The Dragon Gate (The Dragon Gate Series Book 1)

by Randy Ellefson

  “I have a question,” the rogue started, slouching. “The champions couldn’t refuse a summons or a quest, but why would they put themselves in that position? How were they supposed to live their lives?”

  Lorian nodded. “I have often wondered the same, but they did not discuss their reasons. I know they sometimes aren’t happy with disruption caused by the timing of a given summons, but they put on a good face.”

  Ryan said, “It sounds like they didn’t want to do it any more than we do.”

  Matt suggested, “Maybe someone forced them into the quests, just like us.”

  After a long pause, Lorian remarked with some surprise, “Four people of such power could not be easily compelled to do things they don’t want to do.”

  Eric thought Matt was on to something. If they’d found a way out of it, that would explain why they weren’t answering anymore. Maybe that was why he and the others had taken their place, but it didn’t explain their disappearance, or the substitution really. More importantly, if they were true replacements, were they also now to be repeatedly summoned and unable to refuse? The idea alarmed him.

  A soft knock turned their attention to the door and an elf discreetly opening it, carrying a pine tray of several wines and chopped fruits. Eric noticed that the intrusion surprised Lorian. He recognized the elf as the one who’d tried to take Matt’s staff and magic books on arrival. The servant was unremarkable save for the white streaks in his otherwise black hair.

  “Did they ever try to leave without completing a quest?” Eric asked, realizing too late that perhaps he should’ve waited until the newcomer left, but Lorian seemed unconcerned.

  Watching the servant set the tray on the table, Morven replied, “Not to our knowledge. At the least, it would have looked quite unhero-like.”

  “I suppose so.” Eric hadn’t thought of that. “My point is that if they never tried, how did they know they couldn’t?”

  Lorian nodded as the servant began passing out the fruit bowls. “Assuming you’re right and they were compelled against their will, it’s possible that early in their adventures they tried and discovered it wouldn’t work, but that is conjecture.”

  “I guess we’ll never know,” Anna remarked, sighing, “unless we find them and ask.” Something seemed to occur to her. “Has anyone gone looking for them?”

  “Yes,” replied Morven. “But they have not been found.”

  Rognir said, “The fact remains that they disappeared altogether and have not returned to their home world. They have friends and family, of course. There have been no sightings of them anywhere.”

  “So they are missing,” observed Ryan.

  The dwarf nodded.

  “Presumed dead?”

  “No,” answered Lorian, “it is not easy to presume such a thing about four such capable people.”

  “Imprisoned?”

  “Also unlikely, but less so.”

  Ryan asked irritably, “Then what? What is most likely?”

  Eric let the others do the talking, as the servant had caught his attention. He seemed to be taking his time. Something about the intensity of his eyes, the pointed way he looked at each of them as if noting their features, made Eric suspicious. As the elf reached him, their eyes met, and the servant’s grey eyes reflected a quick and easy smile that exuded charisma and friendliness. Suddenly the rogue felt foolish. Maybe he was just letting things get to him when he shouldn’t.

  Matt broke his thought when he asked, “Could they be on a quest to a world where time moves at a different speed, so they’ve been there a short time but a hundred years has passed on other worlds?”

  Rognir snorted. “I’ve never heard of such a world.” His eyes sought confirmation from the elves and got it.

  “Possibly because if anyone went to such a world, they’d be gone an awfully long time before you’d find out about the time difference,” Eric noted. “Maybe they’ll show up at home in fifty years.”

  Lorian nodded. “True, but before such a world could summon them, others would have traveled there and established contact, and when the extreme time difference was discovered, they would have warned people not to go there. Regardless, no one would tell such a world of the champions, build Quest Rings, and teach the summoning spell because once summoned to that world, the champions would be unable to help any other world for a long time.”

  “Good point,” Matt admitted.

  “How did different worlds find out about them?” Eric interrupted. Different lands on one world was one thing, but this interplanetary travel was quite another.

  “Soliander sent an apprentice to most of the initial worlds,” Morven replied, “instructing them on how to build the Quest Rings and use the spells. After that, other worlds shared the knowledge, as he had instructed them to do so freely. Also, it’s accepted fact that Soliander sent the apprentice, so this assumption of the quests being involuntary is baseless.” After a pause, he added, “In any case, no one would want them summoned to a world where they’d be for many years while only days passed everywhere else.”

  After a pause, Eric observed, “Unless someone wanted to get rid of them the easy way.”

  Lorian looked at him approvingly. “You are as clever as Andier himself. While they had many enemies who might wish that, they mostly earned those foes after the quests started.”

  “So it’s not realistic?” Anna asked.

  “No,” Lorian replied, waving off the servant from pouring him wine, “for the simple reason that the four of you have taken their place.”

  “Why?” Eric asked. “Does that imply something?”

  The elf answered, “Yes. If they were still on a quest, no one, them or you, could be summoned and you would not be here.”

  Anna summed up, “So regardless of where they went and for how long, the only current quest is ours.”

  “That is correct,” replied Lorian.

  They mulled that over in silence, picking at fruit, or in Ryan’s case, enjoying more wine. Eric decided not to say anything.

  “Does anyone know where the last quest was to, or what they had to do?” the knight asked.

  The elves shook their heads. “Word tends to spread between worlds when they arrive somewhere,” Morven answered, “unless the world has limited communication with other worlds, as is often the case. Some keep records of the champions’ deeds, but their quests are often only related by the champions themselves when they return. Generally, no one knows where they go, only that they have vanished, sometimes before people’s startled eyes.”

  “That’s gotta take some getting used to.” Ryan laughed.

  Casting a sidelong look at him, Eric asked, “So they might not have been doing a quest when they went missing?”

  Lorian nodded. “We don’t know, but much investigation into their disappearance has been done and it was learned that each vanished at nearly the same time. The exact moment could not be determined for each, as they were apart when it happened and all but Eriana was alone at the time. She vanished in front of witnesses. The others did not.”

  “In other words,” said Anna, “it was probably a quest they went on.”

  “Yes,” the elf admitted.

  Matt asked, “Okay, but the only quest is ours, right? Does this mean another quest was in effect all this time but recently completed, allowing us to be summoned?”

  The elves and dwarf exchanged thoughtful looks.

  “Possibly,” answered Morven, stroking his long, brown hair.

  “The important thing is how recently?” Eric asked, watching the servant finish up. The guy was certainly taking his time. “How often do people try to summon them despite this idea that they aren’t answering anymore even though they can’t refuse to?”

  Lorian shrugged. “There is no way to tell.”

  “Guess,” offered Ryan, and seeing the elf frown, suggested, “Once a week?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Once a month?”

  “Almost certainly.”<
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  “So then sometime in the last month, they completed a quest,” Ryan offered.

  “They completed a quest,” repeated Eric, leaning forward. “If they completed it, where are they? There is no word of them returning home?” The servant was done, and Eric watched him head for the door, step out, and quietly close it behind him.

  Morven answered, “No, all word is of them appearing here.”

  “Us,” noted Ryan.

  “They could’ve completed the last quest a long time ago, though,” Anna disagreed, “and it was only now that we took their place.”

  “True,” Eric agreed, “but then why did we take their place now, and why not someone else at another time?”

  “Well,” started Matt, “we were at the Quest Ring when a summoning happened.”

  “That should not have mattered,” noted Morven, “for the Ring only summons champions to it, not away from it, though if your being there was connected with the previous quest, such as having just finished one, it might appear that the ring was involved in your summoning when it was not.”

  Lorian’s eyebrows rose, clarifying, “If you were the real champions, and had completed a quest and returned to the Quest Ring, and another summoning happened at that moment, you would have come from there. The return spell, the one you witnessed, might have been triggered by the new summoning spell. However, on your way home, so to speak, you would have been diverted to the next quest. There were known instances when two quests happened in quick succession and they did not return home until the second was completed.” Ryan began fidgeting with sudden energy as the elf concluded, “In your case, it would simply be coincidence to be standing at the Quest Ring, this Stonehenge, at that moment.”

  Ryan spoke up excitedly, slurring a few words. “Wait a minute. You said the return spell on Earth might have been triggered, so we might have been headed to their home world but came here for a new quest instead. Does that mean that if we complete this quest, we won’t be sent to Earth on finishing it, but to their world?”

  Anna gasped. “Oh my God! I never thought of that.”

  Neither had Eric. They might never see their families or friends again, their former lives over for good. The lack of response from the elves and dwarf suggested Ryan might be right. A sudden image filled Eric’s head, of him returning to Andier’s home only to meet the rogue’s startled friends and family, likely demanding he explain what he’d done to Andier. He’d never get a moment’s rest, especially when yet another summons took him away. And what if he and his friends were separated, living on different worlds, or in different cities, always far apart until a new quest thrust them headlong into danger? It begged a question.

  “Did they all live on the same world? The same city?”

  Morven nodded. “Same world, yes, but different cities, some on different continents.”

  “I suppose it could be worse. Did they have to be at a Quest Ring to be sent back?”

  “No,” replied Morven. “However, it made it much easier and required less spell casting power. The Ring bears some of this burden.”

  Probably smart, Eric realized. What if Soliander was exhausted and had to cast the spell without help, and with a bunch of monsters on their tail? He also realized there might be times when the quest was done but they couldn’t reach the Quest Ring and yet still wanted to go home. It made sense.

  “I have a better question,” the knight started. “Can someone else satisfy the quest for them?”

  Lorian nodded, studying Ryan’s face so that Eric wondered if the elf also thought Ryan meant something by it. “Yes, though I don’t think anyone ever did. Still, if the need goes away after they’re summoned, they are free to return. Otherwise you could have a case where, say, they must kill a dragon, but the dragon dies of natural causes before they do so. The spell recognizes the quest is no longer valid, and releases them. Otherwise, they would be trapped forever on the summoning world.”

  Ryan frowned. “How could a spell possibly know something like that?”

  “The Quest Ring acts a bit like an oracle,” the elf answered, “due to the spells on it. It is like a living thing, watching for the outcome.”

  Matt looked impressed. “That’s cool. Is that also why it knows if quest requirements are valid or not?”

  Morven nodded. “Yes. It’s also why a Quest Ring is needed for summoning. It performs necessary functions. What were you doing at the Ring on your world?”

  That made Eric think of something else and he digressed. “Can there be more than one Quest Ring on a world?”

  “Of course. There usually are.”

  “Okay. Well, we were just visiting it. The monument is of cultural significance even though no one knows what it’s for, so people visit just to see it in person.”

  Anna clarified, “We were trying to find a pendant of mine that I had dropped earlier in the day.”

  The elves exchanged a look with Rognir, who asked, “What is this pendant you speak of?”

  “Um, well, it was a family heirloom, hundreds of years old. It was passed down to me from an aunt.”

  “Is there anything special about it?” the dwarf asked, puffing on his pipe.

  She opened her mouth to reply and then paused as if realizing something.

  Eric figured out the reason and asked, “Didn’t you say that the diamond had words written in it that no one could ever read?” She nodded. “What did the words look like?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I never saw anything like it.”

  “Was it Norse Runes?” Ryan asked, “like the lettering of blue flames on Stonehenge?” Anna shook her head again. They’d all seen such writing before from playing Dungeons & Dragons.

  Lorian eyed her closely, then went to a cabinet, pulling out a scroll, which he laid before her on the table and rolled out, watching her as the lettering appeared. “The words were like these?”

  She nodded slowly as Matt leaned over to peek.

  “Magic!” the wizard stood up excitedly. “The pendant had magic words inside it. No wonder no one could read it!”

  Rognir scowled. “There is truly no magic on your world, and no one able to read it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But there must be. How else would the champions have been summoned there except by magic?” the dwarf asked. “It’s obvious that they must have been, else you would not have come instead. You clearly have a Quest Ring.”

  “That’s true,” admitted Eric, “but if magic still exists, no one in modern society knows. I think.”

  Morven looked at them thoughtfully. “Perhaps this has been forgotten or turned to myth, just like your dragons, elves, and dwarves.”

  “Possibly,” Ryan conceded, sighing.

  “Getting back to this pendant,” started Rognir, “it’s possible that the champions’ quest was to retrieve that pendant you speak of, and when you unwittingly brought it to the Quest Ring on your world, the quest was satisfied. Coincidentally, at that moment, a summoning attempt occurred and you were brought here instead of the champions because they were…indisposed in some way we do not understand. In any case, it allowed you to take their place for unknown reasons.”

  No one said anything as they mulled that over. Finally, Matt said, “So they could send themselves back, if they did the quest, and not need the Quest Ring? Soliander had a spell?”

  “Yes” answered Lorian.

  “Maybe that’s the first thing I should learn,” the wizard suggested.

  “It’s in your spell books,” advised Lorian, “but it will take some time to master such a strong spell.”

  “All the more reason to get started,” Matt replied.

  Eric stifled a frown. They were at Sonneri’s mercy, and he might be the one trying to kill them.

  “My head is spinning,” remarked Anna.

  Eric gave her a smile. “Maybe you should lay off the wine.”

  “On the contrary,” she replied, reaching for the decanter, “I think I need more.�
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  The dwarf rumbled with laughter. “A lass after my own spirit. Drink up, my dear.”

  “Not too much,” cautioned Lorian. “You have a long day tomorrow.”

  “All the more reason to forget about everything for tonight,” said Ryan, agreeing with her. He took the wine and drained what was left.

  Eric had to admit that maybe they had a point, but as safe as Arundell appeared, he decided that at least one of them should keep his wits about him.

  Chapter 10 – Aspirations

  The next morning started early for everyone, with a first day of training. They’d train all the way to the mountains as time and circumstance allowed. Ryan and Eric started at a grassy archery range just behind the main house, Morven instructing them in the cross bow – a bow mounted on a wooden block with a trigger like a gun, making it easier to use. Instead of an arrow with an arrowhead and feathers, it shot a bolt without either. To Eric, Ryan seemed unhappy about spending all day learning to use weapons, but they only fired at targets of straw, wooden blocks, or severed tree trunks. When he finally hit the latter, it nearly flew apart from the force.

  Looking impressed, Ryan asked, “What’s this bow made of?”

  As Morven replied, Eric’s eyes darted behind them toward the manor, seeing three elves watching them, one being the servant with white streaks in his hair.

  “Ash wood, sinew, horn,” Morven answered, “glued together with animal tendon. It is strong and resilient.”

  “A composite bow,” observed Eric to Ryan. He’d heard of them but never seen one. More powerful than other bows, they could punch a hole through plate armor like Ryan’s.

  Their aim worsened with the long and short bows, though Eric was better than Ryan. Morven gave frequent guidance, criticism, and occasional displays of impressive skill, making them glad he would accompany them to Castle Darlonon. Otherwise they could only hope for bluffing cult members into laying down weapons before revealing how bad a shot they were.

  “Leave the books,” commanded Lorian from the doorway.