Bladeborn

by Clayton Schonberger

  King Rosen looked red in the face, either with anger or embarrassment. Bladeborn didn’t know the King well enough to be sure at that point.

  Bladeborn asked, “Maybe she offered to marry Lord Esket because of her debt?”

  “I fear it is so, General,” King Rosen claimed, turning away as if in shame. The King, hands on his hips, hung his head low and shook it. He was very upset, and it wasn’t just for Deocarla’s behavior. “She did not give you her affections easily. Letters she wrote long ago mentioned such things…they are… Personal. But I can see her decision in a clear light now.”

  Bladeborn could, too. He put the puzzle together and realized that Deocarla had gone broke paying for the war during the spring of the second year. It was then that Esket must have stepped in, lending her money to continue to support the Army.

  King Rosen said, “If I had been more aware of what was going on Lord Kaken would not have gained such power. Lord Esket would not be marrying my sister, either.”

  Bladeborn had assumed that by now Esket and Deocarla were married. He asked, “When was the wedding supposed to be?”

  “It is supposed to be a year and from now. But everything has changed since then.

  Bladeborn could not help but look surprised.

  With a sharp gesture of his hand, Rosen declared, “Deocarla was likely trying to protect the honor of our family—I know she owed money to Lord Esket. That was how he positioned himself as her bodyguard. But I never imagined it would turn out like this!”

  “I am sorry, my King,” Bladeborn said.

  “Leave me for now, General,” King Rosen asked, waving him away. “I have a lot on my mind.”

  Bladeborn had been silent the following week. When the scouts or other survivors approached him, Bladeborn rebuffed them. His thoughts were sorrowful, mourning the loss of Sir Rodon Thell and Sir Drak Lomazi, as well as Deocarla.

  While Bladeborn walked, Nightslayer interrupted his train of thought, ~~Do not show weakness or melancholy with these men, Bladeborn. You must be strong, even in the face of great loss. In war, there are casualties. The Army of the Sun awaits you outside the Second Realm~~

  “Nightslayer, my two best friends died right before my eyes! The love of my life is marrying another! Am I not allowed some time to mourn?”

  ~~Some men are not made like others, Bladeborn…You must realize the YOU are one of them~~

  Despite Nightslayer’s goading, it seemed to Bladeborn that his path was clear: when they got back to the remaining Realms, he would focus on saving Deocarla from losing face because of the debt owed to Lord Esket, who was leveraging his way to Kingship of the First Realm. It seemed to Bladeborn that only he could stop him.

  They marched onward, eventually setting up camp in yet another ruined city, a remnant of the Realms’ former glory. Bladeborn asked King Rosen why the Realms had always been so close to the Rhinolon.

  King Rosen answered, “Finding a home on this side of Draconia is not an easy thing to do. Many places are haunted by the ancients. Much of Draconia is controlled by the Rhinolon.”

  Bladeborn said, “You think we may find peace with the Elves in the North, King Rosen?”

  “No, Bladeborn,” King Rosen said. “Their country lies far away, across a stony wasteland. It is said that Elves have a code of blood which makes them wary of strangers. They also worship the spirits of their dead… which some claim is a form of necromancy.”

  Later, they sat at a crackling campfire. They were roasting a giant wart-dog two of the scouts had killed. With a full belly, King Rosen went on, “I had thought about the possibility that we could escape to the city of your origin. I have long known of its presence. But the risk would be too high. With so many Rhinolon afield, it is no longer an option.”

  “Nightslayer is the key that opens the doors to the Fortress City,” Bladeborn said. “However, I do not know the current political situation there. If we marched that distance, only to find a hostile force inside…”

  “Even if the rulers of the city were welcoming to us, it is unlikely we would make it there alive,” King Rosen sighed and paused. “The Rhinolon army would board their sea-going vessels at their Eastern island outpost, Rhinak, and cut us off.... Plus, the Northern reaches of the Blasted Plain are inhospitable. Likely, our people would be detected and slaughtered in the Blasted Plain, or on the doorstep of the city.”

  That day Bladeborn was told the Rhinolon had a fleet of nearly a thousand dreadnaughts. Only ten of these ships had been caught upriver and destroyed when Bladeborn’s army sacked Onager. Long before the humans of the Valleys would be able to cross the Blasted Plain and reach Fortress City, the Rhinolon navy could drop a Legion of warriors to stop them. Another plan he held at the outset of war three years ago was dashed.

  “Nightslayer,” Bladeborn asked the Sword, gripping its hilt, “You knew of this, didn’t you?”

  ~~I did not realize the navy of the Rhinolon had grown so~~ the Sword claimed.

  Bladeborn offered another suggestion to King Rosen, “Perhaps we can find a way to the other side of Draconia, to the other continent where humans and their gods rule. I have heard of tunnels through Draconia which we could follow there…”

  “No, Bladeborn,” King Rosen said. “Life may be easier on the other continent than it is here, but travelling there would mean terrible, unforeseen hardship. No creature I have ever heard of has made the passage. Yes, it is said that tunnels link the two sides of Draconia. But the things we have seen when traveling deep into the world are as frightening as devils are.”

  “Well, the way would be dangerous,” Bladeborn agreed. “If we knew how far it was or had a map—”

  “Even with a map,” King Rosen stated, “I would be reluctant to force our people to face such unknown danger.”

  “Do we have any other options, King Rosen?” Bladeborn asked.

  “Yes—it is an outside chance but yes,” King Rosen said. “It’s a possibility that has been discussed for many years among my family. The great Pyramid of the Elves, our current destination, may be that chance.”

  Bladeborn focused his hopes on the Flying Elvin Pyramid, putting his faith in King Rosen’s plan.

  The next day, they walked in freezing rivers and in dark hollows. Bladeborn finally got a chance to speak to the man who had been the right hand of Sir Rodon, Sera Ayaba.

  “There is no home for a warrior,” said the experienced scout. “Sera Ayaba at your disposal. I heard you speaking to our King about a passage through the world. I have been far under the surface. There are fearsome creatures there, like the one which appeared in the feast hall of the King on the last day.”

  “Have you always lived in the Six Realms, Sera?” Bladeborn asked.

  “No,” Sera Ayaba said. “I was born a servant to the Rhinolon. I was bred to be a gladiator, with no other purpose than to die in the arena. I was lucky, my life wasn’t so hard as things go for servants of the Rhinolon. Then, because I struck one of my trainers, I was sent to the ships to be an oarsman. I was to die chained to an oar. But during a battle with the Lizardmen where my chains were broken, I escaped.”

  “Incredible,” Bladeborn said. “Your story is as one of valor and strength.”

  Sera Ayaba laughed, and said, “It is one of incredible luck! Much like you, I have traveled very far. Eventually, I found my way to the Sixth Valley. I was a scout for Sir Rodon Thell for the last several years.”

  Bladeborn couldn’t help asking Sera Ayaba about the exquisite leather armor he wore and the articulated Rhinolon-styled gauntlets on his hands.

  “The armor was a gift from the armor-maker’s guild in the Sixth Realm. But the gauntlets are the prize I took from the captain of the ship I was an oarsman on. They give me the strength of many men. I had them modified to fit my hands, and they serve me well, now.” The two of them discussed the modifications Sera Ayaba had made to the gauntlets so they would fit on his hands. Both men had an interest in armor craft.

  That night, to p
ass the time, Sera Ayaba and Bladeborn wrestled. Bladeborn was thrown down several times. Sera Ayaba had the skills of an expert wrestler, having learned much in the arena of the Rhinolon swamp capitol Ograt. “You are the best wrestler I have ever met,” Bladeborn told Ayaba.

  “You’re very good,” Sera Ayaba said to Bladeborn. “I have seldom faced one as quick as you are. But your discipline is too sharp… You must let go of what you know and do what comes naturally… A wrestling match can be unpredictable and very quick. You will not defeat your opponent by using form. You must act without thinking, on instinct.”

  The wrestling matches that evening and on successive evenings raised the spirits of the group a bit. It gave the men something to talk about, and all of them brooded less.

  The days passed, but not easily. Later in the week, three scouts were stalking a deer when they came across a forest ogre. Nightslayer’s lightning killed the ogre, but Bladeborn had arrived too late. He healed the hurt men, who had suffered scrapes and several broken bones. But one scout would have to be buried there.

  As Bladeborn and another scout attended the injured, Sera Ayaba said, “It is amazing such a large ogre could be killed so quickly…. We were lucky.”

  When King Rosen and the rest of the men arrived, the King said, “Why do you all stand about here and gawk? Secure the area! From now on we hunt together!” He went over to the dead man and closed his eyes. “At least you didn’t have to suffer, old friend,” King Rosen said. “Join your wife now, in the Heavens.”

  They camped for five days there until the injured men could again travel. They hunted together in the wilds from then on. King Rosen became more distant. Sera Ayaba and Bladeborn became closer. They repeated their wrestling matches, but the men no longer found the distraction of it so welcome. Many of them had returned to brooding and melancholy.

  The quests pace was vigorous, and though all were tired, Bladeborn did not sleep deeply and did not need as much sleep as the other men did. He noticed that despite orders, Ayaba was the same way and if the night stars shined brightly, Ayaba would leave the camp to hunt.

  On restless nights, to keep his mind off Deocarla, Nightslayer talked to him.

  Bladeborn was surprised one night by Sera Ayaba, “I hear you speaking under your breath every night, comrade. May I ask why?”

  Nightslayer had been teaching Bladeborn the foundations of language and rudiments of the many languages it could remember. Bladeborn told Ayaba, “I am trying to learn languages, Sera. It is a difficult process to describe.”

  “I thought so,” Ayaba stated. “I am often sleepless, also and I could not but notice. I recognize the sound of certain words you use, if not the meaning—some Elvish, some Dwaven, some Lizardman languages—and others less familiar to me.”

  “Would you like to learn with me?” Bladeborn asked Ayaba.

  Surprisingly, Ayaba answered, “By the gods, no! I am completely satisfied with hunting… Thanks, but no!”

  Bladeborn asked Nightslayer why Ayaba reacted so. ~~Humans are odd in this way, Swordsman. Here is something I can teach you about them: Most reach a point, then stop learning~~

  “Ayaba is a fine man. Why wouldn’t he wish to improve himself?”

  ~~He has reached a satisfied point in his life. Don’t you ever do it, Bladeborn! Always keep learning.”

  “I told Onar I would ten years ago, Nightslayer. He set me on the path and I will stay on it.”

  Chapter 20: The Pyramid City and Spe

  They traveled higher in the Spiral Mountains, now entering a volcanic region. They saw signs of Dwarves running apace with them, and even though Bladeborn called to them in the Dwarven language, they did not make contact.

  Bladeborn and the warrior band came across two more ogres huddled together by a cave. The men filled them with arrows and Bladeborn struck them with Nightslayer’s strokes of energy, quickly dispatching the giants.

  In the back of the cave where the ogres had been dwelling, they found a Dwarven prisoner. He claimed he was a great mountain tracker, and ninety-five years old. He was a short, stocky fellow with a dirty beard and dull metal armor. Bladeborn spoke to him in the Dwarven language, saying, “I am called Bladeborn. What is your name?”

  ‘I suppose that I can tell you ‘me name,” the Dwarf said. “Yes, you’ve earned that. I am called Rollbard. Formerly a smith, I left ‘me home to try’n strike it rich. But I ran afoul of these accursed ogres,” the Dwarf spat.

  “Rollbard… Good to meet you,” Bladeborn said. “I am with these men seeking a very specific…thing. It is the Pyramid City of the Elves. Do you think you could guide us there? Many lives depend on us finding it.”

  “Ahhh. The way is difficult, oh human,” the Dwarf said slowly. “And there is nothing there that anyone would want, unless you like Elves... Finding it is a great secret... And it is guarded by very great powers. However, I can see that you want to go, and I will take you there. But that is not all… I want you and your friends to give me all the gold ye has. A suitable price for such a dangerous journey. Starting with those three shiny rings you wear, for example!”

  Bladeborn was annoyed by the Dwarf’s selfish greed. He said, “These two are rings I fought hard for! And this one was given to me by a Queen of the Six Realms whose memory I hold very dear! There must be something else we can offer you...?”

  “So, they are things you holds dear to, are they? Even more reason that I want ‘em. Ha, ha, you know what I mean?” The Dwarf was very pleased with himself.

  “You were just about to be eaten alive by those ogres,” Bladeborn said. “We saved your life! Don’t you feel any gratitude?”

  “Fortunes rise and fall, human. I wanted my freedom, yes, but we made no deal before you untied me. I have something you want now. It’s a perilous journey. Past living volcanoes and such. But I know the place. And I do feel gratitude. I wouldn’t take just anyone there. If ye were just anyone, I’d say I never even heard of the place. But I repay my debts. So, I will show ye the secret way. Understand, friend, I want the payments for my trouble.” The Dwarf let his words sink in.

  “How do you know his language, Bladeborn?” Sera Ayaba asked.

  “Hold on. I’m striking a bargain with him,” Bladeborn replied.

  The Dwarf said, “Well how about it, human?”

  “I’ll give you my rings, I suppose,” Bladeborn said. “You drive a hard bargain, Dwarf.”

  “You’re lucky I don’t ask for the gold I can smell on that old man. He must have something, say, crown-sized. But I will take your mustached friend’s earrings.”

  “He wants your earrings, Sera.” Bladeborn said, in Human tongue.

  “What? I’ve had these earrings since I was nineteen!” Sera said.

  “We’re lucky he doesn’t ask for King Rosen’s crown,” Bladeborn cautioned. “Men, give all your gold to this Dwarf.” There was anger and dissatisfaction among the other men.

  “Bladeborn is right, men,” said King Rosen. “This mountain range is much larger than I had remembered. Dwarves love gold, and if we can make this one happy perhaps the others will offer us safety. Or trade. The Dwarf Kingdom is said to be strong.”

  The men begrudgingly gathered their few coins and jewelry in front of the Dwarf. Bladeborn used a magic spell that he learned from Thustral the damned to hide the Heartring. He could not part with it.

  Bladeborn said to Rollbard, “All right, Dwarf. Here it is. I know it may not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to us.”

  “Well you’re right, it isn’t much. I would like to see that gold the old man has...”

  “That was not part of the bargain, Dwarf. Maybe we’ll just tie you up again and leave you to your fate...”

  “No, ahem, you’re right, human. This seems a fair price. Ahh, let us go now. This place stinks. It is an ogre cave.” The Dwarf scooped up the gold rings, buckles, and few coins, and started out of the cave. Bladeborn had been forced to give away the two rings he had since his battle with Skeletal
Lord. Others had given away treasures that were equally meaningful to them. Bladeborn felt lucky that the Dwarf had not asked to see Nightslayer’s scabbard which had the rubies on it, or King Rosen’s cloak and crown. Sera Ayaba had also kept his gauntlets.

  Still, Sera Ayaba said, “I can’t believe this. I already hate Dwarves.”

  They traveled Northward, higher into the Spiral Mountains. Before they crossed above the tree line, the Dwarf ordered the men to take deadwood for a fire.

  “We will have to camp among the peaks,” Rollbard explained. “We’ll freeze to death unless we have somethin’ ta burn to keep the cold off us.”

  The next day they went farther up the mountains, in a snowy, dry, dead part of the world with jagged peaks soaring on all sides, many of which were active volcanoes. Chilled wind whipped through the canyon and blew dust in their mouths, noses, and eyes. An acrid smell of sulfur and brimstone assailed their senses.

  They reached an area where the ground was very unstable. Increasingly, the earth shook all around them, with small landslides and rocks coming from above. Thick clouds of smoke and steam billowed out of the cliff side.

  After a long day of walking along dangerous paths, the Dwarf led them inside a cave.

  Bladeborn said, “You are certain this place is safe, Rollbard? I don’t want to be buried alive.”

  “It is safe, human,” the Dwarf claimed. “See how the stone is formed here?”

  “No, I don’t, really…but you can tell by it?”

  “Yes, I can, simple human. This cave has been here for centuries. Tell the men who gathered the firewood earlier to build a fire here. This is where we’ll camp for the night.”

  By the firelight, the Dwarf conversed with Bladeborn. They told tales and spoke of myths, among other things.

  ~~Speak to the Dwarf of Master Steelrock, Bladeborn. I will guide you in the telling of the legend~~

  “Who is this Master Steelrock, Nightslayer?” Bladeborn thought to the Sword.