Chapter 25 - The Truth among Friends
eturning to the barracks, Danny wasn't surprised to find his friends waiting up for him, their expressions radiated curiosity. Seeing Danny's stoic expression, they realized something was wrong.
"What did Calador want, man?" Chris asked.
Before Danny could answer, they heard four bells, it was eight o'clock. He waited as the last broad tone faded away.
"I have something to tell all of you," said Danny, only after shutting the heavy wooden door behind him.
Matt, he'd been lying down, sat straight up, ears ready for anything.
Once he had everyone's attention, Danny began his tale. He started at the beginning, the first time he used the Ghostsight, during his fight with Steven Rooney. He told them about his interaction with Sir Syndil and the advice he had received during the testing, the same testing they had all undergone, it seemed like such a long time ago. He went on to tell them about the one-on-one training offered to him by Sir Syndil. He detailed his duel with Squire Rigil, explaining the role the Ghostsight had played in his victory. He finished his account by explaining what he'd learned from Calador and the action plan they had agreed upon recently.
"So, you're this Mageknight everyone's talking about?" Alonso asked, his voice was thick with jealousy.
"I don't know," Danny said, looking down. "It's possible, I guess, but how could I be the Mageknight when I failed to pull the sword from the Pool of the Mageknight? You were all there and you all watched me fail."
"We all failed, man, but you can always try again," Chris added.
"I'm not sure if I want to try again."
"…Why not?"
Danny looked toward the window as he continued, "I don't know if I want the attention that's promised to the one who takes up the sword of the Mageknight. Calador said that it would be a time of rejoicing. He said it would be my responsibility to lead the Light in the destruction of the Shadows, but I barely know the first thing about them. I wouldn't even know where to begin."
Chris stood up and smiled. "I understand why you kept the truth to yourself," he said with encouragement. "I don't know if I would've done the same in your place, but I understand why you did what you did. We've all been in training for about a couple of months now and I barely understand anything. None of us are Lightborn and we're all first-years. What matters most is that you told us the truth, no matter what… we're all in this together."
"Thanks, man," Danny said, breathing a sigh of relief. He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. However, something else balanced heavily upon him still. He knew he had to tell Sabrina the truth as well.
"Are you going to tell Sabrina?" Chris asked, almost reading his mind.
"I don't know."
"If I was the Mageknight, I wouldn't tell anyone," added Alonso, lying in bed with his hands propped behind his head.
All five boys turned toward Alonso and chuckled at his familiar sentiment. Out of all of Danny's friends, Alonso was the most likely candidate to use manipulation and lies and it gave Danny an idea. He knew that Alonso was more like Sir Syndil than anyone else; he couldn't resist asking Alonso a theoretical question.
"If you were Sir Syndil," posing the question to Alonso carefully, "what would be your motivation to lie to me?"
Alonso looked toward the ceiling as he pondered the question. After several moments, he responded, "I think I'd lie for a few reasons. Perhaps, I'd lie to measure your ability and try to learn it for myself." Alonso jumped up, looked at Danny with a hopeful expression and asked, "By the way, is it possible to teach me the Ghostsight?"
Danny shook his head, "I don't think so."
Alonso simply shrugged, propped himself back onto his bed and continued. "I suppose I might lie to use you in some way. Maybe, by keeping you a secret, Sir Syndil thinks he can elevate himself in rank, possibly even to the position of King of the Light. If you are the Mageknight, perhaps everyone would listen to you if you said Sir Syndil should be King of the Light."
"You did say that Sir Syndil took Calador's sight and Bonded to keep his position as captain, am I right?" Matt added.
"Yeah," said Danny, considering the possibility and finding it somewhat plausible.
"Or… " Alonso said as he raised his finger into the air to indicate that he wasn't done speaking, "he might be testing your abilities as the Mageknight to decide what side he wants to be on."
"What do you mean?" Doug asked.
"According to Sir William in our History of the Light class, the Light has been at war with the Shadows for hundreds of years."
"You mean you actually listened in class?" Matt asked, more than surprised.
"I'm not as stupid as you all think I am," rebutted Alonso.
"I'm not so sure about that," argued Matt, more to himself than for Alonso's displeasure.
Alonso responded with a look that would have killed Matt if such things were possible. "Would you like to duel to settle this argument?" he challenged, reaching down for the hilt of his sword.
"That won't be necessary," intervened Chris, stepping between them. "Cut it out," he said to Matt. Turning toward Alonso, he asked, "What's your point, man?"
Removing his hand from the pommel of his blade, Alonso relaxed, sat back in his bed and crossed his arms. "As I was saying before being interrupted, according to Sir William, the first Mageknight forced the Shadows to retreat to their own realm when no one else could, but that was hundreds of years ago."
"After which, the Mageknight died and was placed in a Bonded," added Doug. "There's no indication of how he died. Whether he died during the last battle with the Shadows or sometime after, there's no mention of it in the texts; I know because I've looked."
Alonso ignored the intrusion and continued. "In Shadow Lore classes, Sir Ranald has said that Shadow sightings and attacks have increased over the past few years."
"He compared it to the beginning of the first war against the Shadows," inserted Anthony.
All five boys turned to look at Anthony, eyebrows raised.
"What?" Anthony asked in his defense, adding, "I pay attention too, you know."
"So, we all pay attention in class," said Danny, turning back toward Alonso, "what does all of this have to do with Sir Syndil?"
Alonso sat up at a slight angle. "It means that if you are the Mageknight, war is inevitable and Sir Syndil wants to know who he should side with, the Light or the Dark."
"But Calador said that Sir Syndil was not a traitor. He said that he has always been loyal to the Light."
"How do you know you can trust Calador?" Doug asked. "Assuming he is telling the truth about Sir Syndil taking his sight and destroying his Bonded in a duel, what if he is trying to use you to get back at Sir Syndil?"
"I hadn't thought of that."
"The question becomes, who can we trust?" Chris added.
"Each other only," said Danny, locking eyes with each of his friends. "We trust neither Sir Syndil nor Calador."
Anthony leaned forward, placing his elbow upon his knee, causing his bicep to swell to massive proportions. "And do what?"
"Can Briza be trusted?" Danny asked of Doug.
Doug nodded, "I think so… yes."
"And what, we add another Elf to the mix," interrupted Alonso, ever the cynic. "I don't trust their kind, especially now."
"She can be trusted, I guarantee it," argued Doug.
Alonso was about to counter with a comment of his own before Danny interrupted. "We're going to need her help, if Doug vouches for her, we can trust her."
"Whatever," said Alonso, sinking deeper into the mattress.
"So, what's the plan?" Matt asked.
"You and Alonso, research the archives and look for any information that proves Calador's story."
"Why do I have to go to the library?" whined Alonso.
"You want to prove to us that you aren't as dumb as we think you are, right?"
Alonso allowed his silence to answer for him.
"Then, here is your chance."
"Whatever."
"I also need you to find out all you can about the Mageknight. It's very important that you find out if the Ghostsight is everything that Calador says it is. I need to know if I'm being used."
Alonso shrugged and added, "Fine."
"What about the rest of us?" Doug asked.
"You and Briza, follow Calador. Watch for anything out of the ordinary, anything suspicious. I'll leave it up to you to tell Briza everything."
Doug agreed.
"Chris and Anthony, you two follow Sir Syndil."
"And what're you going to do?" Chris asked.
"While you're following Sir Syndil, I'm going to search his quarters."