We painstakingly worked our way through the vast grasslands of the Quintana Basin, the blades cut against our leather leggings. The only source of light on this late summer evening was that of the moon. The fields that stretched out ahead of us were flat for as far as we could see. There were no trees. No mountains. No landmarks to guide us. There was only the sharp and unrelenting blades of quintana grass. I was tired and the end of our journey was still many more days ahead of us, maybe weeks. I was not sure. We were exhausted and each step was a struggle but we kept moving forward. We kept moving toward the Gates of the Chaco. An empire that until now existed only in the Old Verses of Sid. Stories told to us as children. The walls of the empire were said to be taller than 100 men standing on each other's shoulders. When the sun shone on the surface of the walls it reflected a light so brilliant that if man or beast gazed upon it, they would surely lose their sight.
Every child in the kingdom grew up learning the Old Verses of Sid. My father read them to Kitty and me when we were children. They seemed like a fantasy to us. Epic tales of dragons and wind shifters, of distant empires and wars that changed the course of our history. I never thought they were true. Not until the day Kitty was taken from us.
On a summer night much like this one, lit only by the moonlight, nightflyers scaled the palace walls. Kitty disappeared that night. It wasn't until the next morning the guards stationed outside her room discovered she was gone. My family and the palace courtiers searched the entire castle grounds, all of the city and every surrounding village. She was never found. The beautiful princess with eyes as green as the Sid River was gone. The only clue we had was the feather my father found on her pillow.
It was deep blue and the edges glowed hot and orange like embers of a winter fire. Father said it was a nightflyer's feather.
The Verses of Sid recorded how nightflyers emerged from the Gates of the Chaco once at the beginning of a new emperor's reign. They would search the world for a child bride, one with a noble background, pure and unsoiled. Once they found her, they would then return with the girl to the Chaco and prepare her for an imperial wedding. The wedding was said to always take place during the last month of harvest, on a royal barge in the middle of the Sea of Sid.
My Father summoned me in the days after Kitty's disappearance. He told me to bring Kitty home before the wedding could take place. He gave me an Ivory rune that had been passed down from king to king for centuries and told me that if I found myself in danger to use the runes for protection. He blessed my journey and sent me away. That was nearly two months ago. I now find myself with four other men wading through the deep razor grass of the plains.
" shhhhhhhh......stop." whispered Dari. He tilted his head toward the sky listening intently to a distant squeal that reminded me of the Esmeralda dolphins
All of us froze in place. Dari pointed toward the horizon. Just below the rising moon were several shapes. They looked like strange birds with long graceful tails and slender necks. They flew high and swooped back down toward the grasslands. Their wings shimmered ever so slightly, like the sparks of a fire.
" Nightflyers...." Dari whispered again, his eyes widening as he spoke their name.
" What are they doing? " I said " I thought they only left the Chaco once, and that was to find a child bride."
" Maybe the verses are wrong." Dari replied in a whisper.
We watched this strange dance in the night sky waiting for them to leave before moving on. Finally, in what seemed like an endless night the nightflyers flew west and that was the last time we saw them.
" Dari? "
" What is it, Cathol? "
" Do you believe in all those old tales? "
"My mother told me they are the history of our world. They are the truths of our past. " Dari said.
" Oh come on Dari, you really don't believe we are going to find a wall so bright it will blind us, or old emperors in the Chaco born from fire and gold!" Jaxus shouted from up ahead. The moonlight shined off his long golden hair.
" Yes Jaxus, I do. My mother is Keeper of Antiquities. She has recorded and studied the verses her entire life."
" Ha Ha!! " Jaxus laughed " If those were nightflyers tonight then my name is dung of dragons! they looked like bloated Sid parrots just having finished a feast of too many weir berries! "
" Nightflyers or not, the verses are true. We need to be ready for whatever we encounter."
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" Pfft...Ok Dari whatever you say." Jaxus said, drawing his sword and swinging it wildly under the moonlight. " I'll slay the nightflyers and emperors! When I have my reward I will retire from questing on the sunny Isle of Bogarts, surrounded by beautiful beach wenchs "
" Why did you have to bring him along with us, Cathol? " Dari looked at me visibly frustrated by Jaxus' childish behavior.
" He is a master of sword arts and the most skilled in the kingdom. It made sense." I replied."
Dari said nothing more, instead he turned away from me and battled his way through the sharp and unrelenting blades of grass.
Night gave way to daybreak. In the distance I could make out the faint shadows of what appeared to be foothills and the beginning of a mountain range. Finally, The grassy plains were coming to an end. Ahead of us, stood the Wexlor mountain range. One of the last obstacles to cross before arriving at the Gates of Chaco.
We had walked days without seeing anyone, now we were ready for a good meal, and a decent night's rest before crossing the mountains. My map revealed a tiny village at the foot of the mountain range called SigStorm. The town should have several inns, a blacksmith and general market, so I knew we would be able to get the supplies needed for the final leg of our journey.
Sigstorm was tiny, I guessed that it was inhabited by entrepreneurs and farmfolk. The buildings were made of gray granite that sparkled in the morning light. Every rooftop on every building was constructed of glazed green tile, and boxes of summer flowers framed stained glass windows.
It was obvious to the villagers that we had traveled a great distance. The copper beaded leaves embroidered on the shoulders of our tunics were a sign that we were from the Kingdom of Red Oak. They stared at us as we passed their home and shops. Some of them pulled their window shutters, fearful of strangers.
" Where's the Alehouse?" Jaxus shouted " I want a plate of hen's eggs, a hot bowl of meat porridge and a pretty maid with full soft bosoms."
The days spent crossing the Quintana grasslands had been hard on all of us. The hot sun, the cold nights, the agonizing grass. It seemed to affect Jaxus the most, he was used to the constant attention of lady folk. He made it known more than once this journey was denying him some of the pleasures he deserved. Jaxus had agreed to join me merely because the reward was enough for him, never to serve in the king's army again. He would be free to choose his battles, his journeys and his lifestyle once we returned to the palace with Kitty.
Dari on the other hand was a man of deep thoughts, an intellectual and a warrior. He was less focused on reward and feminine pursuits. Instead, Dari found pleasure in the arts and preservation of history. He found himself more comfortable surrounded by a group of intellectuals, discussing palace news and old legends rather than lying in the beds of maidens. I have known Dari since childhood, we studied together and learned the sword arts under the same headmaster. He is and always will be my best friend.
" Ah, here we go. The maids and monsters inn, I think I qualify as a monster. " I heard Jaxus say.
" A loud and bellowing monster. " Halon said laughing " Let's find our meat porridge Jaxus, I'm starving! "
" I'm first through the door, boys! I could eat myself a huge bowl of stags meat!. " Trevor said as he dropped his pack on the front steps of the inn and wrenched the door open.
Inside the Inn was dimly lit. Sunlight managed to filter through leaded windows. A heavy plank of polished mahogany served as the bar. Several shiny brass taps dispensed ales from all around the region.
The stucco walls of the inn were painted with murals that told the story of Sid. On the wall, furthest from the bar was the story of the harvest wedding. It depicted two men, wearing crowns of nightflyers' teeth and festooned with glowstones, standing at the bow of a barge. The harvest moon rose behind them. Both men wore wedding robes and gazed upwards to a platform, suspended over the bow of the imperial barge. On that platform was a young woman wearing a transparent gown and a crown of flowers. This was the child bride destined to marry the emperors. Just below the painting, was a thick wooden door.
" Cathol Come on..." dari called out to me, he and the boys were seated at one of the low tables. " Stop staring at the wall and get over here!"
Jaxus and Trevor were enjoying their food and eyeing the barmaids. Halon and Dari were in a deep conversation about the beasts we had seen last night. None of them paid any notice to the three men seated at a low table that was intricately carved to represent the creatures we had seen the night before. I sat down and watched those men.
They wore unusual armor. It was a blue, almost black metal and it was engraved with elaborate birds. I listened to them speak in a strange accent about an escape, but I could not hear who or what had escaped. They were mercenaries, hunting the one who had fled. One of the men pulled a small gemstone from his satchel. It was a brilliant orange and it glowed in his hand. The other men acknowledged it. Their eyes widened, fascinated by the small stone. The man holding the stone glanced at me and hastily placed the it back in the satchel.
The mercenary held my gaze for a moment, his eyes were dark and penetrating. I had intruded on something and his stare was a warning to me. Curiosity welled up inside me. There was something about the mercenaries' armor and the glowing stone. These things only happened in the verses of Sid. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know if they were related to my sister. The mercenaries stood, paid the innkeeper and left the bar through a door positioned under the harvest wedding mural.
" Dari. " I said. " I will be back, I am going to follow those men"
" No Cathol, not now. " he pleaded.
" You and the boys wait for me, it won't take too long."
As soon as the three men had passed through the door, I walked to the door in the wall, grabbed the handle and twisted it. The door was unusually heavy. On the other side was a small room lit by a single torch. In the center of the room a stairwell spiraled downwards to another room or tunnel I wasn't sure. It looked like there were more than five landings and at each landing there appeared to be another single torch.
I decided to descend the stairs and placed my foot on the first step leading down, when the door behind me opened. It was the Innkeeper, she looked at me with surprise.
" Young sir, you shouldn't be in this room. "
"What is this ?" I asked
"Storage sir, we keep all our flours and fruits down there, and supplies to run the Inn. Come now, Let us leave."
" I saw three armored men pass through this door, and they must have descended these stairs."
"No " she said. " There have been no armored men in these parts for many years. You and your friends are the first since the new reign of the emperors."
"There were three of them, sitting at the carved table. They passed through this door"
" Even if they were here, which they were not, you would be wise to continue on your journey and forget what you saw."
"Who are they?" I asked.
" I can not say, I do not know." She replied, " Now follow me back to your friends."