“Are you two okay?” Aedyn asks, still ready with a healing spell.
Nyx abruptly begins gagging and rubbing at her tongue. “Gross! That felt wrong! It was like kissing a sibling! Get me some alcohol!”
“I have a feeling I missed something,” groans Luke, who is spitting onto the ground.
“You were poisoned,” Aedyn tells him.
“Did you get the person who nailed me?” Luke asks.
Nyx and Aedyn nervously look at each other before Nyx mentions, “It was Nimby who stabbed you.”
“What?” Luke asks in disbelief. “That can’t be true. Maybe it was another doppelganger.”
Aedyn clears his throat and waits for his friends to look at him. “There is more that you two do not know. I found Fritz and Bessaria on one of the bridges that goes over the Scar. Bessaria was making a racket and I found her . . . with Fritz’s body. It would appear that someone killed him and left him on the bridge. From the look of the sword wound and given what just occurred, I would say it was Nimby. I left the body and Bessaria at the end of the road when I heard you fighting.”
“Nimby-” starts Nyx before her voice gives out.
“Shut up! This isn’t right! There has to be something you missed!” Luke yells, his voice becoming childishly defiant. “Are you sure it isn’t an illusion of Fritz that you carried with you? Maybe Nimby is helping him hide after he learned too much. Fritz could be somewhere in the manor right now and we simply have to look for him. Nimby is probably hiding with him right now.” Luke struggles to his feet, even though his body is wracked with pain. “Come on. Just help me look for them. I’ll check the wine cellar and you two can check the bedrooms. Fizzle can search the pantries for Nimby. Let’s go.”
Aedyn and Nyx watch Luke pick up his swords before staggering toward the front door. His movements are slow and awkward, but he pushes himself to keep moving. He stops to catch his breath and puts his hand to his wound, which has reopened. A warm, sticky substance coats his palm, but he refuses to look at it. The only thing on his mind is finding his missing friends alive and loyal.
“Nyx, I hate to ask you to retrieve Fritz’s body,” Aedyn whispers weakly. “But I do not think that I can bear seeing him any more. I will take care of Luke if you do not mind.”
“I’ll get him. You handle Luke,” she says with fiery tears streaming down her face.
“Luke! Listen to me!” Aedyn shouts, running after the warrior.
“We can talk after we find them! Don’t give up on them, Aedyn! They’re our friends! How can you betray-" Luke yells until Aedyn slaps him across the face.
“I have betrayed no one,” Aedyn snaps. He takes a minute to regain his control, taking several deep, cleansing breaths. “Please, listen to me carefully, Luke. Nimby is the one who betrayed all of us. He is the one who killed Fritz in cold blood and left his body on the street. He is the one who stabbed you in the back and poisoned you. He is the one who sided with our enemies after all of the times that we fought together. I do not want to believe it any more than you do, but it is the truth. Nimby is now our enemy and Fritz is . . . de . . . gone.” The priest starts crying and has to hold onto Luke for support before a roar of anger erupts from down the road. Blinding spouts of fire and lightning lance into the sky as Nyx gives in to her grief and rage.
“It’s all true,” Luke mutters, staring at the spells being launched into the sky.
Aedyn pats the warrior on the shoulder, sending a healing spell through him. He begins to relax once he sees the bleeding wound close. “I am sorry, Luke.”
Luke collapses on the cold stone and continues to watch Nyx hurl spells. Aedyn wanders back into the mansion when the silence becomes too much for him. Luke remains where he is until Nyx comes down the road with Bessaria and a small form wrapped in a dirty, yellow cloak. Nyx looks up to see Luke getting to his feet and taking a step toward her. It is nothing more than a step before his body begins to shiver and he turns to stumble into the mansion. Nyx hears a distant door slam shut as she reaches the front entrance where Luciana and her parents are quietly waiting. They attempt to speak to Nyx, but she leaves them with Bessaria and wanders up the stairs to bring Fritz’s body to Aedyn. The only other sounds heard in the foyer of Silverstar Manor are pitiful weeping and delicate drops of drite tears falling from a chandelier.
17
“Can I come in, Aedyn?” Nyx asks in a soft voice.
“The door is unlocked,” answers a weary voice from the room. Nyx walks in to find Aedyn sitting on a wooden stool at the foot of the bed. Fritz is cleaned and clothed on the bed as if he is merely sleeping.
“He looks good,” she whispers.
“I spent all night cleaning and tending to him. I . . . I was hoping he would simply wake up and show me that it was all a big illusion,” Aedyn says with a voice that is barely louder than a murmur. His eyes are bloodshot from crying and severe exhaustion, but he continues watching over his friend.
Nyx takes a seat on the floor next to the bed. “I was kind of hoping for the same thing when I walked down here. It seems that false hope is better than no hope.”
“Dragoneye from Hero’s Gate has sent word that he knows of the situation and had made a promise to deliver Fritz to a special tomb. He will be arriving with Fritz’s daughter tomorrow afternoon,” Aedyn reports, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and chuckling slightly. “I will be presenting Bessaria to her. It is only right that she takes care of his loyal steed.”
“What’s funny?” Nyx inquires.
“I just remembered that I always used to look at Fritz in disbelief whenever he called that sheep a loyal steed. I grew up with horses, so a sheep being called a loyal steed was ridiculous to me,” Aedyn admits, forcing a half-hearted smile. “It is something else that I will remember fondly about him.”
“He was one of a kind,” Nyx agrees, grinning at her own memories of the gnome. She realizes most of them involve Fritz pinching her butt and hitting on her, but the memories still make her tear up.
“Without a doubt,” Aedyn claims, his voice regaining some energy. “I have never met anyone else who could drive me so insane without earning my true anger.”
“I wish I could go to the funeral,” Nyx whispers. She lifts a hand to the bed and strokes Fritz’s hand. The cold, clammy skin makes her pull her hand back with surprise and a few tears begin to stream down her face.
Aedyn lets his displeasure show on his face. “Our duty prevents us from going anywhere before we arrive in Gods’ Voice. I have been told that the Duke is sending a high-ranking emissary in our stead to Fritz’s funeral with brass roses from Willow’s garden. Fritz is also being given noble status in the Serab kingdom, which I find unnecessary. He was better than every noble that I have ever met. There is word that Luke’s father and Duggan Ironcaster have requested the job of building the casket for Fritz. Apparently, Lord Gideon and Lady Adara felt it necessary to inform everyone that they could think of.”
Nyx crawls over to Aedyn and sits next to the wooden stool. She pulls her knees to her chin before wrapping her arms around them and leaning against the priest’s leg. A small smile crosses her face when she feels Aedyn place a gentle hand on her head. He is still staring at the body while he scratches her on the top of the head.
“I’m not a cat,” she mentions.
Aedyn takes his hand off her head. “Sorry. Did you come here for something specific?”
“I came to see how you were doing,” Nyx states while fixing her tussled hair.
“That is unnecessary. I am a priest and I am used to such things,” Aedyn declares. He smiles warmly at Nyx, taking his gaze away from the body for the first time since she entered the room. “Death is part of our cycle and Fritz died a hero. That reasoning is how I will cope with it. I honor his memory by keeping his light in my heart. They say that Durag’s light lasts forever. The light that dwelled within Fritz Warrenberg is eternal. Such is my belief.”
“I like that. It’s pretty,” Nyx whispers, put
ting her head on his knee.
“What about you? How are you handling all of this?” Aedyn asks.
“Better than I would like. I lost both of my parents and my entire village when I was young. I’ve seen apprentices die when attempting spells that were beyond them. Death seems to have always been around me in some form. Part of me is numb to it all,” Nyx explains. She starts absent-mindedly picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. “I’m angry that Fritz was taken from me so soon after I met him. I hate to say it, but I feel sad about Nimby betraying us and angry about Fritz dying. It’s mixed up, but I guess it’s the way I am. We all have different ways of coping. Letting this fuel my anger and push me forward seems to be the way I handle death.”
“Do me a favor, Nyx?”
“Yes?”
“Never mention his name in my presence again.”
“You’re going to hear it for a few days.”
“I know. I just . . . I hate that halfling,” Aedyn growls, glaring at an empty space on the wall. “Yet there are so many actions of his that I cannot understand. The poison was purposely tampered with, but he still attacked Luke. He gambled with Luke’s life instead of ending it.” He stomps his staff on the floor and forces his body to stand. He wobbles for a few seconds before falling back onto the stool.
“I understand you hate Nimby for what he did to Fritz and Luke,” Nyx whispers, steadying Aedyn on his seat.
“That is not why I hate him. I hate him for not making any sense and not letting me understand why he did this. I . . . hate Fritz for . . . making all of this happen,” Aedyn explains before a sudden surge of rage overtakes his self-control. “Damn that sacrificial gnome!”
“You don’t mean that,” she says as she stands up and gives Aedyn a hug.
“I do not know what I mean anymore,” Aedyn admits, his body shuddering. “After what I saw, I cannot make sense of last night’s events.”
Nyx looks at him cautiously. “What do you mean by what you saw?”
“After I cleaned Fritz, I cast a spell that I designed as part of my final test in the Duragian Order,” Aedyn explains, his voice strained from intense stress. “The final test must be a creation of something useful. My creation was a spell that I named corpse sight. Ignoring the morbid name, it is a good spell for a priest to know. I have heard that only a chosen few are permitted to use it due to its potency.”
“Please get to the point,” Nyx requests, letting go of Aedyn and sitting on the floor in front of him.
“Sorry. I . . . I learned that habit from Fritz,” Aedyn sheepishly claims. “This spell allows a priest to view the events of a person’s death. Not just a visual view though. Every sense is used to find out what happened. It is a very powerful and potentially dangerous spell, which is why only a few of my peers utilize it.”
“Let me guess. You saw him attack Fritz from the shadows,” Nyx impatiently interrupts.
Aedyn stares at the ceiling for a minute before he says, “No.”
“Then, what did you see?” Nyx asks, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees.
“I saw him and Fritz on the bridge,” Aedyn begins, trying to remember every detail of the vision. “There was a magical shield preventing him from moving forward. Fritz was trying to talk him into staying with us, but he kept saying that we would be in danger if he stayed. It would seem that Luke was his only target and he wanted no harm to come to the rest of us. It was a strange conversation that revealed him-“
“Can we please say his name?” Nyx angrily snaps. “I’m getting confused.”
Aedyn quietly stares at Nyx for several minutes before continuing. “Very well . . . Nimby seems to have been placed at Selenia’s to be an agent for the Lich. He is the one who resurrected the Lich, revealed Kellia’s location, and gave Trinity our route down the L’dandrin. That cursed halfling played . . . my apologies, but I am wandering from the true story. To sum up, Fritz had a heated discussion with Nimby about staying with the group. Nimby refused on the grounds that leaving Luke alive and remaining with us would bring great danger to all of us.”
“That’s pretty heavy to absorb, but I don’t see how this resulted in Fritz getting killed,” the caster admits.
“I am not sure what happened,” Aedyn says in frustration. “I saw Nimby jumping around as if under attack while Fritz remained motionless until one of Nimby’s wild strikes hit him. The look on his face was as if he did not even know that Fritz was there. Nimby was crying as he held Fritz, It might not have been an intentional attack.” His tired gaze returns to Fritz’s peaceful body. “Then, there is what Fritz said. He kept saying that he doubted Nimby, which at first I thought was in regards to his skills. The truth was that Fritz doubted that Nimby could kill two friends.”
“So, Fritz sacrificed himself to prevent Luke’s death. It sounds like he used a moving illusion spell combined with an invisibility spell. He baited Nimby into striking him down because Nimby wouldn’t do it willingly,” Nyx whispers, craning her neck to take a look at Fritz without getting to her feet. “Honestly, this makes me admire the old gnome even more than before. It was an act of true friendship toward Nimby and Luke. He probably saved them both. He might have saved the rest of us too.”
“In that light, I cannot say that he died in vain.”
“You know, Fritz probably had this planned all along.”
“What do you mean?”
Nyx slowly stands up and walks over to Fritz. She takes an ivory comb out of her pocket and begins to fix his greasy hair. A grimace crosses her face when she pulls the comb away and finds it dripping with thick ooze. Aedyn can’t hold back a small laugh while Nyx gingerly places the comb on the bedside table. She finally turns to him as if she has been trying to find the words to explain herself.
“Gnomes can sense their own death. If a certain path will lead to death then they see a void, which is a sign for them to stop,” Nyx explains with a weak smile. “Fritz probably knew he would die and continued on for our sake. It must be why he contacted his daughter in Rodillen and made that deal with Dragoneye in Hero’s Gate. I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought he would die with those Rikebak demons considering how he came out fighting.”
Minutes pass before Aedyn can think of anything to say. “That ability is both a blessing and a curse.”
“I should go tell Luke about all of this,” Nyx mentions.
“Do not tell him,” Aedyn requests, shaking his head with worry. “I do not think he can handle all of this. His denial might still be strong.”
“It isn’t denial anymore, Aedyn,” Nyx awkwardly tells him. She shifts her feet and looks very uncomfortable as she speaks. “You haven’t tried to visit him since that night, so you don’t know what’s going on. He isn’t right.”
“How is he not right?” Aedyn asks, a yawn escaping his lips.
“Nobody has been able to open his door since he slammed it shut,” Nyx says with a helpless shrug. “We think he jammed something into the hinges to prevent it from being opened. Every attempt to break the door down has resulted in him putting one of his sabers through it. All of the guards and servants have stayed away from the room ever since he came close to slicing into someone’s shoulder. I think he is using his sound sight to watch the hallway because people are hearing him move to the door whenever they get close. It’s like . . . I don’t know how to explain it.”
“He is like a wounded animal that wants to die alone,” Aedyn explains, noticing the confused look on Nyx’s face. “Think about it this way. Luke has suffered the most during our voyage. He left his love behind and has come close to death on several occasions. Many times he has feared that he would lose a friend, but was always confident that he could protect them when it mattered. The death of Fritz and the betrayal of Nimby have proven that Luke cannot always save those around him. He never doubted that he could keep all of us safe until last night. We have to be here for him when he is ready for us. In the end, it might not even matter if we tell him what we know because
he will learn the truth whether we tell him or not.”
“What makes you say that?” she asks.
Aedyn sighs and runs a hand through his hair. His body is filled with tension and rage, making him stand up straight until his back aches. “Some other parts of the vision make me believe that Nimby will cross Luke’s path again. We might not ever see him again, but I do not believe that his role in the coming events has passed. Fritz made sure that Nimby remembers who his real friends are and helped him realize a truth about himself.”
“You’re starting to sound like you have some good feelings left toward the halfling,” Nyx jokingly warns him.
“Not in my lifetime,” the priest snaps, relaxing slightly.
Nyx smiles warmly at Aedyn while her violet eyes hold his gaze. “Be honest, Lord Karwyn.”
“I may hold a deep hope that he comes through for the side of good, but do not mistake this for any form of forgiveness. I despise him for what he has done,” Aedyn wearily explains. He shakes his head to clear it, but only accomplishes making himself dizzy. “Yet, I believe in him for what he might do if he escapes from the influence of this true master. Nimby is a great thief and can do incredible things when he tries. Maybe this is exhaustion talking more than logic.”
“Take it easy. I understand what you’re trying to say,” Nyx whispers before she closes her eyes and starts to focus her magic. “I have to go, but I want to leave you with something special.”
Nyx holds out her palm and begins to concentrate all of her power into the tips of her fingers. A throbbing, yellow glow grows in her nails and the magic slowly ebbs down to the middle of her palm. Sweat starts to form on her brow as flames flicker along the creases of her hand. A smooth, red gem slowly emerges from her skin and she quietly aims her other hand at Fritz. Strands of crimson magic reach out to his face and gently pass over it. The gem gives off a small plume of fire before Nyx stops her casting and hands her creation to Aedyn.
Legends of Windemere: 02 - Prodigy of Rainbow Tower Page 46