Iron Seeds (Legend of the Iron Flower Book 8) Page 6

  Now she sat down before asking, "What are you two doing in Kayland? Got some business down here?"

  Edward's answer drove thoughts of partying from her head. "No, things just aren't so good up on the Norh plains right now. The monsters have really been acting up, so we're taking a break until things settle down."

  "Monsters? What kind?"

  "There seem to be many different ones working together—humanoids like goblins, ogres and trolls, along with all manner of less intelligent beings they've domesticated."

  Sheila added nervously, "Normally such creatures wouldn't be much to deal with, but these appear much more organized and cooperative with one another."

  Though she hadn't known the other woman long, Amber wouldn't have thought Sheila to be someone easily frightened. Her shaken demeanor told a lot. "The situation must be pretty bad, huh?"

  "Not yet, but it seems to be heading there. Somebody probably should have done something sooner, but by now a ton of them have gathered in the little-populated northern half of the Norh plains, and begun spreading into the south. It might not be long until they start to threaten Coblan, and even Kayland..."

  "How long has this been going on?"

  "They've likely been banding together for over a year, but nobody really took notice of them as the threat they posed—at least until, well, a few days ago. That's when they swarmed every human settlement on the northern plains—not that there's much in the way of civilization there, so some are still trying to be optimistic about the extent of their ambitions—and took it all over. Next we assume they'll want the south, where most of the people are."

  Amber's alarm grew further. "And how many of them are there, exactly?"

  "We don't know, nobody has had the chance to count. But most estimate the number of monsters living in scattered tribes to be in the many thousands, and if even a significant fraction of those have joined forces..."

  An army of monsters would be especially difficult for the sparsely populated Norh plains to deal with, but if there were enough even the great kingdom of Kayland would be threatened. Barely noticing Jacob's slow approach, she frowned and asked, "So is anyone trying to do something about it now?"

  Edward replied, "Several of the southern settlements have allied for mutual protection, but I fear that won't be enough. It's hard to believe enough monsters have united under one banner to take the north at once, when they'd never been unified into more than small tribes before. I practically hadn't even realized there were that many at all."

  "Hi," Jacob said meekly as he joined them at the table, "I'm Jacob, Amber's brother. So you two are her friends?"

  They exchanged brief greetings, then Amber asked, "And what is this one banner they've gathered beneath? Do they have a leader?" Her fantasy of her mother challenging their master and defeating him in a great duel wasn't even unrealistic, given how many champions she'd brought low in the past.

  But she wasn't prepared for the answer Sheila gave, and recoiled as the woman whispered, "He apparently just revealed himself. Rumor has it he calls himself the Dark Justice, the man who stole the power of the demon lord itself."

  #

  Sitting on the inn bed, Rose held her head in her hands as Amber recounted what her northern friends had told her. "But Mom," her daughter asked anxiously, "didn't you kill the one who called himself Dark Justice?"

  She sure had. At the end of their last battle, she had cloven Justin nearly in half, and his body reverted to the same blue spike the original demon lord became in death. She'd thought the spike destroyed too, after she threw it in a volcano. But if it hadn't, she knew someone else could have harnessed its power like Justin did. Probably it wasn't him, but another who adopted the moniker he gave himself to invoke his reputation or for the sake of irony. How long had this new wielder of demonic power been building up the army that threatened the continent?

  Just like in the old stories the demon lord, if a different one than the first, now led a huge monster army against mankind. Yet though the danger felt great, Rose took some comfort in knowing it wasn't her twins who brought it back to the world as the prophecy had foretold. "Don't worry, kids. I'm going to make this right, by finishing what I started so long ago." Of course, for all her bluster, she didn't know how she could destroy the spike for good. But maybe this time, she would hold onto it for safekeeping until she found a way.

  "You're going north?" Amber asked with a mix of concern and anticipation as Jacob looked on frightfully behind her.

  She must have looked forward to fighting alongside her mother in the great clash to come, but Rose wasn't about to let her children risk their lives against the massively powerful demon lord, or even his legions of minions, on the battlefield. She'd learned from harsh experience that she couldn't really protect her allies in the churning chaos of war. "You and your brother are staying right here in Kayland, okay? I don't need to be worried sick about you two while I'm fighting my way through hordes of monsters."

  Jacob nodded easily enough, but Amber shook her head. "But Mom, I want to help you! I know you almost died against this demon before, and now that it has an army, you need all the backup you can get!"

  Rose shook her head with a small smile. "Yes, I almost died, which doesn't much matter considering how close a person comes to death each time they step on the battlefield. The only death that counts is one that actually happens. As for you, I'm not saying you aren't a good warrior, but as my daughter, you'll do more harm than good for me out there. I'd be too distracted worrying about you for sure. You understand?"

  Amber shrugged, but her pout made it clear she didn't. She eagerly brought her brother along on any adventure she could after all, in spite of his less than stellar track record in the face of danger. Rose envied her daughter just a bit for not having yet experienced the grief of losing a loved comrade in battle which might make her reconsider such an attitude, and hoped she never would. Still, the girl reluctantly agreed, "Fine, I'll stay here with Jacob. So are you still going to meet up with Derrick before you leave?"

  "Yeah, I think I will. I shouldn't be that unlucky a few days will make the difference between success and failure in such a large conflict, and I should probably pick up your dad too for help with this..." Even then, without the support of a proper army, they would be fighting an uphill battle. She just hoped they'd be able to get to the enemy's leader and eliminate him before anything too bad happened...

  #

  The wait for Derrick gave Rose's wounded body time to recover some. When she heard of his return to town, she visited the Birwan magic center with kids in tow. Knocking on his office door, she soon found herself gazing upon her friend's smiling face once more.

  "Rose!" the brown-haired scholar said happily as he laid eyes on her face. "Good to see you too, Amber and Jacob. How are you?"

  A year younger than Rose, Derrick looked older at this point, her countless scars aside. He'd lost much of his hair in the middle and no longer possessed the figure of an athletic young man, but had filled out considerably and bore a slight gut to match the one she'd had since her youth. But he still greeted her with the excitement of the young adventurer he was when they first met, and she knew he possessed the same thirst for knowledge despite having already gained much more than he'd had then.

  "I'm okay. Got beat up again a few days ago, but it's better now. Though I've got some trouble ahead of me for sure. How about you?" She wondered if he'd met a woman to share his life after their last meeting, but doubted it. Ever since he'd lost his love Julie in battle alongside Rose, he had never been able to commit to more than friendship with the opposite sex, though he made a very good friend. It had been her fault, at least partially, that he'd suffered so...

  "Trouble? What trouble, Rose? I'll help however I can."

  "Thanks, but I doubt it's something you'll be able to do much about. Just wish me well as you always do, because apparently I'll be facing 'Dark Justice' again soon."

  Derrick gaped. "Isn't he dead?"
>
  "How many of my major enemies stay dead the first time they get 'killed?' Actually it's probably not Justin, but somebody who took his name to intimidate. They may well wield the demon's power, though."

  "Well, it's good he doesn't have the emotional history with you that might get in your way." He laughed weakly. "Go get him, hero."

  She blushed. Though she tried to do what good she could, after all her horrible deeds in combat she could hardly think of herself as a hero. A well-meaning warrior was the best title she could ascribe to her violent self. Still, she was grateful for her friend's support. "Thanks. Now, how have you been since I last saw you?"

  They chatted for hours, the twins occasionally contributing to the conversation between periods of looking bored by Derrick's stories of his mundane life. It'd been a long time since he traveled the same roads as Rose, and she could tell he missed her company. Even though he'd suffered more than his due at her side, he didn't begrudge her those misfortunes. When they'd had their fill of talk, Derrick said contently, "I'm really happy seeing you again. Don't let it be so long between visits next time, okay?"

  "Hopefully not," she replied, though it could be tough to keep in touch beyond letters with their busy lives. They shared a long, warm hug which her children joined at her behest and parted a tad hesitantly, not knowing when indeed they'd meet again.

  #

  That night on the road while Rose slept, Amber fumed at Jacob, "Dammit, why does Mom have to leave me behind so easily? I'm not a helpless child, I want to fight too."

  "She's just worried about you, as she should be. You're a brave fighter and real tough, but neither of us is ready to stand at her side the way she fights in big battles. She throws herself into the thick of the enemy, where we'd die! And if she hung back for our sake, she wouldn't be able to make the best of her abilities would she?"

  "Maybe you're right, but we could just stay with the rest of the allies while she runs out ahead. I'd rather be nearby aiding her than waiting at home, hoping she'll come back alive."

  "She always comes back," Jacob reassured her. "In the meantime, you've got me to take care of you."

  "I don't need to be taken care of. What I need is to not feel so helpless."

  Though the idea he got wasn't something he'd look forward to, seeing his sister's restlessness he said, "We could keep looking for other things left behind by the Guardians of Salvation. Hopefully some of them could help Mom and Dad against the new demon lord, though they probably don't need it or any other aid from us." And hopefully, they'd just enjoy a pleasantly uneventful and fruitless search until their parents got back. He didn't want to think about the frightening possibility of finding a monster like the one their mother had fought at Pental...

  Amber's face opened up in a big smile. "That's not a bad plan. Yeah, let's keep looking for treasures of the ancients. We better not find more junk like that statue, though. It would've been a pain to get it home for sure."

  "Not really with a cart, although it would slow us down some. I guess that's why she left it for now with Derrick."

  She frowned. "I wish I'd thought to ask him if he knows of any ruins that might contain relics of the Guardians of Salvation. But I suppose there should be plenty of other knowledgeable scholars at the main center, and besides, I did manage to luck out in finding the key-sword by having it stuck through my gut! Maybe I'm destined to discover the secrets of the Guardians."

  "Destiny is one of the few things that scare Mom, you know. She hasn't been treated so well by 'fortune' in the past."

  "Hey, maybe it'll be better to us. Our dread prophecy didn't come true after all."

  She was right there, but Rose and Finn had to work hard to make it that way. "So where do you want to start looking? There's dozens of Old World ruins in Kayland, and that's just the ones that are known."

  Eagerly, Amber replied, "I guess we'll start close to home, if nobody has any particularly juicy clues for us."

  The return trip to Gustrone went without a hitch, and upon arriving they hurried home to find Finn. "You want us to go all the way north to fight this possibly fake demon lord, without even a reliable army to back us up?" he demanded after Rose told him of her intentions. "What happened to getting wiser with age?"

  The battle between Finn's desire for Rose to stick closer to home and her determination to help people in need even if they were far away had never ended, even if it'd waxed and waned over the years. She responded in the calm tone of a practiced debater, "If this isn't dealt with now, it's only going to get worse and worse until it spreads here, and becomes even more of a hassle to stop." More emotionally, she reminded him, "Besides, this leader appears or at least claims to have gained the power of the spike we failed to dispose of. So we should take responsibility."

  Finn exhaled, and his voice softened with resignation. "I guess. Time for the old warrior couple to take down one more great foe together."

  Rose laughed. "All else aside, I'm glad we have each other. Ready to go, then?"

  "Wait!" Amber said, and Jacob's heart sank sensing what she'd try to pull. "Should me and Jacob really stay here by ourselves? What if the demon lord sends someone after us? Everybody knows where we live, and it'd be easy for an assassin to find us. I think we'd be safer with our strong mom and dad."

  "Why would he come after us?" Jacob asked. "If this isn't the real Justin, he doesn't have any grudge against our parents."

  "He shouldn't, but once he realizes they stand against him, he might attempt to get the upper hand by taking advantage of us."

  Finn tilted his head towards her. "So what do you suggest?" Jacob didn't much like the knowing glint in his eye...

  "Take us with you. We can't be your babies forever, but just for this once we need protection."

  Rose looked rather flustered. "So you want to be protected by coming into danger with us, instead of staying out of it?"

  "Better to take the initiative alongside strong allies than sit waiting for death."

  "Eloquently put for a whelp," Finn said.

  "Plus, that way our family wouldn't have to split up." Seeing Rose look a little moved by Amber's words, Jacob shook his head.

  He felt thankful when she said, "But we'd be putting you two in the path of an army of monsters.

  "Do you really think they'll be okay there, Finn? It's going to be rough, especially considering that besides everything, the people of the Norh plains aren't used to fighting in massive battles like this will be."

  He frowned uncertainly, but then proposed, "I have an idea to help keep them safe. How about you do your usual thing of rushing ahead of our allies, while I stay back with the kids and keep an eye on them unless you really need help?"

  Though Rose still did not seem overly pleased with the idea of taking her children onto the battlefield, her expression told Jacob she might be starting to like it better than the alternatives she imagined. "At least they'd be close to both of us. So Amber, I know you approve of your own idea. Jacob?"

  No! He didn't want to fight an army of monsters! But then, now that he thought about it, what other choices did he have? Wander around old ruins with Amber, praying they stumbled upon nothing they couldn't handle—or stay home all alone, feeling and being even more vulnerable? Finally, he replied, "It won't be fun, but adults have to realize life can't always be fun. I'm fine with it."

  "You sure you're okay with this?"

  He shrugged. "It's better than my other options." And thus the family agreed to go to war together.

  #

  "I hate cold places," Amber said as she walked down the road beside her parents. Horses were unsuited to the cold climes they would brave. Though dressed to fight with sturdy mail beneath her tunic, she remained less heavily armored than her plate-clad parents. She preferred being highly mobile in combat, and though her mother still proved shockingly quick in her three-layered suit, she just wasn't at home in such heavy gear. While she had the strength, she would feel rather cumbersome. And if Jacob learned o
ne thing from her, it was his taste in armor; he too only wore chain.

  Looking at the fancy cloak Amber wore, Rose pointed out, "That thing's going to get ruined quick in battle, which we're certainly going to be in."

  "I'm surprised you've hung onto it for this long without getting it messed up," Finn added jokingly.

  Acknowledging they were right, she mentally bid the garment an early farewell. "I haven't had to wear a cloak much where I've been, never mind one so thick, so I didn't really think about it. By the way, what are these things like that we're going to fight?"

  With a smile, Finn advised loudly so that Jacob could hear as well, "The goblins, the little ones, fight mostly like men, except you've got to watch out for your lower body more. And they also like to swarm you if they get the chance. The hairy ones half again the height of a man—ogres—you have to careful of their strength. Don't try to trade blows with them. And if you see any trolls, giant hairless brutes with bumpy hides, try to leave them to somebody else. They're tough with their rock-hard skin."

  Despite her father's warning, or perhaps because of it, Amber looked forward to facing such a beast. She asked curiously, "So what do you do if you have to fight one?"

  "Hit its softer parts and hope it dies before it gets its hands on you," Rose said with a shake of her head.

  "Or just chop it up, if you're as strong as your mom," Finn added proudly.

  Rose glared at him. "Don't encourage her!"

  "It's true. You're the best, Brute Brute, Meatball... Iron Flower."

  She laughed and hugged him close, saying something into his ear that Amber couldn't hear. He whispered back to her, and they carried on a quiet conversation full of grins and giggles. Deciding to leave her parents to their fun, Amber fell back to her brother's side and noticed his unhappy face. "How are you doing?"