The Damsel and her Knight

10th ☾ A Sorcerer's Letter

Lost in my thoughts, you stayed,

Here in my heart, you came.

10th ☾

A Sorcerer's Letter

"Scepter, gold coins, useless scroll..." Bryce was unloading the contents of the bag.

My mind lingered on the things that had happened in the castle. All I could think about was Lancelot and what he did. No matter how much I reasoned out with myself, nothing was making any sense. Why did he help us?

"Miles!"

I was startled by Bryce's sudden call that I ended up falling down from where I was sitting. I threw him an annoyed look. "What do you want now?"

"What's wrong with you?" Bryce said back, riled with my inattentiveness.

"Alright, I'm sorry. What were you telling me to do again?"

He pointed to the goods scattered on the ground. "Bring those over to the wagon."

"Sure thing." I got up, brushing off the dust on my clothes. I put the goods in a brown sack and hauled it over my shoulders.

Sheesh. It was heavy.

It was past midnight, and the campfire was the only source of light around here. Bringing a lantern along with me, I went to the wagon that was located at the other side, near the entrance. Those who were not yet asleep teased me as I passed by—out of breath and panting for air. They all knew that I was Bryce's favorite pet and the consequences that came along with it.

"Nice going, Miles."

"Need any help?"

I threw them deadly stares, which made them stop. I didn't know if they were threatened by my ability as a fighter, or the fact that the strongest man in the group, Wilson, favored me. It was more likely the latter.

Putting the sack down on the wagon, I stretched my tired arms. Wilson and the others would bring it to the black market tomorrow. In terms of adding to our profits, Wykeham Castle didn't disappoint.

I still hadn't heard of Bryce and Anthony's assessment of Wykeham Castle, but I'd noticed that Anthony was bothered lately. Ever since we came back, something was troubling him. I definitely knew this, because his deathly stares that were directed towards me had intensified. That was how I usually measured his mood.

Feeling meddlesome and bored, I looked inside the contents of the sack. A scroll seemed to be out of place, so I picked it up. It must have been precious if they had bothered including it in the loot. But when I opened a scroll, there was nothing inside. Did Ulric and Josef unintentionally put this scroll inside the bag? It was only a plain, empty scroll, without even a golden handle to be of value.

I was about to throw it back to the sack, when I felt my right hand twitch. Or was it just my imagination?

I'd been living with this seal for years now, but it was the first time I felt that it did something other than shining out of nowhere.

And as if hearing my thoughts, the seal flickered in the dark, despite the fact that I didn't remove my working glove. Putting the scroll under my arm and pressing my hands together to prevent the light from seeping out, I checked to see if anyone was around. I was relieved that I seemed to be the only person awake at this time of the night here. What was wrong with this seal?