“You should listen to the pretty blond man,” Valennia added, drawing everyone’s attention. “This senate man, Son of John, was your enemy. He brought in the robed ones to kill your elders, and he deserved to die for that crime. I only regret I did not have the opportunity to do it myself.”
“I will not be spoken to like this,” the duke growled ominously.
“All of you, please, remain civil!” Criosa cried in an effort to restore sanity to the room. The duke and Pacian glared at each other for a long moment until the old man stepped aside to catch his breath. The prelate finished up his healing and exchanged a long, brooding glance with Nellise that confused Aiden, but he didn’t have time to think about at the moment.
“If we might stick to the issue at hand,” Sir Godfrey interjected smoothly. “The individual who organised this is still at large… unless you think that Senator Johnson was this ‘Number One’ chap?”
“I had Mister Kinsey check his handwriting against the note that Aiden recovered,” Duke Montague said somewhat more calmly than before. “They’re not even remotely the same.”
“Then the trail has gone cold,” Sir Godfrey sighed. “We may never know who was behind this.”
“If having his cause utterly destroyed wasn’t enough to persuade him to run for the hills, we’ll deal with him if and when he shows his face again,” Pacian said with finality.
“Before he perished,” Nellise mentioned quietly, tearing her gaze from the prelate, “the senator mentioned something about the ‘Ironlord’ coming to take the throne. Might this person, whoever he is, be ‘Number One’?” At the mention of the Ironlord, Sir Godfrey and the duke went rigid, moving only to glance at one another.
“Augustus said this?” the duke asked quietly, receiving a silent nod from Nellise in reply.
“How on earth could he have found out?” Sir Godfrey whispered to the duke.
“He must have been told of it from someone who knew,” the castellan mused ominously. “There may well be a spy within our ranks. I shall fetch Mister Kinsey at once,” he added, turning to walk quickly towards a door that led further into the castle.
“I don’t understand,” Nellise remarked in confusion.
“The Ironlord is a matter of utmost secrecy within the king’s court,” Sir Godfrey explained. “I would have preferred to keep you in ignorance of this knowledge, but the cat is out of the bag, as they say.”
“I haven’t heard of this either,” Criosa added archly. “Is it customary to keep your king’s daughter ignorant as well?”
“When your father has ordered it to be so, yes,” the duke lamented.
“Wait a moment,” Nellise interrupted. “Is this the same Ironlord that attacked Fort Highmarch over a hundred years ago? The history books state that it was a barbarian warlord from the Windless Steppes who led an army against several nations.”
“Those histories are a fabrication,” the duke explained delicately. “It was thought that erasing knowledge of the true nature of this foe would diminish its influence over those that allied with it.”
“I knew it,” Aiden muttered under his breath, which nobody overheard.
“The Ironlord is a piece of living history from aeons past of this land, even before Aielund existed. It is not a man, but more of a device, similar to the constructs that our own University uses. This one contains a living spirit capable of higher thought, and bent on destruction.”
“When it was spotted moving toward the borders of our land over a century ago, King Alaric the second brought together an alliance of diverse peoples to thwart it and the cult that had sprung up around it. It was hoped they would destroy the thing, but as they soon learned at the cost of many lives, it was impossible to kill.”
“Our greatest hero, Reikthor, was at that battle,” Valennia remarked soberly. “Our shamans tell us that he held it back while your leader enacted some mighty spell to make it disappear.”
“Yes, and we are deeply indebted to the akora for that alliance, however brief though it was,” Sir Godfrey replied gratefully. “It pained us to see your people taken over by a despot earlier this year, but word has reached us that your father, Morik, has reclaimed leadership of the akora, and assures us that the threat of hostilities has been averted.”
“You can go home whenever you want,” Sayana remarked. “Perhaps I might join you.”
“Yes… home,” Valennia mumbled, her face an unreadable mask. Aiden thought she would have been pleased by this news, but perhaps she simply had a strange way of showing it.
“As to making the Ironlord disappear, that part is mostly true, though it was not King Alaric who eventually won the battle,” Sir Godfrey continued. He went on to explain more of the real history, repeating much of what Aiden had already learned from Salinder. When it came time to explain how they actually stopped the Ironlord, the collective disbelief from Aiden’s companions was predictable.
“A golden dragon?” Nellise whispered, glancing at Aiden in shock. Sayana also looked at him with accusing eyes.
“Yes, and only this creature’s sacrifice prevented the destruction of our Kingdom, and the lives of our ancestors,” the duke finished. “This too was withheld from the records, and those who survived the battle were sworn to secrecy. Now, this infernal contraption is about to be loosed upon the world once more, and I can only pray that His Majesty’s army is up to the challenge of destroying it once and for all.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Sir William remarked, smoothing his moustache.
“If swords and arrows were unable to stop it last time,” Ronan mused darkly, “what makes you think they’ll work now?”
“It is thought the Ironlord will be in a weakened state, vulnerable to such attacks,” Sir Godfrey supplied.
“‘It is thought,’” Aiden repeated in a hollow voice. “I don’t know how you could assume that. What if it isn’t?”
“Then it is likely that we shall bear witness to the destruction of our Kingdom,” the knight stated flatly.
“Wait, we know of at least one other dragon in the area,” Sayana interrupted. “I have no love for such creatures or the price they ask for their aid, but could we not persuade it to provide its services in the same manner as the last?”
“From the information we have received, there are no other dragons powerful enough to do what Salinder accomplished,” the duke explained as Castellan Hodges entered the room with Kinsey at his side.
“You’ve had a hundred years and more to plan for this event,” Aiden stated, “and the best you can come up with is to throw an army against it? That didn’t work out so well last time. Is there no arcane device or spell that might be of use?”
“Alas, no,” Duke Montague replied. “Despite the research conducted by the University and a thorough search of historical records, there was nothing that was deemed to be of immediate use.”
“‘Immediate use’?” Aiden repeated, his ears pricking up. “What exactly does that mean?”
“The only thing we found that might have a chance of being useful was uncovered only this year, in an ancient text thought to be written by the wizard Aeldrith before he began practicing the forbidden arts of necromancy,” the duke said. “Given the source, I’m sure you can understand our hesitation to use it.”
“Given the situation, I would think you would investigate every opportunity, regardless of risk,” Aiden criticized. “Can I see this text?”
“As you wish,” the duke shrugged. “It may be at the University still, where such things are kept safe.”
“Actually, Your Grace,” the castellan interrupted, “I have been reading through it of late, trying to make sense of some of the more obscure writings. I had the presence of mind to fetch it when the subject of the Ironlord came up.” He carried in his hands a large book, its cover faded with time but still legible.
“‘Ancient Artefacts from Olde Tymes’,” the duke spoke aloud, having no trouble with the Olde Aielish that it was written in. “I see
you’ve placed some bookmarks in here, castellan.”
“Those are the sections I found most pertinent,” he explained. “The item in question is called the ‘Sceptre of Oblivion’, thought to banish anything it touches into a distant realm.”
“And what was the problem with obtaining it?” Nellise asked.
“As I understand it,” Castellan Hodges disclosed, “there are three possible locations for the artefact, all of them quite perilous. There is mention of the dwarven city of Ferrumgaard, but since it was destroyed the chances of recovering it are remote.”
“Yes, there isn’t much left of that place,” Aiden remarked, shuddering at the memory of his time there. “It might be possible the dwarves still have the sceptre, having brought it with them to their new home of Stonegaard after the evacuation.”
“We hadn’t considered that possibility,” the duke mused, “but so much was left behind in the chaos, the chances are slim at best I would say.”
“It might still be worth a try,” Aiden suggested, carefully turning the page to where the sceptre was depicted. The sketch was faded terribly, but seemed to be an elaborately designed metal rod, almost a staff really. Aiden had briefly hoped that the sceptre he had found back at Ferrumgaard was the one being spoken of, but there was no resemblance. “What about the other possible locations for this relic?”
“If you look closer, the name ‘Feybourne’ appears at the bottom of that page,” the duke pointed out. “We believe it is referring to an earlier version of the University located in the ruined city where relics like this would have been collected. The Archmage Cuthbeort was a renowned artificer who may well have held the sceptre in his collection for a time. Of course, Feybourne has also fallen, and the time it would take to sift through the ruins and recover it would be untenable.”
“Feybourne?” Maggie chimed in, speaking for the first time since Aiden had seen her flung out of a window. “Ever since they moved into the area, my order declared it a sacred site and limited access to the ruins. That was before they became rather adversarial towards the Kingdom, too. Aiden and I were going there to deal with the problem, so we can probably break in and conduct a search of the place.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Aiden asked quietly, trying to avoid specifically mentioning the loss of her arm.
“I can regrow my arm,” she told him, “and I still have a job to do and I’m not going to let it stop me. I may not be able to juggle for a few days, but I can still walk and breathe, and until that changes I’m going to finish what I set out to do.”
“Did I fall asleep and miss the part where we’ve agreed to look for this thing?” Ronan remarked dryly. “If the king’s advisors didn’t think it was a good idea to try and find it, why should we be any different?”
“Because you have the time to conduct a search,” Duke Montague said, “and also because Aiden is something of an expert in this field, is that not correct?”
“I think the wizards at the University might disagree on that point, but tracking down artefacts is a speciality of mine,” Aiden agreed. “But more than that, I know what’s coming if we don’t do something to help.”
“Sometime soon you shall have to explain to me how you came across knowledge of this affair,” Sir Godfrey remarked suspiciously. “But, regardless, through your numerous acts of courage and the blessing of our own Princess, you have more than proven your loyalty to the Kingdom so I have no compunctions about allowing you to take the lead on this task.”
“What about this third place you mentioned?” Ronan asked. Sir Godfrey and Duke Montague glanced at each other in trepidation as the old man cleared his throat before answering.
“Understand that this is purely conjecture at this point,” the duke began. “The two locations mentioned in the text are quite clear, but there is another possibility. As I said, this tome was written by Aeldrith, before he began the dark path of necromancy. After he was defeated by the Church of Aielund, he fled to what is now referred to as the Isle of the Dead, not far off the coast, there to live out the remainder of his days in exile.”
“You think he might have taken the sceptre with him,” Aiden surmised, drawing a nod from Castellan Hodges. “Then if we don’t find it at the other two locations, we may have to find out if the rumours concerning that benighted island are true.”
“It is a remote chance, but if all else fails, that may be your only hope,” the castellan warned. “I implore you to search Feybourne and Stonegaard thoroughly first, however, because if even half of what I have heard about the isle is true…”
“Well, let us hope it doesn’t come to that,” Aiden agreed, recalling the sight of the island from on board the Redoubtable and feeling a chill run down his spine.
“To Feybourne, then,” Pacian nodded.
“I am more than willing to help in this noble endeavour,” Sir William said, looking at Pacian, “but I will no longer associate with this man. Regardless of his protestations of altruism, he is a killer, and I will have no further part of anything he is involved with, or those who stand for his beliefs. And if this savage woman supports Pacian’s misguided philosophy, then she also has no place in our company.”
“That’s fine,” Pacian shrugged. “I was getting kind of sick of you anyway. The rest of us will manage without you anyway. Better, actually.”
“Without my fearsome prowess, the battle would have been lost, yet you dare question my motives?” Valennia growled.
“There is no question as to your motives, madam,” Sir William replied evenly.
“You don’t get to decide who stays and goes, Willy,” Pacian shot back, “only Aiden gets to make that call. What do you say, mate?”
“Valennia is invaluable in a fight, as is Sir William,” Aiden replied after a moment of thought. “He does make a good point though — killing the senator was bad enough, but being proud of it? You’re way out of line, Pace, and I don’t think we need your particular kind of ‘help’ in the future. There’s too much at stake.”
“You’re kicking me out?” Pacian cried in disbelief. “I don’t believe it. I expected a short-sighted attitude from some of these people but to hear it from you? I get it… it’s this place — it’s changing you. If you think you’re going to become one of these rich nobles and get some respect, then you’re as deluded as they are.” The rage and frustration Aiden felt growing within him since the Senate could not be contained any longer. He walked up to Pacian and stared him right in the eye.
“You and I? We’re through,” Aiden growled through gritted teeth. “I’ve tolerated your thuggish attitude far longer than any sane man should, and this is where we part ways. Three times now you’ve gone and killed a helpless man, and that’s my quota. Stay the hell away from me, and if any of you have a lick of sense, you’ll keep your distance from this maniac as well,” he added, casting his baleful eyes around at his companions.
Nobody spoke after Aiden’s brief tirade, and one could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The nobles stood back, watching without comment as events continued to unfold. Aiden stepped away from Pacian and gestured for Maggie and Sir William to follow suit, intending to find out where everyone stood.
“Anyone who wants to join us on the journey to Feybourne, now’s the time to do so,” Aiden said plainly. “There will be no indiscriminate killing. We’re going to try and talk our way through first, but if it comes to it, we’ll fight if we have to.”
“I don’t care what you think about me,” Pacian said in a low voice. “I did what was necessary, and I’m not going to apologise for it. But I’m still working for the Crown, even if you don’t want to have anything to do with me. Since time is an issue here, I’ll go to Stonegaard and see if I can locate the sceptre and I don’t much care if any of you come to help me or not.”
“I am hardly going to allow you to lead an expedition to the homeland of a valued ally,” the duke scoffed. “I would ask Miss Sannemann to take charge of that, if you would.”
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“Of course, Your Grace,” Nellise answered. “I’ll do my utmost accomplish the task you’ve set. Sayana, I’ll need your expertise in magical affairs to assist.”
“That’s fine by me,” Sayana answered, avoiding both Aiden and Ronan’s inquiring look.
“You paid me to fight for you,” Valennia said to Aiden. “Yet you have given me more wealth than I ever hoped to find in one single payment, which I accept as a measure of my worth. Since you have made it clear my servitude is ended, I am free to choose my own path. I will go with Nellise, to protect and aid her on her quest.”
“I thought you’d be heading home?” Nellise asked curiously.
“I… choose not to,” Valennia replied stubbornly.
“Alright, Your Grace,” Aiden remarked, “it looks like we’re going to tackle both places at the same time, which is probably a good idea for many reasons. Ronan, we could use your help.”
“You got it,” the sailor replied, moving to stand with Aiden, Maggie and the knight.
“I concur that this new arrangement is probably for the best,” the duke replied diplomatically, as Pacian stood alone in the middle of the room.
“So, that’s it? I’m cast out for doing what nobody else had the guts to do?” Pacian asked nobody in particular. “Fine, I’ll help out in my own way whether you like it or not.” He walked up to Aiden and offered his hand. “No hard feelings, mate,” he said, which seemed like a magnanimous gesture on his part. Aiden shook his hand but said nothing, for there was nothing else to say. With that, he turned and stalked out of the courtroom, to the dead silence of those present.
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