The Dread King: Book One of The Larken Chronicles

by R. L. Poston

  Although Larkin’s mind felt clean, his body felt drained. As, his Blade slowly subsided to its normal state, Larken slumped, keeping himself off the floor only by clutching to his Blade. Jaris went first to Dirkston and saw that, while he was unconscious, he still was breathing. Jaris then helped Larken back to his seat. “Well, that was interesting,” Jaris said. “I take it that you two don’t like each other. Are you all right?”

  When Larken indicated that he would be OK, Jaris called for Amanda and Gahen. Both arrived quickly. Amanda bent over Dirkston for a long while. Then, straightening, she said, “His shields are completely gone, and most of his mind with them. I have Healed him as completely as I can, but he’ll never be the same again. Enough of his memories remain, however, to sicken me. If he were whole, we would hang him on the spot. He’s in league with a power so vile that I feel dirty simply because I touched him.”

  With that, Amanda had the guards take Dirkston to the Healer Hall with special instructions that he was to be placed in chains with a constant guard even if he did stay unconscious. After that had been done, she, Jaris, Gahen, and Larken remained in the room. “Do you need Healing, Larken?” she asked.

  “Probably,” said Larken, who was still dazed. “But tell me first what you found, and,” he said, looking at his Blade rather sheepishly, “I may need some help getting my Blade out of your floor, sir.”

  As Larken later explained to Melona, they eventually had to call in stone masons to tear up Jaris’ floor to get his Blade out. By nightfall, Larken’s status as a legend had been renewed, and the castle was buzzing with anger and fear as word of Dirkston’s betrayal leaked out.

  “So,” said Melona, “the Dread King is alive and has spies here.”

  “Unfortunately,” said Larken. “That’s undeniable judging from what Amanda got from Dirkston’s mind, and Dirkston has been in contact with him for some time. Dirkston knew of the desert invasion all along. He hoped to delay our forces until it was too late. But now we know.”

  “Yeah,” said Melona with fear in her eyes. “Now we know that the Dread Wars are happening again.”

  Larken’s answer was only to hug her. He didn’t even have words to calm his own fears.

  * * * * *

  The next morning at Jaris’ staff meeting, Jaris informed them that the High Council had unanimously voted to put all forces on a war-time status and to send all available forces to the desert as quickly as possible. About two-thirds of the Warders at the castle would go. For the Warders who would remain at the castle, this would mean a tripling of responsibilities. The training schedule of new recruits would be dramatically shortened, and anyone with prior experience would be called back from retirement.

  “The Council will also make its formal apology to you this afternoon, Larken,” Jaris said. “They feel rather sheepish for mistrusting you while one of their own was a traitor and spy.

  “Now for the bad news,” Jaris said. No one laughed. “We believe that we will be fighting the Dread King and his forces. Our scholars have been up all night, trying to use all that they know of the Dread Wars to put together a battle plan. They believe that Shropanshire is the first target. That may seem counter to good military tactics, they believe that the Dread King believes he is invincible. They think that he will attack Shropanshire first, due to Warder Larkin’s presence here, attacking Norland next, if he conquers Shropanshire. Our scholars don’t believe that Grealand will a threat to him, and they’re probably right. Therefore, our best hope seems to be is stopping him in the Seagrave.”

  “Sir?” interrupted Gahen. “How does he intend to cross the Sarkan Mountains? And, better yet, how do we intend to cross?”

  “There is a pass,” Larken said, speaking from the knowledge gained in the Elven meld. “There’s no road, and the ground is rocky, but a road could be built quickly. The pass lies just south of where the road from here meets Travelers’ Road.”

  “That’s correct,” said Jaris. “We and the Elves have begun talking about clearing the pass to allow us to use it. There is another pass in Grealand, south of the mountains, and, of course, the northern approach from the sea in Norland. But the movement that our Elven friends have spotted seems to be directed at the Sarkan Pass, as we have labeled it.

  Both Norland and Grealand have agreed to send reinforcements to us. I don’t know yet how many of their forces will come, but we’ll all rendezvous just east of the Sarkan Pass”

  “Why does the Dread King think he is invincible?” asked Gahen.

  “Healers,” said Jaris, then paused because of some shocked exclamations. “Our scholars believe that in the Dread Wars he linked the Healers mind-reading Talents with Blade. That allowed them to strike directly at the mind, numbing if not destroying it. Evidently, it was almost unstoppable in the Dread Wars. It almost meant our total defeat. The Healers have tried in the past to duplicate it, but they have never been able to. Unfortunately, since they can’t duplicate it, they can’t learn how to stop it.”

  “Why can’t they duplicate it?” asked one of the Warders.

  “Because the Healers have taken an oath to heal, not to destroy,” Jaris answered. “Those oaths will not let them use their Talents to injure. That means that they can’t even experiment with anything that would hurt another.”

  “Great,” muttered the Warder. “I don’t suppose the Dread forces mind hurting others.”

  “Why haven’t we heard of this before?” asked Gahen.

  “Information about it was intentionally suppressed.” Answered Jaris. “Would you want every Talented kid trying to duplicate that weapon for kicks?”

  “Hmm…I see your pointed,” said Gahen.

  Even with Jaris keeping discussions short, the staff meeting lasted most of the morning. Plans that sounded simple at a high level became excruciatingly complex when the details were added. Jaris would lead the desert forces himself with Gahen as his sub-commander. Jaris and Larken would start that afternoon for the Sarkan Mountains, where they would meet with the Elves and representatives from Norland and Grealand. Gahen would lead the cavalry the following day. The main body of their forces would follow the next day, led by Tragen.

  Larken and Jaris expected to be at the mountains in four days of hard riding with frequent changes of mounts. Gahen expected to take seven days with most of the mounted Warders and cavalry. The rest of the army would follow on foot and would take two weeks to reach the pass. That timetable would give them adequate time to prepare the pass and to set up their initial lines of defense in the desert. Due to the slow pace of their enemies across the desert, they expected to have everything ready one week before the actual conflict started. Many of the veteran Warders did not believe that they would have that week to spare. They had seen too many campaigns to believe that things would ever work as planned.

  Larken expected a tearful good-bye from Melona and, thus, was surprised by her not-so-tearful farewell. He was even more surprised when she told him that she would be coming with the Warders under Gahen’s command. Larken recovered just enough presence of mind to bite off words of surprise. That, he figured, would avoid at least one unnecessary argument.

  Jaris, Larken, Amanda, and Dionne left in the midafternoon. They carried no supplies or extra mounts. Messages had been sent ahead by the Healers’ network, and they expected fresh mounts, food, and lodging at each stop. They planned to push their horses to the limit, knowing that a single day might determine the difference between defeat or victory. With the combination of Amanda’s, Dionne’s, and Larken’s thought-sending Talents and the Healers’ communication network, they would not be out of touch for any lengthy periods.

  King Andreas had given them the extraordinary instruction to ignore all calls for assistance on their way to the Sarkan Pass. His final words to them disturbed Larken more than he showed. “You will be going to represent Shropanshire in a combined military maneuver. I expect you to cooperate fully with the integration of all our forces. I also expect you to be guided
by your best judgment. If there is a conflict between those, I expect you to follow the latter. I don’t believe that Dirkston was the sole traitor.”

  Later in the afternoon, Larken found an opportunity to talk privately to Jaris as they traveled. “What did King Andreas mean?” asked Larken. “Is there something I should know that I don’t?”

  “Probably,” said Jaris. “Let me ask you this: Do you find it strange that a small invasion force could enter Norland and win every battle they fought?”

  “Well, yes. I guess I do,” answered Larken.

  “Then you understand the king’s statement. You know, it’s unfortunate that you ranked as a sub-commander so early in your career. You have missed all the barracks second-guessing of commanders. You’ve also missed the chance to build your own network for rumors and gossip. The common soldier in Shropanshire is furious with the fiasco in Norland, and he doesn’t blame the rank and file of Norland’s army. That should tell you enough.”

  * * * * *

  After four days of hard traveling, their party came to the Sarkan Pass. They were met there by two of the Wayland Warders who were supervising a large party of workers clearing the pass. The Wayland Warders told them that the other Wayland Warders had gone on ahead to set up a temporary camp at the other end of the pass.

  Larken asked about the Elves and was informed that they appeared and disappeared at irregular intervals but hadn’t spoken to any of the Warders. Jaris, Larken, and the Healers bypassed the workers and began to pick their way through the pass. Larken served as the guide, benefiting from the knowledge he had gained in the meld. As they traveled, Larken opened his mind in hopes of finding what the Elves were doing but perceived nothing of them. He supposed that the Elves were keeping especially quiet to avoid the Healers.

  Even with Larken’s guidance, the progress of the party was slow. They camped that night only a little way into the pass. Larken had made several calls, trying to initiate contact with the Elves, to no avail. He was surprised, therefore, when he received a sending from Glenera shortly after they had made camp. Following Glenera’s guidance, Larken found a small party of Elves waiting for him about a mile from camp. From his previous experience, Larken identified most of them, but he knew Glenera best.

  The Elves quickly brought Larken up to date on their plans. They confessed that they had indeed avoided Larken’s party because of the presence of the Healers. They wanted to meet with Jaris at noon on the day after tomorrow. That would give Larken’s party enough time to reach the temporary Warders’ camp at the far end of the pass. They were aware of the scouting activity of the Warders already at the pass’s end and could offer their own knowledge of the desert to the Warders.

  The Elves said that the Dread King’s forces were about eighteen days away from the end of the pass if they kept to their present speed. “That fits well with our plans,” Larken sent. “The main body of our forces will be there in two weeks. It should take at least two more days for the Dark One’s men to prepare for battle, so we should gain some more time. What word from the Norland and Grealand forces?”

  “Warders from Grealand will be here in three days, with more men in two weeks. The Norland forces are slower. There have been delays.” Along with this came a sense of suspicion over the delays.

  “Treachery?” Larken sent.

  “We cannot tell. It is a possibility. It would be safer to assume so.”

  Larken returned to his party and passed on the news and the Elven suspicions to Jaris and Amanda.

  “They’re probably correct,” said Amanda after hearing Larken’s report.

  “Amanda, can we use your Healer network to figure out who’s behind this slowdown?” asked Jaris.

  “We’ve been trying to crack that problem for years, but we can try again. It’s not for lack of trying that we don’t know the source of the Norland conspiracy—and we concluded long ago that there is a conspiracy.”

  “What’s the conspiracy about?” asked Larken. “I mean, what are they trying to do? It’s hard to believe that there’s been a conspiracy with the Dread King without anyone noticing.”

  “Actually, that question is a good one,” answered Amanda. “The three kingdoms have been at peace for centuries now. However, there probably has been a conspiracy for years. How we could have missed something like that is hard to explain.”

  “Explainable or not, we still are faced with an invasion,” summarized Jaris.

  * * * * *

  Late the next day, Larken’s party crested the highest point of the pass and began their descent. The change in the flora was remarkable. On the Shropanshire side, the slopes were forested with evergreens and filled with bird life. On the Seagrave side, the slopes had been mostly bare rock with only a few struggling plants. Now, however, they were met with a steady rain that made their way down the rocky pass slippery. Newly emergent grasses and wildflowers were evident everywhere.

  The rain finally stopped at dusk, but the mud continued to impede their way. They pushed on late into the night, guided by Larken’s meld knowledge of the pass. The next day they arose in a light rain and continued on their way. Travel down the far slope of the pass was difficult for the horses due to the slippery, rain-soaked ground.

  Larken’s stomach was rebelling at the traveling rations they had been eating. He found that he could only choke down so much of the hard bread, cheese, and jerky at one time. Consequently, he was constantly hungry. He also was tired of the stumbling pace of his horse. His frustration was making him edgy and abrupt in his comments to the others.

  When they stopped to rest the horses at midafternoon, Jaris approached him and said, “If you have a moment, let me discuss a matter with you in private.”

  Amanda and Dionne raised their eyebrows, but did not question Jaris as he led Larken away. Jaris stopped in the shelter of an overhang out of eyesight of the rest of the party. Turning to Larken, he said, “Larken, I’m going to say something unpleasant. I don’t want to hear your response. I just want to have you think about it.

  “Larken, you’re a sub-commander of Shropanshire’s army. In a few days, you’ll be surrounded by Warders and infantry who will be looking to you for leadership, hope, and inspiration. I don’t think that Amanda or Dionne have noticed yet, but you’re acting like a drowned puppy instead of a leader. Part of a leader’s responsibility is to ensure the morale of the troops. You may have noticed that I take that very seriously. I practice that just as hard as I practice warfare because it is a part of warfare. But it takes more than one leader to ensure morale. I need you to make every effort to be a leader in this.”

  With that, Jaris walked away, leaving Larken feeling much like a young toddler who had just been given a stern lecture. “You know you deserved that,” he mumbled to himself.

  Early in the afternoon, they exited the pass. Before them spread what should have been a dry, lifeless region. Instead, they saw a profusion of grasses, wildflowers, insects and birds. “How long has this rain been going on?” asked Dionne in amazement.

  “Almost two weeks now,” answered Amanda. “It doesn’t take the desert long to bloom with the addition of a little water. The desert isn’t really dead; it’s just waiting for water.”

  The greetings from the other Warders were warm and hearty despite the situation. The party had just begun to settle into camp when Eleas approached the camp and said to Larken, “If you are ready, we can meet with you now.”

  Larken, who could sense the tension and discomfort in the Elf, answered, “We are ready. We will bring three, including myself. Where should we meet you?”

  “Go south along the desert’s edge for one mile,” answered Eleas. “We will meet you there.” Abruptly Eleas turned and strode off.

  “Well,” exclaimed Dionne, “he’s not very talkative, is he?”

  Amanda chuckled at Dionne’s remark. “Actually, that’s a pretty good speech for an Elf. What did you make of that, Larken?”

  Larken was caught between seeing the hu
mor of the situation and feeling sympathetic to Eleas. “Considering how uncomfortable Elves feel around Healers, I would say that they’re very close to being panicked. They normally wait to assess the situation before they start talking. I expected them not to approach me until I left camp so that they wouldn’t have to be around any Healers. I think something bad is up.”

  Leaving Dionne in camp, Jaris, Amanda, and Larken followed Eleas’ directions to find Algar, Eleas, and Glenera waiting for them in a circle of stones near the desert’s edge. The ground within the circle had obviously been cleared for the meeting, and short logs had been brought in for seats. A large pot of stew was suspended over a small fire burning in the center of the clearing. Algar gestured for them to sit, and wordlessly served them small bowls of stew. Glenera followed with cups of water.

  Larken said softly to Jaris and Amanda, “Our eating of this meal bonds us into their extended family while we are within this circle. Eat slowly, don’t look around or at them—that shows distrust—and wait for them to begin talking.”

  Jaris and Amanda followed Larken’s lead. When they had finished eating, Algar retrieved the bowls and washed them with sand. Glenera refilled their cups with water. Then Algar seated himself and said, “It is good that you have come swiftly. Last night we learned that the Dark One has sent out a small group from the main force. They move fast. It will reach this pass in six days. Our scouts say that there are about three hundred in the group. We do not know the purpose of this action.”

  Larken was stunned. He saw the whole defense plan being swept away. Jaris, however, did not seem concerned. “Who makes up the group, and what kind of weapons do they carry?”