Exotica Takes Charge

They made camp by the side of the stream. The forest was beginning to grow denser in the nearby foothills, and the mountain winds were not as harsh as they had been when they'd set out from the caves. Fred stood alone by the stream bank, confident that Diana was watching over the others. The stars shown in the sky like a rain of jewels. For a moment, Fred's mind was clear as he took in their beauty.

After a few minutes he realized that Exotica was by his side. "It's amazing, isn't it?" she said. "It's so desolate, and yet, there's something so pure about the beauty here. It's so different from Camelyn."

"The sooner we get back to Camelyn the better, your Highness."

"I know. But as long as we're stuck here, we might as well appreciate it. We can't let ourselves think too much about... about what we have lost."

"I know, your Highness. There will be time enough to mourn when we are safe." He realized that he was on the verge of tears. He certainly did not believe it was unmanly to cry, but the Princess was here. He feared to show any sort of weakness around her, even though they were far from court and she wasn't even clothed.

Exotica reached out and took his hand. "I... I can't stop thinking about Astra. She was so noble and brave and kind. She was a source of hope for all of us when we were imprisoned. Without her... I'm not sure we'll make it."

Fred was shocked that the Princess was making no effort to hide her fears from him. "Your highness," he said, "do not be afraid. We will make it. There will be no more deaths. I will do everything in my power to ensure it."

"Yes, and so will Diana," said Exotica. "But that may not be enough. Sir Frederigo D'Honaire... I have a request of you."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"First of all... You need not refer to me as 'your highness' all the time. You may simply call me Exotica."

"Yes, Exotica."

"Second... My father taught me how to fight. He wanted to make sure I would be prepared if the Great Kingdom faced another war like the one he lived through. But... it wasn't any good. I was unprepared when we faced... when we faced..." She seemed to be about to cry.

"I understand," said Fred. "I remember what my own first battle was like. Knowing how to fight is one thing, actually facing a battle is another. I am sure your father trained you well." In fact, Fred had many misgivings about her fighting, but he would hardly tell an heir to the throne that, especially not one he respected as much as he did Exotica. He didn't believe that it made sense to train women to fight. They were unsuited to it and would do it badly, and it would be better if they didn't have the opportunity to make such mistakes. And yet women who made war were not unheard of even in his own Kingdom. In the days of the High King Gerard and shortly afterwards, there had been Byrnhild and the Abbess Hrosmunda. They were still remembered with pride. And a number of noble women had taken up arms in the war with the Riek Tetriloni as well, during his father's lifetime, when the great enemy had come to their own soil. But the days of the High King Gerard, when the Kingdom was still being founded and barbarians and evil magic scoured the land with impunity, were long gone. And so, at least Fred hoped, was the war with the Riek Tetriloni.

"Next time, I need to be prepared. We need to be prepared. I wasn't trained to fight without a sword. I might not have been able to defeat those vile orcs, but if I had at least put up a fight, that might have made things easier for you and Diana and Astra... I hope we will reach civilization soon. But the Shreken has all kinds of nasty surprises for us, and many of them are magic, so you can never tell. If we don't, once the others have all recovered, we need to be trained to fight better. You can train the other women who don't know how to fight with swords. We also all need to learn hand-to-hand combat and how to use a crossbow--and that goes for you as well, Fred."

"But--but your highness--" Fred was far from pleased with this request. A crossbow was--

"A crossbow is not a nobleman's weapon, is it? Well we hardly have the luxury to worry about that now." Fred could tell that it stung her too, but he still didn't want to relent. "And I think you have the best eyesight of any of us."

"But your highness, I am a Dragonslayer, and--"

"Using a crossbow does not violate your Oath, does it?"

"No, your highness."

"Then do it. That's an order."

"Yes, your highness." Fred sighed. "But doesn't Diana already know how to use the crossbow?"

"Yes," said Diana. Fred almost jumped out of his armor. She'd somehow managed to sneak up on them without any of them noticing. "If there's something here that took out Astra, I wouldn't stand a chance. Someone needs to take care of these girls after I'm gone. And it's long past time I whipped Fred into shape." She grinned widely. "It's good to know there's at least one woman here who has some sense in her head."

Fred was about to protest, but Exotica interrupted him. "Thank you, Diana. But if you're here, who's watching over the camp?"

"The Lady Sara. She's a... she's a Malbonctonite." Fred had the impression that Diana had wanted to use a somewhat ruder word. "She wasn't prepared for those damn orcs either, but she knows more about hand-to-hand combat than all of us put together. And we can trust her, at least for now. She knows it's in her best interests to keep us all alive."

"That's true. We hardly have anything worth stealing. But I've talked with Sara before and she's become somewhat close to me and particularly to Sofia. I despise what her nation tends to stand for as much as you do, but I respect her."

"Yeah, well, you'd be surprised how quick those Malbonctonites can forget things like friendship when there's money on the line." She sighed. "Exotica, I'm tired. I... I wish Astra were here. She'd know how to make everything all right. I feel so..." She seemed as if she might have been about to admit she was lost. But then she remembered that Fred was there and glowered at him.

"I feel uncertain as well," said Exotica. "But we'll manage somehow. She would have wanted us to."

"Right, right," said Diana. "And I'll get the thing that killed her if it's the last thing I do."

"I have to warn you, that thing had very powerful magic. Perhaps it didn't even come from this dimensional plane. I saw it, and it... moved far faster than a mortal could, and it appeared in a burst of radiant light. I remember it very vividly." The look on her face was distant now.

"Well, whatever it is, I'll teach it to be afraid of the House Thessamar. Maybe it was one of the gods, getting envious of her because she was so great, like the heroes of legend. Who knows, maybe she's a constellation now..."

"Good God!" shouted Exotica. "The stars!"

Fred was puzzled. Then immediately realized what she was talking about. As a Dragonslayer, while he didn't understand magic, he was trained to deal with his effects. He'd learned to read the constellations and determine where he was should someone cast a spell of teleportation on him. And he did not recognize a single one of the constellations in the sky.

"Damn it!" spat Fred. "We're not in the Shreken, we're not even in the Havnheim! It must be one last spell of the wyrm's!"

"Probably we're not even on our sphere," said Exotica. "If we were on the earth, we would be able to recognize those constellations. That Dragon sent us to another sphere in the Empyrean, or even another plane! Or we could have been caught in the magical wake of... that thing."

"Then... then how are we going to get back home?" said Fred.

Exotica looked down into the stream. "We'll manage somehow," she said. "But first we'll need some sleep. Don't tell any of the others until we've all had a chance to sleep. Though I suspect that Sara at least may have an inkling already."

"You're right," said Fred, his head hanging down in shame, as if he was responsible for failing to protect them from this. "I do need sleep." He looked Exotica in the eyes one last time. She seemed so beautiful in the moonlight, far more than she had seemed at court. The moonlight suited her well somehow. Diana was far too rough and vigorous to be beautiful, but Fred reluctantly admitted that there was something about her that he found attractive as well.

Suddenly, Exotica turned her head, as if having heard something. Her bright green eyes had seemed to turn silver as the moonlight, but Fred decided that was simply due to his tiredness. "What is it, Exotica?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. I had this strange sensation, as if I had felt someone call my name. Clearly I need sleep as well. Wait, look over there." She pointed toward the distant forest. A great iron tower loomed over it, and beneath it seemed to be a city.

"Why didn't we notice that before?" said Fred.

"I suspect it was under a spell of concealment," said Exotica. "But something in that city just tried to contact me. With magic."

"Then perhaps we are saved!" said Fred.

"Or it could be a trap," said Diana.

"Well, we'll deal with that tomorrow. Good night, Exotica." Fred realized he was still holding her hand after all this time and sadly let it go. "Good night, Diana."

"Good night, Fred," said Exotica. She turned away from him as he went back to the camp, and looked up into the perplexing sky.

"Exotica," said Diana after Fred had left, "you sure seem certain about that thing's being magical."

"I've had a little experience with magic."

"You seem to know a hell of a lot about magic."

"I have some knowledge of natural philosophy. That includes magic. Believe me, all my magical knowledge is purely in the abstract."

"I saw your eyes. You've got the Sight, haven't you?"

Exotica drew back, frightened. "Y-yes. But don't tell Fred. Or anyone else. But especially not Fred. Do you hear me?"

"Why? The Sight's nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty to be scared of, if you've got it, but nothing to be ashamed of."

"That's not what the people in my homeland think. I believe that Fred's brother is a wizard in training and he has the Sight as well. But a man with the Sight is one thing and a woman is quite another. Fred is a man of his word and of duty. But he's also not very flexible, and he's been under a lot of strain."

"Well, that's one way of putting it. He's an arrogant pig!"

"He doesn't seem to be the only one who's arrogant here," said Exotica coldly. "Don't forget that without that 'pig' the other women would have died as well."

"Maybe you're right. But he's still an arrogant pig." She smiled a mocking smile. "I won't make fun of your sweetheart anymore, though."

"Sweetheart? He's brave enough, and handsome enough, but this is hardly the time for thoughts of love."

"If he weren't such a pig I would have tumbled him long ago."

Exotica decided it was wisest to say nothing. She simply scowled.

Suddenly, Diana drew back, frightened. "Wait, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"I thought I saw something, but... Good Goddess, I need sleep. You take the first watch. Or Sara." Exotica briefly thought she saw something in the shadows too. It was shaped like a distorted version of a man but taller. She had thought she'd seen light reflect off its long claws. But she'd been listening carefully, and she hadn't heard anything... Shaking her head to clear it, she walked back to the camp to take her watch.

1. The night passes by without incident.
2. When morning comes around, one of the group is gone.

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