Renowned for Virtue

Reknowned for Virtue is an adventure novel written by Meilir Brevil about the adventures of him and Taeris Redcrash. The plot revolves around Meilir and Taeris staying with friends of Meilir, the royal family of Balfiera. A corrupt noble kidnaps the royal family's young daughter, the treasured Princess of Balfiera, and using her as leverage to force Meilir and Taeris to steal items of immense for him.

Excerpt
“Set down the girl, Duke Havenash!” I cried over the roaring winds. Standing across from me, at the edge of the cliff, the Duke dangled the Princess of Balfiera over a thousand foot drop.

“Not until you give me the Crystal of Rkindaleft!” Havenash, the scoundrel, pitched his voice over the wind. The grass was blown flat at our feet, the sky gray above us, and the young princess screaming, suspended only by her arm in the Duke’s strong hand. Had the man not been a towering brute of muscle, I would’ve been concerned he’d drop her on accident.

“The princess first!” I cried, starting forwards, but he stepped an inch closer to the cliff, closer to the princess’ death.

“That’s not how this works!” Havenash answered me. “The Crystal now! I will only release the girl once I am safely away!”

“I do not trust you, good Duke Havenash! I believe you are a liar and a fiend, and if I allow you to walk out of here with both the Crystal and the princess, I shall never see either again.”

“If you don’t give me what I want now, Meilir Brevil, you certainly shall never see the Princess of Balfiera again-- at least not alive!”

The Duke let his grip slip, and the princess’ screams increased as she sunk several more inches over that impossible drop, before the Duke’s grip tightened once again. “Hold! You win, sir Duke, you have twisted my arm.” I relented, reaching into the pouch at the back of my belt, to retrieve the Crystal of Rkindaleft. I pulled it clear to the air, and held it up to the light for the Duke to see the gem in all its splendor. My eyes fell upon the Duke’s face as his looked up to admire the Crystal. The rogue was practically drooling.

“Here it is.” I shouted to the Duke, the sound of my own heart pumping furiously in addition to the wind in my ears. I noticed a slight movement behind him—something had bobbed over the lip of the cliff, behind Havenash, just visible beneath and between his squared legs. “Now—catch!”

I brought my arm back and threw the Crystal forwards with all my might, in an arc above the Duke’s head.

“No!” Havenash screamed, releasing the girl as the gem of Rkindaleft passed above him. The princess screamed once more as she fell.

“My Crystal!” He leapt, arms reaching for the Crystal, and caught it. Unfortunately for the Duke, he was now out over a thousand-foot drop, and plummeted out of sight, to his doom.

I did not start forward in any attempt to rescue the princess. Now, uninformed reader, you may find me heartless for not doing so, or you may find me an idiot for having tossed the Crystal of Rkindaleft to the Duke, knowing this was the only possible outcome.

Fortunately for both you and the princess, I am neither. For Taeris and I, upon learning the Havenash had fled to the Cliffs of Tulure, drafted a plan. I would chase and corner Havenash here, where the cliffs meet the Iliac Bay. And the Redcrash would climb the thousand-foot incline to reach the edge in time. Now reader you might ask: How could he know where you were? How could any man climb several thousand-feet without tiring and with no rope? A very simple answer to both questions, my dear friend—he is Taeris Redcrash. As I made my way to the edge to the cliff, sure enough, Taeris was there, clinging to the rock. And sure enough, there was the Princess of Balfiera, clinging to the Blademaster.

After I had helped them both up onto the cliffside, Taeris said to me: “It’s a shame we had to sacrifice the Crystal. The Princess’ life was worth it, of course, but the loss of such an ancient treasure is always great.”

“Fear not, brother.” I said, reaching into the pouch once again, and withdrawing a second Crystal, even more splendorous than the first. “For what Havenash died for was merely a simple Soul Gem—the true Crystal of Rkindaleft sits here in my hand!”