Well! I thought to myself. I seem to be forgotten for the moment. Capital chap that Dethys, maybe not as insane as I thought he was. Well, maybe a little.
I stood in General Fury's very, very red anteroom watching Dethys take Fenwick with him. They were all aflutter about that book Fenwick had with him. Fenwick considered this book very important to him. Seemed like one of those spell books the old mages always had with them. Horribly backwards magic, but whatever works for him, I guess. I was the only one who could hear the Song. I was fortunate in that.
I stood and gazed up at the enormous shield that hung at the top of the stairs to the General's office. Gold and ivory with the heraldry of a tower built on a hilltop. This was the organization I had decided to spurn the help of. I could have done a lot with their resources. Yes, great things, but I would still be one of their number. A cog in their machine. Well, the die has been cast and I must live with the result.
I had an enormous task ahead of me. I had to show the Bulwark that one man can make a difference. They touted their 'help' and 'protections'. Avalon was enough protection. It was a level playing field for me. A chance to grow without the threat of an army of Forsaken showing up at my doorstep. That was an interesting thought. It seemed like the world was a very dangerous place for a young Ageless like myself. Like, the whole world belonged to the Forsaken and Avalon was the only refuge.
Which led me to another point. Why wasn't this Dethys a much busier man? He has time to “experiment” and be otherwise distracted while his actual job was to protect young Ageless. Yet it had been made clear that this Severan was outpacing him in recruitment. How was Severan getting to them so fast when Dethys had his “Mystical Tome of Knowing Whether or Not an Ageless Has Picked His Nose”? Seems like Avalon needed more people with Dethys's job, since he was, evidently, overtaxed. That was a sarcastic thought. I enjoyed it.
My mind began to wander. If I could recruit some Ageless... now that would be something. There were so many wonders here in Avalon. The Ageless were capable of so many things, why couldn't they help the ordinary people? Imagine a group of Ageless devoted to improving the lot of humanity instead of detaching from them? Mortals think on the Ageless as untouchable beings, angels or devils locked in a private war. Or cursed beings, like I was accused of. I remember the times of my exile with some fondness. A faceless wanderer curing the sick and growing food. Those were good days. I wonder if I'll ever be able to get back to them? Thanks to this stupid war, probably not. All wars were stupid, no matter--
“SIR!!” I jumped out of my skin. Well, very nearly anyway. There was a guard standing behind me and looking quite flustered. “YOU ARE NO LONGER PERMITTED TO BE HERE. I AM GOING TO ESCORT YOU OFF THE PREMISES.”
Well the fellow didn't need to shout! I was standing right in front- oh. I just remembered the ear muffs I was wearing. Funny I forgot them so fast. This poor fellow had probably been shouting at me while I had been lost in thought. I gave him my best smile and nod and proceeded out the door Dethys and Fenwick had disappeared through. Generic guard 001 followed right at my shoulder, like he was escorting a prisoner. Corvus eyed me as I passed by him but said nothing. I was fast becoming a celebrity in this town. He had come back to his duties after escorting his brother to the Smith.
So I found myself deposited outside Blood-Warden HQ. The afternoon sun was sitting halfway to the horizon now. Hard to believe it had only been five hours ago that I had plopped down in the Seer's tent. Things had moved so fast... and I was unconscious for part of it. It seemed like the day should have been hotter than it was, but the air was comfortable. Probably another effect of Avalon someone dreamed up, no need to provide my own air conditioning then. Suddenly the ground shuddered and a faint wisp of dust rose from that clockwork monstrosity Dethys called home. Symphony, what was he doing now? Maybe that book blew up. I felt sorry for Fenwick just then, getting mixed up in whatever Dethys was doing. Symphony, maybe the man WAS crazy.
Ugh, enough daydreaming, Faran. Time to get to work. I started walking. I'm on my own now, so I have to work double hard. Step one: find some space to set up my Air Tent. Step two: Find a job; I want to eat sometime. Step three: find Blood; I have a debt to settle. Step four: find some space to experiment in. I need to find new songs and I need a place to find them without killing someone. I've gotta be ready when things start to happen. That might be tomorrow or next month.
I walked into a wide circular plaza where some of Avalon's roads came together. The plaza was dominated by a graceful fountain. Water gushed out of the highest pool near the northern end of the plaza. From there the water flowed and spilled into lower and progressively wider pools. The lowest and widest pool dominated the plaza with less than half a foot of water. Stones were placed at even intervals and in different pathways providing walking access across the pool. Set into the floor of each pool was a tile mosaic of various underwater scenes. The tiles so artfully placed and shaped as to depict fish and underwater plant life. Indeed, if seen from above the fountain itself looked like someone had laid a gigantic fish on its side in the middle of the plaza. The heart of the fountain was its eye, the bulk of the fish's body was the lowest pool. There was a raised platform that made up the negative space inside the crescent shape of the fish's tail. A dais of some kind. Probably for public speaking or performing.
I was standing on one of the stepping stones and admiring the pool when I noticed Captain Blood storming her way across one of the pathways in the pool. She had such a look on her face. I'm almost certain she didn't need the stone pathway, she could have simply frightened the water out of her way. As I watched, she marched across the pool and into a tavern on the far side. Looks like Step three just became Step one, I told myself, and marched after her.
The tavern building was only part of a larger complex which included a large glass enclosed area and a larger building, seemingly of only one room. The tavern itself was of stone and timber construction. The stone was perfectly washed white and the timber looked like it had been felled yesterday. One large arched doorway was the only entry into the tavern and it was complemented by several large round windows, each wreathed with trained climbing ivy. The building was capped by a red tile roof with generous overhang, allowing patrons to sit and shelter underneath.
The building was just as grand on the inside. To your right as you entered, was another doorway which led out into the enormous glass enclosed room. A garden grew inside, one that included an entire row of hops, rising may times my own height into the air. The space inside the tavern was roomy. Great beams and rafters, which seemed to grow out of the ground supported the roof above this one room tavern. The rafters and ceiling, while like the outside seemed fresh hewn, were darkened by the stains of pipe smoke. It added a certain charm to the place, which was probably why the stains were there. The floor was tiled mostly a dull red color except for a ring of white tile which barely fit inside the floor. Set into the ring itself was a repeating tile mosaic of a vine of hops, never ending and never beginning, round and round in a continuous circle. The bar dominated the center of the tavern. It was circular and set inside the tile hops circle. At its very center, stacks of tapped barrels reached nearly to the ceiling with enough space between them and the bar for the bartender to walk around and serve patrons. Several bottles of, what I assumed to be the harder stuff, stood around the inside of the bar. Probably imported.
Captain Blood sat on one of the stools at the bar with a glass of some kind of fluid inside it. Considering her reputation, I was surprised the fluid wasn't eating through the glass. I didn't like what I needed to do here, but it had to be done. I marched up to her like a soldier going to war against hopeless odds. As I marched I thought about what I was going to say. How do I address her? I remembered what she had said to Dethys about being “Captain Blood” while on duty. She didn't seem to be on duty now. I supposed some other honorific was in order.
“Um.. Good afternoon, Lady Blood.” It was at that precise moment that a mischievous thought entered my head. If the moniker “Lady Blood” had lost its pronoun status it would mean something different altogether. I wondered if her third name “Blood” had been given for more than her combat prowess. It certainly would explain her irritability. I abandoned this line of thought before it got me into trouble. “...um, I'll skip introductions, since most people already know who I am. I've come to thank you for the service you have rendered me. You cleaned up a mess that I created in my ignorance and for that I owe you a debt. I intend to see this debt paid not matter the cost, for it is my shame that I have incurred it.”
