All around them the dwarves started to pull out personal lights, fighting against the encroaching darkness as the light from the world above slowly faded. Trenton however, hesitated, his mind returning to Harvir’s warning. If they were not paying enough attention to their canaries, then there was a real threat of death. And with how bright some of the personal lights were, it was questionable whether Trenton would notice at all if his canary were to go out. But it wasn’t like he could very well go without sight, not with the mission they were embarking on. He’d just have to be very careful and check it every now and then. Easy.
“Hey, Garrote. Now might be a good time to explain to everyone why you were already at the tower when we got there,” Karfice said, laying down on the ground and splaying out, the dwarves around him carefully stepping away so as not to accidentally knock against his bubble.
Garrote fidgeted in place, avoiding eye contact with Trenton and Kiva, “...I was trying to kill him…but I didn’t realize he had a new guard. He’s not a fighter himself, but with enough money, I guess that’s not really a problem.”
“Cou-” Kiva hesitated, her face contorting and twisting together as she tried to find the right words, “You said…why…”
“You said wheel sold you into slavery. Why?” Trenton asked, finishing Kiva’s thought for her.
“Money. Why else? It’s all Wheel really cares about. It’s also what landed me in that prison. I’d stopped in Wyrm’s Perch, planning to lay low for a while, but I guess I doubted how deep his connections reach. He managed to find me, tricking me into walking right into a trap under the pretense I’d get a chance to make things up with mother and father, and I fell for it, like a damned…fool. Like a damned fool. I don’t know who they were, but I was ambushed, captured, and sent to the prison you met me in for holding until the Collector arrived,” Garrote said, eyes staring off into the darkness.
“Collector? The Collector?” Kiva shouted, practically jumping at Garrote, pressing her bubble against his to get as close as possible to his face as she could.
“Yes. Like I said, I don’t know what connections Wheel has, but it’s clear he’s been operating in some dirty sectors.”
“Who’s the collector? Never heard of him before,” Karfice asked from the ground, his head lolling over to look between Kiva and Garrote.
“The most infamous slaver the world over. So the stories go, no one has ever seen them and no one knows who they are. The only thing that’s for certain is that they have close connections with the demon of the west. They alone are the reason that Lagasia is considered the slave capital of the world. The operation is unfathomably massive,” Garrote explained.
“But then, why you? If the Collector was coming to collect you personally, then that means you qualify as special stock,” Kiva asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Special stock? I’m sorry, but could you dumb the lingo down just a little. I’m lost,” Karfice asked.
“Right, sorry. The Collector runs the largest slave trade as a figure head, but they’re only personally responsible for the ‘big game.’ Apparently, they like to track down and ‘collect’ targets of particular interest, keeping them as personal slaves in some sort of secret facility. They’re known as special stock. An old enemy of mine was actually labeled as special stock many years ago, haven't seen him since. You though? A human? And one already captured for him?” Kiva asked.
“A human with a very special quirk. It must be my card that he wants,” Garrote said, a solid plink sounding out as he knocked against the magical card in his chest, “Why he wants mine specifically, I’m not sure, but the Maiga name is an…influential one. None of you are from Lagasia, so you wouldn’t know it, but anyone born there would.”
“Who exactly are your parents, Garrote? In fact, what is your family? Why are you born with a card in your chest?” Trenton asked.
“Those are all long and complicated questions. We haven’t nearly enough time to answer that,” Garrote replied.
“Summarize it then,” Karfice shrugged. “Give us the synopsis.”
Garrote paused, considering the request for a moment, holding up a finger as he counted off each question, “...close friends with the family of kings that have run Lagasia for millenia. Children of Loarch, and…children of Loarch.”
They all sat in stunned silence, staring at Garrote, their mouths spiritually agape, “...the stag? That is one messed up family tree,” Karfice said, actually sitting up. Loarch? Loarch the Day Maker? One of the three great divines that ranked even above the 14 gods? It was a joke. It had to be.
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Garrote shook his head, “The nuance has been lost over time, but effectively the Maiga family is the only mortal family with an association to one of the three great divines. Mother and father always said we were his children, but that version of the story feels…embellished. The only one who might know for certain is Tower, but…” Garrote shivered, clutching his sides, “...nevermind. Anyways, the point is the Maiga family is fate bound. And unlike everyone else, we get a clue as to what that fate is. It’s…a curse, really. I hate it. But it’s my life, the only one I’ve got. I imagine the Collector just liked the idea of having a Maiga, but options are pretty limited. Most are under protection of the king himself, and the rest are heaps of stacked problems, each and every one. Wheel has connections that keep him protected. Sun, Death, and Hanged Man are…were too well hidden. Tower…” Garrote closed his eyes, taking a second to steel himself, some unknowable memory flashing behind his eyes, “...would rip the Collector into thousands of bite size pieces. But I…was defenseless.”
Kiva looked over at Trenton, sending him a private message while Karfice continued the conversation with Garrote, “Tower, it sounds familiar. Do you know why Garrote is so scared of him? What does the card mean?”
Trenton dug back into his memory, remembering the old deck he used to have as a kid. He knew the tower was a bad card most of the time, one he always hated drawing, but he just couldn’t remember why. He could even see the picture clear as day in his head. That simple stone tower, struck with lighting, on fire, the people jumping out. Yet, it just wasn’t-
“Destruction. It means destruction, sudden upheaval,” Trenton said, the foggy definition in his mind finally clicking into place. “Which means disaster either keeps happening to him, around him, or…” Trenton trailed off.
“...he causes the destruction. And given Garrote’s reaction, that’s probably what he is–destruction incarnate,” Kiva finished, her brow knitting together.
“Which means if he sees fit to hunt us down at any point, it’s over, no question…don’t mention this to Garrote. I’ll find a time to bring it up with him later to make sure I can work out some sort of plan. For the time being, just forget about it. You don’t need something else to worry about.”
“Trenton YOU don’t need another thing to worry about. Are you even hearing yourself?”
“I know, but this is important. It’s not something I can just forget, nor is it something I can delegate out. I’ll see to it personally. It’s the only way I can guarantee our safety. And when I get an answer, I’ll let you know. For the time being, however, don’t bring it up to anyone. I’d like to keep panic low.”
Kiva looked at him, her eyes pleading, “Promise?”
“Promise,” Trenton assured her, tuning back into Garrote and Karfice’s conversation.
“-really sure. We did see that one giant in Zerital, but that’s it. Not one since. Seems odd,” Garrote said.
“Well, if they’re truly running towards Dasellium, then it makes perfect sense. The Final Spire is nearly on level with Dasellium. Not to mention we’re too far north at this point to be seeing many giants roaming around. All the giants up here are either gone, hunted, or hiding,” Karfice replied.
“I thought giants were supposed to be territorial?” Garrote asked, confused.
“No, they’re actually quite shy. That’s what makes their sudden spasm west so weird. Giants hate interacting with other races. They’re like the spirits of the mountains. You’re thinking of the omel, a subspecies of base giants. They’re much less intelligent, and much more aggressive. Regardless, whatever is going on, I say we try to avoid it. It’s bad news bears on the best of days.”
“Haven't the giants lived in the mountains for ages? Why now?” Kiva asked, finally composed enough to join their conversation.
“They have. Giants aren't just incredibly powerful, they’re also docile, practically harmless. No one’s really bothered them long as humans have been around. I have a feeling it might have to do with the Veil. If the 5th veil is able to control Kullisates like Walibeld said, it’s possible that he could control the giants to storm Dasellium, whatever the reason,” Karfice said, standing fully upright now, actually focused for once.
“Couldn’t be. The giant we saw by the spire wasn’t one under any sort of magic. Of that much I’m certain. This couldn’t be his doing,” Trenton said.
“...yeah, you’re right, I know you’re right, but the alternative is much worse,” Karfice said, taking a mental sigh.
“What do you mean? Do you know what it is?” Garrote asked.
“I don’t know, but I do have an idea. See, there’s an old wife's tale in the mountains about an ancient protector as old as the mountains themselves, a beautiful white dragon by the name of Thalian. Out of all the creatures in the mountains, fictional or otherwise, he’s the only one that I could see scaring away the giants. Only problem is it’s just a fairytale. Even in all my travels I’ve never met a sane person claiming they met Thalian. But if he really is real, and if the veil got to him…bad. It’s very, very bad. By legend, he’s nearly on the same standing as the elder beasts–the first son of the elder dragon. But I can’t imagine it’s more than just that, legend. Whatever is going on, it’s likely a lot more grounded in reality…probably something boring like politics.”
“First son of the elder dragon…sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Garrote said, staring Trenton down dead.
“Yeah, it does. A shame there aren't any lizards left to expand on that. I’m just surprised-”
A slight rumbling from above, almost imperceptible, and a shifting around the corners of his vision, Trenton could instantly feel something was wrong. But he couldn’t feel around them, there was too much dead space between himself and the ground, which meant the rumble from above was from the chain, connected to the rig, connected to the ground…
“Walls! They’re on the walls!” Trenton shouted in everyone’s mind, in an instant preparing himself to kill.