[Chapter 21 - An Ill Omen]

  I dreamt of the inquisitors that night.

  They sat around an open fire, a flame which illuminated them within the night dark.

  To call it a welcome sight was not quite the correct sentiment, but still I felt a sense of reassurance when I saw them.

  I was eager to know where they were and what they had been up to, or at least how close they were to finding me and what had been the reason for why they had still not yet come.

  All five sat together, resting upon the logs and stools which made up their chairs.

  I could recognise Achios immediately from his huge build, and like some of the other members of their party he had taken off his helmet.

  For the first time, I could see their faces properly.

  His was that of olive skin, a countenance that looked rough but weary.

  Within his worn eyes was a great depth as if speaking of the countless horrors he had witnessed, whilst his mouth was shrouded behind a beard of dark brown.

  He held in his hand a long stick with which he used to stoke the fire, prodding at it while he conversed with his leader.

  “Why did we not go after him?” Dissatisfaction laced his words, but he took care to maintain his respect even amongst it. “You saw the Trail. It ran north from the gate, and came back over and over again. If he’s not a soldier then he’s at least part of the legion. Line every member of the escort carriage up and we’ll know who it is.”

  “I understand your frustration, Achios.” Even here where the inquisitors sat alone, Serin had not taken off her mask. Her voice instead grated through the metal shrouding her face, its tone just as calm and collected as ever. “But we have been summoned by the Senate. Their demands take precedence.”

  “I don’t like this.” Achios growled. “We have to leave that fucker alone because the fools in the council want us to run around on some meaningless boot-licking errand once again.”

  “I would not be so sure of that this time.” I could almost make out the smile across Serin’s face, one that I could clearly hear in her words but I could not see behind her mask.

  Achios faced her, an eyebrow raised at that remark. “What do you mean?”

  But she said nothing more, answering him with only a light chuckle.

  “Bah!” He swung his head back round towards the campfire before him. “I’ll do as you say. Can’t say it doesn’t leave me uncomfortable but you’ve never been wrong.”

  And a silence settled over them, the ambience one of surprising comfort as the flames crackled in the night.

  “Hey Achios.” The voice of another member broke the quiet. It came from the girl sitting alone on the log opposite, chewing on a dried strip of meat which she held in her hands.

  I recognised her to be Ira, the same girl who had bickered with Achios so frequently in my dream, and was now sitting with her elbows on her leg, ginger hair falling by her head in a braid of auburn.

  “Why do you hate Outworlders so much?”

  Achios did not raise his eyes from the fire he was tending, staring at it in silence for a moment longer before he finally answered.

  “I come from a village west of here. Sendarr, it was called. And in it I had a friend who I grew up with in the orphanage together. He was kind, enough to go missing for hours trying to find me when I had lost my way in the forest as a child. We became adventurers when we left, and then turned to the legion for a more stable pay.”

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  The fire danced in his eyes, glowing embers slowly drifting up in a lazy ascent as he prodded at flames in a brief silence before he continued.

  “During our service, he met a girl at one of the villages we were stationed. They settled in our hometown, giving up the sword in exchange for a nice plot of farmland to tend to.”

  “That sounds nice.” Unlike the usual sarcasm that filled her voice, her words now were spoken with a deep sincerity, one that was accompanied by a sad smile. “Did you attend their wedding?”

  “Yes… and her funeral.”

  Ira glanced up sharply, but Achios continued without paying it any attention.

  “I went back one night during my few days of leave, only to find the village lifeless and desecrated. The townsfolk, the very people who had raised me, who had raised us, had been strung up against the very houses they lived in, slaughtered by a blade or otherwise hanging from the very same trees we had climbed as kids. Amongst the dead, I found him there. Alone in the temple. Surrounded by the blood of his wife, and the bodies of the children he had just had.”

  In his pause, the tension smothering the group was wrought heavier by the ominosity of the words he had just said, lingering in the space between them while he pushed at the embers with his branch.

  “His eyes were crazed. They had turned red almost, as if he had been possessed by some… thing. Do you know what he did when I killed him?”

  He raised his head to look at Ira, but his gaze seemed almost directed at me; as if it pierced past her to stare me dead in the eyes instead.

  “He thanked me. He cried a single tear when I buried my sword into his chest.”

  And then he dropped his gaze, watching the fire once more.

  “I knew him, he was not someone who would kill for fun. His murders were ones driven by the curse, a bloodlust which took over him.”

  “I’m… sorry to hear that.” Ira responded. She turned her face towards Serin, throwing a desperate look as she asked, “Is there any way we could rid the Outworlders of their curse?”

  Achios answered for her.

  “There is none. They are cursed the moment they step foot here, and they stay cursed until they leave.”

  He sighed a weary sigh, setting down his branch to the side as he did so.

  “I know your story Ira. Your life has not been easy, but killing Outworlders is the only mercy we can show them.” He clenched his fist, his gauntlets clattering in response. “Keep that in mind.”

  And he spoke no more.

  ***

  His words still weighed heavy upon me as I got dressed the next morning.

  The insinuations they made were not ones I could easily dismiss, and they recurred in my mind as I stuffed the few belongings I had into my pack.

  We had woken before sunlight, many of us stifling a yawn after forcing ourselves awake so early.

  It was a routine that we had gradually become accustomed to, but that did not make it any easier.

  I ate breakfast while I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

  We had been prescribed porridge, a food given to us by our superiors, and which we had to hastily heat up in our bowls ourselves.

  Whilst it was not exactly flavourful, it was still surprisingly mediocre compared to its unappetising appearance, and I was grateful for the warmth it radiated in my stomach as I braved the morning cold.

  My armour I strapped around myself once again, the hidden ceramic making it bulkier than the chainmail lorica hamatas the twins had chosen, and now draped upon themselves.

  Along with the others we tore down our tent, saying little as we got to work in disassembling it.

  The pieces that remained were neatly folded and wrapped into a unwieldy bundle, with which we placed upon Sam, the mule we had been prescribed.

  In the bags on his back bore our extra equipment as well, and we retained only the essentials in our pack, including our emergency food rations and bed rolls on which we were reliant.

  Bj?rn and Valen had both been kind enough to pack extra sheets of goatskin, a leather that we could rely on as a basic tent covering during our expedition.

  They stuffed these now into their bags while Felix unrolled out the map before him on the ground.

  He had been given this by the optio, taking charge as our decanus on account of his ranking.

  “Silvermine is northwest of here.” He jabbed at the marked cross with his finger, “Just over fifty-thousand paces. There’s a dirt road that will lead us to it, which they normally use to transport ore. We’ll have to stay off it to avoid anyone keeping watch, but we can follow beside it in the forest. It’ll take a bit longer, but because we’ve got Sam watching over our stuff,” he gave the mule a fond pat on the head, “we can get there just after nightfall with a short rest halfway. He’ll watch over our stuff in the barracks with his life.” And a mock salute was given by him to the mule.

  Ante snickered at the act while Marcus managed a weary grin.

  The tension of the previous day had not yet gone, but Felix did his best to try to relieve it.

  Even I could not help but smile at his enthusiasm, especially when it was followed by Reyna striking him over the head.

  “Fucking idiot.” she snorted, but still Felix looked extremely pleased with himself.

  And as a group we headed out, towards the mining village we did not yet know that would change the fate of the republic.