Story name: Casualties of War
Author: Chris Hoekstra
Publication date: September 3, 1999 (on TSA-List)
Date: late August, 706 CR
Location: Naven, Metamor Keep
Overview
A prisoner of Metamor is found, beaten and raped, in a Lutin fort. At Metamor, her loved ones reel from the news.
Summary
The lutin outpost of Naven is under assault. Rickkter storms the dungeons, killing 4 lutins along the way. He smashes through the locks on the cells, finding them all empty, except for one with a new lock on it. Inside, he finds an animal morph tied to a pallet, a victim of prolonged rape, naked except for a leather muzzle, wrists raw and bleeding. Rickkter removes the muzzle, looks into her face, and runs out calling for a medic. With most of the soldiers still fighting, Rickkter has to blow up the center building before Stanley, one of the leaders, notices. Rickkter then retrieves the victim, heals her hands and internal bruising, and hands her off for treatment.
The fighting winds down, and there are 3 lutin prisoners, whom Stanley wants to take to the Keep for questioning. However, Rickkter wants to "question" them right now. Stanley suggests this might not be the best time for him to do that, but when Rickkter angrily snaps that they deserve some retribution, Stanley backs away, and gives him an hour with them.
Twelve hours later, late at night, Rickkter and Stanley have returned to the Keep with the victim. They knock on Will Hardy's door to tell him the sad news: the victim was his daughter Caroline. Rickkter then goes alone to Misha, where he urgently tells him to get dressed. Misha invites the tired Rickkter in, and casually asks if he and Kayla would like to come to an outing he's planning with Caroline. Wincing, Rickkter asks if he knows why he came so early in the morning. Misha remembers the raid on Naven, and realizes they must have found someone. Bracing himself, Rickkter says they found Caroline, who'd been their prisoner for nearly a week, and is now in the infirmary.
Misha rushes out the door. He's initially angry that Rickkter told Will before him. He then asks how she was found, and when Rickkter hesitates, Misha turns, grabs him, and snarls. Rickkter brutally outlines the condition she was found in. Misha grabs his ears and howls; Rickkter realizes his mistake and pulls him along. Misha asks why she couldn't have shifted to otter form and escaped, and Rickkter explains the room was enchanted to prevent such a thing. They arrive at the infirmary, and as Misha staggers in at the sight of his love, Rickkter steps out into the hall.
There, he is surprised to see Kayla coming down the hall; she is helping Phil with his reports, and would like to speak with Misha. Rick tells her Misha is no mood for business, not with Caroline in her condition. Kayla nods, disquieted, and would actually like to discuss Caroline's partner: the now-deceased Craig, whose treatment Rick found out was almost as bad as Caroline's. Kayla says that she needs something to tell his wife and two kids. Rickkter glumly slumps against the wall, and Kayla suggests they head back to his room, and let Misha and Phil sort it out.
Just then, Misha slams the infirmary door and stalks away. Rickkter chases after him, but thanks to the Keep's geometry, he only catches up with him at the armory. Misha simply says he's going out, and gets some armor and weapons, ignoring Rickkter's pleas to stay with Caroline and not do something stupid. Rickkter asks why he won't listen, and Misha says that if Rick loved her like he does, and saw her like she is now, he wouldn't ask. He knows that Rick killed all the lutins at Naven, giving them what they deserved, but now it's his turn for justice.
Sensing what is coming, the castellan holds out Rickkter's katana. Rickkter blocks Misha at the door; Misha doesn't scare him. Misha boasts that Rick won't hurt him, and Rickkter warns that he's killed friends before. Undaunted, Misha tries to knock him out, but Rickkter holds him back and punches him in the jaw. Furiously, Misha attacks until finally Rick is able to subdue Misha.
Misha sobs that he just wants revenge; if Rickkter could have revenge, why can't he? Rickkter tells him there will be a time for revenge, but right now he must stay with Caroline and find out her condition before he takes revenge; he promises to join him when he does. Misha staggers off, while Rickkter puts away the weapons. The castellan asks why didn't Rick just let him go; Rick says he's lost too many friends already, and doesn't want to lose the few he now has.
Rickkter meets Misha at the infirmary; Misha is scared to go in. Rickkter admits he envies Misha; he is reminded of his former lover, who had shared Rick's profession. Rickkter had been responsible for her death. Misha is surprised, and Rickkter says at least Misha has a second chance. Resolved, Misha walks in, astonished to see Caroline awake and talking to her father.
Rickkter is about to leave them for the night, when Will breaks off and asks to talk alone with Rickkter. Walking outside, Will says that he's never been a violent man and hasn't fought in years, but after what the Lutins did to Caroline, he wants revenge and wants to join Misha and Rickkter when the time comes. Rickkter says that will be up to Misha. Will then asks to show him how he found her, via his telepathy, despite Rickkter's protests. Rickkter finally shows him Caroline as she appeared for the medics — Rickkter is careful not to show him how she looked in the dungeon.
After the shock wears off, Will and Rickkter return to the infirmary. Caroline flatly tells Misha and Will she wants to speak with Rickkter alone. She tells him about what the Lutins did to her: their leader snapping her knuckles one at a time, several of them competing on who could make her scream the loudest. Caroline asks if he was the one to bandage her hands. Rickkter nods, and says he understands the importance of working hands for an archer, and though they will mostly recover, they will never be as good as before. Like Misha, he wanted revenge, but remembered some advice he heard: "Help first, revenge will come later." Caroline heard that he stopped Misha, and thanks him for being a good friend.
Rickkter draws a rune of termination on Caroline, to keep her from becoming pregnant. After a long silence, Caroline asks what happened to the Lutins. Rickkter says all but one are dead, and only then because they needed a prisoner. Caroline thanks him for all he's done. Rickkter is about to leave, but Caroline reaches out and begs not to be left alone. Rickkter sits down and she snuggles against him, which is how Misha and Will find them.
After Will and Misha again thank him, Rickkter finally leaves, stretches, and heads back to his room to sleep.
Characters
Main characters:
- Rickkter: A battle mage, former mercenary and Kankoran, a raccoon morph. He discovers Caroline in the Naven dungeon, gives her some first aid and frees her. He is so mad, he ensures that all but one Lutin in Naven is dead. He personally tells Will and Misha about Caroline's rape, and has to stop Misha from going on his own rampage. He promises Misha and Will to join them in a revenge assault.
- He has a runic katana that easily chops through iron, and a 10-inch knife he uses to torture the Lutins.
- His mage sight can see in all directions at once, but only up to a mile for a few seconds.
- He is able to send telepathic images to others, also seen in A Place Where There Is No Darkness.
- One of the runes he can cast is a rune of termination. This essentially aborts any potential embryo growing inside Caroline.
- As a Kankoran, he was taught to recognize pressure points on the body, where a solid blow can immobilize an enemy.
- Rickkter despises the Lutins, seeing them as filthy scavengers dressed in rags and wielding stolen swords. Though he is just as good or better at killing Lutins as Misha, he is apparently not as well-known and feared as Misha, given the Lutins' overconfidence in attacking him.
- Caroline: A Long Scout, an otter morph. 9 days ago, she and Craig went north on a mission. A couple days in, Lutins captured her. For close to a week, she was raped, tortured, and beaten by the Lutins, some making a game of torturing her. When Naven is assaulted Rickkter finds her unconscious in the dungeon. She awakes in the infirmary with her father there. She also speaks with Misha and Rickkter individually.
- She was found tied spread-eagle to a pallet, covered in her own excrement, her wrists and ankles rubbed raw and bleeding from the ropes. Her fingers were broken in several places. She had two black eyes, one swollen shut and the other bloodshot. Her jaw was swollen and her ribs were broken.
- Her hands were heavily bandaged by Rickkter at the scene. He expects her to recover 80% or even 90%, but too much scarring has occurred to fully heal her.
- She was found tied spread-eagle to a pallet, covered in her own excrement, her wrists and ankles rubbed raw and bleeding from the ropes. Her fingers were broken in several places. She had two black eyes, one swollen shut and the other bloodshot. Her jaw was swollen and her ribs were broken.
Supporting characters:
- Misha: Leader of the Long Scouts, Caroline's lover, a fox morph. After seeing Caroline in her state, he wants to take revenge against the Lutins, and has to be stopped by Rickkter, promising him to wait until her condition is clear. He sits by Caroline while Will talks with Rickkter, before Will takes him aside to ask about revenge.
- He has been a Follower and attended church since childhood.
- When Misha is gearing up, he plans to mainly use his axe Whisper, but he does put on a belt with two long hunting knives and a mail tunic.
- Misha's skill with Whisper is well-known; he can wield it as quickly as a handaxe.
- When it strikes magic, Whisper produces a bell-like chime in the wielder's head. The stronger the magic, the louder the chime. When Whisper hits Rickkter's katana, it sounds like a church bell to Misha.
- Will Hardy: Caroline's father, a badger morph. He is the first at Metamor Keep to learn of his daughter's rape. He thanks Rickkter for stopping Misha. He also asks Rickkter for a telepathic image of Caroline at Naven, an image that causes him to heave.
- He is not a violent man, nor does he enjoy violence, nor is he prone to anger. Nonetheless, he asks Misha to join him in a revenge assault.
- He has not gone to fight in years.
Minor characters:
- Stanley: One of the leaders of the Naven assault, a red wolf morph. He initially tries to stop Rickkter from interrogating the Lutins, but backs down for fear of Rickkter's anger, and his own horror at the rape.
- He shows some pity for the Lutin prisoners, but he is also repulsed by the extent of Caroline's rape. And so, regardless of their culpability, he allows Rickkter to punish them in place of the unknown rapists.
- Kayla: An intelligence secretary, Rickkter's lover, a skunk morph.
- Jack deMule: The castellan of the Keep and overseer of the armorery, a mule morph.
Cameo:
- The four lutins who ambush Rickkter in the dungeons, all easily killed by Rickkter.
- The first lutin hid to the front and right of Rickkter; he had his head sliced down the middle.
- The second lutin hid to the left, and had his head and sword chopped in two.
- The third lutin hesitated after the first two, and then charged straight towards Rickkter, and was impaled by his katana.
- The fourth lutin was more clever, attacking just as the third lutin was being impaled; Rickkter escapes only by blasting him with an orb of magic.
- The three lutin prisoners captured at Naven.
- Rickkter questions them, killing two and leaving the last one a babbling mess.
- The last one has been moved to Metamor's prisons, and had to be bound and knocked out to keep quiet, but is still alive.
Important mention:
- Chapman: A mink morph. He was Rickkter's partner, up until he was shot by an arrow in the initial assault. He was left with the medics as Rickkter went alone.
- Phil: A headmaster of the Writer's Guild, head of Keep intelligence, and Protector of Lorland, a rabbit morph. Thanks to elevated attacks, he has been very busy.
- Craig: A Long Scout and prairie dog morph, who had been Caroline's partner for the expedition. According to the lutin prisoners, he was killed gruesomely, though he did not suffer long. Rickkter did not personally see the remains.
- He had a wife and two kids.
- Kershaw: Another soldier who helped Rickkter "interrogate" the Lutin prisoners.
- The leader of the Naven lutins, who snapped Caroline's knuckles one at a time, as punishment for her being an archer and killing their kind.
- A lutin at Naven who won a dagger for making Caroline scream the loudest. He masturbates before her, and then twisted her hands even further.
Referenced:
- Pascal: The Keep alchemist. Years ago, she made green glowing paint for Will to use on his clocks.
- Rupert: Phil's bodyguard, a gorilla morph.
- The wife and two kids of Craig's, whom Kayla needs to inform of Craig's death.
- Andre: Misha's best friend.
- George: The patrol master.
- Wessex: A mage who has annoyed Misha in the past.
- Sarah: Caroline's deceased mother, Will Hardy's wife.
Locations
- Naven was one of the southern outposts at the north end of the valley. It was wiped out by Rickkter and 30 other soldiers, in the afternoon.
- The center building of Naven possibly held civilians, though it is not known for sure, and likely never will be known after Rickkter blew up the building's far wall.
- Their underground dungeons had 15-foot wide halls with unevenly spaced torches. Upon entering, there was an intersection in four directions, two of which lead to storerooms. At least one of the cells was enchanted to prevent animal morphs from shifting.
- The Keep's variable geometry can be affected by strong emotions; this is why, despite the best interests of the Keep, Misha is able to get to his room without Rickkter following him.
Chronology
- 9 days before Caroline returns to the Keep, Caroline and Craig left for a 2-week patrol (Misha notes she was due back in 5 days, later that week). She was captured 2 days in, and was rescued the day before she returned to the Keep (a 12-hour trek at night).
- Chronologically, the last mention of Caroline was in Guided Tour, when she was training Charles on August 16th. Thus her return can not take place earlier than August 25th.
Story Connections
- Rickkter refers to the previous times Misha intimidated people into backing down, namely A Shoving Match and Snips and Snails.
Rickkter and Misha's duel
- Misha's objective is to knock out Rickkter, so that he can continue out of the Keep, avoiding killing him. Rickkter's objective is to convince Misha to stand down, and disarm Misha if that fails.
- Misha starts with a fast swing with the flat of his axe for Rickkter's head, hoping to rely on his incomparable speed. Rickkter, however, proves to be just as fast, and blocks the blow just above his head. Rickkter asks him to reconsider.
- Misha launches several more strikes to knock out Rickkter. Though Rickkter blocks all of his attacks, Misha gains a tiny bit of ground.
- Misha then pauses briefly to consider his next attack, which is when Rickkter punches him hard under the jaw, causing some bleeding. Rickkter asks again to reconsider.
- Misha is so shocked at having been attacked, he changes his objective: to get Rickkter out of his way by any means necessary. He launches a fury of attacks, landing some cuts just above Rickkter's eye and on his chest. Rickkter is skilled enough not only to avoid these attacks, but to watch for an opening in Misha's attack.
- Without thinking, Misha swings for a killing blow; he misses, which allows Rickkter to make a series of disarming attacks: he brings the flat of his sword against a pressure point on Misha's wrist (which makes Misha bring his hands together), delivers a cross punch to his jaw and then to his elbow (which makes Misha drop his axe), throws a couple jabs between the eyes (which forces Misha back a few steps), grabs him by the shoulder and knees him twice in the gut, and finally brings his sword handle down between Misha's shoulders.
Society
- Most northern mages with magic sight can only see in one direction, but for up to several miles.
Points of Interest
- There is a gibbous moon tonight.
- Rickkter apparently returned his katana to the armory before seeing Misha, as he picks it up from Jack before confronting Misha.
Behind the Scenes
- Deranged Kitsune took some inspiration from the medieval torture scenes in Going Past Purification, and from Lessoned and Hard Lessons the idea of making the main characters' lives difficult.
- This story was written during a bit of writers' block during Fun and Games.
| Battle of Stepping Rock | |
|---|---|
| Main Stories | Casualties of War · Remembrances · Cry Havoc · Killing Time |
| Side Stories | Arrival at Metamor Keep · Clearing the Courtyard · Triumphant Return the Dogs of War · Cage |
| Places | Naven · Stepping Rock |
| Characters | Caroline · Craig · Misha · Rickkter · Will Hardy · Charles · Andre Laura · Allart · Arla · Baldwin · Meredith · Ralls · Lisa · Danielle · Finbar · Jotham · Kershaw Hurd |
| < Second Cycle | Matthias's Third Cycle | Fourth Cycle > |
|---|---|---|
| Stories | Stories in yellow are not part of the cycle proper, but give important context for other stories. | |
| False Winds · Stepping Up to Destiny · Fingers in the Weave · Four on the Floor · Fireside · Hunt · Intercessor · Intersecting Correspondence · Jormugand · The Three Sides of Truth · Lawbreakers · Casualties of War · Killing Time · Legacies · Libraries · Four by Four · Liturgy of Blood · Longing · Nuptials · Relic · Wandering the Keep · Winter's First Chill · The Winter Assault | ||
| Major Characters | Charles Matthias · Garigan · Kimberly · Misha Brightleaf · Rickkter Akabaieth · Caroline · Gornul · Father Hough · Jessica · Kashin · Phil · Saulius · Thalberg · Duke Thomas · Vinsah · Wessex · Yonson · Zagrosek · Zhypar Habakkuk |
|
