Omnixius
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DKP 4-18 You did well
🕑 Added 2019-12-11 04:23:29 +0000 UTC
It was near midday when Jessivel called a halt to the column in a small forested area. Tavis was surprised when he asked him and Ayawa to scout ahead and look for this camp. He wanted them to study it and assess its strength. They agreed and slipped away, happy to be doing the kind of work they enjoyed.
The camp wasn't too far ahead, and in less than an hour, they had all the information they needed. They returned to the column hidden in the trees with looks of regret.
“What did you see?” Jessivel asked.
“You’re not taking this camp without a fight,” Ayawa said.
Jessivel held up a hand to silence captain Sallins and Herris before they protested.
“What makes you think this camp can’t be taken peacefully?” he asked.
Ayawa glanced at Tavis, and he stepped forward to address them.
“Because the raven guard is here,” he said.
Jessivel’s eyes searched around as Sallins growled an obscenity that made Gedris gasp.
“How many?” Jessivel asked.
“We saw at least fifty.”
“Priests or militia?”
“You’re thinking about attacking?” Ayawa asked.
“Priests or militia?” he asked again.
“Mostly militia,” Tavis said. “But, we did see some priests.”
Jessivel looked to Sallins, who sat atop his horse, shaking his head. “I am ashamed of my order,” he said.
“We outnumber them,” Jessivel suggested.
“By the earth mother, you do not,” Ayawa remarked. “If you attack the raven guard, the weavers and the camp guards will join in. This camp is not like the other one. These women aren't nearly as well cared for.”
“All the more reason why we have to liberate it,” he said.
Tavis tipped his hat up to look at the man clearly.
“People are going to die here,” he said. “The raven guard will stand and fight, and these men will assume their wives are going to die if they don’t help. You will have to kill half of them or more to take the camp.”
Jessivel let out a tired sounding sigh. “We can't ignore this.”
“No, we can not!” Sallins added. “Astikar’s name is being desecrated here.”
“If you march down with an army, those men will fight to the death,” Tavis said. “They all believe if they fail, their wives will be killed in the other camp.”
“I promised the men from the first camp we would liberate their wives here,” Jessivel said.
“I know what you promised, but you can't win this battle,” Tavis said. “Even Gersius ran when he knew he couldn't win.”
“What if we could get the camp to help us?” Gedris asked.
Ayawa glared at her and shook her head. “And how do we do that?”
Gedris shifted uncomfortably on her horse. “What if you turned me in and I told the women inside what was about to happen. They must talk to the guards through the fence. They could let them know their wives were rescued and safely hidden nearby. Then they could help us when we attacked.”
“Absolutely not!” Ayawa said.
“Why not?” Gedris asked. “I am a priestess of Ulustrah; it would make perfect sense to throw me in with the rest.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Jessivel said.
“You have no say in this!” Ayawa snapped. “She is under my protection. I will decide what she does and doesn’t do!”
“What if we brought in ten women from the other camp?” Sallins asked. “They might be able to speak to their husbands and garner support quickly.”
“If one of them overreacted to seeing his wife again, the whole plan would be ruined,” Ayawa said. “And they would know you were the source of it.”
“Then Gedris is the only one we can use,” Jessivel said.
“Or we could bypass this camp and get to Gersius,” she argued.
“Why are you resisting this so fiercely?”
Ayawa shook with rage forcing Tavis to put a hand to her shoulder.
“Ayawa has taken Gedris as a personal responsibility,” he said. “It is the same how you priests of Astikar sometimes take personal acolytes. You become responsible for what happens to them under your care. “
“But think of what we could do with her inside,” Jessivel said. “We ride in with my men and add her to the camp. Give her a few hours to spread the word while I explain my men are going to camp here for the night. You and your people will stay here with the guards. Sallins can move around the other side of the camp and get into position. Then we break the ward, wait for it to fail, and ambush the Raven guard from the inside.”
“And then we and Captain Sallins lead charges from opposite directions,” Tavis surmised.
“Exactly,” Jessivel said. “Plus, we will have all the women and guards in the camp added to our number. We will greatly outnumber them.”
“I recommend you give me half the town guard,” Sallins suggested. “The group here will have the existing priestesses of Ulustrah to back it up.”
Jessivel nodded and turned to Ayawa for her approval.
“I don’t want to risk her,” Ayawa said.
“Please!” Gedris begged. “I am not charging in recklessly. This is a well thought out plan that could minimize casualties.”
“Well thought out?” Ayawa balked. “If anything goes wrong, you will be trapped in that camp, and I will lose you.”
“If the ward drops just before we attack, we will have an army of angry women with blessings to back us up,” Jessivel said. “There is very little chance of this plan failing.”
“Things go wrong,” Ayawa said. “Not to mention they have more weavers than the last camp.”
“Why would they have more?”
“The ward is bigger,” Tavis said. “It's near twice the size, so it takes more effort to maintain, but that makes it twice as easy to break.”
“Why is it twice as large?”
“Because they have twice as many women,” Ayawa said. “And most of them are not in any condition to do a forced march.”
“There is no other option,” Jessivel said. “If we leave them here, they may be used as leverage to force husbands to fight Gersius. You would be killing innocent men for loving their wives.”
“Not to mention what the raven guard is likely doing to them,” Sallins added.
Jessivel nodded. “Ayawa, I won't force you to send her in. I can have the women questioned. Maybe one of them came from someplace else and doesn't have a husband here. She can deliver our plans to the camp.”
“No!” Gedris insisted. “I want to do this.”
“You made a promise to me!” Ayawa snapped. “You gave me your voice.”
Gedris bowed her head in submission but looked back up to meet her eyes.
“Then I ask you for your permission. I am the best choice for this. I know our plans intimately, and I have your training if things go wrong.”
Tavis nearly laughed as Ayawa shook her head. Gedris's training was far from complete. If things went wrong, she was no match for a raven guard, militia, or otherwise.
“Please,” Gedris asked. “This is my chance to be of real use to Gersius.”
“Fine!” Ayawa relented. “But if things go wrong, you are to run as fast as you can. If I catch you trying to fight, I will make you regret it.”
Gedris smiled and quickly bowed her head again.
“So we have a plan,” Jessivel said. “Then let's make everyone aware of it and break into our groups. I want to attack just after dark. That should give her a good five hours to spread the word inside.”
“And me enough time to circle wide and get into position,” Sallins added.
“What do you want to use for a signal?” Ayawa asked.
Jessivel smiled. “I will throw a hammer of Astikar straight into the sky, and my men will shout, ‘for Gersius.’
She rolled her eyes and walked away, grumbling with every step. Tavis walked with her as they went to meet with Two Crows and make the southern warriors aware of the plan.
Two Crows was unusually confident with the idea of attacking from within and on two sides. He liked the way Jessivel thought and how simple the maneuver would be. He was a little disappointed to be told to avoid killing the camp guards. However, Ayawa made sure he and all the others were aware the raven guard was to be given no quarter.
“Kill them quickly, or the priests might heal them back up,” Ayawa said. “Do not hesitate to kill a wounded man.”
Tavis hated the cold sound of her voice and the way she was resolved to butcher them. He didn't blame her, though. The raven guard had a reputation for brutality and often drew its members from fallen priests, or criminals. Men that had the right attitude for the jobs they were given, or so it was said. Tavis heard the old line again and again about how the men were redeemed and forgiven. However, the stories of their actions showed they might be forgiven, but they were far from redeemed.
He looked to his right to see Ayawa stalk off and grab Gedris by the arm. She began talking to her in a sharp tone for being so foolishly bold. Gedris lowered her head and nodded her understanding, but then Ayawa pulled her into a hug and whispered something in her ear. Again Gedris nodded, and Ayawa finally let her go. She watched as Gedris walked to the line of seekers that were forming up to lead her in.
Gedris was tied and gagged to complete the image of being a captive. She was then leashed with a short rope to Herris's saddle. He complained about being the one to do it, but Jessivel silenced him. With a nod to Sallins, the column began to move as Ayawa watched them lead Gedris away.
“She will be fine,” Tavis said as he stood beside her. “The binds are fake. She can loose herself and run if she has too.”
“I should have left her behind,” Ayawa said. “She is only doing this because I led her here.”
“If you had left her behind, she would be in one of these camps someplace else,” Tavis said. “You have done a fine job of protecting her.”
“She was skewered by a spear, and nearly trampled by a horse. Then I got her trapped in a city full of bandersooks, almost murdered by assassins, and now she is marching into that camp,” Ayawa replied. “I have done a terrible job.”
Tavis put a hand on her shoulder and steadied her. “As much as I was against her joining us, I think she has been a great blessing. She altered our course just enough to lead us to some of our most important discoveries. Without her, we would not know about the dragons or the bandersooks. We wouldn't know about the raven guard swelling in size, or how these camps are blackmailing men into standing against us.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Maybe we were meant to walk this path so we could learn these things,” he said. “If that's the case, then she is likely meant to do this.”
Ayawa looked over to him with a tremble in her eyes.
“She means that much to you?” Tavis asked.
“She may as well be my daughter,” Ayawa said. “Foolish, reckless, and headstrong. Everything I was when I was younger.”
“We already established this is why you came after me,” he joked.
She finally smiled and turned to face him.
“I just want a chance to teach someone, and her qualities are so rare to find in one person. She makes plenty of mistakes, but she keeps trying, and she wants to learn. That is her strongest quality. I only hope she doesn't die before I can finish teaching her.”
“She won't die, and besides, we will be in that camp in minutes after the fighting starts.”
“I know,” Ayawa said. “But that girl is too prone to be a hero. A few minutes is all it will take to get herself killed.”
Tavis couldn't argue that logic, Gedris was indeed one to jump into danger with no plan of how she was going to come out of it. Still, what could go wrong?
Jessivel marched his column down the road heading straight for the camp. Gedris walked between the men looking perfectly bound and helpless. Herris muttered over and over about a stain on his honor, but Jessivel told him to be quiet.
The camp was another farm, but this time there were no buildings for the women. A large field was ringed by wooden posts driven into the ground. Around this were several guard towers and patrols of men. The only protection from the weather the women had was a clump of trees in the center where masses of them huddled in dirty clothes. There were perhaps six farm buildings of various sizes and purposes located well outside the ring.
A large number of local guardsmen camped around the farmhouses. Their camp was disorganized and dirty, with little effort paid to structure. Nearby stood a large group of weavers in wealthy clothes. A quick count said there were eleven of them, but there might be more out of sight. What made him nervous was the large number of men with red ravens on their armor.
These men were in and around the big farmhouse. He even spotted a banner hanging from one of the windows. It was a simple black band with a red raven's head in the center. His stomach churned as they approached the first guards that came out to meet the advancing line.
“Halt,” a man in simple mail said with an outstretched arm. “Hail priests of Astikar. What is your business here?”
“I am Jessivel, Lord Seeker of the order of Astikar. My business is my own, but while conducting it, I discovered a priestess in hiding in the wilds. I wish to drop her off and set up a camp for the night.”
The man nodded and turned to the side to point to the barn.
“All new women are to brought to the barn for processing.”.
“Processing?” Jessivel asked.
The man nodded. “The priests of the holy order of the raven have taken over managing the new arrivals.”
“Holy order,” Herris grumbled, forcing Jessivel to shoot him a glance.
“We will take her there then,” Jessivel said with a nod. “Do you have a captain of the guard I can speak to about where to set up my camp?”
The man scratched his chin and looked a little uncomfortable.
“We did, but not anymore.”
“What do you mean, not anymore?”
The man glanced at his companion, and now they both looked nervous.
“Our Captain refused to let the men of your raven order take over. When he did, their leader killed him and three of his guards.”
Jessivel was silent a moment as the man twisted under his gaze.
“Be at ease, soldier,” Jessivel said. “You have only spoken the truth, and a seeker values a man who speaks such. I am not offended by your comments.”
“So, who is charge now?” Herris asked.
“He calls himself Mathius,” the man said. “He can be found in the farmhouse.”
Jessivel and Herris exchanged nervous glances, and he quickly turned back to nod to the man. “Thank you. I would like to deliver the woman and speak to this, Mathius.”
“Of course Lord Seeker,” the man said and stepped aside.
Jessivel spurred the horse forward at a slow walk as Herris came to his side.
“This is already going wrong,” Herris said.
“Be as ease, captain.”
“Mathius is Dellain's right hand,” Herris added. “He is a cold, heartless killer.”
“I said, be at ease, captain.”
“Why would he be here?” Herris grumbled. “He only leads missions that require knife work.”
“We will find out in due time,” Jessivel replied.
“You do realize if he’s here, there have to be twenty or more priests.”
Jessivel sighed. “We will still outnumber them.”
“The cost will be much higher,” Herris said.
Jessivel looked at the man and then glanced down at Gedris.
“If anything goes wrong, Herris will put you on his horse, and you will ride straight for Ayawa.”
Gedris nodded her head silently, and Jessivel turned back as they approached the barn.
They rode toward the barn where six of the raven guard stood milling about. They didn't acknowledge Jessivel's presence, but they did eye Gedris. He got down off his horse as Herris climbed down and took Gedris's lead. They headed into the barn to find the inner room stripped bare except for a hay pile in the corner and a bench where two more of the ravens sat talking. Rows of columns supported the roof above, and light filtered down in dusty rays.
Jessivel approached the men with Herris behind him, leading Gedris.
“Stand at attention when an officer approaches,” Jessivel snapped.
The two men slowly stood and smiled at him as if he was a fool.
“What ya got there?” the man on the left asked. He was a bald man with stubble for a beard. He had a heavy brow and slightly yellow teeth as he leaned to see Gedris.
“A prisoner for the camp,” Jessivel said. “Why did she need to be brought in here first?”
“Let's have a look at her,” the man said, ignoring Jessivel's question.
Jessivel felt a deep apprehension as he stepped aside so they could see her.
“Spin her around.”
“What for?” Herris asked.
“I like the young ones,” the man said with a smile.
Herris shot an angry glare at Jessivel, who silently communicated for him to hold his ground.
Gedris didn't wait for permission; she simply turned around to the men's nodding approval.
“Tie her to a post and go on your way,” the man said as if Jessivel was an annoyance.
“I will not!” Jessivel barked. “I am turning in a prisoner. I will put her in the camp with the rest of the women.”
“She will get there when we're done,” the man replied as he folded his arms over his chest.
“Done with what?” Herris asked.
“I said tie her to a post,” the man repeated.
Jessivel knew Herris would never tie the girl to a post and leave her helpless to these animals. He stepped in front of Gerdris and confronted the man head-on.
“What are you raven guard doing here?”
“None of your business,” the man replied.
“I am the Lord Seeker of the order, and only Gersius and the bishops outrank me,” Jessivel replied. “Now I asked you a question. You can answer it, or I will see your both cast from the order.”
The man stepped forward and squared off with Jessivel.
“Gersius is a traitor, and we outrank the bishops,” he said with a scowl.
“None of the military arms outrank the bishops,” Jessivel corrected.
The two men laughed as the bald man fixed his gaze squarely on Jessivel.
“We answer to Dellain and the Father Abbot only. We don’t have to answer your questions or deal with your problems. Now, tie the girl, or draw your weapon.”
Jessivel felt his heart race as the plan started to fall apart. If the battle started now, it would be a disaster, but to avoid it, he would have to leave Gedris helpless to these men.
Seconds ticked by as the man lowered his hand to the hilt of his sword when the door burst open.
“Jerrik!” a voice yelled out. “Mathius wants you two at the farmhouse.”
“We're about to have something to eat,” the bald man said.
“Mathius said now,” the man at the door said.
The bald man turned to his companion, who only commented with a “Maybe they found where she is hiding.”
He turned back to Jessivel with a broad smile. “Your lucky day.” He stepped to the side and walked passed Herris. He reached out and tried to grab at Gedris, but she darted out of his reach, causing them both to laugh.
“Throw her in the pen with the rest of the animals,” he said as they exited the barn.
Jessivel thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest as he and Herris walked back to hand Gedris off. They watched with relief as she was taken across the yard to a gate, and shoved inside.
“That was close,” Herris said.
“Those animals were going to rape her,” Jessivel said.
Herris looked away, unable to accept the truth. “I wonder how many they have harmed already?”
“I want the camp set up just north of the walls,” Jessivel said as he tried not to think about the answer to that question.
“I thought you wanted to speak with Mathius first.”
“Mathius will order us away. I want to be deep into our preparations before he finds out. If he does send us away, I want it to take until nightfall to break camp.”
“I can't believe they outrank the bishops,” Herris muttered.
“The Father Abbot has removed their power to intervene in his affairs,” Jessivel said. “He now has supreme control, and intends to use it.”
Herris nodded as they went back to the horses. He took the column to set camp while Jessivel approached the nearest guards.
“You there,” he asked, drawing the attention of the men.
Three men walked up with bowed heads and looked decidedly nervous.
“How long has the raven guard been here?”
“The holy order of the raven has been here two days,” one of the men replied.
“Call them the raven guard,” Jessivel said. “There is nothing holy about their order.”
The three men exchanged glances and then looked to Jessivel. “Pardon, sir, but we have strict orders to address them as the holy order of the raven.”
“I am Lord Seeker Jessivel of Astikar,” he said. “I am the highest authority here, and while you speak with me, you will call them the raven guard.”
The three men nodded their understanding, and Jessivel took that as an opening to go on.
“Now, I want to know why they are in this camp?”
The three men twisted nervously as they tried to avoid answering the question.
“Answer me,” he said.
One of the three looked over his shoulder as if to see who was watching. He turned back to Jessivel and leaned forward to whisper. “They are searching the camps for some people.”
“What people?”
“We don't rightly know. One of them is a woman of great importance to them. She was supposed to have been captured nearby and brought here, but we don't have her.”
“And the others?”
The men shook their heads. “Look, all we know is there are three of them. They came from someplace where the Doan have been. For some reason, these raven guards are scouring the area for her and the two with her.”
“Any names?” Jessivel asked.
The man scratched at his chin as he tried to remember.
“Sorline, I think.”
Jessivel sighed. While the name wasn't common, there were still a thousand Sorlines in the north. “Any family names?”
The men looked to one another.
“Udwan,” one of them replied.
“Udwan?” Jessivel repeated. “You’re sure?”
The man nodded. “I overheard Lord commander Mathius say the name.”
Jessivel frowned upon hearing the title of lord commander, applied to Mathius, but held his bile in check.
“Thank you,” he said with a bow and turned away. He hastily walked to where Herris had men already setting up a camp.
Unlike the rest of the camps around the prison yard, this camp was in organized rows with wide lanes. Jessivel walked to where five men were assembling his meeting tent and pulled Herris aside.
“What is it?” Herris asked.
“What is Gersius’s last name?” Jessivel asked.
Herris looked lost for a bit. “I’m not sure.”
Jessivel let out a deep sigh. For a man so heavily honored in the order, he knew very little about Gersius. He supposed that was because men went more by titles than family names. Gersius was simply Knight-Captain Gersius of Astikar.
“I know why the raven guard is here,” he said after a long pause. “They are searching for three people who escaped the Doan in the west.”
“They are searching for refugees?” Herris asked.
“One of the refugees is special to them. Her name is Sorline Udwan.”
“What makes her special?”
Jessivel wasn't sure. He knew he had heard that name before, and he knew it was in relation to Gersius. He scolded himself for knowing so little about the order's greatest champion. He supposed he turned a blind eye on Gersius to avoid comparing himself to him.
“I don’t know for sure, but I know who might.” He turned and looked across the landscape to the distant trees where one portion of his force lay hidden. He wanted to ride out this instant and question Tavis and Ayawa but didn’t dare draw the attention that would cause. All he could do was wait for nightfall and the battle that would soon follow.
He set about speaking to his men and preparing them for what was about to commence. An hour after the camp was up, a group appeared at the farmhouse. They pointed to the camp and began to march across the field.
“Here he comes,” Herris said to alert Jessivel to the approach of Mathius.
Jessivel smiled as the man with shoulder-length black hair and a short beard arrived flanked by two men on either side.
“Who gave you permission to set camp here?” Mathius demanded without so much as a greeting.
“I did,” Jessivel replied. “Is there some problem with that?”
Mathius’s eyes wandered over the camp doing a silent calculation in his head. He then returned his gaze to Jessivel and stepped forward.
“You’re supposed to be out hunting for Gersius.”
Jessivel noted the sudden change of tactic. “And you raven guards are supposed to be guarding prisoner camps?”
“What we're doing here is our own business, seeker.”
“Lord Seeker,” Jessivel corrected with an Angry tone. “And my mission is taking me north. I have a good lead on Ayawa and the weaver nuisance. I only came to this pit you call a camp to drop off a woman I captured on the way.”
Mathius looked defiant as he turned to look at the rows of tents. Jessivel knew he wanted to send them away but had no cause to do so. He also couldn't accuse him of lying because he had, in fact, just dropped off a woman.
“Maybe I could use your men for a more important purpose,” he said.
Jessivel glared back at the man and set his jaw. “The seekers answer only to me, and I already have a mission.”
“Mine supersedes yours,” Mathius said. “And my orders come from the Father Abbot.”
“As do mine,” Jessivel snapped back. “Gersius is the greatest threat to the order, and I will run him down.”
Mathius nodded his head and looked over the camp again.
“I want your seekers gone by first light. I don't need to be tripping over your tents.”
“If your men are clumsy enough to not see a tent before tripping on it, then perhaps you need higher recruiting standards,” Jessivel taunted.
Mathius smiled slightly and made a silent calculation. He replied with only a nod and then waved Jessivel off.
Jessivel let out a sigh of relief to see the man walking away.
“That was easy,” Herris said in a whisper.
“He has no cause to chase us off now that we are camped,” Jessivel said.
“As if that would have stopped him,” Herris pointed out.
Jessivel considered that observation and watched Mathius walk back to the farmhouse.
“You're right. It wouldn't have.”
Gedris spread the word fast once she was inside. The women collected around the central trees and began to chatter in hushed whispers about what to do when the ward fell. Several of the women were temple leaders, and they began to organize the women into two groups. They would focus on lending help by tangling up combatants and healing the wounded.
Gedris made sure they understood that only the raven guard was the enemy. Many of the women protested to that remark pointing out they were arrested by regular priests. Still, she impressed the importance of not acting against Jessivel, and they finally relented.
As the women organized, they began to filter out into the yard again. She walked with some of them when five men came out of the farmhouse and walked across the yard. They went out to meet with Jessivel at a camp he was setting up to one side.
“I wonder what that is about?” she said more to herself than the others.
“Those monsters probably want to know if his men want any of us for the night,” one of the women spat.
Gedris looked at her and saw the pain in her eyes.
“I am sorry,” Gedris said.
“Oh, they haven't laid a hand on me, yet,” the woman said. “But some of the new girls have gone through their 'processing.'
Gedris thought back the scene at the barn an hour earlier and shivered. She went back to watching the men at the distant camp. Eventually, the leader of the raven men waved his hand angrily and stormed back across the compound. As they passed the wall, Gedris could overhear them speaking.
“So you're going to turn him in?” one man said.
“She is offering quite a reward for his head,” the big man in the center said. “I want a rider dispatched immediately to find the assassins. Tell Zahdain that Jessivel is here but will be gone by morning.”
“Zahdain?” Gedris whispered in shock.
“How are you going to claim your reward if she has to chase after him?”
The big man in the middle laughed. “He isn’t leaving, none of them are. I want the men quietly collected and ready. We will attack before sundown, and catch them while they are eating.”
“Oh, no!” Gedris gasped as she heard the plans. She turned to the women around her with wide eyes.
“We have to warn him!”
“How?” one of the women asked.
“We have to get one of the guards to tell him what that man is planning.”
“The ravens won't allow the guards to speak to us anymore,” she said. “And they watch from the towers.”
“If he attacks before nightfall, the plan will be ruined,” Gedris pointed out.
“There is nothing we can do from in here,” the woman insisted.
“Your husbands are out there waiting for you. If this plan goes wrong, they will likely charge in and be slaughtered. There must be something we can do to get a message out.”
“We have no power inside these walls,” the woman insisted with her arms out. “All we could do is throw rocks at them.”
“There must be a way!” she insisted.
“You would have to get outside the walls,” the woman said with a shake of her head. “And the only way to do that would be to accompany a guard to his bed.”
Gedris looked back at the gate and started to shake.
“What are you doing?” the woman asked as Gedris began to walk.
“Making them an offer,” she said.
She tried to settle her mind as she approached the doors. She had to do this. There was no other way to get a message out. She was willing to sell herself into perpetual slavery with Two Crows to win Ayawa the knives, so what was one hour with a guard?
She trembled as she arrived at the gates and called up to the man in the tower.
“What do you want?” he called down.
With all the courage she could muster, she smiled up at him.
“Surely, there is a warmer place I could sleep tonight than on the ground in here.”
The man laughed and nodded to the man in the other tower beside the gate.
“I’m sure we can find somebody to help you stay warm,” he called down.
Gedris struggled to hold the smile as one of the men climbed down the tower. He was gone a long time as the other man asked her lewd questions about what really happened behind the doors of Ulustrah's temples. Gedris blushed to think of what did sometimes happen though she had never been a part of it.
Eventually, the gate opened, and three men stood by with rope and gags. A tall man with long brown hair dressed in the armor of the raven guard smiled at her and led the men into the pen. Her hands were bound, and she was gagged before he took her arm and led her away.
She began to panic to realize she hadn't counted on being gagged again. She needed to be able to speak to relay the message. Now she really was tied and being led away to practically the same fate she had just escaped. As her heart fluttered, she began to hear Ayawa's words in her head.
“You don’t think things through before you act,” she heard over and over.
The man took her to one of the smaller buildings out back. It was a laborer's house with simple furnishings, and he quickly took her inside.
“So you're looking for a bed to sleep in tonight,” he said now that they were alone. “You will have to earn your place in it.”
She shook as he ran a hand down the side of her head, and her breathing started to come out in short gasps.
“Nervous?” the man said with a smile.
Gedris could only look up at him with wide eyes as she realized what a terrible mistake she had made.
“I know what will calm your nerves,” he said and took her to the bed.
She wanted to scream as he stood her by the side of the bed. He then took another length of rope and tied a leash between her arms and the bedpost.
“You wait right here,” he said with a soothing voice. “I will get you something to drink to help you relax.” He gave her a firm swat on her rump, making her jump before leaving her alone in the room.
Her heart beat fiercely as she struggled to think of what to do. It was then she looked down at the floor and saw her boots. With a burst of inspiration, she lifted her left foot to the bed and leaned over it with her lashed arms. She had seen Ayawa tuck knives away a hundred times now and now. She decided to hide one of her knives just as Ayawa did and now used her fingers to rug the blade free. She carefully turned it around and laid it on the bed. She stamped on it with her foot, so the blade stuck out and began to rub her binds on the sharp edge.
It took many minutes, but the rope cut and came loose. Quickly she leaned back and yanked the gag from her mouth. She took up her knife and spun around the little house, rapidly thinking of what to do next. She needed to get the warning out, but from here, she could speak to none of the guards. If she left the house unbound and escorted, she would be attacked immediately. If she stayed, the man who brought her here would return and find her free.
She went to a window and looked out to see the yard wasn't so full of men. Most of them were guards who were walking in twos or threes. The ravens stayed around the walls, towers, and the farmhouse. Maybe if she made a run for the woods, she wouldn't be seen?
As she pondered that she heard the sound of footsteps and realized her time was up. Quickly she dashed to the side as the door handle turned and came open. In walked the tall man a bottle of ale in his hands. He stepped in a few feet and looked around the single room building to see her loose ropes lying on the bed.
She shut the door behind him, causing him to spin around to meet her defiant gaze.
“So you want a rough night of it,” he said with a smile as he set the bottle of ale to the side.
Gedris saw a hand move and grab for the handle of a sword. She acted as if on instinct and dashed in, leading with the maneuver Ayawa called the swarm of bees. It was a series of rapid stabs and quick cuts that caught the man off guard. He fell back, drawing his sword, but Gedris remembered Ayawa's instruction. Stay inside his reach where the speed of the knife is superior, and his sword can't be brought to bear.
She dashed in nearly colliding with him as he lifted the blade. She went into the maneuver called two circles, cutting first at the right arm and then the left. The man cried out as blood was drawn, and his sword arm faltered. Without thinking, Gedris lashed out as his arms fell away and looked into his eyes as his throat spewed blood.
Her hands began to shake as he fell to his knees in a gurgling cry. The knife fell from her fingers as he slumped over and landed face down at her feet.
“Sweet Ulustrah, what have I done?” she whispered in shock.
She cupped her hands over her face and stepped back as blood began to pool on the floor. It was only then she realized her hands had blood on them. She spun around looking for a mirror and ended up using a polished tray. She held it up as she tore a strip from the blankets to wipe her face off.
“Why did I volunteer for this?” she said as she struggled to wipe the blood away. “Why don’t I ever listen to Ayawa?”
With the blood mostly wiped off her face, she turned to her hands and quickly tried to clean them. She couldn't believe what she had done and looked to the body lying dead on the floor.
There was a knock on the door, and she froze in terror.
“Mathius wants everyone assembled in an hour,” the voice said. “Hurry up with the girl and throw her back in the yard.”
Her heart started to beat again as she heard him walk away. She looked down at the man dead on the floor and realized he wasn’t even going to give her the decency of a warm bed.
“I have to find a way to warn them,” she said to herself again. She went back to the window to see men gathering in the yard by wall.
In a panic, she started to pace the room until she saw two regular guardsmen about to walk passed the house. She had no choice but to take the risk and opened the door to call them.
Both men looked at her stunned and then cautiously made their way over.
“How are you free?” one man asked.
“Listen to me,” she began. “Are your wives being held captive in another camp?”
Both men nodded, and she opened the door wide and insisted they come in.
“By the gods!” one of them said when they saw the body. They turned on Gedris rapidly and drew swords.
“Wait!” Gedris pleaded. “We're here to help you!”
“You killed one of the holy ravens!”
“Your wives are free and safely hidden nearby!” Gedris cried. “The camp is surrounded by a force come to liberate it. I need you to tell the other guardsmen not to aid the ravens when the attack comes.”
The men didn’t respond for a long moment then one of them finally spoke.
“My Calithy is free?”
Gedris wasn't sure; she didn't know any of them by name.
“I don't know,” she admitted. “We already liberated a camp nearly a day's journey down the road. The women from that camp say they are from the towns around here.”
The men lowered their swords slowly, and Gedris practically shed a tear of joy.
“You must help me,” she pleaded. “The seekers are here to help us, but they don't plan to attack until after dark. The ravens are massing to attack now. If they attack before dark, the plan will be ruined.”
“We were ordered to assemble for that attack,” the other man said. “What can we do to help now?”
Gedris searched the room for some idea of what to do.
“I have an idea,” one of the men said.
Gedris looked up as the man explained the idea and nodded as the risks grew larger.
A moment later, both soldiers left the house as if nothing had happened. They made their way across the yard to where they were assembling right beside the wall. Gedris found the armor heavy and ill-fitting, but his helm hid most of her face. As she saw the men, she realized they were assembling where the wall hid them from view of the seekers. They were arriving in ones or twos so as not to draw attention.
“How am I going to reach the seekers?” Gedris asked the other.
“You will have to break away and walk off,” the man walking with her replied. “I will warn the others about what is happening. At the very least, few of us will march to help.”
Gedris nodded and suddenly turned right, heading along the wall. Her heart beat fiercely in her chest as she went passed two of the raven guard who paid her no attention. As she rounded the wall, she could see the tents of the seekers just across the field. She smiled as she started to walk with stiffness in her legs when a hand landed on her shoulder.
“Hey!” a gruff voice said. She was spun around and sat face to face with a raven with short dark hair. “Where are you going? didn’t you get the instructions to assemble?”
Gedris didn't dare respond, or her voice would give her away. She turned to gesture that she was going the other way when the man pointed back around the wall.
“Get moving, or you will end up in the pen with the women,” he shouted.
Gedris turned back, and under the man's watchful eye made her way to the lines of men gathering up.
She got into place in line with the wall behind her as the fear began to grow. Two men were walking up and down the rows giving instructions and silencing any man who spoke. It was here she realized the message about what was going to happen wasn't being relayed. The men were told to keep silent and firmly watched, unable to pass on what they knew to a neighbor.
The plan was going wrong just as Ayawa predicted, and she was the only one who knew. She had to find some way to turn the situation around, and then she looked at the wall.
Two red lines encompassed strange symbols that glowed with an iridescent light. Just to her left was a round white stone with a metallic circle laid in its top. Inside the circle was a rune that glowed with a blue light.
“An anchor stone,” Gedris gasped as she realized what her only chance was.
“Eyes front!” a voice shouted, causing her to flinch and look forward into the face of a scowling man. “Keep your wits, or your wives will pay for it!” he barked before walking on.
Gedris waited until he was safely down the line before she started to cry out loud.
“Listen to me, those of you who can hear me. I am a priestess of Ulustrah. Your wives have been rescued and safely hidden away. Now, I need you to keep me safe until I can break that ward.”
Heads turned to look at her as she started to tremble in fear. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tore off her helmet, revealing her face.
Men turned around and drew more attention as Gedris stopped paying attention to them and closed her eyes, falling into a clear, loud song.
Alarm bells rang out, alerting Jessivel to trouble in the camp, and they saw the raven guard running to get around the far side of the wall.
“Herris!” Jessivel barked. “Get the men in formation now!”
Herris ran down the line of tents ordering men into position. In moments they formed a line just as screams erupted from inside the camp. Flashes of orange light that could only be hammers of Astikar began to flare up from behind the walls.
Gedris struggled not to cry over her song as chaos erupted all around her. A large number of the raven guard were also behind the wall. They heard her voice and immediately knew there was trouble. However, when they came to investigate, the men of the local guard moved to block them. Now people were dying all around as she struggled to focus a blessing of growth around the anchor stone.
All around it, the ground churned as plants suddenly grew. Those the pressed into the ward almost immediately died, but others were struggling to come up under the heavy stone, and it began to move. An orange light took a man near her down in a painful howl as she cried in shock. She reached out her hands to focus the energy as the stone began to roll as if a plank of wood on the sea.
From someplace else came a great shout of “For Gersius!” as the Seekers charged in on horseback beginning the fight prematurely.
A dying man fell into Gedris, nearly breaking her concentration as the stone tipped to one side. A woody vine began to grow underneath it pushing it more and more as she struggled to channel.
The lights of the ward suddenly flickered, and there was a strange snapping sound as red sparks began to dance around the edge of the stone.
“Ulustrah, please!” Gedris begged as her strength started to fade.
There was a great crack, and a flash of light as the stone fell over. Red smoke wafted around the perimeter of the wooden walls as cavalry started to race in from the sides. She finally looked up to see the raven guard Militia formed into tight square formations with long spears keeping the seekers at bay. The town guards were locked in a losing battle with the Raven priests and more of the militia units.
From behind, she heard people shouting and looked to see Ayawa and the others rushing down the hills to join the fight, but it was the sight to her right that made her heart leap for joy.
The wooden wall began to twist and buckle as vines and plants grew up all along its length. Logs were torn from the ground and fell over, opening gaps that filled with rampaging women.
The tight formations of the raven guard were swamped in moments by grasping vines and assaulted by a hail of rocks thrown by hundreds of angry hands.
Sallins men poured out of the countryside from the north, and the ravens quickly found themselves pressed on all sides. They fell into a ringed formation with a wall of shields and spears while weavers and priests hurled death from inside. Those outside the ring hurled them back in a bloody exchange of divine power.
The formation had to keep shifting and reforming as the women of Ulustrah tried to break their lines with vines. They put their green shields to use, catching all the hammers they could. Many more were dragging wounded men away and falling into healing prayers. Others were making sure fallen raven guard were dead by stabbing them repeatedly with spears.
The formation finally broke when Ayawa arrived with her tribe's people, and the hail of deadly accurate arrow fire began.
As the men inside withered, they finally broke in an outwards charge. This was when the battle was it's bloodiest, but it lasted only a few minutes. Without the support of the camp guards and with hundreds of angry women hindering them, they never stood a chance.
To Gedris, it seemed like the whole thing had taken years to complete. She sat on her knees as the shock overtook her, rendering her oblivious to what was going on.
“What in the name of Astikar happened?” Sallins asked. “This is hours before you said we would begin? I wasn’t in position yet!”
“Something happened in the camp,” Jessivel replied. “Our hand was forced.”
“Where is Gedris?” Ayawa shouted to them.
Jessivel spun around and looked over the scene of carnage. Thankfully the women healed most of the wounded already. And few men were still suffering from the fight. Many were dead but none of them were women.
“I don't know. I haven't seen her,” he replied.
“Gedris!” Ayawa shouted as she looked over the carnage.
Gedris only vaguely heard her name. She looked up with a tear-streaked face to see Ayawa searching through the crowd. Her legs trembled as she struggled to get up, forgetting the clumsy armor she still wore.
“I'm here!” she called, causing Ayawa to look over.
Ayawa ran to her and grabbed her face with both hands.
“Are you alright?”
Gedris nodded, unable to speak.
“By the earth mother, what happened?”
Tavis, Jessivel, Sallins, Two Crows, and others gathered as Gedris recounted the story. She told them how they were unable to warn the guards and how the leader of the ravens was planning to ambush Jessivel. She made a point of telling Jessivel that the assassins were looking for him.
“Then she knows it was us already,” Herris said.
“Let the girl finish,” Jessivel replied.
She broke into tears as she recounted her plan to get the word out and how she didn't think it through. Her hands started to shake again, and she rubbed at them as if trying to wipe the blood off as she explained how she killed the man. She began to cry, and Ayawa had to give her a minute to get control before she could relay the rest of the story. She told them how the guard gave her his armor so she could reach the camp and warn them.
“Why didn’t he go himself?” Ayawa asked.
“I didn’t think Jessivel would trust some strange guard,” Gedris replied with tears.
Ayawa shook her head as Gedris went on and explained how they caught her and made her return to the lines that were forming. She didn't know what to do until she saw the anchor stone. The rest of the story filled in the holes, and Jessivel nodded as he and the others understood what happened.
“You took a fool risk,” Ayawa said
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how else to warn you,” she said.
Ayawa took a deep breath and then pulled her into her arms.
“You did well,” she said with a sigh.
“She may very well have saved this entire camp and all my seekers,” Jessivel said.
“Not to mention the needless slaughter of the camp guards,” Sallins added.
“Some of them died though,” she said as Ayawa released her.
“There is no helping that,” Jessivel said. “Men were going to die, even if our plan worked perfectly. All that matters is you stopped them from turning the tables on us. If they had, the death toll would have been significantly higher.”
Gedris wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand as her emotions ran wild. She tried to look strong but shook uncontrollably and couldn’t keep her eyes dry.
“Come,” Ayawa said as she put her arm around her. “You need a few minutes to yourself.” She turned to Jessivel with angry eyes. “We need to be well away from here by morning.”
“I will have the place searched for supplies and get them moving in the next hour,” he replied.
“You have Zahdain screaming for your blood now,” Ayawa said. “You better hope you can move fast enough to stay ahead of her because there is no sneaking and hiding this mob.”
Gedris was led away as the others pondered the dire warning. The camp was liberated with surprisingly few dead thanks to the army of healers the women presented. All of the raven guards were annihilated, but after the bodies were checked, they discovered Mathius was not among them.
“He got away,” Sallins said with a shake of his head.
“He will be back,” Jessivel said. “And next time, he won't be taken by surprise.”
Comments
WhiteRabbit
lol, we will just chalk this one up to a fluke. chapter needs Lilly with a ballista mounted on her, while Gersius and Thayle play guitar solos from her back to really bring out the excitement
really I had so few errors? The chapter was boring wasn't it? You were so bored you couldn't be bothered to notice errors. It's the only possible explanation.
WhiteRabbit
an Angry -> angry
