Chapter 57. Stalemate

rigit’s hand trembled and the image in the spyglass wavered out of focus.  Cursing, she fumbled with it again, thanking Mashiro when he showed her how to twist the brass focal ring.  The elementalist’s rugged face was grim as he followed the line of the device down to the forested valley below.  There was a break in the trees and the rutted track revealed the trailing line of their quarry with its trundling ox cart.

And now she finally saw what had so alarmed the others.  Morisedd sat upon the wagon’s high bench beside the driver, his body swayed and jolted as he and a woman she did not know sat in chains like criminals.  Rage burned in Brigit’s blood.  Impotent rage as she scanned the rest of the party, twenty-five in all.

They had tracked them for over a week, fighting through oni and wardens and finding no welcome in the Kurzick towns.  Crystal Palm was famous and so their affiliation with the Luxons was also well known.  It was regarded as a great insult that a guild held in such esteem by the Emperor himself had taken sides.  They had been forced to go miles out of their way when the keepers of Arborstone had forbidden passage.  Their reception in House zu Heltzer had put everyone on edge for the Count had kept an escort of over-eager warriors upon them for the duration of their brief stay.  No merchant would speak to them and so they had been unable to re-supply.  Brigit had not dared to suggest that they hide their cloaks.  Grief had only made the guild members fierce in their devotion to their slain members.

Vengeance was invoked repeatedly in their conversations, particularly in the evenings as they built their camp and broke their fast.  By day, however, they were largely silent, giving all their energies to finding their foe.  There were twenty-one of them, many of whom she was getting to know better as time wore on.  Not a one did she hesitate to trust for all had loved Dojin and Toralai and it was clear they would do anything to avenge their loss. 

Shikai was the leader of the expedition, and Brigit once more stood in awe of the ritualist’s amazing ability to seek through her spirits.  Delicately built though she was, Shikai paused only to draw the guidance of her spirits before driving them all onward as fast as their feet could carry them.  Brigit was exhausted, and yet seeing Morisedd rendered helpless reinvigorated her.  She fingered the haft of her axe, eager to channel her rage in battle.

Nandao had the spyglass now and swore in anger when he finally sighted Morisedd.  He handed the device back to Mashiro and the elementalist collapsed it grimly and stashed it once more in his belt pouch. 

“Evil witch,” Nandao muttered, spitting and striking the ground angrily with his staff.

“What are we going to do?” Brigit demanded.  It was difficult seeing Morisedd endangered like that.  She had grown fond of the man and he had taken a tremendous risk going alone into Kiku’s hall.  She admired his courage.

“Most likely it will turn into a standoff,” Kazuma said grimly.  The necromancer’s pale eye gleamed with malice, “While their hostages preserve them, they will live, but when they begin to slow them down or block their escape, they will die.”

“An imperial decree means her head is worth its weight in gold,” Mashiro said, “Going to ground in a war zone was wise, but it is only forestalling the inevitable.  Gold is a universal language that supercedes all loyalties.”

Bao Li fingered the arrow nocked to his bow string.  He was the company’s tracker, reading signs Shikai’s spirits had ignored.  The gore of their continual battles stained his fur-trimmed leathers, but he wore the blood-encrusted teeth and claws of his recently fallen foes around his neck as a badge of honor.  The ranger’s black hair fell untidily over his eyes as he scanned the valley for more advantageous ground.

“We must move soon for there is a pack of dredge approaching to the east,” the ranger said coldly, his eyes narrowing.

Shikai’s beads and medallions rustled softly as the ritualist stood in their midst, gazing over the valley through her inner eye.

“We follow them until they make a stand,” she said coldly, “and we stay back far enough to present no immediate threat.  It is only a matter of time before their own trackers detect our pursuit.  We must be ready in that event.”

“Has Zhou been in contact with you?” asked Kazuma grimly.

“He has been closed to me,” Shikai said quietly, “His energies are elsewhere, but I will make a sending to him this evening at our agreed upon time.  If he is prepared, we will speak.”

Brigit lost sight of their quarry as the cart and its score of exiled guild members vanished into the depths of the petrified forest.  It was almost painful to stand there knowing her friend’s danger and yet being helpless to do a thing for him.

“He is alive,” she told herself, “and as long as he is alive I will not give up hope.”