Upon the back of my little black mare, I ride though the thick forest, the road cutting a swath though its heart, as I make my way towards the Fortress. Gods I wish this man would get an office in the barracks! The ride takes me nearly two hours and for the last few miles I am racing the light as the sun begins to dip below the horizon. As I near the looming old fortress I can see the remains of a recent goblin attack littering the base of the walls. There is a moldy stench in the air around the place as I am passed through the gates, and I am suddenly a little more grateful for the civility of Delmarii.
I make my way through the Fortress and stand before the Commander's door, and for a moment it enters my mind to wonder why I was summoned. I rap loudly upon the wooden surface and I hear his baritone voice bidding me to enter. I know the moment I step into the room, and he settles that stern gaze upon me, he is in one of his moods and something is not sitting quite in his world and I feel myself stiffen and steel myself against whatever it is coming.
"The criminal known as Sebastion has been tried and found guilty of treason against the crown" he announces grimly. I react to this as I am fully expected to, and I nod, "not entirely surprising Commander" I reply, then fall silent, expecting more information. He would not bid me all the way out for that. I am not left long to wonder why, as his voice lifts again, "Captain Dhan'Loria, something of great concern has been brought to my attention" he reveals, "it seems the criminal Zalon, was given a full pardon, all charges dropped, and released from his cell..." he lifts his eyes from the parchment before him and settles them on me, "..by me" he concludes.
I stand there a moment as I try to adjust to the fact, I have just been busted for forgery, and finally all I can offer the man is a sigh. Immediately this seems to infuriate him and he rises to his feet and demands of me, "Damn it Nakieri...why!?!" the disappointment and anger in his voice causes me to inwardly flinch, but I give him nothing but my steely exterior and then give the man the honest truth. "I made a deal with Sebastion....I said, if he stayed put, stayed in the cell, Zalon would walk free". This wrings a heavy sigh from the man I respected, and I feel the pang of regret for the expression he settles upon me. His next words catch me by surprise, and stun me to silence.
"Sebastion was executed at dawn this morning" he informs me, and there carries with his words, a sense of finality in his voice. "He was hung in the courtyard at my order and buried near a distant relative in the graveyard". He regards me quietly as I stand there in silence, processing this information and something in me nods, and yet I feel a small smile curl my lip, "you found his family?" I ask, there is soft desperation in my tone, and it appears for a moment to disarm the edge about him, "yes, a relative, a cousin I believe, he has been put to rest near his own". This does bring me comfort and I suppose it shows on my face, because it is then that the Commander decides to drop the rest of his news upon me.
"Captain Nakieri Dhan'Loria, you are hereby relieved of duty in the Delmarii City Militia. You are here by stripped of your rank of Captain and dismissed from the Queen's service". He looks at me as if his own words have caused him physical pain, and he glowers at me, "dammit Nakieri, you should have known better" he growls. "I have permitted Zalon's papers to go through, as a favor to you so you do NOT end up sitting in one of your own damned cells. Before you leave here, give me your keys and your pauldron and turn in any militia issue you have, I simply can no longer trust you." The last of his words sink into me and I feel it again, that sense of disappointment in him and I lift my eyes and meet his, lifting my chin. "I would do it again Commander" I tell him bluntly, and this causes him to nod. "yes" he replies, his chin still dipping as he speaks, "that is why you are fired".
My ride back is unhurried, and done in the dark so I am in no rush as my sure footed mount carries me back to the city. Sebastion is dead. He hung for his crimes. This is what he wanted. I have to keep reminding myself of that. He made this deal, he came to me, and convinced me he wanted this. I still can not understand why he did it. He did not have to stay in that cell, he had made it out many times before. He felt no fear in what he faced, no sense of regret, and the last time we spoke, he was in a jovial mood. He had skills that I could just not wrap my head around, and constantly pushed the boundaries of everyone he met.
I felt the world a smaller place suddenly, and would miss the challenge he offered. He warned me though, when he died, stop being in the Militia. Well, it looks as if Sebastion gets his wish. I pull my mare to a halt pausing at the turn in the road, looking south towards the unseen city, then instead nudging my mount northwards, "come on Sylky, we don't live there anymore" I say aloud and I turn my back on Delmarii Bastion and head home.
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