Acclayne Book 1: The Game Begins

“You give me what?!” I stared up at the large brick building in front of us; convinced that I had misheard her.

“Oakley House.”

“WOW – I thought access was strictly prohibited.” Malcolm knew about this? Well, of course he did. Could have thought to mention it. Might have been nice.

“It is.” Juney answered; cool as a breeze, and continued walking towards the house.

“What do you mean 'Oakley House'? And why is it 'prohibited'?” Juney did not respond to my questions. Unsurprising really; she was punishing me for last night. Brilliant. I looked at Methyn for help but got nothing; I don't think he even noticed. Some people just can't hold their drink.

“Oakley House was reputedly your mother's base of operations,” Thank the Lord for Malcolm; walking encyclopaedia. “it's also believed to be the house she grew up in, though that is highly disputed. Since her, ah, disappearance the building is being maintained as a sort of shrine to her – all her weapons are still inside... hence the prohibited bit.”

“...Right.” I was in awe. This building was my mother's, she'd walked the path that I was walking right now. The thought gave me chills.

“So basically you're saying that this was where she lived when she wasn't out kicking-ass and taking names?”

“Yeah you could say that.”

“Cool,” Kaylaer had such a way with words. “So what are we doing here then?” By now we had reached the big wooden front door. Something told me that it was probably made of Oak.

“Stocking up.” Juney smiled and rubbed her hands together greedily.

***

“Master Ferntill.” The elderly man at the wooden desk nodded in greeting and removed his spectacles. “To what do I owe the pleasure? It's not often that I see you around here. With good reason I suppose but nevertheless it cheers me to see you my boy, why, the last time I saw you you were barely up to my shoulder, now, I dare say you are taller than me. My my my...”

“Yes yes more than likely, I'm actually here-”

“Such a small boy you were, I think that even your sisters were bigger. How are your sisters dear boy? And your mother – such a wonderful woman. She visits me sometimes you know-”

“Yes she did mention it, actually I'm here for my father-”

“Now there's a proper man! You must learn so much from him my boy, he has done so well for himself, why I don't think there's an association in the whole of Vallaylii that he's not part of, in fact he's virtually in charge of the historical society...”

“Well that's what I'm here about really-”

“Ah yes, what can I do for him today?” The young boy paused and waited to see if the old man would say anything further; surprisingly he remained quiet.

“Right, well the thing is there are some important visitors coming here today-”

“Here? Why no, that can't be right. We've no one booked in for an official visit for months...” he frantically flicked through the large diary in front of him, “no one comes in without an official booking, your father knows that, in fact he's championed that rule since it was first put in place - protects the integrity of the building. No, no, no visitors.” with that he closed the heavy book in front of him and looked up at the young boy who bristled uncomfortably. Old he may have been but he'd been hired for a reason; the magical charge he was emitting was enough to put even the most determined person off. The boy took a steadying breath before proceeding;

“He said that you might say that and told me to give you this.” The boy handed over a folded envelope which the elderly man opened hastily; adjusting his glasses he scanned the letter's contents. Noticeably paler he folded the letter carefully back up, slipped it back into the envelope and stored it in his inside jacket pocket.

“Well?”

“Well, this changes everything my boy.”

***

The huge wooden door that led into Oakley House creaked as Juney pushed it open. As was usual for this time of day; it was unlocked.

“Come on then.” Juney looked back at her group, “We haven't got all day.”

“Did you need me to explain the word prohibited to you? Because I'm fairly sure it means we can't just go strolling- and you're not listening to me. You really need to get that selective hearing problem looked at; I think it's getting worse.” Juney had ignored Alaina's protests and had strolled confidently into the foyer. The rest of the group followed tentatively behind her. Directly opposite the door was a large, currently unmanned, desk.

“That's unusual.” Juney looked around; though the large room was clearly empty. Malcolm made a mental note of every detail; he had never thought that he would be lucky enough to visit such a famous landmark but here he was, and he was determined to absorb as much as possible - even if he only got as far as the foyer.

Alaina and Kaylaer remained surprisingly quiet; astonished by the sheer size of the place. Kaylaer was sure that her parents house would fit into the one room. Methyn...well, Methyn was still too hungover to really notice anything much, but he did appreciate being out of the bright sunlight.

It was while everyone was distracted that the caretaker of Oakley House bumbled into the hall from a side room, colliding with Malcolm; who was admiring some rather intricate art work, and almost knocked him to the floor.

“Oh my! I am terribly sorry young man! I dare say that you gave me quite a fright standing there. I wasn't expecting anyone until much later oh dear dear dear...”It was as he was fussing over the slightly stunned Malcolm that he noticed his other guests. “Lady Cholden,” he bowed as deeply as his old bones could manage; Juney waved the gesture off, “I must say that I was quite surprised to hear that you were to be fronting this party.” He eyed her suspiciously.

“Yes well, there are certain matters that need my attention.” Alaina noted the way that she glanced at her as she said it; it made her feel uncomfortable.

“Ah! You must be Miss Oakley.” He bowed again, this time towards Alaina who made an awkward half-curtsey in return. He slowly straightened himself, adjusted his spectacles and smiled warmly at her. “I never thought that I would see the day when an Oakley would return to this house, but here you are! Please be sure, Madam, that the pleasure is all mine...”

“I'm sure it is Oscar,” Juney interrupted, “now if you don't mind; as I was saying earlier there are certain things that-”

“If ever there is anything that you need while you are here, anything at all, rest assured that I will endeavour to help you in any way that I can,” He grabbed Alaina's hand in a show of loyalty. Alaina instinctively took a step back and almost crashed into Malcolm- who had just recovered himself from his previous incident.

“Ah-”

“I am getting ahead of myself as always, I am Oscar; Caretaker of the house, and curator when the occasion calls for it.”

“Nice to meet you -” Alaina turned to Juney; her hand still held enthusiastically by Oscar, “- another educational tour?”

“Maybe some other time, we're behind schedule as it is. We're here for a sword.”

“I thought that's what you were doing yesterday.”

“I was, for me. We're here for yours.”

“Haha, funny that! I thought you just said that we were here to get me a big pointy weapon. Me; the girl who can't be trusted to wield a letter opener in case I inadvertently cut someone’s finger off.” This had actually happened to her once; the intern in question managed to have their finger reattached just in time; though they would never recover complete feeling in the tip. Subsequently Alaina was banned from having anything sharp at her desk, this included, but was not limited to; Scissors, knives, pencil sharpeners, pencils and of course; letter openers. She was also banned from keeping those little fluffy promotional monsters at her desk due to a choking incident during a rather memorable Christmas party. But that's another story.

“I'm aware that the situation isn't ideal-” Alaina let out a short laugh while Kaylaer muttered something about understatements. “-but I have to work with what I have been given and; unfortunately you are the only heir to the Oakley estate. Though that might actually be a good thing given your track record...”

“Excuse me ma'am-” Oscar piped up, “but technically speaking, due to the length of time that the property has been left unoccupied, and given the unfortunate disappearance of Alaina Oakley senior, added to that the historical significance of the property-”

“Out with it Oscar.”

“that is to say that the Historical Society-”

“It's not the building that we're here for Oscar; no need to go getting your panties in a twist. We're here for the Twin Blade.”

“Excuse me?” Alaina interjected. Nobody listened.

“I'm terribly sorry Madam, but no one has ever recovered it. I know Mister Ferntill has his suspicions but I have worked here for many many years and I have only ever seen it with Alaina Oakley senior. I have not seen it since.”

“You knew my mother?!” Once again Alaina went unheard.

“That's because it is not yours to have access to. Clever things these magically infused weapons.” Juney smiled at Oscar who had decided that he didn't much care for her cocky attitude.

“Very well, by all means have a look around but it is not here.” He paused and turned back to Alaina, “With all due respect my Lady.”

“Thanks?”

“Young Master Ferntill is waiting for you downstairs; you'll forgive me for remaining at my post.”

“You're not going to be joining us? What a shame.” Juney shrugged, her smile remained fixed. Oscar scoffed and busied himself around his desk.

“Is it just me or was that a little insincere?” Malcolm whispered to Kaylaer as they followed Juney to the staircase.

“It was meant to be doofus.” She shook her head; it was a wonder how someone could be so smart yet so socially inept. “Hey did he say 'young Master Ferntill'?”

“Yeah?” Malcolm clocked the blank expression on Kaylaer's face and wondered how someone so quick witted could be so slow to catch on, “Giflyn's son I'm guessing.”

“I thought it might be. Balls.”

***

He sat calmly beneath a tree feeling the sun beating down on him; warming him through to his very bones. From his post he had a clear view of the Oakley estate. Oakley house was not an unexpected move on Cholden's part; however, he had not expected it so soon. That said, in the years he had come to know her, she had never done quite what he had expected. She was known for always being at least one step ahead; and given her other attributes this was as unsettling as it was unfortunate. He would have to report back to Alox tonight; setting him back a whole night's travel. Nevertheless, this new turn of events would be of great interest to Prince Fofana. In fact he may have to alter his whole plan to accommodate them. Unfortunate.

Before his first visit to Oakley House he had been as sceptical as everyone else as to the whereabouts of the infamous Twin Blade; yet any sorcerer worth his salt should have been able to sense it within the walls of Oakley House. The magical energy was overwhelming; it could not possibly go unnoticed by anyone who was familiar with the art.

***

Methyn felt queasy and tired. Magical weapon of mass destruction or no, he would have rather have been in bed. As he descended the stairs behind his group he felt a large wave of nausea wash over him, followed by an unexpected dizziness. At the time he put this down to dehydration and a lack of sleep; swearing to himself to never again drink with Alaina Oakley, but when he would later be asked about his input on detecting the whereabouts of the Twin Blade he would claim that he sensed it as soon as he entered the building; that he could not get down the stairs without being deeply affected by it's presence. Kaylaer would often contest this claim by reminding him that, given his condition at the time, he could barely sense his own feet let alone anything else. Studies of the weapon would eventually prove nausea and dizziness to be a side-effect of close proximity to the artefact; especially seen in those particularly sensitive to a strong build up of untapped energy. So as to whether or not Methyn did sense the Twin Blade upon descending the stairs to the basement of Oakley House; no one really knows.

The fact of the matter was that Giflyn Ferntill was nothing if not thorough when it came to his obsession with weaponry. To his quite expansive knowledge, there was no other weapon like the Twin Blade. It was created especially for Alaina; commissioned by the two royal families of Glakyrie and forged by the blacksmith responsible for the throwing stars of Dolak. The balance of the two blades was outstanding and although unnamed in the history books, the blacksmith was undeniably a true artisan. As the blade was forged a master sorcerer infused it with a magical energy so strong that it was believed that the blade itself could transcend time and space; meaning that it was not limited to one world or reality. It was this knowledge that allowed Giflyn to come to the conclusion that the blade had found it's way home upon Alaina's death. Found it's way home, and was waiting.