“I must send word out to the other Kingdoms of Men,” Sir Adelard replied. “I am not sure this will please all of them, but I must notify everyone.” He rose from the bench where they sat and walked toward the castle. He stopped before reaching the doors and turned back around. “I am also uncertain of how Queen Bronwyn will react. She gave up her fight for the High Throne some time ago, but news of an heir coming to reclaim the title may fuel her cause again.” This news startled Vanya and Aedan since it would be their son dealing with the repercussions.
The travelers followed Sir Adelard when he stepped into the foyer of the castle. Beyond the main hall, they could see two large doors, which looked as if they were inoperable for some time. It appeared that the steward did most of his work in the foyer since there was a cluttered desk with maps and books scattered across it. The steward grabbed some parchment from a drawer and a quill from an inkwell on the desk and began feverishly writing. When he finished writing the letters to the other kingdoms, he glanced past his shoulder to see Aranel staring at his desk.
Sir Adelard admitted, “I know it’s a mess in here, but I thought I would have to find the heir of Cambruin. I never suspected anyone would guide him to me.”
The elderly man stood from his desk. He walked back out the main doors and over to a stable. The doors were open, but it was so dark just past the doorway nothing inside was visible, until they got closer. When the steward approached, a large furry beast stirred just past the doors. It appeared in the doorway and took up the entire opening to the stable. It was enormous and a bit overwhelming for Aranel, since the young Aelfborn froze in her tracks. Sir Adelard saw her reaction to the beast and turned to reassure her, “Do not fret little one, this great big wolf is my friend. He will not hurt you.” He took Aranel by the hand and walked her over to the giant wolf. The beast’s stature was so great that Aranel could play beneath his underbelly without ducking at all. The beast bowed his head and let the Aelfborn child pet him. The cautious Aranel did this for a moment, smiled at the wolf, and scurried back to her mother’s side.
Aranel whispered into her mother’s ear, “I like that wolf. He is soft.” Vanya smiled at her daughter, and the cautious Aedan released the grip on his sword. His daughter petting a wolf unsettled him.
Sir Adelard slipped the letters into a pouch around the wolf’s neck, whispered something into its ear, and stepped back. The wolf bound out of the stable and through the dilapidated gates.
“My friend is fast,” Sir Adelard advised the others. “He will get word to the ten Kingdoms of Men soon. We’ll have to wait to see what form of response we get.” The old knight started walking back to the castle. “You are welcome to stay in the guest wing of the castle. I will show you the way.”
Aedan and Vanya did not like the idea of waiting to see how the other kingdoms received the news that the heir to the High Throne has returned. Nor did they like idea that some may have disdain toward their child but for now, they had to wait.
CHAPTER 21: Thieves’ Den
Megildur and Gaal had been walking for several days without seeing any signs of life. Early one morning, they found what they were seeking.
“Is that Thieves’ Den?” Megildur asked Gaal.
“Yes, that’s it,” Gaal replied. “Now, let me give you a few words of advice. Keep your head down and make sure you don’t let anyone know who you are.”
“Why do I need to hide who I am?” Megildur replied. “Everyone in Aerynth knows me as a half-breed, not a Lord.”
Gaal countered, “Honor and nobility do not exist here! For the most part they are all Thieves, cutthroats, and bandits.” Gaal looked a little concerned about Megildur going in too headstrong and getting them killed. “Now we should hide our packs out here somewhere, especially that armor of yours too.” Megildur now looked a bit concerned but figured one Thief should know the tactics of another. He followed Gaal’s advice and hid his belongings in some brush nearby and the two walked to the front gates.
“Will they accept Aelfborn in this safehold?” Megildur now asked since he knew some safeholds only accepted certain races.
“Aye, they accept many races here,” Gaal replied. “So stay on your toes and keep a watchful eye on your possessions. Otherwise they just might walk away.” Gaal smirked at Megildur since stealing from others was his profession.
As Gaal promised, the guards let both of them in without question. Once Megildur was past the gates, what he saw amazed him. The safehold was full of almost every race in Aerynth. He observed people on a daily basis like Aelfborn and Human but Megildur saw others all too familiar. There were Aracoix, the dreaded bird men, Elves and Irekei. Unfortunately, one Irekei walked past Megildur and spit on the ground before Megildur’s feet. The red-skinned man then muttered something in his language, which he did not understand.
Megildur exclaimed to Gaal, “What did I do now?”
“He didn’t like your tattoos,” Gaal answered, pointing to Megildur’s exposed mystical tattoos on his face. “He called you ‘Hru bhi’, which if I remember their language means ‘very ugly’.” The Aelfborn Lord remembered what Zeristan told him before about Irekei hating any markings on the body. He would have to avoid other Irekei, or cover his body, if he wanted to avoid other detestable fluids projected at him. Gaal reached over to a nearby table and temporarily relieved someone of their cloak. “Here, this cloak should help for now.” Megildur swung the cloak over his shoulders and pulled the hood forward, concealing most of his face.
Looking up, Megildur spotted a race he had never seen before. The individual did not walk but instead hovered across the ground. Without any warning, the female stopped and made contact with the ground. She turned her head toward Megildur and Gaal. He could see glowing red eyes when the female began to hover again, toward Megildur.
She asked in a soft but sinister voice, “What are you staring at boy?” Her skin looked hard and pale white. Her hair was bright red, like the color of blood, and he could see two of her teeth came to a point like daggers. Her touch was like ice. Megildur discovered this when she caressed his face with her decrepit hand.
“I did not mean to stare,” Megildur replied trying not to shiver from either her cold hand or his fear of this creature. “And I am not a boy!”
She bellowed, “You are to me, half-breed! My existence started long before any man, or boy!” She glared once more at Megildur, which he could feel deep into his heart. She turned back on her original course. “We will meet again, boy!” She vowed when her back was to both of them.
“What was that atrocity?” Megildur asked Gaal. He took a deep sigh of relief that she was gone.
“That was a Vampire,” Gaal commented. He also sighed after the Vampire disappeared. “They are dark and ominous creatures of the Void, who drink the blood of others to sustain their contemptible lives.” Gaal shivered at his last comment. Apparently, he did not like them much either.
“Let’s find a Bard to help us and get out of here,” Megildur stated, trying to regain his composure after his first encounter with an undead being. They both went to the local tavern, everyone in the safehold gathered there. Megildur hoped this visit to a tavern fared better than his last one. His stopover at the tavern in Sea Dog’s Rest was not a pleasant one. They stood in the doorway and it was just as Megildur dreaded. It smelled as the stables back home do, before he cleaned them. There was also a strong aroma of ale, making the place horrendous. They barely made it past the doorway when the trouble began.
“There you are, Thief!” An enormous Half Giant bellowed, grabbing Gaal by the shirt and swinging him around to the wall. “Where’s my gold?”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Gaal winced, since the brute intensified the pressure against him.
The brute lashed out, “You remember me. I’m the one you and your last friend had the nerve to steal from. Perhaps I will just kill you and call it a day!”
“Look, I told you before as I will tell you again! I didn’t know that o
ther Thief!” Gaal argued with the enormous brute but only managed to increase his anger. The Half Giant raised Gaal off the ground so high his feet were dangling in the air.
Megildur intervened, trying to see if he could save Gaal from a beating. “We just walked in here, how could he have stolen anything from you?”
“This is not his first time in Thieves’ Den,” the brute countered. “Now go away half-breed or you will get a thrashing after I’m done with this abomination.” The Half Giant increased the tension of his grip, causing Gaal severe pain.
Megildur scanned the room to look for help, but nobody even raised their head to see what transpired. He knew it was up to him to help Gaal, or this brute would crush his companion. Megildur picked up a nearby empty pitcher and smashed it over the brute’s head.
“So you want your thrashing now?” The Half Giant responded after dropping Gaal and brushing off the remnants of the broken pitcher. He approached Megildur, emitting an evil laugh. He now wielded an enormous battle-axe. The brute raised the axe above his head to strike Megildur but before he could swing he found himself surrounded by rings of light. The Half Giant looked confused, since he was unable to move or deliver his deadly blow. Megildur could hear a melody strumming from an instrument but had never heard such a tune. He turned to see a female playing a small harp behind him near the doorway.
“We had better move, that spell will only hold the brute for a short time,” the whimsical lass advised Megildur and Gaal.
Megildur admitted, giving a hand to Gaal and raising him from the floor. “I see no advantage to waiting around here for a beating.” The three of them fled the tavern and subsequently Thieves’ Den. None of them wanted to slow their pace for some time after leaving the safehold, since they knew the brute would catch them. Eventually their stamina diminished and they all needed to rest. “So who do we thank for rescuing us from that brute in the tavern?” Megildur asked their rescuer when all of them sat down together.
“My name is Honoria,” she replied. “I am a Bard and I hate seeing bullies like that one back there pick on others.”
“Thank you, Honoria. Fortune has smiled upon us as we were in Thieves’ Den looking for a Bard,” Megildur chuckled. “My pale companion is Gaal and I am Megildur. We were seeking anyone in Thieves’ Den who knows the tale of Shadowbane. We heard one rumor that it may still reside at Stormvald inside Korvambar.”
“You are Lord Megildur, of Fort Viatrus?” Honoria inquired, startling both Megildur and Gaal. “And are you the same Lord Megildur who rallied multiple guilds to bane Aelarnost and captured Dar Thaelostor Caunion?”
Megildur queried, “Have we met before? How do you know about that bane?”
“M’Lord, everyone in Aerynth knows of the Aelfborn Lord who defeated the Deathless Empire and of your treacherous journey across the desert after escaping from the Temple of the Cleansing Flame.” Honoria continued her tale of Megildur’s journey, as if he had not lived it. “The Bard’s communication network is vast across Aerynth, although nobody knows of Lord Megildur’s journey prior to the attack on Fort Viatrus by the Dar Khelegur.” Honoria looked puzzled at Gaal wondering if he knew why this is so, which of course he had no idea.
“That is because my journey didn’t begin until my death in Fort Viatrus,” Megildur replied. Honoria listened attentively hoping he would elaborate, that way she could complete his epic tale. “After the Minotaur crushed me with his hoof, I died but instead of reappearing at any Tree of Life I returned somewhere else. It was a misty place where all I heard were voices talking over one another until it drove me insane, then all of them silenced at once. I heard a voice tell me to have no fear and that person placed their hand on my shoulder and left His mark upon me.” Megildur exposed his right shoulder showing the three interlocking circles.
Honoria gasped, “That is the mark of the All-Father! So, it’s true! The All-Father has chosen his champion to recover Shadowbane and restore peace to Aerynth?” She first gazed at Megildur and then her eyes moved to Gaal.
“Don’t look at me to doubt him,” Gaal retorted. “The last time I questioned the All-Father, He almost roasted me…literally! No way will I doubt Him again. I am a believer in Lord Megildur’s claim that the All-Father chose him.” Gaal mumbled more under his breath, “Although I doubt one person made all that exists.”
“I know, it was difficult for me to accept at first too,” Megildur responded. “Recently the All-Father came to me in a dream and I now understand why he chose me. For one reason I am the rightful heir to the High King Cambruin and secondly, He has picked other champions who come from meager beginnings such as mine.”
Honoria conceded, “I too have heard rumors of the Dwarves guarding Shadowbane. It would honor me M’Lord if you would allow me to guide you to Korvambar. I would also be able to scribe your journey so that all of Aerynth will know of your deed! I know someone in Fort Irsadeng, along the east coast. Her people could ferry us to the isle of Stormvald.”
Megildur responded, “Well I am not so sure about the writing of our journey, but we could use a guide to Korvambar. It’s getting dark, so we should make camp here and set out at first light for Fort Irsadeng.” Megildur turned to Gaal, “Could you find some firewood while I start a small fire with this kindling we have here?” Gaal agreed and departed to gather wood, none of them wanted to freeze in the night air. Megildur and Gaal started a roaring fire and the three of them enjoyed some music provided by Honoria. For the sake of all in Aerynth, Megildur hoped they could recover Shadowbane.
CHAPTER 22: Nightly Disturbance
They talked well past sundown and Honoria even told the tale of the creation of Shadowbane by Thurin, back in the Age of Twilight. She told them how the God of Forge and Craft created the sword from the rarest minerals in Aerynth. She also told them the tale of Sillestor’s treachery against the All-Father. How after Thurin vanquished the Elf Lord, He returned the sword to the center of Aerynth to his children, the Dwarves, to protect. Honoria proved how valuable her knowledge would be on this journey.
“Well we should get some sleep,” Megildur admitted after many hours of tales from their newfound Bard. “Tomorrow we will begin our quest for Fort Irsadeng.”
Honoria declared with conviction, “I am sure my friend there can help us. She joined my side for many quests, before settling in one safehold.”
“That would be a welcomed sight, a safehold that is not trying to kill us for once,” Gaal retorted. Megildur laughed since the last few safeholds they entered did end with fighting, although Megildur started the fight in Aelarnost.
“Good night all,” Megildur said before bedding down for the evening. He still longed for a real bed to sleep in, but that would have to wait until he possessed Shadowbane. Honoria and Gaal also would have preferred staying at an inn but knew the journey would be difficult. Nevertheless, for now they all made the best with what they had, as all three of them laid in the dirt around the campfire.
Unfortunately, their peaceful slumber did not last the night. An unfamiliar noise awakened Megildur. He also had an uneasy feeling just before the noise that they were not alone but he thought that was another dream. The noise occurred again and Megildur knew someone, or something, was in the surrounding area. He reached for his sword but did not make it before someone grabbed him from behind. The assailant lifted him soaring into the night sky, twice the height of a normal man. His feet were dangling and he was unable to speak because the assailant had him by the throat and proceeded in choking the life out of him.
An all too familiar voice whispered, “I told you we would meet again, boy!” Megildur could see a pale white arm materialize below his chin and knew this was the Vampire from Thieves’ Den choking him. He could feel her hardened icy hand around his face when she pushed his head back, exposing his neck. She leaned in with her frozen breath blowing on his flesh and pressed her sharp teeth against his neck. All Megildur could do was flail his legs about, but escape was impossible for him.
The Vampire Assassin hissed, “You incompetent fool! You have no chance against me!”
“But I do!” Another voice emanated from behind the Vampire Assassin. Everyone, including the Assassin, turned to see a winged creature materialize behind the Vampire. The creature’s skin had snakelike scales and was bright red, like blood with hair to match. In addition, three horns protruded from its skull. It held a flaming torch and swept the flame near the Vampire’s head, causing the Assassin to drop Megildur. The Aelfborn Lord plummeted to the ground, unharmed. Gaal helped him back to his feet. The bloodsucking Assassin turned to face the winged creature, but withdrew from the torch used against her. The Vampire unsheathed a dagger and thrust the weapon at the flying creature. The winged beast dodged the attack and retaliated by cramming the flaming torch down the throat of the Assassin. The Vampire dropped to the ground and let out an awful noise, as best she could with a torch in her mouth. The creature of the night now lay there, lifeless. At that time, Megildur and Gaal realized Honoria was nowhere in sight.
Megildur screamed out, “Honoria, where are you?” Gaal began to scour the area looking for any sign of her.
“I am here, M’Lord,” the winged creature spoke. Megildur and Gaal froze and stared at the creature in disbelief, which now was descending from the sky. Megildur suddenly recognized the leather armor the creature was wearing was the same as Honoria’s armor, when last he saw her. He looked closely at the creature, but kept his distance. He was still cautious about the creature’s claim. The creature began waiving its arms, casting a spell of transformation into the Human form they knew as Honoria. She timidly glanced at both of them.
Shadowbane: Age of Aelfborn Page 13