Knights: Defenders of Ollanhar (Ollanhar Series Book 1) (27 page)

Chapter 13:

The Shield Master from Silvergate

Lort
Greyshield stood on the path before the Sacred Temple, hesitating. He was
apprehensive about his meeting with the High Council—to the point where it
gnawed at his stomach—and he wondered what it was all about. Only once before
had Lort been summoned to a meeting of Dremlock’s elite Green Knights—and that
had only been a brief affair at which he had been given an award for bravery in
combat. This summoning was much different. They wanted Lort to attend from
start to finish, and they had referred to the meeting as
extremely
important.

 
Lort walked quickly across the beautiful
courtyard filled with flowers, trees, and sparkling fountains that surrounded
the Sacred Temple, passing through the shadow of the huge statue of Kuran
Darkender that stood atop the green copper roof. Birds chirped in the grass and
in the small, colorful trees, as the sun’s rays began to warm the land. It
would have been a fine morning just for taking a stroll through the kingdom,
but Lort barely noticed the magnificent sights around him—his focus locked
onto the North Tower that rose up into the pink sky.

He
paused to adjust his brown robe and smooth back what little grey hair he had
left on the sides of his head. He had the stocky build of a typical Brown
Knight who was used to wearing heavy armor and carrying a heavy shield. He was
also somewhat socially awkward and dreaded meetings—especially important ones.
He feared he would make a fool of himself before Dremlock’s elite.

“Calm
down, Lort,” he mumbled to himself, as he approached the enormous tower.
He didn’t like the unsettled feeling in his stomach. He was expected to go
before Taris Warhawk—the legendary sorcerer and Lord Knight of Dremlock. That
was enough to cause any Knight’s stomach to churn. Taris was the wisest of the
wise, a sorcerer so powerful that, according to rumor, even Bellis Kingdom had
been unable to take him prisoner (it was said that Taris simply walked between
the bars of his cell). Taris had supposedly reached the level of the Birlote
Wizards who were so rarely seen outside of the tree city of Borenthia. Lort had
no idea how to act in the presence of such greatness.

He
paused before the North Tower, gazing up at it in awe. It was much larger than
the East and West towers, with six balconies encircling it. Six muscular Red
Knights stood atop stone steps that led to a tall iron door. They gazed at Lort
sullenly, waiting for him to state his business.

Lort
cleared his throat. “I’m, um, here for a meeting with the High Council.
They are expecting me. I think I’m a bit early.”

The
guards pulled the door open and waited.

Again
Lort adjusted his robe and smoothed back the tufts of hair on the sides of his
head. Then he strode into the tower.

He
found himself standing in Dremlock Hall upon a rich silver carpet. Nearby stood
five long tables adorned with candy dishes, jugs of expensive Birlote wine, and
jars of fine tobacco bearing markings of Borenthia. Paintings of famous Knights
lined the hall, gazing down at Lort with such sternness that he felt like they
were challenging his character.

He
hurried to the table where members of the High Council sat—Taris Warhawk,
Trenton Shadowbane, and Shennen Silverarrow. These were three of the most
intimidating men at Dremlock. Taris Warhawk was a lean Birlote dressed in a
dark, hooded cloak. Half of his face was a mass of scars from a severe wound he
had received from the demonic gauntlet known as the Hand of Tharnin. His silver
hair was trimmed short, revealing his pointed ears. His eyes were piercing,
gazing right through Lort and making him squirm. Trenton Shadowbane was the
former Investigator and a powerful sorcerer who inspired many strange rumors.
He was a slender elderly man with grey hair, a weathered face, and cold eyes
that reminded Lort of a predatory wolf. And then there was Shennen Silverarrow,
who was perhaps the most terrifying figure at Dremlock Kingdom—a master
assassin who knew a thousand silent ways to kill. Shennen was a Birlote with
unnaturally pale skin and a sullen, quiet demeanor. His silver hair was pulled
back in a ponytail. He wore lightweight blue armor with a sheathed Flayer
attached to his belt.

The
three men waited for Lort to sit. With a trembling hand, he pulled his chair
out and nearly tipped it over. “Sorry,” he mumbled, as he seated
himself.

“Would
you like some tea?” asked Taris.

“Certainly,”
said Lort, and Taris pushed a teapot toward him.

Lort
poured a cup, but spilled some of it on the table. He felt like an utter fool.
“Sorry, I’m kind of clumsy today.”

Shennen
glanced at Taris, looking amused.

Taris
allowed Lort to sip at his tea for a moment, then said, “I’m sure you’re
wondering why you’ve been summoned. We’ll get to that in a moment. But first,
we have a few things we need to discuss.”

“I
have something
I
want to discuss,” said Trenton. “Has there
been any word on Lannon Sunshield and Prince Vannas? Has a Hawk arrived?”

“No,”
said Taris. “I’m hoping we can take that as a good sign. By now they
should be beyond the Soddurn Mountains and into new lands…unless, of course,
they encountered trouble.”

“Which
they probably did,” said Shennen. “As you know, I wasn’t in favor of
them taking that route—even with the White Flamestone to guide them. Too many
dangers there. Too many highly skilled Knights have perished in those mountains—including
Ulruk Spiritblade, one of the greatest Blue Knights in Dremlock’s history who
had survived many perilous missions.”

“Exactly,”
said Trenton. His weathered face was twisted into a scowl of disapproval.
“It was a foolish decision to send them there, Taris, and like Shennen, I
believe they probably have found trouble.”

Taris
shrugged. “It was by far the quickest route to our goal, and time is
vitally important. And this discussion is pointless. The decision was made and
now we must deal with the consequences.”

Lort
had no idea what they were talking about, so he simply sat and listened without
interrupting. This was some sort of official High Council business, and a topic
probably not meant for his ears. Yet the Green Knights seemed unconcerned with
his presence, even glancing at him as they spoke.

“What
about Ollanhar?” asked Shennen. “How are things there?”

“The
Nine Axes arrived late,” said Taris, “of course. It seems they were
distracted by some taverns along the way. But they are there now, and the tower
is well defended. It is my opinion that Tenneth Bard will launch a fierce
attack now that Lannon and Prince Vannas are gone on a mission. I’m not certain
Furlus can hold the tower, and I feel we need to send more Knights.”

“Send
more Knights,” Trenton mused. “That’s always the answer to
everything. Yet we have so few Knights to spare. How are we supposed to
maintain possession of Ollanhar and expand to other fortresses when we lack the
numbers to do so? Has recruiting improved at all lately?”

“Yes,
slightly,” said Taris.

“Slightly?”
said Trenton, shaking his head. “Yet Bellis continues to make it terribly
difficult for us to find new Squires. The fact that they still control the
cities of Silvergate, Kalamede, and Gravendar has hurt us in so many ways.
Trade has diminished to the point where we almost find ourselves in a state of
emergency. King Verlamer has managed to isolate us and weaken us with masterful
skill. Our resources are dwindling. Again, how are we expected to expand?”

“We
require new resources, obviously,” said Taris. “Chief amongst those
new resources is the Green Flamestone. With that in our possession, we can risk
war with Bellis and begin pushing back—starting in the aforementioned cities
of Silverland. We will demand that trade and recruiting commence
unrestricted.”

“Green
Flamestone?” Lort questioned, speaking before he could contain himself. He
clamped his hand over his mouth, then lowered it and said, “Perhaps I
wasn’t supposed to ask about it.”

“Feel
free to speak, Lort,” said Taris. “Consider yourself a part of this
discussion. Otherwise, we would not have summoned you.”

“Thank
you, Master Taris,” said Lort, bowing. “It is a great honor to be
included.” He hesitated, then said, “So, um, the Green
Flamestone?”

Taris
explained the full situation to Lort.

Lort
felt a rush of excitement. “So we could end up with
two
Flamestones
in our possession. Or
three
, if you count the black one.”

“The
Black Flamestone is useless to us,” said Taris. “It is tainted by
darkness and far too dangerous to be used by mortals. That one will be returned
to the Divine Essence very soon. Still, two Flamestones would strike fear into
Bellis Kingdom. It could potentially force King Verlamer to withdraw completely
from Silverland. That would allow our expansion to proceed much more
quickly.”

“What
can this Green Flamestone do?” asked Lort. “Where does it rank on
the…well…the Flamestone power scale?” He cringed inwardly, thinking
that statement had sounded terribly stupid.

Taris
chuckled. “The Flamestone power scale? I think it goes something like
this:
 
the Purple Flamestone
,
which is our wonderful Divine Essence and the Mind of the White Guardian,
the
Crimson Flamestone
, which is the Blood,
the White Flamestone and the
Black Flamestone
, which form the two halves of the Heart,
the Golden
Flamestone
, which is the Will, and
the Green Flamestone
, which is
the body. Those are the six parts of the White Guardian.”

“So
the Green Flamestone is dead last on the list,” said Trenton, with a wry
smile. “Yet we base all our hopes on obtaining it.”

“Yes,”
said Taris, “but it is still an extremely powerful weapon—and much easier
to use than the white one according to recorded history.”

“What
about that
Golden
Flamestone?” asked Lort. “If that is found,
could the White Guardian live again? Could our god be…put back together? If
each Flamestone is alive, couldn’t they become one being again?” He
envisioned the White Guardian walking the land, and in his mind it was a pale
giant—a god towering over all. A god who would once again bring peace and joy
to Gallamerth.

“No
one knows where the Golden Flamestone is,” said Taris. “It may be
lost forever in the sea, which would mean the White Guardian could never be
reassembled. It would take all six Flamestones for our god to be whole again.
Without the Will, our god still could not walk the land. And even if all six
were found, it is doubtful the White Guardian could be made whole again. When
it was shattered so long ago, it was gravely injured. The pieces will not
necessarily merge together. The Birlote Wizards have concluded that our god can
never heal.”

“Yet
we don’t truly know,” said Shennen. “Even the Divine Essence doesn’t
know for certain. The topic has been debated for centuries and was the focus of
a grand quest once that failed miserably. But right now reassembling the White
Guardian is not on our agenda. It is so unlikely it is not even worth
considering. We simply need the Flamestones to use as weapons against
Bellis.”

“Can
the Flamestones be destroyed?” asked Lort. “If so, perhaps that is
what happened to the golden one.”

“Anything
is possible,” said Taris. “But no one has ever managed to destroy or
even damage a Flamestone. They seem to be indestructible. The Golden Flamestone
is barely mentioned in recorded history. It was lost when the great rock fell
from the heavens and shattered the White Guardian, and it has never been seen
since—whereas all of the other ones have been lost and found time and again.
This makes for a compelling case that it vanished beneath the sea.”

“So
aside from the white one,” said Lort, “only the green one remains for
us to use. As you said, the black one cannot be wielded by mortals, and the
crimson one cannot be removed from its bed of straw.”

Taris
nodded. “It seems we are limited to two Flamestones, but that is enough to
perhaps overcome even the colossal might of Bellis.”

“But
what if the mission fails?” asked Trenton. “Suppose things go badly
and they have to turn back. What then? I have raised this question repeatedly
and it still has not been answered to my satisfaction.”

“If
we fail to obtain the Green Flamestone,” said Taris, “we have other
options. Don’t forget that we still have the white one, and there is no telling
how powerful Prince Vannas could become. Also, we have a Dark Watchman amongst
us for the first time in ages, and there could be more of them out there
waiting to be discovered. We will simply have to keep searching.”

“Lannon
Sunshield is extraordinary,” said Trenton. “The duel he won against
King Verlamer will never be forgotten. But how important is he truly to
Dremlock Kingdom? Isn’t he just a single warrior? Compare him to the sprawling
armies of Bellis and he doesn’t seem like much of a weapon.”

“Not
this discussion again,” said Shennen, groaning.