Nine weeks after the night that Sol had stopped pulsing, Lord Teles told his second in command, Lieutenant Rauno of the lesser Merchant House Perry, to order their men forth. The men, all seventeen of them and their pack horses rode past, followed by Lords Ulha and Decrea and the incubi Fridan and Jahri as he and Anne stood before the queen. He nodded to Anne and the two of them left the palace lastly. He saluted the Queen as she fell out of sight. Then, as he had explained to Anne to do, they pushed their mounts to a brief canter so that they could settle in the middle of the party.
As they rode, Teles patted his right boot again. The knife that Kelhon had given him was secure. Kelhon wasn't one for sentiment, but he'd imbued the blade with strength and some sort of seeker enchantment. If he held the blade with a clear mind, he would be able to somehow allow Kelhon to mind-speak him. His friend wasn't sure about the range. He'd had the enchantment strengthened by some other cubi in the city, but they weren't First Ranks, he'd confessed. Though he had a few in his possession, Teles wasn't terribly fond of unnatural items. He couldn't bring himself to refuse the blade though. Kelhon thought it would serve a purpose. It wouldn't hurt to take it along. He needed a knife after all.
The men remained stern until two hours of riding had put the city gates long behind them. They began to talk and joke as men typically do. Though he was an officer, young Rauno joked with them. Teles didn't know too much about House Perry. He knew that they had some Asterian blood in them and that they had built up their prominence and prestige by importing Asterian luxury goods: silks, wines, whatnot. Rauno was the third son. He had chosen a life in the military to the surprise of his family. He was well-suited for it though. His instructors at the Academy had highly praised him when Teles had asked. They said that he was the best student they had had in recent memory, second to only Teles himself. He was bright, inquisitive, eager to please, and had an air of command about him. His only shortcoming was that, outside of the battlefield or strategy room, he would lose that air of command and became socially shy. He would only talk once he had shared someone's company for a while.
Teles thought that was brilliant. He hated people who talked too much, especially on a long trip such as this one. He'd had a little bit of backlash when he'd announced his selection to the council. The council was of the opinion that only pure-blooded Lledans should participate in this mission. Anne had called them all idiots, sealing the matter for Jade.
Teles saw Rauno rub his hand across his shaved, dark head and absently hoped that the young man had listened to him when he told them to pack a hat. N'aaden was going to be cold if they were thrown off their tight schedule and were forced to linger. Then again, Teles appraised the company. He had personally hand-picked all of them. None of them were stupid. A few even had reconnaissance experience up in N'aadian mountains. They were the best of the best outfitted with the best of the best; the best armor, weapons, horses. Even their rations were choice.
The highlight of all of this was the crossbow that hung from Lady Anne's saddle. Built exactly to her specifications, Teles had never seen its like. Beautifully carved wood and polished, smooth gears. Capable of firing three shots without reloading. She had been given two quivers filled with silver tipped bolts. Teles doubted she would need more than one shot. She had dead aim. Remarkable for a woman, or, for that matter, any person freshly plucked from the streets.
He threw her a sidelong look and admired her seat, noting that she was a newly minted horsewoman as well. He should have balked at the idea of traveling with a woman, but the Terran had been more active than she had initially indicated. She hadn't been that difficult to train and she hadn't resisted the idea of having to wear leather pants during the journey. She'd actually been relieved! The only trouble that he anticipated during this ordeal would be her hair. He was loathe to ask her to cut it, but he wasn't sure how she was supposed to keep her long curls from turning into a snarled mess. She'd solved that problem herself by oiling her hair and tying it in a carefully plaited, but tight braid. Such an incredibly practical woman.
The second day of riding found Teles, Anne and Rauno riding with the four N'aadians. Anne immediately asked questions of the incubi. The two answered her first questions readily enough, but as time passed and the questions continued, they clamped up into stony silence. Teles saw a flicker of annoyance in Anne's face, but she stopped. As they ate dinner that night at an inn, Anne grumbled, "I should have asked you to bring Kelhon to dinner so I could have asked him questions." The N'aadians had already retired. Anne had cleaned up before eating, hence her later meal.
"Ask him about what, Lady?" Teles asked. He nursed a mug of beer and glanced at his men. They were intermingling with a garrison who had also stopped for the night. Training exercise, they had been told. They had been selected to be part of an elite team and they were currently on a special training exercise to ascertain their potential. The Lady Anne was an incredibly gifted noblewoman who had been asked to record her observations with Lord Teles.
Thus far, no one had thought twice about their party. Granted, it had only been two days and they were still in central Lled. They had a fairly pleasant ride for the next three weeks. The highway to Gates was well-maintained and well-patrolled and there were inns spaced a day's journey apart. As part of the logistics that he had worked through, letters had already been dispatched to these inns in preparation for their arrival.
The highway to Asteria was similarly well-maintained. Rumor had it that if you traveled two days' into that kingdom to Coutore, the cubi there maintained a world gate to Xaldres or River City. He'd seen no such gate on his journey to Coutore fifteen or so years ago, but it was a nice thought to consider.
Having a world gate at every major city...having a cubus residing in Capital City who was strong enough to open a world gate. Though Kelhon was a good friend with whom he frequently conversed and dined, Teles didn't normally think about cubi but during Sol Day when he contemplated Nyia and his child's passing. They were Jove's odd creatures. He knew it was Anne's presence that was making him dwell on them.
"Just stuff," Anne answered.
"Stuff" was probably the most accurate term for it. She had no shame in making inquiries. The problem was that her questions weren't never simple ones like, "How much farther?" or in terms of the incubi, "What's your rank?" She always observed and then asked. Or if there was nothing to observe first, she asked first, listened to the answer and then asked a probing follow-up question. It was almost as if she had been trained to question. The end result was that she learned a lot more than the other person had originally intended to ever reveal. No wonder the aloof N'aadians and their secretive incubi didn't like her.
By the fourth day, Anne was no longer asking questions. She listened intently to the men and she intently observed her surroundings. It was easy to forget that she was even there. She still talked and wasn't wooden or lifeless like those who gave up the will to live. She wasn't even resigned to be in this world or because of their mission. She just seemed to realize that no one else was interested in having conversations that would satisfy her curiosity so instead she chose to watch. Teles debated whether he should engage her, but ultimately he knew he was responsible for so much more than her entertainment. He was responsible for her safety.
Nineteen days after they had ridden from Capital City, their scout reported the first sighting of the city parapets of Gates. They were still a day's ride away. He rode back to check in during early evening, but he had someone with him. Someone who looked vaguely familiar...
"Hail, Lord Teles," the soldier said without waiting for introductions. The man didn't salute. His right arm was in a sling and his left hand held the reins of his horse. "Our camp isn't too far away. Join us."
"Sergeant Allen," Teles nodded in greeting to the man he had served with such a long time ago. He signaled to Rauno and the party shifted to following their guide. "What news?" he asked casually as they rode. It was rude to ask about one's disfigurements, after all.
The man's face hardened. "We're escorting our wounded to Gates to recover, milord. We ran into the Death Dealer about a week's ride northeast of here. We ah.. fled further south than we knew."
"He was this close to Gates? What was he doing?"
"Looking for prey. He had a gaggle of young women with him. He'd put the rest of the village to the sword. We thought we could rescue them." The man sighed heavily.
"Casualty report?"
"We had seventy-five men, milord. Now we are twenty-five."
Anne took a sharp breath. "And the opposition?" Teles pushed on.
"Opposition casualties, milord? It was just the Death Dealer. He left us once we were incapacitated. He was preoccupied with the women. That's the only reason we live. We brought the bodies back so he couldn't come back and disfigure them. We had a nearby cubus put a preservation spell on them."
The camp smelled of defeat. The wounded struggled everywhere they looked and the dead... there were four carts of bodies. As dinner was being prepared, Teles continued conversing with Allen about their encounter with the Death Dealer, trying to figure out a weakness. The incubus used a single sword, no shield, most of the time, but when pressed, he would draw a second sword. Allen hadn't seen him use his powers. He hadn't needed to; he was unspeakably fast and agile. Allen said that his party hadn't had ranged weapons, but those were the only viable option in defeating him. Jove had known that the crossbow would be their only option when He sent that word through Helen. Teles absently wished that he had the opportunity to watch the monster fight so he could assess him. He dearly hoped that they weren't all going to their doom. Most of all, he hoped he wasn't leading the Lady Terra to her death. As he thought grim thoughts, he saw Anne walk toward the carts out of the corner of his eye. Teles excused himself and went to her. She had no business scaring herself.
By the time Teles reached her side, she had pulled away the sheet that had protected everyone from the gruesome sight. She stared at the cold, lifeless forms before her and frowned. She wasn't responding in the way that he expected a woman to react. Her eyes were glassy, but she wasn't hysterical or in shock.
"Horrific, isn't it?" Teles said.
"I don't believe one person could wreck such carnage." Her voice was soft, as if she were merely voicing an internal observation. "To be honest, I've heard of worse on Earth, but our weapons have a higher capacity to kill and there are much larger armies responsible for the carnage, not one man with a sword."
"His sword and his cubi powers and magic. We've never seen this level of brutality in living memory. Wars happen on Gaia as they do on Earth, but this is ..." he shook his head and considered the monster who could do this to another living being, the monster they would soon kill.
Perhaps he was quiet for too long because Anne asked, "Do you think they'll be enough?"
"Who?"
"Fridan and Jahri."
"I pray to Jove so." Teles whispered. He snapped the sheet back over the cart and turned around. The sight of the living mauled was just as bad as the disfigured dead. "I wish we knew the Death Dealer's rank, but those two are Third Ranks and they're trained fighters. They would be a formidable force under any other circumstance." He released a massive sigh. "I do wish Jade would listen. Asteria would surely help us if we asked. Asteria has far more cubi available to it than we do, but the woman's too prideful for her own good. Gets that from her grandfather, you know."
"Asteria's to Lled's south," Anne said.
"Yes, that's right," Teles said. "You have the Northern Realms, Bel'dra, N'aaden, Gates, Lled and Asteria. Gates sits in the corner. Lled and N'aaden share most of the border."
She barely paid attention. Why would see? She'd only made an idle comment because she understood the futility of wishing for something that they didn't have. She didn't need a geography lesson now, but he couldn't help but spill out useless information. The call for dinner spared them both.
The men tried to joke and play with one another as they sat around the campfire. Anne picked at her food. During a lull in the conversation, she blurted, "What does he look like anyway?"
The men fell silent. Teles' team had been discussing the results of the latest sword tourney with the wounded. Spirits had starting to rise. Had.
Sergeant Allen glanced at him, the "Who is she?" written plain as day on his face. Teles nodded. "Yes, Sergeant, you are the most recent person who's encountered him." No one needed to clarify who he was.
"Ah, well..." Allen scrunched up his eyes.
"He's a big 'un," someone volunteered.
"A giant," said another.
"No, he's not," Allen scoffed. "He's tall though. Over six feet. He's inhumanely strong."
"He's big," the first soldier repeated. "His arms are like –" He held out his hands and assessed an imaginary figure before him. If it were accurate, it would truly be quite a formidable bicep.
"He wears black all the time."
"And he has a sword. A long, thin sword. Not a rapier, though. He has a second sword on his back, but he never draws it."
"His armor?" Teles asked.
"Leathers. He wears a bracer on his left arm and has shoulder plates. His eyes are covered by a shadow."
"Maybe he's undead," one of the men quipped.
"Maybe," someone else agreed. "He certainly didn't speak. He's got long, black hair. They're um...sort of clumped together. " He gestured with his fingers.
"Dreads. He has dreadlocks," Anne said with bleak humor.
"Okay. And a thick black beard," the man said. "Ian thought he could get close enough to grab it and then ram his sword up his jaw, but the Death Dealer didn't take too kindly to having his beard pulled." The man fell silent, leaving little doubt as to Ian's fate.
"So big and black," Anne muttered glumly.
"You'd know him if you seen him, Lady," Allen said grimly. "None of us ever heard a report about his appearance and we knew."
"That's...reassuring."
"Hope you never run into him."
"Do you know why he wanted the women?" Anne asked.
"Witch's dark magic, I imagine," Teles said quietly. "Don't dwell on it, Lady. Jove is just. He's already provided the means to the end of the Death Dealer's terror on Gaia."
Teles wasn't an incubus, but he saw the twinge of doubt in her eyes and he sensed the heaviness in the camp. "Look!" he called out, leaning back and pointing. "Sol no longer pulses! The Terran, Jove's Vessel, walks the lands now! We should rejoice! The liberation of N'aaden and our northern brothers is at hand! Our comrades will be avenged by Jove Himself!"
The men cheered loudly. More importantly, however, Anne smiled and raised her face. He silently toasted her. His words had surprisingly lifted his own spirits. They had Jove's Vessel with them! They were destined to succeed!
I have to admit, Rauno, who I originally introduced as a a token logistics character (specifically, someone to be in charge when Teles is having side conversations with Anne), has become one of my favorite characters. Hopefully, you'll enjoy watching him blossom.