EntrophyA Chapter by Eddie DavisAaron, Allea and Lysa teleport with the Talminor.4. Entropy
The couple spent nearly half an hour talking, but just as Lysa was debating going back to the stable, they appeared, riding their horses. Aaron led Lysa’s horse up to the wagon, where she was sitting with Wulf-wuf and the other Talminor. “Sorry to keep you all waiting in the rain.” Aaron said to them as he handed Lysa the reins of her horse. Lysa bowed, and then quickly mounted her horse, daring to shoot a glance at the Half-Drow girl. Even in the rain, she could tell that Allea had been crying, but now she wore a somewhat worn-down, yet sincere, half-smile. Apparently Aaron had straightened everything out. “If we’re all ready, we will be underway. Allea, are you ready to chant your spell?” Aaron asked the girl and she just meekly began the teleportation spell. Lysa suddenly had a worrisome thought - what if the Half Drow sorceress ‘accidentally’ teleported her into a rock or something solid in retribution for Aaron’s rebuke? That would quickly end her problem! But before Lysa could dwell upon the thought, the teleportation spell was completed and they all vanished immediately.
To the Orc girl’s relief, they all reappeared just outside an Elven watch-keep building that seemed quite ancient. Their horses and the mules that were pulling the wagon were startled by the sudden change of location and it took several minutes to calm them down. The rain here was a mere cold drizzle, and Aaron had them move the animals into the lower level of the building. “This is the half-way point between Tarmard and Helios’ valley, but from Westmark, we are about 3/4ths of the way there. We could proceed on, but I don’t think that is wise in the rain. We’ll stay the rest of the day here and overnight, and then start out in the morning, hopefully in better weather.” “It doesn’t look any different from the last time we were here. I wish I had remembered the Castle Shieldwall.” Allea said to the young Duke with a sigh. The Castle Shieldwall was a magic device that created an extra-dimensional castle where a group of people could rest and recover without worrying about the weather or posting guards. Gamel had given it to her months ago, but the Sorceress had been so busy learning spells that she had forgotten about the handy magic item until now. “This watch-keep will suffice, but it will need straightening up, and we’ll be hard pressed to find dry wood for a fire.” Aaron replied. “My Lord, I will go and see if I can find some wood.” Lysa volunteered, still attempting to stay out of Allea’s way. The Half-Elf shook his head, “It’s too dangerous, Lysa. Gamel’s squire was killed here, and he was sitting on the top floor of this tower.” “I will be cautious, sir.” “No, I don’t want you -or any of us- out there. Not even in groups of two or three. There could be more of Helios’ monsters prowling about.” As soon as he said this, Aaron looked alarmed and glanced at Wulf-wuf, Bull, Grunt and Hiz. The Talminor were gently lowering the ‘frozen’ body of Mew off the wagon and did not seem offended by Aaron’s choice of words. Of course he had not meant any of them when he had said ‘monsters’ but he did not want them to think that this was what he thought of them. “I can get a fire started, magically.” Allea told Aaron, “But I will need some dry fuel to keep it going.” “Maybe there is some burnable debris inside the keep.” Lysa suggested. “That sounds like a good idea.” Aaron agreed. “Is it alright for me to take anything I find to use as fuel?” The Orc girl asked and Aaron laughed at her question. “Lysa, why in the world are you asking my permission for burning rubbish?” “My Lord, this keep is part of your duchy, so everything here is your property.” Lysa replied with a gentle smile. Aaron seemed surprised, “I guess I never thought of this area falling under my jurisdiction. Well then, I, uh, hereby give you permission to burn any combustible material found within this watch-keep. If it looks valuable or important, let me know, other than that, use your own judgment.” Lysa bowed, “Yes, my Lord.” As the Orc squire hurried off to search the tower, she heard Allea flirting with Aaron, “Well, your first official command within your duchy! How impressive.” “I’m sure there will be many more.” He replied and then Lysa was out of range of their conversation.
***
The keep was mostly empty and aside from trash left by the group that came here last fall with King Aedric, there was little to find that would burn. Bull, Wulf-wuf and Hiz helped her search, while Grunt sat and monitored Mew - though she was as full of life as a statue. Bull found a large, heavy wooden table that had been broken in the middle and discarded into a dark alcove in the stable level. Lysa joined the three Talminor men in pulling it over to the trap door to the second level. “We’ll have to break it up into smaller pieces.” She told them and Wulf-wuf gestured for her to step back. The wolf-headed Talminor and Hiz (who had a reptilian head and a forked tongue that darted in and out like a snake) stepped back and turned to Bull. With a somewhat sinister sounding snort, Bull bent over and rammed his bull’s head into the wood, splintering it. It did the trick, and after two more charges into the old table, there was a pile of wood scattered across the floor. “Wow, he’s just like those old stories of minotaurs.” Allea’s voice came from behind her, causing Lysa to jump. The Half-Drow girl had inherited the Drow’s silent movement from her mother. “I pray he didn’t hurt his head doing that.” Lysa replied, hoping that the Half-Drow girl’s opinion of her had permanently softened. “He seems alright.” Allea said, joining Lysa in watching the Talminor pick up the wood. “Lysa, I wanted to just thank you for trying to step down as Aaron’s squire. We talked after you left and I realize now just how ridiculous it was for me to be jealous of you.” “Lady Allea, believe me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about as far as I’m concerned. My people have served Kings, Queens and nobles for many generations and we know our places.” “I know, Lysa. It is my own insecurity that is the problem.” “Why would you be insecure, Lady Allea? You come from a proud, noble family; you possess the beauty of your mother’s people and are related to the royal family by blood. You have a knack for magic and will likely become one of the most powerful sorceresses that our world has ever seen. I would imagine that there is nothing that you could not achieve.” Allea smiled at Lysa’s flattering words, “My goodness, Lysa, you really do know your place! I feel as if I could conquer the world after hearing your assessment of my credentials.” “Lady Allea, I did not say that to flatter you. It is what everyone perceives when they think of you, so you have much to be confident about.” The Half-Drow smiled weakly, “Well, perhaps I do… I just don’t see myself in the same light.” “Sometimes we can be our own worst critics, Lady Allea.” “Thank you, Lysa; you are most gracious, considering how poorly I acted toward you.” Lysa was about to respond, when suddenly Hiz, who was collecting the scraps of wood with the other Talminor, cried out and then fell face forward onto the floor. They all were at his side in seconds and even Aaron, who was on the floor above when Hiz cried out, had joined them before a minute had passed. What they found sent a wave of revulsion and horror over all of them. For Hiz had simply ‘come apart’. His snake-like head had separated from the rest of his body at the shoulders, and his scorpion-like tail lay in a pool of blood on the floor. “Yesh, have mercy, he’s dead!” Allea told them what they already knew to be true. Lysa wept openly and was hugged by Wulf-wuf and Bull, who both made animal sounds of lamentation. “It happened so suddenly!” Aaron said as he looked in numb disbelief, “Was there any warning?” The young Duke glanced over to the other Talminor, and they simply shook their heads. Allea rushed over to the Half-Elf and embraced him. He hugged her tightly, “Are you alright, my dear?” Allea just trembled and buried her head in his chest. “Lysa, are you alright?” He asked softly and she just nodded, unable to speak. “Wulf-wuf, Bull, I am so sorry. If we’d known, perhaps we could have used the Temporal Stasis to prevent it…” The two Talminor acknowledged his words with slight nods of their heads. “Maybe we should put the other three in Temporal Stasis today.” Allea suggested, and though she said this softly to Aaron, both Bull and Wulf-wuf looked up in alarm at the idea. A moment of barking and snorting sounds told the others that they did not like this idea in the least. “Alright, calm down.” Aaron told them, “We won’t do that, but Hiz’s death greatly worries me. We still have about two days travelling from here - if the roads are in fair shape.”
There was no better option, so the discussion ended and Lysa volunteered to go dig a grave for Hiz. “You’ll need help, with it raining.” Aaron told her, “I’ll help you. Allea, if you can, could you… uh… gather Hiz’s… um… parts… and wrap them up. I’ve an extra tarp in my saddle bags - use that.” The Half-Drow girl looked less than thrilled with her gruesome task, but agreed. The other Talminor went to help make preparations. “Well, let’s go dig a grave.” Aaron said to his squire, pulling his hood over his head. © 2014 Eddie Davis |
StatsAuthorEddie DavisSpringfield, MOAboutI'm a fantasy and science-fiction writer that enjoys sharing my tales with everyone. Three trilogies are offered here, all taking place in the same fantasy world of Synomenia. Other books and stor.. more..Writing
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