by Rex Foote
“Hark’s actions are his own; I do not speak for him, nor would I presume to do so. In time, I am sure he will return and then be able to provide you with an answer.”
“But he is your son. Do you have no control over him? Are all Elreni children like feral dogs, not heeding the wishes of their parents?” Michale snapped in reply.
Taegen was about to reply when Averie spoke. “So you claim to know nothing of your son’s plans to kidnap our daughter?”
“I do not believe…” Taegen began, but got no further.
“You do not believe,” sneered Averie in a mocking tone. “You do not know, you do not speak for. Tell me, is there anything you do know about your son?”
They think of me as a Human, he realised. They are trying to provoke me into losing my temper just so they can shout me down; well it’s time they learned about the differences between Elreni and Humans. Keeping an expression of placid calm on his features Taegen replied.
“My son, Mage Lane, is, like all Elreni children, largely independent. We Elreni do not attempt to control our young as you do. Instead, we allow them to grow on their own. But this does not mean that we do not know them. So when I say that I do not believe Hark has kidnapped Esme, I am telling you that I do not believe my son is capable of such an act while acknowledging that it could be possible, but very unlikely. The freedom we give our young can allow such things to happen, but I do not believe that the Elreni my son has become would do such a thing.”
There was silence for a while after he finished speaking, then Averie spoke.
“Very well. And what, in that case, are you doing to bring them back?”
“Nothing,” Taegen replied calmly.
“NOTHING!” exploded Michale. “Our children are out there, in the wilds, after being chased off the roads by the gods only know what, and you are doing nothing to ensure their safety?”
Taegen mentally leafed through the answers he could offer to that question. He could tell them that he believed that the pair’s journey was necessary for them both, that he believed good would come of this. Or he could say that Esme was in good hands with Hark and that he would not allow her to come to any harm while he yet lived. He could have given any of those replies, but instead he merely said, “It is not my way to interfere with such things.”
The resulting tirade of rage and anger from Michale prevented any possibility of further conversation for at least five minutes, and only ended after an enraged Michale stormed out of the dining room muttering darkly under his breath. Averie fixed Taegen with a stare equal parts hatred and icy contempt, and Taegen had to suppress a shudder. Humans didn’t usually have this effect on him, but when the one giving him such a look was not only an enraged parent but also a mage, the only sensible response was fear.
“Envoy Ulaneiros,” she began, bringing her hands together and meshing her fingers in front of her chest, “you may think that being an envoy protects you from my wrath, my husband’s, and that of the City Watch. And you would be right, in a sense. I will not harm you, and Michale, as much as I love him, will only spit and shout and generally work himself up. But do not miss my meaning when I say that it will not always be this way. You will not always be envoy, and when you no longer find yourself able to rely on that title for protection, you should beware, for if anything, anything at all, happens to Esme, I will make your end long and painful. Believe that, if nothing else.”
It took all of his self-control and will to keep his face calm and expressionless as he replied, “Understood, Mage Lane.”
With that, he rose and strode quickly down the hall and out the door. Outside in the warm evening air, he leaned against the side of a nearby house, giving his thundering heart the time it needed to calm down. He heard footsteps behind him, and moments later felt Lyra’s reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her tone filled with concern.
He turned to her, his mask of calm falling away to reveal the fear and worry it had been hiding.
“You know how our people say that a mother bear whose cubs are threatened is a danger to all?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I think we should replace mother bear with Human mother.”
From her expression, she understood his point. He let her lead the way back to the compound as his mind raced. His fear was not for himself, though he did not doubt that Averie Lane would come for him if Esme was harmed. No, it was the unspoken threat that worried him the most. Esme had left the city with Hark, and in the mind of Averie and Michale, he was at fault for all that happened and would be responsible for the girl, and if any harm befell her, he would be in grave, grave danger.
***
Back in the Lane house, Averie sat where she had been before as Michale returned to sit beside her. She turned to him, her icy look replaced by one of grave concern. As he sat, she said, “That adventurer group that we talked about…are they still willing to offer their services?”
Michale nodded “Yes.”
“We have to hire them, Michale. The envoy has no control over his son, and he has no idea where he is. We can’t rely on that Elreni brat to keep our daughter safe; we have to take matters into our own hands.”
He nodded his assent. “I will send one of my clerks to bring them here so we can discuss terms. They are professionals, my love; if anyone can help Esme, it will be them.”
Averie nodded, then leaned over and embraced her husband, and he responded in kind. They held that embrace for a long time, taking comfort in each other’s presence and shared concern for their daughter.
***
The group made its way up the quiet moonlit street, following the lead of a man dressed in the garb of an aide, or servant. They stopped before the wooden door of one of the houses lining the street, the one who led the group knocked, and they stood waiting for a reply while a bell sounded somewhere in the city, deep and low, to signify the hour of moon’s peak—the darkest hour of the night. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal the grim features of Averie Lane.
“Ah, Davis. Thank you, you may return home.”
Davis gave her a respectful bow and left. As he did so, Averie turned and addressed the three remaining figures.
“You must be the adventurers my husband called for. Please come in.”
They followed her inside and into the large dining room with its sturdy oak dining table. Averie took a seat beside Michale on one side while the three took seats opposite them. When all were seated, Michale spoke.
“The last time I talked to you, I mentioned I may have a job for you depending on how a conversation went this evening. Well, now I can say that I do indeed have a job for you.”
One of the three, a pale-skinned Human man with short jet-black hair and narrow features, replied, “We are still free, so what is the job?”
“Before we tell you what we want you to do, and how much we will pay you for it, my wife and I would like to know more about you and your companions. This matter is crucial to us, and we wish to know that the people we entrust this to are good enough to see it through.”
The man who spoke previously nodded his understanding and, gesturing to himself, said, “My name is Kellan Ellison. I am the nominal leader and the one who does most of the talking. But I can take care of myself in a fight, if you were wondering.”
“I noticed you have an Ohruin in your company,” Averie noted, nodding at the tall, cloaked form of a female Ohruin sitting next to Kellan, who seemed to stiffen in surprise at the remark.
“We do, but we usually try and keep that to ourselves, as some people don’t like doing business with Ohruin. How did you know, if I may ask?”
“I am a mage with the Guild, Master Ellison,” replied Averie in a no-nonsense tone. “I have had many dealings with the them. And I am familiar with what they look like, even cloaked.”
The Ohruin removed her cloak’s hood to reveal a strong, noble face complete with twin tusks jutting outwards from the corners o
f her mouth, and skin whose colour matched the dark brown of the table and walls. Placing a hand over her heart, she said to Averie, “My name is Mul, Mage Lane. I am our company’s hunter and tracker.”
At this, both Averie and Michale straightened in their seats and a glimmer of hope passed over their expressions; Ohruin were renowned for their tracking abilities, and their hunters were considered to be masters in the art of pathfinding and hunting.
“If I may,” Michale said, “how did an Ohruin come to be with a group of Human adventurers. I thought Ohruin remained in their tribes until death?”
Though she did a good job of keeping her features neutral, Averie detected a slight flinch of pain cross Mul’s face as she replied, “Not always.”
Sensing the conversation heading into turbulent waters, Kellan quickly gestured to the slim man sitting on his other side.
“And this is Aiden Marsh, our mage.”
At this, Averie’s attention flicked from Mul to the slim, hatchet-faced mage who regarded her with deep-set pale blue eyes.
“A pleasure to meet the both of you,” he said in a clipped, formal tone. Eyeing him suspiciously, Averie said, “I do not recall seeing you name in the Guild records. Where are you from?”
Giving her an apologetic smile, he replied “My name would not be found in your Guild records. I am from Rulun, to the far west.”
Averie frowned, but Michale nodded in appreciation; he had heard of Rulun located west past the Heartward Isles. Rulun was a rugged, harsh region where the land was split by chasms that ran out to sea and covered in dense pine forests where all manner of beasts lived. Any who came from that land were tough, resourceful people with a reputation for stubborn perseverance. He turned and looked at his wife, who gave him the barest nod in return; these would do.
“Very well, I will be direct,” Michale began, his gaze returning to Kellan. “Our daughter, Esme, was kidnapped by an Elreni named Hark. They were on the road north towards Dimfell when something attacked them, and they fled east. We want you to find them and bring our daughter back alive and unharmed.”
“How long have they been gone?” Kellan inquired.
“It’s been ten days since they left Caladaria, eight since the attack that drove them eastwards.”
Kellan glanced at Mul and an unspoken question passed between the pair, to which Mul nodded. Turning back to Michale, he said, “We can do this, but it won’t be easy.”
Holding up a hand to forestall him, Michale said, “For this, we will pay five hundred Gold Suns, to each of you.”
This stopped Kellan dead and caused Aiden to stare sharply at the merchant. Coin had only appeared recently in Esmor, replacing a simple barter system that still persisted in some areas. Gold Suns were the more valuable of the two types of coin, being worth five of the lesser Silver Moons. He nodded his head slowly.
“We can do it. We will leave tomorrow morning.”
“One moment, Master Ellison,” Averie said. “We will only pay you once our daughter has been returned to us, alive and unharmed. Do you understand me?”
“Alive and unharmed, understood. And what of the Elreni?”
Contempt flickered across Michale’s face as he said, “We don’t care about him. Do as you think is best.”
“In that case,” Kellan said as he rose, sensing negotiations were done, “we’d best get back to the inn to rest. We will leave early tomorrow morning.”
His group rose and shook hands in turn with Michale and left for the inn where they were staying.
***
Taegen sat with his gaze resting over the rooftops of Caladaria. He was in one of the upper platforms in the high branches of the oak that dominated the compound, though he didn’t know why he had come up here; there was important work to do, reports to write and send back to Kuddin, but he felt no motivation to do any of it. Instead, he had left that behind to come up here to sit and watch, his thoughts let loose to wander the expanse of his mind as he took in the city at night. He knew why he lacked motivation for work; the conversation with the Lanes earlier that evening had shaken him far more than he would let on, and it hadn’t been a result of Michale, fat, red-faced, and spitting with rage. No, what had scared him was Averie, who had maintained an icy control throughout the conversation that allowed no rouge emotion to flit across her features nor to edge her tone. But he knew that deep down her anger and rage eclipsed that of her husband’s. Now he felt something new and unsettling: fear for Hark, for he was the focus of that icy rage, and he knew that his son was in grave danger no matter what state he and Esme returned in. Averie would blame Hark for any change, big or small, that affected her daughter, and not even Esme would be able to hold her mother back, or so he feared. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn’t notice Lyra enter the room and sit beside him, and it was only when she spoke that he became aware of her presence.
“Taegen, what’s wrong?” came Lyra’s soft, concerned voice.
“Hark,” was all he had to say in reply for his friend to understand, and he felt her arm as she draped it across his shoulders.
“You know the guards would march out and retrieve him. All twenty of them, at just a word from you.”
“I know, but I can’t order that.”
They were quiet after this for a few moments until she said, “I think I know someone who can help.”
She stood and he, intrigued by her words and the prospect of a way out of his dilemma, rose and followed her back down to ground level and out towards the guest quarters, a roundhouse built against the compound’s inner wall. She drew up to the entrance, knocked once, and then walked through the open portal. Inside, a male Elreni sat at a workbench illuminated by moonlight from an opening in the ceiling. The Elreni was bent over a short, heavy, single-edged sword and was in the process of adding a weaving, creeping pattern to the leather of the grip with a white vine-like material.
Without looking up, he said, “Taegen, Lyra. Welcome.”
He spoke in a low, rasping voice that Taegen recognized instantly; this was Feyweaver Vulmer Rotris, an Elreni mage from Arboreal, the Elreni capital in the Heartward Isles. He had been sent by the Presk Okryd, the overall ruler of the Elreni, to negotiate a deal with the Mage Guild, though Taegen did not know the details. He finished his work and looked up at the pair, his empty eye sockets pools of darkness in a lean, craggy face. Vulmer had no eyes, but instead relied on the small sensory buds and nodules that grew from the small, delicate veins in the centre of his eye sockets that formed a pattern over his entire face. In this way, his eyesight was far better than that of an average Elreni, and vastly superior to that of a Human.
“Feyweaver.” Lyra gave a bow of respect as she spoke. “I have a request for you.”
The Elreni inclined his head as Taegen suddenly understood Lyra’s intent, although it should have been clear from the moment he knew who they were going to visit.
“Lyra, no,” he began, but was cut off when Vulmer spoke.
“It is no burden, Teagan, that which your friend would ask of me. I know of your son’s plight; perhaps I know more than you do.”
Rising to his feet, the Feyweaver whistled and a few moments later the shadowy form of an owl flew in and rested on his shoulder.
“We have eyes the Humans are as of yet unaware of, and so I was able to listen in on the night’s conversations at the Lane house. It seems that after their talk with you, they sought out others to whom they gave the task of finding their daughter and returning her to them, alive and unharmed.”
Taegan felt a stab of fear as he asked the question, “And Hark?”
“These adventurers were told to deal with him as they see fit.”
Relieved somewhat by this, he lapsed into thought as Lyra and Vulmer spoke of what the Feyweaver would need for the as yet unspoken task before him. Maybe he had misread Averie; maybe her sole concern was for her daughter, and as long as she was safe, then Hark would be as well. Just as the pair had concluded their discussion, he
spoke, “Vulmer, I want you to bring them both back; alive and unharmed.”
The Feyweaver nodded once and followed Lyra out as she made her way back to the main roundhouse, the owl returning into the night as he began to move. Taegen stood in the small guest room, somewhat calmer now than before. He tilted his head up towards the ceiling and stared up at the night sky; the tiny silver specks of far-off stars winked back at him from their place in its fathomless depths. Yes, he thought to himself, now Hark will be safe.
Interlude
10th Day of Daaris. The Season of Light. Year 250
Captain John Gibson of the Caladarian City Watch stood and returned the salute of Sergeant Storkhelm as she entered his small office. She was looking better after six days of treatment from the City Watch’s healers. In fact, she had been remarkably lucky in that regard; things had been quiet in and around the city of late, and so the healers had been well rested and well stocked, though the damaged arm had been amputated. He gestured to the seat opposite his, and she sat.
Clearing his throat as he did likewise, he began, “Sergeant, I have called you here for two reasons. One will be to hear your account of the events that led you and your men out into the path of that monster, and the second will be to tell you your fate. Taking a bribe is a serious crime for one who is entrusted with guarding the way into our city, and how can we be expected to trust you when your loyalty is for sale?”
Storkhelm gave him a stiff nod, a good sign, as it showed her willingness to accept the consequences of her actions. Captain Gibson sighed inwardly. He wished he didn’t have to do this to her, but it was necessary. He was about to start questioning her when the door opened and a woman strode in.
“Captain,” said the woman in a strong, feminine voice. “Good to see I got here before you began.”
Storkhelm turned in her seat to gaze in surprise at the newcomer just as Gibson recognized the voice and the face behind it.
“Captain Randa Yount, I did not think the Expeditionary Force cared for matters such as this?”
