"If this little brat is going with you, then I'm sure you'll be fine. Regardless, keep an eye out for anything that might indicate Mideia's presence. You never know what he might be planning next," he warned us both. "Of course, Anwill. Take care," I said, offering him a bow, while Bernar intruded on his personal space as he had the first time I met the elf.
With a wave of her hand, Syldir opened a portal that led directly to the front of what I assumed was the Harutian Palace. Hot, dry air that turned all the saliva in my mouth to cotton flooded the main hall of Myrdin's palace, indicating it was time to go.
I could feel the tassets of my armor flapping in the wind, and I quickly realized the reason Bernar had suggested we take a cloak with an extra face cover, since the sand carried by the wind began to sting any and all exposed skin. At a signal from Syldir, we stepped through the portal, following behind Bernar to a place I'd only ever seen atop the Rhydian Pass.
Meliss hesitated to step through, but at a gentle nudge from Syldir, she stepped forward and through to the other side. Haldir and the others were next, though I could tell by the looks on their faces that this was their first time going through a portal, rather than killing anything coming from it.
Finally, it was our turn to step through and bid Aurae farewell with a wave as The Order of Nightfall's Blade stepped through.
The sun shone brightly, far brighter than I'd ever experienced in Caegwen, and while I figured that was primarily due to the lack of trees, it was doubly so because of the large stones that formed the courtyard before the steps of the palace.
I squinted my eyes as they stung, knowing Ysevel and the others were likely doing the same, but when they eventually adjusted to the light, I could see a crowd of people gathering around the portal.
"So, this is Harut, huh?" I said, staring back into the eyes of those who looked on with unbridled curiosity. The majority of them reminded me much of Bashir and Bashaa, with olive skin and dark hair, though there were more than a few who were much darker than even they were.
"Yep, and right over there is where I killed over two hundred Hashishin," Bernar said proudly as he pointed to the long stairway in front of us. "You did what?" I asked, not having heard that part of the story. "Ah, in my defense, Queen Zari had pissed me off. Nearly killed Leona back then, too," he said with an indifferent shrug.
"What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck?" I asked bluntly as Syldir closed the portal behind me. "Oh, right. You were knocked out and still being treated when I told Mom and Ysevel. Ryfon got a kick out of it, too, apparently," he said, putting a hand on his chin before chuckling and shaking his head.
"Bernar? Is that you?" the voice came from the stop of the stairs. "Jashad! Oops, I mean, King Jashad!" he said, dropping to a knee, prompting the rest of us to do so. "Oh, get up, you lunatic. You were instrumental in saving this country. If anything, we owe our allegiance to you and Queen Leona," he said with a dismissive gesture as he trotted down the steps.
"Speaking of her, I don't see her anywhere. Did she not come with you this time?" he asked, searching the small crowd of unfamiliar faces. "Unfortunately, we're not here to make an official visit, and she had, uh… other things to attend to," he said, keeping his words cryptic and evasive.
Jashad, of course, raised an eyebrow at the response, but shrugged it off. "So, who are these you've brought with you? More brave warriors from Caegwen?" he asked, glancing at our overall attire. "Most of them are from Caegwen, yes. However, these two are from… somewhere else entirely," he said, gesturing to Kalia and Devyr, who gave him a respectful bow.
Jashad's eyes widened at the sight of Devyr, causing Athar to immediately furrow his brow. Easy now. He's never seen a hegraphene before, I sent him, causing him to sigh and release the balled fist.
Jashad must have noticed Athar's tension and immediately shifted his gaze to the rest of us. When his eyes landed on me, he quickly glanced at Bernar, then Mom, then back to me. "Gods, Bernar, did you bring your entire family with you this time? Oh, wait. This is the one you mentioned, isn't it? Thauma, if I recall correctly," he said, his accent causing him to mispronounce my name.
I finally get why Anwill is up Bernar's ass about him saying his name wrong, I chuckled internally, causing Mom and Ysevel to try their best to hide their own giggles.
"Thoma, Your Majesty. I apologize that I haven't heard much about you, as many of Bernar's stories were told while I was, uh, recovering from my last fight," I chuckled nervously, hoping I hadn't just offended him. "Aaaah, I see!" he nodded his head vigorously as he came to shake my hand.
"You must be a brave warrior like him, then," he said with a bright smile. "I… try? I don't think any of my accomplishments so far could compare to saving an entire country," I said, getting a cough from Ysevel, Mom, and even Syldir.
Too much? I asked them, getting a quick nod in response.
"Well, no matter. It's an honor to meet the family of this country's savior. Welcome, friends! Feel free to call me Jashad, as I still haven't grown used to the title of King quite yet," he said, offering them a nod. As he did so, his eyes froze on Syldir, though for what reason I could only guess at.
"Y-You're a…" he began to say, but she moved faster than she had when she helped Meliss, putting a hand across his mouth before he could even react. "Don't say it aloud. Words have power, and as someone who knows the value of the Word, you of all people here should understand why I'm doing this," she said quietly, though there was a look of undeniable fear in his eyes.
After a quiet, tense heartbeat, he nodded his head and raised his hands defensively. "Good. For now, simply call me Syldira, as it is close enough to my true name for me to recognize it," she said, lowering her hand from his mouth after another quick burst of nods.
"My apologies, Syldira. I should have been more careful, and I will certainly take this warning to heart," he said, offering her a much deeper bow than before. "I take it you're here to find him, then?" Jashad asked, having understood everything else left unsaid.
"We are. Do you know where he is?" she asked, but instead of a positive nod like before, he cast his gaze to the ground and shook his head. "We have not seen him since that strange burst of mana coursed through our lands. Even those without the ability to use mana felt it, such as I. It was a truly horrifying sensation, one I'd rather like to forget," Jashad said with a shudder.
"When and where was the last place you saw him?" Bernar asked, giving Syldir a nod for him to inject himself in the conversation. Jashad paused for a few moments, tracing his hand along his dark beard in contemplation.
"It was actually just before the burst, now that I think about it. The last place I saw him was in the room we'd given him here in the palace, but he'd disappeared just before it hit us," he said, struggling to recall the memory.
Syldir regarded him curiously and took another step toward him, causing him to flinch. "Take us to his room. I'll see what I can do," she said quietly, getting a nod in response.
As we left the sizeable crowd of people behind and made our way into the palace, I couldn't help but notice there were still signs of what I could only assume was Bernar's fight. The pillars were scored and marked with the signs of spells and blades, filling in the finer details to Bernar's time here that he was likely to miss in his retellings.
"It was an amazing sight, you know? Seeing someone so powerful pushed to turn this entire palace to glass was not something I could have ever imagined," Jashad said, having noticed my interest in the pillar next to us as we turned to the right, moving down one of the many halls.
He went on to explain everything else in short detail of what had happened, and I realized that Leona was even more dependable than I'd already thought she was. I was also glad that my brother, Thorsen, and the others were there to help her with her, arguably, insane endeavor.
"So, the palace was glassed, and the man outclassed after all. Damn it, Bernar. You should have waited for me to wake up!" I chided him, getting a nervous chuckle from him as I punched his shoulder. Before he could reply, however, we'd reached the room where The Mouth was last known to be in.
"Here it is. This was the last place I saw him, and while I've tried to search for clues, I'm afraid he's much more adept at hiding than I realized. To think I was practically raised by him and he didn't even bother to say goodbye," Jashad sighed, but Syldir put a hand on his shoulder. "I know that must have hurt you, but I promise you this: he had his reasons. One of which was likely to protect you," she said, causing his eyes to widen.
She knows Mideia would have found a way to use him to get to The Mouth, I realized, getting a nod of agreement from Ysevel, Kalia, and Mom.
A handful of us entered, and upon closer inspection, we noticed the room was filled with trinkets and odd ends from the far corners of the map. There were dwarven artifacts, elven rings, even furs and other such materials from Hjalfar. Books and scrolls lined the walls, and a large, dark curtain hung over the window, casting it in a shadowy, gloomy light.
There was one thing I simply couldn't ignore.
You sense it as well, don't you? The traces of folly left bare? Syldir's question came into my mind like a thunderclap, her tone grave and full of worry. I nodded my head, and it seemed like she'd sent the message to everyone else as well, since they responded in a similar manner.
Someone came looking for him, and it wasn't anyone from Kavrass, I replied, getting a heavy sigh from her and the others I'd relayed my answer to.