RE: Monarch-Chapter 257: Kholis II

Willow stirred beneath me, nickering in irritation as his head swung cautiously from side to side, muscles coiling like springs beneath his gleaming coat. The Everwood's ancient pines whispered overhead, their scent sharp in the cool air as dappled shadows played across the path. I patted his neck gently, fingers tracing the warmth beneath his mane, and pretended that nothing was amiss.

That I hadn't noticed the motion keeping pace with us through the trees, or the glimmer of a poorly concealed blade catching sunlight through the canopy. Whoever they were, their woodcraft was poor enough that they'd left their horses behind and now followed on foot, no doubt waiting for an ideal moment to spring the ambush.

From the smell—the presence of it, rather—they were humans. Probably bandits. It would be easy enough to deal with them directly. My responsibility to the kingdom required it. But swift bloodshed was still bloodshed. The entire point of the outing was to step away, distance from the grueling responsibilities my position and gift expected of me and return fresh minded. To give Maya a chance to breathe after years of serving as both shield and shadow, traversing battlefields and court intrigue with equal grace but mounting weariness.

Unfortunately, our shadows were growing impatient. A twig snapped. Then another. The rustling of leaves became a persistent whisper. Muted footfalls quickened—cautious steps giving way to determined strides—a coalescence of accelerating momentum gathering at our backs like an approaching storm.

"Bandits," I spat out, just to give them pause, and the momentum suddenly halted as my voice echoed through the trees, bouncing between trunks and fading into the undergrowth. "I forgot to ask. Lucius, is there much danger of bandits on the roads these days?"

Lucius cast a suspicious look over his shoulder at me, amber eyes narrowing beneath a furrowed brow. "Why do you speak as if you've only just arrived?"

I half-shrugged, feeling Willow shift beneath me. "I've been in the region for sometime. But most of that time has been spent within the capital's walls. Between the two of us, you have far better insights to what lies beyond."

Absorbing that for a moment, he tilted his head, the gesture reminiscent of our childhood conversations when he was sorting through his thoughts. "Kholis does its part, and the surrounding roads are a great deal safer than average, given that the current reigning lord was assailed by footman not so long ago and sort of took that personally. He expanded the guard and increased patrols, along with the penalty for violent assault. Yet the Everwood is home to many shadows, some of which still draw breath. There far fewer murders than before. Robbery is still alive and kicking."

I made a noise of acknowledgement, listening for movement behind us as the conversation fizzled out, leaves rustling in the silence.

Maya's small gray horse fell into pace beside mine, her mount's hooves creating a counterpoint rhythm to Willow's steady gait. She leaned over, a carefree smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. "I take it from that hasty change of topic you have noticed our circumstances." Her low-pitched tone was completely mismatched with her expression, grim and serious beneath the veneer of casual conversation.

I nodded. "Thoughts?"

"They are desperate and disorganized." Maya recited her observations, doing an excellent job not looking in the direction of the unseen pursuers as her fingers played absently with her reins. "I had hoped they would simply take our measure and think better of it. Unfortunately, they appear to be mustering nerve instead. They wield iron weapons and are protected by simple untreated leathers. There is not much threat to speak of and it will not take long to dispatch them. You need only give the word." Her expression hardened as she said it, the wonder and quiet excitement she'd been giving off since our departure disappearing entirely as her hand fell to the disassembled halves of the xescalt staff at her side, knuckles whitening with tension.

I felt a pang of empathy at the swift transition from traveler to warrior, and in its wake, made a decision. "Thankfully, it's already taken care of."

"What?" Maya remarked, panning me for the answer and finding none. "How exactly?"

"You told me." I amplified my voice with the wind, ensuring it carried without sounding overly loud, the faintest hint of magic shimmering at the edge of each syllable. "You beseeched Infaris for protection, offered a goat in sacrifice."

Her expression grew more severe, brows lowering until she grasped what I was playing at and nodded along, a smile ghosting across her lips. When she spoke her voice was almost entirely the same, only her shoulders stiffened as she projected from her diaphragm. "So I did. It should be more than sufficient to grant all four of us a degree of divine protection."

"A degree?" I balked, injecting theatrical disbelief into my voice. "From my understanding infernal goddesses do not slouch when it comes to security."

"Bah. Those are all stories." Maya waved me away dismissively, violet fingers cutting through the air with practiced indifference.

"'As the human gods strike with lightning from the Celestial Spire, so Infaris smites with fire from the ashen hollows,'" I quoted, inflecting my voice with scholarly pomposity "And not ordinary fire either—Demon flame that burns the soul before it so much as singes flesh."

"Sent down in pillars of pure destruction. I've heard the tales," Maya countered, her eyes gleaming with amusement, "but the gods seldom interfere so directly—"

Ahead, Uncle Luther's head perked up, the movement sharp as a hawk spotting prey. With a subtle, smooth motion, his head panned to the side, taking in the forest at large before he returned to staring vacantly ahead, slowing his horse and leaving Lucius in the lead. The worn leather of his scabbard creaked softly as his hand drifted toward it.

He'd noticed then.

To his credit it was far more difficult to perceive the bandits from his position at the head of the party while they crept behind, likely because they'd picked him out as the obvious escort and made additional efforts to avoid him. If he'd been at the back, he likely would have noticed the threat at the same time that I had.

"There's a problem." His voice was low, weathered by years of giving warnings just like this one.

"No problem. There should be no problems at all." I immediately interjected, drawing a bewildered look from him. "Maya presented Infaris with a sacrifice."

"Alright." Luther blinked twice, owl-like, before he tensed at some movement he'd spotted off to the side, muscles coiling beneath his travel-worn cloak. "But faith aside, we are in danger—"

There was a rustle of brush, and a mountain of a man with a scarred lip and rotten teeth rose from behind a gnarled oak, striding into the center of the path and giving us his best snarl. Sunlight caught on the cruel edge of his blade. "What do we have here? A buncha nobles who wandered a little too far from home?"

"'What do we have here?'" Lucius repeated, aristocratic mockery dripping from every syllable as his mouth curled in disgust. "If you're going to rob the Baron of Kholis on his own lands, at least compose something worthy of the ballads they'll sing about your execution."

The man's eyes narrowed, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face before hardening into resolve. "Don’t know you from Alricht. Don’t care. Dismount. Leave all gold, personal effects of value, and writs of property you might be carryin on you. Drop 'em on the side of the road and we'll let you be on your way." He paused, giving a brief look to Willow before he continued, greed momentarily overtaking caution. "The rest of you can keep the horses you got. But we're taking the Irondale."

Highly reasonable as far as bandits were concerned. Most wouldn't think twice before taking everything we had and leave us stranded within the forest's grasp.

Carefully, I avoided making any motion as the torrent of mana swelled within me—a familiar heat unfurling beneath my sternum and tingling down my limbs. The six small sparks I'd meticulously positioned behind the bandit flared to life as I poured power into our connection, each one thrumming like a distant heartbeat. I reserved half my focus for the wind, calling it not just from around us but from everywhere—leaves rustling, branches swaying, currents shifting as invisible threads of power woven together into a single, swirling focal point.

FWOOOOOM

A swirling pillar of violet flame erupted behind the bandit, crackling with an otherworldly energy that cast eerie shadows across the forest floor. His eyes widened, and he spun, prior intentions forgotten as he beheld the whirling gout of destruction behind him, leather armor shuddering as super-heated air assailed it.

"Infaris!" Someone shouted in terror, and I stifled a laugh as several similar exclamations of terror followed it, all bellowing the name of a goddess they'd likely never heard of before today. Only the first bandit bothered to look behind him, shrewd eyes observing us all, likely estimating if we were likely to follow before he chased after his men, shouting obscenities that echoed through the trees long after he disappeared from view.

The rest broke before their flank formed, retreating in a mess of rushing bodies, pushing and shoving as they dashed head first into the Everwood in a disorganized retreat, the sounds of their flight—snapping branches and panicked breathing—fading with distance.

Once the bandits were gone, I cut the mana flow and the once impressive fire tornado puttered to nothing, leaving only scorched dirt and gravel behind, the scent of burnt earth hanging in the air. There was a long silence as the group absorbed what had happened. Then Maya laughed, the sound like silver bells in the forest quiet, and Luther's low chuckling joined her. Pretty soon all of us except for Lucius were cracking up, doing our best to keep our voices down given the situation.

Lucius was still staring in the direction the bandits fled, furious, his knuckles white around his reins. This was close enough to Kholis that he felt responsible for the incident, and as the Baron of Kholis, he hadn't taken the incident lightheartedly. "I thought we'd gotten all the larger groups. Yet here they are, thumbing their noses beneath mine."

Somehow, I managed to stop laughing. "Not for much longer." I gripped the amulet on my neck, feeling its familiar contours warm beneath my touch. Vogrin appeared, looking haggard and well-worn, drooping a little closer to the ground than usual. My reliance on magic the previous day had left me almost entirely tapped, and as demonic summons depended on the users mana, Vogrin, though somewhat recovered, still looked worse for wear.

"Your command?" His prompt was dismal, devoid of his typical cattiness, the usual spark in his obsidian eyes dimmed to embers.

"We encountered a—"

"—I'm aware." Vogrin cut me off, mouth curving in disgust, the words falling like stones. "You want me to follow them to their camp, create enough problems that they will be slow to move, yes?"

I blinked, a little thrown off by his directness. "Uh. Yes, if that's not too much to ask."

"And when we return, we can resume work worthy of my talents and put my golems to the purpose I proposed weeks ago?" Vogrin stared at me irritably, his form flickering briefly like a candle in a draft.

Stolen novel; please report.

That's right. In the recent chaos I'd nearly forgotten, I wasn't the only one with a score to settle. Vogrin disliked Thoth not only because she'd gotten the better of him, but because she was a puzzle that defied logic in ways he couldn't resolve. I didn't particularly care. Not since the apothecary. The questions and concerns that were raised during our duel of wills in the sanctum were entirely null. It didn't matter where she came from, or why she was the way she was. Nothing would change her fate.

But Vogrin cared deeply about learning those same answers, and regardless of how I felt, the rational part of me accepted that more information was always better than less.

I shrugged. "There should be plenty of time to set the golems to task before we set sail for the strait."

"Good." Vogrin muttered, his voice like gravel underfoot. He lowered himself until his dirt strewn legs touched the ground and stalked into the forest, honest to gods walking for the first time since the day I'd met him, leaving small footprints in the soft earth.

"Vogrin follows them to wherever they're going, brings back the exact location of their camp along with any relevant details, and you and yours deal with them however you see fit. Fair enough?" I asked Lucius, who, with effort, finally seemed to relax, the tension easing from his shoulders.

"More than enough. It's my lapse, not yours. But I'm not stupid enough to turn down help when it's offered." Lucius remounted his horse, and for a moment I saw Cephur in his stead, lifting a much younger Lucius back up onto the saddle, the ghost of a memory.

Meanwhile, Luther, who still seemed half-ready to chase the bandits into the forest, slid his high-steel sword back in its scabbard with a metallic whisper and seemed to reevaluate us with cautious eyes. I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed, offering an apologetic smile. "Ready to go?"

"I uh." He chuckled, crow's feet deepening around his eyes. "I've never seen a bandit attack dealt with so casually before."

"Could have gone all scorched earth, but..." I glanced back at the already-fading scorch marks, a reminder of restrained power.

"You're on holiday," Luther filled in, respect warming his voice. "And holidays are for restraint."

"Exactly." I kicked Willow's flanks, feeling the powerful muscles respond beneath me, and took off down the path at a slow trot.

/////

"So... it's a slug." Lucius's nose wrinkled, his expression comically horrified in the afternoon light.

"Sort of." Maya answered, her voice a little breathless as it often became when she was explaining something interesting, violet eyes alight with enthusiasm. "The membrane tastes like practically nothing. Some say its earthy in profile, but I've never picked up on that much. It's kept in ice and frigid on the tongue, which likely hides some of the taste."

"So it's... a cold slug that tastes like dirt." The wrinkles around his nose grew more severe, each word dripping with princely disdain.

"It's a delicacy," Maya rolled her eyes, her violet fingers gesturing expressively as the sunlight caught the iridescent undertones of her skin. "Why even ask if you're going to react with typical human narrow-mindedness?"

Lucius's brows shot up and he turned to me, scandalized, one hand pressed dramatically to his chest. "We're being besmirched."

"You're being besmirched. I've already partaken." I leaned back in my saddle, enjoying their banter. "It was possibly—" I stopped, thought about that tense meal I'd shared with Ephira, the memory unfurling unpleasantly of our table precariously balanced over an abyss. "No, it was definitely the most unique dining experience of my life. I didn't even follow the rules and have it properly, and the result was still sublime."

"The slug has rules?!" Lucius grew more perplexed by the moment, his voice rising an octave.

Maya counted them off on her slender fingers, each point punctuated with scholarly precision. "First it has to be perfectly prepared, then chilled for several hours at an exact temperature. You must coat your lips in wax and take great care not to chew. Once the membrane bursts you will 'taste' a whisper of the creature itself and that eventual reward is worth the wait."

"Between the coating and the taking-great-care, these rules sound more like precautions." Lucius's brow furrowed, skepticism etched in every line of his face.

"I was thinking the same thing." Luther said, sparing a curious look back towards us, sunlight catching in his graying hair. "Though, both of you, despite a heap of compliments, have yet to say how the thing actually tastes."

"It's... difficult to describe." The savory, overwhelming quality was reminiscent of steak in my memory, then duck liver prepared in the Panthanian manner, lastly taking on the dense rich wave of crayfish dipped in prestige butter. The memory itself was easy to recall, a cascade of flavors that defied simple categorization. "In truth, the only reason I don't have it more often is..." My eyes slid to Maya. "That other little detail you haven't mentioned yet."

Maya returned my look blankly, her head tilting slightly. "What detail?"

I raised an eyebrow. "The other thing. That and the water. Or lack of."

"That's..." There was a lull as Maya thought back, focusing, bringing up the recollection. I sometimes forgot that it took intention for her to sift through the memories I'd shared, and they weren't simply there at the surface of her mind, waiting to be recalled. "Oh, no." Her eyes widened with the realization.

"Oh, no?" I repeated, very aware that both Lucius and Luther were watching us, their curiosity palpable.

Maya put a hand on her mouth, barely holding back a giggle that made her shoulders shake. "That... rule... stems from a very old tradition. Modern water filtered through magical means is very clean, where in the old days it was impossible to find any purified beyond simple boiling."

"Oh my gods..." I muttered numbly, pressing a palm against my forehead as I filled in the blanks, pieces falling into place with horrifying clarity.

"To further complicate matters," Maya continued, her voice taking on the measured cadence of a scholar, "Sceo transcended mere cuisine to become diplomacy incarnate. Leaders would share this rarity across negotiation tables—a tacit admission of vulnerability when both parties placed their lives in each other's hands."

"A mutual hostage situation disguised as hospitality," Luther mused, inclining his head with newfound respect. "Ingenious." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

"And show they're both willing to risk whatever the negative effects are. I get it." Luther inclined his head, weathered hands loose on his reins.

"What are the negative effects?" Lucius asked, leaning forward with morbid fascination.

But Maya was still deep in thought, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Volatility cannot be overstated. If you were to select a single pebble from the ground and drop it into a cup of boiled water, that would likely be enough to upset the balance."

"Make sure the other guy gets the dirty cup, suddenly your problem takes care of itself." I shook my head, imagining ancient diplomats with their deadly delicacies.

She nodded, the movement dislodging a strand of hair that caught the light. "After this was more or less known, a new tradition sprung up centered on water itself. If the two parties discussing terms were of equal standing, they would both bring their own. In the case of a dichotomy, the figure who held the most power would provide the water."

"Subsequently forcing the weaker party to simply trust and bend the knee." The implications unfolded like a map of power dynamics, written in invisible ink.

"And critically, it was far too precious to waste. So in the third scenario, if you arrived to meet with someone who held a more powerful position than you, and they truly hated you..." Maya trailed off, leaving the thought suspended between us.

"They would bring no water at all." I finished, warring between amusement and annoyance with an enemy long dead. "Forcing insult and unpleasantness on both of you rather than entertain the idea of peace. Or assassination, for that matter."

"What happens if you bite it or drink it with shit water for fuck’s sake?" Lucius asked, increasingly aggrieved, all aristocratic pretense abandoned.

My eyes widened as I recalled the events, the memory vivid despite the passage of time. "I was desperate for a drink after the Sceo lodged in my throat. It started burning more until I was terrified it was going to burst in right then and there. Eventually I gave up, filled up my wineglass with the closest thing I could find, which was cave water... and she didn't bat an eye. That hag tried to kill me."

"It kills you?!" Lucius exclaimed, his eyes wide with horror.

"Only if consumed incorrectly." Maya said, looking a little hurt. She turned to me, her expression softening. "And if you'd only asked instead of politely avoiding it or swallowing it down blank-faced with no comment, we might have figured this out years ago."

"A few fish common fish we regularly dredge out of the sapphire seas can do the same if the cook makes it wrong." Luther shrugged, the gesture casual despite the gravity of the conversation. "It's not that unheard of. And in my opinion those fish don't even taste that good."

Lucius considered that, then smiled apologetically at Maya. "Apologies. I'm a rural lord. Our diets stay fairly straightforward. More varied than they used to be, but simple is still simple."

"And I'm a trained diplomat." Maya returned coldly, eyes narrowing to violet slits. "Fully aware of that the boy I sang to sleep, the child who asked me to stay near him for just a few more minutes and hold his hand because he was afraid of the dark is putting on airs and lying through his—"

"Okay!" Lucius squawked, blushing furiously, the color spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. "It's the slug part. I trust you implicitly, it's just the texture that gives pause."

"Well, at least you're honest." Maya sniffed, looking pointedly away from Lucius. As they bantered, I couldn't help but laugh. It was a relief to see her this way. Joking around, taking things lightly. The mild pettiness she was engaging in only came out when things were calm, peaceful. Exceedingly rare circumstances. Confirmation that we were on the same page. The argument—if you could even call it that—ended with Lucius admitting he'd try the delicacy given the chance, though only once, and Maya apologizing for bring up his history out of turn.

Luther, on the other hand, only looked more confused the longer they talked, his weathered face creased with bewilderment.

"At some point, someone's really gotta fill me in on the history here." My Uncle rubbed his head, callused fingers threading through his hair.

"I'm out of the loop on too much as well. There'll be time for both of us to hear it all twice over." Lucius grinned, his earlier embarrassment forgotten. "There's plenty of room in the manor. Our wine-sodden evenings will turn to mornings, and we will feast, and drink, with much merry to be had."

I groaned inwardly, feeling a small spark of jealousy I quickly quenched. Somewhere in the back of my mind this was what I'd been worried about. The sort of excess Lucius was proposing would have appealed to me a great deal in my first life. There was a surface level joy to be found in the parties and libations that accompanied them. But what I really wanted was time. Time away from the public, and the capital, and countless prying eyes. Time shared with the person who had done so much for me, and received so little in return.

But this was her idea. She'd driven for it, pushed for it. And if she wanted to spend it in a festive drunken stupor, it was fair to say we all deserved a little of that too.

Someone reached over and tugged on my hand. Violet fingers tightened around mine, and a slight shake of her head told me everything I needed to know.

"You intend to board us at the manor?" I asked.

"Of course!" Lucius exclaimed, eyes shining with expectation. "Only the finest Kholis has to offer. And if either of you finds something to be lacking, please let me know."

"Generous." I paused, studying his enthusiastic expression. "Actually, there might be something you can help us with."

His eyebrows perked up in interest. "Another conspiracy, perhaps?"

"Well—" I started, searching for the right words.

"We are beset by spies." Maya filled in, coming up with an explanation almost instantly, her diplomatic training shining through.

"It's tragic." I helped, adding a bit of regretful gravitas. "Separated for years before we finally found each other, only to have my father stick his boot in and drag us both back to Whitefall. There's so much to catch up on, but Thaddeus has ears everywhere."

"Say no more," Lucius frowned, taking a moment to think. Beside him, my uncle kept his head forward, a small smile frozen on his lips, giving nothing away.

"This entire venture was at a last moment's notice." Maya finally offered. "It's already been a burden to arrange, I'm sure. And we're happy to stay at the manor. If we could also secure a place to speak in private..."

His expression was inscrutable. "No. Apologies—I already have something in mind. Something I’d saved for the end of your visit. A reveal, if you will. And, depending on how it went, a gift."

"Really?" I asked, a little taken aback. He'd had very little warning that we were coming. Whatever it was, must have already been in the works for quite some time.

"That being said, given what you've just told me, I think it works better at the beginning rather than the end. Or at least I hope it does." Lucius winced. "Gods, I went from having three days to mull over whether this was a good idea to less than an hour. Now I'm sweating on the cusp of winter."

Maya, still trying to puzzle out what Lucius was hinting at, suddenly paled. She looked around in panic, and confirming that we were as close as Lucius said we were, reached down into her saddlebags and withdrew a roll of bandages.

"We need to pull off to the side somewhere so I can put these on."

"Not a chance." Lucius stared at the bandages with obvious disdain, then shook his head. "You won't be needing those. Not in Kholis. Not anymore."