Looking down at the grave, he saw that he’d taken a large chunk out of the stone. It wasn’t like he’d broken the stone. It was a clean slice and it frightened him.
This was too much for him to believe. Could this really be the tomb of Farraday? Was he really holding the Black Sword in his hands? He slid the sword back into its sheath and started to place it back in the statues hands when he heard a voice say, “No!” He looked at the face of the statue and no longer were the eyes looking down sadly. They were looking directly at him and even though stone, appeared clearly focused on him. He tried again to replace the sword, but again heard, “No!” Then he heard what sounded like large rocks moving. He turned around and in the dim light saw the four statues now all facing him. Their heads were bowed and they were still on their knees. It was if they were kneeling before him as if her were a king. A thousand feelings rushed through him at once.
And then he fainted.
The First Causton War
After being released from prison, Causton led his followers across the Great Plain and along the Serpent River. At Mobrey, the thousands of followers gave all their money to Causton’s supporting priests and they began purchasing weapons and military equipment. When the King heard of this, he sent an emissary to visit with Causton. This emissary was assured by Causton’s leaders that the weapons were merely being purchased so that the “pilgrims” could defend themselves if they needed to. The new King feared the popularity of Causton’s movement so much that he ordered no action taken against the followers or Causton himself.
The priest and his followers camped outside Mobrey for several months
and reports began getting back to the King of military training and even more weapons and equipment being purchased. One of his Generals warned the King that something had to be done to disperse the immense crowd; but still the King did nothing as he feared that even more would rally to Causton and his followers would grow. In late spring, Causton and his followers left Mobrey and moved south. The King feared that they may be moving on Kallesh and moved one thousand troops to outside the city walls. However, Causton and his followers merely bypassed the city and continued moving south without incident.
Two days later, a deserter from Causton’s followers came to the King with a horrifying revelation: Causton was moving on the City of Kasabbah. His intention was to “punish” the city for its “sins” by killing its inhabitants and burning the city to the ground. This time, the King did not hesitate. He mobilized his forces to intercept Causton’s army and to stop them.
Just outside Kasabbah, the King’s army caught up with Causton and his followers. Emissaries from Causton met with General Throd, Commander of the King’s army and convinced him that it was only a peaceful procession to the city. However, one night as most of Throd’s army slept, Causton’s army attacked and slaughtered most of Throd’s forces. Throd, himself was captured and beheaded.
Several cavalry soldiers escaped the massacre and rode south to Kasabbah. They warned the city leaders and the city was evacuated before Causton’s army arrived. The priest still had the city burned to the ground and began to pursue the evacuated citizens further to the south. But the King had anticipated the possibility of Throd’s army being defeated and had planned for it. He secretly had another force put on over one hundred ships and taken south by the river. He had also struck a deal with Sheyron’s “Admiral” allowing this fleet of ships to pass into their borders and to allow the refugees from Kasabbah to do the same.
When Causton’s army reached the border of Sheyron, he found a Walechian army of over ten thousand waiting for him. The Walechian Army overwhelmed Causton and his followers, decimating their army. Causton and many of his strongest supporters survived and escaped, though.
However, while one catastrophe had happened, another had been averted. Kasabbah had been destroyed and hundreds of men slaughtered in a surprise attack. However, the citizens of Kasabbah had been spared and Causton’s army apparently defeated. Little did anyone know that this was only the first in what would become a much larger and more tragic conflict.
Chapter Twenty One
Kenner awoke with the sun on his face. Looking around him, he could tell he was in the first chamber of the cave and began to think that the entire experience with the Black Sword was just a dream. It seemed real enough, he thought; but he’d had stranger dreams that also seemed real. It had to be a dream, he concluded. It couldn’t possibly have been real. As he rubbed his, still sleepy eyes, he noticed black armor on his arms. He looked over himself and saw that his entire body was covered in the black plate male.
“What the hell?” He almost shouted. He then heard a woman’s voice say, “Good morning.”
He felt paralyzed for a moment, but then slowly turned his head to face where the voice had come from. Standing in the shadows of the cave was his familiar shadow; but now it looked closer and more real than ever before. She stepped forward into the sunlight and he saw her.
She was still wearing a black, hooded cloak; but now the hood was drawn back. She was beautiful. She had a round face and almond shaped eyes. He could see that they were brown. She had straight black hair and was smiling sweetly.
He sat for a moment and staring at her.
“Hi.” He finally said nervously.
Her hands were hidden inside the cloak with her arms folded in front of her. She stepped closer, still smiling.
“You’ve been asleep for two days.” She said to him.
He was still stunned, but wanted to say something; anything. He could only stare at her in confusion.
“Who are you?” He finally stammered.
She smiled slightly more.
“A friend.” She said in a sweet voice. It was as clear as any voice; but having tenderness and strength at the same time.
He still searched desperately for words, wanting to ask a thousand questions at once.
“Are you…” He started to ask.
“Yes.” She answered simply.
“Am I…?”
“Dreaming?” She added. “No.”
“Did I…?”
“Find the Black Sword?”
He slowly nodded.
“Yes you did.”
He felt like fainting again, but rubbing his face with his hands again helped him recover.
“This can’t be happening.” He muttered to himself.
“Oh yes it can.” She told him.
His eyes fixated on her, he saw her pick up his pack and place it close it to him.
“I’ve packed your bag with enough food to last you the rest of your journey, if you’re careful. And while I know you’re still in a state of shock, you have lingered here long enough. It’s time for you to go.”
“Go?” He asked. Then he remembered and scrambled to his feet. “Holy crap! You say I’ve been asleep for two days?”
“Two days.”
“I gotta get going.”
“Yes you do.”
He looked around the cave for his fur, but couldn’t find it.
“You won’t need it.” She said to him. “The armor will keep you warm enough. It will even keep your face warm, though you wouldn’t understand how.”
“Ok…um…”He stuttered.
“The sword is over there.” She said pointing.
He saw it leaning against the wall of the chamber and again, he found himself in disbelief. The Black Sword; the weapon that Farraday used to conquer the four kingdoms and bring peace that lasted five hundred years; there it was just leaning against a wall like a normal weapon. He still couldn’t believe that any of this was real.
“If you first put your pack on your shoulders,” She said to him, “you’ll find the sword fits perfectly between the pack and your back. It also has a belt to attach it to your armor for use in battle.”
“What battle?” He asked quickly.
“Eventually, you’ll find yourself in one. With the sword and your armor, you’ll be virtually invulnerable.”
> He stepped towards the sword then found himself not being to go any closer.
“Wait a minute.” He said. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes you can.”
“No I can’t.”
“And why not?”
Now he found himself nearly in a panic. Once again, everything was hitting him at once.
“First of all, I’m not Farraday.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“I can’t use that sword.”
“Yes you can.”
“You don’t get it!” He said in desperation. “That’s a sword for kings; for heroes. I’m not a king. I’m just a guy from the hills who got caught poaching.”
“And now you’re here.” She said in a soothing voice. “The sword is yours and you must use it.”
“But I’m not…”
“Farraday was a simple farmer when the sword first came to him.” She interrupted. “His only desire was to work his farm, marry a pretty girl and have children until destiny selected him.”
“Yes and look what happened to him. He died a slow, agonizing death after the war.”
The woman looked down sadly and sighed.
“Yes, he did and that was very unfortunate. But he understood the reason for it.”
“And what was that?”
She looked back up at him and smiled again.
“You’ll come to understand that when the time is right.”
He carefully stepped up to the sword and took it in his hand. Again, he felt its energy flowing through him and he felt more confident and stronger. He still had doubts; but holding the sword in his hand had him feeling as if he could overcome them.
“I’ve also packed some gold coins in your pack as you will, eventually need them.”
Kenner looked at her as if to say that it was forbidden.
“Don’t worry.” She said to reassure him. “I’m allowed.”
“So…” he began again. “This armor; is it also Farraday’s?”
“No.” She answered. “It’s yours.”
She led him out of the cave. It was bright and sunny and almost all of the snow was melted. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the view was breathtaking. The mountains opened up before the farm fields and the plain of Walechia and he could see for what seemed hundreds of miles. He saw the Serpent River cutting through the plain and off in the distance, he could just barely see Kallesh and the Great Tower. His eyes followed the river and there, off in the distance he could see what looked like a black mass at the edge of a thin, white line he imagined to be the Northern Wall. It must be Grail’s army, he thought. He was then reminded of his mission and the promise he’d made to his Captain.
“It’s a three day journey from here to the gate of Parabas,” She told him. “From there, it’s another two days to Bayton and the ferry. At some point your friend Shela will find you and she’ll be able to carry you the rest of the way to Kallesh.”
“That’s nice.” He said.
“I wish we had more time to talk now, but we must both go our separate ways for the moment.”
“That’s ok…wait a minute! Where are you going?”
“I have things I have to do; but I’ll be keeping an eye on you. And I’ll check in on you from time to time.”
“What will I do if anything happens? What if I need you for some reason?”
She turned and smiled at him again.
“You have the Black Sword and magic armor,” She reminded him. “I have confidence that you can handle anything that comes your way.”
Kenner looked down the mountain and saw the road winding down.
“I trust you’ll remember to keep the location of this tomb secret?” She reminded him.
“I don’t even know how I found this place.” He replied.
“Take care my friend. Until the next time.” She said to him and began to walk away.
“Thanks, I’ll do that.”
He watched her walk away, and then called out to her.
“Wait a second!” He said. “You’ve been around for as long as I can remember. Why did you never talk to me like this before?”
She turned again and, still smiling said, “It wasn’t time.” And then she disappeared behind a large rock.
Chapter Twenty Two
The journey down the mountain was far easier than the journey up. The road meandered easily down much softer angles and curved gently. It was much less gritty as the road had been as well and Kenner had no trouble with his footing. The weather was cooperative as well with very little wind and no snow. One night as he stayed in another cave, it had rained, but it was over by the morning.
The armor was surprisingly light; in fact, Kenner could barely feel it at all. It was almost as if he were nothing over his normal clothes.
“Shadow” (as he now referred to her) had packed more than just apples for his downward journey. She had packed dried meats, cheese and bread along with the fruit and he ate quite well. The road followed a little stream flowing down the mountain meaning water was plentiful. Quite by accident, he discovered that one of his canteens was filled with ale.
Towards the end of the third day, he started hearing the unmistakable sound of a crowd of people and he was relieved to hear them. Reaching the bottom of a hill, he found a wider road with travelers heading toward, what he believed would be the gate of Parabas. He had made it through the mountain pass.
There were only a few at first, but then hundreds, and then thousands and he found himself entering a town. It had small buildings with shops, stores, stables with horses and what looked like a temple. He heard noises of people shouting and laughing coming from one building and as he looked in its direction, he saw a man being thrown out from its open door.
“Get out of here, you filthy drunk!” Hollered the man throwing the person out.
Seeing this, he concluded that this must be a tavern. Kenner thought for a moment that this was where he should turn around on the road and begin heading towards Bayton. However, as it was growing dark and he hadn’t slept in a bed for weeks, Kenner thought a stay at an inn that was no doubt part of the tavern might be a good idea.
Walking in the open door, he noticed a few eyes looking in his direction; but he was largely unnoticed, despite wearing armor and carrying a large sword on his back. The very large, burly man who had tossed out the previous patron stood at the door and looked over Kenner; but then seemed satisfied that he wasn’t an immediate threat.
The tavern was full of, mostly men; but there were some women, a few dressed in more revealing dresses and being extra friendly to the male patrons. He saw one woman rub the leg of a man at a table, then remove his purse from his pocket. The tavern was filled with smoke from many pipes and the pungent aroma of different tobacco blends (among other smoking substances) made the air thick and almost as hard to breathe as the top of the mountain.
When he stepped up to the bar, a short, older man with a bald head and a thick, grey beard washing a plate approached him. He had a short pipe sticking out of his mouth that looked almost permanently attached. He acknowledged Kenner with a simple nod.
“Do you have any rooms?” Kenner shouted above the noise of the crowd.
“Aye, rooms we have!” The old man shouted back. “Baths too as you look like you might be in need of one.”
Kenner laughed a little.
“Yes, I’ll be needing a bath too.” Kenner answered. “Can I get an ale?” He asked and pulled out one of the gold coins and set it on the bar. The tavern keeper’s eyes looked almost they were going to bulge out of his skull. He studied the coin as if in awe and then bit it.
“Laddy,” he said, “With a couple of more of these, you could buy this establishment and I could retire.”
“I’ll just take a room for a night and a hot bath.”
“You’ll get the finest room in my house, sir.”
A few seconds later, the tavern keeper returned with a pint of ale for Kenner. He then leaned forward.
“Will you be needing any company, lad?” He asked with a wink.
“No thanks.”
Kenner then felt a strange feeling, as if someone were watching him. Trying not to look alarmed, he slowly turned to the side and tried to use his side vision to see if anyone was watching. Off to the side in a dark corner of the tavern, he saw several men sitting at a table. He saw one of them watching him, but then lower his head. Kenner was, indeed being watched.
“Oi!” He heard a woman’s voice say to him. He looked and saw a woman with a low cut dress barely hanging on her shoulders.
“That’s a mighty big weapon you’ve got there,” She said in a sultry voice. “Do you know how to use it?”
Not knowing what to say, Kenner simply smiled and nodded.
The room to which he was shown was larger than any he’d ever seen. There were houses in his village that didn’t have as much space. There was a large four post bed that he thought could fit an entire family and large windows looking over the town’s central road. The tavern owner also showed him into an adjoining room in which he found a white bathtub filled with steaming and frothy water.
The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher Page 13