Chapter 4 Explore

I awoke after a couple of hours and gently moved away from Caylan, I did not want to disturb her she needed her rest. Covering her with my cloak, I threaded my way through the sleeping villagers and headed for the stairs. Making my way up I finally arrived at the top and opening the door I stepped out onto the battlements. Walking to the middle I looked down the valley, there was a lake off to the right side that fed the river. On the other side of the valley was the village, and then past that open fields that had not been worked for many years. Mist rose from the lake, I assumed it had hot springs helping to keep it warm.

My perception tweaked and I turned to see Mage Lord Braith appear beside me. I nodded at the ghostly figure and then turned to look down the valley again. It was a stunning vista with the ragged mountain peaks and dark waters of the lake steaming in the night air. I was entranced by the beauty of it and thought that it would be a good place for the villagers to start life over.

“It is amazing, I would come up here and look down the valley many times during my life. I am glad to see that you are a kindred soul.” Mage Lord Braith spoke quietly and then became silent as we both stood still. After several minutes he spoke again, “Lord Tor, I have heard your people call you, and you are a Lord to them, saving them and then bringing them to safety. But what now? I have heard that you are leaving, heading towards the Dwarven lands. The people say that there is the talk of war and that dark times are coming. Having lost their village I would wager that they speak the truth. So again I ask you, what now?”

I continued to stare down the valley as I thought of what he had said, it was all true but the underlining question was what needed to be answered, what now. In truth, I did not know the answer to the question, I have been on the reactive end of things for a long time. There have been a few times I had taken the initiative but most of the time situations arose that I had no control over. I was getting sick of that, I wanted to start doing things on my terms. Turning to Braith I began to speak.

“I have been reacting to situations for far too long, and have not had time to actually deal with problems on my terms. That stops here, in order to do what I need to I will be dictating the terms, and letting those others involved react. In addition let me begin by thanking you, while we have moved in and taken over your castle I want you to know that I am grateful.”

Braith looked surprised for a moment and then smiled, “I also am grateful to you, it has been a treat to see others after so long, and I really appreciate the young ones. I always allowed the children access to the castle and if I had time I would always read to them. That is one word of advice I give you, always allow your people access to you and especially make time for the children, they never forget that.”

I nodded, it was something I had heard before and it was just a good thing to do. Looking back down the valley I said, “Lord Braith, I am not sure what to do with these people, they refused to stay in their village and insisted on traveling with me, even though I am an outlaw with the human kingdom and the King has guards out searching for me. I could not abandon the poor people, not with goblins ad orcs out raiding villages in the countryside and the king only concerned about hunting me. Yet now I am stuck, these people have no food or place to stay, I can’t provide for them, I am not much of a hunter and the harvest is long over.”

Braith looked thoughtful and then turning to me said, “Lord Tor, it is apparent that you care for these people, and having listened to them last night, I can tell you they hold you in utmost respect with a healthy dash of fear. I believe they would follow you anywhere, but you lead them here. I am curious about that, these valleys are hidden and not easy to locate yet you knew to bring them here, how did you know the way?”

I smiled at Braith and then called out to Stoneskin, “Reveal yourself to Lord Braith, my friend.” Slowly the darkness at the end of the walkway shifted and then two red flamed eyes opened and the dark stone dragon slowly walked over towards us. I observed Braith, he had a look of fascination on his face and he was muttering to himself, “Amazing, truly amazing.”

Lifting up my hand I patted my Dragon on the shoulder and then said, “This is my Dragon, Stoneskin, he is my creation and is infused with the essence of both myself and several others, including small traces of higher powers. He is unique, there are no others like him, he is alive, intelligent , loyal and dedicated. It was Stoneskin who helped to lead us here. He is truly the one who rescued the villagers.”

The big stone beast began to purr as I praised him and then gently bowed to Braith. Backing up a few paces he said, “I go hunting and exploring, I will return with the what I can catch. Then with a leap, he took to the skies and was gone.

Braith was looking at the sky with wonder and then turning to me asked, “Is it possible to make more of those dragons. What an amazing thing. I wonder, do you realize what you have done, the creation of life is something that was under the control of the Gods, you have crossed into their territory my young friend, and one thing I know is that gods are jealous of their powers.”

“The Gods are on my list of things to deal with, but that will be in a different realm, here I have already removed the Gods, capricious bastards that they are. What has come to take their place is just as bad if not worse.” I breathed in deeply, thinking about the dark God, and what that meant, the walls between the realms were weakening and the Dark realm was beginning to move against us here.

Turning to look at Braith I continued, “Starting with the Dwarves and their realm, and then spreading out to the whole world is a coming darkness, a great war is coming, I have a chance to stop it, or at least contain it, but that requires me traveling to other realms, and for some damn reason that I don’t understand, my portal spell will not work and until it does I am stuck here trying to contain what is coming.”

Braith looked at me shocked and then suggested, “Tell me the whole tale from beginning to end, so that I might make sense of what you have said. Hearing you talk is frightful and if half of what you are saying has truth I fear for this world.”

I nodded, I to feared for the world, I knew from my world's history what happened when nations went to war. “Let’s go downstairs, I could use some kava,” I suggested and then I made my way down to the doorway and descended down to the main level. I knew that by now kava would brewing as people began to wake up. I needed to talk to Keon and Caylan and get thigs organized for the day, we had to explore the village and send out hunters and woodcutters. Keon would also be working with me in building a fish wheel to try to harvest some fish from the river.

Walking over to the fireplace I grabbed a mug from the table and filled it with a hot cup of kava, then sat down on an empty bench, soon Braith joined me and we began to talk. I told him of everything that had happened, including my understanding of how the Gods were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. I told of the Dark realm and how the walls between the realms were becoming weaker. I mentioned Tartarus and how I had to go there to try to fix what was wrong in all the realms. In the end, I asked Braith what he thought of it all and waited for his response.

Braith looked at me and then said, “Why do anything, the Gods are the ones that should be dealing with this and if they don’t then that is on them. I have listened and what I have heard is this, everywhere you go you set up an area that is a place of refuge for people. Your Island at the Human city, your island in the Greek realm, this valley here, even the abandoned park in the city. It is apparent that you feel the need to have a safe place, and that is wise at any time. With the changes coming, I think you would do will to prepare places of safety I am sure that you will find good people who need your help.”

“As for the rest, let the Gods sort it out, and if you can’t do that then deal with it in your own time. Take care of the darkness in this realm, then travel to the other realms and do what you need to. Do not let circumstances control your actions, but rather plan out and do what you need to. That is the only advice this old man can give you Torn, stay here a week or two and think about it while you set you people up. Now I am going to my chamber to rest, we will talk in the evening.”

The old ghost slowly dematerialized and was gone, he had given my much to think about and I thought he was right at least in part. I would take a couple of weeks off and help these villagers, then head out, but this time I would be following my plans, not reacting to circumstances beyond my control.

Seeing Keon awake, I called him over and began to discuss the immediate needs of the village. We agreed to deal with collecting wood, as well as sending out hunters, the food was the most important issue. I then began to discuss fishing and making a waterwheel to scoop up fish, I was sure that the river and lake would be full of fish. I began by describing the basics of a floating water wheel placed in the middle of a barge, on either side of the wheel where wooden trays that the fish would fall in. The paddles of the wheel were buckets, that had been angled to the side, one to the left the next to the right. As the buckets were spun by the rivers current the buckets would travel up and at the apex there was a hole in the side walls of the wheel structure that allowed the fish to drop down a chute into the wooden trays.

The bottom of the buckets are not solid but spaced to allow the water to drain out as the buckets travel around the circumference of the water wheel. If the fish are swimming in the river this will certainly scoop up a few. I could see the Keon had his doubts, but they would pass once he saw it working. We talked for a while longer and I grabbed some charcoal from the fire and sketched out the major components on the table. Once Keon actually saw w completed sketch he became very thoughtful. Once he had set up his smithy I knew he would be working on the plans.

As we finished discussing the fish wheel Caylan joined us, giving me a shy smile she asked, “What are the plans for today, I want to keep the people busy, it will make the transition easier.”

I nodded she was right, pointing upwards I said, “Why don’t we do a survey of the castle, now that it is repaired and cleaned it really would be the best place for all of us to live for now. Set up a few people for kitchen duty, in fact, make a schedule so all will take a turn, at least those that are not working. Then assign quarters based on need and space, and have a few of the men make sure that the bathrooms are functional.” I looked at Caylan and Keon and nodded they were good people and would get the job done. As I stood I told them, “I am going to be exploring the valleys today, making sure it is safe, do not be surprised if a black Dragon lands and brings you some fresh game. He is with me, and I will take it poorly if anyone attempts to harm him. Caylan I have something else I need you to do for me.” Reaching down towards the warm fireplace I grabbed my pack from where I had placed it and opening it I removed the Wyvern egg. It was warm and I could feel a content sleepy thought coming from it.

Looking at Caylan I held out the egg and then reached out my hands and covered hers as she grasped the egg. Looking at her I said, “This egg will hatch soon and I need you to be there for it if I am not present. You must take care of the Wyvern and make sure nothing happens to it. Now still your mind and open your heart, I want to try to bring you and the baby closer.”

I began to draw out my power and opened my mind to the Wyvern, at the same time I opened a pathway to Caylan and began to gently form a contact between caylan and the Wyvern. As I pushed more power into the link I observed a glow come from the egg and travel up Caylan’s arms and slowly sink into her. After several minutes I heard Caylan say, “I can feel it, I can feel the little one.”

Slowly I let go of the power and then lifted my hands from Caylans. As I looked at her she began to cry and cradled the egg to her chest. I watched as she put her head down and began to whisper to the egg.

Looking around I saw that we had an audience and I waved them back, then looking at Caylan I said, “Alright take a few moments and then let's get to work. We have a lot to do here.” I began to make my way through the people, stopping to ask how they were doing and making small talk, just letting them know that I was there and I cared.

Once I made it outside, I began to walk down the old road to the village, eventually stopping to look at the lake and river. The abandoned fields caught my eye, it was apparent that the grain had grown wild over the years, and while it was not in great shape, some might be still harvested. I made a mental note to tell Keon to have a group of people come and see what they could gather and continued on down the road. It followed the mountains and soon the castle was lost from view.

I had thought of transforming to Dragon form and flying to explore the valley faster, but I was enjoying the walk and decided to continue for a while on foot. The morning passed, and it was interesting to note that the air while cool, did not have the cold bite of winter that we had felt on the road traveling here. I was impressed with all that I saw, this was an amazing place, sheltered, warm and fertile. I was glad the Stoneskin had spotted it.

Eventually, I came to a fork in the road, a small hill was in the middle of the valley and split it into two, deciding to continue down the left side I entered a deeper valley, here the mountains on the left were taller and while the valley was split by a series of low hills in the middle the mountains on the right were just as high as those on the left.

The valley I was in was covered in forest and would make a great source of wood for heating the castle. The trail snaked through the woods and sometimes hard to follow, time had taken its toll on the pathway. Eventually, the woods ended and I came upon a large lake, the far side of the lake was tight against the mountains and was in a rough U shape.

I looked at the lake and the mountains and felt sure that nothing could come from this direction. Turning around I began to backtrack, I wanted to explore the trail to the right where it had split. Once I reached the low hill dividing the valley I swung to the right and continued on. The trail soon opened out into a large valley with clumps of wood and abandoned fields, it was apparent that this area had been home to small farms and holdings. I continued to walk as the afternoon sun warmed me, it was peaceful and still.

Once I came to the end of this valley I saw that the trail narrowed down to a mere path and went into a split in the rock wall of the mountain. I made my way through this narrow trail and eventually ended up in another valley, this one had a raging river that took most of the bottom lands with trees perched precariously on the mountain slopes. The narrow pathway winded up the right side of the valley with many switchbacks. It was getting late but I wanted to see where the trail ended. I hurried on and was soon climbing the mountain, it was steep and rough but with care could be climbed.

By the time I reached the top, I was slightly out of breath but amazed at what I saw, the valley stretched out before me, it was impassable, the top of the trail ended in an alpine meadow that had a gentle slope and circled around the mountain. I could see a tower off in the distance and the trail led in that direction. Eventually, I arrived at the tower and could see that it was in rough shape, I wanted to get to the top and see what was visible further down the mountain.

I placed my hands on the stone and called forth the power of the earth much as I had done with the castle, and began to repair and clean the tower. Once I was done I noted that the tower was still a gray color but it was now solid and stable. Making my way inside I climbed three flights of stairs and made my way to the top. Climbing out to the observation deck I looked all around the view was great, mountains and forests. At one time the path led away from the tower but once it came close to the mountains side it was washed out. No one would be able o get into the valley from this back road.

Satisfied that the valleys were safe I climbed down and began the long hike home. I wanted to take my time and just breath in the mountain air and enjoy the view.