“I take it you were amongst them,” Sayana observed.
“Ya take it correctly,” MacKenner confirmed. “But… amongst all that, a few o’ me kin did bring along a few boxes along with ‘em, so there is a slim possibility yer sceptre was amongst them. As I said, it’s not me field of expertise, but I will forward yer request to the archivists and see what we can find.”
“We’d greatly appreciate it,” Nellise said with a relieved smile. “How long is this likely to take?”
“Considering how busy things are at the moment, it might be a few weeks,” MacKenner replied, hands spread wide apologetically.
“Is there anything you can do to expedite the search?” Nellise inquired, her brief moment of relief fading rapidly.
“’Tis all a matter of knowing the right people,” the Chamberlain explained. “And the right people are a bit preoccupied right now.” Pacian levelled a disbelieving gaze at the bureaucrat, suspecting that he was fishing for something in return.
“Is there anything we can do for you that might speed things up?” Pacian asked cynically.
“What are ye implying?” MacKenner asked shrewdly. In reply, Pacian took out his coin pouch and sat it on the desk before him. He set his hand down to one side and drummed his fingers on the polished wood.
“If yer thinkin’ to bribe me, think again,” MacKenner growled.
“Oh, you misunderstand,” Pacian said lightly. “This is no bribe. Think of it as a contribution to your people’s war chest. After all, conducting even a small battle can be expensive, am I right?”
“I don’t know what ye’ve heard, but we’re not at war,” the Chamberlain hedged, looking at the coin pouch with covetous eyes. Valennia, her patience exhausted, slammed her fist down on the desk, startling everyone with the sudden noise.
“Enough of these word games!” she snarled. “You are all wasting valuable time. Find this weapon for us, tiny man, or direct us to someone who can help. And do not attempt to disguise what is taking place outside your gates — that is a war party, planning to leave at first light if I am not mistaken. Whom do you make war upon, bearded one, and can I join in?” The Chamberlain took a moment to compose himself after the akoran’s outburst.
“As I said, I will send your request to the archivists,” he said carefully. “It will take time, but if you were to offer a service to our city it is entirely possible—”
“What service do you require?” Valennia interrupted, her temper short. Nellise placed a hand on her arm to try and calm her down.
“Understand that this information is sensitive, and were ya not official representatives of our staunch allies in Aielund, no amount of coercion would compel me to divulge what you are about to hear,” MacKenner divulged in a low voice, leaning forward over his desk. “We greatly depend on trade here in Stonegaard, and to have a major highway blockaded is intolerable.”
“Who’s blocking the road?” Sayana asked, unsure what the dwarf was referring to. “Do you have a bandit problem in the mountains?”
“No, our problem is a little bigger than that,” MacKenner responded. “Half the nobility in the city are losing money every day, and they’re screaming at the king to take action. Yer own king is out of the country fighting a war, so it falls to us to secure the mountains. A full company of warriors are mustering out front for action at first dawn, as ye so delicately pointed out.”
“I still don’t understand who—” Nellise said, before Sayana interrupted.
“Don’t you see?” she blurted, gathering everyone’s attention. “They’re not chasing some bandits, they’re going after the dragon, Azurefang!” A deathly silence fell in the room as this startling revelation sank in.
“This is madness,” Nellise whispered, but the chamberlain seemed resolute.
“This is our home, my lady,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “No-one and nothing blocks the highway, and as representatives of Aielund, whose roads we will be risking our lives to clear, I officially request ye aid us in whatever manner ye can provide. If ya refuse, well… it might take months to get the information ya came for.”
“Subtle,” Pacian growled, displeased at being manipulated.
“It seems we don’t have much choice,” Nellise stated, receiving a satisfied nod from the chamberlain. The tension in the room was palpable, and nobody spoke for a long moment until Valennia broke the silence.
“Bloody fantastic,” she uttered with a wild grin.
Chapter Four
As the sun sank into the west, Aiden noted that his body was sore in ways he didn’t realise were possible. They had ridden hard all day, stopping only briefly for short periods of rest when needed. As bad as Aiden felt, Ronan had it worse. The sailor practically toppled off his mount when they came to a stop in a clearing, groaning in pain and clutching at his legs. They had taken pity on the poor man, setting up the camp and tending his horse while he writhed on the ground.
The temperature, already just above freezing, plummeted further as the sun set and the four weary travellers gathered around the blazing campfire Sir William had lit to ward off the winter chill. The weather remained fair and stars twinkled lazily in the heavens, but the clear skies worked against them, ensuring a cold night ahead.
Aiden sat in his bedroll next to the fire, enjoying the sizzling meat Sir William had cooked. The knight’s earlier melancholy seemed to have abated somewhat, perhaps aided by the mundane tasks of setting up camp. The sounds of wolves baying could be heard far in the distance, but otherwise it was an otherwise peaceful scene. At the edge of the firelight, their horses stood covered in blankets, with Maggie’s white tiger nuzzling and licking them like they were his kittens.
“That’s… just wrong,” Ronan remarked, propped up against his equipment near the fire. Maggie glanced over and smiled at the sight of the animals, absently rubbing her injured arm with her other hand. The sleeve of her tunic was slowly filling out as her arm regrew, and she was at the point where she could place a glove on the end of her arm. It was still empty, but that would change soon enough.
“I’m so used to it that I hardly notice anymore,” the raelani druid shrugged. “Thorn is particularly friendly anyway, so it doesn’t take much coaxing to have him treating animals he’d normally be eating as old friends.”
“How did you end up with a tiger as a pet, anyway?” Aiden asked curiously. “They’re kind of rare this far north, and not really common even in the south from what I’ve read.”
“That’s essentially correct,” Maggie confirmed, wrapping herself up in a blanket. “Have you ever heard of the Grand Duchy of Kurhain?”
“I recall Nellise mention that her family was from there, though I know nothing else about it.”
“Is that right?” she said with mild surprise. “She’s a long way from home, then. Sometime in the past the old empire of Ramidia was invaded by a large force from across the sea. The empire was ancient and already crumbling from within, so it was slow to respond, allowing the enemy to gain a foothold.”
“With the war continuing for many years, some of the Kurhanir aristocrats brought their expensive pets from the mainland, including tigers, which had never before existed in Feydwiir. Not long after this, the northern part of the Ramidian Empire took advantage of the situation to revolt, causing massive upheaval in province of Lyden. Many of these exotic imported pets were lost during the fighting, making their way into the wild. Cats, being the most adaptable of creatures, managed to survive to this day.”
“So, they’re just like other wild cats now?” Ronan asked. “I’m guessing you just picked one up in the forest someplace. You could have just told us that in the beginning, you know.”
“It’s not quite that simple,” Maggie corrected the sailor. “True tigers are rare in the wilds, as they are often hunted for sport and they’ve begun to interbreed with our native mountain lions. I found Thorn as a cub, after the rest of his pride had been slaughtered.” Her voice tightened as she spoke, clearly imply
ing that she was still outraged at the killing, even now.
“I hope you brought those people to justice for their crime,” Sir William said, caught up in her story as much as any of them.
“After tending to the cub’s injuries, I took it upon myself to dispense some frontier justice,” Maggie assured him. “There were five humans, all armed with crossbows. None survived.”
“That seems a little harsh,” the old knight pointed out.
“You think that I should have tried to arrest them?” she scoffed. “We were in the deep forests of the Kingdom of Clydach, and there was no way I was going to try and drag five of them back to a city for trial. No, while in the forests of this land, I am justice.” She took a moment to fill a small kettle with water and place it onto the fire.
“I’ll tell you something else, gentlemen — I have been all across the northern end of Feydwiir and in my travels, I have seen only one other true tiger. When an animal becomes that scarce, it is the duty of my order to ensure their survival. Thorn has been with me ever since, possibly the last of the great tigers in these lands.”
“That leads me to another question,” Ronan said, catching her attention. “Your people aren’t known for travel or high adventure, as such, so how does a raelani woman go from being a copper to a druid hundreds of miles away from home?”
“Being a member of the Brigham Watch wasn’t all it was cracked up… hey! I never said I was a copper!” Maggie protested.
“I could have sworn you did,” Ronan mused, a twinkle in his eye. Aiden grinned as he realised that he’d gotten the truth out of her at last.
“That’s a damned lie and you know it,” Maggie fumed.
“Well, since the cats out of the bag, you might as well keep talking,” Ronan said.
“Alright, since you’ve figured it out…” she began with a rueful grin. “You’re right — I was a member of the Watch in Brigham, capitol of the Rael islands, and the first woman to be allowed into their ranks. I was very young at the time, full of fire and frankly a lot smarter than most of the Watch. And yes, that attitude got me into trouble more than once.”
“I can well imagine,” Aiden remarked.
“So, Brigham is a proper city?” Ronan inquired.
“Yes, modelled after Fairloch, if you must know,” Maggie explained. “The first of our people to visit your cities years ago were suitably impressed, and had a great influence on our society. The place changed so much, even in my time there,” she added, her eyes misting over with nostalgia.
“You left your home because you didn’t like the new direction it was heading?” Sir William tried to guess.
“Somewhat, yes,” she replied. “You have to understand that I grew up in the country, with wide, rolling hills and green as far as the eye could see. After five years working for the Watch, I implicated some corrupt officials who were skimming money from merchants in the city. Although I was rewarded like a hero for bringing them in, most of the Watch shunned me after that. I eventually left, always wondering just how big that conspiracy really was.”
“So, I’d had enough of corruption and sexism for one lifetime and found a nice man to settle down with, out in the countryside. We raised two children, and life was fine until I caught my husband with another woman. Needless to say, I was unimpressed and left him. Just goes to show you that you don’t really know someone as well as you might think.”
“The urban landscape continued to grow over time, and my kids and I ended up moving deeper into the forest, where I learned the lore of herbal medicine from an old forester named Tamlyn. Just before she passed on, she bade me to seek out the druids of Feybourne that I might live the dream she never had the courage to pursue. With my young ones all grown up, I eventually travelled here and joined the druidic ranks, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“Now they’ve gone and betrayed you as well,” Ronan remarked.
“I see you’ve picked up on the recurring theme in my life,” Maggie replied dourly. “I sometimes wonder if I’m responsible for it all, or if I’m just unlucky enough to end up in the right place at the wrong time.”
“You uncovered corrupt officials, raised a family, and now alerted the Crown to the growing threat from your former brothers and sisters,” Sir William said without looking up from his food. “It seems to me that perhaps you were in the right place at the right time.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Maggie responded dubiously.
“I’m curious about your order, and their reasons for becoming hostile to civilised society,” Aiden inquired. “Is there anything else can you tell us?”
“Oh, there was always a latent hostility amongst the sect towards civilisation,” Maggie corrected him, “but the louder members never held sway until six weeks ago.”
“What changed?”
“Our leader vanished,” Maggie replied, taking a moment to lift the kettle from the flames with a stick, and then pouring the hot water into a small cup. A curious aroma wafted through the air, probably from a mixture of herbs within.
“I recall you mentioning he was deposed, back when we first met,” Aiden reminded her.
“That’s what I believe happened, yes,” Maggie nodded as she sipped her drink. “Our sect was becoming more and more divided on the subject of direct action, and I think that a group of four druids might have had a hand in his disappearance. The arch druid went into Feybourne one day, as he often did, but this time he never returned. When I started to investigate, I was warned to leave it alone. Being me, I couldn’t.”
“Once a copper, always a copper,” Ronan observed laconically.
“I guess so,” Maggie mumbled. “Anyway, to make a long story short, I ruffled some feathers and they came after me. I was outnumbered four to one so I jumped onto Thorn and rode off as fast as I could. They were aiming to kill, and I was lucky to escape with my life.”
“With our support, hopefully you can reach an accord with them,” Sir William said. “It would be a tragedy for this to devolve into a war based on misunderstandings.”
“I suspect that time has now passed,” Maggie replied ruefully. “I fear that events in Fairloch have kept me away for too long, and the situation may well have escalated in my absence.”
“You’re probably right,” Ronan yawned, lying down.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Maggie said as the sailor appeared to be getting ready to sleep. “You’ve learned about my past, now I want to hear about yours.”
“Are you planning to arrest me or something?” Ronan asked.
“Of course not, but fair’s fair.”
“There’s not much to tell,” Ronan shrugged. “But okay. My father was an elven merchant with a weakness for human women. He got a whore at a local brothel pregnant and then skipped town to avoid the shame, leaving my mother and her associates to raise me. I spent a lot of time on the street, and eventually joined up with the local thieves to get a better deal in life. After a couple of decades of that, I got sick of the violent bastards who were starting to dominate the guild and left to join the navy. Then you showed up. I think you know the rest.”
“That’s it?” Maggie asked, disappointed.
“Yep.”
“I liked Maggie’s story better,” Aiden drawled.
“Me too, it warmed the cockles of my heart,” Ronan drawled. “Now I’m tired and sore, so I’m going to sleep. I suggest you all do the same.”
“Sound advice,” Sir William agreed, stripping off his armour. Aiden did likewise with his breastplate and then pulled the blankets over his head to keep warm, but also to ensure that they wouldn’t see the blue light that would be emerging from underneath. Though he was tired, he couldn’t resist studying the cube for just a couple of hours.
The images of strange runes appeared above the relic once more as he activated it, and by pressing the little nodules on the sides, he was able to control what he saw. It was a kind of mystical book, complete with strange diagrams and other drawings which hovere
d in the air before him. Clearly, the markings were some kind of language and he was determined to figure it out, using the runes still visible on the crystal shard hanging around his neck as a guide.
Hours later, his eyelids grew heavy and the images before him started to blur together and Aiden finally had to put away the device, though the strange sigils were imprinted on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The next day’s ride was hard-going, as the weather took a turn for the worse. They had no choice but to lower their heads into the icy wind and keep going, hoping to reach the city of Amalis before nightfall. Passing merchants went by almost unseen in the squalid conditions, and Aiden felt frozen to his saddle, with his poor horse clearly exhausted from the effort.
Thoughts of sizzling hot food and roaring fires had kept Aiden alert during the ride, but his resolve was faltering as the sun made its descent toward the western horizon. Maggie lifted her arm to call for a halt as the party stopped within sight of the gates, steam rising from their breath and the flanks of their mounts.
“I’ll have to say goodbye to Thorn again, for the time being,” Maggie sighed, sliding to the ground and caressing the big cat’s fur affectionately. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, stroking his mane as she did. Thorn uttered a low growl and immediately turned and stalked off into the tree line, turning back to look at Maggie once before disappearing into the brush.
They were permitted entry by the guardsmen, who were more concerned with warming themselves by a nearby fire. The walls here were made of stone, but while far less impressive than those of Fairloch, they were newer were of an improved design.
The sounds and smells of the sea could be sensed nearby, for the city was built on a small bay. Few were risking the elements in this weather, and the streets were almost deserted as they made their way towards the first inn they could find, creatively called “The Buccaneer”.
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