The Noble Fool

by Heath Pfaff

  "How could I not care what happens to a human who is suffering right in front of my eyes, Weaver? How could anyone not care and still call themselves a man?" I replied, speaking my heart, and never letting my gaze wander from his. I searched those red eyes for some sign of humanity, but like my own, they were eyes that were distinctly inhuman. They had, perhaps, held more life in them when they belonged to their original owner, I thought.

  "That is a foolish sentiment. You can't hope to save them all, and most don't even deserve your notice." Lucidil replied, and I saw a sudden spark in his eyes. "I will make you a bargain, though, and let us see how truly you value your foolish ideal. I will grant you this favor. I will free the girl and give her money enough that she need never want for anything..."

  Kensil broke in angrily. "You can't do that! She's one of our best..."

  The red-eyed warrior's voice cracked like a whip, heavy with its brutal power. "I have absolute authority here, Kensil. Do not forget that." Kensil fell backwards into the hallway, shaking, and I noticed with some satisfaction there was a wet spot expanding on the front his pants. Behind me Lace was shaking so hard that I could hear her teeth rattling together. The voice had no effect on me. Weaver, or rather Lucidil, continued where he had left off, his human tones resumed. "I will free the girl and see she has the means to a happy life, but doing so gives nothing to me, and so I demand a boon of you, in exchange. I will give your woman her life, but in return you will give me your word that when I demand return, you will repay me, whatever I may ask."

  "What would you have of me?" I asked, not yet understanding the nature of what Lucidil was bargaining for.

  "That's just it, Lowin. I'm not going to tell you now. You will get this woman's life, and I will get some guaranteed favor to be decided in the future." The light in his red eyes was dangerous and I knew it, but what other choice did I have? I couldn't turn my back on a person in need if it was in my power to help them. I felt a tug at my back, and heard Lace whisper softly.

  "Sir, you don't have to do anything for me. I've done nothing to earn such a thing from you. Please don't give the red-eyed man so much power over you." Her voice was soft and frightened.

  I turned to her, brushed her messed hair back from her tear streaked face and smiled in as reassuring a fashion as I could manage, though I too feared the agreement I was about to enter. "He already holds much power over me, but this way at least something good comes from it." It was true. Weaver was strong enough that he could force my hand if he wished to. I didn't feel that I was giving him much more then he already had. I faced Weaver once more.

  "Alright, I agree to your terms." I said, though I still feared what I might be getting myself into.

  He chuckled and shook his head. "You are noble, Lowin. You're a great, noble fool. She'll never be worth what you've just agreed to, I can promise you that." The red-eyed warrior crossed the room to Lace, who shrank back from him, but he blurred into motion and in an instant the shackle fell from Lace's ankle to the ground. He then reached into his cloak and withdrew a large coin purse and put it in my hand. "That is for her. I'll meet you in the courtyard in one hour. By that time I will have finished making arrangements for her. Don't be late, we've a lot of traveling to do yet, and our new travel companion is eager to be on the road again."

  "New travel companion?" I asked, but he had already turned his back and was disappearing down the hallway, Kensil in tow. My moment of confusion was broken when I felt two arms encircle me from behind.

  "Master Lowin, you shouldn't have, I don't know what to say to you. I can never repay..." Lace was saying and I turned to face her, smiling.

  "You can just call me Lowin, and there is no need for thanks. I just set right something that was wrong." I opened the bag of coins I'd been given, and saw the glint of gold. A good deal of gold, likely more than any commoner would see in their entire life. I pulled the bag closed and lifted one of Lace's hands, putting the purse in it. "Find some place nice to live, and live the way you want to." I bent down and lifted the blanket from the ground, wrapping it around her shoulders.

  Lace pushed her body against mine, supple and inviting, even through the cloth of the blanket. "Surely you will let me repay you for this, at least once, Lowin?" She asked, her eyes watering, and her face still streaked with tears.

  I shook my head. "Your body is your own now, Lace, and you need never use it to pay for anything again. Find someone to love, and share it with them as you will."

  She put her arms around me tightly and squeezed, and I returned the gesture, and then she backed up from me and smiled honestly for the second time since I'd met her. "Thank you." She said. I nodded, offering her one more smile, before grabbing my things and leaving the room. It had been difficult not to take her up on her offer, very difficult, but it was the start of her new life, and I would not sully that by using her in such a manner. She was sincerely happy, I knew, and was making the offer willingly, but she was not doing it out of affection, only gratitude.

  I passed through the castle, using my acute memory to guide myself back to the courtyard. I knew that I would be early, but I had nothing else to do. I did a great deal of thinking as I walked. Weaver's real name was Lucidil, and he was one of the first Knights of Ethan. There was a distinct darkness in him, and the agreement he had forced upon me, I knew, was related to that. I had played myself into his hand in some way that I was not yet fully aware of. That made me nervous, but there was little I could do about it at the moment. I felt as though I was caught up in something far larger than myself, being moved about like a piece on a large game board, and at the moment, Lucidil was the person holding the pieces.

  When I reached the courtyard I was surprised to see a figure in a shifting cloak waiting. He was dressed in one of the new cloaks, like Weaver's, and that immediately struck me as odd, since Weaver had said there were so few of them. As I approached the hooded figure, he turned to address me. I staggered to a stop when I saw the face beneath the hood. A wide grin traced its path across his face as he locked eyes with me.

  "Silent? How did you get here? Where have you been?" I asked, not only shocked to see him at Renwalk, but shocked to see him alive at all. It was only after I had asked all my questions, did I realize it was absurd to ask questions of someone who couldn't talk, and expect answers. I was surprised again then, when he answered.

  "I have been on a special mission for the last month or so." He said in a voice I recognized immediately. I took a step back, startled by his speech, and more so startled by the familiar voice he used. He was the one who had stood atop the rubble between me and the Lantern Eye the night Fell Rock was attacked. I was certain of it. "It is good to see you well." He continued the familiar, easy smile on his face that I had seen so many times during the first few months of my training.

  "You can talk." I stated the obvious, not trusting myself to say anything else.

  He nodded. "I've always been able to talk, but I had been under an order of silence until I left Fell Rock." My mind reeled, attempting to put together the fragments of information I had, but unable to make them fit in any semblance of order. Malice had said, and I believed her, that Silent had vanished from Fell Rock. I didn't, for a moment, think that she would lie to me about something that important, and I had seen the concern plain on her face when she told me. Would the king order one of his Knights to action without letting the others know what he intended? Had Silent been on some private mission that he wasn't allowed to disclose to the rest of us? I supposed that was a possibility, but it didn't set well with me. "You've come a long way since I left." Silent added, breaking my train of thought. I forced what I hoped was a sincere smile, and nodded.

  "Malice was a good instructor, and Weaver has helped me hone my new abilities." I found it difficult to sound natural, but I hoped that Silent took my strange behavior for surprise at his appearance and nothing more. "I had heard rumors that something bad might have befallen you." I said, testing the water with Silent, f
ishing for information.

  He laughed. "No, I had a mission of a secure nature that I had to take care of. I was forced to leave rather suddenly, but it is done now, and I'm going to join you and Weaver on your trip south to rendezvous with our main forces."

  His story made sense, but I felt ill at ease. I wanted to come right out and ask him what had happened the night that Fell Rock collapsed, and what he had been doing there, searching for me, but I felt that keeping my knowledge of his presence there secret was to my advantage at the moment. "Well it is very good to see you alive and well, my friend." I said, lifting my hand to clutch his in friendly greeting. The hand that came to grip mine was not the same as the one I'd gripped many times before, during my months of training with Malice. It was clad in black scale, and ended in fearsome claws. Silent had gained some new features in his time away. He must have noticed me looking.

  "I'm still getting use to them. It's not always easy." He said as he pulled his hand away from mine and flexed the clawed digits. "They are strong, and fast, but I'm still having trouble with fine control. Weaver and the others tell me that it comes in time, though."

  I was uncertain how to reply so I simply nodded and decided to change the subject. "Have you heard anything of Fell Rock? Do you know of the other survivors?" The question was still important to me, though I didn't know if Silent would have information to offer. Kensil had said that the Knight we were to meet had good news, and I was eager to get to the center of that news without letting on that I knew it existed.

  Silent chewed his lower lip for a moment before replying, apparently considering his words carefully. His hesitation piqued my curiosity. He, like Weaver, was hiding something. I felt certain of it. "The attack on Fell Rock was devastating, I'm afraid. Eighty percent of the Knights stationed there are confirmed dead, the others are unaccounted for. I'm afraid I don't know any specifics."

  I winced and grit my teeth together. I felt as though I'd just been dealt a massive physical blow. "So many..." I said quietly, my heart pounding fiercely in my chest. Had Malice gotten out alright? What good news could Silent have possibly delivered, if it was countered by such a colossal casualty report? "Is there any other news?" I asked, hoping there would be some glimmer of hope, and also hoping that Silent, one of the few people I would have considered a friend, would not hide things from me.

  "I'm afraid not, Lowin." He replied, and I sighed. Silent and Lucidil were both keeping secrets, and I was to be kept in the dark. Silent took the sigh to be over the news of the casualties at Fell Rock, and he patted me on the back, hitting me harder than he meant to and forcing me to stagger a bit to keep my footing. "Sorry," he apologized hastily. "Still getting used to things. Try to be positive, though. At least you made it out alive, and there are others. Things will be better down the road."

  "Maybe," I replied darkly, not certain I believed anything my once friend had told me. I suddenly felt incredibly alone. I was saved from any further conversation by the arrival of Weaver.

  "I see that you two have already become reacquainted. That's good." His tone was friendly and open.

  "Did you take care of the arrangements for Lace?" I decided it was best to make sure the girl was cared for, rather than trust in Weaver's good graces, which might, or might not, even exist.

  Weaver nodded. "She is free to go and do as she pleases, and I've seen to it that she was granted a small plot of land not far from here. What she does from here on out is quite her own responsibility. I trust that meets the requirements of our agreement?"

  "Yes, it does. Thank you." I was quite pleased to know that Lace would have a chance at a good life, and though I didn't trust Weaver entirely, I felt no deception in what he'd just told me.

  "You shouldn't thank me, Lowin. By the time you see her again she will have already found another man, and you will still have had to pay for the favor I granted." The red-eyed warrior's tone was grim.

  "I didn't do it because I wanted her, Weaver. I did it because I felt she deserved a chance to live as she would." I felt no anger at Weaver as I explained this. He and I saw the world in very different ways. He was fixated on a goal, and was focused on that goal to the exclusion of all else, while I found myself lost in the world, with no clear goal, but guided by a sense that I must do my best to honor the memory of Kye.

  Lucidil's response surprised me. "They will let you down every time, boy... humans. If you put too much faith in them, they'll just have better leverage when they try to tear you apart." He looked at me with eyes that seemed ancient and, despite my familiarity with the other Knights of Ethan, still impossible for me to read. "I think you know the truth of it, somewhere inside. I see it written on your face when you're thinking about her." The emphasis on his last word told me exactly who he was referring to. "She is gone for those humans, dead so that you can fight on their behalf, and that thought consumes your from within. It makes you wonder what really matters in the world anymore, makes you question what your Knighthood really means. You have placed all of your faith in them, and what horrors have they wrought for your belief in their cause? They've made of you a brilliant sword, ready to fall at their command." He turned from me then, drawing his hood up as he began walking for the gate, his speech short, succinct, and finished.

  I drew my own hood up and fell in behind him, confusion overwhelming my ability to speak. I didn't understand all of what he had said, or what had motivated his words, but they had sounded like a direct defiance of the king. I wanted to disagree with him, to say that I had not lost my faith in my king, and that I did not question my own worth, or that of the task I'd taken up as a Knight, but I couldn't. Deep inside I was asking myself those very questions, and had been since I learned of Kyeia's fate. I wondered how he could possibly know, so precisely, what my innermost worries and questions were. Silent fell in beside me.

  "He is a smart one," he whispered, pointing at Weaver. "He's had a lot of time to think and he knows and sees a lot more than the rest of us. Listen to his advice. He speaks from a heart that has been hardened by experience." With that he fell back behind me, and we left Renwalk in a line of silence. The only sounds to be heard were our own footsteps, and the rustle of armor as the soldiers we passed snapped to attention. I felt like part of a funeral precession, and wondered how far from the truth that was. We were all, the Knights of Ethan, weapons of but one purpose, dealing death, and never had I felt that so keenly.

  Traveling into the land beyond human habitation was something that both scared and excited me. So far south, in the frozen lands where no farmer dared grow crops, the world had been abandoned and nature left to her own devices. All the dangerous creatures and fierce beasts that humanity had constantly striven to drive from its own territories had been forced into the bitter environments of the south, and become even more terrible in order to survive the inhospitable landscape. The rolling hills of evergreens and the fields of frozen tundra were home to Fell Beasts. They were massive bipedal monsters that still possessed many features of the wolves they had evolved from, but were driven by a fearsome hunger to hunt constantly. The Shao Geok roamed in tribes, monsters of intelligence beyond the average animal, scouring the icelands and claiming as much territory as possible. If any humans made the mistake of trying to establish a settlement beyond the protection of castle Renwalk, the Shao Geok came quickly to devour those foolish enough to intrude upon their icy lands. The Shao Geok and the Fell Beasts were only two of a large assortment of terrifying creatures living in the south lands. It was truly a country ruled by monsters.

  The company I kept, the two Knights of Ethan, gave me some sense of security as we progressed further into the ice-locked world beyond human civilization, but my confidence in my own skills was not so great that I felt I could handle all the demons of the south. My travel companions spoke little as we progressed, and I could sense that there was a tension amidst them as well. I wondered whether it was caused by the danger of our situation, or by some friction between them. Neither of
them seemed inclined to tell me, and so our party traveled on in quiet for two days. We had gone for nearly a full day without so much as a word passing between us, when Weaver stopped in his tracks and bent to inspect something on the ground. A moment later he was back on his feet and moving to inspect the trees in the area until he seemed to find what he was looking for. I watched him curiously, noting that the tree he examined had five deep scar marks across its bark, as though raked by a powerful claw. The red-eyed warrior returned to Silent and me, nodding to Silent as he did so.

  "Sign?" My once quiet, once friend, asked.

  "Sign." Weaver replied.

  "Sign of what?" I asked, feeling as though information was passing around me that was important to my survival.

  The red-eyed warrior smiled at me, a look of unreasonable excitement making his eyes seem to burn in the darkness of the night. "Fell Beast." He answered, and a chill ran down my spine. "We've entered the territory of a beast of the south, and if I read the sign correctly, we'll be making our way straight through its land." He added, that excited expression never leaving his face.

  "Perhaps we'll be through before it is aware of us." I said, having no desire to meet a Fell Beast, a creature that I knew little about at the time, only that one had severely injured Malice early in her career as a Knight. If Malice had been injured by one, I felt certain that I didn't want to meet such a beast.

  Weaver chuckled. "If we're seeing sign, it's because the beast already knows we're here. You see, the Fell Beast enjoys the thrill of the hunt. It leaves its mark so that we can see it, and fear it. This one is letting us know that it intends to have us as its prey. It feeds almost as much on its victims' terror as it does on their flesh."

  I pulled my cloak tighter about me and put my hand on my sword hilt. "How long do we have before it will attack us?"

  "A day or two. They enjoy stalking." Silent added from behind me, and I sensed no humor in his voice. Silent and Weaver were not merely trying to frighten me, though they were doing just that. I looked behind me, to Silent, and noticed that there were a few flakes of snow falling between the two of us. My gaze shifted up into the sky and I could see only darkness above. The heavy cloud-cover was blocking any light from making it to the ground. I wondered whether snow would aid or hinder our deadly stalker.