The Hidden Realm: Book 04 - Ennodius

by A. Giannetti

  “If this is your only plan, then I will withdraw my support, unless, of course, you know something that the rest of us do not,” he said scornfully as he leaned back in his seat again. “I have heard that your companion is a mage.”

  “Whatever I know, I will keep to myself,” replied Ascilius angrily. “With you or without you, I will leave this fortress with anyone who will follow me.”

  The two Dwarves glared at each other again.

  “You should follow him, Durio,” said Tonare suddenly in his rough voice. “Ascilius is no fool. He has outwitted Eboria, and his companion has powers you do not suspect.”

  Durio turned his angry gaze on Tonare, who stared back fearlessly.

  Again, Durio relented first. “You are a wise and courageous guardian, Tonare. I cannot easily discount your advice, therefore, I will follow Ascilius because he is Fundanus’s son and because I have no better choice,” he said at last, a tinge of hopelessness in his voice.

  “At dawn I want two hundred volunteers from among those who can bear arms assembled by the door to the hidden road,” said Ascilius brusquely to Durio. “You will give us two hours start and then follow behind us with the rest of our people.”

  “We should leave at night when we have more cover,” objected Durio.

  “We will leave at dawn,” said Ascilius in a grim voice that brooked no argument. “Move everyone along as quickly as you can but do not attract attention to yourselves. Caution everyone not to set so much as one foot off of the road and to avoid making noise of any kind. As soon as the light begins to fade, you must stop for the night with no lights or fires of any kind. Stay on the road at all times. If fortune favors us, my volunteers and I will have the outer fortress in our possession by the time the first of the wagons arrive at the castella. With luck, we will have everyone inside before the Goblins know what we are about. Once we are all in the fortress, we can make our way into the city through the stables.”

  “I have already pointed out the flaws in your plan,” said Durio shaking his head doubtfully, “but I will do everything exactly as you have commanded me. I hope that I do not live to regret my actions.”

  “In two days time, we will share a mug of beer in Galenus,” said Ascilius confidently.

  “That remains to be seen,” replied Durio with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “What of those who will not follow you?”

  “There is no hope in remaining here,” said Ascilius, “but I will force no one to follow me. Those who wish it may remain here with such food as you can spare them. Leave me now, for Elerian and I need to rest for a time.”

  After rising and bowing stiffly, Durio left without another word.

  “I must follow my master now,” said Tonare to Ascilius before following Durio.

  After the dentire passed through the doorway, Elerian closed the heavy wooden door behind him. When he turned around to face Ascilius, the Dwarf was sitting on one of the wooden beds, leaning on Fulmen's handle with both hands, a weary expression on his face.

  “That was a wonderful display of diplomacy both here and at the meeting,” said Elerian dryly.

  “These stiff necked fools I am dealing with would try anyone's patience,” growled Ascilius, looking embarrassed. He suddenly put his head down and his shoulders sagged. “I am sorry Elerian,” he said. “I know you are trying to lighten my mood, but I am tired and despite what I said to Durio, we may indeed be trapped in the castella of Galenus as he fears. If that happens, the Goblins will slaughter many of my people in the worst ways imaginable. Any who survive will become slaves.”

  “Why the doubts now?” asked Elerian in a puzzled voice. “You seemed much more confident in front of Durio.”

  “A good leader must appear self-assured, Elerian,” replied Ascilius, “but my heart is full of doubts.”

  “There is only one thing that I can do to shed light on our future and perhaps give Ascilius the confidence that he needs,” thought Elerian to himself. Opening his right hand, he called his crystal orb from its resting place beside his spell book.

  THE ORB

  “No!” said Ascilius, starting back as if a venomous serpent had appeared in Elerian’s palm instead of a small crystal sphere. “Send that cursed thing away.”

  Elerian ignored the Dwarf. Ascilius believed that the orb shaped the future, twisting it into an evil path, but Elerian knew better, for he had crafted the sphere to reveal the future, not change it.

  “Show me what will happen at the fortress of Galenus,” he silently commanded the sphere as he tried with all his powers to tear aside the veil which obscured the future. The orb remained stubbornly blank, as capricious as ever in what it would reveal. “What will happen if we remain here in the castella?” Elerian silently asked next.

  A scene suddenly appeared in the orb, which now glowed with a soft, inner light. Elerian saw a stone walled room filled with the quiescent bodies of Dwarves of various ages, their bones clearly visible beneath their slack skins. The orb shifted to one room after another, showing similar scenes of starvation and death.

  “Death and starvation,” said Ascilius in a hushed voice, for despite his misgivings, he had looked into the sphere.

  The scene in the orb suddenly shifted to a remote forest where Dwarves fled on foot before red flames. Screams came from under the trees where something indistinct lurked in the shadows. Elerian started and nearly dropped the orb, when it showed the face of Ascilius, eyes closed and features still. He heard a sharp intake of breath from the Dwarf as he looked at what was surely his death mask. Before either Ascilius or Elerian could say a word, the image in the orb vanished leaving the sphere clear as water once more.

  “That is your fate if you travel north as Durio advised you,” said Elerian as he sent his orb away again. “The orb has also shown what will happen if you remain here in the castella. The only thing it would not reveal to me is our fate if we travel to Galenus on your hidden road.”

  “Whatever that may be, we have no choice but to leave this place,” replied Ascilius in a resolute voice. “If your orb has shown a true future, then there is no hope in either remaining here or traveling north. We must follow my plan to retake the fortress.”

  He looked at Elerian gratefully.

  “I owe you much my friend. I could never have come so far without you.”

  “You know that I must keep you alive until you provide the price of my wedding,” said Elerian, his eyes glinting with laughter. “Why did you never mention your family before we entered the city?” he asked, abruptly becoming serious.

  “There was nothing to tell,” said Ascilius sadly. “Even before now, you must have guessed that I have always been at odds with my father because I was away from the city so often. He told me more than once that the crown would pass on to my younger brother because he had the best interests of our people at heart.” A haunted look came into Ascilius’s eyes. “I should have stayed at home like my brother. Things might have turned out differently if I was here when the dragon arrived.”

  “Or you might have died next to your brother, leaving your people with no hope for the future,” said Elerian firmly. “Do not torture yourself with what might have been Ascilius. We can only play the part laid out for us and hope that all will turn out well in the end. Rest and I will keep watch.”

  “There is no need to stand watch here,” said Ascilius, who was suddenly overcome with a great weariness. “I am in no danger here among my own people.”

  A thoughtful look came into Elerian's eyes. “I did not like the way Herias looked at you after the meeting. I think he is less than happy at your return.”

  A troubled look came into Ascilius's eyes. “He is my brother's son. I cannot believe he means me any harm.”

  “You know best,” said Elerian, sounding unconvinced. “I will wander about a bit then. I do not feel sleepy yet.”

  Ascilius smiled, “Go then. You may not need any sleep, but I will rest for a few hours while I can.”

  “I wi
ll return after a bit,” replied Elerian. After laying down his gear, he opened the door and was surprised to see an armed Dwarf dressed in bright chainmail standing outside the door.

  “Durio bade me wait here in case you or Ascilius were needful of anything,” said the Dwarf.

  “I wish only to stretch my legs a bit,” replied Elerian.

  “I will find a guide to go with you, then,” said the Dwarf. “The fortress can be confusing until one gets used to it.”

  “And you do not want strangers wandering about on their own,” thought Elerian to himself as he watched the guard walk away.

  The Dwarf returned quickly. The guide he brought for Elerian looked young, with a humorous glint in his eye which Elerian liked. Like most Dwarves Elerian had met thus far, he was barely five feet tall and sturdy in build. Although he had the same hungry, lean look as everyone else, his rich brown hair and beard were both were combed out in shining, flowing waves. He wore a sky blue hooded tunic, brown linen pants, and soft black boots. A belt made of silver links was clasped around his waist.

  “My name is Falco,” said the Dwarf to Elerian in a deep, pleasant voice. “I am to be your guide. Where would you like to go?”

  “Nowhere in particular,” said Elerian with a smile. “I only wish to go for a stroll.”

  Followed by Falco, Elerian began walking; making no attempt to go in any particular direction. The castella followed the same pattern in its layout as Ennodius, but the tunnels in the fortress were rough-hewn and bare of decorations, unlike the polished passages of the city. Every twenty feet, mage lamps cast a steady yellow glow over the stony walls and floors of the tunnels.

  “In Ennodius,” said Falco suddenly, “the streets and halls were lit with hundreds of these lights in shades of silver, green, and gold. It was a sight to gladden the heart.”

  “I wish I had seen the city in happier times,” replied Elerian. “The halls and passageways are dark and silent now. I was not sorry to quit the city.”

  “You will judge our cities differently once you have seen Galenus,” said Falco. “Where do you hail from?” he asked curiously after a moment.

  “I lived far to the south in Hesperia until I was captured by raiders and sold to the Goblins as a youth,” said Elerian.

  Falco favored Elerian with a careful look. “You do not resemble any Hesperian that I ever saw. I have traded among them and have never seen one with black hair and gray eyes.”

  “My foster father found me wandering in the forest when I was a child,” explained Elerian. “I do not know who my people were or where I came from.”

  “You look like a Tarsi,” said Falco, “but the only time I remember seeing one west of the Arvina was during the Great War.”

  “You look too young to remember a battle which took place so long ago,” said Elerian, surprise evident in his voice.

  Falco laughed. “I am young for a Dwarf, but old as men tell time, for I turned one hundred and thirty just last month. I was in my thirtieth year when the last battle of Fimbria was fought.”

  “You are my elder by a great deal then,” said Elerian. “My life has spanned only forty years.”

  They walked in silence for a time, Elerian taking in all the activity around him. Everywhere he looked, Dwarves were packing their few belongings and families. It seemed to Elerian no one was planning to remain behind when Ascilius left the fortress.

  “I hear Ascilius gave them what for in the meeting earlier,” said Falco suddenly. He smiled as Elerian hesitated to reply. “You need not worry about me, Elerian. I will tell you honestly that there were many in Ennodius who did not care for Ascilius. Most Dwarves are a serious lot, staying at home and working at their crafts, but Ascilius was different. He was often gone from Ennodius, and there were those who held it against him, saying that he was neglecting the city and his duties as the son of Fundanus. After a while, many became jealous of him too, for he became wealthy through his craft and trading expeditions, and he was especially invited to help in the building of Calenus. His skill as a mage and his high station as the king’s son increased their resentment even more.

  “I, on the other hand, admired him, although I was much too young to travel in his circle of friends. It was a shame that he was captured by the Goblins and disappeared for so long. I have often wondered how they came upon him so deep in the country of the Tarsi.”

  Falco suddenly paused as if he had let slip something better left unsaid. He quickly changed the subject.

  “Plemin, Ascilius’s brother, was entirely different. He had no wish to travel and was absolutely unremarkable. I thought him very dull, but he was popular with many of the other Dwarves. He died bravely, but uselessly, I think, rushing at the dragon with only an ax in his hand. You will not see Ascilius do anything as foolish as that. If anyone can lead us out of here safely, he will.”

  “I have traveled far with him, and I have found him to be a wise and resourceful Dwarf and a good companion besides,” replied Elerian.

  “He is as heedlessly brave as any other Dwarf, however,” thought Elerian to himself, recalling the many times Ascilius had recklessly risked his life.

  “How did you and Ascilius survive your encounter with the dragons?” Falco asked next, interrupting his thoughts. “I hear that Ascilius has been very closed mouth about your adventures in the city.”

  “It is not proper for me to say more then,” said Elerian.

  Upon seeing the disappointed look on Falco's face, he smiled, for he had taken a liking to the young Dwarf. “I will tell you a little of our story, but you must keep it to yourself. We kept to the smaller tunnels so that Eboria could not come at us. After we searched the city and found it empty, we locked ourselves in Ascilius's workshop and made the weapons we carry now. Not long after that, we escaped from the city by way of a hidden exit near the back gate.”

  “You make it sound quite unremarkable, but I am sure there is a great deal that you left out,” said Falco shrewdly. “I noticed that there was a hole burned in Ascilius’s beard. Did he get that fighting the black dragon? Tonare told Durio that the three of you slew the beast.”

  Elerian carefully kept his face impassive, although he badly wanted to burst out laughing, remembering how Ascilius had rushed off with his beard on fire. “That is a tale I will leave Ascilius to tell,” he replied to a disappointed Falco.

  “I have heard that Ascilius used the red mage fire and the old spells in the making of your weapons?” continued the irrepressible young Dwarf, who seemed to have no end of questions to ask.

  “He did,” said Elerian, but he would say no more, for he was not sure how much Ascilius would want him to reveal of what they had done in his workshop. Seeing that Elerian was determined to be closemouthed about himself and Ascilius, Falco turned his talk to other, safer topics. Elerian found him a most pleasant companion.

  By chance, they reached the ramp at the center of the fortress, and on a whim, Elerian turned his steps downward toward the stables. At the base of the ramp, he and Falco entered a huge, low-ceilinged chamber that contained hundreds of stone stalls arranged in circles around the ramp, much as they had been in Ennodius and Calenus.

  The stables were just as crowded as the rest of the fortress. Instead of one pony, most of the stalls contained two of the small, sturdy beasts favored by the Dwarves to pull their carts and wagons. Their shaggy forelocks fell over their bright eyes as they stared curiously at Elerian when he walked by. The Dwarves who were changing the straw in the stalls and giving the ponies hay and water stared at Elerian suspiciously when he offered to help. When they saw that he was well used to the work, however, they became friendlier. An old, white haired Dwarf named Laternus even ventured a few comments when Elerian worked next to him.

  “You're no stranger to tending livestock,” he said as he watched Elerian curry a small black pony.

  “I grew up on a farm,” replied Elerian as he worked the brush over the pony's glossy hide. Although the beast was in good health, h
e was thin, his ribs clearly visible under his smooth skin.

  “The poor beasts have lost weight,” said Laternus. “We have water in plenty, but the stocks of hay and grain are almost gone. It will break my heart if we run out of feed and are reduced to eating these poor animals. I have tended many of them for years,” he said sadly, as he scratched the black pony behind the ears.

  “Things may change for the better,” said Elerian but he did not elaborate.

  “They say the king's older son has returned,” continued Laternus, “but I have my doubts as to how much help he will be. Royalty or not, he was a strange sort for a Dwarf, always traveling to distant places instead of staying home to tend to the affairs of the city like his brother.”

  Elerian decided it was time to steer the conversation in a different direction. “I will spend the night here,” he told Falco, who was standing patiently nearby. “The fresh straw will make a fine bed and the ponies good company.”

  “You are a strange sort yourself,” said Falco with a laugh, for he had been listening to Elerian and Laternus talk. “You travel in the company of royalty but prefer a stall for a bed. I will return for you in the morning then.”

  Falco turned and walked away, as Laternus looked at Elerian with startled eyes. Falco's words had reminded him of the rumor that the king had brought a tall companion with him when he entered the fortress.

  “I hope you will not be repeating my words to the king,” he said in a voice that quavered slightly. “I hear he has a most uncommon temper.”

  Elerian suddenly laughed aloud, and at the clear sound of his voice, all of the ponies lifted their heads and pricked up their ears. Laternus suddenly felt the fear lifted from his heart.

  “He does indeed have a temper,” said Elerian gravely, “but you need not fear him. He would take your words about him for a compliment.”

  Still laughing softly, Elerian took himself off to a stall that held two gray ponies, leaving Laternus scratching his head in puzzlement. After making his bed in a corner on a pile of fresh straw, Elerian took a moment to let a little of his power into his master ring. This had become a daily ritual with him, storing power against the day he would need it. Afterward, he entered almost immediately into the world of his memories. The smell of the straw and the rich, warm scent of the ponies called to mind earlier days that he had spent in Balbus’s barn. Once again, he walked with his foster father, reliving memories that were as real as his waking moments.