Wren
Ch. 30
Rich arrived at the university just in time to catch Brandon heading out to lunch.
“Hey!” Rich said, “Where are you headed?”
“The Blue Bateau. Would you like to join me?”
“Sure.”
“Wow. I honestly wasn’t expecting you to say yes. I know how much you dislike them.” Brandon started toward the door, Rich followed.
“Well I came to visit you, and I can’t really do that if we’re not in the same place. And I’m in a good mood today anyway.”
It wasn’t a long walk to the Blue Bateau. Brandon liked their food, but he really liked that they were close to the university. They arrived at the restaurant and found a nice table towards the back. Rich sat facing the wall, he knew Brandon would appreciate the outward view more than he would.
“Shit,” said Rich, “I forgot that I don’t have any money on me right now. Do you mind paying for the meal? I’ll pay you back later.”
“Sure, but I’m charging interest,” Brandon said, and they both let out a slight laugh, “Why don’t you have any on you anyway?”
“I went to see Mags earlier, pay her back for being somewhat responsible for the Ox burning down. The money I gave her was all I had on me.”
The waitress arrived, and they ordered their food. Brandon ordered his favorite fried pork belly, and Rich ordered a bowl of rabbit stew.
“You seem like you’re in a good mood. Did something change since last night?” Brandon asked.
“No. I’m just feeling a little more optimistic about things. I’m sure I can figure out some way to end this before too long.”
Brandon was concerned, but decided not to push it any further. It seemed good that Rich was finally looking on the bright side of things, and he didn’t want to discourage that kind of thinking.
“So why don’t you have any money on you?”
“I actually had a lot when I left this morning, but I gave it all to Mags.”
“Mags… Isn’t she the bartender at the Ox?”
“She’s the owner too. It was my fault the place burned down, so I wanted to pay for the repairs so she wouldn’t have to do it herself.”
“And the fact that it’s your favorite bar had nothing to do with it?” Brandon flashed a cheeky grin.
“Nothing at all. But that does remind me,” Rich waved to get the waitress’s attention “Could I get a tankard of mead as well?”
“Sorry,” she said, “We’ve only got ale.”
“Okay, ale then.” Rich said, his cheerful demeanor wavering slightly.
“Sure thing!” She walked away. Rich turned back to Brandon.
“I just wanted to make things right.”
“Okay. I do want you to know it wasn’t your fault. It was Wren that did it, not you.”
“Yeah, but I was the reason Wren was there.”
“That doesn’t make it your fault. You can’t control the actions of others.”
“But I can control mine, and I chose to make it right.”
Brandon decided that was a good perspective to have, if a bit bad for his continued financial well-being, and didn’t argue. “Well that was very selfless of you.”
“Thank you. So what have you been up to? This past month has been all caught up in my bullshit, I haven’t asked about you.”
“Well I spent a while taking care of you, but apart from that it’s been pretty uneventful. Whatever Wren is trying to do, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have noticed it at all.”
“I can’t tell if that’s reassuring or worrying.”
“Let’s go with reassuring. It can be worrying once something bigger happens.”
“So nothing interesting happening at the library?”
“Well, we got a new piece in recently. An ancient magic artifact belonging to a king.”
“Must be really old if it belonged to a king.”
“Or just from really far away. I’ve heard if you go far enough east they still have kings. But yeah, you’re right, it is from one of Wrenfield’s old kings.”
“How do they prevent assassinations?”
“We don’t know. There hasn’t been any official communication with them. Just rumors from trade routes.”
“Hm. So what’s it do?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t think the researchers have figured it out yet.”
“How haven’t they figured it out? Wouldn’t it be as simple as channeling magic through it and seeing what happens?”
“Well you’ve got to make sure it’s done in safe conditions, or at least as safe as possible. Remember these things can do just about anything.”
“So why not just create some safe conditions and test it?”
“I assume they have. I haven’t been around for the research, that happens elsewhere. I just manage it when it’s in the archives. I’m not sure what’s holding them up.”
“Have they considered that it’s not magic?”
“It’s magic. You know that feeling you have when you’re holding your sword? How you can just tell that it wants you to channel it? All magic items have that, including this one.”
“Huh, I guess that makes sense. I’ve had my sword so long I barely even notice it anymore. And I’ve never had another magic item to compare.”
“Yeah. Most people haven’t ever used one at all.”
“Really? I would’ve thought they’d be more common.”
“Well you’ve gotta remember if it breaks you die. You’re taking a pretty big risk there, and you might not even get a useful effect. You got extremely lucky with yours.”
“Yeah. And I guess the universe is collecting that karmic debt now.” Rich laughed, and took a modest sip of his ale. The face he made after tasting it was not a pleasant one.
“Don’t like ale, huh?”
Rich stifled a gag, “No, I really don’t.”
“Here, try this,” Brandon handed over his cup of wine. It was a sweet white wine. Rich took a sip, then a big gulp. “Hey! Don’t drink all of it!”
“Sorry, I just wanted to get the taste of the ale out of my mouth.” Rich said with an embarrassed smile.
“You don’t seem to have any problem with brandy.”
“That’s because I’m used to how terrible that is. I’ve become immune to disgust.”
“Only for brandy though.”
“Yeah.”
“So you don’t know what that magic artifact does. Do you know where it’s from? Who made it?”
“It’s actually from Wrenfield, back when we had a king. We’re nearly certain it belonged to King Beckley III, it shows up in a lot of his portraits, but he couldn’t have made it.”
“How do you know he didn’t make it?”
“He was deposed and executed at 17.”
“Well, if he didn’t make it, who did?”
“No clue.There’s no record of it having been made at all, by anyone. It just kind of shows up in the portraits and the literature being depicted and mentioned as if the reader is just expected to know what it is. Even in the contemporary literature! None of the historians of the time mention its creation or origin, or how it ends up in the hands of the royal family. The researchers told me they think it’s like that for propaganda purposes. Make it seem like it was always there.”
“Huh, weird. Well I hope you figure it out.”
“Thanks, but like I said I’m not too involved with the actual investigation. I just categorize and store it. I maintain the archives, but it’s the historians who study the stuff in them.”
“Well I hope they can figure it out. I’m sure you’d figure it out faster though, you’re pretty smart.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Well it looks like you’re about done eating, can I accompany you back to the library?”
“I would be honored,” Brandon replied with a smile.
Brandon paid for their meals and they left towards the library. The days were getting colder, but fortunately for Brandon, he was dressed for the weather. Unfortunately for Rich, he was not. They quickly arrived at their destination, and Rich was saying goodbye to Brandon.
“It was nice seeing you today. I’m really glad to have a friend like you. Thank you for being there for me through all this.”
“Why are you suddenly being so sentimental? Don’t tell me you’re about to go do something stupid.”
“I promise I’m not. This whole Wren situation will be over in a couple days, and everything will be fine.”
Brandon embraced Rich. “I know you’re too hard-headed for me to talk you out of whatever you’re planning, but do your best to not get killed.”
“I will.”
Brandon released Rich from the embrace. He saw that there were a few tears running down Brandon’s face.
“Thank you,” Rich said, “for everything. I promise I’ll pay you back once this is all over.”
Rich went home and immediately went to bed. He was either going to have a long day the next day, or a short one, and either way he wanted to be well-rested for it.