Chapter 32 - Outmaneuvered

Another corpse wrought field. Azurus punched at the blackened ground. A clear sky mattered little if nothing lived to bask in sunlight. The insurrectionists had gone through burning fields and crops wherever they could, laying waste to the year's harvest and torching farmhouses as they went.

It was the same as the first incident. These men had no information on the orchestrator of the attacks. The vast majority were peasants blindly following foolish lords who blindly followed orders from unknown figures. A chain of people using eyes that have stared at the sun for too long to think instead of trying to use their heads.

Azurus rose to his feet, kicking at the ground, sending ash and soil clumped by blood flying several feet forward. A sickening intuition told him that this wasn't the end of it. He knew there were more enemies scattered across Xenaria. But he had no information to go by. He'd hunted down the perceived group of traitors as Queen Dahlia commanded. No new orders had come through and his mission at Heira was ended.

Dahlia had reduced palace security to quell what at first had seemed nothing more than a farce. But this farce was too well coordinated and had led to the deaths of the Draumens. There was a chance the crown didn't have a full grasp on the situation.

Or was her majesty's maneuver somehow predicted? That would be the worst case scenario. If this insurrection was meant to pose a threat to the crown, then a reduction in palace security… "Flames!" Azurus breathed. He looked around the torched fields. The knights were digging pits to bury the fallen, looking like depictions of the reaper come to take souls of the dead. Digging a mass grave would take the better part of the day. If his fears were true, then they needed to make haste to Exaltyron.

Something nudged Azurus from behind. He turned to find Eleanoire with her head lowered. His only friend amidst the grim situation he found himself in. He stroked her head with his armored hands, receiving a snort from her as she sniffed about. "I know girl. I want to leave this smoky stench behind as well," he whispered, pressing his helmed head against hers. Dark spots of drying blood stained her fur as it did his armor. Azurus clutched her mane and looked her in the eye through his raised visor. "Can you ride through the night?"

Eleanoire let out another snort, a vague cloud arising from her hot breath. Azurus rubbed her neck. I'm sorry to put you through this. The capital was still more than a half month's ride away. The black mounts of the Guard were bred and trained for the direst of situations, but every creature had its limits, these horses being no exception.

Azurus turned to the knights. He stretched out his arm. "Move those arms faster!" Many heads turned to him. He couldn't leave bodies these bodies unburied. The last group had been left on an open field away from the road. Carrion eaters would see to them. But this was a farmland. If someone passed by here with the corpses still remaining, it could give rise to pestilence. With winter approaching, disease was the last thing anyone needed. "Bury these people as fast as possible. We rest in the evening and ride through the night!" Azurus thought he heard a groan or two. Not even the most disciplined could escape their human emotions.

Azurus sought out Orne, his second in command. "Captain," the man said with a terse nod, stabbing the ground with a spade.

"Send out a few men to find the owners of these fields," Azurus ordered. "If the farmers have been slain, then that's that. If not, compile a list of names. The families will need to be compensated come this situation's resolution."

Orne nodded again and handed the spade off. Azurus inhaled through his teeth, and stabbed at the ground with a loud grunt, spooning out small mounds of dirt with the fury of a bandit seeking buried treasure. He moved his arms as if waiting for the ground to reveal the enemy he sought, the enemy that had begun this ordeal and sentenced so many innocents to die by his hand. If only there'd been some way of preventing this.

He needed to take his mind off of this mess for just a moment. He put his full attention on digging, breathing with a rhythm as if he were practicing sword forms. It allowed him to empty his mind and enter a lull. A lull he sought in the heat of battle, but couldn't find in his last two skirmishes.

The last two massacres, he thought, ending his tranquil state of mind and cursing in his head for doing so. Maybe if he had something more personal to focus his attention on, like that of Emeria's summer smile, or the sound of her sweet laughter. But that only brought pain in his heart and slowed his arms. He'd been separated from her for so long. Azurus shook his head and just kept digging, looking more and more forward to resting for a moment during evening with each mound of dirt shoveled. At least then, he could have some time to sit down and maybe study Chronary. Perhaps, if he could become proficient enough in using this strange magic, happenings like this could be prevented. Chronary, after all, in theory could achieve anything with the right runic phrasing and sacrifice.

A way to prevent these happenings. A way to prevent the loss of lives in wars. If such a phenomenon could be found, then wars might just come to an end entirely.

***

Azurus kept the knights riding alongside the Nhilm River, ensuring the horses were getting enough rest and water to continue without breaking. Exaltyron at last came into view as a dark spec on the horizon on the seventeenth morning since the last skirmish. No further enemies were met along the road, but there were next to no travellers or merchants either. Around this time of year, Xenaria's roads should have been teeming with merchant caravans transporting food to various cities and villages or performing troupes seeking patronage at a large inn or manse for the season.

Azurus stopped the contingent during midday for a rest. He dismounted and left Eleanoire to nibble on dying grass as he made his way down to the bank. Pebbles at the side bore a wet sheen of melted frost from the night afore. Azurus removed his helm to find a shimmering reflection of his own sweat matted face and hair within the moving current. He splashed icy water on his face and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. It'd grown longer than he liked keeping it. Longer than Emeria preferred he keep it too. Normally, she would cut his hair for him. She was surprisingly good at it.

Azurus stood and stretched out. His rear and lower back were developing cramps from the endless days of riding. He peered at the blue horizon. About a little over a hundred miles remaining. A day and half's ride at the current pace. Emeria likely wouldn't be there to meet him. But he might finally find some closure on the state of Xenaria.

Azurus marched back to his horse as other knights washed their faces or set up small fires to boil drinking water. He thought he saw movement down the length of the riverbank. He squinted, holding a hand over his eyes to shade them. The figure seemed to be getting smaller. Azurus mounted for a better vantage from which to see. There was a person there. He was sure of it. "Orne!" he shouted, turning his head to look for the man.

Orne rode up alongside two others behind him, helm still on but visor raised. "You called, Captain?"

Azurus nodded, pointing down the bank. "There's a person there. Accompany me." He steered Eleanoire down the bank and let her gallop to this figure. It was a man in a ragged cloak that seemed torn by the jaws of a hungry dog. He held a long staff for road travel. Alongside him was an ass with dark fur and thick legs, its back bearing many items from clothes to ironware. A peddler.

The peddler was tugging on his animal's leash, trying to force it go faster. Pointless, Azurus thought. The ass was burdened enough. And they weren't built to run in the first place. Its master's face paled as the knights rode up. He scratched at his unruly grey and white beard while backing off, tripping over his own feet and falling on his rear. He scrambled to his feet and tried running, leaving his staff on the ground.

Orne lashed out with the reins of his horse and galloped ahead of Azurus. "Ho there, Roadmaster!" the old knight called. "We are Queensmen not highwaymen. Our captain but wishes a word and nothing more." He reared his horse before the peddler to cut off his path.

Azurus shook his head as he dismounted. "I am Captain Azurus of the Lotus Knights," he greeted. "You would be?"

"Gilm, sir. Master Gilm the peddler," the man said quickly. "Just an honest peddler moving to the next village over to earn a hot meal and maybe a room at an inn."

"Honest," Azurus echoed.

"Yes good sir. I have nothing of suspicion in my wares. You may check them if you wish."

Azurus waved his hand. "There are next to no merchants on the road. No travellers, performers, or tinkers. And yet you're braving a journey through the wilderness all alone. You're either suspicious or stupid."

"No sir. Not suspicious. But foolish perhaps, yes," Gilm said, still talking quickly, trembling like a just born fowl learning to use its legs. "The merchant guilds await her majesty the queen. I don't know much. Haven't seen much neither, sir. But the inns and taverns are rife with talk of rebels roaming the lands and with the merchants sitting still, I can only believe it to be true."

"Mm," Azurus said, nodding knowingly. He crossed his arms to hide his clenching fists. His intuition had been correct then. The groups he had hunted were not the only insurrection party. And he had half a hunch that not all of them were peasants either. If whoever was doing this was planning conquest, killing large numbers of farmers would not be in their interest. "And so here you are, braving death to extort villagers now that there is no competition?"

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"Extort, sir? Never. This Gilm wouldn't raise his prices. Well, maybe salt. With winter approaching, distant villages—"

"Save it," Azurus said with another wave of his hand. "You've a right to raise prices if you're the only seller and risk your life to carry your goods." Azurus fished out two coins from his purse tied to the small pack at Eleanoire's side. Two gold quarters. Gilm was a lucky peddler it seemed. He flicked them over, flickering light flashing in a dozen directions as the coins flipped through the air then fell to the greying sedge before the peddler's feet. "We've come down from the Nhilm. Haven't met any armed forces along the way. You should find a village perhaps a dozen or so miles away from the river on either side of it. Make haste and find yourself an inn to spend the winter with that money. No need to travel with your life at risk. Good day, Master Gilm," Azurus finished with a nod.

The peddler fished the coins out from between the tall grass, gasping as he confirmed their color. "But s-sir," he stammered as Azurus mounted again. "Captain Azurus, sir. I c-cannot take this. This is far too much for the likes of me. And I don't have anything of this much value to return."

"This isn't my charity, Master Gilm," Azurus said in a commanding voice. "This is her majesty's coin. I only do my duty as a knight of the realm. I don't need anything in return."

"Sir, I insist," Gilm said. "Anything is fine. It would weigh on my mind to have not given something. It's not much but I have some silks that might interest you. Nothing half as valuable as what you've paid but maybe a trinket to keep as a charm or give as a gift."

Give as a gift. Azurus sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hadn't bought any souvenirs for Emeria and he was likely to miss her eighteenth birthday. "Then give me a pendant or a circlet if you've got one."

Gilm nodded and bowed twice over, mumbling to himself. He rummaged through the pack carried by the ass, fishing out a circlet with blue gemstone flowers. "Here. This ought to do it. The chain is of silver but the flowers are mere colored rocks I happened by on a riverbank a dozen fortnights ago. Gave it to a gem cutter and she fashioned them right well for me."

Azurus took the circlet, a smile touching his lips. Emeria hadn't been too happy when gifted flowers a few years back, but she had kept one in her hair until it'd withered. She might not be impressed by the circlet, but she was sure to keep wearing it. She wouldn't waste his gift. He imagined how she might look with it, lips curling further. "This will do just well, Master Gilm. Good day a second time."

The peddler bowed again. Azurus and the three others returned to the main group. A lone horseman was quickly approaching the contingent from the direction of Exaltyron. His horse was black. One of the few scouts sent ahead of the knights to keep an eye out for enemies in their path.

"Report! Report!" the scout cried just as Azurus reached the main camp. "Report for Captain Azurus. Cavalry southwest of us about ten times our number. Flags bear the silver eagle of High House Serene."

Azurus frowned. The duke's soldiers this far from their own territory? Southwest of the knights would be towards the east. A great dust cloud was rising from that direction —the kind kicked up by thousands of hooves. Had Lord Serene sent aid to quell the insurrection? But then why that many riders? Cavalry would get the job done swiftly, but Arcaeus Peak needed its horses to keep watch on the border with Tarmia. Whatever it was, they were sure to have more information than he had at that moment. "Another hour of rest!" he ordered. "We ride to join the duke's soldiers after that!"

***

Azurus walked into the Serene encampment. They only seemed to have stopped for a short rest seeing as how few tents had been set up. They were lightly armored and their steeds were mostly comprised of the desert breed. Lord Serene's fastest mounts and he'd sent them away from the border. Was Xenaria's situation really so dire right now?

"Azurus!" a familiar feminine voice shouted. He turned to see a beaming Elizia running toward him. She didn't slow at all and pressed herself up to his cold armor. He returned her embrace, happy to see a kindred face. "It's been so long," she said.

He opened his mouth to speak, to ask how she'd been and what was going on, but the first word to come from his mouth was "Emma?"

Elizia pulled away, giving a teasing giggle. "That's the first thing you ask me? You must really miss her. She's in Arcaeus, safe behind its walls. How have you been?"

Azurus gave a sigh, unsure himself if he was relieved that Emeria was safe, or if it'd been a sigh of disappointment that she hadn't snuck out with Elizia. "I've been well. For the most part anyway. But…"

"This strange rebellion has your thoughts, right?" she asked, reading his expression.

He nodded. Elizia seemed different. Almost as if she occupied more space with her presence. Her posture carried confidence and she stood —Azurus frowned, touching the top of her head, her brown hair bound in a tail at the back. "You're almost as tall as I am." She looked much more like the duchess now.

"So I noticed," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Are you next going to tell me I'm more beautiful too like half of the garrison's new recruits?"

Azurus allowed himself a laugh. He'd missed Elizia's gibes. But she really had gotten much lovelier than he recalled. "Still not half as pretty as Emma," he countered, hoping to catch her off guard.

Elizia snorted. "How would you know? Maybe she's grown ugly and fat in the few months you haven't seen her." Azurus did nothing but smile, causing her to scowl and shake her head. "She really misses you too. Enough about that. What's the current situation?"

"I was going to ask you that. I've destroyed two insurrection parties thus far. Both of them didn't number more than two thousand. Both of them were mostly comprised of peasants without armor or proper weapons."

Elizia nodded. "They're moving around fast if you haven't encountered any more. Our group met with a force of a few hundred on our way here. They were well armed actually and didn't seem peasants at all. Their leaders had no answers to give. Something about a figure in a hood approaching them with orders and promise of riches to which they obeyed. I've no doubt mercenary bands are going to take advantage of this situation and start joining whichever side has control. And right now, that isn't us."

"Are you on your way to reinforce the capital then?" Azurus asked.

"No. Father has tasked me and other cavalry commanders with putting an end to this madness." Elizia turned around. "Faren, bring me a map," she ordered. A middle age soldier —Elizia's second by his uniform and lighter colored grey cloak— approached and spread out a regional map on the dry grass of the ground, holding out the sides so it wouldn't fold up or blow away.

"The scouts have just returned, my lady," Faren was saying, as Elizia knelt before the map. "There seems no immediate threat to Exaltyron."

She nodded. "This whole situation is a mess. I want to get this done with and return to the garrison soon." She pointed to the edge of the map which barely cut past the Nhilm River. "A large part of the insurrection is occurring here in the vast farmlands south of the Black Marshes. Nothing but villages for miles in any direction there. No proper cities or soldiers to keep the area in check. Father has sent the rest of House Serene's horses to deal with it all. Though if they're moving as fast and with as much coordination as we suspect, this could get out of hand."

"Hold on. All of your cavalry? What of the border?" Azurus asked.

"Our watch is spread thin with many gaps," Elizia said grimly. "Which is why I want to return soon."

"But Emma…"

"Rest assured, Sir Azurus," Faren said. "Arcaeus Peak is nigh impregnable so long as Lord Serene is there to command it. And winter approaches. The only way to fell it is to siege it for months and starve those inside. I doubt the Empire will be fool enough to risk a winter camped outside our walls."

"It's troubling nonetheless to leave our borders unwatched," Elizia said. "Empire soldiers could try crossing the Cinder River and pillaging from the farmlands here, assuming these insurrectionists haven't taken everything already. They've got to be offering more than mere riches if they can turn the likes of House Draumen to betray their loyalty to the crown."

Azurus' eyes went wide. "What?" he hissed, glaring at his friend, fingers twitching with the desire to hold his sword. "What do you mean by betray, El? Answer me straight!"

She frowned at him. "They were your own words," she said slowly. "You killed Lady Roxanne for being a part of the—"

"Where did you here this nonsense?" Azurus howled, trembling.

"A missive from the crown. Her majesty sent us your report on the matter. Sir Draumen left his position as a Queen's Guard shortly after."

My report? "Flames! Eternal Flames burn it all! Lady Roxanne was, she was," he screamed incoherently, tugging at his hair. "She was the sweetest woman I knew. She doted on me like her own. Just like your mother did to us. It felt like mine. It felt real," Azurus said, his voice quieting to a whimper. "It felt like I had a family to call my own, a warm home to return to every night," he wept. "Why would I kill them? I found their manor burnt and their bodies hung from a tree. Her youngest's body was found as charred remains within the manor. Retaliation for remaining loyal, for not joining this rebellion. Someone's twisted my words."

Elizia stared with parted lips. "Emma was right all along. She insisted that you wouldn't kill a family. Not when they had children. It only would've made sense to capture them if they really had betrayed… Faren, send a missive to my father at once. And send multiple riders. If Azurus' letter was intercepted and changed, then only the Flames might know how deep this conspiracy runs." Elizia held Azurus by the head. "You can cry if you want, but not now. Gather yourself. You're a knight of the realm, and the realm needs you now. Needs all of us to answer the call of duty."

Azurus hid his face in his hands. "How can I not cry? I've slain farmers. I've split them apart as easily as swinging through targets made of straw. I failed to protect Lady Roxanne and now all of Xenaria, Sir Draumen included, must believe I killed her. I've failed entirely as a knight, El."

"You fail when you give up, Azurus," she insisted, pulling apart his hands and fixing him with a fierce gaze. She then pointed back on the map, its edges flapping now that Faren no longer held it. "Look here. I was sent to protect the capital from a large insurrection force that was supposed to be coming down from the west. We thought they were approaching Exaltyron, given that the city is only halfway manned with Sir Aegis outside with half the city's soldiers. But the enemy seems to have moved further south. I'm thinking maybe Qalydon, since Lord Coraine has a mass of wealth to plunder from. But my scouts say they've been camped around Oakwood Forest and have been amassing more numbers there."

Azurus frowned. "Slow down, El," he said as he wiped his face. "Captain Eildred is away from her majesty? But then, with half the Queen's Guard with me, her majesty is poorly guarded. Why would the captain leave her side?"

Elizia blinked as if she expected him to know the answer. "Oh, right. You wouldn't know. The island of Kovar had been overtaken by pirates. Queen Dahlia asked him to aid High Lord Coraine in retaking it. But… It's been nearly two months. Sir Aegis should have been on route to return if he hasn't returned already."

Azurus stared hard at the map for a moment. He let out a gasp as realization struck him. "Elizia…" he breathed. "They know. They know our every move, where we are and near to perfection on where we will be. If Eildred were to return from Qalydon, the shortest path to the capital is through the narrow road within the Oakwood. If our enemies are there…"

"He's the target!" Eilzia said, wide eyed. She clenched fistfuls of dead grass in her hands. "They know her majesty will be damaged and severely weakened with his loss. We have to go. We have to go now! You return to her majesty and inform her on the matter."

"No!" Azurus said. "Not when it's my mentor. Sir Aegis near raised me. You said there's no immediate threat surrounding Exaltyron right? Then the Queen's Guard will accompany you to the Forest. It's only a few days ride from the city anyway. We'll break Captain Eildred out and return to Exaltyron. We can then organize our intel and proceed."

Elizia nodded. "And then end this madness for good."

"And then end this madness for good," Azurus agreed, fingers curled around the pommel of his blade.