Aresan Clan pt 46

Lipmon was sitting upon his bed when Merek walked into the bedroom, telling Lipmon, “You should probably know that Aleck disappeared yesterday.” Merek handed Lipmon some sour milk and a bit of bread, continuing, “He was the one who you said climbed into this window and talked to you about Still Creek and the little boy that was kidnapped. He disappears the same day as he talks to you. So strange. I never trusted the man. Always so mysterious. And snooping around everywhere. Always poking his nose into everyone’s doings. I’m hoping the creature got him. No. I shouldn’t say that. That’s horrible. I shouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“Indeed sir, it is not something that should be wished but on the direst sinners,” a distinguished gentleman in a long, flowing cloak entering the room said to Merek. Passing him by he extended his hand to Lipmon, “Good to meet you, sir. I am Arbiter Roderick. I have come because I understand that I can be of great assistance to you. Though, I think I just misspoke, since it is truly you that should be of the greatest assistance to us. And you have, I hear, endured a harrowing journey in order to bring us your news. What a noble soul you must be.”

Roderick sat down at a table in front of the bed, drawing his long cloak in as he lowered himself into the chair. The cloak flowed in folds over his knees and down onto the floor. Maya followed behind Roderick, carrying a mug of beer, which she set down on the table next to him. She then asked, “Anything else you’re wanting, sir?”

“No, thank you. Your hospitality has more than exceeded itself,” Roderick said to Maya, “Please sit down and join us here. What Lipmon has to say concerns us all.” Turning to Lipmon, he said, “So, you come from Still Creek-forr? That was the congregation of Elden, if I am not mistaken. We in this town, I am afraid, hear many unsettling rumors about your humble village. More than a few people fear your town. Two of our citizens disappeared when they were supposed to visit your village. Now you tell us that something has happened there. Why don’t you tell us what you saw?”

“I’m not much of a speaker sir. So you’ll forgive me if I can’t organize what I saw coherently and if I ramble a bit,” Lipmon said.

“That is hardly something to apologize for,” Roderick assured him, “We are not in a hurry here and you shall have the floor for as long as it takes. Just say what comes to mind and we’ll ask questions to help you along. Just let your mind speak what’s in its memory.”

“Everyone’s dead there,” Lipmon began with a faltering voice, “Except me and Tann. And they kidnapped Tann.”

“They?” Roderick asked, “What can you say about these people that kidnapped Tann?”

“Men with swords,” Lipmon said, “Soldiers. Even a woman soldier I think. Not Fourth Order Soldiers. Not tribesman either. We’ve had encounters with them. The soldiers killed everyone except Tann and then they burned our town to the ground: every house, every bit of furniture and all the corpses along with them.”

“Tann?” Roderick asked, “Who is this?”

“A boy. A young boy. He was precious to us. Like no one else. A gift of the gods.”

“Why would they kidnap him?” Roderick asked, “You said they killed everyone, so I’m assuming they didn’t spare any of the other children. So they knew he was different?”

“Tann was a prophet. He spoke with the gods. And he was our voice to the gods.”

“And what did the gods tell you?” Roderick asked, calmly.

“Well, Tann didn’t speak to us directly, so much. He spoke to Elden. He was the one who discovered the boy. The first one to realize he was special. I mean we all could see he was special, but Elden was the first to really point it out. We loved that boy so much. The boy had a weak voice and he would only whisper things into Elden’s ear. I mean, he told me things too. But nothing significant. Told me the gods blessed me and that I was special.”

<-- Go to Part 45         Go to Part 47 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Lipmon was sitting upon his bed when Merek walked into the bedroom, telling Lipmon, “You should probably know that Aleck disappeared yesterday.” Merek handed Lipmon some sour milk and a bit of bread, continuing, “He was the one who you said climbed into this window and talked to you about Still Creek and the little boy that was kidnapped. He disappears the same day as he talks to you. So strange. I never trusted the man. Always so mysterious. And snooping around everywhere. Always poking his nose into everyone’s doings. I’m hoping the creature got him. No. I shouldn’t say that. That’s horrible. I shouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“Indeed sir, it is not something that should be wished but on the direst sinners,” a distinguished gentleman in a long, flowing cloak entering the room said to Merek. Passing him by he extended his hand to Lipmon, “Good to meet you, sir. I am Arbiter Roderick. I have come because I understand that I can be of great assistance to you. Though, I think I just misspoke, since it is truly you that should be of the greatest assistance to us. And you have, I hear, endured a harrowing journey in order to bring us your news. What a noble soul you must be.”

Roderick sat down at a table in front of the bed, drawing his long cloak in as he lowered himself into the chair. The cloak flowed in folds over his knees and down onto the floor. Maya followed behind Roderick, carrying a mug of beer, which she set down on the table next to him. She then asked, “Anything else you’re wanting, sir?”

“No, thank you. Your hospitality has more than exceeded itself,” Roderick said to Maya, “Please sit down and join us here. What Lipmon has to say concerns us all.” Turning to Lipmon, he said, “So, you come from Still Creek-forr? That was the congregation of Elden, if I am not mistaken. We in this town, I am afraid, hear many unsettling rumors about your humble village. More than a few people fear your town. Two of our citizens disappeared when they were supposed to visit your village. Now you tell us that something has happened there. Why don’t you tell us what you saw?”

“I’m not much of a speaker sir. So you’ll forgive me if I can’t organize what I saw coherently and if I ramble a bit,” Lipmon said.

“That is hardly something to apologize for,” Roderick assured him, “We are not in a hurry here and you shall have the floor for as long as it takes. Just say what comes to mind and we’ll ask questions to help you along. Just let your mind speak what’s in its memory.”

“Everyone’s dead there,” Lipmon began with a faltering voice, “Except me and Tann. And they kidnapped Tann.”

“They?” Roderick asked, “What can you say about these people that kidnapped Tann?”

“Men with swords,” Lipmon said, “Soldiers. Even a woman soldier I think. Not Fourth Order Soldiers. Not tribesman either. We’ve had encounters with them. The soldiers killed everyone except Tann and then they burned our town to the ground: every house, every bit of furniture and all the corpses along with them.”

“Tann?” Roderick asked, “Who is this?”

“A boy. A young boy. He was precious to us. Like no one else. A gift of the gods.”

“Why would they kidnap him?” Roderick asked, “You said they killed everyone, so I’m assuming they didn’t spare any of the other children. So they knew he was different?”

“Tann was a prophet. He spoke with the gods. And he was our voice to the gods.”

“And what did the gods tell you?” Roderick asked, calmly.

“Well, Tann didn’t speak to us directly, so much. He spoke to Elden. He was the one who discovered the boy. The first one to realize he was special. I mean we all could see he was special, but Elden was the first to really point it out. We loved that boy so much. The boy had a weak voice and he would only whisper things into Elden’s ear. I mean, he told me things too. But nothing significant. Told me the gods blessed me and that I was special.”

<-- Go to Part 45         Go to Part 47 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Aresan Clan pt 46