The Sword of Light: Book One of the Veredor Chronicles (18 page)

‘
Do you think he will go?’ asked Eben.

‘
King Ignis is keen to reforge the alliance with the
Scaldonians. I think he will go, but it’s not until noon
tomorrow.’

‘
Who’s going to go with him?’ asked Eben.

‘
I don’t know; probably one of his knights. We’ll have to wait
and see.’

**

Meara, Red,
Stella, and Baftel arrived at the edge of the encampment as the sun
was setting in the western sky. Eben and Cassiel greeted them and
led them through the encampment toward the command tent.

Red was
looking at Eben with a cheeky grin. ‘When do I get my armour?’

Eben smiled
across at his friend. ‘I’m sure King Ignis can arrange that.’

King Ignis
came out of the large tent and greeted them. ‘I’m glad to see you
have arrived safely.’

‘
We’re glad to see you weren’t too late,’ said
Meara.

‘
One more day and we would have been too late. My army was
going to attack Orelin this morning,’ said King Ignis. ‘Please,
come in out of the cold. We are discussing some serious
matters.’

They all
entered the tent and took seats around the table. General Hugo,
several field commanders, and two knights were also seated at the
table. They greeted the newcomers warmly.

‘
I think this plan is simply wrong,’ said Hugo.

‘
It is dangerous, but it’s the right thing to do,’ said King
Ignis. ‘If we don’t reforge the alliance and we allow Scaldonia to
fall then we can be sure Ortaria will be next. We need to work with
our friends.’

‘
But Duke Egil’s request that you enter Orelin sounds like a
trap,’ said Sir Victar, an older and noble knight who was seated
beside General Hugo. ‘He’s only allowing you to take one soldier
into Orelin. Duke Egil knows you will be vulnerable. Why wouldn’t
he let you take more guards?’

‘
This is about trust,’ said Meara. ‘Duke Egil wants to see if
you trust him. Trust is shared in all friendships. He knows that if
you trust him you will go. If you don’t trust him he knows that he
cannot trust you.’

‘
Meara is right; this is a test of trust,’ said Baftel, his
voice weak and croaky. He looked very old in the dull light. ‘There
is one other thing that I can see within Orelin. They have one of
the Fire Order with them.’

‘
A Fire Wizard?’ asked Meara, raising her eyebrows at the
revelation.

‘
Yes,’ replied Baftel. ‘He resists my seer ability. He is
aware of our presence, Meara.’ He paused and caught his breath. It
was a struggle for Baftel to speak. ‘King Ignis, if you can only
take one soldier then that soldier should be Eben.’ Everyone at the
table looked across to Eben. ‘He is the greatest warrior in the
encampment.’ Eben didn’t know if he believed what Baftel was
saying.

‘
This is true, Eben,’ said Meara. ‘I saw you fight those five
Skatheans in Lantern Hill. If only one person can go you would be
the best choice.’

‘
Five Skatheans!’ gasped General Hugo.

‘
I didn’t win,’ said Eben modestly.

‘
But you’re still alive,’ said Sir Victar, amazed and awed by
the revelation.

‘
It’s true, Eben proved himself to be quite a warrior in
Lantern Hill, but I can’t ask you to put your life at risk,’ said
King Ignis.

‘
I will go,’ said Eben.

‘
We may be walking into a trap,’ said King Ignis.

‘
We’ve escaped traps before,’ said Eben, smiling. King Ignis
nodded with a slight smile back at Eben.

‘
Alright then, Eben and I will go to meet with Duke Egil
tomorrow at noon.’

**

The next
morning Eben awoke early. He was feeling strong after two nights of
solid sleep. He put on his armour and stepped out of the tent. The
sun was already fairly high in the sky; it was a couple of hours
after sunrise.

Max
approached. ‘I was asked to let you rest.’

‘
Thanks,’ said Eben.

‘
I have been ordered to take you to the Horse Master to find
you a warhorse,’ said Max.

Eben nodded.
Max led him through the large encampment to the southern side where
many horses were tied to wagons and carriages. They walked over to
a young man who had long hair and a very long beard.

‘
Horse Master Jorg, this is Eben, a friend of King Ignis. The
King has requested you give him your best available
warhorse.’

‘
Certainly,’ said Jorg. The young Horse Master led them along
the edge of the camp to where several horses were tied to a wagon.
‘These are three of my best,’ said Jorg. There were two dark brown
warhorses and a grey one. They were all obviously bred for war. ‘I
recommend this one,’ he said indicating the grey horse. ‘His name
is Swiftwing; he is very fast and the wisest of the three. He was
given to General Hugo by a drifter who said that he had ridden him
all the way from the lands beyond Irvaria. The foreigner also said
that Swiftwing has fought in several battles in the Western
Lands.’

Eben walked up
to the huge horse and touched his nose. The horse was friendly and
clearly liked him.

‘
Good, I’ll take Swiftwing,’ said Eben.

‘
I’ll saddle him up and have him taken to you. I heard that
you’re going to go with the King into Orelin. Swiftwing will be a
good horse for your mission. He won’t be frightened.’

They left Jorg
and walked back toward his tent. An armoured soldier came running
over to him.

‘
Eben, look at me,’ said Red with a huge smile and a glimmer
in his eyes. His new armour was shining brightly and was similar to
armour Eben had been given by the Weapons Master. Red also had a
new finely crafted sword latched to his side. He had his beard
shaven to look neat and had tied his shaggy hair back.

‘
You look great,’ said Eben.

‘
Like a knight,’ cried Red heartily. ‘I can’t wait for Stella
to see me like this,’ he said as he ran off to find her.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

The town of
Orelin had served as the southern capital of Scaldonia since
ancient times. It was often said that the Ecorian Emperors of old
took a particular interest in the town as it was the gateway to the
Scaldonian Highlands where the mysterious Scaldonian Oracle was
said to live. The town’s proximity to the Iron Gate Pass led to it
being the central point of many battles throughout the ages. The
Scaldonians who lived in the south were regarded as a rugged and
battle worn people.

The day was
dark and clouds rumbled with thunder in the east. King Ignis and
Eben rode together toward the main gate of Orelin. King Ignis was
adorned in magnificent armour with intricate designs depicting two
golden lions. His long red cape was draped down over his horse. The
day was nearing noon when they reached the main gate. The wall
stood about fifty feet high. Eben could see hundreds of men lining
the walls.

‘
I am King Ignis of Ortaria! I have come to meet with Duke
Egil!’

There was a
silence for several moments and then the gates opened enough to let
them ride through. The King led the way through the open gate. On
the far side were five rugged knights on horseback waiting for
them. Their armour was unpolished and dark, and their capes were
dark blue. They carried shields with them that had a depiction of a
white eagle with outstretched wings, and they all wore helms with
visors that covered their faces. The knight in the centre looked
particularly rugged and fierce. He had his visor up and stared at
them with angry eyes. For a moment Eben was worried they had ridden
directly into a trap.

‘
I am Sir Leif of Scaldonia; Gaurdian of the South; Commander
of the Orelin Guard,’ said the severe looking knight in a rumbling
harsh voice.

‘
I am King Ignis of Ortaria; direct descendent of the Ecorian
Arbiters and rightful ruler of Ortaria,’ said King
Ignis.

‘
Duke Egil awaits you; follow me.’ Sir Leif turned his horse
and led them through the dreary looking town toward the main keep.
The streets were mostly empty as almost all the people were
indoors. The townsfolk that they did see looked to be living in
complete poverty.

The keep was
surrounded by a second smaller wall about two hundred yards from
the southern gate. They were taken up to the gate of the keep and
entered into a large courtyard. Two lines of armoured spearmen
formed an honour guard for them. Sir Leif led them up to a big
arched door and then dismounted. The other knights also dismounted
and King Ignis did the same. Eben followed their example.

‘
I will now take you to see Duke Egil,’ said Sir Leif. He led
them in through the door which opened into a long corridor that had
no windows and was lit by burning torches at intervals along the
wall. Sir Leif led the way through the corridor; the other knights
followed them closely.

They reached a
second door; Sir Leif pushed it open. Directly before them was a
large throne room with stained glass windows and white marble
floors. The hall was about a hundred feet long and had two rows of
spearmen lining both the long walls. Across the marble floor was a
bright silver throne. Seated upon the throne was an old man with
long grey hair that fell to his shoulders, a clean shaven face, and
a very fearsome look in his grey eyes. He was dressed in amour of
the manner of his men, and he stared at King Ignis with a look that
bordered on contempt. Beside him on the right was a knight and the
left was a crazy looking man wearing a worn brown robe; his hair
was frizzy and flew out in every direction. Further to the right of
the Duke stood three young maidens, all wearing fine dresses,
impressive jewellery, and beautiful attire. To the left of the Duke
stood several men who wore no armour; they appeared to be scholars
or advisors.

Eben and King
Ignis followed Sir Leif across the marble floor toward the
Duke.

‘
Duke Egil, I present to you, King Ignis of Ortaria,’ said Sir
Leif. He then bowed to the Duke and walked aside. The Duke clapped
his hands a few times and sat back deliberately in his chair with a
smug smile on his face.

‘
To be honest, I thought you wouldn’t come,’ said Duke Egil,
his voice was deep and strong. ‘After all that my people have
suffered at your hands, I can hardly believe that you would dare to
come here unprotected. Of course I will let you explain yourself,
King Ignis, but only because you apparently have some courage left
in your old veins. Why have you brought your army to our gates? My
knights say you have over twenty thousand men. Clearly we didn’t
invite you. First you ask me to surrender, and now you want to make
peace. It looks like a trick to me. Explain, King
Ignis.’

‘
Duke Egil, this is no trick. I only reached my army two
nights ago. I came to put an end to this madness. I never asked my
army to invade Scaldonia, and I never asked for the Iron Gate Pass
to be closed...’

The Duke
started laughing heavily and folded his arms across his chest.
‘Trying to be innocent doesn’t suit you, Ignis,’ he said. King
Ignis frowned and his eyes narrowed. He was clearly offended by the
statement.

‘
I have been in a dungeon for three years!’ said King Ignis
firmly. ‘I escaped the Dungeons of Zyran only recently. I had to
race north to stop my army from invading your lands. An imposter
sits on my throne; he was the one who ordered this invasion. Now
that I have returned I plan to repair all the damage that has been
done.’

The Duke
stared at King Ignis with wide eyes at hearing the revelation. The
throne room fell completely silent. Duke Egil looked to the man at
his side in the brown robes with the crazy hair.

‘
Garnock, is this true?’ The wizard stared intensely at King
Ignis for a few moments; his eyes then darted across to Eben. He
gazed at Eben with his crazy wide eyes. Eben wondered what he was
thinking and felt uncomfortable.

‘
Yes,’ replied Garnock, his extremely high tone made him sound
completely insane. ‘It’s all true, Duke.’ Garnock continued staring
intently at Eben. ‘You must ask the Ortarian who that is he brought
with him.’

The Duke
looked from the King to Eben. ‘Who is your guardsman?’

‘
His name is Eben,’ said King Ignis, surprised by the
question.

‘
Why do you want to know about his guardsman?’ asked the Duke,
looking to the crazy wizard.

‘
He is not who we think he is,’ said the wizard. ‘The sea
shall bend for this one.’

The Duke
rolled his eyes at the cryptic reply of the wizard. ‘What are you
talking about? Why do you always speak in riddles?’ The Duke looked
from the wizard back to King Ignis. ‘King Ignis, this story of your
imprisonment is news to me; I knew nothing of it. We Scaldonians
suspected Zyran had fallen beneath a shadow; however, we have never
known for certain. You must know these are terrible times for us.
Our northern city of Aldokan has fallen to the Kaznor Empire. There
is an evil growing in the north, and armies of muckrons have landed
on our shores. King Vidar, my brother, was captured by the enemy
and taken as a prisoner to the Dungeons of Zarkanor. We have been
pushed south and our people have suffered greatly. You should also
know that our scouts say there is an army of muckrons camped about
ten miles north of Orelin.’

‘
An army of muckrons!’ exclaimed King Ignis, surprised that
such an army was so close to Orelin. ‘How many muckrons are
there?’