Posted by admin on October 26, 2009
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
I freely admit that I was not prepared for that confrontation. I had steeled myself to face the kind of horror that would spawn the grotesque lizard creatures and that would consort with demons of the sort we had fought all along the way, but I was not prepared to face her beauty and majesty.
No hint of the previous struggle touched her face. If I expected a demonic apparition with grotesquely revolting features I could not have been more mistaken. No horns. No fangs. No claws. She stood arrayed in a mix of tight fitting red leather and sashes. Her beautiful locks of coal black hair braided like tempting snakes about her shoulders. Except for the hint of a red glow behind her pupils and the overwhelming sense of power, she appeared no different than any other beautiful woman. Her otherwise creamy skin held a faint hint of green. A short, broad-bladed sword hung at her belt.
I stood for a moment, transfixed. I had known some pretty girls, but at that tender age I had never before seen such an overwhelmingly beautiful woman, and certainly not such a magnificent personality. She captured my attention and my imagination. For several seconds I waited, unable to fully take in the room, or even to notice my companions.
“Who are you to enter my domain unbidden?” her voice rang out firm and commanding, yet somehow alluring at the same time. I felt compelled to answer, but for the moment I was too overwhelmed to speak.
“Be wary, boy,” I heard Pascalli speaking hoarsely. He sounded small and insignificant. His voice seemed distant and weak.
I had no answer for her. I stepped one foot cautiously into the blue circle, my spear lowered. An unknown fear gripped at my heart, not the fear of pain or of death, but the fear of being completely lost to myself and the world. Part of me wanted to lose myself, to let go of my own will and subjugate myself to the dominating influence that stood before me. I felt my spear slip from my fingers and clatter noisily on the stone.
“Fight it,” I heard a voice echo, as if from beneath water or from a deep cavern.
My second foot crossed the blue circle and searing pain burned through my hands where the rings touched my skin. I felt my body burning, as if consumed by a raging fever. Sweat poured from my brow. For the first time I noticed the gold medallion hanging at Asmordreda’s neck. The medallion burst into light, and I glanced down at my hands to see the diamonds on the rings shining with powerful energy. Before me the demon’s confidence wavered. I saw the burning amulet at her neck, and I knew that she felt the same pain that coursed through my body.
Suddenly the circle around us burst into light and a shimmering translucent blue wall of energy surrounded us. Dimly I could see Pascalli struggling in a fight with foes I had not before noticed. Golgaron stood transfixed to my left, apparently unable to move before the awesome power of the chamber. A second wave of pain rushed through my hands and body. The sounds of my scream were swallowed up by Asmordreda’s cries as she grasped furiously at the amulet around her neck. Her confidence and majesty waned, and her beauty seemed to begin to slowly melt away.
A great wind suddenly whipped at my face. Swirling torrents of light and energy began to race through the circle, buffeting both of us. The ground trembled. I felt transfixed, unable to force myself to push through the agony. Though I could dimly see Pascalli battling, no sounds crossed the barrier. What had Pascalli told me to do? My mind raced against the pain, grasping at memories that should not have seemed so distant. Send her back. I had no power beyond my hopes and my will. Send her back, the thought came powerfully.
I held that thought, and suddenly she staggered, as if struck by some unseen force. A thin trickle of black blood appeared at the corner of her mouth. She bellowed with animal rage as she lunged at me, her soft white fingers suddenly becoming razor claws hungry to tear my flesh.
“No!” I shouted, and held up my hand. She stopped short, as the force of my will created a barrier between us. “Go back!” I said, and swung my hand as if to push her away. The force of energy struck her, and she fell to one knee. Her perfect skin had begun to slowly dissolve away, revealing a scaly black hide beneath, though her body retained its perfect proportions.
“Never!” She lashed back, swinging one hand with a backhanded blow that sent a ripple of energy my way.
I raised my left hand to ward the blow, and with my right hand grasped a bolt of fire as it roared past, using its momentum to spin me around, out of harm’s way and then redirecting it at my adversary. The fire caught her directly in the chest, and she flew back from the force of impact, slamming into the translucent barrier.
“You cannot win, child,” she hissed. Her voice had lost all of its charm and majesty. “No mortal weapon can destroy me.” Her hair had become a tangle of writhing serpents. Her eyes flared with red fire. She struggled to her feet. As she did, she clawed at the energy around her with both hands, preparing a new attack. A massive force caught me suddenly in the chest and lifted me from the ground. As I slammed into the barrier behind me, I heard something crack. The acrid smell of smoking hair suddenly surrounded me, and I felt hot charges like lighting shooting down my back.
I slumped to the ground, rolling weakly away from the barrier. I cannot truly describe the heavy despair that overcame me then. My weaknesses and failings seemed to be spread before me like cards on a table, each to be measured and counted. What a foolish boy I felt. That I should stand before one of the great powers in our grand universe seemed ludicrous. Across the circle Asmordreda crouched. Though disheveled and shaken her incredible sense of power had not completely disappeared. The outward mantle had largely crumbled, but she still carried a sinister alluring beauty that I no longer felt the strength to resist.
“Join me,” she whispered. Her voice carried an icy, dangerous tone, but her manner did not threaten so much as invite. “This chamber holds the key to the universe. Together …” somewhere her voice faded.
I lost my sense of space and time. I felt my mind drifting into nothingness. Asmordreda stood now, speaking to me, beckoning, but I could not hear her words or see her clearly. The fire from the rings burned my hands until my fingers curled into twitching balls of agony. I felt a fiery pain in my chest. I coughed, and the spasm caused me to vomit. In my delirium I saw the blood mixed with bile and knew that I was bleeding inside. Death was certain. Few recover from such wounds, and only with careful care and expert attention.
At my feet I saw my father’s spear. Dumbly I grasped it in my hands. My fingers felt wet and slipped a little as I used the spear to lift myself from the ground.
As I stood, suddenly everything zoomed into clarity.
“Don’t be stupid,” she said. “You can’t kill me.” I saw her raise a hand to throw another bolt of energy, and I waited.
Time slowed. I saw her hand come down, and in my mind I knew it was a useless gesture. I saw the energy form, heard it resisting her will but compelled by the power of the chamber, and I understood. With my mind, I reached out and told the energy to stop. The bolt dissipated. Asmordreda stood confused, angry.
I willed my body to become whole. I felt and heard the elements within my flesh crying their resistance. I asked them to ignore the natural order of death and return my organs to their proper function. They obeyed. I ordered the burning in my hands to cease, and it stopped. A rush of power such as I had never felt consumed me. I saw with absolute clarity the world around me. I heard the breathing of Pascalli as he cowered in a corner, overwhelmed by the surging power of the chamber.
“Give me the amulet,” I said. I did not recognize my voice for the power that it carried. Asmordreda cried out in horror and rage as the amulet suddenly tugged at her neck, pulling her towards me. She clawed at it, tried to pull it back, but it burned her hands. The searing power of it scorched her neck. She cried out in agony until she finally pulled her head away and the amulet flew to me.
I put the amulet around me neck and suddenly the entire room filled with blinding white light. The circular barrier vanished with a thunder-crack. At the back of the room a swirling circle of blue energy played against the wall. Within its depths I saw vast angry mountains behind a horde of demonic enemies.
“Go back,” I ordered and pointed to the portal.
“Never,” she spat.
She raised her hands in fury and began to call for help or power, but to no avail. “Go back,” I ordered again, and with my mind I pushed her unwillingly through the portal. Screaming, she was dragged, her claws leaving deep scratches in the stone, into a world of demons. She disappeared into the blue depths.
“Colter,” I heard a small, insignificant voice. “Destroy the portal.” I looked around, and saw Pascalli in the corner pointing at the gate to another realm. He seemed so much smaller, like a child. “You must destroy the portal,” he repeated. “Remember the plan.” He begged. He sobbed. “Remember who you are.”
Who was I? No longer a child, I held all the power of the universe in my hands. What did I need with him? What of the Kaarum? I could destroy them if I wished. What of Dina, my mother, my sister? They were beneath me now. Even the emperor had no power to rival mine. With a glance I willed the portal closed. I did not need it.
“You must give it up, boy,” said the voice again. “It wasn’t meant to be.” I turned to face the wizard. I felt contempt, but no malice. “Look into the future. This is not your destiny.”
Of a sudden my mind filled with visions of battles. Great armies of men surged against my might, but I flung them away carelessly. I destroyed them as a child might kick down an anthill. The horror of it overwhelmed my senses. Still the power of the chamber coursed through me, the power to save, to grow.
A thought came unbidden. A memory of our farm when I sat after a long day toiling in the fields hoping beyond hope for a crop at the end of the season. I heard and knew and felt the elements around me, and I missed the mystery and longing to see things grow of their own will and nature. Though I could bend the world to my will, I could not love it in the way I had once loved it. I saw my mother and sister, Dina, Iven, all those I loved fleeing from me. A part of me scorned them, reveling in my own majesty. A greater part of me hated it.
I took off the amulet, and held it in my left hand. “Get out!” I said to Pascalli. When he did not move I grabbed his arm and pushed him to the door. “Get out while you still can!” Golgaron quickly followed the wizard, and I found myself alone. I went to the center of the circle, and raised the amulet high. As I flung it to the ground I willed the earth to swallow it. The chamber rumbled as a crack opened in the floor. I turned and fled the chamber, running as fast as my tired legs could carry me. Behind me the chamber collapsed, and I was thrown to my face by the wind and dust.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Eight
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Posted by admin on October 19, 2009
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
I didn’t realize how much our journey had taken out of me until I sat down on the chill stone floor in the darkness of that little room. The tension of constant vigilance and the repeated attacks had taken a toll of exhaustion. After only a few minutes I felt stiff, and I drifted into a dreamless sleep. Pascalli woke me after a time and asked me to heat some water with magic in an upturned helmet salvaged from one of our ambushers.
“We may well starve to death afterwards, but if we’re going to our doom I’d rather die with a full belly.” He chuckled as he added the last of our dried meat to a soup he was making.
“I’d rather not die either way,” I said, rubbing life back into my chilled limbs. The room felt more humid than I remembered. “I’ve forgotten what a real bed feels like,” I said. “I think I’ve almost forgotten what the stars look like. I can barely remember even the comfort of an honest tree root in my back all night.”
“Yes,” agreed Pascalli. “We’ve been down here too long.” His voice suddenly brightened. “Have no fear Scratch, my lad. We’ll be through it soon. We’ve found what we came looking for after all. Just one cranky demon and all will be better here.” He winked, and I felt no comfort. Though we had been through many tight spots already, my confidence wavered. “Eat. Everything will be better after a hot meal and some rest.”
I admit I hadn’t realized how much I missed hot food. When a body doesn’t get real cooking for so many markets the first taste is like eating for the first time all over again. I confess that the little stew we made with the last of our trail rations was no dish fit for the emperor, but at that moment I found it nothing short of miraculous. I ate, and then slept, warmed by the hot food, then ate the final bits.
“She will certainly be ready for us,” said Pascalli. “Golgaron will not be able to help you.” He seemed saddened and serious as he continued. “I won’t be much use either. I have no idea if she knows what we are planning. I don’t even know what she might know or guess about the Key to the Stars. Golgaron and I will handle any help she may have left, but you will essentially have to face her alone.”
“And do what?” I asked.
“Trust to your wits and luck,” winked the wizard. “Though, if I were you I’d trust my luck more than my wits. I’ve seen where your thinking gets you.”
The wizard’s jibe did little to raise my hopes, but still I could not help but feel that somehow we had the upper hand. We had entered her fortress, destroyed the guards, and now sat on the verge of victory. I felt only too deeply the delicate thread that held us from the brink of destruction.
“No point waiting here,” I suggested. “Food’s gone, and I’ve slept enough for both of us.”
“Good lad, Scratch, no time like the present to face your destiny,” responded Pascalli. “I’ve no idea what will happen when that door opens, but I think it will be best if you put on both of those rings, one on each hand.”
I fished out the rings and slipped them on as we headed down the corridor. Golgaron stood as impassive as ever a few meters from the door. He made no motion as we approached, but the old statue rarely moved, except when provoked to battle.
“Anything new,” I asked.
“Nothing, master,” he replied.
“Good,” I said. I wasn’t so sure what was good about the situation, but I felt in a much more positive mood. “On my signal, Golgaron hit the door and go left. Pascalli will follow and take the right. I’ll enter last.”
“Be sure to make a light first thing,” advised Pascalli. “The lanterns here in the hallway will probably go out instantly, and I will need the light to fight with. Whatever happens to Golgaron or me, ignore us. Things may not be as they appear in there. Find a way to activate the Key quickly, and then use the power of the Key to send her back. Unless I am mistaken, she has managed to open a gate to another world in there. We must close that.”
I nodded my understanding and we took our positions. Golgaron leveled a kick at the chamber door that shook the foundations of the walls. From inside the room we heard an angry cry, but the door held.
“She has sealed it with magic,” said Golgaron. I slumped back into the shadows.
“Can you break it?” I asked.
“With time,” he said. “She cannot hold it forever.”
I pointed to the door and Golgaron kicked it again. Once more the door trembled with the force of the impact, and we could hear something grunting as if fighting off a great pressure from inside, but the door held. Our careful planning seemed to lose weight with each blow on the wood. Golgaron beat the door at least a dozen times more before it finally gave way, the timbers shattering under the combined forces of his blows and the magic that held the door shut.
As the door flew apart, the lanterns in the hall immediately went dark. I heard Golgaron rush into the room. I hesitated only a split second to concentrate on the lights before following Pascalli inside.
The room measured no less than ten meters round, with only the one door. A large chandelier with dozens of candles dominated the mirrored ceiling. An enormous circular pattern of blue tile stretched across the center of the floor. A large golden copy of the triangular crest with a point toward the door adorned the middle of the circle. Asmordreda stood directly in the middle of the triangle.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Seven
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Posted by admin on October 12, 2009
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
Knowing that a person has a key is one thing. Knowing what the key goes to is something else. Perhaps most important, however, is the will to use it for its intended purpose knowing full well the consequences.
I held no illusions that facing Asmordreda would be a simple affair. Pascalli’s grim demeanor served as ample warning to the serious nature of our dilemma.
“Do you know how to defeat her?” I asked Pascalli, contemplating our options.
“No, but we might get lucky.” He chuckled grimly. “We’ll need luck.”
I failed to see the humor, but I suppose that after centuries of seeing so much of the world one begins to find something funny with everything.
“The power of the Key can destroy her,” said Golgaron. “She cannot be defeated with mere weapons of steel.”
“So we just walk up and ask her to hand over the amulet?” I asked. At this point sarcasm had become my only lifeline to sanity. “Please Miss Asmordreda, could you just hand that over so we can blast you to oblivion?” Now it was my turn to laugh. I laughed a hollow, dry laugh, but I wanted to cry.
“We could try that,” agreed Pascalli with mock seriousness. “Or we could take it from her.”
“Sure, you hold her I’ll grab the amulet,” I said.
“We might not need the amulet at all,” he said.
“We still have to activate this Key of the stars, don’t we?” I asked.
“Of course, but we may not need to actually be holding the amulet to do so,” replied Pascalli. “I’ve no idea how this works, but the three keys may only need to be in the chamber, not necessarily held by the same person.”
“Wouldn’t that give everyone in the chamber access to the same power?” I asked.
“Maybe.” Pascalli’s reply did not comfort me. “Perhaps only those holding the tokens will have access to the magic. It doesn’t matter. We don’t have any options anyway. I think you’ll find that simply doing what needs to be done is often challenge enough.”
“I’m not here for the excitement,” I said. I gathered the last of our food and refilled our canteens. “I’ll finish what needs doing so that we can go home.”
“That is an excellent plan,” agreed Pascalli. “I look forward to a bit of rest myself when this is all over.”
“She waits,” said Golgaron. I knew he sensed something about our enemy that neither Pascalli nor I could understand.
Somebody had taken the effort to extinguish all of the lanterns in the corridor outside of the study. They remained functional, however, so we took the time to light them again. Really there was no point fumbling around in the dark when the enemy already knew we were coming.
Golgaron took the lead. “I know where she is hiding,” he said. “I have no need for light.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” I agreed. I had no intention of being the first target for a surprise attack.
“I see you’ve inherited some of your mother’s common sense,” replied Pascalli. “No point getting killed if you don’t have to. Davmandius didn’t spend so much of his life crafting Golgaron to see his talents go to waste.”
Despite our preparations, the first ambush surprised me. Golgaron dispatched the three enemies before I became aware of the attack. Although I had spent hours practicing with him, his efficient brutality and effortless violence still surprised me. The fourth spawn of Asmordreda attempted to flee, but my fire stone burned through the scaly hide into its spine.
“Perhaps Golgaron should scout ahead,” suggested Pascalli. “He could clear the path for us with less danger while we light the lanterns.”
I agreed, and we sent the statue to clear the corridors back to the hidden door at the temple. We found the secret doorway shut and the lever to open it had been jammed in some way.
“We’re trapped,” I said. “We only have a few days of food left.”
“There may be another way out,” smiled Pascalli. “It doesn’t look like any more of them will be coming down anytime soon,” he added.
With my hope diminishing, we moved carefully into the other corridor. The brief scrape of stone on stone alerted us to the second ambush. I expected another rush of Asmordreda’s children, but instead a sudden force extinguished the lanterns, and I was left momentarily blinded while the sounds of battle sprang up in front of us. I am certain that without the aid of Golgaron in that corridor we never would have survived. I had not yet mastered the elements sufficiently to instinctively maintain our lighting. It took me several seconds to locate a lantern and light it again, and in that time the battle had nearly ended.
Golgaron still faced one skeletal figure, though it could not hold off the statue’s merciless onslaught for more than a few seconds. The creature’s pale skin clung to its bones, as though no muscle or sinew held it together. Its vacant eyes stared listlessly into space, and I knew that it needed no light to find us. A second creature of the same type lay at our feet, its chest and skull crushed, apparently from the butt end of Golgaron’s spear.
“Do you know what they were?” I asked Pascalli when it was over.
“Some sort of minor demon,” he replied. “Creatures from another world.”
“How did they get here?” I asked.
“That is a very good question,” responded the wizard. “One which I am sure will be answered before we are through.”
We faced a half dozen or so more ambushes, but Golgaron proved an unstoppable force. The corridor made no branches, and there were only a few rooms to either side before we finally reached a stout wooden door. The door itself was indistinguishable from any other in the place, but an out of place silence gripped the area, and our light seemed to disappear as we approached it.
“No question we’ve found something powerful,” observed Pascalli casually. He didn’t bother to whisper, and I believe I detected a hint of a grin on his face. When I scowled at him and held a finger to my lips, he responded. “They already know where we are. We’ve been making a racket out here for hours. I’m sure they heard us long before this.” He broadened his grin and sinisterly added, “There are other methods of detecting us besides listening.”
When I reached for the handle, Pascalli stopped me. “Just because the end is near does not mean we need to rush into it unprepared,” he warned. “We’ve been at this for nearly a day now, I think, and we will need all of our strength to confront Asmordreda. We can leave Golgaron here to ensure that nothing leaves that door to surprise us while we, or more specifically you, get some rest. As I recall there is a snug little room not too far back.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Six
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Posted by admin on October 9, 2009
The drip of red
on black canvas.
Not dye now, it slowly
falls.
Wonder at the hands,
hurt or nothing,
just the crimson
ebb.
The painted dark square
of life toils endlessly
to receive the scarlet
flow.
Tears would cover pain,
mingle with and purify,
but there is no peace-white
drop.
The hand is crushed.
Dark red flows endlessly.
Now rushing, bright red spatters,
canvas scatters, hopes
fly.
Boiling up now, clear drops
bring relief, lightning
flashes, cold silence
streaks.
Passion ends in tainted
scarlet hue. Blood
saves the man whose heart
bleeds.
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Posted by admin on October 7, 2009
Sandy walls built high to protect
the onslaught of wrecked senses.
Psychotic waves restless in the night
Do little to help the granite shield.
Open the gate. No! The portal is shut.
Feelings lash out and are crushed
By iron whips of self consciousness.
Alone.
Not alone. Not single, not complete.
The sandy walls wish to fall,
Threaten privacy, but are held.
Fear bars the way, cold impdiments
To continuity.
Alone.
Beaten down, the foundation
Lingers still to haunt the one
Who made them fall. Dark rings to
Remind how much it hurt to be
Free. But never escaped the
Chains of fear. Walls do not hold him
Alone.
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Posted by admin on October 5, 2009
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
Time seemed to stand still in the study. We ate, we rested, we slept, and we searched, but we had no way to mark the passage of days or hours.
During this time I discovered that Davmandius had created Golgaron as a sort of weapon practice machine, but that the statue grew in intelligence and ability over the winters until he had a life of his own.
“Davmandius was a great weapons master,” said Pascalli. “His skill became so great that many came from all lands to learn from him. In order to share that skill he poured all of his knowledge into Golgaron, until he had created an unstoppable killing machine, and the perfect practice partner. You will practice each day with him now.” He gave me a wink. “And let the old man have a rest.”
The library contained a number of books detailing techniques for applying elemental magic, combat and strategic information, as well as mathematics, history and scientific experiments. As I feared, Pascalli kept me studying for hours on end. The tedium of constant study, practice, and study nearly drove me mad. We had packed enough food for several markets, but had not used much of it since arriving at the underground city, choosing instead to live off the edible fungi, moss or animals. A natural spring and a sort of indoor latrine were available in a small adjacent room, and Pascalli seemed perfectly content to remain imprisoned until we found some sort of answer.
My thoughts often returned to Dina, and to the city above. I longed to be plowing my own fields, and to hunt beside her again. She was the kind of friend you find only once in a lifetime, perhaps twice if you are lucky. I ached for our journey to be ended.
“There is nothing in these books that I do not already know,” said Pascalli in exasperation.
“Then obviously the secret Golgaron is guarding has nothing to do with them,” I retorted. We were both ornery from the confinement. I had meant the remark to be sarcastic, but Pascalli cracked a smile for the first time in a long time.
“I do believe you are right,” he said.
“Uh, I am,” I asked.
“Davmandius was trying to protect this place from me,” said Pascalli. He gave a furtive glance to Golgaron, and added, “Or people like me. He had no idea about Asmordreda, although I imagine he would want her kept out as well. Which means that whatever he was protecting had to be something utterly powerful, something magical. There would be no point guarding these books from wizards, I have a similar collection at Gratterskeep.”
“Golgaron, do you know what it is you are guarding, or where it is?” I asked.
“No, master,” he replied. “I was brought here and commanded to guard.”
“Search the room,” suggested Pascalli.
“You search it,” I retorted. “I’ve already done that, in detail.” For emphasis I showed the book on the nature of water I was supposed to be studying.
“It’s not in there,” he said grumpily.
“There is nothing here but books,” I replied. “Besides, if he meant the secret to be guarded from you, then shouldn’t you be looking for it? I wouldn’t even recognize it if I found it.”
“Right you are Scratch, my boy, right you are. You go ahead and enjoy your reading. I’ll have a look around.”
As intrigued as Pascalli seemed with our new companion, I was put off a great deal by the wide berth he gave Golgaron, and put off even more by the fact that no matter what I asked the great statue immediately complied. I was completely unused to servants, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that the statue expected me to know a great deal more about my position than I did.
“Golgaron, what exactly did Davmandius order you to do?” I asked.
“He brought me here and said, ‘stand and guard my secret. Do not let the forces of darkness take it at any cost.’ Then he left,” answered the statue.
“Sounds like a wizard,” I said sardonically.
“Indeed,” replied Pascalli. “A most worthy puzzle.”
“Where does that leave us?” I asked.
“Right here,” laughed Pascalli. “The same place you’ve been for several markets.”
“I mean, what then in this place could Golgaron possibly be guarding, and note that he said secret, not secrets, so whatever it is there is only one of it,” I said.
“Of course, so it is not, as we determined, the books,” continued Pascalli. “Though I think you would do well to keep studying them.” I wilted, but the hint of a wink in his eyes let me know he was only half serious at the moment. “What else is there?”
“Some shelves, a table, two chairs, and of course Golgaron,” I listed, yawning.
“Right,” agreed the wizard. “Also, of course there is the room itself.”
“Right,” I agreed, but only half-heartedly. We had been through a similar debate already, and I was bored to the point of insanity. “I don’t think it’s these chairs, they look comfortable enough, but after a while it’s easy to find the hard spots. The table is out too, nothing there but solid wood. That seems to narrow it down to either Golgaron or the room itself.”
“Or something Golgaron knows,” said Pascalli.
“He already said he doesn’t know the secret,” I replied.
“Perhaps he doesn’t know that he knows,” said the wizard wryly. “Davmandius poured a great deal of knowledge into him, and he has seen much that has changed the world.”
“So you think he’s the secret. He’s been guarding himself for thousands of winters and didn’t know it?” Some part of me found the thought amusing.
“No, I don’t,” said Pascalli. “It is possible. I admit that I did not know what happened to Golgaron, I wasn’t even sure he still existed until we came here, but his existence before the breaking was hardly a secret.”
Pascalli seemed to grow thoughtful again, and I was nodding off into my book. “Time for more practice,” he suggested. “You are getting sleepy.”
My muscles resisted. I had not worked so hard in a long time, and I dreaded the exacting drills that Golgaron imposed. Sparring with the statue could be physically brutal as he fought without fear and without tiring.
“You learn quickly, master, but your thinking is too narrow,” he said. “Knowing and understanding your forms is crucial, but you must learn to approach combat in a broader sense. It is not enough to combine moves into fluid movement with an exact chain, but you must plan your kill from the very first feint.”
“What do you mean? How can a feint kill someone?”
“The feint does not kill,” he replied. “You feint, or you thrust, and it forces me to move. I have very few options with how I can parry or dodge. You already know those options, so you calculate the strength of your thrust and then calculate my positioning in order to avoid that thrust. Then calculate the positioning you will need for your next move, and so carefully you draw me into a vulnerable position.”
“You are talking about mere fractions of centimeters in split seconds,” I replied. “That’s impossible.”
“It was possible for Davmandius,” he said flatly.
“It is also possible for me, though I admit I am not as good as my brother,” said Pascalli. Something in his tone hinted that he was not just speaking of weapons.
“If Davmandius was always thinking ahead, then couldn’t this all be some trap,” I said. “Couldn’t he have just left Golgaron here guarding nothing at all? Maybe that’s the secret.”
“Possible, but unlikely,” agreed Pascalli. “Davmandius would not lie. Nor would he employ his most trusted servant to guard nothing more than a lie.”
“Then let’s try a different tactic,” I said. “Think back to when Davmandius was around. What did he have, or was rumored to have, that you would have wanted, or that he wouldn’t have wanted you to have?”
“I think a better question would be what did he know that he didn’t want me to know,” said Pascalli.
“Same thing, but have it your way,” I replied
Pascalli merely looked annoyed. “Fair enough. I would say that there are two things we wouldn’t want me to know about. One would be that he knew how to defeat those who opposed him, utterly. The other would be that he had found something even more dangerous than me, which he wanted to keep hidden from the world because he was afraid he could not control it. Golgaron is neither of those things, so that rules him out.”
“That leaves us looking for a powerful weapon designed to destroy wizards,” I said, again falling into sarcasm.
“Or the key to such a weapon.” Pascalli’s eyes brightened as he spoke. “There was a rumor, a bit of research we all took as nonsense by a young and rather inexperienced wizard about something he called ‘The Key to the Stars’ that was supposedly an incredible source of power. Nobody really took him seriously, but Davmandius had a way of rooting out the most obscure knowledge.”
“What is the key anyway?” I asked. “Do you know what it looked like?”
“All I know is that it is an object designed to forcefully channel the energy of the heavens into a wizard’s control,” said Pascalli.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted.
“The most potent kind of magic is the magic that the gods wield,” he said, assuming his lecture tone. “That priest of Tylos who healed you did so using that magic, but only because Tylos willed it so. The key to the stars is supposed to call that magic and force it to your will, allowing for unimaginable power. But the key was supposed to be a contained in a chamber, a small room activated by certain controls.”
“So maybe this is the room,” I said.
“No, it doesn’t fit anything I read about his research, and surely you would have felt that kind of power. More likely a critical controlling component is here,” he said.
“Or the key to a key to the key,” I said.
“What?”
“What if the critical component was somewhere else, and all that could be found here was the knowledge of that component, which could then be taken to the chamber?” I impressed myself with my own deduction. “Golgaron, come here.”
The statue came and stood beside me. I fished out my rings and held them up to his breastplate. On it the crest of Darnuth Keep was engraved, an inverted triangle with diamonds at the points of the base and a circle at the tip. I held the rings up, and one diamond in each matched the diamonds in the crest.
“The final token is the medallion,” said Golgaron. “You will need to defeat her to get it.”
“No wonder she did not return,” said Pascalli. “You did not have the rings as she expected. At some point during your battle she must have guessed what the crest means. Davmandius obviously expected Golgaron to defeat anyone who entered here. I wondered why we hadn’t seen the crest anywhere else in the palace or even in the city. In any event, we hold the keys, and she is likely waiting for us in the chamber itself.” With a wry smile he added, “Never keep a lady waiting, Scratch. We’ve tarried here long enough.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Five
Back to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Three
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Posted by admin on October 2, 2009
My pen and soul
as I sit are open
to the world and you.
They say I should not be so.
People are wrong.
My pen has never failed.
It will not now. It takes
my mind to you.
I go home, or come back.
You are nowhere.
My pen will fill the pit.
But even the words can not
Replenish what is gone. You
are gone, but I am not alone.
I will go on.
My pen goes on.
It will guide me, it always
has. When next I see you
my pen too will have left.
We will be one.
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