Chapter 23: Building A Mystery

Everyone I spoke to said the same thing: masked men, galloping horses, bows, and arrows. The entire attack was over almost as soon as it started.

Tazwiir was quieter than usual. People were still pretty shaken up by what happened. Bringing two dozen soldiers with me to patrol the border should ease some fears.

Whoever was responsible seemed to have made sure not to seriously wound anyone. That was puzzling.

If the attacks were in response to us using Catalyst, wouldn’t the Ahrman response be as deadly? It didn’t make sense.

They even crossed into the neighboring region when they were done, which would lead them deeper into Midaharia. So, they must be operating somewhere on our soil?

I wasn’t going back to Ras Almal without answers. I had a nagging feeling that my request for Emperor wasn’t convincing enough. So if Istan was the next Emperor, I’m going to make sure he doesn’t lead us into an unnecessary confrontation with our Ahrman neighbors.

Or else I’m resigning as General.

Probably.

Maybe.

“General!” a familiar voice called. Arabia stood in front of the hospice and beckoned me over. She didn’t look injured at all. What a relief.

“Arabia, how are you?”

“I’m furious! Have you found those bad men yet?!”

“Not yet.”

“Estafan took an arrow to the back protecting my auntie! You have to find those men, Idris!”

“Did anyone get a good look at them?”

She shook her head. “It all happened so fast. They were like a blur; like the wind was carrying them.”

Her father stepped outside and joined us. “Rai, don’t go so far out of my sight,” he said.

“Papa, it’s Idris. I’m safe with him around.”

He looked at me with a bit of skepticism. “I heard there was another General here, as well. But he didn’t stay long.”

“We’re working hard to apprehend the men responsible for this, sir. In the meantime you’ll notice the increase in security.”

“Are the Ahrman involved like everyone says?” Arabia asked, curiously.

“Rai, go see if your aunt needs you for something,” her father insisted. “Let me speak to the General alone.”

“Huh? Okay, papa. Don’t go anywhere, General Idris! I have something to ask you!”

Oran waited until his heavy footed little girl was out of earshot before turning to me. ”Come with me. I want you to meet someone.” I followed him as he walked away from the hospice. “I’ve lived here all my life. Many of the shops and lodges were built before my time. Tazwiir is still growing; I’d hate to see that change.”

He led me down a narrow ally and stopped in front of what I thought was a small eatery. The smell of ale pinching my nose proved otherwise. “There’s someone you need to talk to, General. Before you do, I ask that you overlook the delinquencies inside. After all, there’s no harm being done.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Anyone caught consuming and selling alcoholic beverages would get a nasty flogging. And I’m pretty sure I’d get reprimanded for not enforcing that law.

The door opened and all the loud hardy voices hushed up instantly. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Oran spotted a man at the bar and called him over. He was hesitant to leave his stool. Must’ve thought I was there to crack down on their illegal activities.

Maybe next time.

“Djibouti, come. It’s important,” Oran ordered. His demand was enough to get the man moving and he joined us outside. “Tell the General what you told me.”

He glanced up at me then shifted his attention to Oran. “Uh, w-what did I tell you?”

“About the attack; the men you saw.”

“Oh, that!” he sounded relieved. “Oh, sure I can tell you about them. I saw them when they rode past me.”

“So you got a good look at them?” I asked.

“Yeah. I heard all of the excitement and ran out of my house and I saw them coming. I hid behind the door so they wouldn’t see me, but I saw them, General. I sure did.”

Finally, we’re getting somewhere! “Were they Ahrman? Could you tell?”

“No, those weren’t Ahrman. And they were ladies, too. I could tell.”

“Women? Are you sure?”

Djibouti nodded anxiously. “Oh, they were disguised as men, trying to fool us, you know. But I’ve never seen a man with eyes as pretty as theirs.” He hustled to the street and pointed southwest. “They rode right by my house, General. I watched them ride right out of town.”

“What do you make of that, General?” Oran pondered.

“I consider it both good and bad news.” Good that the monarchy isn’t involved; bad that our own people are. “Djibouti, it was very obliging of you to share what you saw with me.”

“Glad to help. Glad to help.”

“Now, please, tell your friends if I catch them in that drinking den again, neither of us will be smiling.”

“Oh, yes. Yes! I--I was only there for the, uhm, bread,” Djibouti laughed and scurried off.

***

So not what I was expecting.

I figured the monarchy had nothing to do with these random attacks, and that it was just a handful of rogues out for revenge.

But, Midaharians?

Attacking their own?

Why?

Who would put them up to such a thing?

Now I definitely wanted to get to the bottom of this. They were a day or two ahead of me; finding them wasn’t going to be easy. The Blue Mountain range divided Tazwiir from the next city. Crossing them on horseback was no easy feat, or so I’ve heard.

I wonder if Badr has had any luck?

And no sooner had his name crossed my mind I spotted the man coming over the horizon. He was headed back to Tazwiir. It took some waving and yelling to grab his attention.

Something’s on his mind. Better hurry and ride up to him. “Badr!”

“Idris, your timing couldn’t be any better,” he said, dismounting. He lowered an ear to the ground as if he was listening to it.

“Have any luck with your search?”

“There were seven of them. Three headed for the mountains, two turned north, and the other two...” He paused and listened to the ground like it had a story to tell.

Wish I could hear it, but I’d need his rune for that. His silence started to test my patience. “What about the other two?”

He raised his hand with an extended finger. After a long moment of silence he finally stood back up. “They doubled back.”

“To Tazwiir?”

“These tracks are almost of no use anymore, but I’m sure of it.”

“I wonder if they’re still in the city.”

“There's a good chance that they are,” Badr said, stepping onto his steed. “One of their horses lost a shoe. I’ll tell you something else; they aren’t Ahrman. They don’t ride their horses the way we do.”

“What are the chances that they were women?”

“That would explain a few things. Women do ride lighter than most men."

So, Djibouti wasn't mistaken?

"It’ll be impossible for me to track the ones that took the mountain path, so I’m headed north. Check with the blacksmiths in town about horses with missing shoes.”

"Will do, Badr."

Well, since Tazwiir was going to be my home for a spell, I’d better change into something more fitting. Who knew if those two were still in town; maybe they just rode through. In case they didn't, there's no need for them to know that a General was among them.