Grimoire Bound

by Jeff Sproul

  "You say that as if you're going into some dungeon of perils," said Cynthia with a shake of her head. "You folks seriously are ridiculous. Paranoia is good though, I suppose. But it's an awful lot of bother if you ask me."

  Verun followed Chaxin, with Nessa and then Tamos.

  Chaxin took the steps carefully and noticed that there wasn't any odor to the tunnel he found himself in. The shore had reeked of the foul stench of death and decay, but there seemed to be nothing of note here. Perhaps that was a good sign? Perhaps he was just trying to make himself feel better.

  He reached the base of the steps and proceeded down a dirt tunnel. At the end, about fifty feet away, was a dim light coming from the bottom of what was surely a door.

  Chaxin's breaths came quicker now as he felt apprehensive despite Cynthia's comments. His right hand rested on the pommel of his saber. His left still held the mage-caster, with a bolt already primed.

  He turned his head, able to somewhat make out the others behind him, along with Cynthia, who was descending the steps and closing the hatch behind her.

  "Right behind you," said Verun.

  Chaxin nodded and looked forward again. It didn't take long to reach the end of the tunnel. As he neared the door, he could hear voices on the other side. There were deep voices that carried through the door, along with laughter.

  Chaxin placed his hand to the door and felt around for a moment before finding the handle. He turned it gradually and pushed it open.

  Light streamed out into the tunnel, causing his vision to blur and his eyes to narrow. He stepped cautiously into the room and was able to more clearly hear the conversations going on, even if they all jumbled together in the noise. The room itself looked a bit like something between what the town hall had been, along with a tavern. People were seated at tables, drinking, eating. There were easily several dozen people within.

  Chaxin took each step slowly, trying to get a sense of the place as he entered.

  A few heads turned and noticed him, but they didn't look away.

  Gradually, conversations slowed to a stop as more people took notice of him and the others behind him.

  By the time they'd all entered the room, no one was speaking, and everyone's attention was on them.

  A woman's voice cut through the silence. It was strangely familiar, but Chaxin couldn't place it.

  "Cynthia, are you vouching for this lot?" asked the woman. She was seated at a table that was directly in the center of the room. The woman, who had pale white hair and angular features, was facing and looking right at them. "Bad time to be bringing in new folk."

  Cynthia spoke up from behind them. "Nope! Can't vouch for ‘em. Just found them in the village. I don't think they're Grittin, but… who knows?"

  "Seize their weapons!" the mysterious woman up front yelled.

  Without warning, a dozen of the nearest residents stood up and drew their blades, some wielding crossbows.

  "What's going on?" Nessa shouted as she pulled her saber, followed a moment later by Tamos.

  Chaxin drew his saber, but held it to point the barrel at the nearest person to him, while his other hand brought the mage-caster up.

  "Not again," Chaxin whispered under his breath, his eyes wide, flitting from target to target.

  "What are we doing?" Verun muttered to Chaxin. "Are we about to be killed?"

  "I don't know," Chaxin whispered. "Is your book out?"

  "No, but as you well know, I don't need it, necessarily," said Verun.

  "It might've been wrong to come here," Chaxin whispered back. "We need to get out of here."

  "This one's really going to hurt," Verun muttered. He swallowed and took in a slow breath, as everyone around him had their weapons drawn, some of which were pointed at him. Then, he began to speak again.

  "Nameth'na ahn namush—"

  Verun's voice caught suddenly in this throat. He coughed and began to choke.

  "What the hell are you doing? Speaking that shit here!" Cynthia called from just a foot behind them.

  Chaxin, hearing Verun's sudden coughing, turned quickly to see Cynthia with her right hand outstretched, her fingertips merely inches behind Verun's body.

  Her head turned, and her glinting mask faced him. She reached out at him with her left hand, but Chaxin was already pulling back.

  There was a sudden and strange sense of his innards being pulled and tugged, as if tendrils were forming inside of him and seizing him from within, but as he placed a foot of distance between himself and Cynthia, the feeling subsided. He brought the chamber of the gun saber to her head. "Let him go!"

  "Tch!" Cynthia muttered beneath her mask. Her hand clenched into a fist as she brought it back down to her side. Her other hand was still outstretched to Verun, keeping him from speaking or moving.

  "Why?" Chaxin asked, his head turning to the white-haired woman who was slowly creeping closer to them. She wore a black cloak, and what appeared to be half leather and half plate armor, mostly of dark blue and black.

  "Why what? We can't trust you," said the woman. "We need you to answer questions, for our own safety."

  "I remember!" Chaxin exclaimed. "For me, it's only been days. But I remember your voice! You were there when I first arrived. I was so close to death, poison running through my veins. You said… you said that I deserved as much of a chance as anyone. And I took that chance!" Chaxin's grip on his mage-caster tightened. He'd aimed in a random direction, but now the white-haired woman was in his sights.

  "I fought monsters that I could barely fathom! But what's worse is that I thought I was doing what everyone did in this damned world. And what did I get in return? Death in Karnith's throne room. All because I saw what was in his precious sarcophagi. So I ask you, now that I can see your face, why did you bother saving me when I was just going to end up dying for no damned reason anyway? Why am I even here now? Why are any of us here? I made a choice to come here for answers. And I refuse to be backstabbed again by my own kind, when there are far greater monsters out there."

  The white-haired woman's arms crossed against the dark blue metal plate beneath the front of her cloak. She stared at Chaxin from about ten feet away. Seconds passed in silence. Chaxin's pulse throbbed in his ears. He couldn't go back to Purgatory. He wouldn't. He was going to fight tooth and nail to prevent it. If his own kind was going to try and kill him again, then he was sure as hell going to take them with him.

  "Lower your weapons, everyone," said the white-haired woman. "No reason for this. Plenty of fighting to be had later against the real enemy."

  Several of the patrons looked at each other, but it was Cynthia who lowered her arm first. Upon doing so, Verun took in a deep breath of air and coughed a few more times. "Damnation… what… power is that?" he coughed out.

  Cynthia stepped in closer and grabbed Verun's shoulder. "You ever speak one of their names again, and I'll be sure to rush so much blood to your head, you'll be in Purgatory before you even know what hit you." She released his shoulder and walked past him to linger at the white-haired woman's side.

  One by one, people began lowering their weapons and sheathing their swords at the white-haired woman's instruction.

  Nessa and Tamos didn't budge until the crossbows that had been pointing their way had been lowered. Then, Nessa hesitantly sheathed her saber. Tamos followed suit.

  Chaxin's weapons lowered once everyone else had put theirs away. His sights were still on the woman across from him.

  "I'm Minara," the white-haired woman spoke. "And you're Chaxin. It's been an age, hasn't it? What? Ten years since everything went to shit? But I guess you weren't here for that, were you? No, you were spared the turmoil of Wake, apparently for a time in Purgatory. But you escaped, which I find commendable."

  "That's actually because of me. He had very little to do with that," Verun spoke up. "But he was helpful in our return to the world of the living."

  Minara looked to Verun and lifted a brow at him. "You probably shouldn't talk so much. An
d Cynthia's right, if you utter such words around here again, you will be killed. Don't care who you are."

  "Understood," Verun said, with a nod. He reached up and rubbed his throat.

  "You remembered my name after all this time?" Chaxin asked. "I was only alive for a few days back then."

  Minara shrugged. "You were part of very important events back then. The boy who woke on the shores outside Kamber. Who survived the merfolk attack, who was inscribed with time magic to keep him alive. Well, I suppose I was the cause of that last one. But you were part of the group that returned with Deloris. You and Kaiz, if I remember correctly. The two of you were killed, and Deloris barely made it out alive, at much cost to herself. Deloris was the only one who knew of Karnith's betrayal. She was the only one who could warn others of what was to come, based on what she'd seen. She didn't know what the power of the spectres could do in Karnith's hands, but I did. It's a shame Deloris is no longer here, but perhaps you're willing to pick up the slack. She kept you safe a number of times, if I recall her stories correctly."

  "That she did, and I only wish I could somehow repay that favor to her," said Chaxin. "But for now, I'll settle for revenge on Karnith."

  Minara smirked. "In time," she said. She lowered her hands to her hips. "But I still need to question you four. We're not going to take your weapons as we should, but since Chaxin and I have some mutual history, I'll at least show some clemency in this regard. But if any of you do anything to warrant that you may be spies, we won't hesitate to kill you. But for now, all we need is for you to undergo a little questioning with a bit of magical aid."

  Chapter 28: Questions

  After the tense ordeal of their arrival, things managed to quiet down significantly. Chaxin and the others were now seated at a large table, the four of them directly across from Minara, Cynthia, and several other patrons.

  Minara cleared her throat and set a tome on the table in front of them. "Now, before we can fully welcome you, we need to make sure that none of you are spies. You may trust each other implicitly, but sometimes spies don't even realize they're spies. That's what this is for."

  "Looks like a grimoire," said Verun, who sat to Chaxin's left.

  "It is, just with some added features," said Minara.

  "A modified grimoire? Very interesting," Verun mused.

  "Says the man who knows magics that should never be heard," Cynthia muttered beneath her mask.

  "Settle down, doctor," Minara said.

  "Doctor?" Nessa asked. She was seated to the right of Chaxin, with Tamos on the other side of her.

  "Yes, I am in fact a doctor," said Cynthia. "I'm fluent in healing remedies, of a sort."

  "Hmm," Nessa murmured, her gaze on the masked woman.

  "Back to the task at hand," Minara spoke up. She opened the blank grimoire and then looked to Chaxin. "Go ahead."

  Chaxin reached out and placed his hands on the grimoire, then removed them. Ink welled up and formed the status pages.

  "We don't need to know your individual abilities or anything like that," said Minara. She reached out and flipped a page, which showed Chaxin the kills section. She then flipped the page again, which revealed a page he'd never seen before. On both pages were large squares with tiny gridwork lines running through them. Upon closer inspection, Chaxin realized the gridwork was made up of a multitude of small x letters.

  "Now place your hand on the right page," said Minara.

  Chaxin obeyed and set his hand on the page, letting it rest there.

  Minara brought her hand up and set it on the left page.

  "First question," said Minara. "What's your name?"

  "It's Chaxin," he responded, unsure what was going on.

  "Good," said Minara. "Are you in league with Lord Karnith, Daxar, or any of his agents?"

  "No," said Chaxin.

  "Perfect," said Minara. "Are you under the effect of any spells or abilities from the creatures known as spectres?"

  "No."

  "Great," Minara said with a sigh. "Let's see, that clears the main facets. Might as well go a little deeper though. "Do you have any intention to harm myself, or any others here in Kamber."

  "Is Lord Karnith here in Kamber right now?" Chaxin asked in return.

  "No he isn't," said Minara.

  "Then no, I have no intention of harming anyone here."

  "Great," said Minara. "Let's see… just to make sure this is working correctly, I need you to lie to me now. So I'll ask again, what's your name?"

  "Uh," Chaxin murmured at first. He glanced over beside him, then looked back to Minara. "My name is… Verun."

  A second after the word 'Verun' left his lips, a brief and abnormal tingle rushed up through Chaxin's fingertips and into his arm, making him immediately pull his hand back; his arm shuddered for a brief moment as the feeling dissipated. "What was that?"

  Minara's fingers quivered as well, but she kept her hand on the tome, apparently having expected the occurrence. "That is what happens when you lie. I'll feel it as well, so there's no way you can lie without me knowing."

  "I have just another question, and then we can move on," said Minara. "Please place your hand back."

  "Alright," Chaxin said, as he lowered his hand to the book and took a slow breath. "Go ahead."

  "You were killed about ten years ago, give or take. How long were you in Purgatory for?"

  "Um," Chaxin thought for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure. It was hard to keep track of time. I'd say somewhere between one to two days?"

  Minara waited, but there was no jolt. "Interesting," she whispered. "And how long ago did you return?"

  Chaxin glanced over to Nessa, then back to Minara. "Almost a week ago?"

  Minara was silent. No jolt came.

  "And you said that it was Verun who aided in your escape?" she asked.

  Chaxin nodded. "Yes, that's correct. He did most of the work, in that regard."

  "Wonderful," said Minara. "That's all for now."

  Chaxin removed his hand and rubbed his palm and fingers. Even though the sensation had only lasted about a second, he still felt strange after the fact.

  Minara brought the grimoire over to Nessa. She asked her similar questions to begin with. But after the questions relating to being a spy, Nessa was asked about her time in Jari, and her time as a captain.

  Chaxin learned that Nessa had been a naval captain for the Jari nation. Like many captains, she was mostly left without a home when Karnith attacked Jari, before Chaxin had ever arrived in Wake.

  Nessa became a freelance privateer, mostly operating as an escort and hired crew out of Trillin.

  Minara questioned Nessa about what she knew of Trillin, but Nessa knew nothing more than anyone else on the matter, and no new information was brought to light.

  "Sadly, we don't have much in the way of trade. We're a bunch of rebels hiding away just barely outside the watchful eye of Karnith and his lackeys," said Minara. "But a ship is a hard thing to come by. I would be interested in keeping you around for the short term. We may need a mode of escape in the coming days."

  "Well, for a fee, I'm happy to be held on retainer and I'll keep near the shore," said Nessa.

  "Wonderful," said Minara with a smile. "Now, for your second in command here, Tamos, was it?"

  Minara then questioned Tamos. His life was closely aligned with Nessa's. He’d been her second in command for as long as she'd held command. Wherever Nessa went, so did he. The grimoire didn't zap him when he was asked the spy question, and like Chaxin and Nessa, he appeared to be in the clear.

  "Thank you," said Minara, once she was finished with her questions.

  She brought the grimoire across the table and set it to rest near Verun, looking over to him now. "Your turn," she said.

  Verun swallowed and let out a slow breath. "I will have you know that I'm willing and able to answer all the questions about being a spy and all of that but I would caution questioning much beyond that. My private life and my past are… complex."<
br />
  "Then let's begin with the simple stuff first," said Minara, who then began to question him as she'd done the others.

  Just as he'd said, Verun passed all the questions about being a spy and wishing harm on others in Kamber. There was nothing that would paint him as a spy or an agent of Karnith.

  When those questions were finished, Minara sat silent for a few long moments before venturing to ask, "How did you learn that name you spoke earlier? Please refrain from speaking those words with your answer."

  Verun shook his head. "I would rather not say."

  There was no jolt.

  Verun's brow furrowed, and his gaze fell to the grimoire.

  "It won't shock you if you don't actually answer the question," said Minara. "How about this, then… Does your knowledge pose a threat to those around you?"

  "Most certainly not, " said Verun. "I have—"

  Verun's hand shot up from the book. "Ah!" he gasped and shook his hand. When the feeling subsided, he looked at Minara. "I wasn't lying! I have everything well handled! It is of no concern to you, or anyone else for that matter."

  "Please place your hand back on the grimoire," said Minara.

  Even Chaxin's brow was furrowed as he looked at Verun.

  Verun looked to Chaxin, then over to Minara. "Fine, fine," he muttered and smacked his palm back onto the grimoire.

  "Do you know what caused the disappearance of the citizens of Trillin, ten years ago?" Minara asked.

  "I was killed before that happened," said Verun.

  Several seconds passed. "Answer the question," Minara prodded.

  "I don't know what happened to the citizens of Trillin," Verun answered.

  Minara waited. There was no jolt.

  "Let me rephrase, just in case," said Minara. "Were you aware of anything that was likely to happen, that could have been the cause of the disaster that befell Trillin, ten years ago?"

  "No," said Verun.

  Verun's arm stiffened and his fingers quivered. As did Minara's.

  Minara's eyes narrowed. "You know something," she said. "Does what you know have something to do with the entities that mustn't be named?"

  "Please stop asking these questions. I can't help you in this regard," Verun answered, his hand lifted from the grimoire. "Please, you will gain no benefit from what's in my head. You'll only make it harder for me if I must barter in the future. You know I'm not a spy, you know I haven't come here to harm any of you."