Game of the Ancients Vol I: Chapter 2

[masterghandalf]

Chapter 2: Plans and Complications

Thyra knocked once and then hurried into the small office without waiting for a response. The inside was cluttered, with scrolls, papers, and books scattered about (and in some cases weighted down by various historical artifacts), though Taras insisted he had a system and everything was exactly where he wanted it. Thyra wasn’t certain she believed that, though in her two years of studying under him, she’d never known him to actually lose any of his research materials.

Taras himself was seated behind his desk, deeply engrossed in a translation of some giant manuscript he’d unearthed several months ago on an expedition to Xen’drik. Taras – or, more precisely, Professor Taras Zanthan of Morgrave University – was an older man with a fatherly bearing. Though his hair and short beard had largely gone to grey, he remained fit and active and the dark eyes behind his spectacles were sharp. Thyra had met him after she’d first enrolled, and had taken him for just another benevolently stuffy faculty member – at least, until they day when he’d pulled her aside after lecture, regarded her solemnly with those piercing eyes of hers, and told her quietly that he knew the real reason why she was here, and that, wonder of all wonders, he wanted to help her.

They’d been conspiring together ever since.

Taras made no response when Thyra entered his office, being so deeply engrossed in his work. Finally, she shook her head, made up her mind, and cleared her throat loudly. The professor started, looked up at the young woman who was seating herself across from his desk, and smiled broadly.

“Ah, hello, child,” he said, adjusting his spectacles. “So, how did your meeting with the mercenary go? I take it from the fact that you’re not utterly distraught that she didn’t have you thrown out on the street, so that’s at least a start.”

“I think she considered it,” Thyra said ruefully. “I made the mistake of trying to use magic to persuade her, and it turns out Captain Len’s a bit of a dabbler; enough to recognize what I was doing, anyway. But I guess she needed the money pretty bad, because she ended up taking the job.”

“Wonderful news!” Taras said, smiling again and taking Thyra’s hand in both of his. “So, tell me, when do you leave?”

“I managed to talk her into leaving tomorrow,” Thyra said. “Though she wants me to meet her whole team before we set out. I think she just wants to make sure they’re all watching me – I’m pretty sure she didn’t believe me about my father and ir’Sarrin.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you’re funding this out of your own pockets. I’m not sure I deserve that kind of favor.”

“No favor is too large for a favorite student,” Taras said with a twinkle in his eye. “Besides, after some of my discoveries, I’m a man of no small means, and hiring the captain and her team is hardly going to ruin me. And it’s not every day that a Karrnathi brute stumbles onto a map from the depths of history – or that someone with your, ah, particular condition needs my help.”

“Thank you anyway,” Thyra said. “I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t decided to help me. But if this works out and I do manage to cure myself, well, the Flame only knows if I’ll ever be able to pay you back.”

Taras flinched slightly at that – he didn’t entirely approve of the Silver Flame, for reasons he’d never fully explained – but then he smiled again. “Don’t worry, child,” he said. “If I’m correct in my research – and, to be fair, I usually am – this artifact should be able to cure your condition. It’s lucky I was able to stumble onto a team who might be willing to take this job on. Tell me, did the captain seem suitable?”

Thyra shrugged. “Len’s irritable, sarcastic, and I don’t think she likes me that much, but she certainly seemed like she knew what she was doing, and I bet that hobgoblin of hers could break a warforged in half with his bare hands. The elf – Yhani, I think was her name – she creeped me out, I have to admit.”

“Elf?” Taras asked, suddenly intent. “A Valenar, or a Phiarlan or Thuranni?”

“Aereni, I think,” Thyra said, shaking her head. “I think she may have been some sort of priestess of their ancestors, from the way she talked.”

“Hmmm.” Taras pursed his lips thoughtfully. “You have to be careful around that one, child. The Undying Court doesn’t have the same motives as we brief mortals do, and they certainly have an interest in ancient history – not unsurprising, as many of them are ancient history. You don’t see their priests in Khorvaire often, especially not outside Aereni communities. I wonder what this one is up to? It probably has nothing to do with you, but still, be wary with her. You’ve come too far to fail now.”

“I know,” Thyra said quietly, making a fist so tight that her nails felt like they would soon draw blood. “This is what I have to do to save myself, Taras. Believe me when I say that I have every intention of seeing it through to the end.”

///

The lightning rail pulled into its stop at the Sharn station, electricity from its bound elemental crackling across its prow and then going still. Doors opened along its sides and passengers from across Khorvaire began to disembark, while those on the platform waited for them to pass so they could board themselves.

Two of the last passengers to leave the train were young man with dark hair and slightly pointed ears that indicated elvish ancestry and who carried a heavy pack, and a lean woman in a white hooded cloak. The two of them made their way through the crowd carefully, the woman drawing some stares from her choice of attire, but not as many as she might have in other places; this was Sharn, after all, and she was far from the strangest person most of them would have seen that day. The two travelers exited the station and stepped out into the twilit street. They came to a stop beside a nearby building, keeping well away from the walkway’s edge and the drop that lay beyond; there the woman pulled back her hood, revealing a stern, handsome face and blonde hair cut short.

“Well,” the half-elf said, glancing about. “Sharn. We’re finally here. I wish it could have been for a happier reason.”

“Believe me, Pitar, I know,” the woman said, pulling a map from her pouch and examining it carefully. “By the Flame, do you think I’m going to enjoy this? What sort of monster do you take me for? But it has to be done, and hopefully, done quickly.”

Pitar raised his hands in surrender. “I understand, Valyria.” He looked up at the sky. “Looks like it’ll be getting dark soon. I’d rather not go prowling around this place at night. What’s our next move?”

“We’ll find ourselves a place to stay for tonight,” Valyria said, “and then tomorrow, we start hunting. We’ll go to the university first; the man who gave me the tip said she’d been taking classes there. There’s one professor in particular she’s been hanging around; we’ll interrogate him, find out what she’s after, and then,” the woman’s fist clenched, “then we’ll catch her.”

“And hopefully,” Pitar added under his breath, “before it’s too late.”

Valyria fixed him with a cold look. “The Flame is with us; don’t worry about that. We will stop her before she can finish whatever evil she plans, no matter what it takes. I swear it.”

“So do I,” Pitar replied, and his companion turned her head away and pulled up her hood. But just before he did, he noticed that Valyria Entarro, Inquisitor of the Silver Flame, had the faintly shining line of a tear streaked along her cheek.

///

Len stood at the bedroom window of her small apartment, looking up at the moons that shown down from the night sky above Sharn. Sighing, she shifted her gaze downward, taking in the great towers and walkways, not as busy as during the day but still filled with people bustling about their business even at this late hour. The mercenary, still clad in her shirt and trousers but having taken off her cloak and unbraided her dark hair, crossed her arms as she regarded the scene intently, as though seeking for something that no one else could find.

A pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around Len’s waist from behind and she felt a familiar face resting itself against the side of her head and a body pressing itself against her own. “Is something troubling you?” Yhani whispered in her ear, before kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Len pulled away and turned to regard the elf; Yhani was wearing a thin, white nightgown that, when combined with her ivory skin and silvery-blonde hair, made her look like a sculpture carved from alabaster. There was always something otherworldly about the Aereni priestess, but standing here now, in the moonlight, seemingly washed of all color, that quality was magnified many times over. Len had known Yhani for nearly seven years, and still thought she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

“Normally,” Yhani said, a faint note of irritation creeping into her serene voice, “the sight of me dressed like this is rather more effective at getting your attention. Would you care explaining what exactly is on your mind?”

Len walked over to the bed and dropped down onto it; a moment later, Yhani slipped down beside her. “Oh, ‘Hani,” the captain muttered, “you always have my attention, believe me. It’s not you, it’s this job. That girl rubs me wrong, and it’s not just her magic. It’s not even the damned Emerald Claw, though that’s bad enough. There’s things she’s not telling us, I know it.” She shook her head. “Far be it for me to complain about other people keeping secrets, but… gods. I wish I’d told her to take her money and get out.”

“Len,” Yhani said, regarding her with serious eyes, “do you remember the day we met?”

Len snorted. “I’m pretty sure I punched you in the face. In my defense, I was tired and not seeing straight and in that creepy mask of yours I thought you were one of the Karrnathi’s abominations. Honest mistake.”

“And yet I love you anyway,” Yhani said, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Even if you cannot tell the difference between an undead Karrnathi warrior and a priestess in her ceremonial death mask. But my point is, you should not always judge someone by your first impression. I was watching that girl through the entire interview, and one thing was clear to me – she is afraid.”

“Yeah, she wants to go along on a mission to rob a Karrnathi nobleman who belongs to an organization of bloodthirsty fanatics,” Len said. “’Course she’s scared.”

“Oddly enough, she seemed to me to be least frightened when talking about ir’Sarrin and the Emerald Claw,” Yhani said. “No, she seemed most nervous to me right before she tried to use her magic on you.”

Len arched her brow. “What, you think she was scared of being found out?”

“Possibly,” Yhani admitted, “but I do not think she was frightened of you. I think she was afraid of the magic itself.”

“That’s insane,” Len said after a moment. “Magic’s everywhere, and it’s only as dangerous as the person wielding it. Kid’s in over her head and probably a liar, but she’s not some crazed wizard. In fact, I’d lay odds she’s not any kind of wizard; I think she’s a sorceress, though I’d need to go through her stuff and check for spellbooks to be sure. A sorcerer’s magic is just an extension of who they are – why would someone be afraid of that? It’s like being afraid of your arm!”

“I do not know,” Yhani replied, her tone thoughtful. “But whatever her motivation for lying to us, I think Thyra needs help.”

“’Hani, we’re mercenaries, not a charity,” Len grumbled. When Yhani fixed her with a sharp glare, the captain shrugged. “Okay, I’m a mercenary, you’re… you, something I don’t understand but am eternally grateful to have in my life. But my point is, my job is to get paid and make sure we all get out alive, not run around helping everyone who shows up at our door. I still can’t believe I let you talk me into keeping Havaktri, by the way.” She looked down at her hands. “I just don’t know what I should do.”

“Len, dear, I have known you for years and I know this – you are a better person by far than you pretend to be,” Yhani said. “And you never could resist a mystery. You will not be able to let this go, and my heart tells me that you will be glad you did not.” She leaned over and cupped Len’s face in her hands. “Now, then, my love, are you finally able to turn your thoughts towards more pleasant directions.” Leaning in, she planted a kiss firmly on Len’s lips.

Neither woman thought much more about their mysterious new client for some time.

///

So we learn about more about Thyra this chapter, specifically that she has patron (who was mentioned in passing last time) and that she’s trying to find a cure for… something. Her pitch to Len last chapter was largely a smokescreen, but we don’t know yet for what. She does want to get into ir’Sarrin’s fortress, but I think it’s fairly obvious by this point that recovering stolen property is not what’s on her mind.

We also meet some new players in this chapter in the form of Valyria and Pitar. Valyria’s an inquisitor, as in the Pathfinder class (and Pitar’s a paladin, not that he makes that obvious in this scene) and she’s going to be a secondary antagonist for this fic – note that I specify antagonist and not villain, because Valyria’s honestly trying to do that right thing as she perceives it, and however she tries to hide it, it should be obvious that she’s not happy about what she’s getting involved in. It’s probably no spoiler to say she’s after Thyra, but it’ll be awhile before we find out why.

Len and Yhani are lovers, obviously. When first planning out this story I’d envisioned them as having a close platonic friendship, but I quickly came to realize their arc was hitting all the emotional beats of a love story and decided to just go all in and make it one. They’ve been together for several years now, and though they don’t go out of their way to advertise it publicly, neither do they particularly bother to hide it, and everyone on their team is fully in the loop. The Len/Yhani relationship is really the emotional backbone of this fic series, should I ever manage to complete it, and I decided to go ahead and make it explicit right away. It’s not the only thing that defines them, though; they’ve both got secrets that are hinted at here, and which will be revealed down the line.

I've also included a picture of Valyria, made with the same generator I used for last chapter's characters:


-MasterGhandalf