The Quest Chapter 3

Casius gave Veris a quick kiss, whispered something to her, and quickly exited the room. Veris nodded to Dalen and led him from the room back up the stone steps.

“I have a confession. I am rather impressed by your skills. I am not one to be easily fooled.” Dalen could barely make out a slight smile in the corner of her mouth. He chuckled. Veris turned quickly glaring at him.

“Are you making fun of me?” she demanded. Dalen looked down at the small silver dagger she now had pointing directly at his groin and he winced. This woman had some serious anger issues.

“Now my Lady. I was laughing because I thought you said I would never impress you. It seems I succeeded in a little wager I had with myself. Too bad I haven’t the money right now and will have to pay myself later.” Dalen grinned. Veris looked him up and down for a moment and slowly allowed the grin to spread across her face.

“Alright. But you are remembering it slightly wrong. I said you would never impress me enough to woo me. And now that you’ve met Casius, you can see why it would be foolish to even try.” She turned and took Dalen into a small room off the stairs. Inside the dimly lit room sat an old man, assembling a pendant that Dalen had seen on the others except this crystal was clear.

“Bernard, is it finished?” Veris looked to the old man expectantly. The old man said nothing but quietly handed her the newly formed trinket. He then turned from her and began sharpening a dagger. Veris handed the trinket to Dalen.

“We are members of the Guild of the Lotus. We are an organization made up primarily of thieves and mages with some members who practice other trades. Our ultimate goal is to destroy the corruption of the royal court from within. This crystal will identify you to other members and associates as one of our freelancers. This will unlock many avenues of investigation to you.” Veris stopped to take a breath. Dalen, who had stopped listening sometime after the word guild, looked up at her.

“Huh? Oh yeah sure sure.” He was mesmerized by the clarity and beauty of the gem. He just gazed into it, watching the refractions of light bouncing off. Veris tapped her foot impatiently.

“You haven’t heard a damn word I said have you?” She gave him a look that reminded him of when his mother would become disappointed in something he did and he suddenly felt ashamed. He lowered the hand holding the gem and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry milady. Please continue.” He made a kind of curtsey gesture and Veris sighed and shook her head.

“The only thing our intel has found so far is that the Chalice is being held somewhere in the North district. Before you look at me like that, yes I know that is one of the most heavily guarded areas of Atillys. There is a reason our intel is fairly vague. We were lucky to get as much as we have. There are some powerful people keeping its location a closely guarded secret.” She sighed deeply, her face looking suddenly sad.

“So, Where do you think I will get information and why do you think I can do this?” Dalen demanded. He suddenly realized that should have been the first thing he said after the propositioned him rather than mocking magic and getting his hair burned off.

“You seduced Princess Maileen Did you not? And made off with a couple of bags of her own personal treasures from what I have heard. Too bad one of those was a statue we needed and ended up having to steal off the dealer you sold it to. Kiermac was most distressed when you ruined that job for him. The fight earlier was just the last straw for him. He seems like he may want to kill you.” Veris smiled at the thought. Dalen could only choke back the vomit that was rising in his throat.

“As I was saying. I would suggest you begin your investigation. And soon. Casius does not like to wait long.” Veris pointed Dalen in the direction of the exit and swiftly walked away. As he made his way out he began to wonder what had he done to piss God off so much. Ok sure he stole. And lied. And cheated. Ok so maybe God had a reason to be pissed. When Dalen reached the door he got his first look at the entrance. It looked like an abandoned house. They certainly were thorough with hiding the base. Dalen walked through the quiet streets. Night had fallen, Dalen’s favorite time. It was a time when Dalen felt at peace, normally. However he felt extremely troubled. He didn’t even believe in the Chalice and now he was expected to find and steal it or…Well he didn’t want to think of the consequences too hard. As the cool air hit Dalen’s face, he felt the sting on his cheek. Until now he had forgotten Veris had cut him. The first thing he would have to do is get the wound fixed up. This meant he needed to see Carys. Which meant a lot of bad things.

The area he was in was not far from Carys’ shop so it took him only a few moments to get there. However it took Dalen several more minutes of preparing himself before he got the courage to open the door. He started to rebuke himself. For such a cunning thief he was an incredible wuss. He made a mental note to man up one day and grow a pair of balls. One day. When he opened the door, Carys was helping an elderly man. Dalen silently walked along the shadows, watching her and realizing how exceedingly stalkerish he was being. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Her silky hair was the color of corn silk. Her eyes reminded him of the waters in the bay. As soon as her customer walked out and closed the door, Carys turned and picked up something off the counter. The next thing Dalen knew, there was a sword in the wall next to his head, courtesy of Carys.
“What in the hell was going through your mind when you walked in here? I thought I was clear last time when I said I never wanted to see you. Ever.” Carys’ eyes flashed brightly, her face flushed with anger. Dalen managed a weak smile.

“Umm well circumstances have changed. I actually kinda need your help. Pretty Please?” Dalen batted his eyelashes. Carys sighed as she pulled her sword from the wall.

“Ugh. You can be so infuriating and yet for some reason I feel like I have to forgive you. What do you want, pig?” Well that nickname was better than the last one she had for him.

“Well for starters, can you help me with this wound on my cheek. While you do that, I can fill you in on the rest.” Carys chewed on her bottomed lip a bit while she thought about this. She thought for a while. Finally she pointed toward the back room. Dalen followed her to the back where she had a table set up surrounded by all sorts of medical supplies. Dalen sat on the table while Carys cleaned the wound with water, pressing into it just a bit, causing Dalen to wince in pain. He was sure she was doing that on purpose.

“Ok, so fill me in. What could you possibly need help with?” She began threading her needle. Dalen knew what was coming and was trying to brace for it.

“I have been, contracted, to do a job. I need to assemble a team but first I need information to find the object. I know you have connections so I was really hoping you could help me.” Dalen cringed as Carys started with the first stitch.

“What job? What could possible entice you to steal for someone else. You told me that you never did anything for anybody. Ever. You made that fairly clear.” She pulled tightly on the thread securing the stitch as she moved up for the second.

“Let’s just say they made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“They threatened to kill you, in other words.”

“Wow, you know me so well.” Carys grinned a little moving on to the last stitch.

“So what are you looking for?” Dalen flinched when she closed off the final stitch and hopped off the table. Carys pulled out her bottle of rum and poured them each a glass.

“The Chalice of the Ages.” Carys suddenly dropped her drink, the sound of shattering glass bouncing off the walls.

“What did you say? Please don’t tell me you are working with the Guild.” Dalen looked at her quizzically. He had never seen Carys look so terrified in his life.

“Wait, do you mean to tell me it’s real? Surely that’s impossible!” Carys looked away, biting her lip. Dalen grabbed her face and made her look at him. She was crying softly.

“It’s-It’s a long story.” Dalen dropped his hands from her face and she pulled out another glass and filled it to the top.

“I got time.” Dalen grinned.

“Fine then. Many, many years ago, Magic was considered a profitable profession. It was fairly exclusive for obvious reasons, which is why mages made so much. They even began their own guild, The Guild of the Silver Lotus. The problem is, magic takes energy. The Guild Master was a mage named Zeb. Zeb supposedly communed with the gods and they granted him unlimited power that would never drain his energy. However the power given was finicky. Zeb was told that whoever killed him, could gain all his power. In fear out of someone wanting to kill him simply for his power, Zeb placed all his power into the Chalice. The problem was, whoever held the Chalice would have the control. Within a matter of months, word spread of the Chalice. Zeb didn’t last long. When he was killed, the Chalice disappeared. As for the guild, his second in command took charge, Casius. Casius was more bloodthirsty and began his own search for the Chalice. The guild began to murder innocents in search of the chalice. They became a danger to the kingdom. King Reivin created a guild of his own, the Guild of Order. They set to work to stop the mages. I do not know the details, but the mages were beaten back into near extinction. Casius himself went into hiding, as he is still a wanted man. My father was Guild master for the Order. I am not allowed to know the location, but I know that the Order has it. Or had it. I’ve heard rumors recently that it disappeared again. But if the order is now hiring freelancers by threats, they know more than they should. They may have spies in the Order.” Carys drew in a deep breath. Dalen sighed. Things were obviously more complicated than he realized. Carys turned toward the window, her finger slightly sliding along the rim of her glass. Dalen stood and grasped her waist from behind, pulling her close. The closest he ever got to falling in love was with Carys. Maybe he really did fall and loved her still. He couldn’t sort out his emotions. Carys let him hold her for a moment before pulling away. She stood facing the washing bowl for awhile before turning back to Dalen.

“ Well we obviously have a problem. The Silver Lotus is getting too close and could very well have you killed. I need to speak with some people first, but we will keep you safe, with a condition. Are you willing to be a double agent and work for the both of us?” Dalen stared blankly at Carys while he gave her a moment to realize she already knew the answer. As soon as the moment of realization hit her, Dalen chuckled. For the first time in awhile, in this minute, he felt at home.