B2 Ch. 31 Horchata

Kindle rejoined the moving group half an hour later.  They had fully skirted the sight of the battle and continued moving in the direction Ichiro indicated.  None of them had forgotten the pressure the Alliance was facing, and pushed forward relentlessly, even after the intensity of their last encounter.

The two new vampire additions to the group seemed content with the direction Ichiro had chosen and moved along easily with the group.  Tilly was shocked at how little sound the Knight made as he moved, the intricate plate mail that covered his form seemed to flow like water and was easily the finest example of metalwork Tilly had yet seen on Nephesh.

Once the calls of the Strigoi were inaudible to Tilly’s ears, Hilbert motioned for them to stop.  They had been moving through what probably used to be a creek bed but was now little more than a winding dusty path.

“This is a good place for us to come to some sort of agreement,”  Hilbert said looking around and nodding to himself.

“Agreed, everyone, breakout water, and rations.  We will get the most we can out of this stop.”  Ichiro called out, moving to stand opposite of the two vampires, and dropping his pack.

Tilly mirrored his actions and moved to stand beside the lapin reaching into his pack to grab some of the food Enda and George had packed for him. The knight had moved to lean against the steeper incline of the hill, going completely still as soon as he achieved a position that seemed vaguely relaxed.  It was not lost on Tilly, that he had left his right arm and weapon completely free.

Hilbert pulled out a few things from his robes and moved around the group, facing outward as he did something at the four points around the group opposite each other. Tilly took a long swig of his water and glanced at the others in the group.

Amelia's short hair was mussed, and her complexion had grown waxy and pale.  She was barely breathing hard, but it was at times like this that Tilly remembered he wasn’t the only one with a foreign entity invading his body.  Franklin didn’t look much better, breathing the hardest of anyone in the group.  Tilly was amazed at the pace he had been able to keep so far and realized that the honu would never ask the group to stop on his account.  He was just as determined as the rest of them to accomplish this mission.  Yet despite the strength of their determination, Amelia and Franklin had the lowest Endurance stat by far, and in a situation like this, it was showing.

On the other hand, Gorock had splayed out on the other bank of the creek bed and was tearing into a large shank of dried meat he had produced.  He kept casting baleful looks at the Knight in between bites, and Tilly wondered what could possibly be going through the Wallbreaker's mind.

Standing at the final cardinal point, Hilbert whispered something in a harsh language, and the four points began to glow that same pinkish hue that had marked his magic before.  The light faded and the world outside their little group took on a shimmery quality.  Kindle let out a cheep of interest, looking at the ward with one eye, then the other as she examined it in a uniquely avian fashion.

“This will keep anyone who does not already know our location from finding us, and make any search oriented toward us overlook this position. Now, you said you had your own mission… What, are your intentions in this land? Maybe we can offer assistance…”  He said, leaning in eagerly.

“Very sorry, but seeing as we rescued you from that attack, perhaps you could finish telling us about your ‘Sanguine Order’ and what your interest in our party is.”  Ichiro responded blandly, his meditative state radiating peace in an almost aggressive show of control as he beheld the two vampires with his milky-white eyes.

“Rescue is something of an overstatement-”  Hildbert started, but then the Knight turned its head in the Apprentice's direction and he stuttered to a stop, then hedged,

“But fair enough, especially in the spirit of your actions.  I would be happy to tell you more about our people.  As your knowledgeable companion stated-”  He said, gesturing appreciatively at Tilly.

“We started as a kingdom on the rise, led by a truly noble king named Author Pendragon… With my master as his advisor, we unseated the corrupt monarchies that surrounded us and ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity for all of the Aos Si.  Then, my master's first apprentice betrayed us, attacking and disposing of a neighboring Faction that had signed a treaty with us.

“Her name was Morgana, and she had been pushing for a continued expansion of our power for some time. My master understood the importance of balance and had advised against it, but with this move, our Order ascended to the next echelon of power.  This destabilized our region and cast our Order and area if influence into the hands of the System. We were sent here… to the Twilight Lands to bring balance, with a quest to end the expansion of the Horde and bring stability to this region.

“Their numbers and strength were much greater than they are now, and thus began the Blood Wars.  This was hundreds of years ago before I was born, but the short of it is; we lost our King in the fighting, and the Order had to make terrible sacrifices to survive in this new land against such an unrelenting enemy.

“To ensure our survival, Merllyn took the Blood Oath and fundamentally changed the nature of the curse of Vampirism to something our people could carry without being consumed by it.  Now we are a society led by Dhampires and Vampires who protect the rest of our people and contain the Horde all along our western borders while trading and accepting tribute from the lands to the east.  We became the Sanguine Order and have maintained balance in this region for the last hundred and fifty years. I was taken as My  master’s last apprentice for a few years before he was… called away.”  Hilbert finished quietly, his pale features eerily blank, despite the emotion coloring his tone.

“With Merllyn gone and the King dead, who leads your order?”  Tilly asked.

Hilbert pulled his focus away from whatever memory had tugged at his mind, “Ah, that would be Queen Guinevere.  She leads the Order, as our Soceress Superior.  After King Author passed, My master began training her and several other apprentices to try and increase our chances of survival.  None of the others have survived, but Queen Guinevere leads the Order to this day.”   He answered, his voice curt.  Tilly didn't have to connect many dots to guess that she was the one who had been against them striking out into Horde territory and trying to contact the new nation.

Ichiro’s cool demeanor remained unchanged, but his eyes sharpened as he continued to watch the pair intently.  A thought occurred to Tilly that could possibly bridge the needs of both groups.

“You said you guys haven’t been able to cure any cases of Corruption in your people.  We know just how much of a problem that can become without quick intervention.  If we agreed to clear out the most important cases in your Order, do you think your Queen would agree to a temporary alliance with us, and attack the forces sieging our Faction?  Our forces would attack along with yours.  We could eliminate an enemy army from the field while strengthening your position.”

The Apprentices eyes narrowed in thought, and he turned to the Knight, who had not moved the entire time they had spoken.  Something passed between them and Hilbert turned back smiling, his fangs on full display.

“This plan holds several risks for both of us, but it aligns with our goals.  We will bring you to the Order and gain you an audience with the Queen… Even if it spells our doom.”

Ichiro gestured to him in approval, signaling that he had the group's support.  Tilly knew that the upgrade the quest offered to the Alliance was essential to its survival, not that he understood all the details, but gaining an allied force on the field was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“Hey, Hilbert. What direction would you say Camelot is in, and how long do you think it will take us to get there?” Tilly asked, settling into a meditative pose.

Hilbert gestured slightly more to the east of their original heading, “At our current pace, we could reach it in a day. Does this have to do with your mission?” He asked, in a teasing, curious tone.

“Yep.  But before I tell you more, I need to check something.”  Tilly answered, beginning to breathe and settling into his meditative posture. From what he had seen of the valley and the Facet’s Guardian, he felt like it was unlikely that they were near Camelot, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. At the very least he would have a good idea where they needed to head after they met with the Queen.

He continued to breathe, letting his surroundings and circumstances in, then out.  Allowing them to wash through him, without fighting or trying to impose his will on them.  He was doing all he could, and that had to be enough. The others continued to talk and rest while his world became the darkness of his mind and the moment of his breath.

As soon as he felt himself fully settle, he activated Spirit Walk and rose up from his body.  Hilbert was watching him curiously but was not able to track the movement of his spirit as it separated from his body.  Ichiro’s face did not reflect any change as Tilly rose, but his ear twitched when Tilly turned his attention onto the lapin.

All the others were recovering in their own way within the ward.  Amelia was brewing some tea, and offering it to Franklin, while Gorock lay passed out nearby, clutching the now clean bone like it was a stuffed animal.

Tilly cleared his head and let go of distraction, allowing himself to float there and experience his surroundings on a spiritual level.   Slowly but surely he felt the presence of the myriad threads that wove through all things.  He could not see them, but their effects made themselves known in millions of little contact points around the edges of his spiritual form. Some threads were a part of him, some attempted to invade, while others touched and strengthened him.

After a while, he found the Flower’s music.  It may have been his imagination, but it felt slightly easier to discern this time, almost as if it had become fractionally louder.   As soon as he had the direction, he shot back to his body, unsure of how much time he had spent in that state.

His eyes flicked open to find Amelia, Franklin, and Hilbert locked in some sort of conversation, with Ichiro resting and Gorock standing alert nearby.  The knight, however, had not moved from his position, watching the group, and a chill ran up Tilly’s spine at just how still the figure was.  It was completely unnatural.

Amelia was the first to see his opened eyes,

“He is back.”  She said simply, putting away the notebook she had been using as Hilbert spoke.

“Back? Interesting choice of words, is it some type of scrying ability?  I must warn you, they have develop-”

“Yeah, we know about that guy, he absolutely sucks.  And no, it's not a scrying ability, at least, I don't think it is.”  Tilly answered absently turning to Ichiro, who had awoken and had turned to watch him curiously.   Tilly gestured in the direction Hilbert had shown them, then moved his hand twenty degrees farther westward.

“It's somewhere in that direction, so going with them would not take us completely out of the way.”  He said, answering Ichiro’s unspoken question.

Ichiro nodded and turned to the two vampires,

“We will accompany you to your order headquarters and give what aid we can… Then we will continue on.  Our Sovereign Crystal has issued us a quest, and the object of our mission is in that direction.”  He said, pointing in the direction Tilly had just indicated.

Hilbert and the Knight shared another look…