At the gate of the castle, guards wore coat of arms with eagle claws and saluting us with their spears, letting us pass between them. We rode our horses to the courtyard, straight to the stables. Ferlor, the master of horses was already awaiting us. He reeked of horseshit and his nose was red from the dry highlander wine he had consumed. He always had a flask of wine on him, should he get thirsty during work. He was however the best when it came to taking care of the horses, so the baron did not care about him drinking all day, as long as he completed all his duties.
“Has ya’ lordship arrived back from the hunting?” he asked me in his deep voice, smiling at me with no teeth in front.
“I have come back, but as you can see, no luck accompanied me today, I hope the gods will be more gracious with us tomorrow,” I answered in a bored tone.
“I am sure it will be so, your Excellency! The horses are well rested, you haven’t rushed them too much,” he said as he patted the back of the horses.
“There was no point in hurrying back. Now I give them over to your care, Ferlor. Make sure they are fresh and rested by tomorrow when I leave again. Wash them thoroughly!” I commanded as me and Hrindel got off the horses.
“As you wish, your Grace,” he bowed respectfully and began giving orders to the stable boys.
“Darian, I will see you at lunch. We will go out again tomorrow if my time allows me,” I told the squab chief hunter.
“Certainly, I am always at your service,” he nodded.
The baron maintained a good friendship with the chief hunter, so I had to continue the play. He was fond of noble animals, although I couldn’t grasp what he could have enjoyed about killing them. This must also be one of the many disgraceful human habits I’ll never understand.
I wanted to go to his bureau before lunch because according to the memories, he had a secret room hiding valuables inside. I wanted to scour through them to learn as much about their secrets as possible. Passing through spacious halls, mounting various spiral stairs, I finally arrived to the thick oak door of the bureau. I ordered the One Eyed, who was following me like a shadow, to stay outside to keep guard. I unlocked the door and entered the room, locking the deadbolt behind me. I entered a tidy little room, with a large beech roundtable in the middle, standing on carved legs depicting sirens. Documents and books were scattered on the top, next to an elaborate mirror and a half-burnt candle. On the two sides, trophies of prepared games were staring at me, demonstrating with their glassy eyes how keen of a trophy collector the owner of this room was. A bookshelf was built along the right wall of the room. Right next to him, an elaborately ornamented longsword lay on the weapon stand, its lintel slightly arched, its hilt forming the claw of an eagle. This was Bloodgusher, the Muran family weapon. I took it into my hands and slashed in the air. The elaborately shaped blade was prepared in Terwaldia, made of outstanding quality steel known across the continent. I sat on the chair and looked for the switch of the concealed compartment underneath the desk. Following a clicking noise, a part of the bookshelf moved alongside the wall and uncovered a small hollow inside the wall. The hole was hiding sealed documents and letters, a small gilded jewellery coffer and a tiny leather bag tied with a string. I opened it and peeked inside, the memories told me that it should contain a few small emerald pieces, and that was indeed the case. I put it down and took the little coffer in my hands. I found it odd that I had no recollection among the memories about how it had got here. He had received it from an unknown sender. Where could the key be? I looked around but could not spot it anywhere. This will not stop me from opening it. No better lock-breakers existed in this world than my race. Excited by curiosity, I placed my index finger in front of the lock and pushed it inside, transforming my finger to the shape of a key. I moved it alongside a little to fill up the space until it adopted its exact shape. I turned it right, which triggered a click and the coffer popped open. I quickly transformed my finger back to its shape. Being a shapeshifter had many advantages, there was no mechanic lock that could resist my skill of opening it.
I was looking at a highly elaborate, hand-sized, strange granite statue. It most resembled a gargoyle, with enormous ears, a horrid face and an odd, waist-length trunk. It was squeezing a blood-red ruby in his petite hands, a ruby the size of a smaller coin. I took it out of the coffer to better observe it, a small text was written on its back in a human language.
The life within you unlocks the gate…
I turned it towards the sun, the crystal structure of the ruby was flawlessly glittering in the light. It must have been worth a small fortune. A strange feeling took over me as I was holding the statue, my hands were tingling and it felt as if warmth was slowly spreading through my palms. Still, nothing happened.
What could this text mean? I was thinking hard and was captivated by the statue for a while. I had never seen anything like this. Since nothing came to my mind at that moment, I put it back and closed the coffer. I started opening the letters and reading through the documents. They all concerned the land: how many animals had deceased, damages in the crop due to the lack of precipitation, all kinds of boring things that I did not care for. I opened the last letter which had the seal of the baron of the neighbouring province.
Dear Baron Telron Muran,
The ownership of the Kirklander mine has been the subject of dispute between us for a long time and had caused much tension in the past. It is located exactly at the border between our provinces, therefore both of us had declared ownership above it. I would like to make a final, generous offer to purchase the territory. I am willing to pay five hundred golden dorens of the duchy for the mine and the Kirklander village. This is much more than its actual value, as you know well. Do consider your response, since my offer is valid for one week. If no response arrives until then, I will reckon that the business does not interest you.
Yours sincerely,
Baron Yuraj Gelwin
Interesting letter, according to Telron’s memories, they had never been in a good relationship with the neighbouring nobleman. They always fought their own little battles, relentlessly contravening each other. If he decided to make such a generous offer, something grave must have been in the background. The baron would never accept it, no matter how tempting the amount of gold was. It was always his ancestors that ruled this land, over generations, therefore, I also had to act accordingly to keep up appearances.
I sighed deeply and put the papers, the coffer, the jewellery bag, and the crystal ball back to the hiding place. It would lead to nothing good if someone saw it and started questioning what it was and where it came from. I pushed the bookshelf back and stretched my limbs. It was time to eat, all this excitement left me really hungry.
Hrindel escorted me to the great hall of the castle, where tables were lined up on the two sides of the wall, serving the most delicious foods and beverages. The air was filled with an enticing smell. The pointed, ornamented windows on both sides of the hall allowed enough light to enter the room. There must have been dozens of people inside, soldiers and servants; the pot-bellied, dewlapped father Delgron, as well as the veteran Ravdel, the captain of the castle were also there. The table of the baron and his family was placed opposite the entrance, at the end of the hall. Viona, the only daughter of the baron was already married, so it was only the baroness who was sitting at the table, alone, impatiently waiting for her husband to arrive.
The volume of the conversation slightly decreased as I entered the hall. Many greeted me with a bow of the head as I confidently passed through the room among the tables. I felt how the staring looks followed each of my moves, but I ignored it as now I was the lord of the house. I seated beside baroness Kirona, where a pleasant scent of hyacinth and lily of the valley greeted me. She was dressed in a thuja green silk tunic. Her waist-long grey-brown hair was concealed under a wimple. To appear even thinner than she was, she had put on a corset around her waist. She could have denied a good couple of years of her real age, she was still considered
an attractive woman. She looked tense as she looked at me with her nougat brown glowing eyes. She was quick-witted, she always knew who the lover of her husband was at the moment.
“Where have you been for so long, my dear husband? Haven’t you even changed your clothes after hunting?” she snapped at me with a sharp glance.
I had to adapt, taking the tone of the baron as he usually talked to his wife.
“I had an errand to run, stop nagging me, woman! Can’t you see how many hungry people are waiting for us, let’s eat!” I answered, opening my arms, trying to avoid a conflict.
She didn’t react, only grunted to herself. I lifted my wine cup and signalled the start of the lunch. Everyone had been yearning for the delightful game meat and the exquisite red wine from the Yandor highlands, which I consumed with great appetite, and which I also needed to regain my energies. It was normal to develop great hunger after each transformation. Unlike other humanoid races, I had two stomachs. The dwarf chef prepared an excellent lunch again, she knew how to please the guests with her food.
“Are you going to go out hunting again tomorrow?” Kirona asked, eating her pea soup.
“I don’t know yet, it depends on work and the weather. I thought being baron meant I wouldn’t have to slog through paper work and kiss noblemen’s asses,” I answered without thinking, just as the baron would do.
“Do you know that we are invited to Bishop Burron in the city of Tizland on the day of Saint Rozina?” she turned to me slightly raising her voice.
“Uhm, of course. Certanily, I have not forgotten about it, woman,” I answered a bit confused as I found nothing about this visit among the memories. I knew that the Bishop was a useful ally and a good friend of Telron, but the fact that we should pay a visit within a couple of days caught me on the hop.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t forget, although it would be typical of you,” she continued.
“You have only been bothering me since I sat down, Kirona. We are leaving in four days, and I promise you that we will get there on time,” I glanced at her vigorously, as I was chewing on some boar meat to cease the extreme hunger in my stomachs.
“Let that be true, Telron. I was just reminding you to take the necessary measures. We have to bring a present for the Bishop. Have you thought of anything?”
Once again, I started digging among the memories to discover what gift his excellency Burron would be delighted about. The memories never left me in doubt, they flashed in front of my eyes and I found out within a few seconds that his favourite leisure activity was to deal with horses.
“What would you say if we took a horse from the Felrond stud? Say, a pretty black mare? He is fond of horses.”
“Sounds great, but can we afford that? A horse like that must be at least one hundred golden dorens.”
“I’m the bloody baron of Rockclaw, we have the funds for it if I say we do,” I shrugged.
“If you say so. Will you sleep with me tonight or would you rather spend the night with a whore?” she said with a bite to her words.
I took a large gulp from the goblet, trying to carefully consider my response. I was searching through the memories not to say something unusual. They had not slept together for months, they lay next to each other like two strangers.
“I will spend the night in my marriage bed. Calm yourself now, woman,” I chucked the empty glass on the table, followed by a big burp.
The baroness, without a wink of the eye, carried on picking from the food, until finally she put down the silver cutlery and turned towards me.
“If you will excuse me, my dearest husband, I am going to retire to bed.”
“As you wish,” I gave my consent.
She proudly straightened up and walked out of the hall, escorted by a servant. Likewise, I stood up, just like everyone in the hall, as required by the etiquette. Everything returned to normal after the departure of the baroness, the rest of the lunch was accompanied by loud burps, laughter, and joyous conversation.
What would all these people do if they knew who they were sharing their lunch with? I began enjoying my new situation. Finally, I could play the role of a man of power and not some dull servant or soldier. The guests in the hall had no idea of what was going on. How would they have known? I was acting without a flaw, and seemingly no suspicion emerged even in the wife. Having filled both of my stomachs, I returned to the bureau. I sent Hrindel away, I did not need him to be at my heels during the rest of the day. I wrote the rejection letter to baron Yuraj, stating that I had no interest in his offer. I gave the sealed letter to a messenger so that it could be delivered as soon as possible. I lit a candle on the table, its flame dancing like a frisky fish on the hook. I cut my finger with my dagger and held it above the flame and recited the sacrificial words.
“Shrin de val, Andor, you who inhabit everything, I ask you to accept my offering that I present you. Assist me on my journey to bring triumph to my plans. I am grateful to you for having protected me before. I remain your truthful child to eternity.”
The flame of the candle sizzled on the dripping drops of blood and was not put out which, as our tradition, was a good sign. The sacrifice to Andor has been accepted. I blew out the flame with relief. The events of the coming weeks would be life-changing, I could not make the tiniest mistake, I needed to be the best actor I could be.
I was burning with curiosity, so I decided to open the tiny gilded coffer once again. I was holding the small granite statue that was grasping on a blood red ruby. I was mesmerized by the elaborate handicraft, the curves, the shapes that seemed alive – I could have kept watching for hours. Some blood got on the precious stone, so I grabbed a rag and cleaned it, then used it as a bandage on my finger. Although I was recovering faster than other races, my wounds did not heal immediately.
“What secret is concealed in this little trinket?” I wondered. “Who made it and when? Can it be even older than me?”
My thoughts were wandering as I looked out of the tower on the valley below. I suddenly noticed that two tiny hands were reaching out with its claws from the mirror that lay on the table and then a horrid head emerged. The creature started crawling onto the table. I jumped up from my chair, backed off a little, and drew my dagger. I had never seen anything like this, even though I had been wandering around for a century by now. It was staring at me with its enormous, sulphur-yellow, wide open eyes, without a blink of an eye. A sturdy trunk was hanging from between its eyes, down to its tummy, its ears were huge and pointed. Its wrinkled, hairless, lead grey skin was not covered by any clothes. It was the spitting image of the little statue, only this was flesh and blood. It was crawling on all fours, just like an animal, and was hardly bigger than a large cat. Its limbs were long and skinny, had only four fingers on each paw, all ending in tiny claws. It had something very strange about it. My sixth sense was thumping like crazy in my head, something I only felt in life-threatening danger. This creature, whatever it might be, was immensely dangerous.
“What the hell are you, and how did you get here?” I snapped, hoping it would understand what I was saying.
It narrowed its eyes and was glaring at me suspiciously. Its mouth or where a humanoid creature would have its mouth was hidden behind its trunk. It started talking to me in a tinkling voice, in a human language.
“Some mock me as mirror demon, but I don’t like this name. I'm an Alqafka. I cannot pronounce my name in this primitive language, but you can call me Gideur, the Mirror Dweller. I arrived on your calling, this gem has summoned me,” it said, pointing at the statue I was holding onto with its tiny claws.
“Have I summoned you? I was only holding this little granite statue,” I was staring at the peculiar creature, distrustfully, still pointing the dagger at it. I became quite confused by what it had said.
“Whoever drops their own blood on the statue holding the ruby, summons me. this is the time that I can open a gate to this dimension, through a mirror. Provided that there is one around. You can put that
dagger away, you cannot harm to me with that.”
I lowered the dagger to my side but didn’t drop it.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Somewhere far where ships can’t sail and no mortal can walk to,” the Mirror Dweller replied. “And now, time for my questions! Who are you and why did you summon me?” The creature sat down on the top of the table, waiting for my response with its fingers crossed on its tiny tummy.
So this was what the text on the top of the coffer was referring to. The life within you unlocks the gate; the gate that let this creature through, whatever it is. Since I didn’t trust it, and my instincts told me that I was in danger, I didn’t listen to it and tightened the grip on my blade.
“If I had summoned you, it was by mere accident. I had no intention to call you, I was simply not aware of what this statue was capable of. My name is Baron Telron Muran,” I introduced myself carefully.
“So you called me unintentionally and have no request? If you don’t want problems, stop wasting my time, human,” it started tapping its claws on the table.
“Forgive me, it’s not my fault…”
“Enough! You either give me a precious stone, or I take your life for disturbing my slumber!”
It shouted an incomprehensible word and the dagger flew out of my hands, across the room, bored into the opposite wall. But what truly alarmed me was that this creature has not once blinked once since it appeared. I have rarely experienced fear but now this emotion completely overtook my mind.
“I told you to put your weapon away, human, I don’t like repeating myself!”
Faceless: The Takeover (The Shapeshifters Book 1) Page 2