The Dragon Masks

Chapter 1- Clues

 The Rime Castle. Early Night. The royal family has finished their dinner. The Castle was ruled by Lord Blair and the rest of the superior union under his command. A hooded figure ran through the freezing cold snow, and knocked on the door of the castle. The Rime Castle was located above a hill north to the rest of the city. The tall old man, Lord Blair, opened the door. The man spoke urgently, "I have some information for you. Last night, a bar located south to the main city was attacked by an alleged 'Dragon Cult'. This information is coming from a spy who was scouting nearby. He claims some Wizards were also there and are responsible for the death of the bartender. The Minstrels are forming a riot after their bar was burnt down and broken and will stop at nothing to find the Dragon Cult as justice". Lord Blair seemed concerned, "I'm no longer the man I used to be and I can't go myself to investigate. I need someone from inside the Minstrels to actually go figure out more" he spoke fraily. "With all due respect, my liege, we've been attempting to trail the Dragon Cult for months now and excuses aren't going to cut it for the rest of the Superior Union." The messenger suggested. "You do your duties in the brightzone, I'll do mine in the Superior Union. Tell them I went to see my wife." Blair responded back. "Isn't she dead?" the messenger asked blandly. Blair didn't know how to reply to that, "He raised his eyebrow and spoke, "Yeah, 15 years ago, but the idiots running the Union don't remember that. Like ever. Anyways I'll be off, and we shall meet in our discussed spot, it's lucky that our conversation wasn't overheard or interrupted". Blair walked away into the snow. The snowy night had a mixture or black and white, like the world outside your dreams. This wasn't a merry go land world and Blair learnt that early in his life. It was all about power. It always was. There was no real hero or villain. There were only winners. And they were the heroes. Blair had done a lot of things he regretted to get this position. He walked close by to the gate of the city, where Minstrel guards stood. Blair had given and trusted the Minstrels to remain in control of the main city. They were the fairest and just. But that tended to create problems too. Blair tossed a royal coin to one of the guards and the guard left him through, as the guard stared at the coin in awe. Every guard had some secret corrupt side. And the royal coins always worked. At the end of the day, without wealth you'd suffer, so Blair understood the mindset of these people. Blair stopped by an old wooden cottage. A dusty old sign read 'Come visit the Seer, she'll tell you the future. Blair had known the Seer for many years now, but even he didn't know her real name. Everything, every piece of advice she had given him and helped him and became true. Blair didn't know her secret but knew it worked. There was a tiny bell placed above the entrance of the cottage. Blair swung his finger back and hit the little bell as it repeatedly rang, echoing. An old woman, much older than even Blair, fraily opened the door. She quietly asked, "Blair, at this time? Come in, and then we'll speak". Blair walked into the dim light room with small lights hung in the four corners of the room. It looked like Glimfort, the ancient city of the south. The Seer spoke, "Why have you come in the night, and right now that too". Blair wasn't expecting this, the Seer usually knew why he came for his visits before he told her. The Seer then further elaborated, "I can't determine everything, some things I can tell and some I can't". Blair then proposed his request, "A couple hours ago, I received a message from my spy who reported that one of the Minstrels' bars was burnt down by an ancient Dragon Cult. What does the Dragon Cult want with the Minstrels, and how should I gain aid in my investigation?". The Seer mumbled to herself, and then uttered syllables in the Celestial Language. She then spoke, "From the oracles of the future, you need to find the aid of a boy named Opik, he shall guide you to the Minstrels, there you will find allies, and also enemies, but they will all help you succeed. The followers of the Dragons shall search for pentagonal masks of ancient, the Yin and Yang shall rise and with it, the Flame that shall burn Socriossau to its ground, unless you stop the rising." The Seer spoke dramatically. Blair was confused, the yin, yang, and the flame. What did that mean? Enemies, Pentagonal Masks? They were all clues though. But one thing was clear to Blair he did to find Opik. Blair thanked the Seer and tossed a royal coin to her on the way out. Blair realized that he needed some sleep before the sun would rise in a couple hours, and so he slept on the floor, not like a king, but like the man he once was.