Forgotten Embers

Chapter 17: All We Need

"Avera," the King said, shifting his gaze, and considering his words carefully, "how is it that you came into the possession of pyrite?"

"To be perfectly honest, my Lord, I am not familiar with pyrite at all, and I was unaware I had it until now," Avera earnestly confessed.

There were some glances, and one man nodded in the direction of the King.

"Very well, then," Zephyr said, watching her eyes as he spoke. "Master Iphor, as Master of the Magicians, would you kindly explain the origins of pyrite to our guest."

"Yes, m'Lord," said a stout man with a gruff voice. He was one of the ten and seated in the place of the third. "You see, young lady, there is a known element called planetyroid. I'm sure you have some familiarity with it, do you not?"

Avera nodded, watching the bald headed man with interest.

"Of course, it is extremely common. You can find it practically anywhere in the world provided you're looking for it, but the element is unusually common in Altruon. We have a particular abundance here, and we use it like no one else does.

"Now, planetyroid is best described as a sort of metallic clay, marbled in blue and green. The substance is beautiful right up until you try to harvest it and start to pull it up out of the ground. That is when it crumbles and turns to an ashy black powder. You see, the very act of attempting to harvest planetyroid is that which renders it useless, but there is a way around it.

"When certain conditions are met, planetyroid can become very useful, but from the time that it is uncovered and exposed to the surface it begins to rapidly decay, so it is important to be ready to provide the atmospheric conditions needed to harvest it before the element is uncovered.

"Planetyroid is unique in that it can be transformed into either of two elemental constructs. One such construct is maurium, the uses and qualities of which I am sure you are well familiar, as are all who live in Pyre, since it has become the backbone of our society. The necessary conditions to manufacture maurium are much more easily met than that of the second, more refined construct: pyrite."

"Forgive me, sir," Avera said, respectfully addressing the Master of the Magicians, "but are you meaning to say that maurium and pyrite are of a similar substance?"

"They are of common origin, you could say, yes. There is only one substance, but what is done with that substance is what determines the outcome. In one instance, there is maurium. In the other, pyrite. But pyrite is different, because, unlike maurium, there is only one way to produce it, and that is to purify it. Planetyroid must be refined and cleansed of all of its impurities. One might say that that which is common must be made uncommon, and the only way to accomplish this is by the flame of the Armorials. The fire which they hold... is the only means by which planetyroid can be refined. The fire, when administered, burns away any impurity and altars the chemical makeup, creating something entirely new. The resulting substance being an elemental construct we call pyrite," explained the man with the bushy eyebrows and the white handlebar mustache.

Avera listened intently as she watched him, fascinated by this lesson in hidden geology

"However," the man continued, "pyrite and maurium, despite being related in their classification as constructs of a similar element, each being a derivative of planetyroid, are not at all compatible. When the two come into contact, the integrity of the maurium is compromised and its inner structure begins to collapse, causing the maurium to break apart in a state of rapid decay. The pyrite, on the other hand, is totally unaffected by it.

"Hence, when the soldiers' arrows struck the young man's cloak, they fell to the ground, their tips shattered and lying in tiny mounds of dark powdered decay," Iphor concluded, having provided a thorough explanation of the use and origin of the unfamiliar substance.

"As you can see, the only way for your skysuit to have been pyrite is for you to have been in contact with an Armorial," Kallida sneered. "So, tell us," Kallida demanded sharply. "Who made the pyrite?"

"Well, Inquisitor," Avera said, careful to choose her words, "I don't know who made it. I didn't even know it was pyrite until now, only that it was different. How it became pyrite, I don't know, but it's grey now, as you can see."

Blackridge seemed pleased with her answer, and they all seemed quite convinced but also puzzled. Zephyr seemed especially troubled.

"Master Kallida, is there any other explanation?" the King addressed.

"What? No!" Kallida snapped back, seemingly taken off guard. He appeared particularly annoyed by the turn the conversation had taken. "Why, you heard Master Iphor! All of you heard him," he said, turning and waving his hand towards the sages in a wide, sweeping gesture, "there is only one way!"

Blackridge took a step forward and began to speak. "If I may offer an explanation for my Lord," he said, humbly addressing the King.

"Say on, Master Blackridge," the King replied, intrigued by him.

"Conditions are ideal for maurium here in the capital and in the mines to the south, but they are not so in the ruins. Avera spent three days in the eastern woods. It may be that the atmospheric conditions effected the material and caused a... restructuring of the element. This also may be suggested by the material's reversion back to maurium after the course of the night."

"I see..." said the King, considering the statement.

"My Lord!" Kallida cried out in protest. "You cannot actually be entertaining such fallacy!"

"Lord Blackridge makes an interesting point, Kallida, surely you must agree," the King said coolly.

"No, my Lord. I certainly do not!" Kallida replied sharply.

"Would you then offer a better explanation?"

"There is no explanation. There is only one way to obtain pyrite! And besides, you can't listen to this man, he's clearly covering his tracks!"

"Oh, is he now?" Zephyr responded, sarcastically impressed. "Why don't we hear more about that?"

"Very well," Kallida said as he turned to Blackridge, visibly flustered. "Captain Zahaynei, kindly describe for us the events which transpired yesterday morning."

A stout, muscular man in stained leather armor with the insignia of the Royal Guard made his way to the center of the room. Avera watched him as he came forward. The man had brown hair cut short with a trimmed beard which rounded his broad and pale face. His darkened eyes of the deepest brown glistened in the light as he looked to the King on his throne.

"My Lord the King," he said, taking a knee, then arising. "Following Colonel Ibori's disappearance and the subsequent loss of the map related to the final stage of the Eternity Project, we searched his tent for the stolen documents. While we failed to recover the project, we did find something of use to us. The Colonel had left in a hurry. He left his coat and in it a letter to an unspecified contact requesting a meeting. It seems that Colonel Ibori had been passing classified information and state secrets on to this man who we now know to be an associate of at least a subset of the remaining Armorials and, presumably, Caliphus himself."

"The King or the Prince?" Zephyr asked him.

"I would think the Prince, sir, but it is impossible to say," Zahaynei told him.

"I see..." Zephyr said pensively, "please, continue."

"We sent the letter with the Colonel's staff officer who said that he would frequently deliver these letters to a particular mail clerk in the letter office on Season Street North. The clerk handed the letter off to a courier, and we followed the boy to the business district where he left the letter at a flower shop. Lord Kallida now has the building under surveillance.

"Following our communication, we prepared an ambush in anticipation of our meeting with this illusive contact, and yesterday was the day of the operation. We waited for hours before dawn without much success. We never saw the man approach. Lord Blackridge came to stand at the meeting point when daylight broke, but still no one came. He sent men to search the outlying area, and I commanded the archers to fire scouting arrows to clear the areas which the soldiers could not. One of the arrows hit the man, we could see from the fall pattern of the fragments of the head. The young man dropped from the tree and ran. My men were firing at him. They would have pursued, but Lord Blackridge stopped them."

"Captain, briefly," the King requested, "I know that Master Kallida wishes to address Master Blackridge, but I have my own questions to address. This young man, an Armorial certainly, but who do you suppose him to be?"

"It's... difficult to say," Zahaynei said, answering the King's question with some nervousness.

"Well, there aren't many young Armorials now, are there? Perhaps we may find the Ambassador, also. I would think him an associate," Zephyr mused. "Oh, come, Master Blackridge, don't look so unwell!" the King commanded. "It's old history between us, and I've long forgotten your failure to kill him."

"Of course. My apologies and my thanks, oh King," Blackridge replied with a reverential bow.

"Now, Inquisitor, do as you will," the King instructed. "I'm finished my thoughts."

"Master Blackridge," Kallida began, making a call for accusation, "Captain Zahaynei has testified that you were the one overseeing the mission and you ordered that the soldiers not pursue the man, a known enemy of the state! How do you defend such actions?"

"To catch is not always to capture, Master Kallida. Nor is to obtain to succeed," Blackridge replied sternly.

"Why would you let him get away? How could you allow an enemy of the kingdom to escape you when you claim to serve his Kingship? Unless, of course, you are working with them, as well. You are the one who gave Tyberion Ibori his position here, are you not?"

"I am."

"And is it treason, then?"

"No."

"Then tell us, Master Blackridge," Kallida commanded, raising his voice as he strutted about, continuing his floorshow. "Why not pursue?" He turned his face again towards Blackridge, pleased with his clever entrapment.

"There was no need to arrest him."

"Oh, no?" Kallida called out, his voice cold and mocking. "Ha! No need? Really?"

"Yes," Blackridge told the Court calmly.

"Well, I think the soldiers may disagree," Kallida contended sharply.

"Perhaps," Blackridge readily admitted, "but they would also be mistaken."

Kallida exhaled sharply. "Oh really now? And how would that be?"

"There was no need to pursue, Master Kallida, because there was no need to arrest the man. There was no need to arrest the man, you see, because... I already have all we need to find not only the boy, but also his companions," Blackridge said with a smirk before raising his hand and presenting the small vile of red liquid to the Court. "This," he said, holding the vile neatly between his thumb and forefinger, "This is all we need."