The Albino

“That’s everything” Viola mused sadly, hefting her own duffel bag and walking towards the door. Benjamin nodded heavily, taking a moment to survey the mother tree quarters that had become their home. He picked up his rifle and slung it over the opposite shoulder to his own duffel. “It is.” Memories flooded behind his gaze for a moment before he closed the door behind him. He discovered a new family in that room, found love, and felt truly home for the first time since his arrival in this ‘existence’ “I will miss it too.” Viola answered his unuttered thoughts, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her, “You can read my mind now?” He teased.

Viola only leaned into his side, “Your face. To us, your book remains open. There is something else.” It was a statement, not a question, and Benjamin’s brow creased in thought. “There is…” he admitted, but did not elaborate further. Viola walked alongside him for several strides before sighing, “Very well. When you are ready.” She sighed in resignation. Benjamin began feeling guilty as they rounded the corner to the exit of the mother tree. It was obvious that she did not like Benjamin keeping secrets. “Vi, I.. what the FUCK!”

Vi looked up and hissed her own exclamation, reaching for her prized sword at her side; and Benjamin’s bag thudded to the ground as his rifle seemed to spring into his hand. “What the fuck is SHE doing here.” Benjamin paused even as his sights settled on the titanic four-armed individual standing with the convoy. It was not usual for hatred to pour so freely from Viola.

“Benjamin, Viola, settle!” The heavy tone of command made Vilora’s voice almost unrecognizable. Benjamin was forced to lower his rifle only when Vilora took flight and put herself between him and the elf. “These are the Queen's commands,” she stated none too softly. “As her ambassador, I speak with her voice. Yilarran has been assigned as my personal guard. She will be joining us on this journey.”

Benjamin stayed silent, slowly slipping the sling of the rifle back over his shoulder and picking up his bag. Viola purposefully kept herself between Ben and the Elf, very obviously not for Yilarran’s protection. The two of them walked to the second of two wagons hitched to familiar beasts of burden. Valtrya was already inside their wagon. She had almost fully healed in the two weeks following the attack on the Vin, but her strength had been severely weakened from the strain of accelerated healing and forced inactivity. She waved to them, and Jukha nodded from his spot behind the reigns.

Benjamin tossed his bag into the second wagon before taking Viola’s bag and doing the same. “Thank you,” the anger was not gone from her tone, but it was not directed at him, but rather the titan of a four-armed warrior who watched them from beside the lead wagon. “Go, talk with Jukha, I’ll see to my sister.” She said tilting her head to the lead wagon slightly.

Benjamin climbed into the seat next to Jukha, and the convoy departed in relative silence. A third wagon, heavily laden with supplies fell in behind the main convoy, and it quickly became clear as to why. An entire squad of lancers winged into view taking perching position arching covers of the three trundling contraptions. The Mother Tree quickly faded into the forest, almost too quickly to be natural; and soon only the two-track trail through the forest remained.

Benjamin sat next to Jukha, his armor on, and his strange-looking new ‘musket’ settled across his lap. The only addition to his armor was a sturdy leather belt studded with strange brass cylinders, a pouch on one side, and a sheath for a oddly shaped version of the pistol Benjamin had shown Jukha. “I see you have been… tinkering” Benjamin looked sharply over at Jukha before his features calmed quickly, “Ah, yes. I have. I may be trained in the sword now, but I am much more proficient in these still.” he tapped the weapon across his lap, “Jukha, what is going on… why is Yilarran here.”

Jukha clicked his tongue at the beasts, urging them gently to keep pace, “She did not say, but I can guess.” He stretched slightly on his seat, “Yilarran is formidable, well, to most anyway.” He gave Benjamin an appraising glance, “She also knows the pass the best of those who travel it on foot. A Farie would normally take to wing to traverse it, but we cannot. The fact that the Fay made it to us says that it has warmed enough to melt the snow. Otherwise, their wings would have frozen during the journey, and they would have perished.” Jukha took a breath, “The other reason… well, Victoria likes to…. Encourage… resolution between individuals.”

“I see… I will be sorry to disappoint her.” Benjamin allowed his emotions into his growling tone, “She almost killed the two people keeping me sane in this… whatever it is… That is not something so easily forgiven.” Benjamin leaned back against the bench seat, ignoring the creaking of the planking. “I was going to be a soldier, Jukha. My world is on the brink of conflict. I knew what I would be getting into, but…” he looked back at the two women curled up together in the thankfully heavily padded wagon, “I expected to be fighting on foreign soil, on a battlefield far enough away from those I care about. Far enough away for me to not have to worry about my family's safety… this? This is different.”

Jukha grunted in agreement, “And they seem to insist that they fight alongside you,” Benjamin sagged for several moments before bobbing his head heavily, “I made a promise. I would not force them to do anything they did not want. I just did not expect them to be so… protective.” Jukha barked a laugh, “They had a good teacher. Did you really expect them not to follow your example as well as your instruction?”

Benjamin looked back at the two, now sound asleep in the mid-morning light. ‘Val’s recovery must be hitting Vi harder than she is letting on’ “I guess not.” The two fell silent, letting the sisters sleep. Benjamin looked down at his rifle on his lap, rubbing at a smudge on the receiver with the hem of his tunic. He kicked himself for the failure of his initial design. He should have known better than to combine two designs without testing them first.

His weapon had jammed during the fight for one simple reason, he failed to match the rotary magazine’s feed angle to the feed ramp of the barrel. The bullet had deformed on the steep ramp, and jammed in place. It was a much simpler fix in this world than in his. Channeling Majik almost felt like cheating at times, but it allowed him to mold the metal to his will, fine-tuning the feed ramps in real time as he tested fitment with inert “dummy” rounds. Majik was to thank for those as well. Yes, he could probably teach this reality to make wrapped brass foil cartridges; but his were more modern in design.

Made with but a thought from a pile of raw materials; they would have been called 30-06 or 30 caliber M2 ball on his earth. They carried a modern smokeless gunpowder charge and packed all the same deadly capabilities of their Human siblings. It had taken him some time to create the ammunition stores he still considered merely “adequate” and he would have to introduce the girls to their new pistols soon enough.

They were a hybrid design as well, but one that he had tested. Their exterior would fool anyone from Earth into believing the pistols to be of a Schofield design, but Benjamin had added two things to the venerable pattern. Firstly, he added in a double action/ single action mechanism to the design. His women would be able to empty their sidearms with but the repeated pull of the trigger. The second was the modifications necessary for the addition of a firing pin and a transfer bar. This removed the need for a rebounding hammer or a hammer-mounted firing pin. This modification would allow the sisters to carry a full six rounds, instead of having to carry with an empty chamber under the hammer for safety.

Benjamin found himself drawn from his thoughts a little after mid-day by a pair of gentle arms winding around his neck from behind, heralding the gorgeous face of Val peeking over his shoulder, “My Ben is sad. Why?” Benjamin spun his head quickly, stealing a peck from her lips. He smirked at her quick surprised face followed by a not so chased biting of her own lips, “I’m not mad, not anymore. I just don’t like the situation. The Queen sent Yilarran with us, to protect Vilora.”

Val wrinkled her nose for a moment, flashing her gorgeous purple eyes toward the titan stomping along beside the wagons, clearly too large to ride in one. Benjamin watched her upper lip twitch as she gave a not quite snarl in that direction, “Ben kill her?” She asked, none too nicely. Benjamin raised an eyebrow, “what brought that on?

Val took a breath and lowered her gaze in concentration, “She tried to… kill you… she almost kill… us…” her eyes softened and she turned to rest her head on his shoulder from behind, her voice barely a whisper, “I want her… dead.. the feeling is strong… it scares…me.” She admitted. Benjamin gave a small sigh, wrapping an arm over her head in an improvised hug, “I understand, part of me feels the same way, but she is not a threat. Killing her in combat that she starts is not wrong, but murder is not our way.”

Val nodded from her spot, “I know. It is why… feeling.. frightens me.” Benjamin tightened his ‘hug’ slightly before letting go, “It is good that it scares you. It means you still know what’s right.” He paused as his stomach growled, and Val giggled at the sound, “Forgot, I give you.. this.” She handed him a pair of pieces of bread with some kind of dried meat in between it, “Lunch, sandwich.” With that, Val retreated back into the wagon only to return a few moments later with two small containers of ale and a second sandwich for Jukha. “We eat.” She said before settling down next to her sister again. Benjamin looked back to see them tearing into their own sandwiches.

Progress trundled along at an excruciatingly slow pace. The first two days saw the sisters convalescing in the wagon, but by the third day, Val insisted on walking alongside the wagons to begin rebuilding her strength. The poor girl could barely walk five minutes before having to climb back into the wagon to rest. She still could not pick up her shield or don her armor, but she remained determined to recover to her former self.

A week went by at a snail's pace, but by the second week, the trail began a gradual upward slope. Nights began to cool noticeably over the next few days, and Benjamin realized the reason for the heavy padding insulating the wagons. Benjamin did his part in making and breaking camp each day. Drawing coal from the ground to aid in a hot fire, ripping the air away from the flames to smother them in the morning. He fashioned simple iron pots from the raw materials he pulled directly from the ground. He fashioned a clamping top and used it along with properly heated coals to provide safe heat to warm the inside of the wagons in the evening. The pots would slowly smother the coals inside, but it was enough of a jumpstart to help all sleep comfortably through the night.

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The sun had just disappeared behind the mountains. Vi and Val were bundled up tightly, and Benjamin was forced to suppress a smirk at the sight. Viola opened her jacket and waved its halves, trying to cool off. “I still don’t understand, it is not cold enough for all of this.” Benjamin just smiled at them, “You will need them soon enough”. The camp of wagons had just disappeared around the bend, and Benjamin stopped to take each of their hands. “Are we not still too close? Will they not hear the shooting?” Viola asked, and Benjamin just smiled at her again. “We will not be for much longer." Both of the sisters looked up at him as he began to channel Majik. His fight with Yilarran, if you could even call it that, had taught him what manipulating gravity on a larger scale than dust and dirt felt like. To his eternal amusement, it also gave him a ridiculous idea straight out of a cheesy superhero movie. Vi and Val let out a unified gasp as the air around them began to warble and flutter before all three of their feet left the ground. Both turned their handholds into vice grips around Ben’s arms as they ascended through the trees, “What are you… oooohh Goddess.” Viola whimpered. Benjamin just looked down at them, “It is safe, I tested it out while Val was recovering. Now, for the fun part.” With that, He looked forward and the three began to shoot along the tree line at incredible speeds, their bodies slowly rotating until they were careening headlong through the sky. “Ben!!” Val finally cried out, catching her breath after the shock of taking flight for the first time in her life.

Benjamin only laughed and slowed down slightly to abate the onslaught of felt wind. 15 minutes later, Benjamin set them down in a small clearing about 15 yards long, “This should be about enough distance.” Viola gasped for air, and Val refused to release Benjamin’s other arm. “What was that for!” Viola finally got out, “How, when, what did you just do?!?” Benjamin just shrugged, “I believe you would call it ‘the power of the orb’. My people simply call it gravity. I… did not know how far one can control gravity in this existence until Yilarran almost killed you.” Benjamin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “But she failed, and I learned that if I can magnify this ‘orb’s’ power, I could also redirect it, or cancel it out entirely.” Benjamin unslung the bag he was carrying, “We should be far enough away for these.” He opened the bag, withdrawing a pair of leather gun belts complete with guns in the holsters. “These are for you.” He returned to the bag as Vi and Val strapped on the gun belts, returning with an odd arching contraption with large wooden roundels packed with moss. “It won't be as good as what we use in my world, but these should help your ears for practice. He placed one pair on his head, covering his ears with the bowl-shaped roundels, and the Areseen women did the same.

They stood shoulder to shoulder and Benjamin pulled a mound of dirt up from the earth molding it into the shape of a dummy from the training grounds. “Now” Benjamin spoke loudly, “Use the sights like I showed you on mine. Pull the hammer back and gently squeeze.” Val was the first to fire, and the weapon bucked in her hands violently. It was clear that she was still weakened from her recovery, but she kept control of her weapon and a cylindrical hole exploded through the chest of the mud golem. She began to lower her weapon when Benjamin stopped her, “Again. You can fire six times, just squeeze the trigger this time.” Val looked up at him in confusion, but raised her weapon and squeezed the trigger's long double action pull. The gun went off, but the round missed. It didn’t matter, Val’s eyes lit up and she squeezed the trigger again connecting this time. she squeezed three more times, emptying her pistol before smiling broadly as Viola took her turn, she too struggled to hit in double action at 15 yards, but connected with 4 of her six shots. “Again?” Val asked and Benjamin drew his pistol and activated its top break latch to pivot the pistol about its hing, “You load like this,” he pulled a cartridge from the cylinder, “these are the cartridges now. They are waterproof, and you drop them in from the back, like this.” He dropped the round back into the weapon and snapped it closed, “the latch is here.” He said. And raised his weapon. Thunder rolled as he ripped 6 rounds off quickly, putting 6 new holes in the chest of the dummy, “your cartridges are on your belt.” He said, laughing openly as the two frantically started reloading their new pistols. This was going to be a long evening.

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Benjamin awoke ensconced in a warm cocoon. It was the familiar entrapment between two gorgeous heat thieves, but something was off. His breath hung in the air in whisps of pure white, and the burning cold bit his lungs with a deep breath. One careful extrication later, he had Vi and Val tucked back in, and he donned his winter clothes. They had camped against a cliff for the night, and the early dawn was just cresting over the far mountains. “Ah, good morning.” Vilora smiled handing him a steaming cup of some kind of mint tea, “sleep well?”

“Yes, but I was not expecting this cold snap. You?” Benjamin admitted. Yilarran thumped up next to Vilora, and Benjamin blatantly ignored her presence, choosing to focus on his friend. “The same, Jukha proves to be an excellent heater, as always. I did not see you three return to camp last night. Is all well?” Vilora’s tone was cordial, but Benjamin noticed Yilarran’s interest peak. “We returned after dark. I wanted to give Val a little bit of training, she is recovering nicely.” ‘And I’m sure as shit not telling you about her new pistol’ Benjamin held Yilarran’s gaze with a face of stone only to be interrupted by an exasperated huff.

“Benjamin.” Vilora’s tone held a hint of warning and Ben turned to look at her, “Please, I know you better than most. I know what you must be feeling, but let us not make this any harder than we have to.”

“Speak for yourself,” Yilarran scoffed, “He’s a fucking Iron blood, even if he might ‘not’ be H’mure. When the Ascendency finds out, I will be the least of your problems.” Benjamin gave her a sharp look but forced himself to calm down. “Vilora, if you wish; Val misses you. You are welcome to come visit the wagon.” He grated out before turning to walk away. Yilarran gave a low grumbling growl, “That…. ‘human’…” she forced herself to say, “Is as hot-blooded as any iron blood you’ve told me about. He will screw this up. You know that.” Vilora turned to her friend, even if their relationship was strained as of late. “He is fiercely protective of those he loves. There is another side to him that you have never been allowed to see. If you do, you will know it.” Yilarran shook her head, “You tread a fine line, and you do so with all our lives hanging from it.”

Vilora had no answer, and soon the rest of the convoy was breaking camp. Her friend was wrong about Benjamin, but she was right about the situation. The relationship between Vin and Ascendency was a tenuous one. She could only hope that the letter she bore from her sister would soften the brunt of revalation when the time came. The Sisters stepped out of their wagon as Benjamin aided Jukha with the beasts of burden. The light was just beginning to fall into the valley they were in, and to the northeast, Medina Pass became fully illuminated. Several minutes passed as the convoy ate breakfast and readied themselves before all were once again onboard the wagons and trundling toward their destination.

Benjamin was watching the lead wagon, or rather the lumbering elf alongside it as they rounded the bend. “What the… whoa, you can’t be serious.” He blurted out, getting a chuckle from Jukha. The Orc slapped him on the shoulder, “Impressive isn’t she? Welcome to Medina’s Pass.” Benjamin was rendered speechless as Vi and Val climbed up behind him to look. The walls of the pass had long been overgrown with foliage, but they were close to the tree line in this mountain range. Benjamin could clearly see the artificially perfect semicircle cut into the side of the mountains as It blazed through the mountain range in an impossibly straight course. A sense of dread deep in his gut began to spread through his body. ‘This pass holds secrets… and none of them good.’ The thought wafted through his head almost as a foreign invader, but they could not stop. The convoy crossed the threshold of Medina pass, but Benjamin found himself tightening his grip on his rifle.