by T. J. Quinn
Once she was sure no one was awake, she sneaked out of the castle, wrapped in a thick cloak and headed to the forest. Nothing calmed her more than walking through the trees, breathing the cold air of the night, allowing it to cleanse her mind and her heart from all the bad things.
She knew the forest like the back of her hand. She had been escaping here since she was a child, so she wasn’t afraid, but after a while, she started to have a strange feeling she was being watched, and the tightness around her heart seemed to grow worse.
She tried to ignore it and walk away, but the feeling was so strong, she pulled the dagger she always had on her and swirled around, trying to see who was out there.
“Who’s there? Show yourself.” She shouted, trying to keep her hands from shaking.
Facing an enemy, you couldn’t see wasn’t very easy, but she wouldn’t fall back.
Despite her words and her challenge, no one appeared. She could still feel the eyes on her, and she decided to walk in that direction. But before she could reach it, something huge jumped up in front of her and disappeared into the night.
Startled, she fell to the ground, and all she could see was a dark figure. She would have sworn, whatever it was, had flown away, judging by the sound of flapping wings. What she heard, not just any wings, but huge wings, like those of an eagle, probably.
Slowly getting up, she decided it was better to return to the palace. There was no sense exposing herself to the attack of a beast she didn’t know.
When she started walking his way, Cuyler had to admit her senses were a lot better than he had assumed, but unless he wanted her to see him, he had to get out of there. Pushing his cloak away, he unfurled his wings and flew away, just when she was about to reach the tree where he had been hiding on.
Quickly, he flew back to the vessel, feeling more anxious than ever, to talk with the people in the village and find out who she was.
The following morning, they received the information from the bird cams they had sent into the castle. They revealed a bit more about the ways of these people. The castle was very frugal, with a main room on the ground floor where they gathered for the meals and assemblies. The kitchen was a huge place, but they still used logs to create the fire they used to cook their food. The light was equally provided by some cylindrical objects that were lit and burned slowly. The light they produced wasn’t the brightest, but it seemed to be enough.
“They have to light the room even during the day. Their windows are too narrow.” Haskell commented.
“I guess it’s easier to defend the castle that way. It also prevents the cold winds from entering.” Cuyler pointed out. “Their knowledge on technology is practically null.”
“Perhaps we should offer to help them,” Eirik suggested.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. We'll have to think about it thoroughly after we've made contact with them,” Cuyler replied.
He hadn't told his men about the woman he had seen in the woods because he didn't want to excite them about something that still felt like a dream more than anything.
“Igor, have you been able to get a sample of the gold metal?” he asked his man.
“Yes, and we’ve found a source, not far from here. We can go there and get some and make our own pieces,” he explained. “I’m sure that will help us deal with them.”
“What about the clothes?”
“They’re ready. But we won’t be able to go unnoticed. We’re a lot taller than the people here,” Haskell warned. “We might be perceived as enemies.”
“Then we’ll have to announce ourselves and ask for a meeting with their leader,” Cuyler decided. “We’ll tell them we come from a very far land, across the seas.”
“Very well, but we’ll have to be ready for any circumstances,” Igor insisted.
“We will.”
“Let’s go get that gold, then. I want to approach them as soon as possible,” Cuyler ordered. “Igor, take Eirik and one of the smaller vessels and go get the gold. Bring plenty, so that we don’t have to go for more later.”
“Yes, my king, right away.”
Both men got up and left the command center.
Cuyler turned to look at Haskell. “Do we have more footage of the women in this village?”
Haskell shook his head. “No, my king. We would have to penetrate the houses, and I’m not sure we should.”
“No, you’re right. We better wait until we get there. We can take back twenty women. I know it’s not enough, but if we manage to mate them, then we can come back for more, with a bigger vessel, and look for them in a bigger village.”
“Yes, that would be perfect, my king. I really have high hopes for these women.”
“Yes, me too.”
He spent the rest of the day watching the images recollected by the bird cams, trying to learn as much as he could of their language and how to pronounce their words. He knew it wouldn't be that easy to speak their language since it was so different from his, but he would try his best. Hopefully, they would understand him.
Chapter Five
Igor and Eirik returned when the night was falling, and they quickly had the machine one of his men adapted, making the round pieces of gold these people used.
That night felt eternal, and Cuyler wished he could go out for a walk. After what had happened the night before, he knew it was better if he didn’t. There was no sense in scaring the villagers before they were ready to make contact with them.
The following morning, they gathered at the command center. Cuyler had decided to leave two men on the ship, just in case they needed an urgent exit, and he would go with the others to meet the villagers.
“Are we ready to approach them?” he asked.
“Yes, my king, I believe we are,” Haskell replied.
“Let’s do it then.”
“There’s one thing we haven’t considered,” Eirik intervened. “They seem to use this animal they call horse for transportation. Don’t you think they will find it strange that we arrive on foot?”
“Probably, but we can’t get horses without talking to someone, so, we’ll say we rather walk. After all, we’ll say we’ve arrived from the sea,” Cuyler said. He wasn’t delaying their visit any longer. “Let’s get dressed and go.”
His men nodded, and they went to their quarters to get ready.
And a few minutes later, they left the vessel and headed to town.
Ten tall men, dressed in dark clothing, heading to the village surely wasn’t something the villagers had seen before.
The alarm was given, and the town’s gates were closed.
Kaylein heard the alarms and ran to the window, but she couldn’t see anything, so she ran downstairs to find out what was going on. Once more, her instincts hadn't failed her.
“What’s going on?” she asked one of the guards.
“A group of strangers is approaching the palace on foot, milady,” He answered, with a slight bow.
“On foot? Through which door?” she asked, puzzled.
“Through the southern gates, milady.”
“Thank you.” she turned to head to the thick walls surrounding the village, but her father’s voice stopped her before she could put a foot outside the castle.
“Kaylein, return to your room and stay there until I call you,” he snarled at her.
“But… father…”
“Do as I tell you or I’ll order the guards to take and keep you there for a month,” He shouted at her.
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to convince him, she turned around and headed to her room. This time she would have to wait to find out more about the strangers.
“State your name and your business.” One of the guards shouted from the top of the walls surrounding the village.
"My name is Cuyler from Zuvrak; we are here to discuss business with your leader." He said, talking a bit slow, trying to pronounce the words as the translator whispered them into his ears.
The man turned to speak with someone
on the other side of the walls. “We have never heard of such a place.”
“It’s very far from here, across the seas.” He explained. “We come in peace. As you can see we carry no weapons.” They didn’t need them, but the villagers didn’t need to know that.
Again, the man talked with someone else before he gave them an answer. “You shall be received, but at any suspicion of foul play, you will be imprisoned.”
Cuyler did what he could to hide the smile in the face of such a weak threat, but he would have made a similar threat under the same circumstances. So far, they had kept their hoods on, but at some point, they would have to show their faces, and that would startle the people, they knew that.
The doors were opened, and they were escorted by a group of men inside the walls of the village and straight into the castle’s main room. A man with gray hair waited for them seated on a big chair, surrounded by a few armed men. They immediately deduced he was the leader.
Cuyler took a step forward and spoke, “Greetings, my name is Cuyler, from Zuvrak.”
“Greetings, I’m Lord Arryn of Crail. What brings you to our small village, Sir Cuyler?”
“We have been sailing the seas nearby and decided to dock here for supplies.” He explained.
“We’re quite far from the sea. How did you get here, with no horses?” the man asked, still suspicious.
“Walking. We didn’t find what we were looking for on the other villages we’ve been to.” It was, after all, a half-truth.
“Is it too cold here for you? It would be nice seeing the face of the man I’m talking to.” The man finally asked, and Cuyler nodded.
They would have to show their faces, sooner or later.
The minute they took off their hoods a murmur of astonishment filled the room. Some women even let out small cries. It was obvious they had never seen people like them.
“How far is the place you say you come from?” Lord Arryn asked, recovering from his surprise.
“Very far. I assure you we mean no threat for you or your people. We just want to do business with you, if possible,” Cuyler said, in a calm tone.
“Why should we believe you?” the man insisted.
“We came here unarmed. Does it not tell you about our intentions?” he replied, trying to appear as calm as possible.
“We have never seen people like you,” Lord Arryn admitted.
“Do you receive many visitors from other parts of the world?” Cuyler asked him, sure that the man didn’t know much of the world outside the small village he lived in.
“No, I have to admit we don’t receive many strangers.”
“We can pay for our stay, and if you have what we’re looking for, there will be more for you and your people,” Cuyler insisted.
Arryn turned to speak to the man on his right for a few moments before he turned to look at Cuyler. But before he could talk, another man, dressed in some sort of brown tunic, approached him and whispered frantically in the man’s ear.
Lord Arryn seemed upset by the man’s words, but even so, he turned to look at Cuyler.
“Our priest is convinced you are demons,” he said, signaling the other man that was clearly shaking and squeezing a wooden object in his hands.
“Demons? I’m not familiar with the term. Could you explain it to me?” he asked, frowning.
“Demons are men from hell, servants of the devil,” Lord Arryn explained.
“I’m afraid I don’t recognize the terms, but again I assure you, we mean no harm for you and your people.”
The man turned to talk to the one on his right again, and when he finally turned to look at Cuyler, he had decided. “You can stay, under surveillance. I reserve the right to throw you out if I become suspicious of your intentions.”
“Fair enough,” Cuyler accepted with a sigh. Though he was a warrior, he would avoid the war as much as possible. Unnecessary slaughters had never felt right.
"My servants will show you to your rooms. I'm afraid you'll have to share them since my castle isn't very big." Lord Arryn announced.
“I’m sure it will be enough.”
“Please, join us for lunch in a couple of hours.”
“It will be a pleasure. Meanwhile, we would like to walk around the village. Is that possible?” Cuyler asked, eager to see more than the cameras had been able to show them.
“Yes, of course. Henry will be your guide.” Lord Arryn accepted, signaling the man to his right.
Cuyler nodded and waited for the servants that would be showing them to their rooms.
Two women approached them, clearly nervous and wriggling their hands. They barely dared to look at him or his men, while they guided them up the stairs and to the left wing of the castle.
They were taken to three rooms, and his men decided he should share one with Igor and they would use the other two. He wasn’t very pleased with the division, but Igor slightly shook his head, warning him not to change things.
"They wouldn't feel very comfortable sleeping in the same room with you." he explained, when they were alone in the room, they had been given.
“I hope you don’t feel the same way.” Cuyler grumbled, taking a look at the place.
The place was heavily decorated, with barely enough room to walk around the room. The large bed, with posts and drapes all over, occupied almost all the room, and in front of it, there was something he wasn’t able to recognize, built against the wall and with what seemed a narrow conduct that led outside. There were also a few chairs, a wardrobe, and a small table. Like in all of the castle, here too, the window was small and narrow.
“I believe I’m your friend, above all,” Igor said, with a naughty grin.
“Of course, you are.” Cuyler chuckled.
He and Igor had been together since they were babies. They had gone to the same schools and academies. Other than his brothers and sister, Igor was the closest person to him, especially now, that he had lost his family.
They finally left their rooms to meet Henry, the man that was supposed to be their guide on their walk through the village.
Cuyler decided to leave six of his men back at the castle and go out with just three. “If we go all, people will most likely be afraid of us. Stay here and observe all you can, and search for what we have been looking for.” He had ordered them.
“Yes, my king.”
Chapter Six
As he had guessed, people were afraid of them. One look at their faces and they would whisper the word demon and quickly hideaway.
"How many people live here?" Cuyler asked Henry, but the man didn't give him a straight answer as if he feared Cuyler was trying to measure their manpower.
Muffling a sigh of frustration, he smiled and tried again. “Do you have slaves here?”
“Yes, we do. Most of the castle’s servants are slaves.” The man replied.
“Where do you buy them?” Cuyler asked, feeling a bit more optimistic.
"Most of them were born as slaves; the others belonged to enemy villages we defeated in battle. But there is a slave market a couple of days from here." Henry explained. "They are usually peasants that owe money to their lords, and they decide to sell them to recover the money owed.
“I see.”
A loud gong resonated through the small village. “It’s lunch time. We should return. Lord Arryn will be waiting for us.”
Cuyler nodded and followed the man back to the castle.
“What do you mean I can’t go to the main room for lunch?” Kaylein asked her mother, almost shouting.
“These people are too strange. Father Francis says they are demons sent by the devil. Either way, your father has decided neither you nor your sisters are to go downstairs while they are here.” Her mother warned her. “Muriel and Guinevere have agreed, and I want you to promise you will follow your father’s instructions this time.”
“But why? It’s unfair.” Kaylein insisted.
She was so curious about the strangers she couldn’t wait to see
them. One of the maids had described to her the one that seemed to be their leader, and her description had only spiked her curiosity even more.
“We don’t know these men’s intentions.” Her mother replied in a cold tone. “They could start a war right in the middle of lunch.”
“If that’s so, why did father accept to receive them?” Kaylein asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“They offered to pay for their stay. You know very well we could use the money,” Her mother admitted.
“Father’s excuse for not letting us downstairs is silly. Ten unarmed men would never try to fight against an army of over a thousand armed men,” she protested once more.
"My dear, if you had seen these men, you wouldn't be saying that. Just one of them seems powerful enough to destroy us all," her mother assured her, with a slight shudder.
“Oh, mother… you’ve heard father Francis way too much,” Kaylein teased her.
"Just remain in your room. At least, until your father decides he can trust them enough." Her mother insisted before she left her room.
Frustrated, Kaylein paced her room until her maid, Millicent arrived with her lunch.
“Tell me, did you see them again?” she asked the maid.
“Yes, milady, they are all gathered at the table eating their meals. I was able to look at them through the kitchen door.” She explained, putting her lady’s tray over the small table prepared for it.
"Take off your clothes," Kaylein ordered as she started to take off hers.
“What? Milady, have you lost your mind? Your father will punish you forever if you disobey his orders,” the girl tried to convince Kaylein.
“I don’t care. I’m sure he expects me to disobey him, after all, I always do,” Kaylein replied, already in her undergarments. “Give me your dress, now, Millicent,” she ordered, knowing the girl didn’t have a choice.
“I’ll have to go and warn your mother, milady, please…” the girl begged, though she knew nothing would stop Kaylein. She knew her too well.