Errand of Mercy

Chapter Three

Lord Garkim could read minds, but having five strong-willed subjects made the process difficult. It proved to be easier to keep all conversations with them direct and to the point. It never hurt to first play the good host, of course, as it led to a lowering of mental barriers and swift answers later.

As Garkim and the five visitors left the vault, they pushed through a growing crowd at the top of the steps by the main door, where confused guards and two city councilors talked rapidly with several of Doegan's best wizards. Garkim had nothing left to tell them, his verbal reports already made. His mission to bring the visitors back to the palace took priority even over the gate's failure.

The visitors from Undermountain remained silent in the confusion, following Garkim's lead. They had already tied down, sheathed, or peace-bonded their weapons for the trip to the palace. A royal passenger wagon harnessed to a small, short-eared elephant awaited them on the street, with a brown-skinned Mar driver brought from the royal stables. The five visitors gave the elephant long, wide-eyed looks. Several of the men rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

"Where are your horses?" Noph asked, tearing his gaze away to look up and down the crowded street. "Or do you only have monsters to pull your wagons?"

"Horses!" Lord Garkim laughed, leading the group down the steps from the vault's doors. "Alas, horses do not fare well here. A few came when this land was settled, but most died from disease. What few we have left are for important business only, not for easy rides across town. The red oxen and our eternal friends, the elephants, are far more durable. You are in no danger from this beast. It is quite intelligent and friendly."

When they reached the wagon, the newcomers crowded close to the elephant and dared to touch it. Even Miltiades was impressed. "As you might be with us for a while," said Garkim in a friendly tone, behind the group, "I will tell you more about our fair realm." He signaled, and the drover pulled down the wooden stepladder on the wagon's side. Garkim swiftly climbed aboard, seating himself on a silk-padded sideboard. "Later, I should like to discuss your own business here, of course."

Garkim already knew why the five were here, but it was always useful to know how far they would go to cover up the truth. Garkim had no illusions about lying. Everyone, even children, lied or shaded the truth. They did it almost every hour.

"We would like to hear about your kingdom first," said Miltiades. He spoke politely but made the request sound like an order. "We had an arduous journey getting to our end of the gate, and we would like to collect our thoughts while we ride." He hesitated before boarding the wagon, giving the elephant a last long look, then climbed the steps and took his seat across from Garkim.

Garkim grimaced, thinking of the damage that metallic armor would do to the wagon's silk cushions. It could not be helped, but the visitors would be happy to dump their armor by nightfall once they'd experienced a bit more of Doegan's late-summer heat and humidity.

The seat cushions were a niggling matter, though. The visitors were without a doubt quite dangerous, and Garkim had already marked Miltiades for special attention. The holy warrior's thoughts revealed he was by far the most experienced of the group, constantly sifting through hundreds of possible actions and reactions, ever alert for betrayal or attack. He was no genius, but he was far less a fool than any of his comrades, Garkim thought.

The councilor waited until the rest of the group was aboard before ordering the elephant's driver to set off. The robed driver called out a command in Maran, prodding the beast with a hooked implement. The wagon lurched forward as the elephant took up a slow, steady pace through the street past waving vendors, yoked oxen hauling carts, and endless numbers of dusty, robed citizens. The sky was clear, and the noon sun was hot.

"To begin with," Garkim said pleasantly, "we properly refer to our realm as an empire, not a kingdom." He glanced at Noph. "As things stand now, however, all of our provinces are in rebellion and have declared themselves independent, so we are technically less an empire than a kingdom. For now, at any rate. You are the guests of the Mage-King Aetheric III, Emperor of the Imperial Reaches of Doegan. This fine city is our capital, Eldrinpar. The Doegan Empire is the most powerful of all realms here, and our navy is supreme throughout the seas of what you call the Utter East. I should say that the term, 'the Utter East,' is not used much these days except perhaps by poets. We refer to our lands as the Five Kingdoms.

"Doegan and the other realms were colonized just over two hundred years ago by a fleet of Ffolk from the Moonshae Islands. You have heard of these islands, yes?" Garkim saw the five men nod and nodded himself in satisfaction, looking away again at the street scene as they rode. "This region was already long inhabited by my own people, the Mar. We are smaller and darker than the Ffolk, as you see, and my ancestors' ways were less civilized than those of the divinely blessed newcomers. The Mar did not fare well against the conquering Ffolk in their various wars and rebellions, but eventually the two groups made peace and settled into their present civilization, which has benefited everyone."

Garkim paused. He could tell from the group's thoughts that they had already noticed that the short, brown Mar in the street around them were poverty-stricken, while the few people who had visibly pale skin were well-dressed and well-fed. He shrugged. He was so used to this that it made no impression on him. The newcomers could think what they wished.

"The original fleet from the Moonshaes was commanded by Duke Aetheric, an ancestor of our emperor, who is said to have left the Moonshaes to destroy pirates to the south. It is rumored that the duke hoped to gain enough treasure from raiding the pirates that he could pay off debts of his own, but who can say for sure? He had assembled ships from several sources in the Moonshaes-a Count Boarswic, a Lady Cambor, a Baron Parsane, some temples, and a group of Northmen in longboats. The fleet met no pirates but suffered dreadfully from the ravages of plague, which caused many ports to deny them entry, food, and treatment. The fleet was forced farther south by this and by great storms until it came to rest on the beaches of our fair land."

"Which temples went with them?" said Kern, the red-haired holy warrior in the gold-scale armor.

"Hmm." Garkim stared ahead at the high tower of the palace in the distance, weighing his reply. This could be a touchy spot. "I will consult the old writings for you concerning that point," he said slowly. "The references are confused on this. Tern-pus and the Earthmother, certainly, were among them and are with us now." He cleared his throat and resumed. "As I was saying, the ships dropped anchor here, and the various groups held council to decide what they should do. Conflict swiftly broke out between them, and each group finally elected to go its own way.

"They called this place the Utter East and formed five different kingdoms. Duke Aetheric became the king of Doegan, Lady Cambor queen of Edenvale, Count Boarswic king of the debased and degenerate realm of Konigheim, and the Northmen settled their own rough spot, which they called the Mead-Hall of Clan Chief Harvald. Baron Parsane and his ship were tragically lost on the voyage over, but the crews of his surviving ships established the Free Cities of Parsanic, which are as chaotic a group as you could hope to deal with. Best for you that the gate led you here. Tis a pity it… ceased to function."

They are thinking of the wizard-woman they left at the other gate, back in Undermountain, Garkim thought. Aleena Paladinstar was her name. The boy has feelings for her. Garkim rolled his eyes.

"Aleena must have done it," interjected Noph with a gloomy look. "She said she wasn't coming. I'll, uh, explain later."

Miltiades stared at his young companion, then shrugged. "Very well. Lord Garkim, please continue with your story. What happened to the temples' ships?"

"The temples' ships… The representatives of the temples were denied a vote in the fleet's last council. One high priest had been killed by a sea monster before landing, and many priests were dispirited and had lost their powers. They settled among the Ffolk in the various colonies. Many of these former priests gained power in an evil cult later, but that's another story."

Jacob, the warrior with the two-handed sword, cleared his throat. "Perhaps we might be of assistance in rooting out these wretches, if-"

"Let Lord Garkim continue," interrupted Miltiades. "We have other business to which we must attend."

There was an embarrassed silence. "Your pardon," said Jacob, subdued.

"Your offer of assistance is appreciated," said Garkim diplomatically. He paused, listening to the steady thump of the elephant's feet and the creaking of the wagon's wheels over the hard-packed earth of the street. The visitors were considering ways to find out where this kidnapped woman they sought was held, he knew. All in good time, all in good time. The mage-king obviously had something in mind for these gentlemen first.

"To continue," Garkim went on, "the various colonies were settled, and the Mar, the inhabitants of this fertile land, came to an accommodation with the inv-with the Ffolk. The-"

"Were you going to say, 'invaders'?" The voice was Noph's, from where he perched at the rear of the jostling wagon, holding on to his seat with both hands.

Garkim burst out laughing. "In fact, I was, yes.

There are many points of view on this, and sometimes it is best not to take sides too obviously. You understand. The past is the past."

"It looks like the past is still with you," responded Noph. He was looking behind the wagon at a cluster of beggars following them at a safe distance, hands outstretched beneath pleading faces.

Garkim's smile faded as he read Noph's thoughts. "Ah, yes. It is with us, you are right. It is everywhere, the past. But this is now, and we must deal with what is now. To understand the now, I will explain a bit more about the past and bring you to the present.

"The Founding Lords, the Ffolk who landed on these shores, explored this new realm. They investigated the old ruins that dot our land, meddled in sacred tribal lands, hunted for gold and whatever valuables they could pull from overgrown tombs. They were like puppies, digging for their treasures, but they were not wise-or so some of my people say. The Ffolk built their kingdoms, and this much was well and good, you see, but the digging into old ruins-this is dangerous even in your home lands, is it not?"

There was a general murmur of agreement at this from the others. Garkim nodded. They came here from Undermountain, after all. He mulled over what he would say next. He should tell them about the bloodforges, he knew. The mage-king had not forbidden it, and they would hear about bloodforges soon enough from any citizen of the kingdom. Still-the short version would do.

"A hundred years ago," he went on, "an explorer from Edenvale looted an old temple and found a great glowing stone. It was so large that he had to bring it back in a wagon, but the queen made him rich and had her wizards and priests set to work probing its secrets. In time, they discovered some of its powers, and they named this stone the bloodforge."

Several of the men gasped audibly. "The blood-forge!" he heard Noph whisper. "That's what we came here to-"

"Shhh!" several men responded at once.

"You said the queen of Edenvale had her priests study this device, the bloodforge," spoke Miltiades loudly, trying to drown out the whispering. "Were these the same evil priests you talked of earlier?"

"No, no, they were not. A large number of priests had come on the voyage, and most are still honored in our kingdom today, though most of my own people, the Mar, prefer the original gods who held sway here. You understand, of course."

"Any worshipers of Righteous Tyr around?" asked Kern with considerable eagerness.

Garkim's mouth twitched. Careful… "No, I am afraid not," he said at last. "The worship of many gods known to the Moonshaes was never brought over by the fleet at the start."

Kern sighed heavily. "That is grave news," he said, with honest regret.

Garkim decided not to comment further. "Be that as it may, I must explain the role of the bloodforges in subsequent events. The queen of Edenvale learned to use the powers of this device to conjure up magical beings, sufficient to create an army of unthinking and loyal troops. This was power unheard of, as you can imagine, and she put it to use at once against her rival, the king of Konigheim."

"Count Boarswic, you mean," offered Kern. "You didn't seem very fond of his kingdom when you spoke of it earlier."

Garkim gave a long mental sigh and lightly brushed his temples with his fingertips. Deep in the back of his head he could feel the beginning of a dull pain. One of his headaches was coming. "I believe the king of Konigheim at this time was Brand the Slaver King, as the first Boarswic had died long before. This was a hundred years after the settling of this land by the fleet. The queen of Edenvale then was Rosamund Flame-Hair. And yes, I am not fond of Konigheim, nor is anyone fond of Konigheim who is sane and a lover of life and law. To this day they kidnap our border citizens and sell them off farther north into slavery, though we repeatedly make them regret such doings. But I digress."

Garkim felt a surge of anxiety from the men before him. The visitors were now wondering if the kidnapped woman they sought had been sold into slavery in just this manner. It was possible, admitted Garkim to himself, but of no importance for now-except to them. Garkim made a note to check on this later.

"Rosamund and Brand fought, and Brand's forces failed. They could not prevail against the army Rosamund's bloodforge had brought forth. Then Brand found a bloodforge of his own. He conquered Rosamund's forces and took her bloodforge, too. But he was himself murdered by his own family-a common thing in Konigheim. While Brand's kingdom fell into civil war, the forces of Edenvale's royal consort, the dead queen's husband, discovered another bloodforge. Then the Northmen found the fourth, and finally our own King Helvar found the fifth. As was his right by decree of the gods and his ancestor Aetheric's command of the fleet that brought the Ffolk to these shores, King Helvar declared himself emperor of the Five Kingdoms and set out forcibly bringing order to the land. He was unsuccessful, but his example continues to inspire us in the present day."

"What do these other kingdoms think about having you bring order to them?" The casual question came from the visitor who had not yet spoken-the secret wizard, Trandon.

The question, though expected, was irksome. "They are not fond of the idea, of course," said Garkim briskly, "but it is a shame, as the disorder and chaos has produced terrible grief in this land. The Free Cities of Parsanic, which know little of true responsibility and all too much of their selfish freedom, gained the services of one of the warring factions in Konigheim, which had its own bloodforge. At this point, each of the five Founding Lords' states had a bloodforge, and I can cover in full the events of the following decade merely by saying that we were perpetually at war, all the Five Kingdoms, though it cost very few lives. The bloodforges conjured whole armies with a few moments' work, once their secrets were understood. A few real, live persons died now and then in the raiding, to be sure, but for the most part we were spared the horrors usually visited on kingdoms engaged in such activities."

A short silence followed as the five visitors digested this bit of history. Kem spoke next. "Everyone finally sickened of this sport in the end?"

Garkim considered the proper response. "Indeed. It became all too apparent in time that use of the bloodforges had a price, one that was not evident when they were found. They rendered changes in the blood and bone of those who used them, which… um…" He hesitated. He had not had to explain this in many years. His diplomatic tongue failed for a moment and his headache increased.

He decided to backtrack. "Those who used the bloodforges were changed in many ways that soon reduced their appetite for using these ancient devices. Equally troubling, it was also discovered that the bloodforges somehow attracted the attention of monsters, and the more often the bloodforges were used, the more monsters appeared and the more trouble these monsters brought. Our kingdoms have largely been at peace for the last seven decades, thanks in great part to the foresight of Mage-King Aetheric II, long may he live in memory, who discovered the connection between the coming of the beasts and usage of the bloodforges. He raised up true armies again, which had nearly vanished except for palace and personal guards, and he made Doegan a realm with real might, a sanctuary and haven against a tide of darkness."

"So there are no more monsters around," finished Kern.

Garkim hesitated. "I did not say that," he responded at last, as the drover called an order to the elephant and the wagon creaked to a stop. "Ah! We are almost at the palace; the drawbridge is around the corner ahead, to the right. We must dismount here and cross over the bridge by foot. You can admire our little Eldrin River, which was rechanneled by King Erwain, son of Aetheric I, to serve as a moat. A lovely job he did, too."

The drover had the wooden steps down in a second. As he climbed down, Garkim noted that the five visitors were eyeing each other and had made no move yet to get up. They were also sweating profusely from the heat. He smiled to himself. "You are in no danger from monsters here," he added casually, handing the drover a few coins, drawing the man's startled thanks. "It is unlikely you will be troubled at all during your stay, in fact. Doegan is as safe as your own homes." He casually waved a hand toward the corner. "Please come with me."

Exhaling heavily, Miltiades got up, moved to the steps, and climbed down to the ground. A moment later, every other man did the same. Garkim then turned and led the group to the corner and the drawbridge beyond.

Miltiades didn't trust him, Garkim knew, but that was to be expected. The other four men assumed that they were indeed safe here, and they meant to set about their errand of mercy without further delay. They planned to find this kidnapped woman, Lady Eidola, at all costs. They even had a necklace that would detect her presence. That was certainly well and good, and Garkim wished them success, if only to speed their eventual departure. After the mage-king had finished whatever use he had for them, of course.

But they had another goal in mind, to find out what power was blocking all attempts to magically spy on this city from afar, then destroy it. That could be a source of real trouble. Every one of the five men suspected that a bloodforge was responsible for this magical shielding, and every one believed he might have to find and destroy that bloodforge as a result.

This would mean the death of every one of them. Perhaps this accounted for the mage-king's interest in the group.

Garkim sighed and surreptitiously massaged his aching head. He wondered if he had told the visitors too much about the bloodforges. Or, perhaps, too little. Should he have told them that the price for use of the bloodforge extended to the entire population of the Five Kingdoms? That his ever-increasing headaches were only one symptom of a physical weakening that year by year spread wider and wider in Doegan, among Mar and Ffolk alike? It was, he reflected wryly, the supreme irony of the Utter East: as the populace grew weaker, the rulers relied more heavily on the bloodforges to keep the armies of the fiends at bay. But every use of the bloodforge weakened the population still more, continuing the vicious cycle.

No point in worrying about it for now. He led the men over the drawbridge and into the palace, drawing up plans with every step.