Possessing the Grimstone

chapter Eighteen


The threshold of Mort A’ghas came up fast again. Pim came to a stop in the mud on the Church’s shore. He looked back at the swamp and the dead walking through it.

He stepped inside; the shadows gathered around him instantly.

“Returned to the dark, have you, Wivering?” the voice came from behind him.

“For the moment.”

“For the moment?” The voice was in front of him now. “What makes you think the dead will let you leave?”

“I think they will be more than happy to let me leave.” Pim reached not for his sword, but for the contents of his pack.

He pulled the Grimstone from its hiding place, and clasped it in both hands. Green light illuminated the inner sanctum of the Church. Three dozen or more undead stood around him, hollow eyes and gaunt faces leering at him. He hadn’t realized, in the dark, how many were actually there, and so close to him, too.

He swallowed once and lifted the stone with both hands. He whispered, “Ascension for all.”

Red light enveloped all of the dead, and their bodies dissolved. Balls of light, spirits now freed, rose through the roof, and were gone.

The Lich Lord wailed in rage. He formed in the shadows, and rushed Pim, looming over him at nearly ten feet tall. Glowing embers for eyes flared, tattered robes now lined with skulls and spines flapped in a haunting wind.

It dove down on Pim with all of its rage, and Pim closed his eyes. An energy shield encased the Wivering and repelled the Lich.

“You will pay for this, Wivering!” The Lich screamed. “You will suffer the darkness! It will find you no matter where you go. Hear me… this deed will not be forgotten!”

Pim turned and bolted from the Church as fast as his fleet would carry him. All around the forest swamp, balls of light lifted gently into the skies and floated to their salvation. A moment later, a ghastly shriek echoed through the entire forest.

###

He headed in the opposite direction of the forest, and made his way to the lush lands of the North. He raced past the remains of Bhrungach, and headed deeper and deeper still, until he could see his breath in the air, and the white of snow as far as the eye could see.

His teeth chattered as he carefully moved across a frozen lake. He knelt and dug a hole through the icy shell with his sword.

The Grimstone sat in his hand. He stared at it. The energy hummed, rippling over the edge of the stone. The three pieces joined as one left a crack where the First People had divided it. He ran his fingers over the scars. The power tickled them. He felt his eyes tingle.

Pim’s heart was heavy. He was relunctant to complete his task. So many people needed help; so many places needed to be rebuilt. So much of the world was in ruin, from the Lake Lands, to Cardoon, to Gonnish. The forests, the fields, the farms were all ravaged.

“Time will heal. Do not break your promise.” He looked at it one last time, studied it, and dropped it into the frigid water.

His entire body shivered from the cold; his teeth chattered louder. He was not dressed for the climate. Pim looked around at the snowdrifts, the white mountains, and the falling snowflakes, and figured that this was the most uninhabitable place in all of Athora.

Satisfied, Pim got left the cold as quickly as he could, rushing back to the warmer lands as his breathing began to get harder, and his body was becoming wracked with fatigue. The Grimstone had indeed made him wondrous.

###

Tolan swung the mallet, pouding the nail into frame. Pim worked along side him, holding the wooden beam. The ceremonial temple for the Order of Thet was coming along nicely.

“A fine day for working outside,” Tolan said.

“Aye, it is. I am glad the hot weather held off,” Pim said. He watched his brother Tal scamper by. Further down the road, his parents were finishing the roof of their house.

Crops were planted again, children laughed, dogs barked, and Pim smelled food cooking on the wind. All made his heart swell.

“Thank you, Tolan, for all of your help. We could not have done it without you and the help of the other citizens of Cardoon.”

“It is the least we could do, my friend. Without your help, the Neshing would have destroyed us all. I do not know how they got through the mist of the Fifling Sea, but at least they’re gone, now.”

“Yes, thank Thet for that.”

“It had to have been Thet. I never thought I would live to see the day that the North and the South would work together for anything.”

“These days have been filled with wonders,” Pim said. “Many of them.”

Tolan laughed. “You are a peculiar one, Pim.” He tussled the young Wivering’s hair.

Pim laughed back and went for a drink from the well. He looked off to the horizon, and saw the peaks of the M’Illium Fells. Shannara came to his mind. He was sure that what he’d done at Mort A’ghas had let her ascend, as well. He knew she and her husbands would have been happy to be together in ascension.

He drifted just a bit more, and thought of the Grimstone in its frozen grave. It would be hard being the only one alive to know where it was, but it was his burden to carry. Excitement and adventure had a price, and this, he finally understood well.

“Pim!” Tolan called. “Hurry back! This temple will not rise itself!”

Pim waved and headed back to his friends and family, and to the life he’d thought he didn’t want. Now he wanted it more than he ever had.





Glossary of Terms and Pronounciations


Athora – The world.

The Red Coast – To the East, where the sun rises, and the beaches are of red stone and rusty sand. The mist hangs like a wall across the Fifling(Fife-Ling) Sea.

Silver Coast – To the West; gray and blue, creating a silver look, with reflective leaves and trees with silver bark. Here is the Baltha(Ball-tha) Sea. Across the sea is the land of Norrow. Tribal people live there, and trade with the coastal towns and the largest port city of Fionngall.

Gonnish (Go-nish) – The Wivering homeland.

Gwythroth (gwith-roth) – The homeland of the Gwythroth ministers.

Mort A'ghas(Mort-a-gass) – The Undead Monastery/Church of the Dead in the middle of the swamplands, where dead go to worship.

Bhrungach(Brune-gash) – A city that lies to the North.

Glenghora(Glen-gora) – A city that lies in the South.

Fionngall(Fin-gall) – Largest port city in the West, near the Baltha Sea.

M’Illium Fells – Mountain range Northwest of Gonnish; home to the D’Elkyrie.

Cardoon – Largest city in the world of Athora.

Salt Lands – Area between the Red Coast and Gravik’s Spade

Lake Lands – Lands of the North: Triton, Helfex, Daustra. Borders Bhrungach.

Llewallen Forest (Lew-all-in) – First green area from the Red Coast before reaching the Lake Lands.

Gravik’s Spade (Grav-ick) – The region of great chasms and cliffs; Gravik is the farmers of Cardoon’s God.

Yagire Hills(Ya-gire) – The biggest point in the hill lands and marshes, home to Wood Sprites and Gnomes; lies between Gonnish and the Fells.

Wizened Forest – A creepy forest; short cut between the North and Cardoon.

Graywing Mountains – Rumored to be the place where the First People lived. There are many caves throughout with runes and symbols, tunnels, balconies, and tombs. On the other side of the mountains are the swamplands.

Swamplands – The location of Mort A’ghas.

Order of Thet – The religious group of the Wivering; journeymen who live peaceful lives and bless the crops.

The Warrior Sect – The Wivering’s small group of protectors; very weak, but have fleet of foot.

The Circle Guard – A group of knights of Cardoon who rotate a checkpoint between their city, the Red Coast, and the lands to the North. They travel this route in a circle and report back to Cardoon.