by S. Nileson
“I wouldn’t be too worried about that,” Balta said. He then looked at Ascilla and added, “On second thoughts…”
“We won’t,” Archer interrupted. “I swear it.”
“Good, good,” Terketeus said. “Forgive my hastiness. I have just awoken from a long slumber and am famished. I shall return to you once I have eaten. I suggest you not wait for me.” Terketeus disappeared into the darkness of the cave. A series of clanks and clings echoes from within.
“Do you still intend to keep your oath to the Ichneumon Order?” Archer asked of Ascilla.
She looked at him straight in the eyes and said, “Not anytime soon. You were right, Archer. It appears that I don’t know half as much about dragons as I thought I did. I spent many days and nights thinking about it ever since our dispute in Katabasis and am finally convinced that somethings have been withheld from me.”
“Will you honor my word to Terketeus?”
“As long as you intend on keeping it, but I’ll be keeping a close watch on him. Pax help us should he turn against us.”
“I’ll sleep better now knowing that I’m under the protection of a dragon,” Balta said. “And I don’t care if he’s older than time itself.”
2
“He still didn’t come out,” Balta said. He yawned and laid back while Archer started to pack his bed in preparation for the journey ahead.
“You know Ganis planned this,” Ascilla said. “She has been preparing for this since we first arrived in Katabasis.”
“She has nothing to gain from it,” Archer said. He looked around for a string he misplaced in the darkness of the night. After stirring a few items during a brief search, he finally found it under a small pouch Ganis had given them with some coin for the journey. He held the pouch in his hand and thought of how it was the most coin he had ever held at once.
“Perhaps not. It’s also likely that Keshish had it planned.”
“Either way I trust in their judgement and will abide by their wishes until there’s proof of ill intentions.”
“It’s easy to say that now, but let us speak once more about this when our journey is concluded and the many perils we’re about to face are behind us.” Ascilla left the cave to wash at the stream while she had the chance. She did not know how long it would be before she would have access to the same luxury again.
When Ascilla was far enough not to hear him speak, Balta asked, “Do you think we can trust her with Terketeus?”
“She said she will honor my oath.”
“What if your trust is misplaced? What if she reconsiders her position?”
Archer smiled and stopped his fiddling for a moment, focusing his attention wholly on Balta, and said, “This is what it means to be on an adventure. There are many things of which we do not know. We are no longer in Keshish’s safe haven. We are no longer certain of our near future like the days of old when we knew when to chop and when to sell. Out world has changed much and so must we.”
“When did you grow to be so wise, Archer?”
“I was thinking the same of you, brother.” Archer sat down next to Balta, on his still unpacked bed. “It has been many months since our old lives ended. I still have nightmares of that night.”
“So do I. Sometimes I pray before I open my eyes in the morning that this new life is a dream.”
“It’s not so bad when you get used to it,” Archer said. He took out a pouch with berries he had picked the day before and offered Balta some.
Balta took a few and started eating them one at a time, savoring the taste of each. “Before being saved by Keshish I lived a life much like ours now.”
“You never spoke of it before. If it brings you pain, I’d hear none of it.”
“I don’t want to have any more secrets between us. I promise that soon the time will come when all is revealed.” He looked at the last berry in his palm and said, “These are great.” He wolfed it down.
“Think Ascilla is done with her business?” Archer asked.
“I’d go.”
3
Heavy rain prevented the adventurers from resuming their travel, rather made them hesitant to do so. It was a convenient excuse for them to rest some more. None contested the decision and all were relieved by it.
Ascilla sat cross-legged in a corner meditating. Not a sound escaped her as she did so and she never expressed any annoyance of Balta’s ruckus sorting out his belongings. He was convinced that once they would venture into a city he would risk having many of his precious items stolen.
Terketeus had finished his feast and sat with his guests, enjoying the company of others as much as he could while he still had the opportunity. For the remainder of the day he ate nothing and eerily eyed the travelers as he squatted by the entrance to what the travelers had gotten to name ‘his part of the cave.’
“Do I look funny?” Balta asked of Terketeus, irritated by his staring.
“I am sorry, little one, I’m not a good judge of how funny people look. Perhaps you should ask Ascilla, she seems to be bluntly honest.” He continued to curiously stare at Balta.
“You don’t speak to people much, do you?”
“No, I do not.”
“How come you speak our language so well?”
“It has not changed much since last I learnt it. The accents, however, I cannot say the same of.”
Balta noticed the slight difference in the way Terketeus pronounced his words. His vowels were slightly heavier and took a bit longer to pronounce than he was used to. His accent was vaguely similar to the Parthan accent often the center of ridicule amongst foreigners.
“Terketeus,” Archer said, gaining the immediate attention of the humanoid dragon, “what do you intend to do once we leave?”
“I do not know. Perhaps I will return to my slumber.” He hunched in sadness at the loneliness that awaited him.
“Would you be interested in joining us?” Archer asked.
Ascilla opened her eyes and retorted, “Join us?”
“Why not?” Archer said.
“He’s a dragon,” Ascilla said, completely disregarding Terketeus’ presence. “He might have been acting friendly with us but there is no guarantee that he will remain so out there, where people hunt his kind with no need for reason or provocation.”
“For how long can you maintain your human form?” Archer asked of Terketeus.
“Indefinitely,” he answered, eyes gleaming with hope. “Rarely have I been discovered amongst your kind unless I declare it or someone else does.”
Ascilla stood up and walked towards the dragon, leaning close enough to see him well. Unsatisfied by the poor lighting she picked one of the three lit candles and held it close to Terketeus to gain a better image of the ancient dragon. “His eyes,” she said, “are unnaturally grey.”
“Not unnatural,” Balta said, “but rare. I’ve seen a girl in Windbreeze, oh how pretty she was, with eyes as grey as his. I will never forget her.”
“What if he goes on some sort of rampage and burns down a village?”
“We don’t know that they do that,” Archer responded, calmly addressing Ascilla’s concerns.
“We don’t know that they don’t,” she answered.
For the next hour the two continued to discuss meaningless concerns neither confirmed nor denied about the dangers of taking Terketeus with them on their journey, at least till the next portion of it. They finally settled by trusting in Balta’s judgement; for somehow during the discussion the matter turned into a vote.
Having both his companions looking at him, waiting for him to cast his vote, Balta said, “It’s a free world, at least somewhat free, and I say we have no right to tell him to come or not, unless he bears us ill intent, which I believe he does not. Would you do us the honor of joining us, old one?”
Terketeus looked up at Balta, Archer then Ascilla, “I would love to.” He rushed into the darkness of his cavern and a few moments later, and after a lot of noise and disturbance, appeared with
a large grey cloth bag on his back. “When do we start?”
Scratching his head, Archer looked at Ascilla, gaining her forced approval, and said, “Once the rain settles and Ascilla deems it safe to resume our journey.”
“Splendid!” Terketeus said.
And in silence they waited, each occupied by their own concerns.
4
The rain stopped and the sky cleared. It was muddy and there were small patches of water everywhere. The conditions were not ideal for travel, but at least it was not raining. Ascilla, eager to complete her mission, urged the others to continue. They obliged with little need for convincing.
Terketeus joined them and unexpectedly did not slow them down. He seemed old and frail but his ancient body held much of his unnatural strength and vitality. When he wanted, Terketeus could make himself seem old and helpless, a deceit clever enough to fool even the most observant of men. He traveled with his large grey cloth bag and filled it with nothing but food, mostly dried fruit preserved in ways strange to the travelers.
Balta accepted the dragon amongst their small band and often chatted with him about many things past and present. Terketeus would ask about the present and Balta would indulge him as much as he could, with the limited knowledge he had, and Balta, in return, would ask the dragon about times long gone.
Ascilla kept a keen ear on their conversation, still suspicious of their new companion, and always ready to react to any sign of villainy. She knew that should a fight erupt between them she would have little chance surviving it, let alone defeating him. While this knowledge concerned her it would not have stopped her from engaging the nemesis regardless. Her logic was not what prevented her from taking action when the dragon was least expecting it, fulfilling her oath to the Ichneumon Order which had given her a chance when none would, but her newfound trust and loyalty to Archer.
While traveling through a dense forest east of Fort Pax, carefully choosing their footing in the dirt crowded with dead leaves and fallen twigs, Ascilla slowed her pace to be nearer to Terketeus. She often walked well ahead of the group to scout and such slowness in her pacing concerned Archer. He kept a close eye on her to check if she had gotten sick or tired through their journey and dismissed his concern was he heard her speak.
“Tell me, old one,” she said, “have you ever fought our kind before?”
Chewing on some unidentifiable piece of dried fruit, he said, “Not fought, per say, but perhaps encountered.” A piece of food escaped his mouth as he spoke and ashamedly he added, “Apologies.”
“Encountered?”
“What he means to say,” Balta interfered, sensing the interrogation and hoping to soften the tone, “that in the past he was hunted by sentients. He never fought back and chose to escape instead.”
“Is that true?” Ascilla asked of the dragon.
“Very true. I have shunned violence from my life a long time ago, little one, and saved all which remained of it within me for one particularly mischievous creature.” He held out the chewy bit he was eating and said, “That is why I have been eating these.” He noticed Ascilla curiously eyeing his food. “Oh I never seemed to tell you about these. It is my very own recipe.” In excitement he produced a piece of the thick burgundy loaf which grew paler as the loaf’s irregular edges thinned. “Give it a try. I am very proud of it.”
Ascilla reluctantly took the piece and cautiously smelled it before taking a tiny bite. “It’s a little bitter.” She chewed a little and swallowed before taking a slightly larger bite. Her eyes wandered as she focused on deciphering the strange taste in her mouth. “It tastes a little like wine. What is it?”
“I made it from a mix of fruits I found near my cave. The fruits are gathered and mushed in a paste then fermented and preserved. In time they dry out completely to be in that form which you hold.” He gave the piece he was eating to Balta who took it and started tasting it much like Ascilla had, with hesitation at first. “I would advise against eating large quantities of it though.”
Ascilla stopped and held her piece away, looking at Terketeus and saying, “How large?”
“I’m not entirely certain. No worries though, little one, the worst it could do is give you an upset stomach.”
She handed the piece back to Terketeus who took it and started munching on it. Balta was unphased by the comment and continued to eat, delighted by the taste.
Archer approached Ascilla and said, “We should continue moving while we still have the sun.” He leaned closer to her and whispered, “I know what you’re doing.”
She looked at him. “We must know!”
“Have you also judged my weaknesses in case I turn on you?”
“It’s different with you and Balta. I know what you are and how to fight you should I ever feel threatened. I have been ready to defend against men and other known beasts for as long as I remember, but the idea of defending against an entirely unfamiliar enemy troubles me.”
“You will not need to defend against him. I tell you, Terketeus can be trusted. He could even be our salvation.”
Terketeus and Balta resumed their chatter and Ascilla felt comfortable speaking in a low voice instead of whispering. “How can you blindly trust someone you met just a few days ago? How can you trust in the nature of a creature you have no experience with?”
Archer smiled and said, “It’s very easy. I trust not in Terketeus, but in Keshish.” He looked at her, smiled and nudged her with his shoulder before falling behind and joining Terketeus and Balta’s.
5
Before the Second Civil War of Man the Peacekeeper Core reported only to the Gallecian Council. They were the enforcers of their laws throughout Nosgard, which they claimed as their own in its entirety, and operated under the guise of being interested only in preserving peace. Their true purpose, however, was to serve as the Council’s army.
When the Demigod Emperor Servak defeated the Council, he saw that it would be best if the Peacekeepers were given autonomy and freed from all allegiance except to that of their cause, the word of Pax and the preservation of peace. Rostam convinced him that it would be wise to have them keep their religion, in fact even to enforce it, to have their ideology incorruptible and their work fulfilling both practically and spiritually. The Peacekeepers came to be a highly religious group of peace enforcers worshipping Pax who had proven, when Malus inherited the throne, Rostam right. When Malus attempted to have them rejoin his Gallecian army they refused and instead bore the consequences of being branded an outcast order operating without Malus’ authority and against his wishes.
To the Peacekeepers their mission had never changed and they continued to serve as Servak had intended them to, with only the preservation of peace in mind and the protection of the people of Nosgard. Other than some small skirmishes against the Gallecian forces, the Peacekeepers have not drawn hostilities from any of the major kingdoms, in fact their relations with the Sennan Alliance grew even stronger as they helped smuggle the Alliance’s agents and citizens from imperial lands.
When the Peacekeeper Core had been well established, the Demigod Emperor Servak requested that they dedicate a small portion of their force to focus on warding off the dragon threat, should they ever return. Convinced of Servak’s plan, Duke Constantine himself, leader of the Peacekeeper Core, chose the finest of his men and founded an independent guild of dragon slayers called the Ichneumon Order. Seeing them of vital importance he stepped down from office, leaving the Peacekeeper Core under the leadership of Chordus Cestus, his second, and overlooked the development of the Ichneumon Order himself, bringing the Walkyrien into their fold to be able to carry the battle to the skies and counter the dragon’s advantage of flight.
The Ichneumon Order remained diligent in their training and their quest, even though the dragon menace had long subsided and their true purpose never called on. From amongst their ranks only a handful faced a dragon before, and none while serving in the order itself. These veteran dragon slayers had been recruited for t
heir past deeds to train new generations of dragon slayers in a way they may never call upon. To many the order was considered a failed enterprise, for they remained skeptical of the dragons’ return and when the Sky Wing descended, their skepticism changed to that of their intentions. Many viewed the Sky Wing as agents of salvation, especially since the last years of Servak’s rule when the Empire of Nosgard did not fare so well.
It was in the Ichneumon Order that many desperate souls were recruited. Ascilla, being desperate herself for a way to care for her adopted children, was among the victims of a dying order deemed useless by most. Little did they know what weight they would have in days to come and how different their roles will come to be.
6
“It just dawned on me,” Ascilla said, “that perhaps it would be best if Terketeus stays and rejoins you after you’re done with your business in Fort Pax.” She carefully stepped over a rock and secured her footing before extending her hand down to Archer.
“You plan to leave us?” He took her hand and placed the least weight possible on her as he anchored his foot on the rocky ground.
“You don’t seem to understand how little choice soldiers have.”
He was up now and extended his hand along with hers to Balta and Terketeus. “You’re right. I don’t. But what if you have the choice?”
For a moment she was lost in thought. It had been a very long time since Ascilla had the choice to go where she pleased or when she pleased to. She had all but forgotten the feeling of such liberty. “I never thought about it.” She paused for a moment. “Anyway it’s pointless to argue over it. I’m sure the Ichneumon Order already has a mission ready for me in preparation for my return.”
Archer hummed. He looked at Balta and Terketeus and asked, “Think you will be safe joining us in Fort Pax, old man?” It was a slip of tongue, Archer noticed, and the first time he had referred to Terketeus as ‘old man.’ The dragon seemed not to mind and it set a precedence for the remainder of their journey.