Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Taken In Pawn

Marne and Lee venture beyond the walls of the city and begin blindly traveling away, awaiting a column of smoke to guide them. As they go, they hear the not-so-distant sounds of others searching for clues about the tome's whereabouts. With this, they attempt to shroud themselves as much as possible. Using trees, bushes, wagons, and anything else they can find to keep out of sight as they go, attempting to disappear into the woodlands as they continue to watch the skies around them.

"Surely they would have found a spot by now, no?" Questions Marne impatiently. "They must know the urgency of the situation."

"Calm yourself, young man." Lee demands, shuffling his feet around small weeds and jerking his head about in a searching manner. "When Hael senses they've found a good place for it, she will not hesitate to burn the damned thing. May even do so before we make ourselves known."

"I couldn't blame her if she would." Marne says, shaking his head. "What is Farrow thinking?"

"He's thinking for himself." Lee snaps. "Something I might have hoped you'd carry on from your old man. With a trait like that, you'd o' surely found your place in this world and kept it."

"I once thought the same thing."

"Well, your father is working on such a thing himself. With this book good and gone, we may find enough peace to return to the cottage and dwell there awhile once more."

Marne does not respond at first, finding himself in an odd place as the words that come from Lee's lips do not anger him the way they once would have. Even with Farrow being referred to as his father, he does not mind the agitation that Lee puts off. It has become something of a comfort in his life.

"Perhaps we will. More so, we might remain there permanently."

"Now we're thinking the same thoughts." Lee grins as he sips at his flask, but Marne notices something odd about the fluids within.

"Say, what is that you're drinking there?"

"You'd not believe me if I told you."

"Tell."

Lee swirls the flask about, stirring the contents and creating a sloshing sound as he does so. He then smiles once more and looks to Marne with honesty in his eyes.

"Water."

"What an odd choice for you."

"Indeed. However, with Hael having her eyesight and still being able to see something in me, I thought it about time for a change in my life as well. If there is one thing that man did right by us, it was giving my Hael her eyes once more. Just a shame we couldn't part ways on a good note." Lee shakes his head and takes another swig from the flask.

"Wait, look!" Marne points ahead of them and slightly to the right. As Lee looks to the treetops, he spots smoke.

"Looks like they've still got some ground on us. Come, we must hurry."

The pair of them begin sprinting off further into the woods, attempting to keep their prints and the sounds of their feet at a minimum as they do so. Yet, when they breach a clearing and spot the source of the smoke, neither Hael nor Yuler is anywhere to be seen. Marne splits off from Lee and begins looking off into the woodline, leaving Lee to prod at the fire.

"Must've took to hiding or something." He offers in a breathless, uncertain fashion. "Best we don't shout out for them."

"How can we be sure we've got the right spot?" Marne asks, no longer feeling confident in their findings.

"Hael always builds her fires in a tent-like style. See these twigs here?" Lee pokes at the fire with a stick, pointing out a small stack of thin twigs in the center and another row just outside of them, which also forms a rounded triangle. "This here is a fire built by Hael."

"So it is."

"Indeed." Comes a third voice.

Lee and Marne turn to face Yuler just as she comes back into the clearing with an arm full of sticks and dried grass.

"We weren't sure how long it'd take you two to spot the fire, so we set off to get more fuel."

"Is the book still in tact?" Marne questions, looking to the fire in search of remnants.

"It is. I... I talked Hael into waiting to burn it. It... just... didn't seem right to do so without you two."

"No need to lie, girl." Lee spits. "You've still no interest in destroying the thing."

"Well of course not, but if we are to destroy it, it should be with all who've agreed to do so."

"No need to get hostile with her, dear." Comes the voice of Hael, who is also spotted carrying a large stack of wood. "I did agree to wait."

"Well, not much need in doing so now. Where is it?"

Yuler pulls the tome out from her coat and grips it tightly between both hands. She then looks to the others and sets her eyes on Hael.

"I think you are to be the one who destroys this thing. So... here."

Hael takes the book into her hands and slips it out of those of Yuler, who's grip hardly loosens on the leather. Hael then approaches the fire and takes a deep breath. As she pushes the book out in front of her and begins lowering it into the fire, the flames begin to turn blue and a hissing sound erupts. For a moment, this startles Hael and she backs away from the pit.

"What on this Earth?" She asks herself.

"It's likely protected." Offers Lee. "Don't let it deter you. Toss it in."

"Stop!"

Turning away from their efforts, the group spots a man in garbs bursting from the treeline. Then, the sound of many other footsteps becomes clear as bushes and grass are hastily ripped up.

"Do not destroy the tome!" Comes another voice, as a second face makes itself known. Then a third, then a fourth. As the group is quickly outnumbered, Hael holds the tome tightly against her chest and Lee takes a stand in front of her, drawing his sword as he does so. Marne and Yuler do the same in response and they each begin looking at those that approach them.

"There is still much work to be done with that book, give it here!" Demands a third from the crowd.

"Traitors!" Shouts a fourth.

"Silence!" Demands a fifth and familiar voice. As the group begins to split down the middle, Farrow makes his presence known. His agitated and disapproving face meets the eyes of Hael, then Lee, then Yuler, and finally, Marne. "Your tracks made it all too easy to relocate you, my son."

"Wait," begins Marne, "you knew?"

"Of course. No other time have you called me anything other than Farrow. Then, The Tome of Fandor comes up missing and you swiftly venture away from The Bethel's grounds. It was all too obvious." Farrow's voice sinks into a depression as he speaks on. "Take them all prisoner. There is no need for further conflict here. After all, without them, we'd have not made it as far as we have."

"No longer your heroes then, are we?" Lee chuckles, resheathing his sword. "Very well, have it your way."

*****

Moist, dirt-covered walls and cold bars hold the party captive. With the tome now back in the hands of Farrow, they sit in silence. Marne wonders how they will find their way out of such a situation, Yuler sinks into thoughts about what will become of them, Lee wishes to have a drink on him, and Hael prays, awaiting the moment she no longer can.

"So, they caught you, eh?" Comes an echoing voice across from their cell. "All that running, all that work, and still, you end up here."

Hael ignores the words of the man and continues to pray, even though she can sense that they are directed at her. Lee on the other hand, does not ignore them.

"Let us be, Warden."

"I do apologize. I don't mean to cause discomfort. You lot deserve better than this." The warden looks about their cell and tucks his hands in his pockets with shame. "I wish I could offer you more, but-"

"You could offer us more silence!" Lee exclaims. "Not all of us wished to be heroes in a world that does not deserve saviors."

"I beg to differ." Says the man, now shaking his head. "Each of you displayed courage, bravery, and a lack of fear in the face of death. You all wanted to be heroes. Even if some of you can't come to terms with it."

A sudden knocking on a distant door catches the warden's attention.

"Ah, a rescue party for you, I hope." The man chuckles and begins walking off in the direction of the sound, leaving the group to themselves.

"We shouldn't be in here." Marne says. "Held captive for trying to do what was right is... madness."

"Farrow wouldn't have it any other way." Yuler states, now rubbing at her knees as she leans against the far wall.

"None of it matters anymore." Lee says with an annoyed voice. "We're here now and nothing is about to change that."

"Well, it would seem your rescuers have arrived." Comes the voice of the warden once more.

Confused, the group looks to the cell door, where they spot Farrow looking down at them.

"Ha! Rescuer!?" Lee bellows as he falls on his back, unable to control his laughter. "This- heh- this man is our captor!"

"I never wished to be." Farrow states blandly. "Because of that, I come offering a deal."

"A deal?" Marne's interests seem to be peaked at these words.

"Yes, a deal."

"And what kind of deal might this be?" Yuler questions, butting herself into the staring match between Marne and Farrow.

"A deal for your freedom."

The group falls silent for a moment before Marne speaks once more.

"Go on."

"If you lot are willing... and I hope that you might be... I wish to exchange your freedom for your attendance."

"Attendance?"

"Yes. Attend The Great Undoing. Attend the burning of the books and attend the ritual. Allow us to stand side-by-side one last time. Allow us to right a wrong and bring you all back to the surface."

"You wish to take Numen from me. You wish to destroy the very thing that gives me hope." Hael exclaims.

"No, I wish to relinquish you of your shackles. I wish to free your mind and give you the time to think in the present and nothing more. Live... freely."

"I'll have to pass on such an offer." States Lee, who now comforts Hael by rubbing her shoulders as she continues to pray.

"There is no deal you could offer me in this moment that I would be willing to take." Adds Yuler, who shakes her head and looks to the floor. "If you truly wished to not have us here, you'd do what you must... then send us on our way."

"I sense guilt in your voice, sweet girl." Farrow places a hand on the bars and pitifully frowns. "Please, know that these were never my intentions and that I cannot simply free you without compromise. No matter what it is I truly wish for."

"Deal." Comes the voice of Marne through gritted teeth. As he says this, the eyes of Yuler, Lee, and Hael fall upon him in disbelief. "I've spent enough time trying to follow in your footsteps." He exclaims, looking back into the eyes of each of his allies. "I'm done trying to persuade change and I'm done trying to cooperate with those who cannot cooperate with each other. I take the deal."

"Excellent!" Comes the voice of Farrow, who now holds a large smile across his lips. "I truly hope that the others will change their mind, but one alone will do, so long as someone is willing!" Farrow steps aside, allowing the warden to unlock the cell and let Marne out. "I will have you stand right alongside me through it all so that you can see that I mean no harm. That all of this is with, not without, purpose."

"I hope that to be true." Marne looks back to the cell for a moment and expresses sadness, but does not linger for long before following Farrow out of the dungeons.

As the warden locks the door once more and returns to the cell, he too falls into silence.

"I... I'm sure he didn't mean any of that."

"He'd be right to have meant all of it." Exclaims Hael with a sadness of her own. "He is right. We should have given up sooner."

"Dear." Lee says in a helpless tone as he continues to rub her shoulders.

Yuler gets to her feet and approaches the cell door, where she then places both hands on the bars and leans her forehead against them.

"He was right."