The Serpent Cult (Heroes of Ravenford Book 2)

by F. P. Spirit

  “Indeed, that is true,” Calipherous said in his deep reverberating voice. “It is a paramount virtue which is lost on many, including those of my own race.”

  Elladan let out a deep sigh. “The same can be said about many of the races. Some are still very young and immature, the humans perhaps more than not; although there are some shining examples—we have befriended a few as of late.”

  “That is heartwarming to know,” Calipherous rumbled. “Long have we dragons watched the other races. The humans have the most promise, but still seem the quickest to aggression.”

  “I think that is more out of fear than anything else,” Donnie responded. “In fact, your presence here right now is upsetting some of these folks.”

  Nicely done, Donnie! Elladan thought.

  “I do not mean to intrude,” Calipherous replied, lifting its large head to scan the grounds around them. “However, I am still in search of my charges. Do you know of them?”

  “We were told by our friends that you were searching for them,” Elladan answered. “They are the ones you encountered yesterday. The elven wizard, the halfling, and the tall human in red.”

  “Ah, yes,” Calipherous responded in a ponderous rumble. “They were indeed a courteous group. They saved my life actually. I believe I owe them a debt.”

  This was going far better than Elladan hoped. Calipherous felt indebted to his friends. He could use that as leverage. “Well then, we are their close companions. I think that they would appreciate it if you could come back tomorrow instead. There is a party going on tonight, and, as you can see, you being here is upsetting some of the townsfolk and partygoers.”

  The copper dragon lifted its head once more to survey the courtyard. It peered back down at Elladan, then replied in its deep rumbling voice. “Very well. I will honor your request and return on the morrow. Good day to you, kind elves.”

  With that, the dragon unfolded its large wings. It beat them a few times and lifted off into the air. Elladan and Donnie both stood their ground, despite being buffeted by the quick-moving air. The dragon continued to rise upward until it was fifty feet off the ground. With three great beats of its wings, it launched itself off toward the east. Within seconds, it had passed over the courtyard, the castle gardens, and shot out over the bay.

  Elladan watched the dragon depart with clear admiration. It was a magnificent creature, even if it were a bit small. Abruptly, clapping and cheering broke out around him. He tore his eyes away from the receding form and gazed down from the stage. A crowd of guards, performers, and servants had gathered around them. They were applauding their saviors. Shalla was at the forefront, a wide grin on her face. Elladan exchanged a quick glance with Donnie. Nodding to each other briefly, the duo stepped forward to the edge of the stage. Together they reached down to the songstress. A brief laugh escaped Shalla’s lips. She then reached up and grasped their hands. The duo hauled her up on stage and then the three of them stood back. They grasped shoulders, Shalla in the middle, and then as one, bowed for their audience. The crowd went wild! A chant of “Heroes, Heroes!” quickly went up through the throng.

  Francis came forward to the edge of the stage. “Thank you all. We were certain we were going to have to fight that creature.”

  “Men,” Shalla whispered under her breath. “Why is fighting always the answer?”

  Elladan suppressed a laugh, instead smiling at the well-meaning guard. “I’m glad we could help.”

  “Well then, best we all get back to our preparations for this evening,” Frances replied. He spun around and led the guards away.

  The rest of the crowd dispersed, and performers once again took the stage. Elladan, Shalla, and Donnie climbed down and out of the way. They’d all had enough rehearsing for the day. The threesome stopped in front of the first row of benches. There they turned to watch the other performers practice. They stood there in silence until Shalla spoke up. “I have to agree with the guard. That was rather valiant of you both.”

  Elladan gave her a half-smile. “That was nothing. You should’ve seen the time Donnie faced down an irate noble, his three sons, and a whole platoon of city guards!”

  “I seem to remember you providing a helping hand in there,” Donnie replied with glint in his eye.

  Shalla’s eyes flickered from one to the other, her hands going to her hips. “Why do I suspect there was a woman involved in all of that?”

  Donnie did not miss a beat. “Is there a better reason to do anything than for the love of a woman?”

  Shalla gazed sharply at the slight elf, then a smirk crossed her lips. She laughed softly, then turned to Elladan. “Oh, I am definitely in trouble, aren’t I? This one is as much of a charmer as you!”

  Turning the Tables

  I appreciate your concern, my friend, but these devils are threatening my daughter!

  Glolindir heard the screams from across the courtyard. He saw the dragon landing on the stage, the hysterical crowd, and the castle guards spurring into action. Recognizing the impending recipe for disaster, he immediately took off across the courtyard. He had only run a short distance when he pulled up short. Elladan had interposed himself between the dragon and the crowd. The bard and his friends had things well in hand. With the dragon gone and the crowd dispersed, Glo approached the trio. Elladan and Donnie were bantering and laughing while Shalla stood there with her hands on her hips. She did not appear angry, though, instead smirking and laughing at the duo.

  “Are these two giving you trouble?” Glo called lightheartedly to her.

  Shalla returned his gaze, grinned and winked. “Nothing I can’t handle, but thanks for asking.” She reached out and smacked Elladan on the arm. “At least one of you elves is a gentleman.” Her tone was serious, but her eyes danced with amusement.

  Elladan gave her a smoldering stare. “Have I not been a gentleman with you?”

  “It is not me that I’m worried about, you silver-tongued fox. It’s all these other women I’m suddenly hearing about!” she declared with feigned anger.

  “Do not malign my friend for his love of women,” Donnie said, rather overdramatically. “You are the most wondrous creatures in all the world. How could we not love you?”

  Shalla appeared to be caught off-guard by the remark, her cheeks flushing slightly. She quickly recovered, though, stepping back and fanning her face with her hand. When she replied, her tone was melodramatic. “Oh, my! Now I have two silver-tongued foxes to deal with!” Shalla turned to Glo and winked, continuing to feign distress. “Perhaps you are right, Glolindir. These two might indeed be too much for one poor defenseless female like myself. Perhaps you could distract them while I run for the hills?”

  Glo watched with amusement as the lady bard began to run from them. She moved her limbs in exaggerated slow motion. Not to be outdone, Elladan fell on one knee. “Please do not run away, fair Shalla! I promise to change my errant ways if only you’ll stay.”

  Shalla spun around in mid-step to see the elven bard on one knee. “Oh, Elladan!” she cried, her hand going to her forehead. She was nearly in front of Glo. Abruptly she fake-swooned backwards. He instinctively reached out and tried to catch her, nearly dropping her altogether. As it was, he barely caught the damsel, falling on his own butt in his attempt to save her. Glo found himself sprawled on the ground, with Shalla laying on top of him. The lady bard laughed hysterically. Elladan and Donnie stood over them, wide grins on their faces. Shalla sat up first, then Glo followed. Without warning, she spun around and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Thank you for saving me, good sir!” She leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek. Glo felt the blood rush to his face.

  He heard Donnie snicker. “Don’t look now, Elladan, but I think she’s fallen for Glo.”

  That comment elicited groans from both Glo and Shalla. Elladan, however, rolled with it. He raised t
he back of his hand to his forehead and cried, “Alas, I have lost her.”

  Shalla spun back around to look at Elladan. She then broke down into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Elladan and Donnie both joined in. Glo shook his head. These three were incorrigible. Their laughter was contagious, though, and he found himself chuckling along. “You three missed your calling. You should have been actors.”

  Shalla turned around and gazed at him with a fond expression, placing a gentle hand on his face. “Ah, but we are actors, my dear—every time we go out on stage.”

  “It’s true—every time I give a performance,” Elladan agreed. “We wouldn’t survive long in this business without stage presence.”

  Glo gazed from Elladan to Donnie and back to Shalla. “Well, I see no shortage of that here.”

  “You are a dear.” Shalla leaned forward and kissed him one more time, then got up and brushed herself off.

  Glo also picked himself up off the ground. All this banter had distracted him. It had been fun—a much-needed break in the tensions of this day. Now, though, they needed to get back down to business. “So what happened with Calipherous?”

  Elladan’s answer was rather nonchalant. “Not all that much really. Shalla kept the crowd calm and the guards at bay...”

  “...while we explained to him that he was scaring the locals,” Donnie finished for him.

  “And then we asked him to return tomorrow,” Elladan ended the story.

  “Nicely played, gentlemen.” Glo nodded to the threesome. “For a moment there, I was afraid there was going to be a battle.”

  “So did we,” Elladan admitted. His expression suddenly changed to one of curiosity. “What about you? What happened with Ves and Maya?”

  Glo sighed. “Exactly what you would expect. As soon as they saw Calipherous, they pulled another disappearing act.”

  “Come again?” Donnie’s gaze shifted from Glo to Elladan.

  Glo hesitated in his response. Nice as he seemed, he did not know Donnie all that well. He felt it best to steer clear from an in-depth discussion about the three sisters. He cast a quick warning glance at Elladan, then answered. “The first time we saw Calipherous was back on the Endurance. The girls were afraid of the dragon and went into hiding.”

  Donnie’s hand went to his chin. “Hmm, any chance they could be the charges the dragon was looking for?”

  Glo was duly impressed. This Donatello was smarter than he let on. He would have to be more careful what he said in front of him from now on, or at least until he knew him better. “That’s a distinct possibility.”

  Elladan smoothly redirected the conversation. “What did happen before Calipherous showed up?”

  Glo gratefully turned his attention to the bard. “It was rather strange actually. Ves and Maya were quite friendly at first. They seemed genuinely glad to see me. However, when I began to question them, Ves became rather elusive. I could not get a straight answer out of her.”

  “Well, she is a woman after all,” Elladan said with a devilish grin. That elicited another smack on the arm from Shalla.

  “Who was the man she was with?” Donnie asked while watching the couple’s playful antics. “He looked like a Druid...”

  Glo ignored the tussling bard and bardess. “Indeed, as a matter of fact, he is the town Druid, Almax. I got the impression that he and Ves already knew each other.”

  Truthfully, Glo thought that there was more going on here than met the eye. The sisters and this Almax knew something they refused to share with anyone else. Perhaps it had to do with the sisters’ true form.

  Elladan’s tussle with Shalla finally ended. “She never told you why they didn’t show up until now?”

  “No, she did not,” Glo admitted glumly. He still felt the sting of the sisters’ lack of trust in them. “However, I did find out that they are here as Almax’s guests. It seems that the Druid is in high standing in the Baron’s court.”

  Donnie’s eyebrow arched upward. “That’s interesting. Not everyone has great love for the Druids. This Baron Gryswold seems to be a tolerant fellow.”

  Elladan opened his mouth as if to reply, but never got the chance. Without warning, Seth appeared in their midst. He was red in the face and gasping for air. “Guys!” he croaked, “we’ve... got... trouble...” He bent over, still breathing heavily as he attempted to catch his breath.

  Glo felt a wave of apprehension wash over him. It took a lot to rattle the halfling. Whatever had happened, it was extremely serious.

  “I just...saw... a snake...” Seth continued, his breathing still somewhat ragged.

  “What kind of snake?” Elladan asked with clear apprehension.

  “Big snake...” Seth said holding his arms as wide as he could.

  “How big?” Donnie asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

  “Really big,” Seth replied, finally having caught his breath.

  Glo and the others listened intently as Seth related his encounter at the campsite. When he was finished, they were all silent. It finally made sense. That was how the Serpent Cult got into the town unseen. “Very clever, hiding amongst the performers, and it brings their pet snakes to our doorstep.”

  Donnie put the obvious question out there. “So do we gather the troops and attack these wagons?”

  Elladan shook his head. “No, that would only tip our hand.”

  Seth nodded. “If we do that, they might see us coming. Some of them could get away.”

  “What are you going to do?” Shalla appeared pensive, glancing from Elladan to Seth.

  Elladan turned to her and spoke in a reassuring tone. “We let them come to us, that way we can be sure to get all of them in one place...”

  “...where we can eradicate the entire group,” Glo finished for him.

  A sly grin crossed Donnie’s features. “Sounds dangerous. I like it!”

  Shalla stared at them as if they were all crazy. Glo tried to explain further in order to allay her concern. “Not all that dangerous. We know where they are coming from, and we know what their objective is—and, thanks to Seth, they don’t know that we know. So instead of them surprising us, we will surprise them.”

  Shalla did not appear completely convinced. “I just hope you know what you are doing. It still sounds extremely dangerous to me.”

  “But I live...” Donnie began.

  Shalla cut him off. “So help me, if you say something stupid like I live for danger, I’m going to hit you!”

  “But... I do,” Donatello replied, with a hurt expression.

  Glo did his best to suppress a smile. “Anyway, we should warn the others.”

  Donnie told them how Andrella had commandeered Lloyd. Glo offered to get him and inform the Baron while he was there. Seth would head for the tower to tell Martan what they had discovered. That just left Aksel. No one had seen the little cleric since they all split up. Donnie offered to go look for him. Elladan and Shalla would park themselves in front of the keep in case he showed up back there. They all agreed to rendezvous with the bards when they were done. The companions split up and went their separate ways, each with an errand vital for their defense against the attack that was sure to come.

  Glo entered the keep in search of Lloyd. He found the young man in the throne room with Gryswold, Andrella, and three knights in armor. The knights wore red tabards with a heraldic similar to Lloyd’s. Gryswold motioned for Glo to join them. He introduced him to the knights: Sir Brennon, Sir Duncan, and Sir Calric, all from the City of Penwick. Glo had interrupted a discussion concerning the latest news from Lloyd’s home town—a subject that all five were deeply engrossed in. It took some patience, but after a while Glo was able to pull the Baron aside.

  “What is it?” Gryswold whispered anxiously.

  “We have some news concerning security, your Lordship.
We thought that you should hear it.”

  The Baron nodded, his expression grim. He turned to the Penwick knights. “My apologies, gentlemen, but something has come up that demands my immediate attention.”

  Sir Brennon, the senior of the Penwick knights, asked, “Is it something we can help with?”

  Gryswold responded kindly. “No, that’s quite alright, but I will need to borrow young Lloyd here.” He turned to Andrella. “Would you be a dear and entertain our guests until we return?”

  Andrella arched a delicate eyebrow but said nothing. She curtsied and responded elegantly, “Why, of course, Father.”

  “Thank you.” He gave her a thin smile. Gryswold turned to Glo and Lloyd, and motioned for them to follow. “Gentlemen.”

  Gryswold stopped to send a guard to find Captain Gelpas. He then led Lloyd and Glo into one of the side meeting rooms. Once they were there, Glo told them what Seth had found. He ended up repeating himself when Gelpas joined them shortly thereafter. Glo finished with their recommendations on handling the situation. Gryswold sat silently for a long while. He drummed his fingers on the table loudly, his face a grim mask as he considered all that had been told to him. Finally, he sat forward.

  “I agree with your plan. I don’t want any of these monsters getting away this time. Let’s set the trap and pull them all in.”

  “The guards will be ready, your Lordship,” Gelpas declared.

  Gryswold peered gratefully at the Captain then shook his head. “Thank you, Gelpas, but no. I don’t want anyone inadvertently tipping our hand. Master Seth went to great trouble to give us this advantage. I want to keep it that way. This stays between you, me, and the heroes.”

  “Are you sure, your Lordship?” Gelpas asked. His tone was respectful, but he was obviously apprehensive about the dangerous plan they were hatching.