by Steven Drake
The companions meandered in the rain, searching for an inn. Darien, Jerris, and Ceres kept hidden beneath the hoods of their cloaks. In the world of men, elven blood was considered a curse. Ceres was the only one who had traveled in the area, and led the way towards an inn where she had stayed before. When they arrived, Ceres signaled a stop and headed inside to speak to the innkeeper, whom she knew from a prior visit.
While Ceres negotiated a price, the three others stood outside in the rain. Darien turned his mind toward the upcoming parts of the journey, planning for various ways he might attempt to enter Trinium, and when that most likely failed, the safest way to be captured without endangering anyone else. He had nearly lost himself in his own strategizing, when he noticed Jerris fidgeting, a sure sign that the young half-elf was preoccupied with something.
Jerris stared rather intently at a trio of urchins who were huddled against the neighboring building. They appeared to be simply homeless and hungry orphans, the sort that inhabited every human city. It appeared that the young prince felt sorry for them, and as the minutes passed, the prince’s fidgeting increased, until finally, Jerris reached into a pocket to find a hunk of bread. He was preparing to give the food to the children when suddenly, Ceres appeared, grabbed his arm, and lifted it forcefully. The three children scattered, disappearing into different alleys between the buildings.
“What are you doing?” Ceres said.
“I just…” Jerris stammered “They looked hungry and we have enough food.”
“My young prince,” Ceres struggled to hold back to her frustration, “your compassion is admirable, but it will accomplish nothing.”
“But I can at least give them some food.”
“Then what?” Ceres said. “Will you give them more food tomorrow, the day after? There are always starving children in human cities. The humans must look after their own.”
“But why shouldn’t we help them? What harm is it when we have plenty?”
Ceres sighed and shook her head. “Prince Jerris, you have been taught that all life is precious and valuable, that it must not be taken or given lightly. We elves do not create new life if we cannot sustain it, but humans are not like us. The humans have no regard for life. They create life, and take it, with little regard for anything but their own needs. They multiply beyond their ability to even feed themselves, and leave the weak to starve. Even if you feed many, there are always more. You cannot save them.”
“But I…” Jerris turned towards Darien with a pleading question in his eye. “I just want to help. Darien, what do you think?”
“I think that we have more than enough bread to reach Trinium, and I don’t much care whether you throw bread to starving children or just feed the birds. I have seen so much suffering, I hardly notice anymore,” Darien said curtly as he looked down where the rainwater had gathered into a puddle. The Order of the Shade had taught him that struggle is necessary to separate the strong from the weak. The strong endure, survive, and rule. The weak only survive because those who are stronger allow it, so they must either obey or perish. The law of the Shade was straightforward, simple, and uncompromising, and aside from a few blurry memories of his mother’s kindness, it was all he knew. Even so, he would not teach it to Jerris. Though he did not entirely understand why, he feared the possibility that Jerris would emulate him too much, become too much like him. Darien liked Jerris as he was.
Rana suddenly put her hand on Jerris’ shoulder. “Kindness is never wasted. Maya used to tell me that you can never be sure which drop of water breaks the dam. You never know when a little thing can turn into a big one.”
“Useless sentimental nonsense,” Darien mumbled, and for once, Ceres seemed to agree.
The four travelers retired to their room, such as it was. The room was dry, but that was perhaps the most that could be said. It was cool, dim, damp and it stank of mold. Darien barely noticed, as such things rarely troubled him, but Jerris, Ceres, and especially Rana, seemed uncomfortable. Nevertheless, they were rested by the time the morning dawned.
The next day, they ventured into the city. Their plan was simply to pass through Lagura as quickly as possible, then continue west on the road towards Trinium. In order to pass unnoticed, they played upon Rana’s expensive looking armor, and assumed the guise of a noblewoman and knight from the south with her three servants. This made the elves look less out of place, as elven slaves were not altogether uncommon in the southern regions. Rana resisted the plan at first, but finally acquiesced, and now walked rather awkwardly at the front of the group. Her anxiety showed through rather plainly. Any sort of deception seemed to run counter to her nature.
The rain had lasted most of the night, and left the streets still damp and dotted with small puddles. The morning sun warmed the stones, evaporating the water, and quickly turning the air moist and heavy. They made for the western gate of the city, stepping softly on the rain slicked stones in the early morning. When they reached the gate, however, they met with an unexpected problem.
As they crested a small rise, they came upon a large group of knights was passing into the city on horseback. Shining silver armor and white horses, knights of the Golden Shield. Darien ducked into an alleyway, Jerris and Ceres quickly followed, but Rana remained frozen in place in the center of the street, suddenly unable to move. Darien acted quickly, swiftly and silently darting to Rana, then pulling her roughly into the alley.
“What’s wrong?” Jerris asked, “Are you alright?”
“We have to leave, now,” Rana whispered.
“What, why?” Jerris asked incredulously, “What’s going on?”
“Don’t panic, Rana,” Darien whispered. “We were bound to encounter members of your order eventually. Just don’t pay any attention and they won’t notice.”
“No, you don’t understand. We have to leave right now. I’ll explain after we’re out of the city.”
They scurried through the alleyways, zig-zagged their way through darkened alleys in the shadows of the simple homes of the common folk, keeping to the narrow side streets and alleys, where few would note their passing. They found the wall, then hurried along it until they reached the gate. The knights had passed, and moved on to whatever their destination, so the four travelers headed out the western gate. Darien kept a close eye on the guards at either side, but they seemed to pay no mind to the travelers. Hopefully, Rana had simply panicked for no reason.
When they had passed well out of sight of the gate towers, Darien finally turned to the still nervous Rana. “All right, what was that about?”
Rana barely paid any attention, and seemed to stare off into nothing. “I can’t believe it.” She seemed to be speaking more to herself than anyone else. “I can’t believe my luck is that bad.” There was a look of something like pain mixed with horror on Rana’s face, a look that Darien had not seen before, not when she had first confronted him, not when they had fought Avirosa the Wraith, nor at any other time.
“So what’s going on? What did you see?”
“Darien I, I know one of them. I think he saw me.”
“From that far away?” Jerris said. “It had to be a hundred yards or more.”
“He has the same magic abilities I do. If I could see him, he could see me.”
“Who was it, Rana?” Darien pressed
“It was Geoffray, Geoffray Leonhardt. He’s one of the highest-ranking members of the Shield Knights. He’s the man that recruited me to join the Order of the Golden Shield, and he commanded the training grounds while I was there. He’s trained to seek out mages. He can sense magical energies. He’s not a true mystic, but at that distance, he had to have noticed the two of you.” Rana looked to Darien and Jerris. This was the exact danger Darien had feared, but it was one he was prepared to face.
“Well, we can’t assume anything. There’s no sign we’re being followed, so maybe luck is with us, but I planned for this contingency.” Ceres nodded meaningfully at him, and Rana cringed. “To be honest, I alwa
ys had a plan for what to do in the event we were discovered. For the moment, we’ll continue as we were, and hope they didn’t notice, but if they do force a confrontation, don’t fight them. Let me do the talking. I’ll offer to surrender peaceably in exchange for them letting you three go.” Darien looked to Ceres and Jerris first. “You two will be going back to Kadanar if we’re caught.” Jerris started to argue but Darien quickly silenced him. “This isn’t up for debate, Jerris. You’re simply too valuable to chance getting involved in this.” Then Darien turned to Rana. “Rana, when we’re caught, they’ll confiscate the Demon Sword.”
“That’s a dangerous gamble,” Ceres argued. “They could kill you and take it for themselves.”
“I doubt they’ll be that foolish,” Darien said. “Besides, it was a human who mastered the Demon Sword the first time. They have as good a chance as anyone.” Ceres curled her mouth into a scowl. She did not agree, but the facts could not be disputed. “It won’t be easy for them to kill me in any event, and if they know anything at all about the sword, they won’t be lining up to use it. Rana, you’re going to follow on to Trinium. Don’t risk being captured, and keep track of the sword.” Darien fished around in his pack and handed Rana a flat round metal disc. “This is a homing stone. It will point the way to its sister stone. I couldn’t attach a stone to the sword itself, but I embedded the sister stone in the Demon Sword’s sheath.” Thanks to the way he had attuned the enchantment to his own aura, he could also track both the stones himself, sensing both their direction and distance without any stone of his own.
“Let’s hope they don’t separate the two,” Ceres said.
“There are risks involved in any mission, Ceres,” Darien retorted. “I trust Rana will be able to improvise if things go wrong.” He nodded seriously at the woman. He placed considerable trust in her, and that made him uncomfortable, but this was the best option available, at least the best option that did not involve excessive violence.
They proceeded west through the lowlands surrounding Lagura. The pine forest had been cleared west of the city, and on both sides of the road were tilled farmlands with neat rows of tiny green shoots poking out. They encountered no sign of pursuit, but Darien kept his eyes and ears wary. Rana was visibly rattled, she constantly checked over her shoulder, and scanned the horizone. The mood was tense, and they marched in silence.
At around mid-morning, after cresting a gentle rise, Darien sighted a bridge crossing in the distance, a few hundred yards ahead. When he focused his magic to examine the bridge, he knew something was wrong. It was a simple structure, old gray stone and covered with ivy beginning to green, spanning a swollen watercourse. It didn’t appear to be particularly important, but it was guarded by a dozen Golden Shield knights, supported by as many archers on the far bank. There was only one reason for those soldiers to be there. Rana’s fears were confirmed.
“Do you see that?” Rana asked. She had apparently seen it too, but Darien didn’t reply. He was already running through his options. The soldiers were not moving, just holding the bridge, which probably meant a larger force was coming from behind, probably mounted knights.
Darien weighed his options. They might attempt to cross the river either up or down stream. The river was narrow, but the current ran swiftly, and the bank appeared to be a thick and muddy slough. Crossing would be difficult, assuming they even found a suitable location. The enemy knew they were here, and seemed to have a good idea what course they were taking. Since the Golden Shield would have at least one, probably more, who could follow their magical auras, any attempt to escape meant outpacing the pursuit, impossible without horses.
It was then that Darien first heard beating hooves in the distance. “Do you hear that?” Rana asked. “We’re caught. I told you this would happen.”
“I told you I planned for this,” Darien replied. “Remember what I told you all.”
Darien drew his longsword, then took a pair of knives from his belt. He kept the aetherblade hidden, in case he needed a surprise later. The sound of the hooves drew closer, and Darien guessed from the noise that there were about ten to twenty mounted knights, not even the entire contingent the party had seen in Lagura, certainly not enough to take him in by force if he decided to resist. Almost insulting, but then they probably did not know exactly who they were chasing.
Soon, the knights behind them were in view, just twelve in total. It should be easy enough to get them to release the others with such a small force. The others drew their weapons.
When the knights had closed to within a few yards, a large bodied, broad shouldered man with thick brown hair and a distinguished mustache rode his horse to within a few feet of the travelers, his armor shining like the sun. The light reflected off the angled surfaces of his armor, casting bright flashes of light in many directions. Darien squinted against the bright flashes of light as he attempted to assess his opponent. This man wore the mark of a Marshal, but seemed rather young for the position. He peered from beneath his shining helm, out of proud brown eyes, piercing and confident though shaded by his shining silver helm, and obscured by the nose guard. This knight had courage, to be sure, he moved forward to within just a few yards, well within Darien’s striking distance, but showed no trepidation.
The remainder of the nights fanned out in a circle around the three travelers, but kept their distance. They closed off all avenues of escape. None of them seemed nervous, yet. That would change once they realized who they were up against.
“I am Geoffray Leonhardt of the Golden Shield.” The lead knight’s deep voice rolled out like a drumbeat but his eyes remained fixed on Rana. “It is unusual for two powerful mages to be traveling together, and I don’t recognize either of you. If you have legitimate business here, then I apologize for the intrusion, but I must err on the side of caution during these dangerous times. Tell me your names and your business, and if you are not an enemy, I will allow you to go on.”
Darien held his longsword in his right hand and a throwing knife in his left. Ceres had drawn her elven short swords, and positioned herself between the prince and the knight, while Rana stared at the gravelly dirt of the road. Whatever internal battle she was fighting, she was useless at the moment.
The Executioner lowered the hood of his cloak. The mounted knight paused a moment, but remained stolid. It was impossible to tell if this knight had recognized him. If he did, he gave no indication. Good, all the better to shatter his confidence.
“My name is Darien, once called the Executioner, formerly of the Order of the Shade. I have come on an errand for the hidden sanctuary of the elves, a secret place of which I will not speak here. I have come in search of an ancient weapon, and I believe there may be some clue to its location in the city of Trinium. I did not intend to reveal myself, but now that I have been discovered, I formally request your assistance in this matter, as I believe this weapon is of critical importance in defeating my former master, the Demon King.”
A look of disbelief passed across Geoffray’s face, so Darien lowered his cloak enough to show his half-elf ears, and more importantly, to give Geoffray a view of the Demon’s Blade. Another moment passed, and Geoffray’s faced changed, disbelief turned to recognition and then resolve. Darien felt the magical energy rising in his opponent. He could almost feel the knight’s muscles tense. A few of the knights involuntarily backed their mounts away a few paces, while some exchanged hushed whispers. They had not understood how dangerous a quarry they pursued, but they did now. His forceful announcement had accomplished its purpose. The enemy was now off balance.
“So, it’s true then,” Geoffray marveled aloud. “You betrayed the Demon King and lived. When our spies informed us, I must admit, I didn’t know whether to believe them. I have many questions for you, but that must wait. My duty is clear. You, Darien the Executioner, are hereby placed under arrest in the name of the Golden Shield and the Holy Seven. You and your companions will lay down your weapons, and you will be taken to Trinium for trial.
If you resist, I will not hesitate to kill you and your companions.” Then he looked down his nose at Darien, and waited for a response.
“I have no wish for bloodshed, but I must, nevertheless, decline your offer,” the Executioner calmly declared. “There is no reason for you to detain my companions. They have committed no crime against you. They are simply traveling companions, and they have had nothing to do with any of the several charges you will no doubt bring against me. Therefore, allow them to go their own way, and I will surrender peaceably.”
“You are in no position to make demands, and we will see whether your companions are innocent or not when we get to Trinium. I am not afraid of you, Executioner. If you wish to put your talents to the test, I stand ready.”
“I will not allow my companions to be taken, regardless of the price. I would prefer not to have to kill anyone, but if you force my hand, you will regret your hubris.” At this, Darien reached over his shoulder and grasped the hilt of the Demon Sword. Everyone froze.
“Don’t do this, Geoffray. He will use it to protect them.” Rana finally spoke. “Trust me Geoffray, if you ever trusted me, if you ever cared about me, listen to me now.”.
“Rana! I thought I saw you, but I could not believe my eyes. Why do you travel with him? Are you bewitched?” Geoffray was so stunned that he too removed his helmet, a look of shock and anger in his eyes. “What did you do to her, monster? You mean to bargain her life for yours?”
“No Geoffray,” Rana suddenly spoke. Whatever inner conflict that had affected her seemed to be resolved. She threw off her helmet and it hit the ground with a clang, breaking the silence, and providing a momentary release in the building tension. “Please listen to me. I am not bewitched. My mind is my own. I swear it by the blood of my family. I will vouch for these two. They are no threat to you. Darien will honor the word he gave you. He’s not like I thought he would be, but he will use the sword to let them escape.” She nodded toward Ceres and Jerris, then waited. Geoffray still seemed skeptical, but he was wavering.
