his hand enabled him to communicate with Bart who wore the other of the pair.
Lost? Bart asked.
I don’t think so, he replied. Snow’s getting very bad though.
We’ll come get you, Bart told him.
Alright, Kevik said. Look for my light.
Will do, came the reply, then the communication ended.
Ten minutes later, Soth caught sight of a light approaching from behind them. It turned out to be Bart and Riyan. “You guys passed the lane,” Bart told them. He then led them back down the road to the where the lane turned off. Once they were on the lane and heading toward the manor, its lights soon became visible through the blowing snow.
Back at the manor, they found a fire roaring in the fireplace and the smell of hot cider filling the air. After they removed their jackets and snow packed boots, Chyfe came forward with a mug of hot cider for each of them.
“Thanks man,” Seth said as he took his. The warmth of the cider coming through the mug caused his hands to ache as feeling began to return. “It’s getting bad out there.”
Bart nodded. “I know,” he replied. “Chad hasn’t made it back yet.”
“If he’s smart, he’ll stay in town until it blows over,” Riyan said.
“You might want to hold off on going to the Tower for a few days,” Soth advised Kevik. The cider entering his system sent warmth spreading throughout his body. He looked around for his brother and failed to find him. About to ask where he was, he saw him emerging from the kitchen with a large chunk of beef.
“Perhaps you’re right,” agreed Kevik. Besides, he’ll need to devote some time to the spells he had copied into his spell book while in the library in order to perfect them.
Riyan went over to the window and looked out. All that he saw was darkness, except for the wisps of snow that blew against the window pane. Worry for his friend gnawed at him, but he knew that to go in search of him would be futile in such weather.
When Chad made to leave earlier that evening, Alicia had suggested for him to stay the night due to the severity of the storm. “We wouldn’t want him getting lost and dying out there,” she argued.
Her father didn’t care for the idea but couldn’t come up with a good reason to object that wouldn’t besmirch Chad’s honor. “Alright,” he agreed. “You can sleep in the front room.”
“Thank you sir,” Chad replied. He glanced to Alicia who gave him a smile. Their exchange was not lost to her father.
Blankets were piled on the long couch for Chad as the family made ready for bed. Her father remained in the front room after his wife and daughters had gone upstairs to their rooms. Relaxing in a chair by the fireplace, he pulled out his pipe and proceeded to light it.
Chad sat on the couch, not comfortable with the idea of crawling under the covers with him sitting nearby. They sat there quietly for several minutes while her father stared into the fire as he puffed on his pipe. “You needn’t feel the need to remain here to guard the honor of your daughter,” Chad finally said.
Her father smiled at that. “If I thought you were the type to take advantage of her under my own roof, I would have sent you on your way tonight,” he replied. Outside the wind howled as it beat snow against the sides of the house. The shutters had been closed to protect the windows, and at times the wind would moan eerily as it blew across them.
“Sometimes my boy, it is simply nice to enjoy a moment of quiet,” he explained. “As a young man, you probably can’t understand that. But once you get older and have children, you’ll better know what I mean.” He nodded to the covers on the couch. “Go ahead and sleep, I’ll be here for a bit longer.” Putting the pipe to his mouth, he returned his gaze to the fire crackling in the fireplace.
Chad was still uncomfortable with the thought of sleeping with him but feet away. But doing as the man advised, he laid down and pulled the covers over him. Her father stayed there for another quarter hour doing nothing but puffing on his pipe and watching the fire crackle and snap. Chad hadn’t been able to fall asleep while her father remained in the room. Rather, his mind had turned time and again to the bottle of wine, and the crest that it bore.
The wind had died down the following morning. Blue sky and sunshine made the blanket of snow dazzle. True, it was frigid outside, but the morning air was filled with the delightful squeals of children at play. At an estate outside of town, work began as the occupants began digging out.
A path was made through the snow connecting the manor house, stable, and Kevik’s tower. They were all but complete with the job when a figure appeared coming down the lane from the main road. Riyan was relieved to see Chad making his way through the snowdrifts. Planting his shovel in a pile of snow, he set off toward his lifelong friend. “I was worried about you,” he said as the two came together.
“They insisted I stay the night,” Chad said.
Bart came up behind Riyan and said, “Just in time to help dig out.”
Chad glanced to the paths already dug. “Looks like it’s already done,” he observed.
“Not all the way to the road it isn’t,” Bart explained.
“What?” Chad exclaimed. Then he saw the glint in Bart’s eye he always had when joking. Bart chuckled at his expense and patted him on the back as the three friends began walking back to the estate.
“Kevik’s in his tower I take it?” Chad asked as he looked up to the tower’s third floor window.
“Where else would he be?” replied Riyan.
“I’ve got something to show you when we get inside,” Chad told them.
“Oh?” asked Riyan with a sly look on his face.
When Chad noticed it he shook his head. “Nothing like that,” he explained. “I may have a lead on where to look for the last segment of the key.” When Riyan glanced at him questioningly, he nodded in all sincerity.
“Where?” asked Bart.
“Let’s go inside first,” he said. Once they were inside the warmth of the manor house, he set his pack on the table and removed the wine bottle.
“Alicia’s father got this from a trader,” he explained. Moving over to the window where the light would better reveal the crest, he showed it to them. “See here,” Chad said as he pointed to it. “If you take away most of the design, all you have left is the coat of arms.”
Bart and Riyan examined it closely as he held it for them to see. “It could be,” agreed Riyan.
“What do you mean it could be?” argued Chad. “It is the coat of arms.” Then he traced it with his finger. “See here, the outline and the stripe.”
Bart took the bottle and held it closer to better examine it. “You may be right,” he said.
“The River Man is to the south,” Chyfe stated.
Riyan and Bart both turned to look at him.
“Durik had to be interested in him for some reason,” he explained. “There could be a connection.”
“That’s a long way to go and be wrong,” Soth cautioned. “Especially this time of year.”
To Chad, Riyan asked, “Did he say where he bought it?”
“He didn’t exactly buy it,” replied Chad. “A trader had given it to him in the hopes of exploring trading possibilities for the wine. The trader was located in Kendruck down by the border with the Moran Tribes.”
“The word around town is that Tribesmen raiders haven’t been sighted on Byrdlon’s side of the border since Winter’s Solstice,” Chyfe said.
“Could be they’re waiting until spring to resume their raids,” Seth said. “If that’s the case, now would be the best time to make an attempt to enter their territory.”
They were quiet while Seth and Soth took turns examining the bottle. Each was debating in their own minds whether to follow this lead or not. “It’s all we have to go on,” Riyan said, breaking the silence.
“True,” agreed Bart.
“And it does look like the coat of arms we saw hanging in the hall on that island,” Seth said.
Soth nodded his agreement as he handed the bottle to Chyfe. “If the coat of arms dates as you say from the time of the King,” began Soth, “then it’s entirely possible that changes could have been made to it over the years. It isn’t unheard of for something to be added to a coat of arms after a particularly momentous event.”
“I’ve heard of that too,” agreed Chyfe.
Bart glanced to Riyan. “We could go down to Kendruck and investigate,” he said. “We don’t have anything else to go on.”
