S. Turney - Interregnum

Kiva laughed. He hadn’t laughed a lot in the last couple of decades, but for some reason Quintillian brought out something in him he hadn’t seen in a great length of time.

“Ok, I believe you. You know what you’re doing.”

Quintillian sheathed the knife he’d been carrying, a curious habit he seemed to have picked up from Mercurias, and his grin widened. “There’s one other give-away about them…”

Kiva raised his eyebrow again and the lad continued. “Two of the ones in the road are rather familiar. Big man with a shaven head and a heavy scarf round his neck and a smaller man sweating his life out under a bear skin cloak.”

The captain grinned. “So Tythias caught up with us after all. Still, it’s taken him a month. Wonder what he wants?”

Quintillian squared his shoulders and placed his hands on the weapon pommels at his hips. Shall I run out ahead? I wonder if he’ll recognise me.”

Kiva smiled. “I’ll get the rest of this lot and follow on. You take Athas down with you.” He turned in the direction of the bulky sergeant who remained transfixed on the path behind them and opened his mouth to call out but the sergeant pre-empted him without looking.

“I know… I heard. I’ve been traded to the boy.”

The big dark-skinned man turned and his white teeth shone in a warm smile. Again Kiva pondered. While his own relationship with Quintillian had improved and the two of them talked as though they were members of the same unit, there was always a strained undercurrent. He knew the boy wanted something more from him but the conversation had never arisen since that day in the temple ruins. As long as he and the lad travelled together, there would always be an element of discomfort that they would have to ignore.

The captain had always tended to spend the nights separate from his men. Not far away but separate nonetheless; he slept little and had a propensity to wander. Quintillian, on the other hand, seemed to have hooked up particularly with Athas, Marco, Brendan and Bors. The five of them were always together in the evening playing dice, telling stories or just talking. Kiva was fairly sure that the lad had been working his ideas of a return to glorious Imperialism on the company, since he was forbidden to speak of it to the captain. Still, that bunch were prone to romantic notions anyway so what difference would it make?

With a shrug, the captain watched the sergeant wandering off down the path with the young man by his side amid the flowers and bees and the gentle heat haze. It was hard to imagine two more physically different individuals. He cleared his throat. “Ok you lot” he shouted. “Pack up; time to move. There’s some old friends down the road waiting for us and I want to get to Carmana before dark.”

The company stood, stretching their legs and hoisting their armour and packs into position. As he turned back to the wall to collect his own swords, he caught Mercurias for a moment staring at him in an odd, curiously knowing way and made a note to ask the medic about it later.

By the time the rest of them were on the move, Athas and the lad were already down in the dip with Tythias and his men. Kiva crested the hill with Thalo at his side and was intrigued to note that still not all the ‘Lion Riders’ were on the path and in the open. A number remained in the bushes and, despite Quintillian’s good eyes, he’d missed three more that remained on watch around a half mile out from the meeting. What the hell was Tythias being so careful about? Who’d he angered this time?”

As Kiva approached the group on the road, he motioned Thalo and Scauvus to either side and the two ran off toward the scouts away in the trees.

“Tythias,” he said as he came to a halt. “Nice to see you again. What’s all this in aid of?” He gestured around at the Lion Riders among the bushes.

The scarred mercenary reached out and clasped Kiva’s hand. Curiously his customary smile was absent. Kicking himself for his over confidence, Kiva’s smile faded too in anticipation of the worst.

The captain of the Lion Riders stood beside the big brute he remembered from the Inn at Acasio. The mute made a hollow whistling noise and nodded.

“Tregaron.” There was not a hint of the usual humour about Tythias’ greeting and Kiva’s hand found its way unconsciously to the hilt of his sword, where his fingers played on the pommel. Tythias folded his arms. “I could have saved myself a lot of work if I’d paid more attention to your young ‘Septimus’ back in Acasio. I’ve been looking all over for him for a couple of weeks now without really knowing who it was I was looking for.”

A quick glance to either side confirmed that the Grey Company were all ready for trouble, though no blade had actually been drawn yet. “Go on…” prompted Kiva.

“We’re here for him, I’m afraid. Velutio’s paying a thousand corona for the boy that travels with your company and he’s not particularly fussy over the state he’s returned in. In fact, I think he suggested a preference for dead.”

Kiva reached out with his right hand and pushed Athas’ hand down, forcing the blade the big man was starting to draw back into the sheath.

“Whoever you think he is” Kiva answered, “he’s one of my company and you can’t have him.”

Tythias shook his head and held his hands out. “I was kind of hoping you’d have dumped him by now. I can’t pass up on a thousand, but there’s five hundred more for the unit he travels with that I’d prefer not to collect.”

Kiva smiled, though there was no humour in it. “Tythias, don’t start this. You won’t win. We’ve never fought each other; not properly. Anyway, you were a commander of men in the noblest service on the planet, man. We’re old comrades. You took an oath, remember?”

Tythias shook his head. “I remember the oath. Hell, it was under you I took it, but the world has changed Kiva. If I don’t claim the reward someone else will and they won’t be half as reasonable about it as me!”

Athas stepped in front of Quintillian. The boy had said nothing so far, but his hands were twitching around the hilts of his swords and he was glaring at the captain of the Lion Riders. The big sergeant frowned at the mute in front of him. “How about you, whitey? You feel like another try?”

Jorun shook his head and made an “Ah… aghk” noise as he pointed at the boy. He turned to Tythias and shook him by the shoulder. “Aghk! Ah… ah… ah!”

Tythias ignored him.

“Kiva, what’s happened to you? A thousand gold for him? You’ve never passed up an offer like that in your life. I could be persuaded to split it…”

The burly barbarian continued to shake his captain until Tythias’ head snapped round angrily. “What is it you great idiot?”

Jorun pointed desperately at the boy. “Akk!” he shouted.

Athas stepped to one side and with only a momentary glance at Kiva, addressed Tythias. “I think what your big friend here is trying to tell you is that he knows who the boy is.”

Kiva turned sharply and gave Athas a barely-perceptible shake of the head, but the sergeant shook his own in reply. “It’s no good captain. Now his hair’s changed colour, he’s unmistakable.”

Kiva’s attention was drawn back to his opposite number by a whistle.

“Hell and fucking Gods!” exclaimed Tythias. “You mean…”

Athas nodded. “Why else do you think Velutio would pay that kind of scratch for a boy? He’s not that way inclined.”

“Holy Hell!” Tythias swung round away from them, throwing his hands onto his head and rubbing his scalp as he considered the situation. One of the younger members of his group shrugged. “Who is he?”

Tythias laughed and Kiva was pleased to spot a note of hysteria in there. “Who is he? He’s the fucking Emperor! Or he would be. Or will be. Or something. Shit, Kiva. How’d you land yourself in this?”