“It shall be done,” Salmetu answered as the she watched the witch nod and step into the flames to disappear in a column of brackish smoke up the chimney.
***
The group of guards and Inquisitors split into two groups to head to Birchshire. One group headed northeast on a direct path to the small village. The second group headed southeast for the Southern coast where they would take a ship along the coast of the Great Sea. Both groups should arrive in the area of Birchshire close to the same time.
The trip will take a full moon cycle at best, but there should be no worry of the boy leaving the safety of his current home. Fallon was concerned that the boy will resist and get himself killed by an Inquisitor or one of the Land’s Guard. He could only hope that one of his own men would be able to intercede without drawing suspicion.
Fallon walked the dark labyrinth of corridors formed millennia ago by liquid rock flowing through the grounds. He had left the castle by means of a secret exit behind his throne. As he neared his destination, the corridors began growing lighter from the room lit up ahead of him. As he entered the chamber, a group of women stopped what they were doing and left him with his charge.
Only his secret guest and daughter remained in the room. “There was a third child born that night.” Fallon was speaking to his daughter while watching the sleeping form below him. “My Elite Guard travel with the retinue from the Order to retrieve him.”
“What does this mean father?”
“I do not know. Perhaps when our guest awakens we will find out.”
Shuran and Bastien spent the entire day together in the woods around their cave hideaway. While cooking a rabbit for lunch, Shuran showed Bastien how he had been learning to use the Essence. Shuran knew that Moona and Codger feel strongly about keeping this a secret, but Bastien was his best friend. Shuran also knew that there was something inside Bastien, sleeping, and he wanted to awaken it for some reason.
“Shuran all I see is you staring at a crystal. You look as if you are going to shit your britches.” Bastien laughed at the expression Shuran gave him and they both laughed.
“I suppose this really proves nothing. Pick up that crystal in front of you and tell me what you feel,” Shuran instructed.
“I feel… I feel… like a dur holding a rock! Except how would a dur hold a rock with its hoof!” Bastien was laughing at Shuran.
“Here now take this one.” Shuran said handing over the shard he had just finished filling with Essence.
At first Bastien just held the stone and looked at Shuran. Suddenly his expression changed to surprise. “It tingles! It tingles a lot!”
“I would not have thought of it as tingling but it is a start.” Shuran was glad to have proven his suspicions.
“What do you mean I can weave? I am a mundane!” Bastien was both shocked and frightened. “My adda says that it is not safe to be a weaver anymore. Sanctions are being revoked or worse folks are disappearing. How long before the rats in the Council spread out to the farms and remote homes to search for weavers?”
Shuran saw his reasons for concern. “Look Bastien, we have nothing to worry about here and as long as no one sees us wielding or weaving, then what is the problem?”
Bastien was not convinced but he sat down to listen to what Shuran had to say.
Shuran explained how he could learn to defend himself and hide his abilities to remain unnoticed.
Bastien eventually lightened up when he thought more about it. “Maybe there would be a place for us in the Land’s Guard. They recruit weavers!”
“I am not so sure about that since they are working with the Inquisitors, according to Andra. The Inquisitors are not to be trusted.”
Bastien did not look convinced.
Over the course of the next cycle, Shuran and Bastien met each afternoon and all resting day, trying to see what Bastien could do.
He had already learned a few spells well enough. He could start fire and lift small objects with a word. Bastien was becoming very pleased with himself and Shuran was happy with his friend’s excitement.
One afternoon Bastien was pre-occupied and not concentrating on what Shuran was teaching him.
Shuran made it look easy to weave the Essence and he felt this might be upsetting his friend, slowing his progress. Shuran had not shown Bastien any wielding of elemental magic since he could sense Bastien was not capable. Beside he decided to keep that secret for now. He could not go back on all he had promised to Moona. “What is wrong with you today Bastien?”
“Nothing!” Bastien seemed surprised by the question. “I mean I am just thinking about the Guards in the village. Adda told me this morning that a group of Guards and an Inquisitor showed up in town late last evening.”
“What do they want?” Shuran was concerned.
“I do not know,” Bastien lied but Shuran did not see his friend’s face when he answered.
Shuran stood and turned to Bastien. “We need to go see what is going on!”
“NO!” Bastien stood to grab Shuran. “It is dangerous and Moona would strap us both but good!”
“Well, we will not tell anyone then. Meet back here an hour after Utu has set.” Shuran ran off toward home leaving Bastien with knots in his stomach and worry upon his face.
***
“The boy will be in the village this evening.” The older man told a guard wearing black leather, head to boot.
The guard handed the man a leather purse and sent him on his way. “The boy will come to us. He travels with a mundane youth so you will be able to tell which is the one we want from his shi glowing. I assured the old man his son would be left unharmed.”
So now the Drakk Elite only needed to wait for their quarry to come to them. As the men moved off into the nearby Inn, an Inquisitor stepped out of the shadows and watched them leave.
“We shall find the boy first.” Telalsu said as he stepped up behind the Inquisitor.
Bastien and Shuran skirted the edge of town looking for signs of the guards.
“This is not working. We have to go further into town perhaps the Inn or the town magistrate building.” Shuran was on edge and Bastien just seemed nervous.
“We will be seen and we still do not know what they want here.” Bastien was more than nervous he was frightened.
“We can go in unseen but we must be quiet.” Shuran pulled a green gemstone from his pocket and disappeared.
“Shuran!” Bastien whispered loudly.
Suddenly Shuran was visible again and holding Bastien by the hand.
“DAMKIANNA! How did you do that? And why are you holding my hand?”
“If I left go then you will not be invisible with me any longer,” Shuran said showing Bastien the stone in his other hand. “This keeps us unseen but not unheard. It was a gift from Andra a long time ago.”
Bastien just stared in wonder and let Shuran lead him into town.
The boys still kept to the side streets and went around large groups of town folk to limit the chances of being discovered. As they approached the Inn Shuran pulled himself and Bastien off to the side of the building where they could look into the common room from an open window. Soldiers dressed in black leathers sat throughout the room mixed with a few townsmen and other soldiers wearing the sigil of the Land’s Guard.
“I do not see an inquisitor,” Bastien whispered to Shuran as they scanned the room.
“I cannot hear what they are saying. We have to get in there, but we also have not checked the magistrates office.”
With a nod shared between them they moved off together down the alley toward the town center where they would find the magistrate’s building. When they arrived they found an Inquisitor standing outside the building talking to another man who had his back turned to them. The boys stepped off to the shadows and Shuran put his gem away.
“We need to split up. I will head back to the Inn and see what I can find out. I will meet you back here shortly. Just watch them and we can figure out our next actions when I get back.” Shuran started to get up from his crouched position and fumbled, as Bastien was still crouched and tangled in his robes. He soon recovered from the stumble and he headed off toward the Inn. Bastien stayed behind to watch the Inquisitor and his companion.
Shuran worked his way back to the Inn. He first thought of entering using his gem but thought better of it. The Inn common room was far too crowded to enter invisible without being bumped into. He did decide however, to shield his shi.
Shuran took a deep breath and as he had been practicing, imagined a thick impenetrable wall around himself. He relaxed as the shield took hold and he headed into the Inn. Shuran was not known around the village so he drew a few stares from the local people but their eyes did not linger. Shuran figured they thought he came in with the guards serving as a cook, wagon driver, or other worker in their caravan. He moved over to a spot at a table and sat down where he could hear the conversation of a nearby group of soldiers.
“The two boys should be arriving any time now. We should be headed out to start watching for them. Remember the old man said that the one boy is not involved and we already know he is mundane, so look at the shi to confirm which is the one we want.” The soldier got up from their table and exited.
Shuran was about to get up and follow when he noticed several Land’s Guard get up to follow the black dressed soldiers out of the Inn. Shuran was horrified to find that they were here for him. He was also visibly upset to find out that Bastien’s adda let them know about the boys coming to town tonight.
“How did Bastien’s adda know we were coming?” Bastien questioned over in his head until he flashed back to what happened when he left Bastien at the Magistrate building. He reached into his pockets to find his shield gem missing. “Oh DAMKIANNA! Bastien what have you done?” Shuran ran for the door and as he exited ran right into Andra.
***
Bastien took the green gemstone in his hand and stood up. He figured now that he would be invisible; he could walk up to within steps of the Inquisitor and his dark companion in order to hear what they were discussing. When he got about halfway to where the men were standing the Inquisitor stopped talking and turned to look directly at where Bastien stood.
Bastien stopped in his tracks thinking that the deathly pale man had heard something. The man said something to his companion and the second man turned toward Bastien revealing a skeletal looking man with soul-less black eyes.
“They can see me!” Bastien said to himself.
“Oh yes we can see you boy, though not as brightly as I would have expected.” Telalsu said with an evil grin spreading across his face. “Did you think to shield yourself from us this close to you. You seem hardly the threat the Order has made you out to be.”
Telalsu began making his way over to where Bastien stood shaking in his britches. Without thinking to run Bastien created a ball of fire in his palm and hurled it toward the demon warrior stalking toward his position.
***
“Shuran why have you placed yourself in such danger by coming to the village?”
“We came to investigate and I just found out that they are looking for me!” Shuran was struggling to get past Andra.
“I am aware of this and was heading to the cabin to hasten an escape. That is until I sensed your shielding gem nearby.”
“Bastien has my stone, he took it from me when I left him watching the Inquisitor. Andra, his adda told these soldiers we would be coming here.” Shuran suddenly knew what would be happening.
His friend would try to use the shielding gem to go unnoticed and spy on the men. And the soldiers would be looking only for the boy who had a glow from his Shi. “Andra we have to go, NOW!” Shuran grabbed Andra by the arm and they made their way back to where Shuran left Bastien.
They were too late. When they arrived Andra had to pull Shuran back from running to his friend who was now lying on the ground writhing in pain, Telalsu standing over him.
“Stay here until I draw the demon away from your friend.”
“Did you think to over power a Warrior Demon, BOY!” Telalsu sneered down at Bastien lying prone at his feet and send a shock of electric charge into his chest. “The Telal are far too powerful for the likes of some back woods untrained weaver.” Telalsu was preparing to wield another bout of energy at Bastien when he was hit with a stream of fire.
Knocked back several feet, Telalsu recovered to find another young man standing off to the side of the road holding glowing red flame in his hands ready for a fight. As Telalsu stood, the young man headed off into the village and out toward the river. Telalsu followed after him.
Shuran looked to see that the Inquisitor must have left as well. He quickly ran to his friend’s side. He reached to turn him over only to get his hands soaked in the blood of his best friend. “Bastien, what have you done?”
“Shuran I tried to spy on them but they saw me. Your stone did not work.” Bastien handed the stone up to Shuran who took it into his bloody palm.
“The stone only works for me and those I am in contact with. It is my fault I should have explained that! Why did you not run away?” Shuran was shaking.
“My adda told me not to come here tonight I should have listened. I am sorry Shuran I thought I could scare them away.” Bastien looked into the eyes of his friend that he felt he had betrayed then shuddered before collapsing in Shuran’s arms.