The Crystal Legacy (Book 2) (32 page)

The wizard opened a beautifully worked pouch with a drawstring closure. He drew out a thin, silvery disk and asked the queen to hold it in both hands and to cough on it, cough as hard as she could and return it to the sack.

“This sounds silly, but you’ve your own ways, and we know it best not to question such requests.”

Prince Consort Augusteros took the plate, placing it in the queen’s hands. She did as Memlatec asked, and returned the plate to the pouch. Augusteros pulled the strings, closing the bag, and handed it back to Memlatec.

“One further request?” Memlatec asked. “Please send one of your guards with this directly to Duchess Irkin with instructions that only the duchess shall open it.”

The wizard offered no explanations, but bowed and backed out of the queen’s chamber to return to his tower.

*

Earwig angrily opened the bag from the queen and took out the plate, certain it was some sort of apology. There was nothing written on it. As Earwig was examining it, it flashed in her face and disappeared. Surprised, she gasped sucking in the vapor. The witch began to feel very weak. She called for a servant to help her to her bed. The poor old woman could barely hold herself up, but she tried to support the rapidly weakening witch to her reclining divan.

Queen Eleatsubetsvyertsin recovered almost entirely by the next morning. She rose from her bed for the first time in weeks and granted audiences that day for the first time in a month.

“I can’t believe how good I feel,” Eleatsubetsvyertsin said. “Whatever Memlatec’s mumbo-jumbo was, it was most effective.”

Hadorian Dwarves and the White Diamond of Honesty

Saxthor and his companions slipped around the Wizards’ Hall ruins in the sunlight when most of the evil occupants were either hiding in shadows or dormant.

“Graushdem’s countryside got progressively worse as we came north from Graushdemheimer,” Saxthor said to Tournak. “I hope Hador is more prosperous.”

“Hador’s a poor country of poor soils and dry weather. The economy is fragile but politically stable due to the duke’s military might. The duke holds power over the strained population by might of arms.” Tournak didn’t look up or change his tone as he walked.

“You say the duke rules as a warlord?” Saxthor asked. “Isn’t Hador part of Graushdem?”

“Yes and no,” Tournak said. “The dukes of Hador are nominal vassals of Graushdem, but in fact, they only pay lip service to King Grekenbach. The dukedom is too poor to pay more taxes than it takes to maintain the border integrity with Dreaddrac. It’s not worth a war to subdue the province, so King Grekenbach accepts the annual pledge of loyalty and leaves the duke to rule independently. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

“Tell me about the dukes of Hador. I’ll need to know more about the country and its duke to travel safely there.”

“You didn’t pay much attention in the palace school, did you?”

“Well, I was young – and it didn’t seem important at the time.”

“In the First Wizard War, a soldier from Hador rose quickly through the ranks to become General Jedrac in the Heggolstockin army. At the time, Heggolstockin included the lands now known as the Duchy of Hador.

During that war, Prertsten fought with Graushdem against the Dark Lord. Prertsten was the battleground for most of the clashes. The Prertstenians resented the war’s decimation of their lands, while the larger realm of Graushdem remained relatively unscathed. The resentment grew until the Dark Lord convinced the Prertstenians to ally themselves with Dreaddrac against Graushdem. The battleground shifted to Heggolstockin.”

“And Hador?” Saxthor asked.

“When it seemed Heggolstockin’s provincial capital was about to fall in a siege, General Jedrac brought his army from the Hador Mountains and drove Dreaddrac’s forces back into Prertsten. For this incredible feat, Graushdem’s king created him Count Jedrac de Hador.”

“Enterprising general, that General Jedrac.”

“The stories say the troops called him the Hound of Hador,” Tournak said. “Anyway, soon after expelling the enemy in the west, scouts discovered rock-dwarves approaching Hador Pass. Jedrac marched double-time back to Hador just in time to prevent the dwarves from seizing the pass.”

“That would have been a disaster for Graushdem,” Saxthor said.

“It would have thrown open the peninsula’s eastern gate, exposed Hador to invasion, and opened the road all the way to Graushdemheimer.”

“That was a stroke of luck and good timing for Hador and Graushdem,” Bodrin said.

“The king raised Count Jedrac to Duke Jedrac de Hador for saving the pass and possibly the kingdom. However, Grekenbach realized such an ambitious man would be difficult to control when the war ended. The king constrained Jedrac’s power by limiting his wealth. He gave General Jedrac the ducal title but no additional lands to support his station. When the fighting moved again into Prertsten, the king relegated Duke Hador to a more obscure position. Realizing that his title was worthless without sufficient lands to support it, the duke worried he might lose his gains after the war.

When the war was winding down and the battleground moved to Dreaddrac, the general seized the moment to take the lands of eastern Heggolstockin for his duchy. He built a massive fortress to defend Hador Pass – and himself – against any attempt to force a return of territory after the war.

The Duke of Heggolstockin protested to King Grekenbach, but at the time, the Duke of Hador held the vital Hador Pass for the king’s forces. Under the circumstances, the king didn’t take issue with the duke’s seizure. After the war, Jedrac declared his independence. The rulers and their exhausted armies weren’t willing or able to take to the field again so soon after the war to suppress the rebellious duke. The king neither confirmed nor denied the duke’s claim, which permitted Duke Jedrac to keep the duchy as the duke defined it.”

“So Hador is virtually independent?” Saxthor asked.

“While officially the Duke of Hador is a subject of Graushdem and pays homage to and holds alliance with the king, in reality Hador is sovereign. The dukes have continued to build and fortify their mountain castilyernov. The second duke added the massive bronze gates at the pass known as the Gates of Hador, a wonder of its age. Over the ensuing generations, the term
Gates of Hador
came to refer to the eastern gate of the peninsula. So long as the Gates of Hador stand, the southern peninsular is safe from attack, or so the legend goes.

The present Duke Jedrac is much like his father and grandfather, tough as iron and alert to any danger,” Tournak added.

“I guess we’re in Hador now, or about to cross into it,” Saxthor said. “As poor as the land is, it’s a wonder the people can feed themselves.”

“These rocky paths are destroying my shoes, and my feet, too,” Tonelia said, stumbling along on the animal path around a hillside. “We’ll have to grow hooves to get out of here.”

Bodrin was walking beside Tonelia. “It could be worse. Today’s cloudy without rain. If this were summer, the sun would beat down on us, and we’d roast.”

“Our supplies are running low, Saxthor,” Tonelia said. “The trek to the Wizards’ Hall took longer than we thought. We’ll soon be boiling roots and bulbs.”

“Maybe Tournak can shoot a rabbit or something edible tonight,” Saxthor said. “Tournak, keep your bow at hand in case we see something edible.”

“I had the same thought, Saxthor, but I haven’t seen any animals all morning,” Tournak said. “If it weren’t for this trail, I’d think none lived here.” Tournak moved to the rear as the path narrowed.

“Well, you better find something soon. All we have left is some bread flour,” Tonelia said.

The little band walked most of the day since there was little to eat and stopping for a midday meal was pointless. By late afternoon, they worried that there might not be a meal the next day if they ate the last of the bread that night.

“This path leads down to a stream,” Saxthor said. “We’ll follow the path for the afternoon so we have water at least.”

“In this parched place, most plants are short, thick-skinned, and spiny, I guess because of the constant wind, and lack of rain,” Bodrin said. “Maybe I can find a snake around here at least.”

“Snake?” Tonelia said.

“Never mind,” Bodrin said.

*

Not long before dusk, they made camp by a small pool in the stream. They waited for Tonelia to make flat bread. In the pale light of dusk, a small deer came to the pool.

“Look at that,” Bodrin said.

Tournak shot the deer, but it was sturdy and bounded over the ridge before he could give chase. Bodrin and Tournak took off after it.

“Do you see it?” Saxthor asked.

At the top of the ridge, Bodrin shouted back, “I can just make out its outline. It fell at the base of the hill.”

They were making their way down the rocky terrain, when they looked up to see two small men dash out from nowhere and grab the deer.

Tournak rushed toward them
to get the deer
. “Hey! That’s our deer.”

Rocks and dust flew up as the little men raced away with their prize. In an instant, they slipped under a possible ledge and were gone.

“Where did they go?” Bodrin asked Tournak.

“They were here and then they disappeared,” Tournak said, looking around in circles. “We both saw the little men snatch the deer carcass. They may have been dwarves.”

They worked their way down the crumbling rocky hillside to where they’d seen the deer carcass, but deer and the ledge were gone.

“Well, it’s not like there’s any place to hide here,” Bodrin said. They searched around in the few weeds on the hillside; none was taller than their boots were.

“They disappeared into the hillside,” Tournak said. “There must be a tunnel. They disguised it somehow. Probe the ground with your staff and see if it gives anywhere.”

“It’s not like this crumbly soil could support a tunnel.” Still Bodrin probed the land for loose soil.

*

Saxthor came to see what had happened to the two great hunters. From the ridge crest, he saw them grubbing around in the dirt. “Have you been bewitched? What’re you doing down there?”

“Two little men, possibly dwarves, rushed out from this hill and snatched our deer,” Tournak said, looking down, searching in the early moonlight.

Doubting the occurrence, Saxthor said, “I never saw the deer, and now it’s disappeared into the ground.
Maybe you should come get some cool water and lie down for a while. Get bread while it’s hot.”

“No, there’s a hideout here, and these men have our deer,” Bodrin said. “We need that fresh meat.”

Bodrin continued to probe the hillside. Saxthor came down the slope and by chance noticed blood on the soil.

“You sure you shot a deer; you didn’t hit a man or something?”

“It was a deer, Saxthor,” Bodrin said, looking up. “We’re not crazy, and we didn’t imagine it.”

Saxthor drew Sorblade. Probing with the point, he poked the hillside just above where he saw the blood spot. When the Sorblade touched the soil, the hillside popped open, revealing a tunnel.

“Looks like you two weren’t hallucinating after all.” Saxthor looked down into a gaping hole in the hillside. “Looks like a spell covered the entrance and Sorblade’s magic opened the lock.”

The three men stood in the moonlight, staring into a dark, round tunnel about three feet in diameter. Tournak flicked his fingers and held the finger torch at the entrance to see inside. The beautifully carved walls were smooth polished stone leading in and down under the hill.

“I want our deer back,” Bodrin said. He crawled into the tunnel before Tournak or Saxthor could stop him.

“Wait a minute, Bodrin, you can’t see in there without a finger torch,” Tournak said. He put down his bow and arrows and squeezed in the tunnel after Bodrin.

Saxthor stood staring into the black hole, listening to the sliding and groaning sounds fade away with distance. He pulled Sorblade out of the ground to sheath it. As he did, the tunnel entrance reformed over the hole, sealing Bodrin and Tournak somewhere in the earth beyond.

I hate leaving Tonelia alone in the middle of nowhere, but I can’t live with abandoning these friends, Saxthor thought. I’ll have to go in, too. They’re so careless; they should just be left in the tunnel.”

Saxthor stuck Sorblade back in the ground opening the tunnel again. He crawled in. Once inside, Saxthor squeezed around enough at the entrance to pull Sorblade in, and the entrance closed up behind him. In the cramped space, he crawled along in the dark.

*

With the bread baked, Tonelia and Delia went up on the hilltop to call the men. She couldn’t see them anywhere. She thought it impossible that they could disappear in that landscape where nothing grew higher than her boot. She looked for them until darkness obstructed her view. Then she returned to the campsite in hopes they’d come back. They’d disappeared; she was all alone, except for Delia.

Delia snuggled up to Tonelia for the first time.

*

“How far have we crawled?” Tournak asked. “At least the air hasn’t gotten stale.” Something tapped his boot behind him. He jolted forward, bumping his shoulder against the wall.

“It’s just me,” Saxthor said. The three crept along in single file through the dark.

“Remind me to whip Bodrin if we get out of here,” Tournak said. That boy’s stomach controls his head. There’s no room to turn around. Backing up would be a worse nightmare; we’ll have to go ahead to who knows what.”

“There’s an opening up ahead,” Bodrin said. “Looks like it opens into a cavern or something.”

The three men could barely stand up in it without bumping their heads. Torches, propped in handsome wrought iron sconces, stood out from the beautifully polished granite walls. In the room’s center was a great iron table with a granite top. Platters heaped high with deer roasts, broiled patties of deer, two legs of venison and an iron cauldron containing a stew of venison and roots of some sort covered the table. The whole deer they shot was carefully dressed, cooked and laid out before them. No one welcomed them, chased them away, or offered them a place at the table.

“Looks like they’re trying to appease us with this delectable feast,” Bodrin said. He walked around the table, stopping to look and smell each dish.

“Yes, it’s odd – but it looks like the whole deer is here. Why would they have snatched it if they were going to return it, cooked?” Saxthor asked.

“This is the work of dwarves,” Tournak said, looking around for the hosts. “It took magic to cook the deer that fast.

“I thought dwarves were the Dark Lord’s underlings,” Saxthor said, remembering his experience in the Highback Mountains of Tixos. He too stepped to the table, drawn by the aroma of meat after several days of little more than bread to eat.