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SYNOPSIS: The ambitious monk Manheim and the callow novice Julian are unlikely traveling companions. Both would consider the circumstances surrounding their journey mere bad luck—yet, one way or another, they have been charged with a single, important mission: Find the Blackpage!
Twenty years after Manheim’s rival monk, Byron—now called The Blackpage—was exiled from the Order of Authors, this adventuring party will face dangers in the mysterious wilds of Daranna. Yet, all agree that nothing they could encounter is more dangerous than the man they hope to find…
INDEX | Chapter 1 | <Previous (Chapter 2) | Next (Chapter 4)>
Henri And Julian
Julian found Henri walking along the loggia outside the main hall, heading towards the study annex. Henri was walking slowly, looking into the woods and mountains as he liked to do before a class. He caught sight of Julian approaching, and rolled his eyes.
“Ohhhh no. No. No sir.”
“I haven’t even said anything!” Julian extended his arms in confusion, quickening his pace to close the distance.
“You’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The look you get when you’re about to rope me into something.”
“I’m—I don’t have a look.”
“What did the inquisitor want?” Henri asked impatiently, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I—wait just a minute.”
“Julian you are the only one of us who goes poking around in stuff. This couldn’t be any more predictable if you tried. What did the inquisitor want?”
“Listen I didn’t ask to be in that room with Abbot Targand.”
“And yet—”
Julian sighed, and tried to collect himself, his nerves were frayed from the excitement and anxiety. “I…we’re leaving. Tomorrow morning. To go find the Blackpage.”
“And…there it is.” He punctuated by pointing his finger at Julian and then turning his back. “You get your wish, Julian. You just can’t keep your mouth shut! They’re always telling you and you can’t do it.”
“Henri… there’s more.”
Henri paused a moment that felt like minutes as he figured out what was coming next. “No, no, please no, Julian,” He said, shaking his head.
“You gotta come with me, please. They told me I could bring someone.”
“This is your goose-chase, not mine. I wanted to study runes today. I don’t want to bother anyone. Now you want to not just rope me into this venture but put me at risk too.” Henri faced Julian, hissing through gritted teeth.
“What if I don’t come back?”
“Do you have any idea what’s out there? Bandits? Elves? Something worse? If we encounter any of those then neither of us could come back.”
“What if…” Julian stepped closer, and whispered, “what if they kill me?”
“ALL THE MORE REASON NOT TO SPEAK UP!” Henri shouted. A breeze rustled the leaves of the trees beyond the loggia, a breath of wind interjecting into their conversation. He continued, quietly, “You don’t think, Julian, you just do things. Is Abbot Manheim really that bad of an idea? Is it worth it, Julian?”
“I—that’s not the point! What he said wasn’t true, it’s just not what happened!”
“Yes but even if Manheim was lying is it so bad to let him get away with it? You’re asking me to get involved, now. For Manheim this is political. For you this is…I don’t know, hero worship. Some damn-fool principled stand. Something about the Blackpage breaks your brain, and you just stop thinking. What is this for me? You’re my friend Julian, I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Wait—are you saying you’ll come?”
“Yes of course I’ll come. But I’m furious about it, Julian.”
Julian sighed relief, “Oh thank goodness, I was worried you were saying no.”
“Don’t be relieved by this, this isn’t a relief. Not for either of us. You’re in this mess and three people on this adventure are going to be mad at you but only one will be your friend. I’m not letting you off the hook. I’ll go just to keep you alive but when we get back you are going to help me study these infernal runes, okay? I didn’t ask for this.”
“Ohhhh this is going to be great. I promise, Henri. Anything you ask—I owe you big.”
“Your promises aren’t very persuasive until we come back safely. Anyway, now that that’s established, you gotta tell me everything.”
“Come with me!”
In the novices dormitory, Henri sat on his bed and watched Julian empty his trunk and start sorting as if to pack, while Julian told the whole story, barely pausing to take a breath.
Henri said, “So Manheim matched your commitment to your story, and the Inquisitor doesn’t care enough to sort through it so even if you go Manheim will still become abbot. Is that what you are telling me?”
“With the inquisitor around he may realize that Manheim isn’t suitable to be abbot.”
“Why do you care who the abbot is, Julian?”
“I don’t, I don’t—but Manheim lied. I know Manheim lied, and I’m the only one who knows. I’m the only one who could do anything, and for better or worse I did it. So if he’s going to be abbot, it shouldn’t be through a lie. At least if he’s abbot after this adventure, he’ll have earned it.” Julian paused, took a deep breath to regain his footing. “Targand wanted, first and foremost, reconciliation with the Blackpage. All I want is for Targand’s wishes to be followed.”
“And to meet the Blackpage.”
Julian slumped over his bag, surrendering: “Aaaand to meet the Blackpage.”
“If he’s even alive.”
“Inquisitor Varus seems to think that he is.”
“Okay so, question number one. What is stopping Manheim and/or Varus from killing you—killing us the second we step out of sight of the monastery.”
Julian thought about this a long while. “I mean…the Inquisitor…”
“Is he going to be watching at all times? He doesn’t seem invested in your story, Julian, and I’m another step removed from you. If Manheim wants it that badly…”
“I don’t know, do you have any ideas?”
“You need something that makes Manheim invested in your safety. And the thing he wants seems to be to become abbot. You need some kind of security. The story you are telling seems to be his biggest obstacle. So write your story down, witnessed by me and someone not involved, and leave it here so if Manheim comes back without you, that’s the signal that there’s been foul play.”
“You’re a genius, Henri. Let me write it now—”
“No—not with me, I’m coming with you. We need someone who is staying to witness you write it, sign that they saw you write it, I’ll sign it and you sign it too. And then we seal it up and they hide it here, and don’t tell anyone else about it. Once we leave, Manheim needs to know it exists so that he knows if he kills you that your story will still be told and his reputation will still be ruined.”
It was at this moment that Novice Darby walked into the room, between classes. “Oh, hey-a fellas. Didn’t see you at the rune lessons! What’s up?”
Julian and Henri looked at each other, and smiled. “Darby, you got a second?”
Julian and Henri spent the day whispering like conspirators, thinking through the dangers and dynamics of the coming journey. Between the two of them they had three bags to carry, overflowing with clothes and possessions. Henri, strangely, wanted to bring notebooks and papers to write with; Julian wasn’t sure whether to pack clothes for north or south. The north gate seemed to imply they were heading north, but that was also the direction to the King’s Road which passed all the way north and south across Daranna.
To make sure they had what they needed, they went to find Inquisitor Varus. Julian led Henri back to the main hall, where a few Brothers were sitting idle, and marched confidently through the door adjacent to the dais, through which the Inquisitor had led them earlier.
Arriving at the Inquisitor’s office, Julian knocked tentatively on the partially open wooden door, peering through the gap. “Inquisitor Varus?”
“Come in, Julian” He grumbled, as Julian pushed through the heavy door. “Do come in. Is this your traveling companion?”
“I—yes, this is Novice Henri.”
“Nice to meet you, inquisitor.” Henri held out a hand and gave a short bow.
“Yes yes, very good,” the inquisitor said, ignoring him. “What do you need?”
“Well, we realized—we’ve packed and all, but we aren’t sure whether we’ve packed properly. What should we prepare for? Cold or hot? Food? Do you think we will need weapons?”
“Food won’t be a problem, nor weapons,” The inquisitor patted one of the books on his desk. “I forget that you novices don’t have books of your own yet. I suppose that you’ll have to carry anything the superior and I cannot provide.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve spent the day stocking the larder and storing a few weapons in my book.” He patted it again. “It will save us some carrying weight, and perhaps some other inconveniences. The Divine Author willing, we won’t need much. But it will be a long journey, that much is sure.”
“So you know where we will be going?”
“Not exactly. Rumors only—that the Blackpage was in the north, beyond even the Northern Kingdom.” Inquisitor Varus pulled a scroll out from a pile of scrolls tucked away on a shelf, unrolled it, and revealed a map crisscrossed with markings and symbols and hand-drawn annotations and marginalia.
“How are we going to find the Blackpage?”
“Our monastery is here, right on the eastern edge of the range of Yan Dawil. We would normally take this path to the Kings Road, but in this case I would like to speak with Dawil himself.”
“The elf?” Julian asked in disbelief. Henri nudged him with his elbow.
“Ever-folk is closer to their word for themselves, but yes. He has a sharp memory and the Blackpage passed through his range several times unharmed. For us it was decades ago, for him—well, when life is measured in millenia, it might as well have been yesterday. Even so—the Ever-folk are dangerous and not to be underestimated. Yan Dawil has a particular reputation for jealously guarding his range from trespassers, so we will have to be especially careful.”
“How are we going to find him?”
“If we wander off the path into his range, he will find us—no doubt.”
“And what then?”
The inquisitor smiled. “If we are very, very lucky… we talk to him.”
To be continued…
Thank you very much for reading! This is Find The Blackpage, a fantasy adventure serial set in the world of Daranna. This will be a serial publishing every week, for a tentative total of twelve episodes. Please subscribe to be sure you don’t miss an installment sent directly to your inbox!
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God bless!
AJPM
Darby, being the most enthusiastic and over-the-top charismatic personalities of all the novices, will be the best person to keep something very, very secret.
More like Find the *Blackmail* of our boy!