Two across the westward waves, hope of old friends.
Harramanya sought Patience on the ocean wide.
And Lemenyasya sought Truth in forgotten allies.
-The Book of the Abandonment 2;10-12
For the thousandth time, Vallerian crossed the well-decorated sitting room, striding over the intricately woven, imported carpet. Neither Valleresa nor Arabella would let Vallerian anywhere near the Prophetess’s sleeping chambers. They had waved him away and told Vallerian that she would meet with him when she awoke. His sister had been bad enough, but now that Jöln girl clung to the Prophetess as well. Vallerian cursed his luck, stuck guarding a girl he wasn’t even allowed to see. She had been asleep for over half a day already! Bloody Gardinal had left before dawn, leaving Vallerian pacing ever since. Those cursed women had even taken Charlotte from him, claiming that friendly wildlife would help restore The Prophetess’s spirit. Whatever that meant. So, Vallerian waited, crossing the room back and forth, edging ever closer to madness by the hour. At least he had time to think on his current dilemma.
Celeste, he thought. Perhaps he had made a lapse of judgement. In the past, he had found displays of bravery often aided in garnering the affections of a young lady. Whether it was facing down a greedy thief, standing up to a wild dog, or in one case waving off an oddly aggressive falcon. Charlotte deserved that one, she had been particularly difficult that day. Every one of those past times had always assisted Vallerian in his goal, securing the distinct interest of a young lady. But this Celeste girl, how many times did he have to save her life? How many times could one little girl need saving? He shook his head, gaining the Prophetess’s confidence was proving significantly more difficult than he had initially imagined.
He could not simply ignore the assignment though; he did not even want to think about the consequences of disappointing Crysilla. So he continued his pacing, contemplating the problem at hand with every step.
“What do you think?” he beseeched a small stone statue sitting atop the hearth, some Khazimi king by the looks of it. The statue didn’t respond. “Yes, yes, the girl obviously abhors violence more than I had expected. No need to remind me, my fine marblefriend.” Vallerian tapped the Khazimi king’s head, but then he lingered on that thought. With Celeste’s propensity for dashing headfirst into danger, she was sure to face more would-be killers soon. That trouble would only grow as Vallerian pushed her towards the throne. So how to keep her from getting murdered, while also ensuring she didn’t turn from him? Perhaps he could take a page out of the Theremya book? A silent job.
He could take care of the threats silently, away from view like his teacher had taught him. If he did that then he’d be able to stay close to her, and make sure she did not face an untimely death without earning her ire. The problem at hand remained though. He could work around her distaste for violence, but last night’s little commotion had obviously made her wary of him. He could never get the information Crysilla wanted, whatever it was, if the girl did not trust him. And she didn’t trust him, not by the way she looked at him the whole walk home last night.
He reached the end of the room once more and spun to continue his meditative trudge. His sword banged against a small side table, very nearly knocking off an ornate pot from the lands east of the Shaded Lands. He caught it, thankfully. Looking down at the offending blade he remembered some of the last words Celeste had said to him last night. The sword had to go. Shame, it was a wedding present from one of his wife’s cousins and he had grown to quite admire the Theremya weapon. He would still need a dagger, he wasn’t suicidal, but no sword would make things tougher.
Getting rid of the sword would be a start, hopefully a good one. But he doubted that would be enough. The girl was certainly naïve, but she was as smart as any Sherya scholar he had ever met. No, he needed something more. Something bigger.
Looking around the room he realized an early mistake he had made on this assignment. A mistake that would need some serious correcting. His teacher had always told him, to gain the trust of a target, gain the allegiance of their friends. Nothing lends more legitimacy than a friend vouching for you. Unfortunately, Valleresa was unlikely to be his reference in this case. Bloody sister seemed legitimately caught up in all this faith blather. Vallerian wasn’t sure when that had started. She had been far from religious all throughout their youth.
Vallerian sighed, he was avoiding the problem again. He refocused. The real issue was whom he had to win over: that damned Khazimi priest. Vallerian was unsure he had ever met a man so set on being grumpy. Vallerian had once had an old friend, back when he actually attended balls, that was almost that grumpy. The man could be sour at the most exciting tourney, until of course he was taken to the Red Curtain District of Southshore for the first time. After that, the man had been all joy and sunshine. Perhaps Vallerian just needed to take Gardinal on a tour of some fine pleasure houses. Thinking about that almost made him laugh. The idea of Khazimi courting brought forth images of male birds fluffing their feathers to get Charlotte’s attention. She had made short work of those would-be suitors, and Vallerian could only imagine the damage a Khazimi woman could do to Gardinal.
Just as Vallerian banished the hilarious image from his mind, he heard the front door open. Gardinal was home, he almost thanked Ethinia for a moment. This time spent with the Prophetess seemed to be rubbing off on him. Vallerian took a seat, lounging with the arrogant comfort only nobles could manage. He usually hated when others acted like this, but if he was to warm Gardinal up to him, he couldn’t be obvious with his intentions.
“Not much of a guard are you, lordling?” Gardinal asked him, stepping into the sitting room.
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“Seeing as Her Radiance is her own biggest threat and she has yet to wake, I have had nothing to do but lounge around. That and wait for her to make another attempt at getting us all killed.” The pair stared at each other before Gardinal eventually made a sound that seemed very near a chuckle. So the man did have a sense of humor, what a relief.
“Well, I’m back now, if you want to be getting off and taking care of whatever it is a count takes care of.” Gardinal shook his head. “Though I’m going to need you again tonight.” He seemed almost reluctant to say that part.
“Oh? Have you inadvertently grown fond of my company Brother Gardinal?” Vallerian laughed at the man. Gardinal glowered back. “Come, sit, talk. Regale me with the story of your woes old friend.”
“Do you ever shut your mouth?” Gardinal responded. “And I won’t be putting up with this prattle of yours day in and day out. I need a guard, not a court balladeer.”
Damn, he had pushed too hard again. There was a line with Gardinal that he could not cross. A dangerous game, exactly how Vallerian liked it.
“I apologize Master Belnur, I did not mean to offend. Please go on, tell me the many reasons that my aid will prove oh so useful to your most holy self.”
Gardinal eyed him warily, but eventually sat across from Vallerian in the large, cushioned chair. The man sighed deeply before speaking. “I have some matters that need my attention, sensitive ones. If it works out, I may have some real answers on this cult business.” Gardinal stroked the head of his hammer at his side. Whatever these matters were, there would be violence.
Vallerian stopped himself from smiling at this newly revealed opportunity. The Khazimi was getting into some trouble, and from what Vallerian could tell the man tended to get badly injured on his little endeavours. “Whatever this is, it sounds dangerous.” Vallerian said, shifting his demeanor to one more serious. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have me looking after her. So, what’s going on? Perhaps I could help.” Vallerian looked at Gardinal, judging his reaction. “I am quite handy in a fight you know.”
The man seemed to chew on his words before responding. “There’s some trouble, or at least potential for trouble, with a shipment coming in.” Gardinal said. Vallerian nodded, sailors were a rough sort, especially at the merchant docks of Silverport. “The Mudport is a rough place, but I need to ensure this product arrives safely. In exchange, we get information.”
Vallerian eyed him now. The Mudport? What could a priest be interested in out there? Other than perhaps shutting it down. Who in the Chaos did this Khazimi know that brought product in through the Mudport?
“Sound’s dangerous.” Vallerian responded. “Also sounds like you could use a skilled hand.”
Gardinal looked to him with a raised brow. “In such a crowded, rough place like the Mudport you’d probably hinder more than help. Unless you’re secretly a master archer.” Gardinal snorted at that, and Vallerian nearly smiled. It was probably the most useful thing his old teacher had ever taught him.
“You’re unlikely to believe me, but I could kill a mouse at a hundred paces.” Vallerian boasted
“Two hundred if it’s fat.” Gardinal raised a brow at him.
“You’re serious boy? Some support from a high vantage point would be near a gift from the First Mother herself.” He touched his amulet.
“Well, Ethinia did give me my life and talents. Leave the archery to me, I’ll keep your shipment safe.” Vallerian smiled. Gardinal’s initial surprise shifted to concern all too quickly though.
“No… No, you can’t come. I need you to watch Her Radiance here. We can’t just leave her to be in danger.” The Khazimi seemed troubled by it.
Vallerian grimaced at the snag. This was a perfect opportunity for him to get close to the Khazimi, but he needed to convince the man that the Prophetess would be safe. And she would be of course, as nobody knew she was here. Besides, one of the toughest women Vallerian had ever known would be here: Valleresa. And something told him that halfling was tougher than she put on as well.
“What could she possibly get up to here? With Valleresa looking after her?” Vallerian reasoned. “Besides, from what she looked like last night I’m sure she’ll be asleep for at least the day. When’s this shipment coming in anyway?” Vallerian asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
“Tonight.” Gardinal grunted. “And you do have a point. She won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. She expended more energy last night than she ever has before and that was before she healed my sorry self.” Gardinal ever so slightly clenched a fist. Interesting, the Khazimi seemed almost embarrassed about last night.
“So, we’re in agreement? I assist you in this tonight so we can get to the bottom of all this cult business?” Vallerian asked, and without waiting for a response he began to rise. “Good! Then I should get…”
“Wait just a moment there, Lord Vallerian.” Gardinal said. Vallerian stopped in the middle of rising. “If we are going to be working together, and it seems near divine will that we’re stuck together, then I have some questions for you.”
Vallerian sat back down and motioned for Gardinal to continue. This could be dangerous.
“I need to know why you’re doing this. And don’t lie to me boy, I’ll know.” The Khazimi man fiddled with the golden hammer amulet around his neck. A nervous tick perhaps? Regardless, Vallerian couldn’t tell him the truth. He would need a convincing lie. It only took a moment.
“It’s a matter of family.” Vallerian said. Like any good lie it was born from a seed of truth. “I do worry for my twin sister Master Belnur.” Two true statements, even if they weren’t connected. He did worry for his sister, but not enough to get involved in her life like this.
“Call me Brother Gardinal.” He insisted. Vallerian nodded, the man seemed to be trying to distance himself from his family name. Something Vallerian could relate to.
“Brother Gardinal, I do worry for Valleresa. She seems quite attached to that Prophetess of yours. In effect, if Her Radiance is in danger…” Vallerian let the sentence fade out.
“Then your twin is as well.” Gardinal nodded. Let your target make the lie for you, oldest trick in the book. “I understand, I would do just about anything for my brother as well.” The Khazimi nodded.
The connection of sibling responsibility was unexpected, but welcome. Vallerian would have to build on that. It was too bad he hated his own brother; his relationship with Valleresa would have to be enough ground to connect on.
A short silence settled between the pair, but eventually Gardinal slapped his knees and rose. “I’ll be going to check on Her Radiance now. You head on home, get prepared, and I’ll see you back here tonight.” Gardinal pointed at him. “Be here by sundown, don’t be late.” Gardinal warned.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the return of the gods themselves, Brother Gardinal.” Vallerian had his in, all he had to do was not waste it. Just needed to make sure the Khazimi got in enough danger tonight so he could save him. Not hard at all.