Shades of Truth: Path of the Wielders 2

by Cleave Bourbon

  “They may be wielders, but they are not well known as such. They are deceivers to themselves as well as to those they hunt.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kaxen said.

  “That is precisely the idea, Kaxen. The Enforcers want the average peasant to stay in the dark because it furthers their cause and protects their secret. They have no honor; they are betrayers. They have agreed to serve in order to save their own skins and condemn their brethren.” Gondrial squinted. “There.” He pointed through the battlement. “There are five of them, in full armor, heading this way.”

  Kaxen squinted but saw nothing but the falling rain. “You can see that far out?”

  Gondrial cut his eyes briefly at Kaxen without changing expression. “Of course,” he said. He pulled up his hood and spun around, swinging the heavy, dark green cloak behind him. “Now we see if Seancey is half as intimidating as he would have us believe.” Kaxen and Rennon shrugged at each other and then quickly followed Gondrial.

  Gondrial entered the left-most guard tower, followed closely by Kaxen and Rennon, and shouted out into the darkness, “Seancey, five Enforcers on the horizon,” he paused. “Seancey, are you up here?”

  “I hear you, friend Gondrial,” the large man replied. “And I suppose you want me to handle them?”

  “Not at all. I thought I might wake Morgoran, unless, of course, you just happen to come down from that tower,” Gondrial said.

  “Of course I will take care of them,” Seancey said in his booming voice.

  Gondrial turned and almost tripped over the two boys standing directly behind him. “You two had better get out of the way; Seancey is somewhat clumsy in the dark.” Kaxen and Rennon quickly exited the steps. The big man hastily descended the stairs to the gate and opened the peephole. “I don’t see anything,” he said.

  “Just wait, they will come,” Gondrial replied.

  After a few moments, the hooded riders came into view, riding down the road to the Vale.

  Seancey climbed onto the battlement at the side of the wooden gate and waited.

  “Hail, keepers of the Vale of Morgoran, the Enforcers require entrance.”

  “Who goes there?” Seancey retorted.

  “The Enforcers,” the voice barked back. “Open your gates!”

  “Hold,” Seancey roared as he opened one side of the gate. “Enter and state your business but do not pass the threshold until your business is approved, understood?”

  “Understood, Guardsman,” the voice said.

  The first Enforcer came through the gate, his cloak blowing to and fro in the wind and rain. He rode a jet black stallion, and after he entered through the gate, he threw back the hood of his cloak. The Enforcer’s face was gaunt and pale, and his brow was furrowed in a permanent scowl. His eyes were mere slits, and his armor was unkempt and dirty. Kaxen shivered uncontrollably. The man was the evilest appearing person he had ever seen. He cringed as the Enforcer narrowed his eyes at him. He was thankful Seancey was there to deal with him. The Enforcer gave Kaxen another menacing look before turning to Seancey. “I am Captain Row Praf of the Enforcers. I am here on business. There are wielders here, and I mean to find them.”

  Seancey laughed. “Aye, there is a wielder here. Congratulations, you have discovered the worst kept secret in Symboria.”

  The Enforcer fixed a disapproving stare at Seancey. “Not he who is blind and maimed. I speak of the others I have followed here.” He shifted in his saddle. “I am here to enforce the law. The heretics will be apprehended.”

  Kaxen suddenly felt strange as if he could not breathe, and then he noticed Seancey seemed ten feet tall and strangely ominous.

  “There are no wielders here but the blind one,” Seancey thundered. The horse shrank back, and Kaxen felt Rennon back away as well. Seancey seemed immovable and imposing. “You will turn away from this peaceful vale and search elsewhere!”

  The Enforcer had a surprised look on his wrinkled face. “If you will not admit me, I will come by force.”

  “You will do no such thing unless you wish to see the bottom of the Lake of Souls after I have my turn with you.”

  Kaxen was amazed as the captain pointed his bony finger at Seancey and turned back through the side gate. Seancey closed the gate behind him and winked at Kaxen as he bolted it.

  “It is his special talent,” Gondrial whispered to Kaxen, “to overwhelm any who oppose him. Seancey can be a particularly useful ally.” Gondrial grinned and put his hand on Rennon’s shoulder. “Are you all right, my boy?”

  “Huh, um…aye, fine, thank you.”

  “Just stay in Seancey’s good graces and you will be fine,” Gondrial said.

  “Why did the Enforcer look so pale and strange? He looked like a walking corpse, all gaunt and wrinkled.” Kaxen said.

  “Enforcers wield essence in a strange and unnatural way. It takes its toll on them, all that guilt and nervousness from turning on their own. The longer they do it, the more it changes them. They become bitter inside as well as hideous on the outside. It does help us spot them easier.”

  “I’m going back to my post. I will keep the Enforcers away from the gates.” Seancey said before he climbed the stairs to the guard tower two at a time.

  “The Enforcers will not go far, and as soon as their courage returns, they will attempt to enter the gates again. Seancey will probably not be able to intimidate them a second time.” Gondrial took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We will have to leave now. I think we need to discuss the best route out of this vale with Enowene and Lady Shey and prepare to leave.”

  “Is there a back gate?” Rennon asked.

  Gondrial nodded. “There is a gate, but the captain will have it guarded before we can saddle our horses. We are trapped, my boy, we will need another means of escape.”

  “Escape?” Kaxen asked.

  “Aye, Kaxen, our leave from this place has now become a plan of escape. Go and fetch Lady Shey. I will get Enowene and meet you in the meeting hall. We need a new plan.”

  Enowene left Morgoran to the care of Sylvalora and climbed the round stairway to her room in the tower. She entered her room like she had done a thousand times before and opened the window shutters to let in fresh air. She was about to change into her evening dress when she noticed Andiel at the doorway.

  “Oh, you startled me,” Enowene said.

  “Sorry, mistress, it was not my intent.”

  “You’re one of the Brookhaven folk?”

  “Aye, my name is Andiel.”

  “What can I do for you, Andiel?” As a precaution, she began to draw in essence.

  “I need a new disguise, someone with a higher station so I may know your plans.”

  Enowene was on full alert now. She was not expecting blunt honesty. She cast her essence as the girl leaped for her changing in appearance as she came. The first ribbon of essence grazed the Krullen Thul’s right unfolding wing but did not stop it. Enowene felt the cold chill of her blood leaving a gaping wound in her midsection. She grabbed ahold of the creatures head and invaded its mind. Like placing essence into a crystal or jade statuette, she placed her essence in the void of the creature’s mind. The Krullen Thul’s eyes went wide with fear as Enowene used her essence to crush its consciousness.

  Enowene stood looking down at her own torn body. It was still oozing blood. She leaned down and peered into her dying face. “How does this work?” She said in a gruff voice that was not her own. It took surprisingly little essence to facilitate the change. Enowene looked in the mirror hanging above her chest of drawers. It was now her own face staring back at her. A single tear rolled down her face. The creature had gotten more than it bargained for and now, in a single impulse of self-preservation, she was forever stuck as a Krullen Thul. She wiped the tear.

  Chapter 4

  “We can use the tome again,” Lady Shey suggested. “Too risky. The Enforcers will detect the magic and trace our path. Since we can only transport two or three at a time for a league or so
, the Enforcers will catch up to us by half a league. We can send out horses, but we can only get one, maybe two out at a time,” Enowene said.

  “Aye, but what if you three wielders each cast the spell? Would that be faster?” Kaxen asked.

  “Recuperation time is lengthy. Even if we sent you three boys and your mounts through, the time it would take to send ourselves would be considerable. Any length of time is more time the Enforcers have to get to you,” Gondrial replied.

  “There is another alternative,” Sylvalora began. “Not far from here is the forest of Tolennor and the ruins of Signal Hill. The Enforcers would be fools to follow us there.”

  “And we would be fools to go there,” Gondrial countered.

  “Another problem with that plan is that no one who has ever entered the cursed ruins has ever returned from them again,” Lady Shey said.

  “That doesn’t sound good at all,” Rennon said. “I will take my chances with the Enforcers!”

  Sylvalora rubbed her hands together. “We could stay at the edge of the forest. The inhabitants of Signal Hill are particularly nasty folk. Abominations to Loracia.” Sylvalora peered at Asrion. “Are you familiar with the curses against Loracia? Do you know how to sense such things?”

  Asrion was staring at his wine goblet and suddenly jolted up at the sound of his name. “Aye, it is the first thing taught to new members of the priesthood.”

  “Even cursed dead, those brought back by unnatural means, and not those merely deceased?” Gondrial asked.

  “Aye, if it is living dead I can sense it as well, no matter how it met its fate.”

  “Excellent,” Gondrial said, turning back to Sylvalora. “A bold plan and a foolish one as well. Whoever we send to the doomed village first will have to enter and wait. Any manner of events could occur during that time. In addition, we have to do this at night. The Enforcers may not be dissuaded from traveling into the woods in daylight.” He pondered for a moment. “In fact, I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t attempt it at night.”

  Rennon gulped.

  “It’ll be all right, my friend, if you keep your wits about you,” Lady Shey said as she patted Rennon on the back.

  Gondrial began to pace back and forth. “We will not be able to send the mounts along with us; the spell requirements are too great. We will have to take along plenty of gold to buy horses at Roseshade, a dozen leagues or so to the east of the forest.”

  “Agreed,” Lady Shey nodded. “Signal Hill is at the edge of the Sacred Land. All should take caution, wielder or not.”

  “Good Advice. Also, we will be traveling light for speed. No unnecessary gear,” Enowene added.

  Gondrial stood and clapped his hands together. “All right then, gather your things and we will meet in the courtyard at dusk.” He hesitated. “Unless we get word the Enforcers are coming back to the gates. In that case, gather in the courtyard and we will go as soon as possible.”

  Kaxen entered the courtyard on time. The rain had subsided, but the Vale still clung to the chill. A paralyzing fear had replaced his plans to leave the Vale, especially leaving without the elder wielders knowing. He knew the Enforcers would capture him if he did manage to get away, and he had no intention of being captured by Captain Row Praf if he had anything to say about it. Rennon appeared from somewhere behind him. He wore blue, his long hair tied back in a ponytail tucked into his cloak, giving him the appearance of a man with short-cropped hair. He carried a knapsack and his stash of daggers, which lined his breast harness. His new apothecary bag hung at his side. Asrion was there too. He wore the white and yellow robe of his order. A bit bright for night travel, but he did have a dark cloak to wear if need be, and Kaxen noticed Gondrial had already suggested that he wear it since Asrion was rummaging through his pack. Lady Shey and Enowene wore dark grey dresses and cloaks wrapped tightly around them. Kaxen noticed that Lady Shey had the tome in her hands opened to the travel spell, and she was nervously going over the incantation, mouthing the words silently. Enowene was peering over Lady Shey’s shoulder at the tome intently. Sylvalora, the last of the companions to enter the courtyard, wore brown. Her cloak seemed to sparkle as if it had flecks of silver and gold in the fabric. She crossed to Rennon and whispered something in his ear. Rennon’s eyes glazed over a moment before he shook his head and walked to where Kaxen stood.

  “What did Sylvalora say to you?”

  “She said that if we had to do battle in the woods, I should focus on my daggers and the magic I possess will guide them true. She gives me the shivers sometimes.”

  “I know what you mean.” Kaxen cupped his hand to Rennon’s ear. “Aurelie told me Sylvalora got into Gondrial’s secret stash of Dwarven ale last night, and he was furious when he found out.”

  “She drank it?” Rennon whispered.

  “No, she poured it out!”

  The boys laughed hysterically.

  “And what is so funny?” Gondrial asked.

  “Nothing,” Kaxen said as he looked directly at Sylvalora, whose frown made Kaxen wonder if she had heard them.

  Seancey came running up to the party. “Enforcers on the horizon. If you are going, you had better go now.”

  Gondrial looked up into the sky. “Still an hour worth of light left.” He gathered his cloak around him. “We have no choice now. Shey, are you and Enowene ready?”

  “I think we are, although we found another part of the spell we are trying to decipher.” She studied the book intently. “Something about the gender of the spell, male and female casting at the same time.”

  “Never mind that now, prepare the spell; we need to send the first ones through.”

  Kerad, dressed in his high priest robes, appeared and stood next to Seancey. “Is all prepared, Gondrial?”

  “We are about to cast the spell now, your grace.”

  “I apologize for not being able to accompany you, I would normally jump at the chance to dispatch undead in the name of Loracia, but seeing how Morgoran has been with fever since the night you arrived, I must remain behind.”

  “We understand, your grace,” Gondrial said, bowing slightly.

  Kerad smiled and clasped his hands together.

  “Okay, Gondrial, we are ready,” Lady Shey said. “Enowene will send Aurelie, Rennon, and herself. You will send Asrion, Sylvalora, and yourself. I will bring through Kaxen and myself. If we cast at the same time, we should all arrive together.”

  “Understood, my lady,” Gondrial said as he read his scrolled copy of the spell.

  Kaxen felt strange as the wielders began to cast the spell. His hair stood on end with the gathering of essence. Kaxen remembered what Gondrial had said about this being a place of power, and he wondered if it would affect the spell. Strange bright spots and lights appeared in his vision, and a lump made its way up into his throat. Wielders made him nervous. Unexpectedly, a surge of essence washed over him, and he felt nauseated. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Lady Shey contorted and appeared to be trying to say something in alarm. A flash of blinding light passed before Kaxen’s eyes, and then there was only darkness.

  Kaxen awoke, surprised to see Kerad’s face before him. “There, there, boy, that was quite a ride, was it not?”

  “What happened?”

  “As near as we can tell, the part of the spell that Lady Shey was deciphering about the use of male and female magic together made the spell much more powerful. It took all standing within range along with it, including me and Seancey. On your feet, we have to get to the woods and into the ruins. The incantation we employed must have sounded like a thunderclap to those who could detect it. We are in grave danger.”

  “What of my friends?”

  “They are all safe, my lad.” The cleric pointed to his friends all huddled together. “You are the only one who passed into unconsciousness.”

  Kaxen rose to his feet and dusted himself off. “How far did we go?”

  “Right up to the trees,” Gondrial said, pointing to the tree line of the woods
about a furlong ahead.

  “How long was I unconscious?”

  “Too long. The Enforcers are tracking us,” Gondrial said. “I can feel their presence not more than half a league behind us.”

  “Half a league,” Kaxen said in alarm. “We should get going then.”

  Gondrial smiled in spite of himself and then returned to his straight face. “Do you sense anything yet, Kerad?”

  “Not a thing as of yet,” Kerad replied.

  The members of the party moved quickly in an excited rush for the cover of the trees. Kaxen briefly considered the possibility that the dangers ahead were every bit as dire as the one behind him, but he dismissed the thought. Such thinking could drive one crazy, he thought to himself.

  As they crossed into the tree line, Kerad stopped and motioned for the rest to stop as well. One by one the members of the party stopped and stared at him. He seemed to be in deep concentration. “There is danger not far ahead and to the right. Several creatures and abominations to Loracia walk there.”

  “I sense them too,” Asrion said almost excitedly. Kaxen realized that his friend had never actually had the opportunity to use his skills before.

  “Everyone, prepare yourselves for the worst. It may have been a grievous mistake to come here,” Enowene said.

  Rennon grasped a dagger in each hand, and Kaxen decided to brandish his sword.

  “Do you still sense the Enforcers behind us, Gondrial?” Kaxen asked.

  “They are there,” Gondrial nodded. “Our only choice is to move on and try to stay clear of the dangers of the woods.”

  A sudden sound behind Kaxen alerted him to the presence of something disturbing. Upon turning to investigate, he noticed Aurelie was gone. “Where’s Aurelie?” Kaxen said frantically. “She was right behind me a moment ago!”

  Kaxen ran to Asrion and searched the ground. Drag marks appeared on the grassy floor of the woods. “Dragged off. Look here, something has her.”

  “By the gods,” Gondrial swore. “Can you follow the marks?”

  “I believe so,” Kaxen replied. “What could move that fast?”