Chapter 44: The Candles on the Cake, Part 2

Arden watched List and Valerie head back into town. He'd have to go back himself soon, but he wanted to give the girls some space. He'd meant what he said about things being different before for Valerie. She hadn't friends growing up, not really.

But they were so far from home now. Valerie had been remarkably resilient and willing to adapt to her new environment, but it couldn't have been easy leaving behind everything she'd ever known, and coming to a place that, if the legends were true, she might never be able to leave. She needed something to anchor her, beyond his own presence. 

List, impetuous as she was, was proving to be exactly the sort of anchor Valerie needed. A confidant she could speak to about things she didn't feel comfortable discussing with him. A combat and sparring partner of roughly equal skill. A reliable avenue of exposing Valerie to the world beyond hunting and studying monsters.

A friend.

Maybe now, this far from Corsar, behind incredibly powerful wards that blocked magical sight and communication, it would be safe for Valerie to have one.

Arden didn't consider himself overly sentimental, but he did hope.

Just when he felt he'd given the girls enough of a headstart into town that they wouldn't feel as if he were following them, Arden suddenly became aware of a presence right behind him. It wasn't much—just a subtle shift in the feeling of the air, and sensation in the back of his mind that he wasn't alone—but Arden had long ago trained himself to stay aware of any potential threats.

He habitually kept constant vigilance of his surroundings, usually seeing, hearing, or otherwise sensing anyone or anything that came near him long before they came within striking distance. So when he realized he'd been snuck up on, his whole body tensed, and he whirled in place with his cane gripped tight.

Arden was halfway to leveling his cane at his attacker's face before his surprise froze him mid-swing.

Standing behind him, not so much attacking as ambling in Arden's general direction, was a tottering old man wearing ragged robes and a blindfold.

"Where did you—"

"Hello, brave hero!" the old man said, throwing open his arms wide.

Arden took a step back in case the man tried to touch him.

"I am Gidus, of the Church of the Seven's Light," the man introduced. "I have been searching for you, a hero of the outside world, born to foreign soil, for it is your grand destiny ordained by the Light to topple the reign of the Mad King Digax!"

Arden blinked, then looked around to see if there was anyone nearby who had misplaced their blind grandfather. 

There was no one else around.

Arden's paranoia returned. His weight shifted onto his back foot, and his grip on his cane tightened. He didn't attack, but if the old man made a move, he wanted to be ready.

"I beg your pardon sir, but I believe you may be lost," Arden said. "I don't know who you think I am, but I can assure you, I am not them."

"Nonsense. I recovered my bearings days ago," Gidus dismissed. "I'd have done it sooner, but it would seems things keep moving while I'm not looking."

"You don't say." Arden stared pointedly at Gidus's blindfold.

"Quite so. It can be rather disorienting. But never mind that, for it is not I who am of importance! While humility is an admirable quality, especially for one so radiant with the Light's favor as yourself, you have no need for it now."

"I'm not speaking with humility," Arden said. "I don't believe I am who you think I am."

"Are you not one born to shores beyond these?"

"I am, but—"

"Then it is as the Light has shown me!" Gidus declared, raising a finger high into the air. "You are one of the brave heroes from beyond this land who shall shepherd us from beneath Digax's tyranny! Glory be to the majesty of—"

"Stop," Arden held out a hand, putting divine authority into the word. The will of Saint Hedwig reinforced his own as it crashed into Gidus—and had absolutely no effect.

"—the seven in all their luminescence!"

Arden stared, and his suspicion and wariness grew to genuine alarm. He had encountered beings that could resist divinely reinforced commands—the selk queen, a vampire lord, a few peers in the Hunters— but the commands still usually produced some kind of reaction. Gidus hadn't noticed the effect at all.

The only thing that allowed Arden to keep control of himself was the fact that Gidus wasn't acting aggressively, choosing instead to ramble at length about destiny and the promise of the Light, which Arden was beginning to wish he'd done more thorough research into.

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He'd heard of the Church of the Seven's Light, it being the only denomination of faith Arden had encountered in Xykesh, but he'd never given it a thorough investigation. He didn't know who or what Gidus served, what they might want with him, or what they could empower Gidus to do. 

As a servant of the Saint of War, Arden considered meticulous research of potential enemies a religious sacrament, but he'd overlooked the Church of Seven's Light as a possible adversary, and now he was paying the price for that oversight in the form of tense uncertainty.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I think you and I might be reading from two very different pages of this story," Arden said cautiously. "Would you mind explaining all of this from the beginning? What does my being an outsider have to do with Digax?"

For the first time, Gidus looked generally thrown off as he cocked his head and looked quizzically at the empty space to Arden's left.

"You truly don't know? Has the Light not shown even you, one of its servants?"

"If I am a servant of this Light, it is news to me," Arden said. "It has no presence where I am from."

"My dear boy," Gidus said in a tone Arden might have used to talk to a small child. "You will find that the Light's radiance touches all lands."

Arden narrowed his eyes, but refrained from descending into an unproductive argument. He'd started to calm down now. Gidus might have snuck up on him, but he gave absolutely no indication of attack. And more to the point, he had piqued Arden's curiosity. Not about Digax. But about the old man himself.

"Be that as it may, it's shown me nothing of this place. Certainly not my involvement with its politics," Arden said. "I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me on what exactly it is you're talking about."

"Hm. It is only right that you be properly prepared for the perilous road ahead of you," Gidus said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Very well then! Draw close, and bear the tale of Xykesh, and reign of Digax."

"For this land has not always been the domain of the Mad King. Centuries ago, the great dragon arrived from beyond the furthest waves, bringing with it a wild host of violent creatures, and conquering this place so thoroughly that his authority over it is engraved into the stones of the earth and the blood of all born to its soil."

"None born to this land may stand against Digax. But the Light has foretold of brave heroes from beyond Xykesh, outsiders unbound from the dragon's will that shall rise up, unseat the dragon, and restore freedom to all. And lo, you have come!"

"As one born of Xykesh, I may not resist Digax himself. But I can still serve the Light by gathering its chosen champions! By gathering the brave heroes drawn to this place by fate, who shine with the promise of the Light as beacons into the future! This is my mission: to find you."

Strangely, Arden found himself at least half believing the old mad man. He had seen firsthand the kind of power Digax and his followers wielded over the general populace during the King's Dawn celebration. He could see how that kind of power would make open resistance difficult, if not impossible, and necessitate outside help.

He just still didn't see why Gidus was so convinced that he was one of his chosen heroes.

He waited for more details, but apparently Gidus was satisfied that he'd told Arden everything he needed to know. Arden was sure there had to be more to the story than just "a prophecy told me to find outsiders so they could challenge Digax, and you're an outsider, so here I am" but if there was, Gidus was either keeping it to himself, or didn't think it relevant.

Arden sighed, and tried to push for more information himself. "You mentioned champions. Plural."

"Ah, yes. So I did," Gidus said. "It is fortuitous indeed for us to have met here, brave hero. For the Light has shown me others not far from this very spot. I have encountered one of them previously, though due to unfortunate circumstances, we were separated some time ago. Perhaps you have even seen them?"

"Could you describe them?"

"Ah. Hm," Gidus frowned. His blindfold scrunched. "Young, perhaps? And . . . womanly? Ah! She shone with the glorious incandescence of the Light's presence!"

Gidus beamed as if he'd given Arden everything he could possibly need to identify his "brave heroes."

"I see," Arden said. 

He actually did have a sneaking suspicion about who Gidus would be looking for, if he was searching for outsiders, and Arden had no intentions of letting him anywhere near them.

"Well, I am rather familiar with this settlement, and I'm sure you're very tired from your travels," Arden said. "Why don't I help you find somewhere to stay for the evening, and then I'll see if I can't track down my fellow chosen ones and return to you. Say, sometime tomorrow evening?"

"Ah, an excellent plan!" Gidus said. "But please, feel free to start your search immediately. I can find lodgings on my own well enough."

With that the old man strode off.

Arden considered telling him that he was walking away from Shadefall rather than toward it, but thought better of it. Gidus had clearly managed a while on his own. A bit of extra wandering wouldn't kill him, and it would give Arden and the girls all the more time to leave him behind.

He was glad Gidus had agreed to wait until tomorrow. He didn't want to cut Valerie's night off short, and he himself had one more task to see to before they set off.

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