The Halfblood King: Book 1 of the Chronicles of Aertu (19 page)

“I think so, Your Grace, thank you for the explanation.” 

“Think nothing of it, lad.  Now I want to know what this one has been up to all these years and why he took so long to pay me a visit.  But first, let me get us some refreshment.”  He moved to the large keg, snatched three large earthenware tankards off their hooks and filled them from the spigot.  He grabbed all three in one hand and walked to a heavy round wooden table in the middle of the room.  “Come, have a seat my friends.”  He set the tankards down in front of three short sturdy stools.

“Thank you Faergas, it has indeed been too long, but I have been fairly busy these last fifteen years or so,” Hadaras explained.

“I see that.  I take it the lad here is fifteen, your son?”

“No, Aleron is my grandson, son of my daughter, Audina,” Hadaras explained as they took their seats.  The king sat at the head, Hadaras took the seat to his left and Aleron the next one down.

“Audina, beautiful lass, how is she?  I haven’t seen her in a troll’s age.”

“Gone I’m afraid,” Hadaras declared, “nigh on thirteen years now.”

“I’m sorry old friend,” the king offered, “and the boy’s father?”

“Passed on as well.  I’ve raised Aleron since he was two.”

“That’s sad news indeed,” Faergas said and then to Aleron, “At least you had your grandfather here to take care of you.  He’s a fine fellow, as far as elves go.   You can let down your disguise, lad, no secrets here.”  Hadaras had let the glamour drop as soon as he entered the chamber.  Most dwarves, at least those that gave it any thought at all, believed he was a halfblood, to explain his longevity, but still a man.

“Your Grace, there is no disguise; this is how I look.”

Faergas looked to Hadaras and asked, “A halfblood, this one is?  I thought he seemed big for an elf at that age.”

“Yes, he’s a halfblood and there are a few other things that he is, that bear discussion.”

“You have my interest, please, go on.”

“I did not plan for this to come to light for a few more years.  I did not think my grandson was ready yet, but we had an incident in Arundell, that altered the track of my plans.”  Faergas, resting his chin on one palm, arched his bushy eyebrows questioningly, as Hadaras continued, “We were in the throne room and Aleron laid his hand upon Andhanimwhid.  The sword practically jumped into his hand.”  At that revelation, the king sat up straight in his stool and slammed both palms on the tabletop.

Looking at Aleron, he said, “You mean to tell me that I have the King of Sudea here before me?”

“Yes,” Hadaras replied, “that is exactly what I mean to tell you.  This was meant to be a friendly tour, so Aleron could see some of the world, but it is turning out far different than I had anticipated.”

Aleron just sat, sipping his ale, as the adults conversed about him.  “Who else knows about it?” Faergas inquired.

“Only the Steward, his daughter and her bodyguards, so far.”  Hadaras proceeded to recount the events of that day and the ones to follow, as well as the history that led to the event.  It took a while, as Faergas interjected questions periodically and Aleron refilled the tankards once during the exchange.

“Got something for young Lady Eilowyn I see,” he said at one point to Aleron.  “Can’t say I blame you; she’s a pretty little lass.  Copper and emeralds go well together, don’t they lad?”

“Uh, I guess so, Your Grace,” he agreed, not knowing what else to say and flushing as he said it.

“Enough with the ‘Your Grace’ thing, boy, you’re the blasted King of Sudea, whether anyone else knows it yet, or not.  Call me Faergas.”

“Yes Your Gr…Sir, I mean Faergas.”

“You’ll get it straight eventually,” the king said, chuckling.  “Go on old friend and fill me in on what happened after Arundell.”  As Hadaras recounted the events on the road to Dhargul, Faergas took a keen interest in the encounter with the goblins.  He looked at Aleron and said, “New forms of magic, now that’s quite an invention, my boy.”  He asked if they had come up with any other combinations and Hadaras went into more detail on the experiments they undertook on the road through the mountains.  “Do you still have that nugget, lad?”  Aleron nodded in affirmation, drew the silver piece from his pocket and handed it to Faergas.  He examined it and said, “Looks like a casting of a piece of gravel, can you turn it back to stone?”  He was understandably skeptical and wanted to see for himself, though he was being polite about it. 

“I’ll see if I can,” Aleron replied.  “Some magic is scarce this far underground.”  He took back the nugget and concentrated.  Blue and yellow were plentiful enough, but he had to search to find a few scraps of green and red.  In a flash of white, he once again held a granite pebble in his palm and handed it back to Faergas.

“Well I’ll be a billygoat’s daddy; it’s true,” he exclaimed, not quite believing in the thing he had just witnessed.  “I have to agree with your grandpa, lad.  You can’t go making gold and silver as cheap as gravel.”  He handed the pebble back to Aleron and in another flash, it became silver once again.  “What’s interesting to me is that the lad can go from blue to red and back to blue,” he elaborated to Hadaras.  “Why is it that no other wizard has ever done the same?”

“Not knowing the minds of any of the red sorcerers, it’s hard to say,” Hadaras began, “but we think that those men became evil first, then were drawn to the chaotic nature of the red.  The Adversary was capable of using any form he wished, but he invariably chose the red for the destructive power of it.”

“And this new maroon power you describe, it’s not destructive as well?  It seems like you destroyed a troop of goblins pretty effectively.”

“It’s not so much destructive as powerful,” Hadaras explained.  “I could use the blue power that is available to my kind, to move a boulder the size of a house, but it would require great effort and I would be exhausted after a short time.  I could, however, slice the same boulder in two, with great precision.  A wielder of red could do the same with little effort, but would require intense concentration and control to avoid pulverizing the boulder in the process.  Aleron’s maroon power combines the precision of the blue, with the power of the red.  He could take the same boulder and hurl it over the mountain, if he wished.”

Faergas looked across the table to Aleron, his eyes like liquid onyx, below bushy black brows.  “Now that’s some power, lad.  With power like that, a man needs self-control and strong character.  Otherwise, it takes control of you, instead of the other way around and you crave more and more power.  That’s how a ruler becomes a tyrant and that’s not a path you want to tread.  Do you believe you have the character to handle what you have been blessed with, lad?”

“I hope so,” Aleron answered, not nearly as confident as he was a few moments before.

“The boy has a kind and generous heart, Faergas,” Hadaras interjected.  “If anyone can handle this power, it’s young Aleron here,” he reassured the dwarvish king.

“I hope you are right, my friend.  He does seem like a good hearted lad,” he replied to Hadaras and then to Aleron said, “Don’t worry lad, you’ll do fine,” in answer to the worried look in Aleron’s eyes.

“He’ll do fine, as long as he’s not rushed onto that throne,” Hadaras replied.

“Agreed, there will be no mention of it from this quarter, I can assure you.  All in due time.”

“Now, my friend, enough about us and our business,” Hadaras stated, to shift the conversation, “how have you been?  You don’t seem a day older that when I last saw you.

“I don’t feel a day older either and it’s beginning to worry me,” the dwarf answered.  “I’m sixty six and I don’t feel a day over forty.  I should be old and gray by now, with a beard to my ankles.  Instead, I’m still running about, smashing troll skulls like a youngster.”

“Do you mind if I check?” Hadaras asked the king.

“Certainly, check all you want.  I’m surprised you haven’t already.”

Hadaras laid his hand upon the king’s shoulder and concentrated a moment.  Upon opening his eyes again, he exclaimed, “You are, not a day over forty.  I think that Aelient I expulsed thirty years ago made some changes in you.  She must have had some long range plans for you, because you have nearly ceased to age.”

“You mean I’m going to live forever, like you?  Gods no.”

“It does appear to be the case, my friend.  Not so much forever, but you are ageing more like an elf than a dwarf.”

“How could an aelient have done something like that, Grandfather?” Aleron inquired, momentarily interrupting the flow of the conversation.  “I thought that only the Allfather and maybe the Aelir had access to the white magic.”

“Good question, my boy,” the old elf conceded, “but all forms of magic have multiple applications,” he explained.  “I can still destroy with the blue, for instance, but it destroys with great precision.  It’s not so much that she transformed the king into something else.  It’s more like she made some subtle adjustments, making him more elf-like, than he was before.”  Speaking to Faergas, he said, “Since dwarves are already a long-lived race, she was likely to have better long-term results than if she had attempted the same on a man.”

“Well, I better figure out what I’m going to do for the next couple thousand years then.  I don’t think I can get away with being spry in my old  age for  much longer.”   The king  continued,  on a different  tack,  “I think I’ve held you up for long enough.  Time to get you to your quarters and a hot bath.  The smell of the road lies heavy upon you, no offense.”

“None taken, my friend,” Hadaras replied, “we would welcome a hot bath.”

“Good then, I’ll have you shown to your rooms.  You will find some light victuals there, as well as a steaming hot tub.  I’ll see you for dinner.”  With that, they arose and left the chamber.  Upon exiting, Faergas said, “Ulrick, please show these gentlefolk to their chambers.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” the High Chamberlain replied and then gestured for them to follow and saying, “My Lords, please follow me and I will get you settled in.”

Chapter 21

Gurlachday, Day 7, Squash Moon, 8760 Sudean Calendar

Captain Baruk stood in the antechamber to the High Admiral’s office, in dry clothes, with his spare sword and new boots he was not intending to put into service yet. 
Now I need to buy a new backup sword and boots.
It was mid-afternoon.  After his rescue, Velin, the Marshal of the City Guard debriefed him on the morning’s incident in which his ships were lost.  Upon hearing the details, the Marshal left to consult with the Grand Marshal Haldor.  A bell or so later, the Marshal returned with the news that Baruk would make himself presentable, as they would be meeting with High Admiral Kor in two bells.  The Marshals had been in the office for over a bell, along with the Grand Admiral, he found out from the orderly stationed at the door.  As a closed society, Thallasia is little known to the outside world.  Trader ships ply the Kolixtlani Sea to Kolixtlan and Adar, as well as the coast of Elmenia.  Foreign ships, however, are not tolerated in their territorial waters.  Most believe that piracy still reigns when in fact, Thallasia has become a meritocracy, ruled by a military government.  Never having had any aristocracy, they were loath to invent the concept when they progressed from anarchy to governance.  The High Admiral, Kor was the son of a goatherd, is the supreme commander of the Thallasian people, with the Grand Admiral and Grand Marshal his second in command of naval and ground forces, respectively.

Marshal Velin stepped into the waiting area and stated, “Please come in Captain; they are ready for you now.”  As a Captain, Baruk’s rank was approximately equal to that of the Marshal.

“Thank you Marshal,” he replied and strode smartly into the office, saluting the officers seated at the conference table.  “Captain Baruk, reporting as ordered, High Admiral.”

“Come in Captain and have a seat.  You’ve had an eventful morning,” High Admiral Kor answered as he returned the salute.  “I assume you are familiar with Grand Admiral Lim and Grand Marshal Haldor?”

“Yes Sir and thank you,” he replied, dropping the salute and moving to take his seat, next to Marshal Velin.

“So, Captain Baruk, it’s not every day that I hear of someone fighting off a thrule,” Kor continued.  “In fact, none of us has ever heard of it, but Marshal Velin saw you go under, then resurface.  Please relate to us, in your own words, what happened.”  Baruk recounted the event to his superiors, emphasizing the impression that he was purposely left for last, which allowed him time to prepare, unlike his hapless crew.  Midway through the account, Kor asked, “Why did you choose to flame the ship, rather that attempt boarding, Captain?”

“Sir, when I saw them flying the Black Sun, I assumed there were wizards aboard and wished to take them by surprise.  I hoped to destroy them before they had opportunity to react, Sir.”

“Good, that was a solid assessment Captain, but unfortunately they did react in time,” the High Admiral commented.  “I believe the wizard on board likely read your intentions in your thoughts and was thus ready for you.  Considering how he left you for last, as punishment it seems, he must have singled you out as the leader.  Go on, Captain, continue.”  Baruk continued his account, relating how the spotlights seemed to drive the thrule away.  “Your story corroborates with what you briefed Marshal Velin and with what he witnessed from the lighthouse.  Thank you, Captain, for your faithful service and please leave us for a few moments, while we discuss things.  Do not leave, but stay in the waiting area.  We will have need for you again.”

“Yes Sir,” Baruk replied, as he stood and rendered a salute.  The High Admiral returned the salute and Baruk pushed his chair in, turned on his heel and left the office, without another word.

“Gentlemen, it appears we have an unprecedented situation on our hands,” Kor related to the assembled officers.  “I have no intention of allowing the Nameless God dominion over our lands again, but it seems as we are likely to have a boatload of angry red wizards on our shores as soon as night falls.”  The others nodded in agreement and the High Admiral went on, “We will need the Wizard’s Guild for this and we need to mobilize them quickly.  Haldor, you are charged with this task.  Contact the guild and negotiate a price.  Brief them on the entire situation and try to impress upon them the necessity for quick action.  Velin, you will coordinate the city defenses, of course.  You will also coordinate with the wizards and emplace them in your formation.  Go quickly; we will meet at the harbor a  bell before dusk.”   After  the two men  took their  leave,  he said to the Grand Admiral, “Lim, you and I have been friends for a long time, right?”