Chapter 2.5 The Night Before

Kisha

-Nightmares-

The man that tackled her nearly knocked the wind out of her. She was soon on her back with the man pressing her down. When he noticed she dropped her sword he smiled, pinning her shield arm down and grasping for a blade attached to his ankle. He gave a twisted smile that dripped blood down his chin.

“Ya knocked my teeth out girlie, it’s only fair I ruin your smile too. It will be a lot wider once I’m finished, then we can have some fun.” Her sword was just out of reach, she stretched until she got a finger on it and pulled it closer. By the time the man had freed his knife, her short sword swung, point first, into his neck. He didn’t scream, just gurgles as his blood poured out over her.

And she woke up, almost leaping out of her bed and shaking. She really didn’t want to relive that moment, but it wouldn’t leave her thoughts, even in her dreams. It frightened her. It wasn’t just that she killed someone, but also because of the incident around it. Up until the moment that the man tackled her, she was enjoying it. The thrill of actually fighting made her heart race and every time a foe fell she felt elated. She was practically dancing with joy as she beat those men senseless with her shield, as well as the plants and stones around her. If it wasn’t for the man dying so close in such a messy fashion, she might have killed one of the others without so much as a second thought.

Life had always been a part of her magic thanks to her fey father, so being so close to death was something she never thought she would experience. That man’s eyes as…

She thought that if it came down to it, she would be able to follow through, to possibly kill someone if it was to protect herself. Her main fear was that she would lose this feeling of guilt. That one day she may forget the weight of a life.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and lay back down. The others seemed like they would be joining up with Marcus and working for him. It was a situation she would be put in again, she knew, but it was something she would face head on. If she stuck with her friends she knew she wouldn’t be facing it alone.

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Thane

-Mother-

Thane noticed that his teacher Maria was still with him as he walked home. Her house was close and she wouldn’t be with him for long so he asked. “How well did you know my Mother? It sounds like you were close with her.”

She smiled, “Close is an understatement. We grew up together, and were part of a team before your father dragged us off on his little quest.” She paused for a moment to tap her chin, “I never did teach you about the politics of our homeland of Ascalon, and the guilds that run the country. She belonged to the House of Masks, which was responsible for diplomacy, deals, and foriegn relations. I was an...intelligence gatherer from the House of Whispers, and our bodyguard was Kirstin of the House of Blades. The three of us traveled to every country and major free city in the Southlands.”

“Just three women?”

“It had to be women, no man was permitted to have a relationship with your mother.” She paused and laughed. “At least not a public one. She had to seem untouchable. It is said that when a child is young they think their mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.” She paused for a moment again to poke Thane playfully in the chest, “In your case most of the world would have agreed with you.” She enjoyed Thane’s reaction for a moment before continuing, “I suppose everything changed the day we met your father’s group. It was actually Kirstin that approached him first, she was impressed with his strength. We found Alex and Castor on the road finishing off a group of ogres.”

“He hated that name.”

She laughed, “I remember, Xander or Alexander, never Alex. I always called him that because I knew how much it irritated him. Anyway, your mother wasn’t interested in him at all at first, she was more than used to getting far too much attention from men. Your father was still hung up so badly on that Thales woman that it didn’t matter. He did a quick introduction to Aille and didn’t even give her a second glance. Your mother was so shocked she didn’t know what to do. Eventually our groups got to talking and once Alex fi-...Alexander figured out we had information and contacts he needed, we started to travel together. Our four women and his four men. We could have paired off nicely now that I think about it.”

“That is why I said being the child of Aille of the Masque could cause a commotion. Since Ascalon handles things differently, your mother was not technically a noble in the traditional sense, but she was an ambassador and one of the most prominent figures in noble society.”

“You and Castor never told me who that woman was. Who was the Thales woman? And you mentioned eight people but..”

She poked him in the chest one more time, “Listen, we could stand here and talk about the past until the sun comes up, or you could worry about the future. Like how you have to sleep before your trip and prepare to depart tomorrow. Come back for the Midwinter celebration, Castor and I will be here until spring. I’ll tell you anything you want to know then.”

She gave a wave as she walked off towards her home and Thane was left thinking about what he had heard. He was told very little about the past of his parents and the others that had traveled with them. His teacher may have been just reminiscing about the past, but it helped solidify his decision for him. He would never experience anything like that if he stayed in Omeric or even settled somewhere else. It didn’t matter if he stayed with the mercenaries or not. He would set out with his friends and see where this journey would take him.

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Mahs

-Opportunity-

Mahs knew that he wasn’t the strongest of their group, not the most skilled or the most powerful. He was confident, however, that he was the smartest. He even managed to be the first of the group to master third circle magic, even before Kisha did despite having the advantage of her bloodline. His sister always knew they would take to adventuring one day, and that fights would be unavoidable. She would often joke “Do you think you can outsmart a sword swinging at your head?”

Earlier today, he proved that, yes, he could.

It was one of the few third circle spells he had mastered, and he kept it a secret until now. Interference-concealment-projection, combining these three circles it made an image of him appear a meter away. Interference was the basis of all illusion magic, creating a mass of magical energy that would alter the senses of anyone who perceived it. With two circles he could do one or the other, concealment or projection. Projection made an illusion copy of himself that could confuse enemies, but he was still visible. Concealment could make him invisible. The problem with invisibility, however, is that the interference tends to break when any vigorous actions are taken. Attacking, running, jumping and so on. You could pretty much only walk normally and still remain invisible. When you can actually see an image, even if it is a false one, the interference remains intact.

It was a complicated trick, but lifesaving. It gave him a bit of satisfaction to smash that thug’s face in, even if it did break one of Thane’s hunting bows.

This was just the start. The mercenaries coming to this town was an incredible opportunity. Somehow this Marcus was important enough to have both a named mage and a royal observer accompany him. If he managed to impress any of them, his future would be… How would it be in the future? Riches, fame, or political power? He smiled, all that it would take was for him to impress the proper people.

For someone as smart as him, it should be a simple task.

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Sara

-Two Masters-

Sara slipped into the empty storage barn once she was certain that nobody was watching her. In a few weeks, the harvest would begin and this building would be full of the harvested grain, but for now, it was empty save for a few tools. She was here to meet her second master. Her father was excellent at teaching magic and swordplay, but she had acquired some skills from her second master that the first could not teach.

How to move without being seen or heard, how to get into places that are closed to visitors, and the proper way to use a knife to kill quickly and silently. She was never able to use that last one on a live target until today.

Sara heard the woman’s voice from the shadows before she saw her. “So how did it feel?” her second master said, “What were you thinking after you killed another human for the first time?”

“Does that really count?” Sara replied. “Those Drecca could barely be called human. They were ready to let the entire village die to save their own skin.”

“Interesting, dehumanizing and moral justification. I’ve warned you about that before, about what would happen if your justification runs out. You might want to just accept that you’re a killer so you don’t wind up breaking down like that halfblood one day.”

Sara bit her lower lip and remained silent. She knew her master was right. She had trained Sara the most effective way of killing or disabling an opponent, not how to fight. This training included mental training on how to deal with death and dying. Leaning too hard on moral justification could have consequences in the future.

It was the lack of this training that might have resulted in the death of her friends. Kisha froze after stabbing that man, and Thane wasn’t thinking about how the rest of the men would retaliate after he collapsed. She knew it was because he trusted her, but what if she had failed?

The other woman nodded seeming to read Sara’s mind. “I haven’t finished your training, but it will have to do for now. Between my teachings and your fathers, you know more than enough to survive. The day will come when your training will continue, until that time Marcus and his Stone Fox mercenaries will keep you quite busy.”

Sara remained silent and nodded.

“Learn what you can, you may be fighting many types of creatures, not just the mortal races and Malkin. Be cautious and follow the others in those fights. Thane and Kisha are far more suited at fighting beasts than you are.” Her master stopped for a moment to laugh. “Here I am acting like a doting parent. Get out of here. I only had that one question for you. I am glad you are not having a crisis of conscience so soon. There is a lot more blood in your future.”

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The Observer

-Trouble Brewing-

She watched as Sara left and began her work. There was something odd that needed to be investigated. The observer made her way to the wayfarer’s inn where the mercenaries met with Thane and his teachers. It was the three women in the inn with them that the observer noticed.

The three women were traveling merchants, but they had no bodyguards.

The three women were traveling merchants yet they had no goods.

The three women were traveling merchants but there was no merchant caravan in town.

Still, everyone knew the moment they saw the three women, that they were merchants.

Some sort of magic was at play here. Something that would make anyone viewing them accept what they saw. It became hard to even think about the inconsistencies as any mental questions were quickly dismissed or deemed trivial. Pressing the thought further caused a headache that discouraged continuing.

It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for. Magic going on for this long was bound to leave traces. The observer recognized the source of the mana immediately. “Eisheth…”

She left and returned to her small house on the edge of town. It seemed like things may get quite interesting, and possibly quite dangerous, for Thane and his group. It wouldn't affect her at all so she didn’t really care what those three demonesses were up to. Instead, her focus was drawn to a small case in her room.

It was almost time, she could feel it. Time to leave this pathetic town and get back into the world. She was older now, but still didn't doubt she was the best killer on the continent. She opened the case and looked inside. Soon the contents would taste blood once again, and with any luck, would find themselves in the hands of their true owner.

The blades inside were shining and far too clean. Inside the case were two sickles. Each embellished with two roses, one at the base of the blade and one weighted rose decoration at the pommel. Both of the metal roses were lacquered black to match the nickname of their first wielder.

The blades were ancient, special, and thirsty for blood. A thirst that would be quenched...later.

The observer closed the lid of the case and caressed the outside lovingly.

Soon. It will be winter in a few weeks. Once the first snow falls it will be time to move.