“My, what an interesting thing you have here…” said a voice. I turned to see Deshra with a big grin on his face, holding the contact stone.
“You don’t see too many this size anymore. It takes someone very skilled to make one of these,” he mocked. I could barely hear Talestria’s voice over it. Deshra put it against his ear and stared at me. I glared at him as his grin grew wider. “Oh, you have a lady friend!” Deshra said in a mocking tone. I clenched my teeth and tried to move but the guards held me in place.
Talestria must have figured out who it was since I heard her shouting through the stone. Deshra laughed, “She has quite the fire. I wonder if she will become more upset if she finds out that you will be rotting in a cell.” Deshra casually dropped the contact stone and stomped on it. The stone broke into pieces.
“Deshra! I will tear you apart!” Deshra shook his head and gestured to one of the guards. I found out what it meant the very moment something smacked the back of my head, really hard. After that, everything went black.
Chapter 14
Ow, my head hurts… I really hoped I would recover from all the blows to the head. Everything was so dark but my eyes slowly adjusted to the blackness. The first thing I saw was I was surrounded by iron bars and a stone wall. Then I noticed my face was pressed against the ground which was filthy and cold. I slowly sat up and could see only an old wooden bench behind me. The shackles were still another element to make things even more unpleasant.
I groaned a little as I sat on the bench. Well, this sucks. I wondered if any of my friends knew my whereabouts. There was nothing around to be even remotely useful in terms of picking a lock or using as a weapon. The sound of a heavy door opening grabbed my attention. It sounded like it came from my left. A second later, I heard footsteps coming toward me. A light came into view and I soon saw two figures walking up to my cell. My hopes of rescue died when I realized it was the jailer and Deshra.
He snatched the lantern and nodded at the jailer, “I can take care of things here. Thank you.” The jailer marched back toward the door. Deshra stared at the jailer until the door shut behind him. I let out a small sigh and stared at the ground in front of me. “Now… I am indeed curious,” Deshra spoke casually. “How were you able to survive all that and land yourself here?” I didn’t even give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him.
Deshra laughed, “I have heard much of your exploits and I am quite impressed. Here I am, staring at an offworlder.” I closed my eyes and tried to act like I was ignoring him. “Soon my men will be causing quite a bit of trouble for those pathetic, so-called heroes. Xum’gol will reward me greatly for bringing him that troublesome armor. I might even win even more favor by bringing you to him. I think you will make him an ideal sacrifice, don’t you agree?” Deshra taunted. I bit my lower lip to resist lashing out. Deshra took a few steps away, “I will take you away in the morning and claim you were on your way to be sentenced by the elves when you tried to escape and had a dreadful accident.” Deshra then chuckled all the way back to the exit.
I was not happy to hear that by the next morning I would be shipped off to that scary lich. A few minutes passed before the jailer came in to bring me a meal. “Mr. Thornweave demands that you keep your shackles on, but here is your food.” The metal tray held a bit of rock hard bread, a wooden cup of water and some colorful slop. I sniffed the slop; it smelled a little funky. I figured out how to drink the stale water and bread without the use of my hands but I was not touching that slop. After my meal I laid on the bench. To be perfectly honest, I really felt scared.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed in that dark cell with no window. I managed to doze off for a few minutes until I heard the door again. I sighed and didn’t even bother turning around to see who was coming. I could only hear the sound of one set of footsteps that stopped right in front of my cell. “This isn’t exactly the ideal time to rest,” a voice spoke to me.
I turned around and smiled, “Falstrid!”
Falstrid stared at me with a slight smile, “Blake… Bolam has told me everything. Both the good…and the bad.” He frowned a bit, “I don’t have time to explain everything now, but you might want this.” Falstrid took out tiny rod with a metal loop at the end. The rod was about three inches long and covered in runes. Falstrid whispered, “It will unlock any common lock with a simple twist.” He saw that I was still shackled and gestured for me to turn around. I heard a click and my shackles came right off. I grabbed the magical key and shoved it in the waistline of my pants. “Blake, there is an old grate that is connected to the sewers. Just follow the current and you will be free” Falstrid whispered.
I whispered back, “What about the guard?”
Falstrid grinned, “I will cast a simple sleep spell; he will be dozing long enough.” Falstrid turned toward the right side of the cell. He chanted quietly to himself. There was a sound of stone crumbling followed by the sound of metal hitting the ground. “Wait a full minute after I leave, then quickly make your escape. Good luck!” Falstrid whispered.
Falstrid left and I could hear the door closing as he made his exit. I don’t know how he found out where I was, but I was ever so grateful! I counted one of the longest minutes of my life before taking the magical key out. It unlocked the cell door with ease. There wasn’t a sign of life outside the cell. I could see the grate knocked open. I smiled and stuffed the key away. Then I grabbed the shackles-they were closest thing to a weapon I could lay my hands on. The opening to the sewers was going to be a tight fit but it would do.
I was thankful that I hit dry ground once I fell out the other side of the grate. The smell wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I just may have been that I lucked out and was in the part of the sewers that ran the cleaner water. It was pitch black and the only light was a slight reflection in the water. Most of the passage ways required ducking a bit and it was a bit tricky to keep from stepping into the water. I stared at the water and saw the path that went with the current.
There were so many tunnels that led all sorts of ways. I kept on the same path and ignored the others. Every so often there was a shaft of light shining through from the streets above. The farther I went, the safer I felt. Still, I knew it might not take too long before someone figured out that I had escaped. I found a section of the sewers that smelled a bit ripe. Not a pleasant smell but, compared to the stench of rotting corpses, it was bearable. After another tunnel, I heard the sound of choguls.
Aw, man! I really didn’t want to mess with them! Why were they in the sewers? The sound of their yelping was getting louder. I lowered my head and kept jogging along my path. The whole place echoed with all the tunnels and passageways. It was hard to determine where they were coming from. I held my shackles by the chain and hoped I wouldn’t have to rely on them as a weapon. Before long, several choguls came running out from one of the tunnels that crossed mine.
The choguls dashed in my direction, but they appeared to be concerned about something behind them. A few seconds later, I saw what they were running from. The creature appeared to be four feet tall and about five feet wide. The thing that was chasing them had slimy scales and large sharp teeth. It charged toward us with six stubby legs. It was plenty to make me to run with the choguls.
It was hard to run while trying not to bang my head on the lower parts of the tunnel. The strange creature growled as it chased after us. A few choguls kept running along with me and were willing to make a truce as we escaped. One of the choguls tripped and soon was met by the strange creature. It spewed out a cloud of gas from its mouth which caused the choguls to squirm and gag. I decided that whatever it was, it was bad.
I realized that I might be immune to its gas, but the thing was rather huge and the teeth were enough to tear my limbs off. Yeah, I was not going to pick a fight with it. I turned my head and could tell it wanted more than just one chogul for its meal. The path started to move on a downward slope and the water was moving much faster. I nearly bumped my head into
a pipe that went across the tunnel, but I stumbled and avoided hitting my head. The creature kept moving closer. I quickened my pace and kept my attention on where I was going. Unfortunately, my path ended.
My stomach felt like it was going to jump up into my lungs as I fell. I was too concerned with a large lizard with sharp teeth to notice that I was running out of the large pipe that extended outside the sewers. It wasn’t long before I splashed into the water below. The chilly water instantly caught my attention and I felt the sting of the impact.
As I swam toward dry land, my front side hurt quite a bit. I was already shivering from the cold water. A few choguls made the plunge as well, but the strange creature decided to not jump down after us and retreated back into the sewers. I laid there on a patch of grass, catching my breath and feeling a bit winded. The choguls looked at me but moved on elsewhere. “Oh, man!” a voice called to me. I looked up and saw it was Jerak.
Jerak laughed, “Good to see that you are alright!” I slowly sat up. I was just happy to see him. He pulled me up, “Aren’t you freezing from that water?” I gave him a nod, “At least it was clean.” Jerak chuckled, “And you had a free bath!” Two more figures came walking toward us.
“Oh, good you found him,” Bolam said in relief.
Jerak tugged on my arm, “That old man is waiting for us.”
Bolam corrected him, “That’s Master Falstrid.”
Falstrid brought his small wagon filled with all sorts of things a mage would ever need. He also brought us a simple covered wagon since we now owned a warhorse to pull it. I spent the rest of the night drying my clothes in the back of the wagon, and keeping warm in a dry blanket until I finally fell asleep.
I woke up several times whenever the wagon made a stop or found a bump on the road. The canvas that covered the wagon had more than its fair share of holes and patchwork but it did help keep the weather out, for the most part. Jerak sat in the front, steering the wagon, and Teltar was still sleeping. I assumed Bolam was with Falstrid. The weather was a bit overcast but I doubted there would be any rain. My clothes were still damp.
The whole day was rather peaceful and boring. We made some small talk but we ran out things to say. Teltar isn’t very good at keeping up a conversation. Jerak wanted to get in some sparring with me but my clothes were still drying and we were going mostly nonstop. It was a really boring day, but I needed it.
A couple of days had passed. Jerak sparred with me any chance he could. The fights were getting closer to an even match, but he mostly beat me still. From sheer boredom, I spent most of the time exercising in the wagon. I did as many pushups as I could, a few other things, then repeated. It was really easy to get into the habit being stuck in a wagon all day long for a few days.
We reached Halatross with a feeling of cheer, mostly due to the break of the monotony of travel. I poked my head out but quickly remembered my run in with the law in Vunash and hid back in the wagon. Our two wagons stopped by Ayjestus’ temple. Falstrid got out and walked to the back of our wagon. He let out a deep sigh, “It might be best if you fellows wait here and keep a low profile.” Falstrid looked at me, “You have a bad reputation with the elves, and the last thing we need is anymore issues.” I just nodded and lowered myself deeper into the wagon.
Three men in white armor walked outside the temple. Clagmir spoke cheerfully, “It is good to see you, Falstrid!” He and Falstrid gave each other a friendly handshake and a pat on the back.
Falstrid had his back to us, “I am glad to see you here. How are things?”
Clagmir’s expression turned a little more serious, “Wotmire has some entanglements-issues with the elves, but you said there is a man that was involved in the whole thing?”
Falstrid nodded, “Yes, Deshra Thornweave was the mastermind behind it all.” Clagmir scratched his beard, “Deshra? Really?!”
Falstrid took a few steps toward the temple, “Let’s discuss this inside with Ayjestus.”
What felt like an hour had passed before we saw Falstrid walk out of the temple. Several more figures came out with him. Even Ayjestus herself came outside. She really stood out with her blue skin. Jerak whispered to us, “Whoa, she has blue skin!” Bolam shushed him. Jerak continued, “I mean really blue…” I almost chuckled at what he said but saw that they were moving out way.
Ayjestus walked over to us with Clagmir and his two paladins. She spoke in a soft voice, “Blake?” I took a deep breath and moved to the back of the wagon. I sighed and sat along the edge of the wagon. She stared at me for a moment as if she was trying to figure out what was on my mind. “There is something strange about you,” she said. I shrugged but didn’t know what to say. She fiddled with her hair, “Can I assume that the Dragon Spirit is with you?”
I nodded and lifted up my shirt to display the green stone embedded in my chest. She didn’t look too surprised, “Falstrid has told me of your encounter with him. I was also told that your ill deeds were caused by your quest involving him.”
Jerak butted in, “They tried to kill Blake, and that Dragon guy saved him.” Clagmir shook his head at Jerak. Ayjestus was the sort that was revered among others. Speaking out might have been considered rude but Jerak didn’t appear to grasp that yet.
Ayjestus frowned, “I believe you might be justified, but it will be most difficult for the elves to forgive such acts. Even if you could prove that he was using you.”
“But they attacked him first!” Jerak butted in.
Clagmir snapped at Jerak, “Don’t be rude!” Jerak retreated and began to pout.
I smiled a little, “Thank you Jerak, but it is alright.”
Ayjestus looked at me and still retained her frown, “I wish I could help you with that.”
I answered, “Actually, I do have a favor to ask of you.” Ayjestus tilted her head slightly. I continued, “Uh, can you, um… ease up a little with Talestria?” Ayjestus’ looked surprised.
“What?! Talestria?” Ayjestus replied.
I took a deep breath, “She told me that she isn’t allowed to travel because of things with her family and…”
Ayjestus appeared a little angry, “Her family caused my sister’s death! Why would you wish free passage for such a dangerous wo…”
I interrupted, “Because I love her!” Ayjestus staggered back and her three eyes went wide. One of her four hands covered her mouth in shock. I just stared at her. Falstrid and Clagmir both sidestepped away from Ayjestus.
Ayjestus fiddled with her hair, “That… wait… how?”
I sighed and stared at the ground, “She was only a child at the time… Talestria had nothing to do with your sister’s death.” I suddenly really missed Talestria and felt worried about her now.
Ayjestus bit her lower lip, “I…” She took several steps back and was really unsure how to react to it all.
Falstrid stepped in, “Perhaps we can discuss this at another time?”
Ayjestus nodded her head, “Yes… please.”
Ayjestus turned back to me, “You really love her?” I gave her a nod.
“We need to act as soon as we can!” Clagmir said as he changed the subject.
Falstrid nodded, “Yes, Xum’gol is our main concern now.”
Ayjestus snapped out of her shock, “Very well. I will bring my healers in with me to help with any wounded.”
Clagmir smiled, “Thank you, milady. I will rally The Celestial Fist for the siege.”
Ayjestus nodded, “Halatross guards will strengthen patrols for any Shaden forces and aid when they can.”
Falstrid tapped his staff, “I will bring my group around to cause some trouble for Xum’gol.” Falstrid looked at me and I instantly gathered that I was part of this group.
Ayjestus retired into her temple. Clagmir walked over to me, “So, I heard you did some damage to the Shadens.”
Jerak moved forward, smiling like he had helped with it, “Yeah! He sure messed things up for them!”
I shrugged, “It helped that I had access to p
lenty of oil…”
Clagmir chuckled, “I am impressed! I feel better knowing Falstrid employed you for the job.”
Falstrid snorted, “You don’t think I am able to cause damage on my own?”
Clagmir laughed, “You better watch out, old goat! The young men might surpass your wrath!” Falstrid snorted then laughed.
“Well, I want to hear all the details of that story, Blake, but I have much work to do” Clagmir said cheerfully. He waved at us and wandered off with the other two paladins.
“We need to get ourselves prepared, as well” Falstrid instructed.
I was starting to feel really nervous, “Wait, when are we leaving?”
Falstrid raised one eyebrow, “We are departing before dawn tomorrow!”
Falstrid and Bolam wandered off to get supplies for our trip. Teltar let out a big yawn, “Well, since Bolam is getting the supplies, we might as well sleep.”
I took several deep breaths, “I need to get a weapon and…”
Jerak hopped out of the wagon, “I’ll get you one!”
I poked my head out of the wagon, “Wait! Where are you going?” Jerak turned his head, “Oh, I am sure those Celestial Fist guys have a spare weapon for you.”
He took a few steps but I stopped him, “Wait… Um, see if you can find boots a little larger than these!” I tossed him my boots.
Jerak ducked as if I was trying to attack him but after the dumbfounded look on his face faded, he grasped what I was trying to do. He lifted up the boots, “Oh, sure! I will see what we can use!”
Teltar took out his sword and a whet stone. He sat in his corner in the wagon and started to inspect his blade. Every so often he scraped the stone on his sword and wiped it with a rag. “He would bother me if I did this in front of him,” Teltar muttered.
I chuckled, “Yeah he would bug you about having to sharpen a sword.”
Teltar nodded and even cracked a smile, “Jerak is a quirky man, but he is alright.”
Dragon Hero Page 31