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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7390321" data-attributes="member: 143">Book 7: RICH BACKSTORIESChapter 144Bredan sat alone in the darkness and tried not to succumb to despair.The only light was the vague glow that came through the slot in the door, but it was unnecessary, as his cell was nearly devoid of features.  There was not even a bench to keep him off the cold stone of the floor.  He shifted, careful of the bucket in the corner, grimacing at the sound the chains that held him shackled made with the motion.For the hundredth time he berated himself for getting into this strait.  Konstantin had warned him not to press the matter, but he’d ignored that advice.  He, an utter stranger to Severon, had thought he’d known better…A sound from beyond the door caught his attention.  He heard footsteps drawing closer.  There was a clatter at the door, a sound of the lock being worked.  Bredan tensed, though the chains made an escape attempt impractical.  He’d already tried every link with his strength, had tried stressing the bolts that anchored the ring to the wall, but the unknown builders who had prepared this place had known their business.  Maybe with a chisel and hammer he could have worked himself free, but with only his bare hands it seemed unlikely.The door finally swung open, and Bredan blinked against the sudden intensity of light.  His jailor was a familiar figure, though he wore a bulky robe that concealed his features and a cowl that he kept up even in the dim confines of this hidden place.  He was holding a small wooden tray of food and a flimsy cup.  He regarded Bredan for a moment before he knelt to place his burdens on the floor, taking up the empty ones from his prior visit.  The bucket was replaced less frequently.  Bredan had been here long enough to know that, but otherwise had no idea how much time was passing beyond these walls.  The light from outside never wavered, and his hosts had been less than garrulous.As the robed man started to get up Bredan asked, “Where’s Glori?”The man just looked at him, his face a dark shadow within his cowl.  “Just tell me, is she alive?” Bredan persisted.The man said nothing, just turned back to the door.  Bredan shot up, ignoring the tingling pains from his legs, which had fallen asleep under him.  “Just tell me, damn it!”  He lunged forward.  The chains drew him up short and he fell back to the floor.  He accidentally kicked his rations, the cup clattering off the walls before spinning to a stop in front of the door.  Even as he stared at it the heavy slab slammed shut, punctuated by the rattle of the lock being worked.  Not that it mattered, not with the chains holding him against the wall.“I’m sorry,” Bredan said.  He just lay there on the floor for a time.  Finally, he stirred.  He fumbled around for his meal.  The stuff they fed him was hardly appetizing even before it was spread upon the dirty floor, but he forced himself to eat every bit he could find.  He had to keep his strength up just in case his captors slipped up and made a mistake.  Though thus far it seemed like he was the only one making mistakes.Once he’d finished eating he drew back to the corner opposite the bucket and settled himself facing the door.  With nothing else to do, his mind drifted back as it frequently had since his arrival here, revisiting the events that had led him to his current circumstances.* * *Leaving Wildrush probed to be harder than Bredan had thought it would be.  It hadn’t been their idea to travel there in the first place, and their visit had been punctuated by almost constant peril and threat, but somehow the Silverpeak Valley had started to grow on him.Part of it was the farewells that had to be made.  His relationship with Rodan hadn’t had time to grow, but it was still hard to leave him behind.  The tiefling ranger had understood why Bredan had to go.  He’d experienced his own journey of self-discovery, and the importance of knowing where he had come from.  Bredan in turn could understand why Rodan had to stay behind and face his own uphill fight to regain the trust of the people of his chosen home.His friends had all agreed to come with him.  He was gratified, if a bit surprised, that Xeeta in particular elected to travel with them.  But on reflection, maybe it wasn’t that out of character.  Xeeta and Rodan had reconciled somewhat, but a spark of tension remained whenever the two were together.  Maybe it was the lingering legacy of what had happened in Li Syval, or maybe it was just the discomfort of having a reminder of your past right in front of you every day.  Either way, it seemed that for Xeeta at least the Silverpeak Valley was no longer big enough for the two of them.  She’d gone aside with Konstantin shortly after their initial meeting, so perhaps she’d gotten some assurances from the wizard that she would be, if not welcomed, at least tolerated in Severon.After they’d made their farewells they departure itself was something of an anticlimax.  Konstantin delayed only until his fellow travelers were ready; the day after the wizard’s arrival they gathered in an empty room in the Governor’s house to begin their journey.  Bredan found himself a little tentative regarding the magical means of travel.  It sounded almost fantastical, the idea of being whisked halfway across the continent in the blink of an eye.  Quellan had offered a dissertation on the theory behind teleportation that had not done much to ease the young warrior’s fears.  The cleric had told him that successful use of the magic relied upon familiarity with the destination, which explained why the wizard had had to travel all the way up to Wildrush using mundane means.The wizard had made whatever preparations were necessary before their arrival, so there was no time for Bredan or any of the others to have second thoughts.  He’d barely joined his friends in the cleared space in the center of the room before Konstantin waved his hands and uttered a sequence of syllables that made no sense to Bredan but which caused the room around them to waver.  For a moment there was a feeling of being somewhere outside of reality, and then they were someplace else.  The plain lines and unadorned walls of the Governor’s house were replaced by a room of similar size, but with ornate décor and lush styling, from the golden trim on the crown molding to the detail work on the sconces that supported glowing lamps.  Bredan remembered staring at those, noting that did not appear to use anything so mundane as fire to produce their light.  An elaborate circle of markings had surrounded them on the floor, the eldritch runes dimming from a soft glow that had announced their arrival.  The teleportation circle was separated from the rest of the room by a velvet rope that served as a warning to anyone inattentive enough to miss the markings on the floor.The week that followed had all distilled down into a confused jumble in Bredan’s mind, and even in his recollections all he could really pull out was a series of impressions.  The capital city of the Kingdom of Arresh had been stunning in its impact.  Bredan could remember thinking that Adelar had been a big city, but in contrast to this place the northern burg was positively provincial.  Severon sprawled out over a vast landscape along the banks of a broad, slowly-moving river, its edges creeping up onto the hills that formed a backdrop to the city.  The streets were filled with people of every sort, a neverending stream of humanity.  And others; while most of the city’s residents were human Bredan had spotted dwarves, elves, halflings, and gnomes, as well as some more exotic folk whose ancestry he could only guess at.True to Konstantin’s word, the adventurers were received as honored guests.  The wizards had put them up at a really nice inn just a few blocks from the Apernium, itself a city within the city, dominated by the impossible spire of the Silver Tower, the headquarters of the kingdom’s organization of magicians.  They’d spent most of the first few days after their arrival in what seemed like an endless parade of meetings.  They’d told the story of their adventures in the north not only to wizards, but also to officials of the Crown and the Holy Assembly, an ecclesiastical council that apparently represented all of the major faiths in the city, and even an engineer who asked them endless questions about the quality of the roads in the north.  In turn they were briefed on the details of the campaign against Kavel Murgoth, the details of which were just reaching the ears of the common folk of the capital.  There was an air of celebration in the city, and even though they kept the details of their encounters in the Silverpeak Valley quiet at Konstantin’s request, they still found plenty of people willing to buy them drinks merely on learning that they’d just arrived from the north.What they hadn’t gotten, and what had finally led Bredan to this cell, was answers to the questions that had brought him to Severon in the first place.</blockquote>

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