by Mike Shel
Agnes agreed to spend some time with her father at his home in Daurhim, and when she was at last well enough to travel, they left the Citadel and Boudun. Lumari was stiff and formal at their goodbye, wishing the two of them safe travels. The alchemist herself was taking a sabbatical from field work, she announced, to spend time instead in the labyrinthine alchemy labs beneath the Citadel. She would pursue some of her own investigations, funded by her share of the pirate vessel they hauled into Kalimander.
“What sort of investigations?” Auric had asked.
“Terribly esoteric,” she had replied. “You wouldn’t understand.”
This wasn’t arrogance, he realized with a small smile. He was certain the alchemist had done nothing more than speak the truth.
Sira’s goodbye was warm and kind, like the woman herself. “Belu bless you, Auric Manteo. I shall visit you at your home when the archbishop and my duties permit it. I hope we can correspond in the meantime. I regret I can’t attend dear Belech being laid to rest.”
“The baroness will want him interred in the family mausoleum,” he responded, worrying again about arriving at Dyrekeep with the old soldier’s body in tow and the impact his death would have on Hannah. “He was very dear to her.”
“He was dear to the two of us as well,” answered Sira, smiling her lopsided smile.
The cleric reached up and placed her palm gently on Auric’s cheek. Had anyone else done this, it would have felt awkward, even condescending, especially from one so young. But from Sira, it felt natural and affirming. He looked down at the petite priest, her face so much like poor, dead Lenda’s. But that was not the end of it. She possessed Lenda’s courage, loyalty, and determination. She could be Lenda’s daughter, a glorious echo of Auric’s deceased comrade. But she also exuded a calm wisdom strange in a cleric so new to her vocation.
“Belech died defending me,” Sira said after a moment, withdrawing her comforting hand. “And honoring his baroness’s charge to see you safe. I don’t think he would regret his sacrifice. He lies now in the sacred embrace of Mother Belu, all cares of this world assuaged. Perhaps Belu will spare him some time to serve as a guardian spirit for you.”
Auric smiled at the thought, struck by how soothing it was. “St. Belech,” he mused aloud, “patron of aging adventurers.”
“I’ll petition the College of Intercessors,” replied Sira with a grin.
Pallas Rae, now chief lictor of the Syraeic League with the deaths of her superiors at the hands of the plague, spoke in private with Auric before they left. She informed him that he was always welcome at the Citadel, and that the League’s resources were at his disposal should he need them at any time in the future.
“May I ask a favor of you, then?” he ventured.
The old woman nodded. “Of course.”
“I wonder if you would have one of the librarians draft a summary of the final League expedition to Aem’ai’al’esh for me and send it to me in Daurhim.”
“May I ask why?” she queried, eyebrows raised.
“Brother Olbach’s enigmatic words at the inquiry have me intrigued, and to fulfill a promise to a friend.”
Rae looked at him for a long while, working her lips. At last she began to nod slowly. “Alright. Limiting it to what might be trusted to the posts. If you wish more especial information, you’ll need to visit our archives yourself one day.”
“That is fair. May I ask you one other question, Lictor Rae? Perhaps an impertinent one?”
“You may, Sir Auric. You’ve earned considerable latitude in my estimation.”
“Why was the truth-speaker at my inquiry only of the First Pillar?”
The old woman smiled and took in a deep breath. “Intuition, for lack of a better word. For some reason, I think there are things about this expedition that should remain secret from everyone but yourself, at least for now, but perhaps forever. I’ve never done a less than exhaustive examination when heading up a debriefing and inquiry, but my instincts told me—for the first time in my life, mind you—that I should leave alone whatever stones you were reluctant to turn over. I trust that your omissions were not for vanity or other petty reasons. Besides, nothing you told us contradicted Lumari or Sira.”
Auric was silent.
“But I’m right, yes?” asked the lictor, staring into Auric’s eyes. “There are some things you omitted from your report?”
Auric thought of the sword, the diviner’s reading, the sound of the blade’s words in his ear. He grimaced and said nothing, which was all Lictor Rae needed from him.
They rode at a leisurely pace, taking twice as long as when Auric set out with Belech only weeks before. Belech’s body, wrapped tightly in scented linens by Sister Gonsette of Mictilin, was secured to Lugo, riding him this one last time. Auric and Agnes had much time for conversation, though they often found themselves riding in silence. It felt awkward for a short while, but after the first day an easy warmth replaced the uncertainty and caution. Agnes shared stories of some of her expeditions Auric had never had the courage to ask after, fearing the knowledge would have led to more ignoble efforts at stifling her career. He found himself impressed by her perceptiveness and decisiveness, two qualities essential for field agents. But part of him wondered if some of her accounts held back harrowing details, intended to put to rest his anxieties.
When they reached the clearing where he and Belech had first encountered Sira Edjani during her unsuccessful courtship with the euvorix, Auric stopped them and told Agnes the tale. She surprised him by insisting on building a small shrine—a collection of stones balanced on one another. As they stood there in that clearing, before that pile of stones, he thought back on one of the last conversations he had had with the old soldier before they descended into the Djao ruins. One sleepless night, he had asked Belech what he intended to do with the large sum of money he had as his portion of the sale of the Discord back in Kalimander. Belech suggested that he’d like to do a bit of traveling, provided Lady Hannah would permit it.
“So you’ll stay on at Dyrekeep?” asked Auric.
Belech looked at him as though he had just spoken a cutting insult. “I’m the baroness’s man, friend Auric. Just because I have a plump bag of coins doesn’t mean I would abandon my charge.”
“Your charge?”
“Well, after I left the army, I made my way to Daurhim. The baroness’s father was terribly fond of his daughter—she was his favorite, in fact. The man had three sons and four daughters, Lady Hannah the youngest. He said that he married her off to a minor baron to spare her the nasty intrigues of the higher nobility at court. But he rarely saw her anymore and worried after her. Anyway, I made for Daurhim when I mustered out and managed to enter the service of the baron, her husband. Not a bad fellow, but not the brightest candle in the hall, if you don’t mind my saying. When it came out that I had served under the Count of Aulkirk in the Pearly Regiment, I acted as though it was coincidence I had ended up in the employ of his daughter. I assumed a duty to see that nothing happens to her, that she’s protected.”
“Does Hannah Dyre strike you as a woman needing protection?” Auric asked, surprised at this confession.
Belech and Auric both laughed.
“How do you think the baroness would react if she knew the truth?”
“Have me placed in stocks on the square for a week or more, if I was lucky!” Belech chuckled.
Auric grinned. “Friend Belech, what did you make of me when I first came to Daurhim?”
“I kept a close eye on you, friend Auric, before you were ‘friend Auric.’”
“Oh?”
“When you moved into that manor home and I saw that you caught the lady’s eye, I wanted to make sure you weren’t one of those arrogant knights errant I had gotten so sour a taste of when I was in the infantry. You asked about protecting the lady? I was ready to help you have an ‘accident’
if you were the kind of man who would toy with the baroness’s affections.”
Auric turned and smiled at Belech, but then saw the man was deadly serious. “I live, so it appears you didn’t judge me worthy of a tumble off a cliff.”
Belech did not answer his implied question. “It’s certainly not my place, Auric, but do you intend to renew your relationship with Lady Hannah?”
“Yes.”
“How will your daughter Agnes feel about that?”
“She’s a grown woman, Belech. However she feels about it, we’ll manage. If I’m given the chance, I won’t let my own penchant for melancholy stand in the way of knowing my daughter, which means she must know me as well. You spared me summary execution where Hannah is concerned. Best if I live my life then, eh?”
Belech nodded and said, “Good.”
Good, thought Auric, standing before the makeshift shrine. Auric smiled at the memory of Belech laughing, of his soldier’s wisdom, his surreptitious concern for the baroness. He frowned thinking of reaching Dyrekeep with the old soldier’s body in tow, telling Hannah of his death.
When they left the clearing, he told Agnes of Lady Hannah. She seemed pleased her father was showing signs of life. “You’ve been the grieving widower long enough, Papa,” she said, looking west at the horizon, the sun edging its way down. “And I’ve spent enough time with an adolescent’s anger.”
“Can you tell me more of this man Raimund?”
Agnes smiled. “He’s sincere, devout. Witty, bright. But I hope he never takes a Syraeic assignment. I fear the Buskers would eat him alive.”
Auric smiled at the way she had sidestepped his question.
The last night on the road, camped beside the highway, Auric found himself unable to sleep, long after Agnes had nodded off. It was a clear, crisp autumn night, the sky blanketed with stars. He sat before their fire, glowing red and ready for another log. He laid a large piece of wood across the coals gently so as not to wake his traveling companion. He wondered at how his nocturnal terrors seemed to have fled, the trembling in his hands, the intrusive recollections of his ordeal.
Is it the sword? he mused. Does it shield me? Has it healed me?
After a short time quietly contemplating the notion, he walked over to Glutton, hobbled beneath a tree with Belech’s Lugo and Agnes’s tawny mount. Belech’s linen-wrapped body lay beside the tree, and Auric stooped to touch the man’s shoulder as he passed by. When he reached Glutton, he pulled Szaa’da’shaela from its scabbard. He hadn’t heard the sword speak to him since he stood desperate in the sanctum of the Aching God. He hadn’t even felt a tremor from it, or any sign it was more than it appeared. Perhaps what supernatural properties it possessed were only active in the proximity of beings like the Aching God. Or maybe it was simply a very well-made Djao antiquity, best suited now for mounting above his mantel. Sitting again beside the campfire, he inspected the delicate etching in the weapon’s exquisite pommel and crossguard, the flickering firelight reflected in its emerald insets.
“Szaa’da’shaela?” he whispered to the sword, holding it close to his lips. “Or is it Ush’oul? Are you host to some Netherworld spirit? Do you have anything else you’d like to say to me, now that you and I are alone?”
The sword said nothing.
Auric sat for a while longer before the crackling fire, feeling foolish. Soon, he returned the ancient, elegant blade to its sheath, and decided to give sleep another chance. Talking swords, thought Auric as he laid his head down on a pillow made of a spare shirt. Just a fanciful fable for children’s stories.
Within moments he entered a deep and dreamless sleep.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A1
Cast of Characters
The Manteo Clan
Auric Manteo – A swordsman of the Syraeic League, anointed by the queen, retired.
Agnes Manteo – Daughter of Auric and Marta, Syraeic League agent, swordswoman.
Marta Manteo – Deceased wife of Auric, died by her own hand.
Samic Manteo – Deceased father of Auric, a tanner by trade.
Tomas Manteo – Deceased son of Auric and Marta, Syraeic League agent.
Other Characters
& Historical Persons
Abshaw – An able seaman, Royal Navy, Duke Yaryx.
Alcan Urbis – One of the twelve knight-founders of the Citadel of the Syraeic League.
Almacht – A bandit, posing as a royal patrol member in the Barrowlands.
Alyce – A maidservant in the manor home of the Duke of Kelse, Emberto Montcalme.
Ariellum Brisk – An alchemist, member of the Syraeic League, and part of the first expedition into the Djao temple beneath the White Priory of St. Besh. Deceased.
Arlan – Chief manservant of Lady Hannah Dyre in Daurhim.
Asaio – A mercenary pyromancer, Duke Yaryx.
Baea – Maidservant of Countess Ilanda Padivale.
Bele – A Syraeic League lictor, deceased.
Belech Potts – A servant of Lady Hannah Dyre, honorably discharged soldier of the Pearly Regiment, mace-man.
Benedict of Aelbrinth – A Syraeic League agent.
Benhowe, Viscount Mathas – Viscount of Hulwick in the Duchy of Bannerbraeke.
Benlau, Brother – A retired warrior-priest of Vanic at the White Priory of St. Besh. He holds the title “Venerable” as he is the eldest cleric in the house.
Black Erin – An infamous pirate captain of the Discord, plaguing the Corsair Run. Rumored to be a grandniece of Duke Logan of Valya.
Blessed Coryth – see King Coryth the Revelator.
Borwick Osweld – A truth-speaker of the First Pillar of Verity and Syraeic agent.
Borim, Father – An officious priest of Belu in Daurhim.
Brenten – An alchemist of the Syraeic League, deceased.
Carrick – A mercenary aquamancer, Duke Yaryx.
Chana – A member of a royal patrol in the Barrowlands.
Colette, Sister – Senior priest of Lalu and Instructor of Harmony at the White Priory of St. Besh.
Corley, Brother – A warrior-priest of Vanic at the White Priory of St. Besh.
Coryth Angana – See King Coryth the Revelator.
Coso, Farmer – A dairy farmer of Daurhim.
Cosus of Mourcort – A pyromancer, Syraeic League agent, member of the first expedition into the Djao temple beneath the White Priory of St. Besh. Deceased.
Couri, Midshipman – A junior Royal Navy officer, Duke Yaryx.
Del Ogara – A Syraeic League agent, sorcerer. Graduated Order of the Inverse Circle at the Royal College in Boudun.
Desric – A Syraeic League agent committed to the sanitarium of St. Kenther.
Dravi Bentem – A Syraeic League agent.
Edgar Reges – Eldest son of Geneviva I, former crown-prince, executed for treason.
Edmund III – Former King of Hanifax, father of Edmund IV.
Edmund IV – Former King of Hanifax, father of Edmund V and the current monarch, Geneviva I. Known for starting a particularly ruinous war with the Azkayans. Deceased.
Edmund V – Former King of Hanifax, elder brother of Geneviva I, whom she succeeded when he was killed in a jousting accident at a celebration of the third anniversary of his ascension to the throne.
Egon Rafeling – A ducal clerk, Kalimander.
Elia Reges – Elder sister of Geneviva I, died in childbirth.
Emberto Montcalme I, Duke – Former Duke of Kelse, deceased. Father of Gromas, grandfather of Emberto II.
Emberto Montcalme II, Duke – Duke of Kelse, based in Kalimander. Given the pejorative nickname of ‘The Hermit’ due to his refusal to leave the ducal palace.
Ephraim Peale – An able seaman, Duke Yaryx, responsible for dispensing corporal punishment and sentences issued by the captain.
Eubrin Massey – A mercenary, resident in Serekirk.
Farnes, A. – Popular Hanifaxan painter and sculptor, employed at times by the Syraeic League. Deceased.
Fenro – A mercenary pyromancer, Duke Yaryx.
Ferrick II – King of Hanifax, 452 – 459.
Galadayem Pela – A Syraeic League agent, swordswoman, leader of the first expedition into the Djao temple beneath the White Priory of St. Besh. Deceased.
Genech Reges – Son of Edmund IV, killed in the Azkayan War.
Geneviva Reges I – Current ruler of the Kingdom of Hanifax and its surrounding empire.
Ghedda, Brother – A warrior-priest of Vanic at the White Priory of St. Besh.
Glutton – Auric’s horse, known for its girth, appetite, and endurance.
Gnaeus Valesen –A Syraeic League agent, swordsman, bastard son of the Earl of Tessy.
Gonsette, Sister – Resident priest of Mictilin at the Citadel in Boudun.
Gouric – A mercenary, resident in Serekirk.
Gower Morz – A Syraeic League agent, member of the first expedition into the Djao temple beneath the White Priory of St. Besh. Blinded in the foray. Thought to be living at the Monastery of St. Qoterine on the Isle of Kenes.
Gromas Montcalme, Duke – Former Duke of Kelse, deceased. Father of the present duke, Emberto II.
Hanadis – Archbishop of Belu, based at the Blue Cathedral in Boudun.
Hanasi Welka – A Syraeic League agent, sorcerer, diviner at the Counting House in Serekirk. An initiate of the Third Tower of the Unveiled Eye.
Hannah Dyre, Lady – Baroness of Daurhim, youngest daughter of the Count of Aulkirk.
Hanouer – Auric’s surly manservant at his manor home in Daurhim.
Harmielle – A mercenary pyromancer, Duke Yaryx.
Helmacht of Aelbrinth – Syraeic League agent, sorcerer.
Hironimus Hraea – A Royal Navy captain, Duke Yaryx.
Hobesson, Lieutenant – A Royal Navy officer and first mate, Duke Yaryx.