Defenders of The Sacred Land: Book One of The Sacred Land Saga (10 page)

The sound of crashing kitchenware directed their attention to the table of one man who appeared to be intoxicated. He wore fine clothing for someone of his dubious appearance. His maroon tunic with gold embroidery complimented his black trousers and polished boots, and his hair was a bit unkempt. His intoxication was apparent by his constant fumbling while trying to pat the female servant’s backside each time she walked within range. He wore a black goatee, and his black hair had silvered at his temples. Dorenn noticed that Lady Shey eyed the man suspiciously; she and Sylvalora looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and shook their heads in dissatisfaction.

“Shameful display,” Dorenn heard Lady Shey whisper to Sylvalora.

“Indeed,” Sylvalora whispered back.

“Should we invite him over?” Lady Shey inquired.

“Absolutely,” Sylvalora grinned back.

Dorenn was appalled; he did not want the drunkard at his table.

Lady Shey made a motion with her head and the man smiled, grabbed his tankard of ale and stumbled toward their table, sloshing it onto the floor and almost tripping over a chair.

“What are you doing?” Dorenn whispered urgently to Lady Shey, but she ignored him.

The man reached Lady Shey and kissed the top of her hand awkwardly. “My Lady Shey,” he slurred, “so nice to see you again.”

“I wish I could say the same, Gondrial, but once again you have pickled your brain in ale. It is not very becoming, you know.”

Gondrial looked hurt at first, but then he perked up. “Is it not? I never would have guessed being drunk could be as damaging to one as virulent as I am. Thank you so much, my lady, for pointing it out. I will sober up at once.” He sloshed out more ale. “Well, after five or six more tankards, I promise it’s the straight and narrow.”

“Oh, be silent, Gondrial, and sit down before you fall down,” Lady Shey said with a half-cocked smile.

Rodraq pulled up a stray chair and placed it under Gondrial as he was half-sitting and half-falling. Gondrial plopped down on the seat, surprised his backside had found solid backing.

“How long have you been in Symbor, Gondrial?” Lady Shey asked.

“I arrived this morning.” He looked around at the persons sitting at the table as if he had only just noticed them. “Who are all of these people? I thought you were coming with Rodraq and a couple of guards.”

Lady Shey looked around the table. “These are folks from Brookhaven come to buy a wagonload of ale for the Tiger’s Head Inn. I thought it best to come along incognito with them to avoid any awkward situations.”

“Ah, you mean awkward situations like running into old Tobani De’Marr? He is out of the city, and he has gone to Darovan. I have already tried to find him for you.”

“You didn’t!” Lady Shey looked horrified. “Find him, I mean.”

“No, I didn’t,” Gondrial said. “I just told you he is out of the city.”

“Gondrial, if you would have brought him to me I would have boiled your liver and made stew.”

Gondrial laughed. “Relax dear, no harm done.” He turned and looked at Rodraq. “Rodraq, old buddy, you look as ugly as ever,” he slurred. “I thought marriage would pretty you up some, but I guess I was wrong. Where is the misses anyway?” Gondrial glanced around as if looking for her.

Rodraq’s expression did not alter. “She is home tending our son.”

“A son, you, Rodraq?” Gondrial said, patting him on the back. “Why, that is something special indeed. Who would have thought you would know how to do anything but swing a sword? Apparently you can wield a—”

“
GONDRIAL
!” Lady Shey interrupted. “We have guests at the table who are not yet of a suitable age for your boorishness.”

Gondrial looked confused for a moment and blinked. “You are right, where are my manners? I apologize.” Gondrial squinted at Trendan. “Brookhaven, eh? You do not look Symborian to me, son, you look like an elf.”

“I’m half-elven, sir, I was born in Arillia,” Trendan said.

“I thought so. I too am half-elven. My mother is from Lux Amarou and my father is from Arillia.” He chuckled. “A high man and an Arillian elf, now you have to see the humor in that relationship.”

Lady Shey put her hand to her forehead as if she were suddenly developing a headache.

Trendan chuckled uncomfortably. He felt like he was missing something in Gondrial’s joke. He recovered. “Pleased to meet you, good sir.”

“You may skip the pleasantries, young half-elf, I have no need for formalities. My parents are highborn, but I don’t have to be.”

“That makes no sense,” Lady Shey pointed out, almost in a whisper.

“As you wish,” Trendan stated eloquently.

“Have you the wagon as I instructed?” Lady Shey said, changing the subject.

“As requested, my lady, it was the first task I tended to upon arriving in Symbor this morning. It is in the stable here at the inn.”

“Good, we are in a bit of a hurry. We had some disturbing news on the road, and I want to take care of business and return as soon as possible.”

“Oh, what kind of trouble?” Gondrial asked.

“We have something of a mystery brewing; I will explain it all to you as we journey to the east quarter tomorrow to shop for dry goods and load up the ale. This is neither the place nor the time to discuss it. Do you think you will be sober enough to accompany us by tomorrow morning?”

“Is a sataflass a tree?” Gondrial stated.

“No, Gondrial dear, a sataflass is actually a shrubbery,” Lady Shey said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, really?” Gondrial looked perplexed. “Are you certain?”

“Aye, my drunken friend, quite certain.”

Gondrial shook his head. “At any rate, I can accompany you just fine.”

After supper, Dorenn thought it might be a good idea to get good night’s sleep. The next day was sure to be a long one, and he did not get any arguments from the tired party of travelers when he suggested that they should turn in early as well. Rodraq and Trendan walked back to the wagon to make sure it was secure, and they returned with the women’s personal bags. Tatrice, Sylvalora, and Lady Shey shared a room. Lady Shey made it clear that she would be keeping an eye out for mischief. Dorenn said goodnight to Tatrice and joined Rennon in their room. Trendan and Vesperin shared the room next to Dorenn. Rodraq and his men stayed in the room nearest the entrance to the hallway in order to keep an eye out for strangers. Symbor could sometimes be a dangerous place for traveling merchants.

As Dorenn was getting into bed, he thought he heard the sound of a door opening to the next room. He could have sworn he heard Gondrial’s voice speaking to Vesperin and then footsteps tracking down the hallway. Dorenn wondered what Gondrial had said to Vesperin but not enough to prevent him from slipping into a deep, meditative sleep.

Lady Shey hid in the shadows just beyond a hedge of trees near the guarded palace walls as Gondrial silently and skillfully stalked to her side. “I thought you would never get here! Where have you been?” she hissed.

“Sorry, love, I thought you wanted to meet at your room, and I accidentally stumbled into that cleric, Vesperin.”

“What! Did he question you?”

“Of course he did. I get the feeling he trusts no one.” He paused a moment as Lady Shey stared at him. “Not to worry, I put him to sleep.” He pointed at his temple with an index finger.

Lady Shey wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. “You could have ruined everything, you thickheaded dolt.”

Gondrial smirked. “Name calling from such a pretty face, how tragic.”

Lady Shey smiled in spite of her mood but quickly recovered her scowl. “Never mind. Put that guard to sleep.” She pointed at a lone guard standing watch at a single gate. “And I will open the gate.”

Gondrial whispered a few words and the guard collapsed onto the ground. Lady Shey motioned with her hand, and the gate silently opened.

“You should teach me that one day,” Gondrial whispered to her as they stealthily passed through the gate.

“Only if you teach me how to cast that sleep spell,” she whispered back.

“It’s a deal,” Gondrial said.

“
HALT
! Who goes there?” a guard shouted as he rounded the eastern corner of the palace.

Gondrial whispered a few words, and the guard collapsed. “There is a downside to not killing them, Shey dear, they will wake up and remember something amiss.”

Lady Shey shrugged her shoulders. “They cannot see us clearly in the dark, and we will be long gone by the time they report the incident Nothing to worry about, Gondrial.” She opened a side door to the palace and grabbed Gondrial’s arm, pulling him forcibly in. “Now do try and stay quiet. If the floor plan you found is correct, it should be one room from the main hall to the library.”

Gondrial stumbled behind Lady Shey. “It is dark in here.”

“Find the door. It should be directly ahead of you,” Lady Shey said as she made her way carefully in the darkness. The room was small, and when Lady Shey reached the opposite door, she pulled it open. Inside she did not find a hallway. Instead, it was another room dimly lit by torches at either end. The new room was as wide as the room they were leaving, but it was much longer in length, and at the opposite end was an archway. At first, in the low light, they did not know exactly what they were seeing in the room. It appeared to be full of casket-like boxes lined three on top of each other and spanning the entire length of the room. Lady Shey let out a low gasp as she realized where they were.

“Gondrial, I think we are in some sort of barracks. Where did you get these floor plans?”

“I bought them from a corrupt guard in the marketplace.”

“Gondrial, you fool, he sold you into a trap. Quickly turn around and let’s get out of here before we wake one of them.”

Gondrial nodded and turned to go back the way they came, but barring the door loomed a dark figure. One of the guards stood directly in the open doorway with his arms crossed, staring intently at them.

Gondrial straightened and cleared his throat. More of the off-duty palace guards rose from their slumber. “Well, this isn’t the way to the royal bath? Damn it, my lady, I think we took a wrong turn,” Gondrial lied.

“Indeed, perhaps if we retrace our steps we will have better luck,” Lady Shey said, taking a step toward the open archway ahead. “Run, Gondrial!”

The two ran in opposite directions as the stunned guards bolted after them. Gondrial managed to trick the guard at the doorway and escape into the night. Lady Shey made it through the archway and into the palace.

“Summon the hounds!” bellowed a guard.

Gondrial saw a hedge with a terrace reaching up to a second floor window. Thinking it easier to get inside the palace than to run to the gate, he deftly climbed the terrace, narrowly escaping capture by a searching guard close on his trail.

Lady Shey slipped into a hallway located on the first floor and into a small room. Undiscovered, she waited patiently in the darkness until she could hear no activity outdoors or in the hallway before she slowly began to move about the room, looking for another side door. After a few moments, she held up her hand and let out a puff of breath, which formed into a soft, glowing ball hovering over her palm. Being careful not to let the light of the ball grow too bright, she shaded it in her palm, allowing it to become just bright enough for her to see her surroundings more clearly. She apparently had stumbled into a small, unfurnished anteroom. It was grey, dark, and devoid of anything but dust, a small window, and a side door. Lady Shey tried the side door and found it locked. She whispered a few words, and the lock gave an audible click as it gave way. Slowly Lady Shey moved her head out of the doorway and peered both ways. It was another hallway. Not a soul stirred, so she ventured out of the anteroom. The sconces lining the hallway were mostly unlit, and the rest glowed dimly. The small globe of light she carried gave way, and she dropped her hand to her side. She tried, but she could barely make out the patterns and mosaics on the tapestries lining the walls. Lady Shey could see a small oblong table with unlit candles in the shadows at the end of the hall. At the left end of the same hall was a set of double doors. She stepped out of the anteroom and tiptoed down the hall. She slowly pushed the two wooden doors open. By dumb luck she had stumbled upon the very room she was trying to find, the library.

The king of Symboria’s library was a marvel to behold; the shelves of books lined two floors top to bottom with a spiral staircase on either side of the room. The woodwork of the room, crafted by Sylvan elves, was intricate and sleek. In the center of the room, a grand wooden table stood for the king to sit at and read. Several divans, covered in rich, red velvet with silk throw pillows, lined the rows between the bookshelves on both sides of the library. Six sconces lit the room with a soft yellow glow. Lady Shey knew approximately where the book she searched for was located, and she wasted no time making her way across the library to find it. It took only moments for her to locate the silver-bound volume, and she carefully removed it from its resting place on the shelf.

“Damn,” she cursed to herself. “I forgot to check it for incantations! Careless of me.” She exited back into the hallway and held the book to her chest. As she headed back toward the anteroom, she heard the alarm sound outside in the courtyard. The guards were searching near her location. The situation had become more serious now. Lady Shey had to find a way out undetected. As the guards rushed around the interior of the castle, she exited through the anteroom window and slipped out of the unguarded side gate. Now safely in the streets, her thoughts reached out to Gondrial. She hoped he would try to escape and not try to get to the library on his own. She paused behind a shop to find out. She spoke a few words, and soon her mind’s eye raced back to the palace and directly to Gondrial. Lady Shey watched in horror as he kissed the queen deeply on the lips and exited her chamber, putting back on his button-down shirt in the process. The doorway to the king’s room across the hall burst open, and the king himself stepped out just in time to see Gondrial running down the hall. Infuriated, Lady Shey let the incantation die. “Let him get caught, the fool! I hope he does get caught and beheaded!” she huffed. “I was actually worried about him while he was safe and sound in the queen’s chamber. I am a dupe.” Not knowing if she was angry with Gondrial or with herself for caring, Lady Shey ran toward the inn with the book.