Read Blood and Steel (The Cor Chronicles Volume I) Page 56

“Tell me about the Loszian meteor,” Cor said after thinking a moment.

  “What specifically do you want to know?”

  “I know it hit nearly three thousand years ago. What exactly was it?” Cor asked.

  “The meteor,” Taraq’nok began slowly, “was a vessel, a repository for the consciousness of the Loszian gods. Eons ago, our gods left their world; the peoples there had completely destroyed each other and left nothing. The gods had little choice, but to wait millions of years for men to rise again, or leave in search of a new home. They searched the skies of the universe and found a suitable world in which men were beginning to again climb from the muck of barbarism. They placed their consciousness into a meteor and hurled themselves across the universe. Unfortunately, when such a large thing hurtles with so much force, there is little to stop it without inflicting destruction, and the meteor crashed into the eastern side of this continent in a great ball of flame.

  “Upon the collision, the meteor broke apart and released the souls of our gods. Having been caged for so long, they let loose their power across the land and changed the people they found into the first true Loszians. These Loszians had been followers of Garod, but with the power granted them by our gods, they found true freedom. They learned how to manipulate the dead, spread disease and cast spells of unnatural cold on their foes, cold completely different from the elemental gods. They were superior to the followers of Garod.”

  “I know well the rest of the history,” Cor said. “Is it known where the meteor impacted?”

  “Of course,” answered Taraq’nok, a glint in his eye. “Why?”

  “There was a Dahken citadel there established by a man named Lord Dahken Noth. The citadel had a great tower, and it came down when the meteor struck it.”

  “Less than a mile from the crater created by the meteor, the first Loszians found the destroyed citadel of which you speak,” explained Taraq’nok. The rubble was strewn very nearly to the crater itself, and the few Dahken that were found were dead or dying. My ancestors left them to their fate.”

  “I need to go there,” Cor said, with more urgency than he would have preferred.

  “The place is dead,” Taraq’nok said. “Nothing but weeds will grow within miles of the crater, and what few animals live in the area are predatory and unnatural. The meteor still resonates with power deep in its crater, and living things that come in contact with it are corrupted. Even we necromancers avoid it. What could you possibly need from that site?”

  “The Dahken citadel was destroyed when the meteor impacted, but the Dahken built catacombs under their strongholds in which they interred their dead. The tower may have fallen, but I know the catacombs are still intact,” Cor said. He hoped that this was explanation enough, but Taraq’nok only sat and stared at him waiting.

  “I must go into the catacombs and find Lord Dahken Noth,” Cor finished.

  “Perhaps I was wrong earlier,” Taraq’nok said, and Cor shot him a questioning look. “Perhaps you are not a rational man, you are a fool. There is nothing there but death. If the meteor’s energy does not sicken and kill you, you may just as easily fall victim to the area’s predators. Regardless, Noth cannot possibly still live.”

  “He does,” Cor nearly whispered. “I have spoken with him more than once. He is down there, and he is waiting for me.”

  At this, the Loszian became silent, at first staring at Cor with his eyelids half closed. After a few minutes he clasped his hands, looking at the ceiling apparently lost in thought. Cor did not move from his seat, and nor did he offer any more information, though he grew restless. For some reason, he did not want the Loszian to know that he actually sought artifacts rather than Noth himself. After several long minutes, Taraq’nok finally spoke again.

  “Well Dahken Cor, I have no reason to believe you to be a liar, though you have tried your amateur hand at subterfuge I think. I believe you when you say you have spoken to something claiming to be Lord Dahken Noth, but even you know that is entirely impossible.

  “I agree you must go and soon. The exact location is not far from here, perhaps a mere three days hard ride to the east. I will send some men with you for additional protection, but you must wear some type of helm and gauntlets to cover your features. If Noth lives, he would be a most powerful ally in our endeavor. He would likely see that we offer a great opportunity to return the Dahken to greatness, but if he does not live, then you will have to face whatever dwells in those catacombs.

  “We should discuss it in more detail over a meal this evening, but I see no reason why you should not leave tomorrow.”