Deus Ex Machinarium

The Maargard Federation spanned along the entire length of Orda, on its western bank. Paladinate’s claimed lands ran several hundred kimers westward, but there wasn’t a definite, legally binding border, as there wasn’t anyone to compete for the unknown reaches of the wildlands. Maybe except tribes of wildmen and sheer logistical difficulties. Ordenquel Basin was barely inhabited compared to the Maargardian Plain, and a daring explorer would either stumble on seemingly impassable Soutwals to the south or rocky ridges of Erenden Mountains to the west. However, If one set out from Graat Koch and headed west, apart from a fairly minor obstacle of Hozant Hillocks, the only problem sufficiently west would be an impassable woodland infested with savages.

Still, lands west were being settled, one logging camp at a time, usually guarded by a rickety, hastily made fort. Despite regular intrusions or even full-blown ‘Vhirzungen’ into their lands, the indigenous people were putting constant resistance. Freshly built and settled villages, military or logging camps were being raided, razed, and put to the sword. Usually with an equally brutal response, as there wasn’t stopping the slow encroachment of the much more advanced and better-armed forces of Maargard. So much so that the same natives were equally often enslaved by the people they tried to push away.

The few exploratory expeditions into the Wildlands from the Ordenquel would usually set out from Kaar Paarvoch, a major stronghold and city on the northwestern ridge of the basin and head on the same azimuth through a shallow pass between Hozants and Erendends, which was known as being meadows and grasslands up to the horizon.

Anh and Brandt stepped out of the Erendens a day before and with a sight of blossoming, fresh greenery they set out with an ambitious pace, which turned challenging to reach. The steppes turned into a mushy bog after the previous day’s rainfall and the fresh, thick carpet of grass slowed them considerably, especially their horses. It was early evening when Anh announced they were approaching their distance goal.

The two horses they still had were fatigued close to their limits. For the last candle of the trip, the animals shambled with their heads down and required constant vigil, encouragement, and course corrections from Brandt, who wasn’t in any better condition. During the last hours, the hoomin resorted even to lashing the poor animals.

Anh was also tired, albeit for different reasons. Kinetically juggling all the instruments, navigating, and making sure they kept their heading drained his reserves of awareness. Coupled with the burdens of their travels so far, he requested, for the first time since they left Sheridawn, that the hoomin would take the guarding duties so the tanai could sleep, at least for a few candles.

The camp they set out for the night was bare. Brandt didn’t seem to mind, but comforts, usually requested by resting tanai, were just not happening. To make matters worse, hoomin decided to avoid setting up a fire to avoid revealing their location. Anh ended up sleeping on a makeshift pile of his bags and clothes and woke up bruised, bent out of shape, swollen and cold, to the lamentations of Birdekk.

The morning came uneventfully, and the day was shaping up to be bivy, with minimal cloud coverage and a slight, chill wind sweeping from the south. It was immediately evident that the conditions from the previous day didn’t improve, it was still boggy and damp. They set off early. Before they did, Anh glanced at Brandt, but the hoomin either wasn’t bothered or just decided to get on with the task at hand. He took the horses in tow and gestured at the tanai to lead. So he did, with an orbiting constellation of navigational swirling tools around him.

Anh mostly kept to himself for the first few candles, but at one point he noticed that the hoomin started to take short breaks, and began to lag behind. About noon the tanai grew curious as to what the hoomin was doing. He caught up to him at such a moment, floated to him, and asked.

-” What are you staring at?” - the hoomin shaded his eyes with his palm and sternly gazed into the distance – “You are searching for this ‘seeker’ that is supposedly after us, don’t you?”

-” Seer. Yes.” - answered Brandt – “I also think that we are indeed being spied on. At this very moment even.”

-” Where?”

Hoomin let his left hand off the bridle and pointed into the sky.

-” There. If you focus, there is a black splotch up there that is keeping a consistent distance from us.”

For a triskol the tanai attempted to focus on the area of the sky the hoomin pointed at. His eyebrows and earlobes wiggled and his eyes turned into slits. But he didn’t even attempt to raise his hand to protect his eyes from the midday haze.

-” I was either influenced to think so or I indeed see a black dot. A bird maybe? You, I guess, think it this ‘seer’ you mentioned.” - the tanai finally spoke

-” I have a strong suspicion. Yes. From our vantage point, I see a black dot that is following us. This dot also follows a movement pattern consistent with military manuals of Ordo Pro Cvirsi.”

Anh shot Brandt a puzzled look. The hoomin didn’t notice and instead continued to observe his target. They stood in silence for a triskol.

-” How do you know all this?” - the tanai finally spoke, puzzled.

-” I co-wrote these manuals, a long time ago” - replied the Nord – “It’s both weird and unnerving to be on the receiving end of my work.”

Anh didn’t know how to react or what to say. Wanting to not look like a total buffoon he finally shaded his eyes as well and followed his gaze where his companion was looking.

-” Can you point me to where this spy is?” - he asked. Without a word, Brandt once again pointed at the sky.

It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the distance, thus at first Anh didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Finally, there it was, a dark point in the sky. It was stationary, unlike what one would expect from a bird. But it was just there. Then suddenly it shifted to their right… and stopped.

-” Do you think they see us?”

-” I don’t know. But I assume that they do.”

Anh weaved at the dot and blew a kiss at it as well. Brandt just scoffed, turned on his heel, and grabbed the bridle.

-” We need to get going. We don’t know how forward the seer is. A standard practice is to have no more than a candle of distance between him and the party.”- Brandt lowered his head, put a finger to his lips, and calculated something in his mind -” So we have maybe three candles advantage.”

Anh gnashed his teeth.

-” So we better get moving.” - he uttered, awkwardly hiding his fear. Immediately he and his utensils followed the azimuth their party was following before. Brandt followed.

-” Explain to me something, Mr Zerster.”

-” Yes?”

-” Before the storm, the one where I…” - Tanai hesitated for a drip -”...ended this poor animal’s misery. We only saw a group of hoomin, on horseback. Where did this seer come from?”

-” My theory…”- Anh’s lips turned into a line in disapproval -”.hypothesis one of a second party dispatched from somewhere north. Kaar Paarvoch, probably.” - Brandt scratched his unshaven chin and scoffed in dismay at how messy his beard was, but quickly returned to the topic – “That or the seer was a part of the original group. There are some skilled hoomin kinehexers there. Either way, if Ordo sent a seer after us.”- he sighed, heavily -” They want us. That tanai, what was her name?”

Anh frowned once again.

-” Ksintsax” – he said – “her name was Ksintsax.”

-” Yes, her, she must have been an important figure. Her being a courser notwithstanding. Ordo wants blood.”

-” I recognize, that we ought to get going?”

-” Yes. If it calms you somewhat” - Brandt said towards the tanai – “I don’t think they are faster than us. Not much at least. They won’t be risking harming their horses in this bog.”

-” Have you developed that strategy as well?”

-” No. That is just plain common sense.”- shrugged Brandt -” Military horses are an expensive asset and we are not that valuable to risk hurting them.”

-” That does not make sense, considering what you said just drips earlier.”

-” Right. Let me say it this way. They see us, we can’t fend them off, there are more of them, they think they got us, its just matter of time. They won’t risk hurting their horses to get us a candle earlier.”

-” I’m going to pretend I’m calm now.” - the timbre of tanai’s voice was anything but - “And concentrate on the task. We ought to be past the hundred kimer mark in two candles and a quarter. I hope that by that time you are going to devise a smart plan to avoid whomever is after us.”

Brandt didn’t answer, just followed the tanai and continued to look for any signs of a chase after them.