In their haste to rescue the queen, Krage and his companions minimized the consequences of their actions. The queen allows the implications of her question to register before announcing, “I must go back.”
Krage looks distraught. He has only been recently reunited with the queen after a seventeen-year absence and can’t bear the thought of being separated again. At the same time, he recognizes he is driven by the same selfish impulse that caused him to abduct the queen twenty years before. “You realize that it is not safe to go back. Red may make you suffer for all the grief we have caused him,” is the best argument Krage can offer.
“You are right, but I must go anyway.” Tears gather in the queen’s eyes. Our lives are not worth more than all those who would die so we can be together. Our love has survived one long separation, and it will do so again.”
Lord Lizardthroat paces inside his tent in a panic. What is he going to do? His men search the entire day for the missing queen without finding a trace. He is to meet King Red in four days. He can’t show up empty handed; but to not show up is a diplomatic blunder that would inflame the conflict he is attempting to extinguish. He has no good option. He is trapped. Suicidal thoughts cross his mind; he is certainly willing to give his life if it would get the kingdom out of the fix it is in, but, unfortunately, it will not. He shouts at his guards and threatens his captains with every vile punishment he can imagine, but it is to no avail. Finally, he orders his captains out of his tent and collapses into a restless sleep.
When he wakes, it is dark. He remembers where he is and the horror of his predicament washes over him once again. He looks toward the tent’s door and decides to check with his captains. Of course, if they recovered the queen, he would have been notified. He stands up and is walking toward the door when a voice behind him stops him in midstride. “Good evening, Lord Lizardthroat. I hope I haven’t been too much trouble.”
Melkerei wheels to face the queen seated in a dark corner of the tent. The queen’s face is sad. “Why did you come back?” the surprised commander asks.
“As much as I detest being used as a political pawn, I believe it best for both kingdoms if I go home.”
“I am forever in your debt, Your Highness.” Lord Lizardthroat’s sincerity seems genuine. Melkerei offers the queen his hand and escorts her back to her tent. Krage watches from the lava fields with a sorrowful heart, but is gratified that Melkerei appears more relieved than angry.
In the morning, a sober Lord Lizardthroat orders his guard to move south. They have a lost day to make up. The somber rescuers watch the departure from the trees. When the Blue Daggers have moved out of sight, Krage turns and looks into the faces of his companions. He smiles and speaks softly, “Thank you for your friendship and your loyalty. I have learned much from each of you. It hurts to surrender what I love most, but I must hope that it is for the best.”
“Where will you go now?” Myrel asks.
“I go to Neu Ardonbrae. The king needs my help.”
“Alexia and I will join with ye if ye will have us. I also have an obligation to the king,” adds Grenab.
“And you, Daughter, have you decided where your future lies?”
“There is nothing left for me in the temple. I will journey to Uisgebeatha to learn from Grandmother,” Myrel decides as she speaks.
Myrel says her goodbyes and heads south toward Halban by the Sea. Krage and the others turn toward the mountains and the Razor’s Back. A chapter in their lives has ended, and their futures are far from certain.
***
Myrel has enough coin to replenish her supplies as she passes through a village on her way south. At Halban by the Sea, she learns that Lord Lizardthroat passed through the day before. It is too soon to know how King Red received her mother. At sunset, a fishing boat deposits Myrel at the newly rebuilt dock on the Isle of Uisgebeatha. She looks up the road leading to the castle. How will she find Krage’s mother? She can’t go stumbling around in the woods at night looking for her cave. Krage advised her to go to the village and seek Baelock’s assistance, so she begins trudging up the road. She is still getting her land legs back when an old she-goblin steps in her path. “Welcome, Granddaughter, it is good to meet ye at last.” Myrel is astonished, not just because her grandmother knew she was coming, but also because she recognizes her voice. It is her grandmother’s voice that spoke to her in the catacombs and told her to use the key.
Myrel slows her pace to match her grandmother’s deliberate gait. Together they enter the dark forest and follow the trails to the goblin’s cave. Myrel, of course, doesn’t recognize the change, but since Trak’s departure, Baelock has enlarged the domicile by expanding the wattle and daub wall at the front of the cave. He has fashioned a real door and covered the window with a thin sheet of oiled parchment to transmit light. There is now space for two sleeping pallets. Above her straw pallet, Myrel has her own shelf to store a few belongings. Immediately, Myrel feels at home. She accepts some stew from a pot that hangs over the hearth. Her grandmother proclaims, “I must inform Krage that ye have arrived safely.”
Myrel watches as the old goblin sits on the floor and becomes motionless. The familiar blue glow envelopes the old Spore. The glow creeps across the floor and until it embraces Myrel as well. Myrel feels herself rise out of her body. From the roof of the cave Myrel looks down to see her old grandmother transformed into a young girl who smiles sweetly as she talks to an unseen presence.
At first, Myrel finds it difficult to fit herself into the old goblin’s daily routine. Her grandmother tries to do everything for her, but Myrel insists on doing her part. She begins by collecting firewood against the coming winter and tending her grandmother’s late summer garden. When her grandmother discovers that Myrel’s knowledge of plants is sorely lacking, she exclaims jokingly, “What do they teach ye in that fancy temple school.” More seriously, the old Spore realizes that Myrel’s ability to use her gift is poorly developed. In Krage’s absence, no one in the temple is qualified to give her proper instruction.
“This is no problem we can’t handle,” she assures her granddaughter. “We will have ye sending your spirit in no time at all. Learning to be a healer will take more time, but I am the right one to teach ye,” she brags a little.
***
The goblins are the first to arrive at the exchange location. Lord Lizardthroat hides twenty bolters in the dense thicket before advancing into the meadow. The archers have orders to fire at King Red if the exchange goes badly. Melkerei walks into the meadow trailed by two squads of his elite guard and the porters bearing the queen’s litter. When the men arrive, Melkerei grows nervous. King Red has brought a small army. As the king dismounts and walks toward him accompanied by several nobles, Melkerei catches glimpses of mounted warriors circling the edges of the meadow. “I have walked into a trap,” Melkerei gasps, but it is too late to back away. If he is forced to flee for his life, his hidden bolters would cover him. If King Red intends some treachery, Melkerei would make him pay with his life.
A moment later, Lord Lizardthroat stands looking up at King Red who towers above him. The king does not return his gaze. He is focusing on the queen as she descends from her litter. As she approaches, the king recalls her manner of walk and the warm smile. “It is good to be home, My King.”
The king welcomes his queen with a heartfelt complement, “You look as beautiful as I remember. What became of our child?”
The queen hated to lie, but she had no other recourse. “I fear he died in childbirth. I am so sorry.” Her eyes looked over the nobles who accompanied King Red to the meadow. She spots a tall cross-breed and recognizes her son at once. She has not seen him since Krage took him from the capital seventeen years before.
King Red is pleased by Meriem’s youthful appearance. Surely, she will give me an heir, he thinks. “Lord Lizardthroat, I see that you are as good as your word. As agreed, I give you the son of your sorcerer.”
Trak takes a step forward. He is dressed in fine fel
t clothing. His black suede boots reach to his knees. He wears his sword, the one named Dragon Fire. It hangs at his side in a silver studded scabbard that was a present from Lord Ran. Trak is becoming concerned. Although courtesies are being exchanged, both sides are tense and ready to fight.
The king proposes, “Let us toast the success of this day.” Servants bring forth goblets filled with wine. As the wine is served to King Red’s nobles and Melkerei’s captains, Red’s eyes stare at the Blue Dagger sigil embroidered on the tunics of the goblins. He realizes, these are the same, screaming squids that attacked my camp a few months ago and killed two hundred of my men with their new iron swords. Their treachery turned what was to be a minor diversionary strike into a costly battle. Anger floods through him. Yes, I have my queen back, but these goblins have not paid for their treachery. When the wine is poured, the king offers a toast to Lord Lizardthroat, “May your reign be long and your posterity numerous.”
Melkerei returns the gesture, “To King Red and Queen Meriem, may your dynasty last forever.” Even Melkerei’s guards, wearing the shields, swords and lizard-helms that Trak personally designed, offer a cheer and clatter their teeth.
King Red sees that his horsemen are ready on his flanks. He has the goblins outnumbered three to one. He has but to say the word and his men will kill every one of these yellow devils. He knows some will say that it was cowardly to attack the enemy under a flag of truce, but most will believe the goblins finally got what they deserve. I can say that the goblin commander drew his sword and tried to kill me, and I had no choice. King Red’s men stand alert. They, too, recognize the opportunity and only wait for the king to give the order to attack.
The ceremony is nearly over. Lord Lizardthroat senses that if he leaves abruptly maybe bloodshed can be avoided. He salutes the king and turns to face his elite guard. As he turns away from King Red, he hears swords being drawn behind him. He turns back to look into angry faces. “So this is how it is going to be.” Melkerei starts to give the order for his bolters to fire when Trak hears Lord Ran shout in his ear, “Do something, Sorcerer!”
At that moment, a ball of blue light shoots from Trak’s hand into the sky. It explodes above the meadow and sends a shower of sparks falling on the assembled. Melkerei and Red stare in amazement and brush away the burning sparks as they settle upon them. Others freeze their gaze on Trak who walks between the two leaders and stands silently for many seconds.
When Trak speaks, the voice is not his own. Everyone in the meadow and in the surrounding trees hears the gently spoken words as if transmitted directly to their consciousness without the need for sound. The voice warns, “The Second Sowing approaches. Go in peace and prepare.”
The anger that engulfed Melkerei a moment before recedes; he turns and leads his guard from the meadow. Red’s nobles help their stunned king mount his horse. The men ride away. Trak is left standing in the meadow. One noble hangs back. It is Ran. “Do you still want me to believe that you are not a sorcerer? What is the Second Sowing?”
“I have no idea,” Trak replies in his own voice. He, least of all, understands what has just happened. After the two pause for a moment in the empty meadow, Lord Ran speaks up, “Are you coming?” Trak follows his new friend and business partner.
Many who are not in the meadow also hear the words. Krage, on the road back to the capital, stops in his tracks when the voice enters his consciousness. He feels a twinge of jealousy that he was not the one through which the Spirit proclaimed her message of peace and preparedness. The old goblin looks up from the seeds she is sorting to glance at Myrel and recognizes the puzzled look on her face. In Holy Mountain, Alrik and several of the clerics hear the words, and what’s more, some have an inkling of what they mean. Alrik says to the assembled clerics, “The First Sowing was when the Spirit led the great migration of creatures out of the Underworld onto the surface of the earth. The Second Sowing will be when the evil that lives in the earth sends forth his minions of dark and foul creatures to annihilate all who live in the sunlit world.”
The prophecy causes panic in the temple. Many clerics prepare to move their families out of Holy Mountain. They assume the invasion from the Underworld will occur from beneath Holy Mountain.
The true believers among Melkerei’s guard are certain the Spirit has spoken. Lord Lizardthroat, who scoffs at the superstitious, is baffled. He is not ready to believe the Earth Spirit has spoken through Trak, but the cross-breed certainly tricked many into believing they heard a prophecy. Somehow Trak caused an explosion and placed a message in his head. The words he heard meant nothing, just religious gibberish. He had planned to trade Queen Meriem for the son. He believes Trak, as Krage’s son, stands in his way of seizing the throne. He intended to eliminate Trak on the return journey to the capital. Now, he is not sure that killing Trak is a good idea. In the end, he decides to spread the story that Trak has betrayed the goblin kingdom and pledged allegiance to King Red. Labeled a traitor, he is as good as dead.
Chapter 18
City of Neu Ardonbrae: The Prison Break
Alexia and Grenab accompanied Krage to Neu Ardonbrae. They travelled urgently, though not with the same enthusiasm they showed when fleeing the city days before.
They enter the city at night; the streets are quiet. They move quickly to Humock’s residence. “Back so soon? I gather you failed to rescue the queen,” speculates the police captain when they are inside.
“The truth is more complex. We freed Queen Meriem, but in the interest of peace between the kingdoms, she went home to King Red.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out. The queen is a perceptive woman.” Humock guesses correctly, “I assume that you have returned to the capital to rescue King Giforing. The excitement in the city is no longer the coup and the imprisonment of the king. People are saying the Earth Spirit has announced the coming of the Second Sowing.” Krage confirms he, too, heard the voice.
Humock continues, “The residents of Holy Mountain have begun to desert the temple. The citizens are angry with Lord Lizardthroat for not being here to protect them. A story is circulating that several squads of Secret Police were butchered deep in the mountain by hordes of white goblins. I talked to a soldier who claimed he was there. The story is apparently true. Everyone is nervous. There have been rumors of white goblins roaming the city at night. My job has become much harder. Looters are having a field day, and there are food shortages because of hording.”
“Do you know where the king is being held?” queries Krage.
“I’ve heard the king and his family were removed from the dungeon and returned to their palace suites where they remain under heavy guard.”
“Where is Hogarth and the members of the royal guard?” asks Krage. “Hogarth is a potential ally. He and his guards are needed to free the king.”
“Some were killed during the coup. The junior members were reassigned to units of the regular army, but Hogarth and his senior officers are being held in the city’s prison. Do you have a plan?”
Krage replies. “Our first task is to free Hogarth.” After the travelers have eaten and rested, they head for the tunnel through which they exited the mountain. Humock travels with them to learn the location of the hidden entrance.
Standing in the entrance, Humock peers down the dark tunnel and asks, “You say if I follow this tunnel, I can reach the temple and even the ruins of Ardonbrae?”
“Yes, but the way is complicated and white goblins and Blue Daggers lurk along the way.”
Humock gives his goodbyes and promises to return in the next day with fresh food. He walks out of the tunnel saying, “Let me know when you are ready to strike; I will give you what support I can.”
It is clear to Krage their best chance of freeing the king is before Lord Lizardthroat returns to the capital. They have only two or three days at most. Grenab knows the palace and can guide them to the king’s residence. The route would take them past several guard stations. Krage considers various ruses he might em
ploy to get past the guards, but in the end concludes he needs more armed support. Once the king is freed, he needs armed men to keep Lord Lizardthroat from recapturing the king. The men he wants are presently locked in the city’s prison. In the morning, he initiates his plan to free Hogarth and his officers.
Grenab and Alexia arrive at the warehouse where the food delivery for the prison is being assembled. Many of the delivery workers recognize Alexia as the temple worker who does voluntary work in the prison. She tells them she has a charitable food delivery. She points to Grenab, who stands by a cart loaded with crates of fresh fruit. “With you permission, my servant and I will accompany you to the prison’s service entrance. I need to deliver the fruit directly to the head cook. He is the only one I trust to fairly distribute the fruit to the prisoners.”
The party easily passes through the back gate of the prison and arrives at the kitchen door. Cook opens the door and allows the deliverymen to offload their carts. He recognizes Alexia at once. Several seconds later he spots Grenab who asks, “Would you give me a hand?”
Cook helps Grenab carry a heavy crate of apples into the kitchen’s larder. When the deliverymen depart the prison courtyard, Alexia and Grenab hold back. Cook sees them lingering, although he can’t imagine why the two are trying to sneak into the prison. “By the Stones, what is going on?” he asks.
“It is good to see you,” Alexia responds. “The king’s master-at-arms and many of the royal guard are being held in the prison. In short, we have come to free them.”
“Just the two of ye?” Cook inquires.
“Three actually,” Alexia opens the crate and helps Krage climb out.
“This is the Thaumaturgist. He will help us.” Alexia offers Cook a serious look. “You must decide if you want to be a part of this prison break. If you would rather not get involved in something that may get you killed, say so now and we will tie and gag you. Later, you can say you took no part.”
Forging the Half-Goblin Sorcerer Page 24
