Pinetree Family/Long/The Adventure of Atamara/The Old Man of Icegate
Back to: The Adventure of Atamara
Chapter 3: Interrogation at Belegrond
Three days later, Long arrives in the frozen lands of Icegate, shivering to the unusual weather. Walking in to a local inn, he orders a fine meal and Norland's specialty wine.
Pitiful thing, that we have to be at war with these guys. Their wine is pretty good... Now where can that bastard of a bandit be?
He walks up to the bartender.
"Excuse me, sir, could I have some more of this wine? It's quite addicting."
-"Ah, sure thing. You must not be from around here, if you haven't quenched your addiction for the wine. So where you from?"
"Where I'm from has nothing to do with you. Hey, barkeep, has there been a new settler in the past few months? A shady one, with maybe a large jewel?"
-"I'm sorry, I don't release information to outsiders.."
With that, Long pulled out a small, heavy pouch and tossed it across the table to the bartender. The bartender looked inside and seemed satisfied.
-"Okay, well there was this guy that came a few months ago. Said he came from some mountains in Eston. He ain't have any jewels with him though, but he did seem pretty shaken up from something. Wouldn't talk to nobody either, just got drunk every few nights and went home."
"Do you know where he lives?"
"Nah, I reckon nobody does. He's been hiding away somewhere in Icegate, but I don't know where. Try asking around, maybe someone you know could know."
"Alright, thanks. Here, find me a room please."
Long finds a room in the inn and settles down for the night. He also called up a messenger to his room.
"Messenger, send a request to all nobles of this area asking if they have seen of a bandit. If they ask why, tell them, that I mean no harm to them, their realm, or their peasants. Now go."
A message is found on Long's bed. He opens it and reads it to find that nobody has responded to his search request.
"Damn, looks like I'll have to search for him myself."
Again, Long walks through the stronghold of Icegate.
I've been looking for days. I've seen thousands of the peasants here.. There can't be that many left to find. Hey wait, I haven't talked to that old guy before..
He walks up to the new stranger, hoping to find some where-abouts on the bandit.
"Hey, sir, do you know much about the people here?"
The old man turns around, shaky, with a cane in one hand.
"Well... I do happen to take note of... everybody that comes... through those gates... Now then.. What do you want.. to know?"
"Oh, really..? Have you seen a shady looking man, like a former bandit, that has passed through these gates? I'm looking for him, and I heard he was here."
"A bandit? No.. no, there hasn't been anyone like that through those gates... Although... There was this one guy... He appeared in Icegate one day... Never passing through the gates... He had scars over his face.. Like he was battle-worn..."
"Hmm... That could be him! Sir, where does he reside?"
"I don't know.. I'm not a stalker... But, there's this one place... In the tower of Icegate... A hidden room somewhere... I heard it's been disturbed from its original state.. You can go check it out if you want... But I have to take my leave... Good day, Long.."
Long stands there, wondering, thinking, and then shocked.
Wait a minute, how'd he know my name? I never told him....
Long sneaks into the castle stronghold of Icegate at midnight. His intention: to look for the mysterious peasant.
This castle is huge! Where the hell would this guy be...
An hour passes, and he's been through the whole castle, but he still hasn't found his person.
Damnit, this guy is smarter than I thought. Or maybe that old man was just messing with my head.. Oh man I can't believe I fell for it.
Angered, Long throws his dagger straight into the concrete wall. Strangely, the blade sticks in the wall, as if piercing it. Long walks up to the wall, examining it and pulls out his blade. It took him a few minutes, but he found out it was a door. The hidden door? Maybe.
Well, that was luck. Let's see where this thing leads to.
Long continued down a hallway completely engulfed in darkness and shadows. He crept towards the end and bump into another wall. Again, he examined it with his fingers, trying to figure if it was a door. It didn't seem like it, but he felt something carved into the middle stone.
Following the text, he made out the words, "Be wary of the errors you make; following this message is one mistake."
As soon as he realized what was read, he quickly removed his hand, but it was too late. At the end of the sentence was a button that he pressed. Torches lit up along the hallway, and the door opened in front of him. Everything seemed alright, but then he saw something near the way he came in. Something was dripping.. And he found out. One by one, the torches began to fall, hitting the liquid and igniting it. Long ran for his life, but soon came to another end.
This wall had 5 slots on it and some text as well.
It read, "Fire to Metal; Metal to Earth; Earth to Trees; Trees to Water; Water to Fire; Thus, the cycle is repeated."
The slots were in a star position, a torch burning in the top point, the right point empty, the bottom-right part with dirt in it, the bottom-left with a few leaves of an herb, and the left point empty.
The puzzle was easy to figure out. Long just needed the materials. For the metal, he placed a gold coin in the slot. For water, he placed his saliva into the slot. The door opened. Long ran down the hall with the fire only meters away from the last puzzle.
Another wall appeared to Long. This wall had just text on it.
It read "Your mind can stand the flames of problems, but your body cannot. The flames will catch you."
This took Long a bit longer, but he figured it out. Climbing to the top of the hallway, using his arms and legs to keep him in the air, he waited for the fire to come. It didn't take long. The flames burned to the end of the hall, and it burned the wall down. At that moment, snow fell through newly opened holes in the walls. The fire extinguished, and torches on the walls appeared again. This time, they didn't drop.
Long walked down the rest of the hallway slowly, making sure not to set off any traps. At the end, was a door. Just a door. It seemed to easy.
Damn Vikings, better not have laid any traps on this door..
The last door of the hallway. Long opens it slowly, wary of the possible devices hidden behind the door. The door is open. He walks in with his dagger at the ready.
There was nothing there. Or so he thought. A figure ambushed him from the ceiling, jumping on Long's back and knocking him to the ground. Long rolled on to his back and jumped back up. The figure was a man wrapped in a peasants cloth, weilding a knife, who seemed to be poor at using it. Easily, Long disarmed his opponent and drew his dagger to his neck.
(Long): "Who are you?"
(Man): "I don't gotta tell you."
Long presses his dagger harder into the man, making his neck red.
(Long): "Who are you?!?"
(Man): "Okay okay, don't hurt me. Relax.. I'm not from here. So anything I've done probably isn't me."
(Long): "Oh really? I'm not from here either. The Emerald. Where is it!"
(Man): "What the.. How did you know about it? Wait... Unless your..."
(Long): "Damn right I am. You raided my house years ago, and now I've come to seek revenge for what you did to us. Now, where is the Emerald!"
(Man): "I-I don't know.. I wasn't the last to have it. There's uhh uhh 15 other guys that came here with me. I swear I didn't hurt anybody!"
(Long): "Where are the others!? Tell me now, or I'll slice the veins of your legs and arms right now, making you a cripple if you're lucky to survive."
(Man): "Please, don't do that! Don't hurt me! I don't know where they are.. It's been so long. All I know of is one of them went to some fort near them mountains that I used to be in.. Don't hurt me, please, sir!"
Long throws the ex-bandit to the floor.
(Long): "Pathetic.. Your life isn't worth killing."
Long leaves the lonely room, and heads out to Belegrond, site of his next target.
Back to: The Adventure of Atamara
Chapter 3: Interrogation at Belegrond
