Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  All that training, wasted. All those hours of grieving as he suffered, wanting to help him but knowing that pain was the only way to learn. I learned it the hard way. It is the only way. Why? Why doesn't he want the magic?

  But more than that, the rejection hurt in ways Vail could not admit. Having never allowed anyone into his life, he had no experience with personal rejection and the feelings, the emotional pain tore at his heart. Thinking he needed to escape the Goddess High Priestess, he'd whipped his horse through the Foundling Forest almost to the point of death on the way to his mountain fortress. So far removed from human emotions and feelings, he couldn't even recognize the pain in his heart, and transformed it into a need to reach Thonevrond as quickly as possible because he was certain safety lie behind the walls of his keep. No Goddess, High Priestess, horses, man or traitor would stop him. He would run them down, feed them to the dragons or blast them to bottom of Charonyde.

  The horse ran magnificently, however, Vail didn't pat its neck or give it any encouraging words. He only flogged it harder, forcing it to run at its utter most limits. He must reach that keep before they reached him. Hopefully, the Foundlings will dine on all their bones and my problems will be over. Then Mithlonde will be mine.

  Christol led the charge guided by the mind images he received from Lady. He could tell from the horse's mindspeak that both of them were standing perfectly still, and the attacks had stopped. The small rescue party reached them and Riesa fell into Ellora's arms, crying with relief and sobbing in fear. "I've never been so frightened in my life, except when Stephye fell," she amended.

  They stood still in their embrace, holding on to each other, while Christol tended to Lady. Looking up from her wounded shank, he asked, "Is there anyway your healing magic could help out here?"

  "Christol, I honestly don't know anymore what my magic will or will not do. It seems to be governed by the whims of the Goddess, but I am more than willing to try."

  Jogli, temporarily left to himself was feeling useless up to this point offered, "I may be blind but I still have my magic. I can help with the healing if someone will guide me to her."

  Riesa gave the blind hunchback a well-deserved hug, for it was his information that had saved her and her horse, Lady. Holding his hand, she led him to the horse and placed his hand on her injured shank. Ellora did likewise and together their magic rose. For Christol and Riesa who stood watching, all they saw was a colored glow enveloping their friends. The wind rose and swirled around them turning the blue glow into a whirlpool of magical colors. It reminded Riesa of the colored pinwheels the children bought at the fairs. She used to seeing Ellora's magic, but she'd never seen her mistress combine her magic with another's. The effect was not only spectacular to watch, but effective as well. Less than five candle marks passed, before the colors faded away and Christol and Riesa could see that the wound was no more.

  "Was that the Goddess or Jogli," Christol asked.

  "Both," they answered in unison. "It appears the Goddess's magic must answer another magic's call. I felt her resisting, but she had no power over it."

  "Interesting," Christol said.

  "Very," Ellora replied.

  "Can we just get out of here and discuss magic and the Goddess when were not surrounded by bald, blind mouths that want to eat us?"

  "Good idea Jogli," Ellora answered.

  "Mount up everyone, and be prepared for the ride of your life. No stopping, no living the trail, no getting off your horse. Understand, "Christol asked?

  They were mounted and charging at what would have been a reckless speed under other circumstances. In this case, however, speed was the only thing that could get them through the forest safely. It worked. They arrived at Thiline, sweaty with lathered horses, but safely. Now, they just needed to catch up with the wizard Vail.

  They were all exhausted by the time they reached Thiline, but when the stable master said that he'd been there just a few hours ago, their energy renewed itself for the chase. They left their lathered, panting beasts with the stable master, and asked him to check Ellora's mount who had thrown a shoe. After that, they paid for stabling their tired mounts and buying fresh once. On the return trip, if there was one, they would exchange them back.

  The riders were as exhausted as their mounts, but they knew they couldn't let Vail reach his mountain fortress. His fortress, which the locals called the Dark Castle, was impenetrable. No one entered without his permission, and those that did enter frequently never left. Ellora's apprehension affected all the riders. She rode with purpose and determination. No one could have matched her except possibly a horse racer at the summer fairs. The fact that if they failed the Goddess would consume Ellora's spirit again fueled her drive and passion. The others matched her pace, but not one of them believed they would catch up with Vail in time.

  They rode, stopping only once to water their horses, through the plains of Argellon. Fronting Thonevrond and Catacombs of Porthca, the home of the dragons, they rode without fear of monsters or beasts. The dragons regularly feed on these plains, and they were no friend to mankind, but they were not an enemy either.

  The ride was particularly hard on Jogli both physically and emotionally. They'd tied him in the saddle to keep from falling off, and the ropes chaffed at him. And, his mind and heart were awhirl with emotions. Thonevrond - where his prostitute mother abandoned her blind, deformed baby. Thonevrond - where he called the rat infested, slime covered gutters home. Thonevrond, the memory of the kicks, taunts and beatings still made him curl up in a defensive position at night. Thonevrond - where the Wizard Vail, ushered him into a new kind of hell. He swore he'd never return, yet here he was only a few miles from Thonevrond and all its nightmares. His hands, tied to the saddle horn, couldn't wipe away the single tear that tracked through the dust on his face. It was just another humiliation in a life where humiliation was mother's milk. Unfortunately, he did not thrive on it. It only nourished his rage, and his desire for revenge. He planned to kill Vail in a manner that would prolong his suffering for days.

  Jogli knew when the dusty streets of Thonevrond came into view. Not by sight, but by the smell. Nothing could erase from his mind the smell of Thonevrond's slime covered, sewage filled gutters. The others knew they'd arrived too late by the frightened children hiding behind their mother's skirts, and the men's glances who wouldn't meet their eyes.

  "He's already been through here," Ellora said, stating the obvious.

  "That means his in his keep already," Jogli added. "We won't be able to break into it. It has only one entrance, and it is well guarded both by his soldiers and his magical wards."

  Ellora called a halt while the citizens of Thonevrond watched through their peepholes or simply from the foul street gutters. They formed a tight circle and she began to lay out the next step of her plan. However, it wasn't Ellora speaking, it was the Goddess's cold and forbidding voice. "We will enter the Catacombs of Porthca. There you will conscript the Dragon King, Jespar and his Brood Queen, Abeata to aid you in ridding Mithlonde of this evil wizard."

  Ellora shook her head as if trying to clear away a bad dream. Seeing the horrified faces of her friends, including Jogli, who maintained a stoic demeanor at all times, she knew the Goddess had once again used her without her permission. Angry at this humiliating violation of her mind and person, she snapped, "Well, isn't anybody going to tell me what I said?"

  Christol reached across his mount and laid his hand on hers, "Basically you said we have to get the dragons to kill Vail."

  "Oh, is that all!"

  The others backed their mounts away from hers, Riesa gently leading Jogli to a safer distance, as they remember the last time Ellora got angry with the Goddess. "Well, then I guess we will need to do some more strategic planning."

  Her calmness didn't fool any of them and they kept their distance. "What is the matter with all of you? Jogli can you lead us to a good inn where we can rest and make plans?"

  "Mistress there is only one inn in t
own, and I wouldn't call it good by any means."

  "Well it will have to suffice. Let's get going."

  Maura watched the small group of travelers through her magical holograph. The players were all in place. Now to set her plan in motion. "Dragon," she called.

  I am here.

  "Well, of course you are, you stupid animal. I have you chained and you wouldn't be any place else. But I have a job for you and then you may go free."

  Oh?

  "Is that all you have to say? I am giving you your freedom of course it comes on condition of no retaliation toward me, of course."

  Of course.

  "I have your word on this?"

  Yes, you have my word. I Ragden of the kingdom of Jespar will not retaliate against you for holding me captive against my will.

  This satisfied the old witch because dragons were magical creatures, and as such, their word, once spoken, created an unbreakable magical bond. She walked over to the chained dragon, her fearless steps rattling on the rocky cliff and sending stones skittering down the mountainside. "Go," she told him, "and tell your king that the Goddess's high priestess is in Thonevrond making plans to capture and subdue him to her will."

  She flicked her wrist and the chains holding the dragon dropped away. It stretched its glittering green and gold wings. With a roar that made the cliff cave quake and blew through the forest in a flurry of pine needles and oak leaves, Ragden launched into the air spouting fire and exulting in its freedom. His mission accomplished, without the old witch ever guessing that he could have easily freed himself, he'd have a lot to report to his king. For now, he luxuriated in his freedom and the feel of the wind beneath his wings.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Unfortunately, Jogli'd been correct. Not only was the inn not good, it was horrible. From the bed-thumping noise of the prostitutes plying their wares above them, below them and on both sides, to the fleas and bed bugs, to the lumpy straw mattresses, they would have been better off bedding down amongst the rocky crags lead to the dragon's lair. Finally, they all gave up sleeping and started to talk strategy.

  "Have any of you been into the Porthca Catacombs?"

  The only sound was the shuffling of their clothes as they all shook their heads.

  "Much as I thought. Well, I guess we'll just have to let the Goddess lead us in."

  A barroom brawl would not have made as much noise as the protests that came from the small group. Christol stood, knocking over his chair, and Riesa pulled a small dirk out of her skirts and began carving Stephye's initials into the already scarred and rough-hewn table. As all of them began talking at once, Ellora held up her hand for silence.

  "You need to remember the Goddess sent us on this mission. For some reason she wants the Wizard Vail dead and she will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. Which means she will guide us in and help us get the dragon's assistance. She made not guide us back out, but I think Christol and his horse senses can help us there.

  The barroom brawl now sounded as quiet as a funeral. No one spoke as the mulled over the truth of Ellora's words. The Goddess led them here. And the Goddess let Stephye die. A tear slid down Riesa's check at the thought of her recent loss. Her close escape from death in the Foundling Forest and their charge into the Halls of Marbeht had kept her to busy to think about her dead fiancé. But sitting here, talking a strategy in which she really didn't play a role gave her mind time to think.

  She would never again feel the softness of his dark curls, or see the sparkle like gemstones in the sun. Never again would she taste the salt of sweat from hard work on his lips, of feel his large hands gently rubbing away the knots in her neck and shoulders. And, never again would she hear him whisper, "I love you." The longer she sat thinking about what she'd lost, the deeper her sorrow, and soon the tears were flowing freely.

  It was Christol, who noticed and not Ellora, Riesa's best friend. He went to here and wrapped his big arms around the tiny woman as she laid her head on his chest and sobbed. "I loved him too," he whispered down at her. "He was my best friend. He always had my back and I could trust him with anything."

  She nodded understanding, but not able to speak through her sobs.

  "When we get back, we will hold proper funeral rites for him. He deserves and so do you and his parents."

  Riesa looked up at him as she realized that part of her grief was the fact that they had not been able to perform the proper rights to that would his soul to the Mountains of Eshalond. Without those rites, performed by the High Priestess a person's soul, just wandered aimlessly between heaven and earth. She'd heard of these spirits trapped between worlds, and she didn't want that for Stephye. "You will do that?" she asked.

  "Of course, do you think I want the old bugger coming around and bothering me when I've had too much ale? He always did, you know. Was right indignant about it too. Told me my horses deserved better." His jolly demeanor disappeared for a minute. Then he smiled again, "Jogli, want to be my new stable hand?"

  Even though he was sightless, he could still raise a cynical eyebrow that set them all to laughing.

  They are all in place, said Ragden, using the mindspeak the dragons preferred to use. The could speak human, dwarfish, elven, or any of the other languages spoken in Mithlonde, but the preferred mindspeak because it left no doubts about the integrity of the information or the honesty of the speaker.

  And the witch has no idea she is but a player in a bigger game? Asked Jespar, the Dragon King.

  None, your majesty. She thinks, and thought, the whole time I was with her that her silly magic held me captive.

  Excellent. And, the Wizard Vail?

  In his keep, preparing for war against the High Priestess.

  In Thonevrond, in the inn waiting for the Goddess's commands.

  I would imagine they will be coming soon, Jespar said, using a long claw to scratch his chin.

  What do they want from us? Humans never want help from the dragons. Ragden's eyes were heavy lidded with concern and confusion.

  They will ask for help?

  Will we, help them that is?

  Perhaps, perhaps not. Jespar used a claw to spear a chuck of raw meat that was on a silver tray next to him. This signal the end of the interview. But, Ragden left more confused than when he first reported in. He'd spent close to a year chained up by the witch Maura, and he still had no idea why.

  Vail could fee the magic radiating from Thonevrond, both Jogli's and what he assumed must be the Goddess in the form of her High Priestess. The Goddess didn’t particularly bother him; she'd been after him all of his life and he was still alive. However, Jogli's betrayal hit him like a sucker punch right to the gut. At first, he did feel like vomiting, then the confusion set in, and now anger replaced both of them.

  He remembered the first time he saw Jogli in the gutter. His raw magic drawing scraps of food to him or crawling blindly without any wrong turns to the exact location of a meal. He navigated through the throngs of beggars like killing tooth fish that has scented blood and now hunted its victim. Watching him, Vail knew he possessed magic, and sending a tendril of his own magic toward the boy confirmed his suspicions. The boy had magic, powerful magic. Magic he didn't use consciously or even seemed aware of its presence.

  He possessed magic, but no name. After delousing the boy, and scrubbing him from head to foot, he named him Jogli after the one and only past master to treat him kindly. Vail then began a vigorous and tortuous training in the use of magic. Demanding that Jogli succeed at every task set before him. If he didn't, Vail applied every punishment he could imagine. They ranged from sitting for hours in a chair with water dropping slowly on his head, one drop at a time to being latterly skinned alive and then healed of the wounds. Vail spared Jogli nothing that he went through himself as magical prodigy hired out to one mage after another. This is what Vail hopped to spare Jogli. A life of servitude to other wizards like his until he became powerful enough to escape them.

  A grin cracked his thoughtful demeano
r. I escaped all right, and I left behind nothing but ashes. He took a long swig of the goblet he held. It contained wine and herbs, herbs he'd planned to tell Jogli about someday as they would help him become the most powerful wizard on Mithlonde. But not now!

  He slammed the goblet down, sloshing wine and herbs on the map he'd been studying. The catacombs were their only choice. They may not realize it now. Or the Goddess hasn't taken control of her priestess yet, but soon. Soon they will realize they must go to the dragons for help. It was their only hope, slim as it might be.

  Maura packed little, no more than a crust of bread and a bit of cheese, her entire possession and all she really needed in material things. But, power, she could never get enough. And now, like a game of Kings and Castles, all the pieces and players were in place for her to gain more power than anyone had ever possessed on Mithlonde.

  She wanted to be there when the High Priestess ended Vail's reign. She wanted to be there when the dragons bowed to the commands of the Goddess. And, she wanted to be there when Ellora and Jogli came begging to her for freedom and healing for Jogli. She would grant there boons, but the price would be high. A frown creased her brow at that last thought as she wondered if her price would be too high. How much did Ellora love Christol? How much did she want her freedom from the Goddess, and how badly did Jogli want to be free of magic and to see again. How strong was his desire to escape a future life begging in the gutters of Thonevrond. She shrugged her shoulders. Time will tell, and Athgaard knows, I've got all of eternity at my command.

  "By all the hells of Charonyde, I hate Thonevrond. The stench, the people, the stench. She shrugged again. "Hopefully this won't take too long." She muttered an incantation, through some herbs on the fire causing it to smoke like a chimney fire. When the smoke disappeared, so had she.