Malediction (Scars of the Sundering Book 1)

by Hans Cummings

  "Dammit, Deli! A new delivery of wine and ale, and we're going to miss it!" Kale gazed with longing at the barrels of ale. He sighed, like a drak saying goodbye to a lover seen only in fleeting glimpses across a crowd.

  "I'm sure there's ale in Muncifer, Kale." Delilah looked to the city entrance again. She saw Pancras trudging toward them, carrying a pack on his back large enough for one of the draks to ride in.

  Pancras trotted to the drak twins. "Sarvesh is busy with a council meeting. Suri and Glykeria are dealing with some minor disaster at The Bloody Spike involving golguthrons, a barrel of soggy bread, a drak, and a minotaur; I didn't ask for details. Some things are best left unexplained. At least Kale has come to see us off."

  "Not hardly. I'm coming with you!"

  Delilah grinned and hugged Kale. "Won't this be great, Pancras? The three of us, together!" Truth be known, Delilah was worried. Most of her friends hadn't even heard of Muncifer, let alone knew where it lay in relation to Drak-Anor.

  "What? Why? You're not recovered nearly enough from that business with the chaos rift."

  Mere mention of the rift seemed to cause Kale pain, and he winced, pulling himself away from Delilah's hug. "I'm not leaving my sister."

  Nodding in agreement, Delilah looked up at Pancras. "And I'm not leaving my brother." If I'm going into the unknown, it will be with him at my side.

  Pancras sighed and slumped, appearing as if someone added more weight to his pack.

  "Come on, Pancras. Kale grabbed the minotaur's hand. "This will be a great adventure!"

  Blowing a raspberry, Pancras shook his hand from Kale's grip. "Adventure means discomfort, danger, and desperation. These are not things I willingly seek out." He pushed past the drak twins and side-stepped the elven traders' cart.

  Delilah pointed and opened her mouth to reply but then decided any retort would be fruitless. She followed Pancras and nearly bumped into him when he stopped and turned to admire Drak-Anor one last time.

  "It has been my home for so long. Now, I feel like I may never see it again."

  "We'll be coming home soon, Pancras." Delilah took his hand. He looked down at her and shook his head.

  Kale trotted up to them. "Yeah, it's just a trip to Muncifer and back, right?"

  "For you, perhaps. I don't know what awaits me there. It was my home before I came here. I left for a reason." The minotaur's face twitched, and he stared with unfocused eyes into the distance. Pancras rubbed his right horn and shook his head.

  "I don't want to go."

  Delilah studied his face and then regarded Drak-Anor. It was the only home she'd ever known. She lived there all her life, visiting Ironkrag only once, ten years ago. The world lay ahead, a great unknown, and like Kale, she eagerly anticipated the adventure, despite her anxieties. The two guard towers stood on either side of the forged gates, spires piercing the sky, monuments to the day Sarvesh truly took control and named the city Drak-Anor. Most minotaurs still grumbled in their ales about living in a city called "Home of the Draks.

  Pancras slumped and gazed toward the city gates. His ears drooped as he shuffled his feet. Sunlight flashed off his earrings of gold and silver. His fur-trimmed purple robes ruffled in the breeze.

  Delilah tugged at his hand. "We're with you, Pancras. We'll make this journey together, the three of us, and we'll stick together. You're not alone out here."

  * * *

  Pancras regarded Delilah and her brother as they looked up at him and held his hands. Drak twins of crimson and ebony, black and red, and—odd, I don't remember Kale having a tattoo on his chest. It looks draconic. He chuckled and nodded, deciding to let the questions he had about Kale's new symbol lie. My friends.

  "Yes, yes, thank you. Let's be on our way. We should reach Bramblevale Keep in a week." He pulled his hands away from the draks, wiped his nose, and hefted his pack. With a deep breath Pancras turned away from Drak-Anor and set out along the road that would take them to within a day of Ironkrag before it turned east and down out of the Dragon Spine Mountains.

  Kale and Delilah followed, and Pancras took comfort in the knowledge that no matter where he went, as long as they were with him, some part of home would be with him, too.

  As they strode, the sun continued its journey across the sky, bringing warmth to the cool mountain air. Below, the plains of Etrunia were shrouded in mist, and the bright colors in the forests blazed forth in unparalleled glory, heralding the slow change from summer to autumn. The drak twins sang songs to pass the time, and once the bone-aching chill burned away, Pancras hummed along, too.

  "This fresh air is great." Delilah inhaled deeply. "It's been too long since I've been outside the city. Too many stinky minotaurs in there."

  "Hey!"

  "Sorry, Pancras, but it's true. You don't bathe enough."

  Pancras considered himself fastidious, more so than his brethren. "I reckon I bathe as often as you." He glanced back at Kale and Delilah

  "I'm sure she didn't mean you, Pancras." Kale gave his sister a playful shove.

  "We don't have fur stinky things can stick to." Delilah returned her brother's shove.

  Sniffing himself, Pancras shrugged. "Well, I don't smell anything offensive."

  "You're probably the best-smelling minotaur in the city, Pancras."

  "Someone's coming!" Kale pointed to the road ahead.

  Pancras shielded his eyes. A diminutive figure trudged up the road toward them. He thought it looked like a dwarf. As it approached, Pancras realized that it was, indeed, a sole dwarf in traveling gear.

  "It's a dwarf for sure, but I don't think it's a trader. An envoy, perhaps?" They stopped and waited for the dwarf to reach them.

  "It's Edric!" Kale waved at the familiar dwarf. Pancras saw that he was correct. The dwarf, alongside whom they fought a few days earlier, nodded in recognition of Kale and Pancras. His formerly unkempt beard was neat with brass beads braided into it. Pancras supposed the beads gave the beard weight so it wouldn't blow around in the wind and noticed the dwarf wore a belt equipped with more pouches than could be practical.

  "What brings you to Drak-Anor?" Kale greeted the dwarf in Dwarvish and offered Edric his hand.

  The dwarf ignored it. "The elders weren't pleased I survived our little adventure. They decided to follow my family’s lead and just outright banished me this time." He spat on the ground. "Aita take them all." He regarded the three travelers. "Where are you three off to? Back to Ironkrag?"

  Pancras shook his head. "I have an errand in Muncifer."

  Delilah tugged at Pancras's sleeve. She switched to Drak. "Let's go. We don't need a smelly dwarf hanging around with us."

  The minotaur looked down at Edric. "Why come to Drak-Anor? Wouldn't Celtangate be better for you?"

  "It's a home for misfits, right?"

  Frowning, Pancras resisted the urge to pick up the dwarf and toss him off the mountain. "We do not think of ourselves as misfits. Most citizens of Drak-Anor are minotaurs and draks. You would be the only resident dwarf." It was impossible to know everyone in the city, particularly with the recent population explosion, but the only dwarves Pancras remembered seeing were traders passing through.

  "Oh. Well, maybe I should come with you to Muncifer."

  Delilah tugged at Pancras's sleeve again and shook her head. Pancras shook her off and replied to her in Drak. "Look, he's probably just going to follow us if we don't let him tag along."

  "Fine!" Delilah huffed and threw up her hands in resignation. She burst past Pancras, grabbing Kale as she did so.

  Pancras watched them for a moment and then noticed Edric looking up at him, awaiting a response. "Sure, I guess. But I'm in charge of this expedition, understand?"

  "In charge? Of going to Muncifer on an errand?" Edric snorted and shook his head. "I'll try to keep my ambition in check."

  Pancras followed after Kale and Delilah. Great, sarcasm from a dwarf. All I need now is a blizzard before we are clear of the mountains.

  * * *

&n
bsp; "Hey, why are you so set against Edric joining us?" Kale wrenched his hand from his sister's grip as she dragged him down the mountain road. "He helped Pancras and me with those ghouls." Delilah again noticed Kale wince at the mention of his latest adventure with Pancras, although his grimace lasted only a fraction of a second. She decided to keep an eye on her brother.

  "Look, it's going to be hard enough, the three of us going to Etrunia. From what I hear, no one outside of Muncifer likes minotaurs, they barely tolerate draks, and everyone thinks dwarves are greedy little thieves. If an elf or a human, or even that werewolf, Aeryn, wanted to tag along, I wouldn't have a problem with it. At least they could be helpful." Delilah looked over her shoulder, toward Pancras and Edric.

  "You've never had a problem with dwarves before."

  Delilah pursed her lips and frowned at her brother. She pulled him further away from Pancras and Edric and tried to stay out of earshot. "I'm scared, okay?"

  "Of Edric?" Kale scratched his head.

  "No. Do you even know where Muncifer is? Now that we've started, it's a great unknown before us." Delilah hated admitting she was scared of what she didn't know and abhorred thought of anyone else knowing of her fear.

  "Pancras knows. He's not going to let anything happen to us. Besides, we've been on Deep Road dozens of times. Out here, we don't have to worry about cave-ins, giant hungry lizards, or anything like that." Kale spread his arms and grinned, although Delilah thought she saw a hint of a wince before the grin. "It's the whole world, Deli."

  "Yeah, no walls. No ceiling." She'd been outside before, but just that one time coming back from Ironkrag, and it was years ago. Her thoughts were occupied with Kale at the time, since she believed him dead, and she never really noticed how vast the land beyond Drak-Anor was. Part of her wanted to clutch the road and crawl on all fours for fear of flying off into the great blue void above.

  "Hey, you two, don't make a habit of getting too far ahead." Pancras and Edric jogged up to them. "Once we're out of the mountains, it will be too easy to become separated and lost if you do that."

  Delilah stuck her tongue out and put her arm around her brother. "Very well, Father. We won't wander."

  Kale ducked out from under her arm. "Careful, Deli. My shoulders are sore." Grimacing, he rolled his shoulders. "I hit that wall pretty hard."

  Pancras knelt down and examined Kale. "Are you sure you're up for this? It's not too late to go back."

  "No—I mean, yes, I'm up for it." Kale shook his head.

  "Let's just get on with this, Pancras." Delilah tapped the butt of her staff against the ground. Aside from the backpack holding the grimoire and a belt pouch containing leather polish and some money, it was all she had. She couldn't imagine needing anything else. Kale, on the other hand, festooned with bulging pouches, appeared to have packed every tool, probe, and lock pick he owned in anticipation of whatever they might encounter. She chuckled as she regarded the comical image of her laden sibling.

  Chapter 4

  As Pancras led them away from Drak-Anor, Kale tried to concentrate on something other than the sudden pain that coursed through him. His blood felt as if it was on fire, but he was sure it would soon abate. It never lasted longer than a few minutes. I hope Deli doesn't notice.

  Drak-Anor's healer, Jared, found nothing wrong with Kale other than the expected bumps and bruises one might acquire when running from ghouls and being tossed around a room with stone walls by slimy tentacles.

  By the time the sun reached its zenith, most of Kale's soreness subsided to a dull ache, although he noticed a new pain localized near his shoulder blades that wasn't there before. It wasn't severe, though, and he assumed he wrenched it while carrying the massive tome from Terrakaptis to his sister.

  So the days went, cool and sunny, followed by clear and cold nights. Delilah happily cast a spell here and there to short-cut the fire building process and set alight their campfires. The four of them spent the majority of their time practicing the common trade language of Andelosia. Dwarvish and Drak were fine for the mountains, but down on the plains, most humans spoke only their regional dialects and the trade language.

  They snacked during the day while on foot, electing to stop and cook only when they stopped to make camp each night. Pancras, determined to reach Bramblevale Keep as quickly as possible, kept a brisk pace. The sooner they purchased pack animals to carry their gear and possibly themselves, the better chance they had of arriving in Muncifer in time for the tribunal.

  Kale didn't much notice if the days and nights became colder as time passed, but Pancras informed them that it tended to be warmer at the lower elevations and that cold days approached. Most of the time, though, Kale was hot, and his back ached. The clockwork box Terrakaptis gave him was not heavy, but after nearly a week of carrying it, he was certain it would crush him under its weight.

  The road took them east out of the mountains, and they found themselves on the outskirts of the Celtan Forest, trees flanking them as they hiked. Ahead lay Bramblevale Keep. The keep itself was a blocky, stone building surrounded by a stone wall. Men with bows patrolled the battlements between the guard towers that stood at each of the wall's four corners. A moat surrounded the wall, and a tree-lined avenue spurred from the road that passed in front of the keep and led them toward the keep's drawbridge.

  Bramblevale Keep marked the northern edge of Etrunia, or if one hailed from Celtangate, the southern edge of that city-state. Neither city expended the resources to properly garrison the keep, and as a result, the Lord of Bramblevale was loyal to neither, despite his troops hailing from both nations.

  Folk of the Borderlands were independent and suspicious. Traders passing between Ironkrag and Celtangate avoided the keep more often than not, and the way the guards aimed their bows at the four travelers as they approached it, Kale understood why.

  Pancras held up his hands as three guards approached them. "Greetings, men of Bramblevale. My companions and I seek to trade."

  The men eyed them with suspicion. One wore a tabard emblazoned with Etrunia’s blue-and-red coat of arms, displaying a white medusa head; the other two wore the grass-green and yellow griffon of Celtangate. The Etrunian veteran, a grizzled, old man with one eye regarded Pancras and loosened his sword in its sheath. "We do not trade with monsters from the mountains."

  Edric huffed, drawing his sword. "Who are you calling a monster, longshanks?"

  The three guards stepped back, drawing their swords in unison. Pancras moved between Edric and the guards. "Peace! Stand down, now! We are passing through on our way to Almeria and hoped to buy horses to speed our journey. That is all!"

  "Buy?" One Eye raised his sword. Kale saw the archers on the battlements take aim and draw their bows. "With gold plundered from the dead, no doubt."

  As One Eye gave the command to fire, Kale tackled his sister, shielding her with his body. He heard Pancras cry out "Aspida tou ravematos" just as the arrows flew. The missiles bounced off the green shield, shimmering in the air between Pancras and the humans. Edric charged toward the three guards, but jerked to a stop when Pancras grabbed his collar.

  "We do not want a fight. It is clear we are not welcome here, even if our intentions are peaceful." Pancras backed up, dragging Edric with him. Delilah shoved Kale aside, stood up, and brushed herself off.

  The humans watched as another volley of arrows flew toward the four companions and fell short, stopped by the arcane energy.

  "Let me blast them, Pancras." Delilah stabbed the butt of her staff into the ground, her eyes sparkling with an azure glow.

  "No," Pancras shook his head. It was wreathed in wisps of emerald aether as he concentrated to keep the shield active. "No, we are departing as we came: in peace." He bowed to the humans, never taking his eyes off them.

  The humans, to their credit, did not pursue, though they launched a few more volleys of arrows which seemed to intentionally fall short. Pancras continued backward until they reached the end of the avenue and returned to
the road that ran between Almeria and Celtangate.

  "Where to now, minotaur? Celtangate?" Edric sheathed his sword now that they were out of range of the keep's archers, although Kale doubted it would have provided protection had the bowmen shot at the dwarf.

  Pancras shook his head, allowing the magical energies to dissipate. "No. I'm not willing to waste that many days to risk being turned away at their gates. We'll proceed to Almeria on foot. Surely there will be farms or inns between here and there where we'll be able to buy horses."

  Kale looked up at Pancras. "How far away is Almeria?" He didn't relish the thought of all that walking.

  Pancras turned to the south. The sun continued its relentless march across the sky toward the mountains on the western horizon. "Probably two weeks or more by foot. It's been ages since I've come this way." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Maybe the snows will hold off until we reach Almeria."

  Edric sniffed the air, looking back up at the mountains. "Doubtful. Why in Tinian's name did you pick such a foolish time to begin?"

  "It wasn't my choice. I must reach Muncifer by Spring's Dawning. If we can find horses on the way or in Almeria, there should be no problem. If we are forced to walk the whole way…"

  "Our feet will be killing us by the time we get there." Delilah huffed and pushed past Pancras. "What are we waiting for? I'm not standing around to get caught out here when the snows come!"

  * * *

  Loath as he was to do so, in order to reach Almeria, Pancras turned his back to Bramblevale Keep. Now that he knew how the humans there regarded him and the draks, he feared they would send out hunting parties to cleanse the world of the vile "monsters of the mountains." He hoped news of the last five years of trade among Celtangate, Ironkrag, and Drak-Anor had reached the Borderland folk, but obviously they were either ill-informed or did not care.

  Though probably Celtangate would not turn them away, Pancras felt the risk was not worth the extra time it would take to backtrack. Twilight approached, and Pancras breathed a sigh of relief when he found no sign of pursuit from Bramblevale Keep. The first of the evening's stars twinkled overhead, and although dark clouds gathered over his right shoulder in the peaks of the Dragon Spine Mountains, Pancras relaxed. As long as the clear weather holds, we should make good time. He scowled and slapped at an insect buzzing around his head. I hate the outdoors. Already the bottoms of his robes were dirty, and he thought he saw the telltale loose strands of fabric that would become a full-blown fray by evening.