Legend of the Sword Bearer: Tempest Chronicles Book 1

by Jeremy Fabiano

  Morogan pointed at the large wall displays, which had switched back to highlighting the bases around the continent. “How many?” he asked.

  “I’m…not sure,” said Kronek. “No one really knows. The four that are shown there,” he said, pointing at the monitor, “are the only ones we know of. There have been stories over the years of many other mountains. A handful on every continent and randomly across the islands.” He thought for a moment. “There’s a possibility that if you repair these other two, we may become aware of more as they come online. The mountains were originally all interconnected, able to function as one and respond to threats anywhere on the planet.”

  Main Quest Update: Repair the desert and ocean secret mountain bases.

  “We’ll get them running again,” I said, in acceptance of the quest. “Thasgrin, will you come with us?”

  “Aye,” he said. “Wouldn’ miss it fer the world.” We traded grips. “We can head out tomorrow mornin’. I wanna stay with Kronek and catch him up on current events.”

  We said our goodbyes to Kronek and made our way back out of the cave and into the open air. It was late afternoon, and of course, it was raining. It seemed to me that heavy rain and occasional sunshine was all the weather ever did around here.

  “I could really go for a bacon cheeseburger right about now,” I said, stomach growling loudly. Sai and Garstil agreed wholeheartedly.

  “What is bacon cheeseburger?” asked Morogan.

  I chuckled. “Only the most amazing Earth sandwich ever created.”

  “Morogan try,” he said, face lighting up like it was his birthday. “Can Aba make?”

  “Good question,” I said. “What do you guys think the chances are of some barkeep letting me use his kitchen and supplies for half an hour?”

  “Could not hurt to ask,” said Sai. “I am most interested in this.”

  “I’m down too,” said Garstil. “Let’s gather up some supplies then. I’ll grab some cheese and vegetables from the shops. We’ll meet you at the tavern when we’ve finished.”

  Sai nodded. “I will acquire some potatoes. I would like french fries with my burger.” Garstil agreed and they both walked off toward the market.

  Morogan arched an eyebrow. “French fries? More Earth foods?”

  I smiled, nodding, “You’ll love it. I promise. Can you get some beef, bacon, and flat sandwich rolls?”

  Morogan grinned. “Morogan get now,” he said, chasing off after the rest of the party. Great. That leaves me to deal with the old, grumpy-ass Dwarven barkeep. I bet that'll go over well...

  “Ye want to do what?” he bellowed. The entire dining room looked up. “Odin’s beard! Why on Tempest would I let any amateur who thinks he can cook into me kitchen?”

  At least I wasn’t disappointed by his reaction. “Whoa, hold on,” I said. “Thasgrin told me that this was the best tavern on this side of the continent,” I lied. “Was he, perhaps, mistaken?”

  “N-No! Of course not,” he stammered. I felt the room lean closer, trying to catch every detail of this conversation. The barkeep looked pensive for a moment, looking me up and down. “I’ll tell ye what. If ye make enough for the whole tavern, and all the customers like it, then ye can come back and cook here anytime. But I’m warnin’ ye. If they don’t like it, ye be washing me dishes for the next three days. What do ye say?”

  “As long as I’m using your supplies, it’s a deal,” I said, putting out my hand.

  “My supplies, eh? Hmm,” he said. “All right, but if ye fail, you owe me for the supplies. If you win, I’ll sweeten the deal. Give ye a cookin’ Title. Could start your own tavern someday. Still interested?” He reached out. I grasped his arm, and we traded grips.

  “Deal,” I said. The room exploded into cheers as my party entered the door, surprised expressions on their faces.

  “You realize that you have to make thirty bacon cheeseburgers, right?” asked Garstil. “And if you fuck this up, you’re stuck here for three days, not to mention you’ll be broke.”

  “Thirty-two,” said Thasgrin as he entered the kitchen, grinning. “I heard about yer wee wager, brave. I hope ye win, laddie.”

  “All right,” I said. “Someone get that oil boiling. Someone else needs to cut up the potatoes into strips. Morogan, can you go back to the marketplace and buy all of the beef, cheese, and bacon they have?”

  “Morogan go,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen, moving with a purpose.

  “I’ve got the fries,” said Garstil.

  Sai jumped up from his stool. “And I the oil and vegetables.”

  Thasgrin laughed. “If ye got this, Aba, I’ma go ’ave me an ale with me brother.”

  “Understood,” I said. I started mixing up seasonings, crushed croutons, and an egg into a bowl. Next, I sliced up the beef as fine as I could and mixed it in the bowl as well. I took some parchment paper and laid it across the counter giving me a clean space to work. After balling up the meat and squishing the balls into patties, I examined and admired my work.

  “Morogan back,” he said, entering the kitchen. “Where Aba want?”

  I pointed to the counter. “Put the beef there, and give Garstil the bacon. The rest can go wherever there’s room.” I spent the rest of the next hour cooking and flipping burgers on the open fire. The barkeep had some sort of brick pizza oven thing that kept the food warm. Thirty-two bacon cheeseburgers, and fries, later, we were ready.

  I told the barkeep to serve an ale with every plate and to charge ten silver. At first, the patrons thought it was outrageous. However, a couple tried it and were extremely well surprised. It wasn’t long before the entire room had paid up, not wanting to be left out.

  Garstil was grinning between bites of his burger and extra-salted fries. “Aba,” he said. “This is the best burger I’ve ever had in my life.”

  “Agreed,” said Sai. “Truly a masterpiece. You should be proud.”

  “I have to admit, it is pretty damned good. Maybe the ingredients just taste better here.”

  “Aye,” said the barkeep. “We Dwarves pride ourselves on havin’ the freshest ingredients in the land. The only thing more important than food”—he paused for effect—“is the ale.” Cheers exploded from the room. We all looked at each other and smiled. He didn't get the actual reference to real-world food, but that was okay.

  “Yeah,” I said. “You guys do have the best ale I’ve ever had.” More cheers from the room. Damn, do these guys love their beer. I think that’s one major point historical fiction got right in the books and games…

  We ended up closing out the kitchen at the end of the night and helped clean up all the messes we had made. The innkeeper was quite pleased with the record profits. We all sat around a table next to the fireplace, full and content.

  “Thas’ quite the gift ye ’ave there, Abalonious,” said the barkeep. “And also, I made ye a promise. “I know I said I would give ye a small title, but ye earned this. Congratulations.”

  Achievement! TITLE UNLOCKED: Head Chef

  He turned to the rest of my party. “Don’ think ye got out of it either. I ’ave Titles for each one of you as well.” He bestowed the Chef de Partie Title on Sai, Garstil, and Morogan.

  “What this Title?” asked Morogan.

  The barkeep smiled. “It means you can do any specific duties in the kitchen and take over for the head chef when necessary.” He turned to me. “Abalonious, with your Title, you can assign cooking Titles as you see fit. But I suggest you make them earn it.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “It was fun.” I smiled. We said our goodbyes and we all headed up to our rooms. The baths felt like heaven.

  We caught an early breakfast and went about the town taking care of errands and resupplying. Thasgrin introduced Garstil to the Glyph Master.

  “You good to go?” I asked Garstil.

  “Yup. Bought some chisels and a small hammer and other miscellaneous tools. I should be able to practice on our trip. When we camp next, I wouldn’t mind
trying out some minor wards on your off hand and Sai’s knives. Maybe some armor. And-—”

  “Dude, one step at a time.” I chuckled. “Maybe try it on a stick first and make sure it doesn’t explode.” Everyone laughed.

  “Good point,” he conceded. “You’re probably right, best to try it out first on something that isn’t important.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

  We exited the gates of Accreton and waved farewell at the gate guards. We ventured down the other side of the mountain toward the main road. From here, we could see several settlements off in the distance. A large crater, miles away, could be seen as well. Thasgrin noticed me looking at it.

  “Aye, laddie. That used to be a town…” He shook his head. “The containment protocol is brutal. Extreme. But necessary. Without it, the continent, nay, the whole planet, would be overrun with the undead. We can’t ever let that come to pass.”

  I nodded. “I understand. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though,” I said. Thasgrin nodded.

  A few hours into our journey the rain had stopped. We noticed a recent mudslide had exposed a large fossil near the side of the path. We stopped to examine it.

  “Thasgrin, is—is this a dragon skeleton?” Everyone tensed at the mere mention of a dragon.

  “Aye,” he said. “There ’aven’t been dragons in this area for thousands of years. Likely, it made its home in the mountain and the cave collapsed.”

  Morogan took a step toward the skeleton. “No one hear that?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

  “Huh? Hear what?” I asked. Everyone looked around and shrugged.

  “We can’t leave it like this,” I said. “What if necromancers reanimate it? Could you imagine?”

  Thasgrin visibly shivered. “Aye, that much power in their hands would be a nightmare,” he said.

  Morogan neared the skeleton. He turned his head, listening. “I hear dragon. Whispering,” he said. Thasgrin grew more alarmed.

  Garstil stepped toward the skeleton. “Everyone, take a few steps back, I’ll destroy it.”

  Morogan reached out a hand and touched the skeleton. We felt a discharge of power, like static electricity. A few black sparks arced from Morogan’s fingertips to the skeleton as he pulled his hand back, startled. “It still have power. Not safe.”

  Everyone moved several feet away, and Garstil called down the lightning. The blast should have vaporized the skeleton; however, it absorbed the lightning. A second later, the skeleton’s eyes flared azure. A blastwave of energy suddenly exploded outward from the skeleton, tossing everyone almost twenty feet back from where we stood. Everyone, except Morogan.

  I sat up and looked over at Garstil. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, which mirrored my expression almost perfectly. Sai and Thasgrin wore similar expressions as well. Hesitantly, we stood and slowly made our way over to Morogan. As we approached him, the skeleton growled, just barely audible. It was so deep, however, that I felt it in my chest. On a subconscious level, it was a noise meant to terrify. It slowly turned its head toward us, eyes still glowing a brilliant azure.

  “Peace,” said Morogan. The growling stopped. It rested its head back on its forearm. I could feel its glare, watching us intently.

  “Um…Morogan?” I whispered. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Morogan not know,” he said, turning to look at me. His eyes were black. I’m not just talking about his pupils; I mean, his sclera was black as well. “I hear dragon. It hear me. It listen to Morogan.”

  “What do we do now?” asked Sai.

  “The hells if I know,” said Thasgrin.

  “We have to do something,” I said. “We can’t leave the skeleton here. If they find it, we’re in huge trouble.”

  “Morogan have idea,” he said. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the skeleton moved. It pushed itself backward, deeper into the mountain.

  “Aye, that could work,” said Thasgrin, voice trembling. “If ye can get it to go far enough in, we can bury it again.”

  Morogan nodded. “Sleep,” he said in a very deep voice. Much deeper than I would have thought possible for him. The skeleton’s eyes faded out, and dirt collapsed down on its head. “I have resolved thine issue with the utmost strategic method possible given the current circumstances. I would that it pleases thee, Sword Bearer.” And just like that, he began walking down the path toward the main road. What the hell is going on?

  “Whoa,” I said. “Morogan, wait up.” Startled, we ran to catch up to him. I grabbed his shoulder, and he stopped moving. When he slowly turned toward me, his eyes were still black. “This can't be good,” I said, waving my hands in front of his eyes.

  “What would thou ask of me, Sword Bearer?” asked Morogan.

  “Where is Morogan?” I asked. “Who are you?”

  “Morogan is…asleep. Safe. You would not be capable of pronouncing my name. You may call this vessel Ydru.”

  “Ydru,” I said. “Are you the spirit of the dragon skeleton?” Morogan nodded. “Can I speak to Morogan?” I asked.

  “Yes,” said Ydru-Morogan. “As I have said, he is but asleep and unharmed. Once he awakens, it will be quite some time before I may emerge once again. I bid thee farewell, until next time, Sword Bearer.”

  Morogan shook his head, eyes now back to normal. “Aba? What happen? Who Ydru?” he asked.

  I filled him in on what happened. He grew more and more alarmed as I recounted the events of the last ten minutes. “And that was that. He just…released you. No tricks or hesitation. Do you remember anything at all?” I asked.

  “Morogan not remember. Morogan in Otherworld,” he said. He reached up and touched the artifact earing in his ear. “This. Mother said it powerful.”

  Thasgrin looked at the earring in Morogan’s ear. “Aye, I recognize it now,” he said. “Noslen hid that thing with the machines to keep it out of the cultist's hands. Need’a be careful with it. If not, some spirit could take ye over and not let go as easy. Lucky fer us, Ydru was allied with good instead of evil. Otherwise, this little situation would ’ave ended up with us all dead.”

  “Morogan practice,” he said. “Mother said Morogan get strong soon but need be careful. Morogan master earring.”

  We were all a bit apprehensive at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I was sure he was right. Arbiter had given him the earring with a message from Noslen and Ghorza that he should have it when strong enough. I shared my thoughts with the party, and everyone agreed. Eventually. We pushed on for several more hours but did not manage to make it to the road before dusk fell.

  I’d been spacing out when Thasgrin spoke, startling me. “There’s a campsite up ahead a bit. Be a good place to settle fer the night,” he said.

  “Sounds excellent,” said Sai. “We could use the rest.” Everyone murmured agreement. Fifteen minutes later, we were unpacking my custom tent on the side of a massive mountain. One of the guys got a nice fire going, and someone was cooking stew by the smell of it. Down the mountain from us, a thick blanket of fog was slowly creeping over the land and toward the mountain. It would no doubt be upon us in a few hours.

  “Oi, Aba,” said Thasgrin, startling me. Apparently, I'd been spacing out. “Are ye hungry? Food’s ready.”

  “Yeah, I'm coming, just distracted.” I shook away the momentary disorientation and made my way over to the campfire to join my friends.

  After dinner, we cleaned up the dishes in a nearby stream. The fog had been encroaching on our camp for a couple hours and made the fire cast an eerie orange glow about the area. It was already so thick visibility was vastly reduced.

  Sai flew out of the fog, leg extended in a flying kick. I blocked it and he landed in a roll, vanishing once again into the gloom.

  “You know,” I said, panting. “Using the fog to hide is kind of cheap.” Just then, Sai flew past me, slapping me on the back of the head as he went by. “Damn it.” I could hear the others giggling over by the fire.

  “It is cheap, yet effective. Som
ething your enemies will capitalize on,” he said, voice coming from all directions at once. I heard a twig snap behind me, and I triggered Temporal Shift. The rolling fog crept to a halt, and I turned around. Sai floated in the air, mid-dive, reaching for the back of my head again. I walked up to him and reared back to slap the back of his head, and he suddenly dropped to the ground in a roll, sweeping his foot out.

  I jumped back with a yelp, and he fell forward, off balance. Now I’ve got you! I lunged for him as he raised his left palm to me. That’s when I noticed Garstil’s arcane ring on his ring finger. Shit, fuck me.

  Lightning exploded all around me. Through me. I could see the fog flashing like a strobe light as I lay there. Every nerve ending in my body screamed out in agony. Multiple bursts of laughter came from the fire. I just lay there, not moving. Bastards got me good… They must have all been in on the planning. They knew this was going to happen and completely set me up to get my nuts zapped. Two can play at that game. I’d have to wait for the perfect opportunity...

  Sai waited until I stopped convulsing to reach out and give me a hand to my feet. “I apologize,” he said. “It was too perfect an opportunity to both demonstrate a lesson and to have a little fun at your expense.” He smiled.

  “Is that shit-eating grin for my benefit as well?” I asked.

  “Entirely,” said Sai. “I figure if I rub it in enough, you will always expect the unexpected. Someday, it may save your life.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said as we headed back to the fire. Everyone tried to hide their grins. “Screw you guys too, you'll get your turn.” Everyone started laughing again.

  As I sat on a log next to the fire, a brown squirrel with a singed bushy tail and glowing azure eyes came up and sat next to me. It patted me on the leg as if it felt sorry for me.

  Morogan chuckled. “Squirrel understand Aba. Squirrel not like lightning either.” Again, everyone laughed. I guess this had been Sai's test subject before me.