Iron Blooded

Seven: The Standoff

As the first rays of dawn crept over the horizon, the reinforcements crested the nearby hill.

Never before had I been so happy to see the flapping banners of Lord Blackthorne's regiment. My men moved among the dead

“So, what do you want?” I asked bluntly, all pretense at civility fading.

Ulfric lifted a hand, reaching inside his tunic. I tensed, and half lifted my shield in preparation for an attack. It never came. Instead, Ulfric pulled out the last thing I had expected. It was a small square of parchment, folded twice and stamped with a blue wax seal. He held the letter out to me, eyes glittering.

“My master bade me give you this,” he said. I hesitated for only a moment before striding forward and reaching out a hand. At the last moment, Ulfric dropped the letter and I had to stumble forward to catch it. One of the other riders snorted.

I stared at the seal for a moment, eying the Rams head sigil. Then I broke it open and smoothed out the letter.

The handwriting was black and scrawling, and by the looks of it, official.

I read the damn thing over twice before it really started to set in. The worn parchment crinkled beneath my fingers as I clutched the missive in a death grip. My eyes kept snagging on the words

“Ser William!” I glanced up and saw a soldier in the black and red of Lord Blackthorne’s household rushing towards me. He came to a stop, hands on his knees several feet away. The mounted Knights and I stared at him.

“You’re needed at the helm,” he wheezed, glancing up at me with wide eyes. “Magus Ferris requests your council before the battle is met. He said something about a…”

His voice trailed off when he saw Ulfric.

“Knight-Captain!” The soldier sprang to a salute. “My apologies, I didn’t realize.. that is…”

He trailed off, glancing between the two of us. Ulfric replaced his false smile and tugged on the reigns of his horse.

“Never mind, soldier,” he said as he turned. The other riders followed him. “Ser William and I were done speaking, at least for the time being. We’ll be in touch soon, I would wager.”

He cast me a last glance of his shoulders before kicking his heels into his horse. I stood for a moment, still clutching the missive as I stared after them. Lord Blackthorne had warned me that there was a bigger game afoot. The Duke’s declaration was likely a jab, and one that came from a higher authority than I would have expected. Still, an order from a man who wasn’t present wouldn’t hold much weight.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember the vague procedure Gills had taught me as I filled out basic paperwork for gear and weapons. There would be some sort of recourse… perhaps an appeal?

“Ser?”

I blinked, my mind hurtling back to the present as the soldier called my name. The lad was young and nervous by the looks of it. I hastily stowed the missive in my inventory and gave him my best confident smile.

“Alright,” I said. “Take me to him.”

Magus Ferris himself stood on the hill apart from the other soldiers. His blue robes were cinched around his waist with a satin sash, and his arms were clasped behind him. I mounted the hill and he turned, his eyes widening slightly when he saw me. It was no surprise, I hardly cut the stately figure covered in ork blood and holding a short sword that didn’t quite fit the scabbard at my hip. I kicked myself for not retrieving my sword earlier, but it was too late now.

“Magus,” I said cautiously. Ferris inclined his head.

“Ser William. I understand we have you to thank for the salvation of Ceris.”

I cleared my throat.

“I suppose I had some hand in it. Although Lord Blackthorne-“

“I am in your debt.”

The Magus surprised me by bowing low, hands clasped over his chest. It was a formal gesture and one that had never been directed at me. I stood awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

“My family has resided in Ceris for as long as I can remember. Though I came from humble beginnings – my father was a carpenter – I was lucky enough to have been blessed by the God King’s will. I spent much of my young life at the academy, and returning to Ceris years ago was… a blessing. When I heard about the attack I knew we were in dire straights. You and the rest of the Kadian Army fought bravely to protect our home and for that, you will always have my thanks.”

The sincerity of the statement surprised me. I nodded once and the man smiled. He looked young, I thought. Perhaps no older than I was.

“I hope your family fared well after the siege,” I said. Ferris nodded, his smile fading.

“Better than most. It will take the southern jewel a long time to rebuild. At any rate, I didn’t request your presence for idle chit-chat. You must be tired and thirsty. Allow me.”

He conjured a glass from his inventory and, with a flick of his wrist water filled it. When I accepted the glass it was cool to the touch and the water was clear. I lifted it to my nose and sniffed experimentally. Ferris chuckled.

“It is an odd thing, I understand. But I can assure you the water is completely safe. It is, after all, a product of my affinity.”

I raised a brow.

“And where does this water come from?”

The Magus bit his lip and thought then lifted a hand palm upwards.

“Water is in every living thing,” he said. “It is in the plants, in the ground, and even in us. If I want to draw moisture from something.. say the air, I have but to direct my will and concentrate it…” He made a sweeping motion with his fingers. Soft droplets of water plinked against my armor, before the air grew still again.

“Wow,” I said. “It’s.. impressive.”

Ferris laughed. He had a strange sing songy laugh that felt somehow contagious.

“I know what you’re thinking. A water affinity is hardly the most.. martial of magical skills. In truth, you would be correct in a general sense. Luckily, my master was nothing if not a skilled practitioner. Believe me when I say I can hold my own.”

I shrugged.

“I’ve seen firsthand how dangerous Magus can be. The question is, are you equipped to handle the Shadow Magus? I don’t mean any disrespect, and I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know the first thing about magic. But there isn’t any doubt he’s dangerous.”

Ferris nodded, scratching at his smooth chin.

“I saw enough when I arrived to know he’s a skilled Magus. That he has academy-level training I have no doubt. Though I do question the source..” He drew in a breath and seemed to realize he was rambling.

“Apologies, Ser William. To answer your question yes and no. In terms of skill, I am more than equipped to deal with him. My training was long and hard, and my master was the best practitioner of my affinity in the last few hundred years. However, I drained much of my mana putting our fires in the city, and it would take me days to regain it all. No, I didn’t come here to fight. When your messenger arrived in camp with such urgency I knew you had either succeeded or failed. Lord Blackthorne made it clear that meeting the orks in battle on the open plains was a last resort.”

He glanced again at the blood on my armor and grimaced.

“Yours was meant to be an assassination mission, not a full on skirmish.”

I raised my eyebrows at the rebuke.

“Could you have done better?”

He conceded the point with a slight smile.

“No, perhaps not. Regardless, the Lord’s Dacon and Blackthorne have asked me to present the Chief’s son with a ceasefire agreement if-“

“Ceasefire?” I stared at the Magus incredulously. “You want to offer a ceasefire to the beasts that stormed Ceris, slaughtered it’s people, and burned the city to the ground? You want to offer a ceasefire to the ork that cut the throats of innocents while we stood by on the walls forced to watch?”

My anger seemed to surprise him, but I was beyond caring. The Magus held up a calming hand and after a moment I took an irritated sip of water. The cool liquid soothed my dry throat but I wasn’t in the mood to thank him.

“You are correct of course,” said Ferris. “And for the lives you lost I do apologize. But in truth, there are other matters in Kadia that the army must attend to. The rebuilding of Ceris will be long and hard and that alone is a monumental task. More importantly, the appearance of a herald is troubling news indeed. The Kingdom needs to conserve its resources, and that includes soldiers such as yourself.”

I gave him a sullen glare.

“And what reason would the orks have to agree to such a treaty? They are beasts of conquest and war. And they love taking slaves.”

Ferris grimaced.

“They are a society of war, yes. However, their position is weaker than you might think. The red-skinned orks hail from many tribes, and each of those tribes are at odds with one another. Historically, they only unite when a single War Chief stakes his claim and is able to subjugate the others. Barbaric perhaps, but effective. It was for this reason Lord Blackthorne sent you to kill the Firebrand. Wounded and vulnerable, his death was the nail that split the wood.”

The Magus lifted a hand, robe flapping as he gestured towards the ork camp. I squinted in the dawn light and saw a group of figures moving in the distance. A large band of orks – but they weren’t moving towards us.

“They’re leaving,” I said, shoulders slumping as I watched.

Ferris nodded in agreement.

“Yes. And they are unlikely to return. Those that remain and follow the Chief’s son are likely to turn on him if he makes the wrong decision.”

“And you think him choosing to fight us would be that decision.”

Ferris smiled.

“You are no mere brute, Ser William. I’ll give you that. Perhaps Blackthorne was right to bet on you, despite the consequences.”

“Thanks…I guess.”

The sound of hooves made me turn. The messenger was riding up the hill. He pulled to a stop in front of the Magus, dust billowing out ahead of his steed. The horse's mouth was lathered, a testimate to how fast it was pushed. A hasty retreat?

“Magus,” said the soldier, dipping his head.

Ferris inclined his own. “Speak.”

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“The Chief has accepted your offer and agreed to meet with you. However, he requested a…well.. he demanded a condition.”

Ferris arched his brows.

“And this condition is?”

The messenger looked from the Magus to me. And then he pointed.

“That attends.”