by Jamie Davis
Smiley actually lived up to his namesake and smiled at that. Cari smiled back before she climbed up to join her friends inside the carriage. With a jolt the carriage started forward, rumbling over the cobblestones towards the north gate.
The journey to the northern gate took about a half hour. The city streets were still full of people and the carriage wasn’t able to go very fast through the crowds. It was well after dark by the time they arrived outside the city gates. The carriage stopped and Smiley called out to her, “This is as close as I should probably get, ma’am. You can see the campfires and the tents from here.”
Cari climbed out, followed by the others. Smiley was right. She could see the tents of the camp nearby. “Good enough, Smiley. Wait here for us. Hopefully, we won’t be long.”
Cari and her three companions started off in the direction of the imperial army camp. Merrick said it was only a few companies of troops. At the time he made it sound like that wasn’t that many people. It turned out Cari didn’t know how many people there were in a standard company. There were several hundred men in the camp. It wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought to find Merrick’s men.
“What’s the plan, Cari?” Rodrigo asked.
“I hate to say this, but I am making this up as I go along, just a little bit.”
“What else is new?” Helen said. “Isn’t that how all of your plans start?”
All four of them laughed at that statement. Cari realized how much she enjoyed the company and friendship these people offered her. Her time on the Vengeance had been one of the best in her life. She lost many companions when the ship sank, but those who survived were among her closest friends and she was glad they were still here by her side.
Cari turned her attention back to the task at hand as they got closer to the camp.
A guard called out, “Halt! Who goes there?”
Cari called out in return, “I have to speak to your officers. I don’t suppose you can direct me to which tent is theirs?”
“The officers stay in the city, ma’am. I can point you to the sergeant in charge. He’s the one involved with most of the training.”
“That will do just fine.”
The guard gestured for them to follow him as he shouldered his musket, letting it hang by a sling over one arm. Cari glanced at him. His uniform didn’t fit very well.
“How long have you been in the Imperial Army?”
“I’ve been in the army just under a month, ma’am. I used to work for a tanner in town in the city. I got a little too far into my ale one night and when I woke up, I was here in the camp. I was told I’d taken an oath to join the Imperial Army and that I had no choice but to stay or I’d be executed as a deserter.”
“Is that the same for everyone in this camp?”
“Pretty much. I don’t much want to be in the army, or fight in any war, but I don’t want to be hung as a deserter either. I’m pretty much stuck here.”
Cari considered what she’d heard from the young private. If all of the people in this camp other than the sergeants and corporals had similar stories, it wouldn’t be fair to only free Merrick’s men. She had to release them all.
* * *
Bonus quest accepted — free all the imperial soldiers
* * *
The private led her out to a tent much larger than the others clustered around the camp. It looked like the sergeants lived in relative luxury, much better than the men they trained. All the other tents were small, two-man affairs with the men and women sleeping directly on the ground.
This pavilion had thick, plush carpets laid out as the floor. There were camp tables and chairs set up for the sergeants to sit while eating. She even spotted a few scantily clad women lounging about. The Duke of Charon obviously took care of those who were doing his dirty work. Cari wouldn’t be surprised if the women were being pressed into service just like the soldiers and the rest of the camp.
A tall, dark-haired sergeant with a thick mustache stepped out of the large tent and spotted the guard leading them through the camp. “Private, what are you doing away from your post on guard? You do know leaving your post and duty is an offense punishable by death.”
“Um, this woman, she said she had business with you, Sergeant, sir. I needed to show her where to go.”
The sergeant turned his attention to Cari. “What gives you the right to tell my man what to do?”
The sergeant and his attitude started to piss Cari off. That, along with the squalid conditions in which the common soldiers lived all served to increase her anger. “I am the woman who is here to set things right. There are people here who have lives in the city and jobs to return to. You have no right to take them and press them into service to fight your Duke’s battles.”
“Oh? I think you’ll find I have every right in the world. The Duke of Charon is the man leading the Empire right now. He doesn’t take very kindly to people who don’t follow his orders, especially when they’re women.”
“I’m familiar with the Duke of Charon. He wanted me to do something once upon a time and I told him exactly what he could do with his intentions.”
The sergeant looked her up and down for a few seconds, taking in her appearance. His eyes widened. “You’re her.”
The sergeant said it as if he was uttering a curse.
Cari smirked at him. “And if I am?”
The sergeant recovered. “Then me and my friends are going to collect the ransom that’s been placed on your head. Being the one to capture Cari Dix is going to make me a legend across the empire. The Duke rewards those who do him favors like this.”
The sergeant leered at Cari and called out over his soldier. “Major, you’re never going to believe who just walked into camp. You really ought to come out here.”
Cari took a step back while reaching for her sword and dagger. She wondered who the man referred to.
A tall man stepped from inside the pavilion. It was the swordsman she’d first met in the caverns beneath the silver mine months ago when she stopped the Duke’s agents poisoning the water supply for the city of Tandon.
He stepped out of the tent. Unlike the first time they met, he now wore an imperial officer’s uniform. There was no mistaking who it was, though.
When the man laid eyes on Cari, he gave her a very broad smile. “Cari Dix, how nice of you to drop by. You know, we thought you were dead for quite some time until someone loyal to my master managed to get us word that you somehow managed to escape the sinking of your ship. I really must know how you managed it.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not in the business of sharing my secrets with people I don’t know. Last time we met I didn’t get your name.”
“Of course, how rude of me. I am Major Carson Novachik. I am the commander of the Duke of Charon’s personal security service. You have been giving us quite a difficult time. The last time we had any notice of where you were, the Duke’s men were chasing you somewhere on the coast near where we first met.”
“I had to deal with quite a few of the Duke’s soldiers back there. I’m sorry we had to kill so many of them. They were inconveniencing me.”
“Those losses and others you’ve had a part in are why we are here in Hyroth. The good news is recruitment efforts are going quite well.”
“What a coincidence, that is also why I am here. I and some others have an issue with your methods. People should be given the option to volunteer, not pressed into service against their will.”
“They are volunteering. Each and every one of them signed the paper of their own free will.”
“Nonsense,” Cari said. “You drugged these people and then told them they signed, blackmailing them to remain in your service. That amounts to slavery, and I have no time for slavers.”
“I don’t see how you’re going to stop us. There’s only four of you.”
Cari looked at the sergeant major and then at Novachik and smiled. The drugged wine should have worked by now. “I only see two of you.”
From the huge tent behind the major, six massive orcs stepped out. Cari thought Thad was the biggest orc she’d ever seen. She’d faced one nearly as large when she took down a ship full of slavers the previous year. But these six orcs were enormous by comparison. They all wore imperial sergeants’ uniforms, but Cari had little doubt they only wore them out of convenience to keep up appearances. They had to make it look like this was a legitimate imperial recruiting camp.
On either side of Cari, her companions spread out ready to receive the fight. Cari knew this was going to be a desperate battle. They were going to need help.
Cari grabbed the list with the names from Merrick from her pouch. She thrust it into Rodrigo’s hands. “Go find these people and anyone else that wants to join you. I think we’re going to need a little bit of help.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m not asking you to, in fact, I want you to hurry back. Like I said, I think we’re going to need more help.
Rodrigo looked at the odds she faced and nodded. He took the paper and ran off into the darkness. He called out names at the top of his lungs.
Cari smiled, that was one way to do it.
Major Novachik scowled and pointed after Rodrigo. “Two of you go and stop that boy.”
Two of the orcs turned and ran after Rodrigo. Cari cursed under her breath and hoped he would be able to watch out for himself. That did, however, even the odds a little bit and she still had Francesca and Helen, both fierce fighters themselves.
She decided there wasn’t going to be any further chatter. The major, the four remaining orcs, and the first imperial sergeant she’d addressed all drew their weapons and charged at Cari and her remaining friends.
The fight shifted into a desperate melee right away. Francesca faced off against two of the massive orcs, as did Helen.
Both of the women backed away a little, giving up ground as they defended against the rush of the attacks coming at them.
Cari couldn’t help them. She was more than occupied with her opponents. She already knew the major was good with a sword. He’d nearly killed her the last time they met. The human sergeant was pretty good, too.
She found herself backpedaling away beside her friends, giving up ground in order to maintain her defensive posture. Somehow, she managed to knock away all of the attacks coming at her. She’d gained some additional experience in her travels since the last time she met the major. She felt confident she could at least fight him to a draw.
The challenge here was she fought two opponents, not just one.
The first attack to get past her defenses came when the sergeant ducked past her dagger’s attempted parry and cut a shallow slash across her midsection. It barely scraped skin but it did cut through her new clothes.
* * *
Health damage health -6
* * *
Cari grimaced and decided she needed to change tactics. It was time to go on the attack; otherwise she’d never be able to counter all their blows.
She knew she had to connect some of her own strikes. Only then could she power up her burst of speed skill. If she could do that, she’d have a chance against these two.
Cari decided to focus her strikes on the sergeant. If she could whittle down the odds and get rid of one opponent, it would be a more even contest. The major almost seemed to be holding back so far. It was as if he was waiting for her to try something.
She glanced to either side. Her friends were doing better than she was though Helen now moved with a pronounced limp. The first mate managed to kill one of the orcs facing her and it looked like she’d inflicted severe injuries to the other one. Francesca had also finished off one of the orcs, though she still fought a desperate battle against the other.
Cari decided it was time to even the odds in her battle as well.
She feinted an attack directly at the major then shifted in a spinning move to bring her rapier about in a sweeping slash at the sergeant’s exposed neck. He got his blade up to deflect some of the blow.
Cari missed cutting open the man’s neck but still managed to cut deeply into his shoulder. It was only a flesh wound, but she managed to slow him down a bit. It looked as though the injury to the shoulder of his sword arm had affected his ability to fight back against her attacks.
“It’s not going to be as easy as you thought to collect that reward, now is it?” Cari gloated. “You’re about to be killed by a girl. How’s that feel?”
* * *
Taunt engaged
* * *
The sergeant growled and charged directly at her, all pretense of defense missing from his attacks.
The major tried to stop his comrade, calling out, “Don’t fall for her tricks.”
It was too late. Cari had him exactly where she wanted him.
The sergeant’s charge got in the way of the major’s advance, blocking his attacks against her and giving Cari the one on one advantage she was looking for.
Cari began a precise series of moves slashing and stabbing to create irritating and painful injuries. It caused the sergeant’s rage to increase even more and his sword work got even sloppier.
Cari danced around while she attacked in such a way as to keep the sergeant between her and the major. The enraged man seemed oblivious to the efforts of his commanding officer to get around him and rejoin the fight, focusing only on getting to his tormentor. She thought to herself that the taunt was working better than usual. Cari decided to finish it.
The sergeant made one more clumsy thrust at her chest. Cari batted the saber aside with her dagger and followed it with a lunging thrust of her own. Her sword blade ran the man through, piercing his heart. More than six inches of the blade exited his back before she pulled it free. With a gasp, the sergeant fell to the ground. Frothy blood coughed up from his mouth and he fell over, dead.
* * *
6,500 experience awarded
* * *
“Now it’s just you and me, Major. Shall we continue where we left off in the mines?”
“If I remember correctly, I left you near death in the mines. I’m thinking now that was a mistake. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“You’re probably right. Too bad you can’t turn back time. Let’s do this.”
Cari decided to drive the attack forward right away. She’d seen how fast this man was. She glanced in her visual field and saw her power bar was nearly full. She should be able to engage her burst of speed skill in just a few more successful attacks. She wanted to finish this as quickly as possible.
Stomping her foot on the ground as she lunged, Cari thrust then feinted to the right and batted away the major’s return attack. She thrust forward again right away. The combination attack managed to get past his defenses for the first time. She scored a hit with a slashing cut to his upper thigh.
The major grimaced. He scowled at her. “I just bought those trousers. I hope you have enough coins on your person. When I rummage through your clothing over your dead body, I want to make sure there’s enough to pay for a new outfit.”
Cari laughed. “Are you trying to taunt me like I taunted your sergeant?” She shook her head. “That’s not going to work on me. Only men are stupid enough to fall for such things.”
Cari followed up the words with another combination of attacks. This time the major easily defended himself and then launched his own attack sequence.
She found herself backpedaling under the furious series of sword work coming at her. A few of his attacks worked through her defenses.
* * *
Health damage — health -6
Health damage — health -8
* * *
Cari finally stopped the major’s advance and drove back with her own attacks, knocking his sword thrust out of the way and following it with a riposte attack. She lunged fo
rward and scored a deep thrust into the major’s side. She knew she probably only pierced muscle, but he grimaced and drew backward. The hit caused him to change tactics.
Major Novachik backed up to gain some distance while he assessed the damage. Pressing his free hand to the wound, he shouted at Cari. “I tire of this, girl. I’d hoped you might have learned more tricks since our last fight.”
“I have more tricks up my sleeve than you know,” Cari said. Her power bar was nearly full. One more successful attack should fill it. She’d been sorely wounded before when they met. She was in much better condition now and she was going to show him how she could really fight.
The next few seconds had them dealing each other a combination of attacks and defensive parries. Neither of them managed to break through the other’s defenses.
Cari almost got the chance she needed and pressed forward with a desperate attack. She realized too late the major had executed a perfect feint, drawing her into an attack she should’ve known was foolhardy.
The major twisted aside so that her lunge stabbed through empty air. Her body stretched out at the limit of her reach leaving her open to his follow up attack before she could recover.
Slashing downward with his sword, he struck her right forearm with a deep slash. Cari’s hand reflexively opened and her dagger fell to the ground.
* * *
Health damage — health -15
* * *
Cari grimaced at the pain of the injury. She tried to work her fingers but he’d obviously severed some tendons in her forearm and her fingers weren’t responding to commands. She looked at the damage in her health bar. She considered using her troll blood regenerative ability. She decided to hold off for a little bit longer and use it just before she activated her burst of speed.