Asherons Call: July Rollout Article is Up!

Aliester the Loquacious sat at his workshop table in the waning light of afternoon. He peered closely into the crucible containing his latest metallurgical experiment. The vessel was caked with a black, useless sludge. He prodded at the thick residue with a scraper. There was no evidence that there had ever been gold in the crucible. He sighed, muttering to himself.

"Surely my august and benevolent colleagues of the Council of Sages would find this to be a noteworthy occasion: I am the first metallurgist in all the known realms to have found the method by which an overeducated and undertrained fool may turn gold into dross."

There was a noise from outside his window. It sounded like a snort of laughter, a sound Aliester was used to hearing from his nephew Ardry. He turned, expecting to see the young scout, and almost dropped the crucible in surprise. An Aluvian man dressed in black leather armor stood outside his window with an amused expression. It was very definitely not Ardry.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Aliester set down the crucible and reached for the small dagger he kept by his desk, though he could tell just by looking at the stranger's confident stance and leanly muscled arms that the dagger would probably do him more harm than good, if this stranger had ill intent for him.

"I've come a long way to find the legendary sage, Aliester the Loquacious," the stranger said in worshipful tones. "Would you be that esteemed gentleman, sir?"

Mollified, Aliester sat back and smiled. "Well, yes, I have the dubious honor to be that man you seek, sir. How did you find me here?"

"Mutual friends, sir. Your nephew Ardry, and a few others, recommended your name to me because of your research in certain... rare materials. Especially as such rare materials might relate to metallurgy. Forgive me, I have been rude. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Adso." He extended his hand through the open window to shake hands.

Aliester took his hand and noted the casually crushing grip of this young warrior. He stood and gestured inside. "If you have come to share some extraordinary or unique materials with me, please, do come in and avail yourself of my hospitality, atrophied as my social courtesies may be. I can mix up some fine tea for you, perhaps, or if you are more of a drinker..." He reached for another crucible and a sealed glass jar.

Adso bowed. "My regrets, great sage, I must be rude and refuse your invitation. My duties take me many places today. But I was asked to bring you some things, for your inspection..." Without a by-your-leave, he dropped a sack on Aliester's window sill. Aliester cautiously looked inside. A powerful smell, sharp and corrosive, assaulted him as soon as he opened the bag.

"Pwyll's thrice-blessed bones, man! What is this?"

"Trophies from a dark and terrible new place, great sage. You may have heard or felt the shaking of the ground as a new island..."

Aliester waved his hand dismissively. "Say no more, young man. I am well aware of the geologic and geomantic instabilities that gave rise to yet another eruption of long-buried land from the sea floor. I have, indeed, been looking for materials culled from the singular and one might even say anomalous native fauna of the so-called Dark Isle... I had expected my nephew to bring me samples, but if he sent you in his place..."

Adso nodded impatiently. "Yes, he sent me here with as many trophies as I could quickly gather. We have found that there are mystical properties common to these items, as if all the creatures of the island were tainted in the same..."

"Naturally! You will, of course, be familiar with my works on the unique magical emanations of Shadow and Crystal shards and their applications in the smithing of enchanted armor. If not, I do believe I have at least one or two copies of my most relevant treatise here at hand..."

"A generous offer, great sage, but I must get on with my duties. Please just send a report to Ardry and to the rest of the Council of Sages when you have completed your investigations."

Aliester, busily inspecting a rotting black fin, waved his free hand absent-mindedly.

Adso leaned close to the old man. "And please, do hurry. There have been reports that King Varicci seeks to unlock the mysteries of these trophies himself. While he is no longer our most pressing threat, it would be a shame if he were to gain some kind of research advantage to exploit later."

"Yes... Varicci... exploit... bad..." Aliester was sniffing the withered fin like a dog seeking out a buried bone. "Fine armor, I am sure..."

Adso turned and walked away. The sage's house was on the edge of a great forest, far from any other settlements. A fair number of trees on the forest's edge had been chopped down to feed the fires in Aliester's workshop. Ardry had told them that the isolation was meant to spare the lives of any innocents should one of the sage's experiments prove to be explosive. He and his Master had come a long way off their normal path just to bring that bag of rotting trophies to the old man.

When he re-entered the forest, his Master joined him. "How did it go?" the older man asked.

"Well enough, Master. He is quite enchanted with the samples. I don't think it will take him long to investigate them and write a report."

"Excellent, Adso. Once his report has been distributed, practical applications should follow quickly."

Adso nodded, but his face showed confusion. His Master noticed, stopped walking, and turned to look at him directly. "Is there something wrong, Adso? Please, speak freely."

Adso stopped to think, trying to couch his words in diplomatic terms. "Master, when you recruited me... I had been led to believe certain things... in certain priorities... Well, venturing to that island, battling those terrible beasts, just to deliver some creature samples to an absent-minded researcher for the good of the realm... It seems..."

"Entirely too altruistic and out of character for me?"

Adso nodded reluctantly. His Master took a deep breath. "Even those who make their living in the darkness need there to be some light, Adso. My own Master taught me that. Are you afraid that I have lost my way? That I am saving lives, instead of taking them? That I now seek to live in peace with the benighted lackwits who share this unfortunate world with me?"

"No, Master, I would never presume-"

His Master's eyes gleamed in the twilight. "Good. Presumption is a dangerous thing, Adso. I trust this is the last conversation we will have to have about my motivations."

"Of course, Master."

"Because once you start questioning my motivations, you may stop following my orders. And if I cannot rely on you to follow orders..."

Adso's eyes widened in horror. "Never, Master."

His Master studied him for a long time. Adso met his eyes without flinching, but he could not help but sweat under the intense scrutiny.

"I believe you, Adso. All I have done, I do to serve a greater end. You will have learned another valuable lesson by the time all this is done. One of the last lessons I have to teach you, in fact."

Adso sighed in relief. "As you say, Master." With that settled, Master and Apprentice resumed their journey into the darkening woods.