Chapter Text
Varka’s booming voice resounded through the town’s docks, along with the squeaks of the crates and the cries of the gulls.
“Alright everyone ! Those who stay in Nasha Town, wipe your tears, you’ll be joining us soon enough. As for my team, let's get going !”
With that, all knights shared one last goodbye and embarked on the ship, all more or less excited.
Lohen was definitely excited. Most they’d encountered so far were either squishy criminals or politically compromising, faction related individuals wandering about. A bore, really. He'd started getting an itch at the back of his mind, begging to be scratched yet slapped with logistics again and again. Things were finally going to get interesting and he couldn't wait.
They should arrive in Piramida in the late afternoon; Lohen slumped against the ship's railing. Such, a bore.
The salty, cold wind tousling his hair and the cold water droplets hitting his face were nice and all, but that was about it.
Lohen waited, maybe, fifteen minutes after getting on the ship before going down to the accommodation quarters. He went down the stairs and slipped his head through the door. Some knights had found a corner to try and sleep the trip off, while some others played card games with one another.
He scanned the room and — first thing first — he realized just how many old men and ladies were in the party. And amidst all the old bones, he found the old man he was looking for.
He was getting bugged by Lohen’s Captain about something useless, if he had to guess.
Varka put a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder, “—chances for the Lightkeepers to be hostile to potential allies, Anselm.” And by doing so, he also turned just enough to make eye-contact with Lohen.
“That is not my point—”
“Oh, Lohen ! Hi, there kid. I thought you’d seek me out by the fifth minute,” Varka teased and laughed, “what's gotten into you ?”
Lohen rolled his eyes, “glad to know I kept you waiting.”
Anslem had a disapproving frown distorting his face, but Lohen had only glanced his way because Varka was retracting his hand from the Captain’s shoulder. To approach Lohen with an easy smile.
“Well, then it’s your job to get these poor legs going.”
Varka raised his hand up to salute Anslem and hastily pushed Lohen forward to the stairs. Favoritism on full display.
“Phew, alright !”
They resurfaced and the Grandmaster didn't waste a second to spread his arms and stretch, grunting and exhaling as if he'd done something to get tired already. “Darn, the air is nice up here.”
“You know, I’m only calling you old to make fun of you. Now you sound like you’re hitting forty and checking for back problems,” Lohen said, judgment barely hidden from his voice.
Varka eyed him with amusement, before suddenly slouching and bowing at the waist, a hand flying to his back. He took on an old man’s voice to say, “agh, don't talk of misfortunes.”
It did make Lohen huff… He tsked to hide it and Varka laughed in his face.
Then Varka's eyes widened with fright, “wohohow ! Seriously, don't mention age again, I’ve still got a good six years ahead of me.”
Lohen jumped right on the words and sped forward on the deck to face him, “then let's spar !” He flashed the big man a cocky smirk, “I feel like you've got bad balance on a boat.”
“Ah, good observation." The man spoke with leisure in both, his voice and step, not even readying himself for the fight. "Since when did you start studying your opponents ?”
Leave him a few more seconds and he'll put his hands in his pockets; with the wide chest window, the wind blowing in his hair and the relaxed stance, the man only missed a drink and a sunsettia and he was on vacation.
Lohen didn't mind. The fun part was always getting him on the defensive.
“Stop talking and bring it on,” he said. But charged first.
Hand-to-hand with a man of Varka’s size was all about balance and feints. If the man took a step back, Lohen had to go forth or to the side, if he went to the side, Varka went forth, and if Varka went forth, and the ship swayed just right, and the ship’s captain peeped his head out with just the right timing to yell, “what are you boys doing there ?”
Then Varka would self-consciously get distracted and Lohen could trip him; which answered the captain with a big thumped “rhmphf.”
Lohen laughed as the Grandmaster rubbed his head in shame and defeat, “we were letting off some steam, cap’,” Varka shouted back before grumbling with a look Lohen’s way, “otherwise this rascal right here might freeze the sea to run to the isle.”
“Well, don't," the captain yelled back, turning away. "With how big ya’ are, fall a bit nearer to the bow and you’d be tippin’ the ship right over.”
Varka grunted, awkwardly laughed, and pushed himself up, sending a thumbs up to the captain. “Got it ! We’ll see ourselves downstairs…”
And with that, he took Lohen by the scruff to speed back down the stairs. He didn't even have the time to protest, the old man interrupted him with a conspiratorial voice, “hahaha, but he won't know if we do arm wrestling though.”
And laughed as if it was a good joke.
Clearly, he was still embarrassed by the encounter. Lohen clicked his tongue, “maybe put me down first and I’ll consider it.”
He wasn't truly hanging up in the air, like the hold wasn't particularly rough, but he was still held by the scruff like a feisty kitten. Not that Varka couldn't hoist him up like one; Lohen was certain he weighed the same as one of the man’s claymores.
The image seemed to amuse Varka nonetheless, and he laughed again, loud and clear for all knights to hear.
With a leader like that, the Knights of Favonius could fear for their lives…
—
The sun was setting and finally, finally, Lohen could see docks they could disembark on. He could see the fauna and sense the sinister aura coming from the lands, he could see a dark violet fog coming from the mountains, he could already sense the thrill and adrenaline of a fight as he speared a formless foe and tasted his own blood in his mouth—
Then Varka stuck him to crates duty before he could even giggle. This trip, was such, a bore.
He had half a mind to delegate his share to another knight, but even he knew not to run off when they had no specific camp. Not to say but, he didn't feel like getting the local military on his back.
Lohen moved the crates to their allocated carriage; the less eyes he got on himself, the freer he was to act as he pleased. Even though he twitched when they were given a few more minutes of spare time, time to wait for their guides to arrive and time for the more feeble knights to empty their stomachs by the waters.
He turned away, disgusted. Tongue out and grimace on his face.
By doing so, he turned to face a merchant with a musket in pretty good condition. It caught his eye, and he might as well utilize his time to prepare...
Soon after, some people with long coats and big hats came to collect them — the Ratniki of the Lightkeepers, from what Varka had described — and Varka discussed a bit more with them before announcing the gameplan, which was : resting for the night and giving their hosts a hand…
“And the good thing is, these kind lads here have cleared the path ahead !”
Lohen pressed his lips together and reassembled the gun. It clicked loudly into place.
Then the group started to get a move on with the horses at a speed that screamed: we're waiting for a second wave of monsters to arrive, just for you.
Lohen bit his cheeks and paid the merchant, putting the acquired gun away. He had time to catch up.
The cold winds had forced all knights to put on their winter gear, and even Varka — who led the way ahead, and laughed easily with a Ratnik — had been forced to button up his shirt and put on a coat. Lohen didn't feel too fazed though; on the contrary, he thought it a perfect weather to get his blood pumping.
But then Anslem and that other Captain popped up in his peripheral, ready to pounce and scold him if he imperiled the group even a little…
He wanted to imperil himself, not—
“Lohen !” another knight exclaimed. He turned his head and saw Ekbert trot towards him.
“Hm.”
“Uh… I don't think I understood the plan…very well. And- I mean I saw you with Varka earlier- uh, what are we doing…?”
Lohen groaned; more like the guy didn't listen at all.
“Y’all can get drunk tonight and get yourselves killed tomorrow, that's the plan.” With that, he distanced the other whose steps had faltered. Hopefully, he'll spread the word not to bother him with stupid questions.
He walked until he was near the front of the group, close yet far enough to deny listening in on Varka’s discussions.
“—it's a good thing you’re…”
—
While he suffered the long walk across the plains and bridge, Lohen had thought something up. Varka was jovially networking his way to an alliance, and the work he'd done in Nasha Town had already been enough to earn the knights a welcome gathering from the Ratniki.
They went up to the headquarters, and as Varka joined the Starshyna to go through with the formalities of announcing their presence, Lohen scanned the place with his eyes to pick the most naive looking Ratnik there was.
He should also gather a list of knights before they ate, so they wouldn't be taken by surprise.
Lohen didn't bother admiring the lamps, the nightly scenery or the bumbling crowds.
His eyes settled on a blondie, leaned against the railing with big doe eyes, taking in all the action from a distance. He seemed neither too dumb nor too smart. And in any case, if he couldn't answer the questions, then another older and more experienced looking man —buffer too— lurked in his presence.
Lohen seemed to be around the guy's age, so he could easily gain both of their sympathy, “hey !” He walked up to the duo, “y’all are patrolling around here often ?”
The younger's eyes swiftly turned and focused on Lohen's approaching figure. “Hm ?”
Then he briefly glanced at the other man, who nodded, and he looked back at Lohen, eyes naturally falling into sharper half-lidded lines. He had a scar on his neck too. Interesting.
“We do, yes. Do you need any sort of assistance ?”
Straight to the point, Lohen could appreciate that. “I was curious to know how…populated, the area ahead was.”
The guy’s face was quite easy to read, he looked perplexed, definitely cautious but more because he was in search of a satisfactory answer, “well…depends on what you mean by populated. There are a few khuuvaki creatures but… Humans, not so many.” The warm timber grew sombre, along with blondie’s expression. “If at all. Most who go forth alone are decimated by the Wild Hunt.”
Interesting. “Oh, so the entirety of the zone or…?”
“Starting from the swamp, there is a thick fog ahead, and further North, the place is infested by the Wild hunt,” the older man answered.
That’s the kind of information he’ll keep in mind for later.
The blondie nodded along before asking, “is there a reason you ask ?”
Lohen tried molding his excitement into a thankful looking smile — to keep the professionalism a slight second longer. “Think of it as a survey on dangerosity. Tomorrow we'll start searching for a place to set camp.” Until they could reach Amsvartnir.
“Tomorrow ? That's good. You’ll encounter less trouble since,” the younger turned to the older again, “the exile... is most prolific at night.” He ended his sentence as if asking a question, and Lohen’s smile momentarily wavered.
“Yes. It's best you prepare yourselves at night and set camp in the morning. This way you'll let the night shift clear the path first.” The man sighed and leaned his back on the railing, crossing his arms and scratching his beard, “though I fear there will be an influx of enemies from the increase of…personnel. You should be careful, newcomers are the most vulnerable to the Hunt’s cries.”
Lohen nodded along the words. He’d thought the man to be less talkative, seems like he was just a tired, battle-hardened soldier — who was underestimating him, clearly. And blondie on the other hand…
The guy nodded again once and was about to speak, “by the way—” but Lohen already knew all he needed to know and confirm his speech— “alright then, thank you for the information !”
And with that he sped off to find Varka, ignoring the Ratniki’s expressions.
The rest of the knights were either talking to Lightkeepers or off to their assigned quarters, waiting for dinner Lohen would guess. Mentally, he checked which ones would be up for a scouting mission.
A very quick search later, Lohen found the Grandmaster talking to another big old man — definitely the Lightkeepers’ leader — inside by the fireplace, arms either crossed or gesticulating around.
Lohen took a few strides and committed to the character.
“Grandmaster ? If I may bother you for a second.”
Both old men turned towards him — absolutely towering over him. Varka already had a confused smile on his face, if only a bit twitchy and suspicious, but the Starshyna looked solemn and intrigued.
“Sure…go ahead ?”
He should try being respectful more often, this was fun. Lohen crossed his arms behind his back, like a goody-two-shoes about to report.
“I have a proposal. Since there is a night shift patrol that will soon depart, I think it interesting to send a few knights along. This way, we can help the Lightkeepers and familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. From what I’ve gathered, it would be in everyone’s best interests if the knights get exposed to the Wild Hunt’s influence as fast as possible.” He talked in a calm and rational manner, using his most empathetic voice fluctuations.
Lohen already knew he had to convince not Varka, but the Starshyna. And from the glint that shone through the man’s stoic façade, he’d already won.
“Hm. I get your…concern, Lohen, but everyone's tired from—”
“I’ve already asked around for volunteers,” he lied with a smile, “there are knights at the ready.”
The one thing he'd been too impatient to do. He bit his cheek really hard.
Varka let out a long pensive wince, and they both eyed the Starshyna. Come on, your own people complained about being understaffed—
“You seem quite implicated, young man,” the Starshyna began heedfully, “may I ask for your name ?”
Lohen’s eyes widened a bit. He was either about to get blacklisted swiftly or denied. He gave in nonetheless, with a diluted knight’s salute for the theatrics, “the name is Lohen, Sir.”
Varka turned to the other man with a long sigh, “he's our new Vice Captain of the 5th company. So…ranged weaponry, if you will.”
The Starshyna nodded, looking pleased, “hm, so you’re new to the position. I see. You seem like a hard worker, Lohen.” He spoke the words like a compliment before pausing, expression closing off, “I do think it’s something to consider. The quicker you get a hold of the land’s rules, the better. Now, only your best fighters should be dispatched at night, which can be as dangerous as it can be useful.”
Varka nodded and hummed in agreement, "that's why we'll trust your men to coach us." He let out a small, final laugh, "alright. I’ll make an announcement to let the volunteers know of the situation,” he sent a knowing glance in Lohen's way, “then I’ll let you dispatch us as you please. I’ll already count myself in if we go through with this.” Varka ended his speech with a toothy smile and laugh, “this will mark the start of our growing cooperation.”
Lohen felt a very intense surge of excitement course through his body, old man number two had been quite easy to convince.
On that note, Lohen was dismissed and immediately went to search for all the more experienced knights he could gather. He was able to coerce some to join right before the official announcement.
To his surprise, Varka’s speech convinced even more knights to join. Urging them to help their newfound camarades and get a bit of action. It felt almost like he was giving orders, trying to make up for Lohen's shortsightedness.
And he could've been very happy about it, had Varka not dropped his name for everyone to hear. Now his name and face were public domain, and how annoying it was to be associated to a kind gesture. When all knights actually knew of his temperament.
He sighed. It didn't matter. People were going to talk anyway. They were getting dispatched tonight and he could at least gather intel on strengths and dangerous areas. Lohen was overjoyed.