Knoro was on his way home when the shadow creatures attacked. He tried to fight back, but he was not a young man. As he was about to succumb to the inevitable, a gold dragon flew overhead destroying the creatures with a flash of lightning, burning their shape into the wall.
"That's impossible," Nathan said aloud, scoffing. "That happened over three hundred years ago; if it really happened at all.” There wasn't any way he could remember this event, but it was part of a dream he'd had every night for months now.
Nathan glanced again at the wall and the scorch marks that testified to the truth of his dreams.
"Focus!" he told himself. "Just get in and get out. Nothing is going to happen,” As he spoke the words, he had a funny feeling that they were not true. The only thing that kept him from retreating was that fact that Garz was counting on him to get this crystal ball.
Tearing his eyes away from the burned wall, he continued through the alley. After a slight curve, the alley let out into a small square with several houses facing it. As he looked around the square he saw it was empty. A few of the houses had lights in the windows showing that the inhabitants were there, but the old mansion was completely dark. He expected this. A gurgling fountain reflected the light of the two moons, casting the area into a state of half-light. Not ideal for thieving.
In front of the old house, there was a small balcony that overlooked the square. This looked like the best place to enter. There was a small patch of shadow under the balcony that looked like it would be a good place to use a grappling hook to climb.
Nathan skirted the edge of the ring of houses until he reached the shadowy area. He quickly pulled his grappling hook from the special pocket that held it and threaded a rope through it. Swinging the rope a few times to gain the necessary momentum, he launched it through the air. He watched the hook fly upwards. It almost reached the top of the railing when some force pushed it away and it landed with a clatter behind him. He quickly gathered the rope and stashed the hook back in its pocket before retreating deeper into the shadows.
He closed his eyes briefly, calling forth his magic sight. Gazing from the shadows, he concentrated on the balcony. As he watched, a glowing white gargoyle-like creature appeared on the railing. This must have been what had repelled the rope hook. He wasn't surprised to see the magical creature. Knoro was a notoriously paranoid man. He would have bound magical protection to his home.
He watched as a face appeared in one of the windows on the far side of the square. He waited for several minutes after the face disappeared to make sure he wouldn't be seen. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but the balcony was still the best way to get in. There wasn't any way to climb to it, with the gargoyle grinning down at him. That left one way to get up there.
Closing his eyes he muttered an earnest incantation, hoping it would calm the magic and allow him to pass unharmed. He knew that the creature had been bound here for a long while, but he didn't know what kind of mood it would be in due to its incarceration.
As he completed his spell, he glanced up just as the creature climbed down from the railing to curl up and go to sleep. He hoped this was a good sign.
He ran out into the square, pulling his shirt off as he went. Reaching the far side, he whirled around and began to run back toward the old mansion. After three bounding steps, he snapped his wings out and rose into the air. He quickly flew across the open area and landed lightly on the balcony. He was happy to see that the magical protection was still slumbering. After pulling his shirt back on, he tried to open the glass door. To his surprise, and unease, it slid open easily. Once he was inside the house, he was unnerved to see that the room was in good repair. There was no dust on any of the surfaces, nor on the floor that could show footprints in case someone else was here. The plush carpet looked brand new. The four-poster bed gleamed in the moonlight that filtered into the room. Several bright paintings adorned the walls. This did not look like a room that had stood empty for three hundred years.
The room was large, covering the entire top floor of the house, and only had a single staircase leading to the lower floor. There were no closets, but a massive wardrobe stood on one wall. A full-length mirror stood in the corner next to the wardrobe. The bed was made from a kind of wood that Nathan did not recognize. The four posts were carved with images of vines that wound diagonally up. The room was devoid of any other furnishings.
There were a handful of small bushy creatures moving through the room. They each had a forlorn look about them as the slid over the surfaces divesting them of any dust that might dare to try and find rest there.
In search of his quarry, Nathan decided to start simply. He checked under the bed first, looking for any hidden compartments, either on the bed or on the floor underneath. He found a secret compartment that contained a small pouch full of gold and a few precious stones. He dropped the bag into a pocket without much thought.
Not finding anything else under the bed, he moved to the wardrobe. When he opened the wardrobe, a blue glow filtered out. There was a sword leaning against the back wall. The sword was styled like a katana, but couldn’t have been forged. The blade consisted of a clear material that looked almost like glass, which was one source of the glow. On the gold hilt was a large sapphire that pulsed with a rhythm that reminded him of a heartbeat. A field of smaller blue was stones set around the larger central one.
There was something familiar about the sword, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Shrugging in indifference, he grabbed the sword, thinking it would fetch a good price. As soon as he touched the hilt, his fingers locked around it of their own accord, and he panicked, shaking his arm to try to knock the sword free. As he struggled, warmth slowly enveloped his arm before flowing over his shoulder and into his head. He didn't know what caused the sensation, and it did little to assure him that he was going to get out of this unscathed. After a few more seconds, the warmth subsided and he felt his fingers relax allowing the sword to fall to the carpet. Worrying about what just happened, and whether there would be any other effects from it, he shook his head. As he placed the sword into his holding bag, he thought it may not have been such a good idea to take it.
He scanned the room again, but he couldn't see anywhere else that this mysterious crystal ball could be hidden.
He headed down the stairs, his mind still preoccupied with what just happened. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was caught across the midsection by a powerful blow that forced the air from his lungs. A pair of powerful arms grabbed him from behind in a viselike grip.
Stunned by the blow, it didn't even occur to him to fight back
"Master right," a deep voice said behind his head. "Master said boy come.”
Nathan had no idea what the voice was talking about. A mixture of curiosity and fear crept into him as he began to comprehend what was happening.
The room was in complete shambles. Shredded parchment littered every horizontal surface. Leather bound tomes peaked through tiny tunnels in the carnage that was their brothers and sisters, hoping that the unknown attackers would overlook them. The fireplace stared at him, a dark gaping maw feeding on his fear. Shreds of cloth floated through the air, the only remnants of the cushioned chairs they once were.
A different voice sounded off to his right. "We sure this right boy?"
"Don't care," the first voice answered. "We kill boy. We please master.”
Fear flared into panic as the voices fell quiet. He was so busy trying to figure out how to free himself that he didn't notice his bag freezing. A bright flash lit the room briefly, and he suddenly found himself falling. He tried to catch himself, but misjudged the distance, finding himself higher than he expected. As he hit the ground, his knees buckled and the momentum threw him forward.
He groped for a weapon, finding the strange blue sword among the frozen items that had once occupied his bag. Grabbing it he turned to face his attacker. He was shocked when he beheld a full-grown ogre, its green skin glistening underneath a th
in sheet of ice. Raising the sword, he prepared to defend himself. The attack never came. The frozen ogre appeared to be unable to move
A loud crash caused him to whirl around. Through a large hole in the wall, he saw another ogre retreating. As it fled, it made a similar hole in the outer wall of the house.
A sense of urgency came over him as he glanced around the room. There would be no finding anything in the disaster left by the two large creatures in, so he moved through the hole into the entrance hall.
A slight glow caught his attention as he entered the room. The light came from a cylindrical object on the floor. As he lifted the object, words flashed across the smooth surface.
Choose your color!
He didn't have time to ponder it as he heard approaching voices.
"It came from the mansion. We need to find out what it doing in there,” This voice was familiar, and belonged to the head of the city militia. Nathan had dodged him several times in his thieving career so far and didn’t want to end that streak. He turned and sprinted back up the stairs, pulling his shirt off as he went. He burst through the door and sprinted back to the window through which he had entered. To his horror, he found that the window was closed, and locked.
The white gargoyle stood on the other side holding the window shut.
As he tugged and pulled against the window pane, he heard the voice of the captain barking orders.
"Thaw that thing out and get it in shackles.”
Nathan smashed the door with his shoulder, shards of glass exploding all over him. Blood flowed from cuts all over his face and arms where the glass struck him. He ran across the balcony and launched himself into the air. His wings were sore and bloody from the falling glass, and they screamed in pain as he pumped them up and down, as he flew away from the mansion.
He landed in a secluded part of the city, not far from the guild hall. He had to get back and tell Garz what happened.
He donned his shirt, wincing in pain as the cloth caught the glass shards embedded in the tender flesh between the feathers. He hurried through the streets, trying to get to the guild as quickly as he could.
He stepped from the shadowy alley into the guild hall and shock hit him. The place had been ransacked. There were books and papers everywhere. In the middle of the room, a dark liquid oozed from under the desk, pooling. Nathan realized he smelled blood and his stomach lurched.
He was too late.
He turned and fled from the guild hall, trying to escape the fear that had been building in him all night.
CHAPTER TWO
Nightshade
“You can run, but you can't hide.” - Assassin's Creed
She breathed in the aroma of the food cooking in the Tavern's kitchen. For several months now she had eaten nothing but the food provided at the medical clinic. This was to be her first meal since leaving the stifling confines of the clinic, and she meant to enjoy it.
The serving wench took her order and bustled off to help another customer. She did not envy the job that the woman had. She had been a serving wench in the past. It was often grueling and usually thankless work. With as much as she hated her current profession, she did not wish to return to waiting tables and dodging the groping hands.
She didn't have to wait very long for her meal. She was pleased to see the mound of mutton surrounded by thick mashed potatoes. This sure beat the fare that Hope had fed her.
She very carefully cut a chunk out of the meat. She purposefully placed the bite in her mouth and chewed slowly.
Oh... this is good. She thought to herself.
She was so intent on her meal that she almost didn't see the man that had taken the seat on the other side of her table.
He was a handsome man with deeply tanned skin. He had black hair and dark eyes. He was dressed in expensive clothing. There was something frightening about his manner, a sort of sadistic cruelty that simmered just beneath the service.
"I am looking for the Nightshade,” He whispered.
The words shocked her. She had only been out of the clinic for a few hours, and nobody knew she was here. Nobody had known she was going to be here.
She quickly regained her composure. "I am she.”
The dark man nodded. "I have needs of your unique services.”
Nightshade silently nodded.
"I need you to track down a young elf. You will need to eliminate him and his human companion.”
"Do you have any idea where I might start looking," She asked?
"You will probably find them near the ruins of Avaleht,” He answered.
She considered the request. Avaleht was the old capital of the elf kingdom. It had been destroyed by dragons twelve years previous. She had been there during the attack, and it had nearly cost her life. In many ways, she wished that it had.
Drawing her thoughts away from the past, she considered the man.
"My normal fee for two plus tracking is…,” She stopped as he dropped a heavy pouch on the table in front of her.
"I believe this should cover your fee and any other expenses that you may incur.”
She hefted the bag. It had to contain at least three times the amount of gold that she was about to ask for.
"You have a deal,” She grabbed the pouch from the table.
Just then the serving wench came over to see how she was doing. In the split second that Nightshade looked at the woman approaching, the man disappeared.
"Oh, wonderful," She said bitterly. "A Mage, just what I need.”
She had done jobs for magic users before. They were generally petty and vindictive if things did not go as planned. She hoped that accepting this job wasn't a mistake.
"How is everything?" the woman asked.
"It is wonderful,” Nightshade answered, tossing a hand full of gold coins on the table. "I would prefer to be left alone for the remainder of my stay.”
The woman greedily snatched the coins off the table. She curtsied quickly and disappeared into the crowded tavern.
"I'll find this young elf after I finish my meal.”
With that, she settled down to enjoy the long-anticipated feast.
CHAPTER THREE
Truth Revealed
“The truth is often far stranger than fiction.” - Shantar Fantis, Dragon Bard
When Nathan awoke the next morning he was lying in his bed. He had no recollection of coming home, and he didn't know how he ended up in his pajamas. A packed travel bag was at the foot of his bed. His knife, short sword, and both of the katanas - the one that had been given to him by his last swords teacher and the one that he had found in the mansion the previous night - were strapped to his weapons belt. He didn't remember retrieving his sword from the guild.
On the table that stood next to his bed was a small pile of bloody glass shards. He had no doubt where they had come from. When he had smashed through the window to flee the mansion the falling glass had embedded itself in his wings. This clue also answered the question of how he had gotten into his pajamas. His mother had dressed him. He felt no embarrassment. His mother ran the medical clinic here in the Human quadrant of the city. She was a professional healer. She was used to seeing people with partial, or no, clothing on.
The dream that he’d been having came back to him, more real this time than it had ever before. He had seen the place where Knoro had been attacked by the shadow monsters. He had been in the old prophet's house. He had a sudden, frightening, idea of what the crystal ball that he had been sent to find was. He had been sent to steal the Sun Fire Orb. He wished he had realized this before going to the house. It would have saved him the bruised ribs and the cut up wings. The dream showed the Orb being taken from the house by the dark elf woman Shalarandra Kaardrannan.
The dreams were very unsettling. They went against everything he knew about the Dark Elves. They were supposedly an evil race, created by Dareth himself. In the dreams, the dark elf was caught and murdered after trying to keep Knoro, a human prophet of the Light Bringer himself, fro
m dying. Why would a follower of the Dark Lords try and keep an enemy alive? It just didn't make any sense.
A sudden knock on the door brought him out of his reverie.
"Nathan, are you awake?" His mother's voice asked.
"Yes,” He answered
"May I come in," She asked?
"Yes."
Zorah opened the door and entered the room. Sitting on the end of the bed she examined him.
"You certainly look better than when you came in last night,” She said with a serious note in her voice.
He gave a half-hearted shrug. He didn't know if he dared speak, the inner turmoil was almost more than he could bear. Every time he looked at either of his Human parents the questions he longed to ask them bubbled to the surface. He knew he wasn't their real son that much was discernible, just by looking at him. He was quite obviously an elf. He longed to know where he came from; who he really was. Every time he had asked this question in the past, they had either changed the subject or simply refused to answer. He didn't know why this time would be different, but he couldn’t keep himself from asking.
"Mom, where am I from. Who am I, really?" He asked nervously.
Zorah smiled sadly. "We always knew this day would come, we just hoped that we would be able to hold on to you a bit longer.”
Nathan opened his mouth to ask another question, but she raised her hand to silence him.
"Twelve years ago," She began. "Jarno and I were on our way to Avaleht, the Elf capital city, to deliver a sword that he had created for the king.” She paused for a moment, a strange look coming over her face. "We went to deliver that sword,” She pointed to the metal katana, the silver dragon etched on its blue blade glimmering in the sunlight coming through the window. "That is the sword that Jarno created for Paron Elloy.”
She shook her head. "I digress,” She closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. When she opened them again, she had a far off look. "When we got to the capital city, we found that it had been destroyed. Many of the buildings were smoldering when we got there. There were bodies strewn all over the streets. Many were burned beyond recognition, others were frozen solid, while others still had horrible expressions of agony etched on their faces. The castle itself had been destroyed.
Master's Mind: The Dagger of Dragon Rose: Book 1 Page 2
