Landon walked through the barracks, trying to present himself as if nothing were wrong, but feeling almost as if he were about to drop. His body ached and he felt winded with any exertion he made. He didn’t want to admit that he was getting too old for field assignments, but his near death experience was apparently trying to convince him otherwise.

Slung over his back were the remains of his shield tied together by a thin rope. He wanted to show it to Dannig and find some way to either improve the design or replace their stock with something stronger. He didn’t think this would be a lone incident and wanted his men better prepared for the next time. Sending men into battle with failing equipment was a sure way to get them killed.

He stepped into the quartermaster's office to find Dannig showing Danica how to punch holes into leather. He watched for a moment as the burly man showed her how to hold the chisel before striking it with the hammer. Within seconds she was aiming and striking at the material with determination for the task at hand.

“I wasn’t aware you were taking on new apprentices,” Landon said, the weariness evident in his voice.

Dannig scowled at him. “She wouldn’t leave me alone until I showed her how to properly work leather. She was going to ruin some of my best materials!”

Landon watched the young elf girl crack a devious little smile as she worked away at the piece, but didn’t seem inclined to protest what he’d said. He was curious as to what she was doing with it, and it was nice to see her developing new skills. Perhaps in time she’d find a passion for leatherworking and make her way in the world. She’d be around long after they were all dead and buried thanks to her elven heritage.

“Well if I could take a moment of your time.” Landon slung the shield pieces down on the table, letting them scatter about. “I know they’re supposed to be for light duty, but they shouldn’t be this bad.”

The burly man stood up and limped over to the table, using his expert eye on the destroyed gear. “Damnation Landon, did you try to stop a bull?”

“It felt like it,” Landon said while rubbing his left arm. “He was using a steel scepter. Took two hits from it and didn’t want to risk a third with what I had left.”

Dannig grunted and held up a piece. “It’s thin wood, shaped and kiln dried. Then they lacquer it to make it look fancy. They’re probably only meant for training and ceremonial duties, not for any serious combat.”

Landon cursed under his breath. He’d requested the extra gear for his men when the rumors of unrest started circulating throughout the city. He’d expected Rowan to have been concerned enough about it to at least properly outfit the people trying to protect him, but apparently it was still too much to hope for. Perhaps he could requisition proper equipment when the lord returned from his travels abroad. Hopefully, they’d hold out until then.

Landon looked towards the girl, seeing her focused on the project. “Danica, is your leg doing better?”

She looked up and gave a brief nod. “It hurts to walk still, but I’ll be ok.”

“Excellent.” He looked back to Dannig. “Whatever she needs, you’ve got my permission to get it for her.”

Dannig narrowed his eyes. “What about the things I need?”

Landon gave a weak smile as he turned. “Fill out the proper forms and send it up the chain of command.”

He could imagine that he would hear the grumblings all the way across the barracks. It was nice to know that in such a chaotic world, there were some things that simply wouldn’t change. He could hold onto those anchors of sanity in a chaotic world teetering over the edge of madness.

****

Landon decided to try for a more tactful approach with Sombec this time. He gently opened the door and walked inside the cathedral, taking a few moments to look around the grand structure. Stained glass windows depicting images of Zaphel and Myrra, banishing the dark gods and hordes of demonic creatures, shone brightly from the morning sun. The deep red carpet and stained wooden benches added an air of serenity to this place, and had things been different, he may have been inclined to find his faith at that moment.

Two men made their approach towards him. One of them stood slightly taller than Landon, with muscular arms and long brown hair. He carried a longsword at his side overtop the priestly robe, which itself seemed to be covering some amount of armor. He recognized the man as the former soldier from the last time he was here.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The other was a greasy malcontent the likes of which often filled the jails. If it came to blows, he had no doubt that he could dispatch this one rather easily and quickly. The other he wasn’t so sure about being able to beat in any given situation.

“It seems that Captain Landon Marshall has decided to grace us with his presence again,” said the big man, squaring himself up to Landon. “Where’s the rest of your men?”

Landon nodded to him ”At ease soldier. I believe you have me at a disadvantage. You know me, but I do not know you.”

The man smirked. “I haven’t been called that for some time. Who I am doesn’t really matter.”

“Fine,” Landon said with a wave. “I need to speak with Sombec. Just a few questions and I’ll be on my way.”

The wiry man spoke up finally, “Yeah, well maybe he don’t wanna speak with you.”

Landen snapped his focus at the smaller man, staring fear into his very soul. He watched him back up a step and start reaching for his side sword.

The big man grabbed him hard by the collar. “Stop acting like a fool and go get him.”

He took a few steps back, shaking free of the grip. “Yeah, sure thing Garwin.”

Garwin rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Damn incompetent fools,” he muttered.

Landon gave a slight smile. “Where did you serve Garwin?”

“If you have to know,” he growled, “Aganossis in the north. Fighting the damned orcs and barbarians.”

Landon nodded in appreciation. “I knew the same battlefield on our side.”

Garwin gave the commander a foul look. “You want to be friends now? Maybe we can hang around the tavern and swap war stories with the other drunkards.”

Landon had heard enough to figure the man out. He was most likely part of a mass desertion some years back the Aganossian military had suffered. They wreaked havoc in the western reaches of Andesty for a time before disbanding into traveling mercenary groups. After that they moved around selling their skills to the highest bidder. Most were never brought to justice for the raping and pillaging of the innocents and other atrocities they committed. A fact that didn’t sit well with a man of law and order, but one he couldn’t act upon at the moment.

Landon ignored the disrespectful barb and they stood in silence until Sombec emerged into the room. He looked at the priest and noticed the man's face had mostly healed back into place. It was still a little bit malformed, but not nearly as bad as he would have liked it to have been. He could have killed that bastard that day and slept peacefully that night without a shred of guilt.

“What in damnation do you want Landon?” the priest said hatefully. “I’ve stayed away from the girl.”

“And that is why you’re still alive,” Landon retorted dryly. “Look at this pendant.”

He reached into his pocket and held the silver pendant towards Sombec. The priest scowled at him and then reluctantly took the simple jewelry, obviously wary of any tricks the captain might be planning. He looked at it for a moment and handed it back.

“What of it?” the priest replied flatly.

“I took it off one of your faithful after he had incited a riot in my streets yesterday. I’d like to know why the church is involved,” Landon said, studying the priest's expression very carefully.

Sombec shrugged. “I suspect you managed to kill him before you got any answers. A shame that, seeing as we have too few faithful left in this world. I can tell you this at least, that pendant does belong to the Church of Light, but a sect far to the south.”

Landon frowned upon hearing that. “So, am I to believe that you were not involved with this man in the slightest?”

He looked to Landon and shook his head. “Captain, we are a church of peace here. What benefit would I gain from burning down my beloved Norport? We’ve even sent some of our most faithful to assist those affected by this tragedy.”

He looked Sombec in the eyes as the man talked, but if he were lying, then Landon couldn’t tell it. The priest did make sense in regards to having little to gain from sacrificing his flock to destroy the city. The religion has been in a steep decline for as long as he could remember and they had too few members left to waste on frivolous schemes. If they weakened much further, the Red Suns would probably simply run them out of town and take over in their stead.

It dawned on him then, as implausible as that thought was, that it made more sense than it really should have. If they tipped the scales enough, they’d put the church of light out and establish themselves as the new faith of the people. Sombec probably didn’t care one whit about the gods he purported to serve and would most likely sell everyone out in the end and run off with all the money he could carry with him.

“Another dead end it seems,” Landon muttered. “If you wish to inter your brother of the cloth, you’ll find his body at the city morgue.”

Landon turned away and walked out of the cathedral. To the left of him, he could see several graves being dug by laborers. He wondered just how much the families of the dead had to pay in indulgences to be buried in such a holy place. The church was just fleecing the people now for everything they were worth, and it seemed no one cared enough to stop them from doing it.

Were the gods of light even real, and if so, why didn’t they do something to help the people instead of idly standing by?