by Blink, Bob
A brief smile passed across the face of the Archimandrite. “I understand your concern. I will make it so. If you prefer, you may hunt the local woods for your own game. I suspect you find our fare somewhat less appealing than you are accustomed to any way.”
Chapter 28
“You’re really anxious to get away from here, aren’t you?” Rigo asked Daria who was throwing herself into the task of getting their belongings gathered together so they could leave the Monastery later in the morning. Kaler was absent for the moment attending to an unexpected request for a visit from his brother, and Daria was organizing his items, her own already put away and ready.
“This place is too restrictive,” she replied. “I’ll be glad when we are able to better control our own destiny.”
It was true that Daria had had a rougher time than the two men. As a woman, she hadn’t been allowed to move around outside the guest area, although she’d spent most days with Kaler out in the nearby hills hunting for fresh game. But the end of each day had meant returning to the Monastery and its restrictive rules. No wonder she was happy to be leaving, even though it had taken them less than two weeks to complete their researches.
“It’s too bad you didn’t find more of what you were seeking.”
Rigo shrugged. “We may have found more than we realize. There was more to sift through here than anywhere I’ve been before. Clearly there are indications that those with my abilities existed, and although their numbers dropped drastically, others may still exist.”
“Do you really think that map you and the scholar created from the many references has any value?”
It was the same question the Archimandrite had asked him the previous evening. Rigo recalled the meeting and could sense the senior monk was happy Rigo and his friends would be leaving.
“It suggests an area to be investigated,” Rigo had explained to the Archimandrite. He didn’t tell the man that it matched to some degree where his instincts had been pointing him all along. Not exactly, but east, beyond Lopal. The map focused on an area much further north, which would mean they would have to backtrack a significant distance. He toyed with the idea of following the urging inside him since it might be closer, but an instinct warned him that he might not yet be ready for that journey. He wished he understood better the conflict inside himself.
The references in the limited materials the Monastery had resulted in defining a rough area some four to five day’s travel distance in diameter located to the east of central Lopal. That was a huge area and would take time to search. It was also located in a rugged area of the country. Even going into Lopal at this time might have its own difficulties, but that’s where he would have to venture if he were to find any answers. Rigo had hoped the archives here were more extensive, but the scholar who worked with him indicated this was truly all they had. Rigo sensed the truthfulness in the man, and had accepted that he would have to glean whatever he might learn from the materials provided.
“Did you find anything else that would serve you in finding answers to your abilities?” the Archimandrite had asked.
“There were clues and suggestions, but nothing definitive. One could easily dismiss the materials as fiction, but knowing what I can do there were threads that suggest some of the stories were factual. Those with my abilities appear to have been limited in number compared to those without, but at one time appear to have been spread around the world. Some kind of plague, perhaps even the coughing sickness, struck and reduced their numbers to a pitiful few. Even with their magic they were unable to fight off the plague, and in fact might have been more susceptible to it.”
The references suggested powers and abilities that dwarfed his own. He saw references to a focused energy bolt that was fiercely destructive. He thought he might like to try something like that once they were away and in a secluded location. Other references indicated that a select group of wizards, both male and female he had learned, had the ability to heal. He’d seen one reference that indicated they could fly. Most of the tales suggested the wizards served the nobility, in particular the king, and helped hold the kingdoms together.
There were also several confusing texts that pointed to an on-going battle with some kind of brutal creature that only the power of the wizards could hold back. No specifics were found, and Rigo could only wonder if those accounts had any validity since no such creatures were known and there had been no wizards to control them for centuries.
“And now you will seek out others like yourself?” the Archimandrite had asked. “What will you do if you find them?”
“That I cannot say,” Rigo answered truthfully. “A lot will depend on what answers they can give me.”
The audience with the Archimandrite had ended cordially enough, although Rigo was certain the man would have liked to suppress what Rigo had learned. He feared the power that Rigo commanded, and that had been the only reason cooperation had been so forthcoming. Rigo wondered what actions the man might take once they were well away from Ald-del.
“It will be a difficult and long expedition,” Rigo said to Daria. “It is not a trip you need embark upon. I know you have matters of your own to pursue.”
“That can be decided later,” she replied, pushing aside his concern. “How much longer do you think Kaler will be? The last time he met with his brother it didn’t take long at all.”
Brother Nyll sat silently across from his younger brother. Ten years older and decidedly plump from years spent in study with a minimum of manual labor. He shared the same blond hair as Kaler, although with his cut close on the side in the style of the Monastery, and a wide bald spot taking away the front, his looked like a half ring except where it hung in a thin ponytail in the back. Kaler hoped the baldness was not something he would have in his near future.
Kaler waited patiently, uncertain what had prompted his brother to request this meeting. The first time they had met, it had been clear that Nyll had seen his intrusion on the sanctuary an invasion of the carefully constructed world his brother had made for himself. At that time he had wanted nothing that would link him to Kaler and his friends, almost denying the family ties that had existed. Today was different. Nyll smiled contentedly.
“You are leaving today, I’m told,” he said finally.
“That is correct,” Kaler answered, still wondering what this was about.
“You have found what you came for?” Nyll asked.
“Not as much as my friend would have liked,” Kaler admitted. “But apparently enough to point us elsewhere.”
“I assume you will accompany this wizard on his journey.”
“That is my intention. Why?”
“I fear you will find great dangers await you,” Nyll replied.
“From the Archimandrite and the monks here?”
“I cannot see what means they would have that would affect you, but from the whispers within these halls it is no secret the Archimandrite would not feel badly should something befall your party. I am also certain that any future visitors who come seeking the knowledge that you came for will find that no scrolls or texts on such matters exist here any longer.”
Kaler nodded. He wasn’t surprised. “Should you be telling me these thing?”
“I should not be speaking with you at all. My life here requires denial of all outside. Family and the world of others does not exist. It should not matter to me what becomes of you. I will have to admit to certain transgressions to the Prior and accept the appropriate penance. It is likely I will be returned to the lowest level novice to spend another year or two in silence to reflect upon my failures.”
“I’m sorry …”
Nyll held up a hand to stay Kaler’s words.
“This is my choice. The Monastery is supposed to seek enlightenment. I have witnessed a side of the order that was not revealed to me before. Some of the same pettiness and self-serving politics that I sought to escape have been displayed. I will have to think on this during my years of penance.”
“Is there something you wished to tell me?” Kaler asked. “Is the map and the guidance provided false?”
Nyll shook his head. “Brother Yori is without deceit. He led your friend true. For him it was another intellectual challenge.”
Nyll paused and seemed to reflect.
“You know that war is coming?” he asked suddenly.
“There have been rumblings of such for some time,” Kaler replied.
“We are secluded here, far from most of the affairs of men, but we have our eyes and ears. In recent weeks the clashes have grown in number and ferocity. It is unlikely the path can be turned aside. Lopal will be the aggressor and will seek to win lands from both Kellmore and Branid. Your path will take you into Lopal. The current state of affairs will make that even more dangerous than normal.”
“I am aware of the dangers,” Kaler said. “If war comes, there will be no places that are truly safe.”
Nyll nodded, and then hesitated. Finally he reached down and picked up something from the floor behind him that Kaler hadn’t noticed earlier. It was long and thin, and wrapped in a cloth bag.
“Take this with you on your journey,” Nyll said. “It might make a difference in the outcome.” He handed the cloth wrapped object to Kaler.
Curious, Kaler accepted the object from his brother. Upon grasping it he was certain what it had to be.
“A sword?” he asked surprised. His brother had never approved of his interest in weapons.
Nyll nodded.
Carefully, Kaler pulled the sword from the protective cloth bag. Inside was a beautifully crafted scabbard for the blade. It was almost a foot longer than the short sword he normally carried, but considerably shorter than the two-handed blade he carried across his back. It felt surprisingly light and was not nearly as broad as any sword he’d handled before.
His interest truly peaked, he slowly pulled the blade from the scabbard. Bright clear steel with the smallest of ripples greeted his eyes as the blade was exposed. The blade was wedge-shaped with an edge on one side only as compared to his current sword that carried an edge on both sides. He couldn’t believe what he was holding.
“A Kellmore Serang?” he asked almost whispering. The Serang was the most cherished of all of the Kellmore blades. Fewer than ten were made a year if the stories were to be believed.
Nyll nodded.
“How did you get this?”
“The story of how it came to be at the Monastery is unimportant. The former owner has no need of it, and the weapon has been locked away deep in the bowels of the facility. No one will miss it and wonder about it. Take it with you. It might make a difference as I said.”
Kaler didn’t know what to say.
“A gift such as this… .”
Nyll held up his hand. “It is nothing to me and you have always had a way with the blades. This is what you deserve. I cannot see you go into danger knowing this might have helped. Now, I must go. I have been delinquent long enough.”
Nyll stood and turned toward the door. Then he stopped and turned back.
“Our brother is well?” he asked.
“I have not seen or written him for some time, but he was doing well enough when we last exchanged letters.”
Nyll nodded. “You see. I have not properly divorced myself from worldly cares.” Then he stepped through the door and disappeared.
Kaler led the group as they rode away. The Monastery was already lost in the forest behind them as they headed northwest. As they rode they considered the route they would take. With the news from Nyll that the coming war had increased the raids across the borders they decided they would cross into Lopal as soon as possible. They would change their clothing to the local style. Hiding their accents would be difficult, but they would be less likely to run into raiding parties inside Lopal than they would by riding along the river on the Kellmore side. Since Lopal was mostly wilderness, they would have a reasonable chance of making their way unseen. Even if discovered, they were hardly a force that could be considered threatening.
Chapter 29
After eight days of following the river northward Rigo was beginning to despair they were ever going to find a way across. This far south the Great Central River lived up to its name. It was deep and swift, and extremely wide. It was far too wide for their horses to be able to swim across. It was starting to make sense why the river had become the established border between Kellmore and Lopal. Rigo was beginning to suspect that short of a boat they would have to ride all the way back north until they reached one of the few villages on the river before they would find a means across.
They were well into summer and the tropical storms had tapered off during the time they had been at the Monastery. Only twice since they had left had they needed to find refuge from a sudden downpour. The giant broadleaf trees with their already ripening long orange clusters of fruit had provided sanctuary in those cases. The ground still showed signs of moisture, but no longer did they find themselves traveling through fields of mud.
At night when they made camp Rigo had taken to spending a little time practicing his skills and attempting some of the abilities he’d read about in the records he’d been exposed to at the Monastery. He could now create the fireballs and control them far more expertly than before, with or without the staff at hand. He’d shot them into the river where they exploded and threw great clouds of steam high into the air when they struck the surface. In other areas he’d had far less success. He was unable to create the energy bolt that had seemed such a formidable weapon. He simply had no idea where to start. Similarly, he was unable to levitate, something that might have been helpful in their current situation.
“We’re going to have to circle around again,” Kaler said as they viewed the path ahead from the top of a small hill.
The ground was slanting upwards ahead and they could see the river in the distance. Once again a sheer rock wall rose out of the water more than a hundred feet before reaching the crest. The rock wall was slanted outward at the top, so that the river at the base was actually almost fifty feet under the lip of stone above. What surface was discernable above was barren of trees and bushes, and appeared to be the loose unpredictable stone they had encountered before. The first trees didn’t take root for more than fifty feet back from the edge, suggesting anything on the loose and slanted surface was at risk of falling into the current below. It didn’t help that several hundred paces away on the opposite shore they could see smooth flat beach that would have been simple to ride along.
“We’ll need to backtrack to get around the hill,” Daria noted as she stood in the stirrups of her saddle observing the way ahead.
“Lead on,” Rigo said. He doubted they would make much distance today. Maybe it would be best to circle inland and travel north for a day or two before returning to the river to see if the nature of the country had changed. This climbing up and down and circling around was taking far too long.
Daria led the way through the ravine that finally brought them out onto the skirt of the bluff that had cut off their progress.
“It appears if we bypass the next two hills there is a slow climb that might take us up high enough to get a look at what the river is like for some distance. Maybe we will want to ride inland after having a look, and try to work our way around this local cluster. There is too much stone and the river seems to be guided by it.”
“It’ll be time to make camp once we climb up there,” Kaler said. “Maybe tomorrow we will be luckier.”
Daria led off again with Kaler following and Rigo bringing up the rear. At least they hadn’t seen any sign of anyone else. It made sense. If Lopal was indeed sending frequent raiding parties over the river by boat, they would be more likely to do so farther north where there was something to raid.
They were nearing the top of the next bluff when Daria suddenly held up a hand and said softly, “I smell smoke.”
Now that she had brought it to their attention, both Rigo and Kaler noticed it as well
. As yet it was subtle, indicating whoever had started a fire was still some distance away.
“We better have a look,” Kaler said. “We need to know what we might be up against.”
Daria pointed to a small ravine protected by a copse of hardwood trees where they could hide the horses. There was wet grass the horses could eat and they would be out of sight. Daria checked her knives, while Kaler tested the new blade in its scabbard. He had practiced almost daily with the thin and flexible blade and was now quite comfortable with it. Rigo simply took his staff in hand and they set out, testing the wind to determine which direction the smoke had come from.
They used the lengthening shadows and cover provided by the brush and trees to make their way up the side of the hill. Whoever was up there would have had a commanding view of the direction they had come from and had they been watching would have seen them coming for some time. They couldn’t rule out the possibility of an ambush.
“It looks like one man,” Daria whispered to the others when they had found the source of the fire and had managed to slink in close enough to have a careful look. Two horses were tied off to one side where both water and grass were abundant, and the lone camper seemed to be happily going about his chores making dinner. From the looks of the camp, he’d been here for at least a day or two. Had there been more than just the lone man, they would have been able to see sign of their presence in the arrangement of the camp.
“I wonder what he is doing out here?” Rigo asked softly.
“Maybe we should go and ask him,” Kaler suggested. “He might be someone a little more familiar with the area.”
Certain they were not walking into trouble, the threesome slowly made their way up the last section of the hill to where the man, an older man they could see now, was stirring something in a pot with his back turned. Daria hadn’t come by the name “ghost” for no reason and probably could have drifted up on him without his being aware, but as hard as they tried neither Rigo nor Kaler could match their friend for stealth.
