Traitor to the King

by Clare SM Keating

  The fog blinded them for a few moments but instinctively the party grasped one another and followed their leader’s trepidations as they stepped along the great stone blocks. The rancid sensations of the place continued although it was made worse by the sound of the Marsh Deer braying in fear or the gibbering banter of the horrid black-faced monkeys in the occasional trees that looked out at them with an evil humour. Damara ignored them easily but Karani appeared intrigued by their almost human features and motions, Damara had to urge her not to laugh or point at them in case it aggravated the beasts into attack. The scent of the swamp itself was intensified as they carried on by the addition of rotting vegetation and as the fog cleared in a curiously warm and frightfully vulgar waft of wind, a veil of long grey-green grass shoots jutted out of the swamp before them, swallowing the water surface completely.

  “As I said, eyes on alert for anything cutting through the grass. Make sure only to step on the grey stones as there could be Gravel boars and Gefafood crocodiles in here.” Karani mumbled in fear at the words of Ynvirius but he gave her a harsh look over his shoulder and she bit her tongue in silence. With a grimace the more exuberant elf kept close to Damara and together they pushed gently through the tall grass blades with scowls. The grass was not clean; bird droppings, insects, tiny frogs and several leeches all bounced or were flicked towards the pair. The curious little motions of the leech kept both girls turning green but thankfully they did not scream and only one of the small frogs dared to jump onto Damara’s chest with a croak of alarm. The long grass was unbearably dense and every so often the party froze to hear something squealing crash past the stones up ahead. They did not see any of the large animals, but they could certainly hear the Marsh stags trumpeting, the boars and their piglets foraging and the occasional teeth chattering sounds of the Mimic Storks trying to lure out interested frogs.

  The maze was cleared without any danger but no sooner had the swathes of green subsided then bubbling mud pools and diseased mangrove-like trees trotted up to boarder the next stage. Across the mud pool was a clearing of hard ground where a large totem of creature skulls held up a placard of old snapped wood that stared out at them with some imp’s skull sitting above it. Upon the wood was a series of illegible smears in what looked like animal faeces, though it could easily have been the bubbling mud. No one in Virenheim was quite sure what it actually said, only that if more then one person crossed it the goblins tended to spring into attack mode. There was of course talk of maybe some ancient truce after the First One’s death or even some kind of religious aspect, but the king had ensured such thought was not possible. To state that anything in this realm was not tainted and thereby not ignorant to Nabuto’s might was a blasphemy only to be brought out by demonic influence. But all the same, one person could pass and as they reached this unpleasant section of firm land, Damara knew it was her job.

  “How far until you reach the stone?” Ynvirius grunted, before he informed his men to draw swords and remain on alert. Karani stepped forward, eager to follow her friend but was firmly yanked back by the snarling general. She eyed him up suspiciously for a moment, unsure why he was willing to put Damara in such danger, but he was quick to give his reasoning before she could question. “Remember… just one person can pass. I don’t give much faith to Benaga blood, but you’d better not have cost two men their lives for nothing Princess.”

  “I’ve just got to follow the trickle of the stream… it should lead me towards a lone broken willow tree. I don’t think I’ll be that long.” Damara stated, swallowing her sorrow at his comments and trying to push her confidence forward. She grasped her weapon anxiously with a grimace upon her face as she stepped forward across the thankfully firm ground and past the arrangement of bone. It smelt worse then the swamp and some skulls still had maggots writhing on their forms and sinew from what had once been attached to them. She had to ignore the cloud of fat black flies that erupted off the graves at her passing, though her stomach rolled in disgust at such a horrid image. She managed to find the thin trickle of water going past green mosses and then into a wide hollow of bent, black trees.

  Damara lifted the mask of her jerkin upward to smother her mouth the moment she looked at the seemingly dead bark. The trees oozed with a thick black sap she recognised as a poisonous disease but worse she noted the infinite bounty of their terrible spores. Every part of the tree was coated in a cloud of glistening yellow blobs that looked like boils raring to burst, they even pulsated gently at the stroking motions of the wind and Damara wanted to retch. These were the Firagon, strange trees painted by the poisoned water to produce clouds of ash-like spores to blot out the sun entirely. They were burnt the moment they touched the ground beyond the marsh to prevent a forest growing and the demons having cover. This very grove proved the boarder where the kingdom had once reached until another dam was burnt by the demons in her grandfather’s time and the rich farm land here was swallowed up into the bog. The trees looked ready to exude their loads into the air and give some wretched army a chance to move, so Damara had to be very careful not to touch anything at all in case it triggered such a harrowing event.

  It did not take her too long before Damara had stepped, though trembling violently from the sight of eyes suddenly watching her in the shadows, through the hollow to a strange spot in the dense woodland. Here she found a unique patch of pretty meadow filled with brilliant wild flowers that danced in the sunlight. She had never seen such a serene and lovely thing before and swiftly she lowered her mask and stepped into the grass, taking in the fresh and welcoming scent. She should have remained more cautious, but Damara felt compelled to move forward and look at the curious bright yellow flowers, smell their buttery petals and smile. She gained a shock however as her motions caused a creature to leap upward from within the grass with a shriek. Damara gave her own cry of terror at the four-foot high rubbery skinned yellowed creature with its folded ears, frog head and long protruding nose. When she slipped backwards into the grass with a grunt, the creature stopped running and turned back to stare in her direction. From the slightly canine expression upon it’s face, Damara could tell it was concerned but she could see slightly sagging articles upon the creature’s chest and she blushed to think it was a female… something… running around stark naked for the world to see!

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to interrupt… I was just looking for a stone.” Damara blurted, only to slap her head in frustration. The creature in front of her was ugly but held an unusual kind of charm that compelled Damara to be courteous and friendly towards it. This creature had been naked, weapon-less and scared, so despite the fear it could be a disguise for something much worse, Damara couldn’t seem to accept such an assumption as malevolence simply because it lived in what was considered Orcreich. Indeed, with flexing nostrils the creature listened before slipping back into the grass and disappearing completely, Damara would have gone searching had the female not suddenly appeared behind her moments later, casually dropping a stone at her feet with a wry look upon its face. “Amazing… you could understand me! Well… uh… thank you… but I’m looking for a very special stone.”

  “Spe… sped… shell?” The creature tried to mimic the word, obviously stone must have been similar to a word in its own tongue and Damara was pleased but concerned. Although she might find out later that she was probably blaspheming in talking to this creature, Damara nodded her head and made the outline of the stone and its size to the creature in the dirt. The curious specimen gave a strange sort of twitch before making a gesture of a stone that was exciting but seemed to be hot if touched. This was what Damara wanted and with a nod of her head she had intended to ask where it was, but the creature grasped her tightly by the wrist and began to drag her off. “Spedshell.”

  “That’s right… special stone.” Damara grimaced but fearlessly the little creature led her across the meadow and other creatures lifted their heads to watch. They were all a similar sort of jaundice shade with odd blue eyes and o
ccasional lone hair strands upon their smooth bald heads, but they were all female too. They seemed to shuffle after Damara and grabbed at her clothing and sword in interest. They made noises in their strange language, which sounded familiar and yet totally incorrect. Eventually a willow tree came into view and Damara breathed a sigh of relief and thankfulness. “The willow… oh thank you my friend and thank you for guiding me Nabuto.”

  “Fren?” The creature questioned, and Damara felt as if she were being mixed up for someone else. Swiftly she bent down, bowed her head and placed her hand to her chest in a respectful greeting. Much to her surprise, the little creatures copied and some even tried to grasp at her hood to have a look at her hair. Damara couldn’t hold back a smile as she introduced herself, starting to realise that these were not dumb things at all but actually very intelligent with their own language and culture.

  “My name is Damara of the house of Benaga… I’m a daughter of the Klangschwert.” There was a sudden shriek of upset and all the creatures lunged straight back into the grasses, vanishing from sight. Damara’s eyes boggled in upset as she straightened herself and then began regretting the use of that name. She’d been told it meant ‘noisy sword’ in the Orc tongue and maybe the use of that language had startled them. Perhaps there were some curious allies out here in the wilderness and she had just made them fear her. Damara repeated her sorrow again, only to find the first female come out of the grass and tentatively grasp her hand.

  “Spedshell Fren… Klangschwert. Ig narm Ike.” The creature beamed and for a while Damara stared at her in shock. The creature repeated the last word again and pointed to herself. Damara copied and then gestured with her own name receiving a nod of understanding and acceptance. The creature, Ike, smiled and then she tried to think of the word for her own species as Damara indicated herself as an elf. “Ike big a Goh-blih-n.”

  “Goblin? You’re a goblin?” Damara stated in both shock and surprise as Ike nodded her head happily. If… if she were indeed a female goblin then that would certainly explain the warnings – the male goblins probably assumed the elves came here to kidnap or kill their women! Damara was astounded by the intelligence of Ike and her curiosity also as the little creature reminded her of the ‘hiss’ stone she had come for. Gently, Damara removed a small silver band that she always wore up her arm and presented it to Ike as a gift, knowing well that she should give something in return for the kindness shown. The creature’s eyes bulged visibly in shock and delight, causing Damara to giggle as Ike put the band on her forehead like a tiara and ran about encouraging her companions to come out and see the gift. “Thank you for helping me Ike, I’m glad you like it.”

  With that said, Damara stepped toward the willow tree with her heart hammering away in delight. She knew the stone would appear dull and ugly, but she was hopeful that when she touched it something should happen to reveal its true power. Her hands began to tremble as she stepped to the bent and broken trunk, curious as to how the broken top of the tree still managed to produce fresh leaves when it was so badly injured. The plant had been bent down into the stream and mud that were black with poison, but the roots were healthy and silvery with soft brown soil wrapped lovingly about them. Wedged between two such intertwined lengths sat a dull, speckled stone that was so out of place it was odd to think it had been left alone for so long. With a deep breath and a sensation of excitement, Damara stretched out her hands to grasp the sacred object.

  Nothing happened.

  She touched it a few times more, but no response or vibration seemed to exalt from the rock. For a moment Damara was panicked that she’d done something wrong, but Ike appeared beside her. The little creature noticed the way Damara looked to her hands and gestured to push them firmly into the soil, to seemingly cool them. The gesture reminded Damara of the reaction of the stone to enemies and she scowled at the thought Ike was a threat, though she swiftly copied the little creature with a reassuring smile. Damara thanked her new friend again and grasped the stone tightly to her body, still nothing happened but Damara pulled her mask upward and marched back toward the poisoned trees with an air of determination. She ignored how Ike followed and then froze at the edge of the meadow, waving the silver band after her. Damara even ignored the fact the watching eyes were replaced by the curious faces of what must be the warty, larger male goblins peering past the poisoned trees. Determined to take the stone to her companions Damara passed the spores without fear and only when she passed the Goblin sign and lifted the stone to them did it react.

  The moment she offered it into the sunlight the object sent a sudden jolt into her body, forcing her to collapse as Karani screamed and leapt over. But that wasn’t all, Damara could not stop her hands from presenting the stone to the sky and the three letters… ish… revealed themselves on the surface of the object with a sudden expulsion of light.

  Not far behind on the edge of the grasses, Jarl and Ling froze in their battle and spotted the sudden energy. Their foray into the swamp after the group had been fortuitous in that no creature had appeared and they had rushed through the waters, ignorant to the lurches and slimy things about them. Ling had bounced in her run as usual and had nearly reached the large stones when they had finally met trouble and vomited into the water at the horrendous sight of a Mud Lurch regurgitating two half-eaten elf soldiers to flee the nightmarish Loskad. Though the mares in this mob of dark blue and red horse-like reptiles were content to eat the juice ridden corpses, the stallion and the yearlings turned right on the two living specimens!

  The pair had swiftly decapitated the first beast to run at them with its extending jaws of razor sharp teeth by swinging their daggers into its fat neck. The instant the vein was cut the neck exploded with a pop and the body fell to the floor, hungrily grasped at by a myriad of proboscis, tentacle and fish. The pair were soaked in the rich red blood and this urged a second attack by the younger animals. But together the swift pair had been fast enough to bolt as the foals charged at them, passed them and then paused at the sight of their dead brother, before choosing to devour him also. But though they had managed to avoid the snappier and possibly faster youngsters, the great black stallion with his weird swirling yellow and red eyes gave his banshee roar of hate and charged the pair as they bolted over to the rocks.

  “What can we do Ling? Unless we can get to high ground we’re dead!” Jarl howled, managing to stay just ahead of Ling to keep out of her way. Her face was a mask of irritation as she fiddled with the crossbow on her wrist and flung her arm backwards. When she gave a grunt, there was a crack in the air and a squealing roar from the monster as it was struck in the tender nostrils. The creature paused for a moment to rub its splayed clawed hoof-like feet to knock the arrow out before screeching with a whicker and rushing back after them. Jarl didn’t turn to check the damage as Ling proceeded to swear and the sound of heavy, hot, reeking breath pressed at their backs.

  “Damn thing arched his neck… he knew I was trying to hit that vein!” Ling snorted before leaping into the mud beside the stones. The minute she did a massive boar head emerged to snap where the Blood elf had been a second ago. The boar then crashed through the grasses and into the path of the Loskad, holding it at bay for a moment as the creatures sized each other up for a fight. As the two creatures began to grunt and scream at each other to establish feeding rights, Ling slapped Jarl firmly in the back with a vivid smile upon her face. He froze for a moment, guessing she was up to something more dangerous. “You know what Jarl, if you really cared this much you shouldn’t have been stupid enough to get Kirlia pregnant in the first place – now get moving whilst I deal with my little pony friend here.”

  “But Ling, how did you?” Jarl had no time to ask the question though as a massive light shot out of the woodland ahead of them. For a moment everything was motionless as they watched the curious beam and it was not just those sitting within the swamps and marshes. A beam of brilliant blue light had burst from wherever Damara had located the stone and looped over
the wetland toward Virenheim itself. Its great motion seemed to hold purpose as it darted through the air towards the great glass roof of the tower above the King’s palace. Behind it a rainbow was cast out over the land, purifying whatever it fell upon with moans and bubbling noises like the song of a whale as if it had been calling out for something. The demonic creatures within the region gave screeches of agony but Jarl could not stop and instead hurried on across the stones, screaming out into the grass despite his pride. “Damara! DAMARA!”

  Ling watched him go before automatically re-aiming her bow and catching the horse beast in the eye. It gave a rattling mix of a nicker and a swear as it continued to charge at her, the spikes on its back suddenly producing their poisoned tips with the intent to smash her body into the earth. But Ling was acrobatic enough to dodge its charge again and as it pivoted back around, she realised the boar had finally awoken from its confusion to charge at her again. With an impious grin she waited before back flipping neatly down onto the edge of the boar’s snout and then once more to clear the beast’s bulky body. The creature’s eyes rolled in their small dark sockets to try and figure out what had just happened, but though the hog was only about the size of a cow, its bulky body was tricked into crashing hard into the side of the Loskad, its swishing tusks slashing the throat of the beast wide open. The animal of course exploded in blood onto the stunned boar, which then settled itself into devouring the corpse. Ling breathed a sigh of relief only to hear the murky water behind her explode and a massive brown crocodile came launching out at her.