“What the fuck was that?” Florencia exploded. She grabbed my shirt and held it so firmly that I could barely move. “I just cursed like a drunkard in front of the king and the crown prince.”
“Jonas, please tell me something good because I don’t know how long I can keep it together!” She had tears welling up in her eyes again and her lips trembled. “Tell me why you told them you did dark magic. Tell me what happened in that courtroom!”
“Rainier Pitties spoke to me,” I said, and I saw Florencia look up at me, tilt her head to the left, and furrow her brow. “One moment I was in the courtroom, and the next I was in a room of white light and Rainier was there and the king as well, but he was only listening and he couldn’t talk.”
Then I retold the entire conversation I had with Pitties, in as much detail as I could remember, holding nothing back. However, to my surprise, I seemed to forget many of the specifics as soon as I had spoken them out loud. As I spoke, Florencia listened attentively but kept herself busy by checking the equipment that was laid out on the wide bed. She inspected her mid-calf boots for any scratches or scoffs and carefully examined her longswords for any signs of tampering. It was, luckily, exactly as before, and its orange gleam still reflected the waning sunlight.
While Florencia did that, I went and grabbed a bite to eat from the silver platter. The smoked sausages and jerky tasted very well, especially compared to the gruel and bland Scorro food. The wine tasted sweet and airy, which was to my liking.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Florencia said. “If Pitties wanted to talk to you, there are simpler ways. I don’t understand the need for this mock trial, then! This complicates things.”
“Neither do I,” I replied and poured a glass of wine for the both of us. “But Pitties said that he would explain it to me later. That we would meet tonight.”
“You’ll meet tonight?”
“That’s what he said. And he said that the Academy won’t interfere with our work any longer.”
“Our work?” Florencia repeated, again.
“Those were his words.”
“Jonas… I can’t wrap my mind around all of this.”
I understood. And as we talked, she calmed down. She had a rough week, and during the evening, I realized I had underestimated just how off-balance she was feeling. After spending some more time soothing her frayed nerves, as best I could, we made use of the warm bath that had been prepared for us.
As the hot water soaked into our skin and the cold of travel and Scorro was slowly drifting away, I thought about the upcoming meeting with Pitties. I wanted to take Florencia with me, even though I thought the invitation was meant for me.
“I’ve been thrown out of the Lodge,” Florencia repeated many times throughout the evening. “I gave Cappesand everything; all of my life. And this was how Ardovar repaid me. And Philemon! He didn’t come to your defense at all… I just can’t believe it. I never thought these were the people I trusted.”
“And I can’t understand how you’d trust Pitties like that,” she said afterward. By then, the bath water had cooled down considerably, and Florencia was too exhausted to heat it again. “I couldn’t do it if I was you… And what did he mean by ‘knife in the dark’?”
I couldn’t explain why I trusted Rainier so eagerly, either. Sure, the trial went on as he had promised, but I still could not be certain that it was not all an act. The calm feeling I had in my heart guided me forward without many worries, and for now, that was enough. And it annoyed Florencia more than she liked to admit.
After we had soaked ourselves in the tin bath, we laid down on the wide bed and snuggled into the pillows. I felt Goxhandar lurking nearby, its attention elsewhere when it was not in slumber. Right now, it was dancing around gleefully, bathing in the emotions and thoughts of everyone close by.
“Don’t read Florencia’s thoughts,” I had asked from Goxhandar while we rode toward Estalarch, and it agreed, but with disappointment.
“I hoped I could dig into her innermost hopes and dreams,” Goxhandar said. “You talked about her for such a long time. But I will obey your commands, master.”
I stayed firm and Goxhandar obeyed.
Day rolled into night, and the sun dipped behind the towering spires of the capital.
We had been laying on the bed, spreading ourselves out to enjoy the spacious mattress and soft blankets, and copious amounts of pillows. The wine was finished, along with all the bread and sausages on the silver platter. Then we heard steps approaching from the right, and a polite knock came on our door.
“Mr. Espian? It is time. Please follow me,” said the unknown voice.
Florencia was apprehensive about coming along.
“Are you sure you want me to come with you?” she asked. “He did—”
“Come on. I want you there,” I said and Florencia smiled.
The short man with a little potbelly bowed when we left our rooms and didn’t introduce himself. Florencia grabbed her sword with her because she said she felt naked without it. I decided to wear the cloak of Scorro, with its golden brooch pinned to my chest, and in the silver light of the moon, it gleamed proudly.
The halls of the courthouse were empty and dark, cast in shadow, with only flickering candles mounted on the white marble walls. The silence was eerie, only broken by the sound of distant patrolling guards who marched perfectly synchronized.
“It’s well past midnight,” the short man said as he walked along, followed only by hollow echoes of our footsteps. “He wishes to apologize for his tardiness.”
We trailed him as he led us on a long route around the courthouse, ascending two flights of stairs before finally arriving at a pair of double doors. A black plaque was fixed next to them that read “Chief Justice Verralger Fontegno”.
“I’m not allowed in,” the man said, “but please go on. They should be arriving soon.”
Florencia speculated that the room we stepped into was where the assistant for the chief justice worked.
It was a small, dark room, and the moonlight shone through the narrow window that overlooked a wide street that was deserted. I rather liked Sanermo at night, when it was all quiet, and I wondered what had happened during the hearing after we had left.
“Should we just go in?” Florencia asked hesitantly, and I shrugged and did so.
Verralger Fontegno’s office we entered was a large, square-shaped room, with maroon curtains and a massive wooden desk before a similar narrow window. Facing the it was a small lit fireplace and a table with some leather chairs.
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In the center of the room stood Rainier Pitties, with his gaze fixed on the flickering flames, and holding a low glass in his hand.
He turned around and smiled.
Through the smile, Pitties looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. For a moment, he seemed surprised that Florencia was there with me, but he composed himself quickly, stepped forward, and extended his hand.
“Jonas Espian,” Rainier Pitties said with a drained voice, the dancing fire making him seem even more depleted. “We meet at last, in person. I apologize. I called for you this late, but I am not the master of my own time.”
I shook the thin hand of the royal advisor and was surprised by the unexpected strength of his grip, and his psychic radiance was none the weaker.
“It’s alright. Our room was very nice and comfortable,” I replied, feeling awkward and Florencia next to me was stiff and almost couldn’t move.
“I wasn’t expecting you here, Miss Regalla, but I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Pitties said. “We’ve met, you know?”
Florencia gave a feeble greeting to the royal advisor.
“It was many years ago, back when the Lodge was still young and the world had not grown so dark yet,” Pitties continued. “I accompanied the king on a visit to oversee the workings of your Lodge. I remember seeing you in the distance, and Ardovar said you were one of his brightest agents. You were, however, preoccupied and left before I had a chance to introduce myself.”
“I had… yeah,” Florencia said awkwardly, and her voice broke.
Rainier Pitties smiled and turned to me.
“The others should come soon, but before that, would you like a drink? Verralger has a very respectable collection of spirits.”
“Others?” I asked, ignoring the offer for a moment.
“I planned on keeping this meeting private, just by ourselves, but Verralger insisted on joining us, and then the crown prince and the high priestess requested to be here as well.”
Florencia coughed in a rush of panic and held onto the backrest of the chair for stability.
Pitties continued: “But I suppose it’s for the best. This way, I won’t have to repeat myself four times over.”
He walked to a small, dark cupboard beside the cracking fireplace and grabbed a bottle of amber-colored whisky.
“Can I offer you a glass of Fiamtorba whisky?”
Florencia and I agreed to the drink, and Rainier Pitties handed us the drinks with nimble movements.
“This whisky has grown to be one of my favorites these past years,” Pitties said. “I keep gifting Verralger a bottle, but he does not seem to enjoy it as much as I do.”
Out of awkward politeness, I took a sip. To my surprise, it had a very pleasant, mellow, smoky taste to it.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pitties,” I said. “I’m very confused about what is going on.”
“Understandably so,” Pitties replied casually, but then his expression turned dark. “As I said before—there is a sickness spreading in Lienor, creeping into every corner of the realm, turning it cancerous. Cities are not safe, villages have turned violent, crime is rising, and guards are becoming bitter and agitated. Many who I trusted have betrayed my trust, and I do not know what has happened, nor how to stop it. Damned it! We don’t even know who the Enemy is.”
Rainier Pitties laughed, downed the glass, and filled a new one. I felt Goxhandar stir itself awake, and it was now sharply paying attention.
“Verralger and I have theories, his more rational than mine,” Pitties continued. “But nothing to make plans off of. I’ve caught many in my net, but I’ve grown no wiser in interrogating them. Lunatics and madmen, all of them! And then, the Yasman Lodge, who I hoped would shed some light on the matter, is simply going around and covering their own mistakes and shortcomings.”
This stirred Florencia, and she said with newly found confidence: “They don’t understand! I’ve been telling them for years that this… enemy is very dangerous. But they’ve brushed off what I said every time. They keep repeating it’s just dark magic and some rogue wizard or something! They don’t believe it is anything serious.”
“You have?” Pitties appeared taken aback. “I’ve never heard anyone from the Lodge speak of this seriously. They’ve always been dismissive of the entire thing, always saying it’s nothing serious, just dark magic.”
“Ever since Jonas disappeared,” Florencia eagerly said, “I’ve studied them. Studied this threat, or enemy.”
“And?” Pitties asked, ignoring the first part of my disappearance. I hoped that this would not come up as a topic tonight. “Have you found out anything that’s of help?”
Florencia hesitated and shook her head.
“Only… only death and crazy stories from madmen. Nothing that I could chase or base a theory around. Just…”
“Lunatics and madmen!” Pitties said and Florencia nodded.
Then we heard many footsteps approaching and whispered talking.
The door of the office opened, and in walked the Crown Prince of Lienor, Ames Savino Landoros, looking just as he had during the hearing, only more worn out. But he still wore a smile that was ever as bit as charming. Walking beside him was the frail high priestess, Naeve Landoros, who was the king’s mother. But I was at a loss for her involvement in this.
Last to enter his own office was Chief Justice Verralger Fontegno, and he quickly locked the doors with a long key.
The four of them greeted each other with casual banter and a few quick jokes at the expense of the Cappesand High Council, saying just how long can baron Esmail and countess Patricia quibble with each other, without directly telling the other to piss off. All the while, Florencia stood beside me, entirely frozen.
“The Crown Prince!” she whispered and looked down and away. “And Pitties!”
Then, suddenly, a lively voice called out.
“Jonas Espian!” Ames Landoros stepped before me and extended a handshake. “I heard what you did in Scorro. A most thrilling tale, save for the terrible death and misery that followed for those poor people! But I daresay I could use your strength in my cavalry regiment, that’s for sure.”
He turned towards Florencia and flashed a charming smile that seemed to warm up the room. With a quick bow, he took her hand in his and gave it a traditional kiss without his lips actually touching her skin. “And the gorgeous Florencia Regalla. Very pleased to make your acquaintance.” Florencia blushed a deep red, flattered over the crown prince’s compliments.
“I’ve made use of your liquor cabinet, Verralger, though you could use a refill,” Pitties said, and Verralger simply nodded and sat down next to the king’s mother.
Pitties expertly arranged the chairs in a circle before the fireplace, all facing each other. He and the crown prince engaged in some polite small talk to break the ice, though Florencia and I found it all rather surreal, and later we joked about the absurdity of the situation. Only a week ago we were in Bessou, resting in her apartment, carefree.
And now, we were in Sanermo, talking to a prince.
But Pitties quickly turned the conversation to the serious matter at hand.
“Scorro… Veneiea,” Rainier Pitties said darkly, addressing nobody in particular. “What’s next? Lottie?”
“Dark rumors are coming from Lottie,” the crown prince agreed and lit his pipe with a golden machine that resembled the one Ardovar used. “My father’s eye is fixed upon Lottie.”
“Indeed, so are mine,” Pitties replied with a somber nod. “But while our gaze and attention remained there, Scorro and Veneiea fell. But…”
He paused and looked directly into my eyes, and his gilded radiance filled the room.
“As devastating as the impact of losing two towns has been, a greater disaster has been stopped. And I believe the reason for that is sitting with us in this very room, though the reason for this profitable coincidence eludes me.”
Both the crown prince and the chief justice leaned forward, and their interest was piqued. Leaning back into the backrest of the chair, sat the king’s mother, carefully listening but not saying a word, fingers crossed and resting in her lap.
Rainier Pitties continued.
“To clarify, I believe it was Jonas Espian who played a key role in stopping the Enemy. It wasn’t a failing on their part, nor was it the result of a weapon or tool of our making, or the bravery of our Guard, brave as they may be. As for how he accomplished it, I don’t know. To my knowledge, no schools of magic is capable of this.”
A part of me wanted to jump in and defend the guards of Scorro, who had fought admirably beside me, under nightmarish circumstances. I couldn’t help but wonder how either Pitties or the crown prince would’ve reacted had they witnessed a mother and child being torn apart before their very eyes. I dared not wish to find out which of them would hold composure.
“Rainier, I understand you wanted to meet with Jonas before Scorro!” the crown prince said with some amusement that did not entirely fit the occasion.
“I did,” Pitties admitted. “And if that had come to pass, I’m afraid Scorro would be a terrible disaster with an unimaginable toll of death. Now I ask you, Jonas Espian, what did you see there? Can you tell us anything that can help us fight this Enemy?”
I had Goxhandar perched on my shoulder, its keen attention darting around and its curiosity piqued. For a moment, I remained silent, not knowing how I should even begin. Should I tell them everything? Or should I hold back and only tell them a lessened version of the truth?
Before I could talk I stuttered, and Florencia looked at me with warm encouragement.
“I know the name of the Enemy.”
My statement grabbed everyone’s attention, and I felt as though I had them all bewitched. And Goxhandar was radiating with excitement over where this was heading.
“Hunt, the hunt, the hunt,” Goxhandar kept mumbling, its words fading into a distant echo.
“Our Enemy is the Demon! They have entered our world, and they demand our submission.”