A Paladin's Journey Ch. 09

There was a rap on the door, the impact knocking lightly against his head where it rested against the wood. Aran sensed Smythe on the other side. Standing erect and forcing his weariness down, he banished his dark thoughts and pulled the door open to greet the older Paladin.

"Everything well, my friend?" He asked with a smile, ignoring another wave of fatigue.

"As well as can be," Smythe said. "Ari has everyone organized. They all have a place to sleep and some food, and there's even a bathing schedule! Though my name is too far down the list for my liking." He finished with a chuckle.

Aran smiled. "He's a good man, Ari. I'm glad he's with us. How is Kedron?"

"Up and about," Smythe replied. "Says he's well enough to bring down a tiger with his bare hands, though I doubt it. He's got Lena sticking to him like a fly on honey, but I think she's keeping his spirits up. Can't be easy with his girl in his father's hands. The lad says she is moving closer steadily, but faster in the last couple of hours than before."

Aran nodded grimly. "Looks like our Herald prisoners found their way back to their master." He paused for a moment. "Listen, Smythe, I've been thinking. I need to know how many Heralds are coming for us, and I don't want to risk sending you or anyone else to scout. That leaves me only one option."

Smythe's dark eyes searched Aran's face for a moment before he inclined his head. "Alright, do what you have to do. I'll head downstairs and keep an eye on the villagers. Some of them have been whispering about you since that Goblin raid."

The big Paladin turned to leave, but stopped two steps down the hall. "Aran," he added quietly, turning back. "I may be speaking out of turn here, but I can sense your weariness. Don't overdo it, ey?"

"I won't," Aran assured him. "I think I can sense out that far without using so much of the vala, this time."

"That's a good thing, maybe," Smythe mused, knuckling his mustache. "How about you let me visit the Plane tonight and you get some real rest? If there's fighting coming, we'll need you fit."

Aran chuckled. "That's very generous of you, old friend. Are you sure you can bear the treacherous burden of entertaining Amina and Elaina together?"

Smythe grinned wolfishly. "I'll figure something out." His face returned to seriousness afterwards, however. "I meant it, though, Aran. You should rest."

"I will, as soon as this is done. I need to know what we're in for."

Smythe left after that, and Aran closed his door and locked it, preparing to tap into that hurricane of power he'd discovered within himself yesterday. Unbuckling his sword belt, he crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Hands on knees, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply and evenly.

'Not so much, this time,' he reminded himself. 'Just bring it out slowly, until you can sense them.'

His feelings radiated outward more gently this time, first to surround the Chapel. Every soul in the building and its surrounds winked to life in his mind's eye, like small candles in a dark room. Further out, for a mile, then two, then five.

Still nothing bar wildlife. A badger digging a new den. A fox sniffing through some fallen leaves. Ten miles. Twenty. Nothing.

Aran's brow furrowed, but lifted a moment later when the first points of Human life appeared at about thirty miles north of the Chapel. As his vala passed over them, he received a shock. There were hundreds of them! Was he mistaken? Was it some other marching force?

No, it was Heralds. Too many of those moving lights were blackened and twisted with madness and pain. Too many, but not all of them. Aran guessed the force was five hundred strong, with maybe two hundred of them true, dedicated Heralds.

That left three hundred uncertain souls in the army, people who might be brought to see the error in following the Heralds.

An ache began inside Aran's head, but he ignored it. Bringing his focus down onto the army, he concentrated his vala, laying his true heart and soul bare for them to feel. He'd never tried to align with so many before, and had to draw deeply on his power to do it.

The ache became a stabbing pain, but Aran pressed on, sweat forming on his brow. There was chance he could avoid a slaughter, here, and he was taking it.

***

***Smythe - Emerin Chapel, Ekistair***

The Chapel was as Smythe remembered it. He'd been here before, many years ago. Elaina had finished her training and Smythe had helped her get set up here before he moved on. That was the way it was done. No two Paladins residing together; it was too dangerous.

He stood in the library, warming his hands at the wide fireplace, though they didn't need it. It was just something to do. All through the rest of the Chapel, villagers sat and talked quietly, or ate, or in a few cases, just stared at nothing for long periods of time.

Smythe felt for them. Their whole lives had been turned upside down in a matter of hours, and a few of them had lost people they loved only yesterday. He wished he didn't feel guilty, but he did, even though he knew these folk would be much worse off if they'd been left for the Heralds.

The vala radiating from upstairs intensified, and Smythe found himself looking up at the stone ceiling again. Why wasn't he done, yet? One benefit was the quiet peace that had fallen over the villagers as Aran's vala enveloped them. Smythe hadn't seen them so relaxed in a while, even the grieving ones.

"Is everything well, Henley?" A woman's voice said from behind him.

Turning, Smythe saw Elsa, one of the village women, and he smiled despite his worry. She was a pretty one, with long, sandy hair and big dark eyes. Her lips were full and ripe for kissing, and the shape of her grey cotton dress promised a well-rounded figure. A wonderful armful.

"As well as can be, lass," Smythe responded politely. Was she married? He couldn't see a band on her finger. He hoped she wasn't. A jealous husband was not something he wanted added to his concerns. His vala was certainly telling him that Elsa's intentions did not belong to a married woman.

The vala upstairs intensified again, and Smythe wanted to clench his fists in frustration. Another minute of this, and he would be up those stairs in a flash to put a stop to it, even if he had to knock Aran unconscious!

Elsa stepped closer, looking up at him with those captivating eyes. "I just wanted to say thank you, Henley, for watching out for us. I've been talking with the others, and they all wanted me to offer thanks on their behalf, too."

"Think nothing of it, lass," Smythe replied absently, his attention still caught up by Aran.

Elsa giggled. "You keep calling me lass, but I'll bet you my best dress I've got a year or two on you, Henley!"

Smythe had to pretend his mustache was itchy to hide the smile that bloomed on his face. Unless Elsa of Rostin was one hundred and six years old, then she was mistaken by a fair margin. "A woman's age is not something I concern myself with, Elsa," he told her smoothly. "Especially when she's as pretty as you are."

Elsa blushed crimson, but Smythe hardly noticed. Aran's vala had just doubled in strength. With a curse, Smythe dashed from the library and up the stairs, leaving a startled Elsa by the fireplace. Finding Aran's door locked, he put a solid boot to it, and the heavy darkwood timber burst inwards to show Aran sitting on his bed, his face twisted in a grimace of pain.

Smythe had to squint to see through the blinding light of the vala surrounding the younger Paladin. Sweat dripped from his nose and chin, and his eyes were squeezed shut under the strain of so much power.

"Aran!" Smythe bellowed. "Aran, stop!" He took a step forward, but suddenly Aran's hand flung forward in a halting gesture. It was the only part of him that moved, but Smythe hesitated.

Hating himself for it, he stood in the maelstrom of Aran's vala, convinced that he was watching his friend die.

***

***HERALDS OF DAWN ARMY - On Approach to the Emerin Forest***

"This is a mistake," one of the recently recruited Heralds hissed to the man on his left as they rode toward the shadowy shapes of the outlying trees of the Emerin Forest. It was almost impossible to make out due to the bare sliver of moon in the sky, but he was sure it was the Emerin.

He didn't know why, but just now he'd had a sudden gut urge that he was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and something inside his was telling him insistently to ride the other way.

"Shut up," a woman said from the rank behind. "You're going to get us thrown out!"

"Surely I can't be the only one that feels this!" The first man insisted, keeping his voice low. There were red-and-yellow cloaked Heralds - real Heralds, not recruits, like himself - riding not far away in the long column of five hundred. Then there was that naked girl in the cage... All of this just felt wrong. "Something isn't right!"

"I feel it," a low voice muttered from in front. "But what can we do?"

"We can scatter," a man suggested from somewhere nearby. "They can't chase down all of us." Some of the new recruits turned to stare daggers at this latest speaker, while others nodded thoughtfully.

"They're only going to use us as a first charge, anyway," an older man croaked from the rank behind. "I've seen it before." He shut his mouth as a torch-bearing officer rode past the outside of the column, casting a sharp eye over the recruits.

"It's as good an idea as any," the first man agreed. The feeling suddenly intensified, and a ripple of movement went through the column. People turned their heads to look behind them, or shifted in their saddles uncomfortably.

"Alright, I felt that one," admitted the woman who'd told the first man to shut up earlier.

"Do not be alarmed!" A loud male voice shouted confidently from up ahead. "What you are feeling is the filthy magic of the Arohim! It means we are close, and they are scared! They will try and undermine your resolve with their evil power! Have faith in the Dawn, and you will be greatly rewarded!"

A collective cry went up from the Heralds, and some of the recruits joined in. "The Dawn banishes all shadows!"

The man who had initially voiced his concerns did not take up the cry, and noted those others around him whom also stayed quiet. He would find a way out of this, and take as many with him as he could.

***

***ARAN***

Aran could feel their hearts at conflict with their orders. Many of them were not true Heralds. The madness had not taken them yet. One light in the sea of candles seemed brighter than the others, more receptive to Aran's vala than those surrounding it.

His head pounded, and hot, sharp knives dug at his temples, but he pressed on.

Aran aligned as strongly as he could with that light, and saw the ripple flow outward from it, a breeze that shifted the flames slightly, blowing them in another direction. Not all of them, but enough, maybe.

With a cry, he let go, collapsing back onto the bed like a limp noodle as his vala winked out. The pain in his head remained, though, and he had trouble focusing his eyes. Was that Smythe's face looking down at him? Yes, it was. Nobody else would wear a mustache like that... Why did he look so furious?

Blackness took him.

***

***ELAINA***

The night was in its later stages as Elaina ran like the wind, keeping pace with Induin and Liaren. The Elvish twins flanked her, and the rest of the two hundred Eryn'elda that had been assigned to her dashed along ahead and behind.

Elaina had strapped Shatter to her back before leaving, as running with the mace at her hip could be cumbersome, and she didn't want it tangling in her legs.

Glancing to her left, she shared a smile with Liaren as they ran, and saw the same emotions in the pretty Elf's emerald eyes that she herself felt. Exhilaration, anticipation, trepidation. She could feel time bearing down on her like a mountain collapsing at a fraction of the speed, slowly but inexorably.

They were making good distance, however. Elaina thought they may have covered more than fifty miles since dusk, cutting straight through the dense forest on foot rather than heading back upriver by ship. Willow she had left in Ildernass. Her loyal mare would be well cared for until Elaina could retrieve her.

There was a sudden change in Aran's melda, and Elaina's eyes popped as that incredible power he'd displayed yesterday flared to life again, miles to the east. He felt determined, stubborn, even. And was that a worm of fear she could feel writhing inside him?

To her left and right, Induin and Liaren cried out in unison before tumbling to the ground as if their legs had suddenly turned to jelly. Skidding to a stop, Elaina turned to see them lying still, unmoving. Induin was face down in the mulch, while Liaren had rolled onto her back. Her eyes were closed.

Stepping toward them, Elaina used her vala to check Induin as the Elves that were behind them stopped, concerned looks on their faces.

"Her heart beats," Elaina told them with relief. "And she is breathing."

"As is Liaren," a male Elf said, straightening from where he was crouched next to Liaren.

"Was it poison? Or magic?" Another Elf wondered. She was young and pretty, with long hair the shade of moonlight.

Elaina shook her head. "Neither, I think." As the last word left her lips, a searing pain assaulted her head, like needles digging into her skull, seeking her brain. She screamed before she could stop herself, and fell to her knees.

What in Heaven was Aran doing?! This pain was not Elaina's, it was all his! Her vision was blurring, and her breath came in laboured rasps as she tried to suck in air. The pain intensified, and another scream was ripped from her. Dimly, she was aware of hitting the ground, then everything went dark.

***SMYTHE***

"Bloody fool!" Smythe growled at the bed where Aran lay sleeping peacefully. At least, he appeared to be doing so, but close inspection showed his face pallid, his breathing shallow. Unable to wake the younger man up, Smythe had eventually undressed him and tucked him into bed, at least making him warm and comfortable.

He paced back and forth, muttering under his breath. "Heralds bearing down on us, and you have to go and bloody-" the rest of the sentence descended into frustrated grunts rather than actual words.

The lad's skin had felt cold. Too cold for an Arohim. Smythe felt a little chill himself at the thought of losing Aran. With nothing else to do, he took the armchair next to the bed and sat, waiting, hoping that whatever was happening to Aran was not affecting Elaina or the Elves.

After an hour or so, Smythe thought to check the Plane, but was unable to rouse Elaina or Amina. He returned to his body regretfully, not wanting to miss either of the women, but also wanting to be awake if Aran came around. He had a feeling the man had discovered something before he passed out, and it was likely important.

***ELAINA***

Elaina awoke with the morning sun in her eyes. She was lying on a soft bed of woven of leaves and vines, by the feel of it. Sitting up, she realised she was high above the ground. She'd been sleeping in a comfortable nook in a massive oak tree where bough met trunk. Gingerly, she touched a hand to her head, but found no blood, or wound. That pain had been so real, she almost didn't believe there was no physical mark.

Looking out around the forest, Elaina thought it looked different than the place where she'd fainted. In fact, it looked rather familiar. There was the old, dead oak with the trunk split and blackened from lightning. There was the massive, fallen fir, its needles long gone, leaving only skeletal branches, and the hollow where its roots had been was now a fox's den.

If Elaina wasn't mistaken, they were only a few miles from the Chapel! Aran's melda pulsed inside her, though not as strongly as normal. Was he well? Something about him felt... weak, insubstantial.

Suddenly a pair of boots alighted on the bough in front of her. They belonged to Liaren, who crouched easily before her. Her green eyes were alert, though their usual twinkle was absent.

"Are you well?" The Elf asked, looking her over.

Elaina nodded, and her head swam a little at the movement. "Good enough to go on," she lied. "Where is Induin?"

"Down with the others," Liaren answered, nodding toward the ground below. "They carried us through the night, you know. We're almost at the Chapel, but they didn't want to go further without you awake. Induin has your weapon."

It was a measure of Elaina's current discomfort that she had not noticed Shatter was missing. "Well," she grunted as she hoisted herself to her feet, happily accepting a hand from Liaren. "Let's go then. We don't have much time."

Liaren hesitated. "Aran feels... different, somehow, as if he's not quite here with us. Does it feel the same for you?"

"Yes," Elaina said honestly. "And I fear for him, but we won't know more until we reach the Chapel. He is strong, though. We know this for certain, do we not?"

Liaren grinned at that. "This is true, eruchen. Shall we?" Without waiting for Elaina, she dropped off the wide branch, disappearing through the foliage below.

Elaina shook her head. "Bloody Elves," she muttered. Her head was feeling a little better, and she drew on her vala, relieved when power flowed into her body, numbing the pain into a dull ache. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of summoning her vala and finding nothing there.

Following Liaren's method of descent, she stepped off the branch and fell for thirty feet or so, then sensed the ground fast approaching. Her body adjusted for the coming impact and she landed smoothly, her vala pumping energy into the muscles of her feet and legs to absorb the shock.

When she straightened, there were two hundred Elves clustered around her tree. "Are you well, Elaina Arohim?" Asked their captain. He was gorgeous; broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted. He was the first male Elf she'd ever seen that almost appeared rugged. Like all the other Elves present, he was dressed in tight forest greens and browns, with a bow slung across his back and a bristling quiver at his hip. Opposite the quiver hung a long-handled sword.

"I am right as rainwater," she told the captain. What was his name again? Her head was still a little fuzzy... Tarien, that was it. "Captain Tarien, thank you for bringing us the rest of the way in our... condition."

"I will admit, you had us concerned, eruchen," Tarien said, his dark eyes flicking to Liaren briefly. "But no matter. The affairs of the Arohim are yours unless you wish to share them. We have brought you as close to your Chapel as we dared without you able to deliver more orders."

"I am in your debt once more, hanno," Elaina returned with a bow.

Induin appeared at that moment to hand Elaina a long bundle wrapped in cloth. It bulged at one end. "They weren't sure to touch it directly, or not," the Elf explained as Elaina took the bundle and unwrapped it to reveal Shatter.

"It would not harm you unless you meant to harm me," Elaina explained with a smile. "But you were right to be wary." She looked around at the waiting Elves, standing at attention and awaiting orders. "Captain Tarien," she began. "Follow my lead to the Chapel with the majority of your force. Have scouts to the northeast, north, and northwest. When the Heralds are within a mile of the Chapel walls, send a runner or whistle like a stormbird, and we'll know to be ready."

Tarien bowed deeply. "It will be as you say, Elaina Arohim," he said formally before spinning on his heel and barking orders in Elvish. A handful of Eryn'elda broke away immediately, disappearing into the forest.