by Rick Brown
“No!” Came a shout from the door. In walked a priest, shoving Benlok aside. “He is to be kept alive!”
The werewolf’s saliva was dripping down my face as his bared teeth were mere inches from my flesh. With a growl, he stepped off me.
The priest walked around the other werewolves to stand before me. "Get up, Eberon." The priest ordered. Still shaking from the shock of the beast, I slowly picked myself up.
“Do you have it?” The priest asked.
“Have it?” I asked as I got to my feet.
“Alynon’s Tear. Do you have it? Don’t forget, we hold your friends.”
I stared at the priest for some time, before reaching into my shirt and removing the Tear from its pouch. Reaching out, I set it in the priest's outstretched hand.
Gleefully he held up the Tear, The diamond gleaming in the firelight. A cackle escaped his voice as he started to laugh. Suddenly, a look of concern overtook him as his hand began to smoke. He flicked his hand in panic, trying to release the stone that now stuck to him. A sudden burst of fire lit his hand, traveling up his arm as he screamed, running around the room, fire burning away at his flesh. His screams finally stopped as he fell to the floor in a fiery mound. Within a moment the fire burnt out. There was nothing left of the priest but ash. The stone rolled from the ashes, across the room, stopping at my feet.
The werewolves sat on guard as they watched, ready to attack. I slowly bent down and picked up the Tear, placing it back into its pouch. I turned and looked at Benlok, who was staring in shock.
“I have no control over the Tear,” I explained. “That was not my doing.”
Benlok looked from the pile of ash and then back to me. “Amazing. That stone is incredible. Such power.”
I gave him a grin. “Do you want me to hand over the stone?”
His face turned ashen as he thought of it. “No, I think not. Magic is for the priests. Remember, I hold your friends. Just make sure there are no more incidents. For now, I’ll leave you with your new guards.” He stated, quickly turning to leave the room, closing and locking the door behind him.
The beasts moved about the room, laying between myself and the door. The smell in the room was a nasty mixture of wet dog and burnt flesh. Things just became much, much worse.
Chapter 22
(Arthur)
“Is all that clashing really necessary?” I asked Max.
“We’re training an army, Chamberlain. There’s gonna be some clashing,” Max replied sarcastically.
With a sigh, I turned back to the missive from King Kendrick. More Dommerian soldiers were massing along the border. Once again, there was a request for news on King Eberon. That was the question that everyone asked. ‘Where was King Eberon?’ The answer was, ‘How the hells would I know?’
The last information I received about the King was from Lord Waith. Apparently, Ryan negotiated a fine agreement with the new lord. I smiled again at Ryan’s ingenuity. It would benefit the community while paying off for Alsselya in the future. What I enjoyed most was Stiven’s irritation at not being able to take advantage of the young man. Yes, Ryan showed much promise.
I handed the letter to Max, who read the King’s message. “If I had a gold for every request on King Eberon, I’d be a rich man,” He stated as he continued to read. “And there’s more Dommerian soldiers massing at the border, eh?” He moved over to the map. “Right here. Perfect if you’re gonna invade Vaelin. No wonder Kendrick is getting nervous.”
"Do you believe an attack is imminent?" I asked.
“With what they have now? Maybe. Not with any surety of success. One thing Dommeran’s got is people. Too damn many people. Not much skill, but enough in numbers to run us over.” He answered as he rubbed his belly. I noticed he did that often as he thought. If I were ever to play him in cards, now is when I would fold.
“What they haven’t got is skill,” he said as he smiled. Getting up, he walked over to the window where the soldier’s practiced outside. “The Fox Guild has never been better. The new techniques the King’s Guard is teaching our men are outstanding. Even five to one, I’d put money on our men.”
“Don’t they have ten times our number along the border?” I asked worriedly.
“Sure, but I wasn’t counting Kendrick’s people. They are not equal in skill to us, but they got the numbers to hold what Dommeran has marshaled there right now. They keep coming though. Every update from Kendrick increases the Dommerian numbers.”
A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. “Enter!”
One of the cadets opened the door and stepped in. “Sir, the gate guard has a message for you.” He stated as he stepped aside for Sargent Gerred.
"Excuse me, General," The town Sargent of the Guard stated. "There seems to be an army at our gate asking to see an ‘Arthur'. They said he is at the Fox Guild, so I came here."
“Me?” I asked in surprise. “An army is at the town gate asking for me?”
“If you are Arthur, then yes. I’d definitely call it an army,” the Sargent stated as he turned to me. “They are making the townsfolk nervous, so if someone could please tell me what’s going on?”
“I would if I knew,” I explained to the guard. “The only army I am aware of is ours in the yard.” I turned to Max. “General, armies are your specialty. Would you mind coming with me to figure this out?”
"I have to say, Chamberlain, you’ve piqued my curiosity. Let's go take a look at this army," he answered with a smile.
The Fox Guild was near the gate, so it was only a short trip. Walking out the gate, I first saw a small party of men waiting on the road, then I looked to the distance. There sat a force of hundreds, maybe more.
One of the men from the group walked forward. “Are one of you Arthur?” he asked.
“I am, young man. What is the meaning of walking up to Coneer with an army?” I asked him.
“I’m sorry, my Lord. I’m new to this. My name is Herrin Bettir. King Eberon said I should come here to join your army. Told me I could bring anyone that wanted to be a soldier. Everyone here wants to be an Alsselyian Soldier.”
"You talked to King Eberon? Where?" I asked in shock.
“Why, Alsselya. That’s where we came from,” he replied. Seeming confused by the question. “Didn’t ya know he was there?”
"No, I did not. You say King Eberon invited you to join our army?" I asked, still trying to grasp what was happening. It was my understanding Lee was going to Tiber. If he was in Alsselya, he was going the wrong direction.
“He did, my Lord. Me and anyone that would come with me. Pa and I walked here, gathering anyone who wanted to come with us,” he said proudly, pointing to the mass of men in the distance.
“How many did you bring, boy?” Max asked as he stepped forward.
“I’m not good at counting, My Lord,” Herrin answered. “I’ve been told we have two thousand.”
“Two thousand!” Max gasped. “Where the hells am I supposed to keep two thousand more troops?”
“That’s a fine question. Herrin, you said it was you and your father that spoke to the King?” I asked.
“Yes sir,” he quickly answered.
“Please get your father and come with us. You have information that we desperately need.”
“So, you met the King here?” I asked as I pointed at the map.
“Yes Sir,” he answered. “This is where he killed those Dommerian Priests and saved me and pa.”
I drew a mental line between Illiner and the location the King was last seen. Following the line, it connected with Ealinhart. “Is he going to Ealinhart?” I asked.
Max walked up and looked at the map. "Maybe but keep following that line and it goes to Olingard. I bet that's where he's goin'."
“Olingard?” I wondered aloud. “Yes, the sword. He must be going after the sword.”
“Sword? The one that goes with that Tear?” Max asked.
“Yes! They must have gotten the Tear and now are going to retrie
ve the sword!” I said excitedly. “Thank gods that something is going right.”
“I ain’t going to pretend to understand all this magic stuff, but that still doesn’t answer what I’m going to do with two thousand more soldiers. Not that I’m not happy for them, Lad,” Max said to Herrin, “it just ain’t something I was prepared for.”
“Well, we can’t keep them in the town,” I agreed. “It would double the population.
"We need some out of the way estate where we can train these men. And I know just the lady to ask. Lady Itchard. If I recall, she offered to help us ‘beat the hells out of Dommeran' any way she could. Her estate is out of the way. It would be perfect."
“I’ll send someone out to her right away,” Max agreed. “Now, Private Bettir,” he said as he turned to the young man. “Do any of your Alsselyians have any training?”
“No General,” he answered nervously, “but most are trackers, hunters, and farmers. Good outdoors people. Also, we have a number of magicers with us. They were worried about being found by Dommerian priests, so they came with us.”
“Magicers? Those are magic users?” Max asked excitedly. “How many?”
“Just about all those in Alsselya, I bet,” Herrin answered. “Every time I came across one, they knew of others that were anxious to get out.”
“Around one hundred,” his father answered.
“One hundred magic users!” Max shouted in shock. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes sir, I’ve been a hunter all my life. Looking at a group and sizing up their numbers is second nature to me,” he explained.
“If the gods aren’t guiding this, then I don’t know what is,” Max exclaimed as he danced around. “One hundred new magic users? Geddy!” He yelled to the door.
A moment later a young cadet came running into the room. “Get Felps and take him down to that army outside the town. Have him start interviewing any magic users in the group. In fact, tell him to take some of our magic users with him. There’s a bunch to test!” Geddy nodded and quickly ran off to do as instructed.
“How confident are you that this Itchard woman will take us in?” he asked.
“Confident enough to tell you to start sending people now,” I answered with a smile.
The General nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll take the King’s Guard and march them down there myself. We’ll work on making them soldiers while they march.”
Chapter 23
(Brianna)
The lake over the dwarven city was massive. It spread out within the underground cavity as far as the eye could see. When waving a torch over the water, blind cave fish could be seen searching for food. Olingard used gravity-pressured pipes to feed the city below. The dwarves continued to impress. The system they used to supply clean water to the city and sewers for sanitation was the most complex I had seen, and as a sneak, I had plenty of experience with sewers.
Over the last week, there had been a consistent flow of dwarves coming into the lake area. Lillia was right. Given a chance, the dwarves were willing to fight. The information that they brought with them was not that promising. The military leaders of the dwarves had been arrested. Once our army was gathered, there would be no officers to lead it.
Barad and I had spent our time working with the dwarves to organize a resistance force. Barad’s military experience helped us form a rudimentary army that would hopefully be enough to push the Dommerians out of Olingard.
Lillia had been busy greeting and organizing groups as they arrived. Placing dwarves into categories where she believed they would be the most beneficial — the young and healthy into fighting groups, elderly and infirm into support.
Lillia took a break, finding us drilling the fighters on how to work as a unit. Grateful for an excuse, we let them rest while we went with Lillia to find some food.
“Not bad. It’s been only a week, and already you have a respectable army.” Barad complimented.
“Aye. Ya shouldn’t underestimate we dwarves,” she said with a smile. “Dommeran’s been trying to break our spirits, and maybe we wilted a bit, but we never broke.”
“Any leaders?” I asked.
“No,” she admitted. “I was hoping maybe they missed somebody, but it seems Dommeran knew us better than we knew ourselves.”
“I know where one leader is,” I told her.
She stared at me for a moment. “Ya mean Orlik.”
I smiled at her. “I do. He served in many of the battles against Dommeran in the Alsselyian wars. And who better to lead the dwarves than their Prince.”
Lillia sighed. “You’ve spent time with Orlik. What is he like now?”
“He’s a bit broken,” I admitted. “I only know a little about when he left the dwarves, but I know it tore him apart. He loves his people, and I think leaving them filled him with regret. Regret that led him to a life of solitude in our world. I think he really needs a chance to help them again.”
"I shall consider that as I work out what to do," Lillia agreed.
“What are the priorities?” Barad asked.
“Priorities?” Lillia asked.
“If we are going to retake Olingard, we’ll need a plan. What areas must be retaken first? For instance, we’ll need to retake the Royal Suite. The King must be protected. We’ll need Lee, preferable with his sword. Lee’s hands will be tied if the others are in danger, so we’ll need to rescue the others. Once Orlik is freed, he can be the figurehead that unites the dwarves.”
"I see…" Lillia said as she sat up, considering her response. "Your right, the King must be protected. Eberon's sword is kept in the King's Suite along with the kingdom's other valuables. Orlik and your friends have been taken to Olingard's prison. I understand there is only a minimal guard. King Eberon is being kept in the Dommerian Embassy. He shall be the hardest to reach."
“Do they have dwarven servants?” I asked.
“Yes, we deliver the food,” Lillia answered.
“Maybe someone can get a message to Lee. If he knows everyone is safe, he can probably break out himself.”
“I’ll find someone working for the embassy, we’ll bring them here for questioning,” Lillia agreed. “As for King Fenlek, I have someone with him that I trust. I’ll ask her if she can retrieve the sword.”
“That’s a lot of trust, are you sure?” I asked.
"Aye," she winked. "It be me sister."
“Werewolves?” I asked incredulously.
“Aye, Ma’am,” the serving girl from the embassy answered. “His room be filled with them. Horrible beasts. The Dommerians all be afraid of ‘em, so we have to deliver his cart of food.”
“I didn’t know they still existed,” Lillia admitted. “They’ve not be seen since they attacked Alsselya’s royal family.”
“Oh, they’ve been seen,” Barad moaned. “Even Lee can’t fight off a room full of werewolves.”
“Not without help,” I agreed.
“Who do you think can help him fight off a pack of werewolves?” Barad asked.
“Not who, what,” I said with a smile.
“Ok, I’m not following this,” he admitted.
“The dwarves are delivering his food, so why not hide the sword in the cart,” I asked.
Barad started pacing as he thought. “So, Lillia’s sister sneaks out the sword, which we then have smuggled into Lee’s room. Simultaneously, we’ll need to capture the prison, so that Lee is free to fight. That’s a lot of things that have to go right.”
“How is that different than anything else we’ve done over the last year?” I pointed out.
Barad nodded. “At least this time we’re the ones choosing the next step,” he agreed.
“What shape are our soldiers in?” Lillia asked.
“Enough to take a token force guarding the prison,” Barad answered with a shrug. “As far as taking back Olingard? It may only be a small force of Dommerians here right now, but these are untrained people. We are going to need Lee.”
; I sat cramped in the bottom shelf of the food cart as Miellin wheeled the King’s breakfast down the servant’s hall. It took some convincing for Miellin to attempt such a risky endeavor. The plan was if anything went wrong, I would protect both her and the King. I shifted slightly as one of my daggers was jammed uncomfortably in my side. How far is it to the King’s chambers?
As the thought was going through my head, the cart stopped suddenly, jarring me almost out the front. “Let me pass, I have the King’s breakfast,” Miellin ordered.
“You mean the prisoner?” Someone with a human accent spoke. “Why should the prisoner be so well fed while his guards suffer?” My hand reached down and quietly tighten on one of my daggers. Surely this plan wasn’t going sideways this quickly.
“I don’t know,” Miellin replied. “The priests said he was to be well fed. Should I just tell them you took it instead.”
There was a silence that seemed to stretch forever. "All, right. No need for threats. Probably poisoned anyway," the guard finally responded.
The cart jolted again as I was wheeled into the room. I could hear voices from inside. Miellin said the King was alone most of the time, but someone was definitely with him.
“Miellin,” called out a weakened voice. “I am having a private discussion with Ambassador Benlok. Please wait in my study until I call you.”
“Yes Sire,” Miellin said as she started to turn the cart.
“Leave the cart,” came another voice. “I haven’t eaten yet. I’m sure your King won’t mind sharing.”
There was a long pause in the air. "Go on girl. You heard your King, wait in the study." With that, I heard Miellin scurry away and a door shut.
“Your nurse seems nervous,” the man’s voice said.
“I don’t know why, Benlok. Could it be because her home has been invaded?” The King replied.
“The fall of Olingard was inevitable, and you know it,” Benlok replied. “And let’s keep the discussion civil. I fear I lost my other companion.”
“What?” the King stated, alarmed. “Did something befall King Eberon.”