Chapter Twenty-Four #3
Her larger bag was already stowed on a cart, so she double-checked what she’d be carrying on her.
She even inspected her arrows again, one at a time.
She held each down in front of her as if she could see into the arrowhead and through the shaft.
The feathers had to be aligned and wrapped and glued on carefully, the shaft straight and without cracks or warps, the arrowheads sharp and securely attached.
One bad arrow could mean death out in the forests with dakii.
“Hey, did you know about the summit? That the King Commander had summoned us?” Vaneshta asked as she plopped down beside Iryana, though the statement didn’t actually appear to be a question.
Iryana’s eyes flicked over to Karvek, grabbing another arrow. “No. Why would I have known?”
Vaneshta gave her a long look. “Because you’re close with the general? He just invited you to that late-night gathering…”
“He finds me useful,” Iryana forced out. “But I’m not his confidante.” She wasn’t sure if it was a lie or not.
“Well, it’s certainly surprising, isn’t it?” There was worry laced through Vaneshta’s words. “But are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Aren’t you tired?” Vaneshta frowned at her, a bit of pity in her gaze. “You’ve been training relentlessly, going on extra missions; you didn’t sleep much last night—”
“I’m good.”
Vaneshta shook her head but thankfully didn’t say anything else. Iryana didn’t have space for other people’s worries in addition to her own.
Pyetar came over then to gather his team, everyone shuffling to their spots in the formation. Karvek and the others mounted their horses, and then before long they were leaving Myura River Fort behind them.
Their team rode in front, but the rider leading them was someone she didn’t recognize. He had long, pale hair tied at the nape of his neck, and a thin face that seemed constantly pinched. He wasn’t armed, but the reins in his hands weren’t made of leather; rather a dark, mossy-green material.
“How far is Redni Castle, exactly?” Iryana whispered to Vaneshta, trying to work out the map in her head.
Before the dakii came, Redni used to be part castle, part monastery.
The local elite would go there before bringing the pilgrims to the local metal wells.
It was popular among the children of military leaders and guardian families.
If she was remembering correctly, her own father had pilgrimaged there for his forging.
“I’ve only been there once, when I was going with my dad on a big supplies transfer,” she answered in a low voice. “Took around two weeks, I think, each way. But do you see the lead rider?”
Iryana nodded; she was still watching him.
“I think he’s earth-forged.”
She squinted at the man. Iryana had never met an earth rider, but she knew there was an earth settlement to the south at the edge of the 18th Brigade’s territory.
She had gone on a mission to collect taxes and exchange goods there once, but they had met in the woods, possibly far from where the actual settlement was.
Her team had not been welcomed in like they had been in the water settlement tree-house villages.
Vaneshta added, “With an earth rider, we should be able to go a little faster.”
Those forged with earth magic had a better sense of the world around them, able to subconsciously communicate with the ground to find the best paths that would speed movement.
But it had to be more than that, as Iryana watched their party moving through the trees.
Nothing about the forest seemed to hinder them, and even though she saw branches and roots and other things to avoid, she didn’t seem to need to move around them. It was an unsettling experience.
At the rate they seemed to move, Iryana expected they would make great time.
And they did. The entire trip took a week and a half, although it was excruciating.
Iryana was used to walking, but this trip tested her endurance, and she was exhausted every night when it was finally time to lay down on her bedroll.
Their whole group traveled quietly, taking care of the dakii threats that cropped up quickly before carrying on.
Pyetar remained tense the entire time, staying at the front of the party unless Karvek summoned him. Iryana tried to keep her attentions forward, but when they stopped or made camp, she frequently found Karvek watching her. She wished she knew what he was going to ask of her.
She knew Pyetar noticed, and she could tell he was worried about it. But he stayed far away, continuing to be even more distant with her than he was with everyone else.
But eventually they were there, their general sending a final order through the captains that they were not to say a word to anyone outside their party. Punishments for disobeying would be severe.
Redni Castle rose out of the river on a bed of stone, gray walls rising tall as the tree tops.
Surrounded on all sides by the river, the single way across was a bridge that spanned the water, meeting the eastern gatehouses.
It looked like other gatehouses had once been in use, but the bridges had been dismantled or destroyed.
Rednian soldiers met them at the bridge and led them across, the King Commander’s emblem sewn into their cloaks and surcoats; a deep, sapphire-colored crown that could only be metal-forged.
“Does the King Commander actually wear a metal-forged crown?” she whispered to Mezhimar, who was currently marching at her side. She’d tried to catch a glimpse of the infamous man when he was visited Myura River, but had failed.
“I don’t know,” he answered, looking like it pained him. “It would be a waste of magic, though.”
Maintaining a forging for any extended period of time took skill and endurance, but would still slowly drain one’s magic.
That endurance could be trained, but only to an extent.
Earth-forged farmers who used their plows and tools most of the day were able to hold their forgings for hours on end, but they didn’t need to worry about maintaining a reserve in case someone tried to assassinate them.
“Certainly. But quite the power move,” she pointed out.
The inside of the castle was laid out like a monastery. Stone dividing-walls sectioned off each area, small gatehouses dividing those.
Iryana felt increasingly claustrophobic with each courtyard they passed through. Stone walls closed the yards in from each side, and beyond them was always more fortress. There was only one way in, and there was no way someone could sneak out.
Karvek would be a fool to try anything there, and that was a comforting thought. Karvek was not a fool.
But what was his plan then?
Their party was led into a large courtyard where elite-looking dormitories lined each side of the center path. There was a stable to the side for their horses, and Iryana saw non-Rednian soldiers wandering around, watching them casually. The other brigades must have already arrived.
The Rednian soldiers that had been leading the 18th’s entourage assigned them one of the dormitories, and Iryana looked up at it with trepidation roiling in her gut. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t a prison. That they would be leaving again soon enough.
She was just a soldier, though. So Iryana followed her orders and helped the others unpack and bring their things inside.
“The only way into this hall is from that stairwell,” Pyetar was saying to their team as they looked around the small floor they had been assigned to.
“We will have someone on watch here, and at the entrance doors to the building at all times. The general has ordered us not to talk to anyone outside our own party, so get ready to sit tight. Pick a room and drop your stuff off.”
Iryana almost growled. More waiting.
Iryana sat restlessly on one of the simple beds in her room with Vaneshta and Pepha. It was smaller than the barrack rooms at Myura River, though it was finer, meant for the ketsan and not soldiers.
Karvek was off at the initial meeting of the summit, and Iryana was restless. She was huddled on the edge of her bed where she could see out of their small window.
What was Karvek’s plan?
It was driving her crazy. She had nothing more engaging to occupy herself with than coming up with increasingly ridiculous theories.
At least she wasn’t rooming with anyone outside her team, so it could have been worse.
Lidishta was one of the soldiers that had come, and Iryana wasn’t sure she could have handled being cooped up with her.
“I should have packed some vodka,” Vaneshta was grumbling, pacing the room in all her armor.
The three of them had been holed up in the room for hours, having just finished their dinner rations. They hadn’t even been brought a proper meal.
Iryana ignored them; it was the third time that her roommate had lamented her lack of drink.
“Ugh, if only they’d let us out of this gods-forsaken building!” Vaneshta growled, plopping down on her bed just to immediately get back up.
“But we’re not allowed to talk to anyone,” Pepha hissed back. “What would we do if someone tried to talk to us? Clamp a hand over our mouths and run away? No, it’s far better we’re in here.”
“Bah.”
Pepha sat the tunic she was mending aside. “Vabihn has his dice and cards, so we could get a game together.”
Vaneshta immediately shook her head. “We can’t be that distracted, not if Rednian soldiers could march in here any moment.”
“Vodka would surely be a distraction,” Iryana mumbled, but they didn’t seem to hear her.
“What?” Pepha gasped, locked onto Vaneshta’s comment about soldiers storming the building. “Do you really think they will?”
Iryana sighed. Pepha didn’t need more to worry about.
Vaneshta looked to the door for a moment, face hard. “The other soldiers have been talking…”
“And?” Pepha demanded.
“I know you don’t like gossip.” Vaneshta looked over at Iryana, who found herself sitting on the edge of her bed now.
“I’m bored enough to make an exception.”
Vaneshta plopped down on the other side of Pepha’s bed, putting them all in the same corner of the small room.
“Most of the soldiers think we’ve entered a trap.”
“But?” Iryana asked.
“I was on guard with Mezhimar at the stairs before dinner; he said he’s been watching the courtyard. His room has a good view of the other dormitories. The other brigades are behaving similarly to ours, so he thinks it’s unlikely the King Commander knows that the 18th has split from them.”
Iryana considered that. “It seems unlikely that they wouldn’t know; representatives were at Myura River for days. Wouldn’t they have found out?”
“If they knew, why would they invite us?” Pepha added nervously. “Unless this is a trap.”
“I don’t think it is,” Vaneshta said quickly. “The King Commander has been all about maintaining peace between the brigades, uniting them again. Creating a situation requiring bloodshed would go against his messaging.”
He certainly wouldn’t like Karvek starting a war with his neighbors then. Although if everyone else had agreed to be united under the King Commander, would Karvek have to challenge them all? It didn’t seem Karvek’s style.
Iryana froze. Was he going to challenge the King Commander after all? Kill him like he did the last general of the 18th? Hope there wouldn’t be retaliation? That would be chaos.
She shook that thought away again; it made little sense.
Vaneshta sighed. “I tried asking the captain, but he wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Pyetar keeping his mouth shut didn’t surprise Iryana. Despite her sort-of offer to help him stop Karvek from starting a war, Pyetar had not come to her for anything. Had only cemented the distance between them.
“Why do you think Karvek came to the summit then?” Pepha asked.
Vaneshta shrugged. “He has always been like this.”
“Like what?” Iryana asked, although she thought she knew.
“Secretive. We’ll hear of nothing until suddenly he is enacting some new plan. It was the same when he took over as major two years ago, and then as general this year.”
There was a strange look on Vaneshta’s face, and Iryana wanted to demand more details, but then she heard voices in the hall, speaking in soft, angry tones.
Her body tensed immediately. She was about to go see what the commotion was when Pyetar barged in.
He was staring at her, mouth pressed tight.
“Pyetar?” she asked.
Then he looked at Vaneshta and Pepha. “You two, take over guard of the floor. Now.”
“Yes, Captain,” they answered, rushing out of the room with confused glances shot back toward Iryana.
Her dread deepened once she was alone with Pyetar.
He tossed a box that she hadn’t even realized he was holding onto her bed.
“What is this?” Her heart was already racing as she looked at it. The box was lined with aged satin, parts of it still a dusty pink, though most was stained with varying shades of gray.
“Karvek is gathering with the other leaders now that today’s meetings are over.” Pyetar’s voice was stiff and angry. “He has ordered that you join him. Wearing that.”
She didn’t want to know what was in the box, but her fingers tentatively traced the edge of the box.
Pyetar leaned down next to her, one arm on her bed to support him. She was struck still for a moment by the closeness.
“Karvek is his own breed of horrible, but don’t mistake the King Commander for someone noble,” Pyetar whispered.
“He had the chance to stop Karvek already, and he didn’t take it.
And he knows Karvek isn’t submitting to him.
I’ve talked to the other generals; they didn’t do anything to prevent any of this either.
” Then he left, leaving Iryana staring at the box.