Sunrise for the Damned [sraes]

[Coward]

"I guess not."


Sid grinned a little at that, honestly surprised. It hadn't occurred to him that mercs would be so civilised, but then there were plenty of other ways to die in the Outer Kingdom. Starting fights over nothing was never a good idea.


He tried not to grimace watching Kade dissect what was left of his sleeve, then forced a smile. The warrior had somehow turned it into a decent amount of medical supplies, conveniently already tinted red. Creek water could only do so much. This efficient use of resources was classic outlander behaviour - something he still wasn't really used to after three years. If you gave an outlander a scrap of wire they would build you an animal trap, or a door latch, or any number of other things. Sid had mostly been used to buying the things he needed, and he still hadn't got the hang of it. Arrows he could sort of handle, but only because he'd learned in desperation.


"Sure, thanks."


As he held out the arm, still damp and slightly bleeding, he watched the metal hand manipulating the fabric. It moved exactly like a normal hand, but the green light from the canopy rippled across it. Idiot. Stop staring. After a while he stared up at the swaying treetops, blew out a hard breath.


"Listen... my name's Sid, not Daniel. I lied before."

 

[sraes]

Kade grinned at the man's obvious surprise. "I think I should be offended." He remarked with a shake of his head though the laughter in his voice never left. "Unless the cache has medical supplies there is rarely much worth fighting over."


Looking over the small stash of bandages he re-sheathed his knife, grabbed his sword, and moved to settle on the ground next to Daniel. With a slight nod at the thanks, he drew the arm forward over his lap and set about examining it better than he'd managed to the night before.


Without the sleeve in the way, most of the blood washed off, and the sunlight giving him light to work by he was much more confident in his previous assessment of the cut. It was long, yes, but more a deep scratch than a cut; nothing that required stitches thankfully as they had none to hand. He let another pulse of his cleansing magic flow into the wound through his fingertips, not wanting anything to have been missed that may cause problems later down the line.


Folding up the largest portion of the cloth so that it was thicker but would still cover the length needed, he moved to bind the wound but paused at the admission.


"This will sting a bit." He said, face and voice strangely neutral as he pressed the cloth firmly on top of the wound. Using the various little cloths he wound around the arm to tie the padding firmly in place, distributing the pressure evenly as best he could under the circumstances. Carefully manipulating the arm this way and that to make sure the bindings would hold, Kade released his grip and looked at the archer for a long minute.


"Alright." He stated blankly, reaching out at lightly tapping his - Sid's - cheek to draw his attention from the treetops and let a slow smile curl over his lips. "Thank you for trusting me with the truth."

 

[Coward]

Sid actually flinched at the touch, blue eyes flashed surprise. For a long second he only stared, not knowing what to say. Then he let out a helpless laugh, looking down again at the running water.


"...Don't mention it."


One finger prodded the pad on his arm, barely twinging the cut underneath. The binding was solid work - if it hadn't obviously been made from his own bloodstained sleeve it would have looked like a real dressing. Abruptly he stood, wincing as his stomach turned over, went to his still-damp clothes drying on a rock.


"I suppose we should try to get a bit further," he said blandly, struggling into his shirt.


Kade might not have been happy about the cold water, but he felt a lot better himself. His headache had tapered to a dull roar, and the feeling that he'd just eaten a mouthful of dust was gone. The incessant drone of insects was punctuated occasionally by birdsong, which gave him some hope they would have food that night. He was fairly sure he could shoot a straight line now.

 

[sraes]

With a slight nod, Kade got to his feet as well and stretched his bruised shoulder for a moment. He didn't want it stiffening up too much, the soreness would already be enough distraction.


He quickly pulled on his clothing - still somewhat damp but the day was warm and they would dry just as well on his body as not - and situated his sword back in place at his hip. He always felt a little naked without it, even though it was always close to hand, so feeling the familiar weight there was reassuring.


"This river runs towards Laeyth, I think we should stay near it for as long as we can. The way might be a bit rougher in places but we don't have any way to carry the water with us and we may not run across another clean source anytime soon." He commented, eyes on the sun's progress through the canopy above as he judged the time and direction they needed to head.


Kade's stomach chose then to let out a rumble and, startled, he laughed. "Keep an eye out for game too, yeah? Neither of us have eaten and we've been working pretty hard on no fuel."

 

[Coward]

He winced watching Kade stretch the shoulder. However he'd done that it had looked painful, the worst of the myriad bruises. Absently he realized he probably had a few himself, but the headache was taking precedence for the moment.


As he slung the bow over his shoulder he grinned quickly at the audible gurgle of Kade's stomach. Food wasn't sounding too appealing to Sid just yet, but he knew they'd probably be ravenous by nightfall. He nodded slowly, reaching back for an arrow.


"Hope you like tiny birds." it would take a lot to feed Kade in this forest, he thought.


But in the end what they saw first was considerably better. The rat had come down to lap at the clear water, and didn't hear them over the rush of the creek. Sid held up a hand, though he was sure Kade had already seen it. It's arm length tail lashed as it licked past pointed incisors.


In one motion he drew, exhaled, loosed. The rat's tail swung once more before it keeled over, with the arrow projecting from it's rib cage. Sid smiled with quiet satisfaction, until the body slowly slid into the creek and started floating away. Carrying one of his last arrows.


"Fuck."


Sprinting now he swung the bow over his shoulder, sloshing in after it.

 

[sraes]

"Tiny birds are my favorite meal." Kade intoned with mock seriousness. Personally he always ate whatever was available taste be damned - another common trait of the Outer Kingdoms - and right then? After having been up a solid 24 hour period, having not eaten in about half that time, and the amount of energy he'd spent on fighting, running, and the little magic cantrips?


He would probably eat his own boots if they were seasoned properly. Or even not.


He pushed the hunger pangs aside with the ease of a lifetime of practice and set off with Sid along the riverside though. He kept his hand propped on his sword hilt, ready should anything attack, but overall was fairly relaxed as they walked along. He also kept an eye out for game - as he'd told Sid - and also on the plants around them. He wasn't sure how familiar the archer was with the less pure flora away from the Inner Kingdom but he kept a lookout for plants they could supplement any game they caught.


He was eyeing a growth of blood red leaves growing up from a bushy patch of ground when movement by the water drew his attention to the rat. Before he'd even glanced over at Sid the blonde already had arrow to string and bagged the creature.


Kade grinned, the outright laughed at the resulting lunge for the river as the rat began to float away. "You need a hand there?"

 

[Coward]

"Please! -"


But it was too late. The creek was disturbingly fast, and his prize was escaping even in death. Trying not to flinch at the chill water he waded after it, but the rat sailed on, always just out of his reach. He plunged deeper, hissing under his breath. Then his foot groped for purchase and found none, and icy water rushing up over his head.


Panicking Sid groped around him - he couldn't swim. Searching fingers found nothing except a bouyant, fleshy rope, but eventually his feet found rock, and he kicked upwards. He broke the surface again, sputtering, and slowly crawled up the bank. Dripping and vindicated he brandished the rat, fist closed around it's pink tail.


"See? professional bowman, right here," he gasped, grinning ruefully as the fat body slowly rotated.


Once he'd flung it on the bank and clambered out he reached back to feel the damp wood of his arrows. He could dry them, he figured - they hadn't been wet long - and the bow itself would be fine. It was made of some mysterious substance not quite wood and not quite metal. After a while he looked up at Kade with mournful blue eyes, shook his head.


"It's something."

 

[sraes]

Kade moved towards the water as Sid plunged further in after the stray rat, amused at the spectacle right up until the archer went under and didn't resurface for a long moment. The creek wasn't that deep as far as he had seen and, despite the fast current, it shouldn't be difficult to swim.


Unless he couldn't swim.


Indecisive for just a moment, Kade was about to go in after him when Sid's head popped back through the water. Breathing a sigh of relief, he grinned slightly at the man's gasping remark. "I'm in awe."


Keeping a sharp eye out until Sid was back on solid ground once more, Kade shook his head. "It's more than enough. Nice shot by the way." He grinned widely, relaxing a bit more. "For now let's keep moving, we will cook that once we've stopped for the day."


The next few days passed in a similar pattern, a comfortable routine established between the men; Kade scavenging for edible plants and Sid hunting small game to share between them for their meals. Luckily the creek wound more or less in the direction of Laeyth for most of the journey, so water was never in short supply.

 

[Coward]

Sid had never been deep into Laeyth, but he could tell they were getting closer when the bushes were picked clean of anything edible, and animals became not just wary but practically impossible to find. Soon they started to see mud huts and scrap-roofed shacks between the trees, and occasionally there would be a human silhouette flitting away out of sight. Somehow though they weren't mugged or even bothered. Maybe this was the sort of country where the local lord actually had a semblance of control.


When the finally came sight of the fortress Sid almost didn't notice it. He'd been staring mournfully at a blue songbird he'd somehow managed to hit, wondering whether it was worth doing anything with. If they cooked it he figured Kade would somehow manage to eat it, but it felt like there wasn't any actual flesh on the body. Even the feathers were too small to fletch with.


Finally he looked up at the near hill, and realised that what had looked like part of the mountain was slightly too orderly, gleamed a little with metal siding. When they were closer still he saw red pennants, and the steel bones of some pre-bomb structure jutting overhead. A few ragged shacks clung to the outer walls, as if desperate for shelter. Not much of a castle, but definitely one of the larger structures he'd ever seen in the Outer Kingdom.


He looked at Kade, gave him a half-smile.


"They won't shoot us from the walls, will they?"

 

[sraes]

Kade warily watched as the first signs of civilization - or the approximation found in the Outer Kingdoms - started appearing. First it was the traces of old game traps, faint trails winding through the trees, and a scarcity that came from constant hunting.


It was only a matter of time before they spotted the people themselves.


Kade saw the furtive movements in his peripheral vision, but made no motion to engage them. Most had just come upon them and quickly left, not wanting to take the chance they were raiders. Later there were more deliberate observers, hidden well but not well enough for Kade to miss.


Those were probably sent, either by the people or the baron, to try and learn their intent.


It was no less than Kade had expected, fairly standard for unknown intruders into the heart of an occupied area. Outerlanders had too much experience in the violence people were capable of without learning to take precautions.


Grinning over at the question, Kade shrugged apparently unconcerned with the potential of arrows flying towards them. "Only if we act threatening. It's fairly typical for mercs looking for jobs to approach the baron of an area first, they pay better for jobs and - if they don't have any - generally know where to look."

 

[Coward]

"Alright well, I'll let you do the talking. I'm definitely the imposing one here," he said, wry.


Taking one final look at the bird he stuffed it in a pocket, feeling the tiny weight against his leg as they climbed.


Sid had been brooding over his failure, on and off, for days now. But Kade's presence dampened it a surprising amount. The warrior was too patient, too calm. Sid was still going to kill Ysanus, but now it was more like an iron conviction than a fever, at least for now.


As they approached the gate he could make out an archer in a guard tower, and the point of an arrow swung towards the pair. Sid gave Kade a brief glance, shoulders itching as the point of the arrow passed over him. The bowman didn't draw, however, only tracked them with the sight until they were standing on hard dirt at the foot of the gate. The wall was impressive close up, stretching another few feet above him towards the sky, red-brown with rusted sheet metal.

 

[sraes]

"With that strange bow of yours? You might be right - I at least have to be close to do damage usually." Kade responded a touch seriously though amused at the wry comment. Sid was probably right, though, sword or bow Kade cut a rather arresting figure for those who considered him a potential threat.


It was useful for a merc, even if it was also occasionally troublesome.


They reached the walls of Laeyth's stronghold without any trouble cropping up - it seemed this baron had his men too well trained to give into itchy trigger fingers, which Kade appreciated. He had a thin scar over his right hip from an overzealous archer over in Neir.


The archer stationed up above kept them in his sights as his voice carried down to them. "What's your business here?"


"Mercenaries looking for work." Kade called back confidently, head craned back with an easy smile as if he had all the time in the world. After a long moment the guardsmen nodded and motioned for the gateway to be opened.


"Your weapons are to stay sheathed while in the barons hold. Don't cause trouble."

 

[Coward]

Sid smiled briefly to himself, wondering when he'd graduated to being a mercenary. Although, if he was going to help Kade he supposed he might technically qualify. He let out a quiet breath as the point of the arrow fell.


As the gate scraped and rattled open he gave Kade a sideways glance before following him through and into the hold. Wood and metal-clad buildings pressed close around them, windows showing glimpses of cool, dim interiors. Everywhere the huge steel pylons of the old world stabbed upwards from the dust, ending in nothing but twisted joints. Tramping through dirt streets they were instantly surrounded by people, all of them carrying something, going somewhere. Out of nowhere a crowd of skinny children appeared, harrying their ankles, yelling wide-eyed questions.


"Seems well enough off?" Sid murmured, looking up to catch Kade's eye.


At his side one of the children tugged gently at this leg, and held up a dirty hand. She looked nothing like either or his dead sisters, but at the same time exactly the same. After a brief look to check Kade wasn't watching Sid took the bird from his pocket and lay it across the tiny palm. It was all he had except for arrows. The girl grinned and turned, sprinting away with her prize.


"So we just stroll up to the baron and ask?"

 

[sraes]

Kade waited a moment as the gates ponderously scraped open, eyeing their surroundings with interest. He hadn't been to Laeyth before but he'd been to several other baronies' central towns and had lived in Gaole's for years.


Mostly they tended to blend together; Laeyth wasn't too different to what he was used to but for the fact that it was large. Perhaps it was because this region was relatively close to the Inner Kingdom so it could sustain more people.


Glancing over at Sid's question he nodded. "Better than most." He answered, giving a bright smile to the children around him and briefly wishing he had something to give them.


Of his siblings only one had survived childhood alongside him. They had been much like these children back then - perpetually hungry and old beyond their years - but they had survived. It had seemed wrong that a meaningless raid should end a life so hard won.


Brushing away the grief of losing Ara - bone deep and crushing even after all these years - Kade kept his gaze forward and gave a nod as they came upon a building notably better tended then those around them. "Essentially, yes."

 

[Coward]

Although he'd said it with the exact same calm and smile as anything else something about it made Sid turn, giving him a quick glance. But Kade was only walking onwards, sliding away through the crowd. After a moment Sid followed, resisting a compulsive urge to touch the bow slung over his shoulder. The other children had seen him give the bird, even if Kade hadn't. They crowded around him, but he stared fixedly at Kade's back and eventually they peeled away. Walking alongside him again he nodded, struggling to keep a blank face.


"Hopefully I can afford a new sleeve after this," he forced a grin, looking ruefully down at his sunburned arm. The cut had diminished to a long, angry red line, but it had closed easily and, despite everything, hadn't gotten infected.


At the door of the building they were stopped again by two men with polearms, but after the obligatory show of reluctance they were allowed in. Raw steel beams overhead supported a sturdy wooden ceiling - built on the skeleton of some old-world structure then. Idly Sid speculated on the kind of power that could lift those beams into place, hold them up using using only careful metal joints. In Oldtown there was a crank theory that Ysanus was actually an ancient survivor of the old world, the last remnant of that potent magic. But if he was, he had still never built anything like this.

 

[sraes]

Following Sid's line of sight at the remark, Kade gave a brief glance at the nearly healed line down his arm. He was pleased at how well it was healing given their lack of decent supplies - luckily his magic seemed to have made up for the lack. There was little he could do for the sunburn though other than hopefully stumble upon some aloe plants.


"I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out." He smiled slightly, forcibly putting aside his lingering unease as they came up to the guards. A quick repetition of his earlier explanation warranted them entrance to the building and Kade instinctively cased the area as they walked in.


There was a door off to the side that presumably led to further rooms, but they were obviously in the main area. The room was large and open, a few people here and there not even looking up from what they were working on and even more grouped together near the back of the room deep in discussion.


Approaching the nearest person - a young, delicate looking man with pale eyes - Kade was directed toward the group when he asked after the barons location. Looking over at Sid, he gave a bright smile - earlier grief forgotten - and led the way over.


In the middle of the group stood a tall, raw-boned woman with brown hair tinted with grey pulled severely back and shrewd dark eyes who was listening intently to the discussion raging around her. Voices - two in particular - were rising in anger when she looked up and spotted the newcomers. "Enough." She said, quiet voice piercing through the argument and silencing it instantly. This, then, must be the baron. "Who are you and what is your business?"

 

[Coward]

Kade's smile was so easy that after a second he returned it, more naturally this time, following. He had only met one baron before, didn't really know what to expect, but he was still surprised when it was the woman who spoke. Still, any confusion fled quickly before her tone, the way she stared at them. This was someone who was used to being listened to.


Sid opened his mouth to blurt something out, but after thinking better of it hung back slightly, trying to keep his face blank. This was Kade's world, not his. He might have some slight understanding of the country, after the last three years, but he had no real idea of how the baronies worked, or how he was expected to act. Worse, each of them seemed to have their own rules, their own way of doing things. Whenever he could he avoided the holds, trading for arrowheads and food in villages instead. Well, except for that one time.

 

[sraes]

Stepping forward after the baron acknowledged them, Kade turned his smile on the stern looking woman before him and gave a polite half bow.


Not fealty but respect, he had only heard good things of Laeyth and from what he'd seen outside they were all deserved. There were those who wanted for food, but they weren't dying of it if it could be helped, and she didn't raid into other baronies. Kade approved of a baron who prioritized her people's needs over petty power struggles.


"My name is Kade and this is my partner Sid." He started, straightening as he gestured between the two of them at the introductions. "We're in the area looking for work if you've any for us, ma'am." Meeting the woman's dark eyes, he held still as she silently looked the two of them over.


She didn't seem to be the type of person to be rushed to any sort of decision, taking her time to gather information and deliberate then following through ruthlessly.


Tapping a single finger against her bicep she seemingly came to a conclusion. "I may have something for you, should you choose to accept it. It will be a dangerous job, not easily accomplished, but the reward will be substantial. Will you hear of it?" At Kade's decisive nod she glanced to a slight woman to her side. "Take them to one of the backrooms, Davos will be along shortly to explain the details."


Having effectively dismissed them, Laeyth turned back to the group and motioned the debate to resume.


"If you'll come with me?" The thin, faded looking woman - probably an aide of some sort - beckoned them towards the doorway off to the side.

 

[Coward]

Partner. He threw a brief glance sideways at that. It sounded strange, but not in a bad way.


Following Kade's lead he bowed stiffly, then tried to hold still under the inspection. She pored them over for a long moment with dark eyes, and he met the gaze blankly. His shoulders were tense from the eyes on his back, and he was forcing his hands down by his sides rather than going back to his arrows. Checking them was a useful compulsion, but not so much when he was trying to look calm and non-threatening. The baron's slow calculation was impressive, though - Ysanus' guard and high priests tended to just decide, as if they already knew the answer.


Finally the baron seemed to accept them and Sid let out a quiet breath. Substantial reward? It was a good thought. He could give his share to Kade, and then maybe do similar work for a while. This time he wanted to have resources when he tried to kill the god-king again. Admittedly he didn't see how it would help, but maybe he would figure that out while they finished whatever this job was. The 'dangerous' part flew over his head. Pleased he trailed Kade to the next room.


"They're making it sound pretty good," he muttered through a lopsided grin.

 

[sraes]

Relaxed and grinning now that they'd been deemed acceptable, Kade followed behind the aide and threw another warm grin Sid's way.


"Yeah, they are, which probably means 'dangerous' is code for 'damned near impossible'. Still, it doesn't hurt to hear them out." The woman led them through a narrow hallway to a small dark room empty but for a low table cluttered with battered old books, yellowing papers, and writing implements.


"If you'll wait here a few moments, Davos should be along shortly. He will explain what you are being asked to do." Without waiting for a response, she ducked back outside and skittered away again.


Curious, Kade moved towards the table and looked over the papers there. His reading skills were serviceable - if rudimentary - but the messily scrawled notes were beyond him. "I don't think I've seen this many books together before."

 

[Coward]

He snorted, but his the gleam in his eyes didn't die back. They could handle 'damn near impossible'. Probably. After all, they'd escaped the Inner Kingdom. His hand went back to the arrows as soon as the aide had left, eyes following her back. There were still four, as there had been half an hour ago.


After a second he followed Kade to the table, surprised. For the Outer Kingdom this was a lot of books, no doubt, and he pored over them curiously. Many were pre-bomb, their plastic dust covers disintegrating with age, but although the letters of the titles all made sense together the words meant nothing to him. His hand froze on the way to pick one up and curled, went back to his side.


"I have, once, " he said, his voice carefully blank, "in the Red Palace there's a room, filled with just books. Floor to ceiling. Nobody goes there."


He seemed about to say something else, but the sound of the door latch made him turn quickly, blue eyes fixing on the man who must have been Davos.

 

[sraes]

The snort brought his eyes to Sid's face and seeming the undaunted expression there drew out a grin. He was glad to see the man becoming a bit more relaxed after all that had happened in the Inner Kingdom. He knew it all still weighed on him from time to time, but hopefully sharing the burden would make it lighter.


Inspecting the books next, Kade tried to puzzle out the meaning behind the words but they were just as indecipherable as the notes if for different reasons.


Sid's remark drew his attention, though, his curiosity drawn to the blonde's careful words. Even the thought of such a place was incredible to he who had learned his letters by writing in the dirt with sticks and fingers, who'd only held papers in his hand for a job, who had never even touched a actual bought book.


Eyes riveted to the archer as he waited for him to continue, curious at the odd tone he'd taken at the telling, Kade almost didn't want to turn on hearing the door open.


After a second he remembered himself, though, and turned to Davos. The man before them was short - almost comically when paired with his boyish roundness and set next to Kade's height and broad stature. "So," the man began in a strident voice, watery grey eyes squinting nearsightedly over at them. "What do you know about radiation?"

 

[Coward]

Sid felt the dark intensity of Kade's gaze, forced his attention with a start. Now that he'd said it be could tell he would have to explain, and truthfully he was grateful for the distraction.


As he started to so speak, though, his interest jumped sharply. Why would be ask that? He met Kade's we eyes with a questioning glance. Davos didn't seem like someone a thug baron would keep around, and his estimation of Lyaeth grew again. Looking down to meet the watery eyes the words left his mouth before he remembered that he wasn't meant to be speaking.


"Gives you cancer, causes mutations... gives the magi the gift" he rattled off, all the standard knowledge.

 

[sraes]

Kade met Sid's look with a mirroring look of his own, equally interested and confused by this turn of events. Either this Davos had a few too many knocks on the head or this was not going to be a typical acquisition like Kade had expected.


He nodded slightly in agreement with Sid's explanation but the short man didn't seem satisfied. Kade hesitantly tried to elaborate.


"It was an energy source from Before that was used as a weapon?"


"Yes yes yes, but no!" Davos sighed but nodded, running restless fingers through thinning brown hair as he scurried over to the desk and rummaged through his notes. Turning dramatically he presented a page filled with - presumably - his scrawled writing. "It doesn't give the magi their gift, it is their gift! And we need to use that gift to revive the earth!"

 

[Coward]

Sid had been growing steadily more bemused, and at this last part gave Kade as subtle a glance as possible. The glance said: We are talking to a crazy person.


But in spite of himself Sid was hooked, blue eyes fixed again on the stumpy little vassal as he held up the page. Squinting he tried to make it out, but the words ran together like snakes fucking. After a long moment he looked back up. He was almost afraid to ask.


"And... how do you propose we do that? " he managed, voice neutral.