Swordcaptain Shesua avoided the road that led straight from Urmlaspyr up to Daerlun, desiring instead to take a lesser-known foot path through the plains just to the north of the city. The city was close enough to be heard and smelled, though too far to see, and there were few plants much larger than bushes.
In addition to the four soldiers that were bound to Aleksei, one guard had his hands full attempting to escort Mi'ishaen, who would not allow him to get within two feet of her. Shesua himself kept Silveredge near him, and put Niku on a makeshift strap whose lead he would not let her hold. Silveredge had looked at the strap and lead with a vague trace of concern when Niku was first bound, but did not say a word about it. Allowing Mi'ishaen's guard to lead the party, Shesua called orders from the rear when necessary.
The march was mostly silent. What few pleasantries were passed came from the Purple Dragons themselves, and were addressed to each other only to be shushed by Shesua. Because he demanded a double-time marching pace, he had expected more complaint from the captives, and was surprised to hear not a single note of weariness from them. Silveredge didn't know how to march properly, but jogged along in good spirits. Mi'ishaen refused to keep any sort of proper form, and kept speeding up or slowing down at her own whim, only barely hampered by her harried escort. Shesua heard more murmurs from one of Aleksei's guards, who was vaguely annoyed about marching so quickly in a full set of heavy plate armor.
The group cut an easy path through the plains, but had to slow down when the terrain began to change. The ground became muddy with occasional pools of water, and tall, slender trees began to grow more and more numerous. Their strange, lanky roots bored through the soggy land like harpists' fingers, and were covered with shaggy moss. Approximately an hour after the change of scenery, as the sun ran before them to sink below the horizon, Aleksei began looking around and studying his surroundings.
"The air is changing," he muttered, as though there were some nearby monster he did not want to rouse. "Please to be careful."
"We tread in swamp land now, Voyonov," Shesua explained simply. "Thou hast had the odor of at least one in thy lifetime, I trust?"
"Watch out for ambushes, you idiot," Mi'ishaen shot, rolling her eyes. "There's cover."
"You walk now in Cormyr," Shesua stated slowly, as though speaking to a simple person. "and Cormite soldiers are trained-"
"Yeah, trained soldiers that got their asses handed to them by Semmite slavers, I thank m'lord for reminding me," Mi'ishaen scoffed. "He warned you. Whatever happens to you now is your own fault."
Silveredge bit her lips and lowered her head, but Aleksei was too focused on sweeping the area to respond to Mi'ishaen. Every breath of air that passed his snout made it twitch. His ears- two membrane-covered burrows on the sides of his head similar to those an iguana would have- caught the whispers of careful footsteps. Concerned, he dropped to a slow march, and the four guards that were attached to him rapidly discovered that they had only been able to maintain a fast pace because he had wanted to do so. No amount of pulling from any of them could coerce him into moving more quickly than he chose to go.
"Get moving," Shesua warned from behind them as he closed the space between them rapidly. "Whatever foul plan thou thinkest upon, Dragonborn, I pray thee leave it rest, or thou shalt buy the death of the one bit of baggage."
"Did you just call me baggage?" Mi'ishaen shot back, pausing to look at the swordcaptain behind her. Behind the party, running the length of his strap and bouncing around at the end of it, Niku began growling his discontent.
"As thou dost comport thyself, so shall I call thee," Shesua replied with a snort, pulling at the strap so that Niku nearly choked himself. "And the scorn of an untrained mutt shall not move me."
Mi'ishaen looked at Silveredge immediately, but the Shadar-kai didn't respond. She was utterly focused on pinpointing just what could have displeased Niku so thoroughly, but saw something else entirely. On one of the nearby tree trunks, she noticed an image similar to that which Seyashen had once drawn on the ship to Urmlaspyr. Thinking over Seyashen's abilities, she paused, trying to recall just what his ward- for the image had seemed very ward-like to her- was supposed to do.
The frustrated soldier who was supposed to be escorting Mi'ishaen finally decided to ignore her, and continued to move forward. By the time a quiet hiss caught the Tiefling's ears, it was much too late to warn him. Five ward-like images glowed on surrounding tree trunks, and a foul smelling green mist immediately filled the air. It was impossible to see through, it stung the nose and throat, and it irritated any exposed flesh. Mi'ishaen's guard dropped to his knees instantly, hit full force by the noxious fumes and completely overcome by a furious coughing fit. Mi'ishaen threw herself to the ground and covered her face with the bottom of her dress, but still hacked and gagged. Aleksei's first two guards staggered back a few steps, but he and the two guards at his sides were spared such intensity.
Shesua watched Mi'ishaen's sentry go down with a sharp pang in his chest. "Get down!" he barked at once, dropping to his knees with his eyes closed. "Take cover!"
All the soldiers did as they had been commanded, getting as close to the soggy earth as they could. Aleksei knelt down to allow the guards attached to him to get as far down as possible, but heard something moving through the mist. Opening his bleary right eye behind its milky second eyelid, the Dragonborn saw an attacker headed directly for him. The cretin wasted no time in slitting the throat of the gagging guard immediately in front of him, then cutting through Aleksei's neck chain with a blade that seemed to be made entirely of dark magic energy.
Aleksei turned to take stock of the man chained to his manacles, and noting that he still was, did not move against the offender. "Attack!" he called as loudly as he could, not certain if Shesua knew what was going on or not. Around him, several shadowy figures began stepping out from behind the trees or dropping down from above.
The male that had cut the neck chain responded by attempting to headbutt Aleksei, and after a pause during which both fixed each other with looks of confusion, Aleksei responded in kind. The Dragonborn's blow, aided by the tough scales on his forehead, dazed his opponent, who staggered backward a few steps before being accosted by the guard attached to Aleksei's left side. Aleksei held his arms in front of him to give the guard attached to his manacles as much allowance as he could, wondering why Shesua had not brought enough soldiers to protect the men who essentially could not move farther than three feet from their charge. Even a party of eight, as apparently Shesua's charge had been when he left Cormyr, seemed strangely insufficient to the Dragonborn's tactical mind.
Silveredge had swung her spiked chain free of her hips and slung it up to attacking speed simply to help clear the air around her, but as it did, she saw one man fighting with Shesua and another being slammed into by Niku. The hound had easily snapped the weak strap that bound him as soon as the trap had gone off, and was hopping up to rake the menace with the claws on his forepaws. Without a second thought, Silveredge slung her chain around the neck of the male fighting Niku, figuring that the swordcaptain would be able to hold his own without support.
Rapidly recovering from the mist, Mi'ishaen's guard managed to see the attacker coming for her before she did, and charged into him to knock him off his course. Mi'ishaen, ignoring her burning lungs, ran toward Aleksei, used the Purple Dragon who was still chained to Aleksei's left side as a springboard, and kicked a stealthy attacker behind the Dragonborn in the face. The soldier didn't recover from her acrobatic trick like Stone would have done, and seconds later found himself on the receiving end of a coup de grace. When the victor's dark blade made its way toward Aleksei's neck, however, the Dragonborn simply put his manacles between himself and it. Immediately grabbing the hand that had swung the blade with his right hand and putting his left hand behind the attacker's back, he pulled the man down over his still-bent knee, momentarily knocking the wind out of him.
"How many?" Shesua finally called raggedly, after doing away with his opponent.
"Seven left," Aleksei responded, quickly and calmly looking around himself.
Mi'ishaen scrambled to her feet, knowing the one she had just kicked would soon recover and get up if she didn't move quickly. She drew her daggers and put a killing blow into his neck, but was surprised and pushed face-first into the ground by the male who had killed the guard once chained to Aleksei's neck. She, already weakened by the acid trap, found it unusually difficult to get out of the stifling hold.
"Six," Silveredge corrected as she ripped the spikes of her chain out of the neck of the attacker before her. She turned to watch Aleksei's right side guard as the chain between the two males was sliced through by yet another attacker's dark blade. The guard on that side continued to fight bravely, but was flanked and killed by an accomplice that immediately faded back into the cover. Silveredge moved to catch him, but stopped when she noticed Mi'ishaen's situation. She thought to help, but was surprised by Mi'ishaen's tail suddenly whipping itself- tail knife and all- around her opponent's knee.
Aleksei, still attached to the dead guard on his left, turned all the way around to watch the attacker that was recovering from the blow to the gut. Mi'ishaen's guard, fresh from killing his attacker, quickly ran over to yank the offending male's head back and snap it against his shoulder.
"Five," he panted, pushing the body away from himself with a wince of pain. "You alright?"
An attacker that had been heading for Shesua stopped to attempt to avenge his compatriot by leaping on Aleksei's back with a cord to choke him, but instead was flung straight up into the air when Aleksei stood up. The movement and sound surprised the guard, Silveredge and Niku back a few steps.
"Da, ser," Aleksei replied as the body hit the ground with a sickening thump.
Shesua moved beyond Aleksei to make short work of the tossed attacker, but was dealt a jarring head blow by the one that had disappeared before. With some prompting from Silveredge, Niku barreled head-first into the male that was holding Mi'ishaen down, allowing her to roll onto her back. Mi'ishaen's guard noticed Shesua's situation immediately and moved to respond, but was pushed backward toward Aleksei during the ensuing fight. The Dragonborn, still unarmed and chained to a dead man, simply waited until the fight moved all the way past him and toward Silveredge, smiling when the Shadar-kai whipped her chain up to killing speed and easily slung it past the winded guard. Snarling the offender's neck in a killer embrace, Silveredge yanked mercilessly backward so that the spikes dug deeply into flesh.
"Four," Aleksei called immediately. Seconds later, a thump on his solidly scaled midback alerted him to another presence behind him. Turning over his right shoulder, the seven footer noted with a genuine laugh that the relatively large offender was surprised that his mark didn't move a single step. Aleksei hit the male's wrist with a precise long-fisted punch to force him to drop his weapon, then grabbed the male by the neck with a force that almost crushed it.
As his head cleared, Shesua was surprised to see the male that had previously had Mi'ishaen face-down before him groaning as he rolled around on the ground. Granted a moment to get her face out of the soggy earth, she panted pathetically as Niku tore at the attacker on her right side. It was at that moment that Shesua noted the ropes and gags at the aggressor's side.
Slavers, he thought with ground teeth. Semmites are now grown so bold that they will seek slaves in Cormyr?
Silveredge ripped her chain away from the fourth slaver's neck just as Aleksei snapped the third's back over his bent knee. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before catching sight of the last slaver sneaking up on Shesua, who was moving to finish the male lying near Mi'ishaen. Aleksei moved first, running directly toward the sneaking slaver. Mi'ishaen suddenly rolled over on top of the male near her, causing Niku to bolt off toward Silveredge. Shesua came to a surprised halt as Aleksei, now dragging the body of the guard still chained to him, viciously grabbed the last slaver's neck.
The Tiefling dropped both fanged daggers just under the slaver's chin and sliced his throat with authority, snapping his head to the left as she did so. Aleksei, meanwhile, stood and bodily lifted the other slaver straight into the air with his right hand, gripped his upper thigh with his left, then brought the male's upper back straight to the ground with a force that put an inch-deep impression into the malleable ground. To make sure of death, Aleksei released the male completely and slammed his closed right fist into the breastbone. There was an unmistakable crushing sound, and the slaver's brown eyes went suddenly wide and glassy, punctuated by gushes of red from his gaping mouth and battered nose.
A strange silence fell between them, punctured only by Mi'ishaen's weary breathing, and Niku's anxious half-barks. Shesua looked around himself, a deep scowl slicing its way across his face. Silveredge noted the flitting gaze as Niku padded toward her with a wheezing whine.
"My lord is searching for survivors among his men?"
"None attached to me live," Aleksei noted sadly. "The one that now is behind me is still breathing, yes?"
"Barely," the guard managed, pulling his helmet off his face to spit blood. "We should do something about-"
"There's one missing- Hophni!" Shesua called, bringing his sword back to an attacking position. "Hophni!"
Aleksei closed his eyes and listened closely to the area around him while the guard picked up a dropped dark blade and sliced him free of his perished cargo. Niku, who had begun rolling around in the blood stained mud, stopped and looked to Silveredge with his tongue lolling out.
"I don't know what he smells like, Niku," Silveredge explained. "I didn't even know his name."
"What do you care?" Mi'ishaen shrugged as she finally stood up. "If he was half as useless as the rest of these purple-plated idiots-"
Aleksei stepped over the slaver that he had body slammed and looked up into a tree four paces beyond it. "You are Hophni, yes?" he asked the Human that trembled in the branches.
The Human, who had lost his helmet and his weapon somehow, nodded wordlessly.
"Gods!" Shesua bellowed, quickly closing the space between himself and Aleksei with a few running steps. "What put you up there, man?"
"Quick limbs and a yellow back'd be my guess," Mi'ishaen snorted, putting her daggers away and watching Silveredge wind her chain back around her hips. The guard between them laughed lightly as he spat out another mouthful of blood and saliva, then recovered his helmet.
Hophni let go of the tree and fell on his hands and feet with a cat-like agility. "There weren't any archers," he reported, straight faced. Silveredge put both hands over her mouth to prevent herself from giggling in response, but Mi'ishaen allowed one loud, sharp guffaw to escape her.
"No, Hophni, there weren't any bloody archers," Shesua grunted, suddenly sounding much like Arnsvold back in Urmlaspyr. "Come, hitch thyself up to this one, and let's away."
"This is not wise," Aleksei warned.
"He's right," Mi'ishaen's guard added sourly, looking around him at the various bodies. "You must be worth something to them, ser- gods protect us."
"The gods had nothing to do with it, you prancer," Mi'ishaen spat, getting up slowly. After a few moments, she shook her head as though she were responding to a question and sat back down on the ground.
"They are cutting strong chains with these strange blades as though they are nothing," Aleksei finished, watching Mi'ishaen. "Unless there is blacksmith between the three of you, these cannot be fixed."
Silveredge came close to Mi'ishaen's guard to inspect him, then backed away as she lowered her gaze. "My lord looks and sounds well in health," she concluded.
"My lady looks like she didn't even get a bruise," the guard responded with an embarrassed chuckle. "I know I've got a few. Commander, Hophni- how fare you two?"
Shesua didn't respond verbally. Sheathing his sword, he tugged some rope away from one of the slavers. As he marched by to take the lead, he simply thrust the rope into the hands of the guard speaking to Silveredge. Hophni moved after him with a pace that could almost be described as a scamper. With a shrug, Aleksei dropped to one knee yet again.
"Bloody coward," the guard muttered, looking Aleksei up and down. "I'll just do your hands and let the Shadar-kai hold you."
"No straps for the baggage or the hound, then," Mi'ishaen laughed, wiping mud off herself as she tried to stand again. "Just put one between the Dragonborn and Shadar-kai that saved your life, and let's be off like nothing's happened."
"Are you alright?" Silveredge asked, stranded between going to Mi'ishaen and waiting to receive Aleksei's strap.
"Unessmus!" Shesua called, pausing without turning around.
"Do you want us bound or not?" Mi'ishaen called back before the guard could say anything in his own defense. "Sport yourself with your pet pantywaist."
"I have to hand it to you, ser, you and your wives are like three part harmony," the guard chuckled as he began knotting the rope. "Mine would never take up a weapon with me- and I thought that thing was some sort of Netherese belt."
"I will not stand for your impertinence," Shesua warned Mi'ishaen pointedly. "We are Purple Dragons, and you will respect us!"
"These women both are gifts of the gods," Aleksei replied calmly. "Also, Rasha is not Netherese. She is Shadow Child. This is very different."
Silveredge smiled at Aleksei with a knowing gaze that warmed his heart and hurt it at the same time.
"I thought her name was Sil-"
"Rasha and Mishka," Aleksei supplied firmly, standing up after the guard finished binding his hands. "Also Silveredge and Mi'ishaen; I am using little sweet names for these lovely ones. I am wondering if this one is well, as normally she is fighting much harder than this."
"Untaught slavers took half your Purple Dragons down to the hells with them- on your watch, oh great commander!" Mi'ishaen called back to Shesua. "Even with all your rigorous training, your lives rely on the help of your captives! None of you noticed even one of the five acid trap wards, and you, our brave and honorable leader, were choking and sputtering all the way in the back! You have the constitution of a terminally ill Halfling mage! What about any of that should I respect?"
"Please to help Mishka?" Aleksei asked Silveredge quietly. "She is much closer to the trap when it is going off, and though she is at least well enough to curse, still she is on the ground."
"Here," the guard replied, handing the rope over to Silveredge. "Take this and-"
"Move out, Unessmus!"
"You come back here and make the knots around your captives' hands yourself, or you shut up and wait!" Mi'ishaen retorted as she finally got up. "You're just as cowardly as what's-his-name that you've got tip toeing behind you like a mewling kitten-"
"My lord is kind," Silveredge smiled as she wrapped her hand in the rope and tied it into a knot. "Your handmaiden cannot lead Ser Voyonov, but hopes that she might share his bond."
"What! Thou thing- thou burnt tart! Thou demon-cuckolded creature!" Shesua sputtered. "Thou unwashed bit of birthing rag!"
"Say, you've got both ends of the spectrum covered, ser," the guard joked. "This one's as careful and docile as that one is raw."
"Oh go on, go hang, you unfinished rug!" Mi'ishaen brayed, pausing to throw a handful of mud toward Shesua. "Your mother sits on her knees all night for my patron demon!"
"Da, ser," Aleksei replied immediately. "Great gifts, each in her own way."
The guard's face turned red as he tried not to laugh. "Well, I respect you- all three of you-"
Niku barked sharply, and Silveredge squatted to kiss his head. Excited at the affection, Niku eagerly returned the kiss with many more of his own.
"Four," the guard corrected brightly. "Sorry, pup. Say, Mishka, here's another rope for the-"
"I said move, Unessmus!" Shesua called, a note of frustration clear in his voice. "And put a gag in that-"
"Just how much farther do you intend to march us in the dark, through a swamp, after that attack?" Mi'ishaen called back as the guard handed her a second rope with a wince. "The hound and I are yet unbound, I thank m'lord so kindly!"
"I will be glad when we are reaching Cormyr, Unessmus," Aleksei sighed, moving forward. Silveredge lifted her head toward Mi'ishaen, and Niku padded toward the Tiefling, obediently sitting down.
"I tell thee, thou hell-brand strumpet, an I am pressed to turn me around-"
"Call me Rafael, or Rafa," the guard replied, watching Mi'ishaen begin to use the rope to fashion a sort of harness that wrapped around Niku's forelegs and chest instead of his neck. As she worked, Silveredge laid her head on her back and listened to her breathing.
"Come on and get me!" Mi'ishaen cawed, her voice harsh. "In fact, bring
your shadow with you!"
"Perhaps my lord may wish to spare a healing potion," Silveredge commented quietly. "Her breathing sounds terrible."
"When we do reach Cormyr, I'll be the first to buy you and your wives a drink. Oh, and a good soup bone for the hound," Rafa finished, digging through the meager belongings that he carried with him.
"We've lost time," Shesua growled, deigning to turn his gaze over his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Mi'ishaen stated flatly, looking at Silveredge over her shoulder. "That guy was closer, and we're both fine."
"Commander, with respect, the Tiefling's right," Rafa reminded Shesua as he handed off a small vial to Silveredge. "The sun is down, and-"
"There shall be no further argument," Shesua finished as he turned all the way around to stare Rafa down. "We shall march 'til I be weary. Sun or no sun, swamp or no swamp, do I make myself clear?"
"Your breathing sounds-"
"M'lord is kind!" Mi'ishaen scoffed, cutting Silveredge off as she finished tying Niku's strap to her wrist. She sat down for a few moments, and Niku sniffed around her nervously until she began moving to get up again. "At least if we walk into another trap, you'll be dead first- seriously, keep that, Silveredge. I'm fine. It hurts some, but I'm not dying."
"Pain is usually coming before death, yes," Aleksei counseled as he watched Mi'ishaen slowly stand straight. "I am hoping that we will make more distance for you between the two."
"She said she was fine," Rafa breathed, looking at the remorseless Tiefling as she began to step over bodies as though they were merely logs or bricks. Silveredge moved to hand the vial back, but Rafa shook his head as he moved quickly behind Mi'ishaen. "but keep that, just in case."
No comments:
Post a Comment