The Returned 1 by Dante King

Author:Dante King [King, Dante]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The door to the armory opened with such a long and pronounced creak it sounded almost like a sound effect. A dry gust of air emerged, redolent with the scent of oil and metal mingled with the faint aroma of leather, wood, and smoke.

Toby blinked and waited for a moment for his eyes to adjust. The room itself was long and low. There were no windows. It reminded Toby of a medieval bank vault. He supposed this was apt. Weapons, next to gold, would probably be the first thing that any thieves or enemy force taking the castle would try and get their hands on first.

A man was waiting for them. He was hunched and scarred. His face bore a permanently set upon expression, as if any visitor was an unwelcome and unwanted pain in the ass, a distraction from his real work, which was clearly caring for the weapons and armor held in that great vault. He grunted impatiently and beckoned for Toby and Anna to come inside.

“After you,” Anna said in a small voice.

Toby stepped through the doorway. He found himself surrounded by an array of weaponry and armor that spanned the length of the large, dimly lit chamber. The room was poorly lit by ranks of flickering torches mounted on the walls. These cast long shadows across the rows of gleaming metal and sent tapers of greasy smoke up towards the low ceiling. The effect was, in a word, lugubrious.

“We’re here to pick up some things King Balourd and Queen Lascivo have set by for us specially,” Toby said to the head armorer.

The man grunted again and jerked his head off to the side.

“You’re not one for small talk, are you?” Toby said, trying to lighten the mood.

In response, the mute man opened his mouth. Toby saw the grisly stump of a severed tongue in his mouth.

“All right, I’ll let you off, I suppose,” Toby said.

The mute man scowled at him. He jerked his head again in a sign for Toby and Anna to follow him. He wore a leather arming cap on his head, its long leather fastenings dangling and swaying under a chin covered in stubble coarse enough to strike a match off of.

Toby, with Anna close behind, followed the man. Along one soot-stained wall, racks of swords stood sentinel. Their blades had been meticulously polished to a mirror sheen. Many had hilts that were adorned with a number of intricate designs, but just as many were plain. They looked like serviceable weapons for the most part, made for killing and not for exhibitions.

Nearby, more shelves held an assortment of shields. These ranged from small, light wooden bucklers to towering kite shields. Each of these, without exception, was emblazoned with the sigil of Eclipsia: a half crescent moon intersecting with a rayed sun.

In the center of the armory, rows of suits of armor stood to attention. Their polished surfaces reflected the sputtering torchlight. They winked and glittered at Toby and Anna as they walked past.

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