The Shrine of Kallen (The Tales of Zanoth Book 3)

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  “Oh no, I do!” he assured her. “It's just that I love hearing you explain things with your alluring, melodious voice. Plus, I'm sure it's part of your ‘making Joey smarter’ training.”

  “You're right!” she exclaimed. “It is! I'm very proud of you for noticing that. You're the most brilliant pupil I've ever had. It's also encouraging to see how thoughtful you're getting. I can't remember how many people have complimented my voice over the years, but it has to be less than a hundred. Unless you count other fairies, of course. I know thousands of them, and they're some of the most considerate...”

  “I'm sorry I distracted you,” Joey interrupted with a look of complete innocence on his face. “You were just telling me what you had been thinking.”

  “So, I was!” she replied. “Well, General Halfar is the one who gave me the idea, obviously.”

  “Obviously.”

  “He managed to convert one of the rooms at the fortress into an office,” she explained. “If you were to do the same thing, the whatever-it-is wouldn't need to be an office, would it?”

  “Certainly not.”

  “Meaning,” she continued with a knowing wink, “that it can be a ballroom. Because none of the other rooms are big enough to be one. Except for one of the dining rooms, maybe... I guess... But, they're already busy being what they are, aren't they?”

  “They certainly are,” he agreed, placing his hand on his chin and pretending to think.

  “Of course,” she sighed, “if you really want an office, I suppose it can be one. After all, you probably did save my life. I owe you something for that.”

  “You do,” he nodded, “but, what you owe me isn't an office.”

  “Then there was that time you let me sleep in your pocket,” she continued. “So that's two I owe you.”

  “Three,” he corrected.

  “Three?”

  “You summoned me into this nightmare of a world.”

  “Oh, yeah! Three. I owe you three. What do I owe you three of, exactly?”

  “Don't try to spoil the surprise,” he replied with a look of disapproval.

  “I won't!” she immediately assured him.

  “Quick question,” he said, turning his gaze to the fair former lich and changing the subject. “Why can you see wraiths’ eyes sometimes, but not others?”

  “They like to terrify people,” she explained. “They let you see their eyes so that you'll know they're there before they attack you. When they're hiding, or facing particularly dangerous foes, they do their best to make sure you can't see them at all.”

  “That makes sense, I suppose,” he nodded.

  “Break time is over,” Alena asserted, climbing to her feet. “Paul, how much of the city do you think you can sanctify before the sun sets?”

  “Not much,” he replied, gazing into the sky. “I don't have much time to work with.”

  “We'd better get the General to help you,” she said.

  “That's a good idea,” he nodded. “I need to teach him the form, anyway.”

  “We also need to organize some patrols,” Darek pointed out. “Wraiths and specters may pour into the streets as soon as it's dark. Who knows how many there still are in the city.”

  “We should try to find as many as we can before nightfall,” Myra replied. “I can enchant several of the men so they can detect undead. That will allow us to spread out and search for them.”

  “I need to come up with a spell of my own for detecting them,” Joey said.

  “It wouldn't be a bad idea,” Myra agreed with a smile.

  Within minutes, the party had divided its forces. Paul tracked down General Halfar and led him into the courtyard of the stronghold, while the rest of his companions set out in search of incorporeal foes that might be hiding within the dark confines of the city.

  The influx of refugees was brought to a temporary halt as the paladin blessed the area surrounding the citadel. As soon as Paul was finished, the general attempted to bless a section of the thoroughfare just beyond the walls. This, he failed to do.

  “You don't feel anything?” the paladin asked, gazing at the old man with a look of mild confusion.

  “I don't think so,” General Halfar replied. “What should it feel like?”

  “Kind of like turning,” Paul explained. “Although, the flow of power feels more controlled and steady, if you see what I mean.”

  “I think I do,” the general nodded. “But, I don't feel anything like that. Are you sure I'm doing it right?”

  “It looks like it to me,” the paladin replied. “You're doing everything I do.”

  “Except blessing the area.”

  “Yeah,” Paul ceded. “Except for that.”

  “Maybe I just can't sanctify ground,” General Halfar replied. “I know that not all priests and paladins had the same powers.”

  “That could be it,” Paul said thoughtfully. “Or, maybe you're not powerful enough yet. I had done quite a bit more with the divine power before I ever tried to bless an area.”

  “Whatever the cause, I don't seem to be able to do it now.”

  “Well, you can turn and you can heal,” the paladin replied. “The next time we run into Grathis's forces, that will probably be a big help.”

  “I'm sure that's true,” the general nodded. “I wanted to try turning in the battle today, but as we seemed to have everything under control I didn't want to waste it.”

  “That was wise,” Paul replied. “You can only use so much without a rest and you might end up needing to do it before the day is over.”

  As the general couldn't help him, the paladin carried on alone; blessing ground until his blood seemed as if it were about to boil. By the time the sun reached the horizon, he had created a number of safe areas and connected them to the fortress by blessing sections of the streets. By nightfall, a majority of the citizens of Parmoor were out of the reach of incorporeal undead; either safe within the Fortress of Donmar or in one of the areas that the paladin had protected.

  The patrols encountered nothing during the night. From the time the sun set until it rose again, more and more people were moved out of the city and into the stronghold. In the early light of the following dawn, the party resumed its search of the city. Paul decided to wait until later in the day to sanctify any more ground – both because he could only do so much and because he might need to wield the divine power if they encountered any hidden undead during their exploration.

  As they mounted the walls of the city, they made an interesting discovery. Four mangonel were placed in such a way as to be able to hurl stones over the moat and into any enemies who were assaulting the city gates.

  “These could come in handy,” Darek said with a smile, running his hand along one of the machines of war.

  “They could,” Alena nodded. “Although, as we're not really trying to hold the city, I'm not sure how much use we'll be able to make of them.”

  “We could break them down and move them into the fortress,” Darek replied. “Then we could put them in Kal Tammon or wherever we want later.”

  “That's a good point,” Sarrac said. “Still, we might want to leave two of them on the walls until right before we leave.”

  “True,” Darek nodded. “If we do end up under siege, these could do some real damage. They're not exactly accurate, but when you're throwing boulders into a pack of skeletons, you don't really have to be.”

  The entire party agreed with this assessment. Orders were quickly given to break down two of the weapons and have them moved. Over most of the remainder of the day, the entire city was thoroughly searched. Whatever undead hadn't been slaughtered by the Warriors had apparently fled, as none were discovered. As the sun began to dip toward the horizon, Paul resumed his work of blessing ground.

  The following day was filled with people moving incessantly in and out of the fortress. Loaded wagons made their way inside as empty ones emerged to make their way back into the city. Bit by bit, every article of any value was bei
ng transported to the new haven of the living. The citizens of Parmoor seemed determined not to leave a single horse, sack of grain, or threadbare cloak behind them. Each of the shop owners and tradesmen, once their families were safe and sound, turned their attention to preserving their tools and merchandise.

  One of these in particular attracted Paul's notice as he passed through the crowd with Myra walking by his side, her hand held in his own. The man appeared to be a goldsmith and was pushing a hand cart loaded with glass cases filled with various kinds of jewelry. The young man felt certain that – somewhere amongst this menagerie – the man had to have a selection of engagement rings. He decided that, at some point – once they were safely out of Parmoor and Myra wasn't around – he would have to track him down and ask him about it.

  The proceeding night passed without event. However, early the next morning, the entire party was summoned to the walls. There, on the horizon, was an army of undead marching in formation toward the gates of the city.

  “Well,” Sarrac said, staring into the distance, “that's a bit of bad luck.”

  “Maybe providence is just testing us,” Darek speculated.

  “Maybe it is,” the ogre chuckled.

  “How did Grathis get his army here this fast?” Alena asked. “At the minimum, it should have taken him at least one more day.”

  “I don't think that's the army I saw,” Nyssa replied, carefully scanning their approaching enemies. “A lot of the banners are different.”

  “So, Grathis has two armies that size?” the ogress asked.

  “No,” the fairy replied, shaking her miniscule head. “The other one was bigger than this.”

  “Well, that's a relief,” Alena said with a sigh. “At least we only have to face the smaller of the two.”

  “For now,” Darek pointed out.

  Minutes later, the sound of bells once again echoed through the city, this time calling the Warriors to arms. As the foe drew nearer, the defenders took some consolation in the hope that they would have until nightfall to ready their forces. This hope proved false.

  As soon as the enemy was in position, they fell upon the city. Massive stones flew from the walls, landing amongst the ranks of marching skeletons that approached with devastating effects. The moment these forces were in range, however, they bent their bows and filled the sky with a torrent of deadly darts.

  The defenders had no choice but to huddle behind the walls as this rain continued unabated.

  “We really need some archers of our own,” Joey observed as he crouched down behind a portion of the parapet that arrows were rattling off of like hailstones. “This ‘hide until they run out of arrows’ strategy just doesn't seem to work very well.”

  “Shooting skeletons with arrows isn't very effective,” Alena pointed out. “It's like they're made out of solid bone or something.”

  “You're really funny sometimes, you know that?” Joey replied as a feathered shaft flew above his head and sank into one of the mangonels. “My point is that we need to come up with something that is effective.”

  “Let me know if you think of anything.”

  “I certainly will.”

  For several minutes, this deadly rain continued. As it slackened, a number of scralee leapt over the walls and fell upon the defenders. Unfortunately, as Paul hadn't managed to sanctify the ground on which they fought, the living had no advantage over the dead. A massive pack pushed through the defenders, making their way toward the drawbridge and gates of the city; intent, no doubt, on throwing open the one and lowering the other.

  Paul and his companions rushed in the direction of these enemies, doing their best to dodge the shafts that still flew over the battlements. When they reached them, they began to cut them down like so much grain. The paladin dashed into his enemies, his sword burning with the flames of the sun. Sarrac, Alena, and Darek fought at his side, ending the life of a foe with every strike. Myra commanded her enemies to turn on their allies, many of whom instantly obeyed. Nyssa got between the foe and the destination they sought, creating what appeared to be a wall of fire between them and their goal. Joey lowered his staff and released a bolt of lightning into the band that flew from one to another; ending the unlife of each one it touched. In mere moments, the assault was over and the pack of scralee lay dead at the feet of the defenders.

  In spite of this, however, the drawbridge began to lower itself. Without hesitation, the party flew down the stairs that led from the walls to the chamber from which the bridge was controlled. They found the room filled with wraiths who were working feverishly to open the stronghold to its besiegers. With a single determined turn, the paladin destroyed all of these monstrosities.

  This done, he immediately began to sanctify the room while his companions worked to raise the drawbridge completely once again. They had no sooner done this than a bell began ringing on the other side of the city. The enemy had made their way inside.

  The band quickly requisitioned several mounts that had been stabled nearby and kicked them into a gallop. Minutes later, they reached their allies and found them engaged with a large force of scralee, ghouls, ghasts, and reapers. The arrival of the party marked the turning point in this battle. They rushed against the ranks of the foe, who proved to be no match for the it and his companions.

  Throughout the remainder of the day, the enemy made numerous attempts to fight their way into Parmoor. None of these proved successful. As the sun began to set, the defenders felt certain that these attacks would soon intensify. This feeling proved unjustified.

  It seemed almost inexplicable that the undead, who had struggled against them all day, would leave them unmolested throughout the night. Such proved to be the case, however. The following morning, they discovered the reason for this. Grathis's second army had arrived at the outskirts of the city.

  “We could really use a little providence here, Sarrac,” Darek mused as he once again stood, gazing over a massive enemy force. “You may want to pray for some. We killed a lot yesterday, but not enough to shift the odds in our favor. In fact, we'll be even more outnumbered today.”

  “Tonight,” Myra replied. “Yesterday, they were just trying to do what damage they could. They had to know that this other army was close. They just wanted to loosen us up before it arrived.”

  “They did,” Alena replied, nodding. “We lost some good men yesterday.”

  “We'll lose more tonight,” Darek speculated, “unless we can find some way to move the fortress before then.”

  “I don't think we can,” Myra replied, shaking her head. “The runes that move the gateway draw power from the fortress itself, just like the ones in the vault. If there is a way to speed up the process, I don't know what it is, and I'm afraid it would take us more than the few hours we've got to work it out.”

  “What do we do, then?” Joey asked, his own eyes locked on the enemy force.

  “We get as prepared as we can,” Myra replied. “In just over twenty-four hours, we can leave. Until then, we have to drive them back.”

  “We can't hold the walls,” Paul pointed out. “Not at night, anyway. There's no way I can completely sanctify them with what's left of the day. As soon as the sun goes down, they'll probably be swarmed by wraiths.”

  “And shades,” Darek added, “and specters, and whatever else Grathis has that can fly or climb.”

  “You could bless a section of the walls overlooking the gates,” Alena suggested. “That would keep the incorporeal undead at bay and at least give us a chance to keep Grathis's men from just marching across the drawbridge.”

  “I could do that,” Paul agreed. “I would need to sanctify an escape route for us as well, but that shouldn't be an issue.”

  “You also need to bless as large an area around the citadel as you can,” Myra said. “More than likely, that's where most of the fighting is going to take place.”

  “What if Grathis has some way to get around the holy ground?” Joey asked.

  “We'll just have
to deal with that if it comes up,” Paul replied.

  “How?”

  “Pray,” Sarrac asserted.

  “For luck,” Darek added with a smile.

  “I think we'd better take the dark shard,” Myra asserted. “I can completely disable it and then move it into the fortress. Given enough time to study one, we may be able to work out a way to protect land from their influence.”

  “Or come up with a way to reverse what they do,” Joey suggested. “Like turning a shrink spell into a growth spell.”

  “That is possible,” the fairy said, fluttering near the red-robed wizard's head. “At least, it is in theory. Although I can't imagine why anyone would want a spell to make stuff bigger.”

  “If I work out how to do it,” Joey said, gazing at her with a knowing smile, “you won't have to imagine. You'll know.”

  “I don't see that,” she replied, shaking her head. “Being able to make a bed temporarily smaller is obviously a good idea. For one thing, small is just generally better than large, isn't it? But, what's the point in being able to make a bed temporarily larger? You can be sure that, right in the middle of the best sleep you've ever had, it would start to shrink up under you. I hate it when my legs are hanging off the end of a bed. How are you...”

  “We had better get moving,” Sarrac interrupted with a smile. “We have a lot to do before the sun sets.”

  Just minutes later, Paul was busy sanctifying the walls that stood guard over the gates of Parmoor. As soon as this was complete, he blessed a section of the streets connecting the citadel to the city's entrance. As the stronghold was in the very center of the city, this took a great deal of power to do. Before the end, the paladin found himself sincerely wishing that the general had the ability to help him.

  While this was being attended to, Myra made her way to the chamber containing the dark shard. She quickly disabled it before enlisting the help of several large, powerfully-built Warriors to help her transport it to the Fortress of Donmar. For the time being, she stored it in the empty chamber at the very bottom of the walls.

  The rest of the band did their best to get the men ready for the upcoming battle. Squads were placed in strategic locations to hold the undead back for as long as they possibly could. Their commanders made it clear, however, that it was every man's duty to be as careful with his life as he could be. If they ended up in a situation they couldn't handle, they were to fall back immediately. The real goal was to hold the citadel and the more living defenders it had when Grathis's forces reached it, the better.