The Desert Spear

greatward will be covered in makeshift tents by week’s end.”
    Leesha nodded. “We’ll worry over that come morning. Arlen is waiting at Smitt’s?”
    “The
Painted Man
is there,” Rojer said. “Don’t call him Arlen in front of those people.”
    “It’s his name, Rojer,” Leesha said.
    “I don’t care,” Rojer snapped, surprising her with his vehemence. “These people need something bigger than themselves to believe in, and right now it’s him. No one is asking you to call him Deliverer.”
    Leesha blinked, taken aback. “I’ve gotten used to everyone leaping when I say
hop.
”
    “Well you can trust me never to do that,” Rojer said.
    Leesha smiled. “I want it no other way. Come. Let’s go see the Painted Man.”

    The taproom of Smitt’s Tavern was filled to capacity when Rojer and Leesha arrived, even though the new inn was twice the size it had been when it burned down the year previous.
    Smitt nodded to them as they entered, and jerked his head toward the back room. They hurried through the crowd and ducked through the heavy door.
    The Painted Man was in the room, pacing like an animal.
    “I should be out hunting for more survivors before nightfall, not waiting on council meetings,” he said.
    “We ’ll be as swift as we can,” Leesha said, “but it’s best we do this together.”
    The Painted Man nodded, though she could see his impatience in his clenching hands. Smitt entered a moment later, ushering in Marick, along with Stefny, Tender Jona, Erny, and Elona.
    Marick stared at the Painted Man, though his hood was drawn and his tattooed hands were hidden in the voluminous sleeves of his robe.
    “Are you…him?” Marick asked.
    The Painted Man pulled back his hood, revealing his painted flesh, and Marick gasped.
    “You the Deliverer, as they say?” Marick asked.
    The Painted Man shook his head. “Just a man who learned to kill demons.”
    Jona snorted.
    “Something caught in your throat, Tender?” the Painted Man asked.
    “The other Deliverers never named themselves as such,” Jona said. “They were all given the title by others.” The Painted Man scowled at him, but Jona only bowed his head.
    “I guess it doesn’t matter,” Marick said, though he sounded a little disappointed. “I didn’t really expect you to have a halo.”
    “What happened?” the Painted Man asked.
    “Twelve days ago, the Krasians sacked Fort Rizon,” Marick said. “They came in the night, bypassed the hamlets, and took out the wall guards, opening the gates of the central city wide at the crack of dawn. We were all still in our beds when the killing started.”
    “They came in the night?” Leesha asked. “How is that possible?”
    “They’ve got warded weapons that kill demons,” Marick said, “same as you Hollow folk. They talk like there ent nothing in the world more important than demon killing, and taking Rizon was just something to keep them busy till the sun set.”
    “Go on,” the Painted Man pressed.
    “Well,” Marick said, “it’s clear their eyes were on the central grain silos, because they took those first. Their warriors killed any man that resisted, and bent any woman that looked old enough to bleed.” He glanced at the women present, and his face flushed.
    “It’s no shock what men will do when they think they can get away with it,” Elona said bitterly. “Get on with your tale, Messenger.”
    Marick nodded. “They must have killed thousands, that first morning, and took the city walls to keep the rest of us in. We were beaten, tied together, and dragged into warehouses like cattle.”
    “How did you escape?” the Painted Man asked.
    “At first I didn’t think any of the desert rats spoke a civilized tongue,” Marick said. “I know a couple of sand words I picked up from other Messengers, but it’s mostly curses, not much to start a conversation with. I figured I was done for, but after a day, a fat one came who spoke Thesan like a native. He started rounding up the royals, landowners, and skilled laborers, bringing them to the Krasian duke. I was among those.”
    “You saw their leader?” the Painted Man asked.
    “Oh, I saw that big bastard all right,” Marick said. “They brought me before him, bound and battered, and when he heard I was a Warder, he set me free like nothing had happened. Even gave me a purse of gold for my troubles! I think he meant for me to teach them our wards, but I was over the wall and out of the city at dawn the