Beyond the Hell Cliffs Read Free

peasants?” Raegith asked, failing to keep the amusement from his voice.  “And it’s all completely orchestrated by the leaders of both sides… who are pretending to hate each other.”
    “ I’ll not put up with your snide naivety, boy!” Helfrick grumbled.  “Like it or not, the kingdom depends on this charade!  It’s been this way for centuries and I will not be the king to break that tradition and doom my people.  I don’t like that our wars are rigged or that I must make diplomacy with vile creatures that are beneath me, but I am doing the best I can…”
    “I’ll do it,” Raegith said, refilling his cup.  “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I’m dying to leave this place, but I also want to help the kingdom if I can.  Despite our tense and often non-existent relationship, father, I wish to prove my worth.  This journey should be exciting and give me at least a modicum of training.  I am ready.”
    “You will?” Helfr ick asked.  “Of course you will; you’re a Caelum; you crave action as we all do!  You have taken the first step towards being an honorable Sab… citizen of Rellizbix, Raegith.”
    “ Thank you, your majesty,” Raegith said with a smile.  “Now that we’ve settled that, let us drink and tell stories.  I can tell you of the time I chased a pole cat around the keep after it snuck in, once.  That’s about the most excitement I see here, so you might have to do the bulk of the story-telling.”
    “I’m sorry, Raegith, but I cannot stay,” Helfrick said, averting his eyes.  “As you have so readily agreed, I must make plans at once.  The sooner I do so, the sooner you will be free of this place and on your way to saving the nation.”
    “But the Stoglia,” Raegith said , barely containing his disappointment.  “I was under the impression that we were going to get drunk together and tell stories.  Did I put out too soon?  I can pretend to be more prudish…”
    “I have no stories that would interest you, boy…” Helfrick said, downing his juice and eying the huge gourd.  “ You’ll enjoy freedom from this place much more than any old tales from me.  Best for both of us if we dropped pretenses and expedited your release from this place, wouldn’t you say?  The Stoglia is yours, a gift from the king.”
    “And not from a father to his son?” Raegith asked.
    The king paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. “Of course… that too .”
    Helfrick did not see the hard look that overcame Raegith, nor the shudder that passed through him.  But in a moment Raegith regained the sly guise that he kept up at all times and was once again the witty brat his father knew him to be.  “There is nothing else I would as gladly have from you… except maybe a curvaceous young Saban willing to fulfill all of my…”
    “That’s enough, Raegith!” Helfrick said.  “Your lustful thoughts must be put in check, lest yo u make the same mistake I did.”
    “No, I would hate to create such an awkward blunder,” Raegith said coldly. 
    “ Fulfill your duty with pride, Raegith,” Helfrick said. “And upon your return, I promise, you’ll be free to pursue whatever the Fates have in store for you.”
    “ One last toast then, for the road?” Raegith asked. 
    Helfrick lightened and filled his mug. “What shall we toast to, then?”
    “To the journey,” Raegith said, raising his mug.  “May it give us both exactly what we need from it.”
    “ It always does,” Helfrick said, crashing his mug into the other.  “I’ll drink to that.”
     
    Helfrick left Forster’s Keep and travelled back towards Thromdale, the shining capitol of Rellizbix and monument to his great ancestor.  He approached from the west, riding through the outlying houses and stalls at a relaxed pace.  The citizens on the west side of the city were mostly Twileen artisans and merchants.  They preferred to sleep later into the day than the Sabans and Faeir, so they put their