The Emerald Throne

by Sarah Coley

  Astel sighed and continued to look at the fire as she spoke. "After you were arrested in Rogard, I inquired as to what had happened to Prince Elian. I found a survivor from the attack of his camp. His name is Ethan and he was Elian's Captain. He said most of the Northern towns have fallen to the Goblin hordes. That any out posts Elian had managed to put in place have gone, and that the Army of the dark is moving ever southward. People are fleeing for their lives Eleanor, and they believe that Rogard is the safest place to protect them."

  "That would make sense. It is the capital where the King and his knights are, and it is well defended, but you don't?" Eleanor asked, although she already knew the answer.

  "Before I would have said yes, but the King had gone so far into himself that I fear he would easily close the gates on his people to save himself, and with Elian gone there's no one to challenge him. "

  "I'm surprised you don't share the Kings opinion mage,” Brennus piped up whilst chewing on some rabbit he'd caught for supper. “He spared you when he left the rest of us to die. That's what he does. That's what he always done. The nobles look out for themselves. Always have. They don't get that they need us as much as we need them. It doesn't surprise me that he would close his gates to his subjects."

  "He's grieving for his son he believes is dead Brennus,” Astel pleaded, "he kept me alive more out of necessity than favor because he wanted me to locate his son. I'm as much an outcast as you all."

  "and what about Prince Elian?" Owen piped up from his meal. "Do you believe he's alive? What are you going to do if the Kings right and he's not?"

  "I believe he yet lives Owen. I can feel it in my very soul. If anyone can lead us to victory along side the chosen, it's the Prince. That's why we need to find him and fast."

  "So were chasing a dream on a hunch,” Eleanor said. "I don't like hunches Astel, only facts, and the facts are he was taken by armed Goblins from his camp. His men were all killed or are missing a part from this Ethan, and there's been no request for ransom or any communication from the Goblins. The facts point to him being dead,” Eleanor stated whilst wrapping her clock further round herself from the winter chill.

  "You may be right dear Eleanor, but I intend to find out one way or another. This wont be an easy quest by any means but I could really use your assistance.

  "Brennus scoffed and spoke up. "If it was up to me, we'd be heading south with the rest of them. Maybe find a pleasant town to rest in and win at dice. As far as I'm concerned, when we get to Brackon I'm done with this and if the rest of you have any sense, you'll follow me."

  "That's if there’s still a Brackon left to get to,” Eleanor muttered to herself.

  Chapter 16

  The screaming had started pretty much as soon as Vincent had left the chamber. As promised, Vincent had safe guarded and delivered the Prince of Rogard to his master, and soon he'd be free to leave this stinking cesspool of a Goblin hold and return to his solidarity in the dark mountains which he preferred best.

  He'd hated helping the Prince. Being around humans just reminded him too much of what he used to be, and he'd spent too long pushing that part of him down into his subconscious to have it ripped back open by some stuck up little noble. However, something didn't sit right with Vincent. Elian seemed so noble, so selfless. Nothing like he'd been expecting and there was a small and rather annoying aspect of his being that felt truly bad for what was happening to the Prince.

  Vincent brushed these trivial emotions aside. He had larger fish to fry. He had a meeting with his master Balor shortly and he had to keep his wits about him. Balor could see into the heart of even the coldest individual and he didn't want his Lord to pick up on the mercy he felt for the Prince.

  He turned the last dark corner of the winding underground tunnels that made up the Goblins layer and took a deep breath before entering the room. Inside was dark with only two dim candles lighting the room. The floor and walls were made out of solid stone like all the rooms here, and there was no furniture to be found other than a large stone throne on the back wall. The room was bitterly cold, and if he'd been a warm blooded creature, he would have been able to see his breath. As it was, he never felt the cold, and so took little notice or interest in the temperature of the room.

  As he stood there, a black mist began to materialize in the centre of the room. It swirled and rotated in size until it nearly touched the ceiling. Any ounce of the remaining warmth from the candles were quickly sucked out of the atmosphere from the mist leaving only a dreaded feeling a evil and anger.

  The mist thickened and morphed, taking energy from the atmosphere around it as it materialized into a large horned devil with one large purple glowing eye in the centre of its head, and two arms that ended in a clawed hands.

  Lord Balor looked substantial but Vincent knew that if anyone were stupid enough to reach out to him, their arm would pass straight through the specter. Vincent quickly bowed to his master and remained there waiting for further instructions. You didn't make eye contact with Balor against his wishes if liked your sight.

  "You have done well my child, as I knew you would,” Balor spoke in a booming, deep, echoey voice even though there was no mouth for him to speak through.

  "Thank you my Lord. It is an honor as always to serve you in anyway I can,” Vincent replied whilst remaining bowed.

  "I doubt that somehow. You have been a difficult disciple to break Vincent. Humanity runs deep within you like a disease that festers at your core, and yet I have mercifully overlooked it, hoping it would eventually extinguish. I wonder, have you finally managed to crush it, or do you feel an ounce of sorrow for the Prince?"

  "I feel no sorrow for the Prince my Lord,” Vincent replied a little too quickly, "it is an honor to be chosen to serve you. He will come to see this soon enough."

  "You are crafty with your words my son. You always have been, but I know you are only flattering me. The Prince has a strong spirit. His soul is almost as pure as yours was. I have not enjoyed breaking a human this much in many an age. He will break eventually though. They all do and with my growing army, we'll soon be strong enough to attack the whole of Rogardium and crush the humans from this world once and for all."

  "How is the army my Lord? Have you managed to recruit the remaining Goblin clans to the North?"

  "Yes, we now have both Sleugh’s coven and the Goblins to the North. That combined with the spirits of the great marshes and the Dearg will create a formidable foe."

  Vincent rose to his feet and took a tentative step towards his master. Interested to hear Lord Balors strategy for attacking the humans and his overall plan.

  "How are the humans defenses. Will there be much resistance?"

  Balor sat on the stone throne behind him before he spoke.

  "The raiding parties to the north of Rogardium have successfully breached their outer defenses, pushing the settlers further south. This is putting more strain on supplies near the capital of Rogard. The capture of the Prince has weakened the King’s mind, and his accusations have been thrown at the Elves who could have been their only ally, but instead have become yet another enemy to the humans. Once the Prince is serving me, he will return to Rogard where he will open the gates to let our armies in and surrender the people of Rogard to us, before killing his deranged father and finally himself. With the last of Arthur’s line gone, the humans will lose all resistance and be enslaved or die. Then, we can reclaim this realm as our own."

  "And if the Prince shall not submit?" Vincent asked out of mild curiosity.

  "Then he shall die."

  Vincent began to pace the room. Contemplating the full extent of Balor’s plan. "Do the Elves pose a threat my Lord?"

  "The Elves will keep to themselves as they always have. They are too few in number now to be of any major threat. It is the humans that need to be eradicated if we are ever to reclaim this land, which leads me to your next mission Vincent.”

  “Our scouts report a small party of humans lead by the witch Aste
l have escaped Rogard where they faced execution, and are heading steadily North towards the town of Brackon. No doubt Astel wishes to try and find the Prince and rescue him. This must not be allowed to happen. She is a danger to our cause. I wish you to travel to the town of Brackon, intercept the party and kill them all. Leave no survivors.”

  “I will teleport you to the town to save time. Do not fail me Vincent. If she gets too close and learns the Prince yet lives, she could destroy everything I'm trying to create."

  "Do not fear my Lord, I will not fail you."

  "Then go with haste my child."

  Vincent bowed one last time to Lord Balor before quickly turning and walking out of the room.

  As he headed back through the long winding tunnels, smiling to himself. He would finally be free of the Goblins and their infestation. As the thought of devouring the warm human blood of the mage, Vincent felt his spirit come alive with vigor.

  Chapter 17

  The group had made steady progress northwards towards the town of Brackon. After a week of traveling throughout the day, they could clearly see the turrets of the towns outer defenses rising above the tree line on the opposite hill.

  "It can't be more than a days walk away now,” Brennus announced as he and Eleanor looked out across the valley. As far as the eye could see, there was thick forest in every direction. The bottom of the valley was marked out by the great northern road that the group had been so keen to avoid, with the River Avalon snaking in and out on either side. They where so far north of the great sea to the south that the river was reduced to nothing more than a trickling brook, bubbling a course on the valley floor.

  The trees of the great Northern forest had become thicker and wilder in the last two days that they'd been traveling, almost as though the further they got away from Rogard, the less and less man had a foothold on the land. Brennus had guided them through lesser known paths through the woodland meaning there was little need to use the main road to Brackon.

  They travelled for hours at a time, constantly cutting through overgrown branches and towering weeds. Occasionally the sun would creep through the tree line giving streams of golden glow to the floor below, only to be swallowed up by the encroaching canopy moments later. Eleanor guessed by the growth of the surrounding plants, and the tread of the ground that these paths were only used by a hand full of people who clearly knew these woods like the back of their hands. Brennus was definitely one of these people, and as they slogged on through the woodland, it was clear that knowing his way around this overgrown wilderness would have come in handy for any highway stand off he had planned.

  That evening they made camp in a small clearing near to where they'd looked across the valley. They'd taken care to ensure that they where far enough back into the woodland as to not be seen from the main road below. They all huddled in around the inviting warmth of the fire that Owen had laid, and Eleanor got to work cooking a meal of fish, caught earlier by Brennus.

  "I'm not too sure about all the smoke from the fire,” Eleanor mused half to herself, "hopefully the tree canopy will disperse it enough to make sure it's not seen by any travelers or guards on the main road."

  " I think I can do something about that,” Astel declared whilst picking up her staff. She brought the blue stone close to her face and blew through the stone towards the fire. The smoke immediately dissipated and disappeared whilst leaving the fire to continue burning as though nothing had happened.

  "Well that certainly comes in handy,” Eleanor smiled.

  "It is but a small trick. One of the first few I learnt,” Astel replied.

  "How do you become a mage?" Owen asked. " I mean are you born this way or are you trained. How do they even find mages here?"

  Eleanor looked expectantly at Astel. She had wondered these things herself several times and was keen to know the answers.

  "People are born with magical abilities but usually don't realise they have magic until they come into contact with a form of magic. That person can then be taken on as an apprentice by an already trained mage. Despite the existence of magic in Avalon, someone who possesses these gifts are very rare. Maybe two or three individuals in a generation."

  "How did you know you had magic then Astel? How old were you?" Eleanor asked.

  " I was about eight when I found out. I'd gone to Rogard for the day with my parents to see the parade of the king. Balzadar, my predecessor was following the King, shooting magic fireworks from his staff, when a tiny fleck landed on my shoulder. The next thing I knew, I was hovering several feet from the ground."

  " I bet that must have been a spectacle!" Brennus piped up whilst chuckling. Brennus and Astel hadn't spoken much since escaping Rogard a part from discussing the route they where taking. The differences between their class and opinions showing as an unavoidable gap in their relationship so Brennus' sudden interest took everyone by surprise.

  "That it was for everyone including for my parents. They thought a different witch must have made me hover. We were simple farming folk, but when Balzadar saw what I could do, he approached me and asked my parents for me to be his apprentice. They were thrilled of course. I've been serving the King ever since."

  “You mean you weren’t born a noble?” Brennus asked with curiosity etched on his face.

  “No Brennus. I’m as much a part of the general populace as you,” Astel answered.

  “ Not likely,” Brennus mumbled.

  "Have you ever had an apprentice yourself Astel?" Owen asked, choosing to ignore Brennus’ comment.

  "No, I've never found the time or the person to take under my wing. Whoever I take on will replace me when I die. They must serve the King as the lead mage. It must be someone with exceptional talent, and as I've said before, finding that someone can prove most challenging."

  "What are the mages like where you come from Owen?" Brennus asked. Both Owen and Eleanor had decided when they'd escaped Rogard that there was no point denying to Brennus where they'd come from or how they'd got here. Brennus was much an accessory to Astel’s plan as they were and he'd had ample opportunity to abandon them or turn them in and hadn't done so yet. If he was to trust them, then they had to trust him first.

  " Erm we don't have mages because there's no magic,” Eleanor replied.

  "What, no magic at all?" Brennus asked looking completely baffled, "how do you fight evil creatures like the Deargs and protect the people then?"

  "There isn't anything like that in England, sorry Albion. At least not that I know of."

  "That's amazing. What does your King and the knights do all day then if there's nothing for them to fight?" Brennus' face was quickly growing with intrigue.

  "Well, we have a Queen not a King, and she's not really in charge as such. We have an elected government that decides everything, and there aren't really any knights anymore. At least not the sword wielding variety, mainly because we've developed more powerful weapons. As for Dearg, there aren't any,” Eleanor finished. The conversation was starting to show just how different their two worlds were, and yet Eleanor felt just as comfortable with the people they met here as she did in her world.

  "That sounds brilliant,” Brennus said, "no monsters and ruled by the people not a King. I think I'll come back to your world with you."

  "Brennus, I can honestly say that someone with your caliber would struggle to adapt to our way of life,” Eleanor declared whilst smiling.

  "I know. There's just not enough of me to go around,” he declared.

  "You wish, idiot!" Owen joked.

  "Poor sword wielding Fool."

  "Womanizing Moron."

  "Ok, ladies,” Eleanor declared whilst Astel rolled her eyes, "why don't we all shut it and eat our supper. After that, Brennus, you're on first watch."

  "I'm on every watch!" Brennus protested.

  "Oh good. we understand each other then."

  Eleanor had decided to call it a night shortly after the group had finished supper. With it being so cold at this time of
year and dark early, there was nothing more comforting than her own company tucked up in her tent.

  When they'd escaped, they'd had had to leave everything they'd brought with them at the castle. This had included all their camping equipment and supplies, and of course their horses. Since then, they'd walked all day, everyday to try and reach Brackon quickly. Eleanor reckoned covering about fifteen miles a day, and they had replaced their supplies thanks to Astel, who was able to conjure tents from that magical staff of hers. It was a blessing in the Winter weather, and Eleanor loved her own space.

  Usually, she was so tired from the walk that she fell asleep instantly, but with the group nearly at their destination and possibly the end of their journey, Eleanor was feeling uneasy. It made sense to take Owen and go back to her Britain, and her dimension. After all, they'd gone to Rogard like Astel had asked, and were now outlaws so there was really no reason to stay, but there was a feeling that she just couldn't shake, like if she left she was leaving behind something truly great.

  After an hour of staring at the roof of her tent, Eleanor decided to give up trying to sleep and got to her feet. She figured if she was going to be awake anyway, she may as well be on watch.

  She passed the now dying embers of their camp fire, and found Brennus perched on a nearby log. He was sharpening a small branch he'd found with one of his daggers into a miniature stake when he turned to see Eleanor.

  "You shouldn't sneak up on a man like this when he's on watch Eleanor. I could have run you through,” Brennus looked Eleanor square in the eyes and she could tell he was deadly serious.

  "I'll bare that in mind,” Eleanor replied, "I can't seem to sleep so why don't you go get some rest and I'll keep watch?"

  "It's kind of you to offer but you should get the rest while you can, and besides, you're not skilled enough with a sword to take on anyone who approaches, nor would you know the signs, but if your feeling awake, come and sit a while. I'm tucking into this bottle of whiskey I stole from the last village we skirted round. It's not bad although I'm not sure it's whiskey to be honest."