187 The Fanatic

City of Murt, Tulosa

Tobias' body was shaking. His hair was unkempt. His beard was messy. He laughed.

He reached his hand towards the ceiling. His eyes were quivering inside their sockets. Mouth agape, he laughed.

Tobias rose from his bed, his laugh unceasing. Suddenly he knelt. His knees slammed towards the tiled floor of the room. It was a good day. It was a great day. Oh the Omniscient loves him!

The door creaked. Tobias snapped from his trance.

"Sire" Tobias' squire called. The lad was carrying a platter of food.

Tobias crawled towards his squire. His white robe was being dragged. He grabbed the squire's feet.

"Jason. Oh Jason! He called me again. Last night! Oh yes. Last night Jason. I spoke with God. I spoke with the Omniscient again" Tobias looked up to the squire "He said that he is proud of me. He said that I am his chosen prophet. He said that...." tears of joy dropped from Tobias' eyes. He uttered unintelligible grunts "The Omniscient called me his prophet! I am his light in this waning world. I am so happy"

Jason knelt. The platter of food was set aside.

"You are sire" Jason's calming voice said "You are the chosen one. The Omniscient chose you as his personal servant. You need to prove your loyalty to him"

"Oh yes! I will. I will prove myself. I am loyal to the Omniscient. I will do anything for him. My faith is absolute!"

"Now is actually the perfect time to show your faith sire. News just arrived" Jason shook his head "It is a terrible news"

"What happened?"

"Henry sire. He came back to Bivon with twenty thousand Castonians and Princess Emily. They took the city from Balian the evil"

"That is good. He took Bivon for me. Henry saw the light of God and followed it"

"That should have been the case sire. But no, evil again prevailed. The Castonians proclaimed Henry as the Grand Master"

"Henry!" Tobias cried, shrill was his voice and long was his shout. "Oh Henry has fallen to the evils of this world. He is lost. This is a dark day" Tobias then chuckled under his breath. His shoulders shook "We should kill him. We should sacrifice his corpse to the Omniscient as gift. The Omniscient demands a sacrifice of infidels"

"It will come sire, it will come. We will make a great sacrifice to the Omniscient to thank him for his goodness. But first we need to deal with the Castonians. I've heard a Castonian diplomatic party is on their way to Bivon. We should greet them ourselves"

Tobias smiled widely "You are right. We will introduce them to the glory of God"

**********

Dust flung behind them. Numerous hoof marks dotted the sand of the Deadland Plains.

Henry's armor was hot under the sun. Although seldom gusts of wind would bring respite, he was sweating under his helm.

But all of this hardship will soon end, he thought. They have been riding for days but the scouts finally spotted the diplomatic party about an hour ago. Now he could see the Castonian flag fluttering about a thousand steps away.

The one at the front was a woman. She was flanked by several other nobles. Henry halted his mount in front of her and slid off his horse.

Before he could turn towards her, Freya ran to him. A warm embrace under the already searing afternoon sun followed.

"I'm all sweaty and dusty. I probably don't smell nice"

She rubbed her cheeks against his breastplate "It's alright but you've grown thin. Are you eating well? Have you been sick? Is Erik giving you troubles?"

He missed her. It had only been two weeks but he had missed her. Henry put his palm on her face.

"I am well. You, on the other hand... Freya you shouldn't have come here"

"It is my duty Henry" Freya smiled. She gestured towards the people to her back "By the way these are my peers. The monarchs have decided to give Tulosa the treatment of a close ally. We will propose to have the whole bunch- military pact, military access, alliance, trade agreement, free use of ports- not that Tulosa has a navy, and probably royal marriage ties"

Henry walked towards the nobles. They were dressed nicely despite being dusty from the journey. "A pleasure to meet you and welcome to Tulosa. I hope your presence here will strengthen the bonds between our two nations"

"We have heard about you Grand Master Henry and we are honored to meet the First Spear. May your guidance lead the order of the knights into peace and prosperity" said one of the nobles, a lanky aged man with a short beard.

Henry's smile stiffed on his face. "You are mistaken. I am not..."

Freya tugged his arm and went between him and the nobles. "I apologize for butting in but I think we should set camp. Although the sun's wrath is still raging, it's close to sundown if I'm not mistaken. What do you think Grand Master Henry?"

Freya emphasized the last few words and smiled.

Henry sighed, firm and reserved. He looked behind where his knights and Erik's cavalry were waiting.

"Set camp. Double the scouts and the guards. I want eyes within a two-league radius"

The knights saluted. Most of them dismounted while the others went to scout. Henry was dragged by Freya away from the nobles.

"So the news of the sacrilege they are forcing on me has spread" Henry said, not a question as he already know the answer.

Freya let a momentary silence prevail. Fading sun on top and sandy soil below, she leaned closer to him.

"It has spread as far as Anthapis. It is currently being sung in the taverns and being preached in the streets. Lucia saw it as a great propaganda- a knight who took matters into his own hands to free his people from the tyranny of war"

"I have never been the smart one like Marquis Erik and I have never been sly. I was and am, a straightforward person. I fight, that is my gift. And I serve, as that is my responsibility. I am a knight, not an instrument for politics. You know that I am against it. "

"For now" Freya intertwined her small hands with his under his gauntlet "I do know you enough to know that you'll be against it. But soon you will change your mind"

"My faith to the Omniscient will never change"

"I know. But I still believe in you"

They reached the rear of the travelling party. Dozens of wagons were lined and protected by armed guards. Freya took him to one of the wagons.

"Take off you armor and clothes" She turned her head towards him. A small smile was on her face "Take it off or I'll do it myself"

"May I ask why?" Henry inquired but he was already removing the straps of his breastplate.

Freya bent and rummaged through the scattered items in the wagon. She produced some clean folded clothes.

"Now that you are known as the new Grand Master, you need to be seen as one. Dusty armor and dirty clothes don't match your status anymore. And I just want you to be comfortable"

Henry took the clothes. He felt warm knowing that there is someone who cares about him.

"I also brought your favorites" Freya continued to rummage through the pile of things "I have salted and dried Bison meat and that bread you've been buying from you favorite baker although it seems moldy now. I also borrowed Earl Mathias' cook, you know that one who makes godly broths. You need to eat. Your face is thinner and paler. Also I have seen your crooked steps. You were injured right? Let me dress your wound anew later tonight after dinner. Now than I'm here, you'll be in good hands"

Henry took her hand and pulled her into his embrace. He is lucky to have her. She is the Omniscient's greatest gift to him.

"Thank you"

"Oh don't be like that. You are..."

Freya was interrupted by a knight riding towards them. The knight dismounted and saluted to Henry.

"We have spotted enemies Grand Master. We think it's the pretender Tobias and King Brice"

"How many?" Henry severed his embrace and fastened his breastplate again.

"At least a few thousand. They are near. And.... I have seen the Punishers with them"

Henry shook his head. He looked at Freya. He needed her to be safe. "Erect spikes around the camp. Have the Castonians on foot and the knights on mount. Have Centurion Stan spread the caltrops. We will make a stand here. Protect the diplomatic party at all cost"

"Henry" Freya grabbed his arm "I need to tell you something. Some of the wagons... they contain dangerous things" She looked up to him "Hellfire. We have been transporting Vanadian Hellfire"