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Hejira: Sanguine Wave

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 46: Saving Grace

Gareth watches their first target, a relatively defenseless village that produces food for Adelram’s men, peering at them with a collapsible monoscope. Though it looks the way he expected it too, something doesn’t feel right; he hesitates to order the attack. As his magnified vision lands upon a wandering villager, he sees something disheartening. Though they appear to be wearing peasant clothes, a brown linen cloak covering them, the shoulders look far too large. Glancing down at the boots, they are hardened leather, and not low-quality fabrics.

If he didn’t know any better, he was certain that these peasants were merely soldiers in disguise. The ramifications of this are terrifying. How would they know that they were on their way, unless someone told them? Adelram is just a man; he isn’t a psychic. The only logical explanation is that they have a spy amongst the Feather Fingers, for even the chieftains of ECTO didn’t know about these harassing raids that he’d planned. Gareth long ago learned to trust his gut; returning to his men he does not order the attack, but instead a full retreat.

“What’s going on?” Sarvah asks him.

“Those villagers looked like soldiers who were in disguise...”

“How is that possible?” She wonders.

“I think someone told Adelram. I don’t know how, or who, but there has to be a spy hiding out in Wildwood.” He says.

“So, what’s our new plan?” She turns to him with a worried expression.

“Well...” He sighs, slipping an arm around her slender waist. “First we head back to Wildwood. Then we try to figure out who the spy is, and we either use them to spread false information, or kill them and continue fighting the war.”

“That sounds good to me.” Sarvah grins.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, sweetheart.” He says, giving her a loving kiss on her lips. “I’ll take care of everything for you.”

“I love you, Gare.”

“I love you too, Sarvah. Luckily, we’re only a few days away from Wildwood.”

“I don’t mind staying out here with you.” She coos.

“Neither do I, but until we’ve put Adelram’s head on a spike and burned his kingdom to ashes, we’re not safe enough for camping.”

“Do you think Kelly, Rin and Emma are handling things alright?” Sarvah asks.

“I hope so.” Gareth murmurs.

Marching throughout the day and well into the night, Kelly and Emma lead the refugees from Wildwood toward Goldenrod. Though they’ve certainly tried, they have yet to catch up to the warrior groups, which have a nearly four-hour head start. They walk continuously, unable to take the time to rest, as they’re exposed and with limited supplies. Naomi comforts her heartbroken boyfriend; Travahn realized shortly after they left, as they watched Wildwood burning, that his parents failed to escape as he did. Now Naomi truly is all he has left.

Sometime around three o’ clock in the morning, they near Goldenrod. Walking through a trail, a dozen warriors pop out of nearby foliage with swords and spears in hand. They stop as soon as they see who is wandering by.

“Kelly?! Steve?! What are you doing here?!” A soldier asks.

“We’re coming to Goldenrod for refuge.” Kelly answers with a sorrowful tone.

“Refuge...?”

“Goldenrod was a diversion. A few hours after your groups left to help them, a large army raided Wildwood... It’s gone. We’re all that’s left.” Steve explains.

“... Well, at least we have good news.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“We launched our assault like you said, and found Adelram’s men were almost all sleeping. We wiped them out. One hundred men died without ever opening their eyes and the rest we took care of without even a single casualty.” The soldier proudly reports.

“I thought you wanted them to attack at dawn?!” Claire asks in shock.

“I had a bad feeling about that, so I changed my mind at the last minute. I’m glad I did, now.” Kelly answers.

“And you can do that?” She scoffs.

“I can do whatever the fuck I want when I’m in charge...” Kelly barks. “Take us to Goldenrod. We’re going to need asylum.”

“Right away, sir!” The soldier chirps.

Marching through the path, the soldiers lead them away from the trail and toward the tribe. The Feather Finger refugees look on in shock at the sight of a mass grave; corpses of both human and Sahvorai are stacked like cordwood at least six feet high. Armor and weapons have been piled up and are being sorted through by Goldenrod warriors, who organize them by type and quality. Reaching the walled town of their allies, the gates open and the tanned, human female leader of Goldenrod emerges.

“Hello. Victoria, right?” Emma asks.

“Yes. I’m glad you remembered my name.” She chuckles.

“We ought too if we’re going to sacrifice our homes for you.” Emma remarks.

“I’m sorry?” Victoria raises a brow.

“The attack on your village... It was a ploy to divide our forces. Wildwood’s been destroyed. We’re all who escaped.” Rinahra explains.

“Oh, no! You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need!” Victoria exclaims, motioning with her hands for the refugees to enter. “We’ll take good care of you!”

“Having a rough time, eh?” A human man remarks.

“You have no idea...” Steve sighs.

“Well this might please you then. When your warriors stormed Adelram’s camp, they captured a handful of his warriors.” The man says.

“And who are you?” Kelly asks.

“Oh, I’m Matthew. I’m Victoria’s guard captain and personal assistant.”

“We’d like to speak to them.” Emma says.

“I have no doubt.” Matthew smirks.

“I’ll see about setting up a temporary camp for the Feather Fingers. Let me know if you learn anything interesting.” Steve says to Kelly and Emma.

Matthew waves them over, a sinister grin on his face as he walks back into the safety of Goldenrod’s town. Emma, Rinahra and Kelly are the only ones who follow. Victoria remains behind with Claire and Steve to organize their refugee camp. Leading them through the small town, Matthew enters a small wooden cabin, holding up a hand for them to wait outside for a moment.

“I just want to make sure they’re still conscious.” He explains.

“Have you already ‘interrogated’ them?” Rinahra asks.

“Just a few questions. Nothing too rigorous.” He grins.

Standing outside of the cabin, they wait for Matthew’s return. The trio glance between each other as they wait outside, hearing subtle groans from within. After a few moments, he pokes his head out of the partially opened door and motions for them to come inside. Entering the cabin, the three Feather Fingers find themselves looking at three bound, gagged and bloodied men. With their hands tied together at the wrists and held high above their heads, thick ropes run over a horizontal support beam in the ceiling.

Standing almost on the tips of their toes, the two beaten humans and a fox-like Sahvorai struggle to remain upright. Matthew grabs a man’s hair, pulling his head back violently.

“Pay attention! You have visitors!”

Matthew pulls the gag from the man’s mouth. The human promptly spits at Emma’s feet.

“I’m not talking to some cheap whore.”

“Bad!” Matthew punches him in the stomach. “Now are you going to be a good boy or am I going to have to take a finger?”

“Enough!” Emma turns to him.

“Let me handle this.” Kelly steps forward.

Among the collection of notes and instructions that Gareth had left him was one in particular. ‘If you capture enemy soldiers, reward them for information. If you capture more than one at a time, whoever doesn’t accept should be executed, or even tortured to death where their fellow prisoners can see or hear it. After this, give them an even better offer, and let them know that they’ll suffer the same fate if they don’t accept it.’

“I’ll make this simple. I’m not in the mood for games...” Kelly says calmly, drawing his katana machete and activating his sling-blade talent. “I’m going to ask a few simple questions, and if you cooperate, not one of you will be harmed. You’ll even have a chance to earn your freedom.”

“Are you seri-”

“Shut up.” Kelly barks, interrupting Matthew.

The human spits at his feet.

“Suck a cock, you fat bastard.”

“Clearly, you don’t understand how serious this is...” Kelly sighs.

Without hesitation, he jams the cobalt blue aura into the bound human’s stomach, the razor-sharp blade piercing his flesh like a hot knife through butter. Screaming in agony, Kelly takes the rag from Matthew’s hand and rams in into the prisoner’s mouth, covering his lips with the palm of his hand. Groaning in pain into his gag, Kelly leans closer to the prisoner, his nose near his ear.

“You did this to yourself.” He whispers.

Kelly twists his wrist, turning the blade inside of his body as Emma, Rinahra and the other two prisoners watch on in horror. Matthew leans against a nearby wall, arms crossed and a little smile on his face as he watches the show. Kelly extends his arm slowly and methodically, cutting open his victim’s stomach and allowing his guts to spill out and onto the ground. Without bothering to end his life, Kelly’s sling-blade aura dissipates and he sheaths his katana machete.

“Now then!” He chirps, clapping his bloody hands together. “You two have a choice. Cooperate or suffer, and you won’t have it easy like your friend did.”

While the human prisoner hesitates, the Sahvorai does not. He nods his head, mumbling into his gag. Matthew moves away from the wall and removes the Sahvorai’s gag.

“I’ll talk! I don’t like the Silver Teeth anyway!” The red fox exclaims.

“That’s good. So, what do you have for me?”

“We use the ravens to pass messages. It’s how we communicate with our city and the other groups.” The terrified Sahvorai begins.

“Yes, I’m not surprised. Anything else?”

“Oh... You must have killed one and found a note. Why else would you sacrifice Wildwood? They never said you were so determined.” The fox mumbles.

“Wait... Who said what?”

“You didn’t kill a raven? ... Well, you have a spy living in Wildwood.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Matthew remarks.

“What do you know about this spy?” Kelly asks, resting his hand on the Sahvorai’s shoulder.

“W-well, it’s a woman. I don’t know what race she is, but she seems to be close to the royal family. She’s also close to the Feather Finger’s inner circle; she’s been sending us information about you.”

“Really?!” Kelly exclaims. “Looks like someone earned their life.”

“Seriously?” The Sahvorai asks, his tail wagging happily.

“Mhm.” Kelly nods. “In fact, I think that’s earned you some freedom too.”

Still groaning into his gag in sheer agony, Kelly finally tires of the disemboweled man. He quickly draws his katana machete, activates a shortened version of his sling-blade and stabs him in the heart. Matthew promptly releases the Sahvorai who trembles with fear, to the shock of the remaining human.

“I’d love to continue this conversation somewhere more comfortable. How about a hot meal?” Kelly asks.

“That sounds great!” The Sahvorai chirps.

“Care to join us?” Kelly turns to the remaining prisoner.

Meanwhile, Gareth, Sarvah and their elite warriors march through the forest on their way back to Wildwood, scrapping their mission based solely on Gareth’s gut feeling. Walking for more than a day, they see a faint plume of smoke far in the distance, hovering over the area where Wildwood should be. Troubled by the sight, they march throughout the night and rest only occasionally, cutting their travel time dramatically. Sarvah’s eyes grow wide, Gareth’s blood boils, and the hearts of their elite warriors drop into their stomachs.

Standing in horror, they stare at the smoldering remains of what was once their home. Now cold to the touch, the charred remains of Wildwood and the festering corpses of the fallen litter the ground. Taking the time to investigate the sight, Gareth finds .45 ACP shell casings near the remnants of the front gate.

“Are they all dead?” A soldier asks.

“I doubt it.” Gareth replies.

“What makes you say that?” Sarvah asks.

“There aren’t enough bodies here... I think what must have happened was that shortly after we left, an enemy patrol was spotted nearby, or maybe an ally was attacked. Kelly sent troops to deal with it and the Silver Teeth came once Wildwood was weak. No; if the entire army was here, there’d be a lot more corpses.”

Wandering through their abandoned home, burned corpses sit or lay in horrid positions. Frozen in time, they’re a testament to the cruelty of Adelram’s tribe. Sarvah and the warriors follow Gareth’s lead as he walks beyond where his and Sarvah’s house used to be; virtually no home is left standing, and the few that remain are naught but shells of their former selves. They don’t find any survivors. Reaching the cliffside, Gareth peeks over the edge and looks down at the valley below. A well trampled path moves away from the scaffolding, used as an escape elevator.

“Where do you think they might have gone too?” He asks Sarvah.

“Well, the nearest tribe is Goldenrod. We should go there first and seek asylum. I think any survivors would have went there.” She replies.

Following Sarvah’s lead, they turn around and leave their home. For Gareth, it’s the third time. Hopefully, when they find a new home, he’ll never have to leave again.