The Darkness Behind the Light

Chapter 2

Before leaving the farm, I stacked the bodies and lit them on fire. It wasn't the most ceremonial funeral for them but it was more than they would have done for us if the battle had turned out differently. I suited up in my armour and Cathy and I began our journey town to the city of Riverside.

The continent of Kalenden wasn't very large. Cathy and I have walked from one side to the other in two days. Most people would take the extra day to move at a more leisurely pace but Cathy and I always find ourselves in a race against time whenever we needed to make the journey.

The province of Balendar lay on the east coast stretching from the north east corner of the continent to the south east corner, almost crescent mooning its way across the land. The majority of the farmland was in the west of the province, around the city of Riverside and close to the border of the Archanion Field. When choosing a farm, we decided to put as much distance between us and the deteriorating Archanion Field as possible, sticking close to the city so I could make it to the capital quickly.

The Archanion Field used to be home to the Tower of the Watchful Eye but after Cathy and I banished it from the physical plane, the land started to grow corrupt. It had been a slow process, starting with the animals going insane and attacking anyone and finishing with the land dying and going barren. Every time I walked through the area, I felt a ping of guilt for being responsible for the damage to the land. Pushing the Archanion Field out of my mind, we entered the trading centre of the Balendian Kingdom.

As its name suggested, Riverside sat right on the river that semi-circled within the province. With the farmlands close by and the town of Davalin too far north to deal with the capital directly, it was up to Riverside to keep the flow of troops, lumber and food moving throughout the kingdom. In the past, the Lords of Riverside would use this as leverage to gain more favour in the court but the current ruler, Lady Scott, had shown to be fair and caring, becoming a guardian of the poor in a land still devastated after Desroche's war. Without her help, King Markus and I would have had a harder time putting the pieces back together.

We bypassed everything and headed straight for the docks. With any luck we wouldn't have to wait long for the next ferry to the capital. It didn't look hopeful when I didn't see any ferries in the docks so Cathy and I split up to find Ernie, the dock master, to figure out when he was expecting the next one in. I found him first in his office and causally strolled in with a smile on my face.

He looked up and returned my smile. "Hello, Advisor. I haven't seen you too much lately."

"I was trying to catch a few days off but work always seems to find me. When are you expecting the next ferry in?"

"Shouldn't be too long." He checked the northern horizon. "The river's a little rough today so the northern ferry is running a bit late."

"What about the one to Thurlborn Peak?"

"The one to the capital just left not too long ago. It's not coming back until the afternoon."

"Thanks, Ernie. I'll be back later."

"Anytime, Advisor."

I headed out in search of Cathy. When wearing her armour, she was always the easiest person to find. The white steel reflected the sunlight despite the dried blood stains from our earlier battle. She had retreated back to the entrance of the dock area and I crossed through the crowds to get to her.

Her armour was a speciality suit made in the Forge of Kings. Steel that came out of the forge always turned white and was infused with the mysterious and magical energies from the forge. In the hands of non-magic users, the weapon was simply lighter and more durable. In the hands of a magic user, magical energies were amplified. While Cathy is enhancing her body, the magic will activate the magical energies of the armour and weapons and become stronger. Sometimes while she's doing this, her body will seem like it is burning as a light blue fire spreads across her. She had hoped it could be used to burn her enemies but sadly it only seemed to exist for dramatic purposes.