Disposable Hero Ch. 03 Pt. 03

She was looking down at the warships that had brought her here and said, "I have something to take care of and I need you to handle these negotiations for me."

He looked confused as to what could be more important than trade talks, but being duty bound as he was, said, "What could be more important than this my lady?"

She replied indifferently waving him off dismissively saying, "I don't know yet, but I will."

Befuddled he answered, "As you wish my lady."

With that, he bowed deeply, as her station required, and left the room.

Helen was left to her thoughts about the vision from last night and the man she had seen. They were images she just couldn't shake; something was telling her not to let this go. She decided to go for a walk around the city and see if she could clear her mind, or at least wrap her head around this. When she left her room two guards were following her, she knew she wouldn't get any answers from anybody with her bodyguards around, while her station required them and her father hand-picked them, they could scare death with one glance. This was good, and bad, good because everybody kept clear and bad because one wrong word from the person she was talking to and she would need to be able to talk to the dead to get answers.

Her only hope was him and as much as she would hate herself for it, she hung her head called for the guard and said, "Bring me the Bloodhound."

A few minutes later a young man was dragged into her room in chains and tossed at her feet. She looked at him with utter loathing and tried to hold her breath to block out the smell.

He of course was all smiles, he had earned those chains but knew she needed him for something and said playfully, "What am I to have done this time? Bedded your handmaiden? Made eyes at a barnacle? I know I have taken the maidenhead of a mermaid and now she is with child."

His arrogance made her want to vomit either that or his smell. He was great at getting into trouble and had already gotten fifty lashes on the ship for lecherous behavior involving at least one of her ladies in waiting, he truly was a dog.

She spoke softly, not believing she was about to do this, and said sheepishly, "I need your help."

Her voice was so soft he couldn't hear her and made her repeat herself louder.

'Does he have no shame, I know he heard me,' she thought.

She hung her head, if anybody could get her out of this castle unseen it would be him; hopefully with his head and her virtue still intact. She begrudgingly repeated herself louder knowing this was only going to goad him on further.

A huge shit-eating grin appeared on his face as he spoke in a highly mocking tone, "I thought death was too good for me? I thought you said that you would never have need of me and that dogs like me should be spayed?"

He knew he would help her but her arrogance rubbed him the wrong way, as did anyone who thought themselves above anybody else.

Losing her patience, she said, "Are you going to help me, or is it back to the brig?"

He replied far too easily for her taste saying, "Ok, but I want my weapons and I'll handle the money if you don't mind."

She was in no position to argue but said questioningly, "You are not going to use the money to buy whores, are you?"

She knew he would chase anything with breasts that drew a breath and a few that didn't draw breath.

He laughed at the priestess, his voice thick with sarcasm, "I never thought about that, so thanks for the idea. I know priests and priestesses are known to give money away and I want to make sure we aren't crawling back to Farturn. You know he hates me more than you do."

She shook her head and knew why, he had slept with both of Lord Farturn's daughters as well as the lord's wife and his newest little one had the same red hair as Aidan. She agreed and knew she could trust him, he loved the ladies, but when it came down to it he would defend her to his last breath and if anybody can find somebody then he can that is why he had earned the nickname of Cufola or fire wolf in his local dialect. Fire wolves were known to track prey for months at a time until an opportunity presented itself. They agreed that he would come for her this evening, as he left she reminded him to stay out of trouble, and for him to clean himself up before then.

That evening he came to get her, his ever present smile chiseled on his face. In greeting, Aidan said, "Did you know that the Chancellor is taking bribes from the pirates to protect them from others? I freed these things from his possession, you should have Farturn take a look at them."

He showed her a medallion of a Wyvern it was missing a large setting that held half a fist sized stone and a ledger written in Kafroylain, the language of the Star Isles.

She was shocked by how he always gets such information and from the magic that came off the medallion he was holding. However, she didn't want to push it for fear of how he got it but had a bad feeling about something giving off such powerful magic as that medallion.

She said, "Give me the medallion we must get rid of it before they realize it is missing. With that much magic radiating from it they will know it is gone."

She left a note with Marta about the chancellor as well as the ledger for Farturn, and went to leave when the young Kafroylian stopped her.

He asked in disbelief, "Where are you going dressed like that?"

She said, "With you of course?"

He said trying not to laugh and failing, "Why don't you just tell everybody you're a princess and see how far that will get you?"

He handed her some clothes, clearly from one of the servants in the castle. He was right of course and she dressed in them begrudgingly before they headed off.

She wanted to ask where he got them but, again, was afraid of the answer. They went down a secret passage that led to the main staircase and to the servant's quarters. She saw a woman about her size with a blanket wrapped around her who smiled at Cufola. Many people thought he was a sorcerer due to the way he magically seemed to know things. They were half-right, he had a gift of being able to read people and used it to get great information. The same servant he got the clothes from told him of the passage, as well as the information about the chancellor while he was bedding her.

As they exited the castle and made their way into a typical medieval city that looked like it had been taken out of a history book, they traveled from inn to inn looking for a room for the night. They stopped at the Jaded Inn, an inn for merchants from the Cataracts, and further east, and found suitable lodging for the night. As they settled down to a meal in the inn, Aidan was starting to wonder what they are doing away from the others. Normally, she wouldn't be caught dead with him, let alone without her bodyguards, or brainless attack dogs as he thought of them.

He asked eyes shining with curiosity as well as mischief he had become famous for, "Why are you here, and not there? And, why am I free?"

He made eye contact with the elven bard playing a lyre, and struck a huge grin while looking at her, she smiled back and the game was afoot. Lady Silver Flail knew how this game would end and tried not to vomit at the thought of him bedding the elf.

She leaned close, and said, "I had a dream of a man missing his right hand, as well as his eye, and looking for two things. I am going to look for this man. He needs my help, I just know it. But, I don't understand why these things are so important."

Aidan pulled a face palm and looked at her in disbelief as he said, "Lady Silver Flail, you of all people must be joking, or by Freya I will take a vow of celibacy here and now."

He could see she had over thought this and she was still in shock at the thought of him trying to be celibate let alone sober.

He spoke still in disbelief, "When Tyr appears to man, how does he usually appear?"

The look on her face made him chuckle deeply as she realized she had over looked this thought and now felt very silly.

She shook her head smiled at her own stupidity and asked, "Then what do the spider and the sword have to do with the dream?"

He sat lost in thought taking several pulls of his mead and said, "We should stay focused on the spider and the sword. I mean the spider could be anything from danger surrounding that sword to a plot involving that sword. What does the sword look like? That might help. Is it an old sword like a Fada or Bastaired sword, or something newer, like my Karde?"

She thought of her dream, and said, "I have never seen a sword like it. It was long like a long or Bastaired sword, but curved like a Sapeli yet not that drastic, and not as wide as a Krommel. Something tells me we are just starting this adventure, but not why it is so important. Why didn't Tyr just tell me to go so I would be on the way? I will pray to him tonight for the wisdom to solve this mystery."

They spent the rest of the night eating and drinking their fill, discussing the dream, what she saw, and how this could all work out. After a few hours, Helen excused herself and went to pray before going to sleep. As she promised she did pray for wisdom. As Helen left, she saw Aidan was busy chasing down the lovely bard that had been playing earlier. She saw the bard smiling at his advances and shook her head as she walked to her room knowing that he was going to bed the bard.

Having finished her prayers Helen settled in for the night and dreamed again. This time she is on a ship and she steps out on to the deck. Before her she sees a huge cathedral with twenty multicolored onion domes and buildings built out of wood giving the city a frontier look.

As she heads back down to her cabin and opens the door she is back in the room with the one armed man.

He sees her and says, "I see you have found that which time has forgotten but those with a memory as long haven't. Have you found them?" she understands that this is Tyr.

She says, lost in the ways of the gods, "I haven't found them yet, why are they so important? Are you talking about that medallion CuFola found?"

He replies cryptically and typically for a god, "A spider that can see, and a sword that makes holes. A woman will come for that medallion; she will tower over others with hair of platinum wearing rich jewels. Give her that medallion. Her reasons for wanting it are just."

His answer leaves her lost, she knows that most spiders have very poor eyesight and swords usually cut not make holes, or at least that type of sword does. As she turns to reply to him, she finds herself alone in the room.

In the morning, she goes to wake Aidan and is greeted by a smiling elven bard who is making a not so shameful walk of shame. She enters his room and begins to tell him about her dream while trying to ignore the fact that he is still naked. Eventually, she turns and blushes. She says they must go to the city in her dream, she knows that is where they will find the answers. He doesn't know of any such city, but thinks the merchants might know where it is. As he rises he asks Lady Silver Flail to leave while he changes, unless she wishes to help him dress.

She races out the door and waits for him to exit the room. They head downstairs and ask several merchants.

Finally an old merchant tells her, "That sounds like Belyre in Arrasha about three weeks sail from here. They don't have several temples. They built one large temple with the gods in one building and each onion dome is for one faith."After hearing this Helen knew where she had to go. They both spent the rest of the day getting supplies for the ships they sailed here on. As they searched the stores for the charts to get to Belyre they found that none had the charts they needed. Eventually, after asking around, the pilot mentioned that he heard of a man who had such charts and he could be found in The Sloop's Landing. He said that the man is rumored to be a master mapmaker and had worked for the local king. He wasn't sure that he would be there at this hour and suggested that they could find out tomorrow. They went back to the Jaded Inn and Aidan found a friendly smile from his little bard friend as he walked in. Helen shook her head; he would be the death of her yet. He may be a very clever man and loyal to a fault but his lecherous behavior would be his down fall, and quite possibly her own.

Sitting down to a late lunch with Aidan Lady Silver Flail enjoyed a rather nice summer wine, savoring how sweet it was. She watched as the elven bard sat next to Aidan and seemed to check his tonsils with the passion of her kiss. Lady Silver Flail's eyes swept the room every few minutes looking for the woman that Tyr was talking about and doing her best to ignore Aidan groping his bard "girlfriend" for lack of a better word. Her attention was drawn back to her table as she listened to Aidan explain who she was and why she didn't like him. She wanted to vomit when she heard him call her a jaded ex-lover. When she returned to searching the room she saw a stunningly tall woman. she was thin and had long platinum blond hair tied in a long pony tail that hung down the left side. She was dressed in the finest silk dress that only seemed to draw out all of her curves. As she walked, she had to duck to avoid hitting her head on the low hung candelabras. Taking a seat in the corner opposite the door, she greeted the bar-wench with a friendly smile. From her mannerisms it was apparent that she was of a high station and not a dressed up trophy wife.

Aidan leaned over and said, "You would give off the same vibe if you were dressed the same. How does it feel to see you in others?"

Lady Silver Flail looked round the room and saw the woman looking at her as she did. She even noticed that the woman looked right at Aidan several times. This let his words soak in and gave her time to think before saying, "Do I really carry myself like that or are you just trying to get my goat?" Aidan threw his hands in the air in frustration. Seeing that she continued, "Do you have the medallion you took from the estate?"

Aidan reached under his collar and pulled a chain out for her to see before saying, "It is safer on my person than in the room. Why do you ask?"

She looked him in the eye and wondered who that woman was that Tyr knew her; let alone how to explain that to Aidan. She looked back at the woman, who was looking at them, and smiling said, "I think she is looking for that medallion. See she keeps looking at us, I think she knows we have it. I have a bad feeling about her; I think giving it back is the best route besides we have a mission to complete."

Aidan just looked at her like she was stupid and said, "Maybe she just wants some of yours truly? It has been known to happen. Besides, she hasn't said anything so it would be foolish to think this is for her, you do know how valuable this is? If she wants it she will have to let us know that we have it, and that she wants it."

As if she was listening to them, the platinum blond called the bar-wench over and said something to her pointed in their direction. After the bar-wench left her table, she waved to them.

The bar-wench came over with a bottle and crystal flutes and said, "The lady over there says she wishes to join you and has offered to share this bottle of sparkling wine from the hill country just north of here."

The bard upon hearing this asked excitedly, "You don't mean she bought a bottle of Clugey Vendemmia? That would cost me a month's pay for a bottle. I hear it is even better than Koraud Doce, the finest of Elven wines."

Aidan looked at his benefactor who gave him the "I told you so" look, sighed and said, "She is more than welcome to join us." He was about to tip her for her hard work, when she walked away not looking back.

This stunning woman sashayed over ducking several times. Aidan had to admit that she did move with grace.

Sitting down she introduced herself saying, "I am Bedelth, priestess of the guardians of this realm and keepers of the weave, loyal servant of the Platinum Goddess. It is my pleasure to meet you."

Aidan had no clue who the "Platinum Goddess" was, but judging from Helen's reaction she did. Before he could ask, he heard her say, "What is a priestess of Bahamut doing here? A better question is why she is talking to us?"

Bahamut smiled at how quickly Helen had figured everything out she said, "As you know Helen of Deep Water I have been given powers from Bahamut to complete a task that is very close to Bahamut's heart. As you may have guessed dragons know when treasure is around so lying about the medallion would be foolish, I am sure that Tyr told of my coming."

Aidan looked at Helen questioningly as she answered, "I was told you were coming and what you wanted. I didn't know how to explain it to Aidan and that is why I am getting that look from him. I will speak on his behalf because I am sure he would offend a priestess such as yourself and say that he took the risk to acquire the item and is entitled to compensation, don't you agree?"

Bahamut was falling in love with this woman; she looked out for her own and understood the bonds of friendship. This was something Bahamut wished her own children would do more of. She thought of what she would offer to get back something so special and said, "I wish I could offer fair trade but I can only offer this platinum ingot."

She took out an ingot that was almost the same size as the medallion. It was platinum had the image of Bahamut on it surrounded by diamonds, Aidan's eyes jumped from his skull as he saw the ingot, he almost didn't hear her say, "This ingot can be sold or should you find yourself in dire need of aid, you call for the goddess and one of her children will come to your aid. Also the goddess has told me that she has another gift that she will bestow upon you and any of your choosing, the goddess herself will tell you when she will give this gift. Do you accept my terms?"

Aidan feeling greedy was about to hold out for more when he felt an elbow to his ribs knocking the wind from him, as he heard Helen say, "We agree. Can you explain this boon that we will receive, in more detail?"

Bahamut shook her head and said, "All I know is that she will grant it, but not what, or when. Such is the mysteries of the gods and goddesses. May I have the artifact?"

Aidan's eyes narrowed, he had been taken, a lousy ingot and a boon to be paid later. He knew dragons lived a long time, and he could see himself on his death bed when the goddess came to give him his boon. He had a dragon artifact and he was giving it away, he pulled the medallion off and handed it to Bahamut, who thanked him again. They sat for another hour drinking the incredible wine. After having a glass, Aidan's little bard friend had to entertain the pub and left the great wine and stories. Walking away, she heard them sharing stories with the priestess who listened like a queen being entertained by her fool or fools in this case.

Putting the medallion around her neck the priestess thanked them again and even told them had they not acquired it she would have been forced to ask one of Bahamut's children to get it. A chill went up their spines at the thought of what a dragon would do to this city just for one medallion, let alone to them had they refused. Walking out of the bar and down the street towards a dead end, Bahamut could feel the thieves behind her as she turned to see at least six muggers waiting to rob her. Aidan and Helen had followed the muggers, and as they went to turn the corner they saw all of them running in the other direction. Turning the corner they saw the priestess smiling at them as she was walking towards them. She thanked them for their concern and explained that Bahamut had blessed her with dragon fear to protect the medallion. Aidan just laughed at the thoughtfulness of Bahamut and together with Helen bid the priestess good night.