Both Darr and Gadlin made motion for Wandalor to wait a moment. The two men got up from their positions, walking a short distance to the edge of the firelight. Charlotte was curious and watched them a moment before she realized what she saw. The two men turned and began to urinate. “As I said before, Lord Sumter was the first person in my life to get a spell out of me. That first spell was a telekinetic burst. That spell I believed saved our lives, in that the blast exploded just as Moorclasian’s men were jumping through the portal. It was also at that time that the portal collapsed. We were safe. We were free, we thought.” Wandalor crossed the campsite and went over to the wagon. He put down the wine sack and picked up his cloak. He dabbed his forehead and looked at them, tiredness showing on his face. As he returned to the fireside he continued, “A little knowledge is a great thing. The desire for more knowledge can be your undoing. The second spell I learned was this Opuscule Peregrination. With concentration and a question in their heart, practitioners of magic can open up a portal. When you reach through, yes you must reach through on the other side of the portal, there is a book. Wherever it opens, there will be the book waiting. Which is the subject of whatever the question is in your heart. You grasp the book and you pull it back through the portal.” He looked down at the ground and shook his head. “This very spell is the reason many major libraries have chains on their books. At the time of casting, I did not know that the chain would prevent the portal from closing on the book. Now mundane items such as spears, swords, ropes, and other things of this nature would have just been cut off when the portal closes on it. Book chains are enchanted or warded to prohibit a portal from closing on the chain.” Charlotte gasped in wonder and delight. She thought of all the books she wanted to get her hands on.
“Now, in my insatiable quest for knowledge, in the beginning often I would pull a book through a portal and notice that the portal had not closed. I waited a couple of seconds, and if nothing happened I would go about reading the book. This was a mistake. I should have seen that the book was chained, saw the portal open, and tossed the book back through the portal. My attempts at gaining knowledge did not go unnoticed by people with more knowledge than they wanted the rest of the world to have. One evening, many months after I came back from the dark stone city, I was in my room. I cast the spell. The question I had in my heart was, ‘What do druids know about the half races?’ The book that appeared in front of my hand in a library somewhere I don’t know was titled Gilbert the Gnome’s Study of Oracles. Later I would come to understand that oracle was another word for druid.
“The gnome’s book changed the course of my life. I pulled it through, the chain stayed there, and the portal stayed open. Curiosity got the better of me. I cradled the book in my lap, opened it up, and began to read. Someone on the other side of the portal reached through and pull me into my own portal. They pulled me all the way to the library. As soon as I reached the other side of the portal the temperature change was shocking. When I hit the floor, I was stunned. The breath was knocked from me. I could see it as it rose up out of my body like a fog. The room was ice cold. That was when I saw his face again. It was fate, desire, envy, that drew me there. I was face-to-face with the monster—with Mooreclasian. I was in my bedclothes. I had nothing to use to defend myself, save for my natural talent and use of magic. Magic left me after falling through the portal, slamming on my back on ice cold stone and seeing the stunning vision of this man before me. I could not gain my faculties in time; seemingly with a single blow to the face, I was rendered unconscious and I awoke in a cell filled with half races.”
“I see,” Charlotte said softly, “we have one major thing in common. We have all been forced into a life we did not ask for or seek. We all had dreams of our own that were manipulated by some other force: the force of fear.” She was visibly shaken.
After seeing that Charlotte wasn’t going to be consoled on this issue, the men decided to let things rest. Gadlin, Johan, and Darr played a quick game of chance to divide up the watch for the night. Gadlin had first watch, followed by Johan, and then Darr. Charlotte conceded to sleep, and settled down undisturbed. She rolled up in a blanket close to the fire and forced herself to sleep. Wandalor thought it best to sleep close to her, but not too close.
After his watch, Gadlin took a place between Charlotte and the forest line. He wasn’t sure where her affection for dragons came from; however, he decided not to hold that against her. In all her bravado, she was still a woman in need of protection. His instincts told him she wasn’t as experienced and wise to the world as she wanted them to believe. Gadlin wouldn’t let this dragon obsession of hers go unexplained. He would see that she confessed her personal business that included dragons. Whatever it is, Gadlin thought, it cannot be good.
Gadlin let his mind drift to the other aspects of this obscure woman. Her beauty didn’t go unnoticed by him or the others, he was certain. It wasn’t her beauty that occupied his thoughts alone, but her fierce independence as well. Wasn’t the female human supposed to be the docile member of the species? Charlotte reminded him of the shieldmaidens of his history. Headstrong and hard to domesticate. Oh, but once you did get one in the home they created magic on a different level in the kitchen and in the bedroom. Gadlin knew he wanted to know more about what made her so different than other female humans. Johan would surely be fascinated by her as well, but for more physical reasons. Gadlin thought that wasn’t a bad prospect either. He pictured her soft skin against him as he lay on the cool grass just a few feet away from her. If he closed his eyes, he could even smell her. Gadlin drifted to sleep, fantasizing about the woman who flew with a dragon.
Chapter Ten
Dawn broke with the soft whispers of the birds beginning to sing. The fire had long since died out. As the travelers awoke and gathered their gear, Gadlin and Charlotte remained asleep.
“Does he ever do that with you?” Johan asked Darr.
“No, if anyone put their foot that close to me as I slept, I would kick it,” Darr replied.
Thalin walked over to see what the two men were talking about, and as he approached where Gadlin and Charlotte lay side by side he saw the reason for the strange question. Sometime through the night Gadlin had moved his sleeping mat closer to Charlotte. He lay next to her, on his back. She was on her side, facing him. A few dozen inches separated them. She had one wool sock-covered foot out of her otherwise cocooned bedroll lying over the foot of Gadlin. When he moved his foot her foot moved with it, remaining on his. “Well, she is royalty. That’s the cleanest sock I’ve ever seen,” Thalin said, and walked away to prepare his things for travel.
Charlotte stretched like a cat and sat up. Gadlin felt her move her foot from him, opening his eyes to see Darr and Johan looking down at him. “Is that why I get the strange feeling that I’m being watched in my sleep? Is that what you do? That’s creepy. Stop it,” Gadlin said.
“Should we tell him?” asked Johan.
“Tell him what?” Charlotte said as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. Darr shook his head and walked away.
“Get moving, you two; we leave in less than an hour,” Johan said, and walked away as well.
Charlotte set about finding a place to relieve herself, mumbling under her breath, “I might have been wrong. I have absolutely nothing in common with these men.”
The group managed to get themselves fed and back into the wagon on the road headed to Blackweb. Charlotte thought about sitting on the driver’s bench since it would be more comfortable. She changed her mind when she saw Gadlin driving. Instead she sat down in the back next to Wandalor. She liked the older man.. He reminded her of the priest at the church at home. He wasn’t exactly fatherly, but he was wise. Charlotte knew that the greatest asset to survival was being smart and logical. Wandalor was both those things.
She looked at the others and sighed. They all had value and brought things to the day that she wouldn’t have been exposed to at home. Charlotte smiled at herself. She had shot a crossbow at
a giant spider. She had never shot a crossbow, a long bow, yes, at a standing target. She was rather proud of herself.
Thalin climbed up onto the bench. “Don’t want to sit in the back?” Gadlin asked.
“He doesn’t want to look into another spider hole.” Johan said. Charlotte thought he was joking, but he wasn’t.
“Spiders or not, my backside had enough of Gadlin’s driving hitting all the holes last time,” Thalin said, and adjusted his weight on the bench.
“Did I ever tell you where the term ‘saved by the bell’ comes from?” Darr queried, and since no one answered him he said, “No? I’ll tell you. It’s a little known fact it came from the dwarves. They’re not known to have the best of medicines. If they weren’t sure someone was dead, they would bury them with a string on their hands and head. That string would be placed in a long tube that was attached to the coffin and pushed through the topsoil. It was then tied to a bell. If the person inside the coffin wasn’t dead and woke up, thrashing their hands and moving would pull that string in the tube that went up through the ground and the bell that would ring. After a dwarf was buried, an attendant would wait in the graveyard for twelve hours or however long they were paid to wait. When the bell started ringing the attendant would run over to the tube and yell down to the person in the coffin. He would tell the person to calm down and wait. The gravediggers would dig them out of the ground. That, my friends, is where the term ‘saved by the bell’ comes from. The lesson of this story? Never trust a dwarven cleric.”
Charlotte saw Wandalor nod in agreement. She shrugged. Must be true, she thought. Johan nodded, too.
The wagon meandered down the road, and as they approached the city’s edge the traffic picked up. All sorts of travelers were moving in and out of the town. The road was filled with wagons of goods headed to the market, craftsmen looking for work, and sailors searching for a ship to sail. Charlotte had not seen so many people, different people, at one time at one place. She said so.
Johan laughed. “Sweets, you’ve just seen the road. Wait until you see the town square. Surely you’ve been to a city before?”
“A city? Not really, just towns and villages. Nothing like this,” she answered.
The travelers rounded a curve in the road and topped a hill. What lay before them was indeed a city with tall turrets. The city wall was stacked high with stone. The gate was open wide and the masses went right through. Charlotte saw there were no guards at the gate as the wagon passed through. They continued on the wide road into the city and Gadlin steered the wagon past shop fronts selling all sorts of wares. Out front of the shops were shelves and bins of fruits and vegetables of all shapes and colors. The air was filled with the scent of fresh baked bread and cakes.
“We need food and rest,” Wandalor stated. “Johan, you have been here before. It is up to you to guide us to a safe place to unload.”
“I know a place. You must remember one thing while we’re in this city. The stories of Blackweb aren’t merely ghost stories told to the children by firelight. I know they’re real. Watch your words carefully. Pay attention to what you hear. However, hold your tongue lest you become the new tale of Blackweb.”
As the wagon wheels clobbered over a wood plank bridge, Charlotte rose to her knees to get a better look at the shops and buildings on the other side. She took note of the shingled signs as they passed them. She reached into her cloak and took out a scrap of paper. She looked at it then back to the structures. When she noticed Darr staring at her she shoved the paper back into her pocket, smiled, and looked away.
“There.” Johan pointed out an unassuming place that was just ahead. Logs and soft wooden tree trunks made up most of the building’s outer structure. The inn looked snug, cheerful and welcoming, though it was tough to see through the closed windows. The sound of dancing and singing from within was heard and felt outside.
Gadlin stopped the wagon close to the front door of the inn. Charlotte, Wandalor, and Johan disembarked the wagon. Wandalor inclined his head towards Gadlin. The wagon moved as Gadlin turned it toward the barn situated next to the inn.
Darr spoke to the hostler as Gadlin and Thalin detached the wagon from the horse and harness. Darr made arrangements for the group to have two nights stay and let the hostler know that if they decided to stay longer he would return. Darr gathered up weapons, satchels, and other items from the wagon bed.
“For a town named Blackweb, this place is built with an amazing amount of natural beauty. It’s as if the homes on the outskirts of town were sculpted from the surrounding trees and shrubs. Gadlin, have you ever seen the like?” Thalin asked.
Looking over the horse’s shoulder Gadlin answered, “I think I can honestly say not outside the magnificence of the ancient Elven cities I have seen at the base of the Noisuf Mountains.” Seeing the perplexed look on his friend’s face, Gadlin continued. “The Noisuf Mountains are far north; a couple weeks’ journey on the other side of Lord Tannath’s kingdom,” Gadlin explained, motioning with his hand.
“Have you been to Lord Tannath’s kingdom? I heard he hates humans with a passion as great as the passion that Dwarves hate Orcs,” Thalin said, glancing at Darr who was moving with a purpose. Darr tied the bundle of weapons and gear wrapped in a trail blanket together with a rope from the wagon.
“We need to get moving. I don’t feel safe leaving Johan with Charlotte for too long. She seems a bit simple to his ways. Wandalor will get deep into a flagon soon. You know how he is when he comes to town.” As he finished speaking, Darr picked up the bundle and pulled it over his shoulder.
Thalin looked at Darr, raising an eyebrow. “When we get in there, are you going to start telling war stories again? Because if you are, I think I’ll stay out here a while. I’ve heard all of your stories a time of two. Besides, you’re one of the only people I know who can take a week-long journey through some of the most lush and untouched areas of this grand world and shave it down to...” Thalin spoke in mock- Darr voice, “‘We woke, made food, and traveled.’”
Darr shifted his weight a bit, looked at Gadlin, then to Thalin. “What are you trying to say? That I have no sense of language? That I cannot use descriptive confabulation?” Darr could see that he had just lost Gadlin. “It means words,” he said flatly.
Gadlin grunted and looked down to what he was doing, then back outside as the wind picked up and thunder began to rumble in the distance. Looking at Thalin he said, “Looks like we’re about to get some weather.”
Thalin said, “We get weather every day, what do you mean?”
Gadlin looked at Thalin then to Darr. He picked up a brush and ran it over the flank of the horse, “Rain,” he said flatly, also mocking Darr’s tone.
“Listen, this is a hostler. It’s completely his job to do what you two are doing,” Darr grumbled, motioning to the stable attendant. “Let’s go inside. Besides, can’t you just use some Eldritch spell, snap your fingers, and have the horse clean? Do you have to brush the thing? It’s not like we raised the creature or have an emotional connection to it.” Darr waved and turned with the bundle to the side door of the inn.
When Darr had entered the inn and was out of sight, Thalin turned to Gadlin and spoke. “He does know I’m a Druid, right? I mean, Wandalor is the one who does the clean spells and such, not me. I’m a warden of all things natural and a healer.” Thalin moved from where he was speaking over to the feeding sacks. When he was there a slight evocation charm was all it took for all of the feed sacks to be filled with a colorful array of quality grains, fruits, and vegetables that the animals of the stables would all enjoy munching.
Gadlin brushed the horse with long strokes and a calming voice. “Darr doesn’t care what form of Eldritch you use. He just knows that neither you nor Wandalor worship his Lord of Light. Just so long as we’re all pointed in the same direction in the fight it will all sort itself out. One of the good things about him is that, though he believes in the Light, he will not push it on you. Nor will he act as a
judge, since you don’t believe as he does.” Gadlin placed the brush on a fence rung. He moved to look in the back of the wagon in an attempt not to look too much like he was second guessing Darr’s ability to gather all their items.
Thalin moved toward the side door that Darr had used and opened it for Gadlin and himself to enter. As the door opened it caught the eye of Charlotte, who stood near Darr. Wandalor spoke to the innkeeper. Johan was of course speaking to a bar wench about food and drink presumably, but more likely other means of entertainment. As they walked through the old wooden doorway, the two were welcomed by a pleasant atmosphere and dancing people. The bartender was buried in orders, but still managed to welcome them with a jovial wave.
The inn’s tavern was as lovely inside as on the outside. Rounded wooden beams supported the upper floor, with huge lamps attached to them. The walls are adorned with flags of all sorts and sizes. Some of the pennants were from nearby towns or provinces. Others from the far corners of the world left by visitors. The tavern was full of patrons. Travelers were the primary clientele. Several long tables were occupied by separate groups who bonded over great food and conversation. There were smaller tables that were occupied by smaller families. Most of the stools at the bar were occupied, though nobody seemed to mind more company.
Gadlin and Thalin were both caught off guard by the setting they walked into. Gadlin remembered that Johan had been talking about this inn’s tavern, The Way Finder’s Inn, as being famous for something. Gadlin couldn’t remember what it was. The mirthful sound of the inn was lost in an instant beneath the sound of deep, rolling thunder as the storm launched and dropped rain in earnest. Darr reached out and took the key that Wandalor had procured from the innkeeper and headed up to drop off their belongings in the rooms.
Wandalor turned in the direction of Gadlin and Thalin, and in doing so he noticed Johan. He nodded to Johan and at the flagons of ale. The group sat at one of the long tables. Johan walked over with the ale and set one in front of each of them, including Charlotte.
The Travelers' Song Page 8
