Warriors Of Kagolania

Along the way she pa.s.sed many places that captivated her with their beauty. The girl rarely slept under the roof, but the hidings she chose were warm and cozy. However, no matter where she was and how much she liked it there, she felt as if she no longer had a homeland to which she could return.

The fact that she was anonymous in every place and visits it probably once in her life caused her a sense of impunity. She gained money by stealing and discovered that she has incredible skills to do this. After several successful attempts, she became addicted to this. Thanks to it, she could break away from the uniformity of travel, even for a moment.

She hid the necklace from Galaspiael and looked at it only when she was alone. Once, when she wanted to buy food, she heard that she could get a lot of money for the necklace, but she never wanted to sell it, although it was very tempting. Sometimes she barely resisted to not give it away. She swore, however, that as long as she could manage, she would not. It was one of the few things that reminded of the purpose of the mission before her. She had memories that seemed so distant, as if decades had pa.s.sed, but they still gave her strength.

Kalena has been visiting villages so small that they could not be seen on the map. When she asked people about Washar, those who decided to speak mentioned that he had been sent very far. However, no one was able to point her exact direction until one day.

It was wet everywhere, and Kalena planned to leave quickly so as not to meet Najana, who would certainly fight well in such a weather. Along the way, she met a young Righteous Conspiracy member whose carriage was stuck in the mud. She helped him and managed to gain his trust enough to make him talk.

"The prince has returned to his new home, underground," he explained to her.

"What does it mean?" she asked. "Where is he imprisoned?"

"He is not formally a prisoner, but he can"t really leave the mine. Washar was the guardian of the dynamite recipe."

"Did someone stole the recipe?

The boy narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Yes, but that was not the reason for his exile. Emperor Xiansherim decided to punish him, and then Washar attacked and killed him. It"s a freak. An enchanter. Apparently he had contact with the Scribes" a.s.sociation and there he gained forbidden knowledge. Everyone thought that Emperor Naimoor, his brother, would kill him, but only decided to banish him."

Kalena felt a shiver go down when the boy mentioned enchantment.

"Where did he banish him? Do you know where this mine is?"

"No. Only a few people know this. The gold mine is the second most guarded place in the country, right after the treasury. Apparently, the people working there are only slaves and never leave the underground. Only the chosen ones can transport gold and transfer it."

"No wonder why, thieves would probably go a long way to get there." Kalena walked away two steps and turned her head a.s.sessing her work. "You should get home with it."

He murmured some brief thanks and Kalena started looking in a completely different direction. She blinked her eyes several times, unable to believe that just a few dozen steps ahead of her stood Namia. . She looked at her former guardian carefully, thinking that maybe she was just a very similar-looking woman. But it really was her.

"Kalena? Kalena, is it really you?" Namia asked, embracing her. "The G.o.ds are watching over us! How you matured I can"t believe I see you, what are you doing here?"

"And you?" Kalena she returned the hug. "How"s things at home?"

"There"s no home anymore! A few days after you left, Igari came with his people. They argued and killed our master in a duel, and separated us."

Igari. Kalena trembled at the name. It chilled her to the bone when she realized that if she hadn"t been sold to Galaspiael, she would have met her rapist again. Once again, she would be completely defenseless. She would become his property. She couldn"t think about it."

"Kalena..."

"Is he here?" There was a threat in her voice.

"He is, but please, don"t hurt him! He feeds us, we will starve without him!"

"Lead me to him," the girl demanded.

"Where will we go when you take your revenge, have you thought about it?" Namia stepped back but Kalena looked deep into her eyes.

"This man destroyed my life," she said calmly. "I want to stand before him again, this time as a free person. I won"t hurt him, I promise. I just want to see him."

"Listen, I know what you went through..."

"You have no idea what I went through" she drawled. "You have no idea what it"s like to feel dirty all your life, have nightmares every night. You don"t know what it"s like to love someone and be afraid to approach them. Namia, please! I think we both know you owe me!"

Every trace of joy disappeared from the woman"s face.

"I was a slave, just like you. You know I had no choice! Do you think I don"t regret that I didn"t hide you from them then?" She looked away. "If you go to the village, you"ll find him. He does business at the market there.

Kalena turned and almost ran down the road. The village was not far away, and the market was in reality four stalls on a small square, so Kalena easily recognized which of the men was Igari. In fact, ihe hasn"t changed at all. He turned old and had more wrinkles on his face, but he still reminded himself of years ago.

When he left, she followed him. He didn"t pay attention to her for a few moments, but eventually the feeling of being followed began to be too bothersome. Then he stopped pretending he couldn"t see her and turned around, taking out a short knife.

"Who are you?" He asked. His voice was sharp and rough. "What do you want from me?"

"You do not remember me?"

The man narrowed his eyes and stared at her.

"You don"t remind me of anyone I know."

"Oh really?" Kalena took out her am-shen. "You met me quite well eight years ago." When he wanted to leave she cut him off and he fell. "Do you remember what you said then? That we will definitely meet again. You are probably a prophet!"

"Wait, I remember now! You are that girl..."

"Exactly," she murmured, slowly moving the blade toward his throat. "The one you and your friends had fun with for three days, and then you left barely alive."

"Three days for which I paid with years of fear and shame." Kalena pointed the second blade at the hot snack stall. Fire came to her very quickly. First it settled on the sword, and then the flames began to dance in the air. Igari stepped back on all fours.

"I have changed! I am a different person now than I was then. If I knew you could do it, we would never touch you. That"s her! It"s the old woman who gave you back, it"s her fault!"

Kalena"s fingers tightened on the hilt of the shen and swung with all her might. The blade dropped whistling just above the man"s head. Flames fell around his face, not leaving even a slight burn.

She planned to kill him. She had it in her mind, despite the promise made to Namia. At the last moment she came to her senses. She was already in Madegald, that is where she should be. She couldn"t afford to repeat the mistake from the Forbidden Zone. Galaspiael needed help.

"You haven"t changed at all," Kalena said calmly, "but you"re not as terrible as I thought all these years." She snorted softly. "To think I had nightmares because of you, and you actually look so pathetic. I don"t have time to waste it on you, but believe me that someday I"ll come back here and take my revenge."

After these words, she turned and walked away. Namia was slowly starting to walk toward her.

"He told you something," she said more than she asked. "What were you talking about?"

"He didn"t tell me anything I didn"t know," she murmured.

"I really had no choice…" Namia began again, but the girl did not let her finish.

"I know," she admitted, "I will never forgive him. But I can forgive you."

"Won"t you stay here?"

"I have an important mission to accomplish. I have to go on, but I promise I"ll see you again."

*

When Kalena saddled her horse again, the stranger stood in her way.

"Is it true that you are looking for a gold mine?" He asked when she turned towards him.

"News spreads fast here," she snorted."I told this to only one person. What, do you know where it is?"

"I do not. But my brother came back from there."

"Could he show me the way?" She asked hopefully. "I would be grateful."

The man whom Kalena spoke to looked much older than her, but she suspected that he was only about ten years old. Hard work was visible at his face. He began to nibble at the skin on his finger and it was obvious that he regrets more and more that he decided to talk to her.

"He doesn"t like to talk about this place, but maybe he"ll give some tips."

The girl sighed.

"Better this than nothing. I wouldn"t know where to go anyway."

"He wouldn"t lead you even if he was in better shape. You can"t persuade anyone to go back there. Very few people escaped, it is almost impossible. Do you want to save someone?"

"Yes."

"You probably wouldn"t go there otherwise. Come with me."

"Actually, why do you want to help me?" Kalena asked, staring at him suspiciously. - Do you expect something in return? I only have what you see, I can"t give you anything.

He did not answer. She could either stay or follow him. She decided to go, but remained suspicious. This man did not inspire trust and somehow she did not believe that he offered her help selflessly.

In front of the small house sat a younger boy, terribly emaciated, with big eyes. When he saw his brother in the company of Kalena, he quickly stood up and ran inside, slamming the door behind him.

"She always reacts that way, it"s nothing," he said before she could even ask the question. "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Shiga and my brother is Shimo. Come in, please."

In the middle of the only room the hearth smoldered and Kalena immediately felt safer. She came up to the boy who was sitting in the corner with his legs tucked up and crouched beside him.

"I"m not going to hurt you, don"t have to be afraid of me. Shiga said you were in a mine and escaped from there. I want to ask you for help because I have to get there in the shortest possible time." She took the crumpled map from her pocket. "Look, there"s Sekania up there. Here is the capital and we are somewhere here."

"I"ve never used the map," Shimo said for the first time. "I don"t know what the world drawn here looks like."

The girl sighed with resignation.

"What place is this mine?"

"It smells of corpses there."

"Washar lives there?" She asked, but Shimo said nothing more.

"He was once different. Much happier. He liked talking to people." Shiga managed a faint smile. "He was convicted wrongly. When he returned, he was no longer the same man."

She clenched her teeth feeling something grab her by the throat. Shimo looked up at her. They stared into each other"s eyes for a moment and she couldn"t help thinking about Galaspiael. If he was still alive, how much did his captivity affect him? The thought of it made her heart ache.

"Where are you from?" He asked quietly.

"Kagolania," she confessed.

"I figured it you"re a foreigner. We don"t travel, we don"t know the directions."

"Tell me where it is! You must remember since you were there. Where should I go? In the mountains?"

"There is only one mountain, but it is not the highest. Almost empty inside and it smells so badly with corpses... Terrible stench. It always smelled with corpses there. Drive straight ahead all the time, don"t look back. Take the road you was on. Straight ahead. Ghosts will lead you. Talk to ghosts only. They will show you the way."