Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

“I am sorry my lords…please continue” replied Necia ruefully. She still did not completely believe what she was being told, however she knew that the right side in this unpleasant affair was with the guardian and the council. She felt that she should not give up hope that Kana was a lost cause. They may actually be telling the truth so I will stay with them for now. I just cannot give up on Kana…she would do the same for me if our roles were reversed.

“As I was saying, after quite some time of watching and waiting, I made my move. When I was sure that Kana was gone, I entered the prison that held our friend Keb. I immediately sensed the presence of the dark lord and bound him fast before he detected my presence. There were a few lingering spirits, but they vanished once I captured Drogan. Lord Keb was in a pitiful state by this time, so I immediately sent him back here to begin his recovery. I remained behind for a while to do some research.” There was a rush to the explanation; however, it was clear that he was irritated with Necia. He refused to look in her direction.

“I want you all to know that Kana found out about the Orb of Nitesh and that is all. She did not seem interested in our battle plans or any of your whereabouts. I am ashamed because of my weakness…” Lord Keb was saying in a determinedly calm voice. Darkness fell upon him as he sat there staring at the center of the table. He began to lose his human form again. It was as though a light was being dimmed.

“You have no need to apologize…a druid or an immortal elf would have ended their lives after the first round of torture” interrupted the guardian kindly. “You only gave up one secret in all those weeks of torment at Kana’s and Drogan’s hands. I applaud your determination and loyalty.” The entire council clapped loudly for their friend. This gesture gave Keb his confidence back as he smiled at the guardians. Even Necia was sincere in her show of appreciation. His human form solidified once more. He looked at the fire guardian with a sneer…he did not trust and would not no matter what his master said.

“Thank you for your kind words my lord” replied Keb with a humble nod to Adair.

“You are quite welcome…now on with my story” continued Lord Adair determinedly. “I discovered from the magical residue left by Drogan and his minions a bit of what their plans were. First, I learned that the vile wraiths escaped along with several small dragons, hydras, liche, shape shifters, and possibly a deadly leviathan. Second, they were heading to the Land of Lonna to prepare for a water assault on the eastern part of Landen. Finally, the dark lord has made his own secret plans to subvert Kana once his fallen mistress had achieved her designs in getting the orb.”

“How does Drogan think he is going to accomplish this?” asked Khalida. She was skeptical of the dark lord’s abilities especially since Kana had obviously grown more powerful in the past few months. Even with his connection to the underworld, he was still limited in what he could do in the world of the living.

“He believes that by the end of the war that his powers will have returned to their full strength and that he will then be a match for her.”

“He is still an insufferable dolt after all these centuries. I think that his extended stay in that icy fortress addled his brains” said Lord Neb critically. He knew that it was not the cold but the isolation from his master in the underworld that had weakened him. Still, he thought that the dark lord would have come up with something more than his weak plan.

“There is some truth to your assessment Neb…I spoke to the dark lord for some time after I leveled that accursed mountain. I returned with him to his home in the north where I reformed the barrier that had been breached. Kana only made a small break in it, but it was enough to allow Drogan’s fiends to escape. Once he knew that he was trapped once more, he told me everything about Kana and what her plans were. She is going to return to the battle for Landen within the next couple of days. She has moved the orcs around to balance her assault. She will likely join the demons once she learns that they are leaderless.” There were a few moments of silence at the mention that the guardian had decimated the mountain that was the source of all evil. Such a feat was not to be taken lightly…not to mention the fact he resealed the breach without their help. That mountain was the place the keeper was always so close to breaking free into the world of the living.

“We must return at once to aid the armies in Landen” replied Khalida resolutely as she broke the silence that had fallen in the great domed hall. She was a little taken aback by the power her master had used.

“You will return to them once you and the council have discussed strategies. I must be off…I have things that need attending to. I will be out of contact with you for some time, but I think that you will be too busy to notice. I will return when the time is right.” With a resounding crack Lord Adair disappeared. A fine mist swirled momentarily and the vanished just as the guardian had. As the guardian was disapparating, he looked at Necia one last time with a look that showed how much he distrusted her.

“Well, we should hurry this up a bit…it sounds like Landen is surrounded by three orc armies, two high elven armies, wolves, spiders, and Drogan’s fiends. They are going to need all the help they can get” Lord Keb said meaningfully. He seemed more substantive now as though he had purpose again. He still looked at Necia as though he wanted to snuff her out of existence for her loyalty to the fallen guardian.

“Too right you are Keb…let’s get on with it” chimed in Lord Neb. He slapped Keb hard on the shoulder to show his genial support and as a way of welcoming him back. He knew that though his friend would need to have him watch over him for a little while. He was clearly not fully recovered. Keb’s state of mind was the one thing that really concerned the water lord. He was already planning out how to keep track of the earth lord for the foreseeable future.

The guardians talked for a couple more hours before they all returned to Landen. Ladies Necia and Hilzarie were asked to defend against Drogan’s hordes. Lords Neb and Keb were assigned to the western cliff and the eastern part of Renshaw. They would receive help from the Seda according to Khalida. Neb and Keb looked questioningly at one another when she told them this. Neither one believed her, but they would accept help from anyone at this point. Mistress Khalida would help in the south because of the wicked warlock that was in command of the armies down there. She would let the giants and the druid Yukio handle things in the north. All of them received the news of Yukio being the seventh druid surprisingly well and were even heartened to have the backing of at least one member of his order.

The orcs made their noisy march north adjacent to the eaves on the eastern edge of the Black Forest. They did not venture further into the woods because of the uneasy feeling that emanated from the ancient oaks. They all felt like they were being watched and that the trees were moving in unnatural ways considering there was only a weak breeze. General Tomo’s army was marching at a feverish pace because they were supposed to reach Queen Kishi at the base of Mount Lamont within the next three days. General Synan’s much larger army had been reduced to the same size of General Tomo’s because he was at the front of the assault Landen’s southern cliffs. The general ordered his troops to halt for the day when they had reached the middle of the western cliffs. He had his soldiers begin work on setting up a new base camp further into the thick black oaks of the forest.