Chapter 2
The Oppressed
Terrill Jacobs’s breath rose in a frosted huff. His body was kneeled over that of a fallen wolf, a large gash in its side from his recent tussle. Sweat rolled down his forehead, threatening to freeze in the northern air. Though he did not want to admit it, the effort of the hunt for some food had left him just a little tired. It was better than a few days ago, to be certain, but the recovery of the wounds he had received was not discounted.
He grunted, pulling himself upright and sheathing his sword on his back. His shoulders rolled, no longer feeling the pain of the darkness that had infested it, while his chest twinged from the scar that was now upon it. That was the one thing that was bothering him, and no amount of Healing Magic was ever going to make the itch go away. Still, he mused, looking up at the boughs of the pine trees that dotted the snowfields, he was alive. That was a blessing, and one he had come perilously close to losing.
More than that, he had a mission, and people to support him on the way. Letting a deep-throated chuckle escape his lips, Terrill bent down, brushing his brown locks aside to heave the wolf up and over his shoulder. It was surprisingly light, and Terrill took solace in that; his scars may have caused pain, but he was getting stronger.
Next time, things would be different.
Making sure the wolf was secure, Terrill looked back at the snow-laden plains. It had been some days since they’d journeyed here to the frozen wastelands of Niveus, and that time had been spent in sharp recovery and reconnaissance mode. Not that Niveus was large, but the tundra made it difficult to traverse and left most of the continent uninhabited but for the southwestern port town. That had been their aim from the start, as it was the location closest to Gladius and the only way to get information. Since then, they had no choice but to take shelter outside the town, hunting in the wastes to the east, in full view of the ocean that was tainted.
Even from here, trudging back to the cave they were sheltering in, Terrill could see the choppy seas that threated to tear apart any ship, navy, merchant or otherwise, into tiny little pieces. They looked sick, too, and Terrill grimaced at the thought of it. He knew what was causing it, but they had yet to discover the source of it, that which was known as the Font of Water.
More accurately, it was the Lifeblood of Water, the source of all Water Magic in the entire world.
Terrill huffed, his breath misting upward as he considered what little progress they had made. Meanwhile, the shadow to the south continued to grow thick, inching ever northward. War had begun on the continent of Gladius, and Terrill knew it was only a matter of time before it reached these wintery shores. They needed to act fast.
He continued on, kicking away snow and ice, sniveling a bit as the frozen air made his body shiver, until the sight of what he’d called “home” the last few days was seen clearer. Beyond that range of rocks and cliffs, down a sloping hill, was the port town of Sheeris, its beautiful, glistening lights muted by the dark waters. He had yet to do any surveillance, himself, leaving that to some of his companions. Stopping at the precipice of the cliffs, however, Terrill could see one major landmark: an elaborate building up a dangerous road to the north, lined by jagged rocks and ice as tall as the pines he’d left behind.
There was no doubt it was guarded by more than just the terrain, as well, given its key location. However, Terrill was certain that was their end destination. Krysta had felt it. Torry’s magic had improved as well, elucidating it. Terrill couldn’t tear his eyes away.
The voice of one of the companions he had been musing on forced him to.
“You bagged a whole wolf today? What are you? Expert hunter?” Terrill turned away from staring down the cliffs, his eyes briefly lingering on the stone road that wended its way down, two figures upon it.
“I’ll leave the expert hunting to Walter,” Terrill said, crossing what distance remained between him and the mouth of the cave to dump the wolf. Looking down at it was Torry Rainert, her dirty-blonde, shoulder-length hair matted with dirt and snow, while her arms were an unpleasant white from the cold. Without thinking, Terrill pushed her back inside the cave to where a fire was raging, another of their companions sitting beside it. He didn’t want Torry to freeze to death; Floyd wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he did. “Speaking of, Walter, catch of the day. Mind taking care of it?”
“I’d prefer we finally get into Sheeris, but I don’t have much of a choice. When will Krysta and Floyd be back?” The older man of their group turned his head as he spoke, the firelight dancing across his scarred right eye. He didn’t linger in place, coming to stand and approach the dead wolf while Terrill flopped down in front of the fire. Torry joined him, huffing as her fingers played with some sparks on the air.
“Soon. I think I saw them coming up the mountain path.” Terrill sat back on his hands, letting loose a rather loud sigh as his eyes watched the dancing flames on the cave walls. The sound of Walter cutting into the wolf and stripping it made Torry gag, pulling closer to Terrill as she tried to avoid watching. The campfire popped in the cave, pulling Terrill’s eyes back down to it. He felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Is it just me, or is he getting more irritable?” the girl asked in a whisper. Terrill said nothing to Torry, his eyes trailing to watching Walter work with furious precision. There was no doubt that Walter’s annoyance with being stuck in a cave or stuck on Niveus for days had begun to take its toll. He was angry, and the reason was obvious: their battle at the capital of Invaria had seen the man he was hunting get away.
That alone led to a different conundrum for Terrill. He leaned forward, fingers locking together while he watched Walter’s trembling hands. The hunter was after the Phantom Knight, for reasons he had only alluded to, but Terrill knew who donned that obsidian mask: his own former companion, Charles. Or so he believed. His silence made it impossible to determine, but if it was Charles, Terrill knew it couldn’t have been with his own will.
“Heyo! We’re back!” Terrill quirked an eyebrow to the shadows covering the cave before he found one of them diving for him and Torry. The young man quickly scrambled back so the redheaded Floyd could miss. The boy wrapped his arms around Torry as if he hadn’t. He was joined moments later by the far calmer Krysta, rubbing at her arms for heat while she sat next to Terrill. Her hands were cupped, breathing on them to warm them up, but failing to do so, judging by the shivers.
“What did you two find?” Terrill asked. Krysta took her hands away in answer, and without thinking, Terrill took them in his own, rubbing them to warm them up. It wasn’t doing much good.
“Sheeris is on total lockdown, and it’s not necessarily by choice,” the blonde answered, her gray eyes finding Terrill’s face. They both seemed to realize Terrill was still warming her hands and pulled away. Floyd, meanwhile, drew himself to his knees, while behind him, Walter was beginning to sear what was left of the wolf meat. “The ice floes are making it impossible to leave via ship, and there are a lot of navy ships at that harbor.”
“There was one that came through, though,” Floyd said. His grin at their reunion was gone, all-business while they dealt with the issue at hand. “Navy ship, and big, by the look of it, but it’s the only one in days.”
“Navy ship, huh?” Terrill said. His mere wonder caused the others to frown, as well, understanding the implications of just who could have been upon it. “So, the Invarian navy is boxed in?”
“Did you find a route into the city?” Walter asked. Floyd craned his head to deliver his response to the older man.
“Took a while, but we finally did!” He scooted closer, thumping his chest with pride. “There’s a stone wall, crusted with ice that surrounds the town, and a gate that the army guards to prevent people from going out into the tundra. But around the side of it, there are frozen falls that turn into water by their base.”
“It’s the only fresh source of water left into the village that’s not from the sanctuary,” Krysta further explained. “Which means it’s guarded on the other side.”
“How do you propose we get in, then?” The sizzles of the meat being cooked filled the cavern, a slight smell invading their nostrils. Torry found it the most unpleasant, wrapping what little she could of her shirt around her nose.
“Through the front gate, of course!”
“So, your usual type of plan, Floyd? I’m sure that won’t draw attention at all…”
“It won’t,” Krysta assured Terrill. “Torry can freeze the river, which should draw the guards away from the gate. Then Walter can help vault us right over. Once we’re inside, we thaw the river, get some coats and whatever else we need, and we’re good to go.”
“I very much doubt that,” Walter scoffed. He was sitting back, now, his collapsed spear leaning against his shoulder. “The harbor is impassable, you say? How do you propose we get out of here once our business is done within the village?”
“If we take care of the Lifeblood of Water, that may no longer pose an issue,” Terrill said. Walter wasn’t convinced, but Terrill wasn’t surprised. Out of the five of them, he was the least versed in their reasoning for coming here, or what Lifebloods were. He knew the truth of the otherworld, Adversa, that Terrill was in, and their true nature as nothing but souls made of ether, but beyond that, the hunter had kept his eye solely on his target. There was room for little else. “Krysta, you’re sure you felt it around Sheeris?”
“Absolutely. Given what Prince Ricardo said, the Lifeblood is most assuredly under their control, or at the very least protected by them, and given Sheeris is the only settlement on Niveus…”
“Why can’t we just use the Lifebloods to get around then?” Torry said, flopping back on the dirt floor. Her finger was doodling in the air with trails of fire that Floyd blew on to disperse. She kicked at him for that. “Krysta managed to use it to reach Priscus. If we keep using it, we could get anywhere in no time and-”
“No.” Terrill’s refusal was absolute, drawing the gaze of each of his companions. He didn’t dare look away from any of them. “We can’t use the Lifebloods to our whims anymore. They’ve saved us four times over by now, and I have a feeling that’s not a good thing. Alexander mentioned me being here already could make things worse, because the Lifebloods would need to retain the mirror with Dimidia. Imagine if they also had to use their energy to transport us.”
“In other words, we’re on our own for now,” Floyd concluded. He tapped his foot on the ground, only the sound of the sizzling steak joining him. “We should move quick. There’s no guarantee Valorda will wait for us to solve these water problems.”
“I second the fool’s notion.” Floyd glowered, but didn’t refute him. Terrill agreed, in any case.
“Tomorrow morning, at dawn. We’ll move into Sheeris at the changing of the shifts. Get some rest and fuel up. I’ll take watch.” Without seeking further opinion, Terrill snatched one of the most cooked steaks and took his position at the mouth of the cave, his sword resting against his legs. The voices of his traveling party blended together as they started to chat with one another, but Terrill soon found himself joined by Krysta, taking the watch with him.
“You have a plan, don’t you, Terrill?” she asked in a whisper. Outside, snow had begun to fall, and it took him time to answer.
“I have ideas.” He leaned to the side, his face drawing close to hers. “The Lifebloods have been used to poison these countries against each other. I can’t say exactly how, but from what Alexander said, it must be similar to what Atrum did to me. If we can separate those bonds and cut them, we might eliminate the need for war. It’s wishful thinking, but…it’s the best I have.”
“And what about getting back home?” Terrill pursed his lips; he had given no thought to that. Krysta sensed the same, because she looked away, her gray eyes reflecting the cloudy sky. “Forget I asked. One thing at a time. Yes…”
Terrill wanted to offer her solace, but watching her watch the snow made him bite his tongue. She looked peaceful; a rarity for the young woman who was acting like she had the whole world on her shoulders. For that, Terrill just pulled her close while the sun set, watching the snow as they waited for dawn to arrive.
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The walls of Sheeris were not very high walls. They weren’t very fortified either. While there was the appearance of stones to guard the way in, the primary substance that the walls were comprised of was wood. Only where the river ran was the area made of stone, keeping their lifeline secured. It was here they had left Torry behind with Floyd, while Terrill, Krysta and Walter surveyed the wooden gate, twice as high as them.
“Seems sturdy enough to prevent a monster attack,” Walter commented, but it didn’t relieve the tension in their group. There were no guards posted outside the gate, and none atop the walls, but Terrill still had doubts about their gambit. The only relief was the fact they were still concealed in shadow, the cliff behind them creating a natural shade from the rising sun. “I doubt it will hold to the fires of war.”
“Then let’s take care of what we need to before said fires ignite here.”
Soon as Terrill said that, a different fire had started. In this case, it was undeniably one created by them as a blur nearly whooshed past Terrill. Floyd skidded to a stop, Torry in his arms. His body was steaming from the spell he had used to speed up, but he was looking better than usual.
It didn’t take long for the voices to rise up, and a call echoed over the snowy cliffs. “Someone, help! They’ve started a fight on the river!”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“I can’t get my bucket out!”
“Looks like we’re the real villains now,” Torry said, her mirthless chuckle vibrating Terrill’s body while she grabbed on to him. Krysta and Floyd did the same before Walter took up the rear, his spear pointed backwards.
“I’m sure we’re quite wanted in Invaria to begin with…” Krysta said. It was an unfortunate truth, but not one Terrill cared to entertain. The clanking of armor indicated a departure of the soldiers at the gate, and in that moment, Walter took his shot.
Bolstered by Torry’s own gale, the air lifted beneath their feet, jettisoning the quintet upwards. They didn’t require much of a draft to get the height they needed, even with their weight, and within seconds Terrill could see the expanse of Sheeris with his own eyes. It wasn’t long that he had, but his eyes locked on to the frozen river and the commotion that had been generated there. It made him feel like a true criminal, and he hated that.
The image was gone as they cleared the wall, letting gravity take control and bring them to the streets. Terrill landed on his feet but felt the impact shiver through his spine. Torry was less lucky, falling over on the ice. For once, Floyd wasn’t there to catch her. Soon as he’d touched down, the boy raced off to the river, and returned in less than half a minute, cries of shock following him with the restoration of the river. He looked to have drained some energy through his repeated spell use, but a thumbs up to Terrill told him the job was done, leaving them inside Sheeris at long last.
“We need height to get a better viewpoint now that we’re inside the town,” Walter insisted, brushing past his younger companions and pointing to a building in the middle of town. It was a church.
“Isn’t using the roof of a church to hide us illegal or something?”
“What’s one more sin? Keep low.” Walter did as he had instructed them to and tore off down the slippery, sloping streets of Sheeris. Terrill offered little but a shrug to the rest of his companions and joined him.
Even attempting to avoid attention, Terrill could still take in all of the snowy village, with garlands of ice hanging from rooves and eaves, creating the glittering lights he had seen from above. Some of them had different colors, but the majority soon caught the sun, sending an orange glow spilling across the village, heating the icy streets that stood between them and the church. Terrill straightened, hoping that their lack of coats wouldn’t make them too conspicuous as two soldiers passed by, muttering unintelligible words. They were too absorbed in their own world, and looked far too harried to give trouble to any passerby. Terrill counted them lucky, and continued after Walter, their group coming closer to the river, where voices were continuing to shout.
“It was just some trapped ice floes that made it seem frozen. You all worried over nothing.”
“I know my bucket was frozen!” There was a loud clatter, and angry voices rose from end of the road. Walter turned them away before they could reach it, but Terrill hesitated, taking a look to where the crowd had gathered at the river; they’d certainly made more of a show of themselves than intended. “When’s this going to end? This is the only water we have!”
“No fish! No trade! Sheeris is already a colony to the far north! We pray to the Font of Water all the time and yet you lock us in here?!”
“W-we have no control over that,” one of the soldiers called. He didn’t seem like a bad man, but his flustered words did nothing to assuage the growing crowd from their anger. “This is an order from the Council. The Font of Water is the most precious resource our country has. We must continue to pray to-”
“What about Valorda? The General’s ship said one flying the Valordan flag was heading north!”
“What will we do if we can’t get a single ship out of here?!”
“N-now, calm down!” The soldiers were failing to maintain peace and order, an already disgruntled populace threatening to go on a rampage. Terrill would have continued watching, but with another pair of soldiers turning down their street to join the growing resentment, he could stay no more. He darted down the alley with the rest of his companions.
This stretch, shrouded in the darkness of dawn, was littered with trash, from old posters to bottles. Now near to one of the houses in the village, Terrill could see the disparity between Sheeris and that of the capital Invaria. While the capital had been a gorgeous, opulent city, Sheeris was ramshackle, made of wooden homes and the occasional brick. Crossing from alley to alley, catching glimpses of the harbor, Terrill could tell that like the capital, Sheeris did most of its business and created its livelihood on the basis of fishing. Of course, that wasn’t an option lately with the seas the way they were and the number of Navy ships resting at the harbor, looking very much like the ones that had pursued them in the capital.
All in all, Terrill reasoned that Sheeris had fallen on the hardest of times, and the looming warship on its way had no doubt increased the fear.
“A Valordan ship?” Torry muttered when they darted in the final alleyway. Walter had pulled to a stop at the end, checking the street that led to the church in the center of town. “How would they have been able to slip past Invarian naval defenses?”
“I think we all know the answer to that,” Floyd said, grinding his teeth at the mere thought of it. Terrill was inclined to agree. Even with the war starting, the Fiends would not leave anything to chance.
Their group clustered at the end of the alley, while behind them a door opened, someone tossing some further trash into the already littered street as their dog barked. Terrill shivered in the cold, and he wasn’t alone, the rest of them coming together to retain some semblance of body heat. Walter was unconcerned. With a jerk of his head, he indicated for them to follow.
The main street of Sheeris that surrounded the church was filled with as many people as could be expected, but was surprisingly light on soldiers. To that end, Walter didn’t hang his head, but kept walking straight like he belonged there. Terrill sniffled, the cold making his nose run and his teeth chatter. Turning his head both ways, he saw how the street led straight down to the wharf and the ships therein. There were no deadly whirlpools, but the stormy currents and ice blocking the way kept each ship moored; a bottleneck from which there was no escaping.
Walter finished crossing the road, and in moments had opened the door to the church, ushering them inside. It was much warmer inside, a fact made evident by the blazing fireplace. Torry and Floyd ran for it while Krysta shivered and sneezed. Terrill put a hand on her back. “You gonna be all right?”
“Yeah, just c-cold…” she stammered out. A sniffle came from her own nose, and then another sneeze. “It’s close. I can feel it.”
“Does it feel the same? As the others, I mean?” Terrill didn’t need words to piece together the answer. There was a darkness surrounding the Lifeblood of Water, just like that of Earth and Fire. The only difference now was that they had the means to free it. Or the knowledge of how to, at least.
“Terrill!” Walter hissed, drawing his attention away. He patted Krysta on the back once more, leaving her to join the two former students of the Academy, and proceeded through the pews to join Walter. Some were kneeling, praying to an effigy of the goddess, while a young girl at the altar remained silent. Walter gave them no attention, locating a ladder that led upwards, towards the roof of the building.
It hadn’t seen maintenance in some time, that was for sure. Looking up, Terrill believed Sheeris in general was a place of much neglect by the Invarian government. He scoffed at the thought. Prince Ricardo was a man devoted to peace, and there was no doubt about that, but he clearly let some things slip beneath notice. That or his council didn’t care much. Terrill shook his head, gripping the rungs of the ladder and beginning to climb upwards. The higher he went, the more draft he felt from the holes in the church roof until, finally, they reached an upper balcony that ringed the roof and steeple. Terrill stopped short there, seeing a man at the top near the bell. He was half-asleep in the early morning hours and paid them little mind as the two men bent low to take stock of Sheeris.
Most of the town appeared to be up early to take advantage of the cold daylight, but some were still just getting to work, beating carpets or cleaning chimneys. It was not the most comfortable of towns, and Terrill shivered, thinking he’d much rather be back home in Hart than living here in the frigid wastes. He shuffled his feet along the balcony, moving closer to the north of the church. Down below, the once more fully functional river flowed through the village, all the way to the sturdiest gate that could be seen: the one that led to the ice road of the sanctuary. Terrill’s eyes narrowed upon that location. He didn’t need to be Krysta to know what lay up top, on the road surrounded by mist.
His hand gripped the railing of the balcony as he traced the path down. It was impossible to see what lay along the road past the gate, but Terrill could see the spots where water once flowed, now frozen rivulets that provided nothing. Terrill questioned if that was a natural effect of being so far north, or if it was the result of the sinister shadow that lay over Sheeris.
Because, up high, Terrill could see and feel that shadow keenly.
It wasn’t as large as the growing shadow over Gladius, but the discontent and fear that had been forged amidst the villagers was palpable. With it, there was the rise of black particles in the air, the same as those he’d seen in the trenches at Invaria. Whether the Valordan ship was here or not, the war had already begun on Niveus, and the source of it was in the northern sanctuary. The only worrisome part about reaching it were the two soldiers guarding the gate up the path.
Walter soon brought another issue to the table.
“We have company, it would seem,” he whispered, careful to not let the bell-ringer hear them. His clutching of Terrill’s shoulder brought the young man’s attention to the main road and the five sailors striding down it. People moved aside for this newest group that came from the port, and Terrill wasn’t surprised as to why. His hand clenched tighter around the balcony, his nails threatening splinters as they dug into the weak wood.
“Warren…” Terrill seethed. True to his eyes, the foremost general of Invaria, the closest to Ricardo and the council, was walking down the street, flanked by the sailors under his command. His very presence gave them a wide berth to proceed, and no one dared approach the bespectacled general except for an older man that emerged from the front doors of the church beneath them. This sole action caused Terrill and Walter to drop on the balcony, sliding out of view from the street while offering them the opportunity to observe all that was going on below.
“General, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” the old man asked. His robes suggested he was a priest, and a man very on edge given the current state of Sheeris. Warren paid little mind, his blue-tinted armor rattling as he turned his head in the priest’s direction. His glasses glittered in the frosty sun while his eyes took stock of the street around them.
“Pursuit of fugitives from the capital.” Terrill swallowed. The voice continued to confirm that General Warren was here, and the hiss with which he spoke cemented further the other thing that Warren was. The Fiend pulled to a stop to address the priest. “I don’t suppose Sheeris has had any unwanted visitors?”
“What visitors would come here?” the priest asked. His words were terse, and Terrill sensed he had a bone to pick with the general. “There is no way to reach the town but how you came in, and since the Font of Water has ceased its normal production for the town, there is no need for anyone to come to this village except to die.”
“I’m not here to fix those problems, unless these fugitives are the source of the problems,” Warren slithered out. His smirk conveyed how little he thought of this man that dared to question his presence. Like an insect beneath his boot. Terrill bit his tongue, refusing to scoff at the man’s newest lie.
Yeah, I’m sure you’re the source of the problem… Terrill shifted around on the balcony to get closer and peer below. The priest was refusing to bow, standing up to Warren and inching closer. This was a bold move to make, as the sailors accompanying the general broke formation to divide the two men.
“There are no fugitives here, and how can we identify the source since the council closed off the sanctuary?”
“I’m sure the soldiers’ investigations will yield some results.”
“They went in weeks ago! Them not coming out is the reason that-”
“Then, I’d suppose you’d better pray more, Father. Don’t you think so?” Warren took amusement in the flustering priest, and it appeared to upset the man further. He tried to make a move, but someone had run out of the church to grab him and hold him tight. It was the girl from the altar. “Ah, a maiden of the sanctuary. Ever displaying kindness. A soldier’s role, however, is not kindness. Father, I am here to serve the purpose of war. I will protect your town of Sheeris, but the Font is past saving.”
“The Font is all we have left!” The priest thrashed about again, but the girl held him tight. She had more strength than she appeared to at first glance, beginning to drag him back into the church. “General, let the gate be opened. Let our maidens pray once more. I am sure it will hear our prayer. The goddess will intervene.”
“The goddess?” This time, Warren broke the ranks, and Terrill retreated from the edge, not wishing to be caught. The general strode to the priest and grabbed his face. “The goddess will not save you. If you pray to any goddess, pray to the goddess of war. I will unseal the gate when it is deemed safe to do so. Until then, you and your clergy had best prepare for war. Valorda is on its way, and the Font will not save you, no matter how many prayers you send its way. Now, let me see the river. They’ll need water in any case.”
“Yes, sir!” the sailors said in a salute. Warren let go of the priest, sweeping off to the river.
His presence gone, Terrill felt his stomach unclench and his body relax. He hadn’t expected to see the general again so soon, but wasn’t surprised. There was no way he would let them go after what had happened in Invaria, not so long as they were the sole bearers of the truth. It made their need to reach the Lifeblood undetected all the more pressing.
Terrill tapped Walter’s shoulder, and in silence they moved back towards the ladder, climbing down it. The church inside was no longer peaceful and serene, with the priest sat on a chair and his parish surrounding him with worry and concern. Even from a distance, Terrill could see the welt on his face from where Warren had grabbed him; a reminder of the kind of inhuman damage that the Fiends could do. The rest of their entourage hung back from this group while the young girl patched the priest’s face, like they had been huddling out of sight.
“Father, what are we going to do?” the young girl was saying, causing distressed murmurs amongst those inside the church. “I don’t think my prayers are reaching it from here. Have we not been devout enough?”
“It is not your fault, my dear,” the older man said. He was slumped, defeated and out of options. “Sheeris has been dying a slow death for years. Those who remain faithful are small in number, and few make the pilgrimage. There is no doubt that the Font failing is not a failure of your prayers. Take heart in that.”
“If this continues on, though,” a middle-aged man began, “then Sheeris will die out, war or no. The Font provided our town with life, and if even the capital is affected, then it’s only a matter of time before we are swallowed, as well, or am I the only one that has noticed the shore freezing?”
“The waters may have stopped running,” the priest said, coming to stand with some effort, “but our prayers to the goddess should not. Nor should we be idle. If the general refuses to open the gates, then we will open them ourselves.”
“They’ll get themselves killed,” Walter said with a huff. The other three had joined them, all keeping one ear on the conversation. “Prayers are nice, but they’re not fighters.”
“We are.” Terrill’s statement was simple, and took Walter by surprise. Floyd was less surprised, the redhead chuckling and moving right after Terrill as he made to exit the church. There was no more standing around. Leading their troupe forward, Terrill began to part the crowd, striding up to the priest and placing a hand on his shoulder. It didn’t linger, as he was already moving on, but Terrill spared the words he needed to. “Your waters will flow again. On my honor as a Guardian, I’ll see your town protected from war.”
“What?” The priest was genuinely confused, his head whipping around. Before he could see any of them or say anything, the quintet was out the doors of the church and back on the streets. Floyd was holding in his laughter until they were in another alleyway, heading north.
Then, he flung his arm around Terrill. “Aw, man, you just can’t help it! Always gotta protect people. Count me in.”
To this, the two bumped their fists against each other, while the girls shook their heads behind them. Walter was more reticent, focusing on the matter at hand as they emerged from the alleyway in front of a bridge that crossed over the river. This part of the river looked to be in worse shape, pieces of it already frozen. The usual tributary that would feed it was frozen as well, running up to the gate that protected the path. Now close, Terrill could see there were three guards, two on the ground and one in a small gatehouse that appeared to control the path inward. The solution was simple.
“Floyd.” Terrill’s command was heeded. The redhead sped forth with steam, and before the guards knew what had hit them, they had fallen to the ground, unconscious. The commotion caused the third guard to poke his head out, which proved to be a mistake.
Walter was there, and in a moment, he had gotten to the man’s level and tossed him to the ground below, bow and all. Their path now clear, Terrill closed the gap and approached the stone gate, tracing the pulley system that operated it. As he examined it, Torry bent down, taking the bow from the soldier while Walter slipped into the gatehouse. As expected, a few moments later, he had found the mechanism to open the gate and it grinded upwards, revealing the path beyond…
…and the scores of bloated bodies that lay hidden along the path.