Chapter 15
As Ara got dressed, Forr nervously paced around the room talking about Tacia. He completely ignored Ara’s comments about having been there many times before and told his mythologies anyway.
“On the second day of creation, the god of plant life and vegetation, Treak, appeared on our black mass of land in corporeal form. Like all gods and goddesses he assumed a form that pleased him most. He appeared as a young human and, at the same time, something very far from a young human.
“His skin was the color of ivy and his hair came off of his head resembling some kind of grass. His lips were the color of the reddest rose and to see him in this naked splendor, one would think he was as delicate as one. The other gods rolled their eyes at the fey form their brother had taken and scoffed to themselves as he skipped merrily along the black ground.
“He was terribly discouraged at being the first to arrive, since it was impossible to know where to start. But, as we all know, when you’re not sure where to start, start at the beginning. So, with a deep breath and a stomp of his foot to the ground, all the land in his vicinity and for miles and miles all around became covered in thick green grass. The once completely flat, black slab of land in the middle of space was now a flat, green slab floating in the middle of space.
“Next with a mere thought he allowed trees and plants to burst forth from the fields he had created. The more life he brought to the fresh world, the happier he became.
“Setting his sights on completing what all the gods had previously talked about and making this world a paradise, the god chose a large section of land to the far southwest. He decided that this section of their new world be his vision of paradise that none of the other gods could interfere with.
“And so he set to work creating a dense, emerald forest that he called Tacia. He commanded hundreds of thousands of trees to spring from the ground, some that he had never even thought up before. The trees reached to the sky and completely covered the southwest corner of the new realm. The further into the forest the god walked the more power he used, so that eventually the forest gave way to boggy marshes which gave way to lush jungles. And when he had finished his masterpiece and he knew that his day was coming to a close, he decided as one final act for a forest haven, he would give birth to a civilized species to rule over the forest and care for it. His hands swished back and forth as he departed for the heavens and thus the winged, arboreal Arbestees came to be the first creatures on the new world. They surveyed their forest home with their enormous bird eyes and they were pleased.”
“Thank you, Forr. You know in some odd way, your stories have actually become rather soothing to me.”
He patted the old man on the shoulder and received a weak smile. Then he turned and left to go meet with the others.
The sky still hadn’t returned to normal since Destor’s assault in the castle’s ballroom. It was completely black without a single star to be seen as the Royal Guard filed out one by one through a small, hidden hatch on the side of the palace. Hundreds of azure-colored chariots had already been prepared and were strapped to regal horses. Unlike the chariot that Ara had ridden in to get to Castle Village, these were chariots of war, completely open up top.
Vale had decided early on that stragglers might still be loitering on the marble path in front of Ivory Towers. To counter this, he decided to make use of a secret passage that actually went through the ballroom, up ten steps, and out through the castle wall. From here the chariots could go along the castle wall. They’d still have to exit the courtyard and village the same way, but would draw a bit less attention than prepping right in front of the castle. Certainly the citizens would still see or hear a commotion, but this way would hopefully raise fewer questions.
The guards had finally all loaded into their respective chariots, clad in black shirts and pants with silver chest plates and helmets on. They were silent as the night as they waited patiently for their next order. As they had never found themselves in such a situation, it could safely be assumed that they were also quite nervous.
Ara Tataman came out last. He was still wearing the same blue tunic and tan pants that he had worn at the inauguration, except now he wore a silver chest plate over top. He carried a long trelamna like the other members of the Royal Guard and, like them, was very somber as he mounted the empty chariot before him.
The chariot was similar to the others, but grander. It was almost twice the size and was filled with emblems of the Royal Seal. Ara had seen the seal before, but now that he had ‘traveled’ more, it was more significant. It pictured a giant shield broken into five separate images: a flame, a tree, a mountain, a stream, and a gust of wind, all crossed with two trelamnas.
Ara turned to see Vale and Prode exiting the hatch, quickly followed by Forr. Prode was wearing a jade-colored shirt and black pants. Vale, on the other, had discarded his blue robe and was merely wearing a gray, sleeveless tunic with white piping. He also wore the large, gold crown. Vale turned back to face his advisor and Prode jumped on the chariot next to Ara.
“Hope you don’t mind my joining you,” Prode giggled. “I figure since apparently all of this trouble is going on in my backyard, I share some of the responsibility. I really do feel awful that I didn’t know this was occurring under my nose,” his look became serious.
“No one blames you Prode,” Ara said without looking at him. “Sorpa deals with shadows and specters. It’s not really her style to make her actions obvious to the observer.”
Prode’s eyes lit up as he realized that he wasn’t being blamed. He began jabbing Ara in the ribs.
“Well I’ll tell you this,” Prode smiled. “If she’s going to do business with ghosts and zombies, then she’s dead to me.”
He immediately burst into raucous laughter. Ara rolled his eyes in disgust and tried to listen to Vale and Forr.
“I really hope that you aren’t going to try and talk me out of going,” Vale snapped. “It’s my responsibility to go along and help in any way that I can. I need to lead by example.”
Forr responded weakly, “On the contrary, I was going to tell you how very much you remind me of your mother. She also would never have thought of staying home if an event like this had occurred. I only want to tell you to please be careful and that I am so sorry.”
Forr began to weep and quickly wiped his eyes with his gold sleeves. Ara looked on, confused.
“What could you possibly have to be sorry about?” Vale asked.
“My visions have failed you, Highness. I used to be able to clearly see the future when I meditated on it. Now, I only seem to be a hindrance to you and for that, I apologize.”
“There is no need for blame tonight,” Vale reassured. “Have you had any more visions of the future?”
“I see only blackness and nothingness. I don’t know if it’s to be an ominous sign or not. There is…nothing.”
The awkward pause that followed seemed to last forever. Finally, Vale turned and pulled himself onto the chariot with Vale and Ara. He turned one last time to his old friend before they departed.
“Forr,” he called. “The stallops are pulling our carriages so I will see you first thing in the morning. It will all be better by then.”
Ara watched as he turned to address the hundreds of eyes that stared back at him. In them he saw anticipation, fear, and respect.
“We have an enemy not of the throne, but of all of Eliantar. She is a necromancer who means to destroy everything with an army of dead soldiers. We have learned that she is based in Tacia, in an old graveyard. I do not know where the location is, other than that it is at the border.”
“Your Highness,” a young soldier that Ara recognized to be Kally, the soldier who had stood guard outside Forr’s chambers. “You’re looking for the Woodland Tombs. I know this because I have been there.”
“They have a name?” Prode asked. “Nothing in my jurisdiction has that name. I would kn
ow about it.”
“With all due respect, I don’t think most know it exists,” Kally answered. “I grew up in a town a few miles from there and my mother told me stories about a cemetery that would only appear at night. It’s existed for thousands of years and is protected by ancient magic to repel tomb thieves. That’s what legend says anyway. I’ve seen it only once and promise you that it’s very real.”
“Forr,” yelled Vale. “You once told me that the Royal Family was all buried in a secret graveyard that no one knew existed. Is that true?”
Forr went white, “Not just the Royal Family. Most nobles and members of the Royal Guard are buried there as well. Our tomb keepers are the only ones who know the location and they tell no one.”
“Is my mother there?” Vale asked quietly.
Forr didn’t need to answer. With a slight wave of his hand towards Kally, the young guard’s chariot took off with all of the others in hot pursuit.
They rode hard through the night. They were out of Castle Village in a few minutes and flew through the fields of Eliantar. By stallop, the ride to Tacia would only take a couple of hours. After an hour Ara leaned towards Vale and yelled over the loud wheels.
“It might’ve made more sense to travel this way the first time around. It’s certainly better than walking for days and days.”
“I apologize again,” Prode interjected. “Invisible or not, I feel like I should’ve known that this graveyard existed within my forest.”
“What bothers me most about all of this is what part Destor plays,” Vale said. “He claims he’s not connected to Veneficus in any way, but then why keep trying to attack me?”
“He’ll be interrogated by me personally when we return,” Ara said bluntly. “His reasons at this point mean nothing. We’ve already got one lunatic one the loose. I don’t see why you’d be so surprised that there might be two.”
“Be quiet” shushed Prode. “It looks like we’ve arrived.”
Sure enough Ara and Vale could see the other chariots had slowed to a halt just a few yards from the forest border. It looked identical to the rest of the border that stretched for miles and miles, so Vale was glad that they had a guide to help them find their way.
The young guard ran back quickly to King Vale’s chariot and did a quick bow. He looked terrified.
“Your Highness, the Woodland Tombs are just beyond the first few layers of trees.”
“Thank you Kally,” Vale said full of genuine grace. “We could never have made it here without your help. You will not be forgotten in helping to aid us like this. Now let’s get this over with.”
“Wait Vale,” Ara whispered before wrapping his strong arm around the King’s waist and pulling him in close. “Tradition be damned. I won’t hide my feelings any longer because an ancient king 2,000 years ago said that I should. I’m in love with the King of Eliantar and I don’t care what anyone thinks about it.”
With that he forced his lips against the King’s and felt little resistance. For a few moments time stood still and it was just the two of them, hard bodies pressed against each other, tongues fighting for dominance as they wrestled in each other’s mouths. Then as quickly as it started it ended. With a sly smile, Vale pulled away. There was work to be done at the moment.
Vale noticed as he jumped down that a thick layer of fog covered the ground. It looked as though the forest itself was secreting some peculiar smoke adding to the uncomfortable mood of the night.
“Tacia becomes a different place at night,” Prode whispered. “Even as Ambassador, I feel a little uneasy wandering around once the suns have set. We will want to be cautious.”
Vale and Ara slowly made their way to the arbor border. Ara waved his hand and the guards slowly descended and followed their King. Several carried crossbows while still more carried trelamnas. Prode stayed to the back of the group, eyeing his surroundings with caution. Ara glanced over and saw the bow attached to Vale’s hip.
“I spent all of that time training you to use a trelamna and you walk around with a bow instead?” Ara quipped.
“I’m not expecting that this meeting will end in hand-to-hand combat,” Vale replied quietly. “With any luck, she’ll surrender herself immediately with no altercation.”
Vale stopped dead in his tracks. Ara looked over and saw that the color had drained from his face as his eyes stared forward. Ara looked to see what he was staring at and there just a few yards away stood Sorpa Veneficus.
She was barely visible standing just in front of the line of trees. She wore the same worn, black dress that Forr had described. The same funeral veil flowed down over her face from her disheveled raven-colored hair. If not for her ghostly-white hands and neck, she would have been completely invisible in the darkness.
She stood completely still, facing the army with her arms at her side. Her expression was completely hidden beneath her shroud, but Vale was sure she could see the surprise and fear on all of their faces. They all remained still for several seconds, before she raised her thin bony arm and pointed at King Vale. When she began to speak her voice sounded like nails on a rotting piece of wood.
“So we finally meet, Vale,” she croaked. “How far we’ve both come in just a year. When last I was in Ivory Towers, you were just a boy and now I stand before the King of Eliantar. I, on the other hand, was just a peasant in the eyes of your mother and now I’m…so much more.”
Ara had shuddered when the woman had begun to speak. Her voice sounded as though it was carried on the wind. He imagined it was the same sound that was released when a coffin was opened after a hundred years.
“Sorpa, we have come here to take you back to Ivory Towers,” Vale announced. “We have reason to believe that you have committed treason and will need to question you.”
Veneficus scoffed, “I know why you’ve come. It hardly matters at this point though. I can assure you that you’re too late. I’ve had a year to bring my plan to fruition.”
Ara ignored her, “Why did you send Scurus Subo to kill Vale? What was in it for you?”
He could make out the confusion on Sorpa’s face through her shroud as she brought her hands up to the sides of her head. She made a low guttural growl that Ara identified as a laugh.
“You’re so like a member of royalty. You immediately assume that it must be about you. Surely if a dramatic event takes place in the kingdom, it must surround the King or Queen of Eliantar.”
Her voice had become less arrogant and far more embittered over the course of her last statement. Her bony hands had begun to clench and ball up, making them appear even more skeletal.
“Scurus wasn’t there to kill you,” she snapped, her voice filled with venom. “He was there to kill the traitor, Opo Scoloos.”
Realization washed over Ara. How had he been so stupid? No wonder Forr had detected no danger before Vale had stepped out to address his people that day. He never was in danger. There never was an assassination attempt, because in actuality it had been a success. Even after reading Opo’s journal, Ara had not realized this and now felt dim-witted.
“We read Opo’s journal,” Ara bellowed. “We know that he was working with you and then abandoned you.”
“He really was a dullard,” hissed Sorpa. “How truly stupid to leave a journal outlining your betrayal in the very home of the one you’re backstabbing. I don’t know why I’m even surprised.”
“Why kill him?” barked Ara. “You had to know that there was no way he would risk his own head and admit what he’d done to Vale. What could you have possibly obtained through his death? The Queen had already died!”
The silence that followed was endless. Vale and Ara waited for an answer while Sorpa stared at them, silent. When at last she spoke, there was a tone of sadness in her voice.
“If you truly read Opo’s journal, I assume you read that it was not part of our plan for Queen Jenneka to die.”
“Are you actually g
oing to stand there and say you’re sorry that my mother is dead?”
“You don’t have to believe me, but it is the truth,” Sorpa sighed. “I assure you that you’re making me out to be far more sinister than I actually am. If you give me a chance, I can help you understand.”
When Ara and Vale didn’t give an answer, Veneficus took a breath and continued with her story.
“As you know, I had propositioned your mother to create an army of undead warriors to use. What you don’t know is that I had very good reasons for wanting to do this.”
“What reason could you have possibly had for wanting to kill all of those people?” Ara yelled.
“No one needed to die. I wanted to use only those members of the Royal Guard who had long been deceased. The unfortunate part of that is that the longer a person is dead, the less…durable they are.”
“You forgot to mention that they’d be slaves,” Vale snapped. “You weren’t doing anyone favors by bringing them back if their mind stayed dead.”
Sorpa chuckled, “Yes, an unfortunate side effect of my powers are that people lose their freewill once brought back. However, I see much potential in those who fall before their time. I’ve come to find that they still have so much left to offer the world.”
“And so you wanted to raise an indestructible army for what purpose?” Vale asked. “To aid a demon?”
“To save us all,” Sorpa replied. “Skarsend brings death with him. He offered the world salvation and I accepted his generous offer. You see raising an army of the dead as monstrous, but I’m saving all of our lives.”
“That’s when I had a purpose for Opo. He had been ordered to destroy me. All he need to do was lie and say that he’d carried out the deed and that would allow me to carry on with my plan without suspicion.”
“And Opo actually went along with this?” Ara gasped. “He didn’t have any problem betraying the one person he was assigned to protect.”
“Opo loved the Queen and knew it was his duty to do whatever was necessary to promote peace.”
“What in the world took a year?” Vale asked. “Opo lied to my mother like you asked and promised to lead your army. Shouldn’t you have done what you set out to do then?”
“I may not have told Opo all that was occurring. First, I had to find Skarsend and set him free from his confines.”
“What?!” snapped Ara. You’re contradicting your so-called ‘not sinister’ intentions. You said he was freeing himself and that you had no choice but to join him for survivals sake.”
“Be serious,” barked Sorpa. “It’s still for survivals sake. He’s a god and I am a mortal. He would have eventually freed himself anyway. There’s more to it than you know, but I won’t deny that power and self-preservation have always proved irresistible to me. What more can I say?”
“Is he freed?” Ara asked. “Where is Skarsend now?”
“He’s a god, you stupid man. He’s everywhere.”
“And now the Royal Guard is here,” Sorpa laughed. “That was the real reason that I had Opo Scoloos assassinated. I assumed, incorrectly, that you would send all members out on a scouting mission to find me. You see I never had any intention of meeting Scurus Subo in Fornar. I told him that after Opo was killed, I would meet him there. I knew full well that he would be pursued, questioned and killed.
“I’ve been waiting here for many weeks for you to arrive and was beginning to think that you never would.”
“You overestimated Scurus,” Ara said. “He didn’t reveal your identity. We had to figure it ourselves and even then, we felt pretty confident that you didn’t require more than King Vale and me to take you in. But, now the Royal Guard is here. What purpose could you have with them?”
Sorpa Veneficus said nothing, but stood staring at Ara and Vale. Neither of them needed to see her face to know that she was brimming with confidence. The guards behind them were shifting nervously. Prode slowly made his way to the front of the throng and stood beside his brother.
“Lady Veneficus,” he began. “I am Prode Procer, Ambassador of Tacia. I insist you show us this hidden cemetery at once.”
For the first time, Ara was truly impressed with the way Prode spoke. It seemed that, for once, he was taking his job seriously. Whether he was doing it wisely or not remained to be seen.
“As you wish,” Sorpa bowed slightly. “I should warn you that seeing the Woodland Tombs won’t facilitate anything. You may be Ambassador, but you have no power here.”
“It may be a trap,” hissed Vale. “We have Sorpa already. I think we should just take her back to the castle.”
“We need to see exactly what she’s been up to,” Prode argued. “I don’t want to assume that we’re in the clear just because we’ve apprehended her.”
Ara watched King Procer think this over for several moments. Either way possessed great danger. If they followed her into the forest, they could be walking into a trap. There could very well be an army of zombies waiting for them. However, if they captured her and simply took her to Ivory Towers, her army could cause massive amounts of damage before they became aware of it.
Vale sighed loudly, “Lead on Sorpa. Please be mindful that if this is a ploy, I will order my men to kill you.”
“So be it,” she replied.
She turned and began to walk through the trees. Vale and Ara stayed close behind as the combination of the dark foliage and heavy fog made it difficult to see. They hadn’t gone more than a few yards before the ground dropped off steeply. Sorpa glided down with ease. Vale, however, caught his foot on a root and fell down the hill. He landed hard on the grass.
Within seconds, Ara ran down after him. He knelt down beside his friend and slowly helped him to his feet. As Vale gathered his bearings, he looked around and gasped.
There were thousands and thousands of tombstones in the clearing. All were different sizes and shapes that looked like ornate teeth rising from the dirt. They reflected the tiny bit of starlight and glowed eerily in the darkness of the forest. Most were faded and covered in overgrowth, but some stood out as being much newer and whiter.
“Oh dear gods,” Vale exclaimed. “I would never have imagined that there would be this many. Ara, there’s one hundred times more graves than there are soldiers here. It’s a trap.”
They hadn’t noticed that Sorpa was now standing alongside of them, adjusting her long, moth-eaten dress and trying to maintain some kind of order to her mangled hair. She glanced around the clearing of tombs with a tinge of delight.
“Sooner or later you’d have to come to the Woodland Tombs,” she cackled. “Just remember before you decide to judge me that it was your choice to make it sooner rather than later.”
With that she raised her hands and looked to the sky. The ground rumbled furiously as mounds of it shifted. Vale didn’t need to guess what the ghastly woman was doing.
“The dead will rise again,” hissed Sorpa staring down at the King.
The Woodland Tombs of Eliantar Page 18