Child of Fate (25 page)

Tristam soothed his skittish horse and then
climbed back into his saddle. “And it’s time we found them out.
Let’s go, we must be close.”

More than an hour later, Namitus found the
boulder that served as a door to the secret cave. Alto stared at
the large rock, remembering the details he’d tried to commit to
memory when they’d emerged from the troll’s lair. He shook his
head, disappointed that he hadn’t recognized it sooner. Namitus had
a better sword and kept proving he had a wealth of experience and
knowledge beyond Alto. If Alto couldn’t find something that he did
better, then what right did he have to court Trina?

“Alto!” Tristam pulled the young man from his
frustrated thoughts. He hurried over to the rock and put his hands
against it. Brute force, he had that over Namitus. The rock rolled
slowly until there was enough room for the others to slip through.
Torches were struck to light the tunnel before Alto slipped in and
let the boulder roll shut behind them.

“Ah, cave sweet cave,” William grumbled.

“You want to stay out and wait for that wolf
to come back with friends?” Tristam asked him.

“I was just admiring the stonework.” William
flashed an overzealous grin.

Tristam smirked and led the way deeper into
the cave with Alto moving right behind him. The way was uncontested
until they reached the closed wooden door that led into
Trolwerkz.

Tristam removed his helm and pressed his head
against the door to listen. He frowned and backed away, and then
shrugged. After replacing his helm, he rapped his knuckles against
the wood. A few moments passed before he repeated the action.

“What da fear?” They heard the muffled voice
of the troll say, “Bonky!”

“Fear?” Alto whispered.

“Jarook is the patron saint of fear,” Karthor
whispered behind him. “Unless I miss my guess, our savage friend is
a priest of Jarook.”

“I thought he was a shaman?”

“Different title, same calling.”

Alto grunted and Tristam beat on the wood a
third time. A moment later, they heard things being dragged out of
the way. When the door opened, Bonky stood there wearing a dented
breastplate and shield. He held a short sword in his other hand and
a dented helm sat crookedly on his head. His skin was lime green
this time and he was scowling at them.

Standing behind and above Bonky, Thork had
his spear poised to thrust. He grinned when he saw them and backed
up. His shield whacked Bonky in the back of the head as he spun
away. “Ey dere! Welcome back to Trolwerkz!”

“It’s good to be back,” Tristam lied. He held
his ground, waiting for the surly goblin to step aside.

Thork reached over and picked Bonky up and
moved him aside. “Let da guests in, stupid,” Thork said.

Tristam led the others into the shop. It had
changed since they’d last been there. The tables were cleaner and
several bags had been stuffed full. “How’ve you been, Thork?” Alto
asked.

“Good!” Thork grinned but his smile faltered
quickly. “Well, mebbe not so good. Da fing is dis place is getting
so dere’s no fun. Thork is finking it’s time to move on.”

“Oh!” Alto frowned.

“We’re sorry to hear that, about the lack of
fun, that is,” Tristam said.

“What brings yous guys back?”

“The pass from Highpeak through to the
mountains is blocked,” Tristam explained. “This is the only other
route we know of.”

“Dis is bad place for yous guys,” Thork said,
shaking his head.

“We know, but our people are in danger,” Alto
interrupted. “Will you help us?”

Thork frowned and sucked on one of his tusks.
He shrugged a moment later and grinned. “Why not? What yous need?
Ooh! Dat reminds me, Thork found sumfin for yous!”

They risked glances at one another to try to
keep up with the easily distracted troll. “Do you know a way out of
the caves?” Alto asked the troll. “Other than the one we came
through.”

Thork turned, ignoring Alto while he pawed
through a couple of bags. He pulled out several bottles and a few
casks, and then a pair of boots and finally a sword. Alto stared in
shock; there was no possible way the bag could hold the sword, let
alone the rest of the items it had contained.

Thork turned and thrust the sheathed weapon
to Alto. “Here, yous can have dis!”

Alto took the weapon and looked at it. The
pommel resembled a claw holding a black pearl and the crosspiece
had another black pearl set in the middle of it. The arms of the
crosspiece were designed to catch an opponent’s blade and protect
the wielder. The hilt was wrapped in a black leather that Alto
couldn’t identify. He pulled the blade free of the scabbard several
inches and instinctively felt the quality and balance of it. The
fuller that ran down the blade was as black as the pearls.

Alto handed it back to the troll. “I can’t
take it; I haven’t earned it.”

Alto heard a few gasps and another person
whispering something behind him. Thork frowned and shook his head.
“Thork doesn’t use swords. Yous can have it.”

Alto frowned. “It’s a fine weapon, my friend.
I don’t have any way to pay for it.”

“Stupid, Thork is givin’ it to yous!” Thork
said.

Alto chuckled. “I’ll earn it then,” Alto
said. “If not now, then as soon as I can.”

Thork grinned and turned back to another
sack. “If yous going to stop Barndoor, yous is gonna need some
help. Dem mountain trolls is tough. Mebbe not as tough as a swamp
troll, but dem has skin like stone. Dat sword is magical—it will
cut frough it. Dem others won’t. Use some of dis stuff.”

“Barador?” Tristam said. “We never said we
were going after him.”

Thork gave the warrior a look even Bonky
didn’t merit. “Thork isn’t a stupid. Yous need to head up da ramp
and frough da door. Dere’s lots of rooms up dere, and Barador is
gonna be in one of dem.”

Tristam blushed and nodded. “My thanks,
Thork.”

“Here, put dis on yous swords,” Thork said
again when he pulled out a tin. He kept going until he’d retrieved
six additional small metal flasks. “An here’s some potions for yous
to keep you from being bashed.”

Tristam and William grabbed a tin and a
potion, and then the remaining four Blades grabbed a flask. Alto
unbuckled the sword at his side to change it out with the new one
Thork had given him. He then slung the old sword across his back.
“Thork, I mean it—I will be back and I will earn this,” Alto said.
He thrust his hand out to the large green-skinned being and earned
a hearty laugh and a shake that nearly wrenched his arm off at the
shoulder.

“Get going. Thork’s got more packin’ to do!”
the troll said.

They turned and exited Trolwerkz through the
front door. The cave was empty ahead of them, but they knew it
would only be a matter of time until they ran into the creatures
that lived within them.

“I think I know what that sword is,” Namitus
said in a hushed voice to him.

“It’s a broadsword,” Alto said. He patted the
hilt with the hand holding his shield.

“No, it was made for a Kelgryn warrior named
Kevard by a sea witch. He sought her out to have a weapon that
could slay the creatures that sought to do harm to his people. In
return, he had to make her his wife. He succumbed to his injuries
sustained saving the fledgling Kelgryn nation from its enemies. His
body and the sword were lost on the field of battle,” Namitus
explained.

“What happened to the sea witch?”

“She bore the first king of the Kelgryn and
became the first wise-woman.”

Alto looked down at his sword. He nodded
slowly and said, “Then it belongs to the Kelgryn. I will do my best
to wield it with honor until I can return it to them.”

“Seems a waste of a fine sword to me,”
Tristam said. “It was given to you, no matter where it came
from.”

Alto frowned. “We’ll see. Until then, I
expect it’ll come in handy.”

“Aye, but don’t do anything stupid. It won’t
make you any harder to hit,” Tristam reminded him.

Alto grinned. “I learned that lesson the last
time we were in here!”

Tristam took the lead again and started down
the passage toward the cavern with the bridge of rock to the upper
passage and the caves that Barador made his home in. Their torches
cast better light than the multi-colored splotches of light Kar’s
spells radiated. The cavern was empty, causing more than a few
sighs of relief. They climbed the ramp and found it unguarded. The
gate was closed but the bar was resting against the wall.

“Not going to get a chance to try out that
sword at this rate,” Tristam said to Alto.

“I’d be okay with that,” Alto said.

Kar chuckled behind them. “The best blow a
warrior can make is the one he never has to.”

“Until that day, keep your blade ready,”
Tristam said. “Now be ready; we don’t know what awaits us.”

Alto nodded and reached out to the door. He
pushed it open slowly at first; when they saw nothing, he heaved
against it so Tristam could step through the opening. Alto followed
as soon as Tristam was out of his way and stepped clear for
Karthor, William, Kar, and finally Namitus to follow.

The tunnel before them was cut smoother and
straighter than the other side of the gate. Supports were spaced
regularly in the cave and cressets with rags soaked in fat burned
along the walls. Some of the flames were burning low, proving they
hadn’t been changed in hours.

“Guess we don’t need these anymore,” William
said before he tossed his torch to the floor. The others followed
suit, freeing up a hand for weapons to be drawn.

“Come,” Tristam said. He advanced down the
hall toward an opening they could see ahead of them.

The end of the tunnel opened into a hallway
with more flaming cressets and two rows of tables in the hall.
Several doors were set in the walls. The most prominent doorway was
a closed set of double doors to their left at the end of the
hall.

Tristam started toward it but Alto caught his
attention by waving his blade. “If that’s Barador, let’s check the
other doors first. Better to have any reinforcements dealt with
first instead of at our backs.”

Tristam’s eyes widened. He nodded and let a
wry grin spread on his face. “You’ve been paying attention to your
lessons on tactics.”

Alto felt his chest swell with pride and
followed Tristam to their right, where he opened the first door.
The doorway led to a room filled with eight beds, all of them
empty. They wasted no time rifling through the contents of the
beds; instead, they moved to the next door and found an identical
room. The third room had more promise with only a single bed and a
desk.

Kar started toward the desk but Karthor
stopped him. “We should check the other doors first,” he whispered.
Kar scowled but relented when Tristam nodded in support of the
priest’s words.

The next room came with a surprise. A man
looked up from his desk when the door opened. “How many times do I
have to tell you fools to knock before enter—”

Tristam ran in and surprised the old man. He
jumped up and back to evade but tripped over his chair and crashed
onto the ground. Tristam lowered the point of his sword to the
man’s chest and held it steady.

“Not another word unless I ask it!” Tristam
demanded. The captive nodded.

“Where is everybody?”

“They’ve gone to reinforce Highpeak,” their
prisoner said.

“Why aren’t you there?” Kar asked. Tristam
turned and glared at him.

“Somebody had to mind the caves and I’ve work
to do.”

“What sort of work?”

“Kar!” Tristam hissed.

The man looked between the two, and then his
eyes settled on Kar. “You’d understand, I think.”

“You’re a wizard?”

He nodded.

“What’s your name?” Tristam asked.

“Fizzulthorp.”

“Ever heard of him?” Tristam asked Kar.

“I don’t know every wizard in the world!” Kar
protested.

“Well, Fizzulthorp, I’d just as soon kill
you, but you might come in handy.” Tristam said to him. “If nothing
else, I can turn you in to General Fisk and earn a bonus.”

Fizzulthorp’s eyes widened. “Perhaps I can
offer a better deal?” he gambled.

“Perhaps not. Alto, bind and gag him.”

Alto sheathed his blade and used {the} rope
Namitus provided to tie the man’s hands. He looked to the bed and
tore off a strip of the sheet to use as a gag. When he was
finished, he kept the wizard close while Kar perused the contents
of the books on the man’s desk. He nodded thoughtfully and then
turned to the wizard. “Elemental magic?”

Fizzulthorp nodded.

Kar turned to a chest at the foot of the
wizard’s bed. He went to it and studied it, and then frowned.
“Trapped?”

Fizzulthorp shrugged, earning a rough shake
from Alto. He nodded.

“Magical?”

Alto had to shake him again to get a second
nod.

Kar scowled. “I’ll have to deal with it later
then. Bring him along.”

Tristam cast his eyes over the room a final
time. He risked opening the drawers in the desk and found a purse
filled with coins. He grinned and poured their contents into his
own pouch. “A bonus with a bonus, I like that,” he said.
Fizzulthorp glared at him.

They found the remaining rooms empty as the
wizard had promised. The final double doorway led not to Barador’s
quarters but out of the caves to a small clearing on the side of a
mountain. A few buildings had been erected, as well as a pen for
horses. They looked around but found the camp empty save for a
single horse. A road led from the clearing down the side of the
mountain toward a valley with steep walls.

“That looks like where I climbed out of the
caves the last time,” Namitus said.

“Where you heard Barador talking to the
dragon?” Kar asked.

The rogue nodded.

“It bothers me that there’s no one about,”
Tristam said.