Steelforged Legacy 2 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Given the chaos Casey had left in his wake, he pushed himself hard to make as much distance as possible. The escape from the town had been flawless, and if he hadn’t ended up running across the trio of idiots on the road outside, it would have meant he could travel easy. But with the unknown behind him regarding whether those he’d fought had actually gotten the guards or sent a patrol out after him, he couldn’t take that chance.

While before, Casey had moved through the forest along animal trails, now he kept to the road and focused on speed.

There is a balance to keep in mind, Maude had explained as he jogged through the night with the steady presence of Magnus darting through the shadows just ahead of him. If we kept to the trees, then it would be easier to hide, but also look more suspicious. Taking to the road and traveling as far and as fast as possible will give you a better chance to avoid being spotted unless they employ an airship. And if one of those comes, we just need to take cover beneath the trees.

“Makes… sense…” Casey panted as he continued to jog.

The fae-honey candy had long since dissolved in his mouth and the rush of qi along with it. He’d made the most of that burst of energy, chasing Magnus along the road through the night. But now that the sun was rising in the distant sky, he was having to dip into his own reserves of qi now. The brimming pool of sloshing silver energy was being funneled into his body to empower him and relieve muscle strain.

Relax the technique, Casey. Pulsing it is going to be key, Maude coached him gently. He swore he could feel the gentle touch of her soft hand on the back of his neck, reassuringly caressing him. We might have a bit further to go. Magnus, do you know of the bridge that Erik mentioned coming up? The sooner we can get out of the lands of the Bronze Fist, the better.

The elk tossed his head, glancing over one shoulder and huffing loudly. That gesture sent a column of steam into the cool morning air from the elk’s breath, and Casey was glad that Magnus hadn’t bugled. The one time he’d heard the great animal do that, the sound had echoed throughout the entire forest.

It’s odd, he hasn’t done that since then… as if he knows that we need to keep quiet and remain under cover, Casey thought.

Okay, handsome fellow. Lead the way, then, if you are sure. We need to get both of you to safety on the other side of the river. Maude was clearly directing her words at the elk, but Casey still heard them. He’d long since guessed it was something to do with his bond to the weapon-woman-spirit that was his partner.

“Really… need to find a place… to practice more…” Casey muttered in between long breaths. While the pulsing of the qi technique helped keep his fatigue at bay, he still needed to breathe, as his body was demanding oxygen to fuel the process of his muscles.

Yes, we do. I will keep an eye out for an area that we can rest in for a few days and let you train more. Maybe once we are in the Oak Horde lands, Maude had a hopeful tinge to her tone that Casey could feel echoing in his own mind. He also hoped for better luck in those lands.

On the two ran in the light-dappled morning, following the hard-packed road north while watching for signs of the bridge that would lead them east and away from danger finally.

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This bridge was just as majestic as the one Casey had encountered days before, just before the torrential storm had trapped him and he met Magnus. That one had been built of brick and stone, but this was an absolutely massive wooden affair built of carefully carved and fitted logs. It arched up and over the racing stream, leaving enough space between its planks and the water to easily allow boats to pass beneath it. The logs were interlocked and pegged into place with more wood, giving the structure an almost organic feeling as it loomed steady and strong over the racing water without ever having to dip a beam into that swirling mass.

Casey wanted to stop and stare at it, but an itching sensation was driving at his back, a feeling that he was either being followed or watched. So he didn’t hesitate and trotted out onto the smooth planks of the bridge with the silent form of Magnus following behind him. Again, it was one of the strangest things ever to have such a massive animal move so very silently that his hooves didn’t even ring against the hard planks of wood.

The bridge itself was over a hundred feet in length, and even though the forest on the far end looked exactly the same as the one on the near side, it already felt more welcoming.

Set to the right of the road was a massive hunk of dense gray-black stone that had a collection of runes carved into it, much like the road signs he’d seen at different crossroads. He squinted at it, trying to read them, but his haste made it hard to focus as he moved.

No sooner had his feet stepped down off the last board than Casey heard the distant crack of canvas in the wind. Looking back over his shoulder, he scanned the skies and spotted the angular shape that denoted one of the flying longships cutting through the air above the trees.

They are following the road, Maude snarled the very thought that crossed Casey’s mind. He didn’t need her urging to duck into the thick brush on the side of the road, the stands of hazel interspersed with tall oaks to form a dense thicket.

Somehow, Magnus managed to get ahead of Casey despite having been behind him on the bridge and the road. The majestic elk gestured with its horns for him to follow, so Casey did as directed.

The animal guided him further from the road but at an angle to put them closer to the river. Magnus stopped a short distance back from a spreading clump of hazel, the whippy-limbed bush the only thing between him and the river that Casey could hear on the other side. Magnus glanced towards the roots of the hazel plant where it was bare earth and snorted before looking at Casey meaningfully.

It didn’t take him more than a second to figure out what the elk was suggesting, and Casey shrugged his pack off and flopped down flat on his belly to wiggle beneath the branches. He was already well-hidden from the sky just in the thicket, but under this bush, the limbs shielded him from sight.

Another bit of wiggling, and Casey was able to peek around a hunk of rock that lined the stream bank, looking towards the other side. The gray-blue water continued to race past, sending small eddies and swirls in the current when it found submerged rocks or deep pools, but his eyes were drawn to the tossing limbs of the trees that marched off into the distance on the other side of the river.

The long, light brown form of the flying longship slowed as it reached the point where the road diverged and headed towards the bridge he’d just finished crossing. 

“Come on, you bastards. Keep moving,” Casey muttered. He didn’t know that the ship was tracking him, but it was a close enough suspicion that he was loath to take the chance. After everything that had apparently happened in his past life, and the encounters with the Orange-Suited Man, he didn’t really believe in coincidences anymore.

The ship remained hovering there for several long seconds before it slowly began to turn and the sails filled once more, carrying it towards the river. Casey swore under his breath and quickly glanced back to look for Magnus, but the Gladewalker Elk was gone again, having faded into the greenery once more. With nothing better to do, Casey remained in hiding and watched as the ship cruised closer and closer to the river. 

Rather than race out over the churning water though, the flying longship slid to a stop in midair, the sails and stubby ‘wings’ that guided it through the air furling to bring it to a complete stop over the far end of the bridge. The ship remained hovering there, bow towards the river, while Casey could see the tiny forms of people moving about on the deck.

“They won’t cross,” a gruff male voice said from behind him and Casey lurched in surprise, making the leaves on which he lay rustle sharply. “Easy, lad. No sudden movements now. Why don’t you scoot back out and explain why you are here and being chased so vehemently by those sacks of excrement?”

Maude was swearing in his mind, but Casey couldn’t react, not yet at least. Given the speaker’s choice of words, they were clearly not a fan of the Bronze Fist.

If I’m lucky, this is a patrol from the Oak Horde. If not, then I’ll be dealing with outlaws that were watching the road to waylay travelers, Casey decided and began to scoot backwards from under the bush slowly. I know that Magnus is still around. I didn’t see him earlier when I looked and this guy just showed up. Does he know about Magnus? Did he see him when we crossed?

Finally escaping the cover of the brush, Casey rolled over to get a look at the others, who were standing nearby in the dense thicket.

He could see six warriors, four men and two women, standing nearby with assorted weapons close to hand. He saw swords, axes, and one large woman with a war-maul on her shoulder. Two of those present carried bows in cases on their shoulders as well. All six of them wore neat tunics of a dark, forest green over top of weathered chainmail shirts with round shields on leather straps across their backs. Embroidered on the tunics was the shape of an oak leaf with the silhouette of a tree set in the place of the leaf’s stem.

“Are you sure they won’t cross?” Casey asked the group, uncertain of who it was that spoke. None of the six were menacing him with drawn weapons, but all had their hands on or near their weapons while they stood at ease just out of arm’s reach.

“Not after the thrashing we gave their raiders the other day,” snickered the maul-wielding woman, a muscle-bound figure that would have given Einar a run for his money with how thick her arms were. It was only the generous swell of her chest and the angle of her jaw that told Casey she was a woman until she spoke in a light and airy tone of amusement.

“Then I take it that you are members of the Oak Horde clan?”

“I’m guessing you didn’t bother to read the rune-stone on the road, did you then, lad?” This was the same voice that had bid him come out of the bush earlier. Casey glanced towards the speaker to find an older male with dark brown hair and a well-maintained beard standing with his right hand resting on the head of the axe hanging from his belt.

“Was more focused on getting across the bridge,” Casey admitted with a sigh, pushing himself to his feet. The motion made two of the six shift, but no one drew weapons yet, so he figured that he was still safe enough at the moment. “I’d been hoping, though. Spent the last week or more passing through the Bronze Fist territory, and I swear each village got more ridiculous as I went. The first one treated me like I was dung, the second like I was a leper, and the third I had to escape in the night because the clan drengr were apparently looking to take out their frustrations regarding the failed raid on a stranger.”

The bearded man smirked at that, an expression that twisted his chin-fluff about and made the small silver beads he’d braided into it dance and sparkle in the dim light.

“I can understand why they’d be upset, but why take it out on strangers to their town?”

“Suspected spies,” Casey guessed with a shrug, looping his left thumb over Maude’s pommel while he was at it. The gesture brought the eyes of the man to his hand before he looked up questioningly once more.

“And why were you passing through the Bronze Fist territory? Most know to avoid it right now, as the clan is on edge,” the man asked, giving Casey another look over and clearly studying his clothing and equipment.

I think you can give him the straight answer, Casey. Maude said into his mind. These strike me as both more intelligent and kinder people than we have dealt with. Not to mention they are far better put together. They remind me of the Silver Hammer, well the smarter ones among them.

Casey agreed with Maude’s suggestion, actually. With their professional stance and well-maintained gear, these six obviously were quite capable fighters and he could sense the faint hint of qi from them, telling him that they were drengr as well.

“I’m traveling to learn and grow. Trying to rebuild my resources after losing them to betrayal.” Casey kept to the same sort of background he’d given Einar, which wasn’t really a lie, it just altered the truth to not mention the whole ‘dying then being brought here by Loki’ part of it. “Was actually planning to head towards the Roaring Mountain clan on the recommendation of a friend of mine.”

“Oh? Who is this friend?” asked the bearded spokesperson.

The mention of the Roaring Mountain had gotten a reaction from all six of them, mostly small glances being exchanged but there was also a twinkle of interest from the other female in the group, a blonde woman with a pair of short-swords sheathed at her waist.

“Einar of the Silver Hammer. He helped me out in thanks for saving some of his clan laborers from a hill-varg that was hunting them. Which I am grateful for, as I’d gotten rather hurt during that engagement.”

“Hill-varg? That’s quite a claim you make there.” The doubt was obvious in the older man’s tone, but Casey had been expecting this.

Maude had told him weeks ago about the hunt-necklace and its purpose. So, when he heard that doubt, he flipped open his hip pouch and fished out the braided leather necklace. When he finally extracted it, Casey held it out to the man and his fellows to examine without saying a thing.

A large tooth, almost as long as his hand, hung as the centerpiece of the necklace. Strung up along the thick leather of the necklace were dozens more trophies. Most of them were smaller fangs or claws he’d taken from Fomori, as those were his most common prey, but there was also the trophy he’d taken from the Leaf Lynx and the preserved paw of the spirit beast rabbit he’d trapped up on the cherry dryad’s mountain.

“Damn, Arvid. Looks like he wasn’t fibbing on that one,” laughed the broad-figured woman with the war-maul. “Making a good start on building yourself up. What are the rest?”

“Mostly Fomori,” Casey replied blandly, which got a twitch from the woman and a look of surprise from several of the others. “I found a band settling into the forest between the lands of the Silver Hammer and the Bronze Fist. They’d recently captured a trading caravan and were torturing them when I got there. I couldn’t leave them to their fates, so I attacked and dealt with them.”

“Brave, and foolish,” muttered the slim blonde woman, her gaze growing hungrier as she eyed him. “Most would retreat to town and gather reinforcements before tackling a war-party of Fomori. Even a small one.”

“As I said,” Casey said, growling this time even as Maude murmured calming words into his mind. He didn’t appreciate the subtle insult. “They had captives. I wasn’t going to leave them to that. They’d either be dead or corrupted beyond saving if I had.”

“So you fought hill-varg, Fomori, and more while traveling north, heading for the lands of the Roaring Mountain. And somehow managed to offend enough of the Bronze Fist drengr while in town that they chased you out and have pursued you to our border?” The older man took over the conversation again, shooting a quelling look at the blonde woman. A truly fascinating story and one that, if true, would definitely prove to be enough to earn our trust.”

“But?” Casey said what he could already hear coming and got a gratified nod from the other man at his understanding.

“But this is exactly the kind of story that a spy would tell to earn our trust in the wake of a raid. So you must understand my reluctance at the moment. Our village just suffered a battle at the hands of the Bronze Fist, so I must be careful. Would you submit to speaking with a truthsayer to confirm your words?”

Truthsayer’s can detect lies. They can’t read minds or know what is being lied about, simply detect said deceit. As long as you keep to simple answers and they don’t ask too pointed of questions, you should be fine, Maude said quickly while he considered the offer.

“I would accept this, but I need to rest soon. I’m honestly exhausted from having to run through the night to stay ahead of the potential pursuit.” Casey tossed his head over his shoulder in the general direction of the still-hovering airship. “Not so potential now, though, I suppose. I’m glad I made the effort to stay ahead of them, otherwise they’d have caught me on the road.”

“The village is a few hours walk up the way. If you can make that distance, then you can rest in a bed.” The bearded man countered in a firm tone. “Whether that bed will be in a cell or the inn, will depend on how honest you are with the truthsayer.”

“Fine,” Casey sighed with an internal glance at his qi reserves.

His pool was still mostly full, the gently swirling silver fluid reassuring him as much as the soothe presence of Maude within his mind.

If the worst occurred, he’d just have to burn some of the qi. He desperately wanted to have the time and place to meditate and prepare to take the next Step of his growth, not just because it would make him stronger, but also because it would secure that qi within him so it could no longer be taken away.

A memory of his first encounter with Einar floated back from his mind, and Casey blew out a breath and opened his eyes. What he saw standing behind the six warriors from the Oak Horde made him smirk and decided his course of action.

“Well then, I’m in your hands. My name is Casey.” A huff of expelled breath right behind the bearded spokesman, the one that the others had called Arvid now that he remembered, made the man jump and whirl to come nose-to-muzzle with the big elk standing right behind him giving the man a lazy glare. “And his name is Magnus.”