The Tomb of the Dark Paladin (10 page)

But this room had not been completely forgotten, as the thayne had found. There were two things in the room: a suit of leather armor with a blue tabard and a sword. The tabard, he recalled, had been in remarkable shape considering how long it must have been hidden there. It was a deep royal blue with a silver shield emblazoned upon the chest, and an ancient coat of arms not used in generations adorned the shield. It was a simple design, three golden legs extending out from a central point upon which was a castle.

The armor seemed plain enough, a few inscriptions in an ancient language adorned the sleeves. Though he could not read the language of the inscriptions there was one word that he could read, and it sent a chill down his spine.

And there was a sword. The weapon rested point down, with its hilt leaning upon the wooden stand that held aloft the armor. He lifted the sword and felt a surge of energy run from his hand up the length of his arm. The blade was incredibly light and felt as though it had somehow become part of own body. In keeping with its surroundings, the blade was relatively unadorned save for an inscription in the same language that adorned the armor. He recalled a tale told to him by his father when he was a young boy. Though the details of the story were lost to him, Cannath remembered his father talking wistfully of a sword of ancient Dwarvish make. That was an astonishing thing, as the dwarves had been gone from Llars for longer than even the elves could remember. Could this be it? The hilt was cool to the touch and calmed his nerves. The knowledge of the tragedy he inflicted upon his people blackened his soul, for he had repeated the bloody mistake his uncle had made in dealing with Arnathia. He didn't care about being thayne anymore. He didn't care about Hybrand, or Arnathia, or even the Hurkin Horde.

Now all he wanted was revenge.

Cannath strapped on the sword and headed downstairs. Even though relegated to impotence and bedraggled in appearance, the thayne was still an imposing figure. He was tall, strong and muscular. Now he was clad in the blue tabard over the leather armor. The thought of the power that these items would wield for him was sobering. He wanted revenge desperately. He marched grimly along the lengthy trek through the hidden world of Castle Hybrand into a room on the main level of the castle. From there Cannath walked out into the hallway that led to throne room. It seemed that the farther he walked, the clearer his mind became and the more confidently he strode.

All he cared about now was revenge and he did not care if died in the process of obtaining it.

#

Cannath strode up to the door that led to the throne room and was ignored. The page, a hurkin whose job it was to announce important visitors, glanced vaguely in his direction before continuing his attempt at rolling a coin across his knuckles. Cannath opened the door, not deigning to address the paige and missed the horrified look upon the hurkin's face when the door opened. He surveyed the room, 
his
room, and saw that the vile and filthy hurkin known as King Ognadrog -ruler of Hurkromin- sat atop the throne. The hurkin was detestable to Cannath. His skin was a pasty gray color and his eyes were large pools of blackness. The hurkin king's head was elongated and shaved, revealing pointy ears. His mouth was overly large with tusks protruding from his upper lips, his upturned nose gave him a slightly piggish appearance. Ognadrog was a fearsome being, and he was renowned for his cruelty. His armor was black steel with bones of enemy soldiers affixed to its surface, it hung imposing on a wooden frame next to the throne. The hurkin king carried a long mace, preferring to bludgeon his enemies to death rather than give them a quick end. The worst part of the evil creature's appearance was that he sat upon Cannath's ancestral throne.

Standing before the hurkin king were Gavinos and Coronus; the dour high priest of Umber was nowhere to be seen. A few hurkin soldiers stood about the room, lazily watching their liege and his advisers. Cannath, sword sheathed, walked down the rich carpet that led to the throne. He stopped behind the two elves, inwardly furious that they seemed not to notice him, prepared to draw and strike them both dead with his sword.

Yet, the rightful thayne of Hybrand stayed his hand.

"Your fleet is arriving now, King Ognadrog," said Gavinos. "By tomorrow all of your warships will be in the bay. They await orders to sail on Arnathia."

 
Arnathia?
They plan to invade the Arnathian Empire
, he thought to himself. Once he would have thought that such a thing were impossible, yet Arnathia was on the very precipice of breaking apart. He thought it odd that the elves would choose to speak to the hurkin king in Cklathish, but that thought drifted away as the conversation continued.

"What do the reports say of expected resistance?" asked Ognadrog. "It will be some time before my ground supplies begin to arrive in Hybrand, though it will go much more swiftly now that I rule the Eastern Kingdoms."

"The Arnathian eastern provinces are in unrest. The latest reports show that the emperor's state of paranoia is so great that he has withdrawn most of his forces from the provinces to Arnathia Proper. The eastern provinces that stand between you and the Arnathian throne are in turmoil. They struggle to find a national identity for themselves in a futile hope of raising a standing army. Hurkromin's annexation of Hybrand has not gone unnoticed."

"They will fall," said Coronus in his dark voice. Ognadrog nodded and Gavinos seemed to agree.
What hope was there left for the world?
Cannath knew that thanks to his own greed and lust for power, the last barrier to prevent the darkness of Hurkromin from spreading west had fallen. "Nothing will stop you short of the border of Arnathia Proper."

"What news from Shalthazar?" asked the king, regaining the instant attention of both elves.

"The great wizard is consumed with a task that Umber has assigned him. The Tomb of the Dark Paladin lies hidden in the north and Shalthazar seeks it with great urgency."

"Why would he want to find 
that
?" asked the hurkin. "Nothing but the ghost of a betrayer to find there."

"Umber believes that the Everpool is located within the tomb and protected by the ghost."

"So, I'm supposed to send my combat troops to find this hidden pool when I am preparing to invade Arnathia?" demanded Ognadrog angrily.

"You may disregard those orders, King. I will return to Shalthazar and bring my own regiment of troops in your stead."

Gavinos looked at Coronus in shock, it seemed to Cannath that he would argue the wisdom of defying Umber's chosen puppet. Instead, he simply nodded.

"It's Umester. Isn't it?" asked the king suddenly. This time there was a palpable emotion in the hurkin's voice and Cannath suspected it was fear. Who was Umester? Neither of the two elves answered the king, but they didn't have to.

"By all the hells!" grumbled Ognadrog.

"Since, mighty king, your wisdom has already discerned the truth..." began Gavinos. Cannath felt his blood pulsing at the sly elf's conniving voice. "You must understand that this is truly a sensitive topic. Perhaps even Shalthazar does not understand the portent of freeing Umester from his prison." 

"So," drawled the king in a voice that sounded like a dog growling. "The foreigner doesn't even know that he works to find his own replacement? That's why you've been kissing his backside all this time!"

"His usefulness has nearly run its course. He was the only one who could fill the pathetic Nashian prophecy and give them the impetus to conquer the north. Now that it is safely under our control, it is a matter of time before the Tomb of the Dark Paladin is found."

"And Umber has the Order of the Black Sigil to fight for him," added Coronus.

"Do you think they will be willing to transfer their loyalty so easily?" asked the king. "You know how wizards are; they will keep to their magic -and to Shalthazar- above all else." When neither of the elves seemed inclined to comment, the king went on. "What will be the place of King Ognadrog the Merciless with Umester walking the world? What will be 
your
 places, for that matter?"

"As the bearers of the power of the Shadowtide, 
our
 places are secure. Your own will be based upon performance of your duties." Gavinos was a powerful minion of Umber and carried within himself a vital piece of the power that Umber called Shadowtide. He guessed there would be others besides himself and Coronus.

"That, Gavinos, sounded like a threat!" the angry king stood and held aloft his mace. The hurkin was every bit of seven feet tall!

"A promise," quipped the elf, unintimidated.

"I liked Umber better when he was silent and out of reach," grumbled the king as he sat back down, sulkily tossing his massive mace to the side.

"Umester was imprisoned for a reason," said Coronus, a distant look in his eye. "Despite Gavinos' optimism, there exists a potential danger to us all considering the chaotic nature of Umber's child."

Umber's child?
thought Cannath, incredulous. It seemed beyond reason that such a thing could be true. And it seemed that not everyone here was pleased with the prospect of the bastard child of the dark lord walking the lands of Llars. Despite his bellyaching, Cannath thought that the hurkin seemed more confident than he should be.

Now, more than ever, Cannath resisted the urge to draw his sword and slay all three of these men. A measure of wisdom drifted through his vengeful brain. Should he tip his hand here and reveal himself to be anything but the puppet they assumed him to be, he would surely die. Coronus was a skilled magic wielder, and Gavinos was more a mystery now than ever -he had no idea what mischief his old adviser was capable of. Ognadrog and his guards would be bad enough in a one-to-one fight, never mind fighting them all at once. No, he would not win. And then what revenge would he have? No, he must calculate his revenge. Hybrand was lost, the Eastern Kingdoms were lost, his people were lost. There was nothing he could do about any of that. But he could have revenge against the one who had orchestrated all of it, Umber.

"What of the puppet?"

"Cannath?" asked Gavinos. A stab of fury flashed over Cannath's visage as Gavinos cemented his role as a manipulator aloud. Cannath let the moment pass, for now he had bigger plans.

"Why is
he
 here?" demanded the hurkin, suddenly seeing Cannath for the first time. "How long have you been there, human?" It was at that moment that Cannath was overtaken by complete clarity of mind. The men did not know he was even there until that very moment, somehow he been invisible to them. It had to be the armor or the weapons or both! He didn't let his mind wander, however. The hurkin king had asked him a question and Cannath knew he had to play his hand wisely.

"I've only just arrived, Og," he said casually, hoping to annoy the hurkin. "Didn't you see me walk in?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I had!" said the king angrily. "Why didn't the page announce you?"

"He's your page. Why don't you ask him, eh?" Cannath casually jerked a thumb over his shoulder as he inserted himself between the hurkin and the two elves. Cannath knew that Gavinos would be analyzing his sudden appearance in his mind until he found the answer. The elf would soon assume that the human king's new armor and weapon had something to do with his unnoticed appearance and the elf would find a way to part Cannath from them, but the rightful ruler knew his course

Ognadrog made a rumbling sound in his chest that was not unlike the sound made by the great cats that roamed the northern wilderness. Cannath's mind raced and his hand twitched with anticipation. He desperately wanted to kill these men, even though he knew it meant that he would die in the process. But a sense of great disappointment cut through his haze of hatred and anger, and he somehow felt ashamed of himself for it. He felt a clarity of purpose and he knew what he must do. If he could not save his kingdom, or himself, from his own wrongdoing then he must do something to save the rest of the world from this pestilence.

"Why doesn't the little thayne go and hold court with his subjects?" sneered Ognadrog.

"Oh come now, Oggy. You know you've enslaved them all."

The hurkin king laughed, the elves did not seem amused. Cannath noted that Gavinos was watching him with intense scrutiny, yet he could not trust himself to speak to his former friend.

"This meeting is not for you, Thayne Cannath," said Coronus quietly. Cannath still got chills when that dark elf spoke, despite his soft-spoken demeanor.

"I suppose it isn't," he said, walking towards the door. Gavinos watched him go, not saying a word.

Cannath strode boldly down the carpeted walkway, eying the tapestries as he went. Although he saw the amazing artwork depicting centuries of Cklathish history, and the display of arms and armor that had served generations of Hyrbandese royalty, his mind was elsewhere. He was planning his next move and he knew that there was a very real chance that Gavinos would see him dead before he reached the castle gates. He really wanted to kill that elf, and he almost turned around to do it, but again he felt that something was propelling him to gain his revenge in a more powerful way. He opened the door and shoved the page aside, giving him a dour sneer.

With renewed determination, Cannath headed for the castle gates.