“Well versed, perhaps, but rarely do you show it.” Gorm scoffed.
The dark man tilted his head amused at his companion. He looked over at Dagny and studied her.
“Are you that afraid of us Dagny?” he asked unmoved.
She caught her breath and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Afraid?” she stuttered confused.
“You were going to retreat back to your room when you saw Gorm and I sitting here alone, were you not?”
She sat with her mouth slightly agape unable to muster out words. She made some slight hum in the back of her throat. Gorm shook his head and glared at Isadore.
“Knock it off Izzy. She is our client.” he warned.
Isadore cracked a slight crooked smirk that was barely noticeable on his cold face.
“My apologies, Dagny.” he muttered looking away.
His cold blue eyes left her and she felt immense relief. They cut through her leaving her open and raw.
Leif and Revna came down and made their way over. Dagny was still startled, frozen, staring at Isadore. Leif noticed this.
“Dagny, are you alright?” he asked looking back and forth between the two.
“How did you…” she started to mutter out.
Isadore locked his eyes back to her and nodded.
“I am a seer Dagny.” he said simply.
“Yes, you mentioned that before, what exactly does that entail?” she pushed.
Leif glanced at Isadore and swallowed hard.
“Dagny, Isadore is able to see things.” Leif said trying to explain.
She looked at Leif.
“See things? What kind of things?” she asked looking back at Isadore.
Isadore drew a long breath.
“It would be easier if I were to show you. Perhaps tomorrow. Crowley is not with me right now.”
“Who is Crowley?” she asked.
“That is Isadore’s crow. He is usually sitting on his shoulder.” Revna said slightly amused. “But they had an argument.”
“Disagreement.” Isadore stated firmly.
It was the first time he expressed any sort of emotion. He drew another breath. “He is displeased that I sent him into Stanley’s House for Gentlemen. That establishment generally only services men, for the company of men.”
“You speak to Crowley?” she asked, still confused.
She had heard of some of the elven folk in Thornwood that were able to communicate with animals, so it was not entirely unheard of.
“I can see through his eyes. He allows me vision where otherwise I would not have it.” Isadore explained clarifying.
“That is the gift a Seer has.” Leif said.
“But Crowley isn’t here, and I didn’t speak anything before, yet you know what I was thinking, you…how did you do that?”
Dagny was still uncomfortable. Leif looked over at Isadore.
“I told you not to do that to her.” he whispered under his breath.
“I apologize Dagny. One of my other abilities is thought seeing. I can, depending on the person, sometimes hear their personal thoughts.”
“You were listening to my thoughts?” she asked raising her eyebrows.
“Yes. You are unguarded. Many people are. Some are able to block me but most are unaware, so it is easy to listen in.”
She felt her face flush red. She felt violated. She was racing back trying to remember what she had been thinking before. When she first met him, she was terrified of him. Even before, her thoughts were of how handsome he was, but terrifying. She felt a knot in her throat. “I won’t do it again. I do apologize.” he said, slightly more sincere.
Leif cleared his throat feeling the tension. Just on cue, one of the men from the back kitchen hauled over a large platter of meats and other foods, all glistening with their juices slowly melting down the seasoned skins of chicken, duck and roast.
“Dagny, the Argent Brotherhood has been around for many years. It was founded by my father and uncle. When they retired I took over. Gorm here has been with the company since before I was leading the helm. He is an axman by trade. He is well versed in many forms of weapons but we rely on him for his brute strength.”
Gorm gave a raise of his glass to her as he took a long gulp.
“I charge in first. As long as you are behind me, you are safe.” he said as he reached for a large leg of meat and ripped it loose from the carcass.
“Revna is a blade spinner.”
“I have heard of them.” Dagny said slightly excited.
“She is able to use the shadows as a weapon. She is skilled in moving silently and getting into places that would otherwise be difficult to do. She is our locksmith. We have been unable to find a lock she couldn’t pick.”
“Including bank vaults.” Gorm added as he chewed.
Leif shook his head when Dagny wasn’t looking, as if to cut the side comments. He let out a nervous laugh when she looked back at him.
“She has mastered all of the small blades known to man.” Leif added. Isadore is, as you know, a Seer. This ability is very useful when we are out in the field. His companion, Crowley, works with him, but he can use this gift on any animal he is able to connect with.”
Isadore sat motionless watching Dagny. Leif drew a long breath preparing himself for the last part of Isadore’s abilities, the main one he was hired for. “While being a Seer is very useful, Isadore is actually a caster.”
There was an uneasy silence as Dagny looked back over at Isadore.
“A caster? Like a warl…”
“No. No.” Leif said cutting her off quickly before she could finish calling him a warlock.
He laughed nervously and shook his head at Isadore. “She didn’t know Izzy.” he said apologizing.
Isadore remained unmoved and sat with his cold stone face. “He is simply a skilled caster. He is an element worker, a highly skilled one mind you, but given the lack of casters, or the bad reputation that they carry, he keeps his talents hidden for the most part. You know how people can be judgmental.”
“They assume you are something you are not.” Isadore said glaring at Dagny.
She swallowed hard and drew a quick breath.
“I am sorry Isadore. My knowledge of casters is very limited. I won’t ever assume anything of you again.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. Dagny broke her eye contact from Isadore and looked back at Leif. “And what of you Leif? Where do your skill sets come in?”
“He has the ability to woo.” Gorm said with a laugh.
“His good looks are the only thing he has going for him.” Revna added as she drew a sip from her goblet feeling content.
“I am just an average sell sword. I was hoping to be able to learn to cast but Isadore refuses to teach me.”
“I am not a teacher.” Isadore said looking away as he drew up his goblet. “Even if I were, you are too distracted by women to ever learn anything.”
The group snickered. Leif rolled his eyes.
“Dagny, do not listen to these fools. They are all jealous of my good looks.” he said smiling at the group.
He turned to her and took a sip from his glass. He noticed she had hardly touched any of the food and her glass was full. “Do you not drink?” he asked surprised.
She looked down at her space and up at him.
“I drink wine, on occasion. It is refined in the Vanguard Vineyards.”
“Our port isn’t good enough for your high society lips?” Revna said in a slight sneer.
Dagny blushed and felt embarrassed. She looked at the glass and picked it up.
“I am sure it is just as good.” she whispered.
The potent smell of it hit her nose even before it caressed her taste buds. It’s rough, almost calloused feel scratched its way down her throat, leaving a dry quench in its wake. She swallowed and coughed twice trying to manage the powerful flavor. She looked up and saw they were all watching her. “That is quite strong.” she whispered and coughed aga
in.
Gorm let out a loud boisterous laugh.
“Cheers lass!” he said raising his glass.
She smiled and raised hers, drawing it once again to her mouth. If she were going to keep up with this group, she would need to give into their lifestyle.
Chapter 8
After dinner the group remained downstairs. They moved over to a smaller room adjacent to the pub. This contained a large fireplace with many sofas and chairs around the room. Gorm and Revna went off to the corner to play cards. Isadore and Leif sat near the fire with Dagny. They needed to gather more information on her brother. Leif filled in Isadore on their discovery back at the house. He seemed extremely concerned.
“An incinerating spell is extremely difficult.” Isadore said.
“But it is a basic elemental manipulation move.” said Leif.
“It is far from basic. It takes years of study to master it. Most end up burning down the place.”
“I don’t know of many casters that work fire magic, well besides you.”
“I do.” Isadore said in a low whisper.
Leif locked eyes with him and Isadore nodded slowly.
“That means there is a connection. We can’t just conclude that, we need to form a connection first.”
Leif turned to Dagny. “Dagny, your family history, to your knowledge, were there any casters known in your family?”
Dagny was almost offended by the question.
“No. My family has no involvement with warl…I mean, no. I don’t know anyone in my family that could cast.”
“To your knowledge.” Isadore remarked.
Dagny looked at him a moment. She drew a long breath.
“My brother and I are twins. This rarity is often associated with casters. Neither one of us ever displayed the ability. My parents worked hard to keep us privileged. We never have any interactions with casters of any kind.”
“You are a twin?” Isadore said surprised.
He glanced at Leif. “That may have been helpful to know.”
“I was going to tell you Izzy.”
“I detest that name Leif.”
“I know, that is why I continue to use it.”
He smiled. Isadore was not amused.
“Your brother, Arman, correct?”
“Yes, his name is Arman.”
“He never spoke to you about strange abilities or feelings?”
Dagny paused a moment. Isadore saw the color slightly drain from her face.
“Feelings? What sort of feelings?” she asked in a stammering tone.
“Most casters are born with their abilities. They usually start to display them in the teenage years. Feelings of being drawn to the elements is a good indication those abilities are ready to manifest.”
She crinkled her brow slightly. “Standing in the rain, reaching your hand into a fire, just enough to feel the pain from the flames. Some have dreams or visions.”
She swallowed hard feeling vulnerable and very scared. Arman had never spoken to her about such things, but she had experienced all of them.
“No. He never mentioned that to me.”
“What was it your parents did?” Leif asked, drawing the attention back to the history.
“My father was a ship builder. He had shipyards in Crown Bay, Vanguard, Urget and Sard.”
“Urget? That is an odd location to house a shipyard.”
Leif was surprised. Urget was on a small island to the north of Vanguard called Frostmare. The island itself was a frozen wasteland. The southeastern point was where the city of Urget was, but it was hardly a city. It was filled with simple villagers that lived in the harsh, brutal climate. It was a well-known fishing region, but the city wasn’t large at all. To build a shipyard there seemed pointless.
The most notable thing about Frostmare were the frostmares or snow horses. These horses were twice the size of a regular horse. They all had silver-white coats with heavy white fur tuffs that ran down their legs. They roamed freely in the western vast tundra, known as the Frozen Beyond. They were highly prized creatures and valued greatly as they were near impossible to catch, unable to be tamed and always died in captivity.
To the north of the island was Unsole, a small outpost on the eastern side along the coast. Beyond that were the ice caverns, deep twisting ice tunnels. Lastly, the furthest point north was the great fortress of Uley. This was located on a tiny island off the tip of Frostmare. To reach it, a rope bridge ran over the frozen ocean connecting the two. It was called Theymore Thread. Uley was once thought to have been a great kingdom, but when the land was consumed by the frost, most of its people abandoned it.
There was really no profitable reason to build a shipyard on that island.
“I am unsure of my father’s reasonings for building a shipyard there. He would only frequent it on occasion when he was visiting Vanguard.”
Urget was so close to Vanguard, you could see it across the water. Leif felt there was more to Lord Marfell then even Dagny was aware of.
“They were killed while traveling to Sard.” Leif said looking at Isadore. “It was during the storm.”
Isadore knew already what Leif was referring to. Everyone had heard of the strange phenomenon that occurred a few years ago. The day was bright and sunny, like any other. As the ship crossed the waters towards Sard, the sky opened up and a black mass of clouds poured down upon them. The ship was never seen again and no survivors or bodies were ever discovered. In fact, no debris were discovered either. It was as if the ship was dragged down whole to the bottom of the ocean by the clouds.
“Yes. Since then my brother and I have worked hard to try and continue my father’s work. Arman was mostly managing the ship yards. As a female, my business is more in appearances than payroll.”
She paused a moment thinking and looked up. “You don’t think the shipyards have something to do with my brothers’ disappearance?”
“I don’t believe it was the shipyards Dagny. I do believe it was something a bit more troubling. I believe it involved your parents as well.” Isadore said firmly.
She looked at him astonished. “I must do some research first. I will have more answers by morning.”
Leif nodded to Isadore. He knew the man would vanish into the shadows and return to the Clinedale. It was his solitude he enjoyed the most. As he left, Leif glanced over at Gorm and Revna as they argued over the card game they were playing.
“Do you think we will find my brother?”
Leif drew his attention back. It was just him and Dagny now sitting by the fire.
“I have faith. We are on the right track. Isadore has a lead so he will investigate that a little more.”
“He believes this involves my parents as well.”
“Yes.”
“How? It was a freak accident.”
“Dagny, what do you know about The Malachite Order?” he asked in a whisper.
Even the mention of their name was uneasy to all. She looked at him quickly.
“No more than the fables and scary stories we would tell each other as children.”
“The Order are considered warlocks because of the magic they practice. It goes beyond that of a caster.”
“Like Isadore?”
Leif paused a moment. He wasn’t sure how much he should tell her.
“Isadore is…different.” he hesitated. “He knows more about The Order than anyone.”
“I doubt that. The Crown has spies all over keeping watch on Malachite fortress. Nothing has been seen coming or going. Why does Isadore think he knows more than The Crown?”
“Because Isadore was a member of The Order.”
Dagny was silent. She sat like a statue as fear burned deep in her gut. “But…”
“I know I said he is a caster, and he is. Do not ever refer to him as a warlock. That is a life he walked away from. He has severed his ties with the group, but they don’t let someone as gifted as Isadore just walk away. He does not tell me and I do not ask but I know they have
come for him. They have attempted to bring him back in their ranks. He has refused.”
“They have come to Crown Bay?” she gasped. “But how? The Crown, they would know. They would see them leaving the fortress.”
Leif looked at her slightly amused.
The Chosen Page 5