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Author's Note: Comments and feedback are appreciated. I would like to thank Mike for helping me by editing these chapters starting with 11. - Robert - robertx5sf@yahoo.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story are fictional and not representative of anyone living or dead. (c) 2012 by robertx5sf@yahoo.com, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent, with exception of the license granted to Nifty.org per Nifty's terms of use.
The Squires of Telisan Keep - 13
RYNIL
Rynil listened as Brother Yoris recounted the events of the day to Lord Velarik, Sir Valen, Sir Balren, and Brother Barton. He started with his meeting with the acolyte and ended with the battle. Rynil paid particular attention to what happened during the battle before he had arrived.
"Sir Luken and Sir Alek were at the front of the search party as they came up the path. They had drew their swords as they head up the path following the tracks as the rest of us followed behind. I heard a pair of crossbows fire and the next thing I knew Sir Alek was down on the ground with a crossbow bolt in his head. The bolt fired at Sir Luken missed. Sir Luken charged up the path and encountered the demon, who was coming down the path. Sir Luken was swinging his sword and hitting the demon but the blows were just bouncing off its skin. The crossbowmen kept the rest of us pinned down. The battle turned when Rynil rushed out and killed one of the crossbowman. The demon then conjured fire to dispatch Sir Luken and turned to face Rynil. With the demon distracted, I ordered Squires Mekrin and Mikel to charge the remaining crossbowman while I went to help Sir Luken. Once Rynil stabbed the demon I thought it might be vulnerable so I ran up behind it and struck it in the back of the head with my mace. It was at about this point that Sir Valen arrived," said Brother Yoris.
"Thank you Brother Yoris," said Lord Velarik. "Sir Valen has already given us his report on the events. Does anyone have any questions for Brother Yoris?"
"Yes," said Sir Valen. With his hood pulled back, he was absentmindedly scratching his short gray beard as he spoke. "Brother Yoris, can you tell me more about this acolyte and his premonition?"
"Acolyte Stefan has had several premonitions before. They come to him in the night and so far they have all come true," replied Brother Yoris.
"You mentioned that he said there was going to be trouble to the south. Was he more specific than that?" asked Sir Valen.
Before answering, Brother Yoris looked over at Brother Barton who nodded at the younger priest. "Yes Sir, Acolyte Stefan had seen a vision of a young brown haired knight stuck down by a crossbow bolt through the eye. He gave enough of a description that when I saw Sir Alek enter the Temple this morning I knew it was Sir Alek he had seen," said Brother Yoris. The grief and shame the priest felt was obvious in his voice and expression.
"You lead him to his death!" yelled Sir Balren.
It was the older Priest, Brother Barton that answered, "Yes he did Sir Balren and any of my Priests would do the same. The first time Acolyte Stefan had one of his visions was five years ago back in his village. He had seen the image of the local Priest of the Warrior dead the next night at the top of the wall. The boy was able to describe in detail where on the wall the Priest was killed. He told the Priest about his vision but the Priest did not realize the full significance of the boy's dream. That night the Priest stayed inside and did not venture out. The next morning it was discovered that some thieves had slipped over the wall and broken into the home of the town's richest merchant. They killed the merchant and his entire family of six. The local tracker was able to determine where they had climbed over the wall; it was the exact spot the boy had described to the Priest. The Priest spoke with the boy and his parents and got permission to bring the boy to our Temple here, so he could be trained in the order. Since then the boy has had two more visions, including the one from last night. In both instances I firmly believe the death of the one individual in the vision has saved multiple lives."
Brother Yoris looked over at Sir Balren, "When I told Sir Alek that our Acolyte had seen that Sir Luken and the search party were in danger, he volunteered to ride out to help them. He was brave and willing rode into danger in order to aid others. If he had not been there I believe that Sir Luken would have been stricken down by the bolt instead. Then the two Squires would have been dead before Rynil arrived. He would have faced the demon and both crossbowman alone and been killed. So yes, I brought Sir Alek with me, even though I knew it would lead to his death."
"Where is the Priest that brought Acolyte Stefan here?" asked Sir Valen.
"The day after he arrived with the boy, he killed himself," answered Brother Barton.
"Any other questions for Brother Yoris?" asked Lord Velarik. When no one spoke, he turned towards Rynil, "Now, Squire, please tell us what took place in Sir Alred's room this morning when you were alone with him."
The morning seemed so long ago to Rynil. He had to think for a moment to remember how the day had started. "Sir Alred directed me to open a secret compartment in his armoire. Inside was a sword case, the one that is over there on the table," he said pointing over to the table next to Lord Velarik where the sword case and sword were laid out. "I brought it over to him and explained that he thought the Gods had kept him alive all these years so that he could give me the sword. He warned me that the Gods were cruel if you tried to avoid your destiny. He was right. Then he told me the sword's name is Galaxth and it is old and magical. He put the sword away, said goodbye, and then asked me to sit with him." Rynil was able to tell the events of this morning without crying. He had cried himself out.
"Why did you flee the castle with the sword? It is because you stole it!" accused Sir Balren.
"Sir, I did not flee the castle, I just...I wanted to, no needed to think about what Sir Alred had said and I did not steal the sword," said Rynil in a defensive tone.
Sir Valen walked over towards the table and placed Galaxth inside its case. "Squire Rynil, can you close the case?" he asked.
"Yes Sir. Honor and Devotion," said Rynil. The top of the case closed and the runes glowed briefly.
"Honor and Devotion," said Sir Valen as he stood over the case. There was no reaction from the sword case. "Sir Balren, will you please speak the command words."
"Why, what will that prove?" asked Sir Balren indignantly.
Lord Velarik looked over at his Chamberlain, "Please Sir Balren, indulge Sir Valen and speak the words Honor and Devotion." As Lord Velarik said the words there was still no reaction from the case.
"Fine, Honor and Devotion," said Sir Balren. Nothing happened.
Sir Valen nodded towards Rynil. The squire knew what Sir Valen wanted. "Honor and Devotion," he said. The runes on the box glowed and the top of the case opened.
"Well, regardless of what any of us may think or wish the sword and its case certainly recognizes its rightful owner," said Sir Valen. Rynil noticed him look over at Sir Balren and smirk briefly before turning and walking back to Lord Velarik's side. He then turned and looked directly at Rynil. "Squire Rynil, you mentioned Sir Alred said something about his destiny. Can you tell us exactly what he thought that destiny was?"
Rynil stared back at Sir Valen for a second before lowering his head. He could sense that Sir Valen already knew the answer to his question. "Yes Sir, he said he knew his destiny was to give the sword to me. He said the Gods would not let him die until he did and that his pain was because he had not done it yet."
"How did he know this?" asked Sir Valen.
Rynil figured out where Sir Valen was going with this line of questioning. Rynil raised his eyes to meet Sir Valen's gaze again. "He told you about my dream," said Rynil.
"Yes and no," replied Sir Valen. "He came to me soon after you became his Page. He mentioned that you were having the same dream over and over and it was troubling you. He never gave me the specifics of the dream. After a discussion of the theory behind dreams and the difference between normal dreams and prophetic dreams, he told me that he believed yours was a prophetic dream. He also said that in your dream you had his family's sword. We discussed the implications of that."
"Squire Rynil, will you please tell me about your dream?" asked Lord Velarik, his tone indicating it was an order and not a question. Rynil nodded and then described the dream to the Lord. He also mentioned how when he first saw Mikel he knew that he was the person he was standing over defending and when he saw Sir Alred's sword for the first time that morning, he knew it was the sword from the dream.
"Thank you Squire Rynil," said Lord Velarik. "I am satisfied that Squire Rynil is the rightful owner of Sir Alred's family sword. I hereby decree that he is innocent of any wrongdoing in today's events. Now Squire, if you will excuse us we have a couple other matters to discuss. You are officially dismissed from your duties for the rest of the week. Get some rest."
"My Lord, with your permission, I will escort Squire Rynil back to Sir Luken's quarters and return shortly," said Sir Valen.
"Very well," nodded Lord Velarik.
Sir Valen motioned towards the table where Galaxth rested in its open case then headed towards the door. Rynil closed the case by speaking the words, scooped it up in his arms and hurried after Sir Valen. He caught up to him out in the hallway.
The wizard looked back to see that Rynil was with him and then pulled up the hood of his robe so that his head was covered. "Rynil, I know you blame yourself for today's events and I am unlikely to be able to dissuade you from that notion immediately but, I want you to think on something over the next few days. When you woke up this morning did you have any notion that Alred was going to give you that sword, or that you would seek to visit your spot up on the valley ridge to ponder its implications?" asked Sir Valen.
"No Sir," replied Rynil. He looked up at the robed wizard as they walked through the hallways of the castle trying to catch a glimpse of his face in the darkness of his hood.
"Yet by that time, Stefan had already had a vision of Alek's death. The demon and his henchmen were already out there waiting. There are powers at work here that are beyond your control or understanding. One of which is that sword you carry. I am worried about how eager Balren was to gain possession of it this morning. If you would trust me I would like to borrow the sword and its case for a few days to put some protections on it that will help safeguard it for you."
"You have given me several things to think about Sir Valen. If it is okay with you, can I give you my answer about the sword tomorrow?" asked Rynil.
"That would be fine. Before you decide, please bring the sword to my Tower, I would like to examine it with Mikel. It would help further his education," said Sir Valen. At that point, the pair had come to the door to Sir Luken's rooms. "I will say goodbye for now. Remember, Alek's death was not your fault. There is a young boy in there that needs you right now and you will be of no help to him if you blame yourself or if you are still covered in dirt and blood," said Sir Valen as he put his hand on Rynil's back and gently pushed him towards the door.
While Rynil was opening the door, he noticed that Sir Valen must have used that cleaning cantrip on him. He turned to say thank you to Sir Valen but the wizard was gone. Rynil looked around puzzled for a second then he heard the sound of sobbing coming from the room he shared with Page Karl. He hurried into his room and saw the small brown haired ten year old page curled up on top of the bed crying. Karl did not react when Rynil entered the room.
Rynil climbed onto bed next to the boy and wrapped his arms around him. Karl turned into the older boy and buried his head against Rynil's chest. For an hour, Rynil just simply held him as he cried. Eventually the crying died down to sniffles. "I was going to be his Squire," said Karl softly.
"I know, he told me. He loved you very much," said Rynil.
"Then we were going to be Knights together and travel around the Kingdom fighting in tournaments," said the grief ridden boy.
"You will still be a Knight and be able to fight in tournaments," said Rynil trying to comfort him.
"I never cared about being a Knight, I just wanted to be with him," said Karl as he resumed sobbing into Rynil's chest.
MIKEL
Mikel lowered his body into the tub of hot water. He had already cleaned himself using magic, this was just to relax by soaking in the hot water. After the day's events he was not in the mood for his usual fun in the tub. Within a few minutes of lying in the tub, he fell asleep. The water was the perfect temperature to keep him from being too cold or overheating.
A couple of hours later, his Master's mind touch woke him up from his nap. 'Yes, Master?' he thought.
'My apologies for disturbing you, but there is a guest out in main room that wishes to speak with you. Since I will be busy working on something for Lord Velarik for the rest of the evening and most of tomorrow, I hope he will be able to answer some of your questions for you. He is a friend and ally of the War Mages and can be trusted.' said his Master's voice in his mind.
Mikel climbed out of the tub and saw there was a fresh change of clothes sitting on the shelf of the linen cabinet. He used a slightly modified version of the cleaning cantrip to instantly dry himself and fix his hair. Then he slipped on the pair of hose and the tunic from the linen cabinet. When he opened the door that separated the bathroom from the main room he saw a young twenty year old bard sitting at the table. The minstrel had shoulder length brown hair and his eyes were as blue as Mikel remembered. "Durren!" he shouted as he ran over and hugged the bard.
"Mikel, I am so happy to see you. You seem to be doing well. Sir Valen has caught me up on most of the details of your life since we last met. Wizard's apprentice and a Squire, not bad!" said Durren smiling as he held the boy close and ruffled his hair. Mikel climbed up into Durren's lap and clung to the bard. Durren chuckled softly, "Rough day? Want to tell me about it?"
Mikel recounted the day's event to Durren. He had a bit of difficulty telling the minstrel about killing the bandit and he was in tears by the time he got to the part about Wilrik. After he finished, Durren just held him and let him cry.
When Durren had figured that Mikel was in a place where he could listen and actually understand, he said "Killing someone is always hard but you had to do it. That man was trying to kill you; he may have been the one that killed Alek. if you had not killed him he may have killed Rynil. You had to do it. The thing that separates you from people like him though, is that you only did it because you had to and yet you still feel bad about it. Trust me that man had killed innocents before and felt no remorse over it. Now, I know Sir Valen told you that I might be able to answer some of your questions and I am sure you have a bunch, particularly about the demon."
Mikel took a minute or two to compose himself. "Is that really Wilrik?"
"Yes. I believe that the orcs that took your friend were working for the demons," answered Durren.
"Why'd they take him?" asked Mikel, fear evident in his voice.
Durren stroked the boy's hair as he answered, "I think you know the answer."
"They thought he was me," stated Mikel. "But why would they want me?"
"There is one particular demon out there that has long sought to take the throne of Selarn. It wanted you so that it could use one of its demon minions to harness your magical ability."
"Is there a way to save Wilrik from the demon?"
"I believe so. Your Master was able to separate the demon from your friend but Wilrik is traumatized by what he has experienced over the last couple of years while the demon was in control of his body," explained Durren.
"Can I see him?" asked Mikel.
"Not yet. Tomorrow morning I am going to take him to someone I hope can help heal his mind. Hopefully he will be well enough one day so that you can visit with him. But I must warn you, there is a chance that he may not survive."
"Do you think he will ever be able to forgive me for what happened?" asked Mikel.
Durren put his hand on Mikel's chin and pulled his head up so that he was looking into the boy's eyes, "There is nothing to forgive. What happened to Wilrik is not your fault. If you had not hidden, the orcs would have taken you as well. Then instead of Wilrik being possessed by a demon, he would have been killed. At least now, he has a chance to live. I need you to be strong. Guilt, doubt, fear; those emotions can be fatal when using magic. You understand?"
"Yes," replied Mikel.
"Good, because I need your help with Rynil. He has been having a dream that has him all twisted up inside his head. Until he shares that dream with you he is not going to be able to properly prepare for what is to come."
"Durren, how do you know the future? What is coming?" asked Mikel.
"I cannot tell you much yet. Sometimes knowing too much about the future can be dangerous. The Gods sometimes give us hints as to what is likely to happen, or more accurately what the Gods want to happen. For example, our first meeting on Mid Summer's Day was not chance. I had come to Telisan looking for a peasant boy with magical potential who would be competing in the games. I did not know it was going to be you until we talked. You were actually the third boy I spoke with that day. Once I meet you and heard your story, I knew you were the one I was supposed to find. I have told you as much as I can at this point. I need to go and discuss a few more things with your Master and his Lord. I know you still have more questions but I cannot answer them yet. I am going to leave you a book that will help explains things. You will be able to read it when you are ready, or more accurately you will be ready when you are able to read it." The bard then reached down into a backpack on the floor next to his chair, and pulled out a book and set it on the table.
Mikel looked at the tome and saw that the title was in some script he did not recognize. Durren stood up and Mikel slid off his lap. "I am going upstairs now. Remember, you need to get Rynil to tell you about his dream, but try to be subtle about it. He probably would not react well to you just blurting out that you know he has been having a vision. We shall see each other again soon so goodbye for now," said the bard. He then leaned down and kissed Mikel on the lips.