The men exchanged glances. Not being able to kill anyone complicated things, but they weren’t willing to go against Liselle’s wishes. She was as gentle as the flowers she called family. If they slaughtered a large number of Rojuun, it could scar her emotionally and they cared too much about her to do that.
“So ideally, we’ll rescue the princess and the only loss of life will be the two Rojuun that Vevin will eat, yes?” Sir Danth suggested.
“Can I have three if they taste very good?” Vevin asked hopefully.
Liselle giggled and responded, “Yes, you can have three if they taste good.”
“Yay! That’s wonderful. Thank you,” he replied enthusiastically with a kiss for her.
“Liselle . . .” Tathan began, wondering how to phrase his words. She turned, becoming serious at the look on his face. “If things go badly, killing may be necessary.”
She nodded. “I know, but I . . . I don’t want to kill people. I still remember killing that warrior back home . . .” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’ll do what I have to, but I’m having a hard time deciding what has to be done and what can be avoided. Is saving a princess really worth hundreds of lives if it comes to that?”
“Ahh, that is a very good question,” Sir Danth said. “Saving the life of one person is never worth sacrificing hundreds. However,” he said, raising a finger, “when the person is a princess, there are other ramifications.” They listened to his words intently, interested by what he had to say. “In this instance, the princess has been kidnapped in order to create war between two kingdoms where thousands may die. I don’t know how large the kingdoms are . . .” Sir Danth gestured toward Tathan to see if he knew the answer.
Tathan answered, “Both are large, with armies in the tens of thousands. Iynath has an army of over a hundred thousand. If the two kingdoms fight each other, Iynath will fall upon them while they’re weak and overcome both. It’ll be bloody.”
Sir Danth nodded at this information. “So if the princess is saved, it may prevent the deaths of thousands. In war, soldiers are not the only ones to die. Most kingdoms fight without honor; looting, pillaging, and burning towns and crops to make life terrible for the citizens of a kingdom . . .” He stopped upon seeing the tears streaming down Liselle’s cheeks. “Oh dear. You truly are a gentle soul, Milady.”
“I don’t want people to die or suffer,” she said helplessly. “Why do they have to fight and kill each other, and why burn towns and crops? It just seems so stupid.”
“Aye, Milady. That it is. I do not know why, other than it is a part of the big game of life we all play.”
“What if I don’t want to play the game,” she asked quietly. None of them answered. It hadn’t occurred to Tathan that there might be a choice.
“What game would we play then, Cousin?” he asked.
She shrugged weakly. “I don’t know. I wish I had that answer, but I don’t.” She chewed her lower lip in thought. “So, if we rescue the princess, we may have to kill a lot of people . . . Rojuun . . . I think of them as people, regardless of whether or not they’re like us,” she declared. The men nodded in agreement. “But we may be able to avert war and save thousands of lives . . . human lives . . . if that matters.” Liselle looked at them and they nodded. “So, kill hundreds to save thousands . . . or walk away and hide in some other valley, pretending the problems of the world are someone else’s to solve.”
Tathan was impressed by the amount of maturity his cousin showed. It was probably more than he had, even being twelve years older. Sir Danth and Vevin looked just as impressed. Tathan never gave things like this much thought. There were things he wouldn’t do, but for the most part he just went with whatever seemed right at the time. The idea that he could be responsible for hundreds and thousands of lives was overwhelming and he felt that it was unfair, so he said as much. “Why should the responsibility of those lives be on me . . . us, Cousin?”
“If you do not wish the responsibility, you can go live on a farm and be responsible for pigs, Tathan,” Liselle said. “I believe that if a person wishes to be extraordinary, they must do extraordinary things, and you are very extraordinary,” she finished with a gentle smile.
“Oh,” he responded lamely. Tathan had never considered it that way. He felt a blush warm his cheeks at the compliment. It was an unusual sensation.
“Well said, Milady,” Sir Danth told her with admiration in his voice. “We are all extraordinary and the life of a farmer is not for us, though farming is a noble activity in my eyes. Providing food for citizens is a vital act.”
“Is it possible to overcome the Rojuun during our escape without killing them?” she asked the group.
They looked at each other. Tathan shrugged. Vevin finally spoke, “I know you don’t want us to hurt them, but I really want to taste one, dearest.”
Tathan and Sir Danth laughed heartily while Liselle giggled again. “I mean besides the two or three you eat, is it possible to get past them without killing?”
Sir Danth said, “I like killing. It’s what I do and how I make my living. I understand that it seems wrong to you, Milady, but it is part of the game of the life and the loss of a body does not stop the soul from continuing on in their existence.”
Tathan frowned. Sir Danth and Liselle were about as different as two people could be. He didn’t know how to come to a compromise. Liselle sighed deeply. “I don’t know, my dark knight. Death seems like such a painful experience and even if people do go on, I think maybe they will remember that pain and suffer in their next life as well.” The flower in her hair was glaring at the knight and had leaves folded in front of it like a person would cross their arms. Tathan briefly wondered if he was just going crazy.
“In death, as in life, the strong overcome pain and suffering to prosper. Those beings who suffer the most and continue to flourish will become stronger,” the knight stated.
Liselle shook her head. “I don’t think you’re right about that. I think the pain and suffering makes them weaker.” She turned to Vevin. “What do you think?”
Vevin’s eyes swirled faster. Tathan knew the dragon didn’t want to get involved in the discussion. “Well . . . I certainly don’t like pain and suffering,” Vevin said lamely.
Sir Danth chuckled. Liselle told him, “I think we’ll have to agree to disagree, my dark knight.”
He bowed in return, and then straightened. “I respect you greatly, Milady. If it is your wish that we preserve as much life as possible, I shall acquiesce to your desires. Wherever possible, I will spare the life of those who would harm us. If it is necessary to kill someone, I will do so quickly, efficiently and with as little suffering on their part as possible.” He bowed again.
Liselle quietly said, “Thank you, Sir Danth. I know that’s not easy for you, but it means a great deal to me.” She turned to Tathan. “And what of you, Cousin: can you avoid killing wherever possible?”
Tathan raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I always try to avoid killing people. Bodies are difficult to explain. Dead people often have clues that can lead to the person who killed them. My preferred method is to sneak past people. I kill if I believe it’s absolutely necessary.” He hoped that would satisfy her, because he was leaving out a great deal of complexity in his decision making process.
She nodded. “Thank you. I know it must seem silly of me, but it’s important for reasons even I don’t understand.” Liselle smiled at them all gratefully. It made them happy when she smiled and Tathan realized that, in many ways, she was the leader of their party. It didn’t bother him. She had purpose in life where he didn’t. True leaders had a reason for doing what they were doing. Tathan’s reason was . . . well, he didn’t know really.
He summed it up, as he liked to do. “So after getting the princess, we quickly and quietly go further into the fortress in the hopes of finding a way out of the tunnels. We’ll let Vevin eat two or three Rojuun, but other than that, we’ll incapacitate whenever possible and only kill when absolutely ne
cessary. Do we all agree?”
They nodded. Sir Danth said, “You mentioned the plan is for us to get in there as servants. Do you believe we can pass me off as a servant?”
Tathan shook his head no. “I really don’t, but I can’t think of how to explain you. If we were entering a human fortress, I’d have you pass as a noble, or as a knight bringing in prisoners for bounty, or some sort of excuse like that.”
“Bounty?” Sir Danth asked with a raised eyebrow. “Knights perform their duties as part of divine purpose, not for bounties.”
“Things have changed since you were a knight. People aren’t so noble these days, not even knights. Every once in a while, you’ll come across an order whose individuals work for divine causes, but it’s not common,” Tathan explained.
“I see. You mentioned something about it before, but I did not realize the seriousness of the matter,” the knight replied, rubbing his chin with a gauntlet. “I don’t believe I will pass for a servant either, but I can shift into the fortress providing I can see where I’m going.”
“Shift?” Liselle asked.
“Yes, when you saw me fight the sstejj, I would be one place before suddenly appearing in another. It is called shifting, though I don’t know the theory behind it other than it is extremely advanced magic,” he explained.
Tathan interjected, “We might use that as a last resort, but I’d rather come up with a way that won’t be noticed.”
“What about your invisibility ring, Tathan? Could Sir Danth borrow that to get in?” Vevin asked.
Tathan snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s an excellent idea, Vevin.” He pulled it off and gave it to the knight. “Take this. It’ll get you in while the rest of us disguise ourselves as servants.” The ring expanded to fit on the gauntleted finger as Sir Danth put it on. Tathan was happy with the solution. Not knowing how to get out of the tunnels was a serious flaw, but the rest of the details were handled and that was more than many plans had.
“You said the day after tomorrow, Tathan, does that mean we can go on a boat ride to the lake tomorrow?” Liselle asked.
He smiled at her. “Yes. We can go on a boat ride to the lake tomorrow. That sounds nice considering I don’t know when we’ll be able to relax after that.” He watched their faces fall and realized he had a knack for pulling people out of good moods.
They rested well that night and the next day was spent taking the boat ride to the lake. It was an enjoyable time with laughter and happiness. Tathan even managed not to ruin the mood all day.
Chapter 21
Liselle followed Tathan through the tunnel to the Thieves’ Guild with Vevin and Sir Danth behind her. It was early morning, although that was hard to tell underground. She desperately wanted to get above ground so she could soak in the warmth of the sun. Liselle hadn’t told any of them that she was beginning to wilt in the dim light of the caverns.
Tathan had met with the guild the night before to let them know they would take the task. The guards they passed coming into the warehouse had opened the door quickly for Tathan, seeming almost afraid of him. She wondered what he had done or said to make them that way and hoped he hadn’t killed anyone.
Killing. It was a word she hated. She had done it once at the house. Liselle didn’t feel that hunting for food, or annihilating the sstejj counted. Killing people was what she had a problem with. It didn’t make sense for people to kill each other over who had power or land or . . . anything. There was plenty of room in the world and life would be much simpler if everyone just got along.
Perhaps she was being foolish, but it didn’t seem all that complicated. Life was precious and should be preserved. At the same time, she was realizing that life wasn’t perfect the way it should be. People didn’t always get along, leading to fights and wars. She just didn’t understand how they could live with themselves. How did the warriors who murdered her parents live with . . . well, if they had survived, how could they live with themselves?
Sir Danth bothered her. She liked him, but didn’t like the fact that he enjoyed killing. It seemed wrong. Liselle got the impression that he would gladly kill as many Rojuun as possible while rescuing the princess. She worried that someday he might not agree to stop killing and didn’t know how to handle it if he made that decision.
Tathan knocked on the door at the end of the tunnel. A metal plate slid back and a man looked through. The door opened right away and they were gestured in. Liselle looked around the cave. The first thing she noticed was that there weren’t any flowers, which saddened her. There were a number of people in the room, many gathered around a large table. Quite a few wore white aprons. A man sat at the head of the table with a leg sprawled over the arm of his chair. He must be Elian. A girl was standing behind Elian. She must be the one Tathan followed.
They walked up to the table. “Hello, Elian,” Tathan said with a little wave. He gestured at the companions to introduce them. “This is Liselle, Vevin and Sir Danth.”
Unexpectedly, the girl screamed and attacked. Her hands were on Liselle’s throat before she knew what was happening. Liselle grabbed the arms of the shorter girl and tried to pull them off.
Tathan’s sword was at the throat of the girl. “Take your hands off my cousin, Miesha,” he demanded in a threatening voice. The girl didn’t release right away, but relented with a little pressure from the blade. Miesha took a few steps back, a small line of blood appearing where the edge had cut skin. “Why did you attack my cousin?” Tathan asked the girl in a deadly cold voice, his sword still aimed at her neck.
Liselle coughed and gasped for air as Vevin held her. His sharp teeth were bared. Elian’s rapier was aimed at Tathan, but his eyes were on the dark blade and fear shone in his eyes. A few others in the cave had drawn their weapons, but didn’t seem willing to get too close to Tathan or Sir Danth, who stood with his arms crossed.
“Your cousin?” Miesha asked, rage oozing from her voice. She turned her gaze to Tathan. “I thought you liked me. You’re mine and you were going to take me with you,” she said in an accusatory tone.
Tathan’s jaw fell open. Elian looked at Miesha then back at Tathan. He put away his rapier. “Did you promise to take her?”
Tathan turned to him, putting away his own sword as an afterthought. “No. I haven’t spoken to her,” he protested.
“You looked at me. I could see it in your eyes!” Miesha exclaimed. “You were going to take me with. You’re mine.” Her teeth were bared and there was a fanatical look in her eyes. “Why did you bring her?” she challenged, pointing at Liselle. “You’re supposed to take me.”
Elian stepped in front of her. “They’re not going to take you, Miesha. He doesn’t love you.”
Miesha screeched and slapped Elian in the face. He didn’t react, simply standing his ground. Miesha glared at Liselle one last time then ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. They all stared at the door in shock. It obviously wasn’t what anyone had expected.
Elian turned and started to speak before his eyes widened at Vevin’s appearance. Tathan spoke quickly to avoid questions. “I never said I was taking her with, not even with my eyes.”
The guild leader shook his head. “Miesha has had a difficult life. The story isn’t mine to tell, but her mind is no longer fully there.” He dismissed the problem with a flip of his hand, leaving the companions unsatisfied. “Come, let’s discuss details. It’s almost time to leave.” He waved them back to the table.
Liselle kept a protective hand at her neck. It caught her by surprise when the girl screamed and choked her. Vevin kept his arm around her waist and looked at everybody with teeth bared. The people in the room kept their distance.
“Have a seat,” Elian said, gesturing to chairs along the table. He sat down and placed his hands on the table, working to regain his composure. “We have aprons for you to wear over your clothes. Rojuun don’t pay attention to clothing, but they do watch weapons,” he said, pointing at Tathan’s sword. “You’ll have to hide th
at.”
“Alright. I’ll take care of it,” Tathan responded.
“How?”
“Don’t worry about it. When we get to the fortress, it’ll be hidden.” Tathan’s answer was cryptic and he ignored Elian’s frown. “We also have a way to get Sir Danth in. He has a rare ring of invisibility and will use it to get past the guards.”
Elian shook his head. “The Rojuun have wards which detect invisibility. They have wards which detect just about everything it seems,” he informed them. “That’s alright though. Our plan will work.”
“What’s the plan?” Tathan asked. Liselle was fine sitting quietly. It gave her time to study the people. They looked lost to her, like a flower would be in the desert. There was a lingering sadness and pallor in their complexions. The rock of the cave was oppressive and the complete lack of flowers or any sort of plant made her uncomfortable. She didn’t see how they could live like this. Liselle hoped they would be able to rescue the princess and make it above ground soon.
“The plan is for your knight to take off his armor and go in as a servant.” Tathan shook his head, but Elian continued. “We’ll put the armor back together and pull it on a cart, disguising the sword as a yoke and handle. When the guards ask, we’ll explain that the armor is a piece of artwork to decorate the halls,” he finished with arms out in a grand gesture.
Tathan visibly resisted sighing. “That sounds like a good plan, but Sir Danth’s armor is cursed and he can’t take it off.”
The guild leader’s face fell. “Oh. You said he couldn’t take it off, but I interpreted that to mean he didn’t want to go in without it, not that it was a curse. That complicates things.”
“The plan will work,” Sir Danth said. “I will remain in the armor as it is brought in. Part of the curse is that it makes it appear as though I have no body. It’s very disturbing and I’m extremely upset about the matter.”
The terrible attempt at bluffing caused Liselle to cover her mouth to suppress a giggle. Luckily, Elian and the others seemed to accept it without suspicion. “That is terrible, Sir Knight. I didn’t realize. You have my apologies if I appeared callous.”
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