Box of Runes An Epic Fantasy Collection

by J. Thorn

  “You serve the Dark One and your own selfish needs. I have no desire to engage you in any more conversation. I can see the skin and muscle falling off the corpse you call a body. Give me a warrior’s death before you lose any chance at your redemption.”

  “Would you travel across time to free your soul? Would you conquer worlds to reunite with your family? Careful in how you cast judgment, Lord Major.”

  “I am done with you. Speak no more.”

  The Serpent King moved towards Machek with his short dagger drawn. He pushed his dying face into the lord major’s. “Oh, great Dark One, accept my sacrifice and free me from the bondage of servitude. I present to you the Redeemer.”

  As the point of the dagger move towards Machek’s heart, he reached out and grabbed the Serpent King’s bony wrist. Their conversation had given him time to finally loosen one of the straps, and his survival hinged on the free arm. The Serpent King howled but could not fend off the attack. Most of his skin and muscle atrophied before his eyes. Machek snapped the Serpent King’s forearm from his body, and cut through the bonds on his right wrist and both ankles. The skeleton of the Serpent King tumbled backwards, the sound of his bones clacking off the stones. Machek walked over and separated the Serpent King’s skull from the rest of his skeleton. Black dust billowed from the fracture and soiled Machek’s sword. With a dying scream, the soul of the Serpent King fell silent and was consigned to wander the Plains of Miklin under the heel of the Dark One. Machek threw the skull into the water and kicked the Serpent King’s bones across the cold stone. As he turned his back on the carnage, Machek heard hitched breathing coming from Sianta.

  Chapter 76

  Machek stumbled back the way they had come from the upper levels of the bathhouse as he struggled to keep Sianta upright. The bruises on her neck began to take shape as she gulped air. Machek’s body ached and hungered for sustenance. His mouth was dry and his head rang with pain. As they got closer to the main courtyard of the bathhouse, the silence became disturbing. Machek expected to hear the cries of warriors, drunk on ale and rape, but he heard nothing. Sianta and Machek crossed the avenue and looked towards the main gate. Fires burned throughout the city. They noticed piles of bodies lying in the street, which was not a surprise. Machek lamented the loss of his Jaguar Knights. However, as he drew closer to these piles, he noticed the war feathers of coalition soldiers. Pustules covered the flesh of the warriors, leaking yellow pus. The odor of rotting flesh overwhelmed his senses. They walked further down the avenue and saw men dying in the gutter, agents of the infidels and citizens of the capital.

  Machek sat on the edge of the thoroughfare while Sianta sat on the ground at his feet, the color slowly returning to her face. He pulled a bag of herb and a pipe from his tunic. After repeated strikes to his flint, he failed to ignite the leaf, and Sianta shook her head and placed a hand over his. He dropped the pipe to the ground and watched the Sun God fall behind the burning city. The encroaching darkness dropped from the sky, mingling with the ashes of the One World.

  Gold Within

  By J. Thorn

  Start Reading

  About the Author

  Other Works

  Gold Within

  Second Edition

  Copyright © 2010 by J. Thorn

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Illustration by Kate Sterling

  Edited by Talia Leduc

  John Smith journals used under Creative Commons Licensing, Public Domain Works

  For more information:

  http://www.jthorn.net

  jthorn.writer@gmail.com

  Brass without but gold within.

  --Sir Samuel Saltonstall

  Gold Within

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  About the Author

  Other Works

  Chapter 1

  The scar on his face burned as the frigid air and years of silent torture worked to reopen the wound. Jaithe rubbed the itchy, ragged line with a hand too numb to feel the coarse skin. He stepped over a fallen tree, its limbs suffocated by the heavy snow. The rest of the expedition waited at the base of the hill with bundled supplies and dying hope.

  “Here?” asked Kelsun. Jaithe held up one hand, never taking his eyes from the summit. “Master Jaithe, the others grow weary—”

  “Silence.”

  Kelsun dropped his shoulders and blew plumes of warm air from his lungs into folded hands. The moisture of his breath tickled the cold flesh before dissipating into the chill of the Dark Time.

  Jaithe squinted and put a hand over his forehead. Several black holes marred the face of the mountain, their empty eyes staring back at him. “Here.”

  Kelsun shook his head. He looked at the earthly mass before them and then at the huddled believers behind. “Where?”

  “The caves.”

  “‘Tis not the accommodation of custom.”

  Jaithe glared at the boy and shook his head. “The Ways care nothing of custom.”

  “What if the rest follow us here? Should there be enough for all?”

  “He will provide for the faithful. Put your trust in His hands and you will have no need for questions.” Jaithe spun away from Kelsun and stepped down the incline towards the group below. With an arm extended into the bitter squall settling on his wool overcoat, Jaithe waved the lot forward.

  The women carried valuable baskets of infested morsels, not the jewels or silver goblets they had tossed to the sea. Those items had proven to be as useless in this world as the coin brought from the old one. They clutched the woven containers and protected the rotting onions and scraps of salted fish, children sloughing through the snow with sickly goats in tow. The younger hands scooped the steaming lines of dung that fell from the animals and saved it to fuel the lamps.

  Shella pulled a scarf over her face to battle the mountain’s breath and the fetid odor of goat droppings. She kept her face low and aimed for the impressions made by her husband on his initial ascent. She noticed that Kelsun followed behind Jaithe, but did not step in his footprints.

  While the rest of the devoted gathered for the final approach to the caves, Jaithe prepared an address in his head. By the time the spirit caravan reached his feet, the jarring cold bled the words from his mind and paralyzed his lips. “We shall be safe here, out of the reach of our wicked countrymen. Let them dig in the sand for gold while their bellies cry for sustenance. Our long pilgrimage is over, and so begins the final epoch.”

  As Jaithe led the group’s ascension to the caves, Shyla hid behind the boulder and shook her head at the scouts. Although she owed them no explanation, she spoke to the two assigned to protect her.

  “There is no further need to debate the Rose or the Mystics. Okine has sent his vengeance wearing the pale skin. It is time we inform my father.”

  The warriors nodded, extended their spears, and took a defensive stance. They led the princess away from the mountain to deliver the message to the werowance.

  Chapter 2

  “Come now, children. I shall not call you again.”

  Masses of brown sacks and windblown scar
ves pushed past Shella and into the hog’s pen. The boys lifted the oblong troughs, hollowed from massive oak trees, and pushed the oats towards the open end, trying to maintain a semblance of order during the feeding. The girls grabbed battered iron buckets and stained stools, and lined up underneath the goats’ teats to prime them for the daily milking. The slurry of animal waste and soured milk sat atop the icy mud with a pungent scent.

  “The caves are so dark.”

  Jaithe stood behind his wife and laced an arm around her waist. Shella swayed and leaned into his hulking frame.

  “I know, my love,” he replied. “The elements keep both man and beast on the edge of existence. Even the Naturals find refuge during the Dark Time. And our fish stores?”

  Shella continued to look ahead, not wanting to see Jaithe’s disappointed frown.

  “Rotten, low, or empty?” he asked.

  “You may need to summon the werowance.”

  Jaithe shivered. He placed both hands on Shella’s shoulders and spun her to face him. “They must not know of our debt. Despair takes more life than hunger or cold.”

  A frail girl with gray skin and drawn eyes appeared next to Jaithe and Shella, dropping a dry pail to the ground next to Jaithe’s boot. The girl shook her head and stumbled through the accumulating snow towards the entrance of the cave.

  “How many have we lost since harvest?” Shella asked.

  Jaithe shook his head and walked towards the council’s chambers.

  ***

  “Six.”

  “The young?”

  “Two of the elders, four of the children,” replied Jaithe before pushing the meager flame with the bottom of his walking stick. The action stirred the attention of the men at the table, but did nothing to increase the warmth inside. “The Blackened Day is almost upon us. The resurrection calls back the Season of Life,” he added.

  Jaithe looked at Kelsun, huddling in a corner under torn fabrics and straggled hair. The shift hung like a ghost on his gray flesh. The boy made eye contact and then dropped his gaze to the frozen floor.

  The men at the table stole glances, each trying to read the mind of the other. Jaithe waited, hoping to hear words of encouragement from the council.

  “The werowance,” said Aiden. Jaithe nodded. “Have you forgot ‘bout him? Has the chill dulled your memory?” Aiden suppressed further insubordination and pulled a scarf over his reddened face.

  “My friend, you have nothing to hide from me. I take your thoughts and consider them as I do my own. However, we have exhausted all stores. The salted fish remains in one barrel, eight of which now stand empty. The corn must be ground with the worms infesting it. No word has come to us from over the sea, and so we cannot expect help from our distant brethren.”

  “Yes, Jaithe. I seen it too.” Aiden pushed a chair aside and walked towards the hearth in hopes of absorbing the meager warmth.

  “Then you know the specter awaits our death.”

  “I know I ain’t trustin’ the devil of the wild. He gives us fowl and game for great feasts and has skinned our women alive the very next day. I trust you, Jaithe, but I don’t trust the werowance.”

  The other men at the table shifted. One grumbled and headed towards the door. Another pulled him back down into a chair.

  “You speak the truth. I would not have another at my side in desperate times. We must choose our fate. I cannot lie awake at night and listen to my children dying. I cannot watch their youthful energy waste away without hope of reaching adulthood. If it is truly our time to depart this place, I will do so by exploring every option. Those of you who do not trust the werowance are free to remain here, huddled around your paltry fire and dying families. Those who wish to accompany me on the journey will at least decide the circumstances of our defeat. I hope my children, should they be called from this world, can leave with dignity instead of wasting away in this frozen hell.”

  Kelsun looked at the men around the table, most of them husbands and fathers. One stood and left the cabin, but the rest remained and placed their pipes on the table. He counted nine.

  “Very well,” said Jaithe. “We leave at the rising of the second sun, the Blackened Day.”

  The men shook and avoided eye contact with each other.

  “I cannot concern myself with the omens. We cannot afford to wait for the next cycle.”

  Kelsun nodded at Jaithe, but did not reply to Jaithe’s indifference concerning the omens.

  “Gather all men and call them to arms. I realize that we leave the women and children on their own, but we have no other choice.”

  After Jaithe’s declaration, the men stood from the table and filed through the door in silence. Each one stumbled from the Commonwealth’s only structure and through the blinding snow on their way to the caves. Kelsun waited for the room to empty before approaching Jaithe.

  “None question your decision,” he said. Jaithe looked at the boy and smiled. Kelsun shook his head and walked towards the door. Before opening it, he tossed a twig into the hearth. “Enjoy the warmth, Master. It could be the last we encounter for a very long time.”

  Jaithe dropped his chin to his chest.

  Chapter 3

  Jaithe assembled the men around a crackling fire. The women of the colony had gathered as much kindling as possible, prying it from the frozen earth. They intended to provide at least one comfort to those conscripted to face the Naturals yet again.

  “The inlet is frozen. We should have no problem traveling northeast towards the lands of the werowance.”

  Kelsun huffed at Jaithe’s understated plan.

  “What goods do we pack to keep mighty hunger at bay?” asked Aiden. The seven other men looked to each other and the flat, vacant hides strung over their backs.

  “What we presently carry,” answered Jaithe.

  The sun broke over the eastern horizon, reflecting orange bursts off the Great Sea. A few gulls circled overhead, cutting through the frozen chill of the sea air. Inhalations tasted of bitter herb and dire circumstance. Women came to the men, delivering hugs, satchels of rotten corn, and pleas to return safely.

  Shella pulled Jaithe to the side. “It is your duty to watch over him.”

  “I have many duties on this expedition.”

  “No. I will not let you depart without looking me in the eye and promising that you will uphold his wishes.”

  Jaithe glanced over his shoulder at Kelsun, who met his gaze with an inquisitive stare. “I will do my best.”

  “You promised him on his deathbed. Your best is not good enough.”

  Jaithe pulled Shella close and kissed her. Her warm lips brought him to life and lit a fire in his soul.

  “I will keep the promise I made to my brother, in the name of the Commonwealth and all that is holy.”

  Shella smiled and pulled his collar around his neck. “That would please him.”

  Jaithe snickered. “The boy is almost a man. My pledge will expire soon.”

  “And you will know when it does. For now, Kelsun is your responsibility, to be treated as your own son.”

  Jaithe’s two daughters and two sons grabbed at his knees, none of them capable of reaching his waist. Shella pulled the children off their father and stepped backwards in the dry snow. Jaithe stared at her and delivered a smile to the children before turning to face the men.

  “Gather your things. We strike out today. May He guide us back here safely to tend to our Commonwealth, our wives, and our families.”

  Shella smiled and herded the children back towards the opening of the cave.

  With Jaithe leading the group, the men walked through the center of the village and towards the looming mountains on the western horizon. Finding the pass the first time had been a fluke, one that they had paid for in human life. Aiden had since charted the territory, making the second expedition a more successful navigation. Kelsun looked over Aiden’s shoulder as the man unfurled the map. He asked particular questions, but did so without being intemperate.

/>   The low, swampy land stretched upwards towards the towering mountains of the west, now frigid under the spell of the Blackened Day. Shallow rivers weaved from the Great Sea, dividing the land into slivers of watery domain. The skin of the waters had thickened, allowing the men to traverse the otherwise dangerous landscape.

  The gray sky suffocated the heavens while the falling snow smothered the sounds of the expedition. Towering trees pointed down at the men with bony fingers, many encased in ice.

  Jaithe led the men westwards to the crest of a rolling hill, where they stopped for the first time since leaving the Commonwealth and looked back towards the sea. The communal fire appeared as but a single star on the white backdrop. The few structures in the village center looked like black coals on the canvas. The three-hour hike had left the men warm but hungry for their first meal.

  Jaithe paused and nodded to the group, and the men dropped their satchels and loosened the rawhide strings fastened with ice. They groaned while chewing the frozen cornmeal softened slightly by the infestation of worms.

  Kelsun appeared next to Jaithe. “Do you miss her already?”

  Jaithe smiled. He recognized the perceptive intuition of the boy’s father. “If you feel the pain of separation from a woman, you will know what it means to be alive.”

  “Does she treat you kindly?”

  Jaithe swatted the boy’s shoulder with an open hand. “I don’t think a boy should be privy to that.”

  Kelsun smiled, enjoying the rare frivolity with his uncle. “How long will it take us to reach the werowance?”

  Jaithe squinted as he looked towards the mountains. “If the snow continues to fall, it could take twice as long as we expect. The closer we get to the heavens on the face of those peaks, the more snow will fall.” Jaithe crouched down and whispered to Kelsun, “I am more concerned about the falling of men than I am the falling of snow.”