Nightingale and Eagle: Quest 3; Back in Action

This is the 8th story of the offshoot of the original Nightingale series.  Nightingale is one of the Royal Thieves, based on the Top Games game “Evony; The King’s Return” on Android, iOs and PC.  The challenge is great, not just puzzles but worldbuilding and strategy as well.

 Nightingale wasn’t sure why they were here, specifically.  Eagle apparently had the idea, and, of course, asked her to come along.  It was all a part of the plan to find the cause of the Undead invasions that happened fairly frequently.

 They’d already uncovered so much.  Apparently it was the result of one of the Dragon Relics, a set of powerful magic artifacts that had been lost to time.  But, now, they were here.  They’d been trying to find the pyramids that the relics were apparently hidden in for a few months now.

 As they went in, the empress of the kingdom, one Lucia, seemed anxious. “Oh Eagle.  And a lovely friend.”

 Nightingale extended her hand and introduced herself, including the emphasis on being his bodyguard.  She didn’t know why, but felt she had to.  Lucia took the news, but Eagle spotted something. “Okay old friend, what’s going on?”

 Lucia took a breath. “Rusty’s been dognapped.”

 Nightingale saw him look a little disappointed, but she went on. “I mean, I know they’re kind of legendary, but why would the Royal Thieves want him?  And why ask for a ransom?”

 Eagle looked at Nightingale who spoke up suddenly. “I can guarantee you, Empress Lucia, that the Royal Thieves wouldn’t take a pet and hold it for ransom.  That’s not our/their style.”

 She hoped neither one of the others would catch her little slip, but they just went on. “Are you sure they don’t want him for his other abilities?”

 Lucia held up a note, declaring that a small amount of money be placed in an area before they return Rusty.  Eagle took it, then handed it to Nightingale. “Well, let me and my friend see what we can do.”

 As the two of them walked out, Eagle had that wistful look she knew so well. “What?”

 He smiled. “Our style?  Almost gave yourself away there Night.”

 She blushed.  Of course he’d catch it.  But she quickly changed the subject. “So what is Rusty?”

 Eagle looked her straight in the eye. “What do you know of cerebruses?”

 Night thought for a moment. “I know they’re pretty much impossible to catch.  They move so fast.”

 Eagle laughed. “That’s just a defensive trick.  Yes, they can, if so inclined, make time appear to slow down or speed up, but there are other things they can do as well.”

 Nightingale understood. “So Rusty is a cerebrus?”

 Eagle nodded. “The only one that’s ever been caught and domesticated.  That’s why we’re here.”

 Nightingale thought for a moment. “So what would a bunch of no-name hacks riding our legacy want with him?”

 Eagle took her arm, pulling her to the side. “What can you tell about them?”

 Nightingale listed off what she’d already determined. “They have no talent for the craft, not when there’s much better things on open display.  They didn’t learn much about their target, only deciding to take a three-headed dog.  They obviously want recognition, but taking the name of my group wasn’t the smartest way to do it.  And they’re greedy.”

 As Eagle looked in her eyes, she completed the thought. “From what I’ve seen, Lucia’s empire isn’t one that’s corrupt.  In fact, she seems like a good leader.

 Eagle agreed, but added his own observation. “They’re also stupid.  Rusty is more trusting than non-domesticated cerebrus, but they have no idea what he can do for them.”

 Nightingale had an idea just then. “What do you say we take a look around this empire for a little bit.  Might be kind of interesting to see what we can see about these fakers.”

 It took them only a few hours, but Nightingale’s instincts, long out of use, flared back up.  She just seemed to know, as she had before, where they were hiding.  She explained to Eagle that they were probably keeping Rusty muzzled, but also in a place where they could ensure he’d have a fairly comfortable stay.  Of course they’d have to feed him, at which Eagle confirmed cerebrus was a carnivorous animal.

 So, as they headed back to the palace, Nightingale felt her old skills burning again.  She knew what they should do, but wasn’t sure. “Tell me something, Eagle.  What would you think of trying to help an old thief return a stolen item?”

 Eagle smiled at the thought. “Tell me what to do, milady.”

 As the three fake thieves all started bedding down, Nightingale sat in the shadows, completely in silence.  She could feel Eagle near her as the three of them started arguing over who should stay up and guard their prize.  She saw the beast in a cage, a fairly large canine, looking miserable with all three of its heads.

 She felt Eagle shuffle as they decided who should be on guard and put a hand out on his arm. “Hold on.”

 It took another half hour before she decided the other two were asleep.  Eagle climbed down, pulling a dagger out from somewhere, sneaking up behind the one remaining barely awake.  He quickly grabbed him, pressing the dagger to his throat as Nightingale heard him softly hiss to his captor. “Hold still.  We won’t hurt you.”

 The lock on the cage wasn’t too much of an obstacle as she got in quickly.  She patted her leg affectionately. “C’mon Rusty.  We’re going to take you home.”

 Two of the heads looked up, not sure, before Nightingale caught the idea.  She reached in a hand, palm down, towards one of the heads.  He sniffed her, then moved forward a little to show that he was still chained.

 That wasn’t an obstacle for Nightingale at all, and, as she rubbed the creature, trying to reassure him, something strange happened….

Nightingale looked around as she came to, wondering where she was.  She knew the room, of course.  It was Eagle’s, back at his palace, but things had changed.  It seemed so strange, watching him come in, obviously a couple of decades older, and beam as he saw her. “Hey Night.”

He walked over to her, opening his arms, and embraced her before he pressed his lips to hers…

 Nightingale gasped as she snapped out of...whatever that was...No, they had something they had to do now.  As she led the dog forward, she hissed at the captive guard. “You’re no royal thieves.  You’re not even smart enough to be regular thieves.  Just do what you did before making the mistake.  Take it from one of the real thieves.”

 At that, Eagle hit him very hard and he slumped to the ground.

 Of course Lucia was glad to have Rusty back, but then Eagle made his request. “We’re looking for something, something that might help.  I need to have Rusty’s abilities.”

 Lucia nodded and the cerebrus, free from everything and so happy to be back home, bounded forward.  Eagle stroked his fur, then went quiet for a moment.

 Lucia explained as Nightingale watched. “Cerebruses can manipulate time, you see.  If you touch them in the right spot on their back, they can even show you what you most desire.  If it’s doable, if there’s a way to get what you want, they’ll show you how to get it.  If not, then it’ll just be like a dream.”

 Lucia’s explanation hurt, but only a little bit.

 No, of course Nightingale wouldn’t tell what she saw in her...flash forward, she guessed.  She saw that, yes, Eagle would get old and, eventually, die.  There was no way to stop it.

 But she could still feel him pressing his lips to hers, something she knew she wanted so bad.