Haven Keep (Book 1)

Chapter One

Von raced along the overgrown path toward the water’s edge.  He was older now,
taking on more responsibility.  He didn’t feel like a kid anymore.  He was sure the cave wouldn’t fascinate him as it once had, but now that he was finally outside the city, headed toward the fjord, he wondered why he’d stayed away for so long.  He had missed this, missed his friends, missed the escape from daily life.  He ran hard, speeding across a grassy meadow.

Memories of his childhood came rushing back, memories of a simpler time.  A time when the world was open and new, exciting and filled with adventure.  He kept ahead of Dell and Reece, each stride extending his lead over his
friends.

Visits to the cave always
started with a mad dash to the fjord.  Von couldn’t remember how or when the contest began, but he always felt the need to compete, the drive to win.  It was sheer joy.  The wind in his face, the blur of the forest, all contributing to the pure exhilaration. The air was clean and crisp, the forest lush and fresh.  He breathed deep, taking in the smell of evergreen, birch, aspen, and fern.  The morning awoke within him a sensation of freedom, absolute freedom, elusive freedom.

Von rushed forward, hurdling a downed oak.  He cut left, narrowly avoiding a shallow gully.  Frequent storms weathered and altered the path.  It was never quite the same as the summer before.  The forest was familiar, but always changing, always new.  It added to their game. He would need to watch his step.

Summer was coming to an end, earlier this year than normal, and he was regretting not spending more time with his friends.  Winters in the north were harsh, and soon the heavy snows would come.  These races through the forest would then have to wait another year and the following summer would only be busier.  As Von grew in age, Baiden kept him more and more occupied.  This morning he had managed to sneak away early, but he would need to return soon, get back to his chores before he was missed. The thought spurred him onward.

Von splashed through a shallow steam, dashed up a sloping hill, dodging trees and branches.  He sprinted across a small clearing and back into the trees.  He could hear Dell and Reece behind him, straining to close the distance.  They wouldn’t catch him, he was almost to their destination.  In the last couple years even Kaiden had trouble beating Von to the shoreline.  He glanced back to gage the length of his lead.  He was easily outpacing them.

A sudden blow  to his chest brought him to an instant stop.  A branch cracked with a loud snap that accompanied the sharp pain.  He slammed to the ground in a heap and rolled to his back in breathless agony.  Von sat up slowly, gasping and wincing.  He watched Dell and Reece speed by him in triumph.

“Watch out for those trees,” Dell laughed.  “Some of the crafty ones will leap out at you.”

Von spit dirt and grass from his mouth, disgusted at his misfortune.  He should have been paying attention to the forest, not his friends.  He jumped up and gave chase, but Dell and Reece quickly left him behind.  Von kept moving, ignoring the ache in his side, trying to catch his breath.  He scrambled to the top of the large black rock that marked the end of their race. Dell and Reece were waiting for him below. Von leaped from the rock, landed on wet sand and trotted along the narrow beach to where his friends were standing.

“Graceful as always,” Reece joked.

“Nice one,” Dell said.  “Did you take the whole tree down with you?”

“I might have,” Von answered, rubbing his chest. “That branch was a mean one.”

“You hurt?”  Reece asked.

“Just his pride, I’m sure,” Dell interrupted.

“I think I’m alright,” Von insisted, trying to laugh off the pain. “At least I will be in a few minutes. Let’s get going, I have chores to get back to.”

“Chores?” Dell demanded. “I give you the opportunity of your life and you’re worried about someone catching you skipping a few chores?  Baiden doesn’t pay attention to you, I guarantee you won’t be missed.”

“He notices when my chores aren’t done,” Von argued.

“You big oaf,” Dell laughed.  “Baiden’s worries don’t include what his fool bond servants are doing.  The Lord of the North is so busy you could get away with anything and he would never even notice.”

“That’s not quite true.”

“Oh yeah?” Reece broke in. “Look at Kaiden.  He does whatever he wants.  His father is so preoccupied with the Seven Clans he is completely oblivious to Kaiden’s activities.”

“It’s true,” Dell added, “and the bigger the mischief is, the more likely Kaiden has invited you to join the fun.”

“Hey,” Von protested. “Kaiden isn’t that bad.”

“I didn’t say he was.  I said he gets away with anything, and you’re usually involved, you’re practically his brother.”

Kaiden was a good friend, the next best thing to an older brother, and Von was very close to him.  Much like Dell and Reece, but no one could replace Von’s brother.

“He’s not my brother,” Von sighed.

“Of course  not,” Reece laughed,  “that would make Anora your sister.”  He snickered and elbowed Dell in the ribs.  “And that would be more than a little disturbing.”

Von flushed red.  He turned and started down the shoreline, hoping to hide his embarrassment. Thoughts of Anora filled his mind more often lately.  He didn’t know what to think of her, but he was in no mood to tell Dell and Reece about it.

“I think we hit a nerve,” Dell joked, hurrying after his friend. “Baiden already treats you like a son.  Alensa does too. All that’s left is for you to marry their daughter and when Kaiden finally gets himself killed chasing an icebear into some cave, you inherit everything.”

“That’s not funny,” Von objected.  He scrambled over the rock formation that barred their route across the sand. “I owe Baiden more than that. He rescued me from the slave ship.”

Von shivered, telling himself it was from the chill of the morning and the fast approaching winter, not the memory of the chains he once wore.  That was eight long years ago.  So much had changed since then.  “If Baiden hadn’t purchased me from those slavers I would have ended up in the Halfen clan’s mines.”

“Yeah, that was lucky,” Reece acknowledged. “What was luckier was Redd didn’t buy your marker.  You could have ended up working in the kitchens like us.”

“That’s got to be better than mucking out stables,” insisted Von.  “Let’s just hurry. Unlike you two I don’t have anyone to help me with my chores.”

“Chores, chores, chores. Always such a worrier,” Dell taunted. H e stood a little taller and raised his eyebrows.  “I guess you don’t want your share of the treasure.”

“I didn’t say that,” Von objected. “That is,” he paused, not bothering to hide his doubt, “if there actually is a treasure.”

Dell looked somewhat indignant.  “Oh, there’s a treasure.  We saw the chest,” he insisted.  “I’m not making this up.”

Von wanted to believe his friend.  Dell was obviously excited, but it was much too easy to be skeptical.  They had already spent hours exploring the cave.  Everyone from Azmark had, at one time or another, until they grew up and left the cave to younger generations. No one ever found anything of value and it wasn’t likely they’d be the first, but Von didn’t mind humoring his friends. Not only that, he had to admit, in the back of his mind he entertained the possibility they  might be right.  There was only the barest sliver of a chance, but what if Dell and Reece actually had found something?

Who hasn’t dreamed of finding hidden treasure?
he thought.

“Could be a pirate’s hoard,” Dell speculated. “Do you think it is pirate treasure?”

“Don’t know,” answered Reece, hurrying after Von.

The young men ran along the line of trees bordering the shore of the Emerald Fjord.  Steep forested crags rose overhead, towering above the clear waters.  The water gently lapped against the sand, pebbles, and rock, breaking the stillness of the early hour with a soft rhythmic sound.  Evergreens reflected bright color across the narrow ocean inlet, giving the Emerald Fjord its name.  Von paused momentarily, surveying the waters, then turned away from the fjord, hurrying down the shore line again.  Talk of treasure had renewed his excitement.

His gaze followed a group of jagged rocks jutting into the water, then past the rocks to the mouth of a cave.  The cave, obscured slightly by the trees, faced out toward the fjord.

Von carried with him a coil of hemp rope and his worn iron lantern, the condition of both matched his rough clothes.  His fur lined leather boots and thick wool shirt should have been enough to ward against the cold, but the sharp morning air bit at him, promising an early winter.  Maybe he should’ve brought his cloak.

He scrambled to the top of the rocks, stopped short of the cave, and turned to wait for his friends. They reached the top moments after he did. The emotions he felt while running through the forest began to return.  This cave was always exciting, no matter how many times they had come. 
Why had he thought he was too old for this?
  Von cracked a smile at Dell and Reece then jumped.  He landed on the smooth stones littering the cave’s entrance.

A freshwater spring once ran through this rock bed.  Years ago it inexplicably and suddenly went dry, but in times past water bubbled up from the ground, twisting and winding through the soft volcanic rock, finally emptying into the Emerald Fjord.  The once steady flow had carved out a network of caves similar to those in the Iron Mountains.  Tunnels and passages snaked in every direction, doubling back or plunging deep into the depths of the earth.  It was always fun to explore, but an easy place to get lost.

Despite the immensity of the cave, Von couldn’t help but question his friends’ claims.  Dell was adamant though, and Reece was backing him up

“You sure it was a treasure chest?”

“I saw it too,” Reece affirmed.  “I’m not promising it was a treasure chest, but it definitely looked like a wooden crate of some kind.”

“Not a treasure chest?”  Dell protested.  His voice grew wild.  “Are you kidding me?  You saw it.  What else could it be?”

“Not sure, but I plan on finding out.”

Von laughed at his friends.  They often bantered back and forth, arguing as if they were rival siblings.  Anyone who didn’t know better might believe they were.  Both were golden haired and blue eyed, features common to the inhabitants of the north and both possessed strong athletic builds.  Dell was the oldest at eighteen winters, Reece sixteen.

Von was somewhere in between his friends’ ages, but liked to count his years by the summers, not the winters.  It was a way he reminded himself of who he was, a reminder he wasn’t from the north.  If that wasn’t enough, his features did the trick.  His grey eyes fit in well in this icy country, but his hair was dark and thick, nearly black.  That alone painted him an outsider.

“I still don’t know why you guys didn’t take a peek in the chest the last time you were here.”

“I told you.”  Dell sounded  impatient.  “It was getting late, the tide was coming in and we needed a rope.”

“I think it was getting late and you were afraid you’d meet the girl in white.”

Dell stiffened at the mention of the fabled specter.  “That has nothing to do with it,” he protested.  “I don’t believe in her anyway, but if you want to stay in the back of this cave at high tide and get trapped that’s up to you.”

Von and Reece laughed at their friend.  Everyone knew the story of the girl in white.  The ghost of a young maiden haunting the shores of the Emerald Fjord.  Some claimed to have seen her in this cave or near the West Well outside the walls of Azmark.  The well was connected to the cave, but had dried when the spring failed.

No matter how many times they played around the well or near this cave, none of them had seen a girl in white. Still, it was fun to tease Dell, especially since he seemed to believe all the stories, despite his adamant denials.

“Why hasn’t anyone seen this chest before?” Von asked.

“It’s in the opposite direction from the paintings,” Dell answered. “We usually don’t explore that direction.  Plus, it’s down in a big hole, one that fills with water at high tide.  We only saw the bottom when Reece dropped a torch over the side.”

“So you brought me along to hold the rope?” asked Von.

“Yeah, we needed a big strong meathead.  Why else do you think we decided to split the treasure with you?”

“I thought it was because I was your favorite person in the world,” Von quipped.

“Where’s that leave me?” Reece asked with feigned pain.

Dell groaned and rolled his eyes. “You two can decide who you’re dancing with at winter festival later.  I’ve got a treasure to retrieve.”

Von and Reese laughed.

“Okay,” Von gestured forward with his hand, a big grin on his face.  “Lead the way.”

He slung the coil of rope over one shoulder and followed closely behind Dell.  They made their way past the initial cavern and into the deeper passages, corridors where the sunlight no longer penetrated.  They held their lanterns high, illuminating a few feet ahead, pushing back the darkness, but never piercing the farthest shadows.  Those shadows paralleled them as they walked, dancing and bobbing just outside the circle of light, following their every step.  Von pictured the shadows as dutiful sentinels, guardians who never left their post.
But were they acting as an escort, or protecting the cave and its undiscovered secrets?
  Von couldn’t decide. 
Maybe it was both.