A Soldier's Life - 385 - Swift Justice (edited 5-1-25 +300 words, it is better but still not what people wanted)

Chapter 385: Swift Justice

I was allowed to attend to the children as Karina was escorted to her audience with Matron Petra. They would still be in attendance but would not be part of the decision. We all followed the tribal warrior, and Karina picked up her escorts. Upon leaving the Blind Raven fortification, the bright light of midday blinded us. My aether sight immediately negated the temporary blindness for me.

I noticed Blaze and Sylph across the street and gave them a short nod to indicate that everything was fine. I had a reassuring arm on each of the girls as we walked. The citizens all gave us knowing looks, as it appeared in the last hour, word had spread. If Karina could worm out of this, she would not have been well-received among the people. It meant we would all be headed to Gramney soon, and putting this behind us, which I welcomed.

I sent out a few earth pulses and smirked when I detected Lesna and Selene trailing us on either side of the causeway. It felt good to have allies nearby. The clear aqua sky seemed to contrast the purpose of our march. No judgment of death should be handed out on such a beautiful day, but the real world was rarely fair.

The Lunar Light dwelling was similar in layout to the Blind Raven complex, except that it featured soft gray granite, and the glowstones were much brighter in the entry hallway. Some of the murder holes appeared to be blocked over. My earth speak indicated that this structure was much more extensive than the Blind Raven as well, with two sublevels that seemed to be storage and training rooms.

“What are the undertakings of the Blind Raven Tribe?” I asked Matron Lucette, who was behind me.

“They specialize in training caravan guards but also support a number of swordsmiths. Every warrior’s blade was either forged by a smith from the Lunar Light or Frozen Snow tribes.” I frowned, as this probably meant that the Matron had a lot of power.

“Are there many fights among the tribes?” I indicated the arrow slits in the walls. I knew there were racks of crossbows inside the individual cubicles behind each slit from the earth pulse.

“The matrons control their tribes, and we all diligently follow the laws. Two tribes have been—excised in the last hundred years. Cooperation must be maintained above all. Each tribe has freedom, but all are subject to the will of the matron majority,” Lucette said plainly. I had my doubts because it seemed like the Lunar Light Tribe was ready to defend itself, much more so than Blind Raven—like it was expecting an attack.

We climbed the stairs and were led into a spacious room, similar in size to the loom room in the Blind Raven’s structure. This room featured open windows on either side, allowing a steady breeze to flow through. It was not empty. Dozens of men and a few women, who were tribal warriors, lined the walls. Matron Petra had an unusual throne—more of an oversized kitchen chair that she occupied.

Her skin was taut, giving her a skeletal figure, while her gray hair was so thin that she almost appeared bald. She was the only one sitting, with several of her blue-clad warriors flanking her. Karina was ushered forward, warriors holding each arm, to stand before her. Matron Lucette whispered in my ear, “Do not interfere, or it may jeopardize the children.” I squeezed their shoulders reassuringly as they crowded into me. Greed was always a factor, and I figured I could offer some gold or essences for Karina’s freedom.

Karina stood confidently with a straight back and square shoulders as the aged matron studied her. “You are the one who struck down Jurian?” Her voice was dry and cracked as she spoke without emotion. I examined all the faces arrayed against Karina, and it was easy to see that those closest to the matron harbored the most anger toward Karina. Parents or siblings, most likely.

“I defended my companions from adventurers seeking to kidnap us. We have been accused of crimes committed by others and fled to the Shiunyuet for your protection,” Karina answered calmly. She turned to look at Matron Lucette but did not find support there as Lucette remained impassive.

The old woman’s jaw clenched. “You killed the son of my son, in the city where he was born. I do not care what crimes you have been accused of in the past—only the one you are before me today for.” She tried to sound angry but appeared to lack strength.

“A life for a life,” a woman with a tight brown-braided hair to her right muttered. I assumed it was Jurian’s mother by her age.

“A life for a life,” Petra muttered, earnestly. “The father’s to claim.”

A thick-necked man to Petra’s right started to draw a blade. I tensed and was thinking of drawing my blade, but the children occupied both my hands. “Don’t,” Lucette warned, as if reading my mind. “Judgement has been passed.”

Karina turned to us, wide-eyed but not fearful—just regretful. “Get them home. When you get back to Earth, tell my daughters and son what happened to me. Tell them I did not abandon them.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she remained tall, but the sword was swift and merciless.

As Karina’s headless body fell, I was too stunned to react. This was not a trial, just an execution. I don’t think it could have stopped the blade if I had offered them anything, no matter how valuable. This was a parent’s vengeance. At least that is what I told myself. I had failed Karina, Evie, and Lexi.

“You need to decide what to do with the bodies,” Lucette intoned dispassionately behind me, pulling me out of my stunned state. Death was a part of life, but it still stung when it happened to someone I knew. I wrapped my hands around the girls’ eyes and turned their heads toward me. They did not need to see the pool of blood forming. A small mercy was that the head was facing away from us. How much death and sorrow could these children take without being scarred? No, they were definitely already scarred, having lost all three women who had protected them. They didn’t belong in this world.

“Bury them,” I said dully. “Can we leave?”

Matron Lucette studied me, “I have had rooms prepared at the Blind Raven…”

“No. We will return to our inn where my companions are waiting for us.” I said coldly.

“Your companions are outside,” she said knowingly. “No one will stop you from leaving. We can talk more tomorrow.” I just nodded, but I didn’t think that was going to happen. Even though she had inferred this would happen, it still felt like we had been railroaded into coming here.

As Lucette had said, we were not stopped from leaving, and Castile and company were loitering along the street. Blaze cocked his head, not seeing Karina, and I gave a short shake of my head in response. The group formed around the children, but I waited to talk until we returned to the inn.

We mechanically ate a large meal in the room as I explained to the group what had happened, and they were not surprised by the swift justice. The food tasted bland to me, and Evie and Lexi barely ate and had not said a word since. It was probably best they didn’t sit through this, and I took them to their room so they could sleep it off. I even gave each of them half an oblivion pill so they wouldn’t dream—a small mercy.

When I returned to my companions, Castile was also melancholy, even though it seemed she was going to get her wish and mentor the young mages. We discussed plans to leave early the next day and hoped no one would stop us. The main concern was for the children, but no one should know how powerful they were, just that they were otherworlders.

Hopefully, with both Karina and Anika dead, the bounty from Yuetsen would be lifted. We could sort that out when we got back to Gramney safely. After everyone left the room, Castile remained behind, “I can see you are blaming yourself. There was nothing you could have done without making things worse.” She hesitated, “Do you want me to stay?” There was no hidden meaning, she just saw I was tormented, and maybe I could use a friend.

I steeled myself. “No. Get some rest, I have a feeling it is going to be a long day tomorrow.” Castile hesitated and then closed the door behind her.

She was wrong; I had failed. Three of the five Earthers I had tried to save had died. I hadn’t been able to save them. There was some guilt, but now there was also an obligation to Evie and Lexi. There was no way I would be able to get them back to Earth, but I would protect them and show them I was making an effort to get them home to keep them positive. After a few years on Desia, they would be powerful mages and not want to return.

Evie still struggled with her necromancy. I thought perhaps I had some information in my dreamscape library about the Death Sentinels. It was not my first choice, but they might teach her to control her abilities.

I secured the room and entered the dreamscape. I only allowed Oscar to bother me as I summoned all the books about Death Sentinels and Death Hunters to a table. Only three books. That was it. I sighed as I paged through the first one, it was a dungeon reference to one of the two undead dungeons in Desia, and that sometimes Death Sentinels would visit to train and test their recruits—not very useful.

The second tome was only slightly more useful. It discussed whether the Isle of the Dead actually had its own dungeons and if the undead on the island delved those dungeons. A quote in the book from a Death Hunter said, he had set foot on the Isle and that he had delved a dungeon there, but there were no other details. Both references were from the Godok archives.

The final book contained obscure references to Death Hunter tactics used for killing powerful undead. Despite my impressive library in the dreamscape, it was still woefully short when it came to the wonders of Desia. I pulled five books next about the Isle of Dead, thinking there might be clues.

As I searched, I was yanked out of the dreamscape, and was instantly alert. The simple pulley had taken the amulet from my loose grasp. Magebane was immediately in one hand and a simple shield in the other as I got to my feet with a silent roll from the bed. An earth pulse and my aether sight acted in concert as I identified the threat. The outline of the familiar halfling was squeezing silently through a crack in the door.

“Lesna,” I hissed in the dark room. “What are you doing?”

“How do you always—do you even sleep?” She said, jumping in surprise, clearly irritated she hadn’t snuck up on me.

“It has been a very bad day,” I said harshly.

“It is going to get worse. Anika’s body is missing. I just heard one of the tribesmen in the street saying they saw her coming out of the earth!” Lesna sounded a little panicked. “He was drunk, but he said he buried her an hour ago!”

I rumbled to myself, “Evie, what have you done?” It was still a few hours till dawn, but we couldn’t stay any longer. “Wake the others and get the horses ready to ride. We are leaving.” I dressed quickly and pushed into Lexi and Evie’s room, a blue glow stone in my hand. I already knew they were here, and I roused them from their deep sleep. I identified myself and stood over them and asked softly, “Evie, did you use your necromancy on Anika?”

She looked panicked but managed to squeak out, “I’m sorry.” Dragon shit.

© Copyrighted 2024, 2025 by AlwaysRollsAOne 

No Permission is given to translate, copy, or repost this original work of fiction. If you are reading this on a site that is not my Patreon, it has been stolen without my permission and is a violation of DMCA. Remember, this work is the result of my creative effort and is protected by copyright law. Removal or alteration of this notification is an acknowledgment that you are aware you are in violation of DMCA.