The Chosen
Page 4
“Magic?” he laughed. “You really are desperate.” he said in a softer voice. “Tell me Lady Marfell, did the Argent Brotherhood disclose to you that they were terminated from The Crowns services?” he looked at Dagny.
She stood speechless, unsure of what to say. She swallowed hard and looked at Leif. “He didn’t, did he. I am not surprised. You see Lady Marfell, the Argent Brotherhood became obsessed with this ridiculous conspiracy that The Malachite Order was infiltrating Suloo. Each case they investigated, came back as being involved with magic, despite no evidence.”
“There was plenty of evidence.” Gorm growled.
Desmond glanced over at the Vanguardian and snorted.
“Not enough for The Crown to be concerned, only irritated by your reports.” Desmond said glaring at Gorm.
“Well then it’s a good thing our reports will be sent to Lady Marfell and not The Crown.” Leif said.
Desmond paused a moment looking at the group. He drew a long breath.
“And just where are you running off to with your evidence?” he asked.
Leif tilted his head and smirked.
“Ah, see that’s the beauty of not working for The Crown anymore, I don’t have to tell you shit.”
Dagny blushed hearing the swear word. She had heard them before, but they were far and few. She swallowed hard understanding that she would need to get used to this behavior and mannerisms if she were going to fit in with the group.
Leif stepped closer to Desmond as he stood unmoved. “Don’t you have some papers to process for The Crown? Your seat will always be beneath them.”
“And always above yours.” Desmond said angrily as he clenched his teeth.
Leif smiled seeing that he finally hit a nerve. He looked Desmond over.
“You will never get a chair. People need to like you to make you their predecessor. No one likes you Chairmen Hargrave.”
Leif gave a nod to the group. Revna was glaring at Desmond as she extended her hand and slid it under Dagny’s to lead her away. Gorm stood behind Leif as he remained staring at Desmond. “Just remember, you have no authority over the Argent Brotherhood. Where we go and what our business is, is none of your concern.”
With that Leif and Gorm turned and left to join Revna and Dagny as they continued their walk towards The Thumb. Desmond stood there watching them a moment.
“But it is my concern Mr. Argent, it most certainly is my concern.” he muttered under his breath.
Chapter 7
“You were terminated by The Crown?” Dagny asked again as they proceeded further down the streets.
Leif seemed to be avoiding her question.
“Not entirely. Chairmen Hargrave suspended our contract. He didn’t have enough votes to dissolve it as he claimed.”
“But you were still fired.” she asked.
Leif stopped and looked at her.
“Dagny, I am sorry I was not upfront with you about our history. We did work for The Crown and at this time we are currently freelancing to the general public. You must understand though, all of the evidence my team found was evidence of magic. The Crown just does not want to open their eyes.”
Dagny watched him a moment. His dark eyes were sincere as he looked at her. She felt her face blush as she traced her eyes across his jawline and down his neck. She swallowed and looked away catching her breath. Leif didn’t seem to notice. He was more concerned with losing his client. “I will tell you thought, there is no other sell sword out there that understands The Order better than us. They may not be directly involved but if it is a caster involved, it isn’t good.”
“Also, you will be hard pressed to find any group as stupid as us, to allow a client to join the investigation.” Revna said, not bothering to look at them.
Leif shrugged with a smirk as if to agree. Dagny nodded slowly. She looked ahead. The streets continued to slope downward into the heart of The Thumb. It looked different in the daylight, while still shadowed by the rising cliff of The Springs, it wasn’t as scary as she remembered.
They continued walking. Dagny stopped often to adjust her boot. They were very fancy and detailed with ruffles.
“I really wish you would have allowed me to bring the carriage.” she said, feeling the soreness of her feet.
Leif looked down and saw she was wearing dress boots.
“Why did you not wear travel boots?”
“I do not own travel boots. I wear dress boots no matter where I go. Appearances are important in The Springs.”
“Well they are just as important in The Thumb. You will be marked the second we get near the pubs.” Gorm said looking her over.
“Marked?” she asked.
“Robbed.” Revna clarified. “Or kidnapped, which ever group gets to you first.”
Dagny looked at Leif with a terrified expression. He glared at the two.
“It’s the truth Leif, she needs clothes.” Gorm said crossing his arms.
They made their way to one of the shops. Dagny was almost afraid to enter; it was damp and dark. Inside the smell of fresh leather hides drying and deep polish filled their nostril’s. Dagny looked around. There were shelves filled with supplies, patches of leather and cloth, belts, scabbard covers, boots and gloves, everything an outfitter could want.
A gruff looking man came out. His white tunic was loosely tied at the top and covered in stains of sweat and black polish.
“Leif, surprised to see you here.” the man said slightly sarcastically.
Leif flashed a smile.
“Barry, the Argent Brotherhood is in need of your expert assistance.” he said holding up a sack of coins.
“If that’s full of silver you can shove it up your ass. You still owe me two gold for the jacket. I ain’t giving you any more without proper payment and I won’t take it back. I saw all the blood you got on it the other night at the pub.”
“I already settled my issues with Norman, and I am not returning the jacket.”
Barry paused a moment and smiled.
“Harold Karman’s been looking for you.”
Leif drew a long breath and glanced at Gorm and Revna.
“I still need to sort out my issues with him.”
“He didn’t look to be wanting to sort anything out. He is aiming for a duel.”
“Barry, please, I can pay you for the jacket, we need your help.” Leif said pulling out some gold pieces.
“Payment up front.” he demanded.
Dagny approached him. He was startled a moment, not even noticing her in the store. She glowed in her bright brocade blue dress. She pulled out a very large sack and held it up.
“I have plenty of gold to pay you with Sir.” she said with a smile.
Barry looked at Leif and Leif shrugged. Barry cleared his throat.
“My Lady, how can I be of service to you?”
Within an hour, Dagny was outfitted with pants, a shirt and top with a leather fitted jacket. It felt almost liberating to be wearing such comfortable clothes. The annoying corset she was restricted to was gone. In its place was a smaller cloth wrap that tied in the back for support. There were no harsh whalebones digging into her sides anytime she sat or moved.
The best part was walking in her new leather boots. They were soft brown leather and comforted her aching feet. Leif insisted she wear a belt fitted with a dagger. It was nestled on her side for mostly appearances but he couldn’t be too sure what they might encounter on this trip and he wanted her to have some form of defense.
When they left, they continued down, deeper into The Thumb.
“We should remain down town for the night. Once we have a plan, we can sort out what supplies we might need.” Revna said.
The group stopped. They stood before an old cathedral. Its black spires rose up into the darkened sky. The sun was starting to set. They had spent all day walking from The Springs to The Thumb. Dagny looked up at the intimidating structure.
“What is this place?” she asked almost fearfully.
She looked at him surprised. He almost seemed proud of its history.
“Why are we here?” she asked confused.
“We need to find Isadore.” Revna said irritated.
Leif smiled at Dagny.
“Isadore is the fourth member of our team. He will be in here for sure.”
With that they started up the black marble stairs. They were chipped and worn away in many places. There was no maintenance or care for them, not in this place. This black stone cathedral was forgotten and crumbling. There were some attempts to make repairs. Patches of metal were hammered into places to fix leaks on the roof and spires.
The entrance was like entering a forbidden and dangerous underground world. The dark oak doors were massive in size and moved with resistance as they moaned on their steel hinges. After a few narrow halls they entered a large open room. The celling seemed to never end as dim light from the outside cascaded into the room creating patterns all over the floor. Hanging all over the area were circular chandeliers all lit with flickering candles as their heavy wax coated and built up around the bases of the holders.
Large candelabras were positioned all over the place with thick wax candles burning, giving a warm glow to the otherwise dark room. There was a dark blue carpet runner that meandered through the room. Several book cases stretched upwards, needing a ladder to reach their tops. There were tables and oversized chairs scattered into groups around, almost creating enclosures, separating themselves from the rest of the room.
It was difficult to say how many people were in there that night. The small clusters of book cases and chairs were all over. Dagny spotted a few people sitting in them, but the whole place was silent. The only sound heard were low whispers of conversation overshadowed by the heavy snapping and hissing of the massive fireplace off to the side.
Leif looked around and without a second thought continued into the room. He knew exactly where he was going. They all followed him as he meandered around. There was a small raised section of the library towards the back of the room. The floor was suspended up over the back half of the room and a spiral staircase led up to it.
They made their way up and to the far back corner. There in the dark shadows was a chair near a tall window. In it was a black shadowy figure. Leif approached him.
“Isadore, we have been looking for you.” Gorm said in his deep bellowing voice.
Dagny felt her heart racing. She remained far back behind the others peering around to see this mysterious fourth member of the Brotherhood. The figure glanced up. She could just make out the pale hue of his cheek and he turned towards the light of the flickering candles.
“Who is the girl?” he asked, breaking the silence with a sharp and cunning voice, although he already knew who she was.
Leif looked back at Dagny and nodded.
“She is our client. We have an assignment.”
There was more silence. Finally, Isadore rose from the chair. It was then that Dagny could get a full glimpse of what he looked like. He was tall with broad shoulders. He wore black leather pants and a black fitted leather jacket. It had black fur trimmed along the edges of it and along the collar, tuffs of white fur contrasted brightly. He wore a black belt and had a variety of belt buckles and straps all fitted around his jacket.
The most prominent feature was that of his shoulders. Sewn into the shoulders of his jacket were black raven feathers. They curved over his shoulder like plated armor would. She noticed he did not carry any sort of weapon on his belt, or at least none she could see. His jacket had an oversized black hood that hung over his head. Beneath it, his piercing blue eyes appeared to glow. His stare cut right through her and she felt as if he were staring at her soul.
She couldn’t help herself and let out a gasp as she drew back.
Isadore took two steps towards the group and was standing before Leif.
“I thought The Crown dismissed us?” he asked in a softer voice.
Leif nodded.
“This is a private commission.” he said with a wink.
Isadore glanced back over at Dagny. He reached up and drew back his hood. His hair was short and trimmed. It was black, which made his blue eyes appear that much more terrifying. It was difficult to tell how old he was. He was older than the rest of them, Dagny thought perhaps, in his forties. He had a few age lines framing his face, and small patches of gray were beginning to encroach around his temples.
He approached her and looked her over. He extended his hand and held it up.
“Lady Marfell, I presume?” he said with a slight bow.
She was shocked. She slowly placed her shaking hand in his and gave a slight curtsy. She was not expecting any of them to know formal greeting manners. “I am Isadore Darkspear.”
“How did you know my name?” she stammered out, glancing at Leif.
Leif came over quickly and laughed nervously.
“Isadore has many skills, all of which will be very useful to us on this assignment.”
Dagny could tell there was something secretive going on between them but she couldn’t quite figure it out.
“What sort of skills?” she asked looking back at Isadore as she released her hand from his.
He kept a cold expression.
“I am a Seer.” he said, not expecting her to know what it was, not many did.
She looked at Leif.
“We can explain all of our skill sets tonight over dinner.” Leif said nodding. “Right now, we need to find a place to stay for the night.”
“Do you not have a house here?” she asked Leif.
“I do but it is far too small to house all of us, and it is on the other side of The Thumb. I would prefer to stay here for the night and in the morning, we can venture out for supplies.”
“He can’t return to his house because Harold Karmen is looking for him.” Revna said looking at Isadore. “He’s probably sitting outside your front door waiting for you.” she glanced at Leif with raised eyebrows.
Leif shot a glare at her.
“I will deal with Harold later.” he half whispered through gritted teeth.
Isadore looked at Revna.
“What happened the other night? I thought I told you to keep them in line?” Isadore glared at Revna.
“They were both drinking heavily. We managed to resolve most of the situations but Harold is still pretty pissed off.” she said.
Isadore looked at Leif.
“His wife again?” he asked, almost disappointed.
Leif swallowed hard. Dagny looked at him surprised. He glanced at her.
“It’s not what you think. She…I can’t keep her off of me.” he stammered out in his defense.
“Well you certainly weren’t resisting her the other night.” Gorm said with a chuckle.
Leif clenched his jaw and glared at Gorm. Isadore drew a breath.
“This can be dealt with later. Leif is right, we must procure rooms for the night.”
The group departed without much of conversation. They made their way down the streets, which were now dark and filled with predators, in Dagny’s eyes. They were at the bottom end of the peninsula of The Thumb, just along the coast. The salty air clung to their skin and the dampness of the tide’s stench filled the air.
They found an inn with rooms available and the group got settled in for the night. Downstairs was also a pub that served meals. Gorm and Isadore were already seated in the back corner of the room. Isadore was facing the door, always watching those entering and exiting.
Dagny came down and was a little intimidated when she saw Gorm and Isadore were the only two there. She swallowed hard and hesitated returning back to her room for a bit longer until Leif or Revna came down but Gorm spotted her and waved his massive hand in the air.
She smiled pleasantly and came over sitting on the side of Gorm. Isadore intimidated her greatly with his dark presence. She tried not to show it and smiled at them both.
“Good evening gentlemen.” she half whispered.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news Dagny but you will soon learn, neither of us are gentlemen.” Gorm said with a gruff voice.
“I beg to differ in that statement Gorm. I am well versed in all appropriate mannerisms.” Isadore said, keeping his cold expression.