The Archon's Apprentice (12 page)

Mikol stood up and walked around the room while watching the pendant. It stayed true to its direction still. He looked around and wondered if it was the Archon’s room that had activated the pendant. He bolted out of the room and down hallways at random. The arrow continued to orient itself east. He pocketed the pendant and rushed to the nearest castle tower. He carefully avoided anyone he saw and made it to the top without speaking to anyone.
 

Mikol could not remember when he had last been up one of the towers. He instantly regretted all the times he had not gone to the top of a tower. The landscape below took his breath away, and he took a moment to let it all in. To the north he could make out the edge of the Crystal Sea. To the east the flowing plains of Ternia stretched out towards Sibilova and the Dagger Peak Mountains. To the west he could see the mountains that housed the Sanctuary. He thought he could make out the lights. He remembered why he came up the tower. He withdrew the pendant and confirmed what he had expected: The arrow pointed into Sibilova, most likely to the Dagger Peaks.
 

His first thought was to rush back to Omoni, but he stopped before he took a step. Omoni had had the pendant and surely would have seen what it could do. What had changed? Mikol looked at the pendant again and found the runes on the outer rings had reoriented themselves. The inscription itself still did not make sense to Mikol as he read it. He also saw new runes that he was certain had not been on the pendant previously. The only part of the inscription that Mikol could understand translated to
The path of the Archon
. Seeing those words, Mikol knew the pendant would only work for an Archon. Somehow it knew he had been chosen to succeed Voletain. With the arrow pointing directly into the heart of the Savage Kingdoms, Mikol knew his path was laid out before him. He had to find the cache and this mysterious obelisk and save his kingdom.

Chapter 8

Feisty Wench

For the next two weeks Mikol avoided everyone he could to prepare for his journey. Omoni was the easiest to avoid, as Mikol simply stayed away from that that side of the castle. He did not think Omoni would seek him out until after Voletain returned and the pendant and tome had been handed over. It had always been rare for the king to request to see Mikol so Mikol simply stayed away from his father without incident. He was not able to avoid everyone, as the halls became crowded with the nobles and high-ranking officials visiting while an army ravaged the lands outside Valefort. Being only the apprentice Archon and the fourth son of the king, he had been able to keep his interactions short.
 

He continued to train and practice every day to keep up appearances. The futility of training for a tournament that would not happen grew more and more unbearable. Bayle had shown up to spar with him on some of the days. Mikol found an excuse every time to dismiss him. Only when Mikol was alone did he take out the pendant. He stared at the arrow for as long as he dared before hiding it again. When he had woken up the morning after he acquired the pendant, he rushed to its hiding spot. He had taken it out and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the arrow still pointing. He kept the pendant on him at all times afterward.
 

Mikol had decided he needed to be the one to find and retrieve the cache. Since then, he had spent his time searching for items he would need on his trip. He received some strange looks from the servants as he carried odd items back to his room. He tried to find as many maps as he could to chart his trip. The only maps he could find without going to Omoni did not include Sibilova. He was still not ready to risk a confrontation with Omoni yet.
 

After retrieving another map that he hoped would include Sibilova, he found Bayle waiting for him. They exchanged their customary greetings before Mikol asked Bayle to check on the progress of the Wardens for him. Bayle agreed happily. Mikol rolled out the map on his desk. It included the border of Sibilova but nothing inside the Savage Kingdoms. He frowned at the map. If he had been given the attunement rune, like his brothers had, he would be able to work a spell on the pendant to have it show him its destination on the map. He shook his head in disgust and flipped the map over. He jumped when he heard Bayle’s voice coming from the door.

“So, are we going to discuss what you are doing here?”

“Bayle! I thought I told you to see if the Wardens had anything new on the movements of the Sibilovan army.”

“You did. And since no Wardens have returned today there was not much that I could gather. Now,” Bayle indicated the maps and assorted items in Mikol’s room. Rapping his knuckles on the side of a large pot on the floor, he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing that concerns you. Please leave.”

“No. I am not leaving until you tell me where you got that pendant.”

Mikol looked at the table. He had left the pendant next to the map. He snatched it up.

“It’s nothing.”
 

“I doubt that. You wouldn’t be looking at it every waking moment if it was nothing.”

Mikol’s mouth opened and closed quickly but he made no sound. Bayle laughed at him.

“You’re not as sneaky as you think.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You’ve been moody and I thought you needed some privacy. Besides, I thought you would eventually talk to me. Finally decided I needed to say something to you because you were avoiding me.”

“Well, this doesn’t concern you. So, there is nothing to say.”

“I don’t know what you’re keeping from me, but we have been friends for as long as I can remember, and we have never kept anything from each other. I don’t see why you should start now.”

“I am not keeping anything from you. There is a lot at stake and I am the only one that is able to put a stop to all of this.”

“You?”

“Yes!”

“I can only assume you mean the army roaming around the countryside. I don’t see how you can be the only one able to put a stop to that. There are plenty of soldiers and Wardens that should be able to do a better job than you alone. What’s that pretty little necklace for anyway?”

Seeing no other way out that would still preserve their friendship, Mikol sighed and resolved to let Bayle know what he knew. He held up the pendant clearly.
 

“Do you see this arrow?” Bayle nodded.
 

“Take a closer look. Tell me what it is pointing to.” Mikol dropped the pendant into Bayle’s hands. Bayle examined the pendant closely. He rubbed his fingers over the runes and traced the circles. He turned the pendant over a few times before looking up at Mikol.

“How do you turn it on?”

Mikol held out his hand and motioned for Bayle to give it back. Bayle’s brow furrowed slightly but he placed the pendant back in Mikol’s palm. The arrow immediately came to life.

“The pendant only recognizes an Archon.”

Bayle whistled.

“That’s a neat trick, but I don’t see how that will stop anything.”

“This is not what is going to stop anything. But what it points to will.”

“Well, what does it point to?” Bayle asked as he looked around the room with a smile.

“It’s showing me the way to an ancient cache of runic weapons.”

“Uh huh. Like your sword?”

“Yes, but even better than the sword. Weapons forged during the great war.”

“That sounds great, but isn’t this something that Voletain should be doing, especially since it only works for an Archon?”

“He’s not here. He is still at Sanctuary dealing with the aftermath of that Death Hellion. Trying to figure out who sent it and what they were really after. That is more of an immediate threat if another should be sent. Plus ... the cache may not exist. Or maybe not anymore.”

“And you would still go?”

“It is the only thing I can do right now. Until I am Archon I can’t use runic magic. I am not the General of the army.” Mikol sighed again. “Or what’s left of our army. I have no control over anything right now. This is the only thing I can do that will help.”

“All right, if that is what you believe. Where is this cache?”

“I don’t know exactly. The pendant will show me the way. But to hazard a guess, it is in Sibilova.”

“What? The Savage Kingdoms! Where?”

“Again, I don’t know where, but from the look of the arrow, I would say somewhere in the Dagger Peak Mountains.”

“What are you going to do when you find the cache? Even if it is a bunch of swords like yours, you can only hold so many.”

“Well, yeah, I don’t expect to bring it back all by myself. I intend to bring a beacon and send the Wardens to the beacon. Hopefully there is something small enough, maybe another sword, to bring back and convince them to head to the beacon. That, or I have to convince Voletain.”

Bayle cracked his neck and looked around.

“Well, I guess that is a plan. When do we leave?”

“I am going alone, Bayle.”

“Really?” Bayle walked across the room and picked up a large pot. His arms encircled the metal pot and barely touched on the far side.
 

“And you think you will need this pot, or this meat here? It’s not even salted. It will spoil before we leave the castle.”

Mikol crossed his arms. He did not like being wrong, but realized he had never done anything like this by himself. Looking at the pot still in Bayle’s arms, he smirked and wondered how he thought it would be something he would need on the trip.

“OK, I guess I don’t know what I am doing. I don’t even know how far we need to go. These maps have not been helpful so far.”

“All right, the first thing we need to do is to leave Valefort. With Voletain’s orders still in place it will be hard to leave.”

“I am a prince, no one will stop me.”

“You think the king is going to let his last remaining living prince leave the castle and partake in a dangerous quest into enemy territory?”

Mikol opened his mouth as the conversation he had had with his father popped into his head. He closed his mouth with a grunt.

“That’s what I thought. So, the first thing we need to do is leave Valefort. We should be able to leave without being found out if we only take minimal supplies. Once we are far enough away from Valefort we’ll buy our supplies from one of the villages on the way.”

Mikol nodded and looked around his room.

“Thank you, Bayle. I probably would’ve been questioned before I left my room.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already been questioned, with all of this useless stuff.”

“There are some advantages to being a prince.”

“Hmm, maybe we should keep the pot. You could hop in and I’ll just wheel you away.” Bayle laughed at his own joke as Mikol scoffed. “We’ll leave tonight. Pack a small bag. Only take enough to get you through a couple of days.”

***

Mikol went through the items he had gathered. He shook his head at all of the items he had thought he needed. Only a few would come in handy. He stuffed the clothing and supplies in a backpack and threw his cloak over it. Bayle met him after midnight, outfitted similarly. Bayle led them swiftly and quietly down several empty corridors. Mikol noticed these hallways held fewer sconces than any other hallways in the castle. Bayle had brought them to the edge of a small courtyard. Mikol remembered this courtyard and how much he disliked it. Whoever had designed this courtyard had tried make it artistic with strange angles and wavy walls. During certain times of the day he would get vertigo just staring at the walls. Mikol could not be certain how much noise they were making, as every sound seemed to echo and boom.
 

They stopped moving as Bayle motioned for them to halt. Mikol shifted uncomfortably as he waited but froze as he heard footsteps. Across the courtyard the sconces lit up as the patrol moved. Mikol felt his muscles clench. He feared the slightest movement would light the sconces, leading the patrol to them. He breathed a deep sigh of relief as the patrol veered down a hall that led away from them. Mikol felt himself relax only when the sconces no longer detected anyone and flicked off. They moved slowly again and kept as close to the walls as they could. Mikol knew it would not stop the sconces from lighting up, but it made him feel better.
 

Mikol did not know how long it took for them to make it to the edge of the castle, but it seemed like it took hours. Luckily, they did not see any more patrols before they reached one of the smaller side gates. They crouched down in a shadowy corner far enough away from the gate and any guard posts. They could not see any guards near the post, nor did they see anyone around the gate. Mikol wanted to go but Bayle held him back. They waited. And waited.
 

“Where are the guards?” said Mikol.

“I don’t know.” Bayle held his crossbow in his hands. Mikol had not seen him retrieve it, but they had been hunting before and he knew Bayle could be quiet. “If you really want to go, this seems like the perfect opportunity to leave the city.”

They crept along the wall in the shadows until they were directly across from the gate. They still did not see any guards. Bayle took the first step into the moonlight and walked slowly toward the gate. Mikol waited a moment and followed. Mikol looked around as he moved. He hoped to catch some sign of the guards that should be posted but made it to the gate without being seen. They had been at the gate long enough they should have seen someone return to their post, or new guards come to relieve someone. Mikol had never seen any of the gates completely unguarded before. The gate was large enough that a carriage could pass through but also had a smaller door built in to allow entry without opening the larger doors. Mikol placed his hand on the door handle, looked at Bayle, and took a deep breath. To his surprise the door was unlocked and opened easily, without a sound. They walked through, shutting the door quietly behind them.

“That was too easy. Where are all the guards?” said Mikol.

“I don’t know. I would like to know how we got through so easily, but I don’t think we should be asking any questions. We need to keep moving or risk getting caught.”