Chapter 41

Jollis faced his mornings with renewed vigor and resolve. He felt as if it were the first day of his mission again, when he had been filled with hope, promise, and awe at the road before him. Even that morning, when gray and obscuring clouds clung to the land, he felt joyous.

He emerged from his house, raising his eyes to the opaque sky. He smiled as drops of fine mist tickled his face. The temple atop the hill was barely visible through the fog, and the distant peak of the holy mountain might very well not have existed.

"Wanderer!"

Jollis turned. His first Cohort ran towards him, sandals splashing against the wet ground. "Yes?"

"You wished to know of developments back in Oceanus, Master," said the Cohort in an anxious voice.

Jollis was not the least worried despite the Cohort's tone. "Of course. What news have you?"

"The Noble Lords now make extensive preparations for defense, Wanderer. They have been aided by the Mages. There has been an apparent change of the old guard at the Guild Hall."

"Ah, yes, I had suspected that a power struggle would commence. This is not a shock."

"But, Master, the new Guildmaster is dedicating the Hall to the study of our Portals."

Jollis nodded. "This, too, was expected. It should not be of concern. They have only the most rudimentary knowledge."

"Then you do not fear that they may soon understand how so many similar memories can resonate and..."

"That is most advanced knowledge, my friend. Not easily intuited from what little they know."

The Cohort looked uneasy. "Wanderer, did not the Oceanus Mages once research mind magicks?"

"They did. But they lacked the ability to see the formulaic structure behind it, and thus it failed as a discipline and was forgotten."

"Yet the new Guildmaster is an Empiricist."

Jollis looked thoughtful. "Ah, I have not heard this."

"Would not the Mages that studied the mind magicks have left behind notes, Wanderer?"

"It was my understanding that they had been destroyed in a sort of purge some time ago. Yet it would foolish of me to make such a sweeping assumption. Hmm." A few days ago, Jollis would have lamented at his continued bad luck, or even blamed himself for not seeing it. Instead, he saw it only as a new challenge. "For once, my friend, time is on our side. If we can finish preparations soon, we will be ready to strike at the most opportune moment. Then it will matter not, as they will not have time to change their defensive strategy."

"Are we close, my Wanderer?" asked the Cohort anxiously.

"Master Kyllos assures me of such. Is such an opportunity close at hand?"

"Lord Duric makes a good advance into Imperial lands. Yet the Emperor is responding with the navy. And ... there is something else..."

The Cohort explained about the additional fleet headed towards Roquan's Manor. Now Jollis grew contemplative and somber. Some worry etched itself around his lips and in his eyes. He finally nodded once. "Very well. Keep me apprised of the situation."

"What will we do if the fleet reaches the Manor before... ?"

Jollis held up a hand. "Calm yourself. It is evident in your voice that you are panicking. I shall mention this to Master Kyllos and seek his counsel."

The Cohort bowed his head. "Forgive me, Wanderer. I offer you an explanation but not an excuse. Our Cohorts in Oceanus are in utmost despair. Knowing not of the new plan, they see only the old one failing before their eyes. It is most difficult to speak to them without telling them the one thing that would set their minds at ease."

Jollis placed a hand on the Cohort's shoulder. "I understand. It is difficult. I do not care for withholding information from them, either." He considered. "You may tell them that there is indeed a new plan, but do not divulge the details. Simply inform them that they must continue as my eyes and ears if they wish the new plan to come to fruition."

The Cohort managed a small smile. "Thank you, Wanderer. I do not think they will mind not knowing the details so long as they have hope."

"And as for the danger at the Manor, it is perhaps a good sign that the Lord Admiral appears to be headed towards the Manor as well."

"How so?"

"The Lord Admiral is closer, and will arrive well ahead of the fleet. He is of the older generation. He is less likely to allow an assault against a Manor due to his dedication to upholding the Charter. He may delay military action long enough for us to respond."

"I had not thought of that. Thank you for your wise insight, Wanderer."

Jollis smiled. "Have you anything else?"

"Nothing, my Wanderer." The Cohort bowed. Jollis returned it, and the two parted company.

The skies deepened towards night over the shattered camp of Duric's army. Soldiers glanced nervously to the sky as they carried wounded to the makeshift hospital set up by the Healers. Patrols would tense and point frantically at anything that they believed had moved in the sky.

"Three nights now, Tarras," said a haggard Lord Duric, his voice shielded from his men by several regiment commanders as they stood nearby as somber sentinels. "Three nights with uncanny accuracy."

The Farview image of Tarras sighed deeply and rubbed his neck. "How bad this time?"

"We were holding our own against it last night, but this time no fewer than three found their mark and injured a good number of men. Nearly a whole regiment."

"Does this jeopardize your advance?"

Duric frowned. "Did you hear what I told you, Lord Tarras?"

"Yes, every word. Now, will it hold you up?"

"Gods dammit, men have died! And all you want to know is..."

"Yes, men have died," Tarras declared. "Just as men died when you first began your advance. As men will die as you continue. As men will die when you storm the Palace. In war, men die."

Duric sighed, exasperated. "But not like this, Tarras. Not without a fight. They died against an enemy they can't even see, let alone fight. Someone that sits offshore picking us off as if we were fatted ducks!"

"Lord Duric, you command these men. You must not waver. Your resolve and courage is what will keep them going."

"I do not want to command them into senseless death."

"Nor do I. But if you let this temper your resolve, you will surely commit them all to their deaths for lack of will. And that truly will be senseless."

"To answer your question, we will continue onward," Duric said tersely. "Some of the injured can be made ready for battle by tomorrow. The ones that cannot will be brought to safety in a village we passed in order to recover."

"You will be turning northwest?"

"After tomorrow, yes. I don't have much choice. It means fighting on my north and west at the same time. This will wear us down. And we will have to suffer one more night of this bombardment."

Tarras frowned. "The question is, how did they pinpoint your position so accurately? One moment, please, Duric."

Tarras turned and headed away, though his Farviewing pearl tracked him. He stopped at a shelf and extracted a scroll, unfolded it, and examined it. "Lord Duric, are you bypassing the coastal towns?"

"Of course I am. I don't have the men to garrison them properly, and I don't really need them. Why?"

Tarras rolled up the scroll. "I should have thought of this before. The coastal towns are more likely to be loyal towards Z'haas, as they would bear the brunt of any Imperial retaliation. Even the two ports in my own province still service Imperial warships."

Duric sighed and nodded as he understood. "And we've been dealing with merchants from those towns. They've likely been informing the mayors, and they inform the captain of that fleet out there."

"Precisely."

"Is there anything we can do about it, Tarras?"

"There is a town near your route tomorrow, Port Planata. You could divert part of a regiment to occupy the town briefly and prevent them from revealing your exact position."

Duric frowned. "I cannot spare any soldiers tomorrow, not with as many men down as I do."

Tarras looked thoughtful. He opened the map scroll again and stared at it. One corner of his mouth rose.

Duric raised an eyebrow. "I know that look, Tarras. I really hope it means what I think it does."

"It may indeed. I have an idea that may solve two problems at once..."

Amanda remained totally submissive and perfectly compliant to his every desire. She did not bat an eye when he lightly spanked her until her pussy ached and her body shivered with growing lust. She had not a single defiant thought or reaction when he bound her hand and foot and teased her sex, forbidding her to cum, until she was whimpering and squirming with need. Now she steadfastly held her pussy in check, even as badly strained as it was, as he thrust hard and fast into her.

She tossed her head back as his movements grew more frenetic. The fact that he had done so many things to her was proof of his incredible stress. The more heavily he relied on bondage and discipline, and the harder he imposed himself in the sex act itself, the more stressed he was.

By the time Roquan showed signs of peaking, Amanda was shaking with the effort to hold herself back. At the first sign of his orgasm, she let herself go. She cried out and clutched him, shoving her hips against him and keeping him buried inside her. Her fingers curled into his arms, nails biting into hard muscle.

She was still shivering even as her orgasm faded. Roquan embraced her gently as he rolled onto his back. Amanda let out a ragged sigh and closed her eyes, accepting the comfort of Roquan's arms. She lay her head against his chest, her breathing slowing as she came down from her intense, orgasmic high.

Amanda spread a hand over his chest and then down one arm. She allowed herself a small smile. Much of the tension was gone.

"I know that your mind is on other ventures in recent times, Amanda," Roquan said softly. "But you are still a very fine slave to me."

"Thank you, Master," said Amanda, smiling. She cared enough about Roquan to want to please him. It was beyond mere duty now.

"If there is anything at all about which you wish to speak, you are free to do so."

"I didn't want to bother you with anything, Master, not after getting you so relaxed now."

His chest shuddered as he chuckled. It was the first time she had heard that for awhile. "My stress is often at my own doing. Your presence will help keep me soothed."

"There is not much to tell you, Master. Nothing is new with Sirinna, or my job at the Healer office."

Amanda was not about to tell him the tribulations of her alleged love life. She had finally admitted to herself that she had some feelings for Lanno. It was foolish, no more than a typical teenage girl crush, a painful reminder of how much growing up remained.

"Then lie quietly with me, and call out anything if you happen to think about it."

Amanda let her mind wander.

It was not long before Freya leapt back into her thoughts. She recalled the peculiar thing she had seen from her room a few nights before. She thought about the little magical torches that shared the same shade of blue. She thought of other feats of magic she had seen with that similar color. She remembered that faint flash she had seen when she had entered Freya's quarters.

Amanda's eyes opened. "Master, what was the name of that Mage again that you said had helped the Emperor?"

"His name was Q'yros. I have been informed that he has passed on recently."

"Oh." Amanda was a bit perplexed by the sadness in Roquan's voice, knowing what she did about Roquan's rocky relationship with him.

"I am curious as to why his name came to you."

Amanda lifted her head. "Freya's surname is D'yros, isn't it? That makes them from the same clan?"

"Yes, indeed, they are. I believe they were of the same bloodline as well. Though it is likely more appropriate to drop the prefix and refer to her as Freya Yros, as she is no longer officially an Overlord."

Amanda nodded slowly. "Master, does magical ability run along bloodlines?"

"It can, yes. I was under the impression that Q'yros was not very enamored of Freya's choice of career. Perhaps he believed she had potential for Magery."

"But can someone have magical ability even if they never formally studied it?"

"I am unsure. I do know that magical talent is innate and has to be developed properly." Roquan paused. "Why do you ask this, Amanda?"

"I'm not sure if this means anything, Master, but..." Amanda proceeded to explain what she had seen in Freya's quarters and the night she had taken her walk.

Roquan nudged Amanda. She sat up, and her Overlord swiftly followed. "Are you quite sure of this?"

"Yes, Master, I just don't know if it means anything."

Roquan frowned. "It means she could be planning an escape."

Amanda shivered. "Could she actually undo that lock, Master? I thought it was spelled to respond only to your touch."

"A good Mage could undo such a lock easily, but I do not know how much power that requires." Roquan slipped out of bed and began to dress. "You were very wise, Amanda, to alert me. I do not wish to think of what havoc she might cause at the Manor were she to get loose."

"Do you wish me to do anything, Master?" Amanda asked.

"It is best that you head straight for your quarters," said Roquan. "I will alert the guards and have one posted outside her quarters at all times. If she attempts escape, I will have her stopped."

A touch. Concentration. A flicker of blue light. Then nothing.

Held breath was slowly exhaled. A pause to clear the mind and keep the frustration at bay. Now, again...

A touch. Concentration. A flicker of blue light. Then nothing.

A deep breath was drawn in and let go. Slip deeper into meditation. Let the noises of the insects and the rustle of the wind fall away. Now...

A touch. Concentration. A brighter flicker of light. A very faint metallic scraping noise, then nothing.

Calm. Serenity. Breathe normally. Focus. Empty the mind. Now...

A touch. Concentration. A flash of blue.

Click.

Freya let out a gusty sigh and opened her eyes. Before her, the lock holding the chain to her wrist had popped open. She winced as she sat up, stiff muscles sending pain shooting down her limbs. She unhooked the lock from the chain and threw it across the room, then tossed the chain away.

She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, taking a deep breath to attempt to instill some renewed vigor into her tired body. If she was going to get away from this accursed place, she needed her wits about her. She also needed a hostage to prevent Roquan from coming after her until she was safely away from the island.

Freya slipped on her dress and headed to her door. She peeked outside, then slowly emerged and walked cautiously to the main path. She looked in either direction, then took off at a brisk jog, soon turning down the path that led to the Healer's office.

"Douse the lamp!" came the urgently whispered order from the regiment commander. "Get down!"

The darkness of the forest closed in about the contingent as the oil lamp was extinguished. Leaves and underbrush rustled as the ten soldiers drew themselves to the ground and became still.

Around them, evergreens rose like monoliths. Their branches swayed in the wind and uttered a continuous low cacophony. Just ahead through the trees, the forest thinned and the land slid downward towards the shore. Flickering lights dotted the landscape between them and the water's edge.

"Look, Commander," whispered a soldier, pointing off to the right.

The Commander turned his head. Just barely visible were the faint lamp lights from the cabins of the lead dreadnought of Boddas' fleet. "There's where the bastards are," he muttered.

"Yeah, waitin' to hammer us again tomorrow."

"Not if we can help it, soldier. All right, men, we take the rest of the way under cover of darkness. Keep the formation tight. You stop when I stop, you go when I go. Any questions?" Silence. "Good. Wait until I give the signal."

The Commander paused. The wind had died during their conversation. Within a few moments, another breeze blew in, carrying the smell of briny moisture. The trees rose in song again in response.

"Move out!"

As one, the ten men of his contingent stood and scurried out of the forest and down the hillside.

Amanda crossed the Manor with some urgency. She let out a resigned sigh as she approached her quarters. She doubted very much that she was going to have an easy time getting to sleep. Now she had to be worried about Freya all over again.

She padded carefully into Sirinna's bed chamber. Sirinna was already asleep. Her restless nights made her more tired, and she was retiring earlier in the evening. Amanda looked on with chagrin as Sirinna twitched and writhed, uttering low, pitiful whimpers.

She's already having a bad dream, Amanda lamented.

Amanda contemplated waking Sirinna up and consoling her, but it might take candlemarks to get her back to proper slumber, and Amanda was too exhausted herself. She trudged across Sirinna's chamber, brushed aside the curtain, and simply fell into bed, too tired to want to bother with washing up first. She would do it in the morning.

Freya crept into the Healer office and cursed softly as she stumbled in the dark. She knocked several things to the floor as she felt her way around the room. A flask shattered and splashed potion on her foot.

Her hands finally closed in on a lamp, and her hands fumbled with it before she could get it to light. She started frantically rummaging through cabinets. Finally, she grabbed a pouch of sleeping powder, doused the lamp, and ran from the Healer office as fast as she could.

Freya knew exactly where she was going. Roquan's Draughted slaves were properly obedient, and had told her everything she needed to know. They thought nothing of telling her exactly how to find her way about the Manor to any location whatsoever. And they would never reveal they had spoken to her, as proper slaves simply do not do that.

Roquan stopped at the end of the short path leading to the door to Freya's quarters and turned to the guard. "You will stand guard here. If Freya emerges from her quarters, that will mean she has managed to undo her restraint. You will stop her and subdue her with these."

Roquan held up a set of slave cuffs and handed them to the guard. The guard nodded. "Yes, my Lord, as you wish. I assume you want a day shift guard as well?"

"Yes. I will inform the Guard Master before I retire. You are not to leave your post until you are relieved."

"Yes, my Lord." He craned his neck and looked past Roquan. "Should I check on her now to make sure she is still there?"

"A good idea, but I will check. Wait here."

The Overlord turned and proceeded down the path.

Amanda had barely drifted off when something jolted her back to full wakefulness. She lifted her head and listened. Soft but frantic movements issued from Sirinna's bed chamber. Amanda sighed and threw off the furs. It was another nightmare, and she wanted to be on hand to soothe Sirinna when she awoke.

She rushed towards the curtain and was less than a breath away from sweeping it aside when something she saw through the translucent material made her pause. She crept forward and peeked cautiously through the small space between curtain and door frame. Her eyes widened and she clamped her hand over her mouth.

Sirinna lay unnaturally still on her bed, grayish-green powder dusting her face. Panic gripped Amanda until she saw the rise and fall of her lover's bosom. Her gaze darted back towards Freya, who was squatting beside the bed. Freya stood and dropped a set of slave cuffs on the bed. She held another set in her hands. She grabbed Sirinna's feet and yanked them towards her, causing Sirinna to grunt softly despite her deeper slumber. Amanda clenched her fists in anger even as her heart pounded in fear.

The former Overlord closed the cuffs around Sirinna's ankles and locked them together. She reached for the other cuffs.

Amanda wanted to help Sirinna, but she knew she could not do this alone. She had to get Roquan. She turned and ran from the doorway barely a moment before Freya turned towards her.

The guard snapped to alert when he saw Roquan barrel out of Freya's quarters.

"Freya has escaped," said Roquan. "You are to alert all the guards, all shifts. Scour the entire Manor and the jungle around it. She is to be found and subdued. Use whatever force is necessary."

"Yes, my Lord!"

The guard turned to head away. Roquan grabbed his arm.

"I wish your crossbow," said the Overlord in a voice like steel.

Amanda had intended to dash through the sanitary, into the adjoining slave chamber, and then out through Sirinna's bed chamber as Freya advanced into Amanda's chamber. In her panic, she tripped over the chamberpot and sent it clanging loudly into the wall, alerting Freya that she was already awake. As soon as she emerged from the other slave quarters, Freya intercepted her.

Amanda let out a short scream. On the bed, Sirinna writhed in her sleep and moaned, her eyes dancing under her closed lids.

Freya grasped Amanda's arm, causing her to lose her balance and stumble. When Freya tried to yank Amanda to her feet, she kicked blindly. The former Overlord grunted as a foot landed on her knee. Amanda nearly got free until Freya twisted her arm, causing her to cry out and stagger from the pain.

Freya tried to grab Amanda with both hands and pull the girl towards her. Amanda raised her hand and raked her nails across Freya's face, leaving four angry red lines oozing blood. The shock of the attack sent Freya reeling enough for Amanda to wrench herself free.