Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 8: Festivals and Fights

 Maylorn woke to the front door opening. He stepped out of the room towards the main gathering area to find Amrila with the man who greeted them at the house, and who he suspected was the one to meet them in the marketplace.

The man was tall and leanly muscular. He no longer wore the hood of his cape, his features clear in the morning sunlight. His dark eyes wandered over the windows, watching for people in the street. Tattoos covered his neck, symbols of war. Only those who had no intention of increasing their rank would have tattoos like those. The tattoo had long swirls, one at the edge containing a number of tick marks. Death counts.

Maylorn immediately did not trust the man, and the look in his eyes told Maylorn he felt the same.

"You are the watchtower murderer."

Maylorn froze, not expecting the man to recognize him. He pulled out a bounty and handed it to Maylorn. The drawing depicted him before he fled. No facial hair.

"Do not worry no one here will return you for bounty. No one believes that crock of shit. That stupid cult fled into your country around that time. I always suspected them for it."

Maylorn glanced at Amrila. "Did you know?"

"You talk in your sleep." She replied emotionless. "But it does not matter. You are too honorable to do something like that so I never believed you did it."

Maylorn turned to leave the room before he slammed a fist into a wall, but the newcomer's next words made him pause.

"Tennet intends to kill one of the Brightstar heirs. A prophesy from that cult has set him on a path to try and stop that prophecy from happening. The Brightstars are involved somehow. I know you still care for your country's future. It is in your interest as well as ours to ensure their future."

Maylorn turned to look at him. "How are they involved?"

"That's what we intend to find out from Tennet. All we know is their family symbol is in an ancient tablet found by that cult. I think Tennet intends to resurrect a demon involved with the prophecy's original text. He has some of that text with him, the rest is with the cult."

"So this is not just a path to Tennet, it is a path to destroying the cult and saving the Callmandonian heir? Why would you risk something for a Callmandonian?"

"We do not believe in the prophesy, but we do believe killing a Callmandonian just because of a symbol and some text is idiotic. What they are doing is wrong. They are killing people. And, from what we have heard about some of the heirs, Callmandonia may change in its future."

"I am curious about their findings though. Why they believe necromancy is the solution is beyond me. Is something really so scary necromancy is needed to prevent it?"

Maylorn thought Amrila was the one to speak, but another woman stepped into the room. A Felid Animus. She wore the same colors as Amrila, purple and green. Citadel colors. Her cloak, unlike Amrila's, was decorated with flowers. Some sort of rank symbol. She removed her hood, revealing sand-colored fur.

Amrila nodded to her. "If it is that dire, I suspect it might mean mass deaths. My worry is that their involvement may be what causes the destruction instead of preventing it. That is why we need to stop them."

Maylorn glared at the felid. "How do you suppose we do that?"

The felid turned to Maylorn, surprised he directed the question at her. "I am no mage, but from the ancient histories I have studied, I understand how afraid civilizations were about their eventual destruction. They would do anything to prevent it. It is my thought, that like civilizations that were faced with this, if Tennet were to realize what could happen, he would stop."