Lothia wept and leaned into Duke, grabbing his neck in a hug and burying her face in the thick fur of his neck. “No, Duke, you are not a mistake. You were never less than a miracle. I don’t even know if we could use your powers.”
Duke was silent as Lothia wept into his neck. He relented, looked down, and whimpered. “Kliasa, Athren, Damega, Vestul, Alia…how many others, Lothia? How many others am I going to find dead when I should have been there protecting them? How many deaths are you hiding from me, and why?”
Lothia released Duke’s neck and straightened, wiping tears from her eyes. She took a moment, regaining her composure, looking around at everyone present. None of the Daggers moved or made a sound. She faced Duke again, placing her hand on his lowered head, and smiled. Her voice was mournful and loving. “That is not yet known. You are a principle in this, as are all present now. I cannot say more. Do as your heart and conscience tell you, as you always have. You long ago earned our trust, and we need you now as much as we did then.”
Duke looked up at her with shock in his eyes. Although tears stained Duke’s face, his brows tightened, making it obvious he had snapped out of his grieving and was thinking hard. Lothia stepped back from the sudden movement. Her mouth opened, forming an ‘O,’ and her eyes darted around.
Elades’ stomache tightened and his heart stepped up as he realized what just happened. She made a mistake. But what was it?
Before Duke could say anything more, she gestured, saying hastily, “Do as you must. Good luck.” She shimmered, and her form pulled up from the ground, into the form of a large raven, which gave a strong downbeat of its long, powerful wings and launched into the air. It circled once, making a farewell caw, then dived south into the forest.
Obviously trying to lighten the mood, Lebuin and Ticca looked at Ditani and said together, “Kiotiaditani?”
He shot back, “It is difficult for northerners to pronounce, let alone spell!” They laughed, as did a few Daggers.
Ticca, unfazed, looked at Duke. “Now, will you please stop offering to kill Illa?”
Duke’s eyes remained unfocussed as he was still processing whatever mistake Lothia had made. His eyes focused on Ticca and the present situation. “Of course.” He looked at Lebuin and stood tall, yelling, “Hail, Lord Lebuin!”
The Daggers jumped to their feet, yelling, “Hail, Lord Lebuin!”
Duke looked at Illa and yelled, “Hail, Illa, High Priestess of Lebuin!”
The Daggers echoed him, “Hail, Illa, High Priestess of Lebuin!”
Lebuin looked embarrassed. Duke glanced over. “Elades, set up camp and get some deer in here. We need to have a feast and a good talk.”
The other Daggers didn’t even wait for orders; they moved off to various tasks. I don’t blame them. This was too much to witness for anyone. Something ordinary like striking camp or finding dinner is probably what we need. Looking at his squad, he felt pride. They didn’t waver, and Lothia said we could all be proud of the record of our actions.
Ticca stepped towards Duke. “Duke, we have a camp over there in a large cave. It won’t hold everyone, but you’ll fit. We can go sit and talk without interruption while they set up your camp.”
Duke nodded. “Sounds perfect, but I need a serious drink. Ladro, please get some of my wine and give it to Elades. Then you can help with the food preparation. I want a real feast tonight. Elades, join us with that wine, please.”
Saluting his understanding to Duke, he moved off with Ladro to find the horse with Duke’s wine on it. As Ladro was pulling the wine off, he heard from a short distance off, Lebuin’s voice. “Oh, thank goodness, you brought some of my clothes. I am getting so tired of these leathers and leggings. By the way, that is a nice ensemble you’re wearing.”
“Thanks. I had it made during the first week I was playing you. Thought I might get some stupid Knife to try to get me while I was at the tailor.” Nigan’s tone took on an expectant quality. “By the way, are Risy and I still under General Ticca’s command?”
Nigan is discussing clothing with a new God. I think I need this wine as much as anyone else. What else can happen to make this even more unbelievable? Shaking his head, he left to find the cave and have some wine. As he found the cave entrance, he saw Illa and Boadua were moving off into the thicker brush together. Boadua had some medical supplies with her. Oh, good. Take care of that cut before it becomes infected. I wonder where Illa got a cut like that.
The cave was large, but not by much. Duke took up a lot of room. Elades sat down next to Duke and poured out over half of the small keg of wine into a bowl Ladro had given him. Then he poured a cup for himself and took a long drink of it. Ditani came in carrying the leather pack, and very carefully placed it with some gear at the back, before taking a seat opposite from Duke, by the fire. Ticca came in a short time later with a clean face and hands. She sat down near Ditani.
He offered her some wine, and she pulled out a camping cup for him to fill. She leaned back and drank the wine. Then she stared at Ditani, who still hadn’t taken off the head piece. “What’s with all the feathers?”
Ditani’s hand snapped up to touch the head piece. “It is formal attire for such meetings as we are about to have. If you knew how, you could read my name, parentage, tribal affiliations, and rank.”
Ticca nodded. “You’ll have to teach me someday.”
Lebuin walked in wearing a dark blue double-breasted doublet over a black silk shirt, and expensive riding boots. He walked over to sit next to Ticca. She looked at him and made a snorting sound. He looked back unrepentantly.
Not sure of the proper protocol for dealing with a God, Elades defaulted to treating him like a superior officer. “Lord, would you like some wine?”
Lebuin looked at him and smiled at the keg. “I suspect that is a lot better than what we have. I would love to join you.” Lebuin produced a camping cup and leaned over, holding it steady for Elades to fill. Being a tad nervous, he filled it almost to the brim, but Lebuin was pleased, and drank off the first half of the cup before making a satisfied sound and leaning back. “It is very fine sharre. Thank you, Duke, for sharing.”
Duke was thinking hard, staring at the fire and lapping up his own wine, but he looked up at the direct comment and smiled. “My pleasure. And I am glad to meet you in person. Please forgive my outburst to your grandmother. I have to admit, I am overwhelmed by all this.”
Ticca and Lebuin both huffed in unison and said together, “Welcome to the club.” Then they smiled, looking at each other. Something passed between them. Duke watched this with interest.
Once they were settled, Duke looked at Lebuin, who realized that as the highest-ranking person present, he was in control of the meeting. He cleared his throat and looked at Ticca. She nodded, and he looked around. “Uh, well, let’s keep this informal, especially since I have no idea how to make it formal. Not sure where to begin.”
Duke nodded, as well. “Well, Lord, if you don’t mind, would you explain Illa and that Nhia-Samri grave on your back trail?”
Lebuin smiled. “Okay, but let me start with the fact that we are probably more confused about events than you, Excellency. I was never told I was a demi-god and thought I was human and a Journeyman mage of the Guild. When we started nearly six weeks ago, I thought I was being hunted by assassins because of a Guild rivalry. Because of Illa, we just learned there was far more going on.”
Lebiun motioned towards Ditani. “We are trying to find out what Magus Vestul was doing, and trying to stop the Nhia-Samri from getting that same knowledge. This started because Ditani asked me to help him track down Magus Vestul, who had disappeared.”
Indicating Ticca he continued. “Ticca was captured by Runa-Illa and Ossa-Ulla. Ditani and I didn’t realize she wanted to be captured, so we tried to rescue her. During the fight, I lost one of my knives and grabbed Runa-Illa’s odassi of prayer to replace it. I had no idea that an odassi was anything more than a good fighting knife.”
Lebuin looked
at his hands shaking his head. “When I grabbed it, my magic as a demi-god interacted with it such that I learned all Illa had done. I was overwhelmed and reacted by instinct. I felt their warlord trying to feel me out and learn what was happening. I tried to block him, using my mage training, and in doing that, cut off the warlord from Ossa-Ulla, but I also destroyed Ossa-Ulla’s odassi. Illa and I were connected through her odassi. Illa recognized me as a God, and in that instant, offered herself up to me. I didn’t know what I was doing, but her service felt right. I instinctively accepted her and her odassi. But not knowing what that meant or how to do that, I bound her to me as a disciple.
“After that, I still didn’t know what I was or understand what I had done. I was just trying to keep things together, and I knew Illa was no danger, but I had to convince Ticca. So I named Ticca a general to let her think I was tricking Illa, instead of buying time, so I could make Ticca understand. Again, this felt right to me.
“We came here and worked all this out, trying to decide what to do next.”
Duke listened, looking back and forth between Ticca and Lebuin. After thinking about Lebuin’s information, Duke explained, “Well, that about sums it up for me. I came down here to meet with Magus Vestul because he sent me a mysterious note saying he needed to turn some information over to me.
“However, Magus Vestul was killed by the Nhia-Samri actions before we met. For some reason, they didn’t get his research. I also learned that the Kingdom of Aelargo had been usurped shortly after I left, by pirates. They had killed off all of the real regents. These same pirates also had Damega killed.
“I’d just finished restoring the real regents’ line into control of Aelargo when I found out about the Nhia-Samri connection. We had a good initial skirmish, wiping out the Llino Nhia-Samri outpost. I have declared a war on the Nhia-Samri, which starts in three cycles.
“To be honest, I haven’t been so out of touch in thousands of years. I still don’t know what Vestul was up to, why I had to have it, why the Nhia-Samri want it, and what is going on.”
They spent a few marks running over the details from every direction. Elades was called on to recite his intelligence-gathering data, and then they discussed the details and possible arrangements of events. They exchanged every detail and sat around thinking about the possibilities.
Ticca spoke up. “Well, Lebuin and I have had a number of powerful entities speak of some huge catastrophe. We had decided to pursue Vestul’s research to make sure it doesn’t get to the Nhia-Samri. But we are feeling our way through this.”
Duke said, “Well, Lothia dropped a massive hint by accident, which is unnerving. If this catastrophe is on the same scale as what she hinted at, we need to find out what is going on, and fast.”
Lebuin looked over. “What was the event she hinted at?”
Duke slurped up some more wine. “The destruction of two universes.”
Ticca sat back at that pronouncement with a look of wonder.
I probably have the same look on my face. What could threaten an entire universe, let alone, two?
Lebuin laughed. “A bit much. The destruction of one would be enough.” Duke looked at him hard till he cut off his laugh. “You were serious?”
Duke nodded.
He felt something shift in his gut. Please, Lady, let him be wrong. I don’t want to be involved in something where if we make a mistake, the whole universe will pay the price. At the same time, he felt his resolve harden. Still, if someone has to deal with a situation like this, Duke is who I’d trust and follow.
Everyone drank their wine and considered the situation. Duke’s ears rotated towards the cave entrance and he said in that direction, “Thank you, Ladro. We’ll eat with the squad out there.” Looking back at the group, he relayed, “Ladro said that some deer and wild boar were brought in and are being prepared. The feast will be ready in a few marks.” Everyone continued to contemplate while drinking their wine.
Duke broke the long silence by looking at Ticca. “What about you? Where did you come from?”
Ticca looked surprised by the question. She looked him in the eye. “I am a farmer’s daughter from Rhini Wood. I grew up trapping and selling furs to support my family. My uncle was a Dagger many years ago and trained me when I decided I didn’t want to be a farmer or trapper.”
Lebuin shook his head. “Don’t forget to mention your other training.”
Duke looked at Lebuin. “What you do you mean by that?”
Ticca shifted and looked down at the fire. Lebuin ignored her discomfort. “From my historical readings and some basic military studies at the Guild, I’d say she has tactical and warfare training beyond anything even a seasoned military noble could dream of. Plus, I have been trained extensively in the elven fighting styles, yet her training and speed exceeds even the best elven warriors by more than a small margin. I believe she is unbeatable, so long as raw strength isn’t a deciding factor. Not to say she isn’t strong, but a strong male warrior could out-muscle her.”
Duke looked back at Ticca. “Who trained you?”
“My uncle was one of the better Daggers of his day. An old friend of his who was even better came and trained me for the last three years, before declaring I was as good as he could make me.”
Ditani looked like he had a hold of something. “Your uncle was from Rhini Wood, too?”
Ticca nodded.
“Fatla of Rhini Wood?”
Ticca nodded again.
Ditani’s voice was awed. “Did you ever best this old friend of your uncle?”
Ticca blushed, her eyes returning to the fire. She considered before nodding. “I did manage to get under his guard once or twice, towards the end of my training. Not a real win, but enough that he said I might with some more experience, and if I ever got less wooden, I’d be his equal. He still beat me, hands-down, every time.”
Ditani’s eyes were wide as he stared at her. “You got under The Traitor’s guard?”
Ticca looked shocked. “How do you know that?”
Duke’s mouth closed with such a loud snap, they all jumped and looked at him. Lebuin looked confused.
Ditani was the only one who was able to speak. “I know because I was in the war. I am nearly two thousand years old. That war was only forty years ago. I was Magus Vestul’s servant and knew all the Dagger commanders and officers of the Alliance. In a Nhia-Samri attack on a command meeting, your uncle was heavily wounded, saving The Traitor’s life, and they spent a great deal of time together because of that. I know your uncle, and I have seen some of the unbelievable feats he pulled off. Magus Vestul hinted that your uncle was special, but never explained it. So there is only one ‘old friend’ of your uncle that could train you better than your uncle and that is The Traitor.”
Ticca looked to have been sucker-punched, and Lebuin looked annoyed, asking, “Who is this traitor you all are talking about? Does he have a name?”
How can he not know about The Traitor? Looking at the others, Elades realized they were thinking the same thing. Everyone, including Duke, was looking at Lebuin like he had some gross thing clinging to his shirt. In fact, Lebuin looked down to make sure he didn’t.
Ticca found her voice. “Are you serious? You don’t know who we are talking about?”
“Would I ask if I knew?”
Ditani sat back as he started to speak. “The shortest answer is that he was the Nhia-Samri second in command to the Grand Warlord. He is also a legendary warrior who is faster than anyone should be, even without an odassi. Again, Magus Vestul hinted that he was something more, but never explained it to me. Still, The Traitor only has one warrior better than he, and that is the Grand Warlord of the Nhia-Samri.
“By the way, the Grand Warlord of the Nhia-Samri killed hundreds of Daggers by himself, all in a single, straight-up fight, when they managed to ambush him during the war. I was there and saw it! Magus Vestul fled with me from that ambush when he realized we were going to lose!
“He is called Th
e Traitor because he quit the Nhia-Samri, exposing their involvement in the war and helping to end it by defeating the Nhia-Samri squads. The Grand Warlord is so outraged by the betrayal, he posts a one hundred-gold crown reward every year at winter solstice in every major city on the continent, for information leading to the capture of The Traitor. The Grand Warlord has also placed some kind of massive incantation around the name of The Traitor so that when someone speaks his name, the Nhia-Samri instantly know it, and send a squad to investigate.
“When the Nhia-Samri ‘investigate’ a sighting, they tend to kill everyone in the process. So no one likes him or the Nhia-Samri, and no one dares to speak his name. Since the reward posters say ‘for the capture of ‘the Traitor, so-and-so,’ people have started calling him ‘The Traitor.’ All this, even though he helped end the war and saved thousands of peoples’ lives. He lives in hiding because should the Grand Warlord ever find him, he will be killed very uncomfortably.”
Lebuin turned, with his mouth hanging open, to Ticca. “And you were trained by this Nhia-Samri Traitor and scored real hits against him?”
Ticca nodded, blushing deeper.
Damn, girl, be proud of that! Nothing to be ashamed of. Or is it that you don’t like being so focused on? You probably prefer to be the observer. He recalled watching Ticca all those cycles as she worked to establish herself. It’s one thing to want to be noticed and another to actually be noticed.
Lebuin’s eyes and face told of the dozens of emotions he was rolling through. Without warning, Lebuin said, “Well then, I am going to pay attention to your morning lessons, from now on.”
A God is taking lessons from a Dagger trained by the best, and that is the best he can think of? Elades couldn’t keep a straight face, and started laughing. Ticca looked annoyed, but then Ditani and Lebuin joined him, chuckling. Finally, Ticca burst out laughing. Duke looked at all of them like they had grown second heads.
Duke shook his head and barked to get them under control. “Ticca, Lebuin, Ditani, and Illa – Dagger, God, hero, and Nhia-Samri – I cannot believe this group is here, already working together better than most Dagger teams, trained better than I think could have been planned.”
Thread Strands (Golden Threads Trilogy) Page 12