Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken (30 page)

“
I have my orders. Let me pass.” Essdra ordered the sentry who didn’t move.

“
I tried getting in your unit a few decades ago and you said I wasn’t good enough. I think that you are up to something. Maybe I can get your position if I turn you in.” Urake saw Essdra’s hands clench at the sentry's words. Her hands began moving towards her swords as she eyed the soldier.

Urake drew Ice Heart and smashed its pommel into the back of Essdra’s head then spun and caught the surprised sentry’s sword with a jarring blow. He was able to knock one of the blades to the ground before the sentry managed to recover himself. Now only armed with one short sword the sentry was unable to defend himself adequately. Urake armed with the longer sword was able to match the elf swing for swing with ease. Essdra had made the right choice when she had refused this elf. With a feint on one side Urake caught the helmet and sent it flying. Disoriented by the crack to the helmet the sentry was finished off with a smashing blow with the flat of Urake’s blade over his head. The sentry crumpled to the ground. Turning Urake saw Essdra stirring from her stunned state. Emeck was still staring at Urake with surprise.

“Why?” Essdra looked up with a confused look. “I was trying to help you. Why?”

“
Tell them that I broke out and stole Skeln’den’hal. Tell them that you caught me and tried to apprehend me but that I overpowered you and forced you to help me escape. I don’t want you to be blamed for helping me.” Urake explained as he removed the sentry’s weapons and handed them to Emeck.

“
Very well. Perhaps you should take mine as well.” Essdra removed her exquisitely crafted weapons and presented them to Urake.

“
Fine weapons but they won’t do me any good. If you want them back follow me and you will find them discarded along the way.” Urake slipped them into his belt and stepped into the woods.

“
Be careful with them. They have been in my family for a thousand years.” Essdra admonished as Urake disappeared.

“
Keep your mind hidden until we are out of the Elder Forest.” Urake warned Emeck.

“
Essdra taught me a few tricks. Not that I need to try. Or you for that matter. Since you found Skeln’den’hal none of them have been able to detect you. They are afraid of accidentally connected connecting with me so they won’t be looking” Emeck explained. Urake didn’t respond. He had a lot to think about. Knowing that he didn’t have to be worried about being detected by searching telepaths made it easier but it still didn’t make it effortless. The rangers were by far the more familiar with the ways of the Elder Forest. Utilizing his every skill while retaining his speed was taxing. It would take everything he had if he had a hope of escaping with their lives.

“
Where are we going?” Emeck inquired after a couple hours had passed.

“
North. At least until you can get in contact with Brounn again. Perhaps he has information about Skeln.” They made good time and had reached the edge of the Elder Forest by the next morning. Surprisingly they had not met any elves on their way. Taking one last look at the impressive forest Urake stepped into the brush with Emeck close behind.

*****

“It is done my lord.” Essdra stepped into a room and bowed to the elf who stood gazing out a window.

“
You did well Essdra. The council doesn’t hardly suspect our hand at all. They attribute the Asgare’s escape to his corruption of Skeln’den’hal.” The elf turned from the window. He was like most any other elf you might see accept for the golden crown woven through his hair.

“
My lord... Do you think it was worth it?” Essdra questioned.

“
I hope so. His mind is remarkably well fortified for a human. It was only while he was sleeping that I was able to glean any fragments of his memories without alerting him to my intrusions.” The elf king turned back to the window.

“
I was only able to follow him for a few measures before I lost track.”

“
He is fine. Once he picked up the sword no one else was able to follow him either. It was all I could do to keep tracking him. That and trying to arrange the patrols so they avoided him.”

“
If his son really is a Dragon Lord, why doesn't the council want to help him?” Essdra respectfully asked.

“
It is complicated. During the war we were allied with them, the dragons and the dwarves against the dark elves and the wraith and their creations. After the war the dragons were almost wiped out and the Dragon Lords died. The dwarves went underground leaving us. The humans recovered from the aftermath of the war and began fighting with themselves. They even had the audacity to attack the dragons and us once they were united. The new Dragon Lords are supposed to be at least part human. The council is afraid that if they gain their powers that they will lead the humans against us.”

“
Are you worried that might happen?” Essdra queried.

“
There is always that risk. The council knows that eleven of the twelve soul forged weapons are on Den’dra. Nine of them are in Reign’s hands who is adamantly trying to kill everyone who is Gifted. We have one and the Asgare has the other. They hoped to prevent fate by preventing the soul forged weapons from meeting the Dragon Lords. I however believe that fate was set into motion long ago and we aren’t meant to get in its way.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Inadar had been walking the streets in Cercha for nearly a week now. She could picture in her head the map of the city. She had been up nearly every alley and back street. She had talked to more people than she cared to admit. None of them had been any kind of help. It might have helped if Torroth had not admonished her to avoid actually saying that she was looking for a Gifted young man. In these parts it was dangerous to be associated with anyone suspected of being Gifted. She was fast despairing of finding who she was looking for. She hadn’t had a single tingle. Nothing like what she felt when a dragon was near.

Inadar was beginning to despair that her task would ever be successful. Den’dra was a large continent where a person had a huge array of choices for hiding places. There was also the chance that who she was looking for didn’t even know who he was. If that was the case then he could be anyone. A simple villager in the hills, a fisherman in the outlands or a farmer in the midlands. He could even be a thug living in the criminal underworld. There was even a chance that he could have been born and died years ago. That or not yet. Far too many possibilities for any one person to look into. For that matter it would take ten people lifetimes to even cover a part of Den’dra.

Inadar had been absently wandering through the alleyways in the hopes that she might sense something. Not paying attention she found herself in a blind alley. Turning around she discovered that a couple rather disreputable looking individuals had followed her into the alley. They both were dressed in rags. One had a hefty looking stick in his hand and the other had a jug of alcohol in hand. Inadar figured that her odds were not that bad. She didn’t even bother warning her adversaries. Instead she waited for them to approach. Feigning fear she backed up to the wall. This charade made the one drop his stick while the other hugged the jug closer and gave her a smile filled with broken rotting teeth. When they were a couple arm lengths away Inadar made her move.

Coming in low she gave a sound kick to the knee of the one with the jug. He crumbled with a yell while Inadar drove the handle of one of her hidden knives into the other’s rib cage. He was left gasping for air while the first tried to struggle to his feet. Leaning heavily on his good leg he staggered towards Inadar muttering threats best not committed to writing. Inadar waited until he was taking a step before she charged and drop kicked his good knee. Now completely disabled Inadar returned to the one just now regaining his breath. Before he had completely covered Inadar retrieved the cudgel that the man had originally been carrying. As he stagger to his feet Inadar came up behind him and swung the club up between his legs. It must have been a good strike because he only gave a high pitched moan before collapsing.

“Sorry boys. I'm just not that kind of girl.” Inadar brushed back her hair and dropped the club. Leaving the alley she glanced around and noted that the people milling about had noticed nothing. Deciding that Cercha was a dead end Inadar made her way back to the inn where she and Torroth were staying.

“
Anything?” Torroth asked as soon as Inadar entered the room.

“
No. Nothing at all. I think we should go some other place and look.” Inadar flopped down on the bed. Torroth had insisted on sleeping on the floor.

“
I was thinking that also. We have been here for about as long as we can risk.”

“
Oh I did meet a couple guys today.” Inadar stretched and sat up.

“
Did they bother you? Do I need to find them?” Torroth always over reacted whenever he thought Inadar might have been in danger.

“
No no. I made a mean face and scared them away. Anyways, I was thinking that we should get moving now and save ourselves another night’s rent.” Inadar leaned down to adjust a strap on her shoe.

“
Makes no difference to me. The ground is often softer than these floors.”

“
You are the one to complain. I offered you the other side of the bed.” Inadar laughed and began gathering her possessions into her pack.

“
You aren’t the one with dragons threatening to roast you. I can’t shake the feeling that Iradaemi somehow followed us out here and is watching.” Torroth joked as he followed Inadar’s example. They made short work of packing and left the inn.

“
So where do you want to go next?” Torroth stood at the edge of the street and looked both ways. A few ox carts were rumbling past along with a few afternoon travelers.

“
Well, if you were to find out that you are Gifted and wanted to hide where would you go?” Inadar looked over at Torroth with a smile.

“
I hunted enough of them. They usually try to go someplace secluded. Someplace where people don’t care. Someplace the chancellor can’t reach. Come to think of it, the outlands would be where I would go. It is sparsely populated and you hardly ever hear about that region.”

“
Sounds good. Which way?” Inadar waited for Torroth to respond. Looking across the street she noticed that her acquaintances from the alley earlier were limping along. This time both cradling jugs of strong drink. Inadar chose that moment to step behind Torroth and readjust her shoe.

“
A mean face?” Inadar glance up and saw Torroth with one of his crooked grins.

“
A mean face, a couple kicks, punches and a sturdy club.” Inadar straightened up and grinned back as he rolled his eyes.

“
I don’t recall having taught you how to use a club.”

“
Really the theory of operation is fairly simple. All you have to do is swing up right between the legs and the guy stops bothering you.” Inadar laughed as Torroth cringed.

“
Ouch. That hurts just thinking about it. You really can be quite violent.” Torroth made a point of protecting his more sensitive organs.

“
I can’t help it. Must be my draconic ancestry resting just below the surface. I can’t control it sometimes.” Inadar looked Torroth up and down with half lidded eyes while adjusting her posture to accentuate certain curves. If there was a faster way of making Torroth uncomfortable she hadn’t found it yet.

“
I... Uh... Will you stop that! People might be listening or even worse, they might be watching."

“
Whatever dragon pet. So which way to the outlands?” Inadar giggled as she changed the subject. Torroth flushed a shade of red before responding.

“
North. We will stick to the main roads then cut east before reaching Shienhin. We should be there within a few weeks.” Torroth stepped into the street and stepped around a slow moving ox cart. Inadar followed without saying anything else. It wasn’t until they had reached the edge of Cercha that Torroth felt free to breathe easy. He had no interest in getting caught up in any suspicion as to his presence. Already he had been forced to explain their presence to a few inquisitive people. It wouldn’t have been long before someone would have begun asking questions that couldn’t be as easily answered. Often a person had been turned out of a town or worse for the simple crime of having no good reason for tarrying. Sometimes the chancellor’s men would grow suspicious. People tended to disappear when those men began asking questions.

“
Why so glum?” Inadar pierced Torroth’s pondering with her question.

“
I'm not glum. Just relieved. I think we might have been pushing our luck by staying in Cercha so long. Now was a good time to leave.”

“
You think so? Probably right. I think I saw those two thugs following me the other day as well. Should have known that something was going to happen. I don’t think that they would admit to having been beat up by a girl. Not that anyone is likely to take their word for it. They were both nearly pickled in the stuff they were pouring down their gullets. People can be interesting. Intentionally poisoning themselves. Do you suppose that they do it to drown out their sorrows or just for fun? As bad as that stuff smells, I can’t think someone would just drink it without having to have a good reason.” Torroth smiled and occasionally interjected a few words every now and then.

Inadar could chatter for hours when she felt so inclined. He didn’t mind it so much. She often had insights into things that for one as young as her surprised him. It helped pass the time spent traveling. Often though he would tune it out and either grunt in disapproval or murmur agreement depending on the tone of Inadar’s comment.

Torroth’s mind wandered now as he thought about his lot in life. A fugitive on the run. Not really running. The people that mattered all thought him dead years ago. It wasn’t so bad though. He had agreeable company and a quest to occupy him. An impossible quest however he didn’t see boredom in his immediate future as he toiled. Having something to do was important. It was when he was idle and alone that thoughts of his lost brother surfaced. It had been years since that fateful night but he had lost his twin and felt diminished by Morden’s death.

In this manner they spent the next days traversing the midlands. Inadar alternated chatting and being silent. Torroth daydreamed and hunted. Inadar practiced her archery and fighting skills. The days crept by neither faster than nor slower than the one before.

Shienhin was only just raising its walls and towers above the line of the horizon when the duo took the road labeled to the outlands. Hardly half a day passed before the air took on a new salty smell. It was a bit more humid and had a chill at night north of the Garoche Mountains. Inadar was astonished when she saw the silent sea for the first time. Up till then the largest body of water she had seen was Lake Cerveza. Even then the Garoche could be seen on the other side but this was so much bigger. The concept that so much water could exist had never occurred to her.

Continuing their journey they found the road leading back towards the western slopes of the Garoche Mountains. This side was treated to frequent rains and was a different kind of green. The trees were bigger and new wildlife was always being discovered by Inadar. She and Torroth found game to plentiful. They didn’t want for sustenance. Water could be found in any of the myriad streams that flowed off the Garoche glaciers high on the slopes.

The party decided to leave the main road and stick to the Garoche Mountains when they narrowly avoided walking into a party of soldiers escorting wagons loaded with dried fish. The wild forests gave one the impression that everything was tranquil. Inadar could have lived her life in the wilderness content to forget that the world was a dangerous place.

They were near the edge of a large forest one day on their journey. They had already managed to pass through a couple villages without incident. Inadar hadn’t detected anything out of the ordinary so they had moved on. Now they were headed to a small trapping community that they had heard about living on the higher slopes of the Garoche.

“Halt!” Both Inadar and Torroth nearly jumped out of their skins when the command was shouted from a nearby stand of scrubby brush.

“
Identify yourself!” Another order was shouted as they looked around in confusion. Following the order a soldier carrying a bow appeared from the vegetation.

“
We are just travelers.” Torroth held his hands out reassuringly.

“
The road is just inland of the coast. What are you doing up here?” The suspicious soldier questioned.

“
Just seeing the sights. I haven’t ever been on this side of the Garoche Mountains before and wanted to see the scenery.” Inadar offered an excuse as she glanced at Torroth who had a worried look.

“
I don’t believe you. You were headed right for our camp.” The soldier moved closer while still keeping the arrow notched.

“
I can’t help that. Like she said, we were just enjoying the scenery.”

“
I don’t care. Now move it!” The soldier motioned towards an opening in the underbrush. Inadar gave Torroth another glance. This time he nodded towards his hands and the soldier. She understood that he meant to attack as soon as practical and that she should be ready. The soldier directed them into the trail and followed a couple feet behind.

Torroth was between Inadar and the soldier. After glancing around and not seeing any other soldiers he braced off a rock in the trail and launched himself backwards into the surprised soldier. The pack took the brunt of the blow but the two of them went down in a tangle of flailing arms and legs. Torroth was quickly able to slip out of the pack and turn on the soldier while Inadar looked for an opportunity to help.

Inadar had her black fighting daggers drawn when she heard a breaking branch behind. She ducked and managed to sidestep another soldier as he crashed through the undergrowth. He was more agile than anticipated and had turned on Inadar by the time she had recovered from her narrow escape. He had a sword drawn and was at her swinging and chopping as best he could in the narrow confines of the trail. Inadar was not as limited by the space and either dodged or deflected each strike. The black steel sparked with each strike they took from the sword but didn’t seem to be damaged.

Inadar could hear Torroth struggling in the background as she made her finishing moves. A feint to the left to distract while putting all her weight into a swing with her right at the base of the sword. The heavy impact knocked the sword out of the man’s hand leaving him reaching for the sword as Inadar brought her knee up and slammed it into the soldier’s face. The soldier was senseless on the ground and Inadar was about to go help Torroth when a blow to the back of her head made lights flash before darkness overcame her.