Prudence

Prudence

         “I have never seen anything like this before.” Jaan said, hastily leading two investigators down the street. He moved surprisingly quick for a plump man, with stiffened legs and determined strides.

         “He’s a quick one this one.” Saevel thought, sending his telepathic message to his female companion.

         “Then again,” came Astra’s thoughtful reply, “he is more nimble with less hair on his head.”

         “Come now, move along.” Jaan said impatiently, giving the investigators the perception that perhaps he too was a mind-reader.

         “What’s the rush? The body will still be there when we get there.” Saevel said.

         “Really?” Jaan said more than asked, the tone catching Saevel and Astra both off guard.

         They finally reached the place where the two companions were told an atrocity had taken place.

         “Prepare yourselves.” Jaan said, already starting to open the door. “This isn’t pleasant.”

         Saevel believed him, his keen senses already smelling the rotting of flesh and the sounds of a thousand flies from inside. Astra swallowed down the lump in her throat as Jaan slowly opened the door.

         The pungent smell of death and decay came to Astra first, assailing her nostrils that she needed to cover her nose with her cloak.

         It wasn’t the smell, however, that made her want to vomit but the sight.

         Saevel entered the room first, followed by Astra then by Jaan. Saevel looked at the horrible sight before him, analyzing every little detail.

         A human man had been hung upside down in what seemed to be the very centre of the room, held perfectly in place by two ropes that were tied to the ankles and thrown over two opposite support beams. He followed one of the ropes to a pulley against the wall and tied down there. His arms were similarly bound but were staked to the ground in a manner that made the unfortunate victim look something like an upside down caltrop. His naked body had been cut by a very sharp blade in a hundred places and his head had been disembodied and placed upright between his arms, looking directly at the door with open, lifeless eyes.

         His body had drained, leaving a big, black puddle of dried blood on the floor. How long had the victim been here? Astra thought to herself.
“Two days perhaps,” Saevel said then, “maybe a little more.”

         Astra looked at her elven friend then and smiled knowing that he had read her thoughts. One couldn’t hide any thought from the elf, nor any secret for he could read the mind like any could read the pages from a book.

         “We found him a day ago,” Jaan said, “we sent for you immediately.”

         “Do you know the man?” Astra asked, moving to stand next to the short, ball of a man, leaving Saevel to find clues.

         “Yes,” Jaan replied, scratching the back of his bald head and looking to the floor with a sad visage. An uneasy moment passed before he finally looked back at Astra.

         “Well?” she asked again.

         “His name is Polus,” Jaan said at length. “He was one of the emissaries for the leading organisations in Chalistan. We have yet to tell them of this.”

         “I wouldn’t concern myself with that.” Astra said, looking quizzically at Saevel and then back to Jaan.

         “We fear the threat of open war.” Jaan replied.

         “I wouldn’t fear that either.” She said.

         “Why would you say such things?” Jaan asked, now looking like a puzzled fat man.

         “Look here,” Saevel began, “the one responsible for this murder is very powerful.”

         “How do you know?” Jaan asked, looking at the elf.

         “I know the emissaries of Chalistan.” The elf replied, “They too are powerful wizards, just like most people from that region. This man fought bravely at some stage in the battle. However, I surmise that he had already been badly injured before he could fight back.”

         “Surprised!” Astra gasped, “An assassin?”

         “These cuts suggest so, but…” Saevel let the words hang heavily in their minds, “I’ve never seen such precision before, save Garrett Fireblade.”

         “You think the one who killed Garrett killed this man too?” Astra asked sceptically.

         “Perhaps Xest didn’t kill him?” Saevel replied, asking a question that seemed absurd at first but could make perfect sense.

         “Hold on!” Jaan interjected. “Someone please fill me in. Who’s Garrett Fireblade? Who’s this Xest you speak of?”

         Saevel began the story, “There was once a man who came from Chalistan, called Garrett Fireblade. He went into exile and ventured west. The Fireblades were livid with the renegade and sought to kill him.”

         Astra continued the tale then, “He avoided all attempts to kill him and finally settled down. He fell in love with an elven woman and they conceived a baby girl called Xest. A mercenary group called the Mercenary Imprest sought to have Xest join their ranks because she possesses many talents, or so it is said. The Imprest approached the Fireblades and offered to have Garrett killed, however the girl was to be left alive. Naturally, the Fireblades disagreed at first but were eventually coaxed into keeping Xest alive.”

         “Or bought, you mean.” Jaan interjected, “I know of the power the Mercenary Imprest had.”

         “The Imprest,” Saevel continued, “sent a man by the name of Eron to kill Garrett. He returned to the leaders of the Mercenary Imprest and they paid him handsomely. Xest was eventually persuaded to join the Mercenary Imprest by a man named Gildan, promising her that they would find her father’s killer after she had sworn vengeance.”

         Saevel continued to inspect the body while Astra finished the story.

         “Many years passed by before Xest lead a small group to break free of the chains of the Mercenary Imprest. She freed all who were involved and in so doing, found out who her father’s killer was. Eron had taught the classes to which Xest had been sent. Two more years went by before the girl found him, assassinating him in his personal quarters.”

         “Delightful story,” Jaan said sarcastically, “but perhaps it’s best if this Xest not hear of your theory. She sounds like she’s a handful.”

         “I’d watch my tongue if I were you,” Astra suggested. “None have seen her in six years. No one knows what she looks like anymore. For all you could know, Jaan, Xest may be eavesdropping outside the window as we speak.”

         Jaan grew anxious, opening the door hastily and peered outside. “Look here,” he said then, “Who’s to say that she didn’t commit this horrendous crime?”

         “It’s possible,” Saevel said, “She may have adopted characteristics of her father’s killer.”

         “She certainly does possess the talent.” Astra concluded.

         “Talent for what?” Jaan asked, not fully understanding what the two investigators were talking about.

         “To copy previous murderers. But that’s not to say that she has because we’ll never know.” Astra said at length, “Remember, Jaan, no one has seen or heard from Xest in over six years.”

         “It’s not this Xest you speak of that frightens me.” Jaan said then with a concerned look on his face, “It’s the threat of war with a powerful nation.”

         “Have you not heard?” Astra asked then, feeling rather silly to have asked the question.

         “Heard what?” Jaan asked.

         “You surely know of Faladon’s prophecy?” Saevel asked, he too feeling silly.

         “Everyone knows his prophecy.” Jaan replied, bringing a measure of relief to the two investigators.

         “Then you know the prophecy was true?”

         “What do you mean?” Jaan asked, now the stupidity coming to him in a wave of embarrassment.

         “Chalistan is no more!” Astra exclaimed.

         “What?”

         “A cataclysm rose from the east, sweeping across the land with flash fires, earthquakes, mud slides, hurricanes and tornadoes to name but a few of the things in its deadly arsenal.” Astra told, “It obliterated everything and left the dead in its wake.”

         “But fortunately for us,” Saevel said, “It never made it past the Dragon’s Tongue Mountains.”

         “A godly twist of fate, I’d say.” Jaan said, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

         “Indeed.”

         A knock at the door startled the plump man. The two investigators’ hands instinctively went to the hilts of their weapons.

         “Ah, Tilbar,” Jaan said, as the investigators relaxed their grip on their weapons.

         “Message for you, my lord,” The man at the door said, handing a sealed envelope to Jaan. Saevel only got a short glimpse at the messenger, but judging from his attire, Saevel could tell that he had been ill-treated. His garb was that of a shaggy street boy with but a few copper pieces in holey pockets.

         Jaan inspected the seal closely. It was of a phoenix with outstretched wings etched in red wax.

         “What?” Jaan said, very much confused at the moment. “I thought you said Chalistan was destroyed?”

         “It is.” The investigators replied in unison.

         “Pray tell, why then have I just received a message from their Cabal Arcanum?” Jaan asked, his brow cocked as though he suspected the two investigators to be frauds.

         “What?” Saevel asked with astonishment.

         “Let me see that.” Astra said, not even waiting for Jaan to hand her the envelope. She grabbed it from his plump grip and inspected the seal as though it were the person suspended in the centre of the room.

         “Authentic.” She concluded, looking to Saevel for some sort of explanation.

         But he couldn’t explain.