Chapter 9: Secrets within the walls

Lord Alexander was standing by one of the windows of his bedroom. His room was located on the highest tower of the castle, so he did have quite a nice view over a part of the town. The port of Skygold Town was the most important point of interest he could see from his window. In fact, right in that moment, he was inspecting the port. The sight of its current state did make him feel a little sad. The day was coming to an end and the last rays of sunshine made the sea water glimmer in warm colors, which was quite a beautiful scene. But the almost overly crowded port looked messy and the ships seemed dull as they were unable to carry out their purpose; it was like their spirit had been sucked out of them. Now they were just waiting, their sails down, longing for the sea breeze to blow on them once more. And nobody knew when that would happen.

The lord could see mostly Nightfolks moving around the docks, which wasn't surprising at all since they had overrun the town. In one spot he could observe an argue between a human, possibly a captain of one of recent ships, and some Nightfolks. The man seemed really angry, judging by his body language, while the beastmen remained rigid like they usually tend to do. Alexander had witnessed such cases for too many times already and knew in advance how this conflict would end. The Nightfolks always won. Always. And just like he had predicted, the captain stormed off from the docks. He was now stuck in here like so many others and if he didn't agree to comply the orders of Nightfolks, his ship would get destroyed. There had already been one incident today where the beastmen had taken a vessel out of the port and then set it on fire. Luckily there hadn't been people on board, but it had eliminated the livelihood of few individuals.

Ships were allowed to get in, but not out. Only the vessels of the Nightfolks could come and go however they wanted. This applied to others as well, not just ships, such as carriages, merchant caravans and all kinds of travelers. The inns of the town were getting completely over-crowded, if they weren't already. The Nightfolks were guarding all the gates, making sure that no one could leave. There was no way to send a word to outside world that Skygold Town needed help.

Lord Alexander was completely powerless in this situation and being painfully aware of it tormented his mind. The Nightfolks had stripped him from all of his lordship and turned him into one of the helpless victims. Many of the residents and visitors of Skygold Town probably blamed him for this mess, and why wouldn't they? He had allowed this to happen, and in addition, he hadn't made even one single attempt to banish the Nightfolks. But there was a very good reason for all of this.

When the Nightfolk invasion began a couple of months ago, Paleface did something that made sure that Alexander wouldn't be able to do anything against them. She captured the lord's only son, Kendrick, who is under a heavy guard right now in one of the towers. If Alexander dared to oppose the Nightfolks, they would harm his son, or worse. And so, the lord was toothless against the invaders, allowing them to make Skygold Town into one of their strongholds.

A heavy sigh left Alexander's mouth as he turned away from the window. He began to pace around his room aimlessly.

His family had ruled over Skygold Town for many, many generations and never before had something like this happened. Alexander felt like that he had dishonored his ancestors, even though he knew that in the end, this situation wasn't his fault. Nobody could understand his plight. He was desperate, and at this point, praying for a miracle to occur. There was nothing else he could do.

After circling around his room for a while, he could hear heavy stomps getting closer to the door. Such steps had got familiar to him over the span of a couple months, and so he knew that a Nightfolk was coming to meet him. And just like that, the door to his bedroom opened with a slight creak. There had been no knocking as Nightfolks weren't really courteous beings; that was what Alexander had learned.

The lord was a little surprised when he saw the individual that had entered his room. It was Paleface herself. She was quite an impressive sight as she was more muscular and taller than most Nightfolks. Her snow-white fur also gave an impression that she was more special than the rest of her kind. She had golden eyes that were blazing like the fires of war. Just like the other Nightfolks, she appeared calm, but it was clear that one shouldn't provoke her. Her huge axe would always enjoy spilling blood.

Alexander did a slight bow; the Nightfolk was a figure of authority nonetheless. “Ah, Paleface. What brings you here?”

The boar-faced creature gave her own kind of mark of respect by slamming her left fist against her breastplate. “I am here to talk about something.” Her voice was strangely resonant, it could fit even a prettiest maiden.

Lord Alexander had a bad feeling about this and his mood turned foul in an instant. “What is it?”

“Your soldiers caused trouble to my men”, Paleface said bluntly, and there was no emotion in her face or voice. “They wouldn't let my men enter certain parts of the castle. A quarrel broke out.”

Alexander had a good guess about where this clash had happened. There was a precious chamber at the heart of the castle where numerous riches were stored. Generation after generation its contents had become more and more valuable as the lords of Skygold Town had got gifts from many traveling merchants that had visited exotic lands. This chamber had been guarded quite heavily for decades and Alexander had hoped that it wouldn't interest the Nightfolks. Apparently, that wasn't the case anymore. He truly had wished that the beastmen would leave it be, but now, he had to consent to give them access to the chamber.

The lord lowered his head in an apologetic manner. “It won't happen again. I'm sorry.”

“I truly hope so.” Paleface turned around and was preparing to leave.

“Wait!” Alexander yelled, raising his hand as if wanting to take a hold of the Nightfolk.

Paleface did stop and glanced back at the man.

“Can I see my son?” Alexander asked desperately. “Please, I just want to see my son…”

“No. I won't allow that.” The voice of the Nightfolk leader suddenly sounded so frigid.

“Why? Why are you doing this to us?” Alexander's frustration that had been bottled up for weeks suddenly started to overflow. He saw himself as a patient man, but now, he demanded answers for questions he had been harboring. He hadn't dared to interfere with the matters of the Nightfolks, but now, he had lived in the unknown for far too long.

To his surprise, the Nightfolk leader did turn around to face him again. But like usually, he couldn't tell what boar-faced creature was thinking as they weren't really expressive beings.

“Do you really want to know?” Paleface asked.

“Yes, of course!” the lord replied.

“Hmm. Perhaps I do owe you an explanation.” The Nightfolk began to walk towards the man who stayed still, then moved past him and stopped at the great window from which the lord had been watching the port just a little while ago. Paleface just stared out of it, however Alexander wasn't sure was she looking at anything specific in that moment. For a while the room was wrapped in silence as the lord waited patiently for Paleface to speak once more.

Finally, Paleface opened her mouth again.

“Did you know that among my kind, white fur is a color of weakness?” she asked.

Lord Alexander was slightly surprised by this. In the end, he didn't know much about Nightfolks, even though they had been doing business in Skygold Town for generations. He didn't answer anything, however, and just let the Nightfolk leader continue.

“It's because white ones can't blend in with the darkness that we hold dear”, Paleface said. “I was an unlucky individual, born with white fur instead of the dark one. Throughout my whole life I have been seen as a weakling because of that, not equal with others. I learned at a very young age, that I need to work hard to get the respect from the others of my kind. So I toughened my body and now, I'm stronger than most.”

She paused for a moment and flexed her arm, showing just how muscular she was. There was no doubt that she was strong. Alexander had a feeling that there wasn't that many fellow Nightfolks who would dare to mess with her. With silent respect, the lord didn't speak, he was just waiting to hear more.

Paleface soon continued. “Getting strong paid off. I was getting the recognition I had desired and became a valued warrior. However, among many of the high ranks, I was still seen as a weakling. They couldn't see past my fur color and ignored me. To them, I was just a defective, not a warrior.”

Paleface clenched her hands into fists and probably for the first time, Alexander could see a Nightfolk expressing some sort of emotion. Clearly her memories had surfaced repressed anger, and why wouldn't they? Bit by bit the lord learned more about the individual who was responsible for the harsh situation in his town. It was a strange feeling he couldn't really explain.

The Nightfolk leader's anger subsided just as suddenly as it had arrived. Her hands became relaxed again.

“I'm going to show them how wrong they are about me. I have managed to gather some followers, my companions who came here into this town with me.” Suddenly she spun around and met the lord's gaze with her fiery eyes. “I have sworn that I will challenge them if they won't acknowledge my strength. I will crush them, if that is what they choose. They will know my wrath. But the strength of the body is limited. To gain more power, I need a wizard.”

“A wizard?” Alexander finally opened his mouth after being quiet for so long, just listening. “Why? And where would you get one that would help you?”

“My kind doesn't have magical abilities, we rely solely on the strength of our bodies”, Paleface answered. “So, I have to seek one among your kind. I have already dispatched someone to seek out a wizard for me.”

“But how you could make sure that they would help you?” Alexander repeated his question.

“It's simple. I will drain their power and make it mine.”

“Oh dear…” Alexander shook his head in disbelief. He didn't know how that deed would be performed, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be pleasant. “Is that why you're stationed at my town?”

“We are here simply because it's convenient place for me to do my preparations”, Paleface explained. “I won't let anyone to interfere with my plans. Don't you worry, lord Alexander, you will get your town back. We will leave when I'm ready to launch an attack.”

Well, at least there was some reassuring information. Suddenly the lord's heart felt a little lighter.

But still, there was something he wanted to know.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Alexander asked.

“Because I respect you as a leader”, Paleface replied. “It is only fair for you to know what is going on.”

“I see…” Alexander scratched his dark beard a little.

After that, a short moment of silence fell to the bedroom. What he had just learned gave the lord mixed feelings. He didn't hate Paleface, but didn't like her, either. For the first time in ages, he knew what was going on in his town and it truly felt relieving. Perhaps he was getting too optimistic way too soon, but he could see an end to the harsh situation in Skygold Town.

The silence was soon broken. Lord Alexander could hear some strange crackling sound behind him, so he turned around to see what was going on. There were some dark purple and black lights flashing, making the obnoxious sound and the brightness caused the lord to raise his arm to cover his eyes. He had never experienced something like this and wondered what was causing it, but one thing was for sure: he was witnessing the usage of magic. Then he heard a loud boom and suddenly the lights were gone. Slowly he lowered his arm to see what had happened.

A scrawny figure had taken the place where the lights had been going wild just a moment ago. Their body was completely covered by a black robe, even their head was hidden under a hood. They had a bad posture, almost if they had an invisible weight on their back. But although their body seemed frail, their presence felt ominous and powerful, which gave cold shivers to Alexander.

“Master Paleface…” The shady individual had a really hoarse voice and it sounded like that they had trouble speaking. “A wizard… has been found…”

“Excellent”, Paleface replied with a nod. “Let's start the preparations for the ritual.”

The black stranger gave a bow to her and suddenly, they were gone. Their departure was much less flashy, it was like they had been made of ashes and wind had just blown them away. That was when Paleface made her leave as well, not uttering a single word as she did so. Lord Alexander was left alone in his room with his thoughts.

He wondered who that person in a robe had been. He was pretty sure that he hadn't seen them before, but to his understanding, they had come to Skygold Town with the Nightfolks, judging by the exchange he had just witnessed. Alexander still had unpleasant feeling, even after they were gone.

And what kind of ritual they had been talking about? The lord had a feeling that it wasn't something nice. He felt sad for the poor wizard they had got their hands into. But what could he do?

Lord Alexander let out another heavy sigh. He was such a useless man. He walked to the window once more and let his gaze wander around the town he loved. If only the sunset would offer him solutions so everything would be fine once again.

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