Steel And Flame (Book 1) (7 page)

Colbey agreed, looking at the comatose old man. 
“We’ll have to work on the assumption they didn’t break all the seals and will
be back.  Any other supposition could spell the end for everyone left.”

“Again, I’m afraid you’re probably be correct.  You’re
the only one hale and whole though, so you’re going to have to take the point
in whatever physical preparations are involved.”

“I hadn’t expected anything else.  After I rest
tonight, we will return to work.”

*        *        *        *        *

Several days later, Colbey rested in the council
hall.  No other building was both intact and large enough to house the
population’s remnants, so it continued to serve as their shelter.  Most of the
work thus far had involved recovering serviceable weapons and food stores, then
retrieving the dead for funeral rites.  As much as he would rather not, Colbey
acknowledged that if the horde returned, no matter what they did to defend
themselves they would all fall.

The others sifted the ruins for salvageable goods,
which meant Colbey happened to be nearest at hand when Elder Orlan regained the
world.  Those villagers nursing the injured were busy when Colbey suddenly
found the old man’s unfocused eyes staring at him.

“What’s happening?”

Orlan’s dream world slowly faded.  Colbey decided
against dragging him back into reality sooner than necessary.  He allowed the
elder’s memories to surface on their own.

The acting nurses found him.  After several minutes of
care, they left him to retrieve new bandages and fresh water.  He lay on his
pallet with his eyes closed, yet Colbey could see silent tears leaking from
beneath his lids, leaving gleaming tracks down weathered cheeks.

“Elder, it is Colbey.”

Eyes resolutely shut, the old man responded hoarsely,
“Yes.  I remember you were the one who found me.  Thank you for bringing me
here.”  He paused a moment.  “I’m glad you were spared from this.”

Colbey had no desire to press the man.  Except time
was short these days.  “Do you know who they were?”

“No, I haven’t a clue.  What a thing to happen!”

“We’ve been trying to piece it together.  Thomas is
running things until you’re back on your feet.”

“Thomas is a good man.  He’ll do well putting the
village back together.  The people will follow him.”

“As near as we can determine, they were after the seal
beneath the pool.  They left soon after they…they finished.  We can’t tell if
they got what they were after or not.”

“Are all of the seal masters gone then?  Oh, this is
our darkest time to be sure.”

“Elder—”

“They did not get it, young Colbey.  I was down by the
waters, remember?  I was there when they attacked and I stayed there as they
came.  One of their sorcerers attacked me when he found me, but didn’t finish
the job.  I was there to see them try to steal our legacy, and I was there to
see them defeated in their purpose.”

“The seals are intact?”

“They tore aside the first layers.  They lacked the
skills or strength to breach the final two.  Those are the oldest, laid by the
original founders of the village.  Not even I could breach them if I desired,
nor could I replicate them.  That skill is lost to time’s erosion.”

“So it is safe.”  Colbey sighed in relief before
jerking upright.  “But that means they will be back!”

From his pallet, the elder opened his eyes to take in
Colbey’s visage.  The young man was exhausted, near haggard.  Unshaven and
dirty, the smell of old sweat wafted strongly, yet his body’s set told Orlan
the most.  His clenched jaw and fists, tension in every muscle bespeaking the
rage burning through him.  In his eyes welled a deeper despair than the old man
had ever seen.

“Colbey, if it comes to the choice, tell Thomas to
abandon this place.  They’re capable of killing us all to take what they want. 
If we can’t stand, we must run and survive.”

The younger man made no response for several long
heartbeats.  “Elder,” he choked, “all my life I’ve trained to act as Guardian
to the village, the forest and our secrets.  How can you tell me such a
thing?”  He refused to look at the old man.

“I tell you as a man who has served these people his
whole life and come to understand what’s truly important!  These people are
sheltered, but they can bend and adapt.  If need be, we can find other places
to live, but I do not want to see them all dead!”

“You’d have us move out to the fringe towns?  To live
with those fools and barbarians?”

“We’d not be safe there either.  Here in the depths of
this isolated place, we were attacked because we are knowledgeable about
ancient secrets that out assailants covet.  Had we not been the protectors of
such, we would have been left in peace, I believe.  For a time.  A short
time.”  Orlan started to say something else, then changed his mind, saying
only, “Our people would be more at home in the sealed areas of the forest, with
the twisted creations left by the ancient magical distortions.  Those we can
guard against…but not these others.”

The elder’s words sat ill at ease with Colbey.  “You
think not even our isolation would have protected us?  That we would have been
attacked eventually anyway even if we had possessed nothing of interest to
these fiends?  How could such be?”

“Colbey, do you believe this was an isolated
incident?  That a greedy mage from the outside learned of our legacy and tried
to claim it for himself?  When have you ever heard of multiple mages working
together in a group when the goal is greater power?  Never, unless they are
attached to a ruler’s armed forces!  This entire group reeked of cooperation
and organization that is unheard of in the private affairs of those who use
magic.  They were part of a larger organization.”

“One of the outside lands is invading the forest?  Or
do you mean invading the kingdom?  That makes no sense!  I never caught wind of
any such action during my exile there!”

“Nor did you hear of any armies employing those
inhuman beasts, I’ll wager.”  Colbey nodded.  “We weren’t attacked so they
could gain land, son.  Nor to increase their position or better their army’s
strategic placement.  No, we were attacked so they could gain the power we hold
in stasis.  The first action any invading force undertakes once it begins
moving is to gather all the might available to it so they can smash their
enemy’s defenses.  I believe we were attacked for no reason other than to give
someone an advantage during a larger fight to come.  A fight that has nothing
to do with us.  I am sure of it!”

Colbey thought fast. 
Could it be true?  If an
outlander army is already so formidable that they control demons to their whim,
why would they need more power?  Or can other armies use such beasts as well? 
“I
see what you are saying, but I can’t see who it would be.  No one in the entire
kingdom could produce the forces that arrived here.  Of that I am positive! 
None of my research in the outlands suggests the surrounding kingdoms could
either!  Adel didn’t recognize them, so who does that leave if no one in the
lands around us could have done it?”

The answer came to him the same time the elder voiced
it.  “Someone outside the lands, of course.  That those demon beasts match no
description of anything known to us supports the theory as well.  And remember
Thomas’s saying, Colbey.  Assume nothing.  Did you closely study the bordering
kingdoms during your journey, or any of the farther lands beyond them?”

“No.  But how would an outlander outside our knowledge
even know of the forest, let alone the seals it hides within?”

“Easily if they were magic users, as we know they
are.  Spells for seeing things which lie far away are common enough.  Spells
for locating power useful to a mage also exist.  We’ve had to fend off magic
users quite often who come investigating.”

Shocked anew and angry all over, Colbey demanded, “Why
did I not know that?”

“Calm down, son.  Your training is still incomplete,
is it not?”

“By a few months!  I should have been told!”

“Farr was in charge of the Guardians.  I think he felt
the harsher histories were best saved for last.  The point is that we have been
discovered in the past, so being discovered by a strong enemy seeking power to
aid their plans is perfectly possible.”

“But to what end?  To destroy the kingdom, or conquer
it?”

“I do not know, and I grow weary.  But Colbey, I see
hard times ahead for all the kingdom, not just the Rovasii.  The force that
invaded us might be nothing compared to their true strength; an expendable
exploratory force at best.  Please tell Thomas not to cling to our roots if it
means the extermination of the entire village.”

Unhappy, Colbey nodded and said, “I will.  I think you
need to rest now.  The Healer has been waiting to tend to you.”

The old man closed his eyes.  Colbey left to find
Thomas while Ceryl, who had given Colbey the time he needed to speak with the
elder, returned with fresh bandages and food.  It turned out she had been
perceptive.  Elder Orlan soon fell into his coma again for the last time. 
Probably he went so quickly because deep down he wanted to.  It was a refuge
from reality.

By next morning, the survivors of the unspeakable
tragedy numbered forty-six.

*        *        *        *        *

The men and women recovered slowly.  They regained
their strength a piece at a time, each working as best they could.  This left Colbey
to his thoughts longer than he would have liked.  After interring the dead
within the forest soil beyond the pool’s edge, Thomas called a meeting to
discuss the future.  With the elder’s words at the forefront of the
discussions, they finally agreed to move into a different area.

A lesser sealed area existed close by the ruins. 
Thomas elected to use it.  They would be able to maintain a watch of sorts for
the horde’s return.  After settling down they might be able to resume patrol
duties against the outland trappers and hunters.  Colbey wondered what the
point of it was.

While the Guardians had been weaker in strength than
usual, they had still been utterly defeated.  What point now in keeping out the
occasional wandering hunter searching for treasures, one who was too stupid to
sense the seals around the forest, when at any time a larger force could come
and brush them aside like ants?

Also, he refused to believe nothing could be done
against these unknown foes.  If Orlan had it right, then something evil brewed
somewhere.  Whether it simmered across the nearest border or in lands further
away, it had clearly cast its eye on the Rovasii, if not all of Galemar.  It
would return, and Colbey meant to have his own back.

When Thomas ended the meeting with stated intent of
rebuilding their lives as much as possible, Colbey made his decision.  The next
day while they collected material to build litters for transporting those still
too wounded to move on their own, he approached Thomas.

“I must go.”

The older Guardian nodded.  “You know, I had a feeling
I might be hearing that from you.  Let me say that we need all the hands we can
muster.”

“I know and I am sorry, but the wounded are becoming
stronger everyday and you can still scavenge most of the goods you need from
the ruins.”

“Are you planning to come back?  I can see your mind
enough to understand what’s driving you, but the non-Guardians might hold it
against you.”

“I don’t know yet.  I still need to make several
decisions.  I know I’ll lose face in their eyes for leaving now.”

“I’ve thought about it myself.  So have the other
three.  If the villagers weren’t depending on us to protect them from the
creatures behind the seal, we’d head off looking for those bastards ourselves.”

Colbey nodded.  “It is part of who we are as
Guardians.  I can’t sit still when I could be fighting back.”

“I’m sorry to see you go, Colbey.  You were one of my
best students, though your head’s always been a tad larger than is good for
you.  I hope you’ve learned not to let your emotions and your feelings rule
your thinking.”

“I’ve thought it through.”

“Then I’ll try to keep the others from feeling you’ve
abandoned them.  Maybe I’ll tell them you’re scouting the horde’s location so
we’ll have advance warning of their return.”

“Thank you, Thomas.  If I do learn they are returning,
I’ll come back as fast as I can.”

“Then I’m not even lying.  I feel better already.” 
Extending their hands, they grasped each other’s wrists.  “Strike a blow for
all of us, my friend.”

“I will.  No matter what else may come, I will do that
much at the very least.  Fare you all well.”

“And you too.”

Colbey retraced the path he had taken so many days
before at a much slower pace.  His travel pack remained in the tree he had left
it in.  He shouldered it before climbing down to the forest floor.  With a
heavy heart and a tear in his eye he would never have credited to himself, he
left the Euvea and his village, departing for the outlands once again.