Chapter 16: Promises Kept

Archmage Eridor, follower of the Fourth Oathsworn.

During the incursion of Fillar’s capital city, Eridor held off the assault of an unknown Devil by himself. The city itself collapsed into itself from the ensuing battle, but not a single life was lost.

• “Legends Of The Incursion” From The Archmage’s Library

We go through seven more rooms in the hallway, and I find another wand, a plethora of robes, several mildly enchanted household items, and even more ancient coinage. If I could, I’d also take the enchanted chests with me, but the logistics of moving them out and transporting them might be too much for this trip. I’ll try to grab at least one and see if I can fit it on Jasper. Completely protected storage is incredibly invaluable for an explorer.

The coins that we find make me very happy. Good metal is a rarity since mining is a dangerous endeavor for even the wealthiest of families.

Keve and I return to the group, to find them happily eating some food. Everyone ignores the reaver corpse, as they chow down on some soup that Tanya is making.

I distribute the items I’d found into everyone’s bags, and join them in lunch. Once we’ve eaten, we make our way back down to the next level.

I lead the way through the webs of the now-dead reavers then pause just outside the territory of the Vishten.

I turn to my party, “I’m about to go meet Keve’s brethren. Your contracts require you to keep quiet about what you see here. I’d also like to personally ask you to keep silent on anything you learn about the Vishten.”

Everyone voices agreement, but my gaze lingers on the mercenaries for a moment. Unfortunately, mercenaries don’t have the best reputations for secrecy. I do trust the three after having gotten to know them, but I feel bad for risking the Vishten’s secrets.

Keve and I continue forward on our own, our bags stuffed with a portion of the items I’d promised his people.

I feel the magical alarm pass over us as we enter their territory, and we wait for only a few seconds before a party of four warriors appear, their cloth pulled up in preparation for battle.

Keve steps forward, and speaks rapidly in their language.

They lower the cloth around their faces, revealing sharp toothed smiles. Keve is quickly surrounded as they ask him questions in their language, he answers them, then glances at me.

They finally take notice of me and motion for us to follow them. They lead us back to their home, and I see their camp once again. They watch me warily, but the sight of Keve seems to bring them a lot of joy. He’s well liked, and they quickly whisk him off, leaving me alone in the same tent I’d been led to when they first brought me here.

I make my way to one of the cushions, and sit down. I bring out my notebook to study some of the runes I’d discovered in the rooms we’d searched. There’s a lot of good information here, and several runes I’m trying to find the exact meaning for. They always seem to change slightly depending on what other runes they’re paired with. That, combined with the fact that my skill refuses to tell me the individual meaning of the runes makes it near impossible to decipher them. Thankfully, it’s a puzzle I enjoy working through. There’s a reason I took the profession after all.

Movement brings my gaze up, and I move to my feet as a familiar old Seer steps into the room. She shows her sharp teeth to me, the fiery lines on her skin brightening. “Leo Grayson. You are alive.”

“Hello Varia.” I place my notebook in my bag, “I owe a lot of it to Keve.”

“He is a strong warrior.” She smiles as she moves over to the table at the back of the tent and sits on a cushion with a sigh.

A young Vishten child enters the tent with a tea set. He places it on the table and pours two cups, then leaves.

“I’ll be sad to see him go.” I say as I move across from her, and grab one of the cups.

“Go?” She drinks her tea with half-closed eyes. “His journey is not over.”

I take a sip of tea. It’s mildly bitter, but has a sweet aftertaste I like. “I thought you’d want him back.”

“His journey is not over.” She repeats herself, and gives me a small smile. “Placing your paths…” She pauses and places two fingers next to each other in a motion.

“Together?” I guess.

She smiles and nods, “Yes, placing your paths together. It makes the weave better, stronger.”

I set my cup down and tilt my head as I recognize what she’s saying. “You can still see divine paths. That shouldn’t be possible. Divine skills aren’t working.”

Varia watches me with an unreadable gaze, “Only small sights. Whispers, dreams. I will say, my sight of you two… it is stronger than it should be.”

I bite my lip as I look down at the cup in my hand. This, plus the dreams… something in the dead city is important.

“That is of no matter. Let me see what you brought us.”

I look up, then nod and drag my overly full backpack over. I pull out some of the household items I’d grabbed from the rooms, explaining their uses as I set them out.

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At some point, Seer Varia calls in another Vishten, translating for me as I explain the item’s uses.

After the household items, I pull out a set of mage robes, some leather armor, and a set of enchanted knives. I slow down after that, answering questions about the items as they ask.

Keve has the rest of the items with him in his bag wherever he was dragged off to. Thankfully, I’d catalogued them earlier, so I’m able to give them descriptions and explanations off of the pages from my notebook.

After the business is taken care of, I pause, considering my next words carefully. “I have another deal to offer you, one that might… that will need to stay quiet.”

Seer Varia pauses, then looks at the other Vishten in the room. He looks back at her with confusion before she translates for him. He looks at me quizzically, then bows his head to the Seer.

“Kauror will keep his silence.” She says.

I take a deep breath, “I plan to clear this place of its monsters, but there is something here that I’d like to see protected. If you people will agree to stay here as its caretakers, I can- Actually, Shar, can you show yourself?”