Lancecain woke to darkness. He was groggy but it only took a moment to get his bearings. As he felt the dull ache and extreme itching over his face, the memories of the previous night came back to him. He sucked in a deep breath, smelling damp earth, and let it out slowly. Being bested didn’t feel good but his chances of escaping on his own had been abysmal from the start. It was why he had used the bulk of his magic to call for help. Unfortunately, the knights hadn’t been able to reach him in time.

The itching on his face intensified as he became more aware of it. A hand moved toward his cheek slowly, Lancecain knowing better than to poke at a wound but unable to help himself.

“Do not touch.”

Lancecain stiffened as he heard the familiar voice speak from nearby. Waking up in the dark with no healer to see to him, he knew he wasn’t in the custody of his order, but it was jarring to have his suspicions confirmed. “My attackers, I assume. Don’t suppose you can shed any light.”

The strange estrazi, Lancecain guessed from the voice, hissed. “You are the one who wields light.”

The lack of pain in his chest meant he had recovered from the worst effects of mana strain but he was in no hurry to throw spells. “If we are going to share each other’s company for a while, I would like to have something to call you.”

“I am Little Water.”

An unusual name. Though he supposed it was unusual enough that the creatures that were isolated beyond the walls of Victory spoke Common at all. She could have had a perfectly respectable name in her native language and it only translated into something odd in human tongue. “Good to meet you, Little Water. I am Lancecain.”

“No. You are a guide. You will guide me to my human and then you are nothing.”

“Does that mean you plan to kill me? Because that doesn’t give me much motivation to help you.” Normally, it’d be unthinkable to help an enemy of humanity but Lancecain didn’t think it was a bad idea to lead the estrazi to Alana and her wives. He doubted they would have nearly as much trouble fending them off.

“No. I will give you to my human.”

“I’ve never been a present before.” He chuckled. “You think highly of Khan.” Despite being a member of the James family, the youngest living son of the duke didn’t have much of a reputation. He obtained a bit of infamy with his refusal to participate in the campaigns but in the following years, he became nothing more than an oddity. People didn’t think badly of him but they certainly didn’t think much of him. It was strange hearing any being take such a strong interest in who Lancecain thought of as a thoroughly unremarkable young man. “What do you want from him anyway?”

“That is not your concern.”

Meeting a boundary, Lancecain changed his avenue of advance. “Can I at least know where I am? Being too far from home makes me uncomfortable.”

“You are with me. That is all you need to know.”

Taking in the darkness, the smell of earth, and the uneven ground he felt beneath a questing hand, the young knight guessed he was underground. A good strategy. If the estrazi had dug deep enough and covered their traces well, it would be hard to find them. The knights would comb the area for him but few would think to look underground.

However, if the creature thought that digging a hole would be enough to escape the knights of Victory, it was vastly underestimating their forces. While the fighting might have delayed their response time, they wouldn’t stop looking for him for quite a while.

During the campaigns, armies would fight hordes of monsters to bring back the bodies of the fallen. The storms had forced to them to abandon their dead and it was a bitter drink to swallow. With Lancecain’s prominent reputation, they would be burning with motivation to find him. The estrazi might have managed to hide him but he wouldn’t bet on their chances of escaping the north. Lancecain wouldn’t be surprised if there were patrols combing the village and its surroundings day and night for weeks.

“I doubt you’ll believe me but here’s some advice. If you want to see Khan, your best hope would be throwing yourself on the duke’s mercy. As things stand, the knights will kill you on sight. I don’t know how you managed to sneak past Victory but they will be waiting for you.”

Another hiss. There was something mocking in the pitch of it. “I know of humans. You are not the unflinching nameless. Soon, your brood will grow weary of their duty. Or distracted. I saw the state of your surface burrow and the Disgraced that flew over it. If it returns, your brood will have no time to spare for you, little leader or not.”

“Disgraced?”

“Surely, you did not miss a creature of such power.”

Lancecain finally drew the connection. “Do you mean the Lord?”

Little Water hissed and clicked. “Lord? Stupid name. The Disgraced are lords of nothing. Broken creatures that live without purpose.”

“You know what the Lords are?” In his excitement, Lancecain sat up. He didn’t make it halfway before his chest bumped against a bar of earth. Carefully moving his legs showed another arc of earth over his legs, keeping him from spreading them too far apart or raising them too high. The arcs of hardened earth were loose bindings but effective enough in restricting his movements. “And what did you call them? Disgraced?”

“Calm down.” A cool hand touched his chest and forced him to lie prone. “We took care but you are hurt. We will speak as long as you can keep calm. Otherwise, I will knock you out.”

“I’m surprised you are being so open.” It would be better to say he was suspicious. It made him doubt the veracity of the statements but the information was so incredible, he wouldn’t let the opportunity go. Someone else could investigate how truthful they were if he made it out of his predicament alive. “But I appreciate it. The Disgraced. You know them?”

He heard a chuff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Yes, guide. The brood knows them. The brood made them. When we came to this land, we sought servants. As the majesties elevated us, we in turn elevated the residents of the frost.”

“Impossible.” He refused to believe that any creature could create another as powerful as the Lord. “Forgive me if you take this as an insult but I can’t see the estrazi subjugating, let alone creating, the being I witnessed.”

“What do you know of the brood, human wielder of light? What have you seen of the majesties’ servants? I am not the equal of my sisters. I cannot compare to Great Mother. Her grace could make a champion of a worm. They bowed to her greatness but like all other creatures that live without purpose, they strayed from their path. The useless things did not dare face the brood and fled to the furthest edge of our territory where they cower, hoping we continue to ignore them.”

“You’re telling me the Lords of the Peaks, the strongest manabeasts in the north, are at the top of those mountains to…hide from you and your family?” He couldn’t hide his disbelief. “If they are so scared, why not leave the north entirely? It is a big world out there.”

“They cannot. Great Mother is not stupid. Those that are not brood cannot be trusted. They must be chained, either through oaths or threats. Their chain is woven into their being. They need the cold to survive. They cannot leave and it motivates them to do their duty.”

“Their duty?”

“No. Now, you will speak. You will tell me of my human. Where he is and what they have done to him. Everything you know.”

“…and if I refuse?”

“You will not refuse for long.”

Lancecain grimaced. His experience was miserable enough without being tortured for readily available information. Besides, as long as Little Water continued to give information freely, it was an advantageous exchange. He didn’t have many options either. “Very well. I suppose I should start with the attempt to kidnap Khan from his sister.”