Molyneux Rising

[Arden]

The world changed, but Arden Janelle did not. No matter how many faces he wore over the years, and no matter how many wars scarred the world’s surface, he found himself back in the throng of Scara Brae’s criminal world trying to make his home a better place. All the same, here he sat, king of nothing save his namesake.

“Nobody noticed I was gone.” He poured over a tankard of blood red ale, tarnished by spices and ‘winter cheer’.

“You ran a tight ship, Arden. What were you expecting?” Lilith picked at her dinner, a sorry looking steak with potatoes and gravy.

“More than nothing would have been nice,” he replied wistful.

“Let’s not dwell on the past. You’re back now, the legacy you left is intact and the Queen wants you to continue as you were before the…,” the assassin trailed off to choose her words carefully. “Incident.”

“That’s one way to put that cluster fuck.”

“It turned out for the best, didn’t it?”

“Well…,” Arden began, until he saw his sister’s raised eyebrow and thought better of it.

The office of the Maester was a small, lethargic affair atop a grand staircase to the rear of the Scourge’s headquarters deep beneath the noble district of Scara Brae. A large desk, topped with red leather stood at its centre. Book cases lined the east and westerly walls and a large wooden carving covered the northern side. It depicted a battle from time forgotten between the Inari and the then Knights of Brae. The Molyneux Rebellion was the catalyst for the Scourge’s formation, and the dissolution of the Molyneux Edict was one of the reasons Arden had infiltrated the organisation and turned it on its head.

“What did Valeena say, precisely?”

“She asked me to ensure the peace process goes ahead without incident.” Arden took another swig of his ale and rolled his eyes. “She is getting paranoid in her old age.”

“She’s not a day over fifty.”

“Good innings for Scara Brae.” It was a well-known fact that the current Queen Valeena was ancient, by the standards of the royal family. Rumour had it she was in fact one of three identical twins. Arden had seen her enough to know that she was in fact just lucky, with a dose of gall and foresight thrown in for good measure. “She seems to think the Innari’s return to the city, no matter how gradual, will bring out the old tensions.”

“Tensions her forefather caused.”

“You try marching into the throne room and blaming centuries of unrest and a civil war on our monarch.”

“Touch.” Lilith pointed at the mural and Arden craned his neck to look to where she gestured. “Did you have any luck finding Starr?”

At the centre of the carving stood a tall, fiery Innari swaddled in furs and brandishing a large, skull topped stave. Arden had met him once, when he first ventured to the woods and tried to broker peace. It had been a less than fruitful experience.

“I found him alright. He was not keen to talk. He’s concerned that if the Innari leave the woods they won’t be able to keep Skargo sated.”

“’Sated’ is a curious choice of words.” Lilith pressed a finger against her lip. She narrowed her gaze, deep in thought.

“I’m sure he mentioned cannibalism at some point during the,” Arden shrugged, “Well, during the seance.”

Lilith left many things unsaid, certain exploring his adventures further would only irritate her sensibilities. Though the Innari were a tribal species who revered the dead, they were far removed from the spirit warders of Akashima. They dwelt in silence for several minutes, draining their drinks and considering the days ahead

“Will she accept our help?”

Arden shook his head.

“Any public display of assistance will leave us up shit creek. We have to do this discretely.”

“You mean sans our sister?”

Arden chuckled.

“Ruby is otherwise distracted of late regardless, so it’s just us two, and whomsoever we can think of that will be…useful to meet our objectives.” He tapped his tankard, and when it rang empty, he set it onto his desk and leant forwards to pick up the scroll from the Queen. He read it aloud.

“Oh, must we?” Lilith moaned.

“To the Hand. We proceed as planned. The city gates will welcome the Innari. Ensure that they are met with open arms. Your faithful retainer.”

“You’ve read that out a dozen times and it doesn’t get any less condescending.”

“Retainer. That’s the interesting bit.” He pursed his lips and set the scroll back onto the table.

“Why?”

“It was the Scourge who approached Valeena to provide assistance with the city’s troubles a decade or so ago. Not once has she so much as offered us a copper piece for our troubles.”

“So, you’re her retainer, technically?”

“I think she thinks we somehow are in her debt.”

“I can see the smug look on her face even now.”

The siblings nodded and pushed themselves out of their seats. They walked around the desk and met at the eastern bookshelf. Lilith pulled a copy of a Treatise of Treaties off the shelf and a heavy series of clinking set off a contraption hidden in the wall behind the thick oaken planks.

“So, we’re agreed?”

Arden considered his sister’s proposition carefully. He had concerns dragging her into his world would lead to complications. Not, he hastened to think, the sort that would lead her into trouble. They were the sorts of considerations that lead him to believe it would be her running the show.

“Yes. We’ll do as ‘commanded’, but the ultimate objectives of the Scourge remain priority.”

Lilith nodded as the central bookshelf opened. The stone lined corridor beyond was brightly lit by ensorcelled glass spheres set into the walls every twenty feet. It leads through the bedrock of the city to the docks, where it ascended and emerged out into one of the harbours reserved for the fleet of the Knights of Brae. From there, they could take one of the schooners north to the forests and try their hand at diplomacy.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? How we finally find our freedom, a sense of self, and we spend it undoing the mistakes of our youthful selves.” The assassin ventured into the corridor first, the dancing lights bringing her obi to life, little flowers dancing in the pyres.

“If I remember correctly, Lilith dear,” Arden smirked and paused for dramatic effect. “It was your insistence long ago that people should have the right to use magic on this fair isle.”

She frowned, careful not to let the swordsman see her displeasure. She would hold that comment against him for months to come.

“Well,” she said softly, turning a corner and beginning the first of many climbs to the surface. “Freedom is what I’ve been all about.”

That said, they continued on in silence, alcohol warm in their bellies and muscles burning with the growing fatigue of working too hard and too long.