Chapter 6
It wasn't long before night fell and it was time to close up shop. Thinking about how you were going to escape into the night to meet some stranger, an enemy in a time of war, really helped passed the time. If he was ever caught, he'd have one heck of a time explaining.
Quickly, he performed his duties and grabbed some dinner before heading off to the lumber yard. It didn't take long, but the lack of light created a feeling of general unrest. The lumber yard was quiet for once; normally, the place was filled with the deafening noise of the saws tearing through the wood.
His golden eyes seemed to glow in the dark as he looked for Dmitri.
"Psst!" he called out, slowly moving through the vacated work area. He realized, he didn't really like having chosen the lumber yard as their meeting place. The piles of logs casted so many different shadows in the moonlight that any shapes and forms were obscured. It's almost as bad as the Dead Thicket during the day, Lazar thought to himself and he turned the corner. Before he had time to respond, he was knocked to the ground.
Rough dark fur and yellowed teeth hung in the air, inches from his face. Then, the creature opened its mouth and started lapping his face, much like a dog.
"Eyack, Asimov! Get off!" He whispered harshly at the bear.
"Hmph," Dmitri grunted as he helped lift Asimov off Lazar, "Not this time, boy. We got things to do," he told the bear, "Now, lead to the way, 'moi kapitan,'" he told Lazar in jest.
Lazar got up and brushed the wood shavings off his clothes. "This way. She was residing in the Dead Thicket."
"Wait, the Dead Thicket?" Dmitri asked, stopping dead in his tracks.
"Yeah. She's living near the Grey Mountains, for now," he replied, with a hint of superiority that he wasn't too afraid of entering into the Dead Thicket or the Grey Mountains at night. It was rare that Lazar found himself being the braver one of their duo, even if by a fraction.
"You're sure it's safe to be going there in the night?"
That, he hadn't thought about.
"No, but, I was thinking you and Asimov could fend off any wolves, and if we are overwhelmed, she'll probably find us."
"So you're placing all your hopes of survival on me, my pet, and some strange girl that probably kidnapped you?"
"Sounds about right," Lazar replied, nodding his head in grim affirmation.
Dmitri sighed and facepalmed as he followed Lazar into the even darker woods. To him, something was just waiting to go wrong. He didn't actually expect Lazar to take him all the way into the Dead Thicket.
Lazar carried the lead intrepidly. He could hardly see two feet in front of him, but that didn't matter so much. He was going to the Arisen again. He was going to prove to Dmitri that he wasn't lying.
As he glided onward, he realized he had absolutely no idea where they were. It was too dark to see any landmark, not to mention the tracks he had followed before were completely imperceptible in the dark. Cautiously, he felt his way through the trees.
"You sure you know where you're going?" Dmitri called out behind him.
"Y-yes! I know where we are. We're almost there," he lied, too ashamed to admit that he had gotten them lost in the Thicket in the middle of the night. The sounds of the Dead Thicket echoed around them ominously. Rustling of leaves, snaps of twigs, the howls of the wolves all set them on edge. At this point, Lazar was hoping to run into anyone that would help him find a way out.
A flash of green.
A firefly?
"Did you see that?" Dmitri whispered nervously to Lazar
"See what?"
Flash of green.
"That."
No, the leaves obscure the unwavering light.
"It's her."
The Arisen drew closer to the duo and their bear. Asimov barred his fangs at her, growling in a low, husky tone that signaled he was ready to attack.
"I see you brought a friend," she said as she drew closer, the green orbs of her eyes floating well above Lazar's head. Comparatively, she stood slightly taller than even Dmitri, and Dmitri was among the taller ones in Novograd.
At the sight of the Arisen, whose form was partially obscured by the darkness, Dmitri blanched. He hadn't really thought that Lazar had really been captured by an Arisen. Dmitri moved to put on his spiked knuckles.
"And I see you neglected to tell him I was your friend," the Arisen spoke again when she noticed Dmitri go for his weapons.
"In all fairness, you never did explain what, exactly, you are doing here in Lightwood," Lazar responded, feeling somewhat daring for having come all the way out here in the first place. "And, I would hazard a guess that you yourself are in no predicament for telling us otherwise. You had been injured, and had said yourself that it would take time to heal."
Dmitri looked at Lazar. If the Arisen really was injured, why didn't they just kill it now? Dispose of her before she resumed being a threat to them and the League.
"You want my mission? Then here," the Arisen said reluctantly, with a tinge of bitterness in her voice, as she withdrew several documents that had been concealed on her person. "My party and I were supposed to enter Novograd as ambassadors of the Empire and speak with Aidenus. If you read those, you'll see that we were sent to request an armistice with the League. Yasker had decided that the presence of astral demons was becoming more overbearing, and not just for the Empire, but for your League as well. He had hoped that we could form a truce for some time and unite our forces to oust the invading demons. However, we were attacked en route by some of your… patriotic kinsmen up in Siveria, and I was the only one to escape south on this allod. I'm not sure where the others are, but it is my duty to fulfill this mission, with or without them."
Lazar and Dmitri stood there in silence, digesting what the Arisen had just told them. Could they really trust her? She had documents, and the signature did claim to be Yasker's own. However, they never met Yasker. They never saw his signature before. For all they knew, she could have just fabricated the document to sneak into Novograd and spy on them.
The Arisen continued speaking.
"Now, I'm sure you want this peace, as well. In all honesty, everyone's sick of this war. If you'd like to know, I'm Lt. Semer Nuha, heretic. Will you help me get into Novograd undetected? I believe I can explain the situation to the officials, but if the civilians around here are anything like they are in Siveria, I won't even be given the chance to speak to anyone."
Peace. How ironic. They had always been told that the Empire was some blood thirsty horde of barbarians allied together. Never had either of them ever entertained the thought that it could be one of the enemies extending the first hand in a mission for peace.
Lazar smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Lt. Nuha. I'm Lazar Wolf, aspiring minstrel, and this is Dmitri Medvezhi, druid. We'll help you," he told her, making their introductions formal, as opposed to what had happened earlier. In the darkness, it was much easier to pretend she was somewhat similar in form to himself or Dmitri.
Dmitri looked at Lazar as if he were crazy. First, Lazar had dragged him out to the Dead Thicket in the middle of the night, and now he was being signed up to help some zombie in her nefarious plan to "make peace" with the League; probably just some ruse to get close to Aidenus and off him like they had done to deDesiré, another Great Mage of the League.
"You're not serious about this, are you?" Dmitri whispered harshly to Lazar.
"What? I just think that maybe this is a sign that the war needs to end," he whispered back.
"Yeah, but without a sanction from Aidenus or another official, everyone will think we're traitors or something for hanging out with the zombie."
"Then I guess we'll just have to keep Nuha hidden in the meantime."
"So, do you have any thoughts on how I can get closer to Aidenus?" Nuha asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the whispering argument going between Lazar and Dmitri.
"I think if you could disguise yourself, then it would be a breeze," Lazar suggested. "We could help you find your way through Novograd and into Aidenus' Tower. The city can be a bit confusing to newcomers."
"And now you're offering to lead the enemy straight into the heart of our capital. Great," Dmitri mumbled under his breath.
"Oh, and how are you healing?" Lazar asked, shrugging off Dmitri's accusations. At this, Dmitri raised an eye. He didn't really think that the zombie had been hurt. The rumors said they were untouchable.
"I've almost fixed it. If you could find some iron screws I could work with, then I might be able to put myself back to top performance," Nuha replied. "Perhaps you could meet me again tomorrow with it? I'll continue thinking of a plan on how to talk to Aidenus. As for you, you should head back now. I can't have a change in your behaviors giving away my existence."
Lazar nodded in understanding. Nuha noticed his golden eyes bob up and down in the dark, and her own emerald eyes disappeared from sight as she turned and stalked away, only the green glow of her prosthetics giving away position as she quickly faded into the shadows of the Dead Thicket.
Lazar turned to Dmitri and gently tapped his arm, signaling that it was time to go back home.
"Why did you agree to help her?" Dmitri asked in a concerned voice.
"She seemed honest enough."
"The zombie was leading you on. Do you really think that the Empire just sends a squad of armed men to Novograd just to go over peace talks?"
"Well, no-"
"See! You said it yourself. Now be a good League boy, go home, and don't think about her tomorrow. I'll take care of things from here."
"What! You don't mean-"
"You know what I mean. News like this shouldn't be kept secret. It could give us an incredible advantage on the field of battle if we take her hostage-"
"But she offered peace!"
"As a ruse to lower our guards and get information from us-"
"You have no proof!"
"You gave her our names and our specialties!"
"Nuha gave us hers and her rank!"
"Is that even her real name? Is Lt. even her real title? For all we know she could've fabricated those on the spot and we wouldn't be the wiser. Remember, the zombies are the most cunning of the Empire infidels!"
"You know what? Just go. I think she's telling the truth. I think that all this time, everything we've been told about the war have been lies."
"You know I say this only in your best interest," Dmitri said, exhaustion starting to overcome his will to continue debating Lazar.
"You may mean well, but I think we need to review our positions on what's going on."
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Maybe. Just don't tell anyone about Nuha."
"I can't promise I won't, but I will promise to leave you out of it."
"Good night."
"'night."
With those words, they parted, each to his own dwelling. Lazar quietly snuck up the wooden stairs, his lithe movements not making a sound. Upon entering his room, he settled into his bed and promptly fell asleep. It had gotten incredibly late.