Warden Kishan, you are quite clever, but I will not make such a mistake as to tell you my name. You may call me Set. We have paid these men to bring us to America? Is this America? But they separated those of us who are gifted, and I could tell that they were going to use us to empower the sword.
I told the others, and at first they did not believe me, but my friend told them of other things I had seen that had come true and they came to believe what I said. And so three of us were attempting to open the door that we would not be lead to the slaughter. Jerrias was strong with fire, some said he had the blood of the Jinn, but in truth it was the power of the dragon in all of us. The creatures said that all of had a hint of dragon blood and that we could awaken Nothing, but we did not understand them.
Jerrias was strong with fire, and so my friend was helping him to make the fire, but I was the one for fine work, and so I was using Jerrias' magic and cutting the door, but then the container moved, and I panicked, and the fire got away from me and lashed out at them. I have killed them Warden Kishan, and so you must kill me. I have traded one sword for another.We, my family, are the Blood of the Dragon. Is this what you saw? Long ago, there were Angels who lusted after mortal women, humans and jinn alike. These stories are known in many ways to many people. But we are more than stories. We are there descendants.
The power of what you call the fallen is in all of us, but in some it is stronger. I am able to know things that are known, like your names. But there is no angel here. Just me.
...
Actually, I don't see any connection with the Denarians here for far, I think it was Aaron that implied the connection. The Denarians are a specific groups of Fallen (30 of them in fact), and they tend to be pretty active in mortal affairs, however, there are in all likelihood thousands or tens of thousands of Fallen out there, so assuming the Denarions are involved is likely a large leap in logic and probability.
"More thankfully, it's not a Denarian, it seems. I barely survived my first encounter with one, and I'm not sure if I would fare much better now."
Are those not things John would say aloud?
"I didn't realize there was a difference between Fallen and Denarians. Good to know. Well, not good- what are the other Fallen doing if there are that many of them? Actually, don't tell me now unless you think they're involved here."
removes his hat, rubs his aching head
"I think someone should go talk to Reichel and I think the Warden and Aaron have the best chance getting his help. While I want to go just to hear what he has to say, I've given guest rights to Set and I should be part of the team with him."
turns to Wisp and the Detective
"There's plenty of space left in the building. If you two want to help, having you nearby would be a relief. We'll worry about rent an' such later. Unless you want to be part of the talk with Reichel."
to the Warden
"Other than your circle, what would protect Set from being found by the Fomor? I know they're weak against Iron, but would surrounding him or having him carry iron help? Or something else physical?"
Latimer logged into his computer as soon as he reached his apartment, and started making phone calls while checking with whomever he could hail on instant messenger at the same time, desperately hoping to find out anything he could about the Fomor's intentions in town, or what that thing in the car could have possibly been.
After exhausting the resources he can lay hands on at this time of night, Latimer decides to make a call to the local practitioner bookstore. "Hi, sorry to call so late, but would you happen to have a copy of Arronax's Oceanic Bestiary? An early edition, if at all possible."
Aaron is startled by the phone ringing unexpectedly, but answers it. He waves everyone to be quiet for a second as he does so.
"It's no trouble. Luckily I was still in the store. Let me look real quick, I'll get back to you in a moment, if that's all right?"
That said (and permission presumably given), Aaron looks through his catalog, then searches the back room for a moment.
"Looks like I have three copies. Two are the latest, but I do have a 3rd printing if that will suit your purposes?"
"I certainly hope so. I'll be right by to pick it up. Thank you."
Latimer hangs up the phone and heads over to the shop in his old Pinto. He comes up to the door and knocks before entering.
"I'm here for that copy of Arronax's? Wait, didn't I see you earlier tonight?"
"I think I can help. I'll head out to pick up my stuff and settle up with the wonderful accomodations I'm staying at. Anybody need anything while I'm out?
"These are all good questions, and things that we should get to the bottom of. For some of them, we may need to address 'Set,' though we may have damaged any potential rapport, given his present accommodations..."
She gestures to where the boy seems to have fallen asleep.
"When we wake him, we'll have to ask if the others in the container possess the same "blood of the dragon" as he does. If so, then the Fomor may still have enough potential resources to activate the sword. How that works is a mystery of course, but there are many possibilities. They may need to work a ritual with their inborn magics, or they may merely be the fuel for a ritual that incorporates their sacrifice. It would have been nice to have this knowledge and insights back at the cargo yard, but then, hindsight always casts decisions that way. Again, presuming what the boy has said is true, then I'm sure we can be sure that the Fomor are working hard right now, trying their best to recapture the scattered refugees. Detective Jackson? Do you have any connections with the Boston PD, or with the Federal authorities? I would like to know how many of the escapees were detained by police and ICE. That might give us a picture of how many are still on the loose, and potentially in Fomor hands. I hate to get local bureaucracies involved, but it might even be wise to inform the BPRD about the potential risk."
"Damn it, this gets complicated. If we take what 'Set' tells us as true, then there is likely a whole cascading set of problems going on here as the Fomor scramble to recapture all of those innocents. And even if they do not have the sword" she casts a glance at Aaron, "there is no telling what else they might be able to do with that sort of ritual. Perhaps nothing, but then perhaps a lot. If nothing, then we'd have to expect that they will be expending equal resources to tracking that blade in order to reclaim it. Hell, they could be massing outside the doors as we speak. If the Blood of the Dragon serves more uses, the blade might be a lower priority for them, but you would have to assume that reacquiring it would still be high on their lists, given how much trouble it appears to have been to get all of the components here in America."
"If that is going on here, then running off to Canada would likely be a very bad idea, given the timeframe."
"And against all of this we need to weigh the possibility that 'Set' is merely possessed, and that all of this is misdirection, intended to allow him to get free of our attention, and off to do whatever it pleases."
"Mr. Drachman, can I see that sword?"
"I certainly hope so. I'll be right by to pick it up. Thank you."
Latimer hangs up the phone and heads over to the shop in his old Pinto. He comes up to the door and knocks before entering.
"I'm here for that copy of Arronax's? Wait, didn't I see you earlier tonight?"
"I think so, yeah. Weren't you at the docks? Only one that didn't come here, I think." Aaron hands him the book as he talks.
-----------------------------------------------
Aaron looks reluctant to give the sword to the Warden, but slowly complies in handing it to her hilt first.
"Be careful with it. I haven't had a chance to sit down and figure it out yet."
Latimer looks past Aaron to the collected group. "Oh wow, the gang is all here, huh? That's the kid that fell, isn't it? Good to see he's still in one piece. I've spent my evening trying to figure out what the Fomor are up to in town." Holding up the book, he continues, "I was hoping I might be able to dig something up on the big guy or the smoke in here"
Warden Kishan takes hold of the sword with a practices hand. To anyone with an eye for such things, it is immediately apparent that she is familiar with swords and how to handle them. While most would touch such a thing tenderly, or with reverence, her handling is far more familiar, like handling a tool. She looks it over from one end to the other, seemingly assessing it both as a weapon and as an artifact.
She examines the fittings, if anything rattles, the wear pattern on the grip, such as uneven wear or sweat marks on the grip, even if ancient, that might be telling as to whether the blade had seen use or practice, or has a more ornamental feel and function.
Though not specifically an expert on Scandinavian swords, she had a lot of experience with blades from many cultures, and was knowledgable enough to date one to a general period in time, and so she compared the fittings to various features known from various periods. Was the blade cast? Mid-Iron Age. Pattern welded or wootz imported from far off India? Viking and late Viking period respectively. Was the pommel triangular or tri-lobed? Was the crossgaurd more ovalular, like a roman spatha, or crusiform or leading that way. The former were more typical of earlier Viking eras, while the latter would date to after the Norman transition. If it was truly a blade of legend, earlier features would probably be more likely.
She examines the edge for marks, either chips and nicks indicating use, polishing marks from being resharpened after use, or the complete absense of either, which might indicate an ornamental blade that had never actually seen use, or potentially indicate a magical blade that was immune to damage and requires no such maintainance.
Finally, she reaches out with her magical senses, looking for the presence and strength of magical investments.
Latimer gets the plate of the sedan and discovers it is a company car for a holding company called Bayless International. Bayless has a number of Office and Warehouse holdings in Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, and Toronto. They also own a residential high rise here in Boston named Ava Apartments with the penthouses reserved for their execs.
"Mind if I come in and go through this in here?" Latimer asks before entering. "I managed to run down the registration on that car from earlier, belongs to Bayless International. Holding company, owns a few buildings in town, and in a few others. Baltimore, Detroit, Toronto. Places with coastline. I think the reason has less to do with shipping than might otherwise be assumed, though." He finds a place to sit and starts digging through the book. "I don't suppose anyone has the rundown on our dancing partner from earlier and can save me the trouble?"
|
Jarrod let out a sudden "Aha!" as he jumped up and started rumaging through his coat pockets. "Forgot I swiped this from the fomor before he left," he told the others as he pulled out the wallet he got from the body. Walking towards the table, he sets it down and starts pulling out everything it contained.
The wallet is fine sharkskin leather, the kind of folio you keep in a suit jacket pocket. The wallet is slim and mostly empty, but has in it:
A key card with a logo (10 ?)
A drivers license for Daniel Thiel who looks like the guy
A photo and RFID badge for Bayless Holdings
A mini menu from John Hook's Seafood
Two very high end credit cards.
Chip Based Keycard with Logo10 Farnsworth Condos (Real place under construction but, for our purposes, already exists.)
Photo ID with RFID for Bayless Holdings (fictional company)
Massachusetts Driver's License
Both ID's have picture of big and toady and the name Daniel Thiel
Address on License is 10 Farnsworth st
Mini menu for James Hook and Co. Fresh Seafood (real place, fictionalized)
Two very high end credit cards: Centurion Black American Express
Coutts World Silk Mastercard
$4000 dollars in crisp $100 bills
Aaron whistles.
"That guy was carrying around a lot of money for a fish."
tries to looks offended when Jackson denies access to the cash, but doesn't pull it off
"By tomorrow, those access cards will likely become useless. Might still work tonight, though. Causing some trouble for the company might distract this Theil or his bosses from going after the refugees or coming after us- provided he doesn't already have them or hasn't found us. I'm not saying it's a good idea- I'm just thinking out-loud."
The man's is a near billionaire named Scott Tibbedeau who lives on an
estate near Buzzards Bay in Dartmouth.
Rumors suggest he paid $142 million, about 20% of his fortune, to acquire the armlet.
"Obviously being mutant seafood pays a lot better than I though," Jarrod said, pouring over the various odds and ends. "By the way, nobody's getting the cash. It's either getting donated or turned in, not sure yet. Gonna call a couple contacts and ask about this guy in the morning."
"Haven't you ever heard of finders keepers?"
"It'd pay for us all some plane tickets to Canada quite nicely if nothing else."
takes a call, comes back with a glazed look in his eye
"I found one of the missing Libyan pieces. Seems to have been bought by a local. Looks like he paid about 142 million for a gold armlet that's supposed ta give ya 'good fortune'. Hell, if ya can pay that much for something ya can wear, how much more good fortune do ya need?"
gets a hopeful look
"Don't suppose there's a link between Bayless Holdings or Daniel Thiel or anythin' else and a guy named Scott Tibbedeau with a big place in Dartmouth?"
"As long as they do not make their way back into the hands of the Fomor, I care rather little what becomes of those items."
"Of course, if it were up to me, I think I would rather not be in possession of anything that came directly from them. Remember that they are frequently skilled incanters, and being in possession of something of theirs creates a potential point of connection."
"If you wished to keep the money, I would take it to a bank tomorrow and exchange the bills for smaller denominations. Better yet, go to a Currency Exchange, or a Casino; a place where you can make the exchange without using identification. That way you don't open yourself up to more mundane methods of tracking. As long as you rid yourself of the actual property possesses by the Fomor, you should be safe. Using a public method such as one of these also avoids inflicting trouble on others, such as were the bills to be tracked to whatever charity you gave them to."
"If you insist on hanging onto any of the physical items themselves, I suggest you run them under flowing water for a bit. It is not nearly as thorough a measure as replacing them with an equivalent, as with the cash, but should be enough to eliminate any residual magic or connection with the previous owner, at least in the case of any mundane items. It can't hurt in regards to the fish smell either. Nothing so simple is likely to be effective for something like this sword... If it is a genuine artifact, it likely has a magical signature all it's own, and masking that without leaving contained it in a circle could be problematic."
"As for what the sword is? To my eye it looks authentic, or at least like an accurate replica. The features appear accurate, though I would likely have to run it past some of my associates in the Faculty of Archaeology to be sure. Without a doubt, no mundane blade from that era has ever survived to the present in anything resembling usable condition, which would indicate either magic at work, or modern production. Blades that remained in use ended up polished down to a nub, and those in storage inevitably become neglected and rust away due to contact with the air. Ironically, the best preserved specimens are usually found under rivers. Rust is oxidation of the iron, so moisture is only a catalyst. The oxygen levels in the silt of riverbeds is low enough that the moisture doesn't quickly harm the steel. Still, while you'd be able to tell that those were swords, though someone wouldn't be far off describing it as a sword shaped piece of rust. No one will be wielding one of those any time soon."
"The features look to me like primarily Carolingian period elements; what is typically called the Viking era when referring to the Nordic cultures. However, there are a few elements that appear to be older; they are uncharacteristic of the time. For one, the tang has been peened below the pommel, which is more typical of earlier migration era swords, though they started using that method again in the medieval period as well. As well, the fuller along the blade does not appear original to the sword, suggesting that it might have been added later. Lacking a fuller at the time of construction wouldn't be that strange in a migration era blade, but it would be very uncommon for a viking sword. It almost seemed to suggest that the sword was reforged at some point, probably due to damage, since most smiths of the time wouldn't have wanted to risk damaging a good temper unless the blade was already unusable for some reason."
"It bears a resemblance to some of the pieces found at the Sutton Hoo burial ship they just unearthed near Woodbrige recently. If anything though, the blade might be better. You can see patterns here in the steel. That was pretty common of these types of swords; they were often made using crucible steel imported all the way from India. It's not as strange as you might think; they've found Indian Buddha statues in dark age burial sites all over Scandinavian, as well as other artifacts that could only have come from Asia. Travelling by river, traders from the region could sail all the way to Northern Iran through what was called the Bulgar trade route."
"What is interesting is how fine the striations are in the steel; it almost looks like someone has worked to lay lettering into the pattern. The runes are an older style, 'Elder Futhark,' and I'm afraid that wasn't exactly my specialty. The skill is amazing though. Look here: the runes appear in the steel on both sides of the blade, but they are not mirrored. They actually read true on both sides. That means the smith would have had to work the details into the pattern as he folded the steel, and then cut the billet and folded the entire structure back upon itself so that the letters would still be accurate on both sides! That is a remarkable feat. Even today, that is extremely difficult to do. I had the opportunity to see a piece once that consisted of a bowie knife, with American flags worked into the steel, and even the letters 'USA'. It was terribly ostentatious, but remarkably worked all the same. Like here, the flag appeared properly depicted on both sides, as did the lettering. The image was part of the steel; were someone to have cut it in half spine-to-edge they'd have seen the same image on the inside. I've never heard of that level of craftsmanship ever existing in that era though. That probably suggests modern machine-assisted manufacture."
"There are runes here in the blade too. Small amounts of steel have been carved out and replaced with inlaid iron; that's definitely a Viking era feature. There was an entire class of blades inscribed in this manner that existed in the late Carolingian period. They were inscribed with the name, '┼ULFBERH┼T', and were considered some of the best swords in existence at the time. Of course, nobody now knows who Ulfberht was, or even if it was a single person. The swords were made over a two hundred year period, so conventional reasoning is that it couldn't have been a single person. Of course, an alternative explanation might be that he merely wasn't human."
"It's hard to make out the lettering in this light, but I believe the letters are, 'Byarkan,' the letter for the 'b' sound, 'Ár' which is 'ă', 'Lögr' 'l', 'Madhr' 'm', 'Úr' 'ŭ', 'Naudh' for 'n' or 'ng'. 'Balmung.' Now that's interesting. Balmung was a mythical sword from the Ring of the Nibelung cycle. Sigurd used it to slay the dragon Fafnir. It was made from the shards of..." She trails off, for just a moment and then starts examining the blade again, even more earnestly than before. She sets her own sword across her knees, sitting cross legged on the floor. She touches it briefly, and the steel wrapped bands of the basket hilt begin to shine as bright as the filament in a halogen lamp.
She mumbles the words to herself, reading while trying to remember something of only passing interest that she studied years ago, "Gebō, raidō, ansuz, mannaz, raidō. G-R-A-M-R. Gramr. Gram. The sword made by Volund, gifted to Odin and won by Sigfried. Broken in a battle with a great warrior, he swore to have it reforged for his son, Sigurd, who then used it to slay the dragon Fafnir..."
She sits upon the floor for a while, apparently lost in thought, the dazzling light of her own sword's hilt slowly fading and then winking out.
"You know, this may be the first time I've ever been grateful the Faculty of History mandates the complete history of the British isles among its course requirements. Early Britannia is strongly influenced by Nordic cultural influences, and maintains many of the same foundational mythologies."
Turning to address the others in the room, who she appeared to have forgotten for a while, she says, "I think I recall something about this blade, or at least the blade this appears or is styled to represent... Mr. Drachman, did I overhear you mention you run a rare-book store? Do you have a copy of the Nibelungenlied? One of the English translations with commentary would be ideal. If you have a copy of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, that might help too. It's a fictionalized account, of course, but it incorporates numerous aspects of the various legends.
"I know I have two of the later, cheaper printings on the shelf. Somebody purchased the nice hardback versions of both not long ago and I replaced them with what I had on hand."
He thinks for a moment.
"It would be...unfortunate if I gave the Fomor a clue they needed in this case. I hope it was a coincidence."
Aaron excuses himself, and retrieves the books within a couple of minutes.
"Try not to smudge or tear the pages. They may not be the best quality, but they're still books."
"I know a bit of the story, and it seems odd that this sword would find its way here, so far from home. Now I'm really curious as to what the Fomor's plot involves. If the stories are true, this sword could be very deadly in the wrong hands."
Kishan replies a bit icily, but there is at least a touch of sarcasma and wry amusement in her voice, "Thank you Mr. Drachman. I am familiar with books."
She spends a few minutes with Aaron's precious books before speaking again.
"Reading through is helping to remind me of the original legends, and jog my memory. Wagner took a lot of liberties in his version."
"The one that forged Balmung was called Volund, often anglicized to Wayland the Smith. Volund is an impressive figure in mythology. He is like Hephaestus, Daedalus, and Titus Andronicus all rolled into one. He might have been fey, born of a giant and a faerie, or perhaps a Changling in the mortal world. He learned metalcraft from the svartálfar, often called dwarves, and became a legendary sword maker and smith. His skill was such that the king Nidung set out to captured him, and once he had commanded him to forge swords and armour for his army, and jewelry for his family. He ordered the smith's hamstrings cut so that he might never leave the forge. Volund worked for years, and so esteemed was his work that eventually he gained the trust of the king, which he used to exact revenge for his mistreatment. He extracted a promise from the king, that for his good service, were he ever to have a child of his own, Nidung would do nothing to harm him. Unable to walk, he fashioned himself a pair mechanical wings and secreted them away for his escape. He invited the king's sons to the forge where he killed them, and made goblets from their skulls, and other jewelry from their bodies, sending them somehow unbeknownst to the king to Nidung's dining chamber. One wonders how someone might not notice they were drinking out of a skull goblet, but Nidung was not exactly regarded as a kind man, so perhaps one more set of skulls on his table were not entirely out of place. Volund then invited the Princess to his forge, raped or seduced her and got a child on her. And then when confronted by the king, he told the man exactly what he had done, whose skull the king had been drinking from, and then flew away laughing the whole time. Quite the charmer. Nidung's duaghter bore a son, and because of the oath the king had sworn, he could not harm him, leaving the child his only male heir. Some of the tales place Volund in Britannia after that."
"Gramr was one of several legendary swords he forged, and perhaps the most famous. The name translates as 'Wrath'. Volund gave it to Odin, who sank it in the trunk of a tree; either as a part of a contest, or because it was too powerful for mortal hands, depending on the version of the story. Sigmund was able to pull it from free from the tree, winning it and proving that he alone was fit among mortals to wield it. Sigmund was defeated in a battle against a hooded warrior armed with an unbreakable spear. From the description, one wonders is it wasn't Odin himself, prone as he was to wearing disguises and meddling with mortals. In the battle, the sword was broken. Before dying, Sigmund made his wife swear to have the sword reforged for their unborn son. His wife then married the legendary smith Regin, who was able to reforge the blade, which he christened 'Balmung'. Sigmund was later able to use the sword to slay the dragon Fafnir."
"When Fafnir arose from his long sleep, he destroyed entire armies, as no regular blade could penetrate his hide. Regin knew of a massive treasure being guarded by the dragon, and so he set his foster son to kill the beast. Sigurd dug a hole in the ground and lured Fafnir in above him, driving the sword through its heart. He was bathed in the blood of the dragon, becoming immune to harm from mortal weapons, except in a single place where a leaf had clung to his skin. Sigurd cut the heart out of the dragon, planning to gift it to his foster father Regin. Regin however was planning to betray Sigurd in order to keep the entire hoard for himself. As he was cooking the heart, Sigurd tasted the blood, granting him the speech of animals. Birds that had heard Regin scheming to his underlings warned Sigurd, who then killed Regin. The treasure was of course cursed however, dooming all that possessed it to die. Sigurd boasted that all men die, and all men dream of wealth while they lived, and so he would take the treasure without fear. He was later murdered by men he trusted, as they themselves fought over the cursed gold. As far as I can remember, his sword sailed with him on his funeral ship, which was lit aflame in the custom of the day.
"I suppose if anyone is going to find a lost relic that sank into the sea a thousand years past, the sea-dwelling Fomor, who are so many lost legends themselves, would be pretty likely candidates..."
"Of course, if it were up to me, I think I would rather not be in possession of anything that came directly from them. Remember that they are frequently skilled incanters, and being in possession of something of theirs creates a potential point of connection."
"They have the Fey weakness to Iron- they spent the trouble to alter the car, at least. Would surrounding the stuff with Cold Iron prevent them from finding it? Presuming they aren't working with another type of mage."
Formor aren't particularly vulnerable to iron. They just don't like it very much. Iron won't block their magic.
"So how does Balmung compare to your Warden's blade, out of curiosity?"
I think that none of you are aware of the specifics of the control and influence the Fonor have on specific elements in the city. Certainly they are well connected to many entities in city government.
K: Local 14 combined with Latimer's check earlier.
Bayless Holdings Inc. owns Bayless International Inc. as well as several luxury apartment buildings and a mental health group called Ninurta that runs several residential mental health facilities under the banner Ninerta Mental Health.
Bayless International Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayless Holdings Inc. and has shipping and import facilities in Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, and Toronto, as well as international facilities in Venice, Istanbul, Durban, and Tianjin.