The Secrets of Brymar (The Elitherian Fragments Book 1)

by James Coy-Dibley

  As she moved through the door, William followed. “She’s right. We…”

  “No,” Brian said, holding him back. “You must stay here. Let us take care of this.”

  Adriana looked to her brother. “We must stay in the cover of these buildings. If something approaches, they’ll be disadvantaged.” She paused. “The Arraci can kill many of them from afar.”

  “It’s easier to defend then attack,” Brian nodded. “We will defend this village if we must and then leave quickly afterwards.”

  Suddenly, Max jumped to his feet, removing the silver ring from his finger. Everyone stared at him. “It started to vibrate,” he called out as the others watched.

  “What is that?” William asked.

  “A ring that was given to us by the traveller we met in Orwell.”

  “You still wear it?”

  “Yes,” Max said. “I admit, I’d forgotten about it. The traveller advised that I keep it on for good reason. Considering what’s been going on, I thought I’d keep it on for a while longer.”

  The ring glowed a silver light, but ceased to vibrate. Max picked it up again and slipped it onto his finger. “It stopped moving.”

  “Do you know what that ring does?” Adriana asked. “Are you sure you should keep wearing it?”

  Max looked at it. “Yes,” he decided. “I feel…different when I wear it. I see no harm here.”

  Adriana was about to protest again, but Brian refocused them. “We should be able to defend this village, but be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. If this fight turns against us…”

  “But it won’t,” Aroden declared.

  “We don’t know what comes,” Adriana sternly countered. “We must be ready for anything.”

  Chapter XXII

  “What village is this?” Richard asked as they walked down a narrow, stone-bricked road. “I’ve never been here.”

  “The village of Onderal,” Victoria answered.

  Small red-brick homes with little front gardens and crumbling tile rooftops lined the main stone road. Though certainly a step up from Skee, Onderal still bore the mark of a tiny village on the outskirts of Orwell. No one else roamed the streets, unsurprising considering the sun had barely started to rise. The cold air blocked most of the subtle smell of fresh hay from the small village’s stables and the lingering smell of baked bread as the village baker worked hard in preparation for the day ahead. A thin sliver of smoke rose from most of the brick chimneys with a faint light emanating from within the small glass windows. The sound of their horse’s hooves striking the stone ground echoed around them; if the villagers weren’t awake by now, the sound of them clopping down the road no doubt would wake them.

  “Is this where the call originated from?” Richard asked in clear frustration. “Why do we even stop here? Surely we should keep heading to Skee.”

  “We are answering my ally’s call,” she said calmly, “and then we can proceed to Skee. It won’t take long.”

  “Was this planned?”

  “There was some planning. After leaving Orwell, he planned to meet up with us on the trip to Brymar. Elizabeth opted to travel with the others, though, so the plan has slightly changed.”

  “This secrecy makes me uncomfortable,” Richard mumbled, but Victoria chose not to respond.

  They stopped at the centre of the village, where a round, stone well with a bucket resting on metal bars at the top stood firmly in the middle of the square. Richard’s eyes shot back and forth around them, though Victoria calmly waited atop the horse. While Richard’s breathing quickened, hers lowered, and she sighed.

  “He’s taking a long time to come,” she commented. “Perhaps we should…”

  A figure emerged from behind one of the buildings, a thick, dark brown robe covering his body. Across the front was a crest that Richard thought was familiar, though he couldn’t make it out until the figure was closer to them. It contained the same three triangles intersecting at the front but lacked the beast’s head in the centre. The similarity unnerved Richard, and he considered withdrawing his sword; he glanced at Victoria to judge her reaction, which was calm. The man stood much taller than either of them and approached the horse, taking the reins and affectionately patting the horse’s head to calm its nerves.

  “You’re late,” Victoria said as she dismounted.

  “Are you surprised?” the man said in a boomingly low voice.

  “No.”

  “Where’s Elizabeth?”

  “She’s with the others,” she said while motioning to Richard. “We must leave to meet up with them in Skee.”

  Richard paused and stared at the hooded man. “I recognise your voice,” he said in bewilderment. “You are…”

  The man removed his hood, revealing a light skinned complexion with a thick black beard covering the better part of his face. His piercing, dark eyes beneath bushy black eyebrows focused directly on Richard’s. “The alchemist of Forelorne,” the man said with a grin.

  “This day…” Richard said while shaking his head. “This day is already shaping up to be as bizarre as yesterday. What are you doing here? And who are you really?”

  “I’m a friend of Victoria and Elizabeth’s. I’m here to ensure that the stone is properly taken care of, and to ensure that my friend, here, makes it out okay.”

  “You two have met?” Victoria asked in astonishment.

  “Yes! He’s Thrix, the alchemist from Forelorne that I mentioned earlier, the one that taught me alchemy and the reason I was on the road to Forelorne in the first place.”

  She looked to Thrix for answers. “You never told me of this,” she complained.

  “I saw no need to,” Thrix defended. “I met him only a few times.”

  “Still,” she said and shot him an irritated glare. “It’s unlike you to keep secrets from me.”

  He didn’t respond.

  Richard shook his head. “I assume you still go by Thrix?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  Richard nodded. “Well, at least you have the same name then.” He glanced to Victoria. “I see why you know alchemy, now.”

  Thrix looked to Victoria. “You have the stone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We must return to Brymar before it’s too late.”

  “But we must meet everyone in Skee,” Richard said, his expression hardening.

  “They travelled to Skee?” He paused, looking displeased. “No, the stone takes priority,” Thrix concluded.

  Victoria hesitated and spoke before Richard could. “We must aide them in Skee,” she insisted. “That was the plan, to ensure everyone’s safety before proceeding to Durk’helm, not Brymar. This is no time to abandon them or change the plan.”

  “This stone carries more power than you can fathom,” Thrix scoffed while holding out his hand for the stone. “The true plan called for members of the royal family to provide entry to Brymar. Richard can complete this task.” He paused, seeing the disagreement from both of them. “The stone cannot fall into the wrong hands, and it would be foolish to take it into unnecessary danger. You saw the troves of enemies in Orwell.”

  “Then you deceived me,” Victoria stated.

  “You have trusted me for centuries,” he started, “and I ask that you trust me again with this.”

  Victoria reluctantly removed the small black pouch from her robes, but Richard intervened. “No,” he said while reaching out. “You cannot leave them.”

  She hesitated and withheld the stone. “Thrix, we should go to Skee,” she said. “We must act.”

  “If you only knew the power of the stone, you’d reconsider. That small object that you hold possesses the capability of destroying this entire realm if used improperly. It must be protected in the grand halls of Brymar at all costs.”

  “Why there?” Richard asked. “How do you know that? I thought that Elizabeth was to take it to Tolin in Durk’helm?”

  Victoria looked at him for answers, too.

  “I cannot ex
plain,” Thrix sternly responded, focusing on Victoria.

  Victoria hesitated again, and Richard shook his head. He spoke up angrily. “Well, if you know that the stone must reach Brymar, you’re going to want to help me save the others. You won’t stand a chance in entering my home unless you do it peacefully, and you can be sure I won’t let you in unless we help them first.”

  “He’s right,” Victoria pointed out, admiring Richard’s strength and acting on it. “And I won’t help you into Brymar without Elizabeth and the others.” She paused, knowing Thrix would succumb to their arguments. “And you better start explaining.”

  Thrix watched as she put the stone back into her robes. “After almost four hundred years of knowing you,” he said with an annoyingly endearing grin, “your stubbornness still manages to prevail.”

  Victoria nodded and gave a reassuring glance at Richard. “Skee is on the road to Brymar, anyway. It won’t take long to reach it if we ride quickly.”

  “How will we all fit on the horse?” Richard said. “I know my…”

  “I have my own; he’s in the stable.” He looked to Victoria. “I have yours too.”

  Richard looked relieved, tired of trying to find a place to put his hands to not fall off.

  “Victoria. Look at the map,” Thrix said.

  She removed the conical tube from the horse’s side and pulled out the thick piece of parchment, unrolling it and handing it to Thrix. He took it with massive hands; the moment he touched it, the map’s display shifted and continued to move in apparent chaos. Richard’s eyes widened as he watched the ink across the map move until it started to settle. Thrix pointed to Skee on the map with a frown.

  “It shows what is happening at the places on the map?” Richard marvelled at the sight.

  “The village is surrounded,” Thrix declared as he looked at the black smudges surrounding the small spot of Skee.

  “Then we must go there immediately,” Victoria demanded.

  “They will need our help,” Richard fearfully added.

  “Yes, they will.”

  “What are you doing to the map?” Richard muttered as he continued to stare at the large piece of parchment. “The ink on it keeps…moving.”

  “This map updates upon my touch,” he replied. “I can see movement in real-time and even see the place with my own eyes if I choose.” He noticed Richard’s uncertainty. “It means I can track the enemy’s movements with this map. I can see their location, too, as if I were standing there with them.”

  Richard paused in confusion and wonder. “More magic,” he muttered to himself. “Can you do that?” he asked Victoria.

  “No,” she said, “only he possesses that kind of power, one much greater than my own.”

  “Well, you all seem to have magic,” Richard shrugged. “I can’t say I understand any of it. Can you see them, Thrix?” he asked. “Are they safely there?”

  Thrix touched Skee and slowly moved his hand around it; his eyes faintly glowed red as he spoke. “Yes. They dwell inside the inn and prepare for an attack.” He paused, his expression darkening. “William is with them; why did Aroden and the brothers not travel back to Brymar?” he angrily muttered to himself, seeing Richard curiously glancing at him. “I can see the Arraci surrounding the village,” Thrix calmed himself and continued, “with many of them standing atop the rooftops. The Arracian twins lead them.”

  Richard considered Thrix’s words. Why did he single out William? “We should hurry then,” he spoke up.

  “Indeed,” Thrix nodded, handing the map back to Victoria. “We must certainly help them reach Brymar safely. I will retrieve our horses.”

  Richard turned to Victoria, relieved that they travelled to Skee. “Thank you,” he said to her after a quiet pause as she rolled the map up and returned it to its conical container. “You didn’t agree to abandon them. That’s very admirable of you.”

  “Elizabeth means a lot to me, just as your family does to you,” she said. “I couldn’t leave her. She’s been through more than most people go through in a lifetime.”

  “Even your lifetime?” Richard asked. “All five hundred years of it?”

  “Perhaps not,” she acknowledged.

  Richard paused, looking at the well in front of him and noticing his horse sniffing it. “I’m going to pull up some water,” he said. “My horse must be thirsty.”

  He slowly dropped the bucket down the well and held tightly onto the rope. After hearing a thud, he looked to Victoria in confusion. The bucket felt the same weight as he pulled it up, revealing an empty bucket without a drop of water. His horse practically licked the old wooden planks but snorted in disgust at the lack of water. Richard looked to Victoria.

  “This can’t be good.”

  “It must be them,” she replied. “They must be cutting off the water.”

  “How?”

  “Through the caverns,” she responded. “That’s the only way.”

  “We must tell my father.” He mounted his horse again and they waited in silence. Richard looked in the direction of Thrix’s departure. “So, he’s as old as you then. Is he also an Eranite?”

  “No,” she answered. “He won’t say exactly what he is. He keeps that information from me.”

  “And you still trust him,” Richard muttered.

  “He’s never lied to me before, and we’ve been through a lot,” Victoria defended. “Let’s leave it at that.”

  Thrix returned with two horses, one of them white and the other a bulging, massive bay horse. He handed the reins of the white one to Victoria before jumping atop the other. Richard noticed he held a massive handful of hay, which he fed to Richard’s horse.

  “Well, then,” Thrix said. “Let’s go and save your family.”

  *************************************************************

  “Our scouts report movement in the distance,” an Arracian called out after entering the inn. “They’re all around the village, and we heard the striking of metal and loud groans, too.”

  “How many did you see?” Aroden barked back.

  “It’s hard to tell. I think their numbers might be somewhere close to a hundred or so, maybe more.”

  “We have only fifty Arraci,” Adriana said. “We‘ll be forced to flee.”

  “We can take them,” Brian said. “If the caverns told us anything, we know they aren’t experienced fighters. Our arrows will easily break their ranks.”

  “We don’t know who we fight against,” Adriana said.

  “And if they’re like the ones we fought in Victoria’s home, then they are more skilled than the ones we met in the caverns,” Max added.

  Aroden paused to think. “You heard the clattering of metal?” he repeated.

  “Yes.”

  “Was Richard…”

  “We think a smaller battle ensued out there between two large forces.”

  “Two forces,” he mumbled to himself. “We have more than one enemy? Or have we an ally?”

  “We are not sure,” the scout answered.

  Aroden nodded.

  “What do I do?” Porter interjected, still standing behind his counter as if the day was going to start normally. “I’m no fighter, and my wife can barely leave her chambers let alone flee this village.”

  Aroden shook his head. “You should be with her, Porter,” he replied. “You have helped us all you can.” Aroden gave the innkeeper a grateful nod. Porter left the room and disappeared into the back again, where he could spend time with his wife away from the chaos of battle. Aroden remembered Elizabeth’s healing abilities and turned to the others. “Perhaps Elizabeth will be able to heal Bridget once we are safe.” The twins nodded and Aroden focused on Brian. “Do we have the Arraci all around the village?”

  “Yes,” Brian answered. “The size of this place makes it easier to defend.”

  “Have you seen Elizabeth?” William asked.

  “She stands in the front of the city with the rest of the Arraci. She refuses to leav
e and will fight amongst them.” Brian started to leave. “I’ll return to the back of the village in case they attempt a flank.”

  Max took a step forward. “I should join them,” he said, shrugging off his brother’s hand. “The rising sun should reveal the surrounding area better. At least Skee is in the middle of open ground.”

  “You should…”

  “No,” Max said, cutting off Adriana’s words. “I’ll come with you out there. I want to see what we’re up against.”

  “Be careful, Max,” William said.

  “I will.”

  He walked out of the door with Adriana beside him. As they walked away, she brushed her hand against his shoulder and shook her head. “You should stay in the inn, you know,” she said. “I can’t worry about you out here. I need to know you’re safe.”

  “I’ll stay close to you,” Max said, offering a reassuring smile. He stared into her dark blue eyes and reciprocated the gentle touch of her hand. “We’ll be fine.”

  “When you recounted that story in the inn,” she quietly started. “I…”

  “You saved me,” Max said to her. “I owe everything to you and your brother.”

  She nodded. “I think about that day sometimes, the day you came into all of our lives. You almost died in that marketplace, and I never would’ve known you.”

  “But I lived,” Max said. “That day brought us where we are today.”

  “I’m glad it did,” she said, flashing another smile at him before spotting one of the Arraci approaching them. “What is it?” she called out before the man could reach them.

  “One of the scouts reported movement closer to Skee. Their numbers are fewer than expected as the sun reveals them.”

  “Good news,” she said. “Go and tell the others in the inn.”

  The archer rushed away. Adriana turned to Max. “I suspect they’ll attack before the sun appears above the horizon. It will be harder to aim in the dim lighting of the morning sun.”

  “But that won’t change the accuracy of your bow,” Max complimented with a smile. “You can hit a shot just by using your hearing.”