My dreams lingered at the edge of my thoughts. Why hadn’t Master Zelfree ever mentioned Lynus? If they really did have a relationship similar to Illia and me, wouldn’t he have at least brought it up in passing? Or perhaps the unspeakable had happened…
Adelgis sat in his hammock, his attention glued to the book in his lap.
“Hey,” I said, my voice rusty from sleep.
Morning light trickled in through the porthole, giving us plenty of light, even if the lanterns were snuffed.
“How’re you feeling?” Adelgis asked without looking up.
“Fine.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Uh, Adelgis,” I said as I rubbed my sore neck. After a long stretch, I continued, “You’ve seen all these memories you’ve given me, right?”
He nodded, but still didn’t look up from his reading.
“There’s this man in the dreams that seems close to Master Zelfree. His name is Lynus. Does he… die at some point?”
“No.”
I exhaled and smiled. “Oh, good. I was a little worried.”
Adelgis froze halfway through turning a page. A moment later, he continued with his reading, not bothering to voice his thoughts.
The door to our storeroom creaked open. Fain slid inside, still wearing the same trousers, shirt, and coat he had been the day before.
He glanced between us, his eyes narrowed. “You’re both awake.”
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Searching the city.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Well, this place is a little weird. Jittery. I get the feeling something is wrong. I was hoping you and Moonbeam could help me once I get some sleep.”
I nodded along with his words. “Yeah, our number one priority should be scouring this entire city.” It was the only way we were going to find traces of Theasin or the khepera.
14
The Trail Of Theasin Venrover
Fain was right. The city seemed jittery.
It was difficult to pinpoint what caused that feeling, and the longer I thought about it, the more I realized it was the culmination of several factors. The ports were full, and sailors had become restless. Coupled with the growing number of pirates, I understood why some people were on edge.
Then came the rumors.
As Adelgis, Fain, and I walked through the brick streets of New Norra, I heard more and more whispers concerning the Argo Empire. Tales of the queen’s assassination had finally reached the common folk, but nothing was accurate. One woman said the queen had been decapitated by her own sovereign dragon. A merchant claimed that islanders had killed the queen to start a war. A group of children joked that the arcane plague had run through Thronehold, corrupting most of the arcanists.
A few details remained consistent: the queen was dead, and Prince Rishan was poised to take her place on the throne.
No one knew of the prince’s dastardly involvement, and no one mentioned the runestones. I found the latter fact the most interesting. The runestones had been the whole reason the assassins had shown up in the first place. The villains had wanted them so that they could unearth godly mystical creatures, the kind so powerful their magic could alter the terrain or turn the tide of war.
As I rounded a street corner, my thoughts went straight to the Frith Guild.
I had given them six of the twelve runestones, including the runestone for the world serpent. Were they out searching for the creature right now? Maybe they had already found it—Illia had the Occult Compass, a powerful magical item capable of locating mystical creatures. That, along with the runestone, would make finding the world serpent an easy task.
“What building is this?” Fain asked.
I hadn’t even been paying attention to our surroundings. Flustered, I glanced around, surprised by the presence of black sandstone bricks, instead of the blue, yellow, and red in the rest of the city. The buildings around us were taller, some with pillars in the front and most with short staircases up to the main door. Small groups of individuals wandered the road, and it didn’t seem like anything was for sale. If I had to guess, I would’ve said we were in some sort of government district.
The city wall loomed over the area, casting a long shadow down the street.
“This is Norra Library,” Adelgis said, pointing to one of the larger buildings. Although there were several thick glass windows lining the walls, they were dark amber in color, making it impossible to see inside. “My father says it’s one of the best in the world.”
A group of scholars walked by, each with a long robe covered in embroidery. Instead of shapes or designs, they had words stitched into their clothing, most of which seemed to relate to mystical creatures and magic. They hustled past us before I could get a better look, however.
Fain pulled the ascot up higher on his neck. I suspected it was warm, but he never took it off, no doubt to keep his pirate tattoo hidden. “I don’t think I belong here.”
Adelgis wore a simple cap, but his long, black hair hung straight down from the sides. He took a moment to smooth the raven locks. “My home city of Ellios has evergrow trees for making paper. They take the fibers of the wood, beat it down until it becomes fine, and then dilute it with water to make the pulp for the paper.” He just continued to speak as though Fain had said nothing. “But New Norra, they use wool fibers from their desert ibex to make that pulp. Ibex are goats, in case you weren’t aware. Their horns can—”
“Moonbeam,” Fain said, cutting him off. “I get it. If I have any questions about paper, you’ll be the first person I ask.”
“Hm. Yes, well, I think my father would’ve visited this place before leaving the city, so we should check inside.”
“This sounds like the perfect spot for you and Volke.” Fain tugged on his sweat-soaked shirt and frosted it over for the hundredth time. “Wraith and I can search near the Lion’s Tail River in the meantime.”
“Thank the good stars,” Wraith said through his panting.
I nodded. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”
“I think this is an acceptable plan,” Adelgis said.
I held a hand over my eyes as I glanced up into the sky. It wasn’t yet noon. “Let’s meet up after the sunset bells chime. Didn’t Karna say she would be at a cantina?”
“She said she would be at the Painted Cactus.”
“We’ll meet there.”
Without any more words, Fain went invisible and headed in the opposite direction. Wraith kept his pace, breathing shallow the entire way. Once I couldn’t hear the wheezing, I faced Adelgis.
He took a sip from a canteen, the kind made of a glass bottom wrapped in a woven basket cover. When he was done, he offered me some, but I turned it away.
“Does it bother you when Fain calls you Moonbeam?” I asked. “You never react, but it’s difficult to tell what you’re thinking nowadays.”
“I don’t mind.” Adelgis corked the canteen and then tied it to his belt. He wore a simple shirt and trousers, and his cap offered shade for his face. It was the least amount of clothing I had ever seen him wear around outside his room. “I like to think Moonbeam is my honorary pirate name.”
I snorted back a laugh. “What?”
“Fain said pirates give up their real names and take new ones when they join a crew. I like to think Moonbeam is the name I would take.”
“Moonbeam the Pirate?”
“Yes.”
“You know the name is supposed to be intimidating, right?” I ran a hand down my face, on the verge of disbelief and half-chuckling. “That’s not a name that instills fear.”
“I think my name would invoke a sense of confusion.”
“Oh, it does that,” I quipped.
“Besides, Fain’s thoughts are rather grim. He always frets over every interaction, sometimes believing that one mistake will cause us to leave him at some port. But when he started joking with me—and calling me Moonbeam—he grew a little more confident, see
ing this as us bonding, rather than necessarily insulting me.”
I thought Fain had gotten over his fear of rejection when we had brought him into the Frith Guild, but perhaps joining me on this trek had gotten him worried again. I wasn’t sure how to assuage his fears outside of telling him I didn’t intend to ditch him at the nearest port.
“I’ll talk to Fain at some point,” I said. “But for now, let’s focus on the library.”
Norra Library was three stories of books, bookshelves, ladders, tables, and wide desks meant for transcribing. The place smelled of paper and ink, and the amber windows filtered the harsh light from outside, creating a sepia aura that color-washed everything into a monotone reddish-brown.
Adelgis went straight for the librarians, but I lingered back to examine the contents of the library. Some tomes were so old it was difficult to see the writing on the inside. I sifted through those and specifically looked for books written by Adelgis’s father, Theasin Venrover. While I didn’t care for the man on a personal level, I had appreciated having his mini-encyclopedia during the Sovereign Dragon Tournament. Perhaps I could find something else useful from him?
“My arcanist,” Luthair said. “Look here.”
The shadows pointed to a book on the top shelf. It was titled: ABYSSAL CREATURES. It wasn’t written by Theasin Venrover, but the title intrigued me. I plucked the book from its perch and slowly flipped through the yellowed pages.
“Why did you like this one, Luthair?” I asked.
“I suspected it might have information on the abyssal leech.”
That hadn’t crossed my mind, but the moment it did, I rushed through the contents of the book, searching for any section that could relate to the mystical creature. According to Theasin, the abyssal leech could manipulate magic, which would ultimately be the key to solving the arcane plague problem. Theasin had a single leech—I watched him remove it from Adelgis—and hopefully, this would solve our problem, but in the meantime, I wanted to know more about this bizarre creature.
I arrived at a section with drawings of leeches and stopped.
Abyssal Leech
This creature feeds on the magic of others. It embeds itself into the flesh of an arcanist or mystical creature and slowly saps away their strength over an extended period of time. Unlike other creatures, which must bond in order to grow and mature, abyssal leeches simply need to find a magical host and suckle from the magic. If bonded, an abyssal leech can manipulate and augment the magics of anything it embeds itself into, and its arcanists can warp magics around them.
I flipped the page, engrossed in the information.
Abyssal leech arcanists have the ability to unweave magics from items and even other living things.
I didn’t like the use of the word “unweave.” I didn’t know why, but it conjured disturbing images in my mind’s eye, and it made it difficult to concentrate on the rest of the passage.
Because of this powerful unweaving ability, most magical fortifications pose no problem for abyssal leech arcanists. During reproduction, abyssal leeches implant egg sacs into other creatures. Having more than one infesting a body causes certain death, and once the host dies, the hatchlings spread out and embed themselves in new hosts. If they grow large enough, they’ll implant their own eggs, creating an epidemic.
The late queen of the Argo Empire had ordered the extermination of the abyssal leeches, and I was starting to understand why. They sounded destructive—not just to people, but to physical locations as well, if they could undo magic. This was a creature that would stop the plague?
Abyssal leeches have long been associated with bad luck and disastrous omens. They are presumed extinct.
“There wasn’t nearly this much information in the book penned by Theasin,” Luthair whispered from the shadows.
“That’s true,” I muttered. “Do you think Theasin doesn’t know as much, or do you think this was written after Theasin did his initial research?”
“I think he’s hiding information.”
I stared at the shadows on the floor. “Why?”
“I don’t know. But it’s obvious he enjoys having more knowledge than others. Especially if he can use it to his advantage.”
“Are you trying to say he’s going to do something questionable with the abyssal leech he took from Adelgis?” I didn’t want to think of Theasin as an enemy, not when he was supposedly creating a cure for the plague. “Keeping information to one’s self doesn’t necessarily mean something dubious is happening.”
“And while that is true, I would advise caution when dealing with someone whose motives are unknown. I hope for everyone’s sake that we can find the khepera and cure you with their magic, rather than relying on Theasin Venrover.”
I flipped through more of the book, but there wasn’t much else on the abyssal leech. I returned it to the shelf, my pulse higher than it had been moments ago. Thinking about Theasin and the leech only reminded me of my dire situation. I hated drowning in the doubt, so I had to take a quiet moment to refocus myself. If I was lucky, we would find the khepera, and I wouldn’t even need to worry about all of this.
“Volke,” Adelgis said as he walked down the aisle, “we have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“My father isn’t in the city anymore.”
“Okay. That’s not necessarily a problem. We already figured that might be the case. We’ll just head to wherever he is.”
Adelgis shook his head. “That’s the real problem. No one knows where he went once he left New Norra.” He crossed his arms, his expression pinched. “The librarians here said the last they saw him was at the labs.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “Then why don’t we go there and ask? Surely someone knows where he went.”
Adelgis furrowed his brow. “I don’t have access to the Grand Laboratories of New Norra. It’s a special research facility for arcanists registered with a union of guilds. My father is a member, but that doesn’t extend to me.”
I forced a sarcastic chuckle. So we weren’t allowed in? Even though Theasin’s own son needed information? How private was this damn lab?
“No one will help us?” I asked.
“The thoughts of the librarians are filled with secrets and doubts. They were told not to tell anyone of my father’s visit. I think if I head to the labs, I’ll get the same response. Denial.”
“What do you want to do, then? How can we find him?”
“My father keeps detailed records and often writes letters to his peers. If we’re somehow granted access to the Grand Laboratories of New Norra, I think I can figure out where he went through a combination of mind reading and old-fashioned investigation.”
All we needed to do was get inside.
There were several ways we could attempt to gain access. We could ask one of the research arcanists to help us, we could physically sneak in, especially with my shadow-stepping and Fain’s invisibility, or…
As I dwelled on the problem, a plan formed alongside my smirk. “Well, we do know a doppelgänger arcanist.”
“I liked the plan the moment it started forming in your thoughts,” Adelgis replied, his excitement spilling into his hands, giving him a nervous tic. “If Karna walks us into the labs disguised as my father, we could accompany her to my father’s personal quarters without opposition.” He poked my shoulder with his pointer finger. “You should be the one to ask Karna to help us, since she actively dislikes both Fain and me.”
“I can do that.”
His jovial enthusiasm waned for a minute as his gaze fell to the floor. “But it would be unusual if my father arrived at the labs unannounced, especially since he left there a week prior. Standard procedure, to which he always adheres, demands a letter of announcement. If we really want to fool the researchers and artificers of the labs, we would need to send one in advance. Which means the earliest we’ll have access is in a day or two.”
Adelgis’s attention to detail impressed me. Could we actually pul
l off impersonating his father? Adelgis made it seem possible. All we needed to do was search around Theasin’s personal lab for any clues to his whereabouts. We could be in and out without anyone becoming the wiser.
“Do you mind?” Adelgis asked.
I lifted an eyebrow. “Do I mind what?”
“Waiting a couple of days, so it appears as though the announcement letter arrived before my father’s ship.”
Wasting a few days to fake our way into the labs was time I wouldn’t regain. But it had to be done.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “We can search for the khepera in the meantime.”
“Then I’ll write the letter straight away.”
15
Adelgis’s Father
Once the sunset bells rang, Adelgis and I headed toward the Painted Cactus on foot. While the trek was easy, it was dark by the time we arrived.
The Painted Cactus was a cantina located on the edge of the city proper, right before the gate that led to the shipyards. My father had insisted it was a pleasant establishment, but the moment I drew near, I questioned his definition of the word “pleasant.”
The entire two-story building was bursting with patrons, food, and drink. Even the outside had groups standing around or sitting on benches, loud and rowdy, speaking in ever-increasing volumes to get their voices heard. The sounds of smashed glass or the occasional cheering echoed through the cantina, spilling into the street.
It wasn’t a place of high etiquette or restraint, and while that didn’t bother me, it wasn’t a place I considered relaxing. If anything, I grew tenser. Arcanists, mostly sailors and merchants, made up most of the patrons. One arcanist caught my attention because the star on his forehead had the picture of a skeleton whale woven between the points. It was a bake-kujira—known as the “ghost whale”—the bringer of misfortune and the dead lord of the tides. I had only ever heard of them in old tales, and I almost stopped to ask the man about his eldrin, but I decided against it.
Plague Arcanist (Frith Chronicles Book 4) Page 13