* * *
A chill wind blew mournfully over the landscape as Aiden, his companions, and the men of the Kingdom Guard moved westward. There was still no sign of the dragon and Aiden fervently hoped it stayed that way.
As they crested a rise, Aiden was able to see Culdeny itself in the distance, buildings torched by dragonfire and burning pitch, turning the sky a fiery red. More immediately, the entire scope of the battle could be seen from this position, which is probably why Commander Robert Black had chosen it for his command post.
Less than fifty yards away, two siege engines could be seen, their crews winding back the massive wooden arms and placing large barrels of pitch into position before setting them on fire, ready to launch into the town.
Positioned to the left of the trebuchets stood a group of mercenary soldiers, calmly watching the battle take place in the distance. Of that battle, Aiden could see little, but he knew the defenders, led by Sergeant Ariel, would put up a good fight. It would go a lot easier on them however, if the trebuchets were out of commission, and this was precisely what Aiden intended to achieve.
“Can you hit them from here?” he quietly asked Sayana, crouched down in the snow next to him.
“Yes,” she assured him. “The blast will be huge, so it’s good that we’ve stayed back.”
“I'm moving into position now,” Pacian said to Aiden as he crept past. “As soon as you've created your diversion, I'll go in and make sure those engines never work again.”
“I won't disappoint you,” Sayana told him just before he disappeared into the bushes.
“Do your boys have the horses ready?” Aiden asked Sergeant Evans. “Your experience is going to count for a lot in this fight.”
“They’re saddled up and ready to charge,” he answered, then looked to the princess. “We’ll do our utmost not to disappoint you, Your Highness.”
“Shall I ask for the favour of God to be bestowed upon us now?” Nellise asked, drawing a faint smile from Aiden.
“I can't think of a situation where I wouldn't want God on my side, to be honest,” he responded, then looked to Colt.
The ranger signalled back, his longbow at the ready. Aiden nodded to Sayana, who raised herself up on one knee and began a rhythmic movement with her arms.
Seconds later a torrent of fire materialised and blasted towards the siege engines. It struck the barrels sitting next to the trebuchet which detonated with incredible force. The bodies of engineers and mercenaries were sent flying through the air.
Other barrels of pitch, stacked neatly between the two engines, ignited with a flourish, sending a plume of fire thirty feet into the air. The suddenness of the strike sent the mercenaries into disarray. The few horses they had tethered nearby in the darkness pulled free of their ropes and bolted into the night.
It was a perfectly executed opening move, but their advantage wasn't going to last long. Even now, the officers of the Steel Tigers were shouting orders to control the flames. A dozen mercenaries led by a brash and loud sergeant formed up and moved the towards Aiden's position.
“This is probably the time, then,” Aiden muttered to himself, pulling out the last scroll he had left over from the deceased wizard's collection. By the light of the nearby flaming pitch, he quickly read through the incantation before intoning the words aloud, releasing the energies stored many decades before.
A brief tingling sensation covered his body as the scroll disintegrated in his hands. Aiden looked ahead and saw the mercenaries seemed to slow in their advance. But it wasn't them, as such - the incantation altered the flow of time around him, giving his allies a brief advantage over their adversaries.
“Here they come,” he said grimly, drawing his sword from its sheath and speaking the word that would bring his force shield into being. All tiredness and doubt had fled from his mind and body. To his right, Sayana stood with her ancient dwarven axe in both hands, her clothing faintly glowing with protective magicks. When the mercenaries were in close enough, Aiden gave the signal to charge forward and fight.
“Aielund forever!” Criosa called in challenge to the mercenaries, as the men of the Kingdom Guard thundered past on their horses. They crashed through the enemy line, knocking down and trampling those unfortunate enough to get in the way.
With his incantation speeding them up, Colt, Nellise and Sergeant Evans sent an impressive barrage of arrows into the scattered ranks of the mercenaries. The mounted soldiers kept moving, sweeping around to make another pass at the enemy infantry.
Their diversion had worked, for the second trebuchet had its ropes cut, and the fires were slowly making their way toward it, thanks to a trail of pitch poured across the ground by Pacian. The remaining engineers were in disarray, trying to put out the fires and save the trebuchets from total destruction. Aiden glanced to his right and noticed Sayana was looking around with a perplexed expression on her face.
“I could have sworn I heard something moving around,” she said nervously.
“You don't think it's that dragon, do you?” Aiden asked hesitantly. Before she could answer, she was bowled into the snow by an unknown assailant. Sayana screamed in pain, for the shadowy figure had stabbed her with a dagger at the same time, and the two of them wrestled on the ground for their lives.
Aiden couldn't help her, tangled up and rolling around as they were, but a moment later, flames erupted from her position, engulfing the mercenary agent and forcing what appeared to be a short, athletic woman, back into the snow.
Three more of these agents came out of hiding and struck at Aiden and Sayana, using clever flanking tactics to disorient and take advantage of gaps in their defences. Aiden was struck from behind, leaving his back searing with pain from a laceration. When he whirled around to strike back, he was hit on the back of his leg from some other assailant.
Sayana didn't waste any time - with one swing of her axe she leaped forward to cut down the stealthy warrior. Aiden was about to move to support her exposed flank, when he was hit on the side of the head by the hilt of a weapon. He staggered to one side, trying to pull back from the unknown assailant.
Shaking his head to clear it he noticed that Pacian had emerged from the undergrowth to aid them, stabbing and slashing at the agents with fury and precision.
A flash of light suddenly caught Aiden’s attention and he risked a quick look. What he saw was a robed woman with lightning flaring from her fingertips, sending electricity arcing along the armoured men of the militia, shocking them and dropping them to the ground.
“Nel, wizard!” Aiden called, to which she responded with a quick nod, and pulled the crystal out of her belt pouch. It was however, too late to prevent the robed woman from conjuring chunks of snow and ice from the ground, which hovered before her. The pieces spun around, ice chips flying off them until the points became sharp and then darted at Nellise.
Her breastplate protected her a little but the rest of her body bore the brunt of the icy blast tearing through her leathers. She stumbled from the onslaught, blood oozing from a number of tiny wounds. Nellise still had the crystal raised in one hand and this time, as the wizard attempted to unleash another assault it failed, drawing a string of curses from the woman.
Aiden wanted nothing more than to charge the mercenary wizard at that moment, easily the most dangerous combatant on the field, but the way was blocked by a wall of warriors. The Kingdom Guard were doing their best but they were sorely outnumbered.
“You got this?” Aiden asked Pacian, who was busy fighting alongside Sayana against the remaining mercenary agents.
“Go!” Pace cried, smashing his opponent across the face with the hilt of a dagger, then bringing his knee up hard and fast to shatter her nose.
Sergeant Evans had overheard the brief exchange and with his supply of arrows depleted, drew a heavy mace and ran forward to join his men on the front line. Aiden followed close behind, and the two of them charged into the mercenary ranks.
 
; The battle surged around him and Aiden couldn't tell if they were winning or losing. Half of their cavalry had fallen, but a large number of mercenaries had been dropped as well. Aiden slashed at his foes and used his invisible shield to block their attacks, all the while making sure he wasn’t too far from the sergeant. He was keenly aware of his lack of armour so kept his focus on aiding the efforts of his allies.
A crackle of lightning suddenly surged through the fight, catching Aiden as well. His muscles were wracked with pain for a long moment, and he barely kept control of his body.
“She's too strong,” Nellise called with exasperation from nearby, her prayers faltering as the wizard found a way past her protective influence.
“Sarge, get her,” Aiden gasped, struggling to keep up the fight.
“There's too many of them to break through,” Evans snarled as he bashed a mercenary’s head in. Suddenly, a blast of fire shot through the air and engulfed the wizard who was evidently not invulnerable to its effects. Her charred body was blasted through the air, leaving a trail of flame and smoke.
Aiden let out a cry of triumph, but then held his breath as Sayana staggered to one side and fell unmoving into the snow. He was about to go to her aid when the ominous sound of hooves pounding the ground could be heard, growing louder with each passing moment. Turning toward the noise, his heart almost stopped when he saw Robert Black astride a massive stallion, finally joining the battle.
The remaining mercenary warriors pulled back and the warhorse ploughed through the three militiamen, crushing two of them to death while Robert swung a massive ball-and-chain, sundering Sergeant Evan's shield and leaving him broken on the ground.
The commander's weapon struck Pacian on the shoulder as he rode by, and it was only his reflexes that prevented him from sustaining a mortal injury. Two arrows flew past them in quick succession striking the last remaining mercenary in the chest, leaving only the unstoppable visage of Robert Black to deal with.
The stallion turned and charged for their position once more and Aiden didn't know how to deal with it. Exhaustion was catching up with him, slowing his mind and body, while facing the premier military power of their time – the mounted warrior. He stood, watching the advance of the warhorse as if in a dream when he was suddenly pushed to the ground from behind, to land in the snow a few feet away.
Looking up, he saw that it was Colt who had shoved him aside as he charged past and swung his sword at the saddle, severing the straps that held it on the horse's back and throwing Robert into the snow. The horse, wounded from the strike, bolted into the night while the armoured form of the mercenary commander rose ominously to his feet, discarding his ball-and-chain in favour of a longsword and shield he drew from over his shoulders.
“You?” he roared, looking directly at Aiden, Colt and the others from behind his visored helm. “We’re fighting a bunch of civilians and a disgraced ranger? And here’s me, thinking I was in trouble.”
“Oh, I got plenty of that for you, right here,” Colt shouted back, stepping forward to engage the commander directly. The sound of his greatsword clashing against the mercenary’s shield was deafening. Black smacked aside the greatsword and brought his heavy blade across, slashing the big ranger's chest, cutting through leather and the flesh beneath.
Colt recovered and attacked again, but this time with more caution. Their weapons weren't subtle - each swing had the potential to take off a limb if they weren't fast enough to get out of the way. The commander continued to use his armour and shield to deflect the greatsword's sweeping arc.
“We need to get in there and help,” Aiden whispered to Nellise, who was bent over trying to catch her breath after the intense fighting.
“You and Pace can do that, I need to check on the wounded,” she whispered, slowly making her way over to Sayana's last position. Pacian was in the snow nearby, on his knees, struggling to get back on his feet. Aiden could see he was just about done for.
Turning back to the duel taking place before him, Aiden could see that his fears were well-founded, as Commander Black hadn't really slowed down at all, but the big ranger had taken some brutal hits and was fighting defensively. If Aiden didn't get back in there, Colt was finished.
He suddenly recalled the enchanted sceptre, and although it was heavily damaged, it might be good for one more blast. He aimed it at Black and waited for an opportunity. Colt was pushed backwards after parrying a heavy blow from his opponent, and Aiden saw his chance.
He spoke the command word – and nothing happened. Spitting out a curse, Aiden tossed it aside and moved forward to assist. He crept around behind the mercenary, hoping to keep Black distracted.
Moving as quickly and quietly as he could manage, Aiden moved within range of his opponent, and, spying a place on his armour where the steel plating separated, stabbed with all of his remaining strength.
The blade struck true, driving into Black’s left thigh and staggering the surprised warrior enough for Colt to strike the helm with his greatsword. The blow caused Black to faulter, but he still had the presence of mind to spin with the blow and swing his sword at Aiden.
The force shield took the brunt of the impact, deflecting the sword above his body so that Aiden wasn't struck directly. What he didn't see coming was Robert's shield, which combined with a lunge to smash into Aiden’s side with all the weight of the heavily armoured man behind it.
Aiden felt his right arm break from the blow. His sword fell from his nerveless hand into the blood-tinged snow and he fell to his knees, screaming in pain from the shattered arm. Instinctively, he knew he was vulnerable to a follow-up attack from the mercenary. Turning his head to check, he was somewhat relieved to see Colt pressing the attack, keeping the man busy so he couldn't finish off what he'd started.
It had all been worth it, however, for the blows Aiden had struck slowed Black enough to give the big ranger a fighting chance. Colt grunted with each swing of his greatsword and fought as if he were trying to bash his way through his opponent’s heavy armour. It may have been protecting him from the deadly cuts the sword would have inflicted, but Aiden was sure Black was covered in bruises underneath.
Two successive hits against Colt quickly turned the tide of the fight however, and each swing of his sword was slower than the last. Black brought his weapon in high, but Colt managed to block it - a near-fatal mistake as his slowing reflexes couldn't bring any defence against Robert's shield. It smashed Colt in the face, dazing him momentarily and giving the mercenary commander an opening to drive his sword straight down into Colt's foot and through into the snow beneath.
Black withdrew the bloodied sword immediately as Colt roared in pain and fell. The mercenary paused to catch his breath, ambivalent to the screams of his fallen foe.
“Hell of a fight, mate,” Black said to Colt between breaths, “but you never really had a chance. Still, you've got my respect for almost ruining my whole plan.”
“Are you planning to talk me to death?” Colt snarled between clenched teeth.
“Nope, sword to the head,” Black replied evenly. “I just like to gloat a bit sometimes. Sorry to bore -” He was interrupted by a diminutive form who attempted to stab him from behind, having crept up close while he had been speaking to Colt. Black whirled around, sword first, but met only empty air as it passed over the top of the person crouching behind him. Aiden was astonished to see Princess Criosa, rapier in hand, attempting to fight the big mercenary.
“Criosa?” Robert asked, as startled as Aiden. “I don't believe it, you fools brought her along? This changes everything. I'll be able to salvage this entire situation and hold her for ransom.”
“You'll have to catch me first,” she replied defiantly. Robert set about doing just that, swinging his heavy blade around, side on, to try and subdue her. Criosa was extremely nimble however, and easily dodged the attack. She wasn’t alone. Sayana was again on her feet and pressing the attack and Aiden could see a shining breastplate moving in from anot
her angle as Nellise re-joined the fight.
With Robert's injuries, Aiden figured the three young women might stand a chance. All he could do was hold his broken arm close and watch from a snow bank. As Nellise approached to strike at the mercenary with her staff, Robert's shield impacted her helmet and sent her falling back into the snow.
Sayana roared aloud, raising her axe high above her head then lunged at the mercenary, chopping with what strength she had left. The mithral axe held an edge sharper than any steel weapon, shearing through Black’s armour and severing the straps that held it in place, cutting deep into his arm.
The mercenary reflexively spun around to protect his vulnerable flank, dropping his shield in the process, for his wounded arm could no longer carry it. Sayana tried to follow through with another attack, but received an unexpected kick to the stomach that knocked her backwards. Criosa then stabbed at Robert's arm but left herself vulnerable to a backhand blow from Robert's armoured fist which sent her sprawling into the snow.
Robert was too busy to pursue her, for Nellise had regained her footing and pressed the attack. He met each swing of her staff with his blade. Aiden couldn’t believe the man was still standing, let alone fighting.
Criosa steeled herself and stepped back into the fight, trying to poke her rapier through a gap in the joints of the plate armour, but Black kept moving around, making her task all the more difficult.
The princess finally made a mistake, dodging left when she should have gone right, and received an unexpected kick to her midriff which sprawled her out in the snow, winded. Nellise stood alone against the powerful mercenary, and appeared to have given up all hope of trying to take him down herself. She slowly backed away while keeping her guard up.
She had moved about three yards when Aiden noticed a small form descending from above. It was Sayana, silently floating down through the air with her axe raised above her head. Nellise looked up briefly, and whether or not it was intended, her reaction alerted Black to the presence of the threat. He whirled around at the last minute, but wasn’t prepared for what was coming. Sayana ceased her casual descent and dropped like a stone, bringing her axe down on his head with all of the force she had built up from the fall.
Only Robert’s honed reflexes prevented the axe from splitting him in two. It cleaved through the front of his head, destroying the helm gashing his face terribly. The devastating blow finally dropped the powerful man, who fell backward to the ground amongst his fallen comrades.
Aiden silently exulted in his friend’s victory and slowly picked himself up off the ground to make his way over. Sayana, Nellise and Criosa gathered around the grievously wounded mercenary, who was clutching at his wounded face.
“Yield or die!” Nellise declared, standing over him with her staff ready to strike, her chest heaving from the exertion of the fight. The mercenary didn’t respond at first, but Aiden couldn’t believe for a moment the man was still prepared to fight.
“I yield,” Black croaked, looking up at them out of his right eye, the left one having been destroyed by Sayana’s final stroke. “You’ve fought well for a bunch of untrained civilians. I’m pretty impressed actually, though the shame of my defeat to such people will haunt me for the rest of my days.”
“You shall have plenty of time to think of your mistakes, during your impending imprisonment,” Criosa informed him archly. Black actually managed a macabre laugh, not exactly the sort of sound one should be hearing from a defeated enemy.
“I don’t think I’ll be going to prison, Your Highness, as there isn’t going to be much left of Culdeny in a few minutes.”
“What are you talking about?” Aiden asked, a feeling of dread descending over him.
“I’ve made arrangements,” the mercenary replied cryptically.
“Enough of this nonsense,” Criosa ordered impatiently. “We’re taking you into town, and anything that befalls it happens to you as well.” Robert looked up at the sky, as did Aiden, noticing that the sun was just about to peak over the horizon.
“The dragon,” he breathed. “It’s going to strike at dawn, isn’t it?”
“Azurefang might be a little crazy, but she does what she’s paid to do,” Robert confirmed, seeming to be more relaxed with every passing moment. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. I -”
Pacian appeared next to Robert at that moment, and interrupted his speech by plunging a dagger into the man’s throat, sending a torrent of blood gushing onto the snow. He clutched at the wound in a futile attempt to staunch the flow, gasping for breath. Aiden was stunned and could only stand and stare at Pacian in disbelief.
“Don’t just stand there, run!” Pacian shouted, grabbing an equally shocked Nellise by the wrist and pulling her in the direction of town. An ominous roar could be heard in the distance, a sound that had the hairs on the back of Aiden’s neck standing on end.
He had the presence of mind to look around and make sure everyone else was running, and saw that Colt was still down on the ground, grievously wounded. Aiden rushed to his side and offered a hand.
“Get out of here, I’ll just slow you down,” Colt grunted, but Aiden was in no mood to deal with his death wish.
“Get on your feet, mister,” he shouted, kneeling down to reach around the ranger’s shoulder. Realising Aiden wasn’t going to give up on him so easily, Colt accepted his help and did what he could to carry his own weight. The man weighed a ton, and Aiden was forced to use every ounce of his remaining strength to move him.
With one last check of the area, he saw Criosa and Sayana were helping the equally wounded Sergeant Evans to his feet, despite meeting similar protests from the tough old soldier. Somewhere above in the gathering fog, the dragon Robert Black had called Azurefang headed towards Culdeny.
It was a quarter of a mile to the town gate, and the group was struggling to move as fast as they could, considering half of them were barely able to stand. The sounds of Culdeny could be heard through the fog, a combination of cries for help, shouted orders for soldiers to follow, and the clash of weapons as a few of the Steel Tigers kept on fighting, not realising their leader was already dead.
“Get off the road!” Aiden called out to the others nearby, changing direction to head into the trees. He hoped it was enough cover to protect them from being spotted. He set Colt down in the bushes and hit the ground himself, wincing from the pain of his broken arm as he slid to a halt.
Pacian and Nellise came in next, collapsing onto the ground as they came to a stop. Sayana and Criosa managed to get Evans into the copse as well, just as the sound of beating wings passed overhead and the dark silhouette of the dragon could be seen wheeling through the misty sky.
It roared again, and the fog was illuminated by the blast of fire as it doused part of the town in flames. Cries of panic emanated from the other side of the wall as Aiden and his companions sat helplessly, listening to the destruction of Culdeny.
For several minutes, Azurefang circled over the town, sending down torrents of fire at leisure, but its path through the air was uneven and erratic, and sounds of inspirational battle-cries coming from the eastern wall brought Aiden to a realisation – the men on that wall should have been occupied by mercenaries, but since their reinforcements had been eliminated, the defenders were free to rain bolts and arrows into the dragon’s hide.
The dragon made a strange noise, sounding more like a startled yelp than a roar. Unable to see clearly through the fog, Aiden could only guess what was happening in the skies above until a small explosion of fire lit up the massive beast for a brief instant as something impacted its hide. It was accompanied by a shriek of pain and surprise from the dragon, which circled away from the town as another small explosion landed on its hindquarters.
“What the hell is hitting it?” Colt asked nobody in particular.
“Is there a wizard in town I wasn’t aware of?” Nellise wondered aloud. Azurefang was manoeuvring through the skies in a random pattern, blasting
fire down upon the town as more explosions hit its massive bulk.
The dragon snarled and something dropped out of the sky, landing heavily near the road roughly twenty yards away. A brief glimpse of a massive, serpentine body with dozens of arrows sticking out of its hide could be seen as it flew into the clear for a moment.
If Azurefang saw them at all, it didn’t pay any attention as it sped away from the town, back to the east and the safety of the mountains. For the first time in hours, Aiden finally relaxed and as his adrenaline ebbed, he felt all the pains and exhaustion of the past day hit him at once.
“I guess it bit off a little more than it could chew,” he muttered in amazement.
“Go and see what fell on the road,” Pacian prompted him. Despite his broken body, curiosity got the better of Aiden and he slowly hobbled out onto the road to take a look. Lying in the snow was a metal spear, eight feet in length, and with a barbed tip covered in blood. Part of the shaft was charred black from the explosion, but there was no indication as to why the ordinary looking spear had caused the charring.
“What the hell is the matter with you, anyway?” Colt growled at Pacian as Aiden approached. “Robert Black had surrendered, and you go and stick a knife in his throat?”
“We had to run, and he was going to do everything in his power to be difficult,” Pacian explained. “I couldn’t just leave him there, knowing he might survive and come back to get revenge upon us another day.”
“You’re a bloody monster,” Colt stated flatly. “He wasn’t going anywhere and we could have questioned him about this plot to kidnap the princess. If I had any strength left in my body, I’d beat the tar out of you.”
“Like he’d tell us,” Pacian shot back. “We’ve been over this before, Dante, he -”
“Shut up, the both of you,” Aiden sighed. “We get it, already. Just… be quiet for a while.”
“You’re such a problem for us, sometimes,” Nellise mumbled, disappointed. “He didn’t need to die.”
“Hey, remember what happened back in that akoran cave?” Pacian reminded her rather callously. “That’s what happens when you let bad people get away with bad things. And I’m not ever, ever going to let that happen to us, or to you, again.” Nellise looked directly into his eyes and fondly ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair.
“Oh Pacian, how can you be such a monster and be so endearing at the same time?” she breathed. “Whatever am I going to do with you?” He didn’t have a reply for that, and simply leaned his head tiredly against her shoulder.
Nellise had enough strength to speak a short healing prayer, which helped relieve them of their more pressing injuries. Princess Criosa was quiet, apparently in shock at what she had witnessed in the past hour. Despite her earlier bravado, she had clearly never been in a real fight before, and the horrors of war must have been weighing heavily upon her mind as Aiden led them to the town gates, lit in the glow of fires as Culdeny burned.
Epilogue
Militia archers stationed behind the wall opened the gate for Aiden and his companions as they approached. Many of the buildings were on fire, with citizens rushing through the streets with buckets of water attempting to control the blaze. The sounds of fighting could still be heard off in the distance, lending a grim ambience to the devastated surroundings.
They headed for the church, which was filled with wounded soldiers and civilians alike, and a dozen young clerics doing their utmost to tend to the injured. Although plying their ministrations as quickly as they could, unmoving bodies covered in blankets nearby indicated they were not always successful.
Aiden slowly sat against the wall with the others, his mind barely active as the rush of the situation surrounding them breezed past. Nellise set about setting his broken arm in a splint and bandaging up the worst of their injuries, then collapsed alongside Aiden, her own injuries getting the better of her.
Nearly an hour later, the sounds of fighting subsided and subdued cheering could be heard coming from the streets outside. The forces of the Crown seemed to have been victorious at last.
“It’s over.” Aiden whispered, drawing a brief nod of acknowledgement from Criosa, who had sat down next to him. Considering the devastation, it seemed a hollow victory.
Shortly afterwards, a blood-spattered Sergeant Ariel entered through the large double-doors, helped along by one of her corporals who followed her directions and half-carried her to one of the pews just in front of Aiden. He carefully helped her to sit, and then the Sergeant waved him away, leaning upon her bloodied sword as one would a cane.
“Good morning, Mister Wainwright,” she said, the strain evident in her raspy voice. “I’m sorry the town is such a mess, we’ve had a few problems. A hundred of them, to be exact. But my men tell me you and your friends had a hand in taking the pressure off our eastern flank?”
“We needed to get the princess back into town, and they were in the way,” Aiden explained with a weak voice. Ariel blinked in surprise, and glanced around at the others until she laid eyes upon Criosa, who smiled wanly back at the sergeant.
“Good God, is that you, Highness? I’m sorry, I didn’t recognise you looking so…”
“Tattered? It’s all right, Sergeant, I feel better than I look, thanks to Aiden and his companions,” Criosa dismissed.
“Glad I was able to assist,” Aiden whispered modestly.
“And so self-effacing, too,” Criosa remarked with a tired smile. “I might have use for you in Fairloch, if you’re interested.” Aiden’s tired brain didn’t quite grasp what she was saying for a few seconds, but the implications were far-reaching.
“I’ll have to think about it,” he mumbled, somewhat dumbfounded.
“Aiden, the princess just asked you to serve the crown,” Colt pointed out. “The appropriate response is ‘yes, Your Highness, I would be honoured.’”
“I think he’s waiting to hear how much he’s going to get paid,” Pacian added, earning a jab to his ribs from the big ranger.
“That reminds me, there’s something else I found,” Aiden interrupted, pulling out the folded note he had retrieved from Bartlett’s body. “Ronald Bartlett had this on him when he met an unfortunate end.” Ariel took the proffered note and read it aloud.
“It says, ‘Find Commander Black and convey my displeasure to him concerning the handling of his duties thus far. I expect my money’s worth from this deal, and if he and his band of half-wits are unable to perform as expected, I shall have them join the King in his bloody campaign in the west.’ It is signed ‘Number One’. How cryptic.”
“Captain Marshald said that someone was making a move against the Crown, and your kidnapping was probably the first step,” Aiden said to Criosa. “Bartlett was a big name locally, but he was taking orders from someone else. Have you made any enemies of late?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied, her eyes wide at the thought of a conspiracy against her.
“The script is very elegant,” Ariel noted, handing the letter to Criosa. “Do you recognise the handwriting?”
“No, it doesn’t seem familiar, although that’s hardly conclusive,” she mused after a brief examination. “It does look like the writing of a well-educated individual, certainly. Perhaps one of the lords hired the Steel Tigers to kidnap me, and used Bartlett as a liaison?”
“It’d cost a hell of a lot of money to hire a mercenary army,” Colt grunted. “But none of this explains why they attacked the town. And who in his right mind would bring in a bloody dragon to help, anyway?”
“Maybe they got greedy, and wanted to loot the place on the way through,” Pacian remarked cynically.
“This is an outrage,” Criosa breathed. “The sheer scale of this entire operation… it’s bad enough to attempt to kidnap a member of the royal family, but to slaughter innocents in the process? I must go to Fairloch and get to the bottom of this and hold the culprits accountable.”
“That would be extremely dangerous, Highness,”
Aiden warned.
“Not with you and your companions there to protect me, it wouldn’t,” Criosa replied with a wink. “And you’ll be suitably rewarded for your efforts here today, and in the future, I assure you.”
“We accept,” Pacian quickly answered for him.
“I... yes, I suppose so,” Aiden managed to agree. “Before we get to that, I have one question, sarge. I saw what looked like a large metal spear drop from the dragon’s body on the way past. What was that?”
“We can thank Captain Sir Denholm Sherrard, of His Majesty’s Ship Redoubtable for that,” Ariel explained. “The ship arrived yesterday morning, stopping by for supplies and repairs on its way back to Fairloch from the warzone. They have some sort of special ordnance that catches fire on impact. I doubt the flames did anything to a monster like that, but the ballista bolts they use have very sharp tips and are propelled at speed.”
“Excuse me a moment, I think the Archioness wants to speak with me,” Nellise said as soon as Ariel had finished. She slowly stood and began gingerly making her way over to speak with the head of the local church, whose white robe was stained with blood and ash.
“Which leads me to another issue,” Ariel continued. “That dragon was reported heading for the Stonegaard mountains, and until I can confirm that the road is safe, I’m going to have to prohibit travel along the highway until further notice.”
“But I need to get to Fairloch, as soon as possible,” Criosa protested.
“I’m sure Captain Sir Denholm will be happy to provide you with transportation. I will advise him to travel north for a day or two before heading east, in order to ensure you do not pass too closely to the coast in the area I suspect the dragon to be.”
“A sea voyage would be acceptable,” Criosa agreed.
“With your leave, Highness, I will speak with the Captain and make arrangements for you and your entourage to be taken aboard the Redoubtable.”
“Of course, I will be here when you have news,” Criosa replied absently. Ariel nodded, then slowly limped out of the church, glaring at a soldier who threatened to offer help. Aiden turned to Sayana, who had been silent through all of this.
“You haven’t said a word since we arrived,” Aiden observed. “I was curious what your next move was. I know you have your doubts about me, but you’ve been invaluable help over the past few weeks, and I, for one, would be sorry to see you leave.”
“Where else would I go?” she asked simply. “I have enough coin to stay here for years if I wanted, but I do not feel comfortable in a town with so many people. I have no desire to return to my previous existence either, and until Morik Far-Eagle asserts his authority and makes some changes, I can’t go back there.”
“Please come with us,” Criosa asked earnestly. “You’re such a fascinating person, and I’d like to pick your brain about your magical training.”
“She doesn’t mean that literally,” Aiden explained, seeing the slightly alarmed expression on Sayana’s face.
“I will come, if you wish it,” Sayana said cautiously. “I feel things may be strained between us Aiden and I do not wish it to be so. Though I cannot trust you completely, I will do so until I see signs that you have been corrupted, at which point I shall offer you a swift death for old time’s sake.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Aiden muttered dryly, ignoring Criosa’s curious expression. Fortunately, Nellise was approaching them, providing a suitable distraction from the uncomfortable conversation.
“After surviving our journey to Akora you may recall that I said I was going to stay in Culdeny after this was over,” Nellise said as she sat on the pew recently vacated by Ariel. Her voice was flat and emotionless.
“Yes, and I perfectly understand your reasons for doing so,” he replied.
“I just spoke with the Archioness, and once she learned the princess had requested we accompany her to Fairloch, she virtually ordered me to go.”
“So you’ll be coming with us then?” Criosa asked, her eyes lighting up like a child about to receive a gift.
“It certainly seems that way,” Nellise nodded emotionlessly, too tired to react.
“Splendid,” the Princess remarked victoriously.
“Just promise me that there will be much less excitement when we get there.”
“A conspiracy is afoot to topple the royal family and all our lives could be at risk,” Pacian summarised. “I’m sure it’ll be boring and uneventful.”
“Part of the reason is that my novitiate is officially over, and I have been granted the title of Sarient of the Order of the Resolute Herald, and this must be ratified at the Cathedral in Fairloch by the Hierarchy,” the cleric continued, her voice showing no strong feelings for any of it.
“Congratulations,” Aiden offered, “you earned it, though I have the feeling most acolytes don’t have such an arduous education.” Nellise said nothing, and merely bowed her head and wrapped her arms around herself as tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
As Aiden and his companions headed for the door, an influx of people entered the already crowded Church. Several men and women, wearing the colours of the Royal Rangers, were bringing in wounded.
“I’ll walk you out, and then I’ll stay and help out my mates around here,” Colt said, drawing an exchange of looks among Aiden’s companions.
“You’re not coming with us to Fairloch?” Aiden asked.
“Ships and I don’t get along Aiden,” Colt explained as they made their way outside. Smoke from recently doused flames hung in the streets on the still-foggy morning. “I don’t fancy spending the better half of this week with my head over the side.”
“So I guess this is goodbye,” Aiden told him, feeling strange about this rude, offensive man who had somehow, over the course of the past month, become one of his friends.
“Don’t start crying, Aiden, you’ll look weak in front of the women.”
“I wasn’t…”
“I’m just joking, mate,” Colt grinned, offering Aiden his hand. “You’ve done alright, kid. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and we’ll have a beer together.”
“You know something Dante?” Aiden said, “You’re all right.”
“Take care of yourself,” Nellise said quietly. “I’ve never embraced anyone while wearing armour before, so I’ll spare you the pain.”
“I appreciate that,” Colt grunted. “You got anything to say to me, Sy? You look like you do, but you’re keeping quiet.”
“I’m not burdened by armour,” she replied softly, coming forward to embrace Colt fondly, the big man’s bulk all but obscuring the tiny girl in the process.
“I’ll pass on the hug,” Pacian said to Colt, dryly. “Unless you really can’t help yourself.”
“None of that for you,” Colt growled at him. “I think I’ve gotten to know you pretty well, these past few weeks, and I don’t like what I see.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Pacian replied defensively.
“You’re a hard man, Pace. You’ve killed more than one man in cold blood right in front of my eyes. Maybe that’s what the situation demanded, and maybe it ain’t, but to me, you’re almost as bad as the bastards we fought.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Pacian remarked, looking around at the others in disbelief. “I killed murderers and traitors, I did it really well, and I’m not apologising for it.” Colt leaned in close, and the next words he spoke were barely above a whisper.
“The others may not see who you really are, but you’re not fooling me. If I hear that you’ve hurt Nellise in any way, I’ll hunt ya down, and I’ll kill ya myself.”
“I would never hurt her,” Pacian growled back in a harsh whisper, “but if it came to it, one way or another, you’re welcome to try.”
“Enough bluster, we can hear you, you know,” Criosa interrupted, her arms crossed, a stern expression on her face that Aiden thought was surprisingly cute.
“We’re done h
ere,” Colt replied, as if nothing had happened. “I hope your trip to the capital is smooth, but at this time of year, I think you might be regretting the decision to go by sea. Farewell.”
They waved goodbye to the big ranger as he headed over to a nearby damaged house, and set about assisting a small group of people pulling valuables out of the wreckage. Culdeny had been hit hard by the attack, but Aiden knew they’d rebuild and life would go on. It was the instigators of this destruction that had his interest now. He would find out who was responsible and bring them to account.
About the Author
Stephen L. Nowland resides in Frankston, Australia, where he spends his time creating stories and art to astound and entertain.
Further information on this novel and upcoming titles can be found at his website, and you can follow his progress on Facebook and Twitter.
https://www.facebook.com/stephenlnowland
www.stephenlnowland.com.au
@stephennowland
The Aielund Saga
Nature Abhors a Vacuum
In Defence of the Crown
Ruins of Legend
Legacies of Fire & Steel
Upon the Fulcrum of War
The Akashic Throne
Other titles by the same author
The Ballard Chronicles
In the Wake of War
The Fortress of Gold
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