This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to the Protector of the Small series, any of its characters belong to Tamora Pierce… Much to my disappointment. This goes AU about midway from the book Page. Fair warning. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it. This is mostly centered on Joren. This is also a slow build Kel/Joren.
June 8-10, 460
They followed the trail along the Vassa road to the foot of the bluffs, where an unpleasant surprise awaited them. Beside the large trail left behind, there were five dead people hanging from trees. In the ground in front of them a plank had be stuck with a sign on it: "Rebellious Slaves."
Based on Kel's reaction, Joren could tell his wife was livid and recognized them. They cut the bodies down and covered them with more brush before moving on. Kel was so upset by it that she hadn't even been able to speak a prayer for them. Instead, it was Neal who performed the task for the dead. They continued on until they found a sheltered place to rest for the remainder of the night.
Joren ensured he held her close when they curled up to sleep, Kel falling into a deep sleep almost as soon as the blanket was pulled over her. They were woken at dawn, Joren relieved that Kel managed to sleep the whole time they were there. When she asked if she had talked in her sleep and Joren confirmed she hadn't, Dom pointed out that now that Kel was setting forward on the task, she would be free of the dreams since they were intended to remind her of the task set to her.
They ate a cold breakfast of cheese and sausage, not willing to risk a fire in enemy territory. Everyone was quick about eating and saddling their horses, allowing them to get back on their way with little delay. Kel did take time to study the maps given to her by Dom's squad though and determine where they were and where they were headed.
Kel sent out the animals to scout for them so that they could keep an eye out for them and ordered everyone to ride in the tracks of the refugees to ensure that any enemy patrols would confuse their tracks for the refugee trail. A short while along the road, they found another bit of red yard from the end of a twig.
"That doll will be bald as an egg by the time we find Meech," She muttered to Neal and Joren who had been riding alongside her.
Neal grinned back at her, "They're tough, those young ones. It amazes me how tough they are."
Joren smiled at that, "I'll make sure the boy gets a new doll with plenty of hair when we get him safely home." Though Kel's amusement had already vanished.
They reached the Smiskir road by the time the sun was clear of the eastern mountains. They didn't have any issues finding evidence of the refugees even on a major highway like this one. Jacut, one of the convict squad that had been scouting to their left flank had found a game trail that was parallel to the road and allowed them to follow it without being seen from the road, though they would have to ride more spread out.
It was mid-morning when the sparrows announced via Ragar that twenty-five enemy soldiers were approaching. Owen, who had been scouting on the other side of the road risked a dash across to give more information.
"We've got company. They're hard men, fighters. Five carry shields. Weapons are long-axes, spears, and swords. I think they're bound for Mastiff, right, Happy?" The horse in question pawed at the earth, clearly ready for a fight.
Joren was grim even as he felt a spark of amusement at Owen looking for his horse to confirm his assessment. Kel was far stricter than Joren though, "Don't let him do that. Brush it away. People will be able to tell we were here." Owen immediately moved to follow Kel's instructions.
Meanwhile, Kel eyed their people and considered their options, though Joren knew there was only one reasonable one. They couldn't risk troops between them and the Vassa on their way back and they couldn't allow men to go place further risk to their people on the Tortall side of the river, never mind that they outnumbered the enemy two to one. They'd have to kill them all, no way could they take prisoners, but Joren was smart enough to not allow it to make him squeamish. It would be harder for Kel with her innate sense of honor, but he didn't say anything, knowing she would come to that conclusion on her own.
All the while that she thought, she rolled a bit of yard collected earlier and when she realized what she was doing, she got a determined look on her face before hand-signaling everyone that they were going to fight. Kel got off Hoshi and called Jump to her softly before starting to give him instructions that he and the other animals had to take down the scouts. Judging by Jump's soft whuffing, a noise that Joren had long since learnt actually meant something, Jump was agreeing, before trotting off to the other dogs and cats and apparently passing on the instructions.
It was almost like Jump was Kel's animal second-in-command, Joren mused. Of course, he really wasn't surprised by that. Kel then waved him, Dom, and the other knights over, "Dom, you and your men get behind the men on the road. Esmond, you go with them to hold the enemy at the rear. If you don't mind, let Dom give the orders, he's been fighting longer than either of us." The two of them nodded in agreement easily.
"Wait till you hear noise from the front before you start shooting. Don't let the horses get away, and don't let a man get away. Not one, you understand? Get the dead off the road as soon as you can. Nari, Quicksilver?"
The two dominant sparrows landed on Kel's shoulders immediately when she called, "Take some of the flock. Get in from of Dom, further down the road. Warn him if anyone else comes." The birds immediately darted away to follow her instructions before she continued. "Uinse, Connac take your men to the far side of the road, get into the trees with your bows. Seaver, Neal, Willowsbreath, you're with them. Neal, do not heal anyone, understand me?"
"I understand," Neal answered, his voice a little hoarse at the idea of following that order.
"I'm sorry," Kel whispered sympathetically. Before turning to Joren. "Joren, you and one group of our men-at-arms are on this side of the road. Rosewood you as well, same order as Neal, no healing any of the enemy."
The mage gave an easy nod. Of course, Delorah Rosewood hadn't spent the past eight years having Kel's notions of noble duty shoved into her way of thinking, so it was a little different. Kel turned to Tobe, "Tobe, you're with Joren, take orders from him. I don't know if you can call the enemy's horses to you once the riders are off them, but now would be a good time to see if you can. Sargent Woods, your squad is with me, we'll hit them from the front. Duck, Arrow?" Kel looked around to locate two of the male sparrows.
Both were on Peachblossom and regarded Kel with their button eyes in a somber manner, "Let us know the enemy's three horse lengths back from that rock." Kel pointed at a barely visible rock just before a bend in the road. The birds left to follow her instructions easily. Kel and Wood's squad of men-at-arms moved towards the road, while Joren and his group readied themselves to strike from the side.
There was a bit of a delay between everyone getting into position and Duck and Arrow shrieking their warning. Kel gave the order to charge to her men and they hurled themselves at the mass of men riding down the road. Chaos erupted almost immediately. Joren coolly started firing off arrows from his bow while those around him did the same. On the road, Kel fought like a beast, cutting down the Scanran men even as the enemy's horses reared throwing off their masters and trotted into the wood to Tobe, who kept his eyes squeezed shut tight as he concentrated on them.
Joren absently noted that Peachblossom was doing as much damage as Kel herself was doing. It didn't take long for all the Scanrans to be killed and they were swiftly moving the bodies off the road into the woods. Tobe brought the enemies horses up to Kel with pride. Joren came out of the woods as well and listened as Kel instructed him to persuade the horses to wait for them in case they were needed on the ride back. She then instructed the sparrows to go and check the road ahead.
His wife quickly assessed the situation, and Joren did as well. While there were a few with cuts, no one had any serious injuries, though Owen tried to dissuade Mistress Delorah from healing the cut on his cheek because he wanted a scar to make him look more dangerous and needed all the help he could get.
"I don't look dangerous and I'm married," Joren pointed out wryly. Owen reluctantly conceded to allowing Mistress Delorah to clean the cut at least.
Kel drank two flasks of water before ordering them to collect the weapons and supplies and hide them under a canvas behind a rock. She then shooed away a Stormwing. Once they had the dead cleared from the road and weapons and supplies hidden, they cleaned up as much as possible while still being quick about it. Kel seemed to almost pray for the dead enemy, though if she did, it was silently, before they moved on.
They met another party of ten Scanrans around mid-day and did the same to them as they did the first. When the first stormwing showed this time, Kel shot at it without even really trying to hit it and it quickly fled. Joren knew why she did it, stormwings were a good way of alerting the Scanrans that there was fighting on their side of the Vassa and they didn't need unwanted attention. As they moved on from the second fight, Kel seemed to once more pray, though not for the dead this time, Joren guessed.
Later in the day they found some empty farmsteads to rest in while their scouts checked the road ahead. One returned with horse dung, mostly fresh, indicating they were getting close. They bent over the maps once more and worked on figuring out exactly where they were on the road and where the refugees would be pitching camp soon as it was getting late. Wagons were a lot harder to manage in the dark than horses were. Kel sent more scouts out on foot to carefully locate the exact place of the encampment. She then sent the animals to call the mounted scouts in.
Those who remained, rested and ate, feeding and watering their horses as well. The sparrows settled into the packs to sleep for the night and Joren wondered how they could be so comfortable tucked in like that. He shook off the thought and followed his wife's choice of tending to her weapons by checking, cleaning, and sharpening his as well.
Eventually, the scouts returned and brought back the vital information they needed. They drew a map of the enemy camp by lantern-light, "Here's the ford. The two rivers, and this level patch. There's a rise on the far side of the road, our side. That's their camp." Dom's scout gestured to sections of the dirt map.
"There's about two hundred fighters. Only a hundred are soldiers, and sloppy ones at that," Uinse had been another of the scouts, he was a convict, but one that Kel liked, Joren knew and he knew his wife had good judgement. "I got close enough to hear their talk. They had two hundred more soldiers, but they rode west on the Vassa road after they crossed back to Scanra. These civilian slavetakers was waiting here. They took charge of our people. It don't look like they expect trouble. I saw one guard nodding off, and it not even dark."
"They're set the wagons in a circle on the west side o' camp," The third scout came from the other squad of soldiers that came from Haven. "Horses are picketed here. Our folk is chained inside the wall. I heard a couple of the slavetakers say they're never takin' unbroke slaves again, however cheap. Seems they've lost wagon wheels, their horses keep goin' lame, an' even using the whip it takes forever to move out or make camp."
"They whip our people?" Tobe's anger was justified as far as Joren was concerned.
Dom comforted Tobe with a hand on his shoulder, "That's what slavers do. Like some whip a horse to break him to bridle."
Despite the gruesome nature of their treatment, Joren noticed grim satisfaction on Kel's face. He knew that the people of Haven were a feisty lot from Kel's letters, and now they were proving it by making their captors miserable as well. Kel turned to the convict, "Uinse, did you see the other squad of convicts? Gil's squad?"
Joren knew that name, Kel had written plenty about the former bandit that she had so impressed at age 12. When Uinse nodded, Joren noticed his wife's expression looking satisfied, "Can anyone on that squad pick locks?" It struck Joren as an odd thing to say at first, but then he realized why she was asking and grinned crookedly as well.
Later on, they found themselves lined up on the ridge to watch as Jump strutted into the camp, carrying lock picks that Uinse had on him, though why the solider had felt it necessary to still have the tools of his old trade on him, Joren would never know. Still, it was a boon now. The guards seem to mostly ignore Jump as he moved through the camp and stopped at a person that Joren had to assume was the convict soldier Morun.
The guards didn't seem to even notice the other cats and dogs that Kel used to ferry weapons to the captured refugees. Joren shook his head quietly, amazed to realize that his wife had near Daine levels of loyalty from her animals and all without a single drop of wild magic in her. They even sent in a packet of herbs that Neal swore would knock a man out cold rather quickly. The animals were little smudges at the distance they were at, thought Kel watched as they worked through her spyglass.
They rotated watch over both the slavers camp and their own while alternating people getting some sleep in the mix. Near dawn they attacked first with a volley of precisely shot arrows, taking out the near or completely unconscious soldiers first even as the refugees with weapons killed the guards nearest them. Joren fought next to Kel as they went in to finish off the guards remaining. It didn't take long. These guards hardly had any training at all, and simply had no anticipation of an attack on this side of the Vassa.
Joren had stayed back as his wife checked the enemy guards to ensure they were all dead. He knew this was something that she needed to do herself, or she wouldn't feel comfortable. Instead, he wiped his sword clean of blood and went to the nearby river to refill his water flask. He didn't notice immediately when his wife left off checking to ensure the guards were all dead and disarmed a woman who had been angrily hacking at one of dead guards. Kel removed the girl from the activity and redirected her to the river to wash, where another, older woman joined her and Kel returned to where everyone else was.
Joren kept back as he watched his wife seemed to assess all the refugees, thought it was clear that they were a little worse for the wear. He noted Neal and Delorah going around and healing what damage they can, though none of it was severe enough for the two healers to tax themselves. He broke off in his observations though, when he heard Tobe shouting, "Lady! Lady Kel, they ain't here! Loey and Meech and Gydo and them, they ain't here!" The boy still slipped into less cultured speech when he was upset or worn down, Joren mentally noted. He swore that one day, no one would be able to identify that Tobe was a find from a trip north for war, but that day clearly wasn't going to be today.
Kel nodded, "I know. They were taken?" Joren moved to stand near her to hear better.
"Sunset last night. Across the ford. They're with a hundred and fifty soldiers and that animal Stenmun, riding," The rather battered looking man with puffy lips and broken teeth states. Joren felt sympathy for the man, though he had no idea who he was.
"You'd've been proud. They fought like wildcats, all of them. We were terrified they'd be killed, but Stenmun wouldn't let them be hurt. Now he has them. Gods know where they're going," Stated an older woman with clear signs of whipping on her back.
"Across the ford where?" Owen asked the critical question.
"Upriver. Up the Pakkai," A sturdier fellow answered.
Joren watched as his wife went about ordering people to erase the traces of the fighting and prepare to get the adult refugees south. Faleron, Esmond, Seaver, and Merric put up a protest when they realized that Kel was going after the children, and a few others pointedly stated they were going as well. Joren didn't need to say it. It was obvious that he was going with her. Though, Kel did eye him as if assessing whether she would succeed in persuading him to return, but a single raised eyebrow was enough for him to disillusion her of any thoughts on that regard. He had vowed to support her work as a knight, however going with her to rescue the children when every sword mattered wasn't an insult to Kel, it was just proof of his loyalty to her. Joren didn't think about sending back one of the squads of men-at-arms either, they both had the men who were planning on adopting some of the children and he could see the looks of hard determination. In those men's minds, those kids where already theirs. They wouldn't face going back to their wives without the children they promised them.
Once Kel managed to sort out who was going back and persuaded the refugees that it would be a bad idea to join them in the fight, work got under way to clear the road of evidence. It took a little work to get things underway, but when they finally left the cross-roads, the adult refugees, excepting Mistress Fanche and Master Saefas, headed back towards the Vassa and safety. Joren kept getting funny looks from Fanche as they rode.
Kel looked like she had relaxed a bit, and Joren suspected that she had, this was a task she had spent the past six months agonizing over, being tormented by it in her dreams, and finally, finally she was going to get it resolved, once and for all. Joren would be damned if he lost his wife in the process. Even more though, Joren knew how his wife got when she saw injustice, had been on the receiving end of that justice too. Kel got like a dog with a bone about protecting the innocent.
Joren found it interesting that while most of the camp's dogs and cats had gone back to Tortall with the refugees, not all had. Jump wasn't a surprise, he was loyal to Kel and Kel alone even if he was friendly with everyone not on Kel's bad side. Joren had been on both the receiving end of Jump's ire and his affection and he knew which he preferred. There was also one rather stubborn orange cat that ended up riding with Dom because she threw a hissy fit when they tried to hand her over to the refugees. Joren suspected that Queen, as the cat was dubbed, was a cat of similar disposition as Kel herself was. The flock was split after some skillful negotiations between Kel and the sparrows using Ragar as a translator on the sparrows' behalf.
The riding got a little rougher as they followed the trail laid out by the refugee children along the much more restricted route along the Pakkai river. When they stopped to rest the horses, Kel used the time to gain information from Fanche, Saefas, and the convicts who had been taken on Stenmun.
Fanche was the first to answer, "He's a big one. Six foot five? Handsome enough in a Scanran way. Long blond hair, not as pale as Lord Joren's mind, beard. He's greying at the sides and in the beard, but he's fit."
"More than fit. He backhanded a man in Haven and crushed his windpipe," One of the convicts added.
"He favors a double-headed axe. He's as fast with it as you are with your glaive, Lady Kel. Brown eyes, thin nose, hard mouth," Fanche finished giving a physical description of Stenmun.
Gil, who Joren identified by Kel's descriptions of the man in letters added on to the information, "He wouldn't let 'em hurt the little ones, for all their mischief undoing laces and saddle girths."
Saefas spoke up next, "He said his master, Blayce, wants them unmarked. He didn't so much as look at the grown folk, 'less we crossed him. You kept needling him." He was looking at Fanche with the last comment.
Fanche shrugged, stiff even with the healing of Mistress Delorah and Neal to ease the pain, "I wanted to see if I could make him slip. Lots of control on that one. The men were afraid of him, you could tell."
"One of his soldiers said he'd a man skinned alive for liftin' supplies. I believed 'im. He'd the look of a man that's seen a skinnin'," Another of the convicts supplied.
"I don't mean to let him skin any of us," Kel stated firmly, glancing at Joren in particular.
"But what can we do?" Owen asked sincerely. "There's three of them to one of us, just about."
Kel's grin looked almost vicious. Joren absently wondered if it had ever looked like that when she planned to put an end to his bullying. Kel looked at Dom giving him a knowing look, "I learned something from Lord Raoul."
"Which lesson would that be?" Dom asked, curious. "He teaches so many useful things."
"When the odds are against you, change the odds," Kel explained, not having lost that smirk. "We don't throw a log down and try to light that for a fire. We whittle it to kindling. That's how we'll treat this Stenmun and his folk. We'll whittle them down. First, though, we narrow the distance between us and them. Mount up."
They rode on in silence as much as possible, though Joren felt the urge to break the tension they all felt, he knew it wasn't wise to risk too much noise when they were making progress. When Tobe told them to rest, they rested, allowing the horses to recover as much as possible. They couldn't risk the health of the horses when so much depended on them for them to make the necessary speed for catching up with Stenmun.
Joren had to resist the urge to laugh at the children's absolute confidence in Kel coming to their rescue as they started finding a convenient trail of buttons, buckles, food, coins, and leather scraps littering the road. Joren had to give the children credit, they were wise enough to realize that Kel would come for them and didn't hesitate to make sure it would be as easy as possible for her to find them.
They were gearing up to stop for the night when the forward sparrows and Owen, who had been scouting on ahead returned, "They're camped three miles up. They're well settled and have sentries posted."
Kel scanned the area they were at and decided they would stop there and rest, ordering no fires, unwilling to risk alerting Stenmun of their presence. While they tended their horses, Joren could practically see Kel's mind churning as she examined and considered her options. Joren always had a mild wish to be able to read his wife's mind as she planned things silently in her head. He imagined that it would be just as beautiful as when she laid out the plan for all to hear, perhaps even more so.
Joren joined her as they settled down to eat cold sausage, cheese and bread. He noted that Kel looked reluctant to eat but forced herself to do so anyways. Everyone took the opportunity to rest until the moon was up and high enough to see by. Then they all went about ensuring that they could move as quietly as possible, muffling any part of the horses' gear that might make noise before moving out, getting in closer to the enemy's camp.
Less than two hours later, with the moon now overhead, they took their places in the woods around the Scanran camp. The camp location was ridiculous in Joren's opinion, even if Stenmun didn't expect any trouble. It was one of the things that Sir Paxton had drilled into Joren's head during his time as a squire, never assume you're safe enough to choose a place of low ground to camp in. If you encounter so much as a rouge group of bandits, that low ground could cost you your life, never mind the risk of flooding if it began to storm.
In this instance, it was going to cost Stenmun a heavy toll of his fighters. Kel assessed the situation more closely with her spy glass. Joren noted his wife's smug expression and knew that she was thinking the exact same thing. She watched and examined for a little while before grabbing a random stick and snapping it. It was a good signal, because the enemy would think it was just an animal, especially when the cat started yowling like the Hunt's hounds themselves were after her.
Joren watched along with the others as Jump and another dog 'chased' the cat through the camp. One of the soldiers got up and tried to chop the cat in two with a big double-headed axe. By Mistress Fanche's description, that was Stenmun. The cat retaliated by clawing her way up Stenmun and gouging his scalp before jumping off him and disappearing into the dark. Joren winced, scratches like those would be annoying for Stenmun going forward.
They heard Stenmun roar about it just being animals and to be silent and sleep. Of course, this just upset the youngest of the children all the more. Joren wasn't the only one covering his mouth to keep his laughter in at Stenmun's folly. Even he knew that yelling at a baby did no good. Once they calmed, Joren watched his wife assess the encampment with practiced skill. He personally noted that one of the guards had taken his helmet off and one of the scouts informed them that two of the sentries who were assigned to watching the road were gambling of all the ridiculous things.
They waited for the changing of the sentry before giving the next signal to the animals. One of the dogs started howling and soon all the other dogs and then even some wolves joined in. Once more the babies woke, and the soldiers had to settle them again. After they had just settled down, Kel signaled Tobe and the enemy's picketed horses went crazy attempting to free themselves as if they sensed a spidren nearby.
This forced the soldiers up once more to go calm the horses and ensure they were secure. By then, it was time for the watch to switch over. Stenmun's men had gotten very little sleep. The majority of their own group had napped during all of this and a few woke and allowed those who were watching everything unfold get some rest until just before dawn. Joren curled in close to Kel while they both napped, and they were woken with a poke from one of the people who had been on guard.
Joren and Kel both retrieved their bows and picked their shots. It was near silent deaths for all nine of the sentries set to the predawn watch. Once they were dead, they retreated a ways back and after some minor squabbling over safety from Neal, and Kel's distaste for heights, which earned Joren a glare from his wife, Kel climbed a tree and they waited to see how Stenmun reacted to the deaths of his men.
Eventually Kel climbed back down and glared at Joren for having allowed the others to make a small fire for some warm food. This resulted in some minor bickering and Dom teasing Kel. Joren rolled his eyes at Dom calling Kel 'Mother'.
"If I'd been your mother, I'd've beaten you," Kel responded without any seriousness to her tone of voice. "Bows, everyone. We'll use the road till our forward scout spots the enemy. After that, we take to the woods. It's risky, but we have to chance it. They've got little ones with all the men. No shooting unless a man dismounts and leaves the children on the horse. Remember the plans we made last night. We can do this if we go at it carefully."
Joren noted the grim looks on everyone's faces. He knew the argument that had occurred over not just killing Stenmun and his now. True, Stenmun's men out numbered them by a bit, but last night they had had the element of surprise on their side. It was gone now, and Stenmun would be on his guard. They weren't long on the road when Stormwings circling lazily over the road closer to Stenmun than they were, were spotted. Kel swore softly as the presence of Stormwings would tip Stenmun off that his group was definitely being followed.
It didn't take them long to catch up to Stenmun's column and as soon as the last forward scout was back, Kel ordered them to spread out in the northern woods. This forced them to slow down as there were various obstacles such as trees and rabbit burrows that needed to be watched for to avoid injuring their horses.
A good while later, Stenmun's group stopped to water their horses and they took advantage of the opportunity. Using archers, and Tobe, they took out another nine of Stenmun's men. That took their total number of kills on his men up to 18, a fact that Dom crudely pointed out. Joren gave Dom raised eyebrow at the 'wetting his breeches' comment but didn't comment himself. As soon as a scout reported that Stenmun and his people were on the road again, Kel put them back on the road, allowing them to speed up again.
Stenmun would know that he was definitely being followed now and if he didn't send his men after Kel's group, it was clear he was going to go running straight for his master, Blayce, instead, which told Joren that they had to be close. A man didn't make a run for it for a place that was more than half a day away unless he could pass undetected. Stenmun had to know they weren't far out from wherever it was they were going, and the place needed to have some sort of fortifications.
The additional problem was that with fewer men, they could move faster, spreading the children onto empty horses and tying them to leads. Their group contemplated how to get some of the children back before they reached their destination. Neal suggested using sparrows to startle the men and Tobe to call the horses to them. Ragar gave exacting instructions to the sparrow, Nari, who then happily rounded up the remaining sparrows not scouting and along with Gil, Saefas, and Tobe, they headed off to retrieve some of the children.
"You know, when I was growing up, talking to animals was considered more than a bit cracked," Kel remarked to Joren and Fanche. "But the more I do it, the more reasonable it seems."
"It helps that you know they understand," Fanche responded sagely. "I wouldn't want to visit that palace of yours."
"Why not?" Joren, Kel, and Neal all asked in unison. In their travels, it was always people asking what the palace was like, and then expressions of a desire to see it themselves. Never had Joren heard someone state that they didn't want to see the palace.
"Just your animals here are unnatural. What if you return to find the horses have decided not to work and the dogs are running the courts of law?" Fanche asked.
Joren chuckled, even as Kel grimaced. Joren shook his head, "Honestly, having actually dealt with a few magistrates who seem like they have their heads stuck up where they sun don't shine, the courts might run more efficiently if they were run by the dogs. Dogs seem to have a good sense of good and bad."
Just then, before the conversation could be continued, they hear a roar of frustration. Kel shook her head, "He must be hemmed in by rocks and it echoed."
Joren smirked, "I wonder if he told Blayce how many children he was bringing with him." When Tobe returned on Peachblossom, it was with three horse trailing behind him. There were two teenaged girls, three adolescent boys, a toddler and an infant. Joren's smirk gentled to a smile as he watched his wife greet each of the children in a reassuring manner.
Kel sent out a replacement scout. When Wolset came back he informed them that Stenmun had ordered his men to secure the lead lines to either their saddles or themselves. He also reported that it appeared that they were headed for a castle on a mountainside. Joren shook his head as he watched his wife contemplate her options. She ordered them to try to delay them however they could without risking the children, including asking Tobe to get the horses to slow if he could.
It wasn't long before the men she had sent to slow the Stenmun returned with a startling report of a minimum of a full company of armed men waiting not far ahead. Kel was frowning and then turned to Ragar, "Why didn't the sparrows report an army ahead?" She was more confused.
Ragar looked to the birds who seemed to flutter and chirp in annoyance, "They say there isn't one, milady."
"There was certainly one that we saw," Gil argued back, equally annoyed and glaring at Ragar with distrust. "If their scouts find us, we're dead.
Joren rolled his eyes and sighed, "Well, perhaps we should take a look for ourselves, Kel? They would already know of our presence if Stenmun went through them to get to that castle. He definitely would have told them."
Gil looked annoyed at being questioned, but Kel nodded and they rode through the woods until they were a hundred feet from the crest. They all dismounted, leaving the horses with Tobe before creeping up the undergrowth toward the peak in the land. Joren realized that the dogs were perfectly relaxed, which they wouldn't be if they could scent enemy dogs, like such a large group of fighters was likely to have. The dogs were almost playful as they approached the peak. They crawled the last few yards before peering over the break in the ground. Joren forced down his first visceral fear even while Neal and Owen both swore softly and made the sign against evil at the sight of a fully encamped army on the road.
Dom made the sign too but looked puzzled, which was Joren's sentiment as soon as he started closely examining the army. There was definitely something wrong with the sight before him. There was no way Maggur was wasting at bare minimum a company of men to guard the road to a castle well into Scanra. Furthermore, if he was doing such a thing, Daine and George both would have gotten word through their respective spies about such an obvious reinforcement. Also, there was the fact that while they could hear, and even smell the encampment, there was a good, strong, stiff wind blowing and their banners were hanging limp.
Kel straight up asked where the army was which made Joren frown for a moment even as Gil, pointed out what Joren was now was suspecting was nothing more than a very elaborate illusion. Neal added there were mages, so, they had put an excellent amount of effort into it, clearly. Owen voiced confuse to their being there while Dom pointed out their banners weren't moving, as Joren had already noted.
"It's an illusion," Joren stated and gestured to Kel's griffin band even as she took it off and groaned in annoyance. "She can't see it because she's got her lovely band of griffin feathers. Dom's right, the banners aren't moving like they should and Owen's right that they wouldn't just be encamped here. If Maggur had sent troops to guard Blayce like this, our spies would have found out about it. You can't send two hundred men to guard a castle in the middle of Scanra and not have it draw some attention."
"Joren's right, all I see down there is a village," Kel explained.
"I hear them," Saefas argued. "I can smell their horses."
"It's a very good illusion, but it's an illusion and Stenmun is getting away," She grumbled as she moved to stand.
Neal yanked her back down before Joren could even move to copy her, "Are you mad? I see their mages!"
Her expression was priceless, Joren noted, and if the situation wasn't serious, Joren would have even gotten a good laugh out of it. Instead of giving into the impulse to hit her friend, that was obvious to at least Joren, Kel yanked her band off her head and shoved it on Neal's head. Joren couldn't hold back the slight snicker as Neal turned red with embarrassment, "Very well, then, it's the best illusion, I've ever seen."
Dom commented on how it would almost be worth raiding a nest but Kel suggested against that idea.
"Are you sure it's an illusion? What if it's an illusion that we're hearing you three say it's an illusion? It could be a fakement. We wouldn't know until it was too late. If we're smelling illusions, maybe we're hearing them, too, and we'll be chopped up before you can say 'King Maggot'," Owen argued.
Joren shook his head as he stood and lightly cuffed the younger man on the head, "Illusions don't work that way, unless you're suggesting Neal is a spy. And since we have our quarry escaping, can we please not argue semantics?"
Neal snorted while Kel nodded in agreement, "Yes, Stenmun's group is out of sight now and we still have a village to deal with."
"There's a village?" Fanche asked, she had been the only one who didn't comment before now.
Joren rolled his eyes as his wife groaned. Dom grabbed her griffin band and pressed it against his head, "Looks pretty dead. I don't see movement, but there's smoke coming from the bakehouse. There's tools just lying about."
"So, most likely the villagers fled Stenmun's group," Joren pointed out. "That could be either good for us, or bad for us. If they hate Stenmun, they may help us. If they're terrified of him, they may turn on us to protect themselves from his potential wrath."
Kel nodded in acknowledgement of his opinion in the matter before sending the animals to act as scouts, "The sparrows and dogs didn't see it. That's why they didn't warn us. It's a very good illusion…"
"Layered," Neal's voice held envy while Mistress Delorah and Master Ragar rolled their eyes at the comment. "Beautifully detailed. Almost perfect. Putting enough power into the mages so another mage would believe they were real, now that's brilliant."
"No, that's common sense if you have enough magic to manage it. They teach that at the University in Corus. Doubtless, the City of the Gods taught it to Blayce as well," Ragar refuted before tossing in a barb, Joren suspected he was still annoyed about the evident distrust that hadn't quite been vocalized earlier. "Of course, you likely never took advanced war magic classes at the University, so I'm suppose I shouldn't be surprised you didn't know that."
"If it was truly brilliant, the banners would flap in the existing wind," Dom added insult to injury.
"Probably figured we'd just see the army and run," commented Fanche.
"An illusion," Tobe shook his head in disbelief. "No accounting for these mages, what they'll come up with, eh, lady?"
Joren noted the offended expressions of the three mages within their midst even as Kel agreed absently. As soon as the dogs and sparrows returned Ragar spoke up, "The sparrows say there is no one about, though Jump apparently has told them that they were present recently. It's a bit odd only being able to talk to sparrows when they can talk to dogs easily…" He tacked on the comment of annoyance at the end.
"Cleared out," Gil observed, ignoring Ragar's comment about understanding only certain animals. Joren suspected the former hill bandit didn't like Ragar. "And not for us. For Stenmun. They don't even know we're here."
"They're afraid of their own people?" Owen questioned. "That's sad."
"I wonder how many children they have," Fanche muttered which Joren ignored.
"It could still go either way. We have enough numbers they likely won't want to provoke us, but if they are afraid of Stenmun and looking to protect their children from Blayce, they may act out of fear," Joren once more gave his opinion. It wasn't for any option in particular, just a point on the risks.
Kel considered her options for a moment before nodding in certainty, "Let's risk the village and the road. We need to catch up to Stenmun. Gil, those of you with the last forward party, ride. Try to reach them before they get to the castle. There aren't enough of us for a siege. You have to slow them down before they reach Blayce. Sparrows, some of you fly ahead. Try to get Stenmun's horses to slow down without scaring them. Tobe will help once he's close. Go, go, go!"
The prior forward party rushed back to their horses. Kel turned to the rest of them, "We'll have to push the warhorses, I'm afraid. If we catch the enemy soon, we should be all right. Please, Goddess." Kel finished. Horses fell under the providence of the Great Mother, so Joren knew she was praying for them to hold out.
They mounted and rode, dogs and birds spreading into the wood as scouts. As they reached and passed through the village, it was clear that people had simply dropped whatever they were doing and scrambled for cover. Joren glanced at Ragar who gave a subtle shake of his head saying the birds weren't finding any threats. The road rose out of the valley that held the village before leveling off.
As soon as they reached that point, they were forced to stop as their horses reared, reacting in pure fear. Even Tobe's assurances to them didn't help the horses calm. The sparrows flew back to them shrieking from around the bend in the road and Ragar shouted, "Killing Machines, three of them." He bellowed loud enough for the forward group to hear. The forward group hadn't advanced much further due to their horses, but they didn't have any issues joining the rest at a full gallop.
Everyone worked to calm their horses and Kel turned to Dom as he turned to his squad, "Boys, let's have the special ropes out." The men were immediately turning to dig into their saddlebags, retrieving coils of rope.
"We borrowed a page from your book. Ropes with a chain core," Dom explained as they settled the ropes at the front of their saddles. "Oh, look, Mother. We have company for supper."
The three killing devices walked around the bend in the road. The hammered-iron domes that were their heads swiveled to and fro on the neck grooves, questing for their quarry. Joren felt the blood drain from his face at his first sight of the things in person while they were still animated. The things spotted them, stopped and then fanned out.
The sparrows, to Joren's shock, immediately moved in to attack two of them, acting as a means of distracting them. The two under assault halted in confusion trying to follow the birds' rapid movements. The third device, however, kept coming. It's movements were jolting, which didn't really do much to reassure Joren. Kel rose up in her stirrups, bow in hand, taking aim and then firing even as two of Dom's men headed for another of the devices, a length of rope stretched between them.
Kel's shot hit true, and Joren realized that the arrow much have been the type intended to puncture armor as it managed to pierce the dome. A larger dog performed some remarkable maneuvers to get to the arrow without getting diced by the device and breaking the shaft of the arrow. Joren's heart stopped as he realized that some sort of wisp exited the small hole made as the device collapsed.
Fanche asked for an arrow, which Kel handed over immediately while selecting another for herself. Dom's men had by now managed to hook the reinforce rope under the neck of the center device before crossing behind it at a distance, trapping it's neck. Two more men rode forward as the device was knocked off its feet and onto it's back. These two used lassos to trap the thing's arm before another pair secured its feet in the same manner.
As this happened, both Kel and Fanche shot the third device in the dome. The device itself sliced the shafts of these two arrows, once more releasing what, according to the reports Joren had read, was the trapped soul of a child. Meanwhile, Dom's men held the third device suspended in the air as they had the ropes wrapped around their saddle horns and the horses backed up to hold the ropes taunt. Dom got down from his horse and drew a war axe. He used it to smash the spiked end of the axe into the device's dome with force. As soon as the spike was yanked free, the third soul escaped and was gone.
As soon as the device went limp, the men retrieved their ropes. Joren silently vowed to convince Jon to award small purses to anyone who faced up against one of those monstrous things. Hell, he had been near frozen during the entire thing.
"Lady," Tobe drew his attention from the now inert devices, "We got visitors."
Joren and Kel looked back at the same time, seeing the missing villagers, crudely armed, but armed non-the-less, emerging from the woods. His hand went to his sword, though he didn't draw it just yet. It was one thing to freeze at the sight of horrors like the killing devices, but he wasn't going to freeze here, his actions were at least that much under his control.
Kel didn't seem too concerned as she ordered Gil to take someone to scout ahead in the wood. Owen grumbled about having to potentially fight these villagers, a sentiment that Joren silently agreed with. These people looked like they hadn't had a decent meal in a long while. She looked to Joren who nodded the he would have her back. Kel and Peachblossom advanced first, Joren, Neal, and Owen following to either side with Tobe on the other side of Owen.
The sparrows had left off to return to scouting the woods while the dogs moved back toward the Scanran villagers. Just out of bow distance from them, Kel gave the signal to halt, which everyone mercifully followed.
"We don't want trouble," Kel called to them in Scanran. "Our business is with those who just rode through your village. We mean no harm to you if you mean none to us."
Joren resisted the urge to sigh, knowing his wife wouldn't appreciate it. A young girl that looked to be the same age as Joren's own brother popped out of the bushes and trotted out to stand in the center of the road. She clutched a rag doll to her chest that had seen better days. Joren didn't take his eyes off the villagers even as Kel seemed to contemplate the situation.
The child looked at the group and then suddenly smiled. She was brown haired with vivid, almost unnervingly green eyes. Her smile seemed to be almost too pure and it unnerved Joren even further. After eying them for a moment, the girl turned back to the villagers, "That's the one, all right. I told you she would come, the Protector of the Small. And she's got her knowing animals, her loyal husband, the healer and the horse boy. The armed men, the marked men, the trapper, and the bitter mother. They're all here. Blayce will fall."
Joren jolted when he realized exactly what the girl was implying. It also was unnerving to be referred to as Kel's loyal husband, though he knew it was true. Joren pushed his unease aside as a man with sharp features and dull hair came up to stand beside the child to assess them himself, "She's a seer. She prophesied that you would come and save us from the Gallan. You had better be worth the wait." Joren felt relief wash through him with the realization that the man had all but stated the villagers weren't going to be attacking them.
"I'm not interested in waiting," Kel retorted, her tone almost harsh. "Every moment I sit here puts Stenmun closer to the castle and its walls. If you don't mind, go home and let me do what I came to do."
"You must come with us," The little girl countered bluntly. "They're closing the castle gates now. Blayce has your children."
Joren risked a glance at his wife to see her stiffen, knowing her well enough to know that she would be mad to try saving them now even as she turned Peachblossom and raced off. Joren did the same with his own Bloodborne to follow her. They barely got a mile up the road before they met with Gil and his companion. Their expressions told them that the little girl had told the truth. Joren swore even as Bloodborne shuffled in agitation.
They had no means to lay siege to the place and fifty-odd men were still stiffly outnumbered by well over a hundred. Perhaps Ragar could use his magic to force open the gates, if they weren't magically reinforced, but then they would still have to contend with over two men for the enemy to every one of their men and Ragar would be exhausted as well. He watched as his wife rode a little further up, assessing the castle walls, considering her options. He watched her pull her spyglass from its pouch and eye the walls. Joren didn't know what exactly she was eying, but he could smell the stench of rotting flesh and had a pretty good idea of what might be on the walls that Kel was examining.
"Kel, tell me what you're thinking," Joren requested as she rejoined, him, Gil, and the other scout, another convict that Joren hadn't learnt the name of.
"We need to figure out a distraction if we're to manage an attack. It will have to be after dark, but how many children will he be through by then?" Joren hear the slight note of pain in her voice, she kept it low enough that the other two couldn't hear it as they headed back to the rest of their people and the village.
"I doubt he'll be able to start immediately. He can't have anticipated we would be on Stenmun's trail and there's got to be complex rituals required to making those things," Joren made a weak attempt at reassuring her. He had no idea if such rituals could be prepared in advance and it was clear by Kel's expression that she didn't buy into it.
As soon as they returned to the village, the seer girl spoke to Kel again, "Come with us. We'll help you."
Kel's expression was bleak, "How? And When?"
"Tonight," The man from earlier stated. "We know a way inside."
Kel perked up immediately at this, "A way in? Then we can't wait. We'll distract them, draw them off."
"We wait," The man countered firmly. "There's no cover and the way lies right under their walls. Unless you've a mage who can hide everyone, we're not killing our own so you can bravely charge in."
Kel looked to Ragar who immediately shook his head, "I'm pants at illusions, milady. Believe me, I wish I weren't, but my magic is only good for destruction, not deception." Neal looked a cross of smug and annoyed at the statement, given Ragar's earlier comments about being trained for illusions at the University.
Kel turned back to the villagers, "You don't understand. They have nearly two hundred of our children. I want them back, all of them. How many will he slaughter between now and dark?"
"None," stated a hollow-eyed woman. She looked uncomfortable. "Right now, he's arranging for them to have baths, and have their hair combed and curled. He's showing them rooms of toys and beds with clean sheets and silken comforters. Later they'll eat food the likes of which they've only dreamed."
"He'll talk to them, and tell them they're safe," Added the first man. "He'll make Stenmun apologize on bended knee for scaring them. They'll play games tonight and tomorrow. They'll have kitten and puppies and more baths. They get balm on their chapped little hands to make them smooth as a lady's. He won't pick his first one for a couple of days, and that only if he's in a hurry."
"How do you know all this?" Neal asked, reasonable suspicion in his tone. "How can you be sure?"
"My daughter worked there, till he found she was smuggling poppy to the ones he'd chosen," The hollow-eyed woman explained. "She's hanging on the walls right now."
Rage, these people had to feel absolute rage. He also noted that there was only one child among all of them and he doubted it was because the rest were hiding still. The first man spoke to add to the woman, "And my daughter's there, and my son. My grandchildren went in there and never came out." His statement confirmed Joren's thoughts.
"Your children work for him?" Owen's distain was clear as he spoke, even as Joren kept quiet. "They lend themselves to that?"
"He says if they don't, he'll kill us," Another woman shot at him harshly. "He tells us that if we refuse to till his fields, he will kill them."
Joren looked at his wife as she considered them and the village itself. Neal was the next of their group to speak, "I don't understand. He doesn't need that for death magic. Clothes, or food, or toys. Bathing, maybe for purification, but the rest makes no sense."
"He doesn't do it because it's needed," The hollow-eyed woman stated with scorn, "He does it because he likes it."
"He could use any ghosts for his magic," The seer girl explained, holding her doll tight. "As long as the king in Hamrkeng gets his evil metal creatures, he doesn't care who Blayce uses or how he uses them."
"At least, he doesn't care if our children are used, or yours across the border," The dull-haired man stated. "It would be different if Blayce wanted nobles' children."
He paused and shook his head as if to clear it before eying Kel again, "Well? Do you want in, or don't you? Will you rid us of him, or will you stay here like a herd of cows?"
Everyone else looked to Kel but she hesitated before looking to the child seer, "You're sure he isn't killing them right now?" She asked.
The girl closed her eyes. When she spoke, it was with a thin, whispering voice that Joren both did and didn't recognize, "He welcomes them as his own. He says they are safe now. They are to have sweets, hot baths, a feast, easy dreams. He makes his dog, Stenmun, grovel for them. It is your time, Keladry of Stone Mountain, Protector of the small." The child staggered as the source of the voice released her. The dull-haired man caught her, picked her up, and walked down the road towards the village. Kel moved to follow.
Neal stopped her though, "Kel, who was that?" Joren had a guess but wasn't certain. The others stared at Kel, clearly wanting an answer as well.
She sighed, "It was the Chamber of Ordeal. It sent me here, sort of." Joren felt a chill down his spine as his wife confirmed what he suspected.
One of the convicts perked up at this, "Then we're to succeed? If it's been foretold?"
The hollow-eyed woman gave him a crooked smile, "Irnai, the seer child, she says your chances are one in two. Since that's better than ours, we'll pray for you." Joren shuddered slightly. Still, given the circumstances, those were rather good odds, certainly better than what he would have thought them to be.