Knights: Book 01 - The Eye of Divinity

by Robert E. Keller

  They gave them in full.

  Garndon chuckled in amusement. "I like Flameblade, Sunshield, and Silverhawk, but Woodmaster is a little odd. Sounds more like someone who fells trees for a living instead of the last name of a Divine Squire!"

  He stopped and turned to them, raising an eyebrow. "How were you able to get past the gate? No one should have been able to pass through, with that old wheel lock defending it. Even I can't open that gate."

  "Lannon did it," Timlin said, pointing. "He used the Eye of Divinity to solve the lock. I just followed him."

  Lannon glared at Timlin.

  "The Eye of Divinity..." The Knight spoke the words slowly. "Then it is very fortunate indeed that I happened along and heard the sounds of battle. Few Knights in the long history of Dremlock have ever possessed that great gift. And yet you waste it on foolhardy pursuits!" He turned away and began walking again.

  Lannon's face burned hot, so overcome with shame was he. He felt deep annoyance at Timlin for telling on him so quickly, and it led him to wonder if Timlin would tell Garrin about what they'd done.

  Suddenly the tunnel widened and two more branched off--to the right and left, while up ahead stood a large iron door. The door had a small, barred window in it. Garndon produced a ring of keys and unlocked the door.

  "We go now into the Dark Dungeon," he said grimly. "Prepare yourselves for the sights I will soon show you."

  Timlin froze and would not move.

  "Come on," Vorden said, pulling on Timlin's cloak.

  "We need to follow him, Timlin," Lannon said. "It's for our own good."

  "Just do as Garndon says," Aldreya whispered to him. "We'll be okay."

  The Knight pointed at Timlin. "Show courage, little Squire. Follow me now, or face the loss of your future Knighthood." With that, he turned and passed through the doorway.

  Lannon followed without looking back. All he cared about now was saving his career at Dremlock, of doing things the right way from now on and becoming a great Knight. Timlin would have to make his own choice.

  But Timlin didn't get to choose, because Vorden--though he winced in pain from the effort--dragged Timlin through the doorway.

  Garndon closed it behind them.

  Dungeon cells lined a stone hall before them. Dark waves of despair washed over the Squires immediately, choking their minds. The presence of the Deep Shadow was strong here. Growls, hideous feasting sounds, and a quiet hiss like water sizzling on a hot stovetop could be head coming from the cells. Another Knight stood near a door at the far end, and like Garndon, he was a stout looking Grey Dwarf adorned in dark plate mail. He carried a battle axe and a round shield.

  "Brought us a few sneaks, Garndon?" said the Knight at the hall's end. "I can't believe my eyes!"

  Garndon nodded. "They solved the wheel lock. It’s the Eye of Divinity at work, believe it or not. Anyway, I'm going to show them a few things, Saferus. Teach them a lesson or two about why they need to stay out here."

  "Smart lads to beat that old lock," said Saferus, shaking his head. "Even with the Eye of Divinity. I've never heard the like of it. But now we'll see what they're actually made of."

  The Squires didn't like the sound of that, and they hesitated.

  "One of the reasons you should never come here," said Garndon, "is because the Iracus Trees grow down here--Black Mothers in the mountain that spawn powerful Goblins like that Ogre. These mines are infested with them. But something else lurks down here as well--a thing that possesses the bodies of other creatures. It may have been what slew Kuran Darkender so long ago. Who can say? There are too many hidden caverns and deep places we cannot get to. There's an ongoing war down here. There has been ever since the Old Keep was built. And now I'm going to show you a few prisoners of that war, which we keep locked up to study their weaknesses."

  With that, Garndon walked to the first of the cells on the right. "Come have a look, Squires, at my little friend that I named Graxnul."

  Fearfully the Squires approached, with Vorden still dragging Timlin along. They stood well clear of the bars and peered through.

  A huge Cave Troll--much bigger than the Ogre they had faced--sat within, gnawing a bone. It glanced up at them and growled, then went back to its feast. Like the Ogre, it had grey, bumpy skin and a massive round head, but its shoulders were much broader and its body far more heavily muscled. Unlike the more human-looking Ogre, the Troll had a nose like a pig snout and a mouth full of crooked fangs.

  "Graxnul is a mighty Troll," said Garndon, with a touch of pride in his voice. "I keep him well fed. The more a Troll eats, the stronger he becomes, and the harder his flesh and bones grow, until they become almost impenetrable by ordinary weapons. You're lucky you ran into a half-starved Ogre. Graxnul here would've killed all four of you without blinking an eye--if Troll's had eyelids to blink!" He motioned to the Troll, calling him over.

  Immediately the Troll stood up and walked forward, clutching the bone like a weapon. His arms and chest were massive, his skin deep grey in hue and almost scaly. He gazed at the Squires with his black eyes, and raised the bone menacingly. But Garndon stopped him with a motion of his hand.

  "Not too close, Graxnul."

  The Troll continued to stand there motionless. Then slowly he lifted the bone to his fang-filled mouth and started gnawing again.

  "He's like your pet!" Timlin remarked. The skinny lad was still shaking, but he managed a smile.

  "Old Graxnul isn't so bad," said Garndon. "He won't attack me, because I keep him fed and I'm good to him. I'd get him to fight for me if the Sacred Laws didn't forbid it. But come, now. I have other sights to show you."

  Garndon moved down to the third cell on the right.

  "See, Timlin, that wasn't so bad," whispered Vorden. "Now come on."

  The Squires followed him to the cell, and what they saw within made their hearts freeze. Timlin tried to flee, but this time Garndon grabbed him.

  "None of that, boy," the Dark Knight said gruffly.

  Inside the cell was vaguely humanoid shape. It had crooked arms twice as long as a man's legs that ended in clusters of barbed claws. Its flesh was brown and slimy, and wormy things seemed to crawl upon the surface of it. Its head was rodent-like in shape, with bat-like ears and two huge, curved yellow fangs that hung down from its mouth. Its nose was a wolf-like, wrinkled snout that dripped fluid. Hanging from its arms were folds of bony skin like half-developed bat wings.

  When it saw the Squires, it went insane, hurling itself against the bars of Glaetherin and trying to rip them apart. Its mouth opened wide and pressed against the bars, its fangs seeking fruitlessly to dig into the metal. Its stench was unbearable--not its physical stench (which was quite bad in its own right) but the stench of evil and despair that radiated from it. The monster had no eyes, just leathery skin where the eyes should have been.

  The four Squires shrank back. The other Knight, Saferus, ran over and helped hold them in place.

  "Get a good look!" muttered Garndon. "And be thankful you met a starving Ogre and not one of these Bloodfangs. They'd tear the flesh from your bones before you knew what hit you, and leave you drained of blood. It took five Knights to get a net over this thing and hold it, and one lost his arm in the process!"

  Garndon and Saferus yanked the Squires away and herded them to the last cell on the left. Inside this one was dark shape with sickly yellow eyes. It was a black serpent-like thing that slithered around inside the cell and hissed, yet its head was disturbingly humanoid in shape. It pressed that head against the bars, trying to squeeze through, revealing two stark-white fangs and a pink, forked tongue.

  "A Pit Crawler," said Garndon, shaking his head. "If it were up to me, I'd put my sword to its skull and be done with it. These horrors lurk in the dark places, and their bite is deadly poison. I've seen good men--stout Knights of Dremlock--die in unbelievable agony from a single bite because they blundered into the wrong places. We're trying to find an antidote to that poison, but we're not having much
luck."

  Tears rolled down Timlin's cheeks. "Get us out of here, Garndon. We've learned our lesson. I promise!"

  "And have you learned yours?" said Garndon, gazing sternly at Vorden from beneath his helm. "I can tell you're a hard one--like I was at your age."

  "I have," said Vorden. "But tell me one thing--where is the Divine Essence? That's the only reason we came down here. I have to see it!"

  "I suspected as much," said Garndon. "But the Divine Essence can't be reached from here anymore. It's been sealed off permanently. There is another way to get to it, but I won't tell you how. Now it's time to be going."

  Garndon led them back through the tunnels to the door with the wheel lock. "Do your thing, boy," he said to Lannon.

  With his nerves so badly on edge and the Knight looking on, it took Lannon a lot of effort to summon the Eye of Divinity, but with the help of his friends he finally managed it. Once Lannon had unlocked the door, Garndon motioned them onward. "Now get going and don't come back here--ever. And keep your mouths shut about what you saw down here. If word gets out--and goodness knows there are enough rumors floating around up there from what I hear--I'll have you all banished from Dremlock forever."

  The Squires nodded and hurried through.

  "And that especially goes for you!" He pointed a finger at Timlin. "I know your kind. Keep your mouth shut, or it will be the worse for you!"

  Meekly, Timlin avoided the Knight's gaze, keeping his sight fixed on the floor. "I promise I'll never say a word to anyone."

  Garndon slammed the bars shut behind them. "Good riddance!"

  Lannon licked his fingers and cleaned dried blood from his forehead. Surely they were going to get caught, he thought to himself. They'd been gone too long, and they still had to sneak back to their quarters without being seen. Yet if they could just make it out of Old Keep and lock the door, no one might ever suspect they'd gone this way. That, at least, could save them from being banished.

  The horror of what they'd experienced clung to them like icy fingers. It seemed to reach forth from the mines beneath Old Keep, desiring to yank them back into the dark places below. They trembled--even Vorden--as they raced ahead, determined never to return here as long as they lived.

  They locked the door to Old Keep again, and placed the Birlote torch back in its holder on the wall. Then they crept upstairs.

  Aldreya assured the boys that she often returned this late from her training and the other girls she bunked with would think nothing of it. "Grey Squires have lots of freedom," she whispered. "And we train at odd hours. Sometimes I stay up later than this in the Library or the Dark Rooms."

  "What are the Dark Rooms?" the boys questioned.

  "Never mind," she said. "There are many secrets in this tower--like the Watcher. Even now I wonder if he saw us. It seems unlikely he could have missed us--or at least missed you three. Actually, I guess I shouldn't have mentioned him, either. But what's done is done, I suppose."

  "Who is the Watcher?" the boys asked.

  "Goodnight!" said Aldreya. "That was wretched, and I hope I never go anywhere with you three again." With that, she entered her quarters.

  Chapter 10: Child of Winter

  On the following day, the Squires said little to each other, with Lannon and Vorden spending most of their time meditating on healing their minor injuries inflicted by the Ogre. By using that Knightly healing technique, which was drawn from the power locked within their own minds rather than from any type of sorcery, they were able to make the injuries fade very quickly.

  Later, Garrin joined them for dinner in the Hall, and they had to struggle to act natural around him--something Vorden excelled at, while Lannon and Timlin seemed rigid and quiet. But Garrin appeared to take little notice of them, as he was busy chatting with some of the other Squires--except at one point when he looked up, gave them a strange, piercing stare that made their hearts lurch, and then resumed his conversations. They gulped down dinner and headed back to their room.

  When training began the next day, Lannon and Timlin felt fine, but Vorden was still a bit sore in the ribs--indicating the damage had been more severe than he'd thought. But he was able to compensate for it and give a fair effort. At one point Cartlan asked about the small bump and cut on Lannon's head (barely noticeable though it was) and Lannon replied that he'd suffered an accident and left it at that. Cartlan didn't press the issue, and by the end of the day, things looked like they would turn out fine.

  But Lannon had another issue to deal with. He'd unlocked the Eye of Divinity and was supposed to tell Garrin immediately. Yet because their ordeal in Old Keep was so fresh in his mind, he decided to wait until he was sure he could trust himself to look Garrin in the eye and not blurt out what had happened in the mines. Also, it had taken him this long to accomplish the task, and so what would another few days matter? Besides, he hadn't actually done it on his own. He thought maybe he should wait until he could call it forth by himself before telling Garrin.

  But after only a week, to Lannon's disbelief, Vorden again began pressuring him to break the rules. It was evening, their training done for the day, and they were in the Library seated at a table. The Library was a round chamber that was modeled, according to a plaque on the wall, after the famous Round Library of the North Tower. The bookshelves completely covered the walls, all the way up to the ceiling. Statues of Knights, Dragons, and Goblins stood within, big and small--with some holding books or leering down from the shelves. There was a stone fireplace with wood stacked next to it, and four Birlote torches on the walls. The only other door (besides the main entrance) bore a wooden sign that said:

  OLD EAST LIBRARY.

  NO ONE MAY ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM

  THE EAST TOWER MASTER

  Timlin was humming to himself in his annoying fashion, and looking at a book of artwork depicting Lord Knights throughout the ages. Lannon was reading a book from the library called Fairy Goblins--Do They Exist? written by a former Lord Knight named Eldrich Hawkshield. Vorden had an ancient, leather-bound book in front of him called The Dragons of Tharnin, which he had not yet opened.

  "I have an idea," Vorden said suddenly. He looked around, making sure the library was empty of eavesdroppers, and then continued. "I think I know how we could see the Divine Essence." He spoke casually, as if talking about the day's weather.

  Lannon's mouth hung open for a moment. Then he shook his head, his face flushing crimson with anger. "Vorden, what are you talking about? After what I went through in those mines, you think I'd be stupid enough to follow you anywhere again?" He closed his book and laid it on the table.

  "I'm sorry about that," said Vorden. "And I take all the blame, Lannon. I could have gotten us killed, or ruined our chance at Knighthood. It was a really stupid thing to do. And do you know why it was stupid? Because I should have asked around first, researched the issue a bit. Well, I've done that, and guess what? I think I know an easy way to get to the Divine Essence."

  "I don't care!" Lannon said. "Whatever you have in mind, forget it. After what I saw in those mines..."

  "We don't have to go into the mines," said Vorden. "I've learned that the way to the Essence is through the Temple itself. There's a passage right under the altar that leads down to a wheel lock. Beyond that locked door is the crystal chamber."

  "Well, go ahead and find out," said Lannon. "But I'm not going." He stared back at Vorden with determination. This was a moment he had dreaded--having to say no to his friend. But he'd decided never to back down from anyone again if his future Knighthood was at stake. He imagined Cordus Landsaver nodding with approval at his decision, and he held fast to that image, drawing strength from it.

  Vorden sighed. "You know I can't open a wheel lock, Lannon. If you don't go with me, I have to give up."

  "Maybe you should give up," said Lannon. "You're good at a lot of things, Vorden. You could be a great Knight. Don't waste it chasing a foolish dream."

  Vorden's face burned with anger. "So the Di
vine Essence is just a foolish dream? Maybe to you it is. But to me it means everything."

  Lannon gulped, and glanced towards the door. "Don't talk so loud. Someone might be coming. Anyways, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that there's a reason we're not allowed to see the Essence. Even Master Garrin has never seen it. We shouldn't break rules we don't understand."

  "But others besides Lord Knights have seen it," said Vorden. "And I can prove it right here and now."

  "It's getting late," said Lannon. "We should head to our quarters. I'm supposed to be doing my Eye of Divinity training."

  "Hold on" Vorden said. "This will just take a moment. Timlin, go stand by the doorway and watch for anyone in the hall."