Thrain and company: Chapter 1

King Aldon sat in the quiet and empty library reading over a large book by candle light. Footsteps casually approached him and a voice asked, "You wanted to see me, my king?" The voice was Thrain, Aldon knew without having to turn from his book. Aldon finished whatever he was reading in silence then placed the golden ribbon, attached to the binding of the book, between the pages and shut it.

"Take a seat." Thrain sat and Aldon glanced at him, then back to his closed book. "You know this book is a collection of numerous legends and stories around Grimnar, some dating back eight hundred years ago. I don't think many people believe that any of these stories were true, I don't believe half of them myself."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say your grace."

Aldon smirked and continued. "My favorite story of all time in here is one about a sailor whose ship capsized and he is saved by a maiden of the sea that's half human half fish called a 'mermaid'. The mermaid takes the sailor to her underwater kingdom where he lives for a time until he himself begins turning into a fish. Getting webbing between his fingers and toes and all that stuff.

"The sailor, after seeing that, is said to return home and tell his tale to everyone. What I find most spectacular about this story is not only was the sailor from Evercain but there were numerous witnesses claiming to see him come ashore partially transformed into a fish himself. Some of these witnesses were legitimate nobles of our kingdom which gave the merit of truth to this tale.

"Of course because this was about eighty years ago no one believes it anymore but I believe in it all. I mean why not? With all the other magic around this world why is it so hard to believe in an underwater kingdom of magic fish people?" Aldon let out a deep sigh then turned to Thrain and asked. "Do you think when this 'Devil Tower' is gone that in one-hundred years people will still believe it ever existed?"

Thrain gave it some thought then said, "If we don't find a way to destroy the tower then our people will not even make it past another few generations." His tone was dark and a little pessimistic.

"I agree, which is why I called you here so late. You're here to talk about a mission about going into the devil tower."

"This is a very serious thing to consider, I mean we don't even know what's in there."

"We have already considered it."

"And by 'we' you mean?"

Aldon looked a little ashamed for what he was about to say next. "Me, grand magister Cambren and Lord Tarbeck have had many long talks about this whole thing. The three of us have come to the conclusion that the only way we can save our lands from the decaying effects of the Tower is for a few of our own to climb to its top and get that wish."

Thrain was absolutely shocked by the plan; almost appalled. "Your grace with all due respect you can't really be thinking of sending our forces up into that thing? How do we even know that the wish granted is for real it could all be an elaborate trap by some sort of demon king of the tower. We don't even know what is inside there yet."

"I know Thrain, I know. But how long will it be until our enemies decide to see for themselves if that wish is true. And if it is true who knows how bad the world would be off if some maniac got it. Even if it is not real, when enough people believe and hope in it and we can use that to inspire our kingdom and dissuade our enemies from making a move against us."

Thrain shook his head; he was against the idea in every way. "Sire this is a bad idea I don't like it all."

"My mind is made up commander," Aldon said obstinately.

Thrain knew when Aldon addressed him by his title over his name that there was no more arguing. It was obey the king's command or commit treason.

Reluctantly Thrain asked, "Who are you sending on this mission sire?"

"You and my son, Rugal. There are no others I trust more in this entire kingdom than you two, that and the queen. But I want you to choose eight others to bring with you on this mission. People you know, and people you can trust. Only they can know what you are up to and where you are going, tell no one else."

"And my wife," Thrain asked. "Can I at least tell her?"

Aldon smiled lightly and said, "I wouldn't have it otherwise. I will wait little over a month after your departure until I tell the news of this to the kingdom. That ought to give you a nice head start by then." Aldon hesitated to say more then found his voice, "There is a storm coming my friend. I don't know when but I know it will be huge and if something isn't done I fear it will swallow these entire lands; not just our kingdom. All I know is it has something to do with the Devil Tower."

"I will have my team assembled in two weeks' time."

The next morning Thrain told Jesebelle about his mission to the Devil Tower and she was deeply upset by it. She feared Thrain may not be around for her when their child was born. The two stayed in bed that morning cuddling; they wouldn't have much time for that in a long while. "I would rather we took a ship from Lemias port and sailed to a new land," Jesebelle said. "The king has an army and the tower is still on our borders just send them all up there and the king can make the wish himself."

"If there is even a wish to be made at the top," Thrain countered.

"Laeryn won't let this world fall to the darkness, if things get too bad she will appear again to push the shadows back to their corners where they belong." She stopped to run her hand along the three long scars running over Thrains front torso. From chest to abdomen they were, to him, like physical memories of some of his toughest battles ever. "Besides," she continued. "You have suffered and killed enough for your kingdom."

Thrain took her hand and looked into her eyes and said, "Yes and all I have done has been to protect my family, my kingdom, my home. I won't let all that happened in the past be for nothing to just run away from the future. And you love our home as much as me, you're just experiencing mood swings from the baby is all." He kissed her on the forehead and went back to relaxing for a time until a knock came at the door.

With an aggravated sigh Thrain got out of bed and put on some pants. He walked to the door saying to himself, "Might I never get a morning again to just sit in bed with my wife and relax?"

On the other side of the door was grand magister Cambren. He looked like he had not slept in days with the dark bags under his eyes and his hair more crazy than normal. He was lost in thoughts elsewhere for a moment after Thrain opened the door but soon came to his senses and said, "If I may a word with you this morning, whenever it is a good time of course."

He wanted to turn him away until mid-day but the magister looked very busy and he didn't want to keep him from his other duties for any longer than he needed to. "Give me a moment to put on some more clothes," Thrain said before shutting the door.

A minute later he came back fully dressed in more casual attire and took a walk with Cambren.

"As I am sure you have already guessed that this is about your mission to the Devil tower," Cambren said.

"Did you want to join my company?" Thrain asked before Cambren could continue.

"Well not exactly, more to the point I would like for Veera to join the company in my place."

"No offense grand magister, but Veera does not seem to be the fighting type and I have no doubts that there will be a lot of fighting that goes on in that tower. I might not rush into battle there but some things will likely to be unavoidable, and I cannot guarantee her safety when I don't know what to expect inside that place."

"I know she may not be as tough as many of our war magi but she is not without her training and can, for the most part, protect herself much better than people would give her credit for. Besides she is very intelligent and can be resourceful, keep in mind sir Thrain she is next in line to become grand magister after I pass away. Not to mention not all problems can be solved with violence, you may find yourself blocked with a puzzle on one of those many floors and who better to help than a great magi."

The two kept silent for a time as they passed by a number of castle servants doing their morning rounds. When the servants were out of earshot they continued the conversation. "The other issue I find with Veera is I don't know her, so I cannot fully trust her on something this important."

Cambren stopped walking and asked, "Do you trust me then, sir Thrain? If I were asking you to take me along would you agree to do so without much hesitation?"

Thrain stopped. "Without hesitation? No. But if you requested to join the company then I would be a damned fool to turn you down, still I might do so all the same since the kingdom may have great need of you in these times to come. And yes I do trust you grand magister."

"Then I ask you now to trust me and my judgment when I vouch for Veera on this. I know she has abused her power and position time to time to get naive young woman into her bed chambers, but she is loyal to the kingdom and the king. Besides I need her in that tower more for academic purposes than any. With her intelligence she might be able to discover a way to bring the tower down from the inside or at least help us better understand it and find a way to stop its decaying effects upon these lands.

"I will not bother you anymore on the subject nor will I beg for you to take her along with you. It is your team and I trust your judgment regardless of what it may be. If you do decide to take her along please tell her yourself, as I am a very busy man and cannot waste time as a messenger."

With that Cambren continued ahead; leaving Thrain to think about his next companion.

Thrain found Garren and prince Rugal outside in the combat yard dueling with un-sharpened practice swords. There were some other knights dueling as well, honing their skills but most out there were watching the prince and the squire battle. He had to push through the ring of knights surrounding them just to see them.

When he got there the both of them were out of breath and staring each other down. They were not finished with their duel just yet but Thrain was in a hurry so he stepped between them before either could make the next move. "You two can finish this daring fight later." Thrain said. "For now I must speak with my squire, privately."

When no one moved right away Thrain turned to the knights around them and shouted. "For the rest of you this means show is over. Get back to training!"

The knights quickly dispersed around the combat yard setting back up to their normal exercise positions while Thrain walked away; Garren shortly followed behind him.

He led Garren to a quiet wing of the west part of the castle where voices would not carry. And in a quiet tone he spoke, "I'm taking a team to climb the Devil Tower on order of the king and I want you to join us."

"Who else is going," Garren asked.

"Right now just me and prince Rugal for sure but it will be a company of ten and I have already thought of the others I wish to bring. Keep in mind this is your choice and we don't know what sort of dangers we will face inside that tower. I want you to think over this for a couple days before getting back to me.

"And one final thing before I leave you to think it over. This cannot be told to anyone. It must remain a secret from everyone except for myself, Rugal and king Aldon. And do not talk about this in the open, I don't want the whispers getting to wrong ears."

Outside in the courtyard Rugal stood in the grass staring up at the sky; his guards stood a fair distance from him half hidden in the shadows keeping a sharp eye out for any unexpected company. In time Garren found him out there, he would often return to the courtyard to gaze at the stars when he had an abundance of free time.

As Garren approached him Rugal asked, "Do you think the Devil Tower can reach all the way to the stars? Close enough even, to touch them?"

Garren thought about the answer, and looked south towards the tower. During day you could see it climb high above and beyond the clouds and go further than your own sight. But at night when the moon retreated it was invisible and for a time you could almost forget it was even there. "Wouldn't that be something," Garren finally answered. "Garren Lockhart the first man to touch the stars. And prince Rugal Evercain, the first man to technically be recorded to touch the stars."

"It's good to know that you will be joining us on the climb up the tower."

"Thrain told you already? Seems fast, I just told him my answer this morning."

Rugal turned to face his friend now. "Thrain told me nothing," he said. "But I assumed he would ask you and I already knew if he did you would say yes. I just needed you to confirm it for me, which you just did when you answered my question and then asked your own."

It took Garren a minute to fully realize what had happened. When he did, he scoffed and said, "The first question was the bait to lure me into speaking about the tower. And then the second was the trap springing around me. I dare to say you have mastered the art of verbal deception; if only you could apply that deception further to your swordplay then you would be a stronger fighter."

Rugal shoved Garren playfully and said, "Last time we fought I won, and the time before that too. Besides with my friends and mentor I fight with honor and grace. But trust me when I tell you that when the time comes to fight our real enemies, I won't hold anything back."

For a moment, and the first time ever, Garren felt a strong sense of unease while being around his friend. He could always sense that Rugal was holding something back in their duels, but now he knew that he was right; at the time though Garren couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Anyways," Rugal continued. "The question was sincere. Which brings me to another question I wanted to ask you. If you got the wish what would you wish for?"

"Truthfully I have not thought of it," Garren said. "I still don't fully believe the wish is for real or not. But so long as the wish betters my kingdom and saves our people then I suppose it does not really matter." After some thought Garren continued, "Although maybe I would wish to fly, be able to see the world in a whole new perspective. What about you?"

"You know my father told me a bedtime story once to give me some interesting dreams. It was about a man who was walking down a beach who stumbled upon a lamp, that after he rubbed, out came a mystical person who told him his reward for freeing the mystical one he would be granted any three wishes he desired. He made his first wish in haste, also not fully believing in the wish either. His wish was for untold riches and so mere seconds after he spoke it a tidal wave rushed in and flooded that part of the beach with countless gold coins, diamonds, and gems.

"The first wish was granted but the man had nothing to carry his riches with and while he waited on the beach contemplating what to do with it a gang of thieves happen to be coming along and discovered the great treasure. And they nearly killed the man for all the riches there so he had to flee with only a handful of his wealth. His next wish was for power; to be the new ruler of the lands.

"And so his wish was granted once more and for a time it was working out well for him. Until his people eventually turned on him for being a terrible ruler. Once more his wish nearly cost him his life as the bloodthirsty citizens surrounded him. But he had one more wish left. And he wished he never found that lamp at all, and so it had been. The man returned to the beach no memory of what had happened and the lamp disappeared.

When I was a child I thought very little of it all and just enjoyed the story but lately I had been thinking more and more about that story and why the wishes went so bad. Is it that the nature of all wishes are just evil and will bring misery and danger to those who make them? Perhaps it was the folly of the man and the way he wished."

Rugal was silent after that, lost in thought once more until Garren spoke, "Perhaps it was neither," he said. "Perhaps it was simply the creature itself granting the wishes to the man that made them backfire or come out not fully what he intended. You know Rugal you never told me what you would wish for if you got the wish."

"Truthfully," Rugal said turning back to look at the stars. "I wouldn't wish for anything, I fear too much what horrible way my wish or any wish granted by that tower might turn back on the person or the world itself. My father may want to use the wish to help our kingdom out but I believe the only way to do that is by destroying the tower before its influence spreads too far."