Greyrawk (Book 2) (13 page)

Greyrawk's blood dripped on the black stone, the Celaeri and shadowy creatures rushed forward. The first ones touched the stone and then backed away to allow another to have a chance to touch the sacred stone. The Celaeri who appeared transparent now became solid and Greyrawk could hear their voices, first faint, then growing in volume. The sounds had been murmurs, unintelligible, but now clear and urgent. More figures crowded around the stone. Jerue Adan seemed to grow in size to a muscular fighting man adorned in armor and a curved sword hung at his side. On his head was a crown wrought of silver with an emerald stone setting and gold laced in the band. This was the king of the Celaeri.

Greyrawk felt arms hug him from behind and he turned to Ioane Adan who stepped back so he could see her.

Ioane's face was fuller and her cheeks rosy. She was no longer the lithe beauty he had met on Greyrawk Mountain. She was voluptuous and his heart quickened. Greyrawk reached for her to kiss her.

"You are so beautiful."

She smiled at him and pulled him to her. The noise of the celebration caused them to shout to each other. Ioane took his hands and starting dancing.

"Feel the power returning, my friends!" cried Jerue Adan. "Come out of the shadow and walk in the sun again."

Celaeri stepped forward as did Vlakan. Greyrawk puzzled at the Vlakan who were no longer dark, but becoming Celaeri. The shadows melted from the Vlakan and they stood tall and the sun shone on their pale blue skin. He saw flashes of copper, gold and silver as their hair bathed in sunlight. They were creatures no longer and they scampered, danced and sang with voices of nightingales. Greyrawk was a little light headed so he sat upon the grass and watched the joyous Celaeri behave as children on the first day of spring. He knew he had done the right thing by coming here. He saw a tall Celaeri but he wasn't full blood. The man was taller than the other Celaeri, his black hair extremely long and his hands glowed with magic. Jerue Adan patted the man on the shoulder.

Greyrawk was tired and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright. The Celaeri howled with rage and terror. Some were fading away, others darkened as the shadow overcame them.

"What happened?" asked Greyrawk. The tall man grinned at him.

"The stone is not regenerated fully," said Lockwell. "I expected it might be the case." He walked to Jerue Adan and whispered to him. Then he returned to Greyrawk and nodded to Ioane Adan.

Ioane grabbed Greyrawk's wrist once more.

"Don't worry love, just a bit more." She drew the dagger across the veins, the blade digging deeper. Greyrawk inhaled sharply as the blood dripped on the stone. This time the blood did not seep into the black stone; it rolled off onto the ground. The Celaeri cries of dismay rose to the heavens and they tore at their clothes and gnashed their teeth. Finally, Jerue Adan let loose a howl of pain and anger. He struck several of his people, rolling them in the dust. He raged at the sky and turned to Greyrawk with flashing eyes. He rushed forward his hands outstretched like talons on a hawk. Ioane Adan stepped in front of him to block the path to Greyrawk. Jerue Adan cried out and raised his hand to strike her. Lockwell grabbed Jerue Adan from behind.

"Do not undo what we have done," said Lockwell. "The fault is not the blood, but the bones of the earth. They have been dry too long. You should have brought his father here in his youth."

"We did not fully understand our peril then. I have not led us to ruin by choice! And you, half breed, do not touch my person again."

"Peace, Jerue Adan," said Ioane Adan, leading him away from Lockwell. "Your people await your command."

Jerue Adan looked at his daughter and nodded. He exhaled, throwing back his shoulders and called to the Celaeri.

"We must return to our old home," said Jerue Adan. "The potency of our stones are fading, they cannot hold the blood. Only the Mother Stone can save us. We shall leave tonight."

"Do we have enough strength to defeat the Men?" asked Ioane Adan.

"If we wait, our strength lessens. Without the Mother Stone our strength will never be greater as it is at this moment." Jerue Adan signaled his lieutenants to come to him. Six Celaeri wearing full ornate armor with wings on their shoulders approached and bowed.

"Go to the Mother Stone and protect it. Kill any who approach. We shall arrive by dawn on the second day." The six saluted and hurried to their horses.

"Come!" called Jerue Adan to the Celaeri. "We must travel to Adan's Hill. The Mother Stone will bring us back to the light. We shall have the way prepared for us. We ride through the night and the dawn. We shall be the roar of the rushing wind and our passing shall bend the light to twilight and we shall not be seen."

Celaeri mounted their horses; the Vlakan and faded ones fell back into the darkness. The host began to move.

"Ioane, I'm a little dizzy," said Greyrawk. "I think I've seen happy faces and angry faces, and I'm not sure which I should be seeing."

"Be strong, love," said Ioane Adan. "You must complete the journey to Adan's Hill or all is lost. There you will be able to rest. But the fate of the Celaeri rests in you."

"Rest, rest. Why do we go now? Can't I rest here?"

Ioane Adan grabbed Greyrawk by the shoulders and shook him hard. Her eyes were cold and she spoke through clenched teeth.

"No, my love. The power of our stones is not what it once was. We must return to the original stone, the one from which the seven stones had been cut. We must return soon for the last stone fades quickly."

"I won't be strong enough to endure another incantation. I've lost so much blood already."

"Do not worry," said Ioane Adan. "You shall be fed fruits and wine to replenish you. You shall be able to fulfill your part of the Celaeri rebirth. I promise you that." She hoisted him on his horse and tied him to it. She glanced at Jerue Adan who nodded. She took the reins to Greyrawk's horse and led him down the trail. The Celaeri trailed behind, some were fully flesh, but most were specters, floating over the earth in pursuit of Jerue Adan and his promise of salvation.

She drew her horse near Jerue Adan.

"You are worried?" he asked.

"Greyrawk is very weak. The Mother Stone will require much blood. It hasn't been fed in eons. It was unresponsive the last time I checked it."

"If he dies, he dies. Ioane, does Greyrawk appeal to you? Is his fate important to you? He is mostly Men and not worth our concern."

"My concern is not for him, but he is the last Greyrawk."

"Ah, not the last," said Jerue Adan. "No, not the last. Much of my power has returned and I can see great distances again. Broad vistas are open to me again and my heart beats strong. Greyrawk has children across the sea. If he cannot fully restore us with his own blood, we shall fetch his children here. We shall be restored enough to walk in the light if not at full strength.

"We will have the bloodline renewed. Fear not, my child, Greyrawk's Men children shall provide for us. Even as we speak his woman comes to us bearing a new child. Is that not destiny as the Men call it?" He hissed in laughter.

"What can we do?" asked Brandalay. They hid back in the trees beyond the light of the fire. The Celaeri were so attentive to the failing stones that Brandalay and Alarie Skye were not noticed. They waited silently until Jerue Adan began his departure.

"I did not expect the stones to fail," said Alarie Skye. "That will help us. The journey to Adan's Hill will be hard on many of them, those only partially crossed over, especially when the sun rises."

"You look beautiful, I mean you look healthier."

"Yes, thank you for noticing. Why is your face red? Are you ill?"

"Ah, no. It will pass quickly. No cause for alarm. But if we can find a way to stop them won't that be bad for you? If they don't use the Mother Stone? Or are you completely here with me now?"

"I am completely here. But the Mother Stone is connected to all the Celaeri. Yes, Tarlac, it will be bad for me. I will probably die in forty or fifty years if the Mother Stone is not revived."

"That long?"

"It's only a whisper of time for me. I see flickers of your thoughts. Yes, I could spend that time with you, but in the end it will be bitter for I am still a young Celaeri, perhaps what you call a teenager. I would never experience all life has to offer me. Alas, it may be my fate, but I cannot allow another race to be enslaved. I have not nursed vengeance for centuries as Jerue Adan. Come, let us ride. Perhaps we can overcome the advance riders and keep Jerue Adan from the Mother Stone."

"There are six riders and only two of us."

"Are you not a warrior? Let us find a use for that sword."

They rode wide of the route Jerue Adan was riding and disappeared in the mists.

"Stay close," yelled Alarie Skye. "This is still the Black Heath."

"I am well aware of that," said Brandalay.

They streaked past shapes and shadows that Brandalay did not want to see. He kept his attention on the path ahead and staying with his companion. The mists swirled around him, confusing his sense of direction and time. Despite the chill air, Brandalay was covered with sweat by the time they rode out of the mists and the Black Heath onto the fields and farmlands of Cresida.

"We shall ride directly to Adan's Hill and hope to arrive on the heels of the riders. We may draw close before they realize what we are about."

"I didn't notice if they had bows."

"No, they are the Taryi, the lieutenants of Jerue Adan. They fight only with a short sword and a mace. The absence of bows does not make our task easier. The Taryi are fierce fighters who will give their life for their duty."

"That's what Jerue Adan said about you," said Brandalay.

She looked at him then back to their destination.

"Be careful as we approach, one may remain behind the others as a first sentry. When we pass that rise, let me go ahead. Approach slowly and mark their locations if you can."

The trees sprouted up from the earth as they neared Adan's Hill. To Brandalay it would always be Greyrawk Mountain and he had a slight hesitation as he processed Alarie's words. Adan's Hill was ringed with trees and the underbrush had grown thick since the Hill was occupied. Even the path that he and Greyrawk had climbed was overgrown and that was the only way up. Greyrawk's horse took a beating when he rode up the path to escape his pursuers. Brandalay guessed there must have been an escape route when the castle was occupied but the ruins and the brambles did not reveal their secrets.

Alarie Skye rode directly for the path and two Celaeri stepped out to meet her. As the Warlord of the Celaeri she demanded respect from the Taryi and they did bow their heads to her. Then they raised their weapons. Brandalay spurred his horse into action.

Alarie Skye roared her battle cry and raised her spear. She spurred forward, driving the point toward her target. The Taryi stepped back trying to block the spear with his mace while undercutting with his short sword. The spear did not allow him the reach he needed and the force of the blow drove him off his horse. The second Taryi managed a glancing blow to her head with his mace that jolted Alarie off her horse. She fell limply to the ground.

Brandalay sliced the sword hand of the Taryi completely off and finished him with a backhand blow, severing the Taryi's neck. The second Taryi rode to meet him even as Brandalay noticed a third Taryi coming down the path.

Brandalay drove his sword through the neck of the Taryi and picked up the dropped mace, raising it in time to block the blow he sensed coming his way from the third Taryi. He kicked the Taryi's shin and brought the mace upward breaking the Taryi's nose. A finishing thrust killed his opponent. Three Taryi dead and Alarie lay where she had fallen. He brushed back her bloody hair. Her breathing was strong.

Brandalay lifted her to her horse and mounted his horse. He rode around Adan's Hill and headed south. There were three more Taryi somewhere on the hill and Brandalay did not like his chances against them alone. There would be no surprise this time. He would go back to Gornst and consult with Arenna Aruk. He did not want to be where Jerue Adan could find him. He remembered the rage of the Celaeri king when the stone failed.

Brandalay finally stopped several miles from Adan's Hill. There was no sign of pursuit and he needed to see to Alarie's wounds before continuing on to Gornst. She was unconscious as he gently laid her under a tree. The blow to her head wasn't as bad as he feared once he wiped away the blood. In fact, it didn't appear to be life threatening. He cleaned the wound and wrapped it and sat back to think about their situation.

He heard the riders coming his way and readied his sword. But they came from the south, not Adan's Hill. One appeared to be a fat merchant and the other was a fighting man with coloring similar to Celaeri. Brandalay tensed himself as they rode by. Abruptly, the fighting man turned toward him and smiled.

"Good day, my fellow. You aren't intending that sword for our necks are you?"

"Depends," said Brandalay. "You are Celaeri?"

"Ah, they are familiar to you? I have Celaeri blood, but I am not Celaeri. They do not trust half-caste. But what of you? Why do you lurk here?"

"I have my reasons. Where do you go?"

"Now, how am I to answer you, if you don't answer me? Let's start with names. This wizard is Dvorak Annis and I am Loric Greyrawk."

"Greyrawk? Are you part of the Greyrawks that once ruled these lands?"

"Distantly. Who are you?"

"Name's Brandalay. I'm a sell sword."

"Ah, I have done that myself a time or time. We are part of the Talos Company and since you know of Celaeri you can answer my questions. Have you seen Celaeri and where?"

"They are heading for Greyrawk Mountain. The whole bunch of them."

"They are going to reclaim it, then. We might be too late."

"We were. We tried to beat them there and destroy some magic stone so they couldn't complete their spell to return to this world. But there were too many Celaeri."

"Who are we?"

"My companion is one of the Celaeri. She does not believe in their leader's cause."