Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 34: Partners
"Good day, Lord Sialsanderin."
Makaelthos's impassive greeting broke the silence that had settled inside Eliarainne's room. Cafilex Sialsanderin did not seem to hear it from the way he stared imperiously at Makaelthos. Behind Cafilex, Eldorius Sevrisn smiled confidently at Eliarainne; who glared at the merchant; silently telling him to look away. There was another blacksmith with them who studied Makaelthos carefully.
"I doubt it if I can have a good day after meeting you, ditch knight." Cafilex answered. "I'll ask you again, "Sir" Makaelthos Solcry. What are you doing here?"
The term "ditch knight" grated on Makaelthos's nerves with each mention of it. Nonetheless, he did not show even a slight hint of irritation. Behind him, Eliarainne tried to stand up. She winced from the effort and failed. Her wounds were severe and numerous and her partner's healing capabilities were not on par with Silmeia's. Lightbearers, despite their focus, simply did not have the capacity of an actual priest. Makaelthos glanced at his partner before addressing Cafilex once again. "The First Knight Commander is injured and needs her rest, Lord Sialsanderin." He said. "Perhaps you can talk to her later."
Cafilex looked at his daughter sternly before staring at Makaelthos in derision. "Very well, "Sir" Makaelthos." He answered. "Let's talk outside instead."
Cafilex's voice dripped scorn with each mention of "Sir". Eldorius suppressed a snicker as he watched Makaelthos. He knew that Cafilex's attitude was bound to get to the thief-crusader soon. Just a little more and Makaelthos Solcry would reveal his true boorish self. Not that it would surprise anybody. "I will stay behind here if you don't mind, "Sir" Makaelthos." He said. "I'd like to see how my fiancée is doing."
Makaelthos looked like he was about to say something but decided against it. Instead, he gave a curt nod and left the room with Cafilex and the other blacksmith.
With the three of them gone, Eldorius immediately approached Eliarainne's bed. "Well, love, we're finally alone." He cooed.
Eliarainne glared at the merchant who smiled smugly at her. She was never in the mood for this pathetic "wooing". A rotting orc had much more appeal than this weakling of a man. "I suggest that you leave as well, Eldorius." She growled. "Before you regret being alone in a room with me!"
Eldorius continued smiling as he touched the knight's bed with one hand. The action alone hinted at his plans; which disgusted Eliarainne even more. "Oh come now." He said. "I'm sure you'll enjoy this as much as I will."
Eliarainne suddenly clutched her head. Her fury was starting to make it throb again. "Get out!" She snarled. "Get out before-!"
Eldorius didn't even seem to listen anymore as he moved closer to the knight. His hands grasped Eliarainne's and moved slowly to her arms. Before he could react, Eliarainne's hand suddenly grasped him by the throat and began to squeeze mercilessly. His eyes widened in panic as he tried to pry her fingers from his throat. It was useless; she had an iron grip that threatened to crush his windpipe. She squeezed even tighter; completely cutting off his supply of air. He looked to his fiancée. To his horror, her eyes had turned red. He began to panic as she spoke again. Her voice was low and raspy; laced with menace and an intense desire to kill.
"You weak, pathetic worm!" Eliarainne growled. "I swore I'd kill you if you tried anything like this!" She squeezed even harder. All she needed to do now was to twist her wrist to break this fool's neck. It was so easy that it almost made her laugh. Perhaps she should have done this a long time ago to everyone who got on her nerves. Her father for instance…
"Eliarainne, stop!"
The memory of her partner's words caused Eliarainne to release her grip. What was she doing? Killing Eldorius would still be murder. Eldorius Sevrisn gasped as he stumbled backwards. Eliarainne stared at her hand and then at the merchant. "I said get out" She shouted. "Do you want to die?"
Eldorius mustered a smile as he soon as he stood a good distance from her. "Feisty as ever." He wheezed. "It will be a great moment of triumph for me to subdue you at last, love."
Eliarainne clutched her head painfully. It was such a struggle to control herself these days even without wretched merchants provoking her. "Get out damn you! Baphomet rip that smug smile from your god-forsaken face!"
Eldorius did not seem daunted by the stream of curses that Eliarainne shouted at him. Instead of immediately fleeing, as was probably the wisest course of action, he blew a kiss at her. In response, Eliarainne raised a hand and made an obscene gesture she had once seen her partner use during their missions. Makaelthos had explained that he had learned the gesture from the backstreets of Morroc. When she asked for what it meant, he had hesitated first before explaining the gesture. The explanation somehow involved minorus mothers, sweet potatoes, a sidewinder and why some male assassins had a habit of holding their chins a lot. The gesture surprised Eldorius; who left her room in a hurry. Eliarainne sighed and lay back down on her bed. She wanted to hear what Makaelthos and her father were talking about but, in her current state, she knew that she would probably lose control again if she did.
The silence between Makaelthos Solcry, Cafilex Sialsanderin and the other blacksmith grabbed the attention of several onlookers. Many of them were knights from the First Knight Division division; soldiers concerned when they heard that their Knight Commander had been severely wounded in battle. They all stared from afar; having silently agreed with one another that only Sir Makaelthos Solcry could handle this situation properly. As they watched, they began commenting among themselves.
"It looks like Sir Makaelthos is finally staking his claim on the Knight Commander."
"He damn better stake it! He's the only one who could handle our war goddess without being carried away in a stretcher!"
"Cafilex is an ass. I wish he'd get killed by the orcs."
"That's impossible. The orcs would have to tear down every building in Prontera before they could find him!"
The knights were silently laughing among themselves when Cafilex finally spoke up. "I knew it would come down to this, ditch knight!" He said. "I let my daughter go to war while partnered to you and she gets badly injured while you're barely more than scratched!"
Makaelthos fought back a defensive retort. Trying to butt heads with Cafilex Sialsanderin would only worsen the situation. "Your daughter is a good knight, Lord Sialsanderin." He said. "One of the best, in fact, but that doesn't make her impervious to harm."
Cafilex continued to stare derisively at Makaelthos. He wanted to continue provoking the crusader until he snapped and started acting like the brutish thug that he was. Once that happened, he would have enough reason to have the ditch knight discharged from the army. "As I recall, "Sir" Makaelthos, Eliarainne wasn't supposed to be a knight in the first place." He said. "Then again neither were you supposed to be a crusader!"
Cafilex's words carried plainly to Makaelthos as well as the approaching sohee behind him. Khaesilya's hands immediately went for her stiletto. Nothing made her angrier than hearing someone question her master's right to carry the title of crusader. It spat on everything that she had witnessed him strive for. "No one insults my master like so!" She hissed as she rose from the ground. While she preferred to fight on the ground in order to distinguish her from other sohees, there were times when she was simply too angry to care. Her hair whipped about as if blown by a strong wind. A wail was about to emerge from her lips when Makaelthos's voice stopped her.
"That's enough, Khaesilya!"
Khaesilya settled down. As angry as she was at the insolence of the bearded blacksmith, she would never refuse a direct order from her master.
Cafilex recovered his composure from Khaesilya's threat and faced Makaelthos once more. "You will keep that slave in line or I will have her imprisoned and killed for attacking a human, do you understand?" He said. "Although it's natural that the slave be as vicious as her master!"
Before Khaesilya could retort, the other blacksmith interrupted them. "Look, I'm not here to listen to you two quarrel alright?" He said. "I've got a proposition for you, Sir Makaelthos Solcry. Hear me out first before you fight with Cafilex here."
Makaelthos nodded and shifted his attention the other blacksmith.
"My name's Nerthes Sevrisn." The blacksmith said. "I'm Eldorius's father and I was hoping you could settle this issue between my son and Cafilex's daughter."
Khaesilya stared suspiciously at Nerthes. The man was clean-shaven; with long, blonde hair was carefully brushed up from his face. His aquiline nose and gray eyes were similar to Eldorius's although he was considerably…heavier than his son. His girth was not muscles that came from constant forging but the fat that came from sitting around and counting money all day. The mere sight of this blacksmith would have been a personal insult to Kreizen. 'I don't trust this man, Master Makaelthos.' She spoke to her master mentally. 'Even though he speaks politely, he holds the same scorn for you as Eliarainne's father!'
Makaelthos gave Khaesilya a mental "nod" in response. He was used to veneers of politeness. Playing such facades was second nature to him. "I'm listening." He replied to Nerthes.
Nerthes rubbed his hands together. Makaelthos found the smug gleam in the blacksmith's eyes to be a bit…irritating. He certainly did not like the idea of this pot- bellied blacksmith being a father-in-law. Eliarainne would probably become even more of a drunkard and a berserker if she had to put up with these two blacksmiths. "You may have heard this from your "partner", Sir Makaelthos, but, as you should know, my son is engaged to Cafilex's daughter." He said. "Unfortunately, I have heard that she is "resisting" this arrangement."
Makaelthos recalled the night after Eliarainne visited her father. She had mentioned that her father wanted her to marry "some merchant". Eldorius's remark earlier had confirmed his suspicions and Nerthes's words stressed that truth.
"You're her partner aren't you?" Nerthes continued. "Maybe you could "convince" her to follow her father's wishes on this one. It would be for the good of both families as their union will provide an heir for both Cafilex's and my business as well."
Makaelthos's eyes narrowed in thought. The way Nerthes stressed some of his words was irritating. He was just as insulting as Cafilex but what irked Makaelthos more was that he was making some attempt at subtlety and his failure to do so was painful to listen to. Khaesilya's outraged voice sounded in his head.
'These people don't care for anything but the succession of their business, Master Makaelthos! They don't care about what Dame Eliarainne feels at all!'
Makaelthos's mental voice was calm as he replied to Khaesilya. 'I know that, Khaesilya, but I don't want Eliarainne's already strained relationship with her father to worsen because of me.' He answered. 'It would be better if I could make them see that it has to be Eliarainne who should make the decision to marry anyone.' To Nerthes, Makaelthos's voice was equally composed. "My partnership with Eliarainne puts me in no position to tell her what to do, Lord Sevrisn. Eliarainne should be the one to decide who to marry."
Nerthes stared disbelievingly at Makaelthos. "Look, I can pay you if you want." He said. "Doesn't the Crusader Code of Honor stress obedience? What about obedience to your parents?"
Makaelthos's eyes narrowed. The last thing he would have expected from either of these blacksmiths was a lecture on the Crusader Code of Honor. "Doing what is right is stressed far before obedience in our code, Lord Nerthes." He answered. "I believe that it is only right that I let Eliarainne decide for herself. She certainly is mature enough to do so."
All traces of pretense vanished from Nerthes's next reply. Makaelthos wasn't surprised. Breaking down facades and bringing out the truth was his job before, as a NightKnife enforcer, and it was still his job now, as a Pronteran crusader. "Have a care, Makaelthos Solcry!" Nerthes threatened. "I have connections within the Council of Cardinals. I could have you stripped of your prized crusaderhood!"
A hint of hostility crept into Makaelthos's voice. Soldiers died for Prontera right outside its walls and this fool had not even bothered keeping up with the latest news! "The Council of Cardinals is dead, Lord Nerthes." He replied tersely "Whoever your "contact" was within them is mostly likely dead as well." Nerthes was about to make an angry retort when Makaelthos cut him off. "And if you cause any trouble within the remaining Church hierarchy with some demand or if you cause any trouble for the First Knight Commander in anyway, I will arrest you myself for interfering with official army or Church business."
Nerthes glared at Makaelthos. "Arrest me?" He sputtered. "What gives you the right, ditch knight?"
Khaesilya bristled at the remark but Makaelthos's raised hand held her back. "It seems your knowledge of Pronteran law is lacking, Lord Nerthes. You're forgetting that I serve as a Crusader Specialist within the regular army. I possess more authority even over the Knight Commander when it comes to Church matters such as when some civilian is causing trouble with the Church hierarchy during a time of crisis." Seeing the unsure expressions on both Cafilex and Nerthes, Makaelthos continued. "To put it simply for you, gentlemen, I am an officer in the Regular Army. I can arrest you for meddling with army business; for causing trouble in the knight barracks by disturbing an injured Knight Commander and for attempting to bribe me."
Nerthes began to seethe. "Are you threatening me?" He hissed.
Makaelthos's expression hardened. "I am warning you, Lord Nerthes, of the consequences of your actions." He answered. "Your son's "fiancée" has sufficient rank and authority to arrest him without the need for a warrant. During this crisis, she could even execute him on the spot and make some trumped-up excuse about him secretly working for an immortal. No one would question her in the slightest. I suggest-" Makaelthos was about to say "you keep him on a short leash" but he stopped himself and used a more "respectful" method. "-that you ensure that he refrains from getting on her nerves."
Khaesilya had to smile at her master's response. Back when he was still a swordsman, he would have been probably less choosy with words. He would have told the blond blacksmith to "Keep his bastard anacondaq-spawn on a short leash to make sure he doesn't piss Eliarainne off and get himself gutted like a phen on the spot." She had to admire her master's patience with these two after they had done nothing but insult him.
Nerthes sputtered furiously; having run out of threats. It was Cafilex's turn to speak up. "You maybe "authorized" to arrest people, ditch knight, but that doesn't elevate your station from your true heritage." He snarled. "That you are nothing more than Morrocan alley-scum! How can a criminal in armor use the laws of our city? Your mere presence has polluted my daughter's mind completely. I swear I will find a way to get you exiled, or better yet, executed like the common criminal that you are!"
Makaelthos stared long and hard at Cafilex. "Threatening a Pronteran officer is punishable by indefinite prison time, Lord Sialsanderin." He replied. His voice lowered threateningly. "You will not appreciate being jailed given your infamous attitude towards the knights. The First Knight Division, in particular, will happily "interrogate" you for every crime they can think of and provide you with food of "interesting" quality. I'll let it go for now if you leave quickly."
Cafilex paled and then glared at Makaelthos one last time before storming off with Nerthes. Makaelthos breathed a sigh of relief and smiled almost apologetically at Khaesilya. "Well that didn't go so well." He said.
Khaesilya covered her mouth with a sleeve and giggled. "I think you handled them deftly enough, Master Makaelthos!" She said.
Makaelthos's expression grew wistful. Why was it that the he was angrier with those blacksmiths over their taking Eliarainne for granted than their constant referral him "ditch knight" and "Morrocan scum"? He made his way to the barracks amidst the scattered applauses from the First Knight division. Eliarainne's men found nothing more amusing than watching Cafilex Sialsanderin being told off. For them, it was as if the noon sun shined brighter after watching their Crusader Specialist deal with their Knight Commander's father.
"That's Sir Makaelthos for you! And he didn't even resort to violence!"
"He staked his damn claim alright!"
Makaelthos entered his own quarters. All of a sudden he felt extremely tired.