A bit after their conversation about dwarves and mountains, Rask perks up suddenly, looks around and approached Alexis.
“Alexis, do you remember the song Grimsby Thorne was signing when we first met him? The Cycle of Neef? Neef was the squire right? But Igvar, his master, was a holy crusader of Raiden and founded Fellsbee… right? There was something about a wizard too…”
Rask approaches Alexis in moment where the others are busy.
”Alexis, have you ever heard of Raiden being named a Storm God?”
Rask looks around warily, “My connection to Aegir is lost here, and it has been difficult…”
He gestured at the tattoos on his chest and back. Clearly a saddened and a bit lost.
“I have a vague… memory? “My… grandmother? Referring to Raiden as the Storm God…”
Rask’s brown furrows… Alexis gets the sense that’s not quite right, and that Rask is hoping for help understanding…
My friends– as we approach the heavy fortifications of the West Gate, I feel compelled at last to tell you. Throughout this journey I have been tortured by visions, including glimpses of the silent and stern visage of Raiden. I have felt that our steps were taking us away from, not closer to, the goal for which I asked my Lord’s guidance– the defeat of the Dark Hand.
Dennos has taunted me. He identified me as a priest of Raiden, from the outset, and as we traveled further and further into the west. I ignored him while he was challenging my God. But as we walked further west– and my visions grew more intense– I realized his taunts and my visions echoed each other. Raiden beseeching me to turn back. Reminders of the desolation visited upon his armies, long in the past.
Now that we stand in sight of the fortress, I need you all to hear and believe me, for I know as well as my own name– we have deceived no one. Drennos of the Dark Hand leads us gleefully into a trap. This fortress is so well defended, despite being in the wild lands, we have to ask ourselves, why? Maybe this is where Bandesingh and the Dark Hand are making weapons and training armies.
But maybe this is a prison, and we are about to be locked inside.
One evening after dinner, after a full 15 days have passed since the group arrives, Rask looks at Ethelred and inquires:
“He- Mastercraftsman, would it be possible for you to make a me fine wooden sword, like a practice sword, perhaps out of a dense wood like ironwood, that I could wield as it were mine own Blade?
Rask unconsciously nods at the bundle tucked in against his bedroll, where it has lain except when so recently examined by Ca’armine, Blessed Priest of Raiden.
“Should we find the right wood of course, and perhaps wrapped in leather like the cudgels Brother Blade has been using.”
The day after Alexis talked with/to Ethelred about Lady Alba, Alexis approaches Gustav after his morning “ritual”.
“Gus. I’ve been thinking that we haven’t really talked about the first Sally. You conducted a great ceremony on the mountain, and I’m sure she was touched.”
“And it seems like you might still be grieving her loss. For such a strong love for Sally, you have always strongly rejected any suggestions to get a new mule to love.”
“And you still seem very unhappy with Sally” Alexis nods towards Sally in a near tree, “who has proven loyal and seems to just want you to love and accept her.”
“Do you need some time for grieving before we go? I need you unburdened while we seek out Bandesing’s operations.”
Alexis awaits Gustav’s response.
After a few days a routine develops, in the mornings, Rask trains with whomever will join him. After sword and bow practice, he swims with Red.
In afternoons Ca’armine prays to Raiden, Gus does Gus things, and Red and Alexis study.
Rask assists with camp chores in the afternoons and often continues to practice his sword forms, never using his Black Blade, and working diligently to advance with the flat of the blade and on pommel-strikes.
One afternoon, about five days into their stay on the banks of the Llanos River, Rask approaches before dinner as Ca’armine is concluding his afternoon prayer, he waits patiently for the right moment and then addresses the holy man,
“Brother, Can you teach me some prayers so that I might join you on occasion? I know a little from Service in the chapels at various Forts, but would like to learn more, and learn more stories of Raiden if you would be willing to share?”
On a lovely sunny day, late in the early afternoon, after a fine day of exercises Rask addresses Alexis and the group as a whole.
Rask’s exercises of late have including live blade sparring with Ca’armine and Gus, the two of them taking turns wearing Red’s armor. Rask working to burn non-lethal longsword-strikes into his muscle and bone through repetition. Along the way he offers many suggestions to his Brothers-In-Raiden in the art of fighting defensively, his expertise in combat as evident as the Power of Aegir is represented and channeled by the tattoos on his chest and back. Rask wears little but the shield ring and boots, but he is maddeningly difficult to land a strike on. When he does get hit or cut he shrugs and fights on, accepting first aid at the end of the skirmish, and only after he opponent has been looked to.
Sitting in the midst of camp, clean, content, and sun-soaked, Rask speaks clearly and catches Alexis attention, and looks at Ca’armine as well.
“My Liege, our target, what do we really know about about them and their Band-Leader?
“Did they really steal away the Empress from her wedding?”
“Their slithering and spinning pets, and their truffle-hounds, we have met, and we seek their farrier now?”
Rask is clearly still paranoid not naming their enemies. In addition, the group may have noticed that he has been trying hard not use any of their names since they left the sewers.
Gus and Ca’armine he calls “Brother” or Brother Arrow an Brother Blade when he needs to specify, he calls Alexis “My Liege,” or “Boss.” Ethelred is too busy studying for Rask to talk to often, Rask usually address him as “Friend,” but Rask has been testing out a few nicknames, “Book” and “Ak’lyte,” “Hedgey,” but nothing has stuck yet.
In the dry part of the sewers, where the Crimson Calling has paused, and as Alexis starts to relax: Rask is on guard facing back the way the came when he quietly but clearly starts to speak to the leader.
“Alexis, you – all of us -” He looks around in the darkness, “Need to understand the Army and the Raidensblud.”
“The second group we fought was Raidensblud and probably some their soldiers, maybe mercenaries. They are, in theory, the King’s Guard, right? The sworn brothers at least, and serve the King Directly. In theory.”
Rask looks at Ca’armine briefly.
”Out in the world, the Sworn Brothers primarily act like officers do in the Armies. The Raidensblud have their own men at arms, most are not much better trained than a common foot soldier. And they hire mercenaries.”
Rask’s disdain for mercenaries is as evident as ever.
“In the field, the Kings Dogs work like that Blade did, leading a group of 4 to 10 men at arms, archers, crossbowmen and sometimes a specialist or two, trackers, trap-breakers etc.”
“The Raidensblud, all of them and their soldiers, are probably about the size of the First army, but they… operate in the King’s Interest… anyhow…”
He looks to where he thinks Ca’armine is again.
“They are separate from the armies, but do work together on occasion. Sometimes the lead groups of soldiers, sometimes the really high ranking ones “advise” commanding officers in the Army.
In addition to one leading a group of men at arms, they travel in pairs, or in small groups, and some times lead larger forces in pairs or small groups, The army in general doesn’t usually work that way, but some of the small companies, like mine, do.
“There is a bit of a rivalry between the Armies, especially units like the one I was in, and the Raidensblud. There are a lot of high born in the Raidensblud, and even the ones that aren’t… often act like their shit doesn’t stink.”
“My unit, Captain Thorne Blackwood’s unit really, Company A, Fourth Battalion of the Second Army’s 9th-Infantry, numbers about 100, mostly probably about half soldiers, a quarter scouts and a quarter specialists and leadership. I was a sergeant, so lower level leadership. I did what that Blade was doing, led a group of soldiers though, no mercenaries.”
“So, not exactly what Darius was doing, but.. still, I led a group of solders and a specialist or two. Most often I was second in command, under a lieutenant, and had a small group that was the ‘distaff claw of the pincer,” or the ‘bolt of the ballista.”
Rask smiles ruefully recalling a some of the ambush maneuvers he used to drill with Lt. Nightshade.
“Sometimes there are two or three of us of rank, Sergeants, a Lieutenant and maybe a promising corporal or two, in a small hard-strike team, or surveillance team. I was less on the surveillance teams.”
“The battalion had 5 fighting companies, most of them larger than 100, not all of them as well trained as ours, and but the Fourth is a proud fighting battalion, even the support battalion had some tough cooks and paper-pushers. The 9th Infantry.. has maybe 5 battalions? The Second Army doesn’t really have 9 Infantries, really, the 9th is just the division that the Infantry is in. I’m honestly not sure how many Army’s there are, at least three, I think?”
“I have no idea how many battalions… or Army’s Aedelfred has in Sutheron, nor how many Raidensblud are here, but I doubt more than Company A is here with Cedric and Maris, it may not even be the whole Company, though, just survivors that worked with me closely enough to recognize me.”
“I am my own Kaelen Darkwater.”
Rask shakes his head.
“I led the Bolt of the Ballista, the frontal strike team on that mission. Our whole team was about thirty people. Kaelen Darkwater was a former Aegierian soldier who had served in the First Army under Ursill, and had been one of their toughest commanders. He knew of Aegierian military tactics well, and used them.. quite effectively against… us… his former comrades in the Aegierian army…”
Rask becomes very quiet.
Inside the confines of the Mithril Lord’s estate, not long after after Gus brings up feeling uncomfortable in Sutheron, Rask asks in Gus’s direction but to everyone:
“What’s Aegier-Aegier, yah know Aegier-city like? Does it smell like a battle, a brothel, a well-used latrine, a garbage dump, and fish harvest… all at once, but worse, too?”
He wrinkles his nose, and pauses for a moment.
“Are there Temples to Raiden there?” He asks disbelief.
His eyes widen, his mind realing, he look more seriously at Gus and Ca’armine. Raiden is a god of battle and protection, and… Aegir…