What can be said of Ela Madrigal, a woman whose story is so tragically overshadowed by her counterparts? While many of the Heroes found redemption through their journeys, Ela’s tale is one of profound misfortune. Often referred to merely as Ela the Huntress, this label reduces her to a single aspect of her multifaceted identity. It was indeed her extraordinary hunting skills that brought her to prominence during the Reclamation War, leading the scouts with unparalleled expertise. However, her narrative is much more than her martial prowess. Had she been afforded the recognition she rightfully deserved, perhaps she would be celebrated today as a distinguished military leader and strategist. Her unwavering loyalty to her brother Marteen, though noble, ultimately led her into obscurity after the war’s end. One might ponder if her path would have been different had she not followed Marteen into the ranks of the Heroes, where she met Ral the Betrayer and became soulbound to a man whose treachery would seal her fate. Forced to kill her soulbond, Ela spiraled into madness—a consequence of the stringent roles and tragic circumstances imposed upon her. Ela’s story demands that we question the notion of fate. Should we believe that her tragic end was preordained, or can we accept that she possessed the agency to make her own choices? If her destiny was as unchangeable as it appears, then it stands as a testament to the most merciless force in existence. Yet, it is essential to recognize her as a woman of immense potential and complexity, whose legacy deserves to be remembered in full.– Artist Baken Baken, “A Retrospective of the Heroes – Five Years Later”
KURT
Kurt stood up from the bedroll and stretched. The morning pains were worse than Kurt remembered. One of the perks of being an Imperial emissary was he didn’t have to sleep on the ground. Of course, if he didn’t have to deal with Marteen’s hangover, then Kurt could have found a nice inn and slept in a bed.
“Good morning,” Rin said, pouring a cup of coffee.
“I thought Marteen had the last watch,” Kurt said before taking a sip.
“I needed the time alone to think.”
“About Ela?” Kurt asked.
“I keep wondering if I did the right thing by not killing her,” Rin said.
“I think it would have shattered you – just as killing Ral shattered her,” Kurt said. “She didn’t leave you any good choices. You took the least bad. You had no way of knowing how it would all end.”
“Don’t you think I’ve been telling myself that?” Rin snarled. Kurt took a step back. Rin held up his hand, silently asking for a moment.
“I’m sorry. After finding out what happened to her and dealing with Marteen’s hangover, it’s harder to keep this anger under control.” The words were a gut punch to Kurt.
“I hate seeing you in this pain. I’m so sorry about what I did,” Kurt said. “I will do anything to make this better between us. To get us at least close to where we were.”
“That’s one thing I realized last night,” Rin said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like this ball of anger inside me is separate from my feelings towards you and Marteen.”
“Hrm.” Kurt stroked his beard.
“I know that look, Kurt. Something’s tickled a memory.”
“Yes, and I know it’s important, but I can’t remember what and why. Best to just let my mind rest and the memory will come up on its own. Good thing we have a long ride back to Lisandra.”
“I’m not going to Lisandra. I’m hunting my quarry, and then I’m going back to Marei.”
“Rin, there’s only one major road around here – the Imperial Highway. Your sorcerer and those nobles will have to travel down that at least part of the way.” Rin frowned, but there was something comforting about that. It was the same frown Rin always used when he got muley because he didn’t want to admit Kurt was right. Kurt could see the boy he raised in that expression.
“I’ll go wake Marteen. We need to get moving.”
“You remember—”
“Yes, I remember. It’ll be nice to be able to let out some of this anger,” Rin said, walking over to the sleeping Marteen. Kurt went to saddle his pony. Marteen deserved whatever Rin did. Besides, Marteen didn’t hold grudges for what they did to him when he was hungover. With long practice, Kurt ignored the shouts and sounds of scuffling behind him. There was a particularly sharp yelp from Marteen. Yep, the boy dumped water on the elf. Kurt was going to have to saddle Marteen’s horse as well, but he was going to make Rin get the elf on the horse.
After much more time than Kurt wanted, the three Heroes rode along the Imperial Highway in silence. Marteen was in the throes of his hangover and just stared at the road. Kurt was grateful for the silence. He needed time to think. He hated lying to Rin with their relationship on such shaky ground. However, as his father, he needed to help Rin. It wasn’t much to go on. An intuition based on an old conversation with Ral on their journey to rescue the princess. Plus, there was the look in Rin’s eyes when he spoke of Illana. If Kurt was right, he needed to get Rin to Lisandra. It was no longer about the promise, but healing his son.
Rin stopped in the middle of the road. Kurt brought his pony alongside Rin’s horse. Marteen didn’t notice and continued to let his horse walk. Kurt looked around, trying to see what caught Rin’s attention. This stretch of the Imperial Highway went through the Fellal Forest. Like the rest of the highway, the road was hard-packed dirt with grass on either side before the forest reasserted itself. Rin swept his eyes back and forth along the left tree line, but Kurt didn’t see or hear anything out of place. Without taking his eyes off the trees, Rin reached down and drew his rifle from the scabbard on his saddle.
“What is it son?” Kurt asked.
“Someone is stalking us,” Rin answered, still searching.
“Then we should probably find cover. Over there?” Kurt suggested, pointing to the tree line to the right of the highway.
“Lead Marteen there. I’ll cover you,” Rin said. Kurt nodded and kicked his pony to catch up with Marteen. Just as the dwarf grabbed the leads to Marteen’s horse when a loud thundercrack echoed through the forest. Kurt felt more than heard something whistle next to his head.
“GO!” yelled Rin as he snapped the rifle to his shoulder. Rin aimed at a cloud of blue-gray smoke wafting out of the trees and fired. An elf in hunting garb fell out of a tree. Kurt’s eyes locked on the musket clutched in the elf’s hands. Did that bastard Valera send assassins after them?
“Are we in a fight?” asked Marteen, looking up at the sounds.
“Yes, you idiot!” Kurt snapped. The forest exploded in deafening sound. More musket balls whistled by Kurt and Marteen.
“Excellent!” Marteen yelled. The elf slid off his horse with a burst of energy. Kurt snarled as he led the horses off the road. Damn the Mad God. Give that fool elf a fight and he was all smiles and sunshine.
“Rin, where’s your bow?” Marteen asked, running up Rin’s horse. Rin didn’t act surprised by Marteen. He just fired his rifle again. Another elf fell from the trees. Rin’s hands blurred as he reloaded the rifle and brought it back up to his shoulder.
“I don’t have one,” Rin answered an instant before killing another assassin. He reloaded his rifle again with that same deftness. Well, the boy hadn’t lost any of his speed.
“Don’t have one? What do you mean you don’t have one? Well, what do you have?” Marteen rummaged around Rin’s saddlebag and came up with a hatchet. Marteen scanned the tree line, ignoring the musket balls whipping around him. Marteen’s eyes narrowed as he found a target. He pitched the hatchet into a shrub at the base of one of the trees. He was rewarded with a scream of pain. Marteen leapt into the tree line and out of view.
Kurt was useless in the fight. All he had was his sword. How was he supposed to fight against people armed with guns? Kurt ducked as another bullet cracked above him. This was the most terrified he’d been in years. How did Rin just sit there on his horse and calmly trade shots with these brigands? As if on cue, Rin killed another an almost casual ease.
The firing from the trees stopped. Four brigands sprinted out of the treeline down the highway. Holding his long rifle in his left hand, Rin drew his revolver and scythed them down in one long stream of fire. As the last one fell, Rin holstered his revolver. He slid the rifle back in its scabbard before dropping down off his horse. Rin focused on the trees. There was some thrashing in the branches, and then Marteen emerged dragging a bleeding elf. Kurt led the horses back to Rin and Marteen.
“Rin, I brought you a present!” Marteen boomed. Marteen’s clothes were tattered and bloody from several nasty-looking cuts.
“Release me, you foul spawn of a sow!” the elf screamed. “If you do not–” As soon as the elf saw Rin, he fell silent and stared at the boy in horror. Rin gave the elf a predatory smile that chilled Kurt’s bones.
“So, this is what we were killing,” Rin said, and then walked closely to the elf, “Perhaps you best explain why you attacked us, friend, before I get annoyed.” The elf collapsed and bowed before Rin. The three Heroes traded quizzical looks.
“Goddess, you’re a human,” the elf said with wide-eyed surprise, “Please, they didn’t tell us there would be another Acolyte.”
“What were you told?” Rin asked.
“We were to kill the three people who were following the Acolytes. They didn’t say anything about there being more Acolytes. Please forgive me, Acolyte.” Rin motioned for the other two to back off a bit. Kurt dragged Marteen off the road before Marteen could say anything.
“You missed the three you were supposed to kill,” Rin said, “I was tracking them and because of your attack, I don’t know if I can find them.” The elf looked over at where Kurt and Marteen were standing before looking up at Rin in confusion. Rin could see the question bubbling up in the elf.
“They work for me,” Rin said, in a low tone that Kurt could barely hear, “They don’t understand our cause, but they are useful tools.” The elf nodded solemnly.
“Where are the others?” Rin asked.
“At the camp, Acolyte,” the elf answered, confused. “Where else would they be?”
“If you don’t know that, then you don’t need to know any more at this time,” Rin answered, menace coloring his tone. The elf paled. “You will lead us to the camp after I tend to my mercenaries. In the meantime, take care of your comrades’ bodies.” The elf nodded furiously and scampered off to the underbrush. Rin walked over and picked up one of the Purist’s muskets.
“Should we be letting him run free?” Marteen asked, walking over. Kurt followed behind him with an exasperated look on his face.
“As far as he’s concerned, I’m an Acolyte and you two are my minions,” Rin answered.
“Acolytes? I’ve heard the term come up from investigations into the Purists. We know they are high in the Purist hierarchy, but not how high,” Kurt said. “What do you have there?” Rin held up the musket for Marteen and Kurt to see.
“It’s one of those black-market muskets Valera’s been smuggling to the Purists,” Marteen said, disgusted. “He must have sent these brigands. I told you we shouldn’t have just left him.” Rin shook his head.
“Marteen, do you remember how much grief you gave me when I couldn’t tell the difference between a Crystal Woods long sword and a Southern River broad sword?” Rin asked.
“Yeah,” Marteen said, confused by the question.
“Be very glad I’m not as petty,” Rin replied, “See that stamp on the barrel?” Rin pointed at an eagle with its wings outstretched grasping a lightning bolt in its talons. “That’s an Arsenale Granito manufacturing mark. This musket was made for the Mareian Army. It was probably part of the lots surplussed to the Imperial Army.”
“How do you know that?” Marteen asked.
“If this musket was sold to the public, the armory would have placed a stamp over the eagle. Being in possession of an Arsenale weapon with a clean stamp is death by summary execution. No smuggler in his right mind would be caught with a musket with a clean mark. There’s enough private gun makers to risk dealing in these.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Kurt said.
“I’m going to find a sword,” Marteen grumbled as he strode to the line of bodies the captured elf was assembling for a pyre. Kurt sidled up to Rin.
“So, how did these weapons end up in the hands of the Purists?” Kurt asked.
“They’re either stealing them from Imperial Army units or a sympathizer in the Imperial government is diverting them.”
“Something to discuss with Sonya. You had me worried there, boy,” Kurt said.
“Why?”
“You were just standing out there in the open when all of those elves were shooting at you.”
“Oh that,” Rin said, nonchalantly. “If they’d lined up for a proper volley, we might have been in trouble. When that first ball went whistling by us, I knew they didn’t know how to use them properly. Muskets are finicky if they’re not handled properly.”
“How did you know that they were shooting muskets and not something like what you’re carrying?” Kurt asked, pointing at the revolver at Rin’s hip.
“Sound of the first shot and the smell of the gunpowder,” Rin answered. “Kurt, it’s not the first time I’ve been shot at.”
“Sometimes you’re as bad as Marteen,” Kurt muttered.
“I’m nowhere as bad as Marteen. I’ve never enjoyed battle the way he does,” Rin said.
“Then explain Pallus and you bickering during all those fights,” Kurt said. “There’s no way you two could keep that up if you weren’t enjoying the fight.”
“I was doing it to keep Pall from knowing how terrified I was,” Rin said. Kurt grunted what could have charitably called a chuckle. Rin looked back at their prisoner.
“Thank the Protector, we’ve picked up Smythe’s trail. With some luck, I can put that bastard in irons or in the ground and be back on my way to the Republic before the fortnight.” Kurt decided to test his theory a bit.
“So, you’re really not going to keep the promise to Illana?” Kurt asked, “I know you don’t owe the Empire anything, but what about Illana? Don’t you owe her an explanation for why you haven’t been in her life for the past decade?” Rin was quiet for a long moment. He turned and walked away from Kurt without answering. So, there was something still there.
“If you want to grab one of those muskets and a cartridge box from the dead, I’ll show you how to use it,” Rin said. “It might not hurt to have another gun on our side.” Kurt watched as Rin checked over the gear on his horse. Kurt smiled but made sure not to let Rin see it. Rin still fiddled with things when he didn’t want to decide. Kurt couldn’t blame his son. Women could be frightfully difficult to understand. Kurt just hoped the others wouldn’t ruin things before Kurt managed to get Rin to Lisandra. And Illana.
