Savants of Humanity (The Scholar's Legacy Book 2)

Book summary

In "Savants of Humanity," follow the journey of Scholar Hawke Morau and his rescued companion, Micasa, as they traverse the last stronghold of humanity, Astra. A single letter triggers a series of world-changing events, prompting them to unite against a demonic threat. But challenges abound, including the very people they seek to protect.

Excerpt from Savants of Humanity (The Scholar's Legacy Book 2)

It’s been awhile since I’ve managed to make some time for myself and return to the story of Hawke Morau. I guess the problem I’ve had is deciding where to pick up my recollection again. We spent pretty much all ofall my youth together, seeing everything Astra had to offer.

For those who have forgotten, my name’s Micasa: former slave turned adventurer, thanks to the endeavors of the aforementioned Hawke. The journey we took that gave me that opportunity has already been recounted, but that was only a small part of my time with Hawke from the moment we met. After we traversed the continent in search of the broken remnants of his soul and retrieved them, we blazed a new path, both to teach me more about the world and try to better the lives of those around us.

However, there is one point in our travels that began a chain of events leading to the most significant adventure of our lives; one that changed the course of the world. I guess that’s as good a place as any to start.

---

The wind whipped into my face, hot and arid and dusty. I pulled my head scarf over my nose and mouth, cursing the way it kept slipping down at the most inopportune moments. Hawke put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a look urging patience. Our quarry was approaching fast.

From inside the alcove of a boulder where we crouched, we watched as a line of camels laden with packs and sacks trudged through the hellish heat of the Madness. Their riders were wrapped from head to toe in scarves and robes, bundled as tightly as Hawke and I were to try and avoid the worst parts of the desert’s wrath. Every so often, one rider would turn to another and gesticulate, but I would’ve been surprised if they could hear each other in such weather.

I was able to just catch sight of a number ofseveral hazy figures rising over a dune and heading steadily towards the caravan. Their beige cloaks made them almost invisible, even from our vantage point. In the thickest part of the storm, the camel riders would never see them coming.

I was ready to spring our trap, but the strong grip on my shoulder didn’t lessen. I shot Hawke an impatient glance, but he only shook his head. Apparently, he thought the time wasn’t right.

Even when they were a scant few yards away, the sand-colored figures still didn’t increase their pace. The caravan made no motion that they had a clue what was headed their way. It wasn’t until they were practically on top of each other that the camouflaged characters darted out unexpectedly, curved blades and cudgels whipping out from the folds of their robes.

That was the moment Hawke decided to haul me to my feet, right before he vaulted off the rock and leapt into the fray, soaring a hundred feet in a single bound. I grinded my teeth in frustration; he knew full well I couldn’t make those kinds of death-defying leaps. I was left with no choice but to slide down from our position as quickly as possible, praying I wouldn’t lose my balance and tumble the rest of the way down. That wouldn’t make quite the impression on our foes that I wanted.

The wind was even worse than I thought down in the small gulch. With one arm raised to shield my eyes from the sand, I fought my way towards the dark shapes of the caravan and its attackers. A few grunts and shouts floated my way, only to quickly be swept up in the howl of the wind.

By the time I finally got there, the fight was basically over. Hawke was smashing his open palm into the face of one of the marauders, whose sandy robe gained a sudden burst of crimson from his nose. A number of similar bodies were strewn about the ground, already coated with a fine layer of dust. From the look of it, Hawke hadn’t even drawn his sword.

One of the caravan riders cried out in dismay when I came into view. He brandished a blade of his own at me, but Hawke shouted out and held up a hand to stop them. I approached Hawke, not bothering to hide my frustration.

“Was there even a reason for me to bother coming down?” I asked.

“Of course,” said Hawke. “I’m gonna need some help tying all these bandits up and getting them out of the storm.”

“At least you didn’t kill any of them,” I remarked. Bending over one of them and seeing the extent of Hawke’s beating on them, I added, “…I think.”

“Course not. They won’t last long if they’re left out like this, though.” Hawke turned and started speaking to one of the merchants, asking if they had any rope to spare for the bandits. I knew we had plenty of binding back with our own camels, but in Hawke’s zeal, he seemed to have forgotten to have one of them on hand to bring down. With a sigh, I turned to go retrieve our mounts, just in case.

I was amazed that I was able tocould find the camels at all, though it took far longer than I had hoped. When I finally made my way back with both our rides in tow, the merchants had already helped Hawke secure the bandits with some of their own supplies. There were five in total, each one bound up and ready to be hurled over a camel’s back like a wriggling carpet.

“Micasa, you didn’t have to get the camels by yourself,” Hawke said, frowning. I returned the frown right back at him.

“How are we supposed to carry these guys back without them? You planning on just flinging them over your shoulder?” I asked.

“The merchants agreed to help me escort their new friends to the nearest outpost, to await the pleasure of local law enforcement,” he informed me.

“And we were just going to walk back with them?”

Hawke’s eyes dropped, and he grew silent at that.

“Next time, we don’t set up watch so far from our rides,” I told him. I handed him the reins to his camel before hoisting myself into the saddle of my own.

“Come on, Lumps, let’s let the big strong bandit hunter take care of his cargo,” I cooed to my camel as I stroked her head. Lumps brayed, and I gave her a little pet. With a kick of my heels, we set off towards the head of the merchants’ line.

“Hey, what about these guys!?” Hawke exclaimed, pointing to his brigand pile.

“I’m sure you can handle it allllll on your own,” I called back.

My irritation with Hawke was a bit overblown, certainly. It would’ve taken much longer to reach the battle if he hadn’t jumped. I was just hated how he always did everything by himself. It certainly wasn’t the first time.

The head of the merchant caravan looked at me from the corner of her eye as I drew up alongside, her hazel eyes and a peek of brown flesh the only skin visible from the folds of her cowl. I gave her a small nod.

“We are grateful for the intervention of your bodyguard,” she said. Her eyes crinkled a bit. “He makes quite an entrance.”“Yes, there’s no one quite like him,” I replied, trying to hide the indignation in my tone. “He’s not my bodyguard, though. We’re partners.”

“Oh?” The merchant seemed even more amused at that idea. “I can only imagine how strong you must be then.”

I grumbled under my breath. Hopefully in the weather she couldn’t hear my sulking.

“How was it you knew we were in need ofneeded help, though?” she asked suddenly. “Your timing was, how should I put it, convenient?” The playful tone left her, replaced by suspicion.

“We were hired to watch your caravan,” I said. “We were told your wares might be targeted, and to keep an eye out in case the rumors were true.”

“And you didn’t decide to tell us we were targets or that we had this protection of yours because…?”

She was much sharper than I had given her credit for. “Our employer was afraid of making your people nervous. They thought if you knew you were targeted, you might not make the trek at all.”

“The Madness is always dangerous. That’s no news to us.”

“Sure, but it’s not always a certainty you’ll be attacked by bandits.”

“And this time was?”

“I hope you’re not suggesting we’re with those who attacked you.” I held up a hand to my chest. “We really were concerned for your safety. Why would we stop them if those people were with us? You think they’d let themselves get beat up so badly if we hired them?”

Her eyes lingered on me for a second. FinallyFinally, she looked away and sighed. “I suppose I’m just being paranoid. You’ll have to forgive me. It’s true that danger isn’t unheard of to us, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“I understand.” I urged my mount closer and laid a hand on her arm.

We waited a few more minutes until Hawke and a group of merchants trotted back to us, each of their camels now laden with a secured hostage added to their wares. Hawke gave me a sullen look, but said nothing on the matter. I didn’t feel too bad about how I left him. I had done my part to make sure everything went along smoothly.

“I hope you don’t mind if we join you for the last small leg of the journey,” I said to the merchant leader. “Now that we’re certain the threat is real, we want to make sure they don’t catch you- or us- unawares again.”

The leader nodded. “I’m sure my people will feel better with you and your…partner along.” She raised a playful eyebrow at me before turning back to the caravan and twirling her hand through the air. “Let’s get a move on, folks, before we have anymore unwanted baggage!”

One of the other merchants let out a couple short trills on a whistle, and soon the caravan was back in formation and trudging their way through the storm again. Hawke and I kept a pace just ahead of the leader, far enough that we could talk without being overheard.

“You think they’ll follow?” I asked him as quietly as I could over the howl of the wind.

“They might not completely trust us, but they’re already well aware of what I can do,” Hawke said. “That mistrust can work to our advantage, anyways. They’ll want to have us close enough to keep an eye on.”

Indeed, they seemed more than happy to let us lead the way. We, in turn, were just as happy to nudge our eastward course just the slightest bit south. It might have been noticed if any of our new friends had been eager to turn and check the heading of the sun, but as Hawke surmised, they were more interested in making sure we didn’t try to bolt away.