Armor

The party regrouped at The Drunken Monk later that day to discuss our findings. We ordered some ale, Hrig got wine, and I began by telling them what I’d uncovered in the library as well as going over Rock’s attack.

Stone sighed. "Talen sending Rock your way lines up with what I managed to learn, too. Talen survived what we did to him in Cirros—thrived, even. He’s apparently even managed to align himself closely with the Duke. It appears Dorsia’s idea that he’d consolidate his power if he wasn’t beaten was right. I couldn't turn up anything about dragons, or the damned Children of Aurum, though. Just that there have been a lot of shake-ups up and down the continent, possibly all over the world. Oh, and there’s a black market for dragon artifacts, teeth and such, but it’s hard to prove fakes, so it didn’t seem worth our time."

Kyren nodded. "It took a long conversation, but I managed to learn from my mentor that Aurum is indeed a god. A major one, in fact, but beyond that, I couldn’t pry anything else from her. What she did tell me was that the higher levels of all city temples are already involved. She couldn’t reveal more, said I’d need to be higher into the mysteries to be allowed that kind of access, and even what I’ve learned is a closely guarded secret."

"Is that an option?" I asked. "Could you attain the status necessary in your order to learn more?"

"Possibly, but you have to understand that it’s as political as it is religious. I’d need backing, the support of priests both within and without my own sect, and most of all, time."

We all sat, sipping absently out of our mugs. Even I took a small sip out of habit.

"Let’s remember why we’re really here," said Hrig, giving all of a serious look. "To party."

The tension broke as we all shared a laugh. After that, we made small talk for a while.

Later in the evening, we were met at the tavern by Trevlyn, a large box in hand and a wide smile on his face. He had a look in his eyes that I could only describe as a kind of manic delirium.

He began opening the box, inside which were four more boxes, and then he began opening those one at a time. He grabbed the first of them, opened it, and handed its contents to Stone.

Stone took it and turned it over in his hands. It was a cross somewhere between a monkey and a goblin. It had an impressive array of sharp teeth, all of the facial features curled up in such a way that it gave the impression of laughter. The piece was masterfully constructed, and when Stone put it on, it fit perfectly. It had a mildly intimidating effect to it when he smiled, as his own teeth made it seem like another mouth hid inside that of the laughing creature.

Hrig was the next to receive her mask. It was simpler than Stone’s, but no less impressive—a bear with the tusks of a boar curling out of the side of its mouth. The genuine blond fur woven into it somehow perfectly matched the shade of Hrig’s own braids. When she placed it on, it almost looked as if it were her actual head.

Kyren’s was third. The first thing I noticed about it was its color. Pure white, matching the tunic she was wearing. At first, it seemed completely unblemished, but on closer inspection, one could actually see incredibly intricate patterns carved throughout the piece. The mask itself had the appearance of a rabbit, ears included. Like Stone’s and Hrig’s, hers fit perfectly.

Finally, we came to mine. Trevlyn reached into the box. What he pulled out surprised me. The face of a dragon. Unlike the porcelain and leather of the other masks, this one was made of metal, and the silver of it caught the candlelight of the room beautifully. Holding it in my hands, I could tell it was a true masterpiece, even with my limited artistic knowledge.

"I had to consult with a smith friend and a metallurgist for yours, but they were very excited to help. You should be able to simply place the mask against the front of your helmet and it will connect. It uses something called ‘magnets’."

I lifted the mask to my face and felt it snap into place. As perfect a fit as I could imagine, and I shook my head a few times to ensure it was truly connected. I then opened and closed the mouth, realizing it was also magnetized.

"This is incredible."

Trevlyn positively beamed. "Thank you, ser. I was up all night working on them."

"The craftsmanship is incredible," said Stone. "Worthy of a dwarf."

Kyren looked over at my mask. "What made you choose the animals?"

"Well, I don’t know that I chose them so much as they were chosen for me."

"What do you mean?" asked Hrig, her voice surprisingly unmuffled from within her mask.

"Well, I just went off the impression I received from each of you. I tried to match that impression as closely as possible to the masks themselves."

I nodded, but felt a bit disturbed at the idea that he’d felt I was dragon-like. Perhaps it would be a compliment to some, but from what I’d seen of them, the thought made me distinctly uncomfortable. Still, the mask was incredible, and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so I made no complaints.

We gathered his payment and each handed him a gold coin, plus a tip of five additional gold coins each, which not even Stone complained about.

"Ye need to charge what you’re worth, lad. There’s no sense in doing work just for ‘exposure’."

He nodded, taking the money and placing it into a pouch tied at his waist. He seemed to be coming down from whatever mania had driven him to complete the masks so quickly, and his eyes were beginning to droop.

"Here, why don’t I take you up to my sleeping area upstairs, and you can take a nap."

He yawned and gave a tired nod, and I led him up to my bed, where he immediately collapsed. I gently placed a blanket over him and returned downstairs to find everyone still admiring the masks they’d received.

"That kid has a real gift," said Hrig, running her fingers along the snout of her mask.

"Aye, now once we get the clothes we ordered, we should more than match the fap-about nobles that are attending." He turned in Kyren’s and my direction. "No offense."

"None taken," said Kyren. "I’m not always a big fan myself."

"And I’m not actually a noble; I just ate one. It would be interesting if that’s how the government actually worked here, though."

* * *

Trevlyn wound up sleeping through the night on my bed, so I made myself comfortable on the floor until he got up, which by dawn, he still hadn’t. So I simply slipped out of the room and made my way downstairs to meet with everyone. Kyren was speaking with Bruis, holding a package, and Hrig and Stone sat at a table together cleaning their plates.

"Morning," I said, sitting next to Hrig. I realized I almost always sat next to Hrig. Made the table feel a bit uneven when Kyren and Stone sat across from us.

Hrig and Stone returned the greeting through mouthfuls of food. Kyren finished her conversation with Bruis and came to the table.

"Good morning, Sevald."

"Morning, Kyren. What’s in the box?"

"Well, we felt like you maybe wanted to do a little something extra for the masquerade, so we all chipped in at the tailor to get you something." She handed me the box.

"Really? Thank you, I don’t know what to say."

"Don’t say anything, lad. Just open the box," said Stone.

I did, and inside, I saw a neatly folded bundle of fabric. I stood up and unfurled it, revealing a beautiful cape, primarily burgundy with a border of silver thread. The colors contrasted beautifully with my navy gambeson. I tied it on immediately.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you all.”

“We just wanted you to meet the rest of the group’s standards. Can’t have you dragging us down at the party,” said Hrig, smiling.

I chuckled. “I was just thinking it would be good for you all to be the ones dressed nicely, for once. Unlike the rest of you, I’m always in my finest clothes."

The rest of the day was spent primarily pacing about and trying to keep ourselves busy while not simply making a beeline for the palace as quickly as possible. When the sun finally began dipping, we all got dressed in the attire we’d prepared for the party. I decided to store the shield that was formerly Rock’s within myself and tied a peace knot around my sword. Technically, I could rip right through it, but the gesture was important. After we were ready, we set out toward the palace.

Nighttime in Delvus was very different than it had been in Cirros or Buryn. The streets were lit by lanterns that gave the place a kind of ethereal atmosphere. There were street vendors still out, taverns lit with the noises of revelry pouring out of them as freely as ale, and we regularly encountered city guardsmen on patrol. It seemed like a generally safe and pleasant place to be. This, of course, made Stone uncomfortable.

"I was under the impression you’ve been here before. Why are you so uncomfortable?" I asked.

"Aye, but that was some time ago back when this place had some edge to it. Yes, there’s still some lovely dens of sin here, and it’s an easy place to pick a pocket, but there’s no real crime, no real vice here. Sure, the nobles plot, have their little ‘orgies’ and double crosses, but it’s just not as fun as a few people from the docks tearing their way through rich people’s wallets and spending it all on enough ale to drown auroch.”

I gave a solemn nod. "I’m terribly sorry that no one is trying to slit our throats for a few copper."

"Thank you, lad. Your sympathy means a lot to me."

When we got through the inner gate, we began to see other invitees making their way to the palace. The most popular mask type seemed to be lions and other jungle cats for men, and birds for ladies. I had a feeling that we’d stand out as a group, but I supposed that was likely to be the case no matter what we did.

We reached the third and most interior wall of the city where the party attendants had gathered and a man was checking their invitations. We got into the line, but before we even moved up once, a guard approached Kyren.

"Lady Wyrwind?"

"Yes?"

"You and your companions may follow me directly inside. The king has designated you as special guests."

He looked us over for a moment, checking us over. I noticed him paying particular attention to my sword, but once he saw the peace knot, he simply began walking us toward the palace.

The grounds of the palace were stunning, the garden full of white roses that seemed to have been planted just for the party. Servants were taking refreshments out to the line of guests, themselves wearing plain white porcelain masks that contrasted sharply with their black uniforms. The palace itself was built out of what looked to be a kind of black marble with rich details in white stone and a beautiful wooden door that seemed to be carved from a single piece of wood.

I could have spent hours simply staring at all the little details and beautiful materials that had been used in the construction, but there was a party to get to. The guard allowed us a moment to absorb everything, clearly used to the occasional gawking rube, but after what he thought was an appropriate waiting period, he gave a slight cough to get our attention and led us inside.