If you saw the Ad-Din brothers of Ilshenar, you could tell they were related. They had the same features, the same careful way of speaking, the same mannerisms. Yet they were also a profound study in contrasts. Yusef Ad-Din, a Professor of Antiquities at the Lycaeum, wasn't a small man, but he seemed so compared to his brother's tall and imposing presence. Yusef dressed plainly, and lacked visible weapons.
Yusef's brother, Salah Ad-Din, however, looked like a dandy, wearing gaudy colored garments, complete with a feathered hat. At his belt he wore a scimitar and a cutlass. A man needs two weapons, he frequently said. One for the land, one for the sea.
Today, the Ad-Din brothers spoke outside the Lycaeum, where Yusef taught. Salah shivered slightly in the Britannian cold; Yusef seemed to like it.
“Why do you still seek this artifact, brother,” asked Salah. Yusef was reading a small, old book which Salah, a fairly well-known treasure hunter, adventurer, and pirate hunter, had obtained for him. “You know it does not exist. Your colleagues laugh at you, say you have lost your way. You are a great scholar, Yusef. Why do you seek to throw it all away.”
“Ah,” replied Yusef. “I see you have read the book, then, just as I told you not to.”
“You knew I would, brother. If you did not want it read you would have found someone else for this task.”
“True enough, I suppose.” Yusef kept reading, thumbing through the pages of the book, mouthing the words. “If it does not exist, brother, then explain this book.”
“A fairy tale, planted to confuse those who would persist in thinking that which does not exist in fact exists.”
“And why would someone go through the trouble, brother.”
“For some men, to confound other men is its own reward.”
“That is weak, brother.”
“But sometimes true. Often true, even.”
Yusef had no reply and kept reading.
“Brother,” Salah continued, “there are so many lost artifacts, so many legacies of times ancient to explore and find. From our own Ilshenar, the Sword of the Desert Paladin has never been found. But we know that it exists! From here in Britannia, there is the Sword of the Stranger Who Slew Mondain. It has never been found. But we know that it exists! You could find either of these, and more, brother.”
“None of those items embody virtue as this does, brother.” Yusef seemed distracted, but Salah knew his brother. Yusef was listening intently.
“That is not true, brother,” Salah continued. “There are many. The Virtues express themselves in physical objects all the time. Ankhs, weapons, books, candles, bells..... So many things that actually exist. Can actually be found. Seek them out, brother, and my help will be yours. But this.....I am sorry, brother, but I will help you no more with this.”
Yusef closed the book, and regarded Salah. “You are sure about this, brother.”
“Yes, I am sorry. Anything else, anything, and my assistance is yours for the asking.”
Yusef paused for a long time, contemplating this, before he continued. His voice was more serious, more intense, than it had been. “Oh, that's fine.....I can find someone else to help with the last phase, I suppose. I will succeed in this, brother. I will succeed. I regret that you will have to eat your words as much as anyone else who has doubted me, has doubted my quest. But I will find this. It is there to be found and I will find it. Only I can find it. It is mine, mine for the finding, mine for the taking, mine for the display.”
Salah sighed. “If I am wrong, brother, I will eat my words gladly and embrace you, and apologize.”
“Yes, I do believe you would, brother...”
“Will you be home for the harvest feast, brother. Our mother misses you.”
“Am I still welcome? My fool's quest regardless?” Yusef emphasized the word “fool,” and his sarcasm was obvious.
“Of course!”
“I shall be there, then.”
There was silence for several moments. “I am sorry, brother.”
“That's fine.”
“Perhaps the people of this land will help you. They are good-hearted, and they revere virtue, and what is more they seem to be frequently bored.”
The brothers laughed. “I may do just that, brother. I may do just that.”
Yusef's brother, Salah Ad-Din, however, looked like a dandy, wearing gaudy colored garments, complete with a feathered hat. At his belt he wore a scimitar and a cutlass. A man needs two weapons, he frequently said. One for the land, one for the sea.
Today, the Ad-Din brothers spoke outside the Lycaeum, where Yusef taught. Salah shivered slightly in the Britannian cold; Yusef seemed to like it.
“Why do you still seek this artifact, brother,” asked Salah. Yusef was reading a small, old book which Salah, a fairly well-known treasure hunter, adventurer, and pirate hunter, had obtained for him. “You know it does not exist. Your colleagues laugh at you, say you have lost your way. You are a great scholar, Yusef. Why do you seek to throw it all away.”
“Ah,” replied Yusef. “I see you have read the book, then, just as I told you not to.”
“You knew I would, brother. If you did not want it read you would have found someone else for this task.”
“True enough, I suppose.” Yusef kept reading, thumbing through the pages of the book, mouthing the words. “If it does not exist, brother, then explain this book.”
“A fairy tale, planted to confuse those who would persist in thinking that which does not exist in fact exists.”
“And why would someone go through the trouble, brother.”
“For some men, to confound other men is its own reward.”
“That is weak, brother.”
“But sometimes true. Often true, even.”
Yusef had no reply and kept reading.
“Brother,” Salah continued, “there are so many lost artifacts, so many legacies of times ancient to explore and find. From our own Ilshenar, the Sword of the Desert Paladin has never been found. But we know that it exists! From here in Britannia, there is the Sword of the Stranger Who Slew Mondain. It has never been found. But we know that it exists! You could find either of these, and more, brother.”
“None of those items embody virtue as this does, brother.” Yusef seemed distracted, but Salah knew his brother. Yusef was listening intently.
“That is not true, brother,” Salah continued. “There are many. The Virtues express themselves in physical objects all the time. Ankhs, weapons, books, candles, bells..... So many things that actually exist. Can actually be found. Seek them out, brother, and my help will be yours. But this.....I am sorry, brother, but I will help you no more with this.”
Yusef closed the book, and regarded Salah. “You are sure about this, brother.”
“Yes, I am sorry. Anything else, anything, and my assistance is yours for the asking.”
Yusef paused for a long time, contemplating this, before he continued. His voice was more serious, more intense, than it had been. “Oh, that's fine.....I can find someone else to help with the last phase, I suppose. I will succeed in this, brother. I will succeed. I regret that you will have to eat your words as much as anyone else who has doubted me, has doubted my quest. But I will find this. It is there to be found and I will find it. Only I can find it. It is mine, mine for the finding, mine for the taking, mine for the display.”
Salah sighed. “If I am wrong, brother, I will eat my words gladly and embrace you, and apologize.”
“Yes, I do believe you would, brother...”
“Will you be home for the harvest feast, brother. Our mother misses you.”
“Am I still welcome? My fool's quest regardless?” Yusef emphasized the word “fool,” and his sarcasm was obvious.
“Of course!”
“I shall be there, then.”
There was silence for several moments. “I am sorry, brother.”
“That's fine.”
“Perhaps the people of this land will help you. They are good-hearted, and they revere virtue, and what is more they seem to be frequently bored.”
The brothers laughed. “I may do just that, brother. I may do just that.”