NexLord: Dark Prophecies (14 page)

To
Aerin,
it
seemed that everyone was talking and no one was listening.

Someone finally spotted the boys.

"Gedin
be
praised, there he is!"

Talking immediately came to a stop and most
of the people in the room knelt to one knee.  Only a
small group of robed men remained standing. One of them, a man with
fierce bushy eyebrows, that Aerin recalled seeing during their
flight, was even scowling.

Aerin whispered to Lor, "What is going
on?  I thought they might be glad we put out the alarm,
but this?"

Lor glanced at Aerin.  "Haven't you
figured it out yet?"

The captain of the Guardsmen marched in and
made his way straight to Darel where he knelt and held his mailed
fist across his chest.  "Milord Trelic, the Seat is
secured.  I hereby render my resignation for
failing..."

"Oh stop it,
Packert
, I'll take no one's resignation for this attack
on the seat,” Darel exclaimed.

Aerin whirled to face Darel.  "My
Lord Trelic, as in… Gandarel Trelic?” the pieces fell into place in
Aerin’s head as he finally figured out that his friend Darel was
actually Gandarel Trelic, Heir to the Seat of Stone!

Gandarel looked very sheepish.  "I
can't help it, that's who I am."

The man with bushy eyebrows stepped
forward.  "I'll take care of the rest of this, someone
get Gandarel to safety… and I'll want these other boys questioned
immediately."

"That's Niler, he's, well, you will see,"
Gandarel said with a shrug.

He faced the
bushy-browed
councilman, "These are my friends, so they
are to be treated as such.  They are the ones who rang
the alarm bell that saved the Seat," Gandarel proclaimed loud
enough for all to hear. 

The voices rose in babble
again
but then quieted as Captain Packert
spoke.  "My boys, you have the gratitude of the Guard.
You have no idea how many lives you saved, and more importantly,
you saved the life of our charge.  We are in your debt,"
he promised, saluting the two boys.

"They are not to be harassed, and are to be
released after they answer a few questions from Captain Packert,"
Gandarel ordered.

Niler looked like he was about to burst in
and override Gandarel, but he held onto himself and settled for
leading Gandarel away by the arm to a private area where they could
settle a few things.

Captain Packert took Lor and Aerin to another
room and asked them how they knew to sound the
alarm.  Aerin did the speaking, and though he left out
the part about the dead Guardsman, he told them most of how he had
learned about the attack and what they had done.

The guard captain asked them two more
questions for
clarification
and
then had them escorted back to the Inn where Aerin was
staying.  Lor waited until the Guardsmen had left before
speaking. "Thanks for not bringing up the dead Guardsman we
found in the sewer."

Aerin smiled wanly.  "I promised
you I wouldn't talk about that, we all promised, besides, I think
we have settled the
onus
that man
put upon us.”

Lor nodded and patted Aerin on the back
silently before he disappeared into the streets.  From
the
east,
the sun was just
starting to bring the glow of approaching day.

Aerin walked up the stairs to his room
tiredly, and suddenly he remembered breaking his
promise
and wondered what Mara would say and do
to him when she returned.  He had not seen Mara since he
left her with the priest and his minions, though he couldn't really
say he was worried; there was an odd strength in the old
woman.   Besides, with Yearl and Tocor there to
protect her he doubted an entire Togroth army would get
through.

Aerin opened the door and found Mara sitting
at the table alone, waiting for him.  He took a deep
breath to try and explain, but Mara interrupted him, "Shush,
there will be no talk about this.  Just come here so I
can try and wash some of that filth off you."

Aerin was speechless, but he stood quietly as
Mara stripped off his clothes and tossed them in a pile in the
corner.  She cleaned him with a basin of water she had
heated on the fire and then pushed him to the bed and tucked him
into the covers.  It was all done in silence until he was
safely in the bed.

Mara sat next to him, he couldn't make out
her face because of the fire behind her, but her voice was not
angry.  "Look, if you're going to get into this kind of
mess in the future you'd best be better prepared.  You do
have an affinity for trouble, don't you?  But with the
power that is driving your destiny, this is to be
expected.   Tomorrow we begin your training."

"Training?” he asked sleepily.

"Hush, and sleep, you'll need your strength
and your wits if you're going to learn to kill
Togroths.  Now
sleep,
young rescuer."

"But how did Yearl...” he started to ask, but
Mara's soft finger on his lips stilled his question.

"I always know more than you think, Aerin,
didn't I tell you that?  Yearl and Tocor are pursuing the
Deglick
; you are in no danger now,
so sleep without worry.  Good night young hero."

Chapter Five

"And in my vision the teacher came to him,
but he chose when he was ready to be taught."

- From the Prophecies of Gold

Later that morning Tocor entered the room,
which awakened the tired Aerin.  Mara, as usual, was
already up and looking over some papers at the small table.

"We lost him," Tocor said without
preamble.

Mara nodded.

"The Deglick hit us with a squad of Togroths,
just when we thought we had trapped it at a river.  I
don't know how that thing managed to get over the water, but it was
gone when we finished off the Togroths."

"Chai
E'tan
is an old Deglick, its powers are great.  It has had a
long time to build up the hatred, and during that
time,
it has also learned to be
cunning.  I don't blame you, but I would sleep better if
you had ended that fell creature."

"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of
its evil," Tocor rumbled.

"No doubt, but the time is nearly here when I
can finally..." she paused, "Good morning, Aerin, I see that
you are finally awake!"

Aerin stretched and then pulled the covers
over his head.

Mara put down a piece of paper and looked at
him.  "I'll be going out on an errand soon, but I want
you here at noon when I return, so we can start your lessons,
understood?"

Aerin nodded under the covers, but he figured
that Mara understood, somehow she always knew what he was
thinking.

A moment later she left.

Aerin got up and sat at the table for a few
minutes eating some cheese.

Tocor seemed preoccupied and sat staring into
the small fireplace; the golden flecks in his irises seemed to spin
in circles.

Aerin pulled on the rest of his clothes and
went out to see if one of his friends was out and
about.  He only had until noon, but they had lots to talk
about with yesterday’s adventure still fresh.

He combed the streets looking for Dono or
Lor
and had just about given up
when he saw Mara heading up a street.  The area was
vaguely familiar to Aerin, and then he remembered where he had seen
it before.  This was where Mara had stopped the wagon on
the first day they had arrived in Strakhelm.

He decided to see what she was up to, though
he knew he was playing with fire.  He followed her at
extreme distance, hoping that would help.

Mara paused at each of the abandoned building
that lined the desolate street, obviously looking for
something.  At the third open
doorway,
she peered into the dark interior and then
entered.  Aerin waited a moment and then moved closer
until he finally reached a window in the building.  He
peeked in over the edge of the windowsill into the dark
interior.

Mara was inside, near the back corner of the
room.  She sat on the floor before a man dressed in
rags.  Aerin couldn’t tell for sure if it was the same
man as before, but he believed so.  Then Mara did
something that surprised Aerin; she leaned forward and sniffed the
man.  He snarled and she lowered her
head
but didn’t stop.  After a
moment,
she moved back and sat
with her legs held up against her chest.  It was a
totally non-aggressive position.  

The raggedy man moved forward on all fours
and sniffed her tentatively.  After a few
moments,
he too pulled back and crouched on the
balls of his feet.  

Mara slowly unfolded her legs and assumed the
same crouched position on the floor facing the man.  She
proceeded to speak to him in a low voice. Aerin couldn’t hear all
she said
clearly
but caught an
occasional word.

“So, how are you doing today?  I …
you don’t
reme
… how to
answer…  all right.  I am just going to talk…
begin to remember.  How are you doing?  I’m
hoping that you… …resume your…  …days
soon.  The time is coming soon when the world will need…
…and I am hoping you will come back into your own.  I’m
training a new NexLord named, Gan… …but that is not… … replacement…
…I haven’t told… …but… …need to know that… …is not lost
forev
… …but will return in their darkest…
…

Suddenly the raggedy man
leaped
past Mara and headed straight for the
window where Aerin was watching.

Aerin nearly fell down as he scrambled
back.  He dashed around the corner of the building and
didn’t stop running until he cleared Netter Street and made a
couple of turns.  He quickly worked his way back to the
Inn.

Around
noon,
Aerin went out into the courtyard to see if Mara had
returned.  Aerin was surprised to see Gandarel entering
from the street. 

Six Guardsmen escorted the future
Warlord.  They promptly took up positions around the
area, two standing near the entrance. 

"Darel, or should I call you Gandarel, or
Warlord or something?" Aerin asked, with a little
embarrassment.

Gandarel scowled, "Call me what you always
called me, I'm no different today."

"Except for the guard escort," Aerin said,
nodding toward the warriors by the gate, "I'm surprised they let
you out after all that business last night!"

Gandarel lowered his voice, "So am
I!  Gedin take me, I thought they'd lock me in a tower
until I was thirty-three!  But this morning Head
Councilman Corbin told me I had a new instructor to add to my
schedule.  `Oh joy', I thought, like I really need
another instructor trying to teach me more worthless stuff, but
then Councilman Enolive took me OUT of the Seat into the city with
these six Guardsmen as an
escort
.  He left me at the Inn's gate after
explaining he would be back to pick me up in two hours."

"That's strange, he brought you here?"

"Yes, I asked him what I was to do, he told
me to wait here for my new instructor.  He seemed rather
peeved about the whole thing, but he explained that my rescuer of
the night before had been offered any reasonable reward for saving
my life.  Get this, as her reward she asked to teach me
two hours each day in the art of discipline.  Gedin
help
me, this is just what I need,
another discipline instructor!"

"But why did they bring you here!" Aerin
asked in surprise.

"Answer me that and I'll kiss a toad,"
Gandarel noted.

"And well that they did bring you here," Mara
said from a few paces away, leaning on her knobby wooden cane and
smiling a sly smile, "for I am your teacher, Gandarel
Trelic."

Gandarel leaned over and whispered to Aerin,
"She's the one who got us away from that priest and his false
Guardsmen, remember her?"

"
Of course,
I remember her," Aerin answered in a normal level voice, "she's
my..." and here he paused as he tried to think of the proper title,
“...my friend, and..."

"How about, 'guardian'?" Mara suggested,
filling in his pause.

"Oh," Gandarel exclaimed, "that explains why
they brought me here.  Are the other two men still
following that priest?"

Mara shook her head, "Unfortunately the
Deglick escaped, so my friends have returned.  They will
be here shortly to help in Aerin's instruction, and
yours.  For the next three
years,
I am going to be your discipline instructor two
hours each day."

"You, Mara?" Aerin asked in surprise.

She graced him with an arched
eyebrow
and knowing that look Aerin chose to be
quiet for a bit.

Gandarel frowned as he said, "I do thank you
for my rescue, but I don't think I need any more teachers right
now."

Mara laughed a clear and truly amused laugh
from deep in her old body.  "You have no other teachers,
boy, I am your first."

The laugh made Gandarel
defensive.  "I don't want to be taught."

Mara nodded and replied, "Suit yourself,
I don't teach those who don't wish to be taught, but you must still
come here and sit for two hours each day.  That is the
reward I was offered for saving your life, is that too much to
ask?"

"No, but I don't HAVE to learn anything?"
Gandarel asked, this new tact taking him by surprise.

"Let's say you don't have to choose to learn
anything and I won't force you," she agreed.

"Fine, I think I'll just relax over here
then," Gandarel decided, walking to one of the small trees and
sitting down in the pool of shade.

Mara nodded, a small smile tugging the corner
of her mouth. 

Aerin followed Gandarel over to the shade and
they sat down. Mara headed for the stable where her wagon was
parked.