Knights: Book 03 - The Heart of Shadows

by Robert E. Keller

  "I tried," said Lannon, "but I encountered too much evil sorcery. It makes it hard for me to see other details."

  Jerret nodded. "Then you can't rule out the possibility that some of the villagers are down there--perhaps injured or starving."

  "I guess we'll go scout around down there," said Lannon. He didn't want Jerret going into the pit alone, and there was a chance it could lead to a way out.

  "I don't like the aura of that pit," said Aldreya.

  "Nor do I," said Lothrin.

  "I'm ready for whatever is down there," said Prince Vannas.

  "An obvious trap," Saranna reminded them.

  "Why should we worry?" said Jerret. "We have the Eye of Divinity and the White Flamestone." With that, he started down the iron ladder.

  Lannon climbed down after him, scanning the pit. The others followed, except for Darius, who remained in the tunnel above. Lannon could sense no traps in the pit or any sorcery that might be concealing traps, but the dark magic below was immensely powerful. The sorcery was ancient and dormant, not likely to be a threat unless provoked. As Lannon climbed down, he could also now sense traces of humans and Goblins having passed that way.

  At the bottom was a square chamber with a murky pool at the center. The pool was encircled by a long serpent statue, greenish with mold and with fins like a fish. The dark sorcery was radiating from the water--from the corpse of some great beast that lay below the surface. The beast was long dead, but the magic that infested it was still potent. The beast had suffered an endless hunger, an illusion that both sustained and tormented it. It had needed constant motivation to justify its bleak existence and keep it from wandering into the eternal fog of Tharnin. Each devouring of a victim had been unique--something to relish and fuel the burning desire for the next feast. But when its Olrog masters had left the underground city, and the centuries had passed with no new victims, the beast had slowly starved to death--chained by its illusion until the bitter end. But the presence of its hunger remained, a yawning mouth beneath the pool still festering with dark sorcery and still waiting to be fed, an abomination leftover from an age when the Grey Dwarves were slaves of the Deep Shadow.

  As they gathered at the pool's edge, Jerret reached out with his sword to poke the murky water, but Lannon seized his wrist.

  "Don't disturb it."

  "Why?" asked Jerret. "What do you sense in there?"

  "Dark sorcery," said Aldreya, her eyes wide as she gazed at the pool. "Incredibly powerful. Can't you feel it, Jerret?"

  "I feel something," said Jerret. "A heavy gloom."

  "Maybe I should deal with it," said Vannas, raising the White Flamestone. "Such evil should not be allowed to exist in this world."

  "No," said Lannon. "The beast is long dead. If we disturb the pool, we will disturb the ancient sorcery as well. Just leave it alone."

  Vannas nodded. "I trust your word on it, Lannon."

  "This pool has the stink of the Bloodlands," said Saranna. "And the water looks like the black blood from the Mother Trees."

  "We're not done here yet," said Jerret, pointing at a single tunnel that led from the chamber. "That could be our way out."

  "What about Darius?" said Saranna.

  "Let's check the tunnel first," said Jerret. "If it's a dead end, there is no point in bothering with your wolf. If it leads to a way out, though, we'll come back and lower him down by rope. Fair enough?"

  Saranna nodded.

  Jerret started forward but Lannon grabbed his shoulder. "I'll lead the way, Jerret, so I can search for danger."

  Jerret nodded. "You're getting quite bold, Lannon. I like that."

  "I don't want to see you blunder into a trap," Lannon explained. He respected Jerret's combat skills, but he had no faith in Jerret's ability to detect traps or move silently. Jerret hadn't received enough training as a Blue Squire to warrant him taking the lead anywhere but on the battlefield.

  "I don't blunder into anything," Jerret muttered. "While it's true that I'm trained mostly as a Red Squire, I'm not some bumbling oaf."

  "Lannon is right, though," said Aldreya. "You're ill prepared for sneaking along tunnels, Jerret. I suggest you take the rear."

  "I'm not taking the rear!" said Jerret, glaring.

  With a shrug, Lannon started along the tunnel. The others followed. It led them to another square chamber--this one larger than the last. As they emerged into the room, the torchlight revealed crates, barrels, and other supplies--some broken open and their contents spilled out. The smell of wine was strong in the air. A pile of gnawed beef bones lay in one corner, and a half-eaten cheese wheel sat atop a crate. Another smell hung in the air--the stink of Goblins.

  Into the circle of torchlight stepped two Goblin Lords--Priests of Tharnin with runes painted in crimson on their foreheads and holding dark, twisted staffs. They wore black leather armor that was also adorned with crimson runes. These humanoid Goblins grinned when they saw the Squires. An aura of powerful sorcery surrounded them, reaching out to Saranna and the Squires and demanding submission.

  "Look here," one of the priests hissed, pointing. "Fresh meat."

  "It is Lannon Sunshield!" the other priest replied, his voice tense.

  With that, the two Goblins attacked, swinging their smoldering staffs at Lannon. They moved so swiftly he barely had time to defend himself. He seized both of them with the Eye of Divinity and halted their charge. He drew his sword and lunged forward, beheading one of the priests.

  But as the Goblin Lord's body toppled over, dark tendrils sprouted from both head and neck, and the head began trying to reattach itself. Lannon severed the tendrils, then blocked a blow from the other priest. But the tendrils sprouted again, pulling the head toward the neck.

  Then Lannon remembered that the Goblin Lords created an illusion of being invincible, and he used the Eye to see through it. The Goblin Lord hadn't been beheaded at all. It was fully intact--standing back and in the process of casting some foul spell with its staff.

  "Burn its heart, Jerret!" Lannon ordered.

  But Jerret, still confused, attacked the illusion of the fallen, headless Goblin, his sword striking the stone floor. Aldreya, however, was able to see the truth thanks to her training, and she hurled a fireball into the chest of the Goblin Lord that was casting its spell. Its sorcery disrupted, it howled in pain and fell to one knee, clutching its chest. She threw another fireball and finished it off.

  Saranna ducked a blow from the remaining Goblin Lord and cut a deep gash in its shoulder. However, the gash healed instantly--the priest's dark sorcery knitting the flesh back together without so much as a scar. Jerret hacked off the Goblin Lord's arm, but the arm sprang up from the floor and reattached itself.

  Jerret's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible!"

  "Stand aside, Jerret," Prince Vannas commanded. Jerret leapt out of the way, and Vannas blasted the Goblin Lord with white fire, burning the creature into a pile of ashes. But the ashes swirled about and regenerated into living flesh, and an instant later the Goblin Lord stood fully intact and grinning.

  Vannas cried out in despair. "It's invincible!"

  "No, it's just an illusion!" Lannon yelled, frustrated. He seized the Goblin Lord with Eye and held it while Aldreya hurled fireballs and burned out its heart. At last, the creature slumped to the floor in death.

  Vannas groaned, embarrassed that he'd fallen victim to the ruse.

  Jerret shook his head, disgusted with himself. "My sword didn't hit anything. I really need to learn how to see through illusions."

  "So that's how it's done," said Saranna, smiling and patting Aldreya on the shoulder. "Any chance I could learn that trick of truth seeing?"

  "It's not easy," said Aldreya, "even for a sorceress."

  The Squires shone their torches around the chamber, searching for more foes. But they found none. They did, however, find four battered and bruised men tied up amidst some crates. Lannon cut their ropes.

  The men gazed at the Squires in awe. One of
them introduced himself as Gelran. The other three said nothing. Their eyes looked haunted. One of them had a large, infected chest wound and seemed feverish.

  "Thank the Divine Essence you've found us!" Gelran said. "We've been down here for days, while those Goblins debated whether or not to eat us or force us into slave labor. There are other survivors down here. You must find them!"

  "The Knights are searching for them," said Lannon.

  Aldreya knelt by the man with the chest wound. "Can you hear me?" she asked. He glanced at her with dazed eyes, but didn't reply. "This one is in grave danger," she said. She laid hands on him, her eyes closed.

  "What is she doing?" asked Gelran.

  "Using healing sorcery on him," said Lothrin. "However, she is only a Squire and not a trained Healer. He will stand a much better chance if we can get him to the surface, where there are White Knights who can cure his wound."

  "My healing sorcery is weak," said Aldreya. "This should help sustain him, however, until we can get him to the White Knights."

  "Can you raise the dead?" one of the others asked. "My daughter...she was...devoured by Goblins..." He bowed his head.

  "No mortal can raise the dead," said Aldreya, a look of pity in her eyes. She reached over and touched his shoulder. "Stay strong, for your village needs you."

  He nodded, but didn't look up.

  "We've all suffered much loss," said Gelran. "This has been a terrible ordeal for us, but it seems to be coming to an end. I can't thank you Squires enough for rescuing us. The Divine Essence has blessed us this day!"

  "Right now we can't leave here, unfortunately," said Lannon. "It seems we have sprung a trap. So you haven't actually been rescued yet."

  "We know of the trap," said Gelran. "It is only temporary. Those Glaetherin slabs will rise again in a few days."

  "A few days?" Jerret muttered. "We can't wait that long. We're supposed to be helping the Knights clear out the Goblins."

  "The barriers cannot be damaged," said Gelran. "All one can do is wait until the trap reverses itself. The Olrogs created it so any intruders would come down here to try to escape--only to be devoured by some foul beast."

  "The creature in the pool," said Lannon.

  "Yes," said Gelran. "How did you know? Anyway, the trap is harmless now but quite an annoyance to the unwary. I'm surprised that you even managed to activate it, as the machinery is worn out and barely responsive."

  "Harmless?" said Aldreya. "I strongly disagree."

  "Right," said Jerret. "I doubt Jace thinks it's harmless."

  "It should have been disabled," said Saranna.

  "This area is forbidden to villagers," Gelran explained, "so there was no need to disable the trap, which would be a difficult and dangerous process considering it is infested with dark sorcery. Some things are best left alone."

  "True enough," said Lannon.

  "This fellow doesn't have a few days," said Aldreya, nodding to the injured man. "As I said, my healing sorcery is weak, and he is badly infected. I can feel it in his blood. He must be attended to by the White Knights as soon as possible."

  The wounded man mumbled something incoherent.

  Gelran shrugged helplessly. "Glaetherin is invincible."

  Vannas studied the White Flamestone, his face thoughtful. "I'm not so sure that Glaetherin is invincible. I think I just need a smaller, more focused attack. Maybe rather than blast through the metal, I can cut through it."

  "Impossible," said Gelran, "even for a Divine Knight. I know not what power that shining stone holds, but only the Grey Dwarves understand how to mold raw Glaetherin. Once it has hardened into form, it cannot be altered. I'm a blacksmith by trade, lad. I know these things."

  Two of the other villagers nodded in agreement.

  "We shall simply have to wait," said Gelran. "However, we do have food and drink. And the Ogres and Wolves can't get to us."

  "The Ogres and Wolves are dead," said Saranna.

  Gelran grinned. "Then this is a happy day indeed!"

  Vannas pointed the White Flamestone toward an ale jug. He concentrated for several moments, his brow furrowed, and then a thin beam of light shot from the stone and cut through the jug--without shattering it. Vannas nodded. "There, see what I mean? It just takes will and imagination."

  "Good," said Jerret, "now go cut us out of this trap."

  "It's worth a try," said Lannon, impressed with Vannas' command of the Flamestone. It seemed the Divine Essence had chosen wisely.

  "You are truly gifted, my cousin," said Aldreya.

  "Save your praise," said Vannas, "until we actually get past the barrier. An ale jug is one thing, a Glaetherin slab is quite another."

  ***

  But Vannas' plan worked flawlessly, though it took almost an hour for the White Flamestone to cut a large hole in the Glaetherin slab. By then, Vannas was exhausted from extreme concentration. They found Flund Greenhelm's Knights waiting in the town, but the others were still somewhere below. The Healers set to work on the injured, while the Squires debated their next move. Jerret wanted to go below and search for the Knights, but Flund ordered the Squires to remain above ground and wait for them to return.

  "If they haven't come back by evening," said Flund, "you Squires may accompany the twenty Knights I will send to search for them."

  "So we're just going to stand around doing nothing?" said Jerret.

  "We will do as ordered," said Flund, with a shrug. "We were instructed to stand guard and watch for Goblins."

  The other Squires weren't happy about waiting either, and Lannon considered trying to persuade Flund to begin the search early. But ultimately he became distracted with feeding his horse and himself. He also helped the Healers get a fire going, along with other essential chores, in one of the houses where the injured men were taken. Lannon felt good about doing some honest work, and he thought back to the days when he was lazy and bored all the time while growing up in the little wooded valley with his endlessly quarreling parents. He realized how much he'd changed since then, how Dremlock had brought forth his best qualities. He was eager to work hard to make life better for those around him.

  The Squires checked on Galvia and found her to be in stable condition, though in a deep, healing slumber. She stood a good chance of recovery. Jerret continued to sit by her bedside for a while after the others had left the room.

  At last Taris and the other Knights returned from the tunnels, bearing a host of weary and wounded villagers, which they took into buildings. Taris was delighted to see that the Squires and Saranna had escaped from the tunnels, and he praised them for their heroic deeds in slaying the Goblin Lords and freeing the four prisoners. He promised the Squires would receive promotions for their valor.

  "The Goblins are dead," Taris announced, "and all of the survivors have been rescued. We will now focus on restoring this town."

  Jace approached the Squires, one sleeve of his cloak cut short and ragged. Somehow he'd managed to light his pipe, however. He didn't seem to be in any pain. In fact, he blew a smoke ring and smiled. "Glad to see you Squires made it out of that trap. We had feared we might have to tunnel around it, which would have delayed our journey to Blombalk even more. By the way, my young friends, you didn't happen to see an arm lying around, did you?"

  "Got it right here, Uncle Jace." Aldreya returned the cloth bundle to him. "I hope there is still time for the Healers to reattach it."

  Jace chuckled. "It's Uncle Jace again, I see. Well, that pleases me greatly. And I'm also pleased that you've returned my arm." He winked. "It comes in handy in a pinch." He patted her on the head. "My favorite Squire."

  Aldreya smiled. "Just attending to my duties."

  Vannas sniffed the air disdainfully. "What is that appalling smell?"

  "Appalling smell?" said Jace, blowing another smoke ring. "This is good leaf, oh prince. Not Birlote quality, but still worthy. I found it below in some supplies. I'm sure the villagers won't mind."

  In response, Vannas covered hi
s nose.

  "Anyway," said Jace, "I better go see if I can get my arm stitched back on." He walked away whistling, carrying his severed limb over his shoulder.

  "Weird," said Jerret, shaking his head. "Just too weird."

  "I wholeheartedly agree," said Saranna, shuddering.

  "Uncle Jace is a sorcerer," said Aldreya, as if that explained everything.

  "He's not your uncle," said Vannas.

  "She can call him whatever she likes," said Lothrin. "That's her business."

  "I hope they can save his arm," said Lannon.

  "I hope he finds some better quality pipe leaf," Vannas grumbled. He held his stomach as if he might vomit.

  The Knights quickly repaired doors and window shutters, distributed supplies, and started fires in wood stoves. It took the rest of the day to get the town organized again, during which the only conversation involved helping the villagers. One of the tasks included preparing the dead for burial, as a third of the townsfolk had been slain in the Goblin attack or had died later from injuries. Taris ordered ten Knights, including two Healers, to remain behind and continue to help the townsfolk. He also sent a message to Dremlock by means of an Elder Hawk to send aid to the village and to warn of the latest Goblin incident.

  As the Divine Knights prepared for departure, Saranna approached Taris and said, "I would like to stay and help these villagers, if Dremlock will release me from my contract. I realize I won't receive my second payment, but I'm fine with that. These villagers need a Ranger."

  "On the contrary," said Taris, "you will be paid in full. We regret losing you, Saranna, but I agree that these villagers need you. In helping them, you have earned your pay." He handed her a pouch bulging with silver coins.

  She smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Tower Master."

  The Squires bid her farewell.

  Saranna and Lothrin stood gazing at each other for a moment, and then Lothrin said, "I wish I could stay and help you."

  She nodded. "I would welcome the help of a fine Ranger like you. But you've got your duties as a Squire and a member of the Divine Shield."

  "I know," he said. "Until we meet again..."