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Chapter One:
Failing, Falling
Once upon a time, there was a land of many countries which warred within itself for dominance over resources. One kingdom, known as the Great Northern Empire had enveloped and assimilated most of the continent already. The lands that lay out of their reach steadily shrank until it included little more than the Badlands, the remnants of a desert country torn asunder by the Empire’s warmongering ways, and a few scattered countries towards the southern end of the continent.
One such remaining country was that of Alore. It sat, quite innocently, on the coast of the Salsa Ocean, north of Firoe, and west of the Badlands. However, as the Empire continued to grow, Alore soon found itself on the border and soon to be conquered. Being the peaceful nation that it was, the kingdom had no army of it’s own. They relied heavily on bands of mercenaries to combat the pirates of the seas and the hill-bound bandits. So, when the enemy invaded, the disorganized mercenary companies either fled from the fight or tried to fight against such a mighty power. Without leadership, though, it seemed assured that the country would fall.
As Glossy Freeman, only female and the youngest of the Freeman Mercenaries, surveyed the enemy camp before her, she prayed that it was not true. Alore couldn’t fall to the empire because it was her home, where she’d lived for nearly ten years. In the course of three days she had now lost her captain, and, just the day before, her brother. Unlike the captain, however, Eric was still alive, held prisoner in the enemy camp. “Security looks low.” She whispered to her companion, dropping down to her knees and instinctively touching the scarf she’d used to disguise her glaringly obvious red hair. It would do no good for their captive companions if she and her partner, Ange Waterbell, were caught because of her own fire hair.
“That’s good.” Ange replied simply. He sounded calm and assured in the failing light, something Glossy envied him for. She was wrought with nerves, exhausted and anxious. Her concern lay not just for Eric, but for the two other mercenaries that had been taken hostage during the battle at Ar village. “It means they’re confident, and confident men make mistakes.”
Of course, this was not new information for Glossy. She had been raised by Captain Freeman and his band of honorable mercenaries. She was a fair hand with the sword, but a mastermind with strategies. “Right. So if we’re quiet, we may be able to reach the prisons, free the others, and get at least part of the way out before we’ve aroused the suspicion of the guards.”
“Assuming our information about the soldiers is correct, that is.”
“Right.” She paused for a minute. “Hey, Ange?”
“Yes, Glossy?” He didn’t look at her, just waited with his eyes on the camp as Glossy studied his features. Ange was one of the older mercenaries, in his thirties already. He’d been there when Eric and Glossy had been found shipwrecked off of Urumesa island, in the land of the Empire. Ange’s once brown hair had faded to gray, but his eyes were still full and lively in his weathered tan face. He was strong, and an excellent swordsman. “Why do you think this is happening? Why is the Empire trying to conquer Salsa?”
Ange shrugged his broad shoulders. “It is in their nature to dominate. They conquered Quehnli because of its vast, arable fields and orchards. Now they’re most likely after the forests of Alore. Alore is also the link between the Sal-Stra land bridge. It’s said that once every ten years the tides of the bridge are such that you can cross to Strateva on foot. Strateva is a yet unexplored mine of goods and riches.”
“So they’re going to destroy the happiness of our people for a few trees and an underwater ridge that leads to an unexplored, violent continent. They’d be better off in the Badland’s deserts than in the jungles of Strateva.”
“Shhh, child.” Ange glanced away from the camp and to Glossy for only a second. Long enough to see the anger across her usually open face. “It’s almost time for the change in watch, be silent for a little longer.”
The two mercenaries, one a man nearing the age where he would no longer be able to lift a sword, the other a teenage girl whose skills were undeveloped and awkward, settled back down in silence for a few minutes. As they watched the camp, they heard the noise of the cook fire and the soldier’s drunk cheers as they ate dinner and celebrated the defeat of the Freeman mercenaries and the capture of Ar. Glossy’s nose twitched as she smelled some sort seasoned beef being cooked over the open fire. It smelled like spices from the area near Draska, in the empire. Her stomach growled, reminding her that all she’d eaten today was a loaf of bread from two days ago and the last of her preserved meat.
Cold was beginning to seep through the heavy skirt she wore over thick trousers, and she resisted the urge to shift and move. She was restless, now, from nerves mainly, like she’d always been before the mercenaries had staged an attack on a bandit camp or some other place. This was different though. Before, there’s always been at least ten soldiers in the party, and if she went with them, Eric went with her. Now, there was just Ange and Glossy, a camp of the strongest army in the known world, and Eric was being held captive by them. Eric, please be fine. Be well. She prayed. Eric was her constant, her cousin, her confidante.
When the noise finally died down, Glossy watched as from amid the tents new sentries began to walk the perimeter. They followed at set path, Ange and Glossy had discovered earlier, so as soon as they had left in the direction away from the prisoners, Ange motioned for Glossy to get up.
Without a word, the two made their way through the darkened shadows of the tents, towards the center of the camp where rough wood barracks, the camp’s small prison, had been built. Save for high set, small window holes and the door, their appeared to be no way in or out of the building. Which was fine for Glossy, even though ideally she’d have liked the windows to have been large enough to fit a grown man through. The ones on this building wouldn’t fit anything larger than a cat. She was pleased, however, to spot that the prisoner’s weapons had been left by the side of the building instead of being placed in a more secure place. Foolish, Glossy remarked silently as she reached up into her scarf to pull out several small pin-like objects.
She wasn’t the best lock-pick in the world, but years of getting in and out of rooms she wasn’t supposed to be in (such as the armory or the storage room of the stables at the fort where the Freemen had lived) had given her the ability to open most inexpensive locks. Given the state of the camp, Glossy would be surprised if she couldn’t open this lock.
Within a minute, she heard the tell-tale snap of the lock. She pushed it away and opened the door slowly, motioning for Ange to follow, carrying a few of the swords with him. Inside the building it was dark and difficult to see. Ange and Glossy both had unlit torches in the packs on their back, but they were spared from having to use them by the tiny lamp in the corner which cast a haunting light over the five prisoners within. Glossy paused and recounted them. During the battle, six of their mercenaries had gone missing. Now, five of the six were there, except for Eric.
The prisoners inside were bound only with rope, arms pulled behind their backs. To the empire’s credit, however, the knots were skillful and near impossible to undo. After trying for a few moments to untie the knots of one of the mercenaries, a young man named Edward with black hair and eyes, she gave up and used her dagger to break the ropes instead. As soon as Edward was free, he stretched up and rubbed his wrists. “Where’s Eric?” Glossy asked in a whisper as she started on the next man, the quiet archer Trin. “Why isn’t he with you?”
“I don’t know.” Edward replied honestly, speaking also in a whisper, as he took the dagger from Glossy and sliced through Trin’s bonds with more skill than she had shown to his own.
“When they searched us for weapons, they saw his brand.” Trin added. “They know he’s a runaway.”
Glossy felt her heart fill with dread at the news. She wasn’t sure what they what the Empire did to its runaway slaves, but she was sure it wasn’t good. Thinking about it made her heart ache. She couldn’t lose Eric! “Do you know where he is?”
Both young men shook their heads sadly. “I’m sorry, Glossy.” Edward said.
Glossy cursed to herself and turned to head back out into the camp, but Ange caught her arm. He was guarding the door while Edward went back to freeing the other three captives. “Don’t go out there by yourself, we’ll find Eric later.”
“We have to find him now!” Glossy whispered back, her voice hard and fierce.
Ange stared down at the young woman who he considered like a daughter. Even in the dark he could see how brilliantly bright her blue eyes were. In them, he saw fear and anger, and he understood. “I can’t let you go in good conscious. It would be irresponsible and certain death. We’ll get the others out of here and come for Eric in the morning. We’re treading on thin ice as is; a soldier may come anytime now.”
Glossy jerked away. “I won’t leave Eric here! We don’t know what will happen if we don’t rescue him now.”
“We can’t rescue him, we don’t know where he is. Any minute now there will be a sentry calling for more soldiers and we’ll be trapped in an enemy camp without any way of getting out. That would do us all a whole lot of good.” Ange replied. He, too, wanted to find Eric and rescue the man, but he had a responsibility to protect the greater concern, the other mercenaries in his group. He had to be the voice of reason. “Everybody gather your weapons. Our camp is near Dalt Creek, so if you get separated, make your way there.” He glanced over the small group of ragtag mercenaries-outlaws now, but true of heart yet. “We run before we fight, so don’t get caught up.”
It was on the way out of the camp, while Glossy was sulking about the lose of her chance to rescue Eric, that they heard the soldier’s shout raising the camp’s alarm. “Quickly!” Ange urged them, now that the need for silence was gone. They no longer crept along in the shadows, now they were almost running back towards the clearing. Soon they were surrounded by soldiers by half asleep (but no less deadly) armed imperial soldiers. Almost instantly the whole atmosphere surrounding them changed.
Chaos followed, as the clash of metal awoke more soldiers and the mercenaries desperately fought to get through, dodging more the hitting. Glossy took the time as she fought to observe her opponent, and noticed that through sleep they were much weaker then they had been the day before. Ill training or fatigue, she did not know, nor did she have time to ponder on the affects.
So distracted was she that she almost didn’t see the young man watching the battle from the doorway of one of the wooden barracks on the outskirts of the camp. The fighting had died down just a little, as her faster companions headed for the well known forests of Alore. In the brief lull, Glossy saw that the man, who was not a soldier, was beckoning ro her. After a quick glance to determine that there was no attention on her, she darted over to the man, throwing all caution to the wind.
When she neared, he still did not look away from her, his eyes caught on the shock of red hair that had fallen out of her scarf. He was only a little older than she was, maybe sixteen or seventeen, tall and lanky, still unsure in his body. His nature and thin body told her enough- this was one of the camp’s slaves. As a slave, he would know where Eric was, hence her descion to throw caution to the wind. “You’re a lot younger than I thought.” He stated simply, stepping into the building and allowing Glossy to pass him. She feared for a second, as she passed, that he might have betrayed her. Peering into the darkness she could see nothing; this barrack, unlike the other one, had no windows.
Then she heard the sound of chains and a familiar voice call her name. “Glossy?”
“Eric?” Despite being night blind, she could tell that he must be on the far side of the room, and she thought she saw his outline against the far wall. Glossy ran to him. “Trin and Edward said you’d been taken away and they didn’t know where. I wanted to go after you right away but Ange wouldn’t let me. We were going to leave you, but then…” She felt something cold and hard beneath her fingers, wrapped around Eric’s wrists. “Are these chains?”
Eric nodded, but in the darkness Glossy felt more than saw him. “Interesting, isn’t it? They use chains on a slave, but only ropes on trained killers. I don’t think I’ve ever met a group this organized before. It’s almost embarrassing to have been captured by them.” He laughed, and Glossy had to smile. She was glad Eric was here, not only because they were family, but also because Eric could make any situation seem better.
“I noticed that too. I have to wonder about this so called ‘great’ empire that’s taking over our land.” She wasted no time running her hands along the shackles, looking for the lock, then pulling out her pins to set to work on the lock. “This is harder when you can’t see.” She remarked lightly.
The slave who’d lead Glossy to Eric was still standing in the doorway, watching the battle outside take place. Glossy paid him no mind, solely devoted to the locks, until she heard his startled yelp. When she turned, she saw a soldier in the doorway, his sword drawn and bloody, while the man lay on the ground, blood pooling from a wound in his chest.
Glossy would never recall the events of the next moments, but Eric would, forever. He watched his beloved cousin rise and draw her blade, crying out with rage at the senseless death of her ally, even one she had not known. He saw the brilliant flash of light as Glossy’s sword connected with her opponent’s, and he felt the metal on his skin begin to burn and give way, freeing him. The sword of the soldier had broken, and Glossy had killed the man before falling to the ground with another cry, this time of pain.
Without wasting any time, Eric gathered at her side, seeing that she was alive, and visibly unharmed. “Glossy?” He called, shaking her gently. She was awake, he knew it, but her eyes were closed. “Glossy?!” Again he spoke, this time with more urgency, only to receive a whimper of pain.
They didn’t have time for this! They had to leave now or they’d both be captured and discovered. He couldn’t lose glossy after having found her so soon. Gently, he lifted her onto his back, whispering encouragements to the nearly silent girl. With careful balancing, he stole a knife off of the dead soldier’s person, slipping it into his belt where he prayed it wouldn’t fall out. After the afair with the other mercenaries, the camp was nearly silent, all the action having moved towards other areas. It was easy enough for Eric to steal away into the forest. Of course, the man had no idea where he was going. “Glossy,” he urged her again, “where’s our camp at?”
He received no reply, but another whimper. Even though Eric couldn’t understand what had happened, he knew that it had rendered Glossy absolutely helpless. He had an idea about what it was, but he couldn’t confirm it until morning. He couldn’t find the camp on his own, so he set off into the woods, his intention to get very far away, very quickly,. Unknowingly, though, he moved away from where the mercenaries had hidden.
Her cousin was already awake, it being the day after their desperate flight from the Imperial soldiers’ camp. He’d gone a few miles south from the camp, following the stars, and had settled in around dawn, to allow time for them to rest. Eric had closed his eyes and slept for a few hours, woke up, ate some rations, and had spent the remaining time sitting on a tree branch above Glossy’s head watching for any soldiers who might have been sent out on patrol.
So, he heard the groans from the pile of blankets and teenage girl below and knew that Glossy had finally woken up after her escapades the night before. “You awake?” He called down to her.
“Nygahgu.” She replied nonsensically. “It hurts!”
Eric hopped out of the tree, landing next to her. “What hurts?”
“My eyes! I can’t open them because it hurts.”
“Oh.” He exhaled loudly. Yep, this confirmed his theory. Extreme sensitivity to light was usually a symptom of a common disorder among soldiers. It usually went away after a few days, when the earth power known as mana that she’s accidentally called into her left, leaving only the processed mana- known as magic- behind. It wasn’t too terribly uncommon among soldiers, since mana had a tendency to react to strong emotions like fear and anger. “Let’s wrap your eyes up. We need to move now, we’ll not be safe if some soldiers decide to come looking for us.”
Glossy shifted beneath the blanket, which Eric took to mean she agreed. “Where are the others? Why aren’t we with them. For that matter, what happened last night?”
Eric replied as he tore a strip of dark cloth off the edge of Glossy’s old, but clean, travel cloaks. “You were asleep. I didn’t know where they were. So while you dead-weighted on my back I hauled your sorry ass out south, towards Firoe. We can’t go back to the fortress anyway, so we might as well head south towards Firoe and see if we pass a town. Hate to admit it, but there isn’t much food in your pack, money either. Guess we’ll have to find a place to get a job.”
“Let’s go back north.”
“Uh, why?” Eric inspected his work, “Hold still Gloss, while I put this over your eyes.” he urged her off the ground slightly and wrapped the thick fabric around her eyes twice, tying the knot on the side of her head. “There. Anyway, there’s nothing to the North, just the empire, the land bridge, and the badlands. I don’t know about you, but none of those sound appealing.”
“Not that far north, stupid.” Glossy replied, sitting up. She was disoriented and tired without the use of her eyes. At least the pain had subsided in the darkness. “I mean to Dalt Creek. That’s where we set up the refugee camp. Ange and I brought all the survivors from Ar there before we went to rescue your sorry asses. That’s where everyone is. I’m sure Edward and Trin will be glad to know you’re safe.”
The man mulled over it for a few moments, a thoughtful look appearing in his brown eyes. “I guess it shouldn’t be too far to travel. Only a few hours away from here. I’m surprised at the location. That’s awfully close to the fortress, isn’t it?”
Glossy shrugged. “I suppose. The important thing, though, is that it should be far enough away from the awful camp that it shouldn’t be discovered. Our plan was move the camp south, anyway, after we’d rescued you guys.”
They gathered up the remnants of the camp as they spoke, Glossy fumbling to fold the blanket while Eric handled that more important task of covering their presence. Finally, as Glossy secured the blanket with string and set it near the pack, Eric broke the silence. “How many died… do you think… from our company?”
“I don’t know.” She said, her voice gentle and full of sadness. “Boss died, I know that for sure, so did Lae and Nevin. Most of the men in Ar village were killed too. Ange and I were the only two who weren’t badly wounded, I think because he was gone for most of the battle and I am a woman. They deliberately left the women and children alone, skys be thanked.”
“That’s good news.” Eric grabbed hold of Glossy’s hand and pulled the girl to her feet. “Let’s hurry back, the others will be worried.”
Glossy couldn’t see what was happening, but she could tell from the noise- or lack thereof- that something was indeed wrong. A camp, even a hidden one, should be full of life and noise as chores and cooking were attended too. Yet she could hear known of the telltale signs of life. “What happened here?”
“It’s hard to be sure.” Was the reply, “But I think the camp was discovered. There are signs of a struggle, and all that’s left is ash. Can you smell it? It’s not safe to remain here any longer.”
“I understand. If the imperial army has already found this place, then they may have realized there are more camps out there. We should stay low until we get out of Alore.” Her voice sounded unnaturally calm in her ears as she suggested their departure from the country they’d lived in and served for the last ten years.
Eric took Glossy’s hand again, and turned away from the wreckage of the camp. At least, thus far it seemed as if no one had died, so Eric could only pray that they were alive and well. Eric and Glossy couldn’t save them, not with Glossy helpless as she was, so they did the next best thing.
As Glossy and her cousin left home yet again, the blind woman was reminded of the words remnant in her dreams. A bitter reminder of the lose of her true family, coupled with the recent loss of her surrogate one. Her childhood was gone, lost beneath the sea and burned to ground on land.
She didn’t know, as she let herself be guided by Eric, that her greatest adventure in life was just beginning.
