The Eternal Darkness (35 page)

“I look forward to it,” Farrious said with a slight bow.  He called out for his liaison and headed towards the wall.

Norlan fell in beside Keria as they walked back towards the palace.  “I hope you don’t mind about Maxis, Norlan,” Keria said.  “Cherise insisted I take him with me.”

“I would trust no one more with your safety, Keria,” Norlan said quietly.

“I am so sorry about Jansen.  I know that you and he got along well,” she said, laying a hand on his arm.

“Thank you,” Norlan said.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.  When they reached the palace, Keria handed Maxis’ leash to Norlan.  “Try to sleep, Norlan,” she said.  “We will all need our strength in the days to come.”  He gave her a bow and she headed for her suites, her guards staying close around her.

Norlan reached down and stroked Maxis’ head.  “Come on, boy.  Let’s find our family,” he said.  With Maxis next to him, Norlan walked wearily to his suites, wanting nothing more than a bath and to hold his wife and daughter close.

…

As the sun rose in the east, Norlan adjusted his armor and left the palace.  Calling for a horse, he rode towards the West Gate.  He stifled a yawn as he rode.  He had not slept much as he and Madalin had talked for most of the night, but he felt better able to handle whatever came.

When he reached the gate courtyard, he immediately saw Farrious standing with a group of Aletonian soldiers and men of the Watch.  He rode over and dismounted.  With a final word, Farrious sent the men to their duties and turned to greet Norlan.

“How did you sleep, Commander?” he asked politely.

“Fine, thank you,” Norlan replied.  “Please call me Norlan.”

“I would be honored if you called me Farrious, Norlan,” the man replied.  He gave a short laugh as he looked at Norlan with amusement in his eyes.  “Your men have been telling me fanciful tales about you.  They say that you are really a blacksmith, but also say that you and Brother Jonas sought out and destroyed a powerful demon, only the two of you.  That you saved the queen from an assassin recently, but turned down a title of nobility.  That you boldly cast defiance into a demon’s face when this army arrived.  You have quite the story to tell, I can see.”

Norlan flushed at that narrative.  “I need to teach those idiots to keep their mouths shut,” he grumbled.

Farrious laughed.  “Never get in the way of a good story, Norlan.  That is how legends are made.”

“You can have the legends,” he replied.  “I only wish to be with my family and get back to my smithy.”

“Fair enough,” Farrious said, clapping Norlan on the back.  “I will have to visit that smithy before I leave.  I have never visited the smithy of a hero before.”

“Maybe we should make sure that the enemy is defeated first, before we plan any other activities,” Norlan stated.  He started towards the wall.  “Has there been any more activity since last night?”

“There was one attempt, but we beat it back,” Farrious answered, walking with him.  “I think our arrival has confused them.  They were not expecting to face seasoned soldiers and clerics.”

They went up to the wall, greeting the soldiers on duty.  Norlan saw that they had cleared the casualties and dead from the night before.  He stared at the place where Jansen had died.

“The clerics recovered the bodies of your fallen,” Farrious said sympathetically.  “They were taken to the Temple for a proper burial.”

Norlan sighed.  “What is done is done.”

Moving down the wall, they found a place where they could see the bulk of the enemy forces in the west.

“An undisciplined bunch, I will say,” Farrious said as they leaned against the wall and observed the enemy’s activities. The demons and half-men were still blocking the Royal Highway.  Norlan noted that there seemed to be a lot of milling around occurring, with no real lines set up.

“But they still outnumber us, five to one or more,” Norlan noted.

“True, but they will have to find a better way to attempt the city,” Farrious stated.  “With the additional clerics we have, they can only succeed if they mass their forces and kill or overwhelm the clerics.  If they do that, then we can muster our forces to match them.  We have the advantage with the high walls of the city and unobstructed views.  Honestly, I cannot see how they can do it now.”

Norlan nodded as he considered that.  He hoped that Farrious was correct. “Shouldn’t you go and get some rest, Farrious?  You have been up all night.”

“I am fine, friend Norlan,” the big man said.  “I may have to get something to eat, though.”

“I will take you to where you can get some rations,” Norlan said.  “Until we can break the siege, we have been conserving-” he started, but cut off as the faint sounds of horns blew in the distance.

Their own horns sounding, the enemy forces began to form a semblance of lines, wheeling to face the west.  As Norlan watched, the demons and half-men that had been blocking the other gates started racing back towards the main element.

As he gazed towards the hills, he saw rows of men come marching over the crest, their shields and spears catching the early morning light.  More horns sounded as hundreds of riders joined the rows of men, with the lead elements clad in armor that seemed to shine in the sunlight.  It took Norlan a moment to realize who they were.  It was the southern garrisons, come at last.

He looked over at Farrious as the army began to organize to attack.  The big man watched and nodded approvingly.  Suddenly smiling, he hefted his warhammer and turned to Norlan.  “What do you say, Norlan?  Should we help your countrymen by attacking the enemy’s rear when they engage?”

The sight of the army lifted his spirits and Norlan grinned back.  “I would be honored to accompany you, friend Farrious.  Please give the orders.”

Farrious turned and bellowed out commands, sending runners to gather the clerics and soldiers. Norlan pick up his maul.  As he saw the army begin its attack, he felt a burden lift off of him. 
One more fight, then I am done
, he thought.  Following Farrious, he gave the order to prepare to open the gate.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

With the thick gray clouds overhead blocking most of the sunlight, colors seemed muted as Jake followed Hailyn and Jonas down the narrow draw as Dominic led them towards the fortress.  Dominic had spent two days observing the movement of people in and around the fortress.  He had determined that mid-morning would allow them the best chance to enter unchallenged.  The doors to the servants’ entrance were closed and locked at night, so they had to approach during the day.

The draw led into the rock piles that surrounded the fortress, to the south of the entrance.  Dominic felt they could use the rocks as cover to get as near to the entrance as they could before they crossed the open ground that surrounded the fortress.

As they neared the fortress, Jake could feel the malevolence and darkness radiating from it.  He tried to drive that feeling away and keep his mind on the task at hand.  Dominic had reached the end of the draw and crouched down.

They gathered close behind Dominic, waiting for his signal.  Jake felt the tension build, as sweat began to run down his back, in spite of the cool temperatures.  After a few more moments, Dominic drew his sword, rose, and sprinted towards a cluster of gray rocks directly ahead.  Once he reached it, he looked around, checking for any foes.  Once he was satisfied, he waved them over.

Jake drew his sword as he brought up the rear, running right behind Hailyn.  Once they were all together, Dominic sprinted to another set of rocks, keeping low.  Using this technique, they slowly made their way towards the servants’ entrance.

As they crouched behind the last set of rocks before the entrance, Jake saw two guards exit and stand by the doors.  He glanced over at Dominic and saw him frown.  “There were no guards stationed there before,” he whispered.  He considered the situation for some time, and then looked over at Jake.  “That power you have to control people, can you reach them from here?  If you can keep them from raising the alarm, I will deal with them.”

“I don’t know, but I will try,” Jake said.  He took a deep breath and sent his awareness out, focusing on the two men.  At first, he could feel nothing, but then there was a faint sensation of energy.  He tried to push his awareness further out and felt two fleeting points of energy, fading in and out.  Concentrating, he grasped them with his mind when they became stronger.  He felt that energy flow into him as the guards’ stances relaxed.

“I have them,” Jake whispered.

Dominic nodded and rose, his head moving as he quickly scanned the area.  Jake saw him stiffen, and then crouch back down.  “There is a patrol coming for the north,” he stated.  “It looks like a group of demons, accompanied by soldiers.”  He looked over at Jonas, face expressionless.  “I will move north and draw them away.  When you hear the fighting start, move inside; you should be able to enter unseen.”

“If there are demons, we should all go with you,” Jonas said, voice low and urgent.  “You cannot stand against them alone.”

“If you go with me, Jake will have to release the guards,” Dominic countered, shaking his head.  “If they hear the fighting, they will sound the alarm and we will never make it in.”  He laid a hand on Jonas’ shoulder.  “We are warriors, you and I.  You know that I am the least needed on this mission.  If I can buy you the time to get inside and do what needs to be done, then you should take advantage of that.”

“I will not sacrifice you, Dominic, no matter the cause,” Jonas said quietly.  He seemed torn as he looked at Jake and the sword on his back.  “Jake is the one who needs to get inside,” he mused.  He finally nodded.  “Perhaps I can accomplish both things.  I will go with you, Dominic.”  He held up a hand when Dominic started to protest.  “I can help protect you and my presence may draw the demons out of the fortress.  That may allow Jake to reach the throne room unseen.  Even if they are discovered, with Hailyn at his side, and power of the sword, he should be a match for any demon they encounter.  My power is better used here with you.”

“Do you think you can do it?”  Dominic asked Jake.

Jake, still clinging to the guards with his mind, looked over at Hailyn, the question in his eyes.  She glanced over at Jonas, eyes sympathetic, and then nodded.  Jake turned back to Dominic.  “I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself.  I agree that Jonas should go with you.  Hailyn and I will do what we have to.”

Dominic did not look pleased, but he finally relented.  “When you hear the fighting start, head inside and do not look back.  We will catch up if we can.”

Jake nodded.  With that, Dominic motioned to Jonas and they sprinted towards a group of nearby rocks.

Jake took Hailyn’s hand and waited.  Several minutes later, in the distance, he heard a scream and the blast of conflicting magics.  Tightening his grip on Hailyn’s hand, they rose and ran towards the doors.

As Jake got closer to the guards, his connection with them strengthened.  When they reached the doors, he ordered them, “Take us to the throne room.”  They turned and went inside, Jake and Hailyn following.

The stone hallway had a wide floor with tall ceilings. It was straight and Jake could see that, in the distance, it ended at an intersection with another hallway.  Burning torches and lit braziers illuminated the corridor.  Jake saw several wooden doors along the walls ahead of the guards.  The constant energy from the guards made him want to move faster, but he controlled his impulse.

A servant appeared from one of the doors ahead.  The man glanced down the hall and saw the guards.  He started to walk away, but then turned back, eyes focused on Jake and Hailyn. 
Crap!
Jake thought.

Before the servant could do anything, Jake seized his life force as well.  Another burst of energy flowed into him.  “Join the guards,” he ordered the man.  The man fell in besides the guards as the continued on.

They reached the connecting hallway and the guards turned right.  This hallway was bigger than the first, twice as wide and an arched ceiling high overhead.  Jake could see that different hallways connected to it.  He looked behind, then ahead, gauging its length.  It appeared to run the length of the fortress.  Their steps seemed to echo loudly as they continued to move down the corridor.

Two Imps suddenly appeared from a connecting hallway, turning in their direction.  Hailyn reacted quickly, blasting the demons with a burst of her power.  Unprepared, the demons exploded into ash.

As the sound echoed throughout the halls, Jake called out, “Move faster!”  The guards and servant responded, picking up their pace to a near run.  Hailyn held onto her magic as they raced forward.  More guards and servants appeared and Jake seized them as well.  Moving fast seemed to blunt some of the effects of the multiple streams of energy Jake was now absorbing.  He did not grasp his power as he was concentrating on holding the now-sizable group of people surrounding them.  He relied on Hailyn to hold off any demons, if they appeared.

They reached a large hallway and the guards slowed.  To their left, there was a set of large wooden doors, gilded in gold and glittering stones.  Despite the beautiful décor, Jake felt a palpable darkness emanating from those doors, sending a chill through his body.  He saw four guards at the doors.  Before they could react, he took control of them and moved them to join the others.

Now, he had a dilemma.  He did not what to do with these people.  If he released them, they would collapse for a time, but then recover.  That would mean that they would be at their backs.  He knew he could order a guard to kill the others, and then he could kill the guard, but just the thought sickened him.  He could order them to attack the demon lord, but that would mean their deaths as well.

Not knowing what else to do, he ordered, “Leave the fortress now.”  The people began to move away.  He held on to their life force as long as he could, feeling it slowly grow weaker as they got further away. 
At least that will give us some distance before they collapse.