A Warrior's Path Page 17

  Etrusin stared at Komeris for several minutes, and then nodded. “You are a man of honor, my friend. This is why you've always been at my side. Know that your service to the empire shall never be forgotten.”

  Komeris bowed his head respectfully. “When shall we go?” he asked.

  “At dawn's first light,” the general replied. “Take to the low ground whenever you can. The peaks are treacherous, and stealth will be your ally.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Komeris, bowing again. “I shall assemble some of our best warriors today. We will begin at dawn, as you have ordered.”

  Etrusin bowed his head in response. “Yes, but take only a few. There is much to do here, and I need skilled warriors to continue training the newest members of our army. Make sure you return, my friend, for we could not do without you as well.”

  “We shall,” replied the captain with a determined nod. At that he gave one more bow and exited, leaving his general to his thoughts.

  Alone again, Etrusin looked back down at his map. He grimaced at its incompleteness. “Why have we stayed so secluded?” he muttered. “Foolish men. Now we are put to the scramble. To be defeated would be no less than we deserve for such stagnation.

  “No,” he tried to say firmly. “We will not find defeat. Loss perhaps, but not defeat I pray...”

  * * *

  Outside the tent, Komeris heaved a big sigh. With that exhalation he expelled any doubt he had left about himself. He walked toward the largest tent in the camp, where he knew he would find most of the soldiers, the mess. As he approached, he could smell something delicious being served. He stepped in and saw a large boar on the table surrounded by a sea of rice and vegetables. Several soldiers were gathered around, piling savory meat upon their plates. Those who were in line for the food drank heartily from mugs filled with rice wine and talked and laughed boisterously with their comrades. He was pleased to see how well they all got along. The captain spotted Pei-Shi standing with a group of men, all of them laughing over some anecdote. He smiled and walked over.

  “Hail, Pei-Shi,” he greeted her.

  “Ah, captain, well met,” she replied, bowing awkwardly as she balanced her food and drink.

  “I must speak with you,” Komeris said in a low, serious voice.

  She noted his tone and the look on his face. She put down her dinner and walked with him outside. “What is it, captain?” she asked dutifully.

  “Pei-Shi, we have served together many long years,” he began with a deeply respectful tone. “In that time I have come to trust in you and your abilities more than any other soldier aside from the general himself. I come now to ask you again to serve by my side in a possibly dangerous mission.”

  Pei-Shi bowed humbly. “You have but to command it, captain.”

  “No,” he said quickly. “No, I will not command you; rather I will ask you to do this of your own will. And I would ask you to help me to select three other warriors who would volunteer to come with us on this assignment.”

  “By my own will I would follow your command into the very mouth of doom. I will help you find those brave enough to join us. Shall I tell them the nature of our mission?” she asked, curious about it herself but still willing regardless of the details.

  Komeris nodded. “Yes, we are to continue exploring westward. The general wants us to see if we can spy the home of this mysterious enemy the emperor has foreseen.”

  Pei-Shi raised an eyebrow. “Is that all?” she asked jokingly.

  “Yes,” Komeris replied, “but do not be deceived. It will be a difficult journey. The terrain through the mountains is unknown to us. We must take great care to return safely with whatever information we can find.”

  The blademaster nodded her head solemnly. “Very well, captain. When should we be ready to go?”

  “First light tomorrow,” he answered.

  Pei-Shi nodded again, then bowed and turned to reenter the mess, though she did not go to finish her meal. Komeris watched her disappear into the tent and turned to walk to his own. He paused as he looked toward the forest and noticed someone was standing by the path into the wood. He walked over, and as he approached, he recognized Marui, the female elf that always seemed to accompany Tilon.

  “Hail, captain,” she said.

  “Hello,” he replied with a smile.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “I was heading back to my tent. I only came this way because I saw you here.”

  The elf shook her head slowly. “Nay, captain, I mean where are you going tomorrow?”

  Komeris gave her a perplexed look. “How did you...”

  She laughed. It was a musical sound, much like elven speech was, magical. It lifted the captain's heart to hear it. “You never seem to remember our excellent hearing. While it is much better than yours, it does have its limits. I overheard some of your conversation with that soldier, only enough to know that you are going somewhere dangerous at first light tomorrow.”

  The captain turned back and looked to the mess tent, which was easily seventy paces from where they now stood. “I wish my ears were so limited,” he grinned. His expression became serious as he looked back to Marui. “It is true that we are to leave tomorrow. We are to explore the mountains and beyond to find where our enemy, or any ally, may lie.”

  Marui gave him an appraising look. “Captain, do your people really know so little about their history?” she asked.

  Komeris frowned. “We know no history before Reisothin aside from tribal conflict and our bedtime stories.”

  The elf nodded after a thoughtful pause. “Very well,” she said at last. “Captain, I shall accompany you tomorrow when you and your group head off into the mountains.”

  The captain didn't know what to say.

  “If there is some enemy in or over the mountains that is coming to attack you, then they threaten us as well. Such an enemy would have to enter the forest to get to your empire. This would not be the first time this has happened. We live much longer than humans do, thus our memories are much better. I think some of our memories would be very helpful to both of our peoples right now. Let me guide you along the paths of your ancestors so that you may better avoid their mistakes. Perhaps together we can avoid a conflict entirely,” Marui explained.

  Komeris nodded slowly, though he did not entirely understand. He guessed that the elves had likely kept a more detailed history than his people had, so perhaps they could indeed be very helpful. “Your presence would be welcomed,” he said gratefully.

  * * *

  Inside the mess tent, Su-Ni watched as Pei-Shi returned, not to eat with the rest of the soldiers, but to whisper to Reniu and point to some of the others. Ever since the loss of the Swift One and his company on the mountain, the young diplomat kept a close eye on captain Komeris and the soldiers he regularly associated with. She had watched with interest as he walked outside with the blade master and now as the female warrior had come back alone to share some secret, it seemed. Su-Ni was an observant one, and she knew something was happening. So, when Pei-Shi, Reniu and two other soldiers exited the tent together, the curious young woman was not far behind.

  The four warriors quickly crossed the campsite, oblivious to their living shadow. They came to a small tent and filed in. Su-Ni crept up from behind another tent close by. She looked around cautiously. Fortunately, it seemed that most of the soldiers were gathered in the huge central tent around their lunch. The diplomat tip-toed up to the tent flaps and strained to hear the conversation happening inside.

  “...dawn tomorrow our path goes back west, back to the mountains,” a feminine voice said, obviously Pei-Shi's.

  “We're goin' ta find the Swift One?” the northtribe brogue clearly identified the speaker as Reniu.

  Su-Ni's eyes widened as she heard Urietsin's nickname and almost fell through the tent flaps as she strained to hear Pei-Shi's response.

  “If the young warrior is still alive, I am sure he will find his way back to us,” she said
hopefully, “but our journey will take us well beyond the place where he and his men fell to the gotori. We go to find our enemy...”

  Su-Ni was momentarily disappointed to hear that their secret mission did not involve searching for Urietsin, but her heart leapt when she heard Pei-Shi’s last statement. The Swift One was all but forgotten at hearing what they were really up to. Her ear was practically pressed to the hide of the tent, and she began to wonder if her silhouette might give her away. She was trying to position herself more inconspicuously when suddenly Komeris came from around the corner.

  The young diplomat straightened slowly and looked straight at the tent. Then she turned and stepped away, looking at the other tent directly across from this one with what she hoped looked like puzzled expression. Inside her chest her heart was pounding like a blacksmith's hammer, but she kept her motions slow and casual. She walked up to the other tent and tilted her head toward its opening, as if listening for some sound.

  Komeris approached her with a cocked eyebrow. “It’s lunchtime and you are far from the mess tent, young diplomat. Are you not hungry?” he asked suspiciously.

  Su-Ni put a finger to her lips and stepped away from this tent as well. “Have you seen Ninei and Ini'io?” she asked conspiratorially. “I know I saw them come this way. I'll not have them making any plans without me. Sometimes I feel like they leave me out because I'm the youngest.” She pouted prettily and folded her arms across her chest, though in truth she knew that both the other diplomats respected her talent and maturity beyond any doubt.

  Komeris fell for the ruse, especially when he saw that undeniable pout. He grinned. “I am sorry, I did not see them. Perhaps they were simply walking around the campsite and turned back to the mess for a meal.”

  “Perhaps,” she responded, but she managed a disappointed look.

  The captain reached out and patted her shoulder. “Do not worry, my friend. I am certain they respect you very much. I cannot imagine why you would be here with them otherwise.”

  Su-Ni smiled broadly at this and bowed to Komeris. “Thank you, captain,” she said. “I will try to go find them in the mess tent.”

  Komeris nodded and watched her walk off quickly. He chuckled to himself and began to walk toward his own tent when the flap of Pei-Shi's tent was pushed aside and four soldiers stepped out.

  “Hail, captain,” said Reniu with a bow.

  The soldier's bow was met with an absent nod as Komeris considered the four before him. The captain turned to look the way the young diplomat had gone. For a moment, he almost shook away the coincidence as just that, but his better judgment told him differently. After witnessing the physical prowess of the young Urietsin, he reminded himself not to underestimate the diplomat because of her age. He would have promised himself to keep an eye on her too, were it not for the fact the he was to be away from the camp and the empire for some time starting tomorrow. He clenched his jaw as he turned back to the soldiers who stood before him with quizzical expressions. He bade them to follow him back to his tent where they would make plans for the next morning. All thoughts of the strange encounter with Su-Ni were soon forgotten.

  * * *

  Thick fog clung heavily to the ivy-choked branches of dead trees spotting the moist ground from which the haze seemed to emanate. In some places, the soil was just damp from the constant humidity that permeated every layer of the bog. In others, it was completely soaked to produce a slimy, stagnant mud. Puddles of standing water pooled everywhere, and each swam with the bottom-feeding life one would expect to find in such a place. Frogs chirped instead of birds, and toads croaked in seeming chorus. Dozens of other nameless creatures occasionally threw in their moans and gasps, topped off by the disturbing call of a loon. In a word, it was home.

  Agucho relished the feel of thick mud around his webbed feet. Every so often he would snag a small toadstool or patch of moss and gobble it down greedily. He never realized how much he could miss his home. He licked his eyeballs, though mostly out of habit, as the moist air of the bog made this action somewhat unnecessary. His pace quickened as he neared Edogh, the royal court of the Fiu-Het.

  Edogh was a dense circle of cypress with twisted roots entwined above and below the deeper water of this part of the bog. The effect was a veritable fortress of interlocked wooden limbs, through which only one of the Fiu-Het's ability could navigate. Agucho stretched and squeezed his biology in a way unfathomable to the other intelligent races of this land. As though he had simply walked through an open path, he emerged on the other side to stand on a wide mound of peat and clay. The area would have looked empty to one of any other race, but Agucho recognized many that he knew watching from behind the guise of a branch or a stone. He promptly knelt and prostrated himself before the court.

  From out of the bark of a cypress, a tall Fiu-Het assembled herself. Her height seemed to be derived from the lack of the hunch present in the males of her species. Her skin did not hang quite as loose as well. On the contrary, it seemed to be drawn quite tightly over her form and made her appear more amphibian than trollish.

  “It has been some time since we have heard from you, Agucho,” she said in a soft voice, a stark contrast to the harsh gurgle of the males.

  “My humblest apologies, highness,” Agucho groveled.

  “Never mind that. We have been quite worried about the disappearance of Gayossha. Tell me, have you encountered him in your absence? I hope he is well.” Her tone was icily suspicious.

  At this Agucho choked, his face still to the ground.

  The Fiu-Het queen looked down at the groveling shapeshifter before her. After a long pause she spoke. “Rise.”

  Agucho stood slowly, though he still kept his eyes pointed downward. He did not need to look to feel the queen's stare boring into him. He knew she would not speak again until he did.

  “A horrible fate has befallen our great prince!” he admitted finally. Again, without looking he knew that several more Fiu-Het shapes emerged from the surroundings at this statement. Ambitious siblings wanted to get closer to hear every detail of their brother's demise.

  “Go on,” commanded the queen in a gentle tone that belied the sneer upon her lips.

  It suddenly seemed very cold to Agucho in this dank circle of trees. He began to tremble slightly, shivering as though it were deep winter. His skin began to ooze its thick liquid so profusely that it dripped off in great gobs. He was nervous, but something else contributed to his condition. Something inspired him to look up and shout suddenly, “Murdered! Our prince was murdered! A foul race of barbarians across the mountains killed Gayossha. Enemies of the benevolent King Orbein, our neighbor to the east. We must seek retribution and destroy these murderous wretches!”

  “Humans?” the queen asked doubtfully. “They are not our concern. If Gayossha interfered in their struggles, then his death was unfortunate but necessary. Let this be a lesson to all of you.” She looked to the rest of the Fiu-Het of the court. “Humans are dangerous. Let them be dangerous to each other. They will kill themselves off before they have a chance to attack us.”

  “Not true!” Agucho screeched, drawing a daggerpoint gaze from the matriarch. “These barbarians are bloodthirsty and powerful. They spread west, an infestation of massive proportions. Alone Orbein's army will be defeated, and we will be the only thing keeping them from the rest of the world. I care not for the humans. I care for us! For our people! If we do not stand with Orbein, we will fall as he will. This is how your Gayossha died, dear family, protecting our way of life! You should be ashamed for licking your lips at his corpse when his death may have helped ensure your continued life!”

  With this exaltation, Agucho threw the late prince's ragged cloak to the floor. The mood was immediately solemn. The Fiu-Het may not have usually cared whether or not one of their brothers died, but if he died defending their way of life, it was shameful to disrespect such a brave citizen. Presently, the siblings approached and retrieved their fallen brother's livery and faded with it b
ack into the surroundings. Agucho was left alone, truly alone, with the queen.

  “You seem to have grown quite bold in the short time you have been away from us, Agucho,” she said.

  “Perhaps, highness. I only say what is true,” he replied, panting from the effort of his outburst.

  “Do you?”

  Agucho looked at her for the first time directly. His expression carried a message of its own. One that only she could understand.

  “I see. And do you truly believe these barbarians are a danger?” she asked.

  “I believe the ambitious humans must be stopped before they reach the swamp. Standing beside Orbein will be the best chance to prevent this and avenge our prince's noble death,” Agucho explained.

  “And this benevolent Orbein...he and his people are not repulsed by our appearance or by the legends that humans have conveniently fabricated for us?”

  The question gave Agucho pause. There was so much he wanted to tell the queen now, but one burning focus obscured everything else. “My queen, I have seen to all of this. You must trust me when I tell you: we must be by Orbein's side when he is engaged in battle. To do otherwise would bring great peril to our race.”

  The queen glared at him darkly. “Although your answers have not completely satisfied me, that is one thing I do believe. It will take some time to gather our warriors together. How soon will you need them?”

  “I shall return for them,” Agucho said.

  The queen nodded and stepped toward him, studying him closely and sniffing the air with purpose. “This I will do, Agucho, but only because I fear great danger to our race regardless of our action, not because you tell me to do so.”

  Agucho nodded. “I understand, highness,” was his reply.

  She turned and walked away, but before she disappeared into the cypress, she called back to him, “Agucho, you bring the smell of humans with you. You are not welcome back here until it has been washed away.”