Amongst the Enemy

[Marcus]

Marcus and Squire had left the ruins of the city far behind them now, and were traveling deeper into Etruria. They had decided to take the main roads and had been left mostly undisturbed due to their guise as priests. The roads weren't relatively crowded and almost everyone was headed in the same direction they were. That night as they camped, the duo sat around their campfire and planned their next move.

They had a map of Etruria spread out before them and were debating their destination.

"What about this one, Marcus?" Squire suggested, pointing at a larger city close to the top of the map.

"Not that one. We don't want to be too deep in the country. Besides, that's no more than a day's walk from the capital. We want to avoid being that close to the Prophet's seat of power."

Squire nodded, "What about this one then?" He was pointing at a city further south this time, at a point where a river diverged into two.

Marcus scratched at his chin for a moment. "Yes. I believe that will do. We might even be able to catch a small river boat and be there in no less than a day. Good job, Squire."

The next day they packed their camp and continued down the road.

[Marcus]

Within an hour they had arrived at a small village on the river. It was no more than a few small huts and a dock with a few small fishing boats. The villagers regarded them warmly, however, and when asked, one of the villagers offered to take them up river in his boat, free of charge.

"I always make an exception for you priestly folk, I do. Saint Elimine's priests have always been good to the village, so I do this as a small favor to repay 'em."

They loaded up the boat quickly and began their trip downriver. Marcus and Squire sat towards the front of the boat and spoke in hushed voices to keep their conversation private.

"So, are we gonna destroy this city too?"

"No, Squire. Those days are behind us. No more slaughtering innocents."

"Good!, Squire replied, happily, " But, why are we going there then?"

"Information. There's a war coming, Squire, and without information, Etruria is sure to win."

"Why is that so bad? They seem nice to me."

"That's because every county has its saints and its demons. It just happens to be that Etruria has the worst demons. Believe me, their leader, The Prophet Kraft, has done unspeakable evils. We can't let him win."

"Oh. What do I do?"

"You're going to stay quiet, do as your told, and most importantly, listen. The Etrurians probably won't trust me, but they have no reason not to trust a child. Do you understand?"

Squire nodded and the two remained quiet for the rest of the journey.

[Marcus]

During their journey down the river, the winds had been in their favor and had pushed the boat faster than expected, landing them in the city of Tallis late in the afternoon. Marcus thanked the fisherman and gave him a small sum of gold for his troubles, despite the man's protests. The city they had arrived in was rather large and was alive with activity. At first, Marcus was worried that they might get lost and not find the church, until he looked up and saw the giant spire rising above the town. The church was massive, with a tower at the rear that rose even higher into the sky.

Despite its prominence in the city, it took the duo an hour to find their way to the church. They entered cautiously and were approached quickly by an older priest who was well on his way to being bald.

"Good day, brothers. I am Jorland, head priest of this church We were not expecting any new or visiting brothers for some time. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to why you're hear."

"We bring terrible news, I'm afraid," Marcus replied, acting as traumatized as he could. "There was an attack at Veros. It was devastating."

Jorland's eyes flew open. "An attack? But by who? Ilians? Bandits?"

"Neither! It was a cult, dressed as priests and refugees. But it was their leader that was the worst part. He appeared a man at first, but as the battle started, he shed his skin and showed his true form. He was a dragon, black as night!"

"But... but... that's impossible! Dragons dissapeared years and years ago!"

"Not this one. When he returned to his human form, I heard him tell a man that he was 'the Dragon Shrouded in Darkness.' For all we know, he's been hiding among us all these years."

"We must prepare then! He could be here within in a day!"

"Unlikely. Though he was very strong, his entire cult was lost in the battle. He can't take a city on his own, after all."

"Are you sure? This is a dragon we're talking about. They're creatures of legendary strength!"

"I'm sure. If he had not taken us in the middle of the night, he would not have fared so well."

"I see. Will you be wanting to stay here,... ah...." Jorland waved his hand, searching for a name he couldn't find.

"Renly. My name's Renly. And this is Squire," he added, patting the kid on the head, "Or at least that's what I've been calling. I found him in the ruins of the city. He doesn't talk much and wouldn't tell me his name. But I digress. Yes, we will be staying here, if you've the room."

"I believe we do, somewhere. You will be able to help us around the church, yes?"

"Of course! Although, I'm not trained in delivering services. That was old Lester's duty back in Veros. I was responsible for the physical duties. I can take care of those things here, too."

"Perfect! I'll pair you up with Ferris, then. He's about your age anyways. I'm sure he'll be glad for the company. Now, let's see if we can find you a room."

[Marcus]

Jorland showed them to a small room towards the back of the church. As they set aside what little they had carried with them.

"If you to are hungry, dinner will be served soon in the room down the hall. I'm sure the smell will guide you. It would be a good time to introduce yourselves to the rest of the clergy here. Now, I must attend to the kitchens. Ferris is a good cook, but his mind is prone to wandering. If you'll excuse me," Jorland said, bowing his head and backing out of the room.

"I like him, Marcus. He's a nice man."

Marcus smiled. He found Squire's innocent view of the world rather amusing at times. "Yes, Squire. Yes he is."

As he waited for dinner to be ready, he read up on some of the Prophet's writings and teachings, as he would need to know all he could so he wouldn't blow his cover. When he smelled then scent of cooked meats wafting through his door, he roused Squire and followed the tantalizing smells down the hall.

[Marcus]

As Marcus entered the dining room, its occupants turned to see the new face that had arrived at their church. At the head of the table was Jorland, bearing a big smile. To his left was a very serious looking man with white hair that showed the beginnings of a recession. His expression was something between a scowl and boredom. Across from him was a young lady with orange hair. She offered Marcus a shy smile as he entered, then turned back to her food. The last person at the table was young man, who Marcus assumed was Ferris. The only emotion he gave was a raise of the eyebrows as the two strangers entered the room.

Jorland stood to introduce them. "Ah, good! You're just in time! Friends, this is Brother Renly and his companion, Squire. They arrived earlier from the town Veros. I'll let you introduce yourselves to our guests."

The scowling man stood up first. "I'm Father Murdoch. Assistant to the Head Priest. I'll be in charge of you and Ferris while you stay here. The scowl never left his face as he talked. Marcus could sense that he was going to have a problem with that one.

Ferris stood next. "Name's Ferris," he said in a relaxed tone. "We'll be working together, supposedly."

The girl was the last to stand, barely even looking in his direction as she talked. "I'm Sister Kala. I'm the healer her," she added before immediately sitting back down again.

"And there you have it, Jorland concluded, "Our lovely clergy. Now sit and eat before the food gets cold."

At that, Marcus and Squire took their places at the end of the table.

[Marcus]

The next few weeks passed quickly for Marcus, with each day being filled with manual labor, cleaning, cooking, and running errands in town. Marcus found Ferris to be a great companion, if a bit short on words. The two often spent a lot of time conversing during their errands in town and often made jests about Murdock as soon as they were free of his prying ears and eyes. Ferris was a very cunning youth, and Marcus found it hard to hide things from him. He could tell Marcus was hiding something, but after a few repeated attempts at uncovering, Ferris decided it was best not to pry.

Murdock, on the other hand, always seemed to be watching Marcus and he could have sworn the man always had his ear pressed to the door, listening in for some damning secret to be revealed. Murdock hadn't trusted Marcus for one second, a sentiment which the dragon returned.

During his time at the church, Marcus had grown particularly fond of Kala. At first she had done all she could to avoid him, but after a late night chat in the gardens, she warmed up to him. The two often spent the evenings discussing life and philosophy after the days duties had been completed.

However, the longer Marcus stayed there, the more he wanted to leave. He felt trapped within the church and wanted nothing more than to fly. His wings had gotten cramped from being folded over each other in his robes, but he didn't dare risk getting caught. On one particular night, however, the stress was too much to bear. After finishing the last of his duties, Marcus left the church, headed for one of the city's gates. If he could get a good distance away, nobody would notice a dragon in the night skies.

After exiting through one of the smaller gates, Marcus walked a ways towards the Etrurian countryside. When he felt sure that no one would see him, he shook his wings free. The were cramped and sore, but as Marcus gave them a good flap or two, relief flowed into the tired muscles. Pulling the dragonstone out of his robes, he basked in its energy and soon found himself in his true form. Leaping into the air he almost let out a roar of triumph, until his senses caught up to him. He flew in circles for nearly a half hour. When he was finally satisfied, he landed and contained his power within the stone.

Just as he began to tuck his wings back into their hidden position, a voice spoke up from behind him.

"Renly?"

The dragon turned to see Kala standing behind him, a shocked expression on her face. "Kala... I... I..." Marcus tried to search for the words to make this situation better, but all evaded him.

"Renly? You're the dragon? But... I don't understand."

"Kala, please. I'm..." Marcus tried again.

"You're a liar is what you are! I'll bet you're not even Etrurian and Renly isn't your real name!"

Marcus sighed and hung his head. There was nothing he could say now except the truth. "You're right. I'm not Etrurian. My name isn't Renly. It's Marchamut Odintongue. I'm a Manakete. A dragon. I am the Dragon Shrouded in Darkness and I am responsible for the massacre at Veros. I slaughtered your people as well as mine. Some say I'm a monster. All I know is I'm broken. So there you have it Kala. That's who I am."

Kala didn't know how to respond for a while. Eventually tears started streaming from her eyes. "Just get away from me. I don't care where you go, just leave me be, you monster!" With that, she ran off, tears still flowing from her eyes, leaving Marcus standing by himself. For a while, he just stood there, staring after Kala. He knew this would happen sooner or later. It had just caught him off guard though.

Eventually he decided that he would spend the night at an inn near the city, then leave Etruria in the morning. He didn't know where he would go, but he knew he had to leave.

[Marcus]

Marcus awoke early the next morning to a confusing sound. It was a sound he hadn't heard in months, not since leaving Richter's group of mercenaries. It was the sound of an approaching army. Marcus ran to a window to what was happening outside. In truth, it wasn't so much an army, but rather a group of mounted raiders, comprised of sellswords and freeriders.

At first Marcus' first thoughts were to run. The squabble would make for a great cover as he fled the country. But as he rushed downstairs, he passed a group of woman and children, all gathered in a corner of the inn and frightened out of their wits. Seeing that, Marcus couldn't just leave. The people inside the city would probably be safe, but those houses and inns that were scattered outside of the city would be left for the raiders to pillage. As much as the people hated Marcus, they needed him and he had a lot of sins to start atoning for.

With new resolve, Marcus dashed out of the inn. As he ran towards the raiders, he reached for his stone and let his wings loose. His power seeped out of the stone and he was in the air again. Soaring over the raiders, he let out a mighty roar and dived at the group, spraying them with lightning and flinging troops away when he got low enough. Marcus tried as hard as he could to maintain focus on the battle. If he lost control again, the consequences could mean death. He swooped in low for another run, feeling the occasional arrow prick his belly.

He continued this way until only a third of the original force remained. By that time, the Etrurians had finally mustered from behind their gates. Seeing he was no longer needed, Marcus flew over the city. He needed to leave soon, but there was one last thing he needed to take care of. He flew towards the church and landed atop its great spire. He resumed his mortal form and awaited the eventual arrival of the Etrurians.

It wasn't long before he was joined by the clergy.

"Monster!" Murdoch cried out. "Seize him!"

Jorland stepped in front of him, silencing his outcries. "While what he says is true, I have a feeling you didn't come here to be arrested, dragon. So speak up. Is it really true what Kala says about you?"

Marcus nodded. "It's true. Everything she told you about me. Judge me as you will. In any case, I returned to a say a few final things. Squire never had any part in this. He's just an innocent kid. Find him a good home to live in. Jorland, thank you for your hospitality. I'm sorry it had to end this way. Ferris, thanks for being a friend. Now you know my secret. Murdoch... rot in hell. And as for Kala, I'm sorry. I know that changes nothing, but I couldn't leave without saying that. Now, I really must be going. I bid you all a fond farewell."

Marcus gave a final wave, then turn and ran towards the edge of the spire. Reaching the end, he leaped into the air and began plummeting towards the city below him. About halfway down, he switched back to his true form, and with a roar, flew out of the city and towards the border of Etruria.

[The Herald]

And as the great black dragon flew off, he left all of the gathered Etrurians stared on with looks of amazement, anger, and fear. All the Etrurians, that is, except one; a rugged looking man with hair like dusty charcoal, and a beard of salt and pepper. Around his neck, he wore a tattered, black leather cloak that fell down to his ankles, and on his shoulders he bore both a snow-white pigeon, and a spotted brown sparrowhawk.

The man looked on with nothing close to amazement, merely staring blankly at the departing dragon before pulling a small roll of parchment out of his pocket. Quickly, he scribbled something on the paper, before rolling it up and tying it to the leg of his bird. With a coo, the bird then took off, flying at an angle slightly canted in respect to the dragon's flight path, and the man, hawk still on his shoulder, disappeared back into the crowd.