The Silencing of Esteria

Interlude 1

The ancient castle hummed with activity. Construction workers set about reconstructing walls and towers and the finest craftsmen in all of Esteria had been summoned to rebuild the once grand fountain and the marble dragon rider that adorned its centre.

Destrian Kalashunilir Ester, King of Esteria sat on the golden throne at the heart of the audience room. He slouched against an arm rest rubbing his brow with one hand and fiddling absently with a pile of gold coins with the other.

Stood before him was Coldran Unilir Godran, his steward.

"And lastly," said Coldran, "The heralds have..."

Destrian flicked a gold coin, sending it spinning through the air and striking Coldran on the forehead.

Coldran winced and rubbed his head.

"The heralds have reached..."

Another coin shot from Destrian's hand, striking the man in the same place.

"... reached the furthest reaches of Esteria, and despite the increased bounty, no..."

Another coin struck true.

"... no one has come forward with accurate information."

Destrian rapped his fingers against the armrest.

"Unfortunately, my King, such time has passed that they could have easily escaped the Kingdom by now..."

Another coin.

Conran glared at the King, he had stopped dodging the coins years ago, they struck true no matter what he did. The King may be petulant, but his aim was uncanny.

"... Even if the portal did not carry them very far."

Destrian stood up and walked over to his steward. Nearly two foot the taller, he towered over the man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Conran Unilir, they are a little girl and an old man. An old man who's arm is buried over there and who's legs are buried under that tower over there!"

He gestured to the collapsed tower just visible through the window.

"HOW DIFFICULT CAN THEY POSSIBLY BE TO FIND!"

Conran swallowed nervously.

"They are still an Archmage and a Kalashunilir. Katrina was always very bright..."

Destrian twitched noticeably.

"My King, if we cannot find them it means they have fled the country and are making no efforts to depose you. They are of no threat to your rule."

Destrian glared at him, "I want her dead, I want that blood pact. Do you have any idea how many awesome things are lying around this country that I could have access to! There is a giant stone dragon sitting in pieces not one floor below us! I want a dragon Conran! I WANT A DRAGON!"

He screeched the last sentence.

Conran rubbed his bruising forehead dejectedly.

"Very well, my King, we shall redouble our efforts."

"Your problem, my dear Conran Unilir, is that you think too small. I do not simply seek to be King of this small Kingdom. With the bloodpact in my hands and the full might of Enalus behind me, soon I shall rule the whole world!"

Conran sighed, "That sounds like an awful lot of effort, your Grace, the world is an awfully big place."

"I want the whole world Conran! All of it!"

"Yes, my King. Of course."

Destrian returned to his throne.

"Well, if you have no further need of me, your Grace, I believe that is everything."

Another coin hit Conran.

A clanking sound came from the stairwell up to the audience chamber. The unmistakable sound of heavy plate boots meeting stone floor.

The two men turned to see a group of nine men, each wearing enormous suits of blood-red plate armour emerging into the room.

The men formed a line, removed their helms and knelt.

"And who are you lot?" Destrian asked.

"Your Grace," the middlemost man said and stood up.

He was a man in his late forties, rugged and scared with a black goatee and one eye removed from its socket, leaving a black, messy hole in his head.

"I am Ladral, my men and I are monster hunters by trade, but we also do mercenary work for the most discerning and well-paying customers. We had the pleasure of working for your late brother on multiple occasions. He was a great man, and had our stations permitted such I would consider him a true friend. My men and I are here to make our services available to you in your efforts to track down and find his killer."

Destrian raised an eyebrow, "And what do you think you can offer than my own soldiers cannot."

"Your Grace, soldiers are trained to fight other soldiers. Their battle locations are agreed on. We are hunters. We track, we ambush, we hunt. We have taken down dragons and hydras and sea serpents. If your soldiers could do these things half as well as we could, your niece would already be in your dungeons."

"So, how much does the services of such renowned monster hunters cost?"

"For the kindness and generosity your brother showed us, and for the love we bore him, we ask for none of your gold. We seek only a place to start."

Destrian smiled wickedly.

"They escaped through a magical portal, which unfortunately was destroyed soon afterwards, but my mages are slowly piecing it together, right now, all I can tell you is that they headed northwest."

"That will suffice, your Grace."

He then barked something in a harsh, guttural language, and his men stood, replaced their helms and filed out of the audience hall.

"I like him," Destrian said to Conran, once the clanking had faded tosilence, "Look, I have chills."