The Auric Insignia Read online

  - Well where’s the fun in that?

  Vaya smiled and shook her head at Marel’s jesting.

  - Do you know what I appreciate in a person? If they can keep it the fuck down when we’re supposed to be watching these chumps.

  - Getting antsy, Stari?

  - You wish, swamp rat.

  - Name calling, really? No offense to swamp rats, but no one in their right mind would mistake me for anything other than an especially attractive otter.

  - Glad you’re not lacking confidence.

  - Stari, my dear, confidence is half of what makes me so, alluring.

  - For fuck sake.

  - Guys.

  - Vaya?

  - Listen.

  Vaya’s big ears were pointed towards the road in front of them, and at the two figures traveling on it.

  - Did you talk to Fig last night?

  - Oh, here we go again....

  - Phineas, I’m serious this time!

  - That old boob always takes you for a ride, speaking nonsense, meanwhile, mooching drinks off anyone foolish enough to listen, meaning you!

  - I swear, Phin, this time is different! There has to be something to it this time.

  - Fine, fine, Thomas. Speak your mind, otherwise I have the feeling I won’t get a moment’s peace until we reach Brightseed.

  - You know the tales of the Woodfolk? Of the monsters living hidden, deep in the forests?

  - Northern superstition, born from asshats scared of a bunch of mountains.

  - But that’s the thing, Phineas! Fig doesn’t live by the mountains, it doesn’t have anything to do with them at all.

  - Doesn’t make Fig any less of a asshat though, and you were the one who brought it up!

  - Fine....

  - Oh quit your damn sulking! Say what you want to have said already....

  - Since the last time we were in Mark, Fig had been off on a trip, working as a guard on an expedition going east, arranged by the mayor himself. They were going to evaluate the woods, quantity, quality, those sort of things.

  - A guard!? That half wit can’t keep track of what day of the week it is!

  - Well that’s what Fig said! Anyway, the mayor is apparently eager to start cutting it down, to sell it. All that wood is just standing there to no good, and since the demand from the southern cities are always increasing, he probably wanted his piece of the action.

  - Don’t we all, Thomas, but so far I haven’t heard anything worthy of your time, and certainly not of mine. It’s just trees, who the fuck cares?

  - I’m getting to it. They set off, twenty man strong they were. Fig said they traveled through the fields that lies to the east of Mark, until they came to the start of the forest.

  - Riveting. I hope you don’t wasted too much coin on the drinks, you clod.

  - Fig said it all went well at first, easy money, Fig said.

  - The best kind.

  - But the first night they spent in the woods, that changed, and everything went wrong. they were attacked, ambushed out of nowhere, Fig said.

  - Attacked, by who, bandits!?

  - No, by something, not someone. By monsters, Fig said.

  - And there it is! Fig said this, Fig said that, it was probably some lone wolf that had walked down from the mountains, looking for an easy meal, if anything!

  - I said the same at first, but Fig said they were much bigger than wolves, the company got torn apart.

  - Wait, what are you saying, somebody got hurt!?

  - Hurt, Fig was the only survivor, all the others got killed!

  - What!?

  - Yeah, Fig managed to escape during the commotion and had been found half dead by a farmer somewhere between the forest and Mark. Dehydrated and acting all delirious, Fig had been taken to the mayor.

  - If all of this is true, why didn’t we hear anything about it when we came into town? Why haven’t the mayor said anything?

  - Too afraid people won’t dare to work in the logging camps, Fig said, so the mayor paid Fig off, to keep it from coming out. He’s pretending like nothing has happened!

  - Well that worked out great...

  - What should we do?

  - Do!? Why would we do one shitting thing, Thomas? We don’t work in the forest, we’re no loggers, and I at least, have no intention of changing careers anytime soon. We’re merchants, why the fuck should we care? Besides, Fig probably just went on a bender and woke up in some farmer’s field. I mean, come on, “monsters” bigger than wolves, you hear how stupid it sounds, don’t you, Thomas?

  - But....

  A hundred feet from the road, Vaya, Marel and Stari listened intently, the situation, earlier one of precaution, was now rapidly changing.

  - Vicious beasts attacking humans, but larger than wolves. That can only be....

  - I know what you’re thinking, Vaya, but we all know that’s not possible.

  - I know what they’re talking about, you’ve told me about them. He’s talking about bears, fucking bears, man.

  ***

  Show some kindness

  - It cannot be....

  - But you heard what he said, we all did.

  Ippan nodded in agreement.

  - I know, but all three of us know that to be an impossible scenario. Tosim and every last bear with him, was slain during the betrayal.

  On the opposite side of the road from Marel, Vaya and Stari, stood the other three Kappas, listening to the blissfully ignorant humans traveling in between them.

  - But you heard. Isn’t it worth the risk if we can get some information out of it?

  Plista listened to what Korri was saying, but the look on his face told her something was smothering his hope.

  - Plista, we need dreamers too.

  Ippan hunched down and patted Plista on the shoulder with the two fingers that could fit on the Kappa’s small frame.

  - I suppose it cannot hurt to see what this Fig has to say.

  - Korri smiled, once again seeing signs of the infallible visionary in Plista.

  - Ippan, let’s go.

  They changed their trajectory from parallel to the road, to intersecting, and before the two merchants could do more than gasp, shocked to their core, they were under Korri’s and Ippan’s control. Seeing that their companions had made a move, Vaya, Marel and Stari joined them on the road, emerging from the green vegetation. Phineas, the older of the two merchants, stared at the Kappas closing in on him, unable to move. The younger man, Thomas, on the other hand, panicked, futilely so, in Ippan’s massive hands.

  - Fucking bears, man!

  - Stari, please. Can’t you see that they’re scared? We wish you no harm.

  - Ah! Phin, Phin, do you see them!? Do you see them, Phin!? Woodfolk, Monsters, they want to eat our flesh!

  - Vaya speaks the truth, we have no intention or desire to hurt either one of you.

  Plista had caught up, walking up to the men who stood at twice his height.

  - Ippan, Korri.

  On Plista’s word, they loosened their grip on the two men. The second he got some leeway, Thomas wrestled away and started sprinting off down the road, screaming at the top of his lungs. Phineas Five Finger, faithful husband to many wives and loyal patron of brothels, proceeded to soak his pants, a small puddle forming in the dirt where he continued to stand in frozen horror.

  - Stari.

  - Oh, I’m already on it.

  Stari eagerly shot off, like an arrow, after the fleeing man who was running for his life. Before he could even look back around to see if he was being pursued, Stari had already snatched him, rising almost vertically up in to the air.

  - Ah! What are you doing!? Please, don’t kill me!

  - Kill you? If we wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead, big boy.

  She circled back and landed with Thomas in her grip. The man was breathing quickly, his face as white as milk.

  - She’s such a gentle soul, isn’t she, Ippan?

  - Shut it, swamp rat. I got him, didn’t I?


  - I am afraid that even though we wish you no harm, we cannot let you go just yet.

  Both men were unresponsive, one paralyzed and the other on the verge of a panic attack, only hearing his own heartbeat. Stari slapped Thomas across the face in order to get his attention.

  - Hello? Is anybody in there?

  - Stari, show some kindness, okay?

  Stari, like she did, muttered an apology whilst Vaya walked up to the two traders, her kind eyes looking, first at the older man, and then at the young one standing beside him.

  - I promise you both, we don’t want to hurt you. I know we must look strange, monstrous even, by your standards, but we only want information. The answer to one question.

  Vaya’s voice, like silk, like kind hands caressing, gave a calm to the previously distressed men, calling them to her, to her voice.

  - Where can we find this Fig?

  Thomas’s breathing was steadying, growing deeper with every new breath.

  - I, uh, Fig lives in Mark.

  - Thomas, can I call you that?

  - I, uh.

  - Thomas, please, we need something a bit more specific.

  He hesitated for a second, not sure if he was signing a death sentence for another human by answering, before his own survival instinct grew too strong, reminding him that if he didn’t give a satisfying answer, for all he knew, he was signing his own.

  - Fig works as a help at The Inn of Poor Portent, cleaning the stables and scrubbing the floors in return for a cot to sleep in, and some leftover food.

  - “The Inn of Poor Portent”, what’s that?

  Thomas was unsure how to respond.

  - It’s the, it’s the name of the Inn.....

  He smiled nervously, a smile Vaya returned in an effort to put him more at ease.

  - I understand that, but what’s an Inn? As you might have guessed, we’re not exactly from the city.

  Thomas struggled to find the words to help him explain.

  - It’s, uh, it’s a tavern, a brothel as well.

  The expressions on the monsters standing around him, told him he wasn’t making himself understood.

  - It’s like a home away from home, the local watering hole.

  - Ah, okay. You’re doing great, just one final question. Where exactly in Mark is this inn?

  - It’s a large house, you see it as you enter town, you can’t miss it. Horses will be standing in the stables outside, and it has a large chimney, always spewing smoke.

  - What’s a chimney?

  - I know what a chimney is.

  Everybody looked surprised at Korri, before Vaya continued.

  - Great, thank you so much.

  - Will, will you let us go now?

  - Of course.

  Vaya smiled before she knocked the man out cold, and before Phineas Five Finger could, once again, pee his pants, he as well was lying on the ground next to his companion.

  - “Show some kindness” my ass, shit.

  - It seemed like the best thing to do, with any luck they’ll wake up and think all of this was just some dream.

  - Ippan, I’m a little bit scared, aren’t you?

  Ippan smiled with restrain at his partner, before turning to Plista, who had, as much as someone with his appearance could, contorted his face into one of pondering thought. The group’s focus turned to Plista, their teacher of teachers, quiet at first, until Korri broke the reticence.

  - Do we go after this Fig?

  - Does that even need to be debated? I repeat myself, fucking bears, man, you know what I’m talking about right? The big ones, like this.

  Stari inhaled as much air as she could, and wrapped her wings around her, making herself as big as possible.

  - Stari, as much as I respect your strong charade game, especially considering that you yourself have never actually seen a bear, I mean really, props to you. I think Korri was referring to a small kink in your otherwise flawlessly explained “fucking bears”-plan.

  Stari exhaled in the form of a long and wet raspberry, directed at Marel.

  - What fucking kink?

  - Well first of all, we don’t know even know if this Fig fellow is telling the truth, he didn’t seem like he was the most trustworthy sort, now did he? Secondly, we said we would meet up with Roarke, Ama and Refaz outside of Mark, to continue south together on our quest.

  - When are we supposed to do that by the way? How the fuck will we know!? huh?

  - Stari, honey.

  - No, Vaya. Are we just going to sit on our asses whilst Korri’s lover boy is just, I mean, we don’t even know if they’re alive, do we?

  Korri clenched her fists tightly.

  - You....

  - Korri.

  It was Plista’s voice, the voice of her mentor, who spoke up.

  - Korri, with rude awakenings, we now both know, that we cannot hide from the uncomfortable possibilities. For better or worse, things are the way they are, we cannot change the choices already made. I would, had you asked me earlier today, if we should wait for them, said yes. However, with this new information about a possible ally, especially someone as powerful as Tosim, previously presumed dead, I say the situation has changed. I say we go find this Fig, find out what he knows, but every day is precious, every moment dear. If Gota were to find out, and judging by the fact that this Fig seemed prone to storytelling, that is only a matter of time. By Roarke’s own observation, we have no army with which to have a chance at accomplishing the goals we seek, are we not obligated to seek a way if the opportunity arises?. If Roarke knew the dilemma we were facing, what do you think he would have us do?

  Korri relaxed, unclenching her fists, letting them hang slackly by her sides. She looked down at the ground and answered in a small voice, barely audible.

  - He’d have us go.

  ***

  One black and one tan

  - Racka!? Are you sure, human?

  The mentioning of their brother had shot like lightning through Ama and Refaz. Staffan once again closed up in front of Ama’s aggressive demeanor, drawing his son behind him.

  - You said you weren’t from the keep.

  - And I spoke the truth, we’re not.

  - But the beast said...

  - We are not from this keep, I swear to you, Staffan, I promise.

  Staffan had a look of uncertainty about him, like as if he wasn’t sure what to believe.

  - Brightseed, the town we come from, remember?

  Staffan nodded cautiously.

  - It was attacked, and a lot of people were killed, by a large pack of hounds.

  The poor man’s eyes grew bigger with the mentioning of the dogs, a reaction Roarke noticed.

  - You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?

  - I...I.

  - Staffan, listen to me. The only reason we are here, is Racka and this pack. We have been hunting them, tracking them from Brightseed, until a rainstorm washed away our only chance of ever finding them.

  - I can’t help you, I’ve said too much.

  - Staffan, please. We lost our trail not far from here, did you see Racka come through here?

  Staffan was just about to say something, when he was interrupted by his wife, who had started to groan in pain. He kneeled beside here, taking her hand in his.

  - Aneka, sweetheart, I’m right here.

  Her skin was turning red and irritated in reaction to the remaining film of substance still left on her, the effects worsening as it dried.

  - Sweetie.

  - Why is it only affecting her?

  - She jumped in first, because I wanted her to be protected, I mean, at least from....Honey, I’m here, Arni as well.

  Roarke stood by, watching, meanwhile feeling more and more powerless as the woman’s condition deteriorated. He hated it, and knowing the same would happen to the husband, made him feel sick. Sick, because he still wanted, needed to know the answers to his questions.

  - Staffan, I’m going to ask you again, and I need you t
o answer. Did Racka come through here?

  - Why can’t you just leave us al....

  Staffan had turned around to face Roarke, only to see that Roarke was holding the black spear against him.

  - We need to know, okay? We need to know.

  - Please, if they find out I said something, they will come for us.

  - If you tell us, we will make sure that doesn’t happen.

  Staffan looked at the spear’s dark point, and then at Roarke’s watery eyes, pleading to him to answer the question.

  - They came through here, traveling south.

  - Who? Was Racka with them?

  - No, it was a pack led by two larger dogs, one black and one tan.

  - What!?

  - Uh..

  - What did you say!?

  - There was pack of dogs, led by what looked like some sort of leader dogs, one black as night, and the other one a dirty tan. That’s all I know, okay!? Now please leave us alone.

  Roarke’s grip on the spear faltered, causing the tip to fall to the ground with a thud, followed by a larger one as the whole spear fell, bouncing on impact with the dirt below.

  - She...

  - Roarke, what is it?

  Roarke didn’t answer, his mind completely focused on processing what he had just heard. Knowing that Marielle was the one who had delivered the snares was one thing, this on the other hand, was proof that Marielle was responsible, or at least involved in the massacre of their hometown, and it pushed Roarke to the edge.

  - Roarke?

  - It was Marielle.

  - What? What do you mean?

  - Those dogs, they belong to Marielle.

  Ama and Refaz looked at each other, without saying a word, whilst Roarke focused on Staffan, eerily calm.

  - You said they went south, when was this?

  Staffan, who had returned to tending to his wife, answered without letting his wife out of his sight.

  - I’ve said enough, leave us! Haven’t you done enough!?

  Before Roarke knew what was really happening, he had jumped on the nursing husband and father in front of him, landing blow after blow.

  - Roarke!

  Ama and Refaz pulled him off, Roarke kicking and fighting them every bit of the way. He wrestled and fought their grip until he, in his rage, saw the son, Arni, looking at him with pure fear in his eyes. When he saw that, it was like someone had thrown water on the fire burning inside of him.