After a moment that seemed to stretch far too long, Ekhaas broke the silence. "Truth has a way of coming to the surface, often painfully. The truth has claws" she said.
"Shut your mouth," Geth snarled, but Ekhaas only sat back. "I'm not going to spare your feelings, Geth. I'm in this situation because of you. I know why you offered to stay behind, and I admit to a level of satisfaction that your curiosity stung you."
This was too much for Geth, he strode into her face and drew the strange Dhakaani sword at his hip. "Tiger's blood, if my curiosity is going to sting me then I better get answers. I drew this thing in Zarash'ak and a gang of goblins fled at the sight of it. I drew it in front of you and you damn near tried to take my head off. What's so special about this sword!?"
Ekhaas narrowed her eyes at the invasion of her personal space, "It's a lhesh sharaat. Any descendant of Dhakaan, at some level, will recognise it when drawn. They're the weapons of kings and heroes, to draw one is to make a claim to power. The goblins in Zarash'ak likely fled in fear at the mere sight of it, even if they didn't understand why."
It was Geth's turn to narrow his eyes. "You didn't run."
"That's because I know that the weapons of heroes can be stolen by cowards."
Geth didn't argue with this, he believed it himself. He simply stepped back and held the blade up. "Do the Dhakaani remember a ruin called Jhegesh Dol? I didn't steal anything, I recovered the sword from the fortress. A Gatekeeper told me that it was the sword of a hobgoblin hero who used it to slay the fortress' daelkyr master, who I also had to face to get it."
Ekhaas seemed to be intrigued by this, a hungry look falling over her face. Geth continued, "do you know anything more about it?"
"Nothing that I can recall. Is it true that you injured the dragon with it?" she responded. Geth nodded, and moved to lean against the wall of the cell.
"But you didn't kill him?" Ekhaas asked
"If I'd killed him, I wouldn't be here right now." he responded, but any further words were cut short as a light lit up the dungeon behind him.
Geth shrunk back into the cell, and gestured at Ekhaas to be quiet. There were footsteps coming down the stairs, too light to be an ogre. They seemed too heavy to be Kalshana, so perhaps Singe, Terfel or Warden? Why would they come back down though?
Robrand had come for him.
Geth risked a peek, and almost swore with relief when he saw that it was only Vennet skipping up to Kelarth's cell. "I'll expect you to return some of your fee, Kelarth. I'm not paying you to sit in a dungeon." the half-elf taunted. Kelarth, emerging from the cell rubbing his wrists, looked as shocked as Geth felt. "What are you doing here? Nevermind, I'm working on your contract right now. Dandra is here, somewhere."
Vennet giggled, which was pretty uncharacteristic for the captain, and then reached out and gently slapped Kelarth on the cheek. "Don't whistle and call it wind, old boy." he said as he stepped back. "Close the door and come with me, you might be able to earn some of your fee back." Kelarth looked at Vennet as if he wanted to punch him, but Vennet didn't seem to notice. Eventually, the half orc just nodded and followed Vennet back up the stairs.
"I have to warn them," Geth said, as he walked out of Ekhaas' cell. "Wait! You have the look of someone who isn't coming back, free me!" she pleaded. Geth grabbed a ring of keys from the wall and returned to the cell, trying them all and unlocking Ekhaas' manacles and collar. "Make the most of it, Ekhaas." he said before sprinting up the stairs.
He had to find the others and warn them that Vennet, and so probably Dah'mir, were here. He was so focused on this that he almost didn't see Chuut before he ran into him. "Chuut! Have you seen Singe? Maybe Terfel?"
Chuut seemed sadder than Geth had seen him, looking down with his chin on his chest. He shook his head, "No seen them."
"Okay, umm, what about the General?" Geth asked urgently. Chuut nodded at this, and pointed down the corridor. Normally Geth wouldn't have gone to Robrand for help, but desperate times. Geth thanked Chuut and charged in that direction, coming round a corner and making eye contact with the General, but those eyes were cold. Geth stopped, startled, and was almost quick enough to react when Chuut's mace clipped him round the back of the head.
Geth fell to his knees and shifted, rising again with a roar as he tried to draw his sword. The large hands of Chuut grabbed his left arm, and Lor grabbed his right, before both ogres in unison shoved his head into the wall. All the fight went out of him as he saw stars, and he went limp in their arms. If he could have, he'd have clenched the gatekeeper stones around his neck to ground him, but he couldn't, so he took what comfort he could in the feel of them against his chest.
"Take him back down to the dungeon," came Robrand's cold, unfeeling voice. They carried him down, where the General's torch illuminated Ekhaas crouched in the corner, her sword in her hands.
"Well, Geth, you've been busy." Robrand said, looking between the two of them. He gestured at Ekhaas, "If you can get out of the keep without being seen, you can go. You're more valuable to me alive than dead."
"We could just kills her," came Chuut's voice, but Robrand shook his head. "We don't need the fight. Go, Ekhaas"
The hobgoblin looked suspiciously at the group, but tentatively shimmied around the ogres and started to make her way up the stairs. She paused though, looking back.
"Give me his sword" she said.
"Take it" replied Robrand, throwing it to her. He placed his torch into a wall bracket, and walked over to the cell that Ekhaas has been imprisoned in only moments before. Ekhaas ran up the stairs with the sword, and Robrand stopped caring. The ogres took Geth over to the cell, and secured him in the same bindings he'd just freed Ekhaas from.
"Geth, look at me." Robrand stated coolly. Geth tried to look away, but Chuut's hand wrenched his head up to look at his old commander. "You were going to disappear, Geth. I was going to tell them that you'd run away again, but this is good. This is legitimate. Tzaryan doesn't like those who cross him, and releasing one of his prisoners is definitely crossing him."
Robrand stood straight, and gestured to Lor. "Lor, you can soften him up but don't injure him too seriously." His eyes bored into Geth's, and Geth swore that Robrand could see his soul stripped bare. "I've got a long list of names I've been holding onto for the last 9 years, and he's going to hear every single one of them."
The General, flanked by Chuut, walked away. Geth tried to shout after him, "Dah'mir is here! Tell the others that-" but he was silenced by a solid kick to the stomach, and the General didn't look back.
Epilogue for the Dah'mir Arc
The mid-day winter sun made everything just a little too bright, light reflecting harshly off of the inches thick snow. There was no room for shadow, the light just reflected off of the snow and ice and illuminated everything. That felt strangely appropriate to Geth. He could recall a spot, high up on the walls, where you could stand and look out for leagues upon a clear sky, undisturbed snow and frozen forests.
Well, you could once. Not anymore.
Geth reached up to adjust his furry hat, his breath misting in the harsh Karrnathi winter. There was a memorial taking place beyond the walls, but Geth didn't want to be at a memorial. He didn't want to see other people commemorating an event he still blamed himself for. He'd slipped into town late the night before, and now found himself outside again in the early morning.
He'd stayed at an inn he didn't know, with an innkeeper he didn't know, surrounded by people he didn't know. It didn't surprise him, and he wasn't sure how he would've reacted if anyone had recognised him anyway. If you had just arrived at Narath, with no knowledge of it's history, you might've thought it was a very new settlement. Most of the buildings had been built in the last ten years, and most of the population had moved into the city in that same time frame.
It was hard to avoid the signs of what had happened, though. The people of Karrnath had long memories, and the massacre at Narath was one of the greatest atrocities that befell them. Small shrines were dotted around the city, heaped with skulls and other bones. Some of the buildings hadn't been fully repaired, even as new ones were built around them. There were still scorch marks on some of the walls, the damage deemed cosmetic and not worth fixing.
Then there were the monuments. Statues, pillars, markers. Some made from stone, some made from wood. Many of them dedicated to those who had fallen on that night, some to heroes. None of them were dedicated to Geth, but he noted each and every one of them anyway. He even recognised some of the names, and even ten years later they sent a dagger of grief through his chest.
Geth had expected a plaque or something, he wasn't expecting a larger than life statue made of bronze. It was raised up on a plinth, near to the sewer grate that the Aundairians had first breached. A muscular man, chiseled, his hair flowing like the mane of a lion behind him in a way it never had in life. In one perfectly sculpted hand he held a Karrnathi broadsword, and in the other he held the severed head of one of the raiders.
Had the sculptor known, or was it just an unfortunate coincidence? Flower wreaths had been carefully placed around the statue, presumably the previous night, and had been arrayed carefully to frame the plaque beneath the statue's feet.
Coron Balich. Defender of Narath, true son of Karrnath. Betrayed by a coward. Died a hero, Olarune 4, 989 YK. May his sacrifice inspire generations.
Geth dropped to his knees in the snow and closed his eyes, struggling to push down the wave of grief and memory that flooded him. In his head, he could still see it so clearly. Coron leaping forward to meet the raiders head on, and getting slashed across his hamstring. Falling to his one knee, one of the raiders grabbing a handful of his curly hair and pulling his head back to look at the sky.
In his memory, as if it had happened yesterday, Geth charged without thought. He didn't make it to Coron before the raiders blade fell, but at least his comrades killer had paid for it. So had four other Aundairians, but not the one with the heavy club. Geth had woken up some time later, stars in his eyes and an aching throb in his head. The sky black with smoke, the snow seemingly forever stained red.
And the screams. Geth never forgot the screams, he had heard them every night for the last ten years.
The snow crunched behind him, something that would've sent alarm through him once. He might've spun around, sword in hand, ready to face whatever new threat had come after them. It had been a long few weeks, and more than anything Geth was tired, so he just closed his eyes and pretended he didn't hear it. The footfalls stopped at his side.
"I thought this might be where you'd gone." said Singe, the last person that Geth wanted to see or hear right now.
"Did you know about the statue?" Geth asked, looking up at his once comrade, then enemy, and now tentative ally. Singe was wrapped up in a heavy Karrnathi coat, a wide brimmed hat pulled low and a heavy scarf around his shoulders.
"I'd heard about, but never seen it. It got some of the Deneith lords quite wound up, they didn't think that raising a memorial in front of a sewer grate was dignified. Even if it was just for a rank and file soldier. The elders of Narath insisted that it be raised where he fell, and eventually the Karrnathi crown got involved." Singe explained, looking over at the statue. "Coron has become quite the local hero. I'm not sure what he would've thought about it, he wasn't the only one who died defending that grate. Robrand and I found both him and Bikk here."
"Bikk wasn't Karrnathi, Coron was." Geth answered.
Singe looked back at him. "The snow was really messed up by the struggle. The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure that me and Robrand really understood what we found that day."
"No, you saw right. Three men defended the gate, Coron and Bikk died. I ran away." Geth snarled out the last few words as if they pained him.
"Ekhaas told me that sword wouldn't accept the touch of a coward" Singe retorted, and Geth rolled his eyes.
"Ekhaas also told me that I didn't understand honour."
Singe threw up his hands in a gesture of frustration. "Geth, what happened here? You're the only one who knows the full story! I spent years hating you because I blamed you for what happened here."
"I did, too." Geth replied.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Singe asked, squatting next to the shifter. Geth didn't answer, looking down at the ground again and scrunching up his face.
"All right, then. I guess I'm just going to have to live with that." Singe continued, placing his hand on Geth's shoulder, and keeping it there for a moment when the shifter didn't bite him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask, screwing off the top and taking a swig.
"To our friends" he toasted, handing the flask to Geth, who held it up to the statue before taking a swig himself.
"To other peoples heroes."