Shards of Old

-Now with pleasantries aside… - he said while I was sitting back down - Do you know anything about the poisoned guy?

-He said he's from some guard force. Didn't you say before he was your employee?

-Because he was. They both arrived about a month or so ago when I was looking for mercenaries to work as a new guard force. Didn't know much about them, but they did not ask many questions which worked for me.

-New guard force? What happened to the old one?

-Nothing. Just left. I don't keep the same people hired for long.

-Mhm. Why this curiosity now?

-I want to know who I pissed off so much.

-So you think they are not from the Arbo guard, or whatever, as he said?

-They might be both. That's why I'm asking you. I thought he might have told you something.

-Nope. But I have an idea.

I went back below deck to where the guard was lying.

-You won't mind if I search through your stuff, will you?

He obviously did not answer.

-I thought so.

He did not have much on him, just a small pouch on the belt and the ring with the gem. I took them both and opened the pouch.

Inside there was another green gem, a very small one, a brooch that looked like the one the innkeeper used, a few coins and a letter.

I opened it and started reading.

You are to find the people of interest and deliver it to the capital. We have information that they are on the island. Do not raise suspicion, secrecy is imperative. When you are done, go back to the capital and in the inn at the outskirts ask for me.

For the King

O.

-Well that is as vague as it gets… - I said emerging on the deck.

-What?

I read him the contents of the paper.

-And I think that might be yours - I handed him the brooch, putting the rest back into the pouch and hiding in my bag.

-Oh, nice. Without that I feel like without my hand.

-Ha, ha, very funny. Does any of that ring a bell?

-Nothing comes to my mind. But that must be someone high up. "For the King"... That sounds like something that some noble would say… - he sighed. - Well shit… But why target me specifically? Am I worth that much?

-Well your bounty is supposedly 100 platinum. And double for whoever is with you.

-Holy shit! I didn't think they would care that much… - he added under his breath.

-So you know something.

-Well, a while ago I outbid some schmuck on some slave. Later I learned that he was working for a guy from the capital, but didn't have any specific name. Damn.

-Who did you buy?

Even saying that left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

-That's the thing. It was just some regular looking girl. Kinda looked like some peasant that had a streak of bad luck.

Hearing that brought many unpleasant thoughts, but nonetheless I asked:

-Where is she now?

-Sorry, but that is a trade secret. I am not selling out my clients.

-Well it's your loss. I hope you got enough money from that trade.

-Well, not really, funnily enough. She was like a few gold. I do wonder why she's so important to the guy. Maybe someone up high likes them plain?

-I heard enough - that last remark made me shudder. Poor girl.

-I think there was something wrong with that sale but I can't remember… Well, whatever. I will have to check later when we arrive.

-Speaking of which, when is that? - I asked, glad he changed the subject.

-Not too long. This boat is faster than expected. Look, you can see the shore already.

And sure enough, in the distance there was indeed something that looked like an island.

-Hmm. Looks bigger than I thought it was…

By the way, are we gonna leave this guy on the boat?

-For now, yes. Unless you want to carry him.

-Oh hell no. Dragging him downstairs was enough for me, he's heavy as shit.

-I thought so - he laughed. - After I check the ruined house we'll see what's next.

The rest of the trip passed in silence, and a while later we were back by the familiar pier.

The innkeeper was actually quite skillful at sailing. He managed to control the winds and the boat to the degree that we stopped at the arms reach to the pier, before he finally cut the contact with the circle and the wind stopped completely.

-Nice job.

-No big deal. Being able to control the wind helped a lot. This is a nice boat.

-Whatever you say. So, next stop, town?

-Yeah. Let's go.

If anyone could see us then, they most likely wouldn't believe their eyes: two men appearing out of nowhere at the pier and just walking towards town like nothing happened.

-Man, this feels weird - I said, turning around at the emptiness that was our boat.

-Yeah. I never thought about it but it had to look weird as shit when we were sailing. Just random waves appearing out of the blue on the water. Like a ghost ship or something.

-I wonder how long this spell is gonna last…

-Stop wondering, we have shit to do. Let's go - he said while going towards town.

-We? More like you - I replied but followed him anyway. - I am not some genius alchemist that can recognize plants just by looking at them. And why do you care anyway?

-I want to get our little friend to talk, that short letter is not enough. And for this I need him alive and conscious.

-And what, you gonna make the antidote out of some planks?

-You'll see when we get there.

With this remark ending our discussion we traveled back to town and to the ruined house. And the tree.

First thing he did was inspect the tree. For me it looked like any other I saw on this island. He apparently came to the same conclusion.

-This is weird, I expected for this tree to be out of the same wood as my spikes, but it apparently is not. It's just a regular beech.

-So what now then?

He didn't reply, instead he pulled out his crystal, kneeled down and cast some spell. As soon as I saw it glow I moved a few more steps back, but I was worried for nothing.

A small sapling sprouted from the wood in front of him. It was magic similar to one that the guard used, but this time it did not get out of control. Either because he was better at controlling his magic or he was not wounded and poisoned, most likely a combination of both. But defying his expectations, the sapling was very similar to the tree.

-I don't get it - he exclaimed, still on his knees.

-What? Spell failed or something? - I asked, coming closer, knowing that it's obviously not the case.

-I honestly don't know. Look - he pointed at the sapling. - This is supposed to be the poisonous plant. Not a beech.

-Hah, so it is - I looked at the plant. - I am not some kind of herbalist, but I can tell as much. So what?

-That means those spikes I stabbed him with were just regular wood. And I have no idea why he is in a coma.

-Well there goes your interrogation - I said calmly. - You sure you didn't use some other spell? Or something?

-I am not dumb. Granted, the encounter was pretty hectic, but I know what I did. This is definitely the same wood.

-Well then, that means he got poisoned some other way. Your inn maybe? Somewhere on the way to the boat?

-It's an inn! Not some witch's cottage where you have some weird plants on every wall! And wouldn't you notice if he got stabbed or something on the way? You were pretty much all the time together.

-So were you, I remind you. So what now? You gonna leave him on the boat? I would like to avoid that, I kinda want to use that boat to get to the continent. And I am not gonna take him with me.

-Shit… - he started mumbling something to himself, visibly distraught.

After a while he apparently came to some kind of conclusion, because he stood up.

-You know, fuck it. Let's bring him to my inn. If he ever wakes up I can't have him roaming the island and maybe calling some reinforcements on me.

-Well, I don't care. He's your problem.

He looked at me, annoyed.

-Let me remind you, that if any word gets out about you helping me out, you will also be wanted. You said it yourself, double for accomplices. But don't worry. I'll make sure there won't be any leaks.

-Well, thanks.

-Don't thank me. Instead help me drag that fucker to me inn.

-Oh no, I am not carrying a fully armored man all the way here. Getting him below deck was hard enough. Don't you have some sort of spell you can use?

-I have something even better.

-Huh? And what that might be?

-A wheelbarrow.

With that amazing piece of technology pulled out of the stables, we made our way to the boat. On the way I couldn't help but notice that even the wheelbarrow was made of mostly wood, only a few pieces like parts of the wheel and axis were metal.

-Say, Jack, why are you people using just wood for basically everything? I can't help but notice everything wooden.

-You are in the land of the Green Mages. Well, sort of. Since everyone is using green magic, it's the easiest way to make things. And the cheapest.

-But isn't it inconvenient? The wood is gonna rot sooner or later. And very flammable to boot. Aren't you scared that one day some buildings will just gonna collapse out of old age?

-Nah, that's what the magic is for - he waved his hand dismissively. - You see, the wood the buildings are made of are not just planks or chopped down logs. They are actual living trees, just with their shapes changed accordingly. Thanks to that they never decay.

-Hah. Smart. I couldn't really tell from the looks of it.

-And I can't blame you. In some places it is a lot easier to notice, but in others, like here, they are different. Personal preferences of people who made them it's my guess.

-Curious. And who made yours?

-Beats me. It was a long time ago.

-Hm. Also a few buildings in the village are actually made from stone. Someone didn't trust the green magic or something?

-Hah, maybe. But I don't know. As I said, it was a long time ago. But if they did, they made a mistake, right? Some of the stone ones collapsed, and every wooden one is still intact.

-Almost every one - I pointed out.

-Semantics. Besides, that wasn't the building's fault, anything would have collapsed.

-True… - I paused for a second. - Certainly that is an interesting way of doing things… But what about fire?

-We don't really use fire. You saw the crystals I used to light up the inn? That's basically it.

I don't know how you do things where you are from, but we also use similar crystals. I heard that in some places they do use open fire, but those are primitive people from the east.

-Primitive? Sounds… interesting. - I replied, not knowing what to think of it.

-Right? I even heard stories that they also worship lightning and live underground. Imagine that!

-Imagine that…

It took us a good chunk of time to transport the guard from the boat back to the inn, but with two of us carrying him and a wheelbarrow it wasn't that bad. Jack decided that he will be keeping him upstairs next to where my room used to be. But as soon as we reached the inn we got reminded about another roadblock. After all, the inn was sealed with vines by the guard.

-Shit, I forgot about that… - said Jack scratching his head, looking at the X shaped vines on the door.

-Right, and if it was not enough, there is also a tree upstairs - I reminded him. - Either you bring an axe and we start chopping, or we have to move him somewhere else.

-Ehhh… Unblocking this is gonna be a pain… Well shit. Let's go there instead…- he pointed to the end of the village.

-You have a key to another place or something?

-I have a key to all of them. This whole place is my property, mind you.

-Oh. Nice. But weren't they all sealed?

He did not answer.

We headed to the last house in the same row as the inn. It looked basically the same as any other, just a log cabin, but now knowing the way those were made, I started noticing some features that you wouldn't find in regular houses. A few leaves sprouting from a wall or small branches growing from the roof, even roots in some places. They were barely noticeable and if you didn't know you would just glance over them, just like I did. As I took another look at other ones, I started noticing more and more similar features.

As I was looking around I realized that Jack was now walking towards the forest, carefully looking for something on the ground.

-Ah, there it is…

He leaned down, pulled on something and to my surprise, opened a trap door in the forest floor. It was completely covered in moss, grass and a bunch of branches so it really had to be pretty hard to spot.

-Nice - I exclaimed, looking down. - It's gonna be a pain to drag him through this though…

Inside there was a set of wooden stairs that led about ten steps down and that was as far as I could see.

-Either that or you start chopping down doors - he said calmly, dragging the guard downstairs. - Come on.

-If I knew you were gonna make me do this I would've broken them down already… - I moaned, but I started helping him anyway.

The tunnel was pretty short and made of something that could've very well been the roots of the house above us and ended with another staircase with a hatch. Luckily, it was not sealed by the guy that was now being dragged by us and opened into some room, which I assumed was inside the house we were standing near just a while ago.

As Jack was opening the trapdoor, I could hear the sound of tearing and his cursing. When we managed to all get out from underground I noticed that the hatch itself was hidden with a carpet that was in front of the main door. It was apparently sewn to the floor itself, because it was now in shreds, thanks to him opening the hatch. It was made of some weird green material, almost reminding me of moss.

The room itself was barren and looked almost like my room in the inn, but a lot larger, which made it look even more empty. A chair and desk in one corner, a wardrobe in front of the door and the bed in the other back corner, with covers that were out of material oddly similar to the carpet.

-Homey - I muttered while dragging the unconscious man onto the bed with him .

-I never expected for someone to actually use this… - he said, wiping his forehead and going towards the main door, trying to open it. To no one's surprise it didn't even budge, and if you looked closely you could see the X shape of the growth that blocked it from the other side.

-So what now? - I asked, sitting on the only chair in the room, looking expectantly.

-I don't know about you, but I have to make my inn into a decent state again, or at least to have access to my room.

-And what about this guy?

-I don't think he's gonna wake anytime soon, and even if he wakes up he doesn't have anywhere to run. Especially with the door blocked. You can stay with him if you wish - he added, mockingly.

-Hell no. He is your problem.

We both left using the tunnel. As a precaution he even locked both hatches behind us using a padlock on each, pulling them out from somewhere.

-So where are you going now? - he asked me as we were walking through the village.

-My plans didn't change. I still want to leave towards the continent, but now I am a step closer, I have a boat. Now I need a compass or something like that and I am good to go.

-Really? You know how to sail?

-I am sure I can handle it. Say, do you have a map and a compass to borrow? Or rather buy?

-Maybe… - he hesitated - but that would be in my inn, and getting in will take a while.

-Take your time then. I am gonna go to my boat for now, I need to check something.

-"Your boat" now, eh? Fine, do what you want.

I wanted to check a few things, since I was back on land. First, on my way out of the village I stopped by the ruined house, the place where the fight happened. I hoped to find something that any of those fighting dropped or lost during their scuffle. It was not a very pleasant or easy process. Sadly, I only found bits and pieces of armor from either of the guards. As I was about to leave I decided to check the ruined piece of the house as well.

It looked pretty much the same as the house I was just in, not including the fact that it was mostly destroyed, but one thing was different - it had two beds. Before I didn't really pay any attention to that, but the still standing part looked like it was used before all of this happened. There were some half-empty bottles of something that smelled like watered down wine on the table, along with a few pieces of bread. The beds, which were spared by the ruined roof, were messy and the wardrobe had its door broken with some clothes sticking out. That house most likely was a sleeping quarters for the two.

In the wardrobe I found some plain linen clothes, along with a few coats, nothing useful. But while I was going through all the clothes I felt something in one of the more dirty coats. It was a notebook, or rather a bunch of papers strung together with a piece of string. Curious, I started reading and after a few paragraphs I couldn't believe in my luck.

I've just found what appeared to be notes about the boat, its magic circles and the illusion that protected it.

After skimming through the rest of it, I realized that using that boat was gonna be even easier than expected. Besides the information I already knew, it had a similar list that was written on the hatch, but this one was a lot longer, and a lot more complex. Also, apparently both circles I saw on the ship were connected with each other, and a part of a big magic formula that spanned through the entire deck. Reading more and more, I couldn't help but be amazed. That plain looking thing was an amazing piece of magical advancement. To think that something like that was used by two random mercenaries in the middle of nowhere…

-Where did they even get that? - I asked myself.

Armed with this new knowledge I made my way back.