Posted by admin on June 29, 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.
The following day proved tiresome and cumbersome for me in too many ways. Pascalli accompanied me through the city to gate at the highest level. The lowest level of the city spans a great semi-circle out from the mountain with the back wall running straight as an arrow and cutting deep into the mountainside. A wide highway opens from the main gate and takes a straight course up, through six wide tall gates to reach the palace proper. At each level a terrace is cut into the mountain and a wall holds back the earth and gives a place for troops to watch the city. The first four gates hung open wide. The gentle archways, unchanged by time, invited me in. The fifth gate, however, stood closed.
“That doesn’t look any different than the lower gates,” observed Dina.
“Of course not,” said Pascalli. “You didn’t expect it to be on fire, did you? I’ve not dared pass that portal yet, and that should be warning enough for both of you. The lower levels bear no malice, for they were homes for common folk who largely fled during the breaking. But the fifth level was home to many nobles. They swore by their lives and souls, in a sacred vow, that no unclean thing would dwell in their homes or disturb their rest. As a sworn enemy of this place once upon a time, I at least, will not be welcome until they are pacified.”
“And you expect me to make them happy,” I replied.
“I hope you can,” he said, though his tone did not reassure me.
“Exactly what am I to do?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” said Pascalli. “I have a number of guesses, but I think you would be better off asking them than me. There is no magic sealing the gate, but you can’t open it from the outside. Take a rope and hook. I brought it for a purpose. You will end up scaling the wall I’m sure. Now off you go.”
Scaling the wall proved immensely difficult. There are no footholds in the polished stone and only a very few places where a steel hook has any hope of catching. After nearly an hour of trying to lock the hook in place, my arms and back ached. Finally it caught but I no longer had the energy to pull myself up using only my arms. I sat to rest and chew on a piece of dried meat. From somewhere inside I thought I heard dull laughter.
After a long rest I scrambled up the rope. I pulled the rope up behind me thinking to find a more secure place to tie it off. For a few minutes I wandered the top of the wall, looking for such a place but to no avail. Then I realized all I needed to do was push open the gates. From the inside, the inner city walls were really nothing more than a high stone fence reaching to about my chest. From the outside, below they appeared to be both tall and thick because of the earth packed behind. I followed the wall and found the guardhouse near the tunnel that led to the gate.
My hand had reached to pull the lever when I spotted a movement from the corner of my eye through the guardhouse window. I turned to look but could see nothing. Instantly my bow was at the ready. I had cover from the guardhouse but only a limited view. I could not cover both the window and the door while simultaneously attempting to manage the lever. I decided to deal with whatever was out there before trying my luck with the gate.
Stalking a large animal through a dense mountain forest has both advantages and disadvantages. I had become familiar after living off the land so much with how to be patient and how to use cover. I noted the direction of the wind, and generally kept my eyes open. Here in this desolate city, with no trees, only windswept stones and sunlight, I discovered a new sense of dread. After emerging from the guardhouse I immediately felt exposed. Whatever was out there could see me, though I saw nothing.
I paused to listen. Nothing. I crossed the street where I could keep my back to the wall of a tall house. I glanced up briefly to see dark vacant windows staring like ancient faces down at me. Again something moved. But I heard nothing. It moved very fast. I thought it was white, perhaps the edge of a robe or dress.
I crept along the edge of the wall slowly and silently, watching both where I had been and where I was going. I reached a point where I could clearly see the corner of the building opposite me where the movement had been. I crossed the street and crept slowly to that corner. I was not surprised to find nothing but an empty alley. Whatever it was left no tracks, no sound, and no signs of any kind. I dismissed all of this without thought for I also moved without much sound and I had been careful to leave no tracks, though it appeared that I moved considerably slower.
Whatever it was had only one way to go so I entered the alley and quietly picked my way to the end. Again I saw nothing at first, but while studying the area my eye caught motion once more. I played this game over and over throughout the morning until I knew well the lay of much of the inner circle. My prey had taken me from the wall up to the palace gates and back again until I found myself just outside a temple to Tylos.
Tired, thirsty and hot from my long work I decided to give the chase a rest. I tried the main door to the temple and found that the seasoned wood and iron opened as easily as if the hinges had been oiled and mended that morning. I found a cool, shady corner and sipped water quietly. I bit off a piece of meat and chewed it thoughtfully, planning my next move. Whatever else might be out there I had not accomplished my goal. I had neither discovered nor discussed my desires with this citadel’s former occupants. The gate remained closed.
Quite suddenly the temple door slammed shut as a great gust of wind rushed past on the street. Again the low laughter I thought I had heard before teased my ears, but this time much clearer, though still distant as if from within a vault.
At first I thought to open the door again and continue my earlier chase, or at least return to the gate and try the lever. When I stood up I felt differently. I had never been inside a real temple to Tylos before and I felt compelled to offer Her some prayer or oblation before leaving. I did not know the proper ceremony, but I managed to find the offering pit at the top of a small dais. Sunlight poured in through a high opening in the domed top. I found a small pile of cedar left stacked from centuries before and lit it in the pit. All I had with me were a few herbs for cooking and a bit of dried meat. I put them on the fire and then knelt. Raising my hands and staring into the sky, I offered a prayer to my goddess.
“Who are you to bring sacrifices to this house of holiness,” asked a sinister voice from behind me. Hatred poured from the voice like acid. My blood ran chill. My bow lay beside me, out of reach. My spear waited back at camp. Even if I tried, I knew I would not have time to draw my father’s sword and bring it into play. Very slowly I stood up and turned around.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
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Posted by admin on June 22, 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.
Dina came out a few moments later, her hair still wet. I offered her some food, which she took silently. I knew that it was not in her nature to apologize, especially to a person of my class, but to me that did not excuse the resentful anger in her eyes. I could not conceal my own anger and rather than fumble my way through a conversation I did not want to have, or through silence too awkward to bear I went into the house and began skinning out the beast.
In the east we have several kinds of tigers, but the largest is smaller than the variety of black mountain cat I killed that day. That breed is not only larger, but generally more aggressive and very dangerous to hunt. With the absence of humans for so long they had begun to range all across the Hansfor valley. The hide made a surprisingly thick and warm coat, and the meat turned out to be both tasty and plentiful.
I was still hungry so I cut some steaks and added them to our meal. Dina immediately showed her disgust.
“We do not eat beasts of prey,” she said.
“Then it’s going to be a long and hard winter for you.” The voice was not mine, but Pascalli’s. “I see that we had one visitor tonight. I had rather hoped for more, but we take what Tylos gives.”
“You mean you used me for bait?” said Dina indignantly.
“No, child,” said Pascalli. “I simply let you have your way. If you do not like the consequences of thinking and acting for yourself then perhaps you should heed the advice of someone more experienced than yourself. Mind, Scratch, don’t burn those steaks. I feel as if I could eat a horse.”
“And you may have to,” I chided. “If we don’t find safe pasture for them.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that if I were you,” said Pascalli. “This city is not all stone. There are wonderful pastures on the upper levels.”
“Are they safe,” I asked. Dina had retreated into the house again to get another blanket.
“Much safer for the horses, but perhaps less safe for us. Tomorrow we will go up and find a place for a more permanent camp.”
“One with a proper roof,” I hope, said Dina as she rejoined us.
“A perfect mansion,” said Pascalli. I expected his usual wink, but his face was serious. “There are several up there, and you may choose any you like, though you may have to ask permission of the current occupants.”
“Do people still dwell here, then?” she asked.
“People, my dear?” replied Pascalli. “Certainly not. At least not in the way you and I think of them.”
“I am not afraid,” said Dina. “I will fight when the time comes.”
“The time has already come,” said Pascalli. “I know you can use that stick of yours, but it will be useless against those who dwell in the noble houses of Darnuth Keep. You cannot hope to take residence there by fighting.”
“Then how?” she pleaded.
“By following and trusting,” he answered.
I know that she did not like his answer. Few people could truly appreciate Pascalli’s way of avoiding a question. “I’ll follow you,” said Dina. “So far you’ve not shown me the glory I want. I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“Oh, ho,” laughed Pascalli. “Not to worry, not to worry at all.” Now his eyes took on the devilish gleam that meant he had her trapped. “You see, you’ve neither to follow or trust me one bit, for I’ve not the ability to set one foot along the path we tread without help.”
“What? Then who? What are you talking about?” she seemed both scared and confused, and I admit that by now I was just as confused though I knew better than to voice my opinion.
“Scratch, my boy, you’ll take good care of us, won’t you,” said Pascalli. I half expected to hear his familiar laugh, but somehow I knew in my heart it was true. “I’m relying on you in the morning to start what your father never came to start, and in return I’ll see you finish it alive or I’ll die trying.”
Though I had experienced many wonders, frights and even battles, there is no greater adventure than having the life and trust of another person placed in your hands, especially when it is the life of a person you love and respect as deeply as I did that old wizard.
Dina’s face sank instantly.
“Dina, you and I will keep watch tonight,” said Pascalli. “Scratch is short of rest and will need his strength.”
“Opening a gate can’t be that difficult,” said Dina.
“I can keep my watch,” I protested.
“Of course you can, lad, but tonight there is no need,” he said. “No more arguments from either of you. There is more to entering the upper circle than just opening the gate. Just leave a knife, Scratch, so I can start scraping that hide and go inside. Now Dina, I don’t know that you’ve ever scraped a hide before so come here and lend me a hand. I know that the Taradurks keep a master tanner, but here we will make do ourselves with what we have.” I fell asleep to the cracking of the fire and the gentle muttering of Dina complaining beneath her breath.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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Posted by admin on June 15, 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.
My first impression of Darnuth Keep remains forever implanted into my memory. The great towers, like icicles rise triumphant from the mountainside. True to the name, the towers are constructed of ancient clear-white crystal that shoots into the sky like diamond. A winding, narrow road that has remained undamaged cuts a path up the edge of Mount Hansfor. After hours of labor in thinning air we turned a final sharp corner and saw it rising both ominous and beautiful over the valley and pass bellow. The Hansfor River begins atop the mountain and runs swiftly down, cascading over steep falls before it fills the lake in the valley and races south and west towards the empire and the sea.
“Our destination,” said Pascalli thoughtfully as he scratched his beard. “Perhaps not a destination,” he contradicted almost immediately. “Perhaps a starting point.” He seemed to be lost in his own world for a long moment, until Dina began moving her horse forward. “You’re right, there’s no point standing outside. After all I’m sure we’re expected.” He winked and grinned viciously.
As though time did not exist in the valley or on that mountain, the gates stood tall and clean against the autumn sun. At least three times the height of a man, the polished white crystal of the main gate seemed impregnable at first.
“How do we get in,” asked Dina. I was glad she had asked the question, though it echoed my thought.
“By walking, child, of course,” replied the wizard. “Unless you have learned to fly, which I doubt.”
I managed to fake a cough in order to stifle my laugh, but Dina gave me an angry glare anyway. Pascalli lead us very close to the wall and over to a path, just wide enough for one horse to go at a time. The path ran directly beneath the battlements with the sheer face of the wall on one side and a steep slope up the mountain on the other. I observed that although an army might attempt to approach the fortress from behind, the steep edges sloped just enough that the best they could hope for would be to slide down to the path we now walked where they would be crushed by boulders or burned with oil from the parapets.
At the very back of the keep waits a door just large enough to admit a horse, if it is not a large horse and it is not carrying a great deal of bulk. Pascalli produced a key and opened the door and we began the time consuming task of unloading our horses to get them through the door. The door leads through a dark tunnel to another door, which opens into Darnuth Keep.
Many dozens of buildings without roofs lined the barren streets of the lowest level, bearing silent testament to the greatness of the city’s past. Small doors opened directly into small rooms within the outer city wall. I estimated that the wall spanned some thirty meters across at the top. The ancient city guard must have had their barracks either in the low buildings near the wall or in the small rooms inside. Not a single stair or ladder of any kind graced the sheer surface outside of the wall, the only way up or down came from the inside. Many pools and fountains still danced in the setting sun as we entered, and I felt as if the ghosts of an age long past laughed at us through the water.
“At last, a bath,” said Dina.
“Yes,” agreed Pascalli. “Though the water will likely be icy cold.”
“No fires then,” I suggested.
“Here in the lower city we probably haven’t been spotted yet, although to be perfectly honest I’m not sure what or who watches the surface these days.” Pascalli once again seemed distracted, as if calculating a difficult sum in his head.
“I would very much like a warm meal and a warm bath,” said Dina.
“At what cost,” I said sharply, though she had not been speaking to me.
She turned abruptly to face me. “I am not your charge,” she said. Needles seemed to pierce me as she spoke. “I do not need your counsel.”
“It seems, my dear boy, that the lady will not be denied her pleasantry,” said Pascalli. His tone neither mocked nor condoned, but simply stated a fact. “Go and fetch some water, Scratch, and dig up a pot for heating it. I should like some proper dinner as well, see what you can do about that, lad, if you don’t mind.”
I opened my mouth to disagree when I saw Dina’s look of triumph, but shut it again quickly. “Will you at least help with the fire,” I asked.
“Sorry Scratch,” he said. His voice was suddenly quite serious. “I’m off scouting for a bit. There are plenty of dry timbers around that should burn well enough. Seasoned wood burns the best.” I grabbed my spear and started towards the nearest building. “Find a place with half a roof if you can,” called Pascalli behind me. “Don’t get into trouble.”
By then I absolutely fumed inside. Dina proved to be a hindrance in every possible way. She outright demanded I build a separate fire for her in a separate building where she could heat water and bath herself properly. She did not move a single finger to help. I realize now that once again Pascalli was giving me a simple test of self-control. The danger of our situation was no less now than before, but I guarded the camp alone.
Rather than use two buildings, I waited until Dina seemed content and then built our cooking fire just in front of the abandoned house she had chosen. I stacked our gear just outside the door and began preparing a stew of dried meat and herbs. Dusk already began to drift over us as I began to light the fire, and the shadows seemed to bring with them a quiet that even stilled the tinkle of running water. Dina hummed an unfamiliar but content tune from within the house. My stew simmered very quietly. I heard the soft scrap of something on a stone.
I crept as quickly as I dared, making no noise and grabbed my bow. Finally, after what had seemed like ages of practice I could move almost silently when the need arose. I peered through the depths of darkness for the enemy that surely stalked either my fire or Dina. Dina would have no weapons, and even an unintelligent attacker would deem her the easier target. I went inside the house.
I heard Dina finish her humming and fumbling around for a buffalo hide. She saw me against the light of the fire and shouted. “Scratch, get out of here! I’m bathing.” When I didn’t move she became really angry, and I think she reached to find something to throw at me. Truthfully I couldn’t say what she did because at that moment I caught the movement in the shadows along the roof that I had been looking for. I loosed an arrow, and a piercing shriek, very similar to Dina’s, tore into the night. Something large and black fell into the building and growled in pain. I sent a second arrow past Dina and into the enormous black cat.
“Supper is ready,” I said, and turned and walked out.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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Posted by admin on June 8, 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.
We lit no fires. Dina complained about this the first night, until I warned her that we were being watched. At first I think she wanted to argue the point until Pascalli nodded his agreement with my assessment. “Don’t be foolish,” he whispered. “He may be a farmer, lass, but he knows the wild.”
After we abandoned the wagon I did not see any signs for two more days. I thought that whatever was following us had lost interest.
We huddled together for warmth, our backs to each other taking turns nodding off in the night. I saw a flicker of luminous green in the dark. Then it disappeared. An eye most likely, reflecting the dim moonlight. I gently prodded Pascalli and Dina. Pascalli prodded back. He also had noticed something, a shadow perhaps. Dina breathed in sharply and jerked her bow up off her knees. It must have been her sudden move that drew the attention of our attackers because they concentrated on her.
The attack came sudden and precise with all the cunning of a master bandit. Four shapes blacker than the darkness came at us, their pale green eyes the only warning a split second before fangs and claws tore into us. Dina’s arrow caught one in the chest, while mine found a mark in the throat. Behind me I heard Pascalli crack his staff hard into a third. The fourth had caught Dina across the chest with a claw and she fell hard onto the stony earth.
I knocked and loosed a second arrow without hesitation, before it could either flee or attack someone else. The creatures were similar in body to the tigers of the east, with cat-like claws and long tails, but I did not understand the elongated bear-like faces and fangs. Neither bears nor cats hunted in packs, and certainly they would not take unknown prey like this.
“They are not entirely animal,” said Pascalli. “Look.”
Before my eyes the dead began to shed portions of their furry skin. The faces melted into something almost human, black like the monkeys of the south, but still with the pale green eyes.
“What evil is this?” asked Dina between painful breaths.
“A remnant from the breaking,” I answered. “This is why we have come, to make things right.”
Fortunately, Dina’s wound was not as serious as it could have been. The claws had cut cleanly enough, but I knew that I would not be able to see the source of infection and sickness until after it started. I found my bag of herbs and began cutting bandages.
She still did not trust me, and when I moved to help her she shied away. “I will be fine,” she said. “I am not hurt badly.”
“That is something for the healer to judge,” I said. The teeth or claws had rent her leathers and I could clearly see the wounded flesh beneath. “We do not know these creatures. There may be poison in the wound. It needs to be properly cleaned anyway to prevent sickness.”
“I wish we had a proper surgeon,” she said.
“Scratch has experience enough with mercenaries and outlaws,” said Pascalli. “I’m sure he can manage to stitch together a lady.”
I had never before laid eyes upon a woman’s breast, and I daresay that I was very glad for the dim, shadowy light of the one candle Pascalli allowed me to work by. I discovered that she was very beautiful, although I had never really thought about it much. I treated the wound with much more care and tenderness than I believe I had planned, and I am sure she was grateful for that care in the end. I had a bit of tyrnwood that I used to make a poultice to deaden the pain and soak any poison. I am sure that in the cold night air my indelicate fingers did not feel pleasant, and I regretted not having something better for the pain. Three cuts ran around the edge of her left breast, claw marks, and all three required stitches. Afterwards we bundled her in several blankets and sat back to back watching over her the rest of the night.
Once again the wonders of tyrnwood proved useful. By morning Dina practically bounced out of the blankets. Though her arm was still too weak from the torn chest muscles to properly manage a bow, she willingly helped with chores she had complained about only the day before.
After that incident Pascalli pushed us harder to reach Darnuth Keep. All thought of practice or training of any kind vanished. For the first time in what seemed forever I did not rise each day to be soundly beaten by a solid oak staff. Pascalli knew that we would need the protection of the battlements as well as a base from which to hunt and gather supplies for the coming winter. Dina had often hunted for sport with her father and brothers but was unused to surviving in the wilderness without the comforts of her station. She did not know how to cook, though most of our food at the time was cold. She did not find sleeping under the stars comfortable and did not understand that we would be easy prey inside of tents.
“I don’t think Dina is made for the wild,” I observed to Pascalli on evening. “I don’t know if she is strong enough to make it out here.”
“Don’t judge her too swiftly Scratch. There’s a strength there that you don’t see yet. Remember all that you’ve done and seen since leaving home. There were times I wondered about you,” he said.
“I’ll do my best,” I murmured.
Pascalli smiled at me. “A friend is a friend and a good friend even better. She’s a part to play yet. Give her time. Someday you may come to understand the sacrifice she has given to join us. She has freely left behind much that others would struggle their whole lives to gain. We’ll reach the keep in another day. I’ll be relying on your help when we get there. Make sure your head is clear.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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Posted by admin on June 1, 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.
We sat, both of us staring at the leaf for a long time. I wondered what it meant, how it was possible, and if Pascalli would teach me more. I can only imagine the thoughts he had as the full realization of the power of the curse he had been given settled on his mind.
“At a glance I could have destroyed a forest,” he mumbled bitterly. The look in his eye burned with a hatred that sent shivers down my spine. I had never before seen him filled with dread or indignant anger. That moment was the only one in which I feared for my safety while in his presence, but the moment passed quickly. “Matters have changed, Scratch,” he said with a finality that brought me quickly to attention. “Now you must become fully my apprentice, at least for a short time, until I can find a more suitable master, which I am afraid may not be possible. Clearly Tylos thrust you upon me to break my heart again.” He winked. “On a more serious note, if it is possible to be more serious, I must take you even more into my confidence now. First, you must not share this experience with anyone, ever.”
I already knew that much, and had not intended to tell anyone anyway.
“Second, you must understand that this means that the enemy can use magic.”
That too was obvious.
“Also that these enemies, for there will be more than one of them, will have had probably eighteen or nineteen winters more than you to learn magic. That is to say that there is at least one Kaarum shaman in this world who has been practicing magic since before you were born.” He seemed completely distracted as he spoke.
“What does all this mean for us here and now,” I finally asked him. “Are we still going to Darnuth Keep?”
“Yes, my boy, oh yes,” he replied. “We very much need to get there, now more than ever. You’ve managed to get a decent handle on that pig-poker, but unfortunately I won’t have time to really train you up properly in case of a real duel. Pray, lad, pray. In the meantime our plans do not change, other than you will have to work extra hard.” He caught my resigned sigh. “I don’t mean cooking and cleaning, Scratch, although there will be plenty of that to go around. You’ll find that these old hands can be useful sometimes, and we’ve a third pair now. I hadn’t counted on using magic until now, so you’ll have to learn to deal with that before you’re really ready.”
We rode into last gate early in the morning. The mud houses looked golden gray in the reflected sunlight. Smoke from cooking fires drifted through the still sky. Though a few dogs called out to each other, only our slow wagon stirred the streets. The village seemed as undisturbed by time as by our small intrusion. The enormous wall, built centuries before, loomed like a large dark hand over even the tallest of the buildings. A wide, worn highway wandered north and stopped abruptly at the enormous black gates. Soldiers sat idly atop the parapets, smoking pipes and watching our approach.
Getting the guards of Last Gate to open their ancient charge proved to be much more hassle than anticipated, but Pascalli took it all in with a laugh. Listening to Pascalli haggle with the gate captain did nothing to ease the building sense of dread inside me.
“The Last Gate has not been opened in over a thousand winters,” said Garret, leader of the guards. “Our law strictly forbids it.”
“I know the law,” said Pascalli. “By the light of Tylos, I made the law. I closed the gate. By the demons in Hieron I made the wall.” His eyes were a blaze of fury that quelled the other man. “Now open the gate or I will, and for good measure I’ll leave it open too. Send word to your master that a ragtag named Pascalli has run off with a bandit and the daughter of the great Taradurk through the Last Gate. Have me hunted if you dare, but do not impede me today.”
In the end Pascalli had his way of course. Only the very stubborn and stupid could repel him for long. The great iron gears, whose teeth were each larger than a man rolled painfully along a course they had not traveled in a millennium. A small crack, just wide enough for our wagon, and then they lurched and yelled and slammed shut, leaving us in silence to face a path that no longer led anywhere.
“I had hoped to go on ahead,” said Pascalli. “There is much to be done before winter, but I dare not delay your training Scratch.” He surveyed the broken, overgrown land ahead. The foothills of the Northern Crown lay covered with thick shrubs and tall unhindered timber. Finding a path for the wagon would be both cumbersome and slow. “We’ll try it this way for a day or two and see how it goes. Once there was a very great highway that ran through here, perhaps it has survived the test of time.”
Only long summers of hard labor would uncover the remains of that ancient thoroughfare. We managed to stumble on an occasional brick, but that was more inconvenience than help. The wagon proved to be utterly useless and an even worse hindrance than first thought. After two days the decision became clear. Either we abandon the wagon and make haste to Darnuth Keep or we keep battling the wagon and risk reaching our destination after the first snows. Either way we would be faced with a lack of critical food-stores.
“Well, what shall it be children?” he asked, though I am sure he guessed our thoughts.
“Ride while we can,” I answered.
“I am a huntress,” said Dina. “We can hunt food when we get there.”
“Perhaps we can,” said Pascalli. “If there is anything fit left to eat in these parts. So be it. Pack all of the grain and blankets, the salt, sugar, gear, and as much of the dried meat as possible. We’ll walk if we have to, but we must make haste.”
Something picked up our trail almost immediately after crossing the Gate. I imagine that our entrance into that solitary territory disturbed a great many creatures. I knew that a skillful hunter tracked us nearly from the beginning. A shadow would move, or occasionally a leaf shuddered against the wind behind us or off to one side. Never close enough to hear, always near enough to make me very nervous. Pascalli also knew immediately that we were being tracked. Only Dina appeared oblivious. The first day Pascalli tried to get me to concentrate on the air while we rode, attempting to repeat the same lesson as before. The lesson proved a complete failure as neither of us could divert enough of our attention away from our followers.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
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Posted by admin on May 25, 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.
Midsummer’s day of the eighth winter after Kyven Halfspear’s victory under Narnal marked my first midsummer away from home while I was still under the tutelage of Captain Torbridge. Two winters later I had managed to stay alive long enough to write another letter home. Though I didn’t expect the letter to arrive, I sent it east with a grain merchant traveling to Anascrag. Though I had certainly added length to my legs and outgrown the clothes my mother sent me away in, even I could see the real growth had little to do with size.
My arms and back became strong under the daily strain of work and practice. I knew how to read strangers and the value of holding my tongue. I could read a trail and trusted myself in any circumstance. In spite of all the changes I still often wondered about my father, and about the curse he left me. We had few chances to find books along the way, but Pascalli encouraged me to read anything we found, and listen to the stories told by locals.
“How long has it been since you came through Last Gate?” I asked Pascalli the night before we reached the gate.
He winked at me before lifting his eyes and staring off into the horizon. “I come this way now and again to check the pass, though never through the gate. You will be the first to come with me since the breaking.”
“Didn’t my father ever come this way?” I asked, surprised.
“No, Scratch.” He said, very simply. “His business would have brought him here eventually, but he left the path before that.”
I understood.
Dina was not with us that final night. She went ahead with the wagon to make preparations at the guard post. I imagine that she wanted to spend at least one night in the comfort of a bed, but I am sure she also knew that I at least would want to have some time alone to sit and think. Dina did not speak to me much, not until we reached Darnuth Keep, and when she did she had taken to calling me Scratch, just as Pascalli did. Some part of her could not let go of the fact that I had been raised a farmer.
“Who was the demon my father slew?” I asked Pascalli quite suddenly enough to startle myself.
“You’ve heard the tales,” replied Pascalli. “Surely you know the story by heart.”
“I want to hear it from you,” I said firmly. “You know the truth, and I feel that you owe it to me.”
“I owe you nothing,” replied Pascalli in a sharp tone that sent a shiver through my spine. He was not angry. After a pause he smiled and set me at ease.
“I will give you freely what you ask. I think it may help you.”
“As you well know there are a number of deities, each struggling for power over our world. But they are bound by the will of mortals to choose for themselves their destiny. Though they may tempt us, we ultimately have power over ourselves. Some servants of the dark deities have tempted mortals to invite them into this realm to wreak havoc in return for greater power. One such demon was invited here by a powerful Kaarum shaman who made a pact with this demon lord.”
“At first we thought it was just another incursion of Kaarum coming down from the north. As usual I headed them off, and sealed the pass, but they broke through and the empire had to raise an army in great haste. Your father was recruited in much the same way that you were. He was literally begging for food when they came looking for conscripts and he just came along.”
“I did not actually meet your father until much later in his career. He was very astute, and very skilled at the art of war. By surviving long enough he rose through the ranks until he commanded a small company. About that time I finally managed to discover the presence of an unnatural force, though I could not tell what was behind it. At Narnal’s direction I gathered volunteers. Your father was the first to offer his spear.”
“I led them over the Northern Crown, and into the land of the Kaarum. He brought us out again, by his wits and cunning and sheer force of will. At every step we were hounded. I was not prepared to face a demon and it forced me to flee. The first time in so many hundred winters Pascalli fled a battle. I think that Tylos visited him during that time of our separation and told him of the spear of Udelf and of its power over the demon. I cannot tell you of your father’s adventures to retrieve the spear because he went alone and he returned alone. When he returned he no longer needed armies to fight his battle. He no longer needed me. Indeed his power far surpassed my own.”
“The war fared poorly for the empire. Many thousands of Kaarum had gathered along the wall north of Anascrag. There he came and began destroying them. Then, in the middle of the commotion a great blackness appeared. The demon rolled out its weapons of darkness only to be repelled by your father’s courage and light. Men and beast fell on both sides from the shock. Finally he thrust the demon down and broke its link to our world.”
“Your father did not speak for many days after that. He never told me what he felt or endured. The spear of Udelf had lost its power. It is the weapon you now bear, now no more than a bit of metal on the end of a pole. He went home, although I believe only I knew where his home was.”
I realized as he spoke that I was crying. So many questions still fluttered in my mind. Suddenly I felt very much like a child and I chided myself. Now I should be a man.
“You haven’t told me why killing the demon wasn’t enough to satisfy Tylos,” I said.
“That is because I don’t know,” answered Pascalli.
Confusion rocked my senses. Pascalli knew everything. He knew the names of little children he could not possibly have ever met before. He knew how long rocks had sat undisturbed in lonely mountain passes and when the last rabbit crossed a given path or when it was likely to return again.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I asked.
“Just that. I can only guess. I did not become aware of the curse Kyven endured until well after he returned to the imperial service. Only then, winters later, did he confide in me, and it was I who told the village council at Dunston after he refused.” He caught the fire in my eyes and cut me short. “Do not be angry with me. I tried to save him from himself, and I have done my best to save you as well. Judge me later, when you’ve learned enough to judge me properly. I’m not a saintly man, but at least I know my purpose and I haven’t yet wavered from it.”
“Well, if you don’t know, can’t you at least guess?” I asked.
“Anyone can guess,” he said. “In this situation guessing wrong could mean throwing this world into darkness.”
“But you’ve already guessed, haven’t you,” I mocked.
“Yes I have,” he said sharply. “You are going to prove me right or wrong, and I hope before it is too late.” He waited for me to ask the obvious question but I did not give him the satisfaction. “Very well, my guess is that somehow one of the other gods has managed to allow magic to be controlled again in this world and Tylos wants it remedied.”
“But how can that be true?” I said incredulously. “If magic could be controlled again, then you should be able to do any sort of miracle, shouldn’t you?”
“We are talking about guesses, aren’t we?” he scoffed. “Of course the way we learned may not be the same way that magic is controlled today. Tylos may still hold enough power to keep mine from returning. I don’t fully understand the extent of Tylos’ curse on me. Take the priests of Tylos, for example, their ability to heal wounds is clearly magic, but it nothing of the sort that I understand. Their power comes directly from Tylos. They have no power to actually do any healing. It is entirely up to our Lady.”
“I thought it was just automatic,” I replied. “I was healed back near Havensod.”
“Yes, I heard about that,” said Pascalli. “Quite remarkable actually. Most of us are not healed automatically, and then it is usually just enough to keep one from dying. Your experience was unusual to say the least. Either way, there was no control present.”
“Oh, well, yeah,” I said. “Well how did you used to control it, in the old days I mean? If I wanted to make a pig fly, for example, what would I have to do?”
“You mean short of building a catapult?” laughed Pascalli. I laughed with him, and our hearts grew suddenly lighter. “Come with me. Now look over here, you see this leaf.” He held up a broad oak leaf, clearly dead. “Now try to do as I say, although I don’t expect any results as I have already tried it myself a thousand times since I first came on this theory and it didn’t work. Look at the leaf, concentrate on its shape, form, color, smell, texture.” He waited for me to concentrate, which I did as hard as I possibly could. I tried to take in every aspect of the leaf, although I must admit it very quickly grew tedious. He set the leaf on the ground. “Now concentrate on the air around the leaf, how does it move, how does it taste, smell, sound.” I did as he asked. I tried to remember each time I had ever walked through a forest, every time I had played with a fallen leaf or tossed an acorn aside. “Now, listen for the voice of the leaf and the voice of the air, like a murmured whisper in a language you do not understand coming from far across the mountains. Do you hear it?”
I listened for a moment and had opened my mouth to say “No,” when I caught a faint something, like the wind blowing through the boughs of a great tree, but it was coming from nowhere. I knew it came from the leaf. “Yes,” I said.
I did not see Pascalli’s reaction. I had not broken my concentration. The intensity of the leaf’s calling seemed to grow as I yearned to understand it. I bent my thoughts and will towards it. Pascalli’s voice quivered as he spoke. “Reach out with your mind and heart and ask the leaf to lift. Ask the air to push it.”
I asked, I concentrated, and suddenly the leaf began to hover a few centimeters off of the ground. My jaw dropped. My concentration shattered.
“I don’t believe it,” said Pascalli.
“Was that magic?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“It wasn’t a catapult,” he replied, his tone somber.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
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Posted by admin on May 18, 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 returned to the forge for the next few days while we waited for a new smith to arrive, half sulking, half worrying that everything would not be in order soon enough. During that time I scraped and cured the hides, which were covered in tough, but workable silver-gray scales. Dina left to take the message to Daturk-thrull and I did not expect her to return. Four days later she did return, leading a wagon carrying the apprentice to the smith of Daturk-thrull and his new bride and all their belongings. He was glad to find a shop ready and waiting. I reluctantly let him take his rightful work.
“We’ll be off then, bright and early,” said Pascalli to Tarkin when he saw the wagon. “Our work here is finished and we have tarried over-long I think.”
Tarkin was overjoyed at the success, so much so that he gave us a wagon and filled it with food, a new tent, extra blankets, anything we could ask for. Leaving that farm felt like leaving my own farm all over again. My heart nearly broke for I had come to love Tarkin as I loved Master Wilder, and the servants were like my friends from Dunston.
The next morning, as we left Dina rode up alongside the wagon. “Imperial guards will not harass you while I am with you,” she said. “I can make your trip go much faster I think, if you will consent.”
Although she spoke to Pascalli, she cast me a glance, and his eyes followed hers. “What do you think, Scratch, my lad, can you handle a finicky lass such as this?” I think her jaw must have broken it dropped so hard. I know I at least cracked a smile, though I probably laughed as Pascalli’s habit was wearing onto me.
“I’ve no doubt she’ll want no help from me, but she’s welcome in my camp,” I replied, meaning it.
“Good boy,” said Pascalli. We rode on, and Pascalli took his matter-of-fact tutor tone with Dina and for once I had a bit of a rest from the old man. “You’ll understand, my dear, that we have been traveling incognito for several winters now, so our names are generally not our own. The lad you can call Scratch, or whatever you deem appropriate”. He cast me a sidelong glance. I shrugged. “Me, you will call Pascalli, or Master.” She looked horror struck. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. “Your father calls me Master Pascalli and I will take no less from his third daughter.”
“You know my father?” she asked incredulously.
“Of course, silly girl,” he laughed. “Why else would he call me Master? Either way I would thank you to not betray our presence here in this part of the empire until we are north of the wall and well into the wild. Are you planning on coming into the wild with us, my dear?”
“I, uh, I don’t know,” she stammered.
“I shall take that as a yes, for you have already shown that you intend to do this foolish thing. Very well, just don’t give out our real names and all will be well. After Darnuth Keep, assuming there is an after, you may do as you please.”
“Must I take orders from him?” she asked, her voice full of dread, indicating me.
“Must you?” laughed Pascalli. “I should certainly think not.” I rolled my eyes. “He is my charge, and I shall decide when it is time for him to give orders, which is rare enough and not yet with lives as important to our purposes as yours. You are your own spirit, child, free to do as you please. But I can say this much for Scratch. He’s a good lad and he won’t lead you astray which is more than I would say for nearly any other man you could find.”
“He’s not a man,” she grumbled.
“No, he’s not, and you are not a woman,” he replied. Her face burned red. I thought for a moment she would ride away, but she didn’t. “Stick with us and you will turn into one.” His voice was not a promise, but a warning.
The journey to Last Gate, as the village guarding the north gate into the wild is called, took some two markets, perhaps a day or two more. During this time Pascalli seemed driven to verify that I had learned anything in the last two winters. Although we kept up a maddening pace in his rush, each moment of it he prodded me to recount all he had taught, especially of the plants and creatures of the wild.
“We will be without civilization for a very long time,” he warned. “For much of that time you will be on your own, Scratch. Worse, you will be required to feed all of us, provide meat, especially fat, for the winter, and hides. You are responsible for the safety of Dina, or you will be when I am not around. We have much to do before the snows begin to fall, and now we will find out if you have been paying attention at all during our travels.”
“I can take care of myself, Pascalli,” said Dina. “I don’t need anyone watching me.”
Pascalli grinned, but he didn’t quite laugh. “Of course, but I will feel more comfortable knowing Scratch has learned at least something.”
Dina kept to herself when she was not busy navigating us along the road or rushing us through an imperial checkpoint. I finished her pair of boots by working under the stars or moon, and she accepted them with cautious gratitude, but I did not see her wear them. She spoke almost always to Pascalli, although I could tell there were a thousand questions burning behind her eyes. Pascalli continued to train me day after day with both sword and spear. Dina took little interest in my lessons.
“You can join us if you like, my dear,” offered Pascalli. “I’m sure your brothers showed you the use of the cutlass, but a little practice never hurt.”
“The bow is my weapon,” she said to Pascalli. “The weapon of a true huntress.”
“I can shoot,” I said, even though she was not looking at me.
“My family trains the greatest archers in the land. I learned to hunt when I learned to walk.”
I really wanted to bring that prideful chin down, just once. “Pick a mark,” I suggested.
“I’ve no need for childish games,” she replied.
“Too true,” agreed Pascalli, but with a wink in my direction. “We’ve no time for such frivolity just now.”
A few nights before we reached Last Gate we camped just off the imperial highway. Dina volunteered to take an equal watch with the rest of us, but I woke up early out of habit and joined her. Alone, in the dark, with the fire burning low I saw her eyes mix with confusion.
“What is it?” I asked. I hadn’t often spoken directly to her since Tarkin’s farm. Pascalli kept me busy. He was probably trying to keep us separated for a while in case there was any lingering animosity. I tried to smile. “I know you have a lot of questions. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Who are you?” she asked. “I have heard of Pascalli before, although I thought he was just a legend, but who are you?”
“Colter Halfspear,” I replied.
“Son of –“
I cut her off. “Kyven Halfspear. Yes.”
Her face filled with a kind of wonder I had never really noticed before. “If I had known,” she began, “I would have-“
Again I cut her off. “You would have been wrong. I was born the son of a farmer.” I did not look at her as I spoke, but I could feel her eyes on me. “I did not know my father well. I was born in a village in the eastern empire. I left behind my plow with the most bitter remorse. I hate fighting. I hate killing. Sometimes I think I hate Pascalli, but the truth is I would be lost without him.”
She sat quietly for a time, not daring to ask anymore questions.
“Do the boots fit properly,” I asked, more to break the silence than anything. She didn’t answer. “I’m glad you came along, it’s nice to have someone besides that old windbag.” She chuckled a little, and then after a few moments went to sleep.
In the morning I noticed that she was wearing her new boots, though she still had not decided if I was safe to speak to.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
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Posted by admin on May 11, 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 worked at the forge until late in the evening. I found Tarkin, Pascalli, and Dina just finishing a fine meal. “Sit down, lad,” invited Tarkin. “You’ve worked yourself over-hard since you came. I can never repay such kindness. Enjoy some of this roast.”
I knew that I smelled of the forge and that my unwashed face must have appeared rather unruly to Dina. I became conscious for the first time of how graceful she truly was. She had tied her hair in a tight knot at her neck. Her eyes were a penetrating shade of jade, almost like a cat’s that still glared at me across the table. In her boots she stood as tall as me. I noticed that she kept her cutlass and bow close by.
“I believe that you have not been properly introduced,” said Pascalli casually. “This is my knight and protector, Sir Lanseg.” She nodded. “And this is Dina, third daughter of Lord Taradurk.” I bowed deeply, remembering my manners.
I had not learned to speak with much grace and I felt my cheeks flush, so I did the only thing my mouth was good for and stuffed it with food.
“Her ladyship has come to avenge the loss of the blacksmith, Sir Lanseg,” said Tarkin. “She is a very great hunter of evil, both of men and creatures.” The farmer seemed genuinely excited about the arrival of that surly girl. “She was just telling us of a particularly nasty creature. Please continue.”
“There really isn’t much more to it,” she replied. “We came upon them just after dawn and slew them quickly.”
“What sort of creatures were they?” asked Tarkin.
“Beasts that walk like men, with horns and claws. One had the head of a dog, the other the head of a goat. Both were covered in black fur and scales.”
I opened my mouth to say Kaarum, but caught Pascalli’s eye and stuffed it with food instead.
“When was this?” asked Pascalli.
“Two markets ago, near the great wall,” she replied.
“Do you hear that Lanseg?” he said. I nodded. “We will have to make haste. We must be at our destination before winter arrives and already the hills grow dangerous.”
“After we solve the murder,” I said bluntly.
“Oh, of course,” he continued casually. “We were just discussing the matter when you arrived. I have done some scouting, and I believe we will be able to take care of that problem without too much trouble in the morning. Then it will be a small matter for the farm to find a new smith and we can be on our way.”
“Where are you going?” asked Dina.
“Why, to Darnuth Keep, my dear,” said Pascalli as casually as if we were taking a summer stroll to go fishing. My jaw dropped. My fork dropped. I did not have the presence to even hide my surprise my stuffing my mouth again. Winters now of traveling in secrecy and he just spouted it off.
“You are joking of course,” replied Dina, her voice betraying her shock. “That place is haunted, filled with deadly evil beasts. Legend has it that it was cursed from the breaking and can never be made whole again.”
“Never is a very long time,” said Pascalli. “Despite the dangers we are going there. I am surprised at you, Dina, frightened of mere stories when you have yourself fought and conquered evil. I should think you would want to come with us.” Now I really was struggling to keep myself composed. The last thing I wanted along was a silly girl who couldn’t take care of herself, let alone help out in a tight spot. But my fears were unfounded.
“I have other duties,” she replied. “I am not always free to chase my quarry or to follow fools into darkness.”
“Of course,” replied Pascalli, and as far as we were all concerned the matter was closed. The conversation turned to more mundane topics until I drifted to sleep at the table from exhaustion.
The morning found us looking for over-sized gopher holes. “What we are looking for, are holes about this large,” described Pascalli very carefully. He held his hands apart to form a circle about the size of my head. “They will be surrounded by the burrowed out dirt, and probably by a sort of yellow slime or yellow dirt. I have already marked three of them, but there should be a few more, possibly as many as ten or twelve.”
“What do we do when we find them,” I asked.
“Just mark them with a stick, like this, and a bit of cloth.” He handed each of us a few strips of cloth. “Whatever you do, do not put your hand or foot inside one of these holes! The creatures inside can be very dangerous, as you will soon see.”
As Pascalli had guessed, the work was relatively quick and easy. Both Tarkin and I had experience hunting vermin of this sort in the fields, so we knew what signs to look for. Dina learned quickly what we were searching for, and in less than an hour we had all nine burrows marked.
Pascalli gathered us together with several of the other farm workers. “Now for the fun part,” he said. Each of you put a generous amount of this powder down a hole, all except one hole, which Lanseg and Dina will watch with their bows.” He passed a generous round of reddish powder to eight different willing parties. “When I give the signal, put your torches to the powder. Mind you be careful, and if you see any creature coming out of the hole run back away and call out for assistance.”
“What are we to do?” asked Dina.
“Shoot them as they come out, of course.” Pascalli winked. “I did say this was the fun part, didn’t I. Oh, but be careful not to get bitten. I believe you will find that they move spectacularly fast when frightened, and their venom is quite deadly.”
Just as planned, eight torches set off fire and smoke in unison and a few short seconds later out crawled seven enormous lizards. I call them lizards but truly they were more like giant centipedes with lizard-like heads. They sported just one vicious fang, almost like a horn. Their mouths opened with rages of fear, pain and anger as they emerged, and their bulbous eyes blinked in the morning sun. One by one we shot them with our arrows as they emerged. Most of them required more than one shot to stop. They had some inner desire to keep moving, to keep attacking that went far beyond normal instinct. The last one very nearly reached Dina’s legs before I put an arrow through its eye. She gave me a grudging thank you, and turned to survey the situation.
After a few moments, the fury was over and I began skinning one of the creatures. “What could you possibly want with that,” asked Dina, a look of disgust on her face.
“New boots,” I suggested, indicating my worn footwear. I’m not sure what made me continue, “I can make a pair for you if you’d like.” The words seemed to escape my lips before I knew I was even speaking.
She looked at first taken aback, and then wary, then replied, “I’m sure you’ll be long gone before you can finish them. Besides I have business.”
“Then I will send them to your father as a trophy of his daughter’s triumph.” To my surprise there was no note of mockery in my voice. She had done very well that day and I did want to make up.
“Thank you,” she stammered. I believe that was the first time someone had sincerely complimented her in her life, if not, it was certainly the most powerful. She was used to the idle prattle of hangers-on and the expected kindnesses of servants.
“Taking trophies already I see,” interrupted Pascalli. “Wonderful. I could use a new belt, but mind the fangs and let me know if you see any of their eggs.”
“I’ll be careful,” I grumbled. “The hides are already spoken for.”
“Oh well, another time then,” responded Pascalli cheerfully. “Ho, Tarkin, come see what we’ve managed.” The farmer was already halfway to us of course. “Now mind you that we may not have gotten all the eggs. If we didn’t you’ll see a few young come out in one or two markets. The young will be looking for mice or frogs, whatever they can get. I suggest you set some traps around the burrows at night. Go ahead and plug as many as you can.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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Posted by admin on May 4, 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.
At some point between villages, far to the west, but not yet as far as Darnuth Keep, my horse threw a shoe and forced me to beg the use of a forge at a remote farm. The farm was large enough to almost be a village, and we were sure our luck would be good. Naturally events didn’t go quite as expected. The good man of the farm was willing enough to accept our gold, but explained that their smith had died, and no one else knew the art for some kilometers around. I explained that I could do the work myself if only they would lend us the forge, at which point he became both intrigued and much friendlier.
“You see, Galin, the smith, was murdered just two days ago, and we’ve not had word back yet from Daturk-thrull if their smith can come and do some work here, or if his apprentice is ready or willing to come,” said master Tarkin.
“I don’t imagine anyone would be willing to take his place until the murder is solved,” I said. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Well, no, actually.” Tarkin scratched his head and shrugged. “I would love to, but the truth is none of us knows. Galin just went into the woods for a bit of an evening stroll down by the creek and never came back. In the morning we found his body.”
“How did he die? Do you know what killed him?”
“There were three wounds, one on the back of his left leg, one in the heart, from the front, and one on his right shoulder, all deep cuts like those from a dagger. There was a rumor a few markets back that Edelo Cheshk’s bandits may have returned to the area, but there aren’t any signs of a struggle, and he was a large strong man who would have at least hurt one of them. I’m assuming there were more than one since one man would have had to be very skilled to take Galin like that and not get the same in return, armed or not.”
Pascalli, who had listened quietly to our conversation interrupted. “We will offer your farm some protection until a new smith can be found. Young Sir Lanseg has the ability to act as smith for a short while. He was once apprentice to a very great smith. Although his specialty is weapons, he can handle horseshoes just as well.”
Once again I found myself laboring at the forge. This time I gave direction to a boy even younger than myself. The work became a pleasant distraction to the questions that had plagued me earlier. I discovered for the first time in my life the true wonder of being master of a small domain and I found I was happier then than at any time since leaving the farm. Pascalli seemed to disappear for the next two days until a new rider appeared on the farm. She was a young woman, perhaps two or three summers my elder dressed in rich hardened leather and sporting a solid bow for hunting. At her side hung a traditional Tulandish cutlass. Her hair fell dark and straight from beneath the solid metal cap atop her head.
Too rich for a bandit, too surly for a beggar, I knew instantly that she was trouble. She moved with an enchanting, self-assured grace that immediately drew attention from all within eyeshot. I, however, did not notice her immediate arrival. Tulath, my assistant pointed her out.
“You there,” she called to the first person she met. “Go and fetch me the master of this farm.”
Before turning back to my work I noticed that her horse did not quite walk properly. I knew that it had cast a shoe and would be lame if not properly tended soon. Sure enough she rode directly towards the forge. She stopped short of the shop and dismounted.
Tulath began to step aside when I ordered, “Mind your fire, we’ve work yet to finish.” I did not bother to look up from the plow-blade I was mending.
“You there,” she called. I knew she would be angry, I had known enough of her breed to smell them a kilometer off. “My horse has cast a shoe. You will replace it at once.”
Tulath had slackened his pace at the bellows. “Mind your fire,”I ordered. My voice was more gruff than intended. I glanced up long enough to look her over. “That hoof will need a day or two of rest before it can be worked. Stable your mare and I’ll take care of her when I’ve a chance.”
“I am in haste. I am Dina, third daughter of the house of Taradurk; you will not keep me waiting.” She was brandishing her horsewhip rhythmically.
Pascalli had told me of the Regent Taradurk who served as lord over all the west, but the lessons of Iven were cast more solid into my soul than any fear of a title. “Surely the daughter of Taradurk knows when a horse is lame,” I replied. She swung with the whip, but the blow never connected. She had not expected my reaction, and in one swift move I stepped inside of her wide swing and grabbed her wrist. Then with a hard jerk I flung her over my shoulder and sent her sprawling on the ground beneath her horse.
“You will die for that, peasant,” she said icily.
“Not at your hands,” I replied coolly. “And if you had the brains of your horse you would have realized I am not a peasant.”
A moment of doubt quickly flickered across her eyes. I was certain she did not entirely believe me.
“He speaks the truth, daughter or Taradurk,” said a voice I had not heard the last two days. Pascalli wandered up next to her horse and was examining the leg.
“Who are you?” she blurted. “Why should I believe you?”
“Better you should ask what truth I was referring to,” he replied. I immediately burst out in a laugh and turned back to my work. “You see, my dear Dina, he has, after all, told you several things, all of which are true, and you seem rather obstinate about not believing any of it. And my name is Lord Pandrake of Gratterskeep, not that it will do you much good.” His voice was unusually kind though slightly condescending. He extended a hand to help her to her feet. She took it cautiously, and together they followed Tarkin into the farmhouse.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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Posted by admin on April 27, 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.
After Enbeck-thrull we kept even more to the wild if possible. I understood that the villagers would surely spread the news of such interesting events far and wide for winters to come, and that the Lord of Gratterskeep would be long remembered there. Such notoriety could only attract the attention of the local lords and eventually the regent.
We reached the northern wall and turned west. Here the villages appeared less frequently, and we spent many nights beneath the endless stars. In those days I took my watch alone as Pascalli slept. It was not unusual for him to share a portion of my watch, or for me to share a portion of his, as it is a very lonely business traveling in the wild.
One night beneath the canopy of stars I sat considering the fate that had dragged me from home. I found the fragment’s of Anaria’s flower in the bottom of my pack and missed the farm and everything I had left behind. My father’s bow and spear waited within reach of my hand, but he had not taught me their use or history.
“Tell me about my father,” I asked Pascalli.
“Halfspear was not the name he was born with,” answered the wizard. “He accepted that name in honor of his skill with weapons. After his first battles he returned home an orphan, so the name stayed and he has passed it on to you.”
“I only knew him as a farmer,” I said.
“A man may be many things and yet remain a mystery to those who love him best. I knew him as a soldier and a leader of men,” said Pascalli.
“What does that make me?” I asked.
“It doesn’t make you anything?” Pascalli laughed. “Your father chose to become a farmer. You have chosen to follow me, and I will train you to be a soldier and a hunter and a dozen other things. In the end you will be whatever you make of yourself, or whatever Tylos makes of you.”
“What will that be?” I asked.
“You’re full of questions tonight. Nobody knows the mind of the gods, lad. I’m going to get some rest. Wake me before you not off.”
Pascalli wrapped himself in his blankets. I felt unusually awake as questions raced through my mind. Somehow I wanted to prove that I could be more than a farmer, and yet a part of me wished only to return to Dunston and live a peaceful life.
Suddenly I felt warmth about me, not just simple comfort, but actual heat, as if surrounded by gentle flames, and a light shone over me such as that of the high-noon summer sun. Around me, the camp glowed white, and the sweet fragrance of dew-covered grass filled my nostrils. Then She stood before me, her feet just above the grass. Though I felt no breeze, her hair rippled in ever-changing locks of purest red and gold, swirling about her perfect face. Her skin appeared as white as the undiscovered snow. She wore a shimmering robe of palest blue or silver, so bright was the light that my mortal eyes could not tell. When she spoke, her voice was as the gentle spring rains, both soft and soothing but so strong it held my very soul captive.
“Colter, son of Kyven my beloved champion, do not fear.” Although I was quite startled, I do not believe I was afraid but those eyes of blue fire impressed upon me her great power. “Be not dismayed for your father. He has earned his reward and rests with me. The tasks he chose to leave unfinished were his to leave.”
I could not speak although my mind raced with a thousand questions. I wanted so much to know about myself, about my future, about my family, about Pascalli. Much of what went through my mind was no more than the innocent ramblings of youth, but there were other burning important questions.
“Do not trouble your mind and heart for the future, my child. Your choices will also be your own to make, and you will know what they are when the time comes. I have come now to the realm I broke so long ago that it may begin to heal, and that through you the healing may begin should you choose it. Do not fear, for if you stand by me then none may thwart you though the way will not be easy even until the day you pass into my eternal realm.”
My thoughts turned to Pascalli and the breaking and to Darnuth Keep, and I knew instantly she could tell all my thoughts.
“Follow the counsel of the wizard, for his task is great and he has much to do before his curse can be lifted. He will never again betray me, and his heart and mind are ever upon the task at hand. Look not to the past for the answers, my child. None before you have done what must be done, only look at what you have. I have sent others to aid you, and in time even others will find you. When the calamities foretold begin to unfold they will flock to the banner you will raise.”
“And if I don’t want to,” I thought. I instantly felt a pang of regret for even thinking such cowardly things.
“Do not fear men.” Her voice, though I could not hear a change, felt firmer, stronger, and more potent. “Do not fear death. Do not fear the future. Know that I am with you always through fire and pain and darkness. When the demons of Hieron gather against you and summon their allies here to defeat you, I will stand by you and your spear will shine with my power.”
“How am I to know what to do? Where to go?” Now I longed to serve but I still did not understand my full purpose.
“That will come in time. Follow your feelings and you will know. I will be with you always.”
Then as quickly as She had appeared She was gone. I found that I was kneeling in the grass staring into the stars. I blinked. The odor of dew and spring rain still hung heavy in my nostrils. I sat back, my mind a whir of wonder and hope. Pascalli stirred in his sleep, and I realized that the first rays of dawn were just edging their way over the horizon.
I didn’t say anything to Pascalli right away about my experience. He allowed me to choose my own time for the telling, although I am sure he knew something had happened as soon as he saw me that morning. “I’m sure you have more questions than answers now,” he said when I finished the tale. “That is usually what happens when we learn something important.”
“She said that you are cursed, but that I should do what you tell me.” There were indeed a hundred questions, but I didn’t know which were safe to ask, so I thought I would try to hardest first.
Pascalli paused. I felt that I had hit upon a nerve, but then he chuckled. “Yes, my boy, I am the most cursed man in the world, and well I deserve it. Perhaps one day you will come to understand the full depth of who and what I am, but I doubt it. After so many centuries I am barely beginning to understand.” His chuckle ended and then he shook his head. Sadness passed across his face like I had not seen in his face before. “The world was not always as it is. Before the breaking, magic flourished everywhere and in everything. The most common of villages, and in those days there were many more villages and towns and cities, had magic to help their crops grow and to heal sick animals.”
“But the most powerful magic was reserved for great men of learning and study. We, that is to say I and some of my closest associates, delved deeply into the very powers that create and mold life in this world. We developed mastery over the elements, over the basest of creatures, and eventually over death. Or at least our power extended mostly over death, for our lives expanded beyond that of the average man. But with such great power came great greed and lust.”
“There are those in the world now, just as there were then, who believe that power that is not used is not really power. That is a lie, Scratch, a very cunningly crafted lie that leads only to pain and misery. For a time I believed it. When we reach Darnuth Keep you will see much of the results. In short, some of my comrades attempted to use magic to twist life to serve their basest whims. Through intrigue and through open warfare they established their petty kingdoms. Eventually we divided more or less into two groups, and then we went to war. One the one hand there were those who sought to preserve magic and use it only to enhance, heal and build. On the other side were those who wished to use it to create their own version of life. They would abuse it to suppress, curse, and build after their own image.”
I couldn’t help but ask, “How did the war go?”
“Better you should ask which side I was on, first,” said Pascalli. “Each point in its proper order.”
“Very well,” I said. “Which side were you on?” Only after the words were out of my mouth did I realize that there were so many possible meanings to the question.
“I was on the wrong side,” responded the wizard.
“You mean you were with the evil wizards?”
“No, I mean that both sides were wrong and that I was too slow to realize my mistake. But for your information I was indeed the leader of what you would consider to be the evil wizards, although we were not so much evil as mistaken. And since we won, we would hardly consider ourselves evil. Generally only those who lose the great wars are considered the bad or evil enemy, as the victors get to write history.”
“So you killed all the good wizards?” I asked bluntly.
“Always so black and white with the young,” he replied. He had an air of irritability now, and I knew I should listen more and talk less. “Of course we killed them. They were our sworn enemies. And in the process both sides killed millions of innocents and ruined the lives of countless others. We took this world from a state of beauty and grace to a state of near constant warfare, and we broke our goddess’ heart. She warned us, but we did not all heed the warning. Instead some of us thought we could undo what had been done, yet others thought that now we had a fresh world that we could reshape to fit our own desires just as we had wanted.”
“We built massive fortresses and in them began experimenting. One by one we turned out abominations and fancies and wonders. And one by one we began again to be envious and covetous of the power that the others held. We no longer shared our secrets with others, and for a generation hid ourselves from each other and the world. Then, as if by common consent, we resurfaced and went again to war against each other.”
“In the wake of that final war, we broke the world. That is to say we drove the Veldmen forever from the surface. We destroyed the long memories of the Darkunders. We shattered the spirits and histories of all the races of men. We destroyed civilization, and we destroyed each other. I say we, only because I did not stop them from what they did. There were three of us who saw the folly of it before it completely unfolded, and we petitioned to Tylos to save the world, but she was as slow to hear us as we had been slow to obey her. When the war subsided she finally appeared.”
“The three of us met together with the victor of that horrible war. Then Tylos appeared and she told us that the ability to create new magic had been taken from the world. We could no longer control the elements or create new abominations. We were saddened, but also understood. Then we were all cursed to repair what we had done and charged to make the world whole again. Three of us readily agreed, but the last, who had come only to demand our surrender saw this as his opportunity to cement his place as ruler of the world and returned with his army to his fortress.”
“You see, Scratch, he knew that even though he could not continue to experiment, he could still use the tools he had, and he knew or at least he believed that we did not have armies sufficient to resist him. Tylos cursed us three again, charging us that as long as he lived neither we nor the world would see any rest. What this means, in part, Scratch, is that I cannot age, or even become ill as long as he is alive, but it also means that neither can he. My other two companions were lost shortly after when we used our remaining resources to stop his armies, and for these hundreds of winters I have been trying to find a way to stop him.”
He did not continue. I knew he was allowing me to absorb everything he was telling me. “Then my father was helping you also, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, Scratch. He was a very brave man.”
“But he loved my mother too much to finish it, didn’t he,” I said. I didn’t know what to feel about it.
“Yes, my boy, he did. But you must not hold that against him. Didn’t She tell you that it was his choice?” The wizard looked at me kindly. “Do not worry if you will fail like your father because he didn’t fail. And do not worry about being less than your father because in the end he didn’t succeed. So either way you can do no worse, even if you quit now. You’ve already proven to me that you’ve got what’s necessary to finish this, so you may as well try it.”
That rare compliment put my position in perspective in an odd way. I began to understand my purpose in that moment. As we continued west I often thought of my experience and Pascalli’s story but answers came only very slowly.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Ten
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