The Staff of Sakatha (19 page)

The two boys tried to peek at the paper their father held, he looked at it one more time as a smile appeared on his face and then handed it to his oldest son. “Don’t rip that Olneus and make sure your bother doesn’t either.”

The young boy nodded his head solemnly and took the piece of paper over to a butcher block table in the kitchen. His brother climbed up on a chair next to him and they stared at the paper wide-eyed while the others walked through the kitchen and into a small dining room.

As they passed, Jon noted the kitchen looked well equipped with a fine wood stove and a number of cabinets but none of the floral curtains or vases filled with flowers that one expected to find in the domain of women. They made their way to the dining room that was also clean and orderly although lacking in the feminine touch.

Proteus motioned to the chairs and took a seat at the head of the table. “So, Jon, tell me how you ended up with this sketch.”

Jon looked at the square-jawed man and then to Sorus, who nodded his head, “I came to Elekargul on a mission from my father and we ran into some trouble in town with the mayor. He didn’t … think my story was believable and refused to send out scouts to alert the First Rider.”

“I can understand that,” said Proteus. “Who knows who you really represent and, if you wait long enough, the First Rider will find you eventually.”

“That seems reasonable,” said Jon. “It was Sorus here who I first met up with when I came out of the Mountains of the Orc and he suggested heading out to prove myself as a warrior. Sir Germanius and the mayor’s son came with us.”

“The old fellow looking to get himself killed in one last heroic stand no doubt,” said Proteus, “but why did Mikus come along?”

“I’d guess the mayor wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything to harm Elekargul,” said Jon with a shrug of his shoulders although he did raise his eyebrows.

“That’s a charitable assessment,” said Proteus as he nodded his head. “So you found a dragon up in the mountains. That’s quite an achievement.”

“I don’t think it was a coincidence,” said Jon. “The dragon recognized me as soon as it saw me and called out my name. Fortunately for me, Sir Germanius had one last good fight in him and killed the beast before it did the same to me. I’m no artist but I think the sketch is fairly accurate.”

“Why would the dragon recognize you?” said Proteus his hands flat on the table.

“We don’t know,” interrupted Sorus, “but I heard it say his name as clear as day. The dragon children are involved in this as well. Jon … Jon confided his mission to me and I can vouch for it. He needs to see the First Rider as soon as possible. There are forces in the darkling lands moving against him and maybe all of Elekargul.”

“We’ve seen several reptile men about of late but none with dragonish features, just the usual sort from Darag’dal but they did act a bit strange,” said Proteus.

“The mayor martialled all the civilian knights in Black Dale and sent them south to fight off an invasion from the reptile people,” said Sorus. “The town is completely vulnerable and Jon and I found a stairwell in the darkling lands wide enough to march up an entire army. We have to find the First Rider and tell him what is going on.”

“He was here not long ago,” said Proteus. “But, there’s nothing we can do until tomorrow morning,” he went on. “You wait here and the boys and I’ll set up something to eat.” With that the square-jawed man stood up and left the room.

“He looks like a knight but he’s a farmer?” said Jon.

“Proteus’s wife died in childbirth with their second son. He has no sisters and he took the Brokenshield so that he could raise the boys. He’s one of the finest knights in all of Elekargul and once served as the First Rider but that was before I was born,” said Sorus. “Once the boys are old enough to be on their own he can try to regain his name.”

“Can’t he just take it back; it’s not like those other fellows who had theirs stripped from them,” said Jon a puzzled expression across his face.

“That’s not the way it works,” said Sorus with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter how you become a Brokenshield, the only way back is through some act of heroism and then another knight can give you a second name.”

“We’ll be safe here?” said Jon, “He can be trusted?”

Sorus nodded, “Absolutely Jon. I know the mayor comes across badly but there aren’t many knights like that in all of Elekargul. Even the mayor did what he thinks is best for the nation even if it doesn’t seem that way.”

“Unless he’s being influenced somehow,” said Jon his hand placed on the table as he drummed with his fingers. “There are forces here at work beyond what I understand. The Staff of Sakatha is a relic of the Old Empire there are a lot of people who want to get a hold of it. The reptile men, or dragon children, or whatever you want to call them, yes, but other forces as well. An item like that brings out the worst in men, that’s why my father wants to put it away where it can’t influence the world.” Jon suddenly looked up from the table and saw that young Danus gazed at him with wide eyes from the doorway. “Did you hear all that?” said Jon looking at the boy.

Danus nodded his head. “What’s the Staff of Sakatha?”

Jon looked at Sorus and shook his head, “I’m not doing a good job of keeping this whole thing secret, am I?”

The young knight smiled and laughed, “I don’t think there is much of a secret at all to be honest Jon. That dragon knew you; Proteus mentioned that reptile men in the region are acting strangely. It took you how many months to get here after you left Tanelorn?”

“Maybe four and a bit. I used a portal to Sea’cra but then it took me a while to find a ship heading as far south as Tarlton. Once I got to Doria it took me almost two months to make my way here,” said Jon as he closed his eyes and looked to the sky. “If anyone back in Tanelorn knew my mission they couldn’t have beaten me here.”

“No, but they could use magic to pass messages along. I’ve seen the priests in the temple of the Black Horse communicate all the way across Elekargul with other clerics almost instantaneously,” said Sorus. “Who knows what’s possible with magic, and your father doesn’t control the only working portal in the world.”

“That’s true,” said Jon just as Danus came back into the room with his brother, both carrying plates and silverware and beginning to set the table. The boys worked diligently for a few moments and soon flatware, silverware, and stemware covered the previously empty surface. The boys finished their work and disappeared back in the kitchen only to emerge with pitchers of water that they poured it into all the glasses. Jon and Sorus watched the proceedings and looked at one another with raised eyebrows. After pouring the water the boys returned to the kitchen and Danus came back out a moment later with a small plate of dried bread and cheeses while Olneus returned the art work to Jon. “Here’s your drawing back,” he said and held it up with a shy smile on his face.

“Thank you, Olneus,” said Jon and took the parchment with a smile. “Did you know Sir Germanius?”

The young boy nodded his head solemnly, “He fell asleep once over there,” he said and pointed to the large fireplace where kindling and logs stood at the ready and a rocking chair did look invitingly comfortable.

“Hello Dolly,” said Jon and walked over to the fireplace, spotted a knife and a metal block, which he quickly used to spark up the blaze. Within a few moments the kindling caught fire and smoke began to rise up the flue.

A couple of hours later the boys were in bed while Jon, Sorus, and Proteus sat around the blaze and sipped whiskey from tall tumblers, “You get this from the orcs you say,” asked Sorus as he screwed up his face and took another sip.

“Just over the mountains,” said Proteus who also took a small sip and closed his eyes as an expression of contentment came over his face. “They make the finest I’ve ever had and I trade some of my chicken eggs with a fellow over there about once a month or so. Add a little more water if it’s too hearty for you, Sorus. You’re just a boy still, even if you’re a knight, and there’s no shame in adding water for taste. Sometimes a fellow thinks he has to do something the hard way to appear manlier, but often times the best strategy is to do things as easily and effectively as possible.”

Sorus nodded his head and eyed the tumbler for a moment before he got up, took the water filled pitcher from the small cherry wood side table near the fire, and poured a small amount into his glass. He then stood and looked at the fire for a moment before he took another sip and nodded his head, “That’s a bit more like it. I thought I was drinking straight from an ant’s stinger!”

Proteus laughed and Jon stood up and went over to the pitcher himself. “I had the same sort of thoughts,” he said and put a splash of water in his own drink. “That stuff is toxic,” he said as he took a sip of the drink and smiled. “Much better. Proteus, I want to thank you for having us as guests in your home. You’ve raised a couple of fine boys there and I’m sure they’ll become knights when they get older. Do you plan to try and gain back your name once they become men?”

Proteus nodded his head and rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb. “I’ve thought about that a lot over the least ten years,” he said. “I’m not as young as I was then and I’ve grown fond of this lifestyle. I take care of the cows, the chickens, manage the crops; it’s hard work in its own right and Elekargul needs good farmers as much as it needs good warriors in many ways.”

“That’s true,” said Sorus, “just like it needs good brewers, but isn’t that why we serve a twelve month every other year, to be good citizens, not just good warriors?”

“The twelve month system works fine,” said Proteus with a shake of his head in contradiction to his words, “and I think it’s generally a good idea, but there is no way a knight can really learn a trade by serving twelve months. It’s up to the journeymen and the apprentice boys who never want to be knights to do things right. We knights tend to get rotated in our twelve months anyway, so just as you’re getting a feel for one job it’s back to the patrolling and then off to some new job. When I did my twelve month I always tried to take on too much responsibility rather than let the journeyman do the job. I’ve thought about that a lot since I took the Brokenshield,” he concluded as he still rubbed his chin and looked at the roaring fire.

Sorus nodded his head and said, “We’ve had a few knights try to do too much at the brewery, but a lot of the times it’s a man like Thaddeus Redhand who lets the journeyman and the apprentice do the work and just tries to learn from them.”

“Thaddeus Redhand,” mused Proteus and a smile appeared on his face. “I was in the battle when Thaddeus got his name. We were fighting insect men up north making a raid, but they hooked up with a bunch of renegade orcs from Relm. Bandits, criminals, the sort who live up in the wilderness areas until they wear out their welcome and have to move on again. I suppose the mayor suspected you fell into that category, Jon, just some roving drifter moving from one place to the next but,” he continued and looked at the size of the boy and remembered his own impression upon first meeting him, “no, you’re not that sort and anyone can see it. I think there might be an untoward influence on the mayor and some others. I told you, the First Rider was here not long ago and now I’ll tell you the entire story. Then tomorrow morning, we’ll ride out and find him.”

“What about the boys?” said Sorus and looked towards the wooden door where they disappeared just a short time before.

“They’re getting old enough to take care of themselves and the farm,” said Proteus, the smile gone from his face and his eyes steady towards the front door.

“There are darklings up in those hills, not a day’s travel from here,” said Jon. “Maybe the boys could come with us. They both look old enough to sit a mount and I’d hate to be responsible for taking you away from here if something were to happen.”

Proteus thought about that for a long moment and nodded his head, “That’s a good idea, Jon, I hate to leave the farm unattended, but we shouldn’t be gone more than a couple of days and the boys need some experience riding. I’ve got a couple of ponies, but they won’t be able to keep up with your horses, so if speed is of the essence we should leave them behind.”

Jon thought about both proposed plans and nodded his head, “It could go either way really,” he finally concluded. “But from what Sorus and I saw down there in the darkling lands I’d say I don’t feel comfortable leaving the boys behind. We’ll head out in the morning?”

Proteus nodded his head, “That’s right. Now, the First Rider came to me about three months ago with news that something big happened up in the Mountains of the Orc and asked me to keep an eye on the region.”

Jon started to interrupt with a question, but Proteus raised a hand, “Let me finish the whole story or we’ll be here all night.”

Jon nodded his head and smiled, “Of course Proteus, I’m sorry, please continue.”

Proteus nodded, stood up to get a large glass carafe filled with a light brown fluid, poured some into his cup, and offered it to the other two. Both of the boys looked at their own still half-full containers and shook their head. The square jawed knight then went over to the fireplace and the pitcher of water, poured in a small amount, and then returned to his seat. “About three months ago the First Rider asked me to keep an eye on the Mountains of the Orc. He didn’t want to increase patrols in the region because he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on. Vipsanius is in contact with the orcs of Adas Jdar over the mountains and they informed him that the darklings below the mountain were working with dragon children from Darag’dal and the Lady of the Abyss, although towards what end he was uncertain.” Proteus paused for a moment and took a sip from his tumbler. “About a month later the First Rider visited again, this time with more concrete information. Apparently a powerful undead creature named Lord Whitebone sent allies, yes, Jon, likely that dragon Sir Germanius killed, to the region to look for a relic of the Old Empire.”

At this Jon and Sorus looked at one another but said nothing.

“Does that sound right to you, Jon?” asked Proteus and stopped his story for the moment.