Tales of Arlo

As Cold As Winter Skies

Oda and I met Tuli outside the bath house door and followed her as she led us further down the main hall of the castle. The slippers we had been given to wear around the castle were filled with fur and thumped softly against the smooth, stone flooring. 

Oda shuffled around in his multiple layers of fine clothing, tugging at the neck of his undershirt and blouse. The Marchioness had sent down a thick, long-sleeved chemise with a white poet's blouse overtop. She then stuffed the poor changeling into tight doublet, leaving only the plume of his blouse exposed. 

Lady Pia gave me a icy blue bliaut and white fur shawl. The heavy material was surprisingly pleasant, feeling like a warm blanket. Tuli then placed a white and blue damask obi that was wrapped tightly around me, taking some of the pressure I'd been feeling off of my back before placing my crossbow back where had been for days. 

The throne room was light by rows of candelabras and the massive stain-glass window that reached from the floor to the ceiling. The window told the story of a young man slaying a frost dragon with a large battleaxes behind a blue sky. From a distance, all we could see was the looming shadows of the Marquess and Marchioness' thrones. As we inched closer, I could make out the silhouette of a frail, old man. 

"I present you to the troll hunters, Arlene and Odin, my lord" Tuli spoke softly as she bowed and then left the room. 

Oda and I swiftly kneeled, keeping our heads down. 

"Thank you for your hospitality, my Lord" Oda proclaimed. 

"Yes, thank you, my lord" I reiterated quietly. 

"You two may rise and you are most certainly welcome! You've cleared out more frost trolls than my guards have taken care of in weeks!" Marquess Laurent cheered, "I just want to know how you two alone got it done". 

We lifted our heads and were met with friendly smile, the Marquess nearly on the edge of his seating waiting to hear our traveling tales. His long hair was white and his face was covered in scars older than myself. Despite his thin arms and legs, there was a fire in his eyes like he could bounce out of his seat at any moment. 

Adorned in a fur cloak and a traditional Elven circlet, his larger than life wardrobe was fitting of a king. At the center of his circlet sat a moonstone and gleamed in the blue light of the room. Although the Marquess had an overwhelming grandiose aura, the soft smile on his face was that of a benevolent father.  

"I was once an apprentice conjurer and my companion is an archer" Oda began, "We were attempting to sneak through the mountains, but as your scribe and maid could see, our original plan didn't go so well". 

"A former apprentice mage and an archer with an old crossbow took out multiple frost trolls, let alone a single one? And to be so young on top of that? Who did you two train under? I must know!" the Marquess pressured on. 

"He trained under his mother and I trained under my great-grandfather" I alleged, "It was simply the need to survive than got us through. Pure luck."

The Marquess chuckled and got down from his throne to walk over to meet. His legs nearly crumbled with every step and I watched him anxiously, fearing the old man would stumble down the stairs. As he reached the last step, his knee seemed to give out. I swoop down and grabbed him, holstering him back. His nearby guards ran over to check on him, but the Marquess was quick to shoo them away. 

"Nothing is pure luck, my dear" he chuckled "this old knee sure isn't! It took one arrow and then gave me trouble for the rest of my days". 

"What happened to the other leg?" Oda blurted without thinking.