Secrets at the Keep (Kingdom of Denall Book 2) (24 page)

He moved to the table and picked up the suit that he would wear for his appearance tonight. “Do you need any help, Lord Omer?” the servant asked.

Bendar, already in character, simply waved the man away with a dismissive gesture. “I will dress myself today, Jerald.” As the servants silently moved to the far edges of the room, Bendar sat down and held his head in his good hand.

It still deeply disturbed him each time he saw Omer condemn an innocent man, or manipulate people by threatening the ones they cared for. He knew personally how those people felt, as he himself had agreed to serve as an advisor to Omer in exchange for the guarantee that the caravan would be safe.

As part of the deal, Bendar had given his word that he would scour the countryside to find magical stones. He had gained his freedom by convincing the bandits who attacked the caravan that he knew the whereabouts of the Intellect Stone. Shortly after he arrived, and shared all he knew, Omer had sent out a search party to Sephra Island in search of the stone. They had not yet returned, so Bendar remained in Omer’s service.

With the loss of his other advisor, it had become Bendar's responsibility to organize the fake attacks and grab anything that could have magical qualities, while still maintaining the façade of keeping peace. Omer had gained quite a collection of enchanted rings, weapons, armor and clothing. Bendar had also initiated efforts to trade for magical items, and this had brought out many rare and useful objects that were hidden in the surrounding areas and within the keep itself.

He had kept Omer happy with his advice and the increase of magically enhanced items, but Bendar was not sure how much longer he would have been kept alive if Pentra had not been captured, along with the magical stone that was identical to the one Kaz carried. After capturing Pentra, Omer had added to Bendar's responsibilities the charge of finding the magician who had attacked the keep. Bendar searched each day, knowing that he needed to keep Omer satisfied. He knew what failure to deliver a new stone or the magician would mean for himself and his family.

Bendar dressed in the suit and moved to the mirror for a final check before walking from the room to begin his appearance as a man he both loathed and served. When he stepped out into the hall he almost bumped into Maven. The older man shook slightly before he addressed Bendar.

“Hello, fake Omer,” he said. When Bendar had first come to the keep he had been confined to Maven’s office for a time to see whether he could learn anything from the man. While the man was a little odd, and Omer claimed he was crazy, Bendar found that the man did know a lot about several topics, especially the Changing and the Stones of Power. For that reason, Omer kept him in his small study and called on him for advice from time to time, like he was an old reference book. During his time working with Maven, Bendar also found that the older man had a special ability of being able to detect magical items that Bendar never quite understood.

“Hello, Maven,” Bendar responded. “I have an appointment,” he said, pointing at his outfit. He didn’t have time to discuss any of Maven’s theories about the Stones of Power at the moment.

“I just wanted you to know that there was another Stone of Power in the keep,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What?” Bendar practically shouted.

“Yes, there was one around the master magician,” he said. “It was very strong, especially when he was with his warrior friend. I think the warrior’s wife was also enchanted.”

It was frustrating to Bendar that this man had known about a powerful magical item being in the keep, but had kept this information to himself until now. In some ways he was very foolish. Maybe Omer was right about him being crazy. If there really was a Stone of Power inside the keep, he could have given it to Omer and gone home. But he was still stuck. Bendar clenched his jaw tight, trying not to show his mixture of anger, confusion and doubt.

“Thank you,” he replied.

Maven smiled a sly smile as if he had some kind of secret he was keeping, then he inclined his head slightly. “Good luck at your event,” he said, then he slinked away back toward his office. The more time he spent with Maven, the more Bendar felt uncomfortable.

*****

Pentra, now dressed for a meeting with some local nobility, walked down the hallway of the keep. She was still trying to process the prospect of being engaged to an old baron and how that would work into her plans for saving the slaves. Up to this point her ideas centered on killing Omer and trying to escape, but now after seeing how Bendar had reacted to Omer’s cruelty, she wanted to press him for information to see if she could find an ally who was in a position to help get the people from Hess out to Norwell.

She deliberately waited outside the ballroom as the guests were arriving, as she knew Omer would show up late. Bendar had posed as her father several times and she felt this would be a good chance to intercept him. She listened to the chatter of people from down the hall, waiting to hear the sound of uneven, heavy footsteps that would let her know Bendar was approaching. While she missed the Hearing Stone’s magnifying power, the sound of that limping walk was unmistakable.

“Father,” she said in the most doting tone she could stomach as Bendar approached, “I am so glad that you are here.” She walked right up to Bendar and the servants and guards around Omer stepped back to give her space, Trinac even stepped back a little as they were entering the room.

“Yes,” Bendar responded in a distant, uncaring way.

The way he responded made her worry that her trust in his compassion might be misplaced, but she needed to know for sure. “I hope you were not bothered too much today by our little encounter,” she said.

Bendar looked to her questioningly as if trying to see whether there was more to her words than what she said. “It was tragic,” he responded stoically, “I wish I did not need to witness such things.”

Pentra smiled, her first genuine smile in a long time. “Me too, father,” she responded. She interlocked her arm in his and they entered the ballroom. While she couldn’t take the time to have a full conversation with Bendar, and she still was far from trusting him fully, for the first time since entering the keep, she had found someone in a position of power who was at least brave enough to admit that something Omer had done was regrettable. It was a step, a small one, but still a glimmer of hope filled her heart.

Melna looked up when Jin came riding into view. She pulled up to a halt a safe distance from Melna, “Mistress, we found where the magician left the main road, he went north into the woods.”

“North?” Melna clicked her tongue as she rubbed her hand on her chin in thought. “What could they possibly be looking for that is north of here?”

Franklin pulled up next to Melna and inclined his head, “Mistress, I used to live up here. There are also many trails in the northern forest, if they get too far ahead, it could take a long time to find them. Perhaps he is trying to get us lost in the woods.”

Melna exhaled in frustration. “We also need to make sure he doesn’t double back, leaving us chasing shadows.” She pointed north. “Franklin, ride ahead, make sure he doesn’t turn to go east.

Franklin nodded, then dashed away at a gallop.

Jin turned her horse around and led the group. “Right up here,” she said, pointing to a spot in the grass that was pressed down. “This is where he left the packed road. I’ll go on ahead to scout with Drake, just keep following the path.”

Melna waved her hand and the young woman disappeared into the woods. Melna and Owen kept moving down the trail at a trot, with Owen leading the supply-laden horse they were not able to go as quickly as the others, but she still felt that they would soon catch up with the magician.

After riding for a few hours through the woods, Melna and Owen led their horses up into a small clearing. Jin, Drake and Franklin were waiting for them at the intersection.

“What’s going on?” the older woman demanded.

“Up there,” Franklin called out as he pointed out into the woods. “A large valley. I don’t see any easy way to cross it.”

Jin turned her horse around and trotted over to her leader. “It stretches out for a long way in both directions,”

Melna scrunched her eyes in concentration and peered into the woods toward the unseen valley. A Magician could certainly teleport across a large chasm leaving them behind, but why would he lead them this far into the woods? What was his plan? “I think I want to go see this valley myself,” she concluded.

“Yes Mistress,” Jin replied with a bow of her head. She pulled on the reins to show the way to the valley when her horse reared up and whinnied loudly, nearly throwing her onto the ground. Melna’s ring let out a light whistling sound, and when the horse’s front hooves hit the ground, she saw what had caused the commotion. Standing in front of Jin was a tall magician. “Get…” Before she could sound a warning, the magician lashed out, smashing Jin’s horse with a blast from his staff, throwing the animal backward onto the ground. Jin dove to the side and rolled out of the way.

Owen lunged forward with his horse as he drew his sword and swung it at the magician. He turned to meet the attack, deflecting the blow with his staff and throwing Owen off balance as his horse continued forward into the trees. Franklin had taken up position with his bow, and now drew an arrow released it at the magician, as he quickly prepared to shoot again. The arrow stopped in the air, the shaft shattering as if it had struck a rock. The seeker was about to fire his second arrow, but was thrown backward off his horse, as the magician pressed one hand out and sent a wall of hardened air at him.

The magician spun his staff around and stood with it held in his right hand, tucked under his arm, surrounded by a half circle of seekers. Jin had regained her feet and stood ready with two short swords in her hands, Owen had turned his horse around, and Franklin stood hunched over, still recovering from being knocked down, but he held up his bow and glared at the magician.

Melna held up her hand. She could see that he was covered in magical items, from his staff, to his robe, and as she saw him at Omer’s Keep and also here in the woods, she began to wonder about something else. “Hand over the Magic Stone and we’ll make your death quick.” Although she wasn’t certain he had the Magic Stone, she wanted to see how he would react to the accusation.

In response, he threw a fireball at Melna and vanished. Melna didn’t even flinch at the magician’s attack, but tried to follow where he went. He appeared deep in the woods back in the direction they had come.
What kind of game is he playing?

“Let’s get him!” Franklin said as he jumped into the saddle. “Does he really have the Magic Stone?” He kicked his horse into a run, then turned back when he realized that nobody was following him.

Melna stood still, looking out the in the direction from which the magician had first come, and then back toward the valley.

After standing still for several moments Owen approached her. “Mistress, what’s wrong? I didn’t see the Magic Stone on him.”

Melna clicked her tongue, “I wasn’t entirely sure if he had it or not, but I feel quite certain now that he is hiding it on his person somehow.”

“What makes you think that?” Franklin asked when he had turned his horse around and rejoined the group.

“When I asked about it he didn’t look at all surprised or confused, but instead reacted by attacking me. That is a very strange reaction for someone with nothing to hide. I think he is a stone holder, and I’m going to find out for certain when we kill him. But first, there is something that is bothering me.” Although she hated needing help from the lesser seekers, Melna couldn’t figure this out, and thought talking through it out loud might help. “Why did he come all the way here?”

“To lose us in the woods?” Franklin suggested.

Melna shook her head from side to side frustrated at Franklin’s obviously wrong guess.

“To ambush us?” Jin offered.

“Maybe he wanted to give the other fellow a head start on us,” Owen guessed.

Melna exhaled slowly, not knowing whether asking the next question was going to lead to other obviously ignorant responses. “If he wanted to lose us in the woods, he would have crossed the valley to safety and then gone wherever he wanted, leaving us with no way to follow. If it was an ambush, he wouldn’t have appeared right in front of us, only to disappear again.” She looked back to the valley again. “How far is it to the valley?” she asked, knowing that to get answers she might need to see it for herself.

Jin looked into the woods with a look of confusion. “It is less than half an hour to the valley.”

When she answered, Drake came crashing through the woods into view. “Are you all right?” he asked first to Jin, then he looked at the other members of the group. “I saw a magician coming out of the ground in the valley, then he teleported in this direction!”

Melna smiled knowingly. “It was a supply pick up,” she concluded. “He came here to get something, now he’s headed back. Let’s move out!” If she didn’t feel almost certain that he had the Magic Stone with him, she would have gone to the valley and inspected closer to see what else he might have hidden there. As she thought about it, she was sure that he had not only travelled here to retrieve something, but had left something behind as well. He could have easily snuck past them, but instead he had shown himself and made sure they knew he was going back south. She looked back over her shoulder, wondering what he could have left that was so important, but then dismissed the concern for the time being. There would be time for inspecting the mysterious valley after they killed him.

They started moving quickly through the woods, no longer tracking his steps carefully. “Where is he going?” Franklin asked.

“Probably going to meet up with the strongarm from the keep,” Melna replied. “Whatever he got from that store house in the valley must be very important.”
Important enough that he’s not even concerned about having us follow him.
She felt some suspicion, but continued to pursue him through the woods, driven primarily by the desire for the Stone of Power.

*****

Dune appeared on the Hillside Road and stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Having left his horse behind early on, he had been teleporting and running through the woods almost constantly since leaving Trae on the road away from Omer’s Keep. He had only had a short rest at Kire’s cabin before leading the seekers back south away from Kire and Kaz. He leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees. He had left not a moment too soon.
What was it about Melna that had spooked Kire so badly?

“Dune,” a soft voice called his name, and he turned quickly to see a young woman standing in the ditch, just off the road in the dark shadows of a tall tree.

“Do I know you?” he asked, standing up and holding his staff at his side. He prepared some spells to launch an attack if she did anything suspicious.

“No, you don’t know me, but I’m here to help you and your friend.” She raised her hands in the air showing that she was unarmed, and stepped up out of the ditch and into the light.

When the light touched her he could see a dark birthmark that spread down her face. She had been one of the finalists in the archery tournament in Lexingar. But she looked very different than she did those months ago. She wore sturdy travel clothing, her hair was brushed straight and she was not skeletally thin. Dune narrowed his eyes suspiciously as she approached, not knowing how much she knew and why she was here. He reached out with magic and could sense that she had no magical items for protection. Not trusting that she was innocent, he prepared a trap of hardened air. “Please don’t do that,” she said as she came to a stop in front of him. “Hardened air traps can be very uncomfortable.”

“Are you a magician?” he asked. Her hands were covered so he could not see her mark, yet her extremely pale complexion was unlike any magician he had ever met.

She smirked and shook her head from side to side. “Not exactly.”
What kind of a response was that? Not exactly? What did that mean?
How did she know he was preparing a hardened air trap? Dune experimentally pulled some heat into an invisible sphere, preparing a fire ball. “We both know you’re not going to incinerate me,” Maggie said. She stepped up to Dune and patted him on the shoulder. “Best to not waste your energy on me. We need to get moving.”

Maggie whistled and a tall warhorse came from behind some thick greenery up onto the main road. “I’m going to need your travel cloak please. The darker the better.” She stood expectantly, holding out her hand to him.

Dune waited for a moment, not sure how to respond to this unusual demand. “Why do you need my clothing?”

“It’s simple,” Maggie responded. “You can’t lead Melna to Pike Point and go to help Trae at the same time; you are only one man. So I’m going to help keep Melna distracted so you can get back to your friend.” She jumped up into the saddle, turned the horse west toward Hillside and looked at Dune. “Come on, there’s not much time.”

Dune looked up at Maggie, at her horse, then up and down the road in confusion. He had never met anyone like this girl before. She came out of nowhere, and practically was able to read his thoughts. It was like having a female version of Kire, only Kire had never asked for his clothing. Despite his misgivings he knew that what she said was true. He did need someone to lead Melna away, and he needed to go help his friend. He began to remove his dark riding cloak. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she added. “You’ll need this.” She tossed down a worn down rag of a shirt and a pair of pants. Dune stopped taking off his cloak and stared at the thread-bare clothing on the ground. He looked up to her with a raised eyebrow. In response to his questioning look, Maggie shrugged her shoulders and smiled slightly. “Sometimes we just need a good disguise.”

Dune tossed up the cloak to Maggie and retrieved the worn out clothing. “Thanks,” she said with a friendly wave. “You’ll want to get going pretty quickly so they don’t see you when they come out on the road.

“What about you?” he asked. “You can’t teleport away. How will I know that you’re safe?”

“I don’t want to disappear,” she replied with a smirk. “If I did that, how would they know to follow me this way?” Maggie asked pointing west. She flipped the cloak over her shoulders and pulled the hood to cover her light brown hair and started walking the horse slowly down the road. “Don’t worry about me,” she called back over her shoulder. “Gapol here can outrun anything on four legs. But you need to get moving.”

Dune watched her for another minute, still trying to process all that was happening.
What brought her here at this exact time? How did she know so much? Was she going to be safe?
Without adequate answers to these questions, he looked far down the road to the east and vanished—he had a magician to find.