As Kara and Ava recite their tenants, the storm is still raging at dawn. Persi uses another elixir to heat the stone to prepare some food. When Persi's alarm sounds, Kara is about to announce they will wait out the storm here. Kara grabs Misery and steps out. Just as her head comes out of the shelter, a crossbow bolt passes next to her face so close it brushes the hair on her left side. She sees several rough-looking individuals standing in an arc around the wagon. Aran and Ava follow her. Persi looks out through the slits between the canvas.
One of the bandit’s comments, “Three pretties to have some fun with, make it easy, and you might live to see the slave market. I don’t care if you’re alive or dead when I have my fun.” Kara starts to reply when Ava speaks, “All of you can run now, and we’ll probably only catch a few of you.” Astonished, Kara looks at Ava.
The bandits start laughing. Kara says, “Don’t kill them unless you have no choice.” Another bandit says, “I don’t think you feel the gravity of your situation.” Kara grins, “Gravity, let me show you the gravity of the situation.” she casts Pulse Wave at three of them; all three are snatched off their feet and pulled toward her; all three land face first in the mud, with limbs twisted in wrong directions, bones sticking out of their skin. They don’t move. Kara looks in Ava and Aran’s direction and shrugs, “Sorry, I thought they would be tougher. I’ll watch, scream if you need anything.” She turns to climb up on the wagon as another crossbow bolt is fired at the back of her head. She twitches her head at the last moment, and it passes harmlessly.
The bandit with the crossbow yells, “Don’t turn your back on us bitch.” Ava charges the one who commented on “having fun.” she decides to try her new powers for the first time and sends two forms of power into her maul. She asks The Dawn Bringer and The Storm Bringer for power. The sides of the maul light up with the symbol of The Dawn Bringer, with a Divine Smite. She asks the Storm Bringer for a Thunderous Smite. It begins to rumble with a low, thunderous sound. As she comes in close enough for a swing, there is a flash of steel from the bandit leader as he swings with a scimitar and catches her across the midsection, drawing blood but not striking deep enough to stop Ava’s swing, which catches the leader center mass, in the chest. The shock wave can be visibly seen in the rain and mud as it hits and expands in a circle around him nearly twenty feet. His ribs compress and shatter as his body rapidly accelerates in the opposite direction it was moving a moment ago. Even Kara makes a face at the sight.
Ava wipes some blood from her abdomen, looks at the one with the crossbow, and lets out an incoherent scream as the crossbowman starts trying to reload. He never sees the mace coming as Aran leaps into the air, spinning for momentum, and cracks him squarely across the base of the skull. Aran lands, ready for a second attack as two more come running out of the downpour at him. Instead of bringing the mace around for one of them, he plants the shield and focuses on a surge in front of the shield. There is a pulse of force, and then everything, including rain, mud, and the bandits, becomes projectiles moving away from Aran. Whatever they were wearing as armor shatters, and their weapons go flying. They skip across the ground, stopping some thirty feet away.
On the other side of the wagon, six bandits come charging with war cries as Persi completes his spell. He uncorks an empty elixir, and a Wall of Wind comes up in front of them, lifting all six off the ground like ragdolls and flinging them around. All six land in crumpled heaps over thirty feet away. Two more run off into the downpour. Kara says three words: the first word is in celestial, “Chomasuke”; the second in infernal, “Fearless,” Chomasuke and Fearless appear; the third word, she says in common, “Hunt.”
The marrowfang stalker and the nightmare tear the ground as they take off into the downpour. A few seconds later, screams can be heard from not far away. Ava runs toward the bandit’s leader, still lying on the ground with her maul over her head. Her face is twisted in anger. She stops holding the maul over her head and screams at him. He lays there holding his hands up defensively. She screams again and brings the maul down, hitting the ground next to his head. Kara walks up next to her and lays a hand on her shoulder; she flinches, then comes to her senses and calms down, “I, I wanted to kill him…” Kara says, “But you didn’t.” She sends healing energy through her hand, and Ava’s wound closes.
Kara asks Ava, “Can he be redeemed?” Ava looks at her, confused, “I don’t know. How can I tell?” She thinks for a moment, “He wanted to rape all of us. He wanted to sell us as slaves. Anyone wanting to do that must have done it to others?” Kara says, “Ask him.” Ava straddles him, leaning down, grabs his collar, pulls him up to her face, and yells, “Have you done the things you said to others?” He smiles at her, his right arm moves, and then there is a hissing sound, and then a blood-covered marrowfang stalker maw steps out of the downpour, leaning over him opposite Ava. He drops the dagger into the mud. His face becomes a mask of terror as he stares into the teeth. Chomasuke snaps, and the bandit leader’s head vanishes. Ava drops his body into the mud and Chomasuke swallows.
Kara says, “Some are irredeemable. If he had lived, he would have done it to others.” Ava nods as Kara continues, “Don’t forget this feeling; never let it get easy. Deciding whether someone deserves a second chance should never come lightly, and never give them a chance to stab you while you’re deciding. Thankfully, she likes you.” Kara pats Chomasuke’s head. Chomasuke gives what could be considered a smile as she purrs. Aran is searching the crossbowman, who is clearly dead.
The other two he hit with the force push from the shield slowly try to crawl away as Fearless walks up through the downpour and stands over them. They freeze in terror as Fearless leans down to sniff them. The three Kara hit and the six Persi hit are all dead. Kara tells Aran and Ava to search the bodies for any papers and then drag them far enough away so as not to attract any scavengers to the camp. She walks over to the two, who are shaking in terror under Fearless’ gaze. She rubs his nose and thanks him. She tells Fearless and Chomasuke that they can leave, but neither vanishes. Instead, they walk off in opposite directions as if they want to patrol.
She looks down at the two bandits, then not so pleasantly searches each of them, throwing away anything that could be used as a weapon. Then she turns, bends down, grabs each ankle, and drags them back to the shelter. Under the wagon, she reaches into her bag of holding and pulls out two manacles, then chains each to the front axle. Both bandits try to speak; she holds up a hand and says, “If either of you says a single word before I say you can, I will turn you loose, then tell my marrowfang stalker and nightmare to hunt. Clear?” Both nods. Kara checks their wounds and decides they will survive.
She asks Persi, “Stay dry enough?” Persi says, “I would have come out if I thought it was necessary.” He reignites the rock. Kara’s clothes seem to wring themselves out as she shakes her hair so it’s no longer dripping wet. He asks, “What are we going to do with them?” Kara shrugs, “I don’t know yet; it depends on their answers. Best case, we keep them with us and turn them over to the authorities in Partways or Cragcall. Worse case, I send them to Raveneth from here. Both bandits sigh a little with relief at the last statement, and then Persi says, “I think she means execute you. Apparently, neither of you paid much attention to religious studies.” Their relief vanishes.
Aran and Ava return to the shelter about thirty minutes later. The rain seems to have washed off the blood and mud, but both are soaking wet and freezing. They huddle up next to the hot stone, shivering. Kara tosses each a blanket and says, “Strip, get them all off so they can dry, and you can warm up.” They look at each other, then at her and Persi, then at the two prisoners. Kara tells the prisoners, “Close your eyes; if I even think you’re peeking, I will remove them from your skulls. You don’t need eyes to confess.” Both slam their eyes closed so tight they are making faces. Kara says again to Aran and Ava, “We’re going to be living close for a while; get used to it. Your days of being modest and shy are gone.” Both do as ordered, doing their best to keep themselves covered with the blankets. Then they hang their clothes and settle back, trying not to look uncomfortable.
Kara tells the prisoners, “I will ask some questions now. When I point at you, you speak. Only answer the question I ask. Clear?” Both nod, but their eyes are still closed. She says, “You can open your eyes now. If, by some strange chance, you get free and try to run, the marrowfang stalker and the nightmare are still out there. They will hunt you, find you, and not make it quick. Your boss’s head is still digesting. Clear?” Both nod. “How many people have you murdered or enslaved?” She points left, and he says, “Not many, I swear.” She points right, and he says, “Fewer than him.” Motioning at his friend, his friend looks at him with a hurt look.
Kara says, “I already regret dragging either of you in here.” She moves over to the prisoners and undoes their manacles on one wrist each. She grabs their chains and drags them back outside. Aran, Ava, and Persi can hear the chains rattle against the wood. The wagon shakes a little. They hear Kara reiterate, “They will eat you if you try to get free. Clear?” She comes back soaked. Aran says, “Well, I guess you need to strip now.” Kara’s clothes again wring themselves out; she shakes her head, and then it seems she is dry. Ava says, “Not fair.” Persi looks at Kara with concern, “You’re just going to leave them out there? They could freeze.” Kara tells them, “Those two have done far worse to others. They will survive. They will just be miserable. If they had gotten their way with us, we would all be lying in the mud now, being raped or dead. I have no mercy for them beyond just killing them. Now show me what you found on the bodies.”
Aran and Ava pull some pouches out of their drying things and hand them over. Kara opens them and starts handing out papers to everyone. Ava says, “This is a receipt for payment for three women. With descriptions,” Persi says, “Same here, payment receipts for different people. With descriptions,” Aran crumples the ones he reads and tosses them down, and Ava picks them up, looks, and hands them to Kara. Kara reads them, and a look Ava has never seen crosses Kara’s face. She clenches her fists and then recites the tenants three times, each time a little calmer. Ava collects all the papers, looks them over to ensure none of the descriptions match Cubbie, and puts them back in a pouch.
No one says anything for over an hour. Outside, it continues to pour. Aran breaks the silence with a song. He starts to sing a lament to slaves. At first, Ava wants to stop him, but then she realizes the song is meant to be a song for slaves seeking freedom. Everyone sits quietly and listens to the song. At the song's end, Kara asks him, “You didn’t sign on with that trader, did you?” He shakes his head, then says, “No, I hid within that trader’s caravan to escape from my masters. From what I know about the Princess, and especially you. I know that you would have never allowed slaves to pass through Nexus.” No one says anything else for the rest of the day. The rain finally stops as night falls.
Kara goes outside to check the prisoners after the rain stops, then again during her watch. She also keeps an eye on Ava while she sleeps and strokes her hair when it seems like she is falling into a nightmare. She wakes Persi to take Ava’s watch; Persi doesn’t complain. Aran puts his clothes and armor back on before his watch. Ava and Kara repeat their dawn ritual the following day after Ava dresses. Ava is somewhat shocked, but not surprised, to see that Kara stripped the prisoners before she chained them outside. Both are unconscious and shivering but still alive. Chomasuke and Fearless return to the wagon after the sun rises.
The two prisoners wake up as Kara undoes a wrist on each. She doesn’t wait for either to stand as she drags both to the wagon's rear. She loops the manacles so they are chained together, ties a rope from the wagon to the chains, and tells both, “Please try to escape, for all that is holy, please try.” Aran sees that Kara is so angry that she is shaking when she tells the prisoners that. Then, she helps get everything ready for the day’s journey. The prisoners try to sit down once. She yells at them to stand until she says otherwise. Ava feels a little concerned for her. This is a side of Kara she has never even imagined. Once everything is ready, everyone mounts up. Kara guides Fearless to the back and tells the prisoners, “I’m going to ask you a question. Both of you will answer simultaneously when I drop my hand. Clear?” Both nod and she holds her hand up. “Are there any more of you?”. The one on the right says yes, and the one on the left says no. She growls out, “Where?”. The one on the right says, “The woods to the north, one day.” The one on the right head-butts the other, and Kara kicks the one on the right, knocking him down. He starts whining, “They will kill us.” Kara tells both, “You’re both dead already. You’re just too stupid to know it.”
Ava rides Chomasuke over and comes up as much as possible between Kara and the prisoners. Kara glares at her and guides Fearless away, riding in a large circle further to the wagon's rear. Aran and Persi watch with worried looks as Ava rides up next to her again and says to Kara, “I’m worried about you. I know I have no right to talk, but I’ve never seen you like this.” Kara continues to glare at her, “You read what was on those papers. These are the same type of animals that kept me in that prison, maybe worse. I won’t ask you to go with me and don’t try to stop me. I am going for this camp.”
Ava says, “You can probably stop me from following you. I know you can stop me, but I will follow you even if I drag myself. I’m not letting you go alone. If you didn’t return, I would never be able to face myself again.” Voices from behind her say, “Me too,” “Me three.” As Aran and Persi answer the overheard question.
Ava leads Chomasuke back over to the prisoners. The one Kara kicked is still on the ground. She hopes Chomasuke understands what she is about to do. The marrowfang stalker stands over the prone one, places a paw on his chest, and then leans her face close, growling and hissing. Ava looks at the one who answered the question about what he said concerning more of them, “You’re going to talk and tell us everything you know about your friends. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is whether you face trial in a civilized court or if you’re cat shit in the morning. Got it?”
The man starts crying, “There are maybe thirty others, depending on whether any hunting parties are out. They’re much better trained than we were. I’m so sorry…..” Chomasuke looks at him and growls; the growl is so low Ava can feel it in her bones. She asks, “Are there any slaves there?” he continues to cry, “Yes, I don’t know how many. It depends on whether they have had an auction.” Ava tells him, “You will explain every little detail you know about how each person there fights, where their guards will be, shift changes, you keep talking until one of us tells you to shut up.”
The one on the ground, under Chomasuke’s paw, yells at him, “SHUT…”That’s as far as he gets before the upper half of his torso disappears into her mouth. But Chomasuke doesn’t clamp down. The slaver wets himself and passes out. She releases that one and snaps at the one on his knees. He lets out a scream. Aran rides to Kara and asks, “Why is she doing that and not you?” Kara replies, “I think she knows I was about to kill both of them. It’s a good thing, too; we need those answers. She’s also trying to keep me from going to a place I may not be able to return from. It’s easy to fall. It’s very hard to get back up. I’ve fallen before.” Kara dismounts Fearless and asks him to stay nearby. Ava backs Chomasuke away and dismounts as Persi gets a piece of paper and a quill to write down the information. Aran dismounts next to Kara and follows her as she walks around to the front of the wagon.
As Kara reaches the front of the wagon, her vision darkens on the edges. Her upper body suddenly feels heavy. Aran sees her begin to sway from side to side and stumble. Aran grabs her and helps her sit down as Ava runs over, “What’s wrong?” Aran says, “Don’t know, she got a glassy-eyed look as she started walking, then swaying like she was drunk.” Kara looks at both and tries to smile as beads of sweat appear on her forehead, “I’ll be okay; I thought I put all that behind me a long time ago.” Aran and Ava sit down to either side of her, then Aran nudges her and jokingly says, “So, you’re not a goddess.” Kara says, “No, I’m just like everyone else, only I’ve made many more mistakes.”
About a hundred feet away, a ripple in the air moves away from the camp.
She looks at Ava, then Aran, “Thank you both again. I seem to be saying that a lot. I’m supposed to be the teacher here and the leader, yet the two of you keep teaching me things.” She puts an arm around each of them and pulls their heads down in a hug. She’s too strong to resist, so they don’t even try. They sit there and listen while Persi gets all the information. Kara takes the time to reflect on her past and how close she just came to crossing a line The Dawn Bringer may not have forgiven. She asks Ava, “How did you know Chomasuke wouldn’t kill him?” Ava shrugs, “I didn’t. I just hoped she understood.” Kara chuckles, “You’re hopeless.”
By the time Persi walks around to the front of the wagon, Kara has calmed down and is in prayer; she opens her eyes as Persi squats down in front of them. She asks, “Well, what’s the news.” Persi looks at the papers, “They have several guard posts, but they are all manned by one guard each, and it seems that they don’t care who mans the post, as long as there is a body there. Inside the perimeter is a different story. They have fighters, rangers, at least two arcane casters…” He pauses and looks Kara in the eyes, “They also have a warlock, a priest, and a Knight of Azura, who leads them…” He pauses again, then Kara says, “What don’t you want to say?” Persi clears his throat, “Kara, the prisoners they have are marked as pleasure slaves, men, women, and children.”
Aran and Ava each place a hand on Kara’s shoulders. They feel a tingling of power radiate through their arms. Kara doesn’t move for nearly a minute as she processes the information and then relaxes. Aran and Ava both feel the tension leaving her. She looks at all three, “One of you will have to lead this. I will act on emotion.” She looks at all three, one at a time. “Aran.” Aran goes wide-eyed, “I think you’re ready; of all of us, you have remained the most levelheaded. If you see me going off the rails, don’t hesitate to pull me back; don’t expect me to sit this out either. Persi, ask them another question. I need to know if they are using the Pain parasite or Wish on their prisoners.” Persi nods and walks to where the prisoners are. “Ava, remember what Valas said about me.” Kara tells Ava, “Seriously, follow Aran’s lead, and again if I go off the rails, he may need you to pull me back. Don’t either of you hold back anything in this. Let it loose. Don’t hesitate, but hold your most powerful attacks for when you really need them. Aran, the rest is yours.” Ava smiles, “I feel a storm coming.” Her eyes glow slightly.
Persi returns a minute later, nodding, “He doesn’t know if they have anymore, but they have used them. He said they would make a game of it, seeing who could scream the loudest.” Aran asks, “What is a Pain parasite? I know what Wish does.” Ava shakes her head, “Wish? I’ll explain Pain if you’ll explain Wish. Pain is the name of a fiendish parasite. It is silvery and looks like a scorpion but has many wiry tentacles. It usually enters through the mouth, nose, or ear but can use any opening in your body, including wounds.”
Kara looks at her, impressed, “It burrows to your brain stem, wrapping tentacles around your vocal cords and planting its stinger into your spine. Once it’s in, the slightest sensation will become the most horrible pain you’ve ever felt. Someone blowing on your arm will feel like your arm has been dipped in acid. It will not allow your body to go into shock to shunt the pain. The worst part is if it stays in you too long, it will lay eggs, then those eggs hatch, and the pain increases in magnitude. Then they eat you, keeping you alive during nearly the entire process.” She looks at Kara, “Did that cover everything.” Kara says, “I’m very impressed. All of that not in my journal?” Ava smiles, “I went to the library to look them up when I read about it in your journal. High Priestess Nirne recorded everything you told her about them.”
Ava looks at Aran, “Ok, you’re turn.” Aran takes a breath, emphasizing the weight of what he’s about to explain, “Wish is a drug. It looks like a clear crystal. Where I’m from, it was used both for recreation and to keep slaves under control. Normally, it is heated in a bowl or spoon, you get the picture, and the fumes are inhaled. It makes you forget, putting you in bliss where you have no thoughts and no worries; you’re just floating in the void. Once you use it, you will need it again and again. Sometimes, the people who use it forget things forever. Eventually, your body will forget how to breathe or make your heartbeat. If you swallow a pure crystal, odds are it will kill you if you’re lucky. If you survive, your mind is gone forever. Everything you know. I’ve heard that some retain a limited ability to speak. They can be retaught. Sometimes, Masters would use it on slaves so they could start with the blank slate.” Ava says, “What kind of monster would create something like that?” Kara looks at the ground, saying, “Me. I did. I brought it to this world many years ago. As Azura’s avatar.”
Everyone sits silent until Ava says, “Azura brought it here; you didn’t.” Kara shrugs, “The choices I made allowed her to do it.” Aran says, “It was on my world, and you didn’t bring it there.” Persi clears his throat to get everyone’s attention, “I’ve studied it. It is a very simple alchemical formula and very easy to make. It would have just been a matter of time, Kara. If Azura didn’t do it through you, she would have done it through one of her other followers. Now, I think enough has been said about that.”
Kara looks at everyone seriously, “Back to the matter of the slavers and Pain. I don’t care how big and bad you think you are, how tolerant you think you are to pain; if one of these gets inside you, it will put you on the ground, and the only thing you will do is scream in agony. You’ll scream until your vocal cords burst, then you will scream blood. They are fast, agile, about the size of my thumb, and immune to nearly every type of energy. However, a single hit with a weapon will kill them, and a light spell will instantly kill them. Hopefully, they won’t let any loose because the things don’t care who they go after, as long as it’s something that can feel pain. Azura breeds these things. She loves using them on victims so she can listen to them scream. If one gets inside you, the only way to get it out is with a Restoration spell or a Lay on Hands. No, you cannot use Lay on Hands on yourself, Ava. You’ll be too busy screaming.”
Aran kneels in front of everyone, “If we leave now, we should come upon the woods after dark. That should cover our approach. We’ll leave the wagon and horses at one location and the prisoners bound and gagged at another, just in case. If you don’t mind, I will knock them out.” Kara nods, “We’ll approach as quietly as possible,” He looks at Ava and Kara, “We’ll be relying on your sight. Persi will be virtually blind at night, and my sight isn’t as good as yours in the dark.” They both nod, “We’ll try to find any guards and take them out as silently as we can. If we do, we’ll move on and gather as much intelligence as possible before assaulting. When the dance starts, we try to stick together and fight as one, watching each other’s backs.” Kara adds, “If they have arcane casters, watch for offensive spells that can hit several of us simultaneously. Ava and I won’t worry about lightning; we can ignore it. I can also ignore fire, cold, radiant, and necrotic energy, so don’t worry about me. Aran says, “Okay, let’s move. It will be a hard ride today.” Persi and Aran fully bind and gag the prisoners, then toss them into the back of the wagon. Everyone mounts up, with Kara and Ava leading the way, riding side-by-side. Aran follows, watching the rear and keeping an eye on the prisoners.
They leave the road to head over the plains toward the woods where the slavers have set up camp. The wood line comes into view just as the sun sets. Aran calls for a halt and pulls the prisoners out of the wagon. They only struggle when he drags them across the rough ground. Kara releases one wrist from each and sets them back-to-back on opposite sides of a lone oak tree, then somewhat painfully manacles them back together, with their arms stretched behind them. Aran chuckles and says, “You know an awful lot about restraining people.” The sudden glare he gets in reply sits him back on his heels as he sees Ava looking at him with a “what the fuck” look, rapidly shaking her head in a motion that says in a universal language, “Shut up.” No one says anything else while they cover the prisoners with brush. Just before they place the last pieces of camouflage on them, Aran kneels in front of each, holds their chins with his left, then delivers a solid punch to their jaws, knocking them out, “I wasn’t sorry to do that, and I wouldn’t be disappointed to return here and find something making a meal of them.” Everyone mounts back up and travels perpendicular to the wood line for about a mile before abandoning the horses and wagon.
Ava and Kara remain mounted. Aran calls everyone over to Kara and Fearless, “I’ve been thinking. Kara, what happens when Fearless disappears?”. She smiles, realizing where he is going with this. “He steps into the ethereal.” Aran asks, “How many can he take to the ethereal with him?” Kara answers, “Three people or creatures if they are willing.” Aran smiles, “If you can take me with you, we can scout the guard posts. Persi can ride with Ava, then they can follow when we send a signal. I just don’t know what the signal will be.” Kara smiles, “I can communicate telepathically with Chomasuke. I’ll just tell her when it’s safe to follow.” Ava says, “Hey, you’ve been telling her to act like a lunatic, haven’t you?”. Kara looks innocently at Ava, “Me?”
Aran clears his throat to get their attention, and everyone gets serious again, “Kara and I will enter the ethereal; we’ll locate the guard or guards and try to take them out. If you hear dance start, come running. Otherwise, Kara will signal you when it’s clear, but be quiet in case we miss any guards. Then Kara and I will move on to the camp while you are coming and get as close as possible. There is a good chance they will have wards or some way to detect us. The best option is to get inside the camp and position ourselves to surprise them, and you get ready to charge in from outside. The worst option, they detect us, and all hells breaks loose. Either way, the fight is on. Persi, hang back as much as you can and support us. Sound good?” Kara says, “One more thing. If I go down and you can run, you run.” Everyone starts to protest, and she holds a hand up to silence them, “If we all get captured, that will do us no good. If one of us is free, that one can get help. That’s an order. Clear?” No one looks happy about it, but they nod in agreement.
Kara pulls Aran up onto Fearless behind her. Ava helps Persi get situated behind her on Chomasuke. Aran salutes Ava and Persi as Fearless steps into the ethereal with him and Kara. Everything in the ethereal looks like misty shadows of the natural world, sounds are strange and seem far away. Kara turns to him, saying, “Keep a close watch for the guards.” The sound of her voice seems faint, and her mouth moves to form the words, followed by the sound of her voice a fraction of a second later.” As they enter the woods, something large, very large, passes overhead. Kara says, “There are other things that live in the ethereal. They probably won’t bother us. Most things here fear nightmares, too.” Aran thinks, “If it isn’t afraid of Fearless, then we have bigger problems.”
About a half mile in, they come upon a man sitting under shelter, smoking a cigar. He seems to be utterly oblivious to them. The shelter is too small for Fearless to enter, so Kara dismounts and helps Aran down. She motions for them to stay within reach of Fearless. She guides Fearless to the entrance, then readies Misery and motions for Aran to do the same. She holds up three fingers and motions for a countdown. At zero, Kara and Aran step away from Fearless. The flat of the massive fullblade impacts the back of his head as the mace crunches into his face, pushing the cigar into the back of his throat. He is dead but continues to stand for a few seconds. Kara catches him and eases him to the ground. Then they stop and listen. Voices, music, and faint screams can be heard deeper in the woods, maybe another quarter mile. It sounds almost like a party. Kara remembers the guards throwing parties at the prison, using her and other prisoners as entertainment. She closes her eyes and silently recites the tenants. Aran sees the distress on her face and gives her a few seconds before laying a hand on her shoulder and motioning that they should move.
Kara sends Chomasuke the message, “One guard down, all is good so far. Follow”. Outside, Chomasuke silently stalks into the woods with Ava and Persi. Kara reaches up for Fearless, and he partially appears in the real world, long enough for Aran and Kara to touch him, and then they all disappear again. Kara guides them toward the sounds. Soon, they can see the firelight. Kara's worst fears come true when they come to the edge of the clearing where the camp is. Upon seeing the sight, Aran moves as if he is going to leap from Fearless, but Kara grabs his leg and motions for him to be still. She begins pointing around the camp.
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One caster is sitting at a small table with her spell book in front of her, studying it and smoking a pipe, blowing smokey animals with puffs, not caring about what is happening around her. Kara points at her and whispers to Aran, “You take her out. Try to keep her from casting.”
She points to another figure, a goliath in full plate, sitting and watching the festivities, with a big, nasty-looking fullblade leaning next to his seat. Seated next to him is a female goliath. This one is wearing robes and seems to be directing which slaver gets which slave, laughing as they beg for mercy.
Various tents, a few bonfires, and three slave pens are around the camp. One pen is for all males, another for all women, and the third for small children.
Most of the slavers are wearing little to nothing since they are in the process of raping slaves. Most of them also seem to be very drunk.
Kara whispers, “I’ll take the two goliaths. The female is a priestess, probably of Azura. The male is a paladin of Azura, see the symbol on his armor? I don’t see any other casters, but they may be any of them. Watch your back…. Show no mercy.” They wait until they see Chomasuke stalking up behind them. Persi slides off and pulls an elixir.
Aran feels Kara’s hand tighten on his leg; he braces for Fearless’ charge. Then suddenly, they move faster than he has ever moved. Fearless charges from ethereal, setting everything he passes on fire. The studying mage barely has time to look up as Aran leaps from Fearless, shield ready to absorb the impact of the ground and mace back for a full swing. The mace hits her, but not as solid as he would have liked, catching her on the shoulder and spinning her. Aran allows the shield to impact first, but then he slides a few feet and somehow manages to come back up on his feet. Seeing the slaver mage trying to recover, Aran moves to her so that the first, and hopefully last, thing she sees is the mace crushing her skull.
The two goliaths try to understand what they see as the nightmare appears, and a rider leaps from it. A second rider on it is charging straight for them. The male has no time to reach for his weapon as the two are on him before his body can respond to what his mind is processing. Flaming hooves slam into his mate, knocking her to the ground, and she screams. The rider is just a little, fucking, girl? He doesn’t understand the massive piece of steel coming around in an arc until it impacts with far more force than should be possible. Radiant energy surges through him, blistering his skin; at the same time, his armor crunches in from the fullblade’s impact, and then she hits a second time as she passes, with the same effect, as he finds himself flying. The girl’s eyes flare with blinding light as light radiates from her. She motions downward toward his mate, and as she does, a bolt of radiance strikes his mate, eliciting another scream from her.
Ava holds on tight as Chomasuke surges forward; that “Alive” feeling explodes inside her; she is covered in goosebumps, then suddenly she feels her heart race faster than possible as the world around her seems to slow as Persi’s Haste spell takes effect. Chomasuke leaps into the middle of several slavers that haven’t even begun to process the attack. Ava leaps from the cat and lands in a flanking position with Chomasuke. She brings her maul down, crushing a man’s skull, and then she spins it in an arc behind her, taking another head off with pure blunt force.
Seeing that Ava has crushed her original target, Chomasuke sinks her claws into the third slaver, drags him to the ground, and disembowels him with her tusks. Shaking what remains of his body around, spraying blood everywhere. Ava summons the power of the Girdle of Trials and transforms into a Storm Avatar for the first time. Lightning begins to arc off her, as power, unlike anything she has ever felt surges through her body. It feels like she can grasp lightning in her hands. She motions at a fourth slaver, and his body tenses, bending impossibly backward as a bolt arcs through him, burning his eyes out. He crumples to the ground with his skin smoking. She glances around and sees Aran and Kara fully involved. Aran sees Ava. Ava holds up four fingers, and Aran gives her an incredulous look. Chomasuke, seeing the four fingers Ava is holding up, snaps out at a fifth slaver. Her upper torso disappears as blood sprays from her lower body. Ava adds her thumb to her four fingers.
Kara turns Fearless as a column of fire and radiant power slams down on both of them. To protect Fearless, she absorbs all the radiant. It doesn’t bother her at all. As a matter of fact, it kind of tickles. She and Fearless completely ignore fire. Before the Flame Strike dissipates, she takes her angelic form; her wings appear on her back, fanning back the flames like fiery wings. Both goliaths stand; the male must be eight and a half feet tall, and the female must be seven or more. Even though Kara is barely five feet tall, the sight of a very pissed-off, flaming seraphin riding a nightmare, they can’t help but be somewhat intimidated.
Kara exhales a puff of smoke from her nose as the goliath paladin charges her screaming a war cry, black tendrils wrapping around his blade. Kara ducks the first swing, but he brings it around over his head and straight down at her; she manages to get Misery up enough to deflect some of it, but it leaves a gash in her shoulder, and the necrotic tendrils reach into the wound, trying to pull at her life force. Before she can react, he drags the blade across her leg for a third strike. Once again, the necrotic tendrils try to pull at her life force. The big male says in giant, “I look so forward to breaking you, you little cunt,” Kara has heard almost these exact words before from another goliath. They do nothing but enrage her; she looks him in the eye, and in perfect giant, she replies, “When I send you to Hell, you tell Azura Karael is back.” She points at him, and a beam of radiance hits him in the head. Fearless rears up and solidly strikes him with his hooves, leaving nasty burns on his face.
Aran uses the shield's weight to give himself momentum as he swings the mace, making a solid hit on the mage. He hears a very satisfying “oomph” from the mage with the impact. The mage mutters a strange word, becomes a shadow, and is gone before Aran can do anything else. She reappears thirty feet away and yells, “Not today, boy.” the mage hears a voice just over her shoulder, “I think it’s the boy’s day.” then Persi uncorks an elixir while whispering arcane words to it, a stream of acid sprays the mage, covering her and streaming across two more slavers. The mage avoids the acid’s full force, but it begins melting her hair and skin, causing her to start spinning around, trying to get it off. The other two are not as lucky. They scream in agony as the acid melts flesh and bone. Aran charges the mage while she’s still flailing. He jumps the last five feet of his charge and lands another solid hit on her, driving her face-first into the ground. Neither Aran nor Persi sees the other mage before he completes his spell, and razor-sharp shards of ice spray from his fingertips. Aran barely gets the shield around to deflect some of the shards away from Persi. Both are chilled to the bone and bleeding, Aran much more so than Persi. Through the haze of the freezing cold, they see a male inferi preparing to cast another spell at them.
Around Ava, slaves are screaming, and those who are not bound are running. Two of the slavers back away from her, hoping they are not her or the cat’s next target. They back into the pen with the women. Several arms reach out through the bars and pull the slavers tight against them; other arms reach through, wrapping around their throats or hands, grasping at anything that can be grabbed. The slaver’s eyes go wide as they realize their mistake. A blast of coherent light slams into Ava’s back, knocking her forward nearly ten feet as another blast hits Chomasuke, knocking her in the same direction. They both look to see where it came from, and they see a naked male elf looking at them with his palm extended. He tells Ava, “Oh my, you’re a pretty little pink one. Do us all a favor, tell the kitty to leave, then you lay down and spread those legs.” Ava covers her mouth with her hand mockingly, “What do you think you’re going to do with that tiny little thing? I’ve seen squirrels with bigger ones.” She laughs at him. His eyes glaze over in anger. The warlock didn’t realize two things when he blasted them: Ava was under the effect of a haste spell, and marrowfang stalkers are fast, very fast.
Suddenly, Ava is in his face with a look of rage that would worry a god, and Chomasuke sails over his head to land behind him. Ava comes in for one solid hit. She channels her divine power through the maul and casts Thunderous Smite. She sees the holy symbol of Galathor on the face of the maul and the holy symbol of Elirae appear on the side. The maul hits him dead center of his chest, the radiant power of gods pulses through him, and then a crack of thunder launches him straight into a waiting Chomasuke. Chomasuke snaps at the warlock, but he manages to duck under it. He rolls out of the way and back toward Ava, where Chomasuke claws at him.
Kara looks at the female goliath; she asks Veleris to take the female away and hold her for a short time; the female goliath feels a sudden pull. She tries to resist, but the pull is far too strong; suddenly, everything goes bright, and then she is simply floating in a white space, unable to move, as the Banish spell completes. Kara looks at the big male, “It’s just you and me now, boy; if you think you can handle it, come get some.” Another bolt of radiance strikes him, then Fearless spins and kicks with his hind legs, planting both hooves in the center of his chest. He sees stars as all the breath is forced out of his lungs. Having no other recourse and feeling death looming, he heals himself. Many of his wounds close as he feels new strength flow through him. Kara says, “Good, I was hoping you wouldn’t go limp too soon. I want to play some more. When I’m done with you, I’ll bring back your girlfriend and play with her, and I bet she begs for mercy before I end her. Then both of you can beg Azura.” She swings Misery around, laughing at him. She mockingly says, “Oh please, mistress Azura, it was Karael; we didn’t stand a chance.” She makes a pouty face and bats her eyes at him. Then he remembers, “There was someone named Karael many years ago; she was the Mistress’ Avatar, but she became a servant of Elirae and has sworn to end all followers of Azura, but it can’t be; she’s dead. Oh, SHIT!.”
Aran charges the other caster; he swings, but the mace hits against a magical shield. The caster grins at him and points a finger. Aran sees two tiny beads fly from his fingertip; at first, he thinks they missed, but then he feels the sting as both hit solidly in the back of his skull, and the world goes dark as Aran falls face down at the caster’s feet. The mage places a foot on Aran’s back and looks at Persi. Seeing Aran down and the mage’s foot on him, Persi yells something incoherent and runs to reach Aran, then pulls another elixir and releases it in the mage’s face. The jet of acid hits him full force; his skin melts from his skull as he tries to scream, but no sound comes out of his mouth as his throat has already dissolved. He falls backward. Persi kneels next to Aran and fumbles for another elixir. He finds the one he needs, rolls Aran over, and pours it into his mouth. Persi looks up, and for the first time, he prays, “Please, Galathor.” Aran coughs, and Persi feels him move.
Misery begins to glow, and the holy symbols of Elirae and Veleris appear on the blade. Kara screams as Fearless charges toward the goliath. The goliath winds up for a swing with his fullblade as the holy symbol of Azura etches itself in hellfire along the blade. Misery impacts hard against the goliath’s jaw. Kara’s body moves of its own accord, ducking low. The goliath’s blade passes over her, shaving off the ends of a few hairs. The goliath stands there momentarily, happy about striking down a legendary foe. Then the world around him fades, and he tumbles backward onto the ground with a thud. Fearless wastes no time in stomping him, ensuring he never gets back up.
Ava comes down with an overhead swing, hitting the warlock solidly in the shoulder. The warlock places a finger over Ava’s heart and says a word that reverberates through her: “Die.” black energy surges through her chest; she feels her rapidly beating heart suddenly stop as a sharp pain forces her to double over. Everything fades as she tumbles forward into the fetal position, holding her chest.
Ava read Kara’s journal entry about meeting Elirae. She said it was the most incredible experience of her life. Ava is floating in a cold blackness when a warm light suddenly flares to life surrounding her. She sees a woman with angelic wings. Ava says, “Kara, what are you doing… No, you’re not Kara.” Her eyes tear up, “Goddess.” She glows so brightly the light should burn her eyes out, but it doesn’t hurt. It feels… warm, exciting, life, hope, “Avallie, it’s nice to meet you finally. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and Karael speaks highly of you in each of her prayers. From now on, I will help guide you; all you need to do is release your body to me, allow me to protect you, and trust in me.” Elirae touches the maul, “Dawnbreaker will be your weapon of justice and redemption. Now wake up, Kara is calling.”
“Ava, Ava, AVA!” Ava’s eyes snap open, and Kara cradles her and has her head in her lap. Kara bends down and touches her forehead to Ava’s, “Gods, I thought I lost you. Don’t ever do that to me again.” Ava knows she should be in pain, but she feels great. She smiles at Kara, then sits up and looks around. Chomasuke is playing with something, “Eeww, is that the warlock’s head?” She stands, and Kara says, “Maybe you should,” She looks around. Fearless is running down slavers. A few former slaves have grabbed whatever they could find for weapons and are hacking the rest of the slavers. Aran has an arm over Persi’s shoulder as Persi helps him walk in their direction. Kara says, “If you’re up for it, we have one more thing to do. I banished the goliath’s mate. It’s nearly time for her to return. Follow me and grab that hammer of yours.” Ava corrects Kara, “Dawnbreaker.” Kara looks at her and says, “Then bring Dawnbreaker.” They walk to where Kara was fighting. The goliath paladin is lying on his back; his lower jaw is missing, and his chest is crushed in. Kara says, “No mercy for the irredeemable.” Ava repeats, “No mercy for the irredeemable.” There is a flare of light as the female goliath reappears, and Misery and Dawnbreaker collide with her skull before she can say a word.
Kara looks around and yells, “Former slaves, you are free. Come to us for healing if you are seriously injured. If it’s not serious, treat it, and we will help you as soon as possible!” Kara asks Ava to gather blankets and help anyone she can. Persi sits Aran down, then Persi goes to help Ava as people gather around Kara, staring at her in awe; she looks at herself and realizes she is still in her angelic form and surrounded by a radiant aura. It should have gone away about the time the Redeemer Avatar form faded. She allows herself to return to her normal form. The wings fade and blow away as sparkling particles.
Kara runs to a woman crawling toward her with a broken leg; she kneels, touches her forehead, and allows healing energy to flow from her hands; the leg snaps into place, and color returns to the woman’s face. Kara then checks on Aran; he says, “I’m fine, help them.” Kara touches his cheek, “That was an awesome plan, and you did incredibly.” Aran feels like she just poured all the healing she has into him. She walks around, checking the former slaves, healing some, and helping others with bandages. Ava and Persi do the same while handing out blankets and clothing. Kara and Persi heal until they can heal no more, then apply bandages and make slings.
Aran gathers his strength and then walks around with Fearless and Chomasuke, checking the bodies of the slavers; they find four of them still alive and pretending to be dead. They quickly bind them and drag them to a pen, where he follows Kara’s example. He strips them naked, if they aren’t already naked, and throws them in. He then returns to going through their tents and other belongings. They had three large wagons, eight draft horses, nearly twenty riding horses, and two war horses. He tries to approach the war horses; one wants nothing to do with him and threatens to kick and bite, and the other allows him to approach, so he rubs its nose. He gathers everything that is of any value and brings it all to where Kara is to sort later.
Aran watches Kara, Ava, and Persi for a little while. The former slaves are healed with all that can be offered tonight. Persi even identified all the potions and handed out every available healing potion. Kara is now telling everyone about her experiences when she was held in prison and used by Azura as a host. She must pause several times to deal with her inner demons. They listen to her and use her as an example to gather their strength. Aran listens and can’t comprehend living through something like that. He reflects on the things that happened to him. The abuse he suffered. For the first time, he feels like he’s not alone.
Kara assigns watches; this time, all four of them will take a shift, and Chomasuke and Fearless will take turns on watch with each of them. Everyone must stay as ready as possible and have weapons out while watching. Some former slaves, who were in better shape, volunteered to watch, too. Kara thanked them and explained that there was no need and that they should rest, but they still insisted, so she allowed it. In private, she tells Aran, Ava, and Persi to keep a close eye on those former slaves, too, just in case. She explains that she has seen prisoners turn to the side of the captors before. But the night passes quietly. The following day, they pile all the bodies in one place, along with everything burnable, then douse it with oil and set the pyre ablaze.
Kara stands so close to the fire it would kill a normal person. Her memories drift back to another pyre. She stands outside the Long Hall, looking at over fifty of her family’s bodies as the flames climb higher and higher. At the top of the pile lies Gaelan. She cries. Everyone she loved burns. This was the moment Azura stepped from the flames and promised her revenge. Promised to reunite her with her mothers. The moment,,, “KARA!” She snaps out of it and turns. Aran stares at her. He’s another twenty feet away, and it feels like his skin is cooking, “Kara, maybe you need to,” He motions toward himself. Kara sees the flames touching her, “Oh, sorry.” Some of the others are looking at, too. She walks past him. He can feel the heat coming off her. She feels like he’s standing next to a forge.
Aran is pleased, the war horse that took a liking to him last night, and allows him to ride it today. A proper mount for a warrior. He can even look eye to eye with Kara now instead of having to look up at her. They tie the slavers to the rear of the lead wagon and force them to walk while most of the former slaves ride in the wagons. Their first stop is the tree where the two original prisoners are still tied up. They join the string of the other four. Ava makes it a point to thank the two original ones in front of the four new ones for all the information about the camp and how to defeat them. The original two would be dead if the new prisoners could kill with a look. Kara and Ava once again offer all the healing they can muster to the former slaves. Kara asks Persi to hold onto what he has just in case. Then they get their wagon and riding horse. With the four wagons, all the former slaves who couldn’t ride a horse can now fit in the wagons.
Kara gathers everyone around, “I know this won’t be a popular decision, but I think it’s the best. First, all of you who were prisoners are now free after we get to Cragcall.” One says, “Partways is closer.” She shakes her head, “Partways has always been as shady and corrupt as Crossroads. If these slavers had contacts, if they had other associates, then they were in Partways. We need to bypass it and continue to Cragcall. I can provide food and water to everyone by the grace of The Dawn Bringer. We can also hunt for additional food on the way. Cragcall is the seat of The Temple of Veleris. They can deal with the slavers.” Someone says, “So we’re your prisoners now.” Kara shakes her head, “No, no, by no means. If one of their associates sees you in Partways, they will be alerted to us.” They begin to mumble between themselves. Kara says, “I will ensure you receive enough to restart your lives.” The mumbling dies down. One steps forward, “You saved us. We will trust you for now.” Kara takes his hand, “Thank you. That’s all I ask.”
At noon, Aran rides up next to Kara, still proud about his new mount, “Look, I know I got knocked out, but did you mean it? Was it a good plan?” Kara looks at him, “It was a great plan and best of all, we won. They didn’t even have any of those Pain parasites. You clobbered that first mage.” Aran looks down, “But I only got one of them, look at Ava. She got what, seven? With five on her first attack.” Kara laughs, “It’s not about the count of the foes you fell; it’s about these people,” She looks at the former slaves, “And technically, I only got one, too. Ava assisted me with the second.” Aran says, “Great, she got eight now.” Kara reaches over and pushes his shoulder.
Kara starts to move ahead of Aran when she suddenly stops, then slides off Fearless onto her knees. Aran quickly jumps down and runs over to her. She has her hands to her face, sobbing. Aran asks her, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong,” When Ava and Chomasuke approach quickly. Chomasuke lays on her belly facing her while Ava jumps off, asking Aran, “What’s wrong.” He says, “I don’t know, she just stopped, went to the ground, and started sobbing.” Aran is still kneeling next to her with an arm around her when she looks up and smiles, tears streaming down her face. “They’re alive; they made it. Nexus is in bad shape, but they made it.” She throws her arms around Aran and kisses his cheeks, and he swears he feels a bone break. Then she jumps to Ava with another hug, kissing her. Persi walks over from his wagon, “Sup?” then she grabs Persi in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground, “They made it. They’re alive.” she spins him around. All the former slaves look on in confusion, but the happiness seems to be catching, as most are smiling or cheering. They, of course, have no idea why their saviors seem very happy.
Kara holds her hand up, “I’ve got to respond.” Everyone gets quiet. “We made it too, Persival, Avallie and Aranark. We’re coming home. Take a while. Camiella sacrificed herself to save us. Where are you? Love you.” Kara starts crying again out of joy; Ava joins in next, and then Persi joins; it’s all Aran can do not to cry. Kara stops like she is listening,,, and then she breathes, not realizing she is holding her breath, “They are a week west of Mosshore. They have much rebuilding to do. Nexus can’t create portals anymore, so it’s the hard way for us. But they are alive.” She holds her hands up again for everyone to get quiet. Do any of you want me to relay anything? Everyone shakes their heads, and even a few former slaves shake their heads, too.
She clears her throat, “I have three new knights with me protecting me. I will see you soon; must cross the sea. Contact me soon. I love you, Babe.” Ava asks her, “Why didn’t you say anything about the baby?”. Kara turns very serious, “If anyone from Nexus contacts you, say nothing about me being pregnant. Clear?” Everyone nods, “If Sasha finds out, she will send everything she has for us, and then some, and right now, she needs to be focused on Nexus, not me, you, or anything else.” Aran smiles, Kara says “What?”, Aran replies, “I’m a Knight.” Kara punches him in the shoulder, “You’re not a Knight until I proclaim you a Knight in the courtyard of Nexus.” Aran continues to smile, “I’m a Knight.” Ava pushes Kara’s shoulder and says, “You’ve created a monster.”
As the week passes, Kara spends a portion of each evening working with Aran and Ava on their training, having them spar with each other. She talks to the people, sometimes as a group, other times individually. She assigns Ava to watch the prisoners without explaining why. Ava feels as if she is being punished for that night, she fell asleep. She assigns Aran to watch over the people and make sure they are safe. She puts Persi in charge of their supplies and makes sure everyone is cared for. Inwardly, she knows that the more Aran and Ava train together, the better they will sync in a fight, just as she and Camiella always knew what the other was doing. Ava needs to learn to judge whether evil-doers can or should be redeemed. Aran needs to know he’s not alone, and Persi needs to learn to work with people again. Time permitting, she sings songs for the people. It turns out that some of them were minstrels before being captured by the slavers. She tries to get Ava to join her, but she turns red with embarrassment each time. Aran sings with her one night. He prefers slower-tempo songs that delve into storytelling.
Persi looks ahead of their little caravan and sees a bridge crossing a large river. He announces it to his companions. Everyone looks at Kara; this time, she looks at Ava and says, “Your call, what do we do?” Ava looks around at everyone and looks at the sky. It’s late afternoon. She says, “Let’s cross the river and camp for the night. I don’t think we can make Cragcall before night.” Kara says, “Good call.” Everyone mounts back up and rides on. Kara can’t help but grin until the muscles in her jaw hurt. Near the other side of the bridge is a small grove of trees. A caravan is already set up in a large clearing nearby. A group of riders mount up and ride out to meet them. They slow down and approach cautiously when they see the nightmare and the marrowfang stalker. Aran rides out to greet them, “We’re hoping we can set up near you. Most of these people we freed from some slavers on the way here.”
The leader, a tall blonde half-orc woman, looks at Aran, “Slavers? That was why we were hired; several people have been reported missing on the road. Is that them I see tied to that wagon?” Aran nods, “Yeah, what was left of them. The rest, well, their ending wasn’t so pleasant.” The leader of the others says, “Glad to hear it. By the way, I’m Caylee,” she motions to the other riders, “We are The Nameless Shields.” She introduces each of the other five members with her. Aran can’t take his eyes off Caylee and hears none of the names. When she finishes her introductions, Aran says, “Well, Caylee, I’m Aran, and our little band is The Wandering Mountain Trading Company. Over there on the nightmare is Kara. She would have ridden over but thought the nightmare might spook your mounts. Her nightmare is a very good friend of hers. His name is Fearless. Don’t worry, he’s redeemed and a follower of Elirae,,, I think. The one on the marrowfang stalker is Ava, and the marrowfang stalker’s name is Chomasuke. They’re a little crazy but don’t bite most of the time. The man with the reins on the lead wagon is Persi, and he’s the brain of the group. Nice to meet you.”
Caylee points to an area not far from their caravan, “You can have that area.” Aran says, “Thank you, we’ll stay out of your way. Most of these people have had a rough go and want some peace and quiet.” They each ride back to their respective groups. Aran rides up to Kara, “Is Fearless a follower of Elirae too?” Kara looks at him, slightly confused, “They are The Nameless Shields, and their leader’s name is Caylee. She’s the blonde half-orc. If you talk to them and they ask, Fearless is a follower of Elirae.” Fearless looks at Aran. Kara asks, “Is it okay for us to camp nearby.” Aran nods, “Oh, yeah, it’s fine. They were hired to guard that caravan because people had been reported missing along the road. They were pleased to hear we shut down those slavers.” Kara turns Fearless, so she’s beside Aran, “You should pay them a visit this evening and talk to Caylee.” She winks at him and pushes his shoulder with her fist. Aran blushes.
Aran yells out and points to the clearing near the caravan, “Over there, get set up for the night. Don’t gather firewood unless one of us is with you.” Kara thinks to herself and remembers the two kids screaming as they fell, then cheering when she opened her eyes after the ground helped them stop falling. Even Persival, Persi, who used to stay hidden in his lab all day and scurry away whenever someone focused their attention on him. She wishes her Camiella was here to see them. She can imagine Camiella chasing each of them around, chewing them out, and pushing them to do better. “That’s not my way; my way is to let them succeed or fail and learn with some advice and praise. That method used to drive Camiella up the wall.”
Before she realizes it, the camp has been set up while she sat on Fearless daydreaming. No one bothered her. Even Fearless remained motionless the entire time. Kara slides off Fearless and says in infernal, “Sorry, my friend. I know you always do, but stay close if we need you.” Fearless nods and fades into the ethereal. Ava comes walking back with a group of people, some with bundles of firewood tied to their backs and some carrying wood, including Ava. She continues around the camp, making sure to walk by everyone, look each person in the eye to reassure them, say hello, or talk if they want to talk. Then she gets to the prisoners; all are dirty and thirsty but far too afraid to ask for water. She stands there, with Misery on her shoulder, staring at them. The only thing she feels is a desire to bash their skulls in. Memories of what she witnessed while waiting for Ava and Persi to catch up so they could attack replay in her mind. Memories of what was done to her in the past replay in her mind. The creaking of the leather-wrapped around Misery’s handle snaps her out as her grip tightens. Ava is standing in front of her. Ava takes her hands and guides her to the ground, sitting in their morning meditation position. Then, Ava begins reciting the tenants, and Kara joins her as the second tenant begins. They repeat three times, with Ava stopping on the second and Kara finishing on the third.
Ava holds Kara’s hands, “I didn’t say anything before. She came to me. I died when that warlock hit me with that spell. Elirae welcomed me and told me you talk to her about me with every prayer. I had no fear of death at that moment. Now I understand what you said about giving myself over.” Ava pulls out Kara’s journal and hands it back to her. “I’ve read it through twice. I can’t imagine what your path to finding her was like. There is no way I could have survived that.” She pulls out another smaller book, opens it, and turns it so Kara can see the page. “I’ve started my own. Something I can reflect on and see my path, something hopefully others will learn from as I learned from you and your journal.” Kara looks down at the page. It is a drawing of her. “Hopefully, I can fill my journal with the family you have filled yours with. You are my guide.”
Kara squeezes her hands, “No, Ava, you’re my guide. Since we lost our home and Cam, I’ve been standing on the edge of that cliff again. I’ve stepped out into the void twice on this journey, and you’ve pulled me back each time. I’m still close to the edge, but now I know you’re with me.” Kara sits back, releases Ava’s hands, and blows some hair out of her eyes, “That was deep, wasn’t it?” Ava laughs, “Let’s go get something to eat. Persi thinks working with potions and elixirs qualifies him as a chef.”
After they sit down to eat, Ava asks Kara, “Misery’s End? You never say what it means?” Kara closes her eyes and thinks of how to explain it, “I’ve never actually thought about it… I murdered a good man, the man that wielded this,” she moves it in front of her, “Azura abandoned me during that battle, to save herself. I begged those heroes to kill me. Misery is the only word I can use to describe how I feel. They didn’t; oh, they made me suffer through the curse they laid on me, but I deserved that. Then Elirae approached me, pushed me back from the cliff’s edge, and guided me to this weapon. ‘Ava remembers the dream of her watching Kara step into the void, when she yelled at her and pushing her back from the edge’ I took it and filed off the edges so I wouldn’t be able to slice with it because Azura loved to slice people’s skin as a torture method. I know that’s probably stupid, but it felt right then. I vowed to Elirae to use it and only it as her warrior, to show mercy where mercy could be shown, and to swiftly end the irredeemable. The first time I held it after that was the first time I had hope. I didn’t name it. Elirae called it Misery’s End.” She opens her eyes; everyone is glued to every word she has said, and she feels herself turn red with embarrassment. “I know, my brothers thought it was a cheesy name too.” Someone says, “That was so beautiful.”
Kara feels herself turn redder. She looks at Ava, “You know, in all my years, you’re the only other Oath of Redemption Paladin I’ve ever met and the only other Paladin who follows Elirae I’ve ever met. I’ve met many clerics, even a warlock with Elirae as his Patron.” Kara gets a mischievous grin. Ava already knows where this is going, but before she can move, “Dawnbreaker? Come on out with it. You ask me to explain Misery’s End; I’m not letting you wait eighteen years to explain Dawnbreaker.” Everyone turns their attention to Ava.
Ava transforms into a red-skinned inferi before everyone’s eyes, “Well, it’s pretty simple, at least I think so. That warlock hit me with some sort of spell that drained my life and killed me, then you brought me back.”. Ava looks at Kara, “But it felt like I was dead much longer than I think I was. Elirae was there with me. She told me how she has been watching me for the last few years and guided me to you. I was afraid of you when I got to Nexus; you seemed so far above me and untouchable. I mean, you’re married to a princess who is the daughter of a god. Worlds seem to revolve around you and the people you associate with. Then we ended up here. Since then, you have broken me out of that shell I was hiding in.” She places her hands in her lap and looks directly at Kara, then quickly says, “soinameditafteryou…” Someone whispers, “What?” Ava sighs. “You showed me the Dawn, it’s been shining on me for so long. I never saw it, so I named it after you, The Dawn Breaker. It’s also what Elirae called it.” There is absolute silence as Kara sits there. Everyone is so enthralled, then one sniffle breaks the silence. Aran says, “Shut up, I can’t help it.”
Kara stands up, looks at Ava, and says, “Come with me; we’ve got something to do. I need your strength.” Kara announces to everyone, “Get some rest, people.” Kara picks up a water skin and walks to the prisoners. They scoot away. She lays Misery on the ground beside her. Ava does the same with Dawnbreaker. Then she offers them water; they are so thirsty they can’t resist it, and some of the former slaves are now giving them dirty looks.
Kara says softly, “I forgive you.” They stop to look at her as if they are waiting for the dagger to cut their throats. “Not for what you did to them or anyone else. But for the choice you made to follow the false god, Azura. This does not release you from your crimes. I will be honest. You will stand trial, and you will more than likely be executed. But your souls may stand a chance if you ask Elirae to forgive you. Azura is unforgiving. I know what will happen to your souls with her.” One of them barks out, “How do you know? You have no understanding of the goddess.”
Ava starts to say something, but Kara silences her, “I was once Azura. I was her host and her avatar on this world.” Several of them scoot away from Kara. A few of them look at Ava, and she nods to them. Another asks, “Then why aren’t you dead? Why do you judge us? Surely you committed far worse crimes than us?” Ava starts to speak, and this time, Kara allows it, “She has been judged; she has died thousands of deaths for what she did. She asked to be executed, and they refused her.” Still, another says, “I can ask for a trial by combat; the goddess will protect me.” Kara looks at all of them and growls, “I am your accuser; I will be your opponent if you ask for trial by combat. The only promise I give is a swift death.” Kara closes her eyes, “I will sit here with you tonight. If you wish to confess and ask Elirae for redemption, I will help you. Tomorrow we will arrive in Cragcall, where the Crownsguard will take custody of you. Those of you who ask for redemption, I will stand beside you until your fate is decided.”
Kara whispers to herself, “Please give me a sign I’m doing the right thing.” The holy symbol of Veleris hanging from her neck begins to glow; simultaneously, the symbol of Elirae tattooed on her back begins to shine, and ghostly wings, like her wings, appear. Many come to look, and even people from the other camp start walking over to see what’s happening. Kara tells Ava, “Remove me from the watch; the three of you will have to take it. I will be here.” Ava stands, still admiring the ghostly wings, then walks to Aran and Persi. Persi asks, “What’s going on?” Ava says, “She is offering them redemption and has vowed to sit with them tonight. She said she would help them if they wish to ask Elirae, then stand beside those who do, through judgment.” Aran says, “OKAY, WOW. A few days ago, we were trying to keep her from killing them outright.” Ava shrugs, “I think she is finding her way back toward the path.” Aran says, “This holy warrior stuff,,, is too complicated. I don’t understand it.” Ava looks at him, “That’s okay, you swing, swing, bash, bash. Anyway, she wants us to handle the watch tonight. I think she asked Fearless to stay nearby. Hopefully, he’ll help?” She clears her throat and asks infernal, “Fearless, if you can hear me, will you help watch tonight, or at least keep an eye on her?” There’s no reply, and Fearless doesn’t step out of the ethereal, but Chomasuke sniffs the air, and then Ava gets a whiff of brimstone.