The Tomb of the Dark Paladin (20 page)

Bart used his magic to levitate the knight to the top of the Pathway Arch. Ederick reached out to touch the crown, but hesitated. He, too, sensed the dark power in the crown and was loath to touch it. "Please," urged the dwarf. "Take the crown!"

Just as the knight's fingers closed on the cold steel crown, a barrage of arrows soared through the air and struck all around them. The knight fell to the floor as the bard's spell came to an end, but he was back on his feet and behind his shield in an instant. 

"It would seem the elves have arrived," said the knight wryly. Bart threw a shield of air before the trio and managed to deflect all of the enemy's arrows, but he would not be able to hold the shield forever.

"I'll need my strength to get through the Pathway Arch, so I will," said the bard tersely. The dwarf held his staff aloft and pointed it above the heads of the elves. Giant stalactites ripped free from the roof of the cavern and plummeted down upon the heads of the murderous elves. Then more stalactites fell and soon the opening was sealed.

Bart lowered his shield of air and rested, the muffled sounds of the elves drifted from across the cavern. He looked at the Pathway Arch and saw that a golden pathway now extended into the starry space beyond. 

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"You give me the crown," said the dwarf. Ederick quickly handed the crown to the dwarf, he seemed happy to be rid of it. The dwarf held the crown in his hands for a long moment, staring into the dark jewels that adorned it. Then he looked up at the two Llarsians. "Thank you."

"I pray you are able to use it to free your people," said the bard. "And not to enslave them further."

"How do we travel to Llars, dwarf?" asked the knight. 

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"You don't know?" demanded the knight.

"I only know what I have already told you, that this Pathway Arch was used by my ancestors to travel from Llars to Hastor. It was activated when the spell was broken and the crown was removed. Beyond that I can tell you nothing."

"You are trapped, dwarf. How will you return to the surface?" 

Aethelryd said nothing in response. Instead he tapped his staff on the wall of the cavern and stepped 
into
 solid rock, then he was gone.

"I won't even ask how he did that." The knight shook his head. "Now what, Bart?"

A loud boom shook the cavern and the pile of rubble that protected them from the wrath of the High Elves had been blown apart. Dark forms began to scamper across the rubble and bows were being drawn.

"Now we go!" Bart grabbed the knight by the shoulder and dragged him to the opening of the Pathway Arch. As silver-shafted arrows descended, the men stepped into the starry opening and disappeared. 

C H A P T E R

E I G H T

~

Carym and Genn thundered away from the Tower of the Hand and along the road that led north. They had learned that a guard force from Delfyd Rhi's men was on its way to the Tower to apprehend them. Carym did not want the bishop to be forced to defend him against the Rhi; Rohan needed time to recall his troops and arrange movement to Alfheym.

Since the moment the decision was made to flee, Genn's mood darkened significantly and she had barely spoken to Carym. It was clear that something was causing her to fiercely oppose continuing their quest for the Everpool. However, Carym could not afford to dwell on the matter, when the Rhi's men did not find him at the Tower they would inevitably send runners to every village looking for signs of Carym's passage. He glanced back at Genn who was trailing him to his right, but her face was a mask of concentration. He looked ahead, desperately hoping for any signs of his friends. Hala had gone home to Hitchyn Itsa but was supposed to be on her way back to the Tower. He worried for her, and he worried for Ed and Bart. The men's disappearance disturbed him and there was little hope in his mind of finding them. All he could do was continue north to the land of the Jaguar Tribes and pray that they found Hala in time. Umber's minions were closing in and they were desperate to reach the Tomb of the Dark Paladin before the companions.

The cold night wind cut deeply into the riders but Carym didn't want to risk stopping. Yet he knew that he soon must or risk destroying his mounts. There was a town ahead and he wanted to find a place to hide from the Rhi's troops for the night.

"We need to rest the horses and ourselves. But I hesitate to risk a confrontation with the Rhi's men, or worse," Carym's tone of voice betrayed his inner conflict.

"Why are you afraid to fight them, Carym?" demanded Genn. "You and I have handled worse than the pathetic soldiers working for Delfyd. And Delfyd wants to deliver us to Umber!"

"These men are under the influence of the Shadow, Genn. They don't know what they are about. I don't want to harm them."

"But they will harm you!"

"You are right, my dear," he said with a sigh of resignation as they reached the edge of the small town. "They will not relent. Yet we must stop here."

Two roads met in the center of Cannok, which consisted of a few small buildings that likely served the peoples of the larger surrounding area. The inn seemed lively with patrons while the small shops had long ago closed for the night. The faint sound of a flute drifted to them across the night air.

"What will we do when the Rhi's men find us?"

"If they find us we will--"

"When they find us," she interrupted.

"We will have to ambush them, there is little hope to minimize bloodshed otherwise."

Genn smiled at Carym's idea. It bothered him that she could be so callous about the cost of their journey in terms of the lives of innocent people. For a long time he thought he had understood her, thought he knew how she felt about him. Lately her personality had darkened, she seemed more eager to argue with him and more bitter about his decision not to settle down at the Tower of the Hand.

When it seemed the horses had enough time to recover from their hard run, they led them to the inn where they were hitched and allowed to drink water. Satisfied that the horses would be ok for the time being, Carym led Genn inside the inn.

"I'll get some food," Genn offered as the door closed behind them and she headed to the barkeep.

Carym scanned the room and the people in it, he didn't see any of Delfyd's men here. A staircase in the corner near the hearth led up to the rooms; there weren't any other doors leading outside that he could see. He suspected there would be a way out through the kitchen as he watched a server disappear through a swinging door with an empty food tray. Most of the patrons appeared to be local men of varying ages. Though some had the look of hardened travelers, he did not think any of them were agents of the Shadow.

Before he turned back to the counter he caught the sight of the flickering fire reflecting on the golden hair of a woman seated near the hearth. As if sensing his scrutiny, the woman turned to face him. Familiar eyes met his. When their eyes met, he was speechless and his throat seemed to dry up. He wanted to shout in greeting, to say something, but the words would not come. Her eyes held his as she rose and walked boldly across the room, her regal bearing apparent to any who looked on. He felt giddy, amazed at the torrent of emotions roiling within him at the sight of this traveler.

Genn walked back to the table with a tray of warm chicken and ham in her hands, stopping short when she saw the other woman.

"Princess," she said stiffly. "We thought we wouldn't see you again."

Hala's impassive gaze silently shifted to Genn, then back to Carym again. On the inside Carym's emotions roiled and churned. He loved Genn, of that he was certain. Nevertheless, for some reason the warrior-princess from the north stirred something deep within him, and this wasn't the first time. He was profoundly glad to see her again, and not just because of her value to their company. Was he just imagining it? Was it a simply a matter of Genn's dark moods driving him away from the Keneerie woman?

Despite the stern countenance that each of them now wore, something much more significant had silently passed between them all.

"Well met, Hala!" Carym said, with a bit more enthusiasm than he planned to show. Hala embraced him warmly, yet all too briefly. Her scent lingered in his nose.

"Well met, Carym!" Then the princess faced Genn and embraced her too. Carym imagined the air seemed cool between them. They sat down at Hala's table near the fire and shared the tray of food.

"When did you arrive?" asked Carym.

"This afternoon. I have been to my homeland and I have met with my father, the king. He wishes to meet you all before he decides whether to allow passage to the Tomb of the Dark Paladin."

"Will he decide in our favor?"

"I believe he will."

"Thank you, Hala," he said with genuine gratitude. "I know it could not have been easy for you."

"It was necessary," she replied. Hala said nothing else about the matter, though Carym was quite certain there was much more to say. Hala was not given to excessive speech and he knew she would not feel it necessary to give a wordy account of her deeds. "I have other news. Messengers from Delfyd Rhi reached the outpost in the nearby village of Rippey. A runner came in earlier asking about you both. He left when one of the elders promised to report any sightings to the Rhi's guard immediately."

"Now that they know the Rhi's men are hunting us, will the villagers turn us in?" asked Genn.

"The people of Myrnwell have little love for their Rhi," replied the princess. "They probably won't turn us in as long as our stay brings them no harm."

"Then we should leave now," said Carym, anxious. "I fear our stay will bring them harm."

"Your horses will die from exhaustion without rest, as will you. For now it seems that the Rhi's men have been spread thin in search of you. If any of his men show up here, it will only be a few scouts. Nothing we cannot handle."

"We should stick to our plan, Carym," urged Genn. "Make them pay for what they've done."

Carym said nothing for a long moment, looking across the room into the fire. "What of Bart and Ederick? Have you seen or heard from them?"

"No," said Hala. "I've heard nothing of them."

Carym sighed deeply. Bart had become a powerful Sigilist and Ederick was as great a warrior as he had ever known. That they had not yet returned suggested there was a problem. Somehow he knew Bart and Ederick would be able to figure out that he began his journey northward again, they would find a way to meet him on the road.

"They will find us, Carym. We've no choice but to continue," offered Hala. Carym knew she was right. If the two were able, they would find their friends.

"If any of the Rhi's men show up here, we'll have trouble," said Genn, changing the subject.

"We need to avoid detection," he replied.

"We should eliminate them, Carym," said Genn, grimly. "Dead men tell no tales."

Carym's military mind agreed with Genn, but he was having trouble reconciling that with his conscience. It was a martial truth that one may, should, strike the enemy first to thwart an attack. An ambush would be in order. However, Genn's suggestion felt more like assassination, elimination of the enemy without quarter. Could he do that? Hala looked at him questioningly. Suddenly, her opinion of him mattered.