Chapter 34

Tirr froze, confused at the sudden question. The rest of the table sat still as well as Maria tried to process the question and Claire and her maid waited for the reply. “What?” He finally blurted out over the silent table.

“Come to the capital with me,” Claire said again, more confidently this time as she grinned at Tirr. “I promised I’d take you right? The capital is really exciting! There are tons of things to see and do. I’ll show you all my favorite shops for food and candy and give you a tour of the castle. Plus, this way you can figure out how the Shards are related to you faster.”

She turned to Maria, “Your invited as well obviously, it’ll be a lot of fun and I’ll take care of the money part.”

“Didn’t you want to go back to speak with the King first?” Maria asked hesitantly.

“I did yes but things have changed. I need your strength. I never expected my older brother to go so far and now that he has, I doubt he’s just going to give up and rollover. We hurt him badly by taking out most of the 3rd Knight Order but he still has enough support in the nobility to raise another force.”

“Are you saying he might try and attack the village again?” Tirr asked angrily.

“Not right away no, but if things aren’t properly handled in the Capital it may come to that. I need to make it safely back and warn my father. Before that Nile might still be able to manipulate things in a way that suits him. Or he might just make a move for the throne directly. If he catches my Father and younger Brother by surprise, he might just cause enough chaos to get away with it.”

Claire’s expression had turned serious, she looked from Tirr to Maria, and then back before bowing her head before Tirr. “Please, I don’t know what tricks my older brother might pull but I know I can make it through if I have you at my side. I promise that once we make it there, I’ll do everything I can to help you figure out what the Shards are!”

Tirr frowned, thinking seriously as he looked at Claire’s bowed head. He looked over at Maria for her opinion and found her looking troubled as well.

“I’ll follow whatever you decide but I think it’s too dangerous. We don’t have any idea of what we may end up against.”

The table went silent again a Tirr thought and Claire kept her head bowed, waiting for his decision. Finally, he nodded to himself and looked at Claire. “Fine, we’ll go with you. I don’t want this village to have to deal with anymore fighting. If we can finish this somewhere else, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Thank you…” Claire said, raising her head and smiling. Jill seemed to relax as well with his agreement.

“We’ll take Doron along as well.” Tirr said looking at Maria, “With the three of us plus Garm we should have enough fighting power to make it out of any sticky situations.”

Maria simply sighed and nodded. Claire tried to cheer her up telling her about some of the amazing stores and restaurants of the Capital. She had to admit that though she was worried about what may happen she was happy to go see a real city. Maria had never left the village before and the thought filled her with nervous excitement.

They continued to talk for a while, working out the details before explaining things to a freshly summoned Doron and Nora. They decided to leave in two days, to give enough time for Doron to set up proper watches and get the new devotees set up in their training with Nora.

On a morning two days later, they said their goodbyes to the waving villagers and set off. Maria and Tirr riding Garm while the rest rode horses taken from the 3rd Knight Order.

As they traveled Claire told them about some of the villages and towns they would be passing by on their way to the capital. Tirr listened intently asking questions while Doron threw in his own observations from before he settled in the Village.

Maria took a moment to take one last look at the village behind them, now a much different sight than only a month ago. She thought about herself as well and how much she had changed. She looked down at Tirr in front of her and wondered what else would change in the future as they moved further and further away from the village that had been her home all her life.

Within the Capital of Rasor

An angry shout disturbed the quiet atmosphere of the rundown bar. The other occupants gave angry looks to the strange hooded pair situated in the corner of the room. Set in one of the poorer parts of the capital, the little tavern saw many a visitor here for purposes that could be called questionable. No one gave them a second thought after the bartender warned them to keep it down.

Sat at the table. The hooded figure of Nile trembled with rage after hearing the report from the village of Road’s End. Rumors that his 3rd knight Order had been defeated were spreading quickly about the capital.

A few stragglers had returned and been questioned before being swiftly hushed but the disappearance of a Knight order wasn’t something that could go away. From what he knew Rills, the incompetent fool, was dead. The only Knight Captain to have survived was Reynolds who had apparently turned west and had since disappeared.

“And my Sister?” Nile asked angrily.

“No word for now unfortunately but she doesn’t seem to have been killed.”

Nile cursed under his breath again, “Tell Marquess Monter that things are not ready yet, I need more time to make a move on Claus’s supporters. I’ll deal with my Father for now, but we can’t allow my Sister to make it back to the Capital.”

“What do you suggest then?” The other hooded figure asked.

“Monter has that fellow from the confederation, right? That assassin called Reaper? I’ll pay whatever I need to, but make sure my sister doesn’t make it back!

The other man nodded, “I’ll let my master know.”

Nile left, throwing a few coins down at the bar before walking out. He wasn’t looking forward to the talk he knew was coming with his father. But he knew he could calm the aging man down. Soon he thought to himself, I’ll take what is ours, Mother…