"Earl Cleor... tell me if your territory. How fares the taxes this year?"
A pompous man said. He held an air of superiority, of power, that the Earl really did not want to upset. He shifted in his seat, straightening a fine silk tie as he stared across the table at the Duke.
"Duke Gerald... The crops have not seen success this year and as such we are short 20% from the quota..."
This seemed to displease the man, though only slightly. "I am sure you will find a way to get the rest" he replied with a sly smile.
"Of course you could always ask your famous adventurer sister for the rest..." Advisor Rold said. He was a wily and cunning man, and had much hate for the Earl and his family. He was right hand to the Duke and oversaw all the finances and book keeping. He was a man the Earl surely did not want to upset.
"Aah if she were to step into my doorstep she would face death, as you know how we treat traitors to the crown"
"Hmph..." the grey bearded man replied, seeing no avenue to jest and jab further.
"Now now..." the Duke said, interrupting the two. He knew that they would get nowhere if the petty squabbles were to continue, "We are all here because it has been a year since the incident, and I have invited the Wisdom to come present his insight and guide us."
There was an inaudible sigh in the room as the Earl and The Advisor rolled their eyes. The wisdom was a powerful man, to be sure, but was all high and mighty, and everyone thought much too full of himself.
His position far preceded his wisdom, at least the Earl thought. Though the fact that The Wisdom despised nobles and fought to decrease their wages and spread the wealth among the people had more to do with it, of course. Not that any of their grievances would ever come out into the open.
A moment later the old man in his scholar robes stepped into the room. Everyone stood to greet him but he dismissed them with a wave, "no no... let us get on with it gentlemen.." he said. "You know I detest formalities..."
The Duke replied with a smile saying, "of course." Ever the suck up. He needed the wisdom by his side if he were to solidify his position and stop any scheming and usurping, and more importantly, win over more territory from the other dukes.
The wisdom knew this, and acted however he pleased despite not being a noble. He treated them like commoners. This pissed off the Earl and the Advisor.
"It has been a year since we began the search... for the book... As you all know J.S.M. Sent me a letter a year ago today and informed me, much to my surprise, that he had given the book to some random boy...
We have searched nearby towns, cities, and even sent men into other territories in search of this mysterious boy... I cannot tell you how important this is, as it would breach both Scholar's guild and Mage's guild secrets, none of which you are entitled to..."
The tone this last line took furrowed the brow of every noble in the room, and The Earl's eye twitched visibly. The Wisdom was undeniably arrogant.
"That being said I appreciate the continued effort to find this person... This book is more valuable than the entirety of this Dukedom. I can tell you that now... and you will all be rewarded greatly by The Scholar's guild if we can find it..."
Just then they all stopped, and turned to look out a large window of the massive mansion. They stood shocked as they watched a blue beam pierce the sky past the castle walls, turning the orange day into a soft blue for but a moment.
Though no one in the room was a mage they could feel it, a tingling sensation in the air that washed over like a wave. It was unsettling.
The Duke stood and moved to the window, watching as the beam of light disappeared and the sensation stopped, the world returning to normal. He shared a loon with the Wisdom and they both nodded,
"Ser Aviston!" He called. A moment later a man in white armor with a massive sword and shield on his back stepped in the room. He kneeled and placed a hand on his chest, Bowing with his full helm as he said, "yes, Duke."
"Get up, quickly, go outside the city gates and find out what that was..."
"Immediately Duke..." he said, standing and moving with a speed and strength beyond their comprehension.
The nobles resumed their seated positions and the Wisdom was the first to speak up, "Hopefully our men get their before the Mages guild... that may be what we are looking for..."
...
Laelia has been in the market district when she saw the beam of light. It came from outside the gates, near where Alder trained. Everyone in the area had stopped, peasant and noble alike looking towards the sky.
"It's demons.." some said, while other more reasonable folk commented, "the Mage's guild must be doing something out there..."
Something told her none of these were right. So she dashed down the street towards the gate. She thought of Alder, and how strange he had been. He had gotten big and strong, and looked more like a teenager than a 9 year old boy. He even carried himself as such.
"Be okay"... she told herself, dodging around a large group of beggars that were crowding around the gate. She was stopped by a spear, a guard standing in front of the gate that was yelling loudly, "no one can pass! Duke's orders!"
She frowned. Something was going on. And her friend was out there. She looked around and stared at a spot on the wall. "Aah!" She said,
A moment later she was scrambling up the wall. Making sure to keep out of sight. Of the guards and people below. She moved as quick as possible.
Huffing she pulled herself over the battlement and onto the wall. She caught her breath as she looked left and right, seeing no guards on the wall. Why would they be? It was a peaceful city with no chance of invasion.
She kept her head down and walked over to the side of wall facing the fields beyond, looking out through an archer slit, down on a field of green.
She spotted a large group of guards, headed by a figure in white armor. A knight. They were circling a bloody figure on the ground. She couldn't make out the details as they were hundreds of feet away, but she knew something wasn't right.
The person on the ground obviously wasn't doing okay. Probably dying. And they weren't wearing any clothes of a noble or a mage. Though the sheer amount of blood made it hard to tell.
A moment later two guards picked up the person and made there way back to the city. Slowly they moved, and the white knight had drawn his sword and seemed wary of the body, and the surrounding area.
They drew closer and closer and she kept her eyes glued to the limp corpse.
Her eyes raised and she let out a gasp. All at once she knew who it was. The young body of a boy, black hair, with clothes she had seen just that morning. "Alder!" She yelled. She wasn't sure whether he was dead or alive, and didn't get any time to check as the group of armored men passed under the gate and into the city, disappearing into the throng of people below.
She hurried down, nearly slipping as she threw her leg over the stone to descend the rough wall. "Be okay..." she said again as she moved as quickly as she could...
...
A young boy stood frightened, tired, and heavily injured as he stared at two figures ahead... they were fast approaching and nothing but dread and anger filled his heart.
Quickly he lunged to pick up a large club, readying himself. It was heavy, and unwieldy in his small hands though he would make do..
He had to...
He couldn't escape.
Several seconds passed and the green pig faced monsters closed in fast. Their movement in unison as they leapt are the same time, swiftly swinging their clubs.
He thought of blocking then thought better of it. A one armed block against two goblin lords was asking for death. So he kept backwards instead, narrowly avoiding the blow.
He took the chance to swing himself, aiming at the one on the right. But it was too slow. And he missed.
"Bang!" The one on the left hit him in the leg, telling him like a tree. He reeled, then managed to stand and wobble away...
The scene passed in a flash, and the cruel reality of fighting melded into Alder's consciousness. Over twenty minutes he had used every dirty trick he could think of from feints, to jests, to simply throwing dirt or trying to kick them in the groin...
The result...
He was on his death bed and had only taken out one goblin, the other only lightly injured.
It approached him and was raising its club to smash his head in when it slipped on the wet grass beneath.
Alder just stared at it, stunned for a moment. "Really?" He said. He wasn't going to let the moment go. He yelled and swung the club with everything he had, rolling towards the goblin lord.
"Crunch!" He caved in it's pig face with one good blow.
He didn't stop there and kept wailing it over and over, until the beast was nothing but mush..
"Luck..." he said, laughing. "I'm alive because of luck..." Then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, his consciousness fading away...
...
When he awoke he was groggy and more than anything hungry. Wherever he was it was dark and it smelled of piss and shit. Looking around he winced in pain, his head throbbing hard.
The room was small and there were bars where a door should have been. All around it was dirty cobblestone with only a small torch in the hall beyond the bars as the sole source of light.
There were muted sounds of people talking, and he made out beyond the bars a similar room with someone sitting in the corner. He tried to stand and heard a jangling, looking down at his foot to see he was cuffed at the ankle by a large chain. He tried to take it off and it didn't budge.
"Where am i?" He asked stupidly, and more stupidly loudly. It wasn't hard to tell but his mind searched for a better answer. "Shut up!" A gruff male voice said, a guard showing up a moment later.
"Aah!" He said, seeming surprised as his eyes met Alder's. He disappeared and Alder lay there confused. A minute passed and a familiar man in black robes appeared. "Aah he is awake is he?" He said.
It was the mage he had seen a long time ago. The one who tested his mana for whatever reason. "Bring him now..." the man said, before stepping back, the guard opening up the gate. With a clinking of his key ring.
Alder sat stunned, confused, and in pain.. he called out to the mage, asking, "what's going on? Where am I?"
The man seemed annoyed and replied, "You have a lot to answer for boy... especially the year it's taken to find you..."