Paladins of Shannara: The Black Irix (Short Story) Read Free

saved
     from being handed over to the Warlock Lord, and he from being thrown off a cliff,
     when he revealed he was the holder of the highest honor that can be accorded by the
     Troll nation to one of their own. He stood there before them and displayed it boldly—a
     challenge to all to dispute his loyalty and his courage when it was being questioned.
     That was an unforgettable moment, wasn’t it, Shea?”
    The Valeman nodded. Keltset had produced from a leather belt strapped about his waist
     an iron medallion with a cross embedded in a circle, held it up for all to see, then
     hung it about his neck in a dramatic display that had stunned all assembled and thereby
     gained them their freedom.
    “Do you remember what that medallion was called?”
    “The Black Irix,” Shea answered.
    Panamon Creel leaned back in his seat. “It was lost with Keltset when the walls of
     that mountain passageway collapsed on him. I intend to find it and bring it out.”
    Shea stared. “From under a collapsed mountain?”
    “No, from wherever Kestra Chule has hidden it.”
    The Valeman considered. “Back up a bit. Who is Kestra Chule?”
    “A buyer and seller of stolen goods.”
    “He has the Black Irix?”
    “He does.”
    “How did he manage that? How do you even know about this?”
    Panamon Creel shrugged. “As to the first, I don’t know. I don’t even know how he found
     out where it was, let alone how he managed to dig it out. As to the second, I am a
     thief, as you have pointed out to me a time or two in the past. It is my job to know
     about such things.”
    “So you intend to steal it back from him? Why go to all that trouble for a piece of
     iron, no matter what it represents?”
    “Because,” the other said slowly, drawing out the word, “the Black Irix is immensely
     valuable. There are perhaps a dozen known Irixes in existence, and most of those are
     in the hands of the Trolls. You cannot overestimate what a collector would pay to
     get his hands on one. But it is valuable, as well, because the materials used to make
     it are extremely rare. You might think it is only a piece of iron, but you would be
     wrong. An Irix is hammered out from a mix of metals, some used for strength and some
     to provide special value. Auridium is the most precious of those metals. Do you know
     of it?”
    Shea shook his head. He had never heard of auridium.
    “It is so valuable that there is only one known source. It is deep in the Eastland
     and mined by Dwarves, who trade half of what they acquire to the Trolls in exchange
     for a wagonful of high-quality weapons. That exchange has been going on for a long
     time. In any case, half an ounce goes into the making of every Irix. That alone would
     buy you a small kingdom.”
    He exaggerated, but Shea got the point. “So you want to recover the Irix from KestraChule. Why don’t you just do so? What do you want with me?”
    “As I said,” Panamon replied, “Chule has hidden it.”
    “So how does …,” Shea began and then stopped. “Oh, I see. You want me to come with
     you and use the Elfstones to find it.”
    “Because of the conditions under which I will be exercising my particular skills,
     it would be helpful to know where exactly the Irix is hidden in advance of extracting
     it. You could tell me that. Or, more to the point, your special Stones could. I am
     asking this as a favor to someone who has done much for you in the past.”
    Shea gave him a look. “Someone whose life you saved on more than one occasion. You
     forgot that part.”
    The other man shrugged. “I was holding it in reserve, in case further persuasion proved
     necessary.”
    “The problem with this request is that I have sworn to one and all—myself included—that
     I would not take part in another quest, no matter what. I have promised not to leave
     the Vale again. And after recovering from my sickness, I reaffirmed that vow.”
    “Are you saying you will not go with me? Even knowing how much