With Lady Horsta claiming to know the land, we travel southeast: mostly up and down rocky hills; occasionally through a wood; and sometimes across a shallow river. The weather is cold but dry.
A crow in the wild is nearly as confident as a crow in the city. My skills allow me to spy the animals we wish to eat, to creep upon them, and also to cook them once killed. Admittedly, the others are well able to live off the land too. When I pointed out a deer to her, Lisandra was able to kill and partially cook it with her Flare spell.
Over the five days it takes to reach the river that forms the border between Trolland and the Arkine Empire, I gain six skill increases. The first two skill ups are both in Meditation, and if I refrained from skipping and dancing in the aftermath of receiving the success messages, it was an impressive display of restraint, because the results from this were better than I had hoped. The increase in my mana pool was 3 from the first skill up in Meditation and 5 from the second. So I now have 13 mana points and can Blinkstep twice in succession.
Next, much as I had wanted to unlock Doppelganger, I knew that my most important skill, the true source of my delight in being a rogue was Stealth. It was Stealth that I had next made my AFK skill and only after capping it at 15 did I swap to Disguise, my current AFK choice.
‘There, I told you!’ When I reach the paladin who is standing at the crest of a steep hill, Lady Horsta points towards a cluster of wooden buildings beside a wide, dark river. ‘Cerridford. It’s actually a ferry not a ford. The good people there will be glad to give us rooms for the night and take us across in the morning.’
She sets off, moving from boulder to boulder with large steps.
‘Wait,’ says the inferni and for a moment I have the foolish notion he is being considerate of Lisandra, who, finding the climb hard, has altered herself into the figure of a dwarf and is patiently plodding up the hill, leading the pony behind her. Of course, the assassin has no such concern.
‘What?’ Lady Horsta has stopped.
‘If you were the Arkine Emperor and you were attacking Trolland, wouldn’t you secure the crossings of the River Evrotes?’
‘You have a point,’ the paladin squats so that a rock shields her from the view of the buildings.
‘Rogue,’ Amaris glares at me with his always-fierce red eyes, ‘go investigate.’
‘For such commands to be heard, I need to hear the magic word.’
Beside me Belle laughs.
Amaris’s scowl deepens. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Crow means, ask nicely, say “please”.’ Belle puts her hands on her hips and holds the assassin’s gaze.
I do not need a potion of telepathy to know that Amaris would rather tear my head off than speak to me more politely.
A seagull, far inland, cries as it circles above the river. A light breeze brings the scent of clover. At last the inferni spits out the word, ‘please.’
One day I will unlock a skill that will allow me to fly. It is unheard of for a rogue, yet I am no ordinary rogue. It would be a joy to swoop down to the village, arms stretched wide. Still, there’s another kind of joy in activating my Stealth skill and using the landscape to mask my movements. At 15 I am nearly undetectable. Supposing a guard below is attentively using their Spot Hidden skill to scour the land and their gaze crosses the area I am carefully navigating, then the chance of them spotting me is 50 per cent plus or minus 5 per point difference between our skills.
Most soldiers were Level 0. If a Level 1 or 2 soldier is on lookout, they would have had to have spent years improving their Spot Hidden skill to reach 5 and even that would not be enough to see me making my way towards them. The greatest danger to me is from magical detection or detection by a creature with high natural Spot Hidden skills, like a dragon. Neither are likely to be present here. All the same, my own caution and pride in how furtively I can move means I am not complacent, especially as I get nearer the first building, a cottage.
Well, I am surprised but Amaris might be right. A look through a cracked window shows a scene of destruction: broken furniture; shards of pottery; torn cloth. Immediately, I am even more alert, listening carefully. And just audible above the soft song of the river are voices. There are people speaking and laughing in the larger building beyond this one.
Carefulcrow finds a silent route to the sounds; a route that avoids direct line with any window. This is an inn and the main room is occupied by… I count… six Arkine soldiers. Four are at a table, where a grey-haired man is holding a deck of cards in one hand, while pointing to other cards, which are face up on the table. He is explaining something and the others are interested.
There is a woman at her own table, carving at a piece of wood with a small knife. Then there is a man at the bar, stacking tankards into a large pyramid.
I leave them and check the other buildings. Another cottage in a state of disarray. A warehouse with, by the musty scent coming from them, a dozen large sacks of some kind of grain. A toolshed. A wharf hut, empty. There is a large, wide boat tied to the wharf, lying between two ropes that stretch across to the far side of the river. The ropes make a curved shape on the dark water, not a line, the current dragging them some distance downstream. No other people are here. It’s possible a few more soldiers are upstairs in the bedrooms of the inn but I feel it time to report and hurry back to my party.
‘I told you,’ says Aramis after hearing me out.
‘What happened to the villagers?’ asks Lady Horsta. ‘Is there blood?’
‘Nothing on the floors; not that I saw.’
‘We have to assume there are more Arkine soldiers on the other side of the river,’ muses Lady Horsta aloud, ‘so killing these six and using the ferry is risky. If they see us coming and cut the ropes, we’ll drift fast downstream.’
‘Can we leave here? Go further south?’ asks Aarax.
‘There’s a town, Dunshandan, at the mouth of the river. It’s not likely the Arkines have taken it. They have walls there and a small garrison. But that’s another two days south.’
‘Crow?’ asks Belle.
‘While the days do matter so does success, to travel south to me seems best.’
Lisandra says, ‘I agree.’ And the others are nodding.
‘Another cold night though,’ Belle wraps her own arms around herself. It’s true, the nights are cold but I don’t mind them because Belle and I lie together for warmth near the campfire that we build. ‘I was looking forward to being indoors.’
It is an unhappy camp, therefore, that settles down to sleep. Made unhappier still by the cold, clear night and the fact our fire, though concealed on the far side of the hill, was smaller than we would have liked it to be, to avoid the risk of sparks flying up above the height of the hill. I am restless as a result, warm only when my front faces the fire and my back is against Belle. Before long, though, she wakes up and swaps, so that she gets the fire and then my back becomes too cold for sleep. I remember seeing clothes or blankets of some sort strewn on the cottage floor and decide to get them, whispering this to a sleepy Belle.
It is Aarax who is on watch, and to him too I explain my plan. Although he is uneasy, he accepts my reassurance that I will not be seen – there is a bright, quarter moon above but my approach to the cottage will be even safer in the dark than it was by day – and soon I am walking down the hill, already my feet feeling warmer from use. Approaching the ferry buildings, I wait for a while, noting that two of their soldiers are outside and diligently performing their guard duties. One guards the boat itself, standing alongside a brazier of lit coals on the wharf. The other walks to the inn, lantern swinging from his left hand, he turns around each corner of the inn, and then walks back to the river, where he exchanges a few words with his companion before resuming his patrol. Satisfied I will not be seen, I return to the damaged cottage, this time stepping inside the open door.
There are but two rooms to search and a sleeping platform under the thatched roof. Since the rooms don’t have a large enough covering for Belle and myself, except for a rug that will be too heavy to carry away, I ascend the wooden ladder and by the silver light of the moon see a very welcome pile of blankets. My low-light vision has always been excellent. My hearing too. So when I see a slight motion among the blankets and hear a scurried sound I know someone is there, among them. Someone small.
‘Hello,’ I whisper, ‘don’t be afraid; I am not one of the soldiers come to raid.’
Nothing.
‘You can hide, that’s fine by me. I just need to take a blanket or three.’
There’s a fine, woollen blanket within reach and I start to pull it quietly towards me, when a young girl sits up with a fierce expression made more ferocious by the shadows of the night. Although her voice is kept low, it is full of anger. ‘Leave that! That’s my mam’s.’
I drop it. We look at each other.
‘Who are you?’ she whispers at last.
‘My name is Crow, I tell you true; and with what name shall I call you?’
‘I’m Evote. You don’t sound like you are from nearby. Why are you here?’
‘I travel with Lady Horsta moving as fast as we can, to reach the town of Dunshandan.’
‘Lady Horsta!’ Her eyes move past me, as though looking for the paladin. ‘Are you lying?’
‘It is she who is lying, at a camp nearby; it is cold and I thought blankets to descry.’
‘Why do you speak like that?’
‘My mind and words do not unite, unless by rhyme I make them right.’
‘I’m hungry. Do you have any food?’
Do I? Some dried, baked venison in a pouch. Very tough, unfortunately. All the same, I search the pouch with my fingers and throw a lump of meat to her. There’s an eagerness in her movement and an expression of intense concentration on her face as she chews that tells me she has not eaten for some time.
‘Where are your family? Did they all have to flee?’
‘They must have. I was off looking at the swan’s nest when the soldiers came. I shouldn’t have been. Mam always warns me about them. Says they will attack me. The swans, not the soldiers. But I was there and that’s around the bend of the river. When I came back, my family were gone and the soldiers were here. What do you think? Where are they?’
‘I never had a family, but I imagine that they wouldn’t leave me. They are probably near and in the wild, hoping to catch sight of their child.’
‘That’s right. I was searching for them all day but they weren’t in my brother’s den. Or anywhere else I could think of. And it got dark and cold, so I came here.’
I know my mission is important and I know that the others will not be happy, especially the inferni, but I can’t help my next words.
‘Come with me Evote, you must get out of danger; I will be your friend, even though I am a stranger.’
I am preparing my next words, when to my surprise and relief she does not object and I can let all sentences fall away from my mind. ‘I would love to meet Lady Horsta. My brother will be jealous. She’s his favourite hero.’
The girl had been sleeping in her coat, so it is only a matter of putting on her boots and pushing a straw doll deep into a pocket and she is ready to leave. Although she is trying to be quiet, the noises of planks scuffed and the groaning of the rungs of the ladder (even though I show her how to put her feet at the edges, not the middle) are far too loud for my comfort.
Once outside, I whisper, ‘Please climb on to my shoulders; then we will be silent as we move through the boulders.’
Again, Evote shows no reluctance at all, and deftly uses my bended knee to push herself up. With a girl on my shoulders, my penalty to Stealth will be high, perhaps even 15 or more. So I wait, listening, until I am confident that the roving guard is on the far side of the inn. Then I move steadily away towards safety for us both.
‘Is that you Crow?’ Aarax is still on watch. I have not been long.
‘Not just Crow; to Evote please say hello.’
I tap the girl on the knee and bend, to indicate that she should swing down.
‘Hello Evote, I’m Aarax.’
‘Hello. Is that Lady Horsta?’ Evote sounds disappointed as she looks towards the fire. Admittedly, after five day’s travel in the same clothes and with little more than the occasional stream to wash in, our paladin does look bedraggled in the red glow of a fading fire.
‘This is she, the champion you wished to see.’
‘Can I wake her?’
‘I’m awake.’ Lady Horsta sits up and stares across at us. Everyone, it seems, was unable to sleep in the cold, for they are all soon sitting up, curious, or, in the case of Amaris, angry.
‘Are you going to save us from the Arkine soldiers?’ asks Evote.
‘Indirectly.’ The paladin runs her hands through her short hair, hair that appears silver in the moonlight. ‘I’m undertaking the epic quest to obtain the help of the dragons.’
‘How long will that take?’
‘Years.’
‘Years? But what will I do while I wait for you to finish?’
‘We will take you to Dunshandan,’ declares the paladin.
Lisandra leans towards the girl, pats the ground vaguely, and adds, ‘You can ride the pony.’
Even this appealing offer does not console the girl. ‘But Dunshandan is huge. My family, they will never find me there.’
‘They might,’ says the paladin. ‘We will leave you at the Church of the Thunder God. It’s the obvious place for them to go to when looking for you.’
Making an admirable effort to keep back tears, Evote shakes her head. ‘They are here somewhere nearby, watching. Waiting for the soldiers to go.’
‘I see,’ the paladin has a musing tone. ‘In that case, Amaris might be able to help find them. He has a Spot Hidden of three.’ This is announced as though a great achievement. Which it was by normal standards.
‘Help?’ says the assassin scornfully. ‘What concern of ours is this child? You think we are the only ones undertaking the epic quest? Of course not. We must hurry. We can’t spend time looking for her family.’
‘What are you? An inferni? Aren’t they evil?’ Evote looks at Lady Horsta.
‘Hah, hah. Yes, they are. But one needs allies to complete the quest. And, indeed, to help defeat our new enemies, the Arkine Empire. The end result justifies the compromises one has to make along the way.’
‘Do you drink blood?’ the girl asks. By way of answer, Amaris bares his fangs and licks his lips. Evote appears to be more curious than she is intimidated.
‘All those willing to spend a day – no more - looking for Evote’s family, please say “aye”.’
Aarax, Belle and Lisandra speak out.
Belle looks at me, surprised. ‘Crow?’
‘I believe the task can be completed soon; look carefully at the ripples across the moon.’
To my eyes, birdlike, attentive, and with a Spot Hidden of four, there is something wrong with the way that the moon is twinkling like a star, rather than being a steady, pale light. I am not certain but it seems to me that nearby, hidden from view, a fire is sending up waves of heat and smoke that would be invisible in the night, except where it comes between me and the bright light of the moon.
Only Aramis is able to see the same effect. He grunts. Everyone else, including Evote, peers upwards without understanding what I mean. It will be easier to explain by action than words so I get up and taking a bearing against a prominent fir tree – in case I lose sight of the twinkling effect – I walk off from our camp.
After ten minutes of careful walking in the darkness, I appreciate that this might take longer than I had thought. Another ten brings me up a slight rise and there, on the far side, about five metres below me, against a wall of stone, is the orange lite of a fire. Closer, I can see two adults and two children. I have succeeded!
When I step in to the orange light, I squat down, trying to reduce the fear they must feel. ‘Hello, my name is Crow. I have come from the camp of Lady Horsta, who has rescued your daughter. Please come back with me, if Evote you would like to see.’
It is not easy for me to talk to this startled family but the fact that I know Evote’s name serves to win them over. Despite my suggesting otherwise, they pack their bed rolls and bags and I try not to be impatient. The others, Belle above all, will be worried for me. At last, I can lead them back to our fire to cries of amazement and approval.
The moment that the mother clasps her arms around Evote is a joyful one that makes me very glad that the cold had been so intense as to send me in search of a blanket. We would otherwise have left for Dunshandan with the dawn and, unknowing, left the girl lost to her family.
I never knew my mother. It would be a moment of very deep happiness to have a mother enfold me in her arms and cry tears of joy on finding me again after I had been in danger. Much as I loved Mistress Withen and Master Cathaldus, their concern for me was less intense than that which is being shown before me now. Belle has tears in her eyes too. And even the paladin is affected.
‘Well done Crow. You know, for a rogue-necromancer you are a surprisingly good person.’