Chapter Two: Karel, Karla, and the Demon's Demise
"I'm sure you would like to see him," Louise agreed. "But that doesn't mean you get to." Legault looked nonplussed by this rejection. "I don't care, Hurricane. Well, okay, I do care. Jaffar helped us greatly, and doesn't deserve to be exiled for what he did as one of the Four Fangs. But Pent and I can't keep running off like that. Him, because occasionally the king actually bothers to ask for advice from his wisest advisor and mage-general, and me, because… well…"
"It's all right, Lady Louise," said Legault. "I understand."
"…You do?" she asked, warily.
"Milady, you absolutely radiate pregnancy. It's entirely understandable," he confirmed, bowing.
"Oh…" Louise muttered distractedly. "Talk to Erk, then, he's so dependable, and we trust him. If you'll excuse me, I must find some looser clothing…"
"She's getting weird," Nino told him as they watched Louise trot off down the hall.
"It happens. Or so I'm told," he added, because he wasn't the type to admit knowledge of anything less-than-daring unless there was a considerable benefit to it. "Anyway, you'll know where to find Erk better than I do."
"I left him outside," Nino told the thief, starting in the opposite direction that Lady Louise had dashed off to.
"Didn't we come in back there…?" asked Legault, twisting around and trying to get his bearings in the unfamiliar castle.
"I said I left him outside," Nino repeated. "That was hours ago."
Erk was, of course, poring over a massive gilt-covered tome filled with mind-bending runes and woodcuts that could only be carved from insane trees, in one of the shadowy corners of the library. Reglay's library was one of the better ones to be found in Elibe, and mostly a bright, airy place. Erk had managed to find the only place that didn't have too much fresh air flowing through it, but had left a window open in acknowledgement of the fact that he enjoyed the outside world these days, as long as no one made him stay there for too long.
Legault and Nino both moved in perfect silence, a habit from their Black Fang training. The thief moved to catch Erk's attention, but Nino stopped him with a look that said very clearly 'Oh no, I have revenge to exact'.
Taking care not to make any noise, Nino mixed together all the fluffy excited thoughts that she could into one concentrated mass, draped it in pink, and filtered her voice through it. "Erky!" she squealed.
"SERRA!" Erk shouted. He leapt up, flattened himself against the wall, and searched madly for an escape route. He seemed to be considering the window when he noticed Nino, complete with satisfied smirk on her face. "Oh," he growled, breathing heavily. "It's just you."
"Just us?" Legault sounded offended. "I might have decided for a single ponytail instead of our cleric friend's favoured style, which I have to assume she chose for balance, but I'm still a complete person. Possibly less terrifying," he mused.
"It's the voice. You sound like the coming of shadows, not implacable and eternal pestering," Erk groaned, leaning on his desk. On impulse, he looked across the room. "Canas, shut up already." Legault and Nino glanced back and saw that the druid was stretched out lengthwise across two soft chairs and still laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.
"Oh, don't bother with him," said Nino, annoyed. "Legault knows where Jaffar is!"
"No, I don't," said the thief. "I already told you that. But… well, Erk, do you know what I do these days, since the last battle at the Dragon's Gate?"
"Not really. You seemed to think you'd become a bandit, back when we were fighting together."
"It isn't that bad. I left the Black Fang early, but too many others didn't." Legault dropped into another one of the library's mightily comfortable chairs, and Nino could feel the weight of too many lives falling with him. "So I wander a bit, from village to village. Where there are villages, there are people, which means there are bandits to prey on those people. I find the local groups and look for former Fangs. If there are any, I give them a choice. To face redemption at whatever price their victims name and try to become something like human again, or to face the blades of Hurricane."
"I knew you'd never become a thief for real, Unc… Legault," said Nino, tripping only for a moment in her cheerfulness.
"Don't be too proud. This isn't much better, but I have to hope it's right. Anyway, I've heard rumours lately from some of the people I've met. Usually from the Fangs who were desperate to try to get back into villages and be with common people. They tell me that they didn't expect to be given a choice, just to be hunted and killed. At first I thought that I just had a tougher reputation than I deserved, but eventually I heard the truth." Legault paused, and Erk picked up on his tone.
"Nino, could you go and find Lord Pent's tome on the known Etrurian bands of ba-" he began, but Legault cut him off.
"No, the girl should hear this too." He was silent for a moment, and when he closed his eyes, Nino saw again how perfectly the two halves of his scar matched. Again she wondered where it came from, and how he had managed not to lose the eye it ran over.
"Well, if you want me to hear it, then let me hear it," she said eventually.
"I'm not the only one looking for old Black Fang. Someone else is out there, finding them wherever they've gone and killing them outright. No mercy or redemption, just death that comes and goes in the night," Legault told them at last.
"Oh… oh no!" Nino exclaimed. "Jaffar's in terrible danger! He was the strongest of the Fangs, whoever's after them must know he's out there! After all, they… called him…" Nino noticed the looks on Legault and Erk's faces. Canas had propped his book up like a wall. She was young and everyone said she was innocent (even after fighting in several battles), but that didn't mean she was any sort of fool. "…The Angel of Death…"
Erk swallowed. "Nino, it's been a long time since the battle with Nergal, and we've never known where Jaffar was or… what sort of condition he's in… but we do know that he hated the Black Fang-"
"Stop it!" she shouted. "I know! Can't you see that? I understand!" Nino took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "We have to find him."
"Even if we could, there's no telling-" Erk began, but Nino clamped down on whatever she wanted to scream at him next and ran from the room. He looked to Legault. "You've known her longer than I have. What are our chances of keeping her here if she really wants to go?"
"I've never known her to be kept anywhere except by threat of lethal force," the thief replied, watching the door Nino had fled through. "And you aren't going to use that."
"What about nonlethal force?" asked Erk.
"Try it if you want," Legault offered. "But she has a bite like dragonkin. You might never cast with those fingers again."
"Right," the sage decided. "Canas! …Canas, not even A Highly Drawn-Out History of Time and All Existence in a Nutshell is big enough for you to hide behind."
"Actually, under the proper circumstances, it's been observed that some invertebrates can conceal themselves behind objects that should otherwise-"
"You're not an invertebrate, Canas, just spineless."
"What?! This from a fellow scholar with whom I shared countless battles across Elibe? I should think you know me better than that! In fact, I challenge you to test our comparative courage, and I think you'll find-"
"Thank you, oh scholarly friend. You're going with Nino to keep an eye on her," Erk commanded smoothly.
"…I walked right into that."
"Yes. And in any case, I outrank you."
"Tough luck," said Legault, putting a commiserating hand on the druid's shoulder.
"Legault, I outrank you too. Guess who's going along with him?"
"What? I'm not in your little hierarchy!" Legault spluttered.
"That's right. I'm a royal attendant and you're a commoner who's been outclassed."
"I'm a rogue, ranks don't count," the thief countered.
"I'm a sage, I can incinerate you with one hand," Erk finished.
"…There is a certain logic to your position."
"Ah, the sweet sound of giving in," Erk remarked to the room in general, leaning back in his chair. "I'd go with you, but every time I step outside I seem to manage to run into a certain pink-haired cleric, and I'm not taking any chances this time." Remembering this in later years, Erk wondered if he had somehow discovered a spell of prophecy.
"This is going to be a merry venture," Legault muttered to no one, standing outside the main entrance to the castle. "A dark mage and a thief are going to guard a former Black Fang mage across the country to find an assassin called the Angel of Death who's hunting down and killing all his old associates so we can ask him very nicely to stop. Yes. I'm thrilled to be faced with this opportunity."
"Good idea, try to look on the bright side," Canas agreed.
"You don't meet a lot of people when you're a scholar, do you?" asked Legault.
"Actually, I like to think that I have more friends than most people gather in their whole lives," the druid replied.
"Yes, but when you say 'think', you mean you're actually referring to dead historical figures, right? And they're not often lively, by reason of being dead?"
"Well… yes, I suppose that's true…" He paused, but shook off the disturbance. "What books are you bringing?" Canas asked conversationally.
"Books," Legault repeated. "Thin sheets of wood pulp, covered with ink signifying words, sandwiched together between thick leather plates? Those books?"
"Precisely."
"What have you got?" he asked suspiciously.
"Well, I brought my favourite treatises on cryptozoology, and an old tome of arcane demonlore, and a few collections of studies on dragons, myths in the original Arcadian for a bit of relaxation…"
"NINO!" Legault called frantically.
"How did you know I was here?" asked the dark-lilac-robed mage, stepping out from behind a large statue of a Reglayan lion. She was obviously packed for a long journey, and didn't seem interested in noticing that they were, too.
"I am a thief," he answered, hoping she didn't notice that he had actually been watching the doors.
"I'm going, and you can't stop me," Nino insisted, looking at them defiantly.
"Far from it. We've been ordered to go along with you and see to it that no harm comes to you. Rather, he's here to protect you and I'm here to see that he doesn't summon an entity of purest destructive force or turn himself inside out while he does it," said Legault. Neither of them seemed to take notice.
"Really? Great! I know I'll be safe with you, Uncle Legault! Let's get going and find Jaffar!"
"This should be most edifying. I haven't been out on a long journey myself for some time," said Canas, far more brightly than Legault felt was at all justified.
"I hope you brought a lot of books," he whispered to Nino. "I'm beginning to think he eats them."
"This might be a bit of a silly question to ask after following you for several hours, but where are we going?" Nino and Legault knew from their travels with Eliwood that Canas wasn't a natural adventurer, and exchanged a glance before turning to see him try to catch up through the trees, breathing a bit heavily and stomping along with a walking staff.
"If you want, we can sit down and have a long discussion about it," Legault offered.
"What? Oh, no, press on, of course. I was just curious," he insisted.
"Canas, you look like any more healthy fresh air will kill you. You'll dry up and get blown away like those Nabata statues," said Nino.
"Well… a bit of a break, maybe…" he relented. Truthfully, Legault didn't mind. The forest was a nice, cool place to stay during the hottest hours of the day, and he saw no reason to be too quick about leaving them.
"I'm leading us southeast, to Lycia," Legault explained, setting down on a fallen tree. "The last place I heard of being struck by this Ang…" He caught himself starting to say 'Angel of Death', and covered it with a cough. "…This angry person was near Ostia, and on my way to find you, I heard about another bandit group taken out even earlier than that, so I think he must be heading the same way. We probably won't catch him right away, but we'll find out more from wherever the next place he strikes is, and then be on with it."
"You mean to get to Reglay you had to go in the opposite direction? Oh, that would have been the best chance to catch him," Nino moaned.
"Maybe. I was Black Fang too, remember," said Legault. "And I'm not you. There's a good chance I would have got the same treatment Jaffar's been giving-"
"You don't know it's him!" she insisted.
Legault sighed. "Well… not for certain, no, you're right."
Canas frowned. "No, but surely we don't need absolute proof. The circumstantial evidence in this case is quite overwhelming, and it seems foolhardy to think that-"
"Oh, please stop him quickly," Legault asked the sky quietly. A scream echoed through the forest, long and high. "That wasn't quite what I had in mind," he growled, leaping up. The thief and mage dashed into the brush. What a change. Some thief I am to rush to the aid of a woman in danger…
But something was bothering them both about the scream, a certain quality that didn't seem right, or at least not usual. It was familiar, too, and nagging at the backs of their minds as they ran, the way such things do. Under logs, around boulders, over streams, and once through a mercifully short bramble they ran, finally breaking out at the edge of the trees, where all became clear.
The difference between a normal person screaming and Karla screaming is mostly one of location. In the second case, all the fear is gone from the screamer, and is growing at a fantastic rate inside the person being screamed at.
"Haa-i!" she barked, sweeping a steel sword downward at a large brigand, who thought surprisingly fast for one so obviously dependent on strength. He swung his axe into the way, let Karla's blade cut into it deeply, and then fled while she tried to separate her light weapon from the massive cleaver.
"Hi," Nino replied. Karla turned to them sharply, but then recognized the duo.
"This is unexpected. Are you with them?" she asked, nodding at the rest of the rogues surrounding the glade.
"Not bloody likely," Legault answered, frowning. "Want help?"
"For myself, no," Karla replied. "However, for him…" She gestured at the grey shape by her dropped travelling pack, and the two realised that it wasn't a rock, but a hunched figure sitting perfectly still. Nino's already-large eyes widened.
"Is that Karel?" she asked.
"Oh yes," Karla answered, as if she hardly believed it herself.
"But these are enemies!" Legault protested. "Shouldn't there be rather a lot more shouting and flying bodies?"
"This is rather the problem," the swordmaster agreed.
Around then, the bandits decided that Karla, despite her first appearance when attacked, wasn't going to sprout horns, wings, glowing eyes (with optional fangs) and proclaim that today was their day of judgment. As one slightly reluctant man, they attacked.
Legault immediately moved to have his back to Karla, knowing that there were few safer things as long as she was a friend. He didn't have the sheer strength that any of the brigands and mercenaries did, but he was so fast they tended to finish thinking of blocking at the same time his daggers struck, so it worked out anyway. A knee and double-hand strike bent the first attacker over, providing Legault with a stepping stone to roll over and gouge at the next comer.
Despairing of unsticking her sword from the axe in time to be useful, Karla embedded the entire mass in the first assailant to face her, then took his weapon from his belt. It was entirely the wrong shape, but Karla was a swordmaster after all, and what they look for is ultimately the simple ability to split one big thing into several small ones. In the famed words of Swordmaster Tzing Surashing: "If your foe has time to see your weapon is not of the proper style, you haven't killed him fast enough."
Nino ran to Karel, knowing that eventually one of the rogues would see him as an easy target. "Karel? It's me, Nino. What are you doing?"
She didn't expect any response, really, but he turned up, and his face looked unlike anything she had ever seen on him before. "I await the prescribed course of fate," he replied, almost cheerfully.
"They're going to kill you!" Nino protested.
"That is entirely possible," Karel agreed.
"Won't you do anything?"
"I will not meddle with destiny," was all he said.
Nino was completely boggled. Already one or two of the brighter enemies had started judging their chances of cutting him down before Karla or Legault could do anything about it. She went for pride. "Aren't you the one they tell stories about? The deadliest swordmaster in the world? Aren't you the Sword Demon?"
Karel gave this serious and solemn thought. At least she hoped he did while he stared at the grass, perfectly still. Eventually he looked up. "No," Karel decided, and didn't seem bothered by the thought.
Nino stood and pulled out the book Erk had given her, determined to be helpful. She chanted for a moment, tore the first page out and let it be claimed by ethereal blue fire as she shouted "Thunder!" A bolt crashed down between a few of the brigands steeling themselves to charge, and they quickly dropped that idea. A moment later, taking advantage of the distraction, Legault dropped them, too.
"Isn't it meddling with destiny to refuse to do anything, too?" she demanded, dropping again to one knee. This too was a deep question for Karel. He showed no sign of anything but contemplation as he stabbed out with lightning speed over Nino's shoulder. She turned to see the Wo Dao move, and watched, nearly frozen, as the stealthy mercenary dropped over backwards.
"I feel it was right to save you," Karel stated philosophically. "And so I wonder if it would not also be permissible to act to protect myself. You make an interesting point, Nino."
Nino was starting to think that the old Karel had been less scary.
She didn't get much further, though, as a heavy fist smashed down on his head, and the swordmaster folded over without complaint. A huge arm grabbed Nino around the shoulders, pinning her arms, and a blade brushing her throat quickly kept her from struggling anyway.
"Hold up, then," growled the berserker, and his voice was good enough at commanding that Karla and Legault were hesitating even before they saw Nino in danger. "I've had enough of this. I take the time to put together a fairly good band of brigands and then you folks come along and cut half of them up? Not having any of that. Now, let's discuss how you can get out of here with a chance of keeping your lives."
Six orbs of darkness, fading from pure black to deep violet at their edges, spiralled down and blasted the hulking man away. Nino fell too, but more because the shock of impact had hit her than because the berserker had any control of his arms left.
"Not too badly hurt, I hope," said Canas, emerging from the undergrowth as the remaining raiders scattered. "It can be hard to aim Luna without being seen, and elder magic has never been much for precision, either. Where are they all going?"
"I think they got a look at you," said Legault, slowly.
"Ha ha, very funny," the druid said sarcastically. "Seriously, it was only one spell."
"He was serious, Canas," said Nino, crawling out from under the heavy arm of the prone bandit leader. Canas looked down at himself and encountered, somewhat to his surprise, the thick and ceremonial dark robes of a powerful elder mage. Even his face had been covered in shadow, and only his eyes glowed yellow.
"Oh, blast. This happens every time I try to cast a single dark spell, you know that? It's really quite inconvenient." He pushed back the hood with long, ragged-robed arms and inhaled like a swimmer coming up for air. "Is that Karel lying over there? Is he dead?!"
"No, just aching a bit," Karel replied, muffled by the grass. He sounded almost cheerful.
Legault and Canas both looked at Karla. "We have got to hear this," they stated.