Quest's End: The Broken Key #3

by Brian S. Pratt

  “Good,” said Riyan.

  They settled in to get what rest they could. Riyan volunteered to keep the first watch. As everyone settled into sleep, he stood before the window. Staring out into the darkness, he couldn’t help but wonder what Bart was doing right now.

  Right now, Bart was on a horse taken from an inn on the outskirts of Hylith. Riding pell-mell through the moonlit countryside, he pushed the horse as fast as he dared in order to make the town Kevik had spoken of before dawn.

  He no longer had the protective magic of the Cloak to conceal his presence. A large area across the back had been burnt and severely damaged. It now bore a hole the size of his foot. As best as he could figure, it must have happened when the magic user’s fireball nearly hit him atop the wall. He remembered the smell of burnt cloth and hair just after it had sailed by. Now the Cloak was rolled up in the bottom of his pack. Though he didn’t think it likely, he kept it in the hopes that Kevik would have some idea on how to repair it.

  He rode throughout the night beneath a cold, wintry moon. A lone shadow moving across the landscape, he passed unseen. Any pursuit which may have developed back in Hylith had yet to materialize. With any luck, they believed him to be on his way back to Byrdlon and would concentrate their search accordingly.

  After riding hard throughout the night, he finally saw the outline of buildings appear ahead in the predawn light. Not long after that, a bridge spanning the river near the west end of town became visible. Figuring that to be the bridge Kevik mentioned, he made his way toward it. The town appeared peaceful as he approached. A few lone silhouettes passed between the buildings. Of guards and soldiers there was no sign.

  On the southern side of the river as he was, Bart was going to have to cross over the bridge in order to reach the town. Taking it slow, he continued toward the bridge. He kept scanning the buildings for any sign of Riyan and the others but to no avail. Could he have beaten them here?

  With his thumb, he absentmindedly rotated the ring around his finger as he sought to contact Kevik.

  Bart? came the reply.

  Yes. I’m at the bridge. Where are…

  South side of town, Kevik said urgently, cutting him off. Hurry! Then the connection was broken.

  Kevik? Bart asked, concern growing. When there was no reply he shouted in his mind, Kevik! Again, no reply. The concern he felt began to grow into fear for his friends. Kicking his horse into motion, he rode onto the bridge and quickly crossed to the other side.

  Bam!

  Just as Bart left the bridge, an explosion blasted apart the quiet of the early dawn. From the south side of town, a column of smoke began rising above the rooftops. “Damn!” cursed Bart as he kicked his horse into a full gallop. Dodging through the growing throng of people emerging from their homes to see what the commotion was about, he raced toward the rising plume of smoke. Then, a second and third explosion rang out.

  “Whose stupid idea was it to come in here?” Chyfe demanded.

  “We didn’t have any other choice at the time,” Riyan replied.

  When the guards that had been chasing them from Hylith caught sight of them just as they reached the outskirts of Tryn, they fled into the town. Now they were trapped within a distillery where lamp oil was produced. Barrels of the flammable stuff were stacked against the walls.

  “One flaming brand in here and we’re dead,” stated Chyfe.

  They had been forced to abandon their horses when they entered the distillery. Now, the guards outside were taking possession of them and their chances of getting out of this were looking dismal.

  The distillery wasn’t all that large, but a single story with two rooms. There was the main room where large copper pots were kept for the distilling of the oil. A smaller room used as an office was in the back. Seth and Soth were in the office barricading the door and window that led out back.

  Soth appeared at the door connecting the two rooms and said, “I think they brought friends with them.”

  Riyan glanced to him and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Soldiers,” he said, indicating the area behind the distillery. “Lots of ‘em.”

  “Man,” groaned Chad. “We’re not going to get out of this.”

  “Don’t count us dead yet,” Chyfe replied. Glancing to Kevik, he said, “We have a magic user on our side.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Kevik with some reservations. Giving Chyfe a crooked smile, he nodded. Inwardly however, he had a less than optimistic outlook on his ability to get them out of this.

  Soth quickly ducked back into the room to help his brother secure it against assault.

  At the front window, Chyfe was keeping an eye on the movement of the guards. “Can you goo them?” he asked Kevik.

  Kevik shook his head. “Not that many, no,” he replied.

  Chyfe kept watching as the guards began to encircle the building. One of the guards, the leader of the group by his bearing and uniform, stood staring at the window from which Chyfe was looking. A bulging satchel hung at his side.

  Just then, Seth appeared and announced the back was secured.

  “Good,” Riyan said. Turning to Chad, he could see the fear in his eyes. “Hey, it’s not as bad as all that.”

  Chad guffawed. “I don’t see how it could get much worse,” he replied.

  “Bart’s on his way,” Riyan said assuringly.

  “Maybe,” Chyfe said. “We haven’t heard from him since last night.”

  Riyan turned to him, an angry look on his face. “He’s coming!” he demanded.

  Chyfe remained silent for a few seconds as he met Riyan’s gaze. “Alright, he’s coming,” he finally said. “But even still, what can he do against so many?”

  “Just having him out there could mean all the difference in the world,” Soth said from the doorway to the office.

  “That’s right,” agreed Seth.

  “I still don’t see what he’ll be able to do,” Chyfe argued. Turning to look once again out the window, he saw the guards had moved into position. The leader walked forward toward the distillery and stopped when he had covered half the distance.

  “You have nowhere to go,” he hollered to them. “Give yourselves up or we’ll burn the building down around you.”

  As the others came to stand beside him at the window, Chyfe said, “I think he means it.”

  “So do I,” agreed Kevik.

  From where he leaned against one of the barrels of oil, Chad asked, “Does lamp oil explode or just burn?”

  “Why?” Riyan asked as he turned toward his friend.

  “It just burns,” answered Soth.

  “I was thinking that if we were to torch some of this,” he explained, “it might produce enough smoke to cover our escape.”

  “How do you propose to do that?” asked Seth, intrigued by the suggestion. “It won’t do any good unless it’s out there,” he added, pointing out the widow.

  “Whatever you are going to do,” Chyfe said. “Do it quick.”

  Chad nodded. “Riyan give me a hand with this,” he said to his friend. Taking hold of the barrel he had been leaning against, he started moving it. With Riyan’s help, they soon had it a few feet from the door. Then with the blade of his knife, he struck the barrel and made two small holes. When the knife was removed, lamp oil began slowly dripping from the holes.

  “Seth, you get the door,” Chad said. Then to Kevik, “Riyan and I will toss the barrel out. Once it strikes the ground, hit it with your sparks spell.”

  Kevik grinned and nodded. “I get you,” he said.

  Kevik? Just then, Bart’s thoughts came through the ring and into his mind.

  Bart? he asked somewhat surprised by the unexpectedness of it.

  Yes. I’m at the bridge. Where are…

  South side of town, Kevik said to him, cutting him off. It was a struggle to keep aware of what was going on around him while at the same time speaking with Bart.

  From where he stood ready at the door, Seth glanced to Riya
n and Chad. Once they had the barrel of lamp oil raised off the ground and ready to throw, Chad gave him the go ahead. Seth threw open the door.

  Hurry! Kevik told Bart then removed the ring from his hand so he wouldn’t be interrupted while working magic. Slipping the ring into his pouch, he watched as Riyan and Chad hurled the barrel out the door. Oil droplets poured from the two holes as it sailed through the air. Moving to the doorway, Kevik held out his staff and sent sparks toward the barrel.

  Bam!

  When the sparks hit the barrel, it exploded in a massive fireball. The concussion from the blast knocked Kevik backward several feet. Riyan caught him before he could fall.

  “Damn!” exclaimed Seth, turning to his brother. “Thought you said it wouldn’t explode!”

  “So I was wrong,” Soth said.

  Chad and Riyan were already getting another barrel in position. Chad turned to Seth and Soth, “Take Kevik and do the same out the back.”

  Seth nodded. “Right,” he said. Then grabbing his brother, they soon had a barrel gripped between them. With Kevik following, they went to the back door.

  Wham! Wham! Wham!

  Blows began hammering the back door with a vengeance as the soldiers strove to break it down. “Set it down before the door,” Kevik suggested.

  Seth immediately understood what Kevik was getting at. With his brother’s help, they soon had it sitting atop one of the tables they had used to barricade the door. Then with two quick thrusts with his knife, oil began spilling from the barrel.

  “Now, out of the room!” urged Kevik as he made for the door. Once he and the twins were out of the room he swung the door almost closed then put the tip of his staff through the gap.

  From the front area, another explosion rocked the dawn as the second barrel thrown by Riyan and Chad erupted in a massive fireball. Black smoke filled the air. “Come on!” Riyan yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Already, the smoke from the burning oil was making its way into the distillery and was getting thicker by the second.

  “Hang on!” Kevik yelled back to him. Turning again to the barrel sitting atop the table by the door, he saw cracks begin to appear in the door from the blows of the guards. Bracing for the impact, he cast his sparks spell.

  Bam!

  The sparks hit the oil and exploded. The door behind which Kevik stood snapped off its hinges and struck him hard. Flying backward, Kevik’s back struck the edge of the table, knocking the wind out of him.

  Soth was quickly at his side. “You okay?” he asked.

  Kevik gave him a nod and tried to get up. That’s when he felt a white hot flare of pain erupt in his back. Leaning heavily upon Seth, he managed to get to his feet. The pain was horrible and constant. “I think I broke something,” he said.

  Wham! Wham! Crack!

  Seth and Chyfe were using one of the tables as a battering ram against the side wall. As Riyan came to help Soth with Kevik, the wall cracked. Another two blows saw a section of the wall large enough for a man to pass through give way. Immediately, black smoke began issuing through from the outside.

  Drawing his sword, Seth passed through the opening. Chyfe had his sword out as he glanced back toward where Riyan and Soth were supporting Kevik between them. “What happened to him?” he asked.

  “Not sure,” Riyan said. He had one arm under Kevik’s shoulder while he carried Kevik’s staff in his free hand. “He’s hurt bad though.”

  From the other side of the opening in the wall, the sound of swords striking against each other could be heard. Chyfe immediately rushed through to Seth’s aid. Chad raced for the opening and was soon through to the other side as well.

  “You guys will never make it with me,” Kevik groaned. Every step was pure hell as pain tore through him.

  “We’re not leaving you behind,” asserted Riyan.

  “That’s right,” agreed Soth. “Either we all make it, or we all die trying.”

  They reached the opening and the sound of battle came through from the other side. The smoke was so thick, they couldn’t see anything through the opening. Where the fighting was or who was fighting, they just didn’t know.

  Riyan moved through the opening first and when they were all on the other side, Kevik mumbled something. “What?” Riyan asked.

  “The…gem,” Kevik said, struggling to get each word out.

  “The gem?” asked Soth confused. Then understanding came. “The healing gem!”

  Kevik nodded his head.

  They paused there on the other side of the opening while Soth quickly searched through Kevik’s pouch for the gem. When he finally found it, he put it in Kevik’s hand. A moment later, it began to glow as it worked its healing magic.

  Just about ready to resume moving from the building, Riyan heard a crackling sound coming from within. Glancing back, he saw fire beginning to spread from the office area to the front. Flames were coming dangerously close to a stack of barrels positioned against the back wall.

  “We don’t have much time,” he said to Soth and Kevik.

  “Where to?” Soth asked.

  Riyan tried to pierce the fog of black smoke, but was unable to see even indistinct shadows. So thick was it that they soon began coughing as it worked its way into their lungs.

  “My staff,” Kevik gasped.

  “What?” asked Riyan.

  “Give me my staff,” he said, reaching out for it.

  Riyan glanced at him and could see the pain that had been so apparent in his eyes beginning to ease. Once Kevik had staff in hand, Riyan drew his sword. A moment later, a breeze could be felt as Kevik cast his wind spell. Not nearly the magnitude of earlier winds he’d created, this was more of a gentler breeze to aid in dispersing the smoke so they could locate their comrades.

  The thinning smoke revealed Seth and Chyfe standing shoulder to shoulder as they fended off four combatants. Chad was a few feet away as he too strove to keep two guardsmen at bay. Working primarily on defense, Chad was able to avoid being struck. But as coughing fits due to the smoke began wracking him, his defense began to suffer.

  Riyan glanced to Soth, caught his eye and nodded to Kevik. “You got him?” he asked. As soon as Soth nodded affirmatively, Riyan released Kevik and raced to Chad’s side. Coughing from the effects of the smoke as well, he reached his friend and struck aside a thrust that would have assuredly taken Chad in the side if he hadn’t arrived just then.

  “About time you got here,” Chad said. Striking out, he successfully blocked an overhand hack and even managed to leave a two inch cut along the man’s forearm.

  Concentrating on the man before him, Riyan didn’t reply. As the skills developed with the fat-uglies came to the fore, he deflected strike after strike. He had just successfully knocked his opponent backward several feet with a well placed blow when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. More guards were headed their way. Through the smoke he could make out at least six.

  Bracing for the inevitable clash that was sure to leave him dead, Riyan was surprised when the guards unexpectedly halted. A green layer of goo had suddenly enveloped them and stopped them cold. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw Kevik give him a nod. Soth no longer supported him. Leaning upon his staff, Kevik suddenly turned and fired several energy missiles toward two soldiers, knocking them back.

  The pain in his back was greatly diminished as the gem clutched tightly in his hand continued to work its magic. A crash from inside the building drew his attention. Glancing through the hole in the wall, he saw part of the back wall collapse. Kevik’s eyes widened in fear as he saw the burning wall collapse on top of two barrels of the oil. “Down!” he yelled and threw himself to the ground.

  Ke-Pow!

  A second later the fire ignited the oil within the barrels with devastating consequences. Riyan hadn’t reacted fast enough. He, Chad, and the two guards they were engaged with were thrown ten feet through the air. Soth, Seth, and Chyfe on the other hand, had heeded Kevik’s warning in time and qu
ickly disengaged. No sooner had they hit the ground than the concussion blast washed over them and smashed into the four guards they had been facing.

  “Move!” yelled Kevik. No way had all the oil exploded, it was a matter of seconds before the rest went. Rushing over to Riyan and Chad, he reached down and grabbed Riyan by the shirt and pulled him up despite the pain still coursing through his back.

  Riyan was dazed but managed to get to his knees before Kevik saw the archers aiming for them. Letting Riyan’s shirt go, he cast his missile protective shield before the archers had a chance to fire and deflected the deadly projectiles.

  “Get up!” he hollered to Riyan and Chad. From where he stood over them, he could see the back of Chad’s head sported a good sized lump and his hair was matted with blood.

  “Chad!” he yelled and started pulling him up.

  Riyan noticed the state of his friend and aided Kevik’s efforts to bring him around. Moving to his side, he rolled him over and slapped his face. The stinging blow caused Chad’s eyes to pop open.

  “Chad, we have to get out of here,” urged Riyan.

  Kevik suddenly stood up and turned to face the charge of a score of soldiers. Using the magic of his staff, he created a massive blast of wind which knocked them back a dozen feet.

  Then Chyfe and the twins were there with them. The twins quickly took hold of Chad’s arms and lifted Chad off the ground. Though he looked around with glazed eyes, he wasn’t really seeing his surroundings. Within the burning building, the fire was raging hot. Those barrels still intact weren’t going to last much longer. “To the river!” Chyfe yelled.

  Taking the lead, Chyfe tried to determine which way that was. “That way,” Riyan finally said pointing off to their left. Chyfe nodded in agreement and with swords drawn, they led the way.

  Arrows continued to fly and Kevik’s magic shield-spell did a good job of deflecting them. Pausing only momentarily to cast a goo spell or energy missiles to slow those in pursuit, Kevik brought up the rear.

  Moving out, they hurried away from the burning building. A guard rushed to block their way but Riyan and Chyfe together made short work of him.