Murder the Heroes

Chapter Three; Section Six

“Duke,” Coil said with a bow. The man’s smile turned up the corners of his moustache and crinkled his green eyes.

“No, no, I’m no duke now. My titles were taken, among other things. Call me Esquire, but only if I may call you Coil.” Coil could only nod, shocked by the ease with which the man spoke of his loss. They shook hands, awkwardly. “I see you’ve lost bits and pieces of your own?”

Coil raised his mutilated hand and considered it. “A battle scar, unlike yours.” Esquire smiled at that. He certainly looked a great deal better than the last time Coil had seen him. The bruises were gone, the cuts had healed, the outrage had retreated. Perhaps because he was exacting the very revenge he’d promised?

Coil took the offered chair. It was strange, he reflected, how things changed. Not so long ago he had been a lowly alchemist’s apprentice and the man opposite him had been second in line to the throne. Now they were both the same, both of them disowned, both of them terrorists.

It was a funny old world.

“The lady you arrived with won’t be joining us?”

Coil glanced out of the tent, past the metal bull men, towards the moonlit spot where Liberty had dropped him off. “She said she needs to see a gnome about an army.”

“Ah, well. A shame. There’s always room for a beautiful woman at my table. Even after, well, you know.” There was a momentary silence, “And we could have used that strange creature of hers. Never seen anything like it, but it looked menacing enough.” She was beautiful now? Coil hadn’t been paying attention. In his mind she was still a walking corpse. Of course, he’d noticed how she’d begun to heal. Her skin wasn’t quite whole yet, but it had been dark and the Duke had been at a distance. “Who was she?”

“I’m not sure,” Coil said. “She’s connected to Fortwo, who sent me to fetch her, though for the life of me I don’t know why. She was the one who rescued me, not the other way around. She’s very powerful.”

“Damn shame that she left then, we could have used somebody powerful. He didn’t tell you who she was?”

“He isn’t very forthcoming.”

“No he’s not.” They regarded each other. “You look different.”

“How so?”

“More confident. If I’m not being too forward, I think it’s because you stepped out from the Contender’s shadow. The last time I saw you, you were a boy amongst men. You’re your own man now.”

Coil smiled, but shook his head. “Oh no, I still stand in shadows.”

“Her shadow? That would be hard. She’s gone; can’t stand in the shadow of somebody who isn’t here.” They sipped some wine. It was good. Generals always drank good wine. Perk of the job.

“You look good too. Better than the last time I saw you.”

“I am good. Better than the last time I saw you.”

Coil forced a laugh. “I’m sorry, you know.”

“For what?”

“It was me who closed the portal on you. Otherwise you’d have got away.”

He waved the apology away, “Oh don’t be silly. If you wouldn’t have done it, somebody else would have, sooner or later. It was inevitable. The war was lost. I just hadn’t accepted it yet. In all truth, the war was lost the moment the Contender’s betrayed me. I could have saved a lot of lives if I would have just given in. You did us all a favour.”

“I didn’t do you any favours. What your brother did,” Coil couldn’t find the words to continue.

“What, take my titles?” He laughed at Coil’s pained look. “Look, what happened, happened. I will take my revenge, but not against you. In fact, I’m going to need your help.”

Coil shifted uncomfortably and changed the topic. “How goes the uprising?”

“Well. Fortwo is a bloody genius. He had Aberfell attacked and got Arrend to overreact. That left their armies exposed. For the time being we’ve been beating them back.”

“That’s because you’re in charge.” Esquire raised his glass in salute and smiled. Coil returned both gestures. Glass clinked; both men drank. “So what now?”

“Now we let events unfold as they must. The people will turn against him, and as I told Fortwo, what is important for me is securing the future of Aberfell. We need Arrend for that, if we want to keep this dynasty going. The King made sure of that.”

“Unless he wakes up.”

“I hope he does, so that I can see the look of horror on his face as I tear apart what he’s built and take his jewels from him too.” There was the anger Coil had been expecting! Of course it couldn’t be far off. How could he not be angry? Until that moment, however, Esquire had hidden it well.

“You know this is bigger than Aberfell?”

“I know. All the same I can’t let my home go to the wolves. I thought you would share the sentiment. You’re from Aberfell. Where do you hail from again?”

“Northvale.” Coil didn’t tell him that there no longer was any such place to speak of.

“Right, Northvale. Can’t get much more Aberfellian than that. And you’re the hero of the fall of Drieburg, too.” Coil smirked. “So you understand the way I feel. It’s home.”

It hadn’t been a question. So Coil asked one of his own. “Would you sacrifice the world for our home?”

Esquire laughed and toyed with his glass. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” They sat in silence for a time as they both considered what they would do if it did come to that. Coil would choose the world, but then in effect he’d already made that choice the second time he lay dying. It was disquieting to think that Esquire might choose otherwise. Now was not the time to discuss it, however. For though Esquire might no longer call himself ‘duke’ and the King might have disowned him, scarred him, marred him, that didn’t change that he’d been born a royal. And royalty didn’t like being challenged.

“So how do we do this? Why did you ask for help?”

“Well, the Aberfell armies are in retreat now, but sooner or later the Krull will come back. And as things stand we can’t handle them. I simply don’t have the magical resources. Those above and those below, even at full strength we never had the resources. That, I was told, was where you come in. You’re supposed to take over our magical offensive.”

“I am?”

“You are. I was told you wouldn’t disappoint, by the great Fortwo himself, even.”

“I think he vastly overestimate my abilities.”

“That seems hard to believe. In fact, I think of all the people it is you who might be the one who’s estimating incorrectly. I mean, I tried striking out at the Contenders plenty of times. I never succeeded. You did. The hero of the Aberfell uprising.”

That’s what they call me now?”

“They do. They think you’re larger than life. And may I add that you played into that role beautifully by arriving on the back of that creature?”

“A Dragontorn,” Coil mumbled. He was a hero? A villain, more likely. Hadn’t his hands been stained red with innocent blood? Hadn’t his machinations led to countless dead? You were always a hero to me, she said. He gritted his teeth and hunched his shoulders. “Alright, why don’t you show me what I’ve got to work with and I’ll see what I can do.”

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