As if reading his mind, Arajin put a hand on Mat’s shoulder and whispered to him. “I know it’s hard to put others at risk,” he said, “but right now we need help and he is the only option we have. He is a resourceful boy and will get away cleanly.”
Mat leaned down and gently held Jimmy by the shoulders. He looked him in the eyes as he spoke. “Thank you for your help so far, Jimmy. I won’t forget the help you gave us,” he said. “Make sure you get away from the soldiers as soon as you can and run straight home.”
“Yes, sir,” Jimmy replied enthusiastically.
Mat stood up and looked at the warehouse they needed to get into. He turned back to the rest of the group and said, “Let’s get our horses and get out of here. Banji, get in there and get the horses ready. Persephonie, as soon as everything is ready, let us know. Jimmy, I need you to sneak down to the other end of the road, so they don’t see you coming from this direction. Make sure you can see where we are hiding and watch for my signal. If something goes wrong, run home. Don’t worry about us, we can take care of ourselves.”
With the plan set, Banji and Jimmy disappeared into the shadows to do their part. When they were gone, Mat turned to Persephonie and Arajin and warned them to be ready to fight in case something went wrong.
“Now all we need is for Michael to show up,” Mat whispered under his breath.
- - - - - - - - - -
Banji had no problems sneaking through alleys to get to the back of the warehouse. He easily scaled the wall to get to one of the high windows near the roof. The glass was already broken out of the frame, and he carefully slid through making sure not to cut himself on the few remaining shards of jagged glass.
Once inside, he hung silently from the rafters letting his eyes adjust to the darkness and surveyed the warehouse to make sure he was alone. He could hear the horses moving around, but he could not see them. He knew he would have to be careful not to startle them into making a lot of noise. Satisfied that he was alone, he silently dropped to the floor behind a stack of old crates.
Banji crept around the crates to get a better look around the warehouse. He spotted the horses tied up near the front of the building. He didn’t see their gear but thought it was probably near the horses. After one more look around to make sure he was alone, he stepped out from his hiding spot and started towards the horses.
As he stepped out from behind the crates, he was grabbed from behind by strong hands. Before he could scream out, a hand was clasped over his mouth, and his head was pulled back towards his captor’s chest as the man whispered in his ear, “Don’t make a sound.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Mat stood in the shadows worrying about both Banji and Jimmy, but mostly Jimmy. Every few minutes he would look around the corner watching for the young boy to get into position. After what seemed like an eternity to Mat, he finally saw Jimmy get into position at the far end of the street on the other side of the warehouse. A few minutes later, Persephonie reported that Banji was safely inside the warehouse and didn’t see anything amiss.
“As soon as we get the horses out of the warehouse, we ride out of town as fast as we can,” Mat re-stated the plan. “The horses should be well rested, and we can put many miles between us and this town before we have to slow down.”
“What about Michael?” Arajin asked.
“If he doesn’t show up, we have to leave him behind,” Mat said reluctantly. “He will have a better chance of getting out of the city alone than we will as a group if we wait for him. He knows where we are going, so he will have to find a way to catch up to us.”
“Something’s wrong in the warehouse,” Persephonie suddenly interrupted. “I don’t know what happened, but Banji is in a panic.”
“Time to change the plan then,” Mat said as he drew his sword. “I’ll signal Jimmy to create the distraction, then we storm the warehouse.”
As Mat turned to motion Jimmy, Persephonie put her hand on his arm to stop him. “It’s all right,” she said with relief. “It’s Michael. He’s with Banji now, and things are going as planned.”
“Thank God,” Mat sighed with relief. “Let’s be ready to move. With Michael in there to help, they should have the horses ready quickly.”
After a few tense minutes, Persephonie said the horses were ready. Mat cautiously looked down the street and signaled to Jimmy to create the distraction. He watched anxiously as the boy ran through the street into the largest group of soldiers. Jimmy was flailing his arms around and jumping up and down excitedly. After a minute he ran down the street away from the warehouse. Amazingly, every soldier on the street raced after him, and there was soon no one left.
Mat said a quick prayer for the boy’s safety then led the group across the street. As they approached the front of the warehouse, the door opened from the inside. Michael and Banji emerged leading the horses. Before any soldiers returned to the warehouse, they were galloping through the city streets into the rising sun and out of Sorgen.
Chapter 13
They rode the horses hard all morning. While there was no sign of pursuit, they wanted to put as much distance between them and the town of Sorgen as possible. Around mid-day, they stopped at a stream to water the horses and give them a chance to cool down and rest. A small grove of trees provided a place to eat a small lunch and talk about the previous night’s events.
Mat began by telling Michael about the events of the night starting with the innkeeper’s son, Jimmy, knocking on his door. Michael asked a few questions while Mat told the story but didn’t seem surprised by what he heard. Mat finished the story by again expressing his regret that Jimmy had ever been involved, but he was thankful that Jimmy was there to help save them.
“Did you learn anything helpful?” Persephonie asked Michael when Mat was finished telling their story.
“Unfortunately, most of my contacts are missing, but I was able to gather some information from just listening and asking a few questions,” Michael answered. “As we saw, the town is in a deep state of poverty. Anton is using every resource possible to support his war on Solandeus. This includes food, money, natural resources, and men who can fight. It’s the same in every city. All available resources are being sent south while those left behind suffer.”
“In each city, there is a Governor who makes sure the resources keep flowing south,” Michael continued. “Each of them is in charge of a garrison to maintain order. As you saw, they do that with fear and intimidation, and they appear to be pretty effective at keeping control of the cities. Each Governor answers directly to Anton, so they are very motivated to keep order because Anton has been known to execute anyone who doesn’t please him.”
“He is a ruthless man,” Arajin commented.
“Since it could mean their life if their city is not controlled, the Governors focus all their resources on keeping order in the city,” Michael continued. “This means there is virtually no interference outside of the cities. We shouldn’t have to worry about military patrols while we travel, but bandits could be a problem. There are rumors of bandit kings consolidating power and essentially ruling the country outside the city. The local Governors may even be allowing them to operate in exchange for bribes.”
“So we still need to be careful but probably don’t have to worry about the city guard following us,” Mat concluded.
“I think you’re right,” Michael agreed, “but these bandit kings could be even more dangerous.”
“As foreigners are we going to be more of a target?” Persephonie asked.
“I’m not sure,” Michael replied. “The kingdom is still open to trade so just the fact that we are foreigners shouldn’t officially be a problem. What I don’t know is if it will make us more of a target or less as we travel. Our best bet is to avoid confrontation whenever possible. Our problems last night were probably related to crossing paths with the soldiers in the inn and not because anyone is searching for us.”
“I didn’t do anything to provoke them,” Mat pr
otested.
“I didn’t say that you did,” Michael told him, “but with men like that, your mere presence can be a challenge. We need to be unremarkable in every way. We need to be meek and unassuming. If we are challenged, we need to appear weak and apologetic. This isn’t about pride, this is about getting to our destination safely.”
“I will do better to be appear humble,” Mat replied.
Arajin grabbed Mat by the shoulders and shook him playfully. “We’ve spent the last few months teaching you how to be a strong leader and now we tell you to act like a weakling,” he laughed. “Doesn’t seem quite fair does it?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Mat agreed with a smile, “but I understand.”
They discussed the rest of their plans while they ate and gave the horses some rest. There was a desert in the center of the Northern Kingdom. It was a five-day ride from there if they could make good time, but it could easily take longer if they ran into trouble with the bandit kings. Somewhere in that desert was a hidden valley that concealed the next piece of armor. The map that was found with the Helmet of Salvation showed where it was supposed to be, but according to every map they had found, there was now nothing there except barren land. They must just have faith that the map was leading them where they needed to be.
After an hour of rest for both the people and horses, they remounted and continued their journey into the heart of the Northern Kingdom. Mat, Persephonie, and Banji lagged behind slightly.
“I don’t know if I can remain subservient when I see people being abused,” Mat confessed to his friends.
“I know,” Persephonie agreed. “We are on this quest so we can free people from tyranny. It somehow seems wrong to walk away from it now even though I know what we do is for the greater good.”
“What would happen if we didn’t hide?” Banji asked.
“We would probably have a war on our hands,” Persephonie answered.
“What if the people fought with us, and we overthrew the local governors?” Banji asked.
“We can’t get caught up in a war in the North,” Mat said. “We have a war to fight in Solandeus.”
“Maybe the war would be easier back home if Anton didn’t have any supplies coming from the north to help him,” Banji said then rode ahead to catch up with Michael and Arajin.
Mat and Persephonie exchanged thoughtful glances then spurred on their horses to catch up. As they covered the distance, Mat mulled over Banji’s statement but concluded that their first priority was to find the Armor of God. After that, they had a war to win in Solandeus. As much as he wanted to help the people of the Northern Kingdom, he knew that getting rid of Anton was the best thing he could do for the people here.
Chapter 14
The first day of traveling after leaving Sorgen was uneventful. Mat, Persephonie, and Banji rode together behind Michael and Arajin and continued to develop bonds of friendship and more.
Persephonie’s Druid powers were growing by the day, and Mat was learning to use them as well. While Banji didn’t possess any Druid skills himself, he was learning how to take advantage of the skills Mat and Persephonie possessed. Persephonie had learned to focus her thoughts to the point that she could communicate complete thoughts mentally to Mat. He wasn’t able to communicate complex thoughts back mentally, but he could share general thoughts or feelings. Banji could understand general thoughts Persephonie shared with him, and while he couldn’t intentionally communicate anything back, Persephonie was able to effectively read a lot of his thoughts and feelings.
When they weren’t practicing Druid magic, they talked of places they had been and places they wanted to go. It was light-hearted banter, and for the most part, they didn’t talk much about the war that was waging in the south or the part that they were going to eventually play in it.
The second day of traveling found them riding on a seldom-used forest road. They had seen no signs of other travelers since the previous day. Mat was lost in his own thoughts when Persephonie suddenly intruded into his mind.
We are being followed. There are at least a dozen people. I don’t sense open hostility, but they probably aren’t friendly either.
Mat glanced at Persephonie and nodded to acknowledge her before casually riding to Michael’s side to tell him.
“I wasn’t certain, but I was starting to suspect we were being followed,” he quietly replied.
Mat looked at him inquisitively, and Michael answered before he could ask. “The forest has been silent for the last few minutes,” he replied quietly. “No birds chirping or sounds of any kind.”
Mat marveled at the skill and experience Michael possessed. He was starting to think of himself as experienced and ready to lead but felt humbled by Michael’s superior experience.
“Don’t feel bad, I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Michael said. He then added with a smile, “and you don’t have to be a Druid to read people’s thoughts.”
As Mat moved back towards Persephonie, he could only shake his head and smile. He still had so much to learn, and he was thankful that he had Michael to learn from.
He knew already didn’t he? Persephonie asked mentally.
“Yeah he did,” Mat answered with a nod and a smile.
Persephonie kept Mat informed of what she was sensing, but for a while it seemed like they were just going to have an unseen escort. It was almost an hour later and the sun was setting when the situation changed.
The group following us has grown in size, and I sense more people up ahead, Persephonie informed Mat.
Mat nodded to let her know he understood, but before he could ride forward to let Michael know they were stopped by a loud voice that seemed to come from every direction at once.
“Stop where you are and keep your hands from your weapons,” the powerful voice boomed.
As they looked around, scores of men and women emerged from the forest. They were completely surrounded, and at least 20 of them had bows with arrows nocked.
“Why are you traveling through my forest?” a voice asked. It wasn’t the loud voice that had stopped them, it was a woman’s voice, but it was full of authority and menace.
Michael kneed his horse a few steps forward and kept his hands raised in the air. “We are monks on a holy quest,” he replied looking around for the source of the voice.
In front of them, the group of outlaws parted and a relatively short woman stepped forward. She had shoulder length reddish brown hair and was deeply tanned. She appeared to be about 30 years old and carried no obvious weapons, yet walked with an unmistakable air of authority.
“That would make you the funniest group of monks I have ever seen,” she replied casually. “You may be a monk, but the rest of your group seems to consist of a brawler, a thief, a young nobleman, and a Druid.”
“I’m no thief,” Banji protested.
“Regardless,” she continued, “you are in my forest, and I want to know why.”
“May I know whom I have the pleasure of speaking with?” Michael asked.
“You can call me Charity,” the woman replied then added with a grin, “but don’t expect any from me.”
“Well, Charity, you are remarkably insightful,” Michael flattered with no apparent effect on Charity. “We may not all be monks, but we are truly on a holy quest. I am sure God would bless your entire group if you were to let us pass.”
“We are bandits,” she replied with a laugh. “Do you think I would give two bits for God’s blessing?”
A man suddenly appeared at Charity’s side and whispered something to her. She abruptly turned and walked away with the man, and the bandit wall closed in behind her.
Something’s wrong. I’m sensing a lot of anger and fear now, Persephonie mentally whispered to Mat.
A moment later, Charity returned and it was clear she was angry. “Archers be ready,” she ordered before addressing Michael again. “It has come to my attention that you are traveling with some notorious company. Can you explain why you are trave
ling with the brother of Anton the Annihilator?”
This last statement sent a shockwave through the forest. Angry muttering arose on all sides of the group while Mat, Persephonie, Banji, and Michael shared shocked looks. All eyes settled on Arajin who sat on his horse with his head down and his hands at his side.
“Archers take aim,” Charity ordered before addressing the group again. “I am going to ask you to surrender your weapons and come with us. If you refuse, I will kill you right here and leave you for the wolves.”
With no other options, they agreed to surrender their weapons and follow the bandits back to their camp. There was some commotion when they tried to take Mat’s sword because of the extraordinary weight, and they eventually decided to leave it on the back of his horse. They rode through the forest with their hands tied and their horses being led. None of them spoke, and Arajin refused to look up and meet the questioning looks that were sent his way.
I think they fear us more than anything right now. I don’t think we are in immediate danger, but our situation is still perilous, Persephonie sent to Mat. The only thing she could sense from him was a deep feeling of betrayal, and she shared it with him.
- - - - - - - - - -
It was dark by the time they reached the bandit camp, hidden away in a small valley. A river flowed through the middle, and there were a hundred tents on both sides. People of all ages including children and elderly watched them ride into camp.
After dismounting, their horses were led away, and the group was brought to a tent that served as a prison cell. It was easily 20 feet on each side and there was a pit dug all the way around. The pit was filled with wood spikes. The platform that crossed the pit was removed after they were escorted into the tent and they were left with their hands still bound.
“That feels so much better,” Banji declared less than 30 seconds after they were left alone. He rubbed his wrists where the rope had cut into the skin and looked around for some acknowledgement. When none came, he silently moved around the prison tent untying everyone else.
Armor of God (Salvation of Solandeus Book 2) Page 8