by Jason Kenyon
‘I’m on my own side,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I rather imagine that the same holds true for you.’
‘Perhaps,’ Valia said. Her smile deepened. ‘Don’t worry, though – I’ll stop spying on you soon. I don’t think you’ll be going my way after this. I have a bit of a detour.’
‘Fascinating,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Come on, then, what do you want this time? Get it over with before I call the guards on you.’
‘Don’t be stupid,’ Valia said. ‘You’re just as wanted as I am, Godslayer. Nice title, by the way, I bet you’re so proud.’
‘It’s lasted me longer than being Marr’s knight did for you, I’d wager,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Ouch,’ Valia said. ‘All the same, you should be careful – I have nobody close to me, but you have those two others to worry about. I’m sure you’d hate for something to happen to them, so let’s be careful before we deal out threats.’
Archimegadon bit back his next snide retort and took a deep breath. ‘Alright, Valia, no threats, then. But what are you up to?’
‘Same thing as you,’ Valia replied. ‘The paladins are making it difficult for me to live in Valanthas right now, so I plan to change that.’
‘And how, exactly, do you suppose you’ll do that?’ Archimegadon asked. ‘Are you thinking of bringing down Salestis herself?’
‘Maybe,’ Valia replied. ‘I could ask the same question of you.’
‘I’m only interested in rescuing my friends,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Assassinating leaders is hardly my sort of occupation.’
‘You did a good job on Lord Bartell,’ Valia said.
‘As did you on Orgus Alhamis,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Thank you,’ Valia said, with a grin. ‘I should have got rid of that idiot sailor at the same time, though. Would’ve had a better few months if I had.’
‘You hardly seem troubled right now,’ Archimegadon said.
‘I gave them the slip over to the west near Aldrack,’ Valia said. ‘As far as I know, they’re mainly focused on finding me there – even with these lovely posters out here.’ She laughed sharply. ‘Besides, Unette Alhamis upstaged me, and they became less eager to find Orgus’s murderer after that.’
‘Killing the King is one way to get attention, I suppose,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Still, she didn’t stay on the run as long as you.’
‘Killed her in the palace while the dagger was still fresh in the King’s heart, so they say,’ Valia said. ‘If only they’d been a few seconds earlier.’
Archimegadon looked around, mindful that he and Valia were noticeably two out of the three wanted people on the posters next to them, but the town was quiet today, it seemed, and nobody was around to call guards on them just yet. He looked back at Valia, feeling slightly edgy under her red-eyed stare.
‘Valia, I must ask – do you regret what you did in Ferrina?’ Archimegadon asked.
Valia raised her eyebrows. ‘Regret it? Hmm. I regret how the Knights of Valanthas have become disgraced after what my order did, but I don’t care so much about Ferrina. Valanthas needed to change, and whatever the cost was in Ferrina, it’s finally started things moving.’
‘The cost, Valia?’ Archimegadon asked. ‘Those are people, if you’ve forgotten. You might look at them from afar as just little things, but each one is no different to you yourself.’
‘So you say,’ Valia said. ‘Soldiers from my family have died for generations to protect those thankless morons, and all they’ve achieved is propping up dictators and idiots. The King might have pretended to listen to the people, but he and the Central Council served their own ends.’
‘So you think you’re on some grand mission to change Valanthas?’ Archimegadon asked with a snort. ‘Valia, what happened in Ferrina was nothing more than a slaughter.’
‘It never got as far as it could have done,’ Valia said. ‘If Marr’s demons had spread all across Valanthas, everything would have changed.’
‘Have you completely lost it?’ Archimegadon asked. ‘Those things were vile monstrosities.’
‘And yet they were better than most people,’ Valia said. ‘At the end of the day, those demons are just creatures surviving through the natural order of killing and eating. People, though, are false, and as far as I’m concerned, much worse than any demon.’
‘You think your deceptions put you in a better position?’
‘What I say is right, whether I’m a hypocrite or not,’ Valia replied with a smirk. ‘You shouldn’t ignore what I say just because you dislike me.’
‘I don’t know what to make of you,’ Archimegadon said. ‘You used to be so different… honourable, even if we did tend to argue most of the time. I wish you had not changed, so we didn’t have to go through all the rest of this.’
After a surprised blink, Valia’s expression softened. ‘Perhaps, old man. But it’s too late to change all that.’ She looked off to one side, and then her eyes fell on the posters again. ‘Well, look on the bright side. These posters are so nice, aren’t they? They’ve really started working hard on making them actually look a bit like us.’
Archimegadon chuckled. ‘Indeed, but they don’t make you look half so evil.’
Valia’s eyes flashed. ‘Yes, well, I have business to take care of as I said. I’ll be sure to see you again soon.’
She turned and stalked off, and Archimegadon pondered whether to bother trying to stop her. He hadn’t entirely worked out what her game was, and was wary of accidentally causing her to go bad again, especially given her last reaction. Whether she could turn good he wasn’t sure, but it was worth giving it a chance.
At least, he hoped it was.
*
Ithalna was still in the midst of collecting supplies when an explosion not too far away made her drop everything and duck for cover. When she’d realised that it wasn’t close enough for her to be in immediate danger, she got to her feet again, flushing furiously as she picked everything up again. The shopkeeper did not laugh at her, though. He instead glared out the window at the front of the store, muttering.
‘Sorry about that, miss,’ he said. ‘It’s probably that damn crazy fool in the mountains again.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Ithalna said. ‘What fool is that?’
‘Blasted madwoman called Anjilo Dawnfield,’ the shopkeeper replied. ‘Calls herself a “palchemist”, whatever that is. She’s always experimenting away in her mountain lair, making a noise and scaring the local folk.’
‘Sounds problematic,’ Ithalna said. ‘Why do you not clear her out, or ask her to stop?’
The shopkeeper shifted, looking shame-faced. ‘Well, she pays a good sum for resources for her research, so…’
Ithalna smiled. ‘I understand. That makes sense.’
‘Aye, it does,’ the shopkeeper said, brightening. ‘Need a hand with all that?’
‘Maybe a bit,’ Ithalna replied, attempting to balance a loose apple on the top of her pile of goods and nearly dropping the whole thing.
*
‘Anjilo Dawnfield, did you say?’ Archimegadon asked, once he and Ithalna had returned to Mellara, and they had discussed the explosion.
Archimegadon had decided not to mention that he’d dived into a nearby bush.
‘Friend of yours?’ Mellara asked.
‘If it’s the Anjilo I’m thinking of, then I used to know her, briefly,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘Strange, though – we’d thought her dead, along with other adventurers who fought with us at Aldrack. If she’s still alive, then that’s most splendid indeed!’
‘Would you like to go and visit her?’ Ithalna asked.
‘We hardly have the time,’ Mellara said.
‘He thought she was dead!’ Ithalna said. ‘Would you not also want to speak with an old friend if you discovered that they had not been killed?’
‘I don’t have old friends,’ Mellara replied.
‘I can not imagine why,’ Ithalna said.
‘If you two are done, then yes, I would indee
d like to drop by and visit Anjilo,’ Archimegadon said. ‘My goodness, if she really did escape, I wonder if Mortimyr and those others survived as well?’
‘Alright, fine, you can go,’ Mellara said. ‘Happy now?’
‘Thank you, mother,’ Archimegadon replied.
‘But make sure you’re back in time for bed,’ Mellara said with a grin.
‘We should all go together,’ Ithalna said. ‘There is no benefit to us splitting up.’
‘Except when you leave me out of your trips to town.’
‘You know exactly why we have to!’
Mellara punched Ithalna’s arm gently. ‘I’m teasing, princess. Let’s get moving.’
‘Hmph.’
They headed off in the direction that the shopkeeper had given Ithalna. It wasn’t too hard to find, as Anjilo was not trying to hide. They followed a dusty trail up a steep hill, causing a tirade of expletives from Archimegadon, and found themselves about a third of the way up this particular mountain, with a wide cave mouth just a short distance away. They looked at each other, and Mellara shrugged, so they decided to simply walk on in.
Once they got close to the entrance, though, a mysterious figure emerged. It was almost as if somebody had tried to make paladin armour from thick leather, while covering its face was a curved sheet of metal with a thin slit of red glass. A variety of straps wound around the strange figure, with wrenches, knives and a particularly large spoon attached to them. Mellara drew an arrow before Archimegadon could blink, and the figure made a strange noise.
Then it pushed the sheet of metal up, revealing a young woman’s face behind it, and she coughed with embarrassment.
‘Sorry about that! Hiya!’
Mellara lowered her bow and threw Archimegadon a confused look.
The woman had red hair, which was stuck out right now at odd angles, not helped by the unusual metal visor that had pushed up a random tuft. She stomped over to the group in her ungainly outfit, leaving deep footprints in the grass. When she got a proper look at Archimegadon, her eyes widened.
‘Oh! It’s you! The old man!’
She cheered and dived into a hug, which, since she was wearing the heavy suit, sent Archimegadon stumbling. Mellara stepped in and steadied the pair before they could fall, and Archimegadon murmured some thanks out of the corner of his mouth. Anjilo then released him and stepped back a few paces, taking several seconds to inspect each member of the group.
‘How are you?’
‘Ah, I am most splendid, madam,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, we’d thought you were dead.’
Anjilo nodded. ‘Same here, actually. You left the city in time, huh?’
‘Indeed, since nobody believed us about Arranoth we decided to go and handle Bartell ourselves,’ Archimegadon replied.
‘Ah, we were trying to find Valia,’ Anjilo said. ‘Found her glaive, but not her.’
‘I wondered where that had gone,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Oh dear, I don’t even know where to start. So much has happened since Aldrack.’
‘You’re not joking,’ Anjilo said. ‘We can talk about serious stuff later!’ She blinked. ‘Oh, hi, other guys!’ She added a wave.
Ithalna waved back, while Mellara nodded.
‘Meet Ithalna and Mellara,’ Archimegadon said, gesturing at each in turn. ‘Ithalna is a talented wind mage, and Mellara tortures animals for fun.’
‘You mean people,’ Mellara said.
‘Pleased to meet ya!’ Anjilo said. ‘I’m Anjilo Dawnfield, Palchemist of Valanthas.’
‘Palchemist?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘It’s both a paladin and an alchemist!’ Anjilo replied. ‘I left the Order and started up my own experimentation base here. I was trying to come up with a name that involved engineer, but the word doesn’t go as well with “paladin” as “alchemist”.’
‘Right,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Why did you leave the Order?’
‘Surprised you’d ask that, being a mage and all,’ Anjilo said. ‘I don’t agree with what they’ve been doing since the King was assassinated. I want to help people, not hurt them! So I left.’
‘I can understand that,’ Archimegadon said. ‘They’ve caused me no end of trouble lately.’
‘Ack, I’m sorry about that,’ Anjilo said. ‘If it matters, there’s lots of us who left. We’re not all bad. And even the ones who stayed aren’t all bad either – but I don’t think they know what they’re doing is wrong.’
Anjilo’s serious words were spoiled slightly by her comical outfit. Even so, Archimegadon was heartened to hear them, as it gave him hope that perhaps the situation in Valanthas might not be a permanent one. Maybe things could improve in future after all.
‘I said I wasn’t gonna be all serious!’ Anjilo said, prodding Archimegadon’s shoulder. ‘Let’s talk about something more fun. Actually come on in – I have some stuff I bet you’ll like.’
They entered Anjilo’s mountain cave, where Archimegadon boggled at just how expansive it was. There were dozens of tables all set out with random paraphernalia strewn across them, and he couldn’t work out any sort of order or pattern to it all. There were holes in the cavern walls letting in some sunlight, and tall metal poles with glowing crystals atop them that kept everything illuminated. Anjilo brought them over to a table that was next to a long chalk rectangle that had been marked on the cavern floor. At the end of this rectangle was an archery target.
Anjilo smiled at Mellara. ‘Think this’ll be one for you, miss! Here ya go!’ She picked an arrow off the table and handed it to Mellara. ‘Uh, just shoot the target, or near there, okay? Not anywhere near us.’
Mellara gave Anjilo a look, but decided to go along with it without dispute. She stood at the edge of the rectangle, lifted her bow, and took careful aim. Archimegadon noticed that Anjilo was suppressing laughter, and wondered what exactly was about to happen. Once she was happy with her aim, Mellara loosed the arrow.
It probably would have hit the bullseye, but it was difficult to tell, as the moment the arrow made contact with the target it exploded with so much force that rocks fell from the cavern overhead, and Archimegadon feared that it might collapse. Even Mellara flinched in her surprise, and Ithalna just stared in shock. Anjilo, meanwhile, had burst into laughter.
‘Hahaha! Amazing.’ Anjilo patted Mellara on the shoulder. ‘What d’ya think?’
Mellara’s usual cynical expression was gone, and in its place was an almost child-like look of wonder, making her appear ten years younger. She barely turned her head, but her eyes swivelled to regard Anjilo.
‘I must have more of these,’ she said.
‘If you promise to behave, I might give you some!’ Anjilo said. ‘You have to be careful with them, though.’
‘Can’t imagine why,’ Mellara said, her grin returning.
Archimegadon folded his arms and tapped his foot irritably. ‘Excuse me, madam Dawnfield, but you are cheapening my noble profession! Magic of this sort, the essence of firepower, the… the glory of flamebolt – that is the province of mages! Not simple mercenaries.’
Mellara batted him across the back of the head.
‘Ah, don’t be so grumpy, old man,’ Anjilo said. ‘Come over here, I’ve got even more to show off! Look at these.’
She led them over to another table, where a series of yellow crystals were scattered next to a few empty jars. Anjilo adjusted her gloves to be sure they were on properly, and then gingerly lifted one of the crystals to show to the others.
‘Check this out,’ she said. ‘I call it a Lightstone!’
‘What is it?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘It’s a crystal,’ Anjilo said in a mystical tone, ‘that I have infused with the power of the Light! You can apply these to weapons to make them glow. Oh, and hurt demons and dark magic, I expect. Not many demons about to test ‘em on – but you can also stick ‘em on rods and use them as lights!’ She gestured up at the tall poles with Lightstones at the top.
‘Y
ou are cheapening your own noble profession,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Nah, the Light approves of smart thinking,’ Anjilo said. ‘Don’t listen to the traditional old farts who run the Order.’
‘Is Salestis one of them?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘No, she’s actually quite young – for a Supreme Commander,’ Anjilo replied. ‘They made her Supreme Commander a few years ago. She used to be pretty damn good at things, and everyone liked her. She’s funny and smart at the same time, but knows when to take things seriously.’ Anjilo tapped her chin. ‘Well, at least, she did, but for the last year she’s been a bit weird. Then they made her Regent, and she’s really gone off.’
‘Something happened to her?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘Nothing I know about,’ Anjilo replied. ‘It was before all the trouble at Aldrack, but that didn’t help. She was really torn up about Verrinion Cathedral. I was too, at that.’
‘I wish it could have been stopped,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Me too, but there it is,’ Anjilo said. ‘Speaking of the Order, what are you up to these days? I thought you guys had to hand yourself in to become Servants of the Light?’
‘Erm, yes, well I wasn’t particularly interested in that,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘Then a few things happened, my friends got taken prisoner, and now I’m on my way to Stornis Hold to set them free.’
‘Oh, sucks,’ Anjilo said. ‘But I bet you’ll free them like you did us at Horan before! You remember my mage friends, Terrill and Gelenn?’
Archimegadon nodded. He did indeed remember those two insolent asses.
‘They felt the same as you,’ Anjilo said. ‘They packed their bags and moved to Tarmuna.’
‘Isn’t that a ruined dump these days?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘It has certainly never fully recovered from the rule of the necromancer,’ Ithalna replied, ‘nor indeed the counter-invasion by Valanthas, but there is still some semblance of civilisation there.’
‘Mortimyr went with ‘em, but I have stuff to do here,’ Anjilo said. ‘I want to work on all this stuff for a start, and I’ve been looking for some information on my mother.’
‘She’s missing?’ Archimegadon asked.