FOREVER KNIGHTS: #13 Salvaging Souls

Marshall Manse Grounds, Mane Country

RHYERS

Rhyers was frustrated that the festival at the Citadel had not yielded his target. A small man moving on four legs with a stolen artifact.

Rhyers and Sebastian had looked everywhere but were unable to find it.

However Rhyers had returned after the festival, and followed the tracks over to Nightway where he was loitering around to find out what the little man was up to. I haven’t glimpsed him yet but he’s around here.

From behind a massive boulder near Warlock Grove, Rhyers peered across the meadow, and into the bailey of Nightway Castle and saw much of it aflame.

With Alazareth standing in full armor barking orders.

Well that’s an interesting variation. What’s happened here. He was highly curious but was distracted from approaching by the arrival of an uncommonly wide carriage drawing up outside Nightway Castle with symbols from Midgale City on it.

Who does that belong to? He watched as a man in a chair was being loaded into the carriage. An inordinate amount of servants loaded into it as well.

Rhyers’ eyes narrowed as he saw a leather satchel dangling from the seat of the chair tucked between the wheel and the disabled man’s leg. It had a unique shape jutting from inside it. The goblet.

The stranger in the chair had been the one to receive it.

The last man entering the carriage was a tall thin man wearing the black robes with the silver embroidering of Nightway Castle.

Yuen. Rhyers remembered him from Winter Haven in the Blue Lark.

He poisoned the King of Assassins with a dirtied blade. Limilus. Rhyers was watching him keenly. Noting he’d stay far from the reach of any blade that man revealed.

Rhyers’ eyes narrowed on a strange bony shadow clinging to the bottom of the carriage. As the servants were climbing in, white hands gripped the edge of the stairs and something moving like a dog slithered from under the carriage and shuffled quickly up the stairs and into the darkness of the carriage. Making servants shout in objection and shift so roughly the carriage swayed side to side.

They don’t much like the look of him. Truthfully, Rhyers didn’t much like the look of him either.

My all-foured man.

As the carriage took off, Rhyers hopped the boulder and ran the treeline barefoot. Keeping the carriage in view. He wanted to let it get far enough from Nightway Castle that the NightGuard wouldn’t intervene on his assault of it. But he didn’t want it making it far enough toward Midgale that the Grier Guard would be patrolling the road.

Only a little bit further. Black hair swung out behind him as his feet thudded silently over the dirt and moss. Step light enough that no branches cracked and no leaves crunched.

I’m nothing if not a Master of Silence.

Rhyers tallied down what he needed to do. Or wanted. Perhaps more apt.

Kill the all-foured man. No more stealing from Acharius.

Kill Yuen. No more assassinations attempts on the King of Assassins. Keep that precarious Guild under rule of someone with a code.

Get the goblet.

Return goblet to Acharius. Sure that his priorities were in line Rhyers made his move.

As he ran his black hair catching in dry leaves and dragging skeletal branches but he couldn’t have cared less. He gripped the small silver ball on his waist and unwound it from the thin silver chain. Catching the end in his hands and wrapping it twice around his fist as he leapt another boulder and landed in the opening of the meadow parallel to the road.

Spinning his silver metal ball above his head caused a servant from inside the carriage to shout a warning.

But Rhyers sent the length of chain zinging over the expanse of tall grass and into the window of the carriage. Ripping it roughly to one side made it catch someone in the face before the tiny points on the ball caught the inside of the door. Rhyers gave it a violent jerk and it tore the door open and broke one hinge so it hung to slap against the side of the carriage.

The man in the chair sat inside. Leaning forward to shout to the driver to speed the horses. He met the inhuman pale green eyes of Rhyers as he shouted desperately.

Servants clustered before him. Clawing at the door.

Rhyers was still running. Keeping pace with the horses drawing the carriage.