by Joe Jackson
Liria shook her head. “I don’t need to,” she said. “We owe Lady Vanador our lives, and I swore I would do whatever it took to earn that from her. Isn’t that the way our Father wants our people to live? Not to regret our mistakes, but to repent of them and make restitution to those we’ve wronged?”
The priestess smiled and nodded, and even some of the syrinthian males who had gotten anxious at Liria’s decision nodded reluctantly. Kari regarded Liria with a piercing gaze and wondered if the girl was truly “repentant” or simply desperate for a chance to escape. The demonhunter had to keep in mind that every one of the syrinthians before her, except for Se’sasha, had fooled her Order for a long time. While she wanted to believe the syrinthians might become trustworthy under Se’sasha’s leadership, there was still so much room for doubt, and Kari was nervous about putting her friends’ lives into the hands of someone she wasn’t completely sure about.
Kari wondered what Se’sasha thought of her charges, but soon came to the conclusion that if Se’sasha didn’t trust her own people, she’d say something. Kari had seen and heard enough from the priestess and their mutual father that she was certain of Se’sasha’s loyalties, so if the syrinthian priestess was willing to put some faith in Liria, Kari figured she should as well. She also considered that any damage the syrinthians were commanded to do to the Order had to be larger and more important than killing a handful of mercenaries; even if Liria’s intentions were still to harm, she likely wouldn’t reveal that under these circumstances. More likely, she would work to earn Kari’s trust, that her eventual betrayal would be that much more potent.
“All right, Liria, you come with me, then,” Kari said, rising to her feet. “The rest of you, make sure you do as I ask and don’t mention this to anyone. If word gets out, and my plan gets foiled because you warned someone, intentionally or not, it’s back to the cages with you.”
“They will say nothing; you have my word on that,” Se’sasha assured her.
Kari wished that was enough. The syrinthians certainly seemed to respect Se’sasha and follow her orders, but the priestess had only been among them for a short while. It was entirely possible they had her fooled, just as they’d had the Order fooled for so long. Again, Kari told herself that she should trust Se’sasha’s judgment until she had reason not to, and extend that trust to the syrinthians – to some degree, anyway.
Kari and Liria left the barracks, and Kari escorted the young syrinthian woman to the administrative building. One of the night watch saw them and approached hurriedly until he saw it was Kari escorting the syrinthian. He greeted Kari respectfully with a salute, then continued on his way, so Kari and Liria did likewise. They reached the administrative building with no other encounters, and Kari led the young woman to her office, where she lit a few candles to shed some light upon its darkened depths.
Liria’s eyes shone in the light from the candles, their golden color sparkling as though there were flakes of the metal within them. The normally slitted pupils were wide in the sparse lighting, and she looked a little more human because of it. The girl was nervous, of that there was no doubt, but she also seemed excited and pleased that she was being given this opportunity. She sat across from Kari but leaned forward in her seat, waiting for Kari to speak.
“You understand what I’m about to ask of you?” Kari kept her eye contact strong while she leaned forward as much as she could on the desk.
“Only that it will be something dangerous,” Liria responded. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it. I owe you this much and more.”
Kari nodded and rubbed her hand under her chin thoughtfully. “I’m going to be sending you into an ambush,” she said after a pause, and the girl’s wide eyes only went wider. “You’ll be posing as Se’sasha, being sent south to debrief the Avenger Order on what you know of your king and the rest of Mehr’Durillia. My gut tells me your transport will be attacked along the way, and I’ll be sending along enough fighters to foil the ambush and hopefully keep you safe.”
“Keep me safe?” Liria repeated. “Lady Vanador, your Order has spent the last couple of years training me; you may as well put me to use foiling the ambush as well.”
Kari tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “You think I’d trust you to carry weapons around my people?”
All the confidence seemed to drain out of the girl at that question. She sank back into her chair a little bit, her shoulders slumped, and she stammered a few times before managing a quiet, “No, ma’am.”
“Good, because I don’t,” Kari said, and she leaned back in her chair and sighed. “But I’m going to have to on this.” Liria’s head perked up a little. “Tomorrow morning before dawn, you’ll be dressing up like Se’sasha and taking a coach south toward Gnarr. I’ll be assigning a pair of hunters, one masquerading simply as a driver, to escort you. I’ll be giving those hunters orders that they should allow you to keep a weapon or two nearby for when you are ambushed.”
“Ma’am, what makes you so sure we’ll be ambushed?” Liria asked.
“Because I know your king better than he thinks I do,” Kari answered, but she waved away the topic. “Just make sure you understand me, Liria: I have to be a little like Sekassus on this. If you betray my hunters, your companions here are going to pay the price. I don’t like to make threats, but I can’t trust you, and this is the only way for me to ensure your loyalty.”
The syrinthian girl nodded. “I understand, ma’am,” she said. “I won’t betray your trust. I made an oath before Ashakku and our High Priestess, and I will not violate that or my promise to you.”
Kari bobbed her head, satisfied with the intensity behind the girl’s words. She might still be lying, but she was doing a fine job of it if she was. “I’ll take you back to your barracks; get a good night’s sleep,” she said. “In the morning, you need to get made up to look as much like Se’sasha as you can, and borrow some of her clothes. At dawn, my hunters will come get you and begin taking you to Gnarr. Don’t worry about being secretive once they come for you: we want our spy to know Se’sasha is headed south under a thin escort.”
“What if we’re overwhelmed by the ambush?” Liria asked.
“I think you’ll be able to handle it with two hunters with you,” Kari answered, doing her best to keep up her poker face. The one facet of the plan that couldn’t get out before Liria and the two hunters had left was the involvement of Eli, Danilynn, and Tor. “After all, with your training, it’s almost like there’s three hunters going.”
Liria nodded, but it was clear she wasn’t convinced. “As you wish, ma’am,” she said, and rose to her feet. She saluted Kari in the demonhunter way, but Kari didn’t return the gesture.
Kari escorted the girl back to the barracks and then headed for home. There was so much on her mind, the relationship between Corbanis and Kyrie somehow one of the most important to her, and she mulled things over while she walked the dim but slightly busy streets of northern DarkWind. In the morning, the final two pieces of her respective plans would be put into place. Once Liria and her escorts had left and Corbanis was underway on a ship, Kari wanted to go speak to Amastri. If she played her cards right, she might be able to detect from Amastri if any word of Kari’s true plan had escaped her inner circle.
A sigh escaped her lips; it was going to be a restless night.
Chapter VII – Curious Arrivals
The ship finally arrived in Winter’s Bounty, and Erik could hardly wait to put his feet on land again. While this trip had been much shorter and less tense than the trip to Tsalbrin a few years before, with the more immediate nature of the current threat, Erik found he had a hard time sitting still or sleeping. The days had passed at an excruciatingly slow rate, and even taking in the sights of the breathtaking mountains the terra-bengal kingdom was nestled in, he found little enjoyment.
Markus seemed anxious to get things underway as well, but Erik knew it was because the noble still had much farther to go once they reached Winter’s Bounty.
According to the noble’s plan, they would be stopping in Winter’s Bounty, but once they got up-to-date news, Markus would be heading farther west to the city of Marsdale. Erik still wasn’t happy about losing one of the better blades among their number, but Markus had a definitive plan, and Erik didn’t want to get in the way of that.
The port of Winter’s Bounty was impressive, primarily a fishing and trapping hub, with a vast seafood trade and fleet of different types of fishing vessels. The harbor was crowded, and it took some time before the harbormaster could bring his smaller vessel close enough to the Sword of the Coast to speak with the master about its cargo and itinerary, even with the ship flying both royal standards and Earl Garant’s own pennant. The ship’s master wasted no time explaining the important nature of his passengers, and the testimony of Earl Lajere was all the explanation the harbormaster needed. He directed them to a pier and set off to make sure the way was clear for the royal ship.
The ship’s crew began guiding their vessel delicately through the crowded harbor and toward the pier, and Erik’s eyes settled upon a gruesome sight. Spread out along one of the adjacent piers and split open from one end to the other was a dead whale. Whaling was illegal in every kingdom Erik knew of; if he remembered his history correctly, the humans had worked to institute bans on killing certain marine life almost as soon as they had started establishing the ocean routes. Whales and dolphins, in particular, were considered protected, and to find a city that so blatantly went against that set the half-guardian’s blood simmering.
“Are you seeing this?” he asked Markus when the paladin drew up beside him.
The noble regarded the sight before him with a solemn gaze. “I knew there were still places that hunted these creatures, but that they would do so openly in a city of this size…it makes little sense to me.”
“They didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the Earl’s death, did they?” Erik spat. He looked over his shoulder at the ship’s captain and master, and wondered if they might be willing to assume royal authority in this situation.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet, my friend,” Markus said. “There could be more to this situation than we see now.”
Erik sighed quietly. Markus was right, and they also didn’t really have time to chase after illegal whaling with the importance of what was in front of them. Still, Erik figured they might be able to find out the truth of the matter while they were getting more information about the movements of the enemy – the Tilcimer, if his mother was correct. If it came to light that it was indeed an illegal whaling operation, or at the least there was no excuse for the dead whale stretched out on the pier, Erik would report it to other proper authorities somewhere.
The others came up on deck as the ship slowly made its way to the pier, and Aeligos stood beside Erik. “You want me to ask around about that?” the rogue asked, with a gesture toward the whale, before Erik could even say anything. Erik nodded. “How long do we plan to stay here?”
“We’re not staying here long,” Markus answered. “I will be continuing on toward the city of Marsdale, and I think you will want to continue on toward Newport. From there, you can take a boat upriver and further inland to Ballycastle, or else follow the trail of our enemy. But Winter’s Bounty is likely too far for you to effectively meet our enemy on the field of battle. Here, we can get updated information, and then continue on our way; I don’t think we will be here for more than a few hours.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up,” Aeligos said. “I take it you two can handle finding out about our other problem without me?”
“Yea, leave that to us,” Erik said, and he turned to the rest of their group. “Sonja, I want you to take a quick look around the city; Jol, you can go with her. Sonja, try to get a feel for the city in case you need to teleport us here in an emergency.”
“Will do,” Sonja acknowledged, and Jol nodded with her words.
“How may I be of service?” Gabrius asked.
“You and the twins go check with the local temples, see if there are any messages from our friends through Zalkar or Kaelariel or anyone else,” Erik directed. “Earl Lajere and I will be checking with the local baron or mayor, so we can get information from both sides quickly to avoid delays.”
“Twins?” Gabrius echoed, staring with interest at the Morevilles.
“And me?” Sharyn asked.
“I’ll leave that to you,” the demonhunter answered, though it wasn’t what he wanted to say. He shrugged after a minute and gave voice to his thoughts. “You can go with Sherman and the others, but frankly, I’d rather you stayed on the ship. We don’t need anything drawing the wrong kind of attention to us while we’re trying to gather information.”
“The wrong kind of attention?” Sharyn repeated. “And just what kind of attention do you think your big half-demon ass is going to attract?”
Jol and Aeligos both chuckled, which took a bit of the edge off of Sharyn’s words, but Erik glared at her just the same. He glanced around to make sure none of the crew of the ship were in earshot. “Tell you what, Sharyn: you walk into the city in your werewolf form, and I’ll walk in beside you, and we’ll see who gets the warmer reception.”
“Up yours,” the werewolf woman spat. “You walk down there, and I’ll walk beside you as I am, and we’ll see who draws more attention. Nobody in this city will have any idea what I am unless you can’t keep your big mouth shut.”
Erik could see the concern on his friends’ faces, but he felt satisfied. He didn’t think he could really trust a werewolf – not completely, anyway, no matter what Markus and the twins might have to say – but his bigger concern was whether the woman could keep her temper. If something upset her and she turned bestial and started killing people, that wasn’t just going to cost Erik an ally, but it might even reflect back upon him and his party. Erik knew little about werewolves – of the lycathropic variety or whatever kind of shape-shifter Sharyn claimed to be – but what he’d heard suggested they were very easy to agitate and thus expose.
“Well, at least you can keep your temper in check, whether your tongue follows suit or not,” Erik said, and the woman scowled at him. “Like I said, it’s your decision.”
Sharyn still looked upset, and there were questioning gazes on the twins’ and Markus’ faces, but everyone let the matter drop. Erik glanced at Sherman for a minute and wondered what was wrong with the man. Sharyn was certainly pretty, even with the scars on her neck and under her jaw, but Erik simply couldn’t fathom what would make a human risk courting a known werewolf. Sharyn and the paladins suggested she was a different type of werewolf, but even if that was completely true, Sherman was still, in effect, dating a creature, and not an actual human.
Erik supposed it would make his life a lot easier to not get involved in others’ affairs of the heart, so he pushed the thoughts aside. Thankfully, the ship was soon docked, and after only a short delay, the Silver Blades and their new allies were allowed to disembark. The dockhands, a little bit awed by Markus’ bearing and noble title, were happy to give directions to the group for finding the temples as well as the city hall. A short inquiry revealed that the baron, one Lord Anthony Stevens, lived well outside the city, but had appointed a local mayor – William Foriskoe – to handle city business.
The Silver Blades and their companions left the docks, and Markus walked abreast of Erik as they did so. The demonhunter wondered if the noble was mindful of Sharyn’s words and was trying to assuage any anxiousness the people might feel upon seeing Erik and his siblings. Though they did attract curious glances from some of the dockhands, guards, and other people in the area, curiosity seemed to be the extent of it. Amusingly enough, Sharyn seemed to get more attention from the mostly human populace than any of the half-demons, but the werewolf had a look on her face that clearly said shut up when Erik glanced at her.
“All right, each of you head off and do what I asked. Try to meet back here in no more than three hours. Lord Lajere and I will go s
ee the mayor and find out what we can,” Erik said.
Everyone agreed and split up to see to their assigned tasks. Markus fell into step beside Erik and they made their way farther into the city. “Unless we’re in the company of other nobles or city officials, you can just call me Markus,” the Earl said. “There’s no need to stand upon ceremony when we’re among friends.”
Erik nodded. He was glad to be going directly to see the mayor, as that would mean he could ask about the whale on the pier while they inquired about the attacks to the west. Despite Markus’ suggestion that there might be more to the situation, Erik was pretty sure he knew what was going on. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had taken advantage of a temporary power vacuum to turn a profit; enough of it had happened in the wake of the War. While there was a slight chance that there was another explanation, Erik was all but certain it would turn out to be a blatant violation of the law in the interest of making money.
The demonhunter and the human paladin strode up the main road into the heart of the city, where they turned east toward the mountains. The city hall was apparently the old keep of the local baron, who had moved outside the city when he decided he wanted a less urban living space. The old keep had been built against the base of a mountain for defensive purposes, and a quick look at the city from farther uphill told Erik that a water-borne attack would be a difficult feat to pull off. The city graded downward toward the harbor, and there was a sturdy granite cliff beneath the keep itself that kept any from approaching it directly from the water. One would have to move inland and then assault the keep from the higher ground, and then they would only have two sides from which to besiege.
Erik shook his head, trying not to think about sieges and long, drawn-out wars. If it turned out that the attacks here in the south were being perpetrated by a force large enough to siege a castle or city, then his mission was going to quickly deteriorate into little more than reconnaissance, which he absolutely hated. He was hoping it would turn out to be something small that his team could handle, and if it turned out to be a solitary demon, no matter how dangerous, he was confident they would get the job done. If it turned out to be something too large for them, they’d have to fall back into the shadows and either act as a deterrent, or else serve as scouts for whatever army the barons, earls, and Duke could eventually send.