Brace For the Wolves

by Nathan Thompson

  "Name your price for the ransom," the scratchy voice demanded carefully.

  That was the most interest I had seen any of Virtus' fellow soldiers display about him. Tovius seemed grateful for the opportunity to report against him, and Calphus had practically laughed at me when I brought up the ransom discussion with him. That led me to believe that this person was at least a high-level commander aware of the consequences of refusing Virtus' ransom. Which quite possibly made him one of the main people in charge of Virtus' old company.

  "Three suits of gear, including kit, weapon and armor, along with a number of souls needed to generate the equivalent amount of magic he would have been entitled to at his highest pay grade."

  "That's outrageous," the enemy captain called back. "You can't have that many souls."

  "Either a soldier's worth his pay or not," I retorted. "And it's not like you don't have all the remaining souls currently left in the planet. Three suits of gear plus a year of his pay is a bargain for an experienced soldier. And it's not like you're in a position to get more recruits if you're trapped down here."

  I remembered that way back in World War II, the government of my country was supposedly willing to pay a hundred pounds of gold for the rescue of one of its pilots. The other guy could argue all he wanted but my demands were at least halfway reasonable and he knew it.

  "No souls," the voice called back, and I felt like I could hear his teeth grit. "You can keep his gear if you return him to us."

  "Or I can keep his gear anyway," I called back. "Because it's already in my possession. If you're not willing to give back anything at all, you'd better be prepared to come out and take him from me."

  More waiting, and then he yelled back at me.

  "You can have one suit of gear, in addition to his own."

  "How many of my people's souls are you releasing?" I asked.

  "None," the monster replied. "No souls are negotiable."

  "That's not a valid offer then. You're effectively throwing him away then."

  "Come closer if you want to negotiate with us in good faith."

  "In a pitch-black room?" I asked sarcastically. "No thanks. You haven't earned that level of trust from me. How about you step into a visible distance and come up with a better offer? I'll move several feet away and produce a light so that you can see me and see that I'm alone."

  I tried not to noticeably hold my breath, because this was the key point of negotiations.

  "No light, and no deal. Come closer if you want to negotiate or all offers are off the table."

  "Right," I responded. "I've given you three reasonable offers. You've rejected all of them. As the lord of Avalon I hereby witness that you're giving up on ransoming your warrior."

  A brief, awkward silence followed. Then a half-confident snort.

  "That would only matter if there was still a Lord of Avalon."

  "Avalon," I said calmly. "Bear witness to these failed negotiations."

  "Avalon bears witness," the rocks boomed.

  Something in the darkness ahead of me swore in surprise. I activated the handle that I had stored Virtus in.

  His skull and helmet came out. Then his armor and body.

  “Soldier Virtus,” I declared. “Your previous employer has refused three offers for your ransom. You are hereby discharged from your company's service.”

  “Avalon bears witness,” the supercomputer repeated.

  “Virtus,” I said, to clarify. “That has to count as a breach of contract.”

  “Yes,” the skull groaned tiredly. “Barely.”

  “Virtus, is that you?” the scratchy voice called out. “Just hold tight. We'll come get you.”

  “Liar…” the skull rasped.

  “Fine,” the commander snarled. “Betray the company. See what good your broken carcass does to your new employer.”

  “We’ll never know,” I replied. “Because I'm not going to leave him broken.”

  I looked back down at the skeleton. “You need magic to live, right? Can enough magic restore your body?”

  “Eventually. Would… take… fortune…”

  I pulled out the mana pendant I had gotten from Tovius. “Would this cover it?”

  The skull was silent for a moment. I was just starting to recognize that silence as shock.

  “Too… much…”

  “Too much? Meaning you can't use it?” I asked patiently. Because a treatment doesn't work if it blows the patient up or something. “Can this restore your body? Yes or no?”

  More silence. That meant more shock.

  “Yes,” the skull finally said. “But…”

  “Here you go then,” I said. “It's yours.”

  “But…” he repeated.

  I removed his weapons, because I wasn't a total idiot, then I placed his skull back against his neck as securely as I could and touched the pendant to his forehead.

  The tip of the ornament began to glow brightly, and then it began to slowly dim, brightening again in faint pulses before it gradually dimmed again. This process repeated for over a minute, until the pendant dimmed completely and did not light up again.

  I heard a cracking sound from the skeleton’s neck, and then its eyes and neck joint both began to glow. A moment later the glow stopped, and I heard the skull hiss— another sound that usually meant these beings were surprised. Then the head slowly swiveled on the neck back and forth, twisting the way a person did to stretch out their muscles. It was really odd to watch. Finally, the skull swiveled again and looked at me.

  “You shouldn't have done that,” Virtus finally said.

  “Why?” I asked quietly.

  “Because I've given you nothing yet. No oath. No promise of good behavior.”

  “You haven't done wrong by me yet, either,” I replied calmly.

  “That doesn't mean anything,” the old soldier snapped. “There are lots of false men in the Expanse that haven't betrayed you yet. It doesn't mean they never will.”

  “I know,” I said back. “And I don't think you’ll be one of them.”

  “But you don't know that!” the fleshless man insisted. “I’ve killed your kind!” The skeleton started to rise off the floor. “I've killed those you're now trying to save!”

  “It's true,” the scratchy voice from the dark room called out. “He's done war crimes as well.”

  “You should have at least demanded an oath from me,” the soldier before me hissed, “before you gave me that much power. I would have agreed to anything, because I would have had to.”

  “No,” I responded, shaking my head. “I did that to show how you and me are going to work out.”

  I saw that Eadric and the others were still standing behind us, watching Virtus very carefully. That was good. Because that was all I needed them to do. “Here is how you and I are going to work out. We try to do right by each other whenever we can. Beyond whatever oaths we take. Beyond whatever other conditions come up. The spirit of our oaths, of any oaths the two of us take, is to try and make our world, our kingdom, any region that falls under our influence, a better place. Where people aren't oppressed or wronged or abused. That's the goal, beyond the wording of any oath you and I take.”

  “... that's really what you want?” Virtus finally said. Air hissed out of his open cheeks as he spoke. “You're not lying?”

  I shook my head.

  “I wouldn't have given you your body back if I was lying. If you don't like my deal, you're free to stay on some other corner of Avalon as long as you don't cause trouble. Or, if you agree to help me, I can give you your weapon back and you can swear to help me make a better and safer Avalon.”

  “You don't know what I’ve done,” the fleshless soldier insisted. “I was a part of everything that—”

  “This isn't about that,” I interrupted. “This is about what you're going to do from here on out. You know my kingdom's need for a protector and a teacher of war. We both know you're willing and able to meet that need. You told me your credentials
and you made your desperation clear. I don't have time to look for a perfect candidate and I'd never find one even if I did. So choose. Will you swear to help me protect the oppressed, restore Avalon, and rescue other worlds from destruction, wherever we both are able?”

  “Rescue other worlds—” Virtus’ voice caught. The skull looked downward. I heard his teeth clench and grind. Then I heard air suck into his mouth, and somehow, I felt him reach inside himself, grab hold of a massive weight on his chest…

  And push.

  Bones twisted right before my eyes. Abnormally long arms shrank very slightly, became just a little more natural. The pair of fangs in his mouth shrank slightly, to where they meshed better with the rest of his teeth. His torso shifted slightly, and his armor now looked like it fit better.

  “I'm in,” he said firmly. “For as long as you attempt to be a just and fair leader, I swear to give you my sword, my soul, and my mind.”

  “Avalon bears witness,” the mists briefly rumbled.

  “We bear witness too,” the young whisper added.

  “The one from outside follows him now,” another said in wonder.

  “The punished one has mercy now.”

  “He begins again.”

  “Can we begin again?”

  “Only… only if he's worthy,” the once-grumbling voice said with a tremor.

  “My turn,” I said, stepping forward a bit. “I swear that for as long as you remain in my service you will be provided with the mana needed to live, and when possible, the mana needed to grow. I swear to never abandon you out of mere convenience, and if you are captured or in danger I will work to ensure your safe return. You will face danger—I swear that as well—but I also swear to never take your existence or service for granted.”

  “Avalon bears witness once more,” the mists rumbled, and the ghosts within began to murmur once more.

  “He binds himself to a harsh oath.”

  “He binds himself to providing for a former foe.”

  “He binds himself to risking for a former foe.”

  “Will he still risk himself for us, when he is King?”

  “If he does…” the last voice hesitated, “then he’s worthy.”

  That was all the time for comments though. Our enemies still chose to hold their position, instead of attacking us when we were busy conducting a ceremony. That was telling. I handed Virtus back his stone blade, then I let him take his pick of the rest of the gear we were carrying in our packs and my magical storage space. He took a few pieces of the other warden's armor and all of the spare weapons he could strap to himself.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked. “Are you recovered enough to fight?”

  “I'm feeling better than I have in dozens of centuries.” He rotated his arms in their sockets and rolled his fleshless neck around, as if he was loosening up for a fight.

  “Great news,” I said. Provided your oath holds and you don't just turn right back around and beat my ass again. But he had already missed his best opportunity to do so, and he hadn't expected me to spend so much effort on restoring him.

  “Here's your first payment, by the way,” I said, giving him one of the amulets we got from the wardens.

  "Now I need to ask you—"

  "This is too much," he interrupted me. "You can't give me that."

  "How much mana is left in the other pendant I gave you?" I asked patiently.

  "Weeks' worth. Months if I ration it," the soldier stated.

  "Well, if I give you this, will you be able to fight unrestricted and at full power? Without worrying if you're going to starve, or whatever happens to you when you run out of magic?"

  "...Yes," he finally said. "Yes. You're right. Strategically, that's the right call. I could fight uninhibited for years with that. Good... good call."

  He managed to look guilty, despite the lack of muscles to make facial expressions.

  "Well, I said I'd provide for you, so keeping you charged is necessary for my oath. Especially until I can hammer out a permanent power source for you. Now let's hold you to your own oath. What are we dealing with in the other room?"

  "Most of my old cohort," Virtus said with a nod. "The last war was hard on the company. Our employer sent us into the hottest spots, and for every Earthborn we slew we lost anywhere from two to ten soldiers. We've had to rely on reanimating mindless troops because we were so thoroughly cleaned out of the basic rank and file. The only free-willed left now are the officers. I was technically the last sergeant, but that was only because they demoted me so much."

  "And then you proved us right," the scratchy voice from the next room hissed. "By turning traitor."

  "On the contrary, sir," Virtus growled, turning to face his accuser. "I'm being true to myself for the first time in over an age. I have a chance to be a soldier again, instead of a jailer, or a monster. A chance you gave me by tossing me away. Don't blame me for taking it."

  "So you're going to turn on the company now, soldier?" the being hissed in the next room with audible scorn.

  "The company died on our last assignment, Martus," Virtus retorted. "We beat the Earthborn, but it was a hollow victory. We lost most of our Risen power when our employer's magic changed us, and Descending proved a poor substitute for it. The group with me is led by an underage and apparently malnourished Earthborn—"

  "Hey!" I interrupted. "No bad-mouthing your new boss!"

  "Sorry, sir," Virtus said quickly. "The group with me is led by an underage and apparently underfed Earthborn, and they still wiped out most of our animated conscripts and about half of the remaining leadership. We weren't meant for this new work. We were meant to break enemy lines, save cities, tear down strongholds, force honorable surrenders. Not torturing jailed ghosts."

  "I had to make the call, Virtus," the scratchy voice shouted tiredly. "We've been over this. There were no new contracts. There was no so-called honorable employer who would have kept providing for us, especially with the damned Earthborn gallivanting around the Expanse enforcing the peace in our place. This was the best way to keep what was left of the company alive, even if it didn't save everyone."

  "No, Martus," the old soldier said as he shook his head. "It was the worst. And you're not going to survive. You're about to find out the same thing I did when you go up against this Earthborn, unless you back down and surrender. And you actually can," the skeleton insisted. "You were the one that set the special order for killing Earthborn. You can cancel the order and surrender. You can find new work, in a new Expanse that has never heard of us. We both know the Stellar Council isn't going to care about anything we've done."

  "Virtus," Martus sighed quietly. "You're making the same mistake the Polemarchus did. The company never got ahead by giving up what we had. There's enough bread for the last of us here to last forever. You're asking us to risk our immortality. We're not doing that. Not in the face of a mere, half-grown Earthborn."

  "Actually, that's exactly what you're doing," I interjected. "Because you're not going to win if you go up against me, however much smaller I am from my apparently giant ancestors. One last time: are you going to stand down or face total destruction? Because you're not risking anything less in a fight with me."