Cursed Cleric

by Salvador Mercer

  One way or the other, Kesh would prevail.

  The day dawned bright and the wind had died down considerably when the group of refugees caught sight of Tyra, the green dragon who lived in the forest. The creature had glided overhead for quite some time before landing near Elister and talking to him. After some time it took flight again and beat its massive wings circling their cabin until it flew east towards Kesh.

  Walking over, Elister was greeted by Horace who sat on the porch with his crossbow as the man had finally gotten used to seeing the dragon and no longer stayed inside the cabin. “Now I suppose you ain’t gonna tell us what that’s all about.”

  “To the contrary,” Elister said. “The Kesh are mobilizing and may move back to Ulatha to contest the undead king’s rule over your realm.”

  “Dragon told ya that?” Horace asked.

  “No,” Elister answered. “While you were sleeping, Argyll gave me the news. The Kesh have already defeated the siege of their closest town, Ulsthor, and are mobilizing a new army from Balaria.”

  Several adults had come out to see the dragon, from a distance, so the druid’s news was heard by most all. Mary spat on the ground at the mention of the Kesh’s westernmost town where she and several others were imprisoned and treated as slaves. “Never thought I’d be rooting for those dead things over the Kesh, but that’s how I feel.”

  One of the McFadden boys asked, “How can you kill something that’s dead already?”

  Elister looked like he was preparing to answer the question when Dareen cut him off, “Don’t think of it as killing again but more like stopping the dead from moving, walking, and fighting.”

  Agatha chimed in, “Begging your pardon, Miss Dareen, as our hostess but you shouldn’t go about talking about them creatures with the youth here. Liable to give them nightmares.”

  “Tell me about it,” Mary chimed in. “Don’t fret none, Miss Agatha, them McFadden boys are old enough to fight and no Kesh or walking skeleton will scare them.”

  “Yeah, we ain’t afraid of them,” Chester McFadden said, and his brother Charles nodded in agreement.

  Agatha brought most of them to a most somber mood with her next words, “Tell that to young Thomas next time you visit his grave. It’s right on the other side of this here building.”

  “Now that’s just going too far, Agatha,” Emelda scolded.

  “No,” Dareen said loudly, interrupting the group. “We should remember the danger we are in and the sacrifices that have already been made by many. Though harsh words, they are true nevertheless.”

  The group either sat or stood in silence and many had lost their appetite after such a discussion. After a few minutes Dorsun broke the silence, “I guess this is why the wise druid had me stay behind.”

  “Several of the adults murmured and Agatha spoke for many, “I thought we were safe here?”

  “Now, now,” Elister said, holding a stone hand out in front of him to calm the refugees. “You are as safe as anywhere considering who is protecting you.”

  “You mean what is protecting us,” Horace responded.

  “No need to be mean to her,” Elister said in the dragon’s defense.

  Horace shrugged, “I ain’t being mean. In fact, I’m glad to have a dragon around protecting the forest and all us good folk inside it. Ain’t nothing coming in here with that thing flying around outside.”

  “They can’t reach us, can they?” Olga asked from the doorway.

  It was widely understood by now that any conversation held in a normal tone of voice on, or near, the porch would be heard by everyone inside the cabin, even the children. Elister was careful with his words, but he was not careful enough, “It would be difficult for the Kesh to get by both Tyra and I, but with the High Mage’s new found abilities… it could be done.”

  “I can’t go back to Kesh,” the young Gwenny said from inside. “I won’t go.”

  “Neither will I,” Mary exclaimed, folding her arms across her chest. “I’d rather die than go back to that place.”

  “No one is taking my boy from me every again,” Estelle said, pushing her way past Olga and crowding the porch.

  Her son, Mathew, spoke loudly from inside, “You tell em, Ma.”

  “Quiet,” Dareen ordered, leaving the porch and taking a few steps to stand next to Elister and address the refugees. Since it was her land and her cabin that they were living in, everyone in the group treated her deferentially, grateful for her and her family’s hospitality. “No one is going back to Kesh. That is one promise we can all make to each other.”

  Several heads nodded in agreement and everyone knew the story by now of how Dareen Terrel had freed most of them from Ulsthor and the Kesh slave stockade while also being taken to the Keshtor, the capital of Kesh and placed within the very dungeon of the Black Tower. The fact that she escaped from there gave her an almost idol like quality that inspired awe and reverence when she spoke.

  “Then, begging your pardon again, Miss Dareen, but if we aren’t going back then why the fuss?” Agatha asked.

  Dareen looked at Elister who would have sighed if he breathed but instead answered, “We’re preparing for the worst. Just in case the Kesh break back into Ulatha.”

  “Then you and your dragon stop em,” Horace said matter-of-factly.

  “I would,” Elister began, “but the High Mage has mastered his peeping glass and can now see much.”

  “How much?” Horace was unrelenting.’

  “Too much,” Elister said, a bit too truthfully.

  Horace scoffed, “Now ain’t that bloody great.”

  “Watch your tongue,” Emelda said for the umpteenth time.

  Dorsun seldom spoke, but he interjected, “Do we fight?”

  Elister shrugged, “Not if we don’t have to, but we should be prepared. The Kesh aren’t mobilizing for nothing.”

  “Look around ya,” Horace said. “Ain’t a man here between fifteen and fifty.”

  “Present company excluded, of course,” Emelda said to Dorsun.

  “Don’t baby him,” Horace said, adding a frown to follow his words. “The Kesh knows what I mean.”

  “How can you exclude present company when we’re talking about the men present?” Estelle asked.

  “Keep those school lessons to yourself,” Horace defended his wife. “She was just coddling that killer over there.”

  That drew several frowns from the women on the porch, Dareen spoke to Horace, “Let bygones be bygones.”

  “Yeah, let sleeping dogs lie.” Mary said, remembering how the Kesh warrior fought for her when she was wounded.

  Olga chimed in, “Let the stew cool before you eat it.”

  “Don’t touch the iron before it is cool,” Chester spoke, and several women shushed him.

  “I got it, already, Horace said.

  Wally exited the cabin along with his wife Margeret. He still walked with a limp despite the druid doing all he could to heal the man and Wally stated rather loudly, “If he’s a killer then he’s my kind of killer.”

  “Bloody hell, people,” Horace defended himself. “I ain’t meant no harm by my words and Mister Dorsun over there will tell you that I’ve had nothing but respect for the man, so don’t take it all personal like.”

  “Respect?” Agatha asked.

  “Don’t you go taking the Kesh side,” Horace responded.

  Dorsun tried to end the conversation, “Everyone, do not bicker on my account. I have pledged to defend my master and obey his orders. He tasked me with seeing to your safety, so I will defend everyone of you to the death if need be.”

  “Our deaths or your death?” Horace took a parting shot.

  “Enough,” Dareen said, stepping closer to the group on the porch. “If Master Elister says we must be prepared, then we will prepare. All of us.”

  That did the trick and with several murmurs the group started to break up, each preparing for their daily tasks. It took no small amount of work to feed, clothe, shelter, and protect
so many individuals. While most of them slept in the cabin taking up almost every space available, they were eager to get out each day and into the open air where they could shrug off the lethargy of sleep and the claustrophobic feeling associated with sleeping in such close quarters with so many people.

  Turning back to Elister, Dareen asked, “You know something more, don’t you?”

  Elister slumped slightly despite his rigid posture. “You are a Terrel and a fine initiate you would be if not for this situation.”

  “Not now,” Dareen said. “I understand you want to explain more to me about my heritage and the extremely small talent that I have been given, but I sense danger and I want to know what we are facing. Something tells me it isn’t just the Kesh.”

  Motioning for her to follow, the druid turned and walked and didn’t stop until he had crossed all the way to the far west side of the clearing, well beyond the range of those who still were listening despite attempting to look either busy or preoccupied. Agatha didn’t even try to hide her contempt when the pair moved out of earshot. “That’s better.” Elister said.

  “Go on,” Dareen prompted.

  “Well,’ Elister began. “It’s both. The Kesh and something else.”

  “What’s the something else?” Dareen asked.

  “Dragons.”

  “We already know that. You’ve been warning that for weeks if not months.”

  Elister nodded, “They are moving. I feel them now and the Kesh part is what worries me.”

  “What Kesh part?” Dareen asked, hesitation in her voice as if she wasn’t sure if she truly wanted to know.

  “I told your son to find this shield to protect him.”

  “Yes, the quest that they are now undertaking.” Dareen folded her arms, dread was building inside her.

  “I also told him to find the dragon rod.”

  “What is that?”

  “It would have allowed him to control a dragon that was near him. I thought he needed it for when Tyra woke up, especially since I thought I was dead.”

  “You mean the letter we’ve discussed several times now?”

  “Yes, my letter.” Elister nodded as if just remembering the same thing.

  “We know. You wanted my son to have this in case Tyra woke and you were gone. So what changed?”

  Elister frowned. “The High Mage has the rod now. If Tyra were to get too close to him, he could control her.”

  “Then don’t let her near him,” Dareen said, thinking this was a simple solution.

  “That is easy,” Elister explained. “But once he understands his power, he will come for her.”

  “How can we stop this?”

  “We can’t,” Elister said. “Soon he will know from the rod itself. However, one thing keeps him in Keshtor, in the safety and solitude of the Onyx Tower.”

  “You mean the Black Tower?” Dareen asked, not used to hearing it referred by its Kesh name.

  “Yes. His civil war has not been fully completed. At least one arch mage resists and not just any arch mage. This one led the raid on Rockton and almost killed the new High Mage.”

  “What stopped him?” Dareen asked.

  “You,” Elister answered.

  Chapter 7

  Critir

  “I think it’s wearing off,” Cedric said.

  “What makes you think so?” Khan asked as the group ran merrily towards the distant villa that was now visible only a few hundred yards away.

  Cedric smiled, “Targon is gaining on us.”

  “Not funny,” Targon said, breathing heavily and running close to a sprint in an effort to keep up with his companions and stay in front of the wolf pack.

  “Shoulda let him try that spell on you,” Will said, trotting easily next to the larger woodsman.

  “He said he was limited in how much energy he could expend. We all agreed to use it on you city folk.”

  Targon spoke clearly, though his breathing was clearly labored as they had been running for hours. The pace had kept them in front of the pack of wolves but only barely. The wolves seemed not to tire and despite their fast pace, the predators had all but closed the multi-league gap that had once stood between them. Now, last they saw, the hunters were only a few thousand yards behind them.

  “That doesn’t look too secure now that we’re closer,” Salina said, pointing at their destination.

  “Keep running,” Khan ordered.

  The group pumped their legs harder and seeing the potential sanctuary as nightfall began gave them an incentive to run faster. Even Targon gave one last spurt of speed in an effort to reach the only thing they could see for miles. The wolves seemed to understand as they howled and sped up behind them looming in the faint, fading light that was sunset.

  “There, head for that main gate,” Khan ordered, pointing with his staff in front of them at the southern end of the complex.

  After running for another few minutes the group reached the entrance to a high walled villa. “Well that was all for nothing,” Will noted, depression evident in his voice.

  “It looked solid when we first saw it miles away,” Cedric said, now looking at the crumbling sections that would easily be scaled by any animal.

  “Even the gate is broken and off its hinges,” Salina said. “I don’t think this could be repaired even if we had an entire day.”

  “A week would be challenging.” Khan noted the damage to the villa’s infrastructure.

  Howls continued and Targon led them through the half bent, half twisted iron gate that would keep nothing out. “What about that?”

  The group looked at what was a small building. It was square in shape and had stucco walls covered in dead vines with occasional patches of brick visible where the stucco had fallen off. One side of the main wall of the villa had crumbled and covered the only entrance to the square building that was at least three stories high. Windows were open on the second and top floor and there was only a tiled roof that was missing large sections allowing the wooden roof beams to be visible from the outside.

  “How do we get in?” Will asked, running around the building and coming back from the opposite side.

  Targon pulled his rope from his pack and used the small grappling hook that he had occasionally used to scale trees and small cliffs in Kesh when they were raiding. Twirling it proficiently in front of him he hurled it three times at the exposed timbers below the tiled roof before the hook caught. They all heard the sounds of howls and the baying of the wolves as they rapidly approached.

  “Hurry,” Salina urged.

  “Why did you not aim for the second-floor window?” Khan asked. “It is much closer.”

  Testing the weight of the rope and handing it first to Salina to ascend, he answered, “The window sill and outer framing is rotten. We’d have wasted precious time trying to get the hook to hold on any of those windows.”

  “So you saw this from down here and understood that you needed to use the exposed roof beams?” Khan asked, as if attempting to learn woodworking from a carpenter.

  “You next, Cedric,” Targon said, handing him the rope while Salina was still climbing. “Something like that.”

  “Do you two really want to discuss the strength of old wood timbers while those things are approaching?” Salina called down below. “Will, get Khan up that rope.”

  Khan had already secured his staff across his shoulders horizontally and started climbing. Will chuckled and asked, “Don’t you have a spell for flying?”

  “No,” Khan answered, “Though I do have one for falling slowly.”

  “Unless you can fall up, that won’t work,” Will said, grabbing the rope when Cedric cleared the top.

  Salina was peering down at them from above with only her shoulders and head visible. “Can the rope hold both your weight at the same time?”

  “Why?” Will asked, looking up and climbing faster.

  “Because the wolves are only a few stone throws away,” Salina said and she pointed for emphasis thoug
h the two men below couldn’t see past he crumbling wall.

  “We’re going to find out,” Targon said. “Move it Will. I thought Khan’s spell would have given you strength to climb faster.”

  “I’m too heavy for that,” Will said, making good time. Khan had cleared the opening at the top and Will was getting closer.

  “Climb now,” Salina ordered, trying to keep her voice calm but the stress and a tinge of panic was evident. The next howl sounded as if the wolf was right outside the villa complex.

  Targon nodded and did something no one expected. He ran at the crumbling pile of rocks and used it to catapult himself at the rope dangling nearby. Grabbing it nearly a full story above the ground and hand over massive hand with his biceps bulging, he ascended reaching the top barely after Will had arrived.

  “That was too close,” Cedric said from across the floor where he peered down outside the building.

  “Watch your step,” Salina ordered. “The floor here is weak and several floor boards for the attic have rotted away. Step on the main timbers to be safe.”

  Targon saw instantly what she was referring to. The area they entered was an attic like area of the square building that normally would not see the light of day. Unfortunately, many of the tiles had fallen or been blown away exposing the large timbers above and the floor boards below. Many of the boards had rotted and fallen to the third floor below leaving a crisscross of supporting timbers that had been reinforced with iron and was from a sturdier and stronger type of oak tree.

  The wolves had reached them and bayed outside while many were clawing and scratching at the base of the building. Stucco, mud, rock, and wood flew in all directions, but it appeared that they were safe for the moment.

  “What did we get ourselves into?” Will muttered aloud, continuing to watch from his vantage point where they ascended.