First Comes The One Who Wanders (42 page)

"It's in regard to being the last son of the last good king."

"Our father was not a good king, in case you’ve forgotten," said Brenth, condemningly.

"Or his father before him or his father, back for many generations," agreed Leilas. "But King Ley was a good king."

"So he was. He was the reason King Dane agreed to give mother to father in alliance. He believed that any heir of the great King Ley must have good within him. He was wrong."

"He ruled over all of Preterlandis, not just Solea. That's your destiny, as well." Brenth digested this last revelation in silence. "There's just one thing you must do," added Leilas.

"I knew that was coming," said Brenth, with a smile.

"There's an amulet that was given to King Ley by all the masters of all the crafter schools. This amulet signified their acceptance of him as king of all Preterlandis. King Ley’s son could never touch it and so sent it away from Dirth. No one knows where it is now. You must find it and be able to claim it. It will only allow a man who has all of Preterlandis’ good at heart to wear it."

"So it's not enough to be the last son of the last good king, I must be worthy as well."

"Which you are Brenth, I have no doubt of that."

"I wish I was as certain as you," sighed Brenth. "I'll do my best not to disappoint you." He frowned in thought. "No one knows where he sent it?"

"Trust in the Creator, Brenth. He'll show you where it is."

"But first, I must lead the people into battle."

"And I must go fight a battle of my own," said Leilas. "You must take Joshuas with you. He's meant to be your protector and guide."

Brenth frowned again. "He promised Master Manchu he would protect you."

"Perhaps he will, before all is written in a song," said Leilas. "But right now, you need him more than I do."

Brenth leaned back and closed his eyes. Leilas marveled again at how young he was to have so much responsibility placed on his shoulders. "When will you leave again?" he asked, opening his eyes. "Surely you can stay a few days?"

"I wish I could, but my business is pressing."

"Then I'll not keep you from your duty, Chidra. May you go with the Creator."

Leilas cocked her head at his formality then grabbed him in a bear hug. "And may he be with you as well, my King."

Leilas found Erion at the practice yards. He skipped lightly through the complicated fighting stances, while his students sweated and struggled to keep up with him.

"Leilas," he cried out when he spotted her. "You're just in time. What do you say to some sport while my students catch their breath?"

"I’m afraid these days my weapon of choice is the battleaxe, not the broadsword."

"Then we'll show the technique of sword to axe combat," said Erion, not to be deterred. "Wolf, fetch a practice axe." A young man with silver-brown hair and light brown eyes ran off in the direction of the weapons rack. Leilas shrugged in acquiescence and removed her cloak, handing it to one of the students to hold. A buzz went through the students as they realized she was a woman.

Accepting the practice weapon from Wolf with a bow, she stepped into the circle and assumed a fighting stance. She’d done this a thousand times with Solein, although she’d never come to enjoy it. Even in practice, the darkness was always nearby.

The gong sounded and she stepped forward, her axe poised defensively. They stood facing each other for several moments then Erion burst into action. Leilas countered his moves, finding his rhythm, adapting hers to his. She didn’t think about the moves, practice had made them second nature. Her only thought was the rhythm of the fight, the balance of parry and thrust, of swing and block.

She didn’t know how long they fought. She stopped only when she heard the gong sound as if in the distance. Erion pointed his weapon to the ground and bowed. Leilas did likewise. The students burst into cheering and clapping.

"It's an honor to fight with a master of such caliber," said Erion. "You truly are a woman of many hidden talents."

"That is great praise coming from you, Erion." Leilas handed the axe back to Wolf and accepted her cloak from him. "I need to speak with you Erion, when you finish here." Bowing again, Leilas left the practice yards and went to clear her mind of the darkness.

Erion found her in a private courtyard sitting in front of a fountain, letting the trickling water calm her spirit. "The armies gather in the Southern Plains," she began when Erion sat next to her. "The battle against the Dredracians will begin within the month." Leilas turned to look at him. "My path does not lie in the direction of Kyris. It lies in the direction of the sea. I must go on a quest from which I’m not certain I’ll return."

"I've always suspected there was such a journey in your future," said Erion.

"I won't ask you to go with me. But I'd be honored if you choose to accompany me."

"If you and Joshuas go, I go," replied Erion.

"At my request, Master Manchu has released Joshuas from his promise. His path lies with the Chodra."

"And mine lies with you," said Erion.

"I was hoping you'd say that," said Leilas, smiling. "I'm weary of traveling alone."

"And the loneliness is worse if you believe it will be your last journey."

"Especially then," agreed Leilas, sadly. Wiping an errant tear from her eye, she got down to the business at hand. "We need to leave as soon as you are able to go."

"And where would we be going, my lady?"

"to the Chasm of Ceryk, naturally. But we have a few places we must visit along the way."

Erion’s eyes narrowed a bit at her less than direct answer. "So, what you're saying is, we're going adventuring, somewhere dangerous. In the meanwhile, our forces will battle the Dredracians in what looks to be a hopeless battle for the light forces. Eventually, hopefully sooner than later, we're going to confront Rengailai in his own stronghold at the Chasm of Ceryk and hopefully put an end to the war there."

"That's one of the things I like about you Erion, your ability to reduce an issue to its essential elements. We might not end the war completely, but we'll turn the tide if we're successful."

"You learned this is what you must do in the Crystal Caves? This plan was revealed in the Book of Sylph?

"Yes it was written by Sylph."

"How does this story end?"

"With stories written of Leilas and Erion, brave and true of heart."

"But will we be alive to hear them?" asked Erion to himself.

"They will be stories worthy of the telling," said Leilas, not answering his question.

"She doesn’t expect to return," said Erion to Joshuas. "Won’t you at least say goodbye."

"I can’t," replied Joshuas, polishing the sword with more zeal than was needed. "I won’t."

"She won't understand that it's because you care too much, my friend. She'll see it only as rejection."

"I can’t help how she interprets it," replied Joshuas. "That's her choice."

"You are stubborn, Joshuas Greyanson. But as you crafters say. It's for you to choose. I only hope you can live with your choice."

"Goodbye my friend. Keep her safe." Joshuas took the hand that Erion offered. "Keep yourself safe, as well."

"I'll see you again when I return," said Erion as he turned and left the armory where he’d found Joshuas.

Leilas was waiting for him in the street. She’d told Erion that Joshuas wouldn’t talk to her. She wasn’t sure what she would have said to him if he had talked to her. What was there left to say? He’d avoided her since she’d told him of her feelings for him. She’d respected his wishes and left him alone. Erion hadn’t been as willing to leave it at that. For a brief moment, Leilas had hoped that Joshuas would walk out the door with Erion and tell her he loved her and that he’d be waiting for her when she returned. When Erion walked out alone, she told herself she’d known that he wouldn’t come.

"Are we ready?" She asked, as Erion jumped easily on the back of the horse she was holding for him.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the sea again," said Erion, turning his mount toward the west, avoiding the subject of Joshuas.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the sea." Leilas didn’t turn to look back. If she were meant to be with Joshuas, they would meet again.

They took the mountain road toward Dirth. From there, they planned to continue on to Backwater Cove. Leilas was not looking forward to visiting her hometown again. It was no longer home and it was quickly becoming a haven for the Dredracians. She had to wonder how the masters of Sky were surviving in such a hostile environment. But then, she knew that they would survive. It was part of the balance, no matter how out of kilter it was at present.

When they crossed the stream and turned toward Dirth, they pulled up in surprise. The city was surrounded by encampments of thousands of Dredracians. They'd heard the armies were still moving from Crogmanland. It appeared their rumors were dated.

"We can’t go barging in there," said Leilas, at last.

"It wouldn’t be the smartest thing we’ve ever done," agreed Erion.

"Where did they all come from?" asked Leilas, amazed at the sheer number of soldiers she saw.

"They're all spawn of Dredrac, the Dark Lord," snarled Erion, his hand clenching and unclenching. "They come from under rocks and out of whatever dark place they can find."

"I suppose Reyoro Dell isn’t any safer," said Leilas, still looking over the sea of dark creatures.

"I wouldn’t think so," replied Erion.

Climbing off her horse, Leilas took her map out of her tunic and spread it on the ground. "That leaves toward Andresia and Far Reef." She pointed the way on the map.

"It adds several days to our trip and it's through Jayram’s stronghold," said Erion.

"We won’t go all the way to Andresia and if you have a better idea–"

"I would certainly mention it now," finished Erion. "The Northern Province it is." He turned his horse around and started back the way they came.

Leilas expected there to be patrols on the roads, but they didn’t run into any as they rode along the same trail she'd traveled with Joshuas and her family not so very long ago. They passed the cave and kept going north, rather than turning east.

This land was ruled by the brother of the man her father had sent Catalaina to marry. He was as evil as Catalaina’s husband and would stand against the Jovanulum in the battle to come.

She'd heard her sister had survived the dark swirling cloud, though many had died in the attack. One of the casualties being Catalaina's husband. Once again, Leilas wished that she’d been able to dispel the veil of evil that had descended on Magnus Crog, but it hadn't been within her power to save the city. If she had been able to intervene, then Magnus Crog would also be part of the throng fighting against the Jovanulum. Now, she didn't know if that would be true. She had no idea what had become of the people who'd survived and on which side of this conflict they belonged. She wondered if she would live to know the answer to that question.

It was nearing dark when Erion held his hand up in silent warning. Leilas couldn't see or hear anything, but she knew Erion’s elven senses were far keener than hers. They left the road and tied the horses in a sheltered gully. Then moving away from the animals, they hid themselves in a thicket. It wasn’t long before Leilas heard guttural voices calling to one another. Not a hundred feet from them a gaunt appeared from behind a tree, then disappeared behind another. Three more followed him through the woods. They weren’t the masters she’d seen in Crysalis. In fact, these weren’t crafters at all, just guards on their nightly rounds. Still, their presence evoked fear as they approached. The fear receded when they passed. Leilas prayed they didn’t stray too near the horses. The animals wouldn’t have the sense to be still.

She felt them returning before she saw them. Her hand instinctively went to her axe. Erion shook his head and he stayed still and silent. Everything in Leilas told her to jump up and fight, but she trusted Erion and stayed hidden in the bushes. He stayed still for what seemed like an eternity after the gaunts passed them again on their way back. Finally, he began to crawl out of the bushes. Leilas followed close behind. "Why didn’t we just take care of them?" she asked, as they went to retrieve the horses.

"Why should we fight, when we can avoid the danger?" replied Erion, mounting his horse and gathering the reins of the pack horse. "Secondly, they were expected back to report. If they didn’t show up, we would have had a hundred searching these woods instead of a dozen." Erion didn’t lead them back to the road, but through the trees. "It appears Dirth isn’t the only city to have encampments of Dredracians. I fear we may have to try to sneak through the enemy if we want to get to the sea. These gaunts are children of Rengailai himself. There is no good in them. They spread fear and destruction wherever they go."

"I've seen some of them before, although the ones I saw were crafters, masters of the School of Land. They are leading seven divisions of Dredracians."

"That would be a formidable army by itself, especially with crafter gaunts," replied Erion, falling silent. "I hadn’t heard that there were any gaunts that were crafters."