The Merchant and the Menace

by Daniel F McHugh

  “We bear news of attacks perpetrated in our lands and fear an Ulrog offensive is imminent,” said Teeg.

  “My information suggests this as well,” stated Lucyn. “However, I am relying on information gleaned from Zodrian sources. I do not employ assets near the Scythtar.”

  “It’s a subject of much debate between us,” added Corad. “Is this yet another in the long line of skirmishes between the Ulrog and the Zodrian or is there a shift in strategy.”

  “It is obvious that there is a higher authority manipulating the Ulrog horde at this point,” said Ader. “They begin to scheme and plan. Their tactics become more complex and refined. They develop an intricate communications system and use it to attack in unison. It’s apparent that they are being controlled by an extremely intelligent command structure.”

  Corad’s face remained stony and cold. He glared at the old trader and Kael felt the doubt within his mind. Lucyn remained passive and studied Ader. Her musings were unreadable.

  “What says the son of Grannak on this matter?” questioned Lucyn abruptly.

  All in the party remained quiet and still. Kael knew to display any emotion over Lucyn’s knowledge might betray their companion. Lucyn’s eyes turned icy and Kael finally noted anger in the beautiful woman’s expression.

  “I know where this conversation is heading gentlemen! I know what you will eventually ask of Rindor’s wives and mothers!” snapped Lucyn. “Do you honestly believe we will respond to any requests without all of the possible knowledge at our disposal?

  “The lodger at the end of the hall was your companion. His description, or what little was seen of him, is like that of no other man in the kingdom. He was undoubtedly a Keltaran, and the minute information I am able to extract from that wild realm tells me the prince heir to Keltar has been banished. Lord Ader seems to attract this type like moths to a flame. Now answer my question!”

  “My Lady is well informed...” began Teeg. “However, we have not....”

  “He brings news of doom,” broke in Ader grimly.

  Teeg glanced to the old trader and a knowing look passed between them. It was time. The old Elf lightly bowed and allowed the Seraph to step forward and take center stage with the rulers of Rindor.

  “War, Lucyn. Not just the skirmishes that cost Zodra hundreds and thousands of good men's lives while the waters of the Ituan roll peacefully past your island. War! An army of such magnitude amasses on the roof of this world that when it crashes down upon us none will be spared.

  “Your island will be no match for this force. The Ulrog breed, build and prepare for this battle every moment of every day. The Ulrog tear all of the resources of Astel from the earth and build toward this conflagration. They fashion mountains of weapons for mountains of Ulrog.

  “The people of Hrafnu continue to feud bitterly with the Zodrians. However, without them, the Zodrians might have been overrun years ago. By waging their own battle against the Ulrog, they protect the flank of their hated cousins. In the west, Ulrog raiders are held in check and forced into the Northern Mountains by the Keltaran.

  “What are the consequences of a Keltaran shift in this policy? What will happen if the Keltaran decide to retreat to their mountain home and allow the Ulrog to pass through unimpeded? Worse yet, what are the consequences if the Keltaran decide to forsake their Maker and join the forces of Amird and Chaos? These are the questions that Granu son of Grannak put forth to the lords of Luxlor and will put forth to the house of Zodra. The Abbott of the order of Awoi calls for the children of Avra to unite and save this world from the forces of evil.”

  Ader allowed his words to settle upon the rulers of Rindor. Lucyn returned to a passive, contemplative expression, while her husband displayed skepticism. Ader broke the silence.

  “Lord Teeg did perform his task admirably. You are quite an insightful woman, your highness. I come to make a request of you, and you are well aware what it is,” said Ader. “I ask you to form the Spear of Rindor and send it to the aid of Zodra.”

  “What?” exclaimed Corad jumping from his chair. “You must be joking!”

  “No, I’m quite serious,” stated Ader.

  “You expect us to assemble the only protective force this city maintains, and send it off to a foreign war?” gasped Corad. “We would be defenseless!”

  “Would you rather face the enemy with allies at your side, or alone in the coffin these city walls surely would become?” asked Ader.

  Corad turned to his wife and threw his hands in the air.

  “Am I mad? The Elves sneak into our city under cover of darkness, dragging with them a renegade Keltaran prince and this vagabond of a mystic,“ said Corad flipping a finger in Ader’s direction. “And the lot of them demand that we purge our city of its fighting force and leave it naked to the whims of any opposing army!“

  The Rindoran King spun back toward the Seraph.

  “There’s a saying that my family passed down through generations. ‘When Ader knocks on your front door, death slips through the back,’” barked Corad. “I’ll not turn my men over to you to be slaughtered for the Zodrians.”

  “Nonsense!” shouted Ader. “I understand your trepidation. However, the fact remains, the Rindoran Spear is needed and must march north.”

  “They ’must’ and will do nothing of the kind!” shouted Corad. “We enjoy a long history of peace. Rindor was a peaceful fishing community. Peaceful yet well protected. Our founders understood the wicked heart of man. They fashioned this city as a haven from that evil. Envy and conquest drove Zodra in its quest to overrun us. If not for peace and the skillful use of diplomacy, we might still be under siege today. We will not sacrifice Rindorans for a foreign war.”

  “You continue to claim this a foreign war, but if not for the Zodrians, this war would be on your doorstep. You avoided this fight for many years. Generations of Rindorans have been spared while the sons and daughters of Zodra are lost. Tis time to throw your lot onto the table,” demanded Ader.

  Corad looked to his wife once more but she remained seated, offering no counsel. She stared at the old man and assessed the situation. The king spun back toward Ader and shook his head.

  “No. Our treaty with Zodra calls for an immediate member of the royal house to request the type of aid you seek. Macin and I don’t communicate. He is a stubborn old fool. We’ll not expose the kingdom based on the ravings and requests of a magician and his mercenary soldiers,” said Corad.

  “Then I will make the request, uncle,” boomed a voice from the back of the group.

  All eyes turned to focus on Manfir. The Zodrian prince stood tall and folded his arms.

  “What? What is this all about?” blurted Corad.

  Kael watched the smile begin to creep back onto Lucyn’s face.

  “Ah, now the plot truly thickens,” whispered the queen.

  Manfir stood rigid in front of the inspection of his uncle. His dirty, oily hair hung past his shoulders. A grimy, dust stained traveling cloak draped across his shoulder. The beard he grew on the open road obscured his features. Corad walked toward Manfir and slowly circled him.

  “What befalls you, boy?” said the King with disdain. “You look atrocious. I didn’t even recognize you.”

  “This boy becomes a man, and sometimes the tasks a man endures make for a difficult life,” stated Manfir.

  Lucyn rose and approached her nephew. He bowed low and accepted her hand, giving it a tender kiss.

  “Did you know it was him, my dear?” asked a perplexed Corad.

  The queen nodded her assent.

  “Why didn’t you tell me he...” began Corad.

  The queen held up a hand silencing her husband.

  “My dear, look at the man. Look at the life he chooses. He gives up all that he possesses and all that he is in order to follow some cause of the Seraph. The value of this cause I cannot divine, but his passion is true, his belief resolute. He has been gone from us a long time now. It was his choice to divulge himself, not m
ine.”

  Lucyn addressed her nephew.

  “You changed. Is your life that hard?” asked the queen.

  “At times,” replied the warrior.

  “Do you make this request of your uncle with a clear conscience?” asked Lucyn.

  “I do not make a request,” stated Manfir. “I put forth a demand.”

  Lucyn’s eyes narrowed and she glared at Manfir. Her husband turned bright red and the queen rolled her eyes at her nephew.

  “What are you saying, boy?” coughed Corad. “Remember to whom you speak! In this city I am your king and you are my subject. You skulk into this land in the dead of night as a mercenary. Announce your presence to no one. And now that you do, you take on the trappings of a foreign ruler. A Lord and Master, not a loyal, loving nephew. While you stand here before me, you are a subject of this land!”

  “Anywhere I stand, I am a servant of Avra,” said Manfir. “The needs of his people are foremost in my mind. If I must use my position in a foreign land as a means to protect them, so be it.”

  “Avra! Ridiculous!” scoffed Corad. “Why do you make this demand of me? You abandoned Zodra sixteen seasons ago. Word is you fell out of favor with Macin and the people question your courage. Where were you these many years? Some say you run from your duties. You galavant about the world on the heels of this charlatan, performing faithful duty to a Creator who cares naught about you.”

  “ENOUGH!” boomed Ader. “Corad Kingfisher, you are a blasphemer and a nonbeliever! Your ancestors treated me with disdain and contempt, but it will be tolerated no longer. I left your kingdom to its own devices over the centuries because you were protected and on the path of righteousness. You do not believe in our Maker but thankfully do not stray into the net of Amird and the masters of Chaos.

  “You WILL honor the request put before you! The Spear will march north, and I will finally trust you. Send our escort about their business and clear the room of your attendants. I will confide in you as a sign of good faith.”

  Corad reddened and blustered once more, but Lucyn put a gentle hand on his forearm. He looked into her eyes and calmed once more.

  “Information wields more power than any spear, my love,” said Lucyn. “If the Seraph wishes to part with some, it is of little cost to clear the room.”

  Corad nodded.

  “Captain Lintos, return to your duties. Thank you for the expedient exercise of your task this morning,” stated Corad.

  “At your command,” returned the captain and he spun toward his men. “Guard, form rank in the hallway!”

  The escort streamed into the hall, formed rank, and marched toward the exit. Lucyn whispered to several attendants behind her seat. They too exited to the corridor and closed the doors behind them. When all was quiet, Ader addressed the monarchs.

  “Many years ago, Manfir son of Macin left his kingdom. He put aside his worldly possessions, his title, and some might say his duty. He put aside aspirations of glory, dreams of honor, and plans for revenge. He took his life and turned it over to a greater cause. Why?” began Ader. “He answered a calling. I was but the voice of that calling, not the message. Avra called upon him to protect something, something crucial to the fight against evil. Something Chaos fears and hungers to destroy.

  “Events in the world are coalescing. Amird plots his restoration to this realm. He returns backed by the full Chaotic power of the darkness. Millennia passed and the struggle between good and evil crept forward. However, it creeps no longer. It flies. It sprints.

  “We face the destruction of human life on this world. Do not fool yourselves. This war is not meant to last forever. There must be a victor, but you must make the choice to save yourselves. I cannot do it for you. If you do not accept this challenge, surely all mankind will be wiped from the face of this earth.”

  Corad turned and faced his wife. His steely jaw was set and he searched her eyes for the guidance he always found there. Lucyn bowed her head. Her breath stayed regular and steady as a look of serenity shown on her face. Her eyes rose and met those of the Seraph.

  “The signs are there for all to see. I did not want to believe but I knew it was true. A great war approaches and many will be lost. Word from the Eru is dark. Their riders are harassed in the northern marches. They are kept off balance and running. When they try to defend one location, another is set upon. They request assistance. We are silent.

  “Derolian woodsmen give my people reports of Ulrog Hackles massing along the mountains. The woodsmen fight when they are able, but each month the Ulrog numbers increase. Our people complain of a lack of timber from the Derol. We hear the Derolians plight, but we are silent.

  “The cries of my Zodrian cousins are the loudest. Blade and armor return from the North with no man to outfit. The death toll grows greater every month. A generation of young men is being robbed from them. Macin clenches his teeth and fights on. He asks nothing of us, but we know the despair they face, and we are silent.

  “It is time for our silence to be broken!”

  She turned to Corad and took his hands in hers. She bowed down before him and looked up into his eyes.

  “We have been happy lo these many years my husband and my king. I served you loyally and faithfully our entire marriage, as you have do so for me. You are my bastion, my rock. Change is hard and sacrifice even more difficult. It is our time. I have seen it clearly for many years now, but held my tongue. I did not want to lose you.

  “However, Lord Ader is right. We can sit idly by no longer. If we do, we will be the last standing, surrounded in a world of UIrog. We must take up arms and fight at the sides of our brothers and sisters to the north.”

  Corad stared down into her eyes a moment longer. Slowly he pulled her up till she was wrapped in his arms.

  “I would stand toe to toe with the Demon Lord of Chaos to protect you, my love. If you have kept me ignorant of your knowledge, it was out of love for me. If you say it is time, it is time.”

  Corad turned to Ader.

  “We may not see eye to eye on our beliefs, mystic, but you may command my trident at the head of the Rindoran Spear. We will march north at the request of Manfir, son of Macin, heir to the throne of Zodra.”

  The Rindoran King stepped forward and held a hand out to the old trader. Ader enveloped it with his own hands and smiled his assent.

  “Now you must tell me of this secret weapon, this thing that the Lord of Chaos fears so. What weapon is so mighty that it frightens the Master of Fear?” asked Corad.

  Ader turned and faced his troop. He held a steady, calm smile on his face and winked at Kael as he wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him forward.

  “Corad Kingfisher,” said Ader and he turned to the queen. “Queen Lucyn, meet Kael Brelgson, titled prince of Luxlor, heir to the broken throne of Astel, ... and my grandson.”

  “WHAT?” exclaimed Kael.

  CHAPTER 25: REVELATIONS ONE

  Kael sat on a window seat in the ancient towers of Rindor staring through diamond panes of thick leaded glass at the river hundreds of feet below him. Eddies and currents churned and swirled on their way past the rocky outcrops of the river island. Fishing boats, tiny from this distance, moved in and out of these currents searching for schools of pike and the lone, prized Urgron. Clouds drifted past, painting the river and countryside in shadows. Kael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Confusion, shock and anger exhausted him. He wanted a full day of sleep. The weight on his chest grew so heavy. He needed his father.

  After Ader proclaimed him the heir to a kingdom he never heard of, as well as the old man’s grandson, events moved rapidly. Corad and Queen Lucyn intensified their focus on the young man. They fired questions at both Ader and Kael, occasionally shooting disbelieving looks at Manfir. The Zodrian prince stayed stoic as usual. Ader delayed their questions by requesting accommodations in the castle. Attendants were sent to collect their belongings at “The Singing Mermaid”. Teeg and Eidyn were dispatched to track down Granu, the er
rant member of their party, and bring him to the castle as discreetly as possible. Flair and Kael were led from the meeting chamber to a set of rooms high in the castle’s towers. Kael wanted to protest, but was so overwhelmed by these new revelations that he was unable to act. He spent over an hour staring at the river below when there was a knock upon his door.

  Kael wandered over and slowly drew it open. Ader stood in the hallway, hands clasped behind his back rocking on his heels. Kael scowled at the old man.

  “What do you ...?”

  Ader’s right hand shot up, cutting off Kael’s words.

  “You have every right to be angry. You have every right to be upset. You have every right to ask questions,” announced the old man. “But first let me say, all knowledge that was hidden from you was for your own good. Your mother and father hoped for a normal life for you. I tried to fulfill that wish.“

  “They gave me a normal life,” exclaimed Kael. “It wasn’t until you got involved that it turned..... ABSURD!”

  Ader frowned and took on a hurt expression. He struggled with his feelings. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed.

  “In the past hour you were thinking. In that hour, if you reflected on anything I said in the meeting room, one conclusion certainly reared its head,” Ader opened his eyes and smiled at Kael. “If my claim of kinship to you is to be believed, then Brelg and Yanwin are not your true parents.”

  Kael clenched his teeth and glared at the old man.

  “ABSURD .... I say it again, ABSURD!“ shouted Kael. “I don’t possess a clue as to what is going on, but I know who my parents are.”

  “Calm yourself, my boy! I don’t tell you this to hurt you. I fought against this moment your entire life. Do you think it pleases me to shatter your world? I spent years protecting the fiction that is your life. I knew I would expose that fiction one day. Events force my hand. Today is that day.”

  Kael spun and stomped to the window. He looked back down at the rushing waters of the Ituan River and clenched his teeth once more. He folded his arms in front of him, his body rigid with tension. He refused to face the old man. Perhaps Ader would simply go away and with him all of Kael’s troubles.