Table of Contents – (spoilers)
By the time the platoon reached the access to Shasta’s property on the road, it was almost dark. Choke gave Peep a subtle signal to carry on to town without stopping. They did, however, spare a minute to drop Gabe off at home on their way by his place.
Back in the barracks, the men enjoyed their ales with dinner as they regaled the squad that had stayed behind with the tale of the march to Bristlenook. It was clear that for many of the men, the day’s events were the greatest adventure they had ever experienced.
Peep and Choke kept to the edge of things and let Pinch and Knuckle mingle with the men in a more natural way. It took some time for the story to be told, and then retold with other tellers’ additions. Then it was time to ruminate on the significance of it all.
“I’ll grant ye that them skeletons were strung up just to shit us up,” Reece, the usual troublemaker, said, putting on the air that he was about to hold court. The men quieted down and listened intently, with many shooting Knuckle side glances to see how he might take it.
“That was just some bullshit trickery there. No doubt,” Reece continued. “But what led up to that weren’t normal. Not by a long shot! The fuckin magpies delivering messages, and all them birds in the trees doing that bullshit. And then… don’t even get me started on that white stag!”
“I aint seen it!” a man pronounced. Others seconded him.
“Well, who gives a shit if ye didn’t! Those of us that did, did! Ye calling us a liar?” Reece flared up.
His friend, and possible co-conspirator in all manner of schemes, Osgar glowered at the men around, challenging them to further challenge Reece. Osgar was a burly, bulldog of a man, who seemed like he would be adept at violence. Indeed, he was one of the best men when it came to the shield and spear drills and exercises.
“I saw the stag,” Corporal Dom proclaimed loud. “And I say, for my part, that it didn’t seem like no natural animal to me.”
“Yeah. Fuckin rights! That’s what I’m saying!” Reece nodded emphatically.
“So what the fuck was it, then?” Pinch asked, an edge to his voice that trumped Reece’s bluster.
“I’ve lived in woods like these a long time,” Dom said, his tone neutral. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my years trapping and hunting. I’ve even seen my share of white animals.”
“Devils, they are!” one man pronounced.
“Here, here!” seconded more.
“I heard that them white animals are the gods of the animals!” someone shouted.
“What, like all the animals?”
“No! They’re the gods of all the animals that they are, right? Stron and Altas aint the God of fuckin deer, are they? So the white stag is the god of the deer.”
“I’ve heard all that, too!” Dom raised his voice to cut through the noise. “And all I’ll say is that there’s something special to them. Ye can feel it when ye see them. And that hart today had that feeling about him. But I don’t know if they’re good or evil. I always reckoned they might be above our kinda thinking in that regard.”
“That’s right! It was a hart! A hart’s a stag, right? And here we are in Baron Hart’s army! Patrolling his lands! That’s gotta mean something!” another fellow yelled.
Some scowled at the blatant stupidity of this interjection, but the comment was well-received by most of its listeners.
“And what about them magpies! They’re half white, right? Does that mean they’re half gods?” another spoke up.
“Yar right! They are half white! Fuck!”
“Fuck off with that! What about skunks then? Are they half gods, too?”
“Yar a fuckin skunk!”
“No!” yelled Dom, clearly pained by the entire tangent. “That’s not what I meant by white, ye dumb bastards! Just cause an animal’s white, or part white, don’t mean shit. There’s special white animals. They’re born different. Ye can feel something special about them when ye see them. Like that stag today.”
“Well them magpies were something special! Running to town like that to warn them about us!” Reece proclaimed.
“I’ll give ye that,” Dom replied. “But I’ve known of some woodsmen, the real deep bush crazy fuckers, that it’s said can talk to animals. They can make friends of them. And them magpie birds are smart. They can be trained, too. Aint nothing that weird about all of that.”
“And what about them birds in the trees with all their bullshit,” Reece pressed.
“The starlings? That’s what they fuckin do. They were there and then they fucked off. It’s nothing,” Dom returned.
“And that white hart. That was nothing?” smirked Reece.
“Is that what I’ve been saying, asshole? That fucker was special. I aint saying anything beyond that.”
“The hart god! What does it want?” cried one of the cretins that had been swept up in the white animal tangent.
“Enough!” Choke bellowed above the din of voices in the barracks. He stood up and raised his Holy Book that he had been idly thumbing through as he listened to the men.
“Enough!” Choke repeated. “You blaspheme with this talk! First of all, there is no such thing as animal gods. That thinking is heresy! There is only one true God!” Choke shook his Holy Book in the air above him to reinforce this point.
“That’s right!” Reece called out, raising up his ale mug in a similar manner. “Altas! And Stron! They are the one true God! And don’t ye forget it, or one of these black robes is gonna light ye on fire!”
“Some balls on that one,” Peep muttered, just low enough for Choke to hear.
“This is so, Spearman Reece,” Choke said, his voice still loud so that all could hear. “Altas the Father and Stron the Son are one divine being. While Stron, a human like ourselves before he was martyred, may seem to us a separate entity from his Father, Altas, the very sun in the sky. But he is not. He is Altas expressing Himself subjectively on this, the Prime Material Plane of existence. And so, they are one and the same.”
“Right you are, sir! And that makes sense, or else!” Reece returned.
There was some murmuring and muted laughter at this boldness. Choke could see from Knuckle’s body language that he was about to do something about it. He decided to attempt a different way.
“And right you are again, Reece! I am glad to see that you have grasped a central truth of our Faith!”
There was some open laughter from the men at this riposte. Having won the attention of his men back from Reece, Choke pressed on:
“There are a multitude of paths to Hell. There is but one to salvation. It is through Stron that we shall be received by His Father. The Holy Book tells us so. And our Church leaders instruct us on the ways of it. Those who wander as lost sheep shall fall prey to the evils of this world. It is the shepherd that guides them home safe. Let us now pray!”
Choke raised his Holy Book up again. It was telling that almost half of the men did not know what to do then. Thankfully, they were not too far gone, and followed the lead of the others who removed whatever headgear they had on as they dropped to their knees in prayer.
“Lord Stron!” Choke began. “Thank you for your protection on our patrol this day. Thank you for showing us something of the evil in this world, so that we may better understand our path ahead. We shall strive to uproot all evil that we find, whether it is in ourselves or without. We shall do our duty, in your Word, as we do our duty for our king. Grant us the opportunity to deliver the souls of the wicked to you for judgement. Amen!”
“Amen!” many of the men intoned after him.
Choke then turned to Peep, who was still lounging in her chair off to his side.
“Otilla of the Holy Fire! If you would, bless us, please, we would be most grateful,” Choke said.
Then he dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Yeah. Alright,” Peep said. She stood up and raised her right palm above her towards the men. It was the first time most of them had seen the brand of the Wheel, and they all gaped up at it, stricken under its sight. Following Choke’s prayer, there was no mistaking the divine energy that emanated from the brand in her hand. Peep herself blinked and sighed as she felt it.
“Stron. Bless these men. Let us do your work. Amen,” Peep said. Then she traced the four-spoked Wheel above them.
This time, all of the men followed her Amen with one of their own.
“Thank you, Otilla. We are indeed blessed to have you with us!” Choke said as he rose from his knees. Then he turned back to the men: “Praise Stron! And praise the Holy Fire within Otilla! You have all felt the spirit of it tonight, I am sure. Never forget that we have this blessing! Praise Stron!” Choke shouted, raising his Holy Book in the air above him.
“Praise Stron!” the men roared in return.
“Praise Stron!” Choke shouted again.
“Praise Stron!” the men returned.
Choke waited for the energy of the moment to crest. Once the men had settled somewhat, he looked over their flushed faces. Many had the glow of faith in their eyes. Others just seemed disturbed. None of them had remained unaffected.
“This is bigger than any one of us,” Choke said, speaking calmly in a measured tone. “But all of us have our part to play. And I will not claim to know what it was that attempted to menace us on the road today. But I will tell you that I will not accept it! Tomorrow I shall seek out the counsel of Brother Barrelmender. He is an experienced campaigner, a fighter of undead, and a Brother of the Holy Stone. He shall shed some light on what we experienced. Of that I am sure.
“Finally, I would just like to say that you did well today, men. You held fast when we needed you to. You have more to learn, and we all must work hard to get where we need to be. But today was another good step in that direction. Good work, men!”
The men gave a spirited cheer at this encouragement.
“Now, I want to talk to Sergeants Nikolas and Theodas in the dining room. Along with Otilla. Corporal Dom: your men have the watch tonight. I understand your men must be tired, but we need you all to do your duty. Any that fall asleep on watch will be flogged and fined a month’s pay. But remember: tomorrow you shall have light duty and an extra ration of ale. Thank you. Corporal Lenny: you have the barracks. Good night, men!”
With this, Choke gestured for Pinch and Knuckle to follow him and Peep to the dining room off the kitchen. On the way, Knuckle poured himself another ale from the large barrel Babs had provided them. Pinch was about to indulge himself as well, until Peep gestured at him that she going to smoke a pipe. Choke grabbed a jug and went to fill it with fresh well water. When he returned with it, Peep had thickened the air of the small dining room with her pungent weed from Thad Swallowtail. Choke poured everyone a mug of water, checked that all the doors and shutters were shut, and then took his seat at the head of the table.
“Alright, then. So do we have any thoughts about what all that was today?” Choke asked the group.
“Peasant scaring bullshit, is what,” Knuckle said. “Aint nothing more to it than that, man.” He then drained half his ale, settled himself, and burped the word, “Bullshit!” loudly.
“Well, you do have a way with words, Knuckle,” Pinch said as his laughter at this settled. “But didn’t ye see that stag? That was not natural.”
“It’s a fuckin white deer. Get a fuckin grip!”
“Well, for one, white animals are meant to be special. Dom was right about that. And the fuckin thing was about a twenty-point buck. That animal was special. And it fronted to us like a messenger,” Pinch said.
“Twenty points!” Knuckle blew a raspberry. “Bullshit!” he burped again.
“No, Pinch is about right,” Peep interjected. “I counted about ten points a side. And that thing looked me in the eye. It wasn’t natural.”
“I don’t need you two starting down this whole animal god track again,” Choke admonished.
“And I aint gonna do that,” Peep came back. “I aint saying it was a fuckin god. I’m saying that weren’t no normal animal. It looked me dead in the eye and told me something.”
“What did it tell you, Peep?” Pinch asked quietly.
“To fuck off.”
“Well, yeah, I coulda told ye that!” Knuckle said. “Them skeletons popping up like that right after wasn’t clear enough on that score?”
“Shut the fuck up, Knuckle!” Peep glared across the table at him. “I’m trying to pin something down here. I don’t need yar bullshit!”
Knuckle flushed and looked wounded, and then angry, but he kept quiet.
“The skeletons are a whole other thing. But I’m talking about all them animals. There was something hinky going on with the lot of them,” Peep went on, mostly to herself as she stared off into space, her eyes bloodshot with the weed she had smoked.
“Sorry, but…” Pinch started. When Peep didn’t react, he continued: “I thought we were just saying that all of that was natural animals doing their thing. I mean, maybe the magpies were trained. And there are white animals around. So, what are ye getting at, Peep?”
“Dom was the one saying it was just natural. And we don’t need the fuckin men getting fucky about it. Right? But something was off there. I felt it. I felt it in my palms. Right? The fire inside me got moving.”
“You felt the spirit of the Holy Fire move you, Peep?” Choke asked, deadly serious.
Peep continued to stare off into space for a long moment, her expression deepening into her killing mode as she did.
“Yeah. I felt it move me, man. Something in Bristlenook’s gotta burn,” she said quietly.
They were quiet for a while, then.
“Well, okay then,” Choke eventually said quietly. “And you felt that with all the animals?”
“Yeah. The magpies seemed pretty normal, actually. That’s pretty much what they do anyways, right? Follow people around and fuck with them. So that didn’t tweak me. But, them starlings. That wasn’t right. And I know that they were just doing what starlings normally do. But we all felt it, right? The way they set up in the woods right over the road. That wasn’t normal. And when they started fucking shaking them trees, I felt something. I felt it in my fuckin brands. Something was pushing them birds to do it, and the spirit of the Holy Fire in me wants at that something.”
“And then there was the white stag. Did you get the same feeling from it?” Choke asked.
“Yeah. Fuck yeah,” Peep said, her voice faraway again.
“So why didn’t ye fuckin shoot it? Ye had yar bow,” Knuckle said, his voice quiet now, too.
Peep blinked. “Yeah. That’s right. No, that was different somehow. I didn’t think to shoot it. Because it was like… a messenger, somehow. Like how Pinch said. It felt like that stag was between me and whatever was behind all of that.”
“Like a white flag,” Choke said.
“Huh?” Peep asked.
“A white flag of truce. Signaling a parlay. And what was the message the stag gave you, you said? To fuck off,” Choke said.
“Huh. White flag. White stag. Ye sure ye aint stoned, man? Yar starting to talk some shit like the fuckwits out there, with their Baron Hart and deer gods and skunks and shit.”
“The animal was chosen as a messenger. The white color makes it special. I grant you it must be a coincidence that flags of parlay are also white. Be all that as it may, the important thing here, Peep, is how you feel about it. The spirit of the Holy Fire is within you. You are its vessel. If it moves you, we must act upon it. That is our way,” Choke said with utter conviction.
“Fuckin A,” Knuckle seconded.
“Right,” Peep said, nodding curtly. “That stag was telling us to fuck off. It did that for somebody else. Whoever that was, was the same fucker that was pulling the starlings around to give us the same message. Then they pulled up them skeletons to shit us up as the final message. Like some kinda fuckin bandit putting up skulls on the trails around their hideout.”
“You’re saying, ‘who,’ and ‘somebody,’ now, Peep. Do you feel as though this is a person?”
“I dunno. Probably. Feels that way.”
“Okay, good. We kill people pretty good,” Knuckle said.
“Yeah, that we do,” Pinch agreed.
“No doubt,” Peep grinned at them.
“But about those skeletons,” Pinch went on. “I was in the rear when they popped up, remember. And ye said it coulda been snares that pulled them up. And I reckon that could be, in theory. Except… I was back there and I didn’t hear anything like that. No trees snapping up, or logs coming down. Nothing like that. There was just a kinda quiet rustle and some clacking from the bones. And then they were there.”
“Yeah, well, I was mostly saying the snare thing because I didn’t wanna freak out the men, right?” Peep said
“It was the vines,” Choke said. “A spellcaster was manipulating nature to have the plants and vines pull the skeletons up for them.”
“Yar sure on that?” Peep asked, earnestly.
“We saw no evidence of snares. I trust Pinch when he says he didn’t hear anything like that. We all saw that it was vines they were hanging from. That easily could have been achieved by a druidic spellcaster,” Choke said.
“Okay. So, a druid? The Stronians wiped them all out, didn’t they?” Peep asked.
“No. Across the Great Mother River, the non-Stronian Gerant barbarians are still completely under their sway. And in pockets of deeper nature, many druids still remain on this side of the river. They live in the wild, and the more powerful of them can take the form of animals. When they stay in the deep woods, they are almost impossible to find. As well, in areas that revert back to the old ways, to the demonic worship of nature, we may find the druidic perversions as well. This would seem to be one such ideal place.”
Choke was thoughtful for a while before he went on:
“That is not to say this was the work of a druid, though. Not necessarily. A Solluna Union priest might have that sort of nature perverting spell. I don’t know about that. As well, we only suspect Swallowtail of that heresy. It is possible he is a druid, for all we know. As well, the source may not even be human. The source of this could also possibly be some creature of feydom who are utilizing druidic magic. However, whatever the source, it is an evil that must be eradicated.”
“How d’ye know all this, man?” Peep asked.
“We were educated on this in our studies. Unlike others, I remember that which I was taught. The Brothers of the Holy Stone are committed to stamping out these heresies. And to effectively fight your enemy, you must know them.”
“Everyone keeps talking about the Moondark Hills to the north of here,” Pinch said. “Could they be a druid haven?”
“I don’t know. I shall ask Barrelmender what he knows about it tomorrow,” said Choke.
“So, wait a minute. What are we talking about here?” Knuckle interjected. “Are we saying we get to go kill that Thad fucker?”
“I don’t know. As much as we might like to, it is not clear that he is the source of this,” Choke said.
“He’s a sex cult leader. Are we gonna split hairs here?” Pinch asked.
“I’m not saying the guy is anything other than wrong. The question is: to what degree is he wrong,” said Choke.
“Remember that Bob put him in as the reason the bandits around leave Bristlenook be,” Peep said.
“Bob said what? When? No he didn’t!” Knuckle exclaimed.
“Yes, he did. At our meeting with him at Babs and Balan’s. I don’t think we mentioned this part of it to you and Pinch, though. Bob said that Swallowtail heals bandits around here, and sells them weed and shrooms. That on its own, though, doesn’t seem enough to keep them all safe from the likes of Burkhard’s men,” Choke said.
“Well, no shit. He hands out the carrots, and someone else swings the stick,” Pinch said.
“We can’t dismiss Swallowtail as the source for all of it,” Choke said.
“That dipshit? He aint keeping bandits away. Are ye fuckin kidding me?” Knuckle scoffed.
“I’m inclined to agree with you. But we can’t rule it out,” Choke persisted.
“Then there’s Diya, right? The midwife?” Peep said. “Nester the magpie is supposed to be hers. Or, at least, he lives with her. And ye said earlier she’s the type for this kinda woodsy heresy. Her being the heavy kinda makes sense to me. And she lets Thickmeat Thad do his thing and hand out the carrots, as Pinch put it. Remember that Lucky said that Diya is the one growing wicked weed and shrooms up there. But Bob said Thad’s the one handing it out. And he’s the one I got my stash from. So, they’re probably working together on that front. And, maybe, she also just likes the way he works that meat bat of his. Win win for everyone up there.”
Choke flinched at Peep’s choice of expression, but nodded as the sense of it.
“One thing that’s bugging me,” Pinch said. “No one around here in Bristlehump’s been saying shit about all this spooky fuckin nature bullshit up there in Bristlenook. Not a word about the forest eating up bad people like Lucky said. Nothing of the sort. Then we go up there the first time and run into Sneed and it was all just normal. But then, this time, the whole place is totally different. What gives?”
“That is a good point, Pinch,” Choke said.
“Yeah. Thanks. I know,” Pinch grinned back.
“First of all, it seems like the folk here and the Bristlenook people just don’t mix. The people here are Stronians, however lapsed they might be. If the Bristlenook people are more on the bandit side of things, it’s natural that they would keep themselves separate. Then, if they are engaged in druidic or Solluna Union heresy, they would definitely keep it quiet. The bandits of the wild might know to steer clear, but if they aren’t bothered by the Bristlehump Stronians, why call attention to yourself?” Choke said.
“Well, they just did,” Peep said.
“They did indeed. I suppose whoever is running the show there features that we are likely to be a problem. They’ve decided to throw the gauntlet down. It makes sense that they wouldn’t before, right? When we first went through there, the expectation would be that Sneed, the Chisel, and Tully’s boys were going to take us out. There would be no need for them to show themselves. Now, however, we are back after clearing out a whole other batch of bandits.”
“And let’s not forget something else,” Peep said. “Father M saw this coming. He dreamed about me and my brands. He saw the Holy Fire. Everyone that’s got any amount of faith always feel something heavy when I show them the brands. Right?”
“Yes. That’s clearly so,” Choke agreed.
“Well, these druids are Stron’s big enemy, right? If there’s one set up out here, who’s to say she aint been having dreams of her own about me and what I’m packing? She might be getting a spirit of her own digging its spurs into her side.”
“It’s a she now, is it?” Pinch asked.
“Yeah. I reckon so.”
“Diya?”
Peep thought about it and then shrugged. “Could be. Anyways, I’ll know em when I see them.”
“Okay, then. We’ll talk to Barrelmender tomorrow and see what he knows. For now, we all need to get our rest. And we need to set our own watch to check up on the nightwatch. I don’t trust the men not to fall asleep. I’ll take first watch. You all get some sleep,” Choke said.
The other three nodded and rose from the table. They then saluted him before leaving to get into their bunks.
Muse Vassal 