The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest (16 page)

“
Come now gentlemen, this is
hardly the way to greet a new member.” Said Tryst, “Callindra is a
true warrior. She is fearless, I saw her face down three opponents
without flinching. She will be a good addition.”

“
A hooded recluse and a
little kid? Tryst, I can’t believe you thought twice about bringing
me with.” Said Callindra with a laugh, “Really, we are the best you
could do? Well I suppose nobody else is desperate or foolish enough
to think about throwing their lives away for nothing.”

“
Cronos is my brother and
Vilhylm is a friend. They have their own reasons for doing what
they do.” Said Tryst with a sigh.

“
Well I’m tired and more
than a little sore from my day in the ring. If you don’t mind, I’d
like to turn in early tonight, especially if we’re leaving before
sunrise.” She said, “I need to run the Korumn tomorrow before we
leave to make sure I’m ready for anything that comes.”

A look of surprise flickered across Cronos’s
face but before he could say anything Tryst led her to a small room
with a bed against one wall. “If you wish to wash I can show you to
the women’s bath.”

“
Yes, it would be good to
wash the dust and sweat of the day away. Unfortunately I don’t have
clean clothes but it will be better than the alternative.”
Callindra said, “Who knows when we’ll see another bath house once
we are on the road.”

“
I fear the robes most wear
here would not suit you or I would offer.” Tryst said with a wry
chuckle.

-

Callindra rose earlier than usual, responding
to a mental exercise Glarian had taught her. He said it was useful
when traveling or on a battlefield and had been surprised at how
easily she had learned to use it. Thinking of him gave her a pang
of regret which she quickly suppressed.

“
Bastard thinks I’m just
going to sit here and wait for him?” She muttered, angrier at him
for making her worry than anything else. She rose and frowned at
her sweat crusted underthings. “I don’t think so, not while he’s
out there running for his life because he taught me how to fight. I
owe him and I owe it to both of us to become strong enough to pull
my weight.”

She pulled on her clothes with a sigh and
padded barefoot out through the common room with a sheathed
Brightfang slung over her shoulder. Her hair moved as furtive gusts
of air tugged at it. “Yes, good morning.” She mumbled, walking to
the staircase Tryst had pointed her to the night before when she
asked for a place she could practice.

The light of the setting full moon
illuminated the small courtyard that was at the end of the stairs.
A whiff of burning tac caused her to look over the carefully
groomed shrubs and combed sand to see a man sitting on a bench. He
was wearing the simple robes that the rest of the monks here did
but he was older. A gnarled walking stick sat next to him and he
gave her a nod in passing before returning to the simple pleasure
of his early morning smoke.

Callindra put him out of her mind and stepped
onto an area of manicured sand. Facing north she began the first
Korumn, breathing the power of creation and exhaling that of
destruction. Once she was calm and focused the remaining six
beginning Korumn flowed naturally, Brightfang whistling cheerfully
through the air.

The final Korumn, Marking the Compass
completed the set and Callindra sheathed her sword with a flourish.
A light sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead but her breathing was
slow and even. The ever-present capricious breezes had ceased to
pester her, all was at peace.

“
You’ll need to rake that
sand lass.” Callindra jumped at the old man speaking from the
shadows, “You don’t seem to have left many footprints but we don’t
need a compass rose in the center of our tranquil
garden.”

She looked and saw that the release of Weave
and winds at the end of the Korumn had all but erased the marks of
her feet and instead a perfect compass pointed in eight directions
radiating out from where she stood.

The scent of tac reminded her of Glarian and
the surety of his voice automatically engendered respect, Callindra
didn’t even think of questioning his authority. “Sorry about that,
I just needed a quiet place to practice.” She said, walking to
where the coarse-toothed rake leaned against a large rock. “I’ll
put it back the way it was.”

Closing her eyes, Callindra tried to remember
what the pattern on the sands had been. Something with circles,
moving around the few large stones that were arrayed on the sand in
a seemingly random fashion. After a short time, she managed to get
a fair approximation of what she thought it should look like, set
the rake down and nodded to the man.

“
Thanks for letting me
practice here.” After she left, the man studied the patterns she
had traced on the sand with an inscrutable look on his
face.

“
That one. She is going to
be trouble. Even so she was able to put the tumult that surrounds
her on the sand so artfully.” He mused, drawing on his pipe, “The
patterns she has left are exquisite, perhaps there is hope for her
yet.”

-

Callindra returned to the room just in time
to find Tryst setting out breakfast. Porridge and fruit with fresh
baked bread, humble fare but filling and flavorful.

“
Good, you’re back.” He said
in greeting, “Come, break your fast and we will speak of the day to
come. We will leave by the postern gate under my banner. Unless
there is any reason to expect delay it should take us a fortnight
to reach the Cathedral. Once there we will meet the Biscop and he
will give us his blessing and the particulars of our
mission.”

She set to with a will having worked up an
appetite with her morning practice. “What are the travel conditions
like around here?”

“
Probably much the same as
when you arrived.” Said Cronos, giving her a confused
look.

“
Yeah. I suppose.” She said
around a mouthful of bread.

“
The Lords do a fairly good
job of keeping the road free of bandits and the like. Much of the
upkeep of the surface itself is undertaken by locals who wish
merchants to be able to easily pass by their farms and holdings.”
Said Tryst, “I do not know about travel to the North and West but I
would imagine the main trade route between the Capitol and a
Holding as large as Duke Gladthorne’s would be well protected and
properly maintained.”

“
Now all we have to worry
about is making a graceful exit from this city.” Said Vilhylm, “I
gather I’m not the only one who is leaving ahead of some… unwanted
attention?” He looked pointedly at Callindra.

“
When we are finished here
we can leave by the postern gate. It should not be much of a
challenge, we will be under my banner.” Tryst said. “The monks here
have been kind enough to lend me horses for those of you who do not
own one.”

-

True to his word, Tryst led his small group
of warriors through the quiet morning streets and out the west gate
without incident. Once on the road, Callindra discovered she had
little skill with and less love for horse travel. The animal seemed
to lurch in an ungainly fashion; she was forced to grip its wide
barrel with her legs to keep her seat.

She was sure her inner thighs would be rubbed
raw by the time they reached their destination. Her skirt was far
too short to offer any protection and straddling the animal
revealed a startling amount of leg. Too much even for the demands
of her minimal modesty.

When they stopped for the midday meal, she
gladly dismounted and stiffly stretched sore muscles. When she
looked up she could see Vilhylm eyeing her horse with a questioning
look on his face.

“
What?” She said irritably
rubbing her sore backside.

“
I think your stirrups are a
little too long.” He said, reaching out to adjust the buckles.
“That should help a bit. I don’t think those priests are very
familiar with riding further than the market or perhaps out to some
of the outlying farms.”

Callindra stared at him for a moment, and
then nodded in appreciation. “Thanks, I don’t know much about
horses.”

“
I’ve been living on the
road for a long time. You pick up some things out of necessity.” He
said, “You need to take the saddle off and walk him a bit before
you water him, otherwise he might strain a muscle in the
afternoon.”

Vilhylm showed her the basics of caring for
the animal before they took some time to toast some bread and
cheese over a small fire. Accompanied by a savory sausage and some
wrinkled apples it made a good lunch.

They had saddled up and ridden for about an
hour, thanks to Vilhylm’s modifications to her stirrup length a
much more comfortable hour, when a thin column of smoke became
visible ahead.

“
That looks too large to be
a campfire.” Said Callindra.

“
Too dark, there’s cloth and
leather burning in that fire.” Said Vilhylm, looking critically at
the smoke, “I think we should prepare for trouble.” He paused and
pulled a strangely carved mask from inside his cloak. Callindra
could see several others in large pockets before his cloak covered
them again.

Tryst was tightening the straps on his armor
and Cronos was muttering an arcane incantation. Callindra shrugged
and loosened Brightfang in his sheath.

“
We should leave the horses
here, out of danger.” Tryst said, “Unless any of you prefer to
fight from horseback?”

They tied their animals to pickets in a small
meadow a short distance from the road and continued on foot. Once
they had topped a small rise, Callindra could see a scene of
destruction displayed out in front of her. A small caravan lay in
disarray, some wagons were burning, some turned on their sides,
crates were smashed open and corpses lay strewn about.

Tryst rushed forward, checking the bodies for
any signs of life. Callindra was appalled by the carnage; she had
never imagined a human body could contain so much blood. Cronos
didn’t even seem to notice the dead, walking past a caravan driver
with his head nearly hacked off without batting an eyelash. Vilhylm
plucked an arrow shaft from one of the caravans and examined
it.

“
Looks like Kobolds, not a
human raiding party. Isn’t it strange for them to be this far
south?” He said, “I thought they were mostly contained in the
mountains and foothills.”

“
They did a thorough job
here.” Tryst said sadly, “No survivors.”

Callindra turned away from the carnage,
towards the wooded hills. A light gust of wind moved the branches
of the trees and she saw the outlines of small shapes. “Ware the
hills!” Was all she managed before black fletched arrows filled the
air.

Arrows struck the thick leather of her armor;
others struck the caravans behind and the ground around her. With a
steely rustle, she drew Brightfang from his sheath and whirled him
in a complex series of arcs, harnessing the Weave and releasing a
blast of wind that scattered the rest of the incoming shafts off
course. The creatures ran from the cover of the trees, brandishing
mostly clubs and rusted daggers, Callindra smiled and ran to meet
their charge.

She glided through the incoming creatures,
Brightfang sliding beneath the clumsy defense the first attempted
and severing its arm. Adrenaline raged through her veins and her
training took over. Callindra sidestepped an inept strike and
lashed out, opening a terrible gash across the green skinned
monster’s chest.

She could see Vilhylm’s black cloaked form
slam into the charging Kobold’s and glanced in shock. The wooden
mask on his face seemed to move as though it was part of his skin.
His arms and shoulders were massively muscled and he used his hands
as well as his feet to run and then pounce on one of the creatures
with savage force.

“
On your back!” Shouted
Cronos, and Callindra could feel him close behind her. Thankful
that she wouldn’t need to worry about an attack from behind, she
focused on the foes in front.

The battle was short and brutal, the
half-sized creatures had not the skills or the weapons to stand
against their better trained and armed opponents. Although it
seemed to last for hours, the fight took no more than minutes,
leaving Callindra and her companions standing over their fallen
foes, breathing heavily and bleeding from minor wounds.

“
Is anyone badly hurt?”
Tryst looked them over, concern evident on his face.

“
I’m fine. I’ve had a lot
worse.” Said Vilhylm, shrugging off any injuries he might be hiding
under his black cloak.

“
I have wounds that need
dressing, but nothing serious.” Callindra said, gesturing to a
particularly deep cut on her thigh with a wince. The adrenaline was
wearing off and the pain of her injuries was beginning to
surface.

“
What do you think brought
these monsters so far out of their normal range?” She looked around
at the dead Kobolds and then at the dark blood that still clung to
her sword blade and drew a shuddering breath, trying to calm her
nerves.

“
I don’t know, but it bodes
ill.” Said Cronos, displaying more knowledge of the world than one
so young normally would. “Likely it’s related to something worse
inhabiting their caves.”

Callindra cleaned Brightfang on the canvas of
one of the caravans, careful not to leave any of the acrid blood on
the steel and tried to stop her hands from shaking. The others were
still discussing the portent of the Kobolds presence but she
couldn’t hear them anymore. How could anyone treat killing so
casually? The reality of having just taken the lives of so many
living beings rocked her to the core.