Joryn - 25

## Paying the Piper

I sat down on the floor in the corner of a secluded room of the tower, contemplating what we had inadvertently helped to set in motion. The Pretender had "rewarded" us by eclipsing the sun, releasing destructive blasts of darkness on the Napolite and Rivillian camps, and marching his undead armies against them. He has since returned and is now listening to my Vanguard comrades appeal for a ceasefire on behalf of our opponents.

True, the Napolite and Rivillian armies had been against us, but most of them were unknowing puppets, not actual enemies. Attacking them unnecessarily would only vilify us and make it harder to enlist them in the future. The Pretender is clearly using us at our expense; I think he knows and even intends it. For that reason, and many others, I had little desire to remain for the discussion.

"Amaron," I reached out with my mind. "You were sufficiently aware of me so as to provide a warning about a dark master. It appears that I've failed to heed it. Now he tries to make himself into a god and claims you to be his only rival."

Not surprisingly, I heard and felt nothing. "Amaron, if I have the power to help myself, my friends, and posterity, then give me the knowledge that I need that I might use it to our favor. Introduce me to those 'beings' of the universe that I might learn from them; or make me your mouthpiece and use me to relay what might best serve us; or at least send someone from the island in the center of the sea to educate us. Something. Provide me with something that I might rise above my circumstances."

Either Amaron couldn't hear me or he saw no reason to respond. Likewise, if any divine heard me, I was little different from everyone else with vain pleas and prayers. More begging and whining would do me no good. If I were to find peace, then it'd have to be because I created it.

## Capitulation

"Joryn." I heard a voice enter my mind. It was Vargath. "You should return to the council room. The Father of the Eternal Night has Kaelib under a spell and is forcing him to truthfully answer any of our questions."

"What? What instigated this?"

"Kaelib told the Lyth about Precious. Now the Father is demanding retribution."

"He betrayed our ally to the Lyth?!" I knew that Kaelib was opposed to the Pretender, but this seemed too far and foolish even for him. "Were I in the Father's position, I'd call for an execution."

"Thanks for your help." Vargath sounded dissatisfied with my response.

"I don't understand. What would you expect me to do?" Did Vargath not see the severity of the offense and the danger that Kaelib may have invoked against the Vanguard? We're lucky that the Pretender was able to trace it back to an individual rather than blame us collectively.

"You've known Kaelib the longest. I figured that you'd have some questions for him."

I took the bait and returned to the council room. Inside, I found the Pretender sprawled out on one of the council chairs, Kaelib standing before him as if at trial. Vargath and many others were also in the room, actively questioning our guilty comrade.

My questions didn't reveal much beyond what the others had already asked. Kaelib seemed to have no intentions of betraying us. Not to the Broker, who is supposedly a Lyth and for whom he was an active spy, not to Leopold, to whom he still owed an open-ended favor, and not to anyone else. He appeared committed to ending the Lyth threat. Unfortunately, the Pretender still called for punishment.

Kaelib was given three options: death, servitude, or surrendering one of his children. After a long and stubborn resistance, he finally opted for the latter; his unborn child.

The Pretender was ecstatic. "I will tell her every day that you *gave* her to me."

I was disgusted, both with the Pretender and Kaelib. Determined to obtain a different sentence—and perhaps eliminate the wildcard, Kaelib—I turned towards the Pretender. "If I kill him now, will you allow Jezebel to keep her child?"

Everyone looked my way, seemingly surprised at my question. "Well, yes. I only placed my claim upon him because you, the Vanguard, seemed unwilling to do so yourself."

I drew my sword and walked towards Kaelib. He looked back at me, searching for something to say, and raised his shield. I lunged forward and swung for his neck, my attack easily blocked by his shield.

"You can't pretend to know why I made the choice that I did!" Kaelib shouted as he attempted to strike my weapon hand.

I dodged away and darted around him, trying to strike him from his non-shield side, but found no opening. "Shut up! I'm doing this for Jezebel, not you!"

An arrow was suddenly released from Vera's bow and struck Kaelib in the face, immediately rendering him unconscious. The fight was over.

I leaned over Kaelib's body, pulled the coif from off of his head, and took him by the hair. Hesitating, I looked up towards Vargath with hopes that he might have an alternative solution. He said nothing. Then I glanced around at everyone else. "Does anyone have a better idea?"

The room was silent, everyone's attention on me and Kaelib. I could almost hear my heart beating. Sighing, I finished the job. I suppose he wouldn't be assisting me in an assassination in a faraway desert after all. My ally—or enemy—was dead.

## Assumed Will

Following his death, I did what was necessary to prevent Kaelib from being revived as one of the undead. It was a trivial gesture for our forsaken comrade, but it was the least that I could do for him. That, and I suppose that I could deliver his estate and belongings to his family, not that he cared much about their fate in life. His ring, of course, would need to be returned to Vargath.

Once I was done removing his personal effects and setting them with his pack, Lagreth took my work a step further and began to incinerate him.

"Perhaps we should keep his ashes and valuables for Jezebel." I said solemnly to those watching the cremation. I then turned and left the room, leaving the matter largely to Lagreth and Vera's will.

## Exploring with Rhyzal

The Pretender eventually ceased his attack on the opposing armies. Emissaries were then called for to begin negotiations between all concerned parties. Neither interested in nor feeling needed for such affairs, I opted to take a break and spent the rest of the day with Rhyzal.

Rhyzal asked that I show her around the city and so that's where it began. I was a terrible guide, largely inexperienced with cities and only somewhat familiar with this one. Fortunately, what we did and where we went didn't appear to be much of a concern. She seemed content to converse as we explored, frequently finding interest in our surroundings. She pointed out things that I don't think I ever would have cared to notice.

"Now that the battle is over, do you intend to return to recruiting?" I asked, steering the conversation towards her plans.

"I hadn't really thought about it."

"Will you, then, remain here in disguise?"

"I'm not sure." She looked towards the ground.

"Are you not concerned that your father will eventually find out? It seems inevitable."

"He never stopped my mother from fighting!" Rhyzal countered, looking back at me.

"Is your mother the one that taught you to fight?"

"Yes." Rhyzal paused for a moment, but still looked as if she had something to say. "I'm a shield maiden." Her eyes seemed to look beyond me as she spoke.

"Where is your mother?" Having only seen her father, I wondered if her mother had died and that was why he was so protective.

"She's in Yorland with my siblings." Rhyzal gestured for my map. "I have six." She then pointed to where her family lived.

I was a little surprised at her response. Why is Lothar away from most of his family and why did he bring only his daughter with him? "Are you the oldest?"

"I have an older brother." She said nonchalantly.

I was even more confused now. "Why did your father leave Yorland and only bring you with him?"

"He believed that working with the Vanguard would help protect Yorland from the Lyth. I wanted to come, too, so my mother made him agree to bring me."

"And you became a recruiter?"

"Yeah, that was the only way that he'd agree." She allowed a short lull and then shifted the conversation towards me. "Where's your family?"

"They're dead."

"Oh?!" Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!"

I proceeded to tell her about my family, focusing primarily on my mother and a little on my younger brother. I didn't mention my father or elder brother.

We talked about many other things during our time together, including the Lyth threat. I wanted to know how open she would be to trying to find a peaceful resolution with them. I'm still not quite sure where she stands. She seemed to view them and their god as evil, but was also willing to concede that some might not have any ill will towards us. I left the matter unanswered.

## Private Councils

Earlier in the day, I had asked Vargath if we were going to have another meeting to discuss our plans, now that Kaliin was somewhat secure. I thought it wise to revisit the proposals made by the other members of the Vanguard council, address long-term goals, discuss short-term plans, and decide what to do with the captured nobility. I also wanted to speak with him privately about the books that I had originally had copied for Aaron.

I gave two of those books to Vargath, Asher's journal and the one that theorized about Jopec blood magic. I also asked him to give the book that analyzed mankind's loss of magic to Gobias, a Great One that seemed interested in restoring the Aingeal. I saved the last on historical locations for Selycia, hoping that it might open up new avenues to topics that she already understands.

The council that I had been anticipating occurred the following morning. In contrast to the open assembly back in the Xaileth ruins, the number of participants were quite few.

Curiously, Rhyzal was there and didn't seem to be trying to disguise herself from her father, who was also present. I later learned that she had confessed her secret to him after our date had ended the night before. Taking Vera's advice, which I had only just received, I selected the seat next to Rhyzal and immediately took her hand in mine. She reciprocated, even squeezing my hand for a moment. It sent a rush up my arm and into the rest of my body. It was a peculiar sensation; I liked it.

Vargath took charge of the meeting and announced that we would need to focus on establishing control over the city. He would research extending the area in which the Lyth could be identified while others would scour the city for any remaining Lyth, particularly the Broker. Lothar seconded the need to address the local Lyth threat and specifically called me out as one who should be involved, despite my apparent interest in seeking the Aingeal artifacts.

While I'm certainly still interested in obtaining the artifacts, the prospect seems less valuable. After all, we just gave up an Aingeal artifact that no one seemed to understand. How many artifacts do we have that provide us no value? How many do we have that we actually understand or utilize? What good have they done us?

I'm also not keen on the idea of hunting Lyth. Our methods have, too often, placed us into their hands. We're constantly fighting at a disadvantage. But how can we seize the initiative without it backfiring? They know so much about us and we so little about them; they are the kings of the long game. What strategy can we employ to counter the momentum that they've created?

I've been caught up so much in the current, that I've neglected the few resources that I obtained from the island. I can't say that I expect much, but I should take a step back and study those books. It may also be wise to identify some more common means that we can employ against the Lyth. Armoring our mages might be a good place to start. That, and perhaps we could arm our soldiers with heavy crossbows and bodkin bolts. Surely, those will be far easier to manufacture and distribute than the rings would be.

There's also the matter of delivering the bad news to Jezebel. I had mentioned to Vera the prospect of delivering the news personally, but further consideration causes me to question the wisdom in such a move. I don't know where she is, the trip would take several months, it does nothing for our cause, the Lyth would likely be privy to our journey, and there's much to do here in the city.

## Leopold

Perhaps we should seek out Leopold. Such a maneuver could prove fatal, especially if he has resolved his differences with his brothers, but I believe humanity's reign is already unwinding. It's only a matter of time before the Lyth win, anyway; unless we were able to somehow upset all of their contingencies.

Leopold said that he had no interest in joining the Vanguard, but that's because he believes the order to be unwilling to pursue a peaceful outcome. If both parties could be persuaded and trusted, then we might be able to reconcile our differences; between humanity and Lyth, and perhaps even Dia and Namhaid.

Of course, Leopold would probably be more difficult to locate than Jezebel. Especially without his Lyth brethren catching wind of our intentions. Maybe the Great Ones can help us find him. And maybe we'll need to find a way to break, compromise, or disrupt the Broker's network.

The fate of the captured nobility remains to be determined. Perhaps we could leverage them, willing or unwitting, against the Broker. Unfortunately, they could just as easily be spies for him as for us. If we were to take such a risk, we'd want to make the best of it. They'd need to be carefully fed, both to make them useful to the Lyth but more particularly useful for us.

So many pieces to consider; Leopold, the Broker, the Pretender, the nobility, the artifacts, studying the books from the island, and better preparing ourselves for encounters with the Lyth, to name a few.