The Steward of Kotir

[Tobias]

When the mist clears.

Toby looked back up at the dining hall?s windows. Still fogged.

He though it was strange how their whole mission came down to one beast, one they could have killed innumerable times, but either by ignorance of his importance or the foolish idea that infected Rousseau called vengeance, they did not.

The silly assumption, of course, was that Morleo was going to fight Rousseau one-on-one. Morleo had the upper paw; he would not sacrifice any of his advantages to equal theirs, which was one rat kit. It was going to be an all out battle, plain and simple. Everybeast in the castle knew it. He hoped, anyway, or else they were doomed.

When the mist clears, Toby thought again, it?ll be decided. Whether we live or die. If I come to a resolution or have to endure life a little longer.

No, not endure, enjoy. Adrian was not going to leave him.

Toby looked around and picked her out from the groups of soldiers in the hall. She was talking with a few others about something they thought worthy of a final conversation, because that was a possibility.

He feared that her reaction earlier was the feared responsibility for his suicide if she left him. But that moment he saw her eyes?he really saw them?fear of guilt was not in them. But was it? Maybe it was, he just wanted the opposite to be true?

The architect cut off that strain of thought decisively and got up. He needed physical exercise to distract from mental, another reason he loved the guard: you don?t have to think nearly as much.

Toby weaved his way between the tables until he was next to Adrian, who caught him approaching ten paces out.

?Would you like to spar a little?? he asked.

The private nodded quickly and bade a short farewell to her comrades. ?Better than talking about fighting,? she said as they walked away.

?Or thinking about it,? Toby added. ?Where should we go??

?Hmm?How about the entry hall landing??

?There?s hardly enough space there for a proper spar.?

?Do you think we?ll have enough space out there??

?Good point.? From the size of Kotir?s grounds and the rough estimates the mink had made of each side?s number, they?d have to fight on the fallen instead of around them.

?Wanna race there?? A subtle smile lit her expression with a competitive spark.

They rounded the corner where Toby had almost died. He eyed the bloodstains of the fallen rats. ?Oh, we?re nearly there, and we wouldn?t want to alar??

Adrian took off anyway. The architect sighed and almost ran after her but she was too far ahead, and he didn?t want to drain his energy before he needed it.

Toby strolled down the hall, passing the guard that Adrian supposedly dismissed, and ascended the stairs.

She was waiting for him with arms akimbo. ?You?re no fun!? she said with a small scowl.

?You didn?t give me much of a fair start now, did you?? he countered.

?You knew you were going to lose, so you didn?t even try.?

?Perhaps I let you win because I didn?t want you to be too disappointed when I beat you every round we spar.?

Adrian laughed a little. ?Oh really?? She unsheathed her rapier. ?Let?s see you do that, then.?

Toby unsheathed his own sword and grounded his stance. ?Ready??

She was already taking the first swing as he finished the question. He parried hastily. ?I?ll take that as a yes, then!? Indignant, he countered with a stab.

The private sidestepped it easily. ?Try asking a water rat if he?s ready to fight.? She slashed down from the upper left, to his shoulder. ?I don?t think they?ll be as polite.?

Toby managed to block the rapier from its target, but could not strike back, and Adrian was already coming from the other side. She hit his arm guard.

?One-zero, me!? she announced.

?Careful on the armor,? Toby complained, rubbing the elongated dent in the metal. ?I might need that later.?

?A dent isn?t going to kill you, Toby,? she responded. ?If I was really going to kill you, I wouldn?t go for the armor. I would go for here, here, and here.? She pointed to the gaps in his armor at the elbow, side, and throat.

?Good to know,? he said, now feeling as vulnerable as he had bare-chested.

?Alright, rea?, I mean, I don?t care if you?re ready or not, because I am!?

She got the first strike anyway, but the line was enough to make her giggle a little and lose focus.

?Maybe you shouldn?t say anything to them, just attack,? she suggested once the round was over, which Toby had won with a touch to her helmet.

?Oh, I?ll do that,? Toby said. ?I don?t think they?ll have as good a sense of humor.? He glanced out the window. A few water rats were visible, and they looked more excited than nervous.

?I don?t think they will either,? Adrian replied a little grimly. She nudged his leg with her rapier tip. ?Are you going to look out at them all day, or fight me??

Toby whirled around and thrust his sword out to her chestplate as a reply, which she narrowly avoided by stepping back and parrying it with her hilt.

?Did not talking work??

She smiled and regained her ground, aiming a stab near his throat. ?Almost.?

And then they didn?t talk for a spell, focused only on the dance that was the swordfight. The only problem was that Toby wasn?t leading. Adrian lashed out at him more quickly and accurately than when Alan lost his temper, and the architect barely managed to keep her attacks at bay while slipping in a few of his own.

The score stood seven-three Adrian when he looked out the window next and saw that the mist receded significantly.

?Do you know where Alan is?? Toby asked.

Adrian shrugged. ?I think I saw him in the dining hall. Why??

Toby gestured to the window, and she walked over and immediately understood. ?Would racing be appropriate now?? she ventured.

?First one to find him wins,? Toby agreed, and they both ran back down the stairs and through the hallway.

Adrian was right; Alan was in the dining hall, but it took Toby a little to spot him, since he was in the corner with his brother.

?Alan,? Toby said a little breathlessly upon reaching the captain, ?the mist is almost gone. Is Rousseau ready??

Alan stood up fast. ?Vulpuz knows. She?s holed up in her room. I?ll get her.?

He ran out, and Toby sat down by Konnor. The architect looked down at him and regretted once again insulting him to incite Alan. Toby remembered him being less drunk and angry than Alan. In other words, a much better captain.

Alan returned with Rousseau in tow faster than Toby expected. He walked over to them.

?What part of ?inform the troops? don?t you get, Forst?? the captain snapped.

?You didn?t tell??

?It was implied! I thought you?d be smart enough to notice that.? Why did he have to seem so stupid when Alan was around?

Alan hopped onto the nearest table. ?Alright, you lot, the mist is gone, and while our enemy has agreed to a one-on-one duel, we?ve got to be prepared for anything. So everybeast to the entrance now!?

The captain hopped down and grabbed Toby?s arm, steering him out of the hall. ?And you are going to be with me in case Rousseau fails.?

Toby shook his paw off and followed him. ?That?s not a very good decision. You?re choosing a beast that isn?t trained in battle to fight beside you.?

?I know.?

Toby was very confused by this logic. ?Er, alright then.?

The nerves that had been building slowly accelerated much too quickly. Toby thought he?d hang back in the lines, but now he?d been ?promoted? to front line. Granted, he was with the best swordsbeast in Kotir. That was comforting.

Toby saw Alan?s head swivel toward him out of the corner of his eye. ?Nice outfit.?

?We had a surplus after the break in yesterday,? the architect replied simply.

A few seconds elapsed. ?Some think it's unlucky to wear a dead beast?s armor.?

Toby shrugged. ?It?ll keep me alive longer.?

They were at the entrance door now. Alan looked up at the guard on the landing they had not sparred on. ?Is he out there??

The stoat nodded. ?Aye, an? his army.?

There was a ripple of noise behind the architect.

?Well then, open the gates!?

The gates were unbarred and they swung open to reveal a mirror image of themselves, only in water rat form, much larger, and equipped with crude but intimidating weaponry.

Morleo stepped out from his forces. ?Are you ready to die, rat??

Toby heard the unnerving stretching of bows behind him. He though for a second that one might misfire and hit him. What a terrible way to die.

Rousseau stepped forward as well. ?I should be askin? you that.?

The water rat chief smiled. ?Oh, I don?t know about that. Your odds of dying are much greater than mine at the moment.?

Before she could reply, water rats began streaming from the sides of the gate, hidden by the gates themselves, and into the castle. Morleo ran back into his troops before an archer could loose an arrow on him.

?Hellgates!? Alan muttered, and drew his sword.

Toby did likewise, and felt sick. He hoped not to die.