The Girl with No Name Ch. 27

"We were the last ones to make it to the outer wall of the garrison before the Red Moon soldiers closed in on us. We were with Commander Sáupeckt. The hole was small and only one of us could fit through at a time. There was a platoon of Red Moon troops chasing us. They were getting their muskets ready to fire all at once, and it would have been an execution against a wall, pure and simple. But the commander grabbed two crossbows and ran back at them, screaming. He shot a crossbow, then the other. The Red Moon troops emptied their muskets into him instead of us and they had to reload before coming after us. There were sixteen of us, and thirteen managed to run down the hill to join His Majesty's army. The other three didn't make it. A Royal commander asked if anyone else was coming out. I told him what happened to Commander Sáupeckt and that I thought we were the last ones to get through the garrison ruins. So, we all left. 547 Defenders and a hundred recovered bodies. And 43 dead Royal Guards. And to think... we started out with 2500 fighters and 600 assistants. All those people, and only a sixth of us made it out, and even that was only because of His Majesty's rescue. What a disaster. We should have stayed in the forest." Tanélickt paused for a moment before concluding: "Commander Sáupeckt and the Priest told us to place our faith in the power of the Destroyer. Well, we did place our faith in the Destroyer, didn't we? And we were the ones who were destroyed."

"We shouldn't have been surprised. My old Mistress from the Followers told me: 'the Destroyer helps no one. The Destroyer won't help you.' We should have known better than to think relying on the Destroyer wouldn't end badly. So, what happened when you returned to the Duchy?"

"Well, the march back wasn't pleasant, not pleasant at all. No one from the Royal Guards spoke to us, except to give instructions and orders. They let us know they were very angry at our folly and they had every reason to be, because they lost 43 of their own men trying to save us. As soon as we passed the fortress in Iyóshnyakt-Krepóckt, most of the Guards went back to their garrisons, but His Majesty and about a thousand of his men escorted us to the capitol. When they took away our weapons, we realized we were prisoners. We didn't know what was going to happen to us, but rumors started circulating the Danubian Church wanted to collar us as heretics. And we were right, the Prophets did want to collar us. We were brought to the Plaza of the Ancients and ordered to strip. They took all our clothes and burned them. We were not a pretty sight, if you can imagine 500 dirty, starving, exhausted militia fighters, many of us with injuries, having to huddle naked in the plaza over there. They had execution stakes set up and we were wondering if we had been rescued only to have our souls separated from our bodies in the capitol. Then the Guards separated us into groups and the Priests started calling us forward, one by one. They wrote our names, asked what unit we were with, and demanded to know who we saw killed in combat and under what circumstances. Then each of us had to stand on the steps of the Temple and in a loud voice publicly rebuke the Destroyer. You can imagine how hard that was for many of us, to deliberately insult the Destroyer and claim the Destroyer has no power over the Creator or the Ancients. There were 19 militia members who couldn't do it, couldn't insult the Destroyer, and they ended up tied to the execution posts with five arrows embedded in their chests. The rest of us did as we were told."

Tanélickt paused to collect his thoughts. Danka stayed silent until he continued:

"The Prophets wanted to collar everyone from the militia and have us spend the rest of our lives performing Public Penance, but the Grand Duke wanted to take us as experienced fighters for his army. So, he and the Prophets reached an agreement over what to do with us. We are sinners, worshipers of the Destroyer, and renegades, so we deserved to be collared. It is the Path in Life of each of us to be collared and spend the rest of our time in the Realm of the Living serving the Church and performing Public Penance. But the Grand Duke issued a reprieve for those of us willing to serve him first. If we join the Royal Guards, we can delay wearing a Church collar until our enlistment ends. I'm sure you can guess which choice, the collar or Royal service, was more popular. And the arrangement makes sense for both the Grand Duke and us. As long as we stay with the Royal Guards, we can avoid wearing the collar, but we must report to the Temple and turn ourselves in for Public Penance the moment we leave His Majesty's service. Not much incentive to leave the Guards and return to civilian life, is it?"

Danka smiled slightly.

"No... I suppose not. I guess I'm different, because I really don't mind wearing a collar. I enjoy being naked, and in some ways I feel I have more freedom with a collar than without. Very well, I have a question. I was wondering if you know what happened to Defender Oana, the nymph who..."

"Oh yes. Her. She fled the city through the north gate with the first group of survivors. It was strange, because she was the only nymph from the two squads of women serving directly under Commander Sáupeckt to survive. Plenty of nymphs from other companies escaped, but no women from the commander's group. Just Oana... and you, of course."

"From Defender Dalibora's squad... no one got out?"

"No."

"Nor from Oana's group of recruits, no one?"

"No one."

"Oana left completely by herself? She didn't bring anyone else out?"

"No, and I found that very strange. She was the only commander who didn't come out with at least some of her troops."

"What did she say about that?"

"She said it was simple luck. All of her nymphs were killed on the rooftops, except for four who were injured. She helped them get into a stone house and went to get help, but when she returned, the door was kicked open, the four women had been bayoneted, and the house was set on fire. She managed to kill one of the men who set the fire, but then had to flee because she didn't have time to reload her crossbow. Then she saw the Defenders had started to evacuate, so she joined the others. That was the story she told. So... now... I'd imagine what she said wasn't the truth. If it was the truth, you wouldn't be sitting here, would you?"

"I was one of those four nymphs she was talking about. I wasn't injured, but I was taking care of the others. My squad leader, Defender Dalibora, had a bad leg wound and was with me, along with a couple of Oana's women. When she last saw us, we were very much alive. She left us and never came back."

"...and you think she left you on purpose?"

"Absolutely."

"But why would she do that?"

Danka explained the circumstances surrounding Oana's squad being taken away from her for poor leadership and the commander's effort to soften the blow by having her recruit a new squad of nymphs. Then she described what Oana told her and the others in the house, not to look outside until she came back. Finally, she repeated Dalibora's suspicions about her fellow squad leader.

"But, you think she was so bitter that she'd abandon injured nymphs, women from her own squad, to the enemy? I've never heard of that. I always thought nymphs went to extremes to make sure other nymphs were never captured."

"Oana went to extremes, but in our case to do the opposite. She wanted to abandon us and make sure no one found us, except Kingdom of the Moon troops."

"So... are you planning to do anything about it?"

"Well, the main reason I came here was to find out if she was still alive. Dalibora was still my commander when she issued her final order: for me to poison her so she wouldn't be captured, and then I was to sneak out of Aksheriri Ris. The reason she wanted me to get away was so I could find Oana and deal with her. The Ancients helped me escape. Now that I've returned, I'm sworn to carry out my squad leader's final order. Do you have any idea where Oana went?"

"The last I heard, she went east to a town called Novo Sókukt Tók, which is located in the Vice Duchy, to the south."

Danka sighed. "I just came from that direction. Now I have to go back."

"Then you'll have to hurry, if you want to get to the pass before the weather gets cold. I suppose I can learn more about her from my supervising Priest, if you'd like, and make sure your trip is not wasted."

Danka nodded, but she was curious about her companion's decision to stay at the Temple. "What about you? How did you end up here, performing Public Penance at the Temple? Why didn't you join the Royal Guards?"

"I prayed about it. I wanted to join, but I received a very strong feeling I needed to accept the collar and stay behind, that there was something important I needed to do. I suspect I just did it."

"Telling me about Oana?"

"Yes. If it's true she deliberately abandoned you to the enemy, then Oana is the very definition of dishonor. As Defenders, it is our duty to remove such a person from the Realm of the Living."

Danka wondered about Tanélickt's words "our duty". Was he planning to help her seek vengeance against Oana?

The two penitents sought out and knelt in front of the Priest responsible for supervising Tanélickt's duties in the Temple. Danka recognized the Priest: he had been one of the younger Followers in Babáckt Yaga's encampment and had enrolled in the Old Believers' seminary with the Alchemist's encouragement. He was shocked upon seeing her, but quickly regained his composure.

Danka and Tanélickt explained the situation and Oana's reprehensible actions in combat. The worst part of her behavior was not that she acted from mere cowardice, but from pure malice. She deliberately left four subordinates behind, fully expecting the enemy to capture and torture them. On the topic of retribution, the Priest was a Follower of the Ancients first, and a Clergy member of the Church second. Yes, he agreed it was very important that Danka and Tanélickt find and exact revenge against Oana. However, he added the two ex-Defenders would have to figure out how to avenge Dalibora and the other nymphs without actually killing the former squad leader.

"Killing is very easy. You militia fighters know that better than anyone else. So, let me lay a challenge at your feet. How can you achieve vengeance without killing? It can be done and it's what I expect from you. So, you will leave this Temple, both of you, with my permission and my blessing, provided you don't shed her blood. Think it over, and we'll talk tomorrow."

Danka and Tanélickt were too tired to further discuss Oana that day. Instead, they exited the back of the Temple to walk through the woods and bathe in the East Danube River. When they emerged from the water, she noticed him looking at her with a longing expression. It was obvious he wanted her. She saw nothing wrong with that: she was a widow and he already had endured several months without having sex. She took his hand, placed against it her chest, and allowed him to explore her body. She expertly teased him until he was hard, before pushing him to the ground. She straddled him and pushed his penis deep inside. For a moment her old fantasy of being Lilith returned as she climaxed. It was the first time she had enjoyed an orgasm since the beginning of April, the last time she made love to her husband.

When they both finished, she bent down to kiss him. Then she put her finger on his lips:

"Until we're finished with Oana and we part ways, you can have me whenever you want. My only request is that we always make love this way. I can't explain it, but it's what I need. Give me that, and I'll give you what you need."

Tanélickt agreed. As a penitent, he didn't have any opportunities to have sex, so Danka's condition for love-making was a very small sacrifice for a man in his situation.

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When Danka and Tanélickt returned to the Priest the next day, he handed them letters instructing any Clergy member in Novo Sókukt Tók to remove the penitents' collars when asked, and also to provide lodging. He gave Tanélickt another letter granting him permission to join the Royal Guards as soon as he completed his tasking with Danka. The ex-Defender was very grateful for the second letter. When, against his wishes, he chose the collar over the Royal Guards, he had assumed the choice was final, that he'd have to endure the rest of his time in the Realm of the Living as a penitent.

The Priest took Danka aside, away from Tanélickt.

"Do you remember the True Believers' Priest in Nagorónkti-Serífkti?"

Danka smiled. "Of course I remember him. That was one of the most fun things I ever did in my life."

"That will give you something to think about when you go looking for Oana. Think about how you'd set up something like that. And most important, think about what you'd want to say to her."

Danka's heart raced at the suggestion. Of course. It was so obvious. Oana would receive a visitor... from the Realm of the Afterlife.