The Exodus Sagas: Book IV - Of Moons and Myth (37 page)

The lady of the Knights Soujan ducked low, focused on the air, and hovered an inch above the grass. The deer followed, signal by signal from their cursed companion, they reached the tent in the center of the camp, in the midst of three thousand soldiers. The sun disappeared, the sky grayed and darkened, and the shadows grew from everywhere.
Armondi flags whipped and tossed in the intermittent breezes of night.
Torches, bonfires, and braziers began to light from every direction. Kendari motioned to Angeline to wait still, the tent flaps opened
from the other side
, and they pressed their ears to
the canvas
.

“Lord Cetreus, how fares your mighty Feldumesh?” A voice from inside spoke with menace to his jovial tone.

“I am not here to discuss my city, Sir Yaelsh, nor yours. Where is Harron?”
The response was from an older man, his shadow looked large and hunched from the outside vantage.

“Not coming.” The man referred to as Sir Yaelsh retorted.

“What do you mean by that? And scar or no scar, wipe that smile from your face when you speak to me, butcher.” Lord Cetreus growled.

“I can turn my head to the right and show my left,
better
?”

“Yes, much.”

“We are waiting for the bastard brat of your cousin the queen. Prince Rohne is to be
allowed to lead us
to unite forces with our
Lord
Amirak Harron, and we should be honored. Do you feel honored?” Sir Yaelsh, the Smiling Knight of New Aloeste, informed sarcastically.

“Is this true, Sir Orlimane?” Cetreus, despite being the cousin to Andorra,
held a manner of contempt in his voice
.

“Her five silent
bodyguards came and informed not two hours past
, they wrote it in blood
. You arrive late, eat.” The one known as Sir Orlimane tossed what looked like a loaf of bread to the older Lord of Feldumesh, though through the canvas it could have been anything.

“
He is arriving from Freemoore, he was scouting for the ones that we were told of, and he was unsuccessful I heard. So, be respectful, give him honor, and remember he will be our king oneday soon.
The Queen does not want her summoning disturbed with marching soldiers, so we meet a day south and join with our Amirak.
” A fourth m
an spoke, sitting in the corner
and sharpening a blade slowly.

“
Ahhh
… says the Bishop of Armondeen whose brother is the Lord Amirak of our armies. Says
Thohne Vir Magaste,
the brother of the man who slays the queen in her bedchambers to make bastards for our future kingdom.
That feathered cross on your chest makes sick, shame you must keep up appearances.
Give him
honor
?
Rohne Viorius
?
I will offer a crib for baby Rohne.”
The Smiling Knight responded while waving his hands.
Laughter erupted from all four men as they ate and discussed their monarchs with disdain.

“If you had the chance to make princes
with one such as Andorra
, your loyalty to Armondeen would vanish like gold before a greedy dwarf, Yaelsh. My brother has done well for himself, and me. Besides, you know
K
ing Ian has but one stiffening left, and that will be when we bury him. He would not have made any princes himself, so, Harron saved Armondeen.”
Bishop Thohne Vir Magaste summoned more laughter as he spoke.

“That is my cousin we are speaking of, men.” Lord Cetreus interjected.

“It is, but before she was queen
,
she was a born and raised priestess of Vasentanessa, on the island of Yallah. Cousin or no, you would have shanked that every which way without a second thought. You know what they train those girls as
in those serpent temples
, and rumor is they are pretty good at it. The crown and titles would not have ever entered your mind,
old
Cetreus.”
Yaelsh countered, and pointed at the older lord.

“True words, true words.” Sir Orlimane chuckled and ate some more of whatever required utensils at his table.

“
Fine, all that nonsense aside. Why are we here then, to play honor guard for Prince Rohne?” Cetreus broke up the muttering laughs and ate some of whatever he was tossed, then poured something into a glass from a table.

“You received the summons, did you read it?” Thohne replied.

“I did.”

“So, we go to ensure the retaking of the southern reach of Armondeen. With that opened, by whomever my brother and the queen say will be opening it, our kingdom grows by a third. Trade routes from the islands will prosper, and the free cities will fall next. It is expansion, Lord of Feldumesh.” The bishop sheathed his blade and took some of the liquid that smelled of wine for himself.

“We go to open a t
emple, kill some infamous adventurers
, and spill their blood in honor of the eleven. Then, if those curselands are opened, we build a temple to Shukuru and his kin. Let us talk straight, false bishop. After that, who gets it?” Yaelsh replied with his condescending demeanor.

“I do.” Thohne Vir Magaste replied. “
Andorra is going to begin a summons of a child of one of the eleven, who I do not know yet. The ritual will take place in the ruins,and their blood was asked for.”

“I give three dead shits about rituals, who gets the ruined city and the treasures?”

“The kingdom, of course.
However, each of you will have a castle t
here, with title, and each of you
gains one of the free cities when we conquer them
after
.”

“I want Freemoore then. Many will have to hang.” Lord Cetreus replied.

“I will take Sudri, north of Freemoore. An ample supply of elven women there
to please my blade and bed
.” Sir Yaelsh nodded.

“In which order, bed then blade I would hope?” Thohne asked.

“I have found in my years, once I have the ears
of an elf
as trophies, it
matters not
. If I prefer a night with raucus pleasure and screaming,
bed first
. If I want a bit of silence,
well then
…” Yaelsh laughed as he made a rather foul motion with his hips and sword at the same moment.

“Sir Orlimane the Shade, that leaves you with
the
little Targonde Village
s
, south of Freemoore. Not much there, unfortunately.” Thohne raised his chin and glass.

“You know me, by reputation more than acquaintance, but I do not require much. I do not talk much,
the shadows and I share often, and in the night I give homage to the eleven with my axe. Brin
g me your dead and unwanted, then
I have all I need.”

“Agreed then. As soon as Prince Rohne arrives to us, we head west to Vin Armon and join with Harron’s forces. Then, we travel south and collect some sacrifices, and we are all the wealthier. This is just formali
ty remember, we do not need five
thousand men to capture five
fools
, but you never know what could come out of that place after two thousand years.”

“Who are these five then? I heard rumor that the minotaur with them killed a dragon in the Misathi.” Yaelsh retorted.

“I heard
they sank an Altestani warship
in Harlaheim as well. That will put a little strain on all our dealings should thei
r attitudes reflect the incident. We all profit well from that illicit trade, and keeping our northern allies content and secret
will pay off when
war come
s
to the continent again.
” Lord C
etreus commented.

“Do not worry on that
, old hangman
. Altestan knows that with King Ian safely in retirem
ent in Forrivar, that
Andorra hold
s
the kingdom
, and then me
in a false spiritual sense.
They know nothing of she and Harron.
Besides, they are too busy with Kivanis right now, so I hear.” Thohne reassured them.

Sir Orlimane coughed on whatever he was eating and then washed it back with his goblet. “Kivanis is a diversion.”

“And how do you know this, Sir Shade?” Thohne replied quickly.

“Neheris, the noble…noble…whatever his title is, prince I think, he told me as much when we traded last month. They have spies arriving monthly in secret, through Kivanis, but they are watching Shanador.” Orlimane spoke seldom, but when he did, it was as if gravel was creeping across a tombstone.

“Altestan is simple, Sir Orlimane. Three emperors, and everyone else is a prince. Whether they are
or not, be it
merchants, sons of noble families, or descendants of the emperors, they all get called prince
if they are of the chosen race and have blue eyes
. The word is
Kaven
, in their tongue.”
The Smiling Knight replied.

“And never mention a queen or princess to them, they treat their women little better than dogs. Most Altestani men have two wives, some three or more.
Do you know, in Altestan, if you dishonor Yjaros or an emperor that they kill your wives and daughters instead of you?
” Cetreus followed.

“How do I book passage then?” Yaelsh chortled.

“Saints as well. Since God is Yjaros, all they believe to be divine, all else is a saint and not worthy of actual worship nor prayer. So we say,
San Shukuru
, or
San Cancuru
in their presence. It is a lot to remember, but when they take this continent, we will be on the victorious side for certain.” Thohne assured with his confident words.

“Do they know of the five and the curselands, or is that secret safe with us?” Sir Yaelsh queried without sarcasm for once.

“No, they are aware of them.” Thohne drank another glass of wine. “But I assured them we will send their remains and handle it as if they had attacked one of our own. Prince Jhaleem Kerikadahn
, Kaven
of Khutra, is an admiral prince with around one hundred warships in his fleet. He accepted our wishes to see it done.”

“How do they know these five can even pass the storm or e
nter that place? What makes Andorra and Harron
sure enough to take such
noble
forces
and
grand sirs
as ourselves to acti
on?” The Smiling Knight queried sarcastically, waving his arms around the tent.

“
His father
.” Bishop Thohne pointed to Lord Cetreus. “Trehad t
he eternally cursed of Devonmir, h
e and his two cohorts
in dark damnation
,
have seen the five fugitives
and know of them.
They have something that can open and free those lands, and they confirmed it with the voices from the eleven. The Hells command the sacrifice and a temple, and we shall be there to honor it.”

“And to make
sure no one sees it. We may have to kill a few of our own, but all for the greater glory
.” Cetreus added.

“
Hail Shukuru and his flames! Hail Cancuru and his madness! Let us all swim in blood and glory eternal!”
Bishop Thohne spoke soft, yet with force and purpose to his words.

His words sent chills through the canvas tent to Kendari, Angeline, and even the deer. The men chuckled, toasted, and carried on with talking of their cities and the kingdom of Armondeen.
Kendari felt his chest, the mark of Nareene was burning hot, he knew something approached and it was time to leave. He looked to Angeline and the deer with a serious glare.
He touched his head, nodded, and thought of the words he would whisper but could not in their close position.

We need to leave, now

I agree

Watching in the dark, with but slivers of Carice and Gimmor overhead in the twinkling starlight, Angeline, the deer, and Kendari snuck back to safety. Past four tents with feasting Armondi soldiers, avoiding the carcass filled brushpile
, and over the quiet stream they
crept. They paused as another patrol of twenty men arrived from the west, then they dashed around a hill and removed their cowls.

Angeline spoke first, keeping calm and feeling the impulses from Charity that she had already sensed. “Kendari, I must go. I have to find them in the south before these men do.
I feel our paths must part this night.
”

Kendari shook his head and affirmed without question. “I was about to suggest the same. Take the deer, for what I may have to do in Vin Armon could get a bit
,
bloody.”