Von finally broke the awkward silence. “No use in standing around here. Let’s go find what we came for.” Von started toward the keep then stopped. “Maybe we should put the horses in one of those stalls,” he suggested pointing to one of the buildings across the yard.
Von headed that direction and the others followed. It seemed natural now to follow Von. Von was born to lead. Kaiden could easily see it. He was sure his father always had.
“This is a sacred place,” Yaris whispered. “I am not worthy to be here.”
“It is just a keep.” Von sounded impatient.
Kaiden did not believe it was just a keep. It was more than that, much more. Despite its emptiness, it was peaceful, safe. Yaris must feel it too.
“It was not always a place for keeping secrets,” Von said. “Once many men lived here, and all were free to come and go.”
“Yes, but the generations gone by.” Yaris spoke so softly he could hardly be heard. “The ghosts of our ancestors. I feel their eyes on me. They would disapprove.”
Von stopped in his tracks and turned toward him. “Do you take back your oath already?” There was no accusation in his voice. He was more a father speaking to a son. It reminded Kaiden of the way Soren had just spoken to all of them.
Yaris blinked unbelievingly. “No my lord, not that.” He shook his head in protest. “Not that. It’s just...”
“You will have opportunity enough to prove your faithfulness. Until then be at peace and know I have accepted your oath against your past crimes. You are as welcome here as any other.”
“Thank you, but... it is just. Well, there is something I must tell you.”
All eyes turned to Yaris. Kaiden was sure it was not news he really wanted to hear.
“What is it?” Von looked intently at Yaris, waiting for an answer.
“It is Ky,” Yaris began. “He plans to send an army against Baiden. They are already on the march. I am afraid Ky’s forces will reach Azmark before we can. To give him warning I mean.”
“So Ky is actually going forward with it.” Von did not sound surprised.
Kaiden surely was. There had never been rebellion in the north. Not since the time before the Dragon Lords. The north had always been one people. His father let the Halfen go their own way for too long. Kaiden hoped it was not too late to remedy that.
“He has sent an army against Azmark?” Kaiden asked. “What does he hope to gain?”
“He plans to take the city while Baiden is away at the meeting of the clans.”
Kaiden did not know how to describe the feelings welling up inside him. It was near despair. There was no way to reach his father in time, no way to warn him. “When did this army leave the Halfen lands?”
“They left the same time my party did. An army travels slower than a small group on horse, so I think the main body would be about a week behind. A few more days than that at the most.”
“So my father will return to Azmark to find his home in enemy hands.”
“Ky has no intention of allowing your father to reach his home. He sent another party to arrest him and bring him before the chiefs. He means to try him as a murderer and a usurper. To place himself as Lord of the North and thus make peace with the Horde.”
Soren made a disgusted noise. “He cannot think the other clans will follow him.”
“Two already have agreed to. Maybe three. They fear the Horde.”
“Three?!” Von bellowed. “You said two. Who is the other?” He demanded.
“I do not know,” Yaris protested. “There was talk. No names. Just that Ky’s strength was gathering. That maybe another clan would soon join. That is all I know. I swear.”
Von turned his back on the others and muttered something incomprehensible. He seemed to be getting angry easily of late. It was unlike him.
“No matter,” Kaiden said. “We can do nothing from here. We must get what we came for and go, quickly.” They needed to move faster than originally planned. They could not leave his father to defend Azmark by himself. That was, if his father was actually alive to defend the city. “Whatever we came for we will have to find fast. We have no time to waste.”
Kaiden could see Von felt the urgency as well. His pace quickened and Kaiden found himself almost running to keep up. He continued, leading the horses, in the direction of what looked like a stable.
The building turned out to be just what it appeared. A stable with stalls open to the outside, probably used in warmer weather. The wooden walls were lined with pitchforks, shovels for mucking out the stalls, and other hand tools. A tack room was adjacent to the stalls, nearly empty except for a few leather straps. Everything was neat and in place, as if whoever left here planned on eventually returning.
Additional stalls were further in, completely shielded from the weather. A ramp ran along the back wall, with a gradual slope for leading horses to the next level. The stable was three stories high, and there was another ramp leading downward. No way of telling how many levels were below without actually following the ramp down. There was enough room in this stable to house a horse for nearly every man in the city of Azmark, and Kaiden had seen at least two other buildings just like this one. A great army must have once live in these walls.
Kaiden and Von set to taking care of their horses. Soren helped him brush his down while Yaris aided Von. Kaiden worked feverishly, thinking of his home and his people. There must be a way to get word to them. There just had to be. They would have to race home faster than they raced here, but what then? They would need time to raise an army.
Kaiden finished by putting a feed bag with oats and barley over his mount’s muzzle. They needed to find more food for their horses if they expected them to keep up their strength. Without some kind of fodder the return trip just might kill them. Kaiden knew they would find nothing for the horses in this castle, this place was filled with ice and snow. There was nothing green growing anywhere and likely would not be until late spring. That was probably the sole reason the builders of this place eventually abandoned it. The summers must be extremely short, leaving not much of a growing season. Even the wild game in these mountains descended to lower elevations when the heavy snows fell. It would be difficult to feed very many mouths up here, let alone all the horses that could fit in these stables.
Von finished with his horse, and draped a feed bag over its muzzle. “Let’s find what this place has to hold,” he said.
“My father said it would be in the smithy under the keep.” Kaiden rummaged through his saddle bags and pulled out the oblong rod his father had given him. It was dark black, similar to iron in feel, with nobs sticking out in odd places. The Key of the North it was called. Kaiden studied it, wondering how it had gotten its name. Until recently Kaiden could only remember seeing the thing on a few occasions. The Key had been entrusted to Kaiden’s father, by Kaiden’s grandfather. Now it was in Kaiden’s hands. A key of some sort to unlock the secrets of the north. His father had been very vague on what those secrets actually were. None but the Keeper in the North was supposed to even know those secrets and now there were four of them here, and not a single one of them the Keeper. Kaiden didn’t even feel he had the right to be here while his father yet lived. Von of course had every right. What was kept safe by the Keeper was meant to eventually be returned to the emperor. That was Von now.
Soren headed outside and the others followed. Kaiden felt the bite of the icy air when he exited through the doorway. He did not realize how much warmer it was inside the stable. Soren was not waiting for anybody and Von trudged through the snow behind him. Kaiden followed with Yaris and the dogs taking up the rear.
The keep appeared even larger up close. The smooth gray stones used in the construction of the walls must have taken a team of at least thirty oxen to put into place. The seams between the stones were so tight Kaiden did not think he could slide a razor between them. Whoever built this place knew what they were doing. Even with the simpleness of this structure, the master craftsman
ship was apparent. These walls could easily stand the test of time, they already had. Kaiden touched the stone with his hand and wondered how old the keep actually was.
The keep’s doors were constructed of the same black iron as the massive gates on the outside walls, almost a scaled down version of the same design. Kaiden hefted the Key in his hand, wondering if it was also made of the same material.
Von strode up the steps two at a time and opened the double doors, swinging them both wide and inward. The hinges moved as easily as if they were oiled only moments before. Kaiden was sure they were the first people to be here since his father had come so many years ago.
Inside was a great hall nearly thirty paces wide and twice a long. No furnishings remained, leaving the large room cold and bleak. The walls were lined with thick oak doors leading to other rooms or halls. Rooms Kaiden guessed. The far wall was framed by three large double doors of ornate wood, probably oak. Kaiden’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and he noticed the near corners held spiral stairways leading to other levels. The far end of the hall was harder to see in the dim light, but it appeared the great room opened to a hallway at the rear.
All four men stood in silence for some time. If what Kaiden had been told was true, their ancestors had built this place. They lived here for generations, then abandoned their home for the warmer climates in the valleys below. There must have been more reason than the freezing winters for them to abandon this great keep. As empty as it was, it still felt safe, like home.
Von finally stepped inside. Kaiden and the others followed closely on his heels. He imagined Von’s first steps into the hall gave the rest of them permission to enter. The hard leather soles of their fur lined boots echoed softly on the polished floor. There was nothing in the empty room to muffle the sounds.
The walls held some torches and Soren wasted little time in retrieving one. Using flint and steel he struck a light and the torch was soon burning brightly. The extra light chased the shadows away, but now the further corners appeared even darker.
Kaiden stepped cautiously forward. He knew there was nothing to fear, it was just the unknown that made him careful. The walls of the hall were stark. He could imagine his mother or Anora talking of hanging tapestries and laying rugs across the floor. They would have this place livable in no time. There would be flowers and decorations, a painting or two. He smiled to himself at the thought, then followed Von deeper into the hall.
Kaiden heard a scraping sound behind him and turned to see Yaris opening one of the doors that lined the hall. His actions stirred up a small cloud of dust. Kaiden supposed they needed to open some of the doors if they were going to find what they were looking for. He stretched to peer over Yaris’s shoulder and into the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just an empty room, plain and simple in its design. Stone floors and walls with no furniture or fixtures except a fireplace. Who knows what the room had been used for. Who knows what this hall had been used for. It was empty. All the rooms were empty. Every door they opened revealed a similar room. Even the stable was filled with more evidence someone had once been there than this hall. Other than the occasional torch left on the wall, the only fixtures remaining were two great chandeliers hanging from the tall ceiling. The chandeliers appeared to be iron, only iron would have rusted by now. Kaiden again hefted the Key in his hand, wondering.
“Whoever lived here is long gone,” Von said. “They took everything with them when they went. There is nothing to say they were even here, but the keep itself. Even the dust has not been disturbed in generations.”
“I would venture to say,” Soren said thoughtfully, “they left more for us to find than just dust. More than you might think.”
However Soren felt about Von, Kaiden could see he was still going to act as a fatherly figure, oath or no oath.
“Well whatever they left for us to find,” Von continued, “they didn’t leave it up here. Do we try the stairs at the front or keep looking further in?”
“I think we should keep going,” Kaiden offered. “My father said to go down the stairs in back.” He couldn’t see stairs yet, but the far corners remained hidden in shadow. “Let’s hurry.”
Kaiden quickened his pace and strode through the hallways with a determined purpose. As much as he would have liked to spend days here exploring, there was no time to waste.
No one argued with him. They followed with the same sense of urgency.
Kaiden had some idea where he was going, his father had explained it to him briefly, if not exactly what he was looking for. A sword of some sorts he imagined. It must be. What else could it be?
Kaiden often imagined coming here and finding the fabled sword Durendal. Most people didn’t believe it ever existed. For his father’s sake, and the sake of the whole north, Kaiden hoped it did and it was here. Only his father already told him that most likely the sword would not be here. If that was the case, what was it that they were looking for?
They rounded the corner at the far end of the hall, and saw the stairs Kaiden knew would be there. Two staircases, set back in opposite corners, carved out of stone. Kaiden, followed his father’s instructions and descended. The spiral steps twisted down into the shadowy darkness. Exactly how far down the staircase continued he really didn’t know, yet he couldn’t help thinking with each step he was closer to his mysterious goal.
His thoughts turned toward his father. There must to be some way to help him, some way to get him word of the Halfen’s treachery. Kaiden knew there was not. He could only hope his father had taken enough men with him to give him a fighting chance. Oded and Tostig were with his father, as well as Flenn and Berkler. That thought made Kaiden feel a little better, gave him some comfort. Despite how Kaiden felt about Berkler he knew the man was loyal to his father and much tougher than he appeared. At any rate he could do nothing for his father until he retrieved what was hidden in this keep. Even then he may still be too late. Maybe he could reach Azmark in time to help there. That wasn’t likely either. He followed the steps down into the darkness, hoping his father was safe, his mother and sister too.
He was forced to go slow in order to see the light from Soren’s torch. Finally, with impatience, he retrieved a torch from the stone wall. Armed with a light of his own he picked up the pace again.
They traveled three flights down, each flight another level of the keep. There was no end in sight as they passed level after level. This fortress was much larger than it looked from the outside. How did fresh air get down here? He remembered exploring caves with Flenn and Von as a boy. The further down they went the staler the air always was. Not here. Somehow the air remained fresh, clean. There must be a way for the air to circulate. Whoever built this place thought of every detail. He doubted anyone in the north could come close to building something approaching the likes of this keep.
They descended three additional flights then the stairs stopped. Kaiden wondered how many levels the keep rose into the sky. He imagined it must be just as many as were below. Twelve levels at least, but from the keep’s appearance it was most likely more. That was more than enough to house all the people in Azmark nearly three times over, not to mention the outbuildings in the courtyard. He had often heard the civilizations in the north were once much greater than they were now. He only half believed most of those tales, and it never entered his mind his ancestors had ever built anything of this scale, nor possessed the people to populate it. The first war with the Horde must have been devastating, wiping out nearly a whole civilization. More devastating than anyone alive now would remember, much less conceive.
The torch light cast long shadows into the large room at the foot of the stairs. The room appeared to be an armory. Torches similar to the one in his hand lined the walls. Von began lighting them and Kaiden and the others followed his example. Soon the room was aglow with flickering light. The room managed to give him a feeling of uneasy wonder. Shelves and armor racks lined the walls, still filled to near capacity, their contents
glimmering in the torch light. Work stations and benches in uniform rows occupied the center of the floor. It was a treasure room, the kind he always dreamed of finding. There were shields and armor everywhere, glistening in the firelight. Shirts of fine mail and helmets of burnished steel, breastplates and bucklers, all laid out on tables or displayed on the racks. Many were half finished and left as if the craftsmen had taken a break and meant to return shortly. Only they never would.
Kaiden surveyed the room in fascination. It was huge. Much larger than the hall on the main floor. This room took up the whole level, interrupted only by rows of arches and buttresses that must have been put in place to hold the weight of this massive keep. Shelves ran the length of the entire wall, reaching to the far end of the room. The back wall was constructed of the same strange iron as the gates of the keep and the large chandeliers. It was decorated with scenes from historic battles, ancient characters, castles and creatures, as if some giant metal tapestry.
Kaiden searched around and realized this was not an armory, but a massive forge. The room was filled with work benches, and stone forges that had long since gone cold, bellows that had fallen silent. The tools of the trade were everywhere. On shelves and tables, work benches and stools. Hammers and tongs. Even old tattered leather aprons, the only objects in this place he had seen that showed any kind of wear at all. There were anvils everywhere, large and small. Only one thing was missing.
Haven Keep (Book 1) Page 38
