Forever Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 3) (25 page)

“Sir Marik,” one of the guards said in greeting.

Marik turned to him.  He had once been a squire training to become a knight.  Although he continued to train hard, he would never become a knight.  He would have to settle for simply being a city guardsman of Karmon. “You can drop the Sir,” Marik said.  “Such a title no longer exists.”

“Yes, of course,” the guard replied.  “Why are you up here in the cold?  You are missing out on the festivities.”

“Although dancing with young maidens would be a delight, I find the atmosphere down there to be a bit…well, I guess stuffy would be the right word.”

“But I have seen some of the maidens from across the kingdom.  One dance with them would be worth all that stuffiness!”

Marik laughed.  “Yes, but you are young!  Old men like myself can only dream of such things.”

The guard laughed as well.  “You are not so old!”

“Tell that to may aching bones.  It is cold nights like this that make me feel even older.”

“Then why are you really up here?  Could you not find yourself a nice warm fire to sit by?”

“Once a soldier, always a soldier,” Marik replied.  “The most important people in all the kingdom are dancing away below our feet.  I guess I wanted to make sure that all was well.”

The guard turned to look out upon the city as he thought Marik was.  After a moment, he said, “The city is beautiful under the clear sky.”

“Indeed it is,” Marik said.  But his eyes were not upon the city, they were upon the darkness far beyond.  He suddenly straightened up.

The guard, sensing that something was wrong, asked, “What is it?”

Marik remained silent for a moment, his eyes continuing to scan the darkness.  “Look beyond the city,” he asked.  “What do you see?”

The guard looked as asked, but shook his head.  “I see nothing, really.  It is so dark that I can hardly see the trees in the forest.”

“Watch more closely.”  Marik pointed to the northeast where the forests came to an end a few miles from the city gates.  “Take your time and be patient.  Keep looking at the same spot.”

The guard did as asked, his breathing slowing to that which he would use in combat.  After several minutes of staring at one spot, he suddenly exclaimed, “What?  What was that?”

“What did you see?” Marik asked.

“A light that flashed on and off.  And it looked like the forest was moving, too.”

“Yes.  What do you suppose that is?”

The guard shook his head and said, “I am not sure.”

“It is because you still have much to learn in the art of warfare.  When you are old and grizzled like me, you will see what it is trying to be hidden.”  A wry smile crept across his face.  “And you will stop dreaming of young maidens.”

The guard dropped his head in shame.  “I am sorry, Sir Marik.”

“Do not be sorry!  I was young once, too.”  Marik turned back to look out into the darkness.  “What do you think it is that is out there?”

The guard picked his head up and looked once again beyond the city at the forest.  He no longer saw the movement and did not see any more flashes of light.  He was beginning to think that his eyes had deceived him and he really hadn’t seen anything.

Finally, he shook his head and said.  “Do we have any patrols in the forest?”

“They would not be carrying torches that we could see from this distance,” Marik replied.

“More guests coming to the masquerade ball?”

“Most come down the river or from father to the south.  Those that would have come from the north are already here.”

The guard let out a sigh.  “I do not know.  What is it that you see?”

“I see an army that is trying to hide their presence in the forest.  I thought my eyes were lying to me, but you saw it as well.”

The guard’s demeanor suddenly changed.  Pretty maidens were no longer in his thoughts.  “Who?  What?  An army?  Thell?”

“I do not know,” Marik replied.  “We have a treaty with Thell and I cannot believe that they would not honor it.  I talked face-to-face with both King Lorraine and King Toknon, when he was still just a prince. Neither wants war.  I am sure of it.  King Toknon is a soldier by nature, but he is not foolish enough to make his first act as king to attack us.  That would be deadly for him.  Not to mention, I saw him arrive in the castle yesterday.”

“If not them, then who?”

“There is a small delegation from Taran.  Take ten men and find them.  Disarm them and put them in a locked room.  I will need to talk to them.”

“You think it is a Taran army in the woods?  Why would they attack us?”

“I do not know.  We are not prepared for this.  Do as I ask and quickly.  I have much to do myself.”

Chapter Sixteen

Conner found Glaerion where he had left him.  The elf was awake, but still weak.  But he refused Conner’s assistance to help him walk.  He took slow steps at first, but within a few minutes, he was walking as if nothing had happened.

“The strength comes back quickly, when it is ready to come back,” Glaerion explained.  He paused to look around an empty corner.  Conner was sure he just had to stop to catch his breath, so he waited patiently for the elf to check the hall.

“Does all magic take this much effort?  How would a wizard ever manage using it in battle?”

The elf shook his head and grumbled to himself in elven.  “When you first picked up a sword, how long could you train with it?  One minute, two?”

“Not very long,” Conner replied.

“It is the same with the casting of spells.  The more you do, the easier it becomes.  Certain types of spells take more energy than others.  They also act differently upon the body.  Healing spells, shield spells, those that allow you to walk through walls, they all take much more effort than combat spells.  Even a child wizard can toss magical fireballs with ease.  They may not be very powerful, but fire is fire and it’ll hurt when it hits you.”

“Why is that?  Why are combat spells easier?”

Glaerion did not seem much in the mood to talk.  He snapped back harshly, “You can ask the Creator that question the next time you see him.”

“If you’re five thousand years old, how come it takes so much effort for you to cast a spell?”  Conner was genuinely interested, but he also was getting tired of Glaerion’s short and irritable temper.  He added a smile to his question, hoping that the elf didn’t take the insult too personally.

“Magic is not a commodity such as a spice like salt,” Glaerion shot back, showing that he had no humor in him. “It is quite rare, quite powerful, and quite dangerous.  The elven-kind have been trained since childhood to use it wisely and sparingly.  Sure, to use it at will for anything we wanted would be easy.  But our lives are not about doing what is easy.  It is about doing what is right.  Mankind, however, felt that magic would be the crutch to make their lives easier.  It should not take much of an imagination to understand why our two cultures could not coexist.  Now, if you’ve had enough of a history lesson, can we get moving?”

“Sorry, I just needed to understand.”

“And your business is done?” the elf asked.

“Business?”

“You left for some time.  It was your home, so I can only imagine you had some business to take care of.  Friends to see?”

When Conner didn’t immediately reply, Glaerion asked, “Your focus needs to be on the Ark, not on the girl.”

“The girl?  You mean Queen Elissa?  What are you talking about?”

“You cannot deceive me.  I know where your heart is, but it needs to be on the Ark.”

It was Conner’s turn to be irritable.  “My heart?  Since when do you care about my heart?”

“When it affects me, that’s when.  I need you to be focused and committed to saving the Ark.  I can’t have you running off to your sweetheart each time you get the urge to see her.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.  My business here is done.”

Glaerion gave Conner one last, long look.  “Very well.  It’s time to move on.”

“Where?”

“I can feel it, and as we get closer to it I’ll know for sure.  But I’ll need your knowledge of the halls and corridors to find our way to it.”  Glaerion waved his hands down the corridor they were currently facing.  “I feel it is somewhere down there, in that general direction.  It could be above us, or below us.  Where does that corridor lead?”

“This hall leads to the main armory.  Master Goshin had a room there where he made and fixed weapons.”

Glaerion led the way.  He didn’t pull out his dagger, but he kept his hand near its hilt.  As they made their way down the corridor, the scent of metal and oil confirmed that they were nearing the armory.  Oil burning lamps lit their way down the corridor, but there was not any light in the armory.  Conner pulled a lamp off the wall to light their way.

“This is quite an assortment of weaponry,” Glaerion noted.  “So many ways to kill.”

“Some more effective than others,” Conner replied.

“I guess the pursuit of better ways to kill has continued.  Human wizards were notorious for constantly coming up with newer and more powerful combat spells.  It seems their blacksmith counterparts were no less inventive.”

At the back of the armory was a hallway that led away from the room.  A few steps farther down the hall, a stairwell led upwards.  The hall also continued straight into the darkness.  Glaerion took the lamp from Conner and bounded up the steps until it came to a right corner turn.  He looked around for a moment before returning.

“I could feel less of the Ark as I went up the stairs.  That means it is down here, which makes sense.  If something is to be hidden, the best place to hide it is underground.”

The hall continued for another hundred yards where it came to an end.  A tall and wide oak door stood in their way.  Conner walked up to and gave it a push, as there were no handles to pull on.  It did not budge.

“Another blocked door?” Conner asked.

“No, just locked,” Glaerion said, touching the door and giving it a gentle push.  The tips of his fingers lightly brushed the keyhole.  “This one will be easy.”

He put the lamp right up to the keyhole and studied the internal mechanism.  Then he pulled out his dagger and wedged it into the lock and gave the dagger a quick twist with his wrist.  Conner was sure the blade of the dagger would snap, but instead, he heard the click of the lock releasing.

“This is an old lock,” Glaerion said.  “Simple and easy to pick, if you understand how it works.”

Conner stepped forward and gave the door a push.  It easily opened, as if its hinges had been kept oiled.  What they saw surprised them both.  The door opened to a stairwell that was cut directly into the stone that the castle was built upon.

“Where does this go?” Conner asked to himself.

“I can feel the Ark and more.  I can feel magic, now.  A constant buzz of magic as if a perpetual spell of some sort was cast down there.  This was not meant to hide the ark from wizards, but from man.  Even an apprentice wizard would be able to sense it.  So whoever made it did not fear just wizards or elves.  They feared man as well.”

They slowly descended the stairs.

***

“You have put on a wonderful ball,” King Toknon said.  As a guest of honor, he was given a large, plush chair to sit in.

Queen Elissa was sitting next to him in a nearly identical chair.  Her feet were sore from dancing, so she took the opportunity to rest them.  The smell of food wafted over to her, which made her stomach gurgle.  Arpwin had told her that she should eat first, but she had been too excited about the festivities that she had forgotten his words of wisdom.  And now that she was surrounded by friendly and persistent guests, she was unable to find the right time to break away for food.  Looking around, she wondered where Arpwin was.  He had told her that he would attend, but since he suddenly ran off from her chambers, she had not heard from him.

“You seem distracted,” Toknon asked.

“Hmm?” Elissa turned at his voice, still not hearing what he had said.

“I said you have put on a wonderful ball, and that you seem a bit distracted.”

Elissa gave him a friendly smile, “Oh, I was just thinking that I have not seen Arpwin.  He would have reminded me to eat something.”

Toknon chuckled.  “Then that was your stomach?”

A light shade of red crossed her face.

Without pause, Toknon clapped his hands to get the attention of a nearby servant.  “The queen wishes some food.”

“I am fine,” Elissa said.  “I am not that hungry.”

“Without your personal attendant here, it seems that caring for you has fallen to my hands.  Now, eat up!”

A small table was placed in front of the queen and a tray of breads, cheeses, and meats was placed down.  Elissa took a tentative bite from a small piece of cheese, but once she realized how hungry she was, she quickly devoured the entire plate of food.

“Thank you,” Elissa said, her body feeling refreshed.  “You were right.  I was very hungry!”

“I understand I arrived too late for your traditional Dance of the Forest?”

The memory of her dance partner burned inside her once again.  The thoughts and actions of men like him would tear this kingdom apart.  Peace was the only way to survive and to hold on so tightly to such anger would only harm the kingdom in the long term.  She needed to figure out a way to convince every person, lord or commoner, that peace with Thell was the only way to long-term survival.  She glanced at Toknon quickly, wondering still if her decision to become betrothed to him was a wise one.  Her stomach suddenly turned at the thought, even though that act might be the only way to convince her people that peace with Thell was the right course of action for their kingdom.

“It was tolerable,” Elissa replied.

Her response surprised him.  He let out one of his rare chuckles and actually smiled.  “Tolerable?  From what I heard, you were having a wonderful time.  In fact, I overheard from the ladies how you and your partner seemed so in tune with one another.”

“He was a barbarian,” Elissa said with an angry huff.  “A former knight holding on to old and outdated ideals.  That type of thinking needs to stop.”

“Well, he really must have been an impetuous lord to talk to his queen in such a manner.”

“Yes, he did not hold back.  He spoke his mind just like…”  The words stopped coming out of her mouth as a new thought occurred to her.  Only a good and close friend would really talk to her like that.  A stranger, lord or not, would never speak in such a manner.  She never got a really good look at his face, as his mask covered most of it.  The costume he wore was large and bulky on him, so she really didn’t have a good idea what his body looked like.  He could have been chubby or skinny.

She forced herself to stop those thoughts, for she knew that they would only prevent her from moving past him.  Conner was dead and she could stop looking for him.

“…any other hotheaded knight,” she finished.  “He was from a small village on the eastern shore.  Uncivilized for sure!”

Toknon laughed.

Elissa laughed with him, enjoying his smile and the way he looked at her.

With her mood changed for the good, Toknon asked, “There is a Taran delegation here, I understand?”

“Lord Martin is dealing with them for now.  They wish to ensure that commerce and trade flows freely between our nations.”

Toknon nodded his head.  “Yes.  That would make sense. Making sure that the new ruler of the kingdom is continuing trade would be the proper thing to do.  So you have not met them?”

“No, I have not.  Lord Martin said their discussions have been dry and uneventful.  When they have something of substance to bring up, he will let me know.”

Toknon reached over and grabbed a large chunk of cheese and took a bite from it.  “To peace and prosperity, then.”

“Peace and prosperity!” Elissa repeated.

They held a gaze for a long moment.  In the end, it was Elissa who broke away to turn and watch her lords and ladies dance.  Toknon watched her for just a bit longer.  She was stunningly beautiful and would make a fine wife for him, if he chose to continue to pursue her.  What made him hesitate, though, was seeing Commander Roland within the castle grounds.  If he had been in full dress uniform, he would not have been worried as he would be in the city on official business.  But he was clearly attempting to disguise himself to gain entrance to the castle for some unknown reason.  He didn’t know Commander Roland really well, but what he knew of him told him to be wary.  The centurion commander had forced his hand to get a free pass for his soldiers to march through his kingdom.  He could only imagine what the commander had in store for Karmon, especially if he really was in the castle for official, sanctioned reasons.

He wanted to warn Elissa that Commander Roland might be up to no good, but he would need to make sure that it was done so that Commander Roland didn’t find out that it was he that discovered him.  The threats that the Taran commander held over his head were legitimate and he could not risk Taran invading his kingdom.  His cities had no defenses and even though he could put together an army, it would be woefully inadequate.  His army couldn’t even stand up to the depleted Karmon army any more.

He would have to wait for the right moment before he made any mention of Commander Roland.  In the meantime, he would have to find a way to scour the castle halls in secret.  If he found Commander Roland first, maybe he wouldn’t even have to mention it to the queen.

***

Marik stood in the doorway, looking across the room at the Taran diplomat who was fidgeting in his seat.  He had expected a muscular man, possibly a former soldier, but the Taran was light of build and did not carry himself with any sort of military bearing.  The diplomat’s escort, a heavier and older man was not to be found.  He had asked that the castle guard be on the lookout for him, but to not raise any sort of alarm.  Until he knew more, he didn’t want to cause a panic, especially in the middle of the queen’s masquerade ball.