The Contention (5 page)
“Please all rise from your seats and kneel as our goddess has seen it fit to bless us with a visit from her champion upon Thurr. Lord Seth, the Prince of Valdadore himself, has come to grace us with his blessing as promised by Ishanya,” the priestess cried before falling to her own knees.
All in the room did as commanded. Rising from the pews they all turned to face the aisle before sinking to their knees to witness the passing of Seth, his bride and their inhuman guards. Borrik stepped into the lead immediately, his instincts taking over. Though this might have once been his church, and though it was now filled with hundreds of loyal worshippers, that did not mean one of them might not be a fanatical lunatic who might think that with Seth’s blood they could be made immortal or some other such nonsense. So with Borrik in the lead, and Seth and Sara following silently behind, the group was trailed closely by Captain Jonas who took up the position of rear guard. All eyes were upon the four as they traversed the seemingly endless expanse of this new chamber of worship to come and stand directly before the priestess herself.
“Arise Sister Marina, and thank you for the very warm welcome,” Seth said, barely recalling the woman’s name. “If we could, is there some place still remaining that we could speak in private?”
“Yes, your majesty.” Marina paused before speaking once again. “Would you say some words to the congregation first? Some have been waiting here more than ten hours to see you.”
“I am no preacher. What is it you think I should say?” Seth asked in a whisper, feeling completely unprepared.
“Tell them something inspiring, something that shows the power of our goddess,” the priestess suggested.
Seth simply nodded in understanding. This was a small piece of the price he paid for his power and the original bargain struck between himself and the goddess Ishanya. Spread the word he agreed, and so he should.
“Followers of Ishanya,” Seth began, speaking loudly without yelling. “Many thought me dead, and it is true that with what I have been through I should be. Look at me though; not a scratch on me. I have been stabbed, burned in magical fire, exploded, and have disappeared altogether in a magical blast, yet I stand before you now through the power given to me by our goddess Ishanya. Behold me, but do not stop there, for the priest of this very temple stands here as a werewolf of immense power and unparalleled battle prowess. To my other side is my beautiful wife who, also through the power of Ishanya, is changed. Though you may not see it, I assure you she has become something greater than human. Witness the birth of a new era, an era in which devout followers are rewarded for their loyal worship.” Seth lowered his voice as he concluded.
Applause exploded throughout the room and Seth looked beyond the pews to see that the entry room was also now filled to capacity with people standing in attendance to hear his words. Though he felt his duty to Ishanya was more than completed, he did not want to disappoint those gathered to see him and so he began to speak again.
“As many of you may know, the kingdom of Valdadore is once again at risk. An immense army is marching this very morning towards our beautiful city to lay it to ruins. The conniving King Sigrant wishes to crush our home and claim it as his own, but my companions and I will be marching alongside the King of Valdadore, my brother, as he steps out to meet our foe. Everyone here can help preserve the kingdom that we love. As such I personally beseech you, in the name of Ishanya, to do as I command. Those of you able to train and fight make your way outside the castle this very day to be outfitted and trained for battle. Those of you unable to fight, or those of you with young children, scour the city for every scrap of metal you can find, be it mug, armor, spoon or nail, and donate it to the nearest blacksmith. Beyond that, the army will need straight wooden shafts for the production of arrows and spears. Leave the city and travel to the nearest forest and collect what usable material you can and return with all haste. Those are my orders, and though I apologize for the disruption, I need to speak to the priestess at some length, but will return her to tend to you all as quickly as possible.” Seth looked out on a room of nodding heads.
Everyone in the congregation understood his meaning well, and no sooner had Seth turned to collect his comrades and the priestess than the room erupted into organized motion. Each of them would do what they could to help the cause. And why? Because Seth, the man labeled a Death Mage by the previous king, labeled a champion of the goddess Ishanya, temporarily labeled dead and now labeled the Crown Prince of Valdadore, seemingly the most powerful mortal to walk the face of Thurr, had commanded them to. Now Seth felt he was making progress, but before he could decide on how to approach the vast majority of his tasks he needed some answers from the priestess.
After collecting the young woman and her babe, Seth and his companions followed her through a twisting corridor that led further back and down into the ground from the previous large antechamber. Marina explained to them as she walked that each of these rooms had existed in the building’s original construction and had only been sealed off as the goddess’s following dwindled. It seemed now that more than a dozen rooms existed in the underground temple, each of them having been cleaned, restored and refurnished through donations to the temple’s cause.
They soon entered a relatively small chamber near the end of the long, winding corridor. The room was sparsely decorated, unlike many others they had passed, though it held a large rectangular table covered in exquisite carvings with several upholstered chairs to match. Each piece of furniture had been oiled to a deep crimson tone and polished to shining perfection. It was apparent that for the craftsman responsible for this work, it had not been a job but a labor of love.
Rounding the table, each in accompany took a seat where they sat silently a moment, each of them working out just how to begin the conversation. Each of them admired the carvings upon the table, occasionally looking around the room at the rest of the quiet faces. Much to everyone’s surprise it was Sara who first broke the silence.
“Your child appears to be doing well,” Sara remarked, gesturing towards the priestess’s baby who had momentarily stopped its suckling as it dozed off, its bluish mouth still making sucking movements.
“Yes, thank you, Princess Sara. My boy is growing very strong. Had it not been through the grace of Ishanya and the power of Prince Seth, today neither of us would be here,” the priestess replied in an unnaturally deep tone for a woman.
“Indeed,” Seth responded. “Through the grace of Ishanya indeed,” he added sarcastically before continuing. “So tell us of the congregation and the temple. How many attend now? How is it the temple was restored in such a short amount of time? What else should we know about the happenings of the city in our absence?”
The priestess dutifully answered Seth’s questions, assuring him that the church now had a following of about a thousand and a half patrons, though it could only accommodate a fraction at a time. The building had been restored to its former glory through donations from the congregation, both monetarily and through services rendered. She assured him it had not been very costly as it turned out the actual structure was preexisting and only the items within the temple needed to be furnished. Most of these had also been donated, such as the table they attended now, as well as the statues at the base of the stairs and various other pieces throughout the temple. It wasn’t until after this explanation that the priestess revealed a fact that Seth believed to be the most important detail of her entire story.
Upon being opened, each of the previously sealed chambers had been cleared of debris, cleaned and restored, though the work was minimal as most of the rooms had been completely empty apart from perhaps a decaying piece of furniture or two. It was not until near the end of the renovations when a cracked wall was being repaired that a pair of masons discovered a hidden chamber off one of the smaller rooms that was anything but empty. The small vault held many an item, though mostly it held records and writings of the temple from previous ages. Sadly the majority of these had decayed and fallen apart at a touch. Some items still remained however that were legible.
However, these were not what really caught Seth’s attention. It was only when the priestess mentioned coins and weapons with odd carvings upon them that Seth really began to wonder at the worth of this find. Not its value in money, but something much deeper; something that had been nagging at Seth’s mind since the day he was awarded the gnarled old staff that had belonged to an aged illusionist. Something moreover that Seth believed could make all the difference in this particular battle that quickly approached. Though as anxious as he could ever remember feeling, Seth bit his tongue, remaining silent, while Borrik and the priestess discussed her teachings at some length. They also talked about the temple’s standing in the community, its projects and other such churchy things that Seth could not care less about.
Sara, it seemed, was quite intrigued by the entire conversation, as she listened intently and asked a few questions of her own. Seth, on the other hand, drowned out the conversation for the most part, wishing each moment for them to finish talking. It was when he finally felt the urge to scream, unable to wait any longer, that he pulled himself back to the real world and realized that everyone in the room was looking at him questioningly. Apparently the conversation had in fact ended, and he presumed that he had been asked the final question, though he had no idea what that might have been.
“I’m sorry. I am very tired and my mind is burdened with a great many things,” Seth said slyly. “What is it you asked?”
“Would you care to see any of the other chambers, Prince Seth?” the priestess asked humbly.
“Yes, I would like to see this hidden chamber you found along with every item that was within it,” Seth answered quickly.
“All the items that were found within the vault, as we call it, remain there except for those that were unsalvageable. Also all of the donations I have received in excess have been stored there as well,” Marina replied, rising from her seat to guide them once again.
Seth stood to follow the woman’s lead, surprised at her current situation. Though he had mutated both her and her child into a grotesque blending of orc and human, she appeared to be completely comfortable in her new, oily, blue skin. She certainly showed enough of it. Not only had she dealt well with her alteration, but she had taken her duties to the temple to heart and ran with them as if it was what she was born to do. Again Seth thought about how unlikely it was that these events could have just randomly fallen into place, so seemingly perfectly. As he followed the priestess he could not help but wonder once again if the goddess Ishanya had had a hand in bringing the young woman and her dying child to fall at his feet a month or so prior.
But before he could dwell upon it further, they entered another room, this one appearing as vacant quarters for a servant to the temple. If it held a hidden vault, Seth presumed that this room was reserved for the priest, which would have been Borrik, but these days Seth questioned if Borrik held as much interest in the temple as he once had. Reaching the wall opposite the door the priestess reached up and pulled upon a sconce mounted into the wall, causing it to slide out towards her by several inches. Stepping across the wall the priestess stretched up to a second sconce and turned it a quarter turn to the left with an audible click. The sound of metal clanking upon metal resounded from behind the wall as a large slab slowly lifted to reveal a passageway beyond. As the wide slab rose higher, more and more of the room beyond was revealed, though to be honest it did not look like much.
Within the room were narrow tables with wooden crates upon them lining the walls. Each crate had a word painted upon the visible side, labeling what contents it held within. There was a small crate for scrolls, another for tomes, one labeled ‘artwork’, and yet another labeled ‘items’. Beyond those were a few crates with names upon them of no importance. Entering the room Seth looked around and found what it was he was seeking. Upon the same wall as the only entry, hidden from view from outside, was a weapons rack. Though nearly barren, a few blades remained upon it as well as a shield, a helm and a breastplate. All looked peculiar in make, though it was probably more due to the period in which they were crafted. As more modern styles were created, older weapons and armor were usually reforged into more modern versions. Though each of the items was unquestionably old, none of them showed any sign of rust or decay. Approaching the rack, Seth slid his finger down the edge of one of the blades therein and, as expected, the weapon’s edge appeared to have been recently sharpened.
“Have these weapons or armor been tended to and properly restored like the rest of the temple?” he asked the priestess.
“No, your majesty,” she replied.
As Seth had hoped, this was their original condition, and as such he believed he knew their true secret. Judilanthaliz, the gray-robed mage he had spent a short time apprenticed to, had once mentioned enchanted weapons to him. The staff Seth had won while being tested by the previous King Valdadore had shown him that it was possible to enchant an item. Seth could not wait to study the objects and as a quick test he focused upon his vision of the gods. Each of the weapons and pieces of armor upon the rack had its own aura of life, just as he expected. Some were visibly dimmer than others, but each item had power within it. Seth was ecstatic. If he could learn the secret of imbuing items with such power, he could find a way to even the odds between his kingdom and its attacker. In his mind he imagined bows that shot arrows of lightning and fire, swords that struck with both magic and blade, and shields that shone as bright as the sun, blinding all who attacked the bearer. Seth needed to get to work, but just as importantly, the secret could lie within one of the writings within this very room. He needed to find it as quickly as possible.