The Eternal Blade Saga Book 2, Chapter 44: The Memories We Carry

At dawn, Danae and her crew left thecourtyard in a solemn procession toward the southern gate. They intended toreturn to the Chantry to bury their former first mate before recuperating andgathering resources for the journey ahead. I had promised Danae revenge inexchange for her help, and the airship captain intended to keep her word.Whether or not the Order of Whispers would allow such a mission for her wouldhave to be determined.

Taking the duty upon himself, Harrissoncarried their fallen shipmate this time with Danae following at his side andMarkus hobbling slowly behind them. Tuborg had gone to the edge of the trees andfound a tall and sturdy branch that Markus could use to help himself along. Theengineer expressed his sincere thanks and accepted the walking aid before theydeparted.  

With the unused building materialsleft untouched by the destruction, we built a pyre for Ariella. There wasn’tany use keeping them since there was no hall left to renovate. Clarkus puttogether a makeshift torch and after igniting it, handed it to me for the honorof lighting the pyre. I held the flame to the bare wooden boards and waiteduntil they caught before tossing the torch in. The four of us stood silently together,watching until every part of Ariella had been burned and carried away to bewith her patron spirit, Raven. She was free to soar with him in the mists now.

I thought I would cry. Out of thecorner of my eye I saw some of the others shed a few tears, but as I stared atthose hungry flames consuming our fallen friend, I felt nothing but anger atthe people who did this. The Byrnes had taken so much from us—from me. Theykilled my parents, lighting the match that birthed the raging inferno thatwould destroy my family and hunt me down in the name of revenge. But it hadn’tgotten all of us—not yet. For years, I had been on the run, unaware of the growingflames at my back. Now confronted by the conflagration, I knew it was time toface the fire head on.

“Is everything satisfactory?” AmalPrice asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts andlooked up at the Xunlai agent who waited patiently with his hands folded on hisdesk. He was a friend of Rhys’, and had been in charge of managing our financialaccounts since Rhys, Sir Fendall, and I had this crazy idea of building thislife together.

What a life it had turned out to be.

He was an older man, short and portlywith long, greying hair pulled back with a leather tie. A pair of rimlessspectacles rested on the bridge of his nose, and he looked over the top of therounded lenses at me while he waited patiently for my answer.

“Yes, everything looks fine.” Iflashed him a quick smile and then picked up the pen resting in the ink potwith my gloved hand. The writing instrument slipped slightly from my grasp, butI adjusted, tightened my hold, and signed the document before returning the pento the ink pot. I was not accustomed to wearing gloves, but they would now be anecessary accompaniment to my attire if I wanted to hide the dark marks left bythe blade and avoid worrisome questions.

“And this?” Amal asked as he slid anolder piece of parchment in front of me. It had been one of the items I hadcharged Dee and Salara with bringing to him for safe keeping before we wereunder siege.

“To be shared amongst thebeneficiaries with everything else.”

“It can be difficult to share abuilding.”

I picked up the parchment and scannedthe contents. “According to the document, there should be plenty of space tolive in and even more to expand into if they so wish. Or they can sell it andsplit the money.”

“Okay.” Amal made a few notes in asmall, leather-bound book. “Is there anything else you would like to add toyour will, Lady Valar?”

I shook my head and placed thedocument back down on his desk. “No, thank you. Just make sure everything getsdivided amongst the beneficiaries still alive on that list. And please don’tforget to take your cut.”

“It’s quite a generous cut, are yousure?”

I nodded. “Absolutely. You’ve servedus well all these years. We have sincerely appreciated the professional discretionand curtesy you have given us.”

Maybe it was something in my tone, ormaybe it was my disheveled appearance, but the lines in Amal’s face suddenly deepenedand he frowned. “Is everything all right, Lady Valar?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is quite an alteration to yourwill and on such short notice,” he pointed out. “I’m a little concerned thatyou might be expecting the worse. Is there something I should know? Some of theother accountants were talking this morning about strange events in the southof town.”

I clenched my jaw, knowing full wellthat I could never utter the whole truth. I settled for a half-truth instead.“You don’t need to worry. Everything will be fine.”

My words seemed to satisfy Amal’sconcern enough for us to proceed. He slipped the stack of parchment into aleather folio. “All right. That’s all I need then.” He rose from his chair andI did the same.

“Thank you for your time, Amal. Iappreciate you fitting me into your schedule so quickly,” I said.

He gave me a warm smile. “Of course!I’m always happy to accommodate you three. Well, I guess just you now,” Hesaid, his tone solemn and his smile faded.

I stopped in the doorway. “No, notjust me.”

***

Dee was waiting for me outside in Trader’sForum. She had perched herself on the edge of one of the fountains, eying onlookersflashing her concerned glances. Her black hair was still a mess from ourbattle, and her attire was streaked with blood and ash. As she leaned forwardand rested her arms on her knees, her greatsword’s hilt loomed over her head, asilent warning that she was armed. I made my way toward her and as soon as shesaw me, she rose to her feet and strode across the courtyard before I couldmake it half way.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Just fine. Amal put everything inorder. All I had to do was sign on the line,” I replied.

“As easy as that?”

“As easy as that.”

Dee smirked and shook her head. “Atleast something went smoothly this morning. Speaking with a quaggan is mostcertainly not. So many ooooo’s and fooooo’s, it was dizzying. But your quagganfriend, what was his name—Drooloo…Droofoo…”

“Droolafoo,” I corrected her.

She grumbled and shook her head. “Yes,that. He got the message and is heading north to contact his scouts. We’ll havea clearer idea where the Byrnes are heading soon. We got lucky your friend andher crew got a shot off. Droo—your quaggan friend said he saw the ship leakingoil and smoke, leaving a trail as it headed northeast.”

“Good.” I sighed and took one lastlook around the Forum, not sure when or if I’d ever see it again. The bustlingof the patrons, the smell of salt in the sea air—it felt odd to be so sad toleave it all behind. I had grown so used to moving around all the time. It hurtto have to rip out the roots I had finally grown in this place.

“Whose coat is that?” Dee asked. “It’sobviously too large to be yours.”

I looked down at the black long-coatthat hung on my small frame. It still smelled of salt water on the surface, butthere was something warm still hiding under the scent of the sea. “It’s Quint’s.He left it behind.”

The norn raised her eyebrows and leanedin toward me. “Where did he go? Did it have something to do with what thatcharr said?”

I nodded. “He made some choices the Order didn’t agree with, andhe couldn’t risk sticking around.”

“Oh,” the norn replied, and then hereyes went wide when she realized the full implication of what I had said. “Oh! Doyou think we’ll ever see him again?”

I looked up at her and shook my head. “Idon’t know.”

We started to make our way through theEastern Ward. It was a circular hub of asura gates leading to each of the majorcities in Tyria. The area was often busy, but made for an efficient short cutback to the hall, or at least where it once stood. Not one for being stuck in acrowd of people, Dee usually hastily pushed her way through with a grumble aboutcrowds under her breath. But this time, something gave her pause.

“What is it?” I asked.

Dee was silent for a moment as shewatched everyone else hurry by. Merchants, travelers, envoys from other cities:they all went about their lives without giving anyone else a second glance.

“They have no idea,” she finally said,“no idea what’s going on out there right now and the danger it could pose.”

“No, they don’t, and they can’t knoweither,” I said. “No one needs to live their life that way.”

“But you did.”

I frowned as a realization suddenly dawnedon me. “And now you will too. I’m sorry.”

***

We crested the hill to the courtyard,slowly trudging up the incline. Despite what Halvorra had said aboutcontainment, I half expected to find Lionguard and Vigil soldiers waiting forus with a myriad of questions and possibly orders to detain us all. However, wefound no one there but Tuborg, Clarkus, and Alena. The sylvari was sittingquietly on a rock on the edge of the courtyard, drawing absentmindedly in the dirtwith a long stick while Clarkus and Alena were sifting through the hall’s remains.

“What are you scratching into the ground?”Dee asked the sylvari as we approached.

Tuborg looked over at us, his eyeswide with surprise. “It’s uh, nothing. Just drawings to pass the time,” he saidas he swept his stick through the lines he had drawn. “And don’t worry. It’ssafe.”

Clarkus and Alena returned with theirarms full and emptied them on the ground next to the rock Tuborg sat on. Theitems the two had found had been heavily charred by the fire and barelyrecognizable. I knelt down and sifted through the pile. Amongst the items was asmall book nearly burnt all the way through, parts of two bow limbs, and arounded shield with a sun yellowed from the flames. All were remnants of ourfallen friends.

“This is all we could recover,” Alenasaid. She sniffled as she set Ariella’s pistols down next the pile. “This isall that’s left.”

I gave her an appreciative nod. “Thankyou.”

“Commander, we seem to be drawing acrowd,” Clarkus warned as he nodded to a few onlookers lurking just beyond theperimeter. Halvorra might have been able to stave off the officials, but notthe civilians drawn in by their curiosity.

I gathered myself to my feet. “Then I think it’s time for us to go. Are you all sure you’re ready for this? We’re not just going on some adventure. There is a chance that… ” My words trailed off as I recalled Quint’s warning that more people would still die until this was all over echoed in my mind. I didn’t want to say it, but they needed to know. “There is a chance we may not come back.”

The others looked between themselves,sharing uncertain glances before Dee stepped forward, her hands placed firmlyon her hips. “If we don’t go, we’re leaving Seren and Salara in danger and thatcouple unchecked. I for one am not going to allow that.”

“Agreed,” the others echoed.

Tuborg hopped down and pulled out abundle hidden behind the rock he had been sitting on. “And then we deal withthis assuming it still works. It doesn’t seem to be giving off any sort ofenergy right now.”

“It’s sleeping,” I said as I bent overand pulled back the old woven material. The three pieces of the blade werestill in there, and even though they gave off no aura of energy, I could stillfeel a heavy presence looming in the background. I shuddered, remembering thesurge of searing pain as it shot through my body when I made the first cut. “Itwent into a stasis when I cut it apart, but it’s still there.”

Alena tip-toed up to the bundle and peeredinside. “Can you put it back together,” she asked. There was a sense ofhesitation in her voice. I looked up at her and found the hesitation plasteredall on her face as well.  

I nodded. “I think so.”

“You think so?” Tuborg asked. Hehopped down from his rock and joined the rest of us.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we getthere,” I said. “For now, lets gather everything we have here. We need to getmoving. We can get supplies on the way and send word to Danae and her crew.”

“Which way are we headed?” Clarkusasked eagerly as he flicked his tail back and forth.

Dee bent down and gathered the piecesof the blade in their bundle and hoisted it over her shoulder. “Their shipheaded northeast, toward the Shiverpeaks,” Dee explained.

Alena brightened. “Oh! We can stop atthe priory. I know someone who can help us there, discreetly of course.”

“That sounds promising. To the Priorythen?” Tuborg posed the question to the rest of the group.

Dee nodded with a satisfied grin as Clarkus let out a deep roar and pounded his breastplate.

“It’s settled then,” I said.

Before we departed, I took one last look at the remains of what was once our home. There was nothing left for us here, nothing but the memories we had made. They weren’t tied to this place though. We carried them with us wherever we went. Knowing that gave me a little peace of mind, but I knew any peace would be short-lived. I was now leading what was left of our broken family right into the fire. I didn’t know what would happen to us. I wasn’t sure if we would all survive. Only by reaching the end our journey would we discover what would become of us on the other side of the flames.

Adjusting my hold on the bundlecontaining the relics from our fallen members, I followed the others toward thesouth gate. A gentle hooting from the tree line caught my attention. I stopped andlooked up in hopes of catching a glimpse of the snowy owl who so bravely flewinto battle, pulling my attention toward her and giving Seren the opportunityto grab the blade, thus proving she was a Valar. My sister.

We’re coming for you. For both of you. I wish I could have told them that myself.Maybe it would ease the fear and anxiety I could only imagine they were feelingwhile captive aboard the enemy’s ship.

There was a fluttering of wings asAthena flew by us and out toward the bay. As I stood there, cradling the bundleof burnt relics tightly against my chest, I watched until the owl disappeared intoa bank of morning clouds rolling in off the water. We never saw her again.