Shadow of the Arisen: An Epic Dark Fantasy Novel (Lands of Wanderlust Book 1)

by Paul Yoder

  “Wow,” Fin let out, the two taking in a view of vegetation that was so luscious and vibrant that it seemed impossible that such a sight in the desert could even exist.

  “Yes, this is quite an oddity. I recognize some of these plants, and some only thrive in cooler climates. That such a span of botanical variation is not just surviving, but thriving here alone would be incredible, let alone the fact that the city has been under siege for a year now and this garden would have been a year without gardeners,” Jadu said, his head darting around excitedly as he spoke.

  “Something’s off about this garden size wise,” Fin suspiciously said, trying to judge the length and width of the garden as he spoke.

  “The tower grounds from outside the gates looked much smaller than this.”

  Jadu quickly looked around to assess Fin’s claim, agreeing by nodding his head and adding, “Looks like there’s roughly twice the space than what appears to those from the outside—Oh! Look up!”

  Fin, momentarily worried at Jadu’s urgent tone, was quick to follow the praven’s pointing finger heavenward to the span of the tower to find that the once three-hundred-foot tower, now appeared to be closer to six hundred foot tall.

  “Impressive…” Fin softly spoke, taking in the massive structure.

  “It’s twice as tall as it appeared from outside the gate!” Jadu added.

  “That means twice as much to find,” Fin said with a smile and a sideways glance.

  “Very true!” Jadu chirped, then skipped ahead of Fin towards the front door, eager to begin his hunt for secret knowledge that he suspected the tower was brimming with.

  21

  Undone In The Dark

  Gripping Bede’s outstretched hand, Nomad helped Bede up over the balcony’s stone railing overlooking what they believed to be the king’s courtyard.

  There had been regular activity in the area and it had taken them a few hours just to make it over into the next district. After scoping the main palace’s courtyard out for thirty minutes, they had made their move to scale the twenty-foot wall at the first sign of no one in the court.

  Just as Bede dropped over the railing, the two could hear the distinct sound of marching boots enter the court through the main gate headed towards the large stone palace.

  Lying flat on their backs, hoping the small lip of the base of the railing adequately blocked them from the view of the approaching regiment, Nomad and Bede waited for the troops to pass, listening for the drudged footfall of the soldiers march off out of hearing.

  Slinking to their feet, Nomad led Bede up past a fifteen foot statue to the building’s wall, sneaking a look in through the windowed doorway.

  The room was dark, and it took a few moments for Nomad to make out that the room was a conference room of some fashion. A massive marble, mahogany table stretched the majority of the room. Chairs, overturned and scattered, dotted its borders. He could also see that the room led into a great hallway, which was also dark—so much so that he couldn’t determine how deep or long the hallway actually was.

  Taking a moment to speak with Bede while they had the liberty to do so without the risk of being heard, Nomad cupped a hand to Bede’s ear and whispered, “There has been enough traffic coming and going from this building that there has got to be something or someone of note inside.

  “Once inside, whisper only if absolutely necessary, or if we are certain we are out of perception of any hostile ears.

  “Also, we do not exactly know much about how these things’ senses function, if they smell, hear, see, or have a spiritual attunement to detect the living. We stay out of sight, sound, and do our best to keep our distance from any threats we come across, and if we must, we take threats that get too close down fast and silent.

  “Once we locate high-value targets, we will camp and obtain as much information as we can before heading out back to base camp. Sound like a plan?”

  Bede nodded, ready to follow Nomad’s lead. Nomad turned and twisted the door handle and slowly pressed on the windowed door leading into the conference room.

  The door opened, to Nomad’s relief. Without Fin’s lock-picking tools or expertise with them, his only other option was to smash a window pane to unlock the door from the other side, and that would have been a horrible way to begin their stealth mission.

  The door opened without trouble or sound and the two entered the room silently before closing the door behind them.

  Just as the door closed, they could hear another door in the hallway open, a few pairs of brisk footsteps sounding off down the hall on their way towards the conference room Nomad and Bede were hiding in.

  Urgently motioning for Bede to follow his lead, Nomad quickly stepped over to a corner of the room, hiding behind a long, cushioned couch, Bede ducking behind it next to him.

  The march was about to pass the conference door when the group suddenly came to a halt, the soft jingle of equipment on plate armor accentuating their otherwise silent presence.

  A deadly hiss of a voice reached in the conference room, just audible enough for Nomad to hear.

  “A presence looms near. A holy worshiper even.”

  Nomad nervously looked to Bede, who, by her look, seemed to be straining to understand the words from the soft voice that echoed in from out in the hallway. Nomad placed a hand on his sword hilt, readying himself for action, only he seemingly understanding that their presence was potentially blown.

  Bede, though she hadn’t been able to discern the words from the wicked voice, had taken note of Nomad’s right hand sliding to his weapon. Placing a hand on her mace grip and the other over the strap that secured it to her hip, ready to loose it, Bede made ready to pounce from her hiding spot.

  A few moments of stilled silence more and the voice came slithering back into the room.

  “Perhaps I misjudged. Come. Our lord expects our prompt arrival. To leave him waiting would not bode well for us.”

  The march continued down the hall, past the conference room door as quickly as it had halted, and both Nomad and Bede let out a held breath in relief of the lucky break they had just been given.

  “Bede,” Nomad whispered as soon as the footfall was out of sound. “It said it could feel the presence of a holy worshiper. I worship no God. I wonder if they can detect our presence by your faith.”

  “It’s possible. It’s not uncommon for attuned priests to detect those rife with sin amongst a crowd. I don’t doubt the same ability might be available to higher-ranking followers of the dark beliefs,” Bede whispered back.

  Nomad nodded, considering his suspicions to be validated. Looking to the door, then back to Bede, he softly spoke, “I might need to continue this mission without you, Bede. Can you make your way back to Reza on your own? I cannot let that group slip us by. They will lead me to the head of this unknown enemy, but if that lesser threat can detect you, their leader most certainly will.”

  Closing her eyes for a moment, considering Nomad’s proposition and line of reasoning, she looked back up at him with a look of worry clearly on her face.

  “I will never forgive myself if anything should happen to you,” she said, placing a caring hand up to the side of Nomad’s face.

  “Thank you,” Nomad said, holding Bede’s hand as he helped her up, adding, “Careful heading back.”

  Bede made her way to the door, opening it without a sound, then headed out onto the balcony as Nomad watched her from the darkness of the room.

  Seeing that she was to the balcony’s stone railing, he turned to be on his way, sliding up to the side of the door leading out into the hallway.

  Taking a strip of black cloth from around his neck, he threw back his hair and tied the head wrap tight to keep his hair from his face, having left his bulky helmet back at their headquarters.

  Listening a moment for movement in the hallway, hearing nothing, not even the distant footfall of the group that had passed them by, Nomad popped a head out to look down
the hallway the direction the group had gone.

  The hallway was large. Large enough for Nomad to consider it more of an indoor causeway rather than just a hallway. Mosaic tiling stretched down the way with great stone pillars lining the walls.

  Taking a quick glance back the other way, seeing nothing of importance, Nomad stepped out into the corridor.

  Just as he took his first step into the hall, he heard a shuffle from behind.

  Nomad’s eyes opened wide, catching a glimpse of an armored figure, donned in similar fashion as the dark knight he had fought in the desert beside Reza, which now lunged towards him with a longsword held high.

  Swinging the sword down at him, Nomad managed to roll out further into the corridor, avoiding being struck by the shadowy figure’s blade.

  Upon the missed attack, an ungodly shriek issued from the visored helm.

  The shriek spurred Nomad to go from defensive, to offensive, knowing full well that he could not let the foe continue to sound the alarm.

  His curved blade was out and striking almost instantly, clanging off the heavy knight’s armor twice before the thing could even begin to respond to the attack, its shriek being prematurely cut off, focusing now on defending itself.

  In the dark corridor, Nomad was finding it difficult to hit the knight’s joints with precision, and the knight would be able to take hits to the plate section of its armor all day long. With his position more than likely compromised, he knew he had little time to deal with the knight before backup came rushing their way.

  A blade point thrusted in at Nomad, which he narrowly dodged in the dark, taking the chance to sidestep up to the knight.

  Swiftly bringing his blade up to the thing’s throat, Nomad gripped the tip of the blunt side of the blade, planting a foot around the back of the knight’s legs, pulling the large armored foe over his shoulder.

  The knight came slamming down to the ground, its visored helm and skull popping off of its body. It clattered down the hall, smoke issuing from a broken rune etched along its spinal column as it skidded to a stop.

  The short engagement had taken only seconds, but the clatter had echoed off the long corridor’s walls resoundingly. He knew he needed to move fast now.

  Looking briefly over to the balcony which Bede had headed off from, he let out an exasperated sigh as he saw Bede rushing back into the conference room, apparently hearing the scuffle, coming to check on him.

  Holding up a hand to wave her back, he was stopped short as a bolt of purple light shot over his shoulder, ripping angrily by him, dissipating into the rock pillar behind him.

  Turning back up the hallway where the projectile had come from, Nomad saw three more knights and a hooded figure donned in half-plate holding a polished wand just as another bolt of purple light burst forth from the device, landing squarely upon Nomad’s chest, sending him reeling backwards before being hit a second and then a third time in the shoulder and leg by two more bolts, dropping him to the ground.

  Just as Bede was about to run out into the corridor, three large, dark knights ran past the doorway, seizing Nomad, who appeared more than just dazed from the magical assault, almost unconscious at that point.

  “Up! Get him up!” the same snake-like voice they had heard earlier commanded, a hooded figure passing by the conference room, allowing Bede a view of the enemy.

  “It seems I wasn’t mistaken in sensing a presence nearby,” the hooded figure hissed, throwing aside his cloak to reveal a skeletal hand as it gripped Nomad’s jaw.

  Considering the dazed man for a moment, the hooded arisen ordered, “Bring him. The master will be pleased with this find.”

  The large dark knights hefted Nomad, two knights grabbing both his arms with one coaxing him forward at swordpoint.

  The hooded man lingered a moment longer, looking down the dark, long hallway before turning to follow behind the knights, leaving Bede there alone in the dark.

  “Elendium, help him,” Bede choked out, dreadfully worried for Nomad, knowing for him, things just had taken a, quite possibly, fatal turn.

  She knew that she, unlike Nomad, stood no chance against such numbers. That she was a seasoned adventurer, it was true, but against such an armored opponent, let alone three plus a—whatever the hooded one was—she knew a confrontation would not have turned out in her favor.

  Her only hope currently was to follow wherever they took Nomad and attempt to rescue him when the opportunity showed itself to her.

  With a prayer now in mind for herself, she rounded the corner and headed off as quietly as she could in the direction of the faint clank of armor up ahead of her.

  22

  The Old Man In The Painting

  “Forty flights of stairs and no magical traps of any kind. How odd,” Jadu said, looking around up at the spiral staircase in the center of the tower that appeared to go up another twenty more flights.

  “Yeah, and no sight of valuables either,” Fin answered back, disappointment easily discernable in his voice.

  “Not all valuable things come in the mold of metals,” Jadu tritely said, looking through a tome almost as big as he was that he had picked up on the last floor Fin had randomly decided to take a detour to inspect.

  Fin huffed, partly out of disdain of the notion, and partly due to the forty stairs they had just finished climbing. He was about to start up the stairwell once more when he thought he heard a sound in the room the stairwell led into.

  “Keep talking,” Fin said, slipping past Jadu, into the room he had heard the bump in.

  Jadu needed no further word to launch into a long-winded explanation of the interesting book he had found. Taking a seat on the stairs, Jadu began flipping through page after page, explaining the strange incantations he had found, all the while chatting to no one in particular as Fin quietly made his way through the room, listening for whatever had made the sound he had heard earlier.

  A jovial, hoary voice, very close to Fin, spooked him so badly that the experienced rogue nearly fell over.

  “Ooohehehe! You don’t seem to be with that boney fellow. Not at all! Ooohehehe!”

  Fin, looking all around for the invisible entity, drew his dagger and backed up to the wall.

  “Ooo, so, you think I am a danger to you, do you? Well, perhaps I am. It all depends on who you are and why you’re here.”

  This time, the voice came from right behind him. Jumping out into the middle of the room, Fin turned to see a plain stone wall, decorated lightly with a few pictures of robed peoples of differing races.

  Seeing how the source of the voice eluded him once more, Fin considered the old man’s last response and answered, “Ah, yes. I’m nobody, you could say. Just found the doors open and the city surrounded by the dead and decided to have a look-see.”

  Looking around the room frantically now for the source of the old man’s voice, the hidden speaker answered back, “An opportunist is it then? Well, I suppose the company of a thief is better company than the walking dead. Sense of humor with them is non-existent!”

  “Why is that painting talking?” Jadu asked, waddling into the room with his recently acquired massive tome. Fin, now totally unhinged, jumped and turned to find that it was Jadu who had walked past him, looking at the largest painting in the middle of the stone wall.

  “Ooo, my spellbook! It has a way of finding its way into other’s hands. Do me a favor if you would be so kind. There is a spell incantation in there. It only requires recitation to work. Could you find the animated painting enchantment—”

  Jadu cut the old man off, excited to finish his thought for him. “Yes! The animated painting enchantment. Fascinating spell! I read up on it two flights ago when Fin was keeled over catching his breath from the climb.

  “I must say, much of sorcery and alchemy seems to share quite a few of the same principles and rules at a basic level. It’s too bad I didn’t have access to proper magic training earlier in my life. It would have been a
wonderful second emphasis.

  “But I digress. The enchantment unlock incantation must be spoken by anyone, or thing, other than the caster themselves. Why one would willingly cast that spell on themselves is beyond my comprehension, but allow me to assist you by reading the enchantment unlock words for you.”

  Once Jadu pointed it out, Fin noticed that when the old man spoke, the voice had been coming from the painting, and upon further scrutiny, he could make out the figure’s mouth slowly moving, the eyes turning from Fin to Jadu.

  “Pon eht—” Jadu started, but was muted by Fin who abruptly slapped a hand over his mouth.

  “Wait. You’re telling me he can’t get out of this painting unless we let him out?”

  “Yeah,” Jadu replied, quickly going back to reciting the unlock chant, “Pon eht—”

  Again, Fin’s hand covered Jadu’s mouth, obtaining the answer he was looking for.

  “Well then think of this for a moment, Jadu. We’re in an enchanter’s tower, uninvited. We have the option to release an enchanter from entrapment without knowing how powerful or dangerous he is; or, there’s also the option to leave him where he is, perfectly harmless and secured within that painting while we continue with our mission.

  “Which of the two options sound smartest and with less risk to our health?”

  Jadu held up a finger and mumbled something into Fin’s hand, causing him to lift his hand from the muted praven’s mouth. Jadu started again.

  “Option one, please.”

  An entertained cackle sounded from the painting at Jadu’s answer and Fin looked up with a stern look to attempt to silence the humored old man.

  “More risk—perhaps, but also more to gain! He seems like a decent fellow. From reading his book, most of the spells and notes don’t include heavy occult influence or devilry. Besides that, consider having a powerful wizard on our side! Finding the motives of the arisen army would be made quite a bit easier with sorcery at our disposal. Plus,” Jadu began to whisper, “there are some languages in this tome that I don’t know and I desperately would love to have him interpret them for me.”