When they approached the gate, two heavily armed Dwarfs stepped out of the guardhouse. “Halt, state your business.”
“You’re kidding me, right? Kieran, you know bloody well who we are,” Kailid said defiantly, stepping toward the guard.
“Of course, Kailid. What we don't know is who the Elf and the Human are.”
Donovan stepped out from behind Kailid. “Enough. Open the gates. Our business is our own.”
Both Dwarfs stared in disbelief, their mouths open. “Of course, Your Highness,” the guard stammered.
“Then why is the gate still closed?”
“Sorry sir; right away sir.” Turning around he shouted, “Open the gate, Prince Donovan has returned!”
Lindon leaned toward Aina. “Prince Donovan? I think someone has been keeping secrets.”
Donovan turned to them and said, “Don't you two start. To both of you, I was just plain Donovan when you found me and as far as you two are concerned, I will always be just Donovan.”
Lindon could see the pleading in his eyes that he needed them to be his friends, not people to bow to him or to stammer at him like the guards did.
“Fair enough; you are our friend and nothing has changed, but why did you feel the need to leave that part out?”
“When you rescued me, you didn't do it because of my title; you did it out of compassion. And as time went on, you treated me as your friend, and I came to consider both of you my friends and didn't want to jeopardize that. Can you forgive me?”
“There is nothing to forgive, Donovan. What about what happened in—” Lindon started to ask, but Donovan cut him off.
“That still stands. I meant every word, and I stand by my oath, but for now, nobody needs to know about it, okay,” he said in Lindon's head, but out loud all he said was, “Thank you, Lindon, you are a true friend.”
“Okay, it is our secret; I am more than fine with that,” Lindon responded in his mind.
“What about you, Aina? You haven't said anything since we arrived,” Donovan asked.
“ I have just been thinking of home, and how long I have been away, but yes I am good with that too. You don't need to worry, we are your friends first and foremost.”
“I am so thankful for your understanding. I have been dreading this ever since I suggested we come here.”
They had been following Kailid as they had been mind-speaking, but now they approached two of the most massive doors Lindon had ever seen. They were made of stone and must have been twenty feet high. Carved into one was a massive hammer and the other a pick-axe, like the ones used by the Dwarf in the chasm to fix the path.
When they were close to the doors, they swung open. Lindon tried to see who was opening them, but they seemed to open by themselves as they approached.
Seeing the questioning look on Lindon's face, Donovan said, “There are men pulling on ropes that are attached to the doors. It’s a pulley system.”
All Lindon could say was “Amazing.” As they entered the opulent room, Lindon couldn't help feeling out of place—being raised in a little farmhouse had not prepared him for the sights he was now seeing.
Walking into the throne room of the Dwarven castle, Lindon could see the love of stone that the Dwarfs had with every step. There were statues and carvings all along each side. There were two large thrones sitting at the far end of the walkway. When they got closer, he could see that these too were made of stone, but the workmanship and the carvings on them were beyond belief. Only one of them was occupied; there were several other Dwarfs standing in front and guards standing on either side of the thrones.
When they approached, the Dwarf who was sitting on the throne looked up. His eyes fell on Donovan and a look of complete shock registered on his face. With a great whoop, he jumped from his seat and literally bowled over the ones standing in front to race toward Donovan and, with tears streaming down his face, buried him in a great hug.
“Donovan, my son, I never thought to see you ever again!” he cried. “What happened? Where have you been all this time?” Not waiting for an answerer, he turned toward a Dwarf who had been sitting just below the throne. “Spread the word my Donovan has returned,” he commanded.
To the rest of the Dwarfs present he bellowed, “Leave us!” and, pulling Donovan up the stairs to the thrones, he guided him to sit in the other chair and took his own seat. As the other Dwarfs filed past, they gave Lindon and Aina curious looks, trying to figure out why a Human and an Elf accompanied their long-lost prince.
When they were gone, the great doors started to close; Lindon could see many onlookers standing on the other side trying to get a last look inside. With a muffled boom, the doors sealed shut.
When they closed he turned to Donovan. “Now tell me, Son, what happened? Where have you been? And who are your...friends?”
“The only way to tell the whole story is to start at the beginning.”
The king just nodded.
“As you know, two years ago, some of our people went missing.”
“I remember,” the king said.
“Some of my trusted warriors and myself went looking for them. What we found was that a Human magus had a camp with them locked in cages. When we went in to rescue them, the trap closed on us.” He stopped speaking and looked down at the floor.
When he started his tale again, there were tears in his eyes. “I watched them all die. All of it was just a ruse to get me to go looking for them, and once they had me, they killed everyone else. They didn't just end their lives. They taunted and played with them, torturing them with the most painful ways that they could think of, and they made me watch it all. When the last died after begging for them to kill him, they took me away and brought me to Kornas, where they imprisoned me and started torturing me. I don't remember a lot from then—for some reason they drugged me most of the time, and when I would wake up in my cell I was missing more of my flesh.”
“You don't look too bad; I mean I can see scars on your face, but they look well healed,” the king pointed out.
“I will get to that in a bit,” Donovan said. “One time when they put me back in my cell, they got careless; when they left they didn't lock the door. It must have been a light session of whatever they were doing and when I woke up, I managed to escape. I am not sure how long I was wandering around, but eventually I found my way into the sewers. Once there I was able to follow it to the edge of the city, but just when my freedom was so close, I came upon a gate blocking my way to freedom. Having no more energy to move and sick with fever I laid down to die.”
“Oh, my son,” the king cried again as Donovan said the last.
“But it was not fated that I die that day, for not long after I collapsed in front of the grate, is when Lindon and Aina happened upon me. Lindon, being the man I have come to know and love, found me and with Aina's help carried me to freedom. Luckily, she knew the secret of how to open the gate and they carried me for most of the day.” Donovan stopped talking. “This next part is for your ears only,” he added, looking expectantly to the guards and his father's assistant.
“Really?” he asked Donovan.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Okay, leave us; clear the area of everyone.”
As they waited, Donovan formally introduced Lindon and Aina to the king.
“Father this is Aina Bow-Strike.” Aina gave a courtly bow. The king gave a small nod to her.
“And this is Lindon.” Following Aina's example, he tried to copy her bow to the king but not quite with the same grace. Smiling a little at Lindon's attempt at courtly behavior, he nodded to Lindon.
“You have no last name?” the king asked Lindon.
“No, your majesty, at least not that I know. It never came up and I never asked my grandmother about it either. Now that I think about it, I don't know why I was never curious about it,” Lindon said.
“Strange, you would think something like your own last name would be important to know,” the king pointed out.
“Thank you, you may leave now,” the king said. Turning to Donovan, he said, “Okay, Son, what is so secret that I had to clear this wing?”
As Donovan told the king about the events after they had found him, Lindon could see the doubt in his eyes. Donovan told him about the healing when he was being carried away from the city and about the magic user’s attack, even about the oath that he had given Lindon. The king raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing. The only thing Donovan didn't tell the king was about the ability to now communicate with their minds.
When he had finished telling everything, the king sat back in his seat to think about all he had heard. Standing there in silence, Lindon could feel the eyes of the king measuring him to the deeds Donovan had said he'd done.
“What my son has told me is quite hard to believe, but I have never known my son to exaggerate nor to not tell the truth; I would like to thank you both for saving my son and helping him to return to us. If there is ever anything that you need, just let my assistant know and we will do our best to get it for you.”
“Father, we will be leaving again in a couple of days.”
What do you mean, leaving? You just got back,” the king asked, slightly shocked that his son was planning on leaving again after just returning from such a harrowing journey.
“We have to go and see Fenella.”
“Fenella? Why do you want to go and talk to the witch?”
“Father, I know that we Dwarfs like to think we live apart from the world, but with my abduction and torture and with what Lindon and Aina have told me, there are things going on in the world that will affect us, and Fenella has always been right in all of her predictions. So if any Dwarf might have an idea about what it all means, it is she.”
“Then I will order her to come to the palace,” the king said in near panic at the thought of his son leaving again.
Donovan snorted, “Yeah, that will happen. Do you remember the last time someone tried to make her leave? Even if it were because where she was living had become unstable, she still didn't take the move very well.” Turning to face Lindon, he continued, “We had to actually pick up her entire home and move the building away before it caved in.”
“Really? You couldn't just take her and move her to a new house,” Lindon asked.
Donovan laughed. “No, we did try that, but well, she is kind of strong-willed and she is a witch. Even our magic users couldn't help. Anything they tried, she countered with her magic. Eventually we just shut the door and boarded up the windows so she couldn't stop us, and we lifted the house and moved the entire thing. The whole time she was inside cursing at us. So as you know, Father, you might as well ask the stone walls to come for a visit as opposed to ordering Fenella to come.”
“Alright, I get it, but I still don't understand why you are the one that has to go. Why can't you just send someone to ask her what you want to know?” the king persisted.
“You know it doesn't work that way, and besides, the three of us must go,” Donovan insisted.
Bowing his head in defeat, the king asked, “Fine, when will you be going?”
“Not for a few days; we need to rest, and I want to send someone to make contact with Lindon's family to let them know that he is safe and to see what the Humans are really up to. Father, I am not kidding when I say there is important times ahead for everyone, including us.”
“It’s just that you’ve only just returned from the dead to us, and the thought of you in danger so soon is hard on an old Dwarf,” the king complained. “But you are right—we must know what's happening out in the world.”
“Thank you, Father, but for now, it is time to rest,” Donovan said.
“Barden!” the king shouted.
A small door on the side of the great room opened and the king's assistant walked in. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Please show our guests to their rooms.”
“Yes, sire.” Turning to Lindon and Aina, Barden said, “Please follow me.”
“Go with Barden; I will see you tomorrow,” Donovan said.
Giving the king another bow, Aina turned to follow the Dwarf. Lindon imitated her and walked after them.
When the door closed, the king asked Donovan, “Are you sure it was the lad that did the killing and not the Elf? I mean, he doesn't really look like that much of a swordsman.”
“Yes, Father, I know he doesn't look like much, but believe me when I say I have never seen anyone that could even come close to him. When the story that I have told you gets out, there may be people that want to try and see if he's any good with his swords. You have to stop it before it happens. I tell you in truth that if any were to challenge him they will lose, and if they do it with real weapons they will die. Also, you must let it be known that Aina is off-limits because if she is attacked, Lindon will defend her—and may the gods have mercy on them because he won't.”
“I will follow your advice, but he really doesn't look the part as a great warrior.”
“I know what you mean. When we were attacked by the magus and his men, I thought we were all dead, but he faced them all without hesitation and faster than you could blink, the ones that attacked died. Even Aina, a great warrior in her own right, let him move up to face them by himself and was left behind him as a backup. She didn't even pull her sword; she didn't have any doubt that he would win. That should tell you more than anything I can say—if an Elf warrior will take second to Lindon, then he must be one hell of a warrior.”
The king thought about it for a few minutes and let what Donovan said to sink in. He was right—there was more to the boy than fist glance. “Okay. I will inform everyone that Aina is off-limits—not just because of what Lindon might do, but because she is the first Elf to come here in a thousand years, and I don't want to cause any kind of incident with the Elves. We may not get along with them, but we don't need to antagonize them either. As for Lindon, I don't think it is necessary to say anything. He did rescue you, and the people will not insult you by attacking your friend.”
“I hope you are right for their sakes. I will leave you now, Father; it is truly good to be home.”
“Goodnight my son, sleep well.”
Chapter 12
Lindon was unsure what had woken him. As he was underground, he also had no idea what time it was.
He didn’t see or hear any noises, so he laid back down to go to sleep, but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was in his room. He was about to sit back up when in his mind, a voice unlike any other spoke to him. It had a depth and a resonance to it that brought the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
“Be at peace, Lindon; when the time is right, all will be revealed. Just know that you are following your destiny and when you are ready, seek me out.”
“Who are you?” Lindon asked the mysterious voice.
“One who has long waited your coming! Remember, when you are ready, come seek me.”
“How will I know when?” he asked, but the voice seemed to be gone.
Lindon sat there in darkness, trying to understand what his mysterious visitor had meant. How was he to seek them out? He had no idea who it was or how would he know when he was ready to find them.
Lindon got up feeling around for his clothes, seeing no point is sitting there any longer. Once dressed he searched for his swords. At first he couldn't find them in the darkness and having no way to light a candle, he felt around until he found them leaning up against the wall by the bed. Picking up his swords, he felt the makeshift scarabs he had made and noticed they were starting to wear thin. Maybe while he was here he could look in to getting some proper ones made.
Lindon left his room, not really having any place to go. He just started walking. As he went through the castle, he would occasionally stop and admire a piece of stone carving. One particular piece caught his eye. It was carved into the wall and showed what he imagine
d was a great battle from the past.
It showed Dwarfs fighting alongside Elves. They were battling creatures he had never seen before; they had what looked like tusks protruding from their mouths and towered over the Dwarfs and the Elves. Throughout the battle scene were creatures that were impossible to see which race they were, being covered from head to toe in heavy cloaks and deep hoods.
What really caught his attention was the Dragons flying above the battle. One of them seemed to be swooping down onto the creatures and blowing what looked like fire into them. Scanning the carving, Lindon was lost in the workmanship of it; it seemed that every detail was captured and transferred to the stone. The carving was so realistic that just standing there, he felt like he could have been on the same field as the battle.
These Dwarfs were nothing like how he had imagined them, meaning they looked the part. Their height on average would come to his chest, and most of them were almost as round as they were tall. The faces of most of the Dwarfs he had met all had large noses that covered most of their faces and great bushy eyebrows. What struck Lindon as the main difference from what he had heard about them and the way they were was that traders all said they were cantankerous with no sense of humor whatsoever. Lindon's experience with them was the complete opposite. Sure, there were some that seemed a little grouchy but the majority of them were caring individuals who could laugh with great enthusiasm or could cry with deep emotion. To Lindon, they were people with a considerable sense of who they were and a love for their fellow Dwarf. Their sense of being would put humans to shame if they could see them as he does.
Leaving the carving, Lindon continued exploring the new wonders every step of the way, all of them lovingly carved in stone by true masters. He was about to pass an open door when he could hear grunting coming from inside. Taking a look inside, Lindon could see what he first thought was a child from the back, but after getting a better look, was a really old Dwarf. His snow white beard was nearly touching the ground. He was trying to shift a large table closer to the wall but wasn't having any luck moving it.
Shaping Magic (Mistakes Return) Page 11