“Thanks,” says Fifer with a grin.
“Would you be interested in making a little extra money on the side?” the barkeep asks.
Shrugging, Jiron replies, “Maybe, what do you have in mind?”
“There’s this group of individuals who are looking for someone to fight their champion,” he says. “They would pay pretty well, whether you win or lose.”
“What kind of fight?” asks Jiron, interested. “Fists or weapons?”
“If you fight with weapons, you get more,” he says. “But you can choose either way.”
Jiron looks to Fifer who’s wearing a grin. “When would this take place? I’m not sure how long we’ll be here,” he tells him.
“Tomorrow night,” he says. “Would you boys be interested?”
“Possibly,” says Jiron. “Where would the fight take place?”
Gesturing behind him, he says, “Out back. There’s a small lot behind us that’s fairly clear. We’ve held fights like these out there from time to time.”
Nodding, Jiron says, “How much?”
“Weapons, you get a gold,” he says. “Just fists, two silvers.”
“Win or lose?” he asks.
“Win or lose,” the barkeep replies.
Nodding, Jiron says, “Alright, I’ll do it.”
“Great!” the barkeep says excitedly. “Just two hours after sundown tomorrow night.”
“I’ll be here,” he says. Then glancing to Fifer, he nods his head to the door as he begins making his way out of the inn. Fifer downs his drink and moves to follow. Lonn and the others are just now beginning to get up off the floor.
After they leave, Lonn gets up and moves over to the barkeep who slides a silver across the counter to him. “Thanks,” he says.
Picking up the coin, Lonn grins and says, “Anytime.”
Chapter Five
_________________________
The following morning when they all meet down in the common room for breakfast, Jiron and Fifer tell them of the rumors they discovered the night before. They do not tell of what transpired at the inn or the fight later in the evening. Jiron told Fifer to keep quiet about that, he didn’t think James would like it, much less approve.
“There was no mention of you from anyone we talked to,” Fifer tells him. “Most of the rumors were really quite farfetched. I don’t think anyone really knows what they’re doing here.”
“Miko,” James says after mulling over what they said for a few minutes, “you’re good on the streets. See if you can find out what’s going on.”
“Will do,” he says, glad to be of help.
“What are you planning to do about going to see the king?” Illan asks.
Before James has a chance to reply, Jiron breaks in and says, “About that. The Royal Court convenes in the afternoon, we did find out that much.”
“Afternoon?” muses James. “Good, maybe I’ll be able to track down Ellinwyrd and see if he knows anything before I go.”
“How are you going to do that?” asks Jiron.
“Go to the gates to the castle area and request an audience,” he explains. “Last time I was here he said I could stop by anytime.”
“Want us to come with you?” asks Illan.
Shaking his head, he says, “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. I doubt if anything’s about to happen here.”
“Very well,” states Illan. “One of us will always be here in case you need help.”
“Don’t worry,” James assures him.
After breakfast is over, Miko excuses himself and leaves the inn as he goes to ferret out information on the streets.
Dave gets up and says, “I think I’ll just stay here at the inn in case you need me.”
“Good idea,” says Jiron and their eyes meet. Jiron still carries a resentment toward him that manifests itself every once in awhile.
Frowning, Dave turns and heads back up to his room.
“I wish you would take it easy on him,” James says to Jiron after Dave has left.
“I’ll try,” replies Jiron though from the tone of his voice he isn’t planning on trying too hard.
“You have the letter the herald gave you?” Illan asks.
Patting the pouch at his waist, he says, “Right here.”
“Good, you’ll probably need it to get in to see the Royal Court,” Illan advises.
“That’s what I figured.” Getting up, he says his goodbyes. Waving a farewell to Miss Gilena, he heads for the door and is soon out on the street. Moving toward the gates to the castle area, he goes down several blocks and notices Miko standing with a bunch of older youths near the side of a building. In his hands is a bag of tarts which he is sharing with the others. James just chuckles at that. That’s one way to get the locals to open up to you. What amazes him is how he got them so fast.
The gates to the castle area are well guarded and when he approaches, one of the guards comes forward and asks him his business.
“I would like to talk to Ellinwyrd, the Archive Custodian,” he tells the guard.
“Does he know you’re coming?” the guard asks.
Shaking his head, he explains, “No. I arrived into town last night and he told me that if I was ever in the area to stop by.”
The guard looks him up and down, as if he’s trying to assess the validity of what he just said. Motioning for one of the junior guards to come over, he asks James, “What’s your name and business with him?”
“My name is James,” he says. “I came through some time ago and he was nice enough to help me with a bit of research. My business I will explain to him.”
Looking to the junior guard, the first guard says, “Go tell the Archive Custodian that James is here and would like to speak with him.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard replies, then moves through the gates and is soon out of sight.
The first guard stands there near James while they wait. He has him move to the side to allow people to pass through from one side to the other. None of the people passing through look even vaguely familiar to him. Which isn’t very surprising since he didn’t spend all that much time in this area last time he was here.
The one person he’s hoping to see or maybe even get to talk to is the Princess Alliende. Her smile she flashed him when he passed through the last time sent a thrill through him.
Ten minutes after the guard left, he returns with one of the palace pages. To the lead guard he says, “Ellinwyrd said to allow him to enter.”
Nodding, the guard turns to James and says, “This page will take you in to see him.”
“Thank you,” James tells them as the page begins moving back into the castle area. From what he can remember, they follow along the same path as he was taken the last time. When they reach the courtyard with the four tiered fountain, beside which he had previously seen the princess, a feeling of disappointment comes over him when she isn’t present. He sighs.
The page ahead of him pauses and then turns back to him, “You alright sir?”
“What?” asks James. “Oh, yeah I’m fine.”
Giving a quick nod, the page turns and resumes his trek to the Archives. Coming to the familiar building, the page leads him up the steps and opens the door. Allowing James to enter first, he then closes the door behind them and quickly moves past him to lead the way down the corridor.
Coming to the double wooden doors with Ellinwyrd’s symbol engraved upon its surface, the page stops and knocks upon the door. From within an ‘Enter’ can be heard and the page opens the door. Standing aside, he motions for James to precede him into the room.
The room on the other side of the door hasn’t changed all that much, still containing disorganized piles of books and scrolls lying about the floor and tables. The state of the room bothers him, being a lover of books as he is.
“Thank you Michael,” Ellinwyrd says from his seat across the room.
Michael gives him a brief bow, then a nod to James before leaving the room and shutting
the door.
Making his way across the room to where Ellinwyrd sits, he takes extra precaution not to step on and damage any of the books or scrolls lying across the floor.
“James!” Ellinwyrd says as he gets up from his chair. “What an unexpected pleasure!”
Coming to the table, James extends his hand which Ellinwyrd takes and gives a firm shake. “Good to see you again too,” he tells him.
Ellinwyrd indicates a seat across from him which James moves over to and sits down. Taking his seat as well, Ellinwyrd says, “I’m so glad you decided to stop by and see me.”
“It’s not only for the pleasure of your company that I stopped by,” he tells him.
“I know,” he replies.
“You do?” asks James, surprised.
“Yes. You were summoned by the king to appear before the Royal Court,” states Ellinwyrd.
“That’s right,” agrees James. “Do you know why?”
“Didn’t the summons explain that?” he asks, perplexed.
Shaking his head, James says, “No, it didn’t.” Removing the letter the herald had given him from his pouch, he hands it across the table to Ellinwyrd.
Taking the letter, he reads the brief missive before returning it to him. “Highly unorthodox,” he says. “Custom states you are to be given the reason for the summons.”
“Does it have anything to do with the Ambassador from the Empire being here in Cardri?” asks James.
Eyes widening, Ellinwyrd asks in return, “What makes you say that?”
“Well, a lot’s happened since last we met,” he explains. “By the way, why did you have me deliver that book to Ollinearn?”
Smiling, he says, “I was hoping that by being a courier for me, it might’ve helped smooth things out with local garrisons, things like that.”
“It did and I thank you,” he says. “But what about that Ambassador?”
“He showed up about two weeks ago,” he explains. “I wasn’t privy to all that was said, but word has a way of getting around.”
“And?” prompts James when Ellinwyrd had grown quiet.
“And from what I gathered, it seems he’s here to ask the king for aid in capturing someone,” he says, eyeing James questioningly. “It seems this individual has killed scores of people in the Empire and they want him badly.”
James slumps in his chair, his demeanor all Ellinwyrd needs to tell him that James believes the individual in question to be himself. “Why don’t you tell me what happened,” he suggests.
“It started with the fall of the City of Light,” he begins. “My companion Miko had been captured and…” He goes on to relate in brief detail some of the events which the Empire could want him for, leaving out the more sensitive parts like the Fire and other things.
When he draws to a close, Ellinwyrd says, “I can see why they want you.”
“Yes,” he admits. “But I never initiated any of it!”
“Don’t see how that will matter one way or another,” he tells him. “One sovereign nation has made a request of another for justice. Unless you’re able to refute their charges, I don’t see what else the Royal Court can do but accede to their request.”
“How can you say that!” accuses James.
“I don’t believe you’re guilty of anything more than defending yourself against hostile forces bent on your destruction,” he says. “But my opinions will have little weight in these matters.” He looks at James as he sits there, mulling over what he just told him.
“What can I do?” he asks him.
“Appear before the court,” he says. “If you don’t, any decision made will go against you by default. The only way out is to go forward.”
“Great,” says James in irritation.
After a moment’s silence, Ellinwyrd asks, “Did Ollinearn help you?”
“What?” asks James, coming out of his reverie.
“Ollinearn over in the City of Light, did he aid you in your quest?” he repeats.
Nodding, he explains about the last high priest, the disappearance and how the last high priest was born in Saragon.
“Did you go to Saragon?” asks Ellinwyrd.
“Yes,” replies James, nodding. “As a matter of fact I did.”
“What did you find out?” he asks.
“I think a long time ago, someone planted a prophecy or riddle or something like that with one family,” he explains. “There may have been more but we didn’t have time to hunt for them. It went like this…
When the Fire shines Bright,
And the Star walks the Land.
Time for the Lost,
Will soon be at Hand.
At the foot of the King,
Bathe in his Cup.
Pull his Beard,
To make him sit Up.
Seven to Nine,
Six to Four.
Spit in the wind,
And open the door.
When he’s done, he sits back and waits for Ellinwyrd’s response. “Doesn’t make much sense does it?” he asks after Ellinwyrd remains quiet for a few minutes.
“No, it doesn’t,” he replies. “Some of it I understand. The star must mean the Star of Morcyth, not the medallion you’re carrying, but the real one.”
“Oh?” he asks.
“Since your last visit, I’ve been doing research about Morcyth and I’ve come up with several items of note.”
“Such as?” prompts James.
“The Star of Morcyth is the focal point of the god on this world,” he says. “Through it, the old writing says, many wonderful things were accomplished by the priests of Morcyth. Just what, isn’t mentioned.”
“Now the fire which is mentioned, I saw mentioned in the same text as the one which told of the Star. Dmon-Li, the god who obliterated Morcyth’s priesthood also has a focal point in this world, that being the Fire. Through it, terrible things happened. It seems that whoever is in possession of one of these focal points is able to have tremendous power. The text doesn’t say where any of these are, most likely they’re in the possession of the high priest of each order.”
“Interesting,” states James. Nothing new here, just reinforcing what he already knew.
“The next stanza doesn’t seem to make much sense,” says Ellinwyrd with a smile. “I mean who’s going to bathe in a cup at the king’s feet and then pull his beard?”
“I know,” says James.
Suddenly, what sounds like a church bell begins tolling. “What’s that?”
“It signals that the Royal Court will be meeting shortly,” he replies.
Coming to his feet, James says, “I better go then.”
“Surely you don’t plan to present yourself before the Royal Court looking like that are you?” Ellinwyrd asks.
Looking down at himself, he realizes what he means. His travel worn clothes would be ill suited for such an occasion. “What should I do?”
Getting up, Ellinwyrd says, “Follow me.” Moving to the door of his sanctum, he opens it and passes through with James right behind.
“Where are we going?” he asks.
“To get you suitable attire,” is the reply.
Following Ellinwyrd, he moves along the hallway and ascends up a flight of stairs to the next level. Upon reaching the second floor, they move down the hallway and come to a halt before the third door on the right. Removing a key from his robe, he opens the door and enters.
A lone window gives the room some light and James can see this is some kind of storage room. Several chests and dressers are placed about the room as well as two wardrobes.
Ellinwyrd goes over to a table and lights the candle to give them more light, then walks over to one of the wardrobes. “It’s amazing what accumulates over the years,” he says as he opens the door.
Within are five sets of clothes hanging from hangers. All are of good quality and two look to be about James’ size. One is green and the other is a dark brown color. “Take your pick,” he says as he moves back to give hi
m some room. “These were left by various apprentices I’ve had over the years.”
James removes the dark brown set and says, “I like this one.”
“That will do nicely,” he says. “We’ll go down the hall to a room where you can dress without worrying about getting dust all over them.”
Blowing the candle out, he replaces it back on the table and then leads James out of the room and down the hall. Two doors down, he pauses in front of the door as he says, “You can use this one to change.”
Nodding, James opens the door and enters. The room on the other side has but a single bed and dresser, a plain room all things considered. Laying the clothes on the bed, he commences changing. As he’s putting on the new set, he debates whether to wear his slug belt or not. They can always have me remove it if it’s a problem. Securing it around his waist, he then slips the jerking over his head and secures the outer belt around his middle. The jerking effectively hides his slug belt and hopefully no one will even notice.
Once he’s finished, he bundles his old clothes together and leaves the room. Outside, Ellinwyrd nods when he sees him, “That will do nicely. You can keep them, they’ve been here for years and I doubt if the original owner will be coming back for them.”
“Thank you,” he replies in appreciation. These are much better than the ones he had to wear back in Corillian. Thank goodness revealing tights are not the current fashion here in Cardri.
Ellinwyrd takes his old bundle of clothes from him and says, “I’ll have these returned to your inn if you like?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” he says. “I’m staying at the Silver Bells.”
“Ah, Miss Gilena’s fine establishment,” he says, nodding. “I’ll have them sent over there right away.”
“Thank you,” he says.
Returning to Ellinwyrd’s sanctum, he pulls on the rope chord to summon a page. When Michael arrives, he tells him to escort James to the Royal Court.
“Follow me sir,” he says as he leads the way out of the Archives.
Once out the main doors and back onto the street, Michael leads James over to the castle. James smiles when he realizes it’s to the castle they’ll be going. Despite his trepidation at appearing before the Royal Court, the thought of being inside a castle makes him smile.
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 6