Captured

“What will it be, wizard of the Isles?” – Einhart asked, having given his orders to the man. – “Will you accept the crystals and rebuild the magic in this land?”

He stretched his arm towards Katnir. The seal of Halandir seemed more tempting than ever.

Maybe I don’t need to come back. Maybe I can rebuild my life here. In my crippled state I may never become the greatest among my peers on the Isles, but here the power of the crystals would make me the mightiest wizard on the continent. Maybe it’s not such a bad bargain…

He moved his hand, intending to seize the seal for himself, but suddenly, a quarrel ripped past them and stuck into the wall. A squad of knights spilled into the room, swords in hands. Einhart immediately cast a fireball into the ceiling, burying some of them under the rubble. The rest pressed on.

Katnir didn’t have his sword, and hesitated to use magic against them. He recognized the crest of the Brotherhood, and was unsure if it was wise of him to use violence against them. Finally, he decided it was better to repel the attack now and ask questions later.

He tried pushing them away with telekinesis, but it was to no avail. All of them wore catharite gorgets, rendering his spells ineffective. Before he recovered from his failed attempt, the closest knight swung his sword at him. He dodged the attack swiftly and dashed back, out of range. He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, but his opponent gave him no time to actually arm himself. He swung the sword again. Katnir ducked at the last second, grabbed the sword at both ends and twisted his body sharply, wrestling the weapon out of the knight’s hands. Having finally armed himself, he smacked the knight in the helmet with the hilt, knocking him out.

This moment of respite finally granted him some clear mind.

Twenty years of stalemate and they raid his hideout the day I happen to be there. Ain’t that a wonderful luck?

Katnir held his sword in mordhau, intending to pommel his opponents unconscious rather than kill them. Another knight threw himself at him, cutting at Katnir’s exposed head. He skillfully dodged the strike and smote at the knight’s helmet with his guard. It almost lodged in the dented plate from the impact.

On the other side of the chamber, Einhart was easily dispatching wave after wave of enemies by shattering their catharite gorgets with his studded quarterstaff and mangling their bodies with his hemothurgy. It was a gruesome sight, with the twitching corpses piling the bloodied floor. Despite his best efforts, he could not prevail and slowly became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. The knights pressured him closer and closer to the window. Soon he was standing on the cornice, still swinging his quarterstaff.

“We’ll see each other again, wizard!” – he shouted and leaped from the window.

“Nooo!” – Katnir cried, realizing the seal was gone with him.

Alone against a growing swarm of opponents, Katnir retreated into a narrow corridor further into the catacombs, forcing the knights to face him one by one. He hoped that stacking some unconscious bodies in the corridor would allow him to retreat further into the catacombs and, hopefully, find a way out.

The first opponent entered the passage and Katnir raised his weapon to strike. Suddenly, a blunt blow from behind fell on his neck and he collapsed mid-swing. The corridor faded into nothingness as his head struck the stone floor, knocking him out.

***

The knights of the Brotherhood welcomed them with open arms, though they did not spare them some snarking comments about being late to the party. Satine tried to ignore them, but she could not deny that they left deep cuts in her pride. She did not want to appear incompetent in the eyes of the Brotherhood.

It did, however, look like they had missed quite a battle. Trees and boulders were scarred with fireball blast marks, some still smoking. Scattered across the site lay at least a dozen killed knights, some mangled with telekinesis, some burned by fire, others slain via other arcane means, including one skewered through the chest with an ice spear which had already started to melt. Twice as many wounded were being carried away to the medical tent.

Whatever was left of the guerillas’ camp was now being examined and collected to be sent back to Arskegg. Satine had counted at least five pack mules worth of artifacts and implements labeled and neatly packed in wooden crates. When Liesë tried to take a closer look, one of the guards slammed the crate shut with a mouthful of nasty words. Liesë had to be dragged away by Sonia before she could smack the knight with her quarterstaff.

Finally, they found a higher ranking knight willing to brief them on the situation. He was a balding man with a thick dark beard and a raspy voice. He bore an anvil on his chest as the sigil.

“Two sorcerers are dead, five escaped, including the bitch himself, but we captured one alive.”

“Did they have any prisoners?” – Satine asked.

“Prisoners? Oh no, my dear, those savages don’t take prisoners. Or at the very least don’t keep them around for long.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The knight lifted his beard to expose his throat and made a slitting gesture with his index finger. Satine shuddered, thinking that the guerillas may have tortured Katnir and disposed of him.

On the other hand, he’s a wizard. Maybe the Brothers counted him among Einhart’s men by mistake. Five out of eight made it out alive… Those are good odds.

The Brothers pitched camp in the ancient ruins, clearly intending to spend the night there before heading back to Arskegg. Camp followers were kind enough to share some hot stew with them. It didn’t smell like a wedding feast, but it was better than their rations of dried meat and hardtack.

“Here, six bowls of rabbit stew for the ladies!”

Six…? – she thought and looked back at her sisters.

At the very end, behind Taevine, Sonia, Liesë and Katria, there stood a blonde stranger, wearing a simple chainmail and the same type of cloak as them. She even had the crest of the Sisterhood! Satine almost dropped her bowl. Perplexed at the sight, it took her a few seconds to realize that the sixth sister was Reiny in disguise.

She led the battlesisters to a secluded spot and they sat in a circle on mossy rocks. Satine nudged Reiny with her elbow.

“What do you think you’re doing?” – she whispered anxiously.

“Blending in, can’t you see?” – Reiny replied in a flawless feminine voice.

Satine was bewildered to see a shapeshifter impersonating a battlesister, and so accurately at that. She would have never guessed it was a disguised sorcerer.

“Don’t get too close with the catharite” – Reiny said – “or you will dispel the illusion.”

“But won’t they notice you using an illusion in their midst?” – Liesë joined the conversation, looking around with suspicion.

“They won’t, the background aura here is too strong. I shouldn’t stand out.”

“What do we do now?” – Katria asked.

“Isn’t that obvious?” – Taevine replied. – “We let the Brotherhood handle this and go back home.”

“Not yet” – Satine commanded. – “I want to see if we can learn some more from them.”

“I’ve heard one of them saying they will parade the captured sorcerer before they lock him up for the night” – Reiny said.

“There they go!” – Sonia pointed at the growing gathering at the edge of the camp, near the path leading uphill.

Satine stood up, trying to see the sorcerer, but the crowd was too thick. Everyone in the camp wanted to take a close look at the prisoner. Finally, she saw him through the opening and her heart sank. The knights were dragging Katnir, bound head to toe in chains, with a catharite shackle on his neck.

“No…” – she whispered.

***

“Brothers!” – a muffled cry pierced the mist of torpor and woke him up. – “Tonight we celebrate the victory over the treacherous sorcerers, who had been plaguing this realm.”

The ringing in his head was driving him insane. When he tried to move his hand, he realized he was chained to a pole. He opened his eyes to the blinding glare of torches stuck in his face, almost burning his skin.

When he got used to the light, he noticed a ring of knights surrounding him. He was flanked by two more. Another knight, looking much more important, judging by his decorated armor and almost regal cloak, stood in front of him, delivering a rousing speech.

His neck was burning, but not from the fire. He realized he had been shackled in catharite again. He felt overwhelmingly helpless with his magic cut off again.

When he looked around, he saw some familiar faces from the Sisterhood. He recognized Satine and the red-headed battlesister among the crowd. Four others were also in attendance.

Did they help the Brotherhood track me down? But why?

He was too weak for anger. Instead, he submerged even further in depression, loathing the goodwill he had shown them. He was truly alone.

This time not even Reiny will help me. He’s nowhere to be seen.

Even though he felt betrayed by the Sisterhood, he could not escape the feeling that Satine, the ginger and a blonde battlesister he didn’t know seemed strangely concerned.

***

“…and at dawn he will be burned at the stake!” – de Montfort finished his speech to a thunderous applause.

Satine felt weak and would have fainted if she wasn’t held upright by Sonia on one side and Reiny on the other.

This can’t be happening – she thought. – He’s not one of them. I should speak up! I should tell them!

But she couldn’t find enough courage to utter a word, too overwhelmed by the utter joy displayed by the surrounding crowd.

“Burn him! Burn him!” – the crowd chanted.

I’m sorry… I’m not fit to be a leader. I don’t deserve your friendship.

She hid her face in her cloak so no one would see her tears.

As Katnir was taken away, the Brothers dispersed and retired to their tents, posting a generous amount of sentries around the camp. The sun had set, and the camp was now only lit by torches and oil lamps spread around the area. It became quiet, apart from occasional heavy steps of a bypassing knight.

Katria and Sonia were setting up some tents for them to sleep when Sonia realized they had no free tent for Reiny. Informed about it, he expressed no concern.

“That’s fine. I don’t intend to sleep tonight anyway.”

“Why?” – Sonia asked.

“I’m breaking Katnir out.”

“What?!” – Satine could not contain her shock. – “But how?”

“Simple. I’ll impersonate the guard, tear the chains and we’ll fight our way out.”

The Sisters looked at each other with disbelief. Satine made sure no one was close enough to hear them and said:

“There are dozens of knights here, most have some catharite on them. How can you hope to take them all?”

“If I change into a stronger form, swords and spicy rocks will be barely an inconvenience.”

“Do you realize we’ll be caught in the crossfire? And the Brotherhood will be suspicious if they notice we don’t fight back or that one of us is suddenly missing.”

Reiny’s enthusiasm waned visibly.

“I’ve never had to take such a thing into consideration, but I suppose you are right. Nonetheless, I won’t leave it like this. You don’t need to get involved if that would jeopardize your relations with the Brotherhood.”

He’s right – Satine thought. – Any aid we may grant him, or even staying away would be considered an act of treason. It’s hopeless. We shouldn’t have come here… But I don’t want to abandon Katnir to his fate.

She hid her face in her hands and rubbed her forehead intensely, trying to figure out a solution. Finally, she had an idea.

Blessed be those who bestow benevolence, for those shall have benevolence bestowed upon them – she recited the words of her order. She recalled the old days, when Lynette was still with them. She recalled their escort duty with the pilgrims, the skirmishes they had with robbers and various creatures of the wilderness.

Was he any different when he defended the people of Coine? It’s the right thing to do. It’s the right thing to bestow benevolence upon the one who has bestowed his on the innocent. Even if it is against my orders, it aligns with who I am, a sister of the Sisterhood of Benevolence.

She made up her mind.

“I have another idea, Reiny. Hear me out.”