by Ronald Craft
Chapter 18
Rodach stuffed the last of his clothes into the pack and strapped it shut.
“What do you mean you're leaving?” Owen screamed behind him.
Rodach had been light on the details. Even so, he had counted on Owen going off the deep end. Owen had probably counted on a bit of down time with his recovery, but Rodach had just taken that away from him.
There were more important things at hand.
He needed to get to the Dark Lands, before the skiima inside of him took complete control of his body. As of late, his dreams had been filled with a new darkness; one that wasn't his own. Images flashed through his mind, and the aches and pains throughout his body grew worse with each passing day.
“Seriously, Rodach. Do you know what will happen if you just vanish? I wouldn't be surprised if you come back to find a different ruler sitting on your throne. The council will never stand for it.”
Rodach turned to face Owen. “Bah. I couldn't care less about what the council thinks. They don't do anything but sit there and bicker with one another day in and day out.” Rodach crossed his arms. “Owen, this is something that I need to do. If I stay here, things will only get worse.”
Owen threw his hands in the air. “That's what I don't get. What will get worse? You haven't told me anything.”
“Sorry, but I can't risk telling you.”
Owen puffed up his chest. “Fine. Then, I'm going with you.”
Rodach shook his head. “No, you're not. You need to stay here and take care of things.”
“No. I'm going with you.”
“No, Owen, you're not.”
“Yes, I am.”
Rodach spoke in his most commanding tone. “Owen, I can't take you with me. I need you here.”
Owen glared at him. “Do you know how irresponsible you are? How can you shirk off your duties to someone that isn't even of royal blood? The consequences will be dire.”
There was a fury in Owen's eyes he had never seen before. Owen had always been hot headed, but Rodach could see he'd crossed the line this time. He felt bad for his friend, but he knew he could trust Owen.
Owen was his friend long before Rodach had become lord of the castle. They used to fight over everything as kids. It had been hard for the both of them to distance themselves from each other as they grew older and had their duties thrust upon them.
“I'm sure they will be, Owen. That's why I need you to stay behind and take care of things for me. I also need a couple days head start before the council finds out I'm gone.”
Owen's jaw dropped. “You want me to lie to the council, too? Quite a demand from someone in your position.”
Rodach shrugged. “Just give me two days, Owen. You can report I've vanished after that.”
Owen stared at him for several moments without saying a word. “Do as you like. Just don't come crying back to me when the council hands your kingdom over to someone else.” Owen spun around and sped from the room. The door slammed shut behind him, rattling a vase on a nearby shelf.
“Thanks Owen.” Rodach whispered. “You've been too good of a friend to me over the years.”
If I don't survive this ordeal, then my throne is lost to me either way.
He grabbed the remainder of his belongings and made his way to the secret exit.
I never thought I'd have to use this path to deceive my own people. Who knows how many of my ancestors used this same path to conceal their own dark secrets.
Like many of the other passages in the castle, it was hidden in plain sight. Rodach grabbed hold of the large mirror against the wall and slid it to the side. The passageway was as dark and foreboding as he remembered. When he had last ventured through the passage, it had been with his father many years before. They had walked down the path while his father told him scary stories. By the time they reached the exit, Rodach was so frightened he vowed to never go through the passage again.
His father had laughed and said that he hoped Rodach never had to use it. There were only two reasons anyone used the tunnel. One was if the castle was on fire or under attack. The second was if the lord was up to no good. Rodach would have to add a third reason after this. Abandonment of one's kingdom.
He smiled at the memory of his father. Those were happier times for him. Nobody had ever imagined that Rodach's father would be poisoned by the one person he had trusted the most.
His wife.
The smile faded from his face as he ducked under a spider web. Rodach had spent the whole day crying when they had put his mother to death. She kept screaming 'He deserved it for what he did to me' over and over again until they decapitated her.
From that day on, he had been the lord of the castle at just barely thirteen winters. It was many years before Rodach was able to open up to anyone again. If it hadn't been for Owen, he wasn't sure what would have happened to him.
The other aides had tried to get him to confide in them over the years, but he remained quiet and shirked his duties for the most part. The council had been close to dismissing him on several occasions, but Owen had always taken up the slack and smoothed things over. When he had nearly given up, it had again been Owen that slapped some sense into him. Rodach owed a debt to the man that he could never repay. Owen deserved better.
Truth be told, I never enjoyed the burden of ruling. If I survive this, I will be back. Rest assured, I will make up for all wrongs I've committed. I squandered both my rule and my friendship in the pursuit of power. Power that turned out to be a curse.
Dried leaves crunched under his feet, and a cold breeze whistled down the passage. The last rays of the sun illuminated the exit ahead of him.
“Almost there.” His voice echoed around him, almost as if the specters of his ancestors followed behind him.
Several of his forebears had used this tunnel in the past to escape from attacking forces. The castle had fallen once before, but it had been retaken.
What people didn't know is that the castle was designed to be easily penetrated. Once the enemy forces were cozy inside the castle, that was when they were trapped. Rodach had read the stories of how his ancestors had used the entire castle against their enemies.
There were secret passages and hidden traps all over that allowed the people of the castle to attack quickly and quietly before retreating back to safety. It was an effective tactic that to this day had never been defeated.
He stepped out of the tunnel and took a deep breath. The air was cold and crisp and chilled his body, but he welcomed the feeling. Rodach had always loved the freshness of the forest outside the city. It was free of the taint of humanity. The trees rose high above him and waved lazily in the breeze, their leaves gone for the winter.
Escitor lay far to the west. He would be traveling through the Witchvale at the harshest time of the year. Parts of the forest were said to be haunted. Many had gone into those dark woods with the hope of harvesting the treasures that lie within and never returned. Travelers would spend an entire moon cycle skirting the edge of the forest rather than risk the journey through it.
Unfortunately, what he sought required him to go to the deepest parts of the Witchvale.
Rodach had been there once before, but only to the outskirts of the city. Escitor, or the Dark Lands as many referred to it, lay entirely inside the Koros Forest. It was a massive city spread across the forest in sections. The part he had been to was one of the smallest sections.
He had thought it suspicious even back then. Why would an artifact like the Arguros Chest be in a small temple, relatively unprotected? It had seemed too good to be true at the time. Almost as if someone had wanted him to find it.
I should have seen it. Everything was far too convenient. Someone set me up.
The sun dipped below the horizon and the air became even more frigid. Rodach buttoned up his coat and pulled up his hood. There was no time for him to rest. He had to be as far away from the city as he could
get before his two day lease expired. Once the council found out he had abandoned his duties, they would surely send guardsmen after him. No ruler was permitted to defy the almighty council.
Bunch of fools, they were.
He had never seen eye to eye with them. They sat around arguing over what would be best for the people while, in reality, they were only interested in what would most benefit them. Every time Rodach tried to arrange for extra portions of grain to be distributed, they had stepped in and scolded him.
He couldn't even feed his own people.
Rodach blew into his hands. It had been a long time since he had gone tromping around the forest in the winter. The trees always seemed more imposing at night. After a snow storm, many of the trees would be laden with the burden and all throughout the forest branches would be snapping and crashing to the ground. It had scared him half to death when he was a kid.
He sighed.
Why do I always recall my past when night falls? It's almost as if the sun is a shield against dark thoughts.
Once that shield dropped out of sight for the day, he was defenseless to all those memories that swam around in the back of his mind. Even when he thought about the good ones, the bad memories were never far behind.
Rodach reached into the satchel at his waist and pulled out a small vial. He pulled off the cork with his teeth and drank the contents within. In all the years he had spent researching alchemical concoctions, this has proven one of the more useful to him. It helped him block out the foul memories and raised his awareness.
He had a feeling that he was going to need it in Escitor.
Everything around him snapped into focus. He could see further in the darkness, and hear even the smallest twig snap. The cold in his bones receded, and each step became easier and more fluid. It only lasted for half a day, and the side effects were rather abysmal, but it was something he could live with.
The skiima slithered around his rib cage. He was running out of time.
—
“So, he's finally left?”
“Yes, master.”
“Perfect. Is he being watched?”
“I've sent several members of the serpent's eye to watch over him, master. I'll know everything he does.”
“You have redeemed yourself after your past... mistake.”
“I am honored.”
“Soon, the kingdom will be yours. I will see to it that the council rules in your favor.”
“Thank you, master.”
“We will speak again soon. Until then, keep an eye on Rodach.”
“As you command.”
The seeing glass went dark. Owen sighed and flopped down in his chair. There was too much at stake here for him to mess up now. Everything with Rodach had gone according to his master's plan, so far.
There could be no mistakes.
There was one thing that still concerned him. The scholar had still eluded his grasp. He had sent his best men to track the man down, and yet he was nowhere to be found. How could an old scholar evade him? There had to be something more to the man than what he let on.
He was sure the scholar had done something to the skiima in Rodach, as well. It should've progressed more than it had by now, but it still remained dormant. If he didn't find and dispose of that man soon, he was sure the scholar would interfere once again.
That couldn't be allowed to happen.
