champion of the flame, devout warrior who serveth God, may the winds of fortune be with thee!” She strummed her rebec.
Tonio smiled gently as usual. “Will, I won’t tell you not to overdo it or try anything crazy, because I’m sure now is the time you most need to push yourself. If there is anything else you need, please let me know.”
Feeling grateful for that offer, I thought for a moment and decided to execute one of the strategies I’d been brewing.
“I would like to ask you for one thing. It’s quite big…”
Then, when I fell to sleep the night before we set off, I awoke under a starry sky of dancing phosphorescence. The ground below me was dark and reflected the stars like a vast plane of water, but in the water’s surface there was the large reflection of a faint light. It was behind me. I turned to see a figure holding a lantern-like light with a long handle.
The figure was wearing a hooded robe that covered the eyes. I already knew who it was.
“It’s very good to see you again, god of the flame.” I bowed my head, as I had some time ago.
“…”
My god gave no response. She stood there in silence for a little while, and then—
“Victory is very unlikely.”
She began with that.
“Stagnate is right. As you are now, you are not the dragon’s match. But if you spend a few years training, you may contend with him.”
“What will happen to Southmark in that case?”
“Man shall be there almost no more. Even the land to the north shall suffer.”
“I thought so.”
“You will go, then?”
I nodded. Then I bowed deeply to her once more. “Thank you for telling me it’s okay to run.”
I was surprised to sense slight unease coming from below her hood. Her silence felt as if she was carefully choosing her words.
Regardless of how I was feeling inside, I would probably have headed straight for the dragon if she’d simply ordered me to. I had that much of a debt of gratitude to this god of mine. And yet, for the entire time I was undecided, she didn’t respond to my prayers or give me any revelations. There had to be a reason, and I was sure I knew what it was.
“I… I would not that you should die.”
I couldn’t help smiling after hearing those kind words. “I’m honored. Thank you very much.”
“But still you say you will go? To hold to the oath you made to me.”
“Yes.”
“Then I shall not say it displeases me.”
I sensed a faint smile under her hood.
“The oath you made that day belongs to the two of us.”
— Please, go forth with me.
On that day, I had indeed said it: that I would dedicate my whole life to her, that as her blade I would drive away evil, and that as her hands I would bring salvation to those in sorrow. Yes, I had indeed made her that oath.
“Kneel.”
I got down on my knees and bowed my head. I heard her gently lowering her hood, and I felt her walking up to me.
“I command thee, William.”
She rested her small, white hand gently on my head.
“Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy god. I will strengthen thee; I will help thee; I will keep thee with my flame.”
My god’s Words and the feelings they carried slowly permeated through my entire body.
“Go, my knight. Slay the dragon and pay that which you have vowed.”
While still on my knees, I looked up at the face of the goddess smiling at me gently. I placed my hand on the left side of my chest and vowed.
“By the flame.”
When I woke up, I could feel a warm energy slowly working its way around my body. My god’s words and feelings burned as a flame inside me.
Then we finished our preparations, had a huge celebratory send-off, boarded our river boat, left the city, and went down the river to slay the dragon and fulfill my oath. And that night, concealed by a nearby rocky section of riverbank, we got straight off the boat again.
“We’ll take ’er from ’ere,” one of the men said, slapping his shiny metal chestplate. A thirty-some adventurer with a red face, thick arms, and carrying a sword on his hip with a vibrant red sheath, he was one of those people who Reystov had called “bluffers” back in the tavern two years ago. I’d learned his name later; it was Marcus.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Just as we discussed, please.”
“Aye.” Marcus grinned. “Easy money. Thanks for the job as always.”
“Not at all.”
“’Ere’s ’oping for more in the future.” Then, after slapping Reystov on the shoulder and telling him to stay alert, Marcus and his team disappeared down the river.
Reystov and I quietly watched them go. When we turned around again, Al was looking at us blankly. Ghelreis also looked a little puzzled. Menel wasn’t showing much in his expression, but he looked as if he wanted to say something.
“Umm, why are we getting off here?” Al said. “It’d make sense after going a little farther, but—”
I nodded. Indeed, Al would be making a good point if we were going to continue down the river, cut through the forest, and aim for the mountain range to the west. However…
“The demons are just as aware that we would come that way. ”
A look of epiphany swept over Al’s face, and Ghelreis nodded in understanding. Yes, in addition to the sleepy-eyed foul-dragon, those mountains were crawling with intelligent demons from Hell. If we were careless enough to act in a way our enemies were anticipating, we would be allowing them to seize the initiative.
“We had a rousing send-off down the river. I guess it won’t be long before the lowest of the demons and their familiars start watching from a distance. You know, to try to pin down where we’ll disembark. The leaders of the demons will probably want to predict the path we’ll take. They’ll be eager to surround us and kill us as soon as possible.”
It was unclear what kind of relationship there was between the demons and the foul-dragon right now. Were they cooperating, in opposition, or simply indifferent? I didn’t even know that much. I decided to remove from consideration the extremely optimistic picture that if the demons’ base was attacked, they would leave everything to the foul-dragon while they sat and did nothing. It was probably safe to assume that they would defend themselves at least independently, or worse, by working together.
In just the same way that I’d been checking my equipment and gathering various kinds of information while I was making my decision, I was of course also thinking of a strategy for how to attack the mountains.
“Which is why…” I walked along the riverbank to a place tucked away behind some rocks. Al followed me, and his eyes went wide. What was there was the sleek silhouette of a river boat that I’d had Tonio secretly arrange for me. A surprise attack would have been the ideal situation, but the Rust Mountains were untrodden ground, which meant we couldn’t use a fairy trail. So the method I’d chosen was this one. “We’re going up the river.”
The Rust Mountains were once called the Iron Mountains, and a country of dwarves had prospered there. At this era’s level of technology, it would be impossible for a major city to exist anywhere except beside a large water source.
Which meant that naturally, there had to be an enormous flow of water into the area. By analyzing geographic information from neighboring areas, I discovered that it was a branch of this huge river. I also confirmed it with the dwarves themselves.