And sorry for not getting this done sooner, but I had to watch some episodes and get in the zone. Kinda forgot what the heck was going on here. When you haven't looked at something in three years, that happens.
Anywho, here's the first chapter! :)
Part I
It Begins
Chapter 1
Aldarn
The crackle of lightning and booming of thunder echoed
Aldarn’s tension. The young Quelthar glanced up at the impressive lightshow,
but his mind was else ware. Kaleb, his captain, mission leader, and best friend
was running late. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but tonight it was much
more than that. After all, Kaleb was inside scouting out a possible raid on
King Phobos’s armory.
Aldarn took a deep breath, trying to calm
his nerves, but it didn’t help. When he closed his eyes all he saw was Kaleb
captured, tortured and finally hung from the ramparts as a reminder to those
who would dare to steal from the immortal, sorcerer king.
Where are you, Kaleb? The
nervous rebel thought for the thousandth time.
Kaleb was never late. He’d slip in, be
there half hour at most, and then slip out, taking one or two weapons with him,
or even a whole bundle under the guise of a servant or slave moving something.
It was brilliant, the way he’d grab a bucket and mop his way through the entire
building, taking note of every room, what was in it, who was in it and at what
time they moved around. He didn’t try anything he wasn’t sure he could handle,
and did it quickly. At least, that is what he’d been doing. But they were
nearing the second hour of this venture and every minute they lingered they
neared discovery.
“Kaleb,” Aldarn growled beneath his
breath.
He dared not speak any louder. Nor call
out, pace, or even move in the slightest. He stood stock still. The two of them
agreed to meet beneath the north-western edge of the Thorn Cliffs beneath
Castle Metamoor’s wall in the swamp. Close to the edge and built into the wall
itself was Phobos’s mighty armory, the only place on the Kadoka continent where
large amounts of weapons could be found. Even though Aldarn was two hundred
feet below the top of the castle walls, the King was no fool. The guards on the
ramparts were handpicked with magnificent eyesight and hearing to notice even the
quietest of intruders. Aldarn had almost been spotted twice already; once
because of carelessness, the other for Kaleb’s stupidity.
Aldarn sighed again out of nervousness.
Trying not to pace, he sent a silent prayer to the heavens.
Almighty Creator, please bless that Kaleb
and me get out of this alive. Doing so as free men would be nice. And please
bless that your Guardians return. alMen-Queltha.
Aldarn felt a bit calmer after the
prayer. Somehow, he felt that they’d survive this hair-brained scheme and live
to return to the village. But his good feeling fled when he heard the alarm
horn. Gut in his mouth, heart hammering, Aldarn stared up at the wall, trying
to hear what the guards were yelling at each other.
“Intruder! Intruder in the armory!”
“Kaleb, you imbecile!” Aldarn muttered.
Cursing under his breath, he stepped out so he could see and froze. So long as
he didn’t move, the guards wouldn’t notice him.
Up in Metamoor it was pandemonium. Guards
were running about like chickens with their heads cut off. No one was giving
orders, and the intruder (Kaleb) seemed to be everywhere at once. Aldarn shook
his head. His father always said the Guldons were as a race were prone to
panic. When the going got tough, they couldn’t find their butts with both
hands.
“There he is! Get him!” All at once,
everyone tried to grab Kaleb at the same time. Men were shoving each other
over, running into one other; one even fell off the wall onto the thorns below.
Aldarn tried not to laugh. As a lieutenant himself, he would never let his men fall into such chaos
over one man.
Then he watched as Kaleb leapt onto the
wall. Phobos’s guards laughed and roared in triumph, thinking they had him
cornered. They didn’t. Without looking back, Kaleb dropped a bundle of unstrung
bows down to where Aldarn could easily get to them. Then, he threw a barrel of
gunpowder with a torch sticking out of the top right into the pack of Guldon
guards. Aldarn busted up laughing. No wonder they were panicking. He was
throwing grenades that could blow up half a castle. The explosion ripped off
some of the wall, and more Guldons fell. Aldarn didn’t move as parts of the
building fell all around him. Drawing attention to himself wouldn’t be a good
idea as Kaleb needed his help to escape.
Before the now deaf and shell-shocked
guards managed to pull themselves to their feet, Kaleb leapt onto a large thorn
vine. He climbed down a little ways, jumped onto another, and then a third. A
few jumps later and he was in the bog, covered with stinky mud and bog grass.
Aldarn grinned triumphantly at his captain and best friend.
“I found that bow your grandfather made
when your father your age,” Kaleb informed his humored companion, pointing up
at the hanging bundle that was almost impossible to get to.
Aldarn eyed the hundred feet between them
and the bows. “Cris can make that neck breaking climb tomorrow morning.”
Kaleb broke off whatever it was he was
going to say when an arrow whizzed past his ear. Several Guldons were making
the same climb down the vine while archers continued to shoot at the two men.
Without another word, the two boys raced and weaved through the bog, trying to
stay on the land. Although Kaleb was already drenched, getting any muddier
wasn’t wise. It was harder to track someone who didn’t stink in a crowd.
Just as they neared the edge of the
swamp, disaster struck. An arrow ripped into Kaleb’s side, and knocking him
down. Aldarn slid to a stop, and grabbed Kaleb, dragging him behind a small
rise. It quickly turned into a muddy pincushion with arrows constantly hitting
it. When Aldarn tried to pull Kaleb to his feet, he only ended up back on the
ground with a shriek of pain.
“Kaleb, you must stand!” Aldarn told him.
The guards were drawing closer, and it
sounded like they’d brought dogs with them. Kaleb tried again with the same
results. He grinned at Aldarn, his face muddy.
“I doubt I can.” Kaleb chuckled at the
irony, and gave a soft cry at the pain it caused. “Get out of here, Aldarn.”
“No,” Aldarn replied flatly. “You’re my
partner and friend. No.”
“As your captain, I’m ordering you to
leave,” Kaleb growled, the humor gone from his face. Aldarn opened his mouth to
refuse again when Kaleb said, “Or do you want your father to endure what
happened to your mother again? While you’re still in mourning?”
Aldarn froze. His mother had been
arrested and ganged raped by the police. Less than a year later she lost the
will to live, and committed suicide. That was only a few months ago. Capture
meant certain death, by execution or being worked to death as a slave. He
glared at Kaleb. He was right. Losing Aldarn would be more than his father
could bear and his father was one of only four blacksmiths that would work with
the rebels.
Aldarn took a deep breath and growled,
“You better end up in the mines, and survive until we free you.”
Kaleb gave a dry laugh, and then Aldarn
was running, weaving as fast as he could. He didn’t look back as the dogs raced
after him or the archers continued to shoot at him. He wouldn’t look back as
the guards caught, beat, and dragged his friend to the dungeon and a fate worse
than death.
