The Wrath

by D Glenn Casey

  “He can’t even control his own strength when he casts with Blaze!”

  “He will learn!”

  Captain Taynor stepped forward and placed himself between the two lively combatants, just as Emmilyn came running up. He nodded to the small bowmaiden and she pulled Hilde away from the dragon and back toward Venia.

  “Now,” said Taynor, “what news did you bring from Mount Thunder, besides Garlan wanting to be left there alone?”

  Hilde took a breath and then asked, “What have you heard from Emmilyn and Gwen?”

  “Only that the camp of the enemy appeared to be empty.”

  “It is. Only a few men left to keep the fires burning to make it appear the camp was still occupied. It appears the army split in two and some went straight west and the other part went to the northeast.”

  “So, he split his army in two?” asked Jong. “We should strike while they are at their weakest.”

  Hilde shook her head.

  “Our information was his army numbered around two thousand.”

  “Two thousand?” gasped Taynor. “Where did he obtain those numbers?”

  “Oh, this is where it gets worse,” she said and then looked at Jong. “Especially for you, captain.”

  Captain Jong looked at her, wondering what terrible news she had brought for him.

  “He has found willing soldiers from the land of Easternesse.”

  Captain Jong looked like he had just been gut-kicked by a dragon. A very large dragon.

  Captain Taynor looked at him and said, “I don’t understand.”

  “How many answered his call?” asked Jong in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

  “As near as we can figure, about two hundred.”

  Jong dropped his head and said, “Oh Mother of Earth, help us.”

  “Two hundred?” said Emmilyn. “That’s not that bad.”

  Hilde reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Two hundred royal soldiers.”

  Jong turned and yelled in a voice that boomed across the fields, “Kaylegg!”

  The heavy footsteps of Lieutenant Kaylegg could be heard long before he was seen running full speed toward them.

  “Yes, captain.”

  “Get the men together and be ready to leave in five minutes. Leave anything that will slow them down. We need to be in Rosemoor yesterday!”

  Kaylegg didn’t say a word. He just nodded and took off, back to where the royals had been set up.

  “What else?” asked Taynor.

  “That’s pretty much it,” said Hilde.

  “And why did Garlan not return with you?”

  Hilde dropped her head and then looked at him and cried, “Because he found out where the path to Kerrick’s lair was. He’s going there to uncover it and destroy it.”

  “What?!” roared Jong. “Was he not told of the evil that resides in the back chamber? An evil that even Master Pendivall couldn’t even see, but terrified him?”

  “He knows this. Now you see why I need to go back there.”

  “No!” said Golrath. “Now we see why he sent you away and you will stay away!”

  He looked back at Venia and she said, “She is not going back to Mount Thunder.”

  Just then Kaylegg came running up with Jong’s pack and shield.

  “The men are organized, captain.”

  Jong looked at Taynor and said, “Don’t take too long to get there.”

  “We’re right behind you, captain.”

  Jong and Kaylegg turned and took off running back through the camp. Within seconds, the others could hear the sounds of two dozen royal soldiers pounding the earth as they began running north.

  “If there is nothing else to add,” said Taynor, “I think we need to get moving.”

  “We’re going to head back to Rosemoor right now,” said Hilde.

  “May Mother Earth watch over you as you fly.”

  He turned and walked away and Hilde and Emmilyn climbed on their dragons and took to the sky. Golrath flew to the right side of Venia, just in case Hilde or his sister got the bright idea to veer right and into the Eastern Desert.

  Hilde knew exactly why he was flying there.

  Chapter 27 ~ Finding Out What True Evil Is

  It only took Garlan about thirty minutes to ascend the path and discover the entrance to Kerrick’s lair. The entire time he had been walking the path, he had expected to be attacked by the four men Severin said had come this way, but he never saw them. That didn’t stop him from keeping Blaze in his right hand every step of the way.

  Stopping at the opening to the cave, he could feel the moist air coming from inside. A cool breeze wafted out of the cave, bringing the smell of fresh water to his nose. He knew that would have been half the battle for Kerrick to survive here in the Eastern Desert. Water was much more important than food in this burning, arid land.

  He stopped and listened for any sound that might come from inside the cave, but only heard the sounds of the hot winds blowing slowly across the desert.

  He knew that Kerrick was most likely with his army, either heading toward the pass into Gallyneer or to the pass that led into northern Wyndweir.

  But, something scratched at the back of his mind. He had heard of some evil that lived in the back of this cave, but there was no indication as to what that evil was. Speculation that it was a dragon that lived back there seemed to be the most logical answer. Maybe a dragon that had been small when it went into the back chamber, but was now too big to get out through the passage.

  He shook his head to clear the fear that had been building in his mind since he found the entrance to the cave. He cast an illumination sphere into the darkness in front of him and followed it into the coolness of the cave.

  As he reached the main chamber of the cave, he saw the water trickling down the wall to his right and ending in a bowl-shaped depression in the wall. He dipped his finger into the water and placed it to his tongue. It tasted sweet and clean, giving no indication that it would be harmful to him, so he scooped a couple of handfuls up to his mouth and drank the refreshing water down. He could feel the water reaching into every inch of his being and refreshing him.

  After he was finished drinking, Keelee jumped down to the edge of the bowl and got her fill of water. She kept her back to Garlan because she didn’t want him to see how terrified she was to even be in this cave.

  Looking around, Garlan saw the bed and the table with the books Pendivall had described. He moved slowly across the cave to the table, knowing he was not going to like what he saw on the books. Reading the burned in words, The Journal of Magrum, brought a chill to his soul, that caused him to think he had made a major mistake in coming here.

  He moved farther into the cave and found the passage Pendivall had described, that went into the back chamber of the cave. He had to bend down, almost to kneeling, to be able to see into the passage, but it went back about twenty feet and then curved to the left and out of his sight.

  He reached out a hand, looking for the invisible wall that Pendivall had described. His hand detected nothing, but air. He felt a warm, foul air coming from the passage and it felt almost as if the passage was breathing.

  He tried sending his mind sight to the back chamber, but he was unable to bring anything into focus. Something was impairing his vision.

  He stood back up and told Keelee, “You need to wait out here.”

  “I come with master.”

  “No, you don’t. I should have sent you back to the base camp with Hilde. I never should have brought you into this place. Now, wait out here.”

  Keelee flew from his shoulder and landed on the table, near the journals. Even she recognized what they were and she desired nothing to do with them.

  She twittered her fear of allowing him go into the passage alone, but Garlan just smiled at her.

  “You, brave warrior, need to stay out here and guard this entrance, so I don’t get attacked from behind.”

  She puffed out her chest an
d said, “I do it!”

  Garlan nodded at her and then turned back to the passage. He crouched down and lit an illumination sphere, but kept it in his free hand. He didn’t want to send it into the chamber ahead of him, warning of his approach, though he was quite sure whatever was back there already knew of his presence. He realized it was probably more to calm him than to hide his approach. His heart was racing, about to punch its way out of his chest.

  He slowly began inching his way through the tunnel, needing to stay low to keep from banging his head on the round stone roof over him.

  Then, in a moment of clarity, he extinguished the illumination sphere and waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. He figured that whatever lived back here was used to the dark, probably living in it every minute of the day and night. He needed to hold the light until the last moment, when it might come in handy as a weapon.

  When his eyes adjusted, he was able to make his way to the bend in the passage and turn to the left. As he went deeper into the cave, the smell began to be overwhelming, a smell he wasn’t completely familiar with, but he knew it was the smell of death. Now he really wanted to get out of there.

  He could see a very dim light ahead of him and pushed on toward it. About twenty more feet in, he found himself in a large chamber, as big as the main room at Toddie’s pub, with a roof that was easily twenty feet over his head.

  The light was being provided by some small torches set into the wall to his right. Three of them were spaced evenly around the cavern. He couldn’t make out much in the darkness. Even the three torches weren’t enough to illuminate the entire chamber.

  He moved slowly to the middle of the chamber and looked around. The smell was overpowering to his senses and he searched for the source of the odor.

  He could see something along the base of the wall opposite the torches and moved cautiously to that side to see what was there. As he got closer, he recoiled in horror when he discovered the skeletons of dozens of beings piled against the wall.

  The skeletons were those of animals like bears, oxen and wildcats, but some belonged to men and women. The skeletons told a story of people and animals being ripped to pieces and then the bones cleaned of all meat.

  He knew he didn’t want to see it, but he knew he had to. So he cast an illumination sphere in the center of the chamber and it brightened the room to such that would rival the mid-day sun.

  And it was immediately put out.

  Next, the three torches went out, leaving the chamber in absolute darkness. That’s when he heard it.

  Breathing.

  And it wasn’t him.

  He immediately tried casting another light sphere and it was put out again, this time with a loud crack of thunder. But, before it went out, he caught sight of some movement out the corner of his eye. Whatever inhabited this chamber had been sitting motionless in the corner of the cave, in the darkness.

  He heard some shuffling in the darkness and reached for Blaze, pulling it out of its scabbard and bringing it in front of him. The red crystal began to glow, but the red light seemed to get swallowed up in the darkness.

  There was some movement to his left. Whatever lived here was trying to come at him from the side or rear. He began backing up toward the passage, wishing he had never thought of coming into this cave.

  He swung the blade to his left, but all he felt was air. He slashed again and again and felt nothing. Now, he was reasonably certain his heart was pounding its way to its final beat.

  “You have no idea how to use that thing, do you?”

  The voice was rough and broken. Like it had been dragged over many miles of rocks and thorny weeds.

  Garlan swung around, but the sound of the voice had come from everywhere in the chamber.

  He heard a coarse, gravelly laugh.

  “The son of Tren is nothing more than a scared little pup.”

  “Show yourself and I’ll show you how scared I am!”

  “You don’t have to show me. I can hear it in your breathing. I can feel your heart beating against the ribs in your chest.”

  Garlan tried to cast another light sphere, but it was extinguished before he barely executed the cast.

  “What’s the matter? Afraid of a little light?” he yelled.

  “I have no need of light. I can see you just fine.”

  Garlan spun around, again with Blaze pointing outward, hoping he could connect with something.

  As he came back around toward the passage, he felt a foul breath in his face and tried to slash with Blaze, but something slashed across his face, knocking him to the ground. Blaze skittered away from him, toward the bones of those who had come before him.

  He reached up and could feel the blood of the wounds he had just received to his face. He tried casting a lightning bolt across the cave, but it just fizzled, never amounting to much more than a few sparks. But, he did get a glimpse of the figure standing between him and the passageway.

  Next he felt a kick to his ribs and felt a couple of them break, as he was slammed against the wall. Spitting up what he was certain was blood, he tried to do some quick healing, but his enemy was having none of it.

  Another kick to the ribs and the sound of cracking bones bounced off the walls of the cave. Whoever this was, Garlan was reasonably sure one of his parents was a mule because he kicked like one.

  Garlan felt a presence near him and he reached out his right hand and felt his fingers wrap around what felt like an ankle. A very thin, very rough skinned ankle. He immediately cast a shocking spell into the ankle and heard the attacker scream in pain and fly across the cave and slam into the wall.

  He cast an illumination sphere and could see whoever it was laying up against the wall, amid the bones. The figure was moving around, but not very fast. It was covered in a dirty, torn, old cloak and was hidden from his view.

  Looking around, he saw Blaze laying on the ground, about halfway underneath a pile of bones and he held out his hand to the sword. It started to wiggle and then it flew across the chamber and into his hand.

  As he struggled to his feet, the attacker cast and blew out the sphere again, bringing total darkness. Garlan hoped the light had been shining long enough to cause this beast to be blinded long enough for him to escape. With the condition of his ribs and the blood streaming down his face, he wanted to get out of that chamber and find a place he could heal himself.

  He ducked into the passage and started shuffling toward the light at the other end of the tunnel. His injuries were so severe though, that he fell to his hands and knees and had to crawl the rest of the way out of the passage.

  As he emerged from the passage, he tried to stand, but was hit in the head with something big and hard and he went face down on the floor of the cave.

  He wasn’t sure how long he was unconscious, but when he finally came to, his hands were tied behind his back and someone was binding his feet together. He tried kicking at them, but he had no strength and more hands grabbed his feet and held them while they were bound.

  He tried to struggle free, but he was completely helpless. He couldn't even cast in the position and condition he was in. He tried rolling onto his back to see who was there in the cave, but they kept him face down.

  He looked toward the bed and saw Blaze laying on the ground and one of Kerrick's soldiers leaned up against the wall. As Garlan looked at him, he realized the soldier had tried to pick up Blaze and it had fought back.

  “Serves you right, you pig.”

  Then, as he tried turning his head and look the other way, a loud commotion started behind his back and he heard swords clanging somewhere over his head.

  Within a few seconds, two Gallyneer soldiers fell over the top of Garlan, causing a huge amount of pain in his ribs. He was able to figure out that both these soldiers had just been killed by someone.

  Another round of swords coming together and Garlan tried to roll over to see what was happening. There was no one holding him and as he rolled onto his back, he looked
up to see Severin and another Gallyneer soldier going at it, almost right over his head.

  He tried getting out of the way and got a couple of boots to his face for his troubles. With the injuries he had suffered in the chambers, those boots didn’t do his face any favors.

  After a few more seconds, Severin pulled a dagger from his belt and when the soldier blocked his sword, he drove the dagger up and into his chest, straight into his heart. The soldier’s eyes went wide with pain and then the life went out of them as he slumped to the floor.

  Severin took a couple of deep breaths and then looked down at Garlan.

  “I couldn’t go home with a clear conscience if I just walked out of here while you and the others fight this evil.”

  Garlan could barely see him through the blood on his face and in his eyes, but he smiled and nodded to him.

  Severin knelt down and sliced the ropes holding his hands and feet and helped Garlan to sit up. His ribs were still broken and his face felt like it had been cut to shreds. He closed his eyes to try to draw some strength from the earth to begin the healing process.

  When he opened his eyes after a few seconds, he saw Severin reaching for Blaze and tried to yell at him to stop, but it was too late.

  The shock from Blaze sent Severin almost into the ceiling and then up against a wall. He crumpled off the wall and fell into the dirt of the floor. As he was struggling to get up, Garlan detected some movement and saw the fourth soldier had finally regained his feet and was walking very shakily toward Severin on the ground.

  “Get away from him!” yelled Garlan.

  The soldier just looked at him as he reached down and picked up Severin’s dagger from the dirt. Then, as he kept his eyes on Garlan’s, he grabbed Severin by the hair and pulled his head up and with one quick stroke, sliced his throat from one side to the other.

  As Severin’s head fell back into the dirt, Garlan could see the light start to go out in his friend’s eyes. He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out and kill this soldier. He wanted to bring the mountain down on the top of them both, but his pain was so intense he couldn’t focus.