The King's Game - Blackbarrow Arc (Part 1)

Chapter 8: Jacob and the Silverdrift Situation

"Open the gates!"

"Opening the gates!"

Jacob waited as the guards opened the main gates of Silverdrift. It had taken him quite some time to reach the small town and it was night already, but nevertheless he got there. The climb was tiring and Jacob wanted nothing more than to just take a bath and sleep. He asked the guard where the nearest inn was and upon receiving directions he made his way there. The inn was half embedded into the mountain, only the lobby was above ground. The inn had a strange air to it; the lobby was mostly dark, with only a few dimly lit candles to ensure you could somewhat see just in front of you. The innkeeper was an old man, he looked like he used to be a miner or a blacksmith, possibly in this town. He showed Jacob to a room and told him when dinner would be served. There was just something about him that Jacob couldn't quite put his thumb on. Jacob thought about this as he bathed and laid down on the bed. He replayed the scene of entering the inn up until the innkeeper left the room, over and over in his head.

"Wait, could it be that?", Jacob questioned himself in a low murmur, "No no, it couldn't be that. Maybe I saw wrong, but what if I didn't? I will have to go and check again, after all it might be something useful to use in negotiations with Silverdrift's ruler."

At that moment the dinner bell rang, the clunking of the silver spoon on the silver pot followed by the sweet aroma of stew would wake even a slumbering beast from its hibernation. Jacob passed by the innkeeper on his way to get food, bumping slightly into the old man he was able to get a closer look at the tattoo on the man's forearm. Jacob had never seen that tattoo, however he had a bad feeling about it. Something just seemed wrong about the mark, almost as if evil was seeping out of it. After he apologised, Jacob ate his meal and went to bed; drained from his long journey.

Dreams and visions swept through Jacob's mind that night. He saw a bloody battlefield, creatures that looked like a mix of angels and demons, Conanus with his armies, and a cloaked figure who controlled stone golems. Everything was a blur to Jacob, however the one thing that did stand out was the mark on one of the creatures. The mark they bore was the same mark that the innkeeper had on his forearm. Jacob did not know how, but he knew that these creatures were called the Fallen. In his dream, he also saw a scrawny figure to the side of Conanus. Jacob tried to get a closer look at the scrawny man's face, that was hidden beneath a hood, but as he got close he woke up from his slumber.

"I might not know who that scrawny man was, but I do know that Silverdrift has a foreign invader within their walls. The innkeeper bears the same symbol as this creature, that is a mix of angels and demons. I need to do research to prove that that tattoo is indeed the mark of the Fallen."

Jacob got dressed and headed to the inn lobby. He paid for another night and headed out into the town. First he wandered around the town, trying to get a feel for it, as well as trying to find any clues. He noticed that all the people of Silverdrift looked drained, as if their souls were slowly being sucked away. This did not hinder them physically in any way, they continued to work the way any fit healthy person would, it was simply a look in their eyes that seemed; vacant. Once Jacob felt there was nothing to learn from wandering around, at this particular time, he decided to find a library and do some research. On his way to the library however, Jacob was stopped by two armed guards.

"He matches the description the outpost guards sent us." The guard said to his partner.

"Sir, are you the man who claims to be the Gods' messenger?"

Jacob put a polite smile on his face, "Indeed I am. What can I do for you fine gentlemen? Have you perhaps come to have your souls saved?"

"Put this over your head and cooperate with us. You will be taken to the palace to have an audience with our ruler."