***
When Kelden finished the tale, Theodus looked utterly stricken. His entire body was a mass of glowing, squirming agitation. His ears twitched fiercely, and his hands opened and closed. He began to pace about like a squat, ugly robot, his feet--backed by his massive weight--dragging heavily against the stone floor.
"I can't believe it!" Theodus hissed. "This is all so sudden. I must think this through." And so he did, while Kelden packed some items that were far less useful than what Master Lendrith had given him.
Theodus folded his arms across his chest. Anger smoldered in his eyes. "It's obvious someone is lying about something. But what could it possibly be?"
Kelden shrugged. "Maybe we'll never know, even if we make it to Frindagan and do what needs to be done."
"If only I could remember!" Theodus muttered. "I feel as if some very important bit of knowledge has been torn from my mind, leaving only fragments that I cannot grasp."
"I guess it's time to go," Kelden said quietly.
"Just like that--and we're thrown out of Valganleer!" Theodus said, his face twisted in a grimace of despair and anger. "I've never been outside these walls, Kelden, and I've been alive for centuries. But I've heard stories about the horrors of Americk Dreeth that would scare you to death. And how does the high council know that Credesar will spare my life? He may kill me the instant he appears."
"You don't have to come with me," said Kelden. "You could always hide out somewhere close to Valganleer until I return."
Theodus bowed his head. "You know I can't do that, Kelden. I'm your link. Without me, most of your sorcery would be weak."
Kelden patted him on the shoulder, his palm growing instantly warm and tingly against the Dar fiend's strange flesh. "Thank you, Theodus."
"It's my duty, after all," Theodus added. "I just wish we had more time to solve this mystery. But I suppose we'll have to put our trust in Master Lendrith and hope he can figure out what's going on. All my years here--all the students I've served--and they treat me like this! My opinion on this matter was never even asked for."
Kelden's gaze roamed around his room one last time, and the images that entered his mind were drenched in sadness. This was the only decent home he'd ever had. Only a short time ago he'd been happy and carefree, believing he had a bright future as a teacher or, preferably, an ageless and powerful seer. And now he had no time to do anything other than head for the Lake Chamber to Valganleer's exit.
"Let's go," he said bitterly.
Theodus nodded. "Dark days have come to us, Kelden. And they shall be long and many in the wastelands of Americk Dreeth."
It was a long walk down to the Lake Chamber, past many more bridges and halls, and by the time they reached the bottom of the stairway pillar, Kelden's lack of sleep had begun to catch up to him. He stumbled along next to Theodus, wondering how far he could travel before he needed to sleep. It would be hard adjusting to being awake in the day and slumbering at night after two years of the opposite.
The stairway pillar rested on a rocky floor--an area called the History Chamber. Tapestries of sorcery symbols and paintings of former seers hung from the walls, as well as depictions of famous battles against the false gods and their minions. Four tunnels led away from this room--to a library, a fancy dining hall reserved only for seers, a viewing chamber where magical re-enactments of battles and other historical events could be witnessed, and the tower's Furnace Room. An open trapdoor with stairs that led down to a bridge in the Lake Chamber.
The Lake Chamber lay mostly underground, the air within it cold and clammy. It was referred to as the bottom floor of Valganleer--even though there were much deeper areas down in earth and stone and molten rock where the links like Theodus were forged--and it offered the only commonly known way out of the tower.
Four massive pillars had been carved into the stone at the corners of the chamber, and the pillars themselves had been hollowed out into smaller rooms and halls. Iron bridges, supported by thick beams that stretched to the bottom of a cold, deep lake named Ackrainia, linked the pillars, crisscrossing high above the dark water. The lake had once been the source of drinking and bathing water for Valganleer, but it had fallen into ruin and had become a dumping ground for hazardous materials, including cursed magical relics too dangerous to be stored safely anywhere else, and worst of all, hideous creatures born of sorcery experiments.
As Kelden and Theodus descended the stairs, they could already hear faint splashing sounds coming from below. The water was alive and hungry, the creatures already alert to their presence.
Kelden paused halfway across the highest bridge and gazed down between the other bridges upon the writhing surface of Ackrainia. He felt a new sadness wrench at him. Like him, those creatures had never had a true home. They had been created to serve the needs of others. By no fault of their own, they had been outcasts and monsters that had been sent away to perish, out of sight and mind. The only difference between Kelden and the pathetic life forms below was that he held out the slim hope for salvation.
Theodus too gazed into the depths. "How could the seers have been so ignorant?" he remarked. "How can they be so thoughtless now in sending us away without even the Gelshad fighters to protect us?"
But Kelden had no answer and just stood silent.
"It's a shame," said Theodus, "that Valganleer, as well as all the other Legaran towers, was built upon the suffering of others. Times have changed. Laws have changed. The horrors of the past wouldn't happen so readily now. But the damage has been done, and the darkness of history is not so easily escaped. It's in the very walls, Kelden. There is justice and honor to be found within this keep, but also great darkness that I believe will never completely be abolished."
Kelden rested his lean form against the bridge rail. Theodus' words pierced deeply. He wondered what Credesar would think of all this. Was the demon gazing out through Kelden's eyes? Did he feel any sort of compassion toward anything or anyone? Kelden doubted that Jarvin's link had any pity in his dark heart.
They crossed the bridge to the Gate Pillar, as this one of the four was called. Kelden could see many windows, doors, ledges, and balconies stretching down the side of the pillar. An archway confronted them, guarded by two Hetheopes. Beyond was a long, torch-lit hallway. They had to wait while one of the Hetheopes went and confirmed their business, but finally they were escorted to the hall's end and up some steps to where a thick iron door awaited them that was guarded by two more Hetheopes. The bull men pulled open the door just enough for Kelden and Theodus to quickly squeeze through. They breached the tower's magical barrier that protected against the worms--an unpleasant feeling of breaking through a living membrane. Then the Hetheopes slammed the door shut behind them with a deafening clatter.
Kelden and Theodus stood on a rocky trail, while fierce rain pelted their faces. Lightning split the sky, revealing the massive heights of the tower that loomed over them. Kelden turned and gazed upward in awe, watching the lighting repeatedly strike the top of Valganleer. The size of the tower was overwhelming, a monstrosity of stone and iron--standing over five-hundred feet tall, shielded by the faintly glowing magical barrier. No guards stood out here, for they would end up as worm food. There were only the barren cliffs and the trail that wound between them--and the West Gate. Valganleer rose up from a valley amid the cliffs, with the road being the only easy way in or out. The West Gate sealed off the road, and it could only be opened from within the tower.
The two outcasts glanced at each other through the flurry of raindrops, a silent acknowledgment of the misery to come. Then Theodus leaned close and shouted in Kelden's ear. "We need to find shelter before the worms arrive or we won't last long. Let's get going."
Kelden nodded and they set off. The slightly acidic rain stung Kelden's flesh, for it had been a long time since he'd been exposed to it. Shielding his face as best he could, he trudged along next to Theodus. It wasn't long before he was soaked to the skin and thoroughly uncomfortable. Ad
ding to that misery was the thought that this was only the beginning of the countless ills that would plague him on this journey. He envied Theodus, who was immune to ordinary discomforts. The Dar fiend's flesh was as stout as stone and he didn't require food or sleep on a regular basis.
"It's back to the rat fields," muttered Kelden. "At least, it feels that way."
"What did you say?" Theodus shouted.
Kelden shook his head to indicate it wasn't worth repeating, and they continued on. The lightning bolts glinted off the West Gate, and Kelden tried to catch a glimpse of the man the Thelaran keepers said was supposed to be hanging from it. The rain and dark obscured his vision, however. He wondered what he should do if he found that man. Was he supposed to free him? As of now, he hadn't broken Valganleer's laws, but freeing a condemned man would earn him a death sentence. He decided to simply wait and see. Perhaps the man had escaped on his own--however unlikely that seemed--or perhaps the worms had already slain him.
That last thought prompted Kelden to pick up his pace, which caused Theodus to lag behind a bit, for the Dar fiend's squat form wasn't built for speed. As they drew closer, Kelden caught a glimpse of the condemned man, who hung motionless on the other side of the gate, facing west. The man's head was bowed, and it was impossible to tell if he was alive. Any lightning that happened to strike the gate was dispersed by rods and cables into the ground. The seers had taken everything into account, and death by electric shock was considered too soft a punishment.
They waited while the gatekeeper, who dwelt somewhere inside Valganleer, received approval to allow them through. It was a mysterious, invisible process. Finally, with a squawking noise and a shudder, the gate opened just enough to let them pass. Quickly the two stepped through, knowing they had only a few seconds before it would close again regardless of whether or not they had made it to the other side.
When the gate had clanked shut, the two gazed up at the prisoner, pondering what to do. He hung high above them, where only a Hetheope guard could reach, with slick iron pillars offering the only way for them to get to him.
"I can't climb that thing," said Kelden. "Can you?"
"Are you actually going to free him?"
"I don't know, Theodus. What do you think?"
"If the seers learned of our deed," said Theodus, "we would be condemned to death. Yet the Thelaran keepers must never be ignored. They said you would travel with this man. It's your decision, Kelden."
"Can you climb up there, Theodus?"
The Dar fiend studied the gate. "I think so."
"Then do it. The Keepers are never wrong. At least, that's what everyone claims. We can use that in our defense, if we have to." Kelden sighed. "Besides, we can't just leave him for the worms to find."
Theodus nodded. "Very well. I'll violate tower law for the greater good." He locked his hands around an iron pillar with a clank. Then he climbed up to the man. He wrenched at the fellow's iron cufflinks. They were stout--built to resist sorcery--but they weren't designed to defend against a Dar fiend's superhuman strength. At last, Theodus managed to break them. Clutching the prisoner, he slid back to the ground.
"He's alive," Theodus said. "I know this student. He's an Ulden snob named Thayan. He has a reputation for being cruel and annoying. I don't like him."
"Help me!" Thayan managed to croak. "The worms..." His eyelids fluttered open, his eyeballs pelted by stinging rain. He closed them again. His body went limp, but his chest moved with labored breathing.
"I sense trouble with him," said Theodus. "It radiates from him like dark sorcery, and it could prove our undoing."
Kelden shrugged. "Look at us out here, Theodus. How much more trouble could we find? Thayan will learn to respect us, because his life will depend on it. We'll need each other in order to survive. Now let's find a cave and get out of this rain!"
Theodus' face was set in a disgusted look. He carried Thayan roughly, shifting him about constantly, as if disturbed by his very touch.
As they searched amongst the cliffs, the storm grew worse, the rain hammering against them so hard it left Kelden feeling bruised. He didn't bother to try to shield himself from it--even if he could have found a way to do so. Misery was his way of life now, and he figured he might as well get used to it.
The Curse of Credesar, Part 1 Page 7