5 - Loose Ends (Patreon)

‘Do not worry so,’ the voice of Orebela said within Paul’s mind as he stood in front of the Teras Estate, ‘This one is 86% certain the Lord Teras will not remember the time Wayland attempted to court his sister.’

‘Court is a strong word for what I suggested back then,’ the older Adventurer thought back to his Familiar, not consoled at all for the imminent meeting he had requested with the current noble lord he had known best as a teenager.

‘Lord Teras did agree to the meeting and is still only Sapphire Caste,’ she pointed out but when he thought about Duke Tul and his hostility despite being lower Caste, the Familiar added, ‘Lord Teras also has no reason to fear the usurping of his position.’

The former paladin sighed, tilting his head in acknowledgement, and pressed his palm to a small diagram circle filled with runes in the center of the front door. Nothing indicated anything had happened aside from the slight glow the runes now gave off and a few moments later the door opened and a woman politely bowed low with a hand over her heart.

“Lord Wayland, it is an honor to have you in attendance,” the cinderen said courteously, then gestured for him to enter, “Lord Teras is awaiting you in the lounge. Please, allow me to guide you.”

He simply nodded in response, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the formalities the staff performed, as he was led into the building that seemed colder than his own despite the heavy usage of reds and golds in the decor. Everything was immaculate in its presentation and even his cleaning tendencies were impressed by the tidiness of it all.

In the lounge there was a lone man waiting, already drinking a slightly glowing crimson liquid from a short glass as he sat. Upon the announcement of his arrival, the cinderen lord stood and offered a slight bow with a hand over his heart, “Lord Paul Wayland, a pleasure to see you again after so long.”

The paladin returned the respectful bow and replied, “You as well, Lord Ethan Teras. I’ve been meaning to stop by sooner but my duties as an Adventurer have taken precedence and kept me busy.”

“I can only imagine,” the Mage said and offered a small smile, “You always were chasing fights as much as skirts in our youth.”

“And as I recall, you were always chasing books as much as boys,” he replied, offering his own slight smirk.

Ethan laughed, “Yes, well, my persistence paid off and I found a good one who helped focus me and build up our family. Please, sit,” the cinderen added as he retook his seat and took another sip from his glass, “I’ve been hoping you would find some time for at least a chat to catch up. Or is this a more official type of meeting? Your letter was very vague.”

“I apologize for that but what I wished to speak on was better said away from prying eyes and ears and I have been away too long to know which messengers to trust,” he explained, taking a seat in a chair perpendicular to the younger noble.

“Sounds serious,” Teras noted, then added with a glance to the staff who were moving to serve Paul, “Let's leave the serious talk for later in my private study, yes? For now, let us drink and you can tell me what’s happened in the last twenty years since we last talked face to face.”

“That far back?” the former paladin asked with a raised eyebrow, “I thought the whole city knew of everything up to six years ago.”

“They know rumors. I want to hear things from the man himself,” Ethan said, dropping the humor as he said, “I want to know what really happened with you, Paul. We were friendly enough growing up, though I know you were closer with my sister.”

The cinderen held up an ebony hand to forestall Paul’s interjection, “And no, I don’t care that she was one of the skirts you chased. She’s her own woman and I know she put you in your place. I want to know what happened to the righteous friend that shook him so hard that he fell from faith. I want to know why he not only agreed to come back to a city that turned his back on him but stayed to protect them.”

So Paul told him. They drank and Paul explained how he discovered the Purifier’s plans to cleanse the world and renounced his faith in his god's mission that he had served for almost thirty years. He spoke about the dissolution of his adventuring party and traveling the continent of Pyrin that their tundra was part of. Of following and abolishing the Renseres and Soul Reapers wherever he found them.

In return, Ethan spoke of his family. The husband that was part of Mentor’s clergy and their two children becoming Adventurers as well as Magi, of the career growth that led him to becoming the current Vice Chancellor of the Order of Magic’s Tulim branch, and the struggles the tundra has had to face with little support from the Queen sitting on her throne in Blomstra.

“So with chasing villains around the continent, I assume there has been little time for skirt chasing and family making?” Teras asked as he finished off his third glass of spicy firegut ale.

“Some brief interests,” Paul admitted followed by a shrug, “But nothing serious that led to expanding my family. I’ve been leaving that to Pati.”

“Right, she has… what? Five children now?” the cinderen asked.

“Seven,” he replied, “The youngest twins just turned five. They’re still a bit shy around me.”

The Mage laughed, “The wayward uncle that has been absent their whole lives and returns as the most powerful man in the tundra? Gods, I wonder why?” he teased, leaning forward to set his glass on the small table between them, “Still, I would have thought you would have someone by now. A woman that agreed to accompany you to the ends of the world or an illegitimate brat trailing after you.”

“Actually, there is a bit of a brat involved,” he started saying then glanced towards the door where a staff member stood patiently observing them and he decided that this secret was worth letting slip a bit more now, “I have a Protégé now.”

“Seriously?” Ethan asked with wide eyes that glowed like warm embers, “I never would have believed anyone else telling me that the Blade of Pure Wrath willfully took on a Protégé. Who could have possibly caught your eye enough to take on the responsibility of mentorship?”

He set his own glass down and pulled out a scroll from the bag at his hip, “She’s a bit of an odd mix of abilities and skills. Honestly, it’s been hard to figure out how best to guide her when we’re so different.”

“What’s this?” Teras asked, taking the scroll he held out between them.

“It’s a modification to the city’s spawn point detection enchantment diagram,” Paul explained, giving the Mage a few minutes to look over it, “I’m more learned in rituals than enchantments but this seemed like an improvement to me. I figured, out of everyone I knew, you might be the one to tell me if it could actually work or not.”

The Sapphire Caster didn’t respond immediately, which Paul appreciated as a sign that the man was taking his request seriously. The cinderen seemed to hum a bit and mutter some rhetorical questions as he poured over the diagram and the first question he asked was to clarify, “And your new apprentice did this? Is she from one of the other continents or something? I’ve never seen this kind of concept on this large of a scale before.”

“Trust me when I say she didn’t learn it from another person anywhere in this world,” the paladin said with a slight grin, “She came up with this on her own but tossed it aside because she didn’t have the means to test it properly and she’s only been studying enchantments in her spare time over the last two months.”

Ethan’s head snapped up to look at him as the mage stated, “That’s impossible. Not unless some knowledge tomes were involved or she’s a savant of some kind like your cousin.”

“I don’t believe that’s what this is in my Protégé’s case,” he stated, “A tome was involved to give her the foundational knowledge when we arrived here in Tulimeir but I believe this comes from logic and patterns she learned in her homeland.”

“I thought you said she didn’t learn this from anyone else?” the cinderen asked in confusion.

Paul leveled his gaze to his old friend’s and said evenly, “She’s a Wayfarer.”

Silence fell between them for a long moment as Ethan looked from the paladin to the scroll in his hands then to the door where his staff stood slack-jawed and the cinderen said slowly, “I think we should have that more serious talk now.”

“So you just stumbled upon a Wayfarer out near the border of the Blue Ridge Mountains, finished getting her a Class, then took her in as a Protégé and been training her personally to become an Adventurer; only to discover that you stole some sort of enchanting prodigy from the Magi of the OOM?!” Ethan summarized as he paced around his private study that was brimming with books on every shelf and surface, a complete affront to the pristine order of the rest of the estate.

Paul watched him with amusement and pointed out, “I would never have had the opportunity to meet her, if a Magi hadn’t tried to kidnap and force her into submission to be experimented on.”

The Mage scowled at him as the paladin added, “I hate to be the one to tell you this but the OOM doesn’t really have a good track record with their treatment of Wayfarers. Too often your organization's thirst for knowledge outweighs the wellbeing of their… subjects.”

“You know that is not something I would ever condone, Paul,” the cinderen almost growled, “I’m not involved with the field of study surrounding Wayfarers but even I can recognize the worth of the knowledge they hold and while it is a worthy field of study, the Wayfarer’s themselves are people who have gone through a traumatic shift and deserve far more respect and empathy than most. Even those of us among the nobility. Wayfarer’s are not only a treasure but a blessing upon our world.”

“Perhaps you should be the one in that field of study,” the paladin murmured, “The ones I’ve met there all sound like they’re worth a pile of siva dung.”

“They're too rare for my taste,” Ethan replied with a dismissive wave, “You know I went into my family’s specialization of golem construction.”

“Yes, well, anyways, Phoenix’s existence and diagram isn’t the only reason I’m here,” Paul began looking at the book titles listed on the shelves as he spoke, “It’s just the official reason in case anyone asks why I stopped by suddenly.”

Teras slowed his pacing as he processed Wayland’s words and asked quietly, “And the unofficial reason?”

Paul didn’t stop his perusal of the books as he asked casually, “How’s the research on the Soul Cage I delivered to the OOM progressing?”

“The Soul Cage?” the Magi repeated, then scoffed, “Chancellor Ruwena left that task to her husband.”

“Is he unqualified?” Paul inquired.

“Not exactly,” the cinderen admitted begrudgingly, “He’s a fair hand at artifice but normally we would have an entire team dedicated to unraveling the secrets of that thing but he hasn’t called in anyone else. Making reports directly to the Chancellor and she’s not letting any of us see them; claiming a threat to national security should the information be leaked to the public.”

The paladin raised an eyebrow towards the other noble, “And nobody has complained?”

“Sure we have!” Ethan exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air in a display of frustration, “But nobody wants to anger House Ruwena! They control access to Tulisuda and lead the OOM branch here. I even wrote a formal complaint to the Duke himself about the way they’ve been consolidating power and shutting out other parties from verifying their findings and procedures but I’ve been ignored or brushed aside.

“People see my family name and position within the OOM and immediately think I’m making my own sort of political play to promote myself or my house,” the mage bemoaned, then added in annoyance, “I’m not that petty, Paul.”

“I know, Ethan,” he reassured, turning to look at the man, “I also have my own reasons to not trust House Ruwena. Perhaps we can help one another in uncovering what I believe to be treachery.”

Murinah gave a coquettish smile to Ramir Mirimel as she leaned over his desk and asked, “So, Ramir, you told me that Dazien was going to be on wall patrol but I’ve been checking every night all week and he hasn’t shown up. You didn’t give me bad information, did you? I can only imagine what that will do to your reputation if I told my parents that-”

“His party was assigned some missions out along the south road since you last asked,” the runeforged man interjected haughtily, “It’s a blood moon, Noble Ruwena. Information changes quickly and parties get reassigned.”

“Party? What party? A Defender and Mage aren’t going to get missions outside of the city even when it's not a blood moon,” she argued.

“His party,” the functionary pulled out another folder from his desk as though he had been prepared for her visit, “King’s Dream is the official name and they have one of each Role filled now. It looks like you should have communicated more if you wanted to join said party.”

The cinderen ground her teeth, “Who could they have gotten as a Supporter? That Role should have been empty for me to fill.”

“It’s the same as before, Noble,” the man said with a raised eyebrow, “Phoenix Fraser, the Midshift Supporter.”

“That’s not possible,” she stated with a shake of her head.

“They should be arriving back in Tulimeir by this afternoon via her portal, so it had better be possible,” the man stated flatly.

“That’s not possible!” the cinderen shouted at the moronic man who seemed to be refusing to tell her the truth or perhaps he was just not the best source of information like she had thought.

Murinah stormed off, ignoring the looks shot her way as people scurried out of her path, recognizing her superiority. She would keep searching for where Dazien was. Perhaps she had just missed him, like two ships passing in the night, and he was training at Warrior’s temple now, even though she had checked earlier.

Dazien was the only man that didn’t seem to fear her nor grovel at her feet. His confidence and chivalry towards her since they had been children had captivated her heart and she knew that he felt the same towards her but was simply awaiting to prove his worthiness to stand beside her. She saw the truth behind his jeweled eyes, the knowledge that he had to earn her hand, and how hard he trained everyday to gain that title of king for her sake.

Mother had laughed at her request to sponsor him but Daddy, at least, had recognized the love between them and had promised to offer aid where he could. So when she wanted to wait to join the AOA until Dazien would, her father hadn’t refused her. He had always promised her the world and the man of her dreams would be included with that.

That’s right, Daddy would help her track down Dazien now and help convince the gemite that she would be the perfect scout to join the party of his dreams. She changed directions and headed back to her family estate within the inner city.

Murinah froze when she saw an impossible sight, however. Curly red hair forced into a braid that hung down a pale woman’s back. The woman must have been some sort of ghost walking down the road towards the inner city with a pair of voxen, a tall cinderen that was a familiar shadow, and the amethyst warrior that loved Murinah and was being distracted from that love by the strange undead woman from a distant land.

They were all talking and laughing together and she could only assume that Dazien had made yet another perfect display of his charm and wit to make the group behave in such a way. Even the solemn Uriel seemed to be chuckling at whatever brilliance their leader must have just uttered.

She trailed along behind them, watching carefully for signs of some evil trickery on the part of the annoying redhead that had caused such odd behavior in her love. The group made their way to one of the large dorm buildings reserved as blood moon lodgings and the pasty ghost broke off, going inside and she realized that the outsider must be staying there while here in the city. That could be useful information to pass onto her father because now she knew that she would need his help to rid herself of the demon that came back from certain death just to torment her.

Continuing back home, she found her father down in one of the rooms he used to experiment with that creepy black hand thing on people that had aggravated their family too much and who simply had to be punished.

“Daddy, you just have to do something!” she whined, sitting on the edge of one of the tables near the sealed door after having explained what she had done earlier to the ridiculous redhead and putting on her best pout that usually got the man to do whatever she needed, “She knows I used a Silencer and she’s completely ruining my life with the way she clings onto my Dazien.”

“Wait, you took a Silencer and she survived the miserlings,” Lord Ruwena asked as he turned from the man hanging from chains in the center of a ritual circle in the middle of the heavily enchanted stone room.

“She must be some kind of demon, Daddy. An undead demon that is confusing Dazien and threatens our family,” the scout said with an adamant nod.

The older cinderen walked over to grab the towel off the table next to her and wiped the blood off of his hands before gripping both of her shoulders to make their eyes meet as he smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry, my little shadow. I’ll get Arktis to take care of the loose ends and young Dazien will be yours. A prince for my princess.”

Murinah smiled broadly, “Thank you, Daddy.”

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