by Kira Morgana
The Dark Paladin resisted the urge to split the Warlock down the middle.
“Do you have a Devil Demon?”
“Goraln? He never comes out of his quarters. When Custodian Theraldin ordered him to intervene in the undead battle, Goraln refused to do his bidding,” another warlock said, his arms full of heavy books.
“Has no one thought to tell the Aracan Katuvana of this situation?” Grald snapped.
The two warlocks looked at each other.
“I thought not. Lead me to your Dais Room.”
The unencumbered warlock bowed and turned.
“It is this way, Dark Paladin.”
Grald looked at the other warlock.
“Put those books back in the library and summon all the creatures to the main hall for a meeting. I will be there shortly.”
“Yes Dark Paladin.” The warlock staggered away towards the library.
Well that went better than expected. Grald thought as he strode along the corridor from the Dais Room. The Aracan Katuvana seems to be in a good mood today. He strode through a large Lair, not even noticing the foul stench of the Poison Demons or the thick grey sludge the Giant Slugs left behind. A small pause at the Guard Post to make sure that the Skeletons on duty were paying attention and he was out into the main, encircling passageway.
He paused as a mass of Gremlins rushed past him.
Who are the Gremlins taking food to? Grald followed the stream of gremlins carrying featherless, clucking chickens. It turned out to be the same direction that the Aracan Katuvana had implanted in his mind for the Devil Demon.
This place is a mess, Grald frowned as he noticed the floor was still packed dirt. Swinging one arm out, he grabbed a Gremlin and hoisted it into the air in front of him.
“Why has this corridor not been paved and fortified?”
“Feed… feed,” the pathetic creature gibbered. “Must…feed.”
“Feed what?”
“Feed… Horny.” The Gremlin wriggled; sweat rolling down its scaly face. Grald let it go with a casual slap to the head.
The gremlin bowed deeply.
“Thank you!” it cried before it scrambled away at top speed.
Grald followed, his temper deteriorating as he took in the complete disarray of the walls.
“No fortifications, no traps, not even any torches.” He passed the corridor marked as leading to the Prison, which didn’t even have a door and passed through a propped open, thick oak door with rusting hinges and lock.
Swinging the barely adequate inner door open, Grald strode into the lair of this dungeon’s devil demon. “Goraln!”
A bulging red mass sprawled on a dirty mattress looked in his direction. Only the horns identified its head as being that of a Devil Demon.
“That is my name. Who calls me by it?”
Grald licked his lips with distaste.
“Your Aracan does. Do you still serve him?”
“Human, I serve no one, but myself. Go away.” The corpulent demon growled and grabbed a gremlin. “Get Theraldin immediately.” He dropped it to the floor again.
The Gremlin spun in a circle, confused by the request to fetch someone who didn’t exist. Grald bit his lip in amusement.
“You dare laugh at Goraln?” the devil demon hauled himself to his feet, scattering bones over the gremlins. The tiny creatures gathered them up and fled the room.
“So you can move.” Grald loosened his sword in its sheath. “You have been delinquent in your duties. The Aracan Katuvana has sent me on a mission of importance and the Dungeon is in disarray.”
“It is Theraldin’s duty to look after the dungeon, not mine.”
“When the Custodian is killed, the next highest in rank takes over until another custodian can be named,” Grald said.
“You dare quote the Overlaws to me? I, who was there at the start?” Goraln roared and lunged at him.
Grald waited until the demon had committed himself to the move and smoothly stepped out of the way. Goraln stumbled over the still spinning gremlin and fell with a blubbery splat onto the unscrubbed flagstones, crushing the gremlin to pulp. Drawing his blade, Grald held the point to the Devil Demon’s neck, piercing the skin enough to allow blood to trickle down his ruddy skin and pool in front of Goraln’s nose, mixing with the gremlin’s ichor.
“I am the Custodian of this Dungeon now and I have orders for you.” Grald twisted the point and Goraln flailed. “We are expecting guests and you will get your fat, flabby butt into the Training Room to be in the right condition to deal with them.”
“I won’t be able to get into shape that fast!” the demon protested.
Grald’s eyes narrowed and a gold covering slid across them. He slapped the Demon hard across the head with his free hand, driving the blade into his neck with the effort. Then, as the Demon gurgled and thrashed on the floor, he healed Goraln and lifted him up, using one horn as a handle. “Get into the Training Room and you will find the flab will melt away if you work hard enough.”
“Yes, Lord!” Goraln recognised the Aracan Katuvana’s possession of the human. When he was dropped, he scrambled to his knees, bowed, and then scurried off to his training faster than a gremlin on a pay break.
The possession disappeared and Grald grinned.
“Now to deal with the rest of them.” He wiped his sword and exited the complex, heading for the main hall.
* * *
The Northern Woods loom on the horizon, a great bear of ancient trees surrounding the honey pot of Jinra Village. Freya laughed at her own whimsy and endured the irritated glare from Vrenstalliren in front of her.
“Methinks your Guardian Paladin is a little annoyed with you,” Kraarz said as he walked beside her horse.
“He thinks I’m innocent and naïve. He also thinks I’m being taken for a ride by Giranathian Slavers,” she sighed. “He refused to believe the truth when I told it to him.”
“That you’re a manumitted Pleasure Slave who might be the Empress of Elysia?” Kraarz grinned up at her. “Even though I know it’s true, it does sound straight out of a fairytale.”
“Elves are arrogant like that, no matter where they’re from,” Lin commented from behind her.
Vrenstalliren snorted and kneed Ohtár on into a gallop.
“Don’t go too far!” Freya called.
The elf raised a hand in acknowledgement and carried on up the long hill.
“Why does that dumb stallion get to run and I don’t?” Korettln complained.
Freya soothed him by stroking his mane.
“I don’t want to tire you out. You were in that livery stable a long time.”
“You just don’t want to leave Kraarz behind,” Lin said, moving up beside her. She rode Vrenstalliren’s mare and the packhorse had been left behind at the Golden Dice until he returned to collect it.
Freya shrugged, admitting the point.
“He’s walking, we’re riding.”
“There hasn’t been a horse born that can outpace me,” Kraarz said, speeding up.
How does he see where he’s going? He’s blind. Freya still hadn’t got used to the Urakh and his white eyes made her shudder whenever she saw them.
Unbidden, Korettln matched pace with the Urakh. Lin exchanged a smiled with Freya as the white mare quickened her pace to keep up with the stallion.
“No horse can outpace him, huh? Well, we’ll see about that,” Korettln said.
It was the only warning that Freya had. The half-elven stallion broke into a canter, his long legs eating up the distance.
Kraarz kept up with the horse. The mare quickly fell behind with Lin. Korettln broke into a gallop and Kraarz had to run to keep up.
Freya giggled as they shot past Vrenstalliren. The Paladin’s jaw dropped open and he booted Ohtár into a gallop behind them.
* * *
“Sir Grald, your efforts in the Jinra dungeon are commendable. I have never seen it look so…so…” The Jar stuttered to a halt speechless for once.
> The Aracan Katuvana clapped his hands and a large leather bag appeared in front of Grald, who opened it.
“Thank you, My Lord. I merely do my duty in your service.” Grald ran a handful of emeralds through his fingers, his eyes shining with reflected light from the gems. “With your permission, I shall continue to make the place presentable for our visitors.”
The Aracan Katuvana nodded and Grald’s picture cleared.
“Who would have known the Barbarian had it in him to get Goraln back into shape that fast. He will make a wonderful Emperor,” the Jar said.
The Aracan Katuvana shrugged and turned back to the Crystal Ball beside the throne that showed Lady Freya’s progress.
“What will you do with his sister, Lord?” the Jar asked. “It looks like she may be about to get side tracked.”
They watched as Freya, the Urakh and Vrenstalliren raced across the rolling hills of north-western Jinran. They didn’t seem to care where they went.
“They’re going in the right direction, but if they stray too far from the road, they’ll miss the village and get lost in the woods.” The Jar groaned in frustration. “Why can’t you humans do as you’re told?”
The Aracan Katuvana grunted.
“I wasn’t talking about you, Lord,” the Jar said quickly.
Ignoring the Jar, the Aracan Katuvana appeared to be thinking. He gestured and a black book floated over to him from a shelf. Thumbing through it, the Aracan Katuvana was clearly considering his options.
“Is that the Big Black Book of Bad Beasts, Lord?” The Goblin brought the Jar back to the pedestal beside the throne as the Aracan Katuvana sat down.
The Aracan Katuvana stopped flipping through the pages and a pleased sound emerged from the hood. He showed the page to the Jar, who smiled.
“Ah yes. I shall contact Lord Jarsken without delay.” The goblin picked the Jar up again and carried it out of the room.
The Aracan Katuvana tossed the massive book over his shoulder and went back to watching Freya race the Urakh Shaman.
* * *
The shadow appeared from behind a cloud and flowed across the waving sea of grass carpeting Jinran. Small at first, as it reached Jira it grew rapidly and caused a few startled birds to fly for the nearest tree.
* * *
“What in Espilieth’s Holy Name are you two doing?” Vrenstalliren demanded when he finally caught up with Kraarz and Freya.
Freya laughed and dismounted from Korettln, moving around to face the big black stallion. “It wasn’t my idea, Vren. Korettln challenged Kraarz to keep up with him and he did.”
“Don’t call me Vren. Only my sisters call me that.” Vrenstalliren waved the explanation aside. “I knew it was a bad idea for a maiden to ride a stallion. They just can’t control them.”
Korettln snorted, blowing wisps of Freya’s dark hair out of their plait. “That elf needs a lesson in good manners. Talking about me as if I was a mere beast like his dumb animal.”
“Steady, Kore.” Freya soothed the irritated creature. “He didn’t mean it as an insult to you, just as an insult to my riding skills.”
Vrenstalliren blanched.
“I would never…”
“He turns an interesting shade of pale, don’t you think?” Lin said to Kraarz as she arrived.
The Urakh snorted and shook his head.
“I’m staying out of this.”
* * *
Passing over Jiren, the shadow’s size made many villagers glance up and then hurry for shelter in the nearest building.
A herd of sheep stampeded for a copse of trees on the eastern bank of the river Ranin as the shadow enlarged over them, their panicking shepherd and his dogs trying desperately to stop them from plunging into the river.
* * *
The scent of sulphur carried by a rapidly strengthening wind made Kraarz wrinkle his nose.
“We have to get out of here, find shelter.”
“Why? It’s a lovely sunny day, Jinra isn’t all that far away and we haven’t had lunch yet.” Freya looked at him. “What’s the matter?”
Lin looked concerned.
“Have you had a message?”
Kraarz shook his head.
“Not from Vox. Just one of my own hunches.” He started in the direction of the trees.
Ohtár and the Mare shrieked as a strong sulphur smell washed over the group. Lin, still mounted, controlled the mare with consummate ease, but Vrenstalliren had the reins wrenched out of his hand as the Charger reared.
The Paladin grabbed Ohtár’s bridle as he came back down and fought to calm him.
“Get on my back. I have to run or we will not survive.” Korettln started moving in the same direction as Kraarz.
Freya grabbed his bridle and managed to stop him while she mounted. “Why?”
“What’s going on?” Vrenstalliren sounded confused, but he followed Freya’s lead.
“I don’t know, but Kraarz is never wrong and something has spooked the animals, so I suggest we follow suit!” Lin told him.
“There’s a dragon heading towards us. Kraarz was right, we have to get to the trees.” Korettln said as he put his head down and galloped.
Lin and Vrenstalliren followed, the Paladin still shouting, “Why are we running?”
He started to draw rein, his face angry, but as the charger slowed, an ear-shattering roar from behind him set the horse running again.
Freya glanced back.
“Dragon!” she shouted to Vrenstalliren. “Come on.”
As they drew level with Kraarz, Lin leaned down and scooped him up onto the mare, and then all of them clung to their mounts as they ran for the woods.
Korettln began to veer north. “The trees are closer there.”
A fireball shot past Freya and impacted to her right, setting the grass aflame, scaring Ohtár and the mare.
Korettln let out a strange sound; half neigh, half scream. “That should have hit us. Dragons rarely miss their targets.” He shifted his path to avoid the flames and sped up, still heading north.
Another fireball hit the ground just ahead of them and the whumph as the flames spread made Freya shriek. Korettln turned left rapidly, his hooves carving chunks of sod from the ground.
“There’s something odd about this attack,” Lin called over as the white mare drew closer. “Dragons don’t normally miss, especially from this close. It’s like we’re being herded.”
Vrenstalliren shook his head.
“How many dragons have you fought, Elysian? We have to get to the trees and the closest ones are to the north.” He turned Ohtár’s head north and clapped his heels to the stallion’s flanks. Ohtár charged, gathered himself and leapt over the flames.
“Fool.” Kraarz snorted. “This delicate mare would never make that jump.”
Freya agreed and they continued heading North West.
The dragon veered north and after a short while, they slipped into the trees, the horses’ hooves crunching on the fallen leaves.
“I do believe the monster has followed Sir Vrenstalliren,” Kraarz said, dropping down from the back of the white mare and walking alongside.
“We’re not far from the road here,” Lin said after a few moments of consulting her map.
“We’ll carry on into Jinra then. I’m sure Vrenstalliren can look after himself,” Freya said. I know I didn’t ask him to be my protector, but I hope he can get away from the dragon. She looked back into the woods as they rode away.
* * *
“I swear that pot hole was three feet deep,” Kraarz complained, pulling at his soaked clothing. Red mud streaks turned his already strange face into something out of a Valdierian epic.
“This isn’t a well-travelled road,” Freya shrugged. “I doubt the locals even try and keep it maintained.”
“I can see that,” the Urakh grumbled.
The trees lining the sides of the road gave way onto a large clearing in the Northern Woods. In front of them a palisade rose, smooth sharpened
logs stabbing up at the overcast sky.
“The gate’s closed.” Lin frowned. “This is a village isn’t it?”
“According to my brother’s note. He said he’d meet me here, at the Cuddly Cub Inn.”
Lin looked up at the palisade and the gate.
“Well they’ve been busy, fairly recently I’d say; these fortifications are new.”
“Ho, the Village!” Kraarz called out. “Three travellers require a hostelry to clean up and rest while we await the rest of our party.”
A hatch opened to one side of the gate and a guard peered out.
“You ain’t got no monsters wid ya have…” there was a gasp and the hatch slid shut again.
Freya sighed and moved up to where the hatch had appeared. Dismounting, she knocked on it.
The hatch slid aside a little and an eye appeared in the gap.
“We ain’t lettin’ ya in. Not wid that…thing.”
Freya slipped her hand into the gap and stopped the guard from closing it again.
“He’s not a thing. He’s my Doctor and Lin is my Trainer. I vouch for them both.” She heard whispers coming from the other side as the guard looked away. “Please let us in. We need to rest and eat.”
“Who are you?”
Freya smiled.
“I am Freya of Jira, Head Dancer from the Hall of The Black Swan.”
Another gasp. More whispers, only this time, they ended with one gate being opened cautiously. Two guards stepped out, their halberds pointed at Kraarz. A third man in a red robe and gold chain stood behind them.
“We were told to expect you, Lady Freya, but not with these two strangers. Sir Grald said you were travelling with an Elven Paladin.” The third man said.
“My brother is here?” Freya caught her breath.
“No, my Lady. He went on a mission for the village. We shall allow your companions to enter the fortifications, as you have vouched for them.” The red robed man bowed “Be welcome to Jinra. I am Mayor Headstoner.”
* * *
“Everyone is almost in place, Lord,” the Jar said as they watched the elven Paladin elude the dragon and head back towards the road. “Would you like to contact Sir Grald?”
The Aracan Katuvana shook his head and moved a piece on his game board.
“Hmm. An interesting manoeuvre. I shall set it in motion at once.” The goblin carried the Jar into the next room.