Completed The Noblest of Deeds

[Kristen Pirian]

"M-Myself as well!" Kristen said, still flustered about the whole privy room comment. Ahhh, she had just been trying to be helpful and her wayward tongue—

Stop it, stop it, focus.

"He does have a mirror," she said, finally opening her eyes. "I remember it well. 'Tis across the room from the foot of his bed, above a dresser. An impressive sight, as wide as the bed itself."

"Good," said Saydor. "The larger the reflective surface, the easier this all becomes." And with a look to Alistair he said, "I've got something that will wake the dead. Plenty of sound and fury."

"Well don't kill him!"

Saydor gave a small tilt of his head. "His bedchamber mirror is large, correct?"

Kristen seemed a bit torn on what to answer. "...Y-Yes?"

"Then he'll be fine. And awake."

She just had to live with that. What strange times, trusting in a Banick Dreadlord! Kristen looked back to Alistair then and said, "Is there anything else you need to ensure that this goes well?"

So much was riding on this. But, if there was anyone in whose brilliance it was safe to trust, then it was Alistair's.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Um..."

Alistair was back to looking over the runes with a frown. He looked back up absentmindedly, only partially hearing what either of them had said.

"Oh, I could use any precious stones we can get our hands on, or metals would work too..."

He wanted to try this as soon as possible, because if something went wrong then he had time to try something else.

"Oh, Saydor, I would suggest not blowing out Lord Pirian's eardrums. We need him to be able to hear the message once he wakes up."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Saydor gave Alistair a thin and patient smile. "I'll tone down my figures of speech."

Kristen, meanwhile, was focused on the possible reagents for this longshot of magic. "Right. Precious stones. Metal. Would one be better than the other? Or would both be about equal? There's plenty of available metal around us now."

If gemstones were better, then she could implore Walter to part with some. Surely within his treasury there could be found no shortage of them. Even if worse came to worst, a commandeering of gemstones (with adequate compensation, of course) from a jewelry shop, if such a one existed in Ostia Anir, would suit.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Gemstones provide less feedback compared to metals, which means I won't have to worry about certain metals not playing well with others when I do the spell."

Alistair would look up into the distance like he could somehow see Vel Anir in the distance and he was trying to line up a difficult shot with a bow. He stopped and turned and looked at Saydor curiously.

How would he classify Saydor's magic, if he picked a metal that worked well with his magic as he had done with Kristen. No, stop. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. They had to work with what they had...for now.

"Just a few big jewels will do...three of them."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Three large jewels," Kristen repeated, and then looked to Walter.

Who, having an awareness of the conversation and saw the glance from his peripheral vision, said to her, "Return to my Estate. Ask for Sir Belford and tell him that I sent you. He will doubt and protest, but simply say 'Wind through the Keyhole' and he will understand. Then tell him what you need and he will take you."

Kristen nodded hastily, "Yes, Lord Banick. A-And thank you!"

She took a half-step in preparation to go bolting down the stairs from the ramparts to the ground, then stopped herself and said to Alistair, "I will return posthaste!" Then she committed fully and went racing down the stairs and was soon into another full sprint back down the main avenue of Ostia Anir.

Saydor watched her go for a moment before he said to Alistair, "Good motivation in her. Even if it's wasted somewhat." He looked out over the battlements. "They won't attack tonight."

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"They won't, but I want to give us time to get more soldiers out here to stop those soldiers...That or I'm hoping for orders to kill Vogel."

With a little help from Saydor, he could probably do it without anyone noticing. The problem was, at the moment, they had to defend themselves but could not run the risk of performing any aggressive acts and giving Vogel any more reason not to stand down.

"That's also just how she is. Kristen puts her all into everything she does...How long have you served Lord Banick?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

...That or I'm hoping for orders to kill Vogel.

Saydor let out a laugh in good fellowship with Alistair's comment. "That makes two of us."

Despite himself, ingrained in the old way with all of the isolating individualism and the striving to gather ever more magical power, Saydor found that he was taking a liking to the Initiate. It certainly helped that he was a rune mage. His one friend, his only true friend not just in the Academy but throughout the whole of his life, had been just the same: a rune mage. She was...had been...a light in the dark for him. The burns covering half of his skull stood as a stark reminder to what he had lost.

A question. Coincidentally, about the past.

"I pledged to House Banick upon my own graduation," he said, "and of all Theodore's sons, it was Walter who showed the most drive. I've made myself available to his endeavors for the whole of my time as a Dreadlord."

The tiniest of smirks, and a huff of air from his nose.

"The Republic can't break the ties that run deep."

And from the look he was giving Alistair, it was clear Saydor knew a good many Dreadlords whose loyalty to their old sworn house endured—be they military, reservist, or even exile.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"So you were a part of it? When he took Kristen?"

It was difficult to tell if Alistair was mad, or simply asking a question. He often looked at most situations with an unchained logic, but then strangely decided to focus on things that others might not realize were a trigger point.

Kristen was weak and a little naive to Alistair and more than a few at the Academy. Not the ideal image of a Dreadlord. However, it was those very same weaknesses that the Republic likely hoped would become strengths for a new generation of Dreadlords. Kindness, honor, and dedication. Alistair often wished he could open his heart up to guide him over his brain, but it was not that easy.

For someone to do something like that to Kristen, just using her as a piece for games that she likely was not even aware of at the time. It made him angry...He took in a deep breath and focused back in on his work.

He knew Saydor was likely a lot more like Alistair than Alistair was like Kristen, and maybe that was what made him the angriest. The knowledge that he would have done and might do the same thing if he was commanded to do so.

For Alistair to pride himself so much on logic and thoughtfulness, he was still just a mindless tool for the Republic. Kristen might be a tool, but she was a tool with morals.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"I would have been, if I was called upon for the task," Saydor said, and it was the raw truth that he was not afraid to speak aloud. He had found out at the same time Kristen and Alistair found out about Walter's involvement, keen ears picking up enough of what Walter had said in the bedchamber to get the idea. It had been that much of a closely guarded secret, information carefully compartmentalized such that no one but Walter and Duresh (and Garron) knew every piece of the plot.

Walter just continued to observe the work of Vogel's men, even though there wasn't much other than the routine stages of building siege preparations to witness.

"The game will stay the same with the Republic," he said matter-of-factly. "The players will be different, the rules will change slightly, but the essence will be the same."

A look to Alistair, from one Dreadlord to another.

"All you can do is choose a side. The right side for you."

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair stopped his work long enough to look over the walls and watch the beginnings of the siege that would surround this city. He was close to finished, only needing the materials that Kristen went to retrieve.

"I'm starting to wonder if that is actually true...If the players change, and they decided to start playing with different rules then does that not make it a different game? The only thing that truly remains the same is the goal...one side's victory and the other side's defeat."

Maybe he needed to start treating all of this like a different game entirely. One where he needed to change the win conditions not necessarily the rules themselves.

"Must we always be the ones destined to be mastered over?"

No, that could not be true. Everyone had a master. Saydor master was Banick. Vogel's master was his ambition. Kristen's was her honor. It seems ironic that the Dreadlords were the ones that enacted this revolution, but it was simply putting a new leash on the same dog. This leash was simply decorated with fur rather than spikes.

"Ignore me, I've been reading to much philosophy as of late."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Saydor gave a small grunt of acknowledgement to Alistair's musings and kept his own counsel for a time. It was when he looked back over his shoulder and saw Kristen hurriedly sprinting up the main avenue that he did speak.

"See to it that this plan works," he glanced to Alistair then, "so that you and her can find out the answer to your question yourselves."

As for those of Saydor's generation? The older Dreadlords? Their lot had already been decided long ago. If Saydor perished here, there would be no regrets from questions unanswered.

Kristen came bustling up to the ramparts, holding a small pouch in her hand. Having made the sprint now a full three times back and forth from the Banick Estate to the walls, she was quite winded. Though she doubled over panting, supporting herself with one hand on a bent knee, she held up the pouch to Alistair with an excited and pleased grin, not completely unlike a student who had given a correct answer to an expectant teacher and was thrilled by it.

"There! A diamond...a ruby...and a sapphire. Big ones...!"

Slowly (and with a hearty phew!) she righted herself, chest still heaving underneath her mail.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Maybe, but more than likely Alistair would just keep asking useless questions like that all the way up until he died on some remote battlefield. Thankfully, he did not have to think about such depressing thoughts because Kristen made it back.

He thanked her as he accepted the gems. He spent the next few minutes putting the gems in different spots on the runic configuration, but he would shake his head and try a new positioning. He partially wanted to optimize their placement, but another part of him was just giving Kristen plenty of time to catch her breath.

Finally, he took a step back and nodded with satisfaction.

"Alright, that should do it...Saydor, if you start to feel weak during the process, do not stop. Let us know. I built in a way for us to transfer magical energy so you can continue forward...Still, I would not suggest doing this for long. It will burn you up like chicken someone left hanging above the fire."

Well, it would actually work more like someone overusing a muscle to the point that it turns to mush, but the imagery of burnt chicken was probably a more clear message for 'it would be bad.'

"Kristen, you are the star of this so you do the talking."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen gave a firm, determined nod. The intense weight of lives rested upon this—perhaps even her own. There was no more important a conversation she had ever had with her father than the one she was preparing for now.

"Begin," Saydor said.

He grimaced only slightly when Alistair's runes activated, and he shut his eyes to improve his concentration. The pocket mirror he held in his perfectly upright palm, his other hand making delicate movements over it. The motions of each of his fingers was incredibly precise and tiny; at this distance and with so many reflective surfaces at their target area of Vel Anir, Saydor had to exercise every ounce of control and willpower to keep his focus from flying wildly from one district of the city to a whole other district, or even beyond the city itself.

After a long and torturous moment, Saydor said (with the strain in his voice apparent), "Is this him?" and moved his hand up from above the mirror so Kristen could see.

Kristen looked. An elegant room was in the mirror, that much she could tell, even though there were large splotches of distortion in the image. A man was there, but he was far too portly. "No. That's not him."

Saydor tried again. "Is this him?"

A dark and smoky room, where figures were gathered and pipes were being held. Kristen shook her head. "No. Not him."

Saydor went again, little adjustments of his ring and middle fingers. Sweat was started to bead on his forehead, his neck. "Is this him?"

Kristen looked. It was a privy room it seemed, a figure wearing sleeping garments in there looking at the mirror, but the figure leaned in closer with a suspicious gaze and it was a woman with golden eyes and short white hair (whom Alistair might've recognized). "No. Not him either."

Saydor grimaced and adjusted again. He took a little more time, but now he sounded sure. "Is this him?"

Kristen gasped.

"YES! FATHER! FATHER!!" In the image was the familiar sight of Neil Pirian's bedchambers, and no amount of distortion could hide that from her.

Saydor half-opened one eye. Said to Alistair in a voice that was starting to sound like he himself had made multiple sprints to the Banick Estate, "I need energy. Now."

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

When the runes started working and the mirror Saydor held started flashing images, Alistair wanted to jump in triumph like a small child who had just one race at school. If this message worked, it might be one of the longest instantaneous field messages without two connected devices. And he was the one that pulled it off...Ok, one of three.

He wished he could have worked more with the rune to fine-tune the process now that he could see how Saydor's magic completely interacted with the magic, but any big changes might ruin all of their work.

Alistair nodded in confirmation to Saydor before turning to Walter. "Might want to go find another mage if you have any nearby."

He turned back to the gems and pressed his hand down onto one. Almost instantly, he could feel his magical energy being sucked out of him. It was a lot. How had Saydor been able to even start this by himself? Alistair was not known for his wellspring of magical energy, but he supplied Saydor with every last drop.

"Kristen, quickly," Alistair called out through clenched teeth.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"SIR KEATING!" Walter shouted. His bannerman again rushed urgently to his lord's summons. "Fetch Jurin. Fetch Kelos. Quickly." And Sir Keating went running down the length of the ramparts.

Kristen looked desperately into the image of her father's darkened bedchamber through the mirror held in Saydor's hand, all but willing him to wake from her pleas. She glanced up at Saydor, "Wake him with your magic...and please don't hurt him."

Saydor gave the most minute of acknowledging grunts. His eyes were both open now, but half-lidded. A silvery, almost moonlight glow emitted from them, and an aura of the same encased his free hand. A tiny thread of magic zipped from his open palm and into the mirror he held.

On the other side in Neil's bedchamber, visible on the glass, a flash like lightning went off illuminating for a second the entirety of the room, and Kristen could hear even through the distortion the accompanying thunder of it—goodness, what the sound must have been like for Father! Both Father and Mother jumped up in understandable fright, Neil holding Josephine close, each glancing around wildly as they both tried to figure out what in Kress's name just happened.

"FATHER! FATHER!!" Kristen shouted again, hollering into the mirror at the top of her lungs. She could hear Saydor's staggered breathing through his nose; if Sir Keating didn't return with one of the other two Dreadlords soon enough, then she didn't have long.

Neil seemed to glance around the room more. It was difficult to tell precisely with the darkness and the distortion.

"FATHER PLEASE! AT THE MIRROR! COME TO THE MIRROR! IT IS I, KRISTEN!"

Another godawful moment passed. Neil and Josephine seemed to be talking with one another. What did her voice sound like to them, far away in Vel Anir on the other side of this extreme magical connection? Enough to make them second guess what was truly going on.

Then Kristen saw it. Father's legs, swinging out over the edge of the bed. He stood up.

Saydor's knees buckled a little, but he regained a hold of himself.

Sir Keating came running back, Jurin Munn with the sword tattoo on his face following right behind him.

"Alistair," said Walter preemptively, "what must he do? Touch one of the gemstones as you did?"

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment as sweat was forming along his brow. He motioned with his head to the other gem next to him. There were two left, any more would have thrown off the array, so they needed to get this done with the energy of four mages, at the most.

By now, Alistair was slowing his magical output but refining its quality. He had to focus on making the transfer of energy as efficient as possible. He was already running on low from the various magic that they had performed throughout the day, along with making the runes.

He could only hope that Kristen's father was moving with a greater sense of urgency, especially with the lightning bolt in his house...That was a nice tough, Saydor.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Jurin did as Walter told him to do, adding his own reservoir to the pool of magical energy.

"Come on, Pirian," Saydor said through the strain.

Neil Pirian on the other side came closer and closer, his form growing larger in the surface of the pocket mirror. His head was tilted quizzically and curiously, as if he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. The features of his face began to take a more definite shape, this helped by Josephine coming up to his side with a lit lantern.

Kristen was looking directly down into the pocket mirror, trying to keep her face framed squarely within it. She had no idea of knowing if Father could see her whole face or just a very close view of her nose or any number of possibilities. Almost plaintively, she said, "Father..."

And then Neil Pirian spoke and his words, uttered miles and many days of travel away in Vel Anir, could be heard through the extreme longshot of magic they were all presently engaged in. "...Kris...ten?"

"Father! Yes! I am here!"

"...W...can't..eve...you!"

Saydor grimaced, and made little adjustments with his thumb, trying to focus in on Neil specifically, to clean up the sound distortion. More difficult than adjustments to the image, and even more so with the distance.

"Father, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I...hear you. Kress, Kristen, what's...matter?"

Saydor was continuing to make those fine movements with his thumb as Kristen continued, fearing that this might be her only chance. "Father, this is important! I need your help. I'm still in Ostia Anir. An Army led by Commander Vogel has come to besiege the city. Find Councilor Berenger! Tell him that I and Alistair made the deal, and tell him that he must get Parliament to order Vogel to stand down!"

Neil looked precisely like a man barraged by sudden and unexpected information, but he was trying his best to process it all. "Ostia Anir...Commander Vogel. Find who?"

"Councilor Berenger!"

"Councilor Berenger. Alright. You and Alistair made...deal."

A flicker in the image. Saydor's knees were shaking, and he was trying with almighty will to keep the mirror steady.

"Yes. Parliament must order Vogel to stand down!"

Blessed Aionus, please. Please.

Neil responded back after a torturous second. "Orders for Commander Vogel to stand down."

"YES! Father, yes! Please hurry! I love you!"

"I'm going right now. Sweetheart, I love—"

Saydor's hand trembled and the pocket mirror fell from his grasp and he stumbled back and Walter caught him before he went toppling over the edge of the rampart. He blinked rapidly, Saydor did, and though he looked exhausted he looked like he would be fine with plenty of rest.

Kristen felt exhaustion of a different kind. Overwhelmed with emotion (all of it: the anticipation before sneaking into the Estate, Walter's confession, the worry and then sheer relief that their longshot plan with Saydor having worked), she collapsed down onto her knees, hands gliding up with ghostly smoothness to touch her palms to her temples.

"We did it," she said breathlessly. She looked up to Alistair, the mixture of incredulity and elation producing the giddiest of smiles. "We did it!"

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair focused on the process of feeding the magic. Close out all the noise, all the sights, all the directions. Just one more drop of magic, and then just one more after that. He was damn near empty, curse his low amount of mana.

A headache had appeared early on in the process, but soon he noticed his muscles shaking like he was holding some heavy weight

He was not even aware the message had been successful, at first. When Saydor cut the connection, Alistair gasped for air as he felt the connection and the pull disappear. Alistair stumbled back and fell onto his but. He thought he could feel some blood seeping from his nose.

None of that mattered, when he looked at Kristen she was smiling and that was enough to let him know. It had all worked. Alistair laughed in triumph as his head fell back and he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah...we did."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Not yet," said Walter as he eased Saydor back down onto the ramparts to sit. He looked to the two Initiates. With a stolid realism, he said further, "Now we will see if the cumbersome structure of the Republic can move faster than Commander Vogel's preparation for an assault."

Kristen's eyes dropped down to her knees. A sobering reminder that they were not out of the woods yet. She trusted in her father, trusted in Berenger as well, and she did not abandon the hope that they would see those orders delivered.

She shifted her attention. From Walter's grim caution, back more to the elation encapsulated in Alistair's triumphant laugh. At least for tonight, they had scored a victory.

Kristen crawled closer to Alistair. Sat down beside him.

"Are you alright?" she asked with gentle concern.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair's feeling of triumph halted at Walter's words, and he nodded in agreement while he got himself under control. It was now that the exhaustion flooded into him. He felt weak, his head felt like someone had stuck a spike right through the back of his skull. Alistair wiped away the blood and nodded to Kristen.

"I'm fine. I've never had the biggest magical reserves...hence why I practice rune magic."

He struggled to his feet and used the ramparts as a crutch. The beginnings of the siege were still in progress. They had no idea about the amazing magic that they had just completed.

They could take their time and rest now, and hopefully never have to draw their weapons.

"Let's hope they hurry up, or I will have Vogel dead before they even arrive."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen gave a solemn nod to that.

"Commander Vogel has chosen the path of war. He has entered himself into the grim cadre of those who do battle and risk death."

And it was the same for all who picked up the sword: herself and Alistair included. The minute one's hand touched the hilt of a weapon and wielded it with deadly intent, the aegis of innocence departed. The first step of entering into the fold of violence was to invite it upon yourself.

Vogel had done just that. Until he stood down, he had declared himself their enemy, and against him much was permitted.

"Sir Keating, assist Saydor. Take him to the Estate," Walter said. And then he glanced over to Kristen and Alistair, "You two are welcome to take up lodging in the Estate as well. Same guest rooms as before."

"Oh. Thank you, Lord Banick." Kristen rose to her feet then, a moment after Alistair had done so.

As if the mere oblique suggestion of rest was enough to summon it, tiredness scratched at the edges of Kristen's eyes, despite her having slept in that very morning in preparation for their night infiltration of the Estate. She could only imagine how Alistair and Saydor felt, having each expended as much arcane energy as they did.

To Alistair, "Shall we?"

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair only partially listened to Kristen as now there was a ringing in his ear, which was ok because it distracted him from the headache. He just lost himself in thought while looking out at the beginnings of the siege before snapping back to pay attention to the others.

"Oh, yeah. I could use some rest."

The same rooms? That room. It probably had a new door by now. It was the room that had started such a dumb argument. It was the room where everything had gone wrong. It was the room that had led to Raf's death.

Still, he remained silent as they made their way back to the estate. No reason to disregard Banick's hospitality, or to bring up such bad memories.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Along the main avenue they went. This time not in so much haste.

"I think," Kristen said, "I will have to make my owed favor with Councilor Berenger a good one." She gave a hollow laugh, weighty uncertainties keeping the full shine of humor from it. "Surely it will have been earned, but the mind boggles at what manner of favor could counterbalance what we have done here in Ostia Anir."

She didn't want the world, no. And for as much as she valued fairness, she wasn't even all that concerned with balancing the scales of favors done. More so, she was thinking of timing, when calling in a favor with a sitting member of Parliament would be most appropriate. Time would tell, and she hopefully would know when to do so.

Meanwhile, there was Alistair's favor, the erasure of the Canal incident. Within grasp.

Should they live through this.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Use it wisely...I should have asked for more than what I did, but it would be rude if I tried to add more on to the stipulations."

Now that he thought of it, regret was beginning to grow in his chest. A fight between dreadlords that had resulted in only a small loss of life was equaled to Alistair and Kristen's work which had just saved thousands. He could have asked for any number of boons that would have put House Krixus in a stable position for years to come, maybe even ensured a future for his soon-to-be-born sister.

It had all been cast aside because of Alistair's spur-of-the-moment request. He did not regret the request, but...he just wanted more. Then again, that might be to greedy in and of itself.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"If I must," she said, "I will use it to ensure that Commander Vogel is stripped of his command and banished from the military."

Was there the chance that Vogel might perish in the coming battle? Mayhap. Such would make it all a simple matter. Far more complicated was the possibility that Vogel would stand down upon orders arriving for him to do so, for him to be protected under the shield of following the previous orders of whichever Councilor or Councilors decided that negotiations with Walter Banick were over. It would be easy for him to argue that point and retain, with merely a proverbial slap on the wrist at most, his position and to keep his record unmarred.

He was a danger to the Republic.

And Kristen would not stand for it.

"If the Republic itself does not remedy him by its own processes, I believe it would be wise indeed to use my favor so."

Alistair Krixus