RavensDagger

  Chapter Twelve - A Lightkeeper

  51st Day of Spring - Year 1758 of the Golden EraShorefarm Lighthouse, Yellowfield, Draya Calyrex

  They came up the hill to the lighthouse in the middle of the afternoon. The sun was directly overhead, casting a powerful warmth over the ground.

  A field of wildflrew around the lighthouse, golden and red petals catg the light while within that same field, several rge flowers stuck out from the rest, with blooms that were grouped up in yellow and e bunches.

  The base of the lighthouse was a boxy stone building, several pilrs on every er rising up until they met a roof that reached up and in towards the tral pilr of the tower. A rge stoform extended from the base, with a wrought iron fence running along the edge of it except for at the very front where the arched entrance way leading into the lighthouse stood.

  Green stretched her head bad looked all the the tower. It was surprisingly rge. From afar it hadn't seemed so imposing, but standing below it now? It felt like it was reag to the sky far above.

  "No... one," Red said.

  Green g Red, then sed the area. It was empty at the moment. A fox was staring at them from the field of flowers, its head decorated by a crest of small scales, but it was quick to scurry away. A few birds were flitting about and singing, and in the distance she could see a herd of wild goats ging to the side of a cliff. Otherwise, there was no one around.

  "Lights," Blue said. She poio the tower where narrow arrow-slit windows gave them a slight view within. There was light in there.

  "P-people," Green said. If there were lit lights, then there might be people.

  Red stepped up before them and slowly drew her sword which she held by her side in a low guard stance, just like how Jorvin had taught them. She stalked towards the door, and Green and Blue followed after her.

  They marched to the door where they paused. The door was a thick, wooden thing, covered in a single almost mural-like carving. It was of a dragon, with a long, long neck curved around a tower. The dragon's maened, and from it came a bzing light.

  Red reached towards the door and ed her free hand around the ha was fashioo be part of the dragon's wingtip. It cked, then the door slowly peeled open.

  The interior of the lighthouse opened inte room. Smaller ones were tucked into the sides, but the main space en and wide, an arena with tables along the edges and work desks, as well as several shelves filled with books and maps stuck to the walls.

  Across from them, at the far end of the room, was a man sitting on a high-backed chair. He wore simple clothes. He was wiry and thin, a rather tall, and while he seemed a little emaciated, he didn't strike Green as someone weak. The muscles she could see on him were well-defined and corded beh salt-beaten skin.

  "H-hello," Green said.

  Then the man gnced up. His eyes were unclouded, and when he slowly, carefully, stood up, it was with the casual ease of a predatreen had seen the same sort of easy motion in Mage-Knight Jorvin on the Geidings.

  The man reached over to his side, his hand ing around the hilt of a mace with a ntern head at its top. It ked faintly as he raised it up and then poihe end towards them. "You trespass onto the territory on lord Thalmyrion, the Light Keeper. I am the watcher of this house of illumination, and though I sehe distress of my lord, I will allow o interfere with his sacred light."

  The mahe mace to the side, then took a step towards them and into the tre of the room.

  Green g her panions, but it looked as though diplomace again fell onto her jointed shoulders. "Hello," she repeated. "We... nice?"

  The man gred. "This isn't a hall of peace, automaton. You will find in this tower, only the light of my lord's truth."

  Green jumped as the door behind them smmed shut.

  The mps hanging from s along the edges of the ceiling lit up, then tio grhter and brighter until the entire space was ed in a light sht it might have blinded a normal person.

  The puppets looked around, then g the man with the mace. He gred right back. "Let us y bare the sins of your souls," he said. "Are you here to steal from my lord?"

  "No," Green said. They were here to ihe tower fus Maldrak. He had said nothing about killing its keeper or stealing what was within.

  The light tio glow, and the man nodded. "Are you murderers?"

  Greeated. Were they? "Yes," she said.

  The light remairong.

  The man's grip on the mace's haightened. "Iimes, I suppose that means little. Is your allegiao the dragon lords of Draya Calyrex?"

  "No," Green said.

  "Empty vessels with stolen sparks. Servants of a fn master," he growled. "Have you ever bsphemed against the dragon gods?"

  "No," Green said.

  "And the others?" he asked.

  "No," Red said.

  "No," Blue repeated.

  The lights in the room flickered.

  The man's eyes so Blue. "Have you broken oath?" he asked.

  "No," Blue replied quickly.

  This time, the light remaieady, but as the man looked to Green and Red...

  "No," Green said.

  "No," Red repeated. This time the lights flickered a lot more.

  The lighthouse keeper grit his teeth. "Puppets of alien craft, bsphemers against the dragon gods, lies beh the sacred light of Thalmyrion. Your bodies of kindling will feed the fme of this house."

  Green was about to try and ask what that meant, but before she could articute anything, the man was moving.

  He moved with a slight limp, and now that she saw him fully, she could see that he was weakened by something. That didn't prevent him from rag across the room, his arm swinging back then around in a wide sweep that had his mace whistling through the air.

  Gree backwards and it was almost not enough. The tips of the mace's spikes cut a line across her wooden torso and the slight tact had her stumbling back.

  Red was the first to react. She lunged forwards, swordpoint aimed right at the lighthouse keeper.

  The man reached out and baded her upper arm, sendirike wide before he coiled his other arm in, then stabbed out with the end of his mace.

  It ched into Red's chest and she made a disturbing noise as she was flung back, arms and legs ragdolling.

  Blue and Green both fumbled their short swords out, then fell into the stahey'd been taught. It was sloppy, even Green could tell, but it was better than nothing.

  "Red!" Green said as loudly as she could.

  "Bow to the will of Thalmyrion, and be remade in the light!" the man shouted as he rushed towards Blue. His mace rose and came back down in a devastating overhead strike that Blue only barely dodged.

  Green ran towards the man's exposed back, but before she could get a quick stab in, he spun around and his mace hummed through the air between them. She go the side. Her joints felt weak as she saw Red climbing back to her feet. Her front artially caved in, and the little pte that could move aside to hide her siphon was broken, but she seemed able to stand.

  "Die," Blue informed the man as she stepped in quid stabbed at him.

  It was a feint. Wheurned and moved his maack her sword, it was already gone.

  Green saw the opening for what it was, however, and she moved in with a quick ssh, most of the motion ing from her outstretched wrist.

  Were the man wearing any sort of armour, the cut might have gnced off, but as it was, it dug into the flesh of his bad he hissed as she left a long cut between his shoulder bdes.

  That didn't look like anythihal, even if it bled.

  "Thalmyrion! Bless my light," he growled.

  His eyes started to glow and the cut started to fizzle as it healed.

  Then Red rammed into him at a dead sprint. The man was bowled off his feet, and both he and Red rolled across the floor.

  Green stood still, shocked for a moment, but her wits returo her when Red screamed. "Dog!"

  Running reen stabbed at the first thing that came into reach, the man's booted leg. Her first stab punctured his boot's leather, though it didn't pee deeply. Her jabbed into his calf, then o his knee.

  The man spun, kig out at her even as he picked up Red by the face with one hand and flung her off of him.

  The glow ing from within him faded, and he quickly rolled back to his feet, but it was too close to Blue, and she got in a quick swipe that cut a long slito his upper arm.

  Unlike some of the stabs earlier, that wound didn't fizzle and heal. His dragon lord's favour had run out.

  ***