The Paladins of Naretia

Chapter 19

  Aramus had insisted on digging Angus's grave so as to allow Bernard time to say goodbye. Ol?rin was surprised to see Aramus leave his thin satchel on the ground, next to his feet, just before he started digging. The old man took it as a sign that Aramus now trusted his travelling companions enough to lay down his only possessions. 'Strange how death can bring people closer.'

  Aramus used the dwarfs axe to lift large chunks of mud from the ground, but the soggy dirt would not let him dig deep. In the end, they were left with little choice but to lower Angus's body into the mire, along with his Etherium sword, and watch him sink to the bottom. It was no kind of burial for a brave dwarf, Ol?rin knew this. But with the queen's army still nearby, and with no dry wood for a pyre, they could ill-afford to carry his body back to Balbuldor from where the king had expelled them. Right arm or not, the king would not be pleased to see them, or their pursuing worgen.

  While Bernard stood solemnly by the mound of dirt, that was once the king's right arm, Aramus spent some time searching through the bog for just the right pieces of wood to create a marker for Angus's grave, collecting his satchel along the way. Using rope Ol?rin had stored in his hat, Aramus tied two pieces of wood together in the shape of an X and placed it at the head of the grave. With the remaining rope the young man tied up the unconscious queen's hands. He slipped her golden sword from around her waist and strapped it safely to his side. Satisfied that she wouldn't budge, Aramus joined Bernard and Ol?rin.

  As dusk encroached on their private moment, the three travellers stood next to the grave in a moment of silence. The sound of frogs croaking, counted the many seconds they stood. In that time Ol?rin couldn't help but smile at the compassion Aramus had shown toward the grief stricken dwarf. 'The kindness of one's actions is often more powerful then condolences,' he thought. Bernard too seemed to appreciate the young man's efforts, giving him a grateful nod.

  Now adorned in the ill-fitting Etherium armour, and carrying the Valefire around his neck, Ol?rin couldn't help but wonder if Bernard's rise to the top of the king's army hadn't had something to do with the potion of fortune he had given him. Although the potion should have worn off by now, Ol?rin still felt a wave of guilt as he glanced at the half-man, his hands clasped firmly in front of him.

  "I am no' one fer many words," Bernard began, sniffling loudly and wiping his nose with his beard. "Angus understood them better than me. He did a lot of things better than me, but he was never big-headed about it. He was a good man, a brave soldier, and a great brother. He took on the weight of the king's woes and carried them proudly. His sense of duty never left him, no' even when it meant his life, and I can only hope tae be half as brave as he."

  Bernard's bottom lip quivered and he let out another loud sob before clearing his throat.

  "I dinnae know whot life is wih'out me big brother. He has always been there from the beginning of my time. But I do know that the world will be colder now that he's no' in it. And whatever people have said about him, whatever thoughts have wandered through their bigoted minds, I know that Angus will be the first one that the Goddess chooses to stand by her side."

  Bernard shifted the Etherium chestplate awkwardly, which only covered half his torso, and tried to speak again. But his words were lost to the sorrow that so evidently weighed on his chest. The sorrow was contagious and Ol?rin found himself wiping a tear from his own eyes too. He didn't have to guess what small-minded people had said about the king's right arm, he knew only too well. But it was those people who would lose out in the end. They would never truly know the hero that had laid his life down so they could live.

  "In death," Ol?rin continued for Bernard, "we find our place. We see all those who have been touched by our living in the tears that they shed, and the great deeds we have done in the stories they tell of us when we are gone. Our deeds do not need to be mighty to hold an enduring place in the hearts of the living, nor do they need to stretch to the corners of the worlds for them to be felt. All that keeps us alive in this mortal realm, is what we leave behind. And, as all hero stories should, I vow that Angus's story will become the thing of legend. While breath still escapes my lungs, I will endeavour to tell all who will listen about the dwarven king's selfless right arm."

  "Aye, and may the cold winds of death ner fly up yer kilt, brother," Bernard added with a satisfied nod and a sniffle.

  The three travellers stood for a moment longer, bowing their heads, until the sound of the queen groaning disturbed them. Bernard shot her an evil look and spat in her general direction, like the mere sight of her breathing was an insult to everything he held dear. Ol?rin suspected that it probably was, and wondered if the dwarf would truly be able to keep his word.

  "What should we do with the queen?" Aramus whispered to Ol?rin.

  "Well, ye know whot I'd like tae do wih' her," Bernard replied, gathering up his axe and securing it onto his back.

  "We cannot kill her, Bernard," Ol?rin said examining the young girl in red armour. "But we cannot let her go either. She would only find another way to gather an army, and, thus far, she has proven herself too dangerous to be allowed to do that."

  "So, whot then? We tie her tae a tree in the middle of nowhere never tae be found again? That'll work fer me too."

  "We should bring her with us," Aramus said. "She can't gather an army as a prisoner."

  "Ha! Ye want me tae travel wih' that foul flange? I'll no' walk the same road as my brother's murderer, ya hear me, wizard?"

  "I'm afraid that Aramus is right," Ol?rin said, touching Bernard's shoulder gently. "She is too dangerous to be allowed to go free. You are now the king's right arm, and as much as it pains me to twist it, we need you to come with us. It is your duty, after all, and the last thing you promised Angus."

  Bernard's face went as red as a beetroot and he mumbled unrepeatable curses under his breath. He pushed Ol?rin to the side, and, as he passed Aramus, gave the young man a quick punch in the ribs.

  "Thanks a lot, clever clogs," he spat.

  Aramus bent over, winded from the blow, and Bernard stomped off ahead of them.

  "He is angry," Ol?rin said, righting the young man. "He is in a lot of pain right now, and it will take some time before the anger leaves him."

  "How much pain will my ribs have to endure until then?"

  "I do not know, perhaps just a little more. But until then, my strong young fellow, I would ask that you carry the queen before Bernard gets too far ahead of us. I am too old for the job, and Bernard would be more likely to strangle her."

  Aramus nodded and walked toward the young queen. He picked up the girl who had tried to kill him with more gentleness than Ol?rin would have expected. Despite everything that had been said about the son of Dantet, Ol?rin was more determined than ever that he would succeed in curing Aramus. Then, the world would see the kind, passionate man that lay within him. But something still troubled Ol?rin.

  As Aramus shifted the queen's limp body in his arms, the fire that had been behind his eyes was now well and truly gone. The memory of Aramus's excited face as he had used his powers against the ogres, however, was still firmly etched into his brain.

  "How are you feeling?" he asked as Aramus walked passed him.

  "Fine, why do you keep asking me that?"

  "Well, the last time you were on fire, you were in a considerable amount of pain. Given that you incinerated half the queen's army, I expected that you might have some discomfort," Ol?rin replied probingly.

  "No, I'm fine," Aramus said, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "It didn't hurt this time. Actually, it kind of felt good. Is that bad?"

  Ol?rin was quiet for a moment. He suspected that being forced to burst into flames was unnatural, even for the son of Dantet, and wondered if the Dark God had done it to both free his armies and kill his son at the same time. But the residual power that had lingered in Aramus appeared to be extinguished now, and Ol?rin thought it best not to worry the young man.

  "No, not
at all," he lied to him, probably for the first time ever.

  Satisfied with the wizard's answer, Aramus smiled and followed Bernard along the uneven path. Ol?rin couldn't help but wonder if his experience with his father might accelerate the maturing process of Aramus's powers. But there was little he could do about it now. Ol?rin made to follow Aramus, before remembering something and quickly began scouring the marsh between the fallen ogres.

  "What are you looking for?" Aramus called back, pausing to cast Ol?rin a curious look.

  "The arrow and the pendent that fell. Both are powerful weapons and we shouldn't leave them lying around to be picked up," Ol?rin replied. "But I can't seem to find them anywhere."

  "The pendent?"

  "Yes, a powerful weapon used to control Dark Ones called the, Amulet of Tenebris," Ol?rin replied, kicking over a few loose body parts. "As soon as I saw her command the ogres I knew that she must have had it in her possession, and I fear there is a dark wizard aiding her."

  "I have not seen it, old man. They've probably sunken into the mud," Aramus called as he continued to follow the angry dwarf. "Come on, or Bernard will be half way to Elwood before we know it."

  Ol?rin had a sinking feeling at the thought of leaving such powerful talismans lying about the mire, but Aramus was right. Despite his short stature, and his wide frame, Bernard had taken off at a great pace, leaving them some distance behind. Ol?rin supposed that the place of his brother's death was not a somewhere Bernard wanted to loiter. Taking long strides after Aramus, Ol?rin followed his two companions, and their prisoner, toward the home of the Elves, and prayed they would not slay Aramus the moment they saw him.