Gravetower Page 9

  Of course, Order disagrees again— and of course, Redemption backs her up.

  Glory was already sick and tired of being pulled in “on honor” for this mission, but the continuous waiting before the real fight is getting to him. Even when he was among the common ranks, Clarn Ashyrn was always popular among the deployment office; “the fastest knight we have” they’d say, chalking up to his tendency to analyze solutions to problems quickly, implement the fix fiercely, and complete every accepted mission with total impunity. He’s always been the sort that takes charge of his own problems, a man that fully authors his own fate — good or bad. This sort of waiting around is not his style; then again, he wouldn’t be used to hunting targets of this class, either. He’s slain his fair share of dragons, damned his demons and wrecked his raiders— but Chaos is an enemy that requires absolute, comprehensive perfection; anything short of that delivers death. He may find this out, soon enough.

  Order halts the group around the ruins, claiming that Chaos and his party have stopped and appear to be waiting out the night in the woods. Caefern, while a post-future-advanced space marine, is still at the whim of his mortal levels of energy and adrenaline. He tosses in the suggestion they rest in the ruins. Everyone seems partial to the idea, even Glory, who seems to lighten up abruptly— almost suspiciously so.

  “You seem… better, Clarn,” Redemption observes with a smiles lifting his hand to a gathered bunch of wood reclaimed from the wrecked furniture around them. The wood alights with magical grace, like a flower made of flame— one that casts its petals along the deep, paranoid shadows of the ruin’s interior spaces.

  “Naw,” Clarn says with a snide, morbid grin under his helmet, “I’m just giving up with you kids being childish about all this shit.”

  Order, her gaze turned to the stars above the ruined town square, glances over to the fireside. “This is the only way to do it, Clarn. I’ve been fighting Chaos longer than you’ve been alive, and you can’t afford to make mistakes with him. I thought perhaps we could get him quickly back at the O.E.L. headquarters, but it wasn’t apparent where he was at the time. We must know exactly if we want a chance at him.”

  Glory shrugs. “I figure he’d let us go if we told him a joke or something. He’s not exactly right in the head.”

  “That’s no laughing matter,” Redemption says, his visor up completely as he continues to stoke the flames with a consistent, thin stream of mana. “Don’t act like we haven’t lost dozens of our friends to him.”

  Clarn chuckles pretentiously. “Eh, I can think of maybe three.”

  Redemption draws back from the fire with a sigh. “That’s impossible… we… Well there was Generosity… and Peace….” At once, he looks down to the ground in thought, ushering in an awkward silence among the knights and their cohorts. “… It’s just been… so long,” he trails.

  Order nods. “Clarn’s right, Daniel. Chaos hasn’t actually murdered all that many knights, even after all these years.”

  Nias, still young, scratches his chin in thought as the magic firelight dances across his face. “Really? What about King Rayda’s Book of Aggressors?”

  Order takes a breath as she looks back to the cold starlight above. “You might recall in the book, that all of those fights were ones we started.”

  The mage squints in thought. “You… you’re right.”

  “But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still our greatest threat,” Redemption says with a firm nod.

  By some spirit of right, everyone expects Order to comment— as she has more experience, and more pain from the overlord than any of them. “…Sometimes I wonder about that, Daniel,” she answers, her eyes a dead, arctic blue. She takes up a flask from one of her in-armor compartments, lifting up her visor just enough to take a sip. From the looks of it, it’s a dark red wine— it’s an unusual choice, Redemption thinks; she’s usually more into the hard stuff.

  Redemption frowns, a short, chilly breeze sweeps the old town. “Not now.”

  Glory scoffs. “Why not? Is the Chaos Slayer without her edge?” He says this just before receiving a swift, rigid shove from Daniel. “D-what?”

  “Are you jesting, Clarn? You of all people should know you can’t talk to her like that,” he reproves, just as he turns back to her. “You need to stay sharp.”

  “This is me being sharp, sir,” Order says before another swig from her flask.

  Redemption thinks to take a stand and stop her from drinking at once— but the older, more afraid part of him thinks better of it.

  Glory crosses his arms snidely. “Not gonna stop her, Lord Knight Captain?”

  Daniel takes a breath. “I beg of you, Ranalie. Please.”

  Nias presses his fist against his lips to still his tongue. The paragon of righteousness among the knights: a drunkard?

  She pauses a moment, and then puts away her flask. “As you say it, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Redemption says. “You’re strong enough without it.”

  “No, the others were 'strong enough' to just go ahead and get it over with.”

  Glory squints an eye in confusion at first, but it only takes a moment for him to catch on, and also realize that everyone’s distracted.

  Redemption takes a deep breath. “I’ve struggled with it, too, Ranalie— but we’re strong because we keep living. We decided to continue on with the pain.”

  “Or maybe we’re the weak ones, because we’re too scared to just do it. I’ve been chasing Chaos around for longer than we’ve recorded history, and I’m tired. “

  Caefern hums and Nias’ jaw drops. The librarian leans over to the mage to whisper. “Eh, now just what are they talking abo-”

  “…Suicide, you clueless bastard,” Nias snaps under his breath, shocking the O.E.L. operative enough to straighten up in his seat.

  “You’re joking.”

  “No! Don’t you know what happens to sixty percent of knights that get past centenarian age?”

  Caefern rubs his forehead in disbelief. “They… you can’t be serious.”

  “Age is hard for knights, librarian. Humans weren’t designed to live forever like this.”

  The librarian’s gaze is wide, but fascinated. “Of course. In order to maintain free will, emotions must remain unimpeded.”

  “Why does that surprise you?”

  Caefern shrugs. “The intel reports consider your knights to be… well, truly immortal. We do-”

  “Well don’t be,” Redemption finally responds, causing the two young men to cease their quiet sidebar. “Everyone is relying on you.”

  Order’s eyes don’t move from the stars. “I know.”

  “Your duty is your will to live.”

  “…I know.”

  He stands up and takes a step forward. “What is your duty, Order?”

  “To kill Chaos.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  Order sighs. “My duty is to the laws that Rayda laid down for us— to create a world without strife, so that all may live in peace.”

  “That’s right! And do you know who’s included in the word, ‘all’?”

  She pauses a moment before responding. “…No clue.”

  “You, Ranalie! Forget Meeo! I’ll be your friend!”

  “It’s…” Order inhales sharply. “It’s not that simple, Daniel.”

  “Why not? It’s only complicated if you make it that way. Please, come sit by the fire, and let’s pass the time happily. Being alive, being a knight— they’re honors, and we need to remember that.”

  “…She knew everything about me, Daniel. She was outside my door every day when she was a kid. She built her house next to mine.”

  “…Well it’s clear she shot you in the leg. Everyone handles stress differently. You and I… maybe we get depressed, but maybe Love’s finally snapped.”

  “She’s been crazy forever, man,” Order says, almost with a chuckle.

  Daniel doesn’t laugh back. “Yes, yes she has— and in our dark, morbi
d life, we have to do what is right, and bring her to justice.”

  Order snorts. “I don’t think Justice would do a very good job with her. I think he’s scared of girls.”

  The two share a short, humored scoff at Knight Justice’s expense— the poor man.

  “I’m pretty sure he’s scared at anyone who isn't one of his cats,” Redemption says between a shocked silent Caefern and Nias, who never once in their lives assumed this is how legendary, thousands-of-years-old heroes of the realm would behave.

  Order and Redemption cross with another laugh. She takes a deep breath, and nods.

  “You know, Daniel, it’s weird.”

  “What’s weird?”

  “All these damn years… and we’ve never really talked.”

  “Well, you’ve always been on standby for Chaos, and I’ve always been at meetings… I guess the last time we did anything fun was the… damn.”

  “The Reinen Royal Banquet, ‘12, I think. You asked me to go with you.”

  The two share a weirdly private moment, even amidst other people— they both remember the old days, when the knights were unquestioned in their glory, and Rayda was still with them. It was a time that might trick a person into thinking the human race was destined for more.

  Daniel’s smile is sweet, almost like a grandfather with his age, though his youthful appearance denies it. “Yeah… I still had no idea how to dance.”

  “And I had to ‘lead’, didn’t I?” Order recalls.

  “Yeah, I was so embarrassed I could hardly think,” he says, looking up to the stars with her. “You’re okay, right?”

  Order’s silent a moment as two white moons curl over a nearby tower’s peak. “…Yeah, thanks, Daniel. I’m… I’m good enough.”

  Redemption nods with a wide smile. “Good. Take care of yourself like you’d take care of me, alright?”

  Order reaches up into her visor and flicks something inside. Redemption is sure he just saw a wiped-off tear fly from her hand. “Alright, captain… We’re going to make it through this.”

  Daniel nods. “We always do, and if we lose ourselves, we have the other one to pick us up.”

  Order nods back, glancing over and looking at Daniel as if he were just a little more than her leader. “You’ve always been there when I needed you.”

  “And you the same…,” he says.

  The two enjoy thoughts of the old kingdom, the Planar Sphere, and the many, many smiling faces of a people unafraid of what creeps beyond the horizon. It’s cut short as Nias mutters to Caefern.

  “Hey, did you see where Glory went?”

  Order and Redemption both glance over to the fireside’s far end. No one’s there.

  “Fuck,” Redemption instantly loses his cool as he looks around the immediate area. “Please tell me he didn’t just shit out on us.”

  Nias’ jaw drops again. Definitely not the language of knights.

  Order sighs. Unlike herself, Daniel isn’t easy to talk down when he has one of his episodes. “Daniel, it’s okay,” she says.

  “How’s this fucking okay?! He’s going to get us killed!” he snaps with an intense, fatalist tone. “That’s it. I’m gonna get him.” He slings up his chat stone for Glory. “Hey, you cowardly motherfucker, you better get back here right now or you’re… court marshaled!” Daniel threatens.

  There’s a pause as everyone waits for a response, but no voice comes from the stone.

  “That little bitch isn’t responding,” Redemption exclaims with an empty, maddened gaze.

  “He's headed for the wood,” Order says.

  Redemption nods, recalling Order’s awareness of mana signatures is second to none. “Good, so he’s not far!”

  “And yet he’s too far away for us to help,” Order adds. “We all have to strike together for this to work, and by the time we got to where he is now, he’d already be in too deep.”

  Redemption, Caefern, and Nias all freeze up at the implication. “What… the hell are you saying?” Daniel asks.

  “I’m saying, that if he’s going to die we can’t stop it now. I’d rather have the four of us ready for a fight than rush in unprepared to save a… regrettably expendable fifth.”

  Everyone’s quiet as Redemption mulls it over. “You’re… dammit, you’re right. We can’t go.”

  Order nods. “All we can do is wait for their move. If the necromancers attack and he gets a shot at one of them, it’ll be worth it. He obviously would’ve been more helpful if he actually listened, though.”

  Redemption lets out a weighted sigh “…For a knight that actually wants to go home, one that loves his life, he’s damn ready to throw it away.”

  “He couldn’t stand the idea of Chaos knowing where we are… I guess I’d be scared too.”

  Nias clears his throat. “You’re not scared, ma’am?”

  “It feels like diving for shells off the coast. You’re throwing yourself to the sea to get something valuable. You can get comfortable with it, but you always know a current could form and smash you into the reef. In most cases Chaos minds his own business, but every now and then he gets an idea, and that’s when it’s troublesome. Usually he’d rather win a baking contest than kill an army, but he bakes a lot of bread, and sometimes he gets bored— I’m sure of it. That said, I am somewhat scared, because this is different than what we usually do. The ‘Chaos hunt’ isn’t exactly something people do with the expectation of returning afterward. We’re getting through this, though.”

  Caefern crosses his arms. “So… we’re just going to let Knight Glory go on his merry way?”

  Order nods as she sets her visor back up. “Right. I can feel Chaos is in the forest, but it’s too nebulous— and his minions have similar mana signatures, so the risk is far too great. He could be anywhere in there, and I guarantee you any of us would be history if he decided to make it so. If Glory doesn’t turn around, and he doesn’t somehow talk his way out of it, he’s dead.”

  The librarian nods as he finally pulls off his helmet, revealing a handsome face with blond hair cut in a military style. “Don’t you knights have some code for saving each other? The crown in our hearts stuff?”

  Order and Redemption exchange a sly glance.

  “We have to weigh the outcome, rather than the methods, librarian. If either of us go out to save him, and we don’t come back, its effectively killing the other and dooming the W.K.D.R..”

  Caefern hums thoughtfully. “You knights… you have a pretty shitty lot in life. I couldn’t imagine being in military service for twenty years, let alone two thousand plus.”

  Redemption scoffs. “You get used to it… I’m already over it.”

  Order shakes her head. “Just like the others, I guess.”

  “…I don’t think I’ll miss him all that much, honestly.”

  “Wasn’t he your best friend?” Order asks.

  “In that we occasionally traded insults, yeah, but I guess like you I don’t have many friends.”

  The two share an extensively pathetic laugh.

  “Damn, we’re nerds,” Order says.

  “Guess we are….”

  Order takes a deep breath. “Alright, well I’m going to take a little time in that tower over there. Anyone who needs rest should get it.”

  Redemption squints a concerned eye before asking just once more. “Are you… certain that you're okay?”

  She pauses as she steps over to the ruined clock tower. “Yeah, thanks. It’s just more of the same stuff.”

  “… You can talk to me anytime about it. I’ve always wondered what hurts you so much.”

  Order smiles under her masked helmet. “Maybe sometime, but for now I need empty myself for this.”

  Daniel nods with an awkward smile. “I don’t blame you. It’s not going to be easy for you, with Meeo… hey, Ranalie,” he says, stopping her in her tracks a second time.

  “Sir?”

  “When it comes down to it… you are going to do it, aren’t you?”


  There’s a waiting, horrified silence. “I always follow orders, sir,” she says as she steps off into the dark of the city in the looming clock tower’s direction. The three remaining watch her step off, and Caefern addresses the Lord Knight Captain.

  “So, what are we talking about when we’re saying ‘when it comes down to it’? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  Redemption looks away coldly. “The punishment for betrayal to the knights is death.”

  “I’d imagine so… I take that to mean we’re not capturing the traitors as Ywn would like?”

  When he was younger, Daniel couldn’t imagine himself saying such a thing, but years and years of leadership have hardened him. “No, we’re killing them the moment we can— your master’s wishes be damned. We have no room for their kind in our ranks. Now get some rest. We could move out at any time.” Redemption advises, pulling up his chat stone to try and persuade Glory to come back.

  Caefern draws back with a disapproving nod as the conversation ends and Redemption takes a seat at the far side of the fire.

  Chapter Seven: An Inglorious Response

  “Listen,” Daniel says, his voice pulsing through Clarn’s end of the stone. “You need to come back, it’s your only chance. You can’t trust the necromancers to hold up their end.”

  Now at the foot of the great forest surrounding the mountain, Glory reaches for the chat stone, finally. “I’m not going to risk that. If they happen to attack with all their prepared forces, I’ll be there. I’ll have half of Chaos’ kids dead before you can blink.”

  There’s a strained, surprised breath from the other side of the stone. “Thank Rayda you’re here. Please don’t do it, Clarn… come back and we’ll do it together.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Glory says as he eyes through the dark, curling trees in front of him.

  “Clarn….”

  “Sometimes I wonder what the knights would’ve been like if I were the one in charge; considering the three over me, I thought it was only a matter of time. Order’s depressed daily, does nothing. Love is a traitor, … and you… Daniel, you’re not meant to lead.”