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

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  The band prepared for the journey as quickly as they could, including readying a mount for each of them – except for Nyssa – to ride on. To their surprise, General Halfar decided to join them. At first, Alena insisted that they leave him behind for his own safety. Eventually, however, Sarrac managed to persuade her that parts of the prophecy might just as easily refer to Mark as to Paul. She reluctantly came to be of the same mind, but warned him that if Mark died, he had better die first. The ogre assured her that he would do his very best.

  “You know,” Darek said as he stepped into the vault and wrapped his horse's reins around a nearby rack. “I'm glad that we have all of this equipment that hasn't been claimed yet, because it means there's a good chance we're going to find more and more allies over time – assuming of course, that the vault gives the rest of this stuff away in our lifetimes. But, I really wish we could move it out of here and into the fortress. If we had more room, I think we could turn it into a really nice place to spend a few days.”

  “We’re not going to be in it for a few days,” Alena pointed out.

  “Unless we do what we need to do by tonight,” Darek replied, walking amongst the weapons and armor that still filled the chamber. “In which case, we may end up spending four or five nights in it before we can move it again.”

  “What would you add to it?” Nyssa asked, fluttering over to him.

  “A wine rack to start with,” he mused, before pausing in front of one of the stands. “General, would you come here for a moment?”

  Immediately, the general obeyed this summons, along with the rest of the companions.

  “You'd never actually been inside the vault before just now, had you?” Darek asked as the old man approached.

  “No.”

  “That might explain this then,” Darek asserted, pointing at a small metal plate on a rack containing a suit of shining plate-mail and a two-handed ax.”

  On it, the name Mark Alexander Halfar had been etched.

  “Your middle name is Alexander?” Paul asked.

  “It is,” Mark nodded.

  “Mine is, too.”

  “I know,” the old man said, pulling the ax from its stand. “So, this is meant for me, then?”

  “It is,” the ogre assured him.

  “Quick question,” Joey said, “were these here before? Because, I don't think we could have overlooked them for this long.”

  The red-robed wizard was pointing at rack that held five crossbows. Beside these were plates bearing the names of Paul, Alena, Sarrac, Darek, and Mark.

  “They certainly weren't,” Sarrac asserted, gazing at them in wonder. “I've been through all of this equipment I don't know how many times, and they were never here before.”

  “Given enough time, this place may fill itself up again,” Darek said with a wide smile. “That would be handy.”

  “It certainly would,” Alena agreed, lifting the weapon meant for her from the rack.

  “I guess we'd better go grab some bolts before we head out,” Paul asserted, taking up his own crossbow and drawing back the string as he spoke. “There's no point in having crossbows without any amm...”

  The young man stopped mid-sentence. As soon as it was cocked, a bolt of golden flames – much resembling those that burned along the blade of Telseir – burst into being on the bow.

  “That's amazing...” he asserted.

  “That's magic,” Alena replied with a wide smile, cocking her own weapon with the same results.

  “How do we unload them?” Paul asked.

  “Shoot them,” Joey suggested with a shrug.

  “At what?”

  “The wall.”

  “That doesn't seem like a good idea.”

  “Let's move the vault,” Myra said. “Then, you can shoot them at the ground.”

  “That does seem like a good idea,” Paul nodded.

  Within minutes, the fairy and the former lich had rearranged the runes of the vault in order to transport it to its new destination. When the last of these was snapped into place, the interior of the fortress seemed instantly transformed into empty dark lands. The paladin and the ogress were the first to emerge from the chamber; each of them firing their crossbows harmlessly into the dirt as they did so. Nyssa hid the portal, Paul channeled the power of the gods to sanctify the ground on which it stood, and Myra cast the spell that would allow her to teleport them back to the location should the need arise. The moment these preparations were complete, the members of the band mounted and set out in search of the shrine.

  “From what I could tell by looking at the map,” Darek said, “Kallen Vale spans about fifty square miles.”

  “About that,” Myra agreed.

  “Seeing as how Nyssa can't scry here,” he continued, “how do we plan to find what we're looking for?”

  “As far as I can tell from the legend,” Joey replied, “the shrine should be in the very center of the vale.”

  “Where is that from here?” he asked.

  “Due North,” Myra assured him.

  The first few miles were filled with the half-dead plants and pale sunlight that were common in the dark lands. Slowly, however, this began to change. In less than an hour, the sun was shining down in its golden glory onto leaf covered trees and fields of thick, lush grass. Puffy white clouds floated along in the pure blue sky, and the air was filled with the sound of singing birds. More than once, the approach of the party frightened away a herd of creatures that – at least to Paul – looked very much like deer.

  “This wasn't what I was expecting at all,” Joey said, gazing over the scene with a look of mild wonder on his face. “This place is... normal... It's like being in the woods back home.”

  “It is,” Paul agreed. “I was figuring it would be more dry ash and bare rock.”

  “According to the prophecy,” Sarrac said, “There life still grows, and sun does shine.”

  “Though captive to eternal night,” the general added.

  “Either way,” the paladin replied. “I wasn't expecting it to be anything like this.”

  “Like ghouls and ghasts,” Myra explained, “dracoliches feed off of the living. Unlike them, however, they'll eat animals, as well as people. More than likely, the reason this land is alive is because these are Kallen's hunting grounds.”

  “That's a comforting thought,” Joey said with a touch of sarcasm.

  “It is!” Nyssa agreed with an excited nod. “If he finds us, we'll be able to kill him without having to waste time hunting him down.”

  For more than an hour, the party rode in the direction of what they felt was the center of the vale. As a precaution, the fairy had taken up her usual position as forward scout so she could warn her allies of any potential dangers before they encountered them. Just before they reached the summit of a wood covered hill, the fairy suddenly appeared; flying in their direction as quickly as she could. She insisted that they all dismount and follow her in complete silence. No amount of cajoling, imploring, begging, or even Joey trying to talk around her in circles would convince her to tell them anything more than that she wanted them to follow her. At last, they acquiesced.

  The beautiful fairy led them up the hill. She had insisted that they crawl to the very top of it. When they reached the summit, the found that it overlooked a verdant field covered in grazing animals. These beasts were somewhat bovine in appearance, but were covered in long hair. What Paul assumed were the males had four bull-like horns sprouting from their heads, and the position of one of the females allowed him to make out her utters.

  “This is what you wanted us to see?” Joey asked, shaking his head. “They look like cows.”

  Instantly, Alena shoved Paul – who was lying on one side of her – in the side of the head as hard as she could.

  “Ow!” he cried softly. “What was that for?”

  “Are you serious?” she asked, nodding toward the herd.

  “Oh, right,” he said, turning his attention back to the field. “I'm sorr
y I called you a cow that time.”

  “That time?” she repeated.

  “Those times,” he ceded. “Not that cows look exactly like that, really. And, I wasn't talking about your looks. The plain truth is that, for a forty-year-old ogress with muscles like a race horse, you are extremely attractive.”

  “That's an understatement,” Sarrac asserted with a smile.

  In response, she shoved the ogre – who was lying on her other side – in the side of the head as hard as she could with her other hand.

  “Ow!” he cried softly.

  As quiet as they were, however, they created enough commotion to frighten the herd and the animals quickly fled into the surrounding woodlands.

  “Wasn't that worth all the effort?” Nyssa asked with a wide smile.

  “Oh, yes,” Joey nodded. “More than worth it. I don't know how long it's been since I've seen a herd of cows.”

  “They were actually galtars,” Myra pointed out.

  “I've never seen them in the wild,” the fairy pointed out. “At least, I think I haven't. If I have, it was a long, long time ago. That's what was so amazing about it. I mean; you can just go to a farm if you want to see galtars, can't you? ….... Well...

  “Yes,” Joey interrupted, “you can.”

  “Exactly!” she replied with a knowing wink. “But, now, we've seen them as nature intended!”

  Having observed the fairy's amazing discovery for themselves, the party made their way back down the hill, climbed back atop their horses, and renewed their journey. Roughly half-an-hour before sunset, as they were passing through a field of flowers, an idea struck Paul.

  He slowed his mount, doing his best not to attract the attention of any of the ladies, slipped from the saddle, and picked several handfuls of the beautiful blossoms. Having collected these, he leapt back on his horse and rejoined his companions before any of them had taken any notice of his actions.

  Just minutes later, Sarrac brought the band to a halt for the night in the center of a small dale. After the fire was kindled and the food was cooking – which, due to Darek's forethought, was far more varied than dried meat and roasted grain – Paul approached the ladies and offered each of them a bouquet.

  “Thank you,” Myra said, accepting his offering and giving him a beautiful smile.

  “I pick Nyssa's flowers,” Joey asserted at the same moment.

  “No, you don't,” she disagreed, shaking her tiny head. “At least, you never have before. Which begs the question: why haven't you ever before?”

  “Those flowers, although beautiful, are yellow,” he explained. “That being the case, I was certain that you, whose favorite gemstone is ruby, would rather have roses, which are red. Of course, there aren't any roses in Zanoth, are there? ….... Well, are there?”

  “Oh, sorry,” she replied with a start, “I thought that was a rhetorical question. No, there aren't any roses in Zanoth. At least, I've never heard of any growing here. Of course, I'm not an expert on flowers. Well, I'm a fairy, so of course I'm an expert on flowers, but I'm not an expert for a fairy if you see what I mean. Still...”

  “Exactly!” Joey interrupted. “So, I had to do my best to find flowers that were like roses but that weren't. I could hardly ask you what they were called or where to find them because that would have spoiled the surprise, wouldn't it?”

  “I suppose...” she began.

  “Please, Nyssa, don't interrupt my train of thought,” he said, raising his hand. “That was a rhetorical question. The point I was trying to make was that I've just had to keep my eyes opened, looking for roses that weren't roses so that I could give them to you and not only surprise you, but possibly even give you heart palpitations. Of course, now that you've tried to spoil the surprise again, you're going to have to do your best to try to forget all about it again.”

  “You're gonna have to stop, bro,” Paul asserted, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can deal with one of that, but I'm not sure I can handle two.”

  “Two of what?” Joey asked.

  “Seriously,” the paladin chuckled. “Stop it.”

  “Unfortunately,” Nyssa interjected with a great deal of affectation, “I seem to have completely forgotten what we were just talking about. I guess I'll just have to introduce a totally new topic and we'll have to stop discussing the other one – whatever it was. What is it that I owe you again, Joey?”

  “Aha!” the wizard replied excitedly before jumping up to pull a tome from one of his saddle bags. “I'm actually pretty sure I'm getting close. If I am, I may even be able to tell you later tonight.”

  “How exciting!” she exclaimed excitedly. “You go ahead and get to work and I'll stare at you while you do; just to make sure you don't get distracted.”

  “That might not be a bad idea,” Sarrac said with a smile, “but, in my mind at least, a better one would be hiding this camp. As soon as the sun is down, this fire could act like a beacon to any dracoliches that happen to be flying over the area.”

  “That's a fact,” Paul said, leaping to his feet. “I'd better sanctify the ground. I doubt that that wraith will have managed to track us down here, but other undead could be wandering around the area.”

  “I doubt it,” Myra asserted. “Kallen isn't likely to permit that. Still, blessing the ground is a really good idea.”

  Immediately, the fairy and the paladin went to work. By the time they were finished, Darek, Alena, Sarrac, and Mark were all discussing possible tactics to use in the upcoming conflict. Joey was surrounded by opened books, holding a large piece of parchment in his hand, and had a quill stuck behind his ear. Myra was staring silently into the fire a short distance from the others, occasionally smelling the flowers Paul had given her. It was by her side that the paladin quietly took up his seat.

  “You know,” she said, offering him a coy smile, “you never did answer my question.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, gazing into her crystal blue eyes.

  “It is,” she sighed. “I haven't mentioned it again because you didn't. I wasn't sure you were comfortable talking about it. In fact, I'm still not.”

  “I'm more than comfortable talking about anything you want to,” he assured her, leaning over to kiss her before pausing mid-lean. “We're certainly not finished with this quest.”

  “No,” she replied, slowly shaking her head, “we're not.”

  “On the other hand,” he continued, “you guys wouldn't stand much of a chance against Kallen without Joey and I, would you?”

  “No,” she asserted, “we wouldn't. If you two weren't here, I wouldn't even let us face him. I'd insist that we head back at this very moment.”

  “Man!” he exclaimed softly. “I should have kissed you right before we moved the vault.”

  “Yes,” she nodded with a sweet smile, “you should have.”

  “Well,” he sighed, “I won't let another opportunity like that slip through my fingers. Remind me again, what was the question?”

  “How many children do you want?” she asked softly.

  “I...” he began before chuckling. “I don't know really. I've never thought much about it, to be honest. How many do you want?”

  “I'm not exactly sure,” she replied, refusing to look directly at him. “I mean... Well, I suppose... The Fortress of Donmar is probably one of the safest places that's ever existed outside of the heavens.”

  “Probably,” he nodded.

  “So, children born there will have a very good chance of growing up safe and sound.”

  “Undoubtedly.”

  “On top of which,” she continued, “the living really have a responsibility now. This war with the undead is just starting; it could last for centuries.”

  “I suppose it could.”

  “Meaning that we have to keep having children in order to free ourselves and our posterity.”

  “I suppose we do,” he smiled.

  “By ‘we’ I mean the living, obviously,” she replied with a blush.

&n
bsp; “Obviously.”

  “So, really, all things considered, I think it would probably really make sense to have... Well... To be completely honest, to have a lot of children.”

  “After the first,” he said, pretending to really consider the idea, “you might find out that one is a lot.”

  “No,” she asserted, shaking her head. “I know I want more than one. I was an only child. I wouldn't want that for my children.”

  “I'm an only child, as well,” he informed her. “But, my upbringing wasn't anything like yours. You were totally alone, living in a world of the dead. That had to be horrible.”

  “It was...” she replied. “That is to say, I think it was now. At the time, it was the only thing I'd ever known. I was lonely a lot, but I didn't long to be with other children or anything. I just wanted to be able to spend more time with my moth... with Lady Telraen. Which shows you just how terrible my childhood truly was.”

  “I'm sorry you had to go through that,” he said, taking her hand in his own. “But, it's all over now.”

  “What was your childhood like?”

  “In the main,” he replied, “it was great. I didn't have any siblings, but Joey and I have known each other since we were five years old. My parents are great people. Admittedly, my Mom is a bit of a neat freak, but you get used to that. And, sick of it, as well. Still, she's an excellent mother for all that.”

  “So, then,” the maiden said, “you only want one?”

  “I wouldn't say that,” he replied, shaking his head. “In fact, I might even be a willing to go all the way. You know, have a dozen or so.”

  “I suppose that would qualify as a lot,” she laughed. “Six might be more manageable, though.”

  “I see your point,” he ceded. “Although, in reality, it's probably going to depend on what my wife wants.”

  “Well,” she said, gazing at him with the sides of her eyes, “how many children do you think the kind of girl you'd ask to marry you would want?”

  “A lot,” he replied with a wink.