*****

The rain from the storm had finally dispersed. The long battle that began last night between heaven and earth was concluded. The skies fought hard, sending legions of dark clouds to rain fire and water upon The Moss, but the great green forest weathered everything sent its way. The all-devouring forest enjoyed the meal presented to it. The pouring rain tried to drown The Moss but only succeeded in making it breathe clearer. The blue lightning sent to burn the trees to black ash was only able to lightly singe the treetops for the leaves and branches were full with water aided by the rain. In the end, The Moss came out of the war unscathed and stronger than before. It did not waste any time in securing its victory. Far off at the borders of the forest, roots spread out into open land and then rose to the surface to begin sprouting, and seeds blown by the wind fell into a muddy home perfect for a moss takeover. The Moss continued to consume the world.

Carso was unaware of the bigger happenings in the forest. His mind was focused on the smaller things like the rain coming to an end. He thanked everything above for choosing to halt the downpour but cursed everything below for remaining moist. Every step he took landed in soggy moss which splashed all over his legs. The trees above him shook off their raindrops to the floor keeping it soaked and soft. The ground beneath him sunk under his weight, and even though he was still moving forward, he still felt as if he was going uphill.

He looked over to his companion, Axil, who was floating across the ground like a feather. It made him jealous to see the lad hop between roots and stable stones with ease, while he struggled to even lift his foot.

He then looked over to their travelling guests, the queen and her bodyguard. She was being carried by her loyal knight. How devoted, he thought, to carry a burden through this swamp-like forest. Paro seemed unfazed by the quick trudging on broken soil and gladdened to be able to serve his queen.

Overall their party covered a great distance. They had been running for a long while to the point where they could not smell the river anymore, and to the point where the tracks they followed looked deeper and more recent. This helped them push on further into the forest. The grey sun was blotted out by the thick trees leaving only rays and rainbows to light their way. Critters ran overhead almost confirming the route they were taking, and deer stood aside calmly watching the small group pass. Axil stated that this unusual behaviour from them was a sign that something bigger scared them, so they had no reason to fear the group, and that could only mean the horde of attackers came through the region.

They came upon a small clearing with the sun shining down to the floor revealing everything within. Pink flowers bloomed from underneath the mossy floor to show off their vibrant colours. Large stones still slick from the rain dotted the clearing. The trees formed a ring marking the territory of the clearing. It was only a stone’s throw from either angle. Carso stood at the edge of the ring, his arm leaning against a tree while he caught his breath. He was just about to continue forward when Axil spoke behind him, “Carso! We can rest here for a bit. The sun will give us some warmth, for what’s worth. And we can see all around us so we won’t be caught off guard.”

Carso was caught off guard however by his good judgement. Up until the party left into the forest, he had taken Axil as a rash and arrogant welp who was still green inside and out. Yet when it came to the wilds, he showed his true skills in tracking and why he deserved the title of ranger. He simply nodded in agreement as he was too busy trying to breathe. The last time he used so much stamina was during the war.

Axil remained beside him. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group ensuring no prying ears were around him when he spoke. “So, care to properly explain to me why you brought her along with us?” He spoke in a whisper as if the distance from the others was not enough.

Carso sighed deeply, hoping that this conversation could have happened at a later time. He knew that he was talking about the Queen for he did mention his opposition to the idea after all. He was too exhausted to think of anything to dodge the question, so he answered in ragged breaths, “Don’t… worry about it. I have… a plan. And it involves a pricey reward at the end of it.”

It was not enough for Axil who pressed on further, “Reward means shit if we’re dead! In what way does running after the same enemy who attacked us fit into your plan?”

This time he groaned. He wondered if his good judgement in The Moss transferred to his regular thinking. He answered looking straight into his eyes, “If she is the one they are after, then we can use her as a bargaining tool. The Queen for Risa. We need a healer out here more than a queen. However, if we manage to keep them both alive, we’ll have a handsome reward waiting for us from a generous noble ever thankful for the Queen’s well being. Regardless of that, we need her with us. The men on my boat… are not the most honest men that I know of.”

He did not reply. For a moment he pondered the plan in his head. Finally, he thought of something to say. “And you think she is safer with us? Heading straight towards the enemy? And how do you propose stopping that knight of hers killing you when you start offering her as a trade?”

“Simple, deception. Neither of them needs to know the plan and if we manage to separate them-” He would have answered some more, but he noticed in the side of his eye someone approaching. He turned to see her majesty with her royal guard following close behind.

They both waited for her to speak. She shyly asked a question, “So, how do you know where we’re going?”

It caught them by surprise to hear her soft and curious voice, whereas earlier she was speaking cautiously fearful. They shared a look. Axil was the one to respond, “Well if you look closely, parts of the floor are caved in. That’s a sign of a person or people coming through this way.” He pointed to the more noticeable areas to show her.

She followed his finger and strained her eyes looking for the cave-ins. Her brow relaxed as her eyes began laid upon the wide track they had been following. She looked back to Axil to ask another question. “And how do you know these are from people?”

“Just from the size of it. It’s too wide to be a herd and too compact.” He replied to her in a teaching tone, “And herds of this size are extremely unlikely in The Moss.”

She nodded along to what he was saying, “Why is that?”

Axil turned his head and looked at Carso as if the answer was obvious, “Well because there aren’t many animals that travel in herds here in The Moss. Deer don’t stick together that much.”

She looked down at her feet covered in wet mud and broken vegetation. The frill of her dress was dirtied and torn immensely, but she did not seem to notice it. She raised her head and gave a mumbled thank you to the ranger. Carso then asked her a question, “Why the interest, your majesty?”

She turned her back to him, paying him not much of her attention, “We’ve stopped and I was curious.” She started to walk back to Paro.

He spoke again before she could get any further away. “If I may, do you know anything about the group we’re tracking?” If he wanted his deception to work, he would need to start as soon as possible. The obstacle was her bodyguard.

She stopped and turned her head back, “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just trying to figure out why they would attack us. I’ve sailed the rivers here for years and have never run into them before. That is until you happened to stow away on my ship. I was just curious as to how you think they might have known what ship you were on when no one else did?” He is hoping that she takes the bait. If she does, the seeds of doubt will follow.

She now fully turned to face him, her face transformed into scepticism. “What are you trying to say?”

He gave himself a proud smirk. She has taken the bait, and now the seeds can be planted. “That perhaps you placed your trust into the wrong people.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Her knight lunged forward to speak his mind, his hand on his sword’s pommel, “You dare question my honour, pirate?!”

His reaction was sudden but useful. He expected the man to be furious. Emotion was every man’s downfall, and he knew how to spin it to his will and what words to use to sow doubt into others.

“Stop, Paro!” The queen pulled his arm, her face slightly irritated. She spoke to Carso. “The only people who knew of my plan were me and Paro, and I know that he would never betray me.” Her knight bowed his head in respect, a sense of pride overwhelming him.

He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from chuckling. The greater the loyalty, the easier it is to fracture it in the master’s mind. He knew this from personal experience, and all he has to do is recite them like words in a play. “With all due respect, sir, your majesty, but I have seen men loyal to a fault betray their superiors for much less than power or wealth. I have killed loyal men and with their last breath cursed those they were loyal to. I have even partaken in betrayal if it meant that I would live for another day. Now if you and Paro were the only ones who knew of your flight, then it could not have anyone in my employ. Right now, my honour seems truer than his.”

“I’ve heard enough! Please let me cut this man down.” He drew his sword and pressed it against Carso’s chest, the tip digging slightly into his flesh.

He remained as calm as ever. His concern was not aimed at the steel threatening him, but at the queen who would give the order. He needed to convince her otherwise. “Your majesty, an innocent man wouldn’t be so hurt.” He was now watching her, searching for any sign of his deceit slipping into her mind. He took her hesitation to speak as a good sign.

Eventually, she spoke calmly though yet with a tone of anger. “Paro, enough!”

Carso cheered inside himself with success. He could see how the thought of betrayal had scarred her, especially from someone she considered so loyal. He did not let his triumph show on his face. His eyes went to the captain who still had his sword raised, but he begrudgingly sheathed it. He let himself breathe a sigh of relief to sell an image of fear but in truth, he was letting his joy calm down. She then approached him and spoke in a quiet yet resolute tone, “It could not have been him. I know it.” She turned away ignoring her captain’s attempt to resolve himself.

The way she spoke was worrying to him though. He could not explain the feeling of doubt now within himself, but it felt as if she knew something more than him. A secret that connected everything to a puzzle that he was not even aware of. It was this feeling that worried him and perhaps made him a little fearful. But he did not let himself dwell on it. For now, his deception seemed to be working, and the doubt he had sowed began separating the Queen from her protector.

Axil sighed deeply. It brought everyone’s attention to him as if they had forgotten about his presence through the whole exchange. He then spoke, “Well… If we’re all done trying to kill each other, can we get moving? Tracks don’t last forever.”

Everyone silently agreed to push on. Paro lifted his queen into his arms, while Carso and Axil took the lead again with their underlings. The rain returned, adding to the tensions already building up inside of everyone.

Axil whispered to Carso at the front, “Were you trying to get him to kill you?”

Carso was not as concerned with the volume of his voice as Axil was. He spoke normally knowing that the muddy stomps would keep him quiet, “Yes. If we can get her away from her knight, then everything else will go a lot smoother. Just be ready when that time comes.”

Axil scrunched his face at him, but then looked back to Paro and the shivering girl in his arms. His face relaxed as he looked back at Carso. “Let’s hope your gamble pays off.”

They traversed a small distance before coming to a stop again before a large patch of mud riddled with deep footprints. It was clear enough to everyone that this was not natural. Axil walked around the edges of the patch investigating every aspect of it. He crouched down before looking at everyone else, “They stopped here for quite some time…” His eyes drifted towards a horizontal imprint deeper than all the footprints. He shuffled closer and continued speaking, “Someone was dropped here. Most likely Risa. If they stopped here, then that means we should be close.”

Carso also walked around the edge of the mud. He could see how Axil came to his conclusion. The footprints were deeper than they were before and were in a circular formation around Risa’s imprint. He could see how Axil came to his judgement as a pack would only stop running if they felt safe. He asked Axil a question. “If we are close, then where could they be?”

Axil looked to his surroundings, surveying every detail before answering. “Best guess is over that ridge. The majority of the tracks lead that way while the rest split off.” He pointed to two of his rangers who immediately started climbing the trees nearest to them.

Carso quickly caught on to what he was doing. “Knot, go left. Dirge, you go right.” He silently ordered them. “Both of you keep a lookout.” They both sped off in their given directions, neither of them saying a word. Water fell from trees as Axil’s rangers climbed higher into the thicket, eventually starting to swing over to the trees in front of them with wild grace. As he watched them swing, he crept behind a tree trunk with his head poking out just slightly to watch the ridge in front of him.

When he looked back behind him, he saw that the remaining party members had done the same. Everyone stood hidden behind tree trunks looking over to the ridge. Axil quickly moved over to Carso. They exchanged a nod and then slowly sneaked closer and closer to the ridge, making sure to remain hidden behind tree trunks as they approached. They both tried to keep pace with the rangers above them. Carso and Axil slowed their pace as the ground rose, and then crawled the rest of the way to the crest.

They both lay still at the top, looking up at the trees to the rangers. Both of them were whispering to each other and pointing off into the distance. Eventually, one of them looked down, nodded solemnly while holding up two fingers. Axil turned over to Carso and spoke, “Something is on the other side. At least two hundred by their count.”

They both peeked over the crest to see a large assortment of tents and stretched out cloth between trees scattered all over. The ground was soft wet mud that began from the base of the hill. A sign that this camp had been here for long enough for The Moss to retreat from their presence. Campfires and braziers occupied spaces between tents with tenants huddled around them for warmth, their damp clothes hung beside them. While the camp was abuzz with movement, no one was walking around the edge or even standing guard for the camp. This unnerved Carso deeply. The image of the many-faced behemoth staring up at him crept back into his head, filling his mind with nothing but terror. Just the image was enough for his fingers to dig into the ground and for his feet to shake uncontrollably as if they were trying to run from his own mind. Why else would the camp leave themselves unguarded if the monster was already protecting them?

Axil looked to the trees and, with his hands, gestured for his rangers to climb down. They responded quickly by nimbly and quietly leaping from branch to branch. He tugged at Carso’s arm to get his attention to recede back behind the crest. The observation between them both was voiced by Axil. “There are no guards. Why?”

Carso shook his head to dispel the monster from his mind, “I couldn’t see any sign of Risa anywhere. She has to be closer to the centre then.”

“Then there’s no way of getting her back! This was a waste of time.” Axil groaned.

Carso was reluctant to agree with him but the prospect of rescuing Risa had become much more problematic. Though there was no other option, he needed to save her no matter what. A debt was owed to her and it was one that he was serious about. It was something he could not admit or else the mission to rescue her would not have taken place. He owed it to her and to his departed friend, Raynor. He responded calmly. “There has to be a way to get down there unnoticed.”

They both started to make their way back to the rest of the group, with the treetop rangers following behind. As they approached the Queen, Axil bent his head to Carso’s ear and whispered. “So we’re handing her over then?”

Carso was not so worried about the volume of his voice when he replied. “Seems so. First, let’s make sure they won’t kill us on sight.”

Just as he finished speaking they crossed a figure standing behind a tree facing towards them. The figure would have gone unnoticed had he not spoken to reveal their presence. “They will kill you no matter what you do.”

Everyone was quick to arm themselves. Carso leapt towards the man with a hand on the pommel of his cutlass and as he pinned him against the tree did he unsheathe it and hold it against his neck. He was then able to get a closer look at the man: a short thick beard covered his cheeks and mouth, a rugged nose, wrinkles all over his face indicating his old age, and brown eyes wide with shock and fear. Carso was just about to slit the man’s throat when he plead for his life. “Please! Wait! Don’t!”

He hesitated, but that gave him the chance to think. If this stranger was smart he would have remained hidden and gone to alert the camp of the intruders. “Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” He demanded in an assertive tone.

“Merias! My name is Merias and I want to help!” He quickly replied hoping that his life was not about to end.

By now, the Queen and the rest of the group were assembled around the tree watching him intently. Axil was the first to voice his doubts. “He’s with those cultists! We can’t let him live or we’re dead! Cut his throat!”

Carso ignored him and pressed on with his interrogation. “Help? How? Is the woman you kidnapped alive?”

Merias paused before speaking, letting himself calm a little while swallowing a lump of spit. His eyes locked with Carso’s. “Yes. She is alive. But she won’t be for long unless you let me help you.”