The Lords of Areon (The Chronicles of Areon Book 3)

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  “According to the book...” the Telian began.

  “Oh, spare me the book, Sir Darian,” she laughed, “I'm glad that you're reading it, but that doesn't mean... Is that Ian?”

  “Unless there's some other dwarf in Mikral dressed in finery and lace, I would say it has to be. And there's Garik behind him.”

  “Why is he running?”

  “We'd better find out,” the knight replied, removing the maiden's arm and flying toward his friend.

  “Kilren,” Ian said between panted breaths as soon as the Telian reached him, “and Erana... They've been arrested.”

  “Why?!” Darian exclaimed.

  “Spying,” the dwarf replied. “We don't have much time. It took us a few minutes to find you.”

  “Much time for what?” Gwendolyn asked the moment she reached the trio.

  “To get them out of jail,” Ian replied, wiping the sweat from his brow with the brim of his hat.

  “Who?!” the maiden asked.

  “Erana and Kilren,” Garik explained.

  “Why are they in jail?!”

  “Spying,” Ian repeated.

  “They're not spies,” Gwendolyn asserted.

  “Obviously,” the dwarf agreed. “But that fact isn't likely to make the torture feel any less unpleasant.”

  “Torture,” the knight replied, his countenance growing dark as his hand instinctively dropped to the hilt of his sword.

  “Aye, lad,” Ian nodded. “They call it interrogation, but that doesn't change what it is.”

  “They can't just start torturing them because they're suspected of being spies!” Gwendolyn said. “It's against the law.”

  “It is if you happen to be a Mikralian citizen,” the bard nodded. “Erana, however, doesn't have that protection. If they can get her to say enough to implicate Kilren, then they'll be well within their rights to question him, as well. All things considered, I think it would be best if we got them out of there as quickly as possible.”

  “Which won't be easy,” Garik said. “The place is crawling with guards. Still, I'm sure Darian and I can slaughter them all – especially if you two use a little magic to help even the odds.”

  “We're not just going to slaughter the guards, Garik,” Ian replied, shaking his head in disapproval. “Whether we can allow the law to take its due course in this case or not, we can't just kill the innocent to achieve our ends – no matter how noble those ends may be.”

  “No, we can't,” Darian agreed. “Those guards are simply doing their duty.”

  “How would you feel about having to kill Captain Raelen, Garik?” the dwarf asked.

  “I see what you mean,” the boy nodded. “I just hadn't thought about it like that.”

  “Well, you have to learn to,” his brother asserted. “Those men aren't our enemies, they're just our adversaries.”

  “There is a grand difference between those two things,” the dwarf added.

  “Alright,” Garik nodded. “Then, what do we do?”

  “We demand that they release our friends,” Darian said with a sigh. “If they don't, we attack them while doing our best to kill or cripple as few as possible.”

  “Oh, yes!” Garik replied, nodding his head slowly. “That's much better than my let's slaughter them all plan.”

  “Whatever happens, we can't let them torture Erana and Kilren,” his brother explained. “Declaring our intentions and giving them the opportunity to comply without violence is the difference between being a knight and a blackguard.”

  “It is,” Ian agreed, “but, I think we can do even better than that in this case.”

  “How?” the knight asked.

  “I think we need to send Gwendolyn in,” he replied with a wink.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She can make herself invisible, sneak in, give Kilren my lock picks, make both he and Erana invisible, and sneak back out with them right behind her.”

  “If she can find them before the spell wears off,” Darian said.

  “I can tell her exactly where the prisoners are kept,” Ian assured him. “She'll have more than enough time to get in and out.”

  “Then we should go with her,” the knight replied. “She can make us all invisible.”

  “No,” Gwendolyn said, shaking her head. “I can only channel so much arcane power. I'd rather try to use as little as possible making people invisible. I'm not sure what we may run into and I don't want to be exhausted if we end up having to fight our way out.”

  “You're a wise lass,” the bard said smiling at the maiden.

  “I don't like it,” Darian replied before taking a deep breath. “What if she gets in trouble and we're not there to help her?”

  “Don't worry,” she said with a smile of her own, “I won't.”

  “This isn't working,” Kilren said with more than a hint of frustration.

  “I'm not surprised,” Erana replied. “I don't think you can pick a lock with splinters of wood.”

  “Well, it's what I've got,” he almost snapped. “It would have been nice if there had been a few lock picks in here but, oddly enough, there weren't.”

  “Even if you manage to get the door opened, the guard isn't likely to let us go, dear.”

  “I realize that, love.”

  “Well, what do you plan to do about it? I'm not going to be of much help since I’m still locked in my cell.”

  “I'm also well aware of that,” he sighed, “but, what would you have me do?”

  “Just try to wait patiently,” she replied. “I'm sure your father is doing his best to get us out of here. You're just frustrating yourself. Also, trying to escape is probably considered a crime.”

  “It is a crime,” he said, clearly becoming more annoyed by the second. “It just so happens that I don't care. I have to get this door unlocked, find some way to subdue the guard, get you out of your cell, and get us both out of here, before...”

  The young man's thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of two men making their way toward him and Erana. The guard snapped to attention as the pair passed him. One of the men was large and muscular, with a bald head and bare arms. The other was a man of medium height and build, with long black hair and a short beard and mustache. As soon as they reached the door of Erana's cell the shorter of the two men spoke.

  “I've been informed that you're a ranger of Innalas,” he said, his eyes locked on the elvish maiden. “Is that correct?”

  “It is,” she nodded.

  “Excellent,” he nodded. “Guard, open the door. I have some questions I want to ask our fair prisoner.”

  “She can answer them here!” Kilren snapped.

  “I feel certain she could,” the man replied with a smile, “but, I'm not equally certain that she'd be inclined to. Even if she were, I'm not sure she'd be willing to tell me the truth. Fortunately, I have the tools I need to persuade her to tell me everything I want to know just down the hall.”

  “You can't interrogate her without probable cause,” Kilren asserted.

  “It seems you know something of the law,” the man chuckled as the guard opened the door and took Erana by the arm. “That makes me suspect that you've been in similar situations before.”

  “Be that as it may, I happen to be right.”

  “So you are,” the man agreed. “In this case, however, being a ranger of Innalas is probable cause. So, I'll be well within the bounds of the law as I convince her to tell me the truth about her mission here.”

  “What do you mean?” Kilren asked. “Innalas has been at peace with Mikral for more than twenty years!”

  “Yes,” the man nodded, turning to lead his men and their prisoner toward the other end of the hall. “It has been.”

  “If you hurt her,” Kilren yelled after them, pounding on the door as he spoke, “I swear I'll kill you!”

  So far, everything had gone almost as well as it possibly could have. A narrow alley just down the street from the jail had offered Gwendolyn th
e perfect place to turn herself invisible without anyone seeing her do so. The guards had been just where Ian said they would be, and the stairs had been completely empty as she descended them. She was also sure that she was in the right place because she heard Kilren yelling just as she stepped into the hallway.

  Unfortunately, the guards had already taken Erana out of her cell and probably intended to start questioning her soon, but Gwendolyn had taken note of which room they led her into and they had left the door wide open. They probably did that in order to make sure that Erana's interrogation was as audible as possible. That thought sped the maiden on her way. She knew where her friends were, she just had to get one out of his cell and then rescue the other.

  “Selvios,” Kilren said quietly, sweat forming on his brow as he fought with the lock, “I don't know if you're seeing all of this, but if you want me to save her, you're going to have to give me some help.”

  “Try using these,” Gwendolyn whispered, dropping Ian's wallet of lock picks through the bars of the door.

  “Thank you,” the lieutenant said, gazing at the ceiling before snatching up the tools and renewing his efforts. “We've got to hurry. They've already taken her.”

  “I know,” Gwendolyn replied.

  “We're going to have to find a way to take care of that guard,” Kilren pointed out, nodding toward the solider who had just returned to his post.

  “Leave that to me,” the maiden whispered.

  Gwendolyn turned her attention to the guard and began softly singing one of the melodies her Nana had often used to put her to sleep. Sarena, although she didn't have the talent herself, had taught the maiden to channel the arcane power through song. At first, her voice was barely audible, but its volume increased as the guard's eyes began to wander; his head dropping to his chest, causing him to jerk it back up time and again. Slowly he sank to the floor; falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.

  “That ought to do it,” the maiden observed. “Now, Kilren...”

  She turned to find the lieutenant collapsed on the floor of his cell.

  “That’s just perfect!” she exclaimed as loudly as she dared while grabbing the heavy metal ring that served as the door handle. “Now, how am I supposed...”

  To her surprise, the door opened as she turned the ring.

  “Kilren,” said she softly, shaking him by the shoulder as she spoke.

  “What?!” he replied, suddenly sitting up.

  “Shhh,” Gwendolyn whispered. “You're out and the guard's asleep.”

  “Let's go!” he said, leaping to his feet.

  “Just try to relax,” the interrogator said, gazing down at the beautiful elvish maiden.

  “I find that easier to do,” she replied, glaring up at him, “when I'm not strapped down to a table.”

  “I'm sure that's true, my dear,” he replied, turning to watch his associate heat an iron rod using a small brazier and bellows. “I'd very much like to release you before things become even more unpleasant. Before I can do that, however, I have to know why you've come here.”

  “I already told you,” she replied, turning her face from the image of the warming metal, “I came to Mikral City to meet my future parents-in-law.”

  “You just happened to arrive at this particular moment in time?” he replied with a smile. “I find that somewhat difficult to believe.”

  “I don't know what you mean.”

  “Oh, but I think you do,” he said, grabbing her chin and turning her face to his. “I think you know exactly what I mean. What I want to know is: how?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I plan to be knighted someday, my dear,” he replied, “with lands, servants, and a castle of my own. I feel confident that having caught you will be a solid step in that direction. So, why don't you make this easier on both of us and tell me how King Illfas discovered our plans. Is there a spy amongst the nobility?”

  “How would I know?”

  “I hope that there is,” he continued. “If one of the lords were executed that would almost certainly open a knighthood. I have a feeling I know who could fill that void.”

  “You're no knight,” she snarled.

  “Not yet, child,” he replied, shaking his head, “but soon. Why send a spy here? That's what I can't understand. Does Illfas really believe the warriors of Innalas will ever reach this city? If that's the case, he's a fool. Our legions with be knocking on the doors of his palace before he's even managed to gather his forces. At least, that's what we've been led to believe. But, perhaps, you know better?”

  “I don't know anything.”

  “I hope that's not true, my dear,” he replied, nodding at his companion. “I'd hate to have to sear your lovely flesh for no reason. Still, the healers will be able to attend to you once we're done. I'm sure the memory will linger, however. That will doubtless make our next session more informative.”

  Having said this the interrogator stepped back and his associate stepped forward – holding the glowing tip of the rod near the elvish maiden's face.

  “This is the last time I intend to ask you this, my dear” the interrogator continued, “before things become very unpleasant for us both. Why did King Illfas send you here?”

  At that instant Kilren popped into view as he struck the rod-wielding soldier on the side of the head with an iron rod of his own.

  “How...” the interrogator began.

  He got no further. Gwendolyn became completely visible as she struck him from behind as hard as she could with a pair a steel shackles she had grabbed up from a nearby table.

  “I knew you'd rescue me,” the elvish maiden smiled as her love began unbuckling one of the leather straps that bound her wrists.

  “I'm glad,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow, “because it was more than I was certain of at one point.”

  “How are we going to get out of here?” she asked, working to help free her own feet.

  “I'm going to make us invisible. Then, we're just going to walk out,” Gwendolyn smiled.

  Shortly after this was said, it was done. The three companions crept quickly out of the room and past the still sleeping guard. With a bit of careful maneuvering, they managed to make it into the armory to recover their confiscated weapons and then into the street while holding each other’s hands. Seconds after they emerged from the building, a bell loudly announced that there had been an escape. Without words, Gwendolyn pulled her companions quickly behind her; heading directly for the alley where their friends would be waiting for them.

  “You hear that?” Darian asked, pointing toward the source of the sound. “That's why we shouldn't have let her go alone. What are we going to do now?”

  “We're going to wait a few minutes,” Ian said calmly, “and then try to find out what's happened.”

  “This was an insane plan,” the knight asserted before once again resuming the pacing that had kept him busy since the moment Gwendolyn had left. “I should have never let you two talk me into it. Obviously, sending a fifteen year old girl...”

  “Sorceress,” the dwarf corrected.

  “True,” the Telian nodded, clearly annoyed, “but that doesn't change the fact that...”

  “It worked,” Gwendolyn's voice seemed to assert from nowhere.

  “It did?” Darian asked with a relieved smile.

  “It did,” Kilren replied, suddenly appearing right in front of the knight, “but if we want it to keep working, we'd better get out of here quickly!”

  Chapter 4: Escape

  “We need to hurry,” Kilren pointed out while quickly scanning the street on the far end of the alley. “And, we really need to make sure we don't get spotted.”

  “Gwendolyn,” Darian said, “could you make us all invisible?”

  “Unfortunately not,” the maiden replied. “I'm already feeling somewhat nauseated.”

  “How about Erana and Ian?” the lieutenant asked. “That would make what we're about to do much easier.”

 
; “I can try,” Gwendolyn nodded. “Keep in mind that it will only last for a few minutes.”

  “That should be enough.”

  She began chanting softly to herself. Moments later, the dwarf and the elf had vanished from view.

  “That's all I can do for today,” the maiden said, lowering her sweat covered brow to her uplifted hand.

  “You've done more than enough already,” Darian replied, stepping to her side and offering her his arm; which she graciously accepted.

  “Alright,” Kilren said, his attention focused on their immediate goal. “Follow me and do your best to look natural.”

  Having said this, the lieutenant stepped into the street, walked roughly a block at a rather meandering pace, and wandered into another alleyway. The moment he found himself hidden between two walls, he burst into a run before stopping just short of the far end in order to reconnoiter the next street. Almost instantly, he waved his companions forward and stepped back into road.

  A patrol of four guards were marching down the thoroughfare; gazing down each alleyway as they passed it. Fortunately for the band, they had already inspected the one the party entered just before they did so. As a result, the band managed to completely avoid the notice of the soldiers. Kilren fell a short distance behind them, following along at the pace they were setting for several blocks. He then led the group into another narrow alley that was filled with barrels and boxes. His timing could hardly have been better as, seconds later, Erana and Ian flashed back into view.

  “Quick question,” Kilren said, turning his eyes to the knight. “Can you fill me with the strength of the Eilian?”

  “If you mean: Can I ask the Eilian to make you stronger?” Darian replied. “The answer is yes.”

  “Perfect,” the lieutenant nodded. “There's a shop called The Flying Needles just down the street. I want you and Gwendolyn to go buy a lady's traveling cloak, two of the largest burlap bags they have, a greatcoat, and a very wide brimmed hat. Have you got all that?”

  “We do,” the maiden nodded.

  “Good,” Kilren replied with a smile. “Try to hurry.”