Bin perched on Kichi’s shoulder and nudged against her hair.
Kichi saw kids who should have been playing and running sit downtrodden in the shade along the dusty road. “Bin, look at these people. They’re so unhappy.”
The squirrel cat bounced onto the top of her head and snarled.
“You’ll have to take it up with the Duke. There’s no one here to blame.”
Whitebeard, Ema, and Masahide walked ahead down the main thoroughfare of Dunaguard, a stretch bedecked by familiar monuments to the realm and old empire but also triumphal arches and statues from a forgotten era. The inhabitants’ heads were drooped and shoulders hunched as they went about daily work in the shadow of these colossi. At first, it seemed no one would meet their eye, but a few clutched knives or other weapons from behind windows or in alleys. So, not everyone had lost hope.
Most of the homes of wealthy freemen sat dilapidated at the top of the foothills. Only a manor with soldiers training in its yard teamed with activity. The mountains rose into the sky like a wall before them, with the only way up a series of switchbacks. The whole morning was spent walking a steep zigzag until the city fell away, and the people looked like specs.
The castle entrance loomed between peaks, and the rock fell away below it like a moat. The castle walls were old, and any whitewash had long flaked away, leaving a grim gray that blended with the bare patches of granite.
A bridge connected the cliff at the end of the road with the gate across the gulf. Very few entered or exited the castle. Kichi didn’t see how such a large place wouldn’t be crowded. “Where is everyone?”
Whitebeard pointed to a bridge far below that had a train of wagons on it. “The supplies came from many routes. It’s why it’s known as an impenetrable fortress.”
They walked partway along the span, and Whitebeard yanked Kichi back by one arm. She rubbed the strained limb and gave him an angry stare. “What’s wrong?”
A body hit with a wet slap and a mist of blood.
It would have landed on Kichi without his intervention. She turned away, not wanting to see it. “How did you know?”
Whitebeard looked up at the walls and towers. “I got the feeling just now. This was no accident. Something with a super-will dwells here, and it’s not pleased with our appearance.”
Masahide picked up a bent sword and noticed a vapor of spirit escaping from it. “What’s a super-will?”
Whitebeard stepped around the mess and indicated to continue. “Most creatures have free will and can change their future by making choices. A super-will expands that ability beyond oneself. Imagine if your desire for justice influenced everyone around you, and every time you wanted to seek it, a mob formed around you to help.”
“I see. Looking at this place, I’m not surprised some great corruption resides here.”
The main gate led into a deep, quarried path so the defenses would surround anyone approaching. Kichi looked at the cliffsides and saw archers. A handful of guards ran past them but gave them no acknowledgment.
Whitebeard tried to enter the inner gate, but guards stopped him, and they waited. Those who ran passed returned with the fall victim wrapped in linen, which reddened where blood seeped through.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Finally, an armored young man with black hair looked them over. His forehead had a sheen of sweat. And he looked sick or nervous. “I’m Akisane, son of the Duke. Are you here for the tournament?”
Whitebeard bowed. “My friends Kichi and Masahide are here to enter the tournament for Mount Templar.”
Kichi wanted to protest because she didn’t follow Masahide, but she stopped herself.
Akisane nodded. “And you and the girl?”
“The girl is Masahide’s sister.” How had he lied? He must have used the order of precedence to somehow circumvent the oath.
Ema blanched and looked ready to protest, but Kichi elbowed her.
“And I, Whitebeard, am a soloknight. I wasn’t there to fight for my order. All I ask is to do my duty. I ask for your resident sorcerer to perform the draining ritual.”
Akisane paused. “That custom has gone out of fashion.”
“I am out of fashion, and it’s my wish as a disgraced knight.”
“I’ve heard it usually kills. And even if it doesn’t, most are nothing but babbling fools afterward.”
“I know better than anyone.”
Akisane wiped his forehead. His hand looked to tremble. “I must take your pure sword if you’re a soloknight.”
Whitebeard reached back and offered over the enormous sword, and the Duke’s son’s eye widened at the weapon and turned it over. “The castle has plenty of room. It used to house tens of thousands in the past. Come.”
The son of the Duke led them down winding hallways, some of which opened to grand vistas of a mountain hollow filled with buildings covering its bottom. Akisane said most had arrived from the orders that would participate. They’d come from all corners of the realm. However, the stairways and halls were nearly empty because the place was like a city unto itself.
Akisane stopped. “Every room down this hall is vacant. You’re welcome to use them as you wish. Make yourself at home. I will inform the Duke of your presence, and I’m sure he’ll invite you to dinner.”
When the four of them were alone, Kichi turned to Whitebeard. “The draining ritual? Are you mad? And you let them take your sword?”
Whitebeard laughed. “Perhaps I am mad. And a knight, even a soloknight, isn’t made by the weapon they carry. I’m only sad at its loss because it was a gift.”
“Back in Wythmere, I saw the tree give you your pure sword.”
“Crann is with me even without the steel. Now, let’s not dwell on what can’t be changed. Events will unfold here that will shape the future of the realm.”
“Look,” Masahide said, “at the size of this room.” He walked into a chamber with a large bed. He slapped the blanket and caused a cloud of dust.
Ema wafted the air. “We should dust.”
They spent the next half hour cleaning. They flapped blankets and sheets, dusted tables, and chose their rooms.
Soon, a man with owl eyes peeked and looked at them like they were doing something odd. He knocked on an open door and cleared his throat. “You’ve been invited to Duke Akitomo's dinner in an hour.”
Kichi wanted to ask how to get to it, but Whitebeard dismissed him by the time she’d thought of it. She wouldn't mind if they couldn’t find it and missed it. She didn’t want to meet the Duke, anyway.
Whitebeard took off his hat and sat in a chair. “Let’s get a little rest.”
Ema pulled Masahide into a room. “We can take this one.” He reached out of the doorway, but she jerked him inside and kicked the door closed.
Kichi wasn’t tired. She walked down the hall where the wall opened to the mountains. There were many towers, catwalks, and windows filling the view. She saw a man atop a tower roof standing on one leg. He spun a sword staff and leaped around, tempting the fall. She wanted to scream out for him to get down. The person who fell at the bridge repeated in her mind.
Why had Whitebeard entered her in the tournament? Her skills needed development. How would she combat someone like this? The lesson could be humility, but did he think she lacked it? It didn’t matter, though. He was the teacher. All she could do was to do her best.
Level: 5
Focus: Prescience
Secondary focus: Lava+1
Weapons: pure sword - 3% pure