The King of Rats and His Land

We walk, mostly in silence so we don’t wake the sleeping Cloudrea. Aroura walks close by my side and the others stick to a small group slightly further away, talking to themselves. After a bit, Aroura asks, “How are you feeling?”

I’m not sure if I should answer her honestly. I don’t know what she’s after. Maybe I’ll just avoid the question. “Is it not obvious?”

I see her smile slightly from underneath her hood. “I suppose it is. But I always find that it’s comforting to confide in others. Or. Confide in something in the very least.”

Maybe I can get her to talk about herself. “Why’s that?”

She turns back to face the road ahead. “I believe it’s in our nature. To speak. We weren’t meant to face situations alone after all.”
Her voice falls quiet. Just loud enough to be heard over the light patter of rain. “That’s actually a lesson I learned rather recently. From you no less.”

I can’t help but humour her. “From me?”

She turns to me. Her eyes shine with an emotion I’m unfamiliar with. Her smile seems almost sad, but the lightness in her voice seems to work against it. “Yes. From you. If you’ll allow me to speak of my past, I’ve… Not had many true interactions with others. There were the noble’s daughters who often came to visit me, however… I feel as though they were never truly there. As though they were only there to… How to word this? There to take from me.”
She took off her hood to let her hair flow free, so I did the same. Without waking Cloudrea of course. Aroura began playing with her hands. “They would speak nice things, yes, but venom would drip from their every word. Much like my brother, Killian. I was unable to display my true nature to them for I thought they would surely belittle me while I was unable to hear them.”

I add my condolences to let her believe that her story is working. “I understand. That’s partly why I only had one friend for my childhood.”

“Right!”
Her eyes brighten a little more as her arms fling behind her back and she takes a step closer towards me. “I found that solitude, amidst my experiments was far more enjoyable than the company of noble girls. That is until I met you. Well, I mean to say that solitude does not hold the same value it used to. Until you, I had assumed that everyone acted falsely around me. You, on the opposing hand, offered me your true words. You did not hide behind false faces, like so many others.”

I smile and tilt my head at her. “What makes you so sure? Perhaps I was putting on my most devious act.”

She giggles. “You do know what acting is correct? Perhaps you need a definition?”
I glare at her, but I made sure to keep my smile. “When most people act, they behave differently to how they normally would.”

“Ah, so that’s what I got wrong. I was sure acting was behaving normally.” I let out a few fake laughs. I’m honestly a bit surprised how well my acting is working right now. I thought she would be able to see through my guise, but she just laughs along with me. I wonder how much of her I’ve truly seen. What has she told me that hasn’t been an act?
What’s the point in thinking like that? I can’t fall for her tricks again.

She goes back to playing with her hands under her cloak. “I digress. What I had meant to say was, if you feel like confiding in someone. I’d love to continue our conversation.”
She almost looks nervous. She smiles as though she’s trying to hide that she’s worried. What could she be nervous about?

“You mean for your experiments?”

“No, no. Just… It would bring me great joy to help you in any way I can.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. What would I say normally? Luckily, I don’t have to figure it out. Maheed tapped my other shoulder. “Kar, there’s something wrong with this land.”

“What are you talking about?”

He looks around one last time before turning back to me. “The spirits here. They’re endless. Even in Solaris, there were only spirits near grave sites and catacombs. There shouldn’t be this many roaming the lands.”

Aroura leans forward to talk to him over my chest. Back underneath her hood, she asked, “How do you know there are spirits?”
After he explains his spirit vision she asks another question. “That’s amazing. I desire greatly to hear all about that, but alas we have more pressing issues. Why is their presence an issue?”

I nod my head in agreement and wait for his answer. “They’re watching us. Normally spirits like this just ignore the living, but they’re… Talking at us.”

Aroura begins crafting ideas to herself, so I ask him instead. “Is there anything we can do about it?”

He stares at me from under two hoods before suggesting, “Look less interesting?”

After one overly long breath, I let out, “Good idea Maheed, I tell the men to get right on that.”

He grumbles to himself. “It’s not like you have a better idea.”
That’s… A decent argument.

The presence of death grows heavier and heavier as we approach Karvithia. To the West, where the forest grows thicker towards the mountain range, hanging cages decorate the trees. I believe they’re called gibbets. Every single cage holds a body. From bodies so old, they’re little more than bones, to bodies so fresh they still bleed. A few of these cages were in and surrounded Solaris, but I’ve seen more gibbets in an hour than I’ve ever seen in Solaris. And to the East, where occasional farming villages breaks apart the forest, sits fat trees and gallows. Hanging upon every branch is yet another corpse.
It's as though Karvithia can’t get rid of its own people fast enough. Whatever Leonhart was doing, his people can’t be happy.

As the fog around us begins to grow ever more dense, I feel a light pull on the back of my neck. A second later, Cloudrea pops out from under my cloak. Her head sticks out of my chest like a rabbit out of its burrow. I greet her scarred face with a smile and a, “Did you sleep well?”

She nods slightly before looking around and seeing all the gibbets. She nervously asks me, “Whe-where are we g-going, master?”

“No master. My name is Kar.”
She nods once. “I’m going to make sure no one has to go through what you did ever again. Understand?”

She nods and looks to Aroura who’s smiling sweetly at her. Cloudrea bows and says, “G-greetings mistress. How m-m-may I ser-serve you?”

Aroura returns to her normal state of lighthearted worry. “Ah, no no. You can just call me Aroura.”

Cloudrea leans closer to my chest. “As y-you command, mistress Aroura.”

She looks to me for help. Don’t ask me, she still calls me master. In response, I merely shrug. She looks to the little cloud on my chest then to me, back to Cloudrea, back to me before asking, “Can I hold her?”
Desh’s warning rang in my ears. But I don’t want to let her know that I’m suspicious of her just yet. And either way, Cloudrea was a slave. Not the child of some powerful person. There shouldn’t be anything to worry about. I ask the little cloud if she would be okay with it and she just nervously nodded into my chest.

When I handed her to Aroura, she exploded with delight. She’s treating her like a puppy. “Oh, aren’t you just the most adorable thing! Your eyes are so pretty!”
Cloudrea, unsure how to respond, decided to hide behind her hair. As Aroura continues to coddle her, Maheed decides to join them. He lets them both pet him, which lets Cloudrea become a bit more comfortable.
Since it seems like they have this covered I decide to meander on over to the other three captains.

“What do you plan to do with her?” Toross asked while staring at the other two.

“I’m not sure yet. I think I’ll figure that out when we take control of Karvithia.”

Wal’s growl rumbles in my ears. “She’s already attached to you. She’s glanced over here three times since you’ve arrived.”
I looked over and, surely enough, caught her gaze. I gave her a reassuring smile before turning to Wal. He-I mean she, continues. “I say she lives with us.”

Naz agreed. “Aye. It wouldn’t be right to leave the lil’ lass anywhere but with us.”
I don’t see a way around it. I suppose I’m an adoptive parent now. Since we’re on the topic of our eventual rule, I decide to force the conversation towards that.

After a long climb, the army stops at the top of a large hill with Karvithia in clear sight. It looks more like a fortress of the dead rather than a city. Some farmland surrounded the city, but pine trees and fog were more prominent. It looks like a large portion of the city sits comfortably over a lake. Or maybe it’s all sitting over the lake? It’s difficult to tell from this distance.
Whereas Solaris has bright white walls, it seems like all Karvithian buildings are made from dark wood or black stone and some of the larger buildings even have spikes. Dark green banners and flags, bearing the Karvithian boar, flew from most buildings.

With the Sun sitting so low, Alister decided that this was a good place to stop for the night. The squires began setting up the camp. Alister approached me from atop his great white steed with his usual, unnaturally large smile. “Hail, Lord Kar’Desh! Oh, and his court.”

The others bowed, but I remained standing. “Greeting Alister. What do you need from me?”

He hoped off his horse and plopped into the mud. “Walk with me Kar’Desh. There are matters I wish to discuss with you. Oh, and the others may join us should they desire.”
He turns and begins to walk off.

I look to the others. Maheed and Aroura still had Cloudrea so they stayed behind. The other’s followed me as we walked with Alister through the camp. Everyone saluted and bowed as we passed, but Alister paid them no mind. He looks back to Aroura as he walks. “It would appear my daughter has taken quite a liking to your own.”
His smile shifts in subtle ways. It looks slightly more frustrated than normal. “I hate you and your kind. I feel there is something inherently ugly about demi-humans. It would appear I didn’t instill that idea in my own children well enough.”

“We really are alike Alister. I feel the same way about humans.”

“Yes, your hatred for us humans is painfully evident in the way you flirt with my daughter.”
I can’t help but let my eyes fall into a glare. His normal smile returns and he stops. We face out towards the dark city from the edge of our camp. “I’ve decided to give her to you.”

I wait for him to continue. When he doesn’t I finally ask. “What are you talking about?”

“What do you see when you look at Karvithia? Oh, and before you say, ‘don’t avoid the question,’ I’m not. Your answer determines mine.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. What in the name of the Lords is he on about? He glances at me and motions his head towards the city. “Go on, look. Tell me what you see.”

With a quick sigh, I turn my sight towards the dark city. He’s probably not looking for a literal answer. A more philosophical one then? Memories of this morning pierce my ears. Cloudrea’s cries clear my mind and provide me my answer. “Corruption. A city waiting to be cleansed and the potential for a truly prosperous nation.”

He stares at me. His smile slowly fades and his eyes burn into my very soul like hazel infernos. I won’t be intimidated. The world around us disappears as I stare him down. A moment later, his smile sprawls across his face and he slaps my shoulder. “A fine answer! Marry Aroura.”

“What?”

“I said-“

“I know what you said! Why?”

His smile deepens. “Isn’t it every father’s dream to see their daughter happy? Surely you’ve seen how she dotes on you! Honestly, like a child that one! I know she’ll be much happier with you than her previous arrangement.”
What is this geezer getting at!? “Of course, you could just… Not marry her and break her poor little innocent heart.”
Is he trying to… Guilt me into marring his daughter?

“I’m not marring Aroura.”

He looks truly hurt. Both his hands grasp his heart and he bears a truly horrified face. Like I just offended him in the worst possible manner. A mere breath later and he’s fine. “Well, either way, I’m letting her live in your city. I’m certain she was already developing plans to leave anyway. Proceed as you desire.”
He lets out the largest yawn and walks in a random direction. “Well, I am absolutely exhausted from a day of riding atop my horse. We shall speak tomorrow!”

I can’t for the life of me, figure out what he might be planning. What reason could he possibly have telling me to marry Aroura? Naz, bumps my leg with his elbow. When I look down at him, he wiggles his fuzzy eyebrows at me. “No, you brick-headed oaf.”