Chapter II - At the Brazen Boar

Having had a brief glance at some of the lands just outside of Castelmaine's walls (well, 'just' is a relative term since it's a good twenty or so miles across the northern bridge to the Twin Sentinels), this entry explores further afield and delves a little into the recent history of Evalaria, directly that of Auden Marr.

I'm really enjoying Marr's character, he's a new creation this time around for Evalaria, and he's not what I think a lot of people would expect him to be. There's a lot more to him than I'm willing to reveal at this juncture. 

As an aside, the Brazen Boar is based on a tavern I once frequented in Bristol when staying with my cousin. The tavern was 'The Hatchet' and it was a truly stunning public house, very old in its architecture. A lovely evening was had there, and now every time my mind need to create a tavern, WHAM, it's the Hatchet that comes into my mind. I've always been fond of taverns and public houses for their storytelling elements. As buildings, I find them fascinating and often beautiful and full of history. I find something quite poetic about them being the gathering places of stories.




Owin placed his flagon on the heavy wooden table and slid onto one of the four stools around it. The Brazen Boar was busy this evening. With only a few exceptions, each of its tables had the full compliment of patrons it could seat, and all tables were occupied, except one, but that was His and nobody else but Him sat at that table. 

The tavern was a blur of noise, from drunken singing to general chatter and laughter, people of all professions had gathered to drink and be merry. The thick grimy overalls of the blacksmiths, scholarly robes of a rainbow of colours, neat jerkins of vibrant blues and yellows for the merchants, all and more were present. Here, people who would never cross paths during the tasks of the day could meet and talk and banter. Several card games were going on, and from the sounds of it, large sums of money were shifting hands constantly.

The tavern itself was quite small and close, the ceiling low with wide wooden beams. Thick walls separated several of the tables from each other, and magelights flickered in little wall mounted lanterns. A raging fire near to the bar served both to warm the establishment and to roast a large boar, slowly rotating on a spit. Owin licked his lips, he had eaten before coming out but that boar smelled delicious.

The crowd parted a little near the bar and the monstrous shape of Auden Marr passed through and seated himself across the table from Owin. He lifted his tankard, dwarfed in his meaty grasp, to his muzzle and gulped from it, setting it down loudly and wiping his snout of foam.

"Good business for them tonight then." Marr said smiling. He seemed to have relaxed since their earlier encounter, his shoulders were broader and his movements not as stiff, his smile warmer and more genuine.

"Good business for them here every night." Owin took a gulp, "Did you get what you needed to do done?"

Marr nodded, "Aye." He paused and have Owin a quizzical look, "D'you ever take down that hood of yours?"

Owin shook his head slowly, "It's part of the uniform."

"What about during your personal time?"

At this Owin gave a chuckle, "The Agate Tower doesn't have personal time. News carries on the wind and the messengers must be ever ready to react. We have close ties with the Sapphire Tower for incidentals like sleep and rest."

"Tough break." Marr took another long swig and swallowed another third of his tankard. "Doesn't look like He's here tonight, then?" He gestured to the empty table in the corner.

"Oh, he's around, Marr. Word on the wind is that he's back in the city, though nobody can confirm it. Naturally, there have been no trustworthy sightings."

"Just the usual zealot fanatics?"

"Like a damn religion." he nodded, "But you said you'd tell me your news." Owin prompted softly.

Marr emptied his tankard and nodded slowly to Owin, "Yes, I did."

"So what brought you south out of Berican? I've not heard of you leave the University's streets for the past three years, Marr."

"I prefer to keep within our grounds, yes, and you know why. Today, however, I had good reason. She sent me south to the wall and told me to wait for dusk and peer to the western skies."

"She?"

"Mozu-Beric."

"The great dragon herself?"

Marr gave a somber nod.

"Why would she send you? What did you see there?"

Many years ago, Auden Marr had been little more than a tribal healer in the small mountain village of Romero. A quiet and backward town of stone huts, beast skin rugs, and carved totems, typical of Minotaur settlements. The Romero Clan were hunters by nature, taking what they needed from the wild beasts of the Northern Crags, yet never wasting any of natures gifts. In times of peace he himself had been a fierce hunter, claiming many trophies and securing food and supplies for his mate, his cubs and his clan.

Then the Second Coming and the ensuing war had come and taken it all from him. He had first fought to defend his clan who had sequestered themselves in a labyrinthine network of caves, but a sudden tunnel collapse buried most of the clan. As one of the few survivors, Marr had left the tunnels, grief stricken and alone, journeying across the plains to whatever civilisation he could find. Some weeks later, he had been found by the Castelmaine Huszari, where he served as a medic of some considerable skill and renown.

The war had ended, and Marr had aided other Romero Clan survivors in rebuilding his old homestead, but his grief was too much. The lands were a constant reminder of what he had lost, and so when the Huszari came to Romero to seek his aid, he had accepted gladly and ridden south to Castelmaine. There, for the past three years he had served as the personal physician for Mozu-Beric, the great dragon of Berican University. Mortally wounded during the war, the scholar council of her university, many of them her offspring, had wept and fretted for her wellbeing, and so Auden Marr kept daily watch over her, tending to her needs.

In time, he came to not forget his past tragedies, but to accept them, and to accept his new place within the world. Few outside of her eyrie knew of her injuries, and the Council of Berican liked to keep it that way. Her university was one of the most prodigious in Castelmaine and they feared what may happen if news of her wounds spread. Even the Agate Tower had not known for months, and upon discovery had signed potent wards of secrecy.

"Of late she has slumbered much and dreamed of many things. In her sleep she murmurs of thinning veils, growing shadows and ancient evils waking. Three days ago she told me to watch the setting sun over Veo-Yan two days hence. That day was today."

"So what did you see?"

"Two black cloaked figures gliding from the Obsidian Tower of Amlec College, over the south-eastern wall and into Veo-Yan."

"Why would Amlec send scouts into the monastery?"

"I don't think Amlec sent them. In fact, I'm pretty sure they were from outside the city, which makes the fact that Mozu-Beric sent me all the more pertinent and surprising."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the figures wore clothing and beaked masks the like of which I've not seen since before the war. In the peaceful times before the cataclysm, my clan often sparred with the elves of Ravenwood, vile and spiteful creatures that slaughtered and poached our livestock herds mercilessly and interfered with our great hunts for sport. I am certain the two figures I saw today were wearing the same clothing that the Blackvale elves wore. Their part of the Ravenwood is a glade so vast it is almost as the plains, sparsely dotted with the great skypine trees in which they made their homes. The winged suits allowed them to glide from tree to tree and to the fields below."

Owin frowned a little, taking a long drink as he listened, "But what would Ravenwood elves want this far south? Do you think it might be linked to His return?"

Marr shrugged slowly, "I don't know, Owin. I really don't. She gave no comment on the matter when I told her other than to thank me and dismiss me for the evening, before falling into sleep once more. Though she did mutter one more thing after slumber took her."

"And what was that?"

"Iskaandri."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. You asked for my story, and that is all I have to tell."

Owin nodded and smiled, "And I thank you for telling it."

Marr rose from his seat and bowed his head to Owin. His mood had soured during the telling of the story and his smile faded. "I must get back to the eyrie."

Owin nodded understanding, and smiled faintly at Marr, then watched him turn and leave back though the crowd from whence he had come.

As Auden Marr left the rowdy noise of the Brazen Boar, he did not notice a shadowy figure atop the roofs watching him with silvered eyes beneath a wide brimmed hat, coat flapping in the nights breeze.