Chapter Seven
THE FIRE LIGHT from the city fades behind Andra and I, as we make our way to the camp. Helia sent the two of us back to inform Bellius and the others after our meeting with Gaius ended. She wanted to talk with the merchants and start the contract right away.
I can feel the waves of frustration sloughing off Andra, so I keep the silence in the dim moonlight. Our sandals crunch in the quiet, fraying her nerves even more.
“You better be worth all this.” Andra stops and fixes me with a deadly glare, barely visible in the night. Turning at her outburst, tension coils like a snake in my lungs, heat rising up my neck. Looks like we’re finally going to have it out.
“I’m not a charity case.”
“Heard me earlier huh? Problem is, you are a damned charity case and a costly one at that!” Andra’s words prickle my skin as she kicks at the ground, gravel and dust fleeing her wrath.
“First, we take the time to escort your people and eat into our supplies, which will cost a pretty coin to replace. Next, Helia accepts you into the company without any words to me or Bellius, her two captains. And finally, she gives up all of our pay to save your people; again!” With each barked word, frustration turns to menace.
“I didn’t ask for this! Would you rather we had all died?!” What right does she have to get angry at me about this? The leather around the hilt of my blade creaks, my hand unconsciously tightening around it. Her eyes sharpen at the noise, the light enough to see the bare malice there.
“Be real careful about what you decide to do next.” I blink. What am I even doing? I would never just attack someone because they upset me. Let it go. My hand unclenches, the moment fading, the promise of bloodshed averted. Andra nods, her body relaxing in turn.
“Maybe you’re not entirely a lost cause.
You’ve got a spine at least, and some semblance of a brain.
Just remember, if you ever betray us or bring harm to Helia, I will kill you.
Understood?” What else can I do? I nod, eager to move past this.
Andra turns without another word and leads us back to camp.
***
We make it back to the camp in one piece, the soldiers on watch pay us no mind, clearly recognizing Andra. A stark contrast to Bellius, who comes running up, surprised to see us return in the night.
“Everything all right?” His gruff tone ready for action.
“Aye. The Commander wants to leave in the morning at first light for the city of Nolphi. She had a few final details to work out with the Archon before leaving the city and sent us out ahead.” Bellius whistles, not expecting a new mission so soon.
I sway on my feet, itching to be away from Andra, nerves and exhaustion weighing on my body.
With a scratch at his beard and a curious glance toward Andra, Bellius juts his chin toward the center of the encampment, a clear dismissal. Fine by me; despite finding some weird middle ground, I would rather not spend another moment near Andra for the night.
“Bumpkin! Good to see you brother. How was—” Olena’s voice stops as she nears catching my mood. Her eyes flick back the way I came and sees Bellius chatting Andra, a look of recognition dawning on her face.
“I see. Come on, let’s get you some food.” I follow Olena to the quartermaster. The band had already eaten for the evening, but there’s still some cold stew and bread which I devour as Olena sits next to me. My mouth is full when she speaks.
“I know it’s probably hard, but try not to take it too personally. Andra is…” Olena struggles to find the right word, her mellow voice pausing. “Well, she’s damaged. Like all of us are. Just in different ways.” I stop eating, bread halfway to my mouth and gaze at the loose dirt in front of me.
“She doesn’t like new people, does she?” Olena barks a laugh at my question while the quartermaster smirks, packing away some supplies.
“You’re not wrong, but I think your situation with her is a little different.
You don’t have to accept it or be her friend, but just understand one thing.
She, out of everyone here, is the most loyal to Helia.
Remember that, and you’ll be fine.” I look up and out at the camp, pockets of activity starting to die down for the night like the fading of fireflies.
“We’re all damaged huh? What about you Olena?
What’s your damage?” The words taste bitter.
Regret adds an acrid flavor upon seeing the wince on her face.
The quartermaster makes themself scarce in the wake of such a personal question.
With the camp beginning to sleep, the soft sound of the wind starts to reach us as we wait.
I see a sad smile that doesn’t reach far.
“I was young, stupid, and hungry for fame. The Spears were perfect for me and I was determined to rise.” She shakes her head and looks at me, voice thin, barely a whisper now. “I made a brash decision and cost several lives.”
“I’m sorry.” Paltry sentiment, but an offer of peace for my naivety. Andra got under my skin and Olena paid the price. She shrugs, and gestures out to the camp.
“My story is one of many.” Olena stands and dusts herself off. “Be loyal, and you’ll be fine.” She heads off to her bedroll as I stare into the remnants of my dinner; as cold as the pit in my stomach.
***
The next day, we break camp once Helia rejoins us, the merchants waiting on the road below. She explains the job to the band, some taking it as a sign from the gods that we got another job so soon. I refused to look at Andra, or Olena for that matter.
Marching down the hillside toward the caravan, I look over our charges.
Five wagons packed tightly with thick canvas wrapped around every good.
Each wagon has a pair of horses and a team of three drivers.
A few are dressed in nicer cloth, brighter colors, and several accessories; clearly the leaders of the expedition.
The others have simple attire; plain tunics, simple leather belts.
Helia greets one of the men with a wave and signals us into formation around the wagons.
We waste no time breaking off into groups and surrounding the caravan.
I join with Olena and her group, giving me a small nod.
A small measure of confidence sparks inside me that last night might not be as lingering as I thought.
The journey south to Nolphi will take us about three weeks or more, given the number of wagons and people. Most of the way would be along traveled roads, but there’s a section of the route that crosses through a forest, which is where we expect trouble. At least, that’s what the Archon told Helia.
On the first night, Bellius and Andra resume our training. Bellius continues to teach me the spear, earning less critique and more praise. Oddly, he also starts teaching me basic strategy.
“You may one day find yourself in a position where you need to lead, Skion. At least this way, I know you’ll not make a total ass of yourself.
Everyone learns the basics; it’ll remain to be seen if you’re capable of more.
” And so, I learn about how to hold off a calvary charge, how to make a strategic retreat, and what formations to use in different situations, among other things.
Andra’s training is a stark contrast to Bellius’s again.
She stops trying to train me with a blade since I apparently am an “incompetent thick-skulled bumpkin”.
Instead, we do something she calls body exercise.
“If you can’t learn to use a sword, I can at least whip you into shape.
” I decide to ignore the sadistic gleam in her eye whenever it’s her night for training.
We never speak about the night outside of Ionos, though an uneasy peace forms over time.
Helia stops by occasionally to check in on how I am adjusting, but we spend little time together outside of that, much to my dismay. There’s something about being in her presence; a doe protected by a fierce stag. A feeling I’ve never had; a feeling I want.
Most nights, I stumble back to my bedroll where Olena saves me some dinner. I grow accustomed to her calming voice on the march and the coarse jokes she shares with the wagon team. Most of all though, I enjoy hearing the tales of how members joined the band.
Bellius was a captain of the guard in Hecalon, a capital city on the eastern edge of Thetan, but there was an incident involving a politician.
No one knows exactly what happened according to Olena, but it was enough that Bellius had to disappear faster than a shadow at midday.
Seems he found his way to the capital and joined the company.
Andra was a ship rat; a young deckhand on a trading ship out of Ionos.
One day, pirates raided the ship and killed most of the crew.
Andra was not as lucky as they were. After the pirates were done with her, they cast her overboard, a twisted offering to Corr, the goddess of the sea.
She survived, and joined the first mercenary band she could, which just happened to be the Spears.
Helia tried to dissuade Andra, but vengeance has a ravenous hunger.
Olena was there when Andra took revenge.
The sea wept that day, blood sullying its pure depths; Corr at least must have been satisfied.
As for Helia, she had joined the band close to four years back and helped increase their fame and fortune by taking on dangerous contracts.
Her station quickly increased to commander in recognition and her legend only grew; a warrior woman, bringing death to any that stood in her way.
Before the band though, is only whispers.
Some of the mercs believe that Pellax, the leader of the Band of Spears, prayed to the pantheons for fame and fortune and received Helia in return.
Others say that she came from across the sea, a veteran of wars and seeker of fortune.
Still others believe Helia to be an Aspect of Stratas, the god of war.
Whatever the truth of Helia’s past, she is a beloved leader and everyone follows her without question, despite only being three years my senior.
Yet, there’s a measure of solitude to her.
A feeling of being there, but aloof. I watch the smiles of a leader, but they never reach her eyes.
I hear the jokes, sounding hollow to my ears.
A loneliness that no one sees. The band is blind to it, but they clearly revere Helia, and based on how I feel around her, I get it.
She has a charismatic pull I felt the moment she took her helmet off back in Athos.
After two weeks of travel, we close in on the forest before Nolphi.
It’ll take us a few days to cross and then a handful more to reach the city.
Tonight is training with Andra as usual, still focusing on body conditioning.
My tunic lay discarded to the side, sweat beading across my bare skin despite the creeping chill of the night.
A low whistle behind me breaks my concentration long enough for Andra to smack the top of my head for getting distracted.
The owner of the whistle laughs, immediately revealing it to be Helia. “Looks like Andra has whipped you into shape, Skion. Not bad at all!”
Heat rushes to my cheeks. I wasn’t out of shape before joining the companions, but several weeks of marching and training are starting to show; my body is leaning out.
“Yeah, but he still barely knows how to hold a blade.” Andra scoffs while picking up her own clothes from the ground. Scars dance across her body, each one a tale of struggle and survival. Helia grunts in reply before looking back to me.
“Come with me. I’ve got an assignment for you.”
I ignore Andra’s furrowed brow as I grab my clothes.
Jogging to catch up to Helia, I throw on my tunic loosely, eager to let the night air cool me down.
Reaching my commander, I fall in step behind her, failing to ignore the fluid movement of her back muscles.
All too soon, we reach the officers area of the camp and Helia turns to me.
“As you know, we’re about to head into the Nolphi forest. If we’re going to be attacked, it will be there.
” I nod, remembering the debrief from Archon Gaius.
“I’ll cut right to it. You grew up in the countryside and rough terrain; I want you to join the scouts and lead a pairing.
” A pairing. That’s a scouting formation, if I remember Bellius’s lecture. But, leading one?
“You want me to what?! I-I was just a farmer!” Helia silences me with a look, her green eyes snapping my mouth shut.
“Bellius tells me you’re taking to strategy and I remember what I saw in Athos. With no training, you showed situational awareness and bravery. That is exactly what I need in a scout.”
I shake my head. “That was just instinct. I wasn’t thinking at all.”
“Exactly. You have the instincts. Now, you will hone them.” Her tone has the finality of a sunset.
Shoulders hunched, I stand defeated, accepting this new responsibility. The sound of gravel brings our attention around to see a group of five companions all saluting, Olena among them.
“Good timing. Scouts, Skion will be joining you and leading a pairing. Who is willing to follow him?” Helia looks expectantly across the small group.
“I’ll look after the bumpkin,” Olena barks with no hesitation. Helia gives a half smile and gestures the group forward.
“Good. Now, let’s talk strategy. I want standard pairing in an arrowhead formation as we enter the forest. We expect trouble, so no heroics.
You see something, hear something, you raise the call.
Understood?” Everyone nods; we will be in the most danger but without us, the caravan will be an easy target.
“Get some rest; we’ll reach the forest before midday tomorrow. ”