A Time for Revenge

Time was flying by in leaps and bounds. One moment Mach would be fretting over the need for everything to be ready and the need to set sail. The next he would be climbing into his bed, completely worn out from the day and not understanding where the day had gone. A week had gone by already since he had found Rubious. Already the army was growing considerably as ships arrived for loading and inspection. The waters just outside of the capital of Sirunre were full of ships that were loaded down with provisions and gear. All that was left was to load the warriors and they would be able to leave at any moment.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, but it was also moving slowly. He was almost frantic in his fear in what Rubious could be doing right now. But with every ship that entered the harbor, his ranks grew and the chance of success with it. He had been fusing Power into the crystal of his Blade every day, slowly putting Power into it as the day went on. It was not enough to weaken him in any way, but it would make all the difference when the time came.

He was in the process of overseeing an incoming ship when a recognizable voice sounded from behind him. “I see that you wear your title proudly now, King Derune. That armor suits you well.”

Mach turned around to see the leader of Juiint standing behind him, arms crossed and a very pleased look on his face. “Sid! Good great Gods, is that really you? I never thought that you would leave the village!”

“And when I last saw you,” the High Priest said, a wide grin on his face, “you were hesitant to take up your duties as King. We both have surprised each other. It is good to see you, Mach.” Sid held out his hand to shake his, but that was too formal for Mach.

He gripped Sid’s hand and pulled him toward him in an embrace. “I would never have thought it possible either, but here I am.” He let go of Sid and stepped back.

“You do look good in that armor. I think that your father would have been proud.” Sid said, the pride evident in his voice.

“You mean Nedmere would be?” Mach asked skeptically.

“I mean Dan would be.” Sid answered.

“How do you know…” before he could finish his question Sid held up his hand to stall him.

“All in good time. For now, I would like to know what has happened to you since you left. I am sure there is much that needs to be done still, but knowing what has happened will help me better be prepared for what is to come. As for your question, that may have to wait. Perhaps one day I will tell you how, but yes, I did know your father. We met once before and it was as much an honor to meet him as it has been to meet you. Is there a place where we can talk?”

“Yea, this way.” There was a lot to talk about and little time left to do it in. There may be time later for the things that he wanted to talk about. The tavern nearest the docks had been near empty ever since he had given the call to arms. “Two ales please.” He asked the barmaid the moment that he and Sid sat down.

“So tell me what has happened to you since you left.” Sid repeated as their drinks arrived.

“Well, after we left the island to continue our search for the Stones we decided to seek out an old alliance…”

“And that is everything that has happened since we left.” Mach concluded.

Sid sat there, his eyes heavy with weariness but excitement and pride etched on his face. “When you left home, you did not think that you were worthy to be our King. You felt that, just as some of our people did, that you were too young. But there were those of us who felt that the Derune bloodline would always have what it takes to lead us. I am glad to find that you are becoming everything that we had hoped you would be.” Sid took a long drink from his mug and signaled to the barmaid for another. “How much of the report that was sent to us is accurate. What I mean is, were the words altered in any way?”

“Not really.” He answered. “I did keep it short, but what was sent was truth. Rubious is building an army, or rather he has built one by use of magic. These warriors that he has made are stronger than any normal fighter. These things are dangerous and they are smart, smart enough to use tactics in battle. What I saw when I finally witnessed what he was doing, was an army of trained soldiers at his command. This will not be an easy battle to win, which is why I sent the call out to everyone that I could think of.”

Sid nodded his agreement to orders. “There is still a few more ships that need to arrive. We were putting the final preparations on them when I left, we had to make accommodations for an unexpected guest.”

“What do you mean?” He asked as he nodded his thanks to the barmaid who had just placed a tray of cooked meat in front of the two of them.

“Your little friend, the lizard kin that caused such a ruckus while you were with us.” Sid explained. “His kind decided that they wanted him back. They had not expected him to be able to go very far. They had always intended to have him return. A few months ago, while one of the farmers was working his field, three of his kind came to the edge of the man’s field and merely sat there.”

“I bet that scared the daylights out of him.” Mach grinned at the idea of what would go through the farmer’s mind at that point. The two groups, Mage and lizard kin, had been in a silent war with each other. War was perhaps too strong of a word, but neither side hesitated to kill each other when they got the chance. That was until Mach had marched Stalker right through Juiint and it appears that his actions had changed a lot of things.

“Oh yes, he was frightened half to death.” Sid said with a sly grin on his face. At least he thought it was a funny, so that outcome must not have been horrible. “Well, those three just sat there and waited. The farmer came and got the guard who came to investigate, but when they saw what was going on, they remembered what had happened with you. Since the three had not attacked anyone, they stood guard while a beast speaker was fetched. We don’t have many of those, unfortunately, but the strongest of them came and over the course of a few days began working out a way to communicate with them.”

“So what happened?” He asked as Sid took a piece of the meat with a grin of satisfaction.

The High Priest enjoyed the food for a moment before continuing. “Well, it turns out that your new friend was actually a ‘Prince’ by their standards. They had exiled him in an attempt to change his mind about certain viewpoints. You and your friend have the same way of thinking. Once a dialog was started, and both sides of the story were told, a truce was made and over time we have kept them as updated about the well being of their prince.”

“So what did you mean by unexpected guests?” Mach asked enthusiastically.

“Your friend,” Sid said, leaning forward, “for all his faults politically with his people, is a beloved individual. There are two ships loaded with his people in the final stages of preparations that are about to leave or has already left.”

This was fantastic news! More and more fighters were swelling the ranks of this alliance and with every addition it was making it more likely that they would be able to fight off Rubious’ forces long enough for him to be able to get to the beast.

“Well, I will let you get on with what you need to do.” Sid said suddenly, looking out the door of the tavern at the darkening streets. “Although, you may want to get some rest.”

“True to that.” He answered, a yawn punctuating his last word. “There is a lot that I need to make sure is ready and we are running out of time. The sooner that we leave, the better chance we have on being able to catch him at his city. I want to lure him out into the open if it is at all possible.”

“Well for now, good night my King.” Sid replied as he stood away from the table and bowed his head. “I am glad to be here to be of assistance to you.”

“And I am very glad that you are here, Sid.” He answered honestly. “Honestly, I am happy to have you here.” As Sid left the tavern he sat there finishing off the plate of meat strips. It was getting late and he would need to get some rest for tomorrow. There would be just as much to do tomorrow as there had been today. He was just happy to have so many people that he could rely on to help him in all the preparations that he could leave some of the work to others.

His first stop would be to return to the docks and see what came in while he was catching up with the High Priest. The night would be just as busy as it had been during the day. Lanterns burned and torches shined in the night, illuminating the docks as if it were mid day. He noticed that at least three ships were docked at the piers that had not been there when he had left. “Jameson, what do we have going on?” He asked as he caught up with the dock master.

“Three being loaded, two of which are almost done. One is fresh, so it will be a while still before it is done. We have a ship from Sedan, unloading extra provisions now, warriors were sent to report to the arms master for gear check and updated training. Same for the new vessel from Islat. We have a specialty trainer from that ship, signed in here as a tactical bowman. Says he can try to teach some of the archers that are advanced enough with new tricks, maybe even some of the newer archers can learn some advanced skills.”

“Really?” Mach asked in amazement.

“That is what he said and what he logged here.” Jameson answered. “He had the gear and it looked like he could do what he claimed. Now if he can do it before we leave, that will be something else entirely.”

“I guess we will see. Might be worth speaking with him just to see if there is anything that he can teach me.” Mach replied, thinking at first to mock the man than deciding against it. If there was any chance that this master bowman can teach anything new, it would be worth learning it. “Thank you, Jameson. I am turning in for the night if anybody needs me.”

“Understood Sire, sleep well.” He walked away, leaving the dock master to his work. The city was bustling with activity, just as it was every night.

The night sky was clear, the stars shined beautifully above like diamonds on black velvet satin. The gentle breeze that whipped through the city was filled with the scent of the sea, a nightingale called out somewhere out in the distance, the sound of bats fluttering in the sky above with their quick movements that blotted out individual stars to show their passing. There was still so much life here, so much to protect and care for and every day that went by that life grew in more prominent.

He walked the streets to the palace in silence, his mind quiet and still except for the beauty of what lay above him. In this moment, for this one blessed moment, he was finding peace. The calm before the storm, the peaceful tidings before the end. Whatever it ended up being, he would enjoy it while it lasted. He knew that in the next week he would be sailing off to war, to the possibility of his own death. And he was ok with that. So long as he took Rubious with him, he could and would accept that fate. He had already written out his request on what to do with the Stones should he fall in the battle to come and he had faith that the people he trusted most would do as he asked.

He was surprised to find himself standing in front of his bedroom door. He entered to the blissful dark, stripped down to the barest essentials and climbed into his bed. Tomorrow would another day.

He woke to a knock on his door, sunlight pouring into his room. It had to be mid morning already. He answered the knock while holding one of the sheets to his body to cover himself. “Yes?” He said sheepishly.

“I apologize for waking you, Sire.” The page said quickly.

“I think I may have overslept a little.” Mach mocked himself in an attempt to cast an air of ease over the situation.

“Well, Sire, I do apologize for waking you. But Lord Mendoll thought that you may want to know that we have two incoming groups. A large group of Hermans along with a variety of men are marching up from the south. Lord Bastra has already gone to meet with them along with the head of the Herman forces. We also have what appears to be a large number of Dragons flying in from the east, Kyrthu and Riect have gone to meet with them.”

Everything is coming together. We are almost ready. “Thank you, let Mendoll know I will be at the west gate shortly.” He closed the door on the page and dropped the cover. Things were moving quickly. Very soon they would finally be ready to move out, it would be time to take on Rubious’ army and he would be able to finally take on the beast. He dressed once again in full armor, readying himself to look the part for what was to come.

The time is almost here.