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+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME EIGHT NUMBER ONE
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+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
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| ++ | F S F NN N E T
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| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
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| | F S F N NN E T
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|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
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/___________\ ==========================================
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
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___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <CSDAVE@MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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CONTENTS
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X-Editorial 'Orny' Liscomb
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*Ornate Love Jim Owens
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Ceda the Executioner: 6 Joel Slatis
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Date: 070887 Dist: 384
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An "*" indicates story is part of the Dargon Project
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All original materials copyrighted by the author(s)
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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X-Editorial
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At long last, we have the first issue of the 1987 summer volume.
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The delay since the last issue is certainly not due to lack of
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submissions, as I currently have enough material on hand to send out
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nearly five full issues. Why, then, has 8-1 not been sent out until
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now? Well, as you will recall (if you read the Xeditorial in the
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last issue), I am in the process of setting up shop so that FSFnet
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will be available via standard US post for readers who do not have
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computer accounts. I vowed that I would not send out 8-1 until I had
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a firm policy for this. Therefore, it is with great pride that I
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announce that FSFnet now supports hardcopy subscriptions.
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Hardcopy subscriptions are available to the public at a cost of
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$2.00 per issue for domestic orders, and $2.50 per issue for issues
|
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sent abroad. These issues will be produced using Amiga desktop
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publishing. Issues will be improving in the near future, as I am
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planning on purchasing a new printer for that purpose, and I hope to
|
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include graphics in the future. To receive a hardcopy subscription
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to FSFnet, I need your full name, mailing address, and payment.
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Please specify the number of issues your subscription will last, and
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the payment should be the above rate multiplied by the number of
|
||
issues. Checks should be made payable to David A. Liscomb.
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Correspondance may be addressed via electronic mail to
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CSDAVE@MAINE.BITNET or via US post to David A. Liscomb, 221 C Center
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Street, Bangor Maine, 04401 USA.
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Now, as I mentioned, we have a backlog of stories waiting to be
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printed, so future issues will be sent out very soon. Some
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highlights include the continuation of Joel Slatis' "Ceda" epic, the
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continuation of John White's "Treasure" series, several short
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stories by new Dargon authors, several excellent Dargon stories by
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Jim Owens, and my own "Legend in the Making". So watch your readers!
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Also of note, several FSFnet writers (myself included) will be
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||
attending the Society for Creative Anachronism's Pennsic War on
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August 8-15. There will be a gathering of Dargon authors for their
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own secret purposes, and all FSFnet readers are welcome to seek us
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out. If you will be at Pennsic and wish to drop by, feel free to
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contact me, and arrangements can be made.
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Enough! Enough, I say! On to the issue at hand, if you will...
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-'Orny' Liscomb <CSDAVE@MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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Ornate Love
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Levy crouched low on his wildly galloping horse. Branches
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swatted him across the face and chest. He glanced back. The wolves
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were still following. He had shot several before he ran out of
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arrows. He thought there were about seven of them. Levy and the
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horse burst into a small clearing. Grass grew tall in the meadow.
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Levy turned back just as they reached the far side. He had been
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right: seven.
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Levy Barel was the son of the mayor of a village near Dargon, a
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city a little to the south. He was a blacksmith by trade, and just
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about everything else by choice. He had just escaped from the
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clutches of a minor lord, who had been coercing him into building
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siege engines for a small war. In the process of escaping Levy had
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managed to make a breach in said lord's keep, and that lord had
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pursued Levy into the wilderness. Levy had been riding for two days
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before the wolves had found his trail.
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Levy lifted his gaze to the far trees. There was a path on the
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other side of the field. Levy urged his horse on faster. The
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exhausted beast responded weakly. The wolves kept up easily. Soon
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the path dipped, running a few yards below the lip of a steep slope.
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Levy drew his sword. To his left the slope dropped down,
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disappearing into the trees. To his right, almost level with his
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face, was the top of the slope. Levy knew the wolves would try to
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move up beside him. He would have to fight them off. He just hoped
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his horse had the strength to not fall.
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He glanced quickly to his left. Through the treetops he could
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see that he was in a valley, with a lake in the bottom. He was not
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far from the lake. If he could somehow use that to his advantage...
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He never got the chance. A flash of gray was the only warning he
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got before one hundred pounds of hungry carnivore hurled itself at
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him from the top of the slope. Levy smashed the wolf's skull with
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his sword, but its body threw him off his horse. The impact knocked
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Levy's breath out, and a moment later he blacked out when he cracked
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his head on a tree trunk.
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The next thing Levy knew he was rolling down a slope. He threw
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out his arms, and managed to slow himself to the point where he
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could get his feet under himself and slow to a jog. His head was
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throbbing, along with the rest of his body. He felt his body with
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his hands. He seemed intact, but all his possessions, including his
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knife, were lost on the slope above. He could still hear the wolves.
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He continued to jog down the slope, in hopes of reaching the water
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before the wolves reached him. He could see the trees thin out
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ahead, and the underbrush thicken. As he approached it, he could
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start to hear the sounds of canine feet on the slope behind him. He
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started to run.
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He reached the undergrowth just as the first howl reached his
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ears. He tried to crash through, but part of the way through his
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foot caught on something. His still-pounding head spun as he pitched
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forward. He crawled forward, out of the undergrowth. He looked up,
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and saw her.
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It would have been hard to tell which of the two was more
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surprised. The last thing Levy expected to see in that wild area was
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a young woman, dressed in flowing white. Judging from the expression
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on her face, the last thing she expected was a battered and bleeding
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stranger. Both, however, could hear the running animals following
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close behind Levy, and both took what they thought was appropriate
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action. Levy continued to try to reach the water, and she took her
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ornately decorated staff in a firm, two handed grip.
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When the first wolf burst from the bushes, she caught it with a
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sharp blow to the head. There was a sharp crack, and the animal
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crashed to the ground. The next animal caught her backstroke, and
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also dropped. Neither moved after that. The rest of the animals were
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more cautious. They formed a semi-circle around the two humans.
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While the woman stood, braced for more action, Levy levered himself
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up. He glanced around for a weapon. Pulled up on the flat beach was
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a boat. In it were some long pieces of trimmed ash. He grabbed one,
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and turned around in time to see her strike another wolf with her
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staff. He realized that the decorations were made of multicolored
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metal. He could also smell a strange smell in the air. The other
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four wolves did not want to fall back. Levy leaped out at one of
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them. He swung the ash branch, and connected with the animal. The
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staff returned bloody. The wolf staggered. He swung again, and it
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fell. He heard a now-familiar crack, and started to turn. Then the
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world exploded in black.
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When light returned to the world, Levy found himself lying on
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something soft, in a cedar-scented area. He opened his eyes, and
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promptly closed them again when a wave of pain took over his head.
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He tried to soothe the ache with his hand, only to develop a world
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of others the moment he tried to move. He finally realized that his
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entire body hurt. It was then that he finally allowed himself the
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luxury of a groan.
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"Hello?"
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Levy paused. The voice was beautifully feminine. He tried again
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to open his eyes, but shut them tight once more. A cool, smooth hand
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settled on his forehead.
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"Can you understand me?"
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"Uuuhhh..." It wasn't quite what Levy had in mind, but it was
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all his tongue would produce. He swallowed and tried again. "Yes, I
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can understand you."
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Something cold and wet was placed over his eyes. "How are you
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feeling?"
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"Badly. I hurt all over. It hurts to open my eyes."
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"I accidentally hit you with my staff. I couldn't wake you up
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after that, and I'm afraid I dropped you a few times getting you
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back to the house. I'm sorry."
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"'S'all right. What of the wolves?"
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"The last two ran off. I left the others there. They're probably
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eaten by now. The wolves are hungry around here."
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"So I see." Levy pushed the cloth aside and forced his eyes
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open. The light stung, but he wanted to see who he was talking to.
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"Who are you?"
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Seeing her charge taking an interest in life once more, the
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woman leaned back in her chair. "My name is Sarah."
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Levy looked at her and at their surroundings. She was clothed in
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a light blue dress, and the room was a rather large one, of
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well-dressed logs. Light was streaming in slatted windows. It looked
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like morning sunshine.
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"What time is it?" Levy tried sitting up. Blackness threatened
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to swallow him again, so he leaned back again.
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"Mid-morning. I brought you here yesterday. You've slept since
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then. You should sleep some more."
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Levy's head was really hurting by that time. "Maybe you're
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right." He closed his eyes, and relaxed.
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Levy awoke later on that night, in time for supper. Sarah served
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pot-au-feu in ornately carved bowls. She and Levy ate quietly, using
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shiny steel spoons. She cut the bread with a beautiful knife, also
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of steel, with a handle of wood and intricately wrought gold and
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silver.
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Levy picked up the knife after she put it down. "This is
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beautiful. I don't know if I've ever seen work quite like this.
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Where'd you get it?"
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"I made it. I made all these things." She waved her hand at the
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table utensils.
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"They're very nice. Where did you get the steel?" Levy knew that
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steel was not easy to come by, even for someone rich enough to be a
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goldsmith.
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"My father made it."
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Levy looked at her, slightly startled. He had only ever seen
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steel being made once, and that was in Dargon.
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"I would like to watch him work. Do you think I could?"
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Sarah bowed her head. When she raised it her face was sad. "I
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would like to see him work again, too. He's been dead now three
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years." She looked out across the table, avoiding Levy's eyes.
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"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Levy thought for a moment. "Who else
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lives here?"
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"I live alone." A strange thoughtful expression came over her
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face, as if she just then realized that she was alone with a stranger.
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"Alone? Is there anyone else around here?" asked Levy. A woman
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living alone in the wilderness was unheard of.
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"No, we, that is, my father, made sure of that. He, didn't want
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anyone around here." She looked away again. Levy realized that she
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had not wanted to tell him that, but that it slipped out. He
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prudently changed the subject.
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"What of your mother?" Levy guessed that Sarah was about twenty.
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"She died when I was young." Sarah brightened up at the change
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of topic. "I do have three brothers. They don't live too far from
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here. The nearest is only three days riding away."
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Levy looked out the window. The last of the sunlight was fading
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from the hilltops. "I suppose it's time to go back to sleep."
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Sarah stood. "After your adventure I should think you would want
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to sleep some more." She put the bread into the cupboard and started
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gathering the dishes off the table.
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"I'm afraid that compared to some of the things I've gone
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through lately, that was merely exciting." Sarah looked at him.
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"Oh?"
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Levy helped her gather the tableware. This brought more strange
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looks from Sarah. Levy noticed her expression.
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"I don't like to be a burden when I'm a guest in someone's home."
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She shook her head. "I'm just not used to seeing a man do
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women's work."
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"When you're not married, it's all your work." Levy had turned
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to carry the dishes to the tub, and did not see her next expression.
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Levy awoke the next morning feeling stiff, but otherwise sound.
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Sunlight was coming in through the slats, telling him he had slept
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late. He got up and looked around. Sarah was not in the house. He
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stepped outside. He had known from the views out the windows that
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the lake was nearby, but it soon became obvious that the house was
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built on an island. The island was a small hill sticking up out of
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the middle of the lake. The house was built near the top. The boat
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he had seen was docked at a neat pier hidden in a small cove just
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below the house. The house turned out to be fairly large. When
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inside he had only seen the main living room/kitchen, with two doors
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leading off it. One door he knew led to the room Sarah slept in, the
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other was a covered walk leading to the privy. Now he saw that the
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house was almost a hundred feet long. Levy's parents were fairly
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wealthy, and their house was only thirty feet square. This house was
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over three times larger.
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Levy started to walk towards the back of the house. He had
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gotten almost to the back when he came across an open door. From
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inside he could smell hot metal. Levy stepped inside. At first he
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couldn't see anything, but as his eyes adjusted he could see a
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reddish light coming from further inside. He took a step towards it,
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and fell over something hard and heavy. Metal objects clattered to
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the floor. He heard a gasp, and sudden light blinded him.
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"Who's there?" It was Sarah, sounding frightened.
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"It's me, Levy." Levy picked himself up out of the debris. The
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light revealed a neat smithy, with an incongruous pile of metal
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scraps just inside the doorway. Sarah poked her head around from
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behind what seemed to be a wide brick pillar. She was holding her
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staff. She stared at Levy for a long moment. He could see that she
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had been deeply startled, and that a glimmer of distrust was playing
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on her mind. Then she relaxed her grip on her staff somewhat and
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stepped into view.
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"You startled me." She smiled then. "Come. I'm working."
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Levy followed her around the pillar. It turned out to be a small
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forge. Her workbench held a half-finished piece. Levy studied it for
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a moment, but couldn't quite tell what it was. Sarah smiled when she
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saw his puzzled look.
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"I'm not sure myself what it's going to be yet. I started it out
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to go on a knife handle, but I haven't made a staff for a long time.
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I may put it on a staff end."
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"Did you make this?" Levy had picked up her staff, which she had
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leaned up against a nearby bench. It was about four feet long,
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wooden with the bottom and top capped with metal. The bottom was a
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simple steel cup, but the top was not. It was almost a foot long,
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gold and silver, with large crystal inlays. It was intricately
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decorated in woodland motifs, although in places it was worn almost
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smooth.
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"I made some, and my father made some. He was getting sick a
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lot, and he said I should carry a stick to protect myself when in
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the woods. He insisted on helping design the headcap."
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Levy hefted it, and smacked it against his hand. It was sturdy,
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and quite heavy. His arm twitched when the metal touched his palm.
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He repeated the action, harder, and was surprised when his entire
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right side convulsed. He almost dropped the staff. He gave Sarah a
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shocked look. She smiled back.
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"That was one of father's secrets. He had many of them. He said
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that when you hit that kind of crystal just right, strange things
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happen." Levy carefully leaned the staff back against the bench.
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"Where do you sell what you make?"
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"I ride to a town a few days away. It's not the closest, but
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father insisted I go there, so that..." She stopped abruptly.
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"So that what?" Levy again sensed she was holding back.
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"He just insisted I go there." She bent over her work.
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Wanting to change the subject, Levy looked around. There was a
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table with some completed works on it, knives, plates, cups, spoons,
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and other household items. He noticed the lack of the usual swords,
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daggers, and pieces of armor. The largest blade was suitable only
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for kitchen work.
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"Did you father teach you smithy?"
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"Yes. He was a very good smith. All the people around knew his
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work. We lived very well."
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"How do you get by now?"
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She sounded cheerful. "I have everything I need here for the
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most part. I only sell things when I need something I can't make or
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grow myself, like fine fabric, or salt."
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Levy started to bore of the conversation. "I'm going to look
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around, O.K.?" Levy started for the door.
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"All right." Sarah continued with her work.
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Levy picked up walking where he had left off. The woods pressed
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close to the house on the north and east side. When Levy rounded the
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south-eastern corner, however, he was in for a surprise. What he saw
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belonged in a large city, not on a hillside in the middle of a
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wooded wilderness. He saw wheels and derricks, pulleys and
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bellcranks, pipes and carts, and most of them moving. For a long
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time all Levy could do was stare.
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"Levy!"
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Levy turned around in time to see Sarah burst around the corner
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of the house. She stopped dead when she saw him standing there.
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Levy looked back at the amazing sight. He suddenly saw some
|
||
order in the mass of hardware. His eye fell on a shack roughly in
|
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the middle of the confusion. Above it a derrick held a large pulley.
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A bellcrank stood nearby, with wooden rods attached to it. One rod
|
||
disappeared into some tall grass, the other into the building. The
|
||
crank was slowly rocking back and forth. His eye lighted upon a
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large bucket sitting in front of the shack. He thought back to
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Sarah's hesitancy to discuss the outside world, and to what she had
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said by the forge. Suddenly he understood.
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Levy turned back toward where Sarah stood.
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"You have a gold mine here. You don't want anyone to know, so
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you don't sell near here, but several days away." He saw the
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acknowledgement in her eyes. He turned back to the shack. "What
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drives the mechanism?"
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Sarah didn't answer for a moment. "There's a windmill on the
|
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other end of the island. We couldn't get enough wind here, so Father
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ran rods across the island. We use it to pump the shaft dry, and to
|
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pull rock up out of the mine."
|
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Levy walked down to the shack. A path ran down the hill to where
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a large pile of rock had been dumped into the water. Levy looked out
|
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across the lake. He stared for a few moments, then walked back up
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the hill to where Sarah stood, quietly weeping.
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"Your father made this lake, didn't he?"
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Sarah silently nodded her head in agreement.
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"Tell me about your father."
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Three hours later, Levy leaned back in his chair. Sarah was not
|
||
looking at him or at anything in particular.
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"So he and your brothers built all this over twenty years, right?"
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"Yes. Then my brothers left, moved away, and then three years
|
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ago, Father died." Sarah slowly looked around the room. "I still
|
||
expect to hear him come tromping up to the house in the morning, or
|
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hear him singing in the shop. I miss him." They sat silent for a
|
||
moment. Then Sarah stood and walked to the hearth, where she poured
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herself more tea.
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||
"There's one other thing I miss Father for, something I've been
|
||
thinking about recently." She walked back to the table, a thoughtful
|
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expression on her face. She sat down, and looked Levy straight in
|
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the face. "The last batch of steel he smelted is gone. I have gold,
|
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and silver, but no more steel. I need steel to make things, and I
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want you to help me smelt some more."
|
||
Startled, Levy didn't say anything at first. Steel-making was an
|
||
art that was carefully guarded. Steel could do things that mere iron
|
||
would not. The need always out-weighed the supply, and anyone who
|
||
could make steel would never want for money. On the other hand,
|
||
steel making was neither easy nor fast. He had not planned on
|
||
staying in the area for that long. He paused at that thought,
|
||
remembering why he was even in that area, and realized that he had
|
||
nothing better to do.
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"I'll help you."
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The next day Levy and Sarah loaded the boat with some food and
|
||
tools, and headed for the outer banks of the lake. The first place
|
||
they landed was the place where they had first met. There they
|
||
collected Levy's lost goods, including his sword. To Levy's pleasant
|
||
surprise, they also found his horse. Levy pulled the saddle off the
|
||
animal, and put the saddle into the boat. As there was no way to
|
||
take the horse with them, Levy released it to roam the lake shore.
|
||
They then headed for the opposite side of the lake. There they
|
||
paddled up a small river that fed into the lake. They followed it
|
||
for about a mile. They then pulled the boat up onto the shore, and
|
||
hid it in a small shelter made of stones. Levy followed Sarah into
|
||
the trees. They soon reached the bottom of a cliff. There was the
|
||
furnace. It was thirty feet high, with a water-powered conveyor
|
||
running up the side. Ore sat in a large pile off to one side. Levy
|
||
pointed to it.
|
||
"Where did you find the ore?"
|
||
Sarah pointed up river. "There is a bog a few miles up stream.
|
||
We collected bog iron, and floated it downstream."
|
||
Sarah explained that the site had been chosen for it's nearness
|
||
to a vein of limestone lying exposed in the cliff. Levy and Sarah
|
||
started digging the lime and hauling it the few hundred feet to the
|
||
furnace. By evening they realized that it would take several days
|
||
for the two of them to prepare the charge for burning. They gathered
|
||
all their stuff, and returned to the island.
|
||
The next day they set forth again. This time they packed for a
|
||
stay of several days. Sarah dropped Levy off on the shore where they
|
||
had left his horse, and then she started for the other shore. Levy
|
||
caught his horse, and spent the morning riding to the furnace. When
|
||
he got there he found Sarah cleaning out a small hut hidden in the
|
||
trees near the furnace. By nightfall the small house was warm and
|
||
relatively dry.
|
||
The next day Levy spent cutting wood to fuel the furnace. He cut
|
||
it on a slope overlooking the river, upstream from the furnace. When
|
||
he trimmed the logs sufficiently, he rolled them into the water,
|
||
where they floated down to where Sarah was waiting by the furnace.
|
||
Levy joined her, and Sarah showed him how her father and brothers
|
||
had made a device to pull the logs from the water using pulleys and
|
||
rope. By night several large logs lay by the furnace.
|
||
It was quite dark by the time Levy approached the hut for the
|
||
final time that night. He leaned the axe Sarah had given him against
|
||
the wall, and quietly pushed the door open. He stepped inside onto
|
||
the soft dirt floor, and was surprised to see that Sarah had hung
|
||
blankets from the ceiling to separate the small hut into two halves.
|
||
A moments reflection made him realize for the first time in at least
|
||
two days that she was, after all, a woman, and in need of privacy.
|
||
He quietly arranged his blankets on his mat, blew out the lamp, and
|
||
fell asleep.
|
||
|
||
The next four days the two spent cutting wood and digging lime
|
||
for the furnace. The only time they saw each other was in the
|
||
morning and in the evening. By the time the eve of the fourth day
|
||
drew near, the sky was heavy with clouds. Levy had just leaned his
|
||
axe and maul against the wall for the night when the first drops hit
|
||
his hand. He stepped inside, and the rain came down.
|
||
All night and most of the next day it rained. The river grew too
|
||
high to use, and water cascaded down the cliff face where they had
|
||
been digging lime. All there was to do was to sit inside and talk.
|
||
They talked of steel, and how to make it, and of metal, and of wood,
|
||
of rock, and gold, and commerce, and politics, and of as many topics
|
||
as they could find to discuss. Levy found in Sarah a companion who
|
||
was as interested in life as he was, and who, for a woman growing up
|
||
in an isolated place, was surprisingly well versed in human nature.
|
||
A few hours before sunset the rain stopped. Levy and Sarah
|
||
ventured out, Sarah to gather some wild food, and Levy to inspect
|
||
the damage done to their designs. He walked up to the lime pit, and
|
||
found it a little bigger, but otherwise untouched. He inspected the
|
||
pulleys and the water wheel, and found them little worse for wear.
|
||
He inspected the furnace, and his stack of wood, and found
|
||
everything in good shape. He walked back to the hut as dark fell,
|
||
with a greater respect for the workmanship of Sarah's father and
|
||
brothers. He quietly stepped inside the small hut. His lamp was
|
||
dark, but Sarah's was lit. As he stepped into the shack, he saw that
|
||
the blankets separating her side from his were slightly askew. As he
|
||
stood there, he could see her through the opening, as she undressed
|
||
for bed. Quietly, so as not to make any sound, he stepped closer to
|
||
the curtain. He took hold of the edge with his hand, and, with one
|
||
movement, pulled the curtain the rest of the way closed. He then
|
||
undressed, and went to bed.
|
||
The morning brought warm air and bright sunshine. Levy stepped
|
||
out of the hut and stretched. It was such days that made him yearn
|
||
for adventure. Sarah was still in bed, sleeping in late after the
|
||
previous day's inactivity. Levy picked up the axe from where he had
|
||
set it before the rain started. He discovered to his dismay that the
|
||
wooden handle was wet. He mentally chided himself for carelessly
|
||
exposing the precious instrument to the harsh elements. He inspected
|
||
the axe head, and found to his relief that there was no trace of
|
||
rust on the metal. When he hefted the maul, however, he discovered
|
||
that the cutting blade was orange with oxide. Mentally kicking
|
||
himself, he started for the wood pile, and then paused. He once
|
||
again lifted the tools to look at them.
|
||
Sarah was surprised when she stepped out of the hut to find Levy
|
||
squatting by the fire. She walked over to see what he was doing. He
|
||
was holding the maul head in the fire. He had removed it from its
|
||
handle, and was supporting it with a smaller branch threaded through
|
||
the mounting hole. As she approached, he turned to face her.
|
||
"Come here. I want to show you something."
|
||
She stood beside him, and he turned back to the fire. He pulled
|
||
the smoking metal from the flame, and rested it on a flat rock. He
|
||
then lifted a smaller rock with a small depression on its face. In
|
||
the depression was a small pool of dirty water, that had a crust of
|
||
white powder around it. As she watched, he dripped a few drops of
|
||
the liquid on the hot metal. It hissed, and as she watched, the
|
||
fluid ate a small pit in the iron.
|
||
"Now watch this." Levy said as he exchanged the maul head for
|
||
the axe head, which Sarah saw that he had also placed in the fire.
|
||
He dripped the same fluid on the axe head, but when the water was
|
||
finally evaporated, there was merely a small spot of white scum on
|
||
the metal, with no other adverse affects. Levy turned back to Sarah,
|
||
a triumphant look on his face.
|
||
"So?" Sarah looked puzzled for a moment. Then her face
|
||
brightened. "Oh| I see. Father made that maul a long time ago,
|
||
before he changed the formula|" Seeing the look of noncomprehension
|
||
of Levy's face, she elaborated. "When I was small he changed the
|
||
formula for the steel. None of his new steel rusts or corrodes or
|
||
anything. That's why we hid out here in the forest. Father was
|
||
afraid someone would try to steal the secret."
|
||
Levy looked back at the axe head. The edge was shining dully in
|
||
the morning sun. "Are you going to show me the secret?"
|
||
"I probably will. Father didn't show me how to make steel until
|
||
the last few years of his life. I don't know any other way to make
|
||
it." With that she turned to the morning's tasks, leaving Levy to
|
||
wonder, and to rebuild the disassembled tools.
|
||
|
||
After several more days of work, two of which were used to burn
|
||
the wood down to charcoal, the charge was finally ready to go. After
|
||
digging the lime for the flux, Sarah had woven more baskets for
|
||
carrying ore, lime, and charcoal up to the mouth of the furnace. The
|
||
two of them had rebuilt the troughs for the melt to flow into when
|
||
it was done, and Levy had finished some minor repairs to the
|
||
conveyor mechanism and the water-powered blower to fire the furnace.
|
||
Finally all was in readiness, and Sarah lit the fire.
|
||
The several hours that followed were anticlimactic, spent
|
||
waiting for the fire to build. When the fire finally caught,
|
||
however, Levy and Sarah found themselves the proud parents of a
|
||
monster. Levy climbed to the top of the furnace, to feed the flame,
|
||
while Sarah stayed on the bottom to pass Levy fuel and ore. The
|
||
smoke billowing out of the top made Levy long for an extra pair of
|
||
lungs, and the heat emanating from the bottom made Sarah wish she
|
||
could strip off her blouse like Levy could. They fed the fire,
|
||
checked the mix, and fed the fire some more. The day wore slowly on,
|
||
as their piles of ore, lime, and charcoal dwindled quickly to nothing.
|
||
Twilight found Levy still at the top of the furnace, feeding in
|
||
the last of the lime. He dumped a bucket of rock into the furnace,
|
||
and hooked the empty container to the return line. He turned to get
|
||
the next bucket, only to find instead a smiling if sweaty Sarah.
|
||
"You're the best thing I've seen all day." Levy exclaimed as he
|
||
helped her out.
|
||
"I wanted to take a look, and to help you with the last
|
||
buckets." While Levy reached for the next container, she looked down
|
||
into the dark, smoking pit that was the mouth of the furnace. Levy
|
||
lifted the bucket up to the chute, to pour it into the inferno, and
|
||
then stopped.
|
||
"Hey| What's this?" Levy reached into the basket and pulled out
|
||
a large black crystal. The basket was full of such crystals.
|
||
Sarah was grinning from ear to ear. "That, Levy, is my father's
|
||
secret."
|
||
Sarah reached in the basket and selected another chunk of rock.
|
||
This one was greenish in color. "Father found that," She said,
|
||
indicating Levy's crystal, "in an outcropping on the other side of
|
||
the lake. He thought it might be coal, so he brought it over and
|
||
tried to make steel with it. It didn't burn, and he forgot about it
|
||
for years. This," she said, tossing the green rock in her hand, "we
|
||
find in our mine, with copper. Father knew that silver could be
|
||
alloyed with gold, to make it harder, so he tried alloying silver
|
||
and things with the iron, to make better iron. Nothing seemed to
|
||
work, as he told me. He would often tell me this story, when I was
|
||
young, before I would go to bed. Then one day he tried this green
|
||
rock, and the iron got harder. He thought at first that it was
|
||
copper, but he remembered that copper would not alloy with the iron.
|
||
Then, later, he tried that," indicating Levy's black rock, "and the
|
||
steel wouldn't rust."
|
||
Levy took the green rock from Sarah, and set it aside along with
|
||
the black crystal. He and Sarah then dumped the rest of the buckets,
|
||
containing the different ores, into the fire. Levy then collected
|
||
his specimens, and the two rode the return line down.
|
||
It was black out when Levy finally punched through the baked mud
|
||
at the bottom of the furnace, and allowed the white-hot steel to
|
||
pour out into the troughs. He and Sarah then retreated from the
|
||
intense heat, as the metal flowed out into the molds waiting for it.
|
||
All that night and all the next day they allowed the metal to cool.
|
||
While they waited they cleaned the slag out of the furnace and put
|
||
anything that could rot into the special storage places Sarah's
|
||
father had made. Over the next few days they laboriously sawed the
|
||
steel into pieces small enough to carry and rowed it over to the
|
||
island. They had just gotten the last few pieces stored when it
|
||
again started to rain.
|
||
|
||
Later that evening Levy was looking out through the slatted
|
||
window at the patterns the rain made on the lake. Behind him Sarah
|
||
worked on an ornament for a spoon handle.
|
||
"How often do you see other people?" Levy asked, still facing
|
||
out the window.
|
||
"Not very often."
|
||
Levy walked over to where Sarah was sitting. He pulled a chair
|
||
up beside her and sat down.
|
||
"Don't you ever get lonely out here?"
|
||
"Very." Sarah looked away for a moment. "Why is it that you
|
||
never married?"
|
||
Levy leaned back in his chair.
|
||
"I don't know. It's not through lack of opportunity. I have been
|
||
the object of many young girls' eyes. I just never had the time to
|
||
properly court any of them. There always seemed to be better things
|
||
to do. That, and the fact that I must marry inside my own clan, or
|
||
lose my inheritance." Levy noticed that Sarah seemed to frown
|
||
slightly when he said that. "Have you ever taken a fancy to any men?"
|
||
Sarah smiled as she looked away. "Only the one I'm talking to."
|
||
Levy blushed a little, and she continued. "I've never really gotten
|
||
to know any others, except my brothers."
|
||
Silence reigned for a long moment. Sarah broke the silence.
|
||
"What is the name of your clan?"
|
||
"Barel. We come from a man named Eli Barel, who was granted some
|
||
land by a lord for having saved his kingdom from a war. Eli Barel
|
||
came from a country away south, one that I've visited twice. I could
|
||
marry one of them, but they are too strange for me, too foreign.
|
||
What clan or descent do you have?"
|
||
Sarah frowned, then stood and walked over to a shelf over a
|
||
window. She brought down a silver plate, with engraving on it.
|
||
"This is my family crest. Father said we also came from the
|
||
south, but then just about everything is south when you're this far
|
||
north. I've only once met someone else from our clan, and he had
|
||
come north just to tell my father that Grandfather had died, and
|
||
that Father was now the new Elder. Father refused. He said he was
|
||
too old."
|
||
"That sounds familiar for some reason. I may have met some of
|
||
your relatives in my travels." Levy looked at the crest. It was
|
||
complex, but the main symbol was that of a cogwheel. The more Levy
|
||
looked at the plate the more familiar it looked, yet without quite
|
||
revealing its origin to him.
|
||
Levy drew his knife. He gave it to Sarah, so she could look at
|
||
it. On it was the Barel crest, also complex, with a compass on it.
|
||
"This was granted to Eli Barel at the same time he was granted
|
||
the village I come from. Our family had a crest before that, but
|
||
I've only ever seen it once."
|
||
Sarah looked at it for a moment, then handed it back. "I've only
|
||
ever seen one other crest, the one belonging to the mayor of the
|
||
nearest town. We engraved it on a beer stein for him." Sarah giggled
|
||
at that. "He probably sees it every day. He drinks a lot of beer.
|
||
Listen, I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed now. Sleep well."
|
||
She put the plate back on the shelf, and then walked to her room
|
||
and closed the door. Levy sat alone and thought for a bit, then, as
|
||
the last of the sunshine disappeared, doused the lamps and went to
|
||
bed himself.
|
||
|
||
Levy awoke the next morning to find Sarah shaking him. The sun
|
||
had yet to come up, and it was raining very hard.
|
||
Sarah looked anxious. "You've got to help me. The water level in
|
||
the lake is rising. We have to open the floodgates, or the dam will
|
||
be overwhelmed." She handed him a large overcoat. "Don't bother
|
||
putting on your clothes. This is very warm, and you'll just get hot
|
||
with the others on. You'll need this for the rain."
|
||
Levy stepped into the coat and followed her out. They climbed
|
||
down the hill and into the boat. The dock was already under water.
|
||
They rowed to the dam. The rain made bailing a requirement, but the
|
||
wind was to their back, and they made good time. It was just getting
|
||
light by the time they reached the dam.
|
||
Levy followed Sarah up the dam face. The cold and wet had driven
|
||
the dullness from his mind, and, for some reason, the image of
|
||
Sarah's family crest kept running through his head. Strangely
|
||
enough, the image in his mind was not that of a silver plate, but of
|
||
a colorful drawing in an old book. Hard as he tried, however, he
|
||
could not force himself to remember where he had seen the book. He
|
||
got so involved in trying to remember that he found himself lagging
|
||
far behind Sarah. He hurried to catch up.
|
||
Trees grew on the slope, planted by Sarah's father to conceal
|
||
the artificial nature of the structure. At the top was a raised
|
||
walkway connecting the floodgates, with the first of the two gates a
|
||
few feet from where Sarah and Levy stepped on the walk. Sarah ran to
|
||
it and started to crank the windlass to raise the first gate.
|
||
"You open the other one." She pointed to the far end of the walk.
|
||
Levy ran to the far end. There he found a similar setup. He
|
||
seized the crank and started turning, images of paper and bindings
|
||
still running past his mind's eye. He hadn't made more than two
|
||
revolutions when he was startled by a loud roar. He looked up just
|
||
in time to see a large section of cliff break off and slide into the
|
||
water a few hundred yards away. He looked back at Sarah.
|
||
"That happens every so often." She shouted to him. She turned
|
||
back to cranking, as did he.
|
||
He managed to get the gate partway open. Then the whole world
|
||
seemed to fall out from under him. A great wave, caused by the
|
||
rockslide, crashed into the walkway and carried it and him over the
|
||
face of the dam. Levy was submerged. When he surfaced, he found part
|
||
of the walk floating near him, and he climbed aboard. He looked
|
||
around. He was floating away from the dam with increasing speed, and
|
||
was equidistant from both shores. On top of the dam Sarah stood, her
|
||
hands covering her mouth. He waved to her, to show her he was all
|
||
right. Hesitantly, she waved back. A sudden dip then threw him on
|
||
his face. He struggled back to his hands and knees when another
|
||
threw him back down again. When he finally looked back at the top of
|
||
the dam, Sarah was not there.
|
||
|
||
An afternoon three months later Levy was riding through the
|
||
woods once more. The horse was one he had recently purchased, as was
|
||
all his tack and most of his equipment. It was nearing dusk, and he
|
||
saw a light shining through the trees up ahead. Cautiously he
|
||
approached it. It turned out to be another traveller, relying on a
|
||
fire to keep the wolves away. The stranger seemed eager for Levy's
|
||
company when it was offered, so Levy made camp with the man. The
|
||
next day, over breakfast, they told each other of their destinations.
|
||
Levy told the man only some of what Sarah had told him about
|
||
herself, but the man was sympathetic to Levy's plight, and seemed to
|
||
want to help.
|
||
"I'm a trader, but I don't know of any woman dealing in these
|
||
parts. I am a little out of my way, though, so I will keep my ears
|
||
open. Where did you say you were headed?" The stranger paused in the
|
||
middle of a block of cheese.
|
||
"I'm headed for the next village, and the next, and the next,
|
||
until winter comes, or I find her. I floated for three days before I
|
||
could get to shore, so I figure she lives in this area. I don't
|
||
remember all the tributaries and forks in the river I hit, though,
|
||
so I'm not sure exactly where to look." Levy shrugged and stared at
|
||
the fire, poking it with a stick.
|
||
"A woman selling carved utensils, living alone. I'll try to
|
||
remember that. Anything else?"
|
||
Levy leaned over and grabbed his pack. From it he pulled a piece
|
||
of fine leather. He unrolled it slowly, carefully. Inscribed on it,
|
||
in bright colors, was a crest.
|
||
"If you see anything with this crest on it, you've found her."
|
||
As he held it up for the trader to see, Levy fingered the small
|
||
signature on the lower right corner. It was the name of the Dargon
|
||
court historian, who kept family records from many areas, even areas
|
||
to the far south. While he was recovering from his harrowing journey
|
||
downstream, and in the weeks that followed, as he worked to earn
|
||
enough money to buy another horse, Levy had thought hard about that
|
||
crest that Sarah had shown him. When he finally got enough money
|
||
together, he had journeyed south to Dargon, where he had found the
|
||
court historian. Together they had searched the records. It wasn't
|
||
until Levy had set eyes on the old book on the top shelf that the
|
||
memories had come flooding back. By the time he found the correct
|
||
page, his eyes were almost blinded with tears of anxiousness and
|
||
joy. Levy hadn't seen that page for years, since the time when he
|
||
had made a thorough search of the records at his father's behest.
|
||
Levy still remembered the excitement he had felt, those many years
|
||
ago, when he had at last found the original Barel family crest.
|
||
After the trader had committed the design to memory, Levy
|
||
carefully put it back in his pack, broke camp, and saddled up. After
|
||
thanking the trader, Levy rode off. The trader watched him go,
|
||
shaking his head sympathetically. He then went about washing his
|
||
kettle and breaking camp. That done, he paused for a few minutes to
|
||
polish his wares and study the goods he had swapped. He was almost
|
||
ready to put them all away when he stopped cold. He reached down,
|
||
and with trembling hands picked up a spoon, wooden with an ornately
|
||
carved golden handle. He stared at it for a long moment, then leaped
|
||
to his feet. He stuffed the other goods quickly into the sack, tied
|
||
the sack to his horse, and kicked out the fire. He saddled up, and
|
||
rode off hard in pursuit of Levy.
|
||
-Jim Owens <J1O@PSUVM>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
Ceda the Executioner: Chapter 6
|
||
Though the meal that they had just completed weighed heavily in
|
||
their stomachs, they wasted no time in getting through the forest.
|
||
Aroth knew of a secret road used only by the Wood Elves that cut
|
||
across the forest lengthwise which took them north to the Ruirsian
|
||
barren country.
|
||
Galloping over the moist green grass and led by the rich light
|
||
of the almost full moon that hung somberly overhead, they rode many
|
||
leagues. Off in the distance on their left, Nuum-Deaon jutted out of
|
||
the emptiness effectively hiding its brother fortress somewhere
|
||
behind the cover of its eery stone walls.
|
||
|
||
The next thirteen days drew by quickly. In this time they had
|
||
ridden north to Cramstrock where they replenished their provisions
|
||
and employed Ceda's wingless dragon mount, Melgon to their
|
||
convocation. Then turning to the south they left Cramstrock and rode
|
||
out into the desert before turning east, traveling north of the Aun
|
||
Hills along the border of the Plime Sea to the southern border of
|
||
the Voidland. A few miles to the north lay Weuyrt, land of forests.
|
||
They had reached the border by dusk the fourteenth day. Ceda
|
||
pulled Melgon to an abrupt halt as Aroth rode up beside him. He
|
||
stared off into the swampland that lay before him and wondered at
|
||
his fate. Would he return unscathed from the Caves? Would he survive?
|
||
The jungle that met the land far in the distance over the swampy
|
||
plain of the Voidland's countryside was not so distant now. It would
|
||
be infested with bands of Orcs, Nuadrin and Hobgoblins, all deadly.
|
||
The Giants that lived in Weuyrt would be the worst when met. Though
|
||
some of them would be friendly, and subsequently a good ally, others
|
||
would not...
|
||
If they survived the trek through the dense jungle then they
|
||
would have to enter the Caves; Hardly a reward or even any relief
|
||
from the previously perilous journey they will have just completed.
|
||
Both the travelers realized what the chances of success would be
|
||
though none dared say it.
|
||
Ceda spurred Melgon to a laggard trot entering the Voidland.
|
||
They could already feel the humidity of the jungle burning in their
|
||
nostrils and smothering their faces; even the land they now passed
|
||
was wet with moister and dense vegetation was beginning to thicken
|
||
around them.
|
||
|
||
They had not ridden far into the Voidland when they first
|
||
noticed a single rider approaching them from the north. He was
|
||
galloping toward them at a great pace ignoring the murky water that
|
||
splashed upon him soiling his apparel and the dangerous moors he
|
||
nearly missed in his haste.
|
||
As he neared them they could see he was Human. Though arrayed in
|
||
the blue and yellow raiment typical to that of a Ruirsian soldier,
|
||
he wore no armor or helm. His face was bold and concerned and his
|
||
long red hair flew proudly behind him in the strong face of the
|
||
wind. He wore a sword at his side that bounced along nonchalantly as
|
||
his horse galloped over the scabrous landscape.
|
||
He pulled his horse to a stop two dragon lengths before them and
|
||
bowed to them from his horse. "Hail travelers! I am Azzar, royal
|
||
scout of Caahah, servant to his Majesty Threythus II. My greetings."
|
||
"Greetings. I am Ceda of No-Al Ben," replied Ceda.
|
||
"And I Aroth, Lord of Carne," said Aroth in turn.
|
||
Azzar bowed again hearing Aroth's title. "I have news from the
|
||
north in Weuyrt, since that is where your destination seemingly
|
||
lies, and even if it does not."
|
||
"It is," said Ceda. "What news of the wild lands that lay on the
|
||
road from Arnmere do you bear? Is the way ahead safe?"
|
||
"Nay," cried the scout in dismay. "The wilder Giants have broken
|
||
our will attacking in full might. They have driven our forces west
|
||
across the jungles toward the Plime Sea. I ride for Caahah now to
|
||
inform his majesty that Weuyrt has fallen to their hordes. Even as
|
||
we now speak many pursue me on foot and are not far behind."
|
||
"A small band has followed your horse all the way from the
|
||
shadows of Arnmere?" asked Aroth in alarm. "Do they fly? How do they
|
||
follow you at such a speed as that which your horse can muster?"
|
||
"It is worse than that. The news of Weuyrt's fall is nigh two
|
||
suns passed. I camped on the borders to see how far the host would
|
||
advance and it is sorry news, but they come in numbers uncounted to
|
||
the Voidland. At the speed they are traveling now, they will reach
|
||
the very gates of Caahah before five more suns will fall."
|
||
"This is grave news indeed," said Aroth. "What of the men in
|
||
Weuyrt? How many were there and how many survived?"
|
||
"We were nigh twenty thousand strong when they attacked. Among
|
||
us were many Bilfnuinians, but they use no horse in battle for they
|
||
fight with heavy axes. They were the first to fall to the rage of
|
||
the accursed giants; I fear none survived - a heavy blow to
|
||
Threythus to lose men of that worth.
|
||
"Those of us upon steeds fought on when the Axemen fell, but we
|
||
were pushed back. They came from the north and the south as well as
|
||
the west forcing us eastward into the jungle. Most stayed and fought
|
||
on though some of us rode for the borders; I was the only one that
|
||
made it past the beasts unscathed. I arrived at the edge of the
|
||
Voidland yesterday morning riding through the night to escape their
|
||
advancing powers."
|
||
"This is grave news indeed!" agreed Ceda with a cry of deep
|
||
despair. "Where have those that rode east gone? Is there some place
|
||
of refuge for them to take shelter?"
|
||
"There is none," said the scout lowering his head. I fear that
|
||
if they have not yet left the jungles, they never will... though I
|
||
may be mistaken."
|
||
"These times are indeed grave. You bring a heavy blow to
|
||
Threythus." said Ceda. "You do not even know how many approach?"
|
||
"Impossible to say. The jungle hides their numbers and they come
|
||
from all directions; More than I have ever seen before. We had no
|
||
inkling as to the numbers that hid thus long in the shadows of the
|
||
accursed holes of hell where they burrow. Look!" He cried turning
|
||
and pointing back to the jungle across the Voidland. "As we speak
|
||
they enter the swamps before the face of Ruirse!"
|
||
They looked northward and to their dismay they began to see
|
||
first ten then a thousand and finally more than they could even
|
||
begin to count. There were Orcs, Nuadrin, Giants, Hobgoblins and
|
||
many other horrid beasts sweeping like a deadly plague over the
|
||
muddy land between the borders. They passed over the plain covering
|
||
it like the shadow of a cloud violently suppressing the rays of the
|
||
sun; an onslaught so large that is may have rivaled even the Lost
|
||
Army of the Desert.
|
||
"Come now! There is no chance of you reaching wherever your
|
||
destination was. Our best - our ONLY chance is to ride for Caahah to
|
||
the south and help defend the city from the inevitable attack," said
|
||
Azzar in a frenzy. "Let us ride now and may our speed be great!"
|
||
Aroth looked to Ceda and then back at the advancing horde. "Let
|
||
us go. There will be a safer time and we will then make the
|
||
journey." He wheeled his horse around and nodded to Azzar. Then Ceda
|
||
pulled on Melgon's reins and they turned and sped back southward
|
||
toward Caahah to warn of the attack.
|
||
|
||
They reached the city by the second day after they had fled the
|
||
Voidland. It was well fortified around the walls and many soldiers
|
||
were there lining the city streets and filling the cities inns.
|
||
Trenches had been dug at set intervals around the proximity of the
|
||
wall that surrounded the city and a few men sat in them reclining on
|
||
the small stools set aside for the watchers.
|
||
Azzar stopped outside the walls to warn the men while Ceda and
|
||
Aroth continued on through the gate to tell of the assured peril. As
|
||
they rode into the ruins of the once proud city, Ceda pulled hard on
|
||
Melgon's reins stopping the dragon suddenly in the center of an open
|
||
area and dismounted as Melgon glanced sidelong at the assassin in an
|
||
unenchanted way for the abrupt halt. Aroth also dismounted and left
|
||
his horse next to the dragon as he departed leaving the two mounts
|
||
sighing in anticipation of the peaceful rest they were about to get
|
||
after the tiresome miles of endless riding.
|
||
Ceda was gone by the time Melgon had settled down hastily
|
||
searching for the commander of the army stationed in the city. He
|
||
ran up to a man that was standing outside a large tent, "Hail,
|
||
soldier of Ruirse. I am Ceda of Cramstrock, greetings. I am on an
|
||
urgent mission and must speak with the king if he is here, or who
|
||
ever is commanding the host of the city!"
|
||
"Greetings, Traveler of the Desert. The king is here," said the
|
||
man eying Ceda wanderingly. "He is at his palace holding council
|
||
with King Ballison the Young of Caffthorn."
|
||
"Ballison? Has he brought with him a host?" asked Ceda beginning
|
||
to gain confidence in the cities forces.
|
||
"Aye. He has brought with him a mighty army five thousand men
|
||
from from beyond the desert and there may be more from No-Al Ben."
|
||
"Are there any from the Elf Kingdoms of Carne or Learis?" Asked
|
||
Aroth coming up behind.
|
||
"Nay," said the man. "And I doubt there will be, I have heard
|
||
none talk of it."
|
||
"Good enough," sighed Ceda. "Where is the palace?"
|
||
The man pointed at a tall but slender tower that rose from a
|
||
point in the distance. "There," he said. "At the center of the city;
|
||
just follow the road."
|
||
Ceda bowed slightly. "Scueney Tavaar du sablea," he said leaving
|
||
at a run for the palace as Aroth repeated the same to the man and
|
||
sprang after Ceda following close behind him.
|
||
"And to you!" yelled the man after them with a gratifying look.
|
||
From the gates, the street wound upwards around the city in
|
||
great circles in the fashion roads do going up a steep hill or
|
||
mountain. As they ran through inner city area, they could see that
|
||
the winding road was laden with men ready for battle. There were
|
||
many of the men of Caffthorn about, they sat with one another in
|
||
groups talking about things from their distant country, sometimes
|
||
laughing out loud or throwing their heads back and letting their
|
||
long black hair fall loosely down their backs. Continuing up the
|
||
winding road toward the tower they also saw many Caahahian soldiers
|
||
along with the hardy Axemen from the proud city Bilfneuin along the
|
||
crowded alleys and roof tops, resting while they were still safely
|
||
many miles from any of the fighting.
|
||
Upon reaching the center of the city, the road let out into a
|
||
single lane that ran around the palace ending in another circlet
|
||
where the northern part of the drive housed the palace entrance. As
|
||
Ceda and Aroth ran up they saw two proud looking guards standing
|
||
outside the large iron bars that blocked the way into the courtyard.
|
||
They stood separated, one on each side of the massive gate and wore
|
||
dark blue tunics with a yellow bars crossing the center at a slight
|
||
angle. The armor they wore over their arms and legs was a shiny
|
||
black metal, made in the same material as the Elven Rings of
|
||
Nobility. Over the armor they wore dark blue capes with attached
|
||
hoods that hung loosely down their backs and on their heads were
|
||
helms of gold. At their sides were great axes that rested heavily on
|
||
the ground, for these guards were from the stalwart southern city of
|
||
Bilfneuin. These were Axemen.
|
||
There they stopped as Ceda addressed one of the men. "Greetings!
|
||
I am Ceda of No-Al Ben. My companion is a Lord of Carne, Aroth, he
|
||
is called. We seek urgent audience with King Threythus."
|
||
"It is not every merchant that gets to see the king!" said the
|
||
soldier. "He is now in council with the Lord of Caffthorn and cannot
|
||
be disturbed."
|
||
"I'll not be called a merchant by a simple soldier!" Said Aroth
|
||
angrily. "Now tell your busy king that I, Aroth of Carne and cousin
|
||
of Rakine and Rackins of the Elves, seek audience with him now! And
|
||
rue you will the day you denied me that!"
|
||
"Rue indeed," smiled the guard looking at his companion. "And
|
||
why is that, little Elf?"
|
||
"Because a muster of Arnmere is but four days north and coming
|
||
fast!" said Aroth. "And I am getting tired or this idle talk. Time
|
||
is short as are our tempers, now tell the king that we seek his
|
||
presence and await his bidding."
|
||
The guard turned calling for a herald. Then he told a man in the
|
||
gate to inform King tell Threythus of his new arrivals. "The king
|
||
has been notified," said the soldier. "And now I hope you will allow
|
||
me to continue my watch in peace?" he added sarcastically. The
|
||
Axemen of Bilfneuin were not tolerant, though they were known to
|
||
have a sense of humor. Would the king of Ruirse be that way? He was
|
||
from Bilfneuin, though much older.
|
||
|
||
It was a short wait until the herald returned to the gates. He
|
||
spoke a few short words to the guards and then stepped back.
|
||
The guards then gripped small unseen horns from below their
|
||
capes and blew them one after the other. Then two thunderous
|
||
clanging noises broke the air as the massive gate was raised by
|
||
internal winches; then as Ceda and Aroth entered and the gate was
|
||
let fall again with a tremendous slam.
|
||
"The king bids the travelers enter in peace. He will meet with
|
||
them now," said the herald approaching them in the courtyard.
|
||
"Please come this way."
|
||
Inside the walls of the palace, the tower that Ceda had seen
|
||
from the gate seemed much larger. It was built of square shaped
|
||
stones set orderly on one another rising from a large the round
|
||
structure into a slender and delicate tower high above. Some of the
|
||
larger blocks near the bottom of the structure were then carved with
|
||
delicate figures that had all but wasted away from the years of
|
||
weathering while the higher ones were stained to a light color for
|
||
adornment.
|
||
At the base of the large building was another heavy door; this
|
||
one of stone. Next to it on either side were two small holes to see
|
||
out of and above the door was a narrow window.
|
||
They went through the door into the first floor of the tower led
|
||
by the herald. Inside the hall they now stood were many fine chairs
|
||
and tables lining the majestic walls. Above them hung many of the
|
||
old swords and beautiful armor used in ages long past and before
|
||
them was a long room with a wooden floor and stone ceiling supported
|
||
by an occasional pillar. Down the hall on the right side was a door
|
||
with four more guards standing at alert. Two of them wore gray
|
||
tunics with a red gem painted in the center; these were from
|
||
Caffthorn. The other two wore the blue and yellow colors of Ruirse.
|
||
Through this door they were led by the herald.
|
||
|
||
In the room there were two people. One was a young man, tall and
|
||
strong with long dark hair. At his side rested a heavy axe with a
|
||
black metal blade and handle made with the grey wood of Caffthorn.
|
||
Near the base of the black blade, an imbedded gem glowed in a
|
||
pleasant purple.
|
||
The second man was much older. His hair was gray and short
|
||
hanging down no further than the base of his neck. His once tall
|
||
body was now permanently bent forward in a cramped position showing
|
||
the definite signs of his old age. He wore the blue and yellow
|
||
raiment of a Ruirsian, though he wore no weapon.
|
||
Both men were standing by a large table as they entered and
|
||
turned to greet them. The older of the two men glared at the
|
||
travelers for a brief moment. "Greetings, Ceda and Aroth from afar!"
|
||
he said. "I am King Threythus II. This is Ballison the Young, King
|
||
of Caffthorn. The herald tells us that you have urgent news for us?
|
||
Well then, be quick for time is short and news of worth is rare."
|
||
Aroth stepped forward, "I am Aroth, cousin to King Rakine of the
|
||
wood of Carne and I, nobleman of Elves," he held his hand aloft so
|
||
the dark gold about his finger showed in a radiant light. "Bid you
|
||
greetings and bring you news of the north."
|
||
"We have men beyond the Voidland. many scouts and warriors of
|
||
Caahah and Bilfneuin. If there is news then they should have brought
|
||
it. What is this news?" asked Threythus. "And how do you come to
|
||
know of it?"
|
||
"War," said Ceda also coming forward. "War comes to the very
|
||
walls Caahah. A great host has taken all Weuyrt and none of our men
|
||
remain. Only Azzar, scout of Caahah, made it back to the Voidland.
|
||
The rest," he said in a low voice, "will come not again from the
|
||
vile land of forests.
|
||
"As we approached the borders of Weuyrt on business of our own,
|
||
we met him in flight from the beasts. It was there we saw them. They
|
||
swept over the land at a great pace. I fear they have with them
|
||
great might."
|
||
"This is grave news to us, they were good men." cried Ballison
|
||
distressingly. "What of the marshal from Arnmere? How many come and
|
||
how fast?"
|
||
"Their numbers were too many for us to count," said Ceda, "It
|
||
was greater a host than I have ever seen and we fled ere they all
|
||
had left the cover of the trees. They should reach Caahah by fourth
|
||
sun falling, fifth at the most. Prepare your men, for even the city
|
||
walls may not hold against their might!"
|
||
Threythus walked over to Aroth. "Can your people help us?" he
|
||
said gripping the Elf's shoulders.
|
||
"Aye," said Aroth. "They must be stopped here. Have one of your
|
||
men ride for Dhernis, give him this, "Aroth removed his ring and
|
||
placed it in Threythus's hand. "Tell the scout to take the Ships of
|
||
Tearny and sail for Perstanie of the Learis Islands. There he should
|
||
ask for help from me and give them this ring should any disbelieve
|
||
his word.
|
||
"In the meanwhile I ride for the Wood of Carne to seek the help
|
||
of my cousin Rakine, and hopefully shall return with a host worthy
|
||
of the battle."
|
||
Threythus bowed low, "I thank you, Aroth of Carne, and may Sarve
|
||
speed your horse with the swiftness of the wind!"
|
||
Aroth bowed to Threythus. "And now I must go, for much time is
|
||
lost and now only haste is our ally. Farewell, Ceda.
|
||
|
||
'uentu descern shyen svequ seju!'"
|
||
|
||
Ceda smiled as Aroth turned and departed.
|
||
"We must now prepare for the battle and send a messenger to the
|
||
Elf Islands before any more time is lost!" said Ballison banging his
|
||
fist on the table. "Let us whet our blades!"
|
||
|
||
The two kings wasted no time in mustering the men. Soon many
|
||
people was busy preparing the great war machines that hurl rocks
|
||
through the air or mending parts of the titanic city wall that were
|
||
in bad repair. The men of Caffthorn were outside the city digging
|
||
more trenches and pits near the wall while more men helped barricade
|
||
the inner circles of the city where the women and children would
|
||
stay safe. Scouts were sent out of the city to watch the northern
|
||
environs for the first sign of the coming assault and Azzar left the
|
||
oppidan on a swift horse riding south for Dhernis.
|
||
|
||
By the second sun falling they were prepared. Men lined the
|
||
northern walls and sat in the northern trenches. Parts of the west
|
||
and east walls were also fortified but not as heavily.
|
||
The third, fourth, and fifth days drew by and the hordes of
|
||
Arnmere had not come. Many men questioned weather they had indeed
|
||
crossed the Voidland as their patients became short and they anxious.
|
||
The sixth day came, and the hordes still had not arrived. The
|
||
men waited at their posts eating little and talking none. They
|
||
sharpened and polished their blades and their armor until it shone
|
||
brightly in the daylight.
|
||
Soon it was midday. Still no sign of the Orc hordes had been
|
||
seen or reported and the scouts had not returned from the northern
|
||
borders of the Caahahian city area (that lay far outside the walls
|
||
beyond sight). The hardy men of Caffthorn moved up and down the
|
||
trenches in anticipation of the battle toying with their swords and
|
||
talking about wars of old that had long been forgotten by other men.
|
||
Ceda made his way through the lines of soldiers to where King
|
||
Ballison sat with King Threythus. They looked up as he sat down and
|
||
offered their greetings.
|
||
"This is odd," began Ceda. "The muster of beasts that we saw
|
||
should have arrived by today. They should have been here long ago."
|
||
"Aye," agreed Ballison. "My men are ready for the battle but
|
||
they grow weary of waiting for the enemy while the tension among the
|
||
men of Ruirse grows between the Axemen and the Caahahians. Hope for
|
||
battle soon and let us be done with this before we kill each other
|
||
and lessen the Orc's labors."
|
||
"Can the enemy have gone past the city to the east or the west?"
|
||
Asked Ceda.
|
||
"Nay," answered Threythus. "If they had gone west, we would have
|
||
seen them from the walls of the city unless they went by way of the
|
||
Aun Hills in the northwest or north of the Aun Hills to No-Al Ben,
|
||
but that would serve them no purpose. In any case our scouts would
|
||
have seen them and would have reported their whereabouts to us.
|
||
"And what of the way to the east?" Asked Ballison.
|
||
"On that path there are only the forests Ruirse and the Little
|
||
Kingdom of the east. Otherwise there are no settlements until the
|
||
Port of Dhernis that lay to the south. With the force that you have
|
||
described, they would be fools to take it east and not attack the
|
||
main strength of the region. They must come this way for all
|
||
practical matters."
|
||
"Aye," said Ceda. "But what reason do you have to consider the
|
||
Orcs a practical race? Further more, I doubt that the Orcs know the
|
||
land as we do, for they have lived long in the caves and may know
|
||
nothing of the cities that we have. They could have gone anywhere."
|
||
|
||
On the eight day the Elves of Carne arrived with a large host of
|
||
Naz'Clowi warriors and some men of Breanduin. There were twelve
|
||
thousand all together, all on horseback. With them rode only two
|
||
thousand of the Elven folk though the soldiers of Carne were strong,
|
||
good fighters and well versed in the art of archery. At the head of
|
||
them rode Aroth and as they entered the city many shout arose from
|
||
the men in greetings and praise.
|
||
Aroth dropped from his steed and walked over to Ceda and the two
|
||
kings. "Greetings! I have done as you asked, though I could only
|
||
bring this small amount of warriors from Carne. Our kingdom is also
|
||
fighting a war, for there are many Orcs in the forest slaughtering
|
||
our kin while killing both plant and animal.
|
||
"But we bring you three gifts! Three gift that none can boast
|
||
giving, and the tale behind them!" Aroth went to one of the Elves
|
||
horses and from its saddle he brought forth a leather sack. He
|
||
pulled on the twine that held it closed until it had opened enough
|
||
to reach in and get its contents. Then slowly he withdrew one of the
|
||
three objects.
|
||
All the men watching drew a deep breath and kept it. What Aroth
|
||
held aloft in his hands had given them a new hope and gladness rose
|
||
up in their hearts. Breaking the barrier of fear that rested long
|
||
there like a heavy weight they felt joy again, for in Aroth's two
|
||
small hands rested a round metallic object. It's base was shaped
|
||
like a octagon from which rose eight spikes, one from each point and
|
||
all along its outer rim were rare gems, red and special from the
|
||
Malthoogian Mines in the Mountains of Gren of northern Grandydyr.
|
||
Aroth held it aloft for all to see and wonder at: the Royal Crown of
|
||
Grobst D'arbo.
|
||
Ceda took the crown as Aroth reached back into the leather sack
|
||
and drew from it the next gift. This he also held aloft though only
|
||
the men of Caffthorn recognized it and at once sadness gripped them.
|
||
It was a black sickle made from the grey wood of Caffthorn and a
|
||
dark metal. Near the slender base of the dark blade was a gem that
|
||
glowed in a strong white light.
|
||
Ballison jumped forward and clasp the sickle tearing it from the
|
||
Elf's hands. "Where did you get this?" he cried. "It was the weapon
|
||
of my brother, Tarnigen. He would die before he gave it up!"
|
||
"Steady!" said Aroth backing away slightly and a few Elves
|
||
fitting their arrows in their green bows. "We shall tell all, but
|
||
know that I am Elven nobility and will not be treated in such manner."
|
||
"My apologies, Lord Aroth, for when my brother is concerned our
|
||
entire people's judgement is faulty. He was our King."
|
||
"The tale shall be told shortly, aye, but there is little to
|
||
tell. The next gift should do most of the explaining." Aroth reached
|
||
a final time into the sack and withdrew a grotesque, bloody object.
|
||
In his hand was a head, severed completely from the neck it was once
|
||
attached to. But this was not ordinary head, it was that of a great
|
||
Nuadri, strong and terrible in life from the size of it. Ceda
|
||
recognized it immediately, the head that had once tormented him in
|
||
the dungeons of the Sarshirian Mountains, the head of the Grand
|
||
Nuadri of Barnonoen.
|
||
Then Ceda remembered Cander, and the horror of the darkness
|
||
found its way into his memory. He stepped backward. Then he turned
|
||
his head and walked away from it. He did not want to smell it, for
|
||
that would be too much for him. Any other Orc would not bother him,
|
||
any other Nuadri or anything for that matter, but not this.
|
||
Aroth saw Ceda turn and replaced the head in the sack closing it
|
||
tightly and giving it to one of the Elves. "Now for the tale, though
|
||
as I said before there is not much to tell."
|
||
"The size is of no concern," said Ballison eagerly. "Tell it for
|
||
I grow anxious."
|
||
"Well," began Aroth as Ceda returned. "I had left Caahah as fast
|
||
as my horse would bear me. As I approached the Wood of Carne a day
|
||
later, I met the men of Naz'Clow and Breanduin. They were all on
|
||
horse riding for the desert in great haste. They told me they rode
|
||
to wage a battle for, they said, several men that had arrived from
|
||
the far western city of Naudsman in Old Grandydyr told them a large
|
||
host from the Sarshirians had left Ploughdom and were heading
|
||
northward. They had barely escaped with their own lives. They also
|
||
said that there were many great Nuadrin with them, greater Nuadrin
|
||
than the usual sort, and that one stood even taller than all the
|
||
rest, larger and stronger than the others.
|
||
"I asked that they come instead with me to Caahah to help the
|
||
men here, but they said they would come only after the muster in the
|
||
desert was defeated, for with them was their leader and it would be
|
||
a great victory for them were he slain.
|
||
"I rode to Carne with all possible haste and gathered what Elves
|
||
I could. Then we rode to the desert where the battle was already
|
||
underway and helped defeat the enemy's might. After the fighting was
|
||
over and the dead counted and buried properly, we despoiled the
|
||
remains of the enemy and found these fair gifts. Then returned here
|
||
in haste, and as I see now, the host of Arnmere has as yet not come,
|
||
so it was good.
|
||
"As I have said, there is little to tell."
|
||
"And yet much remains untold," said Ceda. "What were they doing
|
||
in the desert with these things? And where did they GET these things?"
|
||
"True," added Ballison, "and what of Tarnigen my brother? Is he
|
||
dead or captive? Or did he escape after having his possessions taken?"
|
||
"Of these thing we know as much as you," Said Aroth. "Yet there
|
||
is still much to ask. What did they plan to do with Grobst's Crown?
|
||
Return it to the Tree?"
|
||
"There is little time for answers to these questions," began
|
||
Ceda. "For though it is eight suns falling since you departed they
|
||
have as yet not come. Aye, there are strange happenings afoot, and I
|
||
like them not.
|
||
"Why wait for them?" asked Aroth.
|
||
"You have some alternative?" Asked Ballison.
|
||
"Aye. We have the crown, overwhelming Orcs approach, why can we
|
||
not simply figure out how to use the crown and bring forth the Lost
|
||
Army to help us. That is my suggestion."
|
||
"That... could help us, but how do we use it?" Said Ceda. "And
|
||
who will go?"
|
||
"You know who must go, Ceda," said Aroth. "You are the Traveler."
|
||
"Aye, I must go, it is my duty. The Sign of the Crown was given
|
||
to me," answered Ceda concedingly. Then he sighed, "and I took it."
|
||
"Then," said Ballison intervening. "You may take with you as my
|
||
gift, my axe, for Tarnigen is dead and in his honor I shall now
|
||
wield his sickle as my weapon. As for you, this is a gift for one
|
||
that partakes on a dangerous journey into the desert so near the
|
||
Dark Gate and so perilous, otherwise none but Caffthorn nobles may
|
||
receive it.
|
||
"Guard this axe with your life, for it is magical. The gem
|
||
placed on the blade will warn you of danger that is near you be it
|
||
from friend or enemy. It glows purple when all is well, and white
|
||
when evil is near. When you are wounded badly it glows red and when
|
||
you die or are going to die... it turns black.
|
||
"The axe is named Renielk and will whistle when you call it."
|
||
Ceda accepted the axe and bowed low, "thank you, Lord Ballison,
|
||
I will use it with pride!"
|
||
"And now that this matter of who will go is settled, how is Ceda
|
||
to use the crown? And when he does, what will he tell the army that
|
||
has been gone for ten thousand years?" Said Threythus.
|
||
"There was a riddle that our wizard Merth told us," said Aroth.
|
||
|
||
"When four rise and fall,
|
||
The Sign of the Crown,
|
||
Is given and taken,
|
||
And stolen and recovered,
|
||
And found and rewon.
|
||
And can be used to benefit;
|
||
But to who?
|
||
Crown the King, and he shall rise.
|
||
And Evil or Good he will bring,
|
||
|
||
But: Who is Evil?"
|
||
|
||
"These riddles are beginning to irritate me to no end. The lords
|
||
play with our minds, and give us these poems to guess at! Tavaar is
|
||
a cruel god!" Yelled Ceda. "Aye. I have heard this riddle before,
|
||
though I... I cannot remember from where."
|
||
"This is not all," said Threythus. "For we have heard this same
|
||
riddle and its answer, though it is as odd as the riddle:
|
||
|
||
When the King of Grandydyr
|
||
Is crowned,
|
||
The Lost Army shall
|
||
Rise again.
|
||
|
||
"Then crown the king I must!" Said Ceda turning to Threythus.
|
||
"And I wish to go with you," said Aroth.
|
||
"Nay, the Sign of the Crown was given to me alone, and alone I
|
||
will go," answered Ceda. "I leave immediately!" He turned and
|
||
departed from the gathering.
|
||
"May your speed be great!" Said Threythus under his breath.
|
||
-Joel Slatis <LGSLATIS@WEIZMANN>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
-Joel Slatis <LGSLATIS@WEIZMANN>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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