The Ransom Knight Read Free Page B

It is my belief that Sir Traeger found a relic of magic within the ruins and attempted to use it.” 
    “And this relic…conjured those spirits?” said Mazael. Trocend nodded.
    “What manner of creatures were they, begging your pardon?” said Mulger. “A man needs to know what a creature is to kill it properly.”
    “There is wisdom in that,” said Trocend. “They were not human, if that puts your mind to rest.”
    “It doesn’t,” said Tollard. “Sir.”
    “They were minor entities of the spirit world,” said Trocend. “Dangerous, but only in the way wild dogs are dangerous to the weak and the unprepared. They took the forms of armored men in mimicry of us. Had they been more powerful spirits, weapons of steel would not have harmed them, and we would likely have all been killed.”
    “Can Sir Traeger summon these more powerful spirits?” said Mazael.
    “I do not know,” said Trocend. “I suggest we press on before he learns how to do so.” 
    Mazael stared hard at the wizard, who met his gaze without flinching. There was more that Trocend was not telling him, he was sure of it. He was tempted to tell Trocend to go to hell and to return to Knightcastle with Gerald. Yet he could not leave without Sir Edmund, or at least without learning of his fate. 
    “Let’s go,” said Mazael.

Chapter 3: Haggling

    White ruins covered the slope of the hill. 
    Whatever the ruins had been, there wasn’t much left. A cluster of slender white columns here, a crumbling white wall there. Once, Mazael suspected, a city had covered the slope. Certainly the hill looked as if it had been terraced long ago. Yet time and weather had done their damage, and only a few stone blocks remained of the white ruins.
    Yet the ruins were identifiable nonetheless.
    “Dark Elderborn,” said Mulger, his hand never straying far from his sword hilt.
    “Aye,” said Tollard. “Lots of Dark Elderborn ruins in the Stormvales.” He spat. “Cursed places, all of them. Those spirits were likely lurking within.” 
    “Probably not,” said Trocend. He glanced back at Gerald. “A knight must also know the history of the realm, squire. What do you know of the Dark Elderborn?” 
    Gerald looked at Mazael, and he nodded at the boy.
    “The Imperium of the Dark Elderborn once ruled all the lands between the two oceans,” said Gerald, sounding as if he was reciting a lesson. “They were cruel lords and powerful sorcerers, but in their pride they constantly warred against each other. The western lands of the Imperium collapsed into squabbling princedoms, and the Rolands of Knightcastle and the others lords destroyed their realms one by one. Now the Dark Elderborn are extinct, and only their ruins remain.” 
    “Is that what this is, then?” said Mazael. “Sir Traeger found some relic of the Dark Elderborn, and now we have to fix his mess?”
    “Perhaps,” said Trocend. “We shall see.”
    “Someday you’re going to give a straight answer to a question,” said Mazael, “and you’ll die of surprise a few moments later.”
    Tollard snickered. Trocend gave him a blank look, and the young armsman fell silent.
    A moment later they reached the top of the hill, and Mazael looked upon Castle Highstone for the first time.
    A broad, rocky valley stretched before them, mantled in green pine trees. A massive fist of rock rose from the valley, and atop that fist of stone stood a small castle. A gray curtain wall encircled the top of the crag, and within the wall rose a single delicate tower of white stone. A narrow wooden bridge stretched from the edge of the valley to the top of the crag. The castle was a strong place, and a small number of men could hold it against a much larger force.
    The white tower held the entirety of Mazael’s attention. 
    “The castle’s built around a Dark Elderborn ruin?” said Mazael.
    “You see, then,” said Trocend, “why I was concerned?”
    “Strong place,” grunted Mulger. “Be a devil to