Bringing the Dawn

Chapter Twenty

Witch Hunting

"She bears a fierceness that you'll underestimate
Don't disrespect her or you she'll devastate
Her essence takes its toll
You're losing all control.
"

-Metal Woman by 3 Inches of Blood

64

Six days had passed since Eila's spell had gone awry. Perrine was riding once again at the helm of the group through the hills surrounding Rome. They were close, and already were passing travelers headed to and from the great city. Perrine guessed they would be in the city within hours, and from there they could begin their search for the witches.

Perrine rode by herself, out of earshot of the rest of her company. That night with Eila had strengthened their bonds, but at the same time the wizard could no longer make eye contact with her. Perrine assumed it was because she was embarrassed over the whole ordeal. Eila was a strong spirit who wanted no aid or help from anyone. Perrine hoped this was something Eila would get over sooner than later. She wanted to forget about the mistake and go back to riding alongside her friend. There was a sense of frustration at the wizard for being so reclusive over the last week. The last thing Perrine needed was another source of frustration like Aurora (or even Sanya with her stubborn refusal to say a word to anyone save Eila).

So, she decided to be patient, riding forward and waiting out this quietness. She slowed Hasufel down as to keep from riding too far ahead and listened to the conversations behind her. Erica and Yoshika were talking about food while Lyn and Trude went back and forth about horses. Lyn talked about the horses her family raised, while Trude told her stories about how she first taught herself to ride with Sleipnir.

A little behind them, Perrine saw Aurora and Eila riding side-by-side with Sanya asleep against Eila's back. They were talking back in forth in Suomish. Their conversation was quiet and almost tense, making Perrine wonder just what they couldn't share with the rest. Even Erica and Trude kept to English most of the time save for short, explosive rants Gertrud would shout at the other knight in their language.

The ride continued on, and the traffic on the road became thicker as it branched off every couple of miles. They had taken a byway, now meeting the main roads to Rome. Perrine heard conversations between travelers and merchants in all tongues. English, Karlslandian, Spanish, Latin, it all seemed a blur. They passed soldiers as well. Small groups of mercenaries, members of the Roman guard, and even a handful of bored looking Blackguards that paid them no mind. Perrine was wondering if the diversity would allow them to blend in the city easier. It made her think of something.

"Gertrud," she said over her shoulder. "Lose the tabard. We don't need a giant blazing emblem that you're a knight of Karlsland."

"Is there a problem with that?" Barkhorn asked, not looking like she enjoyed this idea very much.

Perrine nodded, "We've been hounded nearly this far, Gertrud. The enemy is no doubt aware of who we are, so riding in playing the part in bold colors may not be the right idea. If anyone asks, we're a mercenary company of witches. Aurora you were part of one, weren't you?"

"Depends on who's asking," Aurora replied, and immediately went for a drink from her flask. "Not in these parts I wasn't."

"Right," Perrine rolled her eyes. She felt everyone's appearances were suitable for the lie. Even her own once noble coat was unbuttoned down the middle and worn far more casually. The road had left them all haggard and rough, like mercenaries. Eila and Sanya were the exceptions. Eila kept herself meticulously clean through magic like some sort of cat and extended the favor to Sanya.

Gertrud guided her horse with her knees and pulled her tabard off over her head. She managed to fit it into one her saddlebags and shook her head, "It just doesn't feel right without it."

Her shirt of mail glistened in the sun, and without the red and black design she wore, Perrine felt Barkhorn looked awfully plain now. Hartmann rode beside her in simple road clothes; britches, boots, and tunic. She only wore armor when preparing for battle, and so far had not suffered any injury armor would have prevented. Barkhorn always wore hers when not sleeping or bathing.

"You'll manage," Perrine told her, and looked ahead again on the road. They reached the crest of a hill, and were provided the first view of the city.

She saw the many red shingled roofs of buildings of all sizes standing behind the high walls around the city. She saw great hills sporting the manors of the noble ruling class and the spires of the Duchess' palace peeking out from the distance. The hill they stood on only offered a small view of the great city, and just that was breathtaking.

"It's beautiful!" Yoshika gasped.

"I can't believe we're finally here," Lyn said in disbelief. "Does this mean we can sleep in a real bed and use a real hot bath? Maybe with real hot food?"

"If our funds permit it," Perrine answered. She swallowed hard at the thought about how much of the money she had left London with was gone. It was not something she was eager to tell the group about.

"We finally made it," Eila said, riding up beside Perrine. "From Suomus, Britannia, Denmark, Karlsland, Gallia... now to Rome. We've come a long way, huh?"

"Yeah," Perrine smiled, glad to hear Eila's voice in all of this. "With any luck, we will not be here long. If we could convince the mighty Gertrud Barkhorn to leave her post, we can do anything."

"Jaeger Kunze did most of your convincing for you," Gertrud commented, riding up on the other side of Perrine. "Aside from finding those witches, we're going to need to resupply and get some news about the outside world. A return trip shouldn't be too difficult. Get us enough to make it back to Karlsland and we'll be fine."

"No reason we couldn't go by sea," Eila suggested.

Perrine nodded, "Either way, I have no idea what Neuroin has done while we've been on the road."

"So?" Came Aurora's voice as she led Kertu past them. She took a large gulp of whiskey and grumbled, "Fuck Rome. Let's get the hell out of this stupid city as fast as we can. Trust me, it sucks and we don't want to stay here long."

"Well, I'm glad Whiskeybreath is here to enlighten us on the subject," Barkhorn frowned. "Cheer up, Suom, I'm sure there's an establishment or two that indiscriminately serves ale by the gallons for a single coin. If you're particularly level they'll let you sleep on the floor with the dirt, piss and vomit so you don't have to make the effort to find a bed."

"Stop," Eila said, although Perrine wasn't sure to who.

"Fuck off, fascist," Aurora muttered back at Barkhorn, and took another drink. "Let's just hope we don't reach the point where I say 'I told you-"

"Why?" Perrine cut her off, her voice cross and stern.

"Hmm?" Aurora looked back at Perrine.

"Why does Rome 'suck'?" Perrine clarified. "Why do you not want us here long?"

Aurora looked ahead and snapped the reins of Kertu to speed her up. She said loudly over her shoulder, "I'm just worldly, Gallian! I know which places are good and which aren't. Nobody listens to me, though, so maybe I'll find that tavern Barkhorn there is talking about. Just splash a bucket of cold water on me if you need me up."

Perrine looked over to Eila and asked in a low voice, "What's she hiding?"

Eila shrugged, "Do you think she actually tells me anything? As far as I know, she and her drunken band of mercenary friends at some point managed to binge-drink their way here across Europe and probably caused a bar fight good enough to get them kicked out of the city."

"I suppose that wouldn't surprise me, but..." Perrine narrowed her eyes at the older Juutilainen sister riding ahead, "...why would she be so aggressive about that? God, I have enough on my mind already. I don't need this."

"She's my sister," Eila whispered, and lowered her head. "How do you think I feel?"

Perrine reached over and patted Eila's shoulder.

"Uh-oh," Hartmann spoke up, and pointed down the road. A group of at least two dozen men and women in black brigandine with swords were waiting at the gate for the city. They were at the side of the road, letting others pass, but were looked up the hill at the witches. "Think it's an ambush?"

"God, not again," Perrine groaned and held her head in her hands. "I'm so sick of this. Why can't it just be all Neuroi for a change? I know we're far out but I am so damned tired of killing people. I have no idea how you Karlslanders can count kills."

"Stop humanizing the enemy." Barkhorn said. "They rarely send less than fifty at us now. If they were waiting for us at the city, I'd expect an army."

"Yeah, but the enemy also has proven they're not too bright," Hartmann pointed out. "Also Trudie started the whole counting thing. Inspired by an old rival in Karlsland. It's stupid, but I win most of the time."

"So what do we do?" Lyn asked.

"How should I know!?" Perrine shouted back, making fists with her hands. "Do we walk into the trap or just start indiscriminately killing anyone in black from afar out of principle!? I don't know, Lyn! How about we make a game out of it too!?"

"Calm down," Eila told Perrine.

The Britannian girl flinched back and looked down, muttering, "I'm sorry, I was just asking..."

Perrine snorted in frustration, and snapped the reins for Hasufel. "Our choice has been made already. Aurora's already there. God damn it."

She rode after Aurora, guiding Hasufel through the people leaving the city. Several complained about the vagabond on her horse hustling through seemingly without a care. The rest of the group followed behind her, but Perrine was a good ten meters ahead. Upon reaching the fellows in black waiting for them, Perrine quickly and gracefully dismounted as Aurora did the same. She reached out and grabbed the Suom's shoulder, hissing, "What are you doing!?"

Before she could reply, one of the Blackguards spoke up. It was a woman, "Hey!"

Perrine blinked as she saw this Blackguard. It was a young woman with red-orange hair and scandalously revealing armor that showed off her midsection, thighs, and very hefty cleavage (as well as her biceps). The crowd around her seemed mostly nondescript, but there were a good ten or so young woman dressed in black. The men outnumbered them two to one. Around the entrance of the city were tents and carts from all sorts of caravans preparing to leave. It was chaotic, and Perrine didn't like it at all.

Aurora looked back to say something, but Perrine pushed past her and immediately addressed the Blackguard, "Who are you? You seem to be waiting for me and my company."

"That's 'cause we were!" The redhead replied and excitedly shook Perrine's hand while smiling. "You're Perrine right? I'm Commander Shirley of Rome's Blackguards. Sorry for this big crowd, but the new girl in charge insisted on sending her fancy guards in case you were gonna start killin' us on sight. This road is busy to begin with."

Perrine shook her head, "That was not my intention. Yes, I am Perrine Clostermann, of Gallia. My companions and I are simply mercenaries seeking work in Romagna. I must ask, how did you hear of me?"

Shirley laughed as the rest caught up and began dismounting as well. She patted Perrine's shoulder and said, "Got word from the boss you were coming here, so I wanted to come say hey. I thought, instead of letting another Dunkelheit happen, we could talk and be pals."

Barkhorn muttered and spat, "Be friends with the enemy, not likely."

The Blackguard chuckled and waved her hand, "You haven't even heard us out. We're on the witches' side! All these girls around me? These are witches! Who says Neuroi and witches can't get along?"

Perrine shook her head, and frowned, "This is a joke, right? You're deceiving us."

"No!" Shirley shook her head. "I'm for real! Girls, come on, show them!"

The witches in black drew swords, and those swords began to glow slightly as they were shielded with magic. Perrine gasped in surprise. The Blackguard men were moving away from the witches in a strange way she didn't like. It was too coordinated. With the crowd of people around them, it was too difficult to make any sense of it.

The Blackguard smiled proudly and nodded, "I'm here to try and find some peace between what everyone thinks are enemies. So, that's why I wanted to talk to you. You're here for something, so let's compromise and make sure nobody is dying and we're all smiling and holding hands."

"Convenient, huh?" Eila spoke up. "So, why are those guys drawing knives?"

Perrine didn't see anything but realized quickly Eila had just seen the future.

"They're what!?" Shirley spun on her heels.

Sure enough a second later they had been dragged into an ambush. The men in their dark outfits lunged forward, grabbing young witches she had only just seen and slitting throats. Blood was immediately splattering across the grass and cobblestone. Peasants and travelers scrambled away in a panic. Women were screaming; men were shouting and the scene had devolved into total chaos.

"No!" Perrine cried out. Even if these witches were strangers, they were still comrades in their own way. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder as an assassin attempted something similar. She shouted, "Tonnerre!" as lightning blasted him away from her. They were even coming after Shirley. The redhead's armor began blasting fire out of the back like wings as she slowly spun around a meter off the ground. Perrine did not catch more what she was doing as she was too busy dealing with her own attackers. Around her, her friends flew into action. At the edge of her vision her she heard curses, shouts and the sounds of swords and cries of Blackguards being cut down. With quick work, she dispatched the Blackguard moving on her. Even in the panic, they were nothing to her skills.

Travelers and passerby's fled while shouting in terror. Yoshika cried out in shock and Perrine saw a large, burly man rush her with a long knife. Perrine spun in a frenzy to aid her, her heart beating wildly as she struggled to figure out just where she needed to be in the battle. Barkhorn was at Yoshika's aid in a flash. She used her sword's superior length and her strength to deliver a horizontal swing that was impossible for her foe to avoid or deflect. The Karlslander smiled at Yoshika and looked like she was going to put a hand on her shoulder, but realized she had none to give.

Perrine's attention was diverted again as two men flanked her from either side. She side stepped quickly, her boots kicking up dust as she avoided being trapped between them. A two on one fight was not ideal, but Perrine had faced far worse odds. They were on her, aggressive, working in tandem to throw her on the defensive. Behind them, Perrine saw the rage of the rest of battle. There were bouts of flames, cries, and Hartmann's form unleashing death with her holy sword. The flames weren't coming from Eila, Perrine was able to realize.

While she was on the defensive, Eila casually strode across the chaos without an ounce of worry. With grace and finesse she drew Lionslicer and stabbed it through the back of one of Perrine's attackers. The other flinched in shock, and gave Perrine the chance for retaliation as her rapier sang its song. She nodded at Eila, and saw the battle was fast going to be over. Aurora stood near Sanya, safeguarding her.

"Ugh, that was no good," Eila groaned. "Our fights of the week are turning into fights of the day."

The female Blackguard who had fought alongside them hustled over to Perrine, "Thanks for the help, that was-"

"It's not over yet," Perrine cut her off.

A large and burly Blackguard emerged from one of the tents off the side of the road. With a savage grin on his face he whistled and shouted, "At 'em boys! Chew their throats out!"

From the tents came half a dozen large Karlslandian Sheppard dogs, snarling and bloodthirsty. These were trained war dogs, and were in their own way more dangerous than some men. Perrine was not sure why they weren't used a moment ago, unless there were other reinforcements.

"I c-can't shoot doggies!" Lynette whimpered, unable to raise her bow. Perrine involuntarily felt herself roll her eyes.

"Oh no, not wolves..." Eila sounded legitimately scared, and slowly backed. Her sword was weakly raised in defense.

"Yeah, but you can rip them apart!" Aurora shouted and rushed at them, drunk with Planet Smasher on her back. One of the dogs pounced at her and she caught it at the neck as the rest rushed past her. Her hands grabbed at its head and twisted it, provoking one high whimper and a snap from it before it was killed. The dog handler came at her with his short sword. He lunged at Aurora, catching her arm and getting a good bleeding cut before she punched him in the face and sent him reeling back. She shoved into him and threw the man on his back before wrestling the sword from his hands. Shouting with exertion she used both hands to bring the tip down on his chest over and over again until he was moving no longer.

Hartmann and Barkhorn were not far behind her, their own swords impaling dogs before they came close. Shirley rushed across the battlefield, her armor propelling her forward with wings of fire that scorched the ground as she kept a meter in the air. She reached one of the hounds before it could get to Lynette, delivering an uppercut punch that exploded in more fire, killing it fast. She way she battled was almost similar to how Jaeger Kunze had fought Gertrud and it explained the fire Perrine saw.

The last two ran past Perrine too fast for her to stop them. As if they were going after the scent of fear, Eila was their target. The wizard was slowly backing up, and then tried to dash away. In her state, she was hesitant and slow, and canine teeth dug into her forearm and pulled her back as she cried out in pain. The other dog threw itself at Eila at bit at her thigh, tearing at some essential artery and sending blood gushing out down between her legs. They dragged her to the ground and tore at her as she weakly cried and threw useless punches at them. She had completely fallen apart and was literally and metaphorically in the weeds..

"No! No! No!" Perrine screamed and sprinted to save her best friend.

"Shit!"Aurora ran back the other way, grabbing Planet Smasher off her went. "Lyn, don't you do this again!"

"More problems!" Hartmann shouted and pointed up at the city walls. Neuroi were joining the fray. A couple dozen drones with a handful of Sharp-shooters for extra killing measure.

"Get out of here!" Barkhorn shouted as she kicked one of the dogs off of Eila with her magic strength, sending it flying and broken. Her sword came down, the point going through the other hound's neck. "Yoshika, get over here!"

"Oh god, I'm bleeding! I'm dying!" Eila cried raising up her mangled and chewed arm. "Yoshika, help, I'm dying!"

"No you're not!" Yoshika shouted down at her, dropping her her knees in the puddle of Eila's blood beside her. "Don't say things like that. You're going to be okay!"
Yoshika's magic went to work and Perrine felt a surge of relief as she turned to face their new attackers. Lyn's bow was sing its song once more and the sharp-shooters were dead before they could even fire down at them. It was an impressive show, but Eila was still hurt.

She went to work, charging them alongside Hartmann and Barkhorn as they worked to swarm Aurora and Shirley. Shirley's firebrand went out, and she stuck the hilt in her belt before drawing a long knife. The first skirmisher blade came at her, and she deflected it aside. Her weapon stopped it, and was bathed in a shimmering glow. This girl was a witch as well, not just siding with them.

"A little help here!" The redhead stumbled back, deflecting another swing. "I forgot to bring my Neuroi-killing sword!"

"Well, I certainly didn't forget mine!" Barkhorn shouted as her blade shattered a Neuroi into a thousand pieces. Hartmann was immediately at her side and the two crushed through the lines of the enemy. Partners in battle, these were motions the two knew very well.

Perrine decided to let them handle it and turned her attention to Aurora. The Suom was there by herself as Lynette's focus was still on the ones who hadn't landed yet. Aurora's weapon dropped one, and then another before she let her guard down and received a grazing and bleeding cut across the ribs.

"Fuck you!" She cried out and turned around to cleave her attacker in half. That left her back exposed again where another Neuroi got a deep cut across it. "Sunova BITCH!" Aurora's cry became a scream and she spun around again to take the skirmisher's head off. She was panting, clutching at her side at one of her several bleeding injuries.

More were coming but Perrine was there in a second, jumping into her dance of death. Parry, counter, sidestep, thrust, parry, thrust, deflect and counter. Her mind worked like the rolling ocean, adapting and fluid and able to fit however it needed to. Hartmann's training was paying off, and Perrine felt more confident in her skills than ever. There was no fear or worry, and it made her almost want to tell Aurora that she just needed to stop fighting. If Aurora couldn't handle a handful of these things anymore, something was wrong. Perrine could do this alone.

"Come on," Perrine put her shoulder under Aurora's arm to help her. She shouted over, "Yoshika! Aurora needs help too!"

"A-Alright!" Yoshika called back, nearly done with Eila.

Aurora let Perrine help her as she stumbled and bled. Her eyes went for her flask at her belt, but her hands were full.

As the last of the skirmishers fell, Barkhorn sheathed her sword and said to the Blackguard, "Okay, we just saved your life. Now start talking. What just happened!?"

"Damn it," Shirley walked right past her and surveyed the carnage. The Romans and assorted traveling foreigners were watching from the sidelines at the bloody witches. "I'll tell you what happened, we were set up! It was an obvious trap, I should have smelled that something was fishy the moment the new commander began setting this thing up. That probably hurt her more than it hurt us... save those dead girls. There's no Hive here, she can't get those four Librarians back and it's going to hurt."

"I understood all of half of that," Barkhorn sighed. "Why were they trying to kill you!?"

Shirley looked back at her and gave a weary chuckle, "How about we go somewhere safe before I start blabbing all the reason Neuroin's little pets would want me dead. Guess she wanted to deal with me and all the witches she could in one swoop. Didn't work did it? That was some of the best fighting I've ever seen."

"Then you haven't seen much," Barkhorn smirked. "I was off my game that fight. Hartmann what was your score?"

"Sixteen," Hartmann replied, wiping blood off her sword.

"See, I was only at eleven."

"Nothing new," the younger knight shrugged.

Perrine ignored their conversation and helped Aurora down for Yoshika to heal. She looked down at Eila with a concerned expression and asked, "What happened? I've never seen you take a hit before. Or lose your cool like that."

Eila sat up and groaned, lifting up her skirt and seeing that it was soggy with blood. She frowned and muttered, "My dress is ruined. I didn't even prepare my cleaning spell either. It was either that or the spell where I summon a horde of rampaging bears and I didn't even get to use that."

Perrine huffed and smacked Eila's shoulder, "Stop kidding around! This isn't the time for that. I see you're fine then and don't need my help or concern. Yoshika, do you have enough magic to aid her sister?"

Yoshika nodded and was already going to work, "Yes, she's not badly hurt."

"Don't even need this..." Aurora muttered as she sat cross legged on the road. "They just ganged up and flanked me. Cheap bastards."

The redheaded Blackguard stepped over and looked at Aurora, giving her a concerned look, "Are you sure you should be fighting Neuroi? That's a job for witches. What are you? A Blackguard or ex-Blackguard? That's a neat weapon."

Perrine mentally winced as Eila did so physically. All around, similar glances were exchanged. They all knew there was no way Aurora was going take hearing that lightly. The Suom made a tight, white knuckled fist that dripped with wet blood. Her face was neutral though. Shirley bit her lower lip, seeming to understand she had said something wrong in all of it.

"So," Perrine spoke up, eager to be moving along and trying to find sense in all of this. "You were waiting for us? Let's find somewhere safe to talk, and if it's possible rest and bathe. I don't want to cross the city splattered in blood."

"If I approached a child like this, I'd probably make them scream and run away," Eila sighed, looking down at her bloodied form. "Is this stuff gonna come out easy? I really like this dress."

"Be quiet!" Perrine snapped at Eila.

Shirley smiled and waved her hand, "Oh yeah, I know plenty of safehouses here in the city! I rather nice bath house too if you're wanting to get all the dirt and guts off of you. After that we can go to a pretty safe tavern I hang around a lot. All my boys go there, so we can trust it to be okay."

"What about them?" Lynette gestured to the fallen witches.

The Blackguard winced at that, like she knew it had been coming, "The city guard will be here soon to clean this up, and I don't want to be there to explain all of this. It's not going to be easy and... well... I didn't really know any of these girls. You can think I'm heartless all you want but..." she sighed and turned away, "...just kinda used to death."

"A drink for fallen comrades," Aurora got to her feet and went for her flask, taking a healthy drink from it.

Eila looked about and nodded with a whisper, "Siis hyvästi, kunnes jälleen kohtaamme."

The group quickly went to gather their horses that had scattered in the chaos and went to follow Shirley into the city as the area became busier and busier. Plenty of eyes were on them, and Perrine was loathing the attention their horrible entrance had brought them. Already looters were braving snatching weapons and coin purses from the dead Blackguards. One woman had found her dead husband amidst their corpses and was sobbing and shouting distraught cries at their group as they passed through the gates.

Yoshika rode beside Lynette with her head down in shame. She wondered aloud, "Why does it have be this way. I thought it would get easier after our first battles in the plains but... I still feel awful."

Lynette stretched herself to reach over and pat her friend's shoulder, replying. "It's for the greater good, I think. We'll make a better world in the end. It's just a shame the journey is so dark along the way."

Ahead, Shirley walked between Barkhorn and Perrine's horses. She looked up and gestured subtly back where Eila and Sanya were riding and asked quietly, "That one's not much of a talker, is she?"

Perrine shook her head, "Not as of late."

The Blackguard shrugged and turned the other way to look up at Barkhorn, "Are you that Karlslander I heard about? The one who held the southern stretches of the Rhine with a small army?"

Barkhorn kept on forward and replied curtly, "I'm a Karlslander, yes. One of thousands of riders, so I may one of many you're thinking of. Perhaps after a place to stable my horse, a bath and food I may tell more. I'm not sure who I can trust here yet."

Shirley chuckled at that and teased, "Defensive, huh? I kinda like that." She fell back to walk alongside Aurora, attempting to provoke some sort of conversation out of her next. She smiled a grin full of white teeth and patted her leg to get her attention.

Aurora had been riding with her head down and looked at the Blackguard tiredly, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say hi," she replied in a very friendly way. "Everybody is so doomy and gloomy and I don't like it. What's your name?"

"Aurora," the Suom answered, and reached for another drink.

"That's a beautiful name," Shirley commented, still smiling in her attempt to be friendly. "Sorry if I made it sound like you weren't a warrior earlier. I mean, you fought off those Neuroi better than anyone who isn't a witch could. Where'd you get that weapon? It's really neat."

Aurora sighed heavily and looked down at her, "Shouldn't you be talking to Perrine over there or something?"

Shirley was given the first real chance to see the burns across the side of Aurora's hand and her missing fingers. She kept her smile, but her eyes held realization in them and she replied, "I bet you're someone with lots of cool stories to tell. Everyone around here is always so boring. You seem really interesting!"

Aurora gave her a weary look and said, "I'm not a knight from a children's story book with battles to boast about. I'm just her older sister and bodyguard. "

She gestured at Eila who sheepishly waved back.

Shirley sighed, defeated but kept her spirit, "Okay, I'll leave you alone. Don't think you're off the hook though!"

65

Perrine was doing everything in her power to force herself to relax in what was something she had been wanting for a long time. After following Shirley through the maze that was Rome and stabling their horses in a courtyard that was a little obscured, they were shown to a bathhouse. It was a large establishment used by the Blackguards and private patrons who wanted to be left alone.. Perrine was given her own room on request, and she enjoyed hot water in a tiled bath beneath and open roof.

The bath was large enough for ten, and felt strangely empty with just Perrine in it. She sat at the edge and gazed upon the murals on the wall of mermaids and sailors. Beside her at the edge of the bath was her rapier. She had placed no trust in any part of the city. While she was thankful for Shirley leading them there, she did not feel comfortable around her fully yet. Still, either Shirley was genuinely friendly and wanted help, or was a crazy sociopath who was very good at deceiving them. She sunk into the water so it was up to her shoulders and reflected on the last time she had taken a hot bath.

By Perrine's recollection, the closest she had to one was the sauna in Suomus months and months ago. Since then it had been rivers and streams almost exclusively. It was heavenly there, and Perrine wasn't sure how she was going to convince herself to leave. Someone was to return with her freshly cleaned clothes and Perrine supposed then she should dress and face the rest of the day, but she was wishing that moment would be hours away.

Her heart sank when the door slowly opened, and the urge to place a hand on her rapier was there. Someone poked their head in, and Perrine sighed in relief when she saw it was just Eila. Her friend stepped in, naked with a towel draped over her shoulder without a care in the world. Perrine realized just how juxtaposed Eila was against the backdrop.

Against the beautiful tiled mosaics, Eila did not fit in at all. From the battle that day, Eila was wearing the results of her injury in full display. There were faded scar lines on her from where she had been bitten, and all around there was dried blood. It was up against her face and even in her hair. Being thrown in the dirt had left her covered in mud as well. She smiled at Perrine and casually said, "Sorry I'm late. I had to make sure they were cleaning my dress just the way I want."

"Late?" Perrine raised and eyebrow. "I had assumed you were going to bath either alone or with some of our companions. What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd get lonely," Eila chuckled and stepped across the room to join Perrine. She stuck a toe in the test the water, and then a foot before slowly trying to ease herself in.

"You thought wrong," Perrine said back and rested her arms against the rim of the back. She shrugged and added, "I suppose company is welcome. The water is great, and I'm sure we can find something to talk about."

"Yeah," Eila agreed and shivered in pleasure at the water as it settled up to her shoulders, "like that little vixen who was so eager to meet us. Am I alone in not tru-"

"You are not," Perrine finished for her. "I am torn though. I do not believe she is working against us on a personal level. There's a sincerity in how she speaks and acts around us, but I fear her allies, whoever they are, will not appreciate us being here. Could an allegiance be made somehow with the Blackguards? Perhaps. I'm more focused on finding the Queen of Thieves."

"Do you ever just sit back and relax?" Eila asked her. "It's always work, work, work and stress, stress, stress these days with you. Wait, no, it's always been like that since I've met you but... something's missing. Hmm, look at me?"

Perrine turned her head and did so, meeting Eila's gaze.

"There it is!" Eila exclaimed. "Or, should I say, there it isn't! That driven spark you had in your eyes is gone. There's something else there now... it's not a bad thing, I guess you've just grown up a lot, haven't you?"

Perrine found herself blushing and looked away, "I suppose I have. I wasn't quite given a choice in this matter and I am just doing what I can. To answer your question, no I rarely just 'sit back and relax'. I've grown strong and used to this life now, so worry not about me breaking under it."

"Well," Eila paused for a moment like she was thinking, "why don't you let me handle the relaxing for you? I'll wash your hair and back and you can focus on thinking about the things nobody else wants to. You know, like the Queen of Thieves, Neuroin, or the conversation Hartmann was having earlier to Barkhorn about whether or not anthropomorphic frog people live beneath the city."

"You started that one," Perrine shot back. She turned her back to Eila and silently accepted her kind offer. Maybe she really did need to take a load off and just relax for an hour or two. Then she could get back into the fight fully refreshed with some new vigor. In the meantime, she wondered just what the others were doing. She wondered another thing, about Eila's behavior during that fight. Eila had seized up as bad as Lynette had back in Britannia in their first battle together.

"Eila?" Perrine spoke up. "Are you afraid of dogs?"

Eila tensed up as she was running her fingers through Perrine's hair, "Ehh, were those dogs? They looked more like wolves to me."

Perrine felt this answer very strange, "They're Karlslandian dogs, Minna had one years ago I remember. Let me restate my question, are you afraid of wolves?"

She tensed up even more, "They're the top predator, why wouldn't I be afraid?"

"You're not afraid of Neuroi. Most people can't even fight them and you took the battle alone to them and won," Perrine reminded her. "Defeating a couple hounds should be like breathing to you."

Eila was silent for a moment, washing Perrine's hair and in heavy thought it seemed. There was nothing but the sound of water before she answered, "I guess it's different. Did I ever tell you about Ulda?"

"You did not," Perrine answered.

The wizard took a deep breath and she slid away from Perrine, resting against the side of the bath. She raised her knees to hug them, resting her chin on her arms just above the water, and began her story.

"When I was six, my mother took me and Aurora out to the countryside, far north to a place we call Sapmi. When my mother was a little girl, she made friends with another girl named Ulda, who traveled south with her family to our lands. They were childhood friends, but Ulda returned to her homeland and my mother married. Every several years they tried to meet again, but it was hard with how her people moved around so much and we were staying on a farm. Message came that that Ulda's people had traveled south enough that meeting them wouldn't be too difficult, so my mother took us to visit.

"I had never met her before, but I heard stories about her people and the magical lives they lived. They're simple, living off the land and moving around. Aurora said one of her witch companions was one of them, and they were full of neat songs and stories. I was even more excited, because Ulda was now a shaman of her people, and it was said she could talk to animals. We came to their camp and found Ulda. She was beautiful, and pointed out right away that my sister and I were witches. She and my mother drank and caught up, and it started to get late when Ulda asked me if I wanted to see her pets.

"I've always loved animals, so I was excited! She told me she used four of them to herd reindeer, and they had a special bond. I went with her while Aurora and our mother stayed in camp. As we were walking and I was skipping, she told me that we were going to meet her wolves. I was only six, and I thought wolves were just very large dogs. I'd never been close to one, and all I knew is that Aurora had a wolfhound puppy before I was born that ran away.

"They were just out in the fields, resting on some rocks when they saw us coming. They were a lot bigger than I was, and they were excited to meet me for some reason. I think it had something to do with shaman magic to make them friendly, but... the first one just jumped on me, and started licking my face. All of a suddenly I have teeth flashing and nipping right in front of me, and they're pinning me to the ground. All four of them wanted to explore my face with their tongues and were fighting to do it. They were growling at each other, snapping and snarling a-and..."

Eila stopped and was shaking.

"St-story time is over. I don't want to remember more of it."

Perrine had been engrossed in the story, but tilted her head in confusion, "You're afraid of these animals because a pack of them slobbered on you?"

"Shut up!" Eila shouted at her. "I was only six and they were all bigger than me! It was really frightening!"

"I meant no offense," Perrine lowered her head. "I apologize, and thank you for sharing this with me. I like it when you tell stories of your homeland. I... almost wish to visit and see some of the magic first hand."

Eila calmed her nerves and exhaled, "It doesn't work that way. You don't find the magic there, it finds you whether you're ready for it or not."

66

The Sunlit Court was a collection of courtyards, bath houses, brothels, inns and taverns and most recently now armories and a few barracks. It was not a place spoken of often, and was secluded by being surrounded by nondescript homes and only accessible through unmarked alleys. It had been Lieutenant Shirley who had decided make it the Blackguard base of operations instead of a large and dull estate on the other side of town. While the estate was still the 'official' headquarters, the commander spent most of her time in the Sunlit Court.

Liita Kunze had never visited the Sunlit Court and was now very, very interested in taking a stroll when it was relayed to her that the captain had taken her guests there. She moved gracefully through an open court of peach trees and small gardens. At her side were her two companions, Svartsot and Metsatoll. She had found them as puppies in the forests Suomus years ago and raised them to be loyal friends and guardians. Svartsot was a large black wolf whose dark fur contrasted with his sister, Metsatoll's white fur.

Two two wolves flanked her and sniffed around, their yellow eyes falling on the Blackguards moving around. Many of them picked up their pace and wore worried expressions. Others gazed upon Liita in awe and saluted to her authority as she was now the highest ranking Blackguard. She was in her black evening dress, deciding it was good to look her best if she was going to meet her new guests in Rome. The Strike Witches were right there, but Liita knew she had to act smart and subtle. Her assassination outside the gates had gone terribly, and it was clear she had underestimated her opponent like every Blackguard before her.

One mistake was acceptable. She had only been testing the waters.

With a gentle voice that made Blackguard men blush and stammer, she found directions to where the commander was currently residing. Shirley was with a few of her female lieutenants in the courtyard of the bath houses. They were hanging up laundry, presumably the laundry of their enemy. Their lively conversation dimmed down to whispers as they saw Liita approach.

"Commander Shirley..." Liita smiled a gentle smile and closed her eyes for a moment as her witch magic went to work. The group of girls eased at her presence and she opened her eyes to say, "Oh dear, I am mistaken... It's Lieutenant now, orders from Neuroin specifically."

She did a poor job hiding her satisfaction as the new Lieutenant went pale. The redhead stammered and blurted out, "H-Hold on! I haven't done anything wrong! Why am I being demoted again!?"

Liita's smile became more devious, "Nothing wrong? Thirty-five Blackguards died this morning, twelve of our witches and here you are doing laundry for those who killed them."

Shirley was silent, her face grim and pale. At her side, her civilian best friend whose name was not at all important took her hand in a gesture of comfort. Her friend was small, several years younger than her and a local who was known as a devilish little prankster. In a weak voice her friend looked up and asked, "What happened, Shirley?"

The lieutenant looked down and quietly replied, "I... I-It's nothing, Francesca. Forget about it."

"Nothing?" Liita hummed and put a finger on her chin. "Your incompetence is the reason almost four dozen of our own are dead. That doesn't sound like nothing to me, Lieutenant. I'll send someone with your new standing orders, and you can be thankful you weren't hanged for this. At least you brought the enemy here to our nest. I suppose you're good for something."

"It wasn't my fault!" Shirley argued. "They... I mean... I..."

The two made eye contact, and Liita had no problems with Shirley knowing just what had really happened that morning. There was nothing Shirley could do and she seemed to know better to keep quiet.

Liita chuckled and waved her hand dismissively, "I think I'm going to pay these guests a little visit. Did you know I've met one of them before? Yes, correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a girl among them named Aurora?"

Shirley swallowed hard and nodded, "Yeah, she's uh... through that door over there with a friend."

She pointed the way and Liita nodded, "I think I want to meet her again."

Her two wolves followed her, with Metsatoll keeping an eye over her shoulder at Shirley and that Francesca girl. She left the wolves outside and pushed through the doors and was greeted with a rush of warm air and the sound of trickling water. The Suom was in one of the smaller baths, big enough for a single family with decals in the tile depicting a snowy landscape.

She had not seen Aurora in years, and the girl looked incredibly worse for wear. She was sitting at the far corner, head leaned back and a bottle of wine in her hand. Behind her were some scattered belongings and a towel. Liita distinctly recognized Planet Smasher resting against the wall, and she was surprised Aurora still had it. Aurora was boasting far more scars than before, and Liita noticed the ugliest being the burns on the side of her face and on her right shoulder.

An arms reach away from her was another girl, a younger and pretty thing that Liita assumed was Sanya. That had been the girl her wretched brother had lusted over and lost Dunkelheit to. She was a beautiful little thing and Liita saw the similarities between them. It took a moment for Aurora to notice her, but she looked up and her indigo eyes met Liita's emerald ones. The look on Aurora's face was a mix between drunken bewilderment and drunken fear. She mouthed the word 'no' and shook her head, immediately going for her bottle for a few seconds of gulping. Sanya looked up and was oblivious to who Liita was. She used one arm to cover herself just beneath the water and offered a friendly smile.

Liita stepped around the bath towards Aurora, slowly and deliberately. She used the smile that had won Aurora in the first place and greeted her, "My! My! Aurora, dear, how long has it been? Why, if I had known you were coming to Rome, I'd have sent an escort so my men wouldn't harass you. I trust you were not harmed in battle? I heard my men were no match for the Invincible Aurora."

"I've taken worssh," Aurora slurred, looking down at the water. Liita closed her eyes and manifested her magic again. Aurora had always been vulnerable to it, and the alcohol made her even more so. She looked up at Liita and spoke, "So... why are you here? Just visiting? 'Cause if so we gotta go drinkin' together."

Liita smiled down at her and answered, "Oh no, dear, I'm the Commander of the Blackguards here. You should have figured that right when I said those had been my men that attacked."

"Oh," Aurora looked away and Sanya flinched. "They roughed up my little sister kinda bad. Remember Kertu? We got a friend now who has the same magic so... kinda why half of us are alive. Save that bitch Barkhorn."

Sanya gave Aurora a very worried expression.

Liita kept smiling and gently sat down, resting her chin in her hands and said, "My, my, interesting, interesting. Just why are you in Rome now, sweetie? Looking for more work because you know my door is always open. You know I pay better than Piret and her crew ever can. I hear her name from time to time, come to think of it. Oh well, that doesn't matter."

Sanya's eyes went wide as she stared at Aurora. Aurora took another drink and shrugged, "Nah, mercenary work isn't really my thing anymore. I'm my baby sister's bodyguard, but..." she laughed dryly and drank even more. "Who needs me? They got that bitch Barkhorn and her stupid little Lieutenant Hartmann. Just kinda along for the ride now, drinking and seeing so much of my blood I could probably paint a house with it."

"You're poor dear," Liita gave a sympathetic frown and stroked Aurora's hair. The girl was tense but relaxed under Liita's magic. "From what you told me about Eila, I'm sure she cares for you deeply and is glad to have you. Who wouldn't? I had a lot of fun when you were here last. But I wonder, dear, just why is your sister in Rome?"

Sanya's expression had become almost panicked and Aurora was oblivious to it.

Aurora thought for a moment, and answered carefully, "She... wants to see the Queen of Thieves about something."

Liita's smile became very genuine, "Oh? You know, the Queen of Thieves has really been a thorn in-"

"Not my problem," Aurora immediately cut her off.

Someone cracked the door to the bath opened, and in peaked a female Blackguard. She spoke with confidence that meant she was one of Liita's and not Shirley's, "Commander Kunze, there's been another battle. Thieves attacked a patrol carrying letters and made off with them all."

Liita stood up immediately and calm, warm demeanor was replaced with the look of a harpy as she snapped, "Is every last man and woman in this city this utterly fucking incompetent!? Trained soldiers losing to brigands? I may be doing a hanging today after all. Sorry Aurora, I must bid you farewell!"

She left in a hurry leaving the two girls sitting and blinking. Aurora was about to take another drink before it was knocked out of her hand by Sanya. She looked at the younger girl and was speechless. Sanya was standing over her with a look to kill. Aurora had never seen this before, Sanya looked furious and her hands were quivering with anger. Wine was turning the water around Aurora purple.

"Sanya, what the-"

Sanya grabbed Aurora by the hair and slapped her hard in the face, then again, and again as she was in tears. Aurora sat there dazed, being slapped over and over again before Sanya scrambled away, splashing water as she grabbed her towel. Aurora blinked at her cheek was on fire with pain as Sanya left. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Her vision was spinning around the room and the urge to vomit was rising. She swallowed it down with practiced effort and watched as the purple wine and water mingled in blurry, spinning scene around her breasts. It was beautiful in some way, and the way it clashed with how she felt and what had happened made her dizzy.

She couldn't fathom why Sanya had just attacked her like an angry cat. Nothing she had said had been particularly offensive, had it? It was hard to remember just what she said. She wanted another drink, and realized she was going to have to towel off to get another bottle.

Still, Aurora supposed it was good to see Liita again.

To Be Continued

Author's Notes/Quotes from Meinkampf – So here's chapter two! Keeping the pace moving so chapters like this don't end up being three times as long. This chapter was a brutal hurdle as that fight scene at the city gates was just a nightmare to write. Writing for ten characters simultaneously is already the biggest challenge of this story, but writing a fight scene with that many people is just outlandishly hard. You'd be surprised how tricky it is just to accurately portray just what the fuck is going on. I still don't think I did that great of a job!

And as always we come back to music! The trip down the road to the city was written to and goes along with the tune The Wandering by The Foreshadowing with a gloomy and tense atmosphere and heavy lyrics. Plus the band is from Rome so that makes them relevant. The album it's off of was also hugely influential to my other story, Chooser of the Slain if anyone even remembers that. For the fight scene, it goes along somewhat to Father of the Wolf by Amon Amarth. Gonna be some of that band in this story. I can vouch Amon Amarth is good for fighting. I saw them in Seattle when they were promoting their Surtur Rising album and took part in some brutal pits. They had a twenty minute break between sets and out by the merch stands and drink stands I saw guys sitting against the walls with faces covered in blood. FUCKING METAL.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Tell me what you think!