Missteps V.2

Chapter 45 – The Power of a Name

Flyta huffed and cursed under her breath as she traveled up the staircase. A large tray was precariously balanced on her shoulder, laden down with food for the prisoners. Behind her was a new guard, meant to relieve the old one. The guard gave a nod to their coworker as their eyes met, and the door was opened for Flyta. The middle-aged inn owner made a point of using her foot to slam the door behind her, right in the guard's face.

"They won't like that." The husky voice of Jun said from near the window. Flyta spared a glance, and saw the large berserker propped up along the wall.

"Too bad for them." Flyta looked around the room, looking for a place to set down her tray. On the bed, Lia was curled up next to Iados, with Ander splayed out near their feet. One of the wizard's legs hung off the side as he used his spellbook as a pillow. On the floor, Elaine snored softly, one hand still on the sleeping Shomma's back that was on her chest. Next to the main door, Carric gently snoozed against the wall, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. Kerri used his legs as a pillow.

Jun stood up and lightly walked over to Flyta. He took the tray from her and set it down on the wood floor. "Any news from the outside?"

Flyta shook her head. "The guards are stretched pretty thin between guarding you lot here, the ones still at the prison, and searching the town for the ones that escaped." Flyta took a bowl off the tray and filled it with some porridge from a larger bowl. "According to the girls, news of the murder and the cult have reached pretty much everyone in town. Everyone is disgusted by the cult, and shocked by Loiwin's death. The Wanit family is one of the oldest around, and have quite a bit of notoriety." Flyta handed the bowl and a spoon over to him.

Jun took the offered bowl. "The good or the bad kind of notoriety?"

Flyta shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. A lot of people depended on doing odd jobs for the family over the winter, but they weren't the most gracious of employers." Flyta began to fill the other bowls as she inclined her head towards the group. "You'd best wake them up, the Magistrate rises with the sun, and he likes to hit the ground running."

Jun looked around for a moment, before he found a boot near him. He scooped it up, and lightly lobbed it towards Carric. The footwear hit him in the stomach.

Carric groaned and cracked open an eye. "Do you need something?"

"Consider that your wake-up call." Jun took a large bite of his porridge. "Feel free to pass it on."

Carric sighed, before he grabbed the boot and flung it towards the bed. Just as the boot left his hand, Carric's eyes widened as he remembered that one of the bed occupants was still injured.

The boot sailed through the air and landed heavily on the akudaem's leg. In response, Iados immediately sat up. The sudden movement startled Lia so bad, that she rolled away from the scene and off the bed and onto the slumbering cleric. Both woman and weasel gave a shout from the sudden weight. On the bed, Ander scrambled to his feet, still half asleep with the tip of his finger glowing bright red. The only one unaffected by the noise was Kerri.

The new guard that had followed Flyta swung open the door and stomped in. "What the hell is going on?"

Flyta grinned and held up a bowl. "Breakfast." She crossed over to Ander, shoved the bowl in his hands, and then picked him up and set him on a stool nearby. The guard rolled his eyes and left the room.

"I would have preferred pancakes." Ander muttered as he woke up more. His hair stuck out in all different directions. Near the bed, Elaine got to her feet and started to inspect Iados's wound. She grimaced as she saw he'd managed to tear several of his stitches.

Iados gritted his teeth as Elaine applied pressure to his now bleeding injury. "It's morning, can I get some magical healing now?"

"As soon as I pray and get spells." Elaine responded as she used the bed covers as a makeshift bandage. They still hadn't been given their packs yet.

"Might I suggest you go do that?" Lia moved to take Elaine's place.

"Better idea." Jun slurped up the last of his porridge and walked over. "How about I hold his guts in place, as everyone with magic does their morning preparations?"

Elaine sighed. "Fine, but for clarification, you're not holding in his guts, just his blood." The two of them switched places.

The dark-skinned cleric walked over the window and opened it. On the horizon, the sun was just beginning to rise. The sky was still bathed in the hot colors of the predawn light. As she watched, she could see the shadows of the buildings slink away as the rays of the sun spread out. To herself, she whispered the tenets of Vowil and the teachings she'd been given. She thought of what challenges the day may bring, and mentally composed a list of spells she'd prefer for the coming day. In her studies, she'd learned that her magic came from Vowil herself. She'd chosen Elaine to follow the path of her light, and to take up her mission as her own.

On his stool, Ander balanced his spellbook precariously between his knees. He read through and studied the spells he wanted for the day as he ate his porridge. As each spell was burned into his mind, a pulse of golden light flickered in his irises.

Lia settled herself down in the middle of the room, right in the path of a ray of sunshine that cascaded in around Elaine. She crossed her legs and meditated. She focused on the warmth of the sun that shone on her pale skin, and that warmth led her to outside the room. Outside she encountered the brisk chill in the air. She allowed the air current to sweep her up into the sky, before it pulled her down towards the Earth. She felt herself being pulled under the frozen soil into the rocky underbed. As Lia moved through the elements, she drew strength from them into the spells that she locked into her mind.

Flyta took a moment to observe each of the three, as each of them concentrated on their similar tasks in different fashions. Then her eyes flicked over to Carric and the now awake Kerri. Both of them had bowls in their hands, and they ate hungrily.

"Don't you two have magic?" The proprietress asked.

Kerri nodded. "Yeah, but our spells don't change. We know what we know and nothing more. As long as we get enough sleep, we basically recharge enough to cast them." Kerri inclined her head towards the ones studying. "They have access to more spells, so they have to put in a bit more effort."

"Why?" Flyta sat down on the end of the bed.

Carric shrugged. "I'm sure Ander could give a more detailed reason why, but it has to do with where the magic comes from, I think." Flyta was fine with that. As they waited for the magic users to finish their studies, the group filled Flyta in with their side of the events of what had gone down with the murder cult.

A little over an hour later, there was a heavy knock on the door. The door opened and the same female Captain from the previous day walked in. She immediately walked over to Lia. "The Magistrate will see you now." The Captain snarled.

"I knew he would." Lia walked over and grabbed her cloak. Everyone else moved to grab their cloaks as well, but the Captain stopped them.

"He has only agreed to see Mistress Silverfrond, and no one else." There was no respect in the Captain's voice as she said Lia's title.

Lia crossed her arms. "I won't go alone. I require an escort, to ensure that my honor is untarnished, if nothing else." Lia's voice took on a biting quality to it that the group was not familiar with. The two woman locked gazes.

"Fine," The Captain growled. "You may take one other person, but both of you will go unarmed."

Lia flicked her eyes over to the large berserker. "Jun, will be my escort." Jun gave a terse nod and walked over to Lia's side. The Captain narrowed their eyes, but said nothing else.

"Elaine, I trust you'll keep these guys in line?" Lia said as the Captain left the room. She waited until the cleric had nodded before she and Jun followed after. The duo were led to a waiting open-air wagon outside. The ride to the Magistrate was tense as the Captain shot the two of them dirty looks.

"Tell me, what kind of dirt does your family have on the Magistrate?" The Captain questioned.

Lia smiled and crossed her legs. "Why do you assume we have dirt?"

The bald woman snarled. "The Magistrate is not one to be easily intimidated, but his face paled at your request." At that, even Jun cast the druid a questioning side-eye.

Lia merely continued to smile as she turned her gaze to the passing scenery. No one talked for the rest of the journey.

The wagon took them to a large house on the southern outskirts of the town. This home was not as large as the Wanit's home, but it was no less elaborate. Waiting out front was an overweight, balding man, who despite the chill in the air kept dabbing at their forehead with a cloth. Behind him were several armed individuals.

"Welcome to my home." The overweight man said as Jun helped Lia disembark from the wagon, and then take up a position on her right. "I am Mora, Magistrate of Yeabrook." The man held out a hand towards Lia.

Lia hesitated for several seconds before she silently extended her hand out. She did not take his hand. Magistrate Mora's eyes screwed up in confusion for a moment, before understanding dawned. He quickly took Lia's hand and gave it a quick brush against his lips.

Lia smiled softly. "Thank you for agreeing to see me, Magistrate Mora." Lia clasped her hands together at her waist.

"You're very welcome." There was a slight wobble in the Magistrate's voice, but he held it together. "It's not every day one gets to make the acquaintance of a member of such a house as yours. Let us move to a more hospitable location, shall we?" Lia nodded, and followed after the Magistrate. Jun stayed a few paces behind her.

Once inside, Mora called for tea and refreshments as he helped Lia out of her cloak, and led the way to a large parlor room. A fire already crackled in the large fireplace. In the center of the room was a large table, around which several chairs and lounges were settled. Several pieces of parchment were scattered across on the table. "Please, sit anywhere you like." Mora said.

Lia settled down in a simple armchair that sat in front of the fireplace. She crossed her legs and settled back against the cushions. Jun did not sit. He moved and stood a few feet away from her, his arms crossed as he scanned the room and all of its inhabitants. From their locations, the two of them could see the whole room.

The Magistrate gulped and sat down in a chair directly across from Lia. He picked up one of the parchment pieces. "According to the Captain here, a member of your group is responsible for the death of Loiwin Wanit."

"Iados was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time." Lia stated, a smile still on her face. "He witnessed Kalia Wanit give the order for her brother to be killed, and then she herself stabbed Iados." Lia whisked her eyes over to the Captain. "What did Kalia say when you informed her of her brother's death?"

"Kalia was not home." The Captain reported reluctantly. "According to her butler, she had to leave suddenly on business."

Lia nodded. "Hmm, and tell me, because I am interested, did you find the weapon that killed Loiwin?"

"That akudaem had blood on the sword he carried." The Captain snarled.

"True, but was it fresh enough to have been Loiwin's, or was it several hours old? Surely as a Captain you'd be able to tell the difference." Lia's attention stay focused on the Captain. "Your Guards had been tipped off pretty quickly to the murder, so if it had been Loiwin's murder on Iados's blade, don't you think it would have been fresher?"

The Captain had no answer.

Mora quickly wrote something down on the paper in his hand. "Now, it says here that the akudaem had been also been stabbed, but by the time Captain Samin here had a chance to examine the blade, it'd already been cleaned. Could it not have been the murder weapon?" Mora looked up at the Captain, who grimaced.

"Loiwin's wounds had been made by a blade much larger than the knife the akudaem had been stabbed with." To Jun's eyes, it looked like it had physically hurt the Captain to admit that.

Mora nodded and wrote down something else. He turned his attention to Lia. "Now, the prisoners pulled from the temple, they admitted to being part of a murderous cult that had been killing people for years."

Lia nodded. "While doing a job for Loiwin, we discovered the secret tunnel that led down to the temple. It was our group's own curiosity that led us to delve deeper. When we got there, we realized that at the center of the group's activities was an evil tree that fed off the blood provided by the cult's victims. We then made it our mission to destroy the tree."

"That lines up with what the three individuals in custody have told us." Mora confirmed. "They also said that they had a business arrangement with the Wanit family."

Lia nodded again. "We learned that the Wanit family had been providing security and victims for the temple occupants for several years. In exchange, they received casks of wine made with the evil tree's sap. They then sold the wine for what we assume to be a significant amount of money."

A servant came in then with a tray. The young woman quickly poured two cups of tea and set them down in front of both Lia and the Magistrate. Mora quickly grabbed his cup and took a drink. Lia made no move to interact with hers. The Magistrate didn't seem to notice as he perused his notes again.

"You said that you were doing a job for Loiwin, could you explain?"

"Loiwin paid us a hundred gold to clear the caverns of rats. He said that several repairs needed to be done, but that no worker would enter the caverns until it was safe. We also came to understand that we were the second team he had hired to do the job." Lia explained. "Flyta, the inn's proprietress, was there when we were offered the job, and the Wanit's butler was present when we received payment."

Mora nodded his head and he scratched at the parchment. "This other team would be the burned up bodies that Captain Samin and her men found, correct?"

"Yes, when we discovered the bodies they were being fed upon by the rats. Our wizard and representative of the Sylph Heart Circle, Ander, used fire magic as a very effective form of dealing with the masses of rats."

Mora's eyes widened at Lia's words. "You have a representative of the Circle?"

"Yes," Lia leaned forward as she rested her arms on her knees. "Did Captain Samin not inform you that we are a licensed adventuring group with the Circle's Recovery Department? Every member of our group has papers proving that fact. That was another reason for our venture into the temple. We wished to see if there were any artifacts there that the Circle might be interested in."

Captain Samin took a step forward and faced the Magistrate. "Even if they are a Circle group, it does not explain why they were helping the members of that cult, rather than killing them outright! We also have no way to corroborate their story, what with the coincidental death of their employer Loiwin and then the tunnel collapse. All we have is their word."

Mora stood up and gathered his papers. "Captain, seeing as you seem not to be aware of this, Mistress Silverfrond's word means a lot more to me than yours." Mora turned to look at Lia. "If you will excuse me for a moment, I need time to consider all the facts of this case."

Lia inclined her head and settled back into the chair. "Of course, I'm glad I was able to help set the record straight on this matter."

With a short bow, the Magistrate left the room with Captain Samin right behind him. Three guards stayed stationed around the room with Jun and Lia.

"I'm impressed." Jun leaned against Lia's chair. "Didn't realize you had such power."

"I don't," Lia confessed. "What I have is a name that my father and uncle have spent years cultivating. I figured with Yeabrook being so close to Pryria, some of their influence might have spilled over."

Jun raised an eyebrow. "Do you think they'll be any repercussions for using the name?"

A scowl crossed Lia's face. "Yeah, my uncle will know where I am."

Jun looked down at the elf. "I take it your uncle isn't a nice guy?"

Lia gave a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure what he is. All I know is that I want nothing to do with him, but the same can't be said of him."

Jun nodded. "Alright, then let's get this taken care of quickly so we can get out of town. Good call on the murder weapon by the way."

"Thanks," Lia smiled. "I happened to think of it while I saw Ander cleaning the knife yesterday."

Jun reached down and picked up the tea cup. "You do realize that if this works, Ander and Kerri are going to be very disappointed." He took a large drink.

The druid smirked. "If this works, I'm sure we can find a way to make it up to them." Magistrate Mora walked back in. The Captain was not with him. "Have you come to a decision?" Lia asked as the Magistrate settled himself down in his chair.

"I have, and I think you will be pleased." The Magistrate rubbed his hands together. "I have concluded that there is not enough concrete evidence to pin the crime to the akudaem, so he is free to go. Seeing as Kalia Wanit has suddenly left town, I've declared that she is a Person of Interest in the case of her brother's death."

Lia smiled and leaned forward again. "Excellent."

"I thought you'd be pleased with that. Now, there is a matter of contention that I cannot let go. Captain Samin made several good points, that you and your group did help the cult members. That association, and the fact that several of those members were then curiously broken out of prison, has led to several bad feelings about your group." Mora fiddled with his fingers. "I propose, that to clear that debt with the city of Yeabrook, your group perform an act of community service."

Lia raised an eyebrow. "What would this 'community service' look like?"

Mora cleared his throat. "About twenty years ago, there was an idea to turn an old mansion into a tourist attraction. A promising wizard was contracted to set up various illusions and enchantments within the structure. The idea, was to make it an interactive experience for visitors. They would have to solve puzzles and riddles to solve the mystery of the house. The project had several donors and would have become one of the biggest draws for the town."

"Would have?" Jun questioned.

Mora gulped. "A few months into the construction, something happened. People would go into the house, but then wouldn't come out. Workers, volunteers, even the wizard themselves. They all just seemed to vanish. A few of the occupants from homes near the mansion started to hear sounds coming from the house at night."

"What kind of sounds?" Lia asked.

"The occupants described them as low grumbles or groans. When they would go and investigate, they described seeing shadows filling the upper windows. Soon the mansion got the reputation of being haunted. Before we could call in a cleric, the whole property was bought by the Wanits and closed off."

Lia narrowed her eyes. "What exactly is it that you want us to do?"

Mora licked his lips. "I want you and your group to do what you did in the caverns. I want you to clear out the mansion, and find out what happened to the missing people. Seeing as Kalia Wanit is currently a Person of Interest in a criminal case, and Loiwin is dead, the family can't stop us from sending in a team anymore. The people of Yeabrook deserve answers."

Lia sat up straight. "What if we decline this 'community service'?"

Mora bit his lip. "Then you'll all spend two months in a cold Yeabrookian prison for aiding and abetting a murderous cult." He grinned wryly. "Do we have a deal?"

"Nope, nope. I draw the line at murder houses." Kerri held up her hands and walked to the other side of the room. She had been seated on the bed with Elaine and Ander when Jun and Lia had returned and told them about their 'community service'.

"How can you 'draw the line' if this is our first one?" Ander seemed pretty excited at the idea of their assignment.

Kerri turned on her heel and faced the halfling wizard. "Do you know how many ghost stories start or end in a murder house? I don't want to end up as a cautionary tale!"

"The people that have disappeared are the cautionary tales." Ander argued. "We'd be the conquering heroes who combat the evil forces." Ander jutted a thumb towards Elaine. "Besides, we've got a cleric of Vowil. Aren't they like the ancient enemy to stuff that goes bump in the night?"

Elaine reached over and pulled down Ander's hand. "Vowil doesn't like anything that goes against the natural order, and usually that does mean undead."

As the discussion continued on what usual suspects of ghost stories might be lurking in the 'murder house', Iados (fully healed by Elaine) slipped out of the room. Lia followed after.

"Hey," Lia caught Iados's sleeve before he could head down the stairs. "You alright?"

Iados grinned. "Yeah I'm great. Elaine got me feeling like a thousand gold pieces."

"That's not what I meant." Lia let go of his sleeve. "You were stabbed and accused of murder."

"Yeah, that did suck. Thanks for getting me off on the murder charge." Iados reached out and quickly kissed her cheek. He moved to head back downstairs, but Lia grabbed his shirt again and pulled him back.

He pulled his shirt out of her grasp. "What do you want?"

"I want you to seriously talk to me. We're in a relationship, and part of that is sharing our feelings with each other." Lia took a deep breath. "When Chaxelle told me that you had been stabbed, I was really scared. I got a pit in my stomach, and it didn't let up until you woke up. Every other time you'd gotten that seriously hurt, either Elaine or I had been around to patch you up. This time, you had been alone."

Iados ran a hand through his hair. "Do you want me to admit that I was afraid? Fine, I was afraid, ok? I didn't want to die. Then, to make matters worse, I trusted Chaxelle. I let him take me to an isolated location, and drug me. Here I am with a knife in my gut, and he drugs me. Didn't even tell me what was going on. Didn't tell me that he was going to get a doctor to stitch me up. Didn't say that he was going to go after you guys. He just drugged me, and then left me with a stranger."

Lia reached out and cupped Iados's face. "He should have been open with you, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. I should have known better than to trust him." Iados sighed. "Can I go now? I want to find the bastard and punch him in the face."

Lia sighed. "Seeing as how you were just cleared of a murder charge, I don't think you should go alone."

Iados raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to come with me?"

Lia shook her head. "As flattered as I am, Magistrate Mora gave me all of the information he has on the mansion. He wants us to get to it as soon as possible, so I was going to sit down with Jun and go over the material."

"You and Jun have been doing a lot of the planning stuff together."

Lia smiled and shrugged. "I was groomed by Himo to lead an organization. This wasn't the organization he had in mind, but why let those lessons go to waste?"

"Good point." Iados looked over at the closed door behind Lia. "Who should I take then? Ander?"

Lia laughed. "That would probably result in Chaxelle's wagon being burned down."

Iados grinned. "That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing."

"I just got you off of a murder charge, I don't think I have any more clout to get you off of arson." The elf sighed at the thought. "Why not take Carric? The worst that might happen there is sex."

Iados balked. "I told you I was saving my ticket! I've got plans."

Lia rolled her eyes and headed back towards the door. "Why do you automatically assume you'd be included? I'll send Carric out." Before Iados could respond, Lia had disappeared through the door. A few seconds later, Carric came out.

"Lia said you needed me for an errand?"

Iados ushered the half-elf to follow him down the stairs. "It's not so much I need you, as I need a witness."

Carric raised an eyebrow. "Ok, where are we going?" Iados ignored the question as he saw the two weapons-laden guards that waited for them at the bottom of the stairs.

One of the guards, the male from the night before, held up a couple of swords. "We've been ordered to return your weapons."

Iados clapped his hands. "Great. We're actually about to head out for a bit, so hand it over."

The guard moved the shortsword out of Iados's reach. "Captain Samin said that until she's certain you didn't kill Loiwin, we're not to give you a blade." Behind him, Carric had no trouble retrieving his weapons.

Carric clapped Iados on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll protect you if anything happens." With Iados still protesting, the ranger pulled him out the front door. They headed down the street. "So, where are we headed?"

"I'm going to go punch Chaxelle in the face for drugging me." Iados stated.

Carric nodded. "Makes sense." He paused for a moment and pulled his quiver around his torso. He fumbled for a moment within the compartment, before he pulled out a full-size quarterstaff. He held it out for Iados.

With a raised eyebrow Iados took the quarterstaff. "Thanks, but a punch is going to be so much more satisfying."

"No doubt." Carric returned the quiver to his back and continued walking. "The quarterstaff is for when the lurkers decide to get brave."

"What lurkers?" Iados moved to look behind him, but Carric grabbed his arm to stop him. "There are only a couple of them. They were waiting outside the inn." Carric threw his arm around the akudaem's shoulder. "Let's just keep walking, and maybe they'll lose their nerve."

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of being followed." Iados darted off down an adjacent street. With an exasperated sigh, Carric followed off. He was forced to follow Iados as the former took hair-pin turns down seemingly random streets. It wasn't long before they lost their pursuers, and Carric lost Iados.

The red-head's heart thumped in his ears as he took in the desolate alleyway. He walked slowly. The whole alley was bathed in shadow as the tall buildings on either side blocked the still fledgling light. A cold breeze shot down the alleyway and sent shivers up his spine. Above him, the window shutters from several windows banged open. Carric paused.

A scratching sound came out from one of the open windows. It stopped. A few seconds later it came from a different window. It stopped. A few more seconds later, and it had jumped to yet another window. Carric placed his hands on his shortswords. His eyes scanned the darkness around him. He was tense and expectant.

"BOO!" The sound boomed from behind the half-elf. He twirled around, both swords drawn, ready for a fight.

Iados sat perched on top of a crate, ten feet from him. He twirled the quarterstaff with one hand in front of him.

"What the hell?" Carric's voice was full of exasperation. His entire body was suddenly on edge from the burst of adrenaline. He returned the swords to their sheaths with forceful shoves.

Iados grinned. "Sorry, it was too perfect of a scene, and I couldn't resist. Good reflexes."

Carric ran a hand through his hair. "Thanks. Can we get going now? I thought you wanted to punch somebody?"

Iados jumped down off the crate. "I do, but as I was running I realized that I have no idea where the wagon is. It was dark when Chaxelle led the way, and I wasn't really focused in on my surroundings." Iados jumped. "Do you have any ideas?"

Carric shook his head. "We always met either at the tavern or back at the inn. Never got to see his place."

Iados pursed his lips. "Do you remember where the tavern is?"

"I think so, but we'll need to get back to the main road." The ranger pointed off behind them, in what he assumed was the correct direction.

The former pirate nodded. "I think we can do that." He turned and headed back down the alleyway. He stopped when he noticed that Carric wasn't following him. "You coming?"

Carric stood there with his arms crossed. "You gonna scare me again?"

Iados shook his head. "Not today. Come on, I'll buy you an apology drink."

The half-elf raised an eyebrow. "Only alcoholics drink in the morning."

Iados laughed and walked over to Carric. He threw his arm around the ranger's shoulders and steered him down the alley. "My friend, allow me to introduce you to a favorite from The Howling King, called 'The Wake Up Call'."