The Seekers: Soul Ties

With each passing moment, both realization and fear grew in Iskrila’s mind. Suddenly, a jolt of dread shook her.

«Seriously?» Iskrila exhaled, staring at Star and Sabiri. «Are you suggesting attacking them? Or is it just a blockade?»

Star sighed heavily, fidgeted in her chair, but didn’t speak. Sabiri was silently staring at the far window.

«How is it a good idea if you’re so uncomfortable with it?» Iskrila stood up and looked Sabiri in the eye. «What Drowners are doing is evil, but I don’t think I would retaliate that far!»

Sabiri met her gaze but said nothing. Her eyes kept searching for something, her crossed hands kept squeezing her arms, her facial expression kept on shifting slightly, but she couldn’t say a word.

«I don’t want any blood,» Star finally answered. «But first of all, I need to secure our future. You know we cannot just pack up and leave. A population this size needs much more food and protection that we can secure fast enough. And we cannot stay in this seclusion. Jaesa refused all the options I’ve offered lately, so all we have left is force.»

«So, is it a blockade or a siege?»

«Siege,» Sabiri answered. «Blockading them would take too much time and would be too dangerous. If too many soldiers would take part, our villages would be unprotected. And if too few soldiers were to surround Drowners, they would try to counterattack.»

Her words made sense, but Iskrila didn’t feel any better about it. In fact, she felt even worse, for her imagination started painting the most unfortunate turns of events.

«Wait,» Iskrila asked, «what «villages’?»

«All of them.» Star joined them at the window. «Vapors and Scarlets really want this to end.»

«And you think Drowners would attack such an armada?»

«I don’t care.» Sabiri shook her head. «The possibility is there, so I cannot risk it. Besides, just a few of them need to escape. With the amount of money they could’ve gathered in their raids, they could afford mercenaries. What would they attack then? Our flanks? Our homes? Why would I risk it? It’s way safer to gather as many soldiers as possible from all the villages, quickly beat Drowners into submission, then return to guard our own walls ASAP.»

Iskrila tried to remember those numbers on the map. That would be about half a thousand soldiers on the field. She knew for a fact that it would be nothing, that the attackers needed three times as many people than the defenders. But Sabiri must’ve known that as well!

«We still won’t have enough people for a siege,» Iskrila voiced her concern. «We would need at least twice as many soldiers as you’ve scribed on the map!»

«Only if we were to climb the walls.»

«But you said siege!»

«We believe it’s possible to destroy the wall. Without it, Drowners would be at a disadvantage. Hopefully, they would realize that and just surrender.»

«And how would we destroy it?»

«This is where you come in.» Sabiri smiled. «Flaming arrows are certainly beautiful during festivities, but they are also destructive.»

Iskrila’s jaw dropped when she heard that. Sabiri was joking, she thought. No, not joking, but mistaken. That would never work! The logs that built the wall were too thick to set aflame with pesky little arrows!

Star smiled too, seeing Iskrila’s confused face. «We know what you’re thinking. It could work. A hundred thousand arrows, raining at the wall constantly, should be enough to heat it up. Even if it doesn’t catch ablaze, there would still be smoke. We could manage to scare Drowners enough to evacuate, especially if enough smoke appeared.»

More and more questions popped up in Iskrila’s head, but most of them she immediately answered herself. It didn’t bring her any closure or comfort, but what other option should she offer? What was safer? What was faster? What was at least as good? A minute passed, and Iskrila still didn’t have the answer.

«It’ll take a while to get ready, and a lot of work. Drowners could see something, could hear something,» Iskrila said.

Star reassured her. «The moment Drowners learn it, we would also know. It’s not ideal, and it is hard to pull off, but it wouldn’t be the first time we fought with a quill and some ink.»

Iskrila made another heavy sigh, but she didn’t have a better plan.

«Alright,» Iskrila said. «Let’s do it.»

Vigilance and prudence

Ouch! Why do those stupid bushes have thorns on them? Sabiri licked a drop of blood from her finger. Paranoid, she checked once again that her horns were nicely hidden behind the bush, then carefully moved the branches just enough to see through. Today should be their last reconnaissance mission before the attack, so she’d better be careful.

«Two guards in front of the gates, four are patrolling on the wall…» Sabiri counted. «All as usual. I hardly ever see their people patrolling outside.»

Greta, Poinistan’s war mistress, pushed her aside to take a look. «Well, it’s easier for us, then! No surprises mean minimal casualties. Hopefully.»

Sabiri made another opening for herself. The distance to the village was considerable. Aside from a few bushes scattered around, there was no cover.

«I can’t hear them. So, hopefully our arrival should come unnoticed,» Sabiri said.

Shai, Imbralestan’s war mistress, sat down nearby and examined the view. «I’m a bit worried about our boats. Once they come close enough to the pier, the wall would hide them from sight. We wouldn’t see the situation there.»

Greta sighed. «Yeah, that sucks, but it should also be the easiest part of the assault.»

Shai answered something, but Sabiri wasn’t listening. A wagon appeared from the forest ahead of them. Instead of going straight, it turned on the crossroad towards Imbrergoso. Then it stopped. Did they miss their turn? Apparently so, for the wagon turned back and went around the village.

«Greta, you think that wagon aimed to reach your tribe?» Sabiri asked.

«Fucking idiots!» Greta shook her fist at the wagon. «No way they haven’t heard the news! Why did we dispatch additional warnings everywhere we could? So everyone ignored them? Look at those Drowners!»

The Drowners guarding the wall had already gathered together and were now watching the wagon slowly leaving their lands, creaking without enough oil on its axis.

Shai whispered, «It’s almost teasing them! I guess we should be glad they don’t constantly seek prey and sometimes just relax behind their walls.»

Sabiri wrinkled her long nose in a grimace. «Don’t you remind me about that shit! Those… those… Well, at least this will be over soon.»

Shai stood up and looked around, though she couldn’t see much in the middle of all these plants and vegetation.

«Where will the command be located? I can barely see what’s twenty meters ahead of me,» she asked.

«There’s a place; it’s almost an elevation…» Sabiri started to speak.

Shai interrupted her. «Almost? Well, great!»

«At least it’s right in front of the gates! We’ll manage,» Sabiri finished.

Greta laughed. «We can climb a tree or something. Come on, it’ll be a good enough view if it’s in front of the gates.»

Trying not to leave too many hoofprints on the soft soil, the group returned to the scouts who were standing back as lookouts.

«I heard you saw some animal traps nearby?» Sabiri asked one of them.

«Yes, mistress, I can show you,» said an Imbralestan scout.

The procession followed her. There was a little opening between the trees. Too many fallen leaves in that spot, and they definitely weren’t from the trees nearby. The scout came closer and carefully revealed the trap beneath its disguise. It was definitely intended for someone big.

«You’ve marked the spots on the map, I trust?» Sabiri asked as she knelt down to take a better look.

«Of course she did!» Shai said. «She’s one of our best scouts!»

«Have you found out when Drowners usually check their traps?» Greta asked. «It would suck to meet them before the attack.»

«I can wait for them, mistress,» the scout answered.

Sabiri nodded. «Please do. Take one of mine, and one of Scarlet’s scouts with you. I’m sure there are more than one such trap.»

The procession headed towards several streams that had been found by the scouts earlier. Those streams were quite old, having eroded deep channels for themselves, yet they ran almost noiselessly. Many animals had made their home near them, or at least their usual bathing place. Jumping around, flying up and landing back again, pecking and pushing each other, little birds were cleaning their feathers and quenching their thirst. Their lively songs and banter made Sabiri smile, distracting her from the thoughts of the upcoming battle. She cherished such distractions, for constantly thinking about death and destruction was most unpleasant.

«I see a few more such streams nearby,» Greta said. «Close enough to the field. It’s perfect!»

«Yeah, nice to have.» Shai scooped up some water and had a taste. She winced and started rubbing her hands like crazy. «Why is stream water always so cold?»

«Sometimes it’s handy, Shai. Shall we depart? We know for sure they do have some scouts,» Sabiri suggested.

They’d already finished deciding which scouts should stay back and wait for Drowners when one of them snapped her fingers twice. Everyone shut up and froze. Sabiri couldn’t see the scout, but apparently Shai could, as she showed everyone two fingers, then added another one. Great, three of them? Who? Were they Drowners? Unable to move without the signal, Sabiri felt cheated somehow. Would all their preparations be undone by some Drowners scouts?

Shai showed her thumb. Everyone crouched to hide behind the bushes and grabbed their weapons.

«Three igni, armed and poorly armored. Who knows who they are, but we can’t risk it,» the scout said. «Let’s just sneak up on them – we have bows.»

«Agreed,» Sabiri said.

There were no objections. They followed the scout, trying to stay as low and as quiet as possible. Shai was right behind her, then followed Greta and two scouts; Sabiri and the rest of the scouts were at the back. It wasn’t easy to move through all that vegetation, but at least the sounds of the wildlife would disguise the noise the igni were making.

They kept moving away from the village, but that could mean many things. They came across one more stream, then climbed up a small hill. There was an old camp near the base of the cliff; nothing but burnt logs. Time and time again they had to stop, waiting for their target to resume moving and stop looking in their direction. But this stop was different somehow.

«Everyone. We need to vote,» Sabiri heard Shai whispering.

When Sabiri came closer, she immediately saw what Shai wanted to vote about. There was a fast river ahead of them, and the igni were crossing it using a bridge. A light bridge. It looked almost like a stone bridge: there were railings on the sides, beautiful carvings on the surface – except it was made entirely of pure light. This one was white, not as bright as some others, and Sabiri could see right through it with ease.

«They look confident using that thing,» Shai whispered. «I see no quick way to cross the river. Do we abandon the pursuit or try the bridge?»

Greta said, «They don’t look like they’ve seen us, but they might be just pretending. Anyway, if those are Drowners, then what are they doing here? I think we need to know.»

Sabiri shook her head. «You understand what you’re saying? If we „need to know,“ then we need to take at least one of them alive.»

«Time’s up,» the scout whispered. «We’ll lose them.»

«We’ll probably survive if the bridge will trick us. What can it do, vanish? Or worse?» Shai said. «Let’s risk it. I’m really curious as to who they are.»

Everyone nodded. They ran to the bridge, then probed it carefully. It was solid, but for how long? Were there any empty spots? Was it going to burn them? To enchant or teleport them? What else could this thing do or not do to them?

The procession moved in a single line, trying to step where the other stepped. It was so weird to be walking on this hardened light, to see the running water right below their hooves. Just a few more meters, a little bit more. Finally, the other side. One by one, the igni stepped on the solid ground again. Safe…

With a quiet splash, the last scout fell into the water right through the bridge. The other scout managed to catch her arm last second. Shai rushed to help; she seized the scout’s free elbow. But they didn’t pull her back. Instead, they moved her through the bridge, away from it. Only now, when she wasn’t inside the bridge anymore, did they pull her out from the water. She was wet and a bit startled, but otherwise fine.

There was no time to waste. The lead scout ran ahead to track the targets. When the others caught up with her, they saw that their target had finally stopped. There was a cozy opening between the trees; the ground was covered with a thick and soft layer of moss. Two igni were sitting on the violet grass, rummaging through their bags. Another had gone, probably to find some fuel. Sabiri pointed at that lone igni, then at herself. Greta and Shai signaled that they were going with her.

Trying not to be seen, they moved around the opening. Vegetation was very dense in these parts – it took them a while to find their prey. The igni had already collected a pile of wood but was still searching the ground for more.

In two swift leaps Sabiri got to her, grabbing her from behind and covering her mouth. The igni jerked her head backwards, trying to get Sabiri’s face. Their horns clashed. The igni threw her wood on the ground, freeing her hands and making clatter. She clawed at Sabiri’s helmet, trying to reach her face. Their tails had already tied up each other’s legs, so running wasn’t an option. Grunting heavily, the igni tried to shake Sabiri off once again. She kept twisting and jerking her body with insane persistence, trying to get free. Her elbow hit Sabiri’s torso. Then again. And again.

But Shai and Greta had finally caught up. Seeing the arrows pointed at her caused the igni to stop struggling. Shai retrieved a piece of rope from her bag and quickly tied the igni’s arms, legs, and tail. Then she grabbed her sword and put the edge to their prisoner’s throat, pressing just hard enough to release a single bead of blood.

«Be silent, or it’ll be a very slow and painful death for you. Nod twice if you’ll be quiet,» Shai whispered.

The igni’s face, twisted in a grimace of hatred, didn’t show a hint of fear or pain. Even when Shai pressed her blade harder in her neck, shedding more blood. Finally, their prisoner nodded twice. Sabiri took a gag and shoved it into the igni’s mouth, then secured it with a piece of jute. Only then did Shai release the igni’s throat, but Greta never stopped aiming right at the igni’s face. Sabiri checked her limbs and torso for any damage, but those were only bruises. She grabbed the rope, tying their prisoner’s hands, and pushed her forward.

They followed Shai back to their spot. The scouts looked very pleased to see a prisoner. Now they needed to do something about the rest of the trespassers.

«What shall we do? Shout out for them? Should we try to hit them in the legs before that?» Sabiri whispered as quietly as she could right into Shai’s ear.

Shai did the same to Greta. After a few seconds Greta answered in kind.

«I wouldn’t risk it. It’s quite a distance, and they are wearing greaves. If we miss, they would run.»

«Call them out, then.»

They found a good place to hide from potential arrows, made sure their hostage was neatly hidden behind the trees. Then Shai started yelling.

«Hey, you two! We got your friend. Drop your weapons far away, stay where you are and she’ll be unharmed!»

Sabiri couldn’t see what was going on. A second passed without any noise, then anoth – Two scouts let their arrows loose!

«Keep an eye on her!» Sabiri left the igni to the scouts.

Shai and Greta were already in pursuit, yet their targets were smart enough to split up. Sabiri decided to follow Greta, while one of the scouts joined Shai.

Rushing through spiked branches and dense leaves, Sabiri tried to catch up with Greta. She leapt across a thin stream, almost fell down tripping over some branch, climbed up a hill just to run down from it a few seconds later. The forest was getting less and less dense now, so Sabiri could finally see her target. At times Greta seemed to be catching up to the igni, but then she’d veer onto a different trajectory time and again! It was hard to guess if she really knew where she was running, but she never looked around, and never second guessed her next move.

They were running along the edge of a river now. Sabiri was sure that sooner or later the igni would return to the forest, so she needed to get there first. She re-entered the woods just deep enough to be able to watch Greta chase the igni. Would the igni run towards her after all? Or did Sabiri just fool herself? Greta quickly turned her head to spot Sabiri but she couldn’t see her anymore. Sabiri was sure that Greta understood what was going on.

There! The igni made a hard turn left towards the forest. Sabiri changed her course to get even deeper into the woods. It looked like the igni still hadn’t noticed her as she made yet another turn out of Greta’s reach. Now she was running right into Sabiri’s claws!

The igni realized too late. She tried to react, made another turn, which Sabiri mirrored… Bam! Greta pushed herself into the igni’s back and they both crashed to the ground. Before the igni’s body could stop tumbling, Sabiri jumped on her. The enemy tried to push her off, to reach for her sword, but Greta was already there to help. They seized the igni’s arms, but she did not surrender. Her legs kept pummeling anywhere she could reach, as many times as she could manage. Roaring like crazy, she kept twisting and jerking her body, trying to get free. Her head kept moving, trying to get the enemy with those long, sharp horns. Her tail was whipping them with a berserk persistency and speed.

Sabiri and Greta clung tight, keeping themselves away from the igni’s sharp teeth, claws, and horns the best they could, ignoring the hits she was managing to land. By the time the strength finally left their target, both of them were covered with blood, cuts, and bruises. But the igni could be faking. With extreme care, they locked her arms and legs, and pressed a blade to her throat. Only then were they able to tie her up and catch their breath.

«Fuck! Why did they have to be the igni?» Greta struggled to catch her breath. «Why couldn’t they have been the viri, or the ros?»

Sabiri wiped sweat streaming from her forehead, but it immediately got wet again, so she gave up.

«Say thanks that we’re igni as well. Would we ever be able to catch her otherwise?»

«If we weren’t, would they run? They’d rip us apart right there, in that opening.»

Still breathing heavily, Sabiri looked around. «Speaking of „there,“ where are we?»

Greta stood up and checked their prisoner’s ties one more time. «I don’t care. We’ll figure it out. Just need to rest first.»

Sabiri felt lucky for not having lost her bag in the chase. She dug out a few pieces of dried meat and gave one to Greta. Her whole body ached; deep cuts and bruises on her arms and legs wouldn’t let her move easily. But seeing their prisoner tied up and secured made the whole thing worth it.

After finishing their meal, Greta and Sabiri untied their prisoner from the tree and returned to the river. Even though their prize could barely move, she kept making it as hard for them as possible. She was constantly «tripping over» and «falling down,» pushing Greta to the side, trying to yell through her gag. When she got tired of yelling, she decided to just keep constantly humming something loud and irritating. To screw with her captors even further, she crapped and peed herself. But Sabiri and Greta didn’t show any indication of how they were feeling, didn’t give her any information as to what was effective and what wasn’t, as to what could get on their nerves and what was useless. They just kept dragging her in silence.

Near the riverbank, Sabiri climbed one of the tall trees on the hilltop and looked around. There it was – the Big Market. Although it was so very far away, the mere scale of that thing made it an excellent landmark. So, the Lake should be… There it was! If they could walk there in a straight line, then it shouldn’t take too long.

Yet because of their prisoner’s resistance, it was almost lunch time when they finally reached the Lake. They emerged from the forest near Poinistan; their red banners, depicting a fish pierced by a harpoon, were noticeable from afar. Good thing Sabiri had Greta with her. The guards near the gates and on the wall clearly didn’t expect to see such a group but recognizing their war mistress resolved the situation immediately.

An expedition far away

Upon arrival at Poinistan, the procession was led straight to the prison where Shai and the others were awaiting them. Located in a basement of the barracks, the dungeon was small, but the igni were never known for having many prisoners. There was some food and water on a table. Both prisoners were sitting in a cell, drilling their captors with eyes full of hatred. And now the third one joined them. It was good to see that no one was able to escape. All the other cells were empty, though Sabiri didn’t know how common that was.

«Glad everyone’s alive, including our prisoners.» Sabiri smirked.

Shai offered her a mug of water. «You look a bit beaten.»

«And you look like you’ve been swimming in a river of mud,» Greta said, already chewing on a piece of meat.

«Because that’s what happened…» Shai started to explain.

After sharing their tales and finishing their snacks, the company finally turned their attention to other matters.

«So, we need to talk to them.» Shai walked towards the cell.

The guards let them in, locking the door behind them. There was barely enough room for this many people, but everyone managed to find a place to stand.

«So, shall we take the gags off from all of you, or just one of you?» Greta asked. «Who’s your leader?»

She looked closely at their faces, looking for any useful signs, but there were none. The prisoners just carefully watched her every move but didn’t make a sound.

«We can always put the gags back,» Sabiri suggested.

The scouts stood behind the prisoners and grabbed them by their horns, keeping them from moving their heads and biting. Sabiri and Greta carefully removed the gags, but the prisoners remained mute.

«Don’t want to talk?» Greta raised her eyebrows. «Look. Let’s start with your tribe. Where are you from? It’s simple. Tell the right thing, we’ll verify your words, then we’ll let you go. We’ll even give you something for the trouble we caused.»

Silence. The prisoners didn’t move a muscle, didn’t make a sound.

Greta shook her head. «Come on! Are you afraid of giving us the wrong answer?» She looked at each of them in turn. «If you won’t give us anything, we’ll have to kill you anyway just to be safe. Am I asking for something secret? Something that might endanger your home? You think we would capture some random people just to attack the village they happened to live in?»

Silence.

«Shall we tell them?» Greta asked.

«We should – I’m curious,» Shai answered.

Sabiri agreed, «That could help our case.»

Greta looked back at the prisoners. «Alright. What were you doing near Drowners’ territory? They scared away everyone who knew even a little about their recent actions. Were you just passing by? Were you totally ignorant about your whereabouts? Why didn’t you take any of the roads? Why just the three of you? Why were you almost empty-handed?»

Those words still didn’t change anything. The prisoners’ blank expressions were taunting, if not mocking.

«We don’t have the time for this!» Greta rushed forward, dangling her claws just a millimeter from one of the prisoners’ eyes. «Maybe you’re not the enemy, but I really want to know what you were doing back there!» she roared. «Tell us, and we’ll let you go. Keep silent, and we’ll make you talk!»

She hovered the tip of her sharp claw in front of each eyeball, making sure the prisoners understood what was going to happen. But she got nothing. None tried to free their heads from the scouts’ grip. None attempted to even look away. Sabiri was almost sure that at this point the prisoners were daring Greta to do it. She saw this before, all those years back. Some of their prisoners not only refused to be defeated but craved to get victories wherever they could. They kept silent no matter what, even if there was nothing to hide. They resisted being moved into another cell, even if there was no way of escaping. They jumped on the blades they were being threatened with. They rejected food and water.