“As payment for the curse of the ring, I will offer you some parting advice. No one in your group is powerful enough to control the ring. Two portals are open because the ring’s power has been unleashed. The longer the portals are open, the closer the Plane of Chaos and Tellus will come together, and the easier it will be for creatures to cross from one plane to the other. They will try to kill you and take the ring for themselves.”
As if to emphasize Malachite’s point, a huge leathery beast flew out of the portal and screamed in defiance. The beast was high in the air, but Evisar thought it was as large as one of the giants they defeated. The beast had a long snake-like body that slithered gracefully through the air. Each of its wings was as long as its serpentine body, and its large, reptilian head was filled with razor sharp teeth. Evisar could see the creature had no eyes, but almost immediately after coming through the portal the creature let out a piercing blast, turned gracefully toward the companions and seemed to hone in on their position. As it came closer it opened its mouth and let out a high pitched sound that Evisar could barely hear, but that shook the ground. Evisar raised Neverlost in a defensive stance and watched the other companions do the same. As the leathery beast screeched toward the companions, Malachite swatted it out of the air with his clawed hand and stomped the large creature into the ground, killing it.
“Annoying insect.”
Malachite turned around without preamble, looked at the hole where the fortress once stood with some satisfaction, and took to the air, heading northeast back to his lair.
Evisar moved forward to look at the crushed beast and found that it not only looked deadly and grotesque, but also that it looked utterly foreign to this world. How had it known where Valihorn was standing? The creature clearly didn’t have any eyes, yet it turned toward Valihorn almost immediately after it came out of the blue portal. Evisar looked at the creature one last time and calmly thought that if this was the kind of creature they could expect to come out of the portal, and if these creatures were really drawn to the ring as Malachite said, then they were in genuine danger.
Chapter 75: An Honest Man’s Story
Jon rode his horse at a good pace for three days before he finally made it to the outskirts of Jewlian. He had only been to the capital city once before, but it was a wonder to behold. Jon didn’t know of anyplace else in the world where so many people lived under the harmony of one family’s rule. Jewlian was home to no less than fifty thousand souls. Kentar had been under the rule of the Pelt Family for the last six hundred years.
Jon made it through the city gate easily enough and found his way through the narrow streets to Jewlian Castle. Security at the castle gate was a bit stricter, and they didn’t take his captain’s uniform at face value. Luckily, Jon knew the lieutenant who had the watch from his days at the academy.
Jon stepped forward with a smile on his face to shake his friend’s hand. “Lieutenant Capstone is it? Who would have ever thought? How have you been, Gregory?”
“Look at you. Are you a captain now? How in the seven hells did that happen?”
Jon released his friend’s grip and said, “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s what brings me to your gate.”
“Is that so? Tell me what’s going on.”
Jon explained how he obtained his rank, where he had come from, and what he was doing at the castle gate. Lieutenant Capstone took Jon inside the castle and sat him down in a closed room and posted two guards outside the door. Gregory eventually returned with someone he introduced as Rafa. Jon had never met Rafa, but he had heard the name. Rafa walked into the closed room dressed like a man of the king’s court and immediately took charge of the situation. He sat down across the table from Jon while Lieutenant Capstone stood at attention next to the only door to the room.
Rafa started by saying, “The good Lieutenant has told me some of your story, but I of course want to hear it from your own lips.”
“And that’s fine, except that I don’t know who you are. What happened to me and mine is of critical importance to Kentar, and I can’t have that kind of information falling into the wrong hands.” Jon looked past Rafa and nodded at Gregory. “He’s a soldier and a friend from my academy days. Since no one knew I was coming and I found him standing watch at the castle gate, I am inclined to trust his word of honor as a loyal soldier of Kentar. Lieutenant Capstone, can you tell me who this man is before I tell him secrets critical to the future of Kentar?”
The Lieutenant looked to Rafa for direction, and Rafa inclined his head. “Please, tell the good Captain who I am.”
Gregory looked at Jon and said, “Rafa is currently charged with commanding the Sorcerers of Kentar. He was second in command until High Wizard Vanderhoff went missing several moons ago. He is one of King Benjin III’s most trusted aides. You can be sure that whatever you tell him will make it safely to the King’s ears.”
Rafa turned back to Jon and asked, “Now are you satisfied, Captain?”
It was well known that the Sorcerers were wise and utterly loyal to the Crown. If he couldn’t tell the King his news directly, then one of the King’s highest advisors was the next best thing. Jon inclined his head and said, “Very well. Are you aware that a group of more than one thousand citizens was sent into Glenmyr Forest with a full battalion of soldiers in order to found a logging town?”
“Of course. The King is trying to expand the borders of Kentar eastward. In order to do that, we need willing settlers and large amounts of timber. If memory serves, I believe the settlers decided to call the new town Endwood before they left for the frontier.”
“That’s correct, my lord.”
“Yes, yes, now it is starting to come back to me. Endwood is the first of several new towns and logging camps the Crown is hoping to start. Their success is key to the future expansion of Kentar. How is the logging progressing? I assume that since you are here something has gone amiss.”
They had finally come to the crux of the matter. Jon had traveled through all seven hells to deliver this message. He knew what he had to say next was humiliating, but he refused to shy away from his responsibility. Jon lifted his head and in a loud, clear voice said, “Endwood has been completely destroyed and abandoned, my lord.”
At this point Rafa held up his hand to stop Jon right there. He turned to Lieutenant Capstone at the door and said, “Lieutenant, will you go outside and move yourself and the posted guards down to the end of the hall? You are a good soldier and we value your service, but this report is not for your ears, nor is it for the ears of the soldiers standing guard outside the door.”
Gregory did not bother to hide his irritation, but he was a professional who had been well trained. He muttered an “aye, sir” under his breath and left the room. Rafa turned back to Jon and silently motioned for him to continue.
Jon asked, “Why did you ask him to leave the room? There was nothing secret about my assignment.”
“You honestly think so? You just told me Endwood has been destroyed, and that fact is going to have large repercussions for Kentar. Besides which, it does not improve morale for everyone to know that Kentar was defeated and one of our towns with a full battalion of soldiers was destroyed. Now, tell me exactly what happened.”
“I set out with the settlers six moons ago as a lieutenant under Captain Sheval. We arrived at the frontier and set up Endwood on the river a few miles inside Glenmyr Forest. We built the town up with the sweat of our brows and started felling old, thick trees at a good rate. We threw the logs in the river that flowed through the town and began floating them downstream toward Goldguard. Half a moon passed and everything was going fine until four creatures that claimed to be elves showed up at the front gate.”
Jon expected some sort of excited reaction or disbelief from Rafa, but the wizard simply said, “Go on, Captain.”
“I know we were all taught as children that elves once inhabited the forests of Tellus, but that they disappeared or were run off hundreds of ye
ars ago. I know what you are thinking, my lord, but I swear to you that four elves came to our gate. They were short, frail looking creatures with pointy ears, just as the legends say.”
“I believe you, Captain. Please continue.”
“Well, they said we were violating the Treaty of Glenmyr. The lead elf even went so far as to produce a copy of the treaty for us to read.” Jon reached into his travel bag and brought out the parchment Lord Chas had given to him. Rafa took the parchment as Jon continued, “They claimed that we were violating the treaty by cutting down trees inside the forest. Captain Sheval was quite rude to the elves. He disputed their claim that we were breaking the treaty by arguing that the treaty was not between Kentar and the elves. The elves offered to come in and discuss the dispute with us, but Captain Sheval all but slammed the gate in their faces. The lead elf did not take kindly to this treatment. He threw open the gate, injured one of our soldiers, and threatened us with destruction. After the elves went back into the forest, I cornered the Captain and asked him what was going on. He basically told me that everything has a reason and that I should sit down and shut up. It seemed as though the Captain was trying to instigate a confrontation with the elves, and it made me wonder if the Crown had sent along a battalion of soldiers because the King was expecting a confrontation.”
At this last statement Rafa shook his head adamantly from side to side. “I do not know why Captain Sheval acted in a rude manner toward the elves. It certainly did not have anything to do with any special orders he received from the Crown. Perhaps he was angry that they were trying to upset his plans, or perhaps he was worried about his career. As for the number of soldiers that were sent to the frontier, that was for everyone’s protection. We have not had contact inside of Glenmyr Forest for a number of years and did not have any idea what you might find there. We did not want any surprises, so that is why we sent an entire battalion of soldiers.”
On the surface, what Rafa said made complete sense, but Jon remembered with perfect clarity something else that Captain Sheval had said to the elves. Well, good elves, I’ve been expecting you for some time. Why had the Captain said this, and why was Rafa saying something different? Perhaps Rafa truly hadn’t known that elves still occupied the forest. Perhaps the Captain had believed in the old stories and fully believed that the elves would come to confront him. There was no way for Jon to be sure without asking Rafa, but he decided not to press the matter.
Instead, Jon continued with his briefing. “After the elves left, several days passed with no troubles at all. Then one day two giants attacked Endwood out of nowhere. They killed several citizens and more than two dozen soldiers. In the end, I was forced to call on the Sorcerers in order to drive them off.”
Rafa said, “Yes, I remember hearing about that. I believe two Sorcerers teleported to Endwood; together they and your soldiers were able to drive off the giants.”
“That’s correct, my lord. The giants were driven off, but not before they took two of our females and nearly all of our food stores.”
“Hmm, that is unusual, but surely you were able to recover after the attack.”
“Yes, we repaired the town and logging resumed, but unfortunately Captain Sheval was killed during the giant attack. He was shot in the back, through the heart, presumably by friendly fire.”
“You say presumably like you are not entirely convinced?”
“I’m not.” Jon reached into his pack again and produced a long shaft covered in a gray cloth. Jon pulled back the cloth and revealed an arrow with a lethally sharp tip. “This is the arrow that killed Captain Sheval. As you can see, it has black fletching instead of the standard issue white of the Kentarian army. I believe this means that someone intentionally killed Captain Sheval. I don’t know who that someone is, but during the giant attack, Captain Sheval was the only person hit and killed by friendly fire.”
Rafa gingerly pulled on the gray cloth and brought the arrow over to his side of the table. He examined it closely under the lamp and said, “I appreciate you bringing this evidence to my attention, Captain. It makes me wonder if one of our soldiers took the opportunity during the confusion to kill a captain he did not care for, or if perhaps an elf took advantage of the confusion to take out a commander and remove any organized resistance.”
Jon hadn’t thought about it in quite that way. “After the fight with the giants, I gave myself a battlefield promotion to captain and took command of Endwood. A few days later strange events started happening with alarming regularity. A logger went into the woods alone and didn’t come back. When we found him, his entire body was wilted, like he had aged a hundred years in just one day. A ghost appeared later that night in the courtyard of the town and told us that he was the protector of the forest. The ghost said that anyone who harmed a tree would die. A few days after that, three lumberjacks were found dead in their barracks. Two of them had been wilted in their sleep, just as the one out in the woods, but the third lumberjack had actually gotten out of bed and been nearly cut in half by some kind of blade. There was a warning written on the walls that said ‘leave my forest alone.’ After that, many of the citizens and soldiers left Endwood to return to Kentar. I can’t say I blamed them. If I hadn’t been the captain, I might have done the same.”
Rafa stopped him at this point and said, “So a specter started haunting Endwood by wilting the people and cutting them in half with some sort of blade.”
“I know how it sounds, my lord, but the ghost was real. People were being killed with no explanation.”
“Be at ease, Captain. I fully believe your story. Please continue.”
Jon relaxed slightly and continued. “Two nights later, a good portion of the town was set on fire. We were all busy trying to put the fire out when the ghost walked right through the hottest part of the flame. One of my soldiers tried to attack the ghost, but the ghost breathed on him and he wilted right before our eyes. I have never been so scared in my entire life, and neither had anyone else. The entire town simply dropped what we were doing and ran into the woods. When morning came, I collected anyone I could find and pressed westward for Locus.”
“So the town of Endwood has been totally abandoned and you brought the survivors back to Locus. Is that correct?”
Jon looked down, unable to meet Rafa’s eyes. “Yes, my lord. I abandoned my post and my mission was a failure. I’m ready to receive any punishment the Crown thinks is just.”
“On the contrary, Captain, I think you did quite well under such trying circumstances. I want to thank you for traveling all this way to give me a firsthand report of what happened. Rest assured, I will put this information to good use.”
Jon was very nearly speechless. Was he being praised for his failure? “Thank you, my lord.”
“I am going to issue new orders that hold you in Jewlian for the time being. I think the Crown will have a new assignment for you in the next few days. Also, I am going to recommend that your battlefield promotion be made permanent. Is all of this agreeable to you, Captain?”
“Y-Y-Yes, my lord. Anything I can do to serve the Crown. You know that.”
“Your loyalty and ability to command under pressure have truly been tested during this crisis. You are a model soldier for the rest of Kentar.”
And that was that. Rafa bid him a good day and disappeared through the door into the castle. Lieutenant Capstone returned and escorted Jon out of the castle and gave him directions to his new barracks.
Jon left the castle feeling he was missing something pivotal. Jon was a simple soldier who knew his limits. Anything political went right over his head, and he knew it. The status quo was about to change.
Chapter 76: Companion Found
Evisar watched the dragon fly away as the companions rallied around him, waiting to see what he would do next. He looked over his shoulder and saw Nero standing a respectable distance away. Evisar turned to Mestel and asked, “What do you make of the agent the Crown sent?”
Mestel looked at
him and shook his head with uncertainty. “He seems quite capable, and he already saved our lives once. That kind of talent is hard to find and harder still to turn down.”
“Hmmm. True enough.”
Mestel continued, “That being said, there is also something suspicious about him. Why did Gram attack him first instead of us? I sense he’s holding something back, but that could just be the secretive nature of his work as an agent of the Crown.”
Evisar pushed past Valihorn and Xander and stopped a few feet in front of Nero, just out of sword range. Nero looked confidently at him during his approach and said nothing. “And what am I to make of you, Nero, agent of the Crown?”
Nero bowed his head slightly out of respect and said, “I’m at your service, elder son of Lacrue. I will do what I can to aid you in recovering Devin, the rightful First Heir of Armena.”
Evisar was through being discreet, “That’s what you said the first time. I want to know why the Crown sent you to help us. Give it to me honestly or get the hell out of here.”
Nero tilted his head to the side and considered for a moment before answering, “Shane ordered me, on behalf of the King, to aid you in finding the King’s brother. As to why I have been sent, I can only speculate. I know there are those at court who thought after your exile you would slip away into the forest and never be heard from again, but instead you set out to find the First Heir; in the process you made a name for yourselves and impacted the entire region. Word of your exploits reached Armena’s intelligence service and eventually the King. Your progress in finding the First Heir has been slow, it is true, but your exploits have been great. Your band has done more and seen more than Armena’s own search party with an entire kingdom to back it. The King has a vested interest in you as his oldest friends and in your ability to find his brother. But what do I know of such things? All I can tell you for certain is that I will be steadfastly devoted to my mission, regardless of the reasons behind it. When the King orders an agent of the Crown to accomplish a mission, he accomplishes the mission. For Devin’s sake, you should accept my offer of help, regardless of where that offer comes from.”
Do the Gods Despise Us? Page 28
