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Back to the previous chapter: Lords
First Draft
Once back to Twin Saddles, Bilbus walked to the door of Lord Nighvass's manor and pounded on it. After a few moments, one of the servants answered.
Bilbus held the signed letter from Lord Nighvass. "Your lord has graciously provided us a letter instructing you to prepare his room for us tonight." He offered the letter to the servant. "Will this suffice, or shall I ride back out to his country estate and bring him here personally?"
The servant took the letter and skimmed through it, then stepped aside to allow the party into the house. The servant looked in surprise at the seven people who entered the house.
"Milords are all staying here?"
"Where would you have us stay?" Adria asked crossly. "In tents?"
Kasey looked around the atrium, then said, "Guys, I'll stay in the stables. His room isn't going to be that big. Someone want to help me with the horses?"
Breanna and Eric followed Kasey back out of the house.
Sturm looked at the rest of his companions. "We can just stand here being warm, or we can go take down our tents and move everything up here."
The party followed Sturm out to their cold tents, a few dozen paces down the hillside. The fire pit had burned down, leaving nothing more than glowing embers. Sturm and Rishala lit lanterns, cleared spaces in the snow, and set them down to provide light.
After several minutes of work by lantern light, the tents were down and folded well enough to move. The party hauled the equipment up to the manor house's stables, where Breanna, Eric, and Kasey had just finished putting the horses away for the night. The two knights spread the tents in some empty stalls to give them a chance to dry. Kasey climbed up a ladder to the hay loft.
"See you guys in the morning," Kasey called out as his friends picked up their travel packs and left the stables.
Inside, a servant led the party upstairs to a room overlooking the entrance. He set an oil lamp on a table next to the large bed, then bowed and left. The bed was large enough for three people, and there were enough thick fur rugs on the floor to give everyone else an acceptable place to sleep.
Bilbus immediately jumped onto the bed. "Adria, Bree, there's enough room for you two, also," he said as he patted the bedcovers to either side of him invitingly.
Adria sat down next to her husband. She then pushed him off of the bed. "I don't think so." Breanna giggled as she walked around to the far side of the bed and sat down on it to remove her riding boots.
Eric, Bilbus, and Rishala made themselves comfortable on the floor as Adria and Breanna crawled into the bed. Sturm sat in a plush chair near one of the windows, looking out the nearly-closed curtains. Adria turned down the lamp until it went out.
A dull thumping echoing through the stables woke Kasey from his deep slumber. The Church Knight slowly dragged himself to the edge of the loft, peering into the darkness to see the source of the noise. It sounded like a horse kicking the walls of its stall.
"Farran, quit it! It's the middle of the night."
The kicking stopped for a moment, then began again, more insistently. It was not Farran's usual idle noise.
Kasey climbed down the ladder, then carefully felt around the ground near the ladder for a lantern that he had seen earlier. His fingers touched the cold metal. Fumbling in the dark, Kasey managed to find the steel and flint attached to the lantern. After several quick strikes, the lantern started casting its yellowish glow.
Kasey picked up the lantern and walked towards Farran's stall. Sure enough, the kelpie-warhorse was kicking insistently on the door of his stall.
"Farran, what in th..." Kasey smelled something amiss. He took another whiff, then realized he was smelling smoke. He ran through the stables, looking for any smoldering materials. The quick check assured him that nothing in the building burned, so Kasey ran to the main doors. He pulled on one of the two large doors.
The orange-yellow glow of flames greeted the Church Knight. Several houses on the east end of town were burning. Kasey yanked on the door, flinging it wide, then ran back to the ladder. He set the lantern on the floor, scrambled up the ladder, and jumped over to the nest he had made in the straw. The ancient greatsword Caladbolg lay there, next to the bed rolls Kasey had laid out. The knight grabbed the sword, then raced back down the ladder, jumping the last four rungs to the ground. In two large bounds, Kasey was at Farran's stall door.
The knight propped the sword against the next stall door and opened Farran's door. He then rushed to the wall opposite the horses' stalls to grab his saddle. Kasey flung the saddle onto Farran's back, quickly cinched the girth strap, then grabbed his sword and climbed on. Using his knees, he directed the agitated stallion into the night.
Eric sat up abruptly. The leather pouch on the necklace he got in the elemental temple near Hillsdale was incredibly cold, as if it were a piece of metal that had spent the night outside. The Azirian rubbed his chest, warming it where the pouch had touched it. He noticed Sturm moving near the window.
"Is something happening?" Eric asked quietly.
"There are buildings burning," the Sun Knight answered. "Another just lit."
"Someone's attacking?" Eric asked, much louder.
"Burning buildings, attacking at night, where have we seen this before?" Sturm asked rhetorically. "You wake everyone here, I'll wake the house."
The knight deftly ran through the room, avoiding the two mounds still asleep on the floor, as Eric shook the first sleeper. Loudly, the Azirian said, "Orcs are attacking. Wake up, Bilbus!"
Sturm ran down the hallway, banging on doors and shouting alternately "Orcs!" and "Fire!". The household staff responded slowly, but there were signs of life in most of the rooms by the time Sturm had returned to the lord's bedroom.
His companions were quickly shrugging into leather armor and readying weapons. Adria had her bow strung, and she had pulled the curtains open so she could look into the darkness. Her quiver was already at her hip. Sturm pulled on his leather armor as Eric ran out of the room, Fragarach in its scabbard in one hand, his bow in the other.
Sturm strung his bow and pulled the curtains over the other window open. He peered into the darkness, watching for the telltale shadows of orcs near the burning homes.
Bilbus scrambled out of the room, still tugging straps on his armor, his adamantine sword slung on its belt over his shoulder. Breanna followed him, her healing pack in one hand as she adjusted the maille armor shirt Bilbus had given her. Rishala was the last one out of the room, the strange purple-wood elven bow in one hand, a quiver of arrows in the other.
Sturm glanced over at Adria. She was lit by the glow of the burning buildings, with a warm robe pulled tight over her night shift. She stayed against one side of the window, using the deeper shadow of the room to hide her from easy observation. After a moment, she lifted the latch holding the two panels of the window closed and pushed them open. Sturm did likewise with his window, grabbed one of his arrows, and nocked the bow.
Breanna stopped next to the open front door of the house. Bilbus was on the other side of the opening, and Eric had just stepped out. Rishala was right behind her, looking for orcs in the darkness.
"Eric," Breanna hissed. "Come here."
Her fiance took two steps back, keeping his watch. Breanna channeled Heka, forming the flows of magick into a protective force on Eric. As she shaped the energy, she felt something go awry. A surge of nausea washed over her, and the casting failed.
Breanna shook her head and started to try again, but Eric whispered, "I see movement." The Azirian stepped away from the building and readied his bow.
Rishala slipped past Breanna and into the night. He, too, had his bow ready, and he was searching for targets.
The thunder of hooves erupted from the north side of the house. Kasey, atop Farran, rushed towards the burning buildings, Caladbolg held high in both hands.
Rishala lowered his bow and shouted out to the knight, "Kasey, come over here!"
Farran suddenly turned and galloped to the front of the house. As the kelpie came to a stop, Rishala grabbed Kasey's ankle and directed a charge of Heka into the knight, forming a magickal protection around him. Rishala slapped Kasey's leg, and the knight and horse bolted away.
"They're approaching up the street," Sturm shouted from his open window on the second floor. The zip of arrows from both open windows followed the announcement.
Rishala looked down the road towards the burning buildings. The flames silhouetted the large dark forms of several orcs, one of which was already falling to arrowfire. Ahead of the orcs was another silhouette, one with ambiguous edges, that moved too quickly towards the manor house. Rishala loosed his first magickally-enhanced arrow on that Shadow Kindred. Nearby, Eric's first arrow flew into the darkness, and another orc fell to the ground, struggling briefly before dying from an expertly-placed arrow.
Bilbus stepped out of the doorway, sword in hand, and surveyed the fight. He saw the Shadow Kindred running forward, followed by several orcs. Kasey was already steering Farran towards the beast, but there were enough orcs to overwhelm the lone knight. Bilbus charged ahead at a dead run, intending to help the knight as best he could.
Eric loosed another arrow before he realized Bilbus was charging down the street towards the attacking orcs. He slung his bow up and over his head, then ran after the mountebank.
Farran had reached the Shadow Kindred already. The stallion passed it to one side, close enough that Kasey could easily strike it with the Caledonian greatsword. A flash in the night, followed by a thunderclap, and the Shadow Kindred fell to the ground, mortally wounded. Kasey looked back at the monster to make sure it was not getting back up, then faced forward again to look at the line of orc archers who were setting up to attack.
Bilbus charged an orc. He swung his sword quickly, trying to slice the tall beast's midsection. The orc deflected the attack with its larger sword, then quickly pressed a counterattack. Bilbus took a step back and parried the blow, then stabbed at the orc. The orc used its own sword to push Bilbus's attack to one side, but the black sword still sliced its arm.
Adria watched her husband charge the orc. Eric was still too far away to help, and Kasey had charged past the front line of orcs to fight the archers. Pulling her bowstring taut, Adria waited for the two fighters to change position. An opening appeared, and Adria loosed the arrow.
As soon as she released the arrow, Adria wished she had waited. In the split second the arrow was in flight, Bilbus had moved into the way. The arrow flew straight to his head. Adria winced at the lethal shot.
The arrow slowed suddenly, inches from the mountebank's head, and instead grazed the side of it. Bilbus jumped to one side, half-turning as he looked for the attacker.
Eric lurched to a stop and dropped his sword. In a blur, he swung his bow up and over his head, grabbed an arrow, drew it back, and loosed it at the orc Bilbus was fighting. The orc fell backwards, the fletching from the arrow jutting from its face.
Bilbus glanced towards the Azirian, then turned to face the orcs once more.
In the mansion, Sturm loosed another arrow, dropping another orc with a deadly wound. Kasey had charged past the orc swordsmen, leaving Bilbus and Eric alone to face them. Eric had switched back to his bow and was quickly firing arrows into the advancing line from close range. Bilbus and Eric were going to need some help if someone did not thin the orc numbers.
The Sun Knight dropped his bow and ran for the doorway of the room. He grabbed his hand-and-a-half sword on the way out and stormed down the stairs. He charged into the atrium of the house, nearly bowling over Breanna, who had just stepped into the doorway. With a surprised squeal, the healer dived out of the way.
Sturm ran down the incline towards Eric and Bilbus. He was just over ten paces from the mansion when he felt the sharp pain of something piercing the armor of his lower back. Staggering a step, the Sun Knight turned to face his assailant.
Two paces away was a mockery of a man. It was as if an enormous human had been deflated, and nothing was left but a small skeleton inside layers of loose flabs of flesh. The repulsive being moved stiffly inside clothing three times too big to fit properly. Sturm saw a belt wrapped at least twice around the waist to hold the tent-like pants on. Its right hand was still pointed towards Sturm, as if it were still in follow-through from the dagger throw.
Sturm closed with the being, unsure how it could have been so close without someone spotting its approach. Both Rishala and Breanna were just now seeing it. Sturm brought his sword to the ready, swinging it back over one shoulder while ignoring the twinge in his lower back. As the Sun Knight brought the sword forward in a sweeping blow, he recognized his attacker.
Brule had been an impossibly overweight innkeeper, and he was the mayor of Saltcliffs. Months ago, the party had offered to let Brule sail a ship they had captured to Londoun to sell the cargo. Weeks later, when they returned to Londoun, they discovered that the Anlor Balsil Agralem had recaptured the ship and imprisoned Brule. When Bilbus bluffed his way into a meeting of the Anlor Balsil Agralem a few weeks later, the party found out that Brule's captors had released him.
Brule had lost an incredible amount of weight. He had to weigh no more than a third of what he had weighed when the party met him, but he still had all of the skin. The loose skin hung from his head, draping on his shoulders and swinging from his chin. Rolls of skin obscured his fingers, forming a fleshy sleeve. His shirt and pants, still sized for his original weight, had strange bulges where folds of skin were.
Sturm completed the killing blow. The vacant, tortured eyes of his attacker had lost any sign of humanity, and Sturm knew a quick death was the only merciful ending for what remained of the man. Brule collapsed wordlessly, making no effort to avoid the attack.
Sturm paused for a moment to pull the dagger from his own back. It had not penetrated too far -- the magickal protections and physical armor had prevented a grievous wound. Sturm tossed the dagger onto the crumpled body of his assailant, then charged once more to aid his comrades.
The orcs were all down, one or more arrows jutting from each of them. Kasey was forty paces away, on foot, holding the great sword in one hand while he kicked at the bodies of dead orc archers. Farran was nearby, grinding his steel-shod hooves into another of the archers. Sturm sighed quietly and approached Eric and Bilbus.
Kasey was satisfied the orcs were dead. He stopped for a moment to clutch the arrow jutting from his side. An orc archer had fired on him at close range. The wound should have been far more serious than it was, but Kasey suspected Rishala had done something to protect him before the fight.
With a cautious tug, Kasey removed the arrow and dropped it on the ground. He held a hand against his side, then walked back to his destrier. Farran waited patiently as Kasey carefully climbed onto his back.
Kasey pressed his left knee into Farran's side. The warhorse turned to the right and walked around the side of a burning house. Kasey had seen several orcs circle around the building, and he wanted to make sure that none of them were still alive.
As he passed the burning wall of the house, Kasey noticed some markings carved into the wood. The shapes of the glyphs were familiar, like others Eric and Sturm had recorded.
As soon as Farran was past the house, Kasey shouted. "Sturm! Eric! There's something over here you might want to see! It's words on the wall! Hurry up! The wall is on fire!"
Several paces past the house were the bodies of three orcs. Kasey carefully dropped off of Farran's saddle, trying to ignore the stab of pain that shot through his side and inspected the bodies. All of them had arrows jutting through their upper bodies, and they were all dead. Kasey looked towards the lord's manor house. Sturm and Eric had nearly reached him, so Kasey directed them towards the back of the burning house.
Eric ran around the corner of the house and stopped, looking at the burning timbers. Orc script had been hastily carved into the boards. Grumbling to himself, Eric quickly pulled his journal from its ever-present carrying bag on his belt. He flipped it open to a blank page, dropped to a kneel, and pulled out an ink bottle and quill. He started sketching the orcish script in his journal. After a fair amount of practice, Eric had gained some expertise in duplicating the orc script.
Next to the explorer, Sturm studied the script. After reading through it twice, aided by the divinatory techniques that he had used so many times in the past, he waited for Eric to finish sketching.
Sturm kneeled next to Eric. "Here's what it says:
"Great pentacles are key
Power beyond power
Death of the usurpers
Victory for the great lord"Great lord repels intruders
Kindred ride again
Pentacles fall to armies
Great lord rules the world"City rises to touch stars
Great one dead and alive
In strange times
Even death may die"Great one touches the world
Concubines and footmen revel
Man cowers in futility
Great one consumes the world"
Sturm rubbed his lower back. The dagger wound ached. Sturm staggered and fell to his seat.
"Are you all right?" Eric asked, concerned.
"I feel dizzy." Sturm pushed himself onto his knees. "And hot, but not because of the fire." The Sun Knight stood unsteadily.
Eric put his journal and writing kit back into its bag, then stood to steady the knight. The two walked towards the manor house as villagers rushed from their homes to start fighting the fires burning on the edge of town.
"Were you wounded?" Eric asked.
Sturm looked towards Brule's body, up ahead. "I was hit from behind by a dagger. Do you remember Brule?" Eric nodded. "He was here. He looks a lot different. I don't know how he got so close without anyone seeing him."
"Could the dagger have been poisoned?"
"I think it was."
Eric watched Rishala and Bilbus rush by to help fight the fires. It looked like Rishala was nearly dragging the reluctant mountebank, but Bilbus had already stopped protesting.
Kasey rode past the two, stopping by the thrashing remains of the Shadow Kindred. He once more gingerly climbed off of Farran's back, then started using Caladbolg to chop the thing into smaller pieces.
Adria was outside, next to Breanna, when Eric and Sturm reached her. She had finished dressing after the fight, and she now stood warily, scanning the night for signs of additional attackers.
Sturm stumbled again when he reached the women. This time, he fell to one knee before Eric could help him. Breanna immediately kneeled in front of him, worry on her face.
"Brule stabbed me with a poisoned dagger," Sturm said. He noticed Adria's immediate attention.
The assassin-noble asked quickly, "Do you have it? Where is it?"
Sturm pointed towards the body. "It's with him." He held still as Breanna circled behind him and inspected the wound.
"Remove your jacket," the apothecary said.
Adria ran over to Brule's body and picked up the dagger. Sturm loosened the straps on his hard leather jacket, then pulled it off, ignoring the shock of the cold air on his sweaty skin. Behind him, Breanna quickly mixed herbs and put them into a cloth pouch.
A sudden wave of pain wracked the Sun Knight, and he collapsed to the ground. After an eternity, it subsided, leaving Sturm feeling much weaker. He saw Breanna hovering over him, a look of fear on her face.
Bilbus kneeled next to the Sun Knight, opposite Breanna.
"I thought you were fighting fires," Sturm growled between clinched teeth.
"Hey, I saw Eric helping you back up here. If he's helping you, it can't be good."
Adria had returned, still studying the dagger. "He's poisoned. I recognize the toxin, but it's going to take me a few minutes to mix an antidote. I think I have what he needs." She looked at Breanna. "Do you have something that can slow the poison?"
Breanna shook her head slowly.
Adria nodded and ran into the house.
Bilbus looked at Breanna. "I might be able to do something." He concentrated on the flows of Heka, trying to force the dark energies into the right shape while cautiously hoping to avoid the ill effects he had felt previously.
The wave of nausea was intense. Bilbus was unable to keep his mind focused on the weave, and it soon dissipated. The mountebank cursed under his breath.
Gasping, Bilbus asked, "Could you see what I was doing?" Breanna nodded uncertainly. "Do you think you can do it yourself?"
Breanna concentrated on the magickal energies surrounding her. She coaxed the flows into a shape much like what Bilbus had attempted, a net of Heka within Sturm's body. The Sun Knight relaxed as she finished the casting. Breanna glanced at Bilbus, who flashed her a quick grin.
A few minutes later, Adria returned with a small bowl. Sturm was sitting up, still feverish but no longer suffering from the horrific cramps he had felt.
"Drink all of this," Adria said. Remembering what happened when Breanna had administered the cure for the Shadow Kindred's sword to the Sun Knight, she added, "And don't throw it up."
The Sun Knight drank the concoction, then gave the empty bowl back to Adria.
"You need to get back inside," Breanna said to Sturm. The Sun Knight stood up and went towards the house. Bilbus went with him.
When the two reached the doorway, a servant nearly ran into them.
"Where are you going?" Bilbus asked.
"Milord, the town has been attacked! Someone must tell Lord Nighvass."
"Right," Bilbus said. "Then tell him that we held off the attack."
The servant almost bowed, then ran on towards the stables.
Kasey walked towards the house. He saw the body lying a few paces from the entrance and approached it instead. The body was difficult to recognize, with far more flesh then could possibly be needed for someone of average build. Kasey looked at the face for a minute before he finally was able to place it.
The Church Knight dropped to his knees with a gasp. "Oh, gods. Poor Brule." He nearly sobbed. "We were supposed to rescue you, and, and, we forgot. We had to save Sturm, and by the time we got back to Londoun..."
The knight clasped his hands in prayer. "Oh, gods, please forgive us for not saving this man when we should have. And please give him the rest now that he deserves. Have mercy on him, for I know he did not willingly fight for the forces of darkness." Kasey stood stiffly and walked towards the house to see if he could find something to use to dig a grave.
Breanna noticed that Kasey was limping as he approached. "Are you hurt, Kasey?" she asked when he was close.
"Oh, it was just an arrow. It didn't hurt me too much."
"Let me see," Breanna commanded.
Kasey stopped and dutifully held still while Breanna used healing magicks on the wound.
When she finished, Kasey turned to her. "Thank you, m'Lady. I was wondering, could you help me? I want to make an offering for Brule's grave, with herbs to cleanse the grave and his soul. He could not have been willing to help those orcs, so they must have done something very bad to him to make him help."
Breanna nodded, and her brows furrowed as she set her healing pack on the ground and kneeled to rummage through it. She pulled out a few bags and a couple of small boxes. Kasey dropped to the ground next to her and started picking out herbs from the bags.
In the mean time, Bilbus and Eric found shovels. They had started digging a grave in the hard ground at the edge of the village, where a modest field of markers denoted the village's graveyard. As the two men dug, Kasey unwrapped Brule's belt, so he could return some sort of personal effect to the widow of Saltcliff's mayor.
The door of the inn flew open, and the guards who had escorted the merchant caravan from Arabel Cinlu spilled out into the darkness, weapons drawn and armor half-readied. They milled about for a minute after they realized that there was nothing left to fight, then put away their weapons to help the villagers fight the fires.
Kasey left Breanna, who was finishing the offering. He wandered through the village until he found a discarded board. Using one of his handaxes, the Church Knight cut it down to about half a pace in length. He took the slab of wood back to the front of the lord's house, where he sat down again next to Breanna. In the dim light streaming from the house, Kasey used a dagger to carve Brule's name on the board.
Breanna walked over to the Church Knight. She had the offering of herbs and plants, wrapped as a small wreath, in one hand. "Here, Kasey," she said to the knight.
Kasey took the wreath. "Thank you, Breanna. Hopefully, this will be enough for the gods to forgive him."
Breanna's voice was soft. "I don't think they can blame him for something he did not do willingly, Kasey."
"No, they shouldn't. It was my fault. We were going to rescue him..." The knight's voice trailed off quietly. He took the wreath and the grave marker, and walked to the edge of the village, where the graveyard was.
Bilbus and Eric stood to one side of a fresh grave, leaning on shovels. They watched Kasey drive the grave marker into the ground at one end of the open ground. Kasey leaned the wreath against the marker, then went back to the lord's manor to fetch Brule's body. The knight refused assistance from his friends as he carried the body back to the grave.
Kasey carefully laid the body in the ground, then placed the wreath on its midsection. Kasey kneeled over the body and uttered prayers to the gods, begging their forgiveness for the man who had been innocently dragged into sinister plots.
Bilbus felt a chill run up his spine as the knight recited the funeral prayers. There was a definite flow of magicks in the area, and the Heka was not coming from Kasey. In spite of the Church Knight's protests to the contrary, the gods had heard his prayers, and they were responding.
When Kasey finished, he walked slowly back to the manor house. Bilbus and Eric watched him leave for a moment, then started filling the grave.
Bilbus dropped another shovel full of dirt into the hole. "What was that other sword in the cave?"
"Which other one?" Eric asked as he dumped dirt.
"The other magickal sword. The one that was glowing. The one you asked the dra... Lord Nighvass about?"
Sturm arrived with a shovel. He scooped a pile of dirt.
"It was Gretor..." Eric paused for a second, looking towards the stars above. "Oh, Gretorixmar."
Sturm paused. "Where did you hear that name?"
Eric faced the knight. "When we were in the cave, there was an unusual sword next to The Answerer. When I asked Lord Nighvass about it, he said it was Gretorixmar."
"It was in the cave?"
"Yes," Eric replied. "Why?"
"Gretorixmar was the name of the hand-and-a-half sword of Osmail Cunnick, the last commander of the King's Own Camelough Guards. He fought at the Fall of Camelough. He led the reprisal raid that sealed the Dark One's palace. He founded the Sun Knights. His sword was crafted for him as a gift from the Sun King himself. What did the sword look like?"
Bilbus yawned. He tossed his shovel aside. "Well, you two seem to be doing fine here. I'm going back to pack up. I want to be out of town before the lord wonders what we did to his village." He walked away, leaving Sturm and Eric to discuss the sword.
Eric and Sturm finished filling the grave a few minutes later. They had returned to the lord's house upon the hill when they heard the thunder of a pair of horses approaching from the north at a gallop.
The horses stopped in front of the house near the two men. Riders jumped down from both of the horses. The first one ran towards Eric and Sturm.
In the light spilling from the doorway, Eric recognized the "Lord Nighvass".
Nighvass stopped just in front of Eric. "What in the Nine Hells did you do to my village? It's burning!"
Eric kept his voice calm and level. "Orcs have a habit of burning towns they attack."
"Orcs?!? We have no orc problem in Twin Saddles!"
"It appears that you do now," Eric suggested.
"Why did you bring them here? How could you?"
"Lord Nighvass, you live on the southern end of the Middle Ranges, in the foothills of that very mountain range. The Middle Ranges have been the home of orcs since the Fall of Camelough. That you never had an orc problem is astounding." Eric paused, studying the man in front of him. "And accusing a visiting noble of bringing ruin to your village is a very improper behavior, Lord Nighvass."
The other man approached. He was the man acting as the translator for the dragon Anmanivas. "My Lord," he said to Nighvass. "I will discuss this with the lords. There is no reason for you to do so when your people need you. Perhaps you should see how the fire fighting goes."
Lord Nighvass nodded and walked away down the hill, towards the remaining fires.
The other man watched him leave. When Nighvass was well away, the man turned to Eric and Sturm. "I am Conaran Glashan, the High Chamberlain for Lord Nighvass. Why don't we discuss this inside." His voice was reasonable.
Eric and Sturm followed him into the manor house. Glashan shut the door behind them.
"So, you arrive in town. You know about Anmanivas. And we get raided by orcs the very same night. Do you want me to believe it was all mere coincidence?"
"I am still impressed that a town so close to the Middle Rangers can go so long without any orc problems," Eric said.
"Shall we say that orcs fear to tread near the Twin Saddles? They watch the sky very nervously."
"Perhaps the orcs have found a way to approach town without Anmanivas noticing."
"I recall your associate telling us a story about how he is trying to save the world from a horrible fate. Do you think, maybe, that his story is true? And, if it is, would it not be reasonable to suggest that the orcs are in league with the forces of evil in an effort to stop you from completing your quest?"
"It is a reasonable suggestion," Eric admitted. He looked skyward. The black of the night had already changed to a deep, royal blue in advance of the coming dawn. "We plan to leave at sun up."
"Yes, you will," Conaran Glashan agreed.
Rishala opened the front door to the manor. The fires were under control, and he was tired from helping carry buckets from the village well. When he entered the atrium, he saw Eric and Sturm talking to Glashan, so he stopped to hear what was being discussed.
Sturm decided to take a chance. "Eric mentioned a sword in the cave called 'Gretorixmar'. That sword is very important to me and my order. I am willing to make a deal for its trade."
Glashan considered the Sun Knight. "That deal is not mine to make. Anmanivas needs to make that decision. I can escort you to him."
"Don't do it," Rishala said. "Dragons roast you and suck your brains out through your eye sockets!"
"What?" Eric asked. "Rishala, that would be one impressive feat, considering the size of a dragon." The explorer turned to Sturm. "I will go with you to the caves."
"Don't go," Rishala urged.
"And you will go with me," Eric added to Rishala. "It will change your world."
"Ready your horses," Glashan said. "We will ride soon."
Sturm went out of the house towards the stables. Eric dragged Rishala along. Right outside the door, they ran into Breanna.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"We are going back to the cave," Eric said.
"Why?" Breanna asked, worried.
"Sturm wants to see if he can get one of the swords in the collection. I am going with him, and I am taking Rishala along. A story teller needs to experience the world if he is going to tell stories well."
"I'm going, too," Breanna decided. "You may need a healer."
Rishala moaned. "It will nae matter. When it decides to roast us, there will be no survivors."
"Don't be silly," Eric admonished. He pulled Rishala the rest of the way to the stables.
Sturm had seen to making the stable boys ready both Rishala's and Eric's horses. Breanna decided to ready Star herself, and Sturm was nearly finished readying his own destrier.
Minutes later, the four riders followed Conaran Glashan back to the dragon's cave.
The party members followed the chamberlain up the cavernous tunnel to the dragon's lair. Within, they found Anmanivas reading a book -- a large human-sized book. The dragon held the book on the ground with two sharp talons, its snout touching the cave floor just below the book so it could read the tiny text. The glowing yellow of its eyes was barely visible as it squinted.
"Lord Anmanivas," Glashan addressed. "The visitors have returned to petition you once again. I checked Twin Saddles. Orcs have raided your town. They did little permanent damage -- half a dozen houses were partially burned. Your visitors fought off the attack while the merchant guard were fumbling with armor."
Anmanivas looked up from his book. Rishala managed a choked gurgle as he looked at the enormous dragon, with a head longer than he was tall.
"What did I say?" Eric whispered quietly to the story teller. "It changes your perspective, does it not?"
Anmanivas rumbled deeply in his tongue.
Glashan shook his head. "No, I do not know how they approached the village unseen. Perhaps they traveled far to the west and circled back?"
Anmanivas asked more questions.
"As I suspect. The Azirian man," Glashan indicated Eric, "assures me that he and his comrades will leave at sun up."
Anmanivas spoke again.
"The knight wishes to negotiate with you about Gretorixmar." Glashan turned to Sturm. "You may now petition Lord Anmanivas."
Sturm took a couple paces forward, looking at the enormous dragon's head. "Anmanivas, I wish to trade you for Gretorixmar. I am sure you know its value to my order. I can offer you a darkblade in exchange."
Anmanivas snorted.
Glashan translated. "Lord Anmanivas is not interested in a darkblade."
"There are more. We have a cache of them buried. I can tell you where to find them. There are over a hundred of the blades there."
The dragon rumbled a reply, and Glashan once more translated. "Dark blades degenerate over time. They are good for no more than a hundred years before they lose their dweomer."
Eric decided to contribute to the negotiations. "I can teach you a technique for eating that will keep your talons clean." He pulled out a pair of chopsticks. "You see, these sticks can be used to pick up food without getting your hands dirty." He demonstrated picking something up.
The dragon laughed, a deep, booming, "Hooo-hooo-hooo." It rumbled something afterwards that Glashan interpreted for the visitors. "Lord Anmanivas learned that technique from an Azirian dragon a few hundred years ago. He says that the Azirian people learned how to use sticks in that manner after watching dragons use human spears to pick up the human warriors in that manner."
Eric sheepishly put his chopsticks away.
Sturm scowled for a moment. "Perhaps Anmanivas likes fine wines? I can get you some Scowling Knight wines."
"Anmanivas has heard of such wines. He has taken some bottles from orcs he has hunted in the Middle Ranges, but the bottles are small and difficult to open."
"I can get you several casks of it."
Anmanivas appeared interested.
"I can get you twenty casks of port, and five of freeze-distilled wine."
Eric whispered, "Isn't that a lot of your stores?"
Sturm shrugged. "It is about a third or half of my yield. People keep telling me I need to use something other than willowbark for my casks, anyway, so this way I can start getting rid of some of them."
The dragon considered the offer. Glashan provided his response. "Lord Anmanivas will accept your offer in exchange for the sword Gretorixmar. You will tell me where to send merchants to pick up your offer, as well as giving me a letter to do the exchange. In addition, you will tell us where to find the darkblade cache. Lord Anmanivas can use those swords as trade curios with some of his associates. You will receive the sword, and you will swear not to return to Twin Saddles. None of you, except to return Fragarach to its rightful owner."
Sturm nodded in agreement. He and Conaran Glashan wrote out the agreements and letters.
"I am curious, Anmanivas," Eric said. "Why do you not just change to human form to visit the village? Why do you run the town through proxy, with a man who feigns to be you?"
"Lord Anmanivas is not an Azirian dragon," Glashan replied.
"What?" Rishala blurted. "Change form?"
Eric calmly explained. "Azirian dragons can change form. Many like to change to human form and mingle with people. It is far easier to seek treasure and deal with humans in that way."
"Is this the dragon from your dream?" Rishala suddenly asked.
"Yes," Eric replied.
"Did he enter your dream, or did you enter his? How did he know of your presence?"
"I do not know," Eric admitted.
Anmanivas rumbled a reply. "Lord Anmanivas says that your friend entered his dreams. It is a very dangerous thing to do if one does not know what one is doing."
Glashan and Sturm finished their paperwork. The Sun Knight went to Gretorixmar and hefted the sword. He swung the blade experimentally a few times, moving from one guard position to another. Satisfied, he joined his friends.
"Lord Anmanivas requires you to leave now."
Rishala stared slack-jawed at the dragon's hoard. Eric and Sturm studied the inscriptions on Gretorixmar's blade. Breanna, who had quietly remained several paces behind her friends, still stared at the enormous red-scaled dragon.
Anmanivas reared and took a deep breath. It exhaled, blowing downwards on the people. The hot, oven-like breath was enough to encourage the intruders to leave hastily.
Sunrise came soon after the four riders returned from their visit to Anmanivas. They gathered with most of the party around a table for a breakfast of sweet rolls and fried eggs.
Several minutes into breakfast, Eric noticed a hand reaching over the edge of the table to grab one of his plates. Eric sighed quietly when he saw Bilbus's del Cartach family ring on one of the fingers. The hand disappeared with the plate, then returned a moment later, feeling around blindly for silverware. Eric slid a fork near to the edge of the table, where it was promptly found. The hand returned a moment later, pointing towards the pitcher of water. Eric shook his head and poured a glass of water, then placed it near the table's edge. It, too, was taken.
Eric noticed the rest of the party staring at the antics. "I think Bilbus misses his thieving days," Eric said. The hand returned, balled in a fist, and moved in a nodding fashion for a moment before disappearing. "This honest life must be difficult for him," Eric added. The hand returned again to nod.
The party found most of their horses ready to go outside the front door of the manor. Farran was absent, but his tack and saddle were there in a neat pile. Kasey went to fetch his irritable warhorse-kelpie while the rest of the party made ready to depart.
The party had dressed down before departing. They had decided that wearing their normal traveling garments was not the best idea, since it was now painfully obvious that the Dark One's forces knew about them. Breanna had foregone her riding dresses for her leather armor; it was becoming much more comfortable to wear now that it was broken in. Adria had likewise chosen to ride in armor instead of her winter travel garments. Sturm had hidden the various markings of the Knights of the Sun.
The party reached the city of Tagellin in mid-afternoon. The ride had been easy once they made it back to the main road from the muddy track that led to Twin Saddles. There had been no merchant traffic, since few traders bothered visiting the Arabel Cinlu while the pass north of town was closed, and few of the locals traveled during the winter months either.
Tagellin looked different than the cities of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. The roofs were steeper, and the buildings were colorful. There were cheerful shades of red, green, yellow, and blue on the buildings, and some of them even had colorful shingles. Compared to the nearly drab coloring of most Kingdom cities, Tagellin was shocking. Even so, the colors were not obnoxiously bright.
"We are staying here for the night, right?" Bilbus asked as he studied one of the many inns along the main road.
Rishala snorted. "The way things seem to go for us in towns, perhaps we should fly a banner that reads, 'Flee in terror! We are here!'"
Eric stared at the Caledonian. "We are trying to maintain a low profile."
Rishala met Eric's gaze. "Aye. And tell that to the people in Twin Saddles. Or, how about Hillsdale?" Rishala turned to Bilbus. "Or even Citadel Altspire."
"Hey, that was not my fault," Bilbus said defensively. "How should I know that the orcs didn't even bother trying to rush the gates?"
"No matter," Eric said. "Let us get rooms for the night."
They rode to one of the inns.
On their way out of town the following morning, the party had to stop at the Port of Entry for the Kingdom of Eiresud. A sign above a guardshack on the south end of town cheerfully proclaimed the entry fee of one Copper Fin per person.
As Eric handed over a copper coin, he grumbled, "There is a reason my family does not do business in Eiresud. It drives up the costs of trade through the lands. If there were a better route to Karasimi..."
After paying the entry tax, the party rode on towards the city of Kells, a day and a half away.
"You know," Bilbus said, "if you ride past Kells and go straight, you go to the lands of Hells, where the pointy eared demons themselves live."
"Bilbus, the Elven Kingdom is past Kells," Eric replied.
"I know," Bilbus said. "That's what I said."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, Eric. Have you been there, or heard stories about it? There is a long road into the Elven Forest. Haven't you ever tried to leave the road to see what is in the forest?"
"Of course not, Bilbus. The warnings say to remain on the road."
"What about going through the Elves' Gate in Marketplace to see what is there? The city is walled, and the elves always come through one particular gate."
"No. The warnings say not to do that, either."
Bilbus sighed and looked heavenward. "Some explorer..."
Eiresud was much more densely populated than the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. Villages had sprung up along the road, close enough to one another that a slow merchant caravan could always find an inn in which to sleep every night. The party was half a day from Kells when they decided to stop for the night in one such village.
The party had taken rooms in an inn, and they had congregated at a table for their evening meal. The women were late arriving at the table, but the men did not wait to start eating.
When Breanna and Adria arrived, Adria looked at the remains of the food. "Thank you for leaving us some scraps," she commented.
"What took you so long?" Bilbus asked. "We got here almost an hour ago."
"Some people like to bathe, Bilbus," Adria said.
"Psssh. We were just discussing who was going to get the baths first once we were done eating."
Adria sighed. "That is very nice, Bilbus. But some people like to bathe before dinner. That way we have no road dust or stink to suffer through while we're eating, other than the stench of the unbathed men."
Breanna giggled as Bilbus sniffed experimentally at his dusty leather armor.
The party retired early after dinner.
The party was underway at first light the following morning. The village was soon behind them as they rode on towards the city of Kells. By midmorning, the party could see the tall, golden spire of the Church of Kells' enormous cathedral, a yellow glint on the horizon lit by the morning's sun. The city itself was a broken landscape of rooftops on the otherwise smooth horizon.
Eric drew his spyglass and studied the cityscape from this distance. The golden spire of the cathedral with its large gold-plated globe was the dominating feature of the city; no other building was distinct from the party's vantage point.
Eric rubbed his chest. A cold breeze must have blown through his jacket. He paused when he realized that the chill was coming from his necklace. Suddenly alert, Eric started looking around.
"What?" Bilbus asked, catching the explorer's guarded expression.
"My necklace just got cold," Eric said.
All of the party started scanning around, looking for a threat. The fields on both sides of the road were empty, and there was no cover for an ambush. On a whim, Eric scanned the sky.
Approaching from behind the party were two man-sized things flying on leathery wings. The beasts were bright red. They looked like emaciated men, except that their legs were jointed in a horrible parody of normalcy. Eric managed a yelp as the things dove towards the party, wings folded partially in.
The horses reacted. All of them were dancing about, whickering nervously, keeping the riders busy. As Bilbus fought Acquisition 2 and tried to keep an eye on the diving monstrosities, Acquisition 2 reared, dumping the mountebank on his back on the cobbled road. The horse raced down the road at a full gallop, neck stretched out and tail waving behind.
The beasts dove towards Sturm, passing close overhead and swiping at the Sun Knight with cruel, filthy claws. Sturm had Gretorixmar in hand by the time the second creature had passed overhead. The things shot upwards nearly five paces, folded their wings, and fell to the ground, landing without effort on their cloven hoofs.
One grabbed Sturm's ankle and dragged him from his horse while Kasey ran towards the other, the ancient Caledonian greatsword at the ready. Bilbus charged forward from the other side wielding the magickal adamantine sword that he had carried for so long. Several paces behind Bilbus, Adria dropped to the ground, readying her long bow.
With a thunderclap, Kasey dispatched one of the attacking demon-beasts. It exploded in an oily black cloud, leaving no other trace of its passing. Adria cursed as she tried to shift her position. Bilbus kept moving to attack the other creature, blocking her shot.
The hate-filled thing swiped at Sturm with foul claws. Sturm blocked the attack with his shield, then swung Gretorixmar at the beast. A powerful cut through its midsection resulted in it, too, exploding in a cloud of dark smoke.
"What the Hells were they?" Bilbus wondered aloud.
Sturm scanned the sky, looking for additional attackers. "Whatever they were, they seemed interested in me. They didn't attack anyone else."
"Are you all right?" Breanna asked.
Sturm nodded as he returned Gretorixmar to his scabbard.
Rishala rode down the road, chasing down Acquisition 2, while the rest of the party reorganized and got back on their horses.
"Give a man a ride?" Bilbus asked Adria.
She thought for a long moment, a mischievous smile on her face. At last, she offered a hand to help Bilbus climb onto the back of her horse, behind the saddle. They rode on towards Rishala, who had caught Acquisition 2 nearly two hundred paces down the road, where Bilbus's horse had stopped to forage for grass.
Once Bilbus was on his own horse once more, the party rode towards Kells.
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Original Draft 21 May 2002
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