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

by Courtney Bowen

  Monika studied the dead and captured men from where she sat on Deja, and asked, “Where is Captain Goga? Was he amongst them?”

  “We saw his flag,” One of the Coe Wina guards said, as more prisoners and the rest of the platoon joined the squad. “His personal flag, just as the Coe Aela guards approached the grove close to the mountainside, but he was not here, nor was he over there. We believe he got away,” He said, looking up at the group. “A horse and rider were spotted at the top of the ravine just as the fight started, and it fled. We sent several men after him. Hopefully they will capture or kill him.”

  The group inhaled and shuddered at the thought of Goga still on the loose, with Gnat in particular clutching Basha tighter and making it difficult for him to breathe a little, but there was nothing they could do for now, just hope that the Coe Wina guards would prevail. The group continued on, pushed by the Coe Wina guards past the copse and its carnage, towards the castle on its motte, along with the captured Coe Aela guards.

  They had questions about what had occurred, and how it had come about, but Basha and his friends did not feel free to speak to the Coe Wina guards, who were even more austere and stoic than the Coe Aela guards that they had previously known. The group members found it difficult to believe that they were safe here and even thought that they might have made a mistake in coming to Coe Wina. Captain Goga and his guards might have been defeated, with their pursuit of the group ended, but the group members did not feel comfortable with, and were even more intimidated by, the Coe Wina guards, after having witnessed the outcome of their ambush upon the Coe Aela guards. They feared that the same fate might await them and that, in the end, Coe Wina would prove to be no different than Coe Aela.

  This motley collection of people went up to the massive gatehouse at the base of Coe Wina’s motte, and then, once the portcullis had been raised, they entered the first bailey of the estate, which included subsidiary buildings like the guardhouse, forge, and kitchens. The guests were forced to dismount here, as Talan, Deja, and Joko were taken away once more to the stables. The horses put up a bit of a fight with the servants, after having been reunited with their original owners not that long ago, and Basha, Monika, and Oaka didn’t exactly blame them.

  Fato fluttered down to land on Basha’s shoulder. “Do you just choose people to land upon to please yourself?” Basha asked the bird in a low voice, so as not to be heard by the guards, but he was slightly exasperated with the situation in general, not just with the bird. The horses, Goga’s escape, being captured by the Coe Wina guards--it was just too much for him to deal with right now.

  “Consider it an honor that I regard you so much,” Fato remarked to him.

  “He does seem to favor you,” Gnat remarked, standing next to Basha now instead of clinging to him, as she had done on Talan.

  “I didn’t ask to be honored or favored in such a manner.” Basha said. He wondered if he was attracting people to him more now than ever before, now that he was on his quest.

  Monika stared at him, a young man surrounded by bird and girl, and laughed. It was rather embarrassing.

  After the prisoners had been escorted into the guardhouse, which led into the dungeons, the guests were led up the barricaded slope, which featured obstructions and traps designed to impede invaders, to the second bailey at the top of the plateau, which contained the castle itself. Thick walls surrounded everything from top to bottom. The Coe Wina guards escorting the group made them stop here in the second bailey, as one of the guards went forward into the castle, possibly to announce their presence to his lord.

  “This is massive.” Oaka said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

  “One of the largest and most well-fortified castles in the world,” Fato remarked.

  “Indeed it is,” Basha said, turning to Monika. “What do you think?” He asked her.

  Monika sighed. “I think that it is one of the most redoubtable fortresses I have ever seen, although I may have seen one or two that do go beyond even what Coe Wina has to offer.” She said as Basha whistled.

  “Are you joking?” Gnat asked her.

  “Do I look like I am?” Monika teased.

  “No talking.” A guard hissed, and the group fell silent once more until the castle door opened. An older gentleman, of about 59 years, stepped out, dressed in fur-lined robes that overwhelmed his slim body, his face a crag of weathered and brow-beaten lines, by storms, erosion, avalanches and eruptions that had taken their toll upon him. His face also contained bright, yet penetrating eyes that overwhelmed others with a glamour of their own, and a smile that seemed genuine even if faulty. His graying hair, which appeared to be chestnut originally, reminded Basha of the steward Marlo that they had met in Coe Aela briefly just before they found out what sort of a place that was.

  Basha blocked out that tainted memory as the group bowed their heads, assuming that this was Lord Lagotaq since the guards were doing the same, and Lord Lagotaq waved a trembling hand at them. “Don’t bother, I’m not here just for pleasantries. Welcome to Coe Wina, I am Lord Lagotaq, your host and Duke of this castle, and I would like to ask you all--which one of you has the fire power?” He said.

  “I--I suppose you can say I do, Your Grace” Oaka said, lifting his hand as the other members of the group stared at each other in astonishment.

  “Prove it.” Lord Lagotaq commanded.

  Oaka closed his eyes and then concentrated on Sisila, until the sparks and flames appeared in his hands, glowing with the intensity of a small sun. “Is that enough, Your Grace?” He asked. There was a small light that danced off of the edges of his vision then, coming from the castle, until he had quenched his flames.

  “It is enough.” Lord Lagotaq said, turning around and whistling. A page emerged from the shadows of the doorway, carrying a long, narrow, and short chest, which cracked at the edges, rusted on the hinges, and had a thick layer of grime covering its surface, as well as other signs of indeterminate old age. A prickle of lightning went up Oaka’s spine then and made him shudder. The page managed to get the chest through the doorway and then conveyed it to his lord, holding it up for Lord Lagotaq to delve into the pockets of his fur-lined robes, retrieve a key, unlock all of the clasps and remove them to reveal a shimmering haze.

  A blaze of bright orange, red, green, yellow, magenta, copper, burnished gold, black, gray and white hit their eyes and blinded them, hypnotizing them into seeing nothing else but the flames full of sparkle and life, flickering and dancing lazily until the flames roared into a monstrous inferno that swept everything else aside, except for what it swallowed whole. The blaze finally settled down into a sheen of bright-red, almost brighter than blood, along its cracked leather hilt and blade, which curved incrementally on its long, straight path to a sharp point, yet the lines forged into the steel were wavering constantly, with a glow of their own.

  Oaka stepped forward, awed and attracted by the light, as Lord Lagotaq removed the Red Sword and its red scabbard from the chest, holding them out for the young man to grasp. Oaka felt at once comforted by the warmth and lightness of the Red Sword as it reminded him of Sisila lying against his chest underneath the bushes, in Suma and in all other seasons, breathing with him and their hearts beating together. He almost thought he could hear and feel her heartbeat in that moment, but something about it was different for him.

  “My name is Oaka, and I bind this Sword to me. Thank you.” He whispered.

  As Oaka stepped off to the side and practiced swinging the Red Sword, with the guards watching him, Lord Lagotaq reported, “A few nights ago, when there was a storm on the Old Smoko mountain range a few miles away from here, I was in my study writing, when the Red Sword...stirred in its chest. It caused a commotion where it was stored, and the servants had to bring it up from the basement before it damaged some other items. I was informed of the situation, and I came down to see what could be done to quell the thing.

  “A light was shining forth from the chest, which grew even brighte
r when I opened the chest, and then it narrowed into a pinpoint of light, a beam that traced its way towards a window. I looked out, and saw the light, a faint, distant beacon, reflected back here from somewhere on the mountainside. I assume that was your friend here,” Lagotaq said, nodding towards Oaka, who appeared to quite like the Red Sword with the wide grin on his face, “And I had some idea of what it meant, but I wanted to be certain. After that, I ordered some of my men to go investigate.”

  “We reached the foot of the Old Smoko mountain range, and then concealed ourselves as best we could in prime positions,” The Squad A leader, who had promised the group an explanation before, said. “Squad A in the grove and the rest of us in the copse, to defend ourselves or to attack whomever might be coming. We sent out scouts, one of whom started to climb the Old Smoko in order to meet you all, and another of which spotted the approach of Coe Aela’s men--armed, and searching, oftentimes looking up the mountain. We judged the situation accordingly, and reacted as we saw fit. We only took you all into custody to be extra cautious.”

  “You touched the Red Sword, Your Grace.” Basha said to Lord Lagotaq.

  “What?” The Duke of Coe Wina asked, as the others stared at Basha in shock.

  Oaka sheathed the Red Sword, satisfied for now that he had a Sword of Arria, and was indeed a potential Knight of Arria, just like Basha and Monika were. He would not be left out, a follower or hanger-on like Fato and possibly Gnat were. He returned to the group, and listened to the conversation more attentively than before, though he was thinking to himself that he was indeed grander than any nobleman Sisila might have had.

  “You touched the Red Sword when you handed it over to Oaka without getting burned, Your Grace.” Basha said. “It has been my experience that those who have...a certain power, or can touch one Sword in particular, the Black Sword, can touch all of the other Swords without getting burned.” He said. “They might feel uncomfortable, but they can.”

  “Who are you?” Lord Lagotaq asked him.

  “My name is Basha, your Grace. I am on a quest from Coe Baba to fetch Tau’s Cup, and I wield the Black Sword.” Basha said, deciding it would be his duty to introduce everyone again. “This is--” He started to say.

  “Monika,” She spoke up on her own, stepping forward and bowing. “Your Grace. I am of the Windbow society from the Za Desert, I was trained in the Water techniques at the Valao monastery in Angora, and I am an associate of your country’s Border Guard. I wield the Blue Sword.” She said, and then stepped back.

  “It is an honor to meet you.” Lord Lagotaq said, though he seemed a little tense.

  “This is the most I have ever heard you say, concerning--” Basha said, turning to Monika.

  “My name is Gnat, your Grace,” The girl said, interrupting Basha, “I was a servant at Coe Aela until they came and changed everything.” She indicated the group. “Basha said I should come with them on his quest, after I helped them escape, and I also fetched back the Black Sword when it was stolen from Basha’s pack by Captain Goga. He was going to use it.” She insisted. “That would have been scary, your Grace. I can touch the Black and the Blue Swords without getting hurt, but they do not belong to me. Nisa touched the Black Sword once, just for a moment, but she got burned from it, just handing it over to me. And Captain Goga could touch the Black Sword as well without getting hurt, I think. I wonder if that means anything.” She added.

  “I think it does. Thank you for helping out this group, Gnat, you have done well.” Lord Lagotaq said, staring in astonishment at the girl. “Perhaps we might go inside to continue these introductions,” Lord Lagotaq said, turning away and heading into the castle, “And I can continue my conversation.” He added in a low breath to himself.

  The group members glanced uncertainly at each other, especially as a few of the guards that had escorted them all the way up here to the second bailey followed them into the castle. “Are we in danger again?” Oaka asked the others in a low tone. “I missed part of the conversation.” He said.

  “I don’t think so, not really.” Basha said. “Lord Lagotaq was telling us that your Red Sword reacted when you started your fire on the mountainside, like it was alive and knew where you were, and Lord Lagotaq sent his guards out to investigate. I think he knows or suspects that we might be Knights of Arria. But I think it’s safe.” He added, marveling, “We were on the Old Smoko mountain range.”

  “I hope so, Basha.” Oaka said, glancing back at the guards. “I hope so as well. But at least we are ready this time, if things go wrong,” He said, thinking of the Swords.

  “Are we?” Basha asked.

  “I think so, at least we are together.” Oaka remarked.

  “Good to know.” Basha said, nodding.

  Defeat, bittersweet defeat, Doomba sighed to himself. He could feel it from far away, Goga had failed in his task. Perhaps he should have let the Black Wolves tear up the Knights of Arria before they even arrived at Coe Aela, but it was too late now. As far as Doomba was concerned, with such monstrous failures behind them, both Fobata and Goga were dead to him. He had to look to other Followers and Servants now.

  Doomba raised his head then, the mask shifting with him, as a gruelmoff flew in through the window of his throne room, although there wasn’t a window as such as much as there was an opening into the nothingness inside, without having the bird go through the entire castle to reach him. The bird had flown a long way, at great speed, to convey what was obviously a very important message to Doomba as quickly as possible, so Doomba had allowed this convenience for the animal.

  “Speak,” Doomba ordered.

  The gruelmoff landed upon the floor, and inhaled deeply to revive itself, before it began, “‘My lord Doomba, your Follower Fobata is grieved to say that the travelers, who arrived here at Coe Aela as Lord Crow warned us on Markee 14, have escaped. They seem to have received help in their escape from a servant woman, who prevented Goga from confiscating the Black Sword that one of them possessed. This seems to indicate that they were Knights of Arria, though we cannot confirm this. I apologize for this misfortune, as we had no warning beyond their date of arrival of who to expect, and we were unprepared for such a possibility. We had as many guards as we could possibly arrange on standby to make sure that they could not get out through any possible exit, but they somehow seemed to have found a way. My brother Goga and most of my guards are now searching across the country for the group, to destroy them if they cannot be captured again, and I am taking measures to search for the servant woman responsible in aiding them so that she can be punished as well. Just in case anything goes wrong with Goga’s search, I urge you send out your creatures to find them as well. Sincerely, Lord Fobata.’” The gruelmoff completed the message before it promptly collapsed upon the floor, and died from exhaustation.

  “Useless. Utterly useless.” Doomba said, staring down at the gruelmoff carcass on the floor. “What a waste.” He muttered, and called upon a gringrok to dispose of the carcass. As the gringrok dragged off the carcass, with several more waiting outside the throne room in anticipation of the feast to come, which would be fulfilling even though gruelmoff meat was not delicious, Doomba contemplated the full extent of what he did and didn’t know, based on the message.

  Travelers, yes, they were in a group, the Knights and the tiger amongst them, Coe Aela on Markee 14, yes, he had not known the exact date, which did not really matter to him in the end, but he had known the location, and…Lord Crow? What had Lord Crow been doing, telling Lord Fobata about these travelers coming to visit him without telling him anything else? Did Crow know that they were Knights of Arria, and that the tiger of light was amongst them? What had Lord Crow known about these travelers in the first place?

  Doomba would have to settle this matter with Lord Crow before too long, otherwise he might begin to suspect what one of his most loyal Followers had been doing. Passing on barely more than a hint of such important information to Lord Fobata the imbecile, who was bound to have failed i
n this mission without understanding who he was dealing with or what he was supposed to do, and certainly Lord Crow had not told Doomba anything of what he might have suspected or known about these travelers. For this offense alone, Doomba could destroy Lord Crow without any other excuse needed, but he paused here a moment to think.

  Lord Crow had served him loyally in the past, and had provided him with useful information such as ‘The Tiger’s Prophecy’, which Doomba could not discredit too quickly or else he might lose a reliable source of power, someone capable of coordinating and guiding other Followers in the right direction. Of course, Lord Crow might also be a threat considering that his personal influence had grown, in both the social realm and in the responsibilities granted to him by Doomba, over the years, and he could use that influence to the detriment of Doomba’s efforts if he so desired, pushing Followers in the wrong direction, or blocking them entirely, and it might be for the sake of destroying him in the end.

  Doomba had put too much trust into this man, who might not deserve it. Who was Lord Crow that Doomba should fear him? Who was Lord Crow that Doomba should set such store in him? Who was Lord Crow to think that he could stand above any other Followers? It was foolish, in a way, to think of Lord Crow as a threat, he was nothing compared to Doomba, an ordinary man just like any other, and yet he was not completely harmless.

  He had some skill and intelligence, after all, coming up with plans to take over the kingdom and finding out secrets kept hidden from Doomba’s sight. He knew more than he expressed, which made him someone to consider. Not every man was like him. For now, Doomba would observe Lord Crow whenever he got the chance, to ensure that the lord was going about business as usual without any hidden or deceitful activity upon his account, unrelated to Follower business, of course. And then, if anything should come up that seemed too underhanded even for a Follower, Doomba would press upon his crony in every way possible until Lord Crow broke and confessed to treachery, or died, though breaking and confessing to treachery would probably lead to death.