by Jason Kenyon
It made him jump, though, when he found one of the walls glaring back at him. Only it wasn’t the wall, but instead a face that had been inexpertly scrawled on a wanted poster. It was hard to make out any resemblance to the actual person, with messy hair scribbled at the top in the same black ink as the rest of the picture, but the ‘artist’ had daubed red eyes onto it which gave it away.
Wanted: Valia Relassis
Former Knight of the Order of Endless Skies
Dangerous, do not approach!
Involved in cultist activities and several murders
Can be identified by her red irises
‘Well now, Valia, you certainly got that attention you were craving,’ Archimegadon said, smiling to himself. He was still angry about her snide remark the other night, though he had put some small thought into what she’d been saying before that about the ships. Whatever she’d been getting at, he was still not certain, however.
As Archimegadon considered Valia’s words, he found his attention drifting off. The face on the poster stared back at him with its red eyes…
Red eyes…
Red… eyes…
‘Oh, balls,’ Archimegadon said. What if someone mistook Mellara for Valia? They both shared the mark of the Sideslip, and the poster specified nothing about Valia’s hair colour! Foolish paladins, they really should have paid more attention to the details, like Valia’s preferred outfits, for example.
But enough of that! It was time for action. Archimegadon checked around for people nearby, and once he was satisfied that he was alone, he grabbed the poster, rolled it up and stuck it in his satchel. Feeling very smug, Archimegadon rounded the corner to head back to the tailors, only to see other similar posters all around town. How had he not noticed them before?
Well, there was only one thing to do. Steeling himself for his stealing mission, Archimegadon got to work.
*
Mellara stepped inside the general store and eyed the shelves. Ugh, food shopping – how boring. She was used to having it sorted out by the Blade cooks, and was quite happy to keep it that way. Fortunately, unlike Archimegadon, she had some sense for travelling, so she was able to pick out a sensible collection of food that would be good for long walks, which she expected from here on out.
She’d kept an eye out for any horses or carts they could have taken north, but Luthiran at least was lacking in this department. It was a shame, as that would have cut down their journey to Stornis Hold quite considerably. As far as the group had heard after Ithalna had spoken with a couple of travellers, the paladins had been making better time taking their prisoners north, especially as the Central Way was quite a bit more direct than this side route.
In her focus on locating easier travel, though, Mellara had paid little attention to anything else, including the numerous posters around town.
Mellara dumped everything on the counter and smiled at the shopkeeper.
‘Morning, sir,’ she said. ‘What’ll it cost me?’
The shopkeeper looked up at her and Mellara noticed the usual brief surprise as he saw her red eyes. Impatiently she waited for him to get over it, biting back her usually snappy remarks.
‘Ah, g’mornin’, miss,’ the shopkeeper said. ‘Um, ye lookin’ to go travellin’?’
‘Yup, got a ways to go,’ Mellara replied, keeping her smile fixed. She did not want to have to get stuck in small talk with stupid bumpkins. ‘So what’ll it cost?’
The shopkeeper scratched at his hair, nearly knocking his moth-eaten hat off in the process. ‘Let me go an’ get me daughter, she’s a better counter than I.’ He shuffled away.
Mellara sighed. Did he really have to be so stupid? She wanted to be done with this boring task and back on the road, where she might actually get to make use of her talents, instead of wasting away playing nursemaid for a stupid, spoiled noble. Thankfully a girl who could have been no older than fifteen, with straw hair, emerged a few minutes later, and she set to counting up Mellara’s supplies.
The girl got right near to finishing the tally only to drop a few of the things on the floor.
‘Oh, pardon me, miss,’ the girl said, flushing and scurrying over to collect some replacements. ‘Let me count that over from the top for ye.’
Mellara folded her arms. Really? Ugh.
*
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper burst through a door into a small building, causing those inside to reach for their swords in alarm.
‘Sorry, milords,’ the shopkeeper said. ‘I thought ye’d like to know – yer wanted lady’s in me shop right now! The one with the red eyes! For truth, I swear it! My daughter’s delayin’ her, but ye’d best hurry.’
The paladins looked at each other and grinned. Time to collect a hefty reward.
*
Mellara’s patience was beginning to run out as the girl got the count wrong for what felt like the tenth time. She’d have tallied it all up herself, but she had no idea what everything was worth anyway – not that it seemed that the girl knew either. Before trying again, though, the girl nervously looked at Mellara’s bow and spoke up.
‘Sorry, ‘scuse me, miss,’ the girl said. ‘Are you a hunter o’ some sort?’
‘Yeah, I guess so,’ Mellara replied.
‘I’ve thought of tryin’ it, but my dad says I have to run the store some day,’ the girl said.
‘Maybe you should sell it, when the time comes,’ Mellara said. ‘I’m not sure shop-keeping is your thing.’
‘No, maybe not,’ the girl said in a small voice.
Mellara looked at the girl pointedly, but she didn’t continue tallying the supplies just yet.
‘Say, where did you get that bow?’ the girl asked.
‘Ferrina,’ Mellara replied. ‘Can you get on with it, please? I have places to be.’
‘Sorry, miss, we don’t usually get such interesting travellers come in,’ the girl said. ‘Did you know my grandmother…’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Mellara cut through. ‘Please, just count up my stuff so I can be on my way.’
Perhaps the red eyes did it, but the girl looked frightened enough to finish up checking what was owed in record time, and Mellara tossed her the exact change, shoved everything into her satchel, and then left the store as quickly as she could.
*
Ithalna emerged from the tailors and looked around for Archimegadon. She was now dressed in a fairly traditional outfit, though it was still rather pretty and she felt it complemented her well. Her forehead furrowed as she wondered where Archimegadon had got to, but since he wasn’t in sight she supposed he’d got bored and wandered off somewhere. She swung her arms experimentally, getting a feel for her new clothes, and started to head for the nearest turning off the town square.
As she did so, though, she noticed a group of paladins heading her way. She turned and quickly walked away as fast as she could manage without breaking into a full run, hoping to find Mellara at the general store and get out of town as soon as possible. Not looking where she was going, Ithalna walked straight into Archimegadon.
Archimegadon let out a loud yell of surprise and dropped his satchel. A collection of papers spilled out of the satchel and a few of them unfurled, displaying numerous sketches of a red-eyed face. This instantly caught the attention of the paladins, who strode over and seized Archimegadon by the shoulder.
‘Here now, what do you think you’re playing at?’ the lead paladin asked.
‘Ah, I, erm, found these lying around,’ Archimegadon replied.
The paladin glared at him.
‘It’s true, sir,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I’ve never met any lady with red eyes in my life.’
The door to the general store flew open, and Mellara stepped out next to them.
‘It’s her!’ one of the paladins shouted, and they all drew their blades.
Archimegadon stumbled back, unsure what to do, while Mellara looked up in total confusion at the advancing paladins. Ithalna was quicker to react, though. She muttered so
me unfamiliar words and waved her hands, and the dusty soil at their feet stirred and then whipped up into the air, causing everyone present to cover their eyes as the cyclone of dust threatened to blind them. Afraid to try looking, Archimegadon started as a hand firmly grasped his wrist and then pulled him away, but he heard Ithalna’s voice reassuring him and followed her lead, after first stooping to grab his satchel.
‘You can open your eyes again,’ Ithalna said shortly after, and Archimegadon looked around to see that the filth-wind was still keeping the paladins distracted.
Mellara had followed them as well, and together they fled from Luthiran through the southern entrance. Ithalna, suddenly taking lead, convinced them to slip into the trees nearby, and they looped around the town and up north from there. After a while they came to a stop in a thick cluster of trees north of Luthiran, and Archimegadon sat against one of the trunks gratefully.
‘Oh dear,’ Archimegadon said. ‘That didn’t quite go as planned.’
‘What happened?’ Mellara asked.
Archimegadon checked for one of the posters still in his satchel and handed it over to Mellara. ‘Looks like they mistook you for Valia. The eyes.’
‘I can see that,’ Mellara said, glaring at the poster.
‘Do you suppose this means that you should stay out of towns for now?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Seems like it,’ Mellara replied. She kicked the nearest tree. ‘That’s a pain in the arse. Imagine being mistaken for her. We should find her and hand her in.’
Archimegadon tried to look innocent, as he’d not mentioned to the others that Valia had dropped by just a few nights ago. ‘Ahm, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. We don’t know where she is, and she could cause trouble for us too.’
‘She managed that fine without our help before,’ Mellara said.
Ithalna took the poster from Mellara. ‘Valia… she is that knight, is she not? The one they say killed Alhamis.’
‘Aye, and more besides,’ Mellara said.
‘She is trouble, I heard,’ Ithalna said.
‘Yup,’ Mellara said. ‘The world would be better off without her.’
Archimegadon almost spoke up in defence of Valia, before realising that there was very little he could say about her that was actually positive.
‘Well, anyway, it seems like I’d be better off hiring you to protect me, Ithalna,’ Archimegadon said instead.
Ithalna smiled back. ‘I am sure you will have a chance to show off soon. But thank you.’
Chapter Eight: Supreme Command
Crowds turned out to welcome the conquering paladin army home to Arenfel. The capital city of Valanthas, Arenfel, sat on the river Aren, after which the city had been named. The name literally meant “Aren edge”, and referred to how the city had taken up root on the side of the river, before its eventual spread south to encompass a huge tract of land. This surprising expansion had led to the capital city changing from where Vortagenses had founded the kingdom to the far south-east, as money was a bigger draw than nostalgia.
Supreme Commander Salestis, fresh from her victory in putting down the last resistance in Ferrina, was sitting in a carriage with her aide Lyssina, who was watching the crowds with awe and excitement. Salestis smiled indulgently; she was used to this sort of event now, but her friend Lyssina had been stuck in the Jheristar Cathedral for too long, idling away in anonymity. When Salestis had got back in touch with Lyssina just two years ago, she’d pulled a couple of strings to get her reassigned as one of her aides.
Malthanes hadn’t approved, thinking that he was going to be replaced. Silly man. Salestis had no plans to cheat him out of their agreement, even if he was stupid. He’d be the right man to succeed her, since it would take a strong hand to keep the various factions and cathedrals of the Order in line. Lyssina was too new to the whole thing, and certainly not used to sticking up for herself much, so she’d just have to wait for a bit.
‘Having fun?’ Salestis asked.
Lyssina grinned back at her, tucking her blonde hair behind an ear. ‘I love all of this. It’s amazing what you’ve done with the Order. People respect us again. It’s wonderful.’
Salestis always liked having her ego stroked. She peered out at the city and up at the towering buildings that made Arenfel stand out above all the other cities in Valanthas. It was certainly an improvement on that dour pit Ferrina. Lyssina was right, though; the Order was respected again, and after such a long period where nobody had taken the paladins seriously. It was the fault of the previous Supreme Commander, who’d let the Order fall into decline after the Tarmunath War ended. It had taken some unfavourable deals with Orgus Alhamis for Salestis to get some money back into the Order, resulting in the paladin schools, and even then she’d had trouble getting around Valanthas’s persistent lack of faith.
Still, she had her chance now. The Council had given her the throne, and she was going to make sure that Valanthas was a proper Light-driven country by the end of all this. If only she had more time…
The carriage wound its way through the streets until it finally brought the paladin procession into the courtyard of the royal palace of Arenfel. Salestis quickly grabbed her helm from the floor, where it had fallen during the journey, and ruffled her cloak a bit to smarten up.
‘How do I look?’ she asked Lyssina.
Lyssina gave her an appraising look. ‘Beautiful, Your Radiance,’ she said. After a moment, though, she reached out and brushed some dust from Salestis’s shoulder, and straightened out her tunic. ‘Hmm, there! You’re all ready.’
‘You’re an angel,’ Salestis said. ‘Let’s get going.’
There was less fuss made of them here, as the crowds were shut out from the palace, and most of the important paladins had joined Salestis on her brief campaign at Ferrina. She wondered as she passed a few saluting guards whether the dim-witted Central Council had managed to survive without her, and dreaded the amount of extra paperwork she was going to have to do to erase the mistakes they’d likely made. Lyssina stuck close to her, as though afraid of being kidnapped if she got out of Salestis’s private space.
A clerk appeared at her side – she couldn’t remember the man’s name – and he made a few indistinct throat noises, presumably to indicate for her to stop. Affronted by this lack of decorum, Salestis chose to ignore him, marching on through the golden corridors of the palace. Lyssina tugged at her cloak, and shortly after Salestis sighed and came to a halt.
‘What is it, Lyssie?’ Salestis asked.
‘Uhm, Your Radiance, I believe that this man wishes to speak with you,’ Lyssina replied.
Salestis turned to look at the clerk, and then, as he opened his mouth, she turned back to Lyssina. ‘Well, Lyssie, I’m sure he knows how to correctly address the Regent of Valanthas.’
‘Ahm.’ That was the clerk. ‘Your Radiance, would you excuse me for a moment? I have a message for you.’
‘I see,’ Salestis said, keeping her tone frosty. ‘Are you going to read it to me, or should I take that paper from your hand?’
‘Oh, I, ahm,’ the clerk said. His hand wavered as he tried to work out which would please Salestis best.
Salestis would have smiled outwardly if she could. She’d always had the opinion that leaders were such stuffy and boring people when she was younger, but now that she was in that role she wondered if they had, like her now, pretended just so they could enjoy putting people in awkward positions for the fun of it. It wasn’t like the man could call her out on her behaviour. No, she decided to see how he’d choose, and waited patiently.
‘The, uh, the Central Council bids you welcome back,’ the clerk said eventually. ‘They want to congratulate you on your victory against the dissenters in Ferrina. And they would like to speak with you soon, if possible, Your Radiance.’
‘This doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you should be reading out,’ Salestis said, keeping her tone firm. ‘Hand it over.’
The clerk almost threw it in her face, so hu
rried were his motions after her command. Salestis couldn’t stop the edge of her mouth undergoing a slight upturn, and felt the urge to chuckle at him. It wouldn’t be seemly for the Supreme Commander to do so, though, so she held herself in check.
It was just a basic message as the man had read out, and hardly something he needed to keep secret, but it was fun to keep him off-balance. Once she’d read the message, she handed it back to him and headed on wordlessly down the corridor that would lead to her chambers, after a few more winding turns.
‘Your Radiance, the Central Council meeting chamber is back the other way,’ Lyssina said.
‘I know, Lyssie,’ Salestis said. ‘I just got home – I’m sure they can wait a little longer. Let’s not forget that I’m also the Light’s representative in Valanthas – it’s not going to do for me to turn up all horrible and sweaty from the journey.’
‘Well, no,’ Lyssina said, and she giggled a bit.
Salestis grinned back and led the way to her chambers, where her entourage, excluding Lyssina, was made to wait outside. The King’s former chambers had been kept out of bounds since the assassination, deemed bad luck by some of the stupider members of the Order. This had resulted in Salestis getting these chambers instead, which wasn’t all bad. She didn’t get to enjoy the glorious view of the city that the King had, prior to his wife killing him, but in its place she could look out over the gardens that bloomed in the open area that lay at the centre of the sprawling palace.
Lyssina sat on the bed and bounced there a little. ‘What do you think they’ll want?’ she asked.
Salestis shrugged as she changed out of her armour behind a silk curtain, before realising that Lyssina could hardly see the gesture. ‘Not sure,’ she called back. ‘I suppose they’ll want to show how much they approve of the work I’ve done, so they can stay in my good books.’