Chapter Fifty Eight – The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep by Kelly D. Tolman

Posted by admin on November 2, 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.

Sometime later I woke as Pascalli brushed dust from my clothes and armor.  My bones ached.  My hands and neck felt raw, and breathing was painful and difficult.

“You’ve bruised your chest somehow,” said Pascalli.  “I didn’t get all of the details of what happened in there.  You’ve been asleep for nearly an hour.”

“Are we safe?” I asked.

“You did well, my boy,” said Pascalli when I could finally stand.  “We’re safe enough for now.”

“I survived,” I said.

“Which is more than the opposition can say,” replied the wizard with a wink and a smile.  “And you rid the world of a power that was never meant to be.”

I smiled to myself.  “Perhaps,” I admitted.  I looked around.  The end of the corridor had collapsed completely.  Rubble piled to the ceiling.  “Any idea how to get home?” I asked.

“Several,” replied the wizard.  “However if you would like to get there without starving to death then I’m afraid I may come up a bit short.”

“I was afraid of that,” I said.  “At least I had one good hot meal.”  I looked around again, and asked, “Where’s Golgaron?”

“He’s in the study.  He said he’d wait for you there.”

We found the statue waiting for us in the center of the room, silently guarding the books he had guarded for centuries.  For a few markets afterwards I had difficulty breathing, and my hands turned numb from time to time.  I remembered only portions of the visions I had while in the Key to the Stars, but often bits of knowledge came to me unexpected.  The voices of the world sounded clearer to me than before.  I slipped the rings from my hands and put them carefully into my pocket.

“Are you hurt, master?” he asked.

“A little,” I replied. “It’s not serious.  Do you know how to get back to the palace?”

“There is a secret way that Davmandius used,” said the statue.  “There is a staircase hidden here in the study that emerges in his chambers.”

“Lead on,” I said, “I’d like a warm meal and a real bed again.”

We emerged from the depths of the dark stairs at night.  I yearned for the touch of wind against my skin and the change of smells carried by the summer breeze.  After so many markets in isolation my skin had turned as pale as snow, and the starlight dazzled my eyes.  I noticed my own body odor when we reached the fresh air and realized how long it had been since I bathed after passing though so much blood and mire.

“I think you’ll find the palace feels differently now,” said Pascalli.  “Your time below will have changed you.  I think you will also find that those we left behind have changed.”

“I nearly forgot their faces,” I replied.  “I don’t want to go back down there for a long time.”

Pascalli laughed softly.  “I’m afraid you may not have a choice in that.  There is still a great deal of work to be done here.  Danger and loneliness may create one kind of a man.  Building a town makes another.”

No servants dwelt in the Palace before we entered the darkness, for Pascalli had deemed it still to dangerous, though I had slept there from time to time.
The silent dark corridors seemed a welcome relief, though I longed to see my friends again.

“I would like a bath,” I told Pascalli.

“And a shave,” said the wizard.  “I will find us some clean clothes and soap.  I wonder if the bath house is still in order.”

Pascalli left for the baths, leaving me alone with Golgaron.

“Much has changed since I have been gone,” observed the statue.  “These halls were filled with laughter and happiness.”  His tone showed no emotion.  I do not believe he felt the same way about things as a person usually does, but I knew that he did not like what he saw.

“There will be laughter here again,” I promised.  “I’ll need your help to make that happen.”

“I am your servant,” he replied.

“Then I would like you to go each night, into the upper halls of the palace and drive out or slay the evil creatures that have come here.  When that is finished, go into the city and clean it out as well.”

“Yes, master.  Will you continue your training?” He asked.

“Yes, everyday,” I replied.  “Train me as you would train any of Davmandius’ generals or sons.  This is my home now.  I would like to defend it properly.”

“Then we will begin at dawn.”  He left me alone and hurried into the upper portions of the palace.  Somebody had gone to great pain to clean the chambers and halls.  Not only had the baths been repaired and put in order, but the royal apartments were clean and furnished.  The place felt more a home than I remembered it, and I could not help but compare it to the burned out house on the farm.

I found Pascalli and bathed and put on fresh clothes.  Pascalli produced a shirt and trousers, clearly made by a fine tailor.  I do not know where he found them.  “It will take your body a few days to re-adjust to a regular day and night,” Pascalli told me.  “It will be easier if you stay awake tonight and all day tomorrow.  I think I will look around the city a bit and see what has changed.”

“I hope they finished the rest of the planting,” I said.

“I’m sure they finished that much.  Twoleaf already had plans to clear herself a plot beyond the walls.  We’ll need industry to establish trade.  I don’t think Delvin has given much thought to reopening the mines or harvesting the timber that grows so freely, but Thorn promised to scout the old traces for me.  The city will need all of these things and much more if you want it to survive.”  He caught the distracted look in my eyes.  “We can talk about all of these things tomorrow.  Let your mind rest for now.”

I did not feel tired, only lonely.  I was also curious about the city.  I really had no idea how long we had been absent, but I did not feel like wandering around alone.  A small garden is hidden away behind the palace, planted with ancient oaks and wildflowers.  Although it had not yet been fully restored, I found it beautiful.  I went there when I felt like thinking.  That night I wandered out to greet the stars.  The moon showed only a sliver in the sky, but the stars twinkled brightly and the night felt warm.  I found an open place and stared up, thinking.  Some memory of the Key returned, and I looked down quickly.

I smelled her before she spoke, though I had not seen her in the shadows.  “The summer nights are beautiful here,” she said.

I stood for a moment, drinking in her scent, my eyes closed, trying to forget my journey.  “No more beautiful than you are to me,” I said, turning to face her.

Dina had changed little.  The air of confidence and responsibility weighed a little heavier on her.  She did not carry her bow, but her face remained the same as I remembered.

“In many dark moments I missed you,” I said, and pulled her close.  I held her tight, and she wept into my shoulder, sobbing away the grief and longing.

“Some of them have given up hope that you would survive,” she said.  Then she smiled.  “Here you are, looking none the worse for wear.”

I chuckled a little, and then coughed as my chest hurt, and smiled back.  “Hardly unscathed,” I said.  She frowned, and curiosity leapt to her face.  “Some other time,” I cautioned.  “Much has happened.  Much that I cannot explain, and that I do not wish to remember.”

We talked the night away beneath the stars and trees.  I did not wish to dwell on the dark times or discuss the violence we had faced.  Instead she told me of the city.  Many buildings had been repaired, crops planted.  They were clearing the land around the lake, erasing the carnage of the Kaarum.  Some of the adventure seekers had disappeared with a small treasure, all they could pack.  The loss of horses would be worse than losing the gold.  “We have plenty of gold.” She laughed.  “But nothing to spend it on.”

“Yes,” I agreed.  “There is more treasure below.  I want to build the city.  I want to make this a place where people can live.  We can cut timber and send it south along with furs.  Our gold will buy equipment, tools, everything we need.  This is my home now.  I want to build it into something we can be proud of.”

“And is the lord of Darnuth Keep to have a lady?” she asked, her eyes sparkling in the starlight.

“A fitting question.” Laural stepped from the shadows.  The moonlight highlighted the paler tones of her hair.  Laural wore a tight fitting buckskin vest.  I noticed for the first time a tattoo on her upper left arm.  Something in her eyes betrayed a change I had not previously recognized.  “I saw the wizard and thought I might find you here.  We’ve had a fair bit of trouble since you’ve been gone.”

“At least I had a good rest,” I replied.  My tone was more than slightly condescending.  Dina pulled away from me slightly.  She stared at Laural with steely anger.

“You’ve no business here tonight,” said Dina.

“Neither have you,” replied Laural.  “The palace belongs to the king alone.”

“Then at least I have the right to be in my own gardens,” I replied.  Laural stopped short, avoiding my eyes.  “I also presume I can have guests if I choose.”

“I’m sorry,” replied Laural.  “We are all curious about what happened.  Everyone has been on edge lately.”

“No doubt a great many tragedies trouble you, young ladies,” said Pascalli.  Laural jumped at the sound of his voice.  “I am certain that Delvin has not allowed either of you the freedom you would have preferred, though I imagine you have still found ways to create mischief.  I do not think you will find Scratch in the mood to deal with your squabbling at the moment.”

I found Pascalli’s intervention both reassuring and annoying.  Though I felt refreshed simply breathing clear air again, my mind felt tired.  “You are right.  I don’t need arguing right now.”

Pascalli began to usher the women out of the garden when I caught Dina’s hand.  The wizard noted my motion and wrapped an arm around Laural’s shoulder.  “Have you ever seen a crystal garden?” I heard him ask Laural as they left.

“You asked me a question,” I said to Dina when we were alone.  I slipped one of the matching rings from my pocket.  “In the darkness you brought me hope.  I want to share that hope with you now, and forever.”

Somewhere in the starlight our lips met, and I pulled her into an embrace I hoped would never end.

THE END
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman

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