NOVEL NEXT Episode 75: The Master's Council
EPISODE 75:
THE MASTER'S COUNCIL
"Are we just going to ignore the fact that, as soon as this trio showed its face in Amical Falls, a Dungeon formed beneath our very feet?" Brother Orban thundered. "This stronghold has been undisturbed since the end of the Mage Wars. However, not three nights since that half-elf cultist pulled himself out of the Underlands, and we're fighting for our very lives!"
Vash heard murmurs of agreement as he and Heggin followed Glauch to Master Sallik's office, which was now being used for the council meeting. Glauch gestured for the two of them to precede him into the room, while he hung back by the door.
Vash eyed the Duke's man warily. Beyond a single sneering greeting, Glauch had largely remained silent. No cutting remarks, insults, or thinly veiled threats.
It made Vash nervous.
Ahead of him, he saw the Master's Council. Five high-backed chairs held the four attending Masters and Lodgemaster Sallik. A sixth chair stood empty at the far end of the table. All six chairs faced the wide windows that overlooked the falls and the valley beyond. Standing in front of the table were Jabez and Corwin.
Jabez still looked haggard and worn down, but his bearing was one of grim determination. Beside him, Corwin looked wan, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. Angry red gashes, hastily sewn up, stood out on his face and arms.
They didn't even bother getting him healed before dragging them in front of this farce. Vash thought angrily.
"Correlation is not causation, Orban," Master Astinak said with a tinge of annoyance. "We could just as well blame Duke Adolus for sending them all on that quest to begin with."
"I, for one, want to know just what the hell the Duke thought he was doing?" Master Lin piped up. "It's pretty damn clear at this point that this 'scholar' he sent was an agent of the Shadow. What did he promise Adolus, and what did the Duke know about this Zakarias Meng?"
"Don't tell me you're going to accuse the Duke of Sathsholm, the second most powerful man in Galadon, of being shadow-touched." Master Stahl said, sounding tired, his voice strained and hoarse from the previous night.
"I'm not accusing anyone, Casimir," Lin said. "I'm just saying that there are more questions here than just the actions of a few Wayfarers."
"Why are we even having this meeting in the first place?" Stahl asked. "The sorcerer is dead, the half-elf heretic is dead, what's there to talk about?"
"We are having this meeting because I requested it." Glauch said, stepping forward to join Heggin and Vash. "As is my right as a representative of the Duke and as a member of one of the Great Orders."
The five masters turned to look behind them. Instantly there were gasps and shouts as they all noticed Vash standing between Master Heggin and Sir Jacen.
"VASH!" Corwin's voice thundered over the commotion. "You're alive!"
The big man charged across the room and scooped up Vash in a bear hug. Vash couldn't help but laugh at the sudden outpouring of emotion, even as his ribs and back made uncomfortable popping sounds from the fierceness of Corwin's embrace.
"Heggin," Sallik said once the uproar had died down and Corwin had returned Vash to his feet. "There better be a damn good explanation of why this man is standing in front of me not dead."
"A good explanation?" Heggin asked, his wrinkled face crinkling even more while he pondered the question. "No, not a good explanation. But there is an explanation."
Sallik ran a hand over his face, looking tired and haggard like all the rest. "Take your seat and fill us in. Vash…you are Vash, aren't you? This isn't some sort of strange identical twin situation, is it?"
"No, sir," Vash replied.
"Thank the gods for small favors." Sallik muttered. "Join your master and fellow apprentice, if you would."
Vash and Corwin took their places next to Jabez, standing before the Master's Council. Jabez gave Vash a shrewd look, like he was trying to puzzle something out, but had lost a few pieces.
"Now that we've gotten that out of our systems; Master Heggin, please let us know what the hell is going on?" Sallik asked, in a wearily polite tone that smart men would take as a warning.
Heggin described what had happened that morning, then further explained the process of Remanifestation, even throwing in a few asides and opinions of his own about how the theory linked to Celestial, Arcane, and Druidic magics.
Brother Orban looked disgusted at the very idea. "Dead and then returned? Necromancy. Even worse, Drae sorcery. This creature may look and speak like the apprentice known as Vash Ballard, but I feel certain it is merely a puppet being manipulated by the shadow."
"Arkestia give me strength against fools and priests." Astinak said, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Remanifestation is a rare Talent, but the Collegia Arcanum Concordia recognizes it. The last person we know of that could use Remanifestation was Samson Shadowbane himself. I hardly think that the Drae would give their greatest enemy that kind of power."
"There is a way to confirm that apprentice Ballard is who he says he is." Sallik said, raising his voice to cut off another string of arguments. "Vash, come here."
Vash did as he was told, approaching Sallik and stopping just short of the conference table.
"Let me see your Guild medallion." Sallik said, opening to a blank page in the battered green book beneath his left hand.
Taking the medallion out of his shirt, Vash leaned forward and presented it to Master Sallik. The Lodgemaster let the bronze circle rest in his palm for a moment, then he looked down at the empty page beneath his fingers.
An entry appeared at the top of the page in a small, neat script.
Liellovash 'Vash' Ballard
Apprentice Level III, Delver's League
Iron II Ranked Adventurer
Jabez Ironbiter, Master
Current Guild Account: -6,741 Gold Crowns, -57 Silver Marks
Sallik's eyebrows raised as he looked over Vash's entry. Then he let go of Vash's medallion and gestured for him to step back. "Guild Markers are soulbound. They connect directly to the Wayfarer's soul. If Vash were a demon in a skin suit, the marker would have marked him as deceased and stricken his account from the record."
"So my Guild debt follows me even if I die and remanifest." Vash said, voice flat.
"Until your spirit enters the Land of the Dead, the connection with the Guild remains unbroken." Sallik said. "As for your debts, that's a matter for the bursar's office."
Brother Orban scowled but remained silent, mollified for the time being.
"Now, if there are no further objections, can we return to the matter at hand?" Sallik asked, looking up and down the table with an expression that dared the others to object. No one spoke, so Sallik shuffled a few papers in front of him until he found what he was looking for. "I believe we can lay the matter of Master Jabez and his apprentices being shadow-touched agents seeking to undermine the Guild to rest."
"Can we?" Master Orban asked bitterly.
"Vash laid down his life to destroy a Dungeon Heart and rescue captive Wayfarers. Corwin nearly died himself. Master Jabez was one of those captives, and he still returned to the fight once he'd retrieved his weapon." Lin said, heat rising in her voice. Vash got the feeling that this was ground they had covered several times already. "What additional proof do you require? We have reports from Master Clea and Master Edda, both of your school, regarding the bravery and sacrifice of a group of apprentices. While we were all caught flat-footed and running around like chickens with their heads cut off."
"There was the report from Master Logan's apprentices." Master Stahl said. "About the half-elf's shadow-based Talents."
"There are several Delver Talents that use shadows as a base." Lin scoffed. "Are you implying that the entire School of Delvers is shadow-touched?"
"I don't think we want to go in that direction, Lin," Stahl said coldly. "Your group has always skated dangerously close to the edge."
"Enough," Sallik said firmly. "We will not litigate old rivalries. It is my opinion that Master Jabez Ironbiter, Apprentice Corwin Walker, and Apprentice Vash Ballard acted for the good of the Guild and the Realm. Do any of you oppose this decision?"
Orban glanced around the table. Seeing no one was eager to agree with his viewpoint, he remained silent.
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"Thank the gods." Sallik muttered. "Does anyone have an objection to calling this council session closed?"
"There is still the matter of the Duke's request." Sir Jacen said, stepping forward and standing in front of the conference table. "With the apparent survival of the Eth-Mitaan cultist, it deserves a hearing."
Sallik's face twisted in discomfort. "I'd hoped we could let that drop as well."
"These are dark and dangerous times, Master Sallik. I'd hate to think that the Duke could not count on a fair hearing from the Wayfarer's Guild." Sir Jacen let the threat hang in the air, while Sallik glared daggers at the man.
"Sallik," Jabez said, voice raspy from his recent activities. He sounded as if he hadn't slept in a week. "Don't let them do this."
"It's out of my hands, Jabez," Sallik said apologetically. "We will hear the grievances of Duke Adolus."
"Thank you," Jacen said. "I will try to be brief. The Duke's concerns are quite simple. One, that the Wayfarer apprentice Corwin Walker accepted a quest on behalf of the Duchy. Two, that in return for this service, the Duke would release the prisoner Vash Ballard into the custody of the Wayfarers Guild. Three, the freedom of the prisoner was contingent upon his gaining acceptance to the Wayfarers Guild and successfully completing the assigned quest for the Duchy."
Sir Jacen looked directly at Vash. His eyes had the blank, emotionless stare that Vash remembered when the Inquisitor had come to 'question' him. Vash suppressed a shiver, but met Sir Jacen's eyes.
I've faced worse than you. Vash thought, feeling a warm glow come from his Core. Like his own spirit knew what was worth fighting for.
"It is the opinion of myself and Baron Ulric Claedes, commander of the Knights of the Hidden Star, that Vash Ballard would make a poor Wayfarer and should not gain admission to the Guild. Should this Council feel otherwise, I would counter that all three Wayfarers standing before you failed the quest given to them by the Duchy." Sir Jacen said, and Vash could feel the emphasis he put on all three Wayfarers.
So either I am put on the chopping block, or all three of us are. Vash thought. What an asshole.
"The client, your Duke's associate, proved not only to be lying about the mission outlined in the quest; a mission that was high Bronze at least, if not Silver ranked. But they also turned out to be a sorcerer intent on establishing a new Dungeon." Astinak said pointedly. "Guild Law gives Wayfarers the right to nullify contracts given unknowingly to agents of the shadow."
"Indeed, but not to nullify contracts with peers of the Grand Alliance," Sir Jacen said, smiling in satisfaction. "The contract may have been on behalf of Scholar Zakarias, a person Duke Adolus only knew through their shared interest in Malconian artifacts, but it was a contract with the Duchy itself, not the Scholar."
Astinak made a disgusted sound. Orban leaned forward, eyes intent. Stahl looked confused. "I don't follow; what does that mean?"
"It means that since the Duke wasn't an agent of the shadow, and the contract was with the Duke, then we didn't have the right to break it. Isn't that right?" Jabez asked, face a mask of cold rage.
"The law could be interpreted that way, yes." Sir Jacen said in a tone of absolute innocence. "An interpretation that I happen to agree with."
"Gods what snakes!" Lin snapped.
Vash looked over the Council, and what he saw was not reassuring. Stahl still looked confused, but was feeding off of Orban's rising confidence that there was still a way to get rid of the troublesome Vagabonds. Astinak looked uncomfortable, as if he had just received a bill that was twice what he'd expected. Lin looked angry, ready to spit nails, but also worried. Sallik wouldn't meet his eyes, or those of Corwin and Jabez. Only Heggin looked unperturbed, watching everything play out like a mummer's show.
"What do you want us to do about it?" Sallik asked, weariness plain in his voice.
Everyone at that table was up all night fighting against invading monsters. Vash thought, looking at the line of tired, haggard faces. Then he looked at Sir Jacen, fresh-faced, clothes neat, even his boots looked polished. Where the hell were you and your knights when we were all fighting for our lives?
Sir Jacen thought for a moment, brow furrowed theatrically. "I believe, my friends, that you have a difficult decision ahead of you. Under both Guild Law and the laws of Galadon, I am within my rights to bring Jabez, Corwin, and Vash back to Sathsholm to face judgment for their dereliction of duty. I am, however, not without a sense of conscience. I will let the matter drop if we abandon the whole charade that began this and I take the Eth Mitaan cultist into custody."
"The hell you will!" Corwin snarled, stepping towards Sir Jacen. Only Jabez's hand clamped on the big man's arm kept him from tackling the smug former Inquisitor.
"Apprentice Walker, control yourself." Sallik said gravely. "We don't need to make this situation worse."
"I have a question." Master Heggin said, looking up from where he was twiddling his thumbs.
All eyes turned to the diminutive druid. Sallik blinked a few times and then cleared his throat. "Yes, Master Heggin?"
"What exactly is going on here?" Heggin asked, flicking his fingers at his fellow councilors and Sir Jacen.
Astinak let out a chuckle and shook his head. Orban looked even more annoyed than usual while Stahl rolled his eyes.
"We're considering a request from the Duke of Sathsholm regarding a quest—" Sallik began, but Heggin cut him off.
"Yes, yes, I know all that." Heggin said dismissively. "But why exactly are we considering this request?"
"Your Wayfarers failed in the mission assigned to them." Sir Jacen said, the picture of patience. "There must be consequences."
"Must there?" Heggin asked with a mocking laugh. "It certainly sounds important, I suppose. We're missing a big part of the question here, though."
"And that is?" Sir Jacen asked, his voice full of dry sarcasm.
"Did they actually fail their quest?" Heggin asked.
There was a moment of stunned silence in the room. A hoarse chuckle broke the silence. Vash glanced over to see Jabez's shoulders shaking slightly, a small grin on his normally stoic face.
Did we ever think to ask that? Vash wondered. I just assumed…
"Is there a copy of the quest available?" Sallik asked with extreme politeness.
"Uh, I have it, sir," Corwin said, opening a belt pouch and withdrawing a crumpled and stained piece of folded paper. "Sorry about the condition, hard to keep things clean on the road."
Sallik nodded and took the page, unfolding it and smoothing it out on the table in front of him. He scanned the page for a moment and then read aloud: "The Wayfarers assigned to this quest shall, at the direction of Zakarias Meng, Scholar of the Nosraval Collegium, undertake an exploration of a ruin near Mossfen Hold. The Wayfarers shall protect Scholar Meng during the journey to the ruin and during its exploration. Once Scholar Meng is able to complete his studies and perform such rites and investigations as he sees fit, then the quest shall be considered complete."
Looking up from the page, Sallik gave Sir Jacen a long look. "Upon reading this, it appears that the Wayfarers completed their quest."
"I beg to differ." Sir Jacen scoffed.
"They journeyed to the ruin under the direction of Zakarias. Protected the scholar and his assistants during the exploration of the ruins. Zakarias then reached a point where he could perform his rites. Just because Zakarias was an evil son of a bitch and those rites failed, does not mean that my Wayfarers didn't complete the tasks assigned to them." Sallik said, face darkening with anger. "Now, we have a lot of work to do cleaning up the damage caused by your Duke's acquaintance. I think it's time for you to leave."
Sir Jacen straightened his tabard and looked like he was about to make a new argument, but Master Sallik cut him off with a look.
"We are quite busy...Sir," Sallik said meaningfully.
Sir Jacen Glauch tried and failed to keep the anger off his face as he stalked from the chamber. Vash watched him go with a mixture of relief and elation.
Thank the gods that's over. He thought.
"It's always good to make sure you re-read the quest objectives." Master Heggin said. "That way pricks like that can't cheat you out of good coin."
"Thank you for that insight, Master Heggin," Sallik said, shoulders slumping in released tension. "Now, on to the matter of Apprentice Ballard remaining in the Wayfarer's Guild."
Vash looked up, startled. "What?"
"We still have to vote on your acceptance into the Guild. After the events of the past few days, I think that is important before we proceed." Sallik said, keeping his face neutral.
"Gods, just get it over with." Jabez groaned. "I've had enough Guild politics to last me the next decade."
"In the interest of time, we will forgo debate and go straight to the votes." Sallik said. "Let's begin with the Master of Blades."
Stahl gave Vash a stern look. "No, there's too much risk with one like him."
"Master of Delvers."
"Aye," Lin said and shot Stahl a glare. "And you can choke on that, Casimir."
Sallik glared at them both. "Master of the Wayward Path."
"I prayed about this, and Athair showed me nothing but shadow on this boy's path. No." Brother Orban said.
"Master of the Broken Tower."
Astinak sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. "Against my better judgment, I vote yes." He gave Vash a pointed look. "Don't make me regret this."
"That's two for and two against." Sallik said, turning to Heggin. "Master of the Wyld, you're the tiebreaker."
"Oh my, that sounds ominous." Heggin said. He considered Vash, looking at him for a few moments as if he were searching for some sort of mark or sign.
"Ash or Yew?"
"What?" Vash asked, unsure if he was even being asked a question.
"When you came to see me yesterday, I told you that you had two paths before you: Ash and Yew," Heggin said. "So, which will it be?"
Vash thought back to the conversation he had with Heggin. The gnome liked to talk in riddles and in circles. He remembered that the Yew path was one of death and darkness, while the Ash put him on a path of sunlight glades, but loneliness and solitude.
"Neither," Vash said, suddenly tired of making these decisions.
"Why do you say that?" Heggin asked, head cocked slightly in interest.
"Because they're not paths I'm choosing, they're paths chosen for me." Vash said, feeling more certain with each word. "Whatever path I forge, whether it's right or wrong, is going to be the one I make for myself."
Heggin considered Vash's answer, then gave a slight nod. "Then I think you're worthy of being a Wayfarer."
Corwin let out a whoop of joy, then clutched his side as he popped a stitch. Jabez continued to regard Vash with an unreadable expression.
Master Lin clapped and whooped with Corwin. The other masters either scowled or settled back without expression.
"Well then, if there's no other business—" Sallik began.
"One moment!" Heggin interrupted.
"We have other things to do today, Master Heggin," Sallik grumbled, clearly getting annoyed.
"I just have a suggestion for an assignment for these three." Heggin said. "I don't think wandering the Glory Road will be suitable for them for the time being. These three have been on their own for far too long, doing their own thing. I want them to find a community, to find a purpose."
"And what do you suggest?" Sallik asked with a long-suffering sigh.
"Waystation Forty-two near Thorpe in the Obrun River Valley," Heggin said with a nod of conviction.
"Forty-two?" Astinak asked. "The Wayfarers abandoned it fifty years ago."
"Then it's about time to reopen it, don't you think?" Heggin said. "Adventurers, miners, prospectors, all sorts of folks are heading to that valley. Who knows what dangers have grown in the wild places of a dragon's domain. We need a Wayfarer presence there, one that's comfortable acting on its own, not mired in Guild politics."
The assembled masters all looked at one another. The silence was deafening.
"It also gets these three out to a place where they can do the least harm to the Guild." Heggin shrugged. This earned Heggin a few speculative looks.
"I think…" Master Sallik said, choosing his words carefully. "That you may be onto something."