Marked for Death

Chapter 3

Kandler bid the two men farewell and walked home. He avoided the main square, cutting between houses and through yards so people wouldn’t see him and try to stop him. Luck was with him, and he was soon home. He set the bundle down on his front porch and washed at the pump before stepping inside.

Half in shadow, Esprл sat in a rough wooden chair at the shabby dining table in the dimly lit main room. The light poking in through the glassless windows was as pale as her porcelain skin, but her wavy, golden hair sparkled. Like torchlight on gold, Kandler thought. She was weeping, her face buried in her arms piled on the table’s worn top.

As Kandler shut the door, Esprл looked up, her face puffy and red and her blue eyes shining with grief. She waited for him to step within arms’ reach and then launched herself into his embrace. She wrapped herself around his chest, and he reached down to hold her and stroke her hair.

“Was it really Shawda?” she asked.

“Yes,” Kandler whispered, and Esprл began sobbing once more. Kandler looked over at Burch, who sat silent and still in the darkest corner of the room, and nodded his thanks.

The shifter unfolded himself and padded forward to pat Esprл on the back. “She’s seen a lot of death. Too much.”

“We all have,” said Kandler. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered, although he didn’t know how. He found tears welling in his own eyes, and he clamped down on them, willing them away. His stepdaughter needed him to be strong now, and he’d sworn long ago never to disappoint her in that way. He kissed her on the top of her head.

“No bad dreams last night?” Kandler asked Esprл. The girl shook her head against his chest. “Do you always remember them?”

Esprл nodded, then the tears overwhelmed her again, and she pressed her face against Kandler’s shirt to weep.

Three sharp knocks rattled the front door.

Esprл jumped as if she’d been pinched.

“Open, Justicar!” boomed a deep voice. It was not a voice Kandler recognized. “Open I say! We must speak with you.”

“Esprл,” Kandler said. “Leth! Leth!”

The girl remembered her training, the hours of drills Kandler had forced her through over her protestations. Living so near the Mournland, one’s life was always in peril, and surviving meant constant vigilance. Pushing away from Kandler, Esprл scrambled into the pantry, a shallow closet just off the main room, never uttering a word. She shut the thin door behind her on its oiled hinges, leaving it open only a crack, just enough for her to be able to see the front door.

Burch slinked back over into the dark corner near the fireplace. He unslung the crossbow from his back, cranked back its silent lever, and slipped a bolt into its temporary home. He signaled that he was ready, and Kandler opened the door.

Five people stood on Kandler’s porch, each in finely polished chainmail. Long, crimson tabards covered them from shoulders to knees. A raging fire, stitched wholly in silver thread, shimmered on each chest, and a longsword in a gleaming, silver scabbard hung from each waist. They wore piety like robes of righteousness.

The man who knocked on the door stepped aside as Kandler opened it, exposing the eldest of the visitors, who stood in the center of the porch. He stood an inch or two shorter than Kandler, but he was the tallest in the group. His years had not bowed his back, which was straight as a longsword’s blade, but they had added depth to his clean-shaven face and grayed the receding hair that fell to his shoulders. He leaned on an arrow-straight staff of pale, polished birch, topped with a small magical flame that burned silver and cold.

“Hail and well met, my son,” the silver-maned man said with a forced half-smile. “I am Sir Deothen and these are my traveling companions. We are servants of-”

“The Silver Flame,” Kandler finished. As he did, he realized his hand was on the hilt of his sword. He left it there. “I’ve dealt with your people before.”

The man’s smile warmed at the recognition. “Then you already know of our holy calling to protect the good people of Eberron from the forces of evil.”

Kandler said nothing but gazed out past the knights. At the edge of his ash-covered yard, five white horses stood tied to a hitching post. Each magnificent, snow-coated beast was fitted with a riding saddle and saddlebags that didn’t seem as full as they must once have been. A crimson blanket edged with running embroidery of silver flames rested under each saddle.

“My friend,” Deothen said, concern etched in his piercing blue eyes, “as one who lives in this desolate land, you must understand the desperate need for those such as we.”

Kandler kept his other hand on the door as he spoke. “I understand what I need to. You’re from Thrane.”

Deothen frowned. “The deeds of the Last War are behind us, my son.”

“Here we live with it every day.”

Two of Deothen’s fellow Knights glanced over their shoulders at the wall of mist that towered over the eastern horizon.

Kandler moved half a step back and considered slamming the door shut. He had more important things to do than coddle a bunch of knights.

“My son-” Deothen began.

“I’m not your son,” Kandler said. “My father died in the war. Killed by Thranes.”

The four other knights on the porch gasped that anyone would speak to their leader this way.

Deothen let his face soften. “You have my deepest sympathies, my… friend, if I might be so bold.”

“That’s bolder than I care for, but since you’re knocking on my door, I already knew that about you.”

“How do you prefer to be called?”

“I’m the law in Mardakine. The justicar.”

“Justicar, then. We have come to petition for your assistance.”

Kandler raised an eyebrow and moved half a step forward. “What do you want?” As he waited for the reply, he scanned the faces behind Deothen. They were all younger than their leader-some by many years. One youth was barely more than a boy, a thin lad with lanky blond hair and an upturned nose. His enthusiasm shone brightly against that of his more seasoned companions. He looked as if his sword would be too heavy for his arms.

The two other men seemed cut from the same mold, though slightly older. Although one was dark and the other blond, they wore their hair short and even, and they carried the seriousness of their position in their faces. Neither looked like they smiled much.

The last, the one hanging furthest in the back, was a beautiful young woman with sharp features. She had her long red hair tied back in a warrior’s braid. Her wide mouth showed a determined set that matched the glint in her deep green eyes. Her gaze met Kandler’s squarely before he turned back to listen to what Deothen was saying.

“Our Lady Tira Miron, the Voice of the Silver Flame, received a vision that a lost dragonmark has appeared in the Mournland. It is urgent that we find the person who bears this mark.”

“Why?”

“If our foes-”

“Foes? Which foes?”

“The world is full of darkness, my s-er, Justicar. Should Karrnath gain control over this person, our fragile peace will be shattered. All of Khorvaire will could-”

“And if Thrane gets it instead, everything will be fine,” Kandler said with a mirthless laugh. “You’re standing in a crater left behind from the Last War. Left by Thrane.”

“We did what had to be done!” the youngest knight shouted.

Deothen raised his hand with quiet authority, and the boy fell silent, his face burning red.

After a moment, Deothen spoke again. “Levritt is too young to remember much of the war. We cannot undo the past, but we can work to repair the damage done, whether purposefully or not. We ask you now to help us prevent a horror from transpiring. Is that not the greater good?”

“Good and evil are your domain. Mine’s taking care of the people of this town.”

“All we require is a guide into the Mournland. We were told you were the best in all of Mardakine.”

Kandler shook his head. “I don’t know who told you that, and I don’t care. I knew Cyre once, but I’m not that familiar with her corpse. I can’t help you.”

“I can.”

Kandler jumped at the sound of Burch’s voice behind him. The shifter had slipped up behind him while Deothen had his attention.

“A shifter!” Levritt whispered.

Burch glanced at the boy as he shuffled around Kandler. Levritt averted his eyes and shuffled his feet.

“I know the Mournland,” said Burch, stepping onto the porch. His yellow eyes blinked as he squinted in the light. “Better than anyone else around here. I could help.”

Kandler reached out and put his hand on Burch’s shoulder. “You know how dangerous the border’s mists are,” he said. “The land beyond them is even worse.”

“That’s why we need your aid,” Deothen said, staring into Burch’s eyes as if into some deep, mystical mirror. He reached out to touch Burch’s face, and the shifter stood impassive for the strangely tender gesture.

Kandler pulled Burch back like a child who’d stepped too close to the edge of a well. “Forget it,” he said. “Neither of us is going anywhere.” Turning to Burch, who had cocked his head at him, he muttered, “Quit looking at me like that.” More loudly, he added, “We have enough on our hands here.”

Deothen composed himself. “What could be more important than saving Khorvaire?” he asked. “Your people will not survive long if this lost mark falls into the hands of evil. What could be more important than that?”

“Than chasing off on a fool’s quest into the deadliest lands because some prophet had a vision? How about a dozen people of Mardakine gone missing over the past two weeks-and one found dead this morning?”

Deothen frowned. “I am sorry for your loss,” he said. “We knew not of your troubles here.” He paused for a moment, arranging his thoughts. “Perhaps we can help each other. We would be glad to lend what aid we can.”

Kandler shook his head. “We can manage fine on our own.”

“We do not mean to insult you by trading for your services, justicar. We wish only to help. We expect nothing in return.”

“Sounds good,” Burch said.

Kandler glared at the shifter and then stared at the knights.

“Where can we start?” Deothen asked. “Our offer is given freely.”

Kandler thought about it for a moment and then spoke. “You people have religion.”

“Certainly,” Deothen said, a relieved smile creeping across his lips.

“The dead woman’s family worships the Sovereign Host.” Deothen began to speak, but Kandler waved him down. “The Flame isn’t the same, I know, but it’ll be close enough.”

“Do you not have a priest here who could comfort his flock?”

“He was the first to go missing.”

Deothen offered a slight bow. “We would be honored to lend this woman’s family what comfort we might. I understand you must burn bodies in the Mournland to ensure their spirits fly free. Before we meet with the family, we shall help construct a pyre.”

“That would be a fine start.”

“I assume the family has the remains.”

Kandler shook his head. “Not yet. They won’t want to see them before the burning.”

Deothen raised his eyebrows. “Then where might these remains be?”

Kandler looked down at the bundle on the porch. “You’re almost standing on them.”

The younger knights gasped. Levritt stepped back off the porch to swallow some air and force down the bile rising in his throat.

Before the youth set foot on the ground, Deothen barked a series of orders. His knights set to work straight away, glad for something to keep their hands busy and their minds off of Shawda’s death.

Deothen turned back to Kandler. “We will have a pyre constructed in the main square by afternoon. I suggest we conduct the cremation at least an hour before sundown.”

“I’ll spread the word.”

The elder knight made a curt bow to Kandler, then left to join his fellows in their work.

The knights labored hard throughout the day, ranging for miles about in a quest for enough wood, and by the time the sun was lowering in the west, they had completed the finest pyre Mardakine had ever seen. Kandler sent Burch to tell Mardak about the funeral plan, confident that Mardak’s wife Priscinta would swiftly get the word to every person in town.

When the time for the ceremony came, Kandler and Burch walked Esprл to the main square. It seemed like the entire town was there. Shawda’s family-including her husband Nortok and her daughter Norra-stood closest to the pyre. As soon as Esprл spied Norra, she ran over to her. Kandler started to stop her, but Burch stepped into his way, so he just watched.

Wet-faced and red-eyed, Norra held Esprл close, and they wept together.

Deothen gave them a moment before he lowered his head, extending his arms for those around him to do the same. Kandler looked straight ahead at the knight. The crowd fell silent.

“I am no priest,” Deothen said as he raised his staff before him, its silver flame shining bright, even in the midday light, “although I feel the force of the divine in me, moving me, moving all of us. Today, I pray that this power-which my fellow knights and I know as the Silver Flame-shall move me to eloquence on behalf of our departed sister Shawda.

“I never had the privilege of meeting Shawda, but I know we had a connection. As people good and true, we shared a bond, just as she shared a bond with all of you. As a citizen of Mardakine, as a former daughter of Cyre, she was dedicated to standing up against the darkness, to lighting a candle, to saying ‘No more.’

“Although I never knew her, I am lessened by her loss. We all are. For when one who stands against the darkness falls, the darkness grows. Only by standing together can the light from each of our candles join together. That light is enough to force back even the darkest night. Only by working together can we hope to prevail.

“And so I mourn the loss of Shawda with you. And I pray that the Silver Flame gathers Shawda’s light into her own, now and forevermore.”

Kandler nodded with respect for the knight. Deothen had not been idle while the others built the pyre. He’d obviously talked with some of the people in town. From the kind looks with which Norra and her father favored the paladin, it was clear he’d offered them some comfort.

Deothen’s open plea to lend the knights aid was transparent, nicely couched as it was. Kandler felt a sense of duty to the world tugging at him, but protecting the people of Mardakine-especially Esprл-had to be his top priority.

When Deothen looked up from his prayer, he captured Kandler with his sky blue eyes. Kandler looked away, and his eyes met those of Burch, who gazed up at him like an expectant puppy. Kandler looked away from him too.

Mardak, standing a dozen feet to Kandler’s right, cleared his throat. Suddenly remembering his duty here, Kandler stepped toward the pyre. He unfolded the cloak in which Shawda’s body was bundled, exposing her remains to the sunlight so that the flames that consumed her could carry the smoke from her body straight into the sky.

Kandler winced as he completed the grisly job, knowing that the villagers would be able to see how viciously Shawda had been murdered. As he stepped back from the pyre, he heard a shout from the other side of the pyre.

“By the Flame!” Levritt said as he drew his sword and charged the pyre. Before anyone could stop him, the young knight swung his sword down and cleaved the remains of Shawda’s head into clean halves.

Norra screamed. The assembled crowd, several score strong, roared in shock and rage. Kandler had his own sword out, its curved tip at the knight’s throat before the youth could pull his blade free from the pyre. All around him, scores of rusty knives, daggers, and swords rattled free of their scabbards as the villagers leapt to join Kandler in the defense of Shawda’s corpse. Levritt looked around him wide-eyed, seeing the knights outnumbered at least forty-to-one.

“I think,” Kandler said to the young knight as he pressed his blade hard up under the youth’s chin, “you have some explaining to do.”