The Archon's Apprentice

by Neil Breault

  The silence that followed stretched on for longer than Mikol could fathom. He stared at the door and blinked to make sure he was seeing the door handle slowly being turned. The door handle stopped moving and stayed in the open position. The door slowly opened inward, spilling light from the hallway into the room, and Mikol tightened his grip even more.

  Twang.

  Twang.

  The door opened the rest of the way, letting in a man carrying a crossbow. He could not see the man’s face but Mikol knew it was one of the men they had seen earlier. The man took a few steps in, towards the bed. He made a noise and turned around with his mouth open. Mikol knew he had to stop the man from alerting anyone. His strike hit the man in the chest and Mikol felt the sword exit the man’s back. Just as quickly Mikol withdrew the sword, and the man fell to the floor. A second man entered the room, also carrying a crossbow. He had seen the movement and was drawing a knife from his belt. Mikol took a step back to attack and a bolt ripped through the man’s throat. His momentum carried him forward and he collapsed on to the bed. Mikol and Bayle looked at each other and at the bodies on the floor.

  Instinct caused Mikol to react and dodge away from the door and the sword that swung through it. The third man swung wildly at Mikol before seeing Bayle. Having no time to reload, Bayle tossed his crossbow onto the bed and drew a dagger. He had to jump over the body on the floor to reach the third man. This gave the man time to move away from a fatal blow, but he still received a dagger in the side. He tried to hit Bayle with a backhanded strike, but Bayle let go of his dagger and fell backward to avoid the attack. Mikol recovered and rushed the man. He had tried to fall back but needed to block Mikol’s attack. With a quick motion, Mikol turned the man’s parry against him and swung in an upward strike that caught the man in the groin and opened him up through his chest. Bayle turned the corner a moment later with a second dagger in hand. With a quick motion his dagger was back in a sheath, and he retrieved his first dagger. They both wiped off the blood on their blades before sheathing their weapons.

  The hallway had only a single lantern lit at the far end. None of the other doors were open. They stood for a minute waiting and listening. They heard nothing but their own breathing. They dragged the body in the room, closing the door behind them. Bayle relit the lantern but kept it low. The back ends of two bolts could be seen protruding from where they would have been sleeping. One of the bolts stuck out of the dent where Mikol’s head had been in the pillow. They rifled through the pockets of the deceased and found nothing more than a few copper crowns. The weapons they carried were old, and Mikol was sickened to see how rusted they were. Bayle pulled out the bolts from the bed and tossed them away as they broke apart.

  “Do you recognize them?” asked Mikol.

  Bayle looked closely at the first man and shook his head. He did the same with the other two.

  “Not other than seeing them earlier in the tavern.”

  “That’s what I thought. I don’t recognize them either. What do you think they were after?”

  “Probably wanted to rob us.”

  “They would kill for a couple hundred crowns?”

  “People would kill for far less. But I don’t think they thought we had that much gold. They probably wanted your sword and the pendant.”

  Mikol looked at Raythrael while absentmindedly rubbing the pendant.

  “Do you think Hugo was involved?”

  “I doubt it. If he was, I assume he would have given them a key.”

  Mikol nodded.

  “Good point. So, what do we do with the bodies?”

  They looked at the bodies and the blood splattered about the room.

  “Nothing. If Hugo was involved he can clean it up. If not ...” Bayle reached into his pocket and withdrew several crowns. He tossed them on the bed. Bayle nodded to Mikol and indicated his hands. Mikol looked down and saw he was wringing his hands. He had gotten blood on his hands and he seemed to be rubbing it around. He wiped them off on the clothes of a dead man.

  “You’ll need to wear gloves.”

  Mikol looked at his hands again. While not fully clean, they no longer had blood all over them.

  “Why?”

  “To cover up your runes.”

  Mikol looked down at his hands and for the first time really saw how they looked. The back of his hands held a myriad of runes for battle, protection, and other things. The runes themselves were dormant for all princes until they were given an attunement rune suited to what they would become. When he flipped his hands over, he saw the smeared blood covering his palms. He realized what he was capable of even without magic. Maybe these men had been afraid of what he could do, though he could not do any magic. They did not have time to waste on superstitions or misunderstandings. Mikol nodded grimly to Bayle. They grabbed their things and turned to leave. Bayle readied another bolt and Mikol kept a grip on his sword.

  Mikol grabbed the lantern and held it in front of him. He did not want to have anything to jump out of the shadows at him. The dim light played over the smeared blood outside of the room and Mikol flashed back to the Death Hellion. He felt a hand on his shoulder and realized he had stopped walking. He forced his attention back to the present and walked slowly down the hallway, listening for any further surprises. It took them longer than usual to get to the end of the hallway. Bayle kept his crossbow aimed at each door as they progressed. Mikol kept his sword low but in a ready stance to strike quickly. They made it to the end of the hallway and down the stairs without incident. Light spilled out of the kitchen area but they could not see anyone within. Bayle snuffed the lantern out and set it on the stairs. Enough light illuminated the common room for them to exit safely.

  They made it to the front door before they heard noises coming from the kitchen area. This caused them to bolt through the door and run. Mikol thought he heard someone yell at them but did not turn to look. For a moment the silent town felt surreal. Mikol stifled a laugh at the situation. The stable boy heard them running and greeted them at the entrance to the stable. Bayle gave the boy orders to help them saddle up. Even with the boy’s help it took them longer than Mikol would have wanted to saddle the horses and secure their gear. Mikol kept looking toward the doors, expecting a mob of angry people to crash through.

  After the boy had finished helping them saddle their horses, Mikol walked over to him. He gave the boy 10 gold crowns.

  “If anyone comes looking for us, make sure they know we went west.”

  The boy looked at the coins in his hands and then back to Mikol in amazement. The boy closed his open mouth and nodded to Mikol. Satisfied, Mikol mounted his horse and spurred it forward. They rode hard and only when they were outside of the town did Mikol look back. No one followed. He imagined the boy still holding his small fortune and let out a raucous laugh.

  Chapter 9

  Abandoned

  They rode hard for almost an hour before letting the horses rest. Afterwards they rode south along the road until well after sunrise. Only after they slowed their pace did Mikol notice the emptiness of the road. He thought it was a great boon no one had seen them. Looking around again to be certain no one was near, he took out the pendant and verified their course. While not a direct route to the cache, the road stayed in the same general direction they needed to go. After some time they found a path via which they could exit the road easily and not leave any evidence of their passing.

  The path they followed seemed to be a game path. It zigzagged across the countryside. This irked Mikol to have to follow and he checked the pendant often to make sure they were going in a direction that led somewhat where they wanted to go.

  They kept a rushed pace for several days, setting up camp after sunset and breaking before sunrise. When the flat grasslands started to turn in to rolling hills, Mikol knew they were close to Sibilova because of studying some maps but he had never been out this way, and they slowed their pace. They had not seen another person in days. Each hill crept slightly taller t
han the last and looking back, Mikol thought the grass looked like ocean waves of green when they swayed in the breeze. After cresting yet another large hill they spotted a village in the valley below.

  “Do you think it’s safe?” said Mikol.

  “I don’t know. But it would be nice to sleep in a bed. I didn’t really get a chance last time.”

  Mikol laughed and they turned their horses toward the village. After an hour they came upon the road leading to the village. Mikol did not know much about road maintenance but he noted the grasses looked to overtake the road shortly. Bayle tossed Mikol a pair of gloves.

  “We are far from anyone that would understand what your runes mean. Best to cover them up. And don’t lose the gloves. They are the only pair I brought.”

  Nodding, Mikol put the gloves on and made sure his cloak covered his scabbard as well. The road led directly to the center of the small village. No one greeted them as they walked through. They passed home after home seeing and hearing nothing. Several of the homes were in disrepair. Mikol and Bayle tied up their horses and inspected some of the houses. Every single house they searched was empty and looked like it had been for some time.

  “Should we stay?” asked Mikol.

  “This doesn’t feel right. I’m not sure what happened here. It looks like this place has been abandoned a long time. But even still I don’t want to hang around.”

  They got back on their horses and followed the road away from the village. Mikol could not be sure whether it was himself or Bayle urging the horses into a quicker trot, but they set a hurried pace until after sunset. Neither of them slept well that night. Mikol woke many times throughout and found both himself and Bayle looking back toward the village. They broke camp with the sunrise. They had veered off the road at some point and Mikol only noticed its absence when they stopped to stretch and eat. They were riding cross-country now but the pendant kept pointing to the east.

  The next two days were uneventful. On the third day they came across a village similar to the last. They were still uneasy of the last village but checked this one to be certain. They found it in the same state as the last one and they left it just as quickly. Neither of them felt comfortable at night and they decided someone needed to keep watch. Bayle took the first watch. After a few hours he awoke Mikol for his turn. Keeping watch did not make Mikol feel any more at ease but he knew without it he would not be able to sleep.

  A week after passing through the first village, they came across a third village. This one was different. There were obvious signs of fighting and many of the homes were burned and charred. The burned wreckage had ceased smoking, but this only allowed Mikol to see the deep dark brown stains on the walls of the houses. They inspected some of the homes again, expecting to find more. Neither of them found any bodies. Inside the homes it appeared they had been aimlessly pillaged. They found many valuables, supplies, and even food. They questioned the wisdom of taking anything but their needs won out. They collected what they could use on the road and left the rest.

  “Whatever happened here took place recently. Most of the food hasn’t spoiled. I don’t think we should stay long,” said Bayle.

  “What happened here? Was it a fight? Where are the bodies?”

  “The village was slaughtered. I don’t know why and I don’t think we should stay to find out.”

  They hastily left the village. Mikol kept looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. That night neither of them slept long. They continued to take turns for watch. Mikol did not sleep when Bayle took watch, and he doubted Bayle slept either. After a few sleepless nights Mikol began to question what they were doing and why he had insisted on going alone without anyone else. He should have asked for Omoni’s help. They would have been riding with Wardens and had some defense from whatever was out here. The thought quickly left him as he remembered that Arceri had had the Paragons with him and they were most likely dead. Mikol stared at the night sky.

  He awoke well after the sun had risen. Bayle lay next to him, softly snoring, still asleep. Mikol laughed quietly to himself, thinking how he made a fantastic watchman. He could not even stay awake through his shift.

  He woke Bayle with some difficulty. They exchanged knowing looks about the situation. They could not keep up such a hazardous pace. Especially without knowing where they were headed and for how long. They broke camp quickly. Mikol took a bearing from the pendant, and they rode to the top of the next hill.

  “Do you think we’re in Sibilova yet?” said Bayle.

  “No, not quite. We haven’t come across the Erova River yet. We should cross in to Sibilova soon though. These hills run all the way to the Dagger Peaks.”

  At the top of the next rise they stopped to take in the view of the surrounding area. Looking back, Mikol could see the gradual rise of the terrain from the grasslands to the hills. In the other direction the hills grew farther apart and became steeper. The valley ahead of them held a small lake to the north. Squinting, Mikol took out his spyglass and scanned the valley. When he looked at the lake shore he gasped.

  “What?”

  “We may have a problem.”

  “We didn’t bring fishing poles?”

  Mikol glared at Bayle for a moment.

  “You’re not funny. No, I think there is an army near the lake.” Mikol lifted the spyglass again. “The brown color is tents. But I can’t tell anything else from this distance. I can’t see any flags or other colors.”

  “Let me see that.”

  Mikol handed the spyglass to Bayle, who twisted in his saddle and looked behind them. Mikol scanned the hills but saw nothing.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “I thought I saw some move ... Wait. Yeah. We’re being followed.”

  Bayle handed the spyglass back to Mikol, pointing at the horizon. Mikol spotted a few riders in the far distance. Even with the spyglass, Mikol could not pick out many details. He could not tell what they were wearing, but he did not think it was armor. So they were probably not soldiers. Thinking back to the Wench, he realized their attackers had not been armored either. He watched for some time to gauge how fast the riders were approaching. They did not seem to be riding fast. He put away the spyglass and took another reading from the pendant. It pointed through the heart of the unknown army.

  “We need to find out whose army that is. It could be our own. Perim took the army out this way,” said Mikol.

  “It could also be the Sibilovan army. I don’t know why either army would be encamped here though.”

  “Looks like there is a forest just southeast of the army. Let’s ride down the hill and circle around in to it. Maybe we can get a view of the army without being seen and find out who they are.”

  Mikol looked back once more at the pursuers before they rode down into the valley and to the forest. It took them the better part of the day to circle around and enter the forest. They were both looking over their shoulders, expecting to see someone riding to intercept them. When they entered the forest they found they could ride with relative ease, as long as they did not push their horses. The sun was almost setting before they breached the treeline towards the unknown. The encamped army lay far enough away that Mikol had to look through his spyglass again. He scanned the rows of tents for several minutes, still not seeing any movement or other signs of life.

  “This is very strange. Where are all of the soldiers?”

  “Let me take a look too.”

  Mikol handed the spyglass to Bayle and let out a sigh. It seemed appropriate to find a ghost army after finding ghost towns. Mikol sat up straight as Bayle pointed to the army.

  “I see several Ternian flags laying against the tents, and I saw some soldiers moving closer to the center of the camp. I think they were wearing our uniforms, but I can’t really tell at this distance.”

  “Why are they not flying the flags?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s too dangerous this close to Sibilova. There could be any number of people around here wh
o would want to report their position to this warlord we’ve heard about,” said Bayle.

  “Well, if you saw Ternian flags then we should go see if Perim is fine.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he’ll just send us back to Valefort.”

  “I’ll be fine with that just to know he is alive,” said Mikol.

  “I’d like to know he lives too, but I don’t want to go back now. Plus, this is better than waiting for some word from your brothers or my father.”

  Mikol flinched at his words.

  “Bayle ...”

  “No. Don’t apologize. We’ve been dealing with this in our own ways. I would continue to wait for anything from any of them. It is just frustrating waiting. There might even be a message at Valefort now, but I am glad we are actually doing something. Even if we don’t know what that is yet.”

  Mikol kept silent. He did not know what to say.

  “Besides, I don’t trust Omoni.”

  “What?”

  “You think I just happened to find out what you were doing? I made Omoni tell me why you were avoiding him. Because that much was obvious.”

  “Did you threaten him?”

  “No. Not exactly. He actually seemed too excited to tell me what you had. Like I said, I don’t trust him.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes. Mikol wondered how naive he could actually be about people and the world. He opened his mouth to say something when they both noticed a couple of horses coming around the edge of the forest. The riders were not riding fast and it did not look like they had seen Mikol and Bayle. Mikol and Bayle maneuvered their horses back in to the forest some and observed the three horseman as they rode.