Chapter Four: The Informant
Kylink awoke. The white light of morning burst in through the floorboards above him. He looked around groggily; there was no one around. He was lying once again on a padded sofa, with barrels surrounding and a peculiar smell. He knew where he was still, Knives’ house. The events of the night before had been pounded into his brain. An attack on the castle, an escape to the woods, carrying a bloody and broken man in his arms to a place he barely knew, in the middle of a war zone.
Kylink sat up and his head immediately pounded in pain. Wincing, he collapsed once again onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he thought of all the answers he needed. How had he known who Knives was, who were these people anyway? Kylink sat back up. A strange chill
ran through him; his clothes were wet and smelling of blood. He bent down to read the inked print on one of the nearby barrels, “Certified Windfyre Ale. 1650.â€
The sunlight suggested it was the day still. How late had he been up? Kylink walked slowly up the wooden stairs. They creaked under his weight. They didn’t go that far up, but they led to a large open room. Looking around, there was a counter and tables with drinks on them. This was a bar. The red carpet looked old and covered in dirt and dusty green curtains covered the windows, letting odd light into the room. As Kylink took in the surroundings, a voice spoke.
“You’re the prince of Falchion, right?†Kylink turned around and saw the man, standing straight and looking worn.
“Yes, I think I am.â€
“…Your father sent you I presume.â€
“He’s probably dead.†Kylink responded curtly.
The man seemed shocked by the abruptness of his speech. “I would expect better manners from Royalty.†He paused, “My name is Jonathon Dantz, but you can call me Knives.â€
“My name is…Kylink. I am the son of King Andrew. I escaped when the castle was attacked. I don’t know who it was though.â€
“I don’t either.†Knives opened up the window and peeked out while speaking. “Our informant should be here any minute.â€
“Informant? What…is going on here?†Kylink puzzled.
“This isn’t just a tavern. The reason King Andrew told you to meet me was that we are a resistance group, aimed to protect the peace of Falchion in case the government was ever over thrown. The King must have foreseen this and warned you. We all take on aliases to protect our identity. I call myself Knives, for instance…your father, he was Vash.â€
Kylink paused and nodded his head. “Who was that large man that rescued me?â€
“That is Mike Yubel. You might have heard of him, in his younger years he saved Falchion quite a few times from destruction. He takes the alias of Hammer Mike. You’ll find out why.†He pulled a stool out and motioned towards it with his hand. Kylink walked towards it and sat down, his tiredness took a hold of him, even after hours of sleep. Knives sat down in front of him and looked at him deeply, “Do you want to join our group?â€
Confusion filled Kylink’s head, “I-I don’t know.â€
Knives wiped his hand across his face wearily. His face betrayed his age in that light, and it seemed as if he had wisdom beyond his years, “The way I see it is this. You seem to be exiled from your home and you have no where else to go. Plus…you know of our group. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, and I know that you wouldn’t snitch on us but…I can’t take the chance of letting harm come to my family.â€
A soft knock came from the door on the opposite side of the room, “You think about it.†Knives said, walking towards the door. He looked out the window, opened it slowly, and let in a thin, pale man, covered head to toe in black. His hair was unusual; it was held up with gel into a single point. He looked around slowly, and walked quickly inside. Knives shut the door behind him.
“Are you being followed?â€
“No.†The man spoke.
“This is Darkjay,†Knives shouted to Kylink from across the room, “our informant.â€
Darkjay sat down and took out a cigar. He put it in his mouth and breathed heavy smoke across the room. Getting up, he moved towards the bar, took a glass and filled it full of ale.
“I’ll be asking 500 now.â€
“500? It was 200 before! Don’t you think you’re gouging us too much?†Knives yelled.
Darkjay spoke without raising his head, “This is top of the line information, it’s your call if you’re willing to pay for it.â€
Knives sighed. “Alright, let me get the money.â€
He walked out of the room, leaving Kylink alone with the strange man.
“So, how’s the prince today?†Darkjay spoke.
Kylink looked at him in surprise. “How do you know I’m-â€
“Why do you think they hired me to be an informant? Trust me, if you have the money, I can find the answer for you.â€
Kylink thought to himself for a second. He lifted his head, with an inquisitive glare, “Can you tell me what this is?†Kylink reached into his pocket and took out the bright red stone.
Darkjay looked at it deeply, “Alright, I’ll find out what it is.â€
Knives walked back through the door, holding a dark, leather bag. He shoved it towards Darkjay impatiently. “There’s your 500. Now tell me what you know.â€
Darkjay opened up the bag. He sifted through it with his fingers and inspected a few of the dull, silver coins engraved with an eagle and a sword on them. “Alright, they’re good.â€
After swallowing back the rest of his ale, he slammed the cup back onto the table. Knives brought a chair over to him, and sat down beside him. “Here’s what I know.†Darkjay took a large puff from his cigar, “The soldiers in white are being employed by the Monks of Oswyn.â€
“What?†Knives exclaimed. Kylink nodded his head, King Andrew had predicted that the Oswyn Monastery was suspicious all along. If it hadn’t been for his foresight, Kylink would not be where he was now.
Darkjay continued, “They call themselves Xirphix. They are an army made of warriors who wear white. I don’t know where they come from, but I do know that they have been assembling in the Oswyn Monastery for months now. I still don’t know of the Monk’s motives for starting this army at all, although I do know that taking over Falchion is just the start of it. They are planning to take over the entire world.â€
“How were they able to get past our soldiers?†Kylink chimed in.
“Well, they are different than you or I. These soldiers have something going for them, something that makes them stronger, more powerful, and definitely a lot more feral.â€
“Feral?â€
“Yes, I don’t know if you saw some of them, but there is a good reason that the Falchion soldiers are afraid of them. These soldiers may not be entirely human. I’ve seen some soldiers who looked like you or I, but others…they were twisted and vile.â€
“How can we stop them?â€
“Hmm…I don’t know. I have something for you that will probably be of use to you.†Darkjay reached into his pocket, and pulled out a vial. It was filled with a clear liquid. He held it up, but as Knives reached for it, he pulled it away. “200 for the vial.â€
“200?†Knives shouted. “Give it to us, you greedy !@#$%!â€
Darkjay stepped back, “I’m not doing this for free. If there’s a way to make more money, then I will do it.†Knives fumed. Darkjay muttered, “It’s simple, I want the money, you want the vial.â€
Knives reached into his pocket, and slammed a fistful of silver coins onto the table beside him. Darkjay handed over the vial carefully, and collected the money.
“That vial is what makes those soldiers so powerful. I would take it to someone who can find out what it is.†With that, Darkjay walked to the door, opened it up, and quickly disappeared into the streets. The shadow of a bird was illuminated in the window.
Knives weighed the vial in his hands and inspected it. He got up from his chair and walked around. Kylink remained silent, he wondered if Darkjay had remembered his request. He had no idea what the red jewel could be. Why was it so important that Kylink had it? These mysteries still alluded him.
“That guy gets on my nerves…but he’s a great informant. If you can pay him, he will tell you what you need to know-“ Knives turned to Kylink and stopped.
Kylink turned around on his chair to see what was behind him. He looked back to see the brown-haired, white-robed boy that he had rescued the night before. He stood with a slight smile, but still weary from pain. He held a bandage on his chest, it had been wrapped by someone tightly, the night before.
“Who are you?†Knives asked firmly.
“I am Mewgull.â€
“What is your allegiance to Falchion?â€
The boy sat down on a chair; Knives skipped back at the movement. Knowing the other man’s confusion, Mewgull moved slowly. “I don’t wish either of you any harm…in fact, I don’t really know where I am, or who I am.â€
“I think we can trust him.†Kylink blurted out. Knives glanced sideways at him.
“How can you be sure?â€
“I…I know.†Kylink said.
“Please, you can trust me.†Mewgull stated.
“How did you get those robes? That color, why is it white?â€
“I don’t know. I just woke up this morning. I don’t r-remember anything that happened before that.â€
Kylink looked back and forth at the two. It was clear that Knives was much more firm and aggressive in his demeanor than Mewgull. He had the appearance of a weak and frail boy, he couldn’t defend himself against Knives even if he tried. Looking down at Knives’ hand, Kylink noticed a small dagger. Knives moved forward suddenly, and Kylink’s heart beat fast. Before moving to Mewgull, Knives went back into the nearby hallway and up a rickety set of stairs. Mewgull and Kylink stared at each other. He seemed so close to his own age.
“You saved me, didn’t you?†Mewgull spoke.
“…Yes.â€
“I overheard most of what that Darkjay said. I want to help. I want to help you guys save this place from those bad guys.†Mewgull said.
Kylink was confused. Was he really stuck in a situation where he had to save Falchion?
Knives returned from the doorway with his wife, son, and Hammer Mike shortly behind them. They all stood around, a little ways away from Mewgull. Hammer Mike walked towards Mewgull and got down on a knee. He looked closely at him. “I think he’s alright.†Mike said. Mewgull looked expectedly at Knives, but Knives still looked worried from Mewgull overhearing their conversation.
Knives turned to Kylink. “I told everything to them,†He motioned to the group. “It’s decided that we have to go to Oswyn monastery and find out more about those soldiers. You’re coming.†Kylink was shocked at the boldness of that statement. “Both you, and Mewgull know too much about our resistance group to just be left alone. Me, Mike, and you two will leave tomorrow. You can’t leave the house until then. We will exit the town in the dead of night through the back alleys, and a secret passage.â€
“So, we really are going to save Falchion aren’t we?†Kylink smiled.
“Time will tell.†Knives spoke. Everyone in the room understood the predicament and looked down in silence. Kylink put his hand on his sheath, and drew out his long sword.
