Chapter 30
The red knight led Sillac down a long passageway, past several dungeons, and then finally to the throne room. He took her through the throne room and a little farther back until they came to a small bedroom door. The knight knocked twice before a strong but tired female voice said, "Come in."
Sillac entered the room and laid eyes on the most striking young Sacaen girl he had ever seen. She had green hair, tied behind her in a pony tail, and a long blue and yellow dress that spilt at the sides. She gestured for Sillac to take a seat, and then took a deep breath before she sat down herself.
"You wish to know about Oji, formerly of the Lorca tribe, correct?" she said stolidly.
"Formerly?" he questioned, hoping that this did not mean that Oji was dead.
"He was asked to leave our tribe. When he left on his quest to become a master swordsman, we did not expect to see him back for some time. Then, several years later, he unexpectedly arrived, followed by several men tailing him. If it were not for my father's bravery, the entire village would have most certainly been killed. After that horrid episode, Oji was kicked out of our village, and asked never to return. That was shortly before the village was attacked…"
Her voice trailed off, occupied elsewhere, so Sillac sat patiently, waiting for her to come back down to earth.
"Why are you still here?" she demanded. "What else do you need to know?"
"I wish to know where he went. He stayed in my village in Ilia for many years, and he taught me all that I know about the sword. Please! I must know where he went. What do you know?"
"When Oji left, he said that he was going west, to Lycia, to redeem his honor. We all scoffed, but if he survived, then he may well be living a quiet life in Lycia somewhere. More than that, I do not know."
Sillac was rather disappointed with the lack of information, but it was all that he had to go on. However, he was determined to leave this place as informed as possible. However, before he could ask any more questions, Lyn spoke again.
"Talk to one of the knights if you wish to know more. They have lived here much longer than I have."
She left the room, and the red knight took this as his cue to escort Sillac out of the room and back to the side door. Along the way, Sillac decided that this was one of the knights that Lyn had spoken of, and he asked him where he would be most likely to find a great swordsman.
"Your best bet would be in Ostia, I believe. Swordsmen there are often employed as trainers for their knights. Either look there or in the arena. Whatever you do, do be careful. Milady Lyn is very tired, as am I. She cared very much about what you had to say, regardless of her reaction. Her grandfather is close to death, and she is taking on all of the responsibilities of running a country. Please do not judge her at this moment."
"Thank you, sir knight. Do you have a name?"
"Yes. My name is Kent. Fare thee well."
"And you too. Thank you for your hospitality."
So Sillac, finally armed with the knowledge that Oji was residing somewhere in Lycia, had a place to search. He stayed the night at an inn in the neighboring village, and then left first thing the next morning for Ostia.
Chapter 31
Aemun and Patrick spoke about many things as they walked along the road to Ostia, though most of it was trivial. However, Aemun did teach Patrick a little bit about magic.
"Aemun, answer me this. I know that anima magic gets more powerful as the mind of the user learns words of power and studies the substance in nature. I know that the power of elder magic increases as the user opens their body to the darkness. I know that the power of light magic grows stronger when you open your soul to faith in Elimine. But what I do not know is what happens when you use anima and dark magic. Tell me, what does it feel like?"
"You have asked an interesting question. Neither of them feel anything like using light magic. The righteous burst of power is not there. You feel a convergence of sorts, of all of the study and training that you have done, finally reaching its zenith when you let loose the power of nature's fury. This is probably why anima users seem to do so much better against light magic, because we are not doing something that can be seen as inherently evil. But then, even stronger than anima magic is dark magic. By letting the forces of darkness into you, you can attain power greater than any anima magic could ever hope to grant. However, this can come at a great price, as I am sure that you already know."
Patrick nodded in reply. They continued to walk down the road in silence for a while, and then Hector shouted that is was time to take a break for a meal. Aemun helped Patrick unload the places, and then they began to speak again, this time about Ostia.
"I must confess," said Aemun, "I have never been to this large of a city before. I lived in a small village in southern Ilia, on the border of the mountains there. What is it like?"
"Ostia is an incredible place," said Patrick. "There are enough streets to go exploring for years, and by the time you have seen it all, everything will have changed. The school of magic is impressive, and it is taught by some of the foremost mages in Etruria. Sometimes, the Mage General himself even comes. I don't know what he sees in his student though. You seem to be better than he is."
"What else is at the school? Tell me all about it."
"Some of it you will just have to wait and see for yourself. It is beyond description. However, I do have some friends there. One is another monk like myself, named Jacob. The other….well, her name is Laurana… You'll just have to meet her. With her around, everything is always…interesting, to say the least."
Aemun's mind was already gone from the road, dreaming of a fantastic place full of magic that he had never been to. New things awaited him, that much he knew. As he thought, he realized that this was probably the reason why they were forced to leave home to make their own way in Elibe in the first place. He had already seen more in his first few weeks of travels then he had seen in his hometown for almost his entire life. Aemun grew up a little bit that day. But the real surprises waited for him at the Ostian School of Magic.
As promised to my one very loyal reader, Derra (w00t), there will be some hopefully vivid pyrotechnics at the beginning of this chapter.
Chapter 32
Kara watched the guard, almost drooling in anticipation of the destruction that was to follow. Replayed in her mind in slow motion, the guard grabbed the bucket, his brow lined with the wrinkles of duty. He took majestic strides toward the already large blaze. He slid to a halt just a few feet short of the blaze. He turned the bucket almost sideways. His weight shifted back and then let loose the bucket of oil.
The oil traveled in a graceful arc. It came nearer and nearer to the blaze. The guard never knew what hit him. The flames instantly snaked themselves up the oil, consuming first the air, then the bucket, before causing a beautifully violent explosion that sent what was left of calm in the room into utter chaos. Kara kept a level head, and looked for her target.
She saw the man standing in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. Guests everywhere were panicking. Kara took advantage of the mob and shouted, "To the dungeons! We'll be safe there!" The handful of people around her, which included her target, immediately moved toward the dungeon. Kara grinned in satisfaction. She let some of the others lead the way. By the time they got to the dungeon, there were six people who had managed to keep up.
Kara had planned out the next stages of her scheme. First, she had to get them all into the dungeon and then lock the door. The first part went well. Everybody got into the dungeon just fine. Then, she locked the door, being careful not to make it noticeable. Then, she headed down the stairs to complete her mission.
They all sat down around the small mess hall that was in the dungeon. They went around to introduce themselves. The first was her target. She already knew all that there was to know about him. He was a dead man. The second was a small old lady. She was the godmother of her target's recently assassinated brother. Her name was Sil. Then, there was a soldier who had been in Bern's army for many years, whose name was Jarid. The next was Kara. She introduced herself as a kitchen servant who had followed her master. Then, there was a middle-aged couple who were somehow related to one of the guests of honor at the dinner.
Kara didn't really bother with them. She was focused on her target. She would have killed him right then and there if it hadn't been for that damned ex-soldier. For now, she decided to wait until someone discovered that there was a locked door. She asked her master if she could do anything, but her master said that he had nothing that she needed to do. She sat back and waited for the fun to begin.