Gunvold grinned at the geomancer, "I am the grand champion of the United Tribes, it is my right to attend such a meeting. Do you really think you can prevent me from going?"
Tulinda sighed in frustration at the obstinacy of Gunvold. "We both know I could stop you if need be, but hopefully we can work out a more amicable solution."
Gunvold laughed and began walking towards the door. "The only way you'll stop me is if you bring this entire city down on my head." The Behemoth stopped in the doorway and looked back at Tulinda smiling, "I'll see you in Armistan."
CHAPTER 2
The Lost
Sielan held up her hand to block the blinding rays of light emanating from Aun. She stared out across a vast desert that seemed to have no beginning or end. As far as the eye could see in every direction was a flat bland expanse of sand. The light-yellow coloration of her skin and hair seemed to blend in perfectly with the drab yellow coloring of the environment that engulfed her. Far in the distance to the west a shape wavered on the horizon. An observer might have postulated that it was a mirage, but Sielan knew better - it was her destination. The town Sielan and her party were headed to was a small backwater village in the most desolate reaches of Aunia. The small outpost ultimately served no meaningful purpose for the Red Empire. There were some wells that produced water to be exported throughout the empire, but other than water production, it acted as nothing but a way station for those brave enough or stupid enough to cross the Yellow Ocean, the ironic name given to the large desert that composed the entire western half of Aunia.
Sielan shifted in her saddle and patted the horse she was riding. Reaching behind her she stuck her hand into the leather backpack that hung from the side of her mount. When she and the rest of the expedition she accompanied had started on their journey, the captain who led the group had stated the horse’s name on which she rode. Sielan did not care much for animals though and had already forgotten it, thus the creature was simply "horse" to her. Rummaging around in her pack she felt her hand close on what she sought and yanked it out, an old map which detailed the western lands of Aunia. The wonderful thing about the Vesnians she often mused was that due to them never changing, even maps that were hundreds of years old were still as accurate today as the day they were written. Sielan unfurled the parchment and immediately recognized the hand that had drawn it - hers. She could not recall charting the map, as she had done it in a previous lifetime, but it was definitely her work.
Sielan next reached into the pockets of her light white linen pants and pulled out a small compass. Whereas most Phlebos wore colors that matched their skin, be it red, yellow, or orange, Sielan preferred plain brown or white colored clothing. Unlike the majority of upper class Phlebos, Sielan had no interest in vanity or fashion. After verifying their position, she glanced back down to her map and pinpointed their destination. Bleak Water was a town which most Phlebos had never heard of. It was a nondescript town full of nondescript Phlebos in one of the most desolate and barren places in all Vesnia. It was a small village home to only about one hundred Phlebos. To the Red Empire, Bleak Water was an insect, an insignificant dot not worth mentioning in the records of Aunia. However, to Sielan it was worth recording if for no other reason than it was her job to know everything. Sielan was the imperial historian of the Red Empire. It was her duty to know every inch of the empire and everything about the empire from the dawn of time to its last day. It was a job that fitted Sielan well, for while others craved respect, fear, wealth, or power, she only craved knowledge. She desired knowledge so much she did something that no other Vesnian did as far as she was aware - she left notes and journals to her reincarnations. Thus, more so than any other Vesnian, Sielan had changed very little over time. She continually modeled herself flawlessly after her first incarnation. She often wondered why no other Vesnian left such writings to their future selves. The historian didn't know for certain, but she believed it was because while other Vesnians whole heartedly believed in the absolute will of the Three, Sielan did not.
Sielan believed in and loved the Three, but she felt that most Vesnians put too much emphasis on them. In both societies the Three were a massive part of everyday life. The respective churches, the Blood Church and Church of the Flesh, commanded immense power. Sielan felt that while the Three deserved reverence, that possibly (and she knew the next part was blasphemy potentially punishable by exile) their Gods just didn't care that much about the Vesnians. The Tormos had committed genocide against an entire tribe of their kin and yet the White Watcher never raised a finger against them. Likewise, the rigid and dictatorial Phlebos Army in its countless crusades against the undead had caused the meaningless deaths of hundreds of Phlebos throughout the ages. While granted the undead were a threat that needed to be suppressed, the Phlebos army commonly went out of its way to dig up and find the undead resulting in unnecessary casualties. Sielan often wondered if perhaps the Tormos had handled the undead better than the Phlebos did. Just seal off the undead caverns and let them rot forever under Vesnia.
The imperial historian folded the map back up and stuffed it into her backpack. She heard a horse moving up behind her with the shuffling of sand.
"Is that it Sielan, or are we staring at another mirage?"
Sielan turned and looked to the woman who rode up next to her. Whereas Sielan's coloration was a light yellow, Thelais' skin and hair was a bright fiery red that almost hurt the eyes to look at. What exacerbated her skin color was that Thelais also wore decorated and ornamental heavy red robes that matched her flesh. The robes contained multiple layers of thick fabric laced with gold and precious rubies. Thelais spoke with an heir of sophistication which was in stark contrast to Sielan's frank manner of speaking. On top of her musical voice and beguiling dress, Thelais was also recognized as one of the most beautiful women in all of Aunia.
"Yes, that is it, we should arrive just before nightfall," Sielan responded to Thelais. Despite their drastic differences in appearance and behavior, the two women had been best of friends for as long as either could remember.
The small group of soldiers that escorted Sielan was not really there for her, but to protect Thelais, the mistress of flame, master of the pyromancer guild and advisor to Empress Mielor. Not only was Thelais the most powerful spell caster in the land but she was also the wife of Lorne, high commander of the Red Army. The literal and political power that Thelais commanded was astounding. While technically Sielan’s political position was not that far off from Thelais', in reality Thelais was so far above her in authority Sielan may have well been a peasant in comparison. Ultimately Sielan did not care; she had no need for political clout as she was happy with her nose in a book all day or excavating and studying ancient human ruins. Knowledge is its own power, and in Aunia, none were more powerful than Sielan in that regard.
“Is that the destination?” Spoke a male voice from behind Sielan and Thelais.
Both turned to face a heavily armored soldier riding up behind them. Captain Rordun was the commanding officer of the expedition. He had ten soldiers under his command for this journey to Bleak Water and each wore full steel plated armor as if riding into battle. Their shining armor was draped with red fabrics bearing the symbol of the Phlebos Empire – a blazing yellow sun dripping red blood. Any Tormos caught wearing such heavy armor in the sweltering Yellow Ocean would have died from heat exhaustion long ago. The Phlebos were built for this though, they were heat incarnate and none of them were the least bit uncomfortable due to their arid and hot surroundings. The heavy armor the captain wore effectively hid every inch of his body save his orange hued face which was graced with a large bushy orange mustache.
“Sielan claims it is, if we leave now, we should make the destination before Aun sets,” stated Thelais with a musical voice that sounded as if it was blessed by the Three themselves.
Rordun briskly nodded, a grim expression on his face. "Very good, we will continue at once, I want this expedition over with as fast as possible.”
* * *
Bleak Water was even more derelict and run-down than Thelais could have imagined. There was only one road running through the town with water pumping facilities at both ends. In between those two structures was a gathering of closely clustered buildings, each one small, dirty and made of rudimentary materials such as clay and mud. As for which huts were private residences and which were businesses, Thelais had no idea as there were literally no signs or markings anywhere in the town. She guessed the inhabitants had no need for signs since the town was so small and saw little traffic from outsiders. Upon arrival the expedition was met by a man named Munnor, a larger Phlebos with pale yellow skin and a bulging belly who introduced himself as the mayor of the town. With him stood his wife and a few prominent members of the town, the names of which Thelais paid no attention to.
Aun was slowly setting on the horizon which prompted filth covered Phlebos to begin lighting sparse torches down the town road. Despite being a joint expedition between Sielan and Thelais, the mistress of flame had no real desire to be in this town other than for the good of the empire. She did not care about this wretched village or the Phlebos that dwelt therein; she wanted to get to the bottom of the frightening news. Thelais feared that whatever had happened here may spread to more worthwhile areas of Aunia. Due to her general apathy at being in such a derelict town surrounded by uncouth members of the lower caste, she bequeathed general leadership to Sielan.
“Thank you for receiving us Mayor Munnor," began Sielan politely. "You must forgive me if I dispense with small talk, but where are those who have passed being kept?”
Rordun quickly interrupted, speaking directly to Sielan and Thelais. “Pardon the interruption mistresses, but wouldn’t you prefer retiring to your chambers for the night and begin the investigation tomorrow?”
“No, time is already wasting, we can rest after the preliminary investigation,” Sielan, coldly responded, brushing off the captain’s suggestion. The captain glanced at Thelais who flashed him a sly smile. Rordun curtly nodded in deferment and took up position a step behind the two ladies.
With an accent that was a little difficult for Thelais to follow, Mayor Munnor responded to Sielan's statement. “As yah wish, please follow me this way. The rest of ya'll folks can ‘ead back to your ‘omes, for now there ain't nothin' else to see.”
The unknown prominent members of town dispersed and Munnor turned around with Sielan at his side. The expedition guards huddled close to Thelais and followed the mayor down the dirt path that served as a road. Thelais knew she was in no real danger here, but the Red Army was strict in its duties and she knew better than to tell Rordun not to guard her so closely. Plus, she knew if she did tell him to back off, Rordun would go tell her husband and the last thing she wanted was Lorne fretting over her even more. The group walked down the one road passing dirty huts which all looked so similar Thelais couldn't tell where some buildings ended, and others began. She tried to pay attention to the conversation Sielan and Munnor was having but she cared so little for the small details they were discussing. Sielan on the other hand seemed to take great curiosity, if not joy, in discussing the most minute of details.
“There is a total o' three o' ‘em. First to go was Dordor 'bout two weeks ago. Then Lielaum came next only a few days after. The last one which went was ol' Nurbo an’ ‘e went ‘bout a week ago,” said Munnor as the group walked through the sparsely illuminated main road.
“What were each of their jobs?” Sielan continued her questioning of the oafish mayor.
“Well, Dordor was our town blacksmith ‘e was, a mighty good one too if'n I might so say. Losin' Dordor for so long has definitely taken a toll on us, we rightly be missin' 'is skill. Lielaum, well she was a real sweet gal, she 'elped down at the southern pumpin' station. She was a quiet lass she was indeed. ‘Er 'usband could tell you more I think, ‘e ain’t been the same since she passed and all. Lastly was Nurbo, ‘e worked at the northern pumpin’ station. I can't really say much 'bout him, mostly kept to ‘imself as I recall."
The whole time Munnor was speaking Sielan had her eyes down at a notebook in her hand while feverishly jotting down notes. Thelais had no doubt that Sielan had somehow managed to write down word for word everything the mayor had said. Thelais certainly was impressed with Sielan's vigor and ability to deal with these commoners. The imperial historian had always possessed the ability to connect with anyone. While Thelais believed she was a kind and gentle soul in her own right, she had lived in opulent luxury her whole life and felt awkward in anything else. Sielan, despite likewise being accustomed to luxury, could just as easily get along with even the lowest commoner, and because of her affability, everyone who met her came to love her.
"Do you know if any of them were related somehow? Were they friends? Did they share any connecting characteristics?"
"Ummm, not that I recall milady," said Munnor as he scrunched his face in thought. "It’s a small village as you can see so they all knew each other, but I would think they weren’t really close as you might imagine. As you know milady, we's mostly a ‘umble folk who keeps to ourselves. Once a month, traders come to pick up our water harvest but aside from that we don't see many folks and don't chat much aside from our weekly town meetin's, and even then, very few folks show up."
"What about how they passed?" Sielan kept her gaze downwards feverishly scribbling. "Was anything out of the ordinary when they departed to join the Three?"
"Not that I'm aware of, their folks 'ave told me everything was normal except...well you know...the Three, bless their names, ‘aven't returned 'em to us yet." Munnor cast his eyes down and whispered something which Thelais could only assume was a prayer to the Three.
"Do you know if they all happened to drink anything out of the ordinary?”
"Couldn't say on the drinking front milady, as you know we don't 'ave any alcohol 'ere per the imperial edict."
"Did the others exhibit sickness in the time around their passing?"
"Once again, not rightly sure ma'am - er, I'm sorry, milady."
"No reason to be so formal with me Munnor. Please just address me as Sielan."
"Yes milady...um Sielan, pardon me ma'am, I mean milady."
Thelais interrupted the conversation as she noticed they were getting close to running out of road. "Excuse me good mayor, but how much longer until we reach where they are kept."
Mayor Munnor turned to Thelais and lowered his head when addressing her. "Milady, it's actually just a 'ead of us, the two story building on the right, that be the inn. When they passed 'n such, they was originally in their ‘omes, but when they di'int wake up, we decided to put them all in a central location."
"Why did you put them together?" Questioned Sielan while staring at the dilapidated two-story mud hut that managed to be considered an inn, and even more remarkably managed to stay standing.
"Well mila - um Sielan,
we di'int know what was the matter. Figured whatever was affectin' one of 'em was probably the same thing affectin' all of ‘em. Wanted to keep it contained yah know?"
"You made the right decision," said Sielan as she glanced at Thelais who had an expression close to terror on her face at having to enter the ramshackle structure dubbed an inn.
"We ‘ave 'em all in the same room on the second floor," said Munnor motioning to the two-story building. "We ‘ave someone watchin' 'em at all ‘ours of the day in case they - well for when they come back."
Thelais sighed as they headed towards the filthy inn. Dim lights glowed in the windows of the structure on a night that was especially dark. Lunara refused to show herself this evening and the Northern Night enveloped the sky above save for the twinkling tears. Thelais was happy to finally get off the filthy road and into shelter, but she somehow knew what awaited her inside was likely more disturbing than anything she would encounter in the street.
* * *
Upon entering the inn, the first thing Sielan noticed was the emptiness and neglect. Chairs and tables filled the small room, each covered in filth and dust. The bar in the corner was stocked with empty water jars. The hearth on the opposite wall was cold and unused; all that inhabited it were spider webs and the ashes of long since doused fires. Clearly Munnor wasn't exaggerating when he said they rarely had travelers come their way. Sielan wondered when the last time was that a patron visited this inn, much less why the town even needed an inn if it was going to get this little use.
The second thing Sielan noticed were the rats. When she first stepped into the common room, she noticed multiple rats all throughout. Upon the front door opening they went scurrying in every direction into an untold number of cracks and crevices. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of the unknown number of disease carrying vermin that were under the floorboards or in the walls. If Sielan was miserable at the sight, she could only imagine what was going through Thelais' head. She glanced back to the mistress of flame and the two locked eyes. Thelais glared at Sielan as if saying: what kind of dive have you dragged me into?
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