2 Bold, Brave, and Free

Year 541, Great Golden Kingdom, Border City, The Gate of Heroes

"You sure look comfortable, Emyr."

Emyr lifted his cap and squinted in the mid-afternoon sun to make out the man in front of him. The man was very familiar, his name was Asp, a friend, and fellow guard. Asp had light brown skin, raven black hair, and looked like a paragon of noble grace. Today, he was looking resplendent in an immaculate burgundy guard's uniform.

Emyr grinned, "I should, just had a wonderful nap."

Asp also ginned but his voice was dark, "Lazy bastard! You better hope Captain Paul doesn't catch on or he'll whip your ass all the way to Nine Rivers and back."

Emyr snorted, anyone who actually got to know Asp soon learned that he was as crass as a sailor on shore leave. "Ha! That old codger is the only other guard besides me who appreciates the sanctity of an afternoon nap. If anything he'd give me a few tips."

Emyr and Asp burst out laughing at the same time. This joke was about as old as their immediate superior, Captain Paul. The ancient, but seemingly immortal guard captain was a real softy and it would hardly be surprising to find him snoozing in his office back at headquarters.

Asp plopped down next to Emyr who was seated by a small stone guard post. The post was located just outside of the city wall and just to the side of The Gate of Heroes that left a massive gap in the 10 story high wall. The gate was wide open, its massive portcullis suspended near its apex.

"Why are you out baking in the sun? Surely your snooze would be more comfortable in the shade?" asked Asp with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Well isn't that the strangest thing, I started this much-needed rest in the shade so the only logical explanation is that I've moved, or the sun has. Both hypotheses are plausible, I have been known to sleepwalk." Emyr answered with a wink.

Asp put a hand to his forehead and let out a sigh. "Just how long have you been out, and has nobody used the gate in all that time?"

Emyr looked unconcerned and yawned, "Miss Carthis came through with her gaggle of retainers and fans early this morning. They had enough supplies for a long journey. I think most of our other "customers" are already out and won't be returning anytime soon. Something about a tomb filled with undead discovered on the outskirts of the Forest of Shades. Or was it a monster's den? Can hardly keep track these days."

"Ah, right! Thought I heard some talk about that at the pub last night. Your sister going out to test her mettle?"

"Nope, she's got more than enough work managing that firey airhead. I've barely seen her for the past few weeks, don't know why she doesn't just quit."

Asp's jaw dropped and he looked askance at Emyr, "Only you would ever say that. Even the most powerful heroes in this city would give, an arm, a leg, or a ball to be the Firelord's number two. Hell, they'd probably give both balls!"

"About half don't have any balls to give."

"What are you talking about?" asked Asp with one eyebrow roguishly raised. "The lady heroes could easily remove their gentleman counterparts of those burdens. Any foolish enough to resist would be beaten bloody. Plenty of balls to go around."

"Well, even though I do have two to spare, I have absolutely no interest in taking on that responsibility. Just thinking about it is making me sleepy."

"Really?"

"No interest."

"None?"

"Nope."

"Hmm, you might just be onto something," Asp stated leaning back relaxedly.

The two settled into a companionable silence. A dirt road snaked out into the amber, purple, and green plains in front of them. All the way out past the horizon. By turning right or left to the north or south a great sea of trees obstructed the view, but to the west, the plains were only halted by a hazy blue sky. The summer season was nearing its end in the Golden Kingdom, oppressive heat giving way to a hint of cool. So, as the day grew longer and the sun dipped lower the two friends were in no hurry to move due to the heat or the cold. This kind of summer evening could make you half believe that time had stopped and wholly want it to be true.

After an uncertain amount of time, the illusion was broken by the approach of two blobs on the horizon. The blobs steadily became larger and more defined. Emyr's keen eyes quickly recognized the two as the Cross twins who he recalled had left the city on a hunt the day before. They were mid-ranked heroes in Border City and despite their name were very good-natured. Due to the speed of their mounts, the twins approached the guard stand in no time. The hairy Ursi could crush a man's skull like cracking an egg and run five times as fast as any person too, making them highly coveted. The downside was that they were notoriously difficult and had to be raised from when they were cubs to have any chance of taming them.

"Dear brother, what do our enemies whisper at night while they toss and turn in bed?"

"Why bother! You should know that they cannot help but say, 'curse those heroes of the Golden Kingdom, they are too BOLD!'"

"And brother, pray tell, what do the common folk shout when they are saved from a terrible and bloodthirsty monster?"

"Have you forgotten brother? They wholeheartedly cheer, 'bless those heroes of the Golden Kingdom, they are so BRAVE!'"

"One final query Jasper, when death finally takes our souls to the Shadowy Abyss and the Pale Warden offers the protection of his prison, what will we say?"

"There is only one answer Casper! We will pull down our britches, shove our rears in his general direction, and reply, 'piss off Warden! The heroes of the Golden Kingdom are forever FREE!'"

The brothers lept off the Ursi just as they finished this boisterous chant and both gave an identical bow to the seated Emyr and Asp. The seated pair broke into a round of applause and Asp let out a laugh, saying, "The golden chant huh? I like your unique take on the last line, but I have to ask. What's got you two idiots so excited?"

Asp would normally be more respectful to mid-tier heroes but he and the twins were good drinking buddies and all three had the same sense of humor.

"You speak as though we need a reason to expound on the three great virtues. Bold, Brave, and Free is the kingdom's motto and it will always be in our hearts, master Asp." answered one brother with a crooked grin.

"But as true as that will always be, I'm saddened to report that we sing not in celebration, but to lift our withered spirts. The hunt was a bust, the longhorn escaped. If only we hadn't gone through the For-"

The other twin brought this sentence to an abrupt halt by smothering his subling's mouth with his gloved hand. "Careful now Casper, no need to give Emyr any hints before the game even begins."

The hand was then removed and the just covered face looked embarrassed, "Apologies Jasper, forgot myself for a second there."

Asp cut in, "A failed hunt and now you're eager to give Emyr your money. You two sure are gluttons for punishment."

The twins shot Asp a cold look and one stated, "I didn't realize your Vestment let you see into the future, Asp?"

The other followed with,"Your head is usually too far up your own ass to see anything."

Asp remained silent and made a rather rude hand gesture.

Emyr lept to his feet and said excitedly,"You two seem confident! I'm ready whenever. Usual bet? Usual stakes?"

"That's right! You get five seconds to use the Eye and must tell us where we came from, where we're going, and what our names are. 10 gold for stakes," said a twin.

"You might just be stumped this time, Emyr my friend." said the other.

Emyr was calm, "Fair enough. Let's begin. Now, Eye of the Unseen!"

Emyr activated his innate power, his Vestment. All Vestments drained internal energy far faster than any other activity, but could also be fueled externally by Vesper; the life energy of the world. Emyr's Eye, however, drained so little internal energy that he could use it for a full hour before becoming exhausted. With the great Vesper Pool that Border City was built around permeating the area, he could keep the Eye activated indefinitely.

The Eye of the Unseen was considered a fairly common and low tier Vestment, relatively useless as far as hero work was concerned. It was perfectly tailored to playing this game though, one of Emyr's favorite pastimes. Since he was a child he had used the power to try to figure out the details of people's lives. The older he got, he found that more often than not these educated guesses turned out to be correct. He also soon learned that some people found this creepy and invasive, so after one unfortunate incident with a pissed off paramour, decided to keep his findings private.

This painful incident, while a good lesson, did not curtail his practice in the least and since the Vestment grows with use and with the user, Emyr's eye become perfectly tailored to reading people. In his capacity as a guard, he got even more practice with the coming and going heroes. After getting to know some of them better he proposed a challenge to see if they could stump his ability. As Emyr continued to win word of the game spread to all the heroes in Border City. Some disdained it as childish but many, like the Cross twins, thought it was an excellent diversion and challenged Emyr whenever they had the chance.

After five seconds Emyr closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again, and then spoke. "You came from the Swamp of Despair and you are going to Abigail's shop."

The twins turned to look at each other and grimaced. One of them stomped his foot, "How did you know!? We specifically left while you were on watch and walked in the opposite direction!"

The other twin interjected, "I can understand how you could have detected some trace of the swamp on us even though we washed thoroughly and brought a change of clothes, but how in the name of Asp's mother's soft bosom did you know we're headed to Abigail's place?"

Asp threw a rock unerringly at this twin's head. "Leave my mother out of this."

Emyr stretched and put his hands behind his head before replying, "You're spot on with the first bit. It'll take more than one bath to get that swamp off you. I'd still be able to see it for the next week. Nice try almost letting it 'slip' that you were heading to the Forest of Shades, even though it was painfully obvious. Also obvious was the whole, 'We're so depressed, we failed the hunt and didn't catch a single longhorn act.' Besides the fact that that there are no longhorns in the swamp, you two didn't actually fail the hunt at all! It was a much smaller game that you were after, a game that could easily fit in your packs many times over. I'm talking about pixies, gentlemen! You both are covered in pixie dust and the only place to sell those vicious little monsters is at Abigail's shop. Only the freshest pixies will fetch the best price, so there's no way you would wait until tomorrow either."

As Emyr reached the end of his monologue the brothers looked increasingly depressed and Asp looked increasingly smug.

"Damn, but its not over yet!" said the twins in unison.

Emyr rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Quite right, I had to save the best bit for last."

While the final question might seem like the easiest it was actually the most difficult. The twins were identical in absolutely every respect. The same face, the same hair, the same voice, the same clothes, the same everything. Unlike some twins who might find ways to express their individuality, the Cross siblings took pride in doing the opposite. With only five seconds using the Eye to tell them apart, it was a good challenge for Emyr.

"While on the surface you two are absolutely, eerily, the same in every way there is one thing that sets you apart. Your Vestments! Casper has a burst type Vestment, while Jasper has an enhancement type. Now, I'm no Reader so I can't decern your Vestments unless you use them, but with what I already know there is a way to find the answer. To catch pixies you need great speed and Casper's burst would be the biggest help. You both always go the extra mile where coin is concerned so I'm guessing Casper overworked himself using burst while Jasper's enhancement didn't get much use at all. Casper is the tired one, Jasper is full of energy. Isn't that right? Casper and Jasper!" finished Emyr pointing to the left brother and then the right.

The twins turned to each other once again and both let out a long sigh. "And here I thought we might finally best you this time," said Casper.

"Ah, we gave it our best brother. It may be your ninth win in a row but there will not a tenth! Oh, and here's your gold, had it ready on the off chance you won." Jasper said, throwing a small pouch to Emyr.

Emyr smiled, "many thanks."

With the contest ended the twins chatted a bit more with Emyr and traded a few more jabs with Asp before heading on their way in good spirits. It was just a friendly competition after all, and 10 gold was nothing compared to what the pixies would bring in.

After they left through the gate Asp turned to Emyr, "You heading home?"

"Yep, my busy day is done while your night is just beginning," said Emyr as he picked up his satchel and stored his newly acquired gold safely in its depths.

Asp yawned, "Right, a very boring night."

Emyr waved to his friend and started to walk through the gate himself as Asp yelled from behind him. "Don't forget you promised to cover my shift tomorrow night! I have to go to Camilla's wedding, can't believe my youngest sister is finally getting married. It's a shame, she used to have such a big crush on you."

Emyr laughed, "Sure, when we were ten. Give her my best, will you? And don't worry, I won't forget."