by Jon Kiln
Nisero squinted around below them. “Who?”
“The riders.”
“What about them?”
“Look,” Berengar insisted.
It was a great distance, but Nisero started piecing together colors and patterns. His jaw dropped open. Berengar nodded.
“Explain please,” Arianne said.
“Elite Guard,” Nisero replied.
“And you recognize the one in front?”
Nisero only counted seven men. Could that be all that was left? Eight, if he counted himself, but Nisero was not sure he could see himself among them any longer.
“Captain Forseth,” he said in distaste.
“What are they doing here?” Arianne bit her lower lip.
“If they truly believe I was responsible for killing our brothers, then they will want to get hold of me themselves.”
“And if they are responsible for it,” Berengar added, “they will want to get to you first, too.”
Arianne sighed. “So, that narrows it down to one or the other.”
“I’d love to ride ahead and get hold of Forseth myself,” Nisero said through gritted his teeth.
“As do I,” said Berengar, “but now is not the time.”
“Where to then, captain?” Nisero looked away from the land below.
Berengar pointed down the other side of the ridge. “This trail is a little steep, but it leads down beyond the ridge leaving them on the other side.”
Nisero took one last lingering look at the men below, before they made their way down the trail behind the ridge.
Chapter 8: Lies and Answers
Arianne slapped Berengar across the face. It was a crisp sound that echoed through the hardwoods and foliage around them.
The horses reacted to the noise like a threat. They rolled out sounds of distress from their throats and snorted through flared nostrils. All three pulled with enough force on the reins wrapped in Nisero’s fists that they dragged his feet along through the dirt. He clicked his tongue and pulled back until they gave up the fight to bolt. As they bobbed their heads, Nisero realized they could have dragged him through the forest, if they had so chosen.
The girl’s handprint glowed rosy red on Berengar’s cheek. Two of the fingers were lost in the hard lines of his scar from Solag’s hand. Berengar blinked and took a step back, more to calm himself than to recoil from the actual force of the blow.
“How could you try to pass me off like that?” Arianne shouted. “How could I mean so little to you?”
“I explained why I did it and what I was trying to accomplish,” replied Berengar calmly. “There is nothing more to say on it. I thought your husband was a different man.”
“I thought you were a different man.” Arianne held her belly and turned away from her father. She took a few steps, but not exactly toward Nisero either. “You led them right to us. We came to you to avoid that very thing. You lied.”
“I said nothing that was untrue.”
“The song and verse of liars everywhere,” Arianne spat.
Berengar sighed and turned his eyes toward Nisero holding the horses. “I’m sorry I almost orchestrated your capture, Nisero. I thought Dreth would take me at my word and return Arianne home, freeing us to investigate the mystery surrounding this betrayal. I did not intend to be party to a betrayal myself and for that I am sincerely sorry. To both of you, I am sorry.”
“I understand, captain.”
Arianne threw her hands back and spoke up at the sky between the trees. “Of course he forgives you. What choice does he have? You could probably lie and double cross him two more times and he would forgive you twice again.”
“That is enough,” Berengar said with force. “What exactly did you think the plan would entail, dear daughter, were we to ride off together? Three into battle – four if you count your unborn child? We are hobbled for having you in tow. It increases the danger on all of us. Had I not approached your husband myself, he would have rallied half the King’s army to come hunt us down. You can pour the full measure of your wrath upon my head, if you so choose, but had you gone with him willingly and remained silent on the matter, we would have been away and out from under some of the heat that dogs us now. There is some of the truth you love and want so desperately. Is it every bit as liberating as you had hoped, Arianne?”
“I will not cry, if that is your ploy, turning your mistake back harshly against me.”
Berengar snorted in a manner that reminded Nisero of the horses. “I have no opinion or concern on whether you choose to cry or not.”
“You have had no concern about many things for a long time,” Arianne said with her voice pitched lower.
“All my concern,” Berengar said, “has been for your continued safety and life. That and nothing else.”
Insects clicked through the trees around them. Nisero listened for any larger pests that might have been drawn in by the argument, but he heard none. He had hoped to remain out of the father daughter dispute until the storm had passed, but he wasn’t sure it was going to do so. He opened his mouth to speak into the silence like he had promised himself he would not, but Arianne spoke first.
“I am done,” she said. “So what do we do now?”
“We still need information.” Berengar turned his attention back on Nisero.
The lieutenant walked the horses a few steps closer to the space between Captain Berengar and his daughter. “I have no sources I can trust. Even those that would be my friends under most circumstances would not dream of engaging me even in conversation now.”
“I have fewer now than I did before.” Berengar scratched at his whiskers and stared down at the ground for a moment. “And that wasn't very many to begin with.”
Nisero glanced in Arianne’s direction fearing that she would take the comment as an opening to re-engage the argument about the situation being her father’s fault. She appeared to be holding her tongue for the moment, but knowing her, Nisero wasn’t sure how long the peace could hold.
“We could find a way to get information from people that don’t care to give it,” Berengar thought out loud. “The same way we did on the ridge called The Way of Blood.”
Nisero looked away. “As I recall, people died that night.”
Berengar shook his head. “We did not kill those boys. We kept our promise to their sister.”
“I’m talking about the sword fights that followed during our narrow escape. We also had to jump off a cliff. My hip still hurts when it rains sometimes.”
“Well, maybe we can modify the idea and stay closer to the ground this time.”
Nisero thought about it for a beat. “That will require us to get close to those that pursue us.”
“They are already close and getting closer. We might as well have the information too.”
“What do you have in mind?” Arianne queried her father.
“We’ll need to swing back toward the farm.”
Arianne rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry I asked.”
“Again, the farther from the capital we flee, the less likely we are to be able to find the truth and clear Nisero’s name. Unless we intend to cross over and approach the king of the eastern kingdom, but I think we would find an even colder reception there.”
“I will follow you lead, captain.”
Arianne took one of the horses from Nisero and mounted. “As opposed to your other choices.”
***
They rode south west, avoiding trails until Captain Berengar pulled them up short. He put a finger to his lips and signaled for the other two to follow him. They looped down into a ravine and tied off the horses below a vine covered overhang.
“Arianne,” Berengar whispered, “I need you to stay with the horses until we return. Be ready to ride, please.”
She crossed her arms. “As you wish, father.”
He took a length of rope over one shoulder and motioned Nisero to follow him as they walked back up out of the ravine.
“What is
the plan, sir?”
“We are close to ears that might hear,” Berengar said softly. “Just trust me for now and I’ll explain later, if I can.”
Nisero’s thoughts drifted to Berengar bringing Dreth into their midst, but he did not press for answers yet.
The older man looked around and began testing the saplings. He bent one down and began tying off the end of the rope. Nisero started to get the idea of what Berengar was trying to do even if he did not understand why he was doing it. Nisero leaned his weight on the tree as Berengar finished the knot.
The captain pulled down taut on the tree and covered the bend with leaves. Nisero joined him in the task. Berengar created a loop and staked it down on the ground. They covered that as well. As they finished, Berengar looped the rope around a stump, up through a fork in a tree and then across the trail over another branch. He added slack until the rope lay across between trees on the ground. They covered this final section too.
They both crouched behind the trees and the captain held the rope, waiting.
After a while, hoof beats approached. Seven riders from the regular army rode through between the trees. Nisero waited for the captain to spring the trap, but they rode on and he did not set off the elaborate snare he had prepared.
“How did you know they would ride through here?” Nisero whispered.
“Because they came through once and they did not find us.”
Nisero adjusted his position to be more comfortable. “Why didn’t you spring your trap?”
“They were not the prize I sought.”
“For whom is this trap set?”
Berengar closed his eyes and took a beep breathe. “For answers,” he said. “Now remain still. This is worse than having Arianne up here.”
Nisero remained quiet, but thought about the captain’s daughter waiting in the ravine.
Another rider approached. Berengar raised his head to look and then lowered it again. He stared forward, still and silent. Nisero figured this was not their prey either.
As the rider’s shadow fell across the ground ahead of them, Berengar leaned back and pulled the line up rigid out of the leaves. The horse rode under, but the man took the rope across his chest. He lifted out of the saddle in the air and grunted. He tried to hold onto the rope, but instead spilled to his back on the ground, staring up at the sky.
Nisero saw it was Forseth.
Berengar let go of the rope and instead of falling limp to the ground, the stakes came loose and the tree snapped up in the air. The loop tightened around Captain Forseth’s feet and he lifted up into the air upside down clawing around himself, but not finding anything to hold onto.
Berengar drew his sword and sprung from his hiding place. Nisero followed close behind.
Forseth opened his mouth to scream for help, but Berengar put the point of the blade against Forseth’s throat and the upside down captive stopped in mid shout.
“Not a sound or I will run you through like the dirty bandits we are.” Berengar grabbed Forseth’s belt to steady him in the air before drawing the man’s sword out of its sheath and tossing it aside. He did the same with his dagger.
“You don’t need to do this,” Forseth breathed.
“Don’t test me,” Berengar said. “You’ll have plenty of time to talk in response to my questions.”
“How did you know he would come back through eventually?” Nisero asked.
Berengar knelt down level with Forseth’s head. He moved the point of his sword and rested the edge of the blade against the man’s chin and throat. “Because he had not found us. He was the most keen to find us, and therefore he would come back through last.”
“I know Nisero did not kill those men,” Forseth said quickly, “and the charges against him are lies.” His arms were dangling down past his head near the ground.
Berengar grinned at Forseth’s reddening face. “Now you seem to be saying something that I am actually interested in hearing, old friend. Go on.”
Chapter 9: Conspiracies
“I know Nisero is not guilty,” Forseth blurted.
“You said that already,” Nisero said from behind Berengar.
Berengar still held his sword to the man's neck as he hung upside down in the trap. “Yes, so tell us something new about this thing you know, Forseth.”
“The ambush was already cleared by the time we returned from the manor. Authorities were searching for the killers before the sun rose, and I know some of them must have been the very ones that brought down the Elite Guard. We were ordered back to the capital and your image and name, Nisero, were attached to the crime before we arrived.”
Berengar didn’t believe him. “So you claim no part in staging the ambush?”
Forseth’s face was already red from hanging upside down, so it was hard to read any surprise or emotional nuance in his reactions. “I would never turn on our brothers any more than you or Nisero could.”
Berengar laid out the facts. “You stopped the company on the road. You picked the men that accompanied you in before the attack. You had no part in that staging, you claim?”
“None,” Forseth said, eyes bulging. “I was told by authority above me where to stop and how to proceed. The men I chose to come with me were just chosen. It haunts me to know the ones I left behind were slaughtered.”
“Who told you to stop us there?” Nisero interjected.
Forseth swung his gaze towards his younger captor. “The King’s own attendants. It was all claimed to be in the name of protecting the late prince. The same men that orchestrated the charges and search for you. They are joining the King in pushing for war with the East.”
“Do you claim the King himself was in on this assassination?” Nisero pressed.
“Never.”
“Kings don’t tend to be supporters of regicide for obvious reasons,” Berengar added. “Why do you now hunt us?”
“It was a long shot, but I was hoping to find you first and help you escape.”
Nisero leaned forward. “Escape?”
“Yes, you both could find your way across the border and into the lands outside of the reach of those that would seek your destruction,” Forseth explained.
“You want us to leave the kingdom?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t go to the eastern kingdom with the winds of war blowing. Though I think it would be best to escape while you can. Forces are closing in and it is only a matter of time before you are caught.”
Berengar’s fist tightened on the hilt of his sword at Forseth’s neck. “Why don’t you help us clear Nisero’s name, since you know him to be innocent. Accept the full mantle of leadership for the Guard and vindicate the dead among our brothers by helping to uncover the truth.”
“I want to. But I don’t see that being a short process. You’ll need to steal away until the time is right.”
“Is that what you would do in our stead?”
Forseth nodded vigorously. “Were I one or the other of you, I would have crossed the border to the north, south, or west, days ago.”
“You said you came to help us with that crossing?” Nisero prodded.
“I can.”
“You have men you can trust to see us through?”
“I do.”
Nisero stood as Berengar lifted his blade away from Forseth’s throat and swiped the sword through the rope above Forseth’s feet. The tree crackled as the rope snapped up in the air with whip like force. Captain Forseth dumped onto the ground and fell to his side.
He rolled up to his knees and started to wriggle quickly away. “They are here! To arms!” he shouted hysterically.
Forseth fought to get to his feet, but his ankles remained bound by the tightened loop of the severed rope. He fell to his face with a grunt. Forseth reached for his sword in the leaves where Berengar threw it.
Nisero stepped on the blade on the ground as he drew his own. Forseth scrambled forward anyway. Nisero kicked the sword away and out of reach behind him. The lieutenant took a step
back from Forseth’s grasping hands and lowered the tip of his sword to hang between him and the Elite Guard captain.
Berengar gave Forseth a sharp kick in the ribs and Nisero saw the man curl with the pain, pressing his face into the leaves under him. Berengar kicked again along the edge of Forseth’s jaw, near his ear. The prone man flipped over to his back with his eyes clenched shut and his hands out and open in front. He blindly tried to fend off any more kicks.
Instead of kicking a third time, Berengar lowered his sword down between Forseth’s hands and rested the tip to Forseth’s throat again. Forseth felt the cold steel against his skin. He showed his teeth and clenched his fists, but did not open his eyes.
“That was not your best moment, Forseth,” Berengar observed pleasantly.
“If you kill me, you will have done exactly what you are accused of doing… both of you.”
“I think I can live with that, if you are the traitor and the killer of my brothers,” answered Berengar.
“Why did you let me down then, old man?”
“I wanted to see if your answers and attitude changed once you thought you were free. It happened much faster than I expected. You didn’t even get your feet untied before you tried to turn on us again. Very disappointing.”
Forseth’s eyes slid open and he stared up the length of Berengar’s blade at the former captain. “You are wanted criminals. You set a trap for me and threatened me, leader of the Elite Guard to the King, with a dark, bandit’s sword. Where do you find the gall to lecture me on turning on anyone?”
Berengar bent slightly at the waist to bring his face closer to Forseth on the ground, but kept the point of his sword pressed at the soft flesh of the man’s neck. “You are a bumbling fool that rose to your position when better men were out doing work in regions that the crown had left to rot. You only kept your post because a stronger man supported you from below and kept you from constantly tripping over your own feet. You did not even have the courage to commit your treachery with your own hand and blade. You rode away and let other men do the work for you, like a coward.”