|
Eren is normally a quiet and peaceful month
set in the center of summer. The Taládan farmers
watch their crops grow and wish more rain would come. Herders
watch the younger animals find their way further and further
from their mothers. It is often too hot and humid for
serious work, so the cities are often filled with laborers
resting, waiting for the sun to move past noon. In the
mountains, the Ortor have plentiful food from berries and
roots andmore game than even they can hunt. For as many
years as most can remember, Eren had been pleasantly forgettable.
In year 653 DR, that would change.
On the third night for the vigil of Thr. Laérd
Luréu of Naddal, Jak stood reverently, quiet with his
thoughts. Upon the stone bier before him lay a fallen
thard, a commander of men in the battle waging in the borderlands
to the south. The man had fought and died in a kingdom
that officially ignored such valiant and noble efforts. This
place did not look kindly on the rewards and recognition offered
heroes in other city-states. Across the round chapel
room stood another man that Jak barely knew, but who was becoming
more and more important to his own growth with each passing
day. With solemn gaze the thardor kept his steely eyes
locked upon the form of his dead countryman. He too
was lost in deep thoughts, for in the last several days his
world had been changed for him because of the evil that Dammon
brought into his kingdom, the evil that he bore through the
world. Jak looked to brass censers and the fragrance
that wafted through the chamber and wondered why the frescoes
seemed to shimmer and the chest of the dead knight seemed
to move up and down, as if with breathing. Eréus
would later explain that the incense was called nuchru, but
he knew little more about it than its name.
In the dismal drizzle of the next afternoon
the group gathered to venture into the City. Dammon
sought a gem-merchant and with the exception of Tressta who
he invited (for his understanding of Taládan was incomplete)
the others chose to follow as well, armed to the teeth. Dammon
and Tressta soon found the shop of Lagam Orgamna, a Gnorm
lapidarist of exceptional skill. They talked at length
with the diminutive merchant who was exceedingly interested
in knowing where they had come by so many treasures but nervous
of talk about all things arcane (insisting that curses made
things "grow on you"). No one seemed
to question this leap of logic. He appraised some stones
and offered to look for more. After a time with
the lapidarist they travelled to the square where a strike
of lightning had struck a "stone" statue during
last night's storm. At the square fountain's center
stood the 3rd century statue of an Amran high priest, but
half her head and left shoulder had crumbled away revealing
a golden interior. Here Dammon met a child thief who failing
to pickpocket the chalky sorcerer ran away through the crowd.
When Jak gave chase, a cloud of yellow dust exploded
around the child and he continued his escape at unnatural
speed. Jak immediately abandoned his pursuit.
That night those of the Temple gathered in
the wind and rain at the ruined Observatory balcony to observe
the Emerald Splinter. At midnight a brilliant green
bolt lightning struck the Talàdan peninsula near the
feet of the Amran colossus. Everyone cheered and clapped
when the strike occured. All were please to have witness
this religious event. Only Zildara saw something different
but she did not mention it. Others later explained that
the Emerald Splinter occured on stormy nights when Mamra was
full. Still others explained that it was a sign of affection
from Dalásia to the goddess Amra. After mixing with
the excited people in the Temple for a bit, all eventually
found their way back to the bedchambers.
On the 13th, Dammon received word of an artisan
in the City that might aid him in his research on the bear-fur
boots he'd taken from the cache under the Tor'n Evalshat shipwreck.
Again, his request to be accompanied by Tressta was
met with enthusiasm by the rest of the group who were growing
antsy sitting around the Temple on these rainy days. So
gathering their cloaks about them, they were brought horses
and together rode to the western edges of the City of Taldàna.
Tressta led them to a rambling collection of inter-connected
cottages and sheds. The interior maze of rooms consisted
of three concentric regions; the outermost was a warren of
rooms filled with women spinning wool and other materials
while the middle region consisted of more spacious rooms where
a dozen or more men worked counter-balanced looms. The
central region was a simple cottage, where they were met by
the weaver's wife Treána, an old but pleasant woman
who plied them with sweet flower-tea and spiced shortbreads.
Tressta and Dammon were invited into a deeper room where
they met the chief artisan, Rel the Weaver. Rel explained
that he was working as fast as was possible on a commission
for the Temple, and that the next of the final two tapestries
would be done in the next year or two. When he spoke
to Dammon he positioned himself inches from his face so that
he could see who he was speaking with through his thick spectacles.
When shown the magic boots, he eventually rubbed their
interiors with a special oil that made writing characters
appear. This excited the old man and he was soon running
to and fro looking for a folding book. Returning with
the book he found what he was looking for and explained that
the boots were made in Juduth, a land far to the west. Furthermore,
he added with some prompting, that they would keep Dammon's
feet warm (as well as allow him to walk on snow and ice).
Thanking the old man for his time and his wife for her
hospitality, the group returned to the Temple where Jak joined
Eréus inside the walled grounds to practice his skills
of horsemanship.
On the following day of waiting for Tressta's
father to arrive in the City, Dammon and Tressta made it outside
the Temple without the full group's attending. They
returned to the shop of Lagam Orgamna and made arrangements
with the Gnorm to cut a fine smoky quartz for Tressta's brooch.
While there Dammon produced two ruby-like gems for the
small man's appraisal. Lagam looked at the twin gems
carefully and sweat grew on his brow. He claimed he
had never seen their likeness before and that they were in
all ways perfect to his eye. More curiously, he added
that they were identical to one another. Being paid
10d for his services he hazarded a guess of 500cr each, a
figure that made the small man squirm and his heart to miss
beats. When Dammon explained that they had arcane properties,
the small man consoled himself with the thought that he'd
been fooled by their magic and that no stones looked that
good, and these were likely glass. When asked if he
travelled much, Lagam looked startled and responded that the
"experience of travel" changed a person, and that
was something he'd just as well avoid. Thanking him
for his help, Dammon and Tressta continued to two arcanist
shops. The first shop was run by twin tall men with
brooding expressions and low voices, named Vajar and Varg.
The two had the unsettling habit of finishing one another's
sentences, and seemed eerily interested in all matters of
unclean merchandise. On the good side, they seemed as
knowledgeable as they were creepy. A second arcanist's
store introduced the shoppers to a maimed alchemist name Jurtas
who offered to look around for a blue crystal to replace the
broken stone in Dammon's staff. More importantly, the
alchemist showed them rat-skulls packed with a yellow powder,
that when crushed imbued the bearer with enhanced speed. After
Dammon bought three of these (remembering the young thief's
trick of days before) the alchemist warned that the dust cloud
produced should probably not be breathed.
On the following day, the prisoner Lord Drynsval
arrived in the City of Taldàna surrounded by an escort
of guards. Tomach Drynsval is brought in a beaten condition
before a judge and told that he will be held indefinitely
until the matter is resolved. it is further mentioned
that his wife, Gwendin is en route to Taládan and that
when she arrives the trial will be rejoined.
That same night, the group were roused from
their evening activities within the Temple to witness great
fires along the harbor-line in the City below. There, moored
to the piers several ships stood sheathed in towering flames,
from which sparks and burning ashes rose into the air and
settled among the buildings all around. Leaving the
Temple, the group raced down to the harbor-front to find throngs
of people watching the ships burn. Some knotted around
the bodies of killed watchmen and sailors and talk indicated
that a gang of arsonists were moving east along the harbor-front
setting ships to flame. During their pursuit of the
unseen gang, they stopped at one knot of onlookers when they
heard that the injured man might still be living. Jak pushed
people of the crowd aside as Zildara crouched by the wounded
man's side. He had a deep chest wound that she wove a minor
heal upon. While the spell sank into his wounds to mend
the worst of his injury she noticed that his skin was a dull-purple
and that he was hairless. Following this good deed,
they rushed further along the shoreline until they came to
the last burning ship, but caught no sight of the arsonist
gang. Many times they stopped and asked about their
weapons, but nothing came of it. They did learn that
a mob found one man who being accused of fire-setting was
cornered into an alley and beaten to within a hair of death,
when the authorities arrived the mans ribs where busted and
his jaw smashed. If he was a member of the gang, he
would be speaking no time soon. As the group returned
along the dock-sides they found many gathered people helping
others out of the harbor. In all this night, eleven
ships were burned to the waves and an unknown number of people
died with their vessels. Three buildings (including
one tavern) had also caught fire but enough people had been
on hand to quench those flames.
Come morning it was also learned that an attempt
had been made on Tomach's life. One guard had been grievously
wounded by a man wielding two swords, but others had fought
him off. More guards had been posted around his cell.
Slowly the people of the City of Taldàna were coming
to feel more and more under siege as more and more soldiers
were being placed in public places. Dammon on this day
received word that the printing guildhouse of Boronon had
also burned down on a night days prior, following an investigation
into the tale of Eryvek that he'd shared with High Lady Elesea
XI. There were no details in the report indicating that
lives had been lost in that event, but it did mention that
the pulp and paper would burn for days.
In the days to follow, Dammon would return
to the shop of Vajar and Varg and purchase from them a fine
black crystal which could be fitted to his staff for 30cr.
In exchange for this, he offered them three wyvern scales,
an aquamarine, and an orm instead. Seeing the orm, the
twins greedily accepted the trade. Later that
evening, Tressta visited her father briefly in his barrack's
dungeon cell, but the old man would not look at his daughter
or respond to her words. Following this a Temple attendant
informed the group that a ship had arrived at port from Ildùun
this day and that the captain was interested in returning
at monthturn. The group found the captain at a tavern
that evening hiring sailors for the return trip. The
captain was burly fellow with a large voice and a bristly
beard who would only drink his ale from a silver cup. He
took immediate fancy to Tressta, and spent the remaining conversation
staring at her. They learned that he had moved wine,
cheeses, and horses from Ildùun and was looking to
take supplies back. In the meantime he'd fired some
of his crew, learning that more experienced and desperate
men might be looking for jobs in this port, following the
burning of their ships. The evening was mostly pleasant except
for Tressta, who felt more and more uncomfortable as the hours
passed.
The next day was the 19th and on that day a
carriage arrived from Evermith carrying the frail mother of
Tressta, Lady Gwendin. When Tressta met with her mother,
having been away these last seven, her mother's first questions
were of Tallyssa who Tressta explained she was looking for.
Tressta found her mother much more bitter than she remembered
before her leaving Evermith, and was little surprised that
her mother saw much of their ensuing hardships as a result
of Tressta's choice. She explained to Tressta that the
kind and charitable mister Dassur had supported them these
many years, with only his love for Tressta and his wish to
regain and marry her keeping him strong these many years.
She seemed displeased at the news that Tomach had been
brought into town under arrest but would say little more until
tomorrow's trial.
On the way to the trial, Dammon picked-up his
staff with its newly fitted stone and Tressta picked up a
new crystal for her brooch. When the trial started, the judge
called forth Lady Gwendin who immediately began to tell her
tale of an undutiful daughter, a maligned father, and the
kind man who had supported their family when their daughter
ran away. Others brought before the court explained
that Lord Drynsval had been involved in shady business dealings
with others in the City which led to the eventual collapse
of his business contacts, and precipitated his family's decline
into great debt. Lady Gwendin explained that Tressta's
marriage to Sered Dassur would have "saved" the
family as the man was a well-to-do importer. She also
admitted under questioning as to the effectiveness of this
planned marriage, to the surprise of the judge, that her eldest
daughter, who had married well and did not need money, would
be illegitimized so that Tressta and her husband would inherit
the estate in her stead. This was the agreement they
had arranged with Sered Dassur before her departure. The grief
they suffered when she left was reason enough for the actions
he might have taken to regain her.
Following Gwendin's testimony, letters were
produced as evidence. The first was a letter that Gwendin
had intercepted day before her husbands arrest. The
letter was obstensibly from Sered Dassur and read that Tressta
had been spotted at the opera (i.e. Rape of Taldàna)
and that their plans had been put in place as arranged. Gwendin
explained that she had mixed feelings about this letter at
the time and had not given it directly to her husband. She
regretted that she had failed him in this. Following
this, a guard was brought forward with a sealed letter that
the guards had intercepted while Tomach was at business in
Evermith the day he was to be arrested. Seeing the seal
on this letter the judge adjourned the court for some hours
until a court herald could be brought to the table. The
herald recognized the seal as Saranthi at which point the
courtroom grew very loud with speculation. Opening the
letter, the judge read aloud, "Lord Drynsval / It is
done / There was some resistance and there is one unaccounted
for / The package should arrive in three days / It is good
to feel success after so long / Make the proper arrangements
and let us finish this / When things have settled I will return
to Drynsval and make good our deal / Your associate."
Trials in Taládan (and most Dekàlan
cities) are public affairs, this was no different. Whereas
most people only attended when there might be some humiliating
punishment (not uncommon) or a death (rare by Talàdan
courts), they would also flock in great numbers when the wealthy
were brought to the table. There are few greater joys
for the poor it seems than spitting and heckling those who
up until recently, were more fortunate. Jak,
true to his roots, found pleasure in this too, though without
his knowing, his thard mentor looked on very dissapprovingly.
When Jak spit into the old man's ear, Eréus turned
and left. Dragged to the front of the room, Tomach was
held between two guards to be questioned and hear the charges
against him. To the judge's questions Tomach answered
that he had met Sered in the course of his business dealings
in the City and that he believed Sered to be a textile importer.
When told that Sered was Saranthi, Tomach's mouth gaped
wide and he pleaded with the court that he did not know. The
crowd would have none of this, shouting "Liar!"
and "Treasoner!". The judge made two things clear
before adjourning. The first was that Tressta was free, for
she had remained outside her father's custody for one year
and one day, and that due to this Tomach had no further controls
over her. Secondly, if it was found that Tomach knew
that Sered was indeed an enemy-of-the-kingdom, a request would
be sent to the High Lady for his execution. With that
the room grew very quiet, waiting for Tomach to end this day's
trial. Choking on his words, Tomach uttered the traditional
closing to the judge, "You are most wise and fair."
The crowd erupted with yelling and taunting.
|
