Defenders of the Sacred Land: Expanded and Re-Issued (The Sacred Land Legacy Book 1)

by Mark E. Tyson

  “I thought we might stay in the guest quarters here on the first floor. I’m not sure if the rooms upstairs are kept up,” Shey answered. “I don’t want any light in the windows up there to attract people to us either. I can’t imagine what manner of people might be lurking about, evading the Defender patrols.”

  “If you don’t mind, my lady, can you show me to my quarters after supper? I plan to go right to sleep after I get a belly full.”

  “I will show us all to our quarters. The only one who has had any good sleep lately is Geron, and I hope he is able to sleep through the night.”

  The boy smiled and nodded that he could.

  “Good.” She sniffed the air. “That smells divine, Sylvalora. What is it?”

  “Pork chops and mashed potatoes.”

  “There were pork chops?” Shey was surprised they kept.

  Sylvalora looked at her as if her answer was obvious. “Magical stores tend to be stocked the best. There is also eggs and bacon for breakfast.”

  The moon loomed high in the midnight sky when Geron ventured out of his room. Lyrrath watched as the boy moved silently in the shadows. He was about to ask what the boy was doing out of bed when the moonlight, falling through the windows, illuminated the boy’s face as he passed from shadow to light and then back into shadow. Instead of a young boy, the face was contorted into the countenance of a stunted dragon’s maw. Red eyes reflected the moonlight like a house cat. A set of bat-like wings appeared, and the boy wrapped them around his body as he passed through the light of another window and back into shadow. Lyrrath sniffed the air. There was no repulsive odor detectable. Lyrrath knew the boy had not seen him, so he took the opportunity to follow him. From his pocket he produced a small jade statuette and drew some essence from it, enough to cloak himself in darkness and make himself undetectable as well as give himself vision to see through the darkness. He followed the shadow-lurking creature down stone stairs into the dungeon.

  After dodging some potentially dangerous crumbling stone walls, Lyrrath emerged into a chamber of glass tubes, cauldrons, and rows of old parchment and books. He could detect magic emanating from some of the parchments and shelves, so he avoided them. The creature he knew as Geron rummaged through some of the contents on a table and produced a stone. He held it up to examine it in the small amount of moonlight that streamed through the small window Geron surmised was at the base of the tower. The creature cackled and wrapped its wings around itself again. Lyrrath moved to get out of its way and inadvertently kicked some of the crumbling stone wall he was standing next to. The Shadow Lurker didn’t hesitate. It was on him in one leap, wings extended again. The spell Lyrrath had cast dropped.

  “You are the one called Lyrrath.” The creature spoke with a low, raspy voice.

  Lyrrath reached for the statuette in his pocket, but the Shadow Lurker caught his hand. “Aye, I am he. Who are you?”

  “I can’t kill you. It would draw suspicion.” He moved Lyrrath’s hand aside. “What are you trying to get at?” He found the statuette. “Ah, you have magic.”

  Lyrrath felt the creature draw essence. “What are you doing?”

  “Something you will not remember,” the creature said.

  Lyrrath tried to struggle free when he felt the creature in his mind.

  Lady Shey awoke to the smell of bacon, eggs, and bittering tea. After she tied her hair back and got dressed, she hurried to the kitchen. Geron was there, drawing with coal and parchment again. Sylvalora prepared breakfast over the cooking hearth, and Lyrrath, looking tired with bags under his eyes, sipped on some bittering tea.

  “Top of the morning to you all,” she said. Geron bolted for her and embraced her in a hug. “Careful you don’t get black coal all over me, child.”

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “That’s all right. Why don’t you go wash up for breakfast.”

  He nodded and ran off. Shey thought she saw Lyrrath cringe when the boy ran past him. “What is the story with you this morning?”

  “I didn’t sleep well. It’s this Sacred Land—I kept dreaming of black creatures in the night and all manners of horrible things.”

  “This place can get to you, especially if you are a wielder. The lack of essence around takes some getting used to.”

  “That must be it. I don’t like it.”

  Rodraq entered the room. He was dressed in leather and linen. Shey was not used to seeing him out of his armor. “I found a way down into the dungeon. We can go there after breakfast.”

  “Not me,” Lyrrath said. “If you don’t mind, I think I would rather stay up here. In fact, I may go back to bed and see if I can catch up on sleep.”

  “I think that would be fine,” Shey said.

  After breakfast, Rodraq led Shey, Geron, and Sylvalora down a maze of crumbling stone corridors into the dungeon. Shey remembered where to go, and soon they were in the private laboratory and workshop of Toborne.

  “What is it we are searching for?” Rodraq asked while looking over some blank parchment, which appeared almost new, on a work table. “This parchment can’t be that old.”

  Sylvalora met him at the table. “Let me see that, please.” Rodraq handed over the parchment. Sylvalora concentrated on it for a few moments, and writing appeared. “As I expected. It is ancient but also enchanted.”

  “What does it read?” Lady Shey asked.

  “It’s part of a journal. I suspect a few pages fell out of a larger volume of notes. Toborne must have removed some of his belongings in haste. This page is written in an ancient language. I can still read some of it. It mentions a village that doesn’t exist yet in the Jagged Mountains. There the line of the Ardens will produce one who will possess the power to defeat the Oracle.”

  “The Oracle. Was this written during the War of the Oracle?” Shey asked.

  “There is no way to know.” She picked up another page and brought the words out of it. “This one says there are several who will grow up around the one who will aid . . . It trails off there.” She turned the page over and looked at some other parchment. “That’s all there is, just these two short entries.”

  Shey breathed in. “Well, there is nothing here about Morgoran?”

  Sylvalora looked around some more. “No, the rest are just formulas and notes pertaining to the jade statuettes.” Sylvalora gave Lady Shey a look. “I think you already know what happened to Morgoran and his involvement in Toborne’s experiments.”

  “Aye, I do. I have also hoped his involvement with Toborne was just with essence and the statuettes and not with his darker experiments on dragonkind. It is rumored that Morgoran trapped Toborne’s being, his essence, in one of those jade statuettes. I was hoping to find proof.”

  Geron picked up a piece of parchment off the floor. “Is this one?”

  Sylvalora took the parchment from Geron and gave him a friendly rub on the head. “I will look.” After a few moments staring at the writing, Sylvalora’s face turned grim.

  “What is it?” Shey asked.

  “I’m not sure you want to know. It might affect you personally.”

  “If it helps us get closer to the truth, I must know.”

  “It is a letter between Toborne and the Oracle, Kambor. I would say it was written during the War of the Oracle. Kambor had a dream in a trance where he saw the line of Marella destroy he and Toborne both. He is instructing Toborne to kill her. He also talks about a village in the future where this descendant will be born, but the vision doesn’t give him the exact location of where the village will come to be built.”

  “That’s obviously a plant,” Rodraq said. “Why would he leave that there to be discovered?”

  “I don’t think it was intentional. I don’t think he left any of this intentionally,” Shey said. “He was destroyed before he could come back and retrieve or destroy them. And if his essence is freed and he does come back, it’s too late now.”

  “What’s our next move?” Sylvalora asked.

  Lady Shey see
med to hesitate. “I know where Marella’s bloodline resides. She was my best friend, and I wanted to keep them safe. I think it’s time to pay a visit. There is an apothecary there named Sanmir who Ianthill and I asked to keep an eye out for them.”

  “This isn’t the first time you have heard of this prophecy, then,” Sylvalora said.

  Shey shook her head. “No, I was just hoping it wasn’t true. Morgoran, in his state now, also predicted it. I do not go there as Lady Shey. It’s a simple village, and the presence of a lady would draw too much attention. We will go there in disguise. Rodraq will take us in the coach to Soldier’s Bluff, and from there we will ride in disguise. Rodraq will stay with the coach in Soldier’s Bluff. His presence would cause commotion.”

  Rodraq protested. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

  “It isn’t the Sacred Land, Rodraq. I won’t be needing physical protection.”

  Rodraq backed off the point.

  “There’s not much more we can do here. I will look around some more,” Sylvalora said.

  Lady Shey noticed Geron had a big grin on his face. “What are you so happy about?”

  “I like to travel and I like being with you. None of you have mentioned getting rid of me.”

  Lady Shey took his hand. “Of course we would not get rid of you. Come on, we will go upstairs and you can help me pick out a disguise.”

  Chapter 9: Encounter at Brookhaven

  Disguised as common travelers, Shey and Geron rode down from Watch Hill to the outskirts of the mountain village of Brookhaven. The midday sun was hot on their backs, but the crisp mountain air still kept them cool enough.

  “Remember, Geron, while we are here you are pretending to be called Alwin and I am your mother, Minda.”

  “I will remember.”

  “I mean it. Don’t forget to call me Mother or Minda.”

  “I won’t forget.”

  “That’s a good boy. We don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves.”

  Sylvalora rode up behind them. “Don’t forget me.”

  “Sylvalora will be called Aurelie,” Shey told Geron.

  “What of the wizard?” Geron asked.

  Shey looked behind her as if she would see him riding up from behind. “He said he had an errand to run at Soldier’s Bluff and he would be riding in behind us. I am not sure anyone knows him here in Brookhaven. As far I know, he will still be called Lyrrath.”

  At the gate they were stopped by Thaq, the guard. Shey convinced him they were just wary travelers looking for a place to stay, and the guard let them pass.

  Able to travel the streets of Brookhaven unmolested, Lady Shey rode directly for the apothecary shop to see Sanmir. She was hoping he could report on Marella’s descendants.

  When she arrived at the door, after tying up the horse and letting Geron down, she was met briefly by a boy with long brown hair and fierce, serious eyes. He took one look at Geron, blinked, and recoiled from him. Lady Shey was surprised to hear a horrified gasp from him.

  “Excuse me, lad, is there something the matter?”

  The boy regained his composure and stood up straight. “No, ma’am. I thought I saw something . . . I am not myself.” He opened the door to the apothecary shop. “Are you going into the shop?”

  “Aye, thank you.” She took Geron’s hand and walked through the door as the young man held it for her. He gave Geron considerable room to enter.

  “Rennon, I thought you were in the store room. I have been calling for you. I need you to bring me some of the salve we made this morning,” the man behind the counter instructed.

  “How much?”

  “About half a dram should do.”

  Lady Shey stood in line behind a plainly dressed woman with brown hair tied up in a bun. She eyed Sanmir cautiously to see if he would recognize her. He caught her gaze and gave her a friendly smile as she imagined he would any new customer.

  The boy Rennon returned with a dram vial and handed it to him. He looked at Geron with consternation. “I need the other preparation you make for me, sir, and I need it promptly.”

  Sanmir looked at him. “All right. I made some for you this morning. It’s over there on the shelf.” He pointed. The boy went and took a small silver tin from the shelf and disappeared into the back storeroom.

  As soon as the woman paid for her salve and left, Sanmir addressed Lady Shey. “Now that we are alone, what am I to call you, my lady?”

  “You recognize me?” She was surprised.

  “Maybe not at first. You fooled me for a moment or so.”

  “I am going by the name Minda, and this is my son, Alwin.” Sanmir appeared alarmed. “He isn’t really my son, Sanmir.” Sanmir was even more confused. “He is a young seer we . . .” Rennon entered the room again.

  “Rennon, why don’t you take the rest of the day off. I can handle the last two hours before we close. Go find Dorenn or Vesperin and enjoy yourself.”

  Rennon took another look at Geron, but this time he didn’t seem as though he was seeing an apparition. “Thank you, sir.” He left the shop.

  “I will speak of this young boy later. What do you have to report?”

  Sylvalora entered the shop, and Sanmir bowed slightly to her.

  “Don’t bother bowing. I am a simple peasant woman named Aurelie.”

  “Of course you are,” Sanmir said.

  “Come on now, Ger . . . er . . . Alwin, let’s go get settled at the inn and let Mother and the apothecary talk.” Sylvalora said. Geron followed Sylvalora out of the shop. Sylvalora turned back to Shey as she opened the door. “Meet us there when you are done.” She walked out the door, letting it slowly come to a close behind her.

  “A young boy?”

  Lady Shey sighed. “We hadn’t intended for him to travel with us. It just happened. He has a way of making you feel like he should come along. We thought we might take him to the Vale of Morgoran when we leave here.”

  “Ah, well, you asked me for a report.”

  “Aye, go on.”

  “The boy Rennon you just met.”

  “Aye, what of him?”

  “I think he is developing the wild magic. That tin he took brews a tea I made for him to suppress the ability. He isn’t in danger of being detected by Enforcers yet. I will keep an eye on him and make sure he keeps from getting noticed.”

  “They sure do take outlawing magic seriously here in Symboria, don’t they? Do the Enforcers come through here often?”

  “Often enough, but I will keep him safe. The other boy, the descendant of Marella, his name is Dorenn and he seems ordinary enough. If he can be taught to draw essence, it might be tough to get him started down that path. They are taught to fear and hate wielding here. In fact, parents use it to frighten children. They tell them that if the children wander off, the wielders will get them and cast evil spells on them, keeping them from their parents forever.”

  “Oh, that’s lovely.”

  “I said it might be difficult, but not impossible. I have overheard Dorenn talking to his friend Vesperin about it. It seems he has a fascination about wielders. It’s a rebellious attitude some of the youth here have.”

  “They spoke of this out in the open?” Shey was shocked.

  “Oh no. I was hidden when I overheard. They had no idea I was there. They thought they were in a secluded and secure place. When they sneak off on their own, that’s when I find out the best information.”

  “I see. Is there anything else?”

  “Not much of any importance, at least not yet. There is a half-elven lad called Trendan. He has lived in Brookhaven most of his life. By elvish standards, he’s young. He has been acting like a big brother to Dorenn and his friends. Vesperin is a cleric of Loracia, and he keeps the others grounded and out of trouble most of the time. Oh, Gondrial is here. He ran into some trouble at the Tiger’s Head Inn the other night and got himself thrown out. He is staying at the Grinning Goose now.”

  “Thank you, Sanmir. You have done a fine jo
b keeping an eye on things here.”

  “My pleasure.” He bowed.

  “Try not to bow, dear. Remember, I’m merely a peasant.”

  “Hard habit to break, my lady.”

  “I understand.” She gathered herself up. “I best be off to find that fool Gondrial. I’m sure he has a few things to tell me.” She grinned at Sanmir. “Or explain is probably more the case.”

  “Aye, if I think of anything else, I will let you know.”

  “Very well. I will check in with you before I leave the village if I don’t see you before then.”

  “Aye, and might I make one more suggestion.” Sanmir held up his index finger.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You speak entirely too well for a peasant. You’re not fooling anyone. Might I suggest you vary your speech a bit.”

  “You know, you’re right. It’s been so long since I had to use a disguise, I seem to have forgotten how. Thank you, old friend.”

  “Take care. I will be here if you need me.”

  Lady Shey acknowledged Sanmir, and a moment later, she was out the door.

  “Now,” she muttered to herself, “it’s time for Gondrial to meet the business end of my boot!”

  Chapter 10: Whispers of the Wicked

  Lady Shey decided to check on Sylvalora and Geron before she went traipsing over to the Grinning Goose after Gondrial. She wanted to make sure her bags got to her room, and she thought she might grab a bite to eat. She had a feeling she was going to need all of her strength to deal with Gondrial.

  At the door to the Tiger’s Head Inn, Lady Shey noticed Lyrrath slowly riding up to the inn’s stables. Instead of going into the inn, she decided to check on him. He had just handed over the reins of his horse to the stable hand and removed his riding pack when she walked up to him.

  He turned into her as he left his horse. “Oh, I didn’t recognize you.”

  “Shh!” She put her index finger to her lips. “Call me Minda. I am just a regular peasant here.” She spoke in a hushed tone.

  Lyrrath leaned in. “Why the disguise?”