The Gate - An Ancient Connection Read online

  * * *

  Decker had met up with Cressida shortly after his brief discussion with King Buster. He had borrowed two horses and they were currently riding out of Arthea’s eastern gate.

  He was mesmerised by the woman riding next to him. She seemed to be at ease in any situation, was an exceptional cleric and an above average fighter which was very rare. Her mannerisms were often rough, but she had a big heart all wrapped up in a very attractive shell. Yes, Cressida was truly unique and had captured his heart from the outset. Discovering that she was Master Pilks sister was hardly a surprise as they were so similar in many ways.

  After passing through the city gates, Decker turned his horse northward. He hadn’t told Cressida where he was taking her, but by now she could likely guess. His new title of master ranger came with some land on the western banks of Lake Forster.

  He had been so busy since the attack on Arthea, helping with the rebuilding work and learning more about his new title that he hadn’t had a chance to even look at the land yet. So he had made plans to inspect it this day and wanted to share the occasion with Cressida.

  As they both rode north away from the city, Decker couldn’t help but glance across at her every chance he got. Even in her riding outfit she looked stunning with her wavy long black hair tied back in a simple ponytail that bounced up and down in rhythm with her horse’s long strides. She wore black pants that clung tightly to her long slender legs. Her off white top was made of very thin material and fluttered around in the wind and hung low enough around her neck to reveal the slightest amount of cleavage.

  When she looked back at him, he marvelled at her perfect face with its fine features and angular jawline. She wore very little make-up, but with her natural beauty she really had no need. Her large smile lit up her entire face and made Decker’s heart leap with joy.

  They rode on at a steady trot not wanting to push the horses too hard in the summer heat. Just after noon they reached Decker’s new land. It bordered the southern edge of the Evergreen Forest and stretched back from the road until it met with the banks of Lake Forster. The land declined steadily all the way to the lake so they could see the sun reflecting off the water from the road.

  The road continued on into the forest but it deteriorated the deeper it went. It wound its way through the hilly country on the other side and made its way northeast to the township of Arlington. Few took that route though, preferring to use the main road which skirted the southern edge of the forest heading towards Yulon, then turning onto the north-bound road which ran in between the eastern edge of the forest and the hilly countryside.

  Decker and Cressida dismounted and led their horses through the open gateway. The terrain was lightly treed with rock clusters scattered haphazardly across the landscape. They left their mounts to graze on a nice patch of grass as they walked over the land hand in hand.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Cressida breaking the silence. “I can’t believe it’s all yours.”

  “I say the same thing to myself every time I look at you.” Decker paused at the foot of a large rocky outcrop and looked deeply into Cressida’s eyes as she turned to regard him.

  “Who said I was all yours?” Cressida pouted her lips and stood defiantly with her arms crossed. Decker took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her waist as he leaned in for a kiss. He stopped before his lips made contact with hers and abruptly pushed her back as he drew his sword from his scabbard.

  “Did you hear that?”

  Cressida shook her head but gripped her magical staff, which she was using as a walking stick, in both hands. Decker moved closer to the tall rock nearby and Cressida followed his lead. The noise had sounded like a stick breaking underfoot and with recent events around Arthea, Decker would not easily dismiss it.

  He quietly edged his way around and through the mass of rocks. He signalled for Cressida to follow him closely. A little way into the stone maze, he heard the sound again. He ducked low and crawled behind some smaller rocks in the direction he judged it to be coming from.

  Navigating his way further eastward, he came to the edge of the group of rocks. Looking out from the top of the small cliff, he could see the lake. A large boulder on his left blocked his vision to the north where he was sure the noise had come from.

  He signalled Cressida to stay put while he shuffled around a narrow ledge. At the end of that ledge he paused briefly. Building up his courage, he chanced a quick look around the corner. Catching sight of the source of all the clatter had him frozen in place.

  * * *

  “What news of the little orcs, Bigroth?” Krak’too was overseeing some major construction work on the eastern wall of their Fort Dega when the scout briskly walking toward him.

  “The little orcs are regrouping general. A shaman is gathering them all together and promising great things. Many are beginning to march back to Fort Lowmount. What they lack in size and intelligence they sure make up for in numbers. They will replace their recent losses in short order.” Krak’too dismissed the scout and turned his attention back to the construction work.

  They had hastily built this fort expecting the humans to send an army against them much sooner. But they inadvertently timed their invasion well. The little orcs kept the humans busy while they dug in and fortified, and it appeared as though the humans still weren’t done with the small orcs.

  General Krak’too was taking full advantage of this time and was bringing black rock through the Gate from the canyon on the other side. They were now replacing some of the weaker parts of the wall with this rock. He was also extending the fort to the north so that he could house a greater number of troops if the fierce one ever gave him more. General Krak’too was beginning to enjoy his role on this new world.

  * * *

  Less than a stone’s throw away from Decker was the largest black mare he had ever seen. The horse was grazing away on a nice patch of grass not far from the edge of the forest. His movement didn’t go unnoticed by this beautiful animal.

  Raising her head and stamping her front two legs, the horse was obviously agitated at being disturbed. Decker wanted to get closer so he could comfort her and show that he was no threat, but he could see no easy way down from here.

  Realising he could do no good from where he stood, he started sidling his way back to Cressida. As he got closer to her, she fixed him with a questioning stare.

  “It’s a majestic black mare,” he whispered as he came close to her. Cressida visibly relaxed. “I need to find a way down fast. I don’t want to lose sight of her.”

  “You mean to catch a wild horse?” Cressida raised her eyebrows.

  “My horse was killed by the Black Skull orcs. She would be the perfect replacement.” Decker turned and started making his way back the way he had come.

  “Why can’t ya just buy one like everyone else?” he heard Cressida say in a low voice from behind him. He shook his head and continued on.

  He returned to where he entered the rocky outcrop and traversed the outskirts rather than look for a way down on the eastern side. Cressida did her best to keep up with him but she wasn’t as adept at negotiating rocky terrain as Decker so he slowed his pace rather than leave her behind.

  He slowed down as he came to the base of the rocks as he didn’t want to startle the mare. He was happy to see the horse was still there and had obviously gone back to munching the grass when he had left. He signalled for Cressida to stay back out of view as he calmly walked toward the horse.

  When he was close enough, he started to talk to the horse in soft tones and slowed his approach. The mare looked right at him and began to swish her tail. This wasn’t a good sign. The horse felt threatened and was giving him a warning. He continued to move closer to her though, albeit, slower and kept up his calming chatter.

  The horse bared her teeth and stamped her front legs making some threatening sounds. Decker stopped, bent down slowly and ripped up some grass. If he could just place a hand on her he could use his ma
gic to calm her and gain her trust.

  Rising to his feet once more, he held the grass out at arm’s length by the roots. The animal was still very agitated but Decker tried to get a bit closer to her. When he was about ten long strides from the mare, she had finally had enough of him and rapidly spun around, kicked out her hind legs and galloped off toward the trees.

  Decker threw the grass down in sheer frustration.

  * * *

  Master Pilk entered his enchanted room and locked the door behind him. It had been a long day and the meeting with Duke Angus, King Buster and the two generals had been quite a heated one. In typical dwarf fashion, King Buster wanted to go charging into Bilwarks Grove and drive the Black Skull orcs back where they came from.

  Duke Angus was much more cautious and wanted some more facts before attempting such a thing. Surprisingly General Ludko sided with the duke to a degree as he had witnessed first-hand the power of these new orcs. The end result was that an all-out assault would be postponed a few days while some investigative work went on.

  Master Pilk’s sister had not arrived home yet and so he had some dinner with Jaz and the boys, excused himself and headed to this room. He called it his enchanted room as he had placed a complicated spell on it that increased its internal space.

  The room’s inner dimensions were increased by twenty-five percent as the space was magically stretched. The room had to be empty when he performed the enchantment otherwise all objects inside would have also been stretched which would have defeated the purpose.

  He walked over to a corner in the room where a covered sphere lay upon a small wooden table. It was the very sphere that Vik had touched alerting Master Pilk that the boy had some magical power. He removed the dusty cloth covering and revealed the dark glass orb.

  He placed his hands on either side of it and allowed the magic to run through him. Slowly the dark swirling liquid within began to clear and an image began to form.

  Inside the orb saw a room much like the one he was currently in and a room he knew well. The image was very dark and textured because the connecting orb was covered with a dusty cloth in the same way he covered his.

  In the distance, beyond cluttered table tops, he saw the hunched silhouette of a man. He knew this man well and was hoping that he’d be in the room. Having his back turned to the cloth covered orb the elderly man had not noticed it activated.

  Master Pilk muttered a brief incantation and suddenly the image he was looking at turned bright blue. Pilk watched the man turn suddenly, pick up his walking staff which had been leaning on a nearby shelf, and shuffle over closer to the covered orb.

  As the man removed the cloth, Master Pilk cancelled his spell and the image became clear once more. Blocking his view of the room now was the face of an elderly man with a long white beard and a kindly expression.

  “Master Pilk! I have been expecting you.” The old man’s speech was slow but clear.

  “Evidently not at this precise moment or you would have noticed the glowing orb in the corner a little sooner, my old friend.” The old wizard —Pilk’s old mentor, Grand Master Reibeck — chuckled, which turned into more of a raspy cough than a laugh.

  “Your name is being mentioned all over, my friend and as such I planned on contacting you this night had you not done so.” Grand Master Reibeck took a seat near the orb.

  “I’ve been trying to contact you for weeks now, but you haven’t been about,” said Pilk trying not to sound too annoyed.

  “I journeyed to Eskania to visit the elves. I dropped into Estermere on my way home to check in at the academy and it was quite abuzz,” explained Grand Master Reibeck.

  “You must tell me about your visit to the elves some time, but for now I must tell you about the recent happenings in Arthea,” said Pilk.

  “I feel I have already heard most of what you would tell me Master Pilk, and I think I have much to talk to you about.” This piqued Master Pilk's curiosity. Grand Master Reibeck always seemed to know all the latest news in the kingdom of Lertia and a great deal about the surrounding kingdoms, so he wasn’t surprised that his old mentor had already learned about his recent exploits.

  “Well I have some time now so let’s talk.”

  “Not through the orb. I have some books to show you and much information to share. I would much prefer to do that in person, so activate the arch.” Grand Master Reibeck sounded very concerned. Pilk was not about to ignore that so he stood up and took a few steps until he was standing directly in front of a metal archway which resembled something you would see in a well-kept garden.

  Four unique symbols adorned the top of the metal arch. Master Pilk touched the first symbol and uttered the activation word, lystralis. The symbol began to glow orange. Touching the next symbol he uttered the word, nimpala. Like the first symbol this one too began to glow orange. He repeated the process for the next two symbols using the words filista and eymol. When the fourth rune activated, a swirling blue light appeared inside the arch, blocking the view of the wall beyond.

  Master Pilk stepped into the swirling blue light and disappeared.

  * * *

  A knock at the door alerted Sarai that Brendan had arrived. She opened the door and saw the tall, ruggedly handsome man standing there. His square jawline was clean shaven and his shoulder-length, light brown hair had been well brushed. He had a rare olive complexion that Sarai found very alluring and well-defined, muscly arms. He was clean and had fresh clothes on so he must have visited the communal bathhouse after his work day. It wasn’t always the case but she much preferred it when he did.

  She told him the bad news about her cycle and he hugged her tightly. As much as she tried not to cry, tears still found their way to her eyes and she nestled her head even further into his embrace. Knowing that the orcs would be keeping a close eye on her residence for the next week, she beckoned Brendan to go. After a short while he reluctantly left her and once he was out of sight, she closed her door and went to her bedroomand cried til sleep overtook her.

  * * *

  Supreme Mistress Sylestra entered the great hall. Her human necrolytes were well prepared for which she was glad. The golden inset braziers positioned at each point of the diamond pattern on the floor was lit and the black clad necrolytes, apprentice necromancers, stood one pace behind them.

  The moon-shaped stand which half surrounded the diamond was full of observers — human, orc and half-orc. High above, the dome skylight had been uncovered which directed and enhanced the light of the full moon. The light shone down into the centre of the diamond, illuminating the naked woman that hung there. Her wrists were shackled and the chains forced her arms out wide as her legs hung straight down, shackled together at the ankles as she hung scarcely an inch off the ground forming a ‘Y’ shape.

  An eerie hush filled the large hall as Sylestra walked the short distance from the now closed double doors to the centre of the diamond. She looked the woman up and down and admired her natural beauty. Perhaps she could have kept this woman a little longer for her personal pleasure. But no, the woman served no more purpose. She birthed a few children and hopefully passed on her good looks to them all.

  No longer useful as a breeder, it was time for her to fulfil her next role before her age made her useless for that purpose.

  Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she sobbed loudly. Her shaking body was not due to the ambient temperature of the room. The necrolytes had made her look beautiful as they were instructed to with her face enhanced by the best make-up available to the Ta’zu tribe. Silky black hair had been treated with the finest oils, brushed and straightened so that it hung perfectly down and over one shoulder. Her fingernails and toenails were painted with blood red polish.

  “You look frightened my child,” Sylestra whispered in her ear. “Do not be afraid. The goddess Nefari has noticed you today. You will be by her side soon.” Sylestra spoke the words of a simple incantation barely audible and the woman at once relaxed. Her sobbing ceased, her tear
s dried up and her eyes went vacant.

  Sylestra turned to the necrolyte on her right and gave him a small nod. At once he began a soft chant, joined soon after by the other three necrolytes. Sylestra turned her back to the woman and looked up into the gathered crowd which appeared as nothing more than shadows in the darkness, but she knew they could see her quite well.

  “Tonight is the sacred night of the full moon. Nefari grants extra strength on this night and you are all here to witness her power and magnificence.” The four necrolytes increased the volume of their chanting.

  “Through death does she bring life. Strength becomes strength. Wisdom becomes wisdom and beauty becomes beauty.” Sylestra slowly turned her head from left to right as she spoke, gazing into the crowd of shadows so that all could hear her speak.

  “Our Grand Goddess Nefari has chosen beauty tonight and so here hangs a woman possessing this rare gift. Her beauty will soon become my beauty. Her life, my life so that I can continue to rule the Ta’zu and bring us to the greatness we deserve.” The entire crowd joined in on the chant, raising the volume of the contagious mantra.

  Sylestra faced the woman once more and held her arms heavenward.

  “Nefari, great goddess of darkness,” she said over the top of the chanting, “show me favour this night. Through death, grant me life. Through death, grant me beauty. Through death, grant me strength. Through death, grant me wisdom.” She reached out and pointed her long painted fingernail to the woman’s neck. She gently dragged her fingernail down the woman’s body in between her shapely breasts, over her bellybutton and down to her pelvis.

  There she stopped and cupped the woman’s firm hips in both hands as she bent low and tenderly kissed the woman’s pelvis. Sylestra felt the excited tingle run through the spell-relaxed woman.

  The chanting grew louder.

  Sylestra moved up the woman’s body and kissed her just below the belly button. Once again she felt the tingle of desire run through the woman and it excited her.