Summoning Bones

5. Lies in the Town

"I want answers, now!" Yelled a man dressed in black with a sleek mustache and combed back black hair. He slammed his fist onto the oak desk, making papers fly across the room. The young maid in the corner shook like a leaf. The tray full of the fixings for tea clattered in her fear.

The other man in the room twitched with the other's fury, but stayed standing tall, his shining helmet tucked neatly under his arm.

"We've done everything we can my Lord Eldridge," he said.

"Lies, beast! Send me the Riders!" Lord Eldridge yelled. The man growled at the insult.

"My Lord-"

"Now!"

The man left the room, bowing as he closed the door. He ran down the corridor, his green uniform of a Rider making all the servants flatten themselves against the walls. He dodged a maid coming up the stairs with a rosemary loaf of bread. They both spun mid-stride and continued in their opposite ways. It was almost a weekly occurrence to have some poor Rider running from Lord Eldridge's office. But this was no mere Rider, the Commander of the Riders hurried to fill the Lord's request.

He ran out to where the riders were brushing their horses and giving them extra feed for running so hard. They laughed and taunted each other. Their moods were a pleasant break from the tragedy of that morning.

"My fellow men. The Lord wishes to check if you have found the Summoner," panted the man.

His men turned to him with varying looks of annoyance and confusion.

"But sir, have you not told him we found nothing?"

"I did Sir Alpacston. But he wishes to check with you each individually," he said. The men rolled their eyes and began to trudge up the grounds to the mansion. But one rider stayed behind, continuing to groom their horse. Her green cloak was wrapped snuggly over her shoulders.

"Madam Sylver, please, the Lord is waiting," said the Commander. The Rider looked up to meet the Commander's eyes with her own amber ones.

"I believe there may be a lead to the Summoner's location. I will follow it and report back to you. Tell the Lord of my journey," she said. The commander watched as she saddled the horse and then hoisted herself onto the creature. "I will return by sunset tonight."

"Naturally, I will inform the Lord of your courage." He watched as she rode away on the edge of the forest, the rider's green cloak camouflaged her under the tree's shadows.

She rode past the mansions on the trail that wove through the trees. Some of the gardeners and groundskeepers waved as she passed by, others gave her pitied looks. They thought she was riding for something that could never be found. But she grit her teeth and raced down to the town.

As she reached the edge of town, the nearest group of people stopped and stared, before regaining their manners and stepping out of her way. She dismounted her horse, nodded to them as she passed, and went to the house with a woman with wild hair out front.

She stood on a rickety stool, balancing on one foot to take down her blue flag. She snatched the flag off the pole and stepped onto the sidewalk. She went to grab the stool and go back inside, but the Rider stopped her.

"Madam, wait," she said. Mrs. Juliana paused and turned to the Rider. Her face fell, she knew why they were there. "I heard there was a death in you house?" Her suspicions were confirmed.

"No, my wife made a full recovery," she said quickly, backing towards her house. Her back was against the door and her hand on the doorknob, but the Rider motioned for her stop.

"Wait, please, my daughter. She's ill and if you know anything, please," she begged, stepping closer to Lacy Juliana, who paused. Indecision flashed in her eyes, but she couldn't let an innocent soul die.

"Alright, listen closely and do not tell a soul, but," she said, beckoning the Rider closer. The Rider led her horse onto the sidewalk, and she was close enough to allow Lacy to whisper.

"There's a girl in the village, young with dark hair covered in a cloak. She can help you, grant miracles even. You will find her at the shop of oddities called Asphodel Trinkets. Ask for Eirene, Zagreus will help you. But don't tell a soul," she whispered.

"Thank you so much, Mrs?"

"Mrs. Lacy. Please come back and tell me when your daughter is better."

"I will Mrs. Lacy. I thank you so much," the rider said. She mounted her horse and steered them towards the street.

"Wait what's your name?" Called Mrs. Juliana.

"Calliope Sylver," she said then rode up the street towards Asphodel Trinkets. As she did, Mrs. Juliana hurried inside to her waiting wife.

"What held you up?" Laughed the woman from the bed.

"Don't worry yourself. You're still weak from being dead," said Mrs. Juliana bitterly.

"Oh don't mind that. I feel fit as a fiddle," she said, making Lacy crack a smile.

"All the same, I either helped a mother save her daughter, or Lord Eldridge," she said. Aislin's smile fell.

"Either way, someone's daughter will be saved," Aislin said quietly.

"I suppose," Lacy said. They both fell silent, before she broke the silence. "It can't be helped, so we must not worry ourselves."

"You're right." Lacy smiled at Aislin's words. They stared at each other, both smiling with love in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the Rider traveled through the town where the townspeople were going home to sit by their fires as a rain cloud rolled in. Some stared as she rode by them, others bowed, recognizing the second in command of the Riders, and some cowered in fear, scared she was there for them.

She didn't pay any mind to the people she rode past, but rather at the swinging sign at the end of an alley. It's golden lettered faded, and some peeling. Inside the lights glowed, but no one was in, not even the owner.

She dismounted her horse and tied their reins to a broken fence post. She knocked on the door before entering. A bell rung as she stepped into the warm shop.

"Hello?" She called out. "I wish to speak to Eirene?" Silence met her words. She walked further into the shop, examining the many dead animals hung on the shelves in varying positions of ambush. Rare books and jewelry pieces lay on display behind locked cabinets. She went further into the shop, to the empty counter. She waited a moment before ducking behind the counter and into the back room with the whirring creatures crawled about the space.

She spotted the three-headed dog sleeping in the back of the room. She reached to touch it, but as it gave a loud snore, she quickly shrinked backwards. Years of experience chasing and hunting ferocious beasts for the Lord taught her to not touch what you don't know, so she continued to a back door. Its green paint was peeling as much as the front sign.

Out back, a stone pathway through a small garden led to a small house where the light in the front room glowed warmly. Through the front window, the Rider saw a body, half covered with a sheet and two people standing over them, deep in conversation.