The Order of the Skull

Chapters 21-23

21: Cynthia

The sun had barely risen before Darkeen dragged me out of bed and forced me to get my things together. We were on the road, headed north, before I had even fully woken up. It wasn't long before Darkeen began barraging me with questions about what I had found in St. Cory. I told Darkeen all about the large underground complex and the spirit ghost or whatever it was that spoke with me. Darkeen looked surprised to learn about the existence of the Temple of Longevity, but not that surprised. It set me on edge a little bit but I didn't ask any questions about it.

Soon my thoughts turned to the voices I heard the night I'd found the temple, and the scouts from The Order of the Skull. I asked Darkeen, "Did you hear anyone last night?" He raised an eyebrow at me, "Like any soldiers or scouts looking for something?"

Darkeen shook his head, "I didn't notice anything unusual." He paused and turned his head towards me, "Why? Did something happen?"

I quickly explained the voices that forced me into the underground complex, and the two scouts I had interrogated and killed. "Have you ever heard of The Order of the Skull?" It worried me that a potentially powerful organization had sprung up in the midst of what was currently happening on the continent.

Darkeen frowned slightly and seemed to be thinking. "The name sounds oddly familiar, but I can't remember where I've heard it before though. It worries me what they might be up to if they're sending scouting missions to St. Cory."

I nodded, "What do you think their motives are? The scouts made it sound like Skyllian wasn't even their main base of operations. How could such a large organization go seemingly unnoticed, and why are they emerging as magic returns?"

"I'd say it would be a stretch to hope the order's interest in St. Cory is academic." Darkeen replied, he seemed to be as worried as I was. "You ended up killing those men, so whatever the organization's motives are, you seem convinced it isn't good for us."

"The ghost told me to fear the Order of the Skull." I said defensively, "I think we can trust the Longevity. The elves were good people, the steps were placed here to stop chaos. This is a good thing." Darkeen remained silent, "Right?"

Darkeen sighed, "I certainly hope it ends up being that black and white Cynthia, but I think you'll find everyone believes what they are doing is the right thing, and you'll find there's a fine line between stopping chaos, and striking fear throughout the continent." Darkeen hit his legs against the side of his horse, increasing its pace and I did the same, following just behind him all the way to Skyllian.

. . .

When we arrived in Skyllian I didn't even know where to start looking. Unfortunately, there wasn't a massive sign that told us where the Order of the Skull was, so Darkeen and I took to strolling through the marketplace.

We approached a woman selling cloth and asked, "What do you know about the Order of the Skull?"

The woman looked back at us quizzically, "Order of the what? Sorry I've no idea what you're talking about. Now buy something or get out of here."

Darkeen and I made eye contact before slowly backing away. We had the same conversation with several other vendors and none of them seemed to be able to recall the organization that was at least partially based in the same city as them.

I walked away from the marketplace frustrated, "I can't believe that little bitch lied to me. I swear to god I'm going to make him pay if I find him in the afterlife." I smiled devilishly, "He's going to regret this so much."