Brian Pratt - The star of Morcyth

The page ahead of him pauses and then turns back to him, “You alright sir?”

“What?” asks James. “Oh, yeah I’m fine.”

Giving a quick nod, the page turns and resumes his trek to the Archives. Coming to the familiar building, the page leads him up the steps and opens the door. Allowing James to enter first, he then closes the door behind them and quickly moves past him to lead the way down the corridor.

Coming to the double wooden doors with Ellinwyrd’s symbol engraved upon its surface, the page stops and knocks upon the door. From within an ‘Enter’ can be heard and the page opens the door. Standing aside, he motions for James to precede him into the room.

The room on the other side of the door hasn’t changed all that much, still containing disorganized piles of books and scrolls lying about the floor and tables. The state of the room bothers him, being a lover of books as he is.

“Thank you Michael,” Ellinwyrd says from his seat across the room.

Michael gives him a brief bow, then a nod to James before leaving the room and shutting the door.

Making his way across the room to where Ellinwyrd sits, he takes extra precaution not to step on and damage any of the books or scrolls lying across the floor.

“James!” Ellinwyrd says as he gets up from his chair. “What an unexpected pleasure!”

Coming to the table, James extends his hand which Ellinwyrd takes and gives a firm shake. “Good to see you again too,” he tells him.

Ellinwyrd indicates a seat across from him which James moves over to and sits down. Taking his seat as well, Ellinwyrd says, “I’m so glad you decided to stop by and see me.”

“It’s not only for the pleasure of your company that I stopped by,” he tells him.

“I know,” he replies.

“You do?” asks James, surprised.

“Yes. You were summoned by the king to appear before the Royal Court,” states Ellinwyrd.

“That’s right,” agrees James. “Do you know why?”

“Didn’t the summons explain that?” he asks, perplexed.

Shaking his head, James says, “No, it didn’t.” Removing the letter the herald had given him from his pouch, he hands it across the table to Ellinwyrd.

Taking the letter, he reads the brief missive before returning it to him. “Highly unorthodox,” he says. “Custom states you are to be given the reason for the summons.”

“Does it have anything to do with the Ambassador from the Empire being here in Cardri?” asks James.

Eyes widening, Ellinwyrd asks in return, “What makes you say that?”

“Well, a lot’s happened since last we met,” he explains. “By the way, why did you have me deliver that book to Ollinearn?”

Smiling, he says, “I was hoping that by being a courier for me, it might’ve helped smooth things out with local garrisons, things like that.”

“It did and I thank you,” he says. “But what about that Ambassador?”

“He showed up about two weeks ago,” he explains. “I wasn’t privy to all that was said, but word has a way of getting around.”

“And?” prompts James when Ellinwyrd had grown quiet.

“And from what I gathered, it seems he’s here to ask the king for aid in capturing someone,” he says, eyeing James questioningly. “It seems this individual has killed scores of people in the Empire and they want him badly.”

James slumps in his chair, his demeanor all Ellinwyrd needs to tell him that James believes the individual in question to be himself. “Why don’t you tell me what happened,” he suggests.

“It started with the fall of the City of Light,” he begins. “My companion Miko had been captured and…” He goes on to relate in brief detail some of the events which the Empire could want him for, leaving out the more sensitive parts like the Fire and other things.

When he draws to a close, Ellinwyrd says, “I can see why they want you.”

“Yes,” he admits. “But I never initiated any of it!”

“Don’t see how that will matter one way or another,” he tells him. “One sovereign nation has made a request of another for justice. Unless you’re able to refute their charges, I don’t see what else the Royal Court can do but accede to their request.”

“How can you say that!” accuses James.

“I don’t believe you’re guilty of anything more than defending yourself against hostile forces bent on your destruction,” he says. “But my opinions will have little weight in these matters.” He looks at James as he sits there, mulling over what he just told him.

“What can I do?” he asks him.

“Appear before the court,” he says. “If you don’t, any decision made will go against you by default. The only way out is to go forward.”

“Great,” says James in irritation.

After a moment’s silence, Ellinwyrd asks, “Did Ollinearn help you?”

“What?” asks James, coming out of his reverie.

“Ollinearn over in the City of Light, did he aid you in your quest?” he repeats.

Nodding, he explains about the last high priest, the disappearance and how the last high priest was born in Saragon.

“Did you go to Saragon?” asks Ellinwyrd.

“Yes,” replies James, nodding. “As a matter of fact I did.”

“What did you find out?” he asks.

“I think a long time ago, someone planted a prophecy or riddle or something like that with one family,” he explains. “There may have been more but we didn’t have time to hunt for them. It went like this…

When the Fire shines Bright,

And the Star walks the Land.

Time for the Lost,

Will soon be at Hand.

At the foot of the King,

Bathe in his Cup.

Pull his Beard,

To make him sit Up.

Seven to Nine,

Six to Four.

Spit in the wind,

And open the door.

When he’s done, he sits back and waits for Ellinwyrd’s response. “Doesn’t make much sense does it?” he asks after Ellinwyrd remains quiet for a few minutes.

“No, it doesn’t,” he replies. “Some of it I understand. The star must mean the Star of Morcyth, not the medallion you’re carrying, but the real one.”

“Oh?” he asks.

“Since your last visit, I’ve been doing research about Morcyth and I’ve come up with several items of note.”

“Such as?” prompts James.

“The Star of Morcyth is the focal point of the god on this world,” he says. “Through it, the old writing says, many wonderful things were accomplished by the priests of Morcyth. Just what, isn’t mentioned.”

“Now the fire which is mentioned, I saw mentioned in the same text as the one which told of the Star. Dmon-Li, the god who obliterated Morcyth’s priesthood also has a focal point in this world, that being the Fire. Through it, terrible things happened. It seems that whoever is in possession of one of these focal points is able to have tremendous power. The text doesn’t say where any of these are, most likely they’re in the possession of the high priest of each order.”

“Interesting,” states James. Nothing new here, just reinforcing what he already knew.

“The next stanza doesn’t seem to make much sense,” says Ellinwyrd with a smile. “I mean who’s going to bathe in a cup at the king’s feet and then pull his beard?”

“I know,” says James.

Suddenly, what sounds like a church bell begins tolling. “What’s that?”

“It signals that the Royal Court will be meeting shortly,” he replies.

Coming to his feet, James says, “I better go then.”

“Surely you don’t plan to present yourself before the Royal Court looking like that are you?” Ellinwyrd asks.

Looking down at himself, he realizes what he means. His travel worn clothes would be ill suited for such an occasion. “What should I do?”