Lera dismounted.

“What are you doing?” Falduin asked, alarmed.

“The Sisters of Axiom do not fear the Scourge of Talo,” she told him as she handed over her reins  

She turned and recited the prayer as she walked towards the nearest house.  “We walk amongst the infirm and the pestilent.  We bring relief to those that may be saved, and comfort to those that can not.   No harm will come to those that are pure of heart. No taint will remain to those that are strong.”

She could smell the scent of death as she approached the door.   The putrid rotting, that made her want to purge.  It was all too familiar, yet she had never grown used to that smell.  She bit down, and tightened her jaw.

The Red Star looked wet, freshly smeared. The mark was made up of two crosses, one at an angle, forming its eight points. 

“Someone else is here,” Ganthe said.

“No!” came a woman’s voice . “Away!”

Moving to the corner of the house, Lera saw a woman hobbling towards them from further along the trail.  Shrouded all in black, even her head and face was hidden. 

Lera’s belly tightened.  A chill ran down her spine.  She understood the mark now.  The thorp had become a Spider Widow abode.

“Leave!” the Widow cried. “Plague! Away!”

During the first months of the War of Liberation, a group of Spiders, as they called them in the Nunnery, had challenged the Sisters of Axiom.  The Spiders had wanted to steal the bodies of those that had died at The Battle of Ylth.  For what purpose, Lera didn’t know.  Most of the dead were soldiers, but there were women, children, and aged amongst them too.  The Imperial troops had piled their bodies in the village square, as warning against further rebellion. 

The Reverend Mother had refused to let the Spiders anywhere near the square, and placed guards around the village to keep them away. Lera had been a novice at the time, having only taken her Simple Vows.  Yet she had been selected as one of the guards, a great honour for one so young.  

She stood at the edge of the village throughout the night, ready to scream the alarm should she see one of the black shapes approaching.  However, apart from her own sistren patrolling, she had seen nobody.  Yet the next morning they found all the bodies had been whisked away, stolen from underneath their noses.

Lera stepped out onto the narrow path.  She placed the butt of her spear firmly on the ground, the point straight up.

The Spider stopped.  Lera knew she was being evaluated, even though she couldn’t see the Spider’s face.  

The woman was draped with many layers of black gossamer.  Silks, Lera guessed. Expensive, and difficult to obtain.  It had to be shipped in from the Empire.

“There is no rest for you here,” The Spider said.

“We are passing through,” Lera told her.

“Then pass quickly and without detour,” the Spider said, then added.  “There is none left alive for you to save, Sister. You have arrived  too late.  They dwell with Baná  now.”

Lera looked past the Spider as three others emerge from one of the houses.

“We will tend to them,” The Spider announced.

Lera nodded sagely. “May Baná give you comfort at the end,” she said.

“She always does.”

Lera returned to the others and mounted up.  She took the lead as they travelled through the village in silence.  The Spider watched them pass. Lera could sense the hatred emanating from her.

Further up the trail they passed the other three.  They were carrying a body, shrouded in black silks, a man from the size of it.  Two shallow pits, stood side by side beside nine mounds of dirt, the graves laid out in a row. At their heads, another row of fifteen stood, much smaller - child-sized.

“How’d they catch plague all the way out here?” Orwic asked as they rode away.

“Marmots,” Ifonsa said. “I saw traps. They probably got hungry during winter.”

 

By unspoken agreement they didn’t make camp until it was almost dark.  Nobody wanted to remain anywhere near the thorp or the Spiders.

“I’ve never seen the Widows outside a town before,” Orwic said as they rode.

“I have,” Ganthe said.

Heric nodded.

“Is it true they make their clothes from spider web?” Orwic asked Lera.

Lera shook her head, “I don’t know,” she said absently. 

She was consumed by doubt, wondering if she should have fought harder for dominion over the dead. Had she not been cast out of the order, the choice would have been clear: fight for every soul.  Yet now she was uncertain of her new status.  Did she have any right to shepherd them?  It was one thing to guide those who were alone, it was quite another to compete against not just another order of priestesses, but one dedicated to the Goddess of Death herself.

She was still puzzling over the matter when they eventually reached the small glade, where they would make their encampment.  The sun had already fled from the sky, the darkness making setting up the beds and shelters difficult.  At least they weren’t required to seek firewood in the dark. Heric had ordered they forego a fire tonight.

“We are close to our objective,” Heric said, as they ate. “Although I doubt they would have scouts this far out, we cannot take the chance.”

“What do we do once we reach Wombourne?” Ifonsa asked.

“Wombourne?” Orwic asked.

“We sneak up to the iron mines and scout around, to see what we can see,” Heric said.

“Tomorrow night?”

Heric nodded.

“There’s got to be more to it than that,” Falduin said.

“There is.” Heric said. “We’ll talk more once we’re closer. I wanted you all to know. Rest up.  Tomorrow is going to be a long day.  There’s no telling when we’ll have a proper camp again.”

They argued.  Falduin in particular wanted to know the details, but even Ifonsa asked pointed questions. However, Heric revealed little more.  He just said that he and Ganthe had something to do there, but refused to describe what that involved. Ganthe too was close-mouthed.  When asked, he’d just shrug and grinned manically, which infuriated Falduin. Orwic watched for a time, then slid away towards the gánk.

Lera was concerned, but not about the mission.  She felt as though she had something to do tonight.

As the group broke up and prepared for sleep, she caught Falduin by himself.

“I have first watch tonight,” she told him, “But afterwards I would like it very much if we shared the blanket.”

“What?” he asked.  He still fumed about the lack of information. “Good.” Then belatedly added, “Thank you.”

By the time the others had all settled into their makeshift beds, Lera realised that Orwic had not returned.  She set off in search.  He was supposed to share the watch with her.

It was almost pitch black, the heavy clouds shrouding the silvery light from the quarter moon. The air felt heavy, the noises muted.  Even her breathing sounded muffled.  Just the jingling of her mail seemed to cut through the silence.  She held her spear out before her,  the point low.

As she neared the stream, the chorus of insects greeted her.   The gurgling of the cascading water was a welcome relief.  She had thought she had become lost.

She called out as she neared the gánk, “Orwic?” her voice barely louder than a whisper.

There was no response.

“Orwic?” Louder, but still muted.

A noise.  Behind.  Lera snapped around, her spear ready.  A shape, barely discernible in the darkness.  Like at the camp site when the bandits had attacked.

“I heard something,” It was Orwic.

“Where?”  she asked.

“Beyond the stream.”

Lera stopped and listened, hoping to detect any trace of whatever it was that Orwic had heard.  Yet only the chirping choir and the bubbling stream interrupted the quiet night.

“You’ve been gone a long time,” she said to Orwic.

“I needed to think,” Orwic said.

“About?”

“Why are we going to Wombourne?”

“You heard what Heric said.”

“Yes, but why?”

“The iron has stopped.”

“There was a collapse.  Mud-slide or something. We heard about it as soon as we arrived in Harnsey. Lord Alcaf sent some men up to help.”

“Then once we arrive we can help too.”

“I don’t like it.  There’s something else going on.”

“Let’s talk about this in the morning.  We have sentry duty.”  And Lera headed back towards the camp.  Orwic hesitated, then followed.

“Can I have your battle axe?  I feel naked without a weapon.”

“You don’t need one.  I am here.  I have a spear, and a sword, and I know how to use both.”

“Yes.  Even in the dark I saw that.”