“Telann old friend! What an unexpected reunion!”

Daniel paled, locking eyes with the officer. This was the absolute worst-case scenario, he hadn’t expected to encounter anyone Telann knew outside Taur and Arnica, and he hadn’t prepared for this. This would be an awfully convenient time for those memories to come back, but he felt nothing. He wasn’t even sure what it would be like when they did return, but it was quickly becoming clear that he would need to face this challenge without their aid. For a moment he considered claiming not to be Telann, but this man seemed so confident, and by the looks of things he commanded these soldiers. Daniel decided that convincing the man that he really was the late duke would be the fastest way to resolve the situation.

“Greetings!” he called out in his best approximation of a duke’s demeanor. “I wasn’t expecting to be recognized.” That much was true at least. It spared him from having to tell a blatant lie.

The officer stepped gingerly down from the cart, barking a command at the soldiers to stay where they were. Once the man’s back was turned Daniel saw one roll his eyes, prompting a quiet snicker from another, as if some inside joke were being expressed.

“What are you doing so far from your home?” the man asked, standing with a regal posture more befitting a dancer than a soldier.

“Well—”

“Oh, forgive me! It was callous to ask. I heard of the infestation plaguing some of the more provincial areas up North. Did it really get that bad? Did you move your court out of Rhud?”

Daniel was panicking. The man had called him old friend, but the way he spoke held such an air of condescension that he wasn’t quite sure of the relationship. Maybe that was how all nobles talked, and he was expected to do the same?

“Rhud has fallen,” Daniel said, carefully neutral. “For the moment it sits empty.”

“What a dreadful thing to hear!” the man said, “I weep for you Telann, to see one such as yourself brought so low.” Despite his words, the man seemed about as far from weeping as one could get. Daniel did notice a reaction from the soldiers. As soon as he’d mentioned Rhud’s fall they had huddled together, exchanging urgent whispers.

Just as Daniel opened his mouth to reply, a hand fell on his shoulder.

“Times have been difficult, but the duke has been our people’s strength,” said Arnica. “Forgive me, but my lord is recovering from injuries sustained in battle.”

“He seemed spry enough when he jumped out of the way of my carriage.” The man eyed Arnica, eyes travelling up and down her form. Only then did he stretch out his hand. “I am Lord Arlan, ranking officer of the imperial sixth army. And who are you my lovely?” Arnica bowed her head and daintily shook the hand. If the situation weren’t so dire Daniel would have laughed, to see the necromancer acting so meek.

“I am lady Aria,” she said, choosing a false name similar to her own. “One of the duke’s cousins. We travel discretely for the imperial court to sue for aid.”

“As I would expect,” lord Arlan said. “But alas, a futile effort. Officials have decided that the Northern experiment is hardly worth the resources. With all due respect Telann, if you cannot hold your province against a few raiders then there’s no use spending imperial lives conquering it back. It would be lost again. Better to hold the mountain line, I say.”

Arnica’s hand, still on Daniel’s shoulder, tightened.

“I believe the imperial court underestimates the threat, my lord Arlan.” The lord waved a hand dismissively.

“Military decisions can be cold, my lady, but the logic is sound. Telann will agree with me, if he can keep his emotions out of it. Isn’t that right?”

Daniel had made up his mind about Arlan’s relationship with Telann. The man was a prick.

“The threat on the steppe is real, Arlan,” Daniel said. He recalled his conversation with the priestess, and how she had described them. “Their power is ancient and unnatural.” Arlan had the audacity to chuckle.

“Surely you haven’t given in to folk tales Telann! They are barbarians, nothing new to the mammoth steppe. There’s little there worth fighting them over anyway.” Arlan clapped his hands together. “Here’s an idea! You attach yourselves to my staff. If you went to the capital the imperial court would embarrass you, strip you of whatever honor you have left. Telann, I hear you are a decent swordsman. I can always use more officers of noble heritage under my command.” The soldiers behind Arlan exchanged glances. It seemed to Daniel that they were not too keen on the idea of more noble officers in the sixth army.

Arnica interrupted.

“My lord still recovers, as I said. He is not fit for the march at this time.”

“He looks hale to me!” Arlan said. “Though I find that nothing invigorates the health like a little exercise! How about a friendly challenge between us, eh? A proper duel, how I’ve been longing for one of those!”

“He cannot—”

“I accept,” Daniel growled, his frustration with the man getting the best of him. He had almost two inches of height on Arlan, and Telann’s body boasted significantly more muscle than the noble. Arlan gave him the impression of a fop. Daniel was no duelist, but he had wrestled growing up, and he wasn’t half bad. Whether he won or not it would at least be satisfying to have the chance to smack Arlan around a little bit.

Arnica’s hand tightened on his shoulder.

“You really shouldn’t—”

“Ah ah, lady Aria,” Arlan wagged a gloved finger. “It’s decided. We’ll duel to first blood, and I’ll have the honor of hosting you in my camp. It will do my soldiers some good to see a proper contest. I’ll expect you just before sunset, and we’ll have supper after.” With a flourish, Arlan turned and returned to the wagon where his guard still sat. Arnica hissed in his ear.

“You’ve gone and done it now.”

----------------------------------------

The hours before the duel passed with agonizing slowness. Together, Daniel and Arnica had found Taur and told him about the debacle with lord Arlan. The man was uncomfortable with the ruse, but agreed to go along with it, pretending for now that Daniel was Telann, and that the trio was doing what they’d meant to do before Daniel had been summoned in the duke’s place. He’d reluctantly given up Telann’s sword, an exquisitely balanced weapon. The blade itself was dark gray and had almost no shine at all, despite the fact that it had obviously been cared for well. The metal looked like ceramic, dull and flat, especially from a distance. Despite this oddity, the edge was sharp enough to cut Daniel’s fingertip as he ran it along the cutting surface.

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More than once Daniel considered telling his companions about his conversation with the priestess of Veil and the gift she had given him. Each time, he decided against it. Not two days ago they had been on the verge of killing him, and the revelations were distressing enough that he feared they might decide to recant their decision to spare his life. Perhaps he would have been more keen to share if he'd been contacted by the goddess of healing, or puppies, or sunny days and rainbows. Instead, it had been the mistress of the grave. He imagined she inspired more mixed feelings in the people of this world. And so he waited and prepared for his duel, stretching and swinging the sword experimentally while Taur lectured him on how to pretend to be Telann.

Arnica had already told Arlan that Telann was injured, so hopefully it wouldn’t be surprising when Daniel lost quickly. Daniel’s competitive side wasn’t a big fan of the “lose quickly” idea. In the short time they had spoken, Arlan had done an impressive job at getting under his skin. He wanted to give the arrogant bastard some trouble. Without training though, it was unlikely Daniel would be able to do anything out there but embarrass himself. Remarkably, that thought didn’t help.

As dawn approached, Daniel, Taur, and Arnica made their way outside the city to where the sixth army was camped. As they did the city watchmen stationed by the gate shot them suspicious glares. There was no love lost between these sets of soldiers.

They were greeted at the camp by several infantrymen. When they heard that “duke Telann” was here for their commander, one took off at a stroll to fetch him. There was an awkward moment where two soldiers, Taur, Arnica, and Daniel stood in silence. Daniel broke it.

“How long have you been here? In Konti.”

The soldiers glanced at each other, surprised they’d been addressed.

“About two weeks,” one said.

“Just long enough for the local taverns to start barring us from the premises,” said the other.

“Shame that. My momma always said that fights are part of the ambience. Barkeep didn’t agree though.”

“And after all the business we gave him too!”

Arnica and Taur were speechless, and by their expressions aghast at the brazen casualness of the soldiers. Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle. The conversation was a breath of normalcy he hadn’t known he’d needed. Everything had been so serious and dour since he’d arrived here. Who knew a few professional soldiers would be the ones to lighten the mood?

“You’re allowed to drink on deployment?” Daniel asked before he realized how accusatory the question seemed. “I didn’t know soldiering was such an accommodating profession,” he added to soften his meaning.

The two men of the sixth broke into wide grins. “It usually ain’t. But our great lord commander Arlan Diallos hasn’t said a word about it, so we take our liberties. There’s some betting action on the side as to when he’ll wise up and give the dry order. If you want in—” The man’s companion cuffed him over the head.

“That’s a duke you git! He doesn’t want in on no side action. Plus, he’s probably so rich he’d throw off the pools and we don’t want that. No offense, my lord.”

“None taken!” Daniel laughed. He was no military man, but Arlan didn’t exactly seem like a beloved leader, and he seemed to put far more stock into the worth of his noble title than his men did.

It was then that Arlan himself arrived, dressed in a uniform with a little less gold and silver, probably to spare the more expensive one from possible damage in the duel to come. He spread out his arms in welcome, and even from a few meters away Daniel could smell a cocktail of perfumes radiating from him.

“My guests!” Arlan said. “I’m glad you made it.” With the briefest of nods to Daniel, he approached Arnica, grabbing her hand and raising it to his lips for a kiss that lingered just a heartbeat too long. Daniel swore he could see the moment she fell into her false persona of lady Aria, thanking Arlan for the pleasant greeting. Taur merited no such greeting, and Arlan ignored his presence. He must think he’s one of Telann’s servants, Daniel thought. Were Telann here as Arlan thought, that wouldn’t be far off, though the difference in treatment did rub him the wrong way. Taur didn’t seem bothered however, and as Arlan beckoned Daniel and Arnica to walk with him, Taur quietly fell into step with the two soldiers from before as they walked in a different direction. He was more subtle about it than one would expect from someone his height and size. Daniel was impressed.

“…most novel force composition in the empire,” Arlan was prattling on about his army as they walked. “One man in eight is equipped and trained with a firearm.”

That caught Daniel’s attention.

“Did you say firearms?” he asked.

“Yes I did. The most of any army in the world. The greatest tactical minds of the empire predict the new pike and musket line formation will melt cavalry charges before our very eyes!”

Guns. He hadn’t even considered that this world might have guns. The technology he’d seen so far had been so archaic… maybe the imperial capital was farther ahead? Arlan had said only one person in eight carried them. Daniel recalled from a history class he’d taken that they had been far rarer and more expensive before industrial processes made them mass produceable. These people probably had dedicated gunsmiths crafting muskets individually. He bit his lip as he considered the implications.

The presence of guns meant that this society was more technologically capable than he’d initially assumed. However, magic also made those assumptions unreliable. For example sorcerous healers would diminish the push for medical advancements, which was clear from the way Arnica and Taur had reacted to his explanation of Earth’s medical sciences.

Daniel barely paid attention through the rest of the “tour,” occupied as he was contemplating this revelation. That was, until they got to the duelling ground. Lord Arlan had already chosen a flat space about fifteen meters across for their duel. A short man with a long, drooping mustache stood next to him. An attendant from the looks of it, certainly not a soldier. Some of the army’s soldiers had gathered around the space with mixed expressions of curiosity and boredom. Many were young, younger even than Daniel himself. Fresh faced teenagers. Others were old and grizzled, boasting no shortage of scars. Daniel recalled what Taur had said about the company’s history, the many battles they’d seen and their recent period of recovery. The younger ones must be the recruits they’d taken on recently.

“Well then! No use in delaying the festivities any longer, is there? My servant Bren is here to officiate of course. I want to put on a proper show for these soldiers. Most are from little hamlets in the middle of who knows where. They deserve a proper introduction to the courtly arts, don’t you think?”

“Of course,” Daniel answered, trying not to sound nervous. Arnica chimed in.

“You have a healer, yes? In case the first blood cuts too deep?”

“The finest in my army!” Arlan said, beckoning a middle-aged woman forward from the ring of soldiers. She was built solid, like someone you’d want on your side in a street fight. She grinned, revealing a set of yellow stained teeth.

“Corporal Knocks, at your service sirs! You won’t die on my watch, hasn’t happened in nearly a week.” Arlan frowned at that, as if trying to decide whether or not she was joking. Arnica eyed the woman critically, which corporal Knocks noticed and answered with a wink.

“Shall we begin then?” Arlan said, overcoming his annoyance with the healer. The servant Bren offered him a sword, which he took. It was a little longer and thinner than Telann’s. Daniel drew the duke’s old blade from the lacquered wooden scabbard and the difference between them only became grew more stark. While Telann’s sword was as dull as ever, Arlan’s sword glittered brightly, polished to a mirror finish. An ornate basket hilt covered his hand, studded with precious gems. Telann’s boasted only a simple cross guard and a heavy weighted pommel.

Arlan stepped away to one side of the circle and bowed. Hesitantly, Daniel followed suit, fumbling for a bit when deciding how to hold the sword as he did so. As he rose back to his full height he noticed a quizzical smile on Arlan’s lips. It gradually became a mask of supreme confidence. Daniel grit his teeth. He moved into his stance.

Daniel’s first thought was to place his feet in the same way as he had when he’d wrestled back in high school. However when he moved his legs to do so, his feet fell in different places. His knees bent slightly and the tip of the sword rose, steady and true in front of him. The pose felt as natural as breathing, and an air of tranquility descended on Daniel’s mind.

The memories, Daniel thought, oddly detached as he focused completely on the task at hand. Did he dare hope Telann’s skill as a duelist came as part of Veil’s gift? Then, another thought drifted through his mind as he recalled the priestess Dira’s words. This one almost broke his concentration. The healer uses magic. It won’t affect me, I'm immune. Real fear came then, and the tip of the sword wavered. He would have to recover the normal way from any wounds sustained here

Bren called out the duel’s commencement. Arlan stalked forward. Daniel forced his feet to move as the two combatants circled, each taking the measure of the other. Daniel’s eyes caught Arlan’s, and he saw in that expression the aspect of a predator, a creature delighting in the hunt. What the lord saw as he gazed back at Daniel must have been to his liking, as delight sparked in his eyes. The glittering sword flashed, reflecting the sunlight as he lunged forward, blade thrusting directly at Daniel’s gut.