A Paladin's Journey Ch. 14

The sky began to lighten in the east before long, and Finya called a halt as the grey predawn became orange, banishing the violet blanket of night. Sure enough, just as Aran had foreseen, a small hollow lay before them, split by a stream that curved around a massive fig, its roots fanning out like thick tendrils. The earthquake seemed to have left the hollow untouched but for an inordinate amount of fallen fig leaves littering the ground.

Behind the fig was a cave mouth, maybe as high as Aran was tall and about half as wide. Two Dwarves broke formation to descend the slope into the hollow, but Aran looked at Finya and shook his head, telling her there were no unwanted guests to be found.

Calling the scouts off, Finya ordered her men to set up camp. They went about the task with practiced efficiency, quickly building a fire and unpacking utensils and wrapped food from their packs to prepare a breakfast. Aran's stomach grumbled at the thought of a meal.

When one black-bearded soldier - Lombi, Aran had heard him called - asked Finya about posting a watch, she glanced at Aran briefly before answering. "With Aran and Elaina here, I do not think a watch is necessary, Lombi. They will sense someone coming long before we see them."

A few of the Dwarves grunted approvingly, and one of them muttered as he walked past, "Wouldn't mind that trick for myself. Bloody hard to ambush someone with that talent."

When Liddea started down the slope to help with camp, Finya forestalled her. "You are a guest, Liddea bu kyn. Please make yourself comfortable in any way you see fit."

Liddea blushed graciously and inclined her head. "Thank you, Captain Finya. I feel a wash in the stream would be just the thing right now." With a smile for Aran and Elaina, the pretty Dwarf began to gingerly pick her way down the slope, pulling Rosy along behind her, at least until one of the soldiers scurried up to offer her a hand.

"Come," Finya said. "Let us take our ease for a short time until my men are rested. I would not mind a wash myself, either." Indeed, several of the other Dwarves had the same idea. Half a dozen soldiers were removing their armour and clothing right there in the open, men and women alike. They washed in a business-like manner, though Aran could see the way they were eyeing one another's bodies, and his vala was telling him they would like to be doing more than just washing.

Liddea joined them, unabashedly disrobing and stepping daintily into the water, making noises at how cold it was. The male soldiers eyed her appreciatively, and she returned the stares in kind.

From beside Aran, Elaina spoke quietly. "It seems Dwarves are as uninhibited as the-" She cut herself off abruptly. "As we are," She finished after a moment.

She had been meaning to say "the Elves," but had wisely changed what she'd said. Drawing parallels between Dwarves and Elves could be dangerous among present company. Sentiments were not good between the two nations. Aran was hoping to begin mending this rift once in the Dwarven capital.

Aran smiled at her, and replied in a low voice. "I'm beginning to wonder if it's only Humans that hold to ridiculous inhibitions so tightly. If it is, then most of the blame could be laid at the feet of the Heralds, most likely."

Elaina nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing.

"Captain!" One of the bathing women called as Finya passed her. She was a pretty, fair-haired thing with a long braid that touched the cleft of her plump bottom. Almost slender for a Dwarf, her breasts were not as large as some of her kin, though that wasn't saying much; Aran would still fail to fit them in his hands.

Finya stopped by the stream. "Yes, Miri?"

"How much time do we have?" Miri asked. "Lombi's been eyeing me off all night, and I wouldn't mind some of what he's offering, ey?"

Lombi was washing nearby, standing up to his knees in the stream. Several scars criss-crossed his hairy chest and tight midriff; he had seen no few battles. The well-muscled Dwarf chuckled at Miri's question, but eyed the captain expectantly, obviously hoping for a favourable answer.

Finya sighed. "I suppose I can't expect you to go without for too long," she muttered to herself. "Fine, but be quick about it. And make sure you get some actual rest. We will not be stopping again before the capital."

With no further ado, Miri waded to Lombi and pulled him into a torrid kiss while her hand sought the thick member hanging between his thighs. The other Dwarves paired off almost as quickly. Aran and Elaina grinned at each other.

Continuing on, Finya led the two Paladins slightly upstream, a little way away from the camp but still within sight. Aran and Elaina left their horses underneath the sprawling branches of the fig before following her.

Without saying anything, Finya dropped her helmet and began to strip, peeling off layers of steel before getting to the leather and linen beneath. She seemed to forget that Aran and Elaina existed at all, so focused was she on what she was doing. Once her pale body was completely bare, she turned and stepped into the water. Feeling around a bit in the middle of the babbling stream, she found a suitable rock to sit on and did so, facing Aran & Elaina. The water flowed around her, only just covering the tops of her thighs.

She sat proudly, straight-backed and square-shouldered. Her prodigious breasts perched just as proudly on her chest, the pink nipples drawn into points by the coolness of the water. "You can join me, or not," she said casually. "I do not mind. I am ready to hear about Lady Glinda, however, whenever you wish to begin."

Aran shared a look with his amatharn, and she shrugged as if to say: "Why not?"

A few moments later, they were sitting opposite Finya, the clear, cool water swirling and eddying around them. The Dwarf washed herself nonchalantly, and Aran appreciated the way her curved yet fit body moved, glistening wetly in the morning light. Several scars adorned her skin, most of them faded with age. A triangular one marred her left thigh, probably from an arrow. Another slanted from beneath her right breast and down almost to her hip, crossing her flat midriff. When Aran met her eyes, he realised she'd seen him studying her.

"I'll give you the full story of each one," she said slyly as she bathed. "When we have time, and if it's alright with your good lady, here. Might take a good while, though. I have scars in a lot of interesting places."

Elaina jumped in before Aran could speak. "It's fine with me, Captain. I may watch though, if you have no objections?"

Finya chuckled as she ran her hands over her breasts and down her belly. "The more the merrier, I say. Now, I hate to kill the fun, but where were we?"

"What I have to say will be disturbing, Captain," Aran began. "But I believe I can trust you. I've looked into your heart, and I see a good woman, one who does what is right, who serves others before herself."

Finya eyed Aran and then nodded slowly. "That is my intent, I suppose," she said. "Whether or not I am always successful."

"Trust us, Finya," Aran told her seriously. "Intention and a good heart are all that matters, most of the time." He brushed her with his vala and included Elaina as well, bringing them all into more of an alignment before he began to explain about Glinda. This, of course, meant discussing Maloth and Shenla, and how Aran was connected to them. He told her everything that he'd pieced together about Glinda's whereabouts and condition, bar some facts that he kept to himself to protect the Temple.

Finya listened intently, asking a question from time to time, but remaining silent for the most part. All in all, it took Aran nearly an hour to get it all across, with Elaina adding a bit here and there when Aran missed something important.

"Well," Finya said after long moments of silence, once Aran had finished. "This is certainly not positive news, but it is good to know that she is alive. Burin will seek retribution, most assuredly, but I do not see how he can march across Ekistair and sail into Palistair without causing an uproar from the Northguard to the Forgotten Coast. Still, he may throw caution to the wind and march anyway; he does love his sister deeply.

"And, if what you say is accurate, Glinda will not want to return home, being under this Maloth's will." The pretty Dwarf shook her head ruefully. "What a mess. I feel as if I'm digging a mile below ground and an underground spring just burst into the shaft. No choice but to stay afloat and hope I don't drown."

"We will help how we can," Elaina said gently. "But with Maloth's army as large as it is, we have much to do ourselves to prepare the nations of Ekistair. With luck, our causes will unite, and then perhaps much can be done."

Finya seemed to consider that for a moment, then grinned. "If you go to Burin like that," she said, gesturing to Elaina's nudity. "Then he'll probably offer you the kingdom just for a kiss." She sighed, then. "Are all arohim as pretty as you two? It's hard not to stare, sometimes."

Aran chuckled. "We appreciate the compliment, Finya, but we are what we are. Aros' grace is a marvellous gift, one which we do our best to honour."

"Well," Finya said as she leaned back on both hands and squinted her eyes against the sun. It was a rather alluring pose, especially the way she parted her generous thighs, giving the two Paladins an uninterrupted view of her hairless sex. "Let us hope Burin likes you as well as I do, ey? Else, we're all in trouble."

Aran and Elaina nodded agreement, though Elaina followed the nod with a cheeky smile. "I don't think he'll send us away," she purred as she stretched her arms above her head and thrust her mammoth breasts forward, winking at Finya.

Aran felt his loins stirring in response to his ever-present hunger for Elaina's body, but he schooled himself to inner stillness; now was not the time, no matter what the other Dwarves were doing just downstream.

"You make a good argument, Elaina arohim," Finya said with a grin as she stood. "I hope for all our sakes that you are right." At that, she waded back to the bank and began to wring her hair out while the sun dried her fair skin.

Aran and Elaina followed and dressed once dry. Back at the camp, most of the Dwarves were sleeping, many of them still nude from their earlier frivolities. Liddea lay right in the middle of them all, happily snoozing with two Dwarf men using her mountainous breasts as pillows.

One shout from Finya and they all leaped to life. They were soldiers, used to sleeping in short shifts and being called upon at any time. In short order, the odd band was on the move again, bound for Dun'Arghol.

***

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CHAPTER 14.1: An Empty House

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"Welcome to Suravale," Erik announced as he reined Quill in at the crest of a small rise that overlooked the canyon entrance to the ancient city. The morning sun was low in the east, and the pale grey stones of the mountain in the near distance were bathed in golden light.

Round-faced, balding Harl reined in next to Erik and stared at the massive cleft in the rock for a few moments before asking, "Not to doubt your word, Master Erik, but you say there's a city in there?"

Erik smiled at the farmer. "Indeed, there is, friend." Turning in his saddle, Erik looked back at the mass of farmers, craftsmen and villagers gathering. Even more had joined the original seven-hundred-odd, wandering in off the plain once they realised safety could be had. Erik had done his best to make sure there were no Herald spies among them, but Harl seemed to have things in hand, using his 'who knows whom' method. Two men had been turned away in the last two days because they did not meet Harl's criteria, and Erik had allowed it.

The refugees now numbered almost a thousand, thanks to the Heralds' mad ravening across the plain. Erik had no doubt the zealots had stabbed themselves in the foot, this time. Their reputation in the south was all but ruined, now, and it would get worse as word spread.

"I'm going to scout the canyon," Erik told Harl as he studied the dark opening. "Make sure the way is still clear." It looked alright from here, but up close might be a different story. "Tell the people to take their ease for a couple of hours. I'll return as soon as I'm convinced a landslide won't fall on our heads." Erik's primary concern was that the recent earthquake had damaged the canyon, or rendered it unsafe for passage.

Two days ago, the plain had jerked and heaved beneath their feet, sending people tumbling about on the ground and horses bolting, or at least trying to. Sadly, two people had been killed in the chaos, trampled by horses, and a dozen more had been injured.

Harl nodded uneasily and pulled his horse around to face the mass of hopeful faces. In a raised voice, he began to address them, but Erik paid him little mind. Heeling Quill forward, he cantered toward the canyon while wondering how he was going to tell Palavus that he'd brought a thousand people to his place of solitude, if it was even still standing.

The old Paladin had been cantankerous at worst, irritable at best. For the hundredth time, Erik wondered how the last thousand years had treated the man. It could not have been easy. Erik suspected that Palavus had somehow closed himself off from his vala, for reasons best known to himself.

Sylvia caught up as Erik reached the base of the rise. Catching his mood, she said nothing as they rode side by side. As they approached the looming mountain, Erik spoke. "What was it like, feeling his vala?"

Sylvia frowned at him for a moment before understanding. "You mean Palavus?" At Erik's nod, she continued. "It was strange, like an echo, or a residue, maybe. When I feel Aran, or Elaina, there's a warm glow inside them, like a tiny sun."

"And Palavus?"

Sylvia chewed her bottom lip in thought. "Remember four or five years ago, when the moon covered the sun and day became night for a while?"

"I do," Erik replied. "The solar eclipse." He remembered it well. In Maralon, the Heralds had blamed it on the so-called dark magic of the Elves and Dwarves, among others. It was utter foolishness, of course, but recruitments had increased for a while, mostly due to people too scared to think straight.

"That's what Palavus felt like," Sylvia said quietly. "Except I wasn't sure if the sun would ever come out again."

Cold fingers of uncertainty crept up inside Erik's chest, but he stuffed them down. If Palavus had permanently forsaken his vala, then there was nothing to be done about it, no matter how sad the thought was. A man like him would have made an enormous difference in the times to come, but as Erik's mother had always said: 'You cannot cry over spilt milk, especially when you never had any milk to begin with.'

"And what do you propose to be grinning about, Erik Gorian?" Sylvia demanded as she glared at him. "I'm really worried about all this, you know."

Erik realised he'd been smiling at the memory of his mother's abstract, yet wise sense of humour. He missed her dearly. "Sorry, Sylvia," he said sincerely. "I was just thinking happier thoughts for a brief moment. I am worried, too. Believe me."

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Sylvia grumped. "What are we going to do about Palavus?"

Erik blew his cheeks out as he exhaled. "I don't know, yet." They were almost at the canyon mouth. Steep cliffs towered on either side. Erik thought the rocks looked the same as before, but how could you really be sure? He wished Liddea were here; Dwarves could tell volumes from even a glance at rock and stone.

"And when will you know?" Sylvia asked flatly, still a little irked. She looked pretty even when she was sullen, but Erik was not about to tell her that. She was a proud woman, when she wished to be.

"Probably right before I knock on his door," Erik said honestly. "And maybe not even then."

From the corner of his eye, Erik thought he saw the ghost of a smile curl the corner of her lip. "Maybe you should send me," she teased. "He seemed to appreciate my charms for a minute, there."

Erik chuckled. "He'd have to be blind not to, wouldn't he?"

Sylvia's face split in a cheeky grin. "Legendary Paladin or no, he's still just a man, is he not?" She ran her hands over herself in an exaggerated fashion, emphasising her slim curves.

Erik laughed out loud at her display, but their uplifted mood was suddenly cut short as they entered the shadow of the canyon. They shared a somewhat more somber glance as they rode forward, hoping dearly that their journey had not been in vain.

*

Miraculously, the canyon was untouched bar a few small rockfalls. Once through to the other side, Erik released a breath he thought he may have been holding the whole way through. He felt less foolish when he heard Sylvia do the same.

This early in the morning, the city was still blanketed in shadow, but from what Erik could see as they rode past the enormous stone statues guarding the canyon and onto the main thoroughfare, most of the buildings were still standing. Here and there some fresh rubble had spilled into the street, and the occasional structure had collapsed further than time and wear would allow, but all in all, Suravale was in remarkably good stead.

"I can't believe it," Sylvia said as they rode down the wide stone avenue that split the city down the middle. Roots of ancient oaks planted down the centre of the avenue had long since rendered the pavers uneven, pushing them up in winding patterns that radiated outward from the trees. "I thought it would have been levelled."

"So did I," Erik agreed as Quill gingerly picked his way over a particularly large hump in the road. "I think we've seen enough to determine that it's safe. Let's go and see Palavus and get this over with."

After about an hour, they turned right off the main avenue and down a smaller street flanked by elegantly designed stone buildings three storeys high. Arched windows on every floor overlooked the street, many of them with the glass broken or missing altogether.

Two turns later they reined in before a familiar dark wooden door in much better condition than any other around. Not wanting to let doubt get the better of him, Erik dismounted before he could convince himself to ride away.

Handing Quill's reins to Sylvia, he ascended the five stone steps and knocked on the door. It swung open slightly from the force of his knock alone; he hadn't noticed it wasn't completely closed. He briefly glanced back at Sylvia and signalled her to wait there before slowly pushing the door the rest of the way open and stepping inside.

This far into the city, the buildings were dense and the sunlight hadn't permeated yet, but there was still light enough for Erik to see, if only just. Everything was the same as he remembered it, except that the bookshelf was now empty. Ashes lay on the hearth, and when Erik placed his hand near them, he found them cold. The teakettle that had hung over the fire was missing, too.

"Palavus?" He called hesitantly. "It's Erik and Sylvia. Are you home?" Only silence answered. Toward the back of the room was a stone staircase built between two walls. It led to the floor above. When Erik ascended the stairs, he found a small hallway leading to several rooms, all of which were empty and devoid of anything of interest, except for one room which looked as if it might have been a bedroom, judging by the candle stubs lying about the place and a small washstand with a pewter pitcher atop it.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Sylvia's voice right behind Erik made him jump; he hadn't heard her coming.

He rounded on her, irritated. "I thought I told you to stay outside!"