by Sam Ryan
“That is where we are to meet Lord Malorin’s contact,” Madilyn said. “He will then lead us to the weapon’s test site.”
“And will that be by air or on foot?” Max asked, wondering if they would soon be bringing another passenger on board. The Trinket was a cutter and was only supposed to have a crew of two. Three people was fine but four would be pushing it.
“I am not sure.” Madilyn shook her head. “We are to make it seem like we are delivering our goods. So depending on the distance, it might be best for us to leave the Trinket tethered in dock while we slip out unnoticed.”
“Well, you have fun with that,” Max snorted. “I think I will just wait onboard my ship while you two go play hero.” She looked over at Sophia to see if she had shared in her joke, but the woman was staring off in the distance, no longer paying attention to what was going on around her.
Max had noticed that she did that from time to time. Like the woman was lost in distant memories. Max remembered that her grandfather was a lot like that. Any little thing seemed to remind him of something from his youth. And when people grew tired of listening to his stories, he would just relive them in his own mind, blocking out everyone around him.
But Sophia could not have been more than twenty five. What kind of life would she have lived to be having such habits?
Max did not have much time to ponder the question as she started to spot flashing white lights off in the distance as the port authorities signaled to her with instructions on where to dock the Trinket. She gave one last glance over to Sophia before stepping back from the wheel and spinning it, complying with her instructions.
CHAPTER 3
“Well, this place is bigger than.” Sophia paused as if trying to come up with the right thing to compare it too. “Well, bigger than I expected.” She shrugged glancing over at Madilyn.
“New Dentin is the second largest city in the Republic of Trevelia,” Madilyn said, looking out at the city before them. “It is nearly as large as Rouen in terms of square footage, though only about half the population.”
“You say that like it is an accomplishment on our part,” Sophia snorted.
Madilyn frowned, not sure what Sophia was implying, but Sophia did not elaborate on her comment. Instead, she stepped closer to the ledge of the walkway and rested her hands against the waist high stone wall. She stood in silence as she looked out at the city that stretched down the mountain side, ending at the mouth of a small gulf next to the ocean. There was little in the way of industry in New Dentin as its main source of commerce was shipping, leading to few smoke stacks and fairly clear skies.
Sophia seemed to be taking it all in as she watched the sun set over the ocean. There were countless other people bustling down the streets behind them. The coaches jingling as they rode by. Some people were even stopping to enjoy the view like they were. Madilyn thought she even spotted a couple a little ways down doing a bit more than enjoying the view.
“What is it with you and sunsets?” Madilyn asked, resting her hip against the wall so she was facing the woman, but still looking out at towards the city below them. “I get that they’re pretty and all, but you seem to have some kind of abnormal fascination with them.”
Sophia had made a point to every day be out on deck to watch the sun set. She never said a word and as soon as it was dark she would go back to whatever she had been doing before. Madilyn would think it some kind of religious ritual, if she thought Sophia the religious type.
“You see how the sun hits the water and sky, turning it that beautiful shade of orange?” Sophia asked, waving her hand in front of her like she was brushing the very sky.
“Yeah?” Madilyn shrugged, not sure how that answered her question.
“Never again will you be able to see this sight,” she stated. “It is only here once and then it is gone forever. I think it’s worth taking a little bit of my time and appreciating it.”
“You sound like an old woman,” Madilyn snorted.
“And what’s wrong with that?” Sophia scoffed. “I wish more people would act with the wisdom of the elderly.”
“That wisdom usually comes from experience,” Madilyn pointed out, letting her hand sit atop her wrist as she rested her elbow on the wall. She was being careful of her saber as she leaned against it. “That experience usually comes with the cost of a lifetime of mistakes.”
“Mistakes often made because their youthful ignorance prevents them from listening to the wisdom of old people. And the cycle goes on and on like clockwork.” Sophia laughed, her attention never being drawn away from the setting sun in front of her.
“Well a circle does not stop itself,” Madilyn stated.
“Oh, now look who is being the wise old woman.” Sophia smiled.
Madilyn could not help but stare at the utter contentment Sophia had in that moment as she peered off into the distance. In truth, the way the sun was reflecting off her face was quite a sight as well. There was just some-thing about how the light caught the glint in her dark eyes and how the light wind blew the stray strands of her hair.
Captivating was the only word she could think to describe it.
“You’re staring,” Sophia chided, her warm smile slipping a little.
“Sorry.” Madilyn instantly turned her attention away instead looking out at the sun.
“I’m not worth the effort of falling in love with,” Sophia teased with a deadpan tone.
“I really wasn’t planning on it,” Madilyn assured. “You’re not my type anyway.”
Sophia pursed her lips together as she looked down for a second. “I am going to regret asking, but out of curiosity. What is your type?”
“Male, generally speaking.”
Sophia scrunched her face in laughter. “And out in one.” She snapped her fingers, pretending to be disappointed.
“I also feel that I would have a hard time getting close to anyone who I did not think my equal or better in things. Combat, strategy, politics.”
“They can’t just be big and dumb huh?”
“Or smart and weak.” Madilyn nodded. “They also need to have a strong sense of loyalty and honor. I have to be able to trust them to do what is right no matter the situation.”
“Well you certainly have your standards,” Sophia said, nodding her head.
“Is that so wrong?” Madilyn was not angry or offended. She simply wished to know what Sophia was trying to imply with that statement.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I find too many people settle for the first thing that comes their way. But you also need to be careful to not be so focused on what you think you want that it blinds you to something better.”
“You’re right.” Madilyn nodded, placing both arms on the stone wall matching Sophia in posture as the two of them stared off into the distance. “I shouldn’t count anyone out without giving them a chance.”
Sophia turned her head towards Madilyn, surprised that she would so quickly agree with her.
“Max just might be the one for me after all,” Madilyn finished, giving Sophia a crooked smile.
Sophia let out another burst of laughter, not seeming to care if people stared. “She is boyish enough.” She chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. “Sorry, just ignore me. I’m was just waxing on philosophically. I get like that when I watch the sun set.”
“Only then, huh?”
The two shared a smile then returned to watching the last few minutes before the sun set. Once it had fully dipped below the horizon Sophia finally backed up, grabbing her walking cane that she had propped up next to her.
“Well,” Sophia said, stretching the stiffness out of her back. “Shall we get going to meet your contact?”
“We should.” Madilyn nodded, pushing away from the ledge. Her hand naturally resting on the hilt of her saber as she did so. “I was told to wait for him at the Smoke Hat. It’s a local pub where traders often meet to talk over purchases and other deals. He will make contact with us.”
�
�Sounds like a perfect place for merchants like ourselves to meet,” Sophia said. “Lead the way.” She gave her trademark half salute with her cane.
Madilyn at first had thought the salute was Sophia way of mocking her and the fact she was in the military. But later Madilyn came to realize the playful salute was more a term of endearment than anything. It was like Sophia’s subtle way acknowledging the fact that Madilyn was a knight and an officer, despite the covertness of their mission.
The two of them made their way down the walkway, the numerous street lamps doing well to help illuminate their path. A surprising number of them in fact. From her estimate there was a lamp about every fifteen feet or so. And on both sides of the street no less. She did not want to think about the amount of oil it would take to keep every single one of them lit. But she could not deny that it lit the streets better than anything back in Rouen.
Sophia did her part and stayed close to Madilyn as they walked, making sure that if anything happened Madilyn could easily intercede and get between Sophia and the danger. Her training in self-defense had not pro-gressed as fast as Madilyn would have hoped. Sophia seemed to struggle grasping even the basics. Even after a week of daily training she could barely do the simplest of joint locks. But then Madilyn may have been expecting a little too much from Sophia. That maybe she would have some hidden knack for fighting or some such. One look at the woman was all that was needed to know that would not be the case.
Something in one of the street lamps seemed to catch Sophia’s eye and she slowly started drifting over to one. She stopped just below it and peered up, straining her neck at the light as if searching for something.
“What’s wrong?” Madilyn asked, moving up behind her, half looking up at the light and half looking at Sophia.
“This light is white not yellow,” she said, pointing up at the glass frame that encased it. “That means it’s not candle lit or oil based.”
Madilyn frowned, giving the light a closer look. True enough, there was no flame behind the glass. It was only then that she realized that the lights did not give off the flicking motion that a flame would have.
The light was so bright that it was hard to stare directly into, and Madilyn was forced to look away, but the short glimpse she got looked like a burning metal coil of some sort.
“How is that possible?” Madilyn asked, trying to blink out the purple spots that she was now seeing. She had never heard of metal producing light before.
“It sort of resembles Magelight,” Sophia said, her voice a half whisper. Her attention still focused on the lamp. She shifted her weight, angling her head to the side in order to get a better look.
“What’s Magelight?” Madilyn asked blinking a few more times to clear her vision then brought her full attention back to Sophia.
“It’s what the old Arana Empire used,” Sophia explained. “It was part of what the Legendary Relics generated. They would use the magic from the Relics to power devices such as this.” Sophia tapped her finger on the glass.
“So then they might really have a Legendary Relic,” Madilyn said.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Sophia chided, raising cautionary hand to Madilyn. “I said this resembled Magelight, not that it was Magelight. Usually Magelight is emanated from some sort of gem. Like a diamond or emerald. This is more like an arcing flame between two metal rods.”
“But it is possible?” Madilyn pressed.
Sophia took a long time to answer, as if she did not want to admit it out loud. “Yes,” she said finally. “It is theoretically possible that a Legendary Relic is powering this.”
That was definitely interesting news. News that Madilyn was not sure how to take. If they really were using the Relics as power supplies, then it was unlikely that they would then turn around and use them as weapons. She doubted they would make their cites dependent upon them only to later leave them powerless so they could use them as a weapon. But then what caused the explosion in the forest? An initial testing of the Relic that went wrong? Regardless, she doubted this was a coincidence.
Madilyn had been so lost in thought she did not even see the stranger until after they had already bumped shoulders.
“Excuse me,” the person apologized, walking on without slowing.
Madilyn’s hand instantly went to her pockets making sure that her coin purse was still there. “Well they didn’t pick my pocket,” she declared, patting herself down, making sure nothing was missing.
“No, but it looks like they dropped something,” Sophia said, bending down and picking something up off the ground at Madilyn’s feet.
Sophia flipped it around in her hand as she stood back up. The light shimmering off the gold surface of the coin as it ran between Sophia’s fingers.
“Lucky us,” Madilyn said, examining the coin. A gold coin of that size should be able to buy them quite a bit.
“I think I’ll go return it,” Sophia said, palming the coin in her hand.
“That’s rather noble of you,” Madilyn said, surprised by her generosity.
“Guess you can mark that one off your list.” Sophia flashed Madilyn a grin as she turned and headed off in the direction the person had gone.
“Wait. I’ll go with you,” Madilyn trotted forward after Sophia, her hand holding her saber in place so it did not bang against her hip.
“And what about the contact we are supposed to be meeting?” Sophia asked. Her tone making it seem like she did not really care either way.
That gave Madilyn slight pause. They were probably running a little late as it was, having stopped to watch the sunset and examine the streetlamp, and she did not want to keep their contact waiting any more than they had to. But Madilyn did not like having Sophia wander off by herself either. It was her duty as the knight to watch out for her after all.
“I’ll be fine,” Sophia said, flashing Madilyn a reassuring smile. “You go and I’ll catch up in a second. It’s called the Smoke Hat, right?”
Madilyn was still unconvinced, torn by what she should do.
“Look, nobody is going to attack me out in the open like this,” Sophia said. “And if they do, then I will just use the moves you’ve been teaching me.” She beamed Madilyn a smile that was brimming with confidence. Confidence that Madilyn did not share.
“If that was supposed to reassure me-”
“Go,” Sophia ordered in a forceful, yet still playful tone, as she pointed off down the road. Grabbing her shoulder Sophia spun Madilyn around, pushing her down the street. “The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be for me to find them. I will catch up soon. I promise.”
Swept up by Sophia’s momentum, Madilyn turned and started heading back down the path while Sophia went in the opposite direction. She looked back once, debating with herself. It was not like they were in any real danger and she highly doubted this was some kind of trap, seeing as how it relied on returning a rather large amount of money.
“She is an adult,” Madilyn told herself. “She can wander a well traversed city street on her own for a little while.” Though, if something did happen it would be all her fault. It was her duty as a knight to protect Sophia and they were deep in enemy territory. What if someone figured out who she was?
Madilyn clinched her fist as she continued to wrestle with herself. She continued to second guess her decision as she made her way to the rendezvous point where she was to meet their contact.
There was a loud clatter of glasses being broken from the pub Sophia was standing outside of. She was waiting off to the side, her body partially obscured in shadow. She looked down at her hand, flipping the gold coin through her finger as she waited.
‘Next time, the drinks are on me.’
The words rang through her mind as she waited. It was a subtle message. One that Sophia had almost missed. She had been so enamored by that silly street lamp, she had not even seen the person until after they had bumped into Madilyn.
Sophia did wish she had come up with a better lie for
leaving the knight. But it seemed to have worked for now. But it was only a matter of time before Madilyn came back for her. Sophia would have to make this quick.
“Tara.” She said the name under her breath, clutching the coin.
What was she doing here? Was she looking into the Legendary Relic as well? Not likely considering Tara’s seeming lack of interest in the goings on of nations or anything involving politics.
Letting out a breath, Sophia thought back to the time that she was in a room overlooking a city in flames. It was so long ago that she could not remember the name of the city or even what the kingdom had been called. Both names were now only found in history books, if even there.
“Would you stop looking out that window and come back to bed?” Tara mumbled, hugging the pillow closer to her head. She was laying on her stomach, the sheets only partly covering her, exposing her naked back. “There is nothing you can do for those people.”
“But I could have,” Sophia said bitterly, as she sat in her chair and stared out at the burning city. It was dark outside but the fire from the buildings illuminated things well enough that she had no trouble seeing what was going on. “We saw this coming thirty years ago. We could have done something to prevent this.”
Tara let out an annoyed sigh, propping herself up on her elbow. Her chin resting in her palm. “They chose this path, not us,” she stated. “It’s not our responsibility to try and end all war in the world.”
“Why isn’t it?” Sophia turned and looked at the naked woman lying in the bed. “If I were to see a person drowning and did nothing to save them, would I not be held accountable for his death? How is the same not true for the hundreds of people that are out there dying right now?”
“That doesn’t work, even using your own logic,” Tara said. She propped her head up on one of the arms. “First of all, the person drowning doesn’t have a choice in the matter. War is always waged by choice. Even when they say otherwise.”
“I don’t think those people out there chose this,” Sophia stated, resting her chin on her fist as she returned to looking out the open window. “I am so sick of seeing bloodshed and death.”