Captain of Mercenaries

Part 2. Gathering Dark

She waited. The evening light was already fading, turning the shadows of trees into caverns of darkness. A dangerous time. She sat in the woods, alone, and waited.

As the western sky surrendered its last dusty red, he came. He moved in silence, body hunched forward, eyes searching every corner. She watched him. He did not speak, but continued to circle the edge of the clearing, searching. Listening.

At last he came over, sat a careful six feet from her, and spoke.

"So the message was from you. I had... wondered. We have watched you all day. You came with six men. They left, you stayed. If they return, my people will..."

She lifted her eyes. They shone despite the dark.

"They shall not. We have an agreement. Now, tell me? Is it done?"

"Everything was as your message said. The man, your creature, came to us as before, wearing his ridiculous mask - for what, to scare the grandmothers? He led us there. We spilled the blood from many."

"I see". He could not see more than her outline, but it seemed for a moment that she had lowered her head.

"You are sorry for it. That is the weakness of your kind. They were there, where they should not be. So they died, and let their spirits weep over it."

"So be it. Have I earned some of your trust?"

"Trust! You belong to them! Your Company! Deceivers and thieves and murderers! They came here with promises and gifts! Promises spent in cruelty and gifts that bought us nothing but the rocks of the mountains where we must hide and watch our children starve! Let me burn before I place my knife in your trust!"

"If not trust then a common purpose. You know me. Among my people, across the sea, there are many who see the Company as an enemy - as you do. They work to see it cast down. That is the goal we both serve."

"But you are a Company servant! Why do you turn on your masters?"

"Because I tell you there is a new force, greater than the old. And I have joined it, so that I can rise with the tide rather than fall under it. And there will be many changes. Changes that can benefit you, if you join with us now."

"So your creature said. A new serpent to replace the old. New promises to break in time. What matters to us which rules the mines?"

"Because now you hold the balance. The enemies of the Company are not strong enough yet to attack it directly. They need you. The destruction of the caravan last week was the first trickle of stones in a greater landslide that will engulf the Company. But only with your help. I think you can see how, in that case, you can ensure that your people receive a fair reward, and the children have more than dust to eat."

"And you? Why deal with you?"

"You have heard of me. I am ambitious. You know that I have climbed high in the ranks of the Company. Men are bitter. The more I rise, the more they hate me - they call me a harlot and try to force me down." She smiled. "To hell with them and their little plots! I will climb far beyond their Company now. Trust me for this much. I will profit from this time, in the very thing you want. As the Company falls, we rise."

"We shall see."

"As a token, I give you a warning: the Company will try to defend its own. Do you remember the great general, the one your people call the Fair-Haired Devil?"

"The butcher!"

"They are sending him back here. He is their best. He must not be permitted to rebuild the Company's forces. You must prepare."

The man stood. "We will consider this. But we will also watch you."

Moving in silence as before, he left.

Time passed. Again she waited, head held up, but unmoving. Time passed. At length a shadow seemed to detach itself from the darkness in the trees and stood beside her. She spoke again.

"So there is a traitor, in the pay of our enemies. And now the mountain people believe I am working with him. You were right again. I suppose you will be even more insufferable now than ever."

Even in the dark, she could tell that he was smiling. His voice was soft, but deep. "Hmm. Well, of course. But you missed the most interesting point."

"Please, amaze me."

"They were not suprised that you were a woman."

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