The Legend of Lefty

Though Lefty’s encounter with the bandits had ended in his favor, it still managed to sour the rest of his return trip to The Capital. While the young man had enjoyed the chance to fight, and looked forward to fighting again… he also came to realize just how lucky the encounter had been. Blu explained that, unlike him, bandits didn’t want to fight if they could help it. It was likely that, if the two of them had stopped to set up camp like they were supposed to, that the criminals would have seen them from afar and simply waited until they fell asleep to attack. There would be no fighting back then.

It was an unnerving thought, and it drove the adventurers to start resting at inns rather than camping along the road. This was certainly more comfortable, and it put their minds at ease, but it also quickly depleted their remaining funds. By the time they saw the walls of The Capital looming in the distance, they were just as poor as they had been when they first saw the walls all those months ago.

With no cash left, they were forced to resume camping for the last few days of their journey, though this time they slept in shifts, one of them always remaining awake in case bandits decided to strike. This extra layer of caution was draining on both of them and would ultimately prove unnecessary. Lefty and Blu made it into the city without incident, and swiftly made their way back to the only man they knew.

It wasn't until they walked into Titus's shop one afternoon, exhausted by the long and stressful trip, that they suddenly found themselves under attack again; not by bandits or deepuns… but by Titus himself.

“What are you doing here? Where have you been? What took you so long?!”

These all would have been acceptable questions for Titus to ask.

Given the situation, I would not have blamed him if he shouted some obscenities first, perhaps insulted Lefty and made insinuations about his mother… But the old man didn't say anything.

Instead he simply narrowed his eyes, tensed up… and hurled a chunk of red hot iron at Lefty's head. The burning metal sailed through the air, barely missed its intended target, and instead grazed the young man's shoulder. There was a very brief hiss as his bare flesh was burned, followed by a cry of shock and pain.

Then Titus began shouting obscenities, calling Lefty every curse in the book as he dropped his forging hammer, picked up a nearby short sword, and ran straight toward the lad.

Lefty turned and ran, clutching his shoulder and shouting curses himself as he fled out into the busy streets of The Capital. … followed shortly thereafter by a very very angry blacksmith.

You see, the pair of adventurers had been gone far longer than any of them had expected… and though Titus had sent several letters in that time… Lefty had never bothered to write back. After two months passed without any word, the pessimistic old man began to assume that he had been conned; that Lefty and Ol Blu had somehow fooled him with the first Clavis Imperium, and then made off with his money and a set of custom armor.

And to be fair to Titus… that was almost what had happened. I mean, for a while there Lefty and Blu had no intention of returning or even speaking to Titus ever again.

That being said… the fact that they had returned should have signaled to Titus that they weren't conning him. After all, there were several other potential reasons for their absence that the salty old man hadn't even considered. They could have been held captive by bandits, or slowed down by weather. Their letters could have gotten lost on the journey, or Lefty himself could have been lost in the depths of the Tabernacle!

None of those were the reason for their lack of communication, but they could have been! It's the principal of the matter! Rather than give them the benefit of the doubt, the old grumpster assumed the worst!

Which is what led to him chasing the duo down the street with a sword in his hand, making a huge scene as he shouted unintelligible curses at the top of his lungs.

It's unclear why Lefty chose to run rather than pull out his own weapons. Perhaps it was out of a desire not to harm Titus, who had previously helped him when no one else would. Perhaps he held back out of a respect for the laws of The Captial, which forbade violence within its limits. Or perhaps he was simply too tired and too startled to think clearly. Whatever the reason, it proved to be a very fortunate decision.

As you might imagine, all the commotion caught the attention of the city guards rather quickly, and as a pair of them came running onto the scene, it was immediately clear who was the dangerous aggressor, and who was running for their safety.

It only took a few seconds for the mad chase to come to a sudden end. Lefty was brought to a halt by words. A large thulhan guard with an even larger staff stepped in front of him and commanded that he stop. Lefty did.

Titus, on the other hand, was brought to a much more sudden and much more painful halt. When he ignored the human guard who commanded him to stop, he was jabbed in the face with an iron staff, breaking his nose and knocking him off his feet. The second guard had to give him an additional whack in the gut to make the old salt finally drop his sword and stop shouting. I won’t pretend like I wasn’t a little satisfied to see it happen.

In the aftermath, both Titus and Lefty- or rather, Ol Blu talking on Lefty's behalf -were sat down and given a chance to explain what had happened. In doing so, it was revealed to both the guards, and to a crowd that had gathered around them, that Lefty was in possession of not one, but two Clavis Imperium.

Of course Titus claimed that they were fakes. He angrily called Lefty and Ol Blu con artists, frauds, and several other, much more vulgar terms. He said that the pair of them owed him a rather substantial sum of money, as he rambled angrily from behind a bloodied rag. Ol Blu, meanwhile, talked much more calmly and eloquently; making a very sound argument for Lefty’s innocence and his object’s legitimacy. It didn't convince the guards, who, like most people in The Capital, could not bring themselves to believe that someone had actually conquered the tabernacles… but it was enough to gain their sympathy.

Rather than simply haul the boy and his kicken to jail, they declared that an investigation would be launched. They would find someone with more authority and expertise to examine these supposed keys,and once they were proven to be fakes, then the two of them would be detained. From there Titus would be free to recover whatever debt he was owed… so long as it was done in a legal and civilized manner.

The old man reluctantly agreed… as if he had a choice.

“And what if they're real?” Asked Ol Blu, as he and his companion were led away. “What happens then?”

“Ha! If they're real, then not only are you free to go, but we'll have Titus executed for treason,” one of the guards joked, “After all, he was attacking the future king here.” It said with a laugh as it patted Lefty's shoulder jovially.

For the next several hours, Lefty and Ol Blu were escorted around The Capital, meeting with various people who would try to determine the legitimacy of their claims. The guards took them first to a small side gate, to speak with a much older guard whom they thought would be wise enough to counter Ol Blu. When he failed, they headed to the main barracks, where they had a talk with the captain of the guards himself. He sent the pair off to the senate building to speak with an actual judge, who in turn sent them across town… to meet with Pluuthrchk, a well respected historian, and the sole surviving member of the jewelers guild.

It's important to remember that, at this point, legitimate jewelry was almost nonexistent in Att. When King Scevolus had stripped the island of its physical wealth, he had effectively killed the profession, at least as it existed back then. Oh people still made rings, necklaces, and other accessories… they just didn't have any actual jewels in them. Instead, “jewelry”, as it was still called, was made out of common metals or even wood, which was then painted to resemble the precious stones and metals of old. As such, the act of making jewelry became much easier and far less lucrative than it had been. It became the purview of common artisans, and most of the traditional jewelers went out of business.

The majority of them simply left The Capital, taking their wealth and retiring to the countryside. Most of the others got into farming, buying up large amounts of land and starting plantations. Pluuthrchk was the one who stayed. While its peers fled the city in droves, this thulhan turned it’s passion for history into a profession. It churned out a series of popular books on Att’s great kings and leaders. These tomes, and their associated political ideals, made Pluuthrchk very popular with the nobility of Att, who were weakened under Scaevolus’s reign but still quite wealthy.

Once the great king fell into his eternal slumber, these former nobles flocked to the jeweler-turned-author, hoping it could buy, sell, and authenticate the tiny scraps of jewelry they had managed to hide during the king's reign. This not only allowed the thulhan to restart its jewelry business with an effective monopoly, but it also made Pluuthrchk the authority on old wealth in the kingdom. Whenever someone sought to identify legitimate riches from the deluge of counterfeits that flooded the market… they went to Pluuthrchk.

Thus, when the judge could not determine if Lefty and Blu were frauds, that’s where she sent them. She was certain that if anyone could establish the legitimacy of the Clavis Imperium for certain, it would be the famous historian jeweler. Unfortunately, when they arrived at it's luxurious shop in the wealthy part of town, the thulhan was busy attending dinner with several prominent senators. They were forced to leave the Clavis Imperium in the hands of a quiet human servant, who promised them that Pluuthrchk would look at the objects tomorrow and report back to the guards then. The guards, in turn, promised a very worried Lefty that they would give the artifacts back to him regardless of what happened.

Despite the bad reputation that guards sometimes get, these two had actually become quite sympathetic to Lefty's plight. The hours they spent escorting him around the city didn’t quite convince them that the Clavis Imperium were genuine… but it did convince them that Lefty and Blu were genuine. The boy and his kicken weren’t con artists, they actually thought they had found the Clavis Imperium. Which is why… after their visit to Pluuthrchk… they took the two adventurers to Lady Pero's, a large run down house near the city walls which served as a charitable home… for the mentally ill.

Needless to say, Lefty, and especially Ol Blu, were none too happy about this, finding it rather insulting to have their story doubted to such an extreme degree. (sigh) But, with very little money remaining to them, Titus threatening to kill them, and no one else to turn to, the pair reluctantly accepted a temporary room. It would be better than begging or sleeping on the streets.

The rest of the evening was quite the experience for the two of them. While Lady Pero's was a place of charity, the occupants were still expected to do some work to earn their keep. After receiving a meager meal that was not-quite-slop, Lefty spent an hour out back washing dishes in a tub as he grumbled to Ol Blu about having to deal with water again.

After that, the two of them just wandered the grounds, trying to pass the time without bothering the other residents. The assortment of… undesirables were depressing at best and antagonistic at worst. One extremely old human, looking more skeleton than man, even tried to attack Ol Blu. The geezer yelled at him in the old tongue, accusing the kicken of (sigh) conspiring with the forces of darkness. Lefty almost punched the old man, but fortunately Ol Blu convinced him not to, reasoning that they might be kicked out if they killed someone… even if he was a grumpster.

Later that night, Lefty lay down on an uncomfortable cot, which sat in a large common room with dozens of others. Sleep did not come easy. He tossed and turned for hours, finding it difficult to ignore the groans and snores around him. Lefty eventually did drift off to sleep, and surprisingly, he found himself dreaming once more, walking again down the familiar streets of his former desert home.

It had been months since he last dreamt, and it took him quite a while to realize he was asleep. Once he did realize though, he immediately headed towards the shack near the consul's residence, eager to solve the mystery of his workshop.

Just like last time, however, his dream was interrupted before he could open the door. Unlike last time though, it wasn't a stark shout that awakened him, but heavy breathing… and the eerie feeling that he wasn't alone.

He hadn't even arrived at the shack when the dream world began to blur, turning dark and ominous before fading away entirely. When Lefty awoke, he found himself in the darkness of Lady Pero’s, looking up into the wrinkled face of an old woman he had never seen before. She was leaning over him, breathing heavily as she stared intently into his eyes. For a moment there was nothing but an awkward silence that bordered on terror, as Lefty gazed back at this stranger who had been watching him sleep. The elderly woman made no effort to move or even conceal what she was doing, her unblinking eyes locked on his.

Finally, she spoke.

“...just making sure you aren't a corpse.” she whispered in a voice that sounded like crinkling leaves. She squinted her eyes at the boy, as if she still wasn’t quite sure, and then turned away without another word, hobbling slowly off to the other side of the dark room.

As you might imagine, Lefty had a difficult time falling asleep after that.

He spent the next morning in a groggy daze. He ate the barely edible meals put in front of him and mindlessly helped with the menial jobs he was tasked with. All he could think about was leaving before he had to spend another night in this terrible place. Throughout the day he bounced many ideas off of Ol Blu, hoping the two of them could find some alternative to staying where they were, but there were no easy answers.

Fortunately, just as the sun was beginning to set, and Lefty was weighing the pros and cons of being a homeless street urchin, the pair of guards from yesterday returned to Lady Pero's, asking for Lefty and Blu.

“Your back!” Shouted the young man as he saw them, showing more emotion than his monotone voice usually did.

“Where are the keys?!” He asked after running excitedly up to the guards. “Are you going to execute Titus like ya said!?” He added, calling back to their joke from yesterday… but the guards didn't laugh. The two of them looked at each other, before turning back to Lefty with pity in their eyes.

“I'm sorry to tell you this kid, but those things you brought in are fake.”

...

For a moment time seemed to stand still, the guards watching as Lefty and Blu experienced several conflicting emotions all at once, their brains unable to process what they had just been told.

“What?!” they shouted, speaking that one word in unison before launching into separate but simultaneous rants; both of them trying to explain how that was impossible! In response the two guards held up their hands, trying to calm their “delusional” friends.

“Woah, hey, we're just telling you what Pluuthrchk told us. Don't shoot the messengers.” The human guard said, obviously saddened at having to shatter their dreams.

“Pluuthrchk is full of shit!” Ol Blu shouted angrily, startling even Lefty with his brash words.

“Hey now, calm down there, it's not all bad.” The thulhan guard said, talking just to Ol Blu now… but the kicken wouldn’t be calmed… he was furious.

“That son of a bitch is a liar and a thief! A scoundrel! A menace! If I ever see it’s ugly green face I’ll-”

“It paid your debt!” shouted the human, cutting Ol Blu off mid statement.

“..wha?” said Lefty and Blu, almost in unison.

“It paid off your debt to Titus.” Repeated the guard, taking a deep breath. “I guess it felt sorry for you.”

“Either that, or it's impressed by your counterfeits.” The other guard added.

“Either way, it wants to see you at it's shop. We're supposed to take you two there. So if you want to say something to Pluuthrchk… you can do it right to its ugly green face.”