The Novecian Conundrum

By James Leeman

Inside Novindor City, humans are viewed as the bottom feeders of society after losing the War of Hostility. After their victory, the race known as the Duagarim become the dominant force in all the land. One day a human thief, Griften Radir, receives a package which starts his family down a path of redemption for all of humanity. The choices he and his family make could forever alter the course of the human race.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Leeman
• Release date: Jul 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370790630

Book preview

In the land of Novis, humanity and its way of life constituted feelings of being beaten down, pathetic complacency, and acceptance of their place in the world. Over the past 200 years, humanity has suffered the consequences of the surprise attack initiated by the Duagarim which became known as the War of Hostility. During the last battle, known as the Victorious Blitz, the Duagarim destroyed the last of the human strongholds, in the Haunting Meadows, before making their way to the main human city of Bastylia. Once they entered the city, the Duagarim slaughtered, raped, and pillaged their way through every nook and cranny of the glorious city.

The last human general, Zakarias Radir, was said to have fought to his last dying breath slicing Duagarim limbs in every direction as his two curved scimitars twirled in a glorious display of blood and muscle. General Radir was said to have been a giant among men standing over six feet in stature with thick broad shoulders and extremely muscular arms. Even though he was only in his forties, his hair was said to have been stark white because of a curse placed on him by a mysterious Sorcityrn whom he had angered when he told her they could not be together because of his duty to his fellow humans. Based on all written accounts, the general was well respected and well loved, by his men, and was granted land and titles by his king.

Unfortunately, during his untimely demise, none of these amazing attributes mattered as the endless waves of attacking Duagarim rolled over him like a tidal wave crashing on the rocks of a shoreline. The Duagarim repaid the fighting prowess of General Radir by dismembering his shredded body and allowing each of their top generals to eat one of his limbs because they believed this would completely annihilate the resolve of any other races that may have harbored rebellious feelings. The head of General Radir was taken to Bastylia and placed on a pike, beside the heads of the ruling family, standing behind Moonlight throne, which acquired its name because of the crushed pale amethyst which it was composed of.

In the years since the War of Hostility, the Duagarim have allowed humans to slowly trickle back into Bastylia which is now known as Novindor City. The humans who have decided to live here now lead a miserable life and try to make the best of a terrible situation.

Why thoughts about his great-great grandfather entered his mind momentarily confused Griften Radir. Over the past six months, random thoughts centered on his families’ long forgotten glory kept popping into Griften’s head. All of these thoughts had started occurring after he and his wife had discovered a package inside their room located in the apartment complex known as the Honest Gable.

The owner of the establishment was a lady named Marde. She was a middle aged woman with wispy, white hair and bright green eyes which were still very striking. It was rumored that Marde was a former prostitute who had once been in high demand by the wealthier human males and females and some even said by wealthy Duagarim. Upon the death of one of her regulars, Marde was left a sizable sum of money which she used to purchase the Honest Gable.

As far as living quarters went, the Honest Gable was probably the cleanest and best place to live in the Slums of the Down Trodden. The majority of the human population living in Novindor City resided in these slums, with the exception of a few wealthy humans who lived in the area known as The Garden.

In Griften’s opinion, Marde had always treated his family fairly and for this simple reason she had earned his respect. He knew, if not for the proprietor of the Honest Gable, his family would be contending with every vagabond and cutthroat living in the streets and alleys of the slums.

It is a known fact that the Slums of the Down Trodden are not very safe during the daytime and at night, it is downright cruel and deadly for those who are unprepared.

Griften’s wife, Ellenora, had been the one to discover the unknown package inside their home. Ell, as he affectionately called her, had always been his one bright star of love and hope inside the maelstrom of his shitty existence. She had given him one son and twin daughters who were the joys of his life even as they were causing him endless headaches. Ellenora was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, with her raven black hair and piercing blue eyes which always made him feel like she was gazing into the depths of his soul. She was a renowned acrobatic street performer who was famous for being able to contort her body into unnatural positions. At least to himself, Griften admitted that her acrobatic skills were a major perk for him in their marriage. Even after bearing three children and getting older, Ell’s body was still very lithe and highly toned.

Upon discovering the unmarked package on the table, in the main family room, Ellenora had left the package alone and waited for Griften to get home so they could decide what to do with it. She knew their 19-year-old son, Mikalis, would still be out pick pocketing any worthy looking targets on the streets of Artisan Avenue. By the age of thirteen, Mikalis had perfected the art of pick pocketing and began to help put food on the table. He had a close friendship with a Quarterling boy named Verdet Light Touch, whom he had met when he was seven years old. The two were always working together and usually stayed out late noting potential marks. They were constantly competing with one another, on a daily basis, to see who could bring in the largest take by the end of the day.

In Griften’s eyes the two were equal in skill but he would not tell his son that because he wanted him to constantly strive to perfect his trade.

Then there were his two deviant twin daughters who were fifteen years old and always up to no good. Jordyne and Sofira were always locating and planning their next wealthy house to hit. The two of them made an excellent team even though they were completely different. Jordyne had brown hair with freckles on her face and preferred to quietly think, observe, and plan her moves. In contrast, Sofira had raven, black hair and was known for being hot- blooded and rushing into situations without considering the possible consequences. Sofira was also more muscular than her sister, and because of this she liked to get in close whenever a dispute arose. Both of their daughters were witty and sharp- tongued at times which often caused people to smile and chuckle. However, they both held a deep resentment for anyone wealthier than them. This prejudice had almost brought down trouble and grief on the entire family on numerous occasions. The two were inseparable and refused to work with anyone else.

For the last several years, the Radir daughters were suspect number one whenever any wealthy citizen’s residency was robbed- and if truth be told, the two sisters were usually guilty.

The family admitted the two were always a constant source of amusement and consternation throughout each and every day.

When Griften walked through the door, she immediately showed him the package.

He looked at the package with bewilderment, Who brought this and do you know what it is?

Ell looked at him, I have no idea where this came from and there are no distinguishable marks on the package that I could see.

After watching Grift mull over what to do for a few minutes, she finally grabbed his head and looked into his eyes, Just open the package, sweetheart.

Grift snapped out of his trance, giving Ell a little peck of thanks on her cheek, he opened the package and discovered a small note placed on top of a wrapped bundle. He opened the note and saw that it was written in a delicate, flowing hand. After a brief pause to consider who could write in a beautiful script, he read the note and a look of shock crossed his face while he fell into a nearby chair.

When Ell could not take the silence anymore, she looked at him and asked, Well, are you going to tell me what the note says?

For the second time in as many minutes, Grift snapped out of his stupor and repeated the content of the note to her. The note says it is time for me to reclaim my family’s glory. I must take our family heirloom and change the fate of every race in the Novicon Empire.

Ell could only stare at him while she tried to decipher what that meant.

What does that mean?

He just shook his head and hissed, How under Novindor’s balls should I know?

After a couple of heartbeats, Grift decided to put the note down and open the bundle.

He looked into Ell’s eyes and took a deep steadying breath and unwrapped the bundle, looked down, and almost fainted. Inside the wrapped bundle lay an amulet made of pure gold with a ram’s head imprinted on the front of it. Griften had always heard stories of how his family’s seal was a ram’s head before the War of Hostility occurred and almost completely eradicated the human race.

This golden amulet was easily the most valuable item both of them had ever seen or held and after a brief moment of shock and awe this fact slammed into their thoughts. They immediately began looking around in fear and suspicion because they knew that if anyone saw what they were currently holding in their hands, the repercussions could be fatal to their entire family.

Grift looked to Ell, We must hide this from the children until I can figure out who brought it to me.

Ell could only nod her head in agreement as she envisioned how many people living in the slums would murder her whole family in order to possess this valuable item. She knew people who had been murdered for a few copper pennies, which meant that this pure golden amulet could have major apocalyptic ramifications for her loved ones if anyone knew about it.

Shaking away these troubling thoughts, Ell snatched the amulet out of Griften’s hands while walking into their bedroom. She proceeded to pry up a loose board under their straw mattress and stowed the amulet inside the small opening, adding it to the few other items of value they had saved over the years.

After replacing the board and mattress, she said, We are the only ones who can know about this until we figure out what is going on and find out who in the world brought it to us.

The kids would not look in the small hidden compartment because it was their parents’ one place of privacy; so, they knew the amulet would be safe and undisturbed.

Grift flashed his most charming, sarcastic smirk, You have no idea how much I love you, and as usual, you are absolutely right.

All of this flashed through Griften’s memory like a whirlwind and vanished just as quickly as he spied his mark, who was leaving his house on his way to indulge in his weekly night of drinking and whoring.

Chapter 1

Griften’s bastard mark was a squirmy looking human named Tomias Lenfoot. To look at this man, one would be hard pressed to suppress a chuckle. Tomias was around five foot five and had a massive pot belly which grew steadily because of his drinking habits. He also seemed to be perpetually squinting and he laughably tried to hide the fact that he was going bald by pulling his last few strands of hair over to one side, in what he had heard the working women call a comb over. All of these distinct characteristics were enhanced every time he saw Tomias walk, if you could call it that, because Tomias did not walk so much as he waddled.

In Grift’s imagination, he envisioned an overgrown rat attempting to walk upright. After watching Tomias waddle to the corner of the street and turn towards his favorite brothel, he let out a few good chuckles and moved out from the shadows of the alleyway across the street from the Lenfoot residence.

While moving towards the residence, he made sure to not step into any areas which were exposed to light- which was easily accomplished since he had over two decades of experience in this type of work.

In the time, it would take someone to count to five, Grift was already across the street and over the fence. He quickly proceeded to a side window which was not exposed and after a few seconds had the window popped open and snuck inside the Lenfoot house.

After completing his initial scan of the room he is standing in, Griften briefly thought about the tale he overheard, around three weeks ago, inside the Drenching Hole. He had decided to relax after an unproductive day working on Artisan Ave by drinking a pint with Simson Long who was his longtime childhood friend.

Simson was shorter than Griften, who stood around six foot one with sandy brown hair and green eyes. In contrast, Simson was around five nine and was carrying about 200 pounds on his frame, which meant he was around ten to twelve pounds heavier than Griften. He kept his head shaved bald because he did not like it getting in his way whenever he was on a job, and he had gray eyes which always gave the impression that he was concocting plans for his next heist. Unlike Griften, who tended to be more reserved and think things through before acting, Simson had a short fuse and would go ballistic on anyone he believed had offended him or his friends- which was why he had a nasty, jagged scar that was near his right eye.

The two of them had been thick as thieves since they were around six years old and both had been doing their best to survive on the streets of the slums.

The day they met had been a dreary one, with nonstop rain coming down for the better part of two days. Simson had been six years old and had not eaten in three days. He had been wandering around different areas of Artisan Avenue trying to discover the best food vendor to hit in order to acquire some type of food which was not rotten. After walking around for a couple of hours, he finally spied a lady who was selling delicious sugar buns which consisted of bread, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon. He had never had one because they were relatively new and were really only for people who had money. All he knew was that his stomach had not quit rumbling since he had laid eyes on them so he was determined to take one no matter the possible consequences. The rain had finally let up for a moment, so he decided it was now or never and began making his way to the vendor cart. As he neared the cart, he noticed another boy approaching from the other side and paused to see what his game was. The other boy was nonchalant and smoothly walked past the cart as he pocketed two of the sugar buns.

Unfortunately, the boy had not noticed the little girl, presumably the vendor’s daughter, sitting on the ground by the cart and when she saw him snatch the bun she began yelling and pointing at the boy thief. The boy immediately started running in the direction of Simson and was being chased by two of the male vendors who were set up near the sugar bun stand.

As the boy passed by him, he smirked at Simson and began to duck and dodge between the people in the street.

Not knowing why, he was doing it, Simson pretended to stumble and fell into the legs of the pursing men, causing one of them to fall, cursing him and calling him a stupid, little gutter shite. The other man was nimbler and was able to keep his feet which allowed him to stay on the heels of the boy.

Simson quickly got up and apologized, I am so sorry kind sir, please forgive me, and began chasing after the two fleeing figures. He spied the boy zigging and zagging around various carts and people until he finally turned down a dark alleyway. The chasing vendor followed him into the alley while yelling for him to stop.

Simson slowed his pace and stopped at the mouth of the alleyway in order to see where the two figures were and what was happening. The alley was a dead-end and the boy was nowhere to be seen, while the vendor was walking around checking every possible space the boy could have disappeared into. After searching for a few more minutes, the vendor realized his attempt to locate the boy was futile and began to walk back towards the street.

Simson did not want to be noticed or possibly recognized, so he backed up to blend in with a crowd of people who were walking by as he waited for the vendor to walk out and turn back toward the way they had come from. As soon as the vendor had rounded the corner back towards his street, Simson quietly moved back towards the alleyway and started trying to figure out where the boy could have hidden. After a moment of self-doubt about walking into the alley, he started to move down into its depths while keeping a leery eye out for trouble because everyone who lived in the streets knew how dangerous the dark alleyways of the city could be. He finally reached the end and exhaled his breath which he did not realize he had been holding while walking into the dark depths of the alley. Upon reaching the end he was truly confused because he had not seen any places that the boy could have hidden.

As he turned around to head back, he heard a quiet voice, Throwing yourself in the way of those two vendors that were chasing me was a ballsy move.

Simson began looking around trying to pinpoint where the boy was but he could not see him, It was nothing, I was on my way to take a sugar bun, too, but you beat me to it.

The boy hesitated and Griften finally asked, What’s your name?

I am Simson … could you please leave the shadows of wherever you are and speak to me face to face?

Following a brief pause, Simson heard a faint rustling noise above him and when he looked up he saw the boy running down the wall of the building which sat at the end of the alley. The boy landed lightly and stared him in the face, I am called Griften, and extended his hand, which Simson took and shook. Griften looked him up and down, You’re pretty quick for a little guy.

Simson looked at him and noticed that he was not that much bigger and appeared to be about the same age.

He laughed, You are not that much bigger than me you know.

After a second, Griften began to laugh as well and they sat down on a broken bench. Once they had stopped laughing, Griften looked, How long has it been since you last ate? You look hungry and your stomach is making loud noises.

Simson hesitantly answered, Around three days, but I’ve been able to drink some water from all the rain we have been having lately.

Griften shook his head and extended one of the sugar buns towards him, Go ahead and take this one- for helping me escape earlier.

Simson was not about to refuse so he grabbed it quickly and bit into it before the boy could change his mind.

Griften just smirked and pulled the other sugar bun out and took a bite.

After a few moments of silent eating, Simson looked over at Griften and said, I have to ask, how were you able to get above the guy chasing you? That wall is pretty steep.

Griften smiled and motioned to follow him to the wall at the end of the alley. He then hopped up and grabbed a very thin piece of rope which Simson had not noticed dangling there earlier, when he had come down. Griften then began to walk up the side of the building and after a moment looked back down, Are you coming?

Simson had not hesitated, and jumped up to grab the rope in order to follow the boy up. They had climbed up about five or six levels of the building when Griften paused on a window sill and told him to go first. When Simson reached the stopping point, he noticed the little hook attached to the end of the rope which was caught on the window sill. Griften climbed up behind him and said, You have to jump across to the roof of the building beside us.

Simson looked at the roof of the low structure, shrugged, and leapt off without a second thought.

Griften silently admitted this younger boy had impressed him, and when he reached the hook he unhooked it and leapt onto the roof right behind Simson. From that day on, the two had developed a very close friendship and became almost inseparable. They began working jobs together and quickly became brothers in every sense of the word except blood.

Therefore, it was not surprising to Griften when Simson entered the Lenfoot house through the same window he had just come through.

Simson gave Griften one of his own smirks, his eyes twinkling with mischief, and shrugged his shoulders, Come on, you knew I wasn’t going to let you have all of the fun by yourself.

Griften smirked back and could only shake his head at the predictability of his longtime friend.

As the two began making their way through the Lenfoot residence towards the master bedroom, Simson looked over at Grift, Do you really think Tomias keeps it here?

Grift glanced at him, Guess we will find out in a few minutes.

He thought back to the night he and Simson heard the two working ladies talking in the bar. Rakel was one of the favorites of Tomias and she had been the one gossiping about her number one client. She was a robust woman who caked on the makeup and always wore a strong flowery perfume which Griften found to be nauseating. The only thing Rakel had going for her, in his opinion, was her exceptionally large chest- which was guaranteed to give her a lot of back problems the older she got. She was also known to open her mouth, and not just in the ways of her job, to prattle on about her clients’ lives and business.

On this particular night, Rakel had been talking loudly to a new girl who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. Griften believed he had heard someone call her Belle and at least for now she was retaining her natural beauty. He knew that by this time next year, she would look used and abused because that is what happened to all the working girls, in the Slums of the Down Trodden, who had to resort to this draining and sometimes brutal way of life. In the slums, morals had no place because people did whatever they had to do in order to survive. The working girls were no exception, some of them would be lucky to earn 25 copper pieces on a good night. It was a dangerous and demoralizing job, but it did at least give the women a better chance at survival since the Down Trodden was known for gobbling up girls and spitting them out later as mere shadows of their former self.

Grift had to admit that Belle was a real looker, with her darkly tanned and toned body, long legs, small perky breasts, and gorgeous hazel eyes. This girl would be in very high demand for now and, in his opinion, it was a real shame she had not been born somewhere else where she would not have to resort to selling her body in order to get by.

She and Rakel had been sitting at a table nearby, drinking cheap, watered down wine and spending very little of what they had apparently earned earlier that night. Belle was sitting there, listening intently as Rakel was going on and on about this book she had glimpsed at the Lenfoot residence after she had performed her duty during a house call. She was saying how she had never learned to read but she could understand basic numbers- which is what she saw in this book that had been sitting open on a desk. There had been numbers beside what she guessed were the names of people, although she could not be certain what all the markings stood for.

When Griften and Simson heard this, they had looked at one another simultaneously.

Grift leaned over and whispered, Do you think she saw the ledger Tomias is rumored to have which lists the names of people he has spied on for the Duagarim?

Simson shrugged, Are you talking about the book no one has ever seen? It had long been rumored that Tomias Lenfoot was a Duagarim spy, who was paid a handsome sum to inform the Duagarim of any humans who could potentially cause problems to their way of life. If one was to look upon the Lenfoot residence, it would not be difficult to wonder how he made his wealth. The Lenfoot house was three levels and was completely made of red stone. It had multiple gardens on the grounds and lush trees behind it, which gave the stone house a very scenic backdrop. Tomias Lenfoot was one of those people who gave Griften the impression of someone who was the human equivalent of oil on water. Griften knew that he was someone who could not be trusted, and that he would sacrifice anyone in order to save his own skin. It would not surprise him if the traitorous rumors about Tomias were true.

Simson noticed that Grift had entered into deep thought which caused him to grin and roll his eyes.

The conversation between Rakel and Belle had piqued Griften’s interest, and is what ultimately led to him shadowing and marking the movements of Tomias Lenfoot- which led to his current situation inside the Lenfoot residence.

Chapter 2

Tomias seems to be doing quite well for himself based on all the fancy things laying around, remarked Simson as the two of them walked into what was clearly the master bedroom.

Griften just shrugged and wondered if he should pocket any small valuable items which could benefit his family. He started reaching out to take a golden comb but stopped short, reminding himself that he was here for a much bigger prize.

If the rumors of Tomias being a Duagarim spy were true, Tomias would not be worth a pile of horse shit. It was one thing to steal here and there in order to provide for your family, but it was an entirely different matter to sell out your own kind to the Duagarim bastards that wanted nothing more than to keep all humans living in poverty and depravity. If Tomias was a spy, Griften believed he should be slowly executed for committing the worst possible crime.

Upon entering the bedroom, Griften observed a room befitting a royal family with expensive items everywhere. He saw bright, ornate vases, tapestries and pictures depicting different plights of the human race ranging from war to prosperity, furniture which appeared to have been crafted by a Duagarim artisan master, and a chest filled to the brim with silk cloth of varying colors. Even though he hated the Duagarim with a fiery passion, he had to concede the point that the Duagarim were extremely gifted when it came to creating and crafting items. The chest he spotted was made of iron and was engraved with detailed intricate designs weaving through them.

He glanced over at Simson who was making his way towards the chest with a gleam in his eyes.

Simson felt Grift’s eyes on him, You go ahead and find that so called ledger. I’ll be over here pocketing some of these nice trinkets to make my life easier for a while. I just hope that whore was telling the truth and not just pulling your chain- figuratively speaking of course.

He could not help but laugh at the typical Simson sense of humor and watched as his friend began rifling through different colored silks.

After watching him pocket an extremely valuable looking gold chain with a large ruby on the end of it, Griften decided he needed to get to work. The first place he chose to search was the most obvious place, a large ornate desk. In his previous experiences, the best place to hide something of value was usually in plain sight. He tried to open the main drawer in the middle of the desk but found it was locked. Cursing under his breath, he pulled out his set of lock picks and went to work. A few seconds later, after a little tinkering, he heard the familiar sound of the lock clicking open and he pulled the drawer out.

All he saw when he looked into the drawer were a bunch of papers, but there was no sign of the infamous ledger. He quickly removed the papers and ran his hand over the entirety of the drawer in the hopes of triggering a secret compartment but found none. He replaced the drawer, biting down a few more choice words as he took a deep breath to calm himself and focus on the problem at hand.

He had known this would not be a simple job so now he just had to figure out where someone like Tomias would hide a valuable item like the ledger. He spied a large picture hanging on the wall which depicted the land of Bastylia before the Duagarim had conquered it and changed its name to Novis.

Grift stepped past Simson, who was taking a gold watch from another chest, and began to slide his hands across the back of the picture- but again he was met with no success.

Simson looked up, I am going to go through that extremely well made dresser over there, so rest assured I will let you know if I find your book.

Griften mumbled a Thanks, and began surveying the room again with an agitated look on his face.

Simson sighed as he placed an elegant, ivory jewelry box inside the little bag he had unfolded upon entering the house. He then pointed at the massive wooden bed, Those sheets are probably worth more than everything you and I have- combined.

This snapped Grift back to attention. He eyed the huge bed, Tomias does so look forward to his weekly tryst. He walked over and began examining it and after a minute he whistled, Simson, you have to come see this!

Simson closed the dresser drawer he had been going through and walked over while dropping two golden rings and three silver bracelets into his bag.

When Simson walked up to the bed, he pointed down at the corner of the bed and he saw that a length of rope had been tied to the bed post. He scrambled to the next bed post where he discovered another length of rope and all he could do was burst out laughing. Who knew that the goofy little waddling man insisted on having so much fun while rolling in the bed? I must say, I am a tad bit jealous because now I feel cheated- like I’m a boring man.

Grift laughed, You’re just figuring that out?

Simson frowned, Very funny but don’t forget that I’m not married so I have a better chance of experiencing something like this.

He smirked, You would be surprised at what Ell is willing to try!

At this statement, Simson threw his hands up, That is enough for me, you dog.

Griften began pulling up the sheets on his side of the bed and Simson did the same. Once the sheets were off, the two of them started checking between the mattresses. After a few seconds, Griften grunted and pulled out an object wrapped in a string of beads.

Simson began chuckling Is it just me, or is that shaped like a cock? And is it wrong that I’m becoming envious of our little friend’s adventurous spirit and appetite in the bedroom? Do we even want to guess what the brightly colored beads are for?

Grift rolled his eyes and blew out an angry sigh. This was taking too long and he had planned on being long gone by now. Unfortunately, there was nothing else between the two large mattresses, so he decided to inspect the headboard while Simson was meandering back to the dresser and checking some drawers he had not opened yet.

He had begun to resolve himself to the fact that he was going to have to come back and try again. While looking down he noticed a pair of nice shoes sticking out from under the bed.

Grift shook his head and mumbled, Why in Novindor’s damnation not, and dropped down in order to slide under the bed. He slid his hands over the bottom of the mattress and found nothing so he decided to flip and move his hands over the floor. It was appearing defeat was imminent when his hand finally grazed what felt like a latch. Griften and his family were not religious, because in their opinion the gods had shit all over them, but every now and then Grift would say a very short plea to Bastyl if he was desperate enough.

Bastyl if you ever truly existed and held any love for humanity, please let it be here.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the latch open and began to rummage through the compartment. Among the items he removed were a multitude of pouches and a book, which Grift assumed was the ledger. He closed the compartment door and slid back out from underneath the bed and immediately began skimming through the contents of the book. He whistled, It looks like Rakel was telling the truth about the little bastard.

Simson just nodded his head as Grift stood up and began pocketing the items he had found.

Let’s get out of here- we have what we came for and we’ve been here longer than expected.

They quickly fixed the sheets and made sure everything was how it had