feet tall and weighed close to 300 pounds, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on his body. Despite the cold, he only wore leather pants and a fur-lined sleeveless leather vest that exposed massive arms and a muscled chest. His head was shaved except for a single braid that originated from the crown of his head and ran down his back. His face was clean shaven except for a goatee that was twined into four separate braids. In each ear, Anton had seven small hoop earrings.
Behind him stood a man who would have been large in any other setting, but compared to Anton he looked small. He was Anton’s Minister of Intelligence, Inis, and he had just
delivered bad news. He stood with his hands behind his back and fidgeted nervously.
“Tell me again what happened,” Anton demanded as he continued to look out the window.
“I got a message from two of our agents in Solandeus,” the man replied. “It said, ‘We found the sword.’ That was two days ago.”
“I know that,” Anton shouted as he turned to face the man. “You told me that two days ago. What happened today?”
“I got another message,” he said, trembling. “It said the agents were dead after a failed attempt to assassinate the young man with the sword.”
Before Inis could even react, Anton launched a right hook that connected with his left cheek. The blow broke his jaw and sent him flying. He landed with a whimper; hands covering his shattered face.
“I told you to instruct them to watch but not interfere!” Anton screamed, kicking the man in the stomach before he could scramble back to his feet.
“I did,” the man whimpered. “It’s not my fault!”
“Everything that happens under your watch is your responsibility. That makes it your fault,” Anton said calmly.
Anton reached down, grabbed the man by the throat, and pulled him to his feet. With one hand around his throat, he lifted the man off the ground until he could look him in the eye.
“You have served me well, but you know the price of failure,” Anton said as he held the man in the air.
Anton gazed calmly into Inis’s eyes as he struggled to breath and kicked his feet while his face turned blue. After a moment, the struggling ceased as he suffocated. Anton held him there for another minute, threw the man into a corner, and screamed “Ahhhhhhhh!”
He walked back to the window and looked to the south again. He was still angry, but killing his Minister of Intelligence had taken some of the edge off. It was definitely inconvenient that the boy would be on his guard, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Anton had the largest and most ruthless army seen in 300 years, and even the prophecies said there was nothing that could stop him. Certainly not a boy with a magical sword.
“I am coming, boy, and there is nothing you or your sword can do to stop me!” he whispered to nobody in particular and everybody at the same time.
Chapter 25
For the rest of the trip to Westport, Mat, Michael, Persephonie, Arajin, and Banji stayed together almost constantly. Lucas remained a silent bodyguard and provided another level of security for Mat. Dimitri spent time with the group but also spent a lot of time resting as he recovered from being shot with an arrow.
As they traveled, Mat continued to learn about Druid magic from Persephonie. Dimitri’s wounded shoulder gave him a chance to practice Druid healing powers. As with other powers, Druid healing amplified what was already there. It used the body’s inherent ability to heal and encouraged it to happen faster. Between Persephonie’s established healing ability and Mat’s practice healing, Dimitri’s wound, which would normally take months to heal, should be completely healed within a week.
Each evening after they made camp, the group trained together. Arajin’s favorite weapon was a huge war hammer that he swung effortlessly with one hand. With his off hand, he used a shield to deflect blows aimed at him. He was half a foot taller than both Mat and Michael and would be a very formidable force in any battle. Lucas and Dimitri favored fighting with short swords in each hand. At least, Dimitri would use two swords once his shoulder healed.
The group decided that Arajin would take the center position if they were able to form a battle line. Mat and Michael would fight with their long swords to either side of him. The outer ends of the line would be Lucas and Dimitri with their short swords. If possible, Persephonie and Banji would stay behind the line to fire arrows and throw knives as they found openings. If needed, Persephonie could inflict a lot of damage with her staff, and Banji’s knives were lethal at close range.
The group sparred with each other and practiced fighting in formation. Without others to fight against as a group, though, they couldn’t truly develop a group fighting style, but they at least had a plan if they got the opportunity.
When the Gitano caravan pulled into Westport, Michael recommended that they try to get some group combat training. As a Basilican Knight, he had access to the military training grounds and was able to arrange group training sessions. The local drill sergeant was more than happy to let his new recruits participate in combat training.
The first day of training was a complete disaster for Mat’s companions as they tried to learn how to defend from a group attack. Since it was training, they wouldn’t be using arrows or throwing knives so Persephonie and Banji took the end positions in the line. Michael and Arajin had experience fighting as a group, but the rest of them had no idea what to do. More than once, members of the group were knocked down from behind by their companions as they stepped in front of strikes.
By the end of the first day, though, they started getting the hang of defending as a group and left feeling good about their improving abilities. Around the campfire that night, Arajin and Michael shared insight on the day’s training and shared laughs at the expense of the others who were battered and bruised. They agreed that the group had made progress, so the scrapes were definitely worth it. They planned to return the next day for more training.
The next day, training changed from defense to offense. The drill sergeant’s recruits formed a defensive line, and the group worked together to attack as a unit. Again, Michael and Arajin were the only two that had experience fighting in this way, so they did their best to stay separated from the rest of the group and let them practice. They watched from the edge of the practice battle as the rest tripped over each other and were easily repelled by the defending line. On the occasions that they entered the fray, it was immediately apparent how skilled the two were. Working together, they seemed to effortlessly break apart the defending line, but it just as easily reformed as soon as they pulled back.
As with the first day, the group did make good progress, and by the time they left they had been able to break through the defenses thrown at them a few times. That night, Persephonie continued Mat’s Druid healing training by tending to some of the scrapes and bruises the group had sustained the last few days. Mat realized that this type of healing could prove to be very helpful during a military campaign and was thankful Persephonie was with them, both to heal and to teach him how to do it.
Heading into the third day of training, the group felt pretty good after getting some of their bumps and bruises healed. When they arrived, they realized that they were in for something new again. Instead of new recruits, they found seasoned veterans waiting to practice. They broke up into sets of two and three and faced off in small group combat training.
As with previous days, Michael and Arajin were virtually untouchable when fighting together. When Mat joined them to form a group of three, they had a few early mishaps, but Mat quickly adjusted to fighting in their company, and the three of them fighting back to back seemed able to stand up to any challenge. At one point they defeated a group of 12 veteran soldiers.
Mat, Persephonie, and Banji also fought together as a group and were able to defend themselves from attack, but they didn’t have a lot of success when they tried to go on the offensive. Their most successful attacks came when Mat went on the offensive while Banji and Persephonie protected his back. They found success when facing up to four or five opponents, but the trio were easily overwhelmed when six or more enemies presented themselves.
Dimitri and Lucas seemed to be at their best when paired up. Dimitri’s shoulder was pretty much healed due to Druid healing, and he was using two short swords again, as was Lucas. Their fighting style represented a bar room brawl or back alley fight more than organized combat, but, when working together, they were a formidable force.
Sitting around the campfire after their third day of training, Michael told the group he was proud of the progress they had made. Arajin added that he felt they now had a c
hance against anything they would likely face. While they could keep training every day and get better, they decided it would be best to move on with their quest before Anton had another chance to strike at them.
They briefly discussed trying to make contact with the King, but even with his nephew, Mat, in the group, they would probably have to wait days to get an audience. In the end, they decided that there really wasn’t any benefit in talking to the King right now and it would only slow them down.
The next day the group gathered the winter gear and supplies they would need for the trip into the mountains to find the Helmet of Salvation. Mat couldn’t help but feel that the quest was becoming more like a military campaign than the adventure they had set out upon. He wasn’t any less determined to complete it, but the tone had certainly changed.
Chapter 26
In most of Solandeus, winter was warm with overcast skies and rainy days, but in the mountains, winter meant snow. It wasn’t as cold and snowy as it was in the Northern Kingdom, but it was enough to make traveling hazardous if you weren’t careful.
This part of the Kingdom didn’t have any well- maintained roads, and the trails they had to follow were far from well-maintained. It took the group three days to get to the foothills of the Great Divide and a trading outpost called Last Hope.
Last Hope was home to trappers, traders, and a few men who had crossed the mountains from the Northern Kingdom. The town consisted of around 20 buildings and included no fewer than six taverns. It was their last chance to get supplies and details about the mountains they were heading into.
After the group settled down at the only inn in town, Michael and Arajin set out to get the information they needed. As two formidable warriors, they were more likely to get straight answers than a group that contained three teenagers. They were able to quickly find a map of the trails that criss-crossed the mountains. Several trappers verified the accuracy of the map and even marked good places to make camp once they were in the mountains.
Sword of Spirit (Salvation of Solandeus) Page 11