Jackal Among Snakes

“Such a cruel world,” said a deep voice in lamentation. “That the gods should take these hands from you… it is their test. You must stay strong.”

Orion wrapped a bandage around the disease-ridden hand of a farmer. The man, likely a common laborer, laid on the floor in a simple mat of blankets. His skin was bloated and waxy. Orion knelt by his side, long black hair bound in a single braid behind him. Throughout the rest of the simple warehouse, the royal knights tended to the other sick. Some of them were already showing signs of disease. Orion’s hands, though, were clean of pustules or other blemishes marring the sick.

Orion finished wrapping the hand. “I have blessed you, good man of the realm. The disease is most likened to the pale fingers of Death itself—its dread breath cannot be reversed, only halted, even with the blessings of the gods. Until a cure is found, you must wrap your hands carefully like this every day.”

“Bless you, Prince Orion,” the man said weakly. “Bless you…”

“I am merely one of the gods’ favored, good man, but we are all their children. It is my duty to protect and heal merely because I can.” He stroked the man’s hair like he was a child, and then stood, plate mail clanging beneath his dirtied white robes.

Orion looked about the room for yet more people to tend to, but one of the royal knights stepped forward. Half of his right cheek was badly deformed by the disease, and his hands were already wrapped in bandages.

“Prince Orion. How much longer must we go untreated?”

Orion looked to the man, then reached out and caressed his cheek. The man very clearly wanted to flinch away. “This plague is a test issued by the gods. Just the same, my good knight, it carries their divine will. You are servants of House Vasquer assigned to me. You are an extension of my divine crook. If you accept their will, I can mold you into true scions of me—of the gods,” he whispered.

“Oh, gods…” the man said, nearly breaking down. “We’re going to die…” the man fell to his knees.

“If your faith is true and your actions righteous, death will never meet you,” Orion said with conviction, kneeling down. “From hardship sprouts greatness. Already, you feel no pain where the gods’ plague has touched.” Orion stared at the man’s bandaged hands.

“When it consumes all of your body, I will give you my blessing and name you the Knights of Moder, heralds for the virtues of the goddess of plague and rot. Your flesh will be as tough as stone, and you will know neither pain nor fear. Do not despair, good knight of Vasquer. Pray to Moder and her mercy. Though the people may suffer, this is your gift,” Orion preached enthusiastically. “You will help bring peace and prosperity to Vasquer and the lands beyond it, as is your sworn duty. Did you not take an oath to give your life to the royal family?”

“We’re going to die,” the royal knight said, face twisting in despair where it could—some of it was rendered immobile from the disease. The knight looked up at Orion. “You’re no saint. You’re a beast. A demon!” he shouted. Many of the people in the ward turned to look at them.

Orion’s face went stiff. He stood, staring down at the man. “To speak ill of a divine herald… a great sin. But mercy is divinity’s tool. I forgive you for your words. If you repent, and your faith remains true… you will someday bask in the warmth of the gods’ love.” Orion placed his hands together, eyes closed as though praying. Then, he opened his eyes and strode past the royal knight, seeking more people to tend to.

“My Prince,” another royal knight said, walking closer and whispering. He had yet to be affected by the disease. “I apologize for Will’s conduct. But I must ask… how much longer will we remain here? More and more refugees arrive each and every day. Nearly every single house is becoming filled with the sick. Your father the king sent for you near two weeks ago. All of the other princes have surely arrived by now.”

“My father will understand,” Orion shook his head. “We will stay here until this disease has been conquered. This is my own war, of much larger scale and importance. Though the air grows cold as autumn ends and the humors in the air do not spread so easily, we must fight to stay this plague before winter passes.”

Orion turned to the knight. “Just as winter will stay the armies, so too will winter stay this disease. Come spring, it will sweep across the kingdom, killing multitudes more than any army might. If the gods thought my logic flawed, they would speak to me. I hear their voices ringing in my head. There is no discouragement. I cannot call myself a man of the gods should I turn my head at the dead and dying. Suffering and happiness are two sides of the same coin.”

Orion patted the knight on the shoulder and then strode past. The knight looked at the prince as he walked away, gaze bouncing between the door and Orion's back. Finally, his sight lowered to the sword on his hip, and he pushed his tongue against his cheek, mired in thought.

A senior knight walked to the other and placed his hand on the pommel of the other’s sword. “Don’t even consider it. Orion does not need us as guards—I suspect he could face an army naked with only a little trouble. To mutiny would be to die. He may seem mad, but he is blessed. That so few have died here is proof of that.”

“He’d have us all succumb to this plague,” the knight said angrily. “For some delusions of a knightly order. To save the lives of a few peasants in the backwater.”

“Backwater? Some of these men and women are from the northern cities,” the senior knight replied. “Most are from Belleden. Allegedly, even Belleden’s Baron has fallen ill with this disease. This plague is indeed a serious one.” The senior knight turned his gaze to Orion. “Most prophets were thought to be mad before they changed the world. It may be hard to accept… but perhaps faith in him may be our best course for the future.”

The senior knight walked away, kneeling before someone begging for water and offering it to them. The knight cast one more glance at the door and then turned away, walking back to offer help to those ill.

#####

“No,” Argrave directed, leaning forward and pulling a wooden bowl full of a plant’s roots from a farmer’s hands. The man held a makeshift pestle and gazed up at Argrave. “You boil these without crushing.” Argrave walked over and dumped it in an empty pot, and then conjured some water to fill it. He gave it back, and the directed the man over to the fires.

Everyone in the field was working at making the poisons that Argrave intended to test tonight. The previous day, Argrave had outlined the course of action he would have the villagers take. This morning had been occupied with a trek through the woods, scavenging mushrooms, roots, and flowers. Now, they were brewing enough for one test of each poison recipe Argrave could remember. He had used the excuse of ‘testing this particular colony’s resistance to each poison.’

Argrave felt as though he was coordinating a culinary class. Though some stubborn few refused to help, instead tending to the harvest, the vast majority within the village did. It was surprising how effective slight deviations from the truth could be.

“I feel like the Pied Piper,” Argrave said to Anneliese a fair distance away from the working villagers. He kept his eye on their processes.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“Clue’s in the name. He played pipes, wore pied clothing. He came across a town with a rat infestation. The people hired him, and he played a little song on his magic pipe, and the rats followed him out of town.” Argrave looked to Anneliese. “The village refused to pay him after. He played his pipe again, and instead of rats, he led their children out of town.”

“Where did he lead them?” she asked, intrigued.

“Dunno.” Argrave shook his head. “Into the sea, maybe. Accounts vary, and I wasn’t there.”

“This happened?” she asked concernedly.

Argrave laughed. “I don’t think so. It’s just a little tale designed to teach morality. Guess it’s in line with Veidimen teachings—never renege on a contract, or an instrumentalist will steal your children.”

“I must have missed that in Veid’s scriptures,” she said drolly.

“Careful with the snark. It’s like a drug; too much and you become addicted. You’ll never take any conversation seriously again.”

She stepped in front of him and turned, crossing her arms and staring. “Like you?”

“I’d call myself a responsible user,” Argrave said with a contemplative nod. “Enough to take the edge off, but not enough to cease functioning in society.”

Anneliese tilted her head. “You have a strange definition of responsible.”

Argrave heard the sound of something dragging against the dirt from behind and turned around. Galamon held his bow in one hand, the other holding onto a rope slung over his shoulder. Behind, he dragged two dead deer along, each of their four legs bunched together and tied by rope. He released them and walked to Argrave.

“Forest is quiet. Not a lot of game—not even small creatures. Worse near the lily fields. Had to go far to find these.” Galamon looked back.

“Figures.” Argrave nodded. “Any more you need to go back and retrieve?”

“No.” Galamon turned to Argrave. “You need more?”

Argrave pushed his tongue against his cheek as he thought. “This part is only for the testing. I think it should be fine. We need only spread them a bit thin. I had hoped to try venison, but oh well.” Argrave looked to his labor force. “I think some of the people here are hunters—you might ask them for help with the butchering.”

“No need,” Galamon dismissed. “I am enough.”

“Right. Sure.” Argrave put his hand to his chin. “We can use just about everything. Don’t even need to remove the bones.”

Argrave looked back to his conscripted workers. “As much as I’d like to get this done quickly, I’d much prefer it be done right. Things will be calm throughout Vasquer for a time… relatively speaking. But the calmer it is, the greater the tempest.” Argrave said with a low voice. “It’s best we use our time wisely.”

Galamon and Anneliese both nodded. Argrave walked back into the crowd, overseeing their rudimentary brewing in pots and pans found throughout the village.