by J C Gilbert
“This is creepy,” I said.
“Yeah, and unsettling too. It doesn’t look like they have been gone long, either. See there?” she pointed to a fire pit about ten feet away.
“Yeah, I see it. Smoke,” I said.
“We should move on before whoever it was that was living here decides to come back.”
“Or before we meet whatever it was that they moved away from in such a hurry.”
“Good point,” said Elaine.
We made our way towards the forest fence, being careful to stay close to the makeshift buildings as much as we could. They were definitely goblin buildings, there was no mistaking them. They looked like they had been designed in a daze I put together in a frenzy. Many of them didn’t even look like they would keep off the rain.
Elaine visibly relaxed once we were inside the protection of the forest.
“How far is it to Avonheim?” I asked
“Far,” said Elaine without turning around.
“Last time I was here I kind of teleported around if you remember.”
“Yeah, I remember.” Elaine suddenly laughed. “You know, I thought at first that you were following me. I mean, I’ve had people follow me before, and I thought that maybe you were just someone who had taken to the witch frenzy or something and wanted to learn magic.”
“Well, I did want to learn magic.”
“I tried to catch you creeping around and wasted days hanging out under the trees before I realized that you weren’t fully in this realm.”
I suddenly got the urge to ask Elaine at which point she had realized that I was The Library’s Keeper and how long it was after that that she decided to use me. I watched her features closely as we walked, trying to reconcile the person who betrayed me to this person who spoke to me like she was my friend. It was easy to tell myself that I forgave her when she was just a part of my memory, but another thing entirely when she was walking around with me. I couldn’t help but remember what she did.
We traveled through the forest well into the afternoon. Eventually, we came upon the goblin village where Elaine and I had been held captive. It too was recently deserted.
“I don’t like this,” said Elaine. “You are never safe from a goblin that you can’t see.”
“Then I guess we not very safe at all. There are lots of goblins that I can’t see.”
“Exactly.”
We walked around the circumference of the village, just in case there was something there that was hidden out of sight. Once we reached the river, I felt Elaine’s arm swiftly pull me back behind cover.
“I think we solved our little mystery,” she said, pointing.
Further down the river, not far from the small island where we had been captive, was moored a massive ship. There was some commotion just outside the ship, though I could not make out exactly what was going on.
Elaine raised her eyebrows. “Want to take a closer look?”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling the pressure once more to act more confident than I felt.
Slowly, we edged our way along the riverbank until we were close enough to see and hear what was going on. There seemed to be a crowd of goblins gathered at the base of a plank of wood leading over to the boat. They were getting on board in single file. The boat itself was crawling with goblins, reminding me of ants crawling over some food that had been left after a picnic.
I recognized one of the goblins at the base of the boat as Gormfull. He was ushering the goblins onto the boat one by one.
“No need to hurry,” he said. “Everyone just take your time. There is plenty of room on the boat, and we will be disembarking only when everyone is on board. No pushing! What’s that that you got there, Grek? It’s a disgrace. You won’t be needing that where we are going. Come on, untie it from your head, toss it with the rest of the junk.”
At that moment, Gormfull just happened to look up and made direct eye contact with me.
“I think he saw me,” I said.
“Great, that’s just what we need,” said Elaine
“Come on, move it, don’t have all day. Will be disembarking with you or without you if you don’t ‘urry it up. Don’t worry about it Grek, we can toss it overboard later. Come on, come on.”
“Seems to be in a hurry,” said Elaine.
“Seems to be afraid?”
Gormfull glanced back over to me again and gave me a slight bow. He then pushed the remaining goblins up the boarding plank and hopped in after them.
“Where do you think they are going?” I asked
“If they are trying to get to the sea, then they are out of luck. That thing will never get past the rapids. I can’t figure out how they got a boat here in the first place. It is clearly not goblin built.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Oh no,” I said, stepping out of the cover.
“Alex!”
I rushed forward as quickly as I could, summoning the flames to my fingers and preparing to strike.
I was too slow.
Gormfull gave me one last smile, and the boat popped out of existence.
I was left standing by the riverside, flames dying in my hands.
CHAPTER TEN
“What on earth was that?” asked Elaine, joining me at the riverbank.
“I have seen a boat like that before,” I said.
“You don’t mean the Mary-ann, do you?” asked Elaine.
“You know the Mary-ann?”
“Willoughby has visited me from time to time,” said Elaine.
“Yeah, well, I guess there is nothing we can do about the goblins now. Just another source of chaos in an already messed up multiverse.”
We continued moving up the river until we reached a crossing. It was a rickety old rope bridge tied to a suspiciously unreliable-looking tree stump. I’m sure I had been put in more dangerous positions than this before, but I felt defenseless without my book. If I fell in the river, or if Elaine fell, then we would have to get out of the situation ourselves.
Elaine tried to keep up appearances, but it was clear to me that she was suffering from some fatigue.
“Why don’t we make camp this side of the river?” I asked.
“We will be safer on the far side,” said Elaine. “Besides, we still have some more ground to cover tonight.”
I wanted to tell her to rest, but I didn’t want to hurt her to pride. As stupid as I thought she was being, I knew that I needed to trust in her judgment of her abilities.
We made it across the rope bridge without incident. More than a few of the links on the bridge were broken or rotten through, and as we were careful, we avoided any sudden and unexpected bathing opportunities.
We were now entering into the country where we had been captured by goblins, the same place where Elaine had summoned her small army of watery horses. The landscape around here was rugged and covered with dwarfed shrubs and overgrown grasses.
As the sun set, it cast the sky in pink and orange and purple, streaked here and there with low-lying clouds.
It was dark when Elaine stopped. “I had hoped that we would get further than this," she said. “But I really can’t go on any longer, and I don’t want to push my luck.”
“I thought we would never stop,” I said, trying to make out that I was more tired than I actually was.
Elaine saw right through me and smiled weakly.
We gathered up what dry branches we could from the surrounding area and I breathed a fire into life in the form of a little horse. It climbed to the top of our little bundle of sticks reared up, and then plunged downward, causing the fire to light.
“I had forgotten how good you were at that,” said Elaine.
“I’ve gotten better.”
“I can see that.”
“Maybe when we defeat Vicious, you can show me some more of your tricks?”
“Yeah, maybe,” said Elaine, her thoughts seemingly distant.
“You don’t think this will end well, do y
ou?”
“I can only do my best,” said Elaine. “But no, I don’t think this will end well. Vicious will get away as she always has. And then we all will cease to exist.”
“Pleasant thought.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be such a cynic.”
“Hey, at least we don’t need to worry about goblins now,” I said.
“That’s true, though there are worse things than goblins in these parts.”
“Worse?”
“Hereabouts is the site of the ancient kingdom of Telfor, the last of the great kingdoms."
“And that’s bad? How?”
“You sure you want to know?”
“Will knowing help us?”
“Maybe.”
“Go ahead.”
“What I’m going to tell you has been passed down to me from my parents, and it is a story that all the children and Avonheim are told when they are young. When I was a child, I thought that it was just a story, and I have since wished that none of it was true.
“There once was a kingdom called Telfor,” started Elaine, as if she were reciting. “It was one of the five kingdoms that the first people established once they had escaped from the before-realm. The ruler of this Telfor was a direct descendant of Prometheus the Touched, and the ancient blood flowed strongly in his veins. Well, one of these kings was called King Gildea, and he had two sons. The eldest of his two sons was clever, organized, prompt, and conformed to all of the traditions and customs of Telfor, and his name was Banner. His youngest son was tall, strong, resolute, but slow to learn. His name was Evan.
“For a long time King Gildea was not concerned with Prince Evan’s limitations, for his older son Prince Banner would inherit the throne, and his youngest son would become a knight and do his house honor on the field of battle. But then one day, when Prince Evan was not yet a man, Prince Banner fell ill. He was bedridden for months and months and was sick for so long that a priest was sent for to watch over him day and night.
“Well, time passed and eventually so did the sickness. But King Gildea feared the return of the illness and became increasingly worried about whether Prince Evan was fit to be a king if Prince Banner were to die in a sick-bed. In particular, it was Evan’s apparent complete lack of fear that lingered on the king’s mind. Every night, King Gildea was said to have the same dream whereupon Prometheus the Touched would visit him and tell him that a good king knows fear.
“When Prince Evan heard of the strange dream, he decided that he would take it upon himself to see if he could find fear. He left the safety of his father’s house, with its castle ramparts and its guards, and explored into the wildlands.
“On his first night, he came upon a farmstead and took refuge among the animals in the barn. The farmer heard his animals stirring in the night and went to see what bothered them, expecting to find a wolf or a wildcat. When he found Prince Evan sleeping in the horse feed, he immediately woke the boy and asked him why he did not come to the house. Prince Evan did not know the common customs and welcomed the farmers offering of a soft bed. But before he was allowed to rest, the farmer asked him who he was and where he was traveling.
“Prince Evan did not tell him his real name, for he knew his father would be looking for him. Instead, he told the farmer that he had no knowledge of fear and that he sought that knowledge in the wild places.
“The farmer said that he knew a place where a boy could learn fear, but wished that he did not, as the customs of Telfor demanded that he did not hold back information from a traveler in need, and he was sure that this information would lead to the young traveler’s death.
“‘I do not fear death,’ said Prince Evan.
“‘Then I will show you where to meet him,’ said the farmer.
“‘Meet Death?’ asked Prince Evan, astonished.
“‘The very same,’ said the farmer.”
“Is this a ghost story?” I asked, seeing where Elaine was going with this.
“It is a history of the region, and knowledge of the story has saved my life before,” she replied curtly. “You of all people should remember the reality of stories.”
“Sorry, go on.”
“The next evening, the farmer led Prince Evan to a hill outside the village and promised him that if he waited there until midnight, then he would be sure to meet with Death.”
“The metaphor?” I asked.
“No, like actual death. Anyway, Prince Evan reiterated that he did not fear Death and found himself a sturdy log to sit upon where he would wait until the appointed time. Well, when the clock struck midnight, Prince Evan was still waiting, and just as he had said, he had not any fear for what was coming for him. ‘Now I will know fear,’ said the prince, ‘and then I will be fit to be a king.’
“It was a dark night, and Prince Evan did not see the figure that stepped out from behind the tree. ‘Now your watch ends, mortal,’ said Death.
“‘Fine,’ replied the prince.
“‘What you mean by fine?’ asked Death.
“‘I know that others fear you, but I have never known any of that.’
“‘Oh,’ said Death.
“‘What happens now, then?’ asked Prince Evan.
“Death was puzzled. Never before had a mortal been so calm in his presence. He might have been impressed with the fearless prince if he wasn’t so annoyed. ‘Are you not even going to fight me?’ Death asked.
“‘Fight you?’ asked the prince. ‘If thou wills it.’ Before Death could say anything in reply, Prince Evan had jumped on the black-robed hoodwinker and beat him down with all his magnificent strength.
“With Death beaten into submission, Prince Evan took his cloak and donned it himself. ‘I will bring fear to the hearts of mortals now. Maybe then I will learn what fear is in myself.’
“‘Please,’ said Death. Without his robe on he was revealed to be a twisted skeletal creature with a gaping jaw and deep and empty eye sockets. ‘Please, tell me how it was that the farmer sent me such a man as you, for we had an agreement that he would only send me those that were foolhardy. He has done me much wrong.’
“‘The blood of the kings of old runs in my veins, for I am Prince Evan, son of King Gildea, the last of the ancient line.’
“To this death smiled a sorrowful smile, if indeed he could show any expressions with that mangled face. ‘Then I must claim kinship with you, cousin. Come, let us pay the farmer a visit.’”
“So a prince of this kingdom befriended Death?” I asked when it seemed like Elaine was done.
“That’s the tale. From that night on the pair terrorized the countryside with Prince Evan as master and Death as servant. Death crawled along the ground like a hound, sniffing out the whereabouts of Prince Evan’s next victim. Evan improved in his savagery night after night until soon the people said that a demon had come to usher in the end of Telfor.
“King Gildea did not know that his son had turned monster and thought he must be in distant lands learning foreign customs, as many princes had done in the days gone by. Though the king was old, he knew that he had to meet this new monster on the field of battle.
“So, he and Prince Banner prepared their war costumes and summoned their most loyal retainers. They made known throughout the land the day and the time where they would meet the monster on the battlefield, as was the custom in those days. Finally, the day came where all the might of Telfor was gathered in all its brilliant splendor. King Gildea and Prince Banner stood at the head of the army to give their people courage.
“‘We have the finest army that ever there was,’ said Prince Banner, ‘and yet I still wish that my brother Prince Evan were here. How he would strike fear into the hearts of our foes.’
“The king was grave and said nothing, for he had been taught in his youth that to declare a wish on a battlefield was bad luck. When at last the noon of the day had come, a figure appeared on the far side of the battlefield. They seemed to be all alone, but for a dog or a pet that trotted by their si
de.
“‘So it is true,’ said the king, ‘only a monster would meet us on the field alone and unafraid. This thing has come to meet with death.’
“Evan looked out over the thousands of warriors that had come to meet him. Bitterness had turned his heart, and he wondered why all these people who had failed to pay him heed when he lived with them now showed him the respect of their blades when he lived as a wretch.
“‘What tricks do you have for them to-day, master?’ asked Death, for Death had passed on all his knowledge of the cycle of things to Prince Evan and now remained only as a shade of his former self.
“‘I know much about fear,’ said Evan, ‘and I have learned that a warrior’s greatest fear is that his strength will betray him when he needs it most.’ And so Evan took out a certain jewel that he had stolen from the ghost that walks the Mirror Sea, far to the east. He attached it to the sword he had seized from the graves of his most ancient ancestors, the first of the progeny of Prometheus the Touched. With the jewel and the sword made one, he held the blade to the sky, power-drunk, and called all the world to conspire with his will.
“King Gildea and Prince Banner watched as the lone warrior held up his sword, wondering at this show of vanity. But their wonder was short-lived, as they soon heard the terrible screams of their warriors behind them. They turned about to see commotion and battle. They were at a loss as to what was happening until they saw the dark magic dance upon the young squire of Prince Banner. They could do naught, but gape in horror as the boy’s skeletal arms burst forth from his flesh and started clawing at the boy’s face. In moments the boy was dead, and his body was being dragged onward by those bloodied bones.”
A chill ran down my spine as I unwillingly pictured the scene that Elaine described. “Was that imagery really necessary?” I asked.
Elaine shrugged. “It’s part of the story. Do you want to know what happens next?”
“I suppose Prince Evan killed his father and brother?”
“Yes, he did, but not on that battlefield. Evan allowed them to go home to their castle, the grand Citadel of Telfor, covered in the blood of their own warriors. Prince Evan gloated in the horrors that he had achieved and periodically sent phantoms to his father and brother to remind them of that terrible day. It has been said that King Gildea was great indeed, for he knew more fear than any king before or since.