The Ruins on Stone Hill (Heroes of Ravenford Book 1)

by F. P. Spirit

  Glo’s eyebrow shot up. Apprentice? To this volatile human? That would be worse than studying with his father. At least with Amrod he knew what to expect. He had known his father all his life and was aware of what the older elf’s limits were. This Maltar was a loose cannon that could go off at any second. Still, if he did not accept the mage’s offer, he was just as likely to be offended. If that happened, they would get nothing out of him. It looked like he had little choice. Glo swallowed hard. “Why, I would be honored.”

  Maltar nodded with approval. “Very good. Now as far as the control item password, that could be anything.”

  Glo sat forward in his seat. “Yes, but there was a hint in Telvar’s notes. It mentioned something about Telvar’s first love.”

  Maltar let out a short laugh. “Heh. Telvar’s first love, you say? Well, I knew the wretch for a long time, and I can tell you, Telvar never loved anyone but himself.”

  Glo was about to respond when the two other apprentices entered the parlor. Maltar turned and gazed at them expectantly. “Well?”

  The woman was the one who responded. “Fliban’s body has been taken to the temple as you instructed. The clerics are preparing him to be raised. They will start the ceremony as soon as they receive their fee.”

  Maltar appeared pleased. “Good, good.” He motioned the duo to join them. “Abracus, Gristla, this is Glolindir. He is my new apprentice.”

  Gristla’s eyes widened and Abracus’s mouth fell open. They swiftly recovered, most likely used to Maltar’s ever changing temperament. Both apprentices reached forward and grasped Glo’s hand in turn, welcoming him to their small group.

  Maltar seemed rather pleased. “Glolindir here is quite resourceful, as you have seen. He will keep you on your toes.” He turned to face Glo. “And, Glolindir, if either of these two gives you any trouble, you have my permission to give them the same treatment you did Fliban.”

  The other two apprentices stared at their master with expressions of disbelief. Glo was about to assure them that he would never do such a thing, when the mage turned and slapped him on the back.

  “That’ll keep them on their toes!” Maltar chortled wildly. The unpredictable mage then spun on his heel and strode out of the room. “This audience is over,” he called back over his shoulder. “Abracus! Gristla! Provide Glolindir with what he will need to perform his duties as my apprentice.”

  With that, Maltar disappeared, leaving the three young mages staring at each other in astonishment.

  Ravenford Keep

  The keep proper stood in front of them, reaching high into the blue skies above

  Glo returned to the Charging Minotaur and found his companions waiting for him in a booth near the hearth. Seth had returned earlier and told them what had happened with Fliban. By the time Glo arrived, they had already put two and two together and figured they would have to pay for the resurrection. Aksel and Lloyd both thought it was the right thing to do. Seth, still mortified over what happened, raised no objections.

  Glo had discussed the details of the resurrection with Gristla and Abracus. Originally it would have cost them 5,000 gold pieces just for the spell ingredients, but Maltar had some kind of deal with Abbot Qualtan. It turned out that he was another of Maltar and Gryswold’s traveling companions from back in their adventuring days. Thus, the total charge for resurrecting Fliban was only 4,000 gold. Seth insisted on walking the fee over to the temple. It was obviously something he needed to do.

  Meanwhile, Lloyd, Glo and Aksel discussed their options. They now had only 1,000 gold pieces. They would need at least 8,000 gold to pay for the scrolls to free the golem. Three days had passed since they left on Maltar’s quest, so that meant there would be a town meeting today. With any luck, they could get hired out for a job. That would meet both their goals: lending their skills where they were most needed and making some money toward acquiring the scrolls. When Seth returned, they agreed to head up to the keep.

  Aksel glanced around the table. “We should dress in our best clothes…”

  “Why?” Lloyd said suddenly.

  Seth looked at Lloyd as though he were crazy. “We’re going to court. What else would you wear?”

  Lloyd flushed. He gazed down at the table and mumbled, “I don’t know.” Just as suddenly, he looked up, his face alight. “Maybe we should show up in our battle gear. It will look more like we mean business.”

  Seth stared incredulously at Lloyd. “Why that’s the stupidest idea…”

  Aksel raised a hand, cutting him off. “They don’t know us up at the keep. Showing up in full battle gear might make them think we are looking for trouble.”

  Lloyd let out a deep sigh. Something was definitely wrong; this was not like Lloyd at all. Glo glanced at Aksel and Seth. Both just shook their heads. Glo turned back to Lloyd. “Are you alright?”

  The young man gazed at Glo with an almost pleading look in his eyes. It was only there for a moment and then it was gone, replaced by an embarrassed smile. “I’m fine. You’re right. We should dress our best.” Before anyone could respond, he slid out of the booth. “No use sitting around. Let’s get ready.” With that, he crossed the common room toward the back hallway.

  When he was out of earshot, Seth turned to the others. “What was that all about?”

  “I have no idea,” Aksel replied.

  Neither did Glo. There was definitely something Lloyd was not telling them. He had been skirting around it since they had first met. Still, whatever it was, it was his business. For now, they all needed to get changed. The trio followed him upstairs. When Glo reached their room, Lloyd was sitting on his bed. His armor was off, and in its place he wore a plain white shirt. On the bed lay a fancy red tabard. Lloyd looked sullenly at the sleeveless coat as if loathing to put it on. Glo spoke tentatively to him, “That’s a nice looking tabard.”

  Lloyd glanced up. “Thanks.”

  “Well, are you going to put it on?”

  “Yes.” Lloyd stood up, grabbed the tabard, and pulled it over his head, straightening it out as it fell over his tall frame. There was a large insignia on the front; the shape of a majestic lion with two swords crossed underneath it against a black and red background. Farther down was another smaller symbol, this one of a sailing ship on a blue and red background. There was a smaller lion next to it, and two more swords crossed underneath. Once again, Glo was hesitant to comment.

  “That’s an interesting insignia.”

  “It’s the symbol of Penwick,” Lloyd said proudly, smoothing out the cloth. All traces of doubt were suddenly gone. Lloyd stood tall and majestic in his fine attire.

  Glo was thankful to see his friend no longer sullen. “It looks good on you.”

  Lloyd smiled back at him. “Thanks.”

  Glo went to his dresser and rummaged through his own clothes. He had dress robes in here somewhere. He continued to talk as he searched. “So the symbol of Penwick is both a lion and a ship?”

  “Well, umm, not exactly. The ship is…the symbol of the Penwick Navy.”

  “That’s right. You said your dad was in the navy.”

  Glo finally found them. He pulled out a silky purple robe of much finer material than his travel robe. It was emblazoned with three interlocked white triangles. He shook the robe, trying to get the wrinkles out.

  Lloyd came closer and bent down for a better look. “Is that the symbol of your town?”

  “No, it’s the crest of my family.”

  Lloyd’s face took on a strange expression. “Are you a noble?”

  “Um, I don’t know if it translates exactly. My family belongs to the House of Eodin. It is one of the seven major houses of Cairthrellon.”

  “So that would make your family one of the most respected in your city.”

  Glo raised an eyebrow. “You could say that.”

 
Lloyd’s expression turned thoughtful. “I am sure that position comes with a lot of responsibility.”

  “It has its share.”

  An ironic smile crossed the young man’s face. “It’s kind of funny, you know. Most people think of nobles as lucky. They see it for the money, the power and the fame. What they don’t get is the obligations that go along with it. It’s less about what you get than what you give.”

  Glo was amazed. That was a very profound observation. Up till now, he had thought of Lloyd merely as a warrior, but the young man had surprising depth. He was about to ask Lloyd how he knew so much about nobility, when someone pounded on the door.

  “Hurry up in there! We don’t have all day.” It was Seth.

  “Just a minute!” Glo yelled.

  He flashed Lloyd a quick grin then doffed his regular robes and pulled on the dress ones. Meanwhile, Lloyd went to open the door. Seth walked in with Aksel trailing behind him. The former wore a fancy green dress jacket over his black outfit. The latter was garbed in bright white robes with the symbol of his faith on them.

  Aksel stopped in front of Lloyd. “You look nice.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know what you were so worried about,” Seth added thoughtlessly.

  Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. “It’s no big deal.”

  Glo finished straightening his robes and glanced around the room. “Alright then, let’s go.”

  The four companions headed downstairs and through the tavern. Kailay dashed over as they passed the bar. She looked them all over appreciatively, though her eyes lingered a bit longer on Lloyd once again. “Wow! Don’t you all look nice. What’s the fancy occasion?”

  “We’re off to the town meeting,” Glo confided. “If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll find some work.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Kailay whispered back conspiratorially. She looked them all over once more and then stepped closer to Lloyd. She placed a hand on the young man’s chest. “That looks like very fine material.”

  Lloyd froze where he was, clearly embarrassed. Kailay ran her hand over the material. “My mom is the town tailor. I’ve learned a few things by watching her.”

  Lloyd’s face reddened further. Aksel came to his rescue. “Ahem. I’m sorry, Kailay, but we really need to get going. I’m sure we’ll see you when we get back.”

  Kailay was clearly disappointed. Nonetheless, she dropped her hand and stepped back, her eyes still fixed on Lloyd. “Okay, but promise to come and see me later.”

  Lloyd managed a nervous, “Okay.”

  “Great!” Kailay flashed him a bright smile, then spun around and ran back to the bar.

  The four companions exited the tavern and headed in the direction of the keep. As they strode along, Glo stole a sidelong glance at Lloyd. The young man wore a troubled expression, as if wrestling with some internal conflict. Perhaps it had to do with Kailay. Lloyd had been rather hesitant to act on her advances. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her at all. Maybe it had something to do with their earlier discussion about nobility and responsibility. Lloyd seemed awful passionate about that.

  The little band reached the base of the hill below the town keep. A road led up the hillside, ending at the entrance. High walls enclosed the grounds, capped with parapets at regular intervals. A tall, rounded tower stood in one corner. Only the top of the main keep was visible beyond. The front entrance consisted of a wide archway; the black iron base of a thick portcullis hung suspended in the top of the arch. Two guardsmen stood on either side of the entrance. They wore black and white tabards over chainmail suits with an insignia emblazoned in the center of their chest—a black dragon on a background of white red and blue. Above the dragon stood two smaller symbols, a sword and a pouncing eagle. As the companions approached, one of the guards signaled them to halt.

  “State your business,” he said in an officious tone.

  Aksel spoke for the group, “We’re here for the town meeting.”

  The guard looked them over carefully. “A human, an elf, a gnome, and a halfling? Wait here one moment.” He turned around and strode through the gate. Less than a minute later, he returned with a third guard. “Aren’t these the folks you were telling us about?” the first guard asked the third one.

  This new guard looked them over and nodded. “This is definitely them; the crew that went up to Stone Hill with Titan.”

  “That would be us,” Aksel admitted.

  Glo raised an eyebrow. “I take it you know her?”

  An ironic smile crossed the guard’s face. “Titan and I go way back. We grew up together.”

  “Well, you’ll not find a more valiant companion,” Lloyd stated fervently.

  The guard’s smile broadened into a grin. “Ain’t that the truth.” He turned to the other guard. “It’s okay, I’ve got this.” The gate guard nodded and fell back to his post. The new guard spun back around and introduced himself.

  “I am Francis Valas of the Ravenford town guard.”

  Lloyd extended his hand. “My name’s Lloyd.”

  Francis took his hand. “You’re that spirit…blade?”

  Lloyd nodded. Francis turned next to Glo. “And you’re the wizard.”

  “Glolindir.”

  Francis shook his hand as well then faced Seth and Aksel. “And you two must be the ninja and the cleric.”

  Seth pointed a thumb toward Aksel. “He’s the cleric. Not sure where you got ninja from, though.”

  Francis looked baffled by the reply. Aksel shook his head wearily and explained further. “I’m Aksel and this is Seth. Ninjas don’t like to be pointed out as such. It is part of their way.”

  “Oh.” Francis nodded as if he understood. The wan smile on his face said otherwise. He turned to Seth and said, “My apologies, good sir.”

  Seth shrugged. “No problem.”

  Francis still appeared confused but pressed on anyway. “I’ve heard the story about what happened up at Stone Hill a few times since yesterday. In all honesty, most accounts sound exaggerated, but like I said, I’ve known Delara for years. From what she told me, Stone Hill was infested with a small army of monsters and a dark wizard.”

  Aksel nodded. “That is pretty much the way it was.”

  “Well then, this town owes you a vote of thanks.” Francis stepped closer and lowered his voice. “There have been rumors around town of all kinds of monsters cropping up here and there; bandits as well. But to have a nest of those creatures so close to town—now that could have been real trouble.”

  Glo was starting to like this Francis. He was both friendly and forthcoming.

  “We’re just glad we could help out.” Lloyd gave him a warm smile.

  Aksel cleared his throat. “Which brings us to why we are here. We’ve come to attend the town meeting. We’d like to help out more if we can.”

  A grin spread across Francis’s face. “I think that can be arranged. Normally hired help isn’t allowed at the town meetings—the captain of the guard contracts them out separately, but in your case I think we can make an exception.” He paused a moment as if thinking it over. “Let me take you to see the lieutenant. He will know how to handle this.” Francis spun around and motioned them to follow. “They’re with me,” he told the gate guards.

  They proceeded under the portcullis and entered a large courtyard. A number of guards performed various duties here, anything from grooming horses to practicing archery. The keep proper stood in front of them, reaching high into the blue skies above. It consisted of a massive stone structure with two huge wooden doors and many glass windows above the first floor. Glo counted three stories in general but saw that it rose to four and even five stories in some smaller sections and towers. The building itself was composed of light grey stone, but the midday sun gleaming off the walls of the keep made it look almost white in spots. In some of t
he low-lying sections, thick masses of greenish moss and clinging ivy vines covered the sides of the structure. Over to their right stood an entrance to what looked like gardens populated with large sculpted bushes, multicolored flowers, and even a flowing fountain in the center.

  They were led through the front doors and into a large foyer. From there they went through the main hall, a room as large as the tavern area of the Charging Minotaur. It had a two-story vaulted ceiling with columns along its length and multiple balconies off to the sides. The entire expanse was covered with plush red carpets, tapestries, and various portraits along the walls. On one wall in particular there was a large mural. It depicted a knight in full armor, along with a wizard, a cleric, and two more people faced off against a large black dragon. Glo assumed it represented the battle between the baron, along with his former traveling companions, and the dragon, Ullarak.

  Glo spied the entrance to another hallway at the other end of this hall. Two large shield-shaped banners hung high on the wall on either side. The one on the left displayed the same symbol as the tabards of the castle guards; the symbol of the Barony of Ravenford. The shield on the right had a background of white, red, and black. The symbol on this one was the same fierce-looking golden eagle that was portrayed on the other shield. There were two more symbols above that, but these were a crown and a lion. The lion looked quite similar to the one on Lloyd’s tabard. Glo pointed to the shield on the right.

  “That’s an interesting coat of arms. It bears some similarity to Lloyd’s. What house or place does it represent?”

  Lloyd answered before Francis, “That’s the symbol of the House of Avernos. The Baron of Penwick is head of that house.”

  Francis nodded. “Yes, indeed it is. I see by your tabard that you are from Penwick as well.”

  “Yes...I am,” Lloyd responded tentatively. Francis completely missed the young man’s discomfort.