XBAWKS HEEEEEUUUUUUUG
After asking several of the wandering monks, he finally gleaned the location of his companions. He could’ve just opened his mind, as he did in the library, but short of digging through the various minds he would’ve felt, he would’ve had no way to tell who was who unless they were telepathic and wanted to be found.
So, he found himself back in the center courtyard that their group had come into, where he found the Paladin, Keroth, listening to Sara as she strummed absently at her harp.
The girl was sitting on one of the handrails that lined the spacious courtyard, leaning against one of the pillars that dotted the covered walkways, holding the very coverings up and in place. Keroth had opted to stay on solid ground, but instead of standing under the awnings on the stone tiles that made up the open-air corridors, he was standing on the grass, leaning against the same rail that Sara was sitting on. Lucas came up to the railing, opposite of Keroth, and leaned against it as well. He nodded past Keroth at Sara before bowing his head slightly to the senior swordsman. He kept the book closed in his hands, letting it hang against the pull of gravity.
“Keroth, if I may – I’ve been wondering something about you and Damian.”
The Paladin turned away from Sara and looked blankly at him. “Lots of people wonder about us. Its just part of the way I act, I suppose, that makes people curious.”
Lucas paused, considering the Paladin’s words. “Actually, it was mostly about Damian. He’s blind in one eye, but he’s worked in a Maging Guild for I don’t even know how long, and I’d assume that a battalion of Paladins would have a squad of Clerics nearby just in case something like that happened. Why hasn’t it been healed?”
Keroth’s blank expression became slightly blanker as he stared off into space. “You know, I really don’t know why. That’s actually a good question, one that never dawned on me to ask. If you’d like, I could find out for you,” he offered.
Lucas looked at Sara to gauge her reaction. As was usual for the energetic girl, she seemed to have an amused smile on her face. She had stopped playing a tune and was just strumming in melodic chords now, while the two men talked.
“At the very least, find out for your sake. He’s your partner, after all.”
Keroth chuffed, and shook his head. “A lot of things nowadays escape my notice. It’s a wonder I didn’t get a sword through my neck during the Cleansing.”
Sara gasped at him. “Shame! No depressing thoughts like that, sir! From what Liez’rial and Damian told me, you’re an excellent fighter who was never surprised. We all have our moments, so you’re allowed to be a little absent-minded when you’re at peace.”
Keroth looked at her and studied her for a bit. “Damian’s been talking to you, has he?”
She stopped playing the harp altogether and hugged it to her chest. “I’ve been talking to Damian. Acied’s been too busy praying to do any conversing, so it’s up to me. Damian’s not here right now, it’s you, so now it’s your turn to be talked to.”
Lucas blinked. This girl was hard to keep up with.
He also did his best to ignore how the harp was affecting her chest. He turned his attention to the book in his hands, lifting it up into a better position to read it in.
Before he could say anything about it, Keroth reached over and clapped his hand on Lucas’ forearm, nearly knocking the book out of his hands.
“Well, like the girl said, I’m absent-minded when I’m at peace, but sharp and in control when I’m not. Damian said you’d be no match for us, but let’s just see how far his words go, shall we? How about a little sparring match, or perhaps you’d rather call it training?”
Lucas blinked and worked his jaw up and down, before finally producing a reply. “Uh, I’d be honored to train with you. When?”
Keroth patted his thigh. There was a rustle of fabric on metal; he slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled the hilt of his dagger out. The hand-guard caught on his pocket, tripping him up.
“Eh, normally, they have special slots in my armor that they can slide in and out of without complications… like this…” he tugged at his pocket, freeing his dagger from the fabric.
“Well, then, in that case, let me get the armor.” Lucas straightened up, and set the book down on the rail.
Liez’rial suddenly spoke up in his mind;
Of course. Lucas felt the dull fog fall across his mind, and he stepped away from the railing without actually willing it. He held his arms out slightly, then hopped lightly into the air by pushing off with his feet; while he was suspended, weightless at the top of his jump, he felt a bit of a rush and there was a muffled pop of displaced air. The armor was suddenly on him, and he held the swords in his hands.
Rather than landing, he stayed suspended just a few inches off the ground. The fog lifted from his mind.
Keroth nodded at him, his other dagger in his hand. “Very impressive. We’ll take this into the center of the courtyard, so we have some room to work with.” He backpedaled away from Sara and the railing, stepping over anything that would’ve tripped him up without actually looking to see where he was planting his feet. His situational awareness really did seem to pick up and take hold when he was ready to fight. Lucas filed the thought away from future reference.
Making sure to hold the blades so the martingales didn’t drag across Sara, and the large wings on the hilts of his swords didn’t slap against her, Lucas rose over the railing and let himself glide forward.
Keroth flipped one of his daggers into the air, and snatched it so it was in a reverse handed grip. He held the dull edge against his forearm, and held that arm in front of his torso. The other dagger was held upright, as though he were going to use it as a sword, and this hand was kept lower, to his side. He wiggled the reserved dagger slightly, beckoning Lucas forward.
“I suppose it would be a bit unfair of me to throw my swords against you, since it’d be such a massive advantage of range and all-”
Keroth cut him off with a short laugh. “Lucas, I’ve fought alongside Liez’rial before. I know what to expect. If you can think of anything to use against me, use it. I’ve been in many fights, against soldiers who fought with pole arms, spears, bows and arrows, and even against Magus. And, no offense to you, but I’m sure they were all combat-trained. Fight me to the best of your abilities. If either of us gets injured, the Clerics here will patch us up.”
Lucas nodded, and promptly flicked a sword straight at Keroth.
Keroth blinked and grinned as the sword came rocketing towards him; he hopped up, bending his knees and tucking his legs under him, giving the sword plenty of room to pass underneath him without touching him. He swung his leading hand in an arc below him, knocking the blade to the side and getting the martingale out from under him.
Since he was only physically a human, and lacked telekinesis or magic to aid in his leap, he didn’t stay airborne for very long. As he touched down, he spun away from the sword and the chain that connected it to the young swordsman. Continuing his turn, he used the momentum to help him push off towards the armored youth.
Lucas reared backwards, and upwards. He yanked on the chain, pulling it back. It coasted past Keroth, snapping back into his hand with a slap of metal on chain.
With the other sword, Lucas heaved back to swing it, but realized too late that the extra motion was wasted; Keroth had already closed the distance and was holding the reversed dagger out to catch the long sword. Crossing his arms over, he hooked the blade Lucas had thrown and tried to apply pressure to it in an attempt to remove the winged blade from his grasp.
Since Liez’rial was always working to make the blades manageable, he was ready for the trick and kept the blade firmly rooted to Lucas’ hand.
Push your arms down. He’s got himself pinned with –
Before Liez’rial could finish, Keroth planted his foot on Lucas’ chest and heaved away from him. The spry man fell backwards and hit the ground, sliding a short distance across the grass before curling over backwards and pushing off with his hands, flipping upright. Before he completely touched down, Lucas began to advance forward, all the wings attached to the armor proper angling backwards. He crossed the long-swords in front of his chest and turned them to present the flat edges forwards.
As Keroth spotted his advance, he reacted just as fluidly as he did to his first attack failing. As soon as his feet made contact with the ground, he continued his arc and fell backwards again, slipping away from Lucas’ charge as though he were made of water.
Because Lucas was gliding, and kept one knee bent and turned, Keroth’s foot wasn’t able to kick all the way to his groin, and instead struck his shin. Despite it not landing where Keroth was aiming, the kick still surprised Lucas and he recoiled his legs upwards, away from the now supine man. As he somersaulted, he twisted about so he’d be facing the way he came when he righted himself. Rather than continue floating above the ground, Lucas let himself fall completely to the ground. As soon as he landed, he swung one blade in a small arc in front of him and threw the other in a wider arc, snatching the martingale before it uncoiled out to its full length. Keroth didn’t rise off the ground into the path of either, but he flipped over on the ground and put his hands under his shoulders, still clutching his daggers tightly.
After the thrown blade passed over him, he pushed off the ground and got his feet back under him. Lucas took the sword that was still in his hand and slashed back in the way he’d taken it from. Keroth ducked under that blade, almost bringing his daggers together to deflect it before deciding to just dodge it. He was a bit surprised when Lucas didn’t catch the other long-sword, instead whirling it around again. Because of the angle he’d thrown it, however, the blade dipped downwards, and Keroth pushed off of the ground and flipped over the blade, narrowly pulling his shins away from the point of the blade. Keroth shoved against the blade with his dagger, disturbing the swing and driving the sword against the ground.
Distracted by the blade striking the ground with a dull thud as it sliced into the grass, followed by a sharp retort as it struck a rock and stopped dead, Lucas didn’t notice Keroth’s flip bringing the Paladin’s boot down.
Though he was only wearing leather boots, the impact still shoved the Heaven’s Headpiece down against Lucas’ cranium hard enough to daze him. He nearly dropped the other long-sword.
Rather than drop it, though, he gave himself a sharp shake of the head to clear the stars that threatened to edge into his vision, and turned the sword he still held sideways and heaved downward with it. The flat of the blade struck Keroth down his back just shy of his spine, and he grunted in surprise.
Lucas wrapped the extended blade’s martingale around his hand, taking up some slack and getting a sturdy grip on it before he snatched it back. The blade freed itself from the ground with a small shower of dirt and sliced grass and coasted backwards through the air, mimicking his first throw in reverse.
Once he had the blade back in his hand, he settled his grip on both long-swords and pulled himself backwards through the air, coming to a halt a half a meter above the ground and two away from Keroth.
Keroth let go of his daggers and put one hand across the small of his back, pushing against the ground with his other hand until he rolled over with a groan. A fine layer of dirt powdered his left cheek.
Lucas didn’t realize that Sara had been playing her harp until she stopped and hopped off the railing, making her way to Keroth. Lucas turned the swords down and stabbed them into the ground, and let himself fall out of the air and stooped down to help Keroth sit up.
“You’re not hurt, are you? Should I send Sara to get a Cleric?” he asked.
The Paladin shook his head and let out a small cough. “No, don’t worry about it. Just got the wind knocked out of me, and hitting the ground with your mouth open in surprise tends to invite dirt in.
“I’ve been hit by worse. Don’t worry about me; Sara, could you continue playing your harp for us?”
Lucas looked up and met Sara’s gaze, and they exchanged nods. Lucas offered his hand down to Keroth, who let the youth help him up. Once he was back on his feet, Sara retreated to the far side of the railing she had been sitting on, and Lucas pulled himself backwards through the air until he was between his blades, still sticking out of the ground. He reached out and wrapped his hands around the grips, grinning at Keroth.
The Paladin returned the grin and collected his daggers.
Damian and Acied both stared at the man wearing the heavy coat. He stared back, a very silly grin slowly falling off his face. Neither of the two men seemed to share his enthusiasm at his sudden arrival, or his request.
“So… You want to join us as we travel westward. Because you know Acied can shape-shift into something big enough to carry us.”
Sifarus nodded. “Yeah, two for two so far.”
Acied focused his stare a little harder on the man, who still hadn’t taken off his coat. “Without ever having met us.”
The bard looked at him. “Well, I’ve never met you, no, but nothing says I haven’t met the Paladins here. What are your names, again?”
Damian and Acied exchanged glances, before staring Sifarus down again. “You can understand why we’d be wary of just handing our names out to people we don’t know yet, especially ones who come out of nowhere – wearing a massive coat, no less – and start discussing someone’s magic, someone he’s never met before, without even giving his name in exchange.”
Sifarus paused, grin slowly fading. “Ah, yes, of course. Sifarus Idikus, traveling storyteller. Lesser-known fact, too; Pactio to the Outer God, Sithenth.
“That’s the important thing. Being one of Sithenth’s Pactios means that I’m a little more influenced by his plans than the average mortal is. Tends to happen to a lot of Pactios, actually. I understand Liez’rial is here with his Pactio?”
Damian narrowed his eyes. “Look, bard, you appeared out of nowhere, you started spouting nonsense like you’re everyone’s buddy, and you seem to expect us to trust you. You’re not doing a very good job at the moment. Why don’t you come with us, and tell us what exactly it is that you need and what you want to do.”
Acied sighed and turned away, striding off without waiting for Damian or Sifarus to follow. The young bard pointed after him, one eyebrow cocked. Damian nodded once and turned after the silent traveler, scowling slightly.
So much for just going from Rispaire to Koleir.Acied was heading to the center courtyard at a rapid pace, not waiting for Damian to catch up, nor giving the impression that he was concerned with the distance he was putting between them. Sifarus came up alongside Damian, and pardoned himself. The Paladin allowed him to get in front of him; the youth seemed to know he would be more comfortable having Sifarus in his sight, rather than behind him.
Damian began to search his memories; Sifarus had said there was a chance that he’d met Damian before, but he said ‘the Paladins’, implying Keroth as well. It could’ve just been that he knew Paladins worked in pairs; that wouldn’t explain him knowing that Damian was a Paladin, though. He wasn’t wearing his armor, and preferred to keep it off unless he felt danger was afoot.
While Sifarus had his arms stuffed in his coat pockets, and he probably thought he was being real clever about hiding his right arm, but Damian had spotted the slight glimpse of gilded metal coming up his forearm, and could see the bulky outline through the coats’ pocket. Natural human flesh didn’t have such a profile. Was the bard an old soldier, perhaps a Paladin himself? Or was he just a mercenary who knew a soldier when he saw one, and took a shot in the dark about Damian being a Paladin? Either he was a great, overconfident fool to act so suspicious around a soldier, or an incredibly clever young rogue.
Ahead, Acied shoved a door open, and stopped to hold it for the two stragglers. Sifarus nodded to him as he stepped through.
“Thank you,” he said. Acied nodded back.
Damian let Sifarus pass through and get a little further ahead before he allowed himself to step through the door. “What do you think?” he uttered to Acied.
The shape-shifter shrugged. “McAre says he’s been here before. We can ask the Cleric about him later, get some confirmation on his story, and his claim to be a Pactio. I myself think it’s a little convenient for two Pactio’s to show up and want to go to the same place. There is, of course, the chance that their respective Gods – Liez’rial and Sithenth – spoke to each other and decided to have these particular Pactios travel together for some reason. Personally, I want to talk to Lucas about Liez’rial; something is missing here.”
Damian absorbed the input and marched forward, catching up with Sifarus as the bard realized that he wasn’t originally leading and had no clue where they were taking him. The young man turned back to face him, charming smile back on his face. Damian gestured further down the hallway that stretched out ahead of them.
They had started their small trek through the Shrine in the library Sifarus was found in; the bard had opted to stay there and asked McAre if he could talk to ‘the Mage that just recently arrived here, the one who’s traveling’. McAre retrieved Acied and Damian together, deciding they were the ones in charge of the group. From there, they had left the library to the intermediate hallways. Acied was taking them towards the center courtyard, which seemed to be as good a place as any to start looking for the other three.
Apparently, Acied could home in on his energetic companion. That was Damian’s theory, at least.
What surprised him more, however, was the sparring match between Keroth and Lucas, being musically accompanied by Sara.
The older Paladin and the enigmatic self-proclaimed bard blinked at the fight, and Acied flinched at the sound of Lucas’ long-sword being parried by Keroth. The bard stepped closer to the handrail that Sara was perched on, and leaned across it for a better look, resting on his left arm.
After Keroth had parried Lucas’ attack, he rushed in close to the younger man. Unable to prevent this, the Pactio began to close his arms around, trying to pin Keroth.
The Paladin didn’t stay close for very long; after flicking the flat of one of his daggers against the chest-piece of Lucas’ armor, he dropped fluidly and darted under his opponents’ legs. What would’ve ordinarily been a difficult maneuver was simplified by Lucas’s altitude; unlike a normal combatant, Lucas was able to keep himself off the ground, and hovered at a height of two feet.
Sifarus returned Sara’s nod when she noticed his arrival, and smiled at her. After slightly nodding in tune with the melody Sara was playing, he took a deep breath and straightened himself upright.
“A lone man stands atop cliff-side, who’s blades seem to sing,
He takes to skies, with Heaven’s granted wings
Mountains and isles, seasons ne’er the same,
Pious and free, a faceless man without a name
Skies are limitless, seas with endless shores,
The Gods Man travels all ‘cross the world
Many a different man, with many a different heart,
They are all remembered long, in the tales of the bards
He is the Gods Man, light of the Lords
Life forsaken, family ‘n’ tears left long ago.” Sara turned her attention to the man during his sonnet. Halfway through, she altered her melody to match his.
Acied buried his face in his hand. “I was afraid of this,” he mumbled. Damian cast a sidelong glance at him.
“Afraid of what?”
“That he really was a bard. Unless you can convince Sara otherwise, we’re going to be forced to take him with us.”
Damian kept his face neutral. He was mildly amused by this notion; Acied may be the shape-shifter and the arbiter to their travels, but Sara was the one who was truly in charge. If she didn’t agree with Acied’s choice or actions, she could simply deny him the music he needed to unlock his power. It hadn’t dawned on Damian until then, but he mused that it wouldn’t’ve occurred to him that such an energetic young girl could also be clever enough to keep Acied wrapped about her finger.
During Sifarus’ short song, Lucas and Keroth had continued fighting. Much to Lucas’ dismay, Keroth had managed to rap his daggers against the chest of Liez’rial’s armor multiple times, as opposed to his earlier, and only, strike against the Paladin.
With a single strong flex of the many wings adorning his armor, he pulled himself up into the air, out of Keroth’s reach. He relaxed his arms, but kept his grip on the swords.
“Okay, I forfeit for this round. I’m getting winded, and it looks like our companions have something to say.” Lucas allowed Liez’rial to seize control of his body and holster the blades, while dropping to the ground at the same time. Liez’rial returned control of his body, teasing Lucas for a moment in his mind.
I promise I’ll work on learning how to do that on my own soon enough, Puppet master.Keroth hopped back and forth from one foot to the other, slowly wind-milling his arms twice before stretching them out straight in front of his chest. Rather than try to slip the blades back into the cloth sheaths sewn into the sides of his trousers, he kept the daggers in a reverse-handed grip and strode over to the handrail. He nodded at Sara, and sized Sifarus up.
“That was the first verse of the song about Liez’rial, wasn’t it?” he asked. The bard nodded.
“It’s called ‘Lord of the Sky’. People tend to confuse the purpose of the song with Lozenreald, Goddess of the Skies. No matter how often I explain that Lozenreald is a female Goddess, no one seems to learn,” Sifarus mused.
Sara chuckled at his comment, and hugged her harp to her chest again. Lucas sensed a small amount of disappointment in the bard; he was hoping to have gotten more of a reaction out of his simple complaint. With the equivalent of a mental shrug, Sifarus moved on.
“So, I understand that you’re the Pactio of Liez’rial?” he asked.
Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but Damian cut him off. “We’ve gone over this before; you should introduce yourself first.”
Sifarus bowed his head and tapped his hand against his forehead in apology. To Damian, he said, “Ah, but the young Master here and I have already met. He may still yet remember my name, as I properly introduced myself in the library. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten his name – was it Louis?”
Lucas shook his head, feeling the drag of the wings on the Heaven’s Headpiece. “Lucas. And, yes, obviously, I’m Liez’rial’s Pactio. What can I do for you, Sifarus?”
The bard grinned. He gestured at the ground on the opposite side of the handrail; the book Lucas had been reading had fallen off the stonework and dropped to the earth.
“I think you may have an idea what my motives are. Although, maybe, I should give you a slightly crucial hint, to help you figure me out.
“I am Sifarus Idikus, Pactio to Sithenth the Trickster, and traveling bard. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said, bowing his head slightly to Lucas and finally drawing his right arm from the pocket of his coat. He twirled his gauntleted hand about with a slight flourish as he tilted forward in a bow. Sara let out a small coo of appreciation at the polished shine coming off the spiky arm-guard.
Damian and Keroth sized the golden gauntlet up quickly. Judging by how fluidly he was able to wave it around, it probably wasn’t solid gold, just gold-plated. Perhaps just made out of a similarly shiny metal; either way, it wasn’t the soft, malleable precious metal. If it was built properly, it could probably be expected to absorb shocks throughout the entire forearm instead of just the wrist; he could probably punch into Damian’s armor without breaking any bones. Whether he’d actually puncture it or even want to was another matter entirely. The gauntlet could be expected to survive punishment, at the least; it was obvious just looking at it that it was well built and whoever put it together knew exactly what they were doing.
Lucas blinked at the gauntlet, then turned his attention back to Sifarus himself.
“There’s a small problem with joining me right now; I was just about to tell them. You’re about five minutes too early for them to completely understand why you’re here.”
Rather than say anything, Sifarus just froze his charming smile on his face, and nodded once. He knelt down and reached through the spacious scrollwork under the handrails and gathered up the fallen book. Standing upright, he turned and presented the book to Damian and Acied. The title of the book read History and Relationships between Maging Guilds.
“If you’ll allow me, Lucas. Sithenth and Liez’rial are Outer Gods; this is common knowledge. They aren’t restrained by the common conventions that prevent Inner Gods from directly influencing day-to-day proceedings of the people; if an Inner God diverts their attention away from protecting their niche of the environment from the rampant effects of magic, things can rapidly spiral out of control. As such, they use the Outer Gods as their arbiters, who in turn use their Pactio’s to spread their influence even further. Louis here –” “Lucas.” “– Lucas here, as well as myself, are said Pactios of Outer Gods. We have been charged by our respective Gods to identify the source of corruption behind the Maging Guilds’ and their leaders – specifically, whoever is in charge of the Order of Seers. Whoever is in charge now is hiding his identity from the Gods and making changes to the Guilds that would be rather adverse for Kaetir.”
Behind Sifarus, Lucas’ eyes bugged out in shock as the other man blurted out something that he would’ve rather had been subtler about. He had no idea what his companions’ opinions of the Maging Guilds were, and he didn’t want to risk offending them. At least, now, he was already in his armor and outside in case he had to get away from their potentially angry responses.
The Paladins are not directly affiliated with the Guilds, Lucas. There is the risk that they may be corrupted as well, but more likely, they’re neutral. Acied and Sara don’t pose enough of a threat to worry you.Sure enough, Sara was still observing the situation with a bemused smirk on her face, and Acied still had his blank expression. Keroth broke the momentary pause in conversation.
“I didn’t think there was such a thing as real-life exposition.”
Sifarus snorted. “It’s my job, I’m a storyteller. Details are just what I do,” he sighed.
Acied started to look about as apprehensive as Lucas felt. The armor-clad youth noticed that the Magus was watching the Paladins as well; he was completely ignoring Sifarus and Lucas.
Damian nodded. “Go on. Is there anything else we should know about you two?”
Lucas shook his head. Sifarus tilted his head towards Sara. “I can play her harp. I’m also an excellent cook.”
Keroth began to flip one of his daggers about in his hand, rolling it across his opposite hand, flicking it up and down, catching the tip and the handle alternatively. “I think what he means is, is there anything else about the Maging Guilds we should be worried about? Are they in pursuit of either of you, are there any others that are going to be doing the same, how much support are the Gods willing to give you, and do you want our help?”
Lucas gestured halfway towards Keroth as he finished with his last generalization. “Yeah, that one. Liez’rial has instructed me to put together a group of people who can hope to –”
Suddenly, Lucas clamped his mouth shut. He was slightly confused until he felt the feathery sensation of possession by Liez’rial; the God had seized his vocal chords.
“Liez’rial speaking now. Damian, Keroth, are you willing to aid us? I will need your answer now.”
Keroth looked to Damian for direction. Damian locked eyes with Lucas, and by extension, Liez’rial. “The second any innocents get dragged into this conflict is the instant you lose our support. We are Paladins, protectors of the people. We are not bloodthirsty killers.”
Lucas shook his head to clear it; Liez’rial had given him full control of his body back. “Lucas in charge again. I don’t think I’m going to want a bloodthirsty killer working with me, anyways. I’d personally rather avoid fighting until absolutely necessary; from what I understand, any Magus we end up fighting with will probably be uninformed, following orders they didn’t come up with on their own.”
Acied coughed lightly into his fist. “It’s a type of brainwashing. The trainee mages are convinced they owe a massive debt of gratitude to the Guilds for discovering and honing their talents. I’m not sure how, but the scouts for the Guilds are finding massive amounts of talented Magus - more than ever recorded in the past. If not for my parents, and Sara, I’d probably still be at a Guild, believing I would’ve never discovered how to use my magic if not for them.”
Sara’s bemused stare had slipped into neutrality. Her eyes were unfocused as she spoke. “Acied’s parents are both Alteration Magus as well – because all three of them are Magus, they have bloodline telepathy. I’m a bit of a telepath as well, and we all felt Acied get twisted and turned into someone else. Before it got too far, we slipped out of the dormitories one night and have been traveling. We were originally in one of the Guilds on the Yira continent, in gauge… gauging…” she trailed off, stumbling over the words.
“Gejun Fir,” Acied offered up.
“Yeah, Gejun Fir. I can’t pronounce those stupid complicated names. I wanna slap whoever thought them up.”
Sifarus chuckled at her harmless threat. “Those ‘stupid complicated’ names are actually ancient Inner Gods’ names. That’s why you have what seems like a self-explanatory name, like ‘Ironwood’, or ‘Dustfall’ for simple townships and settlements, and confusing names like ‘Rispaire’ and ‘Gejun Fir’ for large cities and continents. I do believe the Galalid Islands are the only landmass that managed to escape the naming conventions.”
Lucas gave a miniscule nod. He had read about this, but long since forgotten it; there was very little demand for such eccentric knowledge.
Damian, however, had ignored the almanac fact and seemed preoccupied with the notion of the brainwashed students.
“Well, now that makes it easier to understand why Heighler was so short-tempered. Maybe he’s in on it…”
Sifarus looked over his shoulder at the elder Paladin. “You know Heighler, huh? I have good news – his personal apprentice isn’t in on the corruption and has offered to help us monitor him, and try to gain his trust. She could be a very handy inside source of information.”
Keroth perked up. “That also puts her into a lot of danger. Are you willing to be responsible for anything that may happen to her?”
Sifarus nodded. “She knows how dangerous it could be, and I’m confident she can quickly and easily get away if she needed to. She’s a very talented Magus, who can tap into all three primary schools of magic. She’s also nearly as clever as I am, so I’m certain she’ll be safe.”
Lucas was a bit surprised at how easily everything was progressing with the arrival of this bard. He had been apprehensive about bringing up the Guilds to Damian and Keroth in particular; they had said they were guardians to one of the Maging Guilds, but apparently they only took that as an assignment, not an affiliation – he supposed they were more concerned with the people in general than the Guilds. If Acied was right, and the Guilds were brainwashing their students, it was easy to understand how the Paladins would be offended by this injustice. Acied and Sara already being aware of the situation in the Guilds was a pleasant surprise; Lucas hadn’t predicted running into anyone that was already aware of the problem.
After a moment’s consideration, he frowned at himself.
I shouldn’t assume that just because it took a God to tell me what’s going on, no one else could know. I live out in the middle of nowhere, the nearest Maging Guild a half a week’s ride away. Aside from the monks here and the other farms, there’s hardly anyone out here, and travelers rarely offer gossip up when passing through.Liez’rial praised him.
Very astute observation. I didn’t expect the two to already be on the run from the Guilds, but I didn’t rule out that there would be others who know. I did not, however, count on running into some so soon.Sifarus was saying something when Lucas turned his attention outward again.
“…not sure about others. I’m fairly certain Sithenth has his other Pactio’s gathering intel, but I doubt any of them are as qualified as I am. Other than that, I’d wager there are a few other Outer Gods who are doing their own work or having their Pactios on the move.”
Acied raised his hand slightly, beckoning Sifarus’ attention. “What makes you say you’re more qualified amongst Sithenth’s Pactios?”
Sifarus folded his gauntleted hand across his waist and bowed graciously. “I’m the only one who made a Pact on my conditions, not Sithenth’s. I tricked the Trickster.”
Keroth let out a low whistle.
“Impressive,” Damian agreed.
“But wait, there’s more,” Sifarus said, straightening out and grinning again. “I’m a very good storyteller; none of my stories are based on speculation. I get unbiased facts and details to back them up, because I’m a very convincing interrogator. Observe!”
He straightened his fingers out, and three chains that were previously dangling slack from his fingers pulled taut across his palm and tugged a medallion out of a recessed groove in his gauntlet. Holding it up for the Paladins to observe, he set it swinging.
“This makes for an excellent hypnotizing aid, and my magic can put someone at ease and calm them down, or put them into a trance-like stupor if I focus it on one person at a time.”
Damian nodded as Sifarus aimed his forearm skyward, letting gravity pull the medallion back to its magnetized slot. “What’s your condition, if you don’t mind us asking?”
Sifarus raised his opposite hand as he lowered his gauntlet, and splayed his fingers out, gesturing
for dramatic effect. “I have to have contact with their mind. Luckily, I’m a bit of a telepath myself, and if someone tries to barge into my mind, I can shut them down with feedback.”
Acied nodded. “That’ pretty useful. Damian, Keroth, Lucas, how do you feel about bringing him along?”
Sifarus’ grin seemed to broaden slightly as Acied finally called out for a definite answer. He noted, however, that the Magus had excluded the girl. He mentally reached out and brushed against her mind, testing for a response. He got one.
Yes? she asked.
Oh, good, you are a telepath. I know you said so, but there are always varying degrees.Sara affected a mental shrug and muttered a lazy
Uh-huh. And…?Sifarus snickered out loud, too soft for anyone to actually hear.
Well. I was just curious as to what your name is, and why Acied here didn’t ask for your opinion.Sara snickered this time;
Acied said my name earlier, silly. And, he already knows that I’d vote to bring you along. It’s not often I can get someone to sing along with me when I play my music.Sifarus checked back in with reality for a moment. Their exchange had barely taken two seconds; thoughts could convey back and forth much faster than spoken words.
Damian and Keroth had paused after Lucas had agreed to bring Sifarus along; after all, he’d said, Liez’rial and Sithenth were already working together, their Pactios might as well, too.
Still didn’t tell me your name.
Pay attention next time.Keroth gestured to Damian. “You know I’m just going to go along with whatever you say, so, go ahead and decide already.”
“Right, then. Looks like you’ve got one more person to carry along, Acied. Are you up to it?”
Acied nodded easily. “Of course.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been a beast of burden, and I’m positive it won’t be the last.”
End of Act I. Act II begins on page 104, with Chapter 9.
