Side Story - Guard 1: The Coming Storm

 AN: Sorry for the delay!

An almost silent knock on his door caused the Captain of the Southern Ebenlowe Guard to look up from his paperwork. "Yes?" he asked, tapping the back of his pen onto the wooden desk.

"Excuse me Captain Lerendil," his secretary said, the ageing man bowing slightly as he stepped into the office. "A letter from [Judicator] Messel has been delivered. For your eyes only."

"I told you to call me Eschamir," the Captain said as he motioned for his secretary to give him the letter. The man simply smiled, handing over the envelope and bowing once more before he left.

"Will he ever change?" Eschamir mumbled to himself as he turned the surprisingly heavy letter over. A small knife appeared in his hand, its blade glowing in a slight blue hue as it cut through the thick, leathery material of the envelope and its enchantments.

The seal of [Judicator] Messel was the first thing that caught Lerendil's eye, the intertwined initials of the man almost looking like a rune. What he spotted next caused him to let out a long sigh and press his hand against a small circle under his desk.

A bit of his mana flowed into the enchantment, the muffled noises he could hear from the outside vanishing after a moment. "Please don't let this be another dead noble," he said as he pulled the rest of the letter free.

Underneath the bold words instructing him to read this letter in private, and under the protection of the enchantments of his office, was the face of a man he had hoped not to see. Lord Vinmaier was dead and the [Judicators] were suspecting foul play.

"Of course," Eschamir said, producing a glass and a bottle from a hidden cabinet in his desk. He poured himself a glass, mumbling, "Can't have a few months without stress."

He had already been busy with the Festival of Life going on, but then he had to scramble to accept what he had assumed to be an Elder of the Moons into the city. It hadn't been so bad, all things considered, especially if he took into account the fact that the presumed Elder was in fact the All-Mother.

That she had merely silenced the crowd outside the city and not simply murdered them all was, at least, something. The things he himself had heard about Gods descending to the mortal realm usually ended with a country or at least an army in shambles and hundreds of thousand dead. If the All-Mother decided she did not like something, she might just remove the entire continent. Just like the Night of the Second Sun…

Eschamir quickly pushed that line of thinking from his mind. If Aperio — the name apparently her real one — had already cleansed the continent once was not something he wanted to think about. Way above my pay-grade. What the Gods did to the city he would leave to the [Guides].

His eyes scanned over the document, his expression brows scrunching further together as he read more. Why now?

The death of Lord Vinmaier's son had been treated with utmost secrecy; only the [Judicators], the [Grandmaster], and he himself knew about it. And that old man, but Miss Videns vouched for him…

He sighed, putting the letter down. Investigating the warfare between noble houses was not something he enjoyed. Offending the wrong party might have adverse effects on his health, an outcome he very much wanted to avoid.

"Why can't I just have some quiet time?" Eschamir murmured to himself, taking a swig of his drink. Why did I pick this job, Edisicio?

Usually he would receive no reply. On occasion he would simply get told that he did, in fact, enjoy his job; a statement which was true. This time, however, he felt the mana in his room shift, the attention of his God settling on him. His fingers brushed against the bracelet he wore, the seal of Edisicio hot to the touch.

"Edisicio?" Eschamir asked the empty room.

"Yes, Eschamir," his God replied, the voice echoing at the back of his mind. "Your circumstances require my attention."

"Why?" he asked, wracking his mind to figure out what he had done that would warrant such a personal audience with his chosen deity. An investigation of noble murder was rare, but not out of the ordinary. Is it because of who killed the son?

"Because the Vinmaiers managed to offend the Creator," Edisicio replied. "And the family has seemingly not yet realised what that will mean for them. The All-Mother is known to hold a grudge, and when she comes to settle it, it usually does not end well."

Eschamir swallowed slightly. Despite the impression he had gotten of Aperio being quite the opposite of what Edisicio described, he was not about to dispute the God of Knowledge.

"What should I do?" he mumbled more to himself than his God as he leaned back in his chair, taking another swig of his drink.

Why Edisicio had brought up the issue with him and not one of his priests was not something he knew, but Eschamir was not about to question the God of Knowledge. If Edisicio had decided that he had to know something there was likely a good reason for it.

"I have a letter that I need you to deliver," his God said, and a sealed envelope with the seals of Ebenlowe, its guard, and Edisicio materialised on his desk.

"You have interacted with the Creator before," Edisicio continued. "While you had not known at the time, the way you spoke to her would have usually resulted in your death. But it did not.

"Something has changed, but I would rather have you facilitate the talk than to risk offending her with my own priests."

"Because she appears to be neutral towards me?" the Captain asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Yes. Though I do not require you to deliver the letter personally, I merely need you to be an intermediary. Have one of your men bring it to Laelia Whytegaard, the head of the All-Mother's church. You can find her in Penbrook's house of healing; I am sure you know where that is."

Eschamir swallowed slightly. The prospect of having to deal with a vengeful Goddess was not what he had expected when he got a letter ordering him to investigate the murder of Urol Vinmaier. The chain of events seemed incomprehensible to him, the actions of his God – despite the explanation – appearing quite contrived.

"I do know where that is," he replied after a moment of silence. "I will have one of my men deliver it as soon as I can."

His God did not reply, his presence simply vanishing from Eschamir's room. The Captain let out a deep breath, sinking into his chair. Just being in the presence of his God was taxing in a way he did not quite understand, something that had not been the case when he was near the Creator.

With a shaky hand, Eschamir picked up his glass and finished the rest of his drink in one swig. Being assigned as a messenger for Edisicio was not what he had expected when he woke up today. Not what he had wanted either, if he was being honest with himself.

His devotion to the God of Knowledge and Love was passing at best. In the past year he had attempted a single service with his wife, neither of them finding it to be worth their time.

Most of what Edisicio ever got to hear from him were obtuse questions or his worries about an ongoing investigation; not something he would consider worth a God's time. Not that he would claim to be a person that actually knew what a God should do.

After taking a careful look around his office, Eschamir picked up the letter Edisicio had given him and made his way towards the door. Once he had made it halfway, he turned around, walking back to his desk and picking up the other letter from [Judicator] Messel he had been dealing with before, letting it vanish into the enchantment of his bracelet.

It was one of the reasons why he followed the God of Knowledge and Love. The boons he bestowed on his followers, no matter their devotion, was what got him to stay. Sometimes it even seemed like Edisicio enjoyed it when his followers did not see an issue as he did; when they wanted to argue with him.

His secretary looked up as soon as Eschamir had opened the door that led to his office. He put the letter on the desk, his eyes lingering on the trio of seals for a moment before he spoke. "Have one of the men deliver this to one Laelia Whytegaard in Penbrook’s house of healing."

"Important business?" his secretary asked.

"Very," Eschamir replied. His eyes darted around the room, waiting for something to happen. "Make sure it is someone of the [Draey], I don't want anything to happen to the letter."

"Yes sir," was the prompt reply of his secretary, the older man taking the letter and vanishing from sight after mumbling a quick chant. Eschamir was quite happy that the man had decided to enter his employ. He could have continued being the butler of his wife, but she had said multiple times that she did not want a servant, even if they were as capable as the old man.

After the last secretary he had employed had accepted a bribe from some of the less reputable nobles to help them avoid the guards, Eschamir had needed someone new. He knew that he could trust the old man to fulfill his duty, having known him for almost three decades now. That he was also a master of stealth, knew the ins and outs of the noble society, and made excellent tea were just nice bonuses. 

The events that had just transpired sunk back into his thoughts, and Eschamir rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to distract himself. Even if his God had taken the time to talk with him over potentially deadly events, he still had to deal with a not-so-divine investigation. One he very much did not want to do.

His helmet appeared on his head, the enchantments coming to life after he fed them a bit of his mana. Besides the usual requests for updated patrol routes, the communications were quiet. A good thing, in Eschamir's opinion. While it meant that most of the men and women serving the city would be bored out of their minds, it also meant that nothing required the guard to intervene.

A quick check on the other enchantments of his armour and weapon revealed them all to be in order. Both sword and staff were fully charged and ready to deliver a paralysing shock to anyone that broke the law — given that they were not too strong for the magic to work.

Eschamir stepped through the door leading to the common room, a few of the people on break giving him a quick nod or salute before returning to their food or other activities. Another door and a few more salutes later, he found himself outside the unassuming building that was the headquarters of the Southern Ebenlowe Guard.

The only indicator one could find that this was an official building of the city was the seal of the guard as well as the one of Southern Ebenlowe above the door. Being the only part of the city that was actually on land and not an island was a point of pride for most of its inhabitants, something that was reflected in their seal.

All the isles made it a point to show that they were indeed an island on their seal, so Seben — the name most residents used for the coastal part of Ebenlowe — made it a point to show exactly the opposite.

For Eschamir it mattered little. His job was to keep this part of the city safe. Mostly. As the Captain, he would sometimes be called for special investigations, like the one he was now pursuing. Time to meet Messel…

He did not enjoy working with that particular [Judicator], their views on what was appropriate for any given situation wildly differed from his own. In the end, however, it did not matter as no [Judicator] would make their decision alone. And with the All-Mother as part of it… The [Guides] would surely want to have a say as well. Perhaps even Aperio herself?

She had not really struck him as 'godly' when he had met her. More like another exceedingly eccentric noble, one that had probably lived long enough to be bored by most anything the world could provide. The last part was most certainly true for the Creator. Even if he were to believe the rumours of other worlds existing somewhere unseen, the All-Mother would know all about them as well. She had made them, after all.

Suppressing a sigh, Eschamir started to walk towards the nearest Gateway. While he did not like being teleported from island to island, he had no desire to make the day any worse by visiting [Judicator] Messel after his office hours were over; that would only lead to more headaches that he did not want.

A few of the people waved at him as he went past, some even offering him a bit of food. Eschamir declined the gifts as he always did — he would not be bribed, no matter how sweet the offering might be. The gestures did little to lighten his mood, the investigation and what Edisicio had told him still weighing heavily on his mind.

Eschamir shook his head, a sliver of his mana flowing into an enchantment on his helmet. Once he felt the magic take hold, he repeated the words he had spoken millions of times before.

"Captain Lerendil on duty."

"Eyes to the sky, Captain," the voice of the current dispatch commander greeted him.

"Ears to the ground," he replied, taking a turn into one of the many alleys of Seben.