Prologue Part II

             “Thank you for sending for me, Jareb”. A woman’s voice filtered into Skonches ears, his wife’s, or rather ex-wife’s, voice. He managed to move his head slightly to the left and open his eyes. She was standing there, long blonde hair falling over her shoulders talking to Jareb and looking concerned. They’d met when they were young, not even teens, and had fallen in love almost instantly. But like everything else in this place the connection seemed to fade under the pressure of his being so different from everyone else.

 

 

            “I don’t understand why”! In their 5 years of marriage he’d never once raised his voice at her until now. “Have I not been a good husband to you”?

 

            “Of course you have, you have been everything I could have wanted, but this is different”! Shae was pregnant and her fears of raising a child with him as it’s father was too much for her to bare.

 

            “You don’t think I would be a good father to a son, or a daughter? All I have ever done is provide for you, give you everything you need and most of what you want. I have never raised a hand to you, and I have loved you. You do not think I can do the same for my children”?

 

            “I know you can, but do you have any idea what it will be like for our child growing up with an outsider for a father”? She was almost hysterical now as she packed the last of her things into a duffel.

 

            “I know, I grew up here AS an outsider. But the fact that my own wife still sees me as one, after living here for 15 years…go then. Raise the child as someone else’s, but be warned, it is my child and has my blood  and there will come a day when it  realizes it is not like everyone else. When that day comes pray that the man who is pretending to be its father has the fortitude to stick around and raise a Beast Rider. Few who are not Beast Rider’s themselves can rise to the occasion”.

 

              She began to try to explain further but as she turned she saw only his back as he walked away from their home toward the Stables where Chaos was kept.

 

 

            “How is he”?

 

            “He is in bad shape, but the worst is behind us I think. It’s been almost a week now. I still don’t know how he got so damaged. He has burns from fire, burns from ice, broken bones and skin torn off in chunks. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Good job Jareb stepped in and started work early. Without those healing salves he would have taken the long walk”. A short heavy man dressed in brown cloaks stood next to Skonches bed and spoke to someone Skonch could not see. He knew from the man’s dress he was a healer cleric from the temple of ShadowGale and he could hear the men talk but distinguishing voices was difficult with bandages wrapped around his head.

 

            “How long before he is able to talk with us”. The other man came into view. It was King Leopold, dressed in his stalking gear. He must have decided to come check on Skonch after a day of hunting.

 

            “Hard to say. His jaw is one of the few bones that was in tact when he was found, but until his head clears up, there is no way of knowing”.

 

            “Leo”, a whisper, but there it was.

 

            “Skonch”, Leo bumped the cleric out of his way and walked to Skonch’s side.

 

            “what the craznots happened to you”? It was the closest he had been to Skonch since he’d been moved to the church. One eye was covered with a patch, his head was wrapped in bandages, his left arm in sling, both legs splinted, and sitting there covered only with a light linen he could see the swaths of missing skin. Many were healing now under the care of the excellent cleric Eldric Four Fingers.

 

            “Nothing I couldn’t handle”. His voice was still a whisper, but you could hear the power lying just beneath it. Leopold smiled brightly. He had heard those words from Skonch on more occaisions than he could remember. It was the Beastriders mantra as he headed off to battle.

 

            “A story for another day then, perhaps when you get back on your feet and come to stay at the big house with Caelin and myself”. He didn’t wait for a response, the King simply turned and left.

 

            “So you’ve found your voice have you”? The cleric leaned over and pulled the patch off of Skonches right eye. The big man moaned and squinted furiously against the invading light, and the cleric dropped the patch back into place. “Good, good. Light sensitivity is a good sign you’ll be getting your sight back in that eye”.

            “How did I get here”?

            “Oh, now that’s a question isn’t it? A lot of people want to know what happened to you son”.

 

            “I know what happened to me”, his voice was gaining strength but was still very horse. “I don’t know how I ended up under your care in the temple”. A quizzical look crossed Skonch’s face then, “who are you anyway”?

 

            “I am Eldric Fourfingers”, he held up his left hand and was in fact missing his thumb. He held up his right hand and stuck out his thumb “this one’s still there though”. He laughed as he turned away from his patient and went to work mixing herbs in a bowl.

 

            “Then, Eldric how did I find myself under your watchful eye”?

 

            “Your friend Jareb brought you to me. He had you, gave you some wizardish treatment to keep you from taking the long walk, and brought you to me to patch you up right”.

 

            “How long have I been here”?

 

            “Oh, going on about two weeks now. In fact I think the worst may be over. The king provided for some strong healing for you. It’s good to be friends with the King. In fact, you may be able to get up and moving now. I concentrated on your legs, Jareb said you are restless. Thought you might want your wheels back so you could start making the rounds. A lot of people came by to see you, you know”.

 

            “Indeed. Many of whom have no idea I saw them pass me by as I lie bleeding to death on the steps of the hall”. With great effort and no shortness of pain Skonch sat up on the bed as Eldric worked to remove the splints on his legs. “They can forget they ever knew me”.

 

            “I suppose I would feel the same, but the circumstances of your arrival where…uh..unusual”.

 

            “How do you mean”?

 

            “Well, you were left at the gates by some great winged beast, a demon most are saying, and you crawled your way to the hall prior to collapsing on the steps. Folks were afraid to get too close to you, given what they had seen”.

 

            “Excuses. These are the same people who laid safe and comfortable in their beds at night because myself and others were willing to die for them”.

 

            “Indeed”.

 

            “So how long before I am 100% again”, Skonch coughed and his throat rasped.

            “Drink this, it will help with the dry throat”, he handed Skonch a mug full of some warm liquid. It was sweet and went down easy.

 

            “How long”?

 

            “Hard to say actually. You seem to have a remarkable aptitude for healing I must confess. Your arm and your flesh wounds didn’t receive the same treatment as your legs and your head. Could take some time to get them back to rights. But the good news is, now that you are back on your feet, the King would like me to escort you to the castle. I think we can look after you just fine while you are there”.

 

            “I can find my own way, if it’s all the same to you”. Skonch paused for a moment and turned back to Eldric “where is Chaos, and where are my belongings”?

 

            “Chaos is in the royal stables, creating quite a ruckus as I understand it, and your things are already in your room in the big house”.

 

            “Thank you. For everything”.

 

            “It’s my job”, he winked and smiled at Skonch as he exited the room.