Where Ashes and Oaths Collide

Chapter 68: Deal

Mestre Escuro’s distant expression as he recounted his past brought a flicker of something unreadable across Luz’s face. The image of Mestre Escuro– the leader of the Corrompido and his former enemy– as a young history student, driven by academic curiosity, was jarring. “History,” he repeated, his voice losing some of its earlier edge. “So, you were not always a monster.” The words were a statement more than a question, his amber eyes studying Mestre Escuro’s face with newfound interest. Luz’s black gauntleted hand loosened its grip on his sword hilt, the hidden white ribbon beneath feeling less like a relic of a dead life and more like an anchor to a shared humanity.

“What did you find there?” Luz asked curiously. “We found tomes and old runes we could not translate,” Mestre Escuro said. “It was Estrela Astuta who discovered the fountain.” Flashes of a young woman’s face flashes across his mind as he remembers what she looked like.

Her long, wavy brown hair fell loosely around her shoulders as her blue green eyes looked towards him with excitement and wonder. Her mouth was slightly open in a delighted smile the first time her saw her and she was holding a large, worn leather bound journal against her chest with both arms. The book looked old and well used, with scuffed brown leather covers and thick, aged pages visible along the edge. Back then she wore simple, practical clothes; a loose cream-coloured linen dress with long sleeves, a dark brown sleeveless overdress over it, a wide leather belt around the waist and a small brown leather satchel hung at her hips. She was curious and friendly. Her excitement was contagious when she showed him the ruins and the times and old runes they had discovered.

That girl had disappeared a long time ago, just like the young man Mestre Escuro used to be. The few times he had seen her since, he barely recognised her. Luz’s posture stiffened, his amber eyes widening as the implication of Mestre Escuro’s words sand in. “Estrela Astuta?” Luz’s voice was barely a whisper, stripped of its military command. “She found it?” the pieces of a puzzle he had not known existed began to shift in his min. the Santo’s order’s sudden rise to power, their obsession with purifying the land, their absolute hatred of anything Corrompido– it all began to take on a different shape. “You are telling me the woman who leads my former order is the same one who discovered this fountain? The same one who is hunting us all down like beasts?”

“Back then she was just a young scholar like me,” Mestre Escuro said nostalgically. “We were not looking for power. We just wanted to uncover ancient secrets.” He cleared his throat before continuing, his voice becoming more professional as he spoke. “The fountain is where this all started. You take that down and bring Estrela Astuta to me and I will free you from the darkness. That is the deal.” Luz’s jaw tightened, his amber eyes fixed on Mestre Escuro. the nostalgia in the man’s voice was a sharp contrast to the cold, professional terms he had just laid out. the weight of the deal pressed down on him like physical armour. “Bring Estrela Astuta to you,” he repeated, his voice low and steady. “The woman who declared me a traitor.”

Luz looked at the vial in Mestre Escuro’s hand, then back at the man’s face. “You want me to betray the Santo’s order one last time to save myself from it. It is poetic, in a twisted sort of way,” he said, a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he took the vial from Mestre Escuro. “We have arranged a ship for you,” Mestre Escuro said professionally. “You and Amelia can spend the night in one of the estates before you go.” Luz’s breath caught. The mention of Amelia– not as a bargaining ship, not as a civilian to be protected, but as someone to be taken with him– hit him hard. “An estate,” he murmured the words tasting like ash and honey all at once. “You are giving me a night of peace. A night with her.”

Luz’s hand drifted to the white ribbon on his wrist, his fingers tracing the frayed edges through the gaps in his gauntlet. “I do not deserve it,” he said, his voice cracking just enough to betray the man beneath the armour. “But I will do it. I will bring Estrela Astuta to you.” He straightened his shoulders, the black plate of his armour catching the dim light. “I will show you to the estate,” Lady Escuridade said softly. “She is already there.” Luz did not wait for a second invitation. He moved with a sudden, uncharacteristic haste, his heavy black boots striking the cobblestone floor in a rapid rhythm. His mind was a storm– part of him still calculating the tactical implications of Estrela Astuta betrayal, but most of him was focused on the single, terrifying through that Amelia was already involved.

“Lead the way,” Luz said, his voice tight. It was not a long walk to the estate entrance, where a large set of double wooden doors made from dark, aged timber waited. the door was framed by warm honey-coloured sandstone blocks, and the wood of the door was rich brown with a visible grain pattern. Heavy black iron hardware reinforced the door, including; large decorative strap hinges, numerous iron studs arranged in orderly rows, two circular iron ring knickers positioned at about waist height and thick iron bands. The first room they entered was an elegant sitting room illuminate by a bright fire burning withing the hearth of a fireplace built from carved sandstone and candlelight.

The seating arrangement consists of right upholstered furniture placed around a large wooden coffee table. At the centre stood a large sofa, upholstered in dark red and brown patterned fabric and decorated by multiple decorative cushions. Two matching armchairs upholstered in the same rich fabric faced the sofa. The sturdy dark polished wooden coffee table have several books stacked on it along with a ceramic pitcher. Large medieval tapestries hung on the walls all around, Luz’s gaze roamed over them quickly, taking in the woven artwork depicting figures or scenes from history, religion or legend. Luz and Lady Escuridade passed a bookshelf containing numerous books and a writing area as they headed deeper into the estate.