by Joe Jackson
Maybe I should go to Max and stay out of their way, she thought.
She had hardly taken a single step in the luranar’s direction when his yeti’s head flew free, streaking red across the snow and frost still clinging to the tundra. Caught up in the thrill of the fight, the paladin stepped back and swung the Sword of the North Wind about in a flashy display. He stopped as the body fell before him, though, and looked at the sword quizzically before he turned and made his way over to help his friends.
What was that? Leighandra wondered.
He needn’t have bothered. With Delkantar, Starlenia, and Galadon triangulating their attacks, Vo’rii nipping at the yeti’s hamstrings and ankles, and Yiilu calling up wisps of flame to distract and burn it, the zombie creature fell. Starlenia leaned in to strike the coup de grace, but Galadon doubled down on her effort and relieved the zombie of its head.
Delkantar washed his blades in snow and then sheathed them. “We’d best move. The red is going to attract scavengers or something worse before long.”
“Rexis wasn’t kidding about there being undead trouble here,” Galadon said. “This points to the power of the necromancers being not only considerable, but far from limited to our peoples and nations.”
“Let’s pray we don’t come across any old, undead dragons or the like,” Starlenia added.
“Let’s move.”
~ * ~ * ~
Shartek was just as sleepy and calm as the first time they passed through it. They did get some strange looks on account of their bloodied armor, but Leighandra spun a short story about their encounter with the yetis to dispel any suspicion. The fact that she took the time to go and compensate the shopkeeper for his kindness didn’t hurt, either. The companions were able to clean their things and move on with no delays from the townsfolk.
They reached the mountain passes without any further incidents. Despite all the evidence Delkantar and Starlenia had come across suggesting possibly dangerous creatures in the frozen lands, the yetis turned out to be the only significant trouble they came across, undead or otherwise. There was an occasional wolf pack, some arctic hares – Delkantar made a fantastic stew out of some of those – and the occasional elk, but these comprised virtually all the wildlife they’d come across.
At least until they reached the pass…
“Well, that explains a lot,” Delkantar said, coming to a stop.
“What’s that?” Galadon asked.
The ranger pointed wordlessly toward the nearby mountainside. At first, Leighandra saw nothing, though she got that feeling of being watched. She wasn’t the only one at a loss as to what Delkantar was pointing at.
“Oh, Great Spirit,” Starlenia blurted. “Do we run?”
“Probably not the best idea,” Delkantar answered. “Walk slowly and confidently. You don’t want to look like prey – well, any more than we already do.”
“What are you two looking at?” the human knight demanded.
Max leaned next to him and pointed to the southern edge of the mountainside. “There.”
Leighandra followed his pointing finger and finally noticed the subtle features she’d missed on account of its color. The majestic but terrifying white dragon blended seamlessly with the mountainside but for the hard edge of wing and crest. It was difficult to tell at such a distance, but the chronicler was certain it was staring directly at them, measuring whether or not to attack, or perhaps just if it thought it might be attacked. There were many things Leighandra was willing to do to see this quest through, but facing a dragon wasn’t one of them – not unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Are the white dragons hostile?” Yiilu asked. “There was once a black dragon in our home forests, but he ceased bothering our people after a time.”
“Six of us?” Delkantar said, then glanced at Vo’rii. “Six and a half of us… I’m going to guess it won’t attack. If any of us were alone and it was hungry, maybe, but the only reasons it has to attack are to eat or to defend its home or young. We’re not threatening it, heading away from it, and there’s more risk than reward in trying to make a meal out of us. Above all, dragons are pretty canny creatures. It’s not going to risk dying to eat a person when it can just hunt an elk or something else of the sort.”
“Have you dealt with them before?” Leighandra prodded.
He shrugged. “Not personally, no. But you’re not the only one that passes around tales and legends. Plenty of prior generations of Ghosts of Liam had dealings with dragons.”
“Let’s move on, then,” Galadon said with a gesture.
The dragon watched their egress into the pass, but never moved from its perch on the side of the mountain. Leighandra wondered if it was friendly. What she wouldn’t have given to go and speak with a friendly dragon! Like Delkantar’s analysis, though, it wasn’t a risk worth taking. If she could find out its disposition beforehand, the chronicler might resolve to go try to speak with the majestic creature at some point… but not today.
That was the extent of the excitement of the fures-rir lands. Descending the passes and into Dira Ch’Tori territory, they found people once again braving the roads. Short discussions with fellow travelers revealed the gnolls had moved out of the area, and things had quieted back down. Absent specific orders from Galadon, Regent Matthews had started sending out mounted patrols, and they were keeping the roads clear once again.
Leighandra and her friends reached Dira Ch’Tori and passed through with nary a hint of trouble. Galadon avoided seeing the leaders of his home city again, wary of getting pressed back onto the throne or simply being asked to make decisions on too many things. He was satisfied with Regent Matthews’ work, and determined to leave things in her hands until the friends had seen their task to its completion.
Things were quiet, and Leighandra wondered, hoped, prayed that perhaps the undead scourge had ended…
~ * ~ * ~
Emerald City came into sight several days after they left Dira Ch’Tori, headed back south toward Laeranore. It was one of the largest cities in the northern forests, second only to Dira Ch’Tori itself. Despite being a fairly typical human and rir city, the forests grew within and around it to a degree, giving it its name. Other cities had developed with similar themes over the centuries, with appropriate names: Flora, Jade, and Darkpines, among others.
For the half-elf, it was a wondrous taste of the blending of human, rir, and elven culture to a degree. Urban tendencies didn’t squash out the splendor of nature for a change, and as she looked at Yiilu, Leighandra could see the elf felt similarly. True, these were still a bit too urban and people-centric compared to the elven cities of Laeranore, but it was a nice touch. Compared to Solaris or even Dira Ch’Tori, Emerald City was a breath of fresh air.
“We should at least stop and ask if they have had issues with the undead, or if they need immediate aid with anything,” Max said.
Galadon nodded, though his lip curled a bit. “Yes, we should. Let’s hope there’s nothing here that requires our attention. As much as we’d all like a bath and a warm bed for the night, I’d rather put the remaining hours of daylight underfoot.”
“Just tell me we can stop in long enough to get a sack of coffee beans,” Delkantar said, giving a sheepish shrug when the knight turned to him. “We all have our vices.”
Galadon clapped his shoulder. “I would hardly call coffee a vice! Now, if we ever got Max to start drinking, then we could talk about vices…”
The luranar smirked but declined to respond. Instead, he approached the guards at the northern gateway. “Good day, gentlemen. Have you had any recent issues with the undead? We are just returning from a diplomatic trip to Castle Tenari, and are checking in on our allies.”
The guards considered Max at length, but if his appearance concerned them at all, the fact that he was well-spoken and traveling with several humans dispelled that. “We had to unearth every corpse in the graveyards and commit them to the pyre,” the ranking sergeant answered. “Thing is, it’s not
just people coming back anymore. Now it’s the animals in the forest, the creatures, and… it’s not just bodies anymore. Now there’s spirits, specters, and ghosts. People are really starting to get scared. Moving to Askies is probably sounding appealing to a lot of folk these days.”
“Do you require assistance?”
“I think we have things well in hand for the time being, sir, but thank you. We’ve had some help from members of the Red Mask recently, and several new priests of Kaelariel have taken up residence at the local temple. I suspect you lot would be better suited to keeping at your larger task, if I may be so bold as to say so.”
Max and Galadon both nodded, the latter saying, “We shall. Anything we find, we’ll be sure to have passed to all the major cities and towns.”
“Gods go with you all,” the guards said, politely gesturing the party through the gate.
Leighandra shuddered. She could hardly wait to press on toward Laeranore, to reach Karinda’s tower and, hopefully, get the answers to their many questions. The guard’s mention of the incorporeal undead chilled her to the bone. Whereas she had assumed the necromancers might be weak if the best they could conjure were animated skeletons and zombies, instances of the incorporeal undead said the necromancers were only growing in power.
And we don’t even know who they are…
Their travels remained light once they left Emerald City. Delkantar maintained point and kept them from crossing paths with trouble, whether it came on two legs or four. Whoever the Ghosts of Liam were, Leighandra was sure they missed this sharp young man. Not only was he a skilled tracker and guide, he could hunt and cook, made a fantastic pot of coffee, and was no slouch when it came to combat. About the only thing he didn’t seem very good at, Leighandra mused, was weathering the occasional barbs of Starlenia’s humor. And she could hardly blame him for that, especially after the comment about Leighandra and the gnolls…
Laeranore had an even more haunted quality to it when the companions returned, and it wasn’t just unfamiliarity. Even Yiilu paused in concern at the realm’s border, the elf’s brow set in consternation. When she called out to the insects to light their way, she did so with far less joy than the first time. Something was amiss now even in the land of the elves – or the land of the tree-folk, as the druidess had declared it – and there was no mistaking it. From the first steps they took within its borders, Leighandra got the sense the forest now saw them as intruders.
They pressed on with urgency, and though Yiilu told them the forest itself wasn’t the issue, sleep was hard to come by. When they reached Karinda’s tower, Leighandra could hardly keep up with her light-footed companions despite the fatigue that had to be weighing on them as well. Delkantar and Starlenia seemed unflappable much of the time, but the trek through the dark woods had unsettled everyone. The rogue seemed almost desperate to get to the tower and knock on its door, but both she and Delkantar stopped and stared in wonder at the lone creature moving in the area.
Standing within the single stall for mounts, munching casually on a pile of hay, was a massive black charger. Even at distance, his stature and muscular frame was admirable, and the way his ears perked up despite his seeming detached demeanor said that this was a trained animal. Leighandra had never seen a destrier of this quality before; could this be the very horse Galadon had spoken of so many times? The charger whinnied loudly when he saw the human knight, and he bounded forth from the stall, leaving the pile of hay forgotten.
“By the Shepherd, can it be?” Galadon gasped, striding forward as the horse ran to him at nearly full speed. His hooves kicked up dirt as he came to a stop in front of the knight and hit the human in the chest playfully with his massive head. “Galrinthor, my friend! How are you, you miserable old ass?”
The horse stepped on his foot, and Galadon grunted and tried to shove him away.
“Horse speaks common, does he?” Delkantar chuckled, approaching. Though Galrinthor kept his attention on his master, the ranger was able to stroke his muzzle, the underside of his jaw, and then run a hand through his mane.
The charger continued to greet the knight, nuzzling his hand and even his collar before giving him a hay-mouthed “kiss” on the side of his face. “Galrinthor is probably smarter than many people we know. He is fierce, and loyal, and the finest steed this knight has ever known,” Galadon said, and the horse whinnied again in agreement.
There was a brief moment of silence when Vo’rii approached the charger, and wolf and horse regarded each other nose-to-nose. Vo’rii licked the destrier’s nose, and the horse threw his head back and let out an extended whinny which, if Leighandra wasn’t mistaken, had to be his version of a laugh. It drew chuckles from Leighandra and her friends.
“Where’s he been all this time?” Starlenia mused.
“Taken back to the court of Queen Tiyaana by the Arborean Guard when King Galadon fell in battle,” the archmage said as she came forth from her tower. The sunlight played in her blood-red hair curiously, and those black eyes studied each of the companions before settling on Max in his armor. She smiled tiredly, and gestured toward the tower door. “Come, rest inside with me, and let this fine steed return to his meal. You two will have plenty of time to get caught up in the days and weeks to come, I assure you.”
“It’s good to see you again, Lady Bakhor,” Leighandra said as they filed into her tower.
“It is a pleasure to see you all safely returned,” she answered before closing the door behind them. “I trust your visit with Rexis was enlightening? I see the young prince reclaimed the items of his father’s legacy; has the sword yet responded to your will?”
“No, my lady,” Max answered, his hand resting on the hilt. “Is there some trick to it? Is my faith simply not strong enough?”
Karinda shook her head and took her customary seat by the fire. “This is something you will need to find out for yourself, young prince. I am not well-versed in the ways of the paladin, or even of these incredible swords that are so much a part of our history. I can tell you the why in many cases, but not the how.”
“Can you start by telling us why you sent us to Rexis?” Starlenia asked. “You mentioned signs and wonders, but you didn’t specifically mention us or that any of them pointed to us. Well, we’ve got the son of a hero, a… possibly resurrected king, and some angel – maybe the same one that’s been speaking to you in vagaries – laying breadcrumbs for us to follow. So what’s this all about?”
The archmage nodded, but she called some parchment, a quill, and an inkwell to her hand with a gesture, then sent them to Leighandra with another. “You will want to write these things down,” she said. “If you wish to know everything, I will lay what I must before you. If I had any doubts that you might be the ones the angel sought, they were dispelled when I saw Max approach my tower, looking every bit like his father.”
“The ones the angel sought?” the rogue repeated, her jaw slack.
“Again, I must stress to you that this is not prophecy. Prophecy points to an event or a result by way of numerous signs and wonders. In this case, I have watched the unfolding of signs and wonders and the work of some angelic entity, but I have no indication of what they herald. It could signal another coming Apocalypse, or perhaps even the end of the world as we know it. I think, however, that it points to closure: the end of an era that has stood for far too long, the legacy of a devil queen and demon king that must be stamped out before we have any hope of defeating our enemies.”
“What enemies? If we’re supposed to cast out what’s left of Seril and the Tempis’ra, what other enemies are we talking about?”
“The very demon kings of Mehr’Durillia – or what you might call the underworld,” the archmage answered. “War is coming, make no mistake. I told you that you have the opportunity to serve as a pivot in this conflict. Well, just as you may serve as a pivot against this coming darkness, so does Karian Vanador have the opportunity to serve as the pivot against the demon kings. Right now, however, she lies
fractured by the death of her mate. All of creation, aware and unaware, waits to see if she will recover, and how she will react.”
Max’s ears went back, and Leighandra stopped writing briefly to touch his hand. He didn’t look at her or say anything, though.
“Starlenia Wineseller: You said that your people’s shamans have spoken of a change in the balance that began over a decade ago. It is my belief that what they sensed was Karian Vanador’s resurrection, an incident never before seen in the history of our world. And yet, she is not the only one; she was but one of three. There was a second, a woman I had initially believed to be of little consequence, but who I have since learned is a werewolf. And the third sits here in this room with us.”
“Me?” Galadon uttered.
“Regent Matthews did say you were dead, and that they had committed your body to the sea,” Delkantar said, scratching the over-long hair on his chin. “And yet, here you are.”
“Who resurrected me?”
Karinda shrugged. “I have no idea. Max is another of the signs, I am now sure of it. You will forgive me for spying upon you from afar while you bathed, young man? For while you were without clothes or your father’s magnificent armor, I saw that you are far more than I had initially suspected.” The luranar prince looked like he might be blushing, but he didn’t say anything. “You are a seventh son of a seventh son, which is a superstition among many of our cultures, but you also carry the scars of another, as evidenced by the discolorations of your fur. This is a sign among the gnolls, as I have learned, and which you may be aware of with your relationship with your Caerumach neighbors.”
“Prince Roltek mentioned you wearing stripes,” Leighandra put in. “And you seemed to know what he meant. What’s that all about?”
