The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest (24 page)

“
Well that doesn’t have
anything to do with me.  I just needed a blade that could
withstand my fighting style.”  And her magic, but he didn’t
need to know about that.

“
Fer Beliach ta make yeh a
blade yeh gotta visit him.”  Felix said, narrowing his eyes.
 “He’s gotta get ta know yeh so he can make sure the weapon
matches.  Where is he?”

“
I don’t know.  I never
visited him at all, on the one year anniversary of my
apprenticeship my Master gave me Brightfang.  He said that
Beliach owed him a favor or something but didn’t have time to tell
me anything else because the Inquisitors attacked…”  Damn it,
there she went again.  Why couldn’t she keep control of her
tongue?

Felix stood from his chair faster than his
bulk would suggest was possible.  With effort, Callindra
matched his speed, performing a perfect backflip over the fire, the
winds nearly extinguishing the flames and blowing up a cloud of
sparks. She landed lightly on the balls of her feet with Brightfang
glittering in her hands.  The Dwarf blurred with speed and she
struck where she thought he would be instead of where she thought
he was.  

With a harsh metallic clang, Brightfang
stopped as though he had struck solid stone.  Felix had caught
the blade between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.
 He stared at her up the curved length of the blade, his eyes
intense.  Brightfang whined in protest then fell silent when
the Dwarf flicked the blade with his other hand.

“
Yer good girl.  What
do ya really know bout Glarian?” He said, looking at her with eyes
that seemed carved from flint.

Callindra tried to withdraw her sword, but
she might as well have tried to lift a mountain.  “Who is
Glarian?”  She asked defiantly.  Behind Felix, her
companions had drawn weapons and were cautiously approaching
them.

“
This blade says yer his
apprentice.  Tha winds say tha same.  Nobody else would
dare call in favors from Beliach, an besides, yeh have his fighting
style in spite of usin a blade a quarter the size of his and yer
bonded ta this pigsticker.”

“
I know he’s the best
swordsman in the world.”  She retorted, “What do you know of
him?”

Felix burst into laughter, surprising them
all.  “Yeh really are fiesty ain’t ya?  Ya shoulda been
trained by fire with that spirit, but I spose wind fits yeh too.
 Yeh have a hard road ahead a yeh girl, but ah think yeh got
what it takes to travel it.”  He released her sword and turned
back to the others.

“
Na need ta worry.  Ah
knew it was too easy for me ta find Beliach like this.  She
don’t know where he is.”  With that, the Dwarf returned to his
seat, passing between the others as though he had nothing to worry
about in spite of the weapons in their hands.

Cronos looked at Tryst, his eyes clearly
asking if they were just going to let this slide.  Tryst
glanced at Vilhylm and Callindra, and she shook her head slightly
and sheathed Brightfang.  The others relaxed slightly, except
for Cronos who still eyed Felix suspiciously.

“
So what did this smith
supposedly steal from your people?” Cronos demanded.

Felix regarded him for a moment before
answering.  “He stole the captive demon we used to fire our
Adamantine Forge.  It happened right at the same moment that
we were assaulted by an ancient Black Dragon.  We have a hard
time thinking it might be coincidence.”

They were all quiet for a few moments and
then Cronos sheathed his swords.  “Fine.  Let’s eat
before the food gets cold.”

Callindra released a breath she hadn’t
realized she was holding and took her hand off Brightfang’s hilt
and they all settled down for a relatively calm dinner.  After
eating, Callindra and Felix filled their pipes once more and sat
smoking contentedly.

“
Yeh cn all sleep tonigh,
Ah’ll keep watch in return fer th meal.” Felix said, “Yeh all look
like yeh could use it.”

“
I’m not one to turn down a
good night’s sleep.”  Tryst said, “Today was fairly taxing.”
 The others didn’t seem to share his apparent trust, but still
rolled into their blankets without complaint.

-

Callindra awoke in the pre-dawn glow just
before sunrise, unwrapping herself from around Brightfang’s
scabbard.  She was glad the others weren’t awake yet, her
habit of cuddling her sword as though he was a lover was a tad
embarrassing.  Standing quietly and stretching, she moved away
slightly to avoid waking the others.  On her way out of camp
she saw Felix stand from where he must have been standing
guard.

“
I’m gon ta go lass.
 Yeh got things from here?”  He smiled at her, “Yeh truly
do belong ta tha blade.”

“
You mean he belongs to me?”
 She said, finding his comment a bit disconcerting.

“
Nah lass.  Yeh know as
well’s I do tha yeh rely on tha blade.”  He shouldered his
substantial pack and his feet sank visibly into the ground.
 “I gotta go.  Take carea tha sword an he’ll take carea
yeh in return.”  With that, he stood and took a single step
that covered a hundred paces.  The next one spanned more than
a mile.  I stared after him in astonishment.

Instead of wasting time trying to follow him,
she walked to a small clearing a short distance from her sleeping
friends and began her morning practice of the Korumn.  When
she was complete she was sweating but energized and ready for the
day.  Brightfang was singing when she sheathed him and
Callindra felt close to the same herself by the time she returned
to camp.

“
Rise and shine boys!” She
said as she entered camp.  The winds capered around the embers
of last night’s fire and the kindling she tossed down burst into
merry flames.  It wasn’t her turn to cook, but since the
others were busy sleeping in she had a pot of water boiling and was
getting ready to start the porridge by the time Vilhylm stopped
her.

“
Better you leave this to
me.” He said, “Your last attempt at porridge was more suited to
paving roads than breakfast.”  If she hadn’t been in such a
good mood, Callindra would have taken offense… but he had a point.
 She wasn’t the gods gift to cooking.

Chapter 20

After two days of uneventful travel, they
saw smoke on the horizon. “I think we’re only about a half day’s
travel from a town.” Tryst said, frowning at his map.

“
We could be there by
midday.” Cronos said, hand on the hilt of one of his
swords.

“
I’m not sure if it’s a good
idea to get involved with an attack of that magnitude.” Vilhylm
said, “I think there must be at least a hundred fires burning
there.”

“
We’re not going to turn our
back on those people.” Tryst said, his voice grim. “Or at least I’m
not going to.”

“
We can handle it.”
Callindra said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “Anyone who’s
cowardly enough to attack a defenseless town is no match for what
we can dish out.”

They saddled their horses and rode out,
setting the pace at a mile-eating trot. In a few hours they were
looking down on the smoldering ruins of the small town of Cedar.
Only one building was still intact, the streets were littered with
bricks, fallen timbers and other detritus from the destruction.

As they dismounted, their horses snorted in
fear and ran, pulling the reins from their hands. The reason for
this fear was clear in moments as three dogs the size of ponies
stalked into the street, growling menacingly. Their voices weren’t
the most frightening thing about them though, their feet burned
into the ground and smoke trailed from their nostrils.

“
Hounds of Hell!” Tryst
shouted, “Your will shall not be done this day!” A nimbus of silver
light surrounded him and he began casting another spell while
Callindra threw caution to the wind and ran at them, Brightfang
whistling from his sheath in a shining arc.

As she approached, flanked by Vilhylm in his
flowing black cloak, the Hounds unleashed a blistering blast of
flame from their mouths. Vilhylm swirled his cloak around himself,
avoiding the worst of the fire and Callindra vaulted high over the
flames, their eager licking tongues singing her hair and
clothes.

Then she was among them, Brightfang flashing
red in the light of their fires. She struck the head of one
completely off with a mighty overhand blow but the landing made her
stumble. One of the beasts ran past her, leaping for Tryst but
before it could bite him it shook its head uncertainly. His magic
had confused it.

The momentary hesitation was all Cronos
needed. He swung his sword in a blurring arc of steel and buried it
halfway into the monster’s chest. It fell with a gurgle to twitch
on the ground. He turned to look at the empty field of battle with
a frown making his youthful face look old.

“
This can’t have been all of
them.” The youth said, “There’s no way a handful of dogs did all
this damage, even if they could breathe fire.”

“
Their handlers must be
close.” Tryst agreed, “Monsters like these need close
supervision.”

They moved through the streets of the town,
weapons drawn and eyes open for danger. When they got to the center
it became obvious that the fire raging in the central square was
magical in nature. A huge pile of corpses was being devoured by
roaring flames. Three figures stood looking at it with grim
expressions on their faces.

“
What happened here?”
Tryst’s voice rang out in challenge. “Who are you and what have you
to do with this massacre?” Callindra hadn’t heard true rage in her
friend’s voice before and it was frightening.

“
Who are you?” The leader
said, “What do you have to do with the killings?”

Tryst fought to restrain himself and
Callindra stepped forward instead. “I am Callindra, these are my
companions Tryst, Vilhylm and Cronos. We have come from the city of
BLARG on a mission from the high Biscop himself to-”

“
Callindra! It is you!” One
of the men stepped forward with a noticeable limp. “I heard rumors
that you were still alive but I didn’t believe it until
now.”

“
Inspector Shojin!”
Callindra exclaimed, staring at him with hatred. “How’s the
knee?”

“
I look forward to finding
out what you know.” Shojin said with an evil smile, “I will find
out, where the Sol ‘Estin is, as well as whatever else I want to
know.”

“
You’ll have to kill me.”
She said, “I won’t allow you to take me alive!”

“
Oh, I have a few things in
mind little girl.” Said Shojin, “We have ways of-” He was
interrupted by a blast of wind, harsh with the bitter cold blowing
down from the Teeth of the Sky.

“
You will do nothing to my
apprentice!” A voice thundered and Glarian was there, arriving like
a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky.

Callindra’s heart caught in her throat, she
wanted to scream, wanted to cry but most of all to her surprise she
wanted to run up and wrap her arms around him. The man she saw was
different though. Gone were the slumped shoulders and slightly
defeated demeanor, the figure that stood before her was like a
honed blade.

“
Ahh, Sol’Estin.” Shojin’s
voice dripped malice, “How wonderful to see you.”

“
Go Callindra, I can handle
these insects.” Glarian said with a grim smile.

“
No Master!” Callindra
protested, “I will fight with you!” She ran toward the Inquisitors
with Brightfang gleaming in her fist.

“
I said STAY BACK!” Glarian
shouted, pulling his Greatsword Sakar from his back. A blast of
wind burst from his left hand, holding her back from the battle. He
slammed his blade into the ground and shouted words of Arcane
Power. A whirlwind sprang up between him and their
enemies.

“
Master!” Callindra’s voice
cut through the roar of the gale. “At least take this back!” She
took the leather cord that held his Sigil from around her neck and
threw it toward him. It spun through the air, the leather thong
looping around the hilt of Sakar where she was still driven into
the earth.

The winds blew the tears of frustration from
her face and she turned and ran. She knew she was too weak to help
him fight and that the only way to be of any use was to leave.
Callindra looked at her companions, all of whom were readying
themselves for a fight and felt her heart rise at their
resolve.

“
No!” She yelled, “This is a
fight we can’t win, we have to go! RUN!”

They paused in their flight at the top of a
rise and took another look at the battlefield below. Glarian was
surrounded now, his enemies flanking him in a triangle. The vortex
of with that had kept them at bay now swirled menacingly above his
head. Callindra felt something in the patterns of the winds change
and screamed a warning that was impossible for him to hear.

“
Master, look
OUT!”

The swirling column of dust and debris above
his head became pitch black and began to flash with brilliant
emerald green lightning. They watched in fear as it concentrated
overhead, forming into the shape of a man. Dergeras dropped from
the suddenly still air, landing behind Glarian with serpentine
grace, a sword of glittering green fire in his fist.

“
NO!” Callindra screamed,
her throat tearing.

As if warned by her shout, Glarian turned
with inhuman speed, leaping out of the way just before the emerald
sword cut him in half. Instead of ending his life, Dergeras’s blade
rebounded off Sakar with a resounding clang that they felt more
than heard.