Princess of Lanfor (Heroes of Ravenford Book 4)

by F. P. Spirit

  The bound woman mumbled something unintelligible through her gag, but grew silent when Kalyn’s lynx growled at her. Still, there was a dark look in her eyes that made Aksel shiver. Seth, however, seemed unaffected by it. He leaped down off the wagon. “Nothing we can use in that wagon, but at least we’ve got what we came for.”

  He strode off to help the others with the downed guards.

  “I should probably help, too,” Glo noted dryly.

  “You go ahead,” Aksel told him. “I want to make sure everyone is all right.”

  They spent the next twenty minutes or so finishing with the bodies while Aksel healed some minor wounds that Lloyd, Donnie, and Cyclone had incurred. When they were done, the others took turns donning their new attire.

  Seth, already in a black robe, handed one to Aksel. The little cleric swiftly donned it and then went to interrogate the prisoner. With her hood drawn back, he could clearly see her features. She had raven-colored hair, cropped short at the neck, deep brown eyes, a thin nose, and extremely pale skin. Her lips were the shade of blood.

  Seth handed Aksel the staff the woman carried. It was a rather plain, gnarled length of wood, except for its head, which was carved in the shape of a serpent.

  Aksel turned the staff over in his hands, looking it up and down. When he reached the head, the eyes of the serpent suddenly lit up. The world around Aksel abruptly started to spin. He felt himself falling when a steadying hand caught him by the arm. He looked up and saw Seth standing there, one hand holding him the other firmly clasped over the staff’s eyes.

  Seth wore a thin smirk. “Thought you of all people would know better than that.”

  Aksel grimaced as he righted himself. “Yeah, well that’s what I have you around for.”

  The little cleric reached into his robe and pulled out a cloth, which he swiftly tied around the serpent’s head. “That takes care of that.” He then turned his attention to the owner of the staff. “Let’s see what she has to say for herself.”

  Seth strode over to the dark-robed woman and produced a sharp knife, seemingly from thin air. He cut the gag from her mouth and then stepped back while continuing to toy with the blade. Yet the woman didn’t seem scared in the slightest, instead eyeing him with disdain.

  “Oh, please,” she said, her voice dripping with contempt. “If you were going to kill me, you would have already. You can put your toy away.”

  Seth glanced at Aksel with a raised eyebrow, then abruptly made the blade disappear from his hand. The woman gave him a smug smile. “Now, isn’t that better?”

  Aksel cleared his throat. “Ahem. So then, my good woman, what is your name?”

  The woman fixed her dark eyes on Aksel and let out a wicked laugh. “My name is Skuld, and I can assure you there is nothing good about me.”

  Kalyn let out a short chuckle in the background. “Was just gonna say that.”

  Aksel cast a quick glance at the young archer. Seth snorted and rolled his eyes. Aksel shook his head and returned his attention to the prisoner. “Okay then, Skuld, since you seem so sure of yourself, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind telling us exactly who you are.”

  A thin smile spread across Skuld’s blood-red lips. “Oh, I don’t mind at all. I am a high-ranking sorceress of the Serpent Cult in service of the goddess, Salisma.”

  “The goddess Salisma? I don’t remember seeing that name in the Ralnain pantheon.”

  Aksel peered over his shoulder to see Glo had rejoined them. The tall elf looked rather strange garbed in black robes.

  “Bah, the Ralnain,” Skuld practically spat. “Mere mortals playing at being gods. My mistress has been around since the beginning, and will be here still when the Ralnain are nothing but ash.”

  Glo spiked an eyebrow at her blasphemous statement. “Okay then, if your mistress is everlasting, where has she been these last few hundred years? Why the sudden resurgence of her cult?”

  Skuld fixed Glo with an acid glare, but then her lips spread into a malicious smile. “The answer is quite simple, really. It’s because of you.”

  Glo raised both eyebrows this time. He placed a hand on his chest. “Me?”

  Skuld laughed again, an altogether evil sound. “No, not just you, you imbecile. All of you.” She swept her eyes around the group as the others rejoined them, her face contorting into a sneer. “Your coming was foretold long ago.” She paused a moment, as if relishing the attention. “Now the long wait is finally over. It all ends tonight. Tonight is the night of blood and fire.” Her eyes narrowed, her gaze intensifying as she glared around at everyone present. “Your blood. It will be spilled on the altar and it will open the gate, bringing the goddess forth and into this world at last.”

  As those last words left her lips, the world around them seemed to suddenly darken. Aksel felt a chill run up his spine. Was there any truth to what Skuld was saying? By pursuing the cult to their lair, had they played right into their hands?

  Seth, however, wasn’t buying any of it. He eyed Skuld with clear skepticism. “So glad we could help you with your little plan. I’m assuming you mean the altar in the caves, and by ‘gate’ you are referring to a portal?”

  Skuld shifted her gaze to the halfling and scrutinized him for a moment or two. “You’re not as stupid as you look, little man.” She peered around the group once more. “Take your last breaths while you can. For tonight you will fulfill your destiny. Your lives will be forfeit in the service of our goddess!”

  Skuld let out another shrieking laugh, but it was abruptly cut short when the hilt of Seth’s knife connected with the back of her head. The black-robed Serpent cultist slumped down in her seat. The halfling looked up at the others and shook his head in disgust. “I hate fanatics.”

  “More irritatin’ than a rooster at the crack of dawn,” Kalyn commented, pretending to clean out her ears.

  “At least roosters are good for something,” Donnie noted with a lilt in his voice.

  Elladan snorted. “Never thought I’d hear you choose a rooster over a woman.”

  Donnie eyed the archer with a mischievous grin. “Even I have my standards.”

  Seth gagged Skuld and motioned for Kalyn to come up and give him a hand. He grabbed her by the arms while Kalyn grasped her ankles. The two of them then unceremoniously flipped her into the back of the wagon like a sack of potatoes.

  A solid-sounding thump followed from inside the wagon.

  “Ouch,” Donnie cried with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

  Elfar jumped into the back of the wagon as well, eliciting a giggle from Kalyn. “Ha! He’s sitting on her head!”

  The corner of Seth’s mouth twisted upward. “That oversized cat of yours is starting to grow on me.”

  Kalyn, Martan, and Donnie then drove the wagons out of the pass and off the road, where they’d be hidden from sight.

  While they waited for them to return, the rest of the companions discussed what Skuld had told them. Yet no matter how they looked at it, they really had no choice. They had to get into Serpent’s Hollow. Still, Aksel couldn’t get Skuld’s words out of his head.

  Your coming was foretold long ago.

  Is the rest of the cult expecting us? If so, are we walking straight into a trap?

  If anyone had been standing at the entrance to the hollow, it would have appeared that just another group of worshippers approached the valley. The party consisted of three dark-robed casters and six black-clad guards. Some appeared quite short, others rather tall, and two were most definitely women. A few carried swords and some wore bows, while one guard in particular held a wicked-looking pike. Still, the group did not look out of place, for the cult recruited its members from all races and genders.

  The party stopped just short of the tunnel that was the only path to the hollow beyond. They stoo
d before the wrought-iron gate that stretched across the entrance, flanked on either side by the two watchers.

  The watchers were a pair of huge serpent statues that guarded the gate from intruders. Two large amber gems were affixed as eyes in either statue, their gaze intersecting a short distance ahead of the gate. If the watchers detected trespassers, an alarm would sound all through the hollow.

  Glo had sensed the magic from the twin serpents and warned Aksel from under his dark hood. Aksel had called the companions to a halt and covertly cast a spell of his own. Whatever force resided in those statues was most definitely evil.

  “So, what do we do now?” Lloyd whispered impatiently.

  Kalyn sighed. “Wish I hadn’t left Elfar behind with Skuld. He could’ve tested it for us.”

  There was a moment of silence, then Aksel spoke in a hushed voice. “Everyone wait here. I’m going to try something.”

  The little cleric cast a second spell on himself, one that would protect him from evil, then slowly strode forward. When he reached the point where the serpents’ eyes intersected, the amber gems began to glow.

  Aksel froze in his tracks.

  “You might want to slowly back away,” Seth said from over his shoulder.

  Without turning, the little gnome slowly retraced his steps. As he did so, the light in the statues’ eyes faded. Aksel wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “Phew, that was close.”

  Everyone seemed relieved, except for Cyclone. The dragon hunter fixed the others with a scornful stare. “So, now what, geniuses? Are we just going to stand here all day?”

  Glo, his emotions still raw, reacted poorly to the hunter’s derogatory tone. “And I suppose you have a better idea?”

  The duo momentarily locked eyes, but Elladan stepped forward before any further words were traded. “I think I might. What about using this thing?”

  The bard produced his portal bag and reached an arm inside, all the way down to his shoulder. When he pulled it back out, Elladan held in his hand Skuld’s staff. Aksel had given the rod to the bard to hold onto just before they set out for the hollow.

  “There has to be a way for those cultists to get past the watchers,” Elladan reasoned.

  Kalyn strode up next to the bard and bent over for a closer look at the staff. “Come ta think of it, a few of them robed folks was carryin’ these things inside the holler.”

  Aksel peered at Seth. The halfling nodded. “She’s right. I remember seeing them as well.”

  Aksel pondered it for a moment, then shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a try.”

  “Just one thing. You might want to point that thing away from you this time,” Seth noted, one edge of his mouth upturned slightly.

  Aksel cast a withering glance at the halfling. “Duly noted.”

  “Um, maybe if you and Alana tried it together?” Donnie held his arms out toward the black-clad lady knight.

  Aksel grasped his chin and peered at Alana speculatively. She was a member of a holy order just like himself. Perhaps Donnie was on to something. Between the two of them, they might indeed be able to control the staff.

  Alana stared back at him, her eyes unwavering. “I’m willing to try if you are.”

  “Yes, that might just work,” Aksel agreed.

  The lady knight and the little cleric each grasped the staff with one hand and strode forward together toward the watchers. When they reached the point where the eyes intersected, the amber gems came alight once more.

  Aksel grasped the head of the staff, and making sure it was pointing away from them, ripped away the cloth he had wrapped around it. Nothing happened at first, but then a dull red glow began to emanate from the staff’s head. The light grew increasingly brighter until it was as intense as the glow from the statues’ eyes. Still, nothing happened.

  “Perhaps if we step closer?” Alana suggested.

  “Slowly,” Aksel agreed.

  The duo carefully took a few more steps. As they drew closer to the gate, the statues’ eyes began to flicker.

  “I believe it’s working,” Alana noted with veiled enthusiasm.

  The pair took a few more steps toward the gate until the serpents’ eyes finally winked out. The moment they did, there was a loud clang and the large iron gate slowly swung inward.

  The others rushed up and clasped the pair on the shoulders.

  “That was it!”

  “You did it!”

  “Nicely done!”

  “Slicker n’ snot!”

  Cyclone was the last to join them. He stood there with his lips pressed together and gave them a curt nod. “Not bad. Now can we get a move on before the day is over?”

  Aksel glanced at the sky to the east. It was starting to darken, faint twinkles of light appearing here and there on the horizon. Night would be falling soon. A shiver crawled up Aksel’s spine as Skuld’s words reverberated through his mind.

  The night of blood and fire.

  By the time they reached the inside of the hollow, night would have already fallen. Still, it couldn’t be helped. The companions lined up in pairs and entered the tunnel, toward whatever fate had in store for them.

  Night of Blood and Fire

  The Council of the Six are the right hand of the goddess.

  When the companions reached the other end of the tunnel, night had indeed blanketed the earth. The moon was not quite up just yet, but the evening sky was already filled from end to end with twinkling stars. The light from that breathtaking visage dimly illuminated the world below.

  Serpent’s Hollow lay stretched out before them, the black silhouettes of the surrounding mountains cradling the hidden valley between them. Their peaks reached up toward the star-studded sky like the fingers of some impossibly immense hand. The hollow itself was dark, except for a gathering of lights in its very center and a dim glow at the northern end of the valley.

  The companions swiftly filed down from the cave entrance to the woods that covered the southern part of the hollow. Kalyn and Martan took the lead, fanning out ahead of the others. The small company traversed the woods without incident, quickly reaching the edge of the forest. The fields on either side of the town lay empty, but the town continued to bustle with activity.

  Seth and Kalyn took the lead as the group fell into a double-file formation. They followed the pair along the winding road that led through the fields and to the edge of town. They passed through an outer ring of small huts and cabins until they came to a circle of large stone buildings. The small group passed between two of the structures and entered the center of the village.

  Glo swept his eyes around the village square. It was exactly as Seth and Kalyn had described it. Four great stone buildings surrounded the square, each with tall, beautifully-carved pillars and wide sweeping steps that led up to a pair of ornate doors. The craftsmanship was so well refined that there was no mistaking their dwarven origins. The structure directly across from them stood out among the rest. It had a domed top, with a giant bronze symbol of a serpent hanging in its archway. It was obviously a temple of the cult’s serpent goddess.

  Dozens of torches were set around the village square, lighting the area and the buildings surrounding it. In the very center stood a white circular stone fountain, probably ten yards in diameter. It was straddled by a tall wooden scaffolding, with a number of thick ropes draped over it. A few dozen white-robed figures stood with their backs to them, straining against one end of the lines. The other ends were wrapped around an impossibly huge statue of a serpent. The stone serpent teetered precariously over the other side of the fountain.

  The air was filled with the grunts and groans of the white-robed slaves as they strained against the ropes. A few black-clad guards were interspersed amongst the crowd, barking orders.

  “Pull harder!”

  �
��Put your backs into it!”

  “If it breaks, you die!”

  Most of the guards had whips, which they cracked in the air to emphasize their point. Unfortunately, the nearest guard decided to aim for a lower target. He caught two of the slaves in their backs, causing them to cry out and shudder in pain.

  He pulled back his arm to strike a third target, but never got the chance. Instead, a hulking black form loomed over the guard and caught his arm in a vice-like grip.

  Glo thought he recognized that figure. The tall elf cast a swift glance around. Sure enough, Lloyd was no longer with them.

  The guard spun around and cried in outrage, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

  They were the last words he managed to utter. A moment later, a huge fist connected with his jaw.

  Crack.

  The guard’s body lifted into the air, landing in a heap about five feet away. The sound of that crack was so loud that it caused everyone nearby to stop and turn in their direction.

  A hush fell over the crowd as they saw the guard lying flat on the ground, out cold. Lloyd stared angrily down at the abusive man, casting aside the whip he had ripped from him.

  “Your days of torturing people are over!” the young man declared vehemently. His statement was punctuated by the sound of ringing steel as he drew his twin blades from their scabbards.

  “So much for a quiet entrance,” Seth murmured wryly.

  Glo silently shrugged. Seth was right, their cover had been blown. Still, he could not fault Lloyd for stepping in when he did. Slavery was just plain wrong, but beating slaves on top of that? That guard was lucky to still be alive.

  The white-robed throng continued to stare blankly at the tall warrior, but several guards separated themselves from the pack, shouting as they stalked the lone figure.

  “Who do you think you are?”

  “No one messes with the Serpent Cult!”

  “Kill the infidel!”