The Gaellean Prophecy Series Box Set

by C S Vass

  “My apologies for the unsatisfactory result,” Godwin said icily. “Give me a few days to recover, and I promise you that I’ll rectify the situation. I’m still alive, and the discovery of this demon is a step in the right direction. Next time I won’t be caught off guard.”

  “There shall be no next time,” Rolph said at once. “You’re finished.”

  Godwin’s hands fell to his sides.

  “What? What are you saying?”

  “Do you have shit in your ears? I do not wish to retain your services. You can be on your way.”

  “Listen here,” Godwin said rising. “This was a ridiculous contract in the first place. To be honest, I’m amazed that any progress was made this quickly. But I’ve made a real step forward. Now I know this demon, how she fights, where to find her. Don’t jeopardize your people because you bear me some grudge. We can put an end—”

  “For hell’s sake, Shigata! It’s over. We’ll handle this problem the way we see fit. Is money your concern? I’ll pay you for the services you’ve rendered. Pay you well, I will, have no doubt of that. But your only job is to heal up quick now and be on your way. I’ll take no more argument from you! I expect you to sleep through the night like an infant babe and have made considerable progress on your recovery by first light. Is that clear?”

  The shouting dwarf did not give Godwin a chance to respond. As the final words left Rolph’s mouth, the mayor slammed the door hard and stormed down the stairs.

  What in the world was that about? Something about the way that the dwarf spoke was disquieting. It stank of false rage. But what was hidden underneath? Fear? Or something else? Frowning, Godwin turned over the conversation in his head, but before long he drifted uneasily back into a restless slumber.

  Godwin woke a few hours later stiff and grumpy. He must have slept for almost a full day by that point judging by the moonlight that flooded the room and knew there was no use trying to sleep some more. Had he been alone, the Shigata would have stayed sitting in bed and thought about what would come next. But he was not alone, and Robert’s loud snoring drove him to stand up, stretch his sore muscles, and wander downstairs.

  In the dimly lit main hall of the inn, Godwin found that he was not alone. A brooding figure with shaggy shoulder-length hair was nursing a metal tankard at the bar. Before Godwin could decide whether to approach, the man snapped his head around and grunted, “Well, come on over then.”

  Godwin walked over, wondering if he should have brought the Darksword downstairs. Normally he would always have his blade, but since obtaining the Darksword he had made a habit of leaving it behind when it was not absolutely necessary. It was probably a decision that he would come to regret someday.

  “You’re that Shigata, aren’t you?” the man barked.

  “Who wants to know?” Godwin said.

  “Don’t be like that. Just tell me if we’re drinking or fighting. I know you’re the Shigata, and if you’re here to kill me, I’d like to have one last drink first.”

  Godwin noted that from his bleary eyes and thick voice, it appeared that he already had more than several last drinks. Fortunately for the stranger, Godwin was not there to draw blood.

  “Relax,” the Shigata said, sitting himself on the empty stool next to him. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t want trouble. I’m hunting a demon, not a man. My name is Godwin.”

  “Rickon,” he replied, offering his hand. “Don’t say you don’t know me. Samwell told me you went to see him. Said you suspect me.”

  “Your mayor suspects you,” Godwin said. “Not me. But your name is cleared. Unless by chance you can transform into the rotting corpse of a woman.”

  “A rotting corpse you say,” Rickon replied. “This fucking town. It’s cursed. I know it is. That’s why I urged Samwell to leave. That’s why I’m leaving, whether he does or not.”

  “Curses can be lifted,” Godwin said. “Do you have so little faith that the people here will manage to sort all of this out?”

  “The people here are the reason everything has gone to shit,” Rickon replied. He looked on the verge of continuing, but then changed his mind and continued with drink.

  “Come on,” Godwin said. “If you’re leaving, that’s your business, but leave a hint for the lonely Shigata that has to sort this out. Why do you think it’s cursed? Do you know about the demon? Was she someone who lived here?”

  Rickon shook his head and wiped the loose drops of beer from his beard with the back of his hand. “Don’t play games with me, Shigata. I know that Rolph fired you. What would you care about any of this?”

  Godwin sighed. He had been wondering the same thing just an hour earlier. Why was it that he was still devoting any effort in helping this gods-forsaken town? Rolph had released him from any professional obligation he might have. What was it that was driving him to keep off the path that would lead to Lyra? Was he ashamed to face the girl?

  Looking Rickon in the eye, Godwin said, “I’m going to Iryllium to find somebody precious to me. Someone I have a responsibility to help. But she’s with my old master, a man I’m not sure I can face. Maybe I’m just delaying that inevitable meeting for as long as possible.”

  “Ha! A sentimental Shigata. Who would have thought? I didn’t know your kind considered such things.”

  “I don’t have a kind,” Godwin said coldly.

  “Don’t get into a fit about it,” Rickon said quickly. “I’m just relieved. I wasn’t sure if I was talking to a man about to cut my throat. You’ve put me at ease is all.”

  The two sat in silence while Rickon sipped his beer. Godwin was beginning to think there would be no more talk between them when Rickon said, “Listen. It’s not my business what you want to do, but maybe I can help you. This village, it looks prosperous. Well, it is. But it’s got a lot of problems. More than just the one demon. Normally I wouldn’t go talking about something like this, especially not to an outsider, but I’m heading on the road to Brentos and I’m not looking back.”

  It took all of Godwin’s willpower not to ask Rickon what he was going to do in his home town, but he knew that he couldn’t risk sidetracking the conversation at that point. “Go on then. I’m listening. Nobody will know I heard a thing from you.”

  “Yes they will,” Rickon laughed. He looked completely, utterly relieved. “But it doesn’t matter. Because I’ll be long gone. Keep in mind now, I don’t know anything for certain. I just have a lot of suspicions.”

  “You have my full attention,” Godwin said.

  “Well, we’ve had this demon problem for a time now. But the real problems started back years ago. You see, this town was always designed around a silver mine. We sell to King Boldfrost first, and then the Iryllium merchants he allows us to. We always made out okay, but we had nothing like the riches you see here now.”

  “What changed then?” Godwin asked.

  “Everything, once we reached the lower mines. You see, Rolph was growing nervous that we would deplete the single resource that kept this village alive. He insisted that we go deeper and deeper, into the depths of the earth far below where a normal operation like ours could dig. To his credit, he did take safety seriously, but we still lost men. Then one day… something disturbing happened.”

  Rickon had stopped talking. “Go on,” Godwin urged. “Don’t leave me in suspense.”

  “I was there that day five years ago. We had just breached into a new cavern. It was an exciting prospect, but not cause for celebration on its own. Once we brought in proper lighting… it was incredible. Gemstones the size of eggs. Whole sections filled with silver. I seriously believe that this village might sit atop the greatest source of wealth in all of Gaellos. We were besides ourselves with joy. Until we found the crypt.”

  “A crypt?” Godwin asked. “That far below the ground?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Rickon hissed. “Yes, I’m sure of what I saw. What we saw. It was a crypt, but not a normal kind. The bodies were all on these slabs of stone e
xposed, but barely rotted. They had silver coins in their eyes. All around them, across the walls of the cavern, we thought we saw gold glittering. But we realized quickly it was no true gold, but a golden magic of some sort. It shaped runes, and they were moving all about us just like the stars at night, but forming strange patterns everywhere they rippled.

  “Me and the rest of the boys who were down there were awe-struck. But it didn’t last. There was something…”

  Again, Rickon fell silent. Godwin gave him time. He had seen that look in mens’ eyes before, and he knew not to put pressure. Just as he thought, Rickon spoke when he was ready.

  “Have you ever seen ink spill into water? It was like that, but in the air. This ethereal dark substance, somehow both terrifying and beautiful, spilling through the stale air of the mine. It frightened me to the core. Men wet themselves, and if you saw what we did, you would know there’s no shame in that.”

  “What did this ethereal ink do?” Godwin asked.

  “Besides chill me to the bones?” Rickon said. “Well… I suppose there’s no point hiding anything. I had a vision… no! I won’t tell you what it was. But I know I’m not the only one who did. This… this thing, whatever it was, it put something terrible in my mind’s eye. Then it floated away.”

  “Just like that?” Godwin asked. “It didn’t hurt anyone? Physically, I mean.”

  “No,” Rickon said. “It’s been gone since that day. We’ve not seen it since. Rolph wasn’t there. He listened to us, declared the lot of us mad, and sent us back to work. We’ve continued on ever since.”

  “The other men, can they back your story?” Godwin asked.

  “Can you speak to the spirits?” Rickon asked.

  “You’re saying they’re dead?”

  “All six of them,” Rickon replied. “Nothing suspicious, so long as you don’t believe in curses. None of them died the way these murder victims are going. It was all strange accidents. A drowning. A tree falling. One lad got stabbed in the gut by a cut-purse in Iryllium. Oh, and two suicides: a hanging and poison.”

  “That’s quite an unfortunate crew to be a part of,” Godwin said.

  “Well, then you can hardly blame me for leaving. I don’t want any part of this village, Godwin. I’ve put in a lot of good years here, but things aren’t going to go back to normal. It’s not just about this strange incident under the surface of the earth.”

  “There’s more? I’m all ears.”

  Rickon shook his head. “I don’t know. Nothing that I can place. It’s just… it will sound odd, but it’s like ever since that day, there’s been a strange sort of immorality in the village.”

  “Immorality?” Godwin snorted. “You don’t strike me as the preaching type.”

  “I’m not,” Rickon said seriously. “But it’s there nonetheless, and it wasn’t there before the incident. Rolph is doing something he shouldn’t. I’m sure of it. I’ve seen him riding off into the night, quietly, when he thinks nobody is looking. Then there’s the mess of his wife and her brother.”

  “What’s wrong with those two?”

  “Other than that they’re lovers, nothing.”

  The laughter burst from Godwin’s chest, but seeing the hollow look in Rickon’s eye quieted it. “I’m not smiling, Shigata. It’s incest, and I think it’s part of what’s cursing the town.”

  “I’m sorry,” Godwin said. “It’s no laughing matter.” Suddenly a stray thought that had been nagging at Godwin’s mind caught up with him. “You mentioned seven of you total went into the mine, correct?”

  “That’s right,” Rickon said.

  “Yet you’ve only mentioned five deaths. Plus you that makes six. Who’s the seventh man?”

  Rickon’s eyes grew cloudy. “I don’t know if man is the right word for him. Not anymore, anyway. But you’re correct. I suppose I did leave one out. He was a good lad back in the day. Before he went into the mine with us all five years ago. You’ve met him. Why he’s the one that ended up like that and none of us did, well, I don’t know the answer to that.

  Godwin nodded. He did not need to ask for the identity of the seventh man. He could practically hear his voice echoing in his head, endlessly repeating that single, short word.

  Sin! Sin! SIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!

  Chapter 17

  “Why would Rolph have lied about that?”

  “Because he’s hiding something,” Godwin replied.

  Robert had listened carefully as Godwin explained what Rickon had told him the previous night. They were still in the inn, sipping water and eating buttered bread. A few villagers were scattered about the interior. Apparently it was The Day of Orijin, a special holiday to dwarves. Despite that, the mood was decidedly unfestive. The people were huddled together and speaking in hushed whispers. It was enough to make Godwin wonder if Rolph had said something about him to the townfolk.

  “But why?” Robert asked. “If he’s hiding something, then why hire you in the first place?”

  “All I know is that I believed Rickon when he said that Sin lost his wits in the mine, and Rolph told us—”

  “Yes, yes, kicked in the head by a horse. I remember. But still… and I hate to be so blunt about this, but why do we care? You’re not getting paid. Can’t we simply be on our way?”

  “As much as I’d like that, I don’t think so, Robert. Ever since the Sages were kidnapped, and the Shigata has found itself without leadership, I can’t help but feel like I have a responsibility to investigate things like this. I believe that if the Sages knew of the happenings in this village, they would want one of the Shigata to maintain a presence here. If you’re concerned about payment, we can try to bring the demon’s head to Iryllium and sell it to the king.”

  Robert sighed. “No, it’s not that. Well, if this is the bed that’s made for us, I suppose we’ll just have to lie in it. There’s not much to be done about that.”

  “Hey, Shigata,” a dwarf with a coarse beard said as he approached their table. “Where’s your sword?”

  “What’s it to you?” Godwin replied.

  “Haven’t you heard? You might need it. There are Tarsurians about! They’ve been spotted nearby.”

  “What?” Robert said, rising. “Really? Where? Are they going to attack the capital?”

  “Don’t you know anything?” the dwarf replied grumpily. “There’s not going to be any attack on the capital. They’re moving stealthily. Burning fields. Raiding villages. I’d say this place must look like a pretty good target from where they’re sitting.”

  “Is it certain that they’re coming?” Godwin asked, now standing himself.

  “Nothing is certain in war, friend,” the dwarf replied. “But there’s not much else for them to bother themselves with around these parts. If I were a gambling dwarf, I’d say there’ll be bloodshed here soon. Calls for help have been sent to Iryllium, but whether the king will respond or not, who knows?”

  Just then a young man burst into the inn panting and dripping with sweat.

  “Sun warriors are on the way,” he gasped. Immediately a crowd surrounded him. The villagers urged him to give more information, which he was only able to do through deep breaths. “Tarsurians spotted… coming from the north… less than a day’s ride away… where’s Rolph? Where’s Rolph?”

  “Step aside, step aside!” Rolph roared as he barreled into the inn. “What’s the meaning of standing around like a bunch of braying imbeciles? Where’s that scout?”

  Immediately he stormed up to the center of the crowd and had the lad repeat what he had just said.

  “Bloody bastards!” the mayor roared. “And on Orijin’s Day too, no less. The filthy scum-suckers! Very well, don’t stand around like a group of idiots. We’ve got plans for this. Dwarves with me to seal the mine! Men, gather the women and children on the carts and send them off to Iryllium, then grab your weapons and prepare the defenses. I’ll not have those bastards take so much as a copper from us that they don’t pay for with a gallon of blood!”
/>   Immediately people were scrambling everywhere.

  Godwin did not move, but Rolph saw him and shouted, “Still here, Shigata? That’s your choice. Don’t stand there like an arse! Grab your weapon and go with the men to round up the women and children. If you want to join them in the carts, be my guest. But if you do, don’t expect another welcome in this village like the one you got this time.”

  Without giving the Shigata a chance to reply, Rolph had stormed out of the inn, barking orders the whole time.

  “What are we to do?” Robert asked.

  “An enemy approaches. I intend to fight. The folks in the isolated houses outside of the village will need to be warned. Come on!”

  Godwin pulled Robert upstairs. The Shigata grabbed the Darksword and Robert his double-blades, and the two of them raced out of the house. They had taken in a good view of the village as they rode into town from the hills, and so they took off in the direction of one of the remote houses that no one had yet gone in the direction of.

  “Of all the ill luck!” Robert shouted. “They built this village in the valley and have automatically ceded the high ground.”

  “It was never meant to be a place able to defend itself,” Godwin replied. “The assumption must have been safety because Iryllium stands between here and any route the Tarsurians might take. Doubtless if the capital ever fell, they would flee north. But they never planned that the sun warriors would sneak into the West conducting guerrilla warfare. The emperor has never done such a thing.”

  “That’s Julius Hercinium for you,” Robert complained. “He’s always where you least expect him and with twice as many men as you hope he’ll have. Judging from what I’ve heard about Mexdon Boldfrost, the King of Western Gaellos is not such a formidable opponent.”

  “No,” Godwin agreed. “But a nation is more than just a king.”

  As they approached the house, Godwin felt a deep sense of foreboding. “Let’s hurry up, alert whoever’s here, and get back to the village.”