“Charity Moody,” the woman said, keeping her arms crossed across her chest. “When do we get to kill some demons?”
The last person was an older man, probably in his late thirties. He was compact, just a hair taller than Kate, and solid. He moved with the grace of an experienced swordsman, and when he shook Kate’s hand, she felt the thick rough skin on his. His pale blue eyes widened a little when her callouses scraped against his, but he said nothing about it. His short, sand-colored hair identified him as being from Icirus, where that style was popular among the soldiers. He must have served.
“I am Sampson Dawkins,” he said. The way he emphasized his consonants confirmed to her he was Icirusian. He bowed to them but said nothing further.
The six stood around for a moment, no one quite knowing what to say to the other. Phileas Darknoll rescued them from the silence.
“Recruits!” he yelled, even louder than he had in the castle. “Follow me. We have a march ahead of us.”
Sergeant Phileas Darknoll marched them hard all day, every day, for longer than Kate could track. She was sure it was nearly three weeks. Each day, they got up before sunrise, broke camp, and marched. They took breaks several times during the day, and Phileas screamed at everyone to eat and drink or they would be left dying by the side of the road.
A dozen Order soldiers accompanied the recruits, all of them Red. They didn’t say much to the recruits, but neither were they rude. Their purpose, one of them told Kate when she asked, was to guard the potential soldiers from bandits and wild animals.
The first day was the hardest. Until the second day. It took at least four before Kate didn’t wake up sore and aching in the morning. She was in combat shape, but marching, often over uneven terrain, was different. The pack, seemingly so light at first, dragged at her, and the straps cut into her shoulders. She wondered, more than once, if she would get in trouble if she threw the blasted thing into the river.
After a few days, she stopped focusing on the dull, difficult marching and started to notice the areas she passed through. She had been to a few other cities and had visited some of the other nobles’ estates, but she had never seen the land as she did now.
Late in the second day, they left the roadway, traveling across a field and toward a large group of trees on the horizon. She wasn’t sure she agreed with leaving the nice, even road, but she had no say in the matter.
That night, they camped at the edge of the forest she had seen earlier. It looked so wild, trees taller than anything she’d ever seen—even the castle spires—with vegetation choking the space between the huge wooden monoliths. Chitters, grunts, and coughs that nearly sounded like roars came from those trees while she was falling asleep that night. Her dreams were of monsters that breathed fire and spoke directly into her mind. When she woke in the morning, she was thankful she had not had to take a watch duty the night before. The next night, she would.
So it was that they traveled through forest, field, even across two rivers, though they used existing bridges and didn’t have to ford the waterways themselves. They camped in clearings or any other place with enough open area for more than a hundred people.
With nothing else do to but look at the terrain and talk to the other recruits, Kate conversed with the others in her squad. They were required to stay together during the march. It was probably a way for Sergeant Phileas to keep track of them and make them rely on each other. Dante had told Kate how it was important to have people around you that you trusted to cover your back in a battle, so the sergeants and officers tried their best to foster the idea that a squad was a family. They seemed hesitant to get too close to her, as if she had a foul odor or was hideously ugly, but they were not outright rude or hostile.
“I am the first son of a noble house,” Arronax said. “My family has fallen on hard times, but I will be their savior. I will attain the Black or the Gold, and I will elevate the level of my house, while getting land and a pension. I have heard of a duke’s ancestor who did that very thing.”
“It’s not so easy to get the Black,” Charity said. “Or to get so high in rank to attain the gold. I don’t think you have what it takes. You’ll stay Red until some demon eats your face and drags you off to Hell to finish the rest of you.” She laughed, a hoarse, wheezing laugh. Kate looked at Charity with curiosity. Her laugh sounded like that of a very fat man. It was strange coming from the woman’s mouth.
“It is not easy, yes,” Arronax said, “but I will do it. Just you watch and pay heed.”
“Well, I for one don’t care about rank,” Charity said. “In fact, I’d rather not get rank because then I wouldn’t be on the front line. One of those damn demons killed my favorite uncle, and I’ll kill every one that sets foot on our side of the gate until I am sure I killed the one who did it.”
“Where do you come from, Charity?” Wilfred asked.
The woman’s head snapped to consider the slender youth. She seemed to be trying to decide if he meant offense by asking. She stared at his smiling face, the smile slowly fading in the scrutiny, before she answered.
“I’m from Chesteridge, down south.”
“That’s a mining town, is it not?” Kate asked and immediately kicked herself mentally for phrasing it as a noble would. Isn’t it, Kate thought to herself, not is it not. The surprise in Sampson’s eyes told her she was right to worry that someone would notice.
“Yeah. Rocks and iron and filthy men. I’d rather be on the top side of the ground, putting my enemies in the dirt.”
The five looked around, at each other, basically anywhere except toward Charity. The silence dragged as they plodded along.
“Why are you here, Wilfred Gaylord Lisney?” Charity finally said.
“Oh, I…um…there is a little problem that hounds me. I long for a fresh start.”
The predatory grin on Charity’s face made Kate feel at the same time a little scared and also sad that Wilfred gave her the opening he did.
“Tell us about it,” the dark-haired woman said. It was not a request.
Wilfred pulled his robes away from himself several times to fan his body. A sheen of perspiration coated his forehead despite the chill in the air. “I…owe quite a bit of gold to others. The pay from the Order isn’t much, but at least it’s regular. And it will keep my creditors from breaking my arms or killing me while I pay them back.”
“Why do you owe such funds to these men?” Sampson asked.
“Gambling debts,” Wilfred said. “I’m sure I could win and pay them all back, but with no money to start with, I can’t even get in the game. Cards, dice, even stones, I know I could win if only I had some seed money.”
“Gambling!” Arronax said, much too loudly for it to be kept among the small group during the march. “That is no way to make money. Besides, it is a lowly pursuit, one unbefitting a member of the Order. You shall stop the practice, or you will be cast from our midst.”
Wilfred stared at Arronax with his mouth open. This conversation was getting more and more awkward.
“Who’re you to tell anyone else what to do?” Jasper mumbled, though it was loud enough for the others to hear.
“Who? Who am I? I am Arronax Sparks. Have you not heard of the Sparks family? Watch your tongue, boy, or I will have you flogged.”
“Not a chance,” Charity said. “We’re all equal in the Order. Your family doesn’t give you power here.”
“You are a noble, then?” Sampson asked. “Why have you joined the Order, if you are so high and mighty?”
Arronax deflated slightly. “Like I said, my family is in a bit of a pinch right now and needs to be revitalized.”
Kate knew of the Sparks family. They were at the very bottom edge of what could be called noble. They were not landed and were without holdings. Their financial situation was tenuous at best. Most of the nobles she knew didn’t even consider the Sparks family a noble house at all. She didn’t care for Arronax’s arrogant nature, but she well understood trying to bring honor
to one’s family.
“And what of you, Jasper Pole?” Arronax spat. “What is your history, and why have you joined the Order?”
“It’s simple enough,” Jasper said. “My family are farmers, but we dream of farming our own land, not working our hands to the bone so someone else can sell the crops. I aim to get as high as I can, maybe get a piece of land. Then we can have something to call our own. Too many generations of Poles have worked for someone else. I reckon I’ll be the one to fix that problem.”
Their conversation was interrupted when Phileas started yelling to halt and set up camp. Kate had learned some things about her companions, gathered facts on what kind of people they were. It was good. She would be relying on these others, and them on her, during training. Maybe some of them would even become her friends. Anything was possible in the Order. Past meant little; there was only the present and the future.
The next day, they made it through the heavily wooded area to one with foothills and fewer trees to slow the column’s progress. It was fortunate, because the hills did a fine job by themselves.
The recruits talked less during the hike. Phileas led the group, as he had every day since they left, and the man could move fast. Kate didn’t think she had yet seen him sweat, regardless of the temperature outside and the terrain over which they passed. He had to be hot with all that hair and that bush of a beard, but not one drop made an appearance on his skin.
The same could not be said of the recruits. Everyone—even Kate, whose conditioning was better than most of the others—was drenched by midmorning.
“Don’t worry,” Phileas said as they marched. “You’ll soon wish for the heat. When we move into the mountains, your little fingers and toes will be aching, it’ll be so cold. I don’t want to hear any whining. Soldiers of the Order need to be tough. We don’t accept mewling little girls.”
“I really hate that man,” Charity said through gritted teeth, and several of the others grunted affirmations. Or at least nodded.
As promised, they began to go generally upward. They spent a half day moving through a lush, beautiful valley, and then they found a road going up into the mountains they had been seeing for the last several days. Kate told herself she should be relieved that they would finally get some respite from the heat. The mountain peaks were covered with snow.
The first day on the winding path into the mountains, what Kate had been dreading finally happened.
“What is your story, Kate?” Arronax asked her. He had obviously noticed that she never gave him a second glance, unlike the few other female recruits. They seemed to find him wherever in the main bunch Kate’s squad marched. It was hilarious to watch them lugging their packs while still trying to look attractive.
Not Charity, though. She was immune to the man’s charms. Kate suspected Charity didn’t like men in general but wasn’t sure. Arronax didn’t seem to mind that the brooding woman didn’t try to hang all over him like the other women.
But Kate, she was another story. She knew she was relatively attractive—many young suitors told her so—but she didn’t care for silly love games. This seemed to be an affront to Arronax’s pride, and he constantly tried to find ways to get her to talk to him.
“There is not much of a story,” she said, her mind scrambling to find a way to deflect the conversation. She saw movement to her left and found Sampson marching there next to her. “Sampson, though, seems to have a story. One we haven’t heard yet. If I don’t miss my guess, you are from Icirus, right?” She turned to face him.
His smirk told her he knew exactly what she was doing. He winked at her and she breathed out in relief.
“Yes, you are correct,” the man said. His shield was strapped to his back and his sword swung at his side, one of the few present among the recruits. The Order would issue the recruits weapons after they were trained. He ran a hand over his inch-long hair. “I am from Icirus. I have served in the army there for almost a score of years, but I grew tired.”
“If you got tired of soldiering, why’d you join the Order?” Jasper asked.
“Ah, you misunderstand, my friend,” Sampson said. “I grew weary of the pointless skirmishes. This lord or that lord wanted to battle with another. Some wars were fought over an insult. Nobles would not dirty their hands with a duel, but instead enlisted dozens or hundreds of soldiers to battle for them.
“In Icirus, those of noble birth are allowed to hire out soldiers from the army. The soldiers have no choice in the matter. The nobles will make the arrangements with the officers, and the men will be ordered to fight. One week, I would perhaps fight alongside one group and the next week, I might be fighting against them. It is senseless.
“I have a wife and two small children. They have not been caught up in the silly wars of the nobles, but there is always a danger. I decided it was better to join the Order of the Fire and gain my citizenship with Brasea. Then my family can live in the safest place in the world.”
“That is a good reason to join,” Kate said. “Fighting for squabbling nobles would be a depressing way to live.”
“That’s very interesting, Sampson, but I’d really like to learn about our Kate here,” Arronax said. The tall, dark man faced Kate. “For example, we don’t even know what your last name is, Kate.”
She swallowed. She could give them another name, but they would eventually find out her real name. She didn’t join under an assumed or newly created moniker. She had to just hope it wouldn’t make a difference to her squad.
“Courtenay,” she said. “I’m Kate Courtenay.”
Arronax’s mouth dropped open. “Kate Courtenay? As in Katherine Courtenay? The duke’s daughter?”
The others were staring at her now. All except Sampson, who wore a small frown and had sadness in his eyes.
“You are the duke’s daughter?” Wilfred asked. “Why would you want to join the Order and fight demons with a bunch of men?”
Kate stood up straighter and threw her shoulders back. “My family was built on service to the Order. There have been many heroes in my family. It is a grand tradition. I intend to do my ancestors proud and continue the practice.”
“You’re a noble, Kate,” Arronax said. “Not just a minor noble, but a duchess. You don’t need to take up a sword and shield. Your family has enough money to last your entire life.”
Kate narrowed her eyes at the man. “It’s not about money, Arronax Sparks. It’s about honor and family glory. And it’s about protecting others from the demon hordes. If you don’t understand that, perhaps you are in the wrong place.”
“All I know is that I don’t want to be around no noble,” Jasper said. “All nobles spend their time with their noses up in the air and looking down on the folk who work their fields.”
“Hey now,” Arronax said.
“It’s no offense to you, Arronax. You’re not even like a real noble, just one of us common folk. You’re okay.”
Jasper and Arronax turned away from Kate, moving to the edge of the column. It was obvious they didn’t want to be around her. Charity sniffed and went to join them.
“Are you coming, Wilfred?” Arronax asked.
Wilfred swung his head back and forth between Kate and the others who had moved away. He shrugged in apology and stepped over to where the others were marching, heads straight ahead, looking anywhere but at Kate.
Kate met Sampson’s eyes. His frown deepened slightly. “It will get better,” he said, but he still left to join the others. Kate continued marching as an empty space opened up around her. The others of her group whispered to other squads around them, causing the listeners to gawk at her. The world was full of disappointing people, and the Order was no different. It was a world of wide backs and small minds.
By the end of the day’s march, Kate felt more alone than at any other time in her life. Everyone treated her as if she were invisible. She decided it didn’t matter. She was not here for them. She joined the Order to bring honor to her family and to help protect i
nnocent people. They could shun her, but it wouldn’t matter. She would fight the demons alone if she had to.
And it seemed she just might.
With no one else to talk to, Kate moved to the edge of the column each day, letting her squad mates have the space farther in so they could converse with the other squads. The position gave her a good vantage point over the terrain they were traveling through.
As they headed up the winding mountain road, the air became colder and colder. There were few trees in the area, and as the road made its way up to the horizon, it looked to Kate like a path to oblivion. It certainly felt like that. Soon, snow began falling on them, and there was snow all around the road. It seemed that there was enough traffic to keep it from accumulating on the road itself, but Kate didn’t know how long that would be the case.
The day before they got to their destination, it snowed heavily on them. Many of the recruits, including Kate, had never been in a large snowfall. The pace of the column slowed to a crawl, much to Phileas Darknoll’s chagrin.
“It’s flaming frozen water,” he yelled. “It won’t hurt you. Keep up your pace, you cankerous carbuncles. Move it, move it.”
His constant prodding increased the recruits’ speed slightly, but they still moved more slowly than Kate would have liked. She figured that once she got to the fortress, she could throw herself into her training, and the lack of friends or conversation wouldn’t bother her as much.
When they turned the final corner in the road so she could see what would be her home for the next several months, thoughts of everything else went right out of her head.
Faerdham Fortress was massive. She had never seen anything so big. Carved out of the rock of the mountain itself, it had great blockish towers and walls that looked as if God himself could not tear them down. The towers and the walls had square crenels, and Kate picked out tiny figures walking on the walls through the large openings. The roofs of the main buildings were pitched sharply, no doubt because of the snow that fell often here. Snow that was all around them in drifts ten feet deep.
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