Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2)

by Courtney Bowen

  “Why not?” Kala asked, chomping on the apple again.

  “Why not? Then where would I be?” Fobata asked, wondering if she was being serious. “My father gave me Coe Aela because it is my birthright as first-born, it belongs to me. It always has been this way since time began. Besides, what matters to man in this world is power, and if I didn’t have Coe Aela, then where would I be? I would be nowhere, I would have nothing!” Fobata cried. “My power protects me, and it will protect Goga as well. I will take good care of him, and provide him with what he needs as my heir.”

  Kala frowned, chewing. “If Goga wants this more than you, then he would take it from you.” She said. “It is better to give him what you have, and live in peace with him, than it is to suffer his wrath and hold on to something close to you that you don’t even want.” Kala said.

  “You have learned too much humility.” Fobata remarked as they crossed into the garden.

  “I have learned enough humility.” Kala said, frowning as she turned to him and took another bite of her apple. “Years of it.” She said.

  “Goga would not take this from me, not while I am still living, and he is too afraid to interfere in any other way.” Fobata said. “He may be a soldier, and he may fight me occasionally, as brothers do, but he knows his boundaries. He will not overstep them.”

  “Are you sure?” Kala asked, spitting out a seed. “Goga might not be a kind man, but that is because he is not a forgiving man. He is worse to those he sees as his betrayers than to those who treat him kindly and with respect.”

  “I respect him, I treat him kindly. He is my brother, after all, and a good man to have on my side,” Fobata said. “I do not betray him, and he will not betray me.”

  “That is good to know.” Kala said, walking on and chewing. “Trust is what protects when it comes to love. And if he does not trust you, then he will not love you, and he will betray you. I know this because I have been betrayed before.” She said, turning to Fobata. “And I have betrayed as well.” She said.

  “What do you mean?” Fobata asked, frowning. “Who has betrayed you and who have you betrayed?”

  “No one important.” Kala said. “Love hurts. Betrayal hurts even more. Love is what you can show to him before it is too late,” She said, turning away.

  Fobata shook his head, and followed after her. “You bewilder me, and yet I can honestly say I enjoy your company. All of these years we have been apart, and yet we can still talk to each other companionably. Will you be staying long, Kala?”

  “Only a night,” She said, turning to him again. “I must continue north before it is too late,” She said, patting her stomach. “I have already taken too long.”

  “When is the baby due?” Fobata asked.

  “In another month.” She said, chewing on the last bit of the apple.

  “Perhaps you should stop here and rest,” Fobata said, “It can’t be healthy for you or the baby to be traveling like this so soon before it is born, and I would like to talk to someone here on my level. All I have here are the servants and guards, with Goga away. Marlo, my steward, is nice, but he is not exactly my peer.” He said.

  “I must not stop and rest, another delay would cost me,” She said. “I have to get to where I am going before the baby is born.”

  “You could have the baby here.” Fobata said.

  “It isn’t safe here.” She said. “It isn’t safe enough for him.”

  “I can provide you and him with the best care!” Fobata said.

  “That isn’t good enough for him.” Kala said, turning away and tossing the apple core into the bushes. “I have to think of him now, and what is best for him. Coe Aela is not the best place to raise a baby, no offense.”

  “None taken.” Fobata muttered. “What do you mean him?” He asked a moment later, his mind catching up with him. “Is it a boy? Are you sure?” He asked.

  “I am sure it is a boy, and I am not staying here, whatever you say.” Kala said, turning to him again. “Coe Aela is not my home, and it is not my baby’s home. You cannot force me to stay, whatever you may do or say. I will go, whether you like it or not.”

  Fobata frowned. “You are sorely trying my patience.”

  “I know. And that is the way it should be.” She smiled. She had the sweetest smile, full of warmth and humor. It suited her well.

  Part Three: Coe Wina

  Chapter 14: Together Until the End

  Whatever happens, I will be with you. Whatever happens,

  You can count on me to be your friend. Whatever happens,

  I won’t desert you my friend. Whatever happens, you can

  Count on me to be your friend until the bitter end.

  Friendship song, Arria

  Basha and his group continued traveling south and west, their packs slightly lighter after breakfast, with a purpose now as Fato flew ahead of them. They zigged and zagged across the landscape, never going completely straight for very long before they changed direction, as they knew they might be tracked by Captain Goga and his men along the way.

  After Fato had returned from hunting and everyone had stopped laughing, they had explained to him all that he had missed, or at least Basha and Oaka had explained to him everything when they had understood the most.

  “Knights of Arria?” Fato asked halfway through the story, staring at them to be certain that they were serious and not joking. “But you are just children. You can’t be Knights of Arria. Knights of Arria are…were…” He shook his head and sighed as he said, “This must be a joke.”

  “I know it sounds ridiculous,” Basha said, “I don’t blame you, but at this point we are seriously considering the possibility that there is something going on here beyond the norm,” and then he explained how the Old Man fit into all of this. Gnat’s mind started to wander off at this point as she plucked at the grass.

  Fato listened to him then, staring off into the green distance of the forest in the north as he sat upon his tree branch, towards the rising sun, and then he gasped. “So that was what the first message was about.” He said.

  “What are you…no, I thought you only had one message.” Basha said, getting uneasy again. “The one Janus gave you, the one you neglected to tell us about Coe Aela.” He said.

  “Not him, no.” Fato said, shaking his head as he paced back and forth on the branch. “I have two messages in my head as a matter of fact. The second message is the one you all know about, which Janus gave me when I stopped by Coe Aela on my way north, to be sent down to Coe Kiki on my return trip.” Fato paused to explain, “Technically it was my third message, as the second one was an order for me from Coe Kiki telling me to seek out Janus when I arrived at Coe Aela, and receive any messages he had to give me.”

  “What was the first message?” Monika asked sharply.

  “The first message, the one that started me off on this trip north where I met all of you,” Fato said, turning to face them, “was a message from a Major Lupo in Old Fort Ca to a Sir Nickleby in Coe Baba.” Fato ducked his head, expecting something to be thrown at him.

  Basha, Oaka, Monika and Gnat stared at each other for a long moment before Basha and Oaka turned towards him. “Is this why you wanted to travel with us?” Basha asked.

  Fato slowly nodded, lifting his head. “It was the reason. When I heard Sir Nickleby was dead, and that you two were traveling alone without anyone to help you…and then I heard your name, Basha, and I thought of what the message said. Some of the words were ‘Keep Basha safe’ and I intended to.” Fato said formally, holding his head high. “The problem was the message was intended for Sir Nickleby, but since he was dead, I had no one to give the message to. I’ve never had this problem before and I didn’t know how to deal with it.” Fato said.

  “What was the message?” Oaka asked, throwing his hands up in the air. “Malakel it, do we have to keep asking?” He asked, frustrated.

  “Be patient. I have to think about it.” Fato sighed, and tilted his head back and towards the
side before he looked straight ahead. “These are the words of Major Lupo, Old Fort Ca.” The falcon said, his voice sounding deeper and more aged as he continued: “‘Dear Sir Nickleby: I’m sorry to hear of Berevus’s betrayal. I know that must have been upsetting to you. As to the Black Wolf in the forest, I fear that you have reason to worry. Signs indicate that Doomba has been stirring, perhaps for the last three decades or more. But his Servants and Followers have been even more active in the past decade than ever before. This may be the result of the Tigora’l’s presence in that they are searching for him. In which case, I feel that you should follow the Old Man’s orders in staying away from this affair, if you do not want to get involved in another fiasco. But that does not mean that you should not keep your eye out in case of danger. Keep Basha safe, and maybe you will learn the truth of the matter. Good luck to you, Sir Nickleby, I remain your ever obedient servant and guide, Major Lupo.’ End message.” Fato said, bowing his head.

  Basha, Monika, Oaka and Gnat stared at the falcon and then at each other. “I had no idea you could remember that much.” Monika remarked.

  Fato lifted his head, and blinked. “Of course I can, I’m a royal messenger bird!” Fato remarked, back to his usual self.

  “Old Fort Ca is near Coe Kiki, right?” Oaka asked. “It was one of those forts built to defend Arria from the Wastelands, back at the start of the Dark Age,” He said.

  Basha nodded. “I think so. And Berevus, he was a member of the town militia before he died in that forest fire a few months ago. And Berevus betrayed Sir Nickleby?” Basha asked, disturbed. “With a Black Wolf involved?”

  “So you’re implying that Berevus was a Follower of Doomba?” Oaka asked. “You mean to say that there was a Follower of Doomba in Coe Baba? Why, scratch that, you would say it was because of us, but why wouldn’t it be that Sir Nickleby was a Follower instead of Berevus?”

  Everyone stopped, and stared at Oaka. “Are you joking, Oaka?” Basha asked, stunned.

  “It is possible.” Gnat added to join in on the conversation. “Lord Fobata is a Follower of Doomba, after all, and he’s Duke of Coe Aela. Noblemen can be Followers.”

  “Point taken, Gnat, thank you.” Oaka said. “I’m just saying, Sir Nickleby was the only one who survived the encounter that started the forest fire, and Uncle Smidge said it was rather suspicious.”

  “Sir Nickleby survived and and wrote to Major Lupo.” Basha said. “He said he was worried about the Black Wolf he might have found out of the forest, possibly because it started the forest fire or something like that. Why would he be worried about the Black Wolf if it was his ally?”

  “Possibly because he had not expected it, or maybe because he was worried about disappointing Doomba for some reason?” Oaka shrugged. “I don’t know, Major Lupo might be a Follower as well, we don’t know that.”

  “You’re just trying to find some reason to discredit Sir Nickleby.” Basha scoffed as Monika rolled her eyes. “He was a good man!” Basha exclaimed. “It sounds like Sir Nickleby was trying to find some information about activity from Followers and Servants as well as Doomba, and the Old Man told him…”

  “To stay away from this affair!” Oaka cried. “What proof do you need? If the Old Man was trying to protect us…”

  Basha stopped. “No, why would Sir Nickleby sacrifice himself, staying behind to fight off those Black Wolves if he was a Follower of Doomba?” Basha asked.

  “Because he thought he would survive.” Oaka said. “Because he thought those Black Wolves wouldn’t attack him.”

  “Sir Nickleby was told to protect me.” Basha muttered.

  “Maybe because they, the Followers of Doomba, wanted to find out the truth of whether or not you were a Knight of Arria, or something like that.” Oaka said.

  “That does sound reasonable.” Gnat said, thinking about Janus’s ‘mission’ from Marlo.

  “Perhaps we should stop talking about this,” Monika said, staring at Basha’s downcast eyes. “The man is dead, and it does us no good to speculate about this when Sir Nickleby can neither harm nor protect us now. I’m sorry, Basha.” She whispered the last to him.

  “Oh, and there’s one more thing I forgot to mention,” Fato said, staring down at them as the argument ended, before he stopped to think for a moment. “Actually, there are two things I forgot to tell you people, but perhaps one is more than enough.”

  “You might as well tell us all of your secrets, bird,” Oaka remarked, shaking his head as he turned away from Basha’s unease. “You’ve certainly been keeping a lot of them from us.” Oaka muttered.

  “Wait a moment, Fato,” Basha said before the falcon could speak again. “Did you say Tigora’l in your message?” He knew that word. Oaka’s argument had made him forget about it until now.

  Fato stopped a moment to think and then nodded. “That’s right, ‘This may be the result of the Tigora’l’s presence…’”

  “That’s enough,” Basha said, turning around to fetch one of his packs, digging around inside of it to pull out his wallet. “This contains some of my most prized possessions,” He said, carefully removing his map and his mother’s handkerchief to pull out the folded piece of paper of prophecy. He could not lose any of this stuff.

  “The Oracle of Mila told me,” Basha said, placing the paper on his lap before he put away the map and the handkerchief back into the wallet, “That the Tigora’l…‘Seek not only the Cup, but seek also the Tigora’l in this quest,’” Basha read from the prophecy, “‘seek him and know the truth.’” Basha looked up and said, “That’s funny, I don’t know the word or its meaning, but I can almost recognize…”

  “Tiger of light, Basha,” Monika said, as everyone turned to stare at her now. “In the Old Language, that is. Tiger is Tig, light is ora, and of is L with the apostrophe, to indicate it is part of the phrase.”

  “How do you know that phrase, Monika?” Basha asked, turning towards her. “And what does it mean? Who is the tiger of light?”

  “I don’t know who the tiger of light is, Basha,” Monika said, shaking her head. “I know what it meant because I have heard of and read some Old Language words from people whom I met, in the Za Desert and in other places.” She said, looking down with a sorrowful expression. “But the tiger of light is something very important, I’m aware of that much at least. And I think we should look for him, or it, wherever we might go in this quest. It might save us in the end,” She whispered, looking up at Basha, “From a world of trouble.” She stared at him.

  “Can I please just continue?” Fato asked after a moment of silence from the rest of the group, contemplating this moment between Basha and Monika as awkward and unsettling, as they remembered the reason for this quest, and this wasn’t it. “It’s just that I feel like confessing right now, and it would be a huge relief on me.” The falcon said.

  “Go ahead, confess away!” Oaka cried, waving his hands. “Everybody else has!” Oaka said, clearing his throat loudly and deliberately to disturb Basha’s and Monika’s reveries. Oaka was still sullen over the question of Sir Nickleby’s loyalty, and how no one else but him would think to question such a man. They were far too trusting.

  Monika looked away from Basha, abashed and reserved, but for some reason, Basha felt like he wanted Monika’s eyes on him forever. She did not look back at him and finally he turned away from her, knowing that he had to get back to business as usual, even though he wished that he could change things between them somehow. Basha took out his wallet to put his paper of prophecy back inside of it. He could not forget his quest for Jawen.

  “Fine, fine, if you insist.” Fato said, clearing his throat. “Janus was talking to Nisa yesterday,” The falcon said as everybody else stared at him again, “Around the time that Oaka might have been fighting his duel with Captain Goga.”

  “Are you sure it was her?” Basha asked, stunned.

  “I’m sure, Janus told me she was protecting you all.” Fato said. “She was a little taller than average height f
or a woman, with blonde hair, about mid 20s or so.”

  “That’s her all right,” Basha said, nodding and feeling a little self-conscious about having Nisa turn up again, following him around like his shadow, especially with Monika and the others right beside him. Jawen, Nisa, Monika and even Iibala...why did it feel like his whole life was surrounded by girls sometimes?

  “What would Janus be talking to her for?” Gnat asked, perturbed. Must not forget about Gnat being around as well.

  “Don’t know, he didn’t say.” Fato said. “Didn’t look like it was too friendly, though, as she might have held a knife at his neck.” Fato said.

  “What?” Basha and Gnat both asked.

  “That’s what it looked like, but apparently he talked her out of it, or she decided to let him go, because she moved away from him before too long, knife gone back into her sheath. Janus had the nerve to ask me if she was traveling with us.” Fato paused a moment to think as Basha and Gnat both breathed some sigh of relief that nothing else had gone wrong between their guardians. “That may have been the first clue that she was following us,” Fato said.

  “You didn’t think that anything else was amiss?” Oaka asked sarcastically. “Should we trust that this Nisa is on our side?” He asked.

  “Janus could have gotten himself killed! Why would your Nisa have done that to him?” Gnat asked Basha.

  “She’s not my…” Basha sighed and shook his head, hoping Monika wasn’t paying too much attention to this whole rotting episode. She was awfully quiet, though, sometimes she seemed too introspective and reserved. “I don’t know why, and I don’t see why Nisa should not be on our side.” Basha said, answering Gnat and Oaka at the same. “Where were they, and why?” Basha started to ask Fato.

  “Why should she not be?” Oaka muttered to himself, mimicking Basha, and shaking his head. “You’re too trusting, Basha.”

  “And you’re getting too suspicious, Oaka.” Basha muttered back to him. “Not everyone else besides us is a Follower of Doomba.”