torg 02 - The Dark Realm (14 page)

peace finally secured by the formation of the Delegate Legacy. This feudal system was set in motion by the Great Houses of Aysle and spearheaded by Pella of House Ardinay. But Pella wished to speak for more than just one House. She wanted to fully embrace the ideals of the Delegate Legacy. So she gave her land and titles to House Tancred and became one of the simple people. With House Ardinay dissolved, she became Speaker for the People, the leader without a House.

"In this time of great freedoms and opportunities, we never expected another war. But one grew out of a raging, unnatural storm. This war was not fought between the Houses, or between humans and dwarves, or giants, or elves. It was a war against invaders from another place, another world. Pella Ardinay was quickly elevated to Lady of the Houses and asked to lead the defenders of Aysle. She accepted this post, asking for the greatest warrior of each House to join her as Knight Protectors and military advisors. And so were gathered Kwev of House Daleron, Abonon of House Gerrik, Seris of House Liandar, Hoger of House Vareth, Candal of House Bendes, and Tolwyn of House Tancred."

Tolwyn drew in a great breath, held it, then let it out in a slow hiss. But she did not say a word. She just waited for Gutterby to continue.

He did.

"The invaders were horrific beings — monsters and undead warriors, specters and moaning ghosts. They slashed through our defenses, cutting their way to Lady Ardinay's keep. For the most part, our weapons were ineffective against these supernatural beings. Only those of us with true magic or magic items at our disposal were able to launch effective counter-assaults. But the invaders didn't seem interested in wiping us out to the man. Instead, they pushed on for Ardinay's stronghold.

"I was of House Vareth then, the only dwarven family recognized by the human Houses as being of royal blood. I was in the courtyard when the vile Uthorion arrived, riding atop a dragon that called itself Carredon. We were scared, the boys and I. Shivering in our boots we were. But we held our ground. It helped to see the Knight Protectors on the ramparts above us, waiting to take their turns against the invaders. So, being brave, we cast our spears and arrows, hacked and slashed with our swords, and fell before the onslaught of the Carredon.

"Nothing hurt the beast. Nothing slowed it. To it, we were nothing more than wheat in a field. And its claws cut us down. I still bear the scars delivered by its vicious attack, welted lines across my chest and belly. I watched from where I fell as Tolwyn of House Tancred leaped down to face the monster. Her weapons of magic worked better than ours, but in the end the Carredon was too strong for her. As she fought the beast within the garden of crys flowers, Uthorion slipped into the keep to find Ardinay. Tolwyn cursed him, pledging to see him dead before this was all over. Pledging to return from the grave if necessary to fulfill her promise.

"The Knight Protectors prayed then, concentrating on Tolwyn. They tapped the power of their own souls to perform a miracle of legend. As the Carredon's claws struck and blood splattered the blue and red flowers, the Knights sent Tolwyn's spirit someplace else, and a new legend was born. The legend of Tolwyn Neverdeath, who would one day return to Aysle to stand at Lady Ardinay's side."

Gutterby motioned to Toolpin, who hurriedly tossed him a jug of Earther ale. (Foster's Lager, they called it, served in a small metal jug called a can.) He popped it open (as Tom had shown him) and drank thirstily, hot caring that some spilled onto his jerkin.

"What happened then, Gutterby?" Tolwyn demanded, knocking the ale from the dwarf's hand.

He stared at her angrily, then wiped his beard on his sleeve and laughed. "Always was an impatient sort, weren't you, Lady Tancred."

"Your story ...?" she pressed.

"Of course," he nodded, and continued his tale.

"Something awful occurred within the walls of Ardinay's keep. None of us who were there ever found out exactly what. But the Carredon and the other creatures withdrew, retreating back over the terrible bridges of tortured bodies they had descended. When Lady Ardinay appeared atop her tower, she claimed victory over the forces of evil, and those of us that survived cheered.

"But all too soon things began to change in Aysle. The land became a darker place, and new creatures roamed the land. Ardinay herself was different, less compassionate. She abolished the Delegate Legacy and reinstituted the old laws of rank and privileges. We went along with her in the beginning because she had saved us from the invaders and we believed that everything she did was for our own good. By the time we knew differently, we went along with her because she was too powerful for us to oppose. Soon we were crossing bridges of stone into other worlds, to bring enlightenment to these places our Lady said. But all we brought was death.

"When we arrived on this world, me and my fellows decided we had had enough of enlightenment. So, after meeting up. with Tom O'Malley and his magic flying machine, we find ourselves here, talking to a legend."

Gutterby, his story finished, collapsed heavily into the chair he had been standing on. "Telling stories always takes a lot out of me," he said, motioning Toolpin to toss him another Foster's.

Pluppa took Tolwyn's hand and raised her head so that she could look directly into the paladin's eyes. "Have you come here to gather us? Is it time to go back to Aysle?" the female dwarf asked.

Tolwyn, her jaw set in determination, replied, "Soon, but not yet my friend. First we must go to Orrorsh and find Uthorion. Then, when I have repaid a debt to a man named Decker and fulfilled my pledge to Uthorion, then we can return to Aysle and discover what has changed in my absence. You say all this happened over five hundred years ago, Gutterby?"

"Aye," Gutterby nodded, "give or take a year or two."

"And Lady Ardinay still lives?"

"Correct again, Lady Tancred."

Bryce looked from Tolwyn to Gutterby and back to Tolwyn again. "Is something wrong?"

"I do not know how things work on Earth, Christopher," Tolwyn said, "but in Aysle. humans do not live much longer than one hundred years."

And, for the first time that evening, the dwarves had nothing to say.

54

Julie Boot watched as Dr. James Monroe worked on the wounded soldier. Monroe was very good, she decided, as good as his reputation had led her to believe. But reading reports is one thing. Seeing the man work was quite another. His hands moved with speed and grace, and there was a confidence about him that made every subtle movement a work of art. To Monroe, medicine was his talent. Like a musician plays a concerto, Monroe performed an operation.

"You're in good hands, Lt. Covent," Julie whispered to the soldier on the table, and even though he couldn't hear her, she felt better for letting him know.

Monroe finished removing the shrapnel from the soldier's leg and stomach. Then, when he finished closing the patient and finally turned him over to his assistant for recovery, he took the metal tray and motioned for Julie to follow him.

"What's the matter, James?" she asked, suddenly concerned for the soldier.

"Nothing terrible," Monroe replied, slipping the surgical mask away from his mouth. "Lt. Covent will be up an around in no time. But take a look at what I pulled out of him."

Julie examined the material on the tray. She expected to see pieces of metal. Instead the tray was full of bone slivers and long thorns. She looked up at Monroe, her eyes full of questions.

"The lizards make some strange land mines," Monroe said. "Maybe we should go have a talk with the friendly lizard you told me about. What was its name?"

"His name," Julie corrected. "His name is Tal Tu."

55

Christopher Bryce was astonished by the tale of invaders and miracles. Could it be true? Is that what happened to Tolwyn before she appeared in the body of Wendy Miller? And did it really happen five hundred years ago? His mind reeled. The dwarves were asking questions again, and Bryce cut off his own thoughts so that he could concentrate on the fast-talking little people.

"How long you been here on this strange world?" asked Toolpin.

"How does the Quest end?" Praktix chimed in.

"I do not know," Tolwyn said, taking one of the spikes from the dwarves and staring at it intensely.

"Tolwyn," Bryce said. "Memories return slowly. Give it time. You've had a wonderful push here. I'm sure the rest will come soon. Meanwhile," he turned to Tom O'Malley. "We still have a mission to complete. Where is the shaman you told us about?"

Tom shrugged. "He was here when I left. In fact, he told me where to go to meet you. Pluppa, where'd Djil go?"

Pluppa jumped up when Tom spoke, smiling at the sound of his voice. At least, that's how it looked to Bryce. Could the dwarf lady have some feelings for the pilot? Bryce smiled at the thought. Well, he decided, it's no more strange than a priest having feelings for a five hundred year old paladin from a different world.

"Djil went for a walk," Pluppa declared.

"Terrific," Bryce muttered.

"We are running out of time," Kurst announced, and Tolwyn nodded in agreement.

"Do you have a map, Tom?" Bryce asked.

The pilot led him to the far wall, where a map of the area hung. Kurst followed, examined the map for a moment, then pointed out the route.

"We need to travel across the Timor Sea to the interior of Borneo" Kurst explained.

"We have a companion who's dying," Bryce added quickly, "and the only way to save him is to confront the Gaunt Man and ... and then what?" The priest asked Kurst, but the resulting dwarven clamor cut off any possible answer.

"The Gaunt Man?" asked Grim.

"The Gaunt Man!" exclaimed Triad.

"Tough nut," said Gutterby.

"Very tough," agreed Braxon.

"Dangerous," added Praktix.

"Tough," said Toolpin, just so he could add to the conversation.

"Of course we'11 go," decided Pluppa. "If that's where Tolwyn Neverdeath wants to go, then we'll go. Eh, Tom?"

Tom O'Malley nodded. "That's what Djil told me we'd be doing. But we'll have to cross a storm front. There's no guarantee we'll make it through that."

"You'll get us through," Pluppa smiled.

Bryce hoped that the dwarf's faith in the pilot was all they would need. But he had a feeling that it would take more than that to get them into Orrorsh realm and back out again.

56

James Monroe was surprised to see the two boys in the room with the lizard. They were the same boys that had been with the priest and the cop back in Philadelphia. The same group that had departed with Wendy Miller — who called herself Tolwyn since "returning" to life. He desperately tried to remember the boys' names, but he couldn't. However, he knew how to fake his way through a conversation until the names came back to him.

"Well, well," he said, smiling his best bedside manner smile. "I didn't know you boys had moved out west."

"That's right," Julie said, "Coyote mentioned that he knew you, doctor."

Coyote! Of course, thought Monroe. Thank you Major Boot! That makes the younger boy Rat. Odd names. Gang names. He had tolerated their presence back in Philadelphia because they had grown so close to Tolwyn. He would have to pretend to like them again. At least they appeared to be cleaner now, and he couldn't smell them from across the room. Perhaps if he kept his distance ...

Rat stroked the gray cat that sat on his lap. "Hi, Dr. Monroe."

Coyote laughed. "Just like old times! Dr. Monroe saved Tolwyn. Did I tell you about that, Julie?"

"Briefly," Julie smiled at the boy. "You'll have to give me all the details later on. We've come to talk to Tal Tu, if that's okay with you guys."

Coyote looked at the edeinos resting on the floor of the room. Apparently, the bed wasn't comfortable for Tal Tu's strange proportions. He turned to Julie. "Sure. Me and Rat have to go visit Congressman Decker anyway. Come on, Rat."

The boys knew Decker? Monroe decided that he would have to hear their stories before too long. He wondered if Tolwyn, the cop, and the priest were here at Twentynine Palms, too.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Monroe," Rat said as he followed after Coyote, the cat clutched firmly in his arms.

"Leave the cat," Julie ordered.

"Okay," Rat said with disappointment, but he placed the cat on the floor. Once free of the boy, the cat raced over to cuddle against the edeinos. Then the boys were gone.

"Tal Tu, this is Dr. James Monroe," Julie said, introducing the two. "He wants to show you something."

Monroe felt silly treating the lizard as though it were human, but he didn't want to upset Julie. He placed the metal tray full of shrapnel beside the lizard without a word and waited to see what it would do. Probably try to eat some of it, he imagined.

Tal Tu carefully lifted a piece of bone from the assortment of items. He turned it over a few times, smelled it, and placed it back on the tray. "That is the bone of a lokritosk," Tal Tu said. "And those are thorns from a hessi bush. These items are dead, yet they are from Takta Ker. Where did you get them?"

Monroe, taken aback by the lizard's capability of speech, couldn't find the words to answer him. How could this ... thing ... speak? And worse, how was he expected to tolerate such behavior in a ... thing?