The Silver Sphinx

 

“Justice is not law.”

Mercykiller proverb

 

 

Third Lower Day of Savorus, 126 HR

When Garush led the four forced guests outside, as Mallin had instructed, she saw a stately griffon with white fur and silver-gray wings in the middle of the square. It was apparently waiting there, majestic, immobile and completely unimpressed by the gallows and pillories that characterized the image of Petitioner's Square. Garush nodded to herself: Sarin's griffon. She had seen the Harmonium's factol on the back of the impressive beast a few times before. That also explained how the paladin had arrived at the Prison so quickly. And it made him even more worthy of her respect that he had apparently not hesitated for a second. Many another factol would probably have made the Chosen wait longer just to show Mallin that his actions did not impress him. Rowan Darkwood, for example. He would never have hurried so much, would have played along with this little power game, even at the expense of his own people. And Mallin, she had to admit to herself, would probably not have reacted so quickly either, if only out of pride, but mostly out of stubbornness. When she closed the large metal door of the main entrance behind her and turned to the other Chosen, she looked into faces that were partly dismissive, partly angry. She couldn't blame them. The Harmonium soldier, Kiyoshi, just nodded at his friends with a stony expression, then turned without a word and walked towards the griffon, where he took up position like a guard. Of course, his pride probably prevented him from speaking to her in this situation. That was something she, as an amazon, could well understand. Since the other three made no move to turn their backs on her immediately, she addressed them.

 

“I know it doesn't mean much,” she said seriously. ”But I want to apologize for this. I didn't want it this way, but I had orders.”

“We all just do as we're told,“ the sorceress named Jana replied with a placatory smile, whereas the Sensate grimaced. “Yes, lawfulness above all.”

“I regret if you disapprove of that,” Garush replied calmly. “It is what I am.”

Interestingly, Jana had given the tiefling a frowning look when he made his remark. “You don't understand that,” she explained admonishingly.

Naghûl shrugged. “Jana is right, I don't understand it. But I accept your apology. After all, it was you who tried to keep everything in check.”

Garush was quite surprised that he admitted this. She hadn't really expected it. Therefore, she was willing to make another admission in return. “I have to apologize for Nilesia,” she said. “I would have preferred to go with Arwyl, but he was unavailable.”

The tiefling nodded knowingly, but it was Lereia who now addressed her. “Was that your idea or that of your faction?” she asked cautiously.

“Mallin's,” the amazon replied frankly. “I had told him about you because I had seen you at the Mortuary. One of us had followed you a short way, hidden in the shadows, and had overheard the conversation between the Harmonium soldier and that grimace on the wall. But Factol Sarin obviously didn't really want to talk about it.”

Lereia nodded. “You were also looking for Eliath, weren't you?”

“That's true. But it was you who found him.“ Even though it apparently had nothing to do with the Prophecy in the end, Garush was still not particularly happy about it, but she had to admit it.

“But you weren't alone back then, were you?” Lereia looked at her calmly but obviously interested. “Why did you have someone from another faction with you during an internal investigation?”

“How did you know ...” Garush hesitated, but then waved it off. “No, it seems that these kinds of questions are unnecessary. Yes, I had someone with me.” She thought for a moment, but then decided that it was only fair if the others knew his name, since she now knew theirs as well. ”Yelmalis.”

“An air genasi, right?” the Sensate chimed in again. “Taker or Guvner, I'm guessing?”

Now the half-orc grinned, which – she was aware – usually amounted to little more than a brief flash of her tusks. “It's not just our faction that's well informed, I see ... Guvner.”

The Athar sorceress listened calmly, looking at Garush openly and surprisingly friendly the whole time. The tiefling was more reserved, but at least no longer openly hostile. The young woman with the white hair, whom they called Lereia, seemed interested but cautious.

“The question may sound a bit too personal,” she said. “But is Yelmalis close to you in a certain and difficult-to-explain way, or was it a coincidence?”

“We don't have to dance around it, do we?” Garush replied seriously. ”We are allowed to speak the words Chosen of the Ring Prophecy. That is our right.”

Yes, she saw it as such. It was their destiny and responsibility. It went without saying not to shout it from the rooftops indiscriminately and carelessly. But it was their right to talk about it among themselves.

Lereia nodded gently. “How long have you known?”

“Not long,” Garush replied. “A few months, only since shortly before the incident with Eliath.”

“Your swift movements ... Is that your gift?”

“Yes, among other things,” the amazon confirmed. “But I can't control it or use it consciously. It just happens sometimes.”

“Hm ...” Lereia studied her thoughtfully. “The Dancer?”

Garush had to laugh. “Dancer? No one's ever called me that.”

“I don't know, I'm just guessing.” Lereia shrugged with an apologetic grin. ”And Yelmalis, is he a Chosen, too?”

The amazon just nodded, while the tiefling touched his forehead in horror, as if he had suddenly remembered something bad.

“Oh ... help,” he murmured. Lereia looked at him questioningly, and he shook his head. “I just felt as if I had touched a sensory stone that contains the experience of all the factols sitting together and Hashkar talking ... and talking … and talking ...”

Garush couldn't help but laugh out loud at this remark. The Sensate was not wrong, she had already had this experience, at a meeting of Mallin with Hashkar, Darius, Bria and Rowan Darkwood.

Jana, on the other hand, looked at Naghûl blankly. “Does that matter now?”

“You could certainly see it as an existential question,“ the amazon said, still amused.

“Exactly. Intend not to take part in this conversation,” the tiefling explained, shaking his head and grinning.

“I think it's good that we met,” Garush said. ”Even if it was under unpleasant circumstances.”

The Sensate became more serious again. “Yes, but I don't know if that couldn't have been done in a more consensual way. I don't like being just a means to an end.”

“I understand that,” the amazon conceded. “Mallin probably felt he had no other way to get Sarin to talk. He is a master at getting people to talk – by whatever means necessary.” She did not fail to notice the uncomfortable look that the three exchanged at this remark.

The sorceress cleared her throat. ”I'm sure he is. Tell me, do you know of any other Chosen besides us and this genasi of the Guvners?”

Garush sighed. This question was to be expected, of course. Nevertheless, she couldn't just answer it. “Damn ... As much as we are eager to learn more, I'm afraid I can't say anything without consulting first. But now that Mallin and Sarin are talking, I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other soon.”

Naghûl nodded and shot the two women a meaningful glance. “And we shouldn't throw our knowledge around either.”

“I don't intend to,” Lereia replied. “But if we want to know more about the others, we'll have to reach out to them a little, too.”

“That's right,” the amazon agreed. “I think a stone was set rolling that no one can stop now.”

The Sensate sighed a little. “Then let's hope that we are the stone and not those who have to flee from the avalanche.”

“I hope so, too.” Lereia's gaze briefly wandered to the platforms with the gallows and pillories that had been erected on Petitioner's Square in front of the Prison. One could clearly see that the surroundings made her uncomfortable. “I would like to say goodbye now,” she stated. ”This area still doesn't seem particularly hospitable to me.”

Garush couldn't suppress a slight smirk. “You have that in common with many people. I should also go home and get some rest. I have an execution tomorrow morning and I don't want to hit poorly.”

She saw the uneasiness in Lereia's eyes grow. “Ah yes ...” The young woman cleared her throat. “Your ... work, I understand. Well, I just want to go to my house ...”

The Sensate had also raised his eyebrows meaningfully. “Yes, I just want to bake a cake, nice and harmless. Well then, the Lady's Grace.”

Garush was not surprised by these kinds of reactions; she knew them only too well. The executioner's job was rarely well received. Comments about it were a good way to end a conversation quickly. But someone had to do it, and her faction happened to have this task.

Jana smiled goodbye, albeit a little strained this time. “See you soon and thanks for leading us out.”

“You're welcome. Lady's Grace.” Garush nodded curtly and then returned to the main gate of the Prison.

When she put her hand on the cool metal of the door handle, she hesitated briefly. She would rather have gone to her favorite tavern to drink a jug of Bumbat and flirt with the beautiful barmaid. But Mallin might want to talk to her again, and duty was, of course, much more important than a tankard of ogre beer or the company at the C erberus . To her regret, today. So she pushed down the latch, entered the Prison's entrance hall and sat down on one of the wooden benches there. Only two guards were on duty at the moment, and they were talking quietly in the other corner of the room, so the amazon had her peace and could brood undisturbed. On the one hand, this suited her after the less than pleasant events of the day. On the other hand, she didn't really like brooding – she preferred to leave that to people like the Guvners. Yelmalis, for example, seemed to be perfectly suited for brooding and mental games of all kinds. Guvner and wizard and lawyer ... She could hardly imagine someone who was thinking more all day long. He simply had to be the Thinker in the Prophecy, no one else would be more suitable. To be fair, however, she had to admit that he had certainly earned her respect in the course of the last two missions – first in the Hive, then during the search for the Keeper and the Proclaimer. In his field – magic – he was obviously quite capable, and so far he was able to control his gift best out of all of them. Of course, she wouldn't admit that openly and still liked to refer to him as quill-driver , but it had developed from an initially derogatory remark to a rather friendly expression. While she was pondering this, the creaking of the main gate made her sit up. Someone was entering the entrance hall, and she turned her gaze to the large door. A tall human man of about thirty came in, clad in steel armor, with a fair complexion and short, black hair.

Garush rose from the bench. "Arwyl. I would have needed you a few hours ago.”

The paladin of Torm was one of the highest-ranking factors in the faction, and she was a simple arbitra. But not even a year ago, they had completed a very dangerous mission on Acheron together and owed each other their lives. Since then, they were on a first-name basis with each other.

He approached her, obviously pleased to see her, but pointed in astonishment over his shoulder at the door. “Greetings, Garush. Um, tell me ... is that Sarin's griffon out there in the square?”

The amazon nodded. “That's right.”

“And what is the factol of the Harmonium doing here in the Prison unannounced?”

“He's talking to Mallin.” She gave him a meaningful look.

“About ...?”

She nodded. Besides Nilesia, Arwyl Swan's Son was the only one in the faction who knew about the Prophecy, except for her and Mallin. He widened his eyes in surprise, glanced at the two guards, and then walked a short way with Garush to the opposite corner of the hall. “Now?” he asked in a low voice. “How did Mallin manage that?”

The amazon sighed and pointed to the nearby wooden bench. She wasn't one for many words, but she wanted to tell Arwyl this story with all the important details, and there were quite a few of them. So she told him about Mallin's order to “invite” the other Chosen to visit the Prison, about how she had to go with Nilesia instead of Swan's Son, and about the unpleasant course of events that had followed this “invitation”. She also told of the heated exchange between Sarin and Mallin, of Nilesia's improper behavior towards the factol of the Harmonium, and of how Mallin had finally let the “guests” go. She did not omit the final conversation with Naghûl, Lereia and Jana in front of the Prison either. Arwyl listened to her report with a serious expression, interrupting her only twice with a brief question, and sighing several times at exactly the points she had anticipated.

“Yes, that's how it was,” Garush finally concluded. ”I would have preferred to go with you, but unfortunately you weren't available.”

She had already noticed during her report that Arwyl had turned a little pale when she had mentioned that she didn't find him. She had the impression that he was more angry than astonished, although she was not sure why.

Now his eyes darkened at her words. “Yes, I ... I was at the Barracks. To talk to prefect Fireheart.”

“What?” Garush's eyes widened. “You were at the Barracks at that time?”

The blue of Arwyl's eyes seemed to darken even more. “For an appointment that Nilesia should have kept. But she asked me to represent her. She said she didn't feel well ...”

The amazon snorted contemptuously. “And you believed that?”

“I had my doubts.” At her sharp look, he raised his hands defensively. “What should I have done? Refuse? That would have been anything but chivalrous.”

She bared her tusks. ”Chivalrous you will go to hell one day if you let your generosity be so easily exploited.”

She had often told him that his chivalry went too far, so he was already familiar with her displeasure in this regard. He remained completely calm and just shrugged his shoulders with an indulgent smile. “You're not a paladin. You don't understand.”

She herself would certainly have lost her temper if he had made a comment like hers, so she admired Arwyl's composure. And she didn't want to discuss it any further, so she waved it off. “I don't understand that, indeed. But it's not my business. What happened today is. Blex! I really didn't want to do that, believe me. But on the other hand, I can understand Mallin. If Sarin hadn't been so damn stubborn ...”

“He has his principles,” Arwyl replied calmly. ”Mallin of all people should understand that. Which he certainly does, but in this case, the end did justify the means. And I fear Nilesia took delight in it.”

Garush pursed her lips. “You bet she did. Way too much to my taste. Well ...” A grin spread across her face. “At least until she disrespected Sarin.”

“Yes, she clearly went too far.” Arwyl nodded in agreement, although he hadn't seemed very happy when she had told him about their factol's reaction to Nilesia's insubordination. “What will Mallin do to her now?”

She shrugged. “I don't know. And I don't really care either way.”

“Garush ...”

“No, Arwyl, seriously, I don't care,” the amazon replied energetically. “It's her own fault. End of story. It's good that Mallin drags her over the coals. That brat is a few bricks short of a load.”

“She didn't have an easy time as a child,” the paladin replied gravely. ”And she's an arbitra of our faction, just like you.”

Garush shook her head. “Bad enough, Arwyl. She's bonkers, and I wonder why Mallin doesn't see that.”

“Maybe he does.” Arwyl's gaze was calm and serene, showing that he had also asked himself this question several times. But his answer surprised her, and she looked at him questioningly. “Mallin is often brusque and extremely direct,” he explained. “He likes things to be straightforward and he is very uncompromising. But he is no fool. I am quite sure that he understands exactly what is going on with Nilesia. The danger, but perhaps also a potential that he wants to bring to light.”

Garush eyed the paladin doubtfully. “Are you saying ... that you understand him?”

“I didn't say that.” Arwyl smiled, though with a hint of resignation. “I'm just saying that he certainly has his reasons, even if we don't understand them.”

“Hm.” She nodded reluctantly. “Yes, that may well be. And he is our factol, so it is not for us to question his decisions. Even if in this particular case ... it is not easy for me.”

“I can understand that very well,” Arwyl replied with a slight smile. ”And? What are you going to do now?”

She raised her eyebrows. “What should I do?”

“Come on, you can't fool me,” he replied, laughing. “I know you too well for that. What happened today is bothering you. And that's a feeling you don't like. That's why you want to do something. What are you thinking of?”

Damn, he really knew her all too well, unfortunately. Of course he was right, she couldn't and wouldn't leave it at that. “Well.” She shrugged. ”I think I'd like to talk to the others again. Even if this rather exhausting Sensate is involved. But the Believer and the Lost One were actually quite amenable. And even if the Hardhead – and not without reason – will feel that his honor has been offended, the Harmonium is, after all, an allied faction. I hope he will respect that alliance. Perhaps something can be achieved after all, even after today's bad start,.”

Arwyl nodded thoughtfully. “So you want to approach them? Ask them to talk?”

“I think so.” The amazon stood up. “But of course I have to check with Mallin first. As soon as he's finished talking to Sarin, I'll ask him if I can do that.”

“Probably a good approach,” the paladin agreed. “Don't get into a fight with the Sensate. You know, just stay calm.”

He grinned a little at these words, and she bared her fangs. “It won't be easy. But I'll try."

 

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played September 12, 2012

Kiyoshi was guarding Silverfeather because his player had to leave early that evening.