With the freedom came the sounds of cheers and weeping, as the viewers expressed their feelings towards the battle. The cheers of ‘Mashda’ scared me. But I drove all of that to the back of my mind, as the door to the arena opened and a group of Narjee warriors and doctors rushed out and surrounded me. One of the doctors went straight for my father and began to speak the ritual to the dead.
I tried to keep watching the doctor ministering to the body, but one of the other doctors took me by the hand, and led me away, with the warriors as escort. I was taken to one of the waiting rooms. There, the doctors checked over my wounds, then cleaned and cast spells upon them before finally applying a poultice. After finishing, they left the room without a word.
Moments later, my mother walked in. I jumped to my feet and ran to hug her, before stopping a foot away, unsure if she wished such a thing from me. “Mother,” I murmured.
She held up a hand, making me instantly fall silent. “Was your father able to speak with you before he died?”
I nodded my head, which seemed to cause a shiver of fear to run through her, “Did you swear to obey your father’s last wish?”
I nodded again, and it was like the weight of a thousand moons had dropped from her shoulders. She sagged against the walls and began to cry. I did not know what to do or say, so I picked her up and carried her over to one of the couches. I sat her down and waited. My mother was a strong woman. Far stronger than anyone I know, so even on the brink of despair, she pulled herself together after only a few moments of weakness. When she seemed to be together enough to talk, I asked, “Mother, I dare not ask this. It would be too much to bear. But I know what I saw. I know what I felt. Did father let me kill him?”
Mother took a deep, shuddering breath, “Garnachi, your father chose to save the tribe from decimation. Know that he made that choice freely. Even if he has, through his actions, given you all the responsibility, do not hate him too much. He did this all for you if he did this for anyone. But I’m speaking nonsense now. I guess someone has to if he can’t anymore.” Mother stopped talking then, not from choice, but from incapability.
Garnachi looked down at his hands in silence, perhaps still thinking about his father’s death that day. “I still don’t fully understand why he did what he did that day. Even now, I can think of a thousand better options than doing what he did. Or perhaps I am just not as strong as he was, to make such a sacrifice.”
He coughed and shook himself. “But let me finish my story for there is very little left.
I had just finished speaking to my mother when warriors and doctors entered the guest room, saying they needed to seal the spirit of the Narjee into my flesh. Father must have set it up before his death because they knew I was Garnachi. Then again, everyone probably did after watching the fight. I was exhausted, and it all seemed so silly, but I followed along. And within half an hour, I had become the 243rd chieftain of the Narjee Tribe.
For everyone in the tribe, this was a day that would bring about great change. But that was all the more apparent for Mashda and me. I did not see him that day, nor would I see him for another year and a half. Upon hearing the news of my rise to chief becoming official, he immediately apprenticed under a doctor and went into a fast-tracked program under him or something. I do not know much about how the doctors go about that. For me, my entire life changed. I was thrown a thousand new things, from the resigning of poorly designed trade deals to an arranged marriage.
Mashda and I were fine for a while. In fact, for decades, I thought we were both working towards the same goal: the betterment and development of the cursed people. I led the tribe, and he assisted every chance he had. That is, until two years ago.
I have already taken up too much time, and this information is not necessary to understand my brother, for everything I have told you is still true to this day. Anyway, on a particular day two years ago, I received definite information that my brother was kidnapping and experimenting with old people from the tribe. I did not want to believe it at first, but eventually, I had to order an investigation.
When my spies returned, they informed me that the information I had received earlier was just the start of it. And that if I did not march in and destroy the lab Mashda had created, there would be a revolt. So, gathering a few hundred warriors, I led an attack against my own brother.
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I lost sixty good men thanks to the traps and monsters he created and left throughout his hidden bunker. Creatures, unlike anything I had fought before, barred their teeth at me. The worst was when those same monsters pleaded for their lives in the voices of small children. Of course, we slaughtered everything that tried to stop us.
Somehow Mashda and a few of his men escaped in the chaos. I have to assume they were alerted to the attack before it happened. For I don’t see how else they could have been prepared enough to escape. From the time we attacked to the time we made it to the lab was less than ten minutes. That was a harder day for me than my mother’s funeral. It took a few days to hand over leadership to my son. I had already been planning to step down in the next few years, but such an event forced my hands. Standing before the crowds of people who had lost their loved ones to my brother, I promised I would track him down wherever he went.
That was two years ago. He has moved from city to city, always keeping just one step ahead of me. Which is why we are here in Glueburn. According to my tracker, Mashda has been in the area for the last three months. In every city he’s been to, old people and children go missing at a higher rate for he needs them to perform his experiments. That’s why I came to your door, my friend, to see if you could help me track him down.
Uncle Finneus nodded, “Of course Garnachi, I’d be happy to help. Do you know if there is a specific age group that your brother kidnaps?”
The old man shook his head, “It's just children and old people, I don’t know any specific ages. We make sure to burn all the research we come across. We have destroyed eight labs altogether.”
“I see, I see.” Said Uncle Finneus, taping his chin, “Would you mind telling me what the labs were like? How many power sources were there? Were there stasis chambers to hold the bodies? Was it cold and wet, or warm and dry?”
“Hmm, let me think.” Said Garnachi. “It was cold and dry. I remember that much. Comfortable wouldn’t be the word to describe it, but it wasn’t freezing. In the original lab, there were artifacts scattered about on the floor and desks. The first one that was picked up, turned out to be a booby trap and stole the breath of life from the man who had grabbed it. We had to force war captives to move them, or else they would stay in that underground lab forever. Some doctors refused to get within fifty feet of some of them.
As for stasis chambers, yes there were some. But all of them were destroyed and then burned, together with the poor creatures trapped in torment within them. I don’t know how their power source worked or anything like that.”
“Interesting.” Said Uncle Finneus. “Do you think that with your doctor's permission, I would be able to examine these artifacts you are talking about? I’m sure you’ve gathered more since.”
The old man shook his head, “Finneus, I would not carry such awful magical tools with me when I have so little magical protection. I only have two doctors with me, but I’m sure you already know that.”
I raised an eyebrow at this, for no one had given any indication that they were ‘doctors’ as Garnachi called them. I’m not sure how my uncle could tell. I decided that it would be just one more question I wanted to ask him after this was all over.
“I suppose that’s fair.” Said Uncle Finneus, sounding disappointed. “I had some thoughts to come visit you at your home next summer. The stories you have told me about the Narjee, and the warriors I fought at our last encounter make me more and more curious about your culture. If these artifacts are as dangerous as you make them sound, perhaps this want shall turn into a need.”
“If I catch my brother before then and I don’t die, I will be happy to host you,” Garnachi said. “As for the artifacts, you will have to discuss that with my doctors at a later time. Is there anything else you need, to work some miracle and find my brother?”
Uncle Finneus chuckled and stood up, “No, I believe I have all the information I need. Thank you for being willing to share your story. It is a fascinating one. I shall do my best to uphold the trust you have offered me. I am sure I’ll have more questions for you at some point. Where will you all be staying?”
Garnachi also stood up and offered a bow to my uncle. “We stayed at an inn when we entered last night. I think we will stay there this evening as well. It’s called ‘The White Swan.’ Not a bad place. They keep the place clean, at least. You won’t be able to find me if you need me tonight though. I have to introduce myself to the Governor of this place and let him know that a group of Narjee warriors are not planning on wiping out the city. You know how civilians are when they hear about the Narjee. Anyway, I’ll send a man tomorrow night to find you and see if you have any new information. If you need me, don’t worry about contacting me. If you can’t find me, just leave a message at the inn. Again, thank you so much for helping us out, Finneus. You are a benefactor to the tribe and a loyal friend.”
Uncle Finneus shrugged, “Of course. I hope your meeting with the governor goes well. And perhaps you can gather some military support to help us take down your brother. I know I don’t need to tell you this, but if your brother is half the man, you are, he will have already made friends with at least a few powerful people. He could have already corrupted the Governor himself.”
Garnachi offered a wide grin that showed off his long canines, “I am not so old that my name does not travel. Nor am I too old to crush a few heads if some do not recognize my name. I’ll be fine, Finneus, though I appreciate the concern. I still have enough strength in my limbs to make them remember who the Narjee are.”
It was odd, but while he talked, for a singular moment, the old man appeared larger than he was. For a second, he looked like the giants of old, with hands so big they could cover my face, and muscles so large, my head would be crushed in an instant. The image came and went, then he was back to being an old man. A rather large old man, covered in tribal tattoos, but an old man, nonetheless.