Chapter Forty-six

Krissintha Arlonet Dar Ghelain caught up with Tivarra Mor. The elf was crouching behind a tree, waiting for her. He performed a series of hand signs, almost too fast for her to understand, but she got the gist of it: Timo had sent Arde and Hisa ahead to check the surrounding area.

Timo peeked out from behind the tree and pointed ahead. Krissintha looked.

Is that … a body? She asked Kevin, counting on her familiar to see more than just a dark lump on the ground at the third tree down.

I have a tentie looking at it, and I think it’s … uh … an ork. A dead ork. Kevin said.

What’s an ork? Krissintha asked.

Uh … you don’t know orks? I mean you have elves and dwarves here.

She looked at the body in the distance again, straining her eyes. The body lay in the shadow of a tree, at least fifteen paces away from where she was, and she struggled to see details. It was large, and it seemed to be covered in blood that was almost black. She couldn’t really tell what kind of clothes it had — fur, maybe, with metal spikes, and if she wasn’t mistaken, its skin might have been green. Its weapon lay next to it: a giant meat cleaver looking thing, a far cry from the elegant elven swords Krissintha had come to appreciate.

A few more hand signs later Timo’s plan was more or less clear to Krissintha: she was to stay and watch out for an ambush, just like Arde and Hisa were watching their areas, and Timo would go check the body.

The elf stood up, drawing his sword. He moved slowly and silently, as if he was walking on air, approaching the dead “ork”. Krissintha had gone through some stealth-training, but her attempts had not been so successful, and she felt a little jealous. But she had a job to do, so she watched and listened, making sure the forest around her wasn’t hiding any unpleasant surprises.

There’s no-one around, at least not in a fifteen pace radius. Kevin informed her.

So … what’s an ork again? She asked.

Well, it might not be an ork. It’s just … the body is huge. And green. Kevin said.

So an ork is something huge and green. Krissintha stated rather than asked.

Unless it’s an incredibly smallish Hulk, who knows?

Kevin not making sense wasn’t an unusual occurrence. A strange, green creature lying dead in the forest was. She leaned out from the cover of the tree, taking a peek at how Timo was faring. The man was already there, poking at the dead thing.

Something’s coming, turn back! Kevin warned her.

Krissintha slowly turned back around, still crouching, drawing her sword, flicking her eyes left and right.

Can’t see anything. She said, feeling a drop of cold sweat rolling down her face, squinting at the trees and shrubs.

I’m hearing something. Thirty paces maybe. I’ve got plenty of Mana, be ready! Kevin instructed

Krissintha still didn’t see anything except trees, but she whistled a danger signal to let the others know. The reply came immediately, but it wasn’t just the acknowledgment she’d expected.

Danger-whistle from the left. It’s Arde I think. Kevin noted.

Shit! Krissintha swore, instinctively looking to the left, gripping her sword just a little harder.

Hey, calm down, you’re shaking. We can handle it. Kevin said, trying to make his thoughts sound calm and soothing, but she could sense an anticipation of violence from the spirit.

Krissintha heard a whistle from the right, too. Hisa? Danger? Then a snapping sound from the front. Whatever was coming, it was close, and it was careless. Krissintha forced herself to breath slower. She drew on Kevin’s power — she felt the tingling in her legs and her arms as she willed it to permeate her bones and muscles. She wanted to believe she was ready for this, instead she quickly found herself stuck between wanting to flee and wanting to do her part for her team. It was a bad place to be stuck in.

Another sound: someone stepping on a twig, loud, close, and more than just careless. Almost as if it had been on purpose. To let her know something was coming. Whatever these green creatures were, they were worse at stealth than she was. She stood up, gripping her sword with both hands, assuming an attack stance, her heart beating faster and faster.

Then she heard another whistle, another signal. From the front. A ranger signal. And it was …

Friend? Can you see anything? She asked, her eyes narrowing.

Not yet, but that was the friend signal, wasn’t it? Kevin said, sounding as surprised as she was.

The low to high chirping whistle was impossible to misinterpret. Then the she heard the same signal from the left.

Oh. Not enemies. A ranger is approaching from the front. I can see him now. Timo is coming up from behind with Arde and another ranger. Kevin said, sounding relieved.

But Krissintha didn’t let go of the power just yet, maintaining her stance.

The unknown ranger came out from behind a tree, sword in hand, the hood of his cloak covering his face with shadows. The cloak wasn’t the same, dark green colour as hers, or anyone’s in Third Rangers. It had a blueish tint to it, not enough to stand out from the dark greenery of the forest, but enough to make it distinct from the cloaks she and her team-mates wore. The man in front of her was from Fifth Rangers.

He approached Krissintha slowly, then stopped a few paces in front of her, just as Timo and Arde arrived with another newcomer. Then Hisa arrived with two more. Krissintha finally let go of Kevin’s power and sheathed her sword, looking at the hooded rangers one after the other.

‘You are Training Team Twenty-seven of Third Rangers, are you not?’ one of them asked, and removed his hood.

***

The newcomers — a team of four men — gathered the trainees around the dead body. Krissintha could finally get a good look at it. She had never seen something like this before: larger than any man or elf, an inordinate amount of muscles under its green, bloodied skin, and something like small tusks in its open mouth. It wore leather clothes and pieces of armour with small, metal spikes — not exactly the kind of fashion choice she could get behind. Kevin had recognised it as an “ork”, but Krissintha had never seen or heard of creatures like this. Then again, down south in Thyssa people didn’t concern themselves with news from the far north, and the world was a big place, so who knew? Maybe it was an ork, just as the spirit had claimed.

The leader of the team from Fifth Rangers addressed the trainees, and Krissintha looked up at the man as he spoke.

‘I am Gilarev Etan, scout master, second rank, Fifth Rangers, and I am not impressed. You’re loud, you’re slow, and you’re defensive ring should have been spread out more,’ the ranger said, looking at Timo, then Arde, then at Hisa. Then his eyes stopped to linger on Krissintha. She could feel the accusing, disapproving gazes of not only Gilarev Etan’s team, but of her own team-mates as well.

‘Sorry, sir,’ she said, looking down at the ground.

‘Well, that aside, we’ve been waiting for you,’ the ranger said, then leaned closer to Krissintha. ‘Master Fenirig Arte had sent a letter. I take it you are Misery? The spiritualist?’

‘Yes, but … that’s supposed to be a secret, sir,’ Krissintha said, flinching.

‘Just what we need,’ Gilarev Etan said.

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‘Sorry, sir,’ Krissintha apologised again, not sure why she felt like she had to.

‘Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. Spiritualists really are what we need,’ the man said, his face softening a bit as Krissintha lifted her head to look at him again.

‘Spiritualists? What do you mean, sir?’ Timo asked, looking like a lost little boy.

‘Team leader Tivarra Mor, you don’t know your own team?’ Gilarev Etan asked, raising his eyebrows.

The man and his rangers were shaking their heads while Krissintha’s own team-mates stared at her. Well, Timo and Hisa stared, Arde tried to smile, but he just managed to look like a kid who got caught lying to his parents.

‘You … knew?’ Timo asked Arde, looking at him, an expression of dismay settling on his face.

‘Yes, sir, I did,’ Arde admitted.

‘How much did Fenirig Arte tell you?’ Gilarev Etan asked.

‘Nothing about her being a spiritualist,’ Timo answered, gritting his teeth in anger, or perhaps frustration — it was hard for Krissintha to tell.

‘I see. His letter said your orders would be to join Fifth Rangers for training, correct?’ Gilarev Etan asked.

‘That’s correct, sir,’ Timo said.

‘Did Master Fenirig Arte say anything else to you?’ he asked.

‘No, sir,’ Timo said.

Gilarev Etan muttered something about a “certain overly secretive bastard”, then he pointed at the slain creature on the ground.

‘That’s a barbarian marauder. We killed him this morning. We are hoping some of his cohorts will come looking for him.’

‘And … we have walked into the ambush you set,’ Timo said with a sigh, looking embarrassed.

‘Barbarians?’ Hisa asked.

‘Yes, barbarians,’ the ranger said.

‘That’s … not good.’ Arde shook his head.

‘Not good doesn’t begin to describe it,’ Gilarev Etan said. ‘It’s a large scale raid, probably hundreds of them. Either from Jotund or the Mainlands, we don’t know. But, my money is on the Mainlands. Jotund knows better after last time, and they don’t have spiritualists as far as we know. These raiders do, and this is the wonderful state of our affairs.’

‘So … our training is …’ Timo said, but Gilarev Eton didn’t let him finish the sentence.

‘Your training was to escort the spiritualist to us,’ the ranger said.

‘Sir, I … she’s human. I sparred with her, there is no way …’ Timo protested rather vehemently.

Gilarev Etan lifted a hand to stop him, then looked Krissintha up and down.

‘No. Humans are not ranger material, I’ll give you that,’ he said to Timo. ‘But Fenirig Arte vouched for her, and he isn’t one to lie about such things. If I can believe his letter, she could kill all of us here and we wouldn’t be able to do a thing, human or not.’ The ranger looked at Krissintha. ‘Isn’t that right, Misery?’

Seven elves, seven tentacles. I could do it. They wouldn’t know what hit them. Kevin chimed in.

Kevin! Krissintha hissed a thought at him.

Sorry. Just … hypothetically speaking. Kevin said.

Krissintha was sure if spirits could shrug, Kevin would be doing it now. She breathed out slow and long, then said,

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Thought so,’ the ranger said. ‘And just to clarify, you did kill that evil spirit down south, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Krissintha said. ‘Well, my familiar did.’

Timo and Hisa were both gawking at Krissintha, eyes wide, mouths hung open, then they looked at Arde and scowled at him with everything they got.

‘Oh come on, it was a secret,’ Arde protested, lifting his hands defensively. ‘I only know about it because my … my mother died there, you know. And she came with Master Toven to … bring her ashes. Of course I asked who she was.’

‘What’s your name?’ Gilarev Etan asked Arde.

‘Ardeela Erto, sir,’ he answered.

‘Oh, your mother was … Ardeela Erini?’ the man asked.

‘Yes, sir,’

‘I sparred with her once. She was a good ranger. Good swordsman.’ Gilarev Etan said, and then bowed his head to Arde, together with the members of his team. ‘Please accept our condolences.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Arde said, also bowing his head.

‘Now, back to business,’ Gilarev Etan announced, looking at the dead creature on the ground, then he turned to Timo. ‘We’re still waiting for some barbarians here, so, team leader Tivarra Mor, you are to escort the spiritualist to an outpost. It’s a foresters’ hut, about ten miles to the east. One of Master Sivaren Tal’s aides is there. His name is Sivaren Rols, no relation. He is coordinating the teams in the area. Another spiritualist is supposed to be there, or somewhere around. I was told you know her.’

‘Kitala Iwani?’ Krissintha asked.

‘Yes, Kitala Iwani,’ the man said, almost sneering. ‘She’s a strange one, even for someone from Fayr-Sitan. You and your team are to report to Aide Sivaren Rols, and do what he tells you to do.’

‘Is that it? We’re just to escort the human?’ Timo asked, sounding offended.

‘Unfortunately there are plenty of barbarians and not enough rangers, so I imagine you’ll get to do more. It will be good training, if that’s what you’re looking for, provided you live.’ It looked like Timo wanted to say something more, but Gilarev Etan didn’t let him. ‘Let’s not waste time. Proceed to the outpost. Dismissed.’

And now we know why Hellspawn Fenar has sent us here, don’t we? Kevin said.

Damn. Krissintha thought, looking at the dead barbarian one more time before leaving for the outpost.

***

Krissintha cursed Fenirig Arte silently, and cursed that ranger, Gilarev Etan even more. It had never occurred to her that anyone would learn about her being a spiritualist before the upcoming counter-spirit exercises, but here she was, fretting over what her team-mates were thinking of her now. Did they hate her? She knew Arde didn’t, in fact she would even risk calling him a friend. But Timo and Hisa? She wasn’t sure. Krissintha took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that it didn’t matter.

As the team left the blue-caped rangers behind, Krissintha heard Hisa talking to Timo. From what she could hear, it was about the aide they were going to see. She heard Master Fenar’s name, too.

The aide. And Master Fenar. A plan began to form in her mind. She rushed past Arde to catch up with Timo and Hisa. The two elves stopped to wait for her, and they both turned to face her as she reached them, their cold glares — especially Timo’s — boring into her.

‘Is there anything you need, or something you want to say to us, perhaps?’ Timo asked immediately, Hisa nodding enthusiastically.

Krissintha was sure the two elves were waiting for an explanation. Well, if they thought she was here to apologise for being a spiritualist, they were wrong: let them think of her whatever they wanted to think. She turned to Hisa.

‘Hisa, I heard you saying something about this aide, Sivaren … uh … Rols and Master Fenar, but I didn’t catch all of it,’ Krissintha said, then pointed at one of her own ears. ‘You know, human hearing. Not as good as yours.’

Timo scowled, Hisa just blinked at her — she wasn’t expecting this kind of questioning, was she?

‘You don’t have to answer,’ Timo said to her, still glowering at Krissintha, not even trying to hide his irritation.

‘Uhm … I was just saying that Master Fenirig Arte and Aide Sivaren Rols … don’t get along.’ Hisa answered anyway, looking confused.

‘How so?’ Krissintha asked.

‘I’m not sure, I mean … it’s just something I’ve heard,’ she said, her eyes flicking left and right, trying to avoid Krissintha’s eyes. Hisa wasn’t at all like her grandfather, Krissintha concluded; she was cute and agreeable — Krissintha would have never been able to tell the the young woman and the Hellspawn were related. Hisa finally looked at her and said, ‘They both used to be with First Rangers. They had never got along. That’s all I know.’

‘I see, that’s good to know,’ Krissintha said, nodding, plans taking shape in her head.

‘Uh, can I ask you …’ Hisa began to say, but then hesitated.

‘About being a spiritualist?’ Krissintha offered.

Hisa nodded sheepishly, and Krissintha nodded back to her.

‘Did you really kill the evil spirit?’ she asked.

‘My familiar did. As I said before,’ Krissintha answered.

‘And what does it feel like to …’ she started asking another question, but Timo cut her short.

‘That’s enough for now, we’re on a schedule,’ he rumbled. ‘Barbarians are raiding our homes. Back to formation and march!’

‘Yes, sir!’ Hisa snapped to attention.

‘Yes, sir,’ Krissintha said, and fell back to the rear behind a puzzled looking Arde.

***

Krissintha trudged along the narrow trail between the trees — despite the basic tracking training she’d received, she barely recognised it as a trail, and she was sure she’d get lost immediately if she lost sight of Arde, who was marching some seven or eight paces in front of her. She used power to keep pace with him, making sure he was always in sight, but her mind was elsewhere.

I can tell what you’re thinking, Krissy. Kevin’s thoughts echoed in Krissintha’s mind.

Yeah? What am I thinking? She asked.

You’re thinking about this aide. You want to start with him, don’t you? That’s why you asked Hisa. Kevin guessed correctly.

Right. So? Do you think it's too ... opportunistic? She asked, scowling.

I … have no objections, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. But do you really want to use Fenar against him? What about Hisa? Kevin said.

What about Hisa? Krissintha asked back.

I don’t know. I would have thought being arrogant and looking down on everyone would be in her genes. Kevin said.

Jeens? What are those? Krissintha asked, knowing this was one of Kevin’s impossible to understand spirit-weirdnesses.

Nevermind that, what’s your take on her? He asked.

She seems nice. I’m not worried about her. And I don’t care about Timo hating me, in case you were wondering. I’m worried about something else. Krissintha said.

The orks?

Well, whatever they are, do you think we can handle them?

I won’t know for sure until we come across a live one, but I think we can. I wonder if their souls are green, too. Kevin said.

Oh, you horrible, evil spirit! You’re thinking about eating them, aren’t you? Krissintha asked, not surprised at all.

Well, I mean if we’re to fight them anyway, I see no reason why I couldn’t have nibble. Kevin said excitedly.

They have spiritualists. We’ll have to be careful. Krissintha said.

Right. Careful. But … their familiars will have some Black Essence with them, so … you know, I want to get some of it.

That … doesn’t sound good. Krissintha said, already dreading the no doubt fast approaching “spirit fuckery”, as Fenirig Arte usually called anything to do with spirits.

***

The team had been walking for three hours — the sun was was on the way down, and the forest was getting darker with every passing minute. Arde stopped, and so did Krissintha. She didn’t hear any whistling, Arde didn’t signal anything with his hands either. He just stopped.

‘What is it?’ Krissintha asked.

But before Arde could say anything, Timo and Hisa appeared from behind a tree in the company of a hooded ranger.

Deju vu, huh? Kevin said.

‘I think we’ve arrived,’ Krissintha muttered.