by Steven Drake
The next day was as uneventful as the first on the river had been. The gray miles whisked by on a cloudless day, as they proceeded southwest down the river. As they continued, the Silver Mountains began to loom large ahead of them, and on their right. Darien could tell that they were proceeding at a faster pace than would have been possible in an ordinary boat, and he could tell where they were heading. Sooner or later, this river would meet the Saldean, which ran south and west from its source in the Red Mountains and across the Craglands to Silver Falls, where it flowed through a great canyon and tumbled down into Bladereed Marsh. He estimated that at their current swift pace, traveling both day and night, they should reach the falls in less than two more days. Sometime before then, they would have to reach the hidden path the faeries had mentioned.
Maya continued to be less than forthcoming about when exactly that would be, however. No matter how Darien asked the question, the whimsical faerie remained frustratingly vague about geography, such as where the Nameless River flowed into the Saldean, or where the hidden city lay. He soon grew tired of hearing ‘you will see soon enough’ or ‘it wouldn’t be hidden if I could just tell you where it is’, so he finally gave up asking. He now found himself in the unfamiliar position of having placed himself entirely at the mercy of someone else. Under the circumstances, trusting the faerie was the only reasonable choice, but the feeling of relying on someone other than himself was still not altogether comfortable.
The journey upon the river passed uneventfully. The faerie guide spent most of the time bobbing along ahead of the boat, only seldom stopping to rest. The Silver Mountains rose ahead of them and to their right, jagged peaks capped with white, while the river cut a deep canyon through high hills. Smaller streams joined the river here and there, swelling the Nameless River to nearly twice the size it had been when the travelers set out from the faerie sanctuary.
Early in the morning of the fourth day since they had set out on the river, the canyon deepened, and sheer white granite rock walls rose straight up, perhaps twenty yards high, on either side of the river, shading the river from the early morning sun. Jerris slept soundly at the front of the boat, while Rana sat quietly near his feet. Maya had again perched on the bow of the boat. There was no doubt that they were well into the mountains now, and Darien again attempted to get information out of the faerie guide. “Maya, we are well into the Silver Mountains. We cannot be far from the falls. Where does this river meet the Saldean, anyway? You told us that we would reach the hidden path before then, so we must be close.”
“Must you be so impatient? Yes, we are very close now, and this river enters the Saldean just above the falls if you must know. Now be quiet and let me focus. The entrance is easy to miss, even for a faerie.”
Maya then turned back to the waters ahead, her eyes fixed upon the western canyon wall. Suddenly, just as the boat rounded a bend, the faerie zoomed towards the western canyon wall. The boat dutifully followed her, turning its side to the current. The boat halted and jerked violently, jostling Jerris out of his slumber and nearly throwing the horses out of the boat. The leftmost horse, Terra, was only saved from the river by well tied knots and a swift reaction from Darien, who darted to catch the animal, positioning himself between the horse and the side of the boat. The swift current pushed hard against the boat’s right side, as the boat headed towards a sheer rock face, with no shore to stand upon.
“Maya, what are you doing?” Rana shouted. “Did we pass it? Are we turning around?” Jerris looked dazed and disoriented, gripping the sides of the boat while he attempted to recover from the shock of being suddenly roused from sleep. Darien continued to hold himself between the side of the boat and Terra as the boat continued to list with the current pushing against it.
It appeared they were headed towards a certain collision with a granite wall, but as Maya reached the cliff face, she seemed to disappear. Darien realized immediately what was happening, but before he could say anything, the boat was already at the cliff face. The golden haired southerner screamed, while Jerris pressed himself into the bottom of the boat, looking more confused than before. However, instead of a crash, there was only a sudden quiet calm, as the boat passed into a tunnel, which was just wide enough to accommodate the large craft.
An illusionary wall, Darien had already realized, hid the cave entrance. With the current flowing so quickly the other direction, no one would ever discover it by accident. It might have been passed a thousand times without anyone noticing, even if there were ever that many people traveling this Nameless River.
“What happened?” Rana cried. “Maya what was that?”
“I told you the path was hidden,” Maya explained as she hovered just a foot or two in front of the boat. “This is the only place the hidden city can be entered from the outside.”
“The opening in the canyon wall was concealed by an enchantment,” Darien added. “This tunnel can’t be seen from the outside. I assume Maya found it by watching for subtle differences in the water current.” Maya turned and nodded as they proceeded slowly into the gloomy shadows.
The cave was dim, as only a bit of light shone in from the entrance. Darien shuffled in the supplies until he was able to get to one of his torches. He handed it to Jerris, and Jerris lit it, shining its red light all around the boat. Maya could be seen a few feet in front of the boat, her pale green wings bobbing in the darkness ahead. The watery cave was just barely large enough to accommodate the boat, and every so often, the high bow loudly scraped the cave roof.
A short while later, after proceeding perhaps fifty yards or so into the tunnel, Maya slowed to a stop in a somewhat larger round cavern. When the boat caught up with her, it gently grounded itself against a gravelly bottom. The travelers got out of the boat, and peered into the darkness ahead, where the tunnel floor sloped continually uphill. “Where does this tunnel end up?” Jerris asked.
“The tunnel goes many miles under the mountains,” Maya explained. “At the end of this tunnel is a doorway that will only open for the bearer of the Star of Kings. Beyond the door is a device that will carry you far upwards. It too, will only respond to the Star of Kings. Now we must part ways, as my part in your journey is now ended.”
“You will not travel with us in the vial then?” Rana asked with a disappointed tone.
“Was there something else you required?” Maya asked. “You have found the one you were searching for, and I have brought you all to this place as I said I would. What more is there?”
“Why leave now?” Rana asked, sounding more frustrated. “You’ve been with me since I was a child.” The hurt and confusion in her voice matched the look of anguish on her face. It was a bitter parting.
“You didn’t really expect to carry me around with you your entire life, did you?”
“Well, no, but… will I never see you again?”
“You may summon me so long as you stay in the hidden city. There is a lake in the valley where the city lies. Call to me there, and I will come.” Maya answered. “However, eventually we must part. I have fulfilled my people’s duty to your family, and I must return to my kind, just as you must return to yours. You were so young and vulnerable when we met. It is unsurprising that you cling to me as a child to its mother. Indeed, I have come to care deeply for you as well, but you must live your own life. I shall always consider you a friend, and wish you well, but I cannot stay with you.”
“Alright, I understand, but first there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“We don’t have time for this, Rana,” Darien spoke forcefully, already guessing what she would ask. “Knowing the truth won’t do you any good.”
“No, I can’t just let it go,” Rana’s desperation echoed in the empty cavern. “This has been bothering me for days now. If this is really to be the last time I will see her, I have to know the truth.”
“Do you really expect her to tell you anyway, if she’s hidden it for all these years?” Darien said.
“I d
on’t understand what this is about,” Maya said, confused. “What is it you want to know, Rana?”
“Did you know my family was going to be killed? Did you know what was going to happen? Did you make me watch, so… so that I’d see Darien leading the Demon King’s armies, so that I’d see him kill my brother, my family? Did you need me to see him, to hate him, and to spend my life chasing him, just to fulfill some prophecy that I may have nothing to do with?” Rana cried out in exasperation.
Darien shook his head and looked off to the side. “Stubborn woman, no good will come of this,” he muttered under his breath.
Maya’s expression changed from confusion to genuine pain. “I’m… so sorry. There was no way to save your family, as I told you before. I couldn’t take them with me.”
“What’s going on?” Jerris asked. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“Just be quiet Jerris,” Darien growled. The lad mumbled something in frustration, but remained silent.
“Why didn’t you take me away from there immediately, like my mother wanted? Why did you make me wait? Why did I have to watch them die, right in front of me?” Rana cried, fighting a vain battle against her own tears.
Maya did not respond immediately, and a hush fell over the group. The tunnel was utterly silent. Darien sighed inwardly and stared over at the blank wall, waiting for the interminable silence to end with the unpleasant revelation he knew must be forthcoming. He no longer needed to look at their faces to know what they were feeling. Darien sighed to himself. The powerful and clever use the weak and foolish for their own purposes. Toying with the fates of others does not earn their trust or loyalty, however well-intentioned it may be. Kings and prophets pull on the strings of men and women as if they were puppets and then expect them to be grateful to their puppet masters. This is part of the reason I tried to kill the Master, and the reason I have spent so many years running. I hate it… this arrogance, this game of power and influence, this way people use each other. Would that I could escape it, or use this wretched sword to erase it from the world. A cold piercing chill ran down his spine as the thought of the sword gripped his mind, but it was gone in another instant, so quickly that he could not be sure of the reality of it.
Finally, mercifully, the silence was broken as Maya spoke. “I did not mean to hurt you. You were a child and I thought I was doing what was best for you,” Maya stammered. “I am not so powerful as my sisters, or my queen. She sees much that I cannot, and that I do not wish to. She said that I had to wait for the proper moment to save you, and that in that moment, you would run to me. She told me that if I did not wait for that moment, then you would follow a dark path from which you could not be saved. I did not know what would happen. I swear it. I only wanted to help you.”
“So, then it’s true,” Rana said. “You faeries had all this planned from the beginning, years before any of us were even born.”
“I believe it is Darien who first came to our queen’s attention. He was the one that she was always watching, but I have said too much already, the rest you must hear from the queen herself.”
Rana sighed and then let out a grim chuckle. “Wonderful, so now I have something else to hate him for. How else can he ruin and destroy my life, I wonder?”
“I am sorry, Rana,” Maya said quietly with miniscule tears sparkling in her eyes. “I can see how this appears to be a deception. I have nothing to offer but my word that I only ever did what I thought was right. You may speak to our queen soon enough, and decide for yourself what to do. Follow the tunnel until you reach the stairs. Climb them and you will see the hidden city. Farewell.” Maya then spun around, and disappeared down into the water in a flash of green light.
“Excuse me, but what is all this about, and why does it seem I’m the only one who doesn’t already know?” Jerris asked.
“It’s a long story, Jerris, but I suppose we do have time for it,” Darien replied. “Do you want to explain the situation to Jerris, or shall I?”
“I will,” Rana said. “He should hear it from me. I’m the one that lived it. I’m sorry for all that, but I had to know.”
“Alright. Let’s hear it then,” Jerris said.
The trio then set out up the tunnel leading their horses by the reins. Rana explained to Jerris all about how she had first met Darien, a story he had not yet heard. Darien did not pay much attention to the conversation, however, as his mind was focused on the path ahead. Whoever this faerie queen was, she was powerful, maybe powerful enough to rival the Master himself. He prepared himself for all the possibilities he could foresee, including the possibility he would have to use force to escape, so great was his suspicion.
Chapter 26: The Hidden City
After an hour or so of walking, they reached the end of the tunnel, and the doorway stood in front of them, a single ebon door, made of some type of stone, shiny, and adorned with reliefs of elves battling terrifying creatures.
“Well, here is the doorway Maya mentioned,” Darien said. “It’s supposed to open for you Jerris.”
“So what do I do?” Jerris asked tentatively. “Does the stone fit into it somehow?”
“I doubt that, just hold the crystal up to the door. I suspect it will react immediately.” So Jerris took the talisman out and held it in his hand. The stone glowed white, lighting the empty cavern. Almost immediately, ribbons of light snaked out from the starstone, lighting up the gaps around the door and highlighting the reliefs upon the door’s surface. A clicking sound followed, and the door swung away from the three travelers, revealing a chamber the size of a large room, but without any visible ceiling.
Occupying the rear two thirds of the chamber was a large platform, raised just a step off the cave floor, light blue in color, made of some strange unrecognizable metal. A five-foot balustrade, made of the same strange blue metal, bounded the platform on all sides. A small opening wide enough for two horses walking side by side provided the only means of getting on or off the platform. At the center of the platform stood a cylindrical pedestal topped with a translucent red crystal.
“Well, what do we do now? I don’t see any other doors out of this room,” a befuddled Rana declared.
“I think I know what this is,” Darien answered after examining the platform. “The faerie said there was a magical device here. I’ve seen similar devices in the dwarven mines. I believe this is a mechanical lift of some kind, and it probably responds to the starstone just as the door did.”
“So what do we do?” Jerris asked, staring questioningly at the platform.
“Just get the horses up on it and use the starstone on that crystal on the central pedestal, just like you did on the door.” So the travelers led their horses up onto the platform, and Jerris held the still glowing stone close to the red crystal. Ribbons of light trailed out of the starstone once again, filling the red crystal with light. The red light spiraled down around the pedestal, as if the metal itself were alive with magical light. Then, a loud clang broke the silence of the chamber, followed by a regular clicking and the low hum of machinery in motion. The door to the chamber slammed shut with a bang.
A moment later, the platform left the ground and ascended into the darkness. Rana suddenly lurched toward the pedestal, gripping it firmly with both hands, and shut her eyes tight. Darien laughed inwardly to himself at the sight of the lady knight displaying more fear of a rising platform than the powerful foes she had fought. The platform rose steadily for what seemed a very long time. It must have gone several hundred feet upward before it finally stopped, rising up into a chamber very much like the one below, but with an open passage instead of a stone door. The platform fit so perfectly into this second chamber so that barely a crack was visible between the platform and the stone floor. The platform stopped there, the light disappeared from the red crystal, and the sounds died away, leaving the travelers in silence once again.
They led the horses off the platform and out the opening. Bright light shone into the underground pass
age some ways ahead of them. The older half-elf looked over at his young companion, who was fidgeting at a frenzied pace.
“Your mother spent her life searching for this place. Are you ready?”
“I can’t believe we found it so quickly. I mean, I just wish my mother could have been here to see it with us.”
“Be sure you ask the faerie queen why she didn’t see fit to guide your mother to this place as she did us,” Darien scoffed and shook his head. They hadn’t found their way to this place as much as they’d been deliberately led here, and the jaded mind of the Executioner did not trust in such convenient coincidences.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Jerris said. “After all, if she had found this place, I might never have been born. I know she wouldn’t give me up, even to see this place, just like I couldn’t leave her with Duke Parham. I think she would say it turned out better this way. It… just wasn’t her destiny.” The boy paused a moment as if lost in thought, then asked, “You don’t believe in destiny do you, Darien?”
“I don’t know whether I believe in it or not, but I know that it is easy for the powerful to speak of destiny when manipulating others to serve their own ends. For a long time, I believed I was destined to be the greatest shade the order had ever seen, and to sit at the Master’s right hand when he ruled all the world, but it was all lies and deception. I was meant to think those things, led to believe them so that I would serve him blindly. Now my eyes are open, and I will not so easily be blinded again.” Darien looked over again at his young companion, but the lad still seemed unsatisfied with the answer, so he continued. “You need not trouble yourself further about me. This is the end of your journey with me. Hopefully, whatever else happens, you have found a place to call home.” Jerris managed a weak smile, then stared down at his feet, and continued his fidgeting.