Sunrise Gate

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A lamp flickers alight in the street. The alleys are dark, the square empty but illuminated by the moon’s light.  Cobblestones clang and clatter against the soles of my boots as I dash past the statue of Hymir. I can see Adam at his forge, working late in the night is unusual for him, but not out of the ordinary. The town is asleep, but I do not care. I begin shouting, “Adam!” The square remains still. “Adam!” I shout, running towards the forge, frantic.

“Lyra?” he shouts back. “Lyra what is it lass?”

I reach him, clenching his arm, “We need to speak. Now.”

Adam looks to his forge, the iron of a sword beginning to cool. I look too, he needs to keep it warm or else he’ll have to start over. He pauses unsure, turning to me. I still stare at the sword. “I can’t Lyra, I need to finish this sword for tomorrow,” he says. “It will have to wait.”

I look to him now. Worried, anxious, unsure of what to do next. I did not expect this. Adam sees my fear and growing somber he asks, “What is it? We can talk while I forge.” He sits down, grabbing his mallet.

“I heard a noble speaking to a man he called a lieutenant. They’re separatists, Adam.”

He doesn’t resist for a second, dropping the mallet,  hushing me, whisking me aside and into his home. “Why didn’t you start with that! The sword can wait, what did you learn?” Inside is a small stone room, large enough for a table, bed and dresser. Adam gestures me to the bed, himself taking seat a few arm lengths away on a wooden chair. He pours a cup of ale for himself. He knows I do not drink.

“These two men-” He stops me there.

“What two men? I need details Lyra - spare nothing. Look, feel, where they were, what they wore.” He speaks with urgency.

“I found them in the Guardian’s graveyard. There was an older one and a younger. The younger, Lieutenant as the older one called him, was dressed in Guardian standard. He complained his men were on his ass concerning his whereabouts. Said they want to know why he keeps leaving training.”

Adam ignores the younger man, “Tell me about this old guy.”

I lean in from the edge of his bed, “The older was robed in black. White beard, short white hair. Withered, if Lynx is mid aged, this fellow was a few decades older. Frost grey eyes, looking at them brings a shiver to the spine.” I pause for him to gather any thoughts.

“Anything else?” he is looking down, scratching his forehead, searching.

“He wore a dragon crest.”

His eyes snap to mine, intense. “Lyra,” he spoke slowly. “Are you sure it was a dragon crest?”

“Yes,” I stammer confused, “Yes I am confident. The younger man wore a larger version on his back. And I know, I know this man, it’s just I can’t put a name to the face. He’s certainly nobility and without a doubt the crest of a dragon.”

“Lyra that’s the crest of the Lord Arnith,” Adam speaks slowly, cautious.

“How did I not remember!” I want to slap myself, “One of the oldest families around - he’s practically family to the queen.”

“Which is why we need to be careful. Are you sure he’s a separatist? I would have expected him to have full allegiance to the crown.”

“He and this Lieutenant - Rudolph he called him - they spoke of assembling men, they have an army dispersed across the plains, most near New Rah. I can’t find any other explanation. He has to be separatist, Adam.”