The Fall of Aldermark - Chapter 6: The Kingfisher Knight

The dead were roaming the hills south of Plainsworth. Gada was preternaturally adept at knowing where and when they would appear. The Dar spy lead the Ghost Owls down the road out of town for a few hours before turning south into the wooded hills outside the town. They had camped for the night before zig-zagging between hunting trails and forging through brush, winding their way up and down the foothills as mountains loomed above them. Valeria and the others often saw tell-tale signs of the undead: heavy tracks in the fields, decaying limbs and discarded clothing, bu Gada always seemed to be one step ahead of them.

On the night of the second day they climbed a hill to see that the grass fields beyond were dead and yellowed. Pools of murky water dotted the landscape, reflecting the moonlight. A deer carcass lay next to one of the putrid puddles, body abuzz with flies. 

That’s when they found the Kingfisher Knight’s cave. The entrance was fairly obvious, a cave mouth about twelve feet wide set into a small cliff next to the blighted fields. A wooden door frame and walls had been secured into the cave mouth, holding an oddly shaped, heavy concave metal door. It wasn’t until Valeria saw the other side of it that she realized what it was. The convex side of the door had several thick leather straps bolted to the metal. The knight had fashioned his tower shield into a door. 

Before they had crossed the threshold, Gada had turned to look out into the night and muttered to the Ghost Owls as they filed in,

“We don’t have long.”

Voyis Kariyevich, the Kingfisher Knight, was massive, easily a foot taller than Marshal Viltorovna, and his Zemyati accent was even thicker than hers. His hair was short, wispy, and white, with a bushy mustache that lined his mouth and chin. His skin was white, almost grey, his chest covered in a dirty linen shirt, his brown pants frayed and dirty at the hem above his bare, calloused feet.

“You will all take wine, yes?” The cave was cozy. A few worn carpets lay on the more level parts of the cave. Oil lanterns and candles lit the interior. A small bookcase held a few well worn volumes, an oddly ornate wooden desk held several dirty plates. A few wooden cases lined the walls, one of which had opened and produced two bottles of Bartan red wine.

The most striking feature of the cave was a shrine. Carved into the back wall was a representation of Gerholtz, one of the twin gods of the Aldermani. It was a detailed bas releif that depicted the clean shaven, muscular man shooting his bow into a massive serpent. Below the carving was waht looked like a sarcophagus. The stone of the cave had been chipped and carved to form a rectangular box with a lid. It sat just above a basin also carved into the rock. It was full of fresh water, and was large enough to contain the Kingfisher.

Seeing this the Weyer twins bowed and said some prayers in Aldermani. Voyis laughed,

“It is just a reliquary. Inside is some piece from some Chosen I think. Too long ago now, nothing left. But still, I keep it safe.” Voyis shook his head. “I have not had the pleasure of the Legion’s company in some time. Last time was Karlsburg I think. 837. Not as old was this wine, but still good I think!” He laughed. His booming voice filled the cave around them. Valeria looked nervously at the shield set in the entrance.

“Just before the Cinder King,” Gada said pointedly. The Kingfisher Knight paused briefly and grunted as he searched around the cave for cups. He poured one for himself and Fulon. Buren and Arun took a cup as well. Valeria and Gada refused the drink, and Rakash stood guard next to the door, peering between the wooden boards.

“That is why you are here, yes?” Voyis asked. “You want the Kingfisher Knight in your little battle, hmm?”

Gada looked at Valeria and dabbed at his eye with a black handkerchief. 

“Karlsburg has fallen, Sir Voyis,” Valeria said. “The dead are crossing the Tigeria. People are fleeing east. So is the Legion.” Voyis turned to face her, staring at her as he drank deeply from the cup.

“Just Voyis please. I am no knight. I am retired.”

“The dead don’t care,” Gada whispered as he stepped between them to join Rakash at the door. 

“He’s right. And you are still a hero.” Valeria looked at Buren, and motioned at her. “We’ve all heard the stories.”

Buren nodded and swallowed her wine. “Yeah, I mean yes Sir, uh, I mean yes Voyis.” Buren shook her head, cheeks reddening. “You faced down the Panyan Bandit Kings. You stood against the dead and pushed them back across the Tigeria with the Aldermark army.”

Voyis grinned. “A lifetime ago maybe.”

A raspy scream from outside. 

“They’re coming,” Rakash said. Gada strung his bow. Arun and the twins got to their feet. Valeria looked at Voyis. Something inside her snapped. He wasn’t an asset the Commander wanted, suddenly this huge Zemyati was just another thing that could get her and the other Ghost Owls killed.

“I get that you don’t want anything to do with this war. If we’re being honest I don’t either. But without your help, we're all dead here. You’ve ignored this fight as long as you can.” As Arun passed them by he pressed something into Voyis’ chest. Valeria thought it was a wooden beam, but as her eyes ran across it she realized it was a giant greatsword sheathed in leather. A massive fish was breaking a pool of water along the blade, woven in silver thread. Voyis looked down at the blade, clutching it to his barrel chest with a massive hand.

Another undead scream from beyond the cave. The knight looked at Valeria. She could feel her heart pounding against her armour. She needed to move, to make ready, to see what was happening.

Slowly Voyis moved his hand away from his chest, tugging down the linen of his shirt. Valeria gasped. The skin beneath the shirt was shiny and infected. Purple veins lead to reddish blue skin above Voyi’s heart, where a large yellow eye the size of her fist stared out at her.

“I fight for you here. But I cannot leave this place.” Voyis turned and marched toward one of the crates. “Keep them back!” His hands gripped the lid, threw it to the other side of the cave, and began taking out pieces of plate armour.

Rakash was kicking out the wooden boards of Voyis’ improvised front entrance, creating holes through which the Owls could shoot at the incoming dead. Valeria loaded her musket and peered out into the night. The moonlight reflected off dozens of pale bodies rushing up the hill beneath the cliff. Something huge was moving behind them, moaning. Gada patted her on the shoulder and went to the back of the cave to help the Kingfisher Knight suit up.

Valeria looked down the line. Rakash, Arun, and the twins had all loaded their rifles and were tracking targets through the holes Rakash had made in the entrance.

“Ready!” she yelled.

The muskets cocked.

“Aim!” Valeria looked down the sights until she could pick out a face.

“Fire!”

Five shots rang out and echoed in the cave, the entrance briefly filled with smoke before dozens of bodies pressed against the entrance. Grey hands and rotting arms reached through the door. Valeria could hear the wood crack and strain against the weight.

“Reload!” the Owls filled their muskets with powder and shot. The dead screamed and moaned at them, crawling over each other, pale eyes staring vacantly into the cave.

“Ready! Aim! Fire!”

Another series of shots filled the cave. Twice dead bodies slumped against the entrance, blackened limbs going limp. The bodies were now buffering them from the undead, but were quickly being replaced. The doorway groaned once again. Valeria felt something large stomping behind her. She turned and saw Voyis Kariyevich, the Kingfisher Knight, resplendent in heavy plate. He and Gada and only managed to secure the breastplate, pauldrons, and a single arm band. But he strode fearlessly towards the door and handed one of the twins his great sword. He fixed his arm firmly against his tower shield and strapped it in place, then reached back for his weapon and held the massive blade in one hand.

The Kingfisher Knight screamed something in Zemyati and shoved against the door, pushing back against the tide. The wooden walls groaned and splintered, and several more arms pushed their way around the giant’s tower shield. 

“Ready!” Valeria refilled her rifle and cocked the firing mechanism. 

“One shot left,” Arun said next to her. Valeria nodded.

“For Karlsburg!” she shouted. The twins held their rifles tightly.

“Fire!”

As the shots rang out the wood finally gave way, freeing Voyis’ shield from it’s cage. Dead bodies slumped to the floor as the Kingfisher Knight whirled his greatsword around him, severed heads and limbs flying through the air in his wake. 

An arrow shot passed Valeria’s head. It penetrated one rotter as it ducked under Voyi’s sword, and embedded itself into another zombie behind it. Both fell to the ground. Valeria looked behind her and saw Gada on one knee near the basin, clutching his bow. He gave her a thin lipped smile.

Fulon and Buren took up their swords and joined the melee, raising their shields and hacking at the undead that slipped passed Voyis. A few moments later all the rotters had been cut down, and bodies littered the mouth of the cave. Valeria looked at them and saw what appeared to be normal people mixed in with the undead. Gada turned one of these over and ripped open their shirt. A faded rune was drawn upon their chest, reminiscent of the one the Legion had seen back at the western front.

“More hexed,” Arun remarked. Gada nodded and looked out of the entrance of the cave.

“Another one,” he whispered. Something groaned in the dark. Voyis retreated back towards the cave. 

“Incoming!” he shouted, raising his tower shield before him. Valeria took up her rifle but there was no time. The awful mess of limbs and heads was upon them, another horror cooked up by the Cinder King’s lackeys. It slammed into Voyis, arms and legs trying to wrap themselves around his shield. The Zemyati stabbed and cut at the amalgam, black blood spilling over his sword and armour.

Rakash drew his sword and charged forward. Arun shouted after him in Bartan and charged behind. They flanked the horror on one side, blades stabbing into its flesh, spraying them with ichor. Valeria drew her own sword and watched as the horror climbed up onto Voyis’ tower shield, supporting itself with several hands on the ceiling of the cave. The giant Zemyati was struggling with the weight as the horror sought to climb up and over him.

Two arrows struck the horror in one of its wailing faces, which immediately erupted in green flames. Gada’s blackshot arrows made the horror scream, the sound amplified by the cave. Valeria closed her eyes and turned away, hoping, willing the thing to shut up. The creature fell silent as the green fire spread, filling the cave with the smell of rotting flesh. Valeria opened her eyes to see Voyis kicking the horror as it twitched on the ground. Arun and Rakash looked alright, and were facing out into the night for more signs of the dead. Buren was helping Fulon up from where one of the horror’s many limbs had pinned her atop some corpses.

Gada walked up next to Valeria, removing the string from his bow. “That’s all. Safe for now,” he whispered. Valeria looked at him, one eye was weeping blood. 

“How? How do you know?” Gada looked at her and shrugged.

Valeria shook her head, then shared a thought as it occurred to her, “Did you know about Voyis?”

Gada nodded, “Yes. Couldn’t say anything before. Just rumours, but…” and he paused and locked eyes with her.

But if you said anything Shreya would have cut him in half, Valeria thought. 

“The Quartermaster gave me religious supplies. Reliquaries,” Gada whispered. “Tell him we can help. He isn’t convinced yet.”

“Why me?” Valeria asked. 

Gada looked at her and shrugged again.

Voyis walked slowly back into the cave, breathing heavy. He leaned his tower shield and greatsword against the cave wall, grabbed one of the open bottles of wine, and drank deeply from the bottle.

Arun was leading Rakash back to the cave. The older Bartan’s eyes were wide and full of terror. Arun was speaking to him softly in Bartan, he took a cup of wine and tried to convince Rakash to drink. The twins were cleaning undead gore from their armour and weapons.

Valeria approached the Kingfisher Knight. His face was stained with black blood and red wine. He offered her the bottle.

“Nothing like a good fight go get the blood pumping, yes?”

Valeria took the bottle and drank. It was good wine, she could feel it warming her insides. She couldn’t remember the last time she had alcohol. 

“We’d be dead if not for you. One of you is worth a dozen of us. The Legion needs people who know how to stand their ground.”

Voyis took the bottle for another swig and passed it back to her. Valeria drank again, deeply this time, as Voyis considered what she said.

“Last time… last time I fight the undead I become blighted. Corrupted. You saw, I am a... liability now.”

Valeria looked at the shrine at the back of the cave and swallowed another mouthful of wine. “That’s why you came here? To purify yourself?”

Voyis nodded. “Tried to. But nothing. So I stay. If the dead come, they come. But I have lost that fight.” He tapped his breastplate. “I do not see what it sees. I am scared maybe something else does.”

Valeria looked for Gada. He quickly produced a large leather shoulder bag, opened it, and handed it to her. Inside were half a dozen reliquaries, thick glass jars stopped with cork and wax. Each contained water and locks of Shreya’s jet black hair. Valeria thought about how it had felt in her hands, how it had smelled of Orite cherries. Valeria blinked a few times, the wine wasn’t helping. Voyis was also looking into the bag, mouth agog. He whispered something in Zemyati.

“The chosen of Asrika marches with the Legion,” Valeria cleared her throat. “I can vouch for these reliquaries. They have kept us safe. They could do the same for you. Either way I leave the choice to you, Voyis Kariyevich.”

The knight stood straight and regarded her for a while before finishing off the wine and giving a loud belch. 

“Alright little Orite. Let us see.”

The kingfisher knight began stripping of his armor and then his clothes. 

“I heard that the waters here cleanse a man’s sins,” he stepped over the lips of the pool and said a brief prayer in Zemyati. “But it has yet to work.”

Valeria went to Arun. “You know how these are supposed to work?” She showed him the bag of reliquaries. Arun whistled. 

“No wonder her hair is so short. Uh, I mean if you hold them they should let you resist corruption. You saw what mine did to that horror in Karlsburg.” Arun looked back at Voyis, sitting in the holy font like it was a bath. “Is he?” Valeria just nodded.

Arun shrugged. “I can often some prayers. Let’s open them up. See how many it takes.”

Arun and Valeria joined the Kingfisher Knight at the edge of the font. The Weyer twins were staring at Voyis, unsure about how to respond. The yellow eye in his chest was staring at them. Arun let out a curse and covered his mouth when he saw it. He drained the wine cup that was still in his hand and begun to prayer in Bartan. 

Valeria took a knife from her kit and pried open the first reliquary. Voyis took a breath and moved forward deeper into the font, so it covered his blighted chest. The eye kept staring up at the roof of the cave. Valeria tried not to look at it as she emptied the contents of the reliquary into the pool. 

The pool immediately began to boil and froth. Voyis screamed, his back arched. The large eye in his chest was rapidly moving around, the purple infected flesh contracting around it as it smoker and sizzled. It was as if the water in the pool had become acid that only burnt the corruption in Voyis’ chest. The Zemyati writhed in agony, giant hands gripping the edge of the font.

Valeria looked at Arun. He was still repeating Bartan prayers but his voice was wavering. He looked back at Valeria and shook his head. She could feel the force of the roiling boil in the stone beneath her boots.

“Keep going! Do not stop! Don’t stop!” Voyis shouted, his booming voice overpowered the sound of sizzling flesh and boiling water. He slowly pushed himself back under the water and the boiling became more violent as the eye entered the water. Voyis screamed again.

The twins had joined them at the font.

“Whats going on?” Buren asked.

“You’re hurting him, stop!” Fulon cried.

Gada watched from behind them, arms crossed. Valeria looked at him and the Darite just stared back at her.

“Fuck it,” she took out another reliquary, broke the wax seal, and turned it over into the bath. Voyis bucked and screamed again. Arun kept repeating the prayer and put a hand on the giant’s shoulder. Voyis bared his teeth and doubled over in the water, drawing in his arms and legs, rocking back and forth.

“What are you doing?” Fulon demanded.

“Helping,” Gada said simply. 

The boiling water began to cease, calming to a murky white colour. Voyis leaned back against the edge of the pool and groaned. Valeria looked for the eye on his chest, but all that remained was a red and blue mark the size of a grapefruit, like a fresh bruise. Voyis sighed and said something in Zemyati. Arun stopped praying and laughed.

“Well fuck.”

Voyis looked back at the Owls assembled around him. “Wine,” he whispered.

Valeria put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, “You earned it.” She got up and looked for the other opened bottle. Rakash was standing at the cave entrance, broken wood and bodies at his feet.

“Someone’s coming,” he said. His armour was still stained with black blood. Valeria put a hand on her sword and looked out into the darkness. She could hear someone crying, whimpering, coming towards them.

“Hello?” it was a woman’s voice, terrified. “Is someone there? Please! Anyone!” Valeria looked back at Gada. He was still standing next to Voyis and the twins. He looked back and shook his head.

Valeria stepped forward next to Rakash. He still had his sword drawn. It looked like it hadn’t left his hand since he had charged the horror. Gradually a women stumbled into the light cast from the lamps and candles of the cave. She wore a dirty pale dress. Her knees and elbows were scabbed, and dirty tears streamed down her face.

“Please! I heard… oh please! Please help, I don’t know what's happening!”

Rakash raised his sword, “Who are you?”

Valeria put a hand on his arm, “Rakash I don’t think--”

“Please,” the woman said. “I’ve been running so long. I heard voices and--”

Rakash pointed his sword at her, “Stay back!”

“Who is that?” Buren walked forward.

“Who are you?” Valeria asked. The woman was stumbling over the dead, like they were simply rocks in her way. She was a few feet away when Rakash stepped forward to meet her.

“Rakash wait!” But it was too late. His sword was buried in her chest, his breathing hard and erratic. The woman’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she slowly looked down at the metal in her chest.

“Fuck!” Buren cried. “What the fuck Rakash!” Valeria put a hand on the old Bartan’s shoulder. He was staring at the woman, large eyes blinking rapidly as if waking from a dream. 

“I didn’t…” he said. “I don’t…”

Valeria looked to the woman’s wound. It was deep, but it might have missed her heart. 

“Buren,” she yelled. “Buren get some bandages, we might--” the woman grabbed Valeria’s arm and stared at her with a mouth full of black bile.

The Kingdom of Or was always so beautiful in the spring. Hundreds of cherry trees bloomed all at once, and for a few days the streets were covered in a bright pink petal snow. The Orites called them Lover’s Days, and it was customary for many engagements and nuptials to take place during those few days. It should have been a busy time for Valeria. She had to put in an appearance at at least four weddings that day, and one surprise engagement that evening that one of her cousins had been planning for a year. 

But she wasn’t going to do any of that. She was marching down the main thoroughfare, booted feet kicking up swaths of petals. She brushed them from her finest suit as she spotted her waiting for Valeria at her favourite spot, a balcony just outside the Garossi Gardens. She was wearing a loose shirt and a vest of golden roses. A dress saber with a hilt of gold was tied around her waist above her black trousers. She turned just as Valeria approached. One lock of her jet black hair hung in front of her porcelain face.

Then she was staring up at small stalactites. The smell of cherry blossoms faded and the world was cold and hard. She was on her back and people were screaming. Valeria pushed herself up onto her elbows. The Garossi Gardens were gone. Rakash still had his sword inside the young woman, but he was floating in the air, several feet above the ground. They both were. The woman’s hair and dress floated around her as if she was submerged in water. A steady stream of tar coloured fluid rushed from her mouth as she grinned wickedly at Rakash.

“Aim!” Arun yelled behind her. Valeria turned and saw Arun and the twins had loaded their rifles and were pointing them at the woman. Gada had a black shot arrow nocked in his bow.

“Fire!” The shots were near deafening in the cave but the woman persisted. The bullets tore through her flesh and only when Gada’s black shot arrow pierced her skin did she react. Rakash fell to the ground and the woman screamed, the sound just as loud as the musket fire. She reached her hands out towards the firing line and shot through the air towards them like a bird of prey. 

Valeria jumped to her feet, drew her sword and tried to slash at the women as she flew passed. But as she did so the black ichor falling from the woman’s mouth splattered across her face, covering her eyes and filling her mouth, Valeria shook her head and tried to spit out the foul tasting fluid.

By the time she could see again, the undead woman was skirmishing with the Weyer twins. Buren had buried the edge of her sword into the top of the woman’s skull, but it still thrashed and screamed. Fulon cut into one of its arms, which wrapped around Fulon’s blade and touched her hand. Fulon cried out and clutched her arm as it started to spasm, her sword clattering to the ground. 

But then Voyis emerged from the font, towering over the scene as one meaty hand grabbed the floating woman, ripped her from Buren’s sword, and plunged her into the font. The water erupted into boiling plumes and Voyis groaned in pain as he held her under with both hands. Valeria stepped forward, sword still drawn. After a few seconds Voyis stopped struggling and released the undead. When he stood and left the basin his hands were bright red, the flesh burned and peeling. The woman lay at the bottom of the font, body simmering in the holy water, her undead skin slowly dissolving away. 

There in the center of her chest, over her heart and just a few inches from where Rakash had stabbed her, Valeria could see something had been stitched into her body, just beneath the skin. The flesh was purple, liked the flesh around the eye that had been embedded in Voyis’ chest. The skin around the stitching squirmed and twitched as the body boiled away. 

“Breaker,” Gada rasped from behind her, already packing up his things. “We can’t stay here.”

Valeria looked to Voyis. He was flexing his red hands and grimacing. He looked around and saw her staring at him, and slowly nodded.

“Let us go then, yes?”