Jen left the palace, wondering if she should have asked Talon about her brother. She was surprised that Arturo didn’t greet her when she arrived at the gates. Achillion not showing up was no surprise, but no one was there to welcome her and Tarmon. The soldiers from Vandalor had already met with the others and were being situated. She couldn’t even find Eurisha.
There hadn’t been time to look around as Jen wanted to get the message to Talon. Now that that was over with, she could meet up with the others and think of what to do next. Tarmon was already at the inn, Kape Drama, probably talking with Arturo as she worried herself.
She shouldn’t have expected Arturo or anyone to greet her, for they wouldn’t be keeping a constant eye on the road. Jen almost laughed at the thought, yet she couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.
As she walked, Jen saw a couple talking to one another and a few kids playing at being knights. The kids made her stop as one got hit in the arm and got mad. It reminded her of herself and how she wished she could go back to those days when her biggest concern was hiding her training from her parents. Simpler times—and she doubted her life would ever be that easy again.
“Oh, wow, you are part of the Whispering Mists!” a kid said, startling her.
Not wanting to attract any attention, Jen ignored the kid and moved forward. The kids were talking excitedly amongst themselves about how they hoped to join. The odds weren’t good for them, but it was normal to dream big as a child.
Why am I getting emotional? Jen couldn’t recall the last time she thought of her past. There were other things to do than reminisce about the past. She quickened her pace and arrived at the inn.
She walked in and had to look around as the inn was crowded. After a moment, Jen saw Tarmon and Achillion sitting at a table. There was no sign of Arturo or Eurisha. She walked over to the table and quickly sensed something was wrong. This was not a joyous reunion, at least judging by Tarmon’s face, who was focused on his cup.
“Ah, there she is,” Achillion said. His usual charm wasn’t there.
“What’s wrong?” Jen asked.
“That obvious?” Achillion said.
Jen didn’t say anything, and Achillion took a swig of his drink. “I’ll say it then. Arturo is missing.”
“What?” Jen said and was surprised to find herself back on her feet. Don’t act like a child. She chided herself and sat back down. The Whispering Mists had trained her for bad news, and she needed to get more information. “What happened?”
“All I know is that a group of women dressed in armor kidnapped him. Someone said they saw a dart hit Arturo’s neck and he collapsed like a rock,” Achillion said.
“A group of women?” Jen said. What group of women would want to kidnap Arturo, and why? It didn’t help that she didn’t know any band of women in armor.
“Yeah, that’s all we were able to find out. Eurisha went after them. I think she lost their trail,” Achillion grimaced and took another sip. “Sorry, I don’t want to be a downer, but it’s not looking good.”
“No note? No reason as to why they took him?” Jen pressed. Any information was better than nothing! “Any information you can think of? Even something you think is—”
“Jen,” Tarmon said and patted her hand. “Let him answer.”
“I might know something if you have something to give me,” Jen insisted, pulling her hand away from Tarmon.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing else. We don’t know which way the kidnappers went, no note or any information at all,” Achillion said.
“Why are you here?” Jen asked.
“Someone needed to stay behind in case he came back, or you arrived. We didn’t want you to remain in the dark. I was going to look first, but Eurisha is a better tracker. If she can’t find him, then there is no way I’ll be able to,” Achillion said.
How could this happen? Why now? Jen thought furiously, trying to think of anything she could do. She got up so fast the chair fell over. There was no point in asking more questions; neither Achillion nor Tarmon would have any.
“Don’t leave,” Tarmon said, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her from turning around. “Eurisha is looking for him. There’s nothing you can do.”
“You’re wrong,” Jen said and brushed him aside. “There is one person I can think of who might be able to find him. I’ll be back.”
Without another word, Jen rushed out of the inn. Her only hope was Lord Maloi. He had connections, spies, and a vast network of resources. If there was any hope for her brother, it would be him. It struck her as ironic, as she knew Arturo would hate it if Maloi was the reason he was saved. If he was still alive.
He has to be alive. They captured him for a reason, but what? Jen tried to recall her conversations with Arturo and couldn’t think of a single reason why someone would kidnap him. Unless they wanted to use him?
She pushed past people. Jen had a guess where Maloi was staying. He may not have told her, however, there was a common area towards the richer part of Carhan where most lords stayed. One of Maloi’s stature would surely be at the Diamond Pearl, an inn that had its own guards to make sure nobody troubled any nobles.
It took a while, but eventually, Jen made it to the inn. She went to walk inside and was stopped by a guard. “Who are you?” the guard asked.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“My name is Jen Pentori of the Whispering Mists,” she said in a rush and tried to walk inside before being pushed back.
“Aye, you may be of the Whispering Mists, but that doesn’t mean you can go in,” the guard said. He had a thick beard and a large two-handed axe in his hands. He looked eager to use it.
“Are you threatening me?” Jen asked.
“Not at all. Give me a reason for your visit, and I may let you pass.”
“I’m here—”
“It’s all right, Jericho,” Maloi said.
Jen turned and saw Lord Maloi walking up from behind. What luck; perhaps Tarmella would grace her with a miracle.
“As you say, my lord,” Jericho said and stepped aside.
Maloi smiled and put his arm around Jen. “I’m assuming you are here for me?” he said quietly enough that the guard didn’t hear.
“Yes,” Jen said.
“Thought so,” Maloi winked at her and walked inside.
The inside of the inn was gorgeous. There were glass statues of a bear, a man with a sword and shield, along with some of the fanciest silverware Jen had ever seen. There were guards posted in all corners, and the smell alone almost made her hungry, despite eating not that long ago.
Maloi directed her to a table and ordered a couple of drinks. “I’m glad you came to see me,” he began.
“I’m sorry, I came here for something urgent,” Jen said.
“Oh?” Maloi said with a cocked brow. “Does this have something to do with your brother?”
“You know what happened?”
“Yeah,” Maloi said and stopped as a servant came by with a couple of drinks. Neither touched their cups. “All I know is who took him. A group of women who call themselves the Swords of Justice. They like to hunt dangerous criminals.”
“The Swords of Justice?” Jen had never heard of them. “But why take Arturo? He isn’t a criminal.”
“I have a theory. Arturo got caught up in Moontani a few years ago, where he killed some guards and escaped. One of these women must have recognized him and captured him for killing them,” Maloi said.
That’s right, how could I forget? Jen remembered the leader of the Whispering Mists, Modric, telling her that she had Arturo’s crime at Moontani taken care of. “I do remember that; how did you find out about it?” Jen asked.
“Well, when I saw Arturo, I decided to do some digging into stories about a man with a large sword and found a lot of things that made more sense. The story of a man killing over fifty men by himself with a large sword, along with killing a group of guards by himself? Not many could do that. I put two and two together after that,” Maloi said.
“Good. Do you know where he is?”
Instead of responding, Maloi raised his cup and took a deep drink. That couldn’t be good. Once he lowered his cup, he wiped his lips and grew serious. “I sent my own men to look for him. He’s gone. There is no trail. If the Swords of Justice want to kill him, there’s nothing we can do to stop it now.”
“We can’t give up on him!” Jen said and stood once more. If Maloi couldn’t help her, then she would take a horse and look for him herself!
“Think about the situation before you do something rash,” Maloi said sharply.
The tone made Jen remember her training, and she felt ashamed. Caldian had to tell her to think many times when he was training her. I need to find Arturo and return to the Whispering Mists. I’m getting sloppy. Jen thought.
With great difficulty, Jen sat back down and forced herself to calm down. Getting emotional wasn’t going to help her find Arturo. “There has to be something we can do.”
“I’m afraid not,” Maloi leaned back. “All you can do at this time is pray that Arturo finds a way to escape or he convinces his captors of his innocence. Whatever happens is out of our hands.”
“You’re right,” Jen said after a moment. She grabbed her cup of wine and downed the entire thing in one gulp. She put the cup back on the table and took a deep breath. “I need to go for a walk. Thank you for your help.”
“Jen—”
“Not right now,” she said and left.
This couldn’t be how Arturo died. Jen couldn’t accept that. How could fate bring them together only to kill him right as they started to get close once more? She refused to believe it. Arturo would survive; he had to.
If she knew where Modric was, Jen would have left Carhan altogether. The Whispering Mists might have been able to do something. But Maloi was right. There was nothing more for her to do but wait. That was the worst part of it all. How long could she wait before having to accept her brother’s fate? A month? Two months?
No, he’s still alive. He has to be. Jen couldn’t give up on Arturo, not yet. There may be no way for her to help, but she had faith he would get himself out of his situation and come back here. He killed fifty soldiers by himself and killed Ribalt! No way he would be executed like a common criminal.
“There you are!” Tarmon said, snapping Jen out of her thoughts. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“You have?” Jen asked. “Sorry, I was speaking with someone who might be able to help.”
“Oh? Did it work?”
“No,” Jen said and looked around, realizing she didn’t know where she was. How long had she been wandering around? When was the last time her thoughts were so rattled?
“He’ll be fine, you know,” Tarmon said. His face looked relaxed, as if he believed what he was saying. Jen didn’t know if he did or not. “Arturo and I have been through a lot. He’ll make it back, just watch.”
“I hope you’re right,” Jen said. She brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. “Would you lead the way back to the inn?”
“Of course. Achillion wanted to talk with you anyway,” Tarmon said.
“About what?”
“About leadership until Arturo makes it back.”
Jen didn’t respond. That made sense; a group of soldiers needed a leader. It was something Arturo hadn’t officially announced—a second-in-command. Once he made it back, he would need to pick someone to lead when he was gone. Especially in battle, where anything could happen.
Exhaustion was starting to hit her as the adrenaline faded away. So much stress and no answers. Thankfully, the streets weren’t very busy as the sun was beginning to fade. Before long, they made it back to the inn, Kape Drama, where Achillion was sitting in the same spot as when she left.
“Well?” Achillion said when Jen took her seat.
“I have nothing to report,” Jen said.
Achillion nodded as if that was the expected response. “Then we need to discuss leadership. If Arturo doesn’t return in a week, someone will need to inform the others on who is in command. I believe that should be you, Jen,” he said.
“This isn’t my army. It’s Arturo’s. I belong to the Whispering Mists, so you or Tarmon need to be in charge,” Jen said.
“Arturo would want you to be in charge,” Tarmon said.
“It doesn’t matter what he would want,” Jen said. This was not something anyone could change. She was part of the Whispering Mists, some of the most elite warriors in all of Aidris. Nothing would make her leave, not even her brother. “If you want a proper second-in-command, it needs to be one of you. It won’t be long before I return to my clan.”
“Is that so?” Achillion said and sighed. “Very well, you’ve made your point. Tarmon, how would you like to be in charge? You’ve known Arturo longer than me.”
“I don’t have the respect of the soldiers like you and Arturo,” Tarmon said.
“They’ll respect whoever’s in charge,” Achillion said.
“You could both be in charge, at least until Arturo comes back and chooses a proper second-in-command,” Jen suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Tarmon said.
“Then it’s settled,” Achillion said with relief.
There was no doubt in Jen’s mind that Achillion didn’t want to lead anyone. She understood. Being a skilled warrior didn’t mean you would be a good leader. Some of the best leaders in history had rarely swung their weapon yet were known throughout time as legends.
“Good,” Jen said and leaned her chair back. A part of her wanted to see if she could find her clan and see if they knew where Arturo was being held. The problem was that it would take time. It could take her weeks to find them. If there was no news from Arturo in the next week, then she would leave for the Whispering Mists. All she could do was hope that wasn’t a mistake.
