Emren

Emren followed behind the agent of the High Seat, trying not to focus too much on the pain from his injuries. His arm throbbed with every step he took. A permanent grimace was pasted onto his face. He tried to ignore the pain by telling himself that this was a great opportunity to learn something advantageous.

Emren spent the walk examining the agent. He was surprisingly young to have such an important duty to fulfil. Apart from his youth, he looked nondescript, and everything about his appearance was completely forgettable.

That was probably why he had been chosen for his position. Agents of the High Seat were charged with all kinds of tasks, many of which had to do with reconnaissance and undercover work. An unremarkable appearance could be very useful in those fields.

The agent walked up to one of the guard posts stationed throughout the city, brandishing the golden coin before him. The sentries outside the small building looked startled as they snapped out of slumped postures to give crisp salutes to the agent.

Emren snorted softly at the display. He didn’t recognize these two from his time in the city watch, but he knew their type; only doing the bare minimum required and finding any opportunity to avoid real work.

Emren expected the agent to inform the guards about the shaper’s attack, so the next words out of the man’s mouth surprised Emren.

“I am going to use this building to talk with my friend here, ensure that we have a private conversation.”

Why wouldn’t he tell them about the attack? Emren thought, shouldn’t he send the watch to investigate?

When the guards looked at Emren, shock filled their expressions. For a moment Emren wondered why they would look at him like that, but it came to him quickly. That’s right, he thought, chuckling to himself, I must look like death itself.

Fighting the shapers had left him covered in blood. The wounds he had taken on his head, arm, and side had stopped bleeding, but he still must have been quite the sight.

The guards looked conflicted. They probably didn’t want Emren to enter the guard post, but in the end they both saluted before clearing out two other guards resting inside the station. They moved to keep watch for anyone trying to listen in, but they placed themselves plenty of distance away from the building, so they wouldn’t hear a word of what was spoken. It was obvious that none of them wanted anything to do with an agent of the High Seat.

Emren didn’t blame them. Even though the agent might seem unassuming at first, he had special authority granted him by High Seat Altiram. Gaining the attention of such a man was only done at one’s own peril. Emren would need to tread lightly during this encounter.

The agent entered the small guard post and sat down at a table that took up much of the room inside. Emren sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the table feeling somewhat relieved.

Even though his injuries had stopped bleeding, Emren had been feeling increasingly light-headed ever since he had taken the wounds. Sitting down immediately alleviated the woozy feeling, and helped bring clarity to his thoughts, though he didn’t have any time to think before the agent spoke.

“I believe we should start this conversation with introductions, don’t you? I am called Nile. What is your name?

Emren thought of giving a false name, but lying to an agent of the High Seat was playing with fire. If the man ever learned that Emren had lied during their conversation, he would suffer for it, and Emren was sure that Nile would look into his past sooner or later.

“My name is Emren, what else do you want to know?”

“You are a straightforward man,” Nile said with a raised eyebrow, “I suppose I can appreciate that. You are also a very dangerous man, Emren. I have to admit that I didn’t see any of the fight between you and those criminals, but I did see the bodies. My best guess is that you took down seven or eight of them on your own.”

Emren shrugged. It had been nine, but he wouldn’t correct the man. “I had a longer weapon, it gave me an advantage.”

“Indeed, but against so many opponents it’s remarkable that you survived. You must be either very lucky, or very skilled, and I doubt that it was luck.”

Emren just shrugged again. If Nile wasn’t going to ask a question, then he wasn’t going to respond. It didn’t seem wise to give the man too much information about himself.

Nile frowned at the lack of a response, but continued on. “Why did you help the arbiter?”

“Like I said, I stepped in to help when I saw the carriage being attacked.”

A small smile crossed Nile’s face before he responded. “Now I don’t doubt your words, but there must be more to it than that. You would need some very strong motivations to take on so many opponents.”

“I’m afraid that my reasons are of a personal nature,” Emren replied “I would rather not speak of them.”

“Very well,” Nile said, looking unsatisfied. “I won’t press you on your motivation for now, but I will require a complete answer to this question. What do you know of the shapers that attacked the carriage?”

So, he is interested in the shapers, Emren thought. But why?

“Not much. I only knew that they were going to be in the street today. I would swear to it by the codes. What I can tell you is that this group was much larger than I expected to find.”

He gave away a lot with his answer. The agent would now know that Emren known about the shapers beforehand. It was a gamble he made to learn something in return. He inspected the agent’s face closely, but was disappointed when Nile didn’t react to the statement. Instead, the agent asked a new question.

“How did you learn about the shaper’s plan?”

“Informants,” Emren said, “I know several that have contacts throughout the city. They told me where the shapers would be, though they did not tell me that they had planned to attack the arbiter.”

“I shall require the names of your informants,” Nile said, pulling out a small pocketbook, “as well as information on how to contact them.”

Emren gave him the information. Informants were always happy to have new clients. It was likely that Nile already knew about them anyway. Agents of the High Seat were supposed to know a great deal about everything.

As Nile wrote down the details with a steady hand Emren took the time to work through the conversation mentally. Now that he had time to think, and he wasn’t so light-headed, things started to come together in his head. Nile obviously knew about this attack, so why didn’t he come with several dozen guards to stop it? It all had to mean something important.

Whatever Nile was investigating, it was important enough that he would allow the shapers to attack unhindered just to learn more about them. On top of that, he hadn’t informed the guards at this post about the attack, probably because he didn’t want to be connected to the event. Being so secretive wouldn’t help him investigate. So, what could possibly be so important that it demanded this kind of secrecy?

Emren’s last gamble hadn’t paid off, but that didn’t mean that a bigger gamble wouldn’t work. As Nile finished writing down the information, Emren spoke.

“If you are looking for shapers in the city, perhaps we can help one another. I have my own reasons searching them out. If you tell me what you know, I might be able to help you accomplish whatever it is you are doing.”

Nile looked at him shrewdly. For a full minute the silence stretched on before the agent nodded to himself, coming to a decision.”

“I won’t say much,” Nile said soberly, “and what I do say, you must keep to yourself. If you speak of this meeting to anyone and I learn of it, you will feel the wrath of the High Seat of Spectra. Do you understand?

“Yes.” Emren said with a mouth that had suddenly gone dry. Once again, he wondered why this agent was being so secretive, but his thoughts were cut off by Nile’s words.

“Do you know of the shapers in the city that have strange powers?”

All other thoughts suddenly fled from Emren’s head. Fury rose up inside him, and he gave a sharp nod, not trusting himself to speak. He had to concentrate to keep his hand from reaching for the charm at his neck.

Nile continued on fluidly. It didn’t seem like he had noticed Emren’s reaction.

“All I will say is that I am searching for them. I can promise you great rewards if you give me information that leads me to them.”

“I don’t care about rewards,” Emren growled, “All I want is for those shadows-begotten shapers to suffer.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Emren knew that it was foolish to say such things to Nile, but his anger was so strong, so overpowering.

Nile raised both of his eyebrows. “Don’t worry, when I find them, they will suffer. By the codes I swear it.”

“Great!” Emren said, smiling viciously. “As soon as I know anything about them, I will tell you. How can I contact you to pass on what I learn?”

“Go to an inn called the Silver Scales in the eastern quarter of Spectralia. I pass by every evening. If you ask for me there, you will find me.”

This was exactly what Emren had wanted. Nile would be a great ally in seeking out revenge. All he had to do now was finding the shapers with the glowing hands and the High Seat would destroy them.

Nile stood up, reaching out a hand to shake. Emren stood up and grabbed the hand. An agreement had been made. Emren moved to let go, but Nile held on, looking directly into Emren’s eyes.

“Do not cross me Emren,” Nile said, voice flat and emotionless, “if you speak about this conversation or share anything you learned from me to anyone, it will be counted as treason.”

So much secrecy, Emren thought after hearing the words. Treason, of course, was punishable by death. That didn’t lessen his resolve. No, after speaking to Nile it was stronger than ever before. He would do anything to make those shapers pay for what they had done.

“I understand.” Emren said, giving one final sharp shake of the hand before breaking off the contact.

“Well then,” Nile said, “let’s get you to a healer.”

--

A couple of hours later Emren was alone. Nile had taken him to a healer and paid for treatment before leaving.

The healer, a no-nonsense woman with gray in her hair, put a salve on each of his wounds to dull the pain before sewing them shut. She left him with strict instructions not to exert himself.

After that he had returned to the small room he rented out and took a bath, washing off the blood that covered a good portion of his body. After that he put on a new set of clothes before leaving.

Now, Emren was walking next to the city’s massive walls in the western quarter of Spectralia. So much had happened today, and he wanted to learn what his informants might know about why the shapers attacked one of the arbiters.

He would also see what information there was on the High Seat. Anything the informant knew might shed light on why Nile was so secretive in their meeting.

Emren knew that it wasn’t a good idea to go searching out those kinds of answers, especially with the threat of treason, but that was how he was. When he found a secret, he couldn’t rest until he learned everything about it. That was part of the reason why he had done so well in the city watch.

After turning a corner leading further into the city Emren caught sight of his destination. It was a ramshackle building with two floors that looked like it needed a good cleaning. The sound of music could be heard within.

Emren walked inside, and was once again surprised at how clean it was inside compared to its outside appearance. He made his way straight toward the counter, passing tables full of men drinking and laughing. To the side he noticed a young woman singing a song accompanied by another girl with a harp. The song was quite good, but Emren didn’t stop to listen.

When he arrived at the counter, he called out to a beefy man pouring drinks.

“I need to talk to Taliyah.”

The bartender squinted at him, then nodded toward the second floor of the building.

“She doesn’t have an appointment now, go on up.”

Emren grabbed a coin from his money pouch and placed it on the counter before going up the stairs. At the top, two guards patted him down looking for weapons. No one was allowed to talk to Taliyah armed. Being an informant was dangerous work. Knowing too much information could get anyone killed, and it paid to be safe.

After the guards searched him, Emren moved to a sturdy door and knocked sharply against the wood. He had to put some effort into it, otherwise the knock wouldn’t be heard. The room had been constructed in such a way that sounds couldn't pass through normally.

After a moment the door opened and a woman with shoulder-length brown hair opened the door. She examined him thoughtfully.

“Oh, it’s you Emren, what happened to you?” She asked with curiosity in her voice as she focused on the cut on Emren’s head.

Emren smirked. Curiosity was a good trait for an informant to have, but only when it wasn’t so obvious.

“Well Taliyah, I would be happy to tell you if you add in a little extra information on top of what I ask for.”

She just laughed and stood aside to let him enter the room.

Emren wasn’t fooled by her simple act. Although Taliyah might seem normal, she was a very dangerous person. That was why she didn’t keep any guards in the room with her.

Not only that, but she never turned her back to him, and her posture showed that she was always ready to spring into motion. He could see it clearly as she shut the door and moved to sit down, gesturing for him to do the same.

As soon as the door closed, the sound of music was cut off, and silence filled the room. It had been constructed very well. Taliyah broke the silence a moment later as she began to speak.

“What do you want to know this time? If you’re here to ask about the shapers again, I’m afraid I haven’t learned anything more since the last time you visited.”

“I suppose that would have been too much to hope for,” Emren said with a sigh, “but I do have some other things I need to know. What can you tell me about the High Seat?”

“There are rumors of course,” Taliyah responded, “There are always people speaking about someone as powerful as High Seat Altiram. What do you want to know?”

“I’m not sure, but what is the best you have on him?”

“Hmm, most everything about the High Seat has to do with his daughter. The rumor on the street is that she has disappeared. They say it happened right before High Seat Altiram pushed to build the beacons of remembrance. My sources believe that she has been struck by some great sickness, and that the high seat sent her away to recover.

My sources also believe that Altiram pushed to build the beacons as a way to appease Novian so that she will be healed. That’s the best I have. There are many other rumors, but that one is the most interesting by far.”

“Really?” Emren said, considering the information. Could this rumor be related to why the High Seat was searching for the shapers, or was it something else entirely? Maybe the shapers did something to Altiram’s daughter Emren thought. That would explain why Nile said they would suffer when he found them. It didn’t explain anything about the beacons of remembrance though.

Emren had thought it was strange when the High seat had suddenly pushed to construct the short poles along the walls of Spectralia. The official explanation was that they were made to remember all the people who had died in the plague that struck the city five years earlier.

The poles were supposed to have small compartments at the top where candles could be burned to remember the dead. That way anywhere in the city people would be able to look and see a reminder of their loved ones.

It was a touching sentiment. Everyone in Spectralia knew many people who had died from the plague. It had devastated the city so thoroughly that one out of every ten of its residents had died, and Spectralia still hadn’t completely recovered from the turmoil it caused. Emren’s own parents had died in that plague.

The rumor was interesting, but unfortunately, it didn’t really tell him much more than he already knew. Taliyah didn’t think that there was anything else significant, so it was time to move onto other questions.

“Last time I came you said that there was a group of people hunting down shapers in the city,” Emren said, “Do you know anything more about them?”

“I thought you didn’t believe that particular information.”

“I didn’t until today, but I’ve been convinced. Tell me everything you know about them.”

“They call themselves the Soul-Sworn, and they’re dangerous. They have a very powerful backer, though I haven’t been able to learn who it is. They’ve been slowly growing their influence for the past three weeks. I believe they have only been in the city for a month or so. I know nothing about how they organize themselves, but they have been very vocal in certain circles about what they want.”

Taliyah drew out the last word, then paused, clearly waiting for some kind of reaction.

“Well?” Emren burst out, “What do they want.”

Taliyah smiled mischievously before continuing. “They’ve put out a ten saree reward for any shaper that can be captured alive. More recently they put out a bounty of thirty saree to kill someone from the Deserrow house.”

“Wait, what?” Emren said in surprise. “I thought you said they were after shapers. Why would they want to kill someone from one of the most powerful houses in Spectra?”

Taliyah just shook her head. Apparently, she didn’t know, or she thought the information too dangerous to share. With the amount of money these people were throwing around, it could definitely be dangerous. Thirty full saree for an assassination was ridiculous. It was enough money to turn even the most level-headed people into fools. They must really want this person dead.

That wasn’t important to Emren though. The only thing that mattered to him now was his finding the shapers.

Emren set his jaw. There was no way he could possibly get his revenge on his own. Nile would be a great help, but Emren needed to find the shapers before Nile could do anything. This organization could potentially be the link he needed to find them.

“Do you know how I could contact these Soul-Sworn?”

“Yes I do.”