Pella, the Territories of Ilsylvania. Day 04.
Tyree awoke with her head pounding and every fiber of her being on fire. She tried to stand, but immediately pitched forward onto the ground. Her stomach ached like it had never known food before and every muscle in her body was crying out in pain.
The previous day came back to her. She’d downed her strongest two healing potions and spent most of the fighting going through her stamina potions to stay on her feet.
It had all caught up to her and she desperately needed to eat.
Tyree carefully peeled herself off the ground and looked around. She was in a tent with fifteen other soldiers. Many of them had blood-soaked bandages covering various parts of their bodies. None of them looked to be awake.
The tent was conveniently located beside the makeshift messhall. A bandaged Besk was sitting alone with a plate of food.
Tyree sat down across from him. “Should you be up and about?”
Besk looked up from his papers. “Captain Pearce? I should ask you the same question. No offense, but you look like you lost a fight with a mountain drake.”
“Tyree, please. You don’t look much better. Are you going to eat that?”
“It’s yours.” Besk slid his half-eaten plate of sausages and eggs Tyree’s way and she attacked it with ravenous fury.
“Slow down! It’s not the last plate of food in the village!”
Tyree begrudgingly slowed her pace. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”
“I can get another plate for you.” Besk raised a hand and a man in dark green leather armor with a mask showing only a slit with his eyes came by their table. Besk nodded to Tyree and the man nodded back before disappearing. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s been going back and forth for those of us who can’t walk.”
“How’s the knee doing?” Tyree asked, realizing she’d been rude not to check on Besk before intruding on him.
“Arrow cut halfway through the tendon above my knee. I tore it the rest of the way sometime in the fighting. A pair of Guardians looked at it and think they might be able to fix it. I hope so, it would be a miracle.”
Tendon tears were almost always permanently disabling. It wasn’t like bone or muscle, which could be set and healed with mana or a potion, there just wasn’t a way to reattach the tendon to whatever it had torn from. That the Guardians believed they knew a way made Tyree wonder what the world was like wherever the personalities behind the guardians had come from.
Tyree ate her second plate when the man in green returned with it. “And your company?”
“Lost a lot of good people. Not as many as we could have, given we saw most of the action. We are definitely going to have to come up with some better safety measures for those cannons.” Besk, sighed. “Might need some shielders attached to us. They're so damn rare, though.”
Tyree knew what Besk meant. Mana projection, especially in the form of a barrier spell of any real substance, was an incredibly difficult task. Slinging a spell at an opponent took far less effort.
“I'll see what I can do. I might have some pull to get you what you need. Your soldiers fought bravely.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Besk smiled, apparently set on abusing Tyree’s dislike of all the professionalism within the army.
Fed and now able to move, if somewhat slowly, Tyree stood and walked through the streets of Pella. Much of the repair was already under way, Guardians stood alongside Pella’s citizens doing the various tasks that went into reconstruction.
Tyree found the familiar general store that belonged to Logan. Rhoda was tending to the counter. After watching a few transactions, it was obvious she wasn’t taking any money from the customers coming up to her, but writing down what they had “bought” in a ledger beside her. Tyree waited patiently for her friend to finish with the last customer.
“Logan keeps very meticulous records. He’d kill me if I didn’t do the same,” Rhoda said as she finished writing down the last transaction. “It’s good to see you’re back on your feet.”
“I’m going back to the farmhouse. I was hoping I could borrow your horse.”
“Ginger’s in the stable down the road. I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to. I’m only going there to see if there’s anything left.”
Rhoda paused. “What do you mean?”
Tyree’s heart sank. Rhoda didn’t know. “The farmhouse was burned down. Aliyah, my daughters, Logan. They’re gone.”
“No.” Rhoda uttered. She looked like the wind had been knocked out of her. She moved to the door and turned the open sign to read closed. “I’ll… I’ll come with you.”
***
Much of the woods between Pella and Logan’s farmhouse had been burned to the ground. The air was thick with the scent of burnt wood and not much remained of the farmhouse, save the cobblestone foundation and brick walls that had survived the second floor’s cave-in.
Tyree pushed aside the rubble in what had been the living room. Not much of anything had survived the flames and deep down she was glad she hadn’t found any bodies. That might have pushed her over the edge.
Rhoda had circled around back and came in through the kitchen.
“They torched the stables with the horses still inside. What kind of monsters could do something like that?” Rhoda bent down beside Tyree, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We should get going. If you need a place to stay, my home is your home.”
“Thank you, Rhoda. I’ll take you up on that.”
Rhoda leaned past Tyree and slid some dirt and ash aside. She bent down and picked up a small knife. It was one of Lynn’s. She brushed it off and handed it to Tyree.
Tyree flipped it in her fingers, then reached into her bag and pulled out one of the shadow iron rocks Halzy had given her. She tossed it to Rhoda. “The only reason I’m even alive is because Lynn and Alyx got into some mischief trying to get that. I was going to have swords made from the metal forged for Alyx and Lynn.”
“I’d have made a set of daggers for Lynn instead of a sword. You know that girl was going to become a rogue.” Rhoda tossed the stone back to Tyree.
“Aliyah was convinced they would both become sorcerers like she and their father.” Tyree slipped the stone back into her bag, but noticed something she’d forgotten was in there. A small package wrapped in brown paper tied off with twine. The package Regis had asked her to deliver to Logan.
She took it out of her bag and turned it over in her hands. She wasn’t sure if it was right to open it; it was Logan’s. But Logan was gone now.
“What’s that?” Rhoda asked.
“A book I was supposed to give to Logan. I was just wondering if it would be right to open it.” Tyree answered.
Rhoda shrugged. “If someone else had Logan’s book, I doubt it’s anything personal like a diary. It’s the only thing we’ve got left of him. I’d say Logan would want you to open it.”
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Tyree took Lynn’s knife to the twine and pulled the paper packaging away. The book cover was smooth leather. The only marking was an oval with a circle inside with a single one on one side of the length and two parallel lines on the opposite side.
She opened the book to a random page in the middle. It read more like a journal entry than a book. The page was dated five hundred years ago by a man named Zal.
Reylynn has asked us to intervene in their war. Myself and my team are ready. We are only waiting for Aida to arrive with her key. We know this will likely be a one-way trip, but the barriers around Araedi must be re-established and Lohk apprehended.
Be ready to move on my word.
—Zal
A page later, the only words were a time and date with Zal’s signature. Tyree skipped another page and found an entry dated several days later by Aida. Presumably the same one referenced in the previous passage.
If anyone reads this, I’ve done it. I’ve reset the barriers around Araedi, but Lohk escaped. The cost was great, I am the lone survivor and I fear my leg is broken.
—Aida
The next three entries from Aida sent a chill down Tyree’s spine.
Something is wrong. Horribly wrong. The sky is all wrong. The early morning light has lasted for days now. The people around me have also started acting weird… I think it’s a sickness. Their skin has turned either very pale or dark grey. They’re erupting into fits of rage and attacking anyone they can get to.
Oh gods. They’re eating the dead. Just tearing flesh from bone with no regard for the person it came from. They’ve been chasing me for days now. I think I'm the only sane person left in the city. My leg has grown infected. I can’t keep ahead of them.
If this message makes it to any others outside Araedi: DO NOT ENTER THE CITY.
The book read like a collection of accounts from the serethi civil war, much like the book about the demon Azeban that Tyree read to her daughters. Though the writer had taken many more creative liberties to tell this story. Araedi had never been attacked by the monsters Tyree assumed were goblins. No one really knew where they came from beyond their arrival following the serethi civil war and she assumed this story placed their origins as spilling out of the city itself.
Rhoda tapped Tyree on the shoulder. “Well, what kind of book is it?”
“Some kind of storybook about the serethi civil war. It's definitely an interesting read. I wonder why Logan hid it from Aliyah and I. Alyx and Lynn would have loved it.” Tyree tilted the book towards Rhoda.
Rhoda read the passages and after a moment, looked up. “Wow, it is good. Let me borrow it when you finish it.”
“I will.” Tyree returned the book to her bag.
There was only one thing left to do. Tyree took out the three orange carnations Aliyah had planted as a signal those months ago to let her know she and her daughters were taking a different route to Pella. Rhoda knelt beside Tyree and placed her carnation.
“For Logan,” She said.
“For Aliyah, Lynn, and Alyx,” Tyree affirmed. “I think I’m ready to go back to Pella.”
***
When they made it back to Logan’s shop, Tyree assisted Rhoda in passing out goods to those who needed them. The task made the day pass quickly and allowed Tyree to keep her mind off of her family.
Though, that was in part accomplished by Logan’s book. The story nagged at her and she needed to know how it ended.
Still not technically released to return to duty, Tyree went back to Logan’s shop and helped Rhoda with distributing supplies to anyone who needed it.
When the day was over, Rhoda offered Tyree a room at her place. Rhoda quickly put together her guest room, though there wasn't much for her to put together.
The room was sparse, having only a bed, desk, and storage trunk at the foot of the bed. Rhoda wasn’t a keeper of things beyond the basics. Even so, the things that were in the room had a somewhat utilitarian comfort to them.
Tyree crawled into bed and pulled Logan’s book from her bag. She skipped to the last few pages to see what had become of Aida.
Tyree read the first entry on the last page in surprise. It was dated only a few weeks ago.
I examined the seals. The latest activity from Caer Siddi seems to have weakened them even further. I’m not sure what this means for the disappearance of Reylynn’s army and I’m not sure why she still hasn’t returned, but I believe we now have too little time to waste.
Those in possession of a key should bring it to Araedi. We need to figure out a way to bring the Guardians back. And I fear we must take up this war without Reylynn.
—Sorah
War? The Guardians were an army for war? The queen of the serethi was named Sorah and Tyree had heard about her coming to Araedi. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Did this mean Treyvon was right to be worried about the serethi?
If the attack on Pella was a prelude to this war, then Castera was hopelessly outmatched. Tyree had to get this book to Commander Leon.
Tyree read the final entry to see if it offered a timeline or any more information.
Sorah, my time grows short. As such, I am turning over the key as well as my copy of this log to my trusted neighbor and friend, Aliyah. She’ll be traveling to Pella to see Logan and will deliver it to him.
—Regis
Tyree dropped the book and it landed with a heavy thump. Logan and Regis were somehow involved in all of this. And they had tied Tyree and her family in it as well. They had murdered her family.
There was a knock at her door a moment later and Rhoda’s voice. “Tyree? Are you alright in there?”
Tyree quickly ran and picked up the book. Rhoda and Logan were long time friends, Tyree didn't feel comfortable sharing these revelations with her just yet. She had to get to the bottom of this rabbit hole first.
“Yes. I tripped trying to get into bed,” Tyree called back.
There was a hesitant silence, but Tyree heard Rhoda’s footsteps growing more distant after a beat.
Tyree waited a moment longer and went back to the book. The back and forth nature of the entries suggested a conversation between Sorah and Regis. How was that possible if they were supposedly hundreds of miles away from each other?
Under the light of one of her focus crystals, she saw it. The book had the telltale iridescence of an enchanted item.
Tyree had never heard of any enchantments that could let someone speak to another through a book, but that was the only explanation that made sense to her. This book was some sort of long range communication device.
She shoved the book back into her bag and let sleep claim her.
***
The next morning, Tyree returned to the fort and picked her way through the damaged administrative building. Soldiers roamed about clearing what was left of the damage and prepping for new walls and flooring to go in.
The receptionist's desk was tucked into an out of the way corner. Tyree walked up to it and wrapped lightly on the counter.
“Can I help you?” Asked the man, his tag naming him simply Fain.
“Captain Pearce, I'm looking for General Neemo’s office.”
Fain shook his head. “I'm sorry, but General Neemo passed away from his injuries last night. Colonel Verne is in charge.”
“I just saw him last night, he didn't look that bad.”
“He had apparently been using a spell of some sort to keep himself going. The medics said the two floors above his office came right on top of him. Crushed his entire left side.”
She remembered she had seen the mist-like mana wafting around Neemo when she'd found him. He'd known he was on borrowed time and he still pushed through to make sure Pella's army maintained her chain of command after he was gone at a time when it needed it most.
Tyree hadn’t known General Neemo all that well, but she knew he had been a good leader and a shoulder when she'd needed it. She shook her head. A shoulder even though he was dying.
“Can I see Colonel Verne, then? I found something that may have significant ramifications regarding what happened last night.”
“He's busy, but I'll let him know you're looking for him. Have a seat…” Fain paused, looking over the desk. There wasn't anywhere to sit. “Uh, one minute. Wait right here.”
Fain hadn't been gone a full minute before he returned. “The Colonel will see you. Down that hall, two doors on the right.”
Colonel Verne was taller and thinner than General Neemo had been. He still had a muscular build, but his height hid it somewhat unlike Neemo’s stout proportions.
He read the pages Tyree had opened for him quietly with a monocle held up to one eye. He went through several more pages before setting the book down and closing it.
“Where did you even get this? You understand what the implications of this are if it can be corroborated?”
“I do, but I cannot know for sure. That's why I am asking to return to Castera as soon as possible. I personally know two of the names mentioned in it aside from my…” Tyree trailed off.
“I heard, and I'm sorry for your losses, Captain.” Verne looked up from the document. “But this is too important to let you go alone, but I'm not sure I have anyone to spare.”
“Can I make a request?”
Verne nodded.
“Lieutenant Altus Besk and his 2nd Artillery Company. I fought alongside him and his soldiers. I don't think there's anyone else I'd want by my side.”
“His Company will be assigned to your 9th Battalion. I'll have the official papers drawn up. While his company escorts you to Castera, you will also be taking with you a copy of the instructions to enchant the shot we used last night. If the Serethi are so willing to break the treaty we've had for so long and last night was a part of that, Ilsylvania must make ready to defend itself.”
Tyree left Verne's office and found Besk in the medical wing.
“Bad news,” she said as she knocked on his door.
“Worse than my leg?” He asked, amusement in his words.
“Oh yeah, you and your company belong to me now. Welcome to the 9th Forward Strike Battalion.”