11 The Return of Ravan the Great

The Return of Ravan the Great

Baron Myer could feel his heart thrash aggressively against his chest as he read the very eerie letter, which he had found neatly placed beside his large, scented bath. Then he felt his heart stop completely the moment he read the signature. That’s when he knew this would be the first morning he would skip his bath; the anxiety created by the note made it so that there was no relaxation to be had.

After burning the letter as instructed, the baron returned to his chambers and slowly dressed himself, all the while thinking about how exactly he would handle this situation. By the time he had finished dressing, he still had a few hours before his Auroday morning horseback ride through the woods. He thought to have some breakfast but quickly realized that he couldn’t choke down food even if he tried. So he simply sat there alone in his chambers contemplating his options and weighing the many possible outcomes. He thought perhaps he could engage Ravan in a swordfight, but not only had it been years since he’d wielded a blade, but he had heard from Captain Fadi that Ravan often cheated. The only solution which seemed to hold any credence was perhaps paying Ravan off and reasoning with him, perhaps even pleading, but even that solution seemed to be an unlikely success.

The baron soon came to terms with the fact that he would need to accept his fate and only ask that Ravan spare his family. He proceeded to partake in breakfast after all and didn’t bother reading the morning pamphlet. Rather, he reviewed his favorite book, wrote a good-bye letter to his family, and then set out for the woods on his least favorite horse in case Ravan intended to take it after killing him.

The baron tried to enjoy his last horseback ride through his wood that morning, but it seemed that he hadn’t fully accepted his fate after all. He couldn’t manage to focus on the pure white flowers which spotted the vibrant red autumn trees, he could only imagine the infamous “Ravan the Great” jumping out from behind one of them. He couldn’t manage to listen to the trickling of the shimmering blue stream beside him, he could only hear the vengeful scream of “Ravan the Great” drowning it out. He fought to keep his breakfast down the farther he wandered into his woods. At long last, the moment he’d been dreading had finally arrived. It wasn’t as violent or dramatic as he had imagined it to be, however. Rather, the infamous and wrathful “Ravan the Great” emerged from the foliage deceptively calm, which just so happened to increase the terror which coursed through the baron’s veins like the blood about to be spilled. It seemed that Ravan preferred to take his time, while the baron would’ve much rather this be quick. Perhaps there was a way to provoke Ravan into simply getting it all over with.

“Lord Baron Myer of Rivas!” Ravan announced, his voice like a fanfare.

“R-Ravan the Great, I presume?” asked the baron.

“I’m delighted to officially make your acquaintance, my Lord.” Ravan offered the baron a deep bow before he continued to approach. “I have longed for the day I would finally be so blessed to meet you face to face.”

When Ravan was close enough, he removed the staff he had hidden behind him under his cloak and whacked the baron across the head with it.

~~~

When Baron Myer came to, he found himself bound to a tree with Ravan sitting comfortably in front of him nibbling on some nuts. He noticed that Ravan kept the hood of his cloak on to cover his face from the nose up, and Ravan paused his chewing when he caught the baron watching him.

“Ah, at long last!” Ravan exclaimed. “He finally awakens. I saw you brought me three times the amount of money I asked for. Tell me, had I been able to provide you with the original five hundred pieces in full, would your henchmen have continued to return until I paid you this much? “No,” said the baron simply.

“No, you would’ve simply ordered for the complete annihilation of my family anyway.”

“No! —”

“No? Is that so? Is that because you knew all along that I would be unable to pay you five hundred pieces? You intentionally chose a number barely beyond my reach. It must be nice to be able to have the money which people demand from you. There’s so much power in the ability to pay people off. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be stripped of that ability?”

“Every nobleman has,” the baron replied.

“Yes, I imagine it’s your greatest fear,” said Ravan with an impish grin. “Nevertheless, I assure you that your fortune phobia is but a taste of the real hopelessness which comes from being unable to meet the demands of one in power. Allow me to demonstrate: I will release you today, but you are to bring me eight thousand pieces in two days’ time or I will find another way to satisfy my revenge.”

“Two days?” the baron objected. “I gave you a month! That’s nearly the worth of my entire estate!”

“Oh, so then you have the money already!” said Ravan. “And might I remind you I had no estate when you demanded the five hundred from me. Having acknowledged that, we can conclude that I’m being much more considerate than you were. However, I’m willing to wager that your family is not worth as much as your estate is to you, but I suppose we’ll find out, now won’t we?” Ravan took up the baron’s sword and used it to cut him free. “Run along now; I look forward to our next meet.”

“Ravan turned and began to walk away until he heard the baron’s footsteps rapidly approached him from behind. Ravan spun to face the man and drove the baron’s sword straight through his abdomen. The rock which the baron had raised to use to strike Ravan dropped from his hands and he fell against his killer.

“Now see, that’s the problem with you noblemen,” Ravan spoke softly into the baron’s ear. “You tend to think you can have it all and you never learn to choose.”

Ravan left the sword in the baron’s stomach and let him fall to his knees. Then Ravan knelt in front of him.

“That little taste of helpless pain you’re feeling, my Lord — that’s nothing. What you did to me I would wish on no one; not even you. Now as you sit here dying, I want you to be thankful that your family gets to inherit your estate and live on. Consider the way in which your centurions died, and know that I was merciful on you.”

Then Ravan took the money Baron Myer had brought with him and left the baron’s property.

~~~

Word about Baron Myer’s demise spread quickly not only throughout Rivas and Mael, but across all of Arderé. The following afternoon, Captain Ilya learned about it and was absolutely livid. He stormed into Count Pierce’s study as respectfully as he could manage and found the nobleman completing paperwork at his desk. The captain didn’t even bother to properly address the count.

“He’s returned.”

“He has, has he?” the count replied without even a glance to the captain. “And who might we be speaking of?”

“Ravan of Rivas… my-my Lord.” The captain made sure to address the count appropriately this time. “Or now notoriously known as ‘Ravan the Great.’”

“Is that so?” the count replied truly uninterested. “This wouldn’t happen to be in regards to Lord Baron Myer, would it?”

“It is, my Lord.”

“Remind me again how this concerns me.”

“This man wiped out over two dozen centurions, my Lord, and now he’s targeting noblemen such as yourself. I taught him fire-wielding techniques few know about, and he’s using them with expert skill. This can be traced back to me, which will ultimately trace it back to you.”

Count Pierce finally set down his pen and looked up at the captain. “Who trained you on fire-wielding techniques?”

“General Takai,” Captain Ilya answered. “He’s retired now.”

“I imagine he’s taught these techniques to at least a few others during his master trainer years?”

“A few, yes sir.”

Count Pierce nodded. “And perhaps these former pupils of his may be teaching such skills to other pupils just as you have?”

“I suppose that is possible, yes.”

“Great! Sounds like we’re in the clear.” Pierce returned to his work, but the captain wasn’t satisfied.

“Are you not troubled by what he decided to do with his training, my Lord?”

“No, Captain, I am not. Partly because I suspected it when he came here seeking training. The other part is because I imagine I would likely do the same exact thing if I were in his position. You do understand his position, of course?”

“To a point, my Lord,” said the captain. “But there are other matters to consider here.”

“Well considering I haven’t wronged this man, he does not pose a threat to us. Should someone suspect my involvement, I have scapegoats set in place. As for his targets I have no sympathy. There exists two values that you don’t mess with unless you are trying to create enemies; a man’s money and a man’s family. These fools messed with both and now they severely underestimate Ravan of Rivas. If you ask me, they deserve all they receive. Does this answer your questions?”

“The centurions were only following orders, sir.”

“You speak as though there doesn’t exist an order which should be ignored, Captain. Can you honestly tell me that there isn’t one order out there that you wouldn’t follow?” Captain Ilya glanced around the study while he considered the question. “Answer me this: If I ordered you to kill a seven-year-old girl and a woman with child, would you obey me?”

Captain Ilya gulped and couldn’t bring himself to look the count in the eye when he answered, “No, my Lord.”

“Well there you have it then. Morale exists outside the chain of command and the wise tend to prioritize it. Now, unless you suspect that Ravan will be coming after me next, which I don’t, this topic is not to be brought up again.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

With that, the captain left the count’s presence.

~~~

Ravan laid low for a bit after he offed the baron, and spent a few days in Bayhill Tavern where he listened to what everyone was saying about the baron’s death. Since most of the patrons were criminals or fugitives, they weren’t fond of the baron, so Ravan mostly heard praise. It was the jealous ones who talked trash, particularly one special career thief by the name of Tanner of Mael, whom Ravan was growing to despise.

“What’s the matter with you, Tanner?” asked one patron.

“This gent ain’t nothing but a show-off traipsing about like some noble vigilante,” Tanner answered. “Everyone is so star-struck over how he bounces about buildings and throws flames, but when it comes right down to it, any one of us could do what he’s doing. Sprites, even I could; I could’ve trained the old sod myself in any of it!”

“So why don’t you go out and do what he’s doing?” asked another patron.

“Who wants that kind of attention? The man has a three thousand piece bounty on his head!”

“Very well,” said another patron. “If you’re so adept in fire-wielding, demonstrate for us.”

Tanner rolled his eyes. “Of course you would insist on such a thing. Very well, I require your assistance.” Tanner took a swig of his mead and stood to face the last patron who spoke. “Well go on then, throw fire at me.”

A chuckled rolled over the audience as the patron stood with a shrug. He threw a small fireball, which Tanner caught and snuffed out. There were a few exclamations of surprise and many laughed with unexpected amusement that Tanner wasn’t all talk after all. The patron appeared confused.

“But that was under my control…” said the patron.

“Indeed it was. Now there’s another trick I’ll show you,” said Tanner. “Throw me another one.”

The patron obliged, but this time when Tanner caught it, Ravan made it grow so that it burned hotter and never left Tanner’s hand. Tanner panicked and did whatever he could to snuff the fire out. Everyone around him laughed, thinking it was all just an act.

“It appears you possess more skill than we thought, Tanner,” said the man who threw the fire.

“That wasn’t me,” R Tanner ell confessed, and the patrons around him continued to laugh. “No, honest! Someone else in here possesses this skill too!”

“Relax, Tanner,” said another patron. “You’ve shown us what you can do, we believe you now.”

He pat Tanner on the back and the patrons around him went back to their drinks. Ravan sat in his corner with an mischievous grin on his face and finished his drink as well. Now that Tanner had made his point and was silenced, the conversations in the tavern could return to topics that Ravan was more interested in, such as the fact that Earl Rajashekar had a business venture overseas coming up a week before the end of the month.

So Ravan gave Arderé a few weeks to settle over the death of Lord Baron Myer, during which time he carefully planned out his revenge against Earl Rajashekar. He was no longer comfortable facing Captain Fadi just yet. Regardless of how well he had fought against the other centurions, he had lost some of his confidence in his sword-wielding skills after having come so close to failure with Corporal Castro. If Ravan were to die by the captain’s hands, he would prefer to have most of his revenge complete first.

Ravan kept a mostly low profile during these weeks, but sometimes he would grow a little stir-crazy and meander the streets at dusk, though never the same place twice. He always kept his hood up to hide his distinct facial features, though he considered not to for just a moment when he stumbled upon one of the many wanted posters which hung about the country with a crude sketch of his likeness displayed. The resemblance was impressively accurate, but then Ravan figured any male sketched with a pointed nose would closely resemble him. However, Ravan noticed that the picture lacked his injured eye. It seemed that no one was aware that Ravan had suffered a considerable injury to his face. For a moment Ravan entertained the possibility that no one would recognize him based off this depiction, but at the same time there was still the issue of his unique nose… The hood remained up and Ravan quickly moved on to more important matters.

Earl Rajashekar didn’t have a routine as set in stone as the baron had, but there was enough of a routine for Ravan to be able to predict much of what would happen next in his day-to-day life. The earl was guarded constantly throughout the day by multiple body guards, which was Ravan’s greatest challenge. He figured his best course of action would be to make his move early in the morning before the guards were present at his side and so he could still get the attentions of the household too, which he wouldn’t be able to do at bedtime.

On the morning Earl Rajashekar was scheduled to set sail, Ravan cautiously approached the boundaries of Firebrush Manor with his hood masking his identity and the darkness of the dawn masking his presence. The sentries were everywhere and Ravan had little time before the changing of the guard where the sentries did not leave their posts until their relief arrived. Until that happened, Ravan would have to execute his very risky plot to reach the main structure of the estate. His solution was to release a chicken into the bushes where it would scurry about and make noise so that the sentries were suspicious enough to leave their posts and check it out.

However, when Ravan released the chicken it failed to scurry about at all. Rather, it simply stood there for a moment and glanced around before it started to aimlessly peck about. Ravan felt his patience quickly deteriorate as he grew frustrated with the mindless bird. He reached out to pluck a feather, but it waddled away a couple steps before it continued its pecking business. This made no sense to Ravan; he had seen chickens do nothing but run around, what would it take to get this chicken to do the same? When he thought about it, Ravan realized he had mostly seen chickens scramble about with their heads cut off, and the thought flashed a myriad of hopeless, disturbing memories which he didn’t care to revisit. He kicked the chicken violently, but it failed to scurry still and Ravan fought his only obvious solution. How desperate was he to claim vengeance on his own father?

Ravan clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth as he glared at the sorry fowl. He had come so far, he couldn’t let a mindless bird be the one to hold him back. He sucked in a long, deep breath through his nose, released it slowly out his mouth, and drew the knife from the sheath at his side. This would be the last livestock he would slaughter, and to Ravan it was a noble sacrifice for a justified cause. He snatched the chicken by its head and sawed its neck as quickly as he could before he released it back into the foliage where it scrambled about and created the desired commotion. Then he hurried away and awaited the reactions of the earl’s many sentries.

A good handful of sentries heard the bustling of the bushes, but no one reacted immediately. A few traded glances with each other to gage the others’ thoughts.

“Think that could be him?” one finally asked.

“Could just be a scavenging rodent.”

“That’s a lot of commotion for a scavenging rodent.”

“Wanna go check it out?”

There was another moment of silence while the sentries stood there and considered responding. Meanwhile, a guard from another post approached the foliage which grew a couple yards from the mansion walls. The first sentries paused to watch and observe what the guard would find. They were startled when the guard was suddenly pulled into the bushes with a surprised yelp that was quickly silenced. Without further hesitation, the sentries drew their swords and along with a number of other guards, approached the bushes to cut down whatever threat lay in wait. But all they stumbled upon was their cohort choking on his own blood.

Meanwhile, Ravan kept in the shadows as he sprinted toward the wall where the earl’s third-floor balcony was located. He propelled himself to the top of the first floor window and used the window panes above to climb up to the balcony while the sentries were distracted. Once Ravan had made it to Earl Rajashekar’s chambers, one of the sentries discovered the headless chicken and lifted it for his fellow guards to see.

“We’ve been duped,” he said.

“Where do you suppose he is now?”

“Check all the exteriors. Alert those posted inside. Find him now!”

All the sentries dispersed throughout the property in an effort to locate Ravan before he located the earl. Little did they know that Ravan watched them from the balcony pleased and amused and once he was satisfied with the success of the diversion, he entered the chambers.

Ravan found Earl Rajashekar sleeping soundly with his wife right beside him. He preferred not to make a scene right away, so he drew the earl’s sword which he found leaned against the walnut wardrobe and placed the blade gently against the earl’s throat. The cold, sharp edge awoke the earl with a start, jolting his wife awake with him. Rajashekar remained still and quiet when he realized there was a sword rested on his neck, but his wife shrieked and jumped out of bed, screaming for the guards who immediately entered with swords drawn.

“I suggest you stop right there,” boomed Ravan, halting the guards in their tracks. “I have yet to decide to kill this man as he is my father, after all. But should you give me reason, I won’t hesitate to remove his head right here, since I’m leaning that direction anyway. That being said, drop your weapons.” The guards hesitated and Ravan added pressure to the blade. “This will be your only warning. I don’t ask twice.”

“For God’s sake, drop them,” said Rajashekar, mostly calm.

The guards dropped their swords.

“I said, ‘weapons,’” said Ravan. “That means all of them.”

The guards removed their hidden knives and dropped them as well.

“Good. Now go fetch the staff and rally them up in the grand hall. We’re going to have a little gathering.” The guards reluctantly left and Ravan turned his gaze to the countess who stood aside paralyzed with terror. “Go on.”

The countess jumped slightly, though Ravan spoke softly, and she shuffled out of the chambers as directed. Thus, Ravan was left alone with his father. He removed the sword from the earl’s throat.

“Rise and shine, Father.”

The earl glared at Ravan as he slowly climbed out of bed, and Ravan gestured at the doorway.

“Let’s join the rest of the household.”

Ravan drew his knife before he followed the earl out of the chambers where a courageous guard stood off to the side waiting for him. The very moment Ravan crossed the threshold, the guard moved to attack, but Ravan had expected this and drove his knife beneath the loyal guard’s chin.

“Are you proud of what you’ve become?” asked the earl.

“Are you proud of what you’ve made me?” was Ravan’s reply.

Ravan kept the tip of the sword behind the earl’s heart as they made their way to the grand hall where he forced the earl on his knees in front of a few tall, colorful cathedral windows. Slowly, the terrified household joined them and waited nervously for Ravan’s next move or command.

“What’s the meaning of this?” called a young man whom Ravan recognized to be the earl’s eldest son. It tickled Ravan’s nerves to watch him approach with shoulders back and his chest out as though there was anything the poor sap could do to stop him.

“Any farther and I’ll cut him down right now and you’ll be next,” said Ravan. “I assume you prefer to inherit Father’s estate.”

“‘Father?’” the man asked. “I beg your pardon, do I know you?”

“You mean you don’t remember me? Your younger half-brother? I’m hurt.”

The heir’s eyes widened. “You’ve been that Ravan this whole time…”

“Indeed. Now if you’ll be so kind as to step back into the crowd.” The heir hesitantly obeyed, clearly trying to process this new realization. “Wonderful,” Ravan continued. “Now it’s story-time. Who here remembers Braelyn of Tariq?” Everyone held their breath. “We’ve taken vows of silence, have we? Because that will make this much more fun for me.” Ravan took the hilt of his knife and bashed the earl upside the head with it. “Who remembers?”

“I remember your mother,” said Rajashekar. “A lovely whore she was.”

“She should be so fortunate,” Ravan spat. “At least whores have the privilege to be paid.”

Rajashekar shrugged. “I paid her with food.”

Ravan struck him again. “So long as you intend to be loquacious, tell me the story of her demise!”

“She passed from an unknown illness.”

“Don’t waste my time! I’m not as simple as you look, tell me what happened!”

“And then what, you’ll kill me?”

Ravan shrugged. “I still have yet to decide.”

“Come off it, Ravan,” Rajashekar chuckled. “I’m no simpleton either and I’d prefer to die without telling you anything.”

“Indeed. Do you have a preference as to how quickly your death comes? Or to having an audience watching you during your weakest hour?”

Rajashekar eyed the terrified faces of his employees and family who stood there in still, petrified silence waiting for him to do something to stop this. Little did they know, there was nothing to be done and the earl had already accepted his fate.

“Your mother vexed me in Alaric when she tried to cheat me out of what equaled out to three thousand pieces. I brought her here to force her to fulfill her end of the bargain and because of what she tried to pull, a little extra. She was a handful until I showered her who ruled this domain, which is how you came along. It put her in her place for a while until she made the acquaintance of a naïve count, as I’m sure you recall, and she attempted to run off with him. Obviously, I couldn’t have that as she was still paying off her debt to me, so I separated the two of you. Well, she went berserk and frankly, I was sick of her antics. So I finally shut her up for good. You know, somewhat like you’re going now.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Ravan chortled. “We’re nothing alike.”

“No, Ravan?” Rajashekar challenged. “You mean to tell me you don’t kill those who vex you? So, I can show you all the pieces of me which are inside you, and you won’t kill me to silence me like I killed your mother to silence her?”

Ravan snickered. “If you’re trying to prove a point, it’s far too late for me to care. I’ve already achieved most of what I set out to and now I’m about to be one step closer to completion. It’s really rather simple, Father. You took my mother’s life, which led to the loss of my family’s lives, so now you owe me your life, and I’m here to take it. Goodbye, Father.”

Without further ado, Ravan drove the sword through his father’s chest. Gasps and screams arose from the crowd and before anyone could even think to pursue him, Ravan smashed a bottle of accelerant onto the marble floor in front of him. Immediately, Ravan lit the mess and created a massive wall of fire to provide him the opportunity to break through the window and flee.

~~~

After his simple escape from Firebrush Manor, the bounty on Ravan's head increased significantly from three thousand pieces to five throusand pieces; a vast fortune already, now an amount to set a pauper for life. Ravan returned to Bayhill Tavern and as the weather grew warmer, he felt safe enough to remove his cloak. Despite his very recognizable nose, he felt that his eye patch, scar, and longer hair made him a bit more difficult to identify. He spent most of his time at the tavern listening to gossip, which was primarily about the deaths of Earl Rajashekar and Baron Myer. People questioned why they weren't as violent as the deaths of the centurions and why there was so much time between killings. Ravan listened for information about Captain Fadi, but he didn’t hear anything about the captain and he was growing tired of all the talk about the earl and baron.

About four weeks after the earl's death, Ravan finally got word about the captain... and apparently no one knew a thing. They didn't know where he was, what he was doing, no one had heard from him for months including his own family. Ravan was severely displeased to hear this and considered where and how he would obtain more information himself as he took a large swig of mead. Just as Ravan decided to stick around and listen for someone who actually knew something, anything about Captain Fadi, about five private mercenaries entered the tavern, effectively setting everyone present on edge. They approached a particularly scruffy, dirty patron who sat alone looking rather inconspicuous.

"Are you Quinn Forsythe?" one of the mercenaries asked him.

"Who's asking?"

"Captain Hod of the earl's private guard. Earl Farzaad wants to speak with you. Come with us."

"Well I have yet to confirm I'm this... what was the name you provided?"

The corporal lifted the man out of his seat by the back of his shirt. "On your feet, Forsythe. The earl isn't a patient man."

Quinn threw the corporal off of him and for a moment the mercenaries were ready to draw their weapons.

"All right, all right!" Quinn called. "I will meet with your employer willingly."

Ravan watched closely as the man left the tavern surrounded by private mercenaries. He was not comfortable with the fact that mercenaries were a bit more attuned with this tavern than he had thought and he decided he wouldn't stick around for more information on Captain Fadi, especially considering he likely wouldn't get any. So he left the tavern shortly after the mercenaries to seek such information on his own.

First things first, Ravan thought it would be wise to check the ship logs to see if the captain had left the country entirely like a coward, but the captain's name was nowhere to be found. Of course, there was no way for Ravan to know if the captain had used an alias, but Ravan didn't figure he would leave his family behind so he wasn't too worried about the captain being too far... at least not permanently.

After that, Ravan dressed himself in centurion armor and returned to the Records Building to see if the captain had been deployed, but what he found was that even the centurion base wasn't sure where he was. He had been reported as missing. So Ravan attempted to listen in on the private conversations had by the captain's family, and this was how he had finally got something. It appeared that the captain had lent funds to a couple of businessman a while back for a glassmith and a butchery. Still, this wasn't much information and the family truly seemed to not know the captain's location, but it was something. What could Captain Fadi possibly be up to?