by Robe
Argain was about to turn and leave when he sensed the man’s inner motivation. This man was not afraid of him, but interested, despite how he’d just witnessed Argain leach the life from his younger brother. He was, however, afraid of the burning debris that held him against the stable floor, and Argain smirked.
“Go on,” Argain said to him. The man seemed to understand, and he began trying to force his way out from under the heavy, burning rubble. He struggled immensely, and Argain enjoyed it, watching his flesh burn and tear as he fought for his life. The fire was spreading, and Argain almost thought he had been wrong and that the man would die beneath the enflamed rubble. Yet, the increasing threat of the fire seemed to be powerful incentive, and the man fought harder than ever, finally managing to free himself from the wreckage. Sprawled on the ground, bloodied and bruised, the man looked up at Argain, and Argain looked back down at him. “Fascinating.”
14
The party stood huddled together, looking up toward the sky in awe. Rain poured down in heavy sheets, soaking the field. Before them, the Great Mill, one of the oldest and most valuable assets of Abelenst, burned. Its arms had only just caught fire, but they burst into flames quickly, sending chunks of embers down toward the idle people below. Some shouted and fled, but the companions stood still and watched the debris fall in front of them.
“Now why,” Reon asked, “would a windmill suddenly catch fire during a rainstorm like this?”
“You didn’t have anything to do with it, did you?” Dalk asked, and Reon couldn’t help but chuckle. It had been dark out, and the companions were about to turn in for bed when they heard yelling echoing through the streets of Abelenst and rushed outside The Solid Coin to see what the fuss was about. They followed the crowd of citizens partway across Abelenst, where the Great Mill had ignited in a fire too far grown to control. The owners, a couple who had inherited it from the wife’s parents, stood grief-stricken as one of their sons was pulled from the stables. He was dead, and the other son, who had been with him, could not be found before the rescuers had to leave the building for their own safety.
Joan drifted off and joined the group of people surrounding the owners of the windmill. She said little, but her sympathetic presence seemed to comfort the devastated couple.
“So, this is the work of your man, huh?” Kandon asked Auric.
“I’m certain it’s his doing,” Auric said. “How else would that young, healthy man have gotten caught in a burning stable after saving every animal tied there?”
“Looks like Argain was trying to draw attention to himself,” Kandon said. “Either that, or he decided he would enjoy the suffering Abelenst will endure because of this loss.”
“We still have little more than guesses as to what he’s after,” Auric said. “We know he’s here now, and that is enough.”
After Joan returned to them, the party mingled for a while, muttering amongst each other and asking several citizens if they had seen anything. Before much longer, the dampness of their clothes and the exhaustion from their long journey overcame them, and they returned to The Solid Coin to rest for the night.
-
Everyone in the group was up and about by morning, and Auric arranged a plan while they ate breakfast. He and Ziem would patrol the area around the southern entrance of Abelenst, Dalk and Reon had the northeast residential sector, and Joan and Veese would keep guard at the western commercial area. To Auric’s surprise, Kandon was awake bright and early as well, and as he was determined to join them in their efforts, Auric told him to accompany Joan and Veese. Every quarter-sun, the group would meet at the town square to report any information they had scraped up. Once prepared, the two pairs and one trio split up, heading for their assigned areas.
-
“It feels like it should be hours earlier,” Auric said as he and Ziem strolled along the southern wall of Abelenst, “although I must admit, that rest was long overdue.” Ziem mostly kept his head down, and when Auric asked a question that demanded an answer, his would be short, sticking to his favorites: yes, no, or a shrug.
“The rain last night made the greenery around here quite luscious,” Auric said. “Plants in Lon Gairdas don’t react so quickly to their surroundings. It’s funny. I remembered this place being gloomy, but now it’s more colorful here than where we came from.”
When Ziem continued to say nothing, Auric stopped walking and turned to look at him. “So,” Auric said, “are you going to thank me?”
“Thank you,” Ziem said without looking up.
“Listen, if you want the others to warm up to you, you’re going to have to give them something to work with. This whole clam fish routine is growing tiresome,” Auric spoke. “I know what being an outsider feels like. The people we travel with only travel with us because we all have a common goal. There is no need to separate yourself from us.”
Still, Ziem said nothing, but he pulled his hood a little farther over his face.
Auric turned back around and started walking again. “I don’t believe you killed anyone, by the way,” Auric said. “I was just trying to make the others understand. You seem like a good man to me.”
“Oh, I’m so bored!” Joan cried out. “Why doesn’t Auric give us something to do while we’re out here?”
Veese looked at Joan with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.
Kandon chuckled. “You complain every hour, but that’s one I haven’t heard yet. ‘Give us something to do while we’re out here’?”
The three had been pretending to browse the marketplace in Abelenst for a little under a quarter-sun, and there was no sign of Argain. There were plenty of sights to see though; the marketplace was filled with different stalls, each exhibiting strange and rare things. Few of the merchants were selling food, but the ones who were had expertly-prepared or exotic cuisine. Almost nothing being sold was essential to survive; it was all luxury and glamour. A little ways east of the marketplace there was a large wagon that unfolded into a traveling stall, and its shelves were lined with fish caught from the sea that bordered the south edge of Abelenst.
“How can you be bored?” Kandon asked. “I can think of little more exciting than-”
A hiss from Veese cut him off.
“Than a hunt for fresh yenimarow at the marketplace!” Kandon cried with a gesture toward the fishing stall, and he winked garishly at Veese. Veese just looked at him, unsure what to think.
“If we were actually accomplishing anything, I would be plenty engaged, but we’re just sitting here waiting as if he’s just going to go walking through the streets again,” Joan said.
“We are eliminating the possibility that he is acting without fear,” Veese said quietly. “That is the most we can accomplish for now.”
“But wouldn’t it be better if we took the fight to him?” Joan asked.
“Do you have suggestions on how we do that?” Veese inquired.
Suddenly, a large man with a red beard shouted and started stamping towards them. “Kandon Yentings, back in Abelenst so quickly, are we?” He reached out and grabbed Kandon by the front of his jacket, lifting the tracker to the toes of his boots so his crossbow swung from its strap on his back. “I would have thought you’d run away like the little rat you are!”
“Colinsborn!” Kandon exclaimed, and then he grinned. “It’s been a while!”
“A while too long,”Colinsborn sneered. “Where is my gold!” he screamed in Kandon’s face, shaking him back and forth. Before Kandon could respond or Colinsborn could do anything more rash, there was a sword point in the big man’s face, and he went cross eyed to look at the tip.
“I must insist that you release my companion,” Veese said.
Colinsborn looked down the sword at Veese and met his cold gaze with fury of his own. “Got some Forest Guard to fight your battles for you, eh? Seems about right,” he seethed as he put Kandon down.
Kandon brushed himself off. “Now, now, Colinsborn, you’re acting as if you were raised by the Ha
rou,” Kandon said simply. “Why don’t you run along nicely and be civil. Would hate to give these people a show they didn’t pay for.”
Colinsborn eyed Kandon, his paramount anger apparent, and then he turned and stomped off. Joan looked at Kandon and raised an eyebrow.
“Previous client of mine. He paid good gold for me to track down his cattle but demanded his money back once he discovered it was I who had released his livestock in the first place. Naturally, I declined his offer,” Kandon explained.
“You lost him his animals?” Joan asked.
“I couldn’t resist. The oaf needed to be humbled!” Kandon said. “He’s no smarter than the bulls he trains.”
“If he returns, we shall deal with him,” Veese said, and he sheathed his sword.
-
At sundown, the companions were expected to meet in the town square, and everyone arrived. There was little to discuss, as none of them had experienced anything unusual. Auric routinely ended the meeting with an expression of additional caution, for Argain seemed to prefer acting during the night.
Dalk and Reon strolled back through Abelenst to where most of the residential buildings were. Many people were turning in for the night, and the streets became bare. A squatty man was waddling up and down the roads with a long, skinny tool that sported an exposed flame at the end. Even with the tool’s length, he had to stand atop a stool on the toes of his boots to reach the tall light posts and ignite them into bright luminosity.
“Do you miss home?” Reon asked Dalk as they walked.
“I miss my friends and mentors,” Dalk replied, “but I do not miss the place. What about you? Do you long for home?”
Reon thought for a moment, his brow wrinkling. “I will, I think, but I’m enjoying the chance to explore the New World a little more. I just wish it could be under different circumstances.”
“I understand that,” Dalk said. “I was brought up to respect my duties, though, so being a guard for the City of Lanair constitutes staying in one place.”
“What is Lanair like?” Reon asked.
“It is broad, much larger than Rode and with high walls surrounding most of it,” Dalk explained. “The houses are tall there, like the towers of the castle.”
“So, you will return there when this ordeal has ended?” Reon asked.
“Yes,” Dalk said. “If something were to happen to the city while I was elsewhere, I would not be able to conquer the guilt.”
As the two walked past the windows of a single house just a few feet off the road, a flash of light emitted from within. Though the curtains were drawn, it was clear something unusual was transpiring within, and Dalk and Reon did not have to exchange glances before running to the door of the household. It was ajar, and upon looking inside, they saw him.
Argain was approaching a young man with a frightened-looking girl behind him. It was immediately clear that the pair was not defenseless though, as a strange barrier stood between the Evil God and his targets. It was transparent, completely see-through and yet clearly impassable.The young man held his hands outward as if holding up the unnatural shield, despite his palms clearly not touching it. Argain reached out to prod the wall in fascination, and a ripple was sent through the material, not unlike the disturbed surface of a still pond.
Dalk signaled to Reon to be silent, and the two crept into the room quietly. They lurked slowly toward Argain, making little noise and staying out of his range of sight. Argain raised his hand to cast some form of sorcery, but as the man within the barrier caught a glimpse of Dalk and Reon, his eyes widened. Tipped off by the reaction of his prey, Argain spun around. His arm still raised, he released a devastating blast of light, not unlike the one back in the forest.
Dalk and Reon were thrown backwards and blinded as the energy collided with them. Argain scowled and turned back to the two people he had cornered, reaching out to touch the shield again, but this time, red sparks burst from the contact. As he increased the intensity of his sorcery, more small flashes sprung from the barrier, distorting the light within the room. The man struggled to maintain his shield, but it was clear he was wavering. Behind him, the girl was muttering encouragement as they both watched Argain calmly breaking through their defenses.
Recovering from the blow, Dalk pushed himself off the ground, pulled his sword from its sheath and charged forward with Reon close behind. Dalk tried to swing at Argain, but as he was still disoriented, the Evil God had plenty of time to dodge the attack.
“Louts!” Argain shouted, but he had to retreat through a nearby doorway as Reon hurled a fireball at him. Reon pursued, but by the time he got through the same doorway, Argain was already blasting his way out of the home. Trying to keep up with the potent figure, Reon readied another fireball in his hand, but as he hurriedly exited the house, Argain was nowhere to be seen. The fire in Reon’s hand dwindled as he scanned the empty streets, and once it was clear the Evil God was long gone, he went back inside.
When Reon returned, Dalk was assuring the wellness of the man and the woman. “Gone,” Reon said as Dalk looked up at him.
“I figured,” Dalk said. “He’s faster than lightning.”
“We ought to let Ziem be the judge-” Reon began, and then he stopped when he noticed the two people staring at them. “Excuse me,” he said. “I’m Reon, and this is Dalk. That shield you had there was really something. The man… you don’t know anything about him, do you?”
The pair shook their heads. “When we opened the door, he forced his way in and cornered us. You arrived after that,” the man said.
“We need to get back to our group,” Dalk said and turned toward the open door.
“Dalk, wait,” Reon said. “Do you think we should leave them alone?”
Dalk looked at the two, standing together at the other side of the room. “The man who attacked you is extremely dangerous. Do you feel you could repel him were he to return?”
“No,” the young man said, his companion shaking her head beside him.
“If you come with us, we can offer you protection for a while,” Dalk said. “At least until we’ve spoken to the rest of our people.”
The pair consulted each other briefly, and then the young man spoke again. “We’ll go with you.”
-
Dalk, Reon, and the two people they had rescued walked briskly through the dark streets of Abelenst. Reon led while Dalk took up the rear, the pair between them nervously looking from side to side.
Upon entering the commercial district, they found Joan, Kandon, and Veese. Dalk only gave them a short glance, but they got a good enough idea of what had happened based on the scared expressions of the two strangers with them. Kandon and Joan rushed off to find Auric and Ziem while Veese accompanied Reon and Dalk as they made their way back to The Solid Coin.
When they arrived, Dalk ushered the two people through the bar area and into one of their rented rooms. “I’ll be back,” Dalk said to the pair, and he left. He walked up to the bar counter and handed Tolsien, the bartender, a few gold coins. “More guests,” he said, and Tolsien nodded. Dalk stepped outside the tavern to wait for the others, and it wasn’t long before the other part of their company was heading up the street.
“Dalk,” Auric said as he spotted his friend standing just outside The Solid Coin. “What’s happened?”
“Step inside,” Dalk said, and he scanned the paved road once more before following his friends.
Upon entering the room, Auric turned to look at Dalk, concerned. “Another attack?” he asked.
Dalk nodded shortly. “We barely got there in time. He would have had a couple of civilians. One of them was doing something very strange to contest the Evil God’s advances. They’re gifted.”
Auric led the way into the room and gazed upon the pair of new faces. The couple was sitting on the bed farther into the enclosure, holding one another’s hands and waiting anxiously to hear what the strange people, who had stepped in just moments ago to save them, had to say.
“You must be shocked,” Auric said. “Would you kindly tell me your names?”
“I’m Thraun,” the man said. “This is Kassidy.”
“Hello,” Kassidy said quietly.
“I am Auric,” Auric said before gesturing to the other people in the room. “My companions: Joan, Reon, Dalk, Veese, Ziem, and Kandon. I’m sure you’ve had a fright, but would you describe to us exactly what happened before Dalk and Reon arrived?”
Thraun nodded, glancing at the many pairs of eyes looking at him before clearing his throat. “We were relaxing in our home when we heard a knock at the door. I opened it and I saw that man standing in our doorway. I waited for him to explain himself for such a late visit, but he simply stared at me. Finally, he moved. I can’t describe what he did, but he managed to force his way inside. When he advanced on us, I… well, I tried to hold him off. A few days ago, I learned I could create a shield out of thin air using nothing but my thoughts. I would try to explain further, but something tells me you’ll believe me. I’m sure you know more than we do. The shield held only long enough for your friends to arrive and help us.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” Auric spoke gently. “What’s important is that you’re safe, and I recommend you stay here and rest. We have been hunting the being who attacked you for a while now, and he has fled here for reasons we are not yet sure of. We know only that innocents have already been hurt, and he is attempting to harm others.”
“So, you’re some kind of enforcement group?” Thraun asked.
“No,” Auric replied, although he seemed uncertain himself. “We’re an unaffiliated group of individuals trying to do what’s best for the New World. The power you have… some of us are also gifted, as you’ve already discovered.”
Thraun nodded. “We understand. I’m sorry for the inconvenience we’ve caused you.”