The Line of Illeniel

Chapter 2

The sun rose entirely too early. I wish I could have found the fellow who arranged that, he obviously had a poor sense of humor. Despite our late night Penny and I both woke not long after the sun came up. I think we were both anxious.

Sleep and some early morning thinking convinced me that there had to be more of those things out there. To begin with, Sadie hadn’t been like that before she disappeared, and something had to have taken her. If something similar had happened to the others that meant there were at least three more of those things out there… that we knew of. It was a chilling thought.

The only good news was that no one else had been taken, though I felt sure that there would have been, if we hadn’t encountered the creature first. Penny and I discussed what had happened but neither of us could understand it. In the end we decided to keep it to ourselves to avoid a panic.

I wrote two letters, one to the Duke of Lancaster, detailing everything that had happened, the second I addressed to Dorian. I hoped he would be free to come stay with us for a while, if magic wasn’t effective against this new creature his sword would certainly be more useful. After that I went looking to see if I could find a farmer or someone heading toward Lancaster.

As things worked out there wasn’t anyone planning a trip that day, but I ran across Joe McDaniel and he offered to go if it was urgent. Joe was a transplant from Gododdin, the neighboring kingdom. He didn’t talk much about his past, or his reasons for leaving, but I gathered it must involve the change in government there.

Technically Gododdin wasn’t a kingdom anymore. The royal family had been thoroughly exterminated some time before I was born and the country was now a theocracy, controlled by a cult known as the Children of Mal’goroth. Joe had never had anything good to say about them.

“I don’t mind going for ya Lord Cameron,” he told me, “I was planning to go in a few days anyway, to order a new cask of ale.” Joe was working to build a tavern, the first Washbrook had ever seen. At the moment it consisted of a few benches scattered around his house where he sold beer in the evenings. Being a beer enthusiast myself I had thoroughly supported his efforts.

“Thanks Joe,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. Once he had gone I began walking toward my father’s smithy. Someday soon I was going to have to start hiring a staff of some sort, such as regular messengers. It was quickly becoming apparent that I could no longer do everything myself anymore.

“You looked troubled son,” my father commented after I came in. He was a quiet man, which might be why he was so perceptive.

“There was trouble last night,” I explained, and then I told him what had occurred the previous evening. I also described the creature’s effect on my magic. Dad didn’t have any magical talent of his own but he was very intelligent and I had come to appreciate his advice when I had been testing different ways to enchant things.

My story alarmed him, but you would have had to know him to tell. He had always been a difficult man to read. Rather than spend his time talking about his worries, he moved on to practical matters. “Looks like we have a lot of work to do,” he said and then he walked over and drew out the stack of sheets he used when he was planning a design for something.

Naturally I was curious. “You’ve already got an idea?”

“You said when it touched you everything went black right?” he replied.

“Yes.”

“But… Penny was still able to fight it,” he reminded me.

Damn! I hadn’t thought of that. The merest touch had rendered me insensible, but although it had been steadily drawing her life out she had retained the ability to struggle.

He went on, “And it wasn’t able to draw the magic out of your enchantments, like the sword.”

At last it came clear to me. “The amulet! It must have protected her mind even while the creature was sucking the life out of her.” That thought had a lot of implications; it meant I had a way to protect people, at least partially. Penny’s amulet wouldn’t have saved her life, but people would be much more difficult to prey upon if they weren’t immediately paralyzed at the first touch of these creatures.

“Not just the amulet Mordecai, you could enchant your clothes, or armor, to more fully protect yourself. Anything to keep them from touching you,” he replied.

“There’s no way I could enchant enough armor or whatnot for everyone in the village, it would take years!” I argued, for the thought was daunting.

“Not them! For you boy! If something happens to you, none of us will be able to protect ourselves.” He gave me a look that spoke volumes, “You’ve got to start thinking like a lord and less like a footman, you’re important now.”

I didn’t completely agree with him on that, but in any case there was no way we could afford to produce armor for everyone. Besides, no one could work, farm, cook or anything else while wearing armor all day. The idea was ludicrous, but I still wouldn’t give up on the idea that we could do something for them. “Alright, I agree with you to a point, but we’ve still got to do something for the people.”

“If I could make enough amulets…”

“You did that in silver and I’m not really set up for that sort of thing, not if you plan to make dozens,” he responded.

“It doesn’t have to be silver; we could do them in iron.”

“That makes it easier, still it will take quite a bit of time, and the shape of it was very intricate. Could you change the shape?” Royce asked.

“Only if we engraved it instead, the symbols are the important part. When I made Penny’s I made the entire pendant from the symbols before I infused it,” I replied. I knew my father didn’t have the right tools to do intricate engraving.

“Hah! I have it,” he exclaimed. My hopes went up, for when my father set his mind to something he always found a way.

“What?” I asked.

“If you can borrow Penny’s amulet, we’ll make a mold, then we can cast as many as we need. How long does it take for you to do your magicking?” Royce waved his hands around comically while swaying side to side as he said this.

I gave him a hard stare, but inwardly he had me smiling, “Not long, maybe half an hour each if they’re already formed.” After that we got busy, though I had to do some talking to get Penny’s necklace away from her, she seemed to think I planned to take advantage of her. I had no clue where she would have gotten an idea like that.

Dad set things up and assured me he would have the molds ready in another day or two, after that he would be able to make them faster than I could enchant them. I worried it might not be soon enough.

I left after that, he didn’t need me so I got out of his way. I spent the morning helping the carpenters again but I was interrupted in mid-afternoon when Dorian arrived. “Ho! Mordecai!” he called up to me. At that moment I was standing on some scaffolding on the exterior of the keep.

I was relieved to see him but I hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon. I yelled down to him, “How did you get here so quickly?” I began climbing down so we could speak more easily.

“I left as soon as I got your message this morning.” Dorian was the most reliable of friends, the sort of man who would walk through fire if he thought it would help someone. He had already saved my life at least once before. “The description in your letter was a bit vague, but I got the impression you’re dealing with some sort of monster?”

I hadn’t known what to write so I hadn’t been very specific, “Yeah, let’s not talk about it out here. I haven’t figured out what to tell the people yet and I don’t want to start a panic.”

He blinked at me, “Seriously, a monster?” I could see the gears in his head turning, conjuring up creatures from childhood fairy tales. I also noted that he had come geared for war. He wore chainmail, not just the hauberk… but the leggings as well, complete with a steel cap and aventail. He had also brought both his sword and a long spear.

“I see you took me at my word. Did you really need the barding though? That must be a real pain for your horse.” Barding was the term for the armor that partially covered his steed, a great black destrier.

“How should I know? I’d rather come to the party overdressed than arrive and find out later that I should have worn my chainmail knickers!” he answered. As usual his joke wasn’t that funny, but I felt a bit less burdened seeing him in full armor. Dorian was the deadliest man I had ever known, and I was glad he was my friend.

Since his horse was tired (wouldn’t you be after carrying all that?), we walked him over to the makeshift stables and I helped him clean and groom the massive beast. It wasn’t a chore for me as I loved horses almost as much as people. While we combed him down I had a thought, “Take your armor off too, if you’re going to help there are some things I can do to improve your chances.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” he replied, but he started shucking the armor. Once it was off he handed me a very heavy pile of mail. Luckily I was still in good shape from helping Dad now and then at the smithy. As big a man as Dorian Thornbear was the armor probably weighed around eighty pounds or more.

“Bring your sword and spear too,” I added.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving them behind.” He gave me a look that indicated I was crazy to think he would walk about unarmed. “What are you planning to do to my armor? It’s very expensive you know.” He eyed me suspiciously. I never understood why he didn’t trust me.

“I won’t hurt your precious mail, never fear. I’m just going to improve it.” I tried to give him my best ‘wise and mysterious wizard’ look, but he merely shook his head.

We had reached my house at this point, although according to Penny it barely deserves the name. I took him around to the back where a small shed served as my workshop. It didn’t have all the neat toys Dad kept around his smithy, but I didn’t need most of them for my work. My skill with magic allowed me to do a lot of things without recourse to tools. I stretched his hauberk out flat on the table.

“Just be careful, Dad gave me that,” Dorian said. His father had died the year before, a fact neither of us liked to remember. I had loved Gram Thornbear too.

“When I’m done I doubt you’ll ever have to worry about anyone damaging it again,” I assured him. “Would you mind fetching some water? This will take a while and I’m thirsty already.” He set off to find a pitcher and I got to work. My request was half to get him out of the way so I could get started. I wasn’t sure how he would react.

I took down the papers I had my notes written on, though I had done a lot of enchanting lately the designs were complicated and I didn’t want to make a mistake. This one I had tested once before so I was fairly confident that it would perform as intended. Leaning over the mail I extended a finger and began tracing it along the metal rings; as it went the metal changed color, from dull grey to gold.

Dorian returned with the water, but he didn’t interrupt me since he knew I was concentrating. A long while later I looked up from my work, “Still got that water?”

“Sure. For a thirsty man you took long enough to stop for a drink,” he handed me a cup.

“How long has it been?” I asked.

“You’ve been talking to yourself and stroking my armor for about three hours now. It’ll be getting dark soon,” he replied.

“Damn! I didn’t even realize. I’m sorry Dorian I’ve been poor company.”

“Don’t worry about it, whatever you’re doing must be important. I just hope my mail still works properly.” He was looking at it over my shoulder.

“Well I’m done with the hauberk now, take a look,” I gestured to the table. The mail coat was gleaming. I had removed the gold coloring, which had been a temporary measure to keep from losing track of where I was in the process. The entire coat glimmered now, as though each ring had just been polished while to my eyes patterns of symbols and words still covered it. Dorian wouldn’t be able to see those.

“Well it’s really pretty, but battle isn’t about beauty. Will it still stop a sword?”

“My friend, it will stop everything short of a ballista. It won’t rust and you’ll never need to oil it again,” mentally I hoped that it would improve the smell as well. If you’ve ever been around men wearing chain armor you know what I mean, rust and sweat are not a good combination. “More importantly, it should also prevent the thing I ran into last night from sucking the life out of you.”

A voice came from the doorway, “Aren’t you boys getting hungry?” Penny had returned and she carried a basket. I was pretty sure it held food of some sort.

“In a little while, I still have to finish here.” I motioned toward Dorian’s weapons, his steel cap, and the chain leggings.

“I’m certainly hungry… I haven’t eaten since lunch,” Dorian answered. It was rare for him to miss a meal.

“At least one of you has some sense then. How much longer are you going to be Mort?” She looked at me questioningly. Lately she had been a bit overbearing when it came to making sure I took breaks and ate food.

“Not long, an hour or two.”

“Alright… Dorian if you would be so kind?” She held her arm out and he took it, escorting her into the house like some noble lady. I supposed she soon would be.

I went back to work, starting on the steel cap first. I didn’t think it would take too long and soon I was wrapped up in my task as I lost track of time. I finished the cap and leggings and began working on the sword before Penny returned.

“Mort?”

“Huh?” I looked up; Penny was a bit fuzzy around the edges.

“You need to eat, you can finish this later,” she said this gently but I had a hunch she was just warming up.

“I can’t stop in the middle or I’ll have to start all over. Actually while I’m at it go get your chain shirt. I can do it next.” I had already returned to my work on the sword. She didn’t answer and by the time I looked again she was gone.

A while later I had finished. It was fully dark now but that hadn’t been a problem, I had put several globes of magical light around the shop. I wanted to start on Penny’s chain shirt but she hadn’t brought it back so I went looking for her.

I found her in the house, sitting by the fire. “Where’s your chain shirt?” I asked with a fuzzy expression. You would think I’d have more sense, but I’ve been practicing my stupid.

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked.

What a silly question, I thought, any fool can see that it’s dark. “It’s nighttime,” I replied.

“Mort it’s almost midnight, and you still haven’t eaten. Did you even eat lunch?” She was giving me her best worried expression, but I wasn’t fooled. That’s just how they get you to lower your guard. Then I remembered what I had planned to do.

“Oh! You’re right; I’ve got to get ready. Where’s Dorian? I’ll have to eat while we walk I guess.” My eyes were a bit bleary, probably from lack of food.

Penny got up and taking me by the hand she led me to the table, coaxing me into sitting down. “You’re not going anywhere tonight. You’re tired and hungry, and probably too dumb to do much good out there right now anyway.”

“No I’m…,” I started to reply but she shoved a roll into my open mouth. I might have complained but it was good so I started chewing without thinking. It was all downhill after that… the roll had a conversation with my stomach and the two of them convinced me that they needed a lot more company down there. I made short work of the cold cuts and the rest of the bread. After I had stuffed myself I felt drowsy.

“Thanks honey, I should listen to you more often.” Penny scowled at me. I had broken the first rule of women. Never compliment them when they’re worried or mad. I didn’t let her start on me though. “Where’s Dorian? He can go with me tonight and I’ll do the work on your chain shirt tomorrow.”

“I already told you, you’re not going out tonight. Dorian can stand guard,” she replied, hands on her hips.

I gave her a long look, “If something happens to someone tonight I’m responsible.”

“You’re already responsible for everyone. Things will happen no matter what you do, but going out there like this will only get you killed. Where will those people be then?” Her features softened as she spoke, “Come to bed, Dorian will watch tonight. He’s already patrolling anyway.”

I should have known… they had already conspired against me. “I won’t be able to sleep,” I said petulantly.

Penny leaned over and kissed me. Not one of the chaste kisses I had been getting recently either, these were the sort of kisses that made a fellow wake up and say ‘hello’… nor was I immune to her charms. “Come to bed now and I’ll make it worth your while,” she whispered softly in my ear.

I had no fight left in me so I surrendered and went to bed. I couldn’t figure out why she was no longer worried about waiting till the wedding, but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Bad analogy, I wasn’t about to look a… wait never mind, that analogy would have been even more inappropriate. My head was reeling… and the bed seemed incredibly soft after my long day. I decided I really should listen to her more often.

“I’ll be right back, I need to put the food away,” she said, leaving the room. I closed my eyes to wait on her and when she returned a few minutes later I was snoring soundly. “Works every time,” Penny smiled and crawled in beside me. I never even realized I had been cheated till morning came.