"So, we're still quite a ways from the war front?" asked Mike.
"Oh, yes. We've seen troops marching through here, but they never stop to bother us. We've been told that we should leave this area, but we really are too old to move at this point." Henry mopped up the last of his stew with the last bite of his biscuit.
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and Henry sighed.
The men at the door were dressed in armor that had a symbol on the chest, which was probably a symbol of the king. Kiterina knew that they were there to recruit anyone who was the right age, for the king's army, as soon as she saw them.
"Pardon us, but we are here under royal decree. Any man older than twelve is to report for the king's army."
"I didn't know a boy of twelve could be considered a man," said Henry in surprise.
"Honestly, we've seen boys as young as nine take up the call. It's only right to defend the land from the evils of the Demon King and his army," explained the second soldier.
"Well, I'm sorry, but the only men, other than myself, who would fit that criteria, are guests at my house. I imagine, they aren't interested in your fight." Henry went to shut the door, but the first soldier stopped him, pushing it open and stepping inside.
Henry was no fool, and stepped back, retreating to the table where everyone was watching.
The soldiers looked like they were about to cause some trouble, dripping water all over the floor, and their hands on the hilts of their swords, but Kiterina stood up.
"Enough. You look tired and wet. Why not spend the evening enjoying food and warmth with us? In the morning you can continue on your way, assured that you have done your job well."
They gazed at her with wild looks in their eyes.
"It's a demon! We should kill it!" cried the second soldier, but the first put his hand up to block him.
"Idiot! Don't you realize what's going on?"
The second soldier looked at him, confused. Everyone else was watching in anticipation as well. Kiterina knew that all three of her prior thieves were tense and ready to jump into battle.
"We're outnumbered. If we attack it, the others will have our heads. Best to retreat at this point."
"Right!" nodded the second, as if he just realized the same thing.
"Roostersnot!" cursed Rose, rising from her place at the table. "There's plenty of food left over. I'll not have you storming into my house, and leaving a mess all over the floor, without a good meal in you! Have a seat while I grab some more biscuits!"
Kiterina moved away from the table, choosing to lay next to the fire on a blanket, so that one could sit in her seat. She watched in amusement as they fought against their instincts to run. It was only a few minutes before everyone was politely chatting about the war front. Not a one of them noticed the aura Kiterina had imposed upon them.
She wasn't sure what to call the magic, or how she did it exactly, but she knew she couldn't let these two escape. They knew far too much about what she was interested in, so she had woven a spell over everyone in the room, to be temporary comrades.
"The battle is raging not far from here. The demon army has monsters twenty feet tall. They destroy any buildings or large trees in the way of their wagons. The king has placed a line of men to shoot arrows, but the monsters are hardly fazed," explained the first soldier, pulling a fresh biscuit apart and savoring the hot steam that escaped.
"Just how far away are we talking?" asked Henry, helping Rose with the mopping.
"Probably a good twenty or thirty miles, I would think," said the second soldier, glancing at the first, who confirmed with a nod.
"That's awfully close!" worried, Rose, taking her bowl of dirty water to the front door and throwing it out.
"We may have to leave, after all," added Henry, shutting the door against the raging storm outside.
It would not be a kind journey on them, they were both old, and had no where to go. Kiterina wondered what she might be able to do.
"The town just east of here, is evacuating. It was thought that the demon army would go further south, but they pulled up this way in the past couple of days. The King has sent people scouring the surrounding countryside for recruits to grow the army, because he there isn't time to move troops up this way."
"There's a lot of families that are going to be trying to leave in this weather. Those poor dears!" Rose sat down on a small stool next to Kiterina, as the second soldier had taken her chair.
"What can you tell us, about the Demon King?" asked Kiterina.
"Reports are that he's close to seven or eight feet tall, rides a black dragon as a mount, and wields a sword into battle." The first soldier, didn't even glance in her direction, the spell she had cast worked so well, he thought one of the other men had asked the question.
Thinking hard, Kiterina wondered if she could gather up the people, who were fleeing, and take them somewhere safe. If she grew the number of her followers, she would become more powerful as a goddess, and thus make it easier to overcome this demon king. She would need a safe place to take them, and some way to care for and feed them. It almost gave her a headache to think about all of the needs. Being a goddess was difficult.
"There's mountains to the north, if we could find a sheltered location, that would be a wonderful place to flee to," murmured Henry, looking over at Rose. She nodded.
Kiterina looked at Henry, and saw in his memories, a small cabin overlooking a lush valley. It was spring in his memories, so the snow melt was in full force, cutting off access to the valley from anywhere but the air. Apparently, when he was courting Rose, they had run off to the mountains together, intent on living their lives far from where their parents could control them. Unfortunately, when she became pregnant, they decided it would be too difficult to remain secluded and left their mountain paradise.
With a grin on her face, Kiterina now had a destination in place. That was only half the battle, but she had to start somewhere.