laneys.info Beware of Yankees, drunks, and loose women.

After a restless night of sleep, William finally got up and dressed. Weary of being tired, he grabbed his weapon’s belt and strapped it on, then shouldered his pack and walked out into the main hallway. Darkened, he knew the servants would probably be up soon and lighting the torches in the corridor. Night vision assisted the paladin towards the main sanctuary as moonlight pierced the tall windows and helped him move through rows of benches towards the front doors.

“Thought I heard you up, sir,” Orem’s booming voice echoed from the high ceiling and nearly gave the paladin a heart attack as he turned to see the shadowy form move towards him from the kitchen.

“You just woke everyone in this place. Congratulations,” he chuckled.

“Morning’s on the horizon, so it’s time anyway,” the larger templar extended his hand as he approached. “Here’s breakfast, sir. You’re welcome.”

William shook his head. “Thank you, sir.” He turned and opened the main door, allowing the brisk air to assault his face. Still cool at night, the warmth of summer was fast approaching, he determined as they headed for the stables and noticed light from a torch brighten the wide entrance.

“I had the stablehands prepare our horses also,” Orem continued as they ate.

“What would I do without you,” William grinned, then stopped as the squire led both warhorses out to them. Eager, Rusty nuzzled his arm as he rounded to the saddle and climbed up, then received the reins from the teenager. “Thank you, sir.”

“My pleasure, milord.”

As they rode into the quiet streets of Inellan, Orem turned to him. “Sir, we’re going to have to work on that bad habit of yours.”

“Which one?”

“Calling everyone else ‘sir’ when they’ve clearly not earned the title. Especially a whelp like him,” he motioned back in the direction of the church and stables.

William grinned and shook his head. “Giving respect to the person instead of their gear or dress earns the same in return. There’s many with title who aren’t worthy of respect but, I give it to their station instead. There’ve been times when that treatment has gained favorable intelligence or friendship for the future. Enemies in our line of work don’t serve Arhus when he’s trying to re-establish order in the world.” Enlightenment that made Orem nod as the templar chuckled. “How many times have we had this discussion?”

“Too many.”

“How many more will it take before that sinks in?” William laughed this time, even though the subject was serious.

“No telling, sir.” The larger soldier glanced to him. “Arhus gave you wisdom and he made me an instrument of war. That’s why you’re the lead and I follow.”

* * *

Six days later, sunlight beat warm upon the surrounding scene as William and Orem reined in their steeds on the road. Nearby, in the remains of what was left of the woods, he noted the death that hung in the air amidst the blackened trees which stood within the circle of charred earth. Almost the radius of a small keep, the stark contrast in terrain gave him chills as he dismounted and studied the area from the edge. Rusty and Orem’s horse backed from the area, but wouldn’t bolt from their masters as their training kept them nearby.

“Do you think our demon finally showed himself,” Orem inquired as William knelt and noticed charred remains within the fallen limbs.

“I’m not sure.” Standing, the paladin glanced up the road to the walls of Bakony. “Perhaps we should talk to the local priest and find out what happened to him.”

“Him?”

As he turned to his horse, William pointed back to the remains within the center of the explosion of magic and hoped it wasn’t anyone he knew personally. Though, no one deserved to die in that manner.

“Oh. I missed that.”

“He didn’t, unfortunately.”

Once into the large city, the busy streets were packed with merchants, runners, guards as well as other tradesmen and mothers herding unruly children to the marketplace which commanded the large square and fronted the inner walled section which protected not only the cathedral, but also the wealthy. Rising high in the blue sky, the pinnacle rose from the cathedral’s bell tower as William and Orem noticed several of their order in the courtyard, talking near a large fountain. Not recognizing anyone, he dismounted and moved towards them.

“Greetings, brothers,” William smiled and gained the same, heartfelt recognition among his peers as they turned to him. “Sir William of Inellan. I was curious, we noted the charred scene on the road from the west. What happened?”

“Sir Samuel of Eaglesham,” one of them introduced. Shorter, the paladin’s deeper, authoritative voice commanded respect that his stature may not have. “It seems that a group that arrived here some days ago had a Hodhedhel chasing them,” he informed. “Sir Duncan and the priest here went to their room at the inn to pray over a woman among them that was sick and they determined it was because of this thing mentally assaulting her.”

“A Hodhedhel?”

“Yes,” he stepped forward. “An elven demon. Dark elf. They command the shadows and some say, live in the eastern part of the Abor Mountains, not far northwest of Lamar.”

“Who was killed then?”

“Not sure,” Samuel shrugged. “Some believe it was a local farmer that was caught outside that night.”

“What happened to the ones in the inn then? Is she alright?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t someone cleanse that land and bury that farmer then,” an unintended challenge to those standing around him and he realized his mistake too late as their brows furrowed almost in unison.

“The Bishop said to allow a week for the area to rid itself of the taint,” a knight to his right interjected. “Once done, they’re going to see to the remains.”

He nodded, “Thank you for your help,” he bowed to them and rounded the group as he led Orem towards the main, double doors of the cathedral.

“Are you hunting the hodhedhel,” Samuel asked.

He glanced back to the paladin, “I don’t think so, but I could be”.

“Then Arhus guide you, friend. If you need any help, call on me.”

“I’ll do that, thank you, sir.” Inside the large sanctuary, the foyer opened to a ceiling that towered over them, graced by large, lower windows as well as an upper tier which lit the white marble and lighter stone above. Columns actually were a cluster of six which branched outward as they walked to the outer galleries lined with placards between the windows, each dedicated to the one interred within. As they approached the middle of the main aisle, a cleric rose from sitting with an elderly woman and neared them.
“Welcome to Bakony, sir. How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for an alchemist by the name of Alisandro. He used to work for the bishop of Laksay before their unfortunate demise. Have you heard of him?”

The younger cleric nodded. “Yes. He’s in his lab now if you’d like to speak with him,” the priest motioned towards the back of the immense building. “Come, I’ll take you to him.”

“Thank you, that would be great.” William and Orem followed the priest whose clean robes wafted behind him. Woolen, the light blue fabric accented with white border told of a tailor who took great pride in their work. Once in the leftmost gallery, he knocked then opened the door to a small room lined with book filled shelves surrounding two long tables littered with vials and glass jars full of a variety of colored liquids and powders.

“Alisandro,” the priest called to the alchemist whose head rose from behind the rightmost table. “This paladin has some questions for you.”

“Okay,” the younger man in his mid forties straightened, then rounded the table as the priest left them and closed the door. “What can I do for you?” Alcohol filled the air between them and William nearly feared for his life again from a fire that could explode if the man got too close to any of the lit candles in the room.

“I’m Sir William of Inellan,” he introduced then motioned to his friend. “And this is Sir Orem, a templar of Arhus.”

“Pleasure,” Alisandro nodded. William untied the small pouch on his belt and pulled open the mouth of it, then dumped out the stone into his palm and held it out to the alchemist who immediately became nervous.

“You recognize this?”

“Where did you get that,” the reply which almost resembled a whisper as the dark haired man’s blue eyes rose.

“I found it in the large room at the end of a hallway, not far from what I assume was your lab. The walls and ceiling were lined with them as well as the floor. Care to tell me why you would go to so much trouble?”

Alisandro’s brow furrowed as he steadied himself on the table beside him. “There was no one inside?”

“No. The door was open when I arrived,” his hand lowered with great interest. “Who was in there?”

“I...I don’t know,” Alisandro’s forehead began to perspire as he looked away. “The bishop had me make those for him, I don’t know what he had stored in that room,” he shrugged. “I was never told.”

“But you assumed someone was,” William recalled his previous statement. “Who?”

Alisandro looked up at him, “I have no idea who was in there, if anyone.”

“He’s lying, milord,” Orem’s deep voice accused.

“I know he is, just want to know who he’s protecting.” William neared the alchemist whose eyes widened in fear. “You realize the danger that visited this town not a few days ago could have been that same evil you’re trying to protect now. Why would a servant of Arhus soil himself with demons?”

Swallowing hard, the defendant backed. “I have never done so, sir. Nor would I jeopardize my reputation by doing so. Whatever that was that killed that farmer had nothing to do with me or anything done at Laksay.”

“How do you know that? Orcs killed those men at the compound. It’s likely that a dark elf would ally himself with their kind. Very likely that he coerced them into action, in fact.”

“From what I’ve read about their kind, dark elves have no desires on human lands, they only care about destroying the elves of Kevelaer,” he informed, referring to the elven kingdom west of the Abor Mountains. “It makes no sense that this one came here unless he was hunting someone that gained their attention somehow.”

“So, back to Laksay. This person was close to you?”

Alisandro chuckled as he shook his head. “Why do you persist with this theory, sir?”

“A loved one? Wife? Child,” a query that gained the alchemist’s full attention. “A child then. Yours I take it? Why would you be hiding your child in a room like that, why not take them to a family member while you fulfilled your contract with the church?”

Alisandro finally melted as he walked over to a nearby chair and plopped into it. “She wasn’t safe anywhere else,” he finally revealed as he leaned over, arms along thighs.

“How long was she in there,” William’s interest was piqued now as he replaced the stone into it’s pouch and knelt to face the father more directly.

“Seventeen years,” he wiped his cheek and chuckled as he glanced to the paladin whose eyes widened in disbelief. “I couldn’t get the door open, even with the key when I was trying to escape,” he shook his head. “Must’ve rusted shut or something.”

“You kept your child in a room for seventeen years. Are you mad?” William rose and stared down at the accused. “How could they have been in there that long and the bishop or templar never knew?”

“It was my personal storeroom. They had no reason to go in there.”

“And you told no one else of her whereabouts?”

Alisandro shook his head. “No. I was afraid it wasn’t safe for her if anyone else knew.”

Orem cleared his throat. “The kitchen staff didn’t notice the extra plate of food going to your room?”

Blue eyes glanced up to the templar. “As I said, the door never opened after I put her in there. I couldn’t get it open for some reason,” he looked back to the floor as his countenance fell as well. “I assumed she was dead,” he began sobbing into his hands.

William suddenly felt sympathetic to the alchemist as he moved to his side and placed a consoling hand on the man’s shoulder. “I found no one in there. Nor did I smell the scent of death. I may know who can confirm whether or not she’s alive though. Don’t give up hope yet, friend.” Witih that, he turned and left the man to his thoughts as he led Orem back out into the gallery.

He stopped as his mind raced.

“Sir,” Orem began. “This makes no sense to me. How in the world could a child survive in that room without food? Though, a demon wouldn’t need any,” he answered his own question as his voice trailed off.

William’s hazel green eyes turned to his companion. “Find out which inn this incident happened in and go there to see if our large friend is there or not. If he is, bring them here, I have a few questions to ask of him.”

Orem nodded dutifully. “Done,” he replied and headed towards the entrance as William then turned back to the lab and opened the door to see Alisandro staring out of the window.

“I have another question for you, if you don’t mind,” William called as he entered the room again, causing the alchemist to turn to him, eyes reddened from tears. “Who was her mother?”

“Bianka. She and her family visited Laksay from Carbost,” his mind drifted as eyes fell to the table in thought. “A beautiful blonde. Eyes, green as the grass,” his mind returned to that day and William watched as he replayed those moments in his mind. “She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”

“Does she still live there?”

His eyes rose as he shook his head. “No, she died giving birth to our daughter,” he sighed. “Her father brought Kailee to me and told me that she was my responsibility now, and then he left.”

William nodded, having a fuller picture now. And a few names.