Secret of the Sunstones, Part 1: The Wanton Kingdom

Chapter XVII : Recollection

Lateday of Somnus, First Day of Autumnmoon

Bram and Kane rode their new mounts through the Angkorian countryside. They headed north, into the mountains, hours past the furthest settlement. Beyond the fertile landscapes, Angkor’s foothills turned rocky and dry. Long summer months singed the grass, and the pounding of viscar footsteps left a trail of billowing dust behind.

For much of the trip, the two rode in silence; but as time passed, Bram yearned for a conversation with his childhood friend. The two had barely spoken in ten years, so to get the conversation started, Bram recounted one of his war stories. He kept the tone humorous and lighthearted, telling of a time he liberated a Kitezhian controlled village at night. The plan was to surprise the enemy, but it turned out they had all gone to the local brothel. Bram’s men ended up catching the whole unit with their pants down, making for a very awkward interrogation. Kane laughed so hard he had to halt his viscar.

Bram was pleased to see his friend in good spirits. Feeling a bit hungry, he opened his travel bag and removed some jerky and a hunk of cheese. Kane did the same and tossed over a heel of bread. Bram caught it in one hand and returned the favor by splitting his own provisions and tossing half back over. The warriors raised their hands in a mock toast and ate in cheerful delight.

“Bram,” Kane’s words escaped through a mouthful of sharply aged cheddar, “You remember the time the old Chevalier orchard was overrun by toza worms?”

The Knight’s memories came flooding back. He savored them with a bite of smoke-cured meat. “You bet I do. The moment we first heard, we snuck over the fence to see for ourselves. I remember we fell into one of the worms’ tunnels after the ground caved in.”

Kane laughed. “I’ll never forget! Farmer Sorensen had to toss down a rope. He gave us both a beating when he found out how careless we’d been.”

Bram remembered more. “That reminds me of the day you fell beneath the ice on the old mill pond. We weren’t supposed to go there till after Solstice, but we never could resist the first snowfall.”

“Yeah.” Kane chuckled. “Your old man had to fish me out with a garden hoe.”

The scene had been both thrilling and humorous, but Bram couldn’t help but be reminded of his father … and the attack … and the flames and burning flesh. Kane couldn’t have known, since he left to train with the Royal Guard long before that fateful night.

Kane must have noticed the change in mood. “Bram, what’s wrong? I—”

“It’s all right.” He needed to face it, sooner or later. “My dad died during The War in a Kitezhian raid. I get choked up sometimes when I think about him.”

The Royal looked over sympathetically. “What happened?”

Bram paused, trying to think of where to begin. “They came from the mountains after dark and set fire to fringe villages. They must have wanted to incite panic and rebellion. Many lost their homes that night. Too many lost their lives. The problem was that the villagers had no warning. Those in Angkor had advanced intelligence, but they wasted their chance to save others with that knowledge! All we needed was time to prepare, and the whole tragedy could have been avoided.”

Kane’s voice grew somber. “I’m sorry, Bram. I know how close you were to your dad.”

Bram held onto years of suppressed rage and frustration without any kind of outlet, and he didn’t want to let it all out now. He took a moment to compose himself.

“The farmlands have always been low priority in this country. Our leaders put vast resources into the safety and comfort of the capital, but all they see in the countryside are poor serfs. But you and I both know even the lowliest farmer works harder than others give them credit. We have food because of their blood and sweat; and without them, the city would starve. Yet, every crisis or natural disaster ends the same way … with poor folk somehow fending for themselves.”

The Knight stopped to catch his breath and lower his temperature. Things had to be said, but he didn’t want to go too far. “Some things have changed, at least. Now we have the Border Patrol. Hopefully, what happened to Providence won’t ever happen again.”

Kane nodded without words.

Bram hadn’t meant to dampen the mood, but it was his first chance to voice his feelings in years, and it wasn’t easy to hold back. There was still so much more to say, but he felt he needed to wrap it up.

“I only heard about the attack after graduating. They buried my father’s remains before I even received a letter. And that’s all there is to it. I’ve haven’t been back before this morn … and might never go back again.”

Kane allowed a moment of silence before clearing his throat and changing topics. “If you don’t mind me asking … what did you do after graduating? You used to talk about traveling the world, perhaps even look for your blood parents. Did you ever make headway before becoming a Knight?”

Bram shook his head. It was another sensitive topic, though not nearly as much as his father’s death. He felt better about telling Kane the story.

“There was never much to go on. My dad … the man who raised me … never talked about my birth. Not even when I asked him a thousand times. There was this one time, though. He’d been drinking, and I put him to bed. But then he grabbed me by the collar and told me this story.”

Bram demonstrated by shaking his fist in midair.

He took a deep breath and released it. “He said he’d found me in the forest one morn when hunting. Said there was no one else around. No footsteps, nothing disturbed, no nothing. I was alone, crying, and soiled, in a pile of wet leaves and twigs. But he didn’t have the heart to leave me, so he brought me home.”

Bram chuckled. Not because he found it funny, but because he only half believed it was true. “Maybe it was just the spirits talking. Either way, it’s too late to ask him now. And other than that one time, he never gave me a single clue.”

Kane’s expression was a mixture of gloom and nonchalance. “So … sounds like a pretty shitty time after graduation. But, then you became a Gnostic Knight and the hero who saved Angkor. Things got better, then?”

Bram laughed. Kane might have changed, but some things stayed the same, including his friend’s sarcastic attitude. He thought back. “When I graduated, The War was in full swing, and my class was expected to enlist. I spent a few boring years as a grunt, but I had a few good ideas and was lucky when my commanding officer took notice. The Gnostic Knighthood reached out to me after I rescued a few comrades who became POW’s. They put me through some difficult tests, but I passed. Now I’m a Knight.”

Kane blew a raspberry that sounded halfway between a scoff and a chuckle. “You make it sound easy.”

Bram knew it took longer for most other Knights. Some had ten or more years of experience before making rank. He didn’t want to sound boastful. “Yeah, I was fast tracked. I knew the kingdom took a risk on me, so I worked my ass off to train and meet expectations. It wasn’t easy. Trust me.”

Kane cracked a smile. “You always were an overachiever, but you had heart. That’s what I remember about you.”

Bram was touched, but modesty won over. “Enough about me. What of your adventures, Kane?”

Kane’s expression changed. The fire in his eyes went out, and he hunched over. “Don’t get your hopes up for grandiose stories. The Royals aren’t like the Knights. We live in service of the king. And when we’re not directly following orders, we train or meditate. It’s pretty boring, actually.”

Kane’s description gave Bram chills, almost as if he had disdain for his role.

There had to be more to it. “You must have fought in The War, though, right? Richard sent his Royals to fight at Dobb’s Plain. Weren’t you there?”

Bram remembered the final battle quite well, but he never crossed paths with Kane that day.

A pall fell over Kane’s expression. He looked angry, perhaps even enraged.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” His voice was steady and flat, leaving no room for debate. His eyes drifted to the path ahead, and he spoke no more. Bram was surprised, but he let the subject drop. War was brutal, and many soldiers returned home traumatized or otherwise scarred. He didn’t want to resurrect bad memories. There were happier times, too, and next time Kane felt like talking, he’d direct the conversation better.

So he returned to riding, as grassy foothills slowly transitioned into rocky hillscapes. The trip went on in silence until Kane suddenly halted his mount.

The Knight looked over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Kane scanned his surroundings. “I think we’ve been followed.”

Bram also inspected the area, but found nothing suspicious. “Did you see something?”

Kane shook his head. “Not directly, but I sensed it.”

Bram had to take him seriously. Travelers rarely took the Zeugma pass, now that Saladin was accessible by the main roads. Given all he had witnessed in Minoa and Angkor, he had good reason to be paranoid. It seemed unlikely that Virgil would have sent spies or assassins, but he didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“Let’s make a quick sweep,” he suggested.

Kane agreed, and the two circled the area.

After a few minutes, the Royal called out. “Over here!”

Bram rushed over. Sure enough, a fresh set of footprints led to some nearby brush.

Kane studied them closely. They appeared to be from simple footwear. No tread, just handmade soles. Pretty small, too. Either a female or a child.

Bram was also well versed in tracking. “Should we follow?”

Kane nodded. “We’ve made good time, and there’s still enough daylight for a detour. Could be nothing, but we should see where it leads, at least.”

Bram concurred. He didn’t know of any settlements in the area, and most folks weren’t foolish enough to setup residence in spawn-infested mountains without the protection of Border Patrol. But the footwear was crude and inconsistent with modern traveling equipment. It certainly wasn’t a from a traveler enroute to Saladin.

“Maybe some kid wandered too far from their village and got lost,” Kane suggested. “Still, we better make sure.”

The warriors veered from the mountain path, crossing over rocky outcroppings. The tallest peak, known as Ur, loomed in the distance. So far into the deep wilderness, Bram had to worry about spawn. Dangerous creatures were known to roam the mountains, some quite large and capable of taking on two seasoned warriors.

As time passed, Bram felt pressure to return to his original mission. It wasn’t clear if the source of the footsteps was a threat, and the dangers of veering off course probably outweighed the benefits. He was ready to make the call when Kane called out and pointed.

“Look!”

Nestled along the craggy cliffside was a cave. Bram donned his helm and readied his sword.

Kane headed to the cave’s dimly lit mouth and urged Bram over. “Bring the light.”

The Knight removed a torch from his pack, which had been enchanted by Angkor’s wizards to keep its flame for days. He lit it and brought it over to the dark shadows.

Kane pointed. “Multiple tracks, now.”

Sure enough, it seemed like someone—or possibly more than one—had wandered in and out, perhaps using the cave for shelter.

Bram looked to the west, anxious to see a setting sun. “If we do this, we’ll have a tough time maintaining schedule.”

“How could we not?” the Royal reasoned. “There shouldn’t be anyone surviving out here on their own. Don’t you want to know what they’re doing?”

“It’s not our mission,” Bram reminded. “Nor is it a threat. If we make our way back to the mountain pass, we can still make camp in a safe space before it’s too dark.”

Kane peered closer at the markings. “No, wait … these are Ashingi footprints.”

He referred to the so-called Wild Ones, tribes who lived off the land and were often hostile to outsiders.

Bram considered the possibility. “I thought they had all been wiped out in this region.”

Kane shook his head. “I’ve seen reports of new sightings. I’m certain this will be of great interest to King Richard. If we confirm it.”

Bram was torn. He glanced again at the sun as it approached the horizon, reminding him of the urgency to reach Kitezh. Richard hadn’t given him a timeline, but Bram set a fairly ambitious goal of reaching Kitezh in three days. He was eager to seize the sunstone and go back to Rosa. The longer he dallied, the greater the chance he’d lose the element of surprise, and Kitezh’s monarch would learn about the sunstones.

Then again, perhaps Kane was right, and this was an easy opportunity to curry more favor. He also wanted to give his friend the benefit of the doubt, as well as an opportunity for some well-deserved praise. He figured it would benefit their friendship.

“Very well, let’s move forward,” he decided. “What about the viscars? Do we bring them along?”

“We can’t leave them here,” Kane answered. “We’d risk attracting spawn. Let’s take them with us and hope we don’t run into any tight squeezes.”

Bram steeled himself for the journey. It was getting dark, and turning back now seemed like the wrong idea.