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Then my mind shifts to think again about the mysterious naga, pulling himself out of the path of my arrow. I certainly will have to see him again. But when? And do I have to adjust my plan in order to deal with his presence?
There’s no particular reason to think he’ll be a danger. He certainly won’t be loyal to the King of this country.
“If he were, he would have tried to kill me for one thing, which he didn’t,” I muse. More than that, I simply don’t want to believe such a thing about him. I don’t believe someone could be as talented and clever at battle as he’s shown himself to be and attach himself to a vile wretch like the King.
No, he won’t fight me to stop him. But if my purpose crosses his, then he will certainly stand his ground. It might be wise to find out who exactly he is and what brings him here.
Or am I just looking for an excuse to pursue him rather than my purpose? The question cuts deeply. I’m close to getting my vengeance, closer than I’ve ever been in my life. Now is no time to get distracted.
“No. He certainly deserves caution,” I resolve. “But he’s also no reason to slow down my plan. There’s no telling how long before I get another chance as good as this.”
The plan is simple. The King is well protected while he’s in his fortress. The stone walls are strong, and he’s surrounded by men who have no choice but to be unfailingly loyal to him. He has no taste for hunting or any other activity that might give me a chance to kill him while he’s staying in its bounds.
That means I have to draw him outside. One of the only circumstances he leaves the castle for is to lead military expeditions. He loves few things as much as he loves the blood of battle. But even when he leaves under normal conditions, he will be surrounded by his army. A loyal army is every bit as difficult to penetrate as stone walls.
The exception, of course, is if his expedition is against civil unrest. Then the army has to split up to cover the same ground that a resistance can. The key, then, is to cause as much disruption as possible. The more orderly and planned everything is, the safer he will be. But every disruption to his army’s structure puts him closer and closer to danger. Soon enough, he will have to take a risk that’s too dangerous to make up time or to deal with a miscommunication.
That will be the moment I strike. I only need one moment like that, and I know he’ll give it to me.
The first step is to draw him out earlier than he plans. One big action, a sudden attack here ought to do it. To him, it will make sense to move quickly. He’ll think the fact that he had already planned to make an expedition here in a few days will protect him. He won’t realize how many compromises pushing it forward as little as half a week will cause.
He won’t realize until I take advantage of them.
“That means we’ll have to start a rebellion here. That won’t be as hard as it sounds. The people here are already angry and scared. They know that the King is going to come against them soon, and they know how brutal he will be when he comes. All they’ll need is an opportunity and a little pushing, and they’ll seize the opportunity. If the King is coming to destroy us anyway, we might as well take what we can before he arrives.”
Will the rebellion I aim to provoke here succeed? I don’t know. Certainly, all the people who fight in it won’t make it. I have no idea what the army will do once the King is dead. Will someone be able to step into his place and continue his work? It’s possible, but I doubt it. The King is a fearful man, and he’s kept anyone who’s too ambitious or too competent as far as he can from power. It’s kept his throne safe enough, but once he falls, it means there will be no one ready to take his place.
Again, my mind returns to the naga who I know nothing of. It won’t be too long before I’m done with this quest for revenge. Another quest may well be found. In fact, I’m sure it will be.
But first, I think I want to find you, I decide.Maybe by the time I’m done with my mission, you’ll be done with your mission, too. You can tell me what it was, and I’ll tell you about mine. And then… well, I don’t know what will happen next.
I drop down from the tree down to the forest floor. It’s time to gather some herbs for my foot. It still hurts, but it’s calmed down enough that I don’t fear going through the forest with it anymore.
I have a strange idea that this mystery naga will understand me in a way that few others have. I can see in him the same strain of duty and carefully controlled anger that drives me. That’s what I really hope. I hope that he won’t be afraid of or horrified by me when he meets me, as so many have been. I hope he will see the power and importance of what I’m doing.
I hope that he’ll like me. It’s a ridiculous thing to care about when I’m planning to begin a revolution and murder a King. But it’s still true. I hope he likes me. I hope I like him too.
9
SLYTH
Slowly, I tease out more information about the unrest against the King in this territory and the rumors of a planned military action in the near future. Like all rumors, it’s all murky and full of contradictions. One second, I’m reassured that any rebels who ever operated here have moved on, and the next I’m told there’s a permanent base somewhere in the forest which is the heart of a country-wide movement for revolution.
The truth is, my focus isn’t on any of that. It’s on her.
Every once in a while, I come across the tale of a rumor that just might be about her. Two soldiers went missing in the forest and were found with burn marks all over them. A lone rebel picking off soldiers and guards. A human with dark powers that allows them to fight with nagas, one on one.
“There’s no reason to be sure they’re talking about her. They could be combining the achievements of many rebels into one legendary warrior,” I ponder to myself when no one is around to hear me. Or maybe it’s more like a boogeyman. The merchants and slave dealers tell stories about a human who wants revenge to deal with their fears and soothe their consciences.
But I want it to be her. Any time someone talks to me, I ask them about the army and resistance first, and then about her. She matters to me. Sometimes, I even think she matters to me more than the mission.
Unfortunately, no one is able to tell me anything that brings me any closer. Even if I tell myself they might have heard of her, none of them have understood anything about her.
“Oh, there’s definitely something out in those woods,” one of my customers says after mulling over the potions for nearly five minutes. “But I don’t think it’s just one person.”
“A whole revolutionary army?” I prod.
“More like a few fanatics,” he answers. “If humans could put together an army on their own, then we’d be in real trouble.”
