Echoes from the Caverns

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Chapter Seven. The Dirty Scoundrel.

 

Arriving near town after a short walk through a lovely bucolic meadow and past some impressive ruins, we could hear the babbling river and soon enough came upon an old, curved stone bridge covered with lichen.  I paused and had a good gawk all around from the bridge then followed the others under the arch of a tall stone clock tower. Stepping off the bridge, all I could smell was fresh bread baking. As a group, we paused to get oriented at the local bulletin board near the clock tower and Zyrina spotted another ad for Ye Olde Pickled Spinster. We were on the right trail for a bed and possibly a bath. And definitely some supper. I knew exactly where to go.

 

“I recognize this smell. I know that bakery.” I began to broadly smile. “She’s baked my favorite sweet.” My mouth was watering. I could smell the lemons now. This was heartening and irresistible. Lucy was also visibly buoyed by the prospect of some food and even started whistling her wandering song again. We naturally followed our noses to the southwest and soon came upon the source of the delightful scents: Bread and Roses.

 

Lucy was first through the door to the small bakery but Zyrina slipped through right after and I did too, once I’d taken a minute to admire the many roses still in full bloom. Oh, the sights, the smells. The memories of travels past. The sugar and yeast bread combination were doubly heady pleasures after my diet of dried nuts and fruits, soda-bread, and cheese while in flight across Novia for nearly three weeks at this point. Cheese and nuts don’t have a chance compared to a freshly baked sticky lemon bun. Especially one of Alley’s pastries.

 

Alley Oop looked up and smiled right at me.

“Hi Alley.” I shyly offered.

“By the Titans! What brings you this far north, Lily?” She asked on her way over to give me a quick hug.

“Following our noses to your bakery.” I said this with a grin. We were not the only customers in the place and Alley was pressed back into service.

 

When I had a chance after the crowd had thinned, I asked “Do you have any lemon buns left?” I didn’t see any in the display though I could smell the lemon.

 

Alley pulled a dozen fresh ones out from a hiding spot under her counter and winked at me. Now I was truly grinning.

 

“Thanks, you remembered.” I smiled again pleased that my friend was thoughtful enough to put a bag of lemon buns aside when she saw me in her shop.

“Course I did.”

 

After introducing the baker to Lucy and to Zyrina, Lucy and Alley struck up a conversation and I tucked into the first of my buns as I could wait no longer. Then nothing else existed for a few moments.

 

“Your word?” I could hear Lucy ask Alley. Alley nodded emphatically and grinned, handing a large bag of sticky sweet cinnamon breads to Lucy.

 

“Yes, I absolutely know Aslinne Gradh. She comes through trading her lemons and offering good fresh news at least once a year, sometimes twice. She’s friends with the cook at the Dirty Scoundrel.” She nodded out the door across the green.

 

Alley then waved hello to Zyrina and said pleasantly, “Good to meet you Zyrina, welcome to Stinging Tree Hollow. What can I get for you?”

 

Zyrina shook her head and waved her off.

 

“Nothing? Suit yourself.” She handed Zyrina a cheese bun and surprisingly Rina took it, sniffed it, and took a big bite of it.

 

“I take it none of you strayed from the path on the way into town. or you would all be in some proper discomfort by now. This town is aptly named, of course.” She looked at our limbs searchingly but seemed satisfied with our health in the end.

 

“Yeah, we’d been warned.” I nodded in the direction of Zyrina who had cautioned Lucy earlier when she tried to leave the path to explore a mushroom nearby tha...

Chapter Six. At Jade Island – All Aboard!

 Read by Asclepius         

Yesterday morning, back in Jade Valley while focusing on the driving need to catch up with Violet’s ship, Zyrina had eventually convinced herself to get on board this airship – she had persuaded herself that she could get in the air again. Even if it brought her to a cold sweat at the mere idea of leaving the safety of the earth, she was determined to overcome her dread. Airships didn’t crash every time, and when Lucy looked her in the eye and bet her farm that this one would not crash, Zyrina took a deep breath and accepted her ticket. She knew she would do whatever she needed to do to see this search to the end. She was counting on Lucy’s opinion of this bloody contraption and her love of her farm. She was still not sure it was a sound choice but there was also her promise to help her friend find Kitty. And then there was the book.  She had not forgotten.

 

Finding Kitty, and then Torgin and Phlebus, was all absolutely essential because of the book they all sought. It had caused far too much damage in the world already and Zyrina would do far more to see it recovered than simply lose her breakfast over the edge of an airship. Her hope that Phlebus would find a way to safely keep or destroy it kept her steady. She knew he would not give up and she would not either. She knew what she had to do, and she was determined to do it.

 

It would be nice if it didn’t involve quite so much nausea though.  Zyrina closed her eyes trying to stop the inner swells from swamping her. Glancing up from the rail, the big oval balloon billowing above did not dispense the same sense of comfort to her as most of the others felt. In fact, its undulating form was now a catalyst to the rippling inside her stomach. Zyrina leaned over the rail of the airship again.

 

Hanging on to the thick rope rigging with all her strength, she emptied the contents of her gut yet another time. Relief was immediate. Complete emptiness and freedom for a few precious minutes, until the waves of nausea would once again entirely swamp her existence; this short reprieve was all that kept her from flinging herself over the side too.

 

A fresh breeze on her face rejuvenated her failing spirit and she pulled herself from the brink. Back in their shared sleeping cabin, she carefully rinsed her mouth and washed her face before climbing into her cot after a large swig of the cool peppermint tea that Lucy had left in a pewter jug beside her bed. Zyrina suspected that Lucy was responsible for the hot water and clean towel, as well.

 

She smiled a little, thankful for her friend’s compassion. Lucy continued to bring her sense of serenity and comfort with her no matter where they wandered or how rough the accommodation and Zyrina was keenly aware of all the ways that Lucy smoothed the path for everyone in their small troupe.

 

Watching people was a specialty of Zyrina’s. She noticed things that other people were not aware of, like the way that Lily seemed to go completely still every time that Torgin’s name came up in conversation. Or the things that Lucy left behind her like a breadcrumb trail back to the beginning. Zyrina shifted in her bunk, pulling the rough blanket up under her chin.

*

Days into our journey I leaned far over the side and shouted gleefully into the wind: “WheeeeeeEEEEEeeee!” My hair whipped back from my face and the warm sun soaked right through my closed eyelids to shine bright orange patterns where they danced in my mind. I was having a moment of complete abandon. There was little I could accomplish while we travelled so as well as writing copious notes, I spent time exploring the ship.

 

The ride up to the large airship in the small air balloon from Jade Valley was the smoothest transfer I had experienced; at least I hadn’t screamed the entire time this time...

 

Read by Asclepius

Chapter Five. Missed Meetings.

“EEEEEEEEeeeeeEEEEE” With a squeal of delight Jenny Hawkins’s emerald eyes gleamed out the tiniest slits of her freckled eyelids. She squinted through the early-morning sunshine toward the dock below.

 

Earlier, with a whoop of delight, she had leapt from her small roughly-hewn bunk in the belly of the Sea Byrd and now stood steady beside the worn wood rail of the ship, her grip tight on the ropes above her. The ship had arrived in Jade Valley only a couple days ago. Without leaning over too far, Jenny could see how much of the cargo and baggage remained before they set sail. It looked as if they would be leaving today! Finally! She was getting off the ship at Etcetera, the next port of call, and going back home. It had been years since she left, and she now ached for the familiarity of her family home.

 

Catching a glint of sun off the shine of gold from the dock, Jenny observed their passenger dressed in dark flowing robes give a coin to a lad that immediately skipped off toward the village with a small envelope. The mage stood in the shadow of the ship. He seemed pale and unsteady on his feet even on the dock but not as sick as he was when he arrived.

 

Jenny knew he was staying in the fancy berth on the main deck. She had been trying to get a glimpse at him all the way from Laketown, where he stumbled back onto the wharf and tossed a hefty pouch of coins to the captain. Jenny knew the captain needed the gold and that’s why he was allowed back on board after the damage he did on the way there from the Mistrendur. She knew how badly the ship had been battered just trying to get to Ironhall let alone the damage on the way here from there and, sure enough, he was given continued passage after the repairs; even if it was his terrible mistake during a magic spell that caught the main sail on fire in the first place.

 

She hadn’t seen him out of his berth since Ironhall, but it didn’t take long for him to look straight up at her now, his gaze piercing and searching.  She stepped back from the rail and out of sight just as she could feel the swell of the tide lift the ship a little. Even moored, the ship reacted to the constant movement of the ocean below and so creaked and groaned as it rolled with the incoming tide. And after years of practice, Jenny instinctively moved naturally and gracefully without thought back into the shadows, hidden…and breathed. He was INTENSE. Maybe it was alright that she hadn’t seen him before this after all.

 

She’d seen mages during her travels but this one did not seem kind or friendly like the others had been. She had learned intricate beautiful music from the elven mages she had encountered in her travels. The music was moving and haunting, too. The human one she had met had shown her some small magic tricks to entertain her friends…but this mage gave her a creepy feeling all up her spine and she was pretty sure he didn’t play any music at all or know any party tricks either.

 

She didn’t understand why her friend Aslinne, the ship’s cook, looked all glassy-eyed when he was mentioned in their whispers at the end of the day. In the evenings when the young women sat together at the rough-hewn table below deck and discussed life aboard the ship, he was one of the subjects that Aslinne would not talk about. Aslinne was the repository of the gossip on the ship and Jenny was the only one that Aslinne would tell anything about her own feelings and experiences but she never ever would talk about either the mage or what any of the others told her. Jenny wished she would.

 

There were gossips to be had in the kitchen if one were a fly on the wall. That little galley heard many a whispered secret between sailor and cook. She made it a point of honor to know all the comings and goings of her shipmates and Jenny was constantly trying to get Aslinne ...

 

Read by Chatull Aventari

Chapter Four. How Much for That Information?

Thick mist in the early dawn made the still water of the lake reflect only the muted grey of the world around; even the birds were silent. It was quiet and mesmerizing to watch the nothing. After a long while of watching birds hunt low over the water, and rippling rings of movement in the water where fish pecked at bugs on the surface of the smooth deep blue, I went back in the inn and woke the other two women.

 

We then all made our way downstairs from where we had fallen asleep on the second floor of the pavilion. After breaking our fast with leftover bread from our bags, we had a bit of a hike up the mountain to where the wagon collected us to start us on our journey to Ironhall.

 

The jaunt out of Jade Mountains and over to the island’s shore had revitalized our bodies and minds and even our spirits lifted when, by midmorning, the mist had burned off enough to see the light flicker through and warm the chill out of the day. There were massive thunderheads and the sky remained in a darkened battle with itself high above the sea as we journeyed that day.

 

I would have liked to have sung a song of joy and beauty, but I dared not. I was sure that sore vocal cords, the aches in my muscles, and the headache I still suffered were all worth the revelry around the firepit the night before, but this suffering wasn’t something I wanted to repeat anytime soon. From the looks of the other two, it appeared like Zyrina and Lucy would agree with me.

 

Zyrina became horribly sick after her first meal on the ship and we teased her a little about her travel stomach, thinking the motion of the ship had set her off but Lucy went snooping and found a problem in the filthy kitchen. The ship’s cook had died of some mysterious stomach ailment just before we had boarded.

 

Lucy first convinced whatever sailor had unfortunately pulled kitchen duty for this voyage that she was indeed a good cook and wanted to cook a meal, that she was bored as a passenger and would prefer to help in the kitchen. Lucy started by cleaning up the galley kitchen with hot water and soap, then she taught a few of the sailors a simple recipe for fish that they could do on their own. The captain humored her and then cheerfully let her cook the rest of the meals on the voyage after tasting his first helping of her fish stew and biscuits. He had three helpings. The rest of the crew were won over by the very same meal. Zyrina spent most of the voyage either sick or recovering from being sick. It looked like the sea did not agree with her, after all.

 

 

I spent the days practicing a new sea shanty that I heard some of the crew singing one day while they scrubbed the deck. Most of the time I could be found wandering around humming the tune.

 

When we arrived at Ironhall the sounds and sights near the docks kept our senses occupied while we searched for Violet’s ship and also for the young man called Finn Beanna. Although Fiona had been explicit about how to get to Ironhall, she was vague on the location of Finn’s working area or his schedule or pretty much anything other than he would know where all the ships that arrived at the local port were heading, or where they had been. Asking for him didn’t help. The locals stared at us as if we were asking why the sky wasn’t a lemon meringue pie and then they clammed up or wandered off. There was no help for it: we would have to search to find Laketown and then search Laketown from one end to the other.

 

We split up and started looking. Zyrina eventually found him and called us over. He was sitting behind the Broken Docks Inn and looking for all the world as if he were avoiding being found. He didn’t seem especially friendly, either. We decided on a friendly approach anyway, with a gift of rum from my backpack and bread from Lucy’s.

Read by Addy

Chapter Three. At Last.

 

A week prior up the mountain:

Still early in the day, before Lucy Featherbright opened the front door of her cozy farmhouse, even before she had folded back her cozy goose-down quilt, she just plain smiled for the joy of being alive. The beginnings of a glimmer of light across the serene mountain lake peeped in her open window. After finding and dressing in her not–quite-fresh garments and then stuffing a piece of cheese and a not-quite-fresh roll into her pants pocket, she turned to leave the small hut. Her amber eyes twinkled as she swung the heavy door open and leaped down the two steps.

 

Novian dawn was usually a spectacular showy event in the cool autumn mornings here in the backwoods forests of Jade Mountains. When the first rays popped over the peaks behind the little cabin nestled above the hamlet, Lucy watched the morning tree shadows shorten and gnawed on her dried-out roll and crumbly cheese. Warmth finally started soaking into her chilled skin as she watched the day open before her. The light brought some thin autumn coziness with it. She turned her face to the light, soaking up all the sunshine she could. Already the light was not as strong as it had been in the summer and Lucy was aware that the cold would be upon them soon enough. Sighing, she finished the last bite, then turned to focus on the covered wagon in front of her cottage that she had abandoned half-unloaded in an exhaustion-fueled arrival.

 

Last night she had let Torgin’s furry companion off its leash after she had finished maneuvering the little wagon up the steep mountain path. The cat quickly and silently disappeared into the nearby forest. Lucy was used to this; Kitty had done so every time she arrived at the farm. Now upon waking, she realized her twin brother’s large snowy lynx had not yet returned from its nightly stalking in the woods.

 

“Huh,” she snorted to herself. “Go figure.” A pry bar leaned nearby, and she soon started prying at the closest barrel and scooped a couple salted fish out when it opened, their red and blue colours sparkling in the early morning light.

 

Hoping to entice the beloved pet out of the nearby trees, she sang out, “Here Kitty Kitty,” shaking the wet and iridescent fish she had picked out for the large snowy white lynx. Early autumn had not completely changed Kitty’s coat to the more subtle colours of winter and some of the dark streaks were still visible in her sleek coat. It made Kitty nearly invisible in the wild.

 

In the past, when Torgin had left Kitty with Lucy, the suspicious feline often liked to watch the lake below from just past the edge of the tree line near the cliff. But this morning, Kitty was not there nor at her doorstep like Lucy expected. Not at the edge of the forest in the tree line. Kitty was not in the corral annoying the new colt, nor the orchard, nor the garden.

 

When Oscar arrived she made him help her search instead of working with the animals. Not even her hired hand had seen the wildcat. Kitty was not at the little farm at all.

 

There were many places that Kitty could be found, but she could also disappear at will, it seemed. So, Lucy shrugged and set the fishes near the front door where Kitty would find them when she came back from whatever she was doing, then she kept unpacking from her recent trip to Jade Valley. The Cabalists had caused quite a stir there and Lucy was still disappointed that the artifact she hunted had disappeared again with barely a whisper. Well, at least Phlebus was working his way through all the tomes on the subject back in Central Brittany. Lucy was certain Phlebus would find the trail eventually. He was thorough. And motivated. The little-known magic artifact book appeared to fascinate him, too.

 

She didn’t much notice the passage of time until the sun dipped behind the mountain.

Read by Chatull Aventari

Chapter Two. Where Are You?

Creeping carefully through the starlit dark, I could finally make out the little brown and green elven cottage isolated out by itself in the woods. The door sounded solid when I knocked upon it. Its wood was decorated with small sigils all around it, but I couldn’t make them out in the starlight. Zyrina didn’t answer her door but she also didn’t lock it. It was open. She was obviously expecting me to go right in, right? Well, I hoped so anyway, because that’s exactly what I did. The first thing I saw was her sofa, and since it was exactly the right softness, I decided to rest my eyes for a minute and promptly fell asleep waiting for her to return.

 

Not enough hours later, upon waking with the dawn, I winced at the crick in my neck from sleeping crumpled up on this sofa. Where the heck was I? When I rubbed my still-tired eyes, I remembered the mad dash to get here and the emptiness on my arrival. …and now felt the emptiness of my stomach, too. I became aware of gnawing hunger and rumbling bits. In her kitchen, I found some bread and cheese and a little jug of ale left on the table. I also found a note from Zyrina. Munching thoughtfully on the still-soft bread and the sharp cheddar, I picked up the note in my free hand and started reading.

 

            Dear Lily,

            Yes, I know I’m not there. I meant to be there. Really, I did.  I have not lured you away from your library on a whim and I’m sorry I’ve gone. I left food and drink and left the lights on for you too. The bed has fresh bedding if you arrive needing to sleep.

I would be there except Lucy Featherbright sent me an urgent message. She has been looking after Torgin’s lynx while he and I left to find Phlebus to find out more about that artifact.  Anyway, Kitty is missing. …or Kitty left to find Torgin, Lucy was quite unclear on that point. There was honey on her letter and some of the writing was a bit smeared, too. What I know is Lucy needs to hear what Torgin’s been up to too, so that’s why I’m heading to Jade Mountains to find Lucy. There’s no telling where she will wander looking for Kitty and we both know she will get lost the minute she hits the edge of Jade Mountains. She’s worse with directions than you are. I’m pretty sure that she lives up the mountain overlooking the Hamlet of Jade Mountains. I know it’s a lot to ask you to follow me there, but I promise you will want to hear what I’ve learned. Then you can help Lucy and me look for Kitty. Torgin will not be happy if Kitty is actually missing.

Lily, that little leatherbound artifact book it’s… well, it’s just not something we can ignore. Please come soon,

                                Zyrina

            P.S. Remember there is a balloon by the stone bridge; it will take you to Jade Mountains faster than travelling by foot. However, if you insist on travelling by foot (yes, I remember your aversion to all things taller than two stories, but speed is important) you need to make your way to the far western Island of the Mistrendur and when you land at the port go straight to the top of the nearest mountain range to find Jade Mountains. When you arrive in the hamlet, stand in front of the Oracle Confirmatory facing away from its door. From that spot, Lucy’s place is up the mountain exactly at the southeast mark on your compass. If you really can’t find it then go to the Central location of Jade Mountains to talk to the Town Crier; they will direct you too.

                                     Z

 

 

Boy, I wish I had read that part about the bed before falling asleep on the sofa. I rubbed my neck again and shrugged my shoulders trying to loosen the aching muscles there. Sigh.

Well, I could go back home and wait to hear what they have learned the next time Lucy or Zyrina make their way through Jade Valley,

 

The Quiet Mage

Part Two of

The Stone Dragon Series

By Lily Byrd

ByrdPress

NBBN 00115-003

Read by Asclepius

 

‘There is Virtue in sacrifice for the greater good. There is no Virtue in sacrifice without purpose.’ Tsuneo, Shogun of Ardoris.

 

Chapter One. A Letter Arrives.

Late in the afternoon at the end of summer, I arrived at the bottom of this sheer pebbled cliff path a little dusty and a little thirsty after skipping down from the ancestral home of the Byrd family. Perched above the lush coastal town of Jade Valley here on Elysium Island in the southwest of Novia, the Moon Tower Keep may be slightly crumbly and possibly still full of mice (even with cats in residence), but it has stood the test of many generations and would sturdily stand for many more generations. It had been there when the Jade Valley Moon Tower was completed on Moon Mountain centuries ago. I recall the sudden appearance of Aunt Morgana, Owain’s sister, and the building of her keep up beside the tower. Her insistence that the Byrd family would be caretakers of the tower would not be quelled and so we all became caretakers and still are to this very day. Even Aunt Morgana, long lived as she was, eventually succumbed to an untimely demise. Novia was not safe from incursion and my aunt fell to one such event centuries before.

 

“Hmpfh.” I grunted.

 

I had just realized that as I departed from the keep that morning and waved goodbye to Daisy, that I had returned the same wave from the parapet each time I left the keep over the generations all the way back to her grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother and after all this time I only just now looked old enough to be a grandmother for the fifth-generation adult granddaughter of the woman who first took me in.

 

Taking a moment to stare out to sea from the bottom of the mountain, my stride slowed. I had been here in Novia a long time, a very long time. Straightening up to stretch my spine, I ran my fingers through my tangled blunt cut silver hair and reminisced. I had arrived as a grown woman from an Outlands that I barely remember. There is only a vague recollection of who I was before being swirled into a rip of space and time that deposited me here on the shores of Novia. There was no way to find out where I had come from nor how to return to that unknown place. I was a stranger in this land with nothing and no one to guide and protect me as I learned where I was and that I could not return. Those were dark years.

 

“Enough of that,” I scowled. Then with a shake of my head to clear it of the despair that still lingered. “Just LOOK at that sky!” and I spun in a circle laughing joyfully at the sight of the crescent bay spread out before me.

 

Thankfully, no one was near to see or hear me have this conversation with myself, as many of the local Novians were already suspicious of the woman who didn’t die. When I had appeared in Novia, the good people who took me in gave me a sense of belonging that has lasted through several generations. An outlander, some called me, but the Byrd family has always made me feel welcome and loved here in this sometimes-brutal land. Just walking a wooded trail could be a life-and-death adventure in these territories, as I had learned early on after arriving in Novia unequipped and uneducated, during a surprise encounter with a large mountain troll. It was vital to have a clan of people who would help each other. That’s what the Byrds were like. We helped each other, daily.

 

Early on, I learned what a powerful symbol the Ankh could be and that, as an Avatar in Novia, I was destined to feel the piercing of death without the permanence of death over and over here in this world, brought back by the grace of the life-giving Ankh. There was something special about being from away that gave the effect of immortality to those of us who w...

 

Interlude:  Old Pete

Read by Asclepius

Nearly a decade later at the Dragon’s Breath Inn in River’s Cross close to but across the river from Jade Valley.

 

Sitting in the old Dragon’s Breath Inn several years after his adventures in the area, Phlebus was enjoying the peace of the quiet afternoon after his leisurely walk down to the valley. He took another sip from the half full pint in front of him on the table. His ship had docked in Port Phoenix nearby and he had walked to the valley from there. It was time. He had been waiting for the right moment to ask the brewer about a rumour he had heard in his travels.

 

When Phlebus finally asked the question, Old Pete was thrilled to tell the story to another passerby. It wasn’t often that anyone asked him for a story anymore. It wasn’t often that anyone travelled this way into the valley anymore either.

 

“River’s Cross was a quiet little hamlet once. Before those strange elves usin’ magic showed up out of nowhere. They became the darlin’s of the village. There was even dances out in the square once in a while and me ol’ Uncle Clarence used to play his accordion for them. That was before. Before the residents all started disappearing like, one by one. No one really noticed till there was only me left tending the bar. I don’t mind, really. But it gets kinda lonely all by meself.”

 

“I gets travelers now and then. People like yourself travellin’ into or out of Jade Valley sometimes stop here to catch their breath before the long hike out of the valley. There’s not much to see now, but River’s Cross was once a right gem of a hamlet.” Old Pete took another sip from his whiskey.

 

“Seems you are interested in hearing more about my little pub. It’s called the Dragon’s Breath Inn ‘cause o’ what happened the night the elves left town. Well, I’ll tell ya, but I warn ya now…. it’s not a pretty story. And it doesn’t end well.”

 

He stopped to sip again from his drink then went on, “It all started about a decade ago when those elves showed up. They sauntered into town like they knew where they were going and had the money to pay for it, ya know what I mean?  It was the stink of magic that gave em away, an’ I don’t hold truck with no magic. I din’t pay em no mind long as they paid for their drink in gold and din’t get too uppity. Soon they had some of the other residents building a sort of temple for em. Somewhere they did their whispering and magicking. It used to be over down the lane, but it ain’t there now a days. Least ways I ain’t seen no one around there for a while now. Not since that night they all got drinking that special ale they had been promising that they were making for everyone in the Hamlet.” Old Pete tipped his glass to Phlebus again before swallowing. “They built themselves a brewery an set up doin little magic spells for folks to speed healing, or add a pox to an enemy, you know, regular stuff like that. Well then, after awhiles they were in here one night whispering. Always whispering. But that night they was purty excitable. Giddy almost, for that lot.”

 

“They was discussin’ the finished product they had made. An Ale. And not just any ale. Somethin’ special that never been thunk up befores. Ale of Essence they bin callin’ it. Ale of Essence? Now them is some fancy words for that swill. There was no reason for them to be so dang excitable about it. It didn’t taste right to me at all an’ I spit it right out, but them mages told me that it would give me everlastin’ life if I drank some. I don’t see no difference. Though I rightly am still alive so it must be workin’, eh?” He stopped to cackle a bit to himself over his joke before going on.

 

“Anyhoo’ it was a mostly dark and stormy night. We was all huddled around the bar and tryin’ to stay warm. You know the kind o night I’s talkin’ bout? An after a few pulls from their special cask,

 

Interlude:  The Mages of the Red Branch

Read by Alleine Dragonfyre

 

The evening of celebration had quickly soured in the small hamlet of River’s Cross near the second entrance to the valley past the old, covered bridge that led to Jade Valley town. The quiet mage completed the shimmery air spell that would continue to shield the pub for the rest of the night at least. He had been enjoying his drink before all the trouble broke out and old Pete didn’t deserve what was going to happen to his establishment. The buffer would at least protect the inn, and the innkeeper if he was smart enough to stay inside it.

 

 When several of the others started arguing about why the dragon summoning spell had not worked when they were at the old location in Jade Valley itself, why it would certainly work now, and they started calling on each other to make another attempt, then the mage knew they no longer deserved to be in charge of that magic book.

 

 It had been a subject he had been contemplating for months now. After discovering that the room of casting they built in Jade Valley was made from blocks made from stone bodies of people, he found himself questioning everything he knew about the Southern Red Branch. And when they built the brewery in River’s Cross using the stone bodies of villagers who weren’t sweet enough to become part of their Ale of Essence, he knew they had not learned anything at all from their experiences.

 

There was something missing in the teachings he had grown up with and no one was willing to answer his questions about virtue and vice anymore. The elf mages who raised him didn’t have much time for his questions before, but now they had become surly about even considering his questions at all.

 

He wanted to know where the book came from and how they happened to have it. He wanted to know the face of the person who created this magic. From what he experienced, this book had brought only pain and suffering to everyone who they encountered, and their own group was splintered and decimated. This was no way to build a new society of order and calm.

 

He thought the book might be cursed or worse, have come from before the fall when magic worked differently. No one would answer any questions about The Fall either. Cataclysmic. Devastating. That’s the description he was given, and it was expected to do. They swore that he could not squeeze knowledge from them that they didn’t have.

 

 He knew something was wrong with their logic and their thinking, but he had no way of determining what it was and no one in his cabal would help him search for the answers. The elven mages wanted power but had no plan how to become powerful nor what to do with that power if they were able to attain it. He was sure there was more to success than simply attaining power to do what you wanted to do.

 

 He watched them get more and more angry as they huffed and puffed and chanted. The rest of his group was single minded in their pursuit of success. He waited until the other mages had looked up the spell again, put the book aside, and were focused on the summoning spell itself. Finally, he was ready to act.

 

Quickly slipping the magic book under his garment into a small pocket he had stitched there for this very use, he made his way to the Obsidian dias on the roof of the pub to get a better view of what the drunk remnants of the Southern Red Branch mages would summon. He kept a travel scroll in his hand, ready to leave with the book.

 

 The dragon they eventually summoned was not part human this time. It was massive and glowed a shimmery orange colour. It wanted nothing to do with any of them. It was bent on destroying those who summoned it and anyone else who came into its path. Its struggles against the drunk mages’ control did not waiver. It turned and attacked the hamlet time and time again.

 

Black Rose Chronicles, chapter 15

Background music by Smartsound

 

After a lengthy talk with Astor she explained she wanted to go back out and try to help once again with this threat from the Undead. He agreed and said that things will be fine and for her to come home as often as she could. Although the lands seemed huge they were not. Many of the locations were within day or two for travels. And with the wagons and ships and even the Lunar Rifts it was easy to fast transport to anywhere in the realm. With that she donned her newly crafted armor and freshly honed weapons. Packed her backpack with a few necessities and she headed over the stone bridge towards the exit of town. She would hop the ship from Hidden Vale to Brittany and then take the ship from there to Ardoris. Might as well head back in that direction since she had already started some work there. She was not too thrilled about doing back there but she did what she had to do

After what seemed like months she walked into Knight’s Watch. Tired, dirty and hungry she trudged to her house by the river. When she walked up she notice that her quaint little house was no longer little. It had been built up to a sprawling stone building.It was near dark and she did not enter the house. Maybe Astor thought her dead after so long away and let someone else build in her place. After a good night’s rest she would seek him out. So she headed to the tavern where she could get a quick meal and a cot upstairs.

When she made her way through the door the tavern was crowded. Many folk stood and sat around. Some gent named Omegaflux was at the piano banging out a lively tune while another named Ozzy Questor was trying in vain to keep up on his bagpipes. The laughter and talk were so loud even over the din of music. Bella saw Astor standing behind the bar and she approached. When the door slammed behind her the noise died down. Many of the faces she did not know or did not know that well, but she kept moving.“Master Cerberus” she said once she found her voice.“Did you give me up for dead?”Smiling across the counter he shook his head in humor“Nay, Milady. I know it would take more than some undead rabble to take you down.”She looked at him for a moment and slapped her hand on the counter.“Then perhaps over a pint you can explain why my house is missing.”All the fellows in the tavern broke into laughter. Some shouting to Astor I told you so and such.He too chuckled at her comment.“Now now Bella. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. You were gone but a month when we all herein town decided that you needed a much better house than you had built.”Putting up his hand to stave off her retort he continued.“Bella we all in appreciation for what you did to help the others build up their homes decidedto make you a grand house indeed. Furnishings and all. So when you come home you can sit backand tell us your tales from your journey.”The man named Ozzy came forward and peeked sideways at her.“Tis a fine fireplace i built ya Miss. Hope it keeps ya warm on cold nights”Others approached and told of the things they did to help as well.Bella couldn’t help but blush, smile and even shed a tear for all the welcomes and thehelp.She looked back at Astor as he stood beaming behind the bar. She pointed a finger at him as ifsaying…I will get you for this. Then immediately rounded the counter and started pouring morepints for all.“Drink up my friends and celebrate my return…..but i have you know I won’t be cleaning up the mess.”

As the revelry continued into the night Bella snuck up the back stairs and found an empty bed in the far corner. She cared not if anyone else came up there. All she wanted was sleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light.The next morning she rose from the bed and quickly made use of the washstand....