Despite having lost their previous lives, Mearm and Parune were quickly settling in with Lady’s soldiers. They walked next to their horses to build stamina, Sir White giving lessons of the sword when the army took breaks from marching. When the camp was set at night other soldiers offered lessons in other weapons. Parune quickly found that his talents lay with the bow, while quiet Mearm found great satisfaction in cleaving wooden targets with the war axe. At night, Parune and Mearm shared stories about their old city, Thundersnow. From the legends of how it was founded, to its ironic end in fire, having not been the first time the city had been set to flame.
Lady was proud to have the two eager men join her ranks of soldiers. Their character stood out among her men and despite looking alike they came from different families. Regardless of their similar appearances, their natures were worlds apart. Parune had his defiant nature that questioned the world around him while Mearm was reserved, allowing himself to silently observe everyone and never let something escape his eyes. She was certain that when it came time to test their honor that they would excel and if they were lucky go down in history.
Lady’s musings of her new recruits were put on hold as a scout rode into view. They had been traveling through a ruined village and had sent a scout out to look for survivors, though it now seemed this town had been destroyed at least a full season ago. It was likely that any survivors would have moved onto the next village by now.
“Did you find anything?”
“No, my Lady, but I stumbled upon a campfire that is not but a day old. There might be others around. If you ask me, it’s bandits who have come to scavenge the remains.”
“Well,” Lady said with a smile, “I am sure that if that is the case they will give us a wide birth. I don’t think it will be a concern if it is a single campfire that you found.”
“Understood, my Lady.” The scout bowed before turning, returning to the ruins.
They found the encampment the scout had identified not far down the rundown road. Lady paused on her horse, looking at the belongings that had been left behind as her soldiers continued pass by the encampment.
“It looks like they left in a hurry,” Sir White observed, pausing with Lady. “I wonder if they noticed the scout’s approach.” He had not left her side after the night in the woods. She had left confident after their conversation, but the morning after she seemed to be more troubled than before, causing him concern.
“I’m sure they will return after we pass. I wonder if they have enough supplies.” Lady mused.
“Don’t go dumping our supplies on people you know nothing about, now,” Remarked Parune. “If they are bandits, you would only be enabling them.” He was interested in the potential of a good fight, especially if bandits were involved.
“They are still people.” Lady said with a smile, knowing full well that many would not agree. “I like to believe in the humanity of people, and that even if they have ill nature that they are still good underneath it all.”
“That is very idealistic,” Parune said as he shook his head, “surprising that you would retain such thoughts after all that you have been though. In my experience, human nature is something that tends to decay over time, despite what chance of redemption might be offered.” This was one of the few instances where he could see the child Lady truly was underneath everything, and he wondered why this of all things still clung to her.
“I am hopeful, Parune.” Lady placed two loaves of bread on a small chest near the fire pit. “I have always held the conviction that there is a better life, a better world beyond the one that we are living in now. But as I grew older I’ve realized that there is only this world, uncultivated, and it is up to us to sow the seeds. I know I can’t sway the mind of every person I meet, and the world is not something that will change overnight, but I hope I may at least set something larger in motion.”
It was becoming clear to Parune why so many followed Lady, and why her people adored her. She was honest, and although more idealistic than any one person should be, she was the sort of person that could lift the morale of those around her.
As Lady pulled herself back up upon her horse she paused, as if listening for something in the distance. Her brow furrowed for a moment, but then relaxed as she settled in her saddle. The moment was not lost on Parune, Sir White, or Mearm, who looked to the distance in search of what had caught Lady’s attention.
“Is something the matter, Lady?” Sir White spoke after a moment of hesitation.
“No,” she lied, “I thought I had heard something.”
She had heard the voice in her head again. It would randomly speak to her, asking her to use it. Whatever that meant, Lady refused the notion, no matter what it meant.
Parune motioned as though to call her bluff when an explosion erupted from the hills above the camp.
“Silent assassins!” Sir White hissed the name with hatred as he drew his sword.
“Why did it go off if we-” Realization dawned on Lady. “There must be someone up there!” Lady signaled two of her escorts to follow before grabbing the reigns of her horse and digging her heels in, sending him into a full sprint as she went to investigate. Sir White had no choice but to pursue her.
“Shall we follow?” Mearm asked, giving Parune a sidelong glance.
Parune smiled, glancing over at his friend. “I don’t care what it is; we are not going to let them have all the fun.”
Mearm returned the smile and with a tug of the reigns they were off.
By the time the party broke the clearing there was no fight to be had. They beheld a black haired man at the bottom of a crater, cleaving with an axe through the thick green hide of the last silent assassin. His skin was blackened from the gunpowder, having been within the explosions radius, and his armor now sat on him as rags. Despite this he took down the creature with ease. With the deed done he picked up the corpse and dragged it out of the crater.
“As you can see,” the man said without a glance to the group, “I don’t need your help.” He drew a knife and went about his business. There were two other green bodies next to him, both split open from his axe.
“Is that your encampment at the base of this hill?” Lady asked. There were few who could face the silent assassins in melee combat and fare so well.
“It is, if you haven’t ransacked it yet.” He began cutting through the monsters’ innards, pulling out unnecessary innards as he seemed to be searching for something. “What’s it to you?”
Lady looked on with curiosity, unfazed by the harshness in his voice. “I was hoping you could give me some answers about the nearby village. Did you have any ties to the village?”
“No. I found it that way about a moon’s change ago.” He pulled a small black organ out, smiled and set it aside as he moved on to the next corpse. “I don’t know anything about it. Now if you would leave me alone, I’ll do the same for you.”
“Very well, but humor me one more question.”
The man let out an exasperated sound but grunted out a “Sure.” while pulling out another blackened organ from within the second body.
“What are you harvesting from the monsters?”
“Gunpowder, if you kill them before they blow you to pieces, you can harvest it.” He said it in a matter of fact tone, but paused as he glanced up and saw a glint in Lady’s eyes.
“So that’s how Yrzowski obtained it!” She was visibly excited. She had wondered how that man had managed to get a hold of so much gunpowder, and with so much more potency then anything ever produced within the kingdom. It made sense now to extract it from the very creatures that utilized it for their destructive purposes. But the question remained, how had he retrieved so much from the silent assassins?
“Who?” the man said with a bit of annoyance.
“There is a scientist who built cannons for the walls of Lucern. They utilize the silent assassins’ explosive materials.” Her mind still trying to figure out how such mass amounts had been gathered.
“Cannons you say…” The man was suddenly interested in the strange group that had stumbled upon his quiet life.
“I’d be happy discuss further with you, but I don’t believe this is an appropriate place. Perhaps we should return to your camp, Mr…” She paused, having not yet been told his name.”
“Darth,” he informed her, “and none of that title stuff with me, please. Yes, let’s get back. I’ve got what I need here.”
They returned to Darth’s camp, while Sir White headed further on to keep the men of Lady’s army informed on their whereabouts.
“So when did you find out that they could be used in such a way?” Parune asked, his mild curiosity getting the better of him.
“I mine my own ores. I had a close encounter with one by pit of lava and the damned thing almost killed me in its own death. It had fallen next to the lava and a spark caught on the body. Then there was a hiss, sparks, and boom, the mineshaft collapsed. Luck would have it I was on the right side when the collapse had happened. I figured whatever had caused the explosion must be within the body, rather than some magic they possess like many believed. It was just a matter of opening them up and finding it.”
“Amazing.” Lady said, still in a bit of wonder about it all.
“Tell me about these cannons you were mentioning to me.”
“I don’t know much about the engineering in their design, but they utilize the Redstone in their triggering, and are made from exceptionally resistant materials.”
“Do you have any with you now?”
“No, they are too cumbersome to transport. Their best served as defensive weapons.”
Darth looked disappointed, but gave it some thought. “Then they must be made out of obsidian. It’s the hardest material I can think of, exceptionally heavy, and the only thing I’ve seen come out of a blast intact.”
Lady nodded in confirmation. “Listen, I have an offer for you. If you are willing to hear it.”
“Humph, might as well.” Darth placed the organs on a block of wood to later be dissected and carefully harvested.
“I see that you prefer to live alone, but we would benefit from having someone like you join our ranks.”
“I don’t care about politics, that doesn’t interest me.”
“This isn’t just some property dispute or some nations not getting along… we are attempting to destroy Mardok.”
Darth tilted his head to the side in thought, “You are going up against the hordes of Mardock’s monsters?”
“Yes, and I would be honored to have you join us, if you would have it.”
Darth broke into a grin. “I would gladly join for the opportunity to learn the mechanics of those cannons.”
“So it’s settled,” said Lady, “you will be traveling with us. Grab your belongings, and we’ll get you a new set of leather.”
Darth returned to his encampment and packed his things methodically. He had a place for everything and knew exactly how much he could carry, knowledge gained from his constant travels. He paused when he came across two peculiar loaves of bread that had not been there before he had gone hunting.
“I assume you are responsible for the bread, Lady?” Darth said with a quirked eyebrow as he glanced at her.
“Ah, yes… before the explosions I had decided to leave some food the owner of the camp.”
“Why?”
“Because you might have needed it.”
“And the possibility of me being a bandit or thief didn’t bother you?”
“No. Only that you were human and might have needed help.”
Darth laughed as he finally packed the bread away into a sack.
“Oh?”
“The fact that I am human and neither bandit nor thief means that I exceed expectations. I’m in a good position.”
Lady laughed and turned as the party moved to catch up with Lady’s army, her three newest recruits in tow. She looked out towards the sun as it hung low in the sky, preparing for its decent. They had about two hours left of sunlight, which meant that her army had started setting up camp not too far away.
“I hope you know how to defend an encampment,” Darth enquired after a few minutes. “The forest here is not so quiet at night.”
“We have wooden barricades that we transport with us to encircle the camp, and plenty of firelight. We also rotate watch heavily and in groups.”
“That might be enough. I will probably be up with your men then. I’ve grown use to working with little sleep.”
“You may do as you wish so long as you can march in the day.”
“Won’t be a problem.”
They rounded a bend in the road and came onto the encampment, with Sir White waiting at the edge. Above him, Lady’s family crest rippled in the breeze, bringing a smile to her face. The lion stood strong, representing undaunted courage, supporting a relatively simple shield. A red bar cut across the top of the shield for strength and magnanimity, while a black chevron for constancy stood out on the blue background for their belief in truth.
“Sir White, could you find us an extra tent for our latest recruit. I’ll go make sure we have enough rations to spare for our meals.”
“Yes, I’ll set it up as well, my Lady.” Sir White turned and found Parune following him.
“I’ll help you get the tent up; it’s a pain to do it by yourself.”
Sir White Smiled at Parune and did not protest as they went in search for the supplies cart.
Mearm silently watched the others before turning to his own tent in deep thought. He wondered how Lady could just blindly pick up any individual and trust them immediately. Instinct said not trust anyone in times like these. Human or not, there were spies who were loyal to Mardok, and they could lie anywhere. Just as frightening were those who worshiped the Nether and had become corrupted by its twisted power. So how could Lady tell that he and Parune were not among them, let alone the newest member, Darth? He sighed heavily and laid down on his bedroll, propping his arms under his head and waited for Parune to come find him, like he knew he would. He needed to talk to the person he trusted most.
Outside, Lady returned and caught sight of Darth walking back towards camp.
“You’re Blond?” Lady said a bit incredulously as Darth reappeared, cleaned up in his new leather armor, the soot finally rid from his skin and hair.
“Yeah, so?” Darth seemed a bit confused to the statement, until he realized that the earlier explosion had darkened not just his skin and clothes but his hair as well. He let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. “I will have to keep that in mind as a disguise option, if it had tricked you so well.”
Night fell upon the encampment and Parune found himself sitting within the shared tent of his closest friend, who appeared troubled. Rather than starting the conversation himself, he sat on his cot and drank his mead, waiting for Mearm to find his words. Silence passed over the pair for some time. After a long while, Mearm finally licked his lips and spoke softly.
“I want your opinion.”
Parune nodded as he watched Mearm, who had glanced over in his direction before continuing to stare with thought at the curves in the lining of the tent.
“Does something seem off about Lady?
Parune gave Mearm a sidelong glance, knowing where this was going with Mearm’s inherent distrust of people, but gave his honest thoughts.
“Yes, there seems to be something going on in that head of hers. I’m not quite sure what it is, but she always seems to be listening to things that we can’t hear. It’s rather peculiar.”
“Do you think Mardok is controlling her?”
“I can’t say, but I don’t believe so…she seems to be struggling with something, but I think it’s more complicated than that. Rumor has it, the shard in her chest was cursed, and that it could be affecting her.”
“From what I’ve heard she was recently injured in combat, and that she healed remarkably fast.”
“You are aware of her fortitude as well then, and you are wondering if the cursed fragment is giving her power.”
“Power corrupts.” Mearm said flatly before continuing with his questions. “Do you trust her judgments?”
“So far she has not given me reason otherwise. I understand that you don’t like that she would, seemingly without thought, take Darth in without knowing anything about him. You two are polar opposites when it comes to your ideas on humanity.”
There was a long pause from Mearm before he turned to look squarely at Parune.
“There is something comical to the idea that we can really impose our will on humanity.”
“I don’t think she is trying to do that...I believe that she honestly means what she said.”
“She has yet to realize what this enormous and cold universe is capable of.”
“You may be right, but I don’t think we have the entire picture just yet.” Parune looked down into his stein and frowned with the bitter thoughts that had entered his mind. “However, if we are to truly have vengeance, I believe we should continue to follow her.”
Mearm nodded in agreement, but still had reservations about Lady and her optimistic views on humanity. He fell silent again, letting his mind mull over the conversation. Parune, feeling weary, placed his stein on the floor and lay down, taking a moment before speaking up.
“I’d like to believe that this cannot be all that there is to life.” Not expecting a response from Mearm he continued. “After we’ve survived this…I’d like to rebuild Thundersnow… somewhere far away from all this.”
Mearm smiled faintly. “Yes, we should.”
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