Daniel felt the cool water on his fingers as he pressed them into the stream. The water skin he held in them began to fill, and he looked to the forest's canopy above him. It had been several weeks of movement in the concealment of the Rukui forest to the Northeast of Vul De Rah. Avria had suggested that they travel as long as possible using the forest for safety and slowly make their way to one of the Northern Hego’s territories. It was a sound plan, and Daniel found it appropriate for their situation. The fall of Vul De Rah and the death of both its Hego and his heir had shaken all of Lokkon. It had shaken everyone. Daniel turned his head over his right shoulder to see Avria leaning against a tree, adjusting herself to find a comfortable spot. He sighed. Avria had been extremely isolated since the incident and had barely spoken to him about anything but their mission. He knew she was hurting inside. She had watched her Hego get decapitated by his son, the man she loved.

“Avria,” Daniel said, tossing the water skin to her. The ward deftly caught it in her hand and nodded thanks to him.

Daniel filled his own and stood to return to their small camp. They still had no supplies and had been surviving on wild animals and the many riverways and streams that spread throughout Lokkadonia. He sat down with a huff across from Avria. He drank water and ran his fingers through his hair to clear the tangles and grime.

“Avria.” He said, getting the woman’s attention. “We’ve been moving for three weeks through this forest. We passed several towns that would have definitely given us supplies and shelter. We are not being followed by anyone. Alektor has a lot of other things to worry about than the two of us.”

She shook her head and put the cork into the mouthpiece of her water-skin. “We can’t stop. The moment we do, we will be recognized.” She glared at him. “Especially you.”

Daniel shrugged. “We can’t stay in the forest forever. While we’re concealed here, our progress is slow. Before we know it, the Rexunii will be marching troops right past us. Then, we’re really screwed.”

Avria nodded her head solemnly. “You’re probably right.” her eyes glistened, but she blinked it away. “I… I haven’t been thinking properly. These last few weeks have been… well, I’m sure you know.”

“Listen to me.” Daniel leaned forward. “I know it hurts. I’ve been there myself, but we need you to be in top form. You are a force of nature when you’re focused and determined. Lokkon needs that ferocity now. We need to rally support, build something to fight these assholes that killed your people.”

“Our…” Avria said stiffly.

“Huh?” Daniel leaned back.

“Our people.” She continued. “You are a Lieutenant of clan Ignos and clearly have a good head on your shoulders.” She sighed and leaned her head against the tree behind her. “All this time we spent in Vul De Rah, I never thought it would be you, to snap me out of such an embarrassing state. I had never opened myself up until him. Oros was my rival for so many years… so when he opened up to me, I accepted it… knowing I was vulnerable to something like this. To watch him… kill Agron… his own father.” She blinked away more tears. “My father always taught me to be guarded against such things. Emotion clouds your judgment, makes you act rashly. I don’t know what to do. I never thought much about how I would react if something like this happened.”

“Avria.” Daniel took in a deep breath. “Oros is gone, and I understand what you’re going through. So, let’s do what we can to avenge him. And he ‘will’ be avenged. That, I can promise you. He was my friend and mentor, and I am going to kill that son of a bitch, Robert, for what he did.”

“One of your own?” Avria asked, her face turning dark.

Daniel did not reply, he only stood and held his hand out to her. Avria didn’t hesitate to clasp it and pull herself up.

“Let's go then.” She said,

The two worked their way North from their position, following the stream. Daniel trailed the ward several paces behind her, ensuring there was enough dispersion between them in case of an attack. An old habit from his time in the Marines. Avria told him that there would be another village called Vul Dema on the way. This one was a bit larger than the last few they had passed and closer to the Eastern Hego’s territory. There would be warriors there as well.

Avria raised her hand to halt them as they crested the final hill. Below was a large village that was halfway surrounded by the forest. It was an excellent position for concealment but left it vulnerable to enemy troops who attacked from the forest. They made their way around the Western side of the ten-foot-high earth wall surrounding it and approached the large gate.

“Halt!” A crimson-clad guard shouted from the guard post before them. “State your business!”

Avria strode up, and waved her hand to them. “I am Avria of house Regios! Ward to the Hego, Agron. I command you let me speak to your captain!”

There were several moments of silence as more guards came out to see what the commotion was.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” One shouted.

“Captain Merith will know me.” She said confidently. “Now go get him. We are short on time.”

There were more precious seconds of silence as they deliberated. “Who’s that?” Another asked, referring to Daniel.

“This is Lieutenant Daniel. One of the Spirit-Sent.” She responded.

There were several gasps from the growing number of warriors, and several darted back into the fortifications to retrieve their commander.

~

“Unbelievable.” Captain Merith said, slumping in his chair. “So the stories were true… Vul De Rah has fallen.”

“You were right to seal the village,” Avria said, sipping hot tea from a bowl. “But Vul Dema will not be safe from a full force of Dae warriors.”

“Well, what can we do, my Lady? We have only fifty warriors or so here. We cannot defend against such numbers. And these are not the elite warriors you are used to in Vul De Rah, trust me.” Merith shrugged. “After so long without incidents of note, they have gotten a bit, lax.”

“Well, things have changed. How many people are here in the village?” Avria asked.

“Four-hundred and ninety-three.” A smooth voice said from behind them. Avria and Daniel turned to see a tall Dae with light grey skin standing in the doorway behind them. He wore a long grey robe with silver embroidery etched around the hem and cuffs. “Lady Avria.” He said, bowing his head slightly.

“Lord Atun.” She said, standing to greet him. “It is good to finally meet you.”

“And you as well.” His eyes shot to Daniel, who was still sitting. “My condolences for the loss of your Mate, the Kryo, and our honorable Hego. I wish we could have been introduced under better circumstances.”

Avria clenched her jaw but nodded and sat back down. “We need to start thinking about either building the defenses of this village, or traveling to one of the larger and better-defended cities. How many Doulos do you have here?”

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Atun shook his head. “I’m not sure my Lady, perhaps one hundred and fifty. We don’t pay them much attention. They mostly work west of the wall in our fields, or in the forest to the East for hunting and gathering herbs. Why do you ask?”

“They are what Alektor is after.” She said. “He is set on freeing them, so if you have them here, they will turn on you when he comes. We can’t rely on their labor anymore.”

Atun was shocked. “Doulos? Rising up against us? Ridiculous, they would never do such a thing. Even if they did, we couldn’t just let them all go; they would give away our position to any of the Rexunii scum who picked them up.”

Avria’s eyes met with Daniels, and he shook his head. “We are going to let them go. Last thing you want is for them to find a mass grave of a hundred and fifty Doulos here, not to mention, it’s disgusting. The people of Lokkadonia are going to pay for their crimes against Alektor’s people. It might be seen as a gesture of good faith to let them go.”

“Good faith?” Atun chuckled. “He slew our Hego and Kryo, sacked our city and you expect us to just let his people go free? These are Doulos we’re talking about here.”

“They’re innocent people.” Daniel hissed. “I’ve seen Alektor’s power first hand. He could come to this village, and burn you all to a crisp with a wave of his fingers. This man killed Oros, and swept the two of us aside like we were nothing. It does no one here any favors if we kill the Doulos.” He leaned closer to Atun, but looked at Avria. “Either way, we have to move. My suggestion is to find a way to one of the larger cities. We go east, if we can. If not, then we go deeper into the forest. Set up a concealed settlement, someplace safer for your people. If the Doulos do end up telling the Rexunii about this place, we won’t be here to see them if they come knocking.”

Avria nodded, in deep thought.

“Leave our village? Become homeless vagrants in the forest? Or refugees to Hego Jiro? I think not.” Atun sputtered, looking to Captain Merith. “We must build our defenses Captain.”

“No.” Avria said. “Daniel is right. We will send several scouts North East to check the route to Hego Jiro’s territory. If the path is clear, we will march to Vul De Toh, their capital and take refuge there.” She looked to Atun. “Ensure that your people are aware of the situation. They must be ready to move.” She turned to Daniel. “You want to free the Doulos? Let them run back to their masters? Fine, but know that you will take responsibility for their actions.”

“I do.” Daniel said. “I take it gladly. I need to speak with them though. From what Rin told me, the Doulos believe that the Spirit-Sent were brought here to free them. So let me do that.”

“Very well.” Avria nodded. “But not now; we need to send our scouts first. I don’t want anything getting out just yet. Once we know where we can go, then we release them. Now, Atun. Kindly point me in the direction of your nearest bath.”

~

Daniel found his way to one of the bathhouses in Lord Atun’s estate. The structure was far more luxurious than the rest of the village, and stuck out like a sore thumb. The man must have decided that if he was going to be stuck in a small village at the edge of Ignos territory, then he would do it in style. Removing his clothes, Daniel waded into the warm water and sank in with a contented sigh. That’s more like it, he thought. There were bottles of soaps and fragrant perfumes stacked on the side on shelves. Daniel picked some up and sniffed. He shuddered at some of them, a few were extremely strong. I don’t smell ‘that’ bad, holy shit.

There was a creek from the stone door to the bathhouse, and Avria walked in, looking clean and refreshed. She wore a luxurious looking crimson cloak, and fine leather clothes. “Daniel.” She said, striding to his bath.

Daniel sank deeper into the water and tried to look as normal as possible. “What's up?”

“Here are your new clothes.” She said, tossing a clean pile down. “They don’t have any Lieutenant cloaks, so your old one will have to do. They also seem to have a lack of armor. Damn backwater villages. Anyway, hurry up and get dressed. We need to go over our battle plan.”

“I'll be there in a minute. I literally just got in here.” He said, inspecting more soaps.

“Well, you don’t have time to sit and soak all day. We have work to do.” She said, her voice sounding frustrated.

“Did you even bathe?” He asked. “You left like a minute before I did, but you had time to clean yourself, get a new uniform, find one for me, then bring it here.”

“It’s called efficient time management, I didn’t sit here smelling soaps for the one I liked most, now hurry up.” She turned on her heels and strode out.

“Good lord…” He sighed, finally picking a soap he liked.

~

Daniel made his way through the halls of the estate, finally entering a small gathering chamber. Avria was sitting on the center chair. Which was fitting, as she had taken command of the small village. Around her were, Captain Merith, Lord Atun, and several civilian Dae, as well as a few Lieutenants. Daniel walked around the group to sit in front of Avria.

“Excellent.” She said, leaning back in her chair. “Captain, have you chosen your scouts?”

Merith stood and brushed his cloak. “My lady, it is difficult to muster enthusiasm from these warriors. They are still deciding amongst themselves.”

“Deciding?” She asked, her face turning into a scowl. “These whelps think that they have a choice in this?”

The captain opened his mouth to speak, but Avria cut him off with a gesture of her hand. “They are not to blame in this instance captain. Warriors emulate the habits of their officers; in this case, you and your lieutenants. If you cannot instill the proper discipline, I’m sure Daniel will be able to do so.” She looked over to him and took in a deep breath. “Daniel, as the senior member of Ignos clan present, and seeing as how we are now in a theater of war. I am granting you the rank of Captain. Also, as you hold the title of royal squire, you are the senior officer present. Do you accept this responsibility?”

“A Spirit-Sent? Being in charge of our warriors?” Atun said, his tone one of pure disdain. “My Lady, I do not think that-”

“I accept.” Daniel said confidently. “I’ll whip em into shape.”

Avria nodded, and turned back to the focus on the group. “Captain Daniel will assign several scouts to see the extent of our enemy's movements. If the route is blocked, we will abandon the village to find a more secure location deeper in the forest.”

Atun grumbled under his breath, but said nothing to object.

“What if we are attacked?” One of the civilians asked.

Avria looked at the man and nodded. “We are in no position to fight off a group of elite warriors from the Rexunii. They will cut down our own warriors with little effort, leaving the villages defense mainly resting on my shoulders, and that of Captain Daniel’s. We must pray to the spirits that we are not put in that position.”

The group continued to speak back and forth. As they did, Daniel pondered the situation. They were isolated from their other forces most likely. If the Rexunii knew what they were doing, they would have sent mounted raiding parties, to halt any movement on the main roads. A fast moving element to prevent the more fortified positions in the North from being bolstered by fleeing Lokkadonians. Alektor was surely a man of tactical prowess; he must have seen this. The village needed to find a way to build a defense that could hold up against powerful warriors. There were just under five hundred villagers, only fifty or so warriors, all of which seemed below average. And a hundred and fifty Doulos. A shitty situation, he thought. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a long tube resting against the far wall. It was made of metal. He followed it down, and saw that it was actually a broom. The odd shape of the tube gave Daniel a crazy idea, and he stood abruptly. The room was washed over in silence, and they all looked at him in bewilderment.

“Daniel, what is it?” Avria asked, recognizing that he was in deep thought.

“Avria…” He said slowly. “This might sound crazy, but I think I know how to increase our ranks.” Walking across the room, he picked up the broom, and shouldered it like a rifle. “Do you have Dae-Voh who are skilled at craftsmanship? Could they produce tubes like this? If I drew out a design?” He was staring at Atun, who looked completely surprised.

“I… um…” He shrugged.

“Yes, of course we do.” The same Dae civilian from earlier spoke. “We have a whole family of Dae-Voh craftsmen who can do that.”

Daniel’s face was painted with a grin as he looked at the broom.

“Daniel.” Avria said, adjusting herself in the chair. “What are you thinking? You look like you’ve figured something out that might help us a great deal.”

“Guns.” Daniel said confidently, but no one in the room reacted.

“Guns?” Atun asked, his mouth struggling to pronounce the word.

“Yes.” Daniel looked at Avria. “Do you remember the vision you saw in my head? In the desert?”

Avria’s eyes darkened, and she nodded slowly.

“The weapons we used, those black tubes. Those were guns, the weapons of my people.” He said, moving next to her. “I don’t know if your world follows the same laws of physics or combustion that mine did, but the concept remains the same. Firing projectiles out of a barrel at an extremely high speed and velocity. We could hold a position, and even the weakest villager could use one. It’s the ultimate equalizer when facing warriors who will gut you if they get in your face.”

Avria pondered for nearly half a minute. The room was silent, and many of the Dae present, seemed confused. “Could you make them?” she asked, looking at him.

Daniel smiled. “I spent the best parts of my adult life dealing with the things. I know how. We might need to get creative with some of the components, but yes. Our biggest problem will be figuring out what to do for ammunition. I can design a crude rifle, if your craftsmen can make it.

“Then do it.” She said. “If it will help us, then we will use it.”

“Demon weapons?” Atun asked, his face twisted.

“Human.” Avria corrected. “Human weapons.”