Legacy of Dragonwand- Book III Read online

  “The order...it has been stopped,” the boy quickly stated.

  “We just received a rushed message from Thendor, the order was false,” the governor said. “It was given by someone pretending to be the king. We are not to execute any children.”

  Wilhelm dropped the knife and wept again, unashamed to do so this time. “Oh, thank goodness! I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it.”

  ***

  Norl gave out commands like an experienced leader. Although only a day ago he felt weak and small, he now found leadership to be quite comforting. He had no desire for the throne or any other position of power. He liked being the representative of the Rakki here and right now, everyone needed a single commanding voice to organize the otherwise chaotic situation.

  With the signatures of five of the other representatives, he sent out a letter to recall all soldiers of Gallenor that were out fulfilling the Kings insane wishes. It was decided that any royal decree given without a King’s signature must be signed by at least five of the six race representatives. That way it was an agreed decision, not a unilateral one from one person. To everyone’s relief, not one soldier of Gallenor executed a single child. The King’s last decree would never be followed.

  “Felicity, please deliver this message to the Shlan estate at once.” Norl handed a human courier a letter he had written to the Shlan security guards.

  The girl bowed and took the note. “Yes, sir.” She hurried off.

  Amber, the new Dwarfkind representative, approached Norl. She was a short, stocky, young woman of her people who had trained to be the representative; though she had not expected the position to be thrust upon her so quickly, and in such a terrible way. She was a strong voiced woman with a fierce beard, a feature that turned any male dwarf’s head. “Norl, my estate received the orders ye handed out.”

  “Not orders, just a request. I don’t have the authority to give out orders.”

  “Aye, but ye be showin’ some clear wisdom now. We be needin’ a good leader now ‘n the king tis a wanted man.” She walked with Norl toward the throne.

  “I agree. We need an established leader, but I’m not vying for that position. I’m simply trying to bring some order back to town. The people are confused and scared. It’s only logical that the estates of each race should send out their own to explain the situation and take questions.”

  Amber nodded and stroked her beard. “Aye, but the people will be wantin’ a single voice te answer ‘em. Without a proper King on the throne, they may be unsettled.”

  Norl knew where she was leading, especially as she walked him toward the Throne. “Thank you for your vote of confidence in my leadership, but I know my own limitations. I was not born to lead Gallenor.”

  Just then Hssovk, the Shlan delegate approached. “He issss right. Sssssome might object to a Rakki on the Throne.”

  Norl bowed his head to her. “True.”

  Amber sneered at the Shlan. “Just because the Shlan distrust Rakki does na mean he isn’t suited fer leadership.”

  Norl held up his hands before this became a political debate. “Wait, Amber, my friend Hssovk is correct. I know that I have her trust, but I’ll not have the trust of all of her people and we do not need any divisions growing at a time like this. This land is in turmoil what with the King’s betrayal and the Dragon statue still posing a threat. I suggest we put off considering establishing leadership until things settle down. The people may not be comfortable without a king on the throne, but if we stand united in their favor, they will respect us all the same. After that, I would suggest that we elect a steward to sit on the throne until a legitimate heir can be found.”

  Hssovk smiled at Norl. “Amber issss right about one thing, Rakki, you are a good leader.”

  Norl grinned at her, knowing how much of a compliment that was coming from a Shlan. “Thank you. Now, I just sent a letter to your estate. It might be wise to go and be with your guards as they approach the Shlan in the Capital.”

  “I will go at once.” Hssovk bowed to Norl, sort of teasing him.

  After she left, Norl turned to Amber. “I’m going to see to my estate and make sure we handle the situation the same. I wrote to each leader to bring their peoples questions to us this evening and we can discuss them tonight and put out a letter tomorrow with answers to their questions.”

  Amber nodded at him in respect. “Aye, at once yer lordship,” she said, teasingly.

  ***

  Amber was now alone in the Throne Room. She paused a moment to look around and think about what her life was going to be from now on. Once you are asked to be the representative of your people, it is a lifetime job. That is, unless you do something so bad that your own leader strips you of the title or you retire after a long service. She was the youngest representative and felt the least wise. But, with the help and guidance of the others, she would do her best to represent the Dwarfkind in this court. And, even after all of his refusals, she still felt that the man to sit on the throne as the steward of Gallenor should be Norl. He was wise and respected, and considerably the longest serving representative now. Jarl, the last representative of the Dwarfkind, was the longest serving by almost ten full years. But, he was murdered by whatever imposter pretended to be the king.

  Looking at the throne she felt a sorrowful sickness in her heart. For a thousand years the Kings of Gallenor have been the wisest and noblest of men, maintaining order with a firm, but gentle hand. A lot of Gallenor had come to rely on that stability in their leadership. Now, the throne sat cold and empty. No one had expected this. It did worry a lot of people that King Anthony never provided an heir of his own. But, the lineage of the throne was far spread and many of the human nobility had royal blood. An heir would be found in time and placed on the throne again. Though, it would never be the same. The trust in the royalty was shaken, and could take generations to fix.

  “What tragedy,” she whispered, lamenting the loss and then walked toward the large doors to head for her estate. “Whats that?” she said and paused as the ground shook a little, then more aggressively. She realized what it was; a slight earthquake tremor, not growing anymore stronger or weaker. Then it stopped as suddenly as it started. “What in heaven’s name?”

  “Oh, don’t look so down young Amber,” the voice of the king echoed.

  She stood in shock and turned around to find King Anthony standing next to the throne. Next to him was Morris carrying some Rakki girl in his arms, all tied up and knocked out cold. “King…Anthony?”

  Hallond walked toward her with a gentle smile. “Yes, it is I. You seemed so down a few minutes ago while you looked at my throne. Did you miss me?”

  Amber took a step back, scared of the man who killed her predecessor. “Uh, Aye, I missed ye. Where have ye been?”

  Anthony’s gentle smile was turning more and more vicious. “Oh, just communing with old friends, catching up with Morris, and…oh…yes, making sure that all the insurgents are dealt with.”

  Now Amber was certain this was the same thing that had taken the King’s place. She was no match for the power he displayed before, so she turned and ran with all of her might.

  ***

  Hallond watched her leave without doing anything to stop her. “Such an ugly people those dwarves are. Oh well, they’ll be good workers come the new day.” He turned and walked back to Morris. “Put the girl down there.”

  Morris followed the pointing finger of the King and placed Crystal at the foot of the Throne. Then he stepped back. “Now what, sire?”

  Hallond gazed out the open doors. “Go and see what men of your legions will still follow the rightful ruler of Gallenor. Any who speak even a word of treason against me, place them under arrest.”

  “How will we contain so many people right now?”

  “The stone warriors will obey me without fault. They cannot be harmed and will provide you the force you require to put the people under arrest.”

  Mor
ris stopped, and for the first time in his life he questioned the King. “Sire, why put anyone under arrest? Surely you can show them that their concerns are unwarranted.”

  Hallond knew that Morris’ loyalty was not failing, just his comprehension. So, he came up with the same lie that worked many times before. “Oh, but they won’t believe you. The dragon statue is nearing its awakening and its influence over the weak minded is causing mass hysteria. People will say many things that are not true and even fight against you for no good reason. Hallond crafted those stone warriors since stone will not be swayed by the dark magic. They will maintain order until the Dragonwand and statue are dealt with for good. When that time comes, everyone will see the light and all will be made perfectly clear.”

  “How can you or I avoid the madness of the statue?”

  Hallond restrained the urge to roll his eyes and continued his ‘concerned’ façade. “Oh, but you and I are not weak minded enough for the statue to get to us.” This explanation appealed to Morris’ ego as well as came across as feasible.

  “Hallond wasn’t weak minded. He was one of the clearest, smartest men in all of Gallenor.”

  Now it was Hallond’s ego being stroked. “Oh, but he was a wizard. Do not forget there is a reason we had to imprison all wizards. The lure of dark magic can creep into the minds of wizards and drive them mad no matter how strong their minds are. Now, we’re running out of time. Go and put the people back in line. I’ll plan our next move to retrieve the real Dragonwand.”

  Morris, buying all of these lies, bowed out without asking another question or uttering a single word.

  Hallond turned and rolled his eyes. Looking at the unconscious girl, he spoke. “How easily the non-magic types are fooled. Is it any wonder they have played right into my plans for so long?” He reached down and brushed away some of the hair covering her face, stroking her forehead. She was a very beautiful girl, for a dog. “It is too bad I cannot cross genders with my soul. Since your body is young and magical. You could be quite the weapon against your pathetic lover. How delicious it would be to get him to trade the wand for you, only to find that I held your body under my control and that you were already dead. Oh well, some plans cannot work.”

  Hallond stood up and straightened his regal robes. “I have a plan to enact. If you will excuse me.” Stepping over her body, he headed for his real quarters in the wizard tower where he would make use of some of his old magical items.

  Chapter 7: Darkness awakens

  Hssovk made her way the Shlan estate in the Capital. Five of the six races had a mansion built to house the dignitaries and their families of each of the races. Originally, after the Constitutional Concordat was signed by all the races establishing the capital and the government of Gallenor, the races came together to build Thendor. Early on they built their homes and shops near their own people’s estate as it felt comfortable to be nearer their own kind, which created small pockets of each races civilization within the city. Over the centuries the races branched out and mingled peaceably in the city, but each race’s influence still remained in their own districts. When royal announcements were made and decrees read, they were read by the representatives of each race at their estates. Traditionally, each race gathered to their own estate to hear what was being said. Today was no different. The palace guard had gone around announcing something was going to be read and questions would be taken an hour before sunset.

  To her delight, several hundred Shlan, and a few of the other races, gathered near the steps to the Shlan House. Hssovk stood with two of her own people’s guards at her side where she waited for everyone to settle down enough to listen. Throughout her career as a representative she had read many decrees. Sometimes they have been met with fear or worry, but most of the time they were received well. Right now, she looked out across the crowd and saw panic riddled across their collective faces. It was a situation she had not encountered before, but she understood it. It would be hard not to answer their questions directly from her personal experience with the King’s madness. But, Norl was right. It would be wise to discuss the questions and formulate the most comforting and straight forward answers that would be the same no matter which rep was reading it. That way, no one else would feel as if anyone else was getting more information. It would also help quell some of the rumors.

  Unrolling the scroll she had been given to read she started. “Ladiesss and gentlemen, it issss with great ssssorrow that I mussst inform you that our beloved King, King Anthony the fourth, isss dead.” There was an expected murmuring from the crowd, along with a few gasps and cries. “Please, try to remain ssslient until I finish.” She cleared her throat and continued. “An imposter took the Kingsss place and did terrible thingsss. After killing Representative Jarl of the Momar and sssseveral others, the king was chased out of town. Your loyal ssservants, the representativesss and Guard, will maintain the order and keep the landsss of Gallenor at peace while a new king issss found. There have already been many rumorsss sssspreading around the ssstrange incidentsss at the palace. I am here to take questionsss and will bring anssswers back to you tomorrow at thisss time.” She rolled up the paper and gave a political smile to the crowd, sad to see their frightened faces hadn’t changed.

  “What of the dragon ssstatue?” A Shlan man yelled out.

  “That question will be answered tomorrow. We are already looking into it. Other questionsss?” She scanned the crowd, asking them to give her questions by the look in her eyes.

  A human woman called out, “Where is Captain Morris? I heard there was an order to kill male children, is this true?”

  Hssovk nodded to the woman. “The order given to kill children wassss given by the impossster king. It will not be followed. Regarding the whereaboutsss of Captain Morrisss, we will seek him and bring you that anssswer tomorrow.” She hated repeating herself, as it felt like she was cheating them, but it was the only logical answer. Next to her, a scribe quickly noted the question and then waited along with Hssovk.

  A small child stuck his hand up out of the taller crowd and bounced a few times. Hssovk smiled at him and leaned over to listen. “Who will be king now?”

  Hssovk looked around to everyone, so that she was clear about this. “We are not sssure about that yet. It will take time to answer that question, but I promise we will….” Just then, she heard the distinct sounds of heavy, loud footfalls walking in unison.

  Everyone around the estate looked around for the source. As the steps grew louder, Hssovk realized whoever or whatever was getting closer. A woman suddenly screamed and clung to a man next to her – presumably her husband –as she saw something turn down the far end of the street. Hundreds of human-like, tall things walked side by side, with a solo man riding on a horse in front of them. These things had no faces, just stone.

  Hssovk gasped and tried to remain calm, for it would be unwise to act scared in front of all the people. She knew they relied on what little stability the courtiers could provide at this time. Looking at her Shlan guard she ordered, “Sssend out all the guard, sssurround the citizenssss and protect them.”

  “At once.” The Shlan man bowed to her and then hissed something at his fellow guards. Two dozen other guards left the estate and took up positions around the people.

  Morris rode up on his horse and looked over the gathering. “Well, I see that locating traitors will be easier than I thought. What are we doing here? Gathering to discuss more ways to overthrow the government?” His tone was mocking and accusatory at the same time.

  Hssovk, standing above everyone on the steps of the estate, showed only strength. “Captain Morrissss, what isss the meaning of thisss?”

  Captain Morris held up a fist. “I was returning with the wizard child, and the wand that we have been looking for, and I found the king deposed and his citizens scheming against him.”

  Hssovk shook her head. “No, it isss the king that betrayssss ussss. He isss not King Anthony, it isss a dark demon taking
hisss place.”

  Morris’s phony smile melted at the sound of her lies. “Funny, I met with him and found the same man I have known. He might be a little shaken from being thrown off of the throne by ungrateful people, but I did not find a killer.”

  Hssovk began to see where this was going. “But, Captain Morrisss, I wasss there. I sssaw what he did. I barely essscaped with my life.”

  “I have no time to listen to more of your lies,” Morris said. “I’m here to inform everyone that the people of Thendor are to be gathered and held until such a time that the dragon statue is no longer a threat.” This brought about a lot of murmuring and crying from the people. “I couldn’t care less about your tears. Resist and you will be put to death.”

  One of the Shlan Guards had heard enough and lunged forward with his spear to stab the nearest golem screaming, “Like hell!” The blade jammed into it, but nothing happened.

  The golem reached over, grabbed the shaft of the spear, and snapped it in two. Then the golem lifted its arm and shot out a bolt of magical fire, blasting the guard, sending him flying through the crowds. His limp body collided with the far wall, sliding to the ground. He was dead.

  Everyone was stunned by the attack, but remained still. The Captain of the Royal Guard looked at the other Shlan guards. “Too bad, I was going to give the guard a chance to join me in assisting the king. But, by your friend’s actions I know your loyalty remains with the traitors and not with the true King.” He casually turned his horse around and rode back up the street barking orders. “Gather the citizens, kill the guard.” With that, the golems marched onward and fulfilled their orders without emotion.

  ***

  Morris had a self-righteous smile on his face as he listened to the screams and cries of the people behind him. It mattered little to him what he had done. The fact there were children there to witness the deaths of the men they called father, brother, or friend was almost delicious to him. It was justice in his mind. These were the people who opposed the Throne, and their children were the children of traitors. It was only by the grace and mercy of the King they would not suffer the same punishment of their families.