Chapter 6
Ryan sat uncomfortably at a new desk in a new house. Once
again, he was thumbing through Logan’s book. He began reading a segment about
the Great Calamity. Logan had taken a pen or some ink and blocked out certain
words. They looked like names, and each one was the same length. It led Ryan to
accept that someone did not want their name to be remembered. The passage
talked about how the mystery person betray the sages and caused great
destruction. This destruction brought about the Great Calamity. The remaining
sages sealed away whatever it was, and brought about a time of peace. But, Ryan
felt that something was missing from the story. He closed his eyes and pinched
the bridge of his nose. His eyes were sore again.
Warm arms wrapped around him and clasped lightly on his
chest. This gesture ended his contemplations. Elaine brought her lips close to
his ears and whispered. “Hello, darling.” He instinctively placed his hand over
hers in a mechanical gesture of compassion. “Hello, love.” She giggled softly
and squeezed him tighter. “What are you doing?” He gently rose the book so that
she could read over his shoulder. “It is about the sages. My tutor gave it to
me.” She quickly scanned the page and pointed to the censored name. “That looks
like magic ink. It only reacts to specific magics.” Ryan looked back at the
marks. “I’m sure that one of the servants could take a look at it and clean it
up.” Ryan nodded and put the book aside. “I’ll leave it alone until then. I
would be upset if something were to happen before I could read it fully.”
There was a very light knock at the door. Elaine’s face
changed from an enamored grin to a murderous scowl. Elaine forbade Ryan to
answer any summons while she was present in the room. So, she responded with
her typical answer. “What?!” There was a quiet yelp from the other side. “I
b-b-brought t-tea for the Master.” Elaine shot Ryan a glare, to which he
responded with a shrug. “Enter.” The door opened. The young girl never took her
eyes off the floor as she approached the small table in the middle of the room.
She put the tray down and poured a cup of tea. The girl brought the saucer to
Ryan and put it on the desk within his reach. She curtsied politely and dashed
out of the room. The tea was still rippling from her shaking hands.
Elaine still held a death grip on Ryan’s chest. Her
fingers dug into his shoulders and his upper torso. She spoke with a firm and
low tone. “Who is she?”
“I think that was Marcia. It might have been Luka. I
forget which one is the brunette.”
“Luka is a red-head. Marcia…I might need a word with
her.” Elaine always said that before a particular servant, usually a maid,
disappeared. Winston assured him that they were almost always just removed from
service. It was the ‘almost’ part that worried Ryan. In the three days that
Ryan had been living at the old Maverick Estate, he had seen four maidservants
go. And he was positive that only one survived. “Love,” Ryan said, “There is no
need.” Elaine pulled herself closer to her husband. “Yes there is.” She moved
her head to his other ear, closer to the tea. She inspected the glass and the
contents. She took a spoon and took a small sip of the tea. “No aphrodisiacs…no
poisons…a bit too much sugar, but that’s just her…and floral tea? Really? You
don’t like that, do you?”
“Not in the least, with one exception. I’m rather fond of
tea that uses Northern Ken desert lilies.” Elaine nodded and resumed her death
grip on him. “She was upset because I was here.” Ryan sighed and began to
prepare an appropriate solution. Once she started on these rants, there was no
stopping her. It was only about choosing the right words to extend his own
lifespan. “If I were not here, she probably would have acted all sweet and
nervous. And she would purposely mess up. Yes…spill something to make it look
like an accident. Then she would seduce you, and –” Winston entered. He was the
only servant in the entire estate that was allowed to enter rooms without
announcing it first. “Master Ryan, Lady Elaine, good day. Is this a bad time?”
Elaine cried out as soon as he entered. “Winston, what do
you think of that Marcia girl?” Winston answered without hesitation. “If she
has incurred your wrath; her biggest fear is confrontation. I’d advise setting
her up for some crime, or rather come up with some excuse to get her to hold a conversation
with one of your father’s generals. The psychological damage would be
completely irreversible. If she has attempted to ‘seduce’ the young master, I
would advise a gentle and calm reprimand about proper decorum. She is far too
young for the Master and her only feelings are appropriate for one of her
station.” Ryan nodded. Elaine whined. “But…but she…but she’s so…” Elaine began
to tear up from jealousy and cried into Ryan’s back. He got out of the chair
and stood. Elaine wasted no time in clinging to his chest. She contorted her
body to form a type of human snare on the target of her affections. Ryan was
immobilized until she was done crying. “What is it, Winston?”
“I took the liberty of looking into the dossiers you left
in your room.”
“And that’s another thing!” Both Ryan and Winston
cringed. They knew what she was about to say next, and proceeded to mouth the
words to each other as Elaine shouted into Ryan’s chest. “We are married! Why
do we have to wait for this stupid ceremony to share a room? Ryan and I are
adults! We have made our vows. This is pointless.” Winston spoke up as pulled a
paper from his vest. “It is tradition Milady. And, to be quite frank, one I
fully support. After all, we don’t know if the young master will survive the
month.” He turned to Ryan and assured him he would. Ryan nodded in thanks.
“Back to the dossier, Master Ryan. I’ve taken the liberty
of hiring the one from Loc: Ro’ahn.” Ryan nodded. It was all he could do at
this point. “Ro’ahn will be here shortly. Shall I prepare the foyer or the
meeting room?”
“The foyer. I shall be leaving as soon as I confirm he
will do the job.” Elaine looked up at him with tearstained eyes. “Wha? Where
are you going?” He gazed past her. “I told you, Daylon. I need to go and meet
my tutor. I’m still learning.” He felt her nails break flesh. “But…but…we still
haven’t discussed it fully! What if you get hurt? Or captured? Or seduced by
some Daylanian skank?”
“Elaine-”
“If I found out...I’d-”
“Elaine!” She flinched at his voice. Ryan kept his voice
stern. “I must go. That is the promise I made to my teacher. And, your fears
are completely groundless! I have made my wedding vows to you. I cannot believe
you take me for the kind of man to break them.” Winston remained silent in the
doorway. Elaine had stopped crying from jealousy. Now, tears of sorrow filled
her eyes. This was certainly out of character for her. Her voice began to
shake. “I…I didn’t mean it…like…” Elaine broke away from him. She curtsied
quickly and ran from the room. The sobbing started as soon as she was out of
Ryan’s sight. Winston bowed slightly. “I
shall prepare the foyer immediately. Good day, Master Ryan.” Ryan nodded and
finished readying his pack. He slipped his book into the pocket of his
traveling cloak. He shouldered the pack and walked down the steps to the foyer.
Ro’ahn was standing next to Winston. The man wore a very
intricate set of armor. It looked like they had layered thin sheets of leather
to form it. Small plates of metal were added to strengthen the armor. It gave
the appearance of scales. It appeared to be fragile. But the way the Loc
soldiers fought, only one strike was need to kill. Supposedly, armor like that
was very common. “Ah…you must be the young Lord Regale.” Ryan nodded. The man
spoke very slowly and very carefully. It was hard for him to speak Ryan’s
language. The small nation of Loc was founded by a group of shipwreck travelers
from a distant land. They settled Loc and eventually learned Iltazian language
and culture. They spread the culture of their lands, the Orient, with Daylon
and the Northern Ken peoples. The other countries were too cautious to accept
outsiders. “Ro’ahn, correct?”
“Yes. I am here to…how you say ‘to help’?”
“Assist.” Ro’ahn nodded. “I am here to assist you on your
journeyings to the Daylon.” Ryan smiled. “So you will take me to Daylon? I am
very thankful, Ro’ahn.”
“It is nothing. I fight for the thrill, no coin. You are
most welcome.” Ro’ahn motioned to the door. “Shall we be off?” Ryan listened
off into the distance. The sobbing still continued. “Yes. Let us go. Winston?”
The butler bowed. “Could you pass my farewell to the Lady?”
“I shall, Master Ryan. Safe travels.” The duo left the estate
and made their way to the port city of Marina. About a league away from the
estate, Ro’ahn stopped. “Hold, Regale. I sense a presence of murderous intent.”
At that moment, Elaine ran around a tree from the direction of the estate. She
had put on a pair of trousers and a traveling jacket. She carried a light pack
and held a shawl in her other hand. “Elaine?! Well…that actually explains that ‘murderous
intent’.”
“No…this
presence is much stronger than hers.” Elaine stumbled over her boots. She fell
to the ground with a shriek. Ryan jogged over to pick her up when Ro’ahn called
out. “Regale! Above you!” Ryan looked up and jumped back as a giant dropped
from the tress. The man stood between him and Elaine. “’ello, Ryan.” Ro’ahn
stood between Ryan and the man. “I must ask you to back away!” The man drew his
sword. Ro’ahn put his hand on the hilt of his blade.
The attacker wore black armor from head to toe. This was
complete with a Siren’s mask. A patter of tears flowed down from the right eye
and a horn rose up from each eye. The red paint seemed to glow in the light of
the sun. “I am Harbinger of the Calamity. Do you wish to stand against me?”
Ro’ahn remained silent but leaned forward. Ryan could feel both men smiling
underneath their helmets. “Elaine! Stay away until this is over.” She nodded
and crawled away to hide. Ro’ahn wore a curious sword on his belt. It was the
traditional form of the Daylanian war katana. This one was called wakizashi. It
was about as long as a standard broadsword, but had a deadly edge designed to
cleave through leather and flesh.
The Siren had pulled his sword from his back. It was as
tall as he was and nearly as broad. It was easily as thick as Ryan’s arm. The
weapon was jagged, looking like a jawbone of some sort. Harbinger held the
sword in one arm. Dark magic surrounded him, an indication that no mere human
could use such a weapon. Ro’ahn stood still, watching. Harbinger ran forward.
As the Siren swung, Ro’ahn side stepped the attack. “Why are you after this man?”
“I had a little chat with a scholar. He said I could find
a book in that boy’s possession.”
“What have you done to Gobehyz Logan?!” Harbinger
shrugged. “Nothing, yet.” Ryan felt himself get hot with anger. But the
temperature kept rising. Ro’ahn was glowing red as his fire magic began to
charge. “By the powers of the old gods, I command thee Murasame. Go forth and
taste blood.” Ro’ahn dodged another attack from Harbinger and took a step
forward. The blade made a slight scraping sound as it was pulled from its
scabbard at lightning speed. The sword reached out and hit the steel plate of
Harbinger’s heavy steel armor. Instead of stopping, the fire magic had melted
the armor at the point of contact. The Siren jumped out of the way at the last
second. The cut was small and negligible, but now he had lost the initiative.
And he was in a lot of pain from the melted armor. “You win, boy. I can’t beat
this swordsman.”
Ro’ahn returned his blade to its sheath. “Good bye,
Siren. I shall meet you again.” Harbinger nodded and used magic to disappear.
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