"Hey girl," Seth said in his most charming voice. "Me and my brother are having some trouble with those boys over there. Do you think you could help us out?"
"Certainly," the camp girl replied. "What do you need?"
"Those boys are trying to scam us, but I'll bet they would give a fair price to a pretty girl like you. I'll give you the gold they were asking for. All you need to do is buy my brother a pair of gloves and you can keep the difference."
The girl snatched the gold and sauntered off with a giggle.
They had only been working as a hauler for Kiera Blaine for a day and a half, but they had accumulated so much money that they needed to buy proper wallets to hold it. Quinn had never owned a wallet before, and now they both owned fancy leather pouches that could be chained inside a jacket to prevent theft. Seth had managed to snare a new pair of boots, and they both sported brand new fur-lined leather jackets.
Quinn could not suppress the lingering feeling that the good times were destined to end. Eventually, the fighting stopped and the haulers were dismissed. Rumors around the camp differed. Some insisted that the Theocracy soldiers were fighting each other when King Sullivan arrived. Others claimed that the troops garrisoned in the nearby castle were secretly loyal to House Blaine all along. Everyone seemed to be in agreement on one thing, however: the Blue Wolf of Nydia had been recovered and her kidnappers had been captured. With their long chase ended, the Blaine family soldiers were packing up for the journey north to Cloudsea.
"Brother," Quinn said. "We need to find a Heritor soon."
"Perhaps," Seth said. "We don't know what the future will be like. For now, we should take advantage of our good fortune and prepare for bad times ahead."
The girl returned with a pair of gloves for Quinn. She gave Seth a thankful smile and glided off.
"I normally would not contradict that way of thinking," Quinn said guardedly. "But we can buy supplies at any market in any town. What are the chances we'll find a bunch of Heritors all camped together?"
"We don't even know how many Heritors are here."
"Now we know the next problem we need to solve."
They began asking around, but Quinn did not trust the diversity of the answers. Bravely, Seth approached one of the camp oculomancers. "Honored oculomancer," he said, obviously copying the words and tone used by the engineer on that steam engine in the mountains. She regarded him with some degree of anticipation. "How many Heritors can be found here in the camp?"
"You're one of Lucia's men," the oculomancer said flatly. It was an observation that they had heard many times since joining the camp. "Heritor Lucia, of course. Heritor Sullivan, Blade of Empire and King of Cloudsea. His daughter, Heritor Kiera the Mender. Heritor Zachary the Knight of Summer. Heritor Alyesha, also known as Imperial Princess Sasha and the Blue Wolf of Nydia. Oh, and Heritor Maxius the Younger, who was taken prisoner in combat by Heritor Zachary."
A prisoner, Quinn thought. If they could just get close, he reasoned, they could talk his ear off and he would be forced to listen. Suddenly excited, he asked: "Where is Heritor Maxius now?"
"Heritor Maxius is imprisoned on a field to the south-east."
"Can we talk to him?"
"Absolutely," the oculomancer replied. "By the orders of Heritor Zachary, anyone in the camp is free to communicate with Heritor Maxius."
They found the Heritor's prison to the south-east, a sturdy wooden cage at the top of a grassy knoll overlooking a field of rotting enemy corpses. Thankfully, the wind was blowing toward the east so they were spared the smell of death. Two oculomancers stood guard on the path leading to the cage. Once the two women were satisfied that neither Seth nor Quinn intended to free the Heritor, they were allowed to pass.
Heritor Maxius the Younger was clad in thick furs, shivering against the wind. His dark green hair had mostly been shaved away, and his scalp was streaked with dried blood. He stirred as they approached, and then his eyes went wide with shock.
"You shouldn't be here!" Maxius said. "This is a trap. Sir Zachary is fishing for spies."
"We are not spies," Quinn said. "We came to talk."
"No, no, no no no no no!" Maxius insisted. "No talking. Don't fill my mind with words."
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"Do you think he's gone mad?" Seth whispered, clearly astonished by this response. Quinn shrugged.
"No words!" Maxius continued. "If you fill my brain with words, then the oculomancers will find them. They know truth and lies. They can discover all the words with just a few questions. No, no words! What I need in my brain is absence. By the grace of the Lawgiver, absence will be my lord and my master. Absence will be my salvation."
"Who?" Seth asked. "Who did this to you?"
"You!" Maxius screamed accusingly. "You seek to fill my head with words, but you must accept the absence as I have. I am Heritor. My family is very rich. You boys. You are both commoners. I can make you rich. More money than you can possibly imagine. But you must follow my instructions exactly."
"What kind of instructions?" Quinn asked suspiciously.
"Exactly," Maxius repeated. "EXACTLY EXACTLY EXACTLY."
"I don't think this is a good idea," Seth said.
"Wait," Quinn said. "Please tell us what you want us to do."
Maxius staggered forward and reached feebly through the bars of his cage, an act that was ultimately unsuccessful on account of the chains binding his hands together. He began whispering: "Inside Castle Noxus town, you will find The Tumbling Dice, a tavern and gambling house. In the cellar, you will find a leather handbag resting on an ale barrel. You must take the bag to a safe place and open it. Inside, you will find a single free sheet of paper and a sealed package. You must read the first (and only the first) instruction on the free sheet of paper. Then, you must follow the instruction exactly. Exactly exactly exactly exactly..."
"This is a waste of time," Seth insisted.
"We understand," Quinn said. "If we find this tavern of yours, we will read the instructions and decide for ourselves."
"Exactly exactly exactly exactly..."
As they passed the oculomancers on the path, Seth asked: "Is something wrong with that man?"
"Probably," one of the women replied.
"Sir Zachary probably punched the poor man a few too many times," the other woman added.
They made their way east, to the gates of Castle Noxus. Among the foothills, the Blaine family soldiers were busy piling the corpses of their own soldiers onto huge funeral pyres. By contrast, the fallen Noxus soldiers were left to rot. The roads were mostly clean, but ponds and lakes of pure blood could be found just a few paces away on either side. Quinn slipped his face into his jacket in an attempt to avoid breathing the foul air.
"I feel like it's not worth it," Seth complained.
"We'll grab the package and then go upwind immediately," Quinn said. "It shouldn't take long."
It did not take very long at all to find the tavern. It was one of the most popular taverns in the castle town, and when Seth and Quinn clambered inside, they found it completely packed. Thankfully, it also smelled nice, and Seth's mood quickly improved when he saw the serving girls.
"You can go ahead without me," Seth said. "I'm going to hang out here."
Quinn made an effort to act nonchalant as he explored the tavern, but he was unable to divine the location of the cellar. Seth intervened and asked one of the serving girls. She was extremely helpful and gave Quinn detailed instructions on how to reach the cellar door. Nobody working in the back paid any attention to him as he passed through.
It must be a relatively common request, Quinn thought. Perhaps it is very common for people to come through looking for these packages.
He found the leather pack not on an ale barrel, but on a wine rack. Brimming with curiosity, he did not bother to take it to a safe place before opening it. Trembling, he held the single free sheet in his hands and read the first instruction: Open the sealed pack. Take the two dice from the pack, and roll both dice a single time. Select the corresponding instruction from the below list.
Quinn opened the pack and found it packed full of folded cards, each marked on the outside with a random sequence of letters and numbers. The two dice had sunk to the bottom. He rolled the dice on a nearby barrel and found the corresponding instruction on the free sheet. Open card 7A4J6 and follow the instructions on that card exactly.
He found the indicated card and opened it. It read: Travel east of Cow Street and find a cat. Remain in the area until a cat is found. Pet the cat. Depending on the color of the cat, select the corresponding instruction from the below list.
Quinn went upstairs and negotiated a meeting time and place with Seth. Then, he set off into the city in search of a cat. The next instruction asked him to cut a tomato and count the number of seeds. The instruction after that asked him to read a thermometer. One after another, each instruction appeared to depend on something completely random. Even after several hours of wandering around the city, Quinn refused to give up. If there is a tiny chance that this helps me make a flying machine, then it will be worth it. Any chance at all.
One of the instructions directed him to a false tree stump which contained yet another sealed package. The following instruction read: This instruction regards the individual who informed the reader of the existence of the initial package. The reader is instructed to check in on said individual and ensure that they are still alive. Then, open card G34KH and follow the instructions there exactly.
It was almost dusk when Quinn returned to the path leading to the Heritor's prison. One of the oculomancers accosted him. "For what purpose have you returned?"
"I just want to check to see if he is still alive," Quinn said truthfully.
"Do you intend to free him?"
"No."
The oculomancer waved him onward. Maxius was waiting for him in his cage at the top of the hill. "Did you follow the instructions?" Maxius asked.
"Yes," Quinn replied.
"The instructions did not tell you to answer my question, idiot." Maxius hissed. "I said you must follow the instructions exactly, without any other thought. Your mind must have absence."
"Fine," Quinn said. He opened card G34KH and read the instructions: Take the sealed package from the false tree stump and give it to said individual.
Quinn slipped the package out of his pack and through the bars of the Heritor's cage. Maxius seemed to ignore it. The next card asked him to return to the city in search of another cat. Quinn sighed, and left. As he sulked down the path toward the castle he caught a glimpse of that tall knight with a spear, Sir Zackary, sitting on a high rock, watching him with interest.