The night of the party provides a number of surprises. The king’s son, Prince Lorring, proves an excellent dancer. He and Dorla are still dancing after most of the guests have left. In fact, the members of the royal family are about the only ones other than Dorla who demonstrate any skill at dance. Dorla revels in being the center of attention. As her prince glides her across the floor, she keeps asking herself when has he grown so tall and where did his pimples go. The banquet is magnificent by local standards. The guest gorged themselves on wichetty grubs that Dorla served deep fried and marinated in a thyme sauce. The duke rarely invites his liege nobles to the castle, and none of his guests have ever seen such a variety of dishes. The king compliments Dorla on the gourmet touch her herbal embellishments add to the traditional dishes. The evening cements in the minds of the royal family that Dorla is the ideal choice for the kingdom’s next queen.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening comes when Myrel enters the banquet hall and is introduced to the other guests. The strikingly tall and graceful cross-breed, dressed in a simple, white gown that hangs loosely on her torso, turns heads and induces whispers. Myrel has arranged her hair atop her head and looks quite regal. At Myrel’s request the master of ceremonies introduces her as, “Myrel, daughter of Queen Meriem of House Dragon and Krage Oregile the 59th Thaumaturgist of the Septantrak.” Farg chokes on the wine he is drinking. He knows Dorla has made a friend, but no one said the friend is Trak’s sister. He didn’t even know Trak has a sister. The royal family is surprised to see Myrel, whom they believed was still in the temple. They had no idea the girl was on the island. Dorla is pleased by all the attention Myrel receives. She and Myrel have become such good friends that she has stop thinking about Myrel’s mysterious identity. Duke Amin is apoplectic. “What possessed Krage’s daughter to reveal her identity, and here of all places?”
Myrel is tired of hiding. In two days she is going back to the capital, and she is going as herself. It isn’t until much later that Myrel realizes her boldness places her mother in danger, if word of her existence reaches King Red’s ears.
***
Duke Amin has arranged for a small armada of boats to ferry the travelers to the mainland, a process that is carried out in stages and requires two days to accomplish. The duke brings most of his servants and two hundred soldiers who, besides guarding the king, serve as porters. It amuses Myrel to see how many servants and soldiers are needed to transport the royal family.
Myrel shares a tent with her grandmother. Meg wants to walk to the capital, but her pace is so slow she is forced to ride in a litter. On the road, Prince Lorring never leaves Dorla’s side. Walking by herself, Myrel is able to recapture some of the liberating feelings she experienced on the Razor’s Back two years prior. When the party passes Dragon’s Belly, Myrel is reminded of her mother, whom she hasn’t seen nor heard from since Melkerei delivered her to King Red.
Myrel has no intention of remaining long in the capital. She will not be comfortable in the temple. Her father would help her if she knew where he was, but he has disappeared once again. She imagines she will accompany her grandmother on her quest to find her father and eventually return to the Isle of Uisgebeatha. She hopes the search for Krage will prove adventurous.
Hogarth, the king’s master-at-arms, goes ahead and prepares the palace for the royal family. When the king arrives, everything is back in its accustomed place. Myrel and Meg are given a room in the palace, but as soon as they settle their belongings, Meg proceeds to the Septantrak. Myrel accompanies her as she heads directly to Alrik’s administrative offices.
“Welcome, Debrah Megai, High Priestess of the Septantrak,” Alrik says, as the ancient goblin enters the chamber. “It is good to see your Holiness and Princess Myrel are well. I have worried for you both. How may I serve you?” Myrel doubts Alrik’s sincerity; she is convinced that Alrik is one of Lord Lizardthroat’s lackeys and her father’s enemy.
“Greetings, Alrik Redeyes, Keeper of the Septantrak. I am searching for my son. What can you tell me of his whereabouts?” Meg sounded like she was the one in charge. Myrel raises her eyebrows and regards her grandmother. She wonders where did my grandmother’s folksy accent go?
“Since Krage stirred up the city two years ago when he rescued the royal family, I have had contact with him only once. A year ago, sitting where I am now, I heard his voice warning the temple’s occupants to flee to safety. I remember the Thaumaturgist’s voice sounded far away. I have not heard from him since.”
Meg reasons, “He must have been deep in the mountain. That would explain both why his voice sounded distant and why he knew of the pending attack. He is not dead; therefore, he must still be so deep in the earth I can’t communicate with him. He may be a captive of the subterraneans or even of Tironock himself. Please supply me with provisions for a two-week trip. I intend to enter the Underworld and find him.”
Myrel knows better than to talk Meg out of her scheme. “I’ll come with you,” she declares. The High Priestess tells Myrel there is no need for her to go, but Myrel points out that her grandmother is frail and will need assistance.
Alrik offers to send armed guards. Meg dismisses the suggestion. “There may be ten thousand wraiths between here and Krage; a few soldiers will be of no help. Secrecy and the Spirit are the only weapons that can help me.” In the end, it is decided that all three of them would go.
Myrel is surprised that Alrik has volunteered. Why would he want to risk himself to save Krage? Hadn’t he plotted with Lord Lizardthroat to have her father killed?
Alrik leads the trio into the caverns beneath the temple. They travel by secret passages since Lord Lizardthroat ordered the main passage sealed, a precaution against a repeat wraith assault on the temple. The caverns are deserted. The Blue Daggers have abandoned the caverns and sealed the rear entrance to the mountain. The rescuers rest on the ledge where Trak stared into the swirling lava and had a brief encounter with the evil presence nearly three years before. Meg attempts to project her spirit in an effort to contact Krage. She cannot sense her son, but she does catch a whiff of the evil that exists below. Meg recognizes the danger. If she is able to sense Tironock, the evil one can sense her and know she is coming. She breaks contact immediately.
Alrik knows the tunnels and negotiates the maze until he brings the trio to the steps that lead to the underground ruins of Ardonbrae. They extinguish their lamps and enter the city by the glow of the lava flowing on the far side of the cavern. As a precaution, they seek a vantage point where they rest and observe the city for signs of wraiths. The city is deserted. When they have eaten a little, the trio moves in the dim shadows to the far edge of the city. They descend the path into the chasm.
They tread the worn steps that except for Krage no surface goblins has walked for millennia. At first, the trail stays in sight of the orange lava that lights their journey. Before they reach the flowing magma, the path deviates into a tunnel cut into the wall of the chasm. Myrel generates a blue glow to illuminate their descent. She wants to spare her grandmother’s strength. The crudely cut tunnel descends for leagues. There is nothing to look at but the rough rock walls. They encounter no side passages. The experience is overwhelmingly claustrophobic.
They smell the white goblin hive long before they reach it. The odor wafts up the tunnel from a cavern below. Myrel comments, “The stench of ten thousand goblins is a sensation I will not soon forget.” They reach a cavern where there is sufficient orange glow to see the source of the stench. They stand at the edge of a large underground plantation, consisting of acres of goblin manure spread across the bottom of a huge cavern. White mushrooms dot the surface and mealworms teem in the muck. They observe workers slogging through the manure, gathering edibles.
Alrik hides the trio in a deep fissure on the edge of the compost heap. Myrel hears a faint humming sound and looks up to see the roof of the cavern honeycombed with passages. They are below an enormous hive, a giant goblin nest. It is not hard to understand
why goblins call termites their brothers. Myrel sees columns of goblin workers trudging single file through the passages; each worker carries a bundle and seems intent on reaching his destination. When two columns approach from opposite directions, one column bunches in a side bay and lets the other pass. At the far end of the cavern, workers are building a staircase that ascends the wall of the cavern to connect two passages. The activity is intense. Somewhere in the hive she hopes to find her father, but how can the rescuers navigate the maze undetected? She holds her breath while a troop of white wraiths marches by.
The trio lingers in the fissure discussing what they should do. Meg says she is reluctant to use her gift to locate Krage. “If I give away our position, we will certainly be captured and never leave this place.” Alrik suggests an alternate plan. Myrel watches as he stripped off his clothing, revealing his body tattoos. He uses ink he brought to paint black designs on his face. He says the patterns signal his status as a high ranking officer.
Myrel notes his resemblance to a wraith is uncanny. Then it strikes her. Alrik not only looks like a wraith; he is, without a doubt, a white goblin. How had a wraith become a High Priest in the Septantrak, Myrel wonders?
“I will enter the city and learn what I can. I may be gone a few days,” Alrik says as he departs.
While they wait, Myrel asks Meg questions. “Was Krage’s father the 58th Thaumaturgist?”
“No. I was. The title is usually passed from father to son, but when my father died without producing a male heir, I inherited the title and for twenty years served as the Thaumaturgist until Krage came of age. It was the happiest day of my life when I could at last leave the temple and begin my personal quest,” Meg reveals.
“Alrik arrived at the temple while I was still an Initiate,” Meg explains. “He was found as a boy wandering around in the caverns and refused to return to the Underworld. He claimed it was his destiny to live on the surface, so he was brought to the temple where he proved to be a good student and dedicated temple worker. When it was discovered he possessed an above average ability to summon and control power, he was groomed for the priesthood. Alrik was Krage’s friend during his Initiate Training. They have always gotten along well, and when Krage decided to hide on the Isle of Uisgebeatha, he left Alrik in charge of the temple. Most people see Alrik’s white skin and red eyes and conclude he is an albino, which of course he is, but so are all the goblins that inhabit the Underworld.”
Myrel finds it disconcerting to sit below a goblin hive leagues deep in the earth. It is more unnerving than her time in the catacombs or the city prison. She has too much time to think. Even if Alrik locates Krage, how can they hope to free him and escape? Myrel looks at Meg, who sits quietly dozing against the rock wall; she seems as calm as she does in her cave.
It is two days before Alrik returns and announces, “I found Krage. He is chained to a wall in the Hall of the Queen Mothers. I didn’t get close to him, but he recognized me immediately and does not seem the worse for his captivity.”
Myrel asks, “Did your disguise enable you to pass easily through the hive?”
Alrik replies, “As you probably guess, it is more than a disguise. In donning the marks of a commander, I assume my inherited status in the hive. It is the only role I can assume. The white goblins identify each other as much by smell as by sight. Each goblin in the hive emits an odor that identifies the caste to which he belongs. As a member of the ruling caste, I can travel unopposed.”
“Were you recognized by the Queens?” asks Meg.
“Yes, of course,” answers Alrik. “I occasionally visit the hive, but not in the last year. From the Queens, I learned that Tironock’s power over the hive is growing. As the earth’s magma swells in intensity, the Queens worry that flowing lava will soon enter the hive and drive the white goblins toward the surface. They look to Tironock to keep the magma at bay. As I suspected, it was Tironock who commanded the white goblins to attack the temple. It was as you speculated. Tironock sensed that Krage was somewhere in the ruins of Ardonbrae. By ordering an attack on the temple, he forced Krage to send a message. While Krage sat projecting his warning, Tironock pinpointed his location and directed the white goblins to seize him.”
“Excuse my ignorance, but why did Tironock want the Thaumaturgist captured?” Myrel asks.
Alrik replies impatiently, “It is a pity you didn’t complete your training in the temple. As an Initiate you would have learned of the prophecies of our religion and the role the Thaumaturgist plays in their fulfillment.”
Myrel wants to say, “If I continued my training, it is likely I would now be dead.” Instead she replies, “Perhaps you can give me a brief summary.”
Alrik attempts to explain. “The spirits that occupy all things have a dual nature. They are partly good and partly evil. So it is with the Earth Spirit. In the temple, we worship Shenal Ken, the half of the Earth Spirit that represents the good. She is the mother that created us and nourishes us. But the earth has another aspect that is evil. The white goblins refer to the evil aspect as Tironock Kan. The earth’s two halves war against each other as good and evil do in all things.”
“You make it sound as if the earth is a living creature that has been split into two distinct beings with each having their own will and personality,” Myrel replies.
“Yes,” said Alrik. “It is just as you say. Millennia ago, the two aspects emerged as distinct entities and fought with each other for the allegiance of the earth’s inhabitants. In the end, the Earth Spirit led her favored creations out of the Underworld to the earth’s surface. The exodus occurred in stages. Those who would eventually become men emerged first. For thousands of years, goblins tarried in the underground city of Ardonbrae. Their bodies evolved along a different path from the men on the surface. Three thousand years ago in a time known as the First Sowing, goblins from Ardonbrae emerged and overran the continent. Men were pushed to the periphery, but they have been fighting back ever since. The goblins left behind in the Underworld have fallen steadily under the influence of Tironock. The struggle between good and evil goes on. Fortunes wax and wane. In our time, evil ascends. The ancient prophecies address this ascension.”
“The prophecies are a gift of Shenal Ken. They are not specific. They are intuitive guesses about how the future will unfold. The prophecies are vague about details and subject to multiple interpretations. It has been the role of the Septantrak to understand these prophecies and prepare for the time when Tironock, the evil aspect, will drive tens of thousands of Underworld goblins to the surface and a great war will take place, an event that is referred to as the Second Sowing.”
“The Earth Spirit chose the first Thaumaturgist, and all subsequent Thaumaturgists have been his descendants. They have been given special gifts, and it is through this family that the Earth Spirit speaks. When the Second Sowing arrives, it is the Thaumaturgist who must lead the inhabitants of the surface. It is my belief that Tironock is seeking to destroy Krage because he is the link between Shenal Ken and the surface goblins. For this reason, Tironock had Krage seized and will seize you and the High Priestess if he locates your presence.”
“You are saying if we are captured, there will be no one left to convey Shenal’s voice to the surface people?” asks Myrel.
Alrik looks at Meg and hesitates before saying, “Actually, there would be one other member of the lineage, but I shall speak no more of him.”
“Tell me why you, a white goblin, left the Underworld and entered the Septantrak,” Myrel queries.
“As a boy living in the hive, the Queens told me the ancient tales of the First Sowing. I became curious. I wanted to see for myself the manner of Spore who live on the surface. I didn’t regard them as my enemies, but rather as my lost brothers. I thought they were the lucky ones who had escaped the influence of Tironock. I, too, wanted to bask in the sunlight. I, too, wanted to be free, so I left the hive and climbed the tunnels to the surface.” Alrik did not disclose that he had left the hive at the
direction of the Queen Mothers. The Queens sent Alrik to scout the surface. They were preparing for the day when the Underworld goblins would flee the caverns.
“Were you surprised by what you found on the surface?” asks Myrel. Meg sits quietly. She is amused by how pointedly Myrel directs her questions and how succinctly Alrik summarizes the situation. She is particularly interested to hear Alrik’s reaction to the conditions on the surface.
There is a trace of bitterness in Alrik voice. “My brothers on the surface are preoccupied with inconsequential matters. They endlessly bicker and scheme. They forget we are all part of the same hive. They are easily threatened and fear what they don’t understand. I dread the day of the Second Sowing. I fear terror will fill the hearts of the surface goblins. In their panic they will rend the world apart trying to save themselves.”
“If you live to see the Second Sowing,” interjects Meg, “I hope you find there are some who stand true in their service to the Earth Spirit and their friends.”
Chapter 24
Dragonton: Assassins
Trak stands on top his broch watching the moon reflect off the waves that crash on the rocky shore below. It is late. The light in Lord Ran’s broch has already gone out. Trak is dissatisfied. His daily life has settled into a routine that no longer excites him. It takes all his energy to run Dragonton, and there is no time for anything else.
Except for business dealings with Ran and letters from his mother, he has no social outlets. He experimented with spending evenings in Westhaven taverns, but all he gained from the escapades was a morning-after headache. He met a few cross-breeds, but they were too uneducated and superstitious for Trak to form a bond. He wonders if Myrel is happy with her life in the Septantrak. Perhaps when his five-year contract with Lord Ran is over, he would pay her a visit. It would be good to converse with someone. He might even return to the Isle of Uisgebeatha and befriend Dorla, but in all likelihood, she would by then be married to the king’s pimply-faced son.
Forging the Half-Goblin Sorcerer Page 28