Mesmer's Mask

The Shining Blade

We spent two nights in Loamhurst, gladly making use of the section of the barracks the Mantle had made available to us. We had no other assignments to worry about and were in no particular rush to return to Lion's Arch and its troubles, so we welcomed the relative peace of the town. There were a few Undead in the surrounding areas, but the town's defenders seemed perfectly capable of dealing with this threat.

I was content wandering around the beach on my own, but every now and again Cynn would join me there. I was a little surprised to see her there the first time, but I soon got used to her presence. She wasn't particularly chatty about her reasons for seeking me out, but I had enough wit to reason that Mhenlo was otherwise occupied. As another Elementalist, I was the perfect subject for chatter about fire magic and its attributes- a topic which allowed her to happily avoid talking of anything of consequence.

I soon realised the value of these little visits of Cynn. She was far more knowledgeable about the arts than I was, and just by prompting her to keep talking I could learn a lot. There were spells I had not known before, and better ways of casting spells that I had never considered. Cynn knew a seemingly infinite amount of ways to be more powerful at what she did than others, and if I could remember half of it all, I knew I could be a reasonably successful Elementalist in my own right.

I would spend the time after Cynn left practising what I had learned. The beach was an excellent place to do so, as it was largely empty and less humid there than in the surrounding swamplands. It had the added bonus that there was nowhere the Undead could hide, so I was relatively safe from enemies. It was during one of these little training sessions that I saw Elvea approach, but I didn't pay her any mind. I was trying to focus on a new spell, and she seemed perfectly content to sit down on a nearby rock and watch.

"If you flick your hand a little, you'll cast it faster," she said casually after a little while.

I frowned and turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

She got up and made a quick hand gesture. "Like that," she said. "It allows you to channel better."

I tried imitating the gesture a few times. I couldn't do it with the same grace, and it took me a little too much effort to concentrate on the spell and the gesture at the same time. I sighed. "It's not working."

She shrugged. "You just need to practice more."

I sighed again. "I can't divide my attention enough for this. I lose my focus and it'll affect the power of what I am trying to cast."

She arched an eyebrow at me. "Brute force is not the only form of strength," she said. "What use is the mightiest spell if you cannot finish casting it before your enemy reaches you and cuts you to pieces?"

I bit my lip to avoid snapping at her. She probably meant well, but her condescending tone got on my nerves. "Can you do it faster, then?" I asked testily.

The ghost of a smile played on her lips. She murmured the words I had used earlier, combining them with a quick succession of hand gestures that I could not follow. A flame burst from her hand and struck a nearby rock so hard that it shattered. She had done it faster than I could have, and I wasn't sure if she hadn't done it with as much force as my own, slower version. I wondered why she hadn't simply trained as an Elementalist herself- she would probably have been more useful that way.

"Like that?" she asked casually.

"Something like that," I muttered. It was somehow worse that she wasn't gloating about what she had achieved. At least if she had been triumphant, it would have seemed like it had caused her some effort. As it was, it only felt as if she had expected no less. I knew I wasn't a powerful Elementalist like Cynn, but to be bested in such a way by a Mesmer was horribly humiliating, and I resolved to keep honing my skills to increase my strength.

I did not get a chance to do so right away. A shout from the village drew our attention away from my humiliation and towards what appeared a more pressing issue. We rushed back to Loamhurst and reached it just in time to find a haggard guard standing among several more composed Mantle knights.

"The Chosen!" he gasped. "The Shining Blade have captured the Chosen!" His eyes were wide with fright, and he was clearly still trying to get a grip on things. "They killed the Justiciar and fled towards the jungle, they-"

"How many of you survived the attack?" Elvea cut in.

The man looked at her, seeming relieved that someone was forcing his thoughts back in order for him. Pointed questions were the way forward. "I don't know," he admitted. "We scattered, there were too many of them."

"Get some rest," she said to the man before turning to me. "Find the others and start packing. It seems there is work for us to do."

~*~

In the end it took us several hours to get organised, and by that time it was starting to go dark. Elvea had spent her time drumming up a number of Mantle knights and sending out messengers. A few scouts were returning with reports of increased Undead activity in the area, and the man who had brought the news of the attack was talking to her, more rested and composed than before. She nodded at something he said, then she walked to where I waited with the others.

"It seems we're lucky," she commented. "The escort wasn't too far away when they were attacked, because the Chosen are not used to long treks. What delayed our friends will surely delay our foes- if we're lucky, it will delay them more. It shouldn't be too difficult to track them down and overtake them."

"What happens when we find them?" Cynn asked.

"A battle," Devona said glumly. "Hopefully one we can win."

"We've faced worse," Mhenlo reminded her gently. "Surely a few rebels will not be a problem?"

"It's not their numbers that concern me," Aidan said grimly. I saw Elvea nod. "If we can't catch them before they reach the jungle, we may never see the Chosen again."

I felt my heart sinking. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Maguuma Jungle is almost impossible to navigate," Aidan said. "The Shining Blade have worked out a way to pass through, but it is not a secret the Mantle has been able to uncover."

"Meaning it will be up to us to work it out," Elvea said irritably.

I suppressed a groan. "We're going to brave that jungle?"

"If we have to," she said. "Would you rather abandon the Chosen to whatever fate the Shining Blade have in store for them?"

I sighed. "No. Of course not."

She nodded. "Well then, there's no time to waste. Let's go."

"What, right now?" I blinked at her incredulously. Surely she couldn't be intending to depart at nightfall?

"Yes, right now," she said coolly. "Or did you think the Shining Blade would lounge around and wait for us to catch up?"

There was nothing for it but to follow. We travelled with the Mantle, as fast as we could, but somehow the Shining Blade always managed to stay just ahead of us. We travelled through the last stretches of Krytan swampland, taking care to avoid the ancient tomb at Majesty's Rest to our south. It had always been rumoured to be haunted, a Mantle knight told me, but with the Undead now roaming the lands, it was almost certainly a dangerous place to go. Who knew what powerful magics could have stirred there?

Eventually the swamplands gave way to a dry, rocky rise leading up to the Maguuma Jungle. It was a place that hardly ever even reached the people of Ascalon in story. It was too far away, and few people were foolish enough to venture into it. Fewer still came back out, and I couldn't recall anyone in Ascalon even claiming to have survived it. Indeed the Maguuma Jungle was barely more than an almost-forgotten folk tale, and most of what I knew of it by the time I reached it had come in the form of whispered rumours from the Mantle knights.

We made our camp near an abandoned shrine of Dwayna, all but lost to the ever-expanding stretches of jungle. Only bits of rubble now betrayed there had ever been a statue of this goddess. I wondered who had put it there all those years ago, and what the land had looked like then. The shrine lay on a hill, high up even for this jungle, and provided an excellent view of the lands below. From where I stood I could see far ahead, and the view was disheartening.

"I'm told it doesn't even burn well," Cynn said. She had joined me on the hilltop without a sound, and was looking out over the jungle.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The jungle. Apparently it's at least half a swamp, so most everything is moist. If the underbrush is too thick, we might not even be able to burn our way through." She folded her arms across her chest.

I shrugged. "Just as well. Had it been too dry, we'd risk burning the whole place down... ourselves included." The thought of ending up fried by my own magic wasn't particularly appealing. "And anyway, if the Shining Blade can get through there without burning things, so should we."

"Perhaps," she said simply.

There was some sort of commotion going on at the camp, because our conversation was interrupted by shouts coming from below. Without another word I ran down to see what was going on; Cynn was already ahead of me. It turned out that more Mantle forces had joined us in the meantime and their leader, a particularly hot-headed Justiciar, was kicking up a fuss.

"You, there! You aren't afraid of a few bushes and flowers, are you?" He pointed irritably at Elvea, who had already come forward and looked ready to whack him on the head with her Staff of Abuse. She approached him calmly, fixing her trademark glare on him. He didn't shrink back, but it was effective enough to keep him quiet for a moment.

"Exactly what is the problem?" she asked coolly.

The Justiciar started ranting again, going on about armies scouring the jungle and conquering all. It sounded mostly like a madman's prophecies, until he finally said something that seemed to make sense. "My brother's murderers will be brought forth and purged in the great fires of justice," he said. I assumed he was talking about the Shining Blade.

"We must stay on their trail! I sent my scouts up ahead, but I fear they may not be swift enough to keep pace with those blood-stained heretics. You will have a better chance. When you catch up to my men, tell them to report back. I am counting on you to track the rebels through the Wilds." He finished his ranting and stood looking at Elvea, breathing raggedly after his tirade.

She turned away from him and looked my way, casting her eyes heavenwards before beckoning us closer. Aidan, Mhenlo, Devona and Cynn had joined us in the meantime and were eager to know what was going on. "I had intended to continue our pursuit anyway, but it seems that Thommis is in a hurry to see justice. We might as well head out now and see if his scouts have anything useful to say."

Aidan gave her a sceptical look, but said nothing. The others turned and headed back to the camp, and I quickly followed them to fetch my own things. If Aidan was going to start an argument with Elvea, I didn't want to be around while the fireworks went off. Fortunately whatever discussion had taken place was over by the time I returned and we set out immediately, wasting no more time talking.

We encountered three scouts as we travelled through the rockiest part of the jungle, but none of them could tell us much about the missing Chosen, and each report was bleaker than the one before. The Maguuma was an impassable place; uncharted and perilous. We had barely ventured into it and already I wanted to turn back. Eventually we came to a small Mantle camp on the edge of where the jungle truly began. A few Mantle knights sat around a small fire, casting uncomfortable glances in the direction of the dark area ahead. A small woman came out of a tent and approached us, introducing herself as Witness Giselle.

"I am here on the authority of Confessor Dorian himself. Stay a moment and hear what I have to say," she said. Elvea nodded and waited more or less patiently. "While Justiciar Thommis's rage toward the heretics who slew his brother is understandable, we cannot afford to send scores of knights on a frontal assault into an unmapped jungle, all the while allowing the Undead to march unchecked across the Krytan countryside. I will bear the burden of informing the Justiciar that his forces are required for the defense of Kryta."

I wanted to ask her about the Chosen, but she cut me off before I could begin. "As for tracking these rebels into the Wilds," she said, "I leave this matter in your hands. Numbers will not be on your side, but the Unseen Ones will watch over you."

"So... it is up to the six of us to find the Chosen?" I asked. The thought of going into the jungle in such a small group made me queasy.

Giselle nodded. "Head into the jungle to save the hostages and avenge the deaths of Taran and Rhynnon. But you must move quickly. The Shining Blade already have a head start. If you don't get to the Chosen soon, there's no telling what might happen to them."

"The sooner we set out, the better," Elvea decided. "We're on their turf now, so we'll have to push hard if we ever hope to catch them." She looked at us gravely. "We're venturing into the unknown here," she said. "We've all faced almost impossible odds and seen more battles than we care to remember, but we may well be getting in too deep. It's not too late to turn back, if you wish."

She was looking at me. I could tell that she intended to go on, alone if necessary. Apparently she thought that I was most likely to abandon the cause at this point, perhaps because she had sensed my growing discomfort as we pressed on; but even though I was afraid and could no longer suppress the ever-growing sense of dread taking hold of me, I would have followed her anywhere.

"We're in this together," Mhenlo said. Aidan and Devona nodded, Cynn had adopted a pose that suggested silent agreement with Mhenlo. "We cannot abandon the Chosen to their fate now, any more than any of us could abandon a friend."

Elvea nodded, still looking at me. I bit my lip and cast my eyes down. "You lead," I said quietly. "I shall follow." I didn't know what else to say. Now was not the time to express my concerns in great detail, and I had no wish to put my feelings out into the open.

Elvea nodded curtly and ordered the knights to fetch some much needed supplies. Aidan wandered off to scout and left us in the camp. Mhenlo was quick to ask the remaining few knights what they knew of the Shining Blade and the threat that lay ahead. It wasn't much, but any bit of information we could get now might be enough to save us later.

Aidan returned shortly after, only to be joined by Elvea and the knights she had sent off. We divided the fresh supplies quickly and set out instantly, following the trail Aidan had found for us. There was something of a path leading into the jungle at first, but it soon became narrower until it was hardly a trail fit for animals to travel. The jungle was hot, humid, and far worse even than the swamps of Kryta where it came to bugs- something which I had previously considered to be impossible.

To make matters worse, the plants weren't the only thing about the jungle that was huge. We soon found out that even the beasts in this vegetational  hell were oversized, and one look at the spiders made me wish I had never left Ascalon, or Kryta. Not that Charr or Undead were any better, but at least those didn't look like giant... well, spiders.

We slowly fought our way through; battling the underbrush proved to be as challenging as facing the many creatures hiding in it. My only comfort was that the Shining Blade seemed to be at the mercy of this strange place as much as we were. Even though they were supposed to know their way through this maze of foliage, they were slowed down by their Chosen captives, and it wasn't long until Aidan announced that we were gaining on them.

"Quickly! To the camps! The Shining Blade must be warned!" The cry was some way off, but it was a sign that gave us all hope. Clearly the camps had to be close, and one way or another our plight would be over soon.

We pressed on with renewed vigour. We reached a cliff overlooking a great gorge, and we stopped to catch our breaths for a moment, relieved to be in open air again. There was a large waterfall to our left, and deep down below a river ran through the jungle. High up as we were, we could still hear the water rushing. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

"Over there!" Aidan pointed to the far end of the gorge. There was a cleft that started some way up, and it looked as if a path ran down it, ending abruptly when it came to the gorge.

At first I did not understand why he pointed that way, then I spotted the figure of a woman. She was carrying what looked like a large seed and dropped it right in front of her. The ground simply swallowed it up. For a moment nothing happened, and then great vines shot out of the ground, entangling again and again as they shot across the gorge to another almost-hidden path.

"So that's how they disappear without a trace," Elvea mused. ''Well spotted."

Aidan nodded. "We must be quick, that bridge probably won't last forever and we still need to get to it. This way!"

Aidan led the pursuit through the jungle from that point. His tracking abilities and infallible sense of direction proved to be our most valuable ally as we struggled deeper and deeper into unknown territory. We were stopped at each turn by another challenge; sometimes in the form of vegetation, but equally often in the form of particularly hostile Centaurs or hungry jungle dwellers like trolls and spiders.

My only comfort as I fought through the jungle with my friends was that our enemy would have to fight off similar challenges, and Aidan soon informed us that they were beginning to lose ground against us. Soon it seemed that we were taking two steps for a single one taken by the enemy.

We finally caught up to the Shining Blade in a clearing, only to be presented with a nasty surprise. The Chosen were stuck in a trap of spider string, and there were a good number of spiders surging in to come and feast on them. Perhaps they had tried to escape their captors, or the Shining Blade had been careless, or worse... but whatever the case, the lives of the Chosen were in danger more than ever.

"You there!" A woman in white called out to us from across the clearing. "You can chase us through the jungle later, but if you have even a shred of decency in your heart, I beseech you, help us save the Chosen."

We didn't wait with our decision. The six of us moved forward as one and rushed in to fight off the approaching spiders. The battle seemed to last a lifetime, and I was feeling the strains of exhaustion long before it was over. By the time the influx of spiders finally stopped I was out of breath and dizzy. The oppressive heat of the jungle was too much to bear for someone like me for long, and the battle had only made things worse.

Elvea didn't look affected at all. She took quick strides through the clearing, having drawn an elegant sword I had not realised she carried with her. I struggled to keep up with her, the other four also following her. She headed straight for the woman in white and pointed her sword at her.

"You have exactly ten seconds to explain yourselves before we run you through," she said coolly.

The woman in white smiled a little. A good number of armed men were with her, some of them we had fought beside to fight off the spiders. Their numbers had increased since then, and now we were surrounded. "Perhaps it is you who needs to be doing the explaining," the woman in white said.

Elvea did not lower her sword. She looked at the woman defiantly. "What are you going to do to us?" she asked. There wasn't so much as a hint of fear in her face or voice.

"I don't know what to make of you," the woman said. "You're not typical White Mantle, as evidenced by your bravery and willingness to help save the Chosen. Had you not shown up when you did, we might have lost them after all."

There was a shadow of confusion in Elvea's bearing. For a moment I thought she would lower her sword, but she didn't. Instead, she said; "Lost them? You weren't trying to get them killed?"

The woman huffed. "What did you think? That we liberated the Chosen from the murderous Mantle only to feed them to the spiders? Nothing could be farther from the truth."

"Then what were you doing?" Elvea asked. She was eyeing the woman in white with suspicion.

"Rescuing them from the Mantle, that's what," the woman said. "The spiders were a... a miscalculation."

A man broke from the circle of guards and moved to the woman in white. Behind him the gap closed immediately. "I don't trust them, Evennia," he said. He was glaring daggers at Elvea, who looked at him with the same distasteful glance she normally reserved for rodents. "They're Mantle plain and simple."

"I can see that, Markis," the woman in white, Evennia, didn't look at him as she replied. Her eyes met Elvea's and held her gaze. There was a strange sort of understanding starting to form between these two women, and it wasn't because of any words they exchanged. Evennia went on; "But something tells me if they see for themselves what the White Mantle really do with the Chosen, they'll have a change of heart about their masters."

Change of heart, my foot. My heart sank as surely as Elvea finally lowered her sword. I could almost touch the now familiar feeling of dread that came over me, and more than ever before I wished I could be anywhere other than where I was right now.

"What are you saying?" Markis was outraged. "That you mean to let them go?"

"Yes, Markis," Evennia said, "that's exactly what I mean to do. Who knows. Once they've seen the Bloodstone, they may end up being valuable allies." She smiled.

"This is a mistake, Evennia," Markis said.

"Maybe it is," she dismissed Markis with that comment and focused her full attention back on us. "If my hunch about you is correct, then you'll head to Bloodstone Fen. The truth about the White Mantle will reveal itself, and you will be faced with a difficult decision."

There are moments in a life when a man wishes fervently that he was wrong about something. They may be few and far between, but they are intense when they do occur. At that moment, I was wishing and praying to all five of the True Gods that I had been wrong to mistrust the Mantle all along. I did not want to be right this time. It was too horrible to consider all the implications.