Chapter 6 – Confrontation

Night came cold and bitter, the light of the twin moons bearing down on Sigil’s party of four.

The magistrate lent them ground lizards for the excursion. They were slow, docile creatures, but could track a man through hell itself. Not that she needed the lizards to track Ulster, his party lacked any form of subtlety. They had torn through the grasslands, leaving crushed flowers and twigs in their wake.

Kaius ranged up to Sigil’s position in the front. “Are you sure this is a good idea,” he asked. “We could’ve left the girl back at the village.”

Ordinarily, Sigil would’ve agreed. The battlefield was dangerous, unpredictable, no place for little girls with no training. But it wasn’t like she could just leave her behind, not with her kidnappers still out and about.

Sigil turned to Kaius and grinned. “I’ll keep an eye on Aria,” she said, “and you just do what you do best.”

Kaius set his jaw. “I don’t like the girl,” he admitted. “But I’d rather not see her die here.”

“Is that concern I hear in your voice?” she teased, reaching for a playful punch to his shoulder.

He caught her fist. “I’m in no mood for your jokes.

“She may put on a strong front, but imagine how hectic the past few days have been for her,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “We’ve only known her for a day, and now we’re dragging her off to a fight? I can’t imagine this situation is very humorous for her.”

Sigil pulled her fist back. “Like I said,” she sighed. “I’ll make sure she comes off this without a single scratch on her head.” She looked back at Aria, who rode shoulder to shoulder with Verse. “I think I’m growing a soft spot for the girl.”

Kaius snorted. “Don’t get too attached,” he said. “Once we get her back home, we drop her off and go on our way.”

“I know,” Sigil replied.

Kaius gave her a curt nod before urging his lizard forward. “I’ll check ahead for any sign of Ulster.”

Sigil nodded and fell back to where Aria was engaged in low conversation with Verse.

“Am I interrupting something?” Sigil asked.

Aria glanced up and looked positively beaming. “Verse was just telling me about her travels in the jungle planet of Val Talum. Did you know they eat people there? They think it gives them mystical abilities.”

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Sigil smiled and looked over Verse. She had changed out of the smock and into a dark body suit complete with a solsteel breastplate and skirt. “That I did not know.”

Verse stared at Sigil with a mysterious smile. “Aria told me what you did for her back at that tavern,” she said softly. “You’re a good person. Not many people would be willing to risk their lives for a complete stranger.”

Sigil met her gaze. “I try to do what I can. And it wasn’t much of a risk, those two thugs were hardly skilled fighters.”

“A kind heart, and a humble mouth,” Verse said. “They call you kind shar veda in Val Talum.”

“What does that mean?” Sigil asked.

Verse cocked her head to the side. “One who is taken advantage of.”

The smile on Sigil’s face stiffened. “I assure you,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m not so easy to take advantage of as you think.”

Aria must’ve felt the atmosphere souring because she cleared her throat and chuckled awkwardly. “So did you need something?” she asked Sigil.

“Just picking at your brain,” Sigil said, keeping a wary eye on Verse. “Your family must’ve held rank too, what you make of all this.”

“Well I think it’s stupid,” Aria sighed. “The Araivan have simpler and cleaner methods for determining heirs.”

Sigil raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“They have exams,” Verse said, scratching the side of her face. “Rarely do they ever have succession battles involving rifles and blades, their definition of a good fight is through dogging it out through perfect marks and studying.”

Aria’s jaw dropped. “You’ve traveled to our system? Araivan?”

“Too many times for my own good,” Verse chuckled. “Business requires that I make biannual trips to Araivan.”

“Do you enjoy your trips?” Aria asked, her eyes nearly glittering. It was the first time Sigil had seen her truly excited.

“Well, I never had any particular problems with the people,” Verse said. “But the government can be a pain in the rear. Papers for this and papers for that, it’s a bureaucratic nightmare over there.”

Aria nodded eagerly. “It helps keep things organized,” she said. “Father says the Araivan system is the standard for four other systems and their subsystems.”

Sigil found herself smiling at Aria’s bright attitude. It was about time the girl started smiling.

“Anyway,” Verse said. “What’s our plan? Ulster seems hellbent on fighting those brigands. I doubt we can pull him away.”

Sigil nodded without answering. She had asked herself the same question just minutes before. They could not drag him back through gunpoint, and words were even less likely to have an affect.

“We could help him fight the brigands,” Aria said softly.

She smiled tightly without looking at Aria. There was a time once when Sigil would have agreed with her. There was once a time she would have welcomed a fight to the death. But tonight, she just wanted to get through the ordeal with no bloodshed.

“I don’t think that’s a viable option,” Verse said with a wry smile.

Sigil frowned and looked up at the night sky. “Let’s just hope we get through the day without any blood spilt.”