"He was the one, the one that obtained the key, the wisdom, and from it he forged us. Unbeknownst to him; the towns, farms, prairies and fields, all, were filled with the conjoined flesh of the fallen that transformed and spread into the evil that ate the light"
Two stories were the ones we were taught the most in the orphanage, one was the story of Saint Mön; about how he preached the religion from a young age, traveling from north to south and from east to west, teaching and converting many people, and the other one was about the War of Liberation, in reality, both of them intertwined. I was born in the year 1171 AL, meaning After Liberation, and what happened in year 1 was the death of the First Knight and with it, the end of the War of Liberation, that's why we count the year from that point onward.
Beginning in the middle of the continent, the oorish were humans just like any other but they, after hundreds of years of undisputed rule, created a deep separation between themselves and other humans, sort of a cast system, and, for a long time, only those joined in marriage with the oorish royal family were allowed to hold high titles of nobility. This remained the rule for centuries until, year by year, it became more of a suggestion that allowed other humans to hold higher titles; such as the Duchy of Roda or the Petty Kingdom of Frogelgard. Still, many rebellions that raised against the Empire were swiftly crushed by the Order of the Knights of Oor, that was led by the First Knight whose title was 'The Immortal'. The Order finished as much as three hundred rebellions, the immensity of power held by the First Knight was so much, that the emperor needed to have his support if he wanted to be able to keep the Empire whole and his power secured.
The Order of Knights varied in size, it is said that there were never more than eleven knights at the same time. It is known that the First Knight founded the order and, since it inception, selected and trained all of the members the order ever had, he did this for more than five hundred years. He would gave each knight a rank and a title, like the Third Knight, also known as 'The Scourge' or the Eighth Knight, known as 'The Serrated', those closest to him in number were the strongest. The Order not only kept the peace but also were the main conquering force of the Empire and, when the fiftieth Xion Rebellion was defeated, the Emperor Corsixos V, at the year 14 BL or Before Liberation,decided to began his expansion towards the eastern continent, towards the uncharted terrain and unknown people that lived there, they knew that, with the order and their magical might, they could easily destroy any opposition. And for a while that was the case, managing to annex the Claw Peninsula and set a new oorish settlements there, until the Empire of the Kavan intervened and the 'easy' invasion became one of attrition. Trying to help with the invasion, the Emperor left his palace in Holgard and moved to the eastern continent, to the city of Nasiriscom; an invasion capital where he would oversee the conquest effort, he took seven of the nine knights of the order with him, leaving the continent to be defended and watched by only two knights; the First Knight and the Second Knight, who was known as 'The Ignited'. These two were the ultimate weapon of the Empire, the first and second most powerful warriors of all the world, kept there to douse any fire of rebellion, any inch of betrayal to the crown… and there was one particular man, going around preaching a pagan religion on the Levan and causing quite a stir.
By the holy scriptures, it is known that, in the year 7 BL, the Second Knight went to the town of Mondis and confronted a man that was preaching a new religion; for the continent it wasn't something new, just another guy spreading nonsense about imaginary beings. But, this time? This man had managed to convert more than half the rulers of the continent in secrecy, and the Second Knight knew. That man was Saint Mön of Mondis and he, that day, had a conversation with the Second Knight who, despite having orders to end Mön's life then and there, refused to execute Mön and instead sat to learn the word of the holy. That day, in that town, the Second Knight was made a new by Saint Mön, taking on the name Dorian and working undercover to end the Empire of Oor's rule.
In the year 3 BL, after half a decade of preparation, the rulers of the different duchies, counties and different realms that were under oorish control, that weren't part of the royal oorish family or people of the central empire, created a resistance group with Saint Mön at its head. All those rulers found common ground after converting into the faith, and they joined forces with the elven rulers of the north, the wolven tribes of the magic forest and the kobolds. The War of Liberation began that year and, in a matter of months, more than half the continent fell to the rebels and prompted the First Knight to gather as much levies as he could to take back control. After so many failed rebellions, the resistance, this resistance, actually had a good chance and managed to siege and surrender many of the main imperial holdings and loyalist, but their main objective was to surrender the capital of the Empire; the city of Holgard. There were two main armies, one led by Saint Dorian who went around the continent surrendering port cities and main settlements, and the other one had the sole purpose of surrendering Holgard, which hosted most of the levies left behind by the Emperor, along with most of the royal family, and its defense was led by the First Knight himself. Two sieges they did and they failed both, it is said that the First Knight brought death to fifty thousand soldiers in the first, and eighty thousand in the next, by his own as his levies were less than ten thousand and the resistance army rounded two hundred and fifty thousand whole.
A single knight and a bunch of soldiers held the defense of the Empire in the Levan for two whole years, it wasn't until Saint Dorian himself placed the greatest city port, at the time, of Ronalcom under siege, that the First Knight was forced to left the capital, as that city was vital for the reception of reinforcements. The battle of Ronalcom was the last of the war; the resistance forces fused their armies and, led by Saint Dorian, enclosed the remaining levies of the Empire… again, it is said that the First Knight killed as many as twenty thousand before Saint Dorian confronted him, and ignited the knight's body with a flame so great that he was able to remove the source of the knight's power; his helm, which the First Knight had the steel fused to his skull for many centuries and, without it, he inevitably died, putting an end of Oor's influence in the continent.
"Woah! T-that's amazing, but are you sure that a single man was able to kill that many foes? Also, please don't take it the wrong way, sir, but you were taught that story in a religious orphanage, so there might be bias in the story you were told", Colt said, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, the book I had bought; 'The War of Liberation Vol. I' resting on his lap, "See, I haven't finished the book but most of the abstract read… uh…", he opened the book and searched through the pages, finding one in the middle, "Here! It reads… 'the rodian sources have proved to be of great bias towards the figure of Dorian, as these undermined his role after the war and reinforced the character of the First Knight, as to paint Dorian as a great warrior chosen by the gods'… see?". I just stared at him, letting a small silence pass us by and letting him know his words were annoying me beyond belief, "If you want me to tell you a story…", I said, "Then don't fucking correct it!". My words prompted Colt to apologize profusely but, I mean, I was the one who asked him to read that history book and help me make out more of the past, help to see if there was a connection with the Godsword, so I retracted, "Nah, it's fine. It's kind of true though, we didn't learn much of Saint Dorian's rule. We know that Saint Mön died shortly after the end of the war before sanctifying almost a hundred warriors of the war. So I guess I'm open to learn more", and Colt gazed at me with his big kobold eyes, clutching the book with his hands and waving his tail, he was more than eager to teach me about it, "Yeah, c'mon, you can tell me about the history", I said and he did a little jump in the air before sitting and opening the book.
"Okay! Despite this being the first volume, it already contains a concise abstract of all the war, its really useful… hmm… here", Colt explained and began to read, "By the year 2 AL, Dorian the Ignited had already became the head of the faith, and oversaw the many political changes that happened afterwards; the independence of Xion, the Elven Union, the Islands of Solandaba and the many duchies and small nations that surged after the Empire's defeat. Despite this being something Mön of Mondis had predicted – 'The freedom of the masses cannot be oppressed, the wishes of the nations, that the oorish have stomped, must to be respected' – He stated and promoted the existence of these many nations, along with the refusal of his part to hold any titles and land – 'One cannot rule over the will of those that don't wish to be ruled, one cannot force himself upon the lives given by Iris or the destiny fated by Ilanda. One must impart itself through words and action, through help and need, through acceptance and tolerance to be as close as the will of the gods as possible' – These teachings formed part of the first half of the scriptures followed by the faith, while the second half were mostly written dogmas, procedures and rituals compiled from different saints, the main being Dorian". I listened to all of it, "Alright, yeah, so?", I asked, I didn't know here he was going with this, "So? T-this is why the faith is against the kobolds, and the wolvens, and the elves! Saint Mön didn't teach that! H-he wanted peace and tolerance", Colt exclaimed and I frowned my brow, didn't completely like the fact that a kobold was speaking so freely about the faith. "Sorry… but I think that's the case… w-want me to keep going?", Colt asked and, despite him being blasphemous, I nodded and he continued to read, "In the year 3 AL, Dorian married to one of the daughters of the Duke Carin 'the crude' of Roda. It was noted, by other sources, that Dorlan had found a liking to the south of the Levan and Roda in particular, and, in an act that some refer to 'tyrannical', Dorlan named himself 'Emperor', thus becoming the first emperor of Roda, and went in a two year campaign that saw Roda take three fourths of the Levan. During his rule, he imposed many of the rules that dictate the separation of the humans from other races, and the creation of the Mondis Mandate to act as punishment to those that opposed the faith".
This book was painting Saint Dorian like a genocidal dictator, "Wait, wait, when- who wrote that?", I asked and Colt went to the first page, "Written by Historians of the University of Prime Bay and Observatory of Religious Matters of His Highness the Prince – with the help of the Union of Adventurers", Colt read. "Hmm… so, people who aren't from the faith writing about saints, no wonder they are portrayed so negatively", I muttered and Colt closed the book before asking, "Sir, why did you want me to read this in the first place? Don't get me wrong, I love reading things to others, but were you looking for something in particular?", he asked, he can be quite perceptive, "Yeah", I let out and recalled my sword which was laying under the desk, it came flying to my hands, "I wonder if there's something about the Godsword in there, a mention or something like that", I turned the blade and the sunlight that came from the window seemed to galvanize the symbols on the steel which began to glow, "These symbols, don't know what they are or what they mean. Later, after taking you back to Delilah, I'll be crossing the border to the Duchy of Sallas, I'm will meet with someone there; a maestre that's suppose to know more about the origin of the sword". After saying that, Colt immediately opened back the book, "L-let me help! There might be a mention, a clue that could help us", he exclaimed. I grinned at his enthusiasm to help me and left him to read in peace while I went downstairs to greet Norman and Gendry, but they weren't in the workshop or in the kitchen or in the front of the store, they were in the back. "How you feeling?", I heard Norman ask Gendry, who was completely covered in a cloak, "Hot", he replied and sniffed the air before turning to me.
"Tak, good morning. Wanna come with us? We're going to have a stroll", Norman said while adjusting Gendry's cloak, it was obvious he was trying to hide Gendry's wolven features completely, "Guess you'll be wearing that during it", I said and Gendry nodded, "Yeah. My face, it scares kids and old ladies". I agreed to the stroll and I took Colt with me, so he wouldn't be pissed like yesterday, this 'stroll' was actually just going from the shop to the outskirts of the city, to a hill where Gendry wouldn't be bothered and Norman wouldn't be judged. We sat under a tree on top of the hill, and we could see almost half the city from there. Colt was, still, glued to the book and Gendry playfully snatched it from his hands and ran with it, thus making Colt chase him around the field. "He deserves better, you know?", Norman said out of nowhere, "He waits for me in the shop for up to two months every time I leave, he doesn't have friends… he can't make any, he obviously couldn't go to school or study, or work nowhere. Maybe if I moved north it'll get better? With his kind?", even if he didn't looked at me, I knew the question was directed to me, "You mean Lindelen?", I asked back and he turned to me, "Yes… if it meant making his life easier and less lonely I would go there for him, how would he get treated?".
In Lindelen the wolven didn't get treated fairly, it was much better than here in Prime Bay though, and much, much better than in Kolkia. Wolven can work in Lindelen, get a wage and do something but it wasn't the solution, a wolven in Lindelen was seen as a slave rather than a free being, "If you take him there he'll meet other of his kind, in Lindelen the wolven are a common sight. You'll avoid judging gazes but you'll still be look down upon for having a wolven son, that's the same in every city of every nation, and you might have a problem with the authorities…", I explained. "Authorities? Why?", Norman asked, he obviously didn't know and I knew it too well, "Is the guards that protect the city itself", I said, "The guards of Lindelen, they all receive bribes, from every shop and organization. When I worked in the city, Constance, my... uh… 'contractor', regularly bribed the authorities to turn a blind eye to my activities and to keep me away from a cell". Norman chuckled a bit, "Hehehe, the more you talk about your past the more of a criminal you sound like", and asked, "So, what. I'll have to pay a bribe every month?". I tried to remember more, I wasn't the one that payed the bribes but I do remember how it varied, "Well, monthly was rare, It's more of a weekly… bi-weekly pay, it depends. If you ask me, the only thing that Gendry might get from going to Lindelen is to not have to wear that cloak, nothing more".
Norman went silent, surely pondering about what I said. "I could go to the Union", he said under his breath and gazed at me, "I told you I had family in Landiras, no? I'm suppose to have land there or something, that if the state didn't already took it. Is more north than here, there must be wolven there, right?". Only once I went through the Union and it wasn't Landiras but her sister city of Rovina, when we passed with the holy army on our march to our deaths… I can hardly think of something about that place, "I don't know, might be. But if you think of trying your luck in the Free Cities, use the Green Road, it's the safest and most direct, avoid the Divisor at all cost", I warned without much explanation, even if everyone knew the Divisor was a wasteland, a dangerous path for those that dared cross, the real danger laid ahead; none other than the Calamity awaited on the other side, ready to swallow them whole. We spent a bunch of hours on the hill, it seemed that Norman really wanted Gendry to get some much deserved fresh air before having to go back into hiding. On the other hand, Colt ended up gasping for air after chasing Gendry for half an hour, trying to get his book back to no avail, finally getting to tired to continue, only then Gendry gave the book back and Colt finished it before noon. When we were about to leave, I decided to go on my own and find a tavern but Colt came running up to me, saying that he had found something of use in the book, and accompanied me into the city as Norman and Gendry went back to the shop.
"So, what did you find?", I asked to Colt who was silently enjoying walking besides me while gazing at the shops and houses, "Oh!", he said and opened the book to an exact page he had lightly scratched, "Is not much but I think there's a connection". He sat before and began to read, "Dorlan the Ignited solidified his rule in the subsequent wars he waged along with warriors from the war that were sanctified by Mön; Saint Dennis, Saint Clement, Saint Clover, among others. During the first elven conflict of 4 AL, Saint Dorian had been depicted as wearing his iconic 'Armor of the Highest'; as named by the faithfuls, an armor that wouldn't melt under his magic power, he also wield a sword that could canalize his flames, the armor is kept in the Church of the Sanctified in Sallas. Following the defeat of the elven in the first and second conflict, their domain; which is thought to have stretch from Olander, all the way to the Black Sea and from the North of Norths to today's Cocsisborough, shrank to encompass the territories that once belonged to the kingdom of Glevaria and-", I stopped him right there as he seemed to be enjoying giving me a lecture, "So?", I asked, "What's the connection?". Colt immediately closed the book and stared at me, "Before… when those things attacked me and Aisha, t-the brawen… your sword, you did something and it became engulfed in flames, could it be that…", Colt stuttered but his reasoning made sense, this sword is old, that I know, and powerful, "You think my sword, the Godsword is actually Saint Dorian's sword?", I asked to Colt and myself, and if there was that connection then why its objective now was the Calamity? There must be something more, something I have to clarify with maestre Kendall and if the armor is in Sallas, then surely there's more information about the sword.
Seeing that it was almost noon, I decided to take Colt to have lunch, a knight and a kobold enter a fancy restaurant… that sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it was real and the looks we got were plentiful, we sat down at a table despite all of this and, mostly thanks to coin, we were allowed to stay. Colt seemed ecstatic and this 'fancy' ambiance suited him, seeing how he sat and crossed his tiny legs, placed the napkin on his lap and kept his elbows off the table. I ordered meat while Colt first went with something cheap; a soup, probably trying to appear modest or to not make me spent a lot, but the waiter didn't even listened to Colt, instead, he waited for me to order for 'my kobold', so I turned to Colt, "You prefer a steak like the one I ordered, right?", I asked but he was too shy to answer, even then the waiter just nodded, surely understanding I wasn't going to order for Colt, and brought the food shortly after. That wasn't more than a sour note on a fine day but it made Colt remain silent for most of lunch, stopping midway from finishing his steak to ask a faint question, "T-Tak, wh… what are you going to do after you… uh- leave me with Delilah?", like usual, he didn't raise his gaze to meet mine, and I've noticed that its been quite a while since he stopped calling her 'Lady Delilah', I did suspect that he wasn't keen on going back to her, "You already know", I said, "Going north, always north. You already know why". I knew he felt like this was an adventure, like my life was one of a hero, but no, I was going to face certain death in front of indescribably evil. "Y-yes… but what if… y-you and me could…", Colt tried to say but his words became quieter and quieter, he also already knew the answer to that.
A good lunch and I still had time to go to a tavern but first I needed to leave Colt in Norman's shop, don't want him to see me getting drunk. Colt remained silent the whole way back to the shop, barely interrupted by brief moments where he muttered to himself, and, when we arrived to the shop, there were two armed guys waiting outside, they sported the token from the guild on their chest. "Tak of Sonnda? We're from the guild", One of them said, "We're sent by Frankie, the woman you be looking for has been located. She's staying in house seventy one on the Prince's Corner, that's to the west of the city", the other said and gave me a piece of paper with the details, then left. Colt ran into the shop as Norman came out, "Hey, Tak. There were two guys that told me they were waiting for you… uh, also, why did Colt ran away crying? Bad news?", he asked and I shook my head, "No, is that- those guys found Delilah, I'll be taking Colt home, today", I replied and went inside the shop and upstairs. I could heard the faint sobbing from inside the guest room, but he quickly hid it once I entered the room, "What? Didn't you say you were going back to Delilah?", I questioned and Colt turned to me, half-sad half-angry, "Y-you know!", he exclaimed and I raised my eyebrow, "Know what?", I asked and Colt stood, taking a deep breath before speaking, "Y-you know! I… I don't want to go back with her! I don't! I hate the idea of having to see my siblings again, being stuck in four walls for the rest of my days. H-having to see how she praises my siblings as I can only read, and read, and read and do nothing else, having to let them say mean things to me, that I'm no good, that I'm useless as a servant or as a free being, I don't want to go back!", he blurted out, and ended up heavily panting. I won't lie, I felt happy seeing him being sincere and so adamant on being actually free, even if it meant being free from his 'mom'. I kneeled and hugged him, "Yes. You're right, except in one thing. You're not useless at all, in fact, you're the most important kobold, probably in the continent, you got so much capabilities, you learn and remember, you're brave… even if you don't believe it, you're thoughtful and you're kind. I won't take you with me, even if does pains me, as I cannot let someone so young with so much life ahead accompany me to a quest that would spell death to veteran warriors. I'll ask of you, please, don't insist. Delilah is not the end for you, she cares for you and she'll keep you safe better than I could ever do", I explained, trying to get my words to be soft and make him understand, I took some steps back and placed my hand on his shoulder, "Colt, not now, but after I finish my quest, then, I promise, I'll come back and look for you… then we can go on an adventure, a real one", I said and I felt like stabbing myself while saying that, something so false and fake, my quest was a one way one.
Colt gazed up to me with wet eyes and nodded slowly, giving me a final hug before turning to pack his things… which were nothing more than a few books and a second pair of clothes Norman gifted him. Colt dramatically gave his goodbyes to Norman and Gendry before I reminded him that he could visit them whenever he liked, and then we made our way to the place those guys from the guild told me. We remained silent most of the way, Colt seemed to be mourning what was the brief adventure we had, it was the first 'thrill' he ever felt in his short life. Finally, we reached the Prince's Corner, a neighborhood of quite fancy houses, and found the one with the number seventy one; a two store house that stood out from the others thanks to its lack of paint, I could see movement from the outside and I went to knock on the door but, mere inches from knocking, the door sprung open and a girl with messy hair and a… 'weird' smile, greeted me, "You were about to knock on the door, don't ya? Beat ya to it! Hehehehe… uh, you actually have something to do here or just got lost? You seem like a soldier… or are you an adventurer… uhm…", I turn to Colt, to gauge if he knew her but he shrugged, so I took her moment of silence to introduce myself, "I'm Tak of Sonnda and I'm looking for Delilah".
For some reason the girl couldn't stop giggling, "My auntie? Strange… my auntie don't usually get visitors, now more than ever, y'know? Being fresh in town and all", she said, speaking half to me and half to herself, then she noticed Colt and shoved me aside, "Oh my! Who's that cutie patootie you got in there? What's your name little one?", she bend over to Colt who seemed uncomfortable, "I-I'm Colt, miss..?", he replied and the girl did a little jump, "I'm Velma! And I love kobolds! I'm my auntie's new helper, isn't that exciting?!", she asked and then screamed out of nowhere, "OH! W-wait! Y-you're Colt?! My auntie told me about you, you… wait a moment, weren't you suppose to be with your family by now?". I had enough of this imbecile, so I took Colt by the arm and pulled him inside the house, "Yes, that's why we're here, now show me where Delilah is", I said as Velma scrambled back to her feet and next to us, "B-but, she's busy! She told me not to bother her… again", she muttered and ran in front of us and into a door, opening it. There she was, Delilah, sitting in the middle of a round of kobolds. "Auntie Delilah, I tried not to bother but… these people came, and they entered and I…", Velma tried to explain but Delilah shut her off, "Stop, Velma. Since you disobeyed then… go clean the upstairs bathroom", with that, Velma ran pass us and upstairs, allowing us to enter the room, Delilah immediately stood up, "Colt? Tak?", she let out and Colt ran to her arms, hugging her while silently saying her name, she caressed his head with care, "I'm glad you are okay but if you're here then… that means", she muttered and I approached her, "Yes", I said, "There was no family, everything pass the Blue River belongs to the cult".
The kobolds around Delilah were in awe, and they all formed a group hug with Colt and Delilah, "I see", Delilah said while gazing at each one of the kobolds, "Please go back to your rooms, I have to speak alone with this man", then, with a hand on his chin, she raised Colt's gaze, "You too my dear, please go upstairs and talk to Velma, she'll settle you in". With wet eyes, Colt nodded and left the room and I was able to close the door behind him, "Take a seat and tell me everything", Delilah said and that's what I did. In one hour I told her everything, how hard it was with Colt at first, his allergic reaction on the way, the ominous feeling we had in the emptied farms left wasted by the cult, the house that was suppose to host Colt's new family; one that hosted nothing more than hooks and praises to Delia, then how we rescued a little girl that ended up being the daughter of the leader of the cult in Vorvorgard and how we left that cultist town, only to almost die by freezing in a mountain just to be saved by a blacksmith from Prime bay… all of it, she asked how much had Colt seen, how much trauma did he experienced, how much did that affected him and, I had to be honest, he did great, he saw things that could a grown man cry and he remained resilient through all of it.
"I though that… excuse me, just before I left Dardangard, I received the news that the cult may had expanded north. It became a weight on my mind, maybe I was just thinking of the worst case scenario", Delilah said, "But, even if I wasn't of the faith, for the sake of my late husband and for yours and Colt's sake, I prayed to the gods, what else could this old sack of bones do? I prayed and prayed, and just two days ago, while breathing the fresh morning air, I felt breeze that, like a voice, spoke to me, 'he's fine, he's fine with him', only then I felt at ease, it was like the gods were reassuring me, telling me that my decision, to had you as his escort, was the right one". Maybe it was the gods or maybe it was just her hope, nonetheless, I fulfilled what I had promised and it felt good. "It's been hard, you know", she continued, "Didn't think it would be like that… I lost two of my kobolds on the way, they're fragile beings after all. This house belonged to me, many years ago, just before leaving for Dardangard with my husband. I gifted it to my brother who turn it into a whore house… haha, a whore house in the middle of the Prince's Corner, could you believe that? Velma was the only good thing to come off that", then stopped for a moment and gazed outside the window, her expression lost, "Hard to know what I'll do next, I have to feed fifteen kobolds, tend to them, but the trip was costly. Pardon me… I shouldn't depress you with my stupid problems", a silence ensued before I let a tiny pouch on the coffee table, "Here", I said, Delilah opened the pouch and her eyes went wide, "T-Tak, I can't, you… ten gold coins, that was your payment, you mustn't return them", she said but I retorted, "You tasked me with escorting Colt to her new family and I found none, meaning the task wasn't fulfilled", and she tried and tried to hand it back, "Please, at least take half. After what you been through is the least you deserve", but I refused each time, "Miss Delilah, my word is the most important to me and I promised to fulfill what you asked of me. Do not pay attention to my finances, you've got a family to maintain… including one, really intelligent kobold".
Delilah uncharacteristically broke her formal manners and reached to hug me, "Thank you, thank you, thank you", she repeated to my ear as I felt her tears wetting my right cheek. Don't know exactly why it feel nice giving away so much money, that feeling I got of 'being a hero' filled me with joy and pride but it also made me feel like a fake. Afterwards, even if I refused multiple times, Delilah told all of her kobolds of what I did, and each one of them came to hug me while also curiously inspecting my cape, armor and boots, two of them went 'Thank you, kind sir!", who seemed to handle long sentences well, others a simple 'Thank' and most gargled something that sounded like gratitude. At last, I went upstairs to give my final goodbye to Colt, who was freshly bathed and dressed in new clothes, just like the first time I saw him, he was sitting with a pile of books on top of a desk and giving his back to me, but this time he wasn't reading, he seemed to be too sad to even turn and face the fact I had to part from him. "Colt", I said, "Colt, turn around", but he didn't turn while his whimper became louder, "Colt, c'mon, I want to see your face before I leave", with that, Colt turned fast, trying to run to me but tripped, then scrambled back up and embraced my sides. "Tak… don't leave, you can stay for a while… there must be a room for you here", he said, nuzzling his head on my chestplate and wetting it with tears, "You know I can't", I replied and caressed his head, "I have to end my quest first. A hero needs to save the world, won't you agree?". He raised his gaze and slowly nodded with a smile, "Y-yes… a hero needs to save the world… b-but how long will the hero take?", his question caught me off guard, cheeky lizard, "I don't know. A year maybe, Two?", I said with a grin, "I'll be fine. You be good now, we'll meet again and then I'll take you as a squire". After saying that, Colt sadness turned into excitement and he jumped all over the place, "R-really?! You will?! W-we're gonna be a dynamic duo! Tak of Sonnda and his squire; Colt 'the kobold'!", he exclaimed and made me laugh out loud, "Hahaha, 'the kobold'? Couldn't think of anything better?… yeah, you can be Colt 'the kobold'. Don't cause trouble to Delilah and train a bit before I return, okay? Don't want 'the kobold' to fight like a kobold". This was fine, unlike with Dorlan, this goodbye ended with laughs and hopes.
I felt there were weights on my legs as I left Delilah's house, I was actually entertaining the idea of taking him with me… can I be so foolish? A kobold straight to the clutches of the Calamity, he'll be ripped apart by the tendrils, each limb flailing by a mere thread of skin before… can't even fathom thinking about it. I went back to Norman's shop, we dined and the atmosphere was different, Colt's presence did lighten up things a bit. Norman's expression looked to be one of gloom, he ate slowly and stopped to ask, "So, the little guy's back with his mom. What are you going to do? I can host you as long as you need, don't forget that". Like before with Delilah, I didn't thought of what to do next, haven't plan for what's ahead, what I knew is that I didn't want to bother Norman and Gendry, "I'll be leaving tomorrow", I said, "Saw a nice inn a couple of blocks north, I'll stay there and wait for news from the guild". Norman raised an eyebrow, "The guild? Why?", he wondered and I explained, "They are gathering forces to take back Vorvorgard and most of the west, I'll go with them and, once they clean out the cult in the north, I'll cross the border to Sallas".
At night, as I got ready to pray, Norman knocked on the door before entering, "Tak. Despite me being the one that save your ass, I think you'll look good in these", he said and presented me with a new shiny set of armor; chestplate, shoulders, greaves, belts and a new chainmail to go under all of that, "You sure?", I asked while trying the chestplate on, which fitted perfectly. "A token of my appreciation. Thanks for not judging me nor my son. I would've made you something bigger and stronger but didn't have the time. Tomorrow, before you leave, get two leather bags from my workshop, keep the old armor, you can sell its weight in coin if you manage to carry all of it, hehe". I'm horrible with goodbyes, consolation and thankfulness, so I limited myself to a firm handshake, and accepted the armor, might come in handy.
In the morning, I packed my things and put on my new armor before saying my goodbyes to Norman and Gendry, not as emotional as with Colt but filled with gratitude nonetheless. Then I went to get my horse from behind the shop, it had become quite fat after a few days of not galloping, and got my stuff tied to its side, next I headed out to the inn that I mentioned before; the Prince's Choice, quite the commercial name, it didn't look like the place royalty would choose to stay in, the main reason I chose it was the big stable on the back and its location; right in the middle of the northern part of the city, close to the guild and close to many taverns. One gold coin got me a room, the stable and food for my horse for a month. I also asked for warm water and a wooden tub, and had a nice and needed bath which helped to gather my thoughts on what to do next. As always, what's most important is for me to head north as quickly as I can, something I didn't fully commit to; sometimes going slower or taking detours… anyway, Sallas is a day's trip from Vorvorgard, the issue is that the cult might detain me during transit, I mean, I don't care at all if they try to kill me, the issue is if they kill my horse, I don't want to have to walk the distance to Sallas. Back when I was in Seaway, I was tempted to ask Nunku for help in going north, thought of going by boat, I didn't after learning that I get seasick with ease, a selfish decision on my part as I'm giving the Calamity free time to expand further, I will speak with Nunku next time I see him, he mentioned to his sailors he would stay in Prime Bay for a while.
Another thing was the matter of that smuggler, Elber Pyke, finding him will mean a fat reward, I reckon I can do this on my own, without those guys from the 'northern trio'. I did some 'tracking work' in Lindelen before, I'm sure I still got it. I spent the rest of the week gathering clues on this smuggler, where did I gather those clues? Well, in the taverns of course, and got quite the picture on this guy, he wasn't a simple smuggler but one that scammed the Xionese crown and burned down the docks of the port town of Fanq Shu, then went to Port Vale and stole a shipment of 'confidential goods' that belonged to the empire's army. The most important piece of info was finding out his location, most if not all my informants; drunken guys I've met while also being kind of intoxicated myself, firmly believe he's hiding here in Prime Bay, and they all say he's waiting to steal a shipment that's coming for the prince himself, he's supposedly waiting in the 'slummy' parts of the city, and that I'll get more info if I go to a tavern named the Cat's Eye.
Wasn't going to risk my horse getting stolen so I went by foot, and, like most slums, the shady part of the city lay on a secluded and low corner of open sewers that filled the broken cobblestone streets with waste. Still, this slum was the finest I've seen, the one in Franck was worse and don't let me get started with Kolkia; that place is a town-sized slum. Thankfully I didn't have to ask for directions or anything, the tavern stood in the middle of the main street and was easily identifiable by some signs and the large amount of drunkards hanging outside. The place itself was well lit and had quite the large drinking bar, it was also pretty full with mostly sailors and the usual 'low-life'. I sat in the bar and tried to ask the bartender; who sadly wasn't a pretty girl but a fat bearded guy, and he seemed to notice and stopped me before letting me ask my question, "Order something first, mate", he said, so I got a pint and placed a silver coin on the counter, "I'm looking for a guy, named Pyke. Know him?", I asked and the bartender chuckled under his breath before handing me my drink, "Pyke?", he said, "You're the second guy that asks that today. Don't know that 'Pyke', but a guy that came before you went to ask that man over there", and pointed towards a table where five people were drinking. I took my drink and went to that table where the five, who were all men and looked like sailors, glared at me as I inched closer to their table. "Whadya want, mate?", "Yeah, you look like a guard", "Shiny armor and everything, this guy ain't a guard", "An adventurer, for sure", they spoke to me and among themselves, "I'm looking for Elber Pyke", I replied and they went silent, "That's funny", one of them said, "You're the second guy to ask that today!", and they all laughed… for quite a while, enough time for me to finish my drink, "Alright, alright", I said, "What, you lot work for Pyke?", my question prompted more laughing, "For Pyke? I fucken wish I did!", one of them said and another added, "Yup! You won't find any of Pyke's crew drinking this piss in this shithole, mate. They be drinking the prince's fine wine flowing in between the cheeks of an expensive western harlot".
They kept making jokes about how Pyke's sailors must be having the time of their life, before one of them stopped and told me, "You looking for Pyke? Don't know where he is but you might find his crew hanging around the northern part of the city. We all know Pyke's head got a price, but nobody knows how he looks like, or where he docks his ship", finally, a good clue, I threw him a silver and then presented another one, "What does his crew wear?", I asked and he smirked, "Smart, the other guy fleeted once I told him to look in the north… They use those hats them rich sailors wear but they have a symbol, a feather or some shit like that", he explained and I gave him the coin and a grateful nod, then quickly left the slums. Once I stood in the outsides of the slums, I felt it, a presence, something watching me, I could tell by the power of the sword which gave me that sense… but whatever, if it get closer, I'll just slash it.
Finding those sailors before the guy that came before me was a priority so I won't have to share the reward. The northern part of the city went by the name of Ronal Villa, and it had a wall that split it from the rest of the city, a wall dividing the rich from poor. I had to bribe my way in, and from there work out where these sailors might be, if I go by the drunken men from the tavern, then, these sailors must be passing their time in a whore house, an expensive one. Might be stupid but finding a whore house in this… this uptown villa? Became as hard as looking for Pyke itself, I spent almost five hours wandering around this place, getting curious and quite aggressive stares, being stopped multiple times by guards were I was saved thanks to the token of the guild I carried. I decided to sat in a nice small plaza in the middle of the villa, and tried to come up with something that might help me. There I saw a monument, a monument of Saint Dorian; in white marble, it had him in full armor and standing with his sword on his right hand, and the severed head of the First Knight in the other. A black plaque read, "In commemoration of the Battle of Ronalcom, where Dorian the Ignited, in the first year of our liberation, defeated the First Knight and brought an end to Oor's tyranny. Commissioned by his highness, Prince Andreas Colstrum". Dorian is wearing a helmet, can't see how they portrayed his looks, and the First Knight's face seems generic, well, nobody actually knows how he looked like… brings me memories of my teachings, Dorian was always painted with fair skin and long golden hair; 'like the flame', the fathers would describe and that he had 'eyes that pierced through the unfaithful', hehehe, sounds quite dramatic. I wonder, if someone would to chronic my fight with the Calamity, how would I be described? 'A not so tall, not so small man, with unkempt hair that was a drunkard and short-tempered fugitive'? Huh… who am I kidding? Where I'm going, there isn't anyone who can write about me, if I win, or if I die in failure. Better let those thoughts go and focus on the task at hand. Giving a final look at the statue, I noticed that the sword depicted doesn't come close to resembling the Godsword.
At last, by the evening, I managed to locate one fancy brothel and soon enough, just by waiting outside for a while, a man wearing a sailor hat, with a feather like symbol on it, passed by with two women at his side. They went into an obscure alley, the perfect place to stop him, so I went after them but, just before turning around the corner, I heard screaming and I saw the two women running away and the sailor on the floor, being stepped on by another figure; one dressed completely in black, could hardly see any of they features. "I guess you were the other guy those sailors told me about", I muttered, maybe they saw me and used me to get to the sailor first, anyway, I began to think that it may be better to split up the reward rather than killing a member of the guild for selfish reasons, "Listen", I said, "You're from the guild, right? We can both leave the villa with this guy, question him and find Pyke, together". They didn't say anything, I could just see the outline of their eyes and then, a faint shine their hips, at that moment I felt danger and I immediately turned my head to the side, seeing the shine being the light reflected from the metal of a dagger, which flew by inches from my head. That's it, I unsheathed my sword and to see better I ignited it in holy fire, "Haha! Love when you do that", the figure said in a feminine… and familiar voice? "Didn't expect to see you this far south, Tak. You disappeared one day and never came back". Alright, that dagger throwing thing was enough for me to know who she is, "Laza? W-why in the fuck did you threw a dagger at me?", I exclaimed and she slowly made her way to me, the moonlight letting me see her better; she was completely different from the last time I saw her… well, it makes sense, she's grown, last time I saw her she was a skinny and tiny fourteen year old. "What?", she asked and undid the black mask, letting her black hair drop to her shoulders, "Stunned? Didn't die, just found a different line of work".
Laza of Dovaris, at least that's how she introduced herself back in Lindelen when I, and a bunch of hired thugs from Constance, put an end to a slave operation in the city. Back then she was an emaciated eleven year old thief, and a freshly made slave after her family, which was formed by expert murderers and thieves, was captured and executed one by one. Constance saw potential in her but she didn't feel that way about herself, and performed badly in every task she was given; hunting, deliveries, escorting, messaging, even mundane things like cooking or just cleaning, but I knew she was just waiting for Constance to get tired and discard her. One day, maybe the one Constance was about to throw her away, I vouched for her and forcefully made her join me in a mission to the town of Froilan. From then on she did pretty well and developed a weird fascination with throwing weapons. "You got old! Did you lie about your age, because you got grays all over", she laughed, while I saw behind her how the sailor was getting up, "Focus", I muttered and shoved her aside, dashing and stomping the guy to the ground, "Seems like you haven't change a thing, Laza. Always getting distracted", I smirked and threw the sailor back to her, "Here, you take him. I'll go find another task to do. Also, I guess that you're part of that group… uh, the northern trio. I heard that they were from Lindelen so one of them might be an old friend.". Don't know why, maybe I was in a streak of being nice, just handing the clue back to her felt like repairing the fact that I left them without much explanation… but Laza's expression told otherwise, she seemed pissed, really, really pissed, "Old friends, right… be sure to meet with Maxwell, don't left him hanging like you did with me", with that, she hid her face again and left surprisingly fast.
I stood still for a few seconds, this 'reunion' seemed like a weird dream… seeing her after half a decade and exchanging so few words? Agh… at first I didn't want to run into anyone that I might know from that time, but after seeing Laza? I wanted nothing more that to know how things are, and if my house there still stands. It also hurt a bit, I had in my mind for some time that leaving so suddenly caused her and the others to be angry at me, truth was that I didn't expect Constance to let me go that easily. I remember that day perfectly, I had a bunch of coin and I wished to see more of the Free Cities, hike a ride to the West Kingdom, maybe become somekind of… adventurer? No, it wasn't for adventure, freedom was what I wanted and I had to face Constance and tell him I was leaving. How long was it? I think two months was the time I took to gather the courage, I had seen how Constance behaved with everyone; he would deceived them, promised them riches and such, and then he would discard them with ease. I saw others like me, young and hungry for approval, hungry for coin or blood, running to Constance, like he was their father, and telling him how good they've done… it was sickening. For long I had in my mind that Constance treated me the same way, even if he never, ever did that… every action he took for me was genuine, at first when he took my dying ass to Lindelen and fixed me, then gave me work, and when he saw the power of the sword, he hired a sword master to teach me how to properly wield it, from then on I became his 'right hand', his best asset. "Good luck, Tak. Remember you'll always have my support if you decide to come back", were his words to me after I faced him, after telling him to not stop me or retain me, that I had made my mind up. Not going to lie, it hurt, I thought he would try to change my mind somehow but no, he hugged me and gave me some money. Maybe it was because of that hurt that, afterwards, I went directly to my cabin got my stuff and left Lindelen without looking back. Anyway, Laza's expression was kind of unnerving, I've seen her pissed, when she was younger that is and, during that time, she looked cute when pissed, now she just looked angry.
Well, my time in this rich villa was over and I left without much thought, then I felt it again when I set foot outside the villa, that presence, it wasn't Laza and it was following me. I didn't pay much attention to that presence, it if wanted a fight I could deal with it at any moment, so I went to get dinner before going back to the inn. During my nightly prayer some visions came to me, first was the white snow on the cobblestone streets of Lindelen, second was the face of Constance, third was a memory of the city of Lazarus, and fourth was the symbol of the Maroon Hand. I still don't understand if these are just memories, premonitions or simple visions, not everything that comes to mind has relation with the future, I actually trusted more in my gut feeling, and that feeling told me that tomorrow something important would happen.
The morning felt different without Colt in the same room and, at the same time, it felt nice having more space for me, getting ready to head out was some of my favorite things and not having Colt meant having more time for that. I've decided to go back to the guild, I'm sure the trio will solve Pyke's case so I will just find different work in the guild until they decide to strike the cult. I went outside, the sound of the city deafened everything, it was a busy morning it seemed, then a voice, a voice I've heard before, broke among the noise; "Extra! Extra! The war is over!", it was the same annoying kid from before, and he said that the war is over? "Kid! What happened? Who won?!", I asked and the kid side eyed me, "Dunno sir, gotta read the newspaper to know", he said in that mocking tone he used on me before. "I know. Here", I threw him a copper and he smirked while inspecting the coin, "Woah, you listened to me, you got 'em changed. Good for you but these are worth two coppers". I sighed before handing him another copper and taking the paper, I had to read it right there and then; "The war is over! Two days ago, king Adler of Centralia brought forth the decision of the council to sign peace and, in light of that, the supreme dictator; Franken Falkfak called his remaining fleet back to the city of Seaway and his troops to return to the border, along with an open letter to the people of the Confederation were he clarified his intentions to seek for peace. In response, yesterday, empress Liza called her troops back from Xion, where she revealed that she had reached a truce with the Dan of Xion, and retreated from the southern territories of Centralia. Thanks to these developments, duke Sommer of Sallas has offered his duchy as a neutral power to mediate peace and the possibility of signing a treaty"… So, who the fuck won? Roda? It doesn't say anything about annexation or losses, a stalemate then? Add that to the number of stupid petty wars. Also, if the duke of Sallas is offering these rulers to come to his duchy, is Sallas not in war anymore? I remember Father Bardion telling me that Sallas was in a war… anyway, that's better, maybe I can avoid the cult altogether and force me to go to Sallas by ship.
Didn't know what to expect in Sallas then, knowing there could be a summit of rulers might complicate things for me, especially because I was going straight to the capital. Anyhow, right now I needed to focus on doing something until the princedom decides to act upon the cult, maybe with these news they will act faster… but they didn't, I spent a week doing menial delivery work and some errands, all the while Elber Pyke's whereabouts were still unknown, meaning the trio failed, I was getting to my limit and considered leaving early, and try my luck against the cult. Then, one afternoon, I saw captain Nunku's ship in the docks, and the favor I had in mind came back to me, I quickly ran to it to see if he was there, but it seemed empty and there weren't any of his workers or sailors around, then I heard him calling to me, "Takky boy? Is that you?", he was leading a group of his workers, who all where carrying chests and barrels, "Perfect time, boy! I was 'bout to leave!". This was it then, must be a sing of destiny, "Captain, I came to ask a favor from you", I said and he motioned me to follow him the end of the dock, to talk more privately I presume, "Captain, I… I need to go to Sallas as soon as possible and I'm willing to go by sea, could you take me there?", I asked and he bit her lips and scratched his beard, "Boy… I'm sorry but, there's no way I can take you north. Actually, Prime Bay is the northernmost port any ship'll be able to dock", he replied and I rose an eyebrow, "What? Why?!", I let out, my thoughts went immediately to the Calamity, has it come to attack the south so soon? Was that the reason no ships were able to dock in Sallas and beyond? Captain Nunku expression turned a bit sour, "I'm sorry boy. I would love to have you on ship. The thing is, the war ended and Sallas has put up a strict rule of no ships on their sea, only diplomatic vessels or some shit like that… I would take you further but Olander has close their docks since… a year? More? Don't really know why, some say there's a disease running around Hyland Park. Sorry again, I can take you south though… wait, you need to go to Sallas, sorry".
What Sallas is doing made some sense, but what Olander did sounded different so I really hope the Calamity isn't behind their decision. This really complicated things, only way up is through land then. "Thank you, Captain. Doesn't matter, I'll find a way", I said and shook the captain's hand and he laughed, coming back to his usual demeanor, "Hahaha, no need. Listen, my crew dropped off all the remaining mercenaries of the Oriental Express, I'm sure that soon they'll launch an offensive, be sure to join them, they're good guys even if they are a bunch of killers!", with that, we parted ways with a smile. I trusted what he said, and he was right in the sense that the mercenaries stayed in the guild, I could see them with their weapons and weird clothing. From that day, another day passed, then a week, then a month, and nothing, no news or sign… Only two things, one was the fact that I spoke a lot with Frankie, he helped me with getting more interesting work and told me about their difficulties with finding Pyke, the second was the presence, the one I felt in the villa and I sensed everyday and at most hours, but deep down I felt like it mean no harm…
One afternoon, one guild member told me to go see Frankie, that he was looking for me, and when I did, I found him with Maxwell by his side, I didn't came to meet him so it seemed he talked to Frankie about that. Don't know what this Maxwell would ask of me, I thought of leaving but one thing kept me intrigued about his group, knowing who the third member was and if I knew them, so I ended up agreeing to meeting them three. Maxwell led me into a carriage they had waiting outside, inside sat Laza who side eyed me, "Tak…", she muttered as I sat in front of her, "Hey, Laza", I greeted but she avoided my gaze. Maxwell sat next to me and the carriage began to move, "Did you know, Tak, that Laza at first wouldn't stop telling stories about you and the missions you had together", Maxwell said as Laza turned her head towards the window, avoiding me completely while he continued, "There was one that stuck to me… You did many things in the Free Cities, and you were really young too, think of how much you might could have archived if you stayed!… You know,there's many people that still remember what you did". I nodded through Maxwell's weird monologue, already regretting agreeing to this. Finally we made it to the place where the trio stayed, and it didn't seem cozy at all, looked like an abandoned warehouse to me; dimly lit, wet, broken windows, rotten wood… agh, it was full of bugs too. Then they both led me into a large room, in the middle stood a chair and a man being tied to it, one with no fingers, only one-leg and a pale as the moon, and the floor below was tainted with old blood. "What a sailor! We did our worse and still, he didn't say a single useful thing", Maxwell said and Laza retorted, "Or maybe he didn't actually know where Pyke was". So that was the sailor from Pyke's crew, if he endured that then is obvious he knew nothing, this trio wasn't as professional as I thought, the scene was too gruesome and too unclean. We stopped in front of a narrow hallway and they urged me to go first… yes, I didn't need more signs, I knew this was a trap, still, my sword is faster, I trust I can handle this on my own.
In the other side of the hallway, sitting in the shadows, a figure emerged, the third member, "Quite a long time it took you… Tak of Sonnda", a young voice, it was a man with white and frilly long hair that sat on his plated shoulders, he was wearing almost a full set of armor, an expensive one too, "Glad to finally put an end to this… w-why are you looking me like that?", he asked and moved some hair from his face, probably to let me see his face more clearly, "See? It's me! You know! We talked before! I-I…", he blurted out, becoming more pissed, I actually didn't know who he was, "Do we know each other?… wait, I don't owe you money, no?", I asked and he began to grind his teeth, it made an awful sound, "I'm Serbos! Serbos of Nalva!", he exclaimed andthen I remembered, the last time I saw this guy was in the guild of Seaway, he was as pissed off then as he is now, "Ah! Yes, you're the guy from Seaway. So, what-", the sense of danger manifested, it was but a mere fraction of a second, I instinctively went for my sword but couldn't reach the handle in time, it was Maxwell's warhammer sending me flying. It all went black for a second and then my vision came back with the pain of hitting the wall, I could feel that the armor absorbed some of the damage, the metal bent in and I knew some of ribs were broken, if it wasn't for Norman's new armor… fuck, I raised my gaze to see them, Maxwell was ready to strike again, Laza seemed to lay back and that guy, Serbos, sported a big, big smile. They are mistaken, I was going to leave one way or the other.