Exiles From The Sacred Land (Book 2) (30 page)

“Your command of the elements is always impressive, my friend,” Morgoran stated. “I wish I had known you as a boy at chore time.”

“I am afraid I would not have been much help to you, Morgoran, as I was a poor student in the eyes of my people. I was nearly an adult before I could manipulate the elements half as well as a child.”

“I find that difficult to believe,” Morgoran replied. “Now, let me see if I can get this portal open.” A quick burst of essence and the portal sprang to life. Morgoran tried to play around with the portal destination, but it was indeed stuck. He turned to address the others. “I’m not sure this portal goes to By’temog. I have not been to Ishrak in so long, I would not be able to recognize it by the images on edge of this portal. This might have been one idea too far. It’s not too late to bow out.” No one indicated that they wished to turn back. “All right, I will step through first. If anything adverse happens, the portal will shut down. It only stays open if it is connected to another portal on the other side.” He took a deep breath. “As I remember, traveling by these portals is somewhat unpleasant. This is not a Lora Daine. Just be aware.” He took another deep breath and stepped through the opening. It felt like he was punched hard in the stomach, and he hunched over as he forced himself to stumble down the tunnel to the opening on the other end. The swirling motion and the sensation that the tunnel was getting longer rather than shorter made him feel like retching, but he held it in.

Morgoran emerged from the portal feeling like he was wet, but upon inspecting his robes, he found he was completely dry. One by one each of the members of the party stepped out of the tunnel to different side effects. Melias was the only one Morgoran thought might have stomach issues, but he also soon recovered.

When the portal closed, the chamber became pitch dark. Morgoran heard something stirring in the corner opposite. At first he thought it was one of his party, but then he realized they were all behind him. “Sanmir, give us some light.”

Sanmir took out his flint and steel and struck a spark. From that spark, he manipulated a flame in the form of a floating white ball. Two figures, just out of the reach of the light, stood huddled in the corner.

“Who’s there?” Morgoran asked. He could feel essence being drawn. It was somewhat weak, so he used his own essence to block it. “You can use essence so you are not undead. Show yourself.”

Kimala and Fayne stepped into the light.

“Kimala!” Morgoran whispered. He looked at Fayne. “And this is Fayne?”

Kimala pursed her lips as if she hesitated to answer. “Aye, it is she.”

Morgoran shot a look immediately at Tatrice and then back at Kimala.

“This is Kimala!” Tatrice said, alarmed. “The woman Trendan tracked from Brightonhold?”

Bren pulled out his dragon fang and pointed it at her. “What treachery is this?”

“Oh, put your weapons away, Bren. Kimala is actually one of us. She works for Enowene and Lady Shey. Ianthill filled me in on his plans at Brightonhold Keep,” Morgoran stated flatly. “She was a spy.”

Kimala glared at Morgoran with contempt, and he could feel it. He wondered briefly if it was something he said.

“Why would you have Trendan go after her then?” Tatrice asked.

“It’s complicated, but the short answer is to keep up appearances. She was supposed to fly away on her dragon companion.”

“I knew it,” Bren said. “I knew I sensed another dragon at Brightonhold.”

Morgoran chuckled. “I assume you got away?”

“Well, not exactly.” She looked at Fayne. “It did not go as planned. In fact, Trendan is here with us. He went out to scout the city.”

“He did what?” Morgoran was visibly shaken. “We need to find him right now. This is not a place you can scout around in. He might be dead already.” Morgoran pushed open the chamber door. Dawn was breaking, but it was still too dark to see well. “Good, it’s almost dawn. With luck, the curse will not be as strong in the daylight.” He looked back through the doorway. “Vesperin, you better get out here in front, just in case.”

Vesperin emerged from the chamber, followed closely by Fayne, who had not taken her eyes away from Vesperin. She tripped over something on the floor, and Morgoran caught her. “Be careful, girl. Now is not the time to discover you are clumsy.”

“Forgive me, Morgoran. I wasn’t watching where I was stepping.”

“I noticed. What is so fascinating?”

Vesperin looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all.”

Morgoran surveyed the ruins. In the distance, he could see a flickering light. Sanmir noticed it too.

“Did he build a campfire?” Sanmir asked Morgoran.

“I don’t think he would be that stupid. I once heard a story in the days before I was cursed with the sight that the undead had a way of detecting the living. They use curiosity to draw the living like a moth to a flame.”

“A light in the distance.” Sanmir nodded as he spoke.

“Aye, a light in the distance,” Morgoran repeated.

“What do we do? Go after him?”

Morgoran rubbed his forehead. “I don’t see how.”

“What’s that?” Vesperin pointed to a shadow illuminated against the white stone of a building.

“That’s Trendan,” Sanmir answered.

“Are you certain, Sanmir? Is he being chased?” Morgoran asked.

“Aye, I can see something moving behind him in the shadows.”

“Bless your elven eyes!” Morgoran darted back into the chamber and activated the portal.

“This portal is stuck on the destination of Tippen’s Landing,” Kimala told him.

“I don’t care, as long as it’s away from here. Quickly, everyone get down here and get through the portal. I will wait for Trendan. You too, Vesperin, I can handle this.”

When everyone had gone through the portal, Morgoran waited on the landing for Trendan.

Out of breath and with torn clothes, Trendan topped the landing and met Morgoran at the door. “Go! Go! The portal is open.” Morgoran urgently ushered him along and followed him though the portal as several fast-moving apparitions appeared at the doorway. Some of them made it into the portal, but as soon as Morgoran exited in Tippen’s Landing, he closed the portal down on them.

Chapter 18: Ruins of an Empire

Vesperin went to Trendan as soon as he came through the portal to tend to any wounds he might have. Trendan fell to his knees and gasped for breath; he had been in a full sprint, half motivated by adrenaline and half motivated by fear. Vesperin said a healing prayer, and Trendan’s labored breathing abated.

Morgoran put his hand on Trendan’s back. “Tell us what happened when you can.”

Trendan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thankful his chest had stopped hurting. “It was General Sythril and his men. I went to scout what I thought was a campfire, but when I got there, it was a hearthstone that only glowed in the presence of living people in the city. The general showed up and introduced himself. I had heard the stories; I didn’t wait for another minute. I leaped up onto a crumbled wall and ran as fast as I could for the portal. I didn’t look back.”

“You acted in the right manner,” Morgoran assured him. “The general would have lured you in and added you to his unholy army if you would have hesitated even a moment.” Morgoran addressed Vesperin. “Take care to mend him well. We must go back to By’temog; it is our only choice.”

“What?” Trendan said with alarm. “Why would you want to do that?”

“We need to get to Draegodor and, with the limited availability of the portals, By’temog is the closest point,” Morgoran answered.

Shadesilver stepped forward. “We might be able to go from here. It isn’t too much farther.”

Morgoran scratched his right bushy eyebrow. “I appreciate the thought, but even now we are wasting precious time. We need to figure out where Dorenn has gotten off to, and every second counts. There is no telling what state he is in after what happened with the trials.”

“Dorenn!” Trendan perked up. “He is in Lux Enor. Kimala, Fayne, and I tried to follow him through the portal. That’s how we ended up in By’temog. He did something to the portal when we tried to get through that sent us to By’temog instead.”

“Did he? I have never heard of anyone manipulating the portals that way before. I was unaware it was possible. This does, however, present a new problem. I am sure Naneden and his armies have taken Lux Enor. In fact, if we roamed around Tippen’s Landing, I am sure we would run into forces here as well.”

“Do you have an idea as to why Dorenn would go to Lux Enor, Morgoran?” Tatrice asked. “Do you think he might try to capture Naneden on his own?”

“When he regained consciousness after the trials, he was spouting something about the Tome of Enlightenment. He said Fawlsbane Vex came to him and told him where it was located.”

“What is the Tome of Enlightenment?” Tatrice asked.

“May I?” Melias asked Morgoran.

“Of course.” Morgoran gestured for him to come forward. “Who better to explain the tome than a monk of Fawlsbane Vex?”

Melias bowed his head slightly, folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes, and cleared his throat. “For a time, Fawlsbane Vex had commanded the dragons to be the guardians of man. The dragons, you see, were created in the beginning by the twin son and daughter of Fawlsbane Vex and Loracia, Xeian, and Breannen. Fawlsbane Vex liked the dragons so much, he created his own version and nurtured the entire race with its own unique magic. Man, on the other hand, has no magic, hence the reason Fawlsbane Vex felt it necessary to give them guardians.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Melias,” Morgoran interjected, “but don’t forget to tell them of the pact.”

“Oh, yes, thank you, Morgoran. The other gods, including Fawlsbane Vex’s brother Fex and the god Fawl, whom Vex defeated and destroyed, thus the name Fawlsbane Vex, had also created their own versions of followers and a myriad of creatures.”

“All of them given life by Loracia,” Vesperin reminded him.

“Of course,” Melias acknowledged. “Anyhow, to simplify, when wars broke out between rival peoples, Fawlsbane Vex made a pact with all the other gods that from then on, no one should create any being or creature without his expressed permission and that no god should interfere with the natural process of their creation directly. The whole affair is extremely complicated, but that is the jist of it.”

Morgoran nodded. “I think most everyone here has a basic knowledge of mythology and history. Now kindly get back to the tome.”

“At some point, the dragons became wary of man and judged them ungrateful and rash. The dragons retreated from being guardians of man and left to build Draegodor. Fawlsbane Vex tried to talk them out of it, but the dragons made extremely convincing arguments and were allowed to leave man to his own devices. One of the arguments was that man had begun to hunt some of the lesser dragons and kill them. Those dragons developed a particular hatred for men and vowed to destroy them.”

“The dragons of Kragodor,” Shadesilver said.

“Aye,” Melias nodded, “and with the dragons of Draegodor no longer protecting man, the so-called “evil” dragons preyed freely on man and his livelihood. Fawlsbane Vex could not interfere with the lesser dragons created by his offspring by penalty of his own decree, so he broke the pact by a technicality. He did not intervene in the affairs of the dragons directly; instead, he gave man the Tome of Enlightenment, a book of knowledge that taught man their own version of magic.”

“A bit long-winded, my friend,” Morgoran jested, “but essentially the story.”

“Why would Dorenn want to get the book?” Bren asked. “He can already use the magic.”

“The tome bestows magic on man. Not only would it teach him how to use the wild magic, it would bestow on him
all
the knowledge of magic ever known to man. Magic is waning here due to the War of the Oracle and all the time that has passed where magic was essentially outlawed.”

“I get it,” Bren said. “Dorenn would have the power of the Sacred Land and the ability to utilize it.”

“Exactly, he would even know the magic man has forgotten.”

“That’s wonderful news then,” Trendan said. “Dorenn could get the army back and oust Naneden and Toborne. Why aren’t we helping him get it!” He looked at Morgoran, who obviously did not share in his enthusiasm. “Morgoran?”

A reluctant Morgoran spoke. “Dorenn is not himself. The trials did not go exactly as expected. I do believe, however, that his essence sickness was cured, but at such a high price.”

Tatrice suddenly confronted Morgoran. “What happened to Dorenn? Is he okay?”

Morgoran put up his hand to ward off her advancement. “He is well. I am just not sure of his priorities any longer. I am uncertain of what he encountered in the trials. His motivations are in question, and his actions may now have more dire consequences than that of Toborne and Naneden.”

“Or he may have a better understanding than you on what needs to be done now. Maybe he no longer needs your guidance.” Tatrice’s voice was icy.