Champions Vol. 02

You will have to try harder than that priest, the voice said, oozing sarcasm.

The inquisitor's anemic defenses crumbled, and he suddenly realized how exhausted he was. His head was throbbing, and his body had begun to ache. It would be better to return to his horse and ride away. There was no need for these men to stand trial. They had obviously been punished enough.

Returning to his horse, Themistokles wearily gathered his kit and mounted his horse, riding south to Wolfsvale.

He pushed his mount as hard as he dared in the moonlight, hoping to travel as far as he could before exhaustion claimed him. Suddenly a dark shape appeared in the air before him, racing towards his face. Hurling himself off the back of the horse, he aimed his fall towards a stretch of lush grass nearby, hoping to cushion his fall.

He felt the presence slip from his mind, and he had a single heartbeat before he slammed head first into a stout oak tree to realize he had been controlled. The dark shape and the grass were both figments. As he heard the snapping of his own neck, his final thought before darkness claimed him was to lament the fact that he had not heeded Phoebe's request. It would have been better to wait until the morning.

* * *

"Get up you idiots," sneered the Night Lord.

Hearing his voice, Darois and Praxiteles struggled to rise on their shattered legs. Solon and Myron rose quickly from their knees as well, struggling with their bound hands.

Cloaked in black, with a cowl fully covering his head, the Night Lord strode to the injured men. "Not you two," he snapped angrily. "Now lay down before you cause more damage for me to heal."

Both men slumped back in temporary relief. The Night Lord possessed terrifyingly powerful magic, but if he planned to kill them he would not waste time healing them. Standing over the two, he chanted a complex healing spell that repaired their shattered legs. Once finished he gave them their orders.

"Grab those imbeciles, and bring them with you," he ordered, pointed towards Solon and Myron. "Solon is useless as a highwayman, but I know of another task he is perfect for."

"What of the rest of our men?" Praxiteles asked carefully.

"Leave them," the Night Lord commanded coldly. "Others will be along later to fetch them."

"Some may die in the meantime, my Lord," Darios said hesitantly.

"All will die in the meantime!" the Night Lord shouted in reply. "That is the price of failure. Continue speaking if you wish to join them."

Both men bowed quickly in fear, and then hurried to grab the whimpering Solon and Myron.

As soon as the bound men began to beg for mercy Praxiteles struck them each a stunning blow to the face. As they reeled, Darios snatched two handkerchiefs from his pocket and fashioned a gag for them. The now gagged and cowed captives could only plead with their gazes as they were dragged through woods behind the Night Lord, and their former friends had no mercy to spare.

* * *

Cassius sat before the hearth in his home. It was late, well past midnight, but considering the evening's events there was little chance he would sleep.

He had carefully managed to avoid Inquisitor Themistokles all day, and he had hoped that the priest would abandon his desire to speak with him. Unfortunately, he learned from his barmaid that the inquisitor would return in the morning. Considering all he had learned from the Night Lord and Shadowmaster Whisper's efforts, he doubted his ability to deceive the priest.

Shadow Lord, I have a task for you.

The voice of the Night Lord in his mind banished Cassius' current worries from his mind, and replaced them with whole new ones.

"Yes, my Lord?" he whispered.

Gather the Shadowmasters and come to the meeting place at once. I have a job for all of you, commanded the Night Lord.

"At once, my Lord," Cassius replied.

*** Chapter 19: Discovery ***

011230MAY13 DW

Exitibus, Erosius

Phoebe and Varus sat eating lunch together at the temple. Their discussion with Themistokles about his investigation the night before had upset Phoebe greatly, but she had chosen not to share her thoughts with the inquisitor until she could investigate the matter herself. She was certain that her suspicions were unfounded, and that there was a logical reason for it all.

Deciding there was not for it but to ask, she set down her fork and addressed her fiancé, "Varus, I would like to discuss something that Inquisitor Themistokles told us last evening."

"Anything you wish my love," Varus replied, lowering his own fork and giving Phoebe his complete attention.

"It is about the man, Galen, that the inquisitor described," she began.

"Yes, him. A truly despicable man by Themistokles account," he replied.

"There was something about his description that bothered me, love," she continued. "Can you think of anything about it that seems familiar?"

"Not overly," he responded. "A tall man, lean of build, with..."

Varus was interrupted by a knocking on the temple door.

"Sheriff Varus! Sheriff Varus! Are you in there sir?" came a man's excited voice from the other side of the door, which led from the kitchen to the yard behind the temple.

Sighing at the interruption, Varus gave Phoebe an apologetic look and rose to answer the door.

"Yes, I am in here," he responded to the man as he opened the door.

Standing on the steps outside was a city guard. He seemed slightly out of breath, and was practically hopping on his feet from excitement. "Sir, I think we've found the man you're looking for," he announced.

"Really?" Varus asked. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, sir. The man matched the description that you gave us," the guard explained. "A trader on the western road arrived early this morning, claiming that he had been accosted on the road and barely managed to escape.

"It was early, and the guard captain did not wish to disturb you over allegations, so he led a patrol out of the city to investigate. They were attacked by bandits, and fought hard but won. Among the bandits was a man that was tall, slightly built, with brown hair, and scars on his temple and neck. There were nine others as well."

"Did you bring them back to the city to stand trial?" Varus asked with excitement that matched the guard's.

"I am sorry sir. The patrol killed them all in defense," the guard answered apologetically. "But their bodies were brought back for identification and burial."

"All is well, Gaios," Varus replied soothingly. "The patrol is blameless. They did only what was required of them. Where are the bodies?"

"They are at your office, sir," the Gaios replied.

"I shall be there at once to inspect them," Varus told him.

Nodding, Gaios departed to return to his duties. Varus closed the door and turned to his fiancée. "I am sorry, Phoebe, but it appears I have been called away. I promise we can finish this discussion when I return."

"I will come with you," Phoebe replied. "The discussion may be unnecessary if one of these men is in fact Galen."

The pair cleaned up their lunch, and left the temple with haste. When they arrived at Varus' office they were led to the bodies, and shown the man that the guards suspected was Galen. He had died from a sword through the chest, but they could both clearly see that he was tall, thin, brown-haired, and carried the scars on his temple and neck just as Themistokles had described.

"I believe it his him," Varus announced. "He matches the description perfectly, and he was caught engaging in banditry. There could be no other."

"I agree, Sheriff," Phoebe added, careful to use his title in front of his men. She was relieved that Galen had been found, and thankful that her suspicions proved false. The man she had thought of earlier was clearly innocent. After all, plenty of people have scars.

* * *

Three days later the messengers from the Great Temple arrived at Calavius. They were surprised to discover that Priest Philotheos was already aware of the threat, and had begun to make defensive preparations on his own. After reading the scroll addressed to him, he offered the riders food and a room to rest in for a few days before they had to return to Sanctuary Port.

Gathering his junior priest and priestess, he shared the message from High Priest Gennadios. Both had expected the news, and they immediately sent out a call for volunteers to join the army gathering in Wolfsvale. They also sent out a second call for volunteers for those willing to fight, but either could not or would not leave the city. The priests and the priestess would train a force to defend the city, for they realized that as the westernmost port in Erosius it would make a tempting target for an invading fleet.

In the following weeks, over 700 able men and women departed the city to join the Erosian army. Nearly 400 remained to join the city defense force, and they began to train with weapons and magic at the direction of Onesiphoros and Charis. Meanwhile, Philotheos consulted his histories to learn as much about battle and seaside defense as he could. He developed a number of defensive plans designed to meet a variety of sized forces. He knew that the city defenders would likely be unable to last against a determined assault, but any force which came to their shore before the militia volunteers returned would pay a heavy price for their city.

* * *

"Our ruse worked, gentlemen," the Shadow Lord, Cassius, explained to the assembled Shadowmasters. They were sitting in an underground chamber, one that Lykos remembered from his previous visit. It was rare that all four of them would assemble in this place, but the investigation by that damnable Themistokles had forced their hand. The Night Lord had ordered them to cease all operations and take no action until contacted.

The three Shadowmasters sighed in relief. It had been a tense week, with each of them waiting for the city guard or the Inquisition to come storming in and arrest them. But it seemed as though they had successfully deflected the attentions of the sheriff and the priestess.

"Can we resume our work now?" Shadowmaster Hood inquired. His highwaymen were the most obvious, but also the most successful earners in the Shadow Guild. A week without revenues was taxing his patience.

"Yes," the Shadow Lord replied. "However, the Night Lord has commanded that all activities be cut in half and every effort must be made to go unnoticed."

As Shadowmasters Hood and Whisper moved to protest, Cassius raised a hand, forestalling their complaints.

"Our Lord realizes that these commands will most directly affect your profits," he explained to them both, "so your guild dues will be reduced accordingly. However, the most important thing right now is that we maintain an outward appearance of peace. No one can suspect the truth, or we will all face Judgment."

All three Shadowmasters nodded in reply. Each of them had only achieved their positions by being smart, knowledgeable, skilled, loyal, and vicious. This was not an organization that tolerated stupidity, dissent, or mercy.

Seeing that all were in agreement, Cassius made to leave.

"Shadow Lord, who was this Galen person they were looking for; and why was he so important?" inquired Shadowmaster Hood.

His question caused Cassius to turn back, and he and Shadowmaster Blade shared a look. The name Galen was linked to another incident of death and turmoil in their past. Both times that name had surfaced in Exitibus the Night Lord himself had directed the response. Only the two of them possessed this knowledge though, and neither cared to speak on the fact.

"I learned early on that any matter the Night Lord takes a personal interest in is a matter best ignored," the Shadow Lord told Hood with a hint of threat in his voice. "And death seems to swiftly follow those who speak that name. I suggest we agree that it is safer for all if we buy in to our own ruse. Whoever this Galen was is now dead."

Finishing the warning, Cassius departed the room. It had been a monumental task to move the bodies from the southern road to the west in the cover of darkness. Then Hood's people had to fabricate a failed ambush on a trader, while their own men in the city guard manned the western checkpoint into the city in the hopes of intercepting the message. The plan had succeeded, and the patrol which headed west was mostly secret Shadow Guild members. Those that were not 'fell in battle' and their bodies were brought in with the dead highwaymen. It had been an ambitious gamble, but it had worked.

* * *

"Inquisitors, I am assuming you have all read the training manuals fully?" Astinus asked the assembled priests. Nods and a few comments of "yes Astinus" met his question.

Astinus and the twenty Inquisitor trainers sent from the Great Temple had assembled to discuss how their troops would be organized and trained. The historians at the Great Temple had found an ancient manuscript discussing military tactics and organization. After both the High Priest and the High Inquisitor had reviewed the document additional copies were made and distributed amongst the trainers. This group, sent to assist him with training the western force, had brought four with them and presented one to Astinus upon their arrival.

While Astinus had experience with small scale battles he had never attempted to organize and mobilize such a massive force before. The manual was invaluable to him as he prepared to train half the defensive forces in Erosius.

"Then here is how we will organize our forces," Astinus continued. "The soldiers here will be split between the regular army and the militia. They shall train together, but the best soldiers will be selected for what shall henceforth be known as the Western Mora, and the less proficient will be trained and returned to their homes as militia.

"During training we will organize all soldiers according to the practices in the manual. Each group of 10 soldiers will be a homada. Four homadai will make an enomotia of 40 soldiers. Four enomotiai will make a pentekostys of 160 men, and four pentekostyes will make a lochos of 640 men. All the lochos in our command will become the Western Mora. I will not know how many lochoes we will have until all the recruits finally arrive. Any questions so far?"

"Do you have any approximation of how many total recruits we will have?" Linos, the senior inquisitor and leader of their party, asked.

"Only a very rough one," Astinus replied. "The recruits from Calavius have yet to arrive, and stragglers from the smaller towns and villages north of Exitibus are still filtering in. We currently have 1,248 recruits, and we can only guess at the size of the Calavian contingent. It could be anywhere from 200 to 2,000. The High Priest gave Philotheos wide latitude in recruitment there, given that Eros warned Gennadios that the enemy is expected to arrive from the west. If the Amandurans arrive before our mora is ready to march west then Calavius may need their people to remain where they are more than they need the training those recruits would receive here."

A number of affirming nods greeted this announcement.

"How are you planning on assigning leadership of the units?" Olympias, a short brunette inquisitor in her 30's, asked.

"As you all know, I have been observing your training with the soldiers here," Astinus began. "I have also had a number of long conversations with Inquisitor Linos about how to best utilize each of your abilities. Since we almost have enough soldiers for two lochos I will split your numbers in half. Ten of you will take leadership positions in First Lochos, and the other ten will lead Second Lochos.

"Eight of those ten will be assigned as paired team of commander and sub-commander of a pentekostyes. The senior of the team will be the commander, or kostagos, and the junior will be the sub-commander, or ypokostagos. The overall commander of the lochos will be the lochagos, with an ypolochagos supporting them."

There was silence at this announcement. It appeared as though Astinus had taken the manual to heart, to the point that he was even arranging their new force according to the archaic unit names and ranks!

"Inquisitor Linos will be the lochagos of First Lochos, with Inquisitor Nikolaos as is ypolochagos."

The two inquisitors nodded in affirmation.

"Linos you will also act as my second in command of the mora," Astinus added. "Inquisitor Isidora will command Second Lochos, with Inquisitor Nike."

The two women nodded as well.

"First Lochos will be the entirety of our infantry, while Second Lochos will be everything else. Lochagos Isidora, you will have one pentekostys each of archers, cavalry, healers, and spellcasters. Pair up with Lochagos Linos and ensure that both of you choose your commanders wisely," Astinus ordered.

The fact that Astinus now used her military rank while addressing Isidora, rather than her title of Inquisitor, was not lost on any of them.

"Yes Priest Astinus," Isidora replied.

"My dear, you have read the same manual that I have," Astinus chided her gently.

"Yes Polemarch," she corrected herself.

"All of you," the new polemarch of the Western Erosian Mora addressed the group, "training begins for real tomorrow. Lochagoes select your kostagos and ypokostagos and meet back here after lunch to discuss those selections with me, as well as our training plan going forward."

"Yes Polemarch," both lochagoes replied.

Astinus then exited the tent to inform the mora that today would be a day of rest. He warned them that it would be the last they would see for some time.

*** Chapter 20: We're Being Followed ***

260700MAY13 DW

The Great Sea, aboard the Sophia en-route to The Isle of Eirini

It was a long month aboard the Sophia, but David, Sapphire, and Laurena kept busy. David finished enchanting his body armor in the first week, and after some reflection began studying the enchantment on Sapphire's saddlebags. It was extremely complicated, and even Sapphire had difficulty explaining its nuances to him. But he continued to work at it, and he hoped for eventual success since he had already replicated some of its properties on his lover's wardrobe.

The pair also continued to experiment with spells. They had made an interesting discovery in the field of protective spellcraft, but he had yet to try it out under realistic conditions. Laurena often joined them for this time, and the trio continued to grow closer.

Laurena also shared duties with Phile hosting worship services. The Champion of Eros was a happy addition, and despite David's reluctance she and Sapphire eventually convinced him to attend. He still resisted sharing with anyone but his love, and occasionally Laurena, but their presence was welcome all the same.

One day Sapphire noted that David's hair had grown long and shaggy, and he merely responded that he would get a haircut as soon as he could find a barber. With a devious twinkle in her eye Sapphire conjured a comb and a pair of scissor. Sighing in defeat David began trying to explain the intricacies of a military haircut, but either his description or her understanding failed, and both were left confused. Finally, as he was about to admit defeat and give her a free hand, he had an idea.

Searching through his rucksack he found his old Smartphone and his crappy solar charger. Fingers crossed, he brought them up to the deck and set them to charge. Begging Sapphire for patience, he waited an hour and checked it. The portable solar charger was a cheap, inefficient bit of technology, but it had worked. He had enough charge to turn on the phone and open a picture of him with the proper haircut.

Showing the picture to Sapphire, she finally understood the cut he was describing. However, she was so distracted talking about and exploring the technology that they instead spent the rest of the day taking pictures with it and listening to the music he had on it. She did not understand the words, but did find some of the songs quite enjoyable. The following day he finally got his haircut.