Chapter 34: Thirty-Four: Belligerence and Bivouacs

A few days later, we reached Taralith. Though smaller than I’d expected, it was considerably larger than Fernwick. Nestled in a natural valley, the town spread out before us as we rode down the hill toward it. A sturdy wooden wall enclosed the settlement, and cobbled streets wove between modest stone and timber houses, each crowned with a thatched roof weathered by time and the elements.

A slow-moving river wound gently past the eastern edge of the town, and in the distance an arched stone bridge crossed over it. The road followed the riverbank and passed a mill, where a creaking wooden wheel turned steadily, fed by the gentle current.

It was early afternoon when we reached the southern gate, which stood open with the main road running into the town beyond. A man in the simple armor of local militia raised his arm, stopping us.

“What’s your business here?”

I reined in my horse. “Just passing through,” I said easily. “Looking to pick up some supplies, any news, and maybe a room for the night.”

He glanced at Senna and Lira, then back at me. “Are you Drakos’ man?” his tone and attitude showing he didn’t think I was.

“No, friend. I’m no one’s man but my own.”

The guard nodded. Then he cast a furtive glance over his shoulder. “If you have somewhere else to be, it would be a good time to be there, stranger. Some of Drakos’ men are in town, and there’s been trouble.” He spat on the ground. “You’d best stay away, especially with two women like them.”

“Thank you, friend.”

I turned my horse, and the girls and I rode back the way we’d come.

“We’re not going shopping?” Senna asked, poorly hiding her disappointment.

“You’re not,” I said. “That fellow is right; you two will draw a fair bit of attention. While that’s a good thing most of the time, it might not be if Drakos has men here walking around like they own the place.” I shook my head. “We don’t need to take that risk.”

“I agree,” Lira murmured. “That’s not the way to do things.”

“Let’s find a place out of the way to spend the night, and I’ll head in by myself tomorrow.” I glanced up at the sky, which had become progressively cloudier and gray the last couple of days. “Maybe we can find a friendly farmhouse. It looks like rain.”

We rode an hour away from Taralith and circled around to the west, until we spied a likely-looking farmstead, with a decent sized house and some outbuildings. A small child’s doll lay forgotten in the courtyard, half in a puddle, her bright blue dress stained with mud. As we reined in the horses, the door of the house opened, and the farmer came out. He was holding a pitchfork like a spear, looking scared yet determined.

“Ain’t no reason for yer to be ‘ere,” he said. “Ain’t got nothin’ for yer to steal.”

I held my hands up. “Easy there. We’re just travelers looking for a place to sleep out of the rain.”

He glanced at the girls, then swung his gaze back to me. The pitchfork didn’t lower. “There’s a town about an hour from here, east. There’ll be rooms there.”

“Yes, we know. Unfortunately, some of Drakos’ men have decided to visit.” I figured there was nothing wrong with being honest with the man, and something was scaring him. It was as good a bet as any why he was this jumpy.

Drakos’ name had an immediate effect. He tensed, the pitchfork twitching in his hands, then he lowered it. “I appreciate yer problem,” he drawled, “but this ain’t the time t’ be havin’ strangers aroun’. You take yer lady friends an’ go camp in the woods.” He sniffed. “Havin’ yer ’ere is jus’ gonna cause me strife if Drakos’ grunts come knockin’.” He seemed to relent, looking apologetic. “I’d help yer if I could, but … got nippers and a wife in the house. Have to look to my own.”

I nodded, gathering up my reins again. “Very well. Then we’re sorry to have troubled you.”

He watched us ride away until his farmhouse had disappeared from sight.

Lira spoke after a while. “Drakos’ men have the whole area on edge.”

“Mmm,” I said. I knew full well this was my fault … my inability to deal with him. Lira was too polite to remind me. We might have been sheltered from this in Fernwick, but Taralith was too big to go unnoticed.

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I wondered how much worse it was in Norathil. Given that the pyramid and the temple complex had been a mile south of the wall and I’d left out the back way, I hadn’t seen much of the city.

Senna was quiet and thoughtful, occasionally casting wide-eyed glances at us. While she hadn’t had the same exposure to Drakos and his men that Lira had, everyone knew the battles had been lost, the king had been killed, and the country had fallen.

It began to rain.

I led the girls off the road and across a meadow, stopping at a small copse of trees out of sight of everywhere. A rabbit fled at our approach, its white tail bobbing as it ran. “Going to be a wet night,” I said as I dismounted. “The trees will give us some protection, but …” I shrugged.

“We could make bivouacs,” Senna suggested brightly.

“What’s a bivouac?” Lira’s question echoed mine in unison.

“I’ll show you,” she said, as she slid down from her pony. “It’s better than nothing.”

We gathered branches and leaves to Senna’s direction, and she was delighted to know something we didn’t. Lira and I exchanged surreptitious smiles at her sudden enthusiasm.

“Drakos must be stopped,” Lira murmured to me, when our branch-collecting brought us close together. “Do you have a plan?”

I’d been thinking of nothing else for a while. But the truth was, the only plan I had was the one I was already working. It was just going too slowly. “I’m still not strong enough to fight him,” I admitted reluctantly. “I’m going to head into Taralith tomorrow, discover what I can. I’ll get us some supplies and try to find a quest that might help me get stronger.”

“A ‘quest’?”

I shrugged. “A task. Work to do. Like clearing out that mine of goblins.”

“I think you are strong enough,” Lira said, gazing at me. “You killed all the goblins, and you defeated Jarek. If you can do that…”

I shook my head. “Jarek was a thug. Drakos is a trained warrior. Besides, he’s level eighteen, and I’m…” I trailed off at her obvious confusion. “I mean, he’s a lot more experienced than I am.”

“But you’re a god!”

“A god whose powers are only slowly returning.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Lira. I’m doing the best I can.”

She turned away, looking thoughtful, and her silence just twisted the knife that much deeper.

Senna came back with her own armful of sticks, her bubbly enthusiasm a welcome balm. “Great!” she said. “Now, we stack the branches like this … and tie them with vines …” Lira and I watched with interest as Senna demonstrated how to make a lean-to, a wall of sticks big enough to sleep beneath, held up in a triangular arrangement, with moss and leaves to keep the worst of the rain out. “And there we have it, a bivouac!” She smiled up at me, looking pleased with herself.

My conversation with Lira had dampened my mood, but I fought to give her a smile back. “We’ll be much more comfortable beneath one of those.” And it was true. We’d only get damp, not soaked.

We built two more bivouacs around a fire that smoked incessantly, then cooked some dinner and ate it in silence. Senna cast concerned glances between Lira and me, sensing some of our tension.

“It’ll be alright,” she said in a small voice. “Whatever it is, it’ll be alright. You’ll see. The three of us, working together … we can take on anything.”

I gave her a smile, but Lira said nothing. My High Priestess had always been so positive that her silence hurt more than I’d ever thought it would.

We went to bed early, too wet and cold to do anything else.

I woke in the middle of the night as a body climbed beneath my bivouac with me. The fire was little more than embers, and it was too dark to see who it was, but I recognized her from the feel of her body.

“I was cold,” Senna whispered. “Can I sleep with you?”

I pulled her into me, inching back as far as I could without dislodging the carefully balanced bivouac, then tucked my damp blanket over both of us. She was small and warm in my arms, and I was grateful that she was there. She took my hand from where it lay on her hip, pulling it up until it was cupping her breast through her shift, then sighed and lay still.

*

It was still drizzling when morning came.

Lira watched from beneath her bivouac as I pulled on my leather jacket over my shirt and stuffed my feet into my boots, all my clothes damp and cold.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I told them.

“Where are you going?” Senna asked from within my blankets.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Going to visit the town.”

She looked up, eyes full of concern. “Be careful.”

“That’s the plan.”

But as I re-saddled my horse, Lira came over to me and helped me tighten the girth. “I’m sorry about what I said,” she murmured, her voice quiet enough to not travel to where Senna lay, lost in the pitter patter of rain on the surrounding leaves. “I know you’re doing all you can … my God.”

I let our hands brush, the girth strap beneath them, and Lira’s fingers stilled.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Please, Kaelan, please be safe.”

I turned to her then, cupping her cheeks in my hands. “Safe is the one thing I don’t need to worry about. I’m immortal, remember?” I brushed her lips with mine. “If I’m not back today, it means something has happened and—” I glanced past her to where Senna lay. “—I’ve returned to Fernwick. You blessed the bed there, right?”

Her lips twitched. “As far as I recall, the three of us blessed it together.”

I grinned. “You know what I mean. Trouble aside, I’ll be back by this afternoon. Evening at the latest.”

“I could try blessing your blankets beneath the bivouac,” Lira said thoughtfully. “It’s a lot harder than a bed … or the altar.” She brightened. “It would be a lot easier if Senna helped me with the ritual.” Her face fell. “Oh, but … then I’d have to tell her who you are.”

I shrugged. “We’re stronger together, aren’t we?” I raised my voice, letting it carry. “Tell her. I’d much rather respawn here than in Fernwick.”

Senna glanced over, her brow creased with curiosity. “Tell me what?”

“Lira will tell you. I’m going to go.” I untethered my mare and mounted. “Stay out of sight, stay together, and stay safe.”

Lira nodded. “Don’t worry, I have the staff.”

We both knew that would only help if they were found by a small group.

I turned the horse and rode off, worried about leaving them alone. But I couldn’t be everywhere at once; that wasn’t part of my God power.

More was the pity.