When the large outpost appeared in front of them, it was nightfall. It was a simple outpost. Wooden walls all around the compound and a small outlook tower against one of the walls. There wasn’t any light or smoke coming from within it so no one was occupying it at the moment.
Vincent frowned at that but led them toward it anyway. It was their only shelter for the time being anyway. As they approached the walls themselves, they were at least twelve feet up. They could hold up against a small siege but if someone decided to actually try, the whole thing would fall. It really wouldn’t be that useful in a defensive place.
Vincent circled the outpost slowly looking for the door and then came back to everyone else rubbing his head. “Well, normally someone is here. And since no one’s here I can’t get the door open.”
“That seems pretty counter intuitive.” Alistair said.
Vincent shrugged. “Either the last people got up in a hurry or no one wanted to stay behind and keep the place running. Regardless we can make it in no problem.”
“And how do you do that?” Morrigan asked staring at him for his answer.
“Twins. Who wants to fly or jump over the wall and let us in?”
They looked at each other and shrugged. “I’ll do it.” Alistair said finally getting off the horse. Stretching his arms above his head slowly he crouched down and as he stood his legs elongated. He leaned forward his eyes narrowed and sprung up and over the wall. He cleared it in one go. The other side were several huts line around the walls. A fire pit in the center that had been dug into the ground with a lack of wood.
Looking around slowly he glanced for the door and found it across the space. Jumping forward he landed in front it, clearing almost ten feet in one step. It felt good for him to do things like that. To use his magic and flex his legs like this. It was also great not to be on the back of a horse finally. His crotch was aching. Eaergo needed some kind of saddle.
Walking toward the lever he yanked down on it and it resisted. It felt like it had been rusted over from lack of use. But he bulked up his arms getting stronger. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the lever back and the door opened. It flew upwards high above the ramparts. He gave a huff, putting his foot on the lever to keep it up because he didn’t know how to lock it in place.
Raising his arms, he smirked at everyone. “Come on in. Place is all ours.”
The pair of horses ambled forward and within the outpost. He moved his foot and the whole door slammed back into place. It was jarring and his eyes went wide for a moment, not expecting it to go come down like that but went to his sister’s side. He was going to help her off the horse but she floated off with a shrug.
Vincent took Blaze with him toward the stables. Though when he got there, he realized they were secluded away from the rest of the world and had no other people near them. Patting his side he said, “Lucky day buddy. No stables. You get to roam around and do you.”
He went back toward the circle and Blaze looked around unsure because normally he was supposed to stay there but he eventually walked after his rider. Morrigan got off Eaergo, taking the saddlebags and let them fall to the ground. She drew her sword and spun it around slowly, faster and faster and then sank it into the ground. The horse turned to look at her as it faded away into the mist.
She flipped her sword around and sheathed it at her hip and faced her companions. “It’s getting dark. Do we want to build a fire?”
“We can get away with it.” Vincent said turning around slowly. He pointed at the various huts and then picked the one at the base of the lookout tower. Going toward it, he pushed open the door and was hit by the smell of wood. The entire hut was dark and the far wall was piled high with logs. Some neatly cut but others that were just kinda shoved against the ground.
He shrugged his shoulders grabbing a pair of them. As he picked them up, he grunted, wrinkling his nose at the smell. It wasn’t quite rot but it was close enough. Looking over one of his logs he sighed. Part of the inside was hollowed out and blackened by it.
Still he walked them both forward and threw them into the pit. It was about a foot into the ground with grey ashes in the center. The logs he threw bounced into the ashes with satisfying clunks. He went and got three more of these throwing them into the center pit.
“Hey Alison. If you’d do the honors.”
She smirked and her right hand glowed with flame. She thrust it at the logs and a small ball of fire flew forward lighting them all. The heat was almost immediate and illuminated the entire camp as the sun sank below the walls around them. “I take it there’s not a lot of food here.” Alistair suggested.
“Well we can check. I think we built a larder somewhere around here.” He said looking at the huts. “Wait. I have a map for this.” He turned around to run to Blaze but instead he ran into his horse who was sitting down. Stumbling he flipped over his side landing on his back.
Sucking in a slow breath he swore. “Dammit Blaze. Warn me when you’re gonna just lay somewhere.” He said rolling to his side. Going into the saddlebag he rummaged through it and got out a small roll of paper. Unfolding it quickly he raised it to the sky and then shifted it back and forth as he tried to position the outpost in the right direction.
“Morrigan go that way.” He said and raised his hand, finger pointing in a direction.
“I can’t even remotely guess at what that direction is.” She said a few feet away, not even attempting to hide her annoyance. He waved his hand at her and she rolled her eyes. “Yes I see your hand bandit.” He pointed toward the left at a slight angle.
She looked at Alistair who shrugged and smiled. Morrigan walked in that direction going toward one of the many huts. This one didn’t have any visible windows or even small visible cracks that she could notice on the exterior. It was also lower to the ground than all the others. Barely tall enough for Morrigan to walk through. As she opened the door the entire hut was different on the inside. It sloped downward sharply with a straw and dirt hatch in the center of the room.
She went to it pulling it up she was hit with a blast of cold air. There was a small ladder that she took down into a small cellar like area. There were shelves of food bundled together. There were empty spots there but she grabbed several bundles of vegetables from it and climbed back up. Some greens and carrots.
When she came back up the twins had been set to work, carrying metal rods with prongs on the tops. They placed them on either end of the fire that was at a healthy size. Vincent walked back over holding another of the metal rods and a dark metal pot. “Oh, good they actually left us some food. Wish we could replenish the stores more than this.
“The cellar itself wasn’t full. Enough for maybe a few days on a group larger than ours.” She walked toward the fire and held the vegetables up. Alistair pointed toward a set of thin paper on the ground with a few chunks of meat, tiny piles of powder and a ladle. She put the vegetables on them and walked toward Vincent.
He slid the metal rod through the handle of the pot. He grabbed one end of the pole and Morrigan grabbed the other. Heaving they raised it above their heads, water sloshing within the pot, and slowly walked toward the two support rods the twins set up. Both of them held it steady as they put the pot into place.
“And now comes the fun part.” Going back to one of the huts he came back with a stool and shoved it into the ground. Alison walked over to the paper and grabbed it by the corners and put the ladle between her teeth and carried it over to Vincent. He took the corners of the paper first and slowly dumped the contents into the water with several splashes.
He then plucked the ladle from her lips giving her a look. She giggled floating up toward him and staring into the bowl. The liquid had once been clear was now brownish as he stirred the contents together very slowly. “Shoo away. The chef is crafting a masterpiece.”
She snorted. “Thought you were a map maker.”
“I have many talents.”
“Sure sure Vince.”
While Vincent cooked their dinner, Alistair stood with Morrigan. Morrigan had her rapier drawn and her other hand behind her back. Alistair was staring at her unarmed, his facial magic released, and staring at both of the swords they’d bartered for on the ground. “Though you were able to guide Eaergo if we were ever going to go into battle against the Sanctum, you’ll need to be able to defend yourself.”
She turned and shouted for Alison to come as well. She did just that floating down to stand beside her brother. Though they looked identical still in the face and body shape there were some small differences starting to form. Alistair was a bit taller, the lack of walking around possible stunting Alison’s growth. His arms were also more defined from however long he’d carried her on his back.
She nodded slowly and walked toward each of them. “I take it neither of you have ever wielded a sword before.”
“Nope.”
“We have not,” she affirmed.
“How many times have you gotten into fights with your magic?”
They looked at one another, discussing and remembering situations. They held their hands up to one another and when they got different numbers they argued for a moment before settling on a number. When they turned toward Morrigan they both held up their hands representing nine.
“We tried to avoid getting into trouble,” Alistair explained.
“But we couldn’t avoid a lot of people looking like two girls traveling alone.” Alison explained.
Alistair added, “This doesn’t include since we’ve met you two.”
She rolled her eyes slowly and sighed. “Alright, fair enough. Then this is going to be a start from square one type of situation. Each of you pick up a sword.”
They both looked toward the smaller sword almost immediately and then stared at one another with narrowed eyes. “Well let’s be real here brother.” And she dashed forward snatching up the smaller of the swords. She raised it up swinging it back and forth. It was light and whistled slightly when she did that.
That left him with the bigger sword. He walked toward it and gripped it with both hands. Lifting it wasn’t the hard part, it was lighter than he expected it to be. The problem was that it was so much longer that he felt unbalanced trying to even lift it let alone swing it. But he did manage to lift it and let it rest on his shoulders.
Alison floated near them pointing the sword at her brother playfully. He laughed and tried to do the same but he stumbled forward in mid swing with a groan. “Damn this thing is a pain in the ass.”
“Well for starters your stance is awful.” Morrigan said pointing at his legs with her blade. “Widen it. Find a base. Get steady.” She said her voice getting sharper as she looked at him. “Grip the blade with both hands and make sure your feet have at least two feet of distance between them.”
He did what she told him, gripping the blade he looked at her for some sort of approval if he were doing it right. She stared at him, her eyes like lasers zeroing in on him for some form of imperfection. She walked toward him her sword gliding across the ground, not yet touching it.
Then like lightning she swung the sword at him and let it hover just a hair away from his neck. He didn’t even gulp, his breath caught in his throat. Staring at her he saw no pity in those eyes. For a moment, he wondered if she were actually going to stab him through the neck. But she lowered her arm and stepped away from him.
“Better but still full of holes. That is why we’re going to practice.” She said slowly and glanced at Alison. “Float down here. I want to see your stance as well.”
She did as was asked and floated toward them holding the sword in hand. She felt uncomfortable with it though, like it was a snake ready to strike her at any moment. When she came toward Morrigan she tried to emulate her brother holding the sword with both hands and somewhat spreading her legs.
Morrigan stared at her, unsure of how to critique it at first. She did point her sword at her hands and shook her head. “Your hands are small. That sword is meant to be wielded with one hand though.” She said motioning for her to do so.
She let go and tried to hold her sword in front of her with the other one just sitting lamely at her side. Morrigan lunged at her immediately and instead slashed at her exposed arm and then flicked it toward Alison’s neck dangerously close to her.
“Your arm needs to be useful for something child.” She said meeting Alison’s eyes which were almost glowing on a reflex. Her breathing was increased but she forced herself to calm down. “That entire side is open to attack. And you need to tone that down.” She said staring into those glowing eyes as they faded back to brown. “It defeats the purpose of this exercise.”
She frowned and looked away. “What’s the point of this?” she asked.
“If something happens to me or him then you two are going to have to defend yourselves like regular humans. Or at least make the attempt.”
“And what about the floating?”
“We’ll come up with a solution to that.” Morrigan said and motioned for her to stand by her brother. “Now both of you do as I do.”
She held the sword in front of her and slashed at the air. Both twins did their best to do the same while maintaining their stances. Swinging and stepping getting into the groove. “Don’t be afraid to move your feet. Try to be as comfortable as possible. Stepping forward or backward with your swings. Don’t be afraid of your weapon. It’s a part of you. An extension of your arms.”
They continued with these exercises. Slow swinging of their weapons and stepping in tune with them. It was like a dance, slow deliberate and following the lead of Morrigan. They did this until it got dark and the only light for them came from the fire pit beside them.
“Alright kids. Come and get it!”
All three of them swung down finally and then looked at one another. There was a fine layer of sweat on the twins’ foreheads and Morrigan looked as refined as ever. She turned her blade around and slid it in its sheath and faced them. “This is an exercise we’ll be doing once a night. And another after we eat.”
Neither complained to her, just nodded their heads. Morrigan gave them the appropriate sheaths for each of their weapons. Alison slid her sword home and then floated to the fire pit. Vincent handed her a chipped bowl when she approached. He had three more stacked on the lower rungs of the ladder.
She stared at the brown liquid and the chunks of meat and vegetables floating within it. It smelled rich though and she smiled at it. He handed her a spoon and shooed her away. “Go and enjoy. I expect to hear apologies from you later.”
She blew a raspberry at him as she floated down form the ladder. Rather than eating she came down and handed the bowl to her brother. She continued this getting one for Morrigan and finally herself. Vincent joined them at the foot of the fire pit and sat down facing it as he ate. The others sat around him and they ate mostly in silence but it was a pleasant silence.
The soup filled them up warmly and to each had their own thoughts. Morrigan was the first one to go for more but soon everyone was refilling their bowls. Vincent did his best not to boast but it showed on his face. A smug smirk as he enjoyed his own mix because he knew it was great.
Soon the contents of the pot were emptied and each of them sat or lay on the ground. The twins lay next to one another and groaned softly. “Do we have to practice again?” Alistair moaned as he looked at Morrigan. She looked back at him with an arched eyebrow. “That’s a yes?”
“That’s a yes. Both of you get up and grab your swords.” She got to her feet and walked toward the open space drawing her rapier in a quick motion. Both twins groaned together but they slowly got up. Alistair standing and then helping Alison up so she could float.
Trudging forward they picked up their weapons and faced Morrigan. “Draw your swords.”
They both did that letting their sheathes drop on the ground, not knowing how to strap them to their bodies. Alistair held his with both hands and Alison held her sword out and tried to hold her arm out for some kind of balance.
Morrigan turned to look at the two of them. Walking forward slowly she stared at their forms. Staring at their feet and their hands and the way they held their swords. She went toward Alison and frowned for a moment. Glancing up and down her form and circling around her she glanced at the sword finally.
“Try this.” She said and took her arm and pushed it behind her back. “Now straighten your poster.” She said and stood beside her. “Like this.” Morrigan got into her own stance holding the sword in front of her, her arm relaxed in a controlled way. Her other arm rested behind her back and gaze focused in front of her.
Morrigan stared at her for a moment as she did her best to mimic this and Morrigan nodded slowly. Stepping forward she faced the twins again. “Now swing.” She said indicating Alison this time.
She slashed with the sword, stepping forward with the motion. She gasped as she did it and glanced at Morrigan. The knight was smiling at her, nodding in approval. “Again.”
Alison swung in the opposite direction stepping backwards. She swung back and forth, stepping forward with each thrust. She may have been floating but the motion of stepping was still the same.
Morrigan turned to Alistair who had let his arms slump downward and the sword rest at the ground. She glared and flicked the sword at him. “Who said you could slack off? Stance!”
He moved, raising the sword up with both hands, eyes wide and panicked slightly. She walked forward and nodded. “Swing! 1! 2! 3! 4! Stance!”
She barked out the numbers to each of them as they moved, swinging their swords through the air. They had constant berating that they were holding their swords too tightly on they weren’t moving their feet enough. She was a harsh teacher but she drilled at them the entire night. By the time she said they were done both of them were sweating and ready to fall over.
She sheathed her own sword as she walked past them. “Rest.” She told them both walking toward Vincent who had been watching without taunt or comment on their progression. “What do you think?”
He glanced at her and put a hand to his chest. “You’re actually asking for my input?”
“You’re the only other somewhat competent swordsman here. And this was your idea.”
“True and we agreed it was worthwhile. But they’re good. Learning quickly. Not ready to cut down a soldier yet but this wasn’t a waste of time thankfully.”
She nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Alison has a point though. She floats. She won’t be able to ride Blaze all the time while in the Sanctum.”
“I have an idea. I’ll try it out tomorrow with her.” He said. “Let me take first watch tonight. I want to do some work on my maps anyway.”
“You volunteering for work?” She asked and that brought a laugh.
“Man you have no faith in me do you?” He pretended to scowl at her but she merely shook her head and pointed toward the huts.
“Are any of these places to sleep?”
He nodded pointing toward the biggest of the huts directly in front of him and behind her. “That’s where we normally sleep. Now as for the state of the beds I can’t comment. We’re normally good about taking care of our shit but,” he shrugged. “Maybe not up to your standards.”
She scoffed at him and walked toward the hut. Vincent watched her go and went toward the pot to clean it out. He picked up one of the bars and slid the pot toward himself. Kicking one of the support bars out of it he let the pot slide against the floor. Picking it up he carried it back toward the lookout tower. At the base was a well.
Fishing out a bucket of water he dumped it into the pot and let it swirl around before scrubbing at it with a rag. The scent of the soup was still strong but he wasn’t complaining. He wished he could have had more ingredients for it. The pickings were slim in the both the storage cupboard for extras and spices.
Normally by now in a job he would be in a bar enjoying that they’d finally gotten everything done. Boss would buy the first round and then it was a free for all after that. But now he was cooking for three strangers, two he just stumbled on in a field and the other he met after trying to hit on her.
“Maybe the Sanctum was right and there is a God,” he said to himself and then shook his head. He wasn’t going to believe that. After everything they put him through.
Putting the pot back in the storage hut he walked back toward the fire pit but kept going to Blaze’s side. Pulling his maps out, the horse was asleep not paying much attention to the rest of the world.
He stroked the flank of the horse affectionately and sighed. “You’ve been doing great buddy.” He whispered and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking back toward the light of the fire.
As he set the bag down, he rifled through the rolled up scrolls. Picking out one map he unrolled it and held it to the fire to get a good view on what the contents were. Shaking his head he rerolled it and got another one out. This one was what he wanted and rolled it out against the ground. Getting a pen from the bag he started tracing over the map slowly.
Between their first stop and the outpost he slowly crossed out the town of Gaynz. He made sure it was thickly crossed out and then wrote above it that it was haunted and never to return there. “No more run ins with ghost for me.”
“You should add in the fact that mages are welcome there.”
Vincent looked up as Alison floated toward him. She came down and then sat on the ground across from him, looking at the map before looking at him. “Not a place to cross out. Just make a warning to say don’t go there unless you have a mage to talk to the spirits. And don’t disrupt their rest.”
“What are you doing awake?”
“Can’t sleep. After my long ‘nap’ I don’t really want to go back to sleep any time soon.”
He shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “That’s fair. So, what coming out to feel the joys of map making?”
“Is that all you plan on doing?”
“Pretty much. That and figuring out where we’re going tomorrow. Or rather the best path to get there.” He motioned for her to come closer and pointed at the map. “This is where we are right now and this is where we’re trying to go. And I’m trying to plan where we go, which alternate routes to go and how to avoid trouble just in case things come up.”
“And you bring all of this up at a moment’s notice when we’re in the middle of fighting or when things suddenly change?”
“I have to be. All of these maps are in my head. So, I gotta be able to adapt on the fly.”
She nodded and pointed at the map. There was a structure that looked like a castle that sat on the edge of the map. It was a few inches away from the edge of the map where the water was and there were little icons for ships the further out at sea they went. “That’s where we’re going right?”
He nodded slowly. “Verakruk’s the destination for us. Lots of activity and trade. Hopefully we can just blend in and not have any issues.”
“But can’t be too careful?” She asked indicating the sword that she now just barely learned how to fasten to her waist. It felt like an extra weight at her side rather than a weapon that would keep her safe if things got hairy. She’d much rather use her magic to do that if things go to that point.
“Can’t be too careful.”
“How far away is it?”
He looked at the map and tried to judge it from where they were. He measured it and he tried to scale the distance as much as possible from when he made it.
“At least five days. Maybe a little longer. It’s close to home and that’s at least a week and a half away.” He said and dragged his finger up a few inches toward the center of the country. One of the biggest images on the map A multi-tiered castle with tiny dots like an army in front of it.
“That capital?” He sighed softly but nodded. “You’re from the capital. Wow. And how’d you make it all the way out into no man’s land with the Free City?”
He laughed and leaned away from the map. He looked up toward the sky, staring at the stars. They were the same stars he looked at from the home in the Sanctum. He reached his hand out to touch one of them and then let it drop. “Yeah that was home for a while. And then I got excommunicated. I wish it was like the dream and not reality.”
“The dream? You mean what the ghost made you see?”
He nodded. “They showed me a world where me, Ronnie, and her brothers burned at the stake for being mages. Something the Sanctum was, and probably is still, fond of doing. But that’s not quite what happened. More what the ghost wanted me to feel. A little bit of shared pain between us.
“In reality though the ghost only got it half right. I saw something I shouldn’t have. The church shamed the hell out of me. Called me a heathen, a blasphemer. A lot of people hated me. Tried to push me out. Get rid of me. And some of my friends turned their back on me. Threatened to get me arrested. If I stayed there, I was going to be imprisoned if not worse. So, I ran. Stole Blaze and just rode away as far as I could. I got found by Lionel and he took me in. Taught me to survive and eventually joined the Rogue’s.”
He looked down from the sky and rubbed his eyes slowly. Dragging his hands down his face he looked at her and she was sitting beside him. Her face showed her emotions plain as day, the ones he didn’t show. Feeling his pain from both then and now. She floated toward him slowly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
He didn’t expect that. He wasn’t the type to really hug but he didn’t expect how much he needed it. Lowering his head slowly he wrapped his arm around her and frowned heavily. She didn’t let go and he didn’t push her away either. “Thanks Alison.” He said softly his voice a little scratched.
“It’s what friends are for.”
The Harlequin Library 