Let Them Sing
EXP: 155,108, Level: 17
Level completed: 18%,
EXP required for next Level: 14,892
Dawn came to Stonevale, bringing with it the false promise to Shinsou Vaan Osiris of warmth and better times.
Comparatively remote from the island of Corone, and so far from Whitevale that even the Brotherhood hardly had any presence there, it surprised the Telgradian just how involved in the business of the Brotherhood he had been in Stonevale. This time, though, his days were filled not with the clash of magic against deity like beings, or the trappings of the life of a politico trying to free his people from the oppression of a corrupt government. Instead, his “tour” of this small island nation had led to the founding of friendships, the seeding of trade routes and an extension of the Brotherhood’s influence into corners of Althanas yet untouched by their hands.
Yet, life was proving just as wild, hard and unforgiving in the mining town as it had been in Corone. Shinsou had been due to meet an informant (a prostitute) who would give him inside information on a local group that held a lot of sway over most of the area; holed up at a place known as the Higanbana. The idea was that, in exchange for a very generously greased palm, the Telgradian would be given the opportunity for “exclusive access” to who he found out was Akunin Yua, the wealthy brothel mistress of the Higanbana. There, he would be able to put forward his vision of a working relationship between the Brotherhood and the Higanbana.
However, it was not to be.
An hour past the agreed meeting time the night before, an envelope arrived for the Telgradian as he sat in wait at the safehouse, just up the road from the Silver Wolf inn. The contents were far from simple; a blood red flower, with an almost crystalline finish that shimmered and steamed gently in the light. The prostitute’s blood-covered jewellery spilled out behind it; a beautiful lattice of silver and emerald. There was no note, but the message was easy enough to understand.
Stay out of our business, or more will die.
At this point, everything came undone. Not only was the Lady of Higanbana clearly violently opposed to any sort of alliance, she had made it extremely clear that any further interference or attempt to communicate would result in him becoming the next bearer of the red flower.
As he left the safehouse, Shinsou stepped into what was a perfectly maintained circle of interconnecting roads. Morning light danced around the square, and the people who had heard of the atrocity the night before whispered things that few living spoke, and fewer still dared to listen to. Just within earshot of those whispers, the Telgradian moved un-noticed.
"Another disappearance," said a goblin, wearing a hooded cloak fashioned from a red wolf's hide. "Poor girl. That’s three in two days."
"Fuckin’ prossies," said a man in reply, a hairy brute whose eyes were covered by a sash that was just thin enough to see lights blazing beneath it. "We don’t want their kind in Stonevale anyway. They attract scum here.”
"Are you talking about Shinsou Vaan Osiris?" said a plucky and downright unlikely human standing beside them in a hushed tone. "I heard he was here. Stories drifted on the sea about that one. If you listen to the tales, he travels with one who controls lightning, a man they call Storm Veritas. They killed the dragon Sunwing, in the Twilight Mountains. Some even say that he and Joshua Cronen killed the Thayne, Draconus." He shifted a bit. "I even heard that he managed to kill one of the I’llak’s eldest watchers, Arius Mephisto.”
You’re not wrong, kids. The bogeyman is alive and well. Shinsou thought as he slowed his pass to catch the rest of what they had to say. Although I didn’t know Arius was one of the I’llak. Makes sense.
"And so the stories go ever on," said the goblin. "Winding and weaving. Do you honestly believe Shinsou killed Draconus, a Thayne? An I’llak? It’s just all nothing more than whimsy and scare tactics. The only thing to justify the amount of his bounty is because he murdered that prostitute. Lady Yua said as much today."
You are fucking kidding me… The Telgradian’s eyes narrowed. A fit up?
The human blinked and lowered the sash, then spoke, “No-one’s really got a good description of him, though. Else, he’d be dead already."
"Well," muttered the goblin, adjusting his hood. "Keep an eye out. I could do with the gold, trading permits are notoriously hard to get hold of at the moment and my business is cash starved."
The man nodded and walked away from the square, leaving Shinsou to contemplate the words they had spoken. Tales of his deeds had travelled far over the azure Coronian ocean to reach the ear of Stonevale’s residents, but the narrative being spun by Lady Yua was wrong. Not just wrong, but obviously engineered. What was going on?