Kaellax looked the note over time and time again. I’m not sure what she thought she might find, but it was clear she was failing at it. Still, stare she did while I sat on my bed feeling like I might die from anxiety.
They had my Uncle.
I had already lost too many of my loved ones to the wars of the past. I couldn’t bare the thought of losing the one relative that I had left.
“So what are we going to do?” I asked after giving Kaellax plenty of time to analyze the ransom letter. “I have gold back in Stormwind. If they want money I’ll pay them.”
For a moment she gave me a sad glance, but then a smile started to form on her lips and a fire ignited within her eyes. She gave a slow nod, almost as if giving herself approval for whatever had just crossed her mind.
“The vault,” she said aloud. “Of course, we will need Maron back.”
“I don’t follow?”
“The Sepher vault is magical. Only your Uncle can open it.”
“That’s not—”
Before I could finish my workds, Kaellax snapped her hand over my mouth. “Yes, it is. As much as you want to give them the gold they demand, you and I both know that we need your Uncle.”
Her plan spilled into my mind and I understood. People were listening. They were clearly here, how else did I get the note?
“I know,” I said aloud, probably louder than I needed to be. “I just wish they knew that.”
“Let me talk to some people in the area,” Kaellax said. “I might be able to find some connections to the kidnappers. If they know that Maron is the key to the fortunes of the Sepher family they’ll likely be willing to work with us.” I nodded.
Kaellax rested her hand on my shoulder and I felt a warm comfort in her touch. The brief moment of being clever faded and I remembered that I was a young man in a strange town with a family member being held hostage.
“What can I do?” I asked her, almost pleading.
“You must rest,” she said. “I am certain we will have a clear path forward by morning.”
With that, she stepped out of my room and left me to wallow in my misery.
Of course, that didn’t last very long. Despite my best efforts, the day had been emotionally and physically draining. I didn’t make it very long before I passed out.
The next morning, however, I was stirred out of my slumber by an energetic K’alax.
“Wake up, Sepher!” she grumbled. “We’ve got work to do.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I tried to recollect where I was and what had happened the day before. The memories of my Uncle’s kidnapping swirled into existence and piled up on top of my confusion. I nearly cried, but choked it back in fear of looking weak.
“We’ve been contacted,” Kaellax said calmly. “The kidnappers have agreed to meet us today to discuss how we will acquire the gold to pay your Uncle’s ransom.”
“So they know I can’t open the vault without him?” I asked, trying to stick to our silent plan.
“That’s right. They want to meet outside the hamlet.”
“Okay. I suppose I should—”
“There’s a problem,” she said firmly. “This paper is enchanted. It will only guide you to the meeting place.”
“Only me?”
“If the magic detects that others are coming with you it won’t work. I’ve seen these kinds of spells before, but I don’t know how to counter it.”
“So what should I do?”
“You should go meet them,” she replied. “Then you can explain that you need Maron to access the family vault. I’m sure they’ll want to figure this out if they plan on getting any money.”
I reached out and took the paper from her. As soon as it touched my skin it started to glow and I felt it tugging toward the door. It would lead me along, hopefully all the way to Maron.
“What if they try to take me prisoner?” I asked.
“Then they’ll have two people to feed and be no closer to opening the vault,” she said bluntly.
I felt my stomach clench and my nerves kicked in, making a wave of nausea sweep over me. I kept a straight face, hoping to impress K’alax with my calm demeanor, but I don’t know for sure that I was hiding anything very well.
“Trust me, Sepher,” she said with a slight grin. “This will be over very soon.”
I didn’t believe her, but I slid out of bed and quickly threw on my outfit before taking up the paper and letting it pull me out of the inn and toward our meeting place.
The road out of the hamlet wasn’t anything special, cobblestone just past the walls and then quickly becoming crushed rock and finally just padded dirt.
The paper tugged every so often and I just followed it until I finally reached the large stone chapel and cemetery. The paper turned me right toward the chapel entrance and I grimaced at the thought of a holy structure being used for such a dark deed.
I stepped through the doorway and was immediately greeted with two swords, one settling at the base of my neck and the other crossing behind my head.
“Who are you?” a voice asked.
“Sionis Sepher,” I answered.
“That’s the one.”
The swords lowered and standing in the center of the chapel was an older man with a red bandana covering the lower half of his face.
“Welcome Sionis Sepher. I know this is all very confusing to you, but I’ve looked into your family tree. It would seem you haven’t been living in Stormwind very long. I thought you might want to hear our side of this whole story before things devolve any further.” “What?” I asked, feeling very confused by all of this. “You mean you want to explain why you kidnapped my uncle and tried to kill those guards?”
“Precisely,” the man said. “I’m fairly certain that once you know the truth, we can come to some kind of understanding.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name is Varan Bell,” the man replied, slipping his mask down so that I could see his clean-shaven face. “I am an architect by trade, and a member of the Defias Brotherhood.”
I struggled to remember where I’d heard that name before. Sure, I knew they were bandits, the name practically screamed bandits, but I did recall there was a bigger story behind their organization.
“Do you know how Stormwind was rebuilt after the Second War?” Varan asked me.
That’s when it clicked.
After the Second War, the massive efforts to rebuild Stormwind were fueled by builders, engineers, and architects from all over Azeroth. Many of them had done it for the pride, but many more had done the work expecting plentiful repayment for their time and skill. I hadn’t been around for this part of Stormwind’s history, but I knew that the wealthy families in charge of the efforts refused lofty payments and even exiled the protesting workers.
Some guy named VanCleef had taken up leadership of these exiled workers and formed them into a team of bandits, the Defias Brotherhood. They were known for stealing from anyone arriving or leaving Stormwind City. They considered it repayment.
I wasn’t apathetic to their arguments, but kidnapping my Uncle didn’t help me understand their plight.
“Why didn’t you just ask?” I prompted. “I’m sure Uncle Maron…”
“He did give a paltry amount,” Varan replied. “Back before we became the Brotherhood he shed his meager generosity on us. When we saw how much wealth he really had hidden away we saw through his supposed chivalry.”
“He was saving that fortune for me,” I replied. “That money belonged to my father when he wed and by extension it became mine when I returned to Stormwind.”
“Of course,” Varan said with a sigh. “So this fortune is yours, yet you need Maron to get to it?”
“It’s a spell my grandfather enacted,” I replied. “It was to prevent thieves and orcs alike from taking the gold from it’s rightful owner. As you can tell, it worked.”
“If you are the rightful owner, shouldn’t you be able to open the vault without your Uncle?”
“He was going to transfer the spell over to me once I learned enough magic.”
I lied like a champion. I had already weaved a narrative about this as I had walked out of the Hamlet, but now I was trying to use my inflection to portray a false annoyance that I did not have access to the money yet, when in reality Maron had already thrust that responsibility at me.
“Very well,” Varan said as he gestured to the guards at the chapel door. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’re going to release Maron Sepher, and in exchange for his release, you’ll turn yourself over to us. The ransom remains, but it is Maron who will pay us for your safety instead.”
“How about this,” I countered. “You release Maron and you let me leave here with him, and in exchange I will willingly give you three times your weight in gold to distribute amongst the Defias Brotherhood.”
Varan seemed surprised by the offer, but he didn’t stay shocked for long. “The current ransom is much larger than this petty offering. Why would I be tempted to do this rather than just force your Uncle’s hand by kidnapping you?”
“Because I’ll be your public advocate.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell others in Stormwind that I have heard of your plight and I spoke with you and that you released Maron and I rewarded you with your lost wages. Surely you would have more to gain if the people of the city saw you as victims rather than bandits.”
Varan looked dumfounded. “How could I trust you to do any of this?”
“Why wouldn’t you trust me? I asked. “Why would I make you this offer if I didn’t intend to follow through?”
Varan tilted his head like a confused puppy dog. “Honesty,” he said with a chuckle. “I suppose I can live with taking the risk.”
With that, he gestured to his guards and they reluctantly lowered their guard.
“I will release Maron,” he said. “I ask only that you fulfill your promise.”
“You have my word,” I said. “Trust me, you’re not—”
My voice drifted as the ground beneath my feet began to rumble. I saw Varan's face drain of any hope I had planted. What was left contained only fear and vengeance.
“You tricked us!”
I tried to deny it, but the door to the chapel exploded into millions of splinters before a word could escape my lips.
Dozens of Stormwind guards rushed in while Kaellax led the charge. Her voidwalker slipped through the empty sanctuary with a quiet rush of air and Kell’s agonizing scream pierced the air louder than any war cry from the attacking force.
The fight lasted less than ten minutes. As they led the captured Brotherhood bandits out of the chapel, my spirit was lifted to see Uncle Maron emerge from behind the large wooden pulpit. He smiled at me and I felt myself pulled to him. We embraced and there was a fire of love in my heart, a fire that can only burn for one’s family.
As they led Varan toward the prison cart, I took the time to intercept their path. He looked up at me and gave a small smile. “You got him back.”
“You could have come to me,” I said. “I would have helped you.”
“Perhaps so,” the man replied. “Perhaps not. That was a good trick you pulled on me today.”
“I didn’t pull any tricks,” I admitted. “I didn’t know anyone was tracking me. I meant every word.”
The man just shook his head. “Well, it’s off to the stockades for me, young Sepher. If you ever decide to repay the brotherhood, you can start by seeking out VanCleef.”
“Perhaps if he seeks me out, I will pay him,” I replied. “But I won’t submit myself to his bandits just to say I’m sorry for the sins of the previous generation. Not if they’re going to kidnap the people I care about.”
With that, the guards pulled Varan onward toward his final destination.
When I stepped away from the prisoners, I found Kaellax waiting for me with a sinister grin.
“I thought you didn’t know how to break the spell?” I asked.
“I thought you knew I was a powerful warlock?” she rebutted. “They could have been listening to us. That’s why I said that.”
“Of course,” I said, realization dawning on me.
“I was honest about one thing,” she said, still grinning. “I told you it would be over soon.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. She was right. It was over and Maron was safe. We had done it.
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