Foundations the silver b.., p.17
Foundations (The Silver Blade Trilogy Book 1), page 17
“So the prince lied to me, and the blade was never truly stolen. And he seeks to possess the sword at all costs, so he will not stop. My failure here will not delay the inevitable,” said Gimmock. He pointed to the south and continued, “He waits on the other side of the mountains with an army, and as soon as the spring thaws the snow, he will march across and find you.”
Another figure suddenly entered the hut, and moved to stand next to Aylas and Arkhet.
“What’s going on?” asked Sordor.
“I will tell you about it later,” said Aylas. She pointed the tip of her sword towards the assassin and said, “Meet Gimmock.”
Sordor replied, “We know each other.”
Aylas shot Sordor a questioning look, and Sordor replied, “He was hired by the Saphir during the war, and was sent to kill me.”
Gimmock added, “And I failed, obviously.”
Arkhet said, “I will hear this story some other time, but for now, what shall we do with him?”
Sordor replied, “Let him go.”
Aylas and Arkhet both turned toward Sordor in disbelief, momentarily forgetting about the dangerous assassin before them.
Sordor shrugged and said, “Despite what you think of him, he is a man of honor. And his code prohibits him from attacking any of us again, since we have defeated him.”
“Sordor is correct, the code of the Intrinsic Brotherhood states that a failed assassin attempt places the victor off limits on another attempt by our organization. That does not mean that the prince won’t hire another group to carry out another attack, which is something I cannot guarantee. But I can guarantee that you will not be bothered by myself, or anyone else from the Intrinsic Brotherhood ever again,” explained Gimmock.
“Some strange code you have,” said Aylas.
“It is said that one who defeats an assassination attempt is worthy to continue to live. And not many escape death when we are involved,” replied Gimmock.
Arkhet was becoming frustrated with all the useless banter, and he shouted, “Then be-gone with you, and tell your prince to leave us be!”
“I can do one better, and can perhaps throw the prince off your trail for a long time,” said Gimmock, which caught Arkhet off guard.
The chief stared at the assassin in puzzlement for a brief moment before asking, “How?”
“I will tell the prince that we killed all of you, and the sword was not here,” Gimmock said, as he pointed to Arkhet. “And being that he believes that Aylas is the one who has the blade, I will tell him that we found evidence that she moved off to the east, and we lost her deep in the mountains,” he added.
“Why would he believe you?” asked Arkhet.
“We were childhood friends, and I have never deceived him,” replied Gimmock easily.
“So why do so now?” asked Aylas.
“Because I see the same thing you do,” he said to Aylas. Turning his head to look directly at Arkhet, he continued, “The sword chose Arkhet to be the new champion of the blade, and there is a higher reason for the sword making such a bold move. It is well known that the blade was forged using the power of the Earth Mother, and it taps directly into the living weave. It’s magic and reasoning is far beyond any of us here, and if I were to interfere, the Earth Mother may just take offence.”
“Very true,” said Aylas.
“And that is exactly why you chose to side with the orc people,” Gimmock said, and he added, “To perform the bidding of the Earth Mother, and her mysterious designs.”
Aylas seemed taken aback that an assassin would know so much about the Earth Mother. She stated confidently, “So you were a warden once.”
“A long time ago,” replied Gimmock.
“What happened?” asked Aylas.
Gimmock grinned and said, “I still serve the Earth Mother, just in a different way. I am still a protectorate of the balance; I just took a different path.”
Aylas seemed to come to a sudden realization, and she said, “That’s why you have the code. If the Earth Mother doesn’t wish someone to die, then you will fail at your attempt!”
Gimmock nodded in affirmation.
Arkhet didn’t understand half of what was being said, and didn’t really care. But he did sense the tension suddenly dissipate within the room.
Sheathing his sword, he said, “Okay, now what?”
“I will attempt to throw the prince off your trail and buy you some time. It’s my own way of serving the Earth Mother,” replied Gimmock.
Aylas sheathed her sword and tilted her chin towards the door.
Taking the hint, Gimmock brushed past the trio, and disappeared into the night.
Chapter 20
Prince Greenwood listened intently as Gimmock informed him of all the events that had transpired. His anger grew as the tale unfolded, until it reached the breaking point, and he screamed in complete and total fury at the major defeat in his plan.
Gimmock took an involuntary step back at the prince’s ire, and waited patiently while the spoiled brat played out his tantrum.
The prince began to flip furniture, and kick and flail about in pure frustration. After several moments of his ridiculous antics, he finally settled down enough to shout, “How could you lose her?”
Gimmock responded, “It’s not a matter of losing her, we never found her. She fled deep into the mountains, far to the east. We have no way to track her there.”
“And how do you know she fled to the east?” shouted the prince, his voice cracking under the strain.
“We tortured the orcs until we found out where she had gone,” Gimmock stated evenly.
“What am I to do now?” screamed the prince, his voice going up two octaves.
“That is not my problem, we have failed to kill Aylas, and under the code, we cannot continue to pursue her,” said Gimmock.
“Be damned your code! You will go back out there and kill her!”
“No,” said Gimmock.
The prince stared in open mouthed astonishment at the rebellious assassin. His eyes suddenly narrowed into slits and he drew his sword.
Gimmock didn’t move, and stood in place, his hands well away from his own blades.
Ergen stepped between them, and faced the prince. “You cannot force him to break the code, he is protected by the Earth Mother,” said Ergen.
“To hell with the Earth Mother,” hissed the prince.
Ergen tensed at the insult, and shook his head in disappointment. “Then you have no further need of me, since I am an agent of the Earth Mother. I take my leave of you,” said the warden.
The prince suddenly snapped back to his senses, and he dropped his sword and grabbed a hold of the warden’s arm. “Please, I didn’t mean it; I said it out of a moment of anger. I need you warden, and I apologize for slandering the Earth Mother, it will not happen again,” the prince pleaded.
Ergen halted, but didn’t turn around. He said, “Sire, you have lost the sword, and I suggest that you disband the army and go seek a new life somewhere.”
“No, I cannot. The fate of our people hangs in the balance. We must have the sword back,” said the prince.
“You want the sword for yourself,” challenged Gimmock.
Ergen turned and looked the prince in the eyes. “Is this true?” he asked.
The prince was an excellent liar, and now put his abilities to good use. Putting on his best face, he said, “I promise you that I have no designs on the sword, I only seek to return it to its rightful place.”
Ergen studied the prince for a long moment, then said, “Well, we will have to wait out the winter, and it will be a long wait. You must be patient. And there will be no spoor to follow come spring, as the melting snow and the elements would have washed away any sign. So all we can do is scour the mountains to the east, and hope we come across Aylas along the way. The journey will be difficult, and finding her will be virtually impossible. But we will try, as long as you are giving me your word that you do not desire to keep the sword for yourself.”
“You have my word,” said the prince.
“Sire, I believe we are done here,” said Gimmock, and he turned on his heel and strode out of the tent.
The prince didn’t pay the assassin any attention as his thoughts had already turned to his next plan, which involved using the human wizard, Aysix, to help him track down the sword – his sword.
Arkhet stared out across his village, and felt a swell of pride at his people’s accomplishments. They had successfully completed all of the stone houses, just in time for winter, had built store houses for food, and had almost finished the temple and school house.
As the first snow of the season fell about him, he pulled his gorak skin coat tight and his gaze settled upon the valley itself, and he took in its pristine beauty in entirety.
The snowcapped purple mountains surrounding the valley – his people’s valley – was completely isolated from the outside world, at least for now. But the ever present threat of the elven army finding them was uppermost on his mind.
He would do whatever it took to protect his people, even if it meant having to abandon the valley in order to take refuge elsewhere, but for the time being, they were safe.
But the repeated visions from his sword told him that this was not the place that he would build his grand orc city. It was somewhere else, far away, and it was a place that had been lost to time.
So finding the location of this lost city would take time to search out, but they wouldn’t be able to do that until spring. Until then, he and his people would enjoy life to the fullest extent, and learn as much as they could from the humans and the elf.
A figure stepped into view, and Arkhet allowed his vision to shift from the panoramic view of the valley to the approaching orc.
His face suddenly flushed hot, and his knees grew weak as Erga approached.
“Chief,” she said, and shot him an alluring grin.
“Erg . . .Erga,” Arkhet stammered in return.
“Would you join me by the lake for mid-day meal?” she asked, as she batted her long eyelashes in a seductive manner.
“Well, I need . . .” he started, but a voice from behind halted him.
“He would love to join you,” said Aylas.
Arkhet turned and shot Aylas an annoyed look, but the elf grinned in return and playfully punched Arkhet on the shoulder.
“Great, I have already prepared some food, I will go and get it, and will be right back,” said Erga.
Arkhet turned back to watch Erga’s retreating form, and he sighed in longing as he watched her shapely hips sway from side to side as she walked.
Suddenly remembering the meddling elf, Arkhet spun around in anger and said, “Why did you do that?”
Aylas laughed and said, “Because you lacked the courage, so I had to help you out.”
His face turned hot from anger and Arkhet shouted, “How dare you say that I lack the courage!”
Arkhet was surprised by the elf’s response, and his eyes widened in disbelief as Aylas just laughed even harder.
It took her a few moments to catch her breath, and she finally said, “My dear orc, you are in love. Look into your heart and tell me it isn’t so.”
Arkhet stammered, “But I . . . never . . . no way.”
Aylas placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “It is perfectly normal for even the bravest male to come unhinged when dealing with love. It’s an emotion that many consider weak, but take my advice, the power of love is the most potent force in the universe. It is stronger than earth magic, mightier than the ethereal weave, and more powerful than the god’s themselves. Just look at what Sordor did with the power of love for his son. He could have conquered the world in order to save him.”
Arkhet replied, “And love can be deadlier than the mightiest blade as well.” He placed a hand upon the hilt of Sylral, and quickly yanked his hand away, as if it were on fire, as visions of orc children flooded into his mind.
Seeing his surprised expression, Aylas asked, “Another vision?”
Arkhet didn’t reply, he just stared longingly at Erga as she approached with a basket of food.
“Perhaps you are right, elf,” Arkhet whispered as Erga drew close.
“I am right, now go have some fun,” said Aylas, and she lightly skipped away.
Erga smiled and batted her eyes, which melted Arkhet’s heart on the spot. She stuck out an arm, and Arkhet quickly took the hint and intertwined his arm with her own.
They struck out towards the lake, arm in arm, and he allowed the power of love to fill his very soul.
James Cherry, Foundations (The Silver Blade Trilogy Book 1)
