Chapter Thirteen
Where is my mother?
Where could she be?
Did my father take her?
Or did she run away from me?
Therese fumed as she stormed through the halls of the Temple. How could they lose the Matron? Dead, and no one could catch the little bastard that had killed her. As the Second it had elevated her to the position of Matron but under suspicious circumstances. The apostate turned the entire guard out with a description of small man, blonde hair, and uneven teeth, but not a single lead had turned up in the two weeks that had followed. Now that stupid bastard of a Sergeant turns coat. When she found Joseph, the gallows would not be good enough for him. No, it would be drawn and quartered for desertion to set an excellent example for the rest of her men.
She rounded the corner nearly bowling over a quickly walking guard. The poor man went white-faced when he saw the storm clouds on the new Matron's visage. The soldier backpedaled and bowed stammering his apologies. He turned to leave, and Therese grabbed him by the collar of his chainmail, infusing herself with a quick enchantment of strength, and yanked him into the nearby stone wall. The magically enhanced strength, combined with her wrath, slammed the unfortunate soldier with a sickening crunch, jarring some mortar lose.
He took in a sharp gasp of pain as his ribs snapped from the impact and The Matron came to tower over the collapsed man.
"I want a damn report on the deserter. I am also waiting on a report on our dearly departed's body. It is not like a corpse got up and walked away. Is it?" Therese almost yelled at the cowering man.
The guard struggled to catch his breath as a little bloody foam came to his lips. Therese rolled her eyes towards the heavens with impatience.
"Oh come now, man! Are you going to say a middle-aged woman kicked your ass? Speak damn you!" She reached down and slapped the man resoundingly across his face, sending the blood-laced spittle slinging across his cheeks and on the wall. Therese looked at her hand in disgust and reached down to wipe it on the man's hair.
"Matr-on,--" the man wheezed, "I--" he went pale with the effort to speak, "I-- am nothing -- more .. than a private. I- know-- not-"
The man began to transform slowly as he let out a shrill scream of agony. His body shrank and contorted until all that was left was an earthworm. Therese eyes never left the worm as she smiled, all her aggravation momentarily forgotten. The Sorceress reached down idly and picked him up between two fingers and brought him to eye level.
"See, no one can ever accuse me of not having mercy." she said with satisfaction, "I cured two things with one stone. I made your sorry ass useful. Never have I met a more useless man till this day and now you can help break down all the shit instead of making it. And I cured your wounds, no more broken bones."
She stared at him with amusement, thinking of what fun it might be to see if earthworm was as delicious as the people of the wilds seemed to think. Would it be cannibalism, since the soul originated with second-man, but would Chaos really care? Her musings were cut short as she lifted the worm to her lips as a guard pounded down the hall towards her. He stopped short, staring at her and the worm and he began to stammer.
"Spit it out man," She said irritably, still holding the worm. The torches sputtered erratically, making her mood more sour by the minute. If she were back at the academy, the light would be provided by sorcery, beautiful, sorcery. She cracked an evil grin, a mischievous glint catching in her eye, "You are interrupting my snack."
"Um, Matron.." The Seargent saluted, "Riders just arrived from the west."
She dismissed him with a quick wave. She was not worried about bandits or the like. She wished for the Temple to fall, the more discord, the better, "Sergeant, don't bother me with a message about bandits. If you wish to be a hero by all means, only bother me with affairs of the State."
"Then Madam, does an army marching on these walls count for that?" The guard asked nervously.
Therese dropped the earthworm and pivoted slowly to the waiting Sergeant.
"How many?"
"The riders estimate six hundred by the last count." the sergeant reported, "and they bear a symbol we have never seen but is somewhat familiar."
"And what would that be? Describe it." The Matron demanded angrily; someone dared to attack her city. She worked hard and would not relinquish it to anyone.
"It is a single coiled snake with a dead tree down and a Throne up. There is no tail but two heads that do combat. Madam, if I had to guess, mine would be the new Grim has come to call. And he brought his army along with him."
Therese's face was almost purple with rage, "Let him try. If one Grim can die so can another."
Jen startled awake as she felt the shake on her shoulder. She came to her feet tackling the perpetrator to the ground and reached for a knife before she realized where she was. They had been on the march for almost two weeks, and within another three days, they would be at the walls of Doldrom. Scouts had been sent out along with recruiters, to gather what forces they could for the assault, if there was one. The soldier cleared his throat uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to state how embarrassed he was to have the Matron and General on top of him in a thin nightgown.
"Sorry." Jen said with a small laugh, "I am a little on edge at the moment."
The guard cleared his throat as Jen lifted off of him, "The special scout is in from Doldrom to see you. I am not supposed to mention a name. He will see you just outside the camp in the woods, and the passphrase is Valor. He will not wait past midnight though, and then he will be back on a fast horse for Doldrom."
Jen perked up, "Oh! Finally a report of ground conditions inside--" She rushed around and heedlessly stripped naked in front of the embarrassed soldier. His ears burned at the sight of the Mother Matron dressing into the armor undergarments as she turned to laugh at him, her body silhouetted by the light of the fire, "What is the matter corporal, never seen a nude woman before?"
"No, not that ma'am. It is like seeing my mother naked, not suppose to do that." He answered with a little huff.
"Well, I hope I did not disappoint," She said chuckling, as she finished putting on her armor, "Now which way to this meeting."
"Northwest out of camp General, about half a league. Do you need anyone with you General, you shouldn't be alone." The soldier said worriedly
Jen frowned. She hated authority and the price that came with it. Everywhere she went now. Someone had to go with her. As they rode with the army, beside her charger rode a corporal at all times to protect her. Outside the canvas of her tent stood two privates to attend her on top of her acolytes. Sometimes she thought she would pull her red hair out and scream from the protection thrust on her.
"No, this one I will do alone. Tell Thomas after I leave." With a rueful smile, she added, "Give me a half-hour head start, so I have time before he sends out the cavalry for me."
The corporal smiled, "As you order General."
Jen smiled as she headed out the tent flap to find her horse. The big roan was an even-tempered creature but still a spawn of Chaos. Since the end of the Banderling Wars over fifteen years ago, Jen hadn't had cause to spend much time in a saddle. That horse had her hurting in places she had forgotten about. She thought about ways to use the four-legged demon spawns as a form of torture for interrogation.
Grabbing the reigns from the picket line, she swung her leg up on the back of her roan and settled into her saddle. The horse neighed at her gently, eager to get underway, and then she nudged him into a trot. Her tent was in the center of their encampment, and as she made her way through the men, she listened to the conversation and the merriment going on. Jen encouraged it. They needed it. Some would not live to see the week if things went badly at Doldrom. Friends and family that had already been through so much had answered the call of the New Grim to restore Order to its rightful place.
As she left the outskirts of the tents, she reached the sentries. They posed no problems. Being the leader did have its advantage at times along with all those pesky burdens. After clearing the sentry fires, she nudged her big charger into a canter — the Full moon overhead allowing for bright visibility all around. The wind swept through her hair and despite the worries of the day, she found herself smiling broadly. The woods approached rapidly, and soon she had to slow her charger down to a walk because of the trees. She had not thought to ask for specifics from the corporal, but there should not be too many people up here waiting for a rendezvous.
A voice called out in the darkness, "From whence of the Planes does the right call home?"
Jen stopped her horse, holding her hands where they could be seen in the darkness. She answered the challenge with the passphrase she had been given, "Valor."
A crossbow bolt struck her horse in the chest, and the roan reeled backward and fell on her. She heard the voice chuckling.
"Not all that is right, comes from Valor, Matron. As you will soon find out."
Damon strode into camp at dawn. He cursed at the spring chill that still clung in the air. Damnit, Jen was supposed to meet him last night and never did. Now here he was, walking because of ill found luck with his horse snapping a leg in the dark woods. Moodly, he had yelled at the sentries when they told him that Jen had indeed left the camp a few hours before midnight. When he asked about a return time, they shrugged.
He shoved his way through the throng of soldiers preparing to break camp, looking for his cousin. Thomas was not his first choice, but it was the best he could do at the moment. They pointed him towards the edge at a command post that was being torn down, and Damon caught sight of him. Thomas and Damon had come terms with each other after the events of last spring. Thomas's brow wrinkled when he saw his cousin stalking towards him, and he waved a sergeant away that he had been talking to.
"Damon, what are you doing here? Something wrong?" Thomas's eyes were filled with worry.
"Yeah, I have been sitting in the cold ass woods all night waiting on the Matron, who never turned up. The sentries, your men, reported her leaving but not returning. So yeah, my wife's missing and You sir are responsible for her." Damons eyes glowed red, "Now find her."
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