Dragonspine Mountains-
Aalyn watched Sinaan disappear into the foggy night, and even as confident as she was in her training of him, she couldn't help feeling flutters in her belly. He was capable. Truthfully, he was better than her now. The only leverage she really had over him was in martial prowess that was because of being built taller and more robust. He wasn't as strong, but he was very agile. More than enough to compensate for any lack of brute strength.
The tent flap flipped aside and Thurdain and Illglan strode into her tent. They smirked as they met her gaze as she asked, "Who will cast the barrier spells?"
"I will," Thurdain answered then gestured to Illglan with a twitch of her thumb, "Illglan will cast the spells of entrapment."
"Good," Aalyn said with a nod, "I also had Sinaan set traps all around the tent, and I have warned the guards not to wander from their posts too far lest they find a trap and then a dagger in their guts."
Thurdain and Illglan nodded, then Thurdain gazed at Aalyn's bed longingly before purring, "It has been a long day."
"How long has it been since we three shared a bed?" Illglan chuckled.
"A long time," Aalyn said, though the memory turned the corners of her mouth up into a grin.
"We had best get what rest we can then," Thurdain mumbled from behind her hand as she yawned.
Aalyn started undressing. It was a lot more work for her than for her sisters as she removed plate and leather armor and then clothes. Thurdain and Illglan simply removed their silver underwires and disconnected the chains that barely hung on their hips. Each of them kept a dagger nearby, and Aalyn's sword and shield lay just beside the cot.
Thurdain crawled under the covers first, Illglan next, and then Aalyn. With three people it was more cramped than when it was just her and Sinaan. They rolled on their sides with Aalyn facing the interior as all three of them spooned.
"Good night my sisters," Aalyn whispered, "Pray that we all wake in the morning."
She could feel them nodding as she laid her head down and tried to find sleep.
——(!)——
If Aalyn hadn't been awake and worrying about what was happening and who they were facing, she never would have heard the soft whisper of canvas being cut.
She scanned the tent in the infrared spectrum, but didn't see a heat signature. She could see the knife tearing through the canvas, and she knew with absolute certainty that once the assassin was inside somebody was going to die. She had to be patient and pick her moment.
The cutting sound stopped. Seconds passed and nothing happened. She knew that with her and her sisters beneath the blankets that their temperatures were elevated. With luck it would obscure small movements as she readied herself and the dagger in her hand.
The tear in the tent wall was pulled open. With a flourish Aalyn tossed the covers up and threw her dagger underhanded. Thurdain and Illglan gasped in surprise. The knife sailed through the air of the opening, and then there was a thunk and a strangled feminine gasp, a gurgle, and then the now floating knife reversed and arced down. There was a thud as an invisible body hit the floor.
"Well," Thurdain said from behind Aalyn, "That was anticlimactic."
"We still don't know who sent them, or how many," Aalyn replied as she shook her head, "We only know they used three priestesses body's as puppets."
"True," Thurdain agreed as she followed Aalyn and Illglan out of bed.
Aalyn picked up her sword and shield and then carefully approached the invisible corpse. As she started to prod the body the invisibility magic dissipated. An average sized, svartalf female lay sprawled, covered only by the cloak. Other than the cloak there was a dagger in the assassin's right hand.
Aalyn confiscated the cloak and dagger. Flipping her over, Aalyn recovered her dagger while Thurdain and Illglan examined the girl. When they were finished Aalyn asked, "What are those?"
Thurdain pointed with the nail of her right index finger at the shards of pearl embedded in the girls forehead, in the sternum between her breasts, and the shard buried in the girl's pelvis just above the slit of her sex.
"I have no idea," She answered.
"Are there any more?" Illglan asked.
The question was answered when they turned the body over and found a fourth stone embedded in the middle of the back along the spine.
"I saw them before on the first assassin's body, but I thought they were decorations. What do you think they do?" Aalyn asked as she tapped the pearl with the tip of her dagger.
"I don't know," Thurdain said while shaking her head, "But, if they're not decorational then there is a possibility that they are part of a ritual. Maybe they are what steals away the innards of the priestesses, and why they feel completely hollow."
"I see," Aalyn mused thoughtfully.
"What do you want to do with the corpse," Illglan asked.
Aalyn looked about as she thought over the question, then her eyes settled on the cut in the wall of her tent, and she pointed as she replied, "Let's take her back out through the whole. I will carry her to the woods, then you two can dispose of the body the same way we did the last."
They nodded. Illglan left the tent through the rip first, then stood aside and held it open. Thurdain stood to the opposite of her on the inside and held the other half of the sliced canvas open. Aalyn hoisted the dead girl up onto her shoulder and then trudged through leaving Thurdain to follow after.
They walked in silence, their bare feet barely rustling the leaves for nearly a half mile before Aalyn laid the dead priestess down. As she did, the pearl shard in the girl's chest crumbled and fell away. Aalyn's dagger had hit the shard then deflected off just enough to slip through the girl's ribs and impale her heart.
"What was her name," Aalyn asked.
"Ophimaev Druganor," Thurdain answered.
"She was of no House," Illglan added, "A commoner. Her family's first priestess. I met them once. They were so proud of her. They had such high hopes for her future."
"Make sure her effects make it back to her family," Aalyn grimaced.
"No priestess that came on this expedition expects to be killed like they were fighting on the front lines with the warriors," Thurdain growled, "We are support and healers. At the most I expected that if we met fierce resistance we would be taken prisoner. Dying was only a slight possibility to me. Of course I expect that we will be victorious as we always are. Ophimaev had no expectation at all that her life was in any real danger!"
"It's hard to live," Aalyn said as she gave her sister a pitying gaze and a nod for her loss, "But it is easy to die. We must always struggle, always be vigilant, or we may be next."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Hayden chuckled nastily as he stepped out from behind a tree.
"By the goddess!" Thurdain gasped while Illglan shrieked and jumped into the air like she'd been pinched. When she landed it was with her back to Thurdain's and both of them in a crouch ready to fight or flee.
"Shit!" Aalyn cursed as she spun around to face Hayden Faline and demanded, "What are you doing out here?"
"Why General, I could ask the same question of you!" Hayden retorted from behind a broad innocent smile that looked anything but, from the gleam in his eyes. But as she stared at him he just chuckled as he answered, "Like you, it would appear, I was just out for a midnight strole… looking for a good place to dispose of bodies."
He let the end of his sentence hang in the air like a dead body from a tree. His words came out like pure honey, his smile as innocent as a babe's, but his eyes. His gleaming ruby eyes were pure murder, and she knew. Aalyn knew the death he sought was her own.
"Run!" Aalyn screamed but Thurdain was already mumbling under her breath a spell of Divine Protection.
There was a pop, then another, and another of crossbows firing in rapid succession as a bolt bloomed in Thurdain's breast spinning her around as the second missed, and then a third punched into her back, cut through her intestines and came out her belly. Two more pops of crossbows being fired and a bolt shot through Illglan's stomach while the second punched through her right breast spinning her around to crumple to the ground beside her sister.
"Really? Spellcasters," Hayden sighed exasperatedly, "I knew you three were together. That is why I sent the assassin. To kill you or ferret you out. Either way, of course I am going to have back up!"
"I will kill you for this!" Aalyn screamed as she rushed to her sisters' sides and checked them to see if they were still alive.
Thurdain wasn't breathing. She didn't even stir. Turning her on her back Aalyn saw her sister's eyes. The bolt that struck her in the chest had punched through her breast and straight through her heart. Thurdain's eyes were dead. Illglan's chest gurgled every time she breathed, but she was trying with all of her strength to reach her sister.
"Aloufina, resurrect Thurdain," Hayden commanded as he gestured for her to move along, "Don't worry Aalyn, Thurdain and Illglan will die, and you will get to watch. But first, you will get to watch my men enjoy themselves."
"Don't look at me like that." Hayden chuckled, and Aalyn realized she was glaring pure murder at him. Walking over he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her backwards away from her sisters. Gesturing to two of his personal guards, he commanded, "Bind her hands so that she is hanging from a tree. Make sure she has a good view of what is about to happen to her sisters."
Turning to two more guardsmen he commanded, "Stake out Thurdain and Illglan so that you may enjoy your spoils. Aloufina, heal Illglan as well. Porendot, as soon as they're resurrected and healed, cut out their tongues."
The guard, whose name was Porendot, nodded and turned towards his task. Thurdain didn't move or resist. She was too weak from dying and resurrection to fight. Illglan fought as hard as she could against hands that grasped her wrists before ropes were wound around them and she was being stretched out and tied to tent pegs. More ropes bound her ankles to her thighs while her knees were stretched out and tied to more pegs hammered into the ground. The position arched their backs uncomfortably and positioned their hips upward for what the men had in mind next.
Tongs were used next to pull out their tongues out of their mouths and they fought, and then Porendot put his knife to their throats and said, "This can be done the easy way, or the hard way. Either way I will soon be wearing your tongues on a string around my neck. The question is, how much damage do you want me to do to the rest of you before I get your tongues? Now, be still!"
Despite his warning it took two men holding Thurdain and Illglan's heads before Porendot was able to cut them out of their mouths. As soon as he finished, and the other men finished their knots and rope work, Aloufina healed Thurdain and Illglan once again so that they wouldn't drown in their own blood.
Thurdain and Illglan's cries were great guttural moans that left them shuddering against their restraints as the first of Hayden's men pushed their pants down and knelt between their thighs. Aalyn refused to cry from what she was made to watch. Not that tears didn't form at the corners of her eyes, or run down her cheeks, but those were tears of frustration and fury.
"I am going to take great delight in killing you," Aalyn promised in a tortured growl directed at Hayden specifically, and then she panned across all of the men in front of her and said, "I will howl in delight as I kill every one of you!"
Hayden watched his men and affected to ignore her completely. When he did finally turn to her she could see the delight in his eyes, and satisfaction. It grew as he watched her trying to not watch what was happening to her sisters. Instead, she tried to focus on him. On how she was going to kill him. His satisfaction waned once he realized she was not going to give him anymore reaction for him to enjoy. Finally, his mouth twisted into a sneer as he taunted, "The high and mighty Aalyn Abendroth. The master strategist. The expert swordswoman. Top of the class. Oh how you have fallen!"
"I always knew you hated me," Aalyn growled but as the realization of motive hit her, she began to laugh. A bitter, ridiculing laugh that took all of Hayden's satisfaction away and left him looking like he wanted to stab something. Most likely her.
"Is that what this is all about?" Aalyn laughed now, openly derisive, "You couldn't handle the fact that I, a woman, out performed you and your brothers?"
She laughed harder, her legs buckling so that she swung from the rope tied to her hands. She laughed until a fist was planted in her stomach driving the air out of her lungs. Then another, and another until there was no more laughing, there was only the struggle to breathe, and maybe to stand.
Tied the way she was, when her legs buckled she really didn't sag far. Hayden's men had tied her so that she had to stand on the balls of her feet just to take some of the tension and weight off of her shoulders. Years of training with the sword and shield, and moving in armor made her muscles strong. But even so, it didn't take long before she felt like she was one good shove from her shoulders popping out of their sockets.
When Hayden was finished using her as a punching bag, he took a step back and glared down at Aalyn. He spat in her face and then slapped her hard before he commanded his men, "Let her down, then tie her up so that she is kneeling before me, but make sure she is facing her sisters. I want her to witness everything that happens to them before they die.
As soon as two men released the knots from the pegs driven into the ground, she struck out. A foot to the groin of one guardsman followed by a knee to his face. She drove his nose into his brain and he crumpled to the ground like a sack. Dead before he even fell. A quick twist of her wrist and hand-chop in the throat of the second guardsman's throat, and she felt his esophagus crunch morbidly. Before he crumpled backwards, unable to breath. It all happened in seconds, but then the guard recovered and four of them tackled her to the ground as they strained to hold onto wrists, ankles, or waist.
She bit and clawed and twisted as nails cut into skin. There was a brief glimpse of movement and then she saw Hayden's face large in front of her before a dagger punched through her abdomen, just below her ribs. She was sure he had targeted the area simply because there were no vital organs that would kill her quickly.
The air in her lungs seemed to be blasted from her body like she had just been punched by a massive fist. She crumpled to the ground, and the guardsmen made short work tying her up so that her buttocks were high in the air for their enjoyment. Her knees were tied to stakes that spread her open invitingly, her elbows were tied to her knees, and inelegant rope work tied her chest and head so that she was at a painful arch with her head back forcing her to watch her sisters' struggle against the men on top of them.
"Very good work men," Hayden chortled as he slapped Aalyn's behind as he strode by, "Now this is how every woman should be posed. This is what you are good for, and not much else. This is what you deserve for reaching beyond your ability and sex!"
He stepped in front of her and stuck the toe of his boot beneath her chin. She couldn't see anything above halfway up his boot as he purred, "If you kiss my boots, right now, I might consider sparing your life."
There was a dramatic pause as he chuckled over his own humor before he continued, "Of course, you will never be more than you are now. But, you will be alive."
Gathering what moister she could she spat at his boots and received a kick in the head for her trouble.
"Go, enjoy Thurdain and Illglan men," Hayden commanded, "Aalyn is mine!"
Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt Hayden settle in behind her. But they were tears of frustration and murderous rage. Nothing more, she told herself, as she felt him push inside her.
——(!)——
Junovein walked up with his companion Eydanth to relieve their sisters Polymeira and Olianti who were standing guard on General Aalyn Abendroth's tent. Their leader and heir of their House, Aalyn had entrusted only her most trusted guardsmen with her protection and that of her sisters.
Junovein worked hard to earn his lady's trust so that he could be promoted to her personal guard. To him, she was his entire world. He would worship her if she asked. He would most certainly go to her bed happily if she would but look at him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.
Polymeira and Olianti both nodded in recognition of him and Eydanth. It always made him strut just a little more flamboyantly when the others of Lady Aalyn's personal guard recognized him. He was the only male and as he had to work to gain Aalyn's trust, he had to work twice as hard to earn the rest of his fellow guardswomens' trust and respect.
Walking past Polymeira and Olianti, he and Eydanth circled General Abendroth's tent. They were halfway around and nearly passed by the cut in the tent wall before they saw it.
"Goddess!" Eydanth gasped.
Junovein wasted no time in pulling the cut canvas apart and sticking first his head inside the tent. When he didn't see anyone inside he stepped in before turning back Eydanth. Finger to lips he whispered, "There's blood on the floor. Fresh. Complete the circuit and report to Polymeira and Olianti what we've found."
Eydanth was senior to him, and it spoke to her shock that she simply nodded her platinum cast strawberry-blonde head before trotting away. Junovein cast about the room noting that Aalyn's clothes and armor were laid over a chest. Two more silver underwires and waist chain wraps must have been Thurdain and Illglan's priestly habits. Aalyn's sword was beside the cot.
All three had been scared to sleep this night, and thought it safer to sleep together. Of course he knew why, all of her guards did. There had been an assassination attempt yesterday. They knew there were more assassins, but still, against the wishes of her guardsmen, Aalyn commanded them to be on high alert but keep everything as it was. She wanted to draw the assassin, and the one behind it, out of the shadows. And so, the Guard of the Scarlet Shield complied.
Polymeira and Olianti charged into the tent followed immediately by Eydanth.
"Oh goddess!" Polymeira gasped as she shook her head which whipped a braided, platinum white, mane of hair that fell to the backs of her knees, "There wasn't so much as a sound or moan all night!"
"Surely you heard movement if someone was killed in here," Eydanth said as her eyes fell upon the puddle of blood.
"There were no sounds of conflict or struggle," Olianti replied as she looked around as if she hadn't a clue what to do next, "We all know our lady's proclivities, but there wasn't even a sound of her and her sisters' bonding."
Polymeira nodded in agreement, "We watched them prepare and go straight to bed. I think even our ladies were a bit nervous tonight."
"What do you see, Junovein," Eydanth asked.
He was looking at the bed, then at the puddle of blood, and then the slit cut in the canvas wall. Without a word he laid on the cot and positioned himself so that he could see the rip in the wall.
"I think Lady Aalyn caught the assassin by surprise," He said finally, "I think she killed him, or her, as they were entering the tent."
"Then we're are they now," Polymeira asked, exasperation and worry thick in her voice.
"If she didn't call you to dispose of the body," Eydanth surmised, "Then the circumstances must have warranted her wanting to dispose of it herself, or with her sisters' help."
Junovein nodded while Polymeira and Olianti contemplated the evidence and the assumptions. It was Polymeira who had something to add next, "If that is the case, and they indeed wanted to avoid us, then they would have left through the cut in the canvas and most likely headed straight into the woods."
"Olianti," Eydanth said, having recovered herself and feeling more confident, "Go and rouse the Guard of the Scarlet Shield. We will recover our mistress. If she is okay then our presence will be unappreciated, but understood. However, if we raise an alarm and bring the entire army and she is okay, we may be lucky if we are only publicly birched."
Olianti nodded as she fingered her neck and swallowed, but before she could dash away Polymeira added, "Catch up when you can, I think we should scout ahead."
Another nod, and then Olianti was gone.
"Junovein lead the way," Polymeira commanded as soon as Olianti was gone.
——(!)——
Gunngrul watched Olianti step out from General Aalyn Abendroth's tent and dash off at a dead run. He couldn't help the sinister grin that broke his ebony features. To be dashing off in such a hurry meant that Hayden had wasted no time in enacting his plan once he returned to camp. Which meant he had made his move against House Abendroth. Which would have been fine if they still had the backing and power of their own House, but now it was only a matter of time before their mother and sister came looking for vengeance.
If Hayden also assaulted the House of Abendroth then there wouldn't be anywhere for them to hide in all of Idavollr. Most likely, with the assassin sent to House Abendroth to kill the Matron and all of her kin, if successful or not, it was already too late. Without a House to back their claims of innocence in the face of no proof or circumstantial evidence, they were dead men. The laws were clear on murder.
Reaching inside his cloak pocket he traced the scrollwork and inscription on the hand mirror. A twin of its companion currently in House Faline, or worse, with his mother; he tried to shatter it against the desk in their tent upon returning to camp so no one could follow. However, the enchantment that empowered the ancient mirror also protected it. Uncertain what to do, he kept it until he could confer with his brother.
Stepping back into the trees he rushed away to rally the rest of their men in the camp. If Aalyn's guard knew of her disappearance, and Hayden was responsible, then he would need the full support of all their armsmen. It stood to reason that they might all need to run before Forelain arrived and exposed their treachery.
——(!)——
Following the trail of three naked women, one with a heavy burden, at night was not easy. If he had been in Idavollr Junovein had well practiced methods for hunting and foraging, practiced since he was a child. But out in the wilds under the blue sky now black, he had to constantly tamp down panic that kept making his belly a swirling pit of lava. The traces of his Lady's passage were hard to find, but they were there.
Polymeira and Eydanth spread out to each side of him and a few paces behind as they ghosted through the forest. From tree to tree while Junovein carefully searched for foot impressions, crushed grass, and turned or broken limbs. He was sure there were a million other signs he could be looking for but he just wasn't as knowledgeable about tracking in the wilds.
It was enough though. It wasn't more than an hour before the muffled sounds of laughter could be heard through the trees and underbrush over the moans of three women. Dawn had come and as Junovein crouched behind a bush nestled up against an old tree trunk, he saw Aalyn, Thurdain, and Illglan staked out on the ground.
"It's time men!" Hayden chortled as he stood up from between Aalyn's thighs, "I think they have had enough. We must return so that I can take command of the army, just as it should have been given to me in the first place."
Looking down a Aalyn he purred, "Now make sure you watch every moment my dear. I do so hope you enjoy it as much as I do."
Hayden's guardsmen laughed as they stood up and pulled up their britches and righted their shirts and tunics. They mulled about as they gathered their sword belts, and Junovein groaned, knowing he had missed his chance. The guardsmen drew their swords. Guttural moans and cries clawed at his ears as sword blades were drawn across bare thighs, down arms, or across ribs. Blood flowed freely from long gashes that exposed muscle and bone.
Aalyn watched with tears streaming down her cheeks, but she didn't cry.
The guardsmen's laughter quieted to a few chuckles but for the most part quiet determination settled over them as they focused on causing as much pain as possible without killing them until they were ready. Lacerations progressed to the men pressing the points of their swords into breasts, belly, and thighs until they slowly ran them through. They were careful not to stab any vital organs or sever arteries. Thurdain and Illglan screamed and gasped beneath the cruel torture until they begged to die.
"Let's end this men," Hayden chortled as he waved for two men to pull Aalyn up to her feet, "We must return to camp!"
Two other men took up two long stakes that had been carved to points and lowered them in between Thurdain and Illglan's thighs as Hayden turned to Aalyn and taunted her, "I wonder how far those stakes will go? Do you think the tips will come out of their mouths?"
When the first stake was pushed against Illglan's sex Junovein heard a pop of a crossbow and watched as the man pushing the stake into Illglan toppled over!
Another crossbow fired and then another!
Junovein looked down to find that his own crossbow was now empty before looking up to see one of the men holding Aalyn upright was now falling backwards. There seemed to be a shocked pause for all of a second, and then there was a flurry of movement and yelling and pointing as the Faline guardsmen started diving for cover. In the blink of an eye Polymeira, Eydanth, and Junovein charged from their hiding places, their mouths peeled back in silent, outraged roars with dual copeshes or scimitars in their hands as they cut down every Faline man they approached.
Three charged the remaining sixteen of twenty-one Faline guardsmen counting Hayden himself. Junovein didn't have time to worry about his companions, nor even his mistress, because despite their surprise it was still five to one against. His blades quickly became a flurry of parries as he danced around trying to keep Hayden and five others in front of him. If even one man got behind him he was a dead man!
In the confusion Aalyn was dropped to sprawl on the ground. Dazed and weak, she tried to roll out of the way of trampling boots but still received more than a few kicks. Every muscle in her body hurt. She had spent hours tied up in contortions that were almost impossible. But, if she wanted to live through this night. If she wanted her sisters to live through the night. Then, she had to move!
Looking over at her bloody, cut to ribbons, stabbed full of holes, nearly dead sisters, unadulterated rage filled her and gave her strength she didn't know she had left in her. Making it to the man that had held her up, laying face down on the forest floor, she pulled two long curved svartalf swords stylized and engraved with spiders along the crossguards out of his sheaths, and then stood up.
She hefted the swords in her hands, gauging their weight and balance, she struck the guards nearest her. Butterfly in the wind. Hummingbird dance. Spider jumping on a wasp's back. Twin pincers of a spider's bite. Aalyn was a whirling, tumbling, striking storm of feet and steel.
Three Faline guardsmen fell screaming to the ground before Hayden and his men facing Junovein realized they were being attacked from behind. Hayden cursed as he turned back towards Aalyn and set his feet to nimbly dance with her as steel rang out against steel. Hayden was nowhere near her match. He was no master of the sword as she was, and yet, she was sore and tired, and so, he was actually putting up a fair defense against her onslaught and even mounting a few attacks of his own.
Aalyn could feel her strength waning quickly. Adrenaline had boosted her and given her the power she needed to move and attack, but now, a prolonged engagement was quickly burning through her stamina. Her hands felt weak. With every attack and parry she felt like she was barely holding on to her swords. Her muscles felt jellified and wobbly. Her hips and buttocks burned, her sex was a fire of raw and tortured sensitivity, and her legs were only seconds from buckling and depositing her on her face, or behind. She had to end this quickly!
Peeling her lips back and baring her teeth she snarled as she gathered all of the rest of her strength. Hayden laughed at her thinking she was faltering, but laughter stopped and his smile faded into a grim line of concentration as Aalyn attacked relentlessly. Her dual curved swords worked him up and down so fast that their swords were a blur, and then she worked his swords up and around and out to the sides as she swept a foot in and caught him at the ankles. Off balance stumbling backwards, she followed Hayden pressing her attack slashing his side and then hip, thigh, and calf. A swift parry of his sword up and she buried her other sword in his chest. Hayden gasped. Aalyn would never forget the look of shock on his face. In a last attack Hayden slashed across her throat but his sword hit her shoulder before slashing her left eye from her temple, across the bridge of her nose, and threw her right eyebrow at an angle. Aalyn screamed in pain as blood poured from her eye and stabbed wildly at Hayden's throat.
Stumbling backwards, Aalyn landed on her bottom and clutched at her ruined left eye. Realizing she was vulnerable she looked up and only then realized there were a lot more than three of her personal guard fighting. Eydanth was laying on the ground motionless, a sword sticking up out of her chest as blood trickled from her mouth and dead eyes stared blankly up at the sky. Polymeira limped as she danced to keep two Faline guardsmen with daggers from putting one in her belly or breast. And Junovein, Aalyn couldn't have been prouder, he danced the dance of blades parrying four swords from two opponents despite cuts and lacerations criss-crossing legs, arms, and abdomen. His dance was beautiful though. His swords were a whirling blurr of the Sunflower following the Sun. Beside Junovein was Urdorj, then there was Hotomi, Didoque, Vrist, Mordreth, Slithmir, and over forty more of the Guard of the Scarlet Shield.
Steel rang out against steel, men and women screamed, and bled, and died, and then, slowly, the fighting stopped and the forest fell silent. The dead Faline men and Hayden lay dead and sprawled everywhere. No quarter had been given. There was no forgiveness for the assault they had committed against Aalyn and House Abendroth. Slithmir and Vrist knelt over Thurdain and Illglan, assessing their wounds and trying as they could to ease their pain. Somehow, remarkably, they were both still alive, though barely. Neither would survive the walk back to camp though.
Yelps and squeals preceded Polymeira dragging Aloufina through corpses lying at the feet of fellow guardsmen and cast Aloufina down to the ground in front of Aalyn. Aloufina wasted no time in crawling across the ground and kissing Aalyn's toes as she begged for her life, "Please mistress! Please, my lady! Spare me! I was taken from my tent at knife point. I was commanded to do as I was told and keep silent about what I saw, or my family, relatives, and I would all die! Please General Abendroth, I had no choice but to help and hope for rescue!"
"Rescue?" Aalyn mumbled as she mulled over the priestess's excuses. Looking over at her sisters she nodded to herself before saying, "Heal Thurdain and Illglan completely. I don't want to see so much as a scar on their skin when you are finished. Afterward try to resurrect Eydanth and any others of my guard. Once you have completed your task you will be given to Thurdain and Illglan, and they will watch you very carefully from now on."
"Yes, my lady!" Aloufina replied in relief in between applying more kisses to Aalyn's feet before turning and running away to attend to Thurdain and Illglan.
——(!)——
Gunngrul shrank back into the forest undergrowth upon watching his brother run through by Aalyn. Turning to his Lieutenant, Wergthal Phorl, he hissed, "Let's withdraw. Hayden is dead. I am the last son of House Faline. If I die our cause is lost. I must live on, now, in order to reestablish our House Faline under a new patriarchy."
"Sir," Wergthal interrupted with a shake of his head as he objected, "We are so close now. Look! There are only fifty of them. We are five hundred! Let's crush them and leave their bodies here to rot with Lord Hayden, your brother!"
"No! No," Gunngrul said more firmly with a shake of his head. In the excitement of the moment he confessed, "No doubt, by now, my mother and sister have rallied their supporters and have retaken House Faline. There isn't a place for us in Idavollr any longer. Right now, what we should do is retreat, make our way back to camp, raid the foodstuffs and the Animals carrying them, and then every man should take a priestess for himself. Gag them or cut out their tongues, then we will fade away into the forest and find a new home."
Wergthal looked at Gunngrul, his expression flat and unreadable for a long minute, before he replied, "Yes, my lord, I will relay your commands to the men."
Wergthal left Gunngrul standing there watching Aalyn move around the clearing speaking quietly to each of her guardsmen. When she left each woman snapped a salute and wore a broad smile. Gunngrul could feel a shift in movement behind him as orders were transmitted through the ranks and five-hundred men began to melt away into the darkness.
The soft crunch of pine needles under boots warned Gunngrul of Wergthal's return. It was time for them to make their escape. Pulling the enchanted mirror out of his cloak pocket, he gazed at his reflection before flipping it around to look at the intricate carvings and engravings. With a sigh, he tossed it to the ground and turned away.
Pain!
Shock!
Radiated through his stomach. Again, and then again, and again. Gunngrul's red eyes met Wergthal's hard crimson gaze as blood foamed in his mouth. Pain punched into his chest over and over again until he looked down to see the bloody dagger in Wergthal's hand withdrawing to plunge once more into his chest.
"You and your brother's have done nothing but lead us, lead House Faline, into ruin," Wergthal hissed in Gunngrul's face, "You have forgotten who it was that you sent out here on this mission to die like dogs by the surface dwellers hands!"
Gunngrul blinked his eyes in confusion while his mouth worked soundlessly to form words, and then he remembered.
"Yes, I see that you remember," Wergthal growled as spittle flew from his lips, "We are the last males who remember a better time under the leadership of your mother, our beloved Matron Forelain. You and your brothers told us she was dead!"
Wergthal withdrew his dagger and plunged it into Gunngrul's heart. As the light of life faded from his sight Wergthal growled, "But, you are right about one thing. There is no place for us in Idavollr, or House Faline, any longer. You and your brothers raped most of our wives and daughters or let your favorites do so. Those that refused your advances or theirs were killed, and now there is no way Matron Forelain would ever consider that we are her men to command, or that we were as much victims of your brutality as our wives and daughters. And so, we will return to camp, we will kidnap priestesses just as you've suggested, and we will run away from this army, Idavollr, House Faline. We will run far away, and we will make new lives for ourselves. But you, Gunngrul Faline, you will die for your crimes against your own people!"
The eyes that stared up into Wergthal's vengeful gaze were lifeless, and he had no idea when the light had gone out of them as he pronounced judgment in a horse whisper filled with pain and bitterness. Pulling his dagger from Gunngrul's heart he watched him crumple like a sack of grain to the ground. Blood oozed from him from a dozen or so stab wounds and he felt not a shred of pity or remorse. His only regret was that he hadn't killed Gunngrul and his brothers sooner.
Looking up he watched Aalyn help Thurdain and then Illglan to their feet. She gave them both a hug while they fussed over the scar cutting diagonally from her right eyebrow and nose across her left eye. She would never see from that eye again, but then her sisters would never speak either, but they were alive and that was something.
Turning from them he headed back to camp. He knew just the priestess that caught his fancy. Sadness tinged his heart at the thought. Gruda Opallain looked so much like his late wife, Valiance Phorl.
Valiance had been a warrior in heart, mind, and body. She was one of those that rejected Rweble Faline very forcefully and very publicly. Wergthal had been on a scouting mission at the time. By the time he returned his wife had been disassembled in front of the entire House. A lesson in treason they had called it, but everyone knew it was because Valiance humiliated Rweble.
Gruda would make a good wife if only he could convince her.
——(!)——
Valeheim-
Since Viridian's departure Bastet and Leandra had taken to sleeping together to keep eachother company during the night. Burza on the other hand slept in her own room on her own feather down mattress. It was only Bastet's second morning waking up without her mate snuggled up beside her, but with his previous absence for nearly a month before his return to tame and take Leandra as his mate, it was all starting to add up and feel like months that he's been away.
All three were up and eating breakfast when Summerset and Janaspi knocked on the door and entered the main common room.
"Good morning daughters," Summerset said cordially as he swept a bow to all of them.
Leandra was the quickest to her feet followed by Bastet. Burza was the slowest since she was a Chieftainess and Mother of her flock, the equivalent of a Queen. She was used to treating other chieftains as equals. Following Leandra and Bastet's examples she flourished a curtsy, but since none of them wore clothes it seemed off somehow.
"Good morning my lord," Leandra and Bastet replied in near unison to be followed by Burza in a much softer and more light and musical voice.
As the first mate of Viridian Bastet stepped forward and asked, "What may we do for our lord this morning?"
Summerset's bright blue eyes smiled as he shook his chestnut colored face which made the high ponytail of his cornsilk blonde hair whip back and forth expressively as he chuckled, "I am just enjoying a stroll with Janaspi this morning, and I wanted to come and make sure your all settling in well."
"Thank you my lord, we are," Bastet said with a smile, "The living arrangements are very good!"
"That is a relief to hear," He said as he panned around to make sure Leandra and Burza felt the same. When he was satisfied he nodded and came to the point of his visit, "Actually, it was Janaspi that said that she had a message for you this morning."
Janaspi was of a height with her mate, and at a glance was noticeably of the Linx tribe with her long overly fluffy ears, her mottled grey fur on her arms back and legs, the overly soft fluffy fur that covered her chest all the way down to her sex, and the short bobbing tail that curled out from between the top of the cheeks of her buttocks. Her most exotic feature though was her eyes. They were startling bright glacial blue eyes very much like Huxian's.
Releasing Summerset's arm, Janaspi stepped forward and put her hand on Leandra's belly as she purred, "The moon goddess Seline has given me a vision. She told me of your pregnancies and that soon what only one man can do his offspring shall make abundant throughout the world. She told me this so that you will know that the message I am to relay to you is from her. So, here it is, "Where you were told to stay behind and wait, I am now telling you to hurry forth. Make haste to Viridian's side. What he must accomplish without you will be complete by the time you arrive. From there support my Champion as he travels into the House of Spiders.""
Bastet nearly leapt in relief and excitement. She would get to be with her mate after all! A sigh from both Leandra and Burza said they felt as relieved as her.
Summerset smiled and Janaspi chuckled as they bobbed quick curtsies and left to pack a travel bag. In a sudden hurry to leave, Bastet didn't notice Janaspi and Summerset talking quietly to Burza before she hurriedly left the common room. Somewhere in all the hussle Summerset and Janaspi quietly departed to continue their walk.
Summerset and Janaspi were on the front step out the house as they liked to call it. It was more of a massive castle than a simple house. Built of local rock and timber, it housed several generations of Vale's along with wives and concubines. In the basement levels there were even more quarters to house the staff that kept the whole house running. There were other large estates in Valeheim belonging to cousins, but there were a few wealthy merchants as well, and then there were the inns, but none of them were nearly as grand as the Vale House.
The city seemed to bustle this morning as if the whole of it had caught Bastet's mood to be away and chasing after her mate. Burza was off to the side talking quietly with another Avian. A tall woman who looked to be half Burza's age, which is to say that she looked to be little more than a girl. Though, she was nearly as tall as Burza who was a little taller than Viridian.
The new younger Avian had wild, dark-golden, feathered hair whereas Burza's was snow white, and where Burza had small sleekly rounded breasts the other harpy's breasts were very large. Each of them talked quietly though what was heard sounded musical. The younger harpy gasped and looked Burza up and down, and then laughed as she placed a hand on Burza's belly.
There was another rapid exchange and then the younger harpy knelt in front of Burza and lifted a beautiful necklace from her head with taloned thumbs and held up for Burza to take. Body movement suggested that Burza tried to refuse at first but the other woman was insistent until Burza finally took the necklace and put it on. She then gave quick commands and the younger harpy nodded before leaping twenty feet straight up into the air and flying away on long golden wings.
When she returned Burza looked chagrined as she explained, "That was my oldest daughter. The one I handed down the Mantle of Motherhood to. She says that the flock wants to split. Half of her sisters want to leave these lands to find mates if they can. Usually, whatever male mates with the Mother of a flock mates with the entire flock. When I decided to mate with Viridian I never imagined I would be having fledglings again. This was not amenable to my daughters who for the most part have never reproduced. But now that they know I am to nest soon, they want me to be Mother to the Flock once more so that Viridian must mate with all of us."
"Do you think he will be amenable," Leandra asked.
"I hope so," Burza replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "I will explain our circumstances and try to be… very convincing."
"How many daughters are in your flock Burza," Bastet asked as she saw horrific visions of a nonstop line of avian females demanding their mating week before she could have Virdy all to herself again."
"Nineteen," Burza answered, "There are twenty females including me."
"Oh goddesses and foxes!" Bastet hissed mournfully.
Leandra laughed but Burza put a hand on Bastets shoulder in an attempt to console her as she said, "When we meet up with Virdy, I will hold my daughters back until you have had time to breed with our husband, before approaching him on the needs of my flock."
Bastet sniffled as she gave Burza a thankful smile and said, "I appreciate that."
They walked out of the city by the same roads and paths that Viridian, Glenna, and Huxian had left by only two days before. Burza leapt into the air and began scouting ahead as Leandra and Bastet pulled the straps of their packs tighter before going to all fours. With behinds high in the air and long cat tails wagging furiously, their bodies stretched and constricted as legs and arms pumped. The pace they set was fast as the wind in their faces whipped their red and black hair like manes.
The sun was just reaching its midday peak when Leandra and Bastet slowed to jog and stood up before coming to a halt. They were barely halfway to their destination when nineteen eagle harpies spun slow circles high in the sky above them. Leandra and Bastet watched as they turned west and soared on warm thermals and cold currents of air towards the looming mountains ahead.
"I really wish I had wings at times like this," Bastet mumbled.
Leandra nodded but kept silent as they resumed their fast ground eating pace.