AARIUS GRAIL The Last StoneCipher | By @WendyyWolfe

2. Eiliq Clack

BEFORE THE FIRST dim tendrils of sun pierced the morning sky, Eiliq Clack had been up for hours. As always, before daylight he was already hard at work at his anvil, hammering iron. Eiliq fashioned tools, horseshoes for the war horses of Blade Forged and most importantly, weapons.

He was the favored Mage Smith of Riagon Nor, and like most of the information Riagon had received over the years, he had learned about Eiliq from the TsuTomu servants of the Daturuu.

The Daturuu were a tight-lipped people but their servants, not so much. It was rumored that Eiliq Clack knew Stone-Cipher magic and infused it into his artfully crafted weapons.

Nobody knew for sure, where he even would have learned it, seeing as how its last Master Cipher, Horeg, had been dead for centuries. Some imagined Eiliq an ancestor of the mysterious people but he always denied it. He just loved making weapons and if they happened to have magic powers, it was all the better for him.

His forge, not much more than an open-air lean-to, was where he could always be found whacking away on the molten hot metal and today was no exception. By the time the midday bells of Mithras sounded he would be ready for a break but as he stood wiping the sweat from his brow it became strangely evident that no one had rang the bells yet. Forgoing his customary drink of water, he poured a mug of ale and stared out at the road in front of his atelier.

All seemed quiet.

Perhaps too quiet.

Eiliq wandered outside to have a better look. That was when he saw the procession with the familiar military standard blowing in the wind. Riagon Nor. Eiliq flung the dregs of his cup to the ground and walked out to the road.

Perhaps Riagon was bringing him a new weapons requisition. Eiliq almost drooled from the thought. He wiped his lips with the dirty sleeve of his tunic and waited with bated breath as Riagon drew his massive war horse to a stop nearby and dismounted. Eiliq watched as the Valor Oath and son of Oziras Nor the famed Blood Oath of Blade Forged took his sword from the saddle scabbard and thrust it into the ornate waist scabbard hanging at his thigh.

"Aye Riagon Nor, what brings ye to Riagon Loch today?" Eiliq asked rubbing his bloated hands together with greedy hope.

Riagon barely glanced his way and in fact walked right past him entering the forge and pouring himself a draught of ale. Eiliq's face contorted to a frown which he quickly hid as Riagon's men were intently watching him. He turned on a heel and trotted after Riagon hurriedly.

Riagon downed the bitter brew and held the mug out which Eiliq reluctantly refilled. "Have ye a new order for me today lord?" He asked timidly.

Riagon shook his head. "Not today Eiliq. And we're in a hurry so give my men the rest of this sour mash you call ale and here's a coin for your trouble," he answered tersely, reaching into a hidden purse and slamming a dull metal pelf down on the work bench next to Eiliq's tools.

Eiliq scowled at the brash gesture but did as he was told. He poured ale until it was gone and without so much as a by your way, Riagon and his men mounted up and stormed off leaving Eiliq to cough back the dust in their wake.

He trudged silently back to the forge where he picked up the pelf Towil coin Riagon had left and eyed it closely before biting it to make sure it was real.

He muttered a curse, grumbling about the plague of phony coinage going around, tossed the coin in his money box and went back to work. Now he would have to go all the way back to Crescent Camp tonight if he wanted ale for tomorrow and deal with the likes of that vagabond King Terthil because he fenced all kinds of coins, real or fake. But at least he never asked questions.

_____

Some hours after sending his daughter off to Hannelore fortified with the five best men he had at Ashling Rim Castle, Neris met up with Riagon Nor, Skaenn Dhan, Thig Delvern and twenty of Riagon's best mercenary soldiers of the Oath halfway between Blade Shield on the border of Jarnkappe and Lothir. Riagon sent ten of those men to further strengthen Neris' men and escort his daughter back to Delthir Pel. Then he addressed Neris and they discussed the fastest way to Blade Shield Keep.

"We'll follow the Yahr Tributary. It's the best route. We will ride straight through to Lothir. All the way to the Council Garrison," he confided to Neris. "There is less chance of running afoul with Medgar's henchmen."

Neris agreed.

"I also instructed your men of the same. Once they cross the land bridge between Hannelora and Riagon Loch, they'll be far from the threat of meeting with any Battle Mages that far inland. Medgar's magic is nasty but even his best evokers can't contend with the swamps throughout the Loch."

"Exactly why I sent her to Tarn," Neris confided to Riagon. "Along with a little of my own magic."

Riagon grinned. "What did you concoct this time Neris?" he asked with a friendly slap to Neris' back.

"Lets just say, sleeping girls cannot get into trouble."

Riagon laughed heartily but knew Neris wasn't fooling about. "It's too bad we can't put Medgar and his men to sleep so easily," he grunted.