Eberon's Sword

by Rick Brown

  “You do have a way with words, my friend,” Farloc stated with a very Brianna-like eye roll.

  “Aye, and I have some dandy pub songs I’ll sing for ya iffin’ we ever get some ale,” Orlik cheerfully replied.

  After reviewing the officer’s quarters, we continued down the street towards the palace, or what was left of it. Walking the grounds, it was plain to see it was a grand structure, one that the Dommerian’s made special effort to destroy. The white stones that once comprised the palace walls now littered the ground. I walked up the palace stairs, carefully stepping over loose pavers.

  I felt a sense of familiarity as I walked into the palace. The marble floors looked as they did in the dream with Alynon so long ago. Abigail appeared beside me, taking my hand.

  “This must be hard for you, seeing your palace in ruins,” she stated as she squeezed my hand.

  I gave her a smile. “Actually, I feel like I’ve come home. It may look bad, but I knew that already, thanks to Alynon. This… This is where we start. The materials are already here to rebuild.” To emphasize the point, I magically lifted two stones, placing them back into the wall. “We will just need a workforce to do it.”

  “And money,” Abigail reminded.

  “Just the small task of fighting a dragon will fix that,” I said with a laugh.

  We wove our way through what remained of the palace, peaking into rooms here and there as we walked. Finally, we found the throne room. It was unchanged in its appearance since my visit in the dream. Plaster on the walls was now just dust on the floor, only hints of color remained of the beautiful murals that once covered the walls. The throne’s dais now empty. The golden throne probably melted down for Dommeran’s coffers. I described the beauty of the room to Abigail as we walked around.

  “Can you use your magic to rebuild the murals?” She asked when I was done.

  I shrugged, “Maybe, but I don’t really want to. Some things are best done by man. Besides, we will have all new heroes when this is done. There will be new histories to record.”

  “Father Pild and Ryan have been busy journaling everything we’ve done. I have to admit, I like reading it more than living it. I get shivers just thinking about those trolls.”

  “I know what you mean, I feel claustrophobic remembering those caves,” I agreed.

  “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with them caves, Lad,” Orlik argued as he walked into the room, followed by Barad, Ryan, and Farloc.

  “Lee! This place is amazing,” Ryan piped in gleefully. “It’s even better than I imagined.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way. It’s that kind of spirit we’ll need to rebuild this place,” I said with a smile.

  “So which room is mine?” Barad asked.

  “Whichever one Bri picks out,” Abi answered.

  “What? Don’t I get a say?” Barad asked in mock offense.

  “No, you don’t,” Brianna stated as she and Lenux entered the room.

  “Well, where have y’all been,” Barad asked.

  “Looking for a tavern. Can you believe a city this size and there are no taverns open?” Lenux joked.

  “Maybe that’s what I’ll do,” Orlik said with a grin. “I’ll open a tavern here in Ealinhart.”

  “You can call it ‘The Angry Dwarf’,” Barad kidded, but Orlik looked intrigued. “Aye, and why not? The Angry Dwarf indeed!”

  “And I’ll be your first customer!” Barad announced.

  “And your last one every night,” Brianna said, shaking her head.

  “Anything to help a friend,” Barad agreed with a smile.

  As we returned to the temple, Brianna and Lenux showed us some of the buildings they found that were still viable. Bri was already thinking of the logistics for rebuilding the city. I once again thanked Alynon for adding her to our team.

  The priests had dinner prepared by the time we got back to the temple. For once we had time to enjoy a proper meal.

  Chapter 9

  (Lee)

  “Will someone shut those dogs up,” Barad complained from his blanket.

  “We’re in the middle of an abandon city,” Lenux reminded. “There are no dogs here. They must be wolves.”

  “What are you two jabbering about this time of night?” Orlik complained.

  “The wolves are keeping Barad awake,” Brianna answered.

  Orlik was silent once again, listening to the baying in the distance. “Good gods! Those ain’t no wolves,” he yelled as he scrambled from his blanket, “those be werewolves.”

  “What the hells are werewolves,” Lenux muttered as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

  “Big beasts that Dommeran controls. Used to hunt down Gorath’s enemies. Would ya like to guess who they may be hunting tonight?” Orlik replied as he scrambled for his axe.

  “Werewolves?” Farloc questioned as he too grabbed his weapons. “My father spoke of them. Their prey never escapes once the werewolves are on their trail.”

  “Well, that doesn’t bode well,” I said as I strapped on my sword. Listening to the howling, they still sounded far away, but they were definitely getting closer. “Do you think they know we are here?”

  “They ain’t howling out there for the fun of it, they are on our scent for sure,” Orlik stated. “Sounds like they are just outside the gates.”

  “What do we do?” Lenux asked as he strapped on his daggers.

  “Let’s seal the building,” Bri offered. “Thanks to Lee and the Tear, this is the most secure building in Ealinhart.”

  “What about the horses?” Abigail asked.

  “Ryan, cut loose the horses and run them off,” I ordered. Ryan nodded, running out the door.

  “As for the plan, Bri’s right,” I agreed. “We are almost fortified here. Maybe, I can finish it.” Looking around, the door appeared the weakest spot. Once Ryan came back in, I reached out with my magic. Carefully, I started softening the stones surrounding doorway, stretching them to block it.

  “Everyone else, start barricading the windows. Those bays are getting closer,” Barad ordered. Taking fragments of the old pews, Barad led the others in building blockades for the windows.

  He was right, sweat started dripping down my forehead as I race against the closing werewolves. As the stones were slowly sliding to cover the doorway, their excited howls now sounded to be within the city. I was running out of time. I focused more energy into the stones.

  “They’ve gone quiet,” Abigail pointed out. “Did they lose the trail?”

  Everyone froze as we listened for the werewolves’ howls. All I could hear was the hammering of my heart. Outside, there was nothing but silence.

  “Maybe they couldn’t track us in the city?” Barad wondered aloud.

  To answer, the door beside me splintered as a massive body slammed into it.

  “Get Back!” Whilhoit yelled as he pulled me away from enormous teeth jutting through the broken boards. Only the stone I had pulled kept the beast from breaking completely through. Its giant claws shredding the door.

  Barad screamed as he swung his axes at the creature, his blades bouncing off the werewolf’s snout. It seemed unfazed as it snapped back at him.

  “Back, beast!” Father Yagen yelled as he unleashed his fire, burning the werewolf across its face. With a pained howl the monstrous head withdrew from the doorway.

  Just as quickly, another werewolf crashed into the window, knocking away most of the barricade they had just built. Whilhoit leapt forward stabbing at the monster as it tried to pull its way through the window. Again, his blade just bounced off the werewolf’s hide.

  “Back, Lad!” Orlik yelled as he swung his axe at the beast, this time slicing across its face. With an agonized yelp, the creature withdrew. Barad and Whilhoit quickly pushed the barricade back into place.

  With a growl, another werewolf attacked the door, trying to pull itself through the openings between the stone. With a loud crack, Abigail struck at it with lightning, blasting the beast back out the door and a
cross the street. I was amazed to see it stand up and limp away.

  “Good Alynon!” Father Pild exclaimed. “Can’t these things die?”

  “We’ve made them bleed,” I pointed out. “If they bleed, they can die.”

  “Maybe, but my blows just bounced off,” Barad complained.

  “It’s them baby axes of yours,” Orlik stated. “Ya can’t fight werewolves with baby axes.”

  “I hit it with my sword, and it did nothing,” Whilhoit pointed out as he sided with Barad.

  “We’ll have to keep trying, that’s all,” Bri said.

  Abigail was ignoring the conversation as she stared at the ceiling. “Lee, I think I hear creeping on the roof,” she whispered.

  Looking up, I realized the werewolves could easily rip through it. I quickly threw up a shield holding the roof together. Abigail was right, because I immediately felt the beasts pulling on my shield. “They are up there. I can hold them for now, but I can’t defend everything.”

  Farloc raised his bow, firing at the snout that was creeping through the door. The arrow splintered as it struck the beast.

  Father Yagen once again fired his flame and scared the werewolf away.

  “Magic,” Ryan mumbled, lost in thought.

  “What was that?” Bri asked.

  “Magic hurts them,” he explained. “The only weapon to affect them is Orlik’s axe, Slayer. It’s magically enchanted. Other than that, all of our weapons have been useless. Only magic hurts them.”

  “He’s right,” Brianna agreed. “We can’t fight werewolves with our conventional weapons. They bounce right off.”

  “Then it’s up to us magic users and Orlik,” I agreed. “But now I’m tied up protecting the roof.”

  There was a sudden crash as one of the werewolves slammed into our window barricade, its head pressing through the crack. Abigail launched fire at the creature, forcing it to retreat.

  “So, we are trapped here,” Lenux stated.

  “Till morning,” Orlik corrected. “Werewolves take shelter during the day.”

  “Why?” Ryan asked.

  Orlik shrugged, “Don’t think anybody knows, least none that have talked to me.”

  Barad looked at me, “Can you hold them until morning?”

  “Maybe the roof,” I said as I once again felt a werewolf attempt to break in, “but not the whole temple, you will have to prevent them from getting in.”

  “But we can’t kill them, and we can’t leave the safety of the city. If we try to run and they catch us out in the open, we won’t stand a chance,” Lenux pointed out.

  “We’ll worry about that in the morning,” Bri recommended. “Let’s worry about surviving the night first.”

  Abigail shot flames at the window as another werewolf attempted to get past our barricade. Barad thought for a moment. “Lenux, Whilhoit, and Orlik, follow me,” he ordered as he walked over to the barricade. “Next time a werewolf attempts to get in again, the three of us will try to press the barricade against it, pinning it down. When we do, Orlik, hit it with your axe.”

  “Ha ha! Now ya talkin’. Time to add a werewolf to me list,” Orlik agreed with a laugh as he hefted his axe.

  Barad barely had time to prepare before the barricade slammed out as another werewolf tried to push through. Barad, Lenux and Whilhoit threw all their weight against the wood as it pushed out.

  “We can’t hold it!” Lenux warned.

  We all rushed forward as we added our weight to theirs. The beast shoved its head through the window, trying desperately to snap at Lenux, who was the closest. With a heave, we pushed back on the wood, closing the barricade around the monster’s neck. “Now Orlik!” Barad yelled.

  Orlik leapt forward, striking the werewolf’s neck. With an agonized screech, the animal tried to pull back through the hole, panicking as it realized it was trapped. We all felt an incredible push as it fought against us. “Quick!” Barad yelled. “Hit it again!”

  Orlik swung his magical axe with all his might, severing the beast’s head. With a thud, it fell to the floor. The barricade slammed back into position as the body fell away. We all stared at the grotesquely formed werewolf head. Up close, it looked nothing like a wolf. It was misshapen, as if deformed. It had bony protrusions on the face, much like a boar.

  “Oh gods, it’s disgusting,” Abigail said, as she looked on in horror.

  “You think Lord Faluth would want that head?” Ryan asked Barad.

  “You’d have to get rid of the smell first,” he answered. “It already reeks of rot.”

  “Is it still moving?” Ryan asked curiously.

  “It’s changing,” Farloc observed. “What is happening to it?”

  As we watch, the hair started to fall away as the head appeared to shrink, taking on a more human appearance.

  “Dear gods, they’re humans,” Farloc said with disgust. “What has Gorath done?”

  Orlik looked closer at the head. “Ain’t just any human, that’s Sundren, he was one of Grenlow’s rivals to become Head Priest. I always wondered what happened to him.”

  “They’re turning people into monsters?” Abigail asked in shock.

  “Looks like it,” Orlik agreed. “Guess it don’t pay to be on the wrong side of Grenlow.”

  Barad used his foot to boot the head out the half-sealed door and into the street. Looking out, I could see a pair of golden eyes reflecting in the moonlight. The malevolence in the glare seemed so real now, knowing that it was a human staring back.

  “So, what do we do?” Abigail asked.

  “We wait till morning, then we hunt them down,” Barad stated angrily. “Changing humans into beasts is disgusting.”

  “What about the risk?” Ryan asked.

  “They go hide for some reason,” Orlik observed. “I wonder if they’re weaker during the day?”

  “How much weaker?” Bri asked. “It took all of us to pin that one down.”

  “Hells, I don’t know,” Orlik admitted. “We killed one though, that means there’s one less than before.”

  “Stunning logic by the dwarf,” Barad mocked.

  “I’ve done killed one ugly dog today, shall I make it two?” Orlik asked, waving his axe towards Barad.

  Barad smiled, raising his hands in surrender, “Point taken.”

  “Let’s just work on making it till morning. Barad, use the same strategy you just did for any werewolf at the window. Abi and Father Yagen, take turns protecting the door. Hopefully Orlik is correct, and these beasts will take shelter in the morning,” I directed, still watching the beast from across the street.

  It took two hours and the repelling of multiple attempts before the first glow of morning appeared on the horizon. As Orlik promised, I felt the constant attacks on the roof end.

  “I think they’re leaving,” I announced to the weary group.

  “We’ll need to know where they are going,” Lenux stated as he peered out the door. “I’ll try to follow them.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked worriedly. You’ll have no defense if they turn on you.”

  Lenux shrugged. “I still have my legs. Besides, I’ve never tracked wolves before. Time to learn something new.”

  “I have tracked wolves,” Farloc stated as he grabbed his bow, “I shall go with you.”

  “Thank you, both,” Abi said as she gave them both a hug. “Be careful.”

  Chapter 10

  (Lenux)

  I forced myself to loosen the grip on my bow as I squeezed out the door, Farloc slipping out behind me with much more grace. The street was littered with shards of the temple door and there were deep scratches in the walls.

  The now human body of Sundren littered the ground, its flesh mostly consumed by his fellow werewolves. It smelled as if it had spent days in the sun.

  “Well, that’s something I won’t forget anytime soon,” I whispered to Farloc, who looked at the body with revulsion.

  “I don’t know what disgusts me more, the fact that they are human
s or that they practice cannibalism,” the elf wondered.

  “I’ll just lump it all under gross and leave it at that.” I walked around and looked at the cobblestones. I saw no signs of the werewolves that would be trackable. “We may have a problem, I don’t see any trail to follow.”

  “Down!” Farloc shouted as he raised his bow, firing at the temple rooftop above me. A yelp answered his shot as he quickly fired another arrow over my head.

  I waited for the attack that never came. “Did you get him?” I asked nervously.

  Farloc smiled victoriously. “The arrow bit. They are vulnerable. The beast turned and ran.”

  “Then we need to get up there.” With a running leap, I jumped onto the temple wall, my fingers finding the crevices between the stones. With practiced ease, I scurried up the wall, Farloc following behind me.

  On the temple roof, I found a blood trail from Farloc’s shot. So, it was true, werewolves were vulnerable during the day. “Now this, this is trackable,” I said with a smile.

  Farloc and I leapt from rooftop to rooftop as we tracked the monster. Sometimes stopping to search as we lost the trail, eventually it led us to the palace.

  “This makes sense,” Farloc stated as we gazed at the building. “Having more levels than most buildings in the city, it would have the darkest areas to hide.”

  “Then this is where we will have to face them. Go get the others, I’m going to get closer.” Farloc nodded and sprinted off towards the temple.

  Taking a deep breath, I climbed down the wall and started walking towards the palace ruins. Watching the darkened windows for any sign of a werewolf staring back. Knowing that the monsters stalked its halls made it seem much more eerie than it had just yesterday.

  It felt fairly safe walking through the entrance, the crumbled outer walls allowing in the morning sunlight.

  Strapping my bow to my back, I pulled out my short sword. It felt more comfortable for the tight spaces of the palace. Using the sunlight that filtered through holes in the ceilings and walls, I crept down one of the side halls, being wary that one of the werewolves could be around any corner, the blood trail still guiding my way.