The War of the Roil: The Knight and the Warlock

Chapter 19: All's Fair

Edmund hadn't spoken to Camilla since the night of the infiltration. But in the three days past, he often thought of her. How could she be the Thief?

The whole continent would know if the Thief had been found, wouldn't they?

Edmund leaned against the rail of his chariot, sighing.

The Atrellian cavalry had been hidden among the canyons and rock formations in the Morgaul desert. Every chariot they had was brought out to the battle. Each chariot held one warrior, one archer and one driver.

Neither of Edmund's teammates had arrived yet.

Why would she keep that from me? I mean, the Empire, sure. But aren't I trustworthy enough? Edmund thought. He immediately felt guilty. I shouldn't be agonizing over what she thinks of me. I just need to know she's still alright.

Edmund turned as a pair of footsteps approached the chariot.

A tall, bulky man with ash-white skin, solid black orbs for eyes and light blue markings all over his exposed arms stood near the chariot. The man was a flamewright, from the volcanic islands and archipelagos south of Atrell.

"Greetings, sir Knight. It's an honor to meet you." the flamewight bowed, "My name is Taue. I have been assigned as your archer."

Edmund nodded, allowing the flamewright to board the chariot with him. It was odd to have to tell people if it was alright to approach him.

"What's that on your bow?" Edmund asked. The flamewright's bow had an odd wooden attachment to the middle with a handle on the end.

"Ah. A new model the Empire is trying. It's a stock of six arrows that I can fire without reloading. According to my higher ups." Taue said, "I prefer using a normal bow or a crossbow, but my captain insisted that this would be better against the Morgauls."

Edmund nodded, "Impressive."

"If the Morgauls come and we're without a driver, I feel no envy for the man who was supposed to take up our reins." Taue chuckled.

"Hey, friend. You just got here." Edmund smirked.

"Ah, but just because you chose not to complain doesn't mean I cannot." Taue said.

"There we are." A nasally, quick voice said as a tall, skinny man hopped onto the chariot. He bore the tan skin of an Atrellian native. The man took the reins of the chariot, "Sir Knight." the man nodded, "A Derta. Alright." he said to Taue. The flamewright grew physically uncomfortable at the word, "Name's Herve. Sorry about my tardiness. Had to catch a few more minutes of sleep to outmaneuver the Morgauls."

The aura of undeserved confidence Herve emmanated made Edmund want to kill him then kill himself. Overconfidence in any capacity was a bad thing on the battlefield.

Edmund drew a spear from a collection of them strapped to the inside of the chariot. He liked using spears a lot more than swords. Even after having been put through training, the spear still felt more natural.

Luckily in a battle of this kind, swords wouldn't reach far enough from the chariot.

"They didn't give us any shields, did they?" Edmund asked.

"No need." Herve said, smiling, "We've got this bad boy right here."

The man slapped a metallic handle coming from the inside of the chariot.

"I'm a Sparker. As long as I just send a bunch of energy into this thing, the metal panel on the outside will take most of the arrows for us." he explained.