Grayson knew that it was probably a tactless question to ask a woman who had just lost her husband, but he had been curious about it for a long time, and now seemed like the best opportunity to get a real answer.
Maila got a far-off look in her eye, but started speaking all the same.
“I suppose now that you have told me your story, I owe you one in return. Before the calamity, and before the war, was a better time. You wouldn’t believe it now, but most of the great cities had lucrative trade deals with the kingdom of Valint. In fact, it was probably the most peaceful and prosperous time this continent has ever known. There were still conflicts, as there always are, but they were between the great cities, and not against a foreign power.”
“That was how we made our fortune. Trest and I started a mercenary company, The Eagle's Rise was its name, and we were hired by the different great cities to fight in their conflicts. Trest was the commander, and I managed the accounts and business end of the company. The conflicts were usually short, and the pay was exceptional from all the excess money the great cities had lying around. We started our family during that time, and things were good. Then the calamity came, and everything changed.”
Grayson interrupted Maila there. This was another thing that he had been wondering about. He had heard the calamity mentioned several times now, and it seemed like more details on the thing could be important, especially considering Trest’s theory that the calamity had been caused by Velos’s conflict with the other god.
“What exactly was the calamity?”
“No one is sure what caused it, but for almost an entire week the world went mad. Every kind of natural disaster you can think of ravaged the land. Tornados, earthquakes, lightning and thunder were constant. Tsunami’s destroyed most of the ports and coastal cities. Most of the crops were destroyed in all the over the course of the week, and the great cities were suddenly desperate to feed their citizens. The calamity is an apt name for the destruction wrought on the world.”
“Then Valint rescinded all their trade deals, and isolated themselves. We were all confused by that, but then again, we never really understood the Valintians. When they attacked a few months later, that compounded all the problems the calamity had caused.”
“The great cities didn’t want to take any chances against Valint while still trying to recover from the calamity, and the convent called to reform the league to fight off the invaders. Every great city formed an army to send to the front, but it was a disaster. Valintians have long been known for their fighting prowess, and they were embroiled in a conflict with one of the powers from another continent before the calamity, and they had plenty of hardened veterans and capable generals.”
“As for the league, after all the peace and prosperity, we simply weren’t prepared for what Valint was capable of. The nobles, of course, took command even though all the fighting between the great cities had been done by commoner mercenary companies like ours. It was a complete disaster. The first engagement of the war left the league army lost a fifth of its fighters.”
“The next battles didn’t go much better. At that point, my husband and I saw the writing on the wall. Something needed to change, or the league was going to be crushed within the year. We organized the different mercenary companies that weren’t engaged in the war already. Trest was well respected by his peers, and the different companies decided they would unite under his banner until the threat was dealt with. Trest went to the league and volunteered his new army to fight, with the condition that he wouldn’t be subordinate to any noble.
“The league was desperate, and Serim was besieged, but they still tried to threaten us because they wanted a noble to lead the army.” At this, Maila chuckled before continuing. “We stood our ground, and eventually the league became desperate enough that they accepted the condition.”
“My husband, along with our son Kion, went in and changed the course of the entire war. The mercenaries were battle hardened, and far more capable than the rabble the league had been using before. My husband began something of a guerilla campaign against the Valintians entering league territory, and became a major thorn in their side. It took some time, but the nobles noticed what tactics Trest was using, and started copying him to some success, though the casualties were terrifying. After a year of fighting like this, Trest started to wonder if the war was worth fighting if so much death was the cost.”
“However, the Proving Grounds had started supplying a substantial number of pearls of ascension as well, and the advance of the Valintian army started to slow. The siege at Serim was lifted, and after tremendous casualties on both sides, the offensive stalled.”
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The lull in the fighting didn’t last for long because word from scouts came that a second force of Valintians was on the way. Trest knew that if the second army arrived, the war would be lost, so he laid a trap. He sent in his army like the nobles had done so many times before, but quickly fled after beginning the engagement. The Valintian army pursued them canyon where he had planned to cause an avalanche and bury the Valintians.”
“The plan didn’t go as he had hoped. The engineers working on the avalanche miscalculated something, and it was delayed. Trest realized that if the plan was going to work, he would have to send a force to fight in the valley, until the worker crews could instigate the avalanche. In the end, he decided that he was tired of the fighting. He was done with the death and destruction. My husband decided that it would be better to see a quick end to the war than for both sides to continue taking so many casualties.”
“He called for a retreat, but my son Kion refused to listen,” Maila said, and for the first time, she started to choke up, struggling to speak the words. “He disobeyed his father and took his portion of the army to delay the Valintians. He succeeded, and now he’s buried in that mass grave. Our country was saved, but my son was lost, and Trest… Trest was broken. Someone leaked what had happened, and what my husband had decided. The nobility branded him a traitor for it. He fled to Silmia in the aftermath, and managed to sneak into the city thanks to a few of the guards who knew him. After telling me about what happened, he left to turn himself in to the authorities. I let him go because he was a shell of his former self.”
“Our son was always his pride and joy. Kion was headstrong and defiant, but a loyal and loving boy. He was growing up to be much like his father. It doesn’t surprise me that he decided to make that last sacrifice, but…”
She trailed off then, and didn’t speak for quite a while, leaving Grayson time to go over his own thoughts. Suddenly, what he had gone through didn’t seem so terrible. Trest had just come from fighting in a war he didn’t want, and losing his son, only to be sent to the Proving Grounds after as a reward.
Not only that, but Maila herself had lost both her son and her husband over the past month, and she had been the one comforting him. It didn’t mean what had happened to him wasn’t terrible, but it did put things into perspective. He didn’t have a monopoly on suffering, and there were plenty of other people out there that had it worse than him.
Grayson wanted to say something, but everything that came to mind seemed trite and insufficient. What he eventually settled on was the best he could do.
“I didn’t know Trest for long, but he saved my life, and I’ll remember him forever for that. I didn’t know him long, but he was a good man.”
Maila nodded at that, standing up. “Yes, he was a good man, and I’m thankful that you came here to speak to me. I think this was good for the both of us.”
“Thanks for the tea.” Grayson said as he stood, taking a glance at the cups that had been all but forgotten during their conversation. “It was delicious.”
“You’re welcome. Come back tomorrow as we discussed, and I’ll have additional information for you.”
“Of course.”
Grayson followed Maila out of the sitting room, and toward the front door, but was attention caught on a small knife set on a display nearby. It didn’t look to be special in any way, but it reminded him of the knives he had used to whittle with.
Maila noticed his attention had strayed, and paused.
“That was a trophy Trest took after defeating the Tarkim mercenary company in a battle over rights to a mine. He took it from their commander after winning without taking a single casualty. He was rather proud of that accomplishment.”
“How did he manage that?”
“He had his men shoot flaming arrows into the enemy camp. While the Tarkim men were distracted putting out the fires, some of his men laced the Tarkim company’s supplies. Trest was able to walk in and take them all prisoner without a struggle.”
“I guess he lived the way he preached. While he was training me, he told me not to be afraid of being labeled as cheap. I believe his exact words were that life and death battles are not a place for moral victories.”
“That was one of his favorite lines,” Maila said, a sad smile coming to her face. “He would often come home with a big grin after one of his schemes worked.”
They both turned away from the knife, and Maila ushered Grayson out the door, and he left the same way he had come in.
After he had reached the gate and passed through it, Grayson turned to the guards.
“While I was in there, did you happen to see a man and a woman pass by? If it helps, the woman was wearing a sun hat.”
“Yeah,” The guard named Sen said, “Normally I don’t pay too much attention to the people walking by, but those two looked suspicious. Not to mention, the woman seemed far too interested in the nearby houses.”
“How long ago was it when you last saw them?”
“Not too long now. Maybe five minutes.”
Grayson groaned inwardly, but moved off in a hurry. The pair didn’t seem like they were too close currently, but it seemed like it would be a good idea to get out of the area as soon as possible.
After he had left the immediate area, Grayson was at a loss of what to do with himself, but remembering the knife he had seen in Maila’s home, he went searching for a street with vendors. After an hour or so of searching, Grayson found exactly what he was looking for. A street that didn’t seem too busy with the right kind of shops.
Eventually, he found a knife he thought would work in a woodworking shop. He paid for it, along with several small pieces of wood, paying extra with the hope the shop owner wouldn’t bother notifying the guards about a suspicious man hiding his face.
As he walked away, he started to carve at the wood, not planning on anything in particular, just creating random shapes. Grayson let out a contented sigh at the familiar activity. Whittling had always been relaxing for him, and he desperately needed to relax. He had been far too on edge lately.