"Shole, why couldn't you attack the soldier earlier?" Kage asked.
The four of them were giving their horses a break, walking for a stretch before resuming their pace again. The area around them was gradually turning from plains to rockier ground. Hills became taller, and Kage could see small mountains in the distance. Trees were still few and far between, but they were more like pine trees now.
Well, if pine trees had tiny leaves instead of pines.
So far there were no signs of other people, but they still kept a paranoid watch on the horizon for pursuers.
"He must have had the mark," Shole said. "You really don't know about that either?"
Kage shook her head.
"Huh. That's more than a little weird," he paused. "Well, basically, it's part of Tobryna's contract to Rhoringdall.
A long time ago, the provinces of Tobryna were under attack from an enemy at sea. Everything was a lot smaller then, and the Tobryns weren't prepared to defend themselves, especially since many of our races have little aptitude for Calligriphics. In desperation, they turned to Rhoringdall, who offered them victory in exchange for, well, their futures.
Back then, people knew how to use Calligriphics to make Contracts, binding two parties to an agreement. In this case, the agreement involved all of Tobryna's non-agression on anything bearing a certain seal, including people and borders. So not only could Tobryna never attack Rhoringdall, if Rhoringdall were to attack, Tobryna would not be able to defend themselves. This led to Tobryna basically being under Rhoringdall's rule."
"But Calligriphics require energy, don't they?" Kage asked. "How is it possible for Contracts to keep going indefinitely?"
"People under the Contract lose 10% of their magical abilities to sustain it," Shole said.
"And what happens if you do fight back? Is it like a rebound?"
"Well, it's more like…." Shole thought for a moment. "You can't even try. When I went to attack that soldier from earlier, my hand stopped on the way to the ground. My body won't let me fight back. I've heard the only way to get a rebound from a Contract is only if you try to improperly break it."
"So no experimenting until you find the right way." Kage realized. "Knowledge from Mainspring is the only option."
Shole nodded solemnly. "That's why we need you, Kage."
She swallowed. "I hope I can do it."
"You know, you're strange Kage. You don't know anything about the world around you, and we haven't know each other very long, yet you're still willing to stick your neck out for us, or, for our cause."
Kage was silent. This wasn't something she wanted to explain.
"I can tell you don't want to talk about it," Shole said. "But I hope it's not because you think your life doesn't have value, or because you're running away from something."
Kage looked down. Running away? Maybe in some way, but she wasn't willing to think about it.
"But why now?" she said, trying to change the subject. "Is it really just because of the death of the king? That kind of thing would have happened before."
Shole gave her a funny look, like he knew she was deliberately changing the subject.
"Well," he gave in, "there's another clause in the contract. Every five years, Tobryna owes Rhoringdall a "favour". It's come in many different forms over the years, from building a road, extra taxation, usually something we can handle. But with the royal family being killed off like this...Whoever ascends to the throne is likely going to be violent and unstable. It's common in that family, sure, but the request date is coming up so we took the chance to do this before it can happen.".
"The request can be anything?" Kage asked. That sounded like a recipe for disaster.
"Our ancestors were facing extinction, but they probably should have negotiated better terms." Shole sighed. "Yes, anything. I think they've kept it reasonable before to avoid, well, what we're doing now."
"So who do you think it is? Behind all this, I mean."
"I really don't know. Artlem and I pretty much grew up together, but I never met any of the royal family. I think Artlem did once, at a funeral for his grandmother, but Achrom didn't want any involvement with the royal family. But, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. People like that don't like to stay hidden."
"Let's pick up the pace back there!" Artlem shouted from up ahead. Kage and Shole nudged their horse forward, coming up next to Artlem and Bard.
"Kage and I will ride further out,” Bard said. "Kage, keep your eyes peeled."
She nodded.
"Once we get to Urdokk's borders, we may have other problems to worry about, but we'll deal with that when we get there."
"Other problems?" Kage thought. "As if we don't have enough already."
"What problems?" she said aloud.
"Well, the usual civil wars," Bard said.
"A lot of the provinces-" Shole began.
"Shole, we don't have time for a whole explanation right now. If we get to it, we get to it,” Artlem cut in.
"Right, sorry,” Shole said.
"Alright, let's split!"
Kage kept glancing over her shoulder, searching for any signs of pursuers. In hindsight, she was not the best choice for a lookout with her limited field of vision. On top of that, they had sent her right, meaning she had to crane her head to look in the direction she was supposed to be watching.
She made a mental note that next time she'd have to remind them that she only has one eye.
With they eye that she did have though, she could see the scenery changing quickly.
Grass became darker and the mountains loomed ever closer, though at the rate that they were approaching, she could tell they were even shorter than they appeared.
As the sun began to set, she could see a grove appear in the distance. The ground here was increasingly uneven, and she was having a hard time keeping a good distance from Artlem and Shole while still being able to see them.
It wasn't long before Shole was waving her over. She took one last look over her shoulder and directed Briar back to the group.
"We'll camp in the grove," Artlem said. "You didn't see anything?"
"No signs of pursuers or anything, no,” Kage responded. "How do we know when we've made it to Urdokk?"
"Well, technically I think we passed the border a while back," Artlem said.
"They're a pretty reclusive people. We likely won't encounter anyone until we get closer to the mountains," Shole explained. "Hopefully, we won't encounter anyone at all."
"So they live on the mountains then?" Kage asked.
"In," Artlem said. "They live and farm underground, very secretive about how they do it too. Probably why they're not too keen on visitors." He paused. "Really Kage, how do you not know this?"
"It's um, I've never been able to travel or anything. It's not that surprising," Kage said. Hopefully gaslighting about what's normal to know in this world would do the trick.
"Maybe, but-" Artlem was cut off by Bard rejoining the group.
"No sign of pursuers or scouts. Let's hope it stays that way."
"I doubt it,” Artlem said.
"But we can always hope," Shole finished.
Kage awoke in the middle the night, breathing heavily as the stress of the past couple days had not helped her nightmares any. The night air was colder than it was near the Dust, and it helped calm her down as she gasped for air.
Artlem was the one on watch, he glanced over at her, face scrunched in a concerned frown.
"You still have time before your watch,” he said quietly. Shole had gone first tonight, leaving Artlem, Kage, and Bard to take their turns afterwards
"Think you can get back to sleep or no?"
"I doubt it," Kage said. "You can sleep, I'll take an early watch.
"Well, thanks." Artlem began to move closer to the others, but hesitated.
"You sure you're cut out for this?"
"Huh?"
"I don't mean it in a bad way. You just seem more suited for, well, a different life. One that involves a lot more peace of mind."
"Yeah, that would be nice,” Kage said bitterly. "It just hasn't worked out that way."
"Right,” Artlem paused. "Guess I know what you mean. 'Night Kage."
Kage jolted awake. While she wasn't sure of the cause yet, Bard putting a finger to his lips wasn't a good sign. He moved over to Artlem surprisingly silently for his size, and shook him awake. Picking up on the situation, Kage did the same to Shole.
She could hear the cause of her awakening now, the crunching of branches drew her attention to the sound of approaching horses. While they didn't seem to be coming right towards them, they were close enough where Kage doubted the riders wouldn't see their horses.
She didn't dare move, for fear of breaking a branch or alerting them to her presence in any way.
Kage heard every crinkle of leaves, and every bird singing as she strained her ears. She guessed it was a group of four or five, and they were getting closer. She shot a glance at the rest of them, and saw Shole using a stick to draw a shape in the ground.
She followed his stroke, recognizing the Calligriphic for "unseen".
Shole glanced up and gave a nervous smile, putting a finger to his lips and making the same gesture to the others. Kage understood the meaning. Unseen didn't mean unheard. She guessed Shole's intent was to create a sort of bubble around them that others couldn't see though. As long as they passed by quickly so Shole didn't run out of energy, it should work.
The air flickered for a second and the four of them waited with baited breath as the riders came closer.
Kage heard the murmur of conversation as they passed by and she got a better look at them.
They were unusually small, about the size of a twelve-year-old child, but thin and graceful. There were eight of them, riding two to a horse, the one in the back carrying a bow.
Though it was hard to see though the trees, their skin appeared to be a strange mix of blended colours, from green to purple to blue, mixed together in a splotchey but beautiful pattern.
They looked around warily, and though their eyes passed right over where Kage and the rest were hiding, they showed no sign of seeing them.
There was almost a collective sigh of relief throughout the group as the riders passed by, slowly dissapearing into the trees.
"Those weren't Iaderken, those were Pa'ri,” Shole said as they hurriedly packed up, now that they were sure the riders were gone.
"Yeah, and it's rotten luck. They're probably a scouting party, the Pa'ri must be planning another attack."
"We have to get though Tahliah too,” Bard growled. "It won't be easy coming from Urdokk."
"The Iaderken are the natives of Urdokk," Shole explained, noticing Kage's confusion at the new names being thrown around.
"They have a standing dispute with the Pa'ri, who say they also have a claim to the mountains."
"It's an old dispute that's not getting settled any time soon," Artlem said. "The Pa'ri are highly emotional, and don't take rejection well."
"And the Iaderken are just as stubborn," Shole added.
"Anyway, it's bad for us. Hopefully association with the Kavalix is enough to get us through,” Artlem said as he mounted his horse.
The rest followed suit, setting out deeper into the forest.
They had to ride more carefully here, as they were off the beaten path. The stubby mountains loomed through the trees, and Kage couldn't help but try and make out the shapes that decorated its cliffs, likely buildings and decorated cave entrances.
She was always brought back to reality before she could see it properly, every snap of a branch or rustle in a tree conjured up images of child-sized people coming through the trees.
The sun was lowering in the sky when Kage heard it. "Listen!" she said. The three others instantly went quiet. Then they heard it too. This was nothing like last time, this time whatever was approaching was approaching loudly, and fast.
"No time to hide,” Bard said.
"We'll try and talk it out," Artlem said, sitting up straight in his saddle. "Stay close and don't do anything suspicious." He glanced at Kage for that last part.
Kage heard shouts coming from up front and slouched down defensively, hand resting in her dagger.
They emerged from the trees, Kage getting her first look at the Iaderken and their mounts.
The animals they rode looked similar to a large wild boar, with dark grey fur and two large tusks, and complicated-looking saddle around their backs.
Their riders were short, much like the Pa'ri, but as opposed to having a childish frame, they were stout, more dwarfish. They wore metal armour and carrying variations of hammers and axes.
There were six of them, and they burst through the trees, forming a half circle around them, weapons brandished.
Kage felt her breathing and heartbeat speed up, but she tried to calm down. "No sudden moves, don't antagonize them," she thought.
One of the ones in the center stepped forward, his breastplate had a red gem at the center, likely a mark of status.
"State your business,” he said.
Artlem sat tall, keeping an air of confidence, but somehow not cocky. "I am Artlem Solamir, of the Kavalix, and we are simply passing through."
No sign of his usual slang, Kage noticed.
"We are on our way to the Ra'bac, and this was the fastest path."
The leader relaxed a little. "The Kavalix huh? You do look like Achrom."
Artlem flinched a little at the mention of his father's name, but the Iaderken didn't seem to notice.
"What about the rest of them? They don't look like Kavalix."
"Friends," Artlem said. "As you can see, we are not here to trade, just to pass through."
"Right," the leader said. "Well, we have no quarrel with your tribe, Solamir. You can be on your way, but first, did you pass by a group of Pa'ri on your way?"
"Yes, early this morning," Artlem said. "We cloaked ourselves to avoid their notice. We weren't looking for conflict," he added.
"And where was this?"
"Straight back to the west," Artlem said. "They appeared to be scouts."
"As we thought," he muttered. "Well, on your way Solamir. If any Iaderken give you trouble, Novill Haskerr gave you passage," he gave a small bow, holding up the back of his hand. Artlem returned the gesture, and Novill shouted something in another language to his riders. They took off into the woods as quickly and noisily as they'd come.
"Phew." Artlem breathed a sigh of relief and slouched back down into his saddle.
Shole rode up and slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Nice one, Art!"
"Mm. Passage through Urdokk, not bad," Bard said.
Kage smiled. Whether or not he knew the royal family, Artlem was still the son of a chieftain.
"Alright, let's get while the going's good!" Artlem grinned. "We still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach the Ra'bac."
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