The Gems of Raga-Tor (Elemental Legends Book 1) (29 page)

Startled to hear his name, Raga forgot himself and looked up quickly. Though he had told Morengoth much, he hadn’t told all and kept his identity and the powers of his gems unknown.

Morengoth chuckled deeply at Raga’s surprise.

“I know very well who you are, sorcerer. I may be a prisoner of this forest, but I do receive news of the outside world on occasion. I knew exactly who you were the moment I took that gem out of the pouch.”

“Then you will give it back to me?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Then you are willing to risk my wrath and its consequence to you? A first-level elemental is no one to trifle with.”

Morengoth smiled, amused. The way he crossed his arms over his broad chest was almost in challenge.

Riza’s Pits,
Raga thought.
He’s just like Eris. Just what I need, two of them.

“I have nothing to fear. In the first place, I know your power is quite limited for the time being. Besides, being enchanted by one's own god does give a man a certain amount of protection. And, in case you have forgotten, you are still my prisoner. I decide what you will or will not do. In any case, the negotiation for the stone's return will give us something to discuss while the snowstorm blows itself out.”

“It's snowing?” Raga asked surprised. “How long have we been here?”

“Four days, more or less, I suppose.”

“No wonder I’m starving,” Raga said. He checked his paunch to see if it had gotten noticeably smaller.

Morengoth smirked at him. “Eat, Raga. There is plenty more. Here, let me take Eris.”

“What are you going to do with him?” Raga asked suspiciously. He was slow to relinquish his hold and didn't quite trust this Dragon King.

“I am going to take him out to the deep place where the spring bubbles up. Healing usually works faster there. I am sure he is hungry as well.”

“He’s starting to come around. Don’t do anything unexpected. He’s got a frightening mean streak,” Raga cautioned.

“And you don’t?” Morengoth asked with a sideways glance. “Did you ever tell him what you did to quell the rebellion in Kanchin? Or what you did for fun in—now where was that—oh yes, Tyzet?”

“I was a lot younger then,” Raga said and his face flushed deeply red.

“Perhaps I should enlighten him.”

“I don't think that would be a good idea. You don't have to live with him.”

Again Morengoth smiled at him with an amused expression.

“I think you are actually quite fond of this one for some reason or another. I have to admit I am surprised. You do not have a history of being long in the company of men before they come to a bad end. Of course, it could all be a ruse to get what you want,” he suggested.

Raga shook his head. “Not this time. You’ll see. He’s very different from the others of his kind and I consider him my friend.”

“But are you his?”

“I guess that remains to be seen,” Raga shrugged. “At the moment, I don't think so.”

“Perhaps, for his sake, that is just as well. Eat, Raga. If Eris feels like eating, then we will discuss the terms for recovering your gem, and you finding my bride. If not, we will wait until morning,” Morengoth said and pushed Eris to the deepest part of the pool.

Just as Raga reached for an apple, Morengoth bent over Eris for a moment, then plunged him under the water and held him there. Raga leaped to his feet, horrified.

“What in the Seven Hells are you doing? You’re going to drown him! He was barely conscious!” he shouted. His voice echoed in the chamber.

Raga was frantic. Could he have misjudged Morengoth’s apparent good will? After what happened in Reshan and apparently now, Raga was more determined than ever to keep Eris safe from another’s influence. In a panic, he ran around the edge of the pool to face Morengoth, who stood in chest-deep water.

“Hush, Raga, I am not drowning him. Healing is supposed to take place in an atmosphere of peace. You are a great disturbance,” Morengoth said, as he slowly brought Eris back to the surface. He studied the color of Eris’ face and probed his chest with a gentle hand.

Raising Eris’ head slightly out of the water so he could hear, Morengoth said, “I am going to push you down once more. Stay under as long as you can and come to the surface on your own. Ready?”

Eris nodded slightly. The Dragon King pushed him down so that he disappeared into the column of bubbles rising from spring. Morengoth swam to the steps to wait. Raga hurried back to the steps to watch. When Eris reappeared, there was a hint of a smile on his face and his eyes were bright and alert.

“There. He is completely healed,” Morengoth said and leaned closer to Raga. “You might also find his mood will be quite pleasant for a while.”

“That would be an improvement. Too bad it won't last.”

“Ah, Raga, a little water might do you some good as well,” Morengoth said and pushed through the water toward Eris. “Well now, Eris, it seems you are well and it is time we greet each other in a more cordial manner, if you please.”

Without hesitation, Eris took hold of the Dragon King’s strong, scaled hand. He was amazed by the man's appearance and found himself tongue-tied as a result of having no idea where he was or how he got there.

“You will get used to me,” Morengoth said, squeezing Eris' hand in a friendly way.

“I haven't felt this well in a long while,” Eris managed to say. All he remembered was being hurled across the room and an intense pain in his chest, beyond that, nothing.

Raga went back to his food, amazed. That was not Eris. He should have come out of the water sputtering indignantly and threatening everyone in sight.

“Come, eat, before Raga devours your share,” Morengoth invited.

“You speak as though you know him. I could hear you talking, but am at a loss as to what about,” Eris said, climbing out of the pool. He glanced quickly around the cavern and noticed how empty it was compared to the last bathhouse he visited. It was also unsettling to him just how often of late he was subject to near-death injuries. It was a habit he could do without.

“No, I only know of him. He told me your story, though.”

“All of it?” Eris asked. Raga was pleased to see that not all of his innate suspicions had been subdued.

“No, I am sure he did not, but I think I can piece together much of the rest on my own. The red gem in his pouch told its own story.”

“I see,” Eris said, but really he didn't. He felt like he was missing a great deal of information. “And you know exactly who he is?”

“Of course,” Morengoth answered and handed Eris a cup of deep-red wine. “I also know of the travesty that has befallen you. My best for your…recovery.”

A deep blush suddenly colored Eris' face. Morengoth held up his hand for Raga's silence, when he saw the sorcerer about to speak.

“There will be no recovery without the red stone,” Eris said, unaware that his cheeks were still pink.

“I realize that, but you will have to earn its return.”

Eris cringed on the inside and the blush on his face deepened yet again. This time he noticed the heat in his cheeks and rubbed his palms across his face to try to dispel it. Damn the curse that brought Erisa closer to him.

“Why should I earn back what should never have been taken in the first place?” Eris asked.

“Call it the spoils of war. Payment for crossing my land. Come now, do not look so disgusted. I have no intention of forcing you into a similar situation as in Reshan,” Morengoth answered. “Though you do make a very lovely woman.”

Eris frowned at him and the cavern became uncomfortably silent.

“Somehow, I felt I had to say that,” Morengoth apologized after a moment.

“I suppose you did.” Eris swallowed down the last of his wine. “It's part of the curse. It just annoys me to hear it.”

“Then you will take no offense at my most undignified remark?”

“None taken,” Eris answered with unexpected good humor. Raga marveled at the change, temporary though it was.

“Now, I believe it is time for us to discuss these various problems that have us all uneasy. Raga, you have a question?” Morengoth asked, reading the sorcerer's face.

“I’m curious to know how you were able to recognize the red gem so easily being, as you say, trapped within the confines of your forest. And, whether or not you have any information on another gem similar to it,” Raga said. “After all, you are the first person that either of us has come across able to recognize it for what it is.”

“One does not live a life spanning more than three centuries without learning anything. Let me tell you my story. Then, I believe you will have your answers,” Morengoth said.

The Dragon King leaned back against the stone bench and stretched his long legs out in front of him. As he spoke and gestured, the iridescent green scales on his body shimmered with green-gold light, a mesmerizing effect.

“In all these long centuries, I have never quite understood why the men of Skeales decided to annihilate mine. The dragon people, as you call us, were peaceful for the most part. Of course, we fought amongst ourselves from time to time, or had scrapes with tribes of men from the Land of the Night Vales over rights to the forest, but nothing like what was to come. Knowing how different we were kept us from venturing too far, or for very long. We were at home in this rocky mountain and the wide forest around it. What need did we have to conquer the tribes of the steppes?” Morengoth said and took a drink. “We needed no cities, no fields to till, no extensive trade to give us the things we could not make or grow for ourselves. Then the attacks began. Just skirmishes at first, but the fighting escalated. We captured men for interrogation, but they told us nothing worth knowing.”

Eris understood and pitied the captives that last part as he rubbed a hand across his ribs. There was still tenderness in places.

“Some thought we had jewels or precious minerals deep inside the mountain. Some thought we had magic and wanted it—for what purpose, I do not know. Others just hated us for being different, or because they believed we were amassing an army to destroy them. They believed us to be horrible monsters, which was far from the truth. I am sure you are both familiar with the end of this story in some form or another.”

Eris nodded that this was so, but Raga remained silent in his ignorance. He knew only the little bit Eris had told him.

“Here is what you do not know.” Morengoth sat for a moment as if gathering his thoughts before he continued. It was obvious that the most difficult part of the tale was about to be told and relived.

“Near the end of the war, I knew there was no chance for victory. Like a lone elk defending himself against a pack of wolves was how we fought. The sheer number of wolves is what overpowers the elk. Not his inability to defend himself, or a lack of courage in his heart.

“The womenfolk and the children were gone. Either killed or starved to death during the previous winter so the warriors could fight on. My soldiers fell, one by one. I went to the shrine of our god, Tas-Moren, and begged once more that at least one of us should be spared in the hope of finding other tribes of our race. I did not know if he heard, or wanted to hear.

“The fighting eventually ceased. The men, not finding the treasure they thought we had, left the forest and I was utterly alone. The task of living was mine to my never-ending despair.

“For many years I roamed the mountain ranges of many lands looking for more of my kind. It was then that I grew to understand the ways and wiles of men. Sometimes I found truth and kindness, but more often injustice and cruelty. Finally, I returned to these caverns and again begged at the feet of Tas-Moren. This time I asked to die and know no more a life of loneliness and despair. What purpose did I serve? I saw no reason in any thought or idea.”

Raga’s face mirrored the Dragon King’s desolate tale. Eris remained stoic, like the warrior he was, but in his heart he knew that the stories of Moren heard as a youth were mostly just that—stories with very little truth in them.

Taking a deep breath, Morengoth continued.

“Tas-Moren would not grant me death. My rage against him was great. In my anger, I drew out my dagger and plunged it into my heart. But, I did not die. Tas-Moren's anger with me was greater still. He hurled the suffering of my people against me and yet I lived. How long I lay in bleeding anguish, I know not. I learned that hell cannot be worse than a god scorned.

“In time, he took pity on me and healed my wounds, but I was not completely forgiven. Thus began these many years of my imprisonment. Yet, he did promise that one day a woman would come who would be my mate and I would no longer be the sole survivor of my long-dead race. There was a condition, however. I had to give something of great value to the avatar of Tas-Moren with the promise that something greater than the value of life would also be given to him.”

“Then you seek to give my red gem as that gift of value?” Raga interrupted more than concerned.

“No. The gift has already been given. The yellow gem you still seek,” Morengoth answered.

Raga and Eris froze. They stared at him stunned by disbelief into total silence. It was so great a shock that tears suddenly, unexpectedly, welled up in Raga's eyes. Eris felt it was his turn to plunge a dagger into his own heart. How did one get back a gift accepted by the avatar of a god?

“I am truly sorry for both of you, but I had no idea that either of you would ever come looking for it. Eris, I could never have known about you. And you, Raga, are supposed to be dreaming in an enchanted sleep. How could I know that you live as shadowed a life as I do, shrouded in mystery and half-truths?” Morengoth implored spreading his arms to them.

Rage whispered nearly incoherent words. “At least tell me how you came by my yellow gem.” He wiped a trembling hand across his face.

“Sometimes people come into the forest and manage to get as far as the boundaries of my enchantment. Sometimes I go close to their camps and listen to their conversations. I let them pass and they never know I was near. One day, not long ago, four men came. Thieves and murderers all, they sat around bragging about their misdeeds while dividing the spoils of their last attack. Your gem was mixed in the pile of jewels and trinkets. To them it was just another gem. Large, yes, but nothing special. But to me, that gem flashed like a shooting star in a black night. I knew a great power was contained within its shimmering facets. What better gift for a god than that? What else have I to give? I could have plumbed the secrets of that gem for my own purposes. I could have raised an army of magic. I could have found a way to destroy those who destroyed mine. Fortunately, before it was too late and I brought further calamity on my head, I realized the temptation. It was accepted,” Morengoth explained.