The Third Eye Initiative

by J. J. Newman

  Within the hour, Blorick, Isaac and the Watchmen marched in formation on horseback through the city streets. Five humans and five dwarves made up the group, not including Isaac and Blorick. The display was impressive, and people moved out of the street and watched in awe as the Watchmen passed. Usually the citizens saw the Watchmen in pairs or small groups on foot as they patrolled. A march like this was rare, and meant their business was important.

  Finally the Watchmen reached the gates of the Purity Union Compound. The Compound was contained behind a tall brick wall, and a barred gate. It was made up of three buildings; a meeting hall on the east side, and lecture house on the west side and a large mansion on the north side. The meeting hall and lecture house were made of red brick and wooden roofs, both one story and looking much the same from the outside. The mansion was made of expensive oak painted white, and a healthy amount of marble, and was three stories tall. As marble did not come cheap, the mansion was one of the most expensive buildings in Market, if not the entire city.

  Two guardsmen stood outside the gate, one to either side. Blorick saw others patrolling the property through the bars. Blorick locked his gaze on the guardsman to his left.

  “Open the gate,” Blorick demanded.

  “What business does The City Watch have in the compound, dwarf?” The guard asked in a haughty voice.

  Blorick’s left fist crashed into the guard’s nose, and the man collapsed to the ground. Blorick looked at the other guard, who was clearly shaken. “Open the gate.”

  The guard produced a key from his belt, and had the gate open in seconds. Blorick and his men marched onto the compound grounds. The guards patrolling all cast looks their way, but none moved to challenge them. Blorick was slightly disappointed that they didn’t. When they reached the mansion, Blorick didn’t stop to speak to the guards manning the door. He tried the handle and, finding it locked, smashed the door down with his hammer. The guards looked pale and worried, but remained silent.

  Blorick and his men entered the mansion. The inside was opulent, with statues, paintings and expensive carpets. The entry room was massive and cavernous, with two large winding marble staircases heading to an upper landing. Blorick marched up the stairs and past the guards. He was Captain of The City Watch and, other than the ass at the front gates, nobody dared challenge him.

  They entered a long hallway leading away from the top landing. Orc slaves were performing a variety of tasks, from cleaning to carrying drinks and food to other parts of the mansion. A long red carpet lay upon the ground the entire length, and more paintings lined the walls. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door, and Blorick opened it without knocking.

  Inside the room a woman sat at a desk, and there was another door on the right wall.

  “Can I help you?” the woman asked.

  “Where is Dormic?” he asked.

  “He’s in his office, but he’s very busy...” Before the woman could finish her sentence, Blorick marched to the door and opened it.

  A man sat behind a large desk by the window. The room matched the rest of the mansion perfectly, with expensive decor and carpeting. The man was neither old nor young, but somewhere in between. He had long blond hair that was held back by a black band. He wore an expensive dark green cuffed long-coat, and a lighter green buttoned down short. Blorick recognized him as Dormic Marain, the leader of the Purity Union. His pale blue eyes narrowed at the intrusion.

  “Captain Blorick. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Dormic asked, a hint of spite in his voice.

  “You’ve gone too far this time, Dormic,” Blorick said, in a tight voice.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dormic replied.

  “I think you do,” Blorick said. “And this is not a good time to play games with me.”

  “If you’re going to accuse me of something, then go ahead and do it already. I’m a busy man.”

  “Some elves were attacked last night. Two of them died.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” Dormic said insincerely.

  “Unfortunate that they were beaten, or unfortunate that they lived?” Blorick said angrily.

  “You can’t be suggesting that we had something to do with it. Really, Captain. You should be careful of making wild accusations.”

  Blorick turned to his men. “All of you but Isaac wait in the hallway,” he ordered. The room emptied quickly. Blorick turned back to the Dormic.

  “I’ll say it again. I ain't for playing games with you, Dormic,” Blorick said ominously.

  “The only one here who appears to be playing games is you, Captain.”

  Blorick took his hammer and brought it down hard in the middle of the desk, breaking it in two. Dormic leaped to his feet, startled. Anger quickly replaced the surprise in his eyes.

  “Who do you think you are? I’ll see that that council hears of this abuse,” Dormic said.

  “Tell me what you know about the attacks, or I’ll show you real abuse,” Blorick said, unfazed by the man’s threat.

  “I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about. You can smash this house to pieces, it doesn’t change the truth.” Then Dormic smiled confidently. “Besides, we both know you can’t lay a hand on me without proof, dwarf. You touch me and your career is finished. I’m running for a position on the Council, after all. An attack on me by you might look like an act of hatred, not an act of justice. Not that justice has ever been anything but an act.”

  Blorick took a step towards Dormic. “You listen to me. If I find out that you’re behind these attacks, I’ll kill you. I don’t care if it costs me my career or my life.”

  “Shouldn’t you be investigating the murders of our members last night, instead of coming here and hurling you unfounded accusations? Is that not your job, good dwarf?”

  “I’ll look into it,” Blorick said in a sardonic way, making it clear he would do no such thing. “You remember what I said. I’m not forgetting the Union crimes this time. If even one of your low ranking lackeys is so much as seen spitting in the direction of a non-human, I’ll see that the Purity Union is abolished.”

  Dormic smiled again. “I hope that naive optimism serves you well in your job, dwarf. Good day, Captain. I’m sure you can see yourself out. I’ll make sure The City Watch is billed for the price of the desk.”

  Blorick glared hard, wanting nothing more than the knock that condensing face right off the man’s head. He knew he couldn't, however. The Purity Union had a lot of friends, and a lot of money. And if Dormic was elected to The City Council, they would have actual power as well.

  ***

  Blorick went over the meeting on the long ride back to The City Watch headquarters. He had stopped himself from reacting. He did not want to give Dormic the pleasure, but the fact that the man was trying to get a seat on The City Council was bad news. The Purity Union had always craved real power. Now that power was within their grasp. He knew he couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Blorick was conflicted. He knew what he had to do, but hated the idea. He was a good Watchman who liked to do things by the book. He knew the system was corrupt and flawed, and had vowed to not let that same corruption take him. Yet he was starting to see how foolish he was being. The City did not allow for men like him, and he sometimes felt that he was making his job much harder, and endangering others by adhering to a code of ethics that made no sense in a city like this.

  When he reached the headquarters, he dispersed the constables and sent Isaac back to work. He changed his clothes quickly in his office, exchanging his surcoat and armor for his causal street clothes. When he headed back into the streets he looked like an ordinary civilian dwarf.

  He was shaking, but determined. He had never done anything like this before, and hated that he was forced to do it now. But what choice did he have?

  He stood outside the doors to the Tarnished Tankard for a long time before he finally opened the doors and entered. The moment he stepped inside every eye turned to him. They gave him thre
atening stares filled with suspicion and hostility. He returned those looks in kind. Blorick did not intimidate easily.

  He approached the bar, and spoke to the man behind it. “I need to see Elias,” he demanded.

  The man nodded. “Have a seat. I’ll send for him.” Blorick was surprised at how cooperative the man was.

  Blorick found an empty table, and sat waiting. Blorick had known Elias for many years, before he had gotten caught up with this group. The two had been friends, and Blorick liked to think that they still were, to an extent.

  Blorick didn’t know much about these people, but he knew enough. He knew that they were many and powerful, but they were different than the other underground organizations. They were no assassin or thieves guild. In his dealing with them, he had come to believe that they were trying to help The City.

  Their methods were brutal, and Blorick knew that they got at least some of their funding by extorting business for protection money, and by theft. Yet whenever Elias had asked him to look the other way when they performed some of their larger tasks, Blorick was always glad he did. The conclusion seemed to always benefit the City, whether they were burning down opium dens, or stealing resources from suspected gangsters.

  In truth, that was the extent of Blorick’s knowledge, as it was only rarely that Elias would come to him at all. But he knew Elias, and desperately wanted to believe the man when he told him that they were working towards a goal that would mean a better city. Alone in a sea of corruption, Blorick needed to believe in something.

  This was different, though. He had never come to Elias before, and wasn’t sure how he would be received. He had been to this tavern only once before under Elias’ invitation. He hoped that coming here hadn’t been a mistake.

  Elias finally appeared in the doorway, glanced at Blorick, then walked to the bar. A moment later he sat at the table, carrying two tankards of ale. He handed one to Blorick.

  “What are you doing here?” Elias asked, not unkindly. He was just a blunt man who liked to get right to the point.

  “Did you kill The Purity Union members?” Blorick could be blunt as well.

  “What do you want, Blorick? You’re not in uniform, so you’re obviously not here on an investigation.”

  Blorick didn’t really expect a straight answer. “I’m sure you know that The Purity Union attacked a number of elves last night. Two of them died.”

  “So I hear.”

  “I just spoke with Dormic. He denied the whole thing, of course.”

  “That sounds about right. Dormic is not about to admit to anything, certainly not to a Captain of the Watch,” Elias replied.

  Blorick took a pull of his ale, trying to find the words to convey his real purpose in coming. He decided that it was best to just dive right in, as a man like Elias did not take well to small talk.

  “I hear he’s running for City Council,” Blorick felt himself growing nervous. He was not in his element.

  “Yes, I know.”

  “That would be very bad for any non-humans, don’t you think?” Blorick wiped sweat from his brow.

  “Yes, it would. If those bigots get any real power, you can bet that the dwarves and elves will pay a heavy price.” Elias took a long pull of his own ale.

  “Yeah. And I’ll have lost any chance of seeing them brought to justice. Dormic will have a lot more authority in The City than I do,” Blorick said.

  “I know all of this. Get to the point, Blorick.”

  Blorick locked his eyes with Elias’. “The City Watch is really busy these days. I don’t know that we’d have time to investigate if something unfortunate happened to the Purity Union, even if it happened to Dormic himself. We’re short-staffed, and it’s a big district. And if the Council were to demand an investigation, I doubt I’d even be able to find anything. I’ve been so overworked, my senses have been dull of late.”

  “We all have times like that. Every man needs a break. I hope for their sakes that nothing terrible happens to them during your fatigue,” Elias replied, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

  Blorick finished his ale. “Me too. But The City is a dangerous place, so you never know. Take care, Elias.”

  “You too, Blorick.”

  Blorick left the tavern feeling slightly ill. He knew that he had just opened the door for mass murder. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

  ***

  Elias sat reflecting on his meeting with Blorick. The dwarf must be really upset and worried to come to him like that. It had never happened before. Even more surprising, Blorick had more or less asked Elias to destroy the Purity Union.

  That the Purity Union was going to be destroyed had already been decided, and Elias had been wondering how he would hide these activities from The City Watch. He never imagined that the problem would come and solve itself. Things almost never worked out this smoothly. It made him nervous.

  He finished his drink, and ordered another. This operation would not be small. The Purity union was made up of many members, and Elias meant to see them all dead. It wasn’t only to avenge his injured protégé. If the Purity Union were allowed to continue attacking and killing the elves, the newly formed alliance would be in danger. It was very important to the Third Eye Initiative that the alliance remain intact

  Elias finished his second drink quickly, then paid and left the tavern. There was work to be done, and it would be hard and bloody. He would see The Purity Union as well as everyone and everything they believed in and held dear torn to the ground around them. War was coming to the Union bigots, and it would come from the shadows.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Consequence

  “Here, I want you to squeeze this as hard as you can,” Tyrier said, handing Tsaeris a rubber ball. Tsaeris did as he was told, squeezing it with his injured right hand and almost screamed in pain. He hadn’t squeezed it very hard.

  “Well, that’s good news,” Tyrier said. “Better news than I expected.”

  “What are you talking about? I can barely close it, and it hurts like hell.”

  “Yes, but the fact is that you can close it. Means that the damage wasn’t as bad as it looked, and now that the swelling is down I’m not sure it was broken at all. Maybe cracked.”

  Tsaeris sat in the clinic, feeling almost whole. His hand still ached horribly, and the carving in his chest was scabbed over and sensitive, but for the most part he felt better. Even the wound in his stomach had closed nicely, and the stitches had been removed earlier that day. He was sure that the attack would have cost him his life at the time. Instead it cost him about two weeks. His ribs were still tender and would take longer to heal than the rest, but he could still walk and move. All in all, Tsaeris had escaped only slightly damaged.

  “Can I go now?” He asked.

  “I think so. You should even be fine to return to work, though it’ll have to be light duty. But first we have to go see somebody,” Tyrier replied.

  “Who?”

  “The boy who saved your life and his father.”

  “What? Why do we have to see them?” Tsaeris asked.

  “The boy saved your life, you ungrateful little shit. His father too. Don’t you at least want to thank them?” Tyrier seemed unimpressed.

  “Well. I don’t know. I’m not good at that kind of thing. Can’t you just thank them for me?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t want to go,” Tsaeris knew that he sounded whiny, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood to meet with strangers, despite the fact that they had saved his life.

  “I don’t care. They deserve your thanks, and you’re going to give it to them.”

  “What ever happened to the unsung hero? You know, the deed is the reward, no thanks needed. All that junk.” Tsaeris thought it was a good point, but he could tell by Tyrier’s expression that he didn’t agree.

  “Tsaeris, are you honestly doing this? I know you can be callous, but this is absurd. They saved your life. You would be dead right now, and you can
’t even go to them and say thank you?”

  “You think I’m callous?” Tsaeris asked.

  “Don’t change the subject. This is beneath even you. The fact that I have to drag you there is pathetic. You should be ashamed, you little puke.” Tyrier looked angry.

  “Alright, I’ll do it. I’m sorry for being a callous little puke, alright? I was almost killed after all. Cut me some slack.”

  “Get dressed for the outside. It’s cold,” Tyrier turned to get dressed himself.

  “What, now? It’s dark out,” Tsaeris argued.

  “It’s not that late, and I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’re doing this tonight,” Tyrier said, in a tone that brooked no further argument.

  Tsaeris sighed, strapped on his short sword, and dressed in his grey woolen coat and wolf fur cloak. He waited a few minutes for Tyrier to finish getting ready. The Doctor reappeared dressed in heavy winter clothes, with a mace at his belt. The two men left the clinic.

  Snow had fallen during the day. It was a light dusting, and nothing like the blizzard a week or so ago. It was a comfortable amount of snow, and the cold was bearable, though after a few minutes Tsaeris found that his ribs ached even more in the cold than they had inside.

  The two men walked silently, Tyrier obviously unhappy with Tsaeris’ unwillingness to thank his rescuers. Tsaeris knew he had been unreasonable, but he couldn't help it. He was just not a people person, and thanking strangers would not come easily to him.

  A light snow fall began, and Tsaeris watched the flakes as they descended and were illuminated in the torchlight of the street lamps. Winter had an eerie beauty to it, even though it cast everything in a white-grey tone. He also found the color familiar, and even a little comfortable.

  He supposed that it had something to do with the fact that he was Tundra Elf. He was a smart and deductive person, and he had concluded that his earliest memory of him walking in the snow must have had something to do with his lineage. Maybe he had been born with the elves and had been taken to The City. It made sense considering that his first memory was snow and his second was The City.