Outcasts of Velrune

by Isaac Crowe

  Max took little note of their passage. Tyco kept them at a forced march until reaching the edge of the forest where the sun had long since set. There, Tyco had them stop, ordering them to bed down for the night. Max sought out a spot away from everyone else, noting Lysander doing the same. Laying down he struggled to find sleep. When at last it came, he dreamt only of his father’s death.

  At first light, they set out across the plains towards Moenia. To clear his mind, Max focused on the rhythmic sound of their footsteps. It did help to an extent, but the fuzzy idea that he had forgotten about something kept nagging at him. Finally, in the afternoon, it came to him.

  Eve! Where has she gone? It’s not like her to run off. Although, Alexandra told her to run. She even mentioned she had instructed her to. I have to go talk to her, but how? Hmm, I know, Melody.

  “Hey Tyco, I would like to check on Melody.”

  “The acolyte? No, you should stay with me, Max.”

  “But I promised the head of her church I would watch out for her. What harm is she anyway? She was only delivering a message to the village.”

  Tyco remained silent as he stared at Max, thinking. Slowly he nodded.

  “Fine, she isn’t really a threat, but be quick about it.”

  Max stopped, letting the column pass until Melody and Alexandra reached him. Alexandra looked at him in surprise.

  “Maxwell, I did not expect to see you. Does the Lt. know you are back here?”

  “Yes, I came to check on Melody.”

  Melody managed a weak smile. “Thanks Max, I’m fine. I don’t think they are concerned much about me.”

  Melody held her wrists in front of her. The rope was snug but not overly tight. However, a quick glance at Alexandra’s revealed a courser rope that had begun to rub her skin raw.

  Alexandra smirked. “The Children are an irritant at most, Spirit Leeches on the other hand are considered worse than lacarnians.”

  As much as Max wanted to untie Alexandra to treat the wounds, he knew he could never do such a thing. The guards behind them already watched him suspiciously.

  “Alexandra, did you know they would come for you?

  “Yes.”

  “Is that why you warned Eve? Why her and not the rest of us?”

  “They would have treated her worse than me. You, on the other hand, had nothing to worry about. Melody I did not know enough about to trust her.”

  “If you lied to me about this, why should I believe anything else you said?”

  “I did not lie to you, only failed to inform you. A fine line, I know, but I needed you to hear about your father.”

  “How do I believe your story now? Especially since Tyco tells a different one. He says my father tricked you into trusting him so he could get the stone for Lord Avram.”

  “Hmph. Your father tricked someone, but not me. He wanted the same thing I did, to set the lacarna free. I had devised a plan to that end, but it was a plan filled with centuries of my hatred. Your father; however, opened my eyes to a better path, one he offered to help me complete.”

  “What was he going to do?”

  “Overthrow Lord Avram and take leadership of the Protectors himself.”

  “What? My father would never…Why him?”

  “I can set the lacarna free of the stone, but Lord Avram would strike out against them, starting another war. Your father, on the other hand, who had the trust of many of the Protectors and the lacarnians, could mediate between them. I have no doubt he could have re-established the Protectors as they once were, with both races jointly watching over all.”

  “If what you say is true, that my father wanted to help you, why did he take the box away from you, preventing you from getting the Lifestone?”

  “Peter believed Lord Avram had grown suspicious of him. The bandit attack on my village proved that. He decided it best that we cease our meetings for a while. He could tell that I was unhappy with waiting and feared that, if something happened to him, I would revert to my original plan. To ease his concerns, I agreed to lock the keys in the box with him as caretaker.”

  “Was my father right in fearing what you might do without him?”

  Alexandra averted her eyes, bowing her head. “I don’t know.”

  Melody suddenly tensed. “Max!”

  Max first turned to Melody and followed her frightened gaze along the column. Lt. Tyco stormed towards them, his eyes fixed on Max. Reaching them, he grabbed Max by the arm.

  “It seems Alexandra’s conniving ways are already starting to rub off on you.”

  Tyco pulled Max along the column until they came across Lysander walking by himself. Tyco shoved Max next to him.

  “Watch him, Lysander. Make sure he stays away from that Spirit Leech and the other girl.”

  Without waiting for an acknowledgment, Tyco moved to the front of the column. Lysander, walking with his head down, said nothing. Max thought he seemed as troubled as himself. For the next three days, both marched in silence.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  They reached Protector Headquarters in the afternoon and made their way to the war room where Max first met Lord Avram. Tyco, Max and Lysander entered first, finding Lord Avram sitting behind the table, studying a large map. When he noticed their presence, he smiled with delight.

  “Lt. Biros, you have returned. I hope you were successful.”

  “Yes, Lord Avram.” Tyco stepped forward and handed the Lifestone to Lord Avram.

  “Excellent. What of the rest of your mission?”

  Tyco signaled the guard by the door who then waved the two guards that restrained Alexandra and Melody into the room. Tyco had not allowed Max to see them after that first day. His stomach churned when he saw Alexandra. The sunlight had wreaked havoc on her body, causing burns and blisters. The toes of her shoes were worn where she had been drug after growing too weak to walk on her own. Even now, the guard had to hold her by the collar of her dress to keep her on her feet.

  Lord Avram’s smile spread even farther. “Good, Alexandra posed a great threat to my plans.” Lord Avram let out an unpleasant laugh, making Max cringe. “She is no threat to us now.”

  Alexandra whimpered as her legs buckled. The guard tightened his grip, letting her hang loosely in her dress. Max caught his breath.

  “Sir, she needs a Healer.”

  “That’s Lord, Maxwell, not sir. Do not let her appearance fool you. Given the chance, she would draw the life energy out of the guard, healing herself and leaving me one guard short.“She wouldn’t do that, sir, uh, Lord. She only takes energy if she has permission.”

  “She deceives you, Maxwell, the same way she tried to deceive your father. He; however, did not believe her lies. Surely you trust your father’s judgment, Maxwell.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Good, Maxwell, if you follow his footsteps you will quickly rise in rank. Guards, take the Spirit Leech to the dungeon. Keep her alive for now. As for the acolyte, you can release her outside of the gates, she is of no consequence.”

  The guards drug Melody and Alexandra out of the room. “For you, Maxwell, a good rest is in order, report to the sleeping quarters at once. I will need everyone in top condition over the next coming weeks.”

  “Why, what are you going to do?”

  Lord Avram raised the Lifestone to eye level. “Make things as they should be. Guard, help Maxwell to the sleeping quarters.”

  The guard by the door moved in front of Max. “Let’s go.”

  “But?”

  The guard shoved Max’s shoulder, spinning him around. He gave Max another shove towards the door. With no idea of what he could do, Max started walking. When they arrived at the sleeping quarters, the guard shoved him inside and shut the door, locking it afterwards.

  Max stood alone in the room. Come to think of it, I didn’t see anyone else around when we arrived. Where could everyone have gone?

  Max laid down on a bed, his head swimming with the events of the past several days. Alexandra te
lls one story, Lord Avram another, both blaming each other. Lysander was spying on us the whole time, and now he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Worst of all, I have no idea where Eve ran off to. For that matter, she’s never run away from anything. Why now? Max rolled over on his side. I’ll have to find her. Maybe Mr. Penna is back, he can help straighten all this out. Max closed his eyes, falling into a troubled sleep brought on by the exhausting march to the city

  In the morning, Max awoke to the same empty room. Walking over to the door, he tried the handle, to his surprise, it unlocked. He opened it to find an empty hallway. He made his way out into the courtyard where the sun shone brightly overhead. From his right, he heard a loud neigh. He ran to the stables.

  “Starlight!”

  Max checked Starlight over, finding her well groomed and fed. He patted her on the shoulder.

  “It looks like you’ve had a better time of it than me.”

  Starlight lowered her head, taking a playful nip at Max’s ear. Max laughed, thankful for the release.

  “I’ve missed you too girl.”

  A young boy stepped out of the neighboring stall. “Is that your horse, sir?”

  Max rubbed Starlight’s neck. “Yep.”

  The boy handed Max a carrot. “She’s a fine horse, if a bit stubborn. When the other soldiers left, they tried to take her, but she’d have none of it.”

  Max held the carrot out to Starlight who snatched it from his hands. “Where did they go?”

  “Don’t know. Most of the other soldiers left several days ago. Lord Avram and his commanders left early this morning”

  Max nodded at the boy. “You’ve kept good care of Starlight; think you can watch her a little longer yet.”

  “Sure thing!”

  Max patted Starlight one last time. “Wait a little bit longer girl.”

  What is going on around here? I hope Mr. Penna is home.

  At the gate to the courtyard stood two guards. At least I’m not the only one still here. The guards nodded at Max, opening the gate. He entered the square and made his way to Mr. Penna’s home. He knocked on the door and waited. He knocked a second time with the same results. He sat down on the step in front of the door, head in his hands.

  Now what? Any time I’ve been in trouble, Eve’s gotten me out. If I had a question, Mr. Penna was there to answer it. Now they’re both gone. Even worse, Eve may be the one in trouble. Where would she even go? The only places she knows are Alexandra’s camp and Melody’s church.

  Max raised his head. The church! Maybe Eve’s there. If she isn’t, I can at least talk to Melody. Maybe she has an idea of what’s going on.

  Max took off running for the church. Strangely, the streets on the north side of the city were deserted, and all the doors and windows of the buildings closed. South of the market he found the opposite, lacarnians filled the streets. Many turned to face him as he ran by, their expressions resembling that of Eve’s when she stalked prey. He ran faster.

  Max breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the archway to the church. He ran through the empty garden and into the church itself. Inside, Lady Metis stood at the front of the building addressing those packed into the room. Max tried to spy Melody among the throng. Not finding her, he pushed his back against the wall and began to scoot his way along it to the front. He made it to within a few feet of Lady Metis when someone grabbed him, pulling him into the kitchen. Spinning around he saw Melody.

  “Melody, thank goodness. Is Eve here?”

  “What?” Melody tugged at Max’s sleeve. “Let’s go to the store room where we can hear one another.”

  Melody led Max to a small room next to the kitchen where the noise from the main room dissipated. Before Max could ask about Eve again, Melody spoke.

  “Why didn’t Lord Avram take you with him?”

  Max blushed. “I didn’t even know he had left until I spoke to the stable boy a short while ago. I guess I overslept.”

  “Do you have any idea where he went?”

  Max shook his head. “No idea.”

  “He didn’t tell you anything at all?”

  Max threw up his hands. “No, not a thing. I tried to find Mr. Penna to see if he knew, but he’s still not back. All I want to do now is find Eve. I had hoped she had come here.”

  Melody took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I’m sorry, Max. It’s just that everyone’s frightened. Nearly all of the soldiers left the capital yesterday, then Lord Avram left this morning.”

  “The only thing he said to me was that he planned to make things as they should be and to get some rest for the weeks to come. That’s it.”

  “He must not trust you, Max.”

  “Why would he not trust me?”

  “Why did you come here, Max?”

  “I had hoped to find Eve here, or, at the very least, find out what you believe really happened with my father. Either Lord Avram or Alexandra is lying, but I can’t tell which.”“That’s why he doesn’t trust you, Max, because you don’t trust him. If you did, you would not question his story. Add to that your friendship with Eve, a lacarnian, and he will never trust you.”

  “I just want to know the truth.”

  Lady Metis appeared behind Melody. “I might be able to help you with that, Maxwell. What would you like to know?”

  “Do you know why my father gave you that box?”

  “Your father left with few words, and I fear what he did say you will not want to hear.”

  “Please, Lady Metis, I must know what happened.”

  “Very well, Maxwell. When he gave me the box, your father said that he had lost faith in the Protectors, and, because of that, he had betrayed them. He then instructed me to never give the box to anyone other than himself or a little girl of whom he described in great detail. With that, he left.”

  “Did you know anything about my father before then?”

  “Oh yes, Maxwell. Almost everyone in Moenia knew of your father, along with many of the villages. Your father treated everyone with kindness and fairness, human and lacarnian. Where other Protectors closely followed Lord Avram’s orders, your father often went his own way.”

  “What do you know about Lord Avram?”

  “Very little I’m afraid. He is a mystery to many, or at least he was. Melody told me Alexandra’s story.”

  “And you believed it?”

  “I am not sure at this point, but there is one piece of it that I can confirm. We had heard rumors that a forest once existed in the dead lands and decided to send diggers to research the area. It so happens that you met the two I sent.”

  “You mean Zeth and Bastiaan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did they make it back? What did they find?”

  “Bastiaan returned to us, after having hid in a cave for several days. We still have not found Zeth.”

  “I’m sorry he has not returned, Lady Metis, but did Bastiaan say what they had found?”

  “Yes, evidence that a forest once existed where the dead lands now lie. They also believe that the destruction of that forest and the creation of the dead lands both occurred from the same catastrophic event.”

  “Then what Alexandra said could be true, at least that part of it.”

  Melody sighed. “If it is true, it would provide a reason why Tyco tried to stop us from returning. The information could have been used to undermine Lord Avram and the Protectors, especially if it led us to Alexandra. An even greater possibility once we knew you were alive.”

  “So you believe her, Melody?”

  “I’m not sure, Max. Doing so would mean our understanding of the Immortals and the spirits is wrong. That’s not easy to deal with.”

  Lady Metis gently laid a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Maxwell, you’ve asked everyone else what they believe. What is it you believe?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I thought dad was devoted to the Protectors, that they treated everyone fairly. Since I left Swiftwater, I’ve seen nothing but the opposite, and now I’m t
old my father betrayed them. Believing Alexandra means everyone has lied to me. Except maybe Mr. Penna, he never has liked the idea of me joining the Protectors.”

  Max paced back and forth, his face furrowed in concentration. “I don’t know what to believe, and I’m tired of trying to figure it out. Right now I just want to find Eve. I saw her face before she changed. She was ashamed. If I don’t find her, she might not come back, and I won’t have that. I don’t care what she is.”

  Melody smiled, “Eve couldn’t have a better friend. I’ll help you find her, Max.”

  “Thanks, Melody, but where do we start.”

  “Alexandra warned Eve ahead of time, maybe she also told her where to go.”

  Max nodded. “You may be right, Melody? I guess I’ll have to ask her.”

  Max pushed past Melody and Lady Metis, making his way through the kitchen and out past the throng of people. He had made it halfway through the garden before Melody caught up to him.

  “Max, they’re holding Alexandra in the dungeon. How are you going to get in to see her? Lord Avram’s surely warned the guards not to let anyone near her.”

  Max gave a nervous laugh. “Get in? I don’t even know where the dungeon’s at.”

  “It’s hidden under the Protector’s headquarters.”

  Max’s face hardened. “That’s a start. Are you still coming?”

  “You really trust me, Max?”

  “At the moment, you’re one of the few I do.”

  Melody smiled. “Lady Metis was right.”

  Max stared at her blankly. “What?”

  “She said your father always followed his heart and that you are a lot like him. She also told me that I would be a fool not go with you.”

  “I would understand if you didn‘t. Who knows what trouble I’ll get in to?”

  Melody gave a hearty laugh. “Plenty, I’m sure, but I will not let someone go alone who has put so much trust in the Church, or in me. Besides, I still owe you for saving me in the dead lands.”