The King's Knights

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Home of Lura

Lura's home was surprisingly neat. Fate actually thought it seemed pretty charming, given what she had to work with.

You would have expected a place in the middle of a swamp to be dirty, stunted, or made from old roots. However, it was created quite neatly from many different, dark roots. They twisted and shifted around one another from the trees, forming into the top. None of them had been cut, so it seemed a natural construction. On the floor, you saw a great deal of carefully laden straw and a rug. There was a cloth across the main entrance and the window.

A firepit was in the center, surrounded by square stones, and above it was a chimney carefully grown above. Lura had led them by many strange paths to this place and sat down to begin lighting a fire.

Fate thought it didn't really matter. Arcturus decided not to judge. Kiyora felt rather pleased with herself, having gotten back here.

"Welcome," said Lura. She looked a little annoyed, as usual, and Kiyora felt she had been noticed.

"Nice place," said Renfield. "Where are we? On a map, I mean."

"I have one here," said Lura as the flames began to lick upwards. "It is from the Sorcerer's Guild, so it should be accurate." Standing, she went over to a chest and opened it. Drawing a scroll, she undid the string around it and unrolled it.

"Can I see?" asked Fate, interested in maps.

"Of course," said Lura. "I have some tea ready. The waters notified me of your coming, so I set some on the kettle." She drew out two cups kept upside down in the chest and brought them to the kettle. Putting on a glove, she took it up and poured it out into each, passing them one after another.

"Are you a wizard of some kind?" asked Renfield.

Wasn't that obvious?

There was no such thing as wizardry. Just psychics and that was scientific, not voodoo magic.

"A sorcerer, yes," said Lura. "The spirits of the land obey me.

"Although it has taken me some time to get to know those here. Different places have different spirits, and each has its own nature.

"I have been learning those natures a long time."

"So the Black Mountain is at the center of everything," said Fate, reading the map. "We headed east."

"You are here," said Lura, pointing to a spot. "Roughly southwest of Brisgald, in the wilds of the Hand of Anoa. This domain has no local Lord and little order."

"What happened to him?" asked Renfield.

"He abandoned his domain," said Lura. "His name was Lilas, and he is hanging from a tree near Antion. He spent his life sewing chaos while beneath notice.

"In death, he is a living spectacle to bring peace."

"That's a little morbid," said Renfield.

Fate didn't think so.

It all made sense to him, at least from Lura's perspective. Still, weren't those thoughts a little sick for Arcturus to have? He was just a college student from Dantus.

"Harlenor is a morbid place," said Lura in the usual tone, though there was a hint of a smile. "Most of the humor you will find here is of the black variety." She sipped her tea. "If you wish to sweeten your tea, I have some honey and sugar."

"Thank you," said Renfield, sipping it. "You have sugar?"

"It came in often once," said Lura. "From the Islands of Power. I kept some of it stored here. I rarely have guests, so I may as well use it now."