by B. H. Savage
"That's quite a story, My Lord," Anye commented. She failed to see the point of the lengthy explanation however, and was showing her impatience in her face, as well as her words.
"Anye, do you know the story of Stragus Markal?" Byron asked.
"The legendary arch mage?" Anye replied. "I don't see what an old fairy tale has to do with this."
"What do you know about him?" Byron persisted.
Anye paused for a moment as she recalled the tale, pushing aside her annoyance. She still wanted the job, after all. "Well, I remember the story saying that he was a powerful wizard who became twisted by his unchecked use of magic," Anye answered. "Eventually the king he served realized how dangerous he had become and sent his six strongest warriors to put an end to him. It's the basis for Delrich's policy on unchecked magic use, really."
"Do you know the names of that king's warriors?" Lord Taggart asked.
Anye had to think about that question hard for a minute. It had been several years since she had been told the story or recited it herself, but the names eventually came back to her after remembering that Glenn shared the surname of two of the six warriors, the likes of which had led to several jokes over the years. "I remember. They were Ottovan Bersty, Armonde and Orlinde Schultz, Bethany Lightstone, and Doluka and Delilah Sturmwind. I still don't see what this has to do with anything, though."
"Captain, this book is the diary of Delilah Sturmwind," Lord Taggart told her. "She was a citizen of Del'Mond, a real person, not a fairy tale."
Anye was of course doubtful of the validity of the claim, but nonetheless opened the book to its first page when she was prompted to do so. The characters written on the obviously ancient paper were handwritten in a language indecipherable to her, but newer papers had been folded in with the pages with notes written in her own language. Anye looked up at the aging lord and saw his childlike excitement return.
"Before you ask, remember I have spent much of my life studying Del'Mond's history based on whatever information I could find," he said. "Translating Lady Delilah's words has not proven to be easy, but enough cross referencing with other sources of the ancient language has been enough for me to prove the book's legitimacy."
"Ok, let’s say I’m interested," Anye commented. "Say this really is Delilah Sturmwind's diary…so what?"
"Based on my translations, Lady Sturmwind knew of the fate of Del'Mond, though I haven’t been able to quite translate the tale completely," Lord Taggart explained. "But she also knew the locations of three sacred artifacts that were said to have originated from the holy land and were hidden away from the rest of the world. I want you and Amadi to travel to one of the locations and bring the artifact back to me."
Anye was perplexed. "Pardon my incompetence, sir, but why did you need to hire the champion of the tournament for a simple fetch job? This hardly seems worth the effort."
"Lady Sturmwind's diary claims that the artifacts were not only carefully hidden away from the world, but they are closely guarded by vicious creatures of unmatched strength and wit," Byron told her. "We didn't believe it at first, thinking the tales were made to ward off thieves, so we hired whoever would take the job to go and retrieve it. It was when they didn't come back that we thought there may be some truth to her words. Constantly sending men to their apparent deaths, over enough time, would warrant some speculation and suspicion."
“I thought you said this wasn’t too dangerous…” Anye asked, annoyed at the old man.
Byron shrugged with a grin. “Well, based on how you performed today I doubt it will be for you.”
“While I appreciate the compliment, it would be preferred if you ceased withholding information,” she answered. Anye contemplated the details of the lengthy story silently. Amadi had remained silent the entire time. She wondered why, considering that he was probably going with her on this journey. That was something she thought she should know if she was going to be working with him. "What are you thoughts, Amadi?"
The boy looked up at her, somewhat surprised that he had been addressed. "I do not need convincing that the Punt van Gaia or the legends surrounding it are indeed truth. I have seen such things in my meditations, and more."
"I see," she replied. It wasn't the answer she was expecting nor looking for, but it at least clarified that he believed all of what she had just been told, no matter how farfetched she thought it was. She had already earned the prize money from the tournament, so if she took the job it wouldn't be for the gold, but compensation wouldn’t hurt. "And what should I expect in form of payment for this request, Your Lordship?"
"Anything you desire if it be within my power and of fair price," the governor replied.
"Then I desire information," Anye said.
"Information can be a powerful weapon, Captain. What is it you seek to know?"
"I have no want for a weapon from you, sir. I wish to know of a specific event in recent history and of the current goings on in Delrich."
"The Sky Fire..." Lord Taggart answered quietly. "Yes, I have heard of your inquiries into that event. It was a truly terrifying sight to see."
"So you know?"
"Captain, I know exactly what you wish to know." Lord Taggart stood from his chair and walked towards the balcony to look out over the fields. The sun had completely set, leaving the sky to glow in a tranquil purple twilight before night completely came. "I believe you will want to hear this in private. Byron, Amadi; if you would please take your leave, the Captain and I will meet you in the dining hall shortly."
All three of the nobleman’s guests stood in unison. Byron and Amadi gave a slight bow towards their host before walking through the door and exiting the room, leaving Anye alone with Lord Taggart on the balcony. The cool evening breeze blew her hair around lightly behind her as she avoided the tall man's gaze.
"Before I begin, Captain, please tell me what it is you know," he requested.
"I only know that many lives were lost in an event that could not be explained," she answered. "Belrun was not the only country affected by the event either. The Sky Fire affected Delrich, Toran, Mitus, and even the Western Isles, and various other locations around the world if reports are to be believed." Now she turned to look at the dark-skinned man's face, who stared down back at her. "I also know my father, or rather the man who raised me, found me as a baby in a burning house. His service record places him on tour here in Belrun at the king's behest during my time of birth to help quell the revolution. I am the same age as the number of years that have passed since that night, so I logically concluded I was found in this country and brought back to Delrich."
The nobleman closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Yes, you were wise to make the connection," he replied. "The Sky Fire destroyed a village not far from here. Almost everyone who lived there died that night. The fires were…unnatural, coming down from above as shards of pure magical energy that had been concentrated into a physical object which exploded on impact, spreading the flames of chaos to everything around them and beyond. Your father, Sir Everdyne as I knew him then, assisted me and several other mages in trying to evacuate the citizens when we could not stop the flames.” he paused as he took a deep breath and looked at Anye. "Your parents were two of my best."
"You mean...?"
"Yes, I knew your birth parents. Your mother had just given birth to you the night before the fires. I needed your father for a matter of some import for a few hours, and so he left you and your mother in the care of one of my handmaidens until our business was concluded. When we received word that your village had been set ablaze we dropped everything and rode there as quickly as possible. When we arrived, your father looked as though his heart had ceased to beat in his chest. I tried to stop him but he couldn't hear a word I said," Lord Taggart went on to tell her. "He ran straight through the flames into your home to try and get you and your mother out while Sir Everdyne and I attempted to hold the flames back and guide what few survivors there were to safety. That was when we heard you crying.�
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Anye stared intently at the large man describing the horrible night to her. Emotion started to swell within her, but she kept them in check as he continued to explain.
"Sir Everdyne looked back to see that your father had not yet emerged from the burning home. Only the sounds of your cries reached his ears at that point, and he too entered the flames." He paused a moment before continuing on with the tale. "When he emerged a few minutes later, he was carrying you in his arms."
Anye was barely holding herself together, with tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. Although she didn't actively remember the night, to her it felt like her body was remembering the heat of the flames and the feeling of being torn away from her parents by some stranger.
"So, it's true then," she muttered. "And now my father despises me..."
"Lord Everdyne could never despise you, Anye," Lord Taggart consoled. "I saw the way he looked at you after he pulled you from that fire. He requested that I let him take you back to Delrich to be raised as his own."
“And you’re sure I was the child pulled from the inferno?”
“I see both of your parents in you, Anye. There is no mistaking the resemblance you have of them.”
"So I have no family here?" she asked through the sadness in her voice. "A grandmother or an uncle? Anything?" her companion remained silent on the subject, resigning to merely shake his head at the question. "So I really am alone..."
"You are never alone, Anye," he told her. "Lord Everdyne will always love you, as will your mother. He may have been angry for what you are accused of, but I assure you it pained him greatly to have seen you like that, and he wishes you are safe."
"How could you know that?" she asked angrily.
"He sent me a letter." Lord Taggart reached in to his robe and pulled out a small scroll rolled up and tied with a string. "Read it when you have the strength," he said, and handed it to her.
Anye was speechless. It had been over a month since she had fled to Belrun. She was sure that her father would have wanted nothing to do with her anymore. The fact that he had sent a letter, one that Lord Taggart told her contained his love, completely shattered any misconceptions about what she thought she knew about him.
“Thank you,” she replied softly as she took the paper into her hand. She composed herself, stopping the tears from breaking through any more than they already had so she could ask of the other half of her request. “And what of Delrich now?” she asked. “I assume an individual such as you is privy to that sort of information.”
“I am. What is it you wish to know?”
“There was a knight in Delrich who was a close friend of mine…” she started to say. “He was the captain of the Dragon Knights.”
“Ah, Captain Sturmwind.” Lord Taggart paused a moment before going on with the information he knew. “He was sent to Toran by the king’s order to prove his loyalty to the crown. My informants tell me he is to aid the local tamers in slaying a feral dragon that had been terrorizing the local populace as of late while they attempted to herd the young creatures. There has been no report of his return, and Sir Astley has assumed command of the unit.”
Anye felt her heart stop in her chest. The one person she hoped to see again more than anything was now missing, and possibly dead.
“Stop what you’re thinking, Anye,” Lord Taggart said sternly, interrupting her thought. “I’ve met Captain Sturmwind before. The lack of his return does not indicate his death. I have heard other reports that a large dragon was seen flying south from the mountains recently with a man, wielding a magnificent spear, riding its back westward. It could be him, but my people within the capital have not sent any more word on the matter.”
“You think it really could be him?” Anye asked.
“I cannot afford the luxury of assumptions, Captain. Without proof of his death, I cannot resign myself to believe in his death,” he explained to her. “If I learn of anything more I will tell you of it when you return. Is there anything else you would like to know?”
Anye wiped the tears that had managed to slip down her face, finding resolve in what she had learned. Glenn may yet be alive and her parents had not forsaken her as she had originally believed. She had a reason to fight on, a stronger reason than simply survival. She had a home to return to, people to return to, when she proved her innocence. But there was one more thing she wished to know for the immediate moment.
“Yes, actually,” she said as they started to walk through the room to the door. “Two things; one, I want to know what Amador Astley has been up to. Where he’s been, who he’s been with, and if possible why he was with them, but that can wait until tomorrow. Right now the only thing left I wish to know was what their names were…my parents, that is.”
Lord Taggart smiled. “Jacob and Meredith Schultz.”
______
The feast that had been promised to the champions of the tournament lived up to its reputation. There was enough food present to feed the entire town. Whatever was leftover, Anye was told, would be given to the estate’s workers for their families. It was a kind gesture, one which was quite rare amongst nobility.
The days following the dinner were spent primarily preparing for the journey Anye and Amadi would be taking. Lord Taggart provided Anye with whatever information on Amador he was privy to, but there wasn’t much. The lack of knowledge was discouraging in regards to her plan of returning home. Hiding his movements so carefully meant that he was likely planning more than what Anye initially suspected, which was usurping Delrich’s crown. Unfortunately, having no information didn’t help matters, so she tried to focus on the job she had been hired for until new information could be obtained.
According to Delilah Sturmwind’s diary, the three artifacts of interest were kept in towers at separate locations around the world. The first of which was in the far south-eastern stretch of the Frontier. Amadi and Lord Taggart claimed that it was in a location the tribes referred to as The Shroud; a cursed ever-present fog regarded as the land of the dead, where no living soul ever returned from.
The second was to the north, located in the mountains of Toran, surprisingly near the ruins Lord Taggart and Byron had explored many years prior. Due to the presence of the dragon they encountered that day, and accounting for the longevity of a dragon’s life, the governor advised that they not attempt searching that location with the risk that there may be more like it in the area.
Unsettling news of Delrich's military being deployed to Toran while Glenn was still missing, being led by Amador no less, also troubled them. Amador had also somehow been granted the title of Military Advisor to the King. The war between Delrich and Mitus had escalated since the prince's untimely death which Anye attributed Amador’s corrupting influence and scheming. Even more, Lord Taggart's reports didn't indicate what purpose the deployment served. There were rumors that Amador was leading the men into the mountains to look for something, though whether it was one of the artifacts or not, they weren’t sure.
The third location seemed to be the safest and most logical choice. Delilah Sturmwind had written in her diary that the tower had been built on a landmass to the west of what was now known as Delrich, beyond the islands that dotted the foreign coast across the sea. The landmass beyond the Western Isles was referred to as the Sun’s Bed; a giant desert, given its name because of where the sun would set each day. There were no known cities, wandering caravans, or any knowledge of people or any sort of life that lived there. It was believed to be a completely desolate wasteland, and it was Anye and Amadi’s destination.
Before the pair had departed from Bridge Port, Lord Taggart granted them permission to study the artifacts pertaining to Del’Mond in his possession, hoping it would give them some insight on what it would be the pair would face when they found the tower. Delilah’s diary was kept at the estate when they left, but translated excerpts had been given to them if they referred to the artifacts at all. There wasn’t much to go off of, though. The descriptions ha
d been written centuries ago, and many of the phrases didn’t make much sense when translated literally, so some extent of metaphoric interpretation was needed.
What they did learn was that as time had passed from the events of the diary being written, the true history of what had happened with the woman and her companions slowly began to change into the modern version of the legend they all knew. Contrary to the story about the six heroes of an ancient king, Delilah’s diary referred to several monarchs, twelve companions in total, and that most of the heroes did not serve the same kingdom save for Del’Mond itself, which was a separate entity. Also, while it could have simply been an error in Lord Taggart’s translation, Delilah constantly referred to the artifacts as he or she, like one would use to describe a person, instead of it. Anye brushed it off, believing in her initial assumption that it was probably a mistranslation and moved on. It was either that or another metaphor.
Lord Taggart had also recovered several maps and scrolls from the ruined vaults of forgotten countries. Many of them pointed to the locations of other ruins he had excavated, but none of them really contained any significant information and were thus largely ignored during their research. Amadi took some liking to them, but he claimed that there was nothing of value to be found and was simply entertaining himself for a time.
After finding what they could during their week of studying, which wasn’t much, Anye and Amadi decided it was time for them to depart. Lord Taggart provided a pair of horses to carry them south-west through Belrun's countryside to a coastal town by the name of Mark's Landing. A ship heading for the Western Isles had been commissioned for them and was awaiting their arrival. The two rode in relative silence for two days. When they made camp on the third night, Anye judged they were half a day's ride away from their destination.
The two days of quiet riding had given the woman a lot of time to think about all of the information she had been given. She hadn't yet asked Amadi about the magic she had used in the tournament, focusing more on the personal history she had discovered as well as the contract. She thought it would have taken significantly longer to uncover what she had learned, but what she had been told was more than Anye could have hoped for, and she had to admit the truth was a bit overwhelming at first. Still, even though her parents had passed on, she had been given a loving home and knew that her father, however strict and harsh he may have been, only tried to do what was best for her and she loved him for it. She hadn't opened the letter he had sent though, feeling far too guilty for what she had put him through over the years to receive his words just yet.
