The Serpent Cult (Heroes of Ravenford Book 2)

by F. P. Spirit

  Glo slowly turned his head. Lloyd and Seth stood a few feet away. Lloyd appeared worried, but Seth wore his usual smirk.

  Glo’s mind felt surrounded by fog. “Rag doll...”

  Abruptly a whole slew of images flashed before his eyes: Seth rushing past him, a huge tornado flying down the stairs, being lifted off the ground, the entire room spinning around him, his friends and The Boulder below him, the flash of his own lightning bolt, flying down the hall and hitting the floor rather hard.

  Now I remember! I was swept up by an air elemental. A rather large air elemental, he amended.

  “Next time I tell you to run, maybe you’ll listen,” Seth chided.

  Glo ignored the halfling’s jibe. “Where did that thing come from?”

  Seth shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, it was just a little present Maltar left for the unwary.”

  Maltar... of course. “Let me guess. There was a magical trap on the stairs.”

  “The door to the top floor actually. The stairs had a blade trap on it.”

  A blade trap, too? Maltar really doesn’t trust anyone. Just what is he hiding up on that third floor?

  Seth’s lips parted, his mouth forming into a wicked grin. “It did a number on those assassins though.”

  Glo was startled. “You found them?”

  “What was left of them.” While Aksel finished healing Glo, Seth described the bodies he had found.

  At the mention of the tattoos, Lloyd’s normally genial face darkened. “The Serpent Cult again. They are getting far too bold. I am sick of them showing up every place we go.”

  Glo felt a wave of sympathy for the young man. He knew his main concern was for the Lady Andrella. “I think we all are, Lloyd.”

  The white light faded and Aksel stepped back. “You’re all done.”

  “Thank you.” Glo smiled at Aksel and slowly sat up. The hallway around them was in shambles. The little table had been smashed, broken lamps lay strewn about, and the doors to the foyer hung off their hinges. Martan stood in that doorway. He gave Glo a curt nod. Glo nodded back then stood. “Lloyd’s right. The Serpent Cult has grown rather bold. No one in their right mind would attack Maltar’s house.”

  Seth folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe, then again maybe they had no choice.”

  Lloyd stared curiously at the halfling. “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe there was something in this house they desperately needed.”

  “Voltark!” Aksel declared.

  They all turned to face him. Even Martan took a few steps closer. “If they recovered the body, they could still resurrect him. It’s only been a few days since he died, after all.”

  Glo turned toward Martan. “Did Voltark ever mention his standing in the cult? Was he really that important?”

  The archer was silent for a few moments, his brow furrowed. “I don’t quite know for sure. I mean, he never mentioned a rank or anything. Still, he was the head of the Black Adders. I did get the impression they were some kind of elite group within the cult.”

  “That cinches it, then,” Aksel said.

  Lloyd still appeared agitated, his face slightly flushed. “I still think this was a bold move. Maltar would be a pretty dangerous opponent.”

  “Not if he wasn’t home.”

  Everyone turned to face Seth.

  “Remember, the front door was unlocked. What if they had an inside man? Someone who could let them know when Maltar was gone and even let them in?”

  Glo was taken aback. Someone on the inside? That didn’t seem likely. All of Maltar’s apprentices were afraid of the irritant mage. Abracus, Gristla, and even...

  “Flibin!” The name escaped Glo’s lips the moment it dawned on him. Aksel, Seth, Lloyd, and Martan all turned to stare at the shocked wizard. “Flibin, the apprentice we killed. He was not very happy once he was resurrected. He would barely talk to anyone. Not even Abracus or Gristla.”

  Seth nodded. “Seems like our best suspect.”

  Aksel glanced around the hallway. “Well with all the ruckus we caused, I think it’s safe to assume no one else is here.”

  “More than likely.” Seth smirked.

  Aksel gave the halfling a sideways glance. “Still, I would like to confirm whether Voltark’s body is gone, so let’s finish searching the house.” Seth nodded and started toward the stairs. “Except this time, we’ll stick together,” Aksel called after him.

  Seth stopped in his tracks and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  They sent The Boulder back to guard the front door then began to search of the rest of the house. Seth led the way, followed by Martan, Glo and Aksel. Lloyd brought up the rear. A quick examination of the second floor produced nothing. It was mainly composed of empty bedrooms. The only other room was the apprentice’s workshop. That turned out to be empty as well.

  Seth led the way up to the third floor with, Martan trailing close behind. The rest of them followed but stopped on the landing. When Seth reached the top, he knelt down in front of the door. He fiddled with the lock while Martan gazed over his shoulder. Glo, Lloyd, and Aksel did their best to avoid the crimson pool that had congealed in front of them while they waited. It was a rather gruesome sight, but not as grisly as the slashed figures on the stairs above. Finally, they heard a click from above, followed by a satisfied, “Child’s play.”

  Seth stood up and opened the door a crack. He stuck his head through first, then his entire body disappeared. A few minutes went by with no sign of him. Glo started to worry. Abruptly, Seth’s head popped through the partially open doorway.

  “All clear,” he called down.

  Glo and the others ascended the stairs, carefully stepping around the black-robed corpses. When they reached the top, they found themselves in a short hallway. There were four doors here besides the one to the stairs. All of them had been locked, but Seth had already picked them.

  Seth waved his hand in a wide arc around the hallway passed each door. “Okay, pick your poison.”

  Aksel turned to Glo. “Any thoughts on where to start?”

  Glo shook his head. “I have no idea. Maltar never let anyone up here except for Abracus.” Glo’s eyes flickered around the hallway. There was one door on every wall, in all the cardinal directions. “I know his bedroom is up here, and his lab. Probably his library as well. Other than that, you’ve got me.”

  No one moved or said a word. Finally, Seth strode towards a door and placed a hand on the knob, his mouth twisting into a half smirk. “North it is, then.”

  “Lead on.” Aksel shrugged, giving in to the halfling’s whim.

  Seth slowly opened the door and peered inside. “Lab,” he called back over his shoulder. He pushed the door the rest of the way open and stood aside, allowing the others to file in after him.

  Glo carefully scanned the lab. It was a long, L-shaped room with multiple tables along the walls, the tabletops covered with vials and beakers of various-colored liquids. Numerous stacks of thick bound books and parchments were scatter all around. Glo examined a parchment spread across the nearest table. It was a detailed map of the Island of Lanfor, a small island kingdom directly east of Thac. Lanfor itself was thousands of years old. The Queen of Lanfor, a powerful human sorceress, had ruled that nation for nearly three hundred years. Some said the Queen was immortal. Glo thought it more likely that she used magic to extend her life.

  The capital city, Palt, was clearly marked on the western end of the isle. Palt was famous for many things, but no more so than the Greystone Halls. The Halls were a great institution of learning. Nearly every subject imaginable was taught between those walls. People came from all over the world to study there. It was also the home of one of the most extensive libraries in the world. Something on the map caught Glo’s eye. There was an “X” hand-scrawled next to Palt. He scanned t
he rest of the map. There was another one on the north end of the island. Did Maltar make these marks? If so, what could they mean?

  “Guys, you’re going to want to see this,” a voice called out.

  Glo glanced up and saw it was Seth. He stood in a doorway at the other end of the room, wearing the strangest expression. Glo walked over to the open door, his jaw dropping as he peered through it. The next room was as large as the lab, except that it was square. There were two entrances here—one were they stood and another that had to lead to the hallway. The room was otherwise empty, with one glaring exception. There was a large diagram in the center of the wood floor. The diagram was composed of an outer circle paralleled by an inner circle. Within the inner circle was a pentagram. Around the five points of the pentagram, between the two circles, were various symbols.

  Lloyd gaped at the drawing. “Isn’t that the same as the one we saw in the orc caves?”

  Aksel’s eyebrows were raised as he, too, eyed the familiar diagram. “Yes, that is most definitely a summoning circle.”

  “Didn’t you say these things were used to summon demons?”

  “Demons or other interdimensional monsters. You know—your run-of-the-mill evil creature,” Seth said.

  Once over his initial shock, Glo pushed past the others into the room. He knelt down next to the circle and examined it closely. The first thing he noted was its size. It was probably ten feet in diameter. Further, the diagram was not hand drawn—it was painted. Glo slowly stood up. “This is a permanent circle.”

  Aksel eyed him curiously, but said nothing. Seth’s expression grew dark. Lloyd and Martan both appeared puzzled.

  “A circle like this can hold a creature almost indefinitely. There’s no worry about it breaking, or the demon getting free. That way the summoner can take as much time as he or she needs learning to control the demon.”

  Lloyd’s expression turned grim, as did Martan, but Seth now glared at Glo with an I told you so look in his eyes. Glo gave a deep sigh. Seth was not wrong. He had been far too trusting of Maltar. Glo gazed at the circle once more. What was Maltar playing at? He had thought the mage merely difficult. Yet here was clear evidence that he was dabbling in dark magic. The words of Captain Rochino replayed through Glo’s mind. Well now, if Maltar is involved, then I am beginning to understand all these dark goings on.

  Abruptly, Glo felt a presence at his side. Lloyd stood next to him, staring intently at the circle. The young man’s tone was dark. “I may not know much about magic, but this does not look like something a good wizard would do.”

  Glo nodded his head slowly. “No, indeed it does not.”

  “I think we’ve seen enough for now.” Aksel stood at the other doorway. “Let’s try another room.”

  Glo took one last look at the summoning circle, then followed the others out of the room. They gathered in the hallway deciding where to head next. They had entered the north door and exited the west door. This time they chose to go south. The room beyond was Maltar’s library, a long, L-shaped room, identical in size to the mage’s lab. The room was lined with tall bookshelves reaching all the way up to the ceiling. Glo estimated there to be a few thousand books in here. It was the most comprehensive collection he had seen since leaving Cairthrellon. Still, it was only a fifth of the size of his family’s library. That collection had been amassed by his ancestors over the course of many centuries, and most of those books dated back to before the Galinthral elves had secluded themselves away from the world.

  “This is a rather impressive collection,” Aksel said, mirroring Glo’s thoughts.

  There was a single table in the center of the room with a few piles of books stacked on it. One text lay in the center. It was entitled Draconic Chronicles of the Great War. Glo was familiar with the book. It gave an account of the first Demon war—the war between the great dragons of old and the demons from the Abyss. It was a titanic struggle, one that, thankfully, the ancient dragons won. However, it decimated their ranks and brought an end to Hai’Valan, the first age of the world. He wondered why Maltar had this particular book out.

  Glo felt a presence next to him. Aksel stood there also staring at the ancient text. He gazed at Glo, his eyebrow raised. Glo merely shook his head. Aksel shrugged then called out to the others. “Let’s move on.”

  There was another door at the north end of the room. It led to a small, rectangular room with a large ornate desk in the center and a single high-backed chair behind it. An open book lay on the desk. Both Aksel and Glo stepped around the desk to examine the book. The pages were handwritten, but the lettering was cryptic. Glo’s brow furrowed as he attempted to decipher the text. “It looks like some kind of journal, but I don’t recognize the language.”

  Aksel shook his head. “Neither do I.”

  Glo felt uncomfortable looking at what was probably the mage’s journal. He thought of it as an invasion of privacy. Still, from what they had just seen, Maltar’s practices were far darker than Glo had originally thought. The matter warranted further investigation and the journal might be their best source of information about the mage’s activities. Glo closed the book and lifted it off the table. “Given all that has happened, I think we should take this with us.”

  Aksel nodded. “I concur—if there is any chance we are wrong about Maltar, we can always return it to him when we next see him.”

  A loud snort sounded from behind them. “I doubt it.”

  Aksel and Glo both spun around. Seth stood in the doorway behind them, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “Maltar’s bedroom—the bed’s made and looks like it hasn’t been slept in for days.’

  Glo raised an eyebrow. So Maltar has been gone for a while, and from all appearances he left in a hurry. I wonder why.

  Aksel interrupted his musings. “Well then, that just leaves the basement.”

  The basement was pitch black. Only the first few stairs were visible, the rest swallowed by inky blackness. Glo lit his staff and held it aloft. The light fanned out down the stairwell, revealing a landing down below. Seth led the way down, followed by Martan, Glo, and Aksel. Lloyd brought up the rear. When they reached the landing, the light from Glo’s staff revealed another flight leading the rest of the way down to the basement.

  The cellar turned out to be one large room that ran the length of the house. Stone walls were visible in all four directions, but the floor was composed of soft dirt. Storage boxes, cabinets, and some old pieces of furniture lined the basement walls. At the base of the stairs, Martan held up a hand. Everyone stopped and waited while he stooped down and examined the ground. Martan nudged his head toward the dirt floor. “Look at this.”

  Glo stepped closer and peered over his shoulder. There were two sets of tracks in the dirt with two uninterrupted lines between them. “It looks like someone was dragged up to the stairs.”

  Martan followed the trail all the way across the basement to a bare spot against the opposite wall. The tracks abruptly ended there.

  Seth’s lips twisted into a half smirk. “Can you say secret door?” He stepped up to the wall and ran his fingers over the stone. After a brief search, he came to a sudden halt. “There’s a false section here.”

  He pushed on a stone and a small hole appeared in the wall. Seth reached inside, a good portion of his arm disappearing. There was a loud click, followed by the grating sound of stone on stone. A section of the wall slid back, revealing a small room behind it. In its center sat a plain rectangular wooden box, about the size of a coffin, atop a wooden pallet.

  “Looks just like the container we brought Voltark here in,” Aksel said.

  Glo stepped forward for a closer look. There were actually two boxes on the pallet, a second one behind the first. Both boxes were lidless and empty. “I wonder who, or what, was in the second box.” The companions stood in silence, no one offering any suggestions. Glo finally shr
ugged. “Either way, you were right, Aksel. They were indeed after Voltark’s body.”

  Aksel grimaced. “It is not a finding I take pleasure in, I can assure you. Anyway, I think we’re done here. We should probably report to the Baron.”

  The companions filed out of the room and strode back across the basement. “We should also check to see if anyone knows Maltar’s whereabouts,” Glo told the others. “And probably Gristla, too, although I think we can forget about Flibin. If Seth is right...”

  “I am,” Seth insisted.

  “...then Flibin would be long gone by now.”

  The companions reached the stairs and climbed upward. “Unfortunately, I don’t think the same can be said about Voltark,” Aksel said, his brow furrowed into a deep frown. “I think we can expect to see him again, sooner rather than later.”

  Seth, farther up the stairs, peered back down at them. He wore a wicked grin on his face. “Good. I haven’t killed any mages in at least a couple of days now.”

  Glo glared at the halfling. “Really?”

  Seth’s face took on an innocent expression. “What? Evil mages. I meant evil mages.”

  Stand In

  Perhaps if I came clean about the lighthouse...

  This is an outrage!” Gryswold fumed. “An attack like this right in the middle of Ravenford?” He paced back and forth in front of his throne, the large chamber empty this late in the day except for Aksel, Glo, the Baron and the Baroness. Captain Gelpas had also been with them, but left upon hearing their story to dispatch a detachment of guards to Maltar’s home.

  “And who in their right mind would attack Maltar’s house?” Gryswold cried. He stopped his pacing and swung around to face them. Mixed emotions played across the Baron’s face.

  Glo gave him a sympathetic smile. “I said the same thing.”

  Aksel, unflappable as ever, responded in a calm voice. “We’re fairly certain Maltar was not there. There was no sign of him, and I highly doubt he would have been taken by force.”