[Exalted] The Dragon's Spite

I4. I Became a Mercenary In Another World Because I Need To Save This Doomed Land From The Demon Lord!

The road under her boots was wet from the rain. And her boots were slightly too big, but Asem had shown her how to pad her boots with a second pair of socks and that way they didn't rub and also were more comfortable. Inaan was not such a fan of the mercenary company's uniform, or rather lack thereof. It was basically just a bright orange cloth wound around one arm.

This was very low effort, and also orange didn't look good on her. It clashed with the blue of her hair.

Over a meal of roast boar stew, the more experienced fighters explain their job.

"With the old ruins like they are, the rains often dig channels between them. Then there's a new river, and that means it's blocking the way," Asem says.

"I'm from the river-folk," Taslima says, as she works on tying back Inaan's hair. "We don't mind it. We sail the rivers."

"Like a boat, but on the water," Inaan contributes.

That earns her some odd looks. "Where do you have boats not on the water?"

"It's how you cross the old roads or the sand-sea," she says.

"... but how do they float?"

"Float? Boats have wheels or treads."

Fady laughs. "Oh, listen to the fantasies of this one."

"It's not nice to tease," his brother says.

"A boat on wheels? How could that work?"

"The desert winds roll in," Inaan says, looking over the lush green landscape. She sighs. "I don't miss home. But so much of this place is strange to me."

"You'll get used to it," Jema says. "It's surprising how easy it is to get used to a place that seems completely strange and nonsensical."

"Here, here!" Ayad says. "You're adapting so well. And even if your ideas are funny, some of them make a lot of sense. Like the spices in this meal. Who'd have thought that some of the plants that grow along the side of the road made food taste so good?"

"And that flatbread! You don't even need yeast; it's just so easy to cook on just a flat pan! And you just need to carry the flour with you and just add water," Taslima agreed. "It's amazing how no one had ever thought of it before!"

That earned her cheers all around, and the food was very good. It tasted like home.

---

But there was no cheer the next morning, when they reached the site of the bridge that they were meant to be guarding. The wind carried the scent of woodsmoke, and as they got closer, ash as well. And other smells. Iron. Copper. Filth.

The bridge was fallen and burned too, the green plants had taken on a peculiarly lifeless shade of grey, and everywhere were bodies scattered like discarded dolls.

"Shit," breathed Adid, bow drawn and an arrow nocked on the string as he scanned the landscape. "How many demons must there have been to do this?"

"One," said Taslima.

"One?"

"One. Maybe a few. But probably just one. All the footprints are human. Except for this pair," she said, pointing at a bird-like set on the ground. "Unless demons have started wearing boots, it was probably just one of them."

"It's too horrible," Inaan breathed, looking over the scene before her.

Ayad glanced sideways at her. "Control your stomach," he said. "And if you can't, stay within sight when you throw up."

"She's just young," Taslima said.

"And she'll need to learn that wandering off to throw up in private near a demon attack gets you et."

"Looks like we're not getting paid," Asem said bitterly.

"We'll see if anyone can be saved, and if they can't…" Ayad shook his head. "Well. Not the first time."

Inaan felt a shoulder on her hand. She looked up and saw Jema. "Who'd want to see something like this?" the older woman asked.

"It's just what happens when there's a demon attack," Inaan said. She tried not to think of bad memories, years in the past.

"Really? You've seen this before?"

Inaan swallowed, and regretted it. Her throat tasted like smoke and her tongue felt too loud for her mouth. "Yes. I—"

"Hush!" Fady called out, raising a hand. "I hear something! It sounds like… singing."

Inaan could hear it too; a soft, elegant and joyful sound rising above the silence of the forest. Slowly the mercenary group crept forwards, trying not to alert whatever it was by the jangling of their armour or an unwanted gleam of metal.

The singer sat calmly up on a rock overlooking the carnage, his pale coat open and flapping in the breeze, the brass chain securing his scarf running to his widely-stretched ears. His skin was a vibrant blue, and his hair was a hard-to-describe pale shade that seemed to shift colours whenever the wind blew through it. And his feet were those of a bird. "Well, well, well," he said. "More little lamblings, come to test my skills."

"Oh no," moaned Taslima. "Look at him. He might be one of the demon lord's generals."

"A good observation from the pretty girl over there," the demon said, smiling happily and innocently. "How many do you have? An army? No, not an army. Oh, how disappointing."

And then he drew his blade, and Inaan could suddenly taste the metal in the air. The curved sword was a deep red, like it was made of the heartblood of a thousand men, and gleamed wetly. Upon its pomel sat an eye, and the eye was the same blue as the skin of the demon before them.

"Those who meet the eye of my blade die. That is the way it is," the demon said, and bowed theatrically. "Now, who wants to be first?"

---

Article:

How does Inaan turn the tide?
[ ] The people here don't know how to use the ruined terrain like a Cahzori. She simply outsmarts the villain with a cunning collapse of the buildings.
[ ] Inaan moves.
[ ] They have underestimated her too long. She's about to show her real power.
[ ] "This has gone on long enough," Jema says. "It's boring me."

That one isn't meant to be there. Oh. It's you.
[ ] "Yes. Yes it is."
[ ] "Who else could it be?"
[ ] "Don't you think this has gone on long enough?"

Yes. I do. You weren't buying it, were you?
[ ] "No," Jema said, "I'm not. What gave it away?"
[ ] The fey and beautiful Silkai gave her a gorgeous grin. "Come on. Let's step away. I don't want to ruin it for her."
[ ] And so Silkai and Jema played no more role in the events that were to come, and were seen no more in the lands.