Paladins and a fucking wolfborn. The contract had gotten interesting.
The bodies of the fallen Paladins lay still, scattered across the road. Those who twitched or moaned met Jevan’s saber at the back of the neck. Fallen torches and moonlight helped maintain enough visibility.
“We should move the bodies off the road,” Senya suggested, removing her mask. “Maybe burn them?”
“Why are you removing your mask?” Yohnnus asked, shocked.
She shrugged. “Wolfborn have a powerful sense of smell. He has our scent. These are useless.”
“Are we ignoring recent events?” Yohnnus asked everyone, yanking off his mask aggressively. “We just witnessed a young man transform into a bloody wolf monster!”
Yohnnus’s hands shook as he gestured wildly at the carnage. Derec stood wide-eyed and silent. Kai and Sekari exchanged concerned looks. Kyra’s expression remained unreadable as always. Senya caught Jevan’s eye, her brow furrowed.
Jevan’s mind went blank, a rare and disconcerting emptiness. He didn’t know how to proceed. What to think, do, or say.
“Did any of you know about this?” Kyra asked Kai and his party.
“No, but I certainly wish I did,” Kai said.
Jevan concentrated on Kai’s aura, sensing no lie.
From the darkness of the road, Godrik emerged, naked with smears of blood painted on his jaw, hands, neck, and shoulders. He tossed a crossbow bolt away as he approached with a face of shame and frustration. Jevan pulled out one of his sabers once Godrik was too close. Yohnnus raised his sword and Kyra aimed her crossbow.
Godrik raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to eat you if that’s your concern.”
“I’d expect you to be full,” Jevan said. “You had quite the feast on these poor bastards.”
Godrik’s face turned to disgust, and in a moment, he was on his knees puking onto the road. Jevan found the sight amusing, while Derec appeared ready to join Godrik in his vomiting session. The reek forced Jevan back, his steps cautious as he edged away from the sick wolfborn.
“Well,” Jevan remarked, “now you’ll be hungry.”
“Please,” Godrik begged. “Enough jests.”
“I’m being serious. You just lost everything in your stomach, though I’m guessing humans don’t taste very nice.”
Derec sighed. “You jest, but the matter is grave.”
The elf and his two companions looked more upset than anyone else. “Care to explain why you didn’t tell us?” Kai asked, betrayal all over his face.
Godrik didn’t answer.
“Tell me,” Jevan began, “why did you hire us? Couldn’t you four have taken them all alone?”
“Perhaps, but they’d likely have held me back long enough for a small group to escape with the wagon,” Godrik said. “And, in all honesty, I’ve never used my transformation in battle before. I had to ensure I had reinforcements.”
Kyra’s crossbow trembled in her hands. Her voice came out shaky. “Can our weapons kill him? We all saw what he did to those men.”
“Then why are we still standing here?” Yohnnus gestured wildly. “I can’t believe we were sleeping next to a rabid dog!”
“Wolf,” Godrik corrected. “And I’m not rabid.”
“Quiet!” Senya yelled. “We must focus on our next move.”
“I say we leave as soon as we can,” Yohnnus added. “We can’t trust a wolfborn.”
Godrik frowned as an uncertain silence fell. Jevan opened his mouth to speak, but Senya spoke first, “Are your senses as strong as rumors say? Can you track where they went?”
Godrik nodded. “As easy as following a trail of coins. Though we can also follow the wagon’s trail.”
Before Senya could continue asking questions, Kyra spoke up. “What are we doing here?” she asked, gesturing to everyone. “This isn’t who we are, and we know it.”
Senya shot Kyra an accusing look. “What do you know about us? How long has it been since we’ve been on a job together?”
“I know you’re smarter than this,” Kyra stated firmly.
“What’s your idea of wisdom?” Senya’s voice went cold. “Because the actions you call wise are what I call wrong. If we follow your wisdom, then we might as well admit here and now we’re all horrible people.”
Kyra took an aggressive step forward and shouted, “We’re survivors!”
Kyra rarely shouted. She always had a sour demeanor, but just as she rarely raised her voice, neither did she take it to the point of shouting in defense. Whatever Senya said had touched a serious nerve, enough to grab Jevan’s curiosity.
Kyra broke the silence, her voice returning to its more usual unfriendly sound. “Yohnnus is right. We should reconsider this.”
“We can’t just abandon the job after coming this far,” Senya protested. “We saw that girl, chained like an animal. Her brother is risking everything. If we walk away now, what does that make us? Certainly not Knightmares.”
Yohnnus scoffed. “Senya, whether you accept it or not, we’re nothing but a band of sellswords wearing the title of a dead organization. Did any of us join Alester to revive their cause?”
All fell silent, Jevan included. The truth was coming out, the one he knew all too well. He never spoke of it with Senya, knowing it would only generate debate. He never dwelled on it, choosing to go with the flow of life until he finally messed up and died on a job. Better that than make Senya face the painful reality that reviving the Knightmares was impossible.
“Like Jevan, I joined to make coin and have a place to stay.” Yohnnus pointed a finger at Kyra. “You joined because Alester offered you food and shelter after killing that abusive woman at the orphanage for you.” He then pointed at Senya. “Alester killed the men who were buying you from your mother, then offered the same for you.”
“I was a child lost in a forest with no memories,” Jevan corrected. “I had nothing at all.”
Yohnnus’s arrogant grin that followed was enough to annoy even Jevan. He was not only mocking Senya, but him as well. Yohnnus crossed his arms. “We’re not Knightmares. The mask we wear is a mere costume in the end.”
Senya, to Jevan’s surprise, nodded in assent. “Then this is our chance to be something more than just sellswords.”
“No,” Kyra interjected. “Yohnnus speaks cruelly but truthfully. We didn’t join in hopes of reviving a long-dead crusade. This job’s over. We did what we could, tried to rescue the girl, and failed. Let’s go home and forget all of this.”
“Wait a moment.” Senya pointed to Jevan. “Jevan took this contract. I say he should decide what we do next.”
Jevan then had all eyes focused on him and gulped down his uncertainty. His own sellsword instinct was to complete any contract that paid well, but a war with the Paladins was difficult to place a price on. Paladins are motivated by their religious faith and prejudice towards nonhumans, not their payment at day’s end. Faith and hate. A deadly mix.
Eyeing Godrik, Jevan unsheathed one of his sabers and aimed its tip at his heart. He had no desire to touch a wolfborn, Knight Sense or not. “You’re going to tell us everything before I decide what to do next.”
Godrik did not protest. “I, my mother, and my siblings, are all wolfborn.”
“Yes, I figured most of that out.”
Godrik went silent for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know what else you want. The job has no other secrets beyond what I’ve said.”
“I say we leave him,” Yohnnus advised. “If we continue helping him, the Paladins will target the Knightmares.”
“The survivors saw us fighting alongside him. It’s too late,” Kyra shook her head, “thanks to a reckless idiot.”
Jevan knew Kyra meant him, the first to join Godrik in the attack. He didn’t understand why he’d chosen to fight alongside Godrik rather than turn away. A small part of him had wanted to help. But why? He didn’t know.
Yohnnus whispered in Kyra’s ear, and Godrik immediately rose. “If you turn my family over to the Paladins, I’ll rip you apart!”
Fucking idiot! Jevan stepped between the wolfborn and Yohnnus, saber aimed at Godrik. “Wait, wait! Yohnnus didn’t mean that!”
“He whispered it,” Godrik growled, his voice deepening as black fur sprouted on his jaw and neck for a moment before slowly receding into his skin. “Elves aren’t the only nonhumans with strong ears.”
Kai stepped into the debate with a solid statement. “You’re fools if you believe you can turn in this wolfborn without consequence. The Paladins saw you kill their men. They’ll kill you once you give them what they want.”
“Then the emperor would pay us,” Yohnnus countered.
“Not if I kill you here now,” Godrik warned.
“Please, calm down,” Senya begged. “Yohnnus isn’t our sharpest sword.”
Kai rubbed his temple. “Do you honestly believe Emperor Galen would pay you? After the Paladins inform him of your involvement? Even if he believes your former ignorance of Godrik’s truth, he’d rather have you tortured than compensated.”
Yohnnus grit his teeth in frustration. The elf was beyond aware of the situation.
“So, the Paladins want us dead now,” Jevan grumbled. “Alright, even if we survived a fight with this wolf-person, we’d still be fucked. We can just abandon the job and swear secrecy. Maybe the Paladins will leave us alone after enough time passes.”
“Please!” Godrik dropped to a knee. “I cannot save her alone. She’s my sister. I beg you. Gold isn’t an issue. I’ll pay any amount. The Zela’ken won’t offer any extra forces to help me.”
“Believe him,” Kai said, his aura sincere. “I tried. House Lupelle would be a powerful ally for us, but Zela’ken leadership won’t commit more help to a noble.”
“That explains why you tried helping him,” Senya mused aloud.
Jevan’s eyes met the wolfborn’s, then each of his companions as he considered the situation. Regardless, each scenario proved life-threatening. All he could do was adapt to survive in each one. Abandoning the job while promising secrecy seemed the safest choice.
But then he saw the pleading look on Senya and Godrik’s faces. Her sympathy. His desperation.
Something in Jevan’s chest tightened. He looked away.
Sighing, Jevan sheathed his sword. “If anyone’s too chickenshit to continue, you’re free to leave. More gold for me. I’m the one who accepted this job and I’m finishing it.” He pointed to the dead Paladins. “We may be able to use their armor as disguises. Check if any are intact enough to pass. If not, we’ll find another way. Then hide bodies and put out those small fires before they grow.”
With a warm smile, Senya released a sigh of relief. “I knew there was a Knightmare in you.”
Jevan felt something uncomfortable twist in his gut. He turned away, busying himself with his steed. Don’t.
“I want to go home,” Kyra groaned. “But I’m low on gold, so I don’t have a choice.”
Yohnnus was the most conflicted, evidenced by the look on his face. “You’re all mad.” He relented with a curse. “You better know what you’re doing, Jevan.”
Jevan felt a twinge of fear for his decision. As he began readying his horse, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned, meeting Godrik’s eyes, tears welling in them. “Thank you.”
Jevan pulled his arm away, “Put some damn clothes on, and add an extra twenty percent to our payment.”