Arys has never met anyone from the Order of Ikaatan apart from Taria. She was rather excited at the idea of meeting someone so prolific and renowned on their little island, not to mention the fact that this person could even have answers to where she came from. But she was just as nervous about it, hoping not to make a bad impression on someone Taria had described as ‘cold and aloof yet equal parts warm and caring.’ Seemed a contradictory description to Arys but, yet again, those same words could probably be used to describe Taria herself sometimes...
Sitting at a table inside the dining room of the Order’s headquarters, Arys heard a knock at the door and stood up to answer it.
“I’m coming!” she called. Arys opened the door and Taria walked in first but blocked the doorway for the moment.
“Taria? Is something wrong?”
“I just want you to be prepared. Reliving a past you don’t know is probably going to be a lot to take in.”
“I’m ready,” Arys said.
Taria walked into the room and stepped to one side.
“Arys... this is Luna. Luna... meet Arys.”
The woman Arys laid eyes one was gorgeous, as far as she was concerned. Her perfect ebony skin, well set cheekbones, strong jaw, and piercing pale eyes all drew her attention.
The woman’s long, braided hair matched the pale blue of the skintight full bodysuit she wore, contrasted by her dark blue, thigh high boots. Her expression betrayed no emotion and her pale eyes stared straight into Arys own pale, grey eyes.
Arys realized it then. Her own ebony skin tone matched that of Luna. Her hair was a darker shade of blue but even their oddly pale, yet beautifully grey eyes matched.
“Wow...” Arys said. “You... you look like...”
“As do you,” Luna said, finishing Arys’ thought for her.”You really are of the moon.”
“Do you know about them?” Arys asked, stepping aside to allow Luna into the room.
“Not very much,” Luna said, sitting down at the table. Arys sat down across from her and eyed the scythe on her back. “My knowledge is sparse.”
“I see... whoever our parents were liked to cover their tracks, I suppose.”
“They do. I am convinced they remain out there someplace. The Tribe. Though I still don’t know why I was left here, in Ikaatan...”
“Me neither...”
“But I have heard of that,” Luna said, pointing to the scythe. “And not just because Taria told me.”
“Where did you hear about it?”
Luna laid a small book on the table. “It was with me when I was found here. I suppose my parents wanted me to know something of my past. What our people looked like, a few vague things about their history and listening to the moon... and an old legend. About the Moon’s Blade.”
“That’s what Morrina called it.”
“The necromancer knows our history as well?”
“I guess so...” Arys said. “What do you know about the scythe?”
“That it is ancient. Passed down through generations of great warriors. The ones who would lead our fighters into battle.”
“Woah... really?”
“That’s what the book says. You and I come from different castes as well. You are the warrior caste. I am of the caste they called the Moon’s Chosen. I suppose that is why your skill with magic, as Taria tells it, is much more limited than mine.”
“So you were... Chosen?”
“The book doesn’t say what that means,” Luna said. “Just that we, in conjunction with the warrior caste, made up the Tribe’s forces. So, in a sense, we were both meant to be soldiers if we were still with them.”
“Any ideas in the book about why they would just... leave their children in a different place?”
“Nothing I could find. And I’ve probably read this book a thousand times. There are other minor things but what I’ve told you is just about all I know.”
“More than I ever knew. The only thing I ever had was the scythe. I always felt... connected to it. Like it could belong to no one else but me.”
“That’s what the legend says. It is a weapon that chooses its bearer and it has stayed with the same bloodline for centuries, or so the legend goes. It mentions that it can choose others to wield it if the need arises but the Moon’s Blade only has one true owner. And it will always find its way back to them.”
“Well I know that’s true. I’ve been separated from it but it’s like I always just... know where it is.”
Luna nodded. “Then you and the blade have become as one soul. So the legend says.”
“Wow... I never would have known that. Did you know it burns away the undead?”
Luna nodded again. “I read that it can cleanse those cursed between life and death. But, to defeat a necromancer that powerful? I don’t think the scythe alone is enough. And I don’t have the answers to that one.”
“That’s all right. It’s nice to know that, well... I’m not alone.”
Luna managed a smile for the first time. It practically lit up the room. Taria couldn’t help but feel strange to see her cold, emotionless friend finally expressing... anything. For a change.
“Yes. That is nice to know. I had hoped for something like this for a long time. We should... talk further.” Luna seemed like she tried to catch herself before offering. It seemed to Arys like she had been pretty emotionally repressed for a long time. But a thought then occurred to Arys.
“Aren’t you married?” Arys asked, blurting out the question before thinking. “I’m sorry, I just-”
“No, it’s all right. And yes. I am. Her name is Mirelle,” Luna said, smiling again. It was a much easier smile this time and her pale eyes sparkled with life at the mere mention of the name.
Taria leaned on the table. “Mirelle always was the only one who could get you to talk. Or emote. Or do... anything, really. Makes sense that you’d marry her.”
“I suppose it was always inevitable. From the moment we met...”
Their conversation was interrupted when one of the bandits rushed into the room, short of breath, and looking straight at Taria. “Boss! We got Fa’rah again! But there’s trouble!”
Taria raised an eyebrow and stood straight, folding her arms. “What kind of trouble?”
“You remember that old clan law about challenging for the right to lead?” she asked. “Well... Fa’rah just invoked it. And she’s challenging you.”
“Wait... bandit clans have laws? Since when?” Luna asked.
“They... we... are not barbarians. We do have our own rules.”
“Near enough, though...” Luna said.
Taria ignored the comment and stepped closer to the bandit. “Let them know I’m coming. And don’t forget, I get to choose how we duel. The challenger issues the challenge, the challenged sets the terms. Don’t forget that.”
“I know, boss. I wish she didn’t know... I hated when she was in charge, you know? You and Brina are so much better...”
“I can only hope so,” Taria said. “Now go back and tell them I’m coming. I’ll think of a proper way for us to duel on the way back.”
The bandit nodded and left the room. Taria picked up her sword and attached it to her belt again.
“I’ll come with you,” Arys said.
“No, Arys. This is important for you. I won’t ruin that.”
“But-”
“You and Luna should talk. Get to know each other. Goddess knows I understand wanting to know more people like you. Seems I’m the only one with the original Ikaatan blood left.”
“Taria...”
“So take the opportunity. I won’t be long. You can even bring Luna along when you’re done and, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see me show up Fa’rah.”
“Okay... thank you. Good luck. And don’t lose!”
“I won’t. I’m not giving up the leadership to that big oaf. Good luck here as well,” Taria said.
With that, the two women went their separate ways. Arys sat back down at the table and Taria left the room, following after the bandit who had just left. On the way outside, an idea struck her. It was risky but, if she could succeed, it might keep Fa’rah out of their hair...
...
The bandits’ captive was led before the current leader, rope binding her wrists behind her back. She was forced to her knees before the bandits stepped back to let the two challengers discuss.
“Taria... what is this!? Untie my hands! I demand-”
“I know what you demand. But it would be pointless,” Taria said.
“What do you mean, pointless!? Explain yourself!”
“Fa’rah, I, as the challenged, get to choose the process by which we duel. And I propose... a form of training.”
Fa’rah furrowed her brow. “Training? What-”
“Escape Training...”
The bandits spoke amongst themselves in a dull murmur of voices at the mention of the strange challenge.
“You... what?”
“You heard me. You and me. Escape training. Together. First one out leads the clan. The one who fails becomes a prisoner. Simple enough for you?”
Taria watched the panic enter Fa’rah’s eyes for a split second. She knew Fa’rah, for all her strength and fighting prowess, was prone to getting captured and lousy at escaping. Thanks to Artema and her time with the Order and her friends, Taria had become quite the escape artist. She had proved it to these very same bandits, once held prisoner and tightly bound and gagged for weeks on end. But through her escape, she demonstrated her strong fighting capability and made Brina, the last leader, bow to her.
As she remembered this, Taria noticed a strangely confident smile then cross Fa’rah’s face and the panic in her eyes was gone.
“If that’s the way you want it... prepare to be my prisoner!” Fa’rah said.
Taria nodded toward two of the more reliable among her bandits; the short, broad-shouldered woman with the wizened, scarred face, Gwynna. And a rather large, strong and straightforward woman named Ria.
“You heard her. The challenge is accepted. Prepare the prisoner tent. And don’t take it easy on me when we get there.”
Gwynna and Ria both approached Taria and stood on either side of her. “You sure this is a good idea?” Gwynna whispered.
“If I win, then she’ll be out of the way for a while. And right back where we want her,” Taria answered.
“Yeah but if she wins...”
“Don’t let her win,” Ria added. “Please.”
“Was she really that bad?” Taria asked.
Gwynna chuckled, bemused. “You have no idea how many times we were captured when she led us. And she never damn well came for us. Fa’rah fights well and talks tough but that’s about all she’s good at.”
“Right...” Taria said. “I won’t let her win then.”
“Please don’t,” Ria repeated.
“All right. Let’s get this thing done,” Taria said, removing the sword from her belt and handing it to Gwynna. “Keep that safe.”
“It’ll be looked after,” Gwynna assured her.
Taria crossed her wrists behind her back and let Ria tightly tie them together, leading her to the prisoner tent in the middle of the camp. Gwynna picked up Fa’rah and led her along just behind, taking her by the arm and dragging her along.
Two bandits each laid the two women down on their stomachs and began tightly binding them in rope. With both of their hands already and crossed and tied behind their backs, the ropes began at their ankles, crossing them over each other and tying them together. More rope went around each woman’s legs at the calves just below the knees and on their thighs just above the knees. Further coils of rope were used to pin each woman’s arms to her sides, frame her chest in a harness of rope, and then anchor down to their wrists. A final rope was then used to pull up their ankles and tie them down to both their wrists and their upper arms in strict hogties.
The bandits stepped back for a moment and both women squirmed slightly, testing their bonds.
“No outside help,” Taria said, grunting a bit at the tightness of the ropes. “We have to escape on our own. We can’t use weapons to free ourselves so no knives or anything like that. Gwynna, you check our progress every half hour. Understand?”
“Sure, boss...”
“Don’t call her that,” Fa’rah said. “She won’t be for long. I swear it!”
“Enough out of you...” Gwynna said, picking up a cloth and stuffing it into Fa’rah’s mouth. She pulled another between her teeth to hold it in, cleave gagging her, before covering that up with another cloth concealing her entire mouth.
Ria gagged Taria in the same way before the bandits stepped back and left the tent to allow the two captives to struggle.
Fa’rah started immediately, twisting and turning and thrashing about, grunting into her gag and working up a sweat. Taria concentrated hard and remained still, closing her eyes.
Keep focus... remember what Artema taught you she thought to herself. Emotions in check and... go!
Taria arched her back and began fumbling around with her fingers, feeling around behind her for any knots. Under both her and Brina’s guidance, however, the bandits had become something of experts at holding prisoners and had become quite good at leaving knots out of reach or at least very difficult to pick.
So she had no luck searching anywhere and relaxed her muscles to try and give her back a rest. She eyed her bound and gagged opponent but Fa’rah seemed to be doing nothing but wearing herself out. She had rolled onto her side now, drenched in sweat already, heaving deep breaths and groaning into her gag in frustration.
Taria turned her attention back to her own tight bonds, picking away at her wrists and finding nothing to grab onto. She worked her wrists up and down slightly and felt something hard on her crossed and tied wrists rub into her backside.
Damn it... the knot is tied on the other side. No way I’m reaching that on my own. How in hell do they expect me to escape this?
She looked over to Fa’rah and she was thrashing about wildly again, grunting and shouting into her gag but had otherwise made the same amount of progress as Taria. At least she’s having just as much trouble. Suppose I should find another knot to work on. Maybe if I can work my wrists to the front and somehow uncross them... She tugged on her wrists and tried to shuffle them around but the rope was cinched in the middle and held her wrists incredibly tightly, though it was at least comfortable enough to avoid cutting off circulation.
No luck there, I guess. I have a bad feeling I taught them too well...
Taria rolled over onto her side and just about managed to flip onto her back. She stretched herself out, arching her back again, hoping to pick away at the rope fusing together her wrists, ankles, and arms. She felt around and finally got her fingers on what she was looking for.
There’s one! Let’s see... She tugged the rope to test it. That’s the one keeping my wrists and ankles together. Won’t get me out of the hogtie but it’ll give me some slack to work with. Better than nothing.
Taria worked on picking away at the knot, falling onto her side to give her back and legs a rest. But as she did, she stopped picking away at the knot. Her eyes met Fa’rah’s and she could see the smile in them and looked to her hands...
“MMMPPHH!!” Taria squealed. There was a knife in her hands. She had somehow smuggled one into the tent and was sawing away at the ropes holding her captive.
That damn cheater! But, she could hide it again just as easily. Oh no... that’s probably her plan! Cheat the victory and steal the leadership right out from under me! I have to tell them about this!
“Hmmm! Shmmph gmmt mm nnmmfff!! Fmmrmmph chmmtmmnngg!! HMMMPPHHH!!”
Not only was her voice muffled but, ordered to ignore the captives as they were, no one would be coming into the tent! Taria now grew desperate and threw all of her strength into struggling, bucking and writhing but she only succeeded in making herself run out of breath. She screamed into her gag.
“HHLLLMMPPP! SHMMPH CHMMTNNMMNGG!! HHHHMMMMPPPHHH!!”
Fa’rah just chuckled to herself as she was almost all the way through the rope... but a friendly face greeted Taria just in time.
“Half hour check in,” Gwynna said. “Just like you- hey! Where did you get that!?”
Gwynna snatched the knife from Fa’rah’s hands and tossed it outside the tent. She checked over the ropes and looked to Taria, who’s sweating face now looked palpably relieved.
“Boss, she broke the rules. That usually means they either forfeit or get a handicap, right?”
Taria nodded.
“So... handicap? You think you can escape?”
Taria tried to shrug into her ropes but nodded anyway. Good practice she thought to herself. This happens to me a lot these days.
Gwynna sat herself on top of the muscular captive and untied the frayed rope from her wrists, retying it much tighter with another coil, this time crossing her wrists over top of each other in a box tie position. This also pulled the ropes around her arms and chest much tighter in turn. Not yet finished, Gwynna reinforced the rope connecting Fa’rah’s wrists to her ankles and added another to keep her arms and ankles attached as well. To make her even more helpless, she pulled out two more cloths, tying one on over Fa’rah’s mouth and nose and another tightly over her eyes, trying it off behind her head in a blindfold.
“There,” Gwynna said, getting up off of Fa’rah. “Hopefully that’ll teach you what happens to cheaters. Good luck escaping.”
Gwynna smiled at Taria as she left the tent and Fa’rah thrashed about wildly, working up a sweat all over again. With a smirk beneath her gag, Taria resumed picking away at the knot between her wrists and ankles.
Back to work she thought.
Ignoring the gagged protests and wild struggling of her fellow captive, Taria was able to concentrate and push down the frustration that usually overwhelmed her when she was tied up like this. The knot was tight and Taria had to rest and let herself relax, pushing the knot out of reach, but she kept her cool and, eventually, the knot was picked loose. But the rope remained in place.
This will be tough to pull loose with my ankles tied to my arms like this... not much movement. Maybe with my wrists? Taria yanked her wrists upward but the rope was looped over and over again between her ankles and wrists and didn’t move. No quick way out, then. Slow pulling with my fingers it is...
With her opponent grunting and squirming blindly, Taria flipped onto her stomach again and slowly worked the rope free, slowly loosening the grip the rope had between her wrists and ankles. Eventually, she pulled her wrists and the rope pulled loose, falling to the floor beside her. Taria tried to stretch herself out, pulling her legs... but they only moved out another six inches or so.
Well there’s some slack... but I’m still hogtied. I wonder if there’s any knots I can reach.
Taria reached up with her crossed wrists and felt around on the rope attaching her ankles to her bound arms, feeling along all the way down to her ankles, arching her back again. It was a long time searching and she worked her way up, relaxing her back again, reaching up toward her arms as far as she could reach and found... nothing.
Damn. They must have tied it somewhere near my shoulders. No way I can reach that. Unless...
Taria fell on her side and pulled her legs up as hard as she could and tried to get her bound wrists up higher... but she couldn’t even get close to the ropes binding her arms to her sides.
Okay... what about my ankles then?
It was an effort to once again arch her back but she felt around and found the knot on her crossed ankles, finding it on the front of her ankles. Of course it’s in the hardest to reach place. This will take some doing...
She had to keep resting her muscles but Taria’s subtle, controlled movements kept her energy conserved and the slow, gradual progress on the knot was paying off. When it was finally loose, she was able to pry the coil looser and looser with her fingers until she could eventually pull her sandaled feet free. The rope tying her ankles to her arms fell completely slack and Taria sighed into her gag as she stretched out her legs.
By that time, Gwynna had come in to check on them at least three times... and Fa’rah was tied up just as tightly the whole time. Finally able to move her legs, Taria sat herself up and assessed the rest of her bonds.
Legs are still tied. No way to reach that high with my arms tied. Can’ t reach any more knots... am I stuck? No. There must be something I can do...
She tugged on her wrists and felt the ropes around her arms bite even deeper. Her wrists were attached to her arms by another connecting rope but she realized then as she felt along it that the bandits had made a mistake.
Left a knot right there within reach. This will give me a bit more mobility.
This knot was easy pickings and Taria was free of that connecting rope in no time. Now she had to try and work on her wrists. She looked down at her body and noticed the knots on her arm ropes were right in front of her.
Have to get them uncrossed...
The rope was tight and it was a thick coil. There wasn’t much she could do but wriggled and twist her wrists. The process was long and painful. Gwynna came in and checked on them twice more before Taria finally managed to twist her wrists just enough to find the tiniest amount of slack and slide her wrists around in the ropes until they were now parallel. Then all of the slack was gone and her wrists were just as tightly held together as before.
Well that’s one thing accomplished. Let’s see if I can reach around to my arm ropes now.
The ropes bit into her toned arms again but, with more mobility, Taria could just about reach the knots on her lower chest. It once again took her a while. Gwynna checked on them once more, chuckling at the state of Fa’rah still writhing away helplessly and flashing Taria a smile before leaving again.
The knot came loose and Taria pulled the rope out from the tight harness, taking some time to finally work it free and give her even more mobility to reach forward and pick away the other knot there. Once again, another while later, and with some difficult shrugging, the last of the ropes around her arms fell away.
Finally able to reach the ropes around her legs, Taria quickly untied her calves before managing to tuck her bound hands past her back, under her backside, and under each ankle until they were in front of her. She untied the rope around her thighs easily enough and reached up to pull down her two gags and spit out the cloth in her mouth.
“Aggh... damn. They’ve learned a lot...” she said to herself. She couldn’t resist and a smug grin crossed her face as she looked over at Fa’rah.
“Problems?”
“MMMRRGGHH! MMMPH! FMMKK YMMM!!”
“Good thing you’re gagged or I’d be insulted,” Taria said. “Bet you regret challenging me now, don’t you?”
Fa’rah couldn’t even see Taria to glare at her, though she snarled behind her layered gag and struggled wildly again, just as helplessly hogtied as she was before.
“Take some consolation, Fa’rah. Better off as our prisoner than Morrina’s right?”
“Mmmpphh...” Fa’rah grunted.
Taria said nothing more and used her teeth to pick at the awkwardly placed knot on the back of her wrists. It was quite a challenge and Gwynna poked her head into check on them again.
“Oh, hey boss,” she said, seeing Taria sitting up with her gag hanging loose around her neck and most of the ropes lying in a pile around her. “Still working on it?”
“Almost done, Gwynna. Anything going on?”
“Nothing much... Oh. Your merc friend made it back. The Queen is with her.”
“The Queen? Why?”
“Wouldn’t say. She wants to talk to you and I told you were a bit, um... tied up for a bit. But that you’d be back.”
“Gwynna...” Taria said with a smirk. “Since when are you one to crack jokes?”
“Says you, Captain McSerious...” Gwynna answered with a smile and a laugh.
“They need work. Because that... that was awful and it was too obvious.”
“Ah, what do you know about jokes?” Gwynna shook her head but she was clearly smiling. “They’re waiting for you by the central fire when you’re done.”
“Thank you, Gwynna. I’ll be out soon.”
“Sure thing, boss. What about her?”
“She’s not going anywhere. But, if you and Ria want to make sure she stays in one place, you have my blessing.”
“Gotcha, boss. See you in a bit.”
Gwynna left the tent again and Taria continued biting away at the rope binding her wrists. Finally, with the knot loose, she worked her wrists back and forth and pulled hard until there was enough slack to slip her wrists free. Taria picked up the ropes and untied the cloths that had been gagging her and stood up straight.
“Well... that was actually quite a bit of fun. Don’t you think, Fa’rah?”
“MMMRRGHH!! LMMT MM MMT MMF THMMPH!!”
“Ah well. It was a good challenge, at any rate. Thanks for the excuse to train.”
Taria left the screaming captive behind in the prisoner’s tent and stepped out into the warm air. It was a bit cooler than when she had first gone in and night had fallen. But the bandits all stopped what they were doing and turned her way. She handed the ropes and cloths to Gwynna. “Save these for me. Maybe give those cloths a wash. I might want to get some more practice in later.”
“Really?”
Taria shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”
Gwynna just nodded and left to stash the materials away. Taria approached the fire and couldn’t help but feel a bit proud when the other bandits all gave her some mild claps for her performance but none of them seemed surprised. Others looked relieved. But, having won the challenge, there was no doubt who was in charge now.
“Ah, Sword Master Taria...” Queen Janessa said as Taria finally reached the fire. She noticed the peculiar marks all over Taria’s limbs. “Are you... all right?”
“Just handling a situation. Nothing to worry about. I’m still in charge here.”
“Well... that’s good. I had heard you and one of the Order were back so I paid your headquarters a visit. But your friend here caught me up on what you’ve been doing with the scythe and Morrina.”
“I see.”
“And I was telling her about our new Spymaster. I’m sure you know her. She was with your order quite a bit, as I recall?”
Taria furrowed her brow. “Who, my lady?”
“She worked for Jhana. You know that little brown-haired woman. Ah, I’m terrible with names. I wish my servants were here to tell me... it’s so embarrassing.”
Taria paused to think over her description... and hit on it. “Celia!?”
“Yes. Hadn’t you heard? She was promoted ages ago.”
“I guess she’s been keeping busy. That job must be demanding. She hasn’t really told any of us.”
Thinking of Celia, Taria felt a strange pang in the pit of her stomach. Her pretty blue eyes, chestnut brown hair, her lithe and pretty figure... She had always liked Celia but Taria never was one to try and show her feelings. She thought they just made things complicated. But the more time Celia spent with the group, the more Taria felt like she wanted to see her. She never acted on these feelings, or really tried to talk to Celia too much. But, there did come a day when Taria was trapped and Celia came to her rescue... and the woman had almost never left her mind since. And since then she had been a bit nervous talking to Celia, hoping not to make a bad impression...
“Taria? Did you hear me?”
Taria shook her head. The Queen had been speaking and she hadn’t heard a word she said.
“Apologies, my lady. I was just... thinking. What did you say?”
“Our Spymaster is researching the Tribe of the Moon. She had heard of a weapon that could possibly defeat the necromancer and her undead creatures and has been looking for any leads she can find. I’m certain she and her spies have found something. You and your friend should speak to her. Since you seem to be in possession of the Moon’s Blade she keeps going on about.”
“Really? Then we absolutely should pay Celia a visit. Thank you for the information, my lady.”
“You are most welcome. I will tell her to expect you. She will be in her office in the observatory. It is where all of our spies and scholars converge.”
“Very well.”
Queen Janessa turned then to Arys, standing beside her. “I could use an escort back to the palace. I can pay you for the service, kind madam.”
“Of course. Taria can meet me there and we can speak to this Spymaster of yours.”
“Very good. It’s settled. Take care to stay out of trouble, Sword Master.”
“I can only try, my lady. Have a safe journey home.”
Arys left with the Queen in tow and Taria watched them leave, the pang in her stomach refusing to leave. Having an excuse to speak to Celia was already something she was searching for. But knowing she could be the key to stopping Morrina? Taria could already feel herself falling in love... before snapping herself out of it. No time for that she thought to herself. There’s important work to be done.
She was not wrong about that. Now she just hoped Celia would have something to help them.
Story Theme Song: Her Brothers- Tribe