Chapter Twenty-One
THE BAND GATHERS loosely in the estate square the following morning, yawns bountiful. It’s incredibly difficult to wake up from a blissful sleep on a real bed after so many nights on the ground. Helia wastes no time addressing the cohort once we all assemble, bleary eyed or no.
“Spears! We are quartering here for at least a fortnight. Guard duty rotations will be doled out as well as pay. Dismissed!”
Cheers erupt, everyone excited for some time in a city. The road is home for most of them, but enjoying the luxuries of the capital from time to time is a welcome change.
Olena pulls me to the quartermaster for our own pay and rotations.
There’s an eagerness in her steps; I suppose most mercenaries get excited about money.
The quartermaster smiles as they hand me a hefty pouch with more money than I have ever dreamed of owning.
They wave and give me a wink, as Olena and I walk away, Olena still brimming with energy.
“All right Skion, I want to show you all of Hecalon! We also need to get you some armor to replace your old borrowed crap. By the way, where is it? I noticed you weren’t wearing it during the march yesterday.”
“O-oh. It, uh, finally broke down. The straps broke. Good timing though; made it all the way here.” Olena bobs her head, only half listening to my bogus excuse.
Telling her that Helia had almost killed me wasn’t going to go over well.
Having dodged the question, Olena’s excitement began to creep its way into my veins.
Seeing the sights, shopping, and spending a carefree day sounded like a breath of normalcy.
“This way!” Olena turns on her heel and leads us out the gateway. Back down past other estates, under the temples upon their promontory, and through the central park. Instead of traveling back as we had entered the city, Olena steers us to an alternate exit. Right into the heart of the agoras.
Harmonious chaos runs rampant, vendors hawking goods and citizens negotiating for the best price. Pottery, food, spices, fabrics, all changing hands to the tune of soft clinking of coins. Keppilo would be honored.
We pass a series of clothiers selling tunics and gowns of all colors. My steps slow as my eyes wander the silky fabrics, slowing enough to cause Olena to stop ahead and wait for me. I see a lovely wine colored gown that looks like it would fit my build well.
“How much for that one?”
“Ahh, the young man has taste! It’s a perfect gift to woo a woman!” I manage to stop myself from flinching, but only just. He wouldn’t know, I can’t hold that against him. “This one is imported silk from the north. It’ll cost five gold.” Olena walks up, curious what the distraction was.
“What are you doing? That would take most of your pay! We need to get to the smiths. Besides”—Olena looks over my shoulder down at the gown—“Helia isn’t the fancy type. Don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything but armor or a tunic.” She pulls me away as I reel from the entire encounter.
“You’ve reached the gift buying stage, eh?” Olena teases me as we walk through to the crafters district. I can’t be upset at her either; how would she know?
I shake my head, purely at myself.
“No, we haven’t. Though I like the idea of finding something for her today. No…that wasn’t for her. It was for me.” I ignore her soft sound of surprise as I stride forward, eager to be done with this. A light cough comes from my right, a gentle reminder that I do not know my way around the city.
“I was careless with my words. I didn’t know.
” Olena apologizes as she rejoins me, leading us around the corner to the armorsmith.
It stretches a ways down the block, larger than most of the crafters we had passed.
Leather, bronze, and iron are neatly organized both inside and outside of the store, both completed and unfinished projects.
“It’s all right Olena. How would you have known?
Just help me with negotiating a good price and we’ll be even.
” Her smile matches mine, our friendship steady as ever even on new ground.
Striding through the store, Olena makes a show of looking over pieces for the owner who has been eyeing us the whole time.
Customers browsing while at the end of the day were not always welcome.
“Any ideas about alterations or material? You’ve not worn bronze before, right? Just the leathers we cobbled together?”
“Right, and those never fit properly.” Even though the cohort brought enough supplies to perform basic repairs on the road, there wasn’t anything close to a full set of armor; bronze, leather, or otherwise.
“We can always make something a bit custom, if you’d like.
Mercenaries, right?” The owner finally brings himself around the counter approaching us.
He nods sagely at our confirmation, speckled beard pockmarked with burns from a forge.
“Figures. Every month or so groups come into the city, whether traveling through or returning to their estates.” Clapping his hands together he eyes me up and down.
“Not used to bronze, but needing to upgrade, eh?”
“This one is a recent recruit! They need something entirely new.” Olena earns a smile for her choice of words, and gives me a wink over the head of the smith.
“Oh ho! Well, you’ll be needing a helmet to go with it too.
” He casts his gaze around the shop before swinging back to me.
“Bronze is the best choice, but it can be heavy. We could use leather for the bracers and greaves, as well as the pauldrons. That should cut some weight while still giving you better protection.”
Without waiting for me to agree or ask questions, he turns to Olena to start haggling. After some back and forth, he agrees to a cost of five gold and five silver, with the armor being ready in a few days.
“Looks like you were right Olena. It did end up taking most of my pay.” The clink of each coin I hand over sounds like a boulder crashing down a hillside; in a single day I acquired and spent more money than I had ever owned. The smith’s eyes light up while hefting the coin in his hands.
“This your first pay, eh? Well, if you’ll spread the word of my smith to your fellow mercenaries, here’s a gold back on the price.”
Olena’s eye twitches in the corner of my vision.
She haggled hard, but was barely able to knock half a gold off the price.
Looking over my shoulder, I eye the piece that caught my interest when I walked in.
A circular shield with etchings of spearheads along the edge.
Blue paint tinges each head, a white trim between the spears and the blank center of the shield.
“How much for that shield in the corner?” Peeking over me, the owner scratches his temple.
“That one is a bit large for you. If you like the design, I can make you a smaller one with that looks the same. Cost you about two gold for making a new one or one and a half for the one in the corner.”
“It’s not for me. The one in the corner is the perfect size, but could you add a painted etching in the center of the shield?”
“Aye, I can. I’ll charge you two gold for the shield and etching and have it delivered along with your armor.
Fair?” The rest of my money spare a few silvers, but worth every copper.
Money changes hands again with a knowing Olena off to the side.
I explain the etching to the smith who quickly picks up the intent of the design.
“Interesting idea. Can’t say I’ve had any like it.” I smile at that; if he had, I would have been shocked.
Business complete, Olena and I start to leave the smith when he calls out to us. “You seem like decent people, so heed a humble craftsman’s words. Be careful on the streets. Been a lot of mugging and attacks recently, and freshly paid mercenaries out celebrating have been common targets.”
Olena and I share a look; who would be foolish enough to attack mercenaries? Giving our thanks regardless, we start the trek back to the estate, the sun now firmly setting, the night being pulled across the sky.
“Guess you did end up getting her a gift,” Olena teases, smile broad across her face.
I throw a lazy punch at her, causing us both to laugh, my own smile matching hers.
Joy still rippling our shoulders on the walk back, the stores along way close up and merchants and laborers head home or elsewhere.
Night falls fully as foot traffic waxes and wanes; even in this giant city, people are people.
“Thank you Olena, for today. I never would have found the smith without you.”
She nods in acceptance and turns us down an alleyway between some buildings, likely onto some shortcut to get back before it became too dark to see.
The alleyway is narrow with a few twists and turns, often just wide enough for the two of us to walk side by side.
Up ahead, the exit beckons, a welcome respite compared to the encroaching walls.
The patter of sudden footsteps behind us spins me around just in time to watch the blur of a shadow crash into Olena and the muffled gasp of pain as she slams to the ground.
The figure nimbly catapults forward, rushing past with a stolen coin purse in hand.
A maroon stain spreads quickly along Olena’s tunic, as her hand grasps numbly at the hilt of the dagger embedded in her side.
“I’m fine. Get after them!” Olena props herself up, urging me on.
I dash out of the alleyway, uncertainty hounding my steps.
Leaving Olena behind is risky, but that’s three months of her pay and she will kill me if I lose it.
Glancing along the street, the cloaked figure disappears down another side passage.
Only one way for me to catch up. Focus, breathe, believe.
Time and air thicken around me, the tightening sensation of the world slowing down snakes across my skin.
Sprinting, keeping my eyes wide open, I rapidly close the distance, hand outstretched to grab the mugger by their cloak.
They spin to face me, their words and motions sluggish at first as though vibrating through tar, before speeding up and reaching normal speed, completely untouched by my magic.
A smile, deadly and dripping with malice glints in the darkness, their main features shrouded by a hood.
“We finally found you, Conduit of Lunos.” Icy tendrils of fear creep down my spine, concentration shattering along with my magic. The attacker pulls their hood back revealing the face of a man. Short, tousled hair gives him a boyish look.
He lunges forward drawing a curved knife from under his cloak, slashing wildly at me.
No, not wildly. Andra’s lessons come to mind; he’s trying to back me into a wall.
I circle off to the side, keeping myself centered in the alleyway, dodging strikes that cut the night air.
Without my spear or blade, it’s all I can do to ward him off with my bare hands.
Blood flows from nicks along my hands and forearms, his blade finding fleeting purchases.
This won’t end well; he’s not giving me any time to reconnect with my power.
“What’s wrong, Conduit? Can’t get it up?” Mockery and derision drip from his words, blade clipping my cheek as I sway underneath barely saving my neck. Pain flashes in its wake, a crimson line burning along my face.
Clenching my teeth and I summon power in the time between breaths, anger feeding my strength. This time, I flood energy into my muscles, thickening them with deadly intent. Pain splits my skull, an unsubtle warning of my limits and the cost of true power.
I continue my sway away the arc of his swing, spinning impossibly fast. Shifting weight with the spin, my fist slams into his side with a dull thunderclap.
The cracking of bones echoes in the alley as my punch hits with enough force to launch the man into the wall.
Steam releases from shredded muscles as my power flees.
Pain writhes through my body, the price I have to pay, forcing me to my knees.
Through weary eyes, I gaze at the cracked wall, dust settling from impact.
The man stands there, upright and grinning manically, slightly favoring his side but otherwise unscathed.
“That fucking hurt.” He spits to the side, a small glob of blood hitting the dirt.
Each step he takes toward me should be impossible.
Yet the gleam of his wicked knife in the moonlight tells an unforgiving story.
“You didn’t think you were the only one blessed by the gods, did you?
” He threads a hand through my loose hair, jerking my head back painfully, exposing my neck for a clean kill.
His tongue wets cracked lips, that cursed smile never leaving his face. “With your death, Lunos is—”
Whatever he was going to say turns into a wet and garbled scream. The edge of a sword careens through his neck, severing it. As both his body and mine tumble toward the ground, I see who saved my live.
My goddess in human form. My Helia.