A Darkness at Sethanon (60 page)

Pug said, “There
is nothing there.”

“To
ordinary appearances,” said Tomas. He asked Macros, “Where
shall we wait?”

Macros was
silent for a moment, then said, “Each to his place. Pug,
Arutha, and I must wait here. You and Ryath must go to another
place.”

Tomas indicated
understanding and used his arts to lift himself upon the dragon’s
back. Then, with a thunderous crash, they vanished.

Arutha said,
“Where did he go?”

“He is
still here,” answered Macros. “But he is slightly out of
phase with us in time - as is the Lifestone. He guards it, the last
bastion of defence for this planet, for should we fail, then he alone
will stand between Midkemia and her utter destruction.”

Arutha looked at
Macros, then Pug. He moved toward the dais and sat. “I think
you had better tell me some things.”

Guy signalled
and a shower of missiles came down upon the heads of the goblins
rushing the gate. A hundred died in an instant. But the flood was
unleashed and du Bas-Tyra shouted to Amos, “Ready to quit the
walls! I want skirmish order back to the keep, no rout. Any man who
tries to run is to be killed by the sergeant in charge.”

Amos said,
“Harsh,” but he didn’t argue the order. The
garrison was on the verge of breaking, the untested soldiers close to
panic. Only by frightening them more than the enemy could was there a
shred of hope of maintaining an orderly retreat back to the keep.
Amos glanced back as the population of the city fled toward the keep.
They had been kept out of the streets so that companies could move
from section to section without impediment, but now they had been
ordered to leave their homes. Amos hoped they would be safely out of
the way before the retreat from the walls began.

Jimmy came
running through the melee evolving to the west of where Galain, Amos,
and Guy stood, and shouted, “De la Troville wants
reinforcements. He’s hard pressed upon the right flank.”

Guy said, “He’ll
have none. If I pull anyone from their own sections, it will open a
floodgate.” He pointed to where the goblins had cleared the
breach through the outer gate of the barbican once more and were now
climbing up the inner gate. The covering fire from moredhel archers
was murderous. Jimmy began to leave and Guy grabbed him. “Another
messenger is passing the word to quit the walls on signal. You’ll
not be able to reach him in time. Stay here.”

Jimmy signalled
understanding, his sword at the ready, then suddenly a goblin
appeared before him. He slashed out, and the blue skinned creature
fell, only to be replaced by another.

Tomas looked
down. His friends had vanished, though he knew they were still in the
same place, but slightly out of phase with him in time. Part of
Ashen-Shugar’s attempt to hide the gem had been to put the
ancient city of Draken-Korin into a different frame of time. He
looked across the vast hall where the Valheru had held their last
council, then regarded the giant glowing green gem. He altered his
perceptions and saw the lines of power spreading outward, touching,
he knew, every living thing on the planet. He considered the
importance of what he was to do, and calmed himself. He felt the
dragon’s mood and acknowledged it. It was a willingness to
accept whatever fate brought, but without a resignation to defeat.
Death might come, but with it might also come victory. Tomas was
somehow reassured by this thought.

Arutha nodded.
“You have told me it is important. Now tell me why.”

“It was
left against the day of the Valheru’s returning. They
understood that the gods were fashioned of the stuff of the world, a
part of Midkemia. Draken-Korin was a genius among his race. He knew
that the power of the gods depended upon the relationship they had
with all other living things. The Lifestone is the most powerful
artifact upon this world. If it is taken and used, it will drain all
power from all creatures down to the tiniest being, giving that power
to the user. It can be used to bring the Valheru into this space and
time. It does so by providing a surge of energy so vast it cannot be
equalled, and at the same time it drains away the source of power for
the gods. Unfortunately, it will also destroy all life upon this
planet. In one instant, everything that walks, flies, swims, or
crawls across Midkemia will die, insects, fish, the plants that grow,
even living things too small to see.”

Arutha was
astonished. “Then what will the Valheru have with a dead
planet?”

“Once back
in this universe, they can war upon other worlds, bringing slaves,
livestock, and plants, life in all forms, to reseed. They have no
concern for the other beings here, just their own needs. It is truly
a Valheru view of things, that all may be destroyed to protect their
interests.”

“Then
Murmandamus and the invading moredhel will die as well,” said
Arutha, horrified at the scope of the plan.

Macros
considered. “That is the one thing about this that puzzles me,
for to utilize the Lifestone, the Valheru must have entrusted much
lore to Murmandamus. It seems impossible that he doesn’t know
he will die when he opens the portal. The Pantathian serpent priests
I can understand. They have worked since the time of the Chaos Wars
to bring back their lost mistress, the Emerald Lady of Serpents, whom
they regard as a goddess. They have become a death cult and believe
that with her return, they will achieve some sort of demigod-head for
themselves. They embrace death. But this attitude is unlikely for a
moredhel. So I don’t understand Murmandamus’s motives,
unless guarantees have been made. I don’t know what they could
be, as I don’t know what this use of the dread can herald, for
they will not perish with the others. And if the Valheru no longer
wish them upon this world as they reseed the planet, it will be
difficult for the Valheru to rid themselves of the dread. The
Dreadlords are powerful beings, and this makes me wonder at the
possibility of a compact.” Macros sighed. “There is still
so much we don’t know. And any one thing could prove our
undoing.”

Arutha said, “In
all this there’s one other thing I don’t understand. This
Murmandamus is an archmage of some sort. If he needs to come here,
why not shape-change, sneak into Sethanon looking like any human and
come here unnoticed? Why this marching of armies and wholesale
destruction?”

Macros said, “It
is the nature of the Lifestone. To reach its proper frame of
reference in time and to open the gate to admit the Valheru require
an enormous mystic power. Murmandamus feeds off death.” Arutha
nodded, remembering a comment Murmandamus had made when he had first
confronted Arutha through the dead body of one of his Nighthawks,
back in Krondor. “He sucks energy from each death near him.
Thousands have died in his service and opposing him. Had he no need
to harbour those energies to open the gateway, he could have blown
down the walls of this city like a thing of sticks. Even such a small
matter as keeping his barrier up against personal injury costs him
valuable energies. No, he needs this war to bring back the Valheru.
He would gladly see his entire army to the last soldier die just so
long as he can reach this chamber. Now we must seek to block his
masters’ entrance back into this universe.” He stood up.
“Arutha, you must remain vigilant against mundane attack.”
He came to Pug and said, “We must aid him, his foe will prove
mighty: most surely, Murmandamus will come to this room.”

Pug took
Macros’s hand and watched as the sorcerer reached out and
gripped the Ishapian talisman. Arutha nodded, and Macros took it from
the Prince. Macros closed his eyes and Pug felt powers within himself
being manipulated by another, a feat again new and startling to him.
Whatever skills he had, were still as nothing to those lost to
Macros. Then Arutha and Pug watched as the talisman began to glow.
Softly, Macros said, “There is power here.” He opened his
eyes and said, “Hold out your sword.”

Arutha did so,
hilt first. Macros released Pug’s hand and carefully placed the
talisman below the hilt, so the tiny hammer lay next to the forte of
the blade. He then gently closed his hand around the blade and
hammer. “Pug, I have the skill, but I need your strength.”
Pug took Macros’s hand and the sorcerer again used the younger
mage’s magic to augment his own diminished powers.

Macros’s
hand began to glow with a warm, yellow-orange light, and all heard a
sizzling sound while smoke came off the sorcerer’s hand. Arutha
could feel the blade warm to the touch.

After a few
moments the glow vanished and Macros’s hand opened. Arutha
looked at the blade. The talisman had been somehow embedded into the
steel, now appearing only as a hammer-shaped etching in the forte.
The Prince looked up at Macros and Pug.

“That
blade now holds the power of the talisman. It will guard you from all
attacks from mystic sources. It will also wound and kill creatures of
dark summoning, piercing even Murmandamus’s protective spells.
But its power is limited to the strength of will within the man who
holds it. Falter in your resolve and you will fall. Remain steadfast
and you shall prevail. Always remember that.

“Come,
Pug, we must ready ourselves.”

Arutha watched
as the two sorcerers, one ancient and robed in brown and one young
and wearing the black robes of a Tsurani Great One, stood facing each
other, next to the dais. They joined hands and closed their eyes. A
disquieting silence fell over the chamber. After a minute, Arutha
pulled his attention from the two magic users and began inspecting
his surroundings. The chamber seemed empty of any artifact or
decoration. One small door, waist-high in the wall, seemed the only
means of entrance. He pulled it open, and glanced in, seeing a hoard
of gold and gems lying in the next chamber. He laughed to himself.
Ancient treasure, riches of the Valheru, and he’d trade it all
to have Lyam’s army on the horizon. After a moment of poking
about the treasure, he settled in to wait. He absently tossed and
caught a ruby the size of a plum, wishing he knew how his comrades
above were faring in the battle for Sethanon.

“Now!”
shouted Guy, and the company directly under his command began to fall
back from the barbican, while behind them trumpeters sounded the call
to withdraw. In every quarter of the city the call was answered and,
in as coordinated a retreat as possible, the walls were surrendered
to the attackers. Rapidly the defenders fell back, gaining the cover
of the first block of houses beyond the bailey, for the moredhel
archers upon the wall began taking a heavy toll.

Companies of
Sethanon archers waited to offer answering fire over the heads of the
retreating skirmishers, but it was only through exceptional bravery
that a total rout was avoided.

Guy pulled Jimmy
and Amos along, watching over his shoulder while his squad fell back
to new positions. Galain and three other archers offered covering
fire. As the front rank of attackers reached the first major
intersection, a company of riders erupted from the side street.
Sethanon cavalry, under the command of Lord Humphry, rode among the
goblins and trolls, trampling them underfoot. In a few minutes the
attackers were being slaughtered and began withdrawing the way they
had come.

Guy waved to
Humphry, who rode over. “Shall we harry them, Guy?”

“No,
they’ll regroup shortly. Order your men to ride the perimeter,
covering where necessary, but everyone is to fall back to the keep as
quickly as possible. Don’t do anything too heroic”

The Baron
acknowledged his orders, and Guy said, “Humphry, tell your men
they did well. Very well.” The stout little Baron seemed to
perk up and saluted smartly, riding off to take command of his
cavalry.

Amos said, “That
little squirrel’s got teeth.”

“He’s
a braver man than he looks,” answered Guy. He quickly surveyed
his position and signalled his men back. In a moment they were all
running toward the keep.

When they
reached the inner bailey of the city, they ran toward the keep. The
outer fence was a decorative thing of iron bars, which would be torn
down in moments, but the inner, ancient fortress wall still looked
difficult to attack. Guy hoped so. They gained the first parapet
overlooking the battle and Guy sent Galain to see if his other
commanders had reached the keep. When the elf had gone, he said,
“Now, if I could only know where Arutha has vanished to?”

Jimmy wondered
as well. And he also wondered where Locklear was.

Locklear hugged
the wall, waiting until the troll turned his back to him at the sound
of the scream. The girl was no more than sixteen and the other two
children considerably younger. The troll reached for the girl, and
Locklear leaped out and ran him through from behind. Without saying
anything, he reached out and grabbed the girl’s wrist. He
tugged and she followed, leading the other two children.

They hurried
toward the keep, but the squire halted when a squad of horsemen was
driven backward across their path. Locklear saw that Baron Humphry
was the last man to quit the fray. The Baron’s horse stumbled
and goblin hands reached up and pulled Humphry from his saddle. The
stout little ruler of Sethanon lashed out with his sword, cutting
down two of his assailants before finally being overwhelmed by the
goblins he faced. Locklear pulled the frightened girl and her
companions into an abandoned inn. Once inside, he searched until he
spied the trapdoor to the cellar. He opened it and said, “Quickly,
and be silent!”

The children
obeyed and he followed after. He felt about in the dark and found a
lamp, with steel and flint next to it. In a short moment he had a
light burning. He glanced around while sounds of fighting filtered
down from the street above. He pointed toward a large pair of barrels
and the children hurried over to crouch between them. He pushed on
another barrel and rolled it slowly before the others, creating a
small place to hide. He took his sword and the lamp and climbed over
to sit with the others.