The Rose and the Skull

19

"The north tower is the tallest tower of Isherwood," Jessica said, her voice echoing in the high drafty hall. "It is called the Roseburg Tower, as it was named for the Knights of the Rose. The best rooms are here. This is where I have my room," she added with a tinge of regret that she couldn't conceal "and where I'm sure you'll want to live as well."

"I'm sure," Alya said with a polite smile.

Jessica stopped beside a low, arched doorway in which was set an ironbound door. "Through this door is the courtyard, if you'd like to see it," she said.

"Of course," Alya said. With a smile, Jessica opened the door and followed her guests outside.

Once the courtyard had been paved with flagstones, but most of these had long since been broken or pushed up by the roots of trees. A small forest filled portions of the courtyard, and those areas not covered by trees were filled with a profusion of weeds, thorny vines, and grasses. Dark green ivy covered every inch of standing stone walls, though Jessica kept it trimmed from the window casings from the habitable areas of the castle. Where parts of the ancient stone curtain wall had fallen into the courtyard, piles of rock provided coverts and dens for all manner of small animals, from lizards to chipmunks. Alya strolled around the area near the door, stopping to examine a maple sapling pushing its way through the flagstones. Valian Escu stood like a statue of a warrior, sniffing the air, his eyes far away.

Castle Isherwood was a remnant of a past age. Its towers and battlement, its very design, were old-fashioned even before Huma rode to glory astride his silver dragon, ages upon ages ago. Once upon a time, its four square towers rose majestically over the valley, guarding an ancient wayroad to the north, a symbol of the strength and wealth of the lord of the keep. Between the towers ran four thick walls, as strong as the stonemasons of the day could build. Halls and storerooms, kitchens and armories had once lined the inner wall, surrounding the great paved courtyard where men-at-arms marched and trained, battling with wooden swords and staves or jousting against the Quintayne.

"Most of the castle is in ruin," Jessica apologized. "I tried to fix up things here and there, but I could never make much headway. In the end, I rather grew to prefer it this way."

"It will soon rain," Valian said, abruptly changing the subject.

He seemed able to tell the weather by the smell of the air. All along their journey from Castle uth Wistan, the dark elf had astounded them with his nature lore. Being born an elf of the sylvan forest, he was in tune with his surroundings in a way that, to humans, seemed almost supernatural. He was a mystery to Jessica, strange and ugly with his sharp features and cold manner, yet strangely compelling and attractive too. His physique was unmatched by any man she'd ever known, yet he was neither muscular nor skinny. His every movement bespoke feline grace, his every glance burned like fire, while his tone and his manner were as cold as the glacial blue of his eyes.

Seeking some way to bring him into a conversation, Jessica said, "The rain fairly pours through the roof here, though the North Tower is dry enough. It's like living in cave. Rather delightful, actually."

"Dwarves live in caves," Valian said as he turned and re-entered the castle. "I'll see to the horses."

"I've learned to ignore him," Alya said, smiling at Jessica's efforts to be friendly. "Elves seem to live on another plane than we do. Mind you, it isn't any higher than ours, only different. They like to think it is higher. They only think a profound mental life makes up for their physical weaknesses. Not that Valian is weak. For an elf, he is almost statuesque."

Jessica nodded. A dark elf was simply any elf who chose to follow a lifestyle not in accordance with traditional elven concepts of morality and goodness. Therefore, he was "cast from the light" of elven society.

"So what did Valian do to be cast out of elven society?" She felt bold enough to ask.

"Oh, he killed another elf," Alya absently remarked as she stared at the darkening sky.

"That's horrible!" Jessica exclaimed. "Why?"

"It does look like rain," Alya said. "What? Oh, it had something to do with class. He is Silvanesti, of course. It seems when he was young, he and an elf maid fell in love and wanted to marry, but she had already been promised to someone else, an elf of some importance, I believe. On the morning of the wedding, as the groom was traveling to the ceremony, Valian confronted him on the trail. They fought, and Valian killed him.

"That's why they banished him. Can you believe that happened before the War of the Lance? He doesn't look any older than you or I, but actually he is older than Lord Gunthar was. Perhaps we should go inside?" Alya suggested as the first drops of rain plopped on the cobblestones.

The two Knights entered together and made their way up the tower stairs to a chamber Jessica called the tapestry room. The walls here were hung with ancient fading tapestries, some of them hanging in shreds, and in the corners of the room stood numerous dusty old racks and frames for the sewing and embroidery of tapestries. A single tall window looked northward toward the wild mountains and the frontier of the Knights' lands. The sky lowered, and rain came down in sheets, hissing against the thick stone walls, while an occasional distant thunderclap rolled and echoed in the empty halls of the castle. Jessica lit several candles and dusted off two chairs near the window.

"So how did Valian come to join the Knights of Takhisis?" Jessica asked after they'd settled into the chairs.

"Well, the elves may have cast him out, but he didn't leave Silvanesti. He lived there for years afterward, stealing moments with his beloved whenever he could. It was a deadly and dangerous game he played, for if he'd been caught, they'd have killed him on the spot. That's the elven moral code for you," Alya said, her feelings getting the better of her for a moment.

"So, as I was saying, he continued to live in the Silvanesti forest, avoiding contact with everyone except his beloved," Alya continued, "but then came the war. The dragonarmies of Takhisis attacked the northern borders of the realms; the elves armed themselves and patrols became more frequent. Valian found it harder and harder to avoid being discovered. He retreated to what was probably the deepest, least explored part of Silvanesti forest. Something happened to him there, something terrible. He refuses even to this day to speak of it, but it is a testament to his will and courage that he survived at all. When Valian was captured by the Green Dragonarmies, his hair was white, just as it is today, and he was ranting like a mad man, claiming visions of the future. The Dark Queen's clerics spirited him away, to probe and question him, and they kept him in a dungeon for many years. Valian claims that in those visions he saw the inevitable creation of the Knights of Takhisis, and that the priests of Takhisis tried to probe his mind for further details. His main concern was the promise granted in the vision that by joining the Knights, he would eventually be reunited with his beloved. So they say that when Lord Ariakan formed the Knights of Takhisis, Valian begged to join. It wasn't until the war that he was finally released from the dungeons and accepted into the Knighthood. The leadership was not yet ready to trust an elf, and only their desperate need for soldiers opened the way for him."

"And was he finally reunited with her?" Jessica asked, enthralled by the story.

Alya nodded. "He was part of a reconnaissance force sent to probe the defenses of Silvanesti. After the War of the Lance, Porthios, son of Solostaran, and Alhana Starbreeze returned with a contingent of elves to reestablish the kingdom of the elves. With them came Valian's beloved, hoping against hope I imagine to find him still there. The Dark Knights wanted Silvanesti for their own purposes. The leaders wanted to test Valian's resolve. If his intentions were to betray the Dark Knights, then they needed to discover it before accepting him into the order. If he were true to the cause, he'd make an excellent scout against his kinsmen, and he was. The elves had laid an ambush for the Knights, but Valian spotted it and helped design a counter ambush. The elven kirath, or border guards, were caught, and a bloody battle ensued, but the Knights had the advantage due to Valian's planning. When the last arrow had flown, the Knights were victorious, every elf was slain.

"That's when Valian found her among the elven dead. He later learned from elven prisoners that she'd never married. Believing Valian lost to her forever, she vowed never to marry and dedicated her life to the ways of the warrior, becoming a scout and ranger under the tutelage of Kagonesti elves. So when Porthios and Alhana returned to try to reclaim Silvanost, she volunteered as a border guard," Alya concluded.

"That's horrible!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Isn't it, though," Alya laughed. "It's not at all how a love story should end."

"Why, in heaven's name, is he still a Knight?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know. I imagine it's all he has left. They accepted him, provisionally, after the skirmish, and although he has risen to a position of some leadership, he is still only a provisional Knight. He lost his love, he lost his people, all he has left is his honor and the few friends he has made among us, so I suppose he has nowhere else to go," Alya said.

Jessica shook her head in shocked disbelief. She'd never heard anything so terrible as what she'd just been told. It brought a dreary end to an otherwise pleasant day. The rain beating against the castle walls usually made her feel peaceful and safe, but not now. Wind howled around the towers, and thunder shook dust from the rafters. The old castle mumbled and groaned as though all its ghosts had wakened and were holding conclave in some secret hall. Jessica shuddered with a chill.

"This is quite a storm for Gildember," Alya said, using the Solamnic name for October. "Is this common?"

"Very rare," Jessica answered.

The door to the chamber opened, and Valian stepped into the room. "Our horses are settled in the stable. It seems warm and dry enough, with plenty of feed and hay," he said.

"Waterstone, my retainer, worked very hard this past summer patching the roof," Jessica said.

"Ah yes, your dwarf," Valian said blandly. "I'll retire to my room to await mess call." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and strode away, leaving the door open.

"We don't really have a mess call around here," Jessica apologized.

"Don't worry. When he gets hungry enough, he'll come down," Alya said with a smile.

For a long while, neither of the Knights said anything. They listened to the voices of wind and stone, the wailing of the storm. The thunder abated and drew away, shaking the hills to the south. Alya rose and walked to the window. "It's getting dark out," she commented.

A different pounding echoed from below. Alya stopped. "What's that?"

"Someone at the door," Jessica said, a puzzled look on her brow.

"Visitors?" Alya asked.

"We never have visitors," Jessica answered. The pounding came again. The two hurried from the room and down the long spiral stair to the heavy, double-paneled door at the front entrance. Waterstone was already there ahead of them. They heard him speaking to someone. He seemed to be arguing, for his stony voice rose in pitch.

"No. No, we have none. Good night to you," he said.

"What is it?" Jessica called, but the dwarf didn't answer her.

Instead, he said angrily, "We don't take in vagabonds. Now be on your way. Good night!" He slammed the door and shot the bolt.

"Waterstone, who was that?" Jessica asked.

"No one, no one at all, Lady Jessica," the elderly dwarf answered. "Supper is almost ready. I have a lovely roast goose for you."

"Waterstone, who was at the door? We never have visitors," Jessica demanded.

"Just some raggedy human and his mangy mutt," Waterstone said.

"How could you turn him away in this storm?" Jessica scolded.

"I've seen his type before. Give 'em a hot meal and you never get rid of 'em. Best to send 'em on their way," the dwarf said.

The pounding on the door resumed.

Quickly Jessica stepped in front of Waterstone and opened the door, allowing the stranger to stumble wearily inside. The man was drenched from the storm and dripping pools on the floor. He was followed by a large hound of some sort who looked more even more miserable and bedraggled. Both were limping; the hound had old, wet bandages wrapped around its forelegs.

With a scowl at his mistress and the stranger, the dwarf turned away with a growl.

"Reorx's bones!" he swore.

"A Knight of Takhisis," the stranger said with some surprise. "Then it's true." Everyone suddenly turned away as the hound shook the water from her coat, wetting everyone with a fine spray. Waterstone swore blackly.

Alya then asked, "What is true?"

"But I thought they were lying. Then it must also be true about… Papa," he said absently, as though speaking his thoughts aloud. He seemed to realize what he was doing, for his eyes suddenly cleared and he bristled beneath his thick bush of a beard. "Forgive me," he said. "A habit of living alone. My name is Nalvarre Ringbow, former priest of Chislev."

"A priest!" the dwarf exclaimed. "Reorx's black boots!"

"And this poor bedraggled hound is… "

"Millisant!" Jessica exclaimed. At the sound of her name, the hound lowered her head and began to wag her tail, slinging water on everyone's shoes. Jessica knelt beside the dog, petting and scratching her behind her wet ears. Millisant replied by licking Jessica's face. "This was one of Lord Gunthar's favorite dogs. How did she get here? Were you sent by Sir Liam?" she asked Nalvarre.

"Who? No. She was in the company of the three gully dwarves. Did you say she was one of Gunthar's dogs?" he asked.

"I see there is a story to be told here/' Alya said, "and you are soaked."

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Jessica said, suddenly remembering her guest. "Please, come in. We'll find you some dry clothes. Waterstone, set another place for supper."

"The goose isn't big enough for five," the dwarf grumbled as he stalked off to the kitchen. "Someone will have to go without, and I bet I know who that unlucky person will be!"

After dinner, the Knights related recent events of Sancrist Isle to Nalvarre, bringing him up to date on the change in the Knighthood and the untimely death of Lord Gunthar. The newcomer seemed particularly interested in the manner of Gunthar's death, asking if they were sure about the facts of the Grand Master's demise. They recounted their mission both to garrison this castle and to pick up the trail of a gully dwarf named Uhoh Ragnap. At the mention of this name, Nalvarre nodded, as though finally convinced of something that he long suspected.

As Waterstone cleared the dishes away, Nalvarre told them his curious tale, how he came home one day to find Uhoh, Glabella, Lumpo, and Millisant firmly entrenched in his house. He told them Uhoh's story of his Papa's death, and everyone agreed that it sounded very much like the circumstances of Gunthar's death. However, Alya pointed out that Uhoh could have heard the story told at the castle before he ran away, and in the usual gully dwarf fashion, imagined himself in an important role.

"Then you agree. He must have been speaking of Lord Gunthar's death, and not the death of his own father," Nalvarre persisted.

"Of course! What's more, everyone knows that Uhoh called him 'Papa.' All the gully dwarves did," Jessica said.

"Where do the draconians fit in?" Nalvarre asked.

"What draconians?" Alya asked. Valian looked up, suddenly interested. Jessica noted with some surprise that he stared hardest at Alya, not Nalvarre.

"I haven't finished the tale. Uhoh said that after Gunthar died, draconians appeared on the scene and tried to kill him. He escaped them, and they've been chasing after him ever since," Nalvarre said.

"Preposterous!" Alya snorted.

"There aren't any draconians on Sancrist," Jessica said in agreement.

Valian, however, said nothing.

"Uhoh insists that draconians are trying to kill him," Nalvarre said, and he related events of the last few days, ending with his discovery of the wounded Millisant and the disappearance of the gully dwarves. "He claims to know a big, important secret."

"What secret?" asked Valian sharply.

"I don't know," Nalvarre had to admit doubtfully.

"Well, did you see any draconians?" Alya asked.

"No, but I did see Pyrothraxus fly over the valley," he said. "It was the same day. A sure portent of evil, I'd say."

Jessica gasped.

"Not only that, but I found a pile of strange dust in front of my door. I didn't see it that night, but in the light of the next day, it was quite obvious. Millisant growled at it," Nalvarre said.

"Dust? Did it have any kind of shape?" Valian asked.

Nalvarre eyed the dark elf. "As a matter of fact, it did. The wind had disturbed it somewhat, but it had a vague humanoid outline," he said.

To everyone's surprise, Valian pounded the table in anger. "Abaaz! Damn!" he shouted.

"Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions, Sir Valian," Alya said softly, but with steel in her voice. She turned to Jessica. "There must be another explanation. I find it quite hard to credit any reason why draconians would be chasing three gully dwarves halfway across Sancrist."

"Why?" Valian asked. "That's exactly what we're doing. And what about that pile of dust? It has to be a baaz draconian. They turn to stone when slain and then to dust. I should know. I had enough of the cowards in my command during the Chaos War."

"I agree with Alya," Jessica said. "There has to be some other explanation. If draconians were roaming all over Sancrist like this, someone would have spotted them by now and raised the alarm."

"Not if they kill anyone who sees them," Valian said. "Not if some of them are sivaks who have the power to assume the form of anyone they kill."

"It just seems so improbable," Jessica said.

"There is only one way to find out. We have to go to this place you talked about," Valian said nodding to Nalvarre. "Town. We have to catch up with Uhoh before the draconians do."

"My thoughts exactly." Nalvarre said. "We can't leave those poor gully dwarves at their mercy."

Valian stared at Alya for long moments. Finally, she nodded. "We'll go to Town," she decided.