Spear of Destiny: Chapter 19

By the time we reached the stairs, Jacob’s screams of rage gave way to sobbing as our footsteps faded. Suri and I climbed the stairs without saying anything to one another, but when we reached the surface, we both took deep, grateful breaths of fresh air and turned to look at one another.

“I think that went pretty well,” Suri said. “He squealed like… well. A rat.”

“He sure did. I wonder if there’s some way we could let Nick know his butt buddy bitched him out.” I nodded to the guard as he saluted. “You think he earned breakfast?”

“Yeah. I’d say so.” Suri shuddered, and jerked her shoulders. “Gods… the man still makes my skin crawl. What do you think about what he said? About the people here?”

I frowned, looking out over the inner war. The castle was already bustling. The guards were in the middle of changing shifts, servants were busy bussing sacks and crates between the gatehouse and kitchens, and Vash was drilling Karalti and Kitti Hussar in the area just outside the Great Hall.

"Neyhg! Kor! Trun! Doro!" he barked the Tuun numerals as the two girls stepped forward in stance, punching from the hip. "Keep your back straight, Hussar! Shun! Zorgaa!"

“He’s wrong,” I said quietly. “The way he described the system doesn’t take into account any of what we see here, day in, day out. If what he said was true, then every single thing these people do is because of us, oriented on us. And I just can’t believe that.”

“-Tuurgiz! Uun!” Vash called out the last two numbers, moving to stand in front of them. “Hoch Tsool!”

“HAH!” Both girls shouted, sliding into the final stance position, punching with the right fist, and bringing the left arm into a forceful upper block. Karalti was better practiced at it, holding the forward leaning stance with no tremors. Kitti kept glancing at her, trying to line her feet and hips up the same way.

"Okay, hold position." Vash went to Kitti and gently kicked her feet into the proper position. “Good, there we go. We’ll make a warrior out of you yet, Lady Hussar.”

“Trust your gut,” Suri said. “You’re bonded at the brainstem to Karalti. You’d know if she wasn’t making her own decisions. Same with me and Cutthroat.”

“Yeah.” I watched as Vash went and picked up a pair of sacks connected by a short rope. Karalti whined, then again, louder, as Vash hung them over her outstretched arm.

“If you think this is bad, just wait until you reach Journeyman!” Vash chided. “You’ll have to hold ME on your arm. And I weigh more than I look.”

“Nooooo.” Karalti broadcast her thoughts to all of us. The muscles of her arms popped as she strained to keep the upper block up at the proper height. “UGH. This is the WORST.”

“Oh, come on, girl. It’s barely thirty pounds!” He folded his hands behind his back and swaggered around the pair of them as they stayed in position. Karalti’s face was turning purple as her blue-tinted blood rose into her cheeks. " You carry that impotent sack of lard and all his gear on your back day in, day out. Surely you can-"

"Ahem." I coughed as Suri and I drew up to join them. "That's LORD impotent fat sack of lard to you."

"Oh, there he is!" Vash flashed us a gap-toothed grin over his shoulder. "I must say, you are looking both exceptionally flaccid and rotund today, my lord. Did you have a nice talk to Jacob?"

"Wouldn't call it ‘nice’," Suri grunted. "He was informative.”

"Vash!" Karalti's telepathic voice broadcast over the three of us, high with strain and irritation. "When can we drop our arms!? This hurts!"

“Hmm?” Vash glanced back at them. "Oh, you. No, no... carry on. Keep those arms up."

"ARRRGH! I hate you!" Karalti snapped her teeth and hissed, drawing a look of alarm from Kitti.

“Good, good. Let Burna’s power flow through you.” Satisfied, Vash turned back to us. "Jacob has started to experience feelings of guilt. That's a good sign. Next comes regret, and then madness. The good kind of madness: the kind that purges evil."

"Glad you feel so upbeat." Suri scowled.

“Upbeat? Na-tsho schrodna.” He made a sound of disgust. “I want to break the self-absorbed little milksap’s neck. But he is Starborn, like you and His Grace, and we must share this world together for a very long time. Reform is the only option we have, unless you feel like entombing him like the Drachan.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck, glancing at the sky. “And look how well that turned out.”

“Indeed.” Vash held up a finger. "Excuse me a moment."

He strode back to Karalti, shuddering against the pain of holding her arm out, and took the sack off. She let out a sigh of relief.

“Alright, turn around, and baga tsool!” He barked the word for ‘low block’ in Tuun, pacing around the pair of them.

"Nuuuuu!" Karalti nearly sobbed, but obeyed: bringing her foot in, turning, and then blocking an imaginary strike from underneath. “Hector! He’s crazy! Save me!”

“Hell no. This is great.” I planted my hands on my hips. “If I had peanuts, I’d throw them at you.”

“If you had peanuts, I’d jam them up your keister!”She made a face at me as Vash called out “Neyhg!” and the pair of them began the same drill in the other direction, leading with the left arm instead of the right.

"Come now, Karalti. Whining does not become royalty." He scolded her for real, this time, his voice sharpening. “Do you want to be a Baru or not? If you want to give up, then cry for mercy like a child.”

“No!” Karalti's brows furrowed. I felt her determination surge through the bond, and when he called out the next number, she threw her strength into the punch.

[Karalti has gained +1 Wis, +1 Will, +1 Sta.]

"Well, I've got to go do my training as well," Suri said. "Bit different to this. You want to keep learning to be a monk, Kitti? Or want to join me for some good old-fashioned Berserker training?"

Kitti's pale blue eyes flicked between Vash and Suri. She bit her lip. "Master Vash... may I...?"

"Yes, yes. I know you train for a different discipline than her holiness here," he said. "Bow out as I taught you, and you may leave. You've had a good warm up. Suri can continue your education in the gentle art of chopping people in half with improbably large swords.”

“Thank you! And thanks for letting me join in!” Kitti straightened up, giving the stiff Tuun martial artists' bow. Karalti glowered enviously at her as she trotted over to Suri. As her attention on her form wavered, Vash winked at me, then hung the sacks over her outstretched left arm.

I was about to quip something at my sputtering dragon when a flash of movement from the southern gate caught my eye. Three Royal Dragoons, still in their flight harnesses, and a trio of wiry Yanik Rangers were limping from the direction of the skydock toward us. All six of them looked windblown and exhausted.

“Our scouts are back,” I said, already moving toward the Great Hall. “Sorry, Suri, but this takes precedence over training. We need to get Rin, Kitti, Istvan, Commander Taethawn, Captain Vilmos, and Wing Commander Vasoly in the Dining Room for the briefing.”

“Yeah! You heard him!” Karalti perked up. “I have to go! This is important!”

“Not you.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “You and Vash can keep going.”

Karalti gritted her teeth. “I insist.”

“You heard the man, my lady. Your training takes precedence over your attendance at a briefing, as it does for me.” He patted Karalti on the arm – the weighted one – and she groaned.

[Karalti has gained +1 Will!]

"Urrgh, FINE." She snorted furiously, straining against the weight. “I’ll show you!”

“Indeed. Show, don’t tell.” Vash nodded.

The six scouts slowed to a limping jog as they closed in on us. One of the quazi riders bent down, puffing from exertion.

"My lord. My lady. Corporal Bognar, reporting from Bas." The woman in the lead saluted smartly, despite her visible exhaustion. "We have news of Solonovka and the movements of Bas's militia."

"Great. Head to the dining room and take a seat. You'll have about fifteen minutes break before everyone gets here." I opened up the KMS and sent a dispatch to Istvan. "Get some food and water into you. We'll meet you there to receive the report."

"Yes, my lord." All six of them drew their heels together and saluted, then moved off toward the Great Hall.

Suri sighed, and looked down at Kitti. "You ready?"

"Yes. Can they come?" Kitti replied, nodding toward the pair of men who trailed her everywhere, Letho and Gruna. They were both big, hulking brutes, with the shaven heads, moustaches, and forelocks of Vlachian warriors. I was pretty sure they were twins. Letho was surlier and Gruna liked to wear red, but they were almost identical otherwise.

"Sure." Suri gave her a nod. "C'mon, Hector. Let's go. Good luck, Karalti. Looks like you'll need it."

"Thanks a lot," she grumbled. But as we left her with Vash, I felt her satisfaction at a job well done. She was ranting to blow off steam. Underneath it was passion for the craft she was learning, and a forming core of self-discipline.

I shook my head to myself as Suri and I followed the exhausted scouts at a quick walk.

"Something eating you?" Suri asked.

"Nah." I jammed my hands into my pockets as I caught up to her. “I’m just wondering what my brother and Ororgael knew about Archemi that Jacob doesn’t.”