The Auric Insignia (19 page)

I thought I had everybody fooled

He bit in, but instead of parting before his teeth, the raw, slimy meat had a spring to it. Almost gagging, he tried to block the, to him, unnatural feel of his meal. A meal consisting of bitter leaves, simple raw leaves that his companions had assured him were edible, and the milky pink flesh that even the shadiest butcher in the world wouldn’t have sold. It had come from some swamp critters that Roarke had never seen before they had set down for camp, the night before.

     The two sitting next to him seemed to be able to stomach the unconventional cuisine considerably better than Roarke, with Ama swallowing his meager ration in no more than two bites. Since they had entered the marshland, both flora and fauna suitable for consumption had become scarce. If there indeed was a keep hidden in these bogs, Roarke guessed they would have to have some sort of supply line set up to be able to feed everyone. Since they had heard of the keep, and its proximity, they had taken extra precautions. They moved with greater care, not knowing if guards patrolled the area, and when they had stopped for the night, they had not even made a fire, hence the raw meat. Even if they had wanted to make one, Roarke wasn’t sure they would have been successful. He was as good as anyone at starting fires but he didn’t think he could locate one strand of dry grass, or one useable twig in these parts, even if his life had depended on it. Like Staffan had said, it didn’t rain but still, everything around them was wet. Even beyond the actual waters of the swamps, everything alive was soaked and sour, and everything perishable was in some stage of rot.

     They ate in reticence, the general mood subdued, as if the gray drabness of their surroundings had seeped into their minds. Since yesterday, they had moved away from the road, walking to the east of it where the ground was slightly less saturated and where their journey was more covered. The environment was not suited for swift travel, and if they were to get caught unawares, it would be bad to say the least. Roarke coughed and beat his chest in order to manually force down the last gooey bite. The Megin armor kept on surprising, as Roarke had noticed that beyond it protective capabilities, it was also highly efficient at keeping his body dry. As he was standing up though, the only part of it made mostly for flair, the cape, reached the end of its sparse usefulness. Soaked and caked with mud, it made him feel like he had a child hanging from his neck, swinging slowly with every step he took. So as they were readying to go, Roarke tore off the once radiant cloth, now dirty and soiled, throwing it in a nearby pool of water and then stood by watching, as it slowly sank from the surface, down into oblivion.

     Tired, dull and constantly irked by the stench, they started moving, still not saying a word to each other. They made slow progress, having to check for sinkholes and concealed basins of possibly acidic water, which, when they came across, they had to circle around. Roarke rubbed his face, feeling the cheeks where a short beard was slowly replacing his usual scruff. He touched the left side of his head, where half of his ear had been bitten off. A wound that untreated, especially in the company’s current situation, was just begging for an infection. A sort of wry luck then, when Roarke, as he was going to sleep the night before, had noticed that the wound had been burned closed by the astringent ooze that had gotten on him from his attacker. He supposed he should be glad he wasn’t lying in the dirt, dying in a painful fever, but as he walked through a landscape, that to him, came as close as was possible to actually traversing a literal shit hole, he found it hard to be grateful for anything.

     He continued pushing his hand upwards, running it through his hair. Hair that, even though it was short, was starting to knot due to dirt and lack of care. In front of him, he saw his companions whose coats was following suit, clumping together as well. Feeling himself sinking down into a figurative bog beyond the one he was already walking in, he cracked his neck and pushed all his thoughts to the back of his mind.

     They kept on marching the whole day, seeing no signs of humans beyond the occasional glances of the road that they had along the way. When the day had past noon and was well on its way towards darkness, they were still at it, still silent. Roarke, bringing up the rear of their small party, rarely raised his eyes from the treacherous footing underneath him. Seeing something from the corner of his eye, he was wakened from his monotonous stride, only to see that Refaz and Ama had stopped. Turning their ears, listening, they as well, had been shaken from their trance.

     - Wha....

     Ama silenced him with the raising of a hand, moving to cover behind a tree, gesturing for them to do the same. Like violently woken from a dream, blood was suddenly rushing through Roarke’s body. Moving as quickly as he could whilst still keeping quiet, he made his way for the trunk of the nearest tree that looked big enough to cover his frame. Looking off, he saw that Refaz had set off for a shrubbery, crouching to make himself as small as possible. Seeing Roarke’s eyes on him, Refaz brought a finger up to his mouth, ushering for stillness as they waited for whatever had garnered their attention. Waiting, not being able to see, long seconds passed as Roarke was trying to judge their plight from Refaz’s expression, since the fiery red Kappa was the only one with an unobstructed view.

     Refaz’s coat, in contrast with the gray hues of Ama’s fur and Roarke’s armor, did not blend well with the bleak green of the cover behind which he was hiding. If an enemy would look his way, Refaz would surely be spotted. After some time, which felt like an hour, Refaz’s body tensed up, staying even more still than before, folding his ears back and holding his breath. Roarke leaned in against the tree as much as he could, feeling the rough bark poke his exposed skin. Holding his breath as well, Roarke tried to listen for the approaching entity. Where at first, he only heard the pumping of his own heart, his ear throbbing as he pressed it against the trunk of the tree, he finally heard what the Kappas had reacted to. Slow, wet footsteps, lacking a rhythm, announced the arrival of someone, or something.

     Refaz’s face, previously like made of stone, awaiting this unknown, got a crack brought on by surprise. Roarke could see that whatever had just become visible, it was something that Refaz had not expected. The footsteps were coming closer, stopping once in a while before continuing. Roarke tried to see Ama but couldn’t do so without leaving his hiding place and risk being seen. The footsteps were now so close that Roarke could visualize where this mystery was standing. He thought it was a human, since it sounded like it walked on two feet, looking over at Refaz however, reminded him that that didn’t necessarily need to be the case. The steps sounded faint, like whoever made them was small, not going down quite as deep in the watery soil. Roarke was filled with confusion and curiosity, given life by the irregular pattern of the steps. They seemed to belong to someone searching for something, rather than being those of someone simply traveling a distance. What confused Roarke was that if this was a scout, a guard, or something similar, they appeared to make little to no effort staying quiet, which struck him as odd.

     Looking to Refaz for answers, he received the faintest of nods, indicating for him to move. Hearing the footsteps come closer, Roarke slowly slid along the trunk in order to remain hidden. Trying to land every step with the weight of a shadow, not knowing if it would be the difference between life and death. The resumed advancement of paces, just as he was taking his own, caused him to freeze. The last thing he did, preparing for possible conflict, was to reach for the spear on his back, grasping damp steel. The interlude between breaths, going from one step to another, felt like an eternity as he waited on the edge of the knife. Readying himself for springing into action, he saw the mystery unknown enter his field of view. It was a girl. A child, no more than ten years old, was standing just a few feet from where Refaz was lying in hiding. Intellectually, somewhat relieved, Roarke still felt his heart pounding fast, his hands clammy with sweat. The girl, dressed in simple clothes, filthy from wear and tear, was indeed searching for something. She scanned the immediate area with an expression that Roarke thought belonged to someone older.

     Her face, framed by unkempt hair the color of bistre, was a serious one, sunken in deep concentration.

     - Ahaa!

     Concentration suddenly broken by a sudden outburst of childish excitement, bubbling to the surface. Roarke’s heart felt like it was in his throat, and he began to pull his spear when she began to make her way towards where Refaz was hiding. Dreading where the situation was going, Roarke only managed to take one step forward before he saw that the girl ran past the shrubbery where Refaz was trying to remain unseen. She stopped by some plants with white flowers, plants Roarke didn’t know by name but that he had seen since they had entered the swamp. Not wasting any time, the girl started digging in the wet soil, trying to uncover the roots. Roarke allowed himself a breath as he watched the process of digging up the green plants with purple spots on them.

     - Now he will get what he deserves...

     Minutes passed as they waited for her to finish, not daring to move an inch. Having retrieved numerous, and as far as Roarke could see, unassuming roots, the girl rose to leave. Retracing her steps, she now moved with more purpose and direction. Not before long, she was gone from Roarke’s view and after a while, the sounds of her departure faded into silence as well. Breathing easier, glad that they had avoided a possible predicament, they broke cover and ventured out into the open. Roarke met up with Refaz where the girl had been standing just a couple of minutes ago.

     - That could have gone worse.

     - Yeah, Where’s Ama?

     Ama had not emerged from his hideout, causing Roarke and Refaz to look for him everywhere. They soon found him going the same way as the little girl had gone before. As if he had felt their eyes on him, he turned around and signaled for them to follow quietly. So they did, walking in an invisible procession consisting of one unknowing leader and three followers, spaced out so as to not be noticed. Roarke, the least stealthy of the of three, assumed his normal position and brought up the rear. After what Roarke guessed could not have been much more than half an hour, he saw Ama and Refaz crouching down together, waiting for him to arrive.

     - Did you lose her?

     - No, human, but we should not venture further right now.

     - Why?

     Ama nodded against the crown of the tree by which they were standing. With Refaz boosting him, Roarke got up on a branch and started making his way to the top. Looking down, his hands started to sweat and his knuckles turned white from holding on too hard. One branch away from being able to breach the top, a wind blew through, causing him to sway back and forth. He stopped, closing his eyes in fear.

     - Come on, Roarke, don’t be such a fucking craven. You’re fine, you’re fine.

     He cracked his neck and slowly opened his eyes. With a final effort, he heaved himself up, poking his head out in between the stiff, green gray leaves. In the area in front of them, the trees had been cut down, and on a small peninsula going out into the main body of water in the swamp, stood a keep. Roarke had never seen a keep before, but in the fairy tales from when he was a child, this was how they were described. A large, dark building made out of stone, setting an ominous scene with the surrounding gloom.

     Roarke could see the road they had walked on before, leading into a walled courtyard, separated by a large gate. Clay huts like the ones they had seen before, were scattered outside the gates and along the waterline, some of them standing on stilts in the dark waters, connected to each other by thin walkways. Intermingled with the workers dressed in rags akin to those that the girl had worn, were men and women in armor. Acting as guards and overseers, these soldiers patrolled throughout what Roarke could see of the compound. On top of the walls were sentries armed with what Roarke guessed was crossbows, walking back and forth, ready to take down any unwanted visitors. If this wasn’t enough, he could hear the baying of hounds, making him forget how high up he currently was, as he listened to the demons that had defiled his home, crying out in the cloudy evening. Having seen what he could, he began his shaky descent down to where Ama and Refaz were waiting for him.

     - It’s the keep, the pack is here.

     The sudden change from following a girl, to almost walking into a hostile fortress made Roarke speak in hushed tones, something Refaz emulated as he answered.

     - Yes, but we should wait until we have the cover of darkness before we approach, favoring a surprise attack.

     Even though Roarke was eager to right wrongs, he couldn’t deny that any precautions and advantages available to a party of three, attacking a defended fort, should be taken. Going back the same way they had come, they stopped half an hour away, where they could await the right time. Searching for a relatively dry place to catch some shuteye before they went back, Roarke could hear the Kappian brothers talking in the distance.

     - Brother, are you ready for this?

     Ama, who had been quiet since Roarke had come down from the tree, looked at his sibling.

     - Do you doubt me?

     - Not the strength of your arms, nor the sharpness or your teeth, no brother, I doubt your heart.

     - Worry about the human instead, the one who has never seen combat before. Now go to sleep, little brother, I will keep watch.