To the Honorably Retired Battlemage Ranclyffe, my esteemed master, Battlemage Beausace, sends the following message:
I, a mage in service to the Cormyrean crown and to you, Battlemage Ranclyffe, do wish upon you and all your house the blessings of the gods, the good-will of your neighbors, and the dishonorable death of your enemies.
As she is quite efficacious at garnering information such as you had requested, I had Karri make search throughout Xiousing for anyone who may know of this "Master Kwai." I received, through her extraordinarily great effort, only the tale of a man who knows some other man or woman in Westgate who may perhaps know of this Kwai. She promised me upon her very soul that her source is an unfailingly honest Semmite, but besting that concern was the fact that the creature of whom said source speaks seemed to me to be quite worthy of doubt, so I delayed my reply to you until such time as I could get some kind of direct contact in Daerlun- which is where the man was said to reside. My dear Karri went to work immediately, and put a letter to that freedland's city guard up there in the care of a proper Purple Dragon messenger. I enclose here the letter I received back from that sergeant who responded, for the matter of it is so profoundly strange that I shall be most interested to discover precisely what manner of headache you have gotten into this time. I pray you enter into detail with me, as I would very much like to be your accomplice in a greater fashion.
Long live the king.
With all respect due you and the crest,
Battlemage Erylanae Beausace of Marsember
Thus ends the message. I and my two sons have been given leave to wish you all the gods' blessings, among them your lady's continued good health.
Karri Nglend of the House Beausace in Marsember
To the respectable Battlemage Erylanae Beausace of Cormyr-
I greet you heartily in the Name of Sune, whose Blessings I crave on your behalf.
I must put great Care into penning this Letter, for as you by now might have noted, I am not greatly learned. I might have had my Woman to do it for me, except she could not bear the Matter of it. I released her from the Duty, and struggle to put my Thoughts to Paper myself. It is a hideous Thing for me to struggle with that which a better graced Creature ought to do- yet, I could not bear to look upon my dear Woman trembling and gagging at the Descriptions that shall follow in this my Letter to you. I pray your Patience.
The Man you seek is indeed in Daerlun, and I, upon receipt of your urgent Missive, had minded to simply send him to you. Were it not for the creature's Obstinacy, he would be made to present the News of his Existence- and further, that of his Contact in Westgate- himself. Yet, as he will neither move nor be moved, I endeavored to learn all manner of Detail that I could get of him. I was largely unsuccessful, and would not so much as have had his Name, were it not for the young Woman who sent it back with her first Word of his Presence in her Tavern- it is Hai Shui.
I say again that with all my Ability, and that of four strong Men in my Charge, the Wretch could not be forced. When first I entered the Tavern, I did not think the Name given me by my Informant was his own, as he did not so much as lift his bedraggled grey Head from the Table when I stood at the Doorway and called. Yet, when the owner's small Son came halfway down the Stairs- obviously under a Fit of Curiosity- and cried out in Fear at the sight of armored Guards in his mother's Business, the Man looked up and fixed me with a sharp Gaze, like unto that of an enraged Bear. Were I a lesser Man, such a penetrating Stare might have melted my Sinews at once. All the whole Place hushed when he arose from his lonely Seat at his far Table.
First, he bested us one by one. Then, he trounced us all together. All the while, he was so possessed of strong Drink that he could not so much as stand straight with his own Power, instead swaying to and fro with such vexing Inconsistency as to make him impossible to track and strike. The Air about him was perpetually noxious, so that one of my Men fell before him merely by being breathed upon. As if to taunt us all, this strange Beast did imbibe as we fought, and even used his empty Flagon as a makeshift Weapon against me. Our struggle was violent, and we did sadly damage a few Chairs and Knicknacks in the Place. However, after each Pass, we found ourselves merely fatigued, and not one harmed. When we could no longer among us muster any Contest, we sat at his Table and broke Bread with him, for there was nothing else to be lawfully and honorably done. Words were tedious to him, and though he spared us a few to check upon and toast our Health, I could get from him no Information touching his own State. I have never heard such short, yet effective Circumlocution in all my days, and it mightly reminded me of his Way of fighting, which seemed to be not active striking, but instead the turning aside of our Blows.
The tavern Owner had mercy upon my Mission, and drew me aside to speak kindly with me. It is from her that I learned that Hai Shui has not left her Place of Business for more than two hours since the ending of the War. I was astounded at this News, for I have for some time patrolled the Streets nearby, and have not once heard Complaint of the perpetual Presence of this elderly Drunk. Many of the regular Patrons, she said, had over Time learned his Ways- his favorite Flagon, his favorite Chair, his preferred drinking Songs. One intrepid Waitress managed to notice that he seemed to favor Spiced Beef, and the Item- which was previously rare on the Menu- quietly became more standard Fare. Perhaps in Response to these or some other unperceived Kindnesses done him, Hai Shui became the place's chief Protector, thoroughly walloping any Brigand who would do harm to it, its Patrons, or its Owner. It is his Habit, when the Tavern is empty, to walk about it twice or thrice, as though that were Part of some sort of Ritual. She has never seen him do any other sort of Religious Practice, and thus fears greatly for his Soul. Time means nothing to him. He refuses to occupy any Bed, preferring instead to simply lay down on the Table whenever he is too heavy for his liking, and cannot be awakened by Anything save his own bodily Urges, unless some Harm is come. A Harm that rouses him from such Slumber has great Reason to fear, as he is more fierce then than at other Times, she says.
When I returned to the Table, I observed for myself that all about us spoke to him as though he might speak back, occasionally patted his Shoulder, or kissed his grizzled Cheek- which irked me thoroughly, remembering that Guardsman that was felled merely by the breathing of his exhaled Air- and generally did all that loving Grandchildren might do for a codgerly Grandfather. I at last dropped your "Master Kwai" in his Ear, and he looked upon me strangely, as though searching for some demon's Mark upon my Face or in my Eyes. After some Time, he gave me only "Westgate" again, and I knew that this was all the Answer I would ever receive. I do hope that This is of some Help to you.
Sune and all the Gods keep us all.
Sergeant Mhai Cindrezi of Freed Daerlun
No comments:
Post a Comment