Not wanting to explain to anyone where she was going, or least of all, to be followed by the Proctorial Guard, Akorsa took the secret passage out of the city. She snuck from the back alleys of Ilyana until she managed to pass through the great mid-city gate into Uljaya. Taking her time through the large and winding city streets, she finally found her way to the Captain-General�s humble abode. Gathering up her nerves, she knocked on the door. Several moments later the door was opened, and there stood the Captain-General, looking at her quizzically.
�I was not expecting you to be in such good spirits, let alone fit enough as to pay me a visit, my lady,� he said, once again with a half mocking tone as he opened the door and beckoned for her to come in.
�I am in desperate need of assistance, Captain-General Verican, and I think that you are the only man who can provide me with it,� she said, entering his house. He led her into a sitting room, where he settled himself in a large armchair, motioning for her to do the same across from him. She took a seat and looked at him.
�My assistance, you say? What kind of assistance do you require?� he asked, staring at her intently.
�The kind of help that you will not be likely to give freely,� she answered. The older military man ran a hand through his wavy brown hair, waiting for her to continue. �I want your army to organize an offensive against the Maseriff.�
�You what?� he exclaimed, looking at her with incredulity, brown eyes widening.
�You heard me correctly, my lord. I want the Proctorial Army to lead an offensive against the Maseriff,� she repeated for him.
�The army belongs to the Proctors, not to me. I only see to the training of the men and that things are left in an organized manner! I have not the power to order it to war,� he said.
�The Proctors will never take action, not until it is too late for anything to be done at all. Politically, as Captain-General, you have not the power order the army to war, but you have the ability to lead them, and you and I both know that they will follow you into the very bowels of hell. I ask that you do this, for the sake of my people,� she said with a slight pleading tone. �The letter I received from my father today spoke of the Maseriff as a growing threat; a shadow looming over my people. They believe the Maseriff will strike soon unless they are held at bay. If they do attack, the rest of this year�s crops will be destroyed, leaving none for the harvest. Your men will starve along with the rest of us if this comes to pass.�
The Captain-General rose fro his chair and began pacing about the room, not stopping until after several long moments. �I cannot do this thing you ask of me. I will not send my men off to die for a people they do not even know; that I have never even met,� he said.
�But you do know me, even if just a little. The Arimythians are not so different from me, I swear it. The men seem to like me well enough. Do you honestly not think they would fight to save another group of people such as me?� she asked, rising from her armchair as well.
�They would fight for any cause or reason I asked them to, as you have said, but only because they are loyal to me; they trust me. It is I that that would not allow them to do it. They would deserve better than to lay down their lives for a faceless cause,� he said, looking into her eyes. Her eyes narrowed slightly at his statement.
�This is a cause with hundreds of faces, Captain-General. Most of which I have known since I was but a babe! But, if you do not believe my words, then come with me to Arimythia and meet my people. Make your decision in person,� she suggested.
He let out a great sigh then, and sat back in his armchair, then looked up at her again. �You know what you suggest is an act of treason? This is something you can and will be executed for,� he told her.
�As can you be,� she said. �We can leave the city without their knowing, somehow. Leave with me immediately and stay but a day or so, long enough for you to decide whether or not those lives are worth saving. Please, I beg of you!�
The Captain-General of the Proctorial Army stared into Akorsa�s eyes for several moments, seeing the unambiguous and pure desperation that swelled beneath their green depths. He knew she was right, that if the Maseriff were not stopped there would be no harvest this year, and his men would perish among the very least of the people they were sworn to protect. Running a hand through his hair again, he nodded reluctantly.
�I shall do as you ask. I will meet your people and then decide,� he said. �Go back to your quarters and pack what you will need for the trip. Change your clothes into something less recognizable. I take it you know where the secret passage is into Ilyana?�
�I do,� she replied.
�Very well, my lady. Meet me outside that door in one hour�s time. We shall depart with the utmost haste,� he said, seeing her to the door. �We shall be leaving under the cover of darkness. I do hope you can travel well under such circumstances.�
�I travel well enough to meet your liking,� she responded. �One hour; I shall be ready, Captain-General.� She exited through the door and headed back to her quarters to prepare for the long journey that was now ahead of her.
- - - -
Precisely one hour later, Captain-General Verican arrived at the secret door that led from the great edifice in which the Proctors dwelled into Ilyana. He had prepared a pack with some food and clothes he thought he would need, along with his own water skin. At his side was sheathed his great sword, the weapon he had used since he had chosen to lead the life of a soldier and a warrior. He stood outside waiting with a slight annoyance for Akorsa. She appeared several minutes later through the door, with her pack, the great axe, a water skin, and her staff. He looked at her with irritation.
�I know I am late, and I do apologize with all sincerity for it. I had to sneak back out again, which is difficult when there are people moving about everywhere and they all think you are still locking yourself in your quarters,� she told him, by way of explanation. He nodded with a slight bit of understanding.
�That is something I can relate to well enough,� he told her. �I used to do it all the time when I was younger, your age actually. Shall we go before we are spotted?�
Akorsa nodded and the two set out for the Eastern Gate, which was all the way on the other side of Ilyana. The sun was just beginning to dip down beyond the horizon, and there was very little light to illuminate the streets. This provided them both with excellent cover by which the two could escape without worry of being seen. Akorsa had told the Captain-General of how she had entered the city, by climbing the walls, and he decided that it would be best if they attempted to leave in the same manner.
They were forced to climb the steps up to the top of the walls, trying to avoid the guards. Verican, being the Captain-General of the Proctorial Army, and being fully responsible for those guards, new their routines by heart, so they were able to avoid watchful eyes with some ease. They managed to climb over the wall with little difficulty, and then managed to scale down it until they reached the old tree. From there, they climbed down the tree and started in the direction of the Great Lake, which could be seen glimmering in the faint moonlight.
�Do you have the slightest idea as to where it is we are going?� queried the Captain-General, seriously doubting the girl�s sense of direction as well as her traveling skills.
�Aye, I know where we are going, my lord. I did have to come this way on my journey hither, so you need not doubt my skills here. We shall make for the eastern side of the lake. Then we will follow it up to where it meets the river, and then following the riverbank to where it passes by the easternmost end of my village,� she explained, pointing in the direction they were going, He nodded in approval.
�So long as you do not get us lost, I have no qualms,� he told her. Akorsa glanced at him with annoyance; she was beginning to fully understand the extent of the man�s superiority complex.
�Lost, my lord? It would in fact take a great deal of effort to get us lost!� she told him.
�How is this so?� he asked, curious by what she meant.
�The world we live in is entirely surrounded by the forests in which the Maseriff live. Within these lands are the cities in their giant walls to our west, the lake to our east, and the river north of that. To the west of the river is Arimythia, and further west still are the plains and pastures to which I guide my flock day in and day out. There is no feasible way for us to get lost so long as we stay outside the forest, which no one in their right mind would dare to enter,� she told him. The older man looked at her with astonishment, though slightly upset that she knew more than he did about the matter.
�I am over twice your age, girl, and yet you know more about these lands than I do. How can this be?� he asked her.
�I have lived and worked in over half of these lands, while you have probably never strayed from your stone walls. You should most certainly get out more, my lord, and you would discover a great many things,� she said.
�I suppose may just be correct, indeed. Though, I must correct you, for I have been outside the city walls many times,� admitted he. �I just never managed to travel very far. The open space is needed to perform the necessary military training for the men; there is not enough room within the city walls to do that, as I am certain you are aware.�
�I had been wondering about that,� she admitted truthfully. �If you wish it, I can show you the pastures I take my flock out to every day. I think you will find the open space much to your liking.�
�I do believe I would enjoy that immensely,� he told her, as they journeyed into the night and onward towards the village of Arimythia.
