"Servant of Empire" - Ch 18

We walked another two hours before settling down in the fading light. The cyclops was nowhere to be seen, and we weren’t molested by Liss or her other minions. As we walked, most of us remained silent. We never found the horses, though we did recover a good bit of our gear from the ruined castle before we left. I assumed the cyclops had taken the beasts for its own, or that they’d scattered. We still had enough in our packs and various bags, and Nix kept a temporary eulithid going that would last eight to ten hours before evaporating and dumping all our extra stuff on the ground.

Where are you going? Sybarron asked me when we started on our way.

‘I’m still trying to get a grip on what you are,’ I thought. ‘Whether you are a sword and a tool, or a person to hold a conversation with. What exactly are you?’

A prisoner.

‘You are a prisoner.’

Trapped in this prison.

‘So, the sword is a prison.’

Now you begin to catch on. I wasn’t sure if it was disdain or impatience I was picking up on.

Walking down the road – it was a road, though a very disused one – I caught smells of flowers, and the green breath I normally associate with forest lands. I had to admit, despite their ferocity , the Sidhe lands were quite beautiful. Of course, thinking about it, our own world had its share of hazards as well.

‘What are you when you are free?’

I am a knight of Alfheim, it said. I was imprisoned here many cycles ago. I recognized the ancient term for the Sidhe, which were also called Fey, just like their world. But that title of Alfheim was old even in my time.

‘You are, or you were?’

I am. I was not relieved of my duty or my honor. Was that indignation?

‘So…why a sword?’

Why does the sun come up? It was the whim of my liege.

‘Who was that?’

Do I answer everything at your whim as well?

As late afternoon began to give way to twilight, we started looking for a campsite. The first star began to shine, and one of the Fey moons, full and fat and red, lifted itself into the sky from the far horizon directly above the road and between the plateaus amongst which we were walking. I almost thought it was P’logrian, but then remembered we weren’t in our own world. Chirping frogs along the river began their song, and it almost seemed like a summer’s eve at home.

‘Will you tell me why you were imprisoned?’

I was…disobedient. Definitely a sense of smug there.

I thought for a moment. ‘I can sense this blade has some kind of chill enchantment, is that so?’

I am of use primarily to those who enter the compact, it said. Frost is among my talents, yes. The prison takes advantage of the prisoner.

Cold, so probably from the Court of Winter. ‘The compact?’

Entering into a bargain with a Sidhe lord, it replied. I don’t know what you call practitioners of such power.

‘Ah, a Binder. We called them Binders.’

Fitting.

‘I am not one.’

Shame. I would be of great use to you in that role. Perhaps you would like to enter the compact? I know ceremonies to invoke several of the Lords of Alfheim to such purpose.

‘I will keep that in mind,’ I hadn’t considered the Sidhe. I’d been offered a Binding with my Battlemaster, a great Infernal. I forgot that the Sidhe lords also employed Binders, and they had rather unique gifts to bestow upon their subjects. ‘But I am not ready to decide that just yet.’

I have all the time in the world.

‘Since it seems that we will be together for some time, are there any concerns I should have?’

None, I am forced to serve at the will of the hand that wields my prison.

‘Forced?’

Are you dense? This is a prison. I am a prisoner. I must do as the owner of the prison wishes.

‘Can you be freed?’

I can.

‘By me?’

No.

‘Anything else I should know?’

Not at present.

We found a flat space some ways off the road, and while Nix and Rendo gathered wood for a fire, Sered and I built a lean-to that would stand between the road and our camp to prevent passers-by seeing the flames.

As he brought over a long log to use as the top brace, I was slicing branches from nearby trees to rest on it.

“Azrael,” he said.

I paused a few moments. “Using my name now?” Just talking to him was making me angry, I could feel the heat building up and my tail twitched like a cat’s.

“I was wrong.”

I stood up straight, I couldn’t think of anything to say. I just stared at him.

He didn’t meet my eyes, just stood with his hand on the trunk of a tree. “Nix spoke to me along the road. She made sense.”

He looked directly at me, finally. “I still think what you did was horrible, but I understand why you did it. I can’t thank you for it. But I was wrong to assume you were turning on us.”

“Are you,” I pondered what word to use. “Apologizing to me?”

He glowered at me. “Don’t stretch it.”

I chuckled ruefully. “You held a blade on me. Someone laid hands on me, at your bidding. For that I’d have seen you destroyed in one or more rather creative and painful ways.”

“As I have reminded you previously, your empire’s laws hold no sway.”

“Oh, I know, I’m just finding it humorous to ponder what I’ll put up with today. It was only months ago that I’d have had your bones, but today? I’m willing to let it pass as a misunderstanding.”

“I see. Then we will call it a misunderstanding, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I thought for a second. “Can we speak to this subject for a moment?”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Look, I know you don’t like my kind. I get that.”

“I don’t…”

“Please, let me finish.”

He quieted himself.

“I get that you feel we were a bad people. Perhaps in your experience we were, I grant that we aren’t kind to our enemies.” I tried to construct the next sentences carefully. “I am not your enemy here, today. Maybe I do things in ways you won’t agree with. But what I do, I do for the success of us all, in service of our mission. I’m happy to talk things over afterward or to plan them ahead. But in the heat of the moment, snap decisions can’t be subject to second-guessing and summary judgment any more than we can subject your swordplay to such treatment.”

He let the pause grow before speaking. “Done?”

“I guess, yes.”

“Thank you for taking time to say that.”

“Thank you for listening – and for speaking to me about it.”

He held up a hand in a pausing gesture. “Yes, you do things differently. Some of those things I find unacceptable. Some of the others will, as well. We will react to them. There is no stopping that.”

I nodded. “Accepted.”

“I will try to understand that you have different standards, but you must also try to adapt your standards to ours. Agreed?”

I thought it over for a second. “Agreed.”

“I’m glad we could come to terms on this.”

“As am I. Can I ask you something else?”

He looked at me expectantly.

“Have you ever come across a talking sword?”

He looked at me for a moment, then realization dawned on him. He glanced at the hilt of the weapon I wore.

“The one we recovered from the castle?”

I nodded.

I don’t think now was a good time to bring this up, Sybarron said.

“I never have, no. Is it agreeable or malignant?”

“So far it seems agreeable. By your standard as well as mine. Claims to be an imprisoned Sidhe knight.”

Agreeable. That’s all I am?

“Interesting. Perhaps you should have Nix look it over,” he shrugged.

That won’t be necessary, the voice echoed in my mind. If you have questions, I am bound to serve – and to answer.

“I’ll make sure to ask,” I said. I’m happy to say my eyes never left his.

We finished off creating the makeshift wall, evening settling over us quietly. The stars appeared in their usual clarity, and the white light of the risen moon gave the night a sepia tint. Rendo had managed to bag a small deer while gathering firewood, and we ate well that evening. After the day’s events, the scent of meat roasting on that fire was a slice of paradise.

As we were readying to turn in, I visited our short trench-latrine. After re-strapping my pants (our belt goes over the tail, Shadrim pants make accommodation for it), I was about to return to the fireside when a twig snapped nearby.

Sybarron was in my hand almost before I realized I’d drawn it. The purple afterimage traced from the leather sheath to where I held it pointed steady, fading up to the blade and vanishing. My eyes had adjusted to the night, but it was still somewhat hard to see in the distance. I twisted my head back and forth to get a better idea of what I was looking at by parallax.

There. A lump at the base of a tree, ten yards ahead. Perhaps the size of a small Halfling, or a gnome. As I watched, it moved closer to our camp, darting to another tree a few feet further.

A blade in its hand glinted silver-white in the moonlight.

Redcap, I think, Sybarron said. I had no idea what that was, but the sword had a tone of caution.

I muttered a reinforcing charm that gave my legs a touch of extra speed and surety, and without another thought leapt at the small Sidhe.

I caught a glimpse of its face turning towards me, its eyes widening in surprise as I bore down on it. The blade it held turned out to be a straight-razor, which it held up to try to fend me off. A quick twist with Sybarron and the razor went spinning away while I followed through with a punch to the Fey’s head with the pommel of the weapon. It connected with a solid thud, and the little faerie dropped, moaning. It cradled its arm to its chest, where I had given it a solid cut across the heel of its hand.

I grabbed it by one of its feet and hefted it up – it probably weighed about twenty, maybe twenty-five pounds. Carrying it back to camp, I kept the point of Sybarron close to its face. It held its hands to its face where I’d hit it, still moaning. These hands were huge for the size of its body, easily larger than my own. Its head was also too large for its body, as large as a normal man’s.

“Look what I found,” I said as I entered the firelight. The little Sidhe was dressed in brown and black leathers, and to its name, it had a woolen cap on that was deep red. It – he – had still not said a word.

“He was sneaking up on us, carrying a razor,” I added as an afterthought.

I sheathed Sybarron while still holding the little thing up.

That was a mistake.

As soon as my hand released the hilt of the weapon, the creature’s moaning stopped and it opened its hands up. Its eyes did a quick scan and with a sharp-toothed snarl it latched those hands on my arm and bit me hard on my forearm.

“Ow! Little fucker!” I exclaimed. Without even thinking, I dropped to my knees and buried my arm in the fire up to the elbow, faerie and all.

It kept chewing on my arm for a second, before the heat kicked in. At that point, it began to notice that it was on fire. I grinned with satisfaction as the little creature seared, my Shadrim heritage protecting me from the heat of the fire.

“Ah! Ah! AHHHH!” It screamed as it tried to scramble away. I held its foot, this time with both hands.

After a moment, I realized that Nix was pulling at my shirt. “Bring him out!” She yelled in my ear.

I pulled the Redcap from the fire, still holding him up by the foot. He was still screaming, or more squealing, at this point. It was really difficult to keep my hold, he was twisting so.

“Ahh! Mercy! Mercy!” he shouted.

Nix produced her thin dagger and held it in front of his eyes while she gripped his throat. She tilted her head halfway to see his face.

“Submit!” She shouted at him.

The little Sidhe froze at the sight of the steel dagger, eyes locked on it. “I submit,” he croaked. Hands open and palms out. Small embers of burnt hair fell from his head.

“You will stand fast, right here, when he sets you down.” She said. Her knife never left his face.

“Yes, I will do as you say,” he agreed quickly. His voice was gravelly and deep, and had an odd accent.

“Go ahead,” she nodded to me.

I set the Fey down on the ground next to the fire – I was tempted to set him down in it, just to test his resolve. But with my luck this was a binding promise and he’d burn to death before we could get anything out of him.

He climbed to his feet, brushing the ashes off and patting the still-glowing portions of his clothing out. He glared at me with a rage that almost made me step back a pace.

“What is that?” Rendo asked.

“Redcap,” Nix said. “An eater of children.”

“Well then, nothing for it,” Cannon said, hefting his falchion and stepping forward. “Gonna have to kill ya, little critter.”

The Redcap’s eyes squinted and it crouched a little. Hmm. It wasn’t afraid to fight him, even with all of us here.

“Wait,” Nix said.

“Why?”

She just looked at him.

“Oh yeah,” he backed down, but kept his weapon ready.

Sered stood a little distance back. “What are you called?” He asked.

It looked up at him. “Before begin, what I got that you no kill me?” Apparently it wasn’t entirely familiar with the language, or was putting on an act.

Sered looked around at us. “He hasn’t committed any crime against us other than sneaking up on us, yes?”

Various shrugs and non-commital agreements went around.

“With a straight-razor,” I added.

“No I use, demon.” The Redcap pointed at me. “I drop.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I took.”

“Then since you’ve committed no crime here and you aren’t on trial yet, you will not be killed.” Sered said. “Do you understand?”

“Ya, Ich grok dir.”

“What?”

“I get it.” It shook its head. “No reader, you.”

“So what do we call you?”

He looked back at Sered. “I called Bloodmilk.”

“Yuk,” said Rendo. It grinned its little sharp teeth at him.

“Why were you sneaking up on us?” I asked.

“See who you were.” Bloodmilk replied.

“Why did that matter?” Sered asked.

“Important to her,” he said.

“Her? Liss?” Sered prodded.

“Liss? No, I not visit Liss yet.”

“Yet?” Nix said.

“Er,” Bloodmilk stuttered a second.

“So you were on your way to visit Liss, were you?” Sered pressed. “Remember your life depends on your answers.”

Now it was Bloodmilk’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Soul mine depends on my quiet.”

Nix poked at his buttocks with the tip of her blade. The Redcap hopped a little and looked back at her with a frown, rubbing its butt. “Ya, I gonna visit Liss.”

“Walk this back a sec,” Nix said. “Why were you checking to see who we were?”

It paused a moment, thinking. “Liss not have you.”

Cannon had been watching the exchange quietly until now. “So, someone sent you to check and see if Liss still had us chained up, someone who knew she had us.”

Bloodmilk shrugged. “Ya.”

“Who? Who do you serve?” Sered asked.

“I bound to daughter of Recks,” he said. “Flay Gaz, she is.”

“Flay Gaz, you work for her?”

“I said.”

“Who is Recks?” Nix asked. “Who is Flay Gaz? Why do I know the name Recks?” This last she muttered to herself.

“King Recks, calls hisself.” Bloodmilk scratched under his cap and winced when he touched a burnt spot. “He king of Ihnbharan, city of Deep.”

“Eeesh,” Nix said. “That’s why I remember. That’s the city of the Fomor.”

“Who’s Fomor?” Rendo asked, a little bewildered.

“Warped giants,” Cannon said. “Screwed up, all twisted.”

Nix spoke out. “When the first giants came to the world, children of Surtr, one of them was more cunning than the rest. His name was Megley. He made a deal with Nifflematteck to steal the source of magic from Zurei, the goddess of magic. Nifflematteck stole it from her and brought it to him, but when Megley touched it, its power warped his mortal flesh and ruined his mind. Since then, all the children of Megley – the Fomor – have been misshapen from birth and touched by madness. It’s the only thing that really kept the Fomorian hordes from overrunning all of the Sidhe territories.”

“Interesting legend,” Sered said.

“Some say legends are all rooted in truth,” she replied.

“Ahem,” Bloodmilk cleared his throat.

“Yes?” Sered asked.

“We done here?”

“No.”

“Rrrr,” the Redcap growled.

“Were you looking for us specifically?” Sered asked him.

“Ya.”

“Hold on, Sered,” I said.

“We’ll be dancing around this all night. Bloodmilk,” I turned to the Redcap. “Why did Flay Gaz send you to look for us – and what is in it for her?”

His eyes looked up, trying to parse his way through his bushy eyebrows. His eyes returned to mine. “She heard you seeking trolls, seeking Dorad. She set traps to stop you, send me to make sure you stopped.”

“Was Liss one of these traps?”

He nodded.

“And what’s in it for her?”

“Trolls work for her, strong arm of her army. She protecting her army.”

“What does she need an army for? Recks is king.”

“Recks dead. Burned up.”

“So she is queen now?”

“Wants to be.”

“Who is king or queen of Ihnbharan now?” Nix asked.

He looked back over his shoulder. “Nobody.”

Cannon whistled low and slow. “Aha,” he said.

I nodded. “So she’s fighting for the throne, and as it happens the trolls we are after are part of her forces,” I said. “Is that right?”

Bloodmilk nodded.

Sered raised his hand toward the Redcap. “What do you know of Dorad? You mentioned him by name.”

“Recks’ friend. Work for him, Dorad did. Became like a son to him.”

I raised my eyebrows and looked over at Rendo. “Poor choice of adoptions, I guess.”

Then it occurred to me. “Wait. He was like a son, or he was a son?”

“Was son.”

“Is he a potential heir?”

Bloodmilk shook his head. “Was. Is no longer.”

“So he renounced his claim?”

The little feral elf nodded.

“So, somehow, Dorad had ingratiated himself with Recks well enough to be named an heir, and he is a potential heir. He knows he can’t ever effectively rule the place, so he and this she-giant Flay are operating as a team,” I thought out loud.

Sered nodded. “Or maybe if what we’ve learned about Dorad is even half true, he plots to kill her as soon as they win, so he can elevate himself to a new throne.” He said.

Nix put a hand to her cheek. “Of course, knowing a little bit of Fomorians, she's probably thinking the same thing of him, so they deserve each other.”

“How many siblings are fighting for the throne?” Rendo asked.

“Six.” The little faerie put up as many fingers.

“You know who they are?” Sered asked.

“Only three children of Ihnbharan I know.” Bloodmilk said. “They the last ones playing the game.”

“And those three are…?”

“Flay Gaz, Gazul Kil, and Hak Azuth.”

“What does it matter who they are? These names mean nothing to me,” Nix said.

“More information is better, we now know the names of two rivals to the one that tried to have us killed.” Sered turned back to Bloodmilk. “Did she send the dragon? Rain of Tears?”

The Redcap shrugged. “Nothing about that I know.”

“What else do you know about Flay Gaz’ people? You said she had an army. Trolls are only part of that. What else?”

He scratched his chin. “Couple of ogres, few dozen goblins, and some mercenaries.”

“Mercenaries?”

“Yeah, got a band of them, ‘Shal Rava’ call themselves.”

I locked my eyes on him. “What did you say they were called?”

He sneered at me. “Shal Rava.”

Shal Rava. Liss had said those words. In the language of Infernals, that meant Devil’s Due. That had to be the two I saw wearing the sigil of the Caern Jale, it was too fitting. So that meant she had, what, Infernals working for her? Or at least a group that knew some Infernal language.

“You know them?” Nix asked me.

“Not personally, the name means ‘Devil’s Due’.”

“Mean anything special to you?”

“Best case, someone there has at least a smattering of Infernal language. Worst case, there’s actual Infernals in her service.”

Cannon chuckled. “Well, then you’d have some catching up to do, hey?”

“I don’t know every single…” I trailed off when I recognized the joke for what it was. He laughed again.

“This is all getting clearer to me now. Sit, you.” I pointed at Bloodmilk, who sat himself on the ground where he was.

“Got food, since we having such nice chat?” He rubbed his stomach. “Hungry I am.”

“No food of your sort,” Nix said.

“I eat lot of different things, not just kids. Grownups too. Kids only when I find.”

Rendo threw a chunk of bread to him, and he began to eat. Watching those sharp teeth shred the loaf up was strangely disturbing.

“Want to explain, or are you going to leave us in the dark?” Cannon said to me.

“Putting the pieces together, Flay Gaz is Fomor, and royalty. Means she’s got money, and arcane power if Nix’s legends are right. Fomor are crazy, not stupid. She probably has the ability to make those weird hybrid troll-spiders we saw. Dorad is probably where she got the troll-flesh to make those, and since we are hunting him, maybe he made an extra side deal with her that she try to get rid of us. It would confirm that they’re operating as a team – so that’s probably part of it. He throws his weight behind her, she owes him now. She probably has the connections to get the dragon. She laid the trap with Liss and the cyclopses to ambush us, protecting her big asset.”

Sered nodded, following.

“That dirty fucking bitch,” Cannon said.

Rendo snickered.

Bloodmilk just looked at me. “Uglier than stupid, you are.”

“You didn’t say that right, and you’re one to talk,” I replied. Conversational wit, that’s me.

“So, we know we need to get to Ihnbharan now, don’t we?” Nix asked.

“Can you lead us there?” I looked to Bloodmilk.

“Can, yes. Will, not.” He said. “Bargain was my life for my information. Done now. You free me, we talk about another bargain. Offering what?”

“He’s already in a bargain with Flay Gaz,” Nix said. “Why wouldn’t he just betray us?”

“Check for you with Liss,” he corrected. “Done that I have. Report back all is left to do. Happens to be the way you’re going, too.”

Make him promise. Sybarron said. Unless he promises, he can always betray you.

“We’re going to need a promise,” I said. The little creature scowled at me.

“Promise you what? And promise me what?”

I had this one in the bag. Having dealt with my share of elementals and a few Infernals in the past, I knew the phrase to use here.

“That for so long as you accompany us or guide us, that you shall not harm, nor by omission of action allow to be harmed, any of our present company.”

“Prick,” Bloodmilk said. “Big promise you ask. What you offer?”

“Freedom.”

“What?!?” The little elf stood up straight, his eyes actually gleamed, he was so angry. “You said…”

I bit back a smile. “We said you’d live if you told us what we want. You did. We didn’t kill you. We did not say we’d let you loose.”

“But you said…” I could see the fury in his face. If he dealt with mortals often, he must have been accustomed to having an easy bargain with them. He knew he’d been played.

“You get us to Ihnbharan and do your best to see we get there without interference, and we set you free when we get there. That’s our deal.”

“Just protecting our interests,” I smiled. “Your freedom in exchange for guidance to Ihnbharan, under that restriction.”

I looked at the others. “Is that agreeable to all of you?”

They didn’t say much. Rendo nodded, Nix gaped at me.

“Yes,” Sered said only the one word.

I turned back to Bloodmilk. “You?”

He sighed heavily. “Yes, yes, agree.”

I spit in my hand and extended it to him. “Shake on it,” I said. An agreement sealed with physical contact – and in particular with some kind of body-mixing – is far more solidly binding than even giving one’s word with a Sidhe or Fey. They are bound to the truth, but establishing the physical connection puts extra power into the bargain and makes it much harder to subvert its intent. That’s why some people take blood-brothers more seriously than just friends.

“Necessary that isn’t.” He looked at my hand as if I’d offered him a pile of shit.

“The fact that you hesitate tells me that yes, it is.”

His scowl became a rictus of rage as he spit, and then clasped my hand in his. I realized then that his hands were full-sized, they were one of the things that made him so strange-looking, but a detail easy to overlook. His grip was strong, and callouses on his hands spoke of a great deal of hard work. His fingernails were thick and sharp, ending in almost-claw points and caked underneath with multi-colored filth.

Probably acquired while holding that razor.

“Going to kill you, I will.” He muttered to me.

“Not before you’re done taking us there, and even then you’ll only try and fail, half-pint.” I squeezed good and hard to emphasize the insult, and grinned to show off my own teeth. I may not be the strongest in the world, but no one – and I mean no one – can do ferocity like a Shadrim can. It was quite gratifying to see the uncertainty pass over his face.

I leaned in and whispered to him, “I’m under no compunction against harming you, just against killing you. You’d be wise to remember that.” I thought it over for a second, and added: “I also make a far better ally than enemy. Might be worth considering.”

“Could be not, too.” He mumbled as he released my hand.

Nix insisted on physically tying him up while we were in camp, and though I felt it not necessary I didn’t object. It added a reminder – and a slightly insulting one – that he was bound to us.

Nix approached me while I tended my arm with a small enchantment. “I thought you said you weren’t a wizard?”

“I’m not.”

“Where did you learn that?”

“What?”

“The binding agreement.”

“That? Oh, I’ve done that forever. You learn it as a child. We’ve been binding elementals for ages that way. Why?”

“That’s one of the most guarded secrets of my school, the three bindings. You know the third?”

“To defend oneself insofar as it doesn’t violate the first two clauses.”

She shook her head.

“Guess we know where they picked it up, then. Did they have any connection to the Caern Magistra?”

She thought for a second. “There weren’t any groups under that name, no, but now that you mention it there were a couple of foundational books we were allowed to look at which had that in their title.”

“Nice to know someone saved a bit of it.”

“You were taught this as a child?”

I nodded. “I think I was five, we were responsible for our own elementals. Our housemistress taught us so we would handle our bedwarmers and washroom tending.”

“Bedwarmers? For all the gods, how did your people ever fall?” She put her hand to her forehead.

“Been asking myself that same question for a while now,” I responded. I wasn’t enjoying this nostalgia.

In the dark away from the fire I could see the stars again. I don’t think I will ever become accustomed to the stars in the Fey lands. They simply appear too close, larger than they should be as if one could reach out and grab them, and the occasional one visibly wanders. At home, wandering stars are noticeable only if one pays attention over the course of weeks or months.

At home, if you were to lean back or lay on the ground to look up, on rare occasions you’d feel as though you could fall into the sky if you weren't careful. In the Sidhe realm, when I did that I quite often felt like the sky was trying to pull me up! I had to cover my face with my spare traveling shirt just to keep from accidentally looking up while trying to sleep.

The rest of our night passed uneventfully, though I was already looking forward to getting out of this world.

Things clouded up a bit on my watch in the morning, and seeing rain coming I threw together a camp ritual to at least keep the group dry while they slept. Wouldn't help us traveling, but at least they wouldn't wake soaked. I was expecting, this being the Fey lands, a gigantic storm, but the rain just kept a steady patter while we got up and started getting ready for the day.

Bloodmilk led us as he’d promised, looping to the North around a plateau wall, and towards midafternoon we had come in sight of a huge cave mouth.

He’d said once we were in the caves, the underhighway we’d find there would lead us to Ihnbharan in only three or four days.

But first we would have to get in the cave – and we had unexpected company there. Three more Redcaps were waiting outside the entrance, gathered in a small camp just to the left of the entrance. In a makeshift pen beside their little tents, four of the monstrous troll-spiders we’d encountered back in Adelhome rustled about. A small number of unusually long spears, real spears, were leaned against one another in a pyramid next to the spider pen.

The woods we were passing through came to an end about a hundred yards short of the cave mouth. The open ground between was a wide field of red poppies – or at least, what passes for poppies in this realm. As we watched, one of the Redcaps pulled a spider from the pen and mounted it before riding off, presumably on patrol.

We’d hidden in the woods near the border of the field, and Sered turned back to Bloodmilk. Nix had his hands tied behind him, but his feet were free.

“You didn’t mention you had companions.” He said.

“Asked me you didn’t.” The Redcap replied without any humor.

“They are looking for us as well?”

“Yes.”

“Will they have missed you by now?”

“Probably.”

Nix looked contemplative. “I could wall off the entrance from here, it’d be temporary, but enough time for us to get across to them.”

“Two there. One wandering about. Rendo, your feel on the distance?” Sered quietly asked.

“Pretty good if they are holding still. Not so hot if they’re jumping around. Not a lot of wind, thankfully.”

Bloodmilk’s eyes narrowed. “Why shoot?” He squinted a little as Nix pulled on his tether.

“Because it seems you’re not just looking for us, but that you’re trying to kill us?” I suggested innocently.

“Can make them leave,” he said. “No need for shooting.”

“How do you propose to do that?” Sered asked.

“I tell them.”

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. “Tell them what, exactly?”

“To go.”

“And what else?”

Nix cut in. “Don’t go this route. He will signal them by hand, or he’ll wink, or something else, and they’ll know he’s compromised. Stick with the shooting them plan.”

I thought it over, and nodded. She was probably right.

“Is there some other way?” Cannon squinted across the distance. “That’s a long run.”

“Not going to kill them, you are. Let me, with them talk.” Bloodmilk was agitated. “Our agreement I will follow.”

Nix watched him carefully for a second, and glanced up at Sered. “You care for them?” He asked without looking at the little elf.

Bloodmilk’s expression softened. “Go that far not. Brothers mine, these are. Mother ours would not understand.”

“I didn’t think your kind had mothers like we do,” I said.

“Surprise you?”

“A little.”

Sered sighed. “Tell me what you intend to say?”

“Found you with Liss I did. Already have report from Shal Rava that she had you. To report in, they go on. I stay and watch.”

“Watch for what?”

“You not the only threats from out here.” He waved at the forest. “Many forms threats take, many sources out here want Ihnbharan.”

“Don’t trust him,” Nix said.

The little monster glared at her. “Betray you here, I won’t.”

“He said it, he’s bound to the truth like the rest of this place.” Sered said.

“He just means he won’t betray us right here, on this spot,” she replied.

Bloodmilk broke in. “I will not betray you to them there,” he pointed at his comrades. “Not today.”

Nix stood up straight, a cross look on her brow. After a moment, she leaned forward and untied Bloodmilk.

“Go,” she said. “Get rid of them.”

Sered just nodded approvingly.

Bloodmilk massaged his wrists before pulling his raggedy sleeves down to his hands.

“Back soon,” he said, and walked out into the field.

One of his colleagues noticed him right away, tracking his approach and nudging the other to get his attention. He called something out to Bloodmilk, who raised a hand in greeting.

They spoke for a short while, I couldn’t make out any of the conversation. Bloodmilk occasionally gestured back in our direction – or perhaps at the road – and after a little bit, the two others began to break camp and pack their gear on the spiders. Bloodmilk turned back to us, and made his way back through the grassy meadow. As he walked, the dichotomy of the image struck me hard – this pastoral, beatific scene with a little elfin person walking through it…but hidden behind the picture was a hidden past of murder and predation.

Nature red in tooth and cap, I suppose. That was supposed to be a joke. I wish it were funny, but I was too worried about being stabbed in the back by the little cretin.

After he reached us, he went on a short distance and sat himself down on a fallen log.

“They leave for Ihnbharan, as Mulltag gets back,” he said. “He’s the one left little while ago.”

“We should wait out of sight for a bit,” Rendo said. “Give them time to move out.”

“They’ll move a bit faster, with those mounts.” Sered said. “We won’t have to worry about catching up.”

“Unless they’re setting up an ambush for us,” Nix said with a sour expression. She re-tied Bloodmilk’s hands.

The Redcap just shrugged.

“Nix, do you have any sort of watcher spells? Alarms? Something that can patrol a little ahead of us on the way to watch for trouble?” I asked quietly. “Not that I don’t trust this little bug, but I don’t trust him.”

She smiled grimly. “I might. Out here in the open it wouldn’t be much use, but heading into the caves there might be something I can use.”

She dug out a thin book from one of her sleeves and leafed through its heavy pages. “I have a mapping spell here, which feels out empty air spaces…I have enough paper with me, I can twist it a little to give me an alert and circle the spaces where the trail branches or has a large gap off the main track. Give me a few hours to think of the proper instructions.”

“Time for lunch, then,” Canon said cheerfully. He started digging through his pack, pulled out some bread and a hunk of cheese, both of which he then tried to cram into his mouth simultaneously.

Before long, the three Redcaps had taken their gear and ridden into the hole, I assumed heading for Ihnbharan. Nix finished her formula a few hours later, just as afternoon was reaching its brightest. We approached the hole cautiously – it was an intimidating cavern, easily twenty feet high and twice that width. Ivy and moss grew all around it and into the mouth of the cave, and both starlings and the occasional bat flitted in and out of it. Wheel ruts in the stone showed that this cave had seen a great deal of wagon traffic over the years. The mouth of the cave opened up wide into a huge room, dimly lit by the afternoon sunlight outside. It smelled of musty stone, and slightly of acrid bat shit.

Entering the cave, Rendo preceded us and looked around a bit, raising a hand to slow or halt our progress. He had seen a tripwire just inside the entrance, strung taut across our path.

We stepped beyond it into a broad cavern, full of carved pillars – stone poles consisting of boulders that had been carved into the likeness of elves, stacked atop each other, totem-style. In the half-light, the huge room showed us two other large exits, both dark caves leading deeper into the stone, slowly descending into the deeps. One to the right of our entrance, one straight across from us. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed the one across from us had a carved façade, while the one to the right had none. The facade became clearer - around the rounded sides of the tunnel a great face had been carved, to make the tunnel appear as its mouth. Eyes and a broad nose above the tunnel completed the image, and the floor of the tunnel took on the appearance of a tongue melding into the floor of the main room. Birds and other animals had nested in the nose and eyes, their excreta giving the impression that the face was having a great snotty weep.

It would be some few days to reach Ihnbharan if our info was right. The Redcaps would need a bit less time with their mounts, so anyone that mattered would be warned of our coming if Bloodmilk had betrayed us. Still more time before a response could be mounted and return to deal with us. But something was still there, tugging at my mind. Sybarron was bothering me about something Nix was doing, and as we drew to one side of the cavern, I looked back to the tripwire.

There were bells on the ends of the wire. Not a trap, an alarm. I stopped in my tracks, the rest of the party still carefully picking their way about.

I looked back at that entryway, and into the field of flowers beyond. A puff of wind blew across the field, and I saw a gentle cloud of red pollen whisk up from the waving blossoms. That cave, the entrance. It was of a very great size.

Enough to fit a dragon, plenty enough.

Even as I thought this, a small flood of bats swarmed out of the deeper cave, the mouth. I thought for a second that I could feel a breeze blowing from within there, a chuff of damp air, the exhalation of the great deeps into which we were intending to travel.

And I knew, then and there. Something coming. Something large.

"Dragon!!"

(All content here, outside of those elements attributed otherwise, is copyright (2025-) Thomas Theobald. With the exception of AI training, personal use with attribution is granted.)