by Rob Donovan
It was a strange feeling to be escorted through the Palace and treated like a person of importance. He had not known the Prince until the Ritual of the Stones and since then, although the King had granted him the high-ranking title of the one of his personal Knights, Cody had nothing to prove that fact and of the few who had witnessed the appointment only a handful of them were still alive.
Cody was not sure how the Prince would receive him. They had struck up a fast friendship but did not really know each other. Althalos had spoken up for Cody in his father’s presence and that had been enough for the King to trust Cody and order him to accompany him in pursuit of the Gloom.
He could just imagine the scene inside the room. The guard would announce that Cody had arrived and the Prince’s brow would furrow. He would ask “who?” and then realisation would dawn on his face before being replaced by a frown. The Prince would want to know why Cody had abandoned his father. Would he understand the King had sent Cody off along with Marybeth and the others? Did he know about any of it?
“Is there any news of the King?” Cody asked the guard.
The guard started as if he had been slapped in the face. He blinked several times as he digested the question. He was a tall man, with pitch black, curly hair. His eyebrows also curled as if they had fallen from his head and attached themselves to the top of his eyes.
“Erm, the King arrived home nearly a month ago sire,” the guard said.
Cody’s heart skipped a beat. “He did?”
“Yes,” the guard nodded he was about to say more but seemed to think better of it. Cody did not care; the news was as surprising as it was welcome. He had heard bits and pieces since he and Marybeth and Janna had left Compton. Because they had travelled by river there was not much contact for a lot of the journey. When he had parted ways with the witch and Janna, he had decided to keep off the familiar roads and stick to the shadows.
He had witnessed first-hand the devastation the Glooms had inflicted on the land. It had made him sad until he saw the settlements which still stood defiantly and the people who had survived and had immediately set about rebuilding their homes. The people had this opportunity because Cody and the others had closed the portal. The achievement gave him a sense of pride he had never experienced before. However, the job was only half done, Xandamon still had to be stopped somehow, but Cody and his companions had caused a huge dent in the Gloom’s plans.
The people he had spoken to either did not know what was happening throughout the land or only spoke of the Prince. No one had mentioned the King and Cody had presumed the King had perished on the journey home. He was delighted to learn he was still alive.
He was about to question the guard further when the door swung open. The Prince burst through, saw Cody and then embraced him with a tight hug.
“By the Gods there is good in the world. It is a joy to see you Cody,” the Prince said. Cody had gone rigid in the Prince’s embrace, he was not sure if any man had cuddled him before. He slapped Althalos awkwardly on the back.
“It is great to see you your highness,” Cody said.
“Don’t give me any of that your highness crap,” Althalos laughed. “I am Althalos and only Althalos to you, is that understood?”
“Yes, yo…Althalos.”
The Prince laughed and guided Cody into a circular room. It was large, far bigger than Cody thought it would be and appeared to be some sort of library. A balcony surrounded the room and books lined the walls where the balcony started. The walls however bore the same wooden panels as the corridor outside. Statues lined the walls intermittently; some were made of stone, others carved from wood. At the centre of the room was a large table with a map of Frindoth on it.
It was here the Warlords stood, they acknowledged him with nods. From the look of them they had been pawing over the map for some time. Wine glasses were mostly empty and various markers were placed at strategic points across the map. The warlords looked tired and unkempt. Their clothes were not tucked in and shirt buttons had been undone and cuffs rolled up. Only Grath did not display any signs of weariness.
Next to the Warlords stood a man, two women (possibly mother and daughter) and two maidservants. Cody recognised one of the maidservants and thought it might be the one the Prince had been keen on. The other appeared very young.
All of them stared at Cody waiting to hear what he had to say. It appeared none of them expected good news.
Althalos placed a hand on Cody’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “Is it done? My father’s mission is it done?”
Cody turned to the Prince and smiled. “It is done.”
The room erupted into shouts of joy and applause. Warlords hugged each other and punched the air. For the second time in a matter of minutes the Prince swept Cody into a hug and threatened to squeeze the life out of him.
Cody knew the importance of his mission but having been isolated in the mountains and then in the Realm of the Glooms it was easy to forget the magnitude of his actions. Seeing the sheer joy plastered on everyone’s faces made him realise the good he and the others had done. It made the loss of Tristan, Mondorlous and Isiah a little easier to bear.
Guards burst into the room startled by the outburst, their swords drawn, then halted in their tracks, confused at the joyous scene they discovered. The Prince informed them of the good news and they too joined in the celebration, briefly forgetting their duty.
The Warlords moved around the table and slapped Cody on the back and pumped his hand. It had never occurred to Cody that no one knew the portal had been closed.
When the clamour died down a little Althalos held his hand in the air to signal for complete silence.
“For those that don’t know him, this is Cody Ramsay, the Truth Knight,"
The room once again erupted and Cody was unable to keep the smile from his face as he was thumped on the back and his hand was shaken half a dozen times. Eventually the merriment ceased and the guards returned to their posts. Cody has noticed the family had been the only ones not to join in the celebrations.
"Who are they?" he asked the Prince quietly nodding towards the man and two women.
The Prince's expression became grave. "They bring more sombre tidings I'm afraid."
"That is if they are to be believed," Tulber said moving close to the pair of them. Unfortunately, he did not speak quietly and the man overheard him.
"Why would I lie? Why would we come all this way to tell you this?" the man said.
"No one is accusing you of lying," Althalos said and raised his hands to placate the man. He shot Tulber a look of annoyance but the Warlord merely shrugged.
"It could be true. We have been wondering why the Gloom attacks seemed to have stopped altogether on the east coast," Calloway said. The tall man looked hard at the map and then pointed at the lack of markers on the right-hand side. "There could be something in this man's theory."
"Or it could be the ramblings of a man who wishes to make a name for himself," Tulber said.
The man bristled at this. He was obviously put out by Tulber's dismissal of him and Cody figured if Tulber was not a Warlord and they were in a tavern, then the man would have knocked him to the floor by now. Cody suddenly realised there was something familiar about the scar on the man’s face.
"I know you, don't I?" Cody asked taking the man by surprise.
"Probably not. No one else seems to recognise us. You are too important now to remember someone like us," it was the woman who spoke. She glared around the room and Cody thought he recognised her too. She certainly knew him too it seemed, but from where?
"Who are you?" Cody asked. Unger and Grath who had been discussing the map now paused and looked at the family.
"We are you, or more to the point our son was. Only he was not so lucky."
"Your son was a Stoneholder?"
The woman nodded. Her daughter let out a small sob and buried her head in her father's chest. "Unlike you he did not survive. He was killed by the tattooed frea
k you had supervising the charade. Unlike you his life ended and did not take a turn for the better."
Cody felt for the woman. He could see the anguish in her, which was fed by pain and grief. He could have pointed out that he had no choice in his survival or that his life had hardly been a bundle of laughs since then but he didn't see the point. All she saw was a man who had gone on to become a knight of the realm and had returned from an adventure to thunderous applause and pats on the back.
"Your son was a noble man who Frindoth owes a huge debt to," Unger said. Beside Cody, the Prince winced. He too had been selected for the sacrifice. He too knew that his survival was down to pure luck rather than anything else.
"Don't do that. Don't try to say my son's sacrifice was worth anything. We all know it wasn't. The Ritual of the Stones was a mess from start to finish. Run by a King who did not know his own chief advisor was an imposter and did not know the Order plotted against the ceremony."
"He also did not know his son had been falsely selected," Althalos said and smiled weakly at the family when they looked at him confused. “My father is far from perfect but I do not blame him for being hoodwinked; we all were. I thought the stone I found under my pillow had been intended for me, I never in my wildest dreams believed it had been planted there. Even if the Order had done their job and all the Stoneholders had turned up, the Ritual would still have failed because of me."
The woman sighed as if none of it mattered any more. Cody supposed to her and her family it didn't. "I swore after we left with Brody I would never come back to this damn place, but here I am months later, still trying to do my duty to the Realm; still trying to provide news that may be of use to the Kingdom and once again my family finds their sacrifices are for nothing."
The jubilant mood had vanished and now there was a sense of awkwardness in the room. No words could ever undo the anger this family felt towards the Kingdom and nothing could bring back their son.
"What was your news?" Cody asked.
"I've repeated myself enough," the man said reaching for his wife's hand and giving it a squeeze. She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes filled with tears. "You can believe us or not. As you can see, we don't really care anymore."
"Mertyn here, told us of how they had seen a strange Mark carved onto churches in Brimsgrove," Althalos said. "One of their party became seduced by the Mark and led them in a trance to an old watchtower where a human-like Gloom appeared and drank the seduced man’s blood. This Gloom can talk and Mertyn believes he has the ability to control the other Glooms."
A tingle ran up Cody's spine. The description was all too familiar.
"Was the Mark a picture of three circles with horns?" Cody asked.
Mertyn nodded. "How did you know?"
I've seen it. I've also seen him, it, whatever it is."
"You have?" Mertyn said.
"His name is Xandamon and he terrified us to the core. He doesn't control the Glooms, he leads them. He is not the only one that looks like us but he is the biggest. At least from what I have seen," Cody said.
"It appears you have a great deal to tell us my friend," Althalos said. He turned to the family and to everyone's surprise knelt before the woman. "I can never make amends for the loss you have suffered. Your son's death whilst honourable was indeed pointless. He was not to know that when he died, he died a hero, but that is scarce consolation for you and your family. For the services of your son and for your tenacity in bringing me this news I will not ask you to leave this room whilst I hear what Cody has to say. However, should you wish to you are welcome to reside in the palace for the time being and allow us to look after you until you are replenished."
Cody could not help but admire the Prince. His gesture could have been perceived as over the top but somehow it seemed fitting. The Prince had a knack of saying and doing the right thing. He would make a good ruler.
"Thank you," Mertyn said. "We will stay. It might be that we can offer further insight to add to what Cody has to say. We will of course leave once you start making plans on how to defend the Kingdom."
Althalos nodded and Cody could see the relief on his face at Mertyn's decision. The Warlords would never accept the presence of ordinary folk at a meeting to plan the safety of Frindoth. The maidservants left the room to prepare somewhere for Mertyn's family to stay.
The Prince ordered more refreshments and they listened whilst Cody relayed what he had witnessed when he had awoken near Compton. It was a horrible memory to relive and he could tell from the apprehension on Mertyn's family's faces they had indeed seen the same creature he had. Mertyn called him Xandamon and something about the name was familiar to Cody but he could not quite recall it. He spoke of the Glooms worshipping Xandamon and tried to remember the creature's speech word for word. When he had finished there was stunned silence. Mertyn and his family left the room when Shana returned to collect them. The maidservant frowned at the pensive faces she saw in the room but said nothing.
When the door had closed it was Unger who spoke.
"Why are they all gathering together?" he said.
"The same reason as we are gathered together now," Grath said. "To plot a war."
"So now we have to fight two huge armies?" Tulber said. "The eastern alliance with the Lakisdoreans and all the Glooms?"
"With any luck the two sides will cancel each other out," Calloway said wistfully.
"I do not care much for our luck at the moment," Unger said.
"Me neither," Althalos agreed.
Tulber lifted the glass of wine to his lips, his hands shaking as he swallowed the entire contents. He poured himself another glass and sat down on the nearest chair.
"What did Xandamon mean when he said they will create the utopia they wanted?" Grath asked. The Warlord usually so calm and unflappable had gone pale. His shirt was untucked at the waist.
Cody opened his mouth to explain and then found he did not know the answer. He frowned as he felt he should know. The response was on the tip of his tongue but for some reason remained elusive. He was aware that everyone in the room was awaiting his response but he could not recall what he wanted to say.
"I, I don't know," Cody admitted. The sun shone through the windows and had made the room uncomfortably hot. Or was that just Cody's unease? He could not be sure. He looked up at the balcony and the book shelves seemed to be falling in to the room. They leaned at an angle so they looked as if they could fall onto them.
Are you alright Cody?" the Prince asked.
Cody nodded but he had the beginnings of a thumping headache. His mouth had gone dry and the room span. The next thing he knew was the ground rushing up to meet him.
***
He came to sitting in the same room. He had been placed on a long-cushioned chair, with his legs elevated. The Prince and a man he did not recognise stood over him, the others had left. A cup of water was thrust into his hand and he took a tentative sip nodding gratefully as he accepted the drink. The water was sugary and he pulled a face as he swallowed. He tried to hand the cup back but the man refused. "You need to drink all of it although not all at once."
Cody kept hold of the cup and swung his legs off the chair and onto the floor. His head swam at the sudden movement and he spilt some of the water. The man was by his side instantly and steadied his hand. The man was young, but there was a confidence in his manner. The Prince did not share his composure, a look of worry etched on his face.
"What happened?" the Prince asked.
Cody took a moment to reply. He recalled the feeling of light headedness and the onset of a headache; both had already begun to recede. "I'm not sure. I suddenly felt faint and that was the last thing I knew."
"Exhaustion most likely. When was the last time you slept?" the man asked.
"Last night."Hmmm for how long?"
"I'm not sure. Three hours maybe, perhaps less," Cody replied.
"Not good enough. Why do you all think you do not need to let your body rest?"
Cod
y did not like the man's tone and his implied criticism.
"That will be enough for now Ellorary. Thank you for coming so quickly."
The young man grunted and stood up. "You need to rest for at least a day and make sure you finish the drink. Your body is weak and needs sustenance”. With that the man left the room muttering to himself.
Cody looked at the Prince, "Who?"
"He was Carle Jacob's apprentice. He is now our Chief Physician," the Prince replied.
Cody nodded and then sat back while the Prince briefly explained about the journey home from Crestfall and the Dehiscence which had taken the lives of many in his army.
"I assume he was having a dig at you when he mentioned the lack of rest then?" Cody asked.
The Prince smiled. "I may have attempted to scale the White City's walls shortly after contracting the disease."
"I guess both of us are idiots,"
"You are only just beginning to figure that out?"
Cody took another sip of the drink. He winced, it was far too sugary. "This tastes like shit."
"All the best medicine does," the Prince pulled a chair closer to Cody and sat down. He looked around the room. "I used to spend hours in here studying."
Cody followed his gaze. This was the longest he had spent in a room containing books. He had never been much of a reader and did not think that inclination would ever change. He had to admit there was a certain charm to the room however. The knowledge stored in the bound volumes seemed to ooze power. It was as if they cried out to be read and impart all they knew. The painstaking efforts of a thousand lives had been poured into creating the books and all that effort was stored in this one room at his disposal if he wanted to discover it.
"What did you study?" Cody asked.
"Anything to do with war. I wanted to learn how the famous battles were won. How the troops were deployed or what tactics were used. I needed to know the politics behind the loss of thousands of lives and the reasons Kings and Warlords risked the lives of loved ones just to gain inches of soil," the Prince smiled wistfully. "I used to love reading about it all. Now that I am experiencing it, I want nothing to do with it."