“Where are we? And who are these people?” the princess asked.
“Well, to answer the where part of your question, we’re under a bridge,” Mikko replied.
Eldana gave him a curious look. “Who are you?”
Mikko looked at Siem, signalling her with his eyes to do the honor of an introduction. Siem rolled her eyes.
“Eldana, this is Mikko. He began stalking me almost as soon as we split up. And I caught him.”
“Hey,” Mikko objected. “You forget the part where I saved your sorry hide. Twice.”
“Uuuuh”, Hermon exclaimed, widening his eyes in excitement. “You saved Siem? Twice?” he asked.
“I’m guessing she’s not one to be at the receiving end of a saving hand, yeah?” Mikko asked with a smirk.
Hermon chuckled. “You got that part right,” he said.
“One more word from you two, and one of you is flying out these windows,” Siem cautioned.
Mikko smiled but didn’t say anything more. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Eldana,” Mikko said. “Siem hasn’t told me much about you. But from the little she’s told me, and the things that I know about you, I dare say you’re one of a kind.”
“The pleasure’s mine, Mikko,” Eldana said.
“How long are we going to stay here?” Eldana asked. “We should try to find an inn or something. I could use a decent sleep after my ordeal.”
“The thing is...” Mikko started, “I think we all experienced ordeals of our own, Eldana. And we kind of...”
“By we, you mean yourself and Siem, yes?” Hermon interrupted.
“Yes, myself and Siem,” Mikko corrected. “We kind of racked up some trouble, and Lord Taboon’s goons are searching the entire city for you.”
Eldana sighed.
“Honestly,” Mikko said, “if I had known that Lord Taboon was the person you wanted to meet, I would have stopped you.”
“We just have to stay here for now till everything blows over,” Siem said, to which the others agreed, and Mikko offered to go find them all something to eat.
“Fine fellow, isn’t he?” Hermon asked after Mikko had gone.
Siem pouted and shook her head as she contemplated.
“I don’t know much about him yet. But at the moment, I think he is.” She replied.
“Whatever the case, he’s, well, better than my guy,” Hermon stated.
“Your guy?” Eldana asked.
“Yes,” Hermon replied. “My journey to the Guild of Free Warriors was successful.”
“I didn’t think it was going to be,” Eldana stated.
“Same thing I told him. I mean, the free warriors value their freedom, their ability to choose for themselves; albeit a choice affected by the amount one was willing to pay them for their services!”
“You didn’t promise him anything we don’t have, did you?” Eldana asked.
“No. His pay’s going to come after we’re successful.” Hermon replied. “Plus D’rmas is different.”
The plan was to find an alternative means to keep the balance instead of sacrificing innocent people. So far, what the three friends had were their guts telling them there was another way. No one had ever tried to find out, but all three of them were certain of that. To do that, they would require protection, and that was where D’rmas came in.
“That’s his name?” Eldana inquired.
“Mhmm,” Hermon affirmed. “He actually requested a duel. Between the two of us.”
“What?” Eldana asked in shock.
“I was shocked too,” Siem said. “I know his kind. Their magical ability makes them more advantaged and stronger than most, but against a berserker, especially one like Hermon, that’s still madness.”
“I did tell him that,” Hermon stated. “However, he’s got his quirks too. He’s fast, as fast as the soldiers of the Middle Kingdom. The goal was to strike the most out of a cumulative goal of three strikes. He’d gotten three strikes when I evened the playing field after I asked for a dessert. I called on the ancient powers of my clan.”
“That’s dangerous, Hermon,” Eldana said. “Imagine what could have happened if you’d lost control. You could hurt people you know.”
“I’m glad I didn’t. At least, we’ve got him among our crew. We’re one step closer to fulfilling our mission.”
Eldana was still drained from her experience at the King’s palace. She sighed and laid down on her back. “I need to rest.” She said. “D’rmas went to survey the routes out of the city. We can visit an inn when he returns and has told us it’s safe to. Until then, you’ll have to manage here.”
Then Hermon sat up from beside Eldana and moved towards Siem. “We’re still going to need supplies,” Hermon told Siem.
“Yes, I know that,” Siem replied. “But for now, we’ve got to keep our heads low, and make do with what Mikko provides.”
“I know I’ve asked before,” Hermon said, “but this Mikko guy, you trust him?”
He gave Siem a questioning look.
“Do you trust D’rmas?” She retorted.
“D’rmas is different, and you know that,” Hermon said. “He’s a Free Warrior, not some Guild magician. We can count on our contract with D’rmas. He has his reputation to protect and maintain.”
Siem was still pensive.
“You know we can work some spells to get him to reveal his true intentions,” Hermon suggested.
Siem’s eyes flicked towards Hermon. That was all Hermon needed to be apprised of the absurdity of his suggestion. “We’re too tired to work a spell of such magnitude,” Siem said. “And even if we were to combine our strengths, Mikko is no low-grade magician. I’ve seen his feats firsthand. He’ll know we’re trying to enchant him the second we start.”
“I guess we’ll have to let time decide for us, then,” Hermon said.
Siem nodded. Her eyes then moved to where Eldana lay. She looks like one who’s fought a hundred battles in a very short time, she thought. Siem wished she could help her friend in a greater capacity, perhaps lift the burden she presently carried from her shoulders, but she couldn’t. This was Eldana’s destiny. She was a being of balance and chaos, one that had gone rogue. Siem was sure that they were all playing the parts destiny had
