The Bane of Karrak: Ascension II of III (The Karrak Trilogy Part Two)

by Robert J Marsters

  “Faylore… Jendilomin. My beautiful girls have come to visit their old father. How blessed I am,” he whispered.

  “Father, rest. You must be exhausted,” urged Faylore.

  “Nonsense! I’m not exhausted, just dying… that’s all,” he said, blinking slowly.

  “You’re going to be fine, Father. A few days’ rest and you’ll feel better,” said Jendilomin, fighting back her tears.

  “Of course I will, but for now, I have some news for you. It’s about this Karrak fellow.” He began to cough as he finished his sentence. This was the first time in a long time that there had been any clarity from the lips of the former King of Thedar, and for it to be regarding Karrak was a bit of a shock to them.

  “What do you know of Karrak, Father?” asked Faylore, taking her father’s hand. “Did you learn something from the scrolls?”

  Koloss had closed his eyes. It seemed his time had come, “Stop the son. You must stop the son… dangerous… end of the world…” he whispered with his dying breath.

  CHAPTER 23

  “I’ll order him to show it to me. He can’t refuse, I am a prince after all,” chuntered Jared.

  “Absolutely!” agreed Hannock. “But I wouldn’t upset the old coot if I were you. He’s never been answerable to anyone, even your father. He might turn you into a glamoch if you upset him,” he laughed.

  “This isn’t a joke, Hannock. We’ll be facing Karrak before long and I need all the help I can get.”

  “Well, I don’t!” replied Hannock, raising the golden crossbow, “I have all the help I need right here.”

  “If Karrak has become this ‘shadow lord’ as the rumours suggest, you won’t get near enough to use that.”

  “Don’t you think? Well, maybe I’ll throw stones. Perhaps a few select insults would throw him off guard.”

  “Cut it out, Hannock! This is serious! Look at what he did to you last time, or do you no longer feel the cold of the golden eyepatch that presses against your cheek?”

  “On the contrary, Your Highness, I feel it every day, whether the day is cold or hot. It is what drives me. It reminds me of why we are here and gives me the strength to continue. It gives me purpose; purpose to find the one that rendered me blind in one eye and took half of my face; purpose to hunt him down like the animal he has always been; purpose to have my revenge by piercing his skull with a golden bolt.” A fire raged in Hannock, his voice rasping as he glared at the ground.

  Jared stared at his friend. Nothing would cause Hannock to show any form of leniency should they one day confront their enemy. Should their luck hold, Karrak would die, and they would both live to tell the tale. But, for the first time, Jared was beginning to doubt their abilities. He cleared his throat, “I think we’re getting a little side tracked, old friend. What are we to do about insisting that Emnor…”

  “You could simply ask me, Jared. However, insistence is not always the way to achieve one’s goals when dealing with a wizard. You should know that by now. After all, you are one.”

  Jared turned to face Emnor. He raised his finger as if to emphasise the point that he was about to make, but on opening his mouth, paused momentarily. Did Emnor just refer to him as a wizard? The thought had never crossed his mind before. But it did make sense, after all, he had been a student of Emnor’s for decades. Had he now learned enough to be considered a wizard by the Head of the Administration? “Ah, there you are, Emnor,” he began, “I know you may not agree, but I feel that the time has come for you to reveal…”

  “Yes, you’re quite right of course, Jared. Let me know when you’re ready and we’ll take Captain Hannock along as well,” interrupted Emnor.

  “What?” asked Jared, looking slightly confused.

  “You feel that it is your right to consult the Peneriphus Scroll, and I completely agree with you. I’m just surprised you haven’t asked to see it before now.”

  “So you knew? All this time you knew that I needed to consult it yet omitted suggesting it?”

  “I do not believe that you needed to see it before now, only that you wanted to. And who am I to suggest what a prince of Borell should or shouldn’t do?” replied Emnor with a smile.

  “You’re a crafty old sod, you are,” laughed Hannock. “Tell me, is there anything we may think of in the future that you don’t already have the answer to?”

  “I have no idea what you mean, my dear Captain. I cannot predict the future, only deal with events as they unfold. The scroll, however, can give us a much better idea of what those events may be, before they unfold.”

  Jared and Hannock followed Emnor as he headed to a slightly secluded spot, pausing briefly to grab a couple of water skins.

  Yello gave them a nonchalant wave as they passed, not bothering to look up from a tome he was studying. He never questioned Emnor and knew that if he was needed, he would have been summoned.

  Emnor turned to face Jared and Hannock, “Just one thing,” he said, “we must speak only to one another, do not be distracted by the guardians, whatever they may say. Ready? Place your hands on my shoulders. Here we go.”

  “Wait a minute, what guardians? Only talk to one another…” But Hannock’s sudden protests and questions were cut short as they vanished.

  The whirling sensation ceased and Hannock realised that they had reached their destination, wherever it was. He squinted but could barely make out the silhouettes of his friends as they were in almost complete darkness. “Didn’t you think it a good idea to put lights in here, Emnor? The occasional torch or brazier would have been a good idea. Other than that, I like what you’ve done with the place,” he hissed.

  “Shut your face, Hannock.”

  “So sorry, Your Highness. Only I do have a penchant for being able to see where I’m going.”

  “Please be quiet, Captain. I have to be sure that none of the guardians are too close. The light will attract them if it’s too sudden and trust me, we wouldn’t want that.”

  “We wouldn’t?” asked Hannock.

  “No, Captain, we really wouldn’t,” replied Emnor in a whisper.

  “I don’t like the sound of that, but at least I could defend myself if I could see where they were, these ‘guardians’ of yours.”

  “Give me a moment,” Emnor raised his staff ahead of him and it began to glow faintly, illuminating a winding path ahead of them. “Follow me closely. Remember, speak to no one.”

  “What do you mean, speak to no one? We’re the only ones here, you loony.”

  “I’ll ignore that, Captain, but be careful. You don’t want to be in here alone,” Emnor warned him.

  “Where is here, exactly?” asked Hannock.

  “Everywhere and nowhere,” replied Emnor, cryptically.

  “Oh, that makes perfect sense. Why didn’t you just tell us that before?” hissed Hannock testily.

  “It’s a construct of my mind, Captain. It’s an amalgamation of my darkest memories, but as it does not exist in a physical realm, its location cannot be found by others.”

  “Forget I asked,” sighed Hannock. “Let’s just find that blasted scroll and get out of here.”

  “That’s a good idea, but perhaps it has been hidden during your absence,” came a soft voice from the darkness.

  Jared recognised the voice. It was Faylore. He was about to call to her but Emnor clamped his hand across his mouth before he could speak, shaking his head vigorously.

  “Do not call to it, Jared,” he urged. “It is not her, merely a trick by the guardians. Believe nothing that you see or hear in this place, we can trust only one another.”

  Jared nodded and Emnor removed his hand. “I have to be honest,” he admitted. “It had me fooled, I could have sworn it was Faylore.”

  “And the guardians know that,” Emnor told him. “They can read your mind. The very second you speak to them directly, you will be at their mercy.”

  “Why have you made it so dangerous, Emnor? Surely, only you can enter this place, why such an elaborate secu
rity?”

  “To protect me from myself, of course. If my mind were being controlled by an outside force, I would not remember how to defend myself in here. The scroll must be kept hidden from all, whatever the cost.”

  “Sounds a bit over-the-top to me,” muttered Hannock.

  “Maybe, Captain. But better that than Karrak obtaining it. Come along, we have a long way to go yet.” They seemed to follow no obvious route as they followed Emnor. Occasionally he would make a deliberate 45-degree turn to his left or right, despite there being no walls to guide him. It was at the point of one of these turns that they had their next encounter with the guardians.

  Stepping carefully, Jared felt his foot brush against something solid on the ground. Looking down, he saw the familiar shape of a hammer, Lodren’s hammer to be precise. Raising his head, he noticed that a campfire had suddenly appeared in the darkness and sitting beside it tending to his pots and pans was Lodren.

  “Where have you been?” he called, waving to them. “Dinner’s nearly ready. Haven’t seen my hammer by any chance, have you? I’d lose my head if I wasn’t careful.”

  None of the three answered as their mouths fell open. The figure of Lodren hadn’t seen the zingaard approaching from behind him. It snatched him up and held him in the air by one leg, defenceless as it prodded him with its huge fingers. “Help me!” he yelled. “You’re supposed to be my friends! Help me! It’s going to eat me!”

  The zingaard held him aloft and opened its mouth, revealing its pointed teeth. It groaned in anticipation of its long-awaited meal as it released Lodren from its grasp.

  The entire scene turned to mist, nothing more than a gruesome vision.

  “I can’t take much more of this!” said Hannock, rubbing his head. “How sick are you to come up with stuff like this? It is your mind that’s creating it all, isn’t it?”

  “Certainly not! I merely created the guardians, the scenarios are entirely their own, used to prey on your darkest fears.”

  “Well, it works a little too perfectly for my liking,” said Jared, shaking his head. “I almost charged at that zingaard, it was so realistic.”

  “Thank you very much, Jared. How kind of you to say,” said Emnor, pompously.

  “It wasn’t a compliment, you bloody idiot! Hurry up, find the scroll!” Jared exclaimed.

  Hours passed, Hannock could bear it no longer, “How much farther is this bloody scroll, Emnor? Is there something you’re not telling us? Have you forgotten where you’ve hidden it or something?”

  “Not far now, no, and no.”

  Hannock gave him an exasperated look, “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

  “I answered your questions, Captain. What else is there for me to say?”

  “We’ve been tramping around after you for hours now and so far we’ve witnessed Lodren being eaten by a zingaard; Faylore smothered by forest elves as she was turned into a tree; Grubb being torn apart by wolves, and King Tamor being roasted alive by Karrak. If I should see one more of those visions of yours, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back.”

  “Ah!” exclaimed Emnor. “I see the problem. You’re feeling left out. And I shall remind you once more. They are not my visions.”

  “What?”

  “The visions are the creations of the guardians to…”

  “I know all that claptrap, that’s not what I’m talking about. What do you mean by, I’m feeling left out?”

  Emnor pouted and began stroking his beard. How could he explain to Hannock without insulting him? It seemed a little diplomacy was needed. “The thing is, and I shan’t beat around the bush with you, Captain. There are many kinds of people in this world, most, very similar in their behaviour. You, however, are quite unique. The things you have seen are a statement to your friendship of others and your concern for their wellbeing and for that, you must be commended. On the other hand, you have a pride that radiates. Your very stature gives that away. It is only right that you would expect to see yourself within at least one of the visions, as a protector or saviour, perhaps.”

  “And this is your idea of, not beating around the bush?” asked Hannock, folding his arms.

  “Absolutely, my dear Captain.”

  “Nothing you said makes any sense!” exclaimed Hannock.

  “Let me give it a try, shall I?” suggested Jared.

  Hannock shook his head, not in refusal, more in confusion. “Why not? It’s bound to make more sense than what he said!”

  “Here goes then. The visions are to illicit a response, that’s why they show our friends in danger, understood?”

  Hannock nodded.

  “The problem is that you’re such a big-headed git, all you want to see is you being the hero, charging in to save them. I’ve known you all my life, Hannock, and I can honestly say, I have never known anyone who spends as much time looking at their reflection as you do.”

  “So you think I’m vain, simply because I take pride in my appearance?” asked Hannock in a surprised tone.

  “No I don’t think that at all, Hannock, I damn well know it. Now shut your face and let’s crack on, shall we?”

  Emnor was telling the truth. Within a few minutes, they were facing the only wall that had been visible throughout their time in this perplexing construct. Emnor stroked at the bare rock, as if trying to find some way of penetrating it. He mumbled under his breath as he found what he was searching for. A faint crack of light appeared in the centre of the wall, but rather than opening like a hidden chamber or doorway, the rock simply melted away and oozed to the ground like molten lava. The light became brighter and there, secreted in the small alcove, lay the Peneriphus Scroll.

  “We have two choices, Jared. Study the content of the scroll here, where it is safe, or risk taking it with us so that it is readily available to us at any time.”

  “Take it with us!” said Hannock, adamantly. “Anything that means we don’t have to come back here again,” he added, looking about him.

  “Thank you, Captain, but my question was posed to Jared.”

  Hannock nodded his head vigorously as Jared glanced at him.

  “I’m going to have to agree with Hannock on this occasion, Emnor. We don’t have the time to keep returning here each time we wish to consult the scroll.”

  “As you wish, Your Highness. In that case, I relinquish it into your safe keeping,” replied Emnor, handing it to Jared. “Keep it safe, Jared,” he whispered. “We cannot allow it to fall into Karrak’s hands. You must promise to destroy it before ever allowing that to happen.”

  “Let’s just hope it predicts any steps that may be taken by Karrak, before he makes them,” said Hannock.

  “We’ve survived so far without the use of the scroll,” sighed Jared.

  “We still have to get out of here though,” noted Hannock, “I wonder what gory delights the guardians have in store for us next?”

  “Nothing at all,” announced Emnor. “Once the scroll has been removed, their part is over. No more visions, no more voices, just a darkness in which only your own imagination can scare you.”

  “In that case,” said Hannock with a sigh of relief, “can we get out of here?”

  Emnor led the way and eventually instructed them to place a hand on his shoulders once more. In a split second, they were again bathed in sunlight. The three blinked as their eyes became accustomed to it, each seeing a blurred figure strolling slowly toward them.

  “A mind prison?” exclaimed Yello. “You’ve lived for over a thousand years and that’s the best you could come up with?” he laughed. “And what’s more, you’ve been gone for fourteen minutes. I can remember when you could retrieve anything you’d hidden within five. Then again, you weren’t a crusty, old codger back then.”

  “Thank you, Yello. How good of you to point that out. And I am not crusty, I bathe at least once a fortnight.”

  “Alright, I’m only joking. Did you retrieve the scroll, or have you just read the highlights?”

&nbs
p; “Your nose is going to get stuck somewhere you don’t want it to if you don’t stop poking it into other people’s business,” chuntered Emnor.

  “It is my business, you silly old fool. If Karrak comes after it, I’ll be just as much a target as anyone.”

  “Can we just go somewhere quiet and read it? That is why we… fourteen minutes?” said Jared.

  “Sorry?” said Yello, raising his eyebrows.

  “You said we were gone for fourteen minutes.”

  “Well, approximately. Now don’t you dare say that Emnor’s getting slow. I’d like to see you do better when you’re over a thousand years old,” replied Yello.

  “We were in there for hours, not a few minutes!”

  “No, Hannock. It merely felt like you were in there for hours. It’s not real, remember?”

  “Whatever you say, Emnor,” replied Hannock. It seemed that he was never destined to understand the intricacies of magic. “Shall I read it?” he asked. “No? Alright then, just a thought. Lead on, Jared.”

  ***

  Faylore, Jendilomin, Lodren and Grubb had almost completed their ascent from the hall of history and were now less than a day from returning the body of the former King Koloss to his wife, Erenthas. Very little was said as they travelled. Faylore and Jendilomin remained silent through grief, Grubb and Lodren through the respect they felt for the queen and her sister. Grubb had insisted, as politely as he could, that he would carry Koloss’ body, an easy task for him once he had transformed into his alter-ego, Wilf. After wrapping Koloss in a cloak belonging to Faylore, Wilf gently lifted him with as much care as was possible. Lodren did his best to persuade the sisters to eat, but was never so insensitive as to insist. He suggested that they rest for a while. “Would you care for anything, Your Majesty? A small bite to eat or a drink perhaps?”