Iron Seeds (Legend of the Iron Flower Book 8) Page 11

  "It is not overrated!"

  Of course Amber was right, and Jacob smiled. "Just playing, sis. I'd like a bath too. I'm itchy! But what about our parents, what if they come looking for us in Whitehill?"

  "We'll have to make it there before they arrive. We'll just take a short break, that's all, and maybe stock up on drink to soothe our pains."

  It took them almost five hours at their slowed pace to reach Poldak and Jacob marveled at how small the "town" really was, consisting of one moderately sized log cabin and about a dozen smaller houses. Well, as long as the big building was an inn of some sort, there wouldn't be a problem. Finding the weathered old cabin unlocked, Jacob entered and saw what appeared to be the front room of a tavern complete with bar. But there was no one in sight. "I hope this isn't a closed establishment we barged into. That'd be a bad first impression. Though, they could've kept the door locked."

  Amber didn't respond, and he glanced around for her. Unsurprisingly, she was examining a large shield hanging on the right wall, and when she caught him looking at her observed, "This shield is really well-made. Probably quite valuable."

  "Don't touch it," he warned, but coming closer, the shield's ornate design enthralled him as well. It was studded with many gems set deep into its metal front, and its rim covered with at least a thin layer of gold. Though he'd never seen it before, it looked somewhat familiar in its color scheme and wealth of decoration. It looked almost like...

  "Looks like a sibling to the sword we found in my gut," Amber said, eyes widening with the realization.

  Indeed, by its looks it was almost certainly a piece of the legacy left behind by the Guardians of Salvation. Jacob could scarcely believe it. How had they stumbled so coincidentally onto such when all they'd been trying to find was a place to rest? Seeming too excited to think clearly, Amber stepped up onto the nearby chair and began trying to remove it from the wall.

  "What are you doing?" Jacob barked. "That belongs to somebody!"

  Remembering herself, she stopped. "Okay, we'll buy it when they come back. It's not like it's worth much to them sitting on the wall. I highly doubt it sees much use nowadays."

  "Maybe it's a family heirloom? I'm not sure we'll be able to get them to sell it—for one thing, we don't even have nearly enough money to pay for all those jewels."

  "Who knows? Let's hope people out here don't know the value of things."

  They waited and waited, and still no one appeared. At least they were able to get some rest for their poor wounded legs while they sat at the table by the hanging shield, but both grew anxious to get around to negotiating for the thing. Eventually Amber again stood atop the chair and worked at removing it from the wall. "If we're going to buy it," she said under Jacob's questioning gaze, "we might as well start taking a closer look now."

  Unfortunately the height of the shield on its wall made it difficult for Amber to hold onto when she finally freed it and she dropped it right onto her chair, its surprising weight proving too much for the flimsy wood seat after a seven foot drop. Girl, shield, and split-apart chair fell with a loud crash, and Jacob groaned. "Oh no! Look at what you just did."

  "Maybe if you'd given me some help..."

  "I thought you could handle it!"

  She indicated the bloody bandage over her right shoulder. "My arms aren't at their steadiest right now. They're going to be angry when they see this, huh."

  Walking to the broken chair, Jacob propped the pieces upright against one another in a state of tentative balance. "As long as nobody sits on or moves it before we leave..."

  Amber raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were so devious."

  "I do want us to get the shield—and make it out of here in one piece. Looks like we won't be staying for long now."

  "So much for rest, but at least we found something relevant to the search for the ancients' knowledge. If all these artifacts even lead us anywhere, that is."

  He too had been dubious about the worth of these finds before, but now that fate had seemingly guided them right to the next piece of the puzzle, Jacob believed this truly was something significant they were meant to do. Turning the shield over and around to look at every side, he tried to find the inscription of "Guardian of Salvation" he expected to be present, but to no avail. Why wasn't it there?

  A scratchy voice interrupted his pondering. "What are you doing with my shield?"

  As he looked up at the tall old man who had just walked out from the back room, Amber said, "We want to buy it. Sorry about touching it without permission, but it's really interesting!"

  "Buy that thing? How much are you willing to pay?"

  Jacob was taken aback by Amber's answer. "We've only got about twenty gold coins between the two of us, but our parents can pay the remainder when we meet up."

  The old man laughed. "You'd pay twenty for this piece of junk? Stupid girl, how can you look like such a warrior and know so little about the tools of your trade? I'd be rich if there were more stupid people taking such interest in my things."

  The shield was a bit too heavy for most people's practical use, but Jacob didn't doubt Amber could wield it just fine. Moreover, however, they weren't even planning to use it to fight. "It's not the combat value of it we're interested in, it's the historical signifi-"

  The man laughed louder, and couldn't speak for a while in his mirth. At last, he stammered out, "You want it for its h-history? It doesn't have one—it's brand new!"

  #

  Having followed the tracks from Tirrn for most of the day, Rose and Finn's battered bodies wearied of the search, and she said, "It's surprising the chase lasted so long without the monsters catching up to the refugees. They must have really pushed themselves hard." And some of them hadn't made it; the couple had passed by several torn bodies half-buried in the snow, which they'd first thought due to their age and apparent frailty to be stragglers who couldn't keep up. But upon closer inspection, their drawn, often bloody weapons marked them as brave souls who had sacrificed themselves to give the rest a chance to survive.

  "They kept an admirable portion of their wits about them in flight," Finn observed. "Maybe that'll have saved some from the monsters yet."

  The trail finally led them into view of another village called Socht, whose wooden fence bore a number of holes which indicated a recent battle. Rose and Finn drew their weapons, ready to meet whatever awaited them inside if the creatures had won that fight. But instead of being greeted by hostile beasts, their arrival in town was welcomed by a young boy in a thick fur cap. "The heroes! The heroes are alive! They've come back!" At his announcement, people began to gather around the warriors, among them survivors of Yibal and Tirrn.

  Rose didn't feel like much of a hero right now, having been totally helpless to prevent the slaughter of her allies yesterday. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to answer a freckled woman who had fled Yibal for Tirrn, and having come here now asked, "Where is my brother? Is he still with you?"

  No, he was almost certainly dead like the rest of Yibal's young men. Dead and possibly eaten by the beasts that had slain him. The growing wetness of Rose's eyes gave the woman all the answer she needed. She threw herself against Rose, wailing at the top of her lungs while she buried her face in Rose's chest as if seeking comfort in her strength. What comfort could she give this grieving sister? It wasn't anywhere near enough, nothing could be, but Rose patted her firmly on the back while she and Finn exchanged sad looks. This trip turned out to be hard on her, he knew as well as she, but now that she'd committed to helping the plainsfolk, she would stand by them until the very end.

  They soon learned that besides Yibal and Tirrn, two other towns had been destroyed just yesterday. Though the monstrous forces had suffered much for their attack on Yibal thanks to the couple's presence, Rose guessed the other villages hadn't put up as much of a fight. At this rate, more monsters would likely consider joining Justin in hopes of taking part in such successful conquests. Furthermore, not knowing how large Justin'
s new supply of demons was troubled her. The settlements of the Norh plains had no way to defend themselves against continued onslaughts like the ones that'd happened recently, and Rose and Finn couldn't protect them all at the same time. She could only see one way out of this mess.

  "We go north soon," she said to Finn, "and finish Justin off before he does any more harm."

  "We don't even know where he is, and we're still messed up from the last fight."

  "It's nothing a few more nights of sleep on the road won't fix well enough. If we don't end this soon, there won't be anything left to save."

  He must have known she was right, for he sighed and said edgily, "If only these people had a proper army they could send with us, I'd be less discouraged by your plan. But to go against Justin's forces alone?"

  Not quite, she thought. Though they might be the best of fighters, and the champions of humanity in a battle like this, even they would need help against the bestial hordes that surely surrounded Justin in the heart of his territory. "We won't be alone, Finn. Whoever's hungry for revenge against Justin's foul army, or longs to protect the future from his false salvation, we'll invite to join us. Just hope they're enough."

  He still looked doubtful, but said, "What the hell, it's not that much crazier than some of the things we've done before." Rose smiled. They had ventured into the capitals of enemy kingdoms to battle their leaders in the past and come out alive. Of course, those had been human kingdoms, where they'd at least been able to sneak in without having to fight their way through an army of foes... but they'd make do somehow. They always had, and hopefully if they won against Justin, even monsters would show the wisdom to know fear.

  #

  Amber stared at the innkeeper who'd just revealed the shield's nature. New? How could that be? It looked just like an artifact of the Guardians of Salvation... The old man continued, "I made it myself—well, I had it made by a blacksmith, but I instructed him on how to make it look. I think it's pretty nice, even if all the gems are fake."

  "Fake? What about the gold rim?"

  "Paint."

  Feeling just a little stupid, Amber gazed down. "Well, thanks for being honest enough to tell us. It does look very nice. So how much is a room?"

  Jacob pulled her aside and whispered, "No! The chair, remember?"

  "He can't prove it was us." Of course, he could come pretty close. But she needed her rest, suspicious host or not.

  "Fine. It's really weird how much that shield looks like part of a set with your sword. I wonder how many people are inspired to make such a design?"

  That was it—inspiration! Suddenly hopeful, Amber asked the innkeeper, "So what inspired you to make a shield like this?"

  "I saw one just like it."

  Her heart racing, Amber asked, "Where?"

  He had to think a while before remembering. "Right here. Some traveling knight or something—a paladin, I think he called himself—was carrying it around like he had no fear whatsoever of robbers. A stupid fool, him. He probably got killed for it by now."

  "Do you remember his name?"

  "No, I don't think I even learned it. But he had a lion surcoat."

  And that narrowed the list down to what, a few thousand knights? It was always a lion, or wolf, or hawk... "Where was he from?"

  "South of here, I'm sure. Other than that, I don't know. There is one thing which might help you, though. He became good friends with Vaer, the boy who lives in the house next to the well. Maybe you could ask him."

  "Thanks. Now what about that room?"

  The twins enjoyed a welcome night of sleeping in beds. The next morning Amber awakened with a smile, throwing herself out of bed with eager haste before her calf wound reminded her it was there and she winced in pain. Shaking the pain off, she hurried to dress and Jacob asked, "What, you're going to visit him now? The sun hasn't even risen yet."

  "So? That just means he's more likely to be home!"

  They went to Vaer's house against Jacob's protests, and without more trouble than a harsh greeting tone learned the knight's identity from the small redheaded man. More than anything, it seemed Vaer wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. According to him, the knight who carried the true jeweled shield had been named Clifford, and came here about ten years ago in search of a great treasure left behind by the ancients. He'd identified himself as from being from Masel, the southwestern province of Kayland, and gone to the tiny island in the center of the lake seeking his prize. After that, though, Vaer had no idea where he'd gone, the traveling knight not having even come back to tell his new friend goodbye.

  Leaving Vaer's house, Jacob formed a theory about the reason why. "Maybe he got killed on the island. That would explain why he didn't visit again."

  "You think so? That would make things simple, wouldn't it? Okay, we'll check the island out and see if you're right."

  "But if he died there, that would mean it's dangerous to go," he said nervously.

  "Maybe, or that danger could be gone after ten years. We've done plenty of dangerous things recently, so what's another?"

  "Fine, let's go. And to think Mom told you to protect me!" But Amber realized he was more enthusiastic about their upcoming adventure than he let on, for before she even finished preparing for the trip, he was already packed and ready to go.

  #

  Rose looked around at the score of warriors who'd volunteered to join them on their mission to take the fight to Justin on his own turf and bit her lip. She'd counted on the obvious futility of fighting defensively against the monster army to push many to join their cause, but most were reluctant to leave their loved ones unprotected. Though she bemoaned their decision not to do all they could to save themselves, she understood their rationale. Even if they'd die defending their families, they saw her proposal as nothing more than a suicide mission, and chose dying with their kin over throwing their lives away alongside foolhardy strangers. Thus only a handful of warriors from each of the five villages they managed to visit in the last two days joined them on their quest—some condemned criminals promised a pardon if they went along, in all likelihood really a more productive means of execution.

  The third worst of them was Kred, a huge spearman with scars to nearly match Rose who somehow went about bare-chested in the incredible cold displaying his missing nipples. He'd lost them to the blade of his town's former chief, who he had then spitted from mouth to crotch and carried around until he was captured, and wore a humanskin cape sown together from pieces of his victims. Lacerating his own face with his spearpoint as he prepared for slaughter, he constantly bellowed things in the vein of, "Gods of death and darkness! Many a man's blood I'll drink today! Offer your favor! Partake of the souls I send to you!"

  The words disturbed Rose in more than one way. Other than Kred's obvious rabid bloodlust which turned her white hearing his rants, did he even realize they were going to fight monsters and not men? Or did he think to betray his companions and give their souls to his dark gods? She'd definitely have to keep a close eye on him every step of the way, and for once wasn't sure she'd even feel sad if he died during their time together.

  Then there was Darm, the hideously deformed, pig-faced man who'd come based on winning a bet and who Rose knew the world would be better off without. His prize had been permission from his similarly monstrous parents for a trip to the northern plains, but he hadn't found a guide willing to take him due to his unfortunate habit of setting people on fire while they slept. So now that he had suitable "guides," he could finally take his trip even if it killed him. The only thing that gave Rose hope for him was the bet he'd won—to not set anyone on fire for a whole week.

  To Rose's dismay, the very worst of the bunch was a woman—a honey-voiced, ever smiling little brunette whose reputation was such that most men shat their pants at the sight of her. Her name was Einora, and her specialty raping men. To death. Rose didn't even want to know how she did it, and hoped the necklace of dried flesh she wore was only made of fingers, and n
ot something... else. In addition to her crimes against humanity, Einora apparently liked to eat her food live, biting the limbs off small animals as they squirmed in her grasp. She seemed not to mind their scratches and bites a lick, her face being a disgusting perpetual mix of shredded and healing skin. Gods, how did such people exist? Worse, how could they be with her?

  The rest of their group was a bit more acceptable, consisting of mere mundane murderers, the terminally ill, extremely old warriors who sought a glorious last battle, and people who just didn't want to live anymore for whatever reason. And one man named Kild—yes, Kild—who honestly thought himself immortal, after surviving having his skull pierced by a large spike which still remained lodged there. What great saviors of humanity, huh? Well, at least Rose knew these wouldn't likely break at the sight of blood and gore.

  She tried not to meet Kred's lustful eyes staring at her and shuddered to think he might view her as a kindred spirit, having heard of her many terrible deeds. Einora too seemed to gravitate towards her, admiring her rare feminine strength... Maybe these two could at least protect her from Darm's fire. On the other hand, she didn't want to have to get chummy with them.

  "So this is the army that's going to defeat the demon lord," Finn mused sadly.

  "They're quite the inspiring bunch, aren't they? Almost makes you want to give up and die."

  "Actually, they make me want to kill them."

  Really, half of them probably did deserve killing, and half the rest didn't have long to live in the first place. "I suppose we'll be doing most of the work again."

  Finn slapped her back and reminded her, "Even if we had ten times their number in stout knights, we'd probably still be doing the bulk of the killing. It's just who we are."

  "I hope all these great exemplars of humankind can soak up a lot of damage before they get killed."

  "Me too. Let them redeem themselves a bit by sparing you some pain."

  "Us," she corrected, "not just me."