The Lieutenant

“Wait.” Elian got to his feet, holding out both hands, palms toward the girl, to show he was unarmed. “We can explain.”

Before he had the chance to say anything else, a man in an officer’s uniform and a short sword in hand came running, followed by two younger men similarly armed. The officer's eyes slid over Elian and Kaia, then he stiffened as he saw the still smouldering body of the bug person.

“What in all hells?” he muttered, going closer so he could poke it with the tip of his sword.

The younger soldiers, who looked understandably nervous, stayed back, gripping their weapons tightly. The officer turned, sheathed his sword, and walked toward the girl who had first found them. She was still just standing there, staring at them with wide eyes.

“It’s fine, Lucille. I can handle this. Go back to the others and tell Sergeant Noren that he’s in charge until I return.” He nodded to the other two soldiers. “Take them with you as well. We still have a raid to fight off.”

“But lieutenant…?”

“That was an order,” he barked, then he smiled, tired face softening. “Don’t worry. I won’t be long. It’ll be okay.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, he stepped closer, straightened himself, and Elian instinctively did the same. He had to stop himself from touching his fist to his chest in the formal greeting.

“You’re clearly not villagers, so who are you and what are you doing here?” the man asked. “And… what in the name of all gods is that?”

Elian stared at the man. There was something familiar about him. His voice, the way he moved… He reminded him of… Could it be…? His face was more tired, his hair longer… but it looked like…

“Sergeant Lucen? Is that really you?”

“It’s Lieutenant now.” Lucen rubbed at his eyes, studying Elian’s face. “Have we met before? Were you in one of my squads?”

“Um…” Elian moved his hand behind his back, but it was too late. The Lieutenant had noticed the mark, and his eyes widened, his brow furrowing. “You’re a mage! But how…?” Then his eyes moved to Kaia, then back to Elian. “A mage with a Lykar-girl…”

In three long strides, he was right in front of Elian, placing his hands on his shoulders.

“Elian? It’s you, isn’t it? What are you doing here? I never thought I’d see you again. Roahr said he’d keep you far away from the human lands.”

“We came to warn everybody. About the insects. They’re changing,” Kaia said in human. “And they’re planning something. Something big.”

“Changing, you say? I suppose it has something to do with that.”

“Yeah, and that’s not even the worst of it. They’re building an army. Here. Everybody is in danger.” Elian pointed to the dead, charred bug person. “We think those act as generals or something. Giving orders.”

Lucen suddenly seemed ten years older, shoulders sinking as he rubbed at his eyes.

“I knew it,” he muttered. “They’ve been slowly changing their behavior for years now, but nobody in charge would take it seriously. You better tell me everything.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Elian confessed. The plan had been simple. Get to the king and tell him about everything they’d seen. Now that he’d found someone willing to listen, he wasn’t sure where to begin. The eggs? The missing dwarves? He looked at the dead body... 

“Those things, they can talk too. Not very well, but one of them spoke to us in human.” He shuddered at the memory. “It called us soft flesh and mentioned something about cycles. But we don’t know what it means.”

“Cycles, you say?” Lucen looked up into the sky, scratching his stubbled chin. “I’ve heard that mentioned recently… in a different context, but perhaps…”

“You’ve heard about other cycles? What do you mean?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be cryptic. It was one of the elven envoys who mentioned it, but not in regard to the bugs.” His eyes grew distant for a moment. “It was something about migration and increase in population over time. Area expansion, new cities… something like that.” He shrugged. “I didn’t pay much attention to that part of the meeting.”

“You think they connected?” Kaia, who had been collecting their weapons, handed Elian his sword. “Where’s my knife?”

“Probably not,” Lucen said just as Elian pointed downhill.

“Your knife is still down there, stuck in the other bug thing.”

“There was more than one?” Lucen asked, and they nodded. “Show me.”

Soon they squatted next to the other body, and with some effort Kaia got her knife out, wrinkling her nose at the drying blood covering it. She wiped off the worst, then placed it back at her thigh.

“This thing’s both fascinating and horrifying,” Lucen said, looking closer at the creature. “Unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

“So you believe us? Will you help us warn everybody? We’ve got letters from the dwarfs too, talking about the mines and what the bugs are doing there. From the Stonehammers.”

“Listen. I believe you, and I’ll help you, but this is not the time and place for a long discussion. I need to secure this thing for transport, so it can be studied properly. It should be enough to at least make the higher-ups consider new strategies.”

“Can you get us to the king? If we can just tell him everything, he can…”

“The king?” Lucen was clearly taken aback. “Let’s hold off on that. Build a proper case and make sure you’re not recognized. If I could recognize you, so can Kovak and some of the others. And at least some of them will insist on following through on the consequences of breaking your exile.”

“They could try,” Kaia hissed, ears flat and tail whipping.

“And they will. Don’t you doubt it. So let’s try not to have him make a public appearance just yet. Hm, let me think…” His fingers drummed against the hilt of his sword as he thought things over, then he nodded. “Right, this is what we’ll do. There’s a small inn, about a two-hour walk that way.” He pointed away from the village. “The Wandering Bull. It’s a bit of a shady place, so as long as you can pay, nobody will ask any uncomfortable questions. Get a room there, and I’ll join you as soon as I can. Then we can make proper plans.”

“Okay, we can do that, but…”

“Do you have any money?”

Elian nodded. “We do.”

His pouch was lighter than it had been when they started their journey - it seemed like forever ago - but there was more than enough for a room and a meal.

“Good. I’ll set some wheels in motion here, and join you tomorrow. Or the day after. Until then, keep a low profile, and that mark hidden.”

*

The Wandering Bull turned out to be an old farm turned into a lodging house. The dirt road leading there took them through pastures with cows and horses. Wooden benches and tables lined the courtyard between the living houses and the barns, and people were sitting outside, enjoying the sun. Some were playing board games, some sharpening knives or tools, most had a pitcher of ale in front of them. They were all humans, all men, and every head turned to follow them as they made their way to the open main door.

Inside, a middle-aged man looked up, raised an eyebrow as his gaze lingered a little too long on Kaia, and launched into a well-rehearsed speech.

“Welcome. What kind of room are you looking for? A mattress in the dorms above the barn is 25 coppers a night. Private rooms are two silvers inside the house, one silver for the outhouses.”

“We’ll take one inside the house if it’s available,” Elian said quickly. “With two beds. ”

The man sniggered, looking at Kaia again, then nodded down the hallway.

“You’re in luck. Our finest room just became free. Second one on the right.” He placed the key on the counter. “Payment up front.”

Elian gave him the money and took the key.

The room turned out better than Elian feared. The sparse furniture was worn, and the paint was flaking off the walls, but it was clean, and the window faced a paddock with a small herd of grazing horses. It was surprisingly peaceful.

“I guess we should just stay in here until Sergeant… I mean Lieutenant Lucen comes.” Elian spread his bedroll on the bed and sat cross-legged on it.

“You’re sure he’ll come?” Kaia asked, tail swishing. 

“I trust him. I’m sure he’ll help us make our case to the king.”

“I hope you’re right.” She dragged a chair to the window, cranked it open, and smiled as the breeze filled the room. “They’re very pretty animals,” she said, seating herself so she could watch them while cleaning the blood off her knife.

“They are. More impressive than pretty, though.” He laughed softly. “Are you planning on sleeping out there with them instead of in here with me?”

“Not tonight.”

They stayed in the room the rest of the day, taking their meals there as well. Even from there, the loud, raucous laughter and arguments coming from the dining hall made it clear that most of the guests were more interested in drinks than food.

“It’s getting dark,” Kaia said, pointing to the hurricane candle holders on the walls and table. “You should light them.”

“I…” It wasn’t an unreasonable request, but as he took out their flint and steel, she shook her head.

“No. Do it the other way.” She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers.

Swallowing hard, he nodded and unwrapped the temporary rag that hid his mark. He removed one of the glass covers, then raised his right hand, placing his fingertip against the wick. It was only trembling slightly.

“Go on,” she encouraged, leaning closer, ears perked.

It’s just a candle. I can do it. Aura pooled into his hand, the mark glowed reddish… I can do it.

His hand caught fire, lighting the wick, melting half the candle and scorching the wall.

“Shit!” He snatched his hand away and placed the glass cover over the now bubbling and hiccuping candle. “Sorry about that, I’ll just…”

“Do the next one.” She grinned at him. “Become the best candle-lighter.”

He laughed, but by the time he reached the last candle, he lit it with a tiny flame dancing merrily on the tip of his index finger. And his hand didn’t shake at all.

They’d just finished dinner - a rather bland soup, but with freshly baked bread - the next day when there was a knock on the door. They both tensed, and Kaia’s hand went for her knife.

“You’ve got a visitor. If he stays the night, it’ll cost extra.” Elian recognized the middle-aged clerk’s voice and opened the door eagerly.

“Lieutenant Lucen! You came!”

“Of course.” Lucen stepped inside and handed Elian a sizable sack. It was soft and not very heavy.

“You brought us clothes?”

“Yes. You’ll need a disguise to travel freely.” They gathered around the table, moving their plates to make room for a large map. Lucen placed a couple of folded letters on top of it, then took a deep breath. “We obviously have much to discuss, but when you leave here, you’ll do so as my personal assistant, Ellis.”

“Ellis?” Elian opened the sack and was met by the coarse brown fabric of a uniform. “I’m going to pretend to be a soldier?”

“Yes. Carrying a message to the garrison outside Thimruir.” He pointed to a dot close to the blue section of the map.

“But that’s at the coast. It’ll take forever. We need to …”

“...get more information. And, considering the long distance, I’ve brought you horses. It should take you less than a week.”

“You said you wanted to see the ocean. And the elves’ boats,” Kaia reminded him. “If you trust this man…” Lucen gave her a tired smile, but nodded. “...you should take his advice. He knows the humans now. You don’t.”

“But, but…” Elian’s mind was spinning, trying to think of arguments to defend his original plan, but somehow the thing his thoughts kept coming back to was...

“Horses? But I've never ridden a horse before.”

“Me neither, but how hard can it be?” Kaia sounded much too enthusiastic. “Just think of it as a bigger goat.”

“A giant Blackbeard?” He made a face. “That image is not helping, you know.”