191: Interlude
Marie Belwyn had just returned from the Valrith residence, meeting that old fool after his confrontation in the market. Throwing off her coat, she wandered the empty halls of her manor. Things had gone pretty well so far. Getting appointed head of the military and being cleared of involvement with House Havenel — it didn’t help that the pathetic worm Oliver still tried to snitch on her.
The meeting proved only one thing to her as she took a seat in her office: that old fool would likely be dead by nightfall. Direct confrontation with Trevor was likely the worst possible response. However, she could think of ways to twist this, turn it into a positive once the old man was removed.
She could go to the King after his death and press just how dangerous this child and his beasts were, and insist he has a handler, someone who is able to direct him.
This brought a smile to Marie’s face as she thought of all the ways she could use that power. Her very own personal assassin? Her mind wandered, all worry of her original plans being disrupted gone.
The next afternoon she was rather surprised to not hear that the old fool had been destroyed, and her day was ruined when she discovered that the King had fully sided with the boy, which all but confirmed the likelihood that convincing the King he was after the crown and driving a wedge now would not work, and would only serve to paint a target on her own back. All attempts to contact the boy himself and get a meeting had also so far been met with a dead end, and clearly confronting him on the street wasn’t an option, which just left the upcoming dinner.
She read the message several times. Perhaps there was an angle she could work here to still get a positive result. All she had to do was incite Corin into overreacting, and she could gain some control of the remains of his house and income as it fell apart. Her eyes moved back to her dark wooden desk. It would be a nice change from all the Portland news. The King had gutted that town, attempting to remove corruption right down to the crafters, so there was little money to make anymore. She even had to remove a couple of messengers she had used, in case they spoke.
With a sigh, she placed the message back on the desk. She’d need to deal with this delicately.
Several days had passed without anything unfolding. However, plans were in motion for today. She had encouraged Aiden to visit the store that was opening, despite his hesitation, convincing him it would be fine to just visit. It’s not like he was there to cause trouble.
“Lady Belwyn, Aiden was attacked out the front of the store and driven off by Royal Guards and the orphan’s cat,” a plain-dressed servant who had been sent to scout reported.
“The beast attacked? Interesting…” Marie muttered, plans forming immediately.
“Also, they are serving tea that has the effects of a moderate speed potion, only it lasts for several hours, and is given out for free,” the servant continued.
Marie dropped the paper she was holding, staring at the man in disbelief.
“You’re sure?” she confirmed.
“I am.”
“I need you to run a message to Lord Corin immediately. Have him destroy the note, or you do it when he storms off. Do not come back here unless it’s done.” Marie said, quickly scribbling down a note.
Dear Lord Corin,
It has come to my attention that Lord Ashmoon may have stolen your speed potion recipe and is handing it out for free at their shop, which opened today.
M.
“Yes, your grace,” the servant said, bowing before running out of the room.
This was just the spark she needed. This, in combination with Aiden complaining about being attacked, would be all that’s required.
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It only took a few hours before another servant appeared in her office.
“Lady Belwyn, we have confirmed that Lord Valrith has been arrested by Princess Kathrine and taken to the King immediately,” the servant reported.
“Thank you. You may leave,” Marie said.
The moment the door shut behind the servant, she let out a laugh. This was perfect.
Everything was going to pla—
There was a thud outside her office door, which soon opened, and an ethereal-looking beauty stood there in an emerald green dress. Behind her lay the unconscious form of the servant who had just delivered the message.
“Hello, dear. We are going to have a little chat.”
***
Raymond had been travelling non-stop since leaving Greyrock. After hoping to stop off in Portland for a drink and an inn to spend the night in, he was dismayed to find the town was practically on lockdown. The inn was closed, offering only a bed for a single night. The streets were practically a ghost town, as all the guards who were there were silent and did their patrols before returning to the barracks. Even the crafters were silent. Usually they were run off their feet at nearly all hours of the day.
What had happened here?
He never got an answer to it, as the innkeeper was ‘unavailable.’ He had to clean and prepare his own room. The real problem with the city, though, was that there was absolutely no information on the boy at all, and when he asked any of the guards he saw, they seemed to just hurry away.
His next goal was to reach the town of Dunhearth. Time was working against him, though, as the road was slowly getting swallowed under the snow that was starting to fall. He knew if he could get close to the capital; it had a shield from most of the harsh weather, but this far away, winter was rough and dangerous without a party.
Reaching Dunhearth nearly a week later, he was surprised how much it had changed since he was last there. It had been a year or two, but now there were teams of guards at the entrance. There appeared to be a new shrine to the phoenix built, with the surrounding building turned into cheap accommodation for pilgrims, where he could have sworn an inn used to be.
But this was also where he got his first solid lead on the boy. Entering the Adventurer’s Guild, he took a seat at the tables, taking in the surrounds as teams moved in and out, with others having a drink and eating at the surrounding tables.
Leaning over to the closest team of five, they even appeared to have a boy about the same age, although he looked pretty beaten up.
“How’s it been around here? Seems a lot has changed since I visited last,” Raymond asked.
The leader of the group nodded. “You’re damn right it has. Ever since the Lord was arrested and the phoenix appeared in town, it’s been chaotic.”
Raymond had to do a double take at what he heard. The phoenix visited the town?
“Yeah, the shock is understandable. We watched it happen. It visited an inn in town,” the man laughed.
“Why would the phoenix visit an inn?” Raymond asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Rumour has it, it was visiting someone at the inn, some kid. Apparently, he also got blessed by the goddess of fate at the temple the day after. Some people have all the luck,” the man grumbled.
Raymond couldn’t help but notice that the boy flinched when it was mentioned. Did he know him? He looked in no position to speak for himself, though.
“Is this kid still in town, then?” Raymond asked. Maybe he was running the shrine?
“Nah, he left the next day. Rumour has it he’s gone to the capital,” the man said.
This was perfect. He finally had a solid direction, and one that would be far warmer too.
***
Aiden was panicking. He had just been attacked out the front of the shop. He didn’t want to tell his father, but he knew he’d have to. His father would have eyes there, and withholding the information would only get him into more trouble. Telling him, however, went fine. He didn’t race off to the store; instead, just berated him for doing something so foolish.
But the cause of the panic was a message. Something in that note sent him into a rage, and he stormed out of the house. But as Aiden entered the study, the message was gone. The messenger stood there, pale.
“Where is the message?” Aiden asked.
“He took it. I was supposed to see it destroyed, but he took it with him.” The messenger seemed to be internally panicking.
“What did the message say?” Aiden tried to ask, knowing full well that messengers rarely knew the content. The best ones didn’t ask questions.
“I don’t know, but it was important that it’s destroyed.”
Aiden was pacing the foyer, waiting for his father’s return, when an icy chill ran down his spine. Then a pressure unlike he had ever felt in his entire life caused his knees to buckle as he fell to the floor.
Servants around him had all collapsed and were clearly unconscious, while his own vision grew dark. He saw green…
Two bright emerald-green eyes.
Then darkness.