“Honesty. A trait that Crein did not possess.”
“Crein and I disagreed on several points. He wanted power for himself. I am loyal to the interests of the Order.” Alban scowled darkly as he recalled a few of these points.
“So he made up that piece about not approaching me until after my hundred and fiftieth birthday?”
“Not entirely. It is a number spoken of in the tomes as the final cleaver between elf and human. I presume it means that if you live to that age, then you are an elf.”
“If you disagreed with Crein on this point, why then didn’t you try making me your leader years ago?” Alban looked uncomfortable briefly.
“You aren’t the only descendant of Yer’entho on Den’dra. There were others that we were watching.”
“Crein mentioned that I have siblings, but he never elaborated. Exactly how many others are there?” Reigns suspected from Alban’s smirk that he knew of Reigns’ own attempts at finding his siblings.
“There were more than a dozen at first. Most lived normal human lives and died at ripe ages. A few even lived to their mid hundreds before dying. After Yer’entho died, there was a couple that showed great promise. One was even initiated into the Shadow Order before Yer’entho’s death, but she betrayed us when he died. She would have continued in his footsteps if she hadn’t disappeared. The other was a young girl sired only a year before the Asgare killed Yer’entho. She was rather promising except for that she was lost before we could collect her.”
“Lost?”
“Dead most likely. The erin valker we sent to collect her was killed in a battle with some bandits. We never found any trace of the girl.”
“That reminds me, Crein was a scanner wasn’t he?”
“You are perceptive.”
“So are you also Gifted?”
“As I said, you are very perceptive. Being Gifted is a requirement for recruitment into the Shadow Order. My Gift has been crucial to our recent growth over the last few years. I can sense if someone is Gifted and how powerfully endowed they are.”
“I suppose you want me to stop hunting the Gifted.”
“Only those that bear the mark of the shadow.” Alban pulled down his shirt to expose a shoulder where a black tattoo of the serpent medallion that Reigns wore around his neck was visible.
“That is a difficult mark to see from the other end of a crossbow.”
“There is always the black robes we wear.” Reigns had to admit that the robes were recognizable, but he knew that Alban himself didn’t always wear them.
“If they are wearing them.”
“True. If you will tell your elite squads to leave us alone then our active agents will wear the robes. The rest will surrender if challenged, but will also expect to be released after showing the mark.”
“Fair enough. I will tell my men to leave my special agents alone.”
“If that is what you must tell them, but bear in mind that they answer to me until you are initiated.”
“When might I be initiated?” Reigns inquired. It would save a lot of middlemen if he had the Shadow Order reporting directly to himself.
“When the time is right.”
“You are no better than Crein.”
“Crein had no intention of initiating you. I differ from him in that I will initiate you when you have proven worthy of ascending to Yer’entho’s legacy. No sooner.”
“How then do I prove myself worthy?” Reigns disdainfully inquired.
“I would consider you worthy if you were able to consolidate your hold on power in the Braebach. Your position is somewhat unstable now that your fake princess is gone. How do you plan to repair that little problem of illegitimately ruling in the absence of real royalty? House Safrym would have been the first in line to the throne.”
“House Safrym is dead. As you probably know, everyone thinks that the princess is inside the castle recovering from injuries sustained by the attacking rebels. I am going to marry her to the heir to house Loneka. It wouldn’t be hard to fool the people into thinking that the figure bedecked with jewels and veils is the actual princess during the public parts of the ceremony. If she were to say, take a turn for the worse and die from her injuries after the wedding had been consummated, then I would have a Loneka puppet on the throne. No one would dare question him and I will continue to rule through him. Problem solved.”
“A nice plan on parchment, but what happens if it doesn’t work? What if the Loneka heir is headstrong?”
“I can always threaten him with the fact that he married nothing but thin air.”
“That is a dagger that cuts both ways. He could easily threaten you with the same.”
“I would make sure that he knows that he could try, but that he would never live to see me fall.”
“Fear and power. Good tools for controlling a person. What if he develops morals? Such people have been known to die fighting for what they believe is right.”
“If the lad is anything like his father, he will not be having any qualms. His father is a double faced liar who will always eat from the hand that feeds him best. He knows that if this farce of a marriage is carried out, then his son will sit the throne. He also knows that the same action will burn all other available options. He has no choice except to play the part or he will lose everything. As long as Estavo lives, I will have no problems with his son.”
“I see you have placed much thought into this plan.”
“Of course I have. Having that girl kidnapped was a setback, but I am dealing with it.” Reigns snapped as he detected a hint of skepticism in Alban’s voice.
“Be that as it is, I should tell you that I sensed power in the Outlands. Only a few of our agents are out there so it must be the Princess’ doing. I believe that it is several people rather than just one.”
“Humph. What makes you think it has to be the Princess’ doing?”
“She is Gifted. I touched her once in the gardens when she was younger. It was like a bolt of lightning. She probably didn’t even know that she was Gifted at that point.”
“That would have been good to know. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“How was I supposed to? I couldn’t just walk up and tell you that the Princess was Gifted and that I knew because I was also Gifted. I could have saved myself some trouble and just thrown myself off the castle walls.”
“Fair point; however, concealing information from me is what got Crein killed. I knew that using a scanner to find the Asgare was dangerous. He already killed my scanner from half the Braebach away.”
“So the Asgare is Gifted. That would explain how he escaped from us so many times. That and killed so many of our people. That must have been the time you sent half the army into the Draeld. We lost several good people in there.”
“Don’t tell me that you believe in malevolent spirits of the dead.”
“Revenants is what the locals call them. No I don’t, but there is something in the swamps with detectable power. It has killed everyone that we sent in to find it.”
“Interesting… You mentioned that Em’risi is Gifted. Have you any idea what her Gift is?”
“No. I couldn’t sense her beyond that one time. If I hadn’t felt the intensity of her energy, I would almost say that her gift is very weak. The Asgare though is problematic. I have never sensed him either so I would guess that he isn’t terribly powerful.”
“You have admitted that it is possible that you might not sense some people.”
“True, but it is rare. The Princess is the only one that I have ever met that had no trace of energy unless you were touching her.”
“But there could be more?”
“Naturally, but like I said, it is rare. I have come into contact with a lot of people and it was only that one time with the Princess.”
“Hmm. Well, if what you say is true about Em’risi using Gifted soldiers, then I will need as many Shadow Order agents as possible to counter her.”
“There are already a cou
ple dozen on their way as we speak.”
“A couple dozen at a moment’s notice?”
“There are hundreds of us. Most of the ones that I sent are elementalist or mind warpers. There is a glimmer and erin valker in there as well.”
“So what else can you tell me?” Reigns leaned back in his chair and clasp his fingers behind his head.
“There is a couple things. Crein confided that the Asgare calls himself the last son of Safrym.”
“Does this trouble you?” Reigns could see from the irritation that flashed across Alban’s face that it was considered troubling. It also seemed that Alban thought Reigns should consider it troubling.
“It does. There is a prophecy that says house Safrym will be instrumental in the return of the Dragon Lords. We intended to make sure there were none left to be involved, but it would seem we missed a couple. It also explains why the Asgare has been hunting the Shadow Order so insistently.”
“Em’risi is a descendant of house Safrym.”
“Yes. She was the other one we missed. Now it would seem that what we intended to stop was brought to reality. We have information that puts the two of them working together in the Outlands.”
“That isn’t new information.”
“The part where the Asgare is the Princess’ uncle is new to you.”
“You do have a knack for pointing out insignificant details.”
“Insignificant to some. It explains why the Asgare is acting in Em’risi’s interests and you probably won’t be able to scare him off.”
“So what you are saying is that I should just be rid of him once and for all?”
“It would make things easier; however, it hardly raises hopes considering how many times you have tried. We, on the other hand, haven’t had any better luck ourselves.”
“Crein told me that he wanted to help me catch the Asgare because he had a soul forged weapon and that those weapons are involved in the return of the Dragon Lords.”
“That would be true. If you look at it, then it would make sense that we don’t want a Safrym, who is prophesied to be involved with the returning Dragon Lords, having the sword that belongs to the Dragon Lord that made these new Dragon Lords. It isn’t that complicated.”
“I, for one, had not realized it was quite that complicated. It still doesn't change the fact that I want that sword.”
“As you should. The dwarves were masters of their craft in addition to the fact that we still don’t know how those weapons are connected to the new Dragon Lords. You have some that would be interesting to examine to see if I could figure out what the connection is.” Reigns narrowed his eyes and examined the man before him. The soul forged weapons were among his most valuable acquisitions and the location of the secret vault where they were stored was known only to him. On the other hand was the fact that beings described in the histories as incredibly powerful might be working with the rebels. Any help in stopping that collaboration might be useful.
“Fine. Follow me.” Reigns led the way through the castle making sure to take a few extraneous turns along the way. Once he reached the lower levels, he insisted that Alban put a sack over his head. From there it was only a few minutes before they were standing in the weapons vault.
“Incredible. Nine of the fable blades. Can I touch them?”
“Your fascination with the weapons that belonged to your enemies is disturbing.”
“You have to admire them. The dwarves managed to imbue weapons with energy. These weapons amplify the powers of the people wielding them. Even now, I can sense them faintly like they are living. It would be incredible if we could figure out the methods they used. There has to be more ways to do that than with the thirteen shards.”
“Thirteen? There are only twelve weapons.”
“There are. There were also only twelve Dragon Lords. The last shard disappeared when the dwarves went underground.”
“They didn’t all die off in the curse?” Reigns regretted his comment when Alban gave him one of those should have known better grimaces.
“That is a big lie that they made sure everyone was hearing before they disappeared. No, our telepaths have sensed them below the Garoche Mountains so we know that they are still around.” Alban stepped to the wall and began inspecting the weapons. He only paused for a moment at each until he got to the mace. Reigns nearly stopped him when Alban lifted it down off the wall.
“Be careful. There is only one in existence like that mace.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. There could well be two like this. See how the patterns are beaten into these weapons. It makes for a stronger metal than engraving, not that these metals could be stronger. It is more the signature of a master weapon smith than trying to increase the quality of the forging. For some reason, when the shards are combined with this specific alloy, it retains its flexibility, but becomes incredibly hard. No one has ever been able to repeat the same alloy.”
“What does this have to do with this mace?”
“Well, I think this is copied. See how the bottom if this engraving is sharp. Beaten engravings have rounded bottoms. The dwarf that made all these weapons would never have carved an engraving into his work.”
“The edges look like all the others.”
“Indeed. It appears that the forger was skilled in his own way. I think he beat the metal with some sort of softer metal to work the sharp edges of the engravings back down. It is almost undetectable if you don’t have the light just right.”
“So there is another soul forged weapon out there? I found this one in the tomb of Stone Walker. Why would he have a fake weapon in his tomb?” Reigns rubbed his brow thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. This is unsettling. We had no idea that there was a missing weapon.”
“What do you intend to do with this information and how do the others look? Any more forgeries?” Reigns clenched and unclenched his fist unconsciously.
“The others look authentic. I will put people to work on tracking the missing one.”
“I think we have discovered enough about my soul forgings for today.” Alban looked disappointed, but he didn’t complain as Reigns ordered him to put the bag back over his head. It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that they arrived back in his study. Alban had just settled into the chair opposite Reigns’ seat when a messenger hesitantly knocked on the door. After Reigns had admitted the messenger, he demanded to know what the message was.
“Two of your elite squads were on a mission to eliminate a dangerous target. They were caught under the individual’s influence. When they escaped, they encountered a group of people leaving the area. After they gave chase, they were attacked by two individuals.” Reigns interrupted with a derisive snort.
“Ha, next you are going to say that they were attacked by a couple kids.” Reigns rolled his eyes dramatically.
“My lord, they were not children. They were both at least in their mid to late-teens.”
“My best men were attacked by a couple youth… As interesting as that sounds, I know the rest. They were quickly dispatched. Tell me about the rest of the group they were chasing.”
“They were able to capture the two, but they didn’t have a chance to pick up the chase again before the trail got cold.”
“How long does it take to capture two teen aged kids?”
“I'm sorry my lord, the two called themselves Dragon Lords. They were really strong, especially the blond blue eyed one.”
“Dragon Lords? Why didn’t you say so sooner! They were captured right? Where are they being held?”
“In Firgrest’s castle dungeons. There is more my lord.”
“What more might I want to hear?”
“House head of Loneka, Estavo is dead. His son and heir is missing.” This information gave Reigns pause until Alban laughed.
“That is one way to destroy a set of well laid plans. This sounds to me to be the work of the Asgare.”
“I must leave.” The messenger chose that moment to bo
w and escape from the room as Reigns glared at Alban.
“No one except for you knew of my plans. Other than Estavo. Even that brat Oscarion had no clue.”
“It couldn’t have been coincidence that all the people in Loneka were sleeping when a small party of people walked into the Loneka manor and walked out with Oscarion right as your plans were coming together.”
“The messenger never said that. What haven’t you told me?”
“My men were there. Your men wouldn’t have captured these two without our help.”
“I am beginning to suspect that you aren’t any better than Crein.”
“Crein was a liar. I haven’t lied to you. I knew that the messenger was on his way so I wanted to get acquainted with you before you go to Firgrest.”
“I think that omissions are close to the magnitude of lying.”
“All you have to do is ask. I would have told you about the Dragon Lords being captured, had you asked.”
“Why would I have asked you that? Never mind. I like you for some reason. Don’t ruin it. It often ends badly for people that forget their place.”
“Of course my lord.”
“Humph. I want to keep an eye on you so you will be coming with me.” Alban merely nodded in acquiescence. Reigns was deep in thought as he gave the orders to ready his carriage. It felt good to finally have the pesky Dragon Lord in his dungeon. Reigns had been hunting him for too long. The messenger had described the one as blond with blue eyes. Reigns could call up a perfect image of a lad matching the same description, only then it had been when the false princess had been stolen. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it couldn’t be real. There had to be some cruel trick waiting to reveal itself.
“How did your meeting go my lord?” Alban mounted the horse without taking the offered assistance.
Chronicles of Den'dra: A land on Fire Page 28
