Legends of Belariath
Scathien
Revenge of the Phoenix: Chapter 5: Conflict
The next day went without incident, the remaining students leaving the tower to head to the village of Kolight to obtain supplies for the school for the month. Jared kept his eyes carefully on his suspect, this “Marcus” who apparently worked for Scathien.
That name struck fear within him now, as last night he told the guild master that he heard someone mention the name Scathien. The guild master quietly told him everything, even about the phoenix relic and what it looked like. He also told him not to worry, because he was absolutely sure that Scathien was dead for no one to date has ever been able to survive the traps embedded within the depths of Furnak’s sunken tower.
Jared snapped out of his flashback as he sat within his room, pondering what to do. He realized that his only course of action would be to keep watching him until he had definite proof that this man was indeed up to something. Anything less would incur the guild master to unleash his anger at Jared since Marcus was in his good graces and his most favorite student, which knocked Jared out of that same exact spot.
Jared stayed out of sight for most of the day, plotting and planning. In the meantime, Scathien worked out his own plan. Before him lay a stretched out map of the tower which included guard positions, student rooms and rooms of teachers and whatnot. He smirked quietly as he pulled out the mythril and ruby streaked egg from around his neck and set it on the desk before him.
Scathien knew his timing had to be utterly perfect, and as night fell he slipped out of the tower, avoiding the guard’s watchful eyes as he ventured into the depths of the city.
His small contingent of soldiers were waiting for him as promised and one struck a campfire as they gathered around it and began to discuss the attack plan for tomorrow night. Scathien went into great detail about when and who to strike. He also gave them a signal to look for. Above the gates that led into the compound were two torches that constantly burned and a third that only burned when the guild master was present.
As luck would have it, the guild master had left for a few days on some form of business so it would be the perfect time to use that torch both as a symbol of what was to happen, and as a signal for his men to attack. With the guards disabled, the soldiers would then sneak inside, subduing the remaining eleven students and taking their places so that they would be at his side for the graduation ceremony where Scathien would then take down the guild master and take his position in revenge for the attempt on his life.
As this plan was revealed a figure watched, hidden from the revealing flames of the campfire as Jared spied upon Scathien and his men, finally learning the truth behind this “student prodigy” and his true intentions. He began to leave, returning to the tower to speak with the guild master and give him undeniable proof that “Markus” was indeed Scathien, and if his suspicions were true he also held the guild master’s coveted Phoenix relic that the guild master had tried for years to recover.
Scathien just smirked as Jared ran off, having heard the sound of movement in the shadows as he left and knew at once who it was for Jared was the only one that acted suspicious toward him for the few weeks he was here. Despite knowing what Jared was planning to do, he took his time with the meeting, dismissing it and returning to the tower at a leisurely pace. After all, the guild master was away on business and would not be back until graduation day. He didn’t let anyone know, but Scathien knew when the guild master’s presence was and was not in the tower.
Finally, Scathien slipped back into the tower, strolling calmly toward the guild master’s office, grinning as he saw Jared standing there before his office, just about to knock on the door. Scathien spoke quietly and startled the thief, causing him to spin around at the first word.
“Well, well, well… Look at what we have here. Come now little Jared, you aren’t planning to reveal anything to the guild master now are you?” Jared stammered for a bit before calming down and regaining his composure. “It’s too late for you Scathien, I know everything now. Your plan is going to fail the moment the guild master opens this door!”
Scathien contained his laughter, just watching him for a short while before leaning in a little closer and whispered quietly to him. “The guild master will never hear your cries of protest until it is too late boy…” Jared’s eyes widened a little and he blinked slightly as the words rung in his mind. Was he too late? Had the guild master already been killed? Then Scathien spoke again, “Because the guild master isn’t here…”
Jared began to quickly back away as his eyes widened just a little more. He realized that now he was in a great deal of danger. Scathien merely paused as he studied him, just watching quietly at Jared’s reaction and finally grinned. It seemed that the stories of his… deeds had been far exaggerated in terms of his brutality than they actually were.
Scathien started to stalk toward him, backing Jared up against a wall, and as predicted Jared lashed out in an attempt to strike the mage down. Scathien grinned as he caught the launched orb of flame, rolling it around in his hand for a moment before snuffing it out.
Jared groaned in defeat as his attack failed miserably and sunk quietly to his knees as he waited for the killing blow. Scathien just smirked, patting Jared on the shoulder as he looked into death expectant eyes. “Worry not Jared, I am not going to kill you for I have other plans with you. However…”
A hand at Scathien’s side suddenly balled into a fist, striking at Jared’s surprised face before the man crumbled into the depths of unconsciousness. Calmly Scathien continued speaking to the unconscious man. “… I can not allow you to interfere in my plans…”
Quietly he dragged him off, tying him up and stashing his body in a supply closet for the time being. He wanted to kill him, but he had more positive uses for the fool than as another gravestone.
Scathien was only partially worried that a missing Jared would start to raise a little suspicion and may throw a wrench in the workings of his plan. Unfortunately, what was done could not be undone. From now on if anything happened that did not follow his plans he would simply have to react and change his plan accordingly.
He had not intended the first blow to be struck today, but fate it seemed had decided to mess with him today. The conflict had begun…