Cowlquape
"Everything started a day or so after your supposed death" Ernest began, taking a quick, shy glance at me before looking down at his plate. "The scholars were shocked that of your death sir, and while some were joyous of the death, most mourned your death, sir." I blinked, surprised at this news but inside, I couldn't help feeling a little tinge of happiness that I wasn't a complete failure.
"The scholars had no idea what to do. There was no will or any instruction whatsoever as to what to do if the Most High Academe was dead and the camp was in a state of worry." Then Vox stepped forward with a proposal. He offered to become the next Most High Academe on the condition that we abandoned the idea of New Sanctaphrax."
Ernest paused for a moment and took a few mouthfuls of his food and while he did it, I shot a quick look over at Twig. He caught my glance and I could see the curiosity in his eyes, gleaming brightly. I loved gazing at his eyes when he asked questions or was listening to a story. He just looked so handsome and I would feel myself drowning in his emerald green eyes.
Twig smiled and must have thought that my reason for looking at him was because I was worried because he shot me a reassuring look and a smile before Ernest looked up again and continued with, "The scholars were shocked that Vox would suggest such an idea and at first, rejected the idea. Vox was powerful however, and greatly influenced a group of scholars before the week was out. These scholars convinced at least half of the camp to agree to Vox's proposal while the other half still argued against it."
The camp split into two and remained as far away from each other as possible, the scholars who were against abandoning New Sanctaphrax continuing to try and find a Most High Academe while the scholars who wanted Vox to be the next Most High Academe lived their own lives. And for the shortest of times, there was temporary peace.
Vox continued to persuade them, doing everything in his power to change their minds but to no avail. When he realized that the remaining half of the camp could not be persuaded, he turned his half of the camp against the other half of the camp and a mini battle took place. Until then, Vox had supplied the other half of the camp with food and water, in hopes of persuading them but then he cut it off completely.
The camp couldn't reason with him and so the remaining half of the camp began to starve and the weaker children and young apprentices began to die. My best friend died thanks to Vox." Ernest stopped and bit his lip, all the time looking at the floor. He looked so vulnerable and alone just then and I felt a pang of pity was over me.
I was about to ask whether he'd like to continue or not but at that moment he looked up and continued with, " Soon, Vox couldn't stand having the other camp anywhere near him and instead asked them to move completely away. They refused of course."
"And what side of this battle where you on lad?" Twig asked softly. "The side against Vox and abandoning New Sanctaphrax" Ernest answered promptly and Twig nodded thoughtfully.
"When they wouldn't, Vox decided to set an example to the rest of the scholars and thought up a plan. So, in the middle of the night, he sent scholars to go to our camp and torch the entire thing down. Everything was burnt, not a thing left behind and some of the camp died." Ernest hesitated and looked at the ground before whispering quietly, "My parents were one of them."
I bit my lip. "Would you like to stop now Ernest?" I asked softly, placing one of my hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to continue if you don't want to." Ernest was silent for a moment; evidently thinking about what I had just said when I heard Twig's voice say, "No, you should talk."
I was shocked and I looked at him disapprovingly. Twig had been acting strangely towards Ernest ever since the moment we met him and I had thought that he didn't trust Ernest very much until he offered that Ernest come back with us. Recognizing my look, he quickly explained, "Talking about horrible times in your life make you feel better. I should know, I've used the trick countless times in my life."
I sighed inwardly in relief and smiled at him as way of apology before turning back to Ernest, who by know had looked up and started to smile. He nodded and sat back before pursued with, "Vox's camp was being burnt down as well. By a man, a man called Ulbus Pentephraxis."
My chest tightened and I felt that familiar wave of fear watch over me and it took all my willpower not to tremble. I felt sick. Just the mention of my father's name was enough to make me shake in fear. "He killed Vox with a sword and showed us his dead body. He demanded that we surrender and become his people or we would meet the same fate. He told us he was taking us somewhere far away and that we should prepare for a long journey.
He left after that but I followed him. He went down countless alleyways and walked for quite a long time until we reached the tavern he was staying in. I followed him up the stairs and saw which room he was in and then quietly hid in the tavern. When I saw him leave, I went back up the stairs and into his room and found some kind of map with a mark on it. I took it" Ernest said, in an ashamed manner.
"Do you have the map now?" Twig asked and I smiled to myself as I heard the telltale hint of excitement in his voice that occurred whenever a new adventure arises. Ernest nodded and smiled and from the pocket of his robe, drew out a scroll. He placed it on the table and unfurled it, spreading it over the table. The map was one of the most detailed maps I had ever come across, with the whole of the Edge drawn in minute detail.
There was a small red mark in the section of the map, representing the Deepwoods and he pointed it out to the two of us. Twig examined the map with interest, marveling over the detail and the skill it must have taken to make it. Once he was done, I turned back to Ernest and asked him what happened to him after he stole the map. "There's not much to tell after that. I took the map and ran off just like that. I was hiding in the streets of Undertown ever since then" finished Ernest.
"What about the Undertowners ? Did they go with Ulbus Pentephraxis as well?" Twig asked, looking up from the map he was still admiring. Ernest nodded sadly and replied, "They were dragged out of their homes and were taken as well. Only the weak stayed behind, while everyone who was fit and able was forced to join the scholars."
There was silence, as we were each left to our own thoughts for a moment. " Well then, we have some work to do" Twig said, breaking the silence around us, "We'll find a place for you to stay, Ernest and then I'll show this map to the crew and then we'll set sail." By now Twig was positively beaming and walked out the door with a new spring in his step.
I smiled to myself once more and got up also before saying, "now then Ernest, let's find you a place to sleep." Ernest stood up and scraped his chair against the floor like young'uns often do and followed me out onto the deck. I traversed the usual route to my cabin which I had adopted during the time I had been on the ship, but instead of going inside, I continued until I reached the next door. I opened it to find an empty, although well aired cabin and offered it to Ernest.
He seemed to like the cabin and immediately rushed to the window to see the clouds and the sky. He stood there for some time, gazing around him in wonder and I waited there in the doorway with a small smile on my face.
Suddenly a thought crossed my mind and I said tentatively, "who will you live with, now that you're parents are… gone?" Ernest turned back to me and bit his lip but he wasn't sad, he was thoughtful. "I… I don't know. I've never thought about it before" he admitted. "I suppose I would live on my own. Or with someone my parents knew." I nodded and smiled before leaving him to some rest.
I went back to my own cabin and put my rucksack on my bed and reached in for the things I had packed. I put away all my things and lay down on the bed, despite the early hour. I was tired and everything that Ernest had told us was almost too much to handle. There were too many shocking details to take in all at the one time and despite having it all explained to me, I was still confused.
On one hand was the fact that all the Undertowner and scholars had been forced to going somewhere far away and on the other hand was my father. For the first time since I saw my father in the cell I wondered how he had survived the storm. Although my father's body had not been found, there had been witnesses who said they had seen him get crushed by the debris of a skyship.
I sighed, yet another mystery to solve. And then there was Vox's murder. We may have never been friends, let alone acquaintances but I still felt horrible that he had died. But that was what happened to anyone who trusted or worked for my father, they all ended up dead.
There was also Ernest. He was an orphan now, his parents dead and he was so young, a mere six or seven, far too young to be without parents. Then I had an idea and I was surprised I hadn't thought of it sooner. As soon as everything was straightened out, I would be able to make sure that Ernest had shelter and food. I was Most High Academe after all.
A knock at the door interrupted me from my musings and a second later a very excited Twig appeared in the doorway, followed closely by Ernest. "Cowlquape, look at this!" Twig said eagerly, spreading the map onto the table in my cabin. I got up and walked over to the map and waited for Twig to start talking. "This map is one of the best I have ever come across! There are absolutely no coordinates at all and the location is hidden so perfectly, it's almost impossible to find."
Twig then went on to talk about coordinates and maps and degrees and leagues and despite spending most of my time in the library reading barkscrolls, I had no idea as to what he was saying and my mind began to wander off. I absentmindedly looked at Ernest and saw the immense confusion in his eyes as he struggled to keep up with Twig's excitement.
"Isn't that interesting?" Twig asked, turning to the two of us with a grin on his face. His words had bought the two of us out of our separate reveries and to save face I nodded and smiled. His grin grew wider as he turned to Ernest who also nodded. "Well, I should go. I'll come and visit later." I nodded once more and he left the room.
Ernest looked up at me with a befuddled expression on his face. I laughed slightly and said, "He's not always like that. He was just excited; he loves this kind of thing." Ernest nodded and smiled and said, "Is that a Kobold the Wise barkscroll over there?" pointing at a bookcase. "You know him?" I asked, surprised. "He's my hero" Ernest replied.
"Well in that case, take the barkscroll if you want. You can read it. I took the barkscroll and handed it to him and he looked up at me and asked, "What do you know about Kobold the Wise?"
"We'd be here all day if I told you" I said, sitting on the bed. "Well, I have lots of time" Ernest countered, sitting next to me.
I smiled to myself. What an interesting boy indeed!
