Authors: Laszlo,Jeremy
That was enough to open up the flood gates to the god’s power within him. As the dwarf swung his large hammer for the final time, Garret danced back a step, taking himself out of range, but then a concussive boom sounded. The dwarf and his weapon doubling in size placed Garret directly beneath the now enormous head of a hammer that was already falling to make a blow that would take Garret beyond even the ability of Daniella to save. Garret again had no options. It was too late, and the weapon too large to dodge, so acting on instinct Garret closed his eyes and mumbled what would probably be his last words.
"Gorandor protect me," Garret barely whispered.
In answer a second concussive boom sounded on the sparing field, and Garret exploded, just as he had done in the inn a few weeks ago when he had been lent the power of a goddess by his friend Ashton. This time Garret's transformation had the will of his own chosen god behind it and with the explosion Garret expanded. He felt the massive hammer strike him not in the head as he had feared, but in the chest. When it hit a deafening ringing sounded and the head of the hammer shattered, raining shards of tempered metal for dozens of yards in all directions, such was the force of the blow. Garret stumbled back, expecting every second to be the last, waiting to lose consciousness. Stumbling backward Garret realized his feet were slow to follow as if he were sinking into the soft soil of the ground as he tried to regain his balance. Unable to stop his own backward momentum with his feet no longer beneath him, Garret tumbled onto the grassy field with a thud. Somehow he remained conscious, and slowly, realizing he wasn’t dead or even dying for that matter, as he lay on his back Garret looked down to assess the devastating damage to his chest, but all he saw was his tunic. The tunic was soiled with dried blood from their first battle earlier in the day, but no new blood soaked its surface now. Not believing what he was seeing, Garret reached to pull up his tunic to inspect what damage hid beneath it, but he stopped before he could even grasp the cloth. His hand gleamed like polished silver, completely encompassed in armor from the tips of his fingers all the way up his wrist to where his tunic hid his forearm. Garret hadn't remembered wearing any gauntlets today, and that's when it struck him. He wasn’t
wearing
armor, he
was
armor. As everyone rushed to Garret's immense body lying still on the ground, Garret simply held up both his hands and stared at them, realization striking him as he pulled up his tunic to see the same reflective metallic surface shining upon his abdomen and chest.
"I've been blessed!" Garret shouted in triumph. His voice sounded much deeper than he recalled. Looking to those who rushed up to him he realized that they were tiny, at least all of them except Zorbin. Finally, panic and fear fading and adrenaline slackening, Garret felt the intoxicating flow of Gorandor’s power coursing through his body and exalted in the sensation.
Philip reached Garret first. He had been just a few feet away from Garret when the transformation took him. Not accepting what he thought he saw happen, he raced up to get a better look at Garret and reassure himself he hadn’t been imagining the whole thing. Zorbin was the next one to reach Garret, his own hands still tingling from the reverberation of his war hammer’s sudden explosion, but the now giant dwarf stood slack-jawed staring at Garret. Seconds later Sirus and Daniella raced to Garret’s side where, after a second to inspect his student, Sirus clapped Philip on the back and turned to face the younger knight.
"Told you it would work," Sirus said.
Philip shook his head, unable to believe that not only had Sirus cooked up this seemingly crazy plan to draw out Garret's blessing, but that it had actually worked and what was even more impressive were the results. Garret was big in his blessed form, though Sirus would be the larger by nearly a third. Garret had expanded to three times his normal size, now an impressive eighteen feet tall. He also appeared to be made of solid metal beneath his clothes. All of the knights were fairly certain that Garret’s new skin condition would make up for his slightly smaller stature.
The elation was short lived. After the adrenaline from the previous moments had worn off, Zorbin, the enormous dwarf still in his blessed form, blacked out. In falling he nearly crushed Daniella, who dove aside at the last minute to avoid the tumbling giant. Though excitement had made the dwarf forget his own predicament, and Gorandor’s blessing had sustained him many moments after his final breath had been taken, the swelling in the dwarf's throat finally got the better of him. Starving his body and brain of much needed oxygen, Zorbin succumbed to unconsciousness and collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately for Daniella, though, the wound had won Garret the battle. The damaged vocal cords were an easy fix compared to the ones she had treated earlier. She soon had the dwarf breathing again, and also repaired all of his other, less life-threatening, mostly superficial wounds while the other knights looked on and asked Garret dozens of questions that he knew not the answers to.
Sometime during the ordeal Xanth had padded up among the men, and now he sat patiently beside the slight impression Garret had left in the ground when he fell. Cocking his large wolfish head to the side he grinned at his master who was regaining consciousness, as if to say that he expected as much to happen without him there to protect the dwarf.
Later that night as the four Knights of Valdadore sat around their evening meal discussing the day's events, a young boy burst through the entrance door, struggling with the weight of the massive portal. Without slowing and without introduction he charged straight to the table where the men dined, and slid to a halt directly in front of Sirus, who had previously had his back to the door, but had turned around at the commotion.
"Lord Sirus," the small boy began, obviously out of breath. "Your presence as well as that of your new recruit Master Garret has been requested at first light at the palace." Panting, the boy finished.
Nodding his understanding, Sirus dismissed the boy with a wave. He charged back out the way he had come, obviously to deliver another message to more people of import.
"I had hoped for us to leave in the morning to go and join the rest of our men," Sirus observed. "I wonder what it is that is of such importance? But what is more odd is that you too have an invite to the castle Garret." Sirus ended, now lost in thought for a moment.
Garret too wondered about the implications. He could think of no reason for the king to even know his name, let alone request his presence. Garret had learned of his brother's choosing in the weeks past and knew that Seth trained to be a shield, a guardian of sorts to the king, so maybe this had something to do with the summons. Then Garret realized that even his brother's training would not be reason enough to call him to the castle, unless something had gone wrong. Maybe Seth had been injured or worse, even killed in his training? Maybe even now they prepared his twin’s body for burial? All these thoughts assailed Garret but he tried to quickly brush them away, knowing that if Seth had indeed come to some harm, Sara would have found a way to get the message to him herself.
The knights mused the implications of the messenger’s request amongst each other for a while, and all of them finding the circumstances overly odd, resigned to simply waiting until morning to discover the meaning behind the summons. Before they each departed for bed, Sirus sent Philip to race toward their army in the south and intercept any messengers he may find bringing word to Sirus and return by morning with the messages himself. With a nod and a handshake, clasped at the wrists, to each of his fellow knights, Philip departed without hesitation, disappearing into the night beyond the garrison. Philip gone, the other three men retired to their own rooms, to pray to their god and eventually get some sleep, which came quickly to all three of them.
Seth awoke as Sara stirred in his arms. Opening his eyes he found that daylight had not yet come, but was not far off. He gently woke the woman he loved, kissing her neck softly and they rose together to dress in preparation for the day. Wanting to look the part, Seth chose to wear one of the simple gray robes given to him by Jud in lieu of his normal tunic and pants combination. Not feeling wholly prepared, though, Seth also grabbed his belt and strapped the sword given to him what seemed like an eternity ago to his waist. Sara and Seth spoke little, both of them anxious as to what the day might hold in store for them. Seth hoped he would see his brother, but was unsure if his twin even remained within the city. Looking each other over, assuring each other of their preparedness, they left the room hand in hand, extinguishing the candles before they departed.
Judilanthaliz had arisen early as well and gracefully strode down the hall just as Seth and Sara emerged from Seth’s room. Jud of course knew of their romance, any halfwit that was not blind could see what was going on, but as they tried to keep their passion a secret, Jud pretended not to notice. The half-elven man greeted the young couple good morning, and mentioning the time, he bade them follow him to the castle proper. Thus the three of them began the climb down the dozens of flights of stairs to the expansive tiered courtyards outside the tower. Finally reaching the bottom, Jud led the way to the palace where Seth would be tested to appraise his worth to the kingdom.
As they had done the night before, Seth followed Jud through the many narrowing courtyards that made up the fortified entrance to the palace, and as before the guards waved them through as he approached. Instead of actually entering the palace itself this time, when the trio reached the last set of exterior guards they were then directed through an iron side-gate. Taking that led them to a passage around the outside of the palace for a short distance where they came to yet another stone wall with another iron gate. Guards there directed them through what was an identical courtyard to the one they had previously been in, and then through another iron gate to another passage like the first they had been directed to follow. It dawned on Seth that they were skirting the outside of the palace itself, and each side of the palace held identical fortifications, with small narrow passageways interconnecting the courtyards like rings around the palace. Before long they reached what Seth knew now to be the back of the palace, if the palace had a back, and once there guards stopped them before entering the next courtyard. They spoke briefly to Jud who then relayed what he had been told to the young couple.
"Seth, you are to remain here until your test is prepared in the courtyard beyond this gate. Sara and I are to watch your test from a safe distance, together with other people up on the walls above,” Jud said. Then thinking to himself briefly, Jud continued speaking. "Your test will be comprised of several levels, each increasing in difficulty. You may or may not be given instruction as to the purpose of each test before the level begins. Conserve yourself, as not even I know the extent of the trials that await you."
Without further word Jud beckoned for Sara to follow. She swiftly turned, and rising up on her toes gave Seth a quick kiss on the cheek, holding back tears, trying to be brave for him. Then she rounded on her heel and strode after Jud.
Seth watched Sara and Jud leave, and now found himself alone with the guards a few yards away. He closed his eyes, calmed his nerves and gathered himself. Going over all he had learned in the small grotto yesterday, he prepared himself as best he could for whatever might await him. He still had the power of two animals he had drained yesterday, and hoped that, if not given another source, it would be enough to sustain him through the tasks ahead. Mentally ready for what lay ahead Seth walked to the nearest wall and leaned upon it, resting his back against the cool stone. He knew today was an enormous opportunity. Today was his chance to better not only his life but Sara’s as well. Today was his chance to prove himself to everyone who would be judging him, including the heads of all the orders of mages and the king himself. Seth hoped he would be given the opportunity to not only back up all the claims he had made the previous night, but also to do it in such a way as to leave all those in attendance awed by his abilities. Seth knew, however, that he had to be careful not to disclose the secret of the source of his power, and not to push the attending crowd too far as to fear him more than admire him. In any case, Seth told himself, it was going to be one hell of a show.
Sirus woke Garret well before dawn and the two ate a quick breakfast before preparing to leave for the castle. Unknowing what they may be facing there, Sirus instructed Garret to wear full armor, even though in his blessed form he would have no need for it. Sirus explained that now that he was a member of the knighthood, Garret would be expected to uphold not only the traditions of the knights and the honor of the kingdom, but also the appearance expected of someone with the title of a lord. Garret hadn’t realized the implications of becoming one of the knights. He was not royalty per se, but now, as a Knight of Valdadore, Garret would be granted land and a manor, and a pension to sustain it all, not to mention he would be required to guard the king himself if the need arose. Garret reeled at the realization, having not even thought of it before, and hoped he would soon see his brother to tell him of the great fortune that had befallen him. Now not only would they have a home in Vineleaf, but they too would have a home and lands elsewhere in the kingdom. Garret swelled with pride as he donned his armor, and if it were possible after being blessed yesterday, it appeared that he even walked just a little bit taller.
Sirus and Garret left the garrison in full regalia. Each of the knights was armored from head to toe in gleaming armor. No detail had been spared; every engraving filled with gold filigree was precise, every joint perfect, even the enamel used to create the color in the crest on their breastplates looked to have been freshly painted on. The armor was polished to shine like a mirror, and the joints were oiled to move freely and silently. Perfection embodied in armor, the two knights strode across the tiered expansive courtyards towards the palace, each of them striding in step with the other, carrying their helms on their uplifted forearms. Garret was sure that not only did he now look the part of a knight, but that he was indeed one of them, and would strive to further their cause.