Chapter 108:
Anton could barely hold back the delight on his face. After nearly two weeks of travel, they were finally nearing Atros. An hour away or two at the most. He began to recognise the scenery, the trees and shrubs that grew along the old grass covered road. For that he was glad.
Things were not going well.
A pair of small hands pulled at his waist.
“Is there any food?” A child’s voice asked him.
Anton turned back to see Lili looking up at him with pleading eyes. She, and her brother Seamus sat behind Anton as he rode along the column. The long days of travelling on foot had taken their toll on everyone but the children suffered the most. Their short legs made it very tiring to keep up with the faster and stronger adults. When Anton offered their horses for the children the Seocurian parents jumped at the chance. All Beast-kin were adults.
Since his saddle wasn’t particularly large Lerato’s children had to hold on to his sides. He wasn’t moving his horse particularly fast but he didn’t want them to fall off and hurt themselves.
“I’m hungry.” Lili rubbed her stomach.
“We didn’t have anything for breakfast.” Seamus quickly added. “And dinner was pretty small.”
Anton continued to ignore the pangs of hunger in his own stomach. Despite a truly valiant effort by Kal, searching and scouring the land for anything edible, last night they had run out completely. Kal had roamed far and wide, leading small hunts of animals and striping the few fruit trees left from the old kingdom bare, but it simply wasn’t enough. The Seocurians had put too much strain on their already limited supplies, and some of the larger Beast-kin needed to eat quite a bit. None were given much time to relax or dawdle during their journey.
“I know.” Anton glanced back with a smile. “I’m hungry too. But, if you can wait until we reach your new home, we’ll have lots to eat. Meat, bread, cheeses and veggies. More than you two could possibly eat at once.”
“Any fish?” Lili asked. “We’ve always had fish.”
“Actually…No. We don’t have fish in Atros. The nearest lake is quite far away. And there’s nasties crawling around it. Not to mention some of the fish in there are really big.”
“Really big,” Verona said as she rode alongside him. Just like Anton she had two Seocurian children on her horse. She smiled at the two children clinging to his back. “Huge things. Bigger than these horses. We had to fight in the water once and Anton let loose his lightning. It went bang!” Verona threw a hand back, nearly knocking a child off. “And then they were dead. Huge sprays of water everywhere. We never got the chance to see if we could eat them. We had other things to worry about then.”
“I remember most of them had bright stripes on their bodies.” Anton continued. “I think that means we aren’t supposed to eat them. I don’t want to meet the gods by eating a poisoned fish.”
Verona laughed. “That would be a bad way to go. But…How much further do we have until we reach Atros? There can’t be too much more. Surely.”
Anton glanced at the sun. “Should be around mid-day if we’re lucky. So maybe an hour if we’re slow. We’ve made very good time. Tonight we’ll be back to sleeping in our actual bed. With a chance to have a wash. We…We could all use one.”
“Yeah. I wonder what the Beast-kin think of us right now.” Verona slowed her horse. “I’ll pass on the message to Lerato and Ndale. They’ve been quite anxious for a little while now. Some of them are starting to think this wasn’t a good idea.”
“Not like they can go back,” Anton mumbled under his breath. “Okay. I’ll catch up with Kal and see how they’re doing.”
“Right. Where’s Cetina? Is she at the front as well?”
Anton scanned the column passing by. It stretched for some distance, thankfully retaining a relatively tight and straight line. This time the Beast-kin were at the front. It didn’t seem to matter to them, now, that the Seocurians were behind. A few were still very nervous but most were at least not hostile, many were even talking with the Seocurians. Nothing more than a few sentences at a time, it felt very similar to Kal’s introduction to Atros, but it was something.
“Yeah.” Verona pointed to the front of the column. “She seems to be taking to leading this convoy pretty seriously. Maybe there are some other reasons too but…”
Verona gave a final wave before dropping away. Anton pushed away the feeling, the feeling that Verona was up to something, and rode towards the front. The Beast-kin looked oddly at him as he passed, some in reverence but most still in disbelief. The two weeks of travel had not diminished that feeling amongst them, perhaps it had enhanced it. He hoped the looks of disbelief were not related to his relationship with Kal. So far any sort of puritans, those that disagreed with the mere existence of crossbreeds, doubly so with someone like Kal, had kept to themselves. And he intended for them to keep it that way.
“Let’s see what they’re up to,” Anton mumbled to himself. He glanced back to Seamus and Lili, still holding on tight. “I’ve been meaning to ask you two, as children, what do you think about the Beast-kin? And I want you two to be honest.”
“They…” Seamus began. “Some of them are really big. And some of them look a bit scary.”
“Any in particular?”
“Um…The ones that you talk to look a bit scary.” Lili said.
“Those girls are fine. And once you get to know them I’m sure that you’ll see that they’re really nice. Irso, the Drakeling, can be a bit rough but I can tell that she’s good underneath her hard and sometimes grouchy exterior. Sometimes she comes off like a grumpy old man.” Seamus and Lili chuckled. “But is it just how they look?”
Anton waited for the response but none came. When he looked back the children were more than a little ashamed.
“Mom told us to never care what a person looks like,” Lili said quietly. “But by what they do.”
“That’s very good advice.”
“I don’t think Dad was a good person.” Anton couldn’t respond. Lili sighed lightly and continued. “But I’ve never liked spiders or snakes, I’ve seen what they can do when they bite.”
“Are you afraid that Eider or Ulyaa’s going to bite you?”
“No…But…”
“I know it’s asking a lot but can you please give them a chance? Compared to what you’ve been through they’ve had it a thousand times worse.”
“We’ll try.”
Anton found Kal and Cetina at the front of the convoy with the Beast-kin girls in tow. They had kept their weapons but only Rasha and Irso held them with confidence. Eider and Ulyaa kept theirs out of sight as much as possible, like they were a reminder of something, but didn’t want to surrender them. Anton hadn’t had the chance to ask them further about it.
Kal smiled as she heard them approach. She signalled to the others and they visibly relaxed.
“How is everyone?” Anton asked.
“Good.” Kal smiled. “We’re so close now, aren’t we?”
“That we are.” Anton reached out and held Kal’s hand. “In the distance, I think I can see the forest on the ridgeline. Where you hid your gear when you first came to Atros?”
“Yeah…And where I found that Cobra and Seocurian.”
“A what?” Eider nearly stumbled, her clawed foot digging into the grass. Irso helped her right herself. Eider almost glared at Kal. “What did you say?”
Kal wriggled in her saddle. “When I first came to Atros I didn’t take everything with me. I hid most of it in a cave nearby. When I came back to it I found a Seocurian bounty hunter in there. She had been part of a group trying to track me for some time, for the bounty on my capture, and had a Cobra doing most of the hunting part. A normal human wouldn’t be able to track my scent but a Cobra could.”
“Did you kill them?”
“Did you kill the Cobra?” Rasha asked Kal. Anton found it a little odd that they were almost the same height. A very odd experience.
“No. It was already dead when I got there. Goblins had taken over the cave and eaten most of it. Only a part of the tail remained.”
Eider groaned and shook her head. “At least they aren’t suffering anymore.”
“But I did kill the Seocurian.”
“Good.” Eider almost scowled. Ulyaa bumped her side as Eider remembered who they were travelling with, a quick nod from Ulyaa was directed towards the children at Anton’s back. “Not that. The fact that they were hunting Kal.”
“Why?” Irso asked. “It’s a long way to come here for just you.”
“Three hundred gold coins,” Anton spoke flatly. “That’s why.”
“How much?” Cetina asked, utterly shocked. “That’s more than…”
“Shit.” Rasha laughed. “No wonder they wanted to get you. Rafiki really wanted you back. Sick fucker.”
Kal’s face drained of all colour. Her hands started shaking and sweat poured down her face. Anton reached out and held her steady until she recovered. He had never seen her this scared before, not even in the face of death.
“What?” Kal managed to squeak out. Her hands shook ever more violently and couldn’t hold the reins properly. Anton held the reins and her hands before she fell off. Her whole body trembled with unimaginable fear. Everyone looked at Rasha, who tried to shrink away.
“I…I.” Rasha looked at Anton, who nodded for her to continue. “When I was in that…That place and I wasn’t hallucinating from the drugs, I overheard some of the Seocurian’s talking about him. And you came up. They mentioned an increase to the bounty but I didn’t remember much else.”
Kal’s breath shortened as she forced herself to steady her racing heart. She looked at Anton and squeezed his hand. “I’m okay. I’m okay. I wasn’t ready to hear his name. I haven’t thought about him in so long. Brings back so many terrible memories.”
“Sorry Kal.” Rasha moved between Cetina and Kal, receiving an angry glare from the Bebbezarian. “I didn’t know.”
Kal patted Rasha’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I wasn’t ready for what I remembered. Marion didn’t mention him once when I was speaking with her. So…”
“Do you want to take a moment?” Anton asked.
Kal shook her head. “No. I’m fine. But I don’t want to talk about him.”
We’re definitely going to have to deal with him, and the other slavers, soon.
A squeak came from beside his leg. Luna, who had been dozing for some time, tried to wriggle out of her pack. The little white fur-ball had become quite popular with everyone and spent most of her time running about looking for scratches and pats. It may have been strange to say but Luna had been very valuable in keeping everyone together. Anton leant down and pulled her up. Luna tried to pull herself up his arm but her hooves couldn’t get a grip. Her rear claws, however, found purchase on his gloves and she slowly clambered up. Anton stared into her doey eyes as she tried to jump to Kal, her small wings desperately flapping in a vain attempt to fly. Anton found it unbelievably cute, so did the other girls, and passed her to Kal. Kal delicately held her before Luna dove into her lap. She pawed at Kal’s lap before she rested her head against her stomach. Her body glowed before she slumped down limp. She took a few breaths before nuzzling between Kal’s legs and dozing once again.
“You told me she could do that.” Kal was much more calm and the colour had returned to her skin. “That she can calm you down. This cute little thing…”
“Why can she do that?” Irso asked. “And how did you know that she could do that?”
“I’ve experienced it myself. And it’s…difficult to describe. Like a wave of calm washing over you. Very odd.”
“But why did she do it to you?” Irso raised a brow. “What could you possibly have to worry about that she would have to calm you down? Of all people? The person that could kill hundreds of Goblins without even raising a finger?”
“I have my own issues.” Anton smiled bitterly.
“I…” Irso looked away to the north.
Kal kept Luna in her lap and gently stroked her head as she retook the reins from Anton. Anton’s mind flickered to the ship and the scratchy memory that followed. He shook his head to dispel the creeping thought, he caught Cetina and Rasha looking oddly at him before sharing a quick glance.
“Actually.” Anton continued. “I wanted to ask the four of you something.”
The Beast-kin girls looked oddly at one another.
“I can make more silk.” Ulyaa proudly interjected, cutting Anton off. “When we stopped last night I wanted to see how much I could make at once.”
“That’s…How much did you make?”
“A big bundle.” Ulyaa gestured with her hands something slightly larger than a basketball. “And it was a lot better than what I first made.” She patted her spider backside. “I’m really getting better at making silk, at least now I sort of know what I’m doing.”
“I wonder what it feels like.” Anton mused. Ulyaa cocked her head slightly. “To decide what sort of silk you are going to make.”
“I thought I saw you leaving the camp one night.” Irso smiled. “And you had something in your hands.”
“I couldn’t exactly take it with us, Irso.” Ulyaa flicked hair off her face. “It would be really weird to take a big bundle of my silk with us. Where would I put it anyway?”
Irso shrugged dismissively.
“Is that all you can make in one go?” Anton asked.
“Yeah. After that, I just feel…Empty. I don’t know a better way to describe it. No matter what I do I can’t make any more. I just need to wait until I can do it again.”
“Well, I’m glad that you’re feeling better, Ulyaa. I don’t want to use you Beast-kin like a resource but-”
Ulyaa raised her hand to stop him. “After what you’ve done for us I’m not complaining. I’ll make as much silk as I can. Just please don’t make that my only job…”
Ulyaa’s eyes squinted tightly for a single moment before she forced a warm smile. Every Beast-kin had some sort of horror story to tell.
Since the Seocurian slavers consider the Beast-kin nothing more than meat then they probably do something to the Arachnids too. Since they make lots of silk I’m guessing they found something to induce silk production. But something like that would wreak havoc on the body…
Anton looked at Ulyaa. He didn’t like the idea of someone as happy as her being chained down and forced to produce silk. That wasn’t going to happen to them, or any of the Beast-kin for that matter.
“Speaking of things we can do.” Eider began. “Since you healed me completely…” Eider opened her mouth, licking her forked tongue around her front two fangs. “I’ve been trying a few things as well.”
“You can’t squirt silk from your fangs.” Irso laughed. When Eider glared at her she threw up her hands. “I know that’s not what you meant. But I couldn’t help myself.”
Irso was quite an odd person. While she would defend her friends to the death if someone even touched she teased them quite regularly. Perhaps she considered herself the only one that could tease them? It was never serious and each time she backed off the moment they complained.
“What have you done?” Anton asked.
“Well, since I now have my fangs and after seeing Ulyaa with her silk, I was thinking I could do something like that. So a few nights ago I found out that I can make venom come out of my fangs.” She opened her mouth and picked at the end of a fang with her claws. “You can’t see it from there but there’s these little holes at the bottom. Anyway, I was able to make some venom the other day. Not that much. Maybe half of one of those small cups Verona has.”
“I saw her doing that.” Kal continued. “And I wanted to know…dangerous it was.”
“Since you’re a snake…Does that mean your venom is a paralytic or a neurotoxin? I think there are a few more types.”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Eider flatly replied, her snake eyes devoid of emotion.
Anton saw everyone had the same blank expression, like he had suddenly slipped into a foreign language. In a sense he had. He lamented the comparatively extensive education he received from Earth. Of the people present only he and Kal could read, and he was sure that Verona and Cetina could read some words. Everyone else here was likely illiterate.
We need to set up schools once Atros is safer. A good education is vital to a strong nation. Hell, even the ability to read on a basic level would give us a tremendous advantage. Most of the people in Graterious and Qaiviel can’t. Same probably goes for the other lands too. That stifles innovation and development. And Atros will need that edge to compete.
“Anton?” Kal’s soft voice broke him out of his mental wanderings.
“Sorry Kal. Just got caught up in my thoughts.”
“Does that happen often?” Rasha asked.
“Sometimes.” Anton smiled at the Blue Minotaur. “But my mind doesn’t truly wander amongst the clouds. I am thinking of important things.”
“Sure.” Rasha didn’t sound convinced.
“Anyway. There are different types of venom that act on different parts of the body. There are venoms that attack the heart and circulatory system, so your blood and muscles are damaged. The other one targets your brain and nervous system. That means you can’t control your muscles but they might still be fine. I think there’s some that just cause rots but that might be spiders…” He looked at Ulyaa. “Do you have fangs?”
Ulyaa shook her head. She opened her mouth and revealed a human set of teeth. Nothing that could inject venom.
“I don’t know what mine does really.” Eider shrugged. “As I said on that boat of yours, I’m probably the only adult Cobra that has their fangs.” She glanced at Kal. “I doubt that one you found had theirs.”
“We tried to figure it out but we didn’t know what it did,” Kal said. “Only that it works.”
Anton felt his brows furrow. “And how did you find that out?”
Eider looked a little embarrassed. “Two nights ago, when Kal caught the last of those Rabbits, she didn’t kill them all at once.”
Kal looked away when Anton shot her a look.
“I think Kal had the same idea you did.” Eider continued, her embarrassment still present. “Instead of searching for a use for Ulyaa’s silk, she tried to find some use of my venom.”
“So why are both of you embarrassed?” Anton asked.
“Well…” Kal scratched Luna’s ears. “I didn’t know what sort of poison, I mean venom, Eider had. So…we had to test it.”
One of Eider’s hands started scratching her hood, picking at the scales. “Yeah. That was really weird. I had to open my mouth really weirdly to bite the rabbit. Then I could feel its fur on the inside of my mouth, and then it moving about and trying to escape.” Eider stuck out her tongue. “That was…That was gross.”
“When did you manage this? I think we would have noticed you doing that.”
“We did it really far away from everyone,” Kal explained. “But, you remember the Kobold poison?”
“Oh yes.” Anton smiled. “Really nasty green shit. I could swear it was bubbling when we harvested it. You got some on your face when you fired that arrow.”
Kal winced. “That stuff burned just to touch it. Anyway, I’m not really sure what Eider’s venom did. The rabbit struggled for a bit and then it fell limp. It was very quick.”
“If it’s that fast acting it sounds like it affects the nervous system.” Anton nodded. “If anything it sounds like it worked even faster than the Kobold poison.”
“I thought it would be good to have.” Kal began to speak very quickly as her fingers began to fidget. She was panicking for some reason. “Since we can’t get any more Kobold poison, and I lost the last of it in Qaiviel, and I thought that I could do some good-”
Anton reached and held Kal’s hand. “Take a deep breath Kal. I’m not worried or upset. I’m sorry if I came across that way but I’m not. I’m very impressed.”
Kal’s tail began to sway as her face softened to a smile. Anton saw Irso mocking his words while Eider and Ulyaa held back a smile of their own. When Irso noticed he was looking the expression faded to a smile.
“I presume you want to use that on our arrows? Just like the Kobold poison?”
Kal nodded. “Yes. I want to use the lightning and fire arrows to make money to buy more Beast-kin. And you and I are the only ones that can make them.”
“Not to mention they take a lot of mana. Even for you.”
“Yes. So I was thinking that we use Eider’s venom on our arrows. That way every arrow would kill an enemy, and it’ll be much easier to replace them. Just get some more venom and arrows.”
“I like the idea. I’m sure we can mix that with some poisonous herbs and other things that you know of, just in case the target has an immunity to Cobra venom.”
“I know a few things that could work.” Kal smiled and chuckled. “I’m glad that I can keep helping you. Beyond making you travel all the way to Seocuria to rescue my mother.”
“You won’t be getting fire from me.” Irso played with her hair. “Though I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
Rasha raised a blue hand. “I’ve wanted to know something.” Rasha frowned at him. “Beyond being…together, with Kal, why would you go so far to help us? We aren’t exactly soldiers. We’re just slaves.” Rasha looked at her large mace. “We’ve barely used these things and just that one time was pretty terrifying. I don’t know how much help we can really be to you so why go through so much effort to save us?”
Everyone, even Kal, looked at him, wondering what the answer would be.
Don’t mess this up. You have a very good chance to make them strong, if not permanent, allies, and if you get it wrong you’ll have to work much harder to get there. Honesty is best.
Anton waited a moment before answering. The Beast-kin girls didn’t know what to make of it and looked at each other confused.
“I won’t deny that Kal is a major reason why I did it.” Anton began. “When I first heard about the existence of Beast-kin I didn’t know anything about you, other than that you were slaves. Then I heard from Kal what sort of lives you had. I must admit that we didn’t drop everything and run to your rescue, but the moment that Atros was safe we did everything we could to get to Seocuria as fast as possible. I dislike the idea of slavery, from just about every angle, and I know that former slaves will work with me in my future endeavours. Especially if I plan to keep freeing more Beast-kin.”
“You what?” Rasha said, her ears twitching.
“Did you think that I was just going to have a few hundred Beast-kin freed and call it quits?”
“I…I don’t know.” Rasha looked at the other Beast-kin. “Freeing a few hundred at a time like this…”
“Not hundreds. I intend to free thousands at a time.”
“Anton,” Cetina said quietly. “I think you know this but The Snowberry isn’t big enough to hold that many. And buying another ship of that size will be very expensive. More than what you had and I…I don’t know if I want a ship or not.”
“Not to mention that they’ll start wondering where you’re sending them,” Kal added. “They’ll want to see the fake plantation that we don’t have. Then it’ll be impossible to buy more.”
“Who said anything about buying them?” Now they all frowned. Anton reached out and held Kal’s hand again. “I intend to use Tethra’s powers to bring thousands of them here at once.”
A faint realisation washed over Kal’s face. “You mentioned something like that in Porswea.” Kal’s eye flickered to Cetina. “You said you had a plan to use our powers to make something called a…A…”
“A portal.” Anton continued. “A way to move from one place to another instantly.”
“You can do that?” Eider and Ulyaa asked simultaneously.
“We’re going to try it out once we get back to Atros and things settle down. Tethra’s power uses so much more mana than the others and even Kal, who’s better at using the power than I am, still uses quite a bit. We couldn’t exactly be in Graterious or Seocuria, or even Atros, without mana.”
“Considering that’s the way you fight…” Rasha nodded.
“But that still means…” Kal’s face softened. “You’re not going to buy them. Are you?”
“What?” Irso asked. The others held similar expressions.
“Exactly. Buying the Beast-kin will take too long and we won’t be able to buy the thousands, the tens or hundreds of thousands that need to be freed. Instead, we’re just going to take them.”
“Really?” Rasha looked at Eider and Ulyaa. “You’re really going to break out every Beast-kin in Seocuria?”
“Yes.”
Rasha stared into his eyes. Slowly she nodded. “It doesn’t look like you’re lying.”
“But I’m going to need your help to get it done.”
“Why?” Eider asked. “We aren’t as strong as any of you.”
“Because I don’t know where to go.” Anton shrugged. “And I know that it’s been some time since Kal has been in Seocuria so the information might be out of date. I need someone with more recent knowledge.”
“Most of the Beast-kin have been moved to the larger slave houses,” Irso answered. “At least in the big cities. They’re just as heavily protected as the one in Danafra, maybe a bit less, but there’s lots of plantations and factories that hold slaves. Sometimes it’s just a dozen. They can’t afford to move them all the time. But they deserve rescuing just like the others. Don’t they?”
Irso almost scowled at him.
“I intend to free them all. But we will be hitting the smaller places first as practice. Then moving onto the larger slave houses.” Irso’s shoulders dropped and her eyes looked away. “I can’t save everyone, Irso, so we’ll do the best we can.”
“You managed to save us.” Eider laughed happily. “And I thought I was going to die in a few days. Everyone that you save will be eternally grateful.”
“We’ll help however we can,” Ulyaa added, Rasha nodded.
“On each trip we’re probably going to need to bring a few Beast-kin with us, just to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
“Why?” Rasha asked.
“If you were just broken out of your slavery by humans, would you trust them?”
“No.” Rasha chuckled. “Probably not.”
“But that does bring me to the next point. Doing that will mean there’ll be fighting. The Seocurian slavers aren’t just going to let us walk in and take them. So…”
“We’ll need to be ready to fight.” Irso swung her mace about. “I don’t have a problem with it. If anything I’ll be glad to crack a few of their skulls.”
“Same,” Rasha added. “After what they’ve done to us all.”
Anton saw Eider and Ulyaa didn’t look as confident or eager to potentially return.
“Eider. Ulyaa. I can see that you two don’t seem so enthused about that.”
The Cobra and Arachnid looked at each other. Anton felt strange that he saw shame on their faces.
“I…” Ulyaa frowned. “I really don’t know if I can fight and kill again. I just…”
“It was the blood.” Eider continued. “The blood and the smell. The feeling of the bones breaking underneath the swing of that mace. The nights afterwards I kept thinking about it. I thought it would be easier…We’ve all dreamt of killing the slavers…”
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“It’s not something that you get used to eventually,” Cetina said. “My first kill was a Goblin as well. It was horrible. But you get used to it. You need to, if you’re going to survive.”
“I don’t know if I want to get used to it.” Ulyaa smiled awkwardly.
Cetina reached down and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Anton was a little too eager to put you into battle without any sort of training. But if you get some training and practice it won’t be so bad.”
“I still don’t know.” Ulyaa scratched her arms.
“It doesn’t have to be right up close,” Anton said. “We’ve got a fair few bows and crossbows. I’m sure that you could use those. But, I should have said this in the beginning, but I don’t need everyone to be soldiers. I want you to be able to defend yourselves at the very least. If Atros comes under assault I need to know that every man and woman, Beast-kin and human and whatever else we end up getting, can fight and defend themselves.”
“I…I don’t think that’s so bad.” Ulyaa smiled.
“It’s a lot easier to defend your home than to attack someone else’s,” Kal added, Cetina agreed.
“I think that we’ll take that training.” Eider chuckled, turning to Cetina. “Do you think we’d be strong enough to use a bow?”
Cetina motioned for both Eider and Ulyaa to raise their arms. They weren’t sticks but they weren’t particularly strong. “Probably not. Not like Kal. You could draw the bow but it wouldn’t go that far.”
Kal rubbed her upper arms. Anton knew that she wasn’t as strong as someone like Rasha but she had an impressive build on her, one that was only growing as time went on.
“What about a crossbow then?”
Cetina looked at Anton. “We have these metal latches on the crossbows so it’s easier to load. That shouldn’t be a problem, though they were pretty heavy when I held one.” Anton smiled. “I’m glad I have my magic to fight instead.”
“Could I use one?” Rasha asked. “A crossbow?”
Anton looked over her large muscular frame. “I think you could use a ballista easily.”
Rasha chuckled. “I’m not sure what that is…”
“Anyway, despite all this talk I don’t want any of you to be fighting outside of Atros just yet. You’ve only just been freed from slavery, not to mention the Seocurian fishermen who have just had to flee their homes, and you’re going to need some time to adjust. For now, you’ll only be defending the city rather than attacking Seocurian slave houses or Goblins nests. At a later date, if you change your minds, you can fight beyond the city and help push back the beasts and monsters infesting this land. Right now it’s just myself, Verona and Kal. And I think that Cetina might be joining us from now on.”
Cetina nodded proudly, Anton caught her eye watching Rasha then glancing towards him. When she caught his eye she snapped her head forward. Anton heard Kal make a noise but it was difficult to understand.
“Um…” Seamus’s hands gripped his hands tight on Anton’s side. “Eider?”
“Yes?” Eider spoke flatly as she turned to the Seocurian child.
Seamus winced as Eider’s snake eyes locked onto his.
“How does your tail work?” He squeaked out. Eider cocked her head. “Yours swirls about when you walk. Does…How does it feel? Is it like a leg?”
Eider ran a hand along her thick tail, even Kal reached for hers.
“Kind of.” Eider smiled, though she relaxed her face when she realised it might be a bit intimidating to see her sharp, needle-like teeth. “I guess you could say it’s like that. It’s really hard to describe to someone that doesn’t have one.”
“Huh.” Seamus watched each of the Beast-kin girls tails swish through the air behind them.
“You’re just staring at their butts,” Lili said quietly.
“No I’m not!” Seamus said loudly.
The girls laughed as Seamus turned red, as red as his skin would let him. Seamus pouted but he kept stealing glances.
“Why are you so big Rasha?” Lili asked. “No one else is as tall as you.”
“Well…” Rasha scratched her horn. “It’s the way I was born.”
“And you eat so much,” Irso added.
Rasha scoffed. “It’s not because of that. Minotaurs are tall and large Beast-kin. So are Oni’s. So I need a lot more food than you just to keep moving. And I can’t eat meat so I have to eat even more than an Oni would. Not to mention the Seocurians made us do all the heavy stuff.”
“How strong are you?”
Rasha smiled as she swung her large metal mace effortlessly through the air.
“Easy!” Cetina yelled. One of Rasha’s swipes came dangerously close to her horse. It bucked slightly before Cetina pulled on the reins and calmed it down. “Careful where you’re swinging that bloody thing. What if you had hit my horse?”
“Sorry!” Rasha stepped away, nearly crashing into Eider and Irso. “Sorry.” Rasha sighed and blinked hard. “I hate being this big sometimes. I guess I shouldn’t be near others.”
“Rubbish.” Anton waved his hand. “Just…Just be more careful when you do something. No one thinks you would do it on purpose, but you have to remember that you’re incredibly strong and could injure someone without even trying.”
“Sorry, Anton.”
“You don’t need to apologise to me.”
“Sorry, Cetina.”
“It’s alright.” Cetina shook her head. “If you’re going to be a soldier you’re going to need to watch that.” Cetina looked at Anton. “Rasha asked me a few things about-”
Lightning rumbled in the distance. Everyone stopped speaking and looked to the west, the sky was blue and clear. Anton’s heart dropped. It was from Atros. Kal looked at him with fear drenching her face, the others looked slightly confused but they quickly understood their concern. Anton looked back to see a horse thundering towards them. Verona flew past the convoy before skidding to a halt beside him, tufts of grass flying in front of her protesting horse.
“I know that wasn’t you.” Verona breathed incredibly hard. “That was-”
“Yes.” Another rumble of lightning came from the west. “Everyone’s been told not to use or test their magic out until we get back, and Jocelyn’s the only one that knows how to use lightning. And not that well either. And I told her to use it only if things were life and death.”
Verona paled as another two rumbles echoed through the air. People in the convoy were starting to become deeply concerned as murmurs began to spread.
“Sorry you two.” Anton turned to Seamus and Lili. “I need you two to get off right now.”
Both looked down. It was a decent drop for someone so small.
“I’ll take them.” Rasha held her mace underneath her arm and picked up the children. They were essentially weightless in her hands as she moved them to her shoulders. “Just hang on tight you two. And don’t pull on my hair.”
They nodded as their small brown hands entwined with Rasha’s red hair.
“Anton. Blood.” Verona took out her blade.
“I thought you wouldn’t be fine with a Seocurian touching you.” Anton felt Verona drawing up the blood.
Rasha shrugged. “They’re just kids. And none of these people are the slavers. Though I will say that it’s not exactly easy at times.”
“Thanks. I need you four to look after the convoy and keep them moving towards the west.”
“Where exactly?” Eider asked.
“Just follow us.” Anton gripped the reins tight. “Be quick but don’t run. Cetina? I want you to stay here and keep everyone safe and moving. After all this I don’t want any of them to be killed by a stray Goblin.”
“I…Right.” Cetina nodded seriously. “You don’t want me to come with you?”
“Ready!” Verona said.
Anton healed his hand. “Not this time. We can handle them by ourselves. I need you to keep everyone safe. Understood?”
“Yes, Anton. I’ll keep them safe.”
“The same for you four. I need you to keep them safe as well.”
“Can do.” Irso chuckled. “You three need to get moving.”
“Right.” Anton was about to whip the reins when he saw Luna still in Kal’s lap. “Cetina? Can you take Luna for a bit?”
Cetina reached over and picked up Luna. She struggled for a moment but quickly gave up when she realised she couldn’t escape Cetina’s grasp. Anton glanced at Verona and Kal, both were ready to charge. With a quick whip of their reins they darted towards the west as more lightning rumbled through the sky.
---[]---
Anton had never forced his horse to ride as hard or fast as he did now. The older horse, more used to trotting and short bursts of running, was struggling to maintain its speed. The distance to the ridgeline appeared to be unending, his fear and panic only made time move more slowly. His heart pounding in his head as more and more rumbles came from the west. The very thought of Goblins pouring into Atros, when they had accomplished so much and had come so far, made his stomach turn.
Don’t think like that. You can hear the lightning, so that means they’re still fighting.
He glanced to the side and saw Verona and Kal sharing the same thought. Atros was their home and their future, in more ways than one, and they weren’t going to lose it. Not now. Not ever.
After nearly ten minutes of endless and unending fear, the lightning blasts becoming more frequent, they reached the ridge and could see Atros. Anton’s heart summersaulted in his chest. Hundreds upon hundreds of Green and Yellow Goblins were swarming the outer wall of Atros, one that hadn’t existed when he left, desperately climbing over one another to reach the top of the four-meter stone wall. He didn’t need his eye enhancements to see the Atros villagers hiding behind the wall, smacking down any Goblin that reached the top and Avery’s archers pummelling the side of the main attack. It was impossible to see who was where but two villagers stood out. Small wooden towers had been built along the wall, archers manning them fired volley after volley into the Goblins, and two people, very short people, leant over the edge of one. A ball of lightning, about the size of one of Anton’s lightning bombs, appeared above one before it zipped into the Goblins. It exploded in a flash of light, throwing dozens upon dozens of Goblins into the air before another one appeared. Beside that a ball of flame, roughly the same size, emerged and crashed into the Goblins. This time they didn’t fly away. The Goblins simply burst into flames and melted where they stood.
“Shawn and Jocelyn are still alive.” Anton smiled. “So is everyone else. Come on, we need to help. Kal. How many special arrows have you got?”
“A few.” Kal nocked a fire arrow. “About five of each.”
Anton whipped the reins and they rode towards Atros at full speed.
“How good are you at firing from horseback?”
“I’ve never really tried.” Kal chuckled nervously. “Do you really want me to try now?”
The Goblin’s attacking the wall surged again as another wave of lightning and fire magic tore through their numbers. Even with the constant magical attacks it made no difference to the tide crashing against the wall.
“No. When you get into range stop and shoot at the back of their little army. That’ll turn their attention away from Atros. I’ll use my magic and then Verona can finish them off.”
“None of those little bastards are going to get away with trying to destroy my home.” Verona spat through barred and creaking teeth. “Not one is going to make it out of here alive. And then we’re coming for you.”
Verona charged and Anton pushed his horse hard to catch up. As they approached Atros he saw some of the villagers, those on the extreme ends of the wall and away from the fighting, pointing towards them. It was difficult to see but something rippled through the villagers. They knew who was coming.
As they neared the range of Anton’s magic a few Goblins at the rear noticed and pointed towards them. An arrow flew overhead and struck the rear of the Goblins, exploding in a ball of flame. Another arrow flew past, this time showering the Goblins in a flash of lightning. Anton looked back to see Kal slowing down with another arrow ready to fire. Anton summoned a line of tethered lightning bombs and threw them straight at the Goblins. The lightning bombs, connected by a thin strand of lightning, hurtled forward. The Goblins all but disappeared in a flash of light. Anton had almost forgotten how powerful tethering was. His horse bucked and rebelled at the sudden blast of light and noise, almost throwing him off, but he managed to hold on. Verona summoned the blood shards over her head and readied to fling them forward. Most of the Goblins were dead, giant holes had been gouged into the charred ground once again, but were many still alive. The Goblins forming the ladder collapsed and spilled out into the confused and directionless horde as they suffered another volley of arrows and bolts. A strange chirp rang throughout the remaining Goblins as they turned as one and fled towards the northeast.
“You aren’t fucking getting away from me!” Verona threw her blood shards with a flick of her wrist.
The small shards tore through the Goblins. Every fresh cut, every drop of blood released, exponentially added to the slaughter. The blood shards multiplied, like an explosion of ice, before Anton couldn’t see anything more than a swirling cloud of red shards peppered by the screeches of the Goblins and the sound of flesh tearing asunder. Verona didn’t appear to have much control of the hundreds of blood shards, many of the shards simply flew about without hitting anything. He couldn’t see much strain on Verona’s face as, with a flick of her wrist, she sent the blood shards up into the air. The bloody remains of the Goblins fell lifelessly to the ground. Most didn’t have any skin, just their red muscles and blood stained bones exposed to the air drenched with uncontrolled blood. Verona veered towards the few that managed to escape. None made it more than thirty meters from the wall.
“Little bastards.” Verona smiled as she returned to Anton’s side. “I think I got all of them.”
Kal approached hesitantly. “Verona, there isn’t a single one with any of its skin left on.”
Verona frowned as she looked over the corpses. She chuckled at the sight. “I was kind of pissed.”
Anton looked to Verona, his body turning cold. "Verona! Don't move!" Anton spat out, holding his hand up. “Whatever you do don’t move an inch. Stay perfectly still.”
"Why?" Her body instantly turned rigid. "Did I get hit by something? I can't feel anything. Did they have an archer with them?"
Anton took a piece of cloth from Luna's pack, moved his horse alongside hers and wiped her face.
"You had a huge trail of blood about to go into your mouth." Anton frowned as he gently wiped upwards. Verona tried to pout, at being treated like a child, but the fear of the blood touching her lips was palpable.
“Fuck,” Verona mumbled as Anton gave a final wipe. “I can’t believe I could have almost lost myself there. If I got just a single drop of that stuff touched my lips…” Verona shuddered. “I’m not going to become like I did with the Kobolds. Especially since I’ve been doing so well since then.”
Anton didn’t want to recall the incident; how it felt and how another drop of blood would have driven her to the edge of insanity. “Before you need to use your power again we’ll have that sorted. I’m not going to lose you to whatever pull Jira’s power has. Something like Kal’s mask. But better.” Kal playfully frowned. “A better one for both of you. That mask draws so much attention as it is.”
“Thanks, Anton.” Verona lent over and kissed his cheek.
“Are you three done?” A voice shouted from the wall. Anton looked up to see Jeff, in full metal armour with sword in hand, smiling wildly as he leant over the edge. “If you three want to keep cuddling or whatever we’re more than happy to keep watching.”
Anton felt his face heat up slightly. Verona and Kal did the same.
“I intend to keep going once we have some more time,” Anton yelled back. Verona laughed and Kal smiled and shook her head. “I’m glad to see you’re still alive.”
Anton motioned for them to approach the wall.
“Me too. Things were getting a little dangerous back there. But everything’s fine now.”
“Any injuries? I’ve still got lots of mana.”
“Lots of cuts, some bad ones, but nothing life-threatening. No deaths as well. So that’s good.”
“When we saw the Goblins I feared the worst.”
“They decided to start getting really close this morning and finally decided to attack.” Jeff laughed as he looked at the tired villagers beside him. “But we can talk about that good stuff when you’re inside…Um. Dad said there were meant to be a whole lot of you. And…”
“When we heard the lightning we rode ahead to see what was happening. They’re still back towards the east. Quite a few of them.”
“I’m actually quite interested in seeing what a full Beast-kin looks like. I don’t know what I’ll say when I see one but if they’re anything like Kal then I know we’re all going to get along just fine.”
“I’m probably the most human one of them.” Kal smiled.
“And they’re all good people.” Anton continued. “Though some might be a bit rough around the edges. A lifetime of slavery…”
“Irso?” Verona snickered.
Jeff raised his hand to his brow and looked eastward. “I can’t see them. But Dana’s back here with her riders. I was going to send her out once the Goblins breached the walls but that’s not really a problem anymore. They’ll go with you and make sure everyone gets to Atros safely.”
“Thanks, Jeff.” Anton turned his horse around. “We need to head back and make sure nothing happens. Tell everyone that we’ve arrived and be ready to welcome a lot of new people that are going to be very nervous and jittery. Oh, and get lots of food ready. We haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
“Can do. Good to have you three back!”
Jeff gave a waved before issuing orders to the villagers. Despite being tired and wounded they followed his instructions without anything more than a few disgruntled groans and grunts. As Anton was just about to turn away he saw Shawn and Jocelyn in the tower, waving frantically at them. Their tired and haggard faces, covered in soot and grime, beamed with pride. He returned the wave and set off towards the east. They would need to be rewarded later. To the south of Atros, wood groaned and grumbled, a large wooden gate opened and villagers on horseback thundered out. They were dressed for war, even the horses, and ran to intercept them. Dana rode at the front, finally a smile on her face.
“Good to see you three back.” She spoke dryly as she slowed and rode beside them. “Many of us were starting to take bets, to see if you were going to run away for good this time. We thought you were going to last time.”
Anton smiled. “And both times we’ve come back. With lots of goodies and people.”
“Yes…That was the other bet.” Dana signalled her riders to ride forward. “Last time, when you went to Qaiviel, you left with one and returned with two. What about this time?”
Anton chuckled. “Just Verona and Kal.” He didn’t see Kal and Verona share a glance. “Although, on a different matter, we do have lots of new faces. Some of them look…quite different.”
“Bertram tried to describe a few of the Beast-kin types you mentioned.” Dana looked at Kal. “Are there many that look like you?”
“My mother, I guess. But the Cobra’s, reptiles and arachnids do look so much different.”
“If they’re anything like you I think everyone’s going to be fine.” Kal chuckled nervously at Dana’s words. “No one is going to try anything to the Beast-kin. Not with Anton, the man who wiped out an army, here.”
Kal smiled. “That’s what I hope.”
“So how did you treat my horses?” Dana reached over and patted Verona’s horse’s neck. “They haven’t been too rough on you, have they?”
“Who are you talking to?” Anton chuckled as Dana shot him a flat look. “They’ve been taking very good care of us, and we’ve been trying our best not to stress them out. They aren’t the youngest of horses but they’ve been amazing. Compared to Cetina’s they’re pretty old, but they manage to keep up with that warhorse pretty easily.”
Dana scoffed. “We’ll see if it’s actually a warhorse in a bit.”
“It’s pretty big.” Verona nonchalantly added. “Bigger than ours. But it seems she looks out for ours and is quite protective of them.”
“What was this that I heard about Seocurian’s being a part of your group? Don’t they hate each other?”
“It’s a strange story.” Anton smiled. “We’ll tell you all once we get back safely to Atros.”
Dana accepted his answer. Her riders had already reached the small crest by the time they arrived. Their faces were coated with a thin veneer of worry, one that made Anton feel cold for a second, but it faded when he looked past them. The convoy lay only a few hundred meters away and were moving very quickly. Cetina, on her large warhorse, ran along the column, her head darting about and watching for any attack. The Beast-kin girls, most notably Irso and Rasha, led from the front and did whatever they could to cheer them forward. Cetina spotted them first. She waved with a smile on her face and rode towards them.
“Anton!” Cetina yelled. The faces of the convoy visibly lightened, their tense shoulders relaxed. They weren’t abandoned to the wilderness. When she arrived her horse was slightly out of breath and so was she, a tinge of exertion on her face. “I was starting to think the worst had happened. When all that lightning rumbled in the distance and then it stopped…well, I feared the worst.” She looked back to the convoy. “I think we all did.”
“Who’s this?” Dana asked. Her eyes trailed over Cetina, then to her horse.
“This is Cetina. A Bebbezarian that we met in Graterious. Suffice to say that a number of things happened and now she’s travelling with us. She’s a master with a sword and shield, and she knows a bit about haggling too.”
“Not that much.” Cetina chuckled. “I just did the best I could.”
“Well, I think you lied to me a little bit Anton, but…What’s that?” Dana pointed to Cetina’s lap. “What is that?”
“Oh, that’s Luna.” Anton motioned for Cetina to come closer. Her horse almost loomed over theirs. Dana’s appeared a little taken aback but Cetina’s didn’t seem to notice. “She’s a Peryton we found on the way.”
Cetina passed over Luna. Luna kicked and squirmed, her wings madly flapping about along with her legs, before she realised she wasn’t going to be let go. When she saw Anton her face turned into a smile, what could pass for a smile on her doey face. Anton gave her a small scratch before passing her to Dana.
Dana held Luna like Verona did the first time, like a live grenade. “Wow. She’s really soft.” Luna started scratching as all her weight was going through her shoulders. “Okay…She’s got claws on her legs.”
“Yes.” Anton took her from Dana. “But she’s not nasty, but she might get a little upset if you hold her like that. I would too. Is that how you’re going to handle your child?”
“My child?” Dana’s rapidly blinking face almost appeared flustered.
“Well, I mean that you and Raston are together. It’s probably going to happen sometime. I mean, you two are doing it. Right?”
Dana’s face grew increasingly red. Her riders started to laugh, instantly silenced by a furious glare. She took several deep breaths to calm herself.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Dana spoke slowly and kept her voice calm. “But it is a possibility.”
“I know that you’ll be a great parent.” Anton smiled. “But right now we need to get everyone into Atros. They’re tired, hungry and eager for rest. Cetina? I take it that nothing happened once we left?”
“No. Everyone got a little nervous when you left. I think Ulyaa said that she saw something moving in the grass but I couldn’t see anything. A few of the Seocurians and Beast-kin said the same thing.”
“It might have been a few Green Goblins lurking about.” Anton mused. “I doubt they would be coordinated enough for every Goblin to attack Atros at once. Probably a few that wandered off from the main group.”
“It’s possible.” Dana had recovered her normal cold demeanour. “When things got to the point that we had to bring everyone in and close the gates there were a lot just wandering about. I doubt that all of them attacked Atros.”
“We’re going to have to deal with them before we go onto the next stage of our journey. Good work, Cetina. Thank you for keeping them all safe.”
Cetina gave a curt nod. “Thank you. How much further is it?”
“Just over our shoulders,” Dana said dryly.
Cetina moved her horse around the riders. She gasped and a smile crept over her face. “To think there’s actually a place out here…We’ve seen nothing but grass, trees and ruins for so long. I was beginning…”
“Were you actually doubting our journey?” Anton asked, Verona chuckled and slyly nodded.
Cetina furiously shook her head. “No. Of course not. But without food this morning, and very little the night before…”
“I can assure you that we have food aplenty in Atros.” Anton looked at Dana, who nodded. “Far more than what you’re used to. Lots of meat and veggies, enough so that you’ll actually have a full stomach for once. Everyone will.”
Cetina chuckled. “I sort of forgot what it felt like to be hungry. You three always did eat well.”
“A lot of the nights it was just Kal’s hunting and cooking. Very good cooking at that.”
Kal smiled and tried to fight down a slight flush, her freed tail swaying lightly from behind her cloak.
“And I see that Kal is not hiding herself anymore.” Dana smiled as she looked at Cetina. “I bet that was a bit of a shock.”
“It…It was.” Cetina looked away. “They didn’t exactly tell me…”
Dana threw Anton a questioning brow. He waved her down, there would be time to explain every little detail later. They watched the convoy slowly approach as Dana and her riders became increasingly more nervous. Their hands tightened on their reins and some on their weapons. He didn’t begrudge their nervousness around creatures, people, which looked so different to them. Especially the Beast-kin girls; Rasha’s blue skin, horn and sheer size, Ulyaa’s lower spider body, Eider’s snake eyes, scales and hood while Irso stuck an uncanny middle between Eider and a human. Kal was far more acceptable as she was almost human. Almost.
“Bertram didn’t say they’d look like this,” Dana said quietly. “Do you think it was a good idea to bring them so soon? I don’t know if everyone’s ready for them.”
Anton huffed as he scratched Luna’s head. “They’re going to have to get used to it. Besides, there’s no way to gently slide them into this.” He glanced at Kal, eagerly awaiting sight of her mother. “Not after we actually managed to rescue some very important people.”
“So you did manage to get her mother?” Dana smiled. “That’s good. You’re going to have to tell us all the story of how you managed that. Can’t imagine it was easy.”
Anton chuckled. He didn’t want to tell her that they basically walked in and bought her. If luck wasn’t on their side they could have still been in Seocuria with a few hundred slaves bottled up on a ship while they searched for Marion. Not a good thought, and one that Anton was thankful for that they didn’t have to deal with.
“Are we close?” Rasha asked loudly, Seamus and Lili still clinging to her head. “Carrying these two is starting to get a little tiring.”
“Your arms are bigger than they are.” Irso snidely said. “What could you possibly be complaining about?”
Eider chuckled, her tongue licking the air. “You should carry us instead. That’ll give you a proper workout.”
“Anton, please stop them.” Ulyaa pleaded, an exaggerated expression of exhaustion on her face. “Once you left they’ve been going like this…And I’m losing my mind.”
“You just didn’t want them to ride off and leave you behind.” Eider bumped Ulyaa’s shoulder.
Ulyaa gently slapped her away. “Shut up. Everyone was getting scared we’d be left alone.”
“Were there any problems?” Anton asked.
Rasha shook her head. “None. The Arachnid said she saw something in the grass but I didn’t.”
“You know my name, Rasha.” Ulyaa shook her head. “And I did see something.”
“Probably more Goblins. And there’s probably many more on the way.” Anton saw them pale ever so slightly. “But the city is safe. And it’s not much further. Dana?”
“Yes?”
“Could you please have your riders escort everyone to Atros? I can’t have them falling after everything we’ve done to get them here.”
Dana repeated the order and the riders obeyed, even if they didn’t entirely like the order. The convoy moved to the side and continued over the crest. Anton heard the sighs of relief and watched as their bodies visibly lost tension. The feeling spread like a wave until even the Seocurians at the rear looked like those at the front. The Beast-kin girls peeled off from the main group.
“Could someone please take these children?” Rasha asked. “They aren’t that heavy but I think they should be with their mother when they actually get to this Atros of yours.” Rasha looked over their horses. “Huh. It’s pretty big, considering what little is out here.”
“Atros is going to get much larger than that. Much larger.”
“That’ll be something to see.”
Anton took Seamus and Lili, both clung to his back like before. “You four should join everyone else and get to the safety of the city walls. I still want armed people to be in the convoy, just in case something happens between here and there.”
“Okay, Anton.” Eider grabbed Irso and Ulyaa’s arms and pulled them away. “We will get to see you again. Right?”
“Absolutely. Today might be a bit busy and messy sorting things out but tomorrow things should have started to calm down.”
“Great.” Eider stopped and smirked at Rasha, her cobra tail reaching towards Rasha’s backside, towards her tail. She coiled around Rasha’s tail before giving it a light tug. Rasha’s head snapped towards Eider but she had already moved beyond her reach. Irso smiled and rolled her eyes, while Ulyaa laughed. Rasha’s eyes twitched, she gave a final glance and nod towards Anton, and gave chase. She didn’t seem all that annoyed when she quickly caught up with them.
“The way that spider one moves really freaks me out.” Dana smiled bitterly. “Just that they’re clearly two different things and yet they’re not. And not just me. They’re all going to have a tough time settling in. I know that they’re probably good people but I can’t shake this odd feeling I get when I watch those eight legs moving.”
“People accepted Kal as a citizen of Atros,” Anton said defiantly. “It will take some getting used to but they’ll get used to it.”
“Kal looks pretty human. Even I was impartial to her presence.”
“Well-”
“And that was only because you were there.”
Anton looked at Kal. She smiled as she watched Marion and Kristof peel away from the rear of the convoy. Despite the quietness of Dana’s voice Kal was probably listening in.
“Is this Atros?” Marion asked, her voice permeated by short, shallow breaths. “I can’t believe there’s something out here. An actual city.”
“A city far away from the reach of the Seocurian Empire.” Kal smiled, her tail almost coiled over itself she was flicking it so quickly. “They won’t ever be able to touch us here. Not in a hundred winters. Never.”
“Thank all the gods. Whichever of them are actually listening.” Marion chuckled. “I must admit that I doubted you.”
“Me too,” Kristoff added. “I honestly thought this was some sort of elaborate trap. But, what happens to us now?”
“Once we get you safely inside, housed and fed, we’ll talk about what we need you to do for Atros.”
“Oh…”
“Everyone needs to contribute. Did you think this was going to be for free?” Anton asked calmly.
“No. Not at all.” Kristof waved his large calloused hands. “Actually, I don’t know what I was thinking. Not a lot. I was just walking each day, that was enough for me.”
“What we need are people that are willing to work. Farming, harvesting wood, mining and building. Those sort of things. Though I can assure you, it’ll be nothing like it was in Seocuria. We don’t beat our people or subject them to worse fates.”
Kristof smiled. “That…That would be nice. Just another question. What time do we start work?”
“Just after dawn and basically to dusk,” Anton answered. “Though we do get a decent lunch.”
“I’m sure we’ll get used to it.” Kristoff held Marion’s arm. “Anything will be better than that place.”
“I certainly hope so. And I hope that you’ll be able to help future Beast-kin that arrive. They’re going to need your help to adjust. And because of that I definitely want you on the council. It’ll help all the Beast-kin feel a little safer.”
“Kal mentioned that you might do something like that. I’m not really sure what you do on this council of yours but I’ll do my best.” Marion nodded and looked at Kal. “When will I see you next?”
“At the very latest it’ll be dinner.” Kal turned to Dana. “We…We still have those big dinners with everyone?”
“We do. I don’t know how we’re going to manage an extra thousand or so people, it was getting pretty difficult near the end anyway, but I’m sure we’ll manage tonight somehow.”
Anton frowned. “We may have to stop doing that. Shame. I thought it brought people together.”
“It did. It’s just there isn’t much room now.”
Kal nodded and looked at her mother. “I hope I’ll get to see you before then but if not I’ll meet you there. I know that you’re going to love this place as much as I do. I’m sure of it.”
Kal curled her fist and pumped it into the air. Marion raised a furred brow but it quickly turned into a smile. She chuckled and shook her head before looking towards Atros.
“Well, we can’t just be standing here all day. Thank you, all of you.”
Marion tugged on Kristof’s arm as they re-joined the column just as the last Beast-kin passed. The Seocurians were now those to be surprised. Many stopped, stunned, to see a city in the wilderness. Anton could see the disbelief in their eyes; after travelling for so long without no signs of civilisation he would have lost faith. The relief of finding a tiny flicker of life and hope in the wilderness must have been overwhelming. A few of Dana’s riders had to shout to keep them moving.
“Anton.” Cetina turned to him. “Do you want me to follow them now?”
“Not yet. We’ve got enough strength with us to hold off any Goblin that tries to sneak its way through the grass. Besides, I need to give these two back to their mother. I’m sure she’s starting to get a little worried about them.”
Near the rear of the column Anton spotted Lerato and Ndale together. Despite Ndale advanced age, he was moving quite fast, as were most of the elderly, but they didn’t begrudge the assistance of their younger fellows. Most of them didn’t. Both peeled off from the main group as the last of the Seocurians passed.
“Thank you for keeping them safe,” Lerato said as she held Ndale’s shoulder to support him. “I know you didn’t ride off with them but I was still worried.”
“They’re fine. I had some of the Beast-kin take care of them until we got back.”
Lerato gently released her hold of Ndale, who’s back stooped a little lower, and reached out for her children. “Are you two alright?”
“We’re fine.” Lili touched the ground first. “I thought they’d be scary but they’re really not. They talk and argue just like everyone else. And Seamus kept looking at their butts.”
“No I didn’t!” Seamus’s face again threatened to turn bright red, what passed for it with his dark skin. “I wasn’t! I was watching their tails.”
Lili smiled and Lerato shook her head.
“Well, I’m glad that you two are safe.” Lerato hugged her children tight. “I couldn’t lose you two now…”
“I…” Ndale coughed lightly. “Forgive me. We elderly aren’t exactly the fastest walkers. But we have done our best to keep up.”
“Are you alright?”
“Just a little out of breath. We didn’t have anything to eat this morning and our bodies aren’t exactly the youngest.” Ndale took another deep breath. “But I have been wondering, what will we do once we reach this Atros? We’re only fishermen and gatherers. We don’t know of anything beyond that. Some of the Beast-kin are very large and I know they can do some things that we can’t…”
“I understand your concerns.” Anton began. “And, unfortunately, the only place that you could fish isn’t exactly nearby or particularly safe. We fought a pack of wolves there and the lake is filled with gigantic fish, many of which I think are toxic.”
“So…”
“For now we’ll have you working with the other humans and Beast-kin. Nothing too difficult or involved to start with. I think that once Atros gets large and powerful enough, we’ll get you to start some sort of fishing operation at the lake, but otherwise it’ll be fairly simple stuff. I’m not going to have any of you try to do anything you aren’t capable of.”
Ndale scratched his head. “And what about the Beast-kin? So far they’ve been…”
“I’ll make sure there aren’t any incidents between you. The Beast-kin will have to just put what happened behind them, even if that seems like it’s impossible.”
“Thank you.” Ndale looked to the rest of the Seocurians some distance away already. “We’d better get back to them. Thank you again for saving us and guiding us through this land. We wouldn’t have survived another day in Jaka without you.”
Anton gave a final nod before they left to rejoin their people.
“That was easier than I thought.” Dana turned her horse towards Atros. “I thought they’d be at each other’s throats, especially with what Bertram told us about them.”
“With Anton here, they aren’t going to try anything.” Verona said proudly. Kal nodded seriously. “They’ve seen a little of what he’s capable of, of what we can all do, and that was enough to scare them. Though…I’m sure that’s not what Anton wants from them.”
“No. But it has to do for now. We can work on something based more on respect and order later. Fear will have to keep everyone working together.” Anton sighed. “But one thing at a time. Come on. It’s about time we actually returned home.”
Anton, Verona and Kal rode to the front of the convoy as it began to lose its form and spill out just before the walls of Atros. Cetina peeled away, re-joined the Beast-kin girls and tried to keep everyone calm. Anton saw them look around in confusion, many looking to him. Dana’s riders directed them towards the gate but it remained closed. Anton saw the villagers on top, they were waiting for him before opening the city with Jeff waiting in the middle. Beast-kin and Seocurian’s looked nervously at the Atros villagers standing on the wall. Their armour, while basic, was leagues better than their simple raggedy clothes. Not to mention the weapons, and the bows and crossbows, that rested on their sides. Anton saw Jeff on top of the gate, ready to order it to open, but Anton wanted to say something first.
“Everyone!” He shouted, instantly dimming any lingering conversation. Everything went silent. “I know it has been a very long and arduous journey for all of you. And all of you have suffered greatly, some far worse than others.”
Many murmured, the Seocurian’s looked at the Beast-kin with pity.
“But those times are behind you now. The memories of what haunted you are now just that. Memories. Within these walls, you will find safety and purpose. Tomorrow you will start working to build Atros into a safe haven for everyone, human and Beast-kin alike. There is so much to be done and not enough time to do it. But, for now, you don’t have to worry about that. Once you’re inside we have water and some food ready for you. Everyone, welcome to your new home. Welcome to Atros!”
Jeff shouted and the gate rumbled open. Dana’s riders ushered the nervous people inside as armed villagers watched everyone closely.
“Dana’s right,” Anton mumbled. “It’s going to take a long time for everyone to get used to each other. I hope we can think of a way to make them get along…Besides fighting off a Goblin attack. Though that might be the easiest way.”
“I know you’ll think of a way.” Verona squeezed his hand. “You got them this far without them ripping each other apart and you won’t fail them now. I know you want.”
“You…You may need to show them your magic again.” Kal smiled as she took his other hand. “That was why they accepted me. And I want everyone to be happy here. You may need to do it again just to remind them.”
Anton felt a smile creep over his face. “Maybe. But we’ll deal with that when we need to. But for now, I’m just glad to be home.”
“Home…” Verona trailed off, her finger idly playing with her wedding ring.
“Home with...” Anton chuckled. “Home with my wives. Never thought I’d say that aloud.”
The last of the convoy had entered Atros. Only they remained outside. Anton released his hold and they trotted inside.
There’s still so much to do. So much to get done before the Demons truly start to invade these lands. And I don’t know if we are moving fast enough. We need more people, weapons, armour, money, supplies…and everything else we could possibly get our hands on. It’ll still be difficult even if everything goes well. Still, I think we can have a few days break. Just to relax in our home for a little bit. Together with my lovely wives. There’s nothing wrong with that. Surely.
He glanced to his wives, both returning a warm smile.
It’ll be so good to have them in our home for a few days. Just to relax and snuggle with them in front of a fire, among other things…I wonder what everyone’s going to say when everyone sees the wedding rings. How’s the wedding going to go anyway? Both at once?
Anton chuckled as they passed the gate, the wood rumbling close behind them. One small stage of their journey had finally finished, but Anton knew that there would be many more trials before they could even begin to consider their home safe. But…One step at a time.