And I have seen my death. I shall pass on, long before the complete destruction of Elysion is complete. Do not shed your tears for me, my companions, but shed tears of joy, for though our lives are destined to end, so shall the Eight.
-Marcus Anderus, Captain of the Guard of Elysion
***
Laidu leaned against the wall of the tavern, waiting for Kyra to awaken.
Karik'ar and Thaen sat at the bar, chatting amicably. Morning light filtered in, and the sleepy languor still pleasantly lulled him down to rest. He wasn't asleep, but stuck in the place between sleep and wakefulness, conscious but barely so.
And then she walked down the stairs, waking him up from his half-slumber.
Kyra had gotten dressed, wearing her Caeldari travelling outfit, the thin, fitted coat accentuating her form. She gave him a smile, before sitting down near Thaen and Karik'ar.
Immediately, he began to worry, to wonder. Did he scare her off? Was it him? Was she avoiding him? Was it on purpose? Was she repulsed by him? Did she remember what she did when drugged? From her casual demeanor, Laidu guessed she didn't remember.
She took a mug of tea from the bartender, and walked over to Laidu. "Skaria said I should run this by you. No clue why," she said, handing him the steaming mug. Laidu sipped it, then returned it to Kyra. She sat down next to him, sipping it, heedless of the rather furtive glances from the other patrons.
"Apparently, I was exhausted from travelling," she said. She didn't know what she had done. "You know, I had a strangely vivid dream here." She looked up at Laidu; though she was tall, she was still a good head shorter than him. "You were in it, believe it or not." She didn't seem to notice the disapproving glares of the
"I don't know whether to be honored or worried," Laidu said. Kyra chuckled. Then a thought struck him. "Hey, your dream didn't involve 'scaly babies,' did it?"
Her reaction was immediate. Her eyes widened and she turned a shocked shade of pink. "I...that actually happened?"
"Yep," Laidu said.
Kyra looked around. "I was wondering why I was getting so many strange glances," she muttered, shifting away from Laidu. "Now, I guess I know. Was I loud?"
"You were shouting at the top of your lungs," Laidu said.
"Well then," Kyra said, "I'd love to leave this town before all our reputations are sullied."
"Too late for that," Laidu said. "I doubt it will get to Caeldar," he said, "but then again, there is the chance it might happen."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well, the deed is done. Nothing else can be helped."
Laidu nodded. "There was a proverb my mother used to say. 'Misery is the companion of the man who tries to anchor the sun. Peace is the companion of the man who works what his arms can reach.' Sometimes, one has to relinquish control," he said.
"Good proverb," Kyra said.
"Of course," Laidu said, "my father said another proverb. 'He who takes no burden shall have no reward.' Own your actions, he always said."
"They sound like wonderful people," Kyra said. "I would love to meet them." Laidu arched an eyebrow. "Anyway, what are we doing?"
"We leave Sapharama," Laidu said. "We go to stock up in the market, I need to stop in the Ranger administration building to get a better cloak, and then we leave for the town of Gaelhal." He smiled. "From there, we take a boat to Caeld, and deliver you straight to your family."
With those words, Kyra shivered slightly. "Is something wrong?" Laidu asked.
"No," Kyra snapped. Laidu frowned and Kyra grimaced. "Sorry," she said, "but it's something I'd rather not talk about." That statement, for some reason, caused Karik'ar to give her a disapproving glare.
"Alright," Laidu said. "Its cold up at Caeld. Let's get ready."
***
The Ranger Equipment Center was in the central district of Sapharama, a sprawling building of wood and cobble. Laidu, Kyra, and Thaen stood at the front of the building. Skaria, Karik'ar, and Indra had left for the market. They stocked up on food, while Laidu made sure none of them froze to death.
The three of them stepped in the building. A low ceiling, with rafters that scraped against Laidu's horns, trapped the fumes of pungent, cloyingly sweet incense in there. Laidu recognized the scent. Iako had called it takatas root. A drug, in a refined form. A faint relaxant when mixed with perfume.
That scent flowed from the dish right in front of a Tethyd, who sat at a desk that stretched across the room. Iako had been part shark, a man in peak condition. This Tethyd was part blowfish, and an old woman with rheumy eyes and darker liver spots. Her puffed-up cheeks had dozens of small spines, and the weathered look in her eyes made Laidu groan inwardly. He had seen that look, a look gained from years of life and experience. But it wasn't the gleam of wisdom. It was a slow dullness. It wasn't the best thing to see in a clerk.
This was going to take forever.
"Excuse ms, ma'am," Laidu said. The Tethyd looked up from the ledger on her desk. It was an action that took time. Five seconds to do what could have been done in a quarter of a second. "I need to requisition three heavy duty winter cloaks, and a spare order of coin." That was probably too fast for her. She was ancient. Laidu had to guess she was in her nineties, if not a century old.
"Hold it," said a voice from behind a door behind the relic of a Tethyd. The thin door swung open, and a familiar figure stepped out.
"Tara?" Laidu asked.
"Laidu? Is that really you?"
"Um, yeah," Laidu said. "How many other half-dragon guys do you know?"
"Not very many," Tara said. "So, you need cloaks?"
"Three. One small, or Vesperati large," Laidu said. "One large, and one Kai'Draeni medium."
"The medium one's for you?" Tara asked.
"Only size that fits," Laidu said. He was freakishly tall among humans, but just around average height of a Kai'Draen.
"Alright. And Salrea," she said to the elderly Tethyd, "you can go on your break now." The tiny old woman nodded, slid off her stool, and slowly moved through the back door.
"Wow," Thaen said. "That's old."
"Yeah," Tara said. "She sort of came with the building." The clerk gestured for the three of them to follow her. "I know it's not proper protocol to take you back here, but just don't touch anything and we should be fine. It'll be easier to find one that fits." She opened up a small side door, only waist high at the desk, ushering them through the back door.
They stepped into a small hallway, and Laidu had to duck to not scrape his horns on a low beam. Tara led them up a set of stairs that creaked with every step, though Laidu's footsteps tended to make the creaks a bit louder than normal.
Tara led the three of them through a hallway, before opening a door and stepping into a room full of fur. On dozens of shelves, cloaks were stacked, folded away neatly. Sets of armor slowly accumulated dust and rust, waiting for some Ranger to need them.
"For the little one," Tara said, yanking out a heavy garment of pelts and warm-looking furs. The golden light cast by the lanterns hanging from the rafters made the dark garments seem darker. "Try this on," she said, ignoring the fuming little bat. Vesperati tended to be very sensitive about their height.
Thaen frowned, but wrapped the cloak around him. "Not bad," he said. Tara nodded, took note of the little identification number on the shelf, and went on.
Soon enough, all three of them were wearing their cloaks, and walking down.
"So, how did you get up here?" Laidu asked.
"Ever since that incident with the de Voileaux countess," Tara began, but a glare from Laidu silenced her. "Sorry. Should have thought about that."
"No. Just a bad memory," Laidu said.
"de Voileaux?" Kyra asked.
"Don't ask," Tara advised. "Anyway, how did you two meet?" She led them to the front of the desk, and began to write down the notes.
"Raided an Ajandi caravan," Laidu said. "Normally, there's a bunch of girls, but in this case, only one."
"Let me guess," Tara said. "You killed them all."
Laidu rolled his eyes. "It was like any other raiding caravan. They do the same thing. They take girls for tribute. This one seemed no different, except they used converts who knew the language."
Tara sighed. "Well, it's one more war party taken out," she said. She signed a piece of parchment with a flourish, dipped the quill into the inkpot and offered it to Laidu. "Sign here for requisitioning another shipment of coin and here for the cloaks." Laidu quickly scrawled his signature, before Tara set it aside to dry. "Thank you, and good luck getting to Caeld."
As they stepped out, Thaen settled the cloak around his shoulders. "It really can't be colder in Caeld than it is in Alberion," he said.
"You're jesting," Kyra said. When Thaen shook his head, she sighed. "I'm hot down here. It's really warm compared to home."
"No!" Thaen said with a shake of his head. "It's freezing out here!"
"Oh, believe me," Skaria said from across the street, "it's going to get colder." She walked pas tthe cobble, wearing her armor. Karik'ar followed dutifully behind her, carrying several bags full of something. Food, probably.
Indra stepped into view from behind Karik'ar. "I got a few dates when the boats are leaving from Gaelhal."
"So that's what you were doing when you dashed out from the market," Skaria said. Karik'ar just stood there, frowning, looking stupid. He was smart, sure, but everyone thought Kai'Draen were dumb as bricks, brutes without culture. A brilliant warrior like him would stand out.
But sometimes, stereotypes were the best disguises.
"And?" Laidu asked Indra. "Any issues?"
"Yes. We need to get there within a week. We need to take a mountain pass."
"Great," Laidu snapped. "I've been up these mountains. Not terribly nice, but then again, better than waiting for a... how much time between this one and the next boat?"
"Two months," Indra said. "I'm guessing we're not going to be waiting that long?"
"Definitely not. If Three Pines was any indication," Laidu said, "we better not linger. We've probably overstayed our welcome already."
"What do you mean?" Kyra asked.
"He's been able to find us quickly. Really quickly. Within a few days. Granted, Three Pines was a bit small, but he was waiting for us. He knew which route we'd take out of that town. He had ways to watch us," Laidu said.
"Or," Skaria said, "he covered the main roads. And the back roads after he knew you were going north." The mercenary paused, thinking. "It's like any escort job. The adversaries are always going to have the high ground, because they know where our destination is."
"So they know point A, and point B," Laidu said, "so all that's left is the paths between them. Between four or five, not counting the unreliable backtrails."
"And it would only take a few groups of bandits to be paid off," Skaria said. "We should leave now. The sooner we get to Gaelhal, the better.
The six of them walked through the street. Laidu's sword rested comfortably at his side. He noticed something strange as he walked, however. Townspeople whispered to their friends, pointing at them. Or, rather, they were pointing at and whispering about one specific member of their party.
Indra.
Laidu looked ahead, frowning. A throng of people had gathered at one of the gates, clustered around the portcullis. Indra frowned. "He seems familiar," she said, indicating one stormy-looking individual. He did look familiar.
"You!" the man snapped, jabbing his finger at Indra. It would have been intimidating if the man wasn't standing a good forty feet away. He started charging forward, a stormy expression on his face.
"Me?" Indra looked up at Laidu. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Probably," Laidu said. Indra just shrugged.
"You've been trying to sully my reputation!" the man demanded. "You've been impugning on my honor!"
"Honor?" Indra snapped, confused. "Oh, wait! I remember you!" She chuckled. "You were that 'scholar' that was debating that idiot priest." From the tone in her voice, it was obvious that she considered him being a scholar dubious at best.
The scholar didn't seem to notice the barbed insult. "Of course he was an idiot. He believed in silly, stupid religion." He chuckled. "Oftentimes, they are most easily led.."
"Who told you that?" Indra asked.
"Professor Sartresse, of Sapharama University," the scholar said proudly. When met with Indra's blank stare, he faltered. "You... have heard of Sartresse."
"They let that ass-stubborn moron teach?" Indra asked. "You're speaking of Julien Sartresse, right?"
"Of course. And how dare you-"
"Please!" Indra cut him off. "Everyone knew that Sartresse only got his degree because he bedded half his teachers! And, from personal experience with him, which, thankfully, I've had very little," Indra said, "his beliefs come from a vendetta against a certain priest who called him out on his infidelities. He yelled at my friend when she invited him to church. Poor girl couldn't get over it for a while." Indra shrugged. "Fraedaereich of Grannenburg would be a better scholar."
"I see," the scholar said. "You're deluded by religion. You probably believe in the Eight too."
"And why wouldn't you believe in the Eight?" a woman asked. Her sun-colored hair was tied back in a braided bun. "It's common sense!"
"Laidu," Thaen said, grabbing his friend's arm. "She's not right."
"What do you mean?" Laidu asked.
"She...sounds dense. And she's breathing strange." Thaen tilted his head. "There's something off about her."
Laidu nodded. "Karik'ar," he whispered, "go take Kyra out of here. Take the Southern Gate. Kyra," he said, "go with him." She nodded, and Karik'ar put his hand on her back. They slipped quietly through the crowd. He didn't like leaving Kyra away from him, but it was unavoidable.
"Wanna explain what that was?" Skaria asked.
"Hold on," Laidu said. He looked at the woman closely. Something seemed off about her skin. Too dense, according to Thaen. And, according to Skaria, there was the skinless cadaver of a woman somewhere in the city. He slowly, discreetly drew the shamshir.
He had one chance, and he had to be right about this. Otherwise, he'd pay for eternity. He'd pay for this sin especially. Of course, if it worked, it wouldn't be a sin.
"Of course," the scholar said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I should just believe something without any evidence. I see." Indra eyed Laidu, arching an eyebrow. With a glance, the Ranger reassured her. The woman straightened, about to answer.
And then he stabbed the woman through the heart.
Men and women screamed, scattering from the street. The scholar fell back on his rear, while Indra stared with eyes wide.
The woman, however, looked down. "Rude," she muttered, her voice dropping several octaves, before reaching behind her and yanking out the sword and tossing it aside. "As for your answer," that which had once been a woman said, "simple. There is evidence."
"F...for myth?"
Indra had enough sense to run, so when the gargantuan forearm burst from the woman's dress, grey and textured like stone and barnacles, she wasn't in the way. The face of the woman stretched, distorting, the skin gone lifeless as the beast inside it broke through.
With more rips, the monster burst free of the skin. He kicked it aside, off his ankle, like it was some sort of garment cast aside. "Yes," he said, laughing. "The best kind of evidence! See me! Look at me, not that it matters what you see. Look, then, cattle, and see wonder." Kazalibad cackled. "Feast your eyes on myth!"
They had definitely overstayed their welcome.
End of Part Two