A: Ch. 3.2

“So, we’re not going to Cauntin,” Kya repeated, giving Hilt a strange look. Inwardly, she was thrilled, but she maintained a suspicious look while she questioned him. “Why not? It’s a central city, large enough to get lost in the crowds, and leads to the main road to the Capitol. It will add at least a week more riding if we turn east and go toward the coast.”

“It will be safer. There’s less of an opportunity for someone to recognize me. Cauntin has more Nibhein influence and I know for a fact that the Second General was supposed to make a quick stop there before turning back south and making his way along the sea coast. He had to travel with fifteen thousand troops, but I’m certain he’s still there.”

Kya felt her heart skip a beat. “Why along the sea?”

The Ylid Sea had been the location of the most gruesome battle between Nibheis and Elivagar in recent history. Three hundred ships on both sides were destroyed and their skeletal remains still protruded on some of the shallow banks. The pair of islands in the Sea had both been territories of Elivagar and both had valuable ports, which Nibheis realized. While most of the soldiers had been deployed on there were forced onto the many ships to fight off the Nibhein army, a small infantry appeared on the southern coast of the largest island. They slaughtered all who remained there – mostly the elderly and women with young children.

The bloodiest of battles happened a month later on the northern island. There were no horses (Nibheis had killed them all) or ships to rely on. It was rumored that the entire island was consumed in a single battle. The earth was permanently stained red with blood and the rocky walls echoed the screams of war all the way back to the mainland. It was also the battle where their late King Odin perished in battle over twelve years ago. Yaro, Odin’s brother, took the throne and has since destroyed what little hope Elivagar had of ever winning.

“The large island to the far east,” Hilt explained. “Apparently he thinks there’s something worthwhile there.”

There wasn’t of course. You couldn’t even step foot on the island. The entire island was edged in a two hundred foot cliff with no inlets or glimpses of a sandy shore. It was almost as if it erupted like a perfect column out of the ocean, gloating its perfect defense. Kya recalled sailors talk about how it was eerily silent, despite the waves crashing constantly at the rocks, but none could ever see what was on the island or even a way to get up there.

“Has your Second General sprouted wings?” Kya teased.

Hilt only glared at her. “We’re going to Eirain. It’s quiet; we can get some more supplies, and then carry on.”

“Can we stay at an inn?” Kya asked innocently.

“No.”

“But we need to sleep! We may as well have a bed to stay on.”

“No,” Hilt repeated.

“But I—“

“No!”

Somehow, and Kya wasn’t exactly sure how she managed it, they were checking into the small inn with a pleasant room that looked out at the expansive fields around Eiran. If she looked close enough, Kya could even see the coastline to the west. She had guessed the correct town which was loyal to Elivagar, they were just about to cross the border, and they got to stay at an inn (with two beds). She couldn’t keep the grin off of her face. It was almost surreal!

Hilt, on the other hand, was livid. He growled and grumbled and glared at everything that moved. He was reluctant to put his horse in a stable (Kya couldn’t blame him for that, the stallion was magnificent) and he insisted that they would be leaving at least three hours before the sun rose so Kya had best not get too comfortable. They still had to get to the Capital. They would. She would ensure that.

“I need to find the nearest bar,” Hilt growled as he stomped away from her. Perfect. Good to know that when he got flustered he would lose focus. He had insisted he wouldn’t take his eyes off of her. Idiot boy. He was human just like everyone else.

Smiling still, Kya walked about the little town. It would be just a matter of time now so long as all the pieces fell into place.

Hilt rolled his shoulders as he sat down at the pub and ordered a strong ale. It was still too weak for him – he only truly felt the effects of alcohol when he drank curran, a specialty in Nibheis from fermented milkweed roots and figs. He didn’t mind, all he wanted was something to help dull the slow throb at his temples.

How had the girl managed it? Here he thought that the change in the route would keep him in control, that Eirain would allow him easier passage into the north. Instead he was spending the night in the small town rather than utilizing the time to travel. The more time they wasted, the more likely the winter snows would trap them before they got to the fortress.

He should have insisted they keep going, but she whined and dug in her feet and made quite an accurate duplicate of the ass she rode. They wasted such daylight it truly was time to make camp when they came upon the small village. It was illogical to sleep on the ground just a dozen strides from a proper bed. So he left her in the room with explicit instructions not to leave while he had a proper drink.

The pasty had certainly left, of course, but there was little she could do. Her donkey was checked under his name, she had no money of her own, and she would be dog tired from their travels. He smirked.

“Another?” asked the small lad behind the bar. Well, he was hardly small. He was easily wider than he was tall, though he barely would hit Hilt’s mid-chest. He had a pudgy face and hands which made him look much younger than he likely was with sandy hair which was receding much too soon for his age and beady eyes that gave him the eerie look of a fattened pig.

“Aye,” Hilt said, nudging the empty glass. He was surprised to see someone so fair skinned this close to the border. Much of the border towns were a perfect mixture of the two countries. They had fairer skin than those in the south, but it was rare to see blonde hair. As it was, Eirain belonged more to the North than the South. They were too dependent on the coast and their history too tainted by Nibhein oppression. He shouldn’t be so surprised.

Hilt gulped down the drink quickly and tapped the bar for another. It wasn’t too terribly late, but most of the patrons had left to go back to their homes. Most were probably fishermen and needed to wake before the sun rose, or perhaps the northerners weren’t too heavy of drinkers.

He yawned and rubbed at his temples and then at his jaw. It felt tense and strained, but the drink was working his way to ease them all away. His fingers even started to tingle, which felt a bit odd. He blinked as he felt dark shadows obscure the peripherals of his vision. He hadn’t had that much to drink. It wasn’t strong enough.

Hilt grunted and stood up, the quick movement too much for his muscles and mind to cooperate properly. He stumbled and grabbed at the bar to keep his balance. He growled and looked around the bar. Empty now. Not a soul. Not even the pudgy boy.

Shit.

His tongue felt thick and numb. He stumbled toward the entrance, but couldn’t feel his feet touching the ground. The world was spinning without his control. Fuck. His clumsy fingers grappled with the doorknob, but he couldn’t figure out which was to turn it. His heart was fluttering and his vision faded.

Hilt grunted before collapsing on the floor of the empty tavern, his eyes still blindly gazing upwards.

“What took so long?”

“It took four times the amount you suggested. He just kept drinking. I was afraid he might do something so I had everyone else clear out.”

“It’s probably for the best. The less this poor town has to know, the better.”

“How did you do it? How did you know he’d come here? How are you still alive?”

Kya smiled and looked over at the pudgy little boy. “I just knew, Cress, and I prayed for the spirits to be on my side. Taerce the Deceptive was certainly on my side these past few weeks.”

“I can’t believe it’s truly the Third General, unconscious just a few feet away.”

Kya stared at the man slumbering on the bed. The four soldiers assigned to this mission besides herself and Cress were required to carry his surprising weight back to the inn. They were waiting in the next room for proper orders, but Kya was still wrapping her head about how well this was working out. It was almost easy. And he hadn’t suspected any of it! He even suggested they go to Eirain before she had the chance to.

“So what do we do, Kya?” Cress asked, playing with the hem of his tunic. “The King…”

“Is prepared to head north within the month, you told me.” Kya sighed and looked around the small room.

The goal had originally been for her to escort the unconscious Hilt with Cress and her soldiers all the way back to the Capital. It would take too long with him in chains and in the cart they had devised for him. She had a choice. She could trust Cress and the four other soldiers to watch him while she went ahead as quickly as possible and told the King of her success, or risk missing the King. As soon as he left, she had no choice of reaching him until he was in the Fortress itself, and even then it wouldn’t do her much good. She needed the King to know now.

He wasn’t supposed to go so early. That was why he had approved this mission in the first place. She would bring the Third General to his feet before winter came. A sickening truth settled in Kya’s stomach as she realized that the King had no belief that she could possibly succeed. Then why send her? Why… No, she knew. It was more embarrassment, more power for him, more control. Damn the King. She’d show him.

“I’m going,” Kya said, quickly gathering the few bits of things she knew she would need – among those, both of the swords so precious to General Hilt.

“What?” Cress asked, his face turning ashen. “B-But we haven’t readied him yet, we still need you to—“

“I need you to do this for me, Cress. I’ll ride north to Marigold. It’s a bigger city and they’ll have a bird that can make the journey to the Capital. I can send a message to the King and explain to him what happened. As soon as he hears he will certainly stay until we bring the General. It’s only a week’s ride if I’m alone, less if I take Hilt’s horse.”

“Hilt’s horse?” Cress questioned.

“It’s faster than what we brought. It’s my best bet.” It wasn’t until Kya paused that she realized Cress was questioning the familiarity with the General. She ignored it. “As soon as I send the bird, I will turn around and come back and lead the escort. I can’t have the King assume of my failure. This… This will change the war, Cress. I’m not going to fail. Not again.”

“But wouldn’t it be best if we all made it to Marigold? It won’t add too much time…”

“The sooner I get a message to the King, the best we will be. For all we know he’s already left.”

“If which case it would be best if you stayed with us.”

“Cress, I have to do this.”

Cress looked around the room before his eyes finally settled on the General, still slumbering rather peacefully. “I can’t do this without you. What if he wakes up?”

“You gave him enough Somnola to put a rhetek to sleep for weeks. He won’t wake up, at least not before I come back. Just don’t let him starve away. Water, honey and milk if you can manage it.” Kya picked up the pack that Cress had packed for her and attached both of the swords to it. They were both heavier than she anticipated.

“Can I have my bow?” Kya asked, holding her hand out. Cress looked wary and resistant. He was clutching it like a lifeline.

“Don’t you think it’s suspicious to have a woman riding around alone while equipped with two swords, a dagger, and a long bow with nearly fifty arrows in the quiver?”

“Don’t you think it’s suspicious that a woman would be traveling through Elivagar alone anyway? I might as well protect myself.”

“Why don’t I go north with you? I won’t slow you down, and you’ll be safer!” Cress insisted.

Kya sighed and closed her eyes. Every moment here was another moment the King might be leaving. “I need you to stay with the General. Those soldiers in the next room are grunts, and they think with their emotions. Many of them have likely lost friends or relatives to the General himself. They will kill him if they had the chance before we deliver him to the King. I trust you with him, but not them.”

“Then why have them at all? Just the two of us taking him north. We’ll be faster!”

“Cress—“

“Just please…”

“I trust you to do this, Cress. You’re a knight now. You have certain duties and responsibilities.”

Cress snorted and flushed a bright red. “You know I’m not a real knight. The King just did it for the same reason he—“

“Don’t say that,” Kya snapped, her voice low. Cress immediately bit his tongue and looked away embarrassed. “Don’t talk about it.” Kya could feel the lump growing in her throat, but swallowed it down.

“You’re still going to go ahead, aren’t you?”

“Even a day ahead might give us the time we need. Make sure he’s shackled and blindfolded. I don’t want him to see anything, nor anyone to see those eyes. If for whatever reason you are stopped, just say you’re escorting a prisoner.”

Cress still clung to the bow and quiver. Finally, he handed them over, looking crestfallen. “Be careful.”

“I always am. Don’t let the General die. We still need him.” Kya clutched her valuable goods and headed to the door. Cress stopped her before she could leave.

“Your father would be proud,” he said softly.

Kya said nothing. She pulled away from him, exited the inn, and made her way to the stables. She had to ride quicker than the wind. Even though she said it herself, she didn’t trust Cress. If she wasn’t fast, this would end in disaster. 

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