by Jeremy Dwyer
“General, I detect the signs of three (3) grizzly bears, fifteen (15) wolves, and thirty-nine (39) rattlesnakes, all slightly west of here,” Lieutenant Skender said.
Lieutenant Delfina drank anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from her vial and was energized. She needed to be sharp in her ability to slow down time, giving her ample opportunity to react to any animal attacks. She also needed to be attentive to recording the details of the training operation into her book. She wasn’t a Chronicler of the Oath anymore, but she was still a record keeper.
“Lead the way, Lieutenant Skender,” General Tiglath said.
Lieutenant Skender carefully probed the thoughts of the animals he detected nearby, so that he would sense their fear or intent to strike before they could strike him.
~~~
Prince Marku walked through the hallways of the Citadel and suddenly came to a standstill when he sensed a powerful telepathic presence. Princess Rodica stood by his side and stopped with him.
“A powerful telepath is nearby. His range is extraordinary…rivaling even mine. He is a military lieutenant, and he is accompanying a squad of troops for training,” Prince Marku said. He didn’t wait for Rodica to probe his mind, even though he knew she could.
“Will they find us? Will they attack?” Princess Rodica asked.
“Yes, I believe they will,” Prince Marku said.
“Why did you not work to hide the Citadel immediately after it was exposed? Why did you delay?” Princess Rodica asked.
“I want to conserve my energy. And I need to utilize our other defenses and keep them ready. It is time to awaken them,” Prince Marku said.
“It is better to hide than to be discovered and forced to fight,” Princess Rodica said.
“That is not always true. I knew that, eventually, we would be discovered. We will destroy those we must, and take the remainder captive,” Prince Marku said.
“This is a dangerous game, Marku. They must not discover the source of our power. The saraphakadite is precious, and our own supply is limited,” Princess Rodica said.
“This is not a game. The game comes later, when we bring the attractive ones into our chambers, and subdue them with passion,” Prince Marku said.
“How do you know the defenses will be enough? I sense that you are not fully aware of their power?” Princess Rodica asked.
“They are more than this meager enemy can withstand,” Prince Marku said.
Prince Marku concentrated his powers of telepathy to focus on control, and he directed the message toward those whom he had kept waiting.
~~~
“Well, Lieutenant Skender? Where are these bears, wolves and snakes?” General Tiglath asked.
“There!” Lieutenant Skender said, pointing toward a log cabin.
“Take control of that position!” General Tiglath said to his squad of special operations troops.
The ninety (90) special operations troops moved with calculated, swift motions. They used light weaponry – daggers, sticks and stones from the forest, basic martial arts maneuvers – and made quick work of the thirty-nine (39) rattlesnakes inside the cabin, with only two (2) special operations troops receiving fatal snake bites. Three (3) of the special operations troops even managed to handle the snakes, moving carefully and deceiving the vipers, so as to be able to grab their heads.
When the three (3) grizzly bears came, the rattlesnakes that were being handled were thrown at the grizzly bears, frightening the creatures. The other ninety-five (95) troops moved in and surrounded the bears, rolling logs and throwing stones to trip them. Calculated melee maneuvers drove sharpened daggers, piercing the bears’ hearts, with only one (1) more fallen special operations troop.
Lieutenant Delfina recorded all of this into her book while being careful to slow time around herself so that she could react before anything came close to her, despite standing close to the combat.
~~~
From the spirit world, Lavakara watched and admired the work of the troops. Their training was remarkable: even more so given that they drank the waters of the Medathero Ocean to be able to calculate tactics at useful speeds. This was an accomplishment he wanted to further evaluate. It would soon be time to seize another body using his power to transfer his spirit. However, it concerned him that these special operations troops seemed to be depending upon group tactics, rather than individual dominance. He could only seize a single body at a time, so that was no small concern.
~~~
The fifteen (15) wolves began to approach, and the ninety-seven (97) surviving special operations troops moved in, but were quickly assaulted with burning beams of light. Moments later, a hail of arrows killed all but seventeen (17) of them. The wolves scattered but avoided the slaughter, largely because they weren’t the targets.
“Retreat!” General Tiglath shouted. He, Lieutenants Delfina and Skender, the twenty (20) shadow guards and the seventeen (17) remaining special operations troops moved quickly away. A cloak of darkness settled over them, courtesy of the shadow guard. They proceeded swiftly through the woods and back to the port, returning to the Coherent to avoid pursuit.
After boarding the ship, the shadow guards eased their powers of darkness.
General Tiglath then gave his orders, saying: “Admiral, return to our headquarters at once.”
Admiral Erisinni drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars, learning their positions and movements. He thereby charted a course to return to the Jeshirinko Barrier, along a route similar to that by which they came.
~~~
From the spirit world, Lavakara watched the crew of the Coherent, and he was determined to observe their training protocol. It still had not produced the great warrior he hoped to see – there were numerous flaws – but there was potential that could not be ignored.
~~~
“They’re gone. Our defenses slaughtered many of them. They others retreated,” Prince Marku said.
“They may return with greater power, Marku. We should still work to conceal the Citadel,” Princess Rodica said.
CHAPTER 32: Demand for Knowledge and Power
Count Terzo awoke to find Skylla dressed and standing over him.
“We should be on our way to the Glivoran Trail,” Skylla said.
Count Terzo looked at her lustfully. When she saw this, she said: “We can play later. This is too important.”
“You’re right,” Count Terzo said.
“You’re a sharp dresser. Stop it or you’ll be recognized,” Skylla said.
“Right,” Count Terzo said. He went through the cabinet that contained his various clothes and found something more rugged than his noble attire – some clothes more suited to warfare, to be worn under armor. He no longer looked the part of the nobleman. He also took a short sword from the cabinet and placed it into a scabbard on the belt that he kept with these battle clothes.
“It’s still sharp?” Skylla asked.
“Yes, I keep the blade sharp, just in case,” Count Terzo said.
Count Terzo and Skylla left the bedroom, went down the stair to the castle’s first level and then hurried toward the main entrance.
“Wait! Let me prepare for the trip. We’re going to need to pay…possibly a lot, if this gets complicated,” Count Terzo said. He hurried into the treasure room and poured emeralds and diamonds into the pouches of the pockets of his new outfit.
“Take what you can,” he said to Skylla, but she had already begun helping herself. She didn’t need to hide the gemstones from him, but she didn’t want to be noticed by bandits or anyone else during their travels.
When they had collectively stored up as much treasure as they could inconspicuously carry for their journey – three hundred fifty-nine (359) rubies and two hundred sixty-three (263) emeralds – Count Terzo and Skylla fled through the castle gate. After crossing the bridge over the swamp between the castle and the dry land surrounding it, they hurried on foot
across the land until arriving at a river port. They then traveled north via riverboat for two (2) emeralds and no questions asked considering how much they overpaid. The riverboat took them to a seaport where they looked for a ship on which they could travel the ocean without being noticed.
“Let me do the talking,” Skylla said. She asked around, flirtatiously as needed, among the captains at the docks, until she found one willing to transport them northwest across the Nabavodel Ocean. Two (2) emeralds paid for both of them, no questions asked, getting them to the Colossal March Warpath land bridge. Another four (4) emeralds paid for their transport west across the Medathero Ocean, no questions asked, getting them to the Glivoran Trail land bridge.
Along the way, Skylla refused to pleasure Count Terzo, despite the privacy of their cabin. “Don’t lose focus. We’ve already gotten to know each other for fun. Now, it’s for work. Just focus on what you remember from that lightkeeper crystal,” she told him.
When the ship docked at a port of the land bridge, they disembarked and headed through the port town and then out of it. They hiked a trail that led up into the mountains, according to what Count Terzo remembered – or thought that he remembered.
“I trust that you know where you’re going. You’ll tell me when we get to the limits of your memory, and your notes,” Skylla said, looking at the notes that Terzo made in her book.
“Yes. It’s still just as clear as before,” Count Terzo said.
“You enjoyed our time being close together?” Skylla asked.
“Absolutely. Yes, it was wonderful,” Count Terzo said.
“Well, forget about it. Focus on just this. Do you know where you are going? Be honest,” Skylla asked.
“Yes, we need to get to the stone tablets. They’re not little things you hold in your hand. They’re huge – twenty-five (25) feet tall. They can’t be hidden too easily,” Count Terzo said.
“Wait. This is a big mountain. There could be caves and slopes and cliffs along the way. Don’t be so sure that we’ll just spot these tablets with ease. Still, once we see them, I guess we’ll know it. If we see them, that is...” Skylla said.
~~~
Nestor drank anew of the water of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars to learn their positions and movements. With this information, he charted a course for him and Erikkos to hike through the Glivoran Trail land bridge, winding through the mountains.
“I believe we’re close to the proper location, but I don’t see anything interesting yet,” Nestor said.
“Is that because the charts were damaged?” Erikkos asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. That creates a wider search area, requiring more time,” Nestor said.
“Not that I have a particular time to be anywhere, but I’d like to not waste time. How do we know if we’re getting closer to something of interest?” Erikkos asked.
“Remember, we’re looking for some tribes that know the ancient languages. Some of those tribes live in temples – very intricately carved ones that are quite recognizable. We just have to be careful not to startle them, so they don’t get defensive and attack us,” Nestor said.
“I’m not too worried about that,” Erikkos said. He drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and was energized. Besides giving him the power to sing powerful songs, it gave him the power to hear distant sounds, so he listened.
“I hear people talking in the distance – in a language where I don’t recognize all the words, but a few things make sense. They’re over that way,” Erikkos said.
Nestor gestured silently, indicating that he would follow Erikkos.
~~~
An old man of eighty-three (83) years held a thirteen (13) inch wide stone disk which was carved with various symbols and had a one (1) inch wide hole in the middle. He placed the disk onto a four (4) foot tall stone rod, with five (5) larger disks below it, each wider than the one above it. The disks were all three (3) inches thick, including the one the old man held. The widest of the disks was eighteen (18) inches across.
The old man wore animal skins and chanted as he placed the thirteen (13) inch wide disk so that the hole aligned with the top of the rod, lowering it down to rest atop a fourteen (14) inch wide disk. He spoke to a younger man and said: “Yavuz, give to me the twelve (12) inch stone.”
Yavuz – a muscular man of fifty-seven (57) years old, also wearing animal skins – handed a twelve (12) inch wide disk to the old man, who put that into place like the others. The old man chanted again.
Thirty (30) other men – perhaps twenty-five (25) to thirty-five (35) years old – stood around the older men and the rod and disk arrangement. All of these younger men were dressed in animal skins and carrying large crystals in their left hands.
~~~
“Stand still and say nothing. This is the tapered stone tower ritual,” Nestor whispered to Erikkos.
They both stood and watched.
~~~
Three (3) of the thirty (30) young men dressed in animal skins noticed Erikkos and Nestor nearby. They pointed and spoke to Yavuz, who looked in the direction of these outsiders and then looked away, not yet concerned. He handed an eleven (11) inch disk to the old man, who repeated the chant and the placement. They did this again, and again, until the smallest disk – three (3) inches wide – was put into place, making for sixteen (16) disks upon the rod.
~~~
“We can approach now…slowly,” Nestor whispered.
Nestor moved gently toward the circle of younger men, and Erikkos followed just behind him.
Yavuz spoke up and asked: “Are you here to give worship to Rivixiled, the unbreakable god of the stones? If you are among the faithful, prove it. Bring a tribute.”
“We can pay you in coins, for we are not as wealthy as you,” Nestor said.
“Your coins are filth. They serve your godless moneylenders. To offer coins is blasphemy,” Yavuz said.
“I’m afraid that is all we have. Consider it payment to you, since it is not a worthy tribute to your god,” Nestor said.
“Show me the coin,” Yavuz said.
Nestor handed it to him.
Yavuz looked at the coin and said: “This coin is of some value. I will place it in your eyes, before we sacrifice you to Rivixiled. Take them and bind them!” The thirty (30) younger men all moved toward Erikkos and Nestor, clearly prepared to strike them or even kill them immediately if they resisted.
Erikkos knew he had to act fast so he shouted in a high pitch, and the sound was so powerful it knocked the thirty (30) young men off of their feet and cracked the stone disks on the rod. The eighty-three (83) year old man fell down from the shockwaves of the loud sound, hitting his head, and he started bleeding. Yavuz also fell to the ground and was terrified. Erikkos carefully directed the sound so that he and Nestor were unaffected by it, however.
“No! You have committed sacrilege against Rivixiled! You blasphemed with your voice of power! We will all die!” Yavuz said, standing up and backing away as he spoke.
“Look, the stone father is bleeding! You nearly killed him!” one of the thirty (30) younger men said, working to get up.
Another of the thirty (30) young men got up and rushed over to the eighty-three (83) year old man and helped him stand up.
“You must leave us so we can make atonement!” Yavuz said.
“No! We tried to make peace with you, and we offered you something. Then, you moved to kill us. We’re not leaving…until and unless you answer our question,” Erikkos said.
“What is your question? If I answer it, will you leave?” Yavuz asked.
“Perhaps. But if you don’t answer, you will die…painfully,” Erikkos said.
“Ask us your question,” Yavuz said.
“We have a cup, with symbols on it, and we want to know what they mean. Show him, Nestor,” Erikkos said.
Nestor took out the silver cup from his backpack and showed the symbols to Yavuz, who took the c
up in his hand and looked closely.
“I don’t know these symbols, but the stone father does,” Yavuz said.
“Then bring him to me,” Erikkos said.
“He is old and weak. Now he’s injured, because of you. Go to him out of respect…out of mercy,” Yavuz said.
“You weren’t going to show us any mercy, so we will show none to any of you. Don’t make me shatter the old man’s bones. I can do more with my voice than you’ve likely ever heard. Come closer, old man,” Erikkos said.
The eighty-three (83) year old man – who was called the ‘stone father’ – walked slowly as the younger man who helped him stand up now guided him.
“Stone father, what do these symbols mean?” Yavuz asked. He held out the silver cup with the symbols as the old man approached.
The eighty-three (83) year old ‘stone father’ looked at the symbols on the silver cup and said: “Drink not the nectar of the wicked. Partake not of the cup of demons. Let your silver cup be empty until the banquet, when it will be filled with the holy and righteous water.”
“What does that even mean?” Erikkos asked.
~~~
Skylla and Count Terzo heard the awful noise in the mountains and nearly fell backwards.
“That is the power of sound. Someone drank the Pirovalen waters and shouted so that we could hear them,” Count Terzo said.
“Or shouted to kill someone. I don’t know that we should go in that direction,” Skylla said.
“What direction do you suggest?” Count Terzo asked.
“You’re the one who supposedly knows the way,” Skylla said.
“That’s the direction we need to go in, where that sound came from,” Count Terzo said.
“We’re not looking to get killed. It won’t do us any good. Let’s find another way, or look somewhere else,” Skylla said.
“You quit too easily. Where else do you want to go?” Count Terzo asked.
“We can get another ship and go around the other side,” Skylla said.
“We’ll just end up back here, because that’s where the tablets are,” Count Terzo said.
“Then we should wait,” Skylla said.