The Godling Chronicles 02 - Of Gods And Elves (4 page)

“
You have tried to have us killed,” replied
Millet. “You’ve destroyed temples and the Gods only know
what you’ve done to the clergy. Whatever your motivations are
for letting us go, I suspect they are part of some grander design.
You allow us to leave because it serves your needs to do so, though,
I don’t yet know what they are.”

“
The attempts on the lives of you and your friends
were unfortunate,” he said. “The people responsible have
been dealt with. Of course, I don’t expect you to believe that,
and frankly, it doesn’t matter. You will think my master is
your enemy until the very end. But when that end comes, you will see
the truth.”

“
I see the truth now,” Millet shot back.
“And unless you force me to do so, I will hear no more of your
lies.”

“
As you wish,” said Brandis. “My
soldiers and I will wait outside.” He spun on his heels and
left the house. Markus and the soldiers followed close behind.

“
Do you think they actually intend to let us just
walk out of here?” asked Maybell.

“
Millet was correct,” said Malstisos. “If
it serves their objectives they will. This may be a deception, but I
cannot divine the purpose. If they want us, they have us.”

“
We’ll know soon enough,” said Millet.

Two hours later, the door opened, and Brandis entered.
Behind him was a tall, thin youth, no more than twenty, with light
brown hair that fell in loose curls to his shoulders. He was dressed
in tan leathers and boots, and carried a pack over his shoulders. His
face was strikingly like Lee’s except a bit more rounded at the
chin, and his eyes were deep green and more widely set.

“
I give you Jacob Nal’Thain,” said
Brandis.

Millet looked Jacob over for several moments. “How
do we know this is Jacob?”

“
Who else would I be?” Jacob sneered. “And
who are you?”

“
I am Millet Gristall, the personal assistant to
Lee Nal’Thain.”

“
My father?” said Jacob. “So this is
what you brought me here for? You drag me from my cell for this?”

Millet cocked his head. “Your cell?”

“
Young Jacob has been somewhat of a
trouble-maker,” Brandis explained. “We have had to lock
him away for the good of the city.”

“
I see,” said Millet. He turned to Jacob.
“Where is your mother?”

Jacob glared. “This dog knows where she is. In
Angrääl, where they took her.”

“
How many times must you be told?” asked
Brandis. “She went of her own free will.”

“
I’ll never believe that. And if you expect
me to go willingly with these people just so they can kill me when
we're out of sight, then you’re mistaken. Kill me now, for all
to see.”

Brandis sighed. “For the last time, if we wanted
to kill you we would have done so long before now. You will either go
with these people or leave on your own. Either way, I tire of you and
will no longer tolerate your presence.”

“
You will come with us,” said Millet. “I
was sent to retrieve you and your mother. Being that your mother is
not here, I will at least retrieve you.”

“
Why should I believe you?” asked Jacob.
“What’s to prevent you from killing me the moment we’re
out of sight?”

“
As much as I hate to admit it,” replied
Millet. “Brandis is correct. If they wanted you dead, they
wouldn’t need such an elaborate deception. In fact, we are in
more danger from you, than you are from us.”

Jacob thought for a moment. “Very well, I will go
with you, for now.”

“
Good decision,” said Brandis. “I’ll
leave you to it then.” He started to the door. “Please
tell Lord Nal’Thain that we will allow him to see his wife any
time he wishes. And as for Gewey Stedding, the Reborn King still
wants his friendship. Please convey the message to both of them, if
you would.”

“
I’ll tell them,” replied Millet.

“
Good,” he said. “You will not be
hindered when you leave. I’ll wait outside until you’re
ready.” He turned and left.

“
I’m not sure what your game is,” said
Jacob. “But if you wish me harm, even your friend the elf may
find that difficult.”

Malstisos stepped forward. “If I wanted you dead,
I would have killed you the second that door closed. It is not
we
that need prove our intentions.”

“
I agree,” said Millet. “You look like
my lord, but I have no way of knowing for sure.”

“
What do we do?” said Maybell. “Certainly
we cannot trust that this is not a deception.”

“
We won’t,” said Millet. “There
is one way of finding the truth. But in order to do so I must contact
Lord Starfinder.”

“
I’ve heard that name before,” said
Jacob.

“
Of course you have,” he replied. “That
was the name of your father before you were born, and it is the name
he goes by now. I’m sure your mother has mentioned it.”

“
No,” he said. “I heard it when I was
in prison. The Dark One wants him. They mean to kill him.”

“
They’ve already tried,” said Millet
with a wicked smile. “So far they’ve failed miserably.”

“
Enough talk,” said Malstisos. “We
need to leave while we still can.”

“
Agreed,” said Millet. “We’ll
head west for now.”

“
Then what?” asked Maybell. “We can’t
bring him back with us. At least not until we know with certainty he
is who he says he is.”

“
I have no intention of being taken anywhere,”
said Jacob. “As soon as I’m able, I’ll be going my
own way.”

Millet looked irritably at the boy. “I suggest you
accept our company for the time being. At least until we’re
away from here.”

Jacob looked disgusted and walked to the door. “I’ll
be outside when you’re ready.” He slammed the door behind
him.

Chapter Two

Millet, Maybell and Malstisos gathered their gear and
left the house. Jacob sat on the front steps, fiddling with a small
knife. Their horses were ready and waiting. Brandis stood a few feet
away along with two guards.

“
Here are your weapons,” said Brandis. He
motioned to one of the guards who handed them over. “I trust
you will not need them any time soon. And we have provided young
Jacob with a sword as well as a mount. If you wish an escort, one can
be provided, but I suspect you do not.”

“
No escort is necessary,” replied Millet.
“We know the way.”

“
In that case I wish you a safe journey,”
said Brandis. He nodded to the guards who followed him, and he
disappeared down the street.

Millet led them through the village to the west road.
The street was conspicuously empty.

“
Do you think they plan to ambush us?” asked
Maybell as they mounted their horses.

“
I doubt it,” answered Millet. “They
could have killed us if they wanted. Malstisos was the only one who
might have escaped. No, whatever their plan is, it involves us
removing Jacob from Hazrah.” He looked suspiciously at the boy.

They continued until dusk and made camp along the road.
Along the way, they had passed a patrol, but the soldiers ignored
them.

“
It would seem that Brandis intends to let us
leave without incident,” said Malstisos.

Millet stared at the fire and rubbed his hands together.
“So it would seem.” He watched as Jacob checked his horse
and unpacked his gear. “We must find a way to contact Lee
without giving away his location. Until then, I’m afraid we
have no way to trust the lad.”

“
I have exceptional hearing,” said Jacob.
“From my father’s side of the family, I assume. Contact
him if you must. As for me I’m headed for Baltria once we’re
safely away from here.”

“
You intend to abandon your mother?” asked
Millet.

Jacob glowered. “There’s nothing I can do
for her.” He placed his blanket near the fire. “They
won’t send for her, I don’t care what they told you. I
doubt she’s even alive.”

“
They let you live, didn’t they?” said
Malstisos.

“
That may be. But I’m in Hazrah, and my
mother is not. The house Nal’Thain still has a good name among
the people. To kill me without scandal or reprisal, they would need
to do it away from the city.”

“
We were told that you helped Angrääl
take control,” said Maybell huddled close to the fire, sipping
elf brandy.

“
That’s a lie,” spat Jacob. “I
did everything I could to stop them.”

“
That may be,” said Maybell. “But if
the people believe it, I doubt your death would cause much of a
scandal.”

Jacob pulled his blanket close and stared into the fire.

“
What
did
happen?” asked Malstisos. “From what we have seen it
didn’t take much of an effort for Angrääl to seize
control.”

Jacob scowled. “It was the King,” he
muttered in disgust. “He sold us out.”

“
You’re not making sense,” said
Millet. “Even the King couldn’t simply hand over control
of the land to a foreign power without resistance from the nobles.”

“
That’s not what happened,” replied
Jacob. “They were far more subtle. A year ago an ambassador
arrived at court with a message of friendship. He said he was from a
kingdom in the north and desired to establish relations and trade.
Naturally, the lords were skeptical. All the old tales of the
northern kingdoms are of terror and war, but the ambassador assured
us of his good intentions and suggested that we send an envoy to meet
with his lord. After much deliberation, the King agreed. I wanted to
be the one to go, but mother wouldn’t allow it.”

“
Wise woman,” said Millet.

“
In this case she was.” Jacob nodded in
agreement. “The King sent his second cousin to gauge the truth
of matters. Sadly, though loved dearly by the King, he has no skill
with diplomacy. He returned two months later accompanied by a full
entourage of representatives from Angrääl, enough to occupy
a proper diplomatic embassy. At first, the King protested, but his
cousin convinced him that relations and trade would be in the best
interest for the kingdom. Before long they had bought a building near
the palace and had established themselves as the embassy to the
“Reborn King of Angrääl.”

“
That didn’t send up warning flags?”
asked Millet. “The “Reborn King” can only be
referring to the Demon King, Rätsterfel. Surely the temples
intervened when they heard this?” He retrieved a loaf of bread
and dried meat from his pack and passed it around.

“
I believe the temples had been infiltrated long
before the arrival of the ambassador,” replied Jacob.

“
Why would you think that?” asked Maybell,
trying to contain her irritation.

“
From the moment they arrived they showed their
contempt for the Gods. They refused to have their embassy blessed,
and turned away any offer of friendship the temples made. On the
streets they openly mocked the Gods, and said that anyone that
trusted in them was a fool. A few of the temples were even
vandalized. Everyone knew who did it, but there was no proof. More
than that, the temples did little to stop it.”

“
All this and the King did nothing?” said
Millet.

“
There was nothing to do,” said Jacob. “The
temples made no complaint. Not to the King or anyone else. In fact,
it was widely known that many of the high priestesses and senior
monks had dealings with them on a regular basis. I myself saw the
chief librarian of the Temple of Gerath riding with the ambassador,
talking and laughing as friends.”

“
That means nothing,” said Maybell. “You
can’t know why they were speaking.”

“
True,” he answered. “But the next day
the library was robbed and nearly every important text stolen. The
culprits were never found despite the fact that I told the magistrate
what I had seen. Of course, after that life became more difficult for
my mother and me. Several of our trade caravans were attacked, and
our interests in the copper mine were suddenly audited. I went to the
magistrate to complain, but I fear he had already been bought. The
chief finance minister manufactured reasons for our mining assets to
be stripped away. Of course they were sold to an unknown party, and
by unknown I mean Angrääl.”

“
Was anyone else attacked like this?” asked
Millet.

“
Oh, yes, I was not the only Lord of Hazrah with
the courage to stand up to these interlopers. But our resistance was
short lived. With the King and the temples against us, we were
reduced to simple acts of defiance and petty acts of vandalism.
Unfortunately, in my case they found my weakness.”

“
And what might that have been?” asked
Malstisos.

“
My mother. As I became more brazen in my
resistance, they threatened to kill her if I didn’t fall in
line. My first reaction was to send her away. We have friends in
Baltria, and I thought she’d be safe there, but they got to her
before I could make the arrangements. I was told that she had
volunteered to attend court in Angrääl as the personal
representative of the King, but the truth is they are using her as
leverage against me. It was a week after she left when the first
Angrääl troops arrived. The King announced that there was a
growing threat from the southern kingdoms, and they were only there
to assist in our defense, but it was soon clear that it was an
occupation.”