by Eric Vall
Gryff,
I hope city life is still treating you good. You taking care of yourself? You better be!
Cyra and I are packing things up early in Tallington and headed for a small town in the north called Bathi Heights. Stopping into Varle first though to pick up some supplies, so I expect to see ya when we’re here. You know, if you have the time. We’ll come by the Academy and leave a message when we get here.
Be seein’ you!
Maelor
I turned the envelope over in my hands. The letter was postmarked only a week ago. Maybe they were here already? I breathed a sigh of relief. At least if Maelor was here, he was safe or at least safer than he would be out in the wilds. That was already a weight off of my chest.
I picked up the next letter. The handwriting was fancy, and there was care put into the cursive scrawled across the envelope. I opened it and found that it was from Cyra.
Dear Gryff,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. You might already know this, but Maelor and I are leaving Tarrington and moving on to Bathi Heights in the north. We heard from a traveler that they need help in their mines. I’ve heard that there are a lot of crystals at their sites. I bet they’re gorgeous! I’d personally love to see it for myself.
We’ll be stopping in Varle for supplies, but I think the old man just wants to see you. Not a day goes back he doesn’t tell me some story about you and the misadventures the two of you shared. It’s heartwarming to know he cares so deeply about someone, but he misses you. I hope you’re able to slip away and visit with us for a bit.
And you better be taking care of yourself!
Sincerely,
Cyra
I smiled to myself and folded the letter back up. Bathi Heights and crystal mining? Sounds like a good time. Part of me wished I could join them. Maybe I’d find some ancient summons buried in their depths!
I moved onto the third and final letter. This handwriting was neat if a bit rushed from the scribbles on the address. I peeled the envelope open and blinked in disbelief when I read who it was from.
Ashla, from the freelance group the Wild Reds. Why would she be writing to me?
Gryff,
Hopefully, this letter reaches you. Myself and the rest of my team have been running ourselves ragged with all the rifts that have popped up recently. Don’t get me wrong, we’re thankful for the work, but the influx of rifts across the area have been too high not to notice that something is off. The monsters we’ve been fighting aren’t difficult, Grade D monsters at best, but just this week we’ve closed upwards of ten rifts.
I hope you and your friends at the academy are studying hard and preparing yourselves. I smell a war on the horizon, Gryff, and it’s going to be ugly.
The Wild Reds will be passing through Varle in a few weeks time. We’ll be staying in the inn across from Taron’s Tavern in the fourth district. Bring your squad, and we can see which team ends up under the bar first!… take care of yourself, Gryff.
Signed,
Ashla
My jaw clenched, and the paper trembled as my hands shook. I hadn't wanted to be right. Things were worse than what we were being led to believe, and we were doing nothing about it. I swore as I stood, and I barely shoved the letter back in the envelope before I stormed off.
I hadn’t been sure of my destination initially, but I found myself outside of Arwyn’s classroom. It was only when I knocked on the door did I realize that it was slightly ajar, so I poked my head in.
Arwyn stood in front of the large window that overlooked the north side of the grounds, her arms folded lightly in front of her. Moonlight shone through the glass and bathed her in its glow. She was the very definition of breathtaking.
“Gryff?” Her voice was soft when she said my name, and it snapped me back to why I had rushed here in the first place. A feeling of uneasiness lurched in the pit of my stomach. In mere seconds, Arwyn had seemingly floated to me. She put her hand to my forehead as though she were checking for a fever.
“Are you feeling alright?” She continued to check over me like a doting mother. I appreciated it, but I didn’t think it was necessary.
“Is the military really doing everything it can to help those outside of the Enclaves?” I asked the question before I had the chance to catch it, but now it was out in the open. Might as well roll with it.
“What gives you the impression that we aren’t?” Arwyn straightened and knitted her brows.
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “I guess I’m just worried about the other pyrewyrms and the damage they can cause.”
Arwyn nodded. She understood how I felt, I knew she would.
“Listen, Gryff,” she started to say and sat me in the seat near the window. She took my hand in hers and twined our fingers together. “I know this is going to be hard for you to hear, but we don’t always have all the answers. Every day, we are learning something new about the monsters. Every day, we are making adjustments and doing the best we can with what magic and technology have afforded us. I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but that is the best answer I have for you.”
I hung my head. She was right about one thing. That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. I changed the subject, kind of.
“Tell me more about the vial of essence you collected from the pyrewyrm in Garvesh. What are your plans for it?”
“As I said before, we want to try to use it as a purifier,” she explained. “What we know is that it is a dense mass of energy. What it’s made of or where it comes from is a mystery. Headmaster Sleet is under the impression that the energy can shift properties based on the intent of the user.”
“I think I follow.” I nodded slowly. “Is that why we aren’t in any danger when Varleth uses his essence on the monsters even though it’s the same energy?”
“We think so,” Arwyn hypothesized, “but we can’t be sure until we test it. It could take weeks, months, maybe even years to get a definitive answer to what it is, but we’re always moving forward, Gryff.”
I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed mine back.
“I understand that that might be hard to swallow,” she continued, “but as long as we are making progress, we are getting closer to ending the people’s turmoil from monsters once and for all. So, yes, maybe there is more going on outside of the walls than what we’re aware of, but our mission is and will always be to help people.”
I glanced up at Arwyn then, and she offered me the smile of an angel. She was always the optimist. I admired that.
“As long as we aren’t sacrificing innocent people for the greater good, then I’ll do anything I can to help the military succeed in bringing an end to the monsters’ tyranny.” Resigned, I stood.
“I know you will.” Arwyn laughed good-naturedly at my declaration. She stood up after me and cupped my cheeks as she brought me in for a chaste kiss. “That’s why I need you by my side, and why you need to pass these exams. You can make a difference in the world, Gryff. I know you can.”
The next few hours were spent going over everything that would be on the exams. Books piled up on the desks as we went over each subject in great detail, and I reveled in Arwyn’s enthusiasm as she spoke about them. There was a sparkle in her already beautiful eyes that thrived in this kind of environment, and I didn’t mind that we skipped our usual lovemaking and focused on the studying.
Despite our study session, I left Arwyn’s that night with more questions and fewer answers. I was confident in my ability to pass my exams, but I still held concerns for the matters outside the walls of the Enclave.
The headache from the night before had lingered throughout the day. I could only hope that a good night of sleep would help and that I would wake up refreshed and ready to take on another day.
Morning came, though I wasn’t woken up to the beep of my alarm or the ring of any bells. Instead, I was being shaken, and my name was being repeated over and over again.
“Okay, okay,” I snapped, and swatted the lar
ge hands on my body away sleepily. “I’m up.”
“Get dressed, Gryff,” I heard Braden say, and I made a face of disgust.
“I don’t want to.” I rolled away from him.
“Don’t make me drag you out of here,” he warned, and I rolled my eyes with a loud groan.
“What’s so important that I can’t sleep for another five minutes?” I asked grumpily.
“You have visitors.”
Chapter 15
I ran as fast as my feet would carry me. I heard Braden call out behind me, but I didn’t stop. My heart thrummed against my ribcage. I skidded around corners and nearly barreled into students and faculty alike, but I didn’t care.
Finally, I reached the main gates, and talk about a sight for sore eyes. Maelor, all of his gut and glory barely contained by his black overalls, and his new assistant, Cyra, as beautiful as ever with her long dark hair and round cheeks, waved me over. I trotted the rest of the way and immediately let Maelor envelop me in a giant hug. It wasn’t that long ago that I’d seen him, but I missed him terribly. Maybe it had been a culmination of everything that had been going on that set me off, but I sniffed as I let out a few tears.
“Hey now!” Maelor laughed heartily and tapped my cheeks with his giant palms. “None of that, you hear?”
I laughed as well and nodded as I wiped them with the back of my hand.
He stared at me a moment longer, pride bright in his dark eyes. “How ya been, son?”
“Rough,” I admitted as I choked a bit on the word.
Maelor nodded. He understood.
Past him, Cyra peeked her head around and waved.
I waved back, mildly embarrassed that I openly wept in front of her. “How long are you here for?”
“Only a night,” Cyra answered as she stepped near us. “The Bathi Highlands is three days by train, and even longer on horse if we can’t manage to get tickets.”
I whistled. That was a far ride either way you looked at it. Not as long as, say, Hartmire to here, but still far. I was reminded of when Nia told me about her runaway ride over the break, and I smiled to myself. Reckless girl.
“So not much time at all then.” I was a little disappointed by that. I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could, but I was already late for class. I wondered if Headmaster Sleet would make an exception for me this one time. After all, I didn’t get many visitors, and it wasn’t every day that that visitor was the man who had raised me.
Screw it.
“You got the time to take off, kid?” Maelor asked, and I nodded. For him, I had all the time in the world.
“Heeeey!” I heard Braden’s heavy footfalls behind me again and I turned to face him. He was even more of a wreck than he was when he initially caught up to me. Poor guy. “You… leaving?”
I shook my head. “Just taking the day to spend with Maelor.” I motioned beside me, and it was as though Braden had only just realized that I wasn’t alone. His chest heaved, but he put on a giant smile.
“Long time, no see, Flint!” Maelor greeted and stuck out his hand which Braden took graciously.
“Good to see you again, Maelor.” Braden turned and waved to Cyra as well, who smiled brightly and returned the gesture. “What brings you into Varle?”
“Supplies, mostly,” Maelor stated, “but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to drop in and see Gryff.”
“Most definitely not, sir!” Braden agreed and turned back to me. “If you’re going out, I’ll cover for you.”
I blinked, then smiled at my friend. Honestly, I was touched that Braden would put himself on the line for me, even though this wasn’t such a big deal, it was a big deal to me.
“I appreciate it, man. Thanks.” We bumped fists, and he left again, presumably to make up some story about how I was sick or something equally lame and that’s why I couldn’t be at physical training.
“Well, now that my alibi is in transit, let’s find a place to chat, shall we?” I said as I turned to the two summoners.
The three of us ended up on the local line and at a pub several districts away from the Academy. It was dark, borderline seedy for an early afternoon, and supposedly had the best ale and chips in town, as per the advertisement in the window. We would see about that.
It wasn’t until we were seated and had our drinks that I was really able to take in Maelor’s and Cyra’s appearances. They looked ragged, worse for wear, even. I hadn’t noticed it before because I was so giddy, but they looked like they had gone through hell just to get here.
“What’s wrong, boy?” Maelor asked me over his pint. “Ain’t happy to see us?”
“What?” I laughed. “Of course I am! Just wondering what the hell the horses dragged you through before you deigned to grace me with your stench.”
Maelor grumbled, but Cyra snorted into her drink. At least someone still thought I was funny. “He’s got us there, old man.”
“Bah.” Maelor waved her off and pounded back his pint. Damn, that man could put a bar out of business if he had the money to. “It was nothing.”
“Sure doesn’t look that way,” I retorted. There was an odd silence that hung in the air for a moment. It was only there for a split second, but I could feel the tension begin to thicken.
“We--”
“It was nothing,” Maelor cut Cyra off before she could get in a single syllable.
“Spill it.” I sat up straighter and narrowed my gaze on Maelor. “What happened to you out there?”
“I said it was nothing,” he grumbled and shot a warning look at Cyra, who scoffed and gripped her pint as she stared into its contents. She had the look of someone who wanted to drown herself out with the liquid in front of her. I could relate.
“You ran into a rift, didn’t you?” I pressed, and Maelor barked a laugh.
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“It’s my job to know what is going on outside of these walls, Maelor,” I added. “You’re the only eyes I have out there to let me know if we’re falling behind.”
Another silence fell over us, and Maelor stared so hard at a singular spot on the table that I thought he might actually burn a hole into the wood. I reached across the table and put my hand over his.
“Please. You have to tell me.” I wasn’t sure why I was so ornery about the subject. The obvious answer was that I was doing my job and investigating incidents on the other side.
The not as obvious answer, at least I hoped it wasn’t obvious, was that I was terrified for Maelor. Whatever happened to him and Cyra on the way here was something so serious that he wanted to keep it a secret from me. He didn’t make it a habit of keeping anything from me, not since I was a much younger lad that refused to believe there was really a fat old man that lived in places too cold for a human that delivered presents to good children once a year and wore some fuzzy red get-up. What was the name Maelor gave him? Crispy Crinkle? Saint Dick? I didn’t know. Clearly, that lie didn’t fly well with me, and this one wasn’t going to fly with me now either.
“Yeah,” he bit out. “Yeah, there were rifts involved.”
“Multiple rifts?” My eyes flew wide open. “Just from Tallington to here?” Maelor nodded. “Maker…”
“Things are bad out there, Gryff,” he confided. “Towns are losing their livelihoods because they’re afraid to come out of their homes. The mercenary business is booming because people would rather sacrifice themselves and get paid a handsome reward than risk their lives just to put food on the table.”
My heart sank and my stomach knotted. “Is… is that why the two of you are going to Bathi Highlands? To join the freelancers?” When neither of them said anything, I knew I was right. “Damn it.”
“It’s good money, Gryff,” Cyra said. “The situation isn’t ideal, but for workers like us that rely on towns needing an extra hand in things, there couldn’t be a better opportunity.”
“Is that what you see this as?” I growled and slammed my hand down on the table.
“
Oh, come off it,” Cyra spat back, and I guessed I deserved that much. “I said the money is good and that we’ve been busy. I didn’t say that we enjoy putting ourselves in a position that might cost us our lives day in and day out. The world was already going to shit between the occasional monster rifts and bandits, but now, everything is slowly becoming chaos. People are abandoning their homes in the wilds and fleeing to the nearest Enclaves to get away from danger.”
“The Enclaves can’t hold that many people.” I sighed solemnly. “Sure, we thrive here, but there isn’t enough space within them to hold all of the families that will be misplaced.”
“Something else they didn’t think through when building these walls,” Maelor grunted and finished off another pint. “The walls aren’t to keep monsters out. It’s the keep the population under control.”
Both Cyra and I gasped at the very thought. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. “Are you out of your mind? How can you say that?”
“Think about it,” the old man continued. “Why would you build a wall that you couldn’t fit everyone into? Why would you make more of them and isolate the outside world? You don’t think they just wanted to keep the monsters at bay, did you?”
Well, yeah, that’s exactly what I thought because that was the truth, wasn’t it?
Maelor saw the look in my eyes and kept on. “The monsters only show up outside of the Enclaves because it’s the only food they have access to. If there isn’t any food left…”
My throat went dry. My eyes burned, and I could feel the tips of my fingers turning cold with the icy realization coursing through my veins.
“They move to the Enclaves,” I said softly.
Maelor sat back in his seat and shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re just biding our time, Gryff.”
I didn’t know what to believe. On one hand, I wanted to chalk it up to another one of Maelor’s folk tales and brush it off, but for once, his story made sense. Smaller towns were being wiped off the map constantly. Sure, we could help them most of the time, but other times, we weren’t so lucky. If the smaller source of food were to all congregate in the Enclaves, it would draw more attention to them, and thusly, draw more monsters to them. Theoretically, the xanyarstone should protect against monster attacks within the walls, but previous encounters proved that even if it was a once in a lifetime chance of it happening, it could, would, and did happen.