WORRLGENHALL

by Luke, Monica

  As Laad looked out, he thought of the other king traveling to WorrlgenHall.

  “Have the guilds guard the road to WorrlgenHall, and the roads of the land,” he ordered, “To ensure the visiting king is safe, should this be their plan.”

  As ordered, the guilds guarded the main road into WorrlgenHall and the main roads around the lands, and when King Gegorad of Hemrock was close, escorted him to WorrlgenHall.

  After Baric cheerfully welcomed him as an honored guest, once he was comfortable and settled in, the men met and walked and talked.

  “A grand kingdom you have,” King Gegorad commented, as he chatted with Baric, “It had gone well pass time for us to at last meet and speak peacefully.”

  “Your father and my father were at peace,” Baric said, as they walked, “And I wish that for us as well, and am honored you came.”

  “As I, and perhaps when my son comes of age I will honor him with challenges and have you visit Hemrock.”

  “And I will gladly come,” Baric offered cheerfully.

  As they walked more, King Gegorad asked about the other kingdom coming.

  “When will the other arrive?”

  “King Thogor from the Kingdom of Celgon should be with us by mid morning after this sunrise.”

  **

  While they waited for all to arrive, Aderac enjoyed his freedom at WorrlgenHall even dressing as if any other common man and not a king, but out of habit and thinking nothing of its significance, he put on his king’s ring and amulet of Ivodgald, and Belon’s wristband.

  “Come let us ride the lands,” he cheerfully said to Belon after they ate in the morning, “And after a time, we can stop and sit under a tree so I can kiss all over that handsome face of yours.”

  “You know how much I enjoy that,” Belon happily agreed. “Let us go.”

  As they walked to the stables to get their horses, Loth saw them.

  “Going for a ride, great king?” he questioned.

  “Just a short one,” Belon answered for him, “While the morning is still cool.”

  “I will have some guilds follow you, if you wish it.”

  “No need,” Aderac quickly declined, knowing he was going to kiss on Belon under a tree after they rode, “I have my Belon with me.”

  As a half-smile half-sickened look brushed across his face, Loth cleared his throat. He never knew how to respond when Aderac spoke of Belon in terms of affection, which he did often.

  “Very well,” he said, and went on his way.

  “My Belon,” Belon repeated tickled, when he looked over at Aderac after Loth had walked away, “Did you see the look on his face from your words?”

  “I did,” he answered, as he jumped on his horse not caring, “And you are my Belon.”

  Belon laughed and jumped on his horse spurring it forward, and as he and Aderac rode here and there on their horses, when they neared the Grey Forest of Worrlgen, when Aderac was about to ride into it as a shortcut to the other side, Belon stopped him.

  “No,” he warned, “Each time someone goes inside it such misery comes from it, and I want no more harm coming to my love.”

  Aderac only smiled; then steered his horse the other way.

  “Then shall we ride around it?”

  Spurring his horse around right behind him, they rode south, then after riding for most of the morning, happened upon a group of foreigners traveling.

  “You will speak with haste where you came from and why you are on this land.” Belon scowled, as he looked down at the foreigners, and rested his hand on his sword’s hilt.

  “Belon,” Aderac whispered to him, “You are not first in command of Worrlgen and have no right to ask such.”

  Again reminded, Belon still glared at them suspiciously, but agreed with Aderac and moved his hand onto his knee, “Such is true.”

  As Aderac looked down at the men; he noticed there were no women or children with them and became curious.

  “Are you peaceful nomads?”

  “Yes,” one gave a quick answer, “And only crossing the land.”

  “Is that so?” Aderac nodded, but made a face.

  Curious why he made a face, Belon looked at him suspecting he noticed something odd with them, then back at the men, but couldn’t see what made him suspicious.

  “What is it?” he asked, as he turned his horse to face away from them.

  “Why would nomads travel from place to place with no women or children?” Aderac’s wary question, “And they are dressed like those Segorans who came to court. I cannot place it now, but something is not the same -”

  Belon turned and looked at them again; noticing all were of battle age and looked fit, and fearing for Aderac, he didn’t confront them.

  “Just days ago an unknown tribe rode through this land,” Belon said, feigning his concern for them, “You may want to be on watch for them should they mean to rob innocent unarmed travelers.”

  The men nodded, as they looked at them both, but more so at Aderac and waited for them to ride off before they did another thing.

  Aderac turned to leave, but Belon stopped.

  “Ride ahead,” he told him, “I have one more helpful warning for them.”

  Belon waited until he got much farther ahead, before he spoke again.

  “Oh, and to ride across the land, nomads or not, is only granted if a toll to the King of Worrlgen is given. If you are caught the punishment is harsh.”

  Again, the men nodded offering no comment, then when Belon felt Aderac was far enough ahead of him; he hurried away and eventually caught up with him.

  “Do not look back,” he warned when he did, “Make your way to the Rocks of Worrlgen and hide.”

  “But why Belon?” he asked concerned.

  “They will try to rob you.” He knew, as sure as he knew his own name. “Two stared at your king’s ring and amulet, while others stared at your clothes and fine bred horse.”

  “Let us ride hard back,” Aderac pleaded. “We can outride them.”

  “We are to far away.”

  As soon as they reached the Rocks of Worrlgen, Aderac jumped from his horse with Belon right beside him, and after both hurried behind the rocks; Belon withdrew his sword to confront them.

  “I beg you, Belon,” Aderac pleaded, “Do not take them on needlessly. We can hide.”

  Although, his mind was set to fight, when Belon looked at Aderac, he saw the worry in his eyes and moved behind the rocks with him to hide.

  “Belon,” Aderac whispered after not hearing anything for a while.

  “Sssshhh,” he shushed him. Just as he knew they would, four who had trailed them were riding along the rock’s edge searching, “They are now in front of us.”

  Aderac hushed, but when he moved his foot it caused several pebbles off the rocks beside him to cascade down the side of another rock, and when the men heard it, they moved in closer.

  “They come,” he whispered.

  Quietly, Belon again withdrew his sword.

  “As I strike,” he commanded, “Get to your horse or one of theirs and ride hard to WorrlgenHall.

  “No,” Aderac whispered defiantly, “I will not leave you Belon. I will not.”

  “Dare you disobey me at such a time?” he snapped, as he looked angrily at him.

  “Yes, I disobey.” Aderac still defiantly gritted. “I am staying with you.”

  Belon cautiously moved more around the rock when one of the men jumped off his horse after spotting Aderac.

  Noticing the man inching towards him, thinking quickly, Aderac took off his ring and dropped it at his own feet.

  “If you want it, you must get it yourself.”

  When the man’s eyes followed the ring, Belon sprang from behind the rock snapping his neck quietly, then quickly moved again behind it, and after Aderac picked up his ring, he squatted next to Belon.

  “Do not do something so foolish again,” he snapped his warning.

  “Yes Belon.”

  Two more now riding
close to the mouth of the rocks, when they saw the other’s horse and him not on it, jumped off and withdrew their swords, then cautiously approached it.

  Staring straight ahead, they stepped slowly. Their swords extended in front of them; then just as one moved slightly in front of the other, as Belon stood and reared back about to throw his axe at him, suddenly one jumped from the top of a rock and struck him in the top of his head.

  When he fell to the ground, faintly he could hear Aderac calling his name and felt him sprawled over his body; then his eyes dimmed and everything went black.

  Unknown how long he had laid there, sluggishly Belon woke and sat up groaning; then put his hand on his head and felt the large bump and clotted blood where someone had struck him.

  Still slightly dazed, he braced his body against one of the rocks and rose to his feet immediately looking left and right for Aderac.

  “Aderac!” he called out when he didn’t see him, “Aderac!”

  His yell echoing off the large hollow rocks. His body frantically spun in circles as he looked down and all around him for clues before noticing drops of blood here and there, but no Aderac.

  “Aderac!” he called out again, as his heart sank into the pit of his stomach, “Aderac!”

  Belon’s eyes canvassed the sides of the large rocks and the pebbles around the base, then noticed drops of blood and quickly followed the blood trail, which ended where the green grass began again.

  Noticing the trampled grass where several had rode away, his horse taken as well as his sword, knife and axe. He knew he had to act quickly and began to run back in the direction of WorrlgenHall to get his men.

  “This cannot be!” his distressed words as he ran. The sweat from his brows mixing with the blood from his head as it trickled down his face and into his dry parched mouth; he could taste the salty blood mixer.

  His strong will and worry for Aderac forcing his body to push hard, although he felt dizzy, he refused to slow his pace or stop to rest.

  Finally, the mouth of the forest in his sight, he knew he was much closer and stopped briefly, but while resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he saw men on horses riding hard towards him.

  Fearing they were part of those who took Aderac. No weapons on him, he wiped the sweat from his brows with his forearm, stiffened his resolve and prepared to fight with his fists to his death; but when they got closer, his arms fell to his side when he noticed the men were guilds.

  “Belon we have been searching for you and King Aderac,” one of the guilds revealed when they reached him. Laad had them ride out to find them when Loth noticed they had not returned from their morning ride.

  “A horse,” Belon commanded, still panting to catch his breath “One of you give me your horse.”

  Right away, one of the guilds jumped off his and onto the back of another’s horse so Belon could ride it, and with one leap, Belon was on it and racing away.

  Once back at WorrlgenHall, as he approached the western gate, Belon rode full speed straight at it.

  “It is Belon, open the gate!” he shouted, “Open the gate now!”

  As the gates slowly opened, impatiently Belon rode through ducking his head to keep the steel from hitting it, then all eyes him, he shouted as he turned around the courtyard.

  “They took him!” he cried out anguished. Repeating himself just as Aderac did when upset or excited, “They took him! They took him!”

  “Who?” Loth and Laad asked first, as they ran down the walled stairs to him, “Who took him?”

  “Men that look like those Segorans,” Belon’s distressing answer, as he now jumped off and walked back and forth shaking his head as if trying to wake from a bad dream, “They meant to rob him so we fled to the Rocks of Worrlgen. I killed one and another jumped from above and struck me. When I woke all were gone, even the one I killed.”

  When Baric heard what happened, he rushed to Belon.

  “Gather the highest of guilds to help Belon and his men,” Baric gave his order to Laad, “And turn this land inside out looking for him.”

  Well aware that Baric had other concerns; Laad pulled him aside.

  “Worry not with this king,” Laad said wisely, “Celgon will be at our door soon and you have a visiting king here as well. If you grant it, let Belon take charge. We all know he will leave not as much as a leaf unturned to find King Aderac.”

  Baric nodded his consent, but voiced a concern.

  “We also all know.” Baric dreaded, as he shook his head, “If they harm my cousin my wrath, yet I shudder to let it come into my head the wrath from Belon if they harm Aderac.

  Laad nodded, he knew, as did all of them. Find King Aderac and pray that no harm came to him, or the soil of the earth would be soaked with the blood of the Segorans.

  With astounding quickness, Belon rearmed himself, gathered his chosen and the guilds Laad tasked to have help find Aderac, but he pulled one of his own aside.

  Hastily Belon wrote, and so agitated neither hand would steady his words were almost unreadable, but before he sealed it; he added one more significant detail that no words need convey.

  He put his blood seal on it, a secret code proving it came from high and the direness of it, and only those most high in command were privy to what it meant.

  “Ride hard Ivodgald,” Belon tasked his chosen, his hand bleeding from staining the parchment with it, “And put this only in the hands of Enek.”

  Chapter 46

  When Aderac woke, noticing his tunic, belts, and boots gone, and his hands tightly bound, he sat up suddenly alarmed and quickly looked around him as well as out into the distance. Hoping a landmark would alert him of where he was; nothing looked familiar.

  Several feet in front of him, the men who took him sitting and standing around a fire eating, when they heard rustling behind them, turned only giving Aderac a glance before one of them stood, tore a piece of meat off the animal they were roasting and walked towards him.

  Tossing it at his feet for Aderac to pick up and gladly eat, Aderac looked at it, then back at him as if he had thrown a rock at him to chew.

  “Eat.”

  “What do you want with me?” he asked indignantly, “Release me.”

  The man only looked at him and said nothing, but when another known as Rengad noticed he was awake and talking, rose from the grass where he lay and came over to him.

  “A man of great wealth you are,” he commented, as he walked back and forth in front of him, “How did you come to be?”

  “I am only a servant,” Aderac quickly swore, “And have nothing.”

  Rengad gave him a cross look.

  “Is that so?” he cynically questioned, and held up Aderac’s ring, amulet, and clothes.

  “I found them and the clothes are not my own,” Aderac swore again, “I am only a servant and have nothing.”

  Feeling insulted, he grabbed Aderac’s hands. Jerking them forward, he examined closely his fingernails; the palms of his hand, then looked down at his feet.

  “A servant.” He hissed certain he was lying. His hands, fingernails, and feet showing clearly that he had never manually worked or walked hard a day in his life, and he would have spat on Aderac’s feet if he hadn’t quickly moved them out the way, “Lies.”

  “Then what do you want from me?”

  “There is more than one way to get gold,” he vaguely commented.

  Rengad’s comment reaffirming what he suspected earlier, Aderac knew the men who claimed to be nomads were possibly part of the Segorans, who traveled to WorrlgenHall to vie.

  “Know well,” Aderac spewed, “You will get nothing, but cold steel deep into your chest for what you have done to me.”

  Feeling now twice insulted, Rengad rushed towards Aderac and kicked him in the face cutting into his chin and jaw, and for the second time in his life, Aderac knew the feel of a blow.

  In an instant, before he had time actually to feel the blow. He tasted and felt the warmth of his own blood pooling in h
is mouth forcing him to swallow it, as what he couldn’t swallow trickled out the corner of his mouth onto his chin, yet fearless he remained.

  “Hold your tongue!” he groaned, when he pulled his boot away.

  “You have sealed your fate and will die for such a deed,” Aderac avowed, as he spat out more of the blood still pooling in his mouth, “And in agony.”

  “And who within the place you call WorrlgenHall?” he mocked, “Can stand up to me. With my bare hands,” he added, as he held up his hands and made them into fists, “I have killed wild animals and with a sword and bow to many to count, as well as animals that walk on two feet.”

  “This wild animal is a lion,” Aderac’s brag, “And will fiercely pounce upon you and tear you to pieces when he comes for me.”

  Loud was Rengad’s guffaw. “We shall see.”

  Aderac listened as best he could to the men’s chattering and noticed they began to speak in another language, but as he listened carefully to their dialect, from an isolated tribe far south, he couldn’t understand them.

  “Release me now!” he demanded when another passed by, and solely for his own amusement brutally kicked Aderac in his ribs.

  “Yell again,” he warned and sneered, “And it will give me pleasure to cut out that tongue of yours and throw it in the fire to roast.”

  Although, he groaned and coughed hard from his brutal kick, Aderac knew to silence, and the pain in his ribs great made him fear some were broken.

  **

  With lit torches, frantically Belon, his men, and the guilds, combed the land searching for Aderac, and when they rode into some villages, gathering some would have special tracking dogs; he offered to pay them to have their dogs follow the scent from Aderac’s clothes, along with the dogs brought from WorrlgenHall.

  Willingly, several villagers agreed and once back on the trail, when they came across resting sheepherders, Belon questioned them.

  “Did any men pass you wearing animal skins?”

  “Earlier in the night,” one offered, “Men passed us.”

  “Which way?”

  “They all rode south.”

  “If we ride hard,” Belon voiced, “And cut over hills, we can catch up to them. I gather they will soon rest.”