Under the Shadow of Darkness: Book 1 of the Apprentice Series (12 page)

A voice rang out from an opening above, “Halt! Who approaches?”

Nes’egrinon held out his arms and motioned for them to stop. “I am Nes’egrinon, mage of the western forest, with me are my two assistants. We seek refuge and shelter.”

“Hold.”

As they waited, Bel studied the fortress. It was lit up with torchlights all around, but the surrounding mountains were quite dark. He found that odd and thought that they would have wanted light surrounding them so that their archers could see their targets if need be. As it was only the castle was lit. Bel turned around and looked back up at the path they just descended and it was pitch black. He knew Muolithnon was there but he could not see him. The Protolith sentries wouldn’t be able to either. Somehow he was not comforted by that fact as that also meant that they could be surrounded by ghoul-kind tucked into and behind the nooks and crevices of the large boulders and no one would be the wiser.

“Step forward and wait,” the sentry hollered out.

The three said nothing and walked into the light and across the open field. After walking by the light of a single torch for so long, the three found the light of thousands of torches to be blinding; they squinted their eyes to slits as they approached. Bel was nervous and did not want to look up at the archers that had their bead on them. They stopped in front of a large wooden door which had a smaller door inlaid into it. The smaller door opened and the sentry said, “Proceed.”

They each stepped through the smaller door into a caged area. The door closed behind them mechanically. On the other side of the cage was a group of soldiers looking them over. One said, “What business do you have here, wood-mage?”

Kerlith stepped forward, “Alexius, it is I, Kerlith, apprentice to Master Muolithnon, the wizard of these lands. You remember me, don’t you?”

“Aye. Kerlith, it is good to see you here. We have been without anyone of decent magical ability for a time. A lot has happened since you and your master left these parts some weeks ago. We are at our wits end. So you brought a forest-mage with you, ay? What has become of your master?”

Kerlith looked at the floor. “He does not live.”

“Aye. I suspected as much when I did not see him at your side. It is a hard time for all of us and I am sorry to hear this. Forest mage, my apologies for keeping you in this cage but please, let me call the king and I will be right back with his word of release.” The head guard quickly trotted away. The other guards stood silent as it was not in the stone people’s nature to take to much talking but they did seem glad to see that people of magic were about.

Alexius returned and unlocked the cage, saying, “Sorry for the delay. No one knows what is day or night anymore. The king was in his bed. I will take you to clean yourselves and let you make yourselves presentable and then to see the king. He would like word of your journey and the things you have seen.” Bel thought that it might be a long time before he would be able to sleep and the idea drained him.

The guard led the three down several unlit, damp and slimy hallways. The Keep felt like a dungeon which was unpleasant for Bel who had only known the wide openness of the ocean and the embrace of the trees in the forest. He felt as if the large, cut stones forming the walls and ceiling were bearing down on him. When they reached the door to a room, Bel unconsciously placed his hand on the wood and caressed it. Nes’egrinon looked at him and said, “I know. I feel it to. It will pass.”

Kerlith, not understanding, said, “Feel what?” but no one answered him and they all went into the room and began disrobing, bathing and cleaning themselves. The room was small but nicely appointed and in the corner was a mirror, which struck them all as odd. Bel thought the room must only be for visiting royalty. He looked at himself in it and saw a grim, dirty, gaunt face staring back. He knew who it was but somehow could not believe that in such a short time he could degrade so quickly. After they washed themselves and knocked the majority of the dust and grime off of their clothing they put their clothes back on and opened the door.

Alexius said, “Follow me.”

The long hallway led to a chamber with two more guards and a door. Passing through the door, they entered a large open room with a cathedral ceiling made of intricate crystal glasswork. Kerlith seemed to glow in there. At the end of the room was the king’s chair but he did not sit in it; he stood nearby looking out of an open window into the darkness. Nes’egrinon stopped about three paces away and waited.

The king did not turn from his dark view but said, “My name is Luthgar. Welcome, mage of the forest. Our peoples of recent times have been on peaceful terms and with what is now happening now I can only assume that this situation is what has drawn you from your forest?”

“Yes, good king. My name is Nes’egrinon and you speak correctly. My people have been afflicted by this darkness just as yours have here and we intend to continue on to its source. We will try to stop it. We request whatever aid you can provide us.”

“Yes, yes. Alexius, see to it.” The king turned and looked at them. “Kerlith I know and have met. Yes, you look quite haggard young apprentice. I am sorry to hear that our mage is not with the living. Is it so?”

Kerlith said, “Aye, it is so.”

The king spoke, “It is a sad day when we lose one such as him. When this is over we will mourn him properly. I suppose that he is about? Like the others?”

Kerlith started but Nes’egrinon spoke first, “In this eternal darkness the dead do not stay dead. It is beyond understanding. He is dead, yet he walks about. He is a ghoul, like the others. Have you had many attacks of ghoul-kind here in this grand fortress?”

“Aye. More than you know. On a typical day our gates are open and welcoming. People come and go from the quarries and village traders enter, as they like. On the first day of the darkness… Day, huh, I still use that term but somehow it has become foreign to me. No matter. On the first day, the morning light was bright and lively as it always is, then, suddenly, it was as if someone was blotting out the noonday sun and a sort of twilight came over the land. Everyone thought it to be a storm a coming so the people pulled in the carts and trailers to be covered. In retrospect we should have known something was awry because there were no clouds. No rain came. No harsh wind came. The sun was just… gone. The next day, the stars left us and that is when the ghoul-kind flooded into the valley.”

Kerlith said, “Sounds like there were lots of them.”

“A lot? Thousands. They came in, some so oddly dressed that our sentries did not know what to make of it and did not sound an alarm or close the gates. They carried no weapons; they did not seem threatening. Most of them just meandered around babbling about being hungry. We tried to feed them thinking that they were the peoples of some yet undiscovered land that must have suffered some cataclysmic hardship for such a large number of them to show up all at once like that. Their skin was gray, sure, so we thought that they were from afar. We had no idea they were ghoul-kind.”

“I see,” Nes’egrinon replied.

“They wouldn’t eat anything we put before them: grain meal, fruits or vegetables. Even water they would not drink! Then, after these people, many who were already inside our gates, began to ask for blood my people became quite nervous. They could not understand what manner of people these were who constantly complained of being hungry, refused to eat then asked to only drink blood. No. It was insanity upon insanity. Then one of them bit one of the maids.”

“Sounds like a bad situation, King Luthgar,” Nes’egrinon said.

“Aye. Don’t get me wrong. Most of the ghoul-kind don’t attack. They just mill around in a kind of stupor, complain of their hunger and ask for blood. Pretty harmless actually. But some few of them—a small group, really—were quite aggressive and bit some of my people.”

“Yes, yes. We have had some dealings with some such as these as well. How did you handle it?” Nes’egrinon replied.

“The guards pushed them out with sword and spear, out into the outer court yard and then out into the approach valley. Many continued to wander off into the mountains. Some did not want to leave though and then a handful of them attacked my men. They had no recourse but to defend themselves. They cut them. They hit them with their swords. Then the oddest thing happened. One of the ghoul’s arms was cut off but no blood came out. The dead man bent down, picked up the arm and began to swing it like a sort of a club. At that sight some of my men ran to the court and secured the inner gate. It was then that we knew they were ghoul-kind.”

“That’s a bad way to find out such a truth. Did you lose many to their poison?” the wizard said.

The king continued, “Aye. Pretty much all the people in the outer ring. And the maid who was first bitten. I watched her go. But it wasn’t long. When she rose up after she died it gave us quite a start. But she was a soft soul. She asked to go out and we let her down the wall.”

“And the rest?” the old mage asked.

“They tried to gain access but it did not take long for us to realize that fire was our best weapon against them. Hot oil and fire. We waited many days before the majority moved on. The small bands of stragglers were harder to deal with.”

“Oh? Really?” Nes’egrinon said as he furrowed his brow. Bel did not know the mannerisms of the old man well but he knew that something was troubling him. Perhaps his master thought the king was hiding something. Bel felt it too. He was well trained in the magic of discerning speech. It is much more than reading body language or facial expressions but being able to see the metaphysical source of a person’s words. He closed his eyes and began to focus himself on the king, blocking out everything else around him.

“Aye. The foreigners, the long dead, the people not of this land moved on quickly. The ones who stayed behind were the recently dead from the Keep, my people, the people who we had so recently saw, spoke and ate with; children, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. It was very difficult.”

“How did you get them to leave?” Kerlith asked.

“We tried all manner of things but in the end, I spoke to them. I asked them to leave. I told them who they were. Somehow, they could not stand to hear it, to hear the truth.”

 The wizard said, “I see. And then you were able to secure the outer courts and the gates. And no attacks since?”

The king replied somberly, “Not even any sightings of ghoul-kind in some few days. But still this night does not leave us. We were not sure what you were when you approached.”

“I see,” Nes’egrinon said but his mind seemed suddenly elsewhere as if he was pondering a riddle.

The king asked, “And you, my forest mage guest, you have traveled far. Tell me of what you have seen in your journey. Does this darkness spread over all the lands?”

Nes’egrinon told the king of how the darkness appeared in the forest, the visit of Muolithnon and their travels and many battles with the ghoul-kind. He told them that he intended to find its source and either close the breach himself or call more wizards to his aid. He tried to sound as confident as possible as if the situation was completely under control. He continued, “So it appears that we are heading in the right direction as master Muolithnon reported experiencing the darkness and the ghoul-kind long before it reached my forest. By the way, have any other wizards passed through here before us?”

The king answered quickly, “No, you are the first.” He then returned to his window and said, “My father before me ruled this land and his father before him. Twelve generations back we go, keeping this land, watching over it and caring for this people. All the while we have always taken council of the magical folk, as that is our way. Seers, mage folk like yourselves, and others who might give us a little wisdom or insight into the comings and goings of the lands and peoples around us and perhaps even into the depths of what is to come. But this. No. Not one of them warned us of this. Here, at Protolith, we are losing confidence in the ways of magic. Do you really think you will be able to stop this?”

“King Luthgar, I thank you for your honesty so I will be honest in return. I don’t know. All I can do is go and see. Try to discover the source of this phenomenon. Maybe we can do nothing. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of the world. I do not know what will come but all I can do is try.”

The room was silent for a long time so Nes’egrinon said, “Very well. If you have no further questions, it has been quite a long journey. I ask your leave, your majesty.”

“Yes, yes. Go. Rest. Alexius, please see that our guests are well fed and their room has all they require.”

The group followed Alexius back out through the narrow corridors. As they walked Bel desperately wished to ask his master about the words the king said and what he felt about them. He wanted to know what his master thought and if he also felt that the king was hiding something and if so, what and why. But he knew the walls had ears here. All castles did. There would be no way they could have an open conversation in these halls or rooms. He would have to wait until they left and maybe then it would be too late. He was also tired, extremely tired, and really wanted to be in bed.

They entered a small dining hall and ate some bread with soup and a few pieces of fruit. Kerlith ate the fruit eagerly and said that unlike the Greenlands it was a delicacy here. They ate mostly in silence. After their quick meal, they were led back to the room and then fell asleep quickly. Bel did not sleep well as the one-armed boy invaded his dreams.

The next day Bel was awakened by Kerlith who always made too much noise. His master was already up also and cleaning himself. Bel rose and while he packed his sack asked, “Master, do we continue on today?”

“I want to get this over with as soon as possible. Yes, we go today. Kerlith, you have a few hours to decide if you will be accompanying us.”

The apprentice replied, “I won’t need any more time. I’m coming with you.”

“Fine. Just make sure you’re coming for the right reason. This isn’t going to be about vengeance, you know. I just want to get this breach closed.”