Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 (2 page)

The creature tilted its head back and howled at the pain Riyan’s sword inflicted. Then the creature struck the sword with one of its paws and knocked it from Riyan’s grasp. As the sword flew across the room, the creature struck Riyan with its other paw and sent him sailing. He hit the wall with an ‘oof’ and settled to the floor.

From across the room, Chadric was getting back to his feet. He saw the creature moving toward where Riyan was lying on the ground and hollered, “Hey you!” When the creature turned, he threw his mace and smashed the creature right between the eyes. The force of the blow was such that it caved in the creature’s skull, smashing the brain within.

Falling backwards, it hit the floor and twitched for a few seconds before becoming still.

Chadric rushed to his friend’s side and asked, “Are you okay?” Riyan opened his eyes and nodded. “I think so.” Glancing over to where the creature lay he said, “Hope there aren’t many more like that one.” Offering his friend a hand up, Chadric helped him to his feet. Then he went over to the dead creature and recovered his mace.

“Hey, would you look at this?”

Turning around, he saw Riyan standing before a closed chest sitting against the wall.

“Wonder what’s in it?” he asked.

Riyan shrugged then turned back to face the chest. “Only one way to find out,” he said. Grabbing hold of the lid, he lifted it up.

Chadric crossed the room and stood beside him as he swung the lid all the way up.

Inside, the gleam of coins and gems could be seen. “Must be a fortune!” he exclaimed excitedly.

They both reached in and started removing the coins and gems. A few gold coins mixed in with a handful of silver, the majority of the coins the chest held were that of copper. They filled their pouches with the treasure and in so doing, discovered a secret compartment hidden in the bottom of the chest.

Riyan took out his knife and pried it open. Within they found a plain, brass key. He held it up and said, “This could be useful.”

“Better take it with us,” agreed Chadric.

Putting it within his belt pouch, Riyan then turned and headed towards the stairs leading up. The steps rose as they wound their way around the outer wall of the tower in a spiraling fashion until finally disappearing through the ceiling. With Chadric following closely, Riyan moved onto the stairs and quickly began moving to the next level.

“Wait a second,” Chadric said as he pulled one of his torches out of his pack. Once he had it lit, he indicated for Riyan to continue.

For a brief moment the stairs passed through a narrow section as it went from the first level to the second. Then it opened up again as it reached the second floor landing. Here they found boxes and crates stacked neatly in various spots across the second floor.

As it turned out, the tower itself wasn’t very wide and the light from Chadric’s torch was able to reveal it in its entirety. With nothing here other than boxes and crates, they continued following the stair as it wound its way along the outside wall up to the third floor.

Just as it had between the first and second floor, the stair entered a narrow area when it passed from the second floor to the third. When Riyan entered the narrow area between floors, his ring once more began to vibrate. He paused a moment as he informed Chadric that something was ahead, then took the torch from him as he resumed his forward progress.

Now with the torch held before him, Riyan stepped cautiously as he neared where the stairs opened up onto the third floor. First the torch, then his head cleared the opening as he slowly crept his way forward. The light from the torch cast shadows in the room as he completely emerged from the opening.

The room as it turned out looked to be someone’s bedroom. A bed, dresser, and table all gave this room a rather homey appearance. Another chest similar in nature to the one they found below sat at the foot of the bed. Riyan moved forward into the room toward it as Chadric began to emerge from the opening leading from the second floor.

“Be careful,” he warned when he saw what Riyan was moving toward.

Riyan came to a stop before the chest and placed his hand upon the latch. Gripping it tightly, he pulled the lid open. Inside, he found another pile of coins. Nestled in among the coins were two bottles that were normally used in conjunction with potions. He moved his torch closer and saw that both bottles contained liquid.

He reached in and took one of the potion bottles out. “Hey, look what I found!” Always excited when finding potions, Riyan tuned back to Chadric. “Wonder what they do?”

Chadric moved closer to the chest and reached inside to pull out the other one.

Looking closely at it, he saw a feather inscribed upon a wax seal. “Maybe this is a flying potion?” he guessed.

“Possibly,” stated Riyan. “Mine has the sign of the healer.”

“A healing potion,” nodded Chadric happily. “Can always use one of those.”

“You got that right,” replied Riyan.

They then removed their packs and set them on the floor. Once the potions were secured within their packs along with the coins from the chest, they slung them again across their backs.

“There can’t be too many more floors remaining to this tower,” observed Chadric.

“I know,” replied Riyan. “Need to be extra careful from this point on. My ring indicated evil was present but there’s nothing here.”

“If what it sensed is on the next floor,” said Chad, “it must be powerful indeed.” Riyan just nodded his head.

The two friends then went to the stair and began climbing up to the fourth floor.

Before they reached the narrow area between floors, they saw light coming from above.

“Better put that out,” Chadric told Riyan as he indicated the torch.

“Good thinking,” he replied. Then putting the burning end against a step, he rolled it until the flame went out. Leaving it smoking on the step, Riyan looked up at the light coming from the fourth floor. Removing his sword from its scabbard, he resumed moving into the narrow area between the third and fourth floor. His ring began vibrating once more.

When he came to the end of the narrow area, he slowed down and continued until he was just able to gaze into the fourth floor.

“Come in gentlemen,” said a voice.

On the far side of the room sat a man hunched over a desk with his back to them.

Over the desk were two shelves lined with books. Sitting at the right end of the lower shelf was a gilded cage containing a small creature. Upon closer examination, it was revealed that the creature within the cage was almost an exact duplicate to that of the statue creature they destroyed down in the courtyard below.

Riyan exited the narrow passage and entered the room. “We’ve come for the girl,” he said.

“I know,” the man replied. Turning around, the man looked to where Riyan stood with sword drawn. “But she’s mine.” He then glanced towards Chadric as he emerged from the narrow passage behind Riyan. Grinning he said “And now so are you.”

“I think we’ll be a bit more difficult to deal with than a girl,” countered Riyan.

The man scooted his chair back and stood up. Turning to face the pair, they saw that he was dressed in a robe of some sort. Could possibly be a magic user of some kind.

Moving his hands in arcane gestures, the man began speaking words neither of them could understand.

Realizing he was casting a spell, Chadric threw his mace in an attempt to disrupt the magic user’s concentration. Unfortunately the man finished his spell in time and bolts of reddish energy lanced from his fingertips, striking both Riyan and Chadric. The man then easily dodged aside to avoid the mace.

When the bolts struck them, it felt like fire. Indeed, where one bolt had struck Riyan’s ring mail armor, the rings in that area were slightly melted. Giving out with a cry, Riyan charged the man as another round of fiery bolts left his fingers. This time, the bolts were directed solely at Riyan. His shield bore the brunt of the attack though two made it through and knocked him back a step.

Then the magic user began chanting another series of magical words and a shadow formed before him. Roughly man-shaped, it began moving towards them.

“Get the magic user!” yelled Riyan as his sword lashed out at the oncoming shadow.

His sword seemed to have minimal effect as it passed right through.

As the magic user began another chant, Chadric drew his knife and rushed him. He made it to within a couple feet before the man finished his spell and a green glob formed before him. Unable to stop, Chadric ran right into the acidic green glob. Pain flared as the green substance began eating his flesh away. “Riyan!” he cried out as his momentum carried him forward into the magic user.

Then the magic user began crying out in pain too as Chadric gripped him in a death grip. The green substance that covered Chadric was now beginning to eat away at the magic user.

With his concentration now broken from the pain of the green goo, the shadow that was moving on Riyan disappeared. Riyan ran forward to where Chadric gripped the magic user only to find both men were beyond his help.

Most of the exposed skin of Chadric’s body had melted away to expose the bones underneath. The screams of the magic user continued to ring out as the green goo ate his flesh away.

Riyan knelt down by the side of his lifelong friend. He could see that his friend was still alive and in great pain. Chadric’s eyes looked up at him beseechingly and he knew what he was asking.

With tears in his eyes, he took his sword and plunged it into the chest of his best friend to end his suffering. The magic user’s suffering, he allowed to continue until the end came.

When he pulled his sword free from Chadric’s body, he found the blade pitted by its brief contact with the goo covering Chadric. No longer serviceable, he cast it aside. He collapsed on the floor for some time, grief over his friend’s death heavy upon him. But then he remembered why they had come. The woman.

“Bye Chad,” he said then moved to the stairs and hurried up to the top. The stairs ended at a locked door with a small window set into it. Going to the window, he put his mouth near it and said, “Hello?”

“Go away!” a woman’s voice yelled at him from the other side.

“Lady,” replied Riyan, “I’ve come to rescue you. Your father sent me.” Then he saw the face of a most beautiful woman appear in the window. “My father?” she asked.

“That’s right,” he said. He tried to open the door only to find it to be locked.

Remembering the key he had found in the chest on the ground floor, he took it out of his pouch and placed it in the keyhole. Turning it, he nodded satisfactorily when the lock turned. Then he opened the door wide and stepped within the room.

Barely dressed in anything, and looking all the more sexy because of it, the woman rushed forward and clasped her arms around him. “Thank you gallant knight,” she said.

Then reaching her lips up to his, she gave him a most passionate kiss. Her breasts were rubbing into his chest and…

“Wait a second right now,”
Chad demanded.

“What?” asked Riyan.

“Here you have me dead on the floor below,” he stated with dissatisfaction, “my skin eaten away by acid, and you’re about to get it on with the woman?”

“So?” his friend said with a grin. “It’s just a story.”

“I know it’s just a story,” Chad remarked. “But I always seem to be the one to die.” The two friends were sitting upon a hillock under a bright sunny summer day. Down the hill a ways grazed the flock of sheep that Riyan was supposed to be keeping an eye on.

“You’re one to talk,” replied Riyan. “Don’t you remember the time before last when you were telling the tale?” When he saw his friend get a grin on his face, he knew that he did. “You had me lying on a torture rack with an arm and a leg missing, hot lead being poured into my eye socket and where were you? Off having a little fling with the daughter of the man who was torturing me!”

“Okay, okay,” he said. Then they both broke into laughter.

This was one of their favorite pastimes. On the days Chad could get away from his father’s mill, he was usually to be found out here with Riyan as he minded the flock.

They would spend hours telling each other stories of adventures they wished they could have. Being stuck in a small town such as Quillim all their lives has allowed them little chance for such experiences.

For Riyan whose family was poor shepherds that barely made a living from their sheep, and Chad who detested being a miller’s son, life in this border town was dull and uneventful. The only time adventure came their way was when one of Riyan’s sheep managed to wander away and they had to go track it down, which was more often than not.

Baaaaaaa!

“Not again,” Chad moaned as Riyan got up and began scanning the area.

“Looks like Black Face got stuck in the thicket again,” Riyan told his friend.

“Isn’t that the third time this week?” asked Chad.

Nodding, Riyan began making his way down the hill as he replied, “Something like that. Give me a hand.”

Shaking his head, Chad pushed himself off the ground and went to help his friend.

“Can’t wait until shearing time,” he said.

“You got that right,” agreed Riyan. “It’s his wool, it keeps getting snared by the thorns.” Sure enough, they found Black Face trapped within the thicket. Sometimes he wished that he could just leave him there for a day or two to teach him a lesson, but his mother would skin him alive if he did. So working very carefully, he and Chad spent the next half hour working the thorns from out of Black Face’s coat.

Later that day when the sun began its trek to the horizon, Riyan and Chad gathered the flock and started the return journey to Riyan’s home. It wasn’t safe for the herd to be left out in the hills at night. Aside from wild animals, there’s always the chance that the goblins might be in the area and will help themselves.

The village of Quillim, which both lads call home, sits on the border where the lands of Duke Yoric abuts that of the mountains whose other side marks the beginning of the goblin territories. Peace between the two races has lasted for over a century, ever since the goblins were pushed back across the mountains during the War of the Three Clans.