Read Blood and Steel (The Cor Chronicles Volume I) Page 36

Palius was convinced that this issue would be the death of him; every time there was news he felt a regular pain in his left arm that shot to his jaw. Two weeks after dispatching Jonn there was absolutely no sign of the priest, his men or the Dahken. Palius had his men track down the enterprising ranger who had found the boy; as it turned out the man was still in Byrverus. He paid the ranger well to ride to the town of Hager with all haste and find the priest. He gave the man a signet ring with the Royal Seal of Queen Erella so that any local official or bureaucrat would know he came with the highest authority. The ranger returned in two weeks, having stopped little to even sleep, and he had killed several horses in so doing.

  In the town of Hager, he learned that Jonn and his men had gone south towards the farm; their intention was to ambush the Dahken at the farm from which they bought food and other supplies. Having been here recently, the ranger knew the area quite well. He found the farm completely deserted, with nothing but a few sundry items in the house itself. Some weather had come through recently, and there was little evidence or traces for him to follow.

  The next obvious step was to continue south on the road to Sanctum, and he hadn’t gone far when he came across a scene of pure putrefaction. Thirteen corpses, some with severed limbs or even heads, lay in the sun. Their skin was turning black, and a truly foul stench hung in the air. The ranger inspected them as closely as he dared, not terribly interested in disturbing the large number of insects and larvae that were infesting the bodies. The priest, his robe missing, lay on his back impaled by a broken single edged longsword. Some of the soldiers had wounds from this weapon, while others had been slain by a double edged sword. The ranger continued to Sanctum, finding the castle completely and totally obliterated, fallen into the promontory upon which it was built.

  Palius listened to the ranger’s story twice, concentrating on keeping down the anxiety which threatened his calm. He did not ask the ranger to repeat the story several times as he had before; at this point he trusted the man, or rather in the man’s desire for coin. He had already paid the man well in advance, but Palius excused him with another small pouch of gold coins. As the ranger left, Palius told him to stay available should the queen have further need of him; she appreciated his efficiency.

  Palius slumped in his chair, staring off into space, and for a brief moment, he looked upwards wishing Garod would simply strike him down and make this someone else’s problem. He quickly recanted this line of thinking, mentally asking Garod for forgiveness. He closed his eyes in thought; he needed a course of action to suggest before giving this news to Queen Erella.

  How was it possible this boy thwarted every attempt they made at controlling, capturing or containing him? Aquis was the greatest kingdom in the Shining West, and yet they had found and lost him thrice! The fact another Dahken, an older Dahken, was involved had been extremely disquieting, but he had had no doubt that a dozen well trained soldiers led by a venerable priest would have no difficulty subduing them one way or another. Palius, though not the most pious man, was not one to blasphemy, but he couldn’t help the feeling that some other power worked against them. Palius stood from his desk and left his office. It was time to talk to the queen, and he had no idea what he was going to recommend now.