The Rescue Of The Queen Read online

  "Whew!" exclaimed Iona, savoring the warm, full feeling in her stomach. Her hand was half full of his white seed and she quickly gulped it down. "One of these days, I'm going to have to get a measuring cup. I don't know where you get it all from." She then washed off her face and hands.

  "Children, finished playing now?" said a thin, reedy voice from the nearby bank.

  They both jumped in alarm. Over on the bank was a thin, decrepit old man. His white hair and beard was all matted and his clothes had not seen soap in years. He stood hunched over leaning heavily on a wood staff.

  "Who are you?" asked Per, angry at being snuck up on.

  "Who am I? Who am I?" muttered the old man, looking around distractedly. "I used to have a name. What was it? Mack? No, no, no, that's not it! Max? Yes! Max, that's it! I'd be Max!"

  Per had circled around the old man drawing Iona along behind him to where their armor and weapons lay. He was certain that Max did not have all his oars in the water and, despite the man's frail appearance, Per wanted more that just his fists to defend himself with.

  "No need weapons," smirked Max as he crookedly turned to face them. "Max is no danger to you. The day wanes fast and he comes. Dress! Dress!"

  "He? Who is he?" asked Per as he picked up Dorgeth and motioned Iona to get dressed.

  "He comes, but strong walls and a stout door will bar his path," said Max, not watching them, but looking around. "Come, come, we must be inside before night falls."

  "Because he is coming?" asked Iona, quickly buckling her ringmail on.

  "Yes, yes, pretty one. Please, you must accept my hospitality," pleaded Max earnestly. "You will be safe this night in my castle. Please, come!"

  "What do you think?" Iona asked Per softly as he buckled on his armor.

  "He's scared of something," replied Per. "Look at him glancing at the sun every few seconds. He might be a raving lunatic, but I'm willing to go on his advice for now."

  "Come! Come!" cried out Max. "The sun sinks!"

  Per went over to retrieve a food pack and then headed over towards his horse.

  "No room! No room for horses!" cried out Max. "Animals be safe. He hunts humans. Come!"

  With that last word, Max turned and began to hobble downstream. Per picketed the horses and the mule, and they quickly followed Max.

  "I remember hearing stories about this guy," said Iona. "If he is who I think he is, then he is a hermit who has lived out here for years and years. They said he came out to Delta to live with his family. They were killed and he lost his mind. There have been sporadic sightings of him from time to time, but no one has seen him more than once. He's supposed to be insane, but harmless."

  "I hope he is harmless, but he is definitely scared of something," said Per.

  Max led them several hundred yards downstream. The river made a bend there and gouged out a cliff on the opposite bank. A sandy beach ran down to water's edge on their side. In the treeline just before the beach was Max's destination.

  Per stopped dead when he caught sight of Max's castle. He shook his head and changed the word castle to hovel. He shook his head again as he thought hovel was too grand a word and changed the description to pigsty, even though he was sure no self-respecting pig would live in it.

  The shack was made up of lashed together poles with moldy skins draped over them. A plank door was crudely nailed together and served as the entrance. Both Per and Iona stopped when they saw it. Max hurried forward and opened the door.

  "Hurry! Hurry!" he yelled. "The sun sets!"

  Per looked up at the sun to see it disappear down the horizon. He turned to Iona to tell her that they should head back to their camp when a loud, maniacal laughter erupted from behind them. Per spun around and saw a horror.

  A man, dressed all in black armor and riding a black horse, burst out of a cave in the cliff. The horse literally flew across the river to land on the sandy beach. Per gasped when he saw the thin, skeletal sides of the horse, its glowing red eyes, and the small tongue of flame it snorted out of its nostrils.

  The man was encased in black armor with a black cloak flowing behind him. His sword was curved and seemed to leave wispy black smoke behind it as it swung through the air. What terrified Per was the man's head. There was not one. Instead, there was a pale, silvery luminescence resembling a head. The face, with its walrus moustache, stared down in rage at them.

  The apparition howled in bitter hatred and mad glee as it dug its spurs into the side of the nightmare steed. The evil horse reared and whinnied before galloping straight at them.

  Per did not even realize what he was doing as he spun around. His right arm caught the frozen Iona across the stomach. Her breath came out in a whoosh as he picked her up and ran as fast as he could towards Max's shack. Shoving Iona in, Per dashed through the door and max slammed it shut, which shook the entire building. He turned and looked through the cracks of the door. He swung Dorgeth up when he caught sight of the rider still charging, but only twenty feet away. A bony hand caught his wrist with surprising strength.

  "Strong walls!" cackled Max with glee. "Look!"

  Per looked out again and was startled to see that the nightmare and its rider had stopped ten feet away from the shack. The spectral rider spurred and beat the horse with the flat of his sword, but nothing he did could get the beast any closer. Finally, with an anguished cry of hate, he turned his mount and sped off.

  "You see, you see," said Max. "Strong walls and a stout door defeats him every time. Just like the first time, eh, Iona?"

  Iona was rocking and sobbing on the ground where Per had shoved her. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her arms around her legs. "Iona, what's wrong?" he asked concerned by her behavior. "Did I hurt you?"

  Her only response was to break down into greater wracking sobs. Per looked up at the old man in bewilderment. Max's eyes had lost a little of their wild look as they took on a look of great sadness.

  "Her grandfather that was who was outside my door," said Max. "Our poor, little Iona knows. She recognized him. He hunts heads to replace the one he lost by betrayal, but no head will satisfy him. He also hunts objects of desire. Only the prophecy will stop him."

  "Betrayal?" sobbed Iona. "What betrayal? How will a prophecy stop him?"

  "Poor, poor wife," moaned Max. "She sees. Townspeople like not what they hear. They kill her and child in hope to change, but Max remembers. Death does not stop prophecy."

  "What has this to do with my grandfather?" screamed Iona, tears streaming down her face, as she lunged up to try to grab a hold of Max.

  Per yanked her back down and held the shaking woman in his arms. Max sighed deeply. "Poor, little Iona," he mused. "No one tells, terrible secret. Mother knows though. Oh, yes, she knows. Like father, like son. When Iona born, grandfather imagines her by his side as queen. Father sees replacement for wife. Only have to wait seven or eight years." Max looked away and lowered his voice. "Maybe not even that long."

  Sudden realization dawned on Per and he gasped out, "You mean they..." He could not finish the question.

  "Yes," snarled Max viciously. "They liked girls young, very young. Mother knew. Fearful she was. Devised plan she did. Betrayal. Had to save daughter."

  "No!" screamed Iona, held tight in Per's arms. "It's not true! The General's army killed my father and grandfather. He spared my mother because he fell in love with her."

  "Part truth, part lie," said Max. "Catapult stone sort of killed father. General in love with mother. Mother betrayed grandfather."

  "No!" yelled Iona. "That's a lie!"

  "No, truth, not fantasy you make up because mother never told you," said Max. "Fulfilled part of prophecy."

  Per held the struggling Iona tight. She tried her best to get away from him, but her strength was no match for his. Finally, she just collapsed against his chest and sobbed.

  "What is this prophecy you kept talking about?" he asked.

  "Ah, the prophecy!" exclaimed Max in delight. "Wife tell me first.
I faithfully copy." His voice lowered and his face looked sad. "She saw death and send me on long errand."

  Max went over to his crude bed. There was a flat stone beside it that he moved to one side and revealed a hole underneath it. He reached in and pulled out a bone cylinder. He handed it to Per gingerly. "Careful," he said. "Case old, older than you."

  Per opened the end and pulled out the single roll of parchment. Iona had stopped crying, but still sniffled as she looked over hiss shoulder. Per carefully unrolled the yellowed parchment:

  I, Roma of Delta, do leave this testament and warning,

  The city of Delta will be under siege three times, The first by a conqueror; The second by a searcher; The third by a questor.

  All will fail and all will win, And Delta will be changed forever. The new will replace the old. Nothing will remain the same - all will change.

  The people will be afraid, By a terrible act, they will secure an uneasy peace. That peace will return with a vengeance, And all will change.

  The conqueror, with the horrible yearnings, Will be betrayed to save another. He will ultimately gain his goal When he is brought into the city and vested in the walls.

  The searcher, with one burning goal; Will compel others into releasing his army. His goal shall be obtained when those taken in Fulfill the quota of the ancients.

  The questor seeks the answers to a troubled mind. The quest binds the three together and releases all. The questor will win because of another And the actions within.

  The questor will fail and can fail. The questor will fail by honoring the obligation to the other And bringing the unknown five to his mother's ritual. In this way will he succeed.

  The questor can fail by not honoring the obligation. If he puts it aside; Or does not wish to look, he will fail; And that fate is worst of all.

  The skulls of the three must be above the gate. The first to put him to rest. The second to release the souls. The third for right.

  "Does any of this make sense to you?" Per asked Iona.

  "Well, the conqueror is my grandfather, but putting his skull above the gate didn't put him to rest," she answered.

  "Rest! Yes, yes, you must rest," chirped Max. "Tomorrow is time enough to look at it."

  "Okay," said Per as he put away the scroll. "It's getting too dark to read anyway. We'll look at it in the morning."

  They laid down on the ground. Both were too wary to take off their armor, but both knew its value. Max went over to his bed and sank down into it. A soft snore seemed to emanate almost immediately from him. Per could not keep his eyes open and fell asleep.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, they awoke with a start. They were naked, in their bedrolls, and inside their own tent. Per glanced around and saw his armor and weapons neatly placed beside him. Iona's equipment was there, too.

  "Was it a dream?" asked Iona bewildered.

  "No, look," said Per, pointing at the front flap of the tent.

  Hanging on the pole by the flap was the bone cylinder. They quickly dressed, but a quick check of the camp revealed nothing, except that a bag of food was missing.

  "Let's head downstream and see Max," said Per as they packed up. "Yayenski is tied up into this prophecy and I would like to get some answers from him."

  "He won't be there, but we'll check it out anyway," said Iona.

  Her words rang true. At the bend in the river, there was the sandy beach and the cave as Per remembered it, but Max's shack was completely deteriorated and overgrown with vegetation. It looked like it had been abandoned for years.

  "We were here last night, weren't we?" asked Per.

  "Yes, but I should have known," said Iona. "Everything I've heard about Max makes him out to be a ghost. He comes and goes without leaving a trace. I think he is very adept at illusion."

  "I think we should picket the horses here," said Per.

  "What for? We're supposed to go on to the crater."

  "Max gave us this parchment for a reason," explained Per. "We need to check out the cave."

  "What?! Are you crazy? Didn't you see what came out of there last night?" exclaimed Iona.

  "Yes, I did," replied Per. "Which leaves me with several questions. Why did your grandfather's specter come out of that cave? Is his body in there? The General said he did not have his body, only the head. If your grandfather's body is in there, who put it in there?"

  Iona stayed silent for a moment. "Okay, crack out the prophecy. We need to leave by midday to get some distance away from here before sunset."

  "I won't argue with you about that," said Per as he rolled out the parchment. Iona came and looked over his shoulder as he put it on the ground.

  "The conqueror, the searcher, and the questor," mused Per. "You said your grandfather was the conqueror. It would fit if what Max said is true."

  "Was what he said true?" asked Iona softly.

  "Only two people can answer that question, your mother and the General. The General stated that he might know why your mother tried to save you. Whatever it was, it had to be a compelling reason."

  Iona sighed deeply. "Yes, so compelling that she won't talk about it. We finally stopped talking altogether. I've always wondered why she refused to discuss anything about my grandfather or father with me. Who's the searcher?"

  "Yayenski, if I had to guess," said Per. "Didn't the General say that Yayenski was searching for a hidden kingdom? He might have tricked his followers into believing that they would share in the riches. He then used them as a sacrifice for some ancient spell that allowed him to obtain his goal."

  "That's a lot of speculation," said Iona. "Contico said he was underground. Maybe that was where the hidden kingdom is."

  "We know what the terrible act was," said Per. "That was when Max's family was killed and that act is going to come back to them with a vengeance. Remind me not to be in Delta for the third siege."

  "I would if I could, but you will lead the third siege," stated Iona.

  "What? Are you nuts?" exclaimed Per.

  "You're the questor," said Iona. "You are on a quest now."

  "Sorry, wrong guy," said Per. "One, I am not seeking answers to a troubled mind. The only person I know around here with a troubled mind is Max. Two, the unknown five? Nope, it must be talking about someone else." Per paused to look up at the sky. "C'mon. Let's take a look at the cave before it gets too late."

  They crossed the river and were ten feet away from the cave when Iona stopped. "I'm terrified," she said in a shaky voice. "What if I find the truth in there?"

  "I can go on alone if you wish," said Per. "The truth can be distorted or misinterpreted by others. Which is better, to draw your own conclusions or to rely on others? And I don't mean myself."

  Iona took in a deep breath to steel herself. "Let's go, Per. Time is short."

  The cave appeared to be a natural cave. Stalactites and stalagmites formed columns near the mouth and the floor was worn smooth by water erosion. Per lit the lanterns he pulled out of a pack he had picked up before they started across the river. The backpack also contained ropes, spikes, hammers, and other spelunking items. Together, they went inside.

  The cave had been an old water course that had dried up when the water had changed directions underground. It weaved to the right and left with no side courses. It was easy going until they came upon a chamber that had a huge rock pile in the center of it.

  "Look," said Per, holding the lantern up. "The roof caved in, which is where most of this rock came from... wait, what is that?"

  He waved the lantern back and forth, but could not see clearly what had drawn his attention. He was tempted to put out the light and use his infravision, but that would have blinded Iona. It looked to be a darker area against an already dark wall. The light just did not penetrate that far. Per, followed by Iona, carefully climbed the pile of rocks to the top.

  "It's an opening," said Iona.

  "Man-made," added Per, looking at the rectangular shaped hole.

  "T
here's another opening here," she said, indicating a half-buried circular tunnel on the far side of the rock pile.

  Per led her down to the tunnel. By lying down, he was able to crawl through the opening and found himself back on the dry watercourse. He motioned Iona to stay put and went down the tunnel.

  He only went about three hundred feet before he hit a dead end. The underground stream had shifted its course at that point. Per watched the water travel past him as it flowed down a new tunnel. The stream filled both the course it came out of and the one it went into completely. He turned around and trudged back up to the chamber.

  "No go," said Per to Iona after he crawled back out. "Let's try the other opening."

  "How are we going to get up there?" asked Iona.

  "It looks to be only twelve feet above us," said Per. "I'll stand as a base and you climb up on my shoulders. Once you're up, I'll toss you a rope. Secure it to something and I'll climb up."

  The plan sort of worked. The opening was a little higher than Per thought and he had to push up on Iona's boots for her to be able to crawl into the opening. He tossed her up a rope with a grappling hook on the end. She secured it and he climbed up with ease. The opening was the entrance to a long hallway.

  Per pulled up the rope after him and picked up his lantern to shine it down the hallway. It was about ten feet wide and ten feet tall. He was a little surprised when his light reflected off the walls about twenty feet away. With Dorgeth drawn, he cautiously advanced down the hall with Iona behind him. The glitter was caused by gold paint. Both sides of the hallway had scenes etched into them and then painted into realistic images.

  "Oh, Gods!" gasped Iona, who then broke into a fit of giggles.

  Per snorted in derision. Each relief depicted a sexual position and was painstakingly cut into life-like detail. There were hundreds of reliefs lining both sides of the hallway.