The Holtur Curse (The Holtur Trilogy Book 2)

by Cameron Wayne Smith

  “Not fight them.” Kallum’s grin grew ear to ear. “Guide them, speed them up. Let’s make the shroud deal with the Brothers of Eternity before they can take over Holtur!”

  The sound of ballista bolts firing from above echoed around them, followed shortly by the screeches—and stink—of slater beasts. It always felt odd discussing tactics when there were creatures to slay, but slater beasts were never that big of a threat.

  “You really think that would work?” Sonja asked.

  “We could argue whether it would work all sun if you want,” Kallum said, “or we could just go fetch the shroud and see!”

  Chapter 12: Nordrachosten Alley

  Awkward, the best way to describe Kallum strapped in tandem with Tequidi on Raithia. Volk, on the other hand, had one of those beaming smiles on his face that wrinkled his cheeks and made his freckles appear to be smiling too. He was all too eager to jump back into the piloting sack and take Reizexus back to the sky. The alpha—apparently—had taken to him as well.

  “Kallum, are you sure you want to do this?” Sonja asked. “You can rely on the others to succeed without you. You do know that, right?”

  “Of course I’m fine!” Kallum’s eyes were visibly wide with excitement, even beneath the goggles that Tequidi had just forced over his head. “Besides, this has never been done before, could you think of anyone better to pilot the red that guides the shroud?”

  “Of course not,” Sonja said. Even if she’d rather Kallum stay safe on the ground, he’d be the best one to make this work.

  “Stop worrying, sister!” Kallum grinned. “It’s just a little flight of flame! You gave it a go yourself back in Aestridge, how bad could it get?”

  Tequidi and Sonja shot each other a worried glance. She never explained to her brother exactly what happened when she rode Raithia in Aestridge. That was not a story to be shared right now.

  “You can reach the elixir?” Sonja asked Tequidi.

  “S-sure can, S-Sonja,” Tequidi responded. “D-don’t worry, it will all b-be fine.”

  “Yeah, quit worrying, Captain,” Volk said. He really looked comfortable and natural with the wyvern. “You just focus on the town’s defence. Who knows what will happen when the shroud arrive. I’d rather be floating among the clouds than treading the ground when the real conflict begins!”

  Sonja laughed. “Red of the reds, don’t enjoy yourself too much up there!”

  “Professor Formidor!” Kallum blurted out. “Inform him of our intentions, make sure he knows that the shroud will arrive shortly.”

  “I intend on getting the word out to all of Holtur!”

  “No, tell him immediately!” Kallum grinned that devious grin—a toothy smile where he holds his head high and looks down his nose at you—that divulged he had a plan.

  Sonja shook her head. “What are you planning?”

  “Remember what we did last year, the air dryer?” Kallum countered Sonja’s disapproving head shake with an enthusiastic nod of his own. “Well that was nothing compared to what we have readied this year, the Nordrachosten Hacknebel!”

  “You’ve got to be joking!” Sonja found herself involuntarily nodding. “I thought you didn’t find much use for the corpses?”

  “Not from a single one.” His grin grew ear to ear. “But if we had a couple of dozen—”

  “Alright Kallum, I’ll go see Formidor.”

  “And we should get moving,” Volk interrupted. “We need to gather the shroud before sundown, remember?”

  “Let’s ride!” Kallum announced then puckered his lips and narrowed his eyes, a dreadful attempt at a heroic face. It would have been a great expression and one-liner to depart on too, if the flame wyverns listened to him that was.

  “Alright Raithia,” Tequidi called out. “Let’s go!”

  On her command the two large wyverns leapt into the sky. Sonja and the nearby slayers were blasted by hot air released from beating wings. Yelps and screeches came from the juvies as they leapt into the air and followed the alphas.

  Once the flame wyverns were out of sight, Sonja turned to the slayers before her. “Knoch, Hopper, spread the word around town. Let everyone know to bar their doors by first moon. Return to Commander Maver by sundown. This will be hectic, every set of arms will be needed—all sun, both moons.”

  The two scouts nodded, then began sprinting into town.

  “Rak, Junior, with me!” Sonja started making her way towards the heart of Holtur.

  “What are we going to do?” Bevan asked. “Where are we going?”

  “Bristrunstium.” Rak spat.

  Sonja nodded. “We must find Professor Formidor.”

  ***

  There was a certain dark presence throughout Holtur this sun. While walking towards the Bristrunstium, Sonja informed the townsfolk to prepare for a first moon lockdown. She was sure they had heard her warning, yet none bothered to respond. With so many people awakening to find drained corpses, it was difficult to blame their grim outlook.

  “So many drained,” Bevan said as they reached the Bristrunstium’s grounds. Even this place seemed a lot quieter than usual. No one outside experimenting with their toys or monster corpses, just a still, cold quietness. “Have leeches ever struck with such aggression before?”

  Sonja looked up at the high arched entrance and sighed. “No.” She was sure Bevan knew that and was just looking for closure. “This is new. At least they were attacking the Brothers of Eternity as well as us.”

  “But why attack their warriors, yet only our sick and elderly?” Bevan shook his head. “Drain their strong, but our weak?” The word ‘weak’ reverberated around the Bristrunstium’s vestibule; an eerie way to announce their entrance into the grand building.

  “Kid’s got a point,” Rak said.

  “Something must be aggravating the leeches. We’ll find out what soon enough,” Sonja omitted any information about them being humanoid. She felt disgusting hiding the fact, but until she understood why Rigst was among them, it would remain her secret. “But first, we need to deal with those men and the shroud. After that, understanding the leeches will become a top priority.”

  “But wha—”

  “Not now, Junior,” Sonja interrupted. “Brothers of Eternity, shroud, then we can discuss the leech matter further.”

  Bevan’s face twisted, like holding back his curiosity brought him physical pain. Fortunately, he managed to keep his questions at bay.

  “Professor Wilbart Formidor?” Sonja asked the single clerical woman at the front desk.

  “Uh, excuse me a moment,” she responded. The woman was relatively composed given the situation, yet overrun with paperwork due to the absence of the her colleagues. At least the Bristrunstium didn’t seem all that busy. “If you want to talk to him about leeches, he has spoken with numerous townsfolk already.”

  Sonja looked to Bevan with a raised brow, then turned back to the woman. “No, I need to speak with him about the shroud.”

  The woman’s eyes widened slightly, then returned to their usual gaze. “Just what Holtur needs right now,” she said, trying her best not to sound worried.

  Sonja released a small laugh and folded her arms. “Surprisingly, it actually is!”

  The woman furrowed her brows, then looked to Sonja’s companions. “You slayers can be an odd lot.” Her gaze returned to the desk and she slid her finger along a timetable. “Professor Wilbart Formidor should be in his office. I say should be, but it’s been a somewhat… horrific sun.” The cleric grinned at her joke, but her humour was lost on the slayers.

  “A horrific sun!” Laughter erupted from behind the group. They turned to see a man with an orange robe sprouting green tufts of fur from the open collar and cuffs. Beneath that he wore white—like the other professors—however, his top had folded frills around the neck-line and his pants were decorated with thin, black chains.

  “Professor Formidor,” Sonja said sternly, doing her best not to gawk at his getup. The man really had extravagant
tastes. “My brother told me to find you. He wanted you to know the shroud will be arriving early first moon.”

  “What?” Wilbart scratched at the grey tufts of hair sprouting from his chin with his left hand, while he idly toyed with a chicken egg in his right. “Seems a little sudden, don’t you think?”

  “We have other problems—”

  “Ahh yes, the leeches,” Wilbart interrupted. “Their attacks were a little sudden.”

  Sonja shook her head. “I’m referring to the Brothers of Eternity.”

  “Ah, of course. That mob chasing after the Eternity Grail,” Wilbart said then narrowed his eyes at Rak. “You, did you or that ginger slayer find any more information?”

  “No,” Rak responded.

  “Shame, it sure sounds like an intriguing item!” Wilbart tossed the egg into the air, catching it with his other hand.

  “We’re not searching for it, not any more,” Sonja said, watching the professor juggle with the egg. “My brother and ‘that ginger slayer’ have taken off with a couple of flame wyverns to guide the shroud here ahead of schedule. We are going to use the shroud to defeat the Brothers of Eternity.”

  “So, you slayers are flying around on wyverns now?”

  “Technically they are flying beneath them,” Bevan said. “They’re flame wyverns, you’d burn up if you rode on top of them!”

  Wilbart twisted his face “Who is this?” he asked, annoyed.

  “He’s a junior,” Sonja said. “I thought he’d give us some fresh ideas while searching for the Eternity Grail.”

  “He has an exceptional talent for divulging the obvious!” Wilbart smiled. “I take it the leech hunt is off too then?”

  “Correct.” Sonja nodded. “Even if the shroud do not arrive by first moon, we will have trouble on our hands. Unless we hand over the Eternity Grail by then, the Brothers of Eternity will attack Holtur at sundown.”

  Wilbart brought his hands together and rolled the egg between them. “So, the next pair of moons may very well see us pitted against the Brothers of Eternity, leeches, and the shroud?”

  “That is correct,” Sonja said. “My brother said you have some plan for capturing more shroud. A Nordradra Hacken-something? Would you be up to it?”

  “Haha, the Nordrachosten Hacknebel!” Wilbart corrected. “Well, a smart man would flee or hide.” He spun the egg on the tip of his finger. Is that what he practices all day in his office? “I’ll do it! It would be nice to have a few more shroud corpses to study!”

  “Good, how many men will you need to operate your device?”

  “Eight should suffice,” Wilbart said. “However, given the circumstances, let’s say twelve. While we have a much sturdier foundation than your brother’s prototype, I’d rather eliminate any possibility of breaches or failure.”

  “As would I,” Sonja said. She wasn’t present when her brother faked an episode to oversee an attempt at capturing shroud, but three good slayers died that moon. If the presence of more slayers could hold the mortality rate to zero, more slayers he’d get. “I’ll requisition ten of my finest slayers.”

  “Scouts if you could,” Wilbart said, licking his lips. “Strong in the legs, high endurance.”

  “Yeah yeah,” Sonja said. “My brother said the same thing last time! However, I’ll be present myself for this venture.”

  “Excellent!” Wilbart threw his hands up in the air.

  The egg he had been toying with flung from his grip. Sonja leapt out to catch it, but her arms just weren’t long enough. The egg hit the stone ground, exploding into a gooey mess of white and yellow. Taking a deep whiff, Sonja discovered it was also rotten.

  Wilbart laughed. “You looked so worried!”

  “I thought it might have been a tovulpa!” Sonja laughed back.

  “No way, those things bite!” Wilbart said. “Besides, a smack against a stone floor wouldn’t crack one of those.” He winked. “Now, do you know where Kallum set up his prototype?”

  Sonja nodded. “Near the alley leading to the Lodern residence.”

  “Good, well the new contraption is nowhere near that.” Wilbart clasped his now free hands together. “It is at the entrance to Nordrachosten Alley.”

  Since it was to do with reading, Sonja was no good with street names. “Any idea where that is Bolt?”

  Rak grunted with a shake of his head.

  “It’s on the north-east side of town,” Bevan said, “not too far from the north gate. It’s quite long for a dead end street.”

  “Good on you, Junior!” Wilbart exclaimed. “Keep filling in the obvious blanks for these two!”

  Bevan blushed. “Ah, I only know where it is because I live there.”

  “How many people live in that alley?” Sonja asked.

  Bevan scratched his scruffy, blond hair. “I don’t know exactly. Fifty? Maybe more?”

  “They should evacuate,” Sonja said. “I don’t want to give an arm of the Lachtod fog access to fifty Holtur bodies. I want you to go there immediately and enthuse everyone to spend the next moons with relatives or friends, far from Nordrachosten Alley. Once you’re done, report to the north gate.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Bevan said, saluting, then raced towards the sunlight.

  “And Junior, be firm with those people,” Sonja said. “Remind them of the seriousness of what is coming. Allowing any stubborn bastards to stay back and fight—or try to protect their home—is as good as condemning them to death.”

  Bevan swallowed hard, nodded, then continued off.

  “Kid’s got spirit,” Wilbart said. “It’s a shame he isn’t one of my scholars.”

  Sonja tilted her head “Why is that?”

  “I could use an excited little go-for!” Formidor laughed. “Especially on a sun like this.”

  “What are you to do now?” Sonja asked.

  “Well, I was going to investigate these leech victims,” Formidor said, “but it looks like my priorities have been rearranged. I’ll head straight over to the Hacknebel, see if it needs any tinkering before we have to use it.”

  Sonja sighed, not another prototype! “You mean, this thing may not be ready yet?”

  “The Hacknebel will be fine,” Wilbart said with a nod. “Escort me, I’ll show it to you before you gather your men.”

  “Alright,” Sonja said, then turned to Rak. “Bolt, head to the south gate. Inform Captain Sudtor of the events unfolding. See if he can loan us some scouts.”

  “Right,” Rak said. He looked the professor up and down then made his departure.

  “Shall we?” Wilbart hooked his arm around Sonja’s, which she awkwardly allowed for a moment before pulling away.

  Sonja coughed. “You sure are an odd one, you know that right?”

  “An authority on horrors could never be, what you’d call, normal.” Wilbart looked to the green swirl of yoke oozing into the cracks in the stone floor. “What would you expect of the highest authority?”

  Sonja shook her head, then offered an apologetic glance to the woman behind the desk. She looked busy enough without having to clean up after the eccentric professor. “Alright, let’s see this device that you and Kallum have put together.”

  Wilbart grinned, then—with hands kept to himself—led the way.

  Chapter 13: The Hacknebel Twelve

  Sonja had seen the remains of the ‘air dryer’ prototype Kallum had put together. There wasn’t much left, not after it had been overrun by the shroud then burnt to the ground. Still, it was enough to understand the concept. The Hacknebel, however, was on a whole new level of shroud eradication.

  The two-story, stone building had a large spinning blade contraption on both levels. Behind the blade sat a curved concrete seat with two heavy handles before them, on the ground were raised, steel foot-grips. This allowed someone to manipulate the wind direction created by the blades. Behind that, three linked, cycle mechanisms ran a chain to a collection of cogs and mechanical bits that Sonja had no understanding of. Professor Formidor was kind
enough to explain how it all worked, but that all entered through one ear and quickly escaped out the other.

  In front of the lower blade contraption was a large fire pit, already stocked up with timber for fuel. The upper level had a metallic, mesh net for a balcony, directly above the lower fire pit. It too was full of wood. The alley-side wall displayed a pattern of neatly stacked chunks of split wood; the place would have little issue keeping a fire roaring through most of the frozen suns, let alone a single shroud attack!

  Professor Formidor had gone about his final round of tinkering while Sonja returned to the north gate to gather slayers for the task ahead. The edginess of the slayers since the beginning of this particular sun had only grown. Leech attacks always did that, but the scale of the recent assault was beyond any they had ever known. The issue with the Brothers of Eternity—and the coming of the shroud—only escalated the situation.

  “Commander Maver,” Sonja said as she stepped into the command bartisan. “No luck finding the Eternity Grail. Even so, I don’t think handing it to those brothers would send them packing.”

  “I hate to say it, but I agree with you.” Fin sighed. “The Brothers of Eternity don’t even appear on edge. It’s like they had prepared for an attack well and truly before this sun. On the plus side, there’s been no other aggressors since the slater beasts earlier.”

  “Let the brothers keep their cool…” Sonja smirked. “I doubt they’ll hold it for long after the shroud arrive.”

  “Do you think your brother will be able to pull this off?” Fin’s face was heavily creased with sunken eyes.

  “It gives me the shits how rarely he’s wrong!” Sonja laughed. “And those two wyverns are clever, as are Tequidi and Volk. If it can be done, it will be done.”

  “And if it can’t?”

  “Fuck!” Sonja slapped her superior across the face. “Commander, I hope you haven’t been behaving like this in front of the others!”

  Fin rubbed his hand against a blushed cheek and checked his jaw. “No…”