Skarenmoor: A Fantasy of Falkenland

Chapter Twenty Six: Into the Unknown ~ Jeaquson

If I'm dead, then how could I still be thinking? Was I in some sort of limbo between the world of the living and the Table of Malaki? Had my faith been for naught, and the darkness was all that remained? Had Karrik escaped to rejoin the Thieves Guild? Was Dastan searching for me? These questions swam through my head and I felt myself stumbling over them. I felt my eyes open and found myself in strange surroundings. I had been cleaned of all the dirt and blood of battle, and my wounds were dressed. I was lying on my side in a rather large rowboat filled with provisions one might have on a long journey. I found I was still too stiff to move, but I could see the setting sun reflecting off of the glass river. I caught sight of the pilot of the boat and gasped in disbelief. It was Boron! He turned to me and grinned in true Boron fashion.

"Ah, so the Raggedy Man awakens from his slumber! How do you fare, my friend?"

"I'm a bit sore and stiff, but I'll live, thanks to you," I acknowledged. Boron nodded and continued to row, the vessel inching along at a steady pace.

"Now if you don't mind my asking Boron, what exactly am I doing here?" Boron shrugged back and related his story as he continued to row.

"Well after we last spoke in Varen Forest, I thought about your words. I realized that I had perceived Malaki the wrong way. I had looked to him as merely a myth or a legend, but you and your men are no myths, and your devotion to Malaki even when he remains unseen is extraordinary. After you left me, I tried to follow you, but you never stayed in the same place long enough for me to catch up. At the end of the Battle of Orimoris, I decided to wait for you to leave the city, and watched the gate from my boat but then I saw you fall into the moat. I dove in after you and pulled out, then rowed downstream to where we are now. What do you make of it?"

I realized that no one in Orimoris knew I was alive, so I beseeched my rescuer, "We must return to Orimoris at once! My friends think I'm dead!"

Boron held up his hand. "Is that such a bad thing? You have the whole world at your fingertips and why should we ruin your friends' fun? They probably will give you a hero's funeral and you will be written into the songs and poems and stories told to children on their mothers' knees for generations to come. All the while, you are finally free my friend. You may now do whatever you wish. Just say the words and we'll be off! We could search for a unicorn in the caves of Romoria, or disguise ourselves as women in Arkenfall to rob the despot high elf ruler! We could join the Scarlet Hand Ring of Assassins in Darmer, or go treasure hunting in Orisimer. Your choice!"

As we glided down the river, I pondered Boron's proposition. I knew that it was a perfect chance to find out who I really was, and that the Order of the Golden Dragon would continue on without me as long as there were those who believed in Malaki and fought for him. I had done so much for the people of Falkenland over the past month; I had little time to think of my own dreams and pursuits. Was now the time? Was I selfish in wanting to pursue my own destiny? I still cannot truthfully say, but then and there I made my decision.

"Boron, you're right. Falkenland is immense and anything we do will no doubt bring adventure along with it! So let us be off to lands unknown, to undiscovered countries and damsels in distress! We shall fight whoever stands in our way, and bring the light of Malaki to all we meet."

Boron slapped his hands together in approval. "Capital, dear chap! Now what is our destination? Fair Arkenfall? Shadowy Darmer? Bright Reshia? Mysterious Romoria? Rugged Orisimer? Cold Durin and Hammerforge? Where shall we go?"

I stepped to the bow of the boat and looked westward into the setting sun, which turned the waters a magnificent vermillion. I mentally said goodbye to Dastan and Alexandria, wishing them well. The Order would go on, Alaria would remain sarcastic, and little Henri would never lose his faith in Malaki. Turning back to Boron, I replied,

"Set a course for Skarenmoor!"