The Grey Ghost: Book Two of the Archaic Ring Series

by Reed R. Stevens

  The ancient road eventually reverted into a yawning dirt path that gradually thinned out to half its previous width. It continued to fade away until it was nearly overtaken by the healthy sea of spectacular flowers, a tiny trail in a boundless sea of colour. Before the Interspatial Migration, Nolan remembered seeing pictures of beautiful meadows in the Scandinavian country of Norway, a stunning sight even when viewed through a computer screen. Despite the world-class beauty of those marvelous fields, they were but a far cry from the vivid and diverse flora that filled the region, like a massive sea of giant skittles.

  It was a shame that the beautiful sights were mostly obscured by the dusty coatings of grime that covered most of the carriage’s windows.

  Brooding from his corner, Nolan stared out of the dust-ridden window as the creaking of wooden wheels and the muffled grunts of man and beast alike filled his ears. Some areas around them showed signs of trampling, though in the weeks since the last caravan had come this way, most of the displaced and broken plants seemed to have revived anew with restored vitality.

  Seeing the speed with which the Origin Energy in the atmosphere nurtured all living things within an ecosystem, Nolan was reminded of the surreal differences between Venara and Earth. It was thanks to the presence of Origin Energy in all objects that his explosives had such devastating effects.

  Peeking at the clear evening sky through the grimy windows, he wondered how many mysteries this world contained. He didn’t know much about the politics of this land, or its geography, for that matter. Were any other continents? Races that he’d never heard of? Nolan continued to ponder aimlessly in an attempt to distract himself, all the while keeping his mind’s eye on the fields surrounding the caravan. Though he was in a bad mood, he knew better than to let his guard down after all of the agonizing experiences he’d suffered through.

  As time passed, an unspoken tension gripped the mass of travellers as they journeyed farther and farther into the wilderness. They hadn’t encountered any demonic beasts or otherwise dangerous creatures, though Nolan had detected a few throughout the day. All wildlife shrunk away from the large mass of moving people, most of them hiding within the colourful blanket of wild growth.

  The Red Captain rarely strayed from the front of the group, his hundred horsemen vigilantly maintaining a rectangular riding formation around their charges at all times. It wasn’t until just before sundown that the burly commander ordered the caravan to a halt, and everybody quickly set about clearing away a large area of plants so that they could get settled in with some comfort. They made camp alongside the faint trail that had been stomped into existence by many travelling feet, and soon several campfires cackled into life.

  Aside from the mercenaries, most people intended to bunk in their carriages for the night. The battle-hardened guards would rest beside the many cook fires that had been lit within the camp, at least the ones that weren’t stuck on watch duty throughout the night. Once all the carriages and wagons had been gathered into a large circle, many people broke out casks of ale, the wealthier merchants withdrawing large bottles of wine from their spatial bags as dozens of servants and slaves began cooking dinner for their employers and masters.

  Large clouds had loomed in the distance all throughout the day, though they had recently begun to creep closer like a hungry animal stalking its prey.

  The old woman’s name was Karan, and aside from her grandkids there were only a few other children mixed in with the mob of quiet travellers. Though most people had pulled out some form of drink or another, there was none of the raucous laughter or boisterous conversation that Nolan was used to seeing whenever the people of this land got into their bottles.

  Nolan hadn’t been anticipating a festive atmosphere by any means, but he’d at least expected a light hum of general hubbub once everyone had finally settled down, especially after the long day of travel they’d all had. Not to mention the people who’d paid for passage to Ferguson, even the off-duty guards wore uncomfortable expressions.

  Reading the general mood, Nolan realized that he’d severely underestimated the influence of the Bloodhand Sect.

  “My nephew is getting a fire going in preparation for supper. I’m sure the children would enjoy your company, so I hope you’ll join us for the meal.”

  Nolan acknowledged and appreciated Karan’s offer. “Thanks for the offer, we’d love to.”

  Dinner consisted of roasted red meat, boiled cabbage that was seasoned with a mustardy spice, and thick slices of soft white bread. Karen’s nephew was somewhere in his mid-to-late thirties, a slim man with dark brown hair above a pale and narrow face. His robes were simple but made of fine fabrics, piny greens and minty-teal tones, seemingly the same material as the boys’ grey clothes.

  “Arik, why don’t you help our friends to another serving?”

  Hearing his mother’s voice, the wispy man restocked Nolan and Nyla’s plates with fresh slices of steaming meat and buttered bread, as both had only poked at the tarte cabbage that everyone in the family seemed to favour.

  “Just let me know if you’ve got the appetite for a third plate,” said Arik. “There’s plenty to go around.”

  Nyla inclined her head. “You’re all very kind, we really appreciate it.”

  “Yeah,” said Nolan, “thanks for the meal, and also the ride.”

  Arik laughed. “Mother would never let two youngsters make the long journey to Ferguson on foot. It’d take a constant run just to keep up with the caravan.”

  Karan smiled but didn’t say anything.

  “Exactly how far is Ferguson?” Nolan asked.

  “We should arrive there in around four days,” Arik said. “If we can keep with up our current pace, that is.”

  “Four days? And it’s the nearest city to Greenwall?”

  “There are dozens of towns in between, but none of them are even close to the size of those two cities. For merchants like us, it makes much more sense to ignore the smaller places and head for Ferguson.”

  “Have you guys been there before?”

  Karan shook her head. “This is the first time we’ve taken our business outside of Lord Darrell’s domain.”

  “Is that the City Lord of Greenwall?”

  The older of the boys, who looked around seven, jumped up as Karan affirmed with a nod.

  “You don’t know the city lord’s name?” he said giddily. “Are you foreigners?”

  The younger boy nudged his brother. “They’re from a village, they can’t be foreigners.”

  “That’s stupid! They never said their village was close to Greenwall.”

  The younger boy frowned and stopped talking.

  Reminded of his childhood with Thomas, Nolan almost laughed. “You guys, is this your first time out of the city?”

  “Yeah,” the older boy said. “We’re visiting Aunt Lane.”

  “We get to meet our cousins!”

  “I bet that’ll be fun.” Nolan glanced over his shoulder.

  Two large men who’d just walked by had suddenly stopped and began looking from fire to fire. Nolan hadn’t paid them any attention until their mischievous gazes finally settled on Karan and her family. Sensing their approach, Nolan smirked. Same level as me, huh? Wonder if they’d still be trying to start shit if they could sense Nyla’s cultivation.

  “Evening there, lad!” said one of the men, both of which had the sort of physique that would put a bodybuilder to shame. “We was sitting downwind from your fire here and couldn’t help but catch a whiff of that food there. Mind if we fix up some plates?”

  They ignored everyone else at the fire, everyone quiet now, and sat down in between Karan and the kids. Arik was only at the fourth level of Body Nourishment, his mother at the second and the boys at the first. The broadswords that hung from the men’s hips were of the same design as the ones worn by the men standing guard around camp.

  “You’re mercenaries?” Nolan asked the man who’d spoken to him, whose face was riddled with thick scars. />
  “Yep,” the man said, reaching out for Arik’s empty plate. His hand froze when it was a hairsbreadth away from the wooden dish. “What the hell is this, boy?”

  “Why didn’t you ask the people at the fire next to us for some of their dinner, or the family beside them?” Nolan stood above the man, hand clasped firmly around his thick wrist with enough pressure to threaten the bones beneath. “Because some of those people had higher cultivations than you? Don’t act like you’re not trying to steal our dinner, you fucker.”

  “You think you’ve got balls, huh?” said the other man, this one bald and scraggly-faced. “We just wanted a bit of food, y’know, in exchange for risking our lives to protect you lot, and everyone else on this caravan. Trying to turn us down is the same as disrespecting us and our brothers.”

  “You’re disrespecting us by trying to steal our food. What’s your point?”

  The kids watched on with wide eyes, frightened by the sudden intrusion by these rough-looking men. Arik and Karan were quiet, though Nolan could see it in their expressions, that they would rather just give away the leftovers than risk getting themselves into trouble with the mercenaries.

  Nobody but Nolan was aware that the scar-faced man had been struggling to shake him off in silent futility since the moment that he grabbed hold of his wrist.

  “Don’t test me boy,” he grated, his free hand finding the handle of his sword.

  “Or what, you’ll kill me for some bread and sour cabbage?”

  Nyla kept eating, watching calmly as the situation unfolded.

  Just as the bald man began to draw his sword, an even larger man appeared at his back and abruptly smacked him across the head. “Knock it off!”

  “Sir!”

  “Captain!”

  Immediately docile, both of the mercenaries let go of their swords and ducked their heads like chastised children.

  “You just earned yourselves a spot on the night watch.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Both men hurried away from the fire and then disappeared behind one of the mercenary wagons, presumably to don their battle gear and then rejoin their comrades.

  “Sorry about that.” The deep voice belonged to the Red Captain, who lacked his trademark armour and battle axe. “There’s a fair share of troublemakers among my boys, mostly because a lot of ‘em used to be bandits.” The captain showed a toothy grin as he addressed Nyla, speaking in a calm yet respectful tone. At the fifth level of the Profound Entry stage, he was clearly aware that her cultivation was one level above his. “I hope they didn’t cause too much distress.”

  “It’s fine,” Nyla said. “I just hope that they don’t do anything like this again.”

  “Honestly, that’d be a hard sell,” the Red Captain smiled. “But I’ll be sure to give them a nice talking to.”

  Nolan didn’t want to drop the issue so easily, but he was also aware that no good would come from any further aggravations.

  “Is there something that you needed?” Nolan asked politely.

  Pulling out a silver card, the Red Captain held it in front of him with as innocent a smile as a man with his dangerous build and grizzled beard could pull off. “I was hoping that I could buy myself a plate of food. I’ve never had a talent for cooking, and I’m not much in the mood for dried meat and stale biscuits.”

  “You’ll have to ask them.” Nolan indicated toward Karan and her son. “It’s their food.”

  Before the Red Captain even turned to look at them, Arik was already fixing the big man a heaping plate of hot food. “There’s no need for payment,” he said, stuffing the plate into the man’s large, callused hands.

  “I insist,” the captain said, tossing the money over to Arik.

  “Really, a silver card is far too much for—” He barely caught the gleaming metal, blinked a few times and then stowed it away into one of his pockets.

  “Consider it an apology for those two.” The first thing that the captain bit into was a large piece of cabbage, his expression instantly going stiff. It seemed that he regretted parting with silver for this meal. Still, it seemed that he didn’t want to risk offending the group, and so he continued eating.

  Just as the man was about to force down his third fork-full of cabbage, Nolan’s offered him a way out. “Don’t forget about the meat. A big guy like you needs as much protein as he can get.”

  The man did a poor job of hiding his wariness as he stared down at the meat, but the captain’s eyes lit up in pleasant surprise as soon as the rich taste hit his tongue. He was able to get through the rest of the meal by pairing each bite of cabbage with a mouthful of bread or meat, and made sure to compliment Karan and Arik on the delicious meal.

  As soon as their ‘guest’ finished eating, Karan retreated to the carriage to put the kids to bed.

  “So,” said Nolan. “Do you mind telling us your name?”

  The captain let out a depreciating laugh. “I go by Red. Simple, I know, but some names have a way of sticking.”

  A mercenary named Red. Hard to imagine how he got that name.

  After introducing the others, Nolan returned his gaze to Red. “You’ve been to Ferguson, right?”

  “Aye, why do you ask?”

  “Is it bigger than Greenwall?”

  “Half the size, half the people. It’s a garrison city, so it’s mostly soldiers and their families.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “Safer than Greenwall, I reckon.” Red scratched at his dark beard, brushing breadcrumbs from the thick, frizzed hair. “You guys just passing through?”

  “We’re visiting a friend,” said Nyla. “We don’t know how long we’ll be staying there.”

  Without asking if Red wanted more, Arik grabbed his plate, piled on the rest of their food and then passed it back to him.

  “Is it common to encounter problems on the road?” Nolan guessed that his future on Venara held a lot of travelling in store for him, so he felt he had to ask.

  “Big train of carriages like this’ll catch the eyes of most bandits,” said the captain through a mouthful of bread. “Every few trips, a band of ‘em get the courage to take a crack at us, but it’s never much trouble. I’ve yet to meet a bandit that was stronger than me, you know.”

  “And aside from bandits?”

  “If you’re talking about animals or demonic beasts and what have you, even the stronger ones tend to stay away from big crowds of people. Things have changed a lot lately, though. That’s not all we’ve got to worry about this time around.”

  Nyla frowned. “You’re talking about the Bloodhand Sect.”

  “The evil sect to the south, yeah. Everyone knows about all the horrible things they’ve been doing to people over the years, that they’re still doing.” Red’s acorn eyes grew distant for a moment, and then turned solemn. “Word is that they’ve been seen elsewhere in the province lately, at least half a dozen sightings.”

  “That many?” Nolan was taken aback. They couldn’t all be searching for him, right?

  “It’s all people are talking about anymore.”

  Arik left for a moment and then returned with a bottle of wine and several wooden cups, which he filled with generous amounts before handing them out to everyone at the fire. “The kids told me that you were foreigners,” he said, settling back onto the patch of grass he’d been sitting on. “Is this true?”

  Nolan nodded.

  “Run-ins with those dastardly disciples might be more common where you’re from, but that isn’t the case here in Verdure.” The thin man took a slow sip of wine, staring into the fire as if searching for answers in its dancing glow. “They’ve only stepped foot across our borders eleven times in the past century, never more than a handful at a time. Every time such a thing has happened all of the disciples were hunted down by local soldiers.”

  “Only after wiping out a village or two,” Red snorted.

  “No wonder everybody’s on edge.” Nolan had a premonition that a dark storm loomed on Verdure
’s horizon, one that he didn’t want to be around to weather.

  “If the Bloodhand Sect is so dangerous, why haven’t people taken action in all these years?” Nyla asked.

  “It’s not so simple,” said Arik. “You’ve heard of Mour, yes? The kingdom that used to sit just beneath the plains region?”

  Sensing what Arik was getting at, Nolan said, “To defeat an entire kingdom, there’s no doubt that the sect’s powerful. But they’re a huge problem for a lot of different kingdoms, right? If all of them banded together, shouldn’t they be able to take care of it?”

  “If that were to happen, the cost would be too great even if the kingdoms succeeded in defeating the sect. There’s also the Thebes Empire in the west. They’ve been conquering their neighbours for countless generations, and the only reason they haven’t turned their blades toward the east is because of Verdure and our allies. If we got caught up in a war with the Bloodhand Sect, I doubt the emperor would ignore the victor.”

  “Not to mention that the king wouldn’t do that, not when we’re the only kingdom in the east that doesn’t have to deal with those bastards.”

  “And without Verdure,” said Arik, “none of the other kingdoms would be willing to move.”

  “If you ask me, your king is a fool,” Nyla snorted. “If the other kingdoms fall then the sect will only grow stronger, meanwhile he’ll simply lose a great deal of potential allies that could have helped him. Is he naive enough to think Verdure won’t suffer the same fate as the others?”

  “Wouldn’t know,” the captain said, getting up and dusting off his thick tunic and cotton pants. “Never met the guy.” He turned to leave, but paused to say one last thing. “I’ll tell you something, though; the people of this land are tired of being called cowards by our neighbours. For the first time ever, we’ve all got one common enemy. As far as I see it, most people around these parts are eager to prove they’re not pushovers.”

  Red left the fireside on a dreary note and made his way to the other side of the camp.