Chapter 85

Gasper wiped the sweat on his forehead after the prolonged dig. He'd naturally expected a horse to need a large grave, but it he'd been surprised to find out that his imagination had deceived him. A horse needed a very large grave, specially when its owner wanted it to be buried 'properly'. He didn't blame the travelling Warrior's for caring this much about his horse. Even an ordinary man would have an emotional bond with their horse, let alone a traveller who spent most of his time with his.

The horse had been buried properly after a lot of effort from the travelling Warrior, whose name was Evron, and several elite corps Warriors including himself. The lord had specially nudged him into helping dig the grave. He wanted him to begin building a good standing with the travelling Heaven Warrior. Obvious to the blind, the Viscount wanted to recruit the rare Warrior. On one hand, Gasper didn't mind trying. He agreed with the lord's motivations, there was no harm in trying. On the other hand, Master Rudolf believed that this was all a waste of their time. The old steward had even said that the Viscount would likely refuse to abandon this opportunity even after being refused, which would extend their stay here and delay them for the better part of a day.

Gasper understood the notion coming from the old man; specially considering that the latter never said anything that would turn out to be entirely wrong. Gasper had even taken the old man's occasional advice as a compass for his conduct in the lord's court and had also taken his advice seriously when he'd been leading the pretend bandit crew.

Gasper glanced at the tired diggers around him then at Evron who also seemed tired but also grieving. The Heaven Warrior had taken a small rock as a seat and was gazing at the late horse's grave. Gasper honestly had no idea how to console a man about the death of his horse. He knew that to a traveller, the horse was like a close friend or even a brother. But if he were to go and console him on that basis, he would sound ridiculous. You could understand the deep relation between a man and his horse, but you couldn't speak about the horse as if it was really a man. The receiving side of your consolation might even believe you to be mocking them if you were particularly unfortunate. And the last thing he needed was to offend Evron. The Viscount would likely be furious if he did.

He still approached the man though. He stopped a step and a half away from him, trying not to be pushy with his attempt at comforting him. He would just need to step back and walk away if the travelling Warrior didn't feel like talking.

He sighed loud enough to get Evron's attention then said, "I can only think that my day would be as gloomy as yours if I were to somehow lose my horse. I hate to think of that day. It has been my companion for a while now."

Evron nodded solemnly, hiding some of the grief on his face. Apparently, he seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole incident. He was a bit beyond the limit of simple sadness for his dead horse, and that would have likely gotten him some ridicule had he not been a Heaven Warrior.

"How long?"

"A decade," Evron said, sighing and shaking his head in something akin to disbelief. "It survived through many battles and injuries along the years . . . alongside me, but it had to go in the end still."

Gasper nodded with praise. "Such a persistent horse." A horse that saw combat was likely to die within five years of its birth, perhaps even earlier. It made more sense now that Evron would be that attached to his mount. Ten years was a long time; enough for a man to bond with a chair, let alone a horse. Gasper glanced at the grave of the horse then back at the grieving Heaven Warrior. "I suppose the lord wouldn't mind lending you a mount till the next stop."

Evron gave him a knowing, weak smile. "And would he pass up the chance of recruiting me?"

Gasper froze for a moment. He was giving the offer in an attempt to actually divert the man's thoughts from this being an opportunistic attempt at recruiting him, but the Heaven Warrior was obviously sharper or at least more experienced in this matter than he'd imagined. He ended up shrugging helplessly. "Wouldn't we all try had we such an opportunity?"

Evron nodded. "We would indeed. I don't blame you, honestly. Through my travels, it's become clear that lords simply can't help it when it comes to the likes of me. They always care about having a Heaven Warrior among their ranks, specially one that has a good chance of becoming something more." He nodded sideways, implying something that Gasper easily understood from the words alone.

Gasper knew that of course. A chance of having a Battlemaster serve you was irresistible to lords. That's when the strength of an individual alone could make a difference at certain instances, like a siege or a risky excursion. They were nowhere near omnipotent, but they were a sought-after advantage that very few lords inferior to a Duke had. Their rarity alone made them great for boasting among a noble's peers. So in a way, they were both a great martial addition as well as a grand trophy that one could use to prove the extent of their prestige.

"I suppose you don't intend to join our ranks then?" Gasper said with a weak smile of his own.

"Forgive me. I cannot. I stand to lose too much," Evron said.

Gasper nodded. "Let us not dwell on it then. I understand your dilemma—" Something odd caught his eye. He turned towards the carriage that had still not left, even with the unblocked road. The lady inside was popping her head out again, but she was talking to one of his Warriors this time.

ß----------------------------------------------à

Gerald was stealing glances at Gasper and Evron when one of the elite corps's Warriors approached him with an invitation from the lady in the carriage. She wanted to speak with him, it seemed.

He was slightly irritated by the untimely invitation, but he didn't forget that the knight errant that she had sent had been one of the reasons he came upon this opportunity. It would be too discourteous to refuse anyway, and a few moments of his time would do no harm anyway.

He approached the carriage. The mounted guard dismounted as he saw Gerald approaching on foot. He gave him a nod, and Gerald nodded back.

The door of the carriage was open. A whisper came from inside. "Please enter, Lord Tellus."

Gerald stepped up into the carriage. He took a seat opposite the lady, while the door was kept open for the sake of propriety. He observed her for a moment. Quite thin and bony if he were to judge, though she had delicate skin and dressed herself well enough. The reasons of him being here were so far ambiguous, so he decided to strike her with a direct question. "Is my help needed, my lady?"

"So straight forward, my lord." She sighed. "I doubt you even know my name. And here I was preparing to thank you."

He cocked his head, a bit annoyed. Her words seemed to give him more questions than answers, and he hated that. "Your name was made quite clear by the knight errant you brought with you, Lady Lena Ulryck." He paused a moment. The first time he'd heard the name, it hadn't taken much of his attention because of the confrontation that was happening. But now, it actually gave him slight pause. Through no will of his own, he found himself giving her more leeway because of her name. Though it certainly didn't bring a smile to his face to remember that he was riding farther and farther away from his sister, instead of in her direction. "And what is it that you intend to thank me for?" he asked.

"Why, of course for saving me from such danger," she said, wearing the most dramatic expression she seemed capable of mustering. "I see that you have already subdued the murderous man." She glanced outside of the carriage.

Gerald almost snorted at her words. It was quite obvious that the man was as far from being physically subdued as he was from killing anyone else today. It was also obvious that he was being treated very well by Gerald's men. Nevertheless, Gerald didn't hold back on his assault. Though he would have already left had he not taken some interest in the young woman. "I honestly don't believe that you would have been in any danger had you not brought such a reckless guardian with you."

Still dramatic, she shook her head with a helpless smile. "Sir Oldo was quite the driven man, I will admit. But he was not a guardian of mine." She sighed with mustered grief. "Although I would rather not speak ill of him after his death, he was indeed quite . . . clingy."

Gerald stared at her for a moment. He'd forgotten something important. Why was she not more shocked? He had taken the incident as more of a queer, interesting event without taking into account that a young lady such as her should not be behaving similarly. A man that she likely knew for while was brutally cut down, and she had witnessed at least the latter part of it. Yet, she seemed less shaken than an ordinary lady of her age would be. Huh. He actually began to feel uneasy instead of irritated at this invitation of hers. "Lady Ulryck, what is it you want from me?" He shot her the sharpest glare he had, hopefully making his exasperation with her antics clear.

She smiled good-naturedly, or so he would think if he had not already realized that she was a master pretender. "Please, I intend you no discourtesy, your lordship. I only wanted to thank you by inviting you to gathering that my uncle has arranged."

"I'm afraid I must decline your invitation, my lady. However I thank you for your consideration." He got up, stepping out of the carriage. "I'm afraid I have much to attend to, my lady. So it will be farewell for now."

"Lord Tellus," she hurriedly said. "Please reconsider. My invitation extends to your men as well. There will be a feast for the soldierly nearby during the gathering. Many of the region's nobles are attending. I daresay that it would be quite the opportunity for you to meet some worthy acquaintances." She paused for a moment, searching his face as he turned back to look at her. "Perhaps you need some time to confer with your aides. I shall wait a bit longer."

He stayed silent, because he did indeed need to 'confer with his aides'. He needed to know what direction the Heaven Warrior was heading.

He returned to his men and summoned Gasper from the company of Evron, immediately asking him where the travelling Warrior was heading.

"North, my lord," Gasper said. "North and more north, he told me so when I asked."

Gerald smirked. The lady was obviously heading in the same direction, and that was likely where the gathering was. He gave Gasper a look. "Any luck?"

Gasper shook his head with a wry smile. "It is like Master Rudolf says, my lord. He doesn't seem to have any need or want that we can fulfill."

Gerald gritted his teeth slightly. It was still a bit annoying to hear it in such raw words. It was no wonder though. They all dreamed of the City of Saints. Becoming a Battlemaster was the dream of every Heaven Warrior that wasn't past sixty years of age. It was the only way to become a true citizen of the revered City of Saints.Becoming a Battlemaster also came with a lot of privileges that no one could ignore. For one, a Battlemaster was sought out by high nobility and almost every King out there. He would be treated with much more respect compared to ordinary subordinates, and certainly more respect than what he would get as a Heaven Warrior. And they would likely spend the rest of their lives needing for nothing and making their own decisions, choosing which house to join without having to worry for any losses, as most would accommodate them with whatever they could afford. But most Battlemasters had other aims than coin when they reached that level. There was a strict reason why they rarely served anyone but Dukes and King regardless of how much coin was thrown at them. It was the opportunity to be landed and named a noble themselves. Only Dukes and Kings had the power to give such privileges, even if sparingly. But at least in the employ of such powerful sovereigns or nobles, a Battlemaster was likely to get an opportunity to prove his worth and win enough favor to gain something of sorts. It wasn't unheard of. It actually happened more often than one would expect, as far as Gerald knew.

He sighed. "Tell him that we will escort him on our path. I doubt he would refuse our company."

Gasper nodded and was about to turn before stopping. "He did mention repaying us with a small service if we needed, my lord."

Gerald raised his brows, pleasantly surprised. He rubbed his chin for a moment then nodded. "Let's be patient for now."

"Yes, my lord," Gasper said before leaving.

It wasn't long before everyone was prepared to leave. Gerald informed Lena Ulryck that he would attend the gathering, obviously for more than one reason. And Evron accepted their offer of company.

They were soon moving north. In a way, they were erasing their own progress in the journey, but it was only delay of two days at most. And Gerald believed there was much to gain from this delay.