Staring into a cracked mirror in the washroom of the inn, Givias Aloysius stood seeing his reflection for the first time in weeks. And the face that stared back at him was not his own.
First off, his hair was dyed blond. He had done that when fleeing Allizan after his father’s murder, in order to disguise himself among the crowd of those leaving the city of Goldhelm after the feast of High Aebareon. Givias’ father, King Galias Aloysius, had been murdered at the feast, poisoned by someone of means and access, and a quick investigation revealed that an empty poison vial had been found in Givias’ bed chamber, among some other implicating communication.
Of course, none of it was true. The vial and papers had been planted in his room by someone, but who, Givias had no clue. There were rumors that the Continuum had resurfaced, an ancient organization of men and women hungry for power and influence, but those were merely rurmors. Regardless, Givias had been tried in the court of public opinion and the king’s closest advisor, Odin Stonebreaker, had leveled the accusation at Givias.
He had no choice. He had to run.
Givias had first journeyed across the narrow strait to the city of Summertide, far from Goldhelm but still in the realm of Allizan. There, he assumed a new identity, Givias Graywood, a humble blacksmith. He opened a shop and started his life over. He thought he was safe. He thought he had made it far enough away from the crown that he would never be sought again.
He was wrong.
Givias’ older brother, Givian, the captain of the Allizan Knights and as stubborn and thick-headed as his father, had made it his mission to find Givias at all costs, as he believed the accusations that were leveled at his younger brother. Givian had made his mother, Eibeth Aloysius, the protector of the capital city while he went on a search for his younger brother. Many had protested the new king’s involvement in his father’s investigation, but Givian would broke no argument on the matter. In the end, Givias didn’t blame Givian…he needed someone to blame for the death of the king.
But even Summertide had proven to be not far enough away, as another murder in that city had forced Givias to run again. His best friend, Niall Longdane, had gotten him aboard a ship bound for another land, a far away land, with a destination of Narrowhaven.
The journey was fairly uneventful. Having purchased a cabin on the galley headed to Narrowhaven, Givias was relatively comfortable, albeit a bit seasick when they got about 2 weeks into the journey. There was the problem of the crew being mostly from Goldhelm though, but the many months away from the capital city had given Givias a different look and combined with his ragged clothing and quiet manner, no one on the ship paid him any mind.
And now here, in the washroom of the Black Fox Inn, Givias Aloysius was starting over…again. He washed the grime off of his face and tried to smooth his hair over. He reached into his coin purse and found a few gold coins, some silver ones and bronze ones, but was curious if his currency would even be accepted here in Narrowhaven. He decided then and there to try and find some work as a blacksmith so he could earn some local coin, just to be sure.
(To be continued…)
