Mesmer's Mask

The Chosen

Life in Kryta turned out to be remarkably similar to life in Ascalon. Kryta was hot and humid, and for someone who had lived in the mild climate of Ascalon for all his life that was a rather unforgiving change. For the rest, things felt just the same. I spent most of my days in Lion's Arch, and sometimes the White Mantle would ask for my aid on small missions.

Kryta had its own share of problems to deal with, and although there were no Charr here, the issue of the Undead felt only marginally less urgent. We had dealt with the most pressing threat, but the Mantle was constantly on guard and more often than not they needed to engage these fiends somewhere.

I had been made an honorary knight of the White Mantle along with my friends, but I was never quite comfortable among their ranks. I could not submit to the belief in their invisible deities, and in turn they never truly saw me as one of their own. I felt much more at ease among the Lionguard, who held to the old faith.

The Lionguard had once been Kryta's main defence force, and formed the elite guard of the royal family. With the royal family gone and the people of Kryta turning to the Mantle's new gods, the numbers of the Lionguard had dwindled significantly. They mainly spent their days in the city and the surrounding countryside, and worshiped the Five Gods quietly.

The people of Ascalon had been granted a place to live in North Kryta Province, and when I wasn't running errands for the Mantle or the Lionguard, I would take the time to visit the settlement and run errands there. I did not busy myself with Kryta's politics, and as a result it was weeks before I ran into Lady Elvea again.

I had made a fair bit of money while working in Kryta, and had decided to put it to good use by spending it on new armour. I had never held Kryta in particularly high regard before I came to live there, and had been surprised to find the quality of the craftsmanship much higher than that of anything available in Ascalon. Unfortunately that meant that the cost of it was a fair deal higher too.

I found Elvea in the Crafter's Corner, an area not far from the docks where the best craftsmen worked. She was talking to a man known as Samuka, and even before I could overhear their conversation I knew that he was about to find out why soldiers in Ascalon preferred to face Charr over an angry Duchess. Quite a crowd had gathered to witness the spectacle.

She settled a glare on Samuka, but although I could tell he was wishing to be anywhere else, it was clear that he was using all his willpower to keep looking her in the eyes. This annoyed her immensely, and she muttered something under her breath before turning away irritably. Samuka let out a breath of relief. Before any of us knew what had happened, Elvea had spun back around and hit him over the head with her staff.

Samuka stared at her, too stunned to speak. His mouth was opening and closing without producing sound, and his eyes were the size of saucers. He shook his head as if to get rid of the staff-induced daze, then carefully sat down on a crate. He was still blinking confusedly as I finally deemed it safe enough to approach the rest of the way. Elvea was tapping her foot impatiently and had folded her arms across her chest.

"He'll not stay stupefied forever, will he?" I asked her as I watched the poor merchant stare ahead.

She snorted. "He was born that way. Nothing that can be cured with reason."

I arched an eyebrow, still looking at Samuka. "So you hit him instead?"

She shrugged. "Not like it can make it any worse. He should learn the value of his cloth before trying to sell it. I'm sure many people here have been paying far too much for their armour lately." One look at the crowd told me it was probably true. They were looking rather impressed, and none of them seemed inclined to call the authorities. Then again, this could simply have been because they had good cause to fear Elvea’s staff.

I suppressed a sigh. "You could have killed him, you know."

She glanced at me sideways, and I resisted the urge to shrink back. "I didn't hit him hard enough for that."

"Good," I muttered.

"It was tempting, though," she said casually. I stared at her.

There was a whimper from the direction of Samuka, and we both turned our attention back to him. He got up carefully and shook his head once more before looking at Elvea again. His manner was no longer challenging- he had the air of a defeated man. He bowed politely, then straightened himself in an attempt to restore some dignity.

"My apologies," he said quietly. "I was clearly wrong." He walked into his little shop and came back with two bundles. "Four hundred gold pieces in all, Your Grace."

She produced a pouch of coins and dropped it. Samuka bent down and picked it up off the floor, his face flushed. I couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment, or both. He weighed the pouch to check the contents, then tucked it away when he was satisfied. He gave a polite nod, then he disappeared into his shop and shut the door behind him.

"You owe me two hundred gold pieces," Elvea said as she picked up the bundles. "Two hundred gold pieces, and a thank you."

I blinked at her. "…what?"

"Would have cost you more if I hadn't come along," she went on.

I looked at the bundles she was holding. Apparently one was mine, then. I sighed and produced two small pouches of equal size. "Here," I said. "And thank you, that was very kind."

She shrugged. "Go and change into this." She pushed the parcel into my hands. "Meet me by the gates when you're done." She started walking away, then stopped. "Bring your belongings, we might not get back to the city for some time."

I sighed as I watched her leave. Thinking that she was acting solely out of kindness had been foolish. It was too good to be true. Just as always there had been a catch, and just as always, I had walked into the trap with my eyes wide open. I should have known better. I made my way back to the barracks that constituted my home and changed into my new armour, then grabbed my backpack and quickly threw in my small amount of personal belongings. I headed out and stopped in the marketplace for some provisions, then I made my way to the gates.

Elvea was already there, waiting for me with four other people. One of them I recognised as Aidan, the other three were people I had not seen since before the Searing. Mhenlo was a young and talented Monk who had been a respected teacher even then, and Cynn was something of a legend among Elementalists. Devona was a renowned Warrior like her father before her. The group was made up of exceptionally talented people, and I couldn't help but feel somewhat out of place.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show," Elvea said.

"I needed to buy some things for the journey," I defended myself. I was determined to keep looking at her.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Enough time wasted. Let's go." She turned and went out the gates. Aidan had already gone ahead a little, the other three followed close behind her. I was the last to go out. I had a bad feeling about this journey already, and it had hardly even started. It didn't bode well at all.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked as I caught up to Devona.

"Divinity Coast," she said. "We're to meet Justiciar Hablion in the village of Shaemoor."

"What for?"

"Duchess didn't say." She shrugged. "It'll be related to the Undead no doubt."

Cynn fell back a few paces to walk with us. "I don't mind," she commented. "Their dry bones burn quite well."

I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so I chose to ignore it. "How far is it to Shaemoor anyway?"

"Three days' travel," Aidan called back to us. I was surprised that he had even overheard. He was some way ahead of us, and we weren't talking loudly. He went on. "Four, if we are delayed along the way."

"Nothing a little fire can't prevent," Cynn said.

~*~

The journey through Kryta was much harder than I had thought. I had expected us to travel by road, along well-kept paths that allowed for easy passage. It would have taken us through the Ascalon Settlement, then on to Nebo Village and eventually to Beetletun; a small, secluded town along Watchtower Coast. If we rested in the settlement and Beetletun, we would be able to make it to Shaemoor in the evening of the third day, or the morning of the fourth at the latest.

Elvea and Aidan had decided on a different route instead- one that led us away from civilisation through the swampiest areas of Kryta. Perhaps it was part of some mission they did not care to inform me about, but it seemed like madness to me either way. We slept under the stars and never for long. Aidan slept least of all- he was always the last to lie down and the first to be up, and I suspected that he may not even really sleep at all.

Devona and Mhenlo were the most sociable of our little group, although Cynn did not seem to appreciate it much if the Monk made conversation with Elvea. As a result the Monk often walked with me, telling me of his childhood and his training in a land far to the south which he called Cantha. Devona walked with us and sometimes told stories of her father and the battles he had fought, and more reluctantly of the ones she had fought herself. Cynn was always near, watching and listening to what was said. Every now and again she’d say something about burning things, but she didn’t seem to be interested in telling much about herself at all.

Elvea was always ahead of us, moving in a way that was not unlike how Aidan moved, even farther ahead. She was nimble, agile, and did not seem hindered by her surroundings or the clothes she was wearing. It was hard to imagine that she had ever lived anywhere else, even if what she was wearing was some sort of mix between a red dress and a long red coat. I had been particularly sceptic about the practicality of her high-heeled red boots, but she’d managed to prove that she could move around in them just fine.

Aidan was always scouting ahead, keeping an eye out for potential danger. There was plenty of it to be found. This part of Kryta was barely populated, and even the Mantle rarely ventured this far. We had to stop and fight the Undead more times than I could remember, and it slowed us down significantly. It took us four days just to reach the Temple of the Ages, and from there it was easily still half a day to Shaemoor.

We set out from the Temple very early on the fifth day. It was particularly hot and humid that day, and under the boughs of the ancient trees the air was especially oppressive. We had not gone far when we ran into the first obstacle of the day, and I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or relieved.

We had thus far managed to keep to the driest parts of the swampland, but it seemed it was no longer possible to continue to do so. Before us was a large body of murky water, and it would take longer to walk around it than to wade through it- or swim. Aidan had already gone ahead and waded in, as watchful as ever. He moved slowly for a moment, then, when he seemed satisfied that it would not get much deeper, he picked up a quicker pace.

Elvea had stopped at the edge of the water and we passed her by, wading into the filthy pool. It was good to be out from under the trees for a while, but the stench of the water made sure we could not enjoy the new experience for long. We had taken only a few steps when Mhenlo stopped and turned around.

"Aren’t you coming, Elvea?" he asked.

I turned around with the others. Elvea was still standing at the water’s edge. She held her back straight and her head high, but she was glaring down at the water all the same, as if it had committed some terrible offense and her stare would make it disappear. I had to admit the tactic had worked on just about every human being she had fixed that gaze on, but it wasn’t likely to be any use at all against a body of water.

Cynn rolled her eyes. "Duchess wants to be carried," she said.

"Nothing for it then." Aidan had waded back and got out of the water. He picked Elvea up as if she weighed no more than a pebble and waded back in, passing us all by as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Devona had to nudge me to make me stop staring, but even so I could not believe that Elvea had actually managed to get her way in such a manner.

It was a long way to the other side, but fortunately for us the lake never really got deep. For the most part it was knee-deep; at the deeper bits it came halfway up my thighs. I’d soon discovered the worst part about coming this way- the air above the water was filled with thousands and thousands of little insects, all buzzing and all swarming towards us as soon as we came nearer. Some of them did no more than hover about us, proving to be a nuisance only in that we had to do our very best not to breathe them in. Others were more troublesome- there were plenty more vicious bugs that considered us to be the tastiest thing they had seen in a very long time.

It was a whole new world of torment to have to go through it, and long before we were even halfway I thought the incessant little stings would drive me mad if the heat didn’t manage it first. We had made it almost all the way to the other side when something unexpected happened. Mhenlo shouted "Undead!" and we all reached for our weapons.

Aidan promptly dropped Elvea into the filthy water and unleashed an arrow at the charging enemy before any of us had had a chance to react. I had no time to properly register the big splash she made upon hitting the surface, or what she did after that. Undead were swarming in from several directions and all I could do was summon down fire from the heavens to scorch them. It was agony to have to call fire to our defence, but it was the best weapon against our attackers. We would simply have to endure more heat until we were once again safe.

The attack stopped as abruptly as it had begun. A handful of Undead turned and ran away, but most of our attackers now lay somewhere on the bottom of the shallow lake. We were too tired to pursue the remaining forces. I stood very still, catching my breath and wishing for some relief from the heat. Only Cynn seemed entirely unaffected now.

"You dropped me!" Elvea’s voice was on the verge of breaking. Her half-shriek drew my attention back to her and Aidan, and I took in the scene fully. Elvea was standing straight, glaring viciously at the nonchalant Ranger. Her dress was sticking to her, clinging to her skin by virtue of dirty, smelly swamp water. Her hair stuck to her face, cheerfully decorated with strings of swamp plant that came with her impromptu swamp bath. She was breathing laboriously, which I suspected to be a result of the heat and her now wet and heavy clothes.

"It is famously difficult to make use of bow and arrows while carrying damsels in distress," Aidan replied calmly. This seemed to infuriate her more, and I thought she was certain to slap him. He met her stare for stare. His face was calm, and he didn’t seem intimidated at all. The hand she had half-raised simply dropped back to her side, and she said nothing.

An uncomfortable silence fell, and for a moment we simply stood in the knee-deep water. Then Aidan turned away and picked up the pace again with determined strides. There was nothing for it but to follow, and soon enough we were out of the water and back on the road. The trees gradually got less, and some time later we could even feel a faint breeze picking up. It was a little cooler, too, and we all sighed quietly as we realised that we were getting close to Kryta’s northern coast now.

We started moving faster with newfound vigour, and it wasn’t long until we spotted the watchtowers of Shaemoor. We started moving even faster, and I was quite certain that I could hear Devona humming. When we finally walked through the gates, I was ready to cheer for sheer joy.

Justiciar Hablion was waiting for us atop a hill in the highest part of the village, beside some sort of altar. It was clearly a hallowed place, and I could sense its power before I even set foot on the final flight of steps uphill. Hablion moved forward to greet us as soon as he spotted us.

"My friends! Welcome to Shaemoor. This is the Eye of Janthir." He gestured to the altar behind him as if he expected us to know what he was talking about. A quick look at Elvea told me that she knew more than she had told us- or knew more than she had told me, in any case.

"It has the power to see inside a person and discern his or her magical aptitude," Hablion went on. "Those it gazes upon will be judged, either rising to glory or falling in shame. You will be bringing it to Loamhurst, taking those whom it deems worthy with you." His nose wrinkled and he made a face, giving Elvea a somewhat irritated look. "But before it will follow you, you must first cleanse yourself in the Fountain of Truth, up on the hill to the southeast. Once you have been cleansed, come back to retrieve the Eye, and you can commence administering the test."

No one said a word as we headed outside the village to climb the appointed hill. Elvea’s involuntary semi-swim had done her little good, and now that her clothes had largely dried the smell was horrible. In all fairness, most of us had seen better days and we all had dirty legs, but Elvea was the only one who was covered in grime from head to toe, and looked the worst for it.

We made our way up the large hill, passing numerous stone tablets along the way. Each of them seemed to have something to tell about the Eye of Janthir, but I wasn’t allowed the time to stop and study the inscriptions. The fountain atop the hill was far less grand than I had expected, and watched over by a single Abbott. He gestured for us to wash and one by one we stepped into the fountain.

I felt better immediately as I approached, and as I stepped into the water I could feel dirt and fatigue alike being washed away. The fountain had a strange quality that worked its way into the body from the feet up, and I could see myself being cleaner even though I did little actual washing. When I stepped out of the fountain, it seemed easier to breathe and I thought my eyesight was clearer. I could tell that my companions felt much the same way, and all of us now looked clean and fit. Even Elvea looked as if she had never been anywhere near a swamp.

We made our way back to Justiciar Hablion, and he smiled broadly as we approached. "Well done," he said. "As you can see, the Eye will now follow you. All those whom you come in contact with will be judged by the Eye." A strange, zealous gleam came into his eyes. "Those who are deemed worthy will join you in your trek to Loamhurst. The unworthy will be humbled."

I shifted uncomfortably. The religion of the White Mantle had always made me feel queasy, and now more than ever I felt an overwhelming sense of dread trying to take a hold of me. Perhaps it was the mystical eye now hovering over us that made me uneasy, but I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen. "Good luck," Hablion said. "Travel safely, my fellow Knights of the Mantle."

We saluted him and went on our way. It wasn’t long until we found out exactly what the Eye was for. Every time we encountered someone, it would subject them to a ray of holy light, and those who were unworthy would not be able to stand it. I had seen many villagers get knocked down before we found a person who could withstand the gaze of the Eye.

I found myself wondering exactly what the Eye was, and what power it wielded. As we left Shaemoor and went through the countryside, I found myself continuously looking over my shoulder, and I had to resist the urge to shudder every time I found its gaze fixed on me.

The journey to Loamhurst wasn't as easy as I had hoped. We were more rested now than before we had reached Shaemoor, thanks to the Fountain of Truth, but it had not magically solved the issue of monsters along the way. This part of Kryta was thinly populated. Villages were few, small, and far-between. The Mantle's numbers here were far fewer as well, and it had allowed a number of beasts to multiply.

For the first part of the journey we had to deal with imps, skale beasts, and a few ettins. It was tedious trying to fight them and protect the Chosen at the same time, but there weren't too many foes and that kept it manageable. As we progressed things got more complicated. We were met by a few haphazard Krytans, who had apparently run from a Tengu attack on their merchant train.

Tengu were vicious man-like birds, well-versed in the arts of war. They were brash, quick to anger, and had little love for humankind. Before coming to Kryta I had never seen these creatures before, but having faced them in battle a few times since that moment I knew that fighting them was not something I ever wanted to do again. It was flirting with death a little too much for my liking- even more so than spending any amount of time in Elvea's presence.

We pressed on and soon came upon the site of the ambush. The wagons were all broken, here and there nothing but smouldering remains were left. A lone merchant was still trying to fight off a group of Tengu, but even this brave man could not resist them for much longer. Being outnumbered by Tengu was more or less equal to certain death.

Aidan fired a volley off arrows in the direction of the beasts, and they were distracted long enough for the villager to come running our way. Mhenlo had a healing spell ready before the Tengu realised what was happening, and this moment of confusion was just long enough to turn the battle in our favour. It wasn't long before we were victorious.

The merchant ran up to Elvea and took her hands in his. "Thank you!" He looked panicked and relieved at the same time, and seemed as unaware of Elvea's irritated look as he was of the fact that the Eye had identified him as one of its Chosen. "When our caravan was attacked several of us scattered into the hills," he went on. "If any of them are Chosen it would be your duty, as the keepers of the Eye, to find and escort them safely to Loamhurst."

Elvea pulled her hands free and took a few steps away. "Come along, then, we could use the extra pair of hands," she said drily. I had a vague suspicion that she was referring to her own. "You know these lands better than we do. Which way?"

"I saw some running this way," the man said as he headed down a narrow path. "Hurry, we may not have much time!"

We ran down the path with the Chosen in tow, and fought through a number of Tengu before we got to a Krytan woman who had been hiding. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw us approaching, then gasped as the Eye appraised her. "I knew it. I always knew I was gifted," she stammered. I caught Cynn rolling her eyes, and tried to hide a smile.

The woman kept talking, but we did not pay much attention to it. There were more people in the hills, and if we waited too long, we would only ever find their bodies. We pressed on and killed the Tengu in our path, always looking for signs of the other merchants.

We headed for the noise and the smoke as soon as we detected its presence. It looked as if some of the merchants had decided to make a stand, and a battle was still raging. We charged in and took the Tengu by surprise once more, although without the same ease as before.

We walked around the battleground for a few minutes, checking the bodies to make sure not all of them were lifeless. Most of them were; only a few were still breathing. Mhenlo healed them to the best of his ability, but not even he could save them all. One of the merchants was Chosen, and reluctantly joined our little group for the journey to Loamhurst. He looked over his shoulder as we left the others behind us and sighed softly.

I realised it had to be difficult for him to simply leave everything behind, especially for an uncertain future. I didn't even know what it meant to be Chosen save that it was a great honour, and the Krytans we had rescued did not seem to know much more than that. It wasn't unlike my own journey out of Ascalon, abandoning everything for the road to the unfamiliar and the unknown.

I did not get much time to consider this more thoroughly. The last leg of the journey went through swampland again, and even here the Undead were happy to attack us. Nearly every turn brought us more foes, and before I could see the gates of Loamhurst I caught myself thinking that the waves of enemies would never end.

We were greeted by a man who introduced himself as Lionguard Minah. "I see the rumours of your bravery are true," he smiled. "You have delivered to us the Chosen without letting any of them fall." He took a pouch of coins from his belt and presented it to Elvea. "As a token of our appreciation, please accept this small gift."

Elvea nodded. "Thank you," she said politely. She took the pouch and handed it to Aidan, who tucked it away somewhere. Minah nodded and saluted, receiving a salute from her in return. She turned away and headed towards the beach. The others followed quietly, the Eye still with them. I nodded quietly at Minah and went after the little group.

There was an altar by the sea not unlike the one in Shaemoor. Elvea walked to it and knelt slowly. The Eye passed over her head and settled over the altar, paying none of us any attention at all. I wondered at that for a moment. Why had the Eye not tested us when we first came to it?

A coast guard walked up to us and saluted us. "Now that you've administered the test, you are one of us," he said. "You are a friend to the White Mantle, and we never forget our friends." He gestured at the barracks nearby. "There is room for you to rest here; you are welcome to stay a while."

"It is much appreciated," Elvea said. "We could use some time to recover before we return to Lion's Arch."

The man nodded. "Stay as long as you need to."

"Not too long, I hope," I mumbled to myself. Devona turned to me and smiled.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The Eye. I don't like it," I said quietly. I was careful to keep my voice down, so the guards would not overhear. Both of us looked to where the Eye hovered silently over the altar.

Devona shrugged. "It's new and different, I suppose we'll need time to get used to it."

I looked at Elvea, who was still talking to the guard. "Duchess doesn't seem to have a problem with it," I commented.

"Or she's just not showing it," Devona said lightly. She grinned. "She's smarter than you that way."

I huffed. "Her idea of diplomacy is beating people with her staff until they do as she says." Devona arched an eyebrow. "Never mind," I muttered.

Elvea finished talking to the guard and headed for the barracks. Cynn followed right behind her, Aidan and Mhenlo followed at a slower pace. I was the last to get moving, along with Devona. I still could not shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and this day was at the heart of it all.