Since this night had started, nothing had gone Alecia’s way. It started with the avenue; It was her fault those people died, and the faces of that girl and her mother haunted her. Damn it, if I only came up with a safer plan, or waited for a better opportunity, maybe things would have gone differently… And since they got into the house, things went from bad to worse. Their chances were slim to begin with and losing lord Bayle to the Chimera was terrible luck… Alecia needed time to collect herself, but calming Brennan took priority.
“Sir Brennan, please calm down! We are better than this,” said Alecia.
“I will not calm down!” yelled Brennan, his voice echoing through the empty hallway. “I will have his head!”
“Please, lower your voice,” Alecia said. “We cannot have people downstairs hear us fight. It will cause even more chaos.”
“Perhaps you are right, but this will not be the end of it.”
“And what does that mean?”
“You allowed that… that… impudent infant to insult me and now you want me to calm down? And… Let me guess… I should just forget about it and pretend it did not happen?” Brennan said, his eye twitched.
He was right. Tynan overstepped, and Alecia let him, because of her dislike of Brennan. She was as ignorant and childish as Tynan, and she should have known better. Alecia dreamed of getting her command, but even she, in her wildest dreams, could never imagine it would come about in this manner. She was not ready for it and the exchange in the study proved it. Had this happened in Bastion, they would have hanged Tynan for insulting the nobility and punished her for failing to execute him on the spot.
“No! Of course not! It was my fault for not stopping him.” Alecia answered. It did not feel good lowering herself in front of this brute, but she needed to restore some semblance of order in this group.
“I do not care whose fault it was; I want that pet of yours caged.” Brennan sneered, gesturing towards the study. This was going nowhere. Alecia realized pleasant words wouldn’t persuade this man.
“You are right. It seems I was far too lenient with you all.” Alecia said.
“You…”
“I hope you take your own advice and choose your next words carefully, sir Brennan.” Alecia interrupted him. “Now, let us go downstairs and talk like adults.”
Alecia and Brennan walked down the opulent staircase in silence. Down there, men were boarding windows with pieces of broken antique tables and chairs, women carried water and cloth to injured; many of whom were already beyond saving. Alecia saw the blood smeared over the polished marble floor and drenched exquisite carpets. Injured were being tended to with expensive cloth and silk, and used bandages covered priceless statues. And amid all that chaos, there was a young woman. She had long braided brown hair and honeyed eyes that Alecia could swear sparked golden even within the Shroud’s deep crimson. The young woman’s purple, fine silk-woven dress was torn to her knees; pieces likely used to dress the wounded. She did not notice it at first, but now Alecia felt an ethereal presence about her. She was like a calm in the middle of a storm. No wonder they sent us to escort her.
“Miss Saige,” Alecia called to the young woman.
“Lady Alecia,” the young woman looked up and came to meet them at the bottom of the stairs. “What can I help you with?”
“What is the situation here?” Alecia asked.
“We got most of the people patched up. Well, as best as we can, there are only three of us here with any medical experience. Everybody is helping, even the kids,” Saige answered. It was clear to Alecia that the townsfolk felt genuine fear, but no panic. Everybody carried out their assignments as if they had been trained in the Academy. Saige did well for a civilian, exceedingly well.
“But your house is…” Alecia looked around and the only thing that wasn’t turned over or ripped out was the parquet.
“It doesn’t matter,” Saige said with determination. “We need to get through this, any way we can.” Alecia would have a hard time naming another noble or wealthy merchant family who would do this for the common folk. Even Cathal paid little attention to the state of the manor. Strange family, truly.
“I gave jobs to occupy them, my Lady,” Saige said. “You give them hope.”
“You are right,” Alecia looked down, then at Brennan. “We all need to give our best.” Alecia now knew what she needed to do. “I’m sorry to pull you away from your duties any longer, but can you please check on Cathal and Tynan in the study,” Alecia said.
“Why? Did something happen? Did those two do something?” Saige looked at Alecia, inspecting her face for a reaction.
“No, everything is fine,” Alecia forced a smile. “Sir Brennan and I just needed to talk in private. Is there any room here we can use?” Alecia asked.
“There is a living room down there on the left. No one is there at the moment. But…” Saige looked at the barricaded windows. “You will have a hard time finding something to sit on…”
“We do not mind, thank you,” Alecia responded, and Saige ran upstairs.
“Shall we, sir Brennan?” Alecia asked and pointed towards the door. People bowed as Brennan and Alecia passed them. Alecia gave them a slight nod in return, and Brennan unenthusiastically followed her example. She noticed children’s eyes full of admiration fixed on her. Saige was right; Alecia and her men were a glimmer of hope for these people. She could not let them down, not again, no matter what.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The heavy ornamental door she pushed opened to a desolate room, not a trace of luxury left except for gray sand-textured walls. With Shroud’s effects, the room looked like inside of pristine ruby, with a few beams of light cracking through boarded windows. It was bizarre to think that this was a normal living room just a few hours ago. Even those ancient outposts had cobwebs and a few dusty things to look at. It was awkward to start a conversation with nothing in the room to orient oneself, but it had to be done. Alecia took a deep breath and was about to talk, but Brennan went first.
“You are right, my Lady,” Brennan lowered his shoulders. “Fighting amongst ourselves, then seeing those people outside, I… I felt shame.” Alecia looked at him. She knew what he meant, but it still took her by surprise to hear him say it out loud. Maybe now he will listen.
“I understand,” Alecia said. “But it is not too late for us to do something about it.”
“True, but my opinion has not changed. That tower could be… Will be our death,” Brennan said. “Call me a coward for saying it, but I will not blindly go there to meet it.” He was right. There were too many unknowns, but it was a risk she was willing to take. It was our only chance to save these people. Taking so many people to the gate would be impossible, and more would join us on the way to the gates. She knew, as did Brennan, that a large group would attract monsters. What was he thinking? To sneak out? People would follow them even if they told them to stay. She learned that the hard way.
“I will not call you such, but you know, if we tried to leave for the gates, people would follow us. And if they did, so would all the monsters,” Alecia said. “That seems to be an even greater guarantee of death. Would you not agree?”
“So, we are stuck here,” Brennan sighed. “I apologize, my Lady, I was mistaken.”
“I apologize as well,” Alecia said. A long silence fell upon the room until the knock on the door broke it.
“Who is it?”
“Saige, my Lady. May we enter?” Saige asked. We? I hope Tynan is not with her. Alecia calmed Brennan down, but calming the two of them at the same time seemed more far-fetched than getting to the tower.
“Enter,” said Alecia in a hushed tone. Saige entered the room, and Tynan stood behind her like a child who stole a candy. Brennan’s face turned red as soon as he saw them.
“You!” Brennan yelled.
“Please,” Saige interrupted. “This fool has something to say, don’t you Tynan?” Saige shot a cold, stern gaze at Tynan, and he lowered his head even further than it was before. Like a mother with her child… Alecia tried to contain her laughter, but a chuckle had escaped her. She sure is something.
“I apologize, my Lady!” Tynan said, then turned to Brennan and bowed. “I was being a fool, sir Brennan. Forgive me.”
“We were both fools, young man. I apologize as well.” Brennan lowered his head as he spoke. “We both need to do better.” These two apologized to each other. Alecia thought it was a miracle. No, it is a miracle. Alecia was sure of it.
“How do we proceed?” Brennan asked.
“Cathal came up with the plan. He is waiting for us upstairs,” Saige answered.
***
Cathal cleaned the mess in the study as best as he could before others arrived. Saige pestered both Tynan and him into submission. She had him clean this whole mess by himself and dragged Tynan down to apologize. A few books were still lying on the floor, and he crouched to pick them up.
“So many fun nights reading these: Monsters of the Shroud, The Lost Expedition, Rampage of the Mad God, Origins of the Fallen…” he murmured while shuffling through the books until he stopped on one.
Ah, the story of Saint Seydenna and her miraculous healing touch. Mother read it to me and Saige every night when we were children. He stood up and as he inspected the cover, a smile manifested on his face. He remembered the bright, smiling face of little Saige trying to convince him how Seydenna was amazing and awesome, and how she would be just like her when she grew up. Even now, after all these years, Saige would compare her life to this book. Saints and heroes… High standards to set for yourself. He might have had those a long time ago, but now, if you asked Cathal, he would say it’s better to have lower expectations for your life and not be disappointed. He learned that the hard way. Cathal sat down in his father’s chair and placed the book on the desk. A bit of rest before others came. It wasn’t long before they did. Even Brennan was with them. Leave it to Saige to get Tynan to do the right thing.
“Cathal, I heard you have a plan to get us safely to the tower?” Alecia asked as soon as she entered.
“Yes, yes… One moment.” Cathal stood up, went to the right bookcase, and took the large scroll. He quickly spread it across the desk. “Look, this is the map of the old part of the town. This is where we are right now.” He pressed his finger on the ragged scroll and then moved it further to the right. “This is where the tower is.”
“And?” Alecia asked.
“Abandoned sewer tunnel connects close to the mountain’s base. We can use them to go there and back.”
“How close is the entrance from our side?”
“A few streets away, right here.” Cathal pointed to it.
“Can’t we use them to get to the town’s exit?” Brennan asked.
“I’m afraid it only leads to the mountain if we are lucky…”
“What do you mean?” Tynan joined in.
“The bad news is no one used them for decades. I can only guess in what condition they are in.” Cathal answered. “Good news is that I found the key to the armory.” Cathal grinned as he took a key out of the pocket. “Inside are the best swords, crossbows, and armor money could buy, so we can arm a dozen men in the least. There are even some working relic pistols from my father’s collection.” Well, Cathal hoped they worked. If anything, there was no harm in finding out.
“What is our plan then, my Lady?” Brennan turned to Alecia.
“We should arm some men downstairs and have them help with the defense of the manor. Sir Brennan, you will stay here and lead them. I will take a small team and get to the tower. Cathal, how long will it take us to go there and back?”
“With all that is happening, two to three hours?”
“Good, and if we don’t come back by then or something else happens, sir Brennan, you are to take as many people as possible and try to break through.”
“Why take such a risk? That tunnel might be blocked.”
“It might be, but it gives us the highest chance,” Alecia said. “We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” That was a sentiment Cathal could stand behind. Now the only thing left was to choose who would go, and that was no simple task. Few would.
“We should start with the preparation at once,” Alecia continued. “We have no time to waste.”
“Wait…” Tynan said. “You all forget that the tower wasn’t in use for years, so the transmitter might not function, and if it doesn’t, Kastien is the only one who can fix it,” Tynan added. “And I don’t think he will be back on his feet anytime soon.” Everybody silently looked at each other. That didn’t cross Cathal’s mind at all. It seems they were back to square one. Damn it…
“Well… That is not exactly true.” Alecia said as she picked up the book Cathal left on the desk. “We can do something about Kastien, right, Miss Saige?”
“What do you mean?” Cathal looked puzzled.
“Our mission, the reason we came to this town in the first place,” Alecia answered. “Miss Saige, go to Kastien and I will explain everything to them.”
