The Branchalite Legionnaires

Chapter 9: The Legion in Swiftwater

The message from the new Akroatis had been succinct and displeased. The loss of Solarinas and then the trip to the north were both unacceptable to the new captain. Michelle had subsequently skedaddled south with as much haste and stealth as she could muster. Twice they had been located and attacked by Nerakan patrols, though only the second one (that morning) had proven to be as challenging as the encounters in the forest at the southern edge of Qualinesti. That morning, she had had to fight a Skull knight, while the others dealt first with the Thorn knight and then the squires. The Skull knight had some ability that made him insanely strong. Michelle spent most of the fight trying to dance while injured and was subsequently looking forward to a nice hot tub and soak in one of the pricier taverns in Swiftwater. She had to establish contact with the Legion Anineysi in the town of Swiftwater, then they could arrange to rotate the crew through. Perhaps Lady Gilleana could stay there so she would not have to camp in the wild for a few days. Perhaps she would chose to go with Sir Ailea to Missing City when she left. Michelle really couldn't say for certain, but she could hope. Then she recalled the Akroatis' words about Gilleana:

"Lady Gilleana of House Greffayin: keep her close. Her family has many ties to the Elven leaders and we may need that sometime soon. Make her a friend to the Legion, Michelle, and we will be grateful. If she leaves or is killed in action, I will be most displeased."

He'd included a paragraph about everyone in her team, as if needing to give her guidance, just as if this were her first assignment. Michelle realized that was how it appeared to him. She sighed and looked about the clearing again. Just her and Fandy waiting for the contact, mainly due to keeping it stealthy. She guessed it would be someone she knew, because that was how these things usually worked. They had been hidden here for an hour already and no sign yet. She had seen some smoke rising from the town earlier, but that might well have been the fish market preparing their catch for the day. She looked across to Fandy again, and then she heard it: footsteps. Not just any footsteps either. These were loud and to someone with the right sensitivity, you could feel them pound on the ground.

Michelle slipped the rapier out. The rhythm was wrong for a horse. Her best guess was that an ogre was headed their way. She slipped more into hiding, nodding for Fandy to do the same. She'd heard that the extreme south of Kharolis was rife with ogres and thanoi, but had not expected to be faced with one this far north. Nor could she explain what an ogre would be doing near Swiftwater – ogres couldn't just go to town to purchase supplies, after all. The dark knights had held Swiftwater for quite some time and as far as Michelle knew, there were no ogres in the ranks of the dark knights, but it was rumored that they would permit anyone to join.

The lumbering oaf that wandered into the clearing had wasn't exactly an ogre. The oaf was female, apparently half-ogre, but over seven feet tall. Michelle would guess the creature was in excess of two hundred pounds, actually quite slender for such a creature. Her eyes were not the same size, the right one larger than the left, and were amber in hue. The left ear was pointed and higher on the head than the rounded right ear. Her skin was a dull brown in color and she wore a plain white robe. She had a couple of kukri at her waist and a quarterstaff over her back. There were a few pouches on the belt that held the kukri.

Michelle blinked and her heart missed a beat and then she grinned. Remaining hidden, she called out in a high pitched tone in the trade language. "Good grief – can't a pixie get any rest around here. Lumbering oafs are supposed to be off up in the Throtl gap. Don't make me come out there and stomp on your foot."

The half-ogress paused, looking about in utter astonishment. The big female crossed her arms over her chest finally, comprehension gleaming in those irregular eyes. "Oh yeah? Well I heard pixies like you flash your knickers for hobgoblins to steal their secrets."