Chapter 4: The Sparrow Tower Secret

When the Chief reached this part of his tale, a flash of fear crossed his face.

He paused, staring at the wall like he saw something none of us ever would. The bedside lamp threw his shadow long against the peeling paint.

I hurried to ask what was in the bottle, but the Chief only paused, then asked me:

“Marcus, do you know about the great fire at River’s Edge?”

I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. That fire was famous, so I answered:

“Of course. Back then, Carl Jensen chained his ships together, and Hank Gray pretended to surrender.”

“The fire attack cost Jensen’s army a million men, and he ended up fleeing Backwater Road, tossing his armor aside.”

The Chief went on: “Did you know, before the battle, I went to the Eastern Alliance court to persuade them?”

I replied, confused: “Sure. You debated the Eastern scholars and left the surrender crowd speechless.”

Now I saw the change in his eyes. He said quietly:

“That’s the problem.”

“When I got to the Eastern Alliance court, I was horrified to find—”

“Samuel Quinn sat high on the court, but his face was pale as death, nothing like a real man.”

“When I shook his hand, I realized he was just an empty shell.”

“There was no flesh, no bone on his arm…”

“Later, as you know, David Young detained me in the East for all sorts of reasons.”

“People think David was jealous of my talent, but really it was because I’d learned the Eastern Alliance’s greatest secret.”

“In the end, I used conjuring the east wind as an excuse, took a small boat from Dylan, and finally got back to my own camp.”

My face went pale. The Chief’s story was nothing like the history I’d learned.

“So conjuring the east wind was just a cover? Then who brought the east wind?”

Thinking of this, I remembered the bloodstained note and handed it over.

The Chief went ashen. He stared at it for a long time, then forced a hollow laugh.

“East wind? There never was an east wind. The whole fire attack was a lie.”

“Do you know what was on the ships when Hank Gray pretended to surrender? Not fuel or fire arrows.”

“It was the most terrifying thing hidden in this land’s history.”

“Jensen had no choice but to set the whole thing ablaze.”

“After that, he never dared go south again, and died haunted by regret.”

“Before he died, Jensen built the world-famous Sparrow Tower in Fairview.”

“He locked the greatest secret of this land’s history in Sparrow Tower.”

“And the notepaper you have probably shows Jensen atop Sparrow Tower back then…”

As the Chief’s words faded into the hush of the sickroom, I found myself staring out the cracked window at the night. Somewhere out there, in the ruins of the past, secrets still smoldered—waiting for men like us to stumble over them once again. I gripped the bloodstained note tighter, knowing that if I wanted answers, I’d have to climb Sparrow Tower myself—before whatever haunted this land found me first.