The Banished Lands- The Complete Series

by Benjamin Mester

  The Forest Guard wouldn't be so foolish to kill Baron just out of spite. And Baron would have been well away from the forest before an order could've been given to capture him. He had to have gotten free. But that meant that he should have come to Ariadra by now. Nothing made sense. Unless Ariadra just simply didn't know the full picture and Baron headed elsewhere after fleeing the forest. But where would he go...to the lands of Forthura? That seemed unlikely, especially when the alliance city was still so heavily under construction.

  Ariadra's mind was riddled with doubt. Everything felt wrong. But she had no choice. She was in no condition to turn back. She had to make for the alliance city, with or without Baron. And if she didn't find water soon, she'd surely perish along the way.

  Meanwhile, Baron awoke near evening, a decision still on his mind. But sleep had brought him little closer to a choice and he packed away his things and stood in the plains at the edge of the forest, watching the sun descend down over the trees. Baron didn't want to choose. He didn't want to be himself. He wanted to be the old Baron – carefree and impetuous – not heartbroken and torn apart by groping insecurities.

  He knew what he should do...go back to the alliance city and apologize to Sheabor for being less than honest with him. But Baron had lost heart. And what Ariadra had spoken of concerning the tragedy that had befallen Ogrindal weighed heavily upon him. He'd been gone from home for so long. And Sheabor could go on without him. He had Blair again.

  So taking a deep breath, Baron finally made a decision. He was going home. It would take a week to get there and he didn't have nearly the provisions for it. He'd be starved half to death by the time he arrived. But the river Shay flowed all the way down from the barbarian kingdom, past Eulsiphion and ending in Suriya. Baron could travel southwest until finding it and then take it south past all the townships built along its edge. With access to fresh water and plenty of grass in the Commonwealth Pasturelands for the horse, he knew he'd make it.

  Baron wasted no more time and mounted his house, making south along Thay Iphilus Forest for the better part of the night. By morning, they reached the southern tip and Baron took his rest. When he awoke, he gave some water from his water skins to the horse, pouring it little bits at a time into his cupped hand. And while some of it spilled out onto the ground, the horse licked much of it clean. Baron was very thirsty also, but he knew how many leagues lay between them and the river Shay, and the horse could very well mutiny before reaching it.

  They set off southeast, skirting a mountain range that marked the northern edge of the Maelstrom. The dawn found him deep in barbarian lands, somewhere east of the Maelstrom but still far away from the lands of Forthura. Eulsiphion was still many leagues to the southeast, and he wanted to give it a wide berth else he be seen by a scout and taken for a barbarian spy.

  Baron had only a little water left, which he gave to the horse, who licked his hand greedily and grunted his displeasure at such a sparse offering. But somewhere in the fourth night of their journey, the horse seemed to perk up and ride more hurriedly. Baron shot his eyes roundabout, looking and listening for an unseen danger. Only a few moments later, Baron heard the sound of gently flowing water. He chuckled to himself.

  The horse had far better hearing than he. They had arrived at the river Shay at last. Though Baron wasn't certain, he was reasonably sure they were somewhere south of Eulsiphion in the lands of Forthura. The horse drank heartily in delight, regaining its vigor. Baron couldn't help but laugh at the horse's exuberance, as though it never again expected to see fresh water. What little faith it had in its master.

  Morning brought a sullen gray to the sky, which lasted unbroken throughout the day. They followed the winding river, Baron hoping to reach one of the towns by nightfall. Ilich should be close by, if memory served. He had never been there, but knew it to be a few day's journey north of Suriya.

  There were half a dozen towns that bordered the river where he could lodge until reaching Suriya. But some of them had been burned by the barbarians as they marched southward in conquest. When Eulsiphion had fallen, the indefensible towns were no match for the ferocity of the barbarian horde.

  Baron and his horse arrived to Ilich by nightfall. He had a little money with him, enough for a few night's lodging for him and his horse and some food but nothing more. As he approached the city, he saw that many of the buildings were battered and charred. And trotting in, he was surprised to see that despite the damage, the town was largely up and running. Very close to the entrance of the city was a sign for an inn. Baron rode to it and hopped off his horse.

  Knocking loudly on the door, it opened in due course and a young boy greeted him, surprised to see a traveler looking for lodging. Baron gave him a coin and handed him the reigns to his horse. The boy took the coin eagerly and departed with the horse. Then Baron made his way inside.

  The main room of the lodge was drafty, barely warmer than the outside, with only a meager fire going. The walls were cracked in various places and broken through near the fireplace on the south wall. Baron almost immediately went to fix it, his Builder ability easily able to restore this lodge in minutes. But he knew it would raise questions. And being from out of town, Baron didn't want to risk it, though his heart went out to them all the same.

  It brought a flash of anger to his heart. So many were still suffering from the war against Malfur and the barbarians. Baron knew that what Sheabor was doing was important, but it was wrong to leave so many behind in dire straits. Baron went toward the fire and sat in a nearby chair. The matriarch of the establishment approached him from another room with a warm bowl of soup.

  “Haven't had many visitors recently,” she said with a smile.

  She was a middle aged woman and Baron saw a resemblance in her face to the boy who had taken his horse.

  “Was that your son outside?” he asked.

  “Yes indeed,” she responded. “He's a fine lad. Wants to go up to Eulsiphion when he's older and fight in the army against the barbarians.”

  Baron smiled and took a spoonful of soup. It was quite good.

  “My compliments to the chef.”

  “Compliments accepted,” she replied.

  Baron glanced around at the empty enclosure. He wanted to inquire after her husband, whom he hadn't yet seen, but didn't want to be presumptuous.

  “The war with the barbarians seems to have hit Ilich pretty hard.”

  The woman nodded.

  “My husband fought with the militia.”

  She opened her mouth to continue but stopped. Baron could tell by her demeanor that he hadn't survived the battle. He suddenly felt a surge of pity. Anxiety followed, as he worried that the same fate had befallen his own home. Baron ate his meal and thanked her for the warmth of the fire. Then she showed him to his room where he was overjoyed to see a steaming bath had somehow already been prepared.

  After he was clean, he laid down to rest, but sleep was slow to find him. He tossed and turned in his bed, hearing the mistress of the inn shuffling about downstairs. But soon the movement ended, and Baron was left alone again with his thoughts. Sleep came to find him and he drifted off.

  When he awoke, it was still dark and he could sense that morning wasn't far off. Gathering his things, he crept from his room and came into the main room. He made his way slowly, each step creaking the floor beneath him. The main room was dark in the early morning watches, unlit and crowded with shadows and even the embers turned to ash.

  But Baron found a lantern and the means to light it nearby and soon the room was filled with a mellow glow. Baron walked up to the hole in the southern wall, a breeze gusting through it. Softening the surrounding stone, he pulled the gap shut and blended the neighboring stones together, sealing it tighter than it had ever been before. Satisfied, he moved along the rest of the wall, feeling for drafts of air as he went. It had been battered greatly by the barbarians, and many of the stones contained large cracks.

  Baron fixed them all in short order and then t
ook a step back, impressed with his work. Just then, he heard a creak in the floor at the stairs. Turning round, he held up the lantern against the darkness, seeing the young boy step forward, eyes wide at the work Baron had done. Baron smiled and held up his finger to his lips. The young boy came over to the wall and marveled as he ran his fingertips along it.

  “How did you do it?”

  “Magic,” said Baron with a smile as he ruffled the boy's hair. “Take good care of your mother. Stay home. Eulsiphion has more than enough soldiers.”

  The boy nodded, still mystified at what he saw before him. Baron departed into the mellow glow of dawn. Finding his horse, which seemed none too pleased at the hour of its summons, Baron set out southward. They had a long day's ride ahead of them.

  The towns were evenly spaced along the river Shay, if he remembered correctly. He hoped to reach Geldon by nightfall. He was glad for his encounter with the mother and her boy. It gave him encouragement that he had made the right choice to come home.

  Aeleos

  Blair and Sorren stood in amazement before the lands of Aeleos, a paradise beyond imagining. They hesitated long, Blair suddenly reluctant to go through with his mission. He knew what needed to be done, but he understood suddenly why the giants had sealed themselves in from the outside world. Didn't they have a right to protect their homelands from prying eyes?

  After many moments, Blair took a step forward toward a beautiful blue lake, not more than five hundred paces from where they stood. But an arm swept across his chest and stopped him.

  “What are you doing?” Sorren demanded.

  “I want a drink of water.”

  “We've got plenty here.”

  “But look at it! It's so blue! There isn't anyone for miles around.”

  “It's too dangerous.”

  But Blair was unyielding. Such a lush paradise was meant to be explored. Blair pulled Sorren's hand away from his tunic, but Sorren sidestepped him and pushed his entire body up against the wall.

  “There is a reason why none who travel to these lands return. How many have set out just to get a glimpse of the lands of Aeleos? But a glimpse is never enough.”

  Blair was struck by the statement but clenched his jaw and nodded, turning his attentions back to the wall, though grieved now for what he was about to do. Maybe the giants were right to hide themselves away from the rest of the world. In peaceful times, Blair would never think of causing such reckless destruction. But in desperate times, desperate things must be done.

  Blair began to walk the length of the wall, which was mostly a mixture of large boulders and small stones the giants had demolished from the nearby mountain and stacked. Each large boulder he came to he struck with his palm, sending a radiating shock which fractured the stone in a spider web of cracks, weakening it but not breaking it completely. Many of the smaller stones, he removed from the wall completely, leaving large gaps.

  Sorren followed him closely, his vision focused outward, for Blair's activities were quite loud and the forces of Kester were still at hand. At times, Blair would hollow into the wall a ways, carving corridors like a field mouse, scooping out sections of rock as though it were a soft topsoil. Sorren watched in disbelief, never having seen anything like what Blair could do.

  But as he weakened the wall, Blair began to grow overzealous, and parts of the wall buckled and slid, nearly ready to collapse. But Blair bolstered it where it needed and continued his way down the line. Yelling erupted from the soldiers on the other side, witnessing the effects of Blair's work, which made him smile. They were in for quite a shock when Blair unveiled the final act.

  “How much longer?” Sorren asked.

  “This is the easy part,” Blair responded. “What's coming next will take a lot longer.”

  “We need to get out of sight.”

  “Just a little more.”

  Blair worked at a quick pace. In minutes, he'd weakened the wall the length of fifty paces. But he wasn't collapsing it. Sorren vigilantly watched the top of the wall. They wouldn't just sit back while Blair crippled the dividing line between two kingdoms. Just then, one of the soldiers of Kester appeared at the top of the wall. He had a spear in hand, which was the weapon of choice for the northern skirmishers.

  “Blair! Watch out!”

  But Blair paid him little mind. Instead, he hit the wall with his palm just below where the soldier stood, sending a force upward, which discharged at the top with bits of exploding rock, startling the soldier who stumbled back down from the wall with a yell.

  “How much longer?”

  “Not long.”

  Blair continued down the line cracking the larger stones and scooping out sections of rock but his work was getting more and more sloppy, and the wall began to bend, threatening to collapse.

  “Come on,” Sorren said.

  “I just want to go a bit father.”

  “No!”

  Sorren pulled Blair by the arm forcefully. Blair turned round in anger but his gaze softened as Sorren released his grip.

  “Follow me,” Blair said.

  Then Blair set off in the opposite direction, toward the base of the mountain, not far away. Reaching the sheer face, Blair sank his hands up to his wrists and pulled out a scoop or rock with each hand. Then he began to climb with Sorren following. Blair didn't ascend quite vertically but instead veered diagonally to the north on his left. And as they went, he sunk his arm deep into the rock, pulling out large sections of it, and smoothing out a groove into the mountain face itself, almost like a slide.

  More soldiers of Kester appeared atop the wall, searching for them, and making a great commotion once they spotted the pair ascending up the mountain. A few ran the length of the wall over to the mountain, one soldier even hurling a spear at them, which fell far short. A zealous soldier even began climbing up after them.

  “Watch out,” Blair said, and smacked the palm of his right hand on the mountain face, sending a small avalanche of stone down toward the advancing soldier, who yelled in fright and jumped off the wall, narrowly dodging the falling stone.

  Blair chuckled. But the soldiers soon climbed down from the wall and back onto the solid ground of their own kingdom, unsure of what to do. There was a cleft not far above, perhaps a hundred paces above ground level and Blair made for it, reaching it in short order. Pulling himself up and lying on his back, Blair laid there breathless for many moments until Sorren arrived beside him. Blair and Sorren had traveled all night to get here without sleep and using his Builder ability was quite taxing.

  Blair sat up after a few moments and analyzed his work. He had dug a continuous slide into the mountain face and Sorren at last seemed to understand just what Blair was up to. As they sat, Sorren opened up a pouch and offered Blair some food, which he accepted eagerly. They saw the soldiers ride away at a swift pace, or at least the bulk of them, undoubtedly to make a report on what they'd seen. That was good, for Blair wanted an audience for his next performance.

  “Ready to climb?” Blair asked at length.

  Sorren nodded and they ascended in the same manner as before, with Blair scooping out handholds for them and continuing his deep diagonal groove into the mountain face. As they traversed, Blair was reminded of the trek to the Illian city, where he, Baron and Estrien had set off to further their training.

  Blair and Sorren made slow headway. Blair didn't know exactly how high he needed to get for his plan to work, but the higher the better and he needed to give the soldiers of Kester time to go and make their report. Morning was turning to midday and the pair was now far above the ground below. A wind picked up, whipping across their faces and chilling them.

  They had come far enough and Blair fashioned a small cleft where they could at last come to rest. Soon they were once more lying on their backs in sheer exhaustion, their muscles burning from exertion. When Blair at last sat up he glanced behind him to the north to the mystical lands of Aeleos. The landscape filled with vibrant colors of lush green and deep blues. E
ven the northern horizon seemed of a richer blue than Blair had ever witnessed.

  The lands of Aeleos truly were a paradise. Blair longed to travel them one day. But he was quite certain they'd never permit him, especially with what he was about to do. Then turning his attention back to the lands of Kester, he was surprised to see that a structure could now be observed from their new vantage point.

  “That is the fortress, K'venneh,” Sorren said.

  Blair nodded slowly.

  “Are you from Kester?” he asked, suddenly curious.

  Sorren grew thoughtful at the question, as though it was something he hadn't often been asked before.

  “I was born at home,” he responded.

  Blair cocked his head to the side, not knowing exactly what Sorren meant.

  “The Jedra carry our homes with us,” he continued. “I do not know on which patch of bare earth they set our home when I was brought into this world, but I know that I was born among my family.”

  Blair was struck by his declaration. Everyone Blair had ever known had been from Suriya. Before setting off with Baron and Durian into Thob Forest, Echlin had been the only other town Blair had ever visited. It was strange to meet a man who had been throughout the continent, yet didn't have a conception of where he was even from. What a different life.

  “I think it's time for the final act of our production,” Blair said.

  Then he stooped down to the slide he'd fashioned down the mountain face and began crafting a spherical orb of stone, small at first but growing in size every moment. Sorren's eyes lit up with intrigue as he guessed the final outcome of what Blair was doing. As Blair worked, a faint plume of dust could be seen coming from the direction of the fortress, K'venneh.

  “Our eager fans approach,” Blair said with a smile.

  But he knew he had little time. What he was about to do would be quite destructive, and anyone near the wall would be smashed to pieces. The orb he fashioned was already as tall as he was, weighing many tons. So, satisfying himself that it was complete, Blair turned to Sorren with a wide grin.