After grabbing lunch, which comprised a large bowl of fresh salad, SJ made her way to the Academy. Fran was not outside, so she greeted the Goblin attendant and entered the common room. Several trainees were sitting and reading various books or manuscripts. Smiling warmly at a human male who walked towards her, his sudden outburst took aback her.
“Get out,” he said.
“Sorry?” SJ replied, shocked at his sudden outburst.
“I said get out.”
“I am here to see Mistress Francisca,” SJ stammered.
“Get out. Only mages are allowed in here. It is our sacred space.”
SJ stood open-mouthed, not responding for a moment. “The attendant allowed me in.”
“He has no idea of the importance of what we are doing here, and you are no mage.”
“How do you know what class I am?”
“It’s obvious. Look at how you are dressed. You wear no robes of any order.”
SJ noticed that all the other mages had now turned to look at her where she stood. Feeling very open and defenceless under their critical gaze, SJ felt very insecure.
“Kevin!” Fran’s voice cut through the room, and his head flicked around to look at Mistress Francisca.
“Mistress. This non-mage has dared step into our world.”
Fran raised her eyebrows. “Harrietta where are you?” she bellowed, eyes scanning the room. “Come out now, or else I will visit Lythonian.”
“Ok,” a sulky voice replied as an apparition emerged from the side of the room. SJ jumped out of her skin at the sight.
“What the!” she exclaimed.
“Now, remove the charm,” Francisca said sternly.
“But.”
“Now.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
The apparition made a few hand gestures, and the mage, Kevin, suddenly frowned and shook his head. “What happened?” he said.
“Harrietta,” was Fran’s single-word response.
“Not again,” Kevin replied, his face flushing with anger.
Harrietta suddenly shrank away into the nearby wall.
“You can’t hide from me forever,” he snapped.
“SJ, please come with me,” Fran said.
SJ watched as Kevin searched around the room, opening cupboards and looking for Harrietta.
Once inside the office, with the door shut, SJ asked, "You have a ghost as a mage?"
“Yes. Harrietta was a mage before she died.”
“Why is she here?”
“Harrietta has been my follower long before I came to Killic.”
“She is your follower?” SJ asked, stunned at the revelation.
“Yes. I freed Harrietta from the necromancer who had her in enslavement a century ago, at least now.”
Mouth open in astonishment at the statement, SJ stood dumbfounded.
“It’s not that shocking. Many of those freed from servitude will become followers of their saviours. Harrietta likes to play pranks on the trainees. Kevin has been an unfortunate target of several of her jokes recently, and I think he is getting a little fed up with them now. I will have to speak to her about it. Anyway, what can I do for you? Or is it just a social call?”
SJ was trying to gather her thoughts. Looking at Fran, she looked to be in her twenties or thirties, yet she had just stated she had freed Harrietta over a century ago.
“I have to ask and apologise if it’s rude, but how old are you?”
“324.”
“You look no older than thirty.”
Fran smiled at her comment. “The fae looks are deceiving. You will, in time, be able to judge ages more accurately. I am sure that is not why you came, though.”
“No. I need to speak to you about a delicate issue.” Fran’s expression didn’t change, but SJ sensed she was intrigued.
“I recently went into the valley to collect mushrooms for Grewlas, and on my way there, I was attacked.”
“I am glad you are ok.”
“Yes. I am fine, but what attacked me and what I found are causing me some concern.”
“Do tell.”
“A Level 9 dark elf attacked me, and he was carrying a note,” SJ said, calling the note from her inventory and handing it to Fran.
SJ had seen Fran’s eyes slightly narrow when she mentioned a dark elf, and after reading the note, she could see the muscles in her jaw tense.
“Fran. Is everything ok?”
Fran didn’t reply momentarily. She stared at the note before scrunching it up into a tight ball in her fist. “Sorry,” she suddenly replied, looking up and smiling again.
“What is it?”
“It looks as though my past may be catching up with me. I didn't expect it to happen so soon. I hoped for several decades here before moving on.”
“I am lost. Why would you have to move on?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time to listen. They say a problem shared is a problem halved, and if someone is after one of our kind, I will do what I can to help.”
Fran shuffled in her chair slightly and then sat back, leaning casually, closing her eyes. With a deep sigh, she began.
“Almost seventy years ago, I was involved in an incident between the fae council and the dark elf hierarchy. At the time, I was a junior council member working under the guidance of one of our kind’s greatest leaders. Juniper was the light of the fae; she had been involved in the continuing negotiations with the dark elves for almost three centuries. Angst persists from the past war between our races. Most cooperate, but a few bear grudges.
Juniper had been involved in settling a dispute over territory claims that date back to before the war. The territory in question is a region at level 40-50 in the continent's west. It has some of the most beautiful forests and open plains imaginable. However, that wasn't the reason for the dispute. The stone ring that existed there caused the dispute.”
“Stone ring?” SJ asked, intrigued by the start of the tale.
“The stone ring is a circle of magical power. The fae historical records date back to the time of civilisation when Amathera first came to exist. It is said to hold the power of the fae in it. The dark elves believe in a similar prophecy about their race. Juniper had been involved in completing the research over the magic’s origination and was close to absolute proof it was indeed fae origin.”
“Couldn’t you just tell from the magic it gave off?”
“No. Fae and elven magic are very similar. The building blocks for all magic are elemental, and considering the cultural variance and positions of the stones, they lie in an area that records show was originally an elven area. It was only over time, as the elves moved further east, expanding into the central planes and rain forests, that the fae took over the territory completely.”
"So, was it originally elven?"
“No, that is the thing; the evidence that Juniper had collected and gathered proved that it was, in fact, a fae construction. She was trying to determine if the fae had originally constructed it under the duress of elven rule or whether a separate clan had created it. I visited there frequently, and the power of the circle is something to behold. I have felt nothing like it, and when in its proximity, everything has clarity. Your thoughts align, and your abilities naturally receive a boost.”
“If she had evidence that it was fae, why did she not present her findings?”
“She was murdered before she finished her studies and could present them.”
“Murdered. By whom?”
“A dark elf assassin named Crylik.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I killed him,” Fran said stoney faced.
“Oh!”
“I had been on my way to see Juniper when she was murdered. I found the assassin still in her chambers and attacked him while he still bent over her dead body, holding a bloody dagger.”
Looking in awe at Fran’s story and that she had just told her she had killed an assassin in cold blood gave SJ a completely different level of respect for the fae mage.
“What happened? Why did you leave?”
“The council didn’t want to admit that the security had been so relaxed that an assassin had entered the High Council chambers. They played it down, saying it was a natural death. I wouldn’t let it go, though, and it was afterwards, when I challenged the High Council during a seating with the dark elves, that I was, in simple terms, banished.”
“Why would they banish you for stating the truth?”
“Peace between our races has always been on a wobbly scale. We keep it balanced most of the time, but it could tip at any moment. The High Council was happy to concede defeat over the stone circle and the death of one of their own in exchange for the return of several artefacts of power stolen during the war.”
“They gave up on the circle and ignored Juniper’s death?”
“Yes. They allowed the dark elves to reclaim the territory as their own.”
“Why would they do that?” SJ asked, shocked.
“There are some in the Council who I believe are in cahoots with the dark elves, and I believe that is how they got into the High Council and killed Juniper.”
“Can you not prove it?”
“I have no proof. Only theories. The dark elves have been actively seeking me out ever since the council banished me. I have escaped with my life on several occasions over the years.”
“Could you not go back and seek support from those you believe were loyal?”
“Unfortunately, not. I can no longer enter the fae capital. As a banished member of the council, never mind being a fae, I would write my death sentence if I did.”
The story and history lesson that SJ had just been told had been enthralling and mesmerising. Knowing that there was so much political intrigue involved in the land was amazing.
“It sounds like you have suffered because of our kind.”
“I have, but I don’t blame all fae. Only those who sit in the seats of power at the High Council and not all of them either.”
“Can you not challenge them from outside the capital?”
Fran burst out laughing. “Sorry. No. I am a banished previous junior member of the council. I possess no power or authority over anyone or anything. Throughout years of travel, I have deliberately avoided the major cities and larger towns. I set up here in Killic as it was so quiet. Being a starter town of mixed race and me being the only fae meant less chance of questions being asked.”
“What does all this mean now, though?”
“It means I have to find out who at the Inn is passing on information, and depending on who it is, I may have to deal with them.”
“We can’t just walk into the Inn, though, asking questions.”
“No. But I know someone who can dig around.”
“Who?”
“Harrietta. Show yourself.”
SJ jumped out of her skin for the second time as the apparition appeared beside Fran’s side. Gathering herself and placing her feet back on the ground where she had pulled them up onto the chair in shock, she looked at the apparition closely. Her features, although translucent, appeared to be a dryad.
“Harrietta. Meet SJ. SJ, Harrietta.”
“Hi,” SJ said with uncertainty. She had never been a fan of ghost stories as a child, and seeing one standing only ten feet away that could talk was freaking her out.
“Hello,” Harrietta replied, smiling.
“Have you been there the whole time?” SJ asked.
“Yes.”
SJ did not know that she had been in the room with them. There was no indication, and her sense hadn’t flared at all.
“That is a great ability to stay invisible.”
“It has its perks,” Harrietta replied, smiling.
“I take it you were a mage in your previous life?”
“I was, yes. There are a few spells that I know.”
“A few? You may not level anymore, but you know more spells than most mainstream mages do.” Fran said.
Harrietta chuckled, and hearing such an angelic chuckle from an apparition was more unnerving than when she had just spoken. SJ felt goosebumps on her skin.
“I have to admit, I have never been a fan of ghosts,” SJ said.
Harrietta’s face turned sad, and SJ stammered a response. “I didn’t mean to be rude. As a child, I was told horrible ghost stories, and they always stuck with me.”
“Hopefully, I can change your opinion,” Harrietta said, smiling again.
“Harrietta, you know what I will ask you to do. Don’t you?” Fran said.
“You would like me to visit the Wandering Ogre and do some snooping around.,” she replied.
“I do, but you need to be careful. Niweq is no slouch at security, and he may have spells in place, so be careful.”
“You know Niweq?” SJ asked, surprised.
“I wouldn’t say I know him that well. I know who he is and what he runs. When I heard about the inn, I was initially concerned he may have been a dark elf, so I visited to find out for myself. He wasn’t, but he behaves similarly to many I have known in my lifetime.”
“I didn't know the place when I visited.”
“It is a popular inn, as I am sure you noticed if you have been. They sell cheap beer and have scantily clad dancers, drawing many of the males in the town, as well as a few females.”
“I saw. Do you want me to do anything to help?” SJ asked.
“I will let Harrietta do her work first. She has a knack for finding information out.”
“I am not surprised,” SJ replied, half-heartedly smiling at the apparition. It didn’t matter how often she looked at Harrietta; she couldn’t get past the fact that she was a ghost. She had loved watching movies and TV shows with zombies, skeletons, werewolves, and all the classic horror genres, but something about ghosts just set her on edge.
“I am going to head off, then. Let me know if you find anything out or need any help. Thank you for sharing your story as well. It’s the first I have heard about fae history.”
"The nature of some of our kind has tarnished our history, but it remains rich with many stories that I would love to share at some point."
“That would be amazing. Maybe we can catch up at the Inn at some point.”
“That sounds nice. I will let you know if we find anything out. Thank you for letting me know.”
SJ stood up, walked out of the office, and glanced back at Harrietta, who had turned and was talking to Fran. Shuddering, she decided to go to the training grounds. She needed to check in with Jurgen and Lorna.
“What is it with you and the apparition?” Dave asked once they were back outside.
“I am not a fan of ghosts,” SJ said.
“Why? Unless an apparition is a mage, they can never harm you, as they can never carry or hold anything solid, unlike skeletons, zombies, and many other undead variants.”
“I can’t explain it. Since I was a child, my older cousin has told me stories whenever I stayed over at my Uncle Dave’s, and ever since, I have been terrified of ghosts. He used to get pleasure from trying to make me cry.”
“That’s not very nice,” Dave replied sympathetically.
“He wasn’t a nice person. I never forgave him, even as an adult.”
“It’s a shame we can’t ask Harrietta to go and visit him and give him a taste of his own medicine.”
SJ chuckled as she walked. “That would be sweet revenge,” she replied, smiling.
