The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (31 page)

Ardin picked himself up slowly, trying to keep from waking Shill. As much as he wanted to trust the old soldier, he found that he didn't truly. Something told him it was wise not to, even beyond Hevetican's warnings.

He walked back over a low rise, picking his way carefully among the low foliage and strange trees. The terrain was similar to where he and Cid had first met Rain.
We must be getting close to Cid's road inland,
Ardin thought as he ducked under a low tree branch. It wasn't difficult for him to see, his eyes already adjusted to the darkness and augmented subconsciously by the warmth. He smiled to think of his friend.
I wish he was still here.

He walked down and through a draw, knowing instinctively where he was to go. As he came around another cluster of trees, he saw the gentle white glow emanating out as if through rippling water.
The Brethren.

“
Ardin.”
Tristram looked up as he entered the clearing.
“
We have much to discuss.”

There were three of them, Ardin realized. He had never met the third. “I'm Ardin,” he said dumbly, uncertain of how to approach one of these things for the first time. Every time previous to this, they had simply thrust their presence upon him.

“
I know.”
The voice was deeper than Tristram's, wiser somehow.
“
I am Oscilian. You have already met Ishtel, I believe.”

He gestured towards the big dark one, who simply nodded in response.

“
There is much happening right now, Ardin. Too much, in fact, for us to make full account of at present. All of us will be needed in the north, and soon. You are to make for Krakador, his fortress in the Desert Mountains. It is there you will again meet the Renaults and their army.”

“
What's in Krakador? Is that where he's hiding?”

“
We believe so,”
Tristram spoke up.
“
But we are yet uncertain. What draws him there is an even greater mystery, some weapon that he was forging long before we defeated and imprisoned him. We were never able to discover it afterward, nor do we know its purpose.”

“
It is the reason that we were able to defeat him in the first place.”
Oscilian's tone seemed resigned.
“
He has poured so much of himself into this thing that it has kept him from growing as strong as he well could have. He was stronger than us, but the Magi made up the difference. Whatever strength in the realm of the spirit he has gathered has been stored and spent on this weapon. It is why we could overcome him, even in our divided deficit of strength.”

“
So this weapon, whatever it is, that's what you're after?”

“
In essence,”
Tristram nodded.
“
We do not know if he is there, but it is difficult to imagine that he has left it unguarded. His obsession with it will be his undoing yet again, so long as he does not bring it to completion and turn it against us.”

“
He cannot lead his attack on Veria, yet the time is ripe for just that. His plans are progressing too quickly even for him, which means that your people will stand a fighting chance.”

“
The forces of Islenda move against him now in the barren wastes.”
Oscilian looked to the north.
“
Soon they will arrive in the Desert Mountains. It is our intent to find a path for them to take to Krakador, and to face the Relequim should he rear his head. It is there that we are needed, and where we fight the Relequim. That is all we shall do, and you shall be needed as well.”

“
What exactly do you think I can accomplish against him?” Ardin felt anxiety prickling at his chest. “I've already faced him once; he nearly killed me, and he wasn't even technically in the same room!”

“
You will not need to face him directly, Ardin.”
Tristram put a massive gloved hand on Ardin's shoulder. Somehow he could sense the weight of it, even though it was as light as silk to the touch.
“
You need only support us in our fight.”

“
But how?” Ardin looked from one to the other. “How do you expect me to even know where to begin in a fight like that?”

“
Your bond with the Atmosphere is now greater than any that has been before available to you, or even to Charsi. You will be of great help against the Relequim.”
If Tristram had had a face, Ardin was sure it would be smiling.
“
You have already discovered how to effectively fight and destroy dragons, have you not? Onyx dragons, no less.”

“
Dragons and Demons seem to be a bit different both in scale and in threat.”

“
True,”
Oscilian nodded.
“
But you faced them on your own. You had no training, you had no more time to prepare than the moments before they arrived, and yet you overcame them.”

“
You were watching?”

“
We are aware of much, Ardin, even should we not be present. This concept is not foreign to you, aware as you are of the world around you, though you fear to explore beyond yourself at present.”

Tristram removed his hand and drifted back a pace. “
You must not let your fear of him paralyze you, Ardin. You have become stronger than he knows. You will have to stand against him and fight, like you did against his winged beasts. We, too, have a horrible burden to bear, and like you, our fight will not be easy.”

“
But he'll break in,” Ardin said. “If I try to reach out, I'm afraid...”

“
There is nothing to fear from the Relequim, Ardin. Not in that. He will do his best to terrify you, and he will try to break into your mind, but unless you are compromised or you invite him in, he will not be able to enter.”

“
How can you be so certain?” Ardin asked.

“
He did manage it, though only once before, with a Mage who was considerably weaker than yourself.”
Oscilian's voice was calming.
“
You are safe. Now the Relequim moves on his second front, and that will ease our burden in the fight to come. He has been undermining the defenses of Veria for some time, and I fear that he is poised to strike.”

“
How is he undermining the defenses? He's not even over there.”

Tristram looked towards the east as he spoke. “
The Relequim's greatest strength has not been in war, but in deception and corruption. For many years his influence has grown in various places, but none so powerfully as in Elandir and Liscentia. Liscentia was where he put
MARD
into the hands of men who could learn to maximize its potential. And Elandir was where the soldiers were trained to put it to use. Politicians, soldiers, and men from nearly every walk of life have been corrupted by him, whether or not they are aware.

“
To most, their motives seem of utter purity and their goals of the highest good. But the methods they are influenced to use and the collateral damage of their success rarely leads to anything but destruction and death.”

“
You're talking about the Purge?” Ardin still didn't know much about it himself.

There was a tension released in the air as if all three warriors had sighed in unison. Tristram's shoulders almost looked like they had drooped momentarily.
“
The Purge was one of the greatest catastrophes to result from his undermining influence, yes. Our ignorance of his movements only compounded the effect it would have. But his influence is pervading again, and if he has his way, he will open the doors to enter Veria with minimal effort and instead spend his energies on laying the entire continent to waste. They may not even know or believe he is coming until he is already there.”

“
Then you have to do something!” Ardin looked from one impassive, faceless figure to the next, each saying “no” without uttering a word. He never thought they would let the Demon's forces attack Veria outright. “You can't just let him invade unopposed! You have to intervene!”

Oscilian shook his head.
“
This is the one chance we will have to advance on Krakador while the majority of his strength is elsewhere, Ardin. We must take this opportunity and destroy his work, or risk losing everything should he complete it. He will not be distracted this time, so we must place our hope in a quick and decisive confrontation.”

Tristram nodded in agreement. “
There is no reason he would risk everything he has unless what he is building can swing the pendulum definitively in his favor. Thus, there is no reason for us to focus on anything but destroying what he is making.”

“
But what if you're wrong?” Ardin's fear for his own people only grew with every word they said. “What if this thing is just a diversion, and we lose everything anyway?”

“
It is no diversion, Ardin; it is his obsession. Centuries of work have gone into its creation, and the ripples we feel in the power structure of the world tell us that it is near completion. We must destroy him, and we must destroy it, or all is lost. You are to join the Renaults, help them swing the tide of their battle, and join us in our fight against the Relequim. We will deal with his weapon once he is destroyed.”

“
The hope of Veria is their unity.”
Tristram's voice took on a dubious tone.
“
If they stand united against the Relequim, they can succeed in repelling his attack. It is that hope we must rely on, Ardin, for they are beyond our help now.”

A
NDERS
K
EATON DIDN'T WANT TO GO INTO THIS FIGHT BLIND, BUT THERE WAS NO REAL CHANCE OF DOING IT ANY OTHER WAY
. They were running out of options, barreling towards the finish line and hoping they didn't crash before they crossed. He would have to trust that Phelts could mark Merodach as promised. Now they were in a race to beat Merodach to a destination he had already set out for.

The military trucks they had commandeered wouldn't stand out on the road, nor near the bulk of the army, but they weren't the fastest mode of transportation either. It didn't help that it had taken them the better part of the day just to retrieve them. As for routes, they didn't have a lot of options beyond the main highway to Liscentia as speed was their priority, but thankfully the darkness of night would only help.

“
Did Phelts' source have any idea when Merodach would be walking the harbor's defenses?” Keaton asked as he flipped through maps in the passenger's seat with a small light.

“
Grimes said it would be soon, but the guy had no real idea,” Saltman said as he checked his speed. “I'm guessing it won't be immediately, but I think he's right; it'll be soon. I don't know how closely they'll follow protocol on this, because Merodach hardly ever does anything outside the walls, but he should do two passes. One with the brass to plan their deployment, and a second when the troops are in place to boost morale.”

Keaton looked sideways at Saltman. “It'd be nice to hit him when there aren't a couple thousand soldiers around.”

Saltman laughed. “I thought you were gonna ask how Merodach's presence could boost morale.”

“
I almost dare to hope that killing him in front of them would do just that.”

“
Feel free to stick around and find out.” Saltman grinned in the dark. “I'll be nowhere near the bunch of morons that let a Mayor die in their presence, at least not right after it happens. Odds are there'll be some serious violence that follows.”

“
It'll be the best spot to hit him, at least for what options we're aware of at the moment. Let's hope we can do it when it's just the brass.”

“
Yeah,” Saltman agreed. “But what's better is that Merodach won't see it coming. Phelts said Merodach made some speech, declaring he was hard at work in his offices. Not bothered by the lack of security and all that. He thinks we'll try and hit him there while he's gone, the coward.”

“
Slow down, would you?” Keaton put his light away and straightened up in his seat. “There are more trucks ahead.”

Saltman dropped a gear as he slowed his approach, the trucks ahead numbering in the dozens. “It's a convoy,” he said as he pulled out to pass them.

“
You're going to pass them?”

“
Well I'm not sticking around long enough for them to block the road and ask who we are.” Saltman accelerated as he came around the first truck. “For all they know we're just bringing supplies to the front.”

“
For all we know, someone in that convoy has a good working knowledge of who is moving to the front and when.”

“
Well...” Saltman gave Keaton a glance and a shrug. “I guess we'll find out.”

There were nearly thirty trucks that they passed, lumbering south at a relatively slow pace. Keaton could make out soldiers sitting in the beds of the trucks, but the cabs were too dark to see anything. At least it was a relief to know that he was equally invisible. These trucks were very clearly from Selton, the purple chevrons of the Western Battalion on their doors and tailgates. Keaton's truck was covered and marked with the long, red Elandrian star.