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History of Mardon Castle
Chapter Ten
Part 2
Even next to the fire, Axiste felt his body growing cold. Without the surrounding warmth of the sun, his blood did not retain any heat. His son and the lad’s friend were already asleep. The constant movement of the humans bothered Axiste however, so he did what he could to keep his body active.
Hearing shouts of jubilation caused him to look to the excavated hole. Something had been driving the humans, and he hoped that the cheers of success would have them finally abate the intensity of their operation. Knowing that whatever had been discovered would probably only give the humans a reason to keep working, Axiste forced his body to move over and see if he could determine what had been found.
Rewards tend to come to those that do the work.
History of Mardon Castle
Chapter Ten
Part 2
Even next to the fire, Axiste felt his body growing cold. Without the surrounding warmth of the sun, his blood did not retain any heat. His son and the lad’s friend were already asleep. The constant movement of the humans bothered Axiste however, so he did what he could to keep his body active.
Hearing shouts of jubilation caused him to look to the excavated hole. Something had been driving the humans, and he hoped that the cheers of success would have them finally abate the intensity of their operation. Knowing that whatever had been discovered would probably only give the humans a reason to keep working, Axiste forced his body to move over and see if he could determine what had been found.
Kaervel and Norvichy gained buckets of water that they poured on the uneven ground beneath them. As Axiste descended into the excavated pit, he could tell that something substantial did not wash away with the liquid. Approaching the work, Kaervel saw him and began explaining things.
“What do you think, Axiste? This is the roof of Norvichy’s tower.â€
The other mage quickly said, “Well, it’s actually my family’s tower, but I guess that I get the credit for being the one to actually have it dug up.â€
Kaervel replied, “Well, you said your grandfather was the last to see it. It looks like the top is about six feet deep, and it being that the tale of your grandfather puts the last viewing about sixty years ago. I thus can guess that it sunk a foot a decade. We should thus need to go about eighty feet down to hit solid ground.â€
Axiste moved through the men helping the mages with their activities to see a slanted section of clay tiles. Kaervel and Norvichy carefully placed their feet on the roof, as many tiles appeared cracked causing the position upon them to appear unsafe. As the water washed away the soil, he could see that the tiles were not as fragile as they appeared. What had mostly broken were the front delicate sections that rose as the claws of some beast. The thick rectangular back sections that overlapped to truly protect the room underneath appeared still secure in the positions. Axiste still wondered about the safety of the mages even as Kaervel stated his plans.
“This can be your tower, Norvichy, but I am going to use it as the new headquarters for this project.â€
The other mage returned, “Use it all you want, Kaervel. You are the one that wants to live in a tower. I would rather be up in a tent when the pumps fail.â€
Soldiers voiced their agreement as the reply came, “I commissioned the manufacture of a number of pumps. Not only will we have a large volume to keep dry, but I wanted spares as well. I am not going to lose this battle to reclaim the castle.â€
Axiste reached down to fill a hand with mud as he asked, “Won’t the ground work against you?â€
Kaervel answered, “No, it is not magic mud. I keep checking for signs of the magic of the curse, and have not yet found it.â€
One of the workers nearby added, “We are simply fighting the marshy ground.â€
Axiste replied, “Then this won’t go away.â€
Kaervel replied, “It came, so it must go away. Mardon was not like this before the curse. It might take eight hundred years to restore the land, but I want to go to my grave knowing that I did what was necessary to set things back to being right.â€
The kevalla could not argue with the logic. Even among his own people, it was accepted that a man could not be held responsible for events beyond his control. Kaervel was indeed working to do his part in removing the curse to the land. If he did indeed recover the lost castle as part of a goal to remove the curse upon the land, the gods would have to recognize his accomplishment. Axiste thus did not argue with the man, but feeling drained from the night chill cooling down his blood he had to speak concerning just how active the humans would continue to be.
“What do you believe is beneath the roof?â€
Norvichy replied, “The castle did not sink quickly. There was plenty of time for those that lived in the castle to get what they wanted, and for looters to take everything else.â€
A soldier said, “There is a legend about a room of treasure.â€
Kaervel spoke loudly to assure that all heard his reply. “I don’t believe that tale, but I promise to excavate every part of the castle. If there is indeed a vault below that was sealed by the initial seepage of mud after the evocation of the curse, we will reveal it. Tasbirn has promised that he will reward the treasure to whoever finds it, and I have promised to share any wealth found with all who work for me.â€
Axiste listened to the cheers from those around him while concluding that the humans would stay busy all night. The hope of finding treasure would fade as the work of removing the mud tired their bodies, but by then the rising sun would be restoring the circulation in his. He thus turned to climb back out of the pit hoping that he could get some substantial rest, but the voice of a worker had him stop.
“Lord Axiste, you can speak of the reward to those kevalla that you are to hire.â€
He replied, “The wage being paid is already incentive enough.â€
“You don’t believe the treasure vault is down there?â€
“I believe anything down there is a long way down. I will be promising those I seek to hire that they can feed and support their families, not that they can possibly become wealthy.â€
A sergeant in the military said, “Those are good words, Lord Axiste. Most of us that came back from the war are wealthy, but it comforts us little. I wish that I had a wife.â€
Axiste heard a number of the humans voice their agreements. Even Kaervel and Norvichy voiced their hope to soon start their own families. Some of the workers spoke of having a wife and children, but Axiste noticed that all who came from the war felt themselves alone.
He moved back to the ladders to climb out of the pit while thinking about his own younger days. Axiste really had not dreamed of a better world, or making the world a better place, but only of finally being able to take his place in the cycle of life by joining with a lady. If there was one message that he felt his fellow kevalla needed to hear, it was that the humans were not planning for war. They were instead actually working to make the land better. Just as Axiste had one of his sons, and the son of a priest, with him, he would encourage the young men of the villages to join and start their adult life in a proper direction for the future of the homes they hoped to establish.
Captain Bostull spoke to the elder kevalla as he climbed up from the pit, “Lord Axiste, I didn’t think you kevalla would still be up at this hour.â€
“I went down to see why you humans were.â€
The man had a smile on his face as he looked down into the excavation while saying, “Yeah, it is just some roof tiles, but it is something. It must have been something for Norvichy to grow up having hope of again seeing the castle raised. I mean, why else would his family keep marking the position of that tower?â€
“I was thinking similar thoughts as I climbed up. I realized that you humans were actually thinking to make a better future for yourselves. When I was a young man, I only thought of what I needed to do to assure that I would have a future like my parents.â€
“Well, the curse has gone on too long to think someone else is going to remove it. We were talking of our homes while out fighting the war, and began not wanting to come home.â€
Axiste remembered that Bostull was among those who had returned with Tasbirn through the mountain pass. The style of armor and insignias placed upon his attire stated that the man had gained rank during the conflict. Axiste thus looked to him with the feeling that he could speak with an official knowledge about certain things.
“Was that really the point that you humans decided to do this thing?â€
A confused expression came over Bostull’s face as he seemed to think back. “Yeah, and the confident words of our mages that they could overcome any curse. Those damn mages we were fighting used curses. Many of us were fighting weakness, sickness, and other maladies that were curses and not simply us eating strange food. Kaervel and Norvichy figured out how to restore us, then perfected their talents so they could directly challenge our opponents. Don’t really know what had Tasbirn think of shaving trolls and making the net. I am here because I believe Kaervel and Norvichy can remove any curse, and because I agree that we need to restore the original castle.â€
“I believe that I am beginning to have faith in the abilities of the mages as well.â€
“Yeah, uh, Lord Axiste.â€
A hand shot to the upper arm of the kevalla. He had been turning to return to his bed, but looked back to the human wondering at the act. Seeing a smile on the man’s face had him pause to hear what further statements would be made.
“Lord Axiste, I know that you were up in the mountains ready to attack us. However, I recognize that you did not attack our families while we were gone. That was an honorable thing to have done. We, all us that went to war, did worry about our families. I want to say that I am glad those fears were not realized.â€
“Truthfully, Captain, we worried about you. We saw the skies blaze and other signs of the terrors of the war you were fighting. I did not help lead that attack to kill those who had not yet died, but to see if you were strong enough to continue fighting. We had decided that if we found you weak, that we would have to act to continue to provide security to this land.â€
Almost with pride, Bostull said, “You did not find us weak.â€
“No, but I also did not recognize you as the people I once knew.â€
“Yeah, war changes people, and we went through Hell before we started figuring out how to win. In coming back, we knew that we would change our land. Hopefully, by doing what we are doing, we are changing it for the better.â€
Axiste now sent one of his hands to the shoulder of the man as he said, “Well, soon, Kaervel will have me hire some kevalla workers. We will change this land together.â€
In the next installment, the ghost reveals itself.
Posted by TerishD on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 (12:30:00) (241 reads)
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