Portals of Infinity: Book Three: Of Temples and Trials

by John Van Stry

  “Well I went to Kethel and Tradeson first, saved you for last.”

  “Oh?”

  I nodded, “Everyone says you’re an ornery old man who’s hard to deal with and doesn’t like change. Figured if I was going to get stuck someplace for a month or two, might as well be here, they tell me the pubs here are the best.”

  He laughed at that. “Only if you like fightin’!”

  I gave him my best evil smile, “I not only like fighting, I like winning fights even more.”

  He chuckled at that. “Well I will read your Queen’s offer, and we can discuss it further tomorrow.”

  I gave a short bow and left the building with Stewart, heading back to the inn.

  “Despite what our Prince said, there really aren’t that many pub fights in our city,” Stewart sighed.

  I laughed, “That’s okay, I’ve never really heard anything about the pubs and the inns here. I just figured he wasn’t the type for flowery speech.”

  Stewart grunted, “You got that right. Life can be tough up here, especially in the winter. People tend to be blunt.”

  “Well I hope he likes my Queen’s terms. You’d all make a welcome addition to the kingdom.”

  “Do you really thing the Barassain’s are going to come up the river?”

  “I gather a lot of their economy depends on slaves, if they have to start coming up here to gather their own, then they’ll probably come to conquer. They know we’re fragmented and they think we’re weak.”

  “So if we get strong, we’ll beat them when they come. Is that the idea then?”

  “If we’re strong, they’ll just go look for a weaker target.”

  Stewart nodded, “Typical predator tactics.”

  We came to the inn, “Well goodnight, I’m off to find my own bed,” he said and touching palms we went our separate ways.

  I was in a deep sleep when suddenly I felt something painful and I was suddenly in Fel’s bar.

  “What happened?” I gasped, “Did I just get killed in my sleep?”

  Fel growled and looked at me; he looked pained as well, “No, worse. The altar at the temple in Tradeson was just destroyed!”

  I stood up, “What?”

  “A small group broke in, killed three of my priests and destroyed the altar before they were killed.”

  “What about the other one? The one in the small church?”

  “It’s on fire as we speak, it will probably burn to the ground.” He growled.

  I swore, “I think I can get there in three days if I run, maybe less.”

  “Good, go! Find out who is responsible and remove them from my city! Do whatever you have to do!”

  “Is there anything I need to know?”

  “Yes, all of my spells will be weakened for at least a couple of weeks. Less if that altar gets restored, longer if I lose another one.”

  I nodded, and then sat up suddenly as I realized I was now awake. Tareassa was gasping in bed besides me.

  “What happened?” She asked looking scared in the moonlit room.

  “The altar in the temple in Tradeson has been destroyed and the church there is on fire. I have to go.”

  “What?” she blinked looking confused.

  “I have to go. Tell the Prince that Fel called me away on an urgent matter and I had to go. Do not tell him anything more than that.” I said getting out of bed and donning my gear.

  Tareassa got out of bed and helped me put it all on, including the small pack that had what was left of our rations in it, plus a couple of water skins.

  “Should I still put up the temple?” She asked looking concerned.

  I nodded, “Yes, the sooner the better.” I bent over and gave her a kiss, “be careful, don’t go anywhere alone.”

  Then I left the room, the inn, and headed down to the city gates at a brisk trot.

  They were closed of course when I got there.

  “Who goes there?” The guard asked as I approached.

  “William the Godslayer,” I growled, “I need to leave, I have urgent business elsewhere.”

  He looked at me a bit strange, “Who would have business at this time of night?”

  “Feliogustus, he calls I serve.” I growled louder, “Now how do I get out of here?” I was pretty sure they wouldn’t open the gates this late at night.

  “Fourth Leon!” He called turning to the tower on the right side of the gate, “Got an urgent request for someone to leave.”

  “Send them up, I’ll lower the rope,” someone shouted down.

  I went inside the tower and quickly climbed the ladder to the top. A soldier, Fourth Leon I guess, was tossing a rope over the side. I just grabbed it and slid down quickly, ignoring the heat coming from my gloves.

  As soon as my feet hit bottom I was off. It took us six days to get here; I knew I could run almost nonstop for two before I had to rest. I just hope I could get there before things got any worse.

  Nine

  (Saladin - Tradeson)

  I got to Tradeson the morning of the third day. I was tired, dirty, and hungry, but I got there. When I came jogging up to the gates they just stepped aside, I ran right to the temple and stopped once I got inside.

  I could feel that the ground was still consecrated, but I couldn’t feel Fel’s presence. The Altar was gone; I guess they had removed it. I grabbed one of the acolytes who were standing there staring at me.

  “Where is the altar?”

  “What?”

  I shook him, he rattled, “I said where is the altar? What did they do with it?”

  “They, they took it outside, it was cracked down the middle, not quite broken, but they had profaned it, and it couldn’t stay in here anymore.”

  “Who died?”

  “Father Toble and Father Joel. Father Toble was in here when the attack came and they killed him. Father Joel was at the old church when they attacked that.”

  I nodded, “Take me to Mother Kayryn, then go get me as much food as two men can carry.”

  He nodded, “Yes Champion, this way!” and he led me to a room behind the Sacristy that hadn’t been finished when we left here. There were four guards surrounding it, and two inside when I entered.

  “One of you help him get me some food, the other can step outside,” I said going over to Priestess Kayryn and kneeling down I gave her a hug.

  “Are you alright Kayryn?”

  She nodded, she didn’t look all right, but I expected as much. I turned to the others, “Why are you still here?” I growled. They quickly left.

  “Tell me what happened,” I said and I kneeled on the floor before her as she sat down in a chair.

  “I was asleep upstairs in our old church when the attack first came, Joel and I both felt them when they entered the building. He ran downstairs yelling for the guards as I gathered up what I could of our vestments and icons.

  “He took an arrow to the throat, then they set on him with swords as the guards killed them,” she told me, her ears sagging down.

  I interrupted, “The guards killed the attackers?”

  She nodded, “It was suicidal of them, but they must have set the building on fire already, because it was burning by the time I got downstairs.”

  “What of the altar?”

  “It was destroyed in the fire. It spread too fast to get it out in time.”

  I nodded, “And what happened here?”

  She shook her head, “I don’t exactly know, you’d have to ask one of the guards, but a group of twenty men charged the place, they didn’t stop to fight, just tackled any guard that got near them. Two made it to the altar, and attacked it with large two-handed hammers after throwing blood and excrement on it. Once it cracked, that was it.”

  I sighed and nodded, “Did they find anything on the bodies?”

  She nodded, “Several of them had picks for playing instruments, one had a flute.”

  “Has anyone questioned any of the musicians?” I growled.

  “No one can find any of them,
it’s like they all disappeared.”

  I sat back on my heels for a minute to think about it. I was pretty tired; I’d have to sleep soon. Right after I ate no doubt. It took me a minute to track down the thought I was trying to remember. “That weasely guy I had you heal. He still coming to mass?”

  She nodded.

  “I need to eat and sleep a little. Once I’ve done that, I’d like to speak to him, see what he’s learned.”

  She nodded, “I can have someone find him.”

  Just then the acolyte came back, carrying a large tray of food, with one of the soldiers behind him carrying a second one. “Ah good,” I said and went over to the table they had set the trays on and ate until I passed out.

  I was in Fel’s bar of course. He was looking a little haggard, which wasn’t good, I could tell. Instead of sitting at one of the tables like we usually did, he was behind the bar, leaning against it. I was sitting on the other side.

  “It’s from the backlash of losing the church and the altar at the temple. If they’d destroyed the markers and de-sanctified the grounds, it would have been worse. Thankfully I’ve got two full temples now and eight other churches, so it’s not as bad as it would have been a year ago.”

  “How is Tareassa doing?”

  “She found an old warehouse that nobody wanted and moved in. Got the whole thing up and running last night and will be holding a mass to christen it in a little while.” He looked at me, “You will give into any demands she makes of you, understand?”

  “Helped that much?” I said surprised.

  “Yes. And before you go running off looking for whoever did this, I need you to replace that altar. That is paramount, understand?”

  I nodded and looked at the bar. Something about it looked familiar, “Is there anything else I can do?”

  He shook his head, “This will pass with time, getting the new altar set up will make it pass quicker, but it will still be a week before I’m back in my prime. I need you to find the right altar for me as well, something a bit more distinctive, and no don’t ask why, I can’t tell you.”

  I nodded. “Is there anything you can tell me about the ones who did this attack?”

  He shook his head again. “You can search their bodies, look at them, whatever you want and I don’t think you’ll find anything. It was very thorough.”

  “Okay, I’m on it. How long until more priests get here?”

  “Two more days. So hurry up.”

  I woke up, I was still sitting at the table, or rather I was semi-collasped over it with my head next to my plate. I sat back and yawned, tripping the cantrip to clean my appearance up. I was sure I was a mess.

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked Kayryn who was still in the chair I had last saw her in.

  “About an hour. What did Feliogustus have to say?”

  “That we need to get a new altar set up, now.”

  “We don’t have anything suitable,” She sighed.

  “Can’t you just make it out of anything?” I asked thinking of the simple one I had made for the small church in the woods.

  “Not for a temple. It needs to be something special, something grand, or something representative of our God. Normally we make them from stone, but even a quality wood one would take a couple of weeks to make.”

  I thought about the meeting I’d just had with Fel, and something sprung to mind.

  “Have someone go fetch the weasel.” I turned to one of the guards, “Where are the bodies of the attackers?”

  “Buried Champion Sir.”

  “It’s Will,” I said, “And tell whoever buried them I want them dug up.”

  I turned to the other guard, “Send someone to fetch Jezza if he’s still here.”

  “Yessir Will!” he said and the two guards departed.

  “You have an idea then?” Kayryn said looking up at me with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, her ears perking up a little.

  “Always. Go prepare whatever you need to do to set an altar, we’ll be back with one soon enough.”

  She nodded and got up, and grabbing a leg of suzhen I went outside to wait for Jezza and his men to show up.

  Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising, they came running up only a few minutes.

  “What’s up Will?” Jezza asked panting.

  “Got an idea. Grab a few of your men and come with me.” I pointed to what looked like a sergeant in the guard, “Go grab the strongbox and follow me.”

  He nodded and went back inside the room I had just left.

  I led them out of the temple and across town until we came to the inn we had been staying at when we first got here. Walking inside I looked at the bar. It was the same one that Fel had been standing behind in my dream.

  “William,” Harston, the inn’s owner, called from behind the bar, “What can I do for you?”

  “I want to buy twelve feet of that bar,” I said looking up at him. “How much?”

  “The bar?” He looked confused, “I can’t sell this!”

  I took the strong box from the guard and looked in it.

  “Five gold,” I growled.

  He blinked “Five gold?” he said looking shocked.

  “Yes.”

  He jumped back and waved at it, “Take it!”

  Jezza looked at me, “What do you want that for?”

  “That Jezza, is our new altar. Cut it out of there, and haul it to the temple and set it up. And be quick about it, we need this done now.”

  Jezza turned to one of the men he had brought with him, “Go get a cart, all the saws and five, no, ten more men. We got work to do!”

  Jezza walked up to the bar and started to examine it as his man ran off. I got the five gold out and handed it to Harston, who still looked shocked.

  “You’re going to make my bar into an altar?” he said looking up at me.

  “Yup,” I handed him five gold. “It’s the nicest one in town.”

  Three hours later, they had it sitting in the temple and were aligning it as Jezza and his helpers attached some bracing and fastened it to the floor.

  “A bar William?” Mother Kayryn said to me giving me one of those looks you’d get from your mother before you got a beating as a child.

  I nodded, “Yes, a bar.”

  “I hardly see how a bar is appropriate William,” She growled.

  “Fel’s first church was inside an inn, his first altar was a bar. This has significance to him and is very representative. Trust me, it’ll work and he’ll like it.”

  She looked skeptical, “If he doesn’t, well I guess that’s between you and him.”

  I took a few steps back and looked at it, “To be honest it actually looks kind of good there.”

  “I’m done,” Jezza said standing up and moving away as his men cleaned up and packed up their things.

  “Well I guess it’s my turn then,” Kayryn said.

  “How long will this take?”

  “A few hours.”

  I nodded, “Is your weasel friend here yet?”

  “Allston? Yes, the guards are entertaining him in the back room where I’m staying now.”

  I nodded, “Thanks!” and left her there to get started.

  Walking into the room I could see Allston was looking rather nervous, his eyes darting to either side, checking out possible routes of escape. When he noticed me, he flinched and started to look rather panicked.

  “I... I had nothing to do with it! Honest! I would never do anything to hurt Kayryn or Joel! Or Feliogustus!” he spit all out very fast, almost pleadingly as he rose out of his chair.

  “Relax Allston,” I said waving him back into his seat, “I already know you didn’t have anything to do with it. What I want to know, is did you find the central location for the musician’s cult?”

  He nodded rapidly, “Yes, yes I did! Do you think they had anything to do with it? They didn’t kill Joel, did they? Why if they did...” I was surprised when he actually growled at that last bit. Maybe he had a little backbone
after all.

  “I don’t know if they did, or if they didn’t, but I do have a lot of questions I want to ask them, so if you could show me where they are, I can go ask them.”

  “You, you think they know something?” He asked leaning forward a little in the chair.

  “Oh I’m sure they know something, the hard part will be finding out exactly what.” I turned to one of the guards, “Is there a map of the city handy so he can show me where the building it?”

  “Don’t bother,” Allston said shaking his head, “any maps of that part of town would be worthless, I’ll have to show you myself, it’s pretty well hidden.”

  I looked at him surprised, “You’re volunteering?”

  His ears flattened and his tail curled in a combination of embarrassment and nerves, “Father Joel married me and my wife Emily, I... I think I owe it to him.”

  I nodded, “He was a good man, and your loyalty is noted.” I stood up, “Take me there.”

  He nodded and stood himself. “Umm, you may want a cloak or something, you do sort of stand out dressed like that.”

  I looked down, I was still dressed in armor and wearing my weapons, he had a point. I turned to one of the guards, “May I borrow your cloak?”

  He nodded and gave it to me. I took my helm off and set it on the table; I figured I’d be better off without it on.

  Allston nodded, “Better, let’s go.”

  We set off across town, into one of the warehouse districts and he led me through a series of alleyways and paths that twisted back and forth enough that I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to find my way back out.

  “This is where some of the council keeps a lot of the things they don’t want people to know about,” Allston told me. “That’s why it’s like a maze back here and there isn’t any maps.”

  “What kinds of things?” I asked curious.

  “Their gold, their treasures, the more valuable spices that they trade, I’ve heard sometimes they keep drugs and their less than savory hirelings back here as well. They think by hiding everything back here that the people won’t know about it, and the thieves won’t find it.”

  “Guess the thieves found it then, didn’t they?” I snickered.