“Hey, are you OK? You hungry?” Nami said from across the desk.
“How long have you been prodding me? I dreamt I was fist fighting a gray and it was getting me in the back of the head somehow.”
“Oh, since my gut began to rumble. Maybe five minutes or so. I thought I would wake up after you. I took Cecile to a bed and then I couldn’t fall asleep.”
Lara yawned and looked around. Papers covered in notes lay around her.
“Alright, let’s get some food. I spent most of my energy crying last night. I have to talk to Felas later, if he’s in any shape to be seen. Not that I am, either.”
“Do you now? We’ll probably run into him later.”
Lara cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah, you fell asleep. The messenger didn’t want to wake you, but Felas demanded Robert’s funeral happen sooner rather than later. His body is in the square near those three bakers he knew, for now. Later, they’re going to parade him into the royal cemetery. Half the city has already been to pay their respects, and the other half will watch the procession. You could probably hear a sword drop there from fifty wagons away. Felas shut down the city for this.”
Lara turned away and stifled tears again. Composing herself, she turned back to Nami and walked towards the door.
“Food, then we come back.”
Nami followed her out the door and through the keep. Castle stewards got out of their way at every turn, only nodding if they made eye contact. No one spoke. Outside, Lara expected to hear at least a fraction of the noise of the city, despite the sad occasion. It was nearlysilent. They walked east this time, to an inn Lara knew served excellent breakfast.
“How long were you awake?” she asked.
“A little bit. Went for a walk before I nudged you awake. I tried chatting up some of the castle folk to find out about the funeral. Felt like I had to interrogate them to get anything past what the messenger said.”
“It’s been awhile since we had one for someone famous. No one knows how to act, I guess. I don’t know how to act. Right now, I feel hollow.”
They arrived at the inn. It was empty, aside from the innkeeper. Lara waved to her and sat down. She came over, took their order with few words, and walked towards the kitchen.
“Let’s focus on something good. You’re looking well rested. I guess the gray’s touch isn’t a guaranteed death sentence.”
“Yeah! I feel great. Well, physically. I was sore all night, but when I woke up, my shoulder was good as new.”
“I’m glad to hear that. No early retirement for you, then?”
Nami smiled and shook her head.
“What, and miss out on all the fun? You owe me a fight, and I bet as time goes on you’ll owe me more. I plan on making you pay up. Plus, I’ll be damned if I don’t get those gray creeps for this.”
Their food arrived. Though hungry, Lara couldn’t get herself to devour food as well as she did at their last breakfast meeting.
“Keep in mind our job is to end the fighting, not find more dangerous things to start problems with,” Lara said between bites.
“I’ll have to get a side job, then. Something more in line with my career goals.”
They finished, paid up, and walked back to the castle. Inside, a messenger told them to dress proper and be ready soon; Robert was coming home. Lara took a deep breath as the steward walked away.
“Alright, I’m going to get some things. I’ll meet you back here as soon as possible, OK?” she said.
Nami nodded. They both turned back out of the castle in opposite directions. Nami lived farther away, but Lara’s home was close by. She rented a room on the first floor of an inn that one of Robert’s friends owned. The friend was not there when Lara stopped by to get some clean clothes, so she did not linger. Before the sun had a chance to move farther towards its peak, she returned back to the castle. On the way back to the office, she stopped a steward.
“Excuse me, I need a favor.”
“Yes, ma’am? I won’t be able to get to it before the funeral, if that’s not a problem,” the young man said.
“That’s fine. I need a little help moving into the castle, at least for a short time. I’d like some people to help clear out Ro- my, my office. The storage room off to the side of it, I mean. If possible, I want to move the papers and tables out, and put two beds in, please.”
“Yes, ma'am. I’ll see what I can do. Before that, please keep in mind that the king did request your presence in the courtyard, when Robert arrives.”
Lara nodded, then continued on her way. She changed inside the storage room that stewards would clean later, then took up a spot outside the front door of the castle. Relief washed over her when she saw Nami running up the road.
“I’m not late, right?” she said, breathing heavy.
“No, not yet, but I can see the procession down the road. It’s slow, and we’re to meet it in the cemetery, so go get changed quick. Come find me there when you’re ready.”
Nami charged off. Lara walked through the castle and out the other side into a beautiful courtyard. On any other sunny day, townsfolk walked these grounds to admire the well-kept grass, the flower beds, and the small pond opposite the castle. Today, the courtyard sat vacant. No one dared interrupt Robert’s last journey, even to walk among nature. Lara found a bench and sat until Nami joined her. Together, they walked towards a small group of people past a lone tree on a small hill. Everyone stood near a rock that was in front of a hole in the ground. All of them cried, whether in silent mourning or open anguish.
“Thank you for joining us, Lara. Nami, your presence is appreciated as well,” Felas said, standing to the right of Robert’s headstone.
“Though I wish we weren’t here today, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Lara and Nami solemnly greeted and embraced the king, as well as three of his council and several of Robert’s friends. One, a blacksmith, shared stories of a time when Robert taught her daughter swordplay. She found it fitting the pair dueled with a pair of rejects from her apprentice years.
Everyone went silent after smiling at the blacksmith. A slight breeze ruffled the king’s robe. All eyes turned back to the door of the castle, where the procession would soon emerge from.
First, they heard the wailing. Cecile survived Robert, and with no other family, she mourned alone. She stayed with the body all morning, and was intent on seeing her husband to his final resting place. Everyone winced at the first scream. Later, as she came nearer, it became clear that Cecile was not yelling out of sadness, but anger. Tears fell, but her eyes stayed open and her mouth cursed anything that ever lurked under the mountain, at least the things she knew of.
Six army officials carried Robert along the path towards the cemetery. Each of them insisted on taking part as soon as they caught wind of the tragedy. Their careers in the army all branched off one common point: they joined up as his wards. Now, they honored him with the best end of a career they could.
The pallbearers set the coffin down in front of the grave. The party waiting realized a man had been following Robert's procession. Lara, Nami, and Robert’s friends tried to console Cecile while the commander of the army walked to the headstone.
“Thank you all for coming. We are here to honor a man that I need not introduce. Robert Knowl has become synonymous with the spirit of the city. He helped each and every person he could, both at work and in his own time. Robert took on one of the most dangerous jobs of all, and that is more than anyone could ask. On a more personal level, he was my colleague and my friend.”
The commander stepped to the side and Felas took his spot.
“Thogt itself loves Robert. Hopefully, we can treat each other the way he treated us: with respect and care. Cecile, I think I can safely say that wherever you find yourself in the city, someone will be available to help you with anything you need. I’ve received word from the queen, and she has personally requested your company upon her return.”
She bawled again.
“Lara, I would like to also thank you for carrying on his work. I’m not sure if he mentioned this, but we spoke of this matter for a few years. You have exceeded every expectation that either of us set for you. My wife would like to meet you as well, though you must understand that Cecile takes priority.”
Lara nodded. The pallbearers lifted the coffin, moved it over the grave, and lowered it in. Each said their peace quietly, got up, and left. Felas did the same, but not before putting his hand on Cecile’s shoulders as she cried over the edge of the grave. After some time, Lara and Nami were the only two left nearby while Cecile wept. They offered condolences, then began to walk.
“Wait!”
“Yes, Cecile?” Lara said.
“You said you captured the thing, right?”
“We did. It’s being taken care of. You don’t have to worry about it any more.”
“But there might be more. There might be more and they might do this to someone else and-”
“Cecile! It’s OK. We’ll handle them. We’ve got people helping,” Nami said, rushing over to embrace the widow.
“I believe you, but… I can help. I want to help. I want to make sure this never happens to anyone else.”
“What? Cecile! No, no… you need to rest, take some time for yourself. I mean, you don’t have to stay locked up in your house, but you know what I mean.”
“Time for myself? What’s the point? I was saving all of that for when Robert retired. I worked in the market as hard as he did in the mountains. We were going to move into a house near the sea. Robert wanted to be far enough away from the docks to avoid the smell but close enough to get the breeze. That was going to be my time. Our time. It’s... gone now.”
“Cecile, we can’t.”
“Think about it. Don’t answer me right now, please. You’d be surprised at what I can do to help. I’ll be fine, I want to spend some more time with him before they cover him up. ”
“Cecile.”
Nami got up, but left her hand on the widow’s shoulder as she stared down at her for a moment. Hers was a pitiable face at the moment, and all Lara wanted to do was say yes to anything she wanted, but it could not be so. They left the grieving woman to her task.
“That could have gone better,” Nami said.
Lara glared.
“Sorry. Humor’s all I’ve got.”
“It’s OK, I understand. In all seriousness, we can’t let her think she can just stroll into the mountains and stab something.
“What do we do with her then? There are creepy murder creatures in there that we have to deal with. Babysitting isn’t an option.”
“I know, but you saw the way she looked. I’d be surprised if half the army wouldn’t step out of her way right now. You know Robert taught her sword fighting, right?”
Nami’s palm hit her face.
“You’ve got to be kidding. He trained her himself?”
Lara nodded.
“She won’t take no for an answer. I have no idea what to do here.”
They walked back up to the keep and sat in the office. Both women told stories, such as the one about Nami turning a corner wrong in the tunnels once and walking right into the wall. Robert gave her his own personal herb salve to fix the skullcracker of a headache that caused.
“Wait, no, stop. We have a job to do, and Robert would be furious if we didn’t do it,” Lara said.
“What’s that?”
A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. In walked the steward Lara saw earlier with several people behind him. They carried, among other things, two beds.
“Lara, what’s happening?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first, but I figured it would be better if we moved in. Just for the time being, since circumstances are keeping us on alert. They’re bringing beds in so the desk doesn’t need to double as a pillow.”
“You know, I can’t complain about that. It’ll save me money, after all. I’ll get my stuff later.”
Lara smiled. She expected complaints. It was refreshing to have one of her decisions not questioned.
“In the meantime, let’s get to work,” Lara said while grabbing a paper with notes about the mountain tunnels. “We have to figure out how to get rid of this menace.”
6
Once again Lara woke, disappointed that slumber couldn't last. Over the past few days, waking early seemed to be her new normal. It wouldn’t fix the situation at hand, but Lara desperately wished she had one full night’s rest. At the very least, she would the energy to both figure out their next move and worry about Robert.
“Wake up! We got a message, says we’ve got a meeting with the King tonight!”
Lara opened her eyes wide, confused. She remembered that their beds came yesterday. Shortly after, the logic followed that she was sleeping in one that wasn’t in her old boarding room. Grumbling, she got up.
“When?” she yelled.
“Before dinner!” Nami yelled back from the other room.
“Alright. You get breakfast?”
“Of course, what am I? A barbarian?”
Lara mused on that for a moment, knowing what she did about how Nami fought, before stumbling to her desk in the office proper. There, Nami sat in front of a fresh loaf of bread, some coffee, and a small block of cheese.
“Did the messenger say anything else?”
“Felas received information, and wants to know what we intend to do about it.”
“We’ll need a plan, I suppose. Can’t let grays run rampant across the countryside. Any ideas?”
Nami finished chewing.
“Nothing that doesn’t involve going in there and crushing skulls. Grog are easy, we light the place up at night and they won’t come near. Grays, I got nothin' for them besides the sharp end of a blade.”
“That might work for both of them. When we absconded with the unconscious one, the others wouldn't leave their hole. Everyone under the mountain could be afraid of light for all I know. I mean, have you ever seen a fire down there that we didn’t bring?”
“Can't say I have,” Nami said as she shook her head.
“Then we’ve found our starting point. We could set up an outpost somewhere along the route for early warning and containment. Below the foothills, I’d say, light up the place so they don't move farther south. Other than that, I can’t say there's a more sure way to solve this problem besides exterminating all of those things.”
“Sounds good to me. Maybe build a little tower out there so you could see over a few of the hills, keep an eye on them until we figure out that second part.”
Lara nodded as she finished chewing.
“Alright, would you mind writing that down in some way that makes it look like we thought a lot harder about this? I’ve got to go talk to someone today.”
“Yeah? Who? Want some company?”
Lara sighed.
“Depends, do you want to help tell a husband that his wife died? I don’t know what I’ll say if the daughter is there. I don't know if I'll even be able to talk right.”
Nami went quiet.
“I don’t want to do this, but I had to watch Robert go talk to surviving families a few times. It’s only proper. They deserve to know that she was a fine soldier, and that she deserved much better than what she got. They deserve to know that we appreciated her, and we appreciate them for supporting her. It takes the whole family to support someone like that. Without Robert and everyone at the castle keeping me going, you can bet I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“Fair enough. Whatever you say to them, let them know I agree. I fought with her a few times. Devil of a wall, she was. Put a shield in her hand and she wouldn’t even need a sword, just bash a grog’s head in with it while it helplessly flailed. Sweetheart, too, made us all tea on a few occasions we were out hunting bandits.”
“I’ll pass word along. Thanks, Nami. They’ll cry, but those words will mean a lot.”
; Nami nodded to Lara before clearing the food and getting parchment. Lara went into the new bedroom to change into formal attire before heading out. Today, people in the castle talked more, though just as solemnly as before the funeral. She wished them well if they spoke to her.
Outside, she breathed fresh air. It was brisk, a reminder that fall was coming. The chill didn’t phase Lara as she walked south to a section of the city that housed laborers and other citizens of lesser financial stature. Many people waved as she passed, all familiar faces that both Lara and Robert took on jobs in the past. A few patted her on the back, shook her hand, or offered condolences for Robert as they walked on.
The sounds and sights of business filled the roads, from merchants half-heartedly hawking their wares to carts driving supplies to inns and taverns. This part of Thogt clearly came back to life after the funeral, but it knew it had lost a loved one. Lara exited the slow, sauntering traffic by treading down a wandering side street to her left. She found her target a few moments later, a one story house, barely taller than she was. In front of the doorway, Lara took a deep breath. After holding her hand up to the door and rehearsing what she had to say, she knocked. A middle aged man opened the door.
“Lara! Hello, I’m so glad to see you. I’m worried about my wife. Have you seen her? She was supposed to be-”
Whether it dawned on him why Lara was here or he finally caught the frown on her face, the man’s lip began to quiver.
“Farge, I’m sorry.”
“No. No, no, no. Not Tali, please.”
“May I come in?”
Farge turned around and walked into his house. Lara followed and shut the door behind her. He sat in one of the two wooden chairs near the kitchen table, a bare wooden slab on four legs. Lara was taken aback. She knew Tali was paid better than this.
“Is your child at home?”
“No, she’s at school. We were counting on Tali’s pay to finish her tuition.”
“Don’t worry about that. Your wife has earned it several times over.”
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