The Dark Monolith: Heroes of Ravenford Book 3

by F. P. Spirit

  “Probably a good idea,” Aksel agreed. The little cleric addressed the group at large. “Once we rid the lake of these monsters, Captain Morled agreed to take us up river to the Darkwoods. The lake is rather large, though, and no one is sure exactly how many monsters there are, so we are to meet the Captain down at the docks at first light.”

  Glo turned back to Ruka. “Well then, let’s charge up that sword of yours as soon as possible.”

  Ruka nodded. “Meet you at the north end of town.” Without another word, she shifted into a hawk and took off out the window.

  While Glo went to gather his gear, Donnie and Alana left the room. The others, however, straggled behind. Aksel in particular seemed as intrigued as Glo by Ruka’s blade. “A short sword that can absorb and shoot lightning bolts. Very interesting.”

  “It’s a family heirloom,” Seth informed them with his typical smirk.

  “Family heirloom,” Glo repeated. “Maybe the girls’ father had come across it at some point?”

  Aksel stroked his chin. “Could be. Rodric Greymantle was one of the greatest wizards that ever lived. If the sword was his, then that certainly makes sense.”

  “Well that’s one interesting family,” Elladan noted wryly.

  Lloyd let out a short laugh.

  Seth glanced up at the tall warrior. “What’s so amusing?”

  A grin broke out across the young man’s face. “I think I finally found a family that is ‘stranger’ than my own.”

  Night had fallen when the companions met for dinner in the common room—everyone except for Ruka, that is. After charging up her weapon, she had told Glo she was going to find her own meal. Glo had returned to the inn, only to find Elistra waiting for him. The two of them did some scrying using the crystal ball they had confiscated from Voltark nearly a week ago. Their efforts confirmed Glo’s worst fears, which he now shared with the others. “The Serpent Cult has already reached the monolith.”

  The table fell silent, all eyes turning on him. Aksel was the first to speak, his voice stone cold. “What exactly did you see?”

  “A number of men in dark robes and some giant snakes. They stood in front of a dark structure in the middle of a wide clearing. It was very dark and very tall, reaching high above the surrounding trees.

  “It was the same one I saw in my vision,” Elistra concurred.

  Murmurs went around the table, but Aksel held up his hand, signaling for silence. “Did they go inside?”

  Glo nodded slowly. “There was no visible entrance at first. Then one of the dark-robed figures recited a verse, and a door appeared in the side of the structure. The entire group then went inside.”

  It was Elladan’s turn to speak. “That’s not good. Judging from our present location, and the distance we need to travel upriver, we are probably still two days away from the monolith.”

  “And how long by horseback?” Lloyd chimed in.

  Elladan’s nose wrinkled as he thought it over. “Three, maybe four days depending on whether we can find a trail through the woods.”

  Aksel shook his head. “It can’t be helped, then. We can only hope they don’t find what they are looking for before we get there.”

  Glo knew Aksel was right, but he could not shake his growing discomfort. The discussion turned toward the hunt for the lake monsters, but Glo only half listened to the conversation—visions of dark mages, serpents and an army of golems playing through his mind.

  Once the companions finished dinner, Aksel excused himself and headed over to the temple to offer up his evening prayers. Donnie persuaded Alana into going for an evening walk, with Elistra dragging Glo along to clear his mind. Martan adjourned to his room, saying something about checking the fletchings on his arrows. Seth went off in search of Ruka who still had not returned from the forest. With nothing else to do, Elladan decided to check out the Theater of the Festive Spirits. He saw no use in sitting around and worrying about things that were out of their control. It didn’t take much prodding to convince Lloyd to join him.

  The theater was not the newest building, nor was it necessarily that large. There was a good-sized stage, though, and more than ample seating to fit the entire town, from what Elladan reckoned. He had played in better places, but he had played in worse as well. A thin, light-haired man stood in the middle of the stage, holding a lute in one hand.

  He was dressed rather fine, wearing a puffy white silk shirt with a fancy vest over it, light brown pants, and knee-high brown leather boots. The man busily directed a couple of stage hands, a small, mousey-looking man with spectacles, wearing grey robes, and a tall, thin, hawk-nosed woman with long brownish hair, garbed in a robe of iridescent blue. Elladan and Lloyd sat down in the farthest row to watch the rehearsal.

  “No, no, no,” the man said. “The timing’s all off. Let’s try it again.” The man lifted his lute and played a jaunty tune. At the same time, the woman made some gestures with her hands. A cloud of fog appeared at the bard’s feet, quickly spreading across the stage. She quickly made a second set of gestures and four globes of light appeared around the stage.

  The bard nodded to the man in grey. “Now you, Rhith.”

  Rhith nodded back in response then began to conjure. Suddenly, there were two bards up on stage, both the spitting image of each other. The second bard mimicked everything the first bard did.

  “Shadow image spell,” Lloyd leaned over and whispered.

  Elladan raised an eyebrow. He already knew that, but was surprised that Lloyd did. Elladan made a mental note to ask Lloyd later where he had learned about spells.

  “And again,” the bards said in unison up on stage.

  Rhith cast the spell once more, and another copy of the bard appeared next to the other two. Now three bards played in the fog. Abruptly, the lights started to dance around the trio. The bards played a tune in earnest, all three of them synchronized in both movements and sound. All in all, it was a very good performance.

  When it was over, Elladan and Lloyd both stood up and clapped. The bard jumped down off the stage, shading his eyes with his hand, searching the back rows. Finally, his gaze settled on them.

  “Thank you,” he called up to them. “I didn’t realize we had an audience.”

  Elladan strode down toward the front of the theater, motioning for Lloyd to follow him. “That was well done,” Elladan complimented the bard. “The special effects blended nicely, not overshadowing the song. It’s important that the music stands out first and foremost.”

  A knowing smile spread across the bard’s face. “Thank you, my friend. That was spoken like one who is used to performing.”

  Elladan gave the man a half-smile. “Guilty as charged.” He bowed before the other bard and introduced himself. “Elladan Narmolanya, at your service. And this is my friend and colleague, Lloyd,” he added with a wave of his hand toward the tall young man.

  The other bard bowed in return. “Pleased to meet you both. I am Balmaroh.” He motioned up toward the stage. “And these two folks are Rhith, my illusionist, and Newin, my wizard.”

  Newin gave him a curt nod. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” Rhith waved giving them a self-conscious smile.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Elladan and Lloyd said almost simultaneously. Elladan turned back to Balmaroh. “You are quite good with that lute. What would you say to a duet?”

  Balmaroh tilted his head and smiled. “I’d say, why not?”

  With a wave of his hand, Elladan’s lute appeared out of thin air. The bard held it up and then began to strum a quick beat. Balmaroh soon joined in, the two bards taking turns with various combinations of chords and runs.

  Elladan nodded to Balmaroh. “Not bad.” Balmaroh grinned back. “Not bad yourself.”

  Finally, Elladan broke out into song. Balmaroh joined him, nicely picking up the harmony. />
  I went to a land.

  Wasn’t it grand.

  Not too much sand.

  I want to go back.

  To slash and hack,

  My way through Thac

  I left the Great Forest

  to go on a trip to the west

  My sword and my senses were sharp

  on the boat from Essex

  I sat in a dive

  On the docks of Orllon

  Looking for fun

  A trader bound for Ilos

  She would need guards

  And a couple of bards

  She told me we’d leave in the morning

  and started to laugh

  She bought me some drinks

  and she stole my sword and my pack

  And when I awoke I was alone

  On a boat bound for home

  I’ll get my revenge

  When I slash and hack

  My way through Thac

  The two bards finished, hanging on the last word and adding in a flashy combination of chords. When they were done, they sat there grinning at each other. Lloyd, Rhith, and Newin all clapped in appreciation.

  “That was fun!” Balmaroh exclaimed. Elladan grinned. “Yes, it was.”

  “We should have a competition!” Balmaroh said suddenly. “Things have been slow around here lately, I must confess. And with someone of your caliber to compete against, it would be sure to drum up business.”

  “Sounds like fun—but we need a catchy name for it.” Elladan’s hand went to his chin. Balmaroh did the same. Names flashed through Elladan’s mind like Duel in Vermoorden and Bard vs. Bard, but nothing that quite caught his fancy.

  Out of the blue, Lloyd suggested, “How about The Battle of the Bards?”

  Elladan stopped and stared at his friend. That wasn’t half bad, actually. “I like it!”

  “As do I!” Balmaroh agreed.

  Lloyd obviously had an ear for this sort of thing. Elladan clasped him on the shoulder. “You’ve been holding out on me. If I had known you were this creative, I would have had you do more than just stand and beat the drums at Andrella’s party.”

  Lloyd’s face reddened at the praise. “It’s no big deal, really. It’s just that I have a friend back home who’s into this sort of stuff.”

  Elladan gave Lloyd a half-smile. “Well, whoever your friend is, he’s quite good.”

  “She,” Lloyd corrected him.

  Elladan arched an eyebrow. “She, then.” Lloyd was just full of surprises today. Elladan wanted to know more about this mystery ‘friend” of Lloyd’s but Balmaroh interrupted him.

  “Is tomorrow too soon?”

  “It might be,” Lloyd answered. “We have to go out on the lake.”

  Newin interrupted them, her tone rather high pitched. “Out on the lake? You do know there are monsters out there?”

  Elladan’s eyes turned toward the wizard and he winked. “That’s okay, there won’t be any by late tomorrow.”

  In truth, Elladan wasn’t all that worried. He had grown up around magic, and Glo, for all his self-berating, was one of the most promising young casters he had ever seen. As for Ruka, that sword of hers would be devastating to sea creatures. Between the two, Elladan bet those lake monsters wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Newin, not knowing any of this, peered at him rather skeptically. “I hope you two know what you’re doing.”

  “I concur, friends Elladan and Lloyd,” Balmaroh added, his concern quite evident from his expression. He held their gaze for a moment or two, then a smile spread across his lips. “After all, we wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of our performance.”

  Elladan gave their new friend another half-smile. “Set it up for tomorrow evening. We’ll have made short work of those monsters by then.”

  Lloyd, as if on cue, nodded, folding his arms in front of him confidently.

  “Maybe we’ll even bring you back dinner.” Elladan winked.

  Lake Monster

  Four enormous tentacles reached over the railing amidships

  These waters seem awfully calm,” Donatello said. The slight elf stood on the sterncastle of the Rusty Nail, next to the ship’s wheel. Donnie had been on small ships like this before. This was a schooner, the long main deck having two masts, the foremast being shorter than the main mast. By the way the sails were rigged, he could tell this boat was set for speed, rather than hauling large amounts of cargo.

  It was a typical configuration used by smugglers or privateers, once again, something he was not unfamiliar with. Donnie suspected Captain Morled was a bit of both, but he kept that to himself. The others had more than enough to worry about with these lake monsters. Morled currently manned the ship’s wheel. Donnie stood next to him making casual conversation, but in reality he was keeping an eye on the sea dog. If he tried anything, Donnie would be there to deal with him swiftly.

  “It usually is this time of year,” Captain Morled was saying.

  “Do these monsters roam the lake, or are they typically in one spot?” Donnie asked.

  “They’ve been seen all over, but more often than not they are at the mouth of the East Stromen, the river leading out to sea. We should be getting close to that area in the next 15 minutes or so.”

  “Keep an eye out,” Donnie shouted to the others. “We’ll probably see them in the next quarter hour.”

  Alana and Lloyd stood in the center of the main deck, near the hatch to the cargo hold. Both warriors were decked out in full fighting gear—Lloyd in his new red-stained chain-mail, something Donnie had stayed up all night working on, and Alana wearing the gleaming full-plate armor of a knight.

  Donnie was impressed by Lloyd’s prowess with the sword. It was phenomenal the way he could light his blades on fire, flash behind an enemy, and cleave even huge serpents in two. It made him a force to be reckoned with. More than that, Donnie found the concept of the spiritblade intriguing. He appreciated anything having to do with the sword, being quite good with a blade himself. In fact, he had learned from some of the best, but that seemed a lifetime ago.

  Donnie’s thoughts suddenly shifted to Alana. As much as he admired her beauty, the lady knight was nonetheless an impressive warrior in her own right. She had held her own admirably against those giant serpents back in the courtyard of Ravenford Keep. He had argued with her, prior to coming on board, about the wisdom of wearing full plate on a sailing ship. The lady knight, however, had insisted she would be fine. He finally gave up trying to convince her otherwise, but promised himself he would keep a close eye on her. If anything were to happen to the red-haired beauty, he would never forgive himself.

  Donnie gazed out toward the bow of the ship. The wizard Glolindir stood there with the seeress Elistra by his side. The elven wizard had his raven familiar out in front of the ship, scanning the waters ahead. The gypsy seeress was also using her abilities to anticipate any impending danger.

  Donnie had noticed the duo spending more and more time together these last few days. Always an advocate of love, he hoped things would work out between the two. Glo seemed unusually shy and awkward, though, around women. Luckily, the seeress did not appear shy at all. Donnie suspected that if a first move was made, she would be the one to do so.

  Lifting his eyes toward the top of the foremast, Donnie spied the crow’s nest up there. It was currently occupied by the halfling, Seth, and the young teen, Ruka. That pair had sharp eyes. From their vantage point, they should be able to see anything in the waters around them. Donnie imagined the duo would be having a contest to see who could spot the first monster. Seth and Ruka seemed to thrive on competition, especially with each other. He did not detect anything romantic between them, but Donnie had seen stranger relationships in his time. Heck, he had been in stranger relationship
s.

  A glance over his shoulder confirmed that the archer, Martan, stood at the aft of the vessel. Martan kept a sharp eye out behind them, in case any creature attacked from that direction. The archer was a quiet one, mostly keeping to himself. He seemed rather morose most of the time. From what Donnie had heard from Lloyd, Martan had a thing for Ves, Ruka’s older sister. Her absence might explain the archer’s glum attitude.

  In front of the sterncastle, just below him on the main deck, sat Donnie’s old friend, Elladan, and Aksel, the little gnome cleric. Both waited for a sign that a monster had been spotted and that their talents would be needed. Elladan had not changed at all since the last time Donnie had seen him. Flamboyant and charismatic, the bard drew the eye of everyone when he entered the room. He had also left behind one of the most beautiful women that Donnie had ever seen, Shalla, in Ravenford. The bard certainly had not lost his touch.

  Aksel was another quiet one, until it mattered, that is. An unlikely leader, the little gnome had managed to garner the respect of everyone in the group. Donnie had originally been surprised that Aksel was the leader of the Heroes. He had expected it to be Lloyd, or even Elladan, but Aksel showed an aptitude for strategy and leadership that Donnie had not seen in many. He would have made a fine captain of a ship, or baron of a town, for that matter.

  Their voyage across the lake went on uneventfully, the waters remaining calm and quiet, no one spotting anything out of the ordinary. Donnie had just begun to wonder if there really were monsters in the lake when he heard a cry from the bow of the ship.

  “There’s something large in the water close by!”

  It was the seeress, Elistra. Donnie scanned the waters around them, but saw nothing. He was about to yell back, when he heard a cry from above.

  “I see it!” Ruka called out.