The Staff of Sakatha (33 page)

“You’ve held relics of the Old Empire,” asked the First Rider, and Odellius paused for a moment to listen closely to the conversation.

Jon nodded his head, “My father means to hold them, keep them away from those who would use them and be manipulated by the ancient powers,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s possible but that is the plan.”

“Wouldn’t the gods, or these creatures, however you want to describe them, simply manipulate their allies to come to Tanelorn and take them by force,” said the First Rider with a glance to Odellius and Sorus who immediately began to work on the food again.

“That’s what my brother says,” said Jon with a shrug of his shoulders. “My father thinks … well, I’m not sure what my father thinks about that. He starts using big words and philosophy and I get a little lost. My father thinks it’s important to let people act on their own, with as little influence on their minds as possible, and removing the relics is the best, if not perfect, way to achieve this.”

The First Rider nodded his head. “Does your father plan to kill the gods?”

Odellius suddenly gave a start and Vipsanius looked over at him, “Yes, Odellius, I’ve spoken with Imprilius on this subject as well, don’t be so surprised.”

Odellius laughed, “I’ll toss some of those poison mushrooms Sorus picked into your portion, not enough to kill you but you’ll have a bellyache in the morning and for a day or so.”

The First Rider laughed, “Fair enough, Odellius; now Jon, does your father plan to kill the gods?”

Jon shook his head, “I’m not really certain. He and my brother talk about things like that a lot, but I’m not always included in the conversation. I think my father wouldn’t mind if the gods just left or died or whatever but I don’t think he wants to participate actively in such a thing. I could be wrong about that.”

“It sounds like your father just wants to sit back and do nothing and take no responsibility,” said Odellius suddenly standing up and coming over to the two. “I don’t mean to interrupt, First Rider, but dinner is ready and I’m beginning not to like your father so much.”

Jon nodded his head yet again, “That’s what a lot of the younger knights say,” he said with a shrug. “They think we need to take a more active role in the world, not just sit back and wait for events to overtake us. You should hear him argue with the druids and the younger knights about invading the Rock Lord’s lands and destroying them once and for all.”

“The Rock Lord?” said Odellius.

“Enough,” said Vipsanius, “the smell of that sauce is enticing and these are matters that cannot be settled over a fireside conversation. Your father is the Gray Lord and I am the First Rider. You’ve been honest with me, Jon and when I come to a decision about what to do if we find the Staff of Sakatha and recover it I’ll be honest with you. In the meantime the food is getting cold,” he concluded with a smile, stood up, and walked over to the fire where plates of fish and mushrooms awaited.

“Lord Whitebone,” said the ghoulish creature with a smile, as he looked at the great skeletal lord with his sharp teeth evident and his lips curled back in a huge grin, “in your weakened state the Great Queen of the Abyss suggests that I return to the darkling lands through your portal and proceed with the retrieval of the staff.”

Whitebone sat on his throne, his sleeve empty, his red eyes glowing a wan and dull color. He waved the hand that remained at Thantos and his voice was weak and without power, “Do as you wish Thantos. I am no longer interested in the Staff of Sakatha. I have ordered my creatures to release their hold upon the green dragon, and I no longer require your services as to the identity of the men who slew Snowball. My portal is yours to use for the usual price. Now begone from my presence.”

Thantos bowed deeply, “Your wish is my command oh great Lord Onearm,” he said and licked his lips with his huge tongue and turned his back on the throne. When the skeletal knight did not rise to the taunt he continued out and chuckled to himself as he left the room.

Silence reigned in the chamber for a long while as Whitebone sat alone on the throne with only his own thoughts to occupy him. He noted the shadowy presence before it spoke but could not rouse himself to address the creature.

“Lord Whitebone,” said Tenebrous as he emerged from the darkness and flowed forward in a liquid sort of way, “I apologize for my long absence. I offer no excuses nor do I bring false gifts to gain your support. I simply ask you to join me in an endeavor that benefits us both.”

Whitebone looked up at the shadow creature and nodded his head wearily, “I am greatly exhausted by my recent ordeal and cannot offer you much in the way of assistance Tenebrous, before I can give you anything you must simply ask.”

The shadowy creature moved so close to Whitebone that his black and insubstantial form seemed almost to envelop the white of the large warrior. “Lord Whitebone, the Staff of Sakatha is coveted by my mistress, you know this, but I do not want her to have it. As we both well know, I cannot disobey her orders.”

“I am weary, Tenebrous,” said Whitebone and leaned over on the throne and feebly waved with the one hand, “what do you want?”

“Allow me to use your portal to the darkling lands and follow Thantos,” said the shadowy form, its shape seeming to coalesce for a moment. “I cannot pay you the usual fee nor do I hold any hope to immediately relieve my debt for this service. There is some chance that if my plan comes to fruition I will return your good will, but that is unlikely and sometime in the distant future in any case.”

“Your honesty is appreciated Tenebrous, and your brevity. You may use my portal for your own purposes to travel to the darkling lands near Elekargul, but I might be in a less pleasant mood by the time you desire to return. I will not promise such access in the future,” said the great lord of the land.

“I accept your terms, Lord Whitebone,” said the shadow and slowly oozed backward and away from the throne. “I hope your health improves and our alliance proves fruitful,” said Tenebrous. “I know the way to the portal and I thank you for your boon.”

With that the shadowy creature slipped out of the room and left Whitebone alone to his thoughts once again.

“High Priest Usharra, the fearsome knights patrol the region all around the hill,” said the smallish lizardman with orange and red scales along with a trio of horns, one to each side of his neck, and the last from the base of his skull. “We cannot penetrate their formation without being detected and all of our warriors are dead, the assault is impossible. We must retreat back to the ships and hope that Great Sakatha guides us home.”

Usharra waved a dismissive hand at the young acolyte and said, “Force was never our objective, young one. The loss of the warriors is a blessing from Sakatha and not a hindrance. After the horsemen patrols move on we will find the path to the Staff of Sakatha clear. Chusarausea has revealed all to me in my dreams. The Toxic One is unfettered now and able to aid us completely. The staff shall be ours, we shall raise Great Sakatha, and he shall lead us.”

“Yes, Master Usharra,” said the acolyte with a deep bow, “your wisdom is without peer and our people will owe you a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid. Great Sakatha shall reward you with eternal life in his golden reign. The Old Empire will rise; the humans and the Usurper reborn will feel our wrath. Praise Sakatha, praise Usharra.”

The high priest nodded his head and again waved the acolyte away, “Go now, alert the other acolytes to keep close watch on the knights and prepare to cross into the mountains at a moment’s notice.”

The acolyte bowed again and slowly backed out of the room as he whispered words of worship to the high priest.

“Shall we continue south,” said Jon pouring the dregs of the coffee on the smoldering fire the next morning as the four pondered their next move.

“We’ll eventually run into patrols,” said Odellius as he looked at the First Rider and stowed some pans in his large saddlebag. “If they’ve kept up with the remaining reptile men then that will guide us.”

“Where are the patrols most likely to be?” said Jon with a look to Odellius and then the First Rider, while Sorus worked carefully to pack away the remnants of the camp but remained silent.

“South,” said Odellius. “That’s where we met them in battle. We know they’re trying to get to the Mountains of the Orc, so our patrols are working their way up and down the region.”

“That’s a lot of ground to cover,” said Jon as he again looked to the First Rider for an answer.

“There aren’t that many passes up into the mountains,” said Odellius, “and our men can cover those pretty well. I doubt they can slip past us completely. All of their warriors are dead and only their clerics and mages remain. Once we catch them it’ll be easy enough to destroy the few that are left.”

“We don’t want to destroy them,” the First Rider interjected himself into the conversation for the first time since his talk with Jon the previous evening. “We want to follow them. They are the only ones who know the location of the staff. We follow them to the staff and then take the thing by force.” He did not say what happened after that, leaving the question open for debate. Jon did not pursue the matter and they quietly continued to pack their gear until all stood ready. Then all four mounted their horses, the First Rider turned his steed south, and the rest followed.

They traveled for a good part of the morning without encountering anyone and the conversation was largely about the birds and small animals they saw, as Jon proved eager to learn as much as possible about the region. He and Sorus rode together in the middle while Vipsanius rode ahead and Odellius, on his massive draft horse, brought up the rear. The mountains to their left rose majestically high, with snow covered peaks visible early in the morning, but then clouds rushed in to hide their tops. Their slopes were green with trees and the sounds of a thousand birds sang through the morning. To their left the Frosty Run River occasionally meandered into view and at one point Odellius rode over to it and plunged his head into the cool waters.

When he caught up with the others his face bore a huge grin and his wet locks hung down alongside his ears, “Ahhh, the only thing better than a cold bath is a big-breasted woman with an itch that only a man such as myself can scratch.”

“How’s that,” said Jon and nudged his trotter over to Odellius.

“Ah, they used to call me Odellius Buffalodick when I was young and chased the fair sex, but I’m an old man now and shrunk down to a mere foot and half long in the pants,” said the mammoth rider as he grabbed his crotch and smiled broadly.

“It’d have to be about that long to get past that belly of yours,” said Jon, “and I fear for the poor girl trapped under your bulk.”

“Ahh my boy,” said Odellius, “Come over here, Sorus and you might learn something. I’m going to tell our little Jonny boy that there are many ways to make love to a woman, even for a big fat fellow like myself. You might learn something useful,” he finished with a wave of his great arm to the young knight.

“Sorus,” said the First Rider over his shoulder, “Odellius might exaggerate a bit but you can learn a few things from him, if you try not to take it too seriously.”

Sorus rode over to Odellius his eyes shone brightly, “Favor me with your advice, Sir Odellius of the giant prick.”

Odellius and Jon laughed aloud but then the rotund knight let his face relax into a shallow grin, “You like that Shia girl as I recall,” he said to Sorus; the boy immediately blushed, and put his head down. “There’s no shame in that,” he went on, “she’s a lovely girl, full-bodied and spirited as well. If you want to take her maidenhood you’ll have to be more aggressive in your wooing. Standing about stammering and drooling is no way to win a girl, particularly one your age. The lasses tend to like older men, something I lamented back in my youth, but which served me quite well enough over the years!” he said with a boisterous laugh. “Tell her what you want, and if she says she isn’t interested then go off and do something foolish, they like that.”

Jon nodded his head, “My sister says I’m about the most foolish boy in all of Tanelorn and the girls seem to like me alright. So, maybe this big oaf has it right.”

“I’m not like you or Odellius,” said Sorus as he sheepishly looked down at his feet in their stirrups. “I know that guys like you get all the girls, but I never thought I’d be a knight. Shia only wanted to be with one, so I guess I never really told her how I felt.”

“It’s never too late, boy,” said Odellius, “until she gets married at least, but even then the bravest of us knights have a tendency to die young; hazard of the job you know, so you can always get another crack.”

“First you tell me to do something foolish, which in our profession is likely to get me killed, and then you tell me to wait until all her other suitors do something crazy and die,” said Sorus.

“Achh, you think too much,” said Odellius, “I’ve known lads like you all my life.”

“My brother’s like that,” said Jon. “Always thinking and never doing.”

“Listen,” said Vipsanius and suddenly held up his hand, which caused the four to pull up their horses and turn their heads to the side. A moment later the sound of hoof beats became apparent to them all and, seconds after that, half a dozen fully armored knights pounded up from just over a rise and bore down upon them. As they approached and identified the group they immediately pulled aside and saluted the First Rider with clenched fists.

“First Rider Vipsanius,” said the apparent leader of the group, a tall human with pointed ears indicating some elf blood in his veins. “We’ve spotted the reptile men survivors. We allowed them to head into the hills as you commanded.”

“Lead us to the spot,” said the First Rider with a nod of his head. “But, not too close, they might set a rear guard.”

“Yes, sir,” said the man with another salute and expertly wheeled his horse. The other five men looked at Jon, Sorus and Odellius, but then turned their horses and followed the first.