by Philip Blood
“But, milady, what if someone finds out? No one there will know that he needs protection,” Becaris said, entering the discussion.
“Don’t you think I’m concerned about that? Leaving him there was the hardest thing I have ever done. I am his mother; it ripped out my heart to leave my child! , but I didn’t leave him completely defenseless, but I can’t tell you the details,” Elizabeth said.
“Milady, I don’t know what it is that you can’t tell us about, but if you don’t convince me that Michael is going to be safe I will go back to guard the boy. We swore an oath to protect Michael, you’re asking us to put that aside. If he is truly safer without us then we will stay away, but I’m not convinced,” Drake said forcefully surprising Elizabeth with his intensity.
Elizabeth paused for a moment and considered; the cathexis earring her family possessed was secret. Its secrecy was for good reason; murderers and thieves would attack and kill her entire family to find the location of a cathexis artifact. The only reason her family had kept it for so long was by keeping it hidden. To tell these men of the earring would be breaking her own oath of secrecy, one she had sworn when she became the keeper of the artifact.
She considered her options for a moment before answering the waiting knights. “I have sworn an oath of secrecy that I cannot break, but let me tell you this; by arcane methods I will communicate with Michael and he will always have the guidance of his mother. I will not know what is happening to him, but I will be there for him to give guidance. Please don’t ask me to explain any further. If you have any suspicions about how this is done, please keep them to yourself, the safety of my entire family rests with your silence,” she pleaded to the knights.
Hetark and Gustin exchanged looks of comprehension, but they did not discuss their conclusions aloud.
“All right, that takes care of the guidance question, what about protection? Can your arcane means do anything physical to help Michael?” Drake asked.
“No, I can only give him advice.”
“And at his current age, this advice means nothing. He’ll have to be older before your advice will help him, correct?” the knight asked, continuing his line of thought.
“Yes, right now his only protection lies in his remaining hidden,” Elizabeth answered.
“Milady, that is not sufficient, but before you protest let me propose this: of the Knight Protectors, Becaris and Hetark are the only faces that are somewhat known, correct?” Drake asked.
Elizabeth nodded slowly.
Drake continued, “Let Gustin and I take jobs at the school, I could work in the stables and Gustin is the son of a blacksmith, he could get work in the smithy. Our faces are not well known; we could stay out of sight and watch over Michael. Who would know? I think the gains outweigh the risk, he might need us before he can understand enough to follow your direction,” Drake said, his eyes pleading with Elizabeth.
Before responding she contemplated his arguments, and then she said, “If you wait awhile so that your arrival does not coincide with the arrival of Michael, it might be safe. You would have to lead the lives of simple farm hands; Michael’s safety would rely upon your not giving yourselves away. You might have to stay there working silently for years,” she warned.
Drake checked Gustin with a quick glance and the big man nodded, then Drake said, “We can do it, milady; Jatar said he always wanted at least two Knight Protectors with Michael, this way his wishes are still met.”
Elizabeth held up a finger, ‘And… you would have to let me tamper with your minds. I can block the knowledge of who you are, and of Michael. I will make a trigger which will release your memories the first time that you see the full moon. This way when the Adepts give you a cursory reading, which they will do when you apply for jobs at the school, you will not give away Michael’s identity, or your own. Then once you see the full moon your memories will return.”
Drake frowned, but Gustin answered for both of them, “We trust you, milady, and will submit to whatever you wish to do to our minds.”
Drake took a breath but then nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth answered, “Then it is decided, the two of you shall stay and take jobs at the school. Meanwhile, I also have jobs for the rest of you: Becaris, Lasar, and Rasal, you have made a good team so far, so I am going to have you continue together on an important assignment.
“First things, though, I am about to share a secret with all of you what you must never mention to anyone except the seven of us, and Michael some day, understood?”
They all nodded.
Elizabeth took a breath, but unlike the cathexis earring she left with Michael, she had not sworn an oath to keep this secret, though she had known she must in most circumstances. “All right, the Ardellen signet ring is more than just a symbol of office, it is one of the nineteen cathexis artifacts. Its value is extraordinary, that of whole kingdoms. No one must ever learn of this fact, but you must all know it so that you understand why Micheal must have that ring. In it are the personalities of past Ardellen rulers, and, more importantly, his father’s imprint. With that ring, Jatar’s imprint can guide his son.
G’Taklar, a young fifteen-year-old cousin of Jatar, took it on an embassy to Zinterdalin. By this time, he should have started the journey back toward Tarnelin. I want the three of you to find G’Taklar and explain the situation. Then I want you to bring him and the signet ring to me. Seek me in the land of my birth, Autrany, in the city of Myrnvale.”
They digested this news for a moment, and then Becaris said, “But, shouldn’t you have some of our protection with you while we are out seeking the ring?”
Elizabeth smiled, “Hetark will stay and accompany me to Myrnvale. He will also continue my combat instruction. First, we will travel to Roper and after finding the right person, we will then move on to Myrnvale, where I will begin recruiting an army.”
“Milady, there aren’t any soldiers to be had in Myrnvale, the armies of Autrany were destroyed in the war when the Usurper, and his Bliksian army, overran the country, it’s in complete chaos right now. It would be dangerous for you to go into Autrany while it is occupied by the Usurper and his armies,” Becaris reminded Elizabeth.
“I know Becaris, but there are no safe paths for any of us now. Autrany is one more thing the necromancers took away. I am of the Hevarnan bloodline, and members of my family are the rightful rulers of Autrany. If all my relatives were murdered by the Usurper then I am heir to the throne, though I hope some survive. Jatar and I had already begun plans to mount a campaign against the Usurper to drive him from my family’s land. Now the subjects of Autrany won’t receive the help they need from Lindankar to defeat the Usurper and his armies. Though Autrany’s militia was defeated, there will be many refugees. They may have become bandits holed up in the foothills. They will be the nucleus of my army. By the time Michael comes of age I swear I will have an army for him to lead, and once we have taken back Autrany, we will march on Lindankar and take down the necromancer who murdered my husband and stole Michael’s throne."
At that bold proclamation, the knights were silent in thought for a moment. They all knew that what she was proposing was a mountain nearly too steep to climb. Finally, Gustin spoke, “Those bandits you are talking about are going to be a pretty tough crowd for a Lady such as yourself.”
And Becaris added, “Perhaps you should think this through, milady.”
“I have, and though I appreciate your concerns for my health I do have a plan. For the time being I will be going in disguise, besides Hetark will be there to look out for me,” she said to reassure the protective knights.
Gustin didn’t look convinced, but he refrained from saying anything else.
Hetark looked pensive as he said, “Even assuming this works, it’s going to take some time to weld that army together, defeat the Usurper of Autrany and then take on the necromancer in control of Lindankar.” Hetark wanted to make sure Elizabeth understood the enormity of what she contemplated.
&nb
sp; “I have time, the time it takes Michael to come of age. My son is going to lead this army of retribution,” she prophesied.
“Now that sounds like a good plan,” Gustin exclaimed.
But here Elizabeth turned to Becaris, Lasar and Rasal as she said, “Just remember, I need that signet ring for Michael. Find it at any cost and bring it to me in Autrany. If something happens to me I want you to take the ring to Michael when he is about seven years old and have him put it on so that his father’s imprint can speak to my son,” Elizabeth instructed.
Becaris asked, “Where shall we begin our search?”
“G’Taklar is probably celebrating his first successful mission by sampling every Inn along the trail back to Tarnelin, I’d start there. Find him, and bring me that cathexis ring!” Elizabeth said with a determined look.
Somewhere in a dark cave under the mountains far away G’Taklar spoke into the darkness, “G’lan I’m thirsty! I’d shake Vorg’s putrid hand for one drink of water!”
“I know.” Jatar replied, “Stop and listen again, I want to check on our pursuit.”
G’Taklar stopped feeling along the rough walls and paused a moment in the dark to listen, then he said, “Nothing, it’s been over two bells since we last heard any of the search parties.”
“I just wanted to be sure,” Jatar answered.
G’Taklar started moving slowly down the corridor.
Since their escape, they had reached six dead ends, and each time they had backtracked and taken another passage. They had also descended four flights of stairs deeper into the earth.
G’Taklar noticed a change in the wall texture and said, “The wall feels different again; it feels like rough stone, more natural.”
“Feel around it again,” Jatar asked.
The young man complied and Jatar felt the rough stone through his fingers. “I think we’ve finally reached the original caverns.”
“Oh good, now I don’t have to worry about soldiers catching me, I just have natural drop-offs and murdering mutated souldead to contend with,” G’Taklar exclaimed sarcastically.
“It could be worse,” Jatar said.
“Oh, how?”
“I’m not sure, ‘Tak, but I’ll keep thinking about it,” Jatar answered.
“That’s what I thought. G’lan I’m thirsty!” G’Taklar exclaimed.
“You said that already.”
“I know, but I’m still thirsty.”
“Do you think it’s going to get better if you keep asking?”
“You know the old saying if you don’t ask you’ll... whaaaaa!”
G’Taklar had not been careful and he had stepped forward without first feeling carefully for the floor when there was none. He reached wildly in the air for something to grab, but to no avail. With arms flailing he fell only to land hard on his back, sliding down a very steep decline. He continued to scream, “Yaaaaa.”
“Shut up! Get your feet around in front of you, otherwise plan on landing on your head,” Jatar shouted mentally.
G’Taklar shut up like a clam snapping closed and worked on getting his sliding body under control. He was about half way around to getting his feet out in front of him when his body went completely airborne. He screamed again, but his bellow was abruptly cut off as his body struck freezing water. He plunged down into the depths and lost his sense of direction, so in the pitch dark, he didn’t know which way to swim to reach the surface and panic set in immediately.
Jatar’s calm thoughts pierced his consciousness, “Drop the chain or you’ll sink!”
G’Taklar quickly released the heavy object.
“Now relax and hold your breath, you’ll start to rise toward the surface, come on relax! I know your breath is running out, but you must wait. As long as you relax and hold your breath you'll rise toward the surface. Wait for it, all humans float! All humans float!” he promised.
With Jatar’s voice to help, G’Taklar finally got control of his mind and relaxed while holding his breath. His lungs began to burn with the buildup of carbon dioxide, but now that he wasn’t struggling he felt a sensation of rising. He swam in the direction he was naturally moving, and after three strokes, G'Taklar felt his head break the surface.
He immediately gasped in some much-needed air. He tread water and enjoyed the simple sensation of breathing. After a moment, G’Taklar had recovered enough to communicate with Jatar. “I’m glad you were here, I didn’t know all humans float.”
“Well, truth is, most of them float,” Jatar replied.
“But, you said they all did, I could have been sinking!”
“Yes, but given your naked state and body shape, I figured the odds were better that you were a floater than that you would choose to swim in the right direction,” Jatar explained calmly.
“You lied to me!” And the fear and fatigue the cold young man felt led quickly to anger.
“I saved your life,” Jatar replied.
“Why didn’t you just say that most people float?”
“Would you have held your breath and remained calm knowing that only most people float?” Jatar asked him in return.
“Absolutely not,” G’Taklar barked.
“You just answered your question. Look at the bright side, you got what you wanted, a drink!” Jatar exclaimed, trying to lighten G’Taklar’s mood.
Fuming with anger G’Taklar said, “I don’t want your help anymore!”
Jatar’s imprint was instantly cut off by the power of the host’s mind willing it to happen.
Unaware of what his thoughts had just done, and still fuming, the young man chose a direction and began swimming in the dark.
It was midnight in the capital city of Tarnelin. The Darknull was late in returning to the necromancer which made CAracusS pace furiously up and down the balcony just outside the Ardellen apartments.
Major Von Dracek was sitting at a table behind him writing a message. When the major finished he said, “There, this should take care of the Lindankar heir if he and his mother turn up at the Kirnath School. I’ve given Raven instructions to kill him and if possible, Lady Ardellen as well. Of course, that could ruin the spy’s cover, but it would be worth it,” Von Dracek said. He tied the message to the scaly blue leg of another stirglik messenger; this one’s destination was a small village near the Kirnath School.
CAracusS walked past the major without commenting on the message, but he muttered foul things under his breath. Though it was not really in his way CAracusS slapped at the stirglik on its perch as he passed. The creature’s wings unfurled for balance and it squeaked in a high pitch screeching voice. CAracusS stormed off the balcony and into the room.
The necromancer went down to his new torture chamber and had two guards bring a prisoner from the cells. He had executed most of the captive servants and military staff earlier in the day, but he had saved a few for emergencies.
CAracusS tortured the poor servant girl quickly, for no purpose, except to soothe his nerves. Then he placed his hand on her forehead and withdrew her life force, which burned her brain out in the same instant. Satiated, the necromancer left her corpse in the chamber, now a dead husk, and he retired to his rooms in the upper palace.
G’Taklar was swimming along in the dark while muttering, “You wanted a quest, you wanted excitement and thrills… well, you got them! You couldn’t just enjoy reading about it, no you had to go out and find adventure. Yuck, what was that, probably a fish… a fish underground? What if it’s some strange eel that eats flesh? What if it’s a guek, or… or… a pack of gueks! They could strip the flesh off a leg in a heartbeat. G’lan, get me out of here!”
He touched something with his foot again and pulled his feet up to get away from the creature he was imagining below. Holding his feet up and swimming with his arms was difficult and he soon grew tired. He thrashed around a little more while trying to stay afloat and keep his feet up, but lost the battle. When his feet finally came down they found what he had touched on the bottom. He sighed with r
elief and waded up and onto a stony shore; he was bruised, scraped, cold, wet and completely alone in the pitch dark.
He sat in total despair, and since no one was around to see he tried crying for a short time, but his sobs echoed off the walls eerily, so he stopped. Besides, he figured that crying with no one around to give him sympathy was a waste of time.
Again he spoke aloud just to have the company of his own voice. “What am I going to do? The souldead are going to suck my brains out.” The anger he had felt had faded, but his fear was growing. Finally, he gave in and spoke to his cousin’s spirit, “Jatar, why aren't you speaking to me? I’m all alone here… with… with brain sucking souldead! I’ve read about them, they can be horrible. I read that Vorg made many grotesque mistakes before he created his vorghoul, so you never know what you’re going to find… at least that’s what my stories said. I don’t like the thought of crawling around in the dark with brain-sucking monsters lurking about, please, please speak to me!”
With G'Taklar's will to let him speak Jatar was finally able to reply. His first thought to G'Taklar was, “So, you’re still alive.”
“What do you mean?” The puzzled young man inquired.
“In your anger, you cut off my connection. This isn’t a game, G’Taklar. Death will come swiftly for you if you make a mistake. You have the advantage of one thing right now, two minds to handle problems, one of them more experienced. When you cut me off you’re risking your life,” Jatar said seriously.
“I’m sorry, Jatar, I won’t do it again.”
“Good, I’m trying to do everything I can to help you reach safety and get back to Tarnelin,” he told him reasonably.
“I know, I’m really sorry,” G’Taklar said for the third time.
“It’s all right, now quit apologizing and tell me where we are,” Jatar instructed.
“I swam until I found this shore, that’s all I have done,” he explained.