Maiden's Saber

by Marion Faith St. James

  “Your father was a unique individual,” Amari says to Natsha. “Most thieves I have heard of do not collect writings for themselves. They are about treasures, coins and items to be sold.”

  “My father was also about thieving gold, jewels and valuables and reselling for coins of the realm. This idea of amassing a great library was a dream put into him by my grandfather. He passed that on to me and drove me to learn to read and write in several different languages.”

  Natsha continues navigating the stairs downward.

  At the bottom, Holl-tu follows Natsha into a large room. Along one stone wall are four doors; all closed. “Surprisingly, it is quite dry here” he says to no one in particular. “I would think the dampness would seep in far below ground level.”

  “This was once a wine cellar. My father, uncle and brother enlarged it and hid the entrance behind a movable wall.”

  The room is filled with shelves and tables loaded down with manuscripts and parchment. Hollow tubes built into the stone wall contain rolled paper. Mimna pulls one out and finds a map of the lands outside Aventine. Almost the entire floor except for narrow places to walk, are covered with stacks of books and documents made from cured animal skin. Some are quite large and bulky.

  Dian rubs her fingers over the surface of one of the closed doors. “What lies beyond this portal?”

  “It contains more tomes along with food stores, weapons and a little of the precious stones and coins from our old raids. The other three rooms are much the same.

  I care little for that treasure now. My days of thievery are gone, so is my love for fortune. This library is my father’s legacy and all I claim. You are the only ones who know of its secret. Unless Merek discovers it by accident, I will not even tell him of it.”

  Amari looks at the overwhelming tasks of reading through this wealth of information. “Where do we start Natsha?”

  “I was systematic in my readings. Everything on this side of the room,” as she gestures to the far wall, “including two rows on the floor has beheld my eyes and memory.”

  Natsha picks her way through the stacks of manuscripts, stopping midway down the second aisle. She pulls a fat book from the middle of the stack. “This is the only reference so far that speaks of the Kcaj that I had found.”

  Amari looks at Natsha with a new eye. “You went to the exact pile and position of the book speaking of the Kcaj. Is it the same for the other books here? Do you know where any book you have read is stacked?”

  Natsha looks at the Maiden and says simply…“yes.”

  “Again, there is much here that I have not opened. Some are written in an ancient language. Still others in a foreign dialect, which I believe is from distant lands over the great sea.

  Those that I could not interpret are in the end room. I hoped one day to take several to an old man I knew on the other side of town. He may already be dust by now.”

  “Let’s get started.” The Maiden says as she takes the top book from the pile in the row following where Natsha said she left off. Amari opens the tome carefully, as the pages are brittle. It only takes a few minutes of scanning to know that there is nothing in this one. “It is a book of recipes for cooking pigs and chickens.”

  Holl-tu, Mimna and Natsha sit on the floor next to a slanted stack and began to read.

  Dian looks at her companions. “Since I never gained the knowledge to read or write, I will go up and find some food and drink for us. I am sure our large friends standing guard are quite hungry by now as well.”

  Dian goes to the entrance and climbs back to the room above. Finding the pantry, she prepares stewed potatoes and greens. She feeds Gareth and Truk first. She takes portions down to the others, along with a skin of wine and a pitcher of well water.

  The readers eat and continue going through the manuscripts and books. As they start the second week of reading, sleeping, reading and more reading…it is Amari who makes the discovery. “Come, I think I found something.”

  They all gather around and listen to her words. Dian goes back upstairs to tell Gareth and Truk the Maiden may have found what we have been seeking. She finds them both peeking out the shuttered windows.

  “Brothers—I have good news. Amari says she has found something that will help us in what we seek.”

  Neither of the two men show any indication they heard her. They seem to be intent on what is outside the building.

  “What has your attention brothers?”

  Truk motions for her to come closer.

  She draws near and squints out through the space in the shutters. Down the street are a mass of soldiers going house to house. “What does this mean?” She asks the dwarf.

  “We were about to signal you below that we may have trouble. It appears the soldiers are searching the houses along this street. I fear we may be the objects of that search.”

  “How would they even know we are in this village? Our trail here is well hidden.”

  “No answer to that poser my sister. Let the others know that we may have yet another battle to fight.”

  Dian runs down the narrow stairs nearly tripping twice until she reaches the bottom.

  “Warriors—many soldiers approaching!”

  “What?” Says Natsha as she bolts for the stairs. Amari and the others are close behind.

  They arrive just in time to see Gareth and Truk unsheathe their Kcaj blades.

  “What is the trouble?” Mimna asks.

  “Soldiers searching houses,” Gareth says biting his lip nervously. “They are only a few dwellings away.”

  “We need to leave by the backdoor before they get to this house.” Natsha says while opening another door from the living area. She walks to the rear door, opens it a little and looks out into the alley. She sees a full squad of armed men approaching down the alley. She closes the door and engages the heavy latch.

  “Our escape is cut off as more soldiers are stationed in the back street.”

  Amari thinks for a moment and then says. “This will require magic to escape more than an armed conflict. Holl-tu will your enchantments hide us from the soldiers sight?”

  “Of course, my conjuring is yours to command!”

  “It will only be for Gareth and Truk, as they cannot go back into the passage down to the lower room. Look up. See the rafters. Gareth and Truk use the table to climb up there. Try to be quiet. Holl-tu will blind the soldier’s eyes of seeing you. You wizard, Mimna, Natsha and I will hide in the stairwell after closing the secret door.

  Dian, as no one has ever seen you, when the soldiers knock, bid them to enter. Your Kcaj is not visible as ours. Tell them you are a cousin and kin to the Mod-gin, and have moved here after hearing of Natsha’s death. Can you do these falsehoods?”

  “Yes sister, I am ready.”

  Everyone goes to his or her places. Holl-tu speaks the magic to hide the two men overhead and closes the hidden door.

  Within moments, there is a banging on the front door and a loud voice from without. “Open in the name of the king!”

  Gaining composure, Dian walks slowly to the door as the insistent pounding begins again. Unbolting the door, it is pushed inward sending her to the floor. Rough hands drag her to her feet.

  “Who are you wench”? The leader of the soldier demands.

  “My name is Suesan, blood kin to the Mod-gin. This is my house.”

  He looks her and then motions to his three men who came in with him to search the place. They kick in the other doors with swords drawn. They can be heard overturning furniture and beds. They come back shaking their heads. “No one else here captain,” says one of the men.

  “Have you seen any strangers in the village?” asks the captain.

  “I am new to this village myself. I have not met all my neighbors of yet. I could not tell you if there be outsiders about. Word came to me that my cousins had fallen ill and died. I came to claim these dwellings for my kin as required by law—the king’s law.”

  The soldier looks hard at Di
an. “We search for three men and four women. They are witches and killers. If you see them, it is your duty to report them to the local magistrate.”

  “Who are they and how did they come to be in this village?” Dian asks with idle curiosity.

  The captain thinks she is just a nosy wench and of no threat or value…so he is truthful. “We have been chasing these insurgents since they attacked the King’s castle and killed many soldiers. Our spies tell of them heading this way a few days past.”

  “Captain, I will do as you say.” Softening her voice, she adds. “Would you and your men like a drink from our well? The water is cold and sweet.”

  He looks into Dian’s eyes. “No Suesan, we have no time. We must be on our way.” He motions his men out the door and they go on to the next house. Dian can hear them banging again on closed doors. She closes the portal quietly. Waiting and watching through the window as the soldiers, disappear around a corner.

  Amari trips the door release from inside the stairway and steps into the room with her sword drawn. So does Mimna, Natsha and Holl-tu.

  Gareth and Truk now visible, as the wizard ended the spell, dropped from the rafters and land with a floor shaking thud.

  Dian starts to tell the others what was going on when Amari holds up her hand. “No need sister; we could hear everything through the thin walls.”

  “It appears we are still the focus of the hunters.” Natsha says cursing their luck. “I would have thought after slaying your evil sister; the destruction of her followers; the raid on the castle, and the defeat of the Druids and Shadow Clan near the twisted tree, they would cease the chase.”

  “Someone must have seen us enter the village and alerted the king’s men,” comes the voice of reason from Mimna.

  “We are safe for a time, unless they search the houses again.” Natsha says. “So, we are cousins Dian. Where is that name you said to the soldier – Suesan?

  “It is the name of my mother. I dare not use my real name, as it may have been known.”

  Gareth puts his massive arm around her waist. “That was smart thinking sister. Offering to get them water, as it quelled any thoughts they may have of you trying to rush them away.”

  “We need to finish our search and leave this place quickly. I fear this will not be the last encounter with our enemies.” Amari says to the others.

  Gareth and Truk go back to taking turns looking out the windows, while the rest return to the archives below.

  Amari finds the book she was looking at and continues reading. It is quite old. The brittle pages crack as she turns them ever so slowly. She speaks aloud to the others while they are doing their own readings.

  “It says here that after the Goddess, Aurelia created the swords. She gave one to each of mightiest warriors in the land. They had to have a pure heart and abhor evil in any form. It is written further, if the swords were brought together in a certain way, then a great power could be unleased. It was a force capable of destroying the land and brings down the very mountains. It does not say how this was done, only that it could.”

  Fearing that even though the warriors Aurelia selected were valiant and courageous, they were still men. She gave each a different quest and sent them in opposite directions over the earth. Decades later, only two returned to this land. It was the Lady Bailey of the Pungo Clan from over the mountains and Tiras Djinn of Aventine.”

  “Djinn, that sounds like it was your kin Amari,” says Dian.

  “Yes, Tiras Djinn was my great-great grandfather and Lady Bailey was my great-great grandmother after marriage. My ancient kin were the first warriors to hold Katana and Pyrestorm. Those Kcaj blades were passed down the line of Djinn and finally to Urel and myself. Our parents told us of their wondrous battles and quests.

  My mother taught me the ancient language linked to magic. This language using certain words or phrases will invoke specific spells and enchantments. The greater the saber wielder’s knowledge and abilities to speak ancient tongues, the greater the magic called forth.

  “It appears you are following a great line of warriors yourself Amari.” Gareth says smiling.

  “It has been my destiny to carry the fight forward until the land is rid of evil, and all men live in peace.”

  “Aye,” he says to her.

  The soldiers who searched Natsha’s home and other houses never came back. The warriors spent another week scouring the tomes for any reference of the Kcaj. The manuscripts and books were also searched with care.

  Amari knew a little of the ancient scripts as well as Holl-tu. Through all the painful searching nothing more was found to increase their knowledge.

  Amari reread the book Natsha gave her several times, trying to find some hidden clue. The book sat on her lap with her hand resting on the back cover. She had her eyes closed as if to melt into its pages for some hidden clue.

  Natsha laid down the last manuscript she was reading and passed by Amari sitting there. Something on the back cover caught her eye. She knelt next to her sister. “Amari, may I see that?”

  “Yes, please do. Maybe you can see something I missed.”

  Natsha held the book closer to her eyes. “I cannot believe this?”

  “What Natsha—what do you see?”

  Her finger traces a partly raised imprint. “See this impression of a red dragon etched into the cover.”

  “Yes,” Amari answers. “I suppose it describes from whence these books originate or who penned it.”

  “True.” Natsha moves her hands encompassing the room. “There is an order to these stacks of books. They are not just random stacks of read and unread. I know for certain, this row and the book you are holding are from the Archives at Archkeep I told you about earlier. Natsha takes another book from the pile and shows Amari the imprint.

  Amari can see it is not like the one she holds.

  “This impression of a folded page with a writing quill crossing it on the diagonal represents the general library at Archkeep. It is on a great many lying here. There is one exception. This dragon seal is from the inner library only available to those who serve there or clergy.

  “What?” Amari asks puzzled by the odd marking.

  Natsha does not answer right away but sorts through several other books until she finds more containing the dragon marking on the back cover. She lays them out on the floor, the back cover facing up. “What do you see Maiden?”

  “Just what I said before, it looks like a seal of some archive.”

  Natsha smiles and lays the one Amari was holding down next to the others. “Now what do you see?”

  Amari cannot believe it. “It was right in front of me all the time. The dragon is facing to the left, while the others face to the right. What does it mean?”

  “I have been to Archkeep many times to sit and read; other times to pilfer a book or two for my father’s library. I was trying to hone my skills when I was young and gain respect from my father, as he favored my brother more than me.

  This book is from the innermost guarded section of the library. The dragon mark facing right is the inner rooms I mentioned. The left-sided dragon is a room secured further inside.

  Think of it as a sweet roll when it is cut in half. There are layers from without to within. The room this particular book came from would be in the very center.

  How it got out to the general archive is a mystery. These are highly prized for the historical facts they contain.”

  “Tell us more,” pushes Holl-tu.

  Natsha continues. “Once when I was there, several women were carrying armloads of leather-bound manuscripts to be put into the locked inner sanctum. Two guards stationed at the doors unlocked and opened the portals for the women. I was standing in a direct line where I could look into the inner room.

  From what I could see, there were hundreds of tomes on shelves and tables. Several old clergymen were pouring over what was in front of them lying open on a table. They were in a heated discussion. I could not hear what they were saying.�
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  “And the marking Natsha?” Amari asks. “What of this marking?”

  “These were matronly women. One fragile and frail female stumbled and spilled several of her books on the floor. One of the guards stooped over to pick up what she dropped and so did I. The time I did not take much account of the dragon on the cover at that time. It was just before the other guard yanked it from my grasp and pushed me away.

  It was on another time when I was there did I start finding the dragon seal on some of the books. Then I remembered the reverse dragon of the one going into the closed room. This book came from that chamber. It may be part of a volume that holds the rest of the Kcaj legend.”

  “I am not familiar with Archdale, where does it exist?” Amari asks of her shield mate.

  Natsha looks to her companions and answers. “It lies within the Kingdom of Erydda on the southern border of Aventine. It is not a kingdom anymore. In ancient times, Aventine was divided into five kingdoms each having a monarch. Erydda was to the south. The Kingdom of Oniarith and Agrarema were north. The lands of Ocayjan were in the east, and the Kingdom of Grelinna to the west. These individual kingdoms were abolished and merged under King Borin and his brother Althalos when they swept through killing all who opposed them.”

  “What happened to the other kings?” Dian asks.

  “What do you think sister?” Natsha answers. “They each died in their beds from the hands of assassins.” She looks to Amari. “Pray sister, an extension of our quest is to rid the lands of evil Druids and darkness; the Borin brothers are on that same list.”

  “Yes Natsha. They will pay for their treachery and treatment of the poor folk that scrape a living from the lands just to pay the tax levy. Now, since we need what the archives at Archkeep may contain, chart us the fastest route there.”

  Natsha takes on a solemn look about her. She unrolls one of the maps taken from the tubes against the wall. She moves several books to the floor and spreads the map on the table. Finding Archkeep, she traces a line with her finger back to this village. “It was as I feared Maiden. We must traverse some rugged country to get there. The worst part is in order to save time we would have to venture directly through the Fire Woods.”