The Tale of Daemonica

About a Rather Painful Welcome

Daemonica mingled smoothly into the crowd on the busy avenue leading to the north gate out of the city, which was only a short walk from Reunion Square on a wide, clean, crowded street. It was only early afternoon, so she had plenty of time to look among the traffickers outside the city walls for a suitable way to spend the silver coins.

With an unexpectedly spacious shoulder bag full of things she remembered she was missing during her 'traveling', she was about to head for the big wooden board to look for work. But before she reached it, her gaze met that of the black stallion watching her, standing aside the other horses at the horse-trader's stables. Daemonica headed for the small enclosure, at the far end of which rested the horse's buttocks. She leaned against a pillar supporting the roof that protected the entrance to the stables from the rain and watched the horse with interest.

A red-haired woman, surely more than a few years older than Daemonica, led the saddled pied horse out of the stables, followed by the stable master himself.

'Still nothing?' The woman nodded toward the black horse.

'Let’s see,' The horse man headed for Daemonica.

'Save your steps, I'm just intrigued by the animal. I'm afraid you won't make a deal with me.' Daemonica remarked toward the trader.

'As if I wouldn't see it myself,' the man growled irritably as he checked her miserable equipment. The redhead laughed heartily and approached Daemonica.

'Pity. Every time I come to Andala, he's standing in the same place.'

'He’s already cost me more than I paid for him, that’s no business.' The dealer continued to hum.

'Well...he's got four legs, right? So what's the problem?' Daemonica asked curiously. The stocky merchant grunted.

'He always flees from the new owners,' the redhead laughed in a voice like a bell. Daemonica liked the carelessness of her laughter.

'I'd really like to try it myself, he's a good horse, but I'm afraid I can't afford that kind of bet.' She shuddered as the dealer sighed theatrically again. The redhead looked at her once more without the smile leaving her freckled face. But an experienced woman hid behind her seemingly carefree smile.

'Then I'll tell you what we'll do.' She said after a while. 'This lady, who obviously needs a lot more than a job, will come with me and you, just because we've known each other so long,' smiled the redhead warmly at the dealer, 'I'll pay almost the entire sum for the naughty boy. The young one here, I'll take it out of her wages later.' The stable master muttered, Daemonica raised her eyebrows.

'What do you mean, almost the whole price?' The dealer flushed in sudden understanding.

'I mean, you'll have to add the equipment, too.' The redhead patted the trader cheerfully on the shoulder and turned to Daemonica.

'I'm Redviolet, but call me Red. You?'

'I am Daem...'

'Too long,' Redviolet interrupted her. 'Dae's enough, isn't it?'

'Of course,' Daemonica tried to hide her amusement.

'So what are you waiting for, man? Saddle him!' Redviolet snapped at the dealer. Confused, he started for the stables. After a moment of fierce struggle with two grooms, they managed to saddle the horse up and bring him to Daemonica. Fortunately, the horse did not resist as she mounted it with a pounding heart.

'Well where's my money?' The stable master asked as he approached Redviolet, already sitting in the saddle of her mare.

'I'll just pay for the harness. And if the horse comes back, you don't have to give me anything back. If he doesn't come back, the girl will pay you the next time she gets to Andala.' Redviolet laughed wildly, tossed a small bag at the bewildered dealer, and spurred her horse on. Daemonica’s cheeks flushed, but before she could object, the stallion started off with a mighty whine after the redhead’s mare. She and Red raced down the trampled road out of town, through green meadows and colored fields, along the silvery Raa.

'I really hope we didn't steal the horse,' Daemonica cried. The stallion's mane tickled her cheek as she crouched, trying to keep her in the saddle. Redviolet's thick reddish braid fell on her back as she slowed her pace and waited for Daemonica to stop the cheering stallion.

'That's up to you, Dae.'

'Where are we heading?'

'To the northeast, to the Rala border, we could be there in five days.' Redviolet said seriously, but then she chuckled. 'Assuming he makes it home with you.'

'Where’s that home?'

Redviolet sighed.

'Listen, let's ride for a while, I got held up with you. If you followed me this far, surely you must have some faith in me?' She was right. Daemonica nodded slowly.

'Trust me, you won't regret it,' Red glanced back at her before she spurred her horse on and headed for the hills on the horizon, beyond the folds of which occasionally glittered the water of Draa. Not long after, however, they left the river flowing from the north, heading east. In the evening they stopped on a rocky hill covered with green grass and stared back to the west for a while. Then they descended silently to the small stream below, both leading their horses behind them. Redviolet unhooked the wood from her pied mare's saddle.

'Take care of the horses,' she said beginning to build the fire. Daemonica did as she asked. Rascal (as she started to call the horse secretly), apparently pleasantly tired, allowed himself to be unharnessed without resistance. Then he calmly joined the redhead’s mare on the riverbank. When she and Redviolet sat down by the fire and Red shared her own dinner without blinking, it was time for explainations.

'Come on, blondie,' Redviolet laughed, after watching Daemonica's brooding expression for a while. 'Don't worry, you're safe with me. The stable master is a good friend of mine, and I was simply curious...' Redviolet shrugged, and with the toe of her boot she expertly pushed the log into the fire pit. Daemonica was silent, but she smiled a little.

'We're going northeast to the royal border fortress of Cedris. As said, We'll be there in a few days unless you’ll have to walk,' Red grinned. Daemonica rose and picked up her torn and the blanket on which she sat.

'Where are you going?' Redviolet asked, her eyebrows raised.

'To change.' Daemonica simply replied. Redviolet laughed out loud.

'Seriously? We're both women, aren't we?' Daemonica said nothing and headed for the river. After washing and changing, she glanced at Rascal. The horse looked away. It was already springtime, but the nights were still cold, and the humid coldness from the water filled every gap in her clothing, including those she had not even known about. Daemonica leaned her battered saddle against the trunk of an old willow tree by the bank of the stream, spread the blanket under her, and settled beneath the tree so that she could watch the horses. Redviolet was probably asleep by the fire. Daemonica planned to keep her eyes on the mount, but her body, which was suffering on Pete's ship just this morning, had a quite different view of everything.

Daemonica woke up. As always, it took her a moment to realize where she was. Her eyes searched for the spot Rascal stood before she fell asleep. The place was empty. Her gaze turned a little farther to the grassy bank of the stream. Red's mare grazed peacefully in the company of her stallion. Daemonica smiled and, stretching her cold-stiffened limbs of her painfully waking body, headed for the fireplace, following the alluring smell of roasted bacon.

'Breakfast!' Redviolet grinned. Her hair, which had come out of her braid overnight, stuck out in all directions.

'I'm surprised he didn't run away last night after he heard you screaming in your sleep.' She tossed her head toward the black horse. 'I was close to run myself.' She added without a smile as she deftly dropped the bacon slices between two wheat pancakes and handed them to Daemonica.

'I'm done eating, and you should eat quickly too. We have a tough road ahead if we want to be home before night.' Red picked up an empty frying pan from the dying fire, shoved a leather boot over it with cold ash from its sides, and started toward the horses.

Redviolet didn't go back on the road. On a nearby ford, they crossed the river, moving ahead through the rolling country with barely visible trails. If they wanted to travel the often treacherous traces on the rocky terrain in the saddle, they both had to devote themselves fully to the ride, so they rode in silence. They avoided larger estates as they traveled, though Redviolet readily answered her inquiries about the landscape whenever they rested. They also stopped several times to replenish their supplies in the lonely farms, whose inhabitants the redhead apparently visited regularly. They spent their evenings without long sitting, trying to use every moment of rest to build up their strength for the next difficult journey.

On the fifth day, as the sun dipped into the horizon, they reached a lake, along whose wooded bank they approached the rocks, between which was a bulging wall of wood and stone, supported behind a shallow and not-so-wide trench by massive beams. The wall, though not high, was thick and lined with wooden shooting towers. At the top of the sloping terrain a tall central building could be seen even from behind the first circle of fortifications, looking like a low, tiered tower with a flat roof. They dismounted as they passed through the wooden gate.

'Just what I'm looking for,' Red headed toward the two young warriors who were passing slowly.

'Where are you two going?'

'You’d think by then she’d at least remember our names,' said the taller of them, a burly northerner with blond hair and a bearded chin.

'And yet still nothing,' a dark-haired, slender man, obviously from Rai, standing next to the northener, grinned. Redviolet laughed briefly, then turned serious with evident effort.

'This is Dae. Show her where what and how. Then bring her to me.' Red turned to Daemonica.

'I'll take care of your horse, I'll have it housed next to mine. You can sleep at my place for now. Don’t forget you're all mustering tomorrow morning.' Redviolet shot a stern look toward the couple. 'Then try to be on time at least once.' With that, Red turned and left them, followed by both horses.

'I'm Axtios, but call me Ax,' the black-haired one addressed her. 'This is Vidarfry, but…'

'You can call me anything you want,' the northerner winked at her seductively.

'She's out of sight now,' hissed Axtios.

'Great, let's go,' Vidarfry grinned. The three of them walked slowly up the wide dirt road to the gate in the inner ring of the fortification.

'Shouldn't you have shown me through the fortress?' Daemonica couldn't hold herself when she realized that neither of them intended to carry out the order. Vidarfry and Axtios exchanged conspiratorial glances when, after turning left at the second gate, they stopped on a spacious patch by a building that could only be a tavern.

'So, Dae,' Axtios smirked at her, 'this is the most important place in all of Cedris.'

'You should get to know it thoroughly at once,' Vidarfry said. Daemonica had to admit to herself that she couldn't resist the idea of a heated pub and a hot meal in safety. Vidarfry and Axtios looked at each other, then entered the pub without delay.

'You're late again,' came a voice from a corner of the table just at the door. 'We said no sluts today.' He raised his voice when he saw Daemonica come in behind them.

'Sit next to me,' Vidarfry winked at Daemonica and pulled her to the bench beside him. Axtios sat down next to the stranger, whose face was hidden beneath a hood that showed only his hooked nose.'

Necro, this is Dae, Dae, Necro,' said Axtios quickly, glancing behind his shoulder, looking for the attendant.

'Necro what?' She asked, confused.

'He's from Xix. He won't say his name. He claims to be a necromancer, so we call him Necro.' Vidarfry chuckled.

'Damn,' Axtios turned back toward them. A plump woman with an angry expression headed for their table.

'You and you,' she pointed pointed angrily at Vidarfry and Axtios. 'You'll get nothing until you pay what you owe me. I'm not like my stupid husband,' she added with a brief, heated glance toward the innkeeper crouching behind the bar.

'I'm not paying today,' said Necro, before Axtios could even breathe to say something.

'I'll pay,' said Daemonica, who was already holding a fairly light bag in her hand, putting the last two silver coins and some change on the table. The woman took the money from the table and, with a look of deepest contempt, overlooked the trio. Her gaze stopped at Vidarfry's hand, which still held Daemonica at her waist.

'So now you're letting your whores pay for yourself, just how deep can you sink?' Daemonica blushed heavily.

'And don't forget a jug of brandy!' Axtios called for the huffing landlady cheerfully. She gave him a searing look, but nodded to the innkeeper, whose face now showed relief. As four large tankards of beer landed in front of them, along with a clay mug of brandy, and four not-so-small cups, Vidarfry seized the mug, filled the cups, and called out in the mighty voice of a man from mountains.

'To the Roses!' They all toasted, and several of the guests joined them loudly.

'Who are the Roses?' Daemonica cleared her throat when her eyes stopped watering. Vidarfry laughed, Necro sighed deeply, and Axtios, sitting across from her, smirked.

'Oh, Redviolet, where thy head keeps flying.' Then he reached for a jug of liquor, poured it again for everyone, and raised his cup.

'We are the Black Rose Society. To Dae, the new Rose!'

Everything swayed with her as if she were still aboard the ship. Her tongue clung to her palate with thirst. Something weighed on her chest. Daemonica opened her eyes. A limp man's hand was stretched across her. Daemonica sat up abruptly and slammed her head into the wooden bed above her. A male growl came from the top. The pain of the sprain only added to the pain that had throbbed in her head since she had awakened. To her endless relief, she found herself dressed.

"s**t!” came again from the upper bunk. Few rays of daylight penetrated into the room from behind closed wooden shutters. Necro sat at the window on the stool with his head leaning against the wall. It was unclear whether he was asleep or awake.

'We're gonna be late again,' Axtios leapt from his bed in a remarkably deft way.

'Where's my sword?' Daemonica spoke up. There was only a dagger at her waist.

'Rek will pass away...' Vidarfry grunted. Then he smiled brightly at Daemonica.

'What a night!' He winked at her.

'Let’s go!' Axtios commanded. Necro suddenly rose from his chair and ran out of the room.

'Forget him and the sword!' Axtios turned to Daemonica. 'We will deal with Reknak easily, he's only been an officer for a while.' With that he headed outside.

The cheeks of light curly-haired young man in heavy armor flushed as he saw them coming. Everyone else was probably already there.

'You've got to be kidding me!' Reknak cried, his voice cracking with excitement. 'Where is the mage?'

'He took study leave,' said Axtios calmly.

'He's busy nerding with his head between his knees,' Vidarfry couldn’t be left behind. Badly hidden laughter roared among the other warriors. Surprisingly, the red in Reknak's face grew even more intense. Then his gaze turned toward Daemonica.

'Where the hell are your sword and shield?!' Now there was a panic in Reknak's eyes. 'Riihad and Thaedis are on their way here!'

'Yeah, about that…' Axtios nodded casually behind Reknak's back. There Redviolet stopped in the company of a tall, middle-aged man with light, slightly graying hair and a beard, and a bit smaller young man with black curly hair. He seemed to be even younger than Daemonica.

'Any problem, Rek?' The older one asked.

'Not really Thae… I mean,' Reknak stammered.

'Where's your sword and shield?' A smile brightened the young man's face in genuine astonishment when he noticed Daemonica. He evidently didn't miss the company she was in.

'Still with me, somehow we couldn't find each other,' Redviolet winked at her. Daemonica, literally melting in the heat of her own shame, was eternally grateful to her for not being angry with her.

'It's probably your lucky day then guys,' Riihad grinned. 'We’ve got a cure for your hangover.'

'Anna and Cen will join?' Thaedis spoke with his hand running through his beard toward Redviolet.

'They will,' Redviolet confirmed.

'All right!' Riihad called. 'Before the guards change, let all of you, and I mean all of you,' he cast another significant glance at the trio, 'embarked in front of the gate in full gear for the journey into the mountains.' Then he and Thaedis turned and started toward the upper gate. The sight of the bored guards on the wall suggested that she probably didn't have much time left.

'You're not quite the lady you try to look like, are you?' Redviolet slapped Daemonica kindheartedly on the shoulder.

'Come on.' Red said in a friendly manner. 'While I was naively waiting for you yesterday, I had plenty of time to get some gear ready for you. Don’t you worry.'

Daemonica followed her gratefully.