Solomon's Exile

by James Maxstadt

  “Actually, no,” Willow said. “I’ve had a chance to look at the one that you brought back here with you. I think the legend of needing a magic weapon has grown out of how hard they are to hit. But there is nothing about their physical presence that would make that so. Instead, their cloaks create much more area than their bodies, and according to Solomon, they are very fast. Combine those two, add in the panic that those facing them feel, and most blows simply miss. But they can be hurt by an ordinary weapon, even if they are tough. Their skin and muscle is like old wood, hard and resilient, but able to be cut. That doesn’t make them easy targets, by any means, but they can be defeated. That does not take into account how many will die in doing so, however.”

  To Shireen’s horror, Jediah and Florian both looked thoughtful. They were actually taking Thaddeus’s words seriously and considering applying for peace with those things!

  “You must be joking,” she said. “Jediah, surely…”

  “We’re not going to be stupid about this, Shireen,” Jediah said. “But Orlando is right. If we have a chance, however slim, of avoiding the bloodshed, we have to take it.”

  Solomon spoke up for the first time. “I agree,” he said. “But they have a saying on that other earth. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

  CHAPTER 42

  All eyes turned to him after he made his statement. Solomon could feel his face twist as he grinned.

  “Here’s what I propose,” he said. “Florian and Jediah should go speak with this advocate to feel him out and see what they think. They’re the oldest of all of us here, and have the most experience but they can’t go alone, obviously. Shireen, Orlando, and whoever else they deem necessary should also go.”

  “Why not you?” Shireen asked. “What are you going to be doing?”

  “You going to Rustling Elms is hoping for the best. I’ll be doing the planning for the worst part.”

  “Which means what, exactly?” Florian asked.

  “I need to find Justice, or at least see if I can remember what I did with it.”

  In truth there was a lot that Solomon didn’t remember still. His life before waking up on that other earth was full of holes and missing parts. He didn’t remember much of his childhood, and had only vague recollections of his mother and father, although he knew that they had died when he was very young. He had been raised here in Towering Oaks, as a sort of ward of the House, but had no memories of any friends, beyond Orlando, and even with him he only remembered some of their adventures.

  There were no memories of his early days as a scout, or much of his days as a foot-soldier in service to Jediah. Bits and pieces floated to the surface, and it felt like more came all the time, but overall, he still felt like there were huge gaps.

  “I still can’t remember where I put it, and I don’t know exactly why I hid it in the first place. I also don’t know where I got it, or from who, or why. And beyond flashes of that one fight I had with a Soul Gaunt, I don’t remember ever using it.”

  “Then how do you expect to find out where it is?” Shireen asked.

  “Because I’m hoping that Thaddeus here can reverse the spell that he cast when they exiled me.”

  He looked at the mage sitting across the table from him.

  “I can’t,” Thaddeus said. “I would if I could, I’m sure you know that, but the spell I cast can’t be reversed. Your memory loss isn’t magical, it’s an effect of the spell that made it happen. It erased all those memories for good, so they’re not blocked, they’re actually gone. Frankly, I’m shocked that you’ve recovered any of them.”

  “That seems like an awfully powerful spell,” Willow said. “I wasn’t aware that you were that accomplished a mage.”

  Thaddeus bowed his head to her. “I’m not, but thank you. That spell was at the absolute limit of what I’ve ever been able to do and I wasn’t even sure that it worked. And seeing that it wasn’t permanent, I don’t think I did get it quite right. Which I’m grateful for, of course.”

  “I guess I need another way of trying to recover that memory then,” Solomon said.

  “I don’t get it,” Luke said. “What’s the big deal about one sword? I mean, even if it’s magic or something, so what? According to Thaddeus, there are a ton of Soul Gaunts, and I saw how hard it was for Solomon to beat one. Shouldn’t you all be arming everyone to the teeth now, and worry about this one sword later?”

  “I don’t think I can really answer that,” Solomon said. “I feel that having Justice back is our best chance, but I don’t really remember why.”

  “I do,” Jediah cut in. “Justice is a legendary weapon, although it hasn’t always been called that. It’s had many names in its long history. Where it came from, no one is really sure of anymore. Some say it was forged in the heart of a star at the beginning of time, while others say it’s a mighty warrior, cursed into that form forever more. Yet others say that it was blessed by the creator himself, but the truth is that no-one knows, and the stories about it go back for centuries.

  “They always have the same theme. An exceptional warrior is chosen to wield it, either by the one who held it before or by the sword itself, depending on who you believe. It’s to be used in times when the Greenweald has faced great peril, or to protect a loved one, or to vanquish a terrible evil. The chosen champion always prevails in these tales, and the foe is conquered.

  “But then, a change comes over the champion. Some of them become slaves to their own fame and rest on their laurels, content to let others confront danger, but never giving the sword to anyone else. Others become consumed with rooting out wrongs, no matter how small, and dealing with them harshly and permanently. Whichever way it goes, the end is never good. The champion always comes to a cursed end, and the sword passes out of knowledge until it appears again with a new champion, and the cycle repeats.

  “To say I was concerned when Solomon showed up with it is an understatement. But, I held my peace and hoped that the stories were exaggerated. When he came back from a patrol without it, and told me of using it to defeat a Soul Gaunt, he was the first of the Folk I had ever heard of to avoid the curse.”

  “But why?” Solomon asked. “What did I say when I came back?”

  Jediah shrugged. “You wouldn’t say why. You simply said that the sword was too dangerous for any one man to wield, and that you had hid it in a spot that you could get to if needed. A place where it would be safe and that it could stay unless the Greenweald was in dire need.”

  “I’d say we’re there now,” Florian said.

  “There may be a way for you to regain more memories,” Willow said. “From what I’ve been told, you first got some of them back when the Soul Gaunt touched you. A traumatic event, to be sure, and since then they’ve slowly been coming back to you. It’s possible that given time, you will get them all back.”

  “Which is exactly what we don’t have,” Solomon said.

  “No,” Willow agreed, “we don’t. But perhaps another trauma or shock would shake more memories loose. It’s risky, and certainly not something I would recommend in most circumstances, but these are hardly normal times.”

  “What are you saying? That Solomon should go get himself attacked by one those things again?” Lacy asked.

  “No, I’m most definitely not saying that. I don’t know what sort of shock it would have to be, but it would have to be significant to work. At least, that’s my hope, and my fear.”

  Solomon’s mind went to the one thing that he was fairly certain would work. He was reluctant to say it out-loud, in front of everyone, but it was worth the risk. He looked up, and locked eyes with Florian as he spoke.

  “I’ll go back to the pool where Celia was lost.”

  “That's crazy!” Shireen said. “What are you going to do? Go there and get drowned yourself? How will that help any of us?”

  “I won’t drown. Whatever it was could have then, and it didn’t. Plus, I wasn’t ready for it
then. Now, I will be.”

  “How? How are you going to be ready for something that you don’t even know what it is?”

  Solomon shrugged. “I just will be. It took me by surprise last time. This time, it won’t.”

  Shireen snorted and turned away, obviously not believing in him, not this time at least. He wanted to smile at that. It was good to know that after everything, Shireen at least still thought of him as fallible.

  “Let us go with you, then” Orlando said. “We can at least stand by, ready to help if need be.”

  “No, you need to go with Jediah and Florian.”

  “I have other guards and scouts,” Jediah said. “As does Florian. We can spare them to help you in your quest.”

  “I know, but it’s more than that. I need to do this alone. Totally alone.” He looked over at Daisy, who was laying on the floor nearby. “Lacy, can you watch out for Daisy for me while I’m gone?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “But do you even remember where that pool is?”

  “It’s one of the things I do remember.”

  “And you really think you can have revenge on the thing that killed my daughter?” Florian asked.

  Solomon shrugged. “Maybe, but I need to do something. And even if I can’t but it helps me remember, then what have we lost? In the meantime, maybe Thaddeus will be proven right, you’ll be successful, and we won’t even need the sword.”

  “Hope for the best, plan for the worst,” Orlando said. “Although, I’m not entirely sure that I like this plan. But I have to admit, I don’t have anything better. Does anyone?”

  Solomon looked up and down the table, but no one spoke. “Then it looks like we know what to do.”

  “Wait,” a quiet voice said. Solomon looked around and realized that Lacy had spoken, her eyes fixed on the table in front of her.

  “Go ahead, Lacy.”

  “I…we…don’t belong here, mixed up in this. I mean, the Greenweald is wonderful, at least the little I’ve seen of it. And simply breathing the air makes you feel more alive and…I don’t know…connected to everything else? But, I can’t help with what’s going on. I can’t pick up a sword and go fight those things, like you or Shireen or Orlando can. I can’t cast some sort of magic spell like Thaddeus, or heal people like Willow. I can’t do anything, except be in the way. Luke too. I’d love to see more of the Greenweald, but maybe now isn’t the time for us to do it.”

  “I agree,” Jediah said.

  “I do too, in theory,” Solomon said. “But the thing is, I didn’t bring you here to help us. I brought you here so that you could be helped and healed. Neither of you asked for what happened and both of you need time to recover. There’s no better place that I know of to get well than the Greenweald.”

  “But we’re only in the way. Even right now. We shouldn’t be here. We have nothing to contribute to the conversation.”

  “Not true,” Solomon said. “You’ve survived an attack by a Soul Gaunt. Something that many of the Folk wouldn’t be able to say. And Luke has survived, with his mind intact no less, an ordeal that the rest of can’t even imagine. Maybe right now things feel overwhelming, but what if as we move forward either of you have an insight that could help us? You may not have strength of arms, or magical ability, but you have knowledge, and we may need that.”

  Lacy looked up at him. “So then what? We tag along and try to stay out of the way?”

  “No,” Florian said. “I have a better option, I think. Come with me to Whispering Pines. My House is of a different nature than this one. It’s less military, and more suited to rest and healing of the spirit. I have several cottages, and can give you one for your use. You can stay, reap the benefits of the Greenweald and heal, yet still be available should we need you.”

  Lacy looked at Luke, who glanced back at her and shrugged his shoulders.

  “That sounds good, thank you. And Daisy can stay with us, too.”

  “Good, then it’s settled,” Solomon said. “I’m glad you’re staying. This crisis will pass, and then we’ll have more time to be good hosts and show you a proper thank-you for what you’ve done.”

  “There is one more thing,” Lacy said. “What about Ed?”

  “Oh, I haven’t forgotten Ed. When this is said and done, Willow and I will go see him, and bring him here if necessary. Which it very well may be. I don’t want everyone in your world to know about us, but Ed is a good man and I’ll do whatever I can to help him too.”

  “Who’s this Ed?” Shireen asked.

  Solomon smiled again. “Someone you’d like. He’s a law man on that other earth. Nice guy, good heart, but pretty no-nonsense.”

  “So, a male version of her,” Orlando quipped.

  “Something like that,” Solomon agreed. “And someone who will need our help too. I haven’t forgotten, Lacy. But for now, I think we have a plan? Yes?”

  This time, no one spoke up.

  “Alright, let’s get to it then.”

  CHAPTER 43

  In all the stories that Luke had written, he had never had a character that couldn’t be redeemed. Unless it was the true villain of the piece, who deserved their come-uppance. But for everyone else, their flaws were overcome, their baser natures were outdone by their noble ones and they all came through in the end. It was no wonder that he never got published. That wasn’t even close to real, not even in some made-up fantasy world.

  He was proof of that, if any was needed. He had made it, to another world, a whole other reality, and look at the place! Trees the size of office buildings, and a forest that any fairy-tale creature would be at home in. Tall, thin, beautiful people who were better than the normal human, yet helpful and wise. Air that made you feel clean and pure by the simple act of breathing it in.

  And Luke couldn’t care less about any of it. He could feel the Greenweald, sure, trying to work its own kind of magic in him. Trying to heal his mind and his soul. But that was up against the whispering that was always in his ears. Telling him that the world, whether this one or his own, was dark and cold. People, human or Folk, would leave you, betray you, and hurt you. All of them. Any of them.

  He looked ahead, at Lacy walking along with Florian, Daisy on her other side. She wasn’t a tall woman compared to anyone, but walking between the overly tall lord and the huge dog made her seem even tinier. She had been strangely subdued ever since the two scouts had arrived in their yard, but looked like she was coming out of it. She asked Florian questions about her surroundings, listening as he answered and pointed out more sights for her to see. If Luke had wanted he could have concentrated and joined in on the conversation, but he had no interest in it.

  Instead, he looked at the trees that would soon be nothing more than decaying, broken stumps. The plants that would be trampled beneath hard boots as the people who supposedly loved them moved to the attack. He took a breath of the warm, clean air, that would soon be cold, and tasting of nothing but death.

  If they were lucky they’d be gone from here by then, back home, where they could wait for the same thing to happen there. But at least they’d be home and together. Lacy was the one person who he still felt a fondness for…no, more than that. He loved her still. If he could save her from what was coming he would, but since he couldn’t, he would at least be with her until the end.

  “You seem distracted,” a quiet voice said.

  Thaddeus was accompanying them back to his home compound as well, saying that he still needed time to recover from his ordeal and could do so the best in his own chambers. Luke understood, but thought the man melodramatic. He had been held for a few days. He should try a few weeks.

  “Tired,” Luke said, avoiding the other man’s gaze. “It’s been a long couple of days.”

  “More than that. It’s been a lifetime for you. I hope you find the peace that you’re seeking. House Whispering Pines is a good place for that.”

  “Thanks,” Luke mumbled. Thaddeus gave a slight bow and dropped back to walk behind the small
group once again.

  The “cottage” was something else that should have come straight out of a story. It, like every building he had seen in the Greenweald, was a tree. It wasn’t huge for this world, but the door opened to a round room, a good twenty feet in diameter, with comfortable furnishings. Windows let in plenty of light, filtered through the leaves of the forest giants that surrounded them, and there was a spiral staircase off to the left side.

  “It’s not much, I know,” Florian was saying. “But I think you’ll be comfortable here. There is a bed on the second floor, along with a small balcony, where you can get a better view of some of the birds if you wish.”

  “This is gorgeous, Lord Florian. How can we thank you?” Lacy said.

  “No thanks are needed. I feel that your part in this is not yet over, but even if it is, you’ve done a great deal already. Besides, I think my daughter would have liked you…and I think I would like to be more like her.”

  Lacy took the tall man’s hand and squeezed it. He looked surprised for a moment, and then returned the gesture. “Touching,” Luke thought to himself, and for a moment, wasn’t sure if he meant it or not.

  “My servants will provide your meals and anything else that you may want,” Florian said.

  He showed them how to contact the servants when they were needed and other features of the “cottage”. Luke hoped that Lacy was paying attention, because he really wasn’t. He was tired and wanted the two others to leave, maybe take the dog with them, so that he could sleep and for a short while get rid of the horrible thoughts running through his mind.

  Finally, the tour was over and the goodbyes were said. Florian and Thaddeus took their leave, with promises to check in on them as they could and wishes for their speedy recoveries.