The Auric Insignia Read online

  As the carer for the hounds, Offa slept in the stables so that she could tend to them at any hour, if the need arose, something that wasn’t even required of the actual stableboy. Exiting through a small side door, she moved alongside the wall leading to the stable entrance, unseen by the guards on the ramparts, who had their focus directed out towards enemies unknown. Arriving at the door, Marielle could see the faint light of a candle coming from inside. Slowly opening the heavy door, she entered a deeper darkness, away from the pale moon above. Every latch and door closed for the night, the flustered breaths of the horses felt close, like they were breathing down her bare neck. Walking on soft hay, she moved closer to the light, the light that she now could see was coming from an empty box, from where a small voice was starting to be heard.

  - I did it, mum, I did it. I did like the nice lady said I should. I think its going to work, some of them even started to turn ill before I had left.

  The voice went quiet and Marielle stopped, waiting to hear if it would resume, after a pause, Offa’s one sided dialogue continued, her voice on the verge of breaking.

  - I miss you.

  Marielle had now gotten so close that she could see Offa sitting on a blanket laid out in the soft hay. Remaining unnoticed, she observed the child talking to a crude drawing made on the nearby wall, depicting a woman.

  - I miss you, mum, I’m all alone and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.

  - You’re not alone.

  Offa jerked around, fear in her eyes, fear that she had been overheard in her solitary confession.

  - It’s okay, Offa, it’s just me, Marielle.

  Offa relaxed a bit and wiped her cheeks for signs of weakness.

  - I did it, I did it just like you asked.

  - I know, honey, I know you did, and I’m proud of you.

  Like the child she was, Offa’s face lit up when she was given praise.

  - I’m leaving Fenmyere tonight, and I wanted to ask you a question before I left.

  - What, my lady?

  - Please, call me Marielle. I wanted to ask, and please don’t feel pressured to say yes, the choice is yours, if you wanted to come with me?

  Offa jumped to her feet and ran to Marielle, throwing her short arms around her deliverer.

  - Yes, yes, yes! Oh thank you, my lady, thank you!

  Marielle freed herself from the embrace and bent down to one knee.

  - Okay, great, I was hoping you would say yes. Now listen carefully, we have to be quiet and remain unseen, the gate is closed so we will have to go over the wall, okay?

  - Okay.

  - Gather your things, we leave when you’re done.

  - Okay!

  Offa immediately started packing up her bedroll, along with a broken comb and some other trinkets that were lying in the hay. She didn’t know where they were going, she didn’t ask because she didn’t care, any place had to be better than her current home. In the meantime, Marielle retrieved some rope hanging on the wall, rope they would need for their covert escape.

  - I’m done.

  Having packed her modest possessions into a burlap bag that she had swung across her back, Offa seemed eager to leave for greener pastures.

  - Great, then let’s go.

  Pinching Offa’s cheek, Marielle gave her a warm smile before they headed for the stable’s exit. Opening a small crack in the door, Marielle, standing in front, made sure their path was clear before they continued.

  - Okay, Offa, we’re going to go over where the guards don’t patrol, we’re going to climb the cage.

  Filled with fear, happiness and adrenaline, Offa just nodded her head vigorously. They opened the door and ran back the way Marielle had come, until they came to the wall of the keep. Hugging the corner, Marielle waited for the pattern of the patrolling guards to turn in their favor, and when it did, they started crossing the open courtyard. Coming up on the kennel, they entered the area devoid of humans with a choice, including the guards, which meant that in this night of canine quietus, they would be able to climb the wall, away from searching eyes and alarming hounds.

  Up close, it was obvious that something was wrong in the cage, dog after dog lay still in unnatural positions, some early demises the victims of cannibalism carried out by the stronger members of the pack before they as well, met their end. The ground was covered in watery excrement and vomit, brought on by the poison that had killed them. As Marielle hoisted Offa up in front of her, she saw, in her wait for the child to get a head start, two large hounds, one black as coal, and the other tan in color. Dogs that had, in their prime, struck fear and respect in any and all who had laid eyes upon them, or panic and pain in those who had been unlucky enough to feel the ferocity of their vicious bite.

  Now, like two lumps of fur, drenched in shit and retch, a scene with an odor that would have demanded the attention of anyone close by, had it not occurred where it did. Climbing after Offa, Marielle soon got to the top where they could easily jump to the nearby rampart. Going up to the brink, Offa looked over the edge to the swamp below, looking worried.

  - Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.

  Realizing her worry had been plain, Offa smiled towards her savior.

  - I know, I trust you.

  Making sure that one end of the rope was tightly secured, they let the rest fall to the ground underneath, after which they started rappelling down the side until they felt some somewhat solid ground beneath their feet. Far out on the peninsula, on the opposite side of the clays huts, the already soggy ground was melting away in the open waters that expanded to the west.

  - I have a boat tied up just over there.

  Marielle pointed over to some reedmace further off and started walking away from the keep. Her comparably long legs gave her an increasing distance to Offa who hurried behind her, trying to keep up.

  - My lady, wait up.

  Marielle didn’t stop but instead increased her stride, traversing around the hidden sinkholes until she vanished in the area with tall grass, swaying ever so slightly in the night breeze coming in over the water. Offa started running, her feet sinking down in the dark before her struggling momentum managed to pull them back up again. Plunging in between the Typha plants, she stopped, frantically searching for the kind lady who had promised her another life. Her fear of being alone demanding that she scream, fighting her fear of being caught, forcing her to whisper, a hushed plea was heard from her lips.

  - My lady?

  No words answered her begging request, in their place, suddenly, were hands of greater strength than she could deny, pushing her down. In an attempt to regain her balance, her feet unconsciously tried to reposition, only to find that they had sunk down into the bog. Unable to avail herself from the assault, her head was pushed down under the surface by hands gripping her matted hair. She screamed but her drowned voice served no purpose other than to fill her lungs with water as she reflexively tried to draw breath. Clawing at anything she could find in her desperation, the gloved hands of her attacker only tightened their grip around her life. Her chest was burning and with every gulp of water, the fire in her lungs was stoked. She shook and fought, wishing to be anywhere else but finding it impossible to escape the now. Finally, her pleading got a cruel answer, and she was no longer anywhere, she was nowhere, and she was nothing. Pushing off the limp body of the child, Marielle saw the waters slowly envelop it, along with the small burlap bag containing a broken comb, some trinkets and the lost dreams of a girl, until finally, the black mirror that was the surface once again became whole. Standing up, she turned around and started walking back towards the dark keep. What was still intact of the body once the acidic decay had taken its toll, would rise to the surface again telling of her deed, but by then, she would gone.

  ***

  Help

  - What did you say?

  The only movement in the otherwise frozen scene, belonged to the drop of sweat that was slowly running down the forehead of the kneeling man.

>   - My lord, the servant girl, she is gone.

  He was the guard in charge of the courtyard watch, now standing on his knees in dogshit and vomit. Outside of the cage stood the collected forces of Fenmyere’s guard, their eyes emptied of any discernable focus. Beside them stood Racka’s closest servants along with Marielle, all of them waiting, some of them, anxiously, and some of them, calmly.

  - That’s what I thought I heard.

  - My lord.

  - Tell me, how is it that a child, a fucking child! Not only managed to poison my dear pack, but also! Somehow! Managed to escape the keep without a trace, during a lockdown no less! You would not even have found out, had not the wind knocked over weapon rack, causing you to check the yard!

  - I...I don’t know.

  Racka stopped his pacing and leaned down over the soldier.

  - Sorry, what was that?

  - I don’t know.

  - A bit louder, come on, you can do it.

  The man finally broke and started crying, his desperate wail making his fellow soldiers feel uneasy.

  - I don’t know! I failed you, my lord, and I am so sorry! Please, please....

  As a sign of contrition, the man bent, pressing his forehead to the ground.

  - Please.

  The servants beside Marielle, lacking the trained psyche of the warriors, looked away as to deny the occurrence of the contemptible display.

  - Oh well, now that that’s all sorted out, you can get up from there.

  - What!?

  - Get up.

  Racka pulled the shit covered man to his feet and started leading him towards the exit.

  - What, aren’t you going to punish me, kill me?

  - Oh no, over a couple of dogs? Over some fucking mutts? That would be crazy.

  The man didn’t know what to believe, feeling like he had been given his life back when he had been sure he had lost it. In his ecstatic state, he did not notice the grim faces of all the people in front of him. Faces that saw through the wishful lie, to the death underneath, death that the doomed man had chosen to ignore.

  - Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you!

  Just as he was about to walk through the opening, his comrades in arms, standing outside, blocked his path.

  - Malc, Reeder, what are you doing?

  His short lived fantasy forced from him, one could see the last hope leave his eyes.

  - No!

  The monster was upon him, panic mixed with rage as Racka threw the man against the steel bars. The impact was hard, the uncomfortable sound of bones breaking, echoing across the yard. He landed on the ground with a force that brought blood to his mouth, several hacking coughs followed and told the spectators that the man’s lungs had been punctured by his own bones.

  - Oh please.

  The bones in his left arm broken, he tried to crawl away from the inevitable, flailing in the sludge. With a moan that chilled blood, the crippled soldier was lifted by the neck and brought back to the edge of the cage where his friends were watching from the other side. Bam. His faced was smashed against the bars. Bam, bam. Bone, flesh and cartilage met iron again and again, marking the previously unblemished face. The nose, gone, his teeth shattered or bashed out, his right eye socket caved in, making him look as monstrous as his cruel lord. Looking with his remaining eye at the people observing the butchery in silence, he formed his crushed lips and mustered what little air he had left in his heavy lungs.

  - Help.

  Bam. One final smash brought the metal into his skull, causing him to still hang when Racka removed his blood soaked hands. Before he exited the dog yard, the lord of the keep wiped his pale skin gloves on the clothes of the man who’s life he had just ended. Stepping out, Racka was met by silent obedience and averted gazes from everyone except from two, Marielle and the captain with the lame hand.

  - Nitska.

  If she was afraid, the captain in charge of the soldiers in Fenmyere, hid it well.

  - Yes, my lord.

  - You are to find this child and bring her back here alive. Take twenty swords with you, spread out and find her, you leave immediately.

  Racka turned to walk inside when he noticed the captain’s hesitation. He stopped, his otherwise darting eyes zeroing in on the commanding officer of his forces. Even though she was a veteran in her trade, Nitska had to steel herself in order to not turn away from her lord’s undiluted attention.

  - My lord, forgive me, but dividing our forces...

  Before she could finish her sentence, Racka had lifted her from the ground by her lame arm. Bringing his face to hers, he spat out his words of rage in her face.

  - You will do as you’re fucking told! And if you don’t, if you fail this task, a lame arm will seem like a blessing! If you don’t find that fucking kid, I’ll eviscerate you whilst you watch, I’ll mount your flayed bitch head over my bedpost and I’ll make you look down so that you can see as I fuck your headless corpse until it falls apart! Do you understand, you fucking cunt!?

  - Yes, my...

  - That goes for all of you, the master does not accept failure!

  And with that, Racka let go of her arm,causing her to fall hard to her knees. As Racka started his usual pacing and twitching, two soldiers dared to approach their fallen captain.

  - Let go of me, you worthless lickspittles! You heard the lord, ready the horses, wake that fucking stableboy and get him here!

  Pushing herself to her feet with her good hand, Nitska set off for the stables, continually shouting her orders.

  - Scan, get the torches! Malc, stop standing there with your cock in the your hands, get the blasted ropes, and bring the nets!

  The courtyard erupted in a hurried chaos, as servants and soldiers rushed to comply to their lord’s demands. Standing still, a statue amongst a rushing crowd, Marielle watched as Racka went up to the mangled remains of the man hanging from the bars, his face an unrecognizable pulp of gore and broken bones. Having succeeded in her play, Marielle turned and walked towards the entrance to the keep, and as she looked up at the moon above just as she was about to walk inside, she heard a roar of unkempt rage, brimming over the edge. A roar that was felt in her bones and in her flesh, a roar that blasted out into the night, defying the calm of the darkness beyond.

  ***

  The stuff of legends

  A sound, somewhere between a howl and a growling roar, rolled outwards, a tidal wave pushing through the dark swamp. Awakening, the two were filled with an unexplainable sense of doom that refused to loose its grip around them. Making eye contact in the night, they called out, even though they in their heart of hearts, knew no one was there to answer.

  - Ama?

  Deafening silence ensued, heralding ill news.

  - Ama?

  - Brother, what the fuck did you do!?

  - Refaz, where is he?

  - He fucking went in alone!

  - Why would he do that?

  - I....

  - Refaz, why would he do that?

  - I don’t fucking know, okay!? I just feel, that..., I just feel it.

  Roarke was about to object to Refaz’s logic but bit his tongue, seeing the terror on Refaz’s face. He saw the pain and fear, and in that moment, there was no doubt.

  - Then what are we waiting around here for? Let’s go.

  Barely able to contain his emotions, Refaz nodded quickly.

  - Get your spear, Roarke, you are going to need it.

  Answering with action, Roarke went and got his spear, both of them setting off as fast as the terrain allowed, taking care not to fall into the hidden sinkholes littering their surroundings. Maneuvering in the swamp by day was hard enough, without the shroud of night making it near impossible. Pushing himself, not only to avoid falling, but also to keep up with Refaz, Roarke struggled until he finally misstepped. Tripping over himself, he ultimately crashed full speed into a rock, held up by some gnarled roots. Saved by his armor, he escaped what would have otherwise resulted in some broken ribs, wi
th the relatively mild loss of his breath. Before he had recovered, Refaz had already pulled him to his feet.

  - Come on.

  - I can’t see where I’m going.

  - Come on, it’s not far.

  - This way is too slow, let’s take the road.

  - But they’ll see us.

  - If Ama is already there, as you say, our element of surprise is hardly solid. Besides, I’m sick of trudging through this shit.

  His heart rate beating frantically, spurned by fear and anger, Refaz required little persuading before he accepted the new and bold approach.

  - Okay.

  They changed their direction, arching in towards the small dirt road until they were running parallel to it. Just as they were about to leave the bog for the comparatively firm soil, Refaz heard a noise, pulling Roarke back off the road and into cover.

  - There are horses coming.

  They hid as best they could, Refaz rushing over to hide on the opposite side. Roarke felt grateful for the dark for the first time that night, as he tried to blend in with the backdrop. Similarly to the previous afternoon, they were waiting for an approaching unknown, this time however, with an entirely different purpose. Shortly becoming audible to Roarke as well, the riders thundered closer to their position, their passing foretold by the light from their torches. This was it, really it. Roarke could feel his muscles tensing, filling up with blood as his mind filled with fear. They were now no more than fifty feet away, close enough for Roarke to see that they seemed to be searching for something. There were three of them, waving their torches back and forth whilst they moved onwards, further observations than that eluded Roarke as chaos broke out. Refaz pounced like a nightmarish beast on fire, pulling the last rider and her steed with him to the ground, before ending her life with a swift strike. When the two remaining riders had managed to stop their advance to see what had happened, Refaz had already cut off their retreat and was on his way towards the second soldier.