CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Nalyx was up early again the next morning. It was an odd feeling, being out of bed just after the sun had risen, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d bothered to be up and about so early during the second half of a cycle. While the gate was open, the warriors could be called up at any hour of the day or night, responding to whatever crisis happened to walk onto the battlefield. But while the gate was closed, he was far more inclined to be up late, enjoying plenty of whisky and women, and then sleep in, waiting for the headache from overindulging to lift before he tackled the day.

But last night – as had been the case on most of the evenings since the gate had closed – he’d had only a cup or two of whisky, then gone to bed. Liatra had been pleasant enough, eager to fetch him whatever he desired, but he’d sent her off after dinner, running out of things for her to do and disinterested in her ongoing attempts to flirt with him.

He made his way to the bakery across the square, eager to buy a couple of the apple pastries the baker made every morning. Though he could probably have talked the shop keeper into giving him one for free, he took a bag of coin with him, choosing to pay for his breakfast instead. The woman seemed grateful as he offered her the small copper coin, and he supposed that was fair enough. It must be expensive, after all, providing a constant supply of food and clothing to the warriors. Was it odd that he’d never really considered the cost to the townsfolk before? Of course, the warriors more than earned their keep, but even so.

As he was coming out of the shop, he spotted a welcome figure crossing the road towards the square, so instead of heading back to his room, he changed direction and headed for her instead. He smiled as he approached, but Gantalla seemed more subdued, her smile a little hollow. Was she tired? A late night working, perhaps? “Morning, Gantalla. I didn’t see you last night. Were you busy at the hospital?”

“Uh… no, actually. I did come by the barracks. But I decided it was best not to stay. You looked occupied.”

“Occupied? With what?”

“Liatra.”

“What? No, we were just having dinner. Nothing was… Why would you stay away just because Liatra was there?”

Gantalla didn’t immediately reply. “You said yesterday that… Well, we both know that I’m not looking for a husband. So I thought…”

“Neither’s she,” he pointed out. “And as far as I’m concerned, she has a fair bit of ground to make up for being a pain in the ass while I was injured.”

“And she’s clearly putting in a good effort to make up that ground.”

Nalyx frowned. “That doesn’t mean that she’s… Wait… Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? No, I’m just…” She sighed, looking anywhere but at him. “Look, the warriors clearly have certain expectations of the serving women. And I’ve made my point that I don’t really fit in where they’re concerned. So honestly… if you want Liatra, you should have her. It’s nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t want Liatra. Or any of the other women. This isn’t a competition, Gantalla. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”

“I don’t want you getting the wrong idea. And I have a job at the hospital now.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s better this way. You and I would never have been a good fit, anyway.”

He was surprised by the shaft of disappointment that speared through him. “But… We can still at least be friends, can’t we?”

Gantalla forced a smile, one that he saw straight through. “Of course. Friends. That would be nice.”

“So…”

“So I’m sure I’ll see you around town.”

“Okay. Well, I might see you later, then. I have to come back to the hospital and get my shoulder checked again.”

“Okay. Good. I’ll see you later then.” With another one of those hollow smiles, she stepped around him and kept walking. Nalyx watched her go, wondering why the sight of her leaving made him feel so bereft.

◊          ◊          ◊

Looking for something to fill his day, given that he still couldn’t participate in the full training sessions with the rest of the warriors, Nalyx decided to track down the captain. The conversation he’d had with Gantalla about the unicorn was still playing on his mind, and despite the risk that the captain might think he was crazy, he’d decided it was worth at least mentioning the animal’s strange behaviour.

He found him in the armoury, checking the supplies and placing an order with the local blacksmith for more armour to be crafted. They had a couple of new trainees who’d joined up at the end of the last cycle, and they were each going to need a full set of armour.

“Hm… three sets of greaves, two breastplates,” the blacksmith was saying, jotting down notes in a book. “What about harpoons?”

“Another set of six,” the captain said. He looked up as Nalyx came in the door, and Nalyx noticed that several other warriors were also there. Renfold was trying on a new pair of boots, Petios was rummaging amongst the leather straps, and Hallix was fussing with a new set of vambraces, a scowl on his face as his discarded pair after pair, clearly unimpressed with their quality.

“How’s that shoulder healing?” Captain Leefe greeted him, after finishing his business with the blacksmith.

“Getting better by the day. I have another appointment at the hospital today. I should be back in training in a few days.”

“That’s the spirit. Can’t let these demons knock us down for too long,” the captain said genially. “Anything in particular you’re looking for today?”

“Actually, I was looking for you. If you have a minute, there was something I wanted to discuss.”

The captain nodded. “I’m free now, if you don’t mind talking while I work. One of the new recruits is from Azertel. He said they use bows for hunting, up in the mountains, and he floated the idea of training some of the warriors to use them. A brilliant idea, really. They’d make killing the unicorns and hellhounds so much easier, without the men having to get too close and risk getting burned. But we’d need a few good sets of equipment first, if we’re to see how effective it might be.”

“Great idea,” Nalyx said. “But actually, the unicorns was something I wanted to talk to you about.” He detailed the encounter he’d had with the one in the forest, and its strange behaviour at the stream. “Maybe this is a crazy idea, but I had the thought that they’re actually not so different from horses. And based on what I saw, it might be possible to put out their fire. So I thought that if we managed to capture one and put out the flames, might it be worth seeing if we could tame it? We could train it and put them to use on the battlefield. If nothing else, it would save losing our own horses in the battles?”

The captain stopped what he was doing, turning to stare at Nalyx with a look of confusion. “Tame a unicorn? That’s got to be the single most bizarre idea I’ve ever heard.”

“I know it sounds odd, and I don’t know if it would actually work, but wouldn’t it be worth at least trying?”

“What about their horns? You’ve seen yourself just how dangerous they can be. Even if we put out the fire, those horns could still do plenty of damage.”

“The same could be said about horses’ hooves. Plenty of warriors have been kicked by a horse that panics. And given how wild they are, the unicorns would likely be better suited to battle, temperament-wise.”

A snort sounded from behind him, and he turned to see Hallix doing a poor job of smothering his laughter.

“Taming a unicorn?” the big man said. “Great gods, man, you’ve gone soft in the head. You want to tame a demon? And then what, let their poison infect the entire city? It’s not just the fire that’s the problem. They’re pure evil, spat out of the mouth of hell itself. The last thing in the world we need is demons running loose in the city. Or have you forgotten that that’s the exact thing we’re out there every day trying to prevent? Besides which, we already have horses, which I dare say are far easier to train than a rampaging demon. What could a unicorn do that they couldn’t?”

Renfold, too, seemed amused by the idea, while Petios just shook his head. “I’m with Hallix on this one,” he said. “Not to mention that even trying to catch one could cost good warriors their lives. You’ve lost your marbles on this one, Nalyx.”

Nalyx opened his mouth to answer, but he didn’t get the chance. “Hallix has a point,” Captain Leefe said, though his tone was far more respectful. “We already have plenty of horses. And trying to catch one of those beasts, never mind taming it, would be a hell of a risk to the men. It’s an interesting idea, but I honestly don’t think it’s of any use to us. We have enough work to do using tried and true methods without wasting time and resources on such a fanciful idea. Sorry, Nalyx. The answer’s no.”

Nalyx nodded. “Fair enough. Just thought it was worth mentioning.” He let himself out of the armoury and headed back to his room. He’d tried. What more could he do?