“Ah,
well. Lord Krall, it would seem that our young Durik has arrived,” Khazak
said.
Lord
Krall turned and looked where Khazak was pointing. One by one the various
members of the council began to walk past Durik out of the chamber, conversing
among themselves about the extraordinary news of the day. As they filed out
Lord Krall walked with them to the door and approached Durik. “Well, and here
you are, the other hero of our little battle here yesterday,” he said as he
grasped Durik’s hand. Behind him trailed one of his servants, a rather tall,
very thin kobold who was obviously well advanced in years; his horns had begun
to curl around themselves and his rust red scales had begun to lose their color
at the tips, age bringing with it a slight bronze tint to his now-flaking
scales. Durik had always felt self-conscious in the presence of the elderly,
for unlike anyone else his scales were not rust red but a deep bronze instead,
though the color was vibrant with the strength of youth and not the more
bleached tone of those of advanced age.
“At
your service, sire,” was all Durik could get out before Lord Krall was talking
again as he thumped Durik’s back and escorted him toward the back of the
chamber.
“I’m
quite sorry I didn’t have much time to talk with you earlier today. It seems
our meetings so far have been short, formal, and full of purpose. Perhaps we
can rectify that with a bit of a feast here shortly.”
Durik
smiled. “Aye, Lord.”
Lord
Krall looked Durik in the eye. “I hear from Khazak here that you’ve come
through quite an adventure these last couple of days, in addition to the
reception you found here,” he said, alluding to the fight Durik and his company
had against the Krall Gen conspirators. “Which reminds me,” he said as he
turned to the elderly kobold that was waiting on him, “Send word to the caravan
driver’s quarters that Durik’s Company is invited to the feast. Oh, and tell
the cook that we’ll be doubling the number attending the feast also.” Lord
Krall watched as the elderly servant nodded and walked off to perform his tasks
before turning back to Durik. “I do hope your troops are well rested after the
journey. Perhaps as a further thank you for your parts in yesterday’s events,
I’ll make sure they’re well fed also!”
L
ord Krall continued without so
much as a pause. “Khazak here has been rather tight-lipped since he arrived.
Keeps saying that he and I need to talk about what you’re doing out here.
Something about a quest or some such. I guess being the new leader caste, he
wants to ensure you’re not left to fend for yourself in my court.”
“I’ll
be all right, sire,” Durik said.
Reaching
a rather ornate door in the rear of the chamber, Lord Krall stopped and looked
Durik over from head to toe. Though he’d cleaned his equipment the best he
could, he felt that perhaps Lord Krall thought his preparations for their
meeting inadequate. “Hmm… yes, I’m sure. Well, I’d imagine that if it’s so
important, I probably aught to attend to the matter shortly, wouldn’t you say,
young Durik.”
“As
you wish, lord,” Durik said.
“Well,
so be it then.” Looking past Durik, Lord Krall called out, “Well, Khazak, are
you coming?”
Khazak
Mail Fist was talking with Morigar and his older brother Krall, who was rather
tall, well muscled and looked like a younger version of Lord Krall.
“Krall,
Morigar, why don’t you two come with us as well. I have a feeling that this
may concern you as well,” Lord Krall said, though the twist in his tone made it
clear it was a command. Khazak Mail Fist and Lord Krall’s two sons both
followed as Lord Krall and Durik passed through the ornate door into the
personal chambers of Lord Krall and his family. Passing into the room where
Lord Krall and Khazak Mail Fist, assisted by Manebrow and the rest of Durik’s
Company, had held off the conspirators the day before, Durik looked around in
wonder. Though it had only been a day, all traces of the battle had been
completely erased.
As
they entered the large room, which served as the receiving room for the Lord’s
personal chambers, Lady Karaba walked down the stairway at the other end of the
room. “Ah, my love,” Lord Krall called out, “Khazak has brought young Durik to
us to talk about a quest or some such. Somewhat of a mystery it is. Would you
care to join us?”
Lord
Karthan’s lifemate was much younger than Lord Krall. Though she certainly was
several years older than her brother Lord Karthan, who was lord of his own Kale
Gen, she had to have been young when she and the much older Lord Krall were
joined. Looking into her eyes again, Durik could see the same intelligence
that he’d seen in Lord Karthan’s eyes. The family resemblance in her features
was clear.
“His
quest is not unknown to me,” Lady Karaba said calmly, smiling slightly as she
walked gracefully to one of the large stuffed chairs and sat down with her
hands folded in her lap and her tail tucked neatly along one leg.
“What?
Am I the last to know?” Lord Krall said in surprise.
“Durik
and I talked this morning,” she said.
Lord
Krall nodded in acknowledgement. “Very well then,” he said dismissively.
“Servant!” he called out in the direction of the servants’ quarters. “Bring
drinks for six!” As the five male kobolds took their seats on the various
furniture that formed something of a circle in the center of the room a servant
appeared, carrying a small barrel with a spout in it and several silver cups.
With dexterity and practiced ease the young servant, not more than about
Durik’s age, poured a clear, light brown colored drink into each of the silver
cups.
“Ah,
sweet bark cider,” Khazak said as he held the cup up to his nose. “I never
tire of it.”
“If
you’d like, I’ll send a keg of it back on the next caravan,” Lord Krall said.
“You’re
a generous lord, sire,” Khazak said.
Lord
Krall cut to the point. “Hmm… Well, so what is this other matter that you
wished to discuss with me? When shall I be let in on the secret, eh?”
Durik
and Khazak Mail Fist looked at each other briefly. Khazak gave a look as if to
say ‘did you want to mention it or shall I?’ Durik looked back uncomfortably,
so Khazak proceeded.
“My
Lord, the Kale Gen has decided that it is again time for us to search for our
gen’s stone of power,” Khazak said bluntly.
Lord
Krall choked on his drink and spat, “What?! You mean you’re going after the
Kale Stone? Again?!” He leaned over and placed his cup on a side table, then
leaned back in his high backed chair. “Why ever would you do that?” he said
with open arms, “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time you sent a group out to
find it? That was a disaster!”
Khazak
Mail Fist nodded, “Yes, sire. It was a disaster, and Lord Karthan learned a
lot on that expedition.”
Durik
was surprised at the revelation that there had been a previous attempt to find
the stone he now sought. Clearly, there was much he hadn’t been told.
Khazak
continued, “However, a record he found of the last Lord Kale’s ill-fated
expedition, linked with things we’ve found through our continued efforts at
exploration beyond the Chop, has led Lord Karthan to a conclusion on its
location. There is a prophecy recorded in that record by a kobold prophet
named Two-Toes. In there it clearly states that the Kale Stone will be
gathered to Palacid.”
Lord
Krall’s eldest son sat forward in his chair. “Is that your quest, then, Durik,
to find and gain entrance to Palacid, all in an effort to find your gen’s stone
of power?”
Durik
nodded his head, but doubt was clearly evident on his face. “My quest really
is to retrieve the Kale Stone, which I believe is to be found below Demon’s
Bridge at the Chop.” The revelations he had received through his visions had
led him to the conclusion that his quest for the Kale Stone would not actually
lead him to the ancient home of their race’s beginnings that was Palacid.
Almost
on cue, Lady Karaba spoke in Durik’s support. “The Kale Stone is not at
Palacid.”
Lord
Krall was taken aback. “What do you know of their stone?”
Lady
Karaba continued calmly. “The Paladin’s Journal, which Karthan found on his
quest, states the location of the Kale Stone and gives a description of where
it was to be found. It was not at Palacid. The visions that Durik has had
only confirm this. The Kale Gen’s stone of power is located in the mountains
that ring the northern part of our valley, most likely directly below Demon’s
Bridge.”
Khazak
Mail Fist looked at Lady Karaba with a look of some consternation on his broad,
powerful features. “I understand that something is calling to Durik… though I
am not so certain that it is the Kale Stone. I cannot help but think that
perhaps the stone is not to be found there, but rather that either something
else is luring our warriors there or that the Kale Stone has something it wants
Durik’s Company to accomplish there before coming to it.”
“What
reasoning do you have to support this line of thinking?” Lady Karaba asked.
Khazak
was a warrior of simpler desires than to get too involved in prophecies and ancient
powers, but his loyalty to Lord Karthan pressed him to continue reasoning.
“Lord Karthan found a prophecy in the quest journal of the last Lord Kale.
This prophecy is from a kobold who calls himself the Oracle of the Kobold Gen,
which states that the stone is to be found at Palacid. Do you have reason to
not believe this prophet? And what is this Paladin’s Journal of which you
speak?”
Lady
Karaba bowed her head and spoke in soft tones. “Your lord misread the
prophecies contained in the record of the last Lord Kale. I have read the
prophecy of Two-Toes as well. It says nothing of the location of the stones of
power when they are found, only that their inheritors will be gathered to
Palacid at some future time.” Lady Karaba shook her head in subtle
frustration. “Karthan’s lifemate, Kiri, promised our mother that she would
destroy that book, but unfortunately she did not do it before she died. Many
of the best Kale Gen warriors have died questing for the Kale Stone, including
our uncle and his two sons. Because of the deep sorrow this search had caused
her, before my mother died I promised her that I would keep the Paladin’s
Journal.”
Khazak
Mail Fist was visibly frustrated. “You have had a book in your possession all
these years which tells where the Kale Stone is to be found?! Who is this
paladin? Was he a member of the northern gens?”
Lady
Karaba could see that she had little support among the assembled warriors.
Only Durik’s eyes looked at all supportive, but she continued anyway. “The paladin
was a human from lands far to the north of here. He called himself a Watcher…
a member of an ancient order established by The Sorcerer himself to watch over
the stones of power that He gifted to the races.”
Lord
Krall’s face was incredulous. “I would not believe the words of some meddling
outsider over the words of a prophet from our very own race, even if he claimed
to be The Sorcerer’s scribe himself!”
Lady
Karaba bowed her head. “The Paladin’s Journal is clear in its manner of
speaking. The prophecies in the last Lord Kale’s record can be
misinterpreted. I kept the journal from Karthan thinking that I could keep him
from questing for the stone again. I see that in part I was right. Because he
still had the record of the last Lord Kale’s final expedition, my brother read
what he found there and sent these warriors likely to their deaths instead,”
she said as she looked at Durik.
Lord
Krall shook his head in frustration as his eldest son sat forward. “Mother,
how could this human have discovered the location of the Kale Stone, down here,
far south of the human lands?”
Lady
Karaba addressed her son, “The journal states that somehow this paladin had
access to one of the original eight stones of power, and using that he was able
to discover its location.”
Lord
Krall held up his hand. “Enough! If Khazak says that there is a prophecy by a
kobold
prophet stating that the Kale Stone is to be found at Palacid,
then it is to be found at Palacid! I will hear no more of this human or his
journal!”
Durik
was not at all at peace with the decision Khazak and Lord Krall had made to
ignore the visions he’d had. The conviction that the Kale Stone was to be
found under Demon’s Bridge still burned in his heart; he couldn’t deny it.
After
a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Khazak leaned forward in his chair
again and spoke. “Lord Krall, since it appears that the stone is to be found
at Palacid, our race’s place of beginnings, Lord Karthan wanted to ensure that
your gen had the opportunity to send warriors with Durik’s quest group. After
all, the finding of Palacid is a matter that concerns all the sons of the First
Sire, not just those of the Kale Gen.”
Durik
looked hesitantly at his lord’s chamberlain. Why hadn’t he been told that they
were going to ask for additional warriors from the Krall Gen? After the
surprise of finding Lord Karthan’s sons and chamberlain back on the trail to
the Krall Gen, and now this proposal of a joint quest, Durik’s patience with
surprises was wearing thin.
Krall,
Lord Krall’s eldest son, almost sprang out of his chair. “Yes!” He turned to
his father, “Father, think of it! A quest to the very heart of our race’s
beginnings! Many are the stories of the power and magic that were once there!
Think of what our trade caravans could bring back from such a place!”
Lord
Krall raised a hand to calm his eldest son. “I agree. It sounds like a
perfect opportunity for prosperity or at least for resolving questions we’ve
all had for many generations now, ever since our ancestors left that place.
With our trade routes expanding and our wealth growing, this may very well be
the perfect time for our gen to join in this quest.”
“I
should probably mention the fact that the ancient writings state that Palacid
is warded,” Lady Karaba said. “How will you gain entrance?”
Khazak
nodded almost anxiously. He had anticipated such a question and was pleased to
have the answer. “Scrawled below the prophecy in this journal was a note
stating that the key to Palacid was to be found in the Hall of the Mountain
King. Of course that key would have to be retrieved from there.”
Khazak
watched with surprise the impact his words had on Lord Krall and his sons. He
had stopped the conversation dead as they all stared at him with deep concern.
“My
dear Khazak,” Lady Karaba finally broke the silence, “have you not heard of the
two great dragons who have recently taken up residence in the Hall of the
Mountain King?”
Khazak
spoke as if he were confessing something half-heartedly. “Our wolf riders
reported that they had raided the place, two large reds, one much larger than
the other. Are you now telling me that they have come to stay?”
The
four Krall kobolds all looked at each other uncomfortably. Krall the younger
spoke first. “We’ve not had scouts north of the mountains since Demon’s Bridge
was taken by a rogue hobgoblin out of the east lands and his northern gen
mercenaries. But a trade caravan that paid their ‘tax’ said that the smaller
of the two was the male, and that he apparently has a home far to the north
that the pair of them disappear to periodically.”
“I
would be very careful approaching the Hall of the Mountain King for any
reason,” Lord Krall said as he sat back, rubbing his chin in thought, the tip
of his tail flipping thoughtfully beside him.
“I
can assure you that we will move with the utmost of caution,” Khazak said, “and
that we’ll only enter when both dragons are not present.” He raised an
outstretched hand to Lord Krall. “It is agreed then?” he asked.
After
a final moment’s thought, Lord Krall slowly began to smile. He slowly raised
his hand to grasp Khazak’s. “Yes! Our gen shall join the quest for Palacid.”