Metal and Magic: A Fantasy Journey

by Steve Windsor

  “I see you are making yourself at home.”

  Davydd whirled around and saw that it was Vannera. She had come in from a different door in the living room, no doubt from another room in the hallway that wrapped around. She wore a white dress that stopped just above her knees and exposed a fair amount of her cleavage. A blue scarf was wrapped around her shoulders. Davydd caught himself staring and then looked away.

  “Hmmm, you are a hunter, a rescuer and a gentleman.” Vannera sat down on one of the couches.

  “Do you know where we are?”

  The princess shook her head. “No. I woke up and found myself in a very strange room. I had a horrible headache as well.”

  It was at that moment that Davydd noticed his headache had subsided, though his nose was still hurting as bad as it did when he woke up. A door behind the oval table Davydd had been eating from, opened and the man they knew as Max, walked in. He turned towards them and flashed a friendly smile.

  “You are both up. Thank goodness. I was beginning to feel bad.”

  “Why is that?” Vannera asked.

  “Well... portal travel takes some getting used to and I subjected the both of you to two of them within a short period of time. You both were unconscious by the time we got here.”

  “And where is here?” Davydd asked impatiently.

  Max shifted his gaze to him and then back to Vannera.

  “I understand you both have questions that demand answers. And you shall have them. You, my lady have been searching for Matilom. I present him to you both.”

  An old man walked into the room through the door Max had just entered from. He wore grey overalls and a black cloak. He had long unkempt hair and a thick long beard. Despite his aged appearance, he walked with a surprising amount of strength and little labor. Matilom took his seat on the third couch facing where Davydd sat. Vannera was seated adjacent to the two men. Max jumped on one of the long seats and sprawled across it lazily.

  “Excuse Max.” Said Matilom chuckling. “He is a free spirited one.”

  He shifted his gaze to Vannera, then to Davydd and then back at Vannera.

  “Alright.” Matilom sat up and leaned forward. “Tell me everything you know. Start from the beginning.” He turned and looked at Davydd once more. “And if you don’t mind young one... listen very carefully.”

  Davydd sighed. “I honestly don’t know why I am here. I think you should let me go. My father could be dead.”

  “You’ll know why you are here soon enough my child. Speak Vannera. You came all this way because you have something to tell me.”

  Vannera took a deep breath and begun.

  “When my father succeeded the last king Rikard Miljorn after his death, he was a good king. He wanted nothing but the best for all of Angweleth, and I grew up knowing I was in a loving and happy home... until my mother died when I was eight. Then my father changed. He became ruthless and unkind to his people. He began to embark on unnecessary war campaigns to expand the kingdom. He stopped taking the advice of his council and made his decisions without much thought as to how it affected his kingdom, his people or their views of him.” Vannera took another deep breath and interlocked her fingers nervously.

  “He grew distant from me as I grew older. But by then I was no longer waiting for his approval, his acceptance or his love. I had a good friend who stood by my side even in my loneliest hours in that castle.”

  “Jaynea...” Max said, sitting up.

  “Yes... She became my closest friend. In that time I grew more resentful of my father and sought to bring about whatever respite I could to my people. I began making yearly voyages to every town of Angweleth that I could visit, since I was sixteen. Jaynea followed me on every one of those trips and my father was not particularly happy that I was spreading ‘his’ wealth across the kingdom. In that time I also noticed strange actions from my father. He would disappear for long periods of time and then return without speaking a word. Soon it was as if he was not even there. I noticed that during his time of absence he always went to the north wing of the castle. I decided to follow him one day, and I observed him open two huge double doors and walk through them. They always closed behind him, but I was able to see figures seated around a table, waiting for him. I was never able to make out their faces as they always covered their features in hoods. I gave into my curiosity and sought to find a way into that room. After a year, I discovered a secret passage that led from the palace gardens to the same room where my father convened in with those beings.”

  “Beings?” Davydd asked.

  “Yes... beings. I thought them to be the members of the council at first but last week, when I snuck into that room to listen in on their meeting, I was pretty sure they weren’t...”

  Matilom rested back on his seat. “Someone knew you were there. What did you learn that made your life forfeit?”

  Vannera looked at everyone in the room and then cleared her throat.

  “They mostly talked about my father’s progress in helping build an army that could take on the might of the other six kingdoms. It felt as though he had no choice. They threatened to destroy Angweleth unless he helped them take over...our world. But apparently the destruction of some artifact is key to their plans.”

  “Artifact?” Davydd looked perplexed. “What artifact and who are these beings?”

  “I don’t know who these beings are... I can tell you they are not human. Their voices seemed to contain a power that envelopes one in evil. It was all I could do not to tremble so much that they would hear me. My father might not be the best of men, but he fears very little and even he seemed to cower in their presence.”

  Vannera looked at Davydd. “The artifact is called...”

  “...The gauntlet of Feona.” Matilom interjected.

  “How do you know this?” Vannera asked.

  Matilom got up and paced around for a bit.

  “Jaynea’s task was to sneak into your Father’s castle as your friend and find the location of the gauntlet. Once she found out the location, she was to escape the castle and report it to me. Only then could we begin our mission. However, it seems she let her feelings get in the way.”

  Matilom turned and looked at Vannera.

  “She sacrificed herself to protect you. She must have seen something special in you to be drawn to you so.”

  Vannera blushed and pushed her hair behind her ears.

  “Well... we were... very close.”

  “Indeed you were. Even till her untimely death. But as close as you were I’m sure you must be tired of running around Angweleth not looking like yourself.”

  Davydd burst out laughing. “I see. I think I know what’s going on now. I was wondering why you were claiming to be the princess Vannera when you looked nothing like her. Then again, I always thought there was something slightly off with the way you looked when I first saved your life. So it is safe to say, the figure and face I gaze upon is that of Jaynea’s.”

  Vannera nodded her head in agreement.

  “Now you know where VaJaynea came from.” She said with a wry smile.

  “I do.” Davydd replied while returning the smile.

  “Still, that must have been some powerful spell to have lasted this long.”

  “It is very powerful indeed.” Matilom concurred.

  “For it is one that would require strong physical contact between the two to have lasted this long.”

  “Physical contact?”

  “Such as a kiss for example.”

  Davydd turned and looked at Vannera in shock. Vannera shrugged and looked away blushing.

  “I was... am young... and curious.” She finally said.

  “Now then.” Matilom said, stepping in front of her. “It is time to make you, you again.”

  Matilom began chanting an incantation as he stretched his arms over her. Midway through the incantation, Vannera closed her eyes and grimaced as like dirt is blown of a dusty table by the wind, Jaynea’s image was blown off of hers.
As Matilom finished the incantation, Vannera’s true image was revealed. She was stunningly beautiful. Her green eyes seemed to accentuate her red hair as it fell across her face, behind her neck and shoulders. Her lips, half parted, were a mid-tone between red and pink and they were lush and full. Her skin seemed to have a glow of its own. Davydd caught himself staring and though he tried, he couldn’t look away. Vannera caught his gaze, smiled and then looked away shyly. Max, who had been sitting up, sprawled back on the long seat and whistled.

  “I always knew Jaynea had great taste.” He said laughing to himself.

  “Indeed.” Said Matilom as he made his way towards the fruit bowl and plucked some grapes. “Your beauty is a sight to behold from afar. It is indeed hypnotizing in person.” He put the grape fruits into a bowl and handed them to her. “Here you go.”

  “How did you know I like these?” Vannera asked, pleasantly surprised.

  “Jaynea talked quite a bit about you. As I’m sure you know; she was very fond of you.”

  “So I’ve been thinking.” Davydd got up suddenly. “You found Matilom and told him what you know.” He said addressing Vannera. He then turned to Matilom. “You probably assume that King Sidion knows where this gauntlet is.” He finally turned to Max. “So why am I still here? Take me back.”

  At that moment, the door opened and a man in blue tunic, black pants, blue boots, blue gloves and a blue hat stepped inside the living room. His clothing apparel was very identical to Max’s with the main difference in the colors and the fact that while Max had two small sheaths for the daggers he carried on either side of his waist, this man had a long sword slung across his back.

  Matilom turned and addressed the man.

  “Well, I see you have returned Leo. Are our fears confirmed?”

  “Yes they are. Ovar’s been captured.”

  Davydd clenched his fists in anger.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have stayed.”

  Matilom walked over to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  “You wanted to find out where you fit into all of this right?”

  Davydd nodded.

  “Well, you will most definitely find out once Ovar is rescued. I haven’t told you anything because it is not my place to, but his. Now then, let us prepare ourselves.”

  Ovar’s head hung low as another drop of blood fell to the floor adding to the pool that had gathered beneath were he sat. 8 of his fingertips had been punctured with spikes. Only his smallest fingers remained untouched, though he knew that wasn’t going to be the case for long. His face was swollen and bruised to the point that he could barely see from either eye. His mid-section felt like it had been turned inside out twice over and his joints were still on fire from being racked. It was very possible he could be put on the rack again.

  “Are you ready to talk? Look at you. Subjecting yourself to this.”

  Ovar slowly raised his head and rolled his eyes.

  “I...have been subjected... to this...”

  “You had a choice. You still have a choice. Tell me who you really are. For some reason, there is no record of an Ovar Tardust before twenty-three years ago. Now why is that?”

  Ovar hung his head low without saying a word. He had to hold out and hope that somehow, Davydd had made it to Matilom. He wouldn’t be broken, even if it meant his death.

  I won’t fail you again Rikard. I won’t.

  Ovar heard the sigh of his interrogator.

  “I didn’t want to do this, but I suppose I have no choice.” He brought out a small but very sharp serrated knife and brandished it in front of Ovar. “For every question that goes unanswered from here on, you lose a fingertip.”

  At that moment, the door opened and Farok entered.

  “We have a carriage approaching the gates.”

  “It probably brings more prisoners to this wretched outpost. Nevertheless, tell the gate guards to find out who it is and then report back to me immediately.”

  Farok nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door. The soldier turned back to Ovar.

  “It seems fate has given you a bit of a respite. If I were you, I would use this time to reconsider your defiance. When I come back, for your sake I hope you would have made the right decision.” With that, the soldier walked out of the room.

  The carriage was a cheap one, drawn by a horse and made of dry wooden frames that were covered in a torn, black ragged cloth with cut out squares in it for makeshift windows. Concealed inside the carriage were Matilom, Davydd and Leo. Max sat outside and steered the horse. “So, how do you plan to rescue my father from an outpost populated with fifty guards or so?”

  “Wits my friend.” Replied Leo. “Wits and a lot of luck.”

  “This must be awkward for you Leo, but you know what you must do.” Matilom couldn’t help but smile mischievously as he lowered his head.

  Leo sighed. “Sam should still be in position. Don’t tell him about this. He’ll die laughing.”

  “Tell him what?” Asked Davydd as Matilom burst into loud laughter.

  “I’m sorry my friend.” Said Leo. Davydd looked at him inquisitively. Suddenly, Leo lashed out and landed a right-handed punch square on Davydd’s cheek.

  “You bastard!” Davydd yelled as he returned the favor, landing a punch square in the middle of Leo’s forehead. Davydd pulled his hand back for another punch but Leo caught it.

  “That’ll do.” He said laughing.

  “What was that for?!”

  “Strong physical contact.” Matilom replied still chuckling.

  The chariot approached the large steel gates of Gor’s military outpost and slowed to a stop. Max stepped off the carriage horse and made his way towards the gate. Almost instantly, there was a whooshing sound and a man was suddenly walking beside Max. Max turned around and saw a thick trail of dust behind him. He turned and looked at the man walking beside him. He had dirty blonde hair hidden underneath his red hat, a light layer of beard that covered most of his lower jaw and the sides of his face, and light aqua blue eyes. He wore a red tunic and black pants with red boots and gloves and carried a sword with a sheath hung low on the left side of his waist in traditional fashion.

  “Show off.” Max said smiling as he looked back at the settling trail of dust.

  “I was a bit far away you know.” Sam said returning the smile.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Leo goes in and we make sure he comes out with Ovar alive.”

  “Ah a three man job as usual.”

  “Four man job.” Max corrected.

  “Of course. Davydd. How is he dealing with all of this?”

  “He still has questions. Time will tell.”

  As they got up to the gate, a small viewing window in right side of the gate opened up and a face underneath a helmet looked through.

  “What do you want?” He asked in the most unpleasant manner he possibly could.

  “We caught someone sneaking back into their house this morning right before curfew was lifted, so we apprehended him and came here. Maybe he has valuable information concerning the princess’s murder.”

  The viewing window slid shut for a few minutes, and then opened back up.

  “Bring him in. We’ll open up when he arrives at the gate.”

  Sam put two of his fingers between his lips and whistled. Leo and Davydd came out of the carriage, with Davydd’s hands bound together behind his back by a strong rope. Leo kept shoving Davydd ahead. When they both got to the gate, Max knocked on it one more time. The viewing window slid open again and the same unfriendly face was seen peering at all four men outside. The viewing window slid shut and a few seconds later, the gates slowly swung inwards, opening up. Just behind the gate on either side, were two concrete watchtowers, accessible by a long ladder that went all the way to the guarded room at the top through an access hole at the bottom of the room. Each watchtower had four windows on either side. The entire outpost compound was square shaped and hidden behind high reaching st
onewalls. There were three main buildings in the compound. The largest building was the furthest away from the gate. It had one upper level and was used to carry out official matters such as trials and sentencing. It was also where the Overseer stayed, as well as high-ranking military officials when they passed through Gor. The other two buildings were on either side of the largest one and at 90-degree angles to it. The one to the left was used to house the soldiers living at the outpost, while the one on the right was used to house prisoners. It was midday and as such, most of the soldiers were out patrolling the streets of Gor, leaving the outpost less protected. As Davydd walked through, he was escorted by one of the soldiers in the compound, while two others including the one who had answered the gate, blocked the path of Max, Sam and Leo. They waited till Davydd had been escorted into the administrative building and then spoke.