The Warrior

Chapter six

         Chapter Six


         Just before dawn the morning bell rang, waking the camp. Kay, already up and dressed, scowled at the sound chiming through the heavy tent fabric. If he was in charge of an enemy force, he would wait for the sound of the bell to attack, safe in the knowledge that the soldiers he was fighting would be unarmed and confused from sleep. He needed to talk to Rodrick about that, and find a more quiet way to wake the soldiers.
         “Mflgh…”
         The strangled sound from the bed grabbed his attention, and as he turned, the sight before him made him chuckle. Marissa, clearly not a morning person, was watching him with with wide eyes, blinking like a confused owl. She was trying to speak, but the words came out as little more than grunts. After a few minutes she gave up, and flopped back down on the bed, instantly asleep. The mere sight of her put him in a good mood, and he left the tent with a smile on his lips.


         The camp buzzed with activity, but without the normal chatter. The early start dampened everyone’s spirits, but there was something else. Something was very wrong. Kay couldn’t say how he knew, but a chill ran down his spine as he went in search for Rodrick, his good mood left behind at the tent. As he walked through the camp, his unease grew. The soldiers, though usually weary, now cowered at the sight of him. Frost-covered grass crunched underfoot and his breath showed as a cloud of white mist in the cool morning air as he speed up, anxious to find his second in command and dispel the growing dread in the pit of his stomach.
         “Kay!” The shout came from the stables, and as he turned toward the voice he saw Rodrick leaning against a fence, looking unusually serious and slightly sick. The man was an old warrior who had seen his share of blood and violence. It had to be bad, to make him look like this.
         “Rodrick,” Kay nodded to the older man, “what’s up?”
          “I am sorry, son.” Son? This was  more serious than he’d thought. “It’s Rhiannon. She’s been killed.”
         Rhiannon was a foul-tempered mare, the terror of pages and stable-boys everywhere, but she grudgingly tolerated Kay, and her foals were priceless. Kay liked the beast, whose temper matched his own. Without a word, he turned and entered the stable.


         Invaluable to an army on the move, the horses received better care than the soldiers, and the stable was the best kept structure in the camp. Heavy canvas covered a sturdy wooden frame, and several lanterns hung from the roof beam, lighting up the scene inside. There were no horses left, only the lonely carcass on the floor. It was dark in the building despite the lanterns, so it took him several minutes to make out the stab wounds, and the blood. Once he saw it, he didn’t know how he could have missed it at first. It was everywhere, smeared out over the floor, the beams and the canvas walls. Seconds after the sight sank in, the smell followed, rank and metallic, sticking to the back of his mouth. He drew a deep breath to steady himself, but realized that this was a very bad idea, so he backed out and went to lean against the fence, next to Rodrick. The other man lit up a pipe, and the tobacco smoke erased the lingering stench in Kay’s nostrils.
         “It’s different when it’s an animal, isn’t it? A human can defend himself, and the people we kill are usually trying to kill us in turn. This is different. Worse.” Rodrick’s voice was weak, but sympathetic, and his words reflected Kay’s thoughts. He nodded in agreement.
         “Did anyone see anything?” It was unlikely since no alarm had been raised during the night, but Kay had to ask.
         “No, nothing until it was discovered this morning.”
         “Who found her?”
         “Robbie. The poor kid is still vomiting.”
         “Where was he? And the other pages? The horses are their responsibility, why were they not here?” Kay could feel the numbness giving way to anger, and he wanted to find someone to blame.
         “Robbie was hiding from the other pages, who were off looking for him. They were going to “rough him up a bit”. It seems this has been a nightly ritual for the past few months.” There was no reproach in Rodrick’s voice, but Kay felt it nontheless. He should have known, and protected the boy. If the horse was Robbie’s responsibility, Robbie was his, and they had both failed their duties.
         “The pages get three lashes each. Send Robbie to me, I will deal with him myself. I want two guards on the stable and two on the animal pens every night from now on. Let’s not have a repetition of this.”
         He turned to leave, but before he could take three steps, Rodrick called him back.
         “There was something else.” Resigned, he turned and went back to the fence.
         “What?”
         “There was a message pinned to the door.” Without comment, Kay accepted the piece of fabric Rodrick handed him, and read the three words written on it.
         “”You will pay”? Not very informative, is it?” The fabric was canvas, the same type used for the tents, so easily come by. The hand writing was uneven, but that could just be from writing on an uneven surface. “Do we know where the canvas was taken from?”
         “Yes, we do.” Rodrick seemed reluctant to continue.
         “Well?”
         “I just got word that there is a piece missing from your tent, matching the size and shape of this piece.”
         “My tent?”
         “Yes. We already suspected the message was for you, since Rhiannon was your mare, but this confirms it.”
         Kay didn’t know what to think. How could anyone have cut a piece out of his tent without him noticing it? Of course he had been rather preoccupied the previous night…
         “So I have an enemy. Well, that’s not exactly new. But we’ve fought and traveled together for a long time, why do this now? As far as I know, nothing has happened recently that would trigger such a thing. Can you think of anything?”
         “Well…” Rodrick thought about it, “There is the girl.”
         Kay laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. “You don’t suspect Marissa, I hope? I can give her a pretty solid alibi if you do.”
         “No, I don’t think she did it, but her arriving here is the only thing I can think of that’s out of the ordinary. There’s probably no connection, but it wouldn’t do to overlook it either.”
         “You’re right. I want one of us with her at all times, just in case this is not just an attack on me, but on her. Until we know who did this, you’re the only one I trust.”
         “Awww, I’m getting all choked up here.”
         Kay forced a laugh, and thumped his friend in the shoulder before taking off, heading back to the tent. The situation was serious, and Rodrick was right, he was more worried now than if it had been a man that was killed. Humans kill each other for all kinds of reasons, and it wasn’t unheard of for a fight between two soldiers to get out of hand, and one man ending up gravely injured or dead. But to kill an animal was only done for food, and even then it was a matter of survival. But the injuries on the horse, the numerous stab wounds, indicated that someone had gone berserk on the animal. He had seen injuries like that on humans, caused by men drowning in bloodlust in the middle of fierce battle. It was a state called “Ignar’s curse”, a type of madness, and if someone in the camp had it, then they would kill again. The bloodlust would not be quenched by only one kill. And the next time, it would likely be a human.


         Marissa woke to the sight of Kay entering the tent, a dark look on his face, though he spared her a quick smile when he saw she was awake.
         “You should get packed. The departure has been delayed, but we should be heading off in about an hour.” Marissa could see the thin lines of strain around his eyes, so she got up and pulled on a dress, before gathering her things. It only took a few minutes, and Kay watched her the whole time, though he had a far off look in his eyes, suggesting he wasn’t really seeing her. Gathering her bags, she turned toward him.
         “I’m done. Will you tell me what’s wrong?” She didn’t want to come across as a nagging woman, but she was curious about what could put such a haunted look on the          face of such a strong man. Kay didn’t seem to mind her inquisitiveness, though.
“One of my horses was killed during the night.”
         “Killed? As in, did not die from natural causes?”
         “Not unless you count multiple stab wounds ‘natural’.” Kay grabbed her bags, and followed her out of the tent. Together they headed toward the mess tent, to get some breakfast while the camp was dismantled and made ready for travel. While they walked, Kay filled her in on the events of that morning.


         “And you think that note could somehow be directed at me? But how could that be? I don’t know anyone here, I only arrived yesterday.”
         “We don’t know anything for sure yet, but I won’t take any chances.” His hand stroked her back,  before settling on her neck in an unconscious caress. The gesture melted something deep in Marissa’s stomach, and she found herself smiling despite the grave topic of conversation. Kay continued talking, unaware of the pattern his fingers were tracing on her skin, and she forced herself to listen. “I will introduce you to my second in command, Rodrick Camden, later on. I’ve known him a long time, and I trust him with my life. You will be safe with him, and with me, but I want you to be extremely careful around everyone else in the camp. We have no way of knowing who is behind this, it could be anyone.”
         A thought occurred to Marissa while listening to Kay. “I will be careful, but how many could really have written that note? I mean, how many in this camp can read and write?”
         “Everyone, I’m afraid. This is one of three armies under my command. The other two remain in the capitol, at the King’s command. Had it happened in one of them, the search for the perpetrator would be a good deal easier, but this is my core group, an elite army under my personal command, and the ability to read and write is a requirement to be accepted into it.” She shot him a wry look, and was rewarded by a grin. “What can I say, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” The grin gave him a boyish charm, and she could sense his pride in the army he had assembled. She determined to learn more about it, but only moments later she questioned her own motives for wanting to do just that. What did it matter that he was proud and enthusiastic about this instrument of war he had created?
         Kay continued talking about the army, pointing out various instruments and explaining their use, but Marissa was lost in her own thoughts. She had only known this man a day, yet already he was challenging her determination to become a Priestess. His fingers still caressed her neck, touching the edge of the apprentice’s Pryd at the top of her spine. She closed her eyes in confusion, breathing a heartfelt prayer:
         “Dear Lagoe, show me the right path. Guide my steps, and may my destination be pleasing to you.”



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