Revenant's Resolve Chapter 19

“I must say, your handmaiden’s cooking would be well at home with the royal chefs, Zarah.” Vezemir complimented as Luminita removed his now-cleaned plate. The youth was “seated” at the head of the table, where Zarah usually sat. Most likely, this was because he didn’t actually use a chair.

Instead, he merely lowered the underside of his spider part to the floor, and rested upon it, which from the other end of the table looked almost like he was seated.

But the silver and brown carapace also happened to extend a solid five feet behind him, well beyond the space offered by the other end.

His long, tan and brown legs also needed room to spread out to either side, so the sides of the table were out of the question as well, given that it was only as long as a man was tall.

“Though, that does beg the question; why after all these years have you taken a slave and a servant?” Vezemir tapped ponderously at his lower lip as he eyed the space above and behind Zarah. “It did come back to me that you traveled through the inner gate with a slave - though, your well-protected friend over there doesn’t exactly look like a man forcefully indentured.”

Zarah pursed her lips and leaned back in her seat as Luminita cleared her meal as well, seeming to consider Vezemir’s question. The spider-king briefly glanced over to Reznik and watched him with a set of entirely brown eyes. No sclera, pupil, or iris, just a deep, almost black earthen color.

“Perhaps I find that slaves are far more understanding when you give them chains of gold, no? That, or I just lied to the guards on the gate as to my true intentions with Reznik to avoid suspicion.” Zarah delivered a wicked smile to Vezemir before taking a deep sip of her wine.

Vezemir placed his own glass down on the table and idly ran his tongue along his upper lip as he looked from Zarah to Reznik, and back again.

“Knowing your stance on the laws of the land, my guess would be the latter.” Vezemir’s head tilted curiously to his left shoulder and his eyes narrowed. “Which means that his identity is likely a secret, or a surprise…

“And you know how much I love my secrets.”

“Then a secret you shall have. The reason why I’ve requested you here is to obtain a writ of royal authority on this matter, as… well, depending on who would find out, I might be hanged as a traitor.” Zarah pushed her seat back and stood, rubbing her hands together exuberantly as she continued in an authoritative tone; “For years, we’ve struggled with being hemmed between Prussany to our north, and the untamed, -undead- wasteland to our south.

“Dozens of necromancers have tried their hand at seizing control of the never-ending wave of undead - only to fail, and many times end up as part of the horde itself. We’ve erected forts, stood up a small army of guards specifically to handle the threat, and even partnered with our most bitter enemy over the shared bank of the river that, in reality, is our only bulwark against death itself.

“Your father employed my company of mercenaries to venture far into the wastes and find the source of the horde - we failed. In doing so, though, we learned how vulnerable the undead was to psychers and telepaths as a whole-“

“Zarah, I am well aware of our efforts in the wastes, you can spare me the grand presentation.” Vezemir offered in a warm tone that held a small edge of bite to it. “You needn’t waste both of our time.”

“Imagine my surprise when, weeks ago, the inquisition I now lead - that your father commissioned - finds something… unique in the wastes.” Zarah stopped just in front of Reznik, meeting his eyes as he stared slightly down into her eyes. Then, intuiting what she was about to do, he lifted his chin high so that Zarah could unbuckle the strap that held it to his head. “The team of Riverguard elite I led were set upon by a disconcertingly large horde of undead, but the final nail in our coffin was a Revenant the likes of which I had never seen.

“One with the spark of consciousness within it. It was dim, like a candle about to die, but something I hadn’t seen before.” Zarah unclasped the leather strap and pulled free the helmet, turning and tucking it under her arm. “I left to make my report on the failure to you and your mother, and imagine my surprise when I find that not only has this… monster followed me, but in fact is standing in defense of the town of Carcal during the Bessarban assault!”

“Forgive my intrusion, highness, Dame, but… aren’t Revenants usually uncontrollable, mindless, lumbering monstrosities?” the Captain interjected, pushing himself off of the far wall behind Vezemir and resting a hand on his saber. “Why would one be defending one of our frontier towns? Maybe it was just a case of it following you, and the Bessarbans happened to be the most plentiful food source in the area?”

“Normally, I would agree with you, Captain.” Zarah nodded understandingly at the man before tilting her head back at Reznik as if it was a pointed finger. “But I have evidence. The man behind me is named Reznik. I have spoken to him in his mind, and while there is still far to go - the four of us have been standing and dining in a room with a live, unbound Revenant for over an hour without being attacked.”

Eyes going wide, the Captain quickly drew his saber and pistol, aiming the firearm at Reznik’s head.

“And you brought it within -The Crown Prince’s- presence? Are you mad!?”

“Hold, Anato.” Vezemir quickly raised his hand and commanded quietly, but forcefully. “Now Zarah, I may not have your knowledge of the undead lands, but before me I can’t see anything that resembles a Revenant.

“All I see is a very pale vagrant posing as a man-at-arms. And while he looks remarkably intimidating, a Revenant that does not make.”

I’m sorry, vagrant?

I- okay yeah, that’s fair.

I really do need a shave, don’t I?

“So please, explain.”

“Well, in the weeks I’ve had him here, I have performed a battery of tests, both on his mind and his body.” Zarah began explaining at an increased clip compared to her previous part of the presentation, no doubt due to the King’s skepticism, and his guard’s drawn weapons. “I am led to believe that the reason why he still looks largely human is due to that spark of consciousness.

“The samples that I took from his skin continued to grow and regenerate on their own like a tumor for a long while after they were separated from him. I think that Revenants without a consciousness - a set of mental instructions on how they should regenerate often do so in the way we see everywhere else, leading to the hulking -things- we so often see.”

“Fascinating.” Vezemir’s grin grew several shades brighter before he turned to Captain Harvish with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Put those away, Captain. Like I said before, I trust Zarah implicitly, and have complete faith that if the Revenant meant us harm, both you and her would expediently deal with the threat.”

The Captain glanced over to Vezemir, who was in the process of rising to his feet with eyes wholly focused on Reznik. Then, Harvish holstered his pistol and sheathed his sword after a further moment’s hesitation.

“With protest, Prince Vezemir.”

“Noted. Now, as for whether or not I will approve his continued existence, I have one question for you, Zarah: do you intend to use him against the coming challenges of my dearest mother’s simpletons?” Vezemir asked, coming to a stop several feet in front of Reznik without breaking eye contact. The way his all-black, glassy eyes watched Reznik made him feel as if he was being sized up for a meal.

“That was a large part of my plans for him, yes. The other part has more to do with my inquisition into the undead lands. He may have important memories and knowledge we can use to effectively pacify, or even outright eliminate the undead problem outright.”

“Wonderful! I would like a… demonstration of his abilities before I wholly approve anything, however. Tomorrow, at first light, you will bring him to the Yard.” Vezemir stared down at Reznik with an unreadable smile, turning his head fractionally over his shoulder before raising a thoughtful finger. “I will arrange for one of the prisoners to have his trial by combat. I want to see just what your Revenant is capable of, and then decide his fate.”

Trial by combat?

Eh, fight is a fight.

If I’m to survive and be useful enough to be worth the risk, I’m sure that things like this will be a big part of my life going forward.

So much for that peaceful existence, eh?

* * *

Reznik would rather be walking.

Or even running.

Instead, he and Luminita were seated across from Zarah inside a carriage that rattled its way along through the pre-dawn gloom.

The suit of armor he wore added a surprising amount of bulk to Reznik, leading to the inevitable situation where Luminita was pushed up against his side in the small carriage.

Zarah’s eyes had closed nearly the instant she’d sat down, most likely due to the fact that she’d been up most of the night after Vezemir left tinkering and cursing loudly in her study. He wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been doing, but he knew it involved chemicals and glass, given the frequent clinks that emanated through the door.

And the acrid scent that had followed her out of the room when she’d gone to bed.

“I wonder what she was up to last night,” Luminita murmured from beside him, resting her head on his pauldron. “Whatever it was, she sure was frustrated. I struggled to fall asleep until well after she’d gone to bed.”

I mean… I was wondering the same thing, if I’m honest.

I just don’t have to sleep, so it’s not an issue.

I wonder, can I shrug? Is that something I can do yet?

Let’s try.

After all, she made us such a lovely breakfast - I don’t think I’ve ever seen an omlette that big before.

Pushing the idea to his body, Reznik attempted a shrug along with a quiet, unknowing grunt.

His shoulders didn’t move, but his head tilted until his ear was pinched between his head and the shoulder armor. Additionally, he did manage a small “Guhh” sound from the maneuver.

Close enough.

“Oh, hehe, was that a shrug?” Luminita quietly giggled, turning her head and smiling brightly up at him before brushing an errant lock of raven-black hair out of her bright eyes.

Now that Reznik looked closely, something was odd about her hair.

Each strand had an odd quality to it, as if smaller, fluffier hairs branched out from the coarse  main strands.

Almost like long, wavy down feathers.

Interesting… I wonder, is Luminita human?

I think I ate a bird-lady once upon a time - she looked almost human, but had wings and talons…

She was really slimy… and the feathers got stuck in my teeth.

But the hair on her head was kinda close to this.

Reznik’s head tilted the other direction, towards Luminita as his hand lifted up from where it rested in his lap. As if it was moving on its own, his hand gripped a clump of Luminita’s hair and lifted it to right in front of his eyes.

Luminita made a small, open-mouthed squeaking noise as she watched him grab her hair, blinking owlishly.

Then, Reznik sniffed the hair experimentally.

Hey!

Stop.

That’s weird… I think.

Let’s put it down.

I think she’ll get the idea.

With a grunt, Reznik’s  hand dropped back to his side and he released the strand of hair.

Luminita stared at Reznik with furrowed brows and an open mouth for several seconds before she began to stutter:

“Uhhh- I, oh! You’re curious about my hair, aren’t you?” Luminita asked with an amused chuckle after she made the connection to the meaning of his abrupt gesture. After he gave a small, slow nod, she smiled and picked up a strand of her hair and held it up for him to see. “Well… my mom is a Harpy.

“Dad’s a human, but I got my hair from mom.”

Ah.

That explains it.

Harpy… those were bird-women right?

Reznik had no idea who the Greeks were, and why the sudden idea of their mythology popped into his head, but it all had something to do with what Luminita was.

“It’s part of the reason why crows seem to flock around me - at some level, they see me as one of them.” Luminita further explained after the pause seemed to draw on for a moment too long, shaking her head and smiling in a forced way. “They wouldn’t leave my mother alone either - it’s part of how we always had enough to buy food. The crows would just… show up one day with a piece of silver or shiny jewelry they’d sto-“

“Mmh, not to mention someone known as the Crow-Maiden smiles upon you, apparently.” Zarah grunted, making an annoyed scowl without opening her eyes. “Haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a week because they keep landing on my windowsill and screeching.

“Keep trying to bribe me for information on the chosen one and the protector.” Zarah opened one eye and squinted at Reznik. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you? I hate being simply a tool for fate.”

“I… well, not really, no.” Luminita responded, her tone only half-convinced by her own answer.

This prompted Zarah to open her other eye with slow reluctance, blink once, and then raise her eyebrows expectantly.

“Well? I can just pull it from your mind if you’d prefer. But honestly, that almost seems like a waste of my energy, considering that I like to think we’ve all grown rather close over the past weeks.”

“I- it was just a story that my mother used to tell me before bed, that’s all. Just another made-up story about heroes for children.” Luminita sniffed and shrugged her shoulders absently, staring blankly across the carriage as she clearly worked at remembering the tale. “Except it was a princess the way she told it, rescued from bandits by a werewolf.”

“Oh, so just the two of you in another life, then.” Zarah snorted and rolled her eyes, glancing out the window to the newly orange sky. With a snort, she shook her eyes and pointed above the carriage. “That would explain why we have an escort of birds flapping over us.”

Luminita glanced out her window, turned back to Zarah, and blushed slightly.

“They- ah, they always do that when I travel anywhere. I usually just ignore them.”

Zarah made a small grunt of understanding as she continued to stare out the window. Scratching idly under her jaw, she seemed to be considering something.

“Alright. We should be arriving in the next minute or so. Those are the gates to the bastille up ahead.” Zarah’s tone abruptly changed to serious as she stared pointedly at Reznik. “Don’t let me down out there today. Prince Vezemir is about as good as noble-borne come, but he got a crafty, vindictive streak from his mother.

“He’s going to have a genuine challenge out there for you today, most likely a prisoner from the Riverguard. Someone that knows how to fight a Revenant.” Zarah picked up Reznik’s helmet from beside her, leaned forward, and secured it to his head. “I have faith that you can succeed - no one’s ever faced a Revenant like you before.”

Reznik wasn’t certain, but he almost felt like he could hear a nervous tilt to Zarah’s tone.

As if she wasn’t entirely certain that whatever was about to happen would go entirely in their favor.

Well.

That’s encouraging.

I bet the Prince has some all-powerful sorcerer or necromancer for me.

Maybe a Dragon.

It would be cool to fight a Dragon.

Maybe eat its heart.

No, not the heart - they’re always too chewy… maybe the brain, perhaps?

Reznik nodded slowly at Zarah as she eyed him curiously.

No.

A Dragon would probably destroy me in a heartbeat.

The carriage slowed to a halt before the door was roughly yanked open.

A portly man in his late middle age stared back at them from under a wide-brimmed metal helmet.

“Dame, Miss, I’m supposed to escort the two of you to the officiators box. Your fighter goes with my Sergeant over here.” The man offered in a tone that sounded abundantly bored.

“Ah, thank you warden.” Zarah nodded and stepped out of the Carriage before being followed by Luminita.

Alright.

Let’s get going.

I should avoid cracking my skull on the doorframe.

Reznik stood to a hunch and stepped out of the carriage several seconds later, dropping to the ground with an audible thud, not to mention the creak and sudden rise behind him.

Fuck.

This armor is heavy, isn’t it?

“Hell, you’re a big’un, aren’t ya?” the Sergeant, who had stayed behind as the women and warden left, chuckled at Reznik. The man pulled in a deep snort of air, gurgled, and spat a wad of phlegm to the side. “I wouldn’t wanna go against ya’, that’s for sure.”

Reznik, unable to respond any other way, simply nodded at the Sergeant in a deliberate manner.

“Right. Talk is cheap. Come with me.” The Sergeant rolled his eyes as he turned and waved over his shoulder.

Reznik was led to a large oaken door set into a windowless brick and mortar wall, through a short tunnel, and out into what vaguely resembled a square, open-topped amphitheater.

“A’ight, stay here and wait for the duel to be called. Don’t throw any spells towards the top of the walls, or aim a gun up there. Beyond that, best of luck.” The Sergeant nodded at Reznik, stepped past him, and closed the door behind him with a thud.

He was inside of what looked like a fifty-by-fifty meter square, with walls high enough that the only people who could view the inside of it would have to sit inside of stone turrets on either side. Both held several seats, each looking opulent and well-upholstered, at least from this distance.

Patiently, Reznik waited until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Talking quietly, the Prince, several members of his guard, Zarah, and Luminita climbed to the viewing turret on his left, with Zarah and Captain Harvish sitting in the only two available chairs. The Prince seemed to lower himself down upon something, though Reznik couldn’t see what.

Reznik reasoned that it was likely to be some sort of pad or futon, something that would cooperate with the different way his body worked.

After a further moment of talking that ended in a boisterous laugh between Zarah and the Prince, Vezemir turned and nodded to Harvish.

“Bring out the prisoner to be judged!” Harvish boomed, echoing around the arena.

A man was brought out of the single door on the opposite end from Reznik, bound in wrist and ankle chains with a bag over his head.

He also wore a disheveled, unbuttoned tan overcoat that Reznik instantly recognized as belonging to a member of the Riverguard. He found it interesting that the man also wore a large stack of medals pinned in rows on his chest.

To the point that it actually weighed that side of his coat down in an imbalanced way.

Ah.

So Zarah was right.

Well, this wouldn’t be a test if they simply threw some random bandit at me, would it?

I wonder what the man did to end up here?

Murder? Rape? Maybe he colluded with the enemy and spied for them?

The guards beside the man forced him to his knees before undoing the chains on his wrists and ankles. Then, they left as quickly as they’d entered.

It was clear they’d done this before.

Reznik noted that they’d left a longsword stabbed into the earth several feet in front of the man, clearly the item he would be defending himself with.

The man across from Reznik stood to his feet and slowly pulled the brown bag off of his head.

That…

Dammit.

Fuck!

Hard grey eyes focused at Reznik with disdain and contempt.

“So this is it, then, my Prince?” Sir Botezatu scoffed loudly, turning for the box that held Vezemir and the others. “An execution? For trying to protect your eastern lands and subjects by any means necessary?”