CHAPTER VI

Fate set in motion

Roglin was tired. He felt a bit bad for beating up the women so recklessly. To be honest he wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about her. On one hand she hid her identity and got in that circle by her own free will, on the other, he knew that he let his anger control him. Right now he just sat next to her and listened to Bontu; as he had heard him called while speaking with the innkeeper. 

“If I’d known you’d drag this out for a month I would never have begun things “inside” the Inn! Look at this place, It’ll take weeks to put it back together!” the innkeeper grumbled.

“Come now, veln. You know as well as I that you made more money this month on drinks and gambling than you would have in the following year.” turning from the disgruntled man he continued. “That’s besides the point, we have our team.” 

Pulling Bontu close, Veln spoke just loud enough to be heard in the quiet room. “You know as well as I that none of these mercenaries or vigilante’s have any business looking for…” 

Bontu cut him off sharply. “We don’t have a choice. Looking Veln in the eyes he added, softly; “We didn’t think we could do it either. The pact empowers those that try.”

“So your myths say; I think the Watch was nothing but a few insane; all be it talented; lunatics.” Veln grumbled.

Roglin was lost, apparently Veln had sponsored this but had no faith in any of them, And what on earth was this pact? The silence stretched for much longer than he would have liked. Eventually the bruised half elf spoke up.

“How’s your shoulder?” she asked quietly. Her voice sounded oddly peaceful and yet powerful, like a rock covered with silk.

“And my leg? They're fine.” turning towards her, Roglin asked in turn. “How’s your eye?”

“Could be better. You know if we weren’t confined to such a small space I could have won that easily.” she would have seemed more serious if it wasn’t for the smile that crossed her lips.” 

“Oh yah, I’m sure I wouldn’t stand a chance if you shot me from a rooftop.” and as quick as that, her smile faded. “I’m Roglin.” he said reaching out his hand.

“Varawyn.” she responded, clasping his hand. Before either of them could say anything else, Bontu called out.

“Ok you four, come here.” Once they had all gathered he continued. I have recruited one other. He assured me he would be here about this time every evening, I’ll have to send someone for him if he doesn’t show up soon.” 

Bontu looked at everyone there. “In any case tomorrow I’ll reveal why I gathered you all, in the meantime I suggest you get some rest and get to know each other.

Almost as an after thought he added. “Oh, and in case he never shows up, the first man I hired is named Sorkin. He’s a rather talented battlemage though I suspect you might find him rather off putting to begin with.” 

Bontu reached into the large coin pouch that had been forgotten at the end of the bar. “Varawyn, Roglin, forgive me for not talking with either of you after the fight. I'm confident both of you will play your part well. I’ll want to hear from the two of you at a later time, for now I’m going to bed.”

After the lecture Bontu handed both Varawyn and Roglin a few gold and made his way upstairs and disappeared into one of the rooms.

“That was rather sudden.” the blonde haired man said.

“Aye, and unless you want to spend your entire night helping me clean this place up I suggest you make your way upstairs. A very disgruntled Veln said. “I only have two rooms so you’ll have to sort out who sleeps where.”

As an after thought he added. “There is an old broken shop on the other end of town. It looks like an old smithy. Bontu will meet you there in the morning.”

Before long the four of them had made their way upstairs. Roglin made his way into the first open room. It was a cozy space with two small beds lying next to each other with a wash basin in the corner. A hatched window across from the door looked down onto the once busy street below with only the diminishing orange light of sunset lighting the space. Roglin lit a candle on a stand next to one of the beds and began setting his axe and boots at the foot of the bed. He was a bit taken back when he turned around and found Varawyn closing the door behind her. 

“ I hope you don’t mind. The other room only has one bed. I figured this would be better than..”

“Of course, that's just fine.” Roglin stuttered back at her. Awkwardly he continued. “I hope you don’t mind, I grabbed the bed closest to the window.”

Varawyn shook her head as she sat on the bed facing Roglin. As she began unstringing her bow, Roglin couldn’t help but really look at her for the first time since the fight. She was the first Half-elf he had seen, she had a very strong jaw for a woman but somehow she didn’t look masculine. In fact it seemed to fluctuate depending on the angle you looked at her. Her hair was tucked into her cloak, behind her ears. She was rather enchanting actually. She still wore her mask down around her neck with the hood of her cloak lowered. In her leathers it's easy to see how she might be mistaken for a man while hiding her face.

“What wood is that bow made of?” Roglin asked. “It is some pretty tuff stuff.” 

It is actually a pretty common material among Elven Wood shapers. It's made from the heartwood of a Maln Tree.” setting the bow aside gently she began wrapping the string to avoid knots. 

“It was a gift from my mother to my father.” she added as she began loosening the straps along her leather vest. Pointing to the axe she continued. “What about you? A normal mercenary or merchant’s guard wouldn’t carry such an ornate weapon.”

“Uh, ah, I mean..” Roglin stammered. He wasn’t sure how much she was going to remove, surely this wasn’t proper. He stood up sharply and made his way to the wash basin, turning away from her. Once he had composed himself, he continued while washing his face. “I was very curious when I was younger. I actually had a group of close childhood friends that would explore the neighboring wilds with me. We would climb trees, explore caves, that kind of thing.” Looking at his wet hands in the basin he hesitated. Recalling the story always made his heart heavy.

“So, you found the axe in, a cave?” she asked quizzically. “Or in a tree?” she had a smile in her voice.

“Well, the weapon was a souvenir from one of our last journeys together. We went a little deeper into one of our favorite caves to explore and got lost.” forgetting himself he turned back toward her. Thankfully she had remained in the linens lining the armor; sweat stained as it was. She had begun brushing out her hair. “We found the axe at the bottom of the cavern.”

“How did you find your way out of the cavern?” 

“It took a few days and most of the rations we brought with us but eventually I..” He caught himself before continuing. “..We saw some rays of light peeking out in front of us. We busted through the rock and soil and made our way home.”

“So you took the axe and eventually left town. What about your friends?” 

“They stayed at home. You know, married, built homes, became part of the community.” Roglin sighed. “I just never could settle down.”

Varawyn began crawling under the bed sheets. “We best get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow might turn out as crazy as today.” she turned towards him. “And thank you.”

“For what?”

“For looking past what I am. Well, mostly.” Roglin blushed at that but eventually found some rest.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Roglin woke to the market place sounds and bright sun light reminiscent of his youth. As he stared out the window, he was shocked to see he was in Pinaquine! White snow, blinding with the morning sun seeping in through the window. In shock Roglin Ran outside still clothed in what he slept in, and was met by the bitter wind he had all but forgotten. 

Slowly Roglin shuffled through the streets unsure what to make of it. This couldn’t actually be happening could it? He was asleep surely, it just felt so, real. 

“Excuse me, Madam.” Roglin asked walking up behind one of the customers buying produce. “Can you tell me where I am?”

“Roglin, is that really you?” as the woman turned around, his heart began to quiver and he began to step back.

“Its me Katri. Don’t you remember?” she had black hair and smooth skin. Her cheekbones were pronounced and sat above a beautiful square jawline. Her blue eyes looked shocked to be seeing him again.

“N-n-no, it can’t be, I saw you dead.” Roglin panicked.

“You left me Roglin, you left me down in that dark, dark place. You left us.”

As if suddenly echoing all around his head, Roglin heard a firm matriarchal voice. “Haunted by your past you began to wander.” the voice didn’t come from the confused looking Katri in front of him.

“Whose there? How are you in my head?” Roglin tripped on his heels and sat in the snow shuffling away from his old friend.

“You have doubts and you wish to forget your home. But you have some strength and courage in you. Maybe you will do.”

“Roglin,why did you leave us down in that sad place.” Katri asked. As she spoke two of the near by patrons faced him. They had the faces of Sven and Herrick. 

“Why did you leave us?” They said all together. In a moment blood began to cover all three of them. Herrick had a gaping wound in his stomach, sven had shattered limbs and his poor dear Katri had gaping lacerations down her torso and across her head.

Once more the matriarchal voice spoke. “You would have saved them if you could, I can sense it. Would you save us if we called you?”

Reaching a warding hand out in front of him Roglin closed his eyes and turned his head “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Please, leave me!”

After a quiet moment, he began to notice the sound of rushing water. He opened his eyes to see he was sitting on stone, looking over a mighty cliff. He saw an ever expansive forest. Lush green trees were contrasted by reds and oranges of a setting sun. he sat there on the edge of the cliff and began to calm himself.

“Where am I?” He looked around, feet now hanging off the cliff and noticed a small river trailing next to the cliffside, coming from a waterfall he heard in the distance. The river braided around debris and large stones until eventually meandering into the trees, vanishing from sight.

“Heed my words mortal, and watch.” the voice startled Roglin. As he stood the voice continued.

“This is Us. We are what you have come to call Seglock. I am but a part of a whole. A piece of Intelligence.”

“You’re the forest?” Roglin asked.

“Hmm, forest is an odd word for what we are, not complete. We are one, we are alive. We are bound here to this mortal plane and have become one with it. It is now our home.”

“Why are you showing me this?” He asked.

When the feminine voice never responded, he hesitated. There was a clattering behind him. Turning he saw a large pale goblin with long dagger-like claws and a hunched carapaced back racing towards him. Reaching for the axe that wasn’t there Roglin gasped as the monster crashed into him and hurled them both off the edge of the cliff.

Roglin tangled with the beast in the air. He managed to push off of it with his feet launching it into the cliff, a horrid screech escaped as the creature died. Roglin closed his eyes and braced to hit the ground.

He never hit the stone at the bottom of the cliff. It shouldn’t really surprise him at this point. Roglin ran his fingers through what felt like a soft grass. Lifting his head off the ground he saw that the grass was a brilliant purple and was complimented by dark reds and soft blues in te nearby flora. The wind was whistling softly. The shade from the great looming tree made the air feel cool and quiet, sun seeped between the branches of the ever-reaching canopy. The trunk of the massive tree nearly spanned out of view.

“What is this place?” Roglin asked quietly.

“This is what your enemy seeks. This is the heart. It is thought to be guarded by those that live here but they do not know how wrong they are.”

“What enemy? None of this makes a whole lot of sense.”

“Listen and watch.” the voice said again. “A prime evil has awoken. A being from another world bound to serve the lich.” 

As she spoke, horns began to ring from the canopy. From behind roglin a stampede echoed throughout the meadow.

“Protect the heart! The Grisle King has awoken.”

An army of pale mutated goblins charged the tree. From the Tree came an army of elves lining the limbs and sliding down vines to meet the intruders. With each slash from those long talons the great tree began to wither and decay.

In a moment the brutal scene had shifted. The tree was dead and the ground withered. Roglin watched as the world around him fell into ruin.

“The Grisle King lies in the Fanged heights. Kill him and save this world from unending destruction.”

“What about Bontu’s quest? We can’t just abandon it, can we?”

“These two are one and the same. Find the Grisle King and you Find Sekuria.”

In a flash of heat and sweat Roglin woke up.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Roglin had endless questions. First and foremost, what even was that; or Who was that? He began racking his brain over the vision, trying very hard to forget those haunting faces of his childhood friends. 

Sitting up he looked around the room. His sheets and his small clothes were dripping in sweat. Morning sunshine began peaking through the window, Varawyn was washing her face in the basin. 

“Sleep well?” Varawyn asked.

“Terrific, you?” 

“If you call that squirming good sleep, I don’t envy you.” pausing over the basin she added; “But no, I didn’t sleep well either. And if I had to guess, it’s for a similar reason.”

“What do we do about it?” Roglin asked. Deep inside he hoped they saw different things.

“I suppose we need to talk to the others, verify they saw something similar, then…” she exhaled. “Then, I guess we confront Bontu.” 

“Who’s Sekuria?” Roglin asked.

“His name is vaguely familiar. I was raised around a small assortment of books, My father liked to read. One was called “Battles of the Nations”. It had historical information on several conflicts that had taken place around Selvora.” she paused as she put on a boot.

“So Sekuria was a military mind?” Roglin interjected.

“No, I don’t think so. He was only mentioned briefly as if historians had only known he was a part of the conflict but not sure how. I assume either someone powerful wanted him forgotten or he didn’t play that big a role in the conflict.”

“So if I had to guess, Bontu, and maybe even this Sekuria have heard from this same entity” Roglin was muffled by the shirt over his head. “How many others has this Spirit reached out to?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure we have a choice though” 

“What do you mean?” Roglin asked.

“I mean, I never would have put my life on the line for people that would just hate me, but we know too much to walk away now, don’t we?” Varawyn said.

“Know too much? We don't really know anything. Nothing about who showed us the vision or if they're even real. We’re not even sure we saw the same thing! ” Roglin exhaled. “People die when you journey blindly. We just have to make sure it's worth the cost.”

After a moment Varawyn spoke. “You’re right. It’s just that, after so long looking for something meaningful to do with my life I feel like I have finally been given a chance to show the world who I am.”

“Come on, let’s go see if Yaz and Sam had a similar experience last night.” Roglin stood and walked toward the door.

It turned out that they had. After meeting with his other two companions in the common room, Roglin shared part of his experience with the group as they walked through town. In return they shared with him.

“So let me get this straight,” Sam said. “Each of us saw something slightly different but all of us saw the cliff and the tree? So this ghost was reading our thoughts?” he shivered.

“Reading them and playing with them,” Yaz said. “Like a child with a bowl of spaghetti” he smiled to the others.

“What a pleasant thought. Thanks Yaz” Varawyn said grimacing.

“You’re Welcome!”

“Has anyone heard from Sorkin yet?” asked Roglin.

“He wasn't at the inn this morning,” Sam said.

“I wonder if he saw something similar.” Roglin continued. “With luck he will be at the blacksmith when we arrive.”

In the relatively short time he had been in Marth’s End, Roglin had gotten himself lost on more than one occasion; and even between the four of them they had to ask for directions to the old smithy more than once. Eventually, however, a wide single story building crept into view. Large blocks of rugged stone made up the exterior of the structure. It had old rusted torch sconces on either side of the double wide wooden door that looked like it had nearly rotted off the hinges. A tall stone chimney stood above the building. 

In front of the large building, Roglin could see Bontu talking with a tall man, robed in a white and black hooded cloak. He was an older man with greying black hair, and a short trimmed, thick, grey-black beard. His sharp cheek bones and serious eyes gave him a worn and wise look, yet the way he held himself gave Roglin an ominous feeling.

“Holy Hell, is that him?” Sam exclaimed

“Holy Hell indeed.” yaz repeated. “Why would Bontu involve someone so spooky?”

As the group approached Bontu turned away from the man. “I’m glad you found your way. As you have probably guessed, this is Sorkin, a guild mage sent here from Vistra. We have a few mutual connections and when I sent word to the imperium Sorkin came a few days later.”

Roglin had only seen vistra; or the City of Spires; in passing. It was said to be the largest City on the continent and one of the largest in the world. Vistra is the great island city and the many large towers created a wondrous silhouette at dusk and dawn, making it appear as a giant crown reflecting off the water. He was pretty sure that the imperium holds the seats of power in the inner most part of the city.

“I’m sorry I never joined you at the inn. I found Bontu late last night on my way there and after a brief discussion with him decided I would just meet you all here in the morning.” his voice was just as shocking as he was. It was rather deep and he didn’t sound nearly as old as he looked. 

After a few pleasantries Bontu continued “come, you all will have time to talk in a moment, for now, we should head inside.”

“I hope you had time to talk.” Bontu twisted his head slightly behind as he unlocked the door and began inside. “From this time on, you are a team. It is vital you think of each other as a team, and maybe, eventually a family.”

The old building was unfortunately as abandoned as everyone made it out to be. The air was thick and humid and he coughed as they kicked up dust. Cobwebs lined the walls and broken boards were a common occurrence.

“Why are we here, Bontu?” Sorkin asked. “You haven’t been as forthcoming as I would have hoped. I am here to help afterall.”

Once they reached the back of the building, by the large forge, he began running his hand along the rim of the stone structure. 

“Long ago at the beginning of the current age, a man known as Frewmoss gained great power through exhortation and violence. He and his followers marched to the Dragon Fanged heights and overtook the dwarven Capitol, Zharuk-vus. At the entrance of that great city they established a city nation, known to the world as Tawquerma.”

With a click a large section of the wall in front of Bontu began to shift. 

“Frewmoss was an evil man but one cannot say he lacked ambition or creativity. After a time his machinations lead to the great war of oaths.”

Roglin had heard of it. Though its culmination happened long before he was born. 

Bontu struck a torch off the wall and carried it down the long stairway. 

“it became known that Frewmoss the Lich, Frewmoss Empty-vein as he was called, had set in motion plans to bind the gods to the celestial plane and release a demon within the mortal realm. In response to this something miraculous had happened that nobody could have ever expected. The gods began to work together.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Sam said. “why would they care? They don't even come here anyway.” 

“You won't ever find them admitting this, but they rely on mortality. Worship and devotion is the main essence of their power. Nevertheless, they did work together and in so doing, they picked champions and created a divine pact. And it just so happens that since Marth's end was at the forefront of the war, this is where the pact was struck.” Bontu responded. 

Bontu raised the torch above his head and revealed an echoing, great hall. There was a large round table in the middle that the torch light barely revealed. Ornate rugs and wall hanging decorated the room.

As Roglin looked around he saw that all the others were gaping along with him. His heart began to beat as he saw the large statues and shrines to each of the gods. 

“Welcome! To the home of the Simad watch!”

“Bontu, this has been a great story, but you're making me nervous.” Yaz interrupted with an uneasy chuckle. “Please, why are we here?” 

Bontu continued somberly, “you are right to be nervous.” After a breath Bontu continued. “You are here because the last member of the Simad watch has gone missing.”

“Sekuria!” Varawyn shouted. Through bontu's shock, she continued. “Roglin, remember that book said he was part of the Great war? I guess he had a larger part to play than we thought.”

“Sekuria, that dream lady said we needed to find him,” Yaz added. Bontu quickly turned towards him. 

“If we weren't busy I'd have you explain this now. But yes, Sekuria has gone missing. It isn't really that he's gone missing that is the issue, it's how that terrifies me.”

“If Sekuria was as great a hero as the stories say he was what makes you think we can help where he couldn't?” Sam asked. 

All other conversations quieted at hearing those words. Roglin began to understand what he meant. 

After a short time Bontu continued. “The magic that created the Simad watch is not easily destroyed. It is still here.”

The light in Sam's eyes said he understood. “You want us to become part of the Simad Watch!”

The silence was lingering. After a time, Bontu sighed. “I cannot make you, but yes. So let this be your chance to leave. If you are to join the Watch please follow me.” Bontu began walking into an adjacent room. 

It sounded so easy to run away, deep down he thought that he could just move on from this like he did with all his other problems; he cursed himself and walked into the room with all of the others.