The Guardian walked along the path that would take her out of the Wraithmarsh. She was carrying a little bag tied across her chest where she had placed her few possessions and, despite having left the marsh, she was still wearing her robe and the hood still covered her face.
Since the night Oakvale was destroyed, so many years ago, she had been wearing hooded robes as a sign of eternal mourning for the dead and she felt that if she showed her face again, it would disrespect them. She didn't know why she had survived and she had been feeling guilty about it for as long as she could remember. Why was she alive when everyone else on the village, even her loved ones, had suffered such horrible deaths? Why did he do this? Why did he allow this catastrophe to happen?
The Guardian reached the end of the path, which led to a crossroads. She had to find that man, she needed to find him, she needed an answer…but she didn't know where to start looking for him. She knew some things about him that could help in her search: she knew his name and his profession. But a long time had already passed…would this little information be enough to find him around all of Albion? And what if he had left Albion? For all she knew, he could have even change professions.
- "No"- she thought- "He loved being a pirate…he must still be one".
The Guardian remained tho9ughtful for a moment and looked at a muddy path that lied before her.
- "I must start my search in Bloodstone"- she thought- "That's where all pirates go…or at least used to".
She started making her way to the coastal town, hoping to find it as she remembered it. As soon as she arrived, the shouts and laughter of pirates welcomed her. The streets were dirty and filled with urchins and women of ill-reputation, and a lot of pirate ships were tied to its harbor.
The Guardian had never liked Bloodstone, she had always considered it a dangerous place to go, but she was relieved to see that nothing had changed in all this time.
As she walked along the harbor, a feeling of nostalgia invaded her and tears filled her eyes as she looked at the ships' sails waving in the wind. It had been so long since she last came here and she had almost forgotten what life was like outside the Wraithmarsh. But she hadn't come here to reminisce about old times, she had to find him, she had to find the man who destroyed it all...
She quickly wiped her tears and looked around until she spotted an old man who seemed to be the watcher of the harbor.
- "Excuse me, sir"- she said, approaching him- "I'm looking for a certain pirate".
The old man looked at her and frowned.
- "There are a lot of pirates here, lass"- he said, trying to see her face.
- "The pirate I'm looking for is called Lucious…Lucious Willingham".
The old man raised his eyebrow and scoffed.
- "Lass, do ye know how many pirates by the name of Lucious are there here in Bloodstone? And we don't know about surnames here! Only nicknames".
The Guardian raised her head.
- "I…I don't know any nickname for him…"
- "Do ye know the name of his Captain or his ship?"- the old man went on.
- "Yes, he…he's a pirate on the Intrepid"- she lowered her head sadly- "I don't know who the Captain is".
- "The Intrepid?"- said the old man frowning- "There's no ship with this name in Bloodstone, lass".
- "Do you mean that it's not here at the moment?"
- "No, I mean that I have never seen such ship in Bloodstone. I have been a watcher since I was a kid and I can assure ye no Intrepid ship ever set anchor in this harbor"- he said firmly.
The Guardian sighed, feeling so disappointed. What would she do now? The old man seemed so convinced of what he was saying, but he was quite old, maybe his memory was already failing him. She had to ask someone else, someone who was a pirate and could have encountered the Intrepid in his trips.
- "Thank you for your time, sir"- she said while making her way to the local tavern.
It was not the first time that she went to The Leper's Arms and her memories of the place were not pleasant. As soon as she opened the door, she understood why they weren't: dozens of pirates shouted and laughed annoyingly loud while others were fighting with their sword dangerously close to the waitresses and other patrons, and others were flirting with prostitutes.
Seeing this scene made her feel glad she had stayed behind in the Wraithmarsh to protect her people all these years. Life in Bloodstone was not good or safe and, even though the marsh was also a dangerous place, she had made sure that no creature would ever hurt anyone living there. If only the shadows hadn't lied to her about the other survivors and the creation of a new village…
The Guardian entered the tavern and walked around the tables nervously, hoping to find the face of the man she was looking for, but he didn't seem to be there.
Suddenly, she spotted a tanned bald pirate in a corner. His arms were covered with tattoos and his ears filled with golden earrings. He seemed to be a quite experienced pirate, and she was sure that he had travelled a lot around Albion and must have known something interesting for her.
She approached him carefully.
- "Excuse me…I'm looking for someone".
The pirate looked at her with an annoyed expression.
- "And how is that me business?"- he replied irritated.
- "I'm looking for a pirate called Lucious…His ship is the Intrepid".
The pirate left his drink on the table violently.
- "I know no Lucious and no Intrepid"- he said aggressively- "Now get out of me face, ye filthy witch! I know yer kind…with all these robes and everything".
The Guardian frowned.
- "I'm not a witch, I can assure you. I'm just looking for this man and I thought you may have…"
- "Witch! Witch! We have a witch in our tavern! She will curse us all, she will!"- shouted the pirate loudly.
Suddenly, everyone in the tavern looked at her and booed, so she ran towards the door quickly, leaving the place.
The Guardian sighed. What would she do now? No one in Bloodstone so far seemed to know about the man or his ship and the pirates didn't seem so cooperative anyway. She was walking around the streets, hoping to find someone she could talk to when a voice behind her startled her.
- "Ye were asking about the Intrepid in the tavern, weren't ye?"
The Guardian turned around. Before her, she found a very old man dressed in pirate clothes. A black patch covered his right eye and he seemed to have trouble walking.
- "Yes, I was"- she replied- "Do you know where I can find it?"
- "Probably wrecked somewhere deep in the ocean"- he scoffed- "The only ship that has ever existed on Albion by this name disappeared mysteriously more than 200 years ago".
The Guardian approached the old man.
- "It…disappeared? Who was in the ship when it did? Please, tell me everything you know".
- "Well, I only know what the local legends say…They say the Intrepid was anchored in Oakvale the night when it was destroyed by demonic shadows and that Captain André and his crew died there".
The Guardian frowned. Dead? Could it be the Court had lied to her again?
- "Others, however, say that some survived…and the Intrepid continued sailing the seas, but no one ever heard of it again".
- "But if the crew continued sailing…wouldn't someone eventually hear about their trips?"- asked the Guardian, feeling very confused.
- "Yeah, I guess"- replied the old pirate- "Unless the ship was renamed and a new crew was gathered".
The Guardian raised her head and looked at the man from the darkness of her hood.
- "Is there any way to learn the new name of the ship?"
The old man sighed.
- "Why are ye so interested in an old ship anyway? A very long time has passed and probably it doesn't even exist anymore".
- "I'm looking for someone…And I believe he's a pirate on that ship".
- "Well, I know this may not sound very piraty or adventurous but, if ye are looking fer someone, why don't ye try the Royal Archives? They say the Queen has us all noted down in there. Maybe this person ye're looking fer is noted down there too".
The Guardian remained silent for a moment. Archives…if he was living in Albion, he had to appear there.
- "Where can I find these archives?"- she asked.
- "In the Royal Castle, where else?"- he replied laughing.
- "I'm afraid you'll have to tell me where the castle is, sir. I…I'm not from…here".
The old man raised his eyebrows, hardly believing that someone in the world hadn't heard of Bowerstone Castle.
- "It is in Bowerstone, lass. Big building, full of banners and guards. Ye can't miss it".
- "Thank you, sir".
The Guardian walked quickly towards the path that led out of town. There was a great distance between Bloodstone and Bowerstone and she needed some transportation to travel there. She approached a coach as she was searching for coins in her bag. She only found 2 gold coins and she feared that this wouldn't be enough to pay for the trip, but she really didn't have more since gold was meaningless in the Wraithmarsh.
- "Excuse me, sir"- she said to the driver- "I need to go to Bowestone…will 2 gold coins suffice? I don't have any more".
The driver looked at her with disdain.
- "That won't even take you to the crossroads! The trip to Bowerstone is 40 gold pieces".
- "Please, sir, I don't have anything else to give you and I really need to go there…"
The driver looked at her hands and smirked.
- "What about these beautiful rings you are wearing? I can take you there if you give them to me".
The Guardian touched her hand defensively and frowned.
- "I can't give them to you, sir".
- "Then leave me alone!"- he shouted.
She turned around and sighed. There seemed to be no other coaches around, so her only option was to walk to Bowerstone. I t was a long way to go, it would take her weeks, maybe more than a month to arrive, but she didn't mind: the passage of time meant nothing to her anymore.
She was already walking down the path that would take her to the city when a cart approached her.
- "Good day, my lady"- said the man who was driving it- "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with the coach driver. I'm a merchant, and right now I'm heading towards Bowerstone, so it is no trouble for me to take you in my cart".
The Guardian looked at him and smiled briefly.
- "I would really appreciate that, sir"- she took the 2 gold coins and handed them to him- "I'm afraid that's all I can give you".
- "Oh, no, please, keep your coins. I don't need any payment, I just happen to head the same way you do"- he pointed at the back of his cart- "Hop in, we are leaving".
The merchant was a nice man and he didn't stop talking to her and telling her stories about his trips while the Guardian listened in silence. Soon, her search would be over, these archives would surely have his information and soon she would find him, and the thought of seeing him again made her feel restless.
It took them a week to arrive to Bowerstone and, thanks to the merchant's experience, they had managed to avoid any trouble on their way.
When they arrived to the city, the Guardian looked around in awe: she had never been to Bowerstone before although she had heard about it and how beautiful it was. But the city's beauty surpassed even her own expectations.
- "Well, we are finally here"- said the merchant happily- "Welcome to Bowerstone, the proud capital of Albion".
The Guardian got off the cart and approached him.
- "Thank you very much for your help, sir. I'll be eternally grateful".
The merchant smiled.
- "It was my pleasure, lady. I always enjoy the company".
She smiled shyly and turned around, ready to leave.
- "Wait!"- said the merchant- "You are new to the city and you really seem to be in need of gold. If you are looking for employment, I suggest you go to Reaver Industries. The pay is horrible, but there's always a job for whoever needs it".
The Guardian remained silent for a moment and smiled faintly.
- "I'm actually looking for the Royal Castle".
- "Oh, well, you could be a maid there too!"- he said- "Just cross the market and follow the path up and you'll arrive to the castle in no time".
- "Thanks again".
The Guardian turned around and made her way to the castle and, just as the merchant had told her, soon she found herself in front of the wondrous palace.
She entered the gardens, which seemed to be unguarded, and crossed them slowly. Several nobles walked around them and looked at her with disdain, making awful remarks about her appearance.
Soon, she found herself in front of the main door, which was guarded by several guardsmen armed with sharp swords.
- "Halt!"- they said as she approached the door- "State your business".
- "I…I want to consult the Royal Archives".
- "I'm sorry, miss. The Archives are not open to the public".
This comment made her feel quite restless.
- "Please, sir. I really need to consult them, I need to find someone…"
- "I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to enter the castle. Move along, please".
- "But…"
- "If you don't leave, we will take you out of the premises by force, my lady".
The Guardian sighed in frustration and left. What would she do now? She really needed to check the archives, they were her only hope to find him.
She looked around and spotted a door that was ajar not very far from there. She hid behind some bushes and approached the door slowly while she observed the guards. The Guardian moved nimbly around the vegetation and, when the guards were distracted, she entered through the door.
As soon as she had entered, she crashed against something and fell to the floor. When she looked up, she saw a huge guard staring at her angrily. She tried to run away, but the guard caught her and tied her hands behind her back.
- "Did you really think it was so easy to break into the Royal Castle? No one steals from here!"
- "I don't want to steal anything! Please, let me go!"- said the Guardian trying to free herself.
- "You are going to spend the night in a nice cell until Her Majesty decides what to do with you tomorrow"- said the guard pushing her.
Suddenly, a voice stopped them.
- "What's going on here?"