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The Guilded Cage, Ch 3

The Sundered King

Rebel, true to his word, did not return to the Stranded Kelpie but, just as he had also suggested, an important delivery did arrive for Dorias, carried by a motley crew of Coyote Beast-Kin, their pet four-legged coyote pup, a Hobgoblin, and a Kobold of all things. Alimys had taught Dorias at a young age that every individual should be valued for their own merits and that race was of secondary importance compared to who they were as a person. One thing the Yak enjoyed about the Docks was that most people seemed to follow the same mindset-- presuming they didn't have some other objection to someone, in which case the racial profiling was even worse.

That wasn't the primary thought on his mind however when he saw the obvious couriers enter. He'd seen them at the tavern once before and he'd overheard enough of their conversation to know that they were Assembly members like Graves and, in fact, the last time they were at the Stranded Kelpie it had been right after one of his patron's visits; the Human had indicated that they were trustworthy enough and so he strove to make himself visible, going so far as to subtly wave down Marta to let her know that they were okay to let through. A few moments later, after a brief chat with some other patrons, they innocuously meandered his way and filled out his otherwise empty table.

He had a casual-but-friendly enough conversation with them, the specifics of which were lost the moment one of their number produced a parcel. It was undeniably book-shaped and, rather than risk being spotted with it, Dorias quickly slipped it beneath the table and out of view. He exchanged a few more pleasantries, confirmed that it was indeed what he was waiting for from Graves, and then wished them well. He had a few more questions from them and fielded a few of theirs but, once they realized the contents of the parcel they quickly understood his interest in getting away from prying eyes. With a friendly farewell, he parted ways with the odd group and their little coyote pup mascot.

Dorias stopped by the bar long enough to tell the man at the counter that he was retiring to his room. Burns, the Human on duty, was the same one that had greeted him during his first night. Offering him a knowing nod, Burns responded only with "Sure enough. I'll see to it that you're not disturbed unless it's over something disturbing."

The comment was right in line with Burns' sense of humor; the man had a way of making light of almost everything and, at least as far as Dorias could tell, nothing seemed to bother him. Although much of Burns' history was unknown to the Yak, he did know that the innkeeper grew up on the streets of St. Almar and ended up getting involved in some shady practices along the docks and the wharf, but he was insightful enough to get out of it while he could and used what funds he'd saved up (with the assistance of Graves) to help establish The Stranded Kelpie along with a business associate, who Dorias had yet to meet and had never been identified in detail.

He pondered on what little he knew about Burns only for as long as it took him to crest the steps and make his way to his room. Although Dorias had little of worth inside he took special care to lock it, just to make certain that no surprises would be waiting for him; it was a safety measure that Graves often repeated to him and encouraged him to utilize. Once inside, the Yak locked the door again, pulled the curtains, and lit a candle. Taking a seat at on the bed, he pulled the night stand closer to himself and drew the wrapped book out of where he'd stored it in his hip pouch.

Pulling the oil-treated leather wrapping free he saw that it was also covered in silk. Moving that aside, Dorias took in a quick breath, surprised at the title which was engraved in the fine leather cover in Ritti characters. He slowly murmured the words aloud, even going so far as to translate them to Common in an attempt to make them that much more believable. "True Accounts of the Sundered King, A Volume in One Part by Vezbach the Scribe."

When Dorias had first learned Ritti from Alimys one of the ways the Elf had gained the interest of the little Yak was in telling him numerous fairytales of the Beast-kin folk. Most of the tales dated hundreds of years before the Holy Empire had encountered the western continent and harkened back to the early days of peace after a long war between the Human nation and the Beast-Kin. According to those stories, numerous Beast-Kin often led their people to greatness, protecting them from some great harm, guiding them to glory, or even just ensuring their survival or happiness. Each of these tales involved different heroes, but each one was known as 'The Sundered' SOMETHING."

Dorias ran his fingers across the cover, thinking back to those days an surprising himself by realizing just how much he remembered about those tales. In one, a Tiger known only as The Sundered Sentinel single handedly protected a village of Beast-Kin from an Orcish horde. In another, a Stag referred to as The Sundered Shadow successfully snuck past a battalion of human knights to create a diversion which would let a Beast-Kin spy get back to a regiment of troops to report on military movements. Yet another story told of The Sundered Spectre, a sometimes-Cheetah, sometimes-Jaguar (the stories differed) who succeeded in driving a malicious noble mad and forcing a rulership change of a land where Beast-Kin were being mistreated. Although the stories varied and the protagonists were all different, the title of "The Sundered" remained.

The Yak's personal favorite was "The Sundered Sage", an old, gray furred Stallion who, toward the end of his life, still managed to travel half way across the kingdom to provide critical advice in warning a large village of an impending natural disaster. Still, of the numerous "Sundered" stories that he'd heard, the one which was mythic even amidst a collection of legends was the Sundered King, an individual who was only rumored to have existed within the stories themselves. The significance of what he was holding was not lost on Dorias.

Slowly opening the cover, Dorias realized immediately that the book was ancient as the leather creaked and the backing strained against its binding. There was little doubt in his mind that the tome should have fallen apart-- and likely had before he'd even laid a finger on it, but there were certain tell-tale signs that it had been magically mended, which means he wasn't the only member of the Assembly that realized the value in such a piece of literature. The Yak opened it with reverence and turned to the author's forward, and it gripped him immediately with its words.

Vezbach the Scribe had not been in any of the historic texts that Dorias had studied but, then again, few Beast-Kin were. According to the author's forward, Vezbach was a Vole and lived during the Beast-Kin war with the Humans. He referred to the Time of Great Calamity, which had been referenced in passing among some of the human kingdom documents as a world-changing apocalypse of sorts that required Human and Beast-Kin to join forces for mutual survival. According to the author's forward, the book in Dorias' hands recounted his journeys alongside The Sundered King, savior of the Beast-Kin and the Hero of Thalia.

Slowly sitting back, Dorias let out a deep breath; Thalia was the name of the kingdom that had been conquered by the Elves; possession of such a document would come with a death sentence passed down by the Holy Empire. The very thought of it sent a shiver up the Yak's back until words from his mentor and friend pointed out that the Elves killing him five times over would be no worse than them doing it four times over, and he even chuckled at that reminder; he needed no encouragement to read onward and did so willingly and eagerly.

The first few pages of the actual accounts recorded by Vezbach included a degree of reiteration of past tales Dorias had heard, only from a slightly different perspective. Rather than the stories of the various 'Sundered' told as stories to entertain youngers, the Scribe recounted them akin to the way someone would present treasured historical events. Not only did Vezbach discuss the events themselves, but he also included much more specific details including landmarks, providing actual places in which events took place rather than the proverbial "In a far off land...".

From there, things got only more interesting, detailing some of the Sundered King's exploits which, if Dorias was not mistaken, were almost perfect retellings of the various stories as presented in the fairytales he'd heard growing up. Rather than these activities being divided among a menagerie of heroes, apparently Vezbach was attributing them all to a singular individual-- one with whom the scribe was familiar enough with to call a friend... and yet, never revealed his name. What hurt the most, however, was that, within the pages was the telling of the Sundered King's death.

The pages flew by as Dorias absorbed the telling. The night given way to dawn which in turn passed onto morning, and yet the Yak did not surrender the pages, reading on and on as the tale unfolded. Countless pages down, he finally encountered something which seemed almost impossible: he recognized the description of a place provided in the story; Dorias knew where the Sundered King was buried!

Only once Dorias had the chance to make it to the end of that page did he let the surprise overwhelm truly him; the journal slipped from his stunned fingers as he murmured in near-silence "Then it be true... ah cannae believe it..."

He knew then and there that he had to contact Graves.