City of IF

[Chinaren]

Overall map of the lands around Yroth.







































Chapter 11 - Departures .


”Very well, I’ll come with you.”

Alice smiled. “Good. Meet me next to your caravan as soon as your watch is over.” She backed away, disappearing into the shadows.

Byrold stood and looked at the space she had been for a moment more, then resumed his patrol, thinking hard. Perhaps he should ask someone to come with him? But who could he trust here? Maybe Whitey? He mulled it over thought the rest of the shift, eventually deciding to ask the elf.

In the end the decision was made for him. Whitey was no where to be seen at the end of his watch, and he didn’t get a chance to locate the guard before Alice gestured at him from the shadow of a wagon.

Glancing about he moved quickly over to her.

“Follow me, keep out of sight,” she whispered and ducked quickly away.

Byrold did as he was told, senses at optimum, wary for any trickery. Once again he thought of casting a small spell as he went, but once again decided against it. He had no idea what he was walking into; best conserve his magical powers until needed.

The two slipped out of camp, avoiding the sentries easily enough and scurrying through the deserted streets. They eventually came to a stop under the archway of an apparently abandoned shop, where they took shelter in the shadow.

“Where is this place?” Asked Byrold. “And where are all the people?”

Alice glanced about, as if seeing the town for the first time. “Many years ago the rulers of Charredal tried an experiment, setting up towns as trading centers. It didn’t really work. This place is practically deserted now, by the living anyway.”

“Gives me the creeps,” said Byrold.

“The whole country gives me the shivers,” Alice said, drawing her dark cloak tightly around her.

The two were silent for a while more. Byrold started to get cold, and stepped from one foot to anther.

“Where is this man of yours anyway? Shouldn’t he have been here by now?”

Alice peered into the street. “I don’t know. I hope he’s okay. Wait. Something is coming.”

Byrold reached for his sword as a hooded figure slipped into an alcove across the street from them and made a quick hand signal, which Alice returned. Byrold noted it for future reference.

The newcomer looked around, and then slipped over to join them, bringing an earthy smell along with him.

“You are late,” hissed Alice.

“Sorry, I nearly didn’t make it at all. I think they are on to me. I was followed, but I managed to give them the slip. I hope.”

“What information do you have?”

“Our man has been captured by Emperor Keldric of Gerwain. I don’t know what, if anything, he has told him, but knowing Keldric the torturers would have been busy on him, and the body can only take so much before breaking.”

“So he may have already told what he knows. How long ago did this happen?”

The spy shrugged. “Maybe seven days, my intelligence is not that detailed.”

“Do we know of the information he carried?”

The man shook his head and gave a short answer. “No.”

“Have you reported this information to…” Alice glanced at Byrold, “or superiors?”

“I’ve not been able to, like I said, they are watching me.”

“Then I must.”

“Good luck. I have to lie low for a while, until the suspicion fades, if it’s not too late already.”

“Can you escape?”

A shake of the head. “Unlikely. I will have to take my chances.”

“Good luck then.”

The hooded contact nodded. “You too.” Without further words he glanced out into the street and slipped away.

Alice turned to Byrold. “This changes things. We must return to the caravan. I have to slip away as soon as possible.”

“What will your… organization do?” Byrold whispered as they moved quietly through the streets back to the camp.

“I don’t know, but they must be told. We must retrieve the information before anyone else can.”

“This artifact is really that powerful?”

Alice was quiet for a moment as a figure passed in front of them. Once it had moved away she nodded. “We think so. Come on, it’s all clear.”

They made their way back to the camp.

>

Byrold awoke to movement. He yawned and stretched, sitting up and climbing out of bed slowly. Daylight streamed in through the gap at the back of the wagon. Standing up he peered out, to see the same bleak landscape as before.

“Great,” he muttered to himself, and set about waking up properly.

>

The days passed. Byrold spent most of them jogging next to the caravan as it trundled steadily south, through the necromancer’s lands. The terrain seemed to stretch on in an unending fashion, rolling on under solid gray skies.

It made for depressing travel, and he fell into deep introspection, worrying about Yroth and what his stepmother was doing with his land. By his reckoning five days had passed since he had been whisked away. Every day was a day that gave Eldra more opportunity to establish her position and weaken his.

The lack of contact with the outside world made it harder for him. He thought he might go mad not knowing what was happening. Had the Centic invasion started? What about the south, and Gerwain and Karak? Had they reached an alliance, and what were they planning? Most of all though, he thought about Yroth and his kingship.

Several times, when he managed to get a moment in private, he tried a communication spell with Mazel, but his power was simply not that strong, or the Necromancers blocked magical communication in their lands. Possibly both.

The Centic was still with them, but somehow it managed to remain hidden from view most of the time. Byrold only saw it twice, both times from a distance. He thought it may have some sort of invisibility magic which allowed it to travel unseen, but no one could say if this was so or not.

He saw Alice several more times, but she refused to say anything more about her mission, much to his frustration. She did join him for meals though, and Byrold enjoyed her company. She was a pretty and intelligent girl, and he found himself looking forward to the few moments they could be together. Her ‘work’ had taken her to several different countries, and was a font of knowledge about the customs of the northern lands. Byrold rather fancied she liked being with him too. Whitey and the other guards certainly thought so, and ribbed him mercilessly about it. Something he took with steady good humor.

Still, it was a relief when the word went out that they were near the border of Mordon.

“I will have to leave you when we get to Mordon,” Alice said in a low tone.

Byrold nodded. “I understand. I have my own way to go as well.”

They were walking in the grass, outside the caravan which had stopped for a short time while one of the wagons fixed a broken wheel.

“Will I see you again?” He asked.

She stopped and looked at him, smiling shyly. “I hope so.”

Byrold took her hand in his. She didn’t pull away. Slowly he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I have never kissed a spy before,” he whispered.

She giggled, a sound interrupted as their lips met.

“And what about you Eldembar, or whatever your real name is. What are you?” She pushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his eyes.

Byrold looked up, trying to arrange his thoughts. “Sometimes I’m confused about that myself.” He looked into her eyes. “When we meet again perhaps things will be clearer.”

“We will meet again then?”

“I believe we will.”

“You are a prophet then, to know such.”

It was Byrold’s turn to smile. He didn’t answer, but kissed her instead.

>

“I am Mage Thurion, of the Regional Council,” said the wizard in blue robes.

“Forex, leader of this caravan,” replied Forex with a bow. “I bring a delegation to meet with the rulers of your land.”

“I know of your coming,” said Thurion,” and am empowered to act on behalf of the High Council. We do not wish your ‘guest’ to venture far into our lands.”

Forex nodded, but his answer was lost as Whitey slapped Byrold on the shoulder, making him jump.

Quickly canceling his hearing enhancement spell, he turned to face the elf, who grinned at him.

“You are lucky today my friend,” he said. “You get a morning off. Enjoy your freedom whilst you can, you will no doubt be back on duty tonight.”

Byrold nodded and watched his fellow guard make his way through the throng that wandered through the streets of the small border town.

In direct contrast to the previous land, this one was full of vigor and life. Of course, robed wizards of both sexes were common sights as they roamed the streets intent on their personal tasks. A high percentage wore the dark red of the Mordon Wizard Army, specialist mages trained in combat magic. Their staffs were etched with glowing silver runes that Byrold vaguely recognized as powerful defensive wards.

He sighed. Now was the time to approach the Council and declare himself. Still, he hesitated, looking through the milling people for one figure.

“Looking for someone?” A voice came from behind him, making him jump.

He turned and smiled as Alice stepped close. “I worried you might have gone already,” he said.

She shook her head, her smile fading. “Not yet, but I am about to leave. I just… I just wanted to see you one more time.” She held his hands in hers and leaned close.

“We will meet again, I swear it,” whispered Byrold.

“I hope so,” Alice replied in the same tone.

They held the pose for a moment, savoring the last few moments together, until Alice pulled, reluctantly back. She smiled and reached into her pouch. “Perhaps I have something that will help you keep your promise,” she said, and handed Byrold a thin golden chain, a small pendant in the shape of a hand dangling from the end.

“What’s this?”

“You will know when the time comes.” She kissed him briefly and stepped back. “Until next time, Eldembar.” Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

“Got yerself a good one there lad,” a rough voice next to him spoke up, breaking into his thoughts.

Byrold jumped and swung about, to see the large form of Gorer looking at him. The king hadn’t seen the berserker guard since his fight, and stood uncertainly for a moment.

The other man laughed and slapped him hard around the shoulder. “Don’t worry lad, I don’t have any hard feelings. Yer were only defending yerself, and right well too.”

Byrold dipped his head. “Thank-you, it was a close thing I may add.”

“Indeed. And don’t yer worry, I haven’t mentioned how you beat me in the end. Secret’s safe with me lad.” Gorer tapped the side of his nose and winked, then departed into the crowd, leaving Byrold gaping behind him.

Shaking his head, Byrold cleared his thoughts. These distractions had to be put aside, he had to speak to the Council leader urgently.

Squaring his shoulders, and checking his crown was secure in the pack he had acquired, he set off to meet the ruler of the town.

>

Alfar marched on, feet crackling on the burnt undergrowth. His sword was in its sheath by his hip, and his bow was slung over his back. The sun filtered through the ever present smoke and ash that drifted down, covering him in the gray and making him cough continually.

“Damn this ash,” he said to Dorsal. “Why do we bother? The Centic are obviously hiding in their holes anyway.”

His fellow elf scout nodded, brushing at his robe. “Yes, I fear you’re right. My blade rusts through lack of use.”

Alfar smiled at his friend. The one encounter the Northern Alliance had had with the Centic was over quickly, their forces easily overwhelming the giant ant-like creatures they had stumbled on. Dorsal had been back on another errand at the time, and had continually complained about missing the action. Alfar looked back at the mage and his assistants that were trailing behind him and made a sign. “Isn’t it time to renew your spell wizard?” He shouted.

The Elven sorcerer nodded and stopped, signaling for his two apprentices to set up the wind summoning equipment. As he did so there was a whooshing sound, and several balls of fire flew over their heads from behind them. The catapults renewing the blaze that the army kept alive in front of their advance.

The mage held his staff in both hands as the two scouts looked on. Alfar had always been fascinated by magic, and he never tired of seeing the wizard conjure the wind that kept the flames blowing away from them and into the Centic lands.

The sorcerer raised his hands high and began his enchantment as usual, but this time, instead of the silvery shimmering of the air that had accompanied the previous conjurations, there was something different. A feeling of something… alien. Something hostile and angry.

Alfar looked about, alarmed. Dorsal felt it too obviously, as he was doing the same thing.

“Master!” One of the apprentices shouted in alarm.

The wizards’ face had turned red, and he appeared to be gasping for breath. His hands had gone to his throat, as if he was trying to pull something away.

The apprentice rushed forward, but an unseen force picked him up and threw him backwards violently. The other apprentice suffered the same fate when he tried to intercede.

Meanwhile the sorcerer had turned a dull beetroot. His gasping faltered, and he toppled slowly to one side, coming to rest on the blackened moorland, lifeless eyes staring accusingly at Alfar.

“What the?” Started Dorsal, but stopped.

The ground was trembling.

Alfar spun quickly about. From ahead, just over a ridge, an ominous rumbling emanated.

The two scouts rushed up the rise and stopped on the crest of the hill. Alfar looked out onto a vast depression, and for a moment he couldn’t understand what he was seeing. It seemed that they must have turned about somehow, as the ground ahead was blackened, as if charred by fire. Yet it was stirring, moving in some way.

Then his brain came into focus and he gasped in horror.

The plain ahead was black indeed, black with insectoid shapes, swarming into the distance as far as the eye could see, from east to west and back to the horizon.

“There… there must be thousands of them!” Exclaimed Dorsal.

“Hundreds of thousands, millions maybe.”

The fire the army had worked so hard to maintain had been snuffed out somehow. Whether by magic or some other means the elf didn’t know. It was a moot point now.

Ahead, closing rapidly, the Centic swarm approached, a massive horde of nightmare creatures wreathed in black chitin armor, and wielding wicked looking curved blades.

“I think you have found your fight,” said Alfar.

>

“It really is wonderful to see you your majesty,” Thurion said again. “We were beginning to believe the assassin mages had succeeded after all, despite there being no evidence of your passing on the third and fourth planes.”

“I credit Mazel for that,” replied Byrold. “His defense obviously thwarted whatever plan they had.” He took another sip of tea and relaxed in a large padded chair.

They were in Thurion’s private office. Byrold had had some difficulty getting to see the border town leader until he had presented his sword and then, rather reluctantly, his crown. After several mages cast validating spells upon them, and him, he was quickly whisked into the main fort and the presence of the Council representative.

Now, bathed and garbed in clean robes, he took his ease and caught up with the news.

“So Eldra still waits?”

“Yes indeed, the Gerwain Karak alliance continues to make slow progress into The Jut, and we believe the relevant leaders are considering reinforcing the attack. If they do so, the northern border of Gerwain could be weak enough to an attack. At the same time the Farn uprisings are still causing problems for Neil-so, which means their forces are also stretched thinly.”

“She is plotting, that’s for certain,” Byrold said. “Waiting for an opening.”


“It seems likely,” replied the Councilor. He leaned forward on his desk, hands clasped together. “Now, the question is, what do you wish to do now? I assume you want to return to your throne as soon as possible? We can speed your journey magically, teleporting you to your border if you wish.”

The king rubbed his chin. “As much as that is tempting, I’m not sure. Eldra has spies everywhere, and my entrance into this building may well have been broadcast by now. It wouldn’t take much to interfere with such a spell, unless I am mistaken. Am I?”

The mage made a face. “Long range transport spells do have an element of risk, and a malicious agency could disrupt them, I agree. Yet surely by the same token more usual transport would be open to ambush too?”

Byrold nodded. “You are not wrong.” He rubbed his chin and thought about it. What was the next step?

>>>>>>

Slowly getting closer my readers! What is Byrold’s next move? Use magic? Ride with a squad of guards? Something else?

And should he head for his throne, or another destination? Let’s hear your thoughts please!

…And several set players may expect communications soon!

>Don’t forget, if you like this SGame, add it to your favorites! Top Right of this thread<

<<<<<<

[juggernaut]

At this time he is only 6 days removed from his throne. he should some how make contact with Hark to let him know he is safe and that he will use a few more days to gather info on the centic. what other nations are close enough for byrold to travel through and be back to yroth in time to claim his throne?

[Lilith]

Nice China... do i sense a bit of romanticism in you? Oh well, the alcohol should take care of that soon enough...

As for Byrold, he should definitely keep a low profile for the moment.... lull Eldra into a false sense of security.. and then strike back at the perfect moment to foil her plans.... heh heh heh!

[Mastermind]

Teleport. Your first priority now is to get back the throne, and this way, it'll be much more likely that you surprise Eldra so that she can't make any... arrangements... for your arrival.
If you travel by horse all the way, you have a much greater risk of being discovered than if you teleport.
Even if there are a spy nearby, there isn't very likely that he/she knows enough magic to disrupt the teleport spell anyway.

[D-Lotus]

Quote: “I think you have found your fight,” said Alfar.

Whoot, whoot! Fight! :smile: I can feel the shivers run down my back just reading about that swarm of bugs. Those guys from the northern alliance sure got their asses burnt... let's see what they can come up with.

As for the DP, I suggest spreading rumors of Byrold traveling by land with an escort. Wait a day or two for Eldra to prepare her plan to ambush Byrold, or whatever, and then use the teleport. That should surprise her, and Byrold could get in a couple of days early.

Great chappy, btw, Chinaren. There were some awkward sentence structure in the romance part, because you were trying too hard (or too little), but other than that it was good.

[Chinaren]

D-Lotus wrote:
Great chappy, btw, Chinaren. There were some awkward sentence structure in the romance part, because you were trying too hard (or too little), but other than that it was good.

It was probably 'cos I was drunk. :D I spotted a couple of small things when I went over it before, but I will check it again later.

An example could help?

[D-Lotus]

Quote: She giggled, a sound interrupted as their lips met.

awkward. My english teacher would be displeased. ;)

[Kalanna Rai]

Teleport...you're needed home now.

Besides with all these wars going on I doubt ground transport is very safe at all...

[Argonaut]

I'd go for teleporting too, but also send a message to Hark so he can gather Byrold's supporters to help him when he arrives. He needs to move against Eldra fast. She certainly has some contingency plans in case he comes back, so he's going to need to thwart them.

[OldJoe]

Ah reckon teleport too. Likely he needs ter get back fast, an' whatever route is gonner have trouble awaitin.

[Chinaren]

Sorry for the delay in this one people, I have been overloaded in RL the last week. I was going to start on the next chapter when I realized I haven't put a poll up yet even!

So, poll is up. Climb upon the horse of voting.

[D-Lotus]

I guess it's too late, because everyone's voted, but you forgot my suggestion (About making rumors of land transport, but then teleporting).

[Chinaren]

D-Lotus wrote: I guess it's too late, because everyone's voted, but you forgot my suggestion (About making rumors of land transport, but then teleporting).

Sorry D! I guess I could incorporate that into the 4th option though.

[Chinaren]

Right then, I am finally starting the next chapter! Poll is closed.