A Leaf and Pebble

by Andrew Monroe

  Ahead of us, the woman’s column passed the odd numbered squads running in the opposite direction. People shouted insults, jeered, and laughed as they came within an arm’s distance of each other. Stony silence met Volant and I when we passed. Our group was summarily ignored by the soldiers, though the man leading the other column glared at us with as much disdain as I’d seen anyone muster.

  “He needs a prolonged war,” I replied once they passed us. “If we can stop the Equals here, his plans would be ruined.” We jogged slowly, barely above a walking pace, and consequently, the even numbered group ended up passing us by before we had gone around again.

  “But a lot of those people weren’t bad,” Volant said, a note of worry tingeing his words. He flinched after he said them, as my face turned to disbelief.

  I nearly stopped running, but then realized the Misfits would then be close enough to hear us. “They kept Theo in a cage,” I said flatly.

  “So did the Thumpers with us,” Volant countered.

  “They tried to kill him, and would do the same to me in a heartbeat.” I shook my head.

  “They’ve tried to kill us both. And both sides have tried to, and you know it.” His normally confident and steady face showed signs of uncertainty. “I’m not saying we help the Equals, Nil. I’m saying this isn’t our fight. The best thing we could do is somehow stop it.”

  I mulled this over, but before I could reply, the odd squads swung into view. At their front was Dioden’s man, eyes locked on our ragged column.

  Volant shifted us to the side, out of their path. But the man shifted as well, bringing us back into a collision course with the column. We aimed back into the other direction, attempting to get out of their way again. No such luck. The man had his heart set on running us over, whatever good that was going to do. Instead we slowed to a walk. Hard eyes bored into Volant and I. Our misfits stood passively behind us and far to the side. The message was clear. We weren’t welcome. I shrugged indifferently when Volant looked at me.

  Snarling, the man picked up speed. Not only that, he was headed straight for me, hands clenched into fists. He was bigger than I’d realized. Broad shoulders supported a bull like neck. His black on black uniform had concealed large muscles from a distance, but which were quite clear as he closed the distance. He dropped his shoulder, aiming to ram me.

  I saw Volant tensing. I doubted a Natural hurting someone would go well. Especially such a high ranking someone. This camp was tense enough without mixing in that kind of fun. Instead of letting that happen, I dashed up and intercepted the Elite. It was not unlike tackling a tree. Luck would have it though, I was able to tangle our legs together enough that the man twice my size, and easily double my weight, ended up on the ground next to me.

  My head throbbed from the impact. When I sat up, I saw the squads had spread out in an audience around us. A few stood conspicuously close to Volant, and were not quite holding him in place, but close.

  He’d flushed to an angry crimson, but hadn’t attempted anything stupid. We both stood, sizing one another up. The man had the light armor of an Elite on, but no weapon besides his huge hands. I had no such armor, and also no weapons, besides my small and delicate hands. And of course, my Learner Skill.

  I tried to wipe the grin off my face, but couldn’t manage. Head still pounding, I concentrated. Rook’s training and all the road time had molded me into an exponentially stronger Learner than I’d been back at the school. I doubted they’d seen someone with as fast of Skill as I could manage.

  Hoping to take me down before I’d gathered enough will to be dangerous, the man lunged with outstretched arms. It was a slow attempt. One which I could have avoided with a simple side step, but he’d probably assumed I was too busy concentrating.

  Unfortunately for him, I already had a fistful of Skill gathered and felt like showing off. I flicked out a jab, shadow boxer style. I let out only a fraction of it, but in a wide distribution. It hit like a brick square in the face. The effect was quite similar to punching him, but it was the surprise that truly did him in.

  His head jerked back against the contact while his brain was left still trying to run him forward. His legs came out from underneath him as his top half went backwards in a truly comical fashion. Blood trickled from his lip as he sat dumbly on the ground. But then his shock wore off, and a truly awful growl emanated from his throat as his focus narrowed.

  A slight tremor of fear tickled me. I knew I could win, but could I do it without being broken in the process? A whole night’s sleep and a good meal beforehand had left me fully recharged. I could just straight kill him, but the thought left me queasy, not even considering the consequences that would surely follow. But, in a straight, bare knuckle fight, he’d have just as much ease killing me and didn’t look to be maintaining much self control anymore. And it wasn’t exactly uncommon for a Learner to lose concentration, or any of a myriad of other causes that would leave me unable to tap my Skill.

  Instead of charging me head on, he shuffled about like an alley fighter, hands up, feet making quick yet solid contact on the ground, almost like a dance. He constantly kept ducking and weaving while moving towards me in a sporadic pattern. His eyes practically glowed with murder.

  Instead of dodging, I charged too, surprising both the crowd and the man. He stopped shuffling and jabbed a fist out, ready to brawl. He didn’t get the chance.

  Approximately an arm’s length away, I ducked into a roll, pointing both heels at the man’s abdomen and planting both my hands solidly into the ground. I imagined my small frame practically disappearing into the tall grass, but it was too fast to tell. Either way, I shoved against the earth, feet extended in a donkey like double kick. Normally, I wouldn’t doubt the man could have moved aside such a slow attack. Maybe he was trying to show off as well. Maybe he was just surprised anyone would actually be so flashy when their well being was on the line. Whatever it was, my feet drove into his chest with a bit of Skill enhanced force, rattling every bone in my body with the impact. I stood, ankles sore but stable while he lay clutching at his ribs groaning.

  A hush fell over everyone as I stood over the battalion leader. He tried to sit up, but fell back almost immediately with an even louder groan of pain. No one moved. Our audience was quite mixed, some looking at me with admiration, some with loathing. Others stared in shock at the huge man who hadn’t even touched me. Someone who looked rather unimpressed with either side chimed in. “Got him right in his trick rib. Lucky shot.”

  Very deliberately, I ignored the man on the ground and stared around the circle, until coming upon the Guard who still stood far too close to Volant for my comfort. I nodded to my friend, who used the opportunity to shake off the would-be retainers. “You two,” I said, pointing at the pair who had been nearest Volant. “Carry him back to the tents. If there’s a healer, take him there. Otherwise, drop him off with Dioden.”

  Neither moved, still stunned it appeared.

  “You heard him,” growled Volant, voice dangerously low. “Get to it.”

  Lacking gentleness, the two grabbed the large man and tried to pick him up. Another pair hurriedly stooped to help, locking their hands underneath the partially raised man. As one, the four raised him up and trudged off back towards the tents.

  “Shows over!” yelled the woman in charge of the even numbered squads who’d apparently shown up while I was preoccupied. Without even looking at Volant or I, she began to jog off on her circuit around the camp. Her squads fell in behind her, stately in their matching cadence.

  I pointed at the same man who’d seemed unimpressed. “Back to running, you’re in charge until Dioden replaces you.”

  He nodded, unhappily, and barked a set of orders as he ran in the opposite direction.

  “As for us,” I said to the group of misfits, “we’ll be taking the remainder of the morning to come up with a delicious breakfast and then I will be finding myself something sharp and pointy before that ox of a man recovers.”


  Volant laughed, and the kid chuckled a little bit. The wife was still here, but the husband had disappeared. We formed up and jogged back to the tents and stretched before everyone scattered back to their own respective tents to gather some food for the fire Volant was building. We had just finished eating, and everyone seemed to be warming to us when Dioden himself appeared. He didn’t say anything, instead pointing at me and crooking a finger before heading off back towards his tent.

  I gulped down the last bit of egg the one-armed man had provided and followed the imposing supreme.

  “So,” he began, “you gave Dustin a bit of a thrashing, I hear?”

  “Well, not quite a thrashing. More like a short and painful reminder on size not being the only type of currency in a fight,” I replied.

  “Excellent!” Dioden seemed happier than I would have expected.

  “Oh?” I asked.

  “Quite so. I didn’t expect it to be Dustin, but there was no way the soldiers would let you in without a test. A lot of witnesses, correct?” Dioden asked.

  “We had quite the crowd. I think they’re a bit disappointed,” I replied.

  He nodded agreeably. “That is probable. And your Natural friend. He stayed out of it?”

  I nodded.

  A smile almost broke through the passive face. “Perfect. I could not have asked for a better situation, except maybe you hurting my second in command. Of course, that will send a much stronger message, and Dustin would not have respected you otherwise. All in all, well done.” Dioden seemed to be speaking his thoughts out aloud, and only loosely directing them at me. “You and Volant are to swing by Supply and get yourselves outfitted. The rest of the day, try to gauge the other Misfits’ skills and Skill. We really don’t have much time.”

  “Thank you, Dioden,” I said, giving him a very non-militaristic wave.

  “I’m still against joining this fight if we find a way to get out of it,” Volant said, voiced raised just above a whisper.

  “And I’m not,” I replied simply. “Again, we don’t have much of a choice. We’ve been in the fight since Kalaran. Besides” I said in a hushed tone, “once the fight is sufficiently going, we can run again, if you still want. But, I think a cleared name is well worth the effort of protecting Brod from invasion, from those gods spawned jerks, eh?”

  Saying nothing, Volant stepped into the supply tent.

  Thirty

  Inside, was a squat, bunker like structure. Spears of all shapes and sizes lined the outside wall in loose piles. More sophisticated versions of the standard weapons were held aloft by wood pegs punched into the dirt at an angle. At first, I didn’t even notice the cavernous hole that was where the floor should be. An earthen staircase wound along the wall, various weapons lining the stairwell. As we descended, steel gleamed with reflected light. A corner shelf filled with daggers caught my attention, demanding inspection.

  “We’re coming back for those,” I said with a gesture towards the knives.

  Volant wasn’t listening though. He was enraptured with an artful configuration of recurve bows a flight down.

  There were necessities, too. Clothes, more than any I’d ever seen in one place, lined a long hallway carved into the earth. A sense of claustrophobia attacked me as I grabbed at a cloak, shirt, pants, socks and boots. I hurried out of the hall after finding everything to renew my wardrobe and changed. Not knowing what else to do, I left my pile of travel worn clothes in a corner of the stairs.

  “Let’s start from the bottom and pick on the way up,” Volant said after grabbing a new shirt.

  I stuck out a fist in response, and he bumped it in an old, friendly way. Racing to the bottom, we passed no one else. We hopped and skipped and dodged each other down until we finally found the supply shaft’s floor. Instead of supplies though, we found four solid wood tables, square and plain, with chairs stacked on top, legs sticking into the air. Each wall opened into long halls, too dark to see how far they went. Each one was filled with rows of cots.

  “This is far too deep, I don’t like it,” Volant said under his breath.

  I agreed. We’d gone down deep enough that your bones felt different. The air had a stale taste to it, and sunlight was a far-off hope at the top.

  Still, our excitement was only slightly dampened by this as we began to explore upwards. Our first hallway was what could best be described as an expedition room. Climbing equipment, ropes, heavy duty bags, odd hats, and even odder foot gear dominated the space.

  “Rope? Again?” I asked when Volant grabbed a wrist-thick coil of the stuff.

  “You should always have some rope with you,” he replied.

  “What for? We are in the middle of a sea of grass. It’ll just weigh you down”

  “I’ll be bringing it, nonetheless,” Volant said moodily. “We’ve yet to have not needed it.”

  “Bah, it’s your problem then. You got lucky last time.” It fell on deaf ears though, and I was left rolling my eyes as he looped it over a shoulder.

  Of course, we each grabbed a bag. From there, we moved past various bits of survival equipment. Odd shadows danced about in the squared off cave, and slowly our excitement tapered into a higher functioning energy. Volant’s pack was filled with practical gear. He methodically picked over anything that seemed useful, less for a fight and more for long stretches of travel on uncivilized paths. His prudence showed an uncharacteristic amount of stubbornness against staying.

  There was even a box of cleverly packaged spices, and a small cooking pot that would be a pain to carry, but invaluable for a cooked meal he’d grabbed in preparation for our escape. But he also did do a fair job of finding some light armor. We each picked up bits of leather and mail. A thick armband for toron stones was found and I put that on, despite a lack of said stones. I vowed to find some as soon as possible.

  Volant stopped at a mess of gloves, mostly the flexible swordsman type. Not being able to use any myself, I moved ahead up the stairs while he dug through them. My excitement began to grow again as I came closer to the knives, but I didn’t run straight up. Instead, I slowly examined every piece of equipment offered along the way up.

  This may be a one-time deal after all, no matter how magnanimous Dioden had seemed. A strong looking bow stood hidden behind a pile of shields. I pulled it out, considering. I decided now was not the time to learn a new skill, and turned to the stairs.

  “Incoming!” I said, projecting my voice in the cave, small echoes chasing the warning. Volant peeked his head out, looking up at me a few floors down. I tossed the bow, unstrung as it was, across the gap and down to him.

  Reflexively, he shot an arm out and caught the weapon before examining it with a critical eye.

  I continued searching for something in line with my own tastes. A hatchet on a low shelf caught my eye. It was small; single sided, and had a thick blade. Perfect for throwing and the occasional chopping of wood. I slipped it into the new belt within easy reach.

  Patting the metal head with a crooked smile, I dug through the hidden and not so hidden treasures Dioden’s armory offered. A small and gorgeous curved sword nearly made me give up my knives, but again, I had no time to figure out how to use one effectively. Instead, I found myself back at the glittering section of daggers near the top.

  There were no matched pairs I noticed. Each knife unique. Disheartening, as it meant I would have even more trouble switching hands than I already did. My right hand being next to useless when it came to coordination, I picked a cleaverlike blade with only one edge and an oddly triangular point.

  Good for blocking, but less precise. Thankfully, a sheath with a built-in clasp was attached to the pommel. It strapped easily to the other side of my belt, balancing out the hatchet. I considered leaving with just that, but the thief in me couldn’t pass up something free no matter how hard I thought about doing so. As a compromise I only took a few more, replacing some of the knives in my bandolier with more interesting ones.

  Further up, my legs began
growing increasingly leaden from all the stairs. I restrained myself to only one more dagger of a more traditional build. The dagger was as close to a true fighting knife as I could get.

  Lightweight, long, and double edged. There was no cross guard, just a thick iron ring that helped protect the knuckles a bit. White bone and dark wood were layered together, creating a versatile grip. A little metal pyramid capped the hilt of the knife. The blade itself looked only moderately used, tapering from parallel edges on the last quarter of the blade into a wicked thin point. I found a hybrid sheath for the blade to slip into. This tied to my belt as well, crossing my lower back for an easy and stealthy draw.

  Armed, I finished my climb until the sunshine at the supply shaft’s entrance lit everything up. Idly, I took a seat, sharpening my hatchet with a small rock as I waited for Volant to finish.

  He didn’t take long. Bristling with arrows in two quivers, his father’s rapier, and an off-hand fencing dagger that looked like a miniature version of his rapier instead of a knife, he stepped up the last stair grinning maniacally. On top of the weaponry, he was covered in multiple layers of clothing, an unseasonal hat, and a spare pair of boots draped around his neck. Tied up in a bundle he was struggling with was the large bow I’d tossed him, a spear, and two bags stuffed with gods know what.

  I was amazed he’d even made it up the stairs. He seemed surprised too. Face red, he looked like an out of breath hedgehog that’d learned to smile more than anything else.

  “You could have asked for help,” I commented dryly.

  He shook his head, and seeing my unburdened hands, pushed the bundle into them. “A bit spooky down there, alone, by the by.”

  “Oh aye,” I laughed. “I’m fairly certain I saw a giant hedgehog roaming down there. It was probably rabid too.”

  He glared at me but said nothing. I helped him shoulder the load, and we wandered into brilliant sunshine and back to our new tent to compare our finds.