The Warrior’s Way Part 4 of 6

Part 1

Lyssa woke to bird song and Abi humming to herself as she tidied up the camp. That was just great the girl was a morning person as well as the chattiest person she’d ever met. She couldn’t help the glare she levelled at the girl. Although she doubted its’ effectiveness when her eyes were barely open and full of grit. Lyssa hadn’t thought she’d be able to sleep with so many conflicting thoughts keeping her mind busy but her ability to sleep anywhere had won through.
“Sorry.” Abi smiled but had the gall not to look sorry at all. The warrior had thought she’d done enough to scare the girl last night and drive her away but here she was cheerfully doing chores. So much for the guilt Lyssa had felt for yelling at her last night.
The sun was only beginning to rise and the light hadn’t quite made it’s way through the trees yet. She could have slept for another hour.
“Not a morning person?” Abi said as she handed Lyssa the leftover food from last night that she had warmed up over the fire.
Being a morning person alone was enough of a reason to condemn the girl but the offer of warm food saved her from Lyssa’s bad mood.
“No, but I’m guessing you are?” She said around a mouthful of rabbit.
“Yes, but I didn’t really sleep either. I’ve been up for a few hours.” Abi paced in front of the barely smouldering fire. Her eyes were once again looking off into the distance, seeing something only she could see. “I can’t stop thinking about what we should do…”
“There’s no we.” Lyssa cut her off. “You’re going back to your village.” The warrior stayed focused on her food, not looking up at the protest she knew was going to come.
“You can’t…”
“I’m not having you get hurt under my watch.” Lyssa shouted. She calmed herself by taking a deep breath. “There’s enough blood on my hands already.”
“I know who you are though.” Abi said this as if it held the key to everything. As if this was a secret Lyssa had confided in her, instead of it being the result of Abi snooping through her belongings.
“Be really careful what you say next.” Lyssa brandished the small knife with rabbit stuck to the end at Abi.
“I’m not threatening you, I can help you find your redemption.” Abi sounded so genuine with her wide eyes and hands pressed to her heart that if it was anyone else Lyssa would have thought she was being manipulated. But this was the girl who had rushed to save a boy she barely knew against men that outnumbered and outmatched her.
“There’s only one way I can redeem myself and it’s not here.”
“So you are trying to redeem yourself, like I said yesterday. In that case you need someone in your corner.”
Lyssa groaned as she realised she’d fallen into another trap set by Abi. Yesterday she’d mocked the girl’s romantic notions of warriors and redemption while today she confirmed enough of it to encourage her. She shouldn’t have important conversations this soon after waking up.
“No I don’t.” The warrior didn’t know which part she was denying but she hoped Abi would just take her word for it. “Go back to your village and I’ll make the bridge safe. You don’t want to see how I’m going to do that.”
“Fine.”
Lyssa turned to look at the girl, surprised at the easy agreement and suspicious of the tone of Abi’s voice.
“Fine?” Lyssa asked in disbelief.
“Yes, I can follow orders.” Abi picked up her pack. “I expect to see you again though. You should pass through my village on your way to wherever you’re going.” With that Abi turned on her heel and marched off down the path like a soldier going to battle.
Lyssa watched her go until she was out of sight. There was no way that girl wasn’t up to something so Lyssa had to put an end to this before Abi carried out whatever plan she had cooked up. Luckily Abi was on foot and still miles from her village or the river.
The fire had become glowing embers but still gave off a little heat that fought the morning chill in the air. Lyssa smothered the fire with earth and mounted Bouda who was only too happy to be going. She left the camp soon after Abi did. She wanted this over and done with so she could move on. She’d make sure Abi was safe and then she’d go find the war.
The first few minutes she kept Bouda to a trot but that quickly became impossible as the horse leapt forward with such strength that Lyssa let her go. Soon they were galloping down the path, Lyssa putting her full trust in Bouda to not get either of them killed. She was a war horse of the centaurs and she knew what she was doing. Hopefully this run to the river would be far enough to burn off the fight fuelled energy of the day before. If not it would be harder to make Bouda stay out of the fight. While a horse her size would be useful in scaring the villagers, Bouda didn’t know when to stop. She was trained in combat and she’d take the fight seriously even if they weren’t a massive threat to Lyssa.
The warrior let all that fade to the back of her mind as the horse pounded the path. Lyssa let the reigns go loose and Bouda lowered her head, the trees either side of them flowing by even faster. Her gait became so smooth that it felt more like gliding than galloping. Lyssa leaned forward and lowered herself on the horse’s neck. This was mostly due to past experience of being blinded by bugs and eating them but it also allowed her to put her hands on either side of Bouda’s neck and feel the powerful muscles pulling them along. They were the perfect team.
There was something peaceful about the rhythm. A peace that didn’t exist anywhere else in her life. This is what Bouda gave her and Lyssa always tried to let the horse be true to her own nature.
They had been running for quite a while when the rhythm changed and Lyssa was brought out of her peace by hooves once again pounding the path. She sat back up but left the reigns as they were. Bouda would slow to a pace she was comfortable with. That turned out to be a canter but Lyssa slowed her with a squeeze of the reigns. They were really close to the bridge and for her plan to work they couldn’t be seen yet.
The priest might not even be there, they might have chosen another place to a make a sacrifice to their god, but she didn’t think so. That priest had been trying to make the river safe and logic dictated he’d use the river for the sacrifice. The age of the bridge would help with the magic because the older something was the better Gods were able to interact with it. She didn’t know if he knew that though. She hadn’t been able to tell if he was the real deal or not. Some priests had never spoken to their gods and really knew nothing about making a sacrifice. Then again he hadn’t looked like a thrall either but you could never be too careful.
Lyssa halted the horse before they came in sight of the bridge and tethered her to a tree off the path. Bouda was not happy about being left behind again and she tried to find anything on Lyssa that she could bite. When the warrior stepped out of reach she set about eating everything green in reach and kicking the tree she was tied to. It only took three kicks for the tree to crack and Bouda to make her point. The horse was only staying put because Lyssa wanted her to and the warrior had better be grateful about it.
Lyssa promised to buy her treats at the next market. As always she wasn’t sure how much Bouda understood but it felt right to try and communicate. She could have tied her to a much thicker tree that would be pretty impossible for the horse to break but that would imply a lack of trust and that Lyssa owned her. Neither were true or would go down well
She left her heavy gear behind, confident that even if Bouda was angry with her she’d still fight whoever came near, and made her way through the forest until she had a clear view of the bridge.
There were armed guards stood at either side facing the banks so there was no easy way to sneak up on them. These weren’t the villagers from yesterday. They must have already been hired for them to be here so early. A back up plan, probably for when the priest strengthened his god’s control of the area and he needed protection from angry families with sacrificed loved ones. That pointed to this being a real take over of the area by a god. She couldn’t imagine a priest going through all this trouble and spending his own money to hire mercenaries if he hadn’t been ordered to do so.
There was only going to be one way to stop this. kill the priest and all the mercenaries. It was just a question of how many villagers she murdered in the process. She had less reservations about killing mercenaries than she did farmers and villagers. At least they knew how to fight even if they were never going to be as good as her. Not to mention their numbers made it a challenge that didn’t feel like she was slaughtering them.
On the opposite bank a large group of people exited the forest with the priest at the head leading the way. There were a lot more people following him around than there were yesterday. She had a horrible feeling that the priest would have used these mercenaries to drive more fear into the people. It’s what she would have done in his place to beat up some support. People trying to make their home safe were easily manipulated. She knew what lengths she had gone to to protect her home.
They wouldn’t be easy to scatter, not even if she started killing the mercenaries, she was going to have to hurt them to get the point across. That was the last thing she wanted to do. It would be too easy for her to accidentally kill some of them, but if they attacked in mass it would come down to her or them. Not only had she made a promise to save Abi’s village, she also couldn’t die yet, not without putting things right.
Lyssa punched the tree she was crouched behind. It did little but make her hand throb. The wrist protectors covered her knuckles and took most of the force. If she had been alone she would have made them bleed by now but she restrained herself from using the tree as a punching bag. Instead she would use that priest. He’d convinced these people to give everything to his god without telling them the consequences of doing that.
Lyssa spent the morning watching the priest make preparations and reigning in her anger. You didn’t fight angry. That was what she had been taught from an early age. Rage may give you power but in the end it made you stupid.
The priest wasn’t taking any chances of being interrupted this time. Some of the mercenaries left the bridge at the priest’s order and placed themselves in the trees on her side of the bank.
One of the men approached Lyssa’s hiding spot and she steadily backed away to a better position as he moved closer. Not that he was paying much attention to his surroundings.
He was dressed like a typical mercenary. Mostly leather with whatever metal pieces of armor they could get their hands on to protect vital areas. It was the mismatch of styles and fabrics that she’d never liked. Her plate armor was made of one metal and was uniformly the same colour from her helmet to her boots. It was also superior in every other way that mattered.
She waited until he had settled to take him out. Not that she thought he would be hard to defeat but she didn’t need anyone to know she was here yet. The warrior didn’t usually have the patience for sneaking. She could wait and watch to come up with a strategy but somehow sneaking towards a target always made her hands itch. She wanted to move faster and stealth be damned.
Sneaking up on him turned out to be easier than she expected. He wasn’t expecting anyone to be waiting for him in the trees so his gaze was fixed on the road.
Lyssa moved as quietly as she could. Avoiding any branches she might snap and rocks that might trip her. She still managed to snag her boot on something she hadn’t seen and displace many smaller rocks.
Her gaze shot to the mercenary. He shifted against the tree as if he was about to turn but instead he pulled a water skin from his coat and took a drink.
She didn’t waste any time now that there was a distraction. She hit his head with the hilt of her dagger and he dropped like a stone. The liquid that flowed out of the skin was amber and definitely not water, probably something alcoholic judging by the smell. Drinking was not doing your duty. Even if it was just mercenary work. She wasn’t gentle tying him up.
The mercenary on the other side of the path was much the same as the first. She waited for him to distract himself, which didn’t take long. For some reason he felt he should turn his back to the path to take a piss. That was pretty much the opposite of what should be done when guarding something. He hit the floor harder than the first, probably breaking something in the process, and she suspected alcohol had something to do with the first not injuring himself. She stripped him of weapons and heaved him over her shoulder after tying him up the same way she did with his friend. Although she tried to be mindful of what was probably a broken arm.
Nothing much had changed on the bridge other than the number of people surrounding the priest had increased. The warrior had a feeling there was going to be a lot more of them before the sacrifice happened, probably most of the village. She could scatter them now without too many injuries but they’d just be back again tomorrow with bigger numbers and then there would be no one to stop them.
She would wait until the sacrifice appeared and the number of people gathered was as big as it was going to get. Then she would kill the priest. The audience needed to be big to get this point across. If she hurt enough of them and made it seem like she was staying in the area they wouldn’t try this again with the priest dead. No one would want to be the leader of a group if the leader was going to get killed.

To Be Continued…

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