Path of the Stonebreaker

Chapter 126

On the Winds

Rowan was grateful when they finally reached Westmark. He’d have liked to have been there when Daegan, Tanlor, and Cru met the Commander, a no-nonsense soldier by the name of Kashin. The man had a reputation for competence that Rowan respected. But, of course, Rowan had been out cold when they arrived. Yaref had shaken him awake only when it was time to drag his sorry self to the garrison infirmary. Typical. Miss the important stuff, wake up just in time for the beds and bandages. He hadn’t stayed long in the infirmary before he’d moved to a private room, one that he would be sharing with both Tanlor and Daegan.

Westmark was a bit larger than Twin Garde, boasting a few extra buildings behind its battered fortifications. Still, fewer than a hundred soldiers were stationed there, and the place was in far worse shape than Daegan’s group had hoped.

The soldiers of Westmark managed to hold out during the rak assault—just barely. Unlike Twin Garde, they hadn’t fallen. But the strategy had been the same; small coordinated strike forces. Four rakmen runewielders had been among them. Three were dead now, but one had escaped. This one was reported to have been wielding a dagger similar to the one Daegan had claimed, its effects reportedly the same, negating the defending runewielders.

Westmark’s saving grace had been the tower, recently outfitted with cannons from the Nordock Ironworks. The rakmen had successfully neutralised the defending runewielders, but they hadn’t accounted for the firepower. After their first wave crumbled under the barrage, they’d pulled back.

Still, the damage was done. Many of Westmark’s buildings were charred ruins, half the garrison lost to the assault. But they’d taken nearly as many rakmen with them—small comfort. Commander Kashin, the senior officer, had sent out two dozen soldiers to hunt down the stragglers. They’d come back empty-handed. Aryle Outpost, they confirmed, had fallen. If there were survivors, none had made it this far.

“Kashin’s overconfident,” Tanlor muttered, pacing the length of their small room. “He thinks the force that hit Westmark was just a large raiding party, nothing more.” Rowan lay in bed, still recovering, though his strength was coming back faster than he’d expected. He appreciated that Daegan and Tanlor returned to their quarters for these talks.

“Did you show him Daegan’s map?” Rowan asked.

“We did,” Daegan replied from his seat by the window. “But he needs time. He’s not ready to believe the rakmen are actually coordinating.”

“He thinks it’s all the one group,” Tanlor added, voice edged with frustration. “Twin Garde and Aryle falling... he thinks it’s the same war party moving around.”

“He might not be entirely wrong,” Rowan pointed out, shifting slightly. “But with the way these rakmen have been acting? They’re setting up something permanent in Aryle, I’d bet on it.”

“They’re moving like an army,” Tanlor said, shaking his head. “But Kashin’s not seeing that.”

“Kashin’s a veteran,” Rowan said, his tone more measured. “He’s been fighting the rak since long before we were born. Even during the Balfold attacks a decade ago, rakmen rarely grouped up in numbers bigger than a dozen. That’s what he’s built his career on up here. Fighting rakmen as they’ve always fought. He’s never had to strategise for an actual army of them.”

“That’s what’s different now,” Daegan said, eyes distant as he toyed with the dagger. “Someone’s pulling the rak together.”

“A rak king,” Rowan murmured, voice low.

“The chief at Twin Garde called him Khandamos,” Daegan replied. “It’s an old Esterin word, don’t know the exact meaning but khan means king or chief… and damos means death”

Tanlor blew out a breath, shaking his head. “Khandamos or king,” he spat the words like it left a bad taste. “Whatever he calls himself, the Arch-Duke will crush him when he finally marches.”

“Although I’m not so sure Westmark will last that loneg. Another assault will end this place,” Tanlor added, glancing at Daegan. “You’ve both seen the fortifications. Those cannons might’ve saved them the first time, but the rak will come back in numbers they can’t handle.”

“So we convince Kashin to fall back?” Daegan suggested. “You said the Bluewater Wall is the most defensible position?”

Tanlor grumbled, “Getting a Commander to abandon his post without orders from his Duke? Near impossible.”

“Then we show him this fight’s already lost,” Daegan said, leaning forward. “He’s spoken with Cru, believes him about what we say about the rak camps. He just doesn’t believe they’re working together. But if we get a team of his scouts out there, prove it to him…”

Rowan nodded, mulling it over. “Might work.”

A knock sounded at the door. Tanlor called for them to enter, and in walked Yaref, looking apologetic. “Sorry to intrude,” Yaref began.

“We owe you our lives, Yaref,” Daegan said, his voice carrying warmth. “You’re always welcome here.”

Yaref nodded, though his expression remained grim. “All the same,” he murmured, pulling a flask from his belt and handing it to Rowan. The sight of it was familiar—Yaref’s remedy, the one that had been keeping the infection at bay. Rowan felt fine, the signs of infection long gone, but it was always best to trust your healer.

“And there’s something else,” Yaref turned to Daegan, his voice lowering. “There’s a stir in the outpost. A runner came through not long ago, spoke with Commander Kashin just after you boys left his office.”

“From Aryle?” Tanlor asked, his brow furrowing.

“South,” Yaref intoned, his face hardening. “From Harriston…” He paused, shaking his head. “Nordock has fallen.”

Rowan sat bolt upright, the shock hitting him the same moment Daegan sprang to his feet.

“To the rak?!” Tanlor’s voice was thick with disbelief. “H-how?”

He’s got family in Nordock. Rowan remembered.

“Your kids?” Rowan asked at the same time Tanlor spoke.

“Not the rak,” Yaref corrected hastily, though his confusion mirrored theirs. Rowan caught the flicker of pain in the man’s eyes. “The city was taken… without a fight. By the Reldoni.”

Daegan stood still, the colour draining from his face as the weight of Yaref's words sank in. Rowan could see it clear as day—the shock, the disbelief. A prince of Reldon, hearing that his homeland had just seized one of Rubane’s most strategic cities without a fight.

"Nordock? Taken… by the Reldoni?" Daegan’s voice was tight, barely controlled. “Are you certain?”

Yaref nodded, his expression solemn. “That’s what I’d heard. I don’t know any more details, but it’s what’s being shared with the soldiers in the outpost. No bloodshed, no siege. The city was just... handed over.”

Rowan shifted in his bed, eyes flicking between Daegan and Yaref. He could see the storm brewing behind Daegan’s calm facade. His knuckles were white where they gripped the armrest of the chair.

“I need to speak with Commander Kashin,” Daegan said, each word deliberate.

Tanlor stepped closer, concern etched into his face. "Daegan, you think—"

"I need to know," Daegan cut him off, his voice hard. "If my father has invaded Rubane…" he shook his head, “it doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?”

Rowan could feel the tension in the room thickening. Daegan didn’t just need answers; he needed control—over something, anything. Rowan understood that feeling.

"Yaref," Daegan asked, his eyes still locked on the door, "you don’t know anything else? No word on why or how it happened?"

Yaref shook his head again, clearly uncomfortable. “Nothing, Lord Daegan. Just what’s being shared with the soldiers. It all sounds... strange.”

Strange wasn’t the half of it, Rowan thought, his mind racing. Nordock just handed over like a gift? It made no sense. It was commonly known that Duke Rivers—the authority in Nordock—was no friend of the Arch-Duke in Rubastre, that he often refused summons, but it was one thing to be at odds with the Arch-Duke and quite another to just hand your city over to another country.

“We’re going to find out,” Daegan said, his voice steady again. He looked at Rowan, then Tanlor. “I’m not waiting around for scraps of information. Let’s go.”