Two letters sent from Joven

Ken,                                        June 14th, 708CC
Friends and I are heading west in company of ex-traveling companion. I have message of some importance to bring to Rinos; once delivered, I shall seek you out. Have much I want to tell you and would like to introduce you to said group.

Still no word from R and am rather worried, hoping you have news.

See you in a week or so,
~C

This first letter was tied to a bird and sent off about a day's travel away from Joven. On the outside it was addressed "Lieut Kendric Conroy, army barracks, Rinos". Short, but it'll get it where it needs to go, assuming the bird makes its way safely there. Kendric's fairly used to small animals showing up with things tied to their legs- comes from having Messengers as brothers. The note itself is short, as well; that's in case it gets waylaid. Cyn doesn't exactly want to advertise something like "Hey! The duke of Joven and us very famous and known adventurers are near!". He's smart enough... okay, paranoid enough to be vague.

----------------------------------------

This letter was sent north from Joven. Cyneric is from the south, but his parents have since relocated to the northern coast. This is quite to his liking, as it means he has an excuse for infrequent contact.

Father,
After spending my entire life avoiding what you tried to force me into, I've stumbled onto a path much like that anyway. Hope you are happy and thank you for leaving me so screwed up that I feel too guilty to enjoy it properly. You elitist snots can bite me.
... Where did THAT come from? He really needed to pay more attention to what he was writing as this clearly isn't what he wanted to say... although he'd sheepishly admit that getting those words out felt good. Crinkle that up and toss it into the waste basket. Try again with more tact.

I figured now would be wise to send you word as I am traveling through Joven and word would reach you quickly with the least amount of effort on the part of my brethren. No use asking one to travel far to where he won't be appreciated and likely will be thrown out on his arse as soon as he hands over this letter.
... Sigh. Crinkle that up, try once more. It's not like they'd actually do that. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully.

I am traveling through Joven and thought now would be a good time to contact you. As I've learned recently, word of the endeavors of my traveling companions and I has spread far, so I imagine you have an idea of what I have been experiencing, should you have cared to listen. Likely this is exaggerated, but perhaps now you will finally be pleased with your pacifistic, pariah son.
Crinkle crinkle, curse, grumble. One more try and if that doesn't work, he'll admit defeat and go back to pretending that his parents don't exist for a while.

Father,
I am traveling through Joven and, as I am relatively nearby, wanted to contact you. However, since it is west to Rinos my companions and I are headed, rather than north, a letter shall have to suffice. I hope that you and Mother are doing well and that the coast has proved an environment of comfort to the both of you.

Upon reaching Joven, I learned that news of my traveling party's exploits have reached great distances. I am not overly pleased with this, but I am going to assume that it means you've heard word of me, as well. Likely this has been exaggerated. However, yes, it means your clerical son has become an adventurer of some distinction. It is certainly not the path I wanted to end up on, but I am sure this is more to your liking than the thought of me toiling away in the backwaters, delivering mail from anyone who wandered into the mosque that day. I know you have always disliked that I entered into the priesthood (and this one in particular), so any amount of heroics is probably an improvement.

While in Rinos, I shall try to keep track of who is what and what is where because I know that sort of thing is of interest to you and Mother, but I have a feeling that Kendric is far better at relaying such news than I. Still, I will dutifully try to keep my eyes open.

We are setting out momentarily, so I must quickly seal this letter and ask one of my brethren to take care of it for me.

As I wrote above, I hope this finds you both well.
Your son,
Cyneric
Well, that'll have to do. It's unlikely his rather obtuse father would catch the contempt he felt, anyway, and this was about as civil as he could bring himself to sound. At least it appeared that he said all the right things, even if in actuality he'd either "forget" about that promise or give slightly wrong information, depending on what kind of mood he was in that day. Why did his family always have to be so difficult to deal with?

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 5

Banner art by Artmetica.

You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!

There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.



The Acolyte's Map, Part 5

(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6)



Raff eyed the seemingly empty road- seemingly empty because all he could see was Mina, a short, slight blond woman in red robes that looked to be about two sizes too large for her. Fate (or something resembling it) had smiled on the Messengers- she'd returned to the Rinos mosque for a new assignment just as Kendric had handed over his letter, acting the part of pretentious noble as best he could while loudly demanding that someone carry it as soon as possible because it was vitally important that it reach one of Countess Berkeley's knights. The head priest hadn't missed that golden opportunity walking into his field of vision (dwarfed by the tall officer though she was) and had quickly handed the message over to Mina before Kendric had even marched out of the building.



The young woman had been slightly confused at first to be in such the right place at the right time to apparently have a delivery waiting for her, but after Raff had taken her aside to clue her into the plan- or at least a condensed version of it in case their target had a way of knowing if she knew this was a ploy- she quickly agreed to be the bait, consenting with a wicked smile.



With the bait thus selected, in less than a day they'd finalized the plan, created two fake deliveries to send off with obviously stronger and less tempting targets, called in a favor with one of Apollo's priests, found a wizard to help, and were now on their way. Raff was amazed at what could get done when an opportunity to trick someone loomed in the near future.



A soft thud and some muffled cursing sounded from a few feet away. Sounds like the others haven't figured out how to keep from tripping over each other, he thought, grinning to himself- and only himself. That was the reason for the "seemingly empty" road and the hired mage; Raff and the four others were invisible, trailing Mina as she headed southeast. The half-elf was doing pretty well at judging where his colleagues were located but the others weren't so lucky and kept tripping over themselves. Mina appeared to be ignoring the bumbling behind her, but Raff had caught her stifling a giggle a few times by pretending she was talking to the small dog strolling at her feet. Raff's bird wasn't happy about the terrier being nearby, but stayed quiet on Raff's shoulder. At least, he assumed the weight on his shoulder was the cardinal- like most of this troupe of plotters, Neru was invisible. Every once in a while he heard the bird give a cheerful chirp, so maybe it was enjoying itself. The mouse, however, wasn't handling this so well; Rhy had hidden itself in Raff's pocket and refused to come out.



The half-elf was beginning to wonder when they'd stop for the night and if he'd ever be able to lure the mouse from its hiding place when out of nowhere there was a young man standing off to the side of the road, leaning indolently against a tree as if he'd always been there. If it wasn't for the dog's sharp bark, Raff would almost have believed that. The others must have noticed this stranger, as well, because the sounds of stumbling and bumbling ceased as Mina crossed the gap to greet the stranger with a cheerful smile.



Raff was too far from the pair to hear what the man was saying in a low voice, but he caught Mina's change in demeanor. No longer smiling, she was grasping her quarterstaff tightly and her head was down, as if she could no longer meet the man's eyes. Her dog was standing close against her leg, growling up at the sandy-haired man, who was clearly trying to ignore it. Raff was starting to wish he could hear what was being said when the man switched from talk to action, shoving the girl and causing her to land heavily and awkwardly on the ground.



Raff brought both hands to the attack position on the simple wood staff he'd been given temporarily, getting angry that someone would knock around someone so innocuous, even if that had been their plan. When the man drew his sword and took a step towards the girl, the half-elf could hold back no longer. Forgetting that leaving the circle around his invisible companions would render him visible, he charged at the pair, calling out "Hey! Don't touch her!" His bird, also now in plain sight and sensing Raff's anger, sensibly flew up into the tree to get itself out of the way.



That shout got the young man's attention. With a scowl, he took a few steps away from Mina to brandish the sword in the other Messenger's direction. Raff was able to get a good look at him as he circled around, trying to put himself between the strange man and the prone woman. The man couldn't have been more than twenty and wasn't much taller than the half-elf, which was surprising, but an air of barely-contained anger seemed to make him appear more powerful. When Raff met his eyes, he quickly amended that assumption to "insane barely-contained anger" as he thought this guy's completely off his nut; Raff would be the first to admit that he wasn't exactly the most level-headed person on the planet, but the amount of crazy he was sensing from this individual would make him look positively normal in comparison.



While he was sizing up the would-be attacker, trying to decide if he'd have enough time to set off a spell, and if so, if he could do it unnoticed, he felt something touch his leg. Glancing down, he saw Mina pull her hand away to cork a vial of water as she chanted something under her breath. Mina, you idiot! he mentally cursed as he caught a few words of the spell she'd just cast- Protection From Evil. Why didn't you cast that on yourself?



The young man seemed oblivious of this, lost in his own angry world though he was, but had enough wits to ask- no, demand- of Raff "Who are you to care what I do?" Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "And how did you get here?"



There was no way Raff could resist that voice; he had the truth on the tip of his tongue, ready to tell this rogue exactly what he shouldn't, when a terse voice sounded in his head, "Do not tell. Remember, bard." That pulled him out of whatever glamour he'd fallen under- jolted him out of it, in fact. He blinked, looked down momentarily to remind himself that, yes, he was in fact garbed as a bard, and slid into that persona, grateful that Edward, the head priest, had suggested that he wear this disguise.



With his nose in the air and a hand on his hip, he kept his face expressionless and answered, "Mithlir Blackwind," with a slight nod of his head. Moving his long, currently still black hair out of the way, he adjusted the gittern case strapped to his back to draw attention to it and continued, "As you can guess, I am a minstrel; as such, I will not give away trade secrets that grant my clandestine comings and goings. Allowances must be made for a bard's... eccentricities." Hey, maybe if he played up his faux-craziness, he could get on the madman's good side. "As for why I care, I cannot stand idly by when a helpless girl is attacked; what kind of story would that make for myself?"



He looked over at Mina and caught the strange expression on her face before she covered it up by dropping her head to hide behind her hair. Please don't put us in jeopardy by laughing, he silently willed in her direction.



Fortunately, lost in whatever world most of his brain was inhabiting, the young man still failed to notice Mina and kept his eyes on Raff, who was developing the urge to fidget under that mad stare- he pretended to smooth down a crease in his black tunic to cover his discomfort. Raff was determined to keep up the disguise to keep the thief distracted, however, if just for the girl's safety; were the man to attack, Raff would much prefer the target to be himself- and if the man were evil as well as crazy, the half-elf would now be far safer than Mina.



The rogue slowly switched his sword back and forth between hands a few times, his lips moving as he silently said something to himself, possibly not knowing what to make of Raff. This, though, was something the half-elf was accustomed to, and he jumped on the man's distraction, pulling out his Charm magic again. "What say you leave this young woman alone; surely she has nothing of any interest to a traveler such as yourself." Whatever that type is, Raff thought scornfully, mentally taking in the state of the man's heavily disheveled appearance, greasy hair, and battered (but unfortunately still sharp) broadsword. If this was a Messenger, he's really let himself go. Although if that were the case, after seeing this individual Raff now could see why the older priests constantly badgered him about his travel-worn robes. It really didn't make you look particularly trustworthy, competent, or in this case, sane, to be so slovenly, although Raff generally lacked the eye twitching and glazed expression of which this man was in possession.



Raff thought his statement had worked as the young man began to lower the arm holding the sword, but that didn't last; he shook it off- actually shaking his head, and despite the gravity of the situation, Raff was almost surprised to not hear a loose marble or two rolling around in there. Taking another step away from Mina, he pointed the sword at Raff again. Blast! Why didn't that work? The Charm always works! Raff had time to think before having to quickly sidle out of the way as the blade swung past where his shoulder had been a moment before. The man's agility shocked him; surely someone with so few wits shouldn't be able to move like that! Feeling déjà vu, and once again being annoyed by the fact that he lacked a decent weapon, Raff brought his quarterstaff up into the defensive position.



The man didn't lunge again, but instead growled loudly, "Oh, but she does have something I desire." He didn't lower his sword, however, and was looking back at Mina, who was now trying unsuccessfully to get to her feet. Raff had a feeling she'd twisted at least one ankle as she fell.



That could have been taken to mean many things, but to Raff, it validated what he hadn't been completely sure of; this was the man they were looking for. The others heard this, too, and Raff caught mutterings behind him. Trying to keep the crazy man distracted and unable to hear what the half-elf hoped to be the chants of spells, he began talking to cover the noises of those still unseen. "I doubt you have ever seen her before. How can you know that she is in possession of something you covet? Perhaps this is just a case of mistaken identity. You could be wrong, yes?"



That last part returned the young man's attention to Raff. "Wrong? I am never wrong about something like this, silly bard!" he exclaimed, one eye twitching.



Who are you calling "silly," kettle? "Perhaps. How would I know such as what goes on in your head or even what you are looking for? I do know that whatever it may be, she has it not, so leave her alone."



"And you'd stop me?" Once again, Raff found the sword pointed in his direction.



"If I must." Okay, any time you guys get those spells going, that would be great. I only have this stupid staff to defend myself with, you know.



The man had his sword in an offensive stance, having brought it around to poke at Raff's chest (or, rather, the leather armor hidden under his tunic), when he was hit with the full force of several spells. As the crazed man went rigid, the tree behind the three suddenly joined the side of the Messengers as it began to wrap its roots around the man's legs, dragging him to the ground and causing the weapon to fall out of his hand. Knowing what would come next, Raff hurriedly began dragging Mina away as the rest of the vegetation in the area had a growth spurt, shooting out tendrils and roots to try to grab them.



Just out of range of the rampant greenery, Raff helped Mina to her feet as the others broke out of the invisibility sphere to encircle the grasping plants. The half-elf noticed Tomas poking at the edge of the brambles with his quarterstaff and made the obvious assumption about who had cast that particular spell, "A bit overkill, I think." At Tomas' look of chagrin, he shrugged, "Hey, don't worry about it. We got out fine."



"Thankfully." Edward commented, coming over and sizing up the new forest. "Thank you for your assistance, Tomas, but could you send those plants away, please? We need to be able to get him out."



"Out?" Mina asked, incredulous. She grimaced as she tried to stand straight. "Isn't it better to just leave him there for a while? Pardon me for saying it, but he deserves to stew in the pot he made".



"As tempting as that sounds, we cannot. Now please, Tomas."



Glancing back and forth between the angry and injured Mina and the calm but authoritative Head Messenger, Tomas threw his arms up in defeat. "Alright, alright." Concentrating on the mess of plants, he chanted a few syllables.



When the greenery began sinking back into the ground, Tomas came over to help Raff support the limping woman. "Why is nothing I do ever the right thing?" he mused to his companions.



"You did well," Mina reassured him, wrapping an arm around his waist so that Raff could let go. At least the half-elf assumed it was for that reason, but since he was eager to go help the others, he wasn't about to pry.



Raff made it to the other priests at the same time as the last of the tree roots vanished. He took a place in the circle they'd made around the now frozen-in-place thief; the man may not have been able to move or speak, but he could certainly glare and now that Raff was there, he was honored with the bulk of the silent anger.



Three of the priests- Edward, Charity- the conspiring woman he had met a few days before, and the middle-aged priest of Apollo who had been roped into this quest (Raff hadn't caught his name) were chanting. Charity came out of it first and remarked, "There's something magic in that scroll case on his belt... it's extremely magical, whatever it is."



"And radiating evil," the Head Messenger added as he, too, finished his chant. "As is the boy himself."



Raff started to reach down to grab whatever they were talking about, knowing it was a stupid move but not being able to resist its sudden attractiveness, when Charity smacked his hand away. "Do you want us to have to rescue two possessed evil Messengers, elf-boy? For the gods' sakes, you're as bad as Tomas." Raff was clearly confused, both by what had just happened and by how the heck Tomas fit into this, so she just grabbed his arm to pull him away before he could say or do something he'd regret.



"Raff, I know you're smarter than this," she said quietly so as to not disturb the others, "Snap out of it."



Raff blinked a few times, then seemed to come back into himself. "I … have no idea what just happened. Sorry about that."



Charity nodded. "Just as I thought; that item must be powerful if it can affect someone from a distance."



Worried, Raff asked, "But why me and not anyone else?"



"You're a few bricks short of a load?" She grinned impishly at his glare. "Sorry. Maybe it's because you're part elf, but I think it's likely because you've been around its influence for a bit longer than the rest of us have."



"Lucky me," Raff muttered, but was interrupted from saying more by a strange voice calling out for help. Charity tried to hold him back, but he brushed off her hand on his shoulder and walked back to the circle around the crazy young man.



Who was looking decidedly less crazy- or less angry-crazy, anyway. Someone must have dispelled whatever was holding him frozen because he was now sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, looking pleadingly up at Edward. "It's magic. The map. It's making me do horrible things. Someone take it away before-" Noticing that Raff had come over, his expression hardened and he appeared to age a few years as a shadow fell over his face. "But not him. He can't have it!"



Okay, then... Raff thought, then moved behind the other clerics so he was out of sight again. As soon as he'd left the seated young man's field of vision, the boy reverted back to helplessness. "Please, sir, help," he pleaded to Edward.



Edward frowned, deep in thought. Finally he met the boy's eyes. "I think I have a plan. Would you be willing to hand over what you carry to us?"



The boy fought with himself, visibly torn about an answer. "Y... yes."



"And would you be willing to destroy it?"



That took even longer for a definite answer. Finally, so low that Raff could barely hear it from where he was standing, the boy whispered. "Yes. Please."



Edward nodded, seemingly satisfied.



"You can't mean that he's going by himself," Tomas replied, leading Mina over. Raff caught Charity rolling her eyes and had to suppress a laugh; it was obvious by now that the woman had been stuck working with Tomas on more occasions than this one.



"Of course not. You'll be going with him," the head priest explained, chuckling as the young man gaped at him. Looking around the circle, he added, "As will Raff, Charity, and Mina."



Raff and Charity both nodded, expecting that, although the half-elf was rather worried about having to spend more time around this strange once-priest and the item in his possession. Mina, on the other hand, glared at the boy, then turned (almost knocking Tomas off balance, small though she was) to look quizzically at Edward. "But... I'm injured, sir. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."



Apollo's priest smiled roguishly and Raff couldn't miss the fact that he looked quite like Edward while wearing that particular expression on his face. "If you would stand up straight, I think you'll find that problem much improved."



Sure enough, Mina was able to now stand. Tomas let go rather reluctantly, which she either ignored or failed to notice. "Thank you, sir." Well, she said she was thankful, but the doubt in her voice was apparent; it was obvious that she didn't consider this much of a blessing.



I'm with you on that one, Raff agreed silently.







The next part of the story can be found here.

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 4

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 4
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5)

A red bird flew through the window and landed on the desk right on top of the paperwork Kendric was reading, startling the dark haired man. About to shoo the cardinal back outside, he caught sight of a tiny scroll attached to its leg. A courier bird wasn't an unfamiliar sight in the barracks so he untied the green ribbon attaching the paper to its leg. Assuming it was meant for someone else, he was surprised to see his own name on the outside of the paper; generally if something was important enough to be sent by bird, it was meant for a higher ranking officer.

As he unrolled the small parchment an even smaller piece of purple ribbon fell out. This he placed aside as he read the short message:
"Kenny-
Meet me at Old Hamish's Inn tonight. Important situation to discuss- need your assistance. Neru will wait for reply."

He smiled to himself despite the seriousness of the wording; the only two people who called him that were his little brothers, and the color of the ribbon informed him that it was from the honorary brother rather than the one by blood, which was useful because the message was vague and not signed. He assumed the purple one was inside because two tied ribbons wouldn't fit on such a small bird.

He'd laughed at this color-coded idea originally, thinking it just one of the bizarre ideas his real brother was known for, but he'd come to realize that, although strange like most of those ideas, this one actually worked... Well, he was optimistic about the idea for vanishing paper, but his brother hadn't yet gotten that idea off the ground. In this case, though, it was a good way of saying a lot in a small space, or being secretive if that were needed. Green string or ribbon meant that the message was from Raff and the purple meant "disguise" or "be extra sneaky", which, coupled with the wording, meant both this time. A lack of bright red string told Kendric that this was sent in some sort of unofficial capacity; were that color there, it would mean that it was from Raff-as-Messenger, not Raff-as-brother- or more appropriately, Raff-needing-favor. Still, the cleric never asked for help if it wasn't needed, and even then often didn't notice until too late that he was in a situation where help was warranted, so Kendric wasn't about to turn him down.

Distracting the bird with a piece of bread leftover from breakfast, Kendric fastened two bits of string onto its left leg: one blue, one white. Blue was his personal color and white meant "yes" or a positive answer of some kind. If anyone noticed the random pieces of string he had laying around, no one had ever commented on it.

He picked the bird up gently and carried it to the window. As he watched it fly away, he wondered what trouble the half-elf had gotten himself into this time; trouble always seemed to follow him, although generally it became other peoples' misfortune. Yes, this is bound to be interesting, he thought, grinning as he stroked his short beard, I wonder what he wants me to do to help?

*****
The inn was full of patrons when Kendric entered that evening and he hoped that the large crowd would mean that no one would recognize him. He'd tried to garb himself in cheaper clothing than he was used and nothing he wore bore any insignia of his rank, but he knew he wasn't the best at hiding who he was. And, truth be told, he wasn't entirely comfortable around all these boisterous working-class people. He always tried to see everyone equally, but it's hard to fight your upbringing, especially when you're feeling rather overwhelmed. This is why, when he felt a hand tap him on the arm and he looked down to see a raven-haired youth of that aforementioned class trying to get his attention, his first thought was Why is this kid trying to bother me? His annoyance fled when he caught sight of the bright green eyes under that large hat and he grinned as the "kid" embraced him quickly before beckoning to follow him upstairs.

Once in one of the small rented rooms with the door firmly locked, Raff gestured for Kendric to keep silent; the man watched as Raff brought his hand to his chest and quietly began chanting and gesturing with his free hand, his focus seeming to be on the door. Once done, the half-elf noticed Kendric's confused expression and shrugged. Taking a seat crosslegged on the bed, he explained in a quiet voice, "I can't keep anyone from listening in, but if they put their ear to the lock at any time in the next ten minutes or so, they'll be in for a nasty surprise." When the confusion didn't lessen, he continued, "It's going to get gradually warmer and if anyone is touching it, we're bound to hear them start yelling."

"Isn't that rather cruel?" Kendric asked, raising an eyebrow.

Raff grinned. "Then they shouldn't be listening."

The man eyed the door uncertainly. "Do you think anyone would be listening? I had hoped no one would notice us."

The priest shrugged again. "If they did, I doubt anyone would care enough to even remark on it."

"Ah, good."

"They probably just think that you've taken on a young lover." Raff said, keeping his voice flat and impassive.

Preoccupied, it took Kendric a second before he exclaimed, "I've taken- what?"

Raff grinned impishly. "Just kidding, brother dearest. That's why I picked this particular disguise; if anyone happened to notice us or caught on to who you are, they'd probably just assume I'm your son or nephew or something."

Kendric felt rather skeptical about that. He did have a nephew about the age Raff was trying to pass himself off as, but... it was just strange to think of his honorary brother as being able to appear that young, even after he himself had already fallen for the disguise. On the other hand, Raff's age had always been a bit of a mystery. Kendric had thought the two priests had been playing a trick on him when they'd explained that the half-elf was actually four years older than he was because he knew for a fact that Raff had entered the Messenger's mosque not even a year earlier than his younger brother- so Kendric now had an older little brother. Why was everything so confusing when it came to elves? It was enough to give someone a headache.

Shaking his head to clear it, Kendric changed the subject to something that was randomly bugging him, "How did your hair turn black, anyway? Some of that mischievous magic of yours?"

Raff wrinkled his nose. "I wish. It's soot. Well, mostly soot. It ends up being a sticky mess, but it works for a while." He glanced at the door before continuing in a softer voice, "Kenny, I need your help."

"So I figured." Pulling over the room's only other seat, a rickety old wooden chair, Kendric sat close to the bed so the two could plot quietly. "What did you do this time?"

Raff pouted indignantly. "Why'd you assume I did something wrong?" Noticing the look on his brother's face, he remedied that comment before Kendric could give them away by breaking into laughter. "Okay, so it was a good guess. But I didn't, not really. We- that is, the Messengers- have a problem. A very large problem. Someone is attacking us and is stealing a good portion of the messages we carry."

"So why the secrecy if it's a large scale religious predicament? Or have you priests just become overly obsessed with costumes and charades?"

It was a sure sign of the gravity of the situation, Kendric noticed, that Raff neither stuck out his tongue nor fired back a quip. Instead the half-elf just looked troubled and remained oddly quiet. Finally he answered, "Because we can't be open about this problem, even with ourselves; the Head Messenger here in Rinos fears that the attacks and thefts have something t'do with a Messenger, or at least someone who was once a Messenger. At the moment only a few of us are aware of who- or rather what- this criminal might be. Edward wants us to keep this as quiet as possible, in case he learns of our plans."

Kendric nodded, following most of this except... "Why tell me? You know I'll gladly help what I can, but I'm no priest or mage. I cannot track him down or anything of that ilk."

"No, but you are someone important." Raff saw that his brother was about to deny this, so he hastily added, "Ken, listen. What we need is someone in on the plan who isn't one of us because we need that person to send what is, to all intents and purposes, a real letter or message. An important real letter because it has to be enough to attract the attention of this renegade so he goes after it himself, rather than sending a lackey."

"Is he likely to do that?"

"He already has." Raff explained the attack and the minimal plan the few Messengers had come up with the night before, omitting nothing and hoping that Kendric would be able to contribute to the plan.

"I follow and of course I will help, but..." Kendric had a good idea what the answer to this would be, but still couldn't help asking, "Would something I send be that appealing? I'm just a lieutenant." That last part came out more resentful than he'd intended.

Raff sighed. "Stop playing modest. You're the best possible accomplice for this- a noble officer with no apparent ties to any priests in the area."

"But what about you?"

Raff eyed his brother- his muscular, tall, tanned, aristocratic, and above all human brother- and did his best not to laugh. "Be serious. If anyone caught on to the fact that you even know me, they'd have t'be a mind reader and then we'd be caught in an even more difficult mess."

"Ah, right." There was a time when his connection to the Messengers had been obvious, but that had been more than a decade ago and half the kingdom away. No one here knew that he had family and friends in the order, so why could he never remember that fact? Trying to redeem himself from his brief absentmindedness, he supplied an idea. "I believe I could pull both rank and class fairly easily- would a letter going to a knight suffice?"

"Of course. Osric, right?" Raff asked, naming the oldest brother in Kendric's family. At the man's nod, he went on, "But can you trust him? I know you've said he's short a few marbles- and that was one of your nicer comments- and I'd rather not let anyone in on this who we can't entirely trust."

"But there's no need to tell much, correct? It just has to appear to be a real message," Kendric plotted, "I think for that we can trust Os, and if the letter slips past this thief and he winds up actually receiving it, well, I'm all for confusing and vexing him. We can straighten it out later if we must."

Raff bit his lip as he thought about this. "There's so many ways this could go wrong, but I don't see any other option. We'll just have to hope that it does get waylaid. Try not to fill it with too many outrageous lies, okay?"

"If you must insist. I'll do my best to make it befit your grand schemes," he assured with a smirk.

Now Raff stuck out his tongue. "Ye know, you'd have made a good Messenger. You have sarcasm and roguishness well-honed."

"And be stuck wandering backwater lands at the whim of whoever desired a message to be sent? No thank you." He chuckled at Raff's expression, then turned serious. "One thing is bothering me about this situation, however."

"Only one? I would have thought there'd be several."

"You were going to leave the city without bothering to say hello, weren't you?"

"That's what's bothering you about this whole thing? And they say my priorities are askew." At Kendric's glare, he sighed. "Look, I forgot what town I was in."

The man raised an incredulous eyebrow. "It's the biggest city in the kingdom. Next to a lake. How did you forget?"

Raff shrugged sheepishly. "It's a city, Kenny. They all look the same after a while; huge buildings, too many people, distracting noises, not enough trees-"

"All right, nature boy, I get the point." He shook his head and wondered aloud something he'd never understood about his brothers. "I don't know how you and Cyn can be so comfortable outside city walls."

"I was going to be a ranger, remember? Being outdoors obviously goes with the territory, no pun intended. Not so sure about him, but that happens to most Messengers, I think; when you spend most of your life traveling, you become as comfortable outdoors as in." Raff answered, then figured this was a good a time as any to ask what had been on his mind for a while. Trying to keep his voice steady and not sound too hopeful, he inquired, "But speaking of Cyn, have you heard from him lately?"

"Not in over a month," Noticing the half-elf's face fall, he asked, "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing's happened, which is the problem." At Kendric's blank stare, Raff sighed again. "I haven't heard from him in even longer than that. I'm worried. Possibly his letters are being stolen, but..."

"I'm sure he's fine, Raff. One of us would have heard if it were otherwise."

"You're probably right. But if this thief does have those letters, he'll regret it. I swear."

Kendric nodded, knowing that he wouldn't want to be on the bad side of the Messengers, particularly this one. Messing with people who have perfected practical jokes to a career is never a bright move. "Then we'll just have to do what we can to catch him. Assuming you priests have this sorted out on your end, I'll bring the message by in two days."

"Perfect. If anything changes, I'll send my bird again." As the two rose, he added gratefully, "Thank you so much, Kenny- with your help we just might be able t'pull this off. The Messengers- well, the ones in on this- will be very thankful for your assistance."

The man reddened, feeling abashed but pleased. "Pah, you know you only had to ask. You don't have to twist my arm for me to admit that I miss spending time with you crazy clerics."

Before Kendric could say anything else, he was startled by his brother unexpectedly hugging him tightly with a muffled "Love ye." It shouldn't have surprised him since he knew that, despite being half-elven (elves, in Kendric's knowledge, were the epitome of stoic and bland), Raff always wore his heart on his sleeve, but it was something the man still couldn't become accustomed to; he was from a society where everyone- particularly the men- hid their true feelings and avoided showing any kind of passion or emotion. He could count on one hand (and still have a finger or two left over) the number of times his real brother had told him that, and Cyn was a self-proclaimed rebel of their caste.

Kendric's awkward return of the embrace seemed to satisfy the half-elf, though; Raff grinned rather waggishly before bounding out of the room. He does that on purpose, doesn't he? Kendric asked himself, shaking his head.



The next part can be found here.

A letter to Kendric, Cyneric's brother

Kenny (oh, stop rolling your eyes; you should be well aware by now that we're not going to cease calling you that),
It is unfortunate that you are not nearby because I could really use your good sense and knowledge of military strategy. Yes, you read that accurately; I'm sure I've piqued your interest since I loathe military matters, so I should amend that to say that my traveling companions could use that expertise. They certainly won't listen to my reasoning. However much I've always avoided learning about martial tactics, even I realize that running into a battle where you're outnumbered in enemy territory after the warning alarm has been sounded is a bad idea. I like my friends, but gods, if there's an iota of rational thought in any of them, I'd be surprised. What's the use of charging in as a rescue party if you're just going to need to be rescued in turn? Times like this I look forward to the day when I'm in charge of a mosque and no longer have to deal with stupidity or recklessness. Oh, all right, that's naively optimistic; I see what complications Armand has to deal with on a regular basis and know that it will just be a different kind of asininity and stress. Let me have my moment of daydreaming, okay?

I know it irks my traveling companions that I'm not any sort of fighter and will avoid doing harm unless I have no other choice, but... I'm no adventurer. (I'm not even a normal Messenger, when you think about it, which would at least make me some help to the party...) If I must fight, I prefer to go into it with a carefully thought out plan and an escape route ready. For that matter, I prefer to go into anything with a plan and a means of escape, and I don't understand how people can just throw reason to the wind and hope for the best. But this is a rant I won't get into; you are already quite aware of my feelings on the subject.

Speaking of brash individuals, have you heard from Raff lately? Perhaps his correspondences haven't caught up to me, but the last one I received was well over a month ago and that's rare for him. I've sent a few letters in that time but I have no idea if he's getting them or not because surely he would have replied by now. I've heard some rumors while passing through Woodland, but... if they are true, I certainly cannot go into them here, so suffice it to say that it could explain this delay.

I'm going to try not to worry because I'm sure I would have heard word if something was amiss, but please let me know if you hear from him; last I knew he was traveling west, so you'll likely get in touch with him first. It's just my luck that the two people I hold most dear are to the west when that's the one direction I have never been sent.

If only the Messengers had a way of sending word over vast distances in a more expeditious (and secure, if my above speculations turn out to be correct) manner. The Gates are a step in the right direction (pun intended), but I can't help thinking that there could be another way- preferably a way that didn't involve things exploding. Sound travels well so perhaps there could be a way to harness that, or perhaps something involving telepathic magic... well, it's something I shall ponder.

Your exasperated little brother,
Cyn


((Look at me, sneakily tying together two of my plotlines and three of my characters. ;) I had originally planned on posting this after the D&D group finished our current adventure, but since we haven't been able to play, it turns out I'll end up posting Raff's story before that happens. And why does that matter? Because this letter ties into that story, which I'll start posting here on the 13th. Ye gads, do you know how hard it is to keep a story secret for five months?))

Adventures of a Young Messenger - Breaking the News (Part 4)

Part 4 - Breaking the News
(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6)


I awoke the next morning to an unfamiliar weight on my feet. Climbing out of bed, I noticed that the fox had returned, likely through the window that was now slightly ajar. It's a good thing my room was on the ground floor, because otherwise the fox would have... needed wings... actually, that wouldn't be so strange, all things considered, would it? Anyway, determined to leave that day regardless of my parents' opinions, I got dressed and packed my belongings. Here was yet more proof that I was never cut out to be noble; everything important to me fit into one bag with room to spare. This I slung across my back, then headed to the kitchen to find some food to take with me, knowing that it would take me at least a day to get to Woodland on foot.

Leaving the fox in the hallway with my backpack, I found the kitchen bustling as the cook and her help put together breakfast, so I was able to grab some meat and bread and an apple without anyone taking particular notice of me. The kitchen workers were used to my coming and going over the years as I grabbed lunch on the run from my lessons or a few odds and ends to give to my animal friends, and an innocent expression usually got me out of trouble if the cook happened to catch me. This time I earned a raised eyebrow from said woman, but fortunately she didn't try to stop me as I hurried out. I was thankful for small favors there; my mother must have forgotten about me enough to not warn her that under no condition was I to be allowed outdoors, which, as the staff knew well by now, was always my intention when I entered the kitchen.

I figured that by now my family would be sitting down for breakfast and hoping that would distract them some (and counting on Kendric to come to my aid or, knowing him, cause extra distraction if necessary), I picked up my bag, and with the fox at my heels, headed for the dining area to tell them my intentions. Luck was with me because I arrived at the same time as my brother, who gave the fox a head scratch and me a reassuring smile before going in. I waited a few minutes, then followed him with the large fox close by my side. Unsurprisingly, even after clearing my throat a few times my parents failed to notice our presence until the fox made a little growl, at which point my mother and sister began shrieking about how there was a wild animal in the house and how dare I bring that dirty thing in. My brother and I exchanged amused looks while our father tried to calm the women down; the fox gave the scene a vulpine grin, seemingly pleased. Figuring this was a good time while everything was in chaos, I loudly (and with pride, I'll admit) stated above the din, "Just to inform you all, I have been Called by Hermes and, as I'm now under his jurisdiction, will be leaving for Woodland today."

That got everyone's attention. My father looked rather bewildered while my sister wisely said nothing and seemed to be concentrating far too hard on her breakfast. My mother, on the other hand, glowered and exclaimed with disdain something along the lines of "Hermes? Why would you ever pick him?" (Even from across the room, I saw that she was giving Him a small "h".) After my brother finally explained to our father what "jurisdiction" meant (I couldn't even look at Ken at this point, fearing that if I did, I'd break into laughter at the absolute asininity of this whole thing), my father frowned, but began to try to quiet my mother down lest she say something that would earn them dangerous attention from a deity (never a good idea). Looking from the fox to me and back to the fox, she finally lowered her complaints to an inaudible grumble. Before they could think of any sort of logical argument (unlikely as that would be), I then let them know again that I would be leaving now and not to worry about sending anyone with me (also doubtful, but to keep up appearances they might have) since Woodland was hardly a long trek away.

Trusting that Ken would handle his side of the plan, and not wanting to give my parents any time to stop me, I said a quick goodbye and walked out of the room. I later learned from my brother that the fox gave a long, unblinking stare to both of my parents in turn, leaving them speechless for quite some time, and then gave a sly grin to Ken before following me out.


(Part 5 can be found here.)

Adventures of a Young Messenger - Called by a God (Part 3)

Part 3 - Called by a God
(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6)


There was no sign of the fox for the next few days, and I began to feel disappointed and somewhat foolish. Perhaps it had just been a normal wild fox and maybe the amber had just appeared there by sheer random chance? I sincerely hoped not, but it was possible (and little did I know, I was dealing with a Trickster). On the third night, however, I found the fox sitting in the same spot waiting for me as I strolled with my retinue of stray cats and the odd squirrel. Feeling strangely happy about this, I grinned and said hello. Once again he gave me an odd stare, but this time I didn't feel uncomfortable; if anything, it felt like I was being greeted by an old friend. The fox then rose and, supplanting one of the cats, took his place at my side where he stayed for the remainder of my walk. This same thing occurred for the next few days: I'd reach that spot and the fox would be there to join me. He turned out to be an even better listener than the usual animals I met in my nocturnal travels because, while most animals would sit still while I talked to them, he actually appeared to understand. I must have shared my whole life's story with him in that short time, although what interest that was to a fox, I had no idea.

Unfortunately my birthday soon arrived, bringing with it the accustomed unusual attentiveness by my family for the next day or two while they recalled my existence. I don't remember much of what happened on that birthday, it being spent trying to avoid the usual lectures by my parents along with the added problem of being anxious to get another chance to see the fox, but I do remember Kendric's gift. Unlike the rest of my family who only ever gave me things I neither wanted nor needed (daggers, bits of armor, a sword, books on subjects that didn't interest me... I passed them all on to Ken who could use them), my brother always knew what would be appreciated and this time was no different; he had noticed that I'd begun wearing that piece of amber and had gotten me a strong gold chain for it. This he gave to me along with the cryptic comment, "Good luck". Looking back, I probably should have asked what he meant, but I think I just assumed he was giving me another warning to not let anyone else know what had been happening. It turns out, though, that Ken may have been having one of those psychic sibling moments that occasionally popped up between us.

I wasn't able to sneak out of the house again for a few nights, much to my frustration and impatience, but when I finally did, I was disappointed to find that the fox was once again not waiting for me in his usual spot. With a sigh, figuring that it must have gotten bored with waiting and wandered off somewhere else, I continued on my walk. It wasn't until I'd reached the last part of my wanderings before I'd turn to go back home that I noticed him sitting up on the small hill at the edge of the property. I almost called out to him, forgetting that yelling out would be a bad idea, when the full moon came out from behind the clouds and shone a brilliant beam of light onto the fox. Confused but curious about this sudden show of dramatics focused on an animal, I climbed the hill to investigate. At the top I noticed that, although it was the same fox, he appeared even larger and more vividly-colored than usual, and he seemed to be holding something white in his mouth. Before I could get a better look, he padded over to me and dropped what turned out to be a scroll at my feet. Grateful for the bright moonlight, I saw that it had a small winged fox emblem embossed in the wax seal and was addressed to me by name. (Even then, overwhelmed as I was, I was curious about how an animal could know that the words "Cyneric Conroy" belonged to me. Now that I'm a Messenger, I realize it's quite simple for even an unintelligent animal to carry a message, but at that moment it added to the unearthly atmosphere.)

Breaking the wax and unrolling the scroll, I saw that it read in neat, even handwriting:
"Dear Cyneric,
Congratulations! We have learned at the Woodland Mosque what you have likely deduced some time ago: you have been Called by Hermes to become one of His Messengers. I asked my four-legged friend to convey this message to you as I know that he will get this scroll to you safely. Please conclude whatever needs to be completed and set out as soon as you can. The fox has agreed to stay by your side until you arrive and I hope that he will help convince your kin that you are serious.
We hope to meet you soon,
Armand, Head Messenger- Order of the Fleet Fox, Woodland"

Flipping it over I noticed the words:
"PS. This letter will self-destruct in five seconds upon reading this sentence."

Then further down:
"Just kidding!"

After staring in befuddlement at the bizarre mixed message from this letter and wondered how whoever this "Armand" was knew what my parents' reactions would be, I looked down to see the fox gazing at me intently. Guessing that he wanted some sort of answer, I nodded. The fox nuzzled my hand affectionately and ran off, which puzzled me greatly; he seemed to like me and the note did just tell me he would stay, after all. I shrugged, figuring that he was probably just hungry, and hurried back home to show the letter to Kendric and, with his help, plan out a good way to break the news to my parents.



(Part 4 can be found here.)

Adventures of a Young Messenger - A Gift from a Fox (Part 2)

Part 2 - A Gift from a Fox
(Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6)


A narrative telling of the events that occurred in August 689CC

It was on a warm, clear summer night shortly before my eleventh birthday when I first met the fox who was to become my companion for the short time I was barred from the outdoors. Why was I so forbidden? Because my fool of a father feared that one of his sons would become a druid, which he ranked just above musician and well under gardener, who he considered to at least be useful. You can't have a member of the aristocracy stooping so low, of course.

I had been staring into the distance at nothing, musing about how I could get away and become something other than what my family had planned for me (yes, tall thoughts for a child, but this was frequently on my mind), when shrill yipping pulled me out of my reverie. Looking around, I spotted a large fox barking at one of the stray cats that occasionally joined me on my secret walks. The poor cat looked ... well, when I later thought back to it, she looked confused rather than frightened, but my reaction was to scoop her up in my arms to put her out of reach of the much larger opponent. Shouting to the fox as loudly as I dared (not wanting to bring any notice to the fact that I was where I shouldn't be), I demanded that it go away. That sounds strange, but I've always had a way with animals and often just talking to them would get them to do what I wanted. This time, however, not only did I not scare the fox off, it sat down in the grass and stared at me with far more intelligence that I'd even seen in a wild animal. It was as if the gaze was reading me, or weighing me for something. That eerie action flustered me, and for some reason I tried to hide that fact by whispering soothing words to the cat and pretended to ignore the fox.

Time passed; it couldn't have been more than a few seconds but it felt like far longer, when suddenly, not sensing those keen eyes on me any longer, I looked up to find that the fox had vanished. He could have ran away, I suppose, but that didn't seem quite right. The cat jumped out of my arms and began sniffing where the fox had been sitting- that was when I noticed that the cat was confused, not frightened or worried. As I stood there, rather bewildered, the cat noticed something on the ground shining in the moonlight and began to paw at whatever it was. I walked over and picked it up, finding it to be a small, flat piece of amber. I held it up to the moonlight to get a better look and saw that inside was a tiny, flawless feather. I'd spent much of my life outdoors and never had I found a stone or the like to be so perfectly formed, so I stuck it in my pocket to get a better look at later. The cat seemed to approve of this action because she rubbed against my leg as I put it in my pocket, then followed me back to the house.

The next day, feeling like I should keep this treasure a secret but wanting someone's opinion, I revealed it to my brother Kendric and explained what had occurred the night before. Not knowing much (okay, nothing) about rocks or things found outdoors, he could only shrug, but added, "Cyn, that sounds uncanny. I wouldn't tell anyone else if I were you". Ken was well aware of what had happened when my family learned of me sneaking off to spend time with animals, and knew that telling them that I still did so would just get me into deeper trouble.

I began wearing the amber knotted on a length of cord tucked under my shirt where it has remained ever since, and, at the good advice of my older brother, told no one else.

(Part 3 can be found here.)

Adventures of a Young Messenger - The Black Sheep (Part 1)

Part 1 - The Black Sheep
(or is it "red fox"?)
(Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6)



A narrative telling of the events that occurred in August 689CC

I don't often talk about my family and there's a good reason for that: I'm the black sheep. That idiom is oddly appropriate as it is animal-related, but I'll get to that later.

You would think that in a prestigious, aristocratic family, it would be a given that the youngest son would enter some sort of priesthood. In my family that was not so. Well, I suppose that it did work out to be the case, but it wasn't what my father intended, which was for all of his sons to follow in his footsteps and become warriors of some sort. His plan seemed to be working fine as my eldest brother, Osric, happily went off to serve as a page and just as enthusiastically became a knight when he reached the appropriate age, then slid gracefully into the position of landholder when our father passed the estate on to him. Next was Kendric, who, while not quite as enthusiastic as Os, managed to find his niche in the army and is now currently serving as a lieutenant at the castle town. Even our sister Bryn fit into the scheme by marrying an officer.

And then there was me. I never had any interest whatsoever in learning how to fight, which caused no end of trouble. Ken is only a year older, so we had most of our lessons at the same time, and of all my siblings he's the one I'm closest to. He didn't understand why I wanted to sneak off, but he was always up for causing some sort of distraction (okay, trouble) so I could get away from the kinds of lessons that I hated. Eventually our tutors in those subjects stopped bothering to look for me, figuring that since I was the youngest son, I would probably just end up doing something scholarly anyway. That is what I excelled at; by nine I could read anything in the (rather sparse) library and was much further advanced than either of my brothers when it came to logic, reading, and numbers.

Although not pleased by my aversion to what he deemed important, my father would likely have let this slide (my having two more important brothers to occupy his time) if it wasn't for the fact that my family eventually realized why it was that I was sneaking off from the strategic and weapons-training lessons: to spend time in the wooded areas around our land, talking to the animals. Even then, when I couldn't speak with them in words yet, they were still better company than most of the humans around me. I suppose that I was fortunate to be so ignored that no one noticed this until I was ten, which was when the second shoe subsequently dropped. After my father loudly exclaimed things along the lines of "no son of mine will be one of them druids!", I was pretty much exiled from the outdoors. Life would have been entirely boring had I obeyed, but I found a way to sneak out almost every night (with Ken's help again, of course- I could have been found talking to a tree stump or a rock, and he wouldn't have thought any less of me). After a while a large, vibrantly colored fox began joining me on my evening walks and then... well, that's a story in and of itself, so I'll tell that later. Suffice it to say that just after my eleventh birthday I was Called by Hermes.

The next day during breakfast I proudly walked up to my parents and informed them that I was now under Hermes' jurisdiction and would be entering His nearest mosque in Woodland. The looks on their faces were priceless! There was some mumbling (mostly along the lines of "Hermes? Couldn't you have picked a more stately god?" by my mother and "What's this 'jurisdiction' thing?" by my father) of course, but my parents were at least smart enough to know that getting on the wrong side of any deity (even one they deemed "working class") would be a Bad Idea and so sent me on my way.

Over the years, I've largely patched up the relationship with my family, but I doubt I'll ever be particularly close to any of them besides my one brother; Os and Bryn are nice enough people, in their own ways, but they were too much older than me to really be anything more than distant acquaintances. As an adult, the main problem is that I'm still far too different from my kin; I have no interest in the small things that they consider important and they don't understand how I can be happy with the path I took. I do have to say, however, that I appreciate the fact that Ken enjoys a good practical joke. I suppose there is always one bright part to every family, no matter how unpleasant the rest may be.

(Part 2 can be found here.)

((Meri here. I'm going to be writing up these stories about Cyneric every so often, so look for more soon. I miss writing and this'll be good practice for the creative/fictional kind. :) ))