“If you say so,” she replied without the slightest hint of conviction.
“We need three long shirts,” he explained, “and whatever kind of dress Myra wants.”
“Disguises!” the fairy exclaimed, snapping her fingers.
“Exactly,” Darek nodded.
“Joey,” she said, turning her tiny head toward him, “why didn't you think of that? Oh... I guess it's because you're not very bright, isn't it? I should have thought of that. You know...”
“Let's go, Nyssa,” Myra said, stepping toward the opposite end of the alley from the one they had entered. “We'll be as quick as we can.”
While the three male companions waited, the same middle-aged man stepped through the alleyway for a second time. As he passed, he seemed to more carefully examine them. He got a puzzled expression on his face and began shaking his head as he strolled along.
“I don't like this,” Joey said after their observer was once again out of view. “What is he up to?”
“Nothing,” Darek asserted. “We're still in a city, Joey. People wander around all over the place. Do they not have cities where you come from?”
“Of course we have cities!” he exclaimed softly. “We also have nosy people that can't mind their own business.”
“He doesn't mean us any harm,” Paul assured his companion.
“What makes you think that?”
“I don't know,” the paladin shrugged. “Instinct, I guess.”
“Well, as reassuring as that is,” the wizard replied, “somehow, amazingly, I'm not all that reassured. We need to move on from here.”
“And, go where?” Darek asked. “If we leave, the girls won't be able to find us.”
“I can write a message only they can see,” Joey explained.
“What if they don't think to look for it?”
“They will,” he asserted. “They're both geniuses.”
“It's not worth the...” Darek began.
As he said this, bells began ringing in the distance.
“Alright,” he almost snapped, “I guess we had better move.”
“To where?” Paul asked, raising his hands.
At that moment, Myra made her appearance at one end of the alley.
“We need to hurry!” she said, pulling a shirt from the bag in her hand and throwing it to Joey.
“We noticed that,” Darek replied, taking another for himself.
“Nyssa,” Myra said, handing the third to Paul, “make me invisible.”
Almost instantly, the maiden disappeared. The paladin slipped the shirt over his head and watched as the cloak that Myra had been wearing suddenly appeared on the cobbles. The smile on his face slowly widened as this was followed by a ghoul's shirt, its pants, and finally the shirt he had loaned her. This particular article was actually thrown over his face.
“Stop staring at me!” Myra's voice demanded.
“You're invisible,” he chuckled.
“I don't care!” she replied. “Turn around!”
Immediately, he obeyed her with a sigh.
“Alright,” she said nearly a minute later, “you can look now.”
He turned to find her dressed in a very modest, but very attractive blue and white dress.
“You know it's incredible,” he said, slipping his arms around her, “even dressed as a peasant, you're still beautiful.”
“Come on, you idiot,” she giggled, reaching down to grab the old cloak before taking him by the hand. “We need to get to The Long Night.”
The party maneuvered cautiously and quickly through the streets of Parmoor; guided by the whispers of the invisible fairy. Although patrols had begun marching through the streets by the time they reached the inn, they managed to avoid attracting any undue attention.
As the five companions entered the establishment, their eyes scanned the crowd that filled it. Smoke from numerous pipes drifted to the ceiling; blending the smell of burning tobacco with that of well-cooked food as the chatter of countless voices filled the air. What bits of conversation Paul managed to make out were all centered around the alarm being sounded and what the cause of it might be.
Darek took him by the arm and nodded toward the far wall. There, sitting at a small table near the corner, were the ogre and ogress. The band crossed the room to join them as quickly as they could.
“We were beginning to get worried,” Sarrac said, standing as he spoke and offering his seat to Myra.
“We'd hoped,” Alena added, “that Nyssa would let us know as soon as she'd found anything.”
“The first thing she found was us,” Paul explained, pushing the fair maiden's chair in for her. “There wasn't really time for her to bring you word. Did you find Rex?”
“Not yet,” Sarrac replied, “but, he should know we want to speak to him before much longer.”
“We made contact with one of the Warriors here,” Alena explained. “He's going to get us in touch with Rex.”
“What do we do until then?” Joey asked.
“We wait,” the ogre smiled.
Several minutes after this, an attractive young serving girl informed them that their private room was ready. She led them through the dining area, up a set of stairs, and down a long hallway. At the end of this, she opened a door and waved them into a chamber containing a large table made of dark wood that was surrounded by chairs of the same material. The walls were covered in tooled leather and several burning lamps hung from the ceiling. The young woman asked them to take a seat and assured them that their meal would arrive shortly.
While they were waiting, Sarrac and Alena began distributing equipment from the numerous backpacks they had with them.
“You two will probably want to wait to put your robes back on,” Sarrac said, handing Telseir to the paladin, “It would look odd for you change clothes at this point.”
“Agreed,” Myra nodded.
“Where's my armor, by the way?” Paul asked.
“And, our staffs,” Joey added.
“Hidden outside the city,” Alena said, “along with Darek's armor. As it was, we had enough to carry to make us stand out. We couldn't risk loading ourselves down with all that. Not until we had you back with us or some place in town to hide it, anyway. Our first priority had to be trying to rescue you all.”
“No one will ever find it, though,” the fairy smiled, “I made sure of that.”
“Perfect,” Paul replied, “As soon as we're done here, we can go grab it all.”
As he made this observation, there was a knock at the door. Moments later, a man who appeared to be in his late fifties stepped into the room. He had light brown eyes and dark hair – mixed with threads of silver. He was just over six feet tall and, for his age, he struck Paul as extremely fit and very muscular.
“I'm Rex Shane – owner of The Long Night,” he said, crossing his arms as he spoke. “I've been told that you want to speak with me. Just who are you, and what can I do for you?”
“We've been sent by Mark Halfar,” the ogress replied. “We've come here to help you.”
“Even if I knew a man by that name,” he said, shaking his head, “I don't know you. And, I certainly don't need any help.”
“You don't?” Sarrac asked. “It's a rare man indeed that doesn't need help in Zanoth.”
“It's a rarer one that can offer any,” Rex replied. “In any event, I appreciate the chat. If you need a room or a meal...”
“It's been a long night,” Darek said, gazing at the man from under furrowed brows.
“Yes,” he sighed. “It has been. It's been more than long enough for many a fool to talk their way right into getting eaten alive. I don't know who you are or where you're from but, if you do know Mark, I can tell you this, he's a trouble maker who I haven't seen in years. So, if you'll excuse...”
“Are you the leader of the Warriors of Dawn in this city, or not?” Paul asked bluntly.
“That question is enough to get you killed,” Rex pointed out. “You'd be wise to
watch your mouth.”
“Are you threatening him?!” Nyssa asked, popping into view.
For a moment, the man paused.
“You could have mentioned the fact that you were with a fairy to start with,” Rex chuckled before pulling a key from his pocket. “It kind of deals with any should I trust them issues.”
“We'll keep it in mind from now on,” Paul replied with nod.
Rex stepped over to the door and carefully locked it before taking a seat at the table.
“How is Mark?” he asked. “It must have been at least two years since we last met.”
“He's well,” the ogress replied. “I'm Alena, by the way.”
“Are you?” he asked with a wide smile. “I should have guessed it. How many beautiful young ogresses could Mark possibly know?”
“Only one that I'm aware of,” Sarrac replied, shooting her a glance.
In reply, she glared at him; her jaw muscles twitching slightly.
“Oh, no,” he said, rubbing his chin. “I suppose you're right, actually. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call her beautiful, but...”
“We need your help,” Alena interjected, turning her eyes to Rex.
“I thought you were here to help me.”
“We are,” the ogre nodded. “It's a matter of helping one another.”
Over the course of the next few minutes, the members of the party explained who they all were, what they'd managed to accomplish over the last few months, how they had found and captured the Fortress of Donmar, and how they hoped to overthrow the city of Parmoor.
“That's incredible,” Rex replied as they brought their tale to an end. “In fact, if you weren't with a fairy – or Myra Kel Marran – I wouldn't believe you. Rumors have been flying around, obviously, but I didn't put much stock in them. Who could imagine that the it would actually come in our lifetimes?”
“Well, he has,” Sarrac said, smiling at Paul.
“So it would seem,” Rex nodded. “Which explains a lot of what's been going on recently. Governor Bermoth has tripled the reward for any information leading to the arrest of any suspected Warrior. In truth, it was rather foolish for you to trust me considering we'd never met before. Although, as it happens, you can. Not only could a man get rich by turning you in, he could allay any suspicions that he might be a sympathizer. At the moment, that's worth even more than gold.”
“Mark gave us your description,” Alena explained.
“We also asked a Warrior to give you our message,” Sarrac added.
“A Warrior you'd never met before today,” Rex replied. “Again, as it turns out, you can trust Yaelen with your life. However, considering the fact that you set eyes on him for the first time less than two hours ago, you had no way of knowing that.”
“Very few of the living would betray a Warrior,” Myra asserted. “Even those who willingly serve the undead are usually very tight lipped on that particular subject. That's something I know from personal experience. Unfortunately...”
“Under normal circumstances, I'd agree completely,” Rex nodded. “Although, I think you'll allow that the current circumstances are anything but normal. Before, the Warriors were merely a nuisance to the undead. Now, they're a legitimate threat. Governor Bermoth has had a number of people questioned and three Warriors were actually betrayed and executed within the last ten days.
“Some people believe the it has come. Others believe that the undead are infighting and blaming the living. Still others think that this is just a rebellion that has gotten extremely lucky. There are almost as many theories as there are theorists. The one thing all the people of Parmoor seem to agree on, however, is that they're all still under the yoke of the undead.”
“We're about to change that for them,” Alena asserted with a nod.
“Once we do,” Rex replied, “things will doubtlessly be different. Until then, however, we need to be very careful. This time, thank the gods, no harm has come of it. But, you'd be wise to be more cautious in future.”
“In future, we will be,” Sarrac smiled. “For the present, however, we need to focus on freeing the city.”
“Absolutely,” Rex replied. “As I'm sure you already know, Lord Grathis has raised several of the legions. Most of the garrison here has been summoned into the field and replaced by legionnaires.”
“That will make the city easier to take,” Darek speculated.
“Probably,” Rex ceded. “It also means Grathis is assembling a massive army; no doubt, intending to recapture Kal Tammon. However, he could just as easily use it to lay siege to Parmoor.”
“He'll only have five days to get it here, though,” Darek said.
“Kal Tammon isn't five days away,” Myra pointed out.
“It is if you're not on horseback,” he replied. “Even for endlessly marching undead.”
“That's true,” the maiden nodded, “but, we have no idea where Grathis is gathering his forces. For all we know, they could be just miles from here.”
“If that were the case,” he said, “I'm sure we'd have run into more undead along the way.”
“More than likely,” she agreed, “but, my point is that we don't know. It's not just a matter of being able to take the city. We need to be able to hold it until the fortress is ready to move again. The question is: can we do that?”
“I think it's possible,” Rex replied, his eyes turned to the fair former lich. “I doubt we could keep Grathis at bay for a full five days, but we won't have to. Wherever his forces are, it will take him time to get them here.”
“Nyssa,” Joey said, “do you think you could find out exactly where Grathis's army is?”
“I can try,” she smiled.
“It doesn't matter where it is,” Alena asserted. “We came here to capture Parmoor and...”
“Not exactly,” Sarrac interrupted, shaking his head. “We came here to find out if it was protected from teleportation magic and to contact Rex. Both of which we've managed to do. It would be foolish to capture the city only to have Grathis break into the Fortress of Donmar as a result.”
“How many Warriors are in the city?” the ogress asked, turning to Rex Shane.
“Several hundred.”
“With our combined forces,” she said, shifting her gaze back to the ogre, “we could hold the fortress for five days – even if we couldn't do the same with the city.”
“That's possible,” he admitted, “but, I'm not sure it’s worth the risk.”
“What's the alternative?”
“We could go back to the fortress,” Paul suggested. “From there, we could take the vault to the outskirts of a city a little further out and...”
“And start all over again,” the ogress interjected, “while Grathis is getting his forces in place to recapture Kal Tammon. Time is a critical resource in this case. We can't afford to squander it. Not to mention that we don't know what we might find when we get to whatever city it is. Parmoor is garrisoned by legionnaires and has hundreds of Warriors in it. Those are advantages we should make the most of while we have them.”
“I certainly see your point,” Paul nodded. “On the other hand, we don't have a capture stone yet.”
“No, we don't,” she agreed with some heat. “Because you wasted the last one chasing after Myra and Joey.”
“In order to rescue us,” the maiden said, offering the paladin a beautiful smile.
“Nyssa could have rescued you,” the ogress asserted. “In fact, as it turned out, she did.”
“We didn't know that she would at the time,” Paul pointed out.
“You should have had more faith in her,” Joey replied, winking at the fairy. “I never doubted for a second that she'd save us.”
“Why, thank you,” Nyssa replied. “It feels good to know that you're getting smart enough to realize how incredibly capable I am.”
“If you never doubted her,” the paladin said, giving his friend half a smirk, “why were you working on making a weapon when we arrived?”
/>
“Were you?” the fairy asked with an almost shocked tone in her voice.
“I was,” he admitted. “And, I did. I was hoping it would impress you. Sadly, you never got to see it.”
“I wish I had,” she said excitedly. “Although, I'm still very impressed. I mean: I wouldn't have thought that you'd have had enough sense...”
“I still appreciate the two of you coming to rescue us,” Myra interjected, “even if Nyssa could have handled it on her own.”
“More than happy to,” Darek replied. “After all, I owed you one.”
“As lovely as that sentiment is,” Alena said, “it doesn't get us any closer to a capture stone.”
“No, it doesn't,” Myra agreed. “On the other hand, if we can find a way inside the citadel, we should be able to locate the runes that prevent teleportation. That will serve our purpose better – and more quickly – than a capture stone would.”
“And, really,” the wizard mused aloud, “we don't have to begin our attack the moment we've moved the gateway. Depending on where Grathis's forces are, Nyssa can hide it and we can wait a few days before we start anything.”
“You truly are a genius, Joey,” the fairy asserted with a contented sigh. “I'm almost amazed at how fast I've been able to improve your mind.”
“It's all down to your excellent tutelage.”
“Thank you for acknowledging that,” she smiled. “Your thoughtfulness really surprises me sometimes.”
“That is a good point,” Alena nodded.
“That I'm thoughtful?”
“No, you idiot,” the ogress chuckled. “That we don't have to immediately begin our attack. We can bide our time once we get the gateway here. To get it here, however, it looks like we’re going to have to get inside the citadel.”
“I think I can get us in,” Joey asserted to the surprise of all.
“You can?” Alena asked with a grin.
“I can,” he replied confidently.
“You're sure?” she asked.
“No,” he confessed. “That's why I used the word think.”
“We can discuss that in more detail later,” Darek pointed out. “Assuming we can find a way to teleport in, the remaining questions are: where do we put the entrance to the fortress and how do we arm the Warriors?”
The Shrine of Kallen (The Tales of Zanoth Book 3) Page 18