Chapter 6a: The Hunt Begins

Leylin stood atop the summit, gazing down on the small town at the confluence of river Rhine and The Cuvelon. He could see a caravan arriving and unloading its goods, while another was being prepped for departure. The Red Eagle's Roost had been coming along nicely. The trading company had rapidly expanded over the past 12 moons.

The purpose behind this network was not the wealth though it was considerable. This endeavour was mainly driven towards its one goal, information. In this world the horizon of reliable information is limited. There was no way of acquiring time-sensitive information while it was still useful. WMW.pdf talked a great deal about what would be Chornobyl Island being a backward place of no interest to magi but if it was so poor how did so many of them end up getting access to magic crystals and magical artifacts? Such things may seem useless but would enable him to leap forward in his plans.

'A day today is worth a hundred tomorrow', he thought any advantage he has will compound over time.

He was already 10 yet he had yet to become a grand knight nor had he made the A.I Chip made any progress in analysing spiritual aptitude using the information in WMW.pdf but all was not bad. Leylin had asked Delvin to develop contacts and partnerships among both the nobility and the bourgeois ostensibly to look for trading opportunities.

Roran was another one of his pickups from Andburg port, a thief of great promise alas no matter how proficient every thief has his dawn. Unlucky, for Roran he was caught while he was stealing a herb for his daughter. Luckily for him, he caught Leylin's eye. So, not only did he keep his head and his daughter had a lifetime supply of the potion more effective than any Roran could get his hands on. In return, Leylin got a competent spymaster.

Leylin had asked Delvin to keep an eye out for anyone out of the ordinary whose behaviour was let's just say 'eccentric'. He had received a few names before but none of them turned out to be what he was looking for. The thought of one of them made Leylin shudder, deviants all of them Leylin thought. This time this piece of information was from Lady Miranda Hannover. A curious woman, Lady Miranda. She is known to be a principal advisor to her father. In an era where women are treated as ornaments the fact that her father values her counsel speaks volumes of her wisdom.

So, when Leylin had found out about the source of this piece of news he had promptly asked Roran to check up on this man. He raised his arm and allowed a beautiful Red eagle to perch on his arm.

Leylin felt a sense of melancholy, unknowingly he was gripped by a gentle bout of homesickness. He had heard that his father had tried searching heaven and earth when he found his letter. They said his rage for a day and night, his bolting from the castle had caused pain for his parents. He had trained his Red eagle to carry letters, he had covertly gotten it to drop another letter at the castle. The new letter informed his parents he was safe and he would return before his 13th nameday. He heard that his father had raged and vowed to tan his backside when he returned. His mother had honestly been worried sick so he emotionally blackmailed her into taking care of her health in his letter.

Leylin walked back into the Red Eagle's Nest. The aptly named fortress came along nicely. By now the main Keep and the South Tower had been fully renovated and furnished. The main Keep wasn't massive but its modest size allowed Leylin to run it without a large staff.

Leylin entered the master bedroom from the lookout and walked straight into the refresher. He moved a lever on the marble counter and an eagle beak opened and water poured out of it. Leylin walked out to the refresher after a warm bath. He changed into travelling gear and wore some light-padded armour. He took a few clothes to change during the travels and left the master bedroom. Leylin went to his study, he took some paper and a little bit of ink and grabbed his diary. He then went to his laboratory in the south tower. He pushed a small lever by the bookshelf a small false back panel opened to reveal a vault he took some gold crows and some silver merlons he also took some gemstones and put it into a sachel. He then took a few small glass vials and moved them to a leather pouch. Within the vault was a small brown box, he opened the box. Within the box was a small, intricate hollow rod along with 7 thin needles made of starmetal. He attached the 7 needles and the hollow rod to his custom armguard and hid it within his tunic. Leylin then took a small starmetal dagger and fastened it to his belt. Once he was done with it he went to the main hall.

Leylin sat by the hearth looking at the high wooden canopy. He looked at the chess set on the table planning his next course of action. He was roused from his thoughts by Roran's arrival

Leylin looked at Roran and spoke with all the composure he could muster, "Take a seat Roran." as he gestured towards the empty seat. Roran sat across the table with the enormous moose head looming over them. There was a pregnant pause as the 10-year-old looked at the man with a discerning gaze. Leylin queried, "So, how accurate was the lady's information?"

Roran looked back into his eyes unflinching and answered, "Young master based on our information. The man did indeed brag about being a mystic while in bed with a noble lady as for the veracity of the man's claims I have no way to confirm."

Leylin's eyes at this point were gleaming red, yellow, and orange. As his mind ran various permutations and combinations. 'Status' he commanded in his mind

[Beep: scan complete]

[Name : Leylin Farlier Gender: Male Strength: 5 Agility: 5.4 Vitality: 4.5]

[Status: Healthy. Improved eyesight]

Leylin gently rubbed Fawkes' wings and looked into the Red eagle's eyes. That afternoon Locke, Leylin and Roran left Red Eagle's Roost and rode towards Felddorf.