Chapter 5: The Empire's Reach



    We travelled south with no further mishap for several days. Soon, we reached Serafew.

    Serafew stands on the very edge of the border between Renais and Grado. We have long forgotten to whom it belongs to, or if in ancient times the border passed through the town. People of both countries dwell there, and are a unique community in Magvel, having pride in both nationalities at the same time.

    However, Serafew had been taken over by Grado troops. I didn't know that yet.

    On a side note, the gunk from the mogall had cleaned out more easily than I had expected.

    As the low yellow stone walls rose behind oaks and maples, I smiled.

    "It's been so long since I last visisted Serafew. My brother and I used to pass through here en route to Grado. I remember the hamony in which the people of both countried lived. No walls divided our borders. No soldiers stood guard in high towers. This border town... It was to me a symbol of the trust between Grado and Renais. That peace... It seems like something from another time. It seems lost now... Forever." I watched two blue wyverns fly away to the northeast.

    "And now, it is firmly under the thumb of Grado's emperor," Seth noted dryly, looking at the flags flying on the clock tower in the centre of town. There used to be one for Renais, too, but now there were two for Grado. "The city doesn't seem very heavily patrolled. They must feel it's not worth guarding with Castle Renais under their control. The west gate is undermanned..."

    "Pardon me," called a young man traveling on the path that ran past the town, "may I ask you a question?"

    "Yes?"

    He had curly grey hair, wearing a navy bluish tunic, which I couldn't see very well because it was swathed over by a greenish-grey cloak. On his head was a woven headband. "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a young girl with indigo hair?"

    I thought of Lute, but she had violet hair, not nearly dark enough. "Indigo? No... Sorry."

    The man sighed and turned away. "Thank you. Sorry to intrude."

    I watched him leave. "There was something very odd about that man, wouldn't you say?" I asked Seth. It wasn't just the hair, either. I think the man was a powerful mage, or even a sage. There was something in the air that spoke of magic.

    "He did seem unusual. He didn't strike me as a Grado spy, but..." I looked up at him. The paladin must have been thinking along a different track - the danger evaluation track. I appreciated that, but I did wish he would talk to me more on the same level.

    "Catch her!" "Don't let her escape!" Sudden shouts rose in the town. "That way! She went that way!"

    "What's that?" I ran into the gate. Seth followed on foot.

    A lovely cleric girl was fleeing headlong from Grado soldiers. One of them called her a traitor and instructed her to surrender. "Come quietly, and you may have the chance to explain yourself before His Majesty."

    "Wait! Please! You must listen to me! The emperor is not himself. You must be able to see that!" This intimation did nothing to endear the soldier to her.

    "Impugn the emperor at your peril! We've been ordered to kill you if you offer any resistance, but your words condemn you!" More soldiers flooded out of inns and so on and took up positions of entrapment.

    "That cleric is a traitor to the throne of Grado?" I asked incredulously. "What madness is this?"

    The girl in question dashed around the corner and bumped into me. She gasped in terror, apparently thinking herself trapped. "Are you all right?" I asked her.

    "Who are you?" she asked fearfully. She had yellow blonde hair, covered by a cleric's hood, and beautiful blue eyes that were wide with fright.

    "I'm from Renais," I answered, not wanting to give away my name, and yet assure her that I was a friend. "Why are these Grado men after you?"

    "You're from Renais... Oh! I have something I must tell you. It's about Grado-"

    "Wait," I said. "Grado soldiers are coming this way. We'll have to talk later. Now we must fight." Seth called the rest of our group in, and they took up defensive positions around the girl.

    "My name is Natasha," she told me. "If I can help you as you are helping me... I am trained in the use of staves. I will heal you if you are hurt."

    "Thank you, Natasha," I said.

    I saw some men that did not seem to be moving in tandem with the other enemies. I pointed this out to Seth, who frowned. "They're bandits, I think," he said. "That is not good. Would you ask Vanessa to warn the homes?"

    "Yes. Vanessa?"

    "Yes, milady."

    "Artur, Lute, Colm, Neimi, I'd like you to travel along the outside of the west wall. I know there are some homes there, but there is also an archer. Please kill the archer for Vanessa, and warn the homes if you think it safe."

    A young man with long red hair wandered aimlessly around. A soldier yelled at him to do something useful, so he charged at Franz, who dodged his blow skilfully. Then Natasha saw him.

    "You... You're that man I met... Are you here to capture me? You've been hired to silence me, haven't you..."

    "Yeah, Grado's paying the bill," the red head agreed amiably. "They want you dead, you know? But don't feel bad. It's not personal." He drew back his sword. Natasha gasped. Seth and Franz grabbed their lances instead of their swords. The three of us formed a shield for the poor cleric.

    "Wait, please..." she begged. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, but you must hear my words. The emperor of Grado has changed. He is not the man he once was. The other nations must be warned before he extinguished all light from our lands."

    "Hey, no offense, but I'm just a mercenary," shrugged the guy. I listened intently. Who was she? "I don't care about Grado or its emperor. Everything you say may be true, or it may be lies. I don't care either way."

    Natasha protested.

    "Even so..." the mercenary considered. "Killing a beautiful lady like you would leave a bad taste in my mouth." He dug a worn coin out of his pocket. "Tell me, do you like to gamble?"

    "What?!"

    "Gambling's what I live for. Even when I lose, I never want to stop. Let's have us a little wager. If you win, I'll believe you. Heads or tails, you call it."

    "You can't... This is no time for games..."

    "Would you rather I get on with the job I was hired for?" He sounded pretty casual.

    Natasha looked terrified and conceded. "Um, heads... No! Tails!"

    "All right. So I'm heads, and you're tails. Here we go." He flipped the coin.

    "Which... Which is it?" asked poor Natasha, all of a fluster.

    "What do you know?! It's tails. You win. Figures. I haven't won anything all day. My name's Joshua." I lost interest and began directing the rest of the battle with Seth's help.

    An armour knight was waiting at the northeast. He, too, singled out Natasha. Joshua grabbed his Killing Edge, but it didn't penetrate the armour.

    "Look out," Garcia roared from way back. He charged along the street and attacked the armour knight. I turned away. I didn't have stomach for an axe fight, either. A soldier attacked me and I was forced to defend myself.

    Finally, it was over. "That was a tight spot," I panted.

    "Yes, yes it was..." Natasha agreed rather absentmindedly. "Thank you so much. I don't know how to repay..." She trailed off. She was a very quiet person, very shy, and rather hesitant.

    "You're from Grado, aren't you?" Seth asked.

    "Yes... I was a servant of the people at Grado's Imperial Temple."

    "Then why the trouble with the soldiers? Would you tell us your story?" I asked, trying to help her along.

    "Of course... A few days past, my mentor was arrested without warning. They executed him. They said he was a traitor... But those were false accusations. The emperor had him killed - a holy man! - to keep him silent."

    "Keep him silent?" Seth demanded, appalled.

    "Yes. My mentor told me with his final breath. The emperor plans to destroy the Sacred Stones."

    I gaped incredulously. "The Sacred Stones? Destroy them?"

    "As you know, the Sacred Stones drove back the power of evil long ago. Even now, each of our nations is home to one of these legendary treasures. There's one in my homeland, Grado, and one in your Renais..."

    "Yes, the Sacred Stone of Renais is still housed in our royal temple," I assured her.

    "The emperor plans to destroy the five stones, one by one..."

    "Why would he do such a thing?" Seth exclaimed. "Legend says that the Sacred Stones are even now all that keeps evil at bay!"

    "I cannot begin to guess his motives... You must know, our emperor was a gentle man. But, one day, he changed. Utterly. Before my mentor died, he said that the keepers of the Sacred Stones must be warned. I tried to slip across the border, but the soldiers spotted me..."

    "Is that what happened..." I walked a little bit away, moving Seth with me. "What do you think, Seth?"

    "I think we can trust no one from Grado," he answered in a low voice. "However, if what she says is true, we cannot ignore the danger we face. Destroying the Sacred Stones... We cannot allow that to happen."

    "I agree. If only we knew if there were some reason for the emperor's actions. I must tell you, her story chills me to the bone. I pray it is false..."

    As we went to leave the town, a man stopped me. "A moment, please. Are you perchance... Princess Eirika?"

    "I am."

    "Oh... Thank goodness you're safe! I can't tell you how happy I am. And please accept my gratitude for driving off that Captain Saar." I guessed he meant the armour knight captain we had killed. "That Saar treated all the citizens of Renais with such contempt and brutality..."

    "Not here... not in this city," I shook my head in disbelief. "My brother and I spent such happy times here with Lyon..."

    "I beg your pardon, but it will not be long before Grado sends more troops. Please, you must go quickly."

    "I'm so sorry. There's nothing I can do for you now. Please forgive me." I bowed in apology.

    He returned my bow. "Do not be troubled. Princess Eirika... We will survive and wait for the day of liberation to come. There will come a day when you, Prince Ephraim, and all of Renais rise up together... Until that day of glory comes, we will wait unbowed and filled with hope."


Chapter 4: Ancient Horrors    Contents    Chapter 6: Victims of War