Bladeborn

by Clayton Schonberger

  “I am rid of the Heartring now,” Bladeborn said.

  “Human, I have found you cannot throw away your memories.”

  “I have not,” Bladeborn said. “She is a part of me. The ring, once dimmed, was just a ring... But she will remain with me eternally.”

  Bladeborn turned to the Dragon, and said, “Let’s go back to camp.” They walked together, silently.

  The column reached a place where Telunk said a vast, ruined city was marked. “The map says these roads lead to what was once an underground capital of the Draconians. The Draconians… An ancient type of powerful beings…”

  Another Dwarf, who was a kind of lore master, said of the Draconian city, “The place must be over ten thousand years old, for no Draconian has been seen alive since then.”

  “I know a bit of them,” Bladeborn said. “They were an evil and domineering race—perhaps the first to control our world for any length of time.”

  Telunk nodded, and said, “Many of the roads lead here. It is a place that was long ago called ‘Eahmur.’ Our path leads us through it.”

  ~~No, Bladeborn! Do NOT enter the city of Eahmur! Tell the cleric to find another path!~~ Nightslayer’s voice seemed metallic and cold.

  “Telunk,” Bladeborn called, as the Dwarf was about to signal the scouts to go forward, “I know of this place… We must go around.”

  Telunk asserted, “If we do that it will add days to our journey, according to the map.”

  ~~The city is surrounded by an energy that would be fatal or cause severe sickness to any that near it…There is a reason that the city of Eahmur is dead and in ruins! No one should go near it!~~

  “Telunk,” Bladeborn insisted, “We go around! Even if we must back-track!”

  “As you wish General,” Telunk said. “But it is necessary to go back several days’ worth of travel, and take a longer route overall.”

  They began the process of turning the entire column around inside a relatively small space. Many complained when they were told that they had to go back. King Blair and his personal Honor Guard approached Bladeborn, demanding an explanation.

  “Bladeborn, this is an outrage!” King Blair said. “You have led us in a vast circle! The Rhinolon will catch us and we will all be captured—or worse! We may run out of food! Are you mad? Do you expect us to continue in these conditions? We will wander aimlessly down here for eternity!”

  “We have been on the wrong path for a while, King Blair,” Bladeborn retorted. “But for the past weeks we have been safe! I would like to continue that way.”

  “Bah!” King Blair threw his arms up in the air, and yelled, “We have an army of soldiers! Other than a few stray animals we have seen no living thing down here! I demand that you explain what ‘terror’ lurks ahead!”

  ~~That foolish King is asking to die. Take him to the city and allow him to feel its effect. The dragon will be immune to the emanations from Eahmur and you can heal yourself~~

  “King Blair,” Bladeborn said, “we will go to the city of Eahmur—you, myself, and the dragon. But no others.”

  “Nonsense,” King Blair said. “I must have my Honor Guard with me.”

  King Rosen, who trusted Bladeborn implicitly, said to King Blair, “Cousin, we have never quite seen eye-to-eye. However, I must insist that you defer to General Bladeborn’s directive in this—if you must see what lays ahead, the General and the dragon have offered to take you. But I won’t have you endangering those fighting men. They simply can’t be protected if there are beasts…”

  ~~No beasts, Bladeborn, only sickness and death~~

  Finally, after much argument, it was agreed that Bladeborn, Spe, and King Blair go alone. The remainder of the huge column would take a much-needed rest until they returned. King Blair would see for himself the City of Eahmur and assess the danger before the column was forced, by the young General’s word alone, to backtrack.

  Bladeborn, Spe, and King Blair marched forward for two days, eventually entering a vast cavern. With his newly gained skills reading the Dwarven Language, Bladeborn had been interpreting the Magic Map himself, although his ability to understand the archaic Dwarven script and the multi-layered notations on the Map page he had was limited. Bladeborn saw on the Map that there were many roads leading to what seemed to be an underground nexus up ahead. The passageway they travelled through widened significantly and joined up with other openings. They saw remnants of buildings nearly crumbled to the ground and buried in the dust of time.

  Still, the passageway widened until Spe stopped the two men.

  “I think it is safe to fly here, Bladeborn,” Spe declared. “I will grow large and the two of you can get onto my neck.”

  “All right,” Bladeborn said to Spe, in dragon. To King Blair he said, “The dragon is going to fly us forward into the space ahead, King Blair. So, mount its neck and—”

  “What?” King Blair exclaimed indignantly. “You want me to ride that creature?”

  Bladeborn thought it was a good thing that Spe did not understand human speech very well. He knew Spe was prideful, and King Blair’s attitude would have made the dragon angry.

  “King Blair,” Bladeborn said, humbly, “if I may, to ride on the neck of a mighty dragon such as Spe is a great honor!”

  “Well,” King Blair said, a bit placated, “I hope I don’t find my brains dashed upon the rocky ground. My personal Guard would kill you and your beast to avenge me.”

  “Spe flies quite well, even laden with two humans.” Bladeborn assured him. “Spe carried your older cousin, King Rosen, last year, and I believe he quite enjoyed the experience.”

  “Enjoyment has nothing to do with it, young General!” King Blair gusted. “Remember that the lives of our people hang in the balance!”

  “Yes, King Blair,” Bladeborn said, bowing formally.

  Bladeborn and King Blair got onto the dragon’s neck and the three of them flew off into the darkness. Spe blew small gouts of fire ahead of them to light the cavern. Finally, they entered the heart of the area.

  “Look,” Spe called to Bladeborn. “Tiny lights, up ahead, past all these ruins! A vast number of lights!”

  “I see nothing, Spe,” Bladeborn yelled back. However, in a few more moments he saw what the dragon, with its superior eyesight, could see.

  “Let me illuminate this,” Spe yelled, “Its huge…and glorious!”

  Spe released a massive fireball over the city below and what they saw was a true wonder. Stretching far into the space of the cavern were hundreds of structures unlike anything else in the world.

  ~~Behold! Eahmur, Bladeborn!~~

  They could see lining the broken roadways and the tallest towers all about the city lights that had glowed through the ages. The city was indeed in ruins, but it held an eerie beauty. Glass towers surrounded by glowing auras had hanging surfaces suspended by magical force. Plazas, giant crystal domes, and far-spanning bridges were all connected in a web way far above the ground. Bladeborn knew that only the mighty Draconians themselves could have made such a place. There seemed to be things moving about the ground also, but what they were doing was unknown.

  “Nightslayer,” Bladeborn thought, “what beasts are those on the ground? I cannot tell from here!”

  ~~They are not beasts, Bladeborn! They are machines! A few of the Ancient Draconian constructs have been active all this time!~~

  “My eyes are bedeviled!” King Blair exclaimed. “Such a place exists only in a dream!”

  ~~Now you have seen it, Bladeborn. You must know that one enormous explosion destroyed all the accursed Draconians as well as the servants who dwelled here. I remember this place when it was being used by the Draconians, and even Uzet feared it. I sense that the residue from the energy that killed those who lived here is greatly diminished, though still strong enough to make you, King Blair, and all others of your kind die~~

  King Blair ordered, “Tell the dragon to land on that platform, over there. Perhaps this city holds treasures or mysteries
its inhabitants are willing to share!”

  ~~The machines of this place are dangerous, Bladeborn! Flee before they sense you!~~

  “Bladeborn, we must go!” Spe said, turning around.

  “Stop!” King Blair demanded. “Go back to the place!”

  “No, King Blair,” Bladeborn said flatly. “We are leaving.”

  “I ORDER you to go back!” King Blair yelled at Bladeborn. But Bladeborn’s directive was final.

  King Blair was furious, but silent.

  That night, as they flew away from the city, he said, “Bladeborn, you will pay for your insolence. Despite what anyone might say, I have decided to insist that the column enter the city to speak with the folk dwelling there. King Rosen may try to override me, but I can guarantee that my misguided cousin, will take my word over yours! You are not of the family, and not a King! You aren’t even originally FROM the Six Valleys!”

  Spe took them back the way they came, and when it appeared they were safely away from the city of Eahmur, they stopped to rest. In just a few hours after they had bedded down, the skin on Bladeborn and King Blair was showing lesions and blisters.

  Less than a half hour passed, and the two of them began retching. Bladeborn could barely keep up with the meditation and healing they needed so they could last the night. By morning, every hair on the two men had dropped out, and their illness was still worse.

  Yet Bladeborn’s healing managed to keep them alive. A day later the two men were still weak with the sickness, but it seemed they were over the worst of it. It had been a harrowing ordeal. During the worst of the sickness, the dragon had been absent. The two men had gone through the plague by themselves.

  “I don’t know how,” King Blair said, “but you saved my life, Bladeborn… I know that much. I would thank you, but this entire episode is your fault. I nearly led my people into a plague-infested netherworld because of you.”

  Bladeborn could see there was no arguing with King Blair. Spe returned about that time, not long after their fevers had broken. The dragon was aware the two men had been far too sick to travel.

  “Where were you, Spe?” Bladeborn said to the dragon. “We needed you!”

  “I was defending your lives!” Spe said angrily.

  “What do you mean?” Bladeborn demanded. “We nearly died here!”

  “Some of the city’s constructs came after us,” Spe said. “I was barely able to fight them off! Instead of complaining, you should be thanking me!”

  Bladeborn nodded. Now there was another enemy to fear. The three of them got away from the city as quickly as they could. Eventually, they were satisfied that Spe had not been followed.

  Bladeborn watched King Blair closely. Blair’s profanities and threats piled up when they were gripped by the malaise—it was embarrassing.

  Bladeborn was certain that King Blair would undermine further attempts to protect the people of the Valleys.

  Days later than they were expected to return, Spe carried Bladeborn and King Blair back to camp. King Rosen felt it unwise to send a search party until the fifth day, so they had gotten back just in time.

  Neither man discussed openly what they had seen or what had transpired between them. However, as soon as he could, King Blair began to tell his Honor Guard that through the negligence of Bladeborn, he had nearly died. Without further argument, the column resumed backtracking, as had been suggested originally by Nightslayer.

  After they had progressed past the point where they had taken the turn leading to Eahmur, they were on a new course. The Dwarves, who could see well in the dark, made themselves useful as scouts, exploring in small groups, occasionally disturbing shy cave creatures. On one occasion, a group of cavern crawlers the size of wartdogs attacked a group of the Dwarven citizens. Bladeborn, who was at the head of the column, was summoned to the place where the missing Dwarves had last been. All that was left were pools of spilled blood and dropped weapons.

  Spe used his magic alteration ability to become the size of a rockcat, going with Bladeborn to the place where the Dwarves were lost.

  The dragon looked about and declared, “They must be dead, Bladeborn, and eaten up by now. I can see you’re thinking of trying to find them but with those hungry beasts as big as the Dwarves themselves, there are probably not even bones left.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of trying to find them, Spe,” Bladeborn said. “I was wondering what they were doing this far off the path.”

  “Gold, Bladeborn!” Spe said suddenly looking around. “Look how it runs throughout these walls!”

  They heard a voice behind them say, “Gold!” Then another, more excited. The Dwarves were all about them, staring.

  King Rosen was right behind them and he said, “Its gold, Bladeborn! A mountain of the stuff! King Blair has suggested that if we dig it out and give it to the Rhinolon, they will let us return home!”

  King Blair came up, holding a chunk the size of an apple, saying: “Yes, Cousin! This is the answer! With this gold as ransom, we can get out of this endless pit and return home! The Rhinolon have always respected gold! They have even traded prisoners for it in the past! There is enough here to bargain with and more.”

  “No,” Bladeborn stated definitively. “The Rhinolon will not maintain such a deal, no matter how much they are paid! They will capture us, find the gold, and make us mine it for them! We must leave now, before everyone goes mad!”

  They looked at Bladeborn, dumbfounded.

  “You heard me…!” Bladeborn insisted.

  King Blair exclaimed, “Bladeborn, we must hold a council meeting. You will not be included in the decision we make. You are an outlander and merely a war-leader. This is in the hands of our guild masters and those with voting rights... not those who are young upstarts and unaware of our politics...”

  King Rosen said to King Blair, “You are right, he has no vote. But he should be present at the council meeting. This...changes things, but we must not trust the Rhinolon. They are our enemy and they would betray us in the end.”

  King Blair said, “King Rosen, save your words for the meeting. All involved parties must be present. I'll grant Bladeborn the right to stand in the back, since he happened to be at the head of the ‘glorious war’ with the Rhinolon. But I will have none of his foolishness in deciding this matter.”

  The council meeting let all remaining heads of state speak and discuss the idea of buying freedom with the gold and sharing it for concessions with the King of the Dwarves. Many alliances and deals were struck before the meeting took place. Merchants and guild masters wanted wagons to take as much gold as possible back to the surface. They had to decide how to contact the Rhinolon with their offers of peace and wealth. Several key families were firmly in the gold-for-peace camp with King Blair. But King Rosen and King Lauren wished to press onward. King Dale was undecided.

  By the light of glow-globes in the gold-flecked chamber, many voices were heard. Bladeborn could not believe the greed those assembled. The gold had blinded them.

  King Rosen, knowing how much value the words of their General held, finally asked the assembly to listen to what Bladeborn had to say.

  “Nay, King Rosen,” King Blair interjected. “This debate is not for him.”

  “King Blair,” Bladeborn began, in even tones, “put aside this arguing and look at our present options. I know our enemy. They sleep in their own muck with ogres, they torture us, murder us freely, and they have been known to eat us. Yes, they are greedy for gold. Some Rhinolon value it more than conquest in battle. But the gold would only be a temporary solution. We must look for a permanent solution, the land where we can build our lives in safety, with others of our kind.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you, Bladeborn!” King Blair was shouting. “I’m calling attention to treasonous blunders which leave me no choice but to put you in your place! You started the war; you were away from the army when the Rhinolon attacked; you almost led us to the poison city; and you murdered one of our nobles, Lord
Esket! You are an effrontery; and if I hear another word from you, my Honor Guard will clap you in irons!”

  Blair paused to see if Bladeborn would respond. Bladeborn said nothing.

  With a hand holding a chunk of gold over his head, Blair shouted, “My command is that we return to our homes laden with the gold that will assure our freedom!”

  King Rosen spoke up. “King Blair! The road ahead is treacherous, but not so much as the one we are leaving. As for those still loyal to me, if we must leave you, so be it!”

  King Dale now spoke. “I have seen the Rhinolon in the field; I have battled them all my life from behind the war front. Their oppression is complete. They are as young General Bladeborn said.”

  “Dale, Brother!” King Blair began to say. “You can’t seriously be considering taking their side?”

  King Dale continued, “When we sacked Onager it was the greatest triumph for our people since they fought back against the brutes two thousand years ago. The treasure we brought from the city of Onager—no the gold, but the people—was like nothing in our history. And more, the curse of infertility was lifted by Bladeborn’s actions. This was what the General brought us.”

  King Blair argued, “So you think we can go onward, walking all the way through Draconia? You have gone mad, Brother!”

  King Dale spoke calmly and quietly, “I am not saying that this plan to travel through Draconia is the best idea—it seems arduous to me, in many respects. However, splitting our numbers can only work against us. Therefore, the people of my Kingdom will follow whoever has the greatest numbers of the rest of you. It is my decision. It seems King Rosen and Young King Lauren are going with the General, so that means, for better or worse, my loyal subjects will go with them… I am sorry, Brother,” King Dale was finished.

  “PHAA! Curses on you all. You are being led to your dooms!”

  Many of the merchant barons went with him. As King Blair stormed away he said, “I hope you all rot!” Blair’s Knights and their troops left with him as well.