Detours on the Road to Brüke

Chapter X+1
The princess was up front with Steve, trying to learn the finer points of horse cart driving. Steiv was used to riding in the back, but Steev wished Denny hadn’t claimed his favorite steed. He sat at the rear, facing the road behind, trying to study a spellbook. He was immensely distracted by Lyra, who was trying to talk with Steiv. She’d never seen a dragonborn before, after all.

As the horses pulled the cart down the path away from the Tower, the wizard Steev glanced over at Denny and Sulien, who were riding rearguard. In the near distance, the Spider’s Tower shimmered in the morning haze. And then, right on cue, vanished from sight entirely. It was going to be long, hot day.

---

Make that three days. Three sweltering days riding in the back of the stupid cart. Every time a bump in the road caused him to lose his place while reading, Steev tried to strike up a conversation with Denny or Sulien - whoever was closest. They shared very little of their time before this quest. Which Steev thought was fair since he did the same. Still, it was rather boring talking nothing but business. Steiv was no better, having resorted to sleeping all day in attempt to escape the heat and Lyra’s incessant questions.

Sariel and Steve endured a similar fate - when it turned out the princess had no aptitude for driving the cart, there was little for her to do but think about why Varys would send her with these strange wizards all the way to some city she’d never heard of. This bridge-town of Brüke sounded interesting, sure, but why couldn’t it be closer? Steve was used to keeping quiet, so he didn’t mind the peaceful - if rather hot - trip.

---

When the cart finally rolled into a real town (with a real pub!) an hour before sunset on the third day, there was an audible sigh of relief from the entire group.

After quickly a couple rooms at the inn and settling in for a night at the tavern downstairs, Sulien noticed that only one of their new companions was with them. “Where’d the cleric and horse go?” he asked Steev.

“Oh, probably just exploring the town. They get bored easily,” Steev explained with a shrug. “Don’t worry, they’ll be back by morning.”

Sulien was not satisfied with this answer, but unless he wanted to run around this foreign town in the dark after them, he would have to try to trust them to keep their mouths shut. Losing the princess’s cover was unacceptable. The Usurper’s minions could be anywhere...

Working her usual charm, Denny had managed to get the innkeeper to join the table. He was a few drinks in when Sariel asked, “You must hear all kinds of stories about what’s going on in these lands. As simple travelers, we wouldn’t want to run into any sort of trouble on the roads. Is there news of any dangers near here that we should be wary of?”

The innkeeper was just drunk enough that he didn’t notice Sulien and Denny sharing a moment over the princess’s attempt at convincing everyone she was ‘simple.’ He did notice, however, that she was asking him an unusual question. “Umm... dangers? Our town hasn’t seen dangers in over 500 years!” Feeling relieved, Sariel was about to move one when the innkeeper grinned and continued, “All the dangers’re up in the ruined keep, east of here near the hills!”

Sulien sat up at this. “What sort of dangers?”

“Uh, the dangerous kind?” the innkeeper replied simply. “We had a coupl’a travelers through here ‘bout a year back, wearing all black. Sat right there! Said they was headin’ up to the old keep to do some kinda ‘xperiments? Well, they went up that direction, never came back all winter. A few volunteers offered to go check on ‘em, make a day of it. That was a month ago. Nobody’s seen ‘em since.”

Everyone at the table was mesmerized by the tale. Truly, this was a man who’d told this story many times. Often less soberly.

Ever the pragmatist, Sulien suggested, “Isn’t it possible they just kept going? Why would you assume they’re missing just because they didn’t come back this way?”

The innkeeper looked as if he had never even considered this possibility. “Ah... Hmm... Well, now that you mention it... I s’pose they might’ve done that. Wow. But hey - them volunteers that went checkin’ on ‘em, they would’ve come back. Those men had families! Jobs!”

“He’s got you there, Sulien,” laughed Denny. “Well sir,” she continued, turning to the innkeeper. “You tell a fine tale, but we’ll rest easy knowing that these dangers are remote. Now, if you would be so kind, where can I find a little... alternative entertainment in this town?” She pressed a silver piece into the innkeeper’s hand, and winked at him knowingly.

---

The Princess couldn’t sleep.

It’s not that she wasn’t tired - far from it. But something about the innkeeper’s story didn’t seem right. Who were these mysterious black-robed travelers that apparently vanished? Why wouldn’t the townsfolk search party return?

Frustrated, Sariel paced her room. She needed to get on with her mission - go to Brüke, talk to the Oracle, defeat the Raven Queen, regain her throne from her corrupt brother. Simple. Then why couldn’t she let this worthless little town get on with its meaningless little problems? Her intuition had never been wrong, though she hadn’t always listened to it. That decided it.

She wanted to help.

But she wouldn’t leap blindly into another hopeless situation. And she wouldn’t let anyone else tell her that this was beneath her. She had to prove to her companions - and to herself - that this was worth it.

Since Denny hadn’t returned from her ‘entertainment,’ and Sulien was probably in the other bedroom asleep, Sariel was on her own. All the better. She drew upon her arcane skills and focused on her mirror. As she concentrated, the air around her shimmered and sparked, veiling her from sight. When the spell was completed Sariel did not see herself in the mirror - she saw the innkeeper!

---

Steve had an uncanny knack for finding the most interesting parts of such towns, which was why Steiv had taken to following him on his inevitable explorations. Following Steve had its upsides, though being lost in a foreign town was not Steiv’s favorite activity. All these tiny towns were the same - generally boring and simple. But if that were true, why did they always lose their way?!

---

“Well, Steve has probably gotten himself thoroughly lost by now,” Steev thought as he sipped another drink. Long after the others had left the tavern, he stayed at the corner table, chatting idly with other patrons. Starved for news of the war (which most of them had not heard of before tonight) they eagerly kept the drinks coming.

It seemed natural that the innkeeper would move on, and Steev had thought nothing of it when, after making the rounds at the tavern, he had retired to his office behind the bar for an evening of accounting. So when he returned to the office after first descending the main stairs, Steev thought that this was a bit strange. “Must be more drunk than I thought...” he murmured, using this as a sign that he should head to bed for the night.

---

The innkeeper was a simple man - every night he drank, counted his money, and passed out at his desk. He hadn’t slept in a bed in over 4 years.

So when his exact duplicate walked into the office and woke him up, he assumed it was another wine-soaked nightmare. Before Sariel even realized he was there, the innkeeper ran screaming from the office.

She’d have to work fast...

---

The following morning saw Denny, Steev, and Sulien eating breakfast together in the tavern. While curious as to where their companions were, none of them wanted to point out their obvious absence. Sulien was about to break the silence when the still-tranquil pub was suddenly flooded with sunlight and loud boots. A town guard with a very official demeanor marched into the inn, followed meekly by Steve, Sariel, and Steiv, all in shackles.

“Is there a ‘Danny’ here? I need to speak with ‘Danny’ immediately!” the guard’s voice boomed throughout the mostly empty tavern.

Five sets of eyes focused on Denny. Why me? she thought, staring down at her almost-finished meal.

Her relaxed reply cut off the guard as he prepared to shout again. “Who’s askin’?”

“I am the town sheriff, of course!” the officious guard said, continuing to use an alarming volume. “These prisoners all claim to know one another, and further claim that a ‘Danny’ will verify their identities and sign these release papers!” He produced a scroll case and threw it down on the table nearest him.

“Wait, they were all arrested?” Sulien interrupted, stunned. “In one evening?!”

“Aye! The elf was caught right here in this inn! The other two were sneaking around a farm just outside of town. When I brought them all to the cells, and this one” - he indicated Steiv - “recognized that one” - indicating Sariel - “I knew there was some conspiracy afoot! Three burglars in one night - a new record!”

“Okay, so you caught them, and now you’re going to let them go free? After less than a day?” asked Steev. He knew he shouldn’t want his companions to be in jail, but this was a bizarre way to deal with a supposed burglary ring...

“Ever since my deputy went missing last month, I just can’t hold on to prisoners anymore. But this elf, she’s a clever one. She saw my problem and found a way to help! As soon as Danny signs these papers, the prisoners are not my problem anymore.”

Confused, but happy to have a peaceful resolution to this, Denny stepped up and signed the offered contracts. After the sheriff unlocked the manacles and left the inn, the three ex-prisoners joined the table.

Denny could barely contain her anger. “What in the Nine Hells was that all about?! We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile! What if your brother’s agents found us and you were locked up?”

Sariel tried to state her case. “I may have been in the innkeeper’s office last night, magically disguised at the time... So the innkeeper had me arrested for impersonation and burglary. Burglary! As if I would ever steal anything! I would never-”

Denny cut her off. “And you two? A barn?”

Steve just shrugged. “Exploring. Got a bit lost, and I was trying to ask directions when a guard snuck up on me.”

“I was just following him,” explained Steiv.

“Whatever. You guys made a deal to get out of jail? What kind of ‘arrangements’ do we now have with the local law enforcement, princess?” asked Denny, exhausted with the whole affair. She was seriously regretting that she did not take the time to read those contracts.

“Oh, we just have to rescue the deputy! It all makes perfect sense - the sheriff couldn’t hold us because the deputy is missing, so we bring the deputy back, and we get to go free.”

Sulien saw the logic, even if he didn't like being committed to a job he had no say in. “Makes sense. But how do we go about finding a person who’s been missing for a month?”

“We investigate his last known whereabouts - the ruined keep!”

Read More
Previous Chapter - At The Spider’s Tower

Next Chapter - The Keep