Not Only Gold Glitters

Castle Aurum had long been deserted.

Before the collapse of the old realm, before the wars of magic and technology that now plagued it, Castle Aurum had been…something. That was all Cassie knew. Likely all that anyone knew. Certainly more than anyone in Cobalt Keep had told her.

"What do you think Zigs?" she asked. "Fancy a look?"

Zigs let out a sharp skree.

"Glad you think so."

She let Zigs fly on ahead, circling the castle from the air, while she steadily made her way through the inner courtyard. For a castle of the old world, it had withstood the centuries of decay well. Far more than many of the other ruins she'd seen. Entering the keep, she wondered on what little she knew about the castle. Again, that came to "nothing," but she wasn't so ignorant to know that Aurum meant "gold." And if gold was to be found here…well, she couldn't object to that. She walked up to the keep's tower, only to find it was locked.

"Skree!"

She looked up and saw Zigs flying down towards her. Holding out an arm, she let him let out a series of shrieks and whoops.

"Huh. Nice find."

Getting out a grapple arrow, she fired it to the open window Zigs had spotted for her. In one moment she was at the window sill. The moment after that, she was in the tower.

"Stay outside Zigs," she said. "I'll be back for you."

The bird looked forlorn.

"Oh, don't look at me like that."

Zigs let out a screech, but nonetheless obliged. If he saw someone coming, he'd warn her. And if she encountered trouble inside the tower…well, not that she was counting on that, but if so, her bow had felled more than a few bandits of the realm. She was quite happy to take out a few more. Even more happy with the prospect of gold, or jewels, or riches, or…

"…or one big giant chess board."

She lowered her bow as she came to the ground level, staring at the scene, perplexed. It looked like chess, but the figured didn't quite match up to kings or queens (not that there'd been either of those things since the Collapse). All of the figures were different. All of them wore armour. All of them were carved in exquisite likeness. Ladies, lords, dames, dukes, there was even a knight who looked like-

"Are you another thief?"

Cassie let out a shriek and jumped back. The knight…the white armoured, lance bearing knight…he was talking to her. Moving like a human being. Was a human being.

"Tell me again," the man said, "are you a thief?"

"I…" Cassie kept her bow raised. "I…I mean…"

"Are you here for gold?"

"I…well, sort of," she said. "I mean, I wouldn't have minded some gold, but-"

The knight charged at her, his face set, his mouth silent. She rolled out of the way and let an arrow fly. It bounced harmlessly off his armour.

"Hey, listen," she said. "I'm not here to steal anything."

"Then why are you here?" the knight asked.

"I…" She bit her lip, struggling to find the right words. "I'm here…because the castle was here?"

The knight snorted and began advancing.

"Wait!" she protested. "I mean, this is Castle Aurum! It's a relic of the old world! It…I mean…how could I not come here?"

"You could leave well enough alone." The knight had stopped advancing, but his lance remained pointed at her.

"I could have," she said. "But I wasn't expecting someone to be here."

"Is that an excuse to not pillage from this castle?"

"What's pillage and what's retrieval?" she asked.

"You talk like a goblin."

"I've killed goblins," she said. "Let's not get snarky."

"Fine," the knight answered. "I won't be snarky. Instead, I'll give you the option to leave, or to die."

"I could fight," she murmured.

"You could. You'd still lose."

Cassie remained in place. She'd dealt with overconfident opponents before; people who thought they'd won the fight before it had even begun. But this knight didn't seem overconfident. Sure of victory, but not overconfident.

"Who are you?" she asked eventually. "Why are you here?"

"Why should I answer?" he asked. "What does the thief care about the one she is robbing?"

"I'm not…" She sighed. "Look. I don't want to fight. Maybe you can help give me a reason not to."

"Fine," the knight said. "My name…my name is of no matter. It would be lost to history. As to why I'm here?" He gestured around the room. "To guard the treasure of Castle Aurum."

"I don't see any treasure," Cassie murmured.

"Then you have no business carrying a bow," the knight said. "The treasure are the ones all around you. The only images of my fellows. Lady Reza. Lord Hismite. Sir Daran, Duke Lorenz…" He sighed. "All gone. All but me. Their guardian."

"You…" Cassie swallowed. "You've been here? All this time? Guarding statues?"

"Guarding the last fragments of a world long gone. A world where Aurum was called by such a name for entirely different reasons. Where the world was bright, and the sun gold. Now, the sun shines, even if I do not know it."

"You could see the sun," Cassie said.

"I could. But the spell would end. I would be but dust." The knight laughed bitterly. "So as in life, I guard my lords and ladies. Now, I guard them in death." He lowered his visor. "Such is the only treasure left in Aurum. A treasure I must guard, until the world has rebuilt enough to preserve the past, and look beyond the present. Tell me, child, is this a world you live in?"

Cassie remained silent. She thought of the realm. Of the paladins who 'defended' it, who would fight one another just as readily. Of assassins and soldiers, dragons and goblins, orcs and dwarves, and creatures beyond description. The Collapse had occurred centuries ago. The world had not even begun to recover.

"No," she said. "No it isn't."

"Then leave," said the knight. "Leave, and never return."

Cassie let out a nod. She headed for the stairs. She'd meet Zigs, and find new booty. Hopefully a good place to sleep as well. Yet she lingered at its base. Slowly, she turned around. Slowly, she said, "I wish you well."

"As do I, daughter of Arturos."

How did he…she didn't ask. But instead, she climbed to the window. Zigs was there to meet her. He let out a screech.

"Sorry Zigs," she said. "There was no treasure."

He let out a shrill.

"Still," she said. "That's not to say I didn't find anything."

Zigs remained silent. Maybe he understood. Maybe he didn't.

But that was alright. One day, the world would understand. One day, the world could appreciate and preserve Aurum. One day, the realm would be a realm unmarred by bloodshed.

Until then, all she could do was continue the hunt.

A/N

This was loosely based on footage seen for Aurum, the predecessor game for Paladins, as part of the whole "who came first?" spat with Overwatch. Anyway, decided to have some fun with the concept, incorporating it into the Paladins setting (if it could even be said to have a "setting" per se).