The scene in the room would have been comical if it were not so dire. Gregory sat in his chair, calmly surveying the room while the other members of the order stood glaring at her and Ulf in turn. Ulf had eyes only for her. His face was a mask of rage.
“Damn you, woman! Ya paid me to do a job. I mean, to do it!”
Gregory leaned forward. “I anticipate that in a very short time, you will regret this intrusion. In the meantime, perhaps the rest of us can be seated.”
Ulf’s face tightened. He looked wildly around, then dropped to his knees. A small groan of pain escaped his lips.
“What are you doing to me?” He grunted.
Gregory never took his eyes from him. “I am removing the moisture from your body. It never fails to amaze me how much water is in a human body. If I were you, I would drop that stick and begin explaining what you are doing here.”
Alexis watched in horror. She doubted Ulf would drop his weapon, even if it meant his death. The stubborn man was going to get himself killed.“
You stop this right now,” she commanded.
Gregory tilted his head. “Why ever would I do such a thing,” he asked.
She turned to face him directly. “You know what I am and what I can do. If you don’t stop this instant, there will be more than one corpse leaving this room.”
“Oh, how I despise being threatened,” he cooed. “You would not survive the attempt.”
“But neither would you,” she said forcefully. “Are you prepared to die? Because I promise you, I am.”
Ulf was trying to get to his feet. His skin cracked, and blood seeped from the fissures. Alexis waved for him to stop and returned her gaze to Gregory. She felt the air around her tighten, and she couldn’t move.
“Don’t bother, Jacob.” She said coldly. “You know I don’t need to move to kill him.”
The other three members of the order began talking over each other, trying to calm the situation. It was an unintelligible cacophony, and she heard none of it. The moment stretched uncomfortably until she heard Ulf let out a sigh of relief. He got up shakily and leaned on his club. The others turned their shouts on her until Gregory raised a hand for silence.
“It seems we have a hero in our midst,” he said. “Surely someone so brave would have fled her post for no less than Kalem himself.”
She tried to regain her composure. She was shaking so hard she had to put her hands on the table to stay upright. She was one of the very few people that had the power to threaten any of these people, but she could not believe she had done it. She was going to have to handle the rest of this meeting very carefully. Despite his outer calm, Gregory would not soon forget this day.
“You requested as many members as could be found,” Gregory said. “As luck would have it, I managed to find them all. All that is left now is for you to explain why you and your…ah…friend are here.”
“I was forced to leave,” she said simply.
"This is not a time to be cavalier,” Gregory sniped.
Jacob, Michael, Mira, and Glenda all looked down at the table. She knew they did not approve of the way Gregory conducted business.
“Where is Reka?” She asked.
If Gregory was in charge, that meant Reka was away on some other business. The council always had five members and was always led by one of the Amharani when possible. Michael, as the least senior member, was only here to fill the five. That didn’t mean he was weak. Being the least senior of the five was like being the smallest wolf in a chicken coop. Her threat to Gregory had been valid, but it would have had to have been preemptive. When no one answered, she spoke again.
“I asked where Reka is.”
Dislike his methods or not, it was plain the others were going to let Gregory take the lead in matters.
“I believe it is for me to ask the questions,” he said. “But I see no reason we can’t all be comfortable.”
He called for the old woman to bring two more chairs. She helped Ulf into one of them. His entire body was covered in blood, and his skin was still dry and flaky. She took the other for herself.
“Are you going to help him?” She asked calmly.
“Gods no,” Gregory replied. “Pain is an excellent teacher, and manners must be taught. Of course, I see no reason why he can’t have a drink. He must be thirsty.” He slid a cup of water forward. She was pretty sure it had been empty moments ago. “Now, would you be so kind as to answer the question again. And I suggest you make this one more loquacious than the last.”
Jacob cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him.“What about him?” He asked.
“Of course,” Gregory said solemnly. “I’m afraid, my little barbarian, that you have stumbled upon a viper’s nest. It is now a choice between being bitten or joining the serpents.”
Ulf didn’t look at the men and women before him. He turned to her, and it was to her he spoke.“I ain't sure what trouble you got yourself into, but I’m with you.”
She tried not to hear his words. “Ulf, you don’t understand. If you’re with me, then you’re with them. You don’t really have a choice now.”
Gregory alighted at the name. “Ulf, is it? Well, Ulf, shall I explain the nature of your predicament?”
Ulf snorted. “At least he talks like a mage,” he said to her. “I’d say I got a choice between joinin’ up with you or meetin’ back up with Wilhelm.”
“If Wilhelm is a dead man, then yes,” Gregory answered. “We cannot afford loose threads. If we find one, we cut it off. I am afraid this decision must be made rather quickly, however.”
Ulf snarled. “I already said I’m with her. If that ain't good enough, then do what ya gotta do. But don’t expect me to go down easy.” He punctuated the statement by getting to his feet and hefting his club.
Gregory clapped. “My my, you are a theatrical one. It seems this has become an initiation. Glenda, dear, would you do the honors?”
Ulf turned toward the women, and Jacob extended his hand. Ulf’s movements ceased immediately. Alexis remembered her initiation, and she tried to calm him.
“Ulf,” she said, “it’s ok. We all went through this, even me.”
“I’m sorry,” Jacob said, “we need you to be still for this.”
Gregory stood and walked around the table to face Ulf. “It is good for you that I am here. Only one of the Amharani can do this.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
He pulled a small cylinder from his robes and rammed it into Ulf’s shoulder. Ulf screamed. The smile on Gregory’s face was a little too sincere. He reached back into his robes and removed a tiny white stone. He placed it in the cylinder and slid a rod behind it. With a quick shove, he inserted the stone into Ulf’s flesh. He held it in place for a moment then removed the rod and cylinder. A small glow emanated from Mira, and the wound closed.
“I have placed a loyalty stone in your body,” Gregory said. “You know the names of seven of our members, and you will undoubtedly learn more. If you speak any of those names outside the presence of another member, you will die. If you remove the stone, you will die. As you learn more about our organization, you will have to be more careful what you say and to whom you say it, or…you will die.”
When Ulf was able to move again, he rubbed his shoulder. Alexis held her breath. She wouldn’t put it past him to attack Gregory. Fortunately, he sat back in his chair and set his club on the floor. He might as well be in an inn for all the concern he now showed.
“Now that that’s done, one of ya mind tellin’ me who you are and what an Amharani is?” He asked.
“Of course,” Gregory said, “but may I have a moment to confer with my peers first?”The question must have been for show because he didn’t wait for a response.
The five members huddled together and began talking quickly. Alexis tried to hear them, but for all their mouths were moving, no sound came to her. The conversation appeared to grow heated, and Michael seemed to be protesting. When the meeting ended, Gregory spoke, and his voice carried clearly.
“I think we will leave you in Michael’s capable hands. We have more important matters to attend to. Besides, it appears there was no reason to call us all together after all.”
He looked pointedly at her when he spoke the last sentence. She watched as each member filed out of the shop. She believed in their cause, but she definitely disliked some of the people fighting for it. She looked at Ulf. He was going to cause trouble, she knew, but she was looking forward to getting him out of it. All he had to do was not get himself killed. When the room was empty but for the three of them, Michael spoke.
“I’m very sorry,” he said, “Gregory is…I would like to say different, but he is a fair representation of those with his kind of power in Cathair.”
“I don’t want apologies,” Ulf said, “I want answers.”
Trouble indeed, she thought.
“To facilitate this conversation, I will explain a little. It will be for Alexis to tell the rest. We call ourselves Ordú an Gloch or the Order of the Stone. Our objective is to locate the six great artifacts of a lost age. The five stones of power, and the Crown of Life. Once we have secured them, we intend to raise a king once more.”
Ulf jumped to his feet. “Are you mad!” He shouted. Reflexively he looked around. He sat back down and lowered his voice. “Wars have been started for less than that. Just mentioning a king moves armies.”
Michael smiled. “Of course. Why do you think we remain secret. We don’t shove things in our flesh because we enjoy it. To answer your specific question, Amharani are the descendants of the six blessed lines of men. They are the rightful owners of the stones, and the only ones that can use them.”
Ulf grunted. “Aint that the nonsense you were talkin’ about a while back?” He asked her.
She sighed. “I told you that story was related to our destination.”
“All right,” Ulf said, “so you’re all a bunch of fools that believe in fairy tales, great.”
“They are fairy tales to you,” Michael replied, “but to us, they are genuine. Until very recently, three of the fives stones were accounted for.”
Alexis interrupted him. “What do you mean until recently?”
“The answer to that,” Michael said, “is why all five of us responded to your summons. We have received word that James is dead.”
Alexis gasped. “Dead? How?”
“We don’t know. He was stationed deep in the north and has been out of contact for many years. As you know, our plans are long term, and his absence wasn’t remarked due to the sensitive nature of his mission.”
“Then how do you know he is dead?” She asked.
“That is another question whose answer leads to the answer of yet another question. We know because Reka told us. He is currently in a small farming village called Prail. In his search for Domhain, he fell in with a farmer by the name of Aedon Hall. This Aedon served in the military and had an encounter with a mage. The mage was wearing a necklace containing two stones. The description he gave matched that of Gaoithe. If Gaoithe is no longer in James’ possession, it is reasonable to assume he is dead.”
“You said he had two stones in his necklace?” She asked.
“Yes, the other matches the description of Daonnachta.”
“Don’t that mean you know where four of the stones are,” Ulf interjected.
Alexis reminded herself that this was a simple man, but not a stupid one. “That is exactly what it means,” she said excitedly. “Do we know who and where this mage is?”
“That is where the news goes from bad to worse. We believe him to be Taian.” Michael said forlornly.
“That’s impossible,” she spat. “He would have to be over five hundred years old.”
“Call me stupid if ya want,” Ulf said, “but if this guy’s got the stones, don’t that make him one of you? An Amhar…whatever it’s called.”
“Yes,” Alexis said. “He isn’t one of us, though. If he has Gaoithe and Daonnachta, then we are farther away from our goal, not closer.”
“It gets worse,” Michael said. “We believe he has taken up residence in the Gorge and is raising an army. It is more difficult than ever to get information on the north. Our informants are going silent at an alarming rate. Based on your reports of increased smuggling, and other pieces of information we have gathered, we think he might be preparing for an assault on the realm. Worse still, we think he knows where Domhain is.”
“Please tell me we have a plan?” She said.
“We have better than a plan,” Michael said, “we have a head start.
Reka is searching for the stone as we speak.”
“Where is it?” she asked
“This farmer, Aedon, has a swamp covering a great deal of his land. Reka believes the stone is there. He is confident that Aedon Hall is the descendant of Jarlath Halloran. His wife had a pendant in her possession when she was washed into the swamp and died. Reka thinks the stone in that pendant is Domhain. The description Aedon gave him matched, at least.”
“Then what makes you think Taian knows where it is?” She asked.
“Aedon told Reka a story about Taian killing his soon to be father-in-law. He thinks it was an attempt to get at it. Apparently, the pendant was supposed to be in his possession at the time.”
“If what you’re saying is true,” she said, “then Reka’s in danger. We need to send him help.”
“Gregory agrees with you. He was thinking a hulking barbarian, and another mage would do nicely.”
She bit her lip. “If you mean what I think you mean, forget it. Reka and I don’t have the best relationship.”
“I mean exactly that,” Michael said sternly, “and your relationship with the man interests me very little. Do not think for a minute that Taian has forgotten his failure with the father in law. We are certain he has other plans. In fact, Reka may well have thwarted one of those plans inadvertently. If that is the case, he may become desperate. We need to be the ones to find that stone.”
“Ok,” she said grudgingly. “I’ve never heard of Prail, where is it?”
“It is about a week and a half ride east. Easy enough to find as it sits along the East Road. There is one other piece of news that the council is hoping you might shed some light on.”
“What is that?”He leaned forward. “The Shield had been breached.”
Her eyes went wide, and her body went rigid. “That can’t be,” she said.
“I see by your surprise that this is new to you. I suppose you have no inf-”
Ulf interrupted him. “I’m getting’ tired of not knowin’ what the hell is going on. What the devil is the shield?”
“You Northmen call it Hell’s Wall,” Michael said. “It is the range of mountains that separates our part of the world from the High Wilds.”
“Hell’s Wall I’ve heard of, but I ain't never heard of the High Wilds,” Ulf said.
“No, you have not.” Michael sniped. “Very few have. It is where Kalem Dorse called home before the end of the last great war. The king used the power of the stones to defeat him and raised the mountains to protect the world from his followers. One of our operatives captured a man crossing them. He spoke a language our operative had never heard.”
“So,” Ulf said. “There ain't no such thing as an impassable mountain. I don’t see why one man is such a big deal.”
Alexis spoke up this time. “Those mountains are supposed to be impassable. That is how they were made. It’s a big deal because, after five hundred years, they are no longer the impenetrable barrier they were designed to be.”
“For now,” Michael said, “it is a matter of curiosity. Our first priority is to recover Domhain before Taian makes his next move. Now, I have stayed longer than is prudent. Speak with the barman at the Bucket. He will make sure you are supplied for your journey.”He got up and started for the curtain. “And take the boy with you,” he said over his shoulder.
When Michael was gone, she turned to Ulf. “Ulf, I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this.”
“It’s ok,” he said. “I knew when I left, I wasn’t ever goin’ back.”
“You did?” She asked.
“Yeah. With Wilhelm dead, there ain't nothin’ left for me there. If I’m gonna blow about on the wind, I’d rather it was with you and the boy. Who knows, we might even become heroes.”
Alexis laughed. Hearing those words made the prospect of seeing Reka again bearable. She thought that as long as he was with her, anything would be tolerable. The thought made her laugh again.