The Jewel Thief

2: Queen's decree (I)

The Elder and Cahir stood up abruptly, exchanging concerned glances at each other. Solim, who had been sitting farthest from the front door, rolled his eyes and pushed himself up. He released sharp breaths as he limped towards the door, taking support of the bookshelf lined walls.

Cahir caught sight of his brother's uneasiness and immediately turned to open it. He creaked it open cautiously, as the Elder had done when they had arrived, assertively watching out for any unusual figures. Unfortunately, their visitor wasn't patient.

"What in the devil's name are you waiting for" he snapped. Cahir flung open the door and stepped back, it was a man dressed in purple armour- sent from Queen herself.

How could she possibly know Cahir gathered his scrambled thoughts in a hurry, trying to make sense of the situation that's it. We're done for.

The man, annoyed by the offbeat tension of this house, continued speaking. He pulled out a loosely tied beige scroll from his suit and unrolled it. Looking up at the three confused faces, he sighed, then cleared his throat and began to read

"Lowlanders, yesterday we witnessed unprecedented weather, as you have witnessed. Unlike most storms, the cause of this one has not yet been fully comprehended by the Athyn Castle's advisors. We know little about the beginnings, epicentre, and lengths of its impact. You all will attend a meeting, post sundown, conducted by my own Advisor for a more wholesome ordering of the events and investigations that will follow up. You will all gather beyond the townsquare valley, just below Athyn's mountain. If there is anything that has not been brought to my attention before then, consequences will be of imprisonment in the Angard dungeons. Pray do not doubt me, your Queen."

Having recited the message, the armoured man duly walked away and approached the next house in line. The Elder nodded and proceeded back into the house, only to retrieve his walking stick and a thick brown coat. He came back outside. The boys walked out the front door and watched the old man lock up quietly. Before heading into the night, he turned back. "Go home, kids" he said "go home to your father. It's getting late". The boys looked up at the sky- the sun was setting. They'd lost track of time in the Elder's tightly bound box of a home.

"Darn it" Solim cursed. He and Cahir hurriedly made their way back to the townsquare. By now the sun had set completely. The market lamps had been broken during the storm, and they carefully walked through the remaining rubble of the townsquare's streets in the pitch black of night. Soon enough, they approached the housing square's brightly lit streets.

"CAHIR, SOLIM" Iven called as he recognised the two figures a few metres away from the streetlights- one limping slightly "Solim, is that you?". As the boys approached the light, Iven saw clearly that Solim staggering. "It's nothing pa, I just stepped on a few stones. Awfully dark in the townsquare" he muttered spontaneously. Iven sighed and shook his head "all right. We're already late, let's go".

---

The gathering had taken place  just a few metres south of where Solim had endured the attack. The mountain's midnight chills had begun to catch up to them despite the blazing purple flames in the center. There were more of the purple armoured men this time, standing in circular form encompassing the people's wooden bench arrangement.

The boys' tardiness had not been reprimanded, they quickly found themselves in the middle of a loud, curious crowd. Fear induced murmurs of theories regarding the night before had buzzed rapidly through the restless group, but the iron men paid no attention. Their upright chins and stiff structure tilted their heads right only slightly when the Queen's Advisor made her way to the setting. Cahir wondered if there were men inside the armour at all.