Fate Rides Wicked: Volume I of the Lerilon Trilogy (45 page)

Each tent held fifty bunks and had a curtained room at
one end for the commanding officer. The soldiers soon
discovered that the huge tent contained bunk bed pieces
and tables. They spent the afternoon assembling beds, as
the clouds grew more ominous. By dinner every soldier
had a place to sleep and every company split up into five
squads. The generals set up four tents on the other side of
the road. The white circles took that first night’s watch,
one squad at a time.

The next morning they gave each soldier without armor
a suit of leather, and each weaponless man a sword or axe.
Every squad ran, or attempted to run, ten miles. It also did
pushups and sit-ups, and held its first roll call.

Behind the generals’ tents the expedition members
established practice fields. Lendril tested two white
companies in archery and gave every man with five bulls
eyes in ten shots a white, gold and silver token good for a
bow when they arrived. A quarter of the men she tested
that day earned tokens. They would be allowed to return
for further practice.

Next to Lendril two more white companies learned how
to divide an army without exposing your back. Tych led
each squad through it several times, trying to find the
groups that did it well enough to execute it in battle. Two
divisions satisfied him and he ordered them to return for
further instruction so that they could teach the other squads.

The other six companies went through drills in combat,
defense and weapon choice. By the end of the day, every
one of these soldiers knew how to practice on their own. In
sixteen days every squad would spend the afternoon paired
against each other in mock combat with Loktaro, Wiltev
and Sir Xalt giving them advice. Only the soldiers chosen
by Tych and Lendril for special training would miss these
practice sessions.

Seven miles west of camp was an obstacle course.
Every morning from the second one on, the entire army
jogged double file to the challenge. By mid-morning every
soldier had started his or her run. By zenith and lunch the
squads had returned and began cleanup duties. At first,
many lacked the endurance to do the run, or struggled with
the snow that fell the first day of the workout. Most would
be in top shape within a month, and only a few would
return to their homes.

The two warriors wore cloaks draped over dull metal
armor. Their horses dragged along in the cold night. The
smell of snow to come filled the air. When a moon came
out from behind a cloud, they could see its light reflected
on the Great Lake through the thin stand of trees on their
right. The road took a turn to the east, away from the lake,
and they could see a single lantern swinging in the light
breeze. In a few minutes they reached the source of that
light, a small inn. The woman dismounted and handed the
reins of her horse to her huge companion.

Ofeldar went up to the door and rapped on it with the
handle of her sword. A few minutes later she heard
footsteps and took off her hood to reveal shoulder-length
golden hair.

A voice called, “Who is there at this late hour?”

“A couple of weary, rich warriors, Innkeeper. We need
a place to sleep.” Ofeldar yawned.

“You may use the loft in the barn behind the inn. I will
come for you in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

The next morning, Aquendar woke Ofeldar. She rolled
over in the hay, intending to go back to sleep, but the smell
of ham caused her to sit up. Aquendar laughed. “Food
does it to you every time. I let you oversleep.” He
crouched next to her. “It’s past one-quarter. Now get some
clothes on so we can go eat.”

Ofeldar caught him by surprise and planted her
shoulder in his chest. He fell backwards in the hay and she
scrambled onto him, pinning him. She leaned forward on
his arms, holding them down. “Funny guy. Now that I’m
more rested, I can out wrestle you.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it.” He pushed up with his legs and
in a moment reversed the positions. “Now let’s go eat.”

Ofeldar crawled over to her padded under armor
clothing. She put it on and climbed into her armor. As she
crossed to the ladder, she buckled on her sword and slung
her crossbow and bolts over her shoulder. “C’mon, man of
mine, let’s go,” she said as she started down. Aquendar
laughed as he followed her.

The smell of ham came from the kitchen in the back of
the inn. The stable stood among trees only a few feet
behind. They made their way to the front of the inn. The
bright, chilly morning bit at them as they crunched through
an inch of melting snow. As they came out on the road,
sunshine hit them full. To their right they could see the
lake. They turned left and went into the inn.

The innkeeper greeted them a few feet inside.
“Welcome, my friends. I am Blatleminfie.” The fat,
bearded man had brown and grey hair and glowed with
enthusiasm. He gestured towards the eating area. “Please
have a seat. Breakfast is on me for making you sleep above
the horses.”

Blatleminfie waddled away and the warriors entered the
bar. Three of the ten tables held patrons. They sat in a
booth across from the entrance and scanned the diners.
They all appeared to be simple folk.

The innkeeper came with their food. Surprising
Ofeldar, he said, “Aquendar, I must speak with you in
private.”

“Don’t worry, Blatle, Ofeldar here knows I command
the Road Police.” He gestured towards Ofeldar. “She
recommended we come here for recruits. Things have
changed.”

“I must tell you then. There have been strange rumors
in the kingdom of dark forces moving against the king.”

“That is why we are here. We will stay until I discover
two suitable members of the Road Police to assist us. I
assume that since you’re a contact, many of them pass
through here.”

“That is so, though I may not know who they are when
they arrive.”

At that moment, the door slammed open, shaking some
of the china and making the glass rattle in its frame. Out of
view of the dining room somebody yelled, “Innkeeper, we
want some food.” As Blatle made his way to the door, two
cloaked, hooded figures entered the room. Blatle stepped
back, for the two looked ominous. Ofeldar noticed a
crossbow under the shorter figure’s cloak.

The taller person spoke. “You must be the innkeeper.
We’re very hungry from a hard night’s work.”

“Take a seat. I’ll serve you as soon as I finish with the
two warriors who got here first.” Before Blatle could turn
around, the taller figure removed his hood, revealing neatly
trimmed hair and beard and handsome features.

The man rested his hand on Blatle’s shoulder. “No, you
will serve us first,” he said calmly.

Aquendar stood. He towered six inches above the
strange man and had the width of Blatle. He fully filled his
plate mail, however, with pure muscle. He walked over to
stand next to Blatle and removed the stranger’s hand.
Ofeldar stood. “When he is finished with us, he will serve
you. We were here first and have been waiting patiently.”
He released the stranger’s hand and pulled out a chair.
“Now, have a seat.”

Ofeldar had loaded her crossbow and as they stood still,
staring straight ahead, she stepped into view. “He said,
have a seat. Do that. NOW!”

The shorter figure threw back her hood, revealing short
black hair and brown eyes. She stepped around the table
between Ofeldar and herself and raised her hands in
supplication. “Let them do the resolving. Put down your
pig sticker.”

Ofeldar lowered the crossbow but took a step back to
get distance from the other woman. “Just have a seat and it
will be over.”

Aquendar felt his eyes seem to explode as his head
rocked back. Only his incredibly strong neck muscles
saved him from injury and he quickly recovered from the
lightning fast blow. Tych had moved that fast against him
and he had been the first and last in his life.

Still blurry-eyed from the first blow, the horse master
reached up and blocked a flying, spinning kick from his
attacker. With amazing speed of his own he planted his fist
deep in the man’s stomach. Blocking a punch to his face,
he placed both hands on his opponent’s shoulders and
threw him over a table.

The stranger landed on both feet, launched himself
backwards, did a press on the next table and stood on the
bar after a flip. “Not bad, for a muscle bound mercenary.”
He jumped down and walked across the floor, watching the
horse master tense up. “So, how did Rangdor manage to
get you two to be here? Surely, he could not expect two
heavily armored warriors to just walk into the castle and
kill his majesty.”

Aquendar laughed a laugh that rumbled up from his
toes and shook the floor. “I am a former employee of the
king, but I serve nobody. Why I am here now, I cannot tell
you.” Something in Aquendar’s mind told him these two
belonged to the Road Police. “Perhaps, we serve the same
purposes. Shall we sit down and talk about it?”

The tall stranger pulled out a chair and sat down.
Aquendar sat across from him and Ofeldar slid up next to
her lover. The horse master reached into his pouch and
pulled out a gold coin, which he slid across the table. “We
have more of that. We have very strong backing from
people wishing to do good in this land. I can say no more
about them.”

“We also work for somebody, though who he is we
cannot tell you, even if we knew. How would we gain by
helping you?”

“Besides money, you will gain fame, once finished.
Again, that is as much as I can reveal.”

The woman appeared to be the pragmatist as she said,
“If we join you, what would it be that we would be doing.”

“We need to acquire new skills to accomplish our task.
We have not mastered them yet,” answered Ofeldar.

“My companion and I will discuss it and give you our
answer at dinner.”

Aquendar nodded and leaned forward. “If you agree,
give that gold piece to the innkeeper. Then we will meet
you across the road in the clearing just inside the trees,” he
whispered.

With a nod, the strange man accepted the signs. The
horse master stood and returned to his seat with Ofeldar.
“They are members of the Road Police.” He paused. He
saw the woman’s face open up with surprise as if she had
heard what he said. “We had best wait till later to discuss
any more,” he added quickly.

Blatleminfie returned and gave them their food. They
ate and he showed them to their room. The warriors spent
the rest of the day cleaning and checking their weapons.

By dinner they had fallen asleep. Blatle’s knock woke
them and they headed downstairs. Aquendar led Ofeldar to
the same booth they had used that morning and they sat.
Blatle brought them steaming plates of venison and pasta
moments before the two strangers arrived. None of the
other guests had appeared for dinner.

Blatle went to serve the man and woman. Aquendar
watched the man hand the innkeeper the gold piece. Both
couples went about the rest of their meals silently as other
guests filed in. This stop apparently served all those
traveling from the cities to one of the recreational beaches
along the lake. All wore the plain brown or green clothing
every commoner on Li wore.

The two warriors stood up first. They went out the
front door and into the forest, stopping in a clearing a few
feet in. Two logs sat opposite each other, as if others had
used this clearing as a meeting point before.

Suddenly, each found themselves with daggers at their
neck. A voice Aquendar recognized as the strange man’s
said, “How do you know we work for the Road Police?
Answer or die.”

“I am the top commander, the organizer. Blatle will
confirm this.”

“There is an inn in the woods.”

“And all there will party until their wives come
looking.”

“Very good, Commander.” The stranger and his
companion put away their blades. “I am Lazol and this is
Arif. As you know, many Road Police members are chosen
for a special ability. Arif can hear almost any whisper in a
seventh-day market. She used to be a thief. I used to be a
barehanded assassin. My first blow is always a blur and I
have been trained in the locations of every fatal point on
every race’s body.”

As they stepped around in front of them, Ofeldar and
Aquendar could see their dress. Arif wore black leather
armor from head to toe. Two eye holes and a bigger mouth
slot opened in the full hood. She wore a sword with a blade
as long as her forearm and a light crossbow hung on her
back. Her dagger slid into a black scabbard on her right
hip. Strips of leather attached both blades to her thigh so
they didn’t move and draw attention.

Lazol also wore all black, with a crossbow. On his
gloves, however, one-inch spikes glinted in the evening
sun, studding the back of the lowest section of each finger.
Each boot tip had short spikes and only a dagger lay against
his leg. He took off his hood to speak. “Six pairs of Road
Police have been killed in the last two weeks. Each
apparently fell onto some kind of plot against the king and
didn’t match up against their adversaries. We are the most
skilled in the kingdom and always have been.
Unfortunately, both of us have very black sides. With four
of us and your good influence over us, we can do much
better.”

“I...” Aquendar stopped as Arif raised her hands.

“There are visitors of an unfriendly nature approaching.
They are in a hurry. We had best quit the clearing,” warned
the former thief.

They stepped back into the woods on either side of the
clearing and waited. Five long minutes went by as all four
readied weapons. With flurry, seven forangen and one
human entered the clearing and sat on the logs. The man
turned to the beasts and yelled, “Why do you cretins have
to be so damn easy to kill? You look scary enough but my
grandmother’s bones are less fragile than yours. If that
captain hadn’t called off the chase, we’d all be dead.”