The Keepers of Eternity

L

Abreigelle never thought she'd see sunlight again. Yet, she now stood under a sinking sun in the depths of the Rvyni wilderness.

This place was...not what she expected when she'd emerged from Blaise's hideout. Oddly enough, there was a small encampment of around fifty soldiers surrounding her. They looked ethnically Rvyni, but wore strange shirts made of interlocking leather straps and metal scales which glinted as if newly polished. Some of them wore helmets with thin vertical eye slits and a crest of violet and green feathers. Illustrations and short passages out of Beshna's old geography books were all Abreigelle knew of these people: Southerners. What in this world had brought them here?

Thadan prodded her along through the rows of tents with a blunted sword, and Sid stumbled along next to her. He seemed more willing to listen now than he had earlier, though his downturned eyes told of only resentment. Even after hours of talking, Sid still seemed reluctant to help Thadan in any way. It was as if there was something inside that was blocking him from using his better judgement.

Abreigelle glanced around, watching as the Southern soldiers went about their rounds, engaging in conversation and dragging piles of Blaise's rubbish to the sorting tables just outside of the cave. Her nose caught a whiff of something meaty cooking near a particularly large tent with a metal smokestack. Several rabbit pelts hung on a drying net outside, and a moment later an aproned man emerged from the evergreen-colored canvas and deposited another.

Opposite of the cave entrance, the main pavilion tent stood, a massive, yet portable structure supported with three tall wooden masts and detailed with more colors and stitchings than the rest of the camp combined. Two banners bearing a geometric green-and-violet pattern framed a small awning in the front of the tent, where a series of layered carpets were spread out leading up to the open doorway. Thadan did not hesitate as he passed the two guardsmen with gleaming, ribboned pikes, and strode right inside with Abreigelle and Sid in front.

Purlip sat on a bed of burgundy velvet pillows in the center of the main room. She looked a lot cleaner than Abreigelle remembered; her blood-stained dress had been replaced with a silken robe, and she kept a shawl of intricate white lace and dove feathers around her shoulders. Her pale hair was done up in a crown of thick braids, with the rest of it spilling over her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall. Purlip's keen eyes followed her partner and then the two prisoners before her.

"Your presence here is welcome, husband." Purlip started.

Thadan pushed down firmly onto Abreigelle's back, forcing her into a kneeling position along with Sid. Then, he stepped around them and greeted Purlip with a kiss on her hand which sported many silver and gold rings.

What is this? Abreigelle wondered as she observed Purlip's decorum. In the very back of the room, three more guards waited, with their hands resting on their polearms. Before, she didn't give the slightest impression of her rank...other than her gracefulness, perhaps.

Then, Purlip grabbed Thadan's collar and gently pulled him forward, and Abreigelle gasped. The woman began whispering something in his ear. "Sister...Discs....Free..." Thadan nodded intently.

"Do what you have to." He said as he pulled away. "I stand by my promise."

"I am so sorry,." Purlip said quietly, "I wish things were different."

"I understand--"

Abreigelle turned her head to Sid, to see if he seemed as curious about their conversation as she was. Maybe there was some way for them to communicate if he had picked up something she didn't. Sid, however, was peering into the room to the right of the main chamber, where an assortment of metal and junk was piled on tables, in various states of reorganization. She could tell immediately all of that had been taken from Blaise's hideout. Perhaps, Sid was looking for something that could be useful to them, but given the amount of guards stationed nearby, there was no way they could make a run for it.