“You dare to intrude upon my tent unannounced and without permission?!” Ionna chided Nannade while the sergeant was covering her with the blanket drawn up.
Nannade was about to apologize and leave, but then decided against it. Instead she put her fists to her hips and broadened her stance before the two adults hiding behind the blanket like children hiding from the monster under their bed.
“The platoon will arrive soon.” She told the lieutenant, not even looking at the sergeant. “And I need to talk to you, Lieutenant Ionna, from woman to woman.” Nannade was hoping her words came across like she imagined them.
The sergeant got dressed and left the tent, while the women remained.
“This island is taken by a strong spirit running rampart, and it has an effect on all of us.” She told the lieutenant. “As this just demonstrated.”
“No demon has taken hold of me! I am a pure maiden of Our Lady Radiance!”
“Then I guess you were just warming the sergeant up like any commander would do for their subordinates?”
“This does not concern you, little child.”
“I was a priestess of fertility and helped bring several children into this world. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on!” She conveniently left out that her own knowledge of these things was barely more than a year old at this point.
Ionna was not giving up her defence. “It is honourable to grace the faith with young, strong followers!”
“I don’t question your faith, that is up to Her Paladin Andronicus. As the summoned specialist on spirits I do however question your judgement. You might think you’re doing this for your faith, but you are influenced by the spirit at work here!”
“Really? And you aren’t?! Don’t be so arrogant, I am sure plenty a demon has already taken you for their whore!”
Nannade had to swallow her rage. “Your priorities are messed up. Focus on your mission! Right now, the platoon is about to arrive and you should give your report. I will give my own personal report to professor Alivor, and it will include this here.”
“You shall do no such thing, witch!”
“I shall! Because It’s my responsibility to ensure this mission can make its way through this corrupted land successfully. And if that means gaining the support I need to separate you from the rest of the troop, then so be it!” With these words, Nannade left the tent and headed outside, down the road the platoon was expected to arrive on.
It wasn’t long before sundown when they did. Nannade wasted no time and took the professor aside to have a chat with him. She told him every detail; the weird plants, the behaviour of the people in the villages, the behaviour of the scouts and the lieutenant, her own experiences while meditating, even her weird dreams.
He showed much understanding and offered her his full support. “I’ll talk to Ser Andronicus this evening to discuss further strategies.”
As it turned out, Ionna’s report mentioned a concerning absence of any and all military structures. Some watchtowers on the mountain’s flanks were obviously crumbled, the roads were mostly in disrepair and unable to support large armies marching over them, and many other details that pointed towards an absence of military activity.
Nannade and Ionna were both present during the discussions in the command tent.
“Seeing as there seems to be no military presence anywhere in our path,” Ser Andronicus opened “I think it’s safe to assume that we will face a massive military resistance at Highwatch Keep. Which is why we must proceed with utmost care.”
He showed an old map of the island, probably based on twenty-year-old information, but still the newest they could find about this isolated island. “We will continue our trek to Highwatch Keep around the northern part of the mountains.” He showed the intended path, going along something marked as a tiny path. “And make our final assessment there. If we should be able to take the cult out with our numbers, we will. Otherwise, we’ll dig in and sent for reinforcements.”
The professor chimed in. “Let’s say if they do have their entire military concentrated there. Do you think anyone would have a chance?”
Ser Andronicus straightened up and put his fists to his hips. “The Ordo Militaris of Her Holy Radiance has the numbers to lay siege on all of Northbridge, if need be. We can handle that. The question is: are your forces willing to grant us the power to batter down their walls, or will we have to take care of that too?”
The professor nodded, although visibly worried. Nannade imagined he would like to see this be resolved covertly and with minimal losses either way. He made his own suggestion. “However, our specialist Nannade told me that it would be ideal to send a small and specialized team higher up into the mountains, looking for a shortcut and secret passage into Highwatch Keep.”
Ser Andronicus raised an eyebrow. “And who would this “small and specialized team” consist of?”
“I’d recommend Nannade herself and the lieutenant, they are both experienced in scouting and infiltration.”
Ionna spoke up with a bright red face. “No, absolutely not, I will not take that witch with me!”
The professor turned to the lieutenant. “To the contrary, she will take you with you.”
“WHAT?” Both Nannade and Ionna were surprised. She just wanted to get the lieutenant away from the men before they could start a mass orgy.
“She is the only one equipped and experienced in dealing with the spirits of this land and cults such as these. You will be under her guidance and command.”
Even the paladin spoke up about that. “I must ask you to not simply rearrange command structures without my approval, your spectability.” Nannade hadn’t heard the paladin use that honorific yet, but it showed his seriousness about the request.
“Ser Andronicus, you are a highly respected veteran and unbeatable in the field, but we are in enemy’s territory at a numerical disadvantage. Nannade here is from Sturreland and was trained to keep those forests safe. So I must ask you: have you ever heard of Sturreland being conquered? Defeated? Invaded successfully?”
Nannade saw what the professor was playing at. If Andronicus wanted to remain truthful, he had to say no to all of these. And so he did.
“I do not have exact numbers, but I think myself well informed enough to assume that all of Sturreland has about half as many inhabitants as Northbridge. Would you be willing to lay siege to Sturreland?”
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Again, Andronicus said no to that.
“And that’s why young Nannade, though still in training, but already inducted in the secrets of spiritual warfare, is best for this mission. Your lieutenant is the best at military scouting, but alone in the wild, clueless to what demons might roam there to defend the cult, she will not withstand.”
Both Andronicus and Ionna had to admit defeat. Nannade was given command over the specialist expedition. They were to forge ahead and leave messages with a special system the scouts used to relay information about the situation ahead.
Nannade was back outside, carrying her gear from the professor’s tent to Ionna’s, when she was confronted by the latter.
“Don’t you get any funny ideas about bossing me around!”
Nannade managed to stay calm. She knew how powerful these spirits could be. “I think you should be more humble towards the only one to ensure you don’t fall to insanity in the mountains. Because apparently, your whole church didn’t think it necessary to send a single medium along with you.”
“Why do you think we are some sort lusty maniacs just because we’re far into enemy territory?!”
Nannade walked over to the lieutenant’s camp bed and lifted the blanket to reveal a sticky wet spot. Ionna hung her head. “Who do you think you are to judge me and try to shame me like this?!”
“I am the only one standing between you and an impromptu fertility ritual involving the entire platoon, that’s who I think I am. Normally there would be many spirits – or what you call demons – on this island, competing with one another and keeping each other in check. But this land has been twisted, purged of balance, which is why we need to infiltrate the cult's base and destroy or disrupt whatever is doing this twisting before the rest of the platoon can even begin taking on their military.”
Ionna narrowed her eyes. “And you are sure that you’re thinking straight? What tells me lust hasn’t taken hold of you as well? Maybe you already had a wild toss with my men yourself.”
“This isn’t about lust, this is about fertility, and the next crolachan man around for miles is on the ship. So yes, right now I am above the influence, but so will you as soon as you detach yourself from the platoon. That’s why I'm doing that!” Nannade was playing her only bluff and did not have any plan what she would do if the woman’s mind still slipped when separated from the men.
Nannade went ahead and excused the two for the rest of the night. It was better for the two women to stay out of the sight of the men. The sergeant tried to enter her tent again, but was quickly thrown out again.
Nannade thought about going to meet Olly. But it would be unfair towards Ionna. She was not a bad person, she just felt personally attacked very quickly, and this situation was not making things better for anyone.
“I am warning you.” Nannade told her. “I might have to equip you with wards as we travel closer to the source.”
“Do we have time to make them?”
“We’ll have to make time. As we travel closer to the source, cultists who wield spirits could easily take advantage of your predicament. I’ll have to prepare myself too, sooner or later.”
They managed to stay out of the men’s sight for the entire evening and got up earlier than anyone else the next morning. Ionna gave last orders to the scouts’ sergeant, spoke their prayer with them and then the two women made off with light gear. They headed straight for the pass in the mountains.
Across the landscape they cut, without any regard for route. Ionna was well trained and as long as they weren’t climbing, even faster than Nannade. They finally made it to the pass over the ridge they had been aiming for and saw before them a steep landscape full of rocks and small tufts of grass. The goats’ trail that led through the pass wounded and twisted between the rocks and boulders littering the ground.
During a short break or lunch to eat, Ionna spoke up.
“You know, Carl... sergeant Carellus and I have been somewhat close for a while, we didn’t just... engage in that act out of the blue. I just felt surer of it and engaged him.”
Nannade swallowed her bite. “You don’t have to justify yourself in front of me. I know how seductive the influence of spirits can be. In many regards, us mediums are more easily influenced by them, that’s why we must go through years of training to be able to converse with them freely. Even for me this is a crucible.” She stared into the distance. They were facing northwest. The ocean was just barely visible from here.
Ionna spoke up again. “Soon, icy winds will drive ice into the strait and make the waters hostile and dangerous. This could well be the last chance of the year we had to launch this mission.”
“Winter alone in the forest was always so cold.”
“Don’t you have it warm in your pelt?”
“Not that warm.” Nannade had to giggle. “Although I’d like to have a thick, bushy fur like the dogs sometimes.”
Now Ionna had to giggle too. “My brother’s always been the tougher of us two, but when the opportunity came to serve in the headquarters instead of out in the field, he jumped to it. I have to admit, these days he complains more about his job, too much paperwork, he says. I’m glad I stayed in the field.”
“What drove you to become a soldier in the first place? Not a very womanly vocation.”
“I don’t know. My brother always said he’d join the Order and I didn’t want to leave him alone there, so I signed up, I had to play mother and father to him often enough, it came natural to me. They tried to push me into the infirmary or some other “womanly vocation” but I stuck with the scouts.” Her face turned nostalgic. “We always lived far out in the countryside. We learned to hunt with bow and trap early on.”
They sat for a few more moments like this, then Nannade got back up.
“Let’s keep going up the mountain. We won’t arrive at the castle if we make long breaks.”
As they continued on, the landscape made it harder and harder to cut across and they had to stick to the trail. By late afternoon, they had entered somewhat of a gulch between boulders, during the thawing season, this would most likely be a brook.
They eventually arrived at the end of the path; an old, crumbled watchtower above a steep, long cliff. No way led down but the one they came. They’d have to walk a far way down until they would be able to look for another path.
“This doesn’t make sense!” Ionna said.
“I don’t like it either, but we must find another path. I could probably climb down here but I’m not so sure about you.”
“No, I mean it doesn’t make sense that this tower is a ruin and unguarded.”
Nannade tilted her head. “Huh?”
Ionna walked over to the few remaining stones of the wall and sat down. “Just think about it. We have not seen a single military installation. No toll posts, no garrisons, no towers. Nothing.” She swung her arm across the vista of the landscape. “This is a perfect spot to guard this area. We came across several towns. What were they using all that grain for if not for a huge, standing army?”
Nannade pondered on that for a while. “I guess you’re right. I was so fixated on figuring out the curse of this strange land that I didn’t pay attention to the military aspects.”
“I am wondering were such a huge army could be hiding.”
“Maybe they’re not hiding at all. These are cultists, they must appease their god with something. Human sacrifice could be what they use the men for, to keep the women alive as birthing slaves.”
Ionna’s face showed disgust. “I can’t believe I furthered this demon’s bidding with my love. Now that I’m up here, away from it all, my head is so much clearer. What have I done?”
“Stop beating yourself up over it.” Nannade walked over to the circle of crumbled wall that was left of the tower and looked over the countryside. The sun had already turned golden just above the horizon. “I think we should make camp here. We won’t make it anywhere better in time.”
Ionna nodded.
They looked at the sunset for a little while longer before putting up their tent and settling in for the night.