The Merchant and the Menace (9 page)

“My servants do not fail me,” snapped the dark
figure as he raised a hand toward the body in the corner. “Your general failed.....
Do not join his fate.”

Izgra the warlock slowly turned and motioned to a
dark area behind the platform. A curtain rustled aside. Something even darker
slid from beyond. The colonel gasped as the inky blackness coalesced into a
nightmare and slowly bore down on him through the shifting shadows created by
torchlight. His back met the rough wall of the chamber.

“Please! Do not let it harm me, Lord Izgra!” cried
the colonel. “I am useful and will continue to be so!”

Izgra silently turned away and slipped from sight
behind the heavy, black curtain.

The creature prowled closer. Six yards long with a
jet black, scaly hide. Its bulk was tremendous. Chest and shoulders larger than
any warhorse the colonel ever laid eyes upon. Closer. The colonel slid down the
wall, raising his arms to shield himself. The beast’s huge forepaws were tipped
in razor sharp claws, longer than the dagger sheathed at the colonel’s side.
Upon its back two gigantic, leathery wings lay folded across the ridged hide.
The wings created an eerie, rasping noise that sounded strangely melodic. The
nightmare crept forward, swaying to the rasping.

The maw of the beast came into focus. A heavy, wide
jaw held a row of long, pointed teeth. Deep set, angular eyes boiled red with
an evil rage. Thick brows, encrusted with stone, supported a crown of blunt
horns.

It halted within a yard of the colonel. A guttering
torch bled light onto its snarling muzzle and those crimson eyes held the army
officer fixed to the wall. They inched closer and acidy drool spattered on the
floor at the colonel’s feet, blackening the stone.

“P-Please Lord Izgra .... spare me from this hideous
creature .... I beg you,” the colonel cried as he fought to avert his eyes from
the hypnotic gaze.

The beast shifted its weight forward and hovered
over the man. A guttural rumble issued from the depths of its cavernous chest.
It threw its head back and a cold laugh boomed from beneath quivering lips.

“Hideous creature. One day I will snap your bones
and suck the marrow for those remarks,” growled the beast, “but today you are
still valuable to my master.”

Its weight shifted backward.

“Know that you speak to Sulgor, Lord of the
Malveel. As old as the mountains. Immortal. Guides and Guardians tremble at our
sight. Obey me and you shall live.”

As the creature spoke its mouth curved into a
wicked smile, exposing the massive black fangs that dripped with spittle.

“The General failed to secure our quarry,” Sulgor
glared at the charred body in the chamber’s corner. “You will start where he
left off. You will return to the city of Zodra and spread the story of a
cowardly ambush by the Keltaran giants of the West. The giants waylaid you and
the General while you rode on a scouting mission. The General fought the giants
bravely, but his decision to ride with only his aide-de-camp and no troop
escort was a foolish one. It cost him his life.”

The creature paused.

“You suffered grave injury but were able to escape
death.”

The colonel remained trembling near the floor of
the chamber during this exchange, his eyes caught in the charmed gaze of the
Malveel King. However, the news of his impending release emboldened him. His
mind raced through different ways to achieve the deception suggested. It would
be difficult to convince the king’s military staff that the General was killed
and that he, Colonel Udas, somehow escaped a dozen Keltaran giants. A grave
injury? How might he feign a grave injury?

The Malveel hovering above him smiled as it saw
recognition enter the colonel’s mind.

“How am I to ...?” muttered the man slowly.

With lightning speed the creature’s claws slashed
down upon the colonel’s forearm, severing it from the elbow. The armored limb
spun through the air and clattered off the stonewall ten yards away.

Three hulking Ulrog stone men rushed into the room.
One sprang forward and threw a powerful chokehold about the colonel’s neck
stifling his screams of agony and terror. The second clumsily looped a noose
around the stump of the man’s right arm, pulled the noose taught and stabbed a
searing hot torch onto the gushing wound. The third lumbered forward with a
pair of bulky, military saddlebags, dumping them at the restrained man’s feet
and spilling the contents across the chamber floor.

Even through madness and terror the Zodrian colonel
recognized a small fortune in gold and precious stones. The Lord of the Malveel
sneered at the struggling human.

“When you recover, collect your treasonous bounty
and attend to my master’s business!”

Kael tossed and turned the entire evening and did
not feel rested when he woke before sunup. He was worried how Aemmon fared
during the night in the Nagur. He dressed quickly and moved to the doorway.
What was he to do? Was he allowed to roam the castle without an escort? His
hand shook as he grasped the handle and pushed the door ajar. Kael inched
forward and pressed his eye to the opening.

The green glowing jars radiated light throughout
the castle. The corridor was empty and Kael’s sharp ears picked up no sound of
activity. The boy slipped from his room and silently moved down the hallway.
The blood raced through his veins and his senses were on full alert.

He let those senses direct him. He crept past
portraits of dignified Elves and displays of ornate weaponry, pausing only
briefly to ponder their beauty. Each step provided a new wonder hidden in an
alcove or resting on a pedestal of intricately carved white wood.

 A sudden turn in the corridor and Kael stood
before the opening to a winding staircase. He stepped in and looked up the
center of the stairwell. It appeared to rise forever. His curiosity was piqued
again. He nervously glanced around and then ascended the staircase.

At first he proceeded slowly, expecting to find a
guard or opening around each turn. With every step his courage grew and he
raced up the staircase. Glass jars rested in iron mountings on the walls, radiating
greenish light up and down the stairwell. Finally, Kael spied an opening above
him and slowed to investigate. He stepped into the center of a small, square
room. Shutters were set in each of the four walls of the room. A mosaic set
into the floor displayed a large compass.

Kael walked to the shutters above the “E”. He threw
their latch back and they noiselessly opened. He gasped. Below him the palace
and its outbuildings lay spread across the circular clearing. The tops of the
gigantic white trees swayed below him. Beyond and still further below the ring
of white sentinels lay the green canopy of the Nagur, stretching out in waves
of lush forest to the eastern horizon. Mist rose out of the forest rooftop, as
the sun burned the early dew from its foliage. The sky to the east was aflame
and a sliver of sun peeked above the horizon. As Kael gazed to the East, he saw
the outlines of snowcapped mountains.

“Tis a beautiful sight is it not?” said a soft
voice behind him.

Startled, Kael turned to find Queen Eirtwin
standing in the center of the room.

“Your keen sense of hearing must come and go,” she
laughed.

“Pardon me, your highness,” said Kael. “I didn’t
mean to trespass.”

“You haven’t. The observatory is for all to use. I
must admit however, at this early hour I’m customarily the only one up here,”
said Eirtwin. “You see, most Elves love their forest home. I do as well, but
there are times I long to see the blue skies and feel the rays of the sun.”

“Do you come up here often ... my lady?” asked
Kael.

“Yes, it’s a habit from the days of my youth. When
I was young, my sister and I stole up here and whispered dreams of our future.
Now I sit here alone, burdened by the thoughts a ruler must ponder. The concerns
of my people. Their wellbeing. Food. Shelter. Protection.”

 “Your sister no longer joins you?” questioned
Kael.

 “Unfortunately no,” answered the queen. “She
passed into the hands of Avra.”

“I am ... uh ... terribly sorry,” said Kael, his
vision dropping to the floor.

The pair stood in silence for a few moments. The
queen’s gaze penetrated the boy as he ran his hands through his hair and
shifted on his feet. Finally, she turned and focused on the sun as it crept up
over the horizon. Its light was dazzling and the Nagur blazed in green. Flocks
of birds swirled from treetop to treetop. Snow white clouds drifted lazily
overhead and occasionally a circling hawk cried out.

The queen smiled and turned north. She unlatched
those shutters and swung them open. Kael caught his breath again. The massive
forest fanned out beneath them. He walked to the opening and looked to the
palace grounds below. The dizzying height gave him an appreciation of his
earlier climb. He guessed they were perched over forty yards above the forest
floor. The castle and its surrounding buildings filled the hollow in the
forest.

“Your home lies almost due north of Luxlor,
approximately there,” pointed the queen.

“You know my village?” asked Kael.

“The happenings in Kelky are always of an interest
to us,” replied the queen.

“Why do you care about our little trading town?”
asked the boy.

“Kael, you will learn that all towns down to the
smallest hamlet, including every person in that hamlet, affect the overall.
Everything contributes to the whole, and without that tiny addition the whole
changes dramatically.”

“Even someone like me?” said Kael.

“Especially someone like you,” laughed the queen.

“Your majesty?” came a distant call from below in
the stairwell.

“Lord Teeg searches for me ... or perhaps you,”
said the queen. “We must go.”

She leaned over and kissed Kael’s cheek. He blushed
furiously as Eirtwin led him down the stairwell. Teeg and Ader stood at the bottom
of the observatory tower.

“I was looking for Kael and came across Lord Ader
here,” stated Teeg. “He informed me that both of you were up above.”

“Eavesdropping is not one of your duties is it,
Lord Ader?” said the queen arching a brow at the old trader. “Fear not, your
wishes are being followed.”

“My lady does me an injustice,” replied Ader. “I
merely searched for the boy. He leaves with Manfir and I in one hour. We will
escort him to his brother and then home to his father in Kelky.”

“I packed a horse with the goods he sought and
other things which may interest his father,” said Teeg.

Kael hastily pulled a pouch from around his neck
and untied its drawstring.

“I carry only enough money for a few vials of almar
chinchur and some lengths of rope,” said Kael.

“The goods are a gift from the queen,” said Teeg
putting a hand on Kael to stop him.

“You were a guest traveling to our lands and were
treated poorly at my son’s hands. Please accept my gifts, Kael,” added Eirtwin.

“My mother always said ‘Never take something for
nothing, you will lose more than you get.’” said Kael and he handed the pouch
to Teeg.

“Your mother taught you well. I approve,” said
Eirtwin. “Farewell, Kael Brelgson.”

Queen Eirtwin turned and gracefully moved down the
passageway out of sight. Kael’s spirits dropped upon her departure.

“She is a woman of great presence,” said Ader
sensing Kael’s mood. “When she enters a room it becomes filled with light. Her
spirit is strong.”

“Indeed,” concurred Teeg and he waved to the boy.
“Kael, follow me.”

Teeg led Kael and Ader through the corridors of the
palace to a large wooden door. The doorway led to a courtyard. On the other
side of this courtyard stood the stables. Manfir walked out leading three
horses.

The first of these horses was a large black
stallion. The powerfully built horse wore battle armor across its head, chest
and flanks. The silver armor was polished to a brilliant shine. Kael was struck
by the animal’s ability to inspire both beauty and fear. Ader left Kael with
Teeg and went to speak to Manfir. Kael noticed one of the horses carrying
burdens.

“Are we going to ride to Kelky?” asked Kael.

“Of course,” answered Teeg.

“I ... I don’t carry enough money to pay for a
horse,” broke in Kael nervously.

“No sense in arguing. The pouch you gave me was to
pay for the gifts from the queen, and the mare is one of them,” said Teeg.

“I didn’t think her gifts included a horse. I can’t
accept such a gift. My father would be furious,” said Kael.

“Tell him a bit of gold goes a long way in Luxlor,”
laughed Teeg. “I’m sure he’ll understand Elven generosity.”

Kael frowned and realized his arguments were
useless. He shook his head and changed the subject.

“Is that beautiful stallion Ader’s mount?” asked
Kael.