The Auric Insignia (21 page)

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- What did you say?

     The only movement in the otherwise frozen scene, belonged to the drop of sweat that was slowly running down the forehead of the kneeling man.

     - My lord, the servant girl, she is gone.

     He was the guard in charge of the courtyard watch, now standing on his knees in dogshit and vomit. Outside of the cage stood the collected forces of Fenmyere’s guard, their eyes emptied of any discernable focus. Beside them stood Racka’s closest servants along with Marielle, all of them waiting, some of them, anxiously, and some of them, calmly.

     - That’s what I thought I heard.

     - My lord.

     - Tell me, how is it that a child, a fucking child! Not only managed to poison my dear pack, but also! Somehow! Managed to escape the keep without a trace, during a lockdown no less! You would not even have found out, had not the wind knocked over weapon rack, causing you to check the yard!

     - I...I don’t know.

     Racka stopped his pacing and leaned down over the soldier.

     - Sorry, what was that?

     - I don’t know.

     - A bit louder, come on, you can do it.

     The man finally broke and started crying, his desperate wail making his fellow soldiers feel uneasy.

     - I don’t know! I failed you, my lord, and I am so sorry! Please, please....

     As a sign of contrition, the man bent, pressing his forehead to the ground.

     - Please.

     The servants beside Marielle, lacking the trained psyche of the warriors, looked away as to deny the occurrence of the contemptible display.

     - Oh well, now that that’s all sorted out, you can get up from there.

     - What!?

     - Get up.

     Racka pulled the shit covered man to his feet and started leading him towards the exit.

     - What, aren’t you going to punish me, kill me?

     - Oh no, over a couple of dogs? Over some fucking mutts? That would be crazy.

     The man didn’t know what to believe, feeling like he had been given his life back when he had been sure he had lost it. In his ecstatic state, he did not notice the grim faces of all the people in front of him. Faces that saw through the wishful lie, to the death underneath, death that the doomed man had chosen to ignore.

     - Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you!

     Just as he was about to walk through the opening, his comrades in arms, standing outside, blocked his path.

     - Malc, Reeder, what are you doing?

     His short lived fantasy forced from him, one could see the last hope leave his eyes.

     - No!

     The monster was upon him, panic mixed with rage as Racka threw the man against the steel bars. The impact was hard, the uncomfortable sound of bones breaking, echoing across the yard. He landed on the ground with a force that brought blood to his mouth, several hacking coughs followed and told the spectators that the man’s lungs had been punctured by his own bones.

     - Oh please.

     The bones in his left arm broken, he tried to crawl away from the inevitable, flailing in the sludge. With a moan that chilled blood, the crippled soldier was lifted by the neck and brought back to the edge of the cage where his friends were watching from the other side. Bam. His faced was smashed against the bars. Bam, bam. Bone, flesh and cartilage met iron again and again, marking the previously unblemished face. The nose, gone, his teeth shattered or bashed out, his right eye socket caved in, making him look as monstrous as his cruel lord. Looking with his remaining eye at the people observing the butchery in silence, he formed his crushed lips and mustered what little air he had left in his heavy lungs.

     - Help.

     Bam. One final smash brought the metal into his skull, causing him to still hang when Racka removed his blood soaked hands. Before he exited the dog yard, the lord of the keep wiped his pale skin gloves on the clothes of the man who’s life he had just ended. Stepping out, Racka was met by silent obedience and averted gazes from everyone except from two, Marielle and the captain with the lame hand.

     - Nitska.

     If she was afraid, the captain in charge of the soldiers in Fenmyere, hid it well.

     - Yes, my lord.

     - You are to find this child and bring her back here alive. Take twenty swords with you, spread out and find her, you leave immediately.

     Racka turned to walk inside when he noticed the captain’s hesitation. He stopped, his otherwise darting eyes zeroing in on the commanding officer of his forces. Even though she was a veteran in her trade, Nitska had to steel herself in order to not turn away from her lord’s undiluted attention.

     - My lord, forgive me, but dividing our forces...

     Before she could finish her sentence, Racka had lifted her from the ground by her lame arm. Bringing his face to hers, he spat out his words of rage in her face.

     - You will do as you’re fucking told! And if you don’t, if you fail this task, a lame arm will seem like a blessing! If you don’t find that fucking kid, I’ll eviscerate you whilst you watch, I’ll mount your flayed bitch head over my bedpost and I’ll make you look down so that you can see as I fuck your headless corpse until it falls apart! Do you understand, you fucking cunt!?

     - Yes, my...

     - That goes for all of you, the master does not accept failure!

     And with that, Racka let go of her arm,causing her to fall hard to her knees. As Racka started his usual pacing and twitching, two soldiers dared to approach their fallen captain.

     - Let go of me, you worthless lickspittles! You heard the lord, ready the horses, wake that fucking stableboy and get him here!

     Pushing herself to her feet with her good hand, Nitska set off for the stables, continually shouting her orders.

     - Scan, get the torches! Malc, stop standing there with your cock in the your hands, get the blasted ropes, and bring the nets!

     The courtyard erupted in a hurried chaos, as servants and soldiers rushed to comply to their lord’s demands. Standing still, a statue amongst a rushing crowd, Marielle watched as Racka went up to the mangled remains of the man hanging from the bars, his face an unrecognizable pulp of gore and broken bones. Having succeeded in her play, Marielle turned and walked towards the entrance to the keep, and as she looked up at the moon above just as she was about to walk inside, she heard a roar of unkempt rage, brimming over the edge. A roar that was felt in her bones and in her flesh, a roar that blasted out into the night, defying the calm of the darkness beyond.

***

The stuff of legends

A sound, somewhere between a howl and a growling roar, rolled outwards, a tidal wave pushing through the dark swamp. Awakening, the two were filled with an unexplainable sense of doom that refused to loose its grip around them. Making eye contact in the night, they called out, even though they in their heart of hearts, knew no one was there to answer.

     - Ama?

     Deafening silence ensued, heralding ill news.

     - Ama?

     - Brother, what the fuck did you do!?

     - Refaz, where is he?

     - He fucking went in alone!

     - Why would he do that?

     - I....

     - Refaz, why would he do that?

     - I don’t fucking know, okay!? I just feel, that..., I just feel it.

     Roarke was about to object to Refaz’s logic but bit his tongue, seeing the terror on Refaz’s face. He saw the pain and fear, and in that moment, there was no doubt.

     - Then what are we waiting around here for? Let’s go.

     Barely able to contain his emotions, Refaz nodded quickly.

     - Get your spear, Roarke, you are going to need it.

     Answering with action, Roarke went and got his spear, both of them setting off as fast as the terrain allowed, taking care not to fall into the hidden sinkholes littering their surroundings. Maneuvering in the swamp by day was hard enough, without the shroud of night making it near impossible. Pushing himself, not only to avoid falling, but also to keep up with Refaz, Roarke struggled until he finally misstepped. Tripping over himself, he ultimately crashed full speed into a rock, held up by some gnarled roots. Saved by his armor, he escaped what would have otherwise resulted in some broken ribs, with the relatively mild loss of his breath. Before he had recovered, Refaz had already pulled him to his feet.

     - Come on.

     - I can’t see where I’m going.

     - Come on, it’s not far.

     - This way is too slow, let’s take the road.

     - But they’ll see us.

     - If Ama is already there, as you say, our element of surprise is hardly solid. Besides, I’m sick of trudging through this shit.

     His heart rate beating frantically, spurned by fear and anger, Refaz required little persuading before he accepted the new and bold approach.

     - Okay.

     They changed their direction, arching in towards the small dirt road until they were running parallel to it. Just as they were about to leave the bog for the comparatively firm soil, Refaz heard a noise, pulling Roarke back off the road and into cover.

     - There are horses coming.

     They hid as best they could, Refaz rushing over to hide on the opposite side. Roarke felt grateful for the dark for the first time that night, as he tried to blend in with the backdrop. Similarly to the previous afternoon, they were waiting for an approaching unknown, this time however, with an entirely different purpose. Shortly becoming audible to Roarke as well, the riders thundered closer to their position, their passing foretold by the light from their torches. This was it, really it. Roarke could feel his muscles tensing, filling up with blood as his mind filled with fear. They were now no more than fifty feet away, close enough for Roarke to see that they seemed to be searching for something. There were three of them, waving their torches back and forth whilst they moved onwards, further observations than that eluded Roarke as chaos broke out. Refaz pounced like a nightmarish beast on fire, pulling the last rider and her steed with him to the ground, before ending her life with a swift strike. When the two remaining riders had managed to stop their advance to see what had happened, Refaz had already cut off their retreat and was on his way towards the second soldier.

     Roarke, all wired up to the point where he almost couldn’t hear anything, a dull pandemonium unfolding, charged the third rider. Still terrified and shocked by the monster in their midst, the man did not see Roarke coming and he was taken unawares. Using his spear as a blunt club, Roarke let the deadly spire fall on the soldier helmet with all his might, aiming to unsaddle him. Reflexively closing his eyes as the horse reared, Roarke could hear something fall to the ground with a hard landing. Opening his eyes to the sound of Refaz dispatching the second scout, he could see the man he had struck, lying on the road.

     He was a thin man who looked to be in his early thirties, not much older than Roarke himself. He wore armor similar to that of the others, but with slightly different markings, telling Roarke he was an officer of some sort. His face was dominated by an empty stare looking out from behind red stripes making their way across the features. The blood was coming from his head, where the helmet had collapsed under the force of the blow, soaking the light brown curls of the dead man’s hair in a thick red ooze. Shocked at his own power over another, at how easy it had been to take a life, Roarke felt himself standing on the slippery edge, expecting to fall.

     - Roarke!?

     As Refaz gripped his shoulder, the abyss faded away to show the road and the swamp around him.

     - Yeah?

     - I said, can you ride?

     - Uh, yeah, yeah I can.

     - Great, then let’s go.

     Refaz handed Roarke the reins of the last surviving horse before he set off at high speed. The situation giving no time for thoughts, Roarke heaved himself up on the steed and put his heels to its sides. Not an expert rider, having been a child the last time he sat in a saddle, Roarke still managed to, after some tries, spur on the beast flexing underneath him, without falling off in the process. They pushed on in the night, one, a demon wrought in flames, and the other a bleak rider carrying an obsidian spike. They were starting to see the lit wall surrounding the keep in front of them, populated with guards that even though still now, would soon see their hasty advance.

     Roarke pulled up the steed as close to Refaz as he dared, still keeping some distance between them, lest it panic and throw him off.

     - Refaz.

     Without taking his eyes from their goal, Refaz answered.

     - Yeah?

     - How do we do this?

     - Just don’t stop.

     As though he had accessed another level, Refaz accelerated even further, leaving Roarke and the galloping horse behind as he closed in fast on the wall. Entering the cleared area, Refaz caught the attention of the guards as he, using the roof of one of the huts as a steppingstone, launched himself to the top off the wall in one fluid motion, dodging raining crossbow bolts along the way.

     - Sound the alarm!

     Atop the wall, Refaz landed teeth first, on the guard that had shouted out, eliminating him just as a bell was struck. Roarke kicked the horse, feeling as if he could not go fast enough, a strained whinny escaping the horse as it was pushed to its limit. Getting closer and closer however, Roarke wasn’t sure how to proceed, not able to scale walls by leaping. Amidst the audible turmoil, he got his answer in the form of a rope that was thrown over the edge of the ramparts. Wasting no time, Roarke jumped off the steed mid stop, rolling on the ground until he managed to stop his momentum enough to get up and keep running towards the ongoing fight. As he stopped to fasten the spear on his back before starting the climb, something in the corner of his eye, caught his attention. Standing on a walkway between the stilted huts, stood a naked child, no more than two years old. Bathed in the moonlight hitting the thin planks, Roarke could see that the child was not well, its ribs clearly visible in the pale gloom.

     - Go home.

     The child did not move, staring with the unabashed curiosity only present in children.

     - I said go home, it’s dangerous out here!

     - Miki!

     A young woman with red hair exited the hut directly connected to the wooden bridge.

     - Miki, get over here!

     Leaving the child no time for its brash rebuttals, the woman snatched the child off its feet and planted it on her hip. Roarke forced a smile, for some reason eager not to be seen as the enemy, if he could avoid it. His smile warmed no hearts as his only response was a fleeting look from the woman, before she ran back inside her small home. Screams and calls to action once more demanded his attention and he refocused on the task at hand. Jumping up, he grabbed hold of the rope and started climbing upwards as fast as he could. He made quick progress, pulling himself up whilst at the same time pushing off with his feet that he wedged in between the blocks of stone. Just before he was about to reach the top, he charged and pushed off, but instead of going up, his feet slipped on the moist stone, causing him to slip down the rope until he could clamp down with his hands. His heart once again jumped up in his throat, seeing his dangling feet, realizing how high up he actually was.

     - Fuck.

     Pressing on, he took a deep breath and was about to heave himself up the last bit, when he heard a voice cut straight through the commotion.

     - Watch out!

     Roarke looked up just as a sword was bearing down on him, losing the grip with his right hand, he managed to throw himself to the side, the blade just barely missing his head. Striking unyielding stone, the woman atop the wall became stunned for a moment, a moment Roarke seized. Drawing from pools of strength he did not know he had, Roarke pulled up his body with the left hand with such power that he propelled high enough to clasp his free hand around the soldier’s striking arm.

     - You swine, let me go!

     With her sword locked, along with her quickly increasing fear of being pulled off, the woman, in her building panic, tried to back away from the unexpected reversal. She pulled back frantically, trying to free her arm, inadvertently helping Roarke scale the last bit of wall, finally allowing him to firmly plant his feet on the walkway. Away from the edge, the soldier changed her tactics and went on the offensive, engaging Roarke in close combat. Realizing that if she managed to loosen her arm from his grip, tipping the scales of their struggle, Roarke held onto her sword arm for dear life, utilizing his greater strength in an effort to overpower her. As he struck out against her, she ducked, throwing herself away, finally managing to wriggle out of his grasp. Down on all fours but still very much in the game, she scrambled after the sword that had gone sliding across the stone, eager to gain the upper hand. Quick, but not quick enough, she managed to catch the sword by its leather bound hilt, but as she swung around to slay the intruder, she was met by a spear in the gut, piercing her armor to wound the soft flesh within. Shock and pain played across her face before it went blank as Roarke pulled out the now glistening death from her stomach, shortly followed by guts and gore that came spewing out as the woman fell over, dead.

     Breathing heavily from the exertion, Roarke looked down at the huts, seeking the owner of the voice that had warned him and thereby saved his life. He didn’t know if that someone had taken his earlier advice and left, or if the darkness hid them from his sight. No matter what the case was, he rid his mind of it, shifting his thoughts towards the courtyard, where Refaz was holding a soldier in the air by the scruff of his neck.

     - Where is Racka!? What have you done with Ama!?

     Roarke hurried down the stairs, running past the still guards that had weighed their swords against Refaz’s claws and anger, and that had lost the battle.

     - Please, I had nothing to do with that!

     - Where!?

     - The lord returned down to the caves that lie underneath the keep.

     - And Ama, where is he?

     - I don’t know who...

     - The wolf!

     - He was escorted down there some time ago, he has not returned. Please, I don’t know anything more!

     Refaz threw the man to the ground, where he fell on his knees, happy to escape Refaz’s monstrous clutches. Refaz didn’t let up however, leaning down, he growled, his sharp face taking on a terrifying appearance.

     - Which way?

     - You go inside, past the stairs, go deeper inside until you get to a small door where a draft is blowing through.

     The man coughed violently, steadying himself on all fours.

     - That’s the one, the door that leads down to the caves, to the lord.

     Roarke stepped up from behind Refaz, up to the man on the ground.

     - Where is everyone, where are the hounds? How do we know you’re not sending us into a trap!?

     Wincing under the accusation, the soldier was all to eager to help his own chances of survival.

     - No, no, I swear! Look, the dogs are dead, they were poisoned!

     - Poisoned?

     - Yes, yes, by a servant girl who then escaped. That’s why there are so few here, the lord sent out a search party.

     Roarke suddenly remembered the girl they had seen collecting plants out in the swamp, and what she had said.

     - How did she look like?