Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) (32 page)

The elder Keeper nodded respectfully and repeated the question.

‘No,’ replied Dridif. ‘I do not.’

‘Can I have a go?’ asked Nibbler. ‘Can I try them on?’

Azariah chuckled. ‘The bracelets would not work upon a Winged One, even one as naughty as yourself. But do not worry, young Hatchling, you are above suspicion.’

‘Oh,’ said Nibbler, looking a bit crestfallen. ‘How boring.’

‘Who else do ya suspect?’ asked Dridif.

‘Flint.’

‘Flint?’ exclaimed Charlie. ‘Don’t you mean Nazareth?’

Azariah shook his head. ‘Nazareth? As pompous as Nazareth is, his heart is for Sylvaris.’

‘But how come he’s always helping Narcissa?’ said Charlie.

Azariah smiled. ‘I would have thought that was obvious. The old fool is in love. Completely and utterly smitten. No, the secret mover behind the scenes is Flint.’

‘Why do you think Flint is working with Narcissa?’ asked Nibbler.

‘Simple. Every time we backed Lady Narcissa into a corner, or it appeared that we might wriggle free from beneath her accusations, who would help her out with his well-placed words?’

‘Flint would, but it didn’t really seem like he was helping her,’ said Charlie.

‘Well, that’s the whole point of being a “secret” accomplice, young Keeper! No, what he did with his well-timed words was sway the way the whole council was thinking. After Lady Narcissa he was second to protest against using the bracelets. He was the first to agree with Narcissa’s right
to trial by Winged One. And have you forgotten that Flint also tried to aid Narcissa by having you placed in the vaults so he could “study” your pendant? Hhmph, if he had succeeded in having you locked away I doubt it would have taken long for you to have an “accident” and for your pendant to mysteriously disappear.’

Charlie and Nibbler looked wide-eyed at each other.

‘I am certain that Flint has sided with Lady Narcissa. As to the others on the council, who can be sure?’ said the old Keeper, tugging anxiously on his beard. ‘And that is why I would advise against openly declaring Narcissa a traitor.’

‘Hhmm, I can see the wisdom in that,’ agreed Dridif.

‘Well, I don’t,’ declared Nibbler. ‘Why don’t you just go right out and tell everyone the truth? Tell everyone that Narcissa and Flint are traitors, then get all the other councillors to put on the Isiris Bracelets one at a time until you know who’s loyal and who isn’t! Makes good sense to me.’

‘And to me!’ agreed Charlie.

Azariah grimaced and rubbed at his bald head. He turned to Dridif. ‘You can tell them why that’s not such a good idea. I’m getting awfully bored with explaining the obvious.’

‘Children!’ scorned Lady Dridif and rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, all right. The reason why we can’t openly accuse Narcissa and Flint of treachery is because we don’t know how deep dis betrayal goes. If there are many traitors in the council and we push them too far they might decide ta step outta the shadows and fight. The power struggle which could follow would more than likely destroy Sylvaris and quite possibly Deepforest. I will not tolerate the prospect of a civil war breaking out in me city. It is bad enough that we might
have ta fight one war against Bane’s armies. Two wars would break Sylvaris.’

It took Nibbler a couple of seconds of quite strenuous lip-chewing to get that idea through his head. Finally he nodded. ‘OK, I see your point.’

So too did Charlie. ‘But what are we going to do? We can’t just let Narcissa get away with it. We’ve got to do something!’

‘And so we shall, little one, and so we shall,’ said Azariah.

‘Well, what then?’

‘Is that still not obvious? Bane is still the ultimate cause of all our troubles. Simply trimming away the decayed leaves on a rotten branch will not fix the problem. The whole branch must be cut off in order to save the tree.’

‘Huh?’ said Nibbler, with a vacant look in his eyes. ‘What d’you mean by that?’

‘Wot he means,’ explained Dridif, ‘is that although Lady Narcissa is of immediate concern, she is not our real enemy. There is not much point in merely clipping at the rotten leaves of Narcissa and whoever else might have fallen inta the ways of treason. We have ta go straight ta the source. If we remove Narcissa, wot is ta stop another two or three councillors being tempted ta turn ta the Darkness? Ta cure the disease that Bane has inflicted upon Bellania he must be defeated. Only then can we truly begin ta heal our land. It is Bane we must now move ta defeat.’

‘Oh …’ uttered Charlie. ‘So how do you plan to do that?

‘By showing Dridif your pendant,’ said Azariah. ‘That, young Keeper, is the rather obvious way forward.’

‘Um, sure.’ Charlie blushed and took off her necklace. ‘Here you go …’

‘Thank ya, Charlie Keeper.’ Lady Dridif held the pendant up to the light, then carried it over to her desk.

‘The only clue we have,’ said Azariah, ‘other than that it was given to Mya and Elias Keeper by the Winged Ones, is that Charlie was able to use it to communicate with young Nibbler here. Not in any controlled or sophisticated way,’ he admitted. ‘But it picked up on her cry for help and called for a Winged One.’

‘Interesting,’ said Dridif, examining the acorn-shaped necklace. Reaching up to one of her bookshelves, she pulled down a huge slab of a book. Dropping the heavy volume on the table, she leafed through it and then leaned down so that she could squint at the writing. ‘Hhmm … I thought as much, ‘she muttered.

‘What is it? What does it say?’ asked Charlie, curiosity overcoming her good manners.

‘Wot does it say?’ said Dridif. ‘Not a lot, unfortunately. In fact, ta be perfectly honest it tells me almost nothing.’

‘What? But I thought you were an expert with things like this!’ moaned Charlie in dismay.

‘Oh, and who told ya that?’

‘I did,’ chuckled Azariah. ‘And there I was, thinking you were an expert on Winged Ones. I guess even old men can be wrong.’

‘Hhmpf, no one’s an expert on Winged Ones except other Winged Ones. But ya are right, I am the closest thing Sylvaris has ta an expert on such matters.’

‘So how come you can’t decipher its secret, then?’ asked Nibbler.

‘Because I might be an expert on Winged Ones but I’m
not an expert on Winged One
artefacts
!’ snorted Dridif as she returned the necklace to Charlie. ‘But I know someone who is.’

Charlie perked up as she returned the pendant safely to her neck. ‘Who?’

‘His name is Edge. Edge Darkmount. Not a very pleasant person, not by any means. He is a Stoman bishop, one of the old breed. Very religious. And if it wasn’t for a sharp disagreement with Bane and his new religion, Edge would still be a powerful bishop residing back in the Western Mountains.’

‘Well, where is he now?’ asked Charlie.

‘He has taken up residence in the University of Dust.’

Nibbler’s brow creased. ‘The University of Dust?’

‘It’s a university that specializes in myths, history and legends,’ Dridif explained.

‘Fine, so let’s go there and see this Edge guy!’ Charlie grinned enthusiastically.

Dridif threw a meaningful glance at Azariah.

‘We can’t,’ the old Keeper sighed. ‘The University of Dust is in Alavis.’

‘So?’

‘Alavis and Alacorn, the twin Human cities, are currently under siege. Bane’s Second Army started their attack on the cities four days ago. Alavis and Alacorn are completely cut off.’

‘What? But surely there must be some way to see this man.’

‘No, Charlie,’ said Dridif. ‘The city is surrounded. We can’t simply waltz in there, not past all the might of the Second Army. It would be folly ta try.’

‘And neither can we risk opening a Portal,’ added Azariah. ‘The cities and countryside are almost entirely overrun. If we were to open a Portal there is a grave chance that we could open it right on top of a regiment of angry Stoman warriors, which would be a mistake we would never make twice.’

‘Why would it be a mistake we’d never make twice?’ asked Charlie.

‘Because we would be dead. Getting repeatedly stabbed by a horde of bloodthirsty warriors is an experience most people don’t get to enjoy more than once!’

‘Oh,’ said Charlie. She could see his point. ‘Well, is there any way we can get a message to him? I don’t know … maybe smuggle in a note?’

‘Child, I am sorry,’ said Dridif, ‘but when I say the cities are cut off I really mean it.’

‘I could do it. I could get a message there.’

They all turned to stare at Nibbler, who was looking at the map of Bellania on the study wall.

‘Alavis and Alacorn, right? Looks like it’s only three days there and three days back. So if I leave today I could be back here in six days.’ Nibbler shrugged his shoulders and threw them a fat smile. ‘No biggie.’

Dridif and Azariah eyed one another, an unspoken agreement seeming to pass between them.

‘Six days,’ mused Dridif. ‘He would be back on the day of the Three Winds Festival then, would he not?’

‘Aye, he would at that. But is that enough time?’ mused Azariah. ‘I thought the reports indicated that Alavis and Alacorn wouldn’t hold out much longer than a fortnight.’

‘That is correct. We have ten days at the most and that is only if we’re lucky.’

‘But if it would take Nibbler three days to fly there, surely it would take us a lot longer to get there by foot?’ stated Charlie. ‘Would we make it there in time?’

‘Hhmm,’ murmured Azariah with the distracted expression of someone deep in thought. ‘Oh, not to worry, we would just open a Portal there. We would still get there in time.’

Charlie rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘But you just said it wasn’t safe to use one!’

‘Young Keeper, you must learn to listen carefully. I said it’s not safe to use one blindly while there’s lots of rampaging soldiers wandering about looking for an excuse to stick their swords into something,’ retorted Azariah.

‘So how is opening a Portal when Nibbler gets back going to be any different from opening one now?’

‘Because Nibbler can ask Edge Darkmount for a safe location. An area that hasn’t yet been overrun by Stoman troops. A square, a building, even a room inside the University of Dust. But it has to be somewhere safe. Only someone who is already at the scene will have the appropriate local knowledge.’

‘Oh, OK,’ muttered Charlie.

‘Wot about Charlie’s well-being?’ asked Dridif. ‘Without the Hatchling by her side she will be a lot more vulnerable.’

‘Not to worry.’ Azariah grinned. ‘I know of a couple of minders who can keep her out of trouble.’

‘Good,’ said Dridif. ‘So it is agreed, then, is it not? We pretend everything is normal and that we are waiting for
the Winged Ones ta return. Meanwhile the Hatchling delivers our message ta Edge Darkmount. Azariah, ya watch over the young Keeper and I shall do me best ta keep black treachery and treason from growing outta hand in me council.’

All four nodded in agreement. Charlie, filled with hope, gave Azariah a small smile.

‘It’s a plan, young Keeper,’ he said. ‘Now let’s hope it works.’

44

A Reunion of Sorts

‘I don’t want ta see her and neither does Kelko!’ snapped Jensen, and slammed the door shut in Azariah’s face. Or at least the door would have shut if the old Keeper’s foot hadn’t been in the way.

Azariah turned to smile politely at Nibbler and Charlie. ‘If you two would be so kind as to wait for me here, Jensen, Kelko and I need a little chat. We won’t be long, I promise.’ He then tensed his powerful muscles and forced his way into Jensen’s Willow Tower.

‘Wot d’ya think ya doing?’ squawked a startled voice. ‘Hey, wait, wait! Not that, not that –’ Jensen’s shocked voice was suddenly cut off as the door swiftly slammed shut. It rattled briefly, then all was quiet.

Charlie turned to stare at Nibbler. ‘What do you think he’s doing to them? All I wanted was the chance to apologize. You know, sort things out between us.’

‘Oh,’ said Nibbler. ‘Well, I overheard Azariah talking to Lady Dridif and I think he said something about Jensen and Kelko being “stubborn, hard-headed, wooden-brained idiots”, so I think what he’s doing right now is getting your point of view across.’

The two of them turned to look as some faint screaming came from the tower. Jensen’s face momentarily appeared squashed against a window before rapidly disappearing.

‘Is that what he’s doing now?’

‘Oh yes, I’m sure that’s what he’s doing. I think he’s squaring things up between the three of you.’

‘Oh.’

A loud clatter and banging could be heard, a high-pitched scream, then silence.

After a short pause the door opened. Jensen and Kelko – looking quite subdued – staggered out. Azariah Keeper followed behind like a schoolteacher ushering two unruly pupils.

‘Er … Charlie,’ mumbled Jensen. ‘I’m sorry for doubting ya. I hadn’t realized wot the Isiris Bracelets could do.’

‘I guess we didn’t know any better …’ grumbled Kelko. He shyly rubbed his foot from side to side and hung his head so that he wouldn’t have to look Charlie in the eye. ‘It’s just that it sounded so real. We should have known ya were in trouble. If we’d been thinking clearly we would have realized it wasn’t like ya ta say such things. And … and if we’d been thinking clearer we could have got ya outta there before they did anything else ta ya …’