by Brad Clark
Tarcious, atop a horse, came racing towards him. Six others were behind him. Five of them were centurions, the other was his brother, the former emperor. It still felt weird to see Hargon alive, although he didn’t look like an emperor. His long hair was as ratty as ever, and his beard was tangled and matted.
With the grace of an expert equestrian, Tarcious pulled his horse to a stop and slid off the back. The nearest centurion grabbed the reigns of the horse.
“They offer any resistance?” Tarcious asked.
“They did for some time. But our superior forces have squelched any fighting out of them. I did expect a final defense of the castle, but as you can see, they are not here. It is as if they are giving us the castle without a fight, something I would not have expected.”
The four stone ogres that were working on the castle walls suddenly stopped. They turned and looked directly at Tarcious. After a wave of his hand, the four sat on the ground, unmoving.
“You control them?” General Mace asked.
“Of course,” Tarcious replied. “Does that surprise you?”
“Well, yes, I guess.”
“They needed to be controlled, else they would not only destroy the city, but they would come after your army as well.”
“I’m sure we could take them,” General Mace said confidently.
Tarcious raised an eyebrow.
“You saw one of them just inside the gate? If the Karmons can take one down, I am sure that we can, too.”
A trumped blared from inside the castle.
“They signal for parlay,” the general said.
“Of course they do,” Tarcious replied. “Their city is in ruins and they have no more army to defend it.”
Tarcious confidently walked up to the gate. General Mace followed.
The inner gate doors creaked open. A short, plump man in a thick wool robe stood behind the portcullis, which was still down.
“Greetings, I am Lord Martin. I represent the Kingdom of Karmon.”
General Mace said, “This is Emperor Tarcious.”
“Raise your portcullis and let us in so that we may talk.”
A surprised look came across Lord Martin’s face. “Oh? The two of you?”
“I fear nothing,” Tarcious replied. “We shall discuss terms of surrender.”
“Well…”
Tarcious took a step forward and turned his head towards the stone ogres that were sitting quietly next to the outer castle walls. “I can ask one of them to open it, if you’d like. But then I’d probably just let it loose inside your castle.”
“Of course!” Lord Martin replied, fear evident in his voice. He motioned to the gate operator and the portcullis was raised.
As soon as Tarcious and General Mace stepped through the portcullis, Lord Martin turned to signal for it to be lowered.
“Do not do that. Leave it up.” He turned to his general and said. “Secure the castle. Kill anyone who resists. Those that give up, you may spare.”
“But…but…we have not discussed…”
“There is no discussion. There is only your surrender to us. We have your city. We have your castle. You can either give it up peacefully, or I will return my friends to action and they will tear this castle apart brick-by-brick. Now take me to your queen!”
***
Lord Martin led Tarcious and General Mace into the Great Hall.
Queen Elissa sat upon her throne still in her bloody tunic. Her golden hair was matted and dirty and tied behind her head. She would have preferred to have it braided, but that was a luxury that she was going to have to do without. Lord Kirwal sat on the floor next to her. His face had been sliced and blood covered his neck and down onto his chainmail shirt. He had several other deep cuts that were bandaged up. One of them was on the back of his leg, which would likely keep him from walking normally ever again. King Toknon, nearly unblemished, stood at her side.
The queen glared at the two Tarans who walked into her hall. It was only one day ago that this hall was filled with joy and merrymaking and now it was where a kingdom was likely going to die. She could not comprehend the loss of life that had happened over the course of that one day. So many of her brave men, and women, and fallen because of these two men. If she had a sword, she would have jumped up and attacked them. Even though she knew it would have been a fatal attempt at retribution, she would have tried it anyway.
“Welcome,” Toknon said.
“Who are you?” Tarcious snapped.
“King Toknon of Thell.”
“Why are you here?”
“I am here to offer support for our southern neighbor.”
Tarcious narrowed his eyes. “You should be more concerned about your own kingdom.”
Toknon glanced at General Mace, who cleared his throat and said, “Thell is a friend of Taran. Because of our arrangement, we were able to procure safe passage for our forces through the western most part of their kingdom.”
Elissa’s face went from anger, to surprise, to outrage. “You did what!”
A smile fell across the general’s face. He had heard rumors of a friendship growing between the two kingdoms, which would explain why the king of Thell was here. But based on this latest revelation, it was likely that that friendship would be no more. He added fuel to the fire. “King Toknon has been a good friend of Taran and without his help, we would not have been able to achieve surprise.”
Elissa sprang out of her chair and threw a punch at Toknon. It connected on his jaw.
Lord Martin rushed over to grab Elissa and held her back.
“I guess I deserved that,” Toknon said. “But you have to understand, I did it to protect us. Not just Thell, but us. We could have escaped together to Thell and lived our lives together in peace.”
Elissa pushed Lord Martin away. “I would rather die.”
Tarcious stepped forward. “I am an impatient man, so I will get right to the point. In this castle there is an ancient artifact that is called the Ark of Life. If you tell me where it is, I will take it and leave your city. Well, I will, but of course I will leave a large garrison of my best centurions to ensure peace. But if you do not tell me where it is, then I will have to search for it. And like I said, I am an impatient man. So if you force me to search for it, I will not be happy and I will make a mess of your castle.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Elissa said. “I know of no such thing.”
Tarcious smiled. “Of course not. I would not expect you to. But there is someone here, someone in this castle that is its guardian. Someone who has been here for many, many years.”
Lord Martin’s face lit up. “Arpwin, of course! He has been the personal assistant to kings longer than all of us have been alive! It must be him. If he tells you where it is, then you will go?”
The smile never left Tarcious’ face. “Why of course. I will even let you rebuild your city. Under the supervision of my garrison, of course.”
“You came just for this Ark?” Elissa asked. “You brought your entire army, brought those…those things, and all you want is some artifact?”
“It is a special artifact.”
“I will go find Arpwin,” Lord Martin said.
Before he could take a step, Tarcious stopped him. “You will take General Mace and two others with you. And be quick about it.”
“You destroyed my city,” Elissa continued. “You killed my people for this thing? Could you not have just come and asked for it?”
Tarcious laughed. “Like I said, it is a special artifact. If this Arpwin person is truly the guardian, he would not have willingly given it up. In fact, I expected him to use it against us, which is why I brought more than enough soldiers. I really did expect a much better fight.”
In mid-laugh, the feeling came over him. He had hoped that he would never feel it again, but there it was, and just at the worst possible time. The tingling sensation in the back of his mind told him that his master was calling him. He had no choice but to ans
wer him.
He tried to maintain his composure as he turned to Toknon. “I must leave for a moment. Can I trust the two of you together?”
“Of course,” Toknon replied.
Tarcious turned to the centurions who were in the room. “If either of them try to leave the room, kill them.”
To emphasize their point, the centurions lifted their crossbows.
Without another word, Tarcious stormed out of a set of double doors that was directly across from the doors that led outside. He tried the first door on his left and it opened.
The room was warm with a fire still blazing in the fireplace. As quickly as he could, he pushed the room’s furniture away from the middle of the room. Once clear, he pulled out a small knife and carefully sliced into his wrist. He couldn’t go too deep, or he would end up bleeding out before he could complete the circle.
As soon as the circle of blood was drawn upon the floor, he sat down and closed his eyes. The blood continued to pump out of his wrist as he took a deep breath and recited the spell that would heal his wrist. A tingling sensation came over him and the blood stopped and his skin sealed itself up. Once the wound was healed, he stood, trying to force any extraneous thoughts out of his mind. He needed to concentrate solely on the task at hand. Once he dropped to a knee, his mind emptied and he could feel it suddenly replaced with the presence of his master.
With a firm, clear voice, he said, “My master, my lord and protector. The Grand Adversary of the Other. I come here as you bid.”
“I feel the power of the Ark,” the voice said in its head. “It is very near to you.”
“Of course it is!” Tarcious declared. For the first time since he had been contacting the Adversary, he was not afraid. “It is all but in my hands as we speak!”
“That is good! I can feel its power and I can feel that it struggles to be used. It is good that you have not used it yet, for without instruction and direction, its power will quickly overwhelm you.”
“Yes, of course, my lord,” Tarcious replied. “I do as you have instructed. Of course I will not use it until I am ready.”
Pain shot through his head. It was as if a great force was pushing out from inside his skull. The pain was unbearable. He could not hold in the scream that was bursting to come out.
And then just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
“Do not try and deceive me!” the voice said. “I felt the exposed power. I can sense that it is ready to be freed from its earthly chains. You will fetch it and you will bring it to me. My patience is no more. Upon the next rise of your sun, you will come to me again, and you will present the Ark of Life to me. If you do not, then your life will be forfeit, and I will choose another. For this is your last chance to prove you are worthy.”
“Yes, of course, my master.”
Then the tone of the voice changed. “How did it feel to touch the raw power of the universe?”
Tarcious did not know how to respond. It suddenly occurred to him that the Adversary thought that he already found it and touched it. Maybe the Adversary even thought that he had tried to use it.
“Answer me!” the voice screamed in his head. “How did it feel?”
The fear returned to Tarcious’ heart. “I was overwhelmed,” he lied. He only hoped that his master believed him.
“Of course,” the voice said. “Such power was not meant for mortals. It will take you and rip you apart. Your soul will burn in the fires of hell for eternity, yet your body will still exist on earth. Forever you will live, but forever you will suffer the agony of death. And that is not my vengeance for you using it. That is the power of the Ark in the hands of a mere mortal. So if you dare to take it up, be warned. My promise to you is an eternal life as a favored servant of mine. But if you ignore my warnings, my promise to you is an eternal life of damnation. So return to me with my prize, and I shall give you yours.”
And then the presence was gone. Tarcious jumped up off his knees and ran out of the circle as quickly as he could. His heart pounded in chest and he could barely breathe. For some reason, the Adversary thought that he had tried to use the Ark of Life, but clearly he did not. That meant that someone else did. The Ark was free from its hiding place and in the hands of someone who desired to use it.
He burned with anger. The Adversary had said that the Ark was close, which meant that whoever used it was nearby. It could not have been the guardian, for if he had used it, he would have certainly used the Ark against them. Someone had beaten him here and stolen the Ark before him. His mind searched for anyone that he knew who could have known about the Ark, but everyone he thought of was dead. Most of them by his own hand.
The guardian would have to know who it was. Without the protection of the Ark, it would not take long for the guardian to give up his secrets.
After a few minutes to let his heart slow down, he left the room to return to the Great Hall to confront the guardian and get the answers he needed.
***
With darkness quickly descending on the city, Conner and Glaerion ran to the city walls. There were centurions that were now patrolling atop the wall, but with dusk came the ability to approach undetected. While Conner ran, he felt a slight tingle, causing his hairs to stand up on their end. Glaerion had his eyes focused straight ahead, but his lips were moving.
“What was that?” Conner whispered as they crouched low at the base of the wall.
“It is an easy spell to hide our approach. It only works in the dark, making us nearly invisible to anyone around us. There are two centurions directly above us. You stay here while I take care of them.”
Conner had not expected Glaerion’s next move. With graceful ease, he began climbing the wall. Using small indentations and imperfections in the stone, his nimble hands and feet were able to gain enough traction to climb the wall. In the daytime, he would have been an easy target. But now that night had fallen, he was virtually invisible. His gray cloak blended in almost perfectly with the stone.
After a few minutes, Conner could hear the sounds of a scuffle, and then a loud thud as a body landed right next to him. At first he thought it was Glaerion and his heart leapt out of his chest, but it took only another beat of his heart to realize it was one of the centurions. He stepped away from the wall and looked up, hoping to see what Glaerion was doing, but he could see nor hear anything. For a brief moment he thought about stepping back farther away from the wall to see if he could see the elf, but then he realized that other centurions who were patrolling the wall would see him.
Eventually he sat down, wondering what he should do next. The crescent moon was starting its trek up the night sky. Conner decided that once the moon reached its apex, he would have to find another way into the city. He could not wait all night.
As he was just about convinced that Glaerion had run off on his own, the end of a rope dropped from above, landing on his head. Seconds later, the elf had scampered down and was on the ground.
“Quick, put on that centurion’s armor. We have only a few minutes before another patrol will wander by.”
As quickly as he could, Conner pulled off the centurion’s chainmail shirt and surcoat. “It looks heavy and too big. I can’t fight in this,” Conner whispered,
“Hopefully you don’t have to,” Glaerion snapped back. “Faster!”
The elf watched impatiently while Conner did his best to pull the chainmail on.
“How do I look?” Conner asked.
Glaerion shook his head. “It’s a good thing it’s dark. I’ll climb up and make sure the wall is clear. Hold on to this end. If I give it a yank, that means climb up.”
Conner nodded his head and took a hold of the rope. Without another word, Glaerion effortlessly and silently scampered up the rope. Seconds later, Conner felt a big tug on the rope. He had watched Glaerion climb up and tried to do it as he did, but he kept slipping and couldn’t get anywhere. Eventually, he discovered that he could use his feet against the wall and pull himself up while walking a
long the wall.
Once at the top, he found the elf glaring at him. “Could you go any slower?” Glaerion whispered harshly. He didn’t wait for Conner to respond, as he untied the rope from around one of the battlements and tossed it back over the wall. He grabbed Conner by the arm and pulled him along the top of the wall until they reached a ladder that led down to the ground inside the city.
Back on the ground, Glaerion led them to a nearby building where they could hide in the darkness and talk in normal voices.
“Tarcious will likely head straight for the castle,” Glaerion said. “Can I assume that you know the way there?”
“Of course. Can I get out of this, now? It really is heavy. And do I look like a centurion? I don’t have one of their swords and the guy didn’t have a helmet, so I really won’t look like them. And if we have to fight, this chainmail is too heavy. I won’t be able to use my swords.”
“Can we stay off the main streets and in the dark?”
“It’s a big city with many winding streets. I can get us there.”
“Quickly, then, if it also stops your whining!”
Conner slipped out of the surcoat and chainmail shirt. With one last look around to be sure they hadn’t been spotted, he led Glaerion away from the building.
They took a circuitous route that allowed them to avoid any of the centurion patrols that were now marching through the city. Groups of ten, armed with crossbows and short swords marched the main streets between the gate and the castle. They carried torches to better see by, but it also made it easier for them to be seen. Occasionally they heard the clang of steel on steel and the screams and shouts of the wounded, but the fighting had pretty much stopped for the night. Conner hoped it would pick up in the morning. He could not imagine any of the knights, including Marik, sitting idly by while Tarans marched through their city.
As they neared the castle, the sound of activity filled their ears. A small encampment had been set up outside of the castle walls where several hundred centurions had pitched tents. Off-duty centurions sat around small fires, resting their tired bodies. Other centurions who were still given guard duty marched around the castle. Some were even atop the castle walls.