Anima et Forma

Episode 10: The Eldari

"Someone has to pay for this!" a man shouted. He was a smith by the looks of him: thick-muscled arms and a brown leather apron, stained black and gray by smoke and fire.

"Hold your tongue!" Sir Wilhelm Weber, who sat upon a brown Colechester destrier, and sporting plate armor, hissed through his visored helm. "Our Lord will speak first on this matter!"

Lord Calvin Cartier straddled his own black destrier, sitting amongst the smoldering ruins of the Elvish District, surrounded by an entourage of lesser nobles and soldiers dawned in Cartier colors. Oddly, his house elf was not amongst the retinue.

"Should you not hold your tongue, then?" Lord Crystalcreek rebuked. "This is a vile act. How can a man not protest?"

Augustus and his friends of the Moonlit Mysterium stood within a crowd of soot-covered commoners. Word spread as fast as the fires, and people of every kind joined the Elves in battling the inferno. Lord Calvin turned first to Crystalcreek, then to Sir Weber–the Captain of his House Guard. "He's right. The Elves are my subjects. They're supposed to be safe here."

"Is that why we have half as many guard patrols as the rest of the city?" The elf, Tel'arian, wearing soot-smeared leather, shouted.

Lord Calvin grew up under the constant threat of death and the scrutiny of his grandmother, Lady Caterina. Now, he sat his horse, amongst commoners and nobles alike, facing the scrutiny of his subjects. "I do not assign patrol duties to every guardsman and soldier under my command. I will speak with the Captain of the City Watch!"

A soldier straightened his back and stood at attention. "I'm sorry, my Lord! There are few crimes here! And so few men to spare!"

"Will the Reds answer for burning down our neighborhood?" Tel'arian asked.

"There's no proof that my boys played a part in this!" Maddox Masterson stood near the entourage of nobles. His clothes were clean.

A she-elf, wearing long braids of auburn hair, and a long, flowing dress, shouted between cupped hands: "We saw them!"

"These bastards will do nothing," Rose muttered. The surrounding crowd pressed more and more. Commoners were still pouring into the Elvish District, to see the devastation and their Lord's response to it.

"There may have been Red Sashes amongst them!" Lord Calvin yelled. His voice carried well atop his steed. "As there are Red Sashes amongst us, now!" Calvin pointed into the crowd at a group of four common men, their skin and clothes stained black–even the red sashes tied around their arms and waists. Gus spotted Borgis standing in a separate group of soot-stained Reds. "Their guild is more than a few bad actors! Are the Red Sashes alone to blame?" The chattering crowd of commoners went silent. "I will find out! There will be justice!"

"Just like you found your jewel!" a voice cried.

Some people clapped and cheered, and others jeered.

Lord Calvin kept his composure. "There will be justice."

In the attic of the Western Inn, Gus leaned against the wall, staring out a window. The moon peered back at him, so many miles away, a gray circle in a sea of purple and blue.

"This game has become too dangerous," Skiggi said, toying with his beard.

"We should move on down the road," Dori agreed.

Gus kept his silence.

"I feel bad for the Elves. And, we all know, left to the nobles, they'll never find justice," Rose said. "But–"