The Shards

by Gary Alan Wassner

  “We found your trail quite easily, Princess,” Giles jibed. “Noise alone is not the only evidence of your travels that you must conceal then,” he warned.

  “Yes. It seems you are correct in that respect, Giles,” Alemar replied. “And I thank you for bringing this to our attention. We did not, though, expect to be tracked by anyone coming from the direction of Lormarion as yet. Though your point is well taken.”

  “Did you really think you could leave us so easily without even a word of farewell?” Clovis asked. “What did you expect us to do? Do not tell me you are surprised that we came after you. You should have known better, Princess.”

  Alemar blushed, shook her head slightly from left to right and then smiled.

  “I should have known better, dear Clovis,” she agreed.

  “If we can maintain the secrecy of our journey, the addition of your friends to our ranks may be a boon to us in the end.”

  “You mean we can stay?” Giles joked.

  “You may stay,” Alemar replied like a mother addressing her children, and the two elfin warriors simultaneously sighed in affected relief.

  “Very well then,” Alemar began. “Now that you are here it is necessary that you know where we are headed and what we intend to do. Do you wish to tell them, Teetoo, or shall I?”

  “Be my guest, Princess,” the Weloh replied, and he stepped to the side.

  The Princess then briefly related to them their destination and purpose, though neither seemed surprised or concerned throughout her telling. When she finished, both Clovis and Giles shrugged their shoulders as if they had just been invited upon the most innocent and harmless of journeys.

  “How long will it take us to get there?” Giles asked nonchalantly.

  “Is there no one to fight?” Clovis inquired. “We are merely going to sneak in and free the wizard and then leave?”

  “That would be the most ideal of all results,” Teetoo replied. “But, I fear it may not be that simple.”

  “We are going to Sedahar, you buffoons!” Alemar said lovingly, though impatiently. “What greater peril could you envision than walking directly into Caeltin D’Are Agenathea’s very own home? Do you think he will sit lazily by while we release his brother, his most coveted of prisoners, from his captivity and run away with him?”

  “Did I say that?” Giles asked Clovis.

  “No. I did not hear you say anything like that,” Clovis replied.

  “For a moment there I thought I was going mad,” Giles continued.

  “Stop it, you two!” Alemar said exasperated, though she could not help but laugh. “This is serious.”

  “Everything with you has become so serious, Princess. We sought only to lighten your load a bit,” Clovis replied.

  “Well, you have succeeded. I only hope that Teetoo does not get the totally wrong impression of the two of you,” she said.

  “Princess?” the Weloh interrupted. “If I could have caused you to laugh previously, I would have too. Your friends have succeeded where I have failed, and for that I am grateful,” he said, and he bowed slightly to the two men. “She has indeed been in a perilous state of mind these past few days. And now it seems that your presence has changed that. Apparently, you bring something to this equation that was sorely needed. The fabric weaves of its own will once again. It is a shame that you did not spend more time in the Heights this past month. I think that I would have enjoyed getting to know both of you better.”

  “I was never too fond of being that high up in the air,” Giles admitted. “One visit was sufficient for me. Besides, the woods of Lormarion are spectacular. I enjoyed my time there. Eleutheria has no such forests, “ he said.

  “Where Giles goes, I go,” Clovis explained. “In fact, most of the trouble that I have encountered in my life is the result of exactly that,” he said, and he slapped his friend heartily upon the back.

  “Regardless, we shall all have the opportunity to learn more about one another now,” Teetoo said.

  “Can you really fly?” Giles asked, He was never one to withhold his curiosity for the sake of propriety.

  “Yes, I can,” Teetoo answered him, and he was not offended in the slightest by his boldness. “But you know that already. You saw me do so the day we met.”

  “I confess, I did,” Giles replied. “But I needed to ask you myself nonetheless and hear you say it in your own words. Is it incredible?”

  “When I do not take it for granted, yes, it is incredible,” Teetoo smiled.

  “I don’t think I could stand being way up there without my feet on solid ground. The thought of it starts my stomach jumping,” Giles said.

  “You are a woman, Giles!” Clovis said, making fun of his companion.

  “Excuse me?” Alemar chimed in. “‘A woman’? And that was meant to be an insult?” she said indignantly. “We have truly been apart for too long. I need to put the two of you back in your rightful places!” she chastised them both.

  “That is precisely why we are here, your Highness,” Clovis said smiling. “We missed your discipline and direction.”

  “See what has happened to us in your absence?” Giles asked with puppy dog eyes. “We have lost all of the refinement and good manners that people have come to expect of us.”

  “The two of you are impossible!” Alemar said, and she laughed aloud. “Behave yourselves, the both of you, before I take a switch to your backs!” she kidded.

  In just a few short moments, Alemar’s exuberance and spirit had returned. Her two companions had succeeded in removing the persistent shadow of doubt and consternation from her brow that she could not shake off by herself. What Teetoo had begun, Giles and Clovis completed.

  “Come, sit.” Teetoo beckoned to them. “You must be hungry.”

  “They are always hungry, Teetoo,” Alemar said, as Giles and Clovis moved toward the fire with anxious anticipation.

  “Good. Let us eat together then, and we can discuss how we are going to accomplish what we need to. Our options have been enhanced by your arrival, and thus we must reformulate our strategies,” the Weloh said as he sat down once again.

  As they ate, they talked. Teetoo related to them what little he knew of Sedahar, mostly from recollections of the many conversations he had about it with Premoran.

  “It actually changes shape and color depending upon his mood?” Alemar asked.

  “Yes. It is a city that is alive in that way. Whether it is chimera and appearance only, I cannot answer,” Teetoo replied. “After he was defeated at Pardatha, he destroyed it completely and utterly. We heard the sounds of Sedahar’s destruction way off in the west. Premoran knew what his brother was doing then. They have this link still between them and though it causes him great anguish, he cannot break it. Since then, Colton has rebuilt it once more.”

  “This bond that you speak of,” Clovis said. “Will it help us to know where the Dark Lord is once we locate Premoran?”

  “Yes. It could. Premoran was almost always aware of where Colton was. In fact, it tormented him to know,” Teetoo replied.

  “Do they influence one another through this link? Is it such that they can reach out to one another?” Clovis continued his questioning.

  “Premoran was always concerned about that. He felt that he had to remain forever vigilant in the event that Colton attempted to manipulate him or influence him against his will. Though my friend is amazingly strong physically, and strong of will as well, so is his brother.”

  “You did not answer my question fully, Teetoo,” Clovis prodded. “I asked if they could influence one another and you replied merely how Colton could influence Premoran. What about the reverse?”

  “I know that many tiels ago, Premoran had tried to ease his brother’s anguish through that bond. What he encountered when he touched Colton’s soul, he was never able to speak to me about in any detail. Needless to say, it must have been a hideous experience. He failed miserably in the attempt and as far as I am aware he never tried it again,” Teet
oo related.

  “You know him very well, Teetoo,” Alemar said. “This must be so difficult for you.”

  Teetoo turned his face toward the Princess, and his huge eyes were wide open and unblinking.

  “Most difficult, Princess,” he replied. “Though I feel it more profoundly than others do, in reality, the repercussions of his imprisonment are arduous for us all.”

  “Maybe he needs to try once more to get into this madman’s head,” Giles said. “At least, it might serve to distract him. We could surely use that to our advantage once we arrive there.”

  “It is a good thought, Giles,” Teetoo agreed. “Anything that would take Colton’s attention away from the perimeters of his realm would serve our purposes. But I am certain that Premoran is quite weak now, and in such a weakened state, it could be even more dangerous for him.”

  “Is there a way you can communicate with him? I have heard you say that you know he is alive. Thus, you are not merely guessing. Your knowledge comes from some sort of connection the two of you must have,” Alemar said.

  “You are not related by blood like he and Caeltin. There is no bond of that kind between you both. Have you a special means of transmitting or receiving feelings or thoughts that is unique to your race?” Clovis asked.

  “No. I am quite intuitive, though I generally attribute it to my heightened sensory perceptions,” Teetoo replied, and he was thinking deeply now himself.

  “Has he never given you anything that bears his mark?” Clovis questioned. “A knife, a pendant, a coin perhaps? I know that often items such as these are more than they appear to be.”

  “Like the diadem that was given to Robyn by Iscaron in the final battle? Or the light that Wayfair bestowed upon me before we went into the Caves of Carloman?” Alemar recalled.

  Teetoo looked confused momentarily, which was so unlike the Weloh. His big eyes were half closed in thought and his head was cocked to the side as if he was trying to remember something that kept eluding him.

  “Yes, that he has. I do not know why this has not occurred to me sooner,” he finally said somewhat surprised. “I have a token he bestowed upon me many, many tiels ago. I wear it always,” he said and he pushed the sleeve of his shirt over his slim, almost opaque wrist in order to expose it to the others.

  By the expectant look upon his face, he seemed as if he was uncertain whether he would actually find it there or not. It was nothing more than a rather small polished piece of blonde wood cut in no particularly discernible shape, but it glowed with an inner fire that they could all easily see, and Teetoo was visibly relieved by the actual sight of it. The token was strung like a bead upon a thin silver thread and it slid loosely around his thin wrist even as he spoke.

  “It was a gift,” he explained, and he was clearly straining to recall this information. “Premoran gave it to me a long time ago when he and I first met, actually,” he remembered. “Though not a shard by any means, he told me that it was a part of what remained from one of the Lalas who had departed. He told me to wear it upon my person always as a symbol of luck, but he never told me anything more about it. In fact, we never spoke of it again,” he said, and that now obviously seemed odd to him all of a sudden. “Curiously, I had not thought much about it. As far as I had been concerned at first, it was an ornament, a piece of jewelry, that so many in your world cherish beyond measure. Such adornments have not the same meaning for me. I was grateful for it at the time, but I paid no attention to it since. Actually, I had forgotten about it completely. I cannot even remember seeing it in a very long time, though I obviously never did remove it from my wrist,” he continued, and he was examining it now as if he was looking at it for the very first time.

  “And you never thought it odd that it glowed so?” Alemar asked.

  “I have been totally unaware of even its presence upon me, so frankly Princess, I never noticed that before this very moment,” Teetoo replied.

  “You are so nonchalant about this. Do you treat all such fortunate discoveries the same way!” Giles asked, surprised at how tranquilly the Weloh was handling this finding.

  “You do not know me well, my friend. I express my emotions differently than you do yours. Honestly, what causes me more surprise is that I have remained so unaware of it for so long, and until you all questioned me about it, I did not even remember that I wore it on my own person,” he repeated, still so bewildered by his new awareness.

  “Teetoo?” Alemar questioned. “Do you think that this bracelet is more than it appears to be?

  “I am certain, Princess,” he said with a new recognition, yet he remained still sedate and unmoved.

  “It must be like a seed that one plants deep in the frozen ground. Such an item can remain dormant almost indefinitely. When the first thaw comes, it awakens and its essence begins to manifest itself,” Alemar said. “Premoran is a wizard of the highest order. We should not be surprised that he has placed such things within the world.”

  “I am merely disappointed with myself, Alemar, for having forgotten about this for so long,” the Weloh replied.

  “Your lack of awareness must also be a part of his plan,” she responded. “The object remained safer on your person if no attention was drawn to it inadvertently.”

  “Most definitely,” Teetoo concurred. “Though I feel rather foolish having harbored it and yet not having made any attempt to utilize it.”

  “Foolish? I understand that emotion. How different are you really from us, Teetoo?” Giles questioned him, smiling.

  “Perhaps not as different as I have thought,” he replied, smiling in return. “This is fortuitous nonetheless, despite how fatuous it has made me feel to have been so unaware. As Alemar so aptly suggested, I had to wait for the thaw to come.”

  “The time had to be right. Without a doubt, there was intent in that, Teetoo. It should not cause you needless concern. What is really important is that you have discovered it once more. Now we must determine its true purpose,” Alemar said.

  “You are correct, of course, Princess. My feelings about it are rather irrelevant at this point,” he shrugged.

  “Now that you have found it, do you think you should try to use it in some way. We are not yet sure that it is anything more than a pretty, polished piece of wood. Maybe you should attempt to communicate with Premoran through it?” Giles asked.

  “Let us not be too hasty. We do not know who may be watching him, and it would harm us rather than help us to give ourselves away before we even arrive at the enemy’s gates. We must be extremely careful. An attempt at communication through this relic would necessarily affect the weave, and Colton may very well be waiting for just such an event in order to track down the originator of it. He knows that his brother has friends, though I doubt he could fathom the depth of their loyalty to him,” Teetoo said. “Regardless, we must wait. We cannot risk revealing our position or our intention.”

  “I, for one, will not bicker with you over this. After seeing the undead rise from the depths of the frozen Sea of the Righteous and march to war, I do not question those who understand these things better than I do,” Clovis said.

  “Aye! Neither do I,” Giles concurred. “If you and Alemar agree that now is not the time to use this bracelet, who are we to disagree?” Giles said.

  “I do agree with Teetoo,” Alemar said. “We must wait until we know that it is safe for us and for Premoran before we try to commune with him. Besides, I think that this token has already provided you with some sense of his whereabouts. How else would you know with such certainty that he is in Castle Sedahar and that he is still alive?” she asked.

  “Exactly!” Teetoo said. “And I do know both of those things without any incertitude. This limited knowledge must suffice for us now until we can be sure it is prudent to attempt to gain more.”

  “How then do we plan to rescue Premoran from Sedahar, Teetoo?” Clovis asked, hands on his hips as he and his companions stared raptly at the Weloh.

  Chapter Twenty-eigh
t

  “I am so excited. I have dreamed of Avalain my entire life!” Stephanie said, and in her enthusiasm she pinched Preston sharply around the waist.

  “Ouch!” he screeched. “That hurt, Steph!”

  “Sorry, Preston!” she giggled. “I really did not mean to do that. Forgive me?”

  “Of course I do. Just don’t do it again!” he replied, and he rubbed his side and grinned at the same time.

  “We are going to have to get you a horse of your own if you keep this up,” Elion said smiling too. “We cannot afford to have an injured dwarf by the time we get to Avalain.”

  “I promise! I will be careful. But I would not mind riding by myself by now. Not only do I feel bad for the poor horse that has to carry a double load, but frankly, the back of the saddle is not the most comfortable part,” she said.

  “As soon as we get to the city, I will make certain that you have a mare of your own choosing for as long as you require it, Stephanie,” Queen Esta said.

  “Thank you so much, your Highness. It has been so long since I had anything of my own, I have nearly forgotten what it is like,” the girl replied.

  “Recent events have dealt many of us a difficult hand,” Elion said. “And still, we are most fortunate compared to some, I fear.”

  “I did not mean to complain, Prince Elion. It really has not been that bad for me. I was never beaten and I always had something to eat. My mother and I did not go hungry. And we still had a roof over our heads,” she explained. “But I do miss my father,” she said sadly.

  “He was a truly nice man, Steph. And a noble one too. We have all lost so much lately,” Tomas said.

  “Do you miss Trevor and Safira?” she asked him.

  “I do, very much. Those days seem so long ago,” he mused dolefully. “It seems almost like another life. I never realized how peaceful it was before.”

  “Before?” Stephanie asked.

  “Before Colton came to Pardeau and blackened the land with his evil. Before he killed my aunt and uncle. Before the trees began to die,” Tomas replied.