The Amulets (An 'Amulets of Andarrin' tale) (9 page)

Despite some protestations, he bustled them out of the tent. When they had left the tent they could hear the sound of music in the distance, so they headed off to take a look.

Whilst Jack and the group had been sleeping at Delaius’ house the night before, Delaius had sent out a message to those closest to him and, after leaving Jack and his friends at the sleeping tents, he made his way to a rendezvous which was less busy than most.

The atmosphere was still buzzing with the music from the surrounding areas and the chatter of crowds as they moved around but, compared to the rest of the festival, this was a quiet area.

When Delaius had arrived he’d been greeted by a large man with a rough face and strong jaw. His nose seemed like it had been broken a few times and he looked at Delaius with tired eyes but greeted him with a tight handshake and a happy smile. His name was Ruffalo Jadick and he wore a long brown and dusty coat and carried a wooden staff.

Ruffalo and Delaius had been tasked by the council to find a criminal who was wanted by every council and kingdom on Nanantharim. Eleven months previously, the man had stolen an artifact of great power from the high council at Greymir and he was number one on their most wanted list. But it hadn’t always been the two of them who had been tasked with solving this crime, Delaius had requested the task at the time the amulet was stolen but it had been given to Larcus Bracken, a rising member on the council. But as fate would have it, Larcus was promoted to second in command of the council on Earth and his existing responsibilities had been re-allocated. Finding the thief and recovering the artifact had been assigned to Delaius, to cover Earth and Ruffalo was tasked to search Nanantharim.

They had been working tirelessly for the past six months to hunt him down, but they were still no closer to locating him than when Larcus had been given the task. All that Larcus had determined was that it was believed that the thief’s name was Kalerum and that he had fought for the rebels in the rebellion. He was referred by most in Nanantharim as a ghost because he would appear and cause havoc and just as quickly go unseen for months on end and there had been no word, sightings or any leads whatsoever of him for the past three months, it was as if he’d vanished.

The only lead they’d had were increased banshees and other creatures filtering in to Earth from Nanantharim, which Delaius believed was due to Kalerum, but he didn’t fully understand why.

“Any word on Kalerum?” Delaius said.

“No, and worst thing is, the council’s had me running about this countryside for the past two weeks looking for that bloody Noru-Varem, though I ‘
eard it’d been sighted three days ride east of here in Brightwater. So it’s off to Brightwater in the morning. What about you?”

“I’m not sure, come on I’ll tell you inside. Are the rest here?” he asked.

“Aria and Andrei, but Nathaniel ain’t shown” Ruffalo told him as they headed inside the blue and red tent.

The inside of the tent was spacious enough to comfortably hold a dozen people.
All the tent held was an oak table and six chairs which stood on the grassy earth and a few small wooden boxes which were dotted around the edges of the tent, each held a glass lantern giving illumination to the room from every angle and radiating warmth into it. On the table was a tray holding five battered pewter mugs and a large jug.

Delaius walked to the table and, nodding to Aria and Andrei, poured wine for each of them from the jug.

Ruffalo and Delaius sat down as Andrei sipped his wine as he waited for Delaius to start.

“How’s the wine?” Delaius asked.

“Gredaqui wine, unbeaten for potency, but I see they still haven’t come up with a better taste.” Andrei joked.

“Forgive me Delaius” Aria started “but shouldn’t Guinevere be here? After all, given her position and her relationship to you, I would assume it a necessity.”

Aria was a young and beautiful elf with bright green eyes and long dark hair which hung down behind her shoulders, sticking out through her hair were long pointed ears. Bound across her forehead was a leather headdress with a white circular crystal at its center. She wore a long sky blue dress and gazed thoughtfully at Delaius, awaiting his response as he filled a mug for himself.

“I gave it much thought but Guinevere is head of the council and she has enough to deal with without having to worry about this. Until we know for sure that Jack is the one I believe him to be then I would rather not trouble her with such things.” he said, placing the jug back down on the tray by the last empty mug and taking a seat at on the chair next to her.

“No word on Nathaniel?” he asked after taking a moment to sip his own drink.

“No and I wouldn’t have expected any. I know you still hold on to hope for him, and I can’t say I blame you, but Nathaniel lost a lot during the rebellions, I fear he may have lost himself.” Aria told him.

“Yes, we’ve waited long enough; I should have known he wouldn’t come. I didn’t expect him to forgive me but I had hoped, given this new set of events, he would have shown.”

“He is a broken man Delaius but you cannot blame yourself.”

“Aria’s right, the man’s just as much a ghost as Kalerum is, he won’t be found if he doesn’t want to be and no-one’s seen him in years. How do you even know he’s still alive?” Ruffalo added.

“Wurslo.”

“Ah!”

Delaius sat gazing thoughtfully at the table for a few moments before he regained himself and addressed them; “You are all aware of the boy I found who was attacked by Banshees which somehow got through into their world”

They all nodded and Andrei started as if reminiscing “yes I met him briefly before this meeting, very curious set of folk, seems like a good lad but I have to be honest with you, Delaius, I have my doubts about what you expect of him, even if what you believe is true. He is, after all, only a young man and to thrust him into a world like this would be madness.”

“That is not my intention; he is to return home tomorrow and I will have him watched for his protection, regardless of what or who he may be, and there is no credible reason to thrust him into danger until there is danger to thrust him into.”

“Why did you bring him here?”

“He is resistant to spells, so I cannot read him, though you are trained in the
Tratairie Arts of the Elves” he said looking at Aria.

“Hmm”

“I need this doing quickly and you are the only one I trust that is skilled in these areas. And there is something else, the boy has a banshee wound on his shoulder, I need you to heal it”

“Heal it, sky’s end have you lost your touch Delaius or are you just getting lazy in your old age.”

“It was the easiest way to get him here without him resisting. I am still a stranger to the boy having only met him yesterday.”

She let out a small sigh and smiled at Delaius’ methods. “Very well Delaius but I’ll need time to prepare, bring him here but give me sufficient time to prepare. And if he’s resistant to spells then I’ll need an herbal remedy, he’ll need to be asleep,
unless you want him thinking that we’re going to butcher him.”

“Yes of course.  Though I’ll prepare one and give it to him on the way. That way it will kick in before you start.”

Aria nodded her agreement before Andrei cut in with a confused expression.

“So what of these Banshees?
I thought they didn’t attack humans.”

“They don’t, which is precisely why Jack may be who we think he is. The resemblance is uncanny.”

“Yes, yes it is.” Andrei agreed thoughtfully.

“But the increase in Banshees on Earth is why I have gathered you here. I need your support on the council when I return with my findings and I wanted you to hear me out and give me your thoughts without the pressure of your peers.”

“What of them?”

“
Myself and Ruffalo believe that they have not simply wandered into Earth but rather they have been directed there.”

“You believe they were sent there?
By whom?” Andrei asked.

“I couldn’t say, Redmond had many followers and just because he died doesn’t mean his followers abandoned his cause.”

“So you think they were after the boy.”

“It’s possible, but I think it was more coincidence that Jack happened to be up there. I think they were searching for the amulet, maybe they believe that they can somehow use its power.” Delaius told them.

“It’s not possible unless you have the blood and the bloodline ended with Elysia and Redmond.” Andrei argued.

“What about Kalerum, the one who last summer supposedly stole the amulet from the council in Greymir?”

“Yes that was a terrible day and I see you still haven’t managed to find him. But he’s a fanatic, claims he is Redmond!” Andrei said sipping his wine and glancing at the others in the tent with interest.

“After Redmond died there were rumours that many years before he had a son to a whore in
Kylos.”

“Rumours, born out of fear.”
Aria said.

Delaius mused, “At first I thought the same, but with the increase in banshees beyond Nanantharim, I began to wonder.”

“Then he could in fact possess the amulets, yes, yes. But no-one knows where they are, they haven’t been seen since the death of the guardians. Even if this Kalerum were who you claim him to be, many treasure hunters have tried to find the two others and all have failed.” Andrei said matter-of-factly.

“He’s right” Aria agreed.

“He’s been ransacking villages all across Nanantharim, killing without mercy and torturing those of high standing in the name of Redmond. It was believed that Elysia hid the amulets on one of the other two worlds. This is widely thought. The banshees began seeping through into the other worlds a month after the amulet was taken from Greymir and their numbers have been increasing.” Delaius pressed.

“I understand what you’re saying but I’m not sure the council will put it down to Kalerum. However, maybe it’s not the amulets he searches for, might it not be that Kalerum wants to find the other guardian.”

“Meaning Jack?” Andrei intervened.

“Yes, he would have been around two years old when he was hidden, but it’s true, if he is the child then he will have the blood to use them.” Ruffalo said.

“Ruffalo may be right, it could be that Kalerum believes Jack has the amulet or he knows where it is. This may work to your advantage with the council; many times you’ve come to the council talking of the increase in Banshees in their world…” Aria interjected.

“Yes, and every time they have thrown it aside because of what happened with Elysia, I don’t need you to remind me of that Aria, what I need is for you to broaden your minds, something is happening and the council are too blind to see it. Perhaps I am wrong about Kalerum and he is just a madman but the truth remains that something big is happening and we are all blind to it, we need answers and we need them fast.”

“If Kalerum is Redmond’s son, and he already has an amulet, he needs to be stopped before he finds the others because if what we fear is true then you can be sure we’ll have a repeat of the rebellions. Now if Jack is who we think he is then he may be the only one able to stop Kalerum.”

“Even if the boy is Elysia’s child, you cannot put this kind of pressure on him Delaius” Aria said.

“I don’t intend to, regardless of who he is I will be taking him back tomorrow, he can carry on his old life but this is something that we need to know, and I don’t need to tell you that it must stay between us. If the boy is the bastard then at least we have a weapon if Kalerum carries the blood.” They all nodded at Delaius’ comments and he continued.

“It is too much of a coincidence that Jack turns up now. It is destiny; it is the work of the gods. Darkness is coming back and we need to be prepared for when it does.”

“You know you will have to tell the council about Jack and his friends being here; make up a story it doesn’t matter, but word will get out and questions will be asked.” Aria warned him.

“There have been many lost wanderers who have entered Nanantharim by accident before; perhaps it will not be an unusual thing to hear that these did?” Ruffalo said.

“Very well. We will do our best to support you on the council with whatever you bring forth about Kalerum. Whether he is the son of Redmond or not, he has to be found. Almost a year has passed since he stole that amulet from under the noses of the council and it is far too long a time for him to have gone unpunished.” Andrei said finishing his mug of wine and standing up.

“Thank you my friend. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” Delaius said as Andrei nodded his goodbyes and headed out.

Ruffalo, Delaius and Aria chatted for some time about other incidents which had involved Kalerum and the banshees and discussed their plans for approaching the council before Ruffalo got up and headed outside to smoke his pipe.

As Ruffalo walked outside Delaius’ glance fell on the unused mug and his face suddenly fell into a sadness which Aria saw immediately. She leaned over and placed a hand on his.

“There was nothing you could have done Delaius. You lost just as much as he did that day.”

“Did I? He was like a brother to me; I thought he just needed time but…”

“Delaius don’t do this to yourself, it is not fair. There was nothing you could have done. Now come on, we have more pressing matters to attend to and you’ve not brought Jack here for the sights.”