Drakenfeld

A Meeting

We walked for miles that afternoon, trudging only for a little while along the main road, but then out onto dusty tracks to avoid any incident. Clouds provided enough cover from the sun, making the journey bearable.

It was early evening by the time we reached the nearest settlement, a small town called Festellum. We found a small tavern with a tiny top-floor room and pretended to be a simple couple on our way to the city. It was a sparse place, with far fewer furnishings than my own home, but at least we could rest in relative peace.

Accustomed to Bellona’s fine cooking, I was disappointed in the tavern’s offerings, but Leana pointed out that we were lucky to be alive and should be grateful we still had our heads to eat with.

She had a point.

That night Leana took to the floor. ‘I am now used to soft furnishings. It is not good for the soul. You have the bed.’

I lay staring at the ceiling for some time, incredibly exhausted – in body and mind – from the day’s events. I tried to make sense of what happened. It took me a long time to dismiss the image of Titiana hanging there, devoid of life. It seemed wrong that someone so vibrant and energetic could be so… still.

In my mind I turned over what Lillus had said to me, reflecting on my moments with Titiana. It seems my ego had got the better of me. I genuinely believed that her affections for me had been sincere.

Anyway, the answer would never come, and there was no way to find out. All I had was my investigation, and my determination to find the one thing that could prove my theory about Lacanta still being alive: Lacanta herself.

A thoroughly deep sleep came laced with melancholic dreams, which seemed to linger on during the first hour of the day. Eventually I couldn’t recall precisely what they were about, only that there was a racing chariot and a falcon circling in the sky above it. Perhaps if we came upon a Detratan mage or a priestess on the road it would be worthwhile checking if there was some hint buried within the hazy images.

The sun had not quite risen and already we were preparing to leave the settlement. After acquiring food from the tavern kitchen, and a crude map from one of the other guests, we managed to buy two mares from a young couple who were heading into Tryum and needed the money.

As dawn broke, there were already many travellers on the road, mainly traders, though a few priests – and I thought again of the poor priestess who had never made it to her temple.

So many people go missing each week it is easy to become complacent: but I make sure I never do, conscious there is always a loved one, someone who cares, someone whose life will never be quite the same again.

We did not arrive at the station post until the middle of the afternoon, exhausted from the heat and dust of the journey. Away from the main road the landscape had been unforgiving, and I was relieved to enter a small copse of trees and see the small, round, crenellated building, in which the Sun Chamber agent would be stationed.

It was not widely known that these structures existed, let alone were inhabited. It was hidden among old poplar trees on the side of a small valley and we could have had trouble finding the place. There was a small stable behind the building, so any passers-by who strayed this far from the road would probably dismiss it as a farmhouse. Yet that stable was constantly active with the horses of messengers and officials passing back and forth, and a gentle river of information was always flowing.

With immense relief we dismounted, tied our horses and banged on the door. It opened up, and an elderly man questioned who we were, so I told him.

‘Ah, of course, Drakenfeld,’ the man declared, before turning inside. He waved over his shoulder for us to follow. ‘Drakenfeld, the young officer from Tryum. Knew your father well. Sadly I couldn’t make the funeral, but I did visit his body. A letter you sent came through here not long ago. You’re not following it up, are you? We dispatched the messenger on a fresh horse, so he was as quick as any messenger in Vispasia.’

‘I’m confident the letter got to its destination, but I’ll not be around in Tryum for the reply, unfortunately.’

‘Trouble?’ he asked.

I gave a nod.

‘Which is why you’re here?’

‘Correct again,’ I replied.

‘Right you are. I’m Trajus, by the way. Retired officer – used to do what you do, but find myself more suited to being behind a desk these days.’

‘I’m not sure being behind a desk would ever suit me.’

‘I was like you, son, but when you get an arrow lodged in your leg and a wound that never quite heals, you don’t get much choice in the matter.’ Trajus moved back to his seat and relaxed into it with a thunderous groan, which he seemed to enjoy. The place was modestly decorated – bare stone walls, with a stove and a few plain chairs, desks and benches. One workbench was littered with papers and scrolls, while in the corner of the room stood a small bust of Polla, with beads and necklaces draped over her. In my head I briefly requested her blessings.

‘Now, what course of action would you like?’ Trajus asked.

‘It’s a serious situation. I’m going to need an urgent message dispatched to my senior officers – have any soldiers been stationed nearby?’

‘Two dozen Sun Legion veterans on the other side of those trees.’ Trajus gestured towards the window.

‘Really? I saw nothing on the way up.’ I looked across to Leana, but she shrugged.

‘Then they’re doing their job properly, son. No one’s supposed to know they’re here. Not even I know what they’re here for.’

‘That might be my doing – or at least I hope it is. Please, can you take me down to see them?’

The disappointment was apparent in Trajus’ face. ‘I’d just got settled in my chair.’

Trajus limped at a frustratingly slow pace through the afternoon sunlight, leaning on his stick for support. Eventually, through the yellowing poplars and down a small country track, we arrived at a dip in the valley, a natural shelter carved out of the land itself. There were no tents, just a smouldering campfire in front of a small, crumbling barn overlooking the valley.

‘Where are they?’ I asked.

I heard the clamour of armour – and some brief, sharp orders being issued from up the slope. Silhouetted against the bright sky were the two-dozen men, sheathing or lowering their weapons almost in unison.

‘Trajus,’ a voice called down, and a figure gestured towards us with the tip of his blade. ‘Who are these people?’

‘I am Lucan Drakenfeld, officer of the Sun Chamber.’

‘Is that so?’ the voice called back. ‘Then we have business with each other, Lucan Drakenfeld.’

The figure marched down the hill and into focus. I could hardly believe my eyes. Looming over me in his resplendent uniform was an old friend.

‘Maxin Callimar?’ I called over. ‘Is it actually you?’

‘You were always getting into trouble, Lucan, even years ago.’

Callimar strode into view smiling – a good deal older, flecks of grey in his beard, his nose even broader than it used to be, those brown eyes more penetrating than before. His skin had been darkened by a lifetime under the Vispasian sun. His hair was still raven-black, though, and he’d put on a lot of muscle mass over the years. We embraced, and I felt the iron grip of his veteran arms.

‘What are you now, a captain?’

‘General,’ he said laughing. ‘One of ten in the Sun Legion. And you’ve come a long way since I trained you, so I hear.’

We took a step back so we could assess each other better. We’d known each other in Free State where Sun Chamber officers had to undergo a stint of military education. We became close friends for that brief time, the way a young and older man can do: me eager to learn, him eager to talk over a cup of wine.

‘Time’s been kinder to you than it has to me,’ Callimar said.

‘I don’t do half the things you lot do.’ I indicated his fellow veterans, who were stepping down slowly from the slope. ‘What good fortune that they sent you.’

‘Fortune hasn’t much to do with it. Our unit had been ensconced in a small town a few hours from the border of Maristan when there was news that some Lucan Drakenfeld character wanted help. I’m hardly likely to leave a friend standing, especially one like you.’

‘I’m relieved to find a friendly face out here.’

‘Sounds serious.’

‘It is.’

‘Come, then. Trajus, please, we’ll be fine from here. Thank you for bringing him and his colleague down.’

Trajus muttered something before shambling back up the slope to the station post, while Callimar placed his arm around me and steered me towards the barn. It felt good to be among friends, to have someone from the Sun Chamber back me up in what had to be done.

We walked back to the quiet shelter of the old limestone barn. I introduced him to Leana, and was a little surprised he made no comment on the fact that I had chosen a female assistant.

We sat inside on rough wooden benches while his veterans set off in small teams around the hillside. Callimar offered us a cup of water, which was gratefully received.

‘So, friend,’ Callimar said, ‘what trouble have you found for yourself this time? The details I was given were hazy at best.’

‘It’s King Licintius,’ I said.

Callimar’s face darkened and his expression grew more serious. ‘Go on.’

‘He’s staged the murder of his own sister, Lacanta, arranged for a priestess to be killed in her place, and tricked the whole city into believing his sister had been killed. In fact, the whole of Tryum believes the king to be in mourning for Lacanta, but I’m convinced she’s alive.’

Callimar grunted a laugh of disbelief. ‘That sounds like a lot of effort.’

‘There’s a lot more I’m trying to connect. General Maxant has been killed, but I believed him to have been involved in the staging of Lacanta’s murder, too.’ I explained how Maxant had been the first one on the scene, the only one who could have put the key in the lock on the inside; the connection between him and the actor, Drullus, and the leaf of henbane. ‘And we found Maxant’s own murder staged in a similar manner – people were led to believe one thing, though quite another in fact happened.’

‘And you investigated all of this, Lucan?’

‘I did. The king permitted me access, but I don’t believe he wanted me there – another senator called me to the scene that night – but the king couldn’t get rid of me, not so soon after another Sun Chamber official had died.’

‘A unit far bigger than my men would have been dispatched in an instant,’ Callimar said.

‘Exactly – and he also had to create the illusion that he was interested in seeing Lacanta’s supposed murderer caught. It would have looked strange otherwise, but he was no stranger to acting, it seems. He put on quite a show of making me welcome. He must have been very confident in his own plans, but he now knows I’m on to something. He’s grown desperate. The King’s Legion will be out looking for us.’

Callimar waved his heavy hand dismissively. ‘City troops will be lazy. We’ve hidden right in front of their noses and, if they come for you, we’ll keep you concealed.’ Callimar frowned momentarily. ‘Your father – he was the official who died, wasn’t he?’

I nodded and took another gulp of water.

‘Lucan, I’m truly sorry. I hope Polla does her best for him.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Are these accusations enough, do you think?’ Callimar asked. ‘What solid evidence have you found?’

I mentioned the priest’s descriptions of the missing priestess, and our verification of the body. ‘Of course, the body will be burned before long,’ I continued. ‘They have to give the impression the funeral rites are being conducted in accordance with Trymus’ own laws.’

‘Why would he have gone to all this trouble?’

I shrugged. ‘That’s what I’ve not yet worked out.’

‘Looks like we’ll have to find Lacanta, in that case.’ Callimar grinned. ‘Good luck with that.’

‘It might not actually be too difficult…’

Callimar seemed confused. ‘And what makes you say that?’

‘A hunch.’

‘A hunch, he says?’ Callimar chuckled to Leana. ‘Where do you think she is hiding?’

‘Destos,’ I declared, and added, ‘possibly.’

‘Has she gone on holiday?’

‘Something like that.’ I described my discussions with Lillus, and produced the map. ‘Admittedly it’s not much to go on, but Destos is near enough to Tryum that, if she is working with Licintius, he can see that she is well looked after. But it’s far enough that she might never be found. Destos is also where the wealthy go to escape Tryum – she may have a fondness for it from her childhood, and know it reasonably well. More importantly, it’s safe.’

He scrutinized the map and didn’t seem much impressed by it. ‘This map is useless, as far as maps go. You think she’ll be in a safe house?’

‘I suspect it will be large enough to house her and some form of protection,’ I replied. ‘I can’t imagine she’d hide out in a cave, not after she’s spent her life in Optryx. We must examine all the major properties in the region.’

‘In that case, we might need more than my men. I can arrange that – auxiliaries in Maristan can do the grunt work, and those on the border can be here by nightfall.’

‘If it can be done quietly, all the better. Military movements on the border could cause all sorts of problems. We’ll need scouts and agents, lots of them.’

‘All easily arranged. Sixty miles to the border, which is a day’s ride for the best of our riders. It could be two or three days before we start to see some real military presence. We’re not restricted by time are we?’

‘I don’t know. The king will probably think I’m still in the city but, even so, he might see more assistance is sent to wherever Lacanta is hiding. And if we find her, we’ll need her to remain alive. She must be prevented from killing herself or from being put to the sword. Only then can the picture become complete. We need a confession and there’s still so much that I do not know.’

Callimar reflected on the subject for a moment, rubbing his jaw. ‘I’m guessing this wasn’t the homecoming you had in mind.’

‘You could say that.’

‘Then you’ll need a stronger drink than water,’ he replied, standing up. ‘I’ll fetch some wine.’

That night, while messengers and riders were moving across the countryside, quietly altering the destiny of nations, I bedded down in the barn in the company of two veterans. We talked for a while about politics and joked about Sun Chamber administration. Stories were exchanged and there was a light-hearted effort at one-upmanship. Because I was well educated, one of them then asked me if I believed it was possible for one of his former lovers to have successfully placed a curse upon him, and I said honestly that I had never yet seen evidence of a curse working. It seemed to ease his concerns, though I did not want to ask him what he had done to receive one in the first place.

Eventually, Leana and I were left alone. As we rested there were other soldiers patrolling the local terrain to make sure we were kept safe, and it was the first time in a long while I had felt relaxed enough to think clearly. Exhaustion overwhelmed me, so much so that once I had laid down with Leana watching over me, my head wouldn’t come back up. For a moment I thought another seizure was coming, but I remained quite awake and mentally alert. Meat was being cooked on a nearby fire sheltered by the ruined door of the barn. A few more of the veterans returned to tell jokes.

I wanted to join them. To be in better spirits.

It must have been my new-found freedom that made me think obsessively of Titiana that night. Given the pace of my exit from Tryum, I had not really had time to come to terms with what had happened. I had not shed a single tear at my father’s demise and yet the short intensity of my relationship with Titiana – something born of passion – combined with this sudden calm, all seemed to drag me into a deep misery. All my frustrations and rage were focused onto King Licintius.