Chapter 6
“Please don’t be alarmed, I heard Hult say your name many times” said Aylah.
Diago wasn’t just alarmed by the fact that she knew his name, he was confused about the whole scenario he was currently experiencing. The last few days had felt like a fever dream to him.
First he robs an Eldaren, something he still felt both justified and guilty for doing. Then, after returning the money, he was stopped by what almost looked like a ghost lady and she sent him on a mission. Then he essentially gets abducted, albeit quite willingly, only to find his captor takes him to one of the red spires nearest Rant, which they proceed to climb. An incredibly dangerous feet. Then his abductor turns out to be a girl whose knows who he is, at least by name.
The circumstances were incredibly strange and the girl… stranger. Why she took him up there was a question soon answered by a quick glance behind her. At the base of one of the few trees that grew on the top of this spire was a little canvas tent. The little camp site was all the indication Diago needed. For whatever reason, however unbelievable it may seem, this was where she had been staying. It was rare that anyone would make it to the top of one of these spires. That she had been making the climb every day was a ridiculous thought, but then again, no more ridiculous than the events of the last few days.
“Lovely place you got here” said Diago, albeit rather hoarsely. He was still recovering from the climb.
Aylah nodded and then looked keenly at Diago
“Ariochmar” she said, determined to get to the point.
“What about it?” Came the reply, with a more of an air of knowledge than was warranted. Diago was hoping that if he came across like he knew more than he did, she would give up information that would help him understand what was going on.
“What do you know about it?”
“What do you- WAIT…” Diago had interrupted himself, realizing something, “you dragged me all the way up here to ask about that?! Why couldn’t you have just asked at the dunes?!”
“I-”
“Or the forest”
“It’s not-”
“Or at the base of the cliff?”
“IT’S NOT SAFE!”
Diago had no reply for that and waited for her to continue.
“Understand, Tunaan has a strict rule against talking about the armor after the war. After all your blabber-mouthing for everyone to hear in the tavern, I had to be truly certain that we were alone. I don’t fully know why, but your own people would be harshly dealt with if they were found talking about it, how do you think they’d deal with an outsider?”
“You’d loose at least two toes” Diago said out loud, but internally he was taking note of the new information. The Ariochmar is armor.
“Which I’d like to keep if possible”
Diago was still a little unsatisfied with her reasoning and, wanting to switch conversational tactics, decided to reply “that doesn’t explain why we had to come all the way up here…unless…”
Aylah’s head tilted curiously, “unless what?”
“You wanted to show me around your place” He said wryly, this was his tactical switch. He wondered if annoying her would help in trying to get her to divulge information.
“…what?”
“You should know that if you want a guy to be interested you, you shouldn’t threaten him at knife point. That kind of desperation is a bit of a turn off”
The look in Aylah’s eyes traveled from confusion to angered frustration remarkably fast
“Excuse me?”
“You are excused” Diago said with a bow in his most formal voice. Before Aylah could say anymore, Diago figured now would be a good time to change topics before he was thrown from the edge.
“Why do you want to know about the Ariochmar?”
“Not want, I need to know. I wouldn’t go looking for it on a whim, it would be the stupidest thing I could do. I was…commissioned to find it…in a way, and that’s why I must find it”
Diago found it curious that she would seem so cautious on that topic.
“Commissioned?” He asked.
“Yes”
Aylah did not seem to want to share more than that, but Diago was determined and decided to press,
“Commissioned by who?”
No reply, she just looked off to the side.
“Look you threatened me and dragged me all the way up here, I feel like we should have some clarity right about now”
Aylah looked back at him. Her looks made it clear that she was trying to determine how much she should trust this boy she only recently happened upon. In the end, her want of Intel convinced her to make her cave. She sighed and said,
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“Alright. I was spoken to… by a fade”
Diago’s head tilted, confused. He had no idea what a fade was, but a sinking suspicion had entered his head.
“a fade? What is that?”
“You don’t know?”
Diago rolled his eyes impatiently, “I feel like my question should have been enough to answer yours, but if you need to hear it miss priss: no, I don’t know”
Aylah soured at the name calling, but decided to let it slide.
“I suppose they would be considered a type of guide. During the time of the great weavers they acted almost as a police for the land. The great weavers back then are not like the lesser weavers we have now. Now, our weavers rarely ever control more than a slight power over one faction of the art of weaving. The great weavers had such mastery over the art that legends say they were responsible for the formation of much of the land as we know it today. With that much power a single person could bring about terrible catastrophe. This is where the fades come in.
Their origin is unknown, but they acted as a sort of conscience to the weavers. Their words had the power to reach into the will and desires of a person. So if someone went the wrong way, or started down the wrong path, they would appear to intervene”
“You mean to tell me that during the entire era of the great weavers, not one bad choice was made?” Asked Diago, disbelieving.
Aylah shook her head, “A conscience can be ignored and seared, but the consequences are terrible either for you or for others. As time past and more order was established, the fades began to disappear from recorded history; only showing up for major events. In the moments in history of great significance or change, fades are often found, still stepping in to steer the world in the right direction. Their role remained the same, only they started appearing before anyone and everyone that would have a significant role in said key events, not only to the weavers”
Diago felt almost certain that his question of “what appeared before me last night?” was answered, but he wanted to know for sure. He asked,
“what did they look like?”
He must have had a very telling look in his eye as the words left him, because Aylah took particular note of it. She was fixated on him with her striking blue eyes and suddenly she concluded,
“You have seen one haven’t you?”
Diago was annoyed, “I would be able to tell you that for sure if you would answer the question”
“There is no need, you already know”
Diago sighed, giving up. She was right, he did know.
“Last night I was stopped on my way home. I had no idea what it was, but it was like a ghost, but when it spoke, I felt like every part of me what echoing the words. She said…’Ariochmar’”
Aylah was staring at him and then said, “..and then she said, ‘seek it out’”
Aylah continued, “so, you as well”
“But I don’t understand why I would be asked to find it” Diago said with hands raised
Aylah shrugged her shoulders, “there are many things fades see and understand that may never be fully grasped by a human”
Diago sighed, “that is a very unsatisfying answer”
Aylah smiled at him for the first time. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, she was kind of a pain and talking to her was annoying, but that smile… Coarser men than Diago would warm to a sight like that. However, Diago was more stubborn than coarse. Not that she would want it or anything, but Diago decided, then and there, that he was going to reject the idea of being attracted to her. She was pretty, but as far as Diago was concerned, that was it.
Whatever thoughts were going through Aylah on the subject were interrupted. Her smile faded as she stared off into the distance.
“Bandits” she said sternly.
Diago turned around quickly and paused. All he saw was landscape, mostly because that’s all there was to see, at least for Diago.
“Ah yes..there they are” Said Diago sarcastically.
“You see them?”
“No”
Aylah rolled her eyes, annoyed and said, “believe me, they are there”
Diago tried to look again, but to no avail. Finally, he shrugged, “well, we have been low on raids recently. I’d say we are overdue for one”
“Do raid parties set up camp?” She asked looking at Diago almost sincerely.
“How would I know? It’s not like I spend my weekends raiding towns!”
“No, you are content as a highway robber”
This definitely took Diago to a whole new level of confusion and surprise and annoyance. How did she know that?! He was definitely feeling resolute in his lack of attraction to this incredibly odd girl.
“Look-”
Aylah stopped him, “save it, I know you returned the money. That doesn’t change that you did it in the first place. You should have heard Beatrice rattle on, it gave me a headache. A real man would have apologized”
“…whose Beatrice?”
“The woman you robbed from! And Gringer her driver”
“I knew Gringer’s name”
Aylah shook her head, “if you hadn’t been called by a fade…”
“That makes two of us”
Though Diago was annoyed and confused, a part of him thought that this was going great. The less they liked each other, the more annoying she was, the easier it would be to keep her at arms length.
Finally, Aylah took out her bow. A strange devise. The bow was folded in half just above the handle. It had a metallic hinge and clasp that allowed it stay firm when unfolded. She picked her hood and mask back up and went to take the bow from her quiver, muttering complaints about armor, fades, and stupid boys to herself all the while. At first, Diago thought she was going to shoot him, but she mostly ignored him. Finally, having unfolded her bow and after tying a rope to a tree and tying the other end of said rope to an arrow, she took aim. The arrow she was using had a strange tip. It was serrated down the side, but on its flats there were barbs that looked perfect for piercing, but once in its place would be terribly difficult to remove. She shot down to the forest below. The shot was incredible. How she was able to see where she was aiming was a mystery to Diago. The arrow found its mark in a tree down below. She tested the line after the rope went taught and was satisfied that it would hold.
Having gathered the rest of what she needed, she went to the rope, ignoring Diago as he watched the whole process. She looked like she was about to jump, but she hesitated and turned around to look at Diago and say,
“Look, one way or another we have to work together. Can you handle that sunburn?”
“Can you tantoos?” said Diago referring to her two toned skin.
Aylah let out an angry growl and leaped for the rope. She used a leather strap to catch the line and ride down it. Soon she was out of sight, having disappeared into a low hanging cloud about a hundred feet down.
“Clearly not well” Diago muttered to himself.
Diago watched her descent. This was one of the many moments that would come when Diago was alone looking at the path before him. Turning back was an option. For most heroes of stories, this might be a good time for a long soliloquy about their sense of morality and a need that they alone can meet, but for Diago it was different. He loved the thrill of putting himself to the test and trying hard things and doing things no one else would. Right now, he is wondering if he had tested himself enough for a while. Now would be a good time to call it a day and go
home…
No. Not after the fade’s call. If he were to pass it up, he knew he would never get a chance like this again.
Besides, apparently there’ll be consequences if he didn’t answer it.
“My gut tells me there’ll be consequences if I do” Diago said, morbidly aware that this was likely going to be a dangerous task.
He turned around and closed his eyes, breathing deep. He flipped his ring in the air and caught it and put it back on. Then rushed to the edge of the cliff and jumped. He caught the line with the hook of his Kurigan and rode it to the bottom, following after Aylah.