The King's Ring (The Netherworld Gate Book 2)

by Sam Ferguson

  “Kelden,” Tehrigg spoke with sneering lips and twinkling eyes. “I was tired of being a lap dog. I deserved more. I worked to make Zinferth safe and free, but you know what Dalynn wanted? She wanted peace! She wanted negotiations! You can’t negotiate with your enemies. You have to crush them. The queen is the real traitor! If she had let me do my job, I could have secured the borders, and Zinferth would have risen to great power.”

  Kelden had heard enough. He moved in. Tehrigg steeled his gaze and squared off against Kelden. The two began their deadly dance, striking and parrying gracefully as they moved about the room. The clash of their swords rang out into the night. Kelden came down with a left to right horizontal chop. Tehrigg blocked it and then lunged forward with a quick thrust. Kelden turned to the side and countered with a slicing motion. Tehrigg jerked his upper body back and brought his blade up in time to stop Kelden’s.

  The general then lashed out with a kick. Kelden leapt back, clear of the general, but realized too late that it was a feint. Tehrigg pulled a mini crossbow out in his left hand and fired twin bolts. Kelden dove to the side, crashing over a small table to land on the floor along with a heap of books. He barely had time to roll over before Tehrigg was above him, bearing down with a mighty thrust of his sword.

  Kelden rolled away and came up with a book in his left hand and his sword in his right. He flipped the book at Tehrigg’s face. The large general didn’t flinch. He let the book hit him in the left side of the face as he rushed in. The two collided, their swords crossed and bit into each other between the two men as Tehrigg pushed Kelden to the window. Kelden felt the window sill bite into his lower back as Tehrigg leaned in.

  The traitor grinned, displaying his square, white teeth as he pressed the blades closer to Kelden. “I expected more,” he snarled.

  Kelden tried to roll up with his left elbow, but Tehrigg pushed down harder, stopping Kelden entirely. Pain shot through Kelden’s spine as his back was arched farther out the window. Kelden didn’t give in, he came up hard with his right knee into Tehrigg’s groin. It didn’t double the man over, but the traitor did flinch enough that he let up a bit and took a step back.

  Kelden came in hard, pushing with all of his strength. The swords scraped and squealed as the blades slid across each other. Then Kelden launched a left knee to Tehrigg’s gut, immediately followed by stomping his left foot down atop Tehrigg’s right foot. Kelden felt the bone in Tehrigg’s foot snap and give way as his foot drove downward. Tehrigg yelled in pain. Kelden then came down with the pommel of his sword on Tehrigg’s left temple. The traitor’s head whipped out to the side, exposing his neck. Kelden lifted his blade up as Tehrigg slumped to the ground, with his neck still unprotected. The warrior then brought the blade down and severed the blaggard’s head from his body.

  A moment later there were shouts and alarm bells ringing outside. Kelden turned to see a fire starting on one of the nearby buildings. Orange flames rose up into the early dawn sky. Men filled the streets. Some were Shausmatians by the looks of their uniforms, others were normal, ordinary folk in underwear or plain clothes, chasing down the invaders with stones and clubs.

  Kelden felt terror grip his heart for a moment, but then he saw the groups of released prisoners filtering through the streets. They were well equipped and calling out for loyal citizens to retake their city. Kelden knew they were the released prisoners. The plan had worked.

  A sudden thumping from the hall called Kelden’s attention. He raised his sword and prepared for battle.

  A moment later, two dwarves rushed in through the open doorway. Redbeard’s beard was matted down with crimson blood, and Pinhead looked crazed as his eyes darted about the library.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Pinhead groused at Kelden. “If the traitor is dead then let’s move on!”

  Kelden nodded and joined with them. “The other guards in the manor?” Kelden asked as they entered the hall. Redbeard pointed down the hall and Kelden looked to see a group of loyal Zinferth soldiers storming the manor.

  “The main floor is clear!” one of the soldiers shouted.

  “We ain’t out of the quagmire yet,” Redbeard shouted. “But we’re close!”

  “What about Sorbiy and Garret?” Kelden asked.

  “Barracks is on fire, and officer’s quarters are clear,” Redbeard replied as he rushed across the hall and kicked in a closed door. He and Pinhead jumped inside, hooting and hollering. Kelden stood still as a bunch of soldiers ran past him and stormed into the other closed doors in the hall.

  “Clear!” Redbeard shouted.

  “No one here!” a soldier called from another room.

  A similar call came from each of the other rooms until finally Redbeard came back into the hall and shouted, “The house is clear boys, hoist the flag!”

  A deafening chorus of shouts and cheers went up in the manor.

  Kelden looked to Redbeard and the dwarf snorted and adjusted the grip on his weapon.

  “To the streets?” Kelden asked.

  Redbeard and Pinhead smiled.

  “Thought you’d never ask!” Redbeard said.

  Pinhead stepped in and poked Kelden in the stomach. “When this is over, I want two jugs of rum!”

  CHAPTER 18

  Jaleal pressed the wooden door open and smiled when he saw Phinean was awake on the bed.

  “You gave me quite the scare,” Jaleal said.

  “Where are we?” Phinean asked.

  Jaleal closed the door behind him and moved to sit on the foot of the long bed. “We are in the Silver Cup Inn, in Tantine.”

  “Tantine,” Phinean repeated as he sighed and pushed himself up to sit against the headboard. “How long was I out?”

  “A few days,” Jaleal said. “I managed to bring you to Tantine, like you asked.”

  “I did?” Phinean asked as he arched a brow.

  Jaleal chuckled and pointed to Phinean’s hip. “You took a nasty shot to your hip, and you lost a lot of blood. You were in and out of consciousness for a while.”

  Phinean nodded. “I remember the fight.”

  “You saved my life,” Jaleal said.

  Phinean smiled and looked around the modest room. “It appears you saved mine in return,” Phinean said. “Did I tell you why we were coming here?”

  Jaleal nodded. “You told me the last relic was in the Sierri’Tai castle, but that the assassin would have to come back through here on his way to the gate.”

  “Did I tell you where the gate was?” Phinean asked pointedly.

  “You were going to,” Jaleal replied. “But you fainted just before you could tell me. All you said was that it was in the east.”

  “Ah, quite right,” Phinean said as he nodded. He lifted up the thin, blue blanket and looked underneath. “Well, now, that is not a pretty sight,” he said as he put the blanket back down. “Doesn’t look like I will be joining the final battle.”

  Jaleal rose to his feet and moved close to pat Phinean’s foot. “I’ll finish it this time,” he promised. Jaleal held his hand out and displayed his mithril spear. “I won’t miss this time.”

  Phinean nodded. “It’s a shame really,” he said as he looked off to some distant point. “Jahre was so convinced that the Goresym would save him.”

  “No time for that now,” Jaleal said.

  Phinean pursed his lips.

  Jaleal moved to lift the blanket and inspect Phinean’s bandage. “It has bled through again,” I’ll need to wash it.”

  Phinean nodded absently, still staring off toward the wall.

  Jaleal set the blanket down and left the room, setting his spear down against the wall just before exiting. He closed the door and made his way down the hall. His little feet thumped along the hardwood floor. He could hear laughing and music coming from the main hall below. The mixed odors of pipes, food, and perfumes wafted up the stairs and filled the hall.

  A pair of elves came into view, laughing and smiling as they slipped a key into a door’s lock
on the left side of the hall and then entered the room. Jaleal caught a glimpse of the female elf wrapping her arms up and around the male elf’s neck as they began to kiss just before the male elf kicked the door closed with his foot.

  The warrior gnome smiled to himself and continued down the stairs to the main hall. He rounded the corner at the middle of the flight of stairs and turned to survey the area. This inn was nothing like the place in Bluewater. A pianist and fiddler played jovial music up on a small stage while a pair of elves juggled swords and spit fire. There were eleven tables in the hall, each with six elves seated around them. There was a small area for dancing near the stage, but no one was using it. There was a card game being played at one of the tables.

  Jaleal lost his vantage point as he finished descending the stairs due to his diminutive stature. The tall elves walked all around him. Some carried food, others held drink, and some just stood in groups wherever there was space.

  The gnome made his way around the long bar and stood in the opening at the end. He had learned the hard way before that he would never be noticed if he waited in front of the bar. He waited patiently for the silver haired elf to serve drinks to patrons at the bar. She moved swiftly, nimbly sliding glasses down the bar while she took orders from others. She performed several tasks at once, filling drinks, listening to patrons, and calling out the prices of drinks already poured and served without missing a beat. On top of this, she also called out food orders to the kitchen, which was located in a galley behind the wall and had a small window opening where this elf could pass food to the servers or directly to the patrons.

  Jaleal didn’t mind waiting for Miriel to finish. He knew that Phinean was beyond the worst of it now, and could wait a few moments to have his dressing changed. Besides, Jaleal liked to watch her. He wasn’t infatuated with her, though she was beautiful, but he was fascinated by her movements. It might have seemed mundane to some to watch a barkeep serve drinks and food, but to him it was almost refreshing. Having seen so much violence lately, it was nice to simply spectate as people went along with their daily routines.

  After a few moments, Miriel did notice him. She smiled and held a finger up in the air. Jaleal returned the smile. This was the other reason he had been willing to wait for her to serve the others. While she might have worked her duties simultaneously with the normal patrons, she would drop everything for Jaleal and concentrate solely on what he needed at the moment. She had done that since the night he had arrived carrying Phinean over his shoulder.

  Miriel wiped her hands on a towel and left the bar, ignoring patrons as they called out for her attention. She approached Jaleal and knelt down so her eyes were closer to his. “Is it time again?” she asked.

  Jaleal nodded. “Sorry, but I am afraid he needs a change.”

  Miriel smiled and rose to her feet, disappearing through a doorway to the kitchen. She emerged a moment later with a brown leather satchel hanging from her shoulder and a large, cast iron bowl of steaming water. Jaleal followed her up the stairs and then rushed ahead of her to open the door to the room.

  “This is Miriel,” Jaleal called out to Phinean.

  There was no answer.

  Jaleal turned his head around to see Phinean and discovered that he had fallen asleep. His head and neck were slumped to the left and he was snoring something awful. Jaleal waited for Miriel to pass through the doorway and then he closed the door and moved to straighten Phinean’s neck.

  “He was awake?” Miriel asked as she placed her supplies on the bed.

  Jaleal nodded. “He was awake and talking.” The younger gnome pulled the blanket back and away from Phinean.

  “Is he in a deep sleep again?” Miriel asked.

  Jaleal reached out and poked Phinean’s cheek. When that elicited no response, he moved his hand down and tugged on the bandage. Phinean didn’t even stir. He kept right on snoring. Jaleal looked up to Miriel and nodded. “He’s out.”

  Miriel nodded and pulled a clean cloth from her satchel. “Good. I would hate to have him wake in the middle of the cleaning.” She dunked the cloth into the water and kneaded it like dough until the cloth was thoroughly wet. Then she reached over to the bandage and unwrapped the outer layer of gauze. She discarded the old gauze onto the floor and then went to work pulling at the edges of the square patch of gauze that was directly over the wound. Dried blood and bits of sticky flesh clung to the material, unwilling to let it go. Miriel cupped her left hand and gathered a bit of water in her palm. She poured the water out over the bandage and then pulled at the wet corner. The bandage still pulled at the skin.

  The elf turned and used both hands to scoop more water onto the bandage. This time, the whole bandage was drenched. Afterward, Miriel pulled at the corner again. For the first couple of seconds, the bandage pulled at the skin, but then it came loose in one fell swoop.

  Miriel took the cloth and washed the dried blood and yellowish green ooze away from the large stab wound. She pulled a crimson colored hunk of material from inside the wound and inspected it. It was hard to see it now, but the mass in her fingers was a poultice that she had made to fight off infection.

  “Is it time to sew it up yet?” Jaleal asked as he looked into the deep hole.

  Miriel shook her head. “His body is mending fine. I see evidence of body glue on the poultice. Look here.” Miriel turned the poultice over and pointed to a sticky, thick yellowish residue on the bottom of the poultice.

  “Body glue?” Jaleal asked. He was familiar with a lot of terms, but that was not one he had heard before.

  “It is a substance the body makes to repair wounds. If I set the next poultice a little shallower in the stab wound, then the body will begin to close the wound from the inside. This will be better than sutures. His body can heal from the inside out, but I will be able to prevent infection. If I were to sew it up, an abscess might grow inside, and then he would be in far worse shape than he is now.”

  Jaleal nodded. “How much longer will it take?” he asked.

  Miriel shrugged. “Weeks, I imagine.”

  “I don’t have weeks,” Jaleal said under his breath.

  Miriel stopped and looked to him. “What is the matter?” she asked.

  Jaleal wrinkled his nose and tugged at his beard with his left hand. “Listen, there is something I need to do. Could you watch him for me?”

  Miriel knitted her brow and tilted her head to the side.

  Jaleal shrugged. “I can pay you for it, but there is some business I need to attend to. I will come back for him when I can.”

  Miriel nodded. “Alright,” she said as she looked back to Phinean. “I will watch over him until you return.

  Jaleal thanked her and then stepped close to Phinean. He pulled the Goresym from his pocket and set it on the dresser next to the bed.

  “What is that?” Miriel asked.

  “He’ll know what it is,” Jaleal said. “If he wakes, tell him I went to finish it.”

  Miriel looked to him curiously. All at once she narrowed her sky blue eyes on the gnome. “You are hunting that murderer everyone has been talking about, aren’t you?”

  Jaleal froze. He wasn’t sure what to say.

  Miriel cast a glance back to the spear. “I know you are a warrior. I can tell by your weapon. It isn’t everyday someone carries a mithril spear in Tantine.” She turned back to Jaleal expectantly.

  “Just, keep him safe until I return.”

  Miriel nodded. “Fortune’s blessings upon you,” Miriel said.

  Jaleal bowed his head and then turned to leave the room. He held his hand out and his spear flew over to him. He exited and shut the door behind him, pausing for a moment and taking in a deep breath before heading down the hall and out to patrol Tantine. This time, he was going to be ready when the assassin showed himself.

  CHAPTER 19

  “Are we ready to leave?” Kai asked. He sat atop a pile of logs with a wineskin in his hand and a very bored look on his face.

  “Elf w
ays are not the same as those of the human,” Garfule replied with a shrug.

  “If you mean you are slow as an old lady in a tar pit, then I would have to agree.” Kai put the wineskin to his lips and took a long pull on the liquid inside.

  “That is not what I meant,” Garfule replied.

  “My companion is right,” Seldaric interjected. “We need to be on our way. Liloriel is already far ahead of us, and the assassin has several days lead on us. If we don’t hurry to Tantine, we may not catch him.”

  Garfule nodded. “It took some time to convince the council of the merits of our plan.”

  “I thought the council offered to supply a team?” Kasi asked.

  Garfule shook his head. “Fillion offered to supply his troops, but those are not elves I would want in this fight. So, I had to convince them to let me choose my own people. After that, I had to make arrangements for my soldiers. We will make Tantine in less than two days’ time. Besides, you should have more faith in Priestess Liloriel. If she meets the criminal, I would wager that she will defeat him.”

  Garfule pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and held it up. It was small, with a red circle over the front. “This is a writ of execution. It is a sign that the High Council of Selemet has given us official sanction to carry out our mission.”

  Seldaric took the paper and inspected it. “This would explain why it took so long.”

  Garfule nodded and took the writ back. “I had to have unanimous agreement from the council.”

  “How did you get Fillion to agree?” Kai asked.

  Garfule placed the writ of execution back into his pocket and folded his arms. “Councilor Fillion is no longer on the council. He has resigned, and has been replaced with another.”

  Kai whistled through his teeth and hopped down from the log pile. “So, when do we leave?”

  At that moment, two more elves emerged from the council hall and came to stand behind Garfule.

  “This is Wendel Barrit,” Garfule said pointing to the elf closest to his left. “He is an excellent scout and archer. He will be our forward eyes on the expedition and he will also be in charge of our meals. The other one is Lendorian Flendavre. He is one of my lieutenants. An excellent hand with a blade, and he is trained in the healing arts. They are both sworn to house Ba’flaeur.”