The Veredor Chronicles: Book 02 - The Journey West (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

The town of Riverside was set on the banks of the Merus River at a place where the river widened and slowed significantly to form what looked like a lake. The river was about five hundred yards across at its widest point. The surface of the water was completely still and reflected the trees on the far bank with almost perfect accuracy. The town was much larger than Lantern Hill with hundreds of houses lining the waterside south of the river. They sat on their horses and stared down from the top of the hill above the town. Twilight was fast approaching; the sun had already set in the western sky leaving a faint blue glow above the horizon. The evening was growing cool and dark.

‘Wouldn
’t you prefer staying in an inn?’ asked Red. ‘It sure is nice staying in a palace or manor house and being treated like royalty, but I’m starting to miss the cheerfulness of a bar and the smell of ale.’

‘You wi
ll never make a good noble if that’s how you feel,’ said Cassiel.

‘I thi
nk the novelty of nobility is wearing off. I like the idea of being a noble much more than the reality.’

‘I once stayed
in a nice inn down by the river,’ said Cassiel. ‘I’m sure the Lord of Riverside will invite us to stay if he knows we are here. I agree with you, Red; I think I would prefer to stay at an inn as well. We simply won’t announce our arrival. The Lord of Riverside won’t even know we are here.’

They entered the town through the eastern gate
and followed the lantern lit cobblestoned streets down to the river where many large and illustrious stone houses lined the waterfront. The cobblestones were paved all the way down to the water’s edge. There were various small piers and hundreds of boats and barges anchored beside them. The sound of lively music could be heard from the numerous small inns which were set along the riverbank.

Cassiel led the way toward a fine looking inn that was right at the water’s edge. It looked very welcoming and was a two levelled wooden building with a high gabled roof. The inn was painted completely white with ivy climbing up the walls on every side. Sweet music could be heard from the common room. Cassiel led them up to the door where they handed their horses to a waiting stableboy. Eben looked up and saw the sign above the door: Welcome to the House of Einin.

The
common room was warm and almost completely full. Two men were playing flutes in the corner as a crowd of men and women laughed and conversed loudly and cheerfully.

‘Perfect,’ said Red,
a wide smile crossing his face. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the crowds of merry people.

‘I’ll see if I can get us some rooms,’ sa
id Cassiel. He approached the bar as the others found a table beside a window. They could see the lake through the window; the moon was rising up over the line of trees on the far side. The moonlight shimmered on the still water.

‘This
is a beautiful town,’ said Stella. Red put his arm around his wife and held her close.

‘We should move here to
Riverside one day and settle down,’ said Red. ‘You could move here too, Eben. We could all live here happily beside the lake.’

‘
That sounds lovely,’ said Stella.

Cassiel walked over from the bar. ‘We have r
ooms. I especially chose rooms with a view to the lake.’

‘We should have a good
meal tonight because there are no towns from here all the way to Galdir,’ said Red.

The evening was
pleasant and merry. They enjoyed roast chicken and a few too many mugs of ale. They were all welcomed like they were old friends. The locals were a happy group of people and were still celebrating the liberation of Ortaria. They heard stories that Riverside had seen some terribly evil times until the arrival of the Ortarian army only three weeks earlier. The Skatheans were all gone, and the town was in the process of cleaning up and returning to the joyful peace of former days.

Eben retired to his room late
in the evening and felt happy and full of cheer. His room was small but very pleasant. It was situated on the lower level. The lake lapped at a rock wall only several feet from his window. He placed his sword beside his bed and sat down on a cushioned chair by the window to watch the moonlight shimmer on the lake.

Something caught his eye outside the window. There were large
ripples crossing the surface of the water. He leaned toward the window and peered outside. Whatever was causing the ripples was moving closer. He strained his eyes to see if there was a boat, but it was too dark. A few moments later the ripples abated, and the lake became still once again. He thought nothing more of it. After a few minutes he stepped back across to his bed and pulled back the covers. His eye caught the movement of a dark shadow passing by his window. A feeling of apprehension was growing in his chest.

Suddenly the
glass shattered; the frame of the window gave way as a dark shape smashed inward. The face of a furious wyvern snarled as it crashed forward toward Eben. The beast wasn’t like the wyverns he had seen on the battlefield; its head was much larger, and its scales were a glimmering dark blue. The wyvern howled and whipped its head from left to right, tearing a huge hole in the side of the inn and ripping the entire outer wall away. Eben grabbed the Sword of Light and drew the blade. The beast pounced forward as he cut downward, but the wingless wyvern raised an edged arm and deflected the blade. Eben stumbled and fell back away from the fierce beast.

The wyvern
’s huge fangs snapped forward. Eben desperately scurried back out of the way. He dashed out of the bedroom and into the hallway. The wyvern roared and smashed a way through the wall into the hallway. It chased him down the corridor toward the common room, tearing the inn apart as it pursued him. The common room was mostly empty; the few remaining patrons stared in horror as Eben burst into the room with a howling wyvern at his heels.

Eben turned to face the beast
and lifted his sword. The wyvern pounced as he quickly stepped back and cut out, missing the beast’s neck by only inches. The snarling beast recoiled and started to circle him menacingly. It smashed and knocked over chairs and tables. The few remaining terrified patrons rushed out the front door. Eben could feel his strength growing. He stared into the wyvern’s fierce red eyes.

Suddenly Red and Stella das
hed into the room from the hallway. The monstrous beast turned to face them, howling madly. They both drew their swords. Red, without considering the situation, jumped at the creature, cutting down with all his might. The wyvern raised its clawed arm and parried the strike. It then whipped its long tail. Stella quickly ducked, but the scaly tail struck Red and knocked him across the room, sending him crashing into the far wall. Meanwhile Eben charged at the beast and stabbed forward. The sword pierced through the thick blue scales; the wyvern howled in pain. Eben pushed the sword deeper and the wyvern struck out with the back of its massive clawed hand and knocked Eben across the room. Eben stumbled and for a few moments felt dizzy from the impact.

Cassiel
then stepped into the room from the hallway. His jaw dropped as he looked at the beast. He raised his right hand and a bright orange beam of flame rushed through the air and blasted into the wyvern’s face.

‘It’s a lindworm!’ c
ried Cassiel.

The beast writhed
about the room and angrily shook the sparks away from its eyes. It then violently crashed through the front wall to the cobblestoned street beyond. Several town guardsmen had gathered outside, having heard all the commotion. They looked up at the creature in terror and backed away.

Eben gathered himself and shook off the daze. He
charged outside after the lindworm. The beast turned to face him and lifted its head high, attempting to intimidate him with its size. It then howled loud enough to wake the entire town. More guardsmen rushed down toward the scene of the battle, and they all looked with shock as Eben stepped forward defiantly.

‘
I am Eben, Champion of Ortaria. You will never take the Sword of Light from me!’

The beast shriek
ed and pounced, snapping out with its massive fangs. Eben jumped aside, dodging the ferocious bite, and in a single motion brought his blade down at the lindworm’s scaly neck. The beast fell to the ground and screamed in pain. Without delay Eben hewed down again; a moment later the hideous lindworm fell still and lifeless.

Red and Stella walked over
from the ruined inn and were followed closely by Cassiel.

‘How ma
ny is that now?’ asked Red, a bewildered smile crossing his face.

Eben looked across to his friends. ‘Three,’
he replied. ‘But I think they’re getting larger.’

‘No, this wyvern
was of the lindworm variety,’ said Cassiel as he stared down at the dead beast. ‘Lindworms do not have wings, but they are larger and stronger than their flying cousins.’

A group of
a dozen Riverside guardsmen approached. ‘Who are you?’ asked their leader, who was a tall and skinny man with a thin gaunt face.

‘I’m Sir Red
, and this is my wife Lady Stella. That’s Eben, Champion of Ortaria. Over there is Cassiel, the wizard.’

All the
guardsmen looked in awe from Eben to the dead lindworm. They stared at the lifeless beast in a stunned silence. Eben glanced back at the half demolished inn. The whole front wall had been knocked down, and the common room was completely ruined from the battle.

‘Maybe we won’t settle down here after all,’ said Red.

**

They sat
beside a large brightly burning open fire with Earl Carlo of Riverside. They had been invited up to the palace after the battle. The Earl was a large man with a gentle demeanour and long dark hair. He was clothed in fine linen and was softly spoken.

‘I had
no idea that you were in Riverside. If I had known I would have invited you to stay with me.’

‘We didn’t want to bother you,’ said Red, being polite.

‘It would have been an honour to have you as my guests,’ said Earl Carlo. ‘Stories of the four of you are being told everywhere. Your deeds are known by all, and I see from viewing the dead wyvern that everything they say is true.’ Eben nodded. ‘I’m sorry that we couldn’t provide you with more protection. The wyvern entered the town from the lake; it was simply impossible for the town guards to know the creature was coming.’

‘We dealt with the situation
anyway,’ said Red.

‘
Yes, you did well,’ said the Earl. ‘All the people of Riverside have risen from their beds to have a look at the dead wyvern. No one really believed in such creatures until recently; now their existence is beyond doubt.’

**

They stayed that night in Earl Carlo’s palace. The next morning they rode west from Riverside along the highway through the Altus Forest. The day was warm and the sky blue. A soft breeze blew from the south. They rode briskly and around midday they stopped by a small crystal clear stream that ran through a glade beside the highway. Red prepared some buttered bread for lunch. They sat in the grass beside the stream and rested for a while.

‘
How did the lindworm find us?’ asked Stella.

‘
I don’t know,’ replied Cassiel. ‘However, I think it clearly came for Eben’s sword.’

‘The
Skathean in Ancora said every servant of his master would be hunting me.’

‘Perhaps we a
re not being careful enough travelling so openly through Ortaria,’ said Cassiel, his eyes uneasily scanning the edge of the forest.

‘I agree, we should try to be
more cautious,’ said Eben. ‘Azagord said the master in the north wants to throw the Sword of Light through the Cosmic Gate. I think he doesn’t want anyone using the sword against him; that’s also what King Ignis believes. The Sword of Light has been used to fight evil for thousands of years.’

‘
The sword must be able to stop him,’ suggested Red. ‘Why else would he want to take the sword from you?’

‘I’m sure most of our questions will be answered when we arrive at the council in Faircastle,’ said Cassiel.

**

After a short time they remounted their horses and left the glade. They rode west for the remainder of the day. As the evening approached the company found a clearing off the highway and out of sight. Red made a small campfire and placed a pot full of vegetables over the flames. The evening was cool and still. The moon rose over a line of trees, lighting up their surroundings.

Eben looked across the fire and saw that
Red was staring intensely at the full moon. ‘What’s troubling you, Red?’

‘T
he full moon always brings back memories of my childhood when I lived in Talis.’

‘
What memories?’ asked Stella.

‘S
ome sad memories; the night my parents died was a full moon night.’

‘You never told me what happe
ned to your parents, Red,’ said Stella gently. Red looked into the flames of the fire and for a moment fell into a thoughtful trance.