Redemption Of The Sacred Land (Book 3)

by Mark Tyson

  “Naneden and Toborne are helping him come back,” Shey said.

  “Aye, he probably promised them land or dominion over something or somebody, which explains why they were only interested in holding Lux Enor and not taking over all of Symboria or beyond,” Ianthill said as he held up his torch to reveal the Migarath Portal. “Ah, here it is.” He gave his torch to Veric to hold for him while he dusted off the portal. He rearranged a couple of crystals in the base and dusted off his hands. “There. Someone had rearranged the base crystals so it would not work at all. Morgoran will be trying to connect his portal every five hours, so it is only a matter of time now.”

  “You are having the others come here?” Shey asked. “I thought we were leaving.”

  “Why would I be interested in your gem if we were leaving?” Ianthill said. “The throne room we need to go to is in Old Symbor. The portal there also does not work. The others will meet us, and then we will travel there. I am sure Naneden is already well on his way.”

  Lady Shey crossed her arms. “You and Morgoran knew about this since By’temog? Why didn’t you stop Vesperin and Fayne from leaving?”

  “They had already taken off before we read the tome,” Ianthill said. “We wanted to confirm all this before involving everyone. We didn’t want it to get out to Naneden or Toborne that we had an idea of what was going on. The fewer people that knew at the time, the better.”

  Shey examined the floor and knelt down. A spell! The dust of the floor had been enchanted to cover tracks. She stepped in the dust where she detected essence, and her footprint was immediately recovered by dust as if she had never stepped there. “I think Naneden or Toborne has the Old Symbor portal working again.”

  Ianthill stroked his chin. “Well look at that.” He started manipulating the Migarath Portal, and it opened. “It connected to Old Symbor.” He shut it down.

  “Why did you shut it down?” Veric asked.

  “Because we thought this portal could no longer connect to others. In the account of Migarath after the war, where we are reading all this information from, he said he disabled the portal after he came through it for the last time, when the war was ending, to never reconnect to the others. That’s why I didn’t try to connect it to Morgoran’s portal.”

  “Migarath worked for the Oracle, didn’t he?” Shey said.

  “No, he didn’t work for the Oracle, but he definitely fought on his side. The Oracle, if you will remember, was very convincing that he could unite the kingdoms and bring peace if he could eliminate most all magic. He believed that magic should be in the hands of the men at court only, where it could be governed and controlled. He thought magic and wielding left unchecked would destroy the world. Migarath invented his portals for use by a non-magic world. He stood to make a fortune. He died copperless.” Ianthill opened the portal again. “At any rate, now that we know it will work, we can let Morgoran in on it.”

  Dorenn secured his new travel pack into a neat, carry-able bundle. He had become an expert at packing his provisions now. Seandara was testing out her pack as well on the bed next to his. Dorenn got used to spending a lot of time with Seandara. He was still reluctant to start anything romantic with her, but as a friend, she was superb. He had come to trust her and confide in her now.

  She noticed him staring at her when she was testing her bowstring. “What is it?” She smiled at him.

  “I was just watching you test your bow. I never learned to use one.”

  “I’ll have to teach you sometime. All it takes is proper technique and a lot of practice.”

  “Do you name your bows like swords?”

  “Some of the bows are named. With the archers of Endil, the only named bows are the magical ones or bows used to do some great deed.”

  “Yours isn’t magical?”

  “I won’t get an enchanted bow until I am recognized by the Archers of Endil? Besides, most all of the enchanted bows belong to the high-ranking archers and the kings and queens of my people.”

  Dorenn held out his hand. “May I see it?” Seandara handed him the bow. “When I had essence sickness, the only cure allegedly available to me in my condition was to take the trials at Rugania. I suspect that I could have been cured elsewhere, but I was led to the isle on purpose.” He laid the bow out on his bed. “I don’t know if Morgoran or Ianthill suspected, or if it was some other force guiding us, but when I took my trial, I was gifted with the knowledge of many who came before me. A good part of it has faded away now.” He held his hands over her bow. “But I remember a few tricks and a bit of the knowledge.” The bow began to glow, twist, and warp. Dorenn closed his eyes and thought hard about how he wanted Seandara’s bow to look. He wanted the wood to look like smoothed bark with leaves entwined in the pattern. He wanted the curve to be elegant and soft. The twine that made up the bowstring transformed into forest green and went taunt. Dorenn opened his eyes, and reached down to pick up the bow. He drew back the string, and an arrow, with a tip that resembled a razor-sharp, pointed leaf, appeared notched and ready. He held on to the string and let the bow and string go back to starting position. The arrow disappeared. He handed the bow to Seandara. “Here, my gift to you.”

  Seandara took her bow and drew back the bowstring. The arrow appeared notched again. “This is an amazing gift. Thank you!” She let the bow go back into resting position and leaned in to kiss and hug him, still holding the bow at her side. “The arrow will always be there?”

  “As far as I can tell. You might want to still carry a quiver just in case, but if I enchanted it correctly, it will never run short of arrows.”

  “This is an unbelievable and valuable gift.”

  “It’s the least I can do after the way I acted around you in Endil.”

  “I have already forgiven you for that. You were ill and not yourself; I will hear no more of it.”

  Morgoran stuck his head in the partially open door. “Dorenn, it’s time. The portal to the Sacred Land has connected. I’ll wait for you two down in the portal chamber.”

  “We were just getting ready to come down to the portal room,” Dorenn said.

  Seandara slung her new bow over her shoulder and secured it. “I am so excited.”

  “Are you sure your mother would like you traipsing off to the Sacred Land like this?”

  “Don’t be fooled by my youthful appearance. I am grown. This is not my first adventure, nor will it be my last.”

  “I only meant that you are a princess, and that probably makes you heir to the throne.”

  “If I can’t handle myself on an adventure or in a battle, then I shouldn’t be queen of my people.”

  “All right. Your customs are different than those of my people. Our princesses would only be trained in the art of defending themselves. They would never see any kind of battle.”

  “How strange,” Seandara said as she readied to follow Dorenn out the door. “I am certainly glad I am not a princess of your realm, then.”

  Dorenn slung his pack around to his back. “Come on, we don’t want to keep Morgoran waiting.”

  When Dorenn and Seandara arrived at the Migarath Portal, Morgoran was just helping Rennon and Bren travel through. “Where are Trendan and Sanmir?”

  “They will be coming through later. Kimala isn’t quite herself yet.”

  Dorenn helped Seandara through the portal. When she was through, he stopped beside Morgoran. “When are we going after Tatrice? We can’t leave her with the enemy like that. Also, Bren confirmed that Toborne has some kind of control over her mind and perception. We need to get some of the mindwielders from Theosus and make sure that no party of ours is without one.”

  “I have already sent word to Theosus. I do not believe Tatrice is in any immediate danger. Most likely he will present her to us again as some kind of leverage or attack, and we will have Rennon with us this time. We will get her back.”

  “I was surprised to see Bren coming along. I thought he might go after her on his own. He said as much to me earl
ier.”

  “He also came to me, and I told him the same thing I told you. He seemed satisfied that if he comes with us, we will run into her again.”

  “Good. We should probably get through the portal. The others will wonder,” Dorenn said. He and Morgoran stepped through the portal, and it closed behind them.

  When Dorenn stepped out of the portal, he noted the primitive appearance of the first portal chamber. Hidden away from the people upstairs, it was dusty and decayed. All that was really left was the stone table at the center of the room and the Migarath Portal itself. He followed Morgoran up a flight of stone stairs to the Temple of Loracia above. There he could see Lady Shey and Gondrial arguing over something with Veric. Dorenn joined Seandara and Morgoran, and they went to see what the turmoil was about.

  Lady Shey turned to see Dorenn and gave him a quick hug. Gondrial shook his hand. Veric nodded to him.

  “What are you discussing so vehemently?” he asked.

  Gondrial sniffed. Dorenn could tell he was angry about something. “I let Vesperin and Fayne go,” he said. “I wasn’t watching them that closely because I thought they understood when we told them that the Oracle was tricking them, but Vesperin was convinced he had been talking to Loracia. He said he knew the difference because she rescued him back in Signal Hill when you encountered the curse there.”

  Lady Shey rubbed her hands together nervously. “I should have kept my eye on them as well. We were too busy with the portal to notice them slip away.”

  “Ianthill is out trying to pick up their trail. We thought it would be easy in the snow, but apparently Vesperin learned how to confuse footfalls so that their trail is going off in all directions.”

  Ianthill stepped into the temple and stomped the snow off his feet. “He’s clever. None of the footprints have given me a clue as to which one was the actual trail.”

  Dorenn opened the door and peered out. “He is obviously headed for the throne room, too, if he is convinced that Loracia is guiding him.” He closed the door again. “Have you tried to connect this portal to Old Symbor?”

  “Aye, I tried it,” Ianthill said.

  A thought occurred to Dorenn. “What shape did you find the portal in? How did you get it working again?”

  . “Someone had rearranged the control crystals so it wouldn’t connect with any other portal.” Ianthill said.

  “Did you try to connect to the Old Symbor portal before you rearranged them in the correct configuration?”

  Lady Shey spoke up. “Someone did cast a spell to erase footprints in the dust down there.”

  “You are brilliant, my boy!” Morgoran said. “Ianthill, do you remember where the crystals were before you changed them? Could you move them back?”

  “I believe so,” he said. He headed for the stairway.

  In the portal chamber, Ianthill removed the crystals and rearranged them. “There, I think that was how they were originally.” He tried to get the portal to connect to Old Symbor, and it connected up. “It appears to have worked.”

  “They changed the two Migarath Portals to only connect to each other. Naneden and Toborne finally tried to do something about all the recent portal use,” Dorenn mused.

  Veric took out his daggers. “Let me go through first just in case they actually got smart enough to post guards.” He moved cautiously through the portal. A few moments later, he came back through. “All clear. They had posted three guards.”

  Dorenn was the next to last to go through the portal. When he got to the other side, he saw the portal room looked very similar to the ones in By’temog and the Vale of Morgoran. Wall sconces had freshly-lit torches in them, illuminating the three dead guards lying in a horrific pile off to one side. As soon as Morgoran closed the portal, Veric led the party up the stairs to the exit. He was careful to make sure the three guards he had encountered were the only three guards. Finding none, they stalked through the only corridors that had lit torches, like following a trail of breadcrumbs, directly to the throne room where Naneden sat on the crumbling throne, trying to find a way to place the gem in the scepter. The old palace smelled of decay and rot, and the throne room was empty but for the decaying stone pillars and the unadorned stone throne. Dorenn could see that the place had once been magnificent. The marble floors were still intact, and the stained glass windows were still there, too. Any tapestries, furniture, or any jeweled pillars were long ago pilfered.

  As they entered the throne room, they were partially hidden by the rubble of one of the old pillars that had fallen by some unknown force. From this vantage point, Dorenn could make out two Drasmyd Duil standing on either side of Naneden. There was no sign of anyone else in the room.

  Naneden set down the scepter and gem. He walked over to pick up a knarled staff before he sat back down on the old throne. “You may as well come out now. I know you’re there.” He peered into the general direction of Dorenn’s party. “You are quite correct, this is a trap, you know.”

  Veric stepped out from the pillar, and Morgoran followed.

  “Oh, there you are,” he said. “The portal is destroyed now. You may send someone down to check.”

  Ianthill tapped Rennon on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go see. I need you in case it’s an illusion.” Rennon followed Ianthill back down the corridor.

  “What is this, Naneden?” Morgoran’s voice echoed in the empty throne room.

  “Presumably, our deaths. You see, we are all locked in here. Toborne has already read the spell and taken Jot and Aela to meet with the clerics. It’s over and we all lost, including me. The great Oracle will rise again and finish what he started so many seasons ago.”

  “Do you think a few Drasmyd Duil and the likes of you will be able to defeat us?” Veric said.

  “These fools? No, certainly not, but there are about fifty dragons from Kragodor about to arrive any moment now to incinerate this palace to ashes with dragon’s fire. I am just supposed to occupy you long enough for them to get here.” He motioned toward the back of the throne room, and several Dramyds appeared out of the shadows. “If you have any prayers to offer,” he said, “offer them now.”

  Chapter 12: Haunted Heart

  Dorenn watched in horror as Lady Shey boldly walked across the throne room to Naneden. To his surprise, the madman did nothing but smile. The two Drasmyd Duil at either side of him leered, but Naneden held up his right hand and they ceased aggression.

  “It’s time this ended, Naneden. You loved me once and I you. Can you not remember?”

  “Of course I remember.” His words were acid. “However, I also remember you being in love with that scoundrel who once called himself my best friend.”

  “I married you, not him. That should have been a clue to you about my choice in the matter. You have a noble heart somewhere in that chest of yours. You can still be redeemed.”

  “Redemption! I am the one in need of redemption? I saw you together in the tower. I saw you!”

  “Naneden, you saw nothing. I refused him. I married you. The path you took was of your own doing. You let Toborne corrupt you, and you let him destroy you. It’s Toborne you must hold responsible. Don’t give in to him and sacrifice all our lives for the sake of him!”

  “You don’t understand, Sheyna. It isn’t Toborne who masterminded this new war. It isn’t he who wants revenge. The truth is much more terrible.”

  “What are you talking about? Are these just mad ramblings?” Lady Shey asked. Dorenn knew she didn’t want him to know she already knew about the Oracle.

  “No, Sheyna, it’s the Oracle and the god of death and chaos, Aedreagnon. They have been manipulating all of us since the Sacred Land first started regenerating.”

  Lady Shey appeared to be making some progress with him.

  “It was they who . . . NO . . . argh!” He collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head.

  Lady Shey tried to go to him, but he stopped her. “No, my lady, stay back. There will be no redemption for me.” He strengthened his res
olve and called his knarled staff to his side. His face twisted in an evil grin. “And there will be no reconciliation.” He turned the staff on the Drasmyd Duil and obliterated them each in turn. Essence flowed through him like Dorenn had never seen. Something had changed in him; something was not letting him soften up to Shey’s charms. Dorenn took a step forward as Naneden spun his staff and pointed it directly at Lady Shey.

  “We can’t have such creatures as those interfering. I have waited a long time to get my revenge . . . WIFE!” He let loose a chain of essence that changed into a blue mass and struck Lady Shey down. Gondrial pushed Dorenn aside and raced across the pitted marble floor of the throne room before Dorenn could react. The marble walls rumbled as Gondrial drew in essence and sent a swirling trail of sparks and heat distortion at Naneden.

  “You will not harm her!” Gondrial said as his essence struck the madman, knocking him into the wall behind. Naneden picked himself up, and Gondrial sent another round into him, knocking him down again. Naneden tumbled to a stop, groaning while wisps of white smoke snaked into the air above him.

  The madman slowly convulsed into a cackling mass. “So, the boyfriend is here as well. Good, I get to kill the destroyer of my marriage along with the liar.”

  Dorenn finally reacted and ran behind a marble pillar and, at the right time, slid across the floor to where Lady Shey was just beginning to push herself up from the floor. As far as he could tell, Naneden did not see him. “Are you all right, my lady?”

  “Aye, just give me a moment. I had just enough time to shield myself from the brunt of it. I didn’t think he would do something like that to me.”

  Dorenn helped Lady Shey behind the pillar as he felt Gondrial call essence to himself once more.

  “Destroyer of your marriage? You are beyond unoriginal! You always were a giant prat!”

  Naneden puffed up, wounded by Gondrial’s words. “You are going to die!”

  “You first!” Gondrial drew essence at the same time he expelled it, a feat Dorenn had never witnessed, and exuded gusts of black smoke accompanied by the purple wisps of blackfire. Dorenn knew, Gondrial was now actively trying to kill.