Bonus 6: In Which the Ranger Springs a Trap

Bonus 6: In Which the Ranger Springs a Trap

It was all falling apart.

Nazralind stood in the center of what had days ago been a tiny hamletnot a proper village, but a cluster of houses where four families lived and worked the surrounding fields, out here near the very edge of the island. Everyone was gone, hopefully fled; at least, shed found no bodies. Nothing remained of the houses but charred, burned-out husks.

Shed seen the aftermath of housefires before, they werent uncommon in Fflyr dwellings, stuffed with paper and fabric as they tended to be. Sometimes the heat could be intense enough to crack akorshil beams, but usually one just had to clean out the ash and rubble, repaint and maybe replace the roofing. Here? These homes were destroyed, burned to fragments. The kind of heat it took to shatter akorshil planks to this extent ruled out accidental fire, or even a hasty raid. Someone had taken the time to liberally and strategically apply asauthec before setting it alight.

Naz, Ismreth said quietly but urgently, her boots crunching amid the charred debris as she approached. Nazralind steeled herself; this was no time to crumple under the pressure. The more dire things were, the more important it was that she remain composed and in control. It was exhausting. No sign of him?

Clearly not. It looks like were really on our own, now.

He might still be alive, just escaped the damage, Ismreth offered. Coridon could outmaneuver the Clans if anyone could.

Which didnt help them, because he wasnt here. Whatever move Nazralind came up with next, it would have to be without the aid or even advice of the only professional whod ever backed her campaign. But there was no point in dumping more mud on Ismreths spirit by saying it our loud.

Hows it look out there, Izzy? Good, her voice didnt quaver.

Itsbad. Ismreth was trying to put on a good face, clearly, but she didnt feel the same pressure to project strength. She wasnt the leader. Just like this, all over. The Ardwych, Llian, Thloch and Yffleward farms, gone. Burned out with asauthec. Three more hamlets this size, too.

Are the peoplegone? There no sign of anybody here, have we found what happened to them?

It seems they were allowed to go. Master Llian is dead, Naz; Master Thloch and his son are nursing rapier wounds. They all tried to resist. The ones who fled were let go.

Nazralind started to reach for her own face, then forced her hand back down. Control; her strength was their strength. She couldnt afford to be mortal. Instead, she pictured the locations described on her mental map.

The other hamlets. Where?

The little one on the bladegrass border closest to our base, one between the Yffleward and Thloch farms, and the crossroads on the eastern edge of Clan Thelflyns land.

Her breath caught. Thatsan encirclement. Except for the last one. Theyre pushing inward.

Ismreth nodded, her face grim and hollow. And slow enough to make it obvious. They mean to converge on Flynswith and burn out our allies.

We have to

Nazralind. It is too obvious. This is bigger than Clan Thelflyn could organize alone; other families are involved. Possibly even yours. It is aimed at us, and it is a trap!

I wasnt proposing to meet the Clansguard in a pitched battle! If we can at least warn our friends in the village

Do the obvious thing we would do, that we are clearly being goaded into doing? They know whos helped us, Naz! Thats who theyll be watching, ready to pounce if we show our faces.

What do you want me to say? she demanded. We started all this, Ismreth! These people are in danger because of us. How can we abandon them now?

Ismreth didnt flinch from her gaze. And we can finish all this by walking into the trap that gets us all dragged back to our families. Is that the order you want to give? Because I dont know if the girls will obey it. They can all see what this is.

Nazralind stared at her. Will you?

She still didnt flinch, but the long pause hung heavy between them.

If that is your order, Ismreth said finally, Ill carry it to the others.

The elf forced herself to breathe, to think. Outward stillness was a poor substitute for inner calm, but she made do. Instinctively she wanted to be aghast, enraged. Their entire purpose for everything theyd done was to help the people of Dount in their oppression; this retaliation against them was happening because of her and her followers. And now they wanted to turn their backs on the people when the need was most urgent? It took scarcely a seconds thought, though, to see how cruelly unfair she was being. Just as they had put these people in this situation, she had put the other young ladies following her where they were by recruiting and inciting and leading them. Pushing them into a course where they would lose their own freedom and suffer the punishment of their Clans was just the same problem from a different angle.

The rock and the hard place. No matter what she did, someonemany someonesto whom she had pledged her aid and solidarity would have to be abandoned to their fate. It wasintolerable. Above all else, Nazralind couldnt stand to abandon anyone. Not since the night of her own escape; shed sworn never again to turn her back on someone. And now, shed been backed into a corner from which she couldnt see any outcome but to fail everyone. Everything.

In that light, it was grimly clear. Her failure had already happened; now to face the consequences. It was a trap. They were not going to be able to aid the villagers no matter what they did. How could she possibly ask her girls to sacrifice themselves for nothing?

Youre right. Nazralind shook her head. Whats everyones position?

Ismreth looked a bit relieved. Outside the encirclement, for now. When I checked in with everyone I warned them all of the pattern; I dont think anybodys reckless enough to charge in and get caught, but we should group back up as soon as possible. Theyre all trying to find and aid the civilians who fled their homes outside the area being attacked.

So theyll be moving farther from the hot spot, not closer, Nazralind murmured. Theres that, anyway. Okay, Izzy, I have one more thing I need to try. I need you to link back up with everyone, gather the group.

Where? There was new tension in Ismreths voice, as if she half expected to be ordered back into the fray.

Sister Maeflyns chapel.

Everyone? Thats awfully close to Olumnach lands, Naz. If their Clansguard find a whole group converging

Right, we cant afford to stay there long, but its far enough outside the area being hunted. We need a meeting place and thats one spot were not being actively looked for.

Ismreth nodded. Okay. Theres one other thing you should know, Naz: I havent found them myself, but several of the fleeing villagers I spoke to talked about somebody looking for us. For you, specifically.

Nazralind sucked in a breath, along with the scent of soot. Someonenew?

Not the Clans, I dont think. Its the same pair, a young highborn woman and a big muscular woman who looked like an adventurer or bandit. Apparently theyve roamed around this part of the island as much as a person can in the last three days or soall over the Flynswith area. Asking leading questions about our gang, and several people told me they specifically asked if an elf was with us.

In her current state, the stab of hope that pierced Nazralinds heart was almost painful; she was grappling with too many emotions as it was, and pushed that aside.

What do you know about them? Any description beyond that? Has anyone tried todeal with them in any way?

Ismreth shook her head. People have universally been afraid to interfere with them. When I pressed nobody said they did anything aggressive, one goodwife even insisted they were very polite, but The highborn girl was described as brown haired but very pale and with brown eyes, high enough in rank that most sensible lowborn wouldnt antagonize her. Also the other womans supposedly as tall and strong-looking as a man, and a strong man at that. And both are armed.

Okay. Nazralind drew in a breath and let it out slowly. All right. One more thing to watch out for.

What should we do if we come across them?

She chewed her lip for a second. Hope was a poisonous thing And this was no time to take risks.

Be careful. Find out who they are, if theyre not hostile. Then arrange a meeting later in a neutral place and ditch them. Thesemay be allies. Possibly even someone I know. But right now, Im not willing to risk anybodys life on the chance.

Yeah, we have enough problems. Okay, Ill make sure everybody knows that, too. Can I help with your next task, Naz?

I think itll be better if I try that one alone. Its a detour, but Ill still probably reach the chapel ahead of you by the time youve gathered everybody up. Ill see you then, Izzy. Be fast, but be careful.

Ismreth stepped forward to catch her in a brief hug. You be more of both, young lady.

Cmon, when am I not?

Ugggh. Dont even joke. The other woman backed up and raised her head. Ayy yi yi yi!

Behind Nazralind, Newneh raised her head from where shed been crouching behind the husk of a farmhouse, recognizing the voice. But it wasnt Nazralinds voice, so she didnt fully emerge. Ismreths own Haddi did, the gwynnek bursting out of cover behind a stand of bladegrass in the near distance and charging right into the village.

Ismreth vaulted deftly into the saddle as Haddi skidded on crouched legs to lower her body, then kept on running with her rider without ever having fully stopped. The woman raised her arm to wave as they dashed away, and then she was gone around a rise in Dounts rolling terrain. They hadnt had as easy a time staying concealed as they would have in the western part of the island, with all the khora, but there were abundant places to hide practically everywhere on Dount. Also, for the same reasons, the really dangerous bandit gangs were in the west, and Nazralind hadnt wanted to contest their territory on top of antagonizing the Clans.

Especially since events had proved she couldnt even successfully do one of those things, let alone both.

Cmon, Newneh, she murmured, swinging a leg over the gwynneks neck, lets go get in some more trouble. Hepep.

Hope was a luxury that often proved too expensive to sustain, and Nazralind had grown adept at stomping it out of her own heart even as she tried to share it with others. Thus, she wasnt surprised or even really disappointed by the results of her meeting with the goblins at the one underground access she knew of that was outside the shrinking noose her enemies were closing on the village of Flynswith. Begging for aid from that disc-pinching schemer Maugro had always been a tragically long shot, one so obviously pointless that it was a testament to her desperate situation that she even bothered.

She wanted to shoot him just to shut him up, but of course couldnt. Not for that. All she could do was stand there and take it.

And I remember what that feels like, Nazralind. Coridon sighed and finally broke eye contact, turning his head to gaze at the shadows beneath the khora. Thats why I decided to help you, truthfully. Because you remind me so much of myself, before I learned to act on those convictions effectively. Flaws can be remedied; thats the point of training. Its the talent, the drive and the will that must be there from the beginning. If you can learn patience and discipline, I can train you to become what you need to be. Someone who can achieve the things you long to do.

He returned his gaze to hers, his eyes so earnest she wished she could believe them.

As a Gray Guard? she retorted bitterly. While my country continues to suffer because your greater good finds it convenient?

And what can you do about that, as you are? he countered. Lancors policy toward Dlemathlys isnt the only possible one, nor necessarily the best. Its merelygood enough, sufficient that the Empire feels no impetus to change it. Would it not make just as much sense, from an Imperial foreign policy standpoint, to support and uplift Dlemathlys as a client state, invest in its stability? But to make that happen, you would need to rise high enough in the Imperial ranks to be in a position to influence such large-scale decisions. And to accomplish that, you would have to willingly suffer the status quo while you worked toward a better future. Accept what you cannot change, for the sake of positioning yourself such that you can. That is what you have refused to do, and what you would need to learn, Nazralind. Can you?

She could see the logic in it, that was what was so infuriating. Especially as it all hinged on the abundantly evidenced fact that her own judgment was questionable. A voice still screamed inside her head that she was being played, that hed deceived her already and would again, but it was being slowly but surely drowned out by his oh so reasonable tone, his meticulously logical arguments By the reality that her own stubbornness had gotten her into this entire mess in the first place.

Maeflyn held still, eyes wide and darting back and forth between them.

Weve barely scratched the surface, Coridon said quietly. I have so many things still to teach you, Nazralind. Things that would be of great use to you in this situation, just to begin with. There are ways to survive an arrow fired at this rangeways to detect someone approaching stealthily. Imagine what you could do with what I know. The only question is whether you will make the right choice.

When are you going to tell her that the stealth detection trick is Void craft? Does the Gray Guard teach that stuff to its agents, or is that just a little something youve picked up along the way?

Maeflyn gasped, spinning toward the new voice; Nazralind jerked, raising her eyes to stare at the slim figure which emerged from the shadows of the most ruined section of the chapel, opposite where she herself had entered. For just a moment, she stopped breathing.

She was thinner than when Nazralind had last seen her, dressed in a lowborn boys clothes, and had a big floppy hat covering most of her hair. In her hands was a crossbowa style of weapon even Nazralinds gang hadnt managed to acquire. Her brown eyes met the elfs and held them for an endless moment, a new thread forming between them despite the layers of tension already laying over the scene.

Elemyn, Nazralind whispered.

Ah, said Coridon, reminding her that he was here. He had turned to face the new arrival slowly and with much more poise. So this is Lady Elemyn. What a relief to see you alive and haleeven if you are claiming extremely improbable knowledge of Void craft.

Improbable? Elemyns eyes cut back to him. Interesting that you saw Nazralind coming, but I was able to sneak up on you. That particular trick can be defeated by multiple people crossing the ward perimeter within a few minutes of each other; it will only trigger once. So tell me, Gray Guard, if my information is so improbable, how do I know how it works?

Is that true? Sister Maeflyn interjected. The Void? Surely evenyou would not dare, agent.

Coridon glanced at her, and then so visibly dismissed the priestess from consideration that she bristled. Sauce for the gander, then. I wonder how you happen to know such craft, my lady.

And he deflects, Elemyn retorted. Predictable. Nazralind and I may not be trained agents of the Gray Guard, but dont underestimate a noblewomans education. Particularly in matters of social manipulation, agent.

He smiled disarmingly. I hardly

Jumping between topics to keep her off-balance, Elemyn pressed, raising her crossbow to aim at him directly. Combining flattery with scathing criticism so that it penetrates ones defenses against flattery, making it ironically more effective even on a target who knows better. Thats a great trick, one of my favorites. And of course, let us not forget the most effective of all: striking at someone at a moment of greatest emotional vulnerability.

It was like chugging a healing potion. Elemyns words flooded through Nazralind, accompanied by the surge of joy and relief at finding her maedhlou still alive, and washing away the poison of Coridons insidious blandishments. A screwup she might be, but she was not about to let him muddle her conviction any further.

And I was so close to falling for it, she growled, drawing back her bowstring again. How utterly embarrassing.

Elemyn shot her a smile that made her heart sing.

Manipulation, Coridon murmured. Theres that word againas if youd caught me in some offense. Nothing I said was insincere, or even incorrect. You would have pounced immediately had I told you a falsehood, Nazralind. It is not I in this situation who is exploiting your vulnerability to emotion.

Even while speaking, he had slowly shifted his position, moving with creeping steps until he could keep them both in view at once. She noted his braced posture, flexed hands. He claimed to be able to dodge or deflect an arrow in flight.

Just one?

Nazralind took aim at his heart. I dont need the help of my enemies.

Do you not? You were lost, helpless and utterly useless before I took it upon myself to train you.

I took what I needed from you, she replied, reveling in the icy defiance restored to her voice. It must be confusing to be on the other end of that transaction, Gray Guard.

When the shot suddenly came, it was from neither of them, instead flashing out of the shadows beyond the ruined walls from a completely different angle. Even so, he nearly managed it. Coridon spun with impossible agility, taking only a grazing hit along the ribs from a crossbow quarrel that had been aimed at his midsection.

But he could not dodge again in mid-dodge, not at that speed, nor watch in three directions at once. Even as he evaded one killing shot, Nazralinds arrow hit him directly in the back. Straight through the heart.

Her teacher staggered, bent, crumpled to the ground with a groan. Maeflyn screamed once, backpedaling with her broom clutched in both hands.

Im the one who knew that trick, said a new voice, stepping over a pile of rubble as she emerged from the shadows. Helped take out a couple of Void witches in my Kings Guild days. You can never trust anybody whos screwing around with the Void.

Goose! Nazralinds voice cracked from sheer emotion, and she couldnt find it in herself to be embarrassed.

Damn, but Im glad to see you, mLady, the big woman said, grinning at her.

So weve just got the one witness left, Elemyn stated, turning her crossbow on Sister Maeflyn. She alone hadnt fired.

I am a priestess, the Sister protested, backing up further.

Dont get ahead of yourselves, girls, Goose warned, and for that one second it was just like the old days again. Thats a trained spy; just because hes lying still doesnt mean hes dead.

he is, Nazralind said after staring for a moment. The position of the arrow, the depth of penetration, theamount of blood. You can tell if you know what to look for. He taught me that, she added more quietly.

Too many contradictory feelings were roaring about inside her in that moment for her to settle upon one to experience fully. The whole added up to a surreal sort of giddy numbness.

Right, then, Goose said with a nod. What about this one?

Shes Imperial, Nazralind said, her voice going cold again. Radiant Temple. And working with the Gray Guard.

Under their combined glares, Maeflyn seemed to recover some of her poise, straightening up and shifting the broom to one side. Be that as it may, girls, I am still a priestess of Sanora. Temple, Convocationwe are sister faiths. I know that concerns of mere politics will not induce you to risk the Goddesss wrath by

The crossbow bolt slammed straight into her heart, toppling her backward and driving the breath from her.

Hail Virya, you duplicitous bitch, Elemyn spat.

None of it, not the shock or violence or the sheer murder of the last few seconds, could have held her back. Nazralind carelessly dropped her bow, stepping forward, and then lengthening her stride until she was running the last few steps. Elemyn dashed to meet her, tossing aside her own crossbow.

They collided in an embrace and clung together, rocking gently. For the first few moments, Nazralind couldnt even tell which of them was crying. It turned out to be both.

Id lost you, she whispered. II was so sure you were gone.

Its beenI dont even know where to begin. But Im back, Naz. We found you!

And I hear there are others? Goose added. Nazralind wanted to hug her, too, but all things considered it was probably for the best that at least one of them remained watchful and armed. Naturally, that was Goose, ever the professional. It really was like the old days.

Except it wasnt, and never would be again.

Hail Virya? she finally said, pulling back just enough to see Elemyns tear-streaked face. I know the kind of trouble Im in. Hells revels, Myn, whatve you gotten yourself into?

Elemyn scrubbed at her eyes with a sleeve, grinning up at her. Ah Well, Naz, the good news is we wont actually need backing from the likes of the Gray Guard. Weve found something much better. But, ahsomething that requires some explanation.

Nazralind suddenly remembered Maizos warning. Someone had intervened, paying off her protection money to keep the goblins and the other gangs off them. Someone Maizo had said was the real deal, able to accomplish what shed failed to.

Hail Virya An idea tickled the back of her mind, sending a chill through her. The rest of her girls would be converging here within the next few hours. Suddenly, Nazralind had the feeling she had better hear this before they arrived.

Im listening.