Old Friends

Chapter 31

Ackley

Riding through the woods, I could hear the whisper of the spirits. They actively tried to turn me aside, but I was not swayed. I had long kept the habit of treating them well and they were reluctant to work against me. Even so, I would surely have become lost if not for my hound. Fleur kept her nose to the ground and kept us on course when eyes would have failed us both.

Even so, I could only sigh when she pointed, letting me know our quarry was nearby. I’d wanted to get the matter over with and annihilate the camp, but our orders were clear despite being strange. The bandits were to be taken prisoner but gagged and none could be left out. It was why I was riding through the woods after a woman and child like some common degenerate.

Stumbling behind me the Baronet’s hired mage Larch muttered a powerless curse and swatted at what I sensed but could not see. A move which only made his lot worse as the spirits grew irritated with his disrespect. Spirits and fey both had strange habits and fixations; it was why I kept my hair long and rode without a helmet when they were near. Denying them a chance to braid my hair was courting nothing but trouble.

“Pardon, but I’ve work to do,” I said softly before putting on my helmet.

“What?” Larch asked far too loudly. I flinched, wondering if he’d cost us our chance at surprise.

“Stay behind me, the woman hunted a rabbit with a sling this morning,” I said, fighting down a sigh. I wouldn’t deny the woman was skilled but three stout men in armor would have been enough to subdue her, even armed. Instead, I’d been ordered to drag along the mage who was proving to be nothing more than an unneeded complication.

“I’m hardly so fragile as a rabbit, Ackley,” Larch shot back, still too loud. I disagreed but the main point was he was much larger and slower. I kept that thought to myself.

“You’ll have to sign for the extra time this is taking as well, Ackley,” He added, still emphasizing my name oddly. My guess was he wanted to pointedly not use my title, but I wasn’t sure. Mages could be strangely juvenile. My name might well have been a swear in a magical language I wasn’t familiar with.

“Certainly,” I replied tightly. I didn’t mind a certain level of arrogance normally. It wasn’t possible to work with nobility otherwise. Mages worked hard and could accomplish astonishing feats. The problem was that so far, all Larch had been good for was counting the hours he was due pay for.

Thankfully we found ourselves at the edge of the spirit glade where the woman and child had hidden. Around me, I could hear the gentle hum of irritated spirits and I halted both my hound and horse. I wasn’t able to speak with them directly but knew very well it would be dangerous to approach. Larch, however, ignored me and went to continue on, and I moved to block him.

“Fool, we need to make offerings-” What I was about to say was cut off as a sharp metallic clang filled the air. A stone had grazed my chest plate and struck a nearby tree hard enough to make a gouge in the bark. Grabbing Larch by the scruff I turned my horse and dragged him a few yards back before letting him fall to the ground.

“Now wait!” I said harshly, making sure to get my horse and hound behind trees. Rose was a reasonably placid creature for a warhorse but not infallible and I hadn’t put on her full barding. She was getting on in years and I routinely left the flank panels and heavy blanket off to spare her the weight unless I was expecting trouble.

I sighed as I gave her a carrot and then sighed again because of how often I was sighing. It was a bad habit I was developing since the appointment of the new Baronet. He’d insisted I ride out directly from his estate without any forewarning as if it made sense to go underprepared when my home was only a quarter hour’s ride from his.

Thinking of recent inconveniences, I felt the ripple in the air of a spell being cast a moment before a whistling of wind. Larch had cast a wind shield and was charging into the glade. I tried to get hold of him, but he was already out of the trees and into the open before I could.

“What in the name of the gods are you doing?” I demanded as I hurried to try and drag him back. Even if he was generally incompetent, he should have known better than to just walk into an enemy’s line of fire. Mages were fearsome but comparatively delicate to other combatants. They required focus and mental clarity while a knight could fight with half their guts hanging out and a concussion.

“Ha, as if you don’t know about the bonus,” he spat at me. I was stunned, money was well known to make people stupid, but there should have been a limit.

“I’ll bring him back the Silverleaf bitch’s head myself,” he continued. A stone was deflected, and he pulled away from my strengthless grasp with ease. Silverleaf was not a name I’d heard in some time.

“Lady Jessica has returned?” I asked and received a sneer in reply. It was enough to let me know I was right, and I considered the matter for a few moments. Larch was still walking into the glade like a fool while I moved back among the trees. Without Fleur, he wouldn’t be able to find the other side of the glade given how vexed the spirits were with his disrespectful behavior.

Putting Fleur back on the scent I skirted the edge of the glade, letting Larch keep Lady Jessica and her sling busy. I kept my helmet on anyway. The trees were too thick to make it easy, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t get lucky if I gave her the chance. The spirits around the glade hummed like hornets in their agitation.

They weren’t strong enough to overcome Larch immediately. That didn’t stop them putting snares and pits in his way, growing thick thorns on the plants, and everything else they could quickly do to vex him. He fought back like an angry bull, snapping at every little thing that happened and wasting his magic.

When Fleur pointed silently I stopped and hid, searching with my eyes and ears for a sign of the Lady. She was quiet, but the soft whir of the sling before she released it gave her away. Standing in the shadows of the tall trees was a familiar face, though no longer the one I remembered. Jessica Silverleaf had been kind and quiet. A young lady who liked to be left to her interests rather than bother with her father’s social climbing. Books, embroidery, and management of her father’s household had filled her days.

The woman I was looking at moved with confidence that would have been foreign to that girl. She let loose the sling and the shot drew a shower of curses from Larch as he tried in vain to reach her. Easy to hand stood a spear, and she glanced warily at the woods around her before moving back behind cover to pick up new stones. I moved deeper into cover myself, not wishing to find myself or Fleur taking direct fire.

“Lady Erica Silverleaf?” I called out softly. She stiffened for a moment in shock but was grabbing her spear and whirling around in the next. Getting low and maneuvering to put the tree between her and the sound she cautiously scanned the area.

“I’m Ackley Camphor, I was a squire when you left the estate,” I continued. She probably wouldn’t remember me, but my family had served hers for generations. A fact most probably wouldn’t have known since we’d only gained a knighthood when I was a boy. Peasant families weren’t really considered valuable supporters and since I’d taken it in my father’s place when he was injured the link would be even weaker. That was probably why the new Baronet and Larch hadn’t thought to question my loyalty.

“What was your hound's name then?” She called back to my surprise. It seemed I had left an impression on her, though not a terribly desirable one given the test she presented me.

“I had a wolf I was trying to domesticate…that ate your cat. His name was Willow,” I admitted unhappily. The story went that dogs as they were now descended from wolves. I wasn’t happy with the mastiffs we’d been given to use on patrols at the time. They had a tendency toward sickliness, so I’d thought to breed a bit of the wolf’s robustness back into them. The experiment had less than ideal results even before the cat was slain.

“At least you’re man enough to admit that now,” Erica called back and I thought I heard a chuckle.

“I did admit it to the captain and got a strapping for it. I just didn’t want you to cry so… Wait, how’d you know?” I asked. I was confused since I’d gone out of my way to get a kitten that matched the first one. The maids had helped me and said they found it wandering the halls before even two days had passed. She’d always looked at me accusingly while holding it, but I’d never told her the truth.

“Let’s save the reminiscing for later. Why are you here, Sir Camphor?” She asked quite reasonably.

“I wanted to confirm your identity myself,” I said and felt a little better.

“The Baronet claimed your group was bandits, but the mage let it slip who you were,” I added. She had no way of knowing my motives, so it was best I explained things upfront.

“And now that you have?” She asked, still rightfully cautious.

“I’m going to kill that mage then go back and alert those who might still be loyal that you need help. Expecting you to trust me isn’t reasonable so I won’t ask to be allowed to approach,” I said, glad she was alive. As a sworn knight my duty was usually seen as being to my liege before all else. I’d always held with the older tradition of it being to my chivalric oath, the king, then my liege.

Since the Baronet was doing things that were clearly both illegal and wrong, I wasn’t obliged to serve him. That his trespass was against the family mine had served faithfully before him was just fuel on the pyre.

“Very well. Best get to it then,” Lady Jessica replied with obvious suspicion. I laughed, knowing it was warranted. Even so, I turned my eyes to the glade, curious why Larch had fallen silent. I didn’t see him, but Fleur let out a warning howl just a moment before something dark, heavy, and snarling connected with my chest plate.