The Outlaw's Quest (Keeper of the Books, Book 2)

by Jason D. Morrow

  “So, I don’t know much about the Sentinels,” he said. “Never gave them much thought. What are they like?”

  Jesse shrugged. “I don’t get much interaction with them either. I report to my commander.”

  “You have a lot to do there?” Rachel asked.

  “We provide support,” Jesse answered. “Sometimes the Sentinels have missions to accomplish and they need backup, so we might go with them. Sometimes we’re even sent on our own missions. Mostly, we stay near the Sentinel Keep. Stand guard. Turn away people like you.”

  “So, why are you helping us?” Alban asked.

  “Because you fascinate me,” Jesse said. He watched them for a long moment and tore off a piece of bread with his teeth. He chewed quietly, swallowed, then said, “I find it interesting that the sister of the most wanted criminal in all of Galamore would seek an audience with the Sentinels.”

  Each of their eyes widened, their heads turning to one another, their mouths hanging open.

  “We got a hawk about you weeks ago,” Jesse said with a smile. “It was a generic letter. Sent out to a lot of people. But we got one. Most people in these parts don’t care. With ravagers and gray elves on our doorstep, we have a lot bigger things to worry about than a lone criminal wandering the roads.”

  “What did the letter say?” Alban asked.

  Jesse shook his head. “Just what I said. That Marum here is on the loose. That she’s traveling with three companions, though it gave no description or names for the three of you.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Rachel said.

  “How much are we worth?” Nate asked. This sent a few looks his way.

  “Marum is worth 2,000 coins,” Jesse said. “Didn’t have a price for the rest of you.”

  For some reason Nate felt disappointed by this. It was good that he wasn’t a priority, but a high price on your head meant bragging rights in the circles Nate ran with. Not that he cared for those circles, especially considering they mostly consisted of drunk morons who would all be strung up within the next few years.

  “Something I can’t figure,” Jesse said, looking at Marum, “is what your charges are.”

  Marum reluctantly returned his stare. It was obvious she was trying to suppress her snarl. “My charges are that I’m sister to Droman. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  “I figured as much,” Jesse said. “Our president isn’t the most honest man. Been in power too long. Wants things his own way.”

  “Is that the position of the Sentinels?” Alban asked.

  “That’s my position,” Jesse said. “I’m sure they all have their own opinions, which they will never share with me. I’m okay with that.” He looked at Marum again and smiled. “You don’t have to look at me like you want to cut my throat open, you know. I get that we’re suppose to hate each other…that’s what we’re told to do, anyway. But I ain’t that way.”

  “Yes,” Alban said, “you seem very different from other wood elves I have met. In particular, your name. It’s not a wood elf name at all.”

  “I reject a lot of prejudices because of how I was raised,” Jesse said. “I was adopted by a man and a woman. Grew up in Silver Cascade, north of Tel Haven.”

  “Really!” Alban said.

  Jesse nodded. “I’ve never even been to Elf Country.”

  “How is it you came to be part of the Sentinel Guard?” Alban asked.

  “That, my friend, is a story for another day. It’s long, and sort of depressing, really. I don’t like to talk about it much, but if you happen to stay at the Sentinel Keep for a while, I might let you in on the story.”

  “Fair enough,” Alban said.

  By the afternoon, the group was at the foot of the mountain, so close they could touch it. Looking up from the bottom, Nate couldn’t see the top, which made him smile but shot a sense of terror through him at the same time. The rock of the mountain was dark, almost black, and the air around them was silent. The only sound was the plodding hooves of the horses and the creaking wheels of the wagon sloshing through the wet grass and mud.

  This was the first time Nate had noticed there was no snow near the mountain. When he pointed this out to Alban, Jesse chimed in and said it was like that about a mile in circumference around the entire base. Though higher up the winds could still cut and chill, the mountain seemed to give off its own heat from within, supporting the idea that this was just a slumbering giant of a dragon, sleeping until it had a good enough reason to wake. The air around them felt warm at its base. Humid even. Nate almost had a mind to remove his leather coat but decided against it, knowing the cold winds would worsen as they traveled the path upward.

  Jesse informed them that they would have to abandon their cart after another hour of traveling. Alban was worried about this at first, but when they reached the area, they found what looked to be a small settlement of people. There was a grocer, a blacksmith, some shops.

  “It’s a quaint community,” Jesse told them. “They live here to serve the Sentinels.”

  “Aren’t the Sentinels higher on the mountain?” Alban asked.

  “Indeed they are,” Jesse said. “Here we are all in service to the Sentinels. Here you can safely store your cart, and leave your horse in the stables. If you’re a journeyman, there is a small fee. If you’re guests of the Sentinels then there is no charge.”

  Nate looked all around, thinking it must have been nice to live in this tiny town, shielded from the cold winter that bit and clawed at his skin only a mile away. Here, people walked about without coats. They seemed glad to witness visitors coming through. Some tipped their hats at Jesse, calling him by name.

  “Members of the Sentinel Guard often frequent this place. It’s a nice getaway for an evening. Sometimes it’s not far enough, however.”

  “You seem disenchanted with your work,” Alban said.

  Jesse smiled and shook his head. “No, but it’s not as glorious as outsiders might think.”

  “I thought the Sentinel Guard experienced endless adventures,” Rachel said. “There are so many stories.”

  “It’s the Sentinels themselves who have all the adventures, m’lady,” Jesse said. “We guards get to stand there and watch the weather most of the time.”

  Nate could hear the bitterness in his tone. He couldn’t quite locate the source of why, but perhaps it was just as he said—his expectations had been too high. Nate could relate. Stories of adventures often seemed more grand than the adventures themselves. The stories always pointed out the highlights, the important details. Never did they include the mundane parts. The continuous travel. The hours of silence. The endless lack of good sleep. You could tell someone that you trained to be a sharpshooter and that you once took down a hawk in mid flight, riding your horse backwards, but the story would be far less interesting to tell the person about every hour of training leading up to that magnificent moment.

  At the direction of Jesse, they left the cart and horse in the small town at the base of the mountain and started walking up a path. Jesse led the way, followed closely by Alban, Rachel, Marum, and then Nate brought up the rear. He worried they might have to walk all the way up the mountain, and for about fifteen minutes, he thought this would be the case. But Jesse finally led them to a small opening in the cliff side—one that Nate might not have ever seen if Jesse hadn’t shown them.

  “This is the secret path I told you about,” Jesse said. “Otherwise, you would have had to take your horse up the mountain and it’s quite a grueling haul.”

  The opening led them into a dark cavern, lit only by the afternoon sunlight outside. But the path ended only about thirty feet into the rock and Nate wondered about Jesse’s plan. When they reached the back wall, Jesse turned to them and smiled.

  “What I’m about to show you comes from the magic of the gnomes,” he said. “Over a thousand years ago, they developed this mechanism, this lift, that only Sentinels and the Sentinel Guard can access. You can come in here all you want, but unless you have one
of us with you, the elevator won’t work.”

  The company watched with anticipation as Jesse turned and set his hand on the blank wall and held it there for a few seconds. Then a green light shone around the edges of his fingers and palm and faded away quickly. Jesse looked back at them again, unable to contain his smile. Nate wondered if his job was so boring that the highlight of his week was getting to show someone this magic.

  A distant thunder sounded through the rock and he could feel a shaking beneath his feet. It was like a small earthquake, but no rocks fell loose and the rumble was steady and even. Finally, the wall cracked open in front of them, revealing a wide metal platform and a thick cable running through the center of it.

  “It’s old,” Jesse said, “but it’s safe. I believe it’s held together by more than just mechanics.” He motioned for them to follow him onto the lift and they did, though hesitantly. When all of them were on the platform, the stone wall closed back in on itself and darkness engulfed them. “Next stop, 9,000 feet,” Jesse said.

  Nate could almost hear him smiling.

  The wall opened again and the light of torches in the room beyond them burst into the ancient shaft. Jesse stepped off first and the others followed. Nate took in the scene before them, speechless. The room was massive and the same color as the rock on the outside of the mountain. Nate’s eyes traveled upward, searching for the ceiling where the dark stone seemed to continue on and on. Neither the walls nor floor had grooves in them, instead they were smooth as if everything within this corridor had been meticulously carved into a single structure. It was apparent, however, that the structure was the mountain itself, a cave fashioned into a deep dwelling where the sun couldn’t reach it.

  The corridor led down a long hallway, the walls lined with flaming torches. At the end of the hallway was a set of two wooden doors, the height of three men, the shoulder width of twenty. In front of the doors stood two guards on either side.

  Nate couldn’t tell at first, but as they approached the guards, he was shocked to see something that looked as if it had come out of a storybook. They were dressed as knights, it seemed, with chainmail over their shoulders and torso, and large steel helmets on their heads. Over their chainmail was green wool to keep out the chill, though it wasn’t too cold in the corridor. Both of the guards held long pikes in their hands, and brandished shiny swords on their belts.

  Before the group reached the doors, Jesse turned his head to them and muttered, “let me do the talking since you aren’t expected.”

  Nate had assumed there wouldn’t need to be any talking considering Jesse himself was part of the Sentinel Guard. This made him wonder just how much influence Jesse really had here, and if the group would simply be tossed out after a good tongue lashing toward their new friend.

  “Ryber! Jamin!” Jesse called out, a wide grin spread across his face. The two guards did not return the smile. They stared at him sullen faced. Perhaps they were bored.

  “You know they aren’t welcome,” the man on the right, Jamin, said. “No one is scheduled to meet with the Sentinels today.”

  “A true statement,” Jesse said. “But as you see, there is a certain gray elf among them who is a very important figure in our society. Her name is Marum. Sister to the famous Droman.”

  Jamin and Ryber looked at each other. “What does she want?” Jamin asked.

  Nate fought the urge to belt out that their reason for being here had nothing to do with Marum. In fact, Marum had never planned to be with them in this moment. If she hadn’t been shot, they would have split ways long ago. Nate glanced at his three companions and it seemed they were all thinking the same thing, but none of them were going to say it. The real reason didn’t matter. All they needed was an audience.

  “She wants…” Jesse’s voice trailed off and he looked back at Marum. “What exactly do you want?”

  Marum swallowed. “To uh… to make a case for myself.”

  “The Sentinels are not judges,” Jamin said in a dry tone. “There is no case to be made here.”

  “Jamin, come on,” Jesse said. “I don’t think any of the Sentinels would be pleased to hear that you turned away such an important figure.”

  Ryber finally spoke up. “This important figure is a wanted criminal. As far as we know, so are her friends. What exactly could the Sentinels do for them?”

  “Also, if you please,” Alban said. “There is a man with us.” He motioned toward Nate. “He is a Sojourner. A man of another world. He is part of the reason we came. We were told to come here by a foreseer named Cara. She told us we could find the answers we seek here.”

  Jamin and Ryber looked at each other again, seemingly speaking to each other telepathically. Jamin motioned with his head, though Ryber seemed to shake it in protest. Finally, Jamin looked away from Ryber and at Jesse.

  “This is an unusual situation,” Jamin said. “I shall have to go into the Keep and ask.”

  Jesse shook his head. “Well, I’m not bound to be out here. I could just go in and do it.”

  “You shall not bother the Sentinels,” Jamin said. “If I allowed every guard access to them whenever it was requested, I would be reposted at the base of the mountain.”

  “Ugh…” Ryber said, “base duty.”

  “It would be terrible, wouldn’t it?” Jamin said as he pulled the large wooden door open a crack and slipped into the great beyond.

  Jesse turned to the group and rolled his eyes. “Jamin is such a snot.” He quickly shot his head toward Ryber. “You, of course, are a charm.”

  Ryber closed his eyes slowly and shook his head. “Why are you causing trouble for us again, Jesse?”

  Jesse ignored the question and turned back to the group. “I’m afraid they like to make things more difficult than they have to be.”

  They waited an hour in the corridor. They were tired and hungry. Ryber stood in silence, the door forever to remain closed unless he deemed otherwise or until Jamin slipped through with positive or negative news.

  Jesse remained faithful to the group and motioned for the rest of them to sit on the cold stone beneath them. They complied and continued to wait.

  There wasn’t much by way of conversation. Alban encouraged Jesse to go on to his quarters if he wanted, but Jesse waved him off and said he didn’t have guard duty until the next day.

  As they waited, there were a few inquiries about Jesse’s home in Silver Cascade, but he didn’t seem overly comfortable answering questions about that.

  When the door finally opened, each of them bolted to their feet and waited for Jamin to deliver the news. Nate’s patience had just about worn thin and he was ready to bust through the door whether Jamin wanted to allow it or not.

  Jamin continued to take his time. He stood straight as an arrow in the middle of the corridor, at attention as if his superior officer were standing directly in front of him, his eyes fixed on a spot in the distance behind them. “You have been granted an audience with the Sentinels,” he said in a loud booming voice. “It will be tomorrow morning in the meeting hall.”

  “That’s great news,” Alban said.

  Nate had to admit, he felt some relief.

  “You are instructed to leave your weapons here at the door,” Jamin continued. “Ryber will put them in a safe place and you can collect them on your way out.”

  Nate didn’t like the sound of that. His hand moved to the butt of his pistol instinctively. He might have been trying his best to act straight, but being an outlaw was in his blood now. And part of being an outlaw was never letting someone take your weapon.

  “Once you are disarmed,” Jamin said, “I will show you to your quarters for the evening.”

  Nate looked at Alban who offered an affirming nod. It wasn’t affirming enough for Nate, but he knew he had to comply if he wanted to figure out how to get back home.

  One-by-one they were offered a chance to hand over their weapons. Once they did, they were then searched. Alban gave up his two guns and knife. Marum
gave up her knife and one gun. To Nate’s surprise, Rachel pulled a smaller gun from her boot. Part of him wondered if she kept it around because of him. The two might have been on good terms at this moment, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t learned a bit too much about his past—enough to know that he had a history of being dangerous.

  She has no idea, Nate thought.

  Nate pulled his rifle from its sheath and reluctantly handed it to Ryber. Then his pistol. Jamin then searched him and found nothing else.

  Satisfied, he motioned to the wooden doors that led to the Sentinels—to Nate’s future. Soon, he’d know all he needed in order to find his brother and get back home.

  Nate

  Winter, 903 A.O.M.

  The Sentinel Keep wasn’t as dark and eerie as Nate had expected. Though the walls were mostly bare and dark as any cave might be, there was painted art and tapestries of various colors throughout that brightened the place. There were hallways in every direction, rooms scattered all over. Nate tried to see into some of them as they walked, but Jamin quickly scolded him and reminded him that they were guests of this keep and he had every authority to throw them back out onto the road.

  Nate felt like he’d walked straight into a different age. The vast walls and endless corridors reminded him of a castle from ancient days. Even Jamin, and the other guards Nate saw walking through the halls, looked like knights of the round table. He felt so out of place, not well dressed enough for being in such a kingly domain. But this was not a fortress for kings. Somewhere within these darkened halls were the Sentinels—a mysterious group of beings to Nate, and perhaps to the others in his party as well. The Sentinels had a power within them—a secret, mystical power that other creatures would never be able to mimic in their lifetime.