The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Eighteen





Nalani was grateful to have the mask off her face as the hot morning sun inched its way over the city of Voelif. Though she was in a cage, she no longer had to hide and that offered her a bit of comfort. She didn’t know what was in store for her and Alric, but it didn’t seem like they would be going anywhere anytime soon. She knew they shouldn’t have trusted Grif. He had sold them out and the medallion had never actually been within their grasp. It hung around the neck of Mintuk, which was no help to them.

She was the only one awake in the hanging cages overlooking the city. Alric lay curled into a ball, having gone to sleep a couple of hours before. There were two more empty cages, then another cage with an Erellen who had not even woken up when she and Alric were brought in. At first she thought he was dead, but a couple of times during the night she heard him talking in his sleep, though she couldn’t decipher what he was saying. She wondered to herself what an Erellen was doing in the sandy city of Voelif so far from his home. It didn’t matter. They were all prisoners. The only hope they had of getting out would be for Coffman to find them, but even then what could he do? He was as much of a captive as the rest of them; he just wasn’t in a cage. With the tight security and without any weapons, something big would have to happen for them to get out. Had the mission been a failure before it started? Was it destined to fail from the beginning? Perhaps it was. She shook her head at the thought.

I should have planned better than this…

Her gaze turned to the pyramid structure to the north of them and she wondered what it could be. What sort of weapon could the Nestorians be making that would require so many slaves to build it? With this kind of priority placed on one object, Nalani knew it was something the Dunarians would have to pay attention to. They would also need Julian’s help. Something big was happening and their mission had become more complex. Not only did they need to get the medallion, but they also needed to find out what kind of weapon was being made. She was sure that Coffman would be on top of that, but she didn’t know what kind of condition the big guy was in. For all she knew, he could have been killed. They had been separated for almost an entire day now. Their situation looked hopeless from the outside, but it wasn’t the end. Unless the Nestorians decided to execute each of them, it was not the end.

Alric began to stir, quieting her thoughts and bringing her attention to him. He shook his head awake and slapped himself in the face a couple of times. He scratched at his thin black beard and smiled at Nalani briefly from the other cage.

“Beautiful morning isn’t it?”

She couldn’t help but smile, even being suspended twenty feet in the air like a bird in a cage. Somehow Alric always knew how to keep an upbeat attitude about whatever situation he was in.

“I’ve seen prettier,” she responded.

Alric sighed and looked out toward the city. “So have I.”

“I don’t suppose you have some sort of plan for getting out of something like this?” Nalani asked the mercenary. “Seems like in your line of work you might have found yourself in a few of these situations.”

He waved her off, acting as though it was nothing. “Hundreds of times,” he boasted. “You just gotta have patience. They don’t really want to get their hands dirty with us. We’ll eventually be released back out into the workforce and we’ll form a new plan then.”

“That easy?”

“Yep. That easy.”

“What if they decide to kill us?” she asked.

“I doubt they will, but if that’s the case, then our chances are a bit slimmer. But don’t forget, we’ve got Coffman out there. We won’t go out without a fight.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

“I didn’t think you were the type that needed comforting, Nalani.”

That was what people were supposed to think. She didn’t know how to answer him, but she knew that as part of the Dunarians Council, she needed to be strong. Truth was, she had not been on too many dangerous missions and she was afraid she was letting her inexperience show through to Alric. From the beginning she wanted to convey her strength and superiority, but from the beginning Alric had taken charge and shown her how things were done.

And it got you locked up in a cage, she thought to herself.

She wondered what other kind of missions she might have been on if it weren’t for Julian. He had held her back significantly. She had often been assigned tasks that he ended up doing for her because he didn’t want her to get hurt. She let him, mostly because he demanded it. He loved her, she knew, but it had been too much. Then he said he wanted her to run off with him to the castle and that was the final straw. She had her own path to think of, and she couldn’t let Julian dominate it forever. Her love for him had been strained, but Julian leaving the council made the relationship decision easier for her. She had been planning the mission to Voelif for some time, but she was sure Julian would try to take it for himself. As soon as he left the council, she made sure that she would be the one leading the way this time.

And it got you locked up in a cage, she thought again. She blamed herself more than Alric. This was her assignment. She was in charge and here they were.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Alric said, sensing her feelings. “No amount of planning could have prevented this from happening.”

“I was stupid for taking this on by myself,” she said. “I was a good soldier in the Dunarian Order, but I’ve never led a mission for the council before. I rushed in to it.”

“The only way to get experience is to do it,” Alric said.

“I guess.”

“I remember my first job here in Marenon,” he said, staring absently into the waking city. “It was just me and Lorcan. We had been hired by this guy to hold up a caravan of goods and steal something that had been taken from him. Anyway, we didn’t exactly anticipate the size of the caravan before going after it, and when we saw it, we knew we were outnumbered a hundred to one.”

“So, did you leave?”

Alric laughed. “Nope. We charged in there with our swords held high, ready to take on anyone. We pretended to have a whole band of thieves waiting in the trees to attack the caravan if anyone resisted. Well, they called our bluff and before we knew it, we were tied up, on our bellies listening to them decide what to do with us.”

Nalani sat silently, eagerly waiting to hear the next part.

“They were so busy arguing about whether to kill us or to leave us, they never saw the big man that came and cut our ropes to set us free. We were long gone before they came to check on us.”

“Did you get the item you were hired to steal?”

“Actually yeah,” Alric said. “It was a jeweled necklace that had belonged to the man’s late wife. It meant enough to him to shell out a handsome amount of coins.”

“Was that big man named Coffman by any chance?”

Alric smiled. “One and the same. He’s been with us ever since.”

“That’s a nice story, but what’s your point?”

“The point is that we had that unexpected third person to get us out of that situation. We were as good as dead, but someone was looking out for us. We’ve got that in Coffman, and possibly some person we haven’t even met yet. There are thousands of people surrounding us that absolutely hate the Nestorians. I’d say the odds are in our favor.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said.

“I am,” he said with finality. There was a brief moment of silence, but Alric never took his eyes off her. “Julian was a fool to leave you the way he did.”

Nalani could feel her cheeks go red instantly. What did he mean by that?

Alric shrugged. “You’re worth more than a stinking throne in Farlaweer.”

“That’s very nice of you, but we need a good king on the throne. The Dunarians need him in Farlaweer now more than ever.”

“Psht,” Alric waved her off. “He didn’t have to go. He had the power to appoint someone else to the position. He didn’t really expect you to go with him, did he? You worked as hard as he did to get where you are, maybe harder. I’ve heard he was only appointed because of his ties to the throne.”

Nalani didn’t know what Julian had expected. Surely he hadn’t thought she would just quit. However, she felt Alric may have gone too far with his last claim.

“Julian wasn’t unqualified,” she said in his defense. “They appointed him to the council because he was great at what he did. He was a good soldier. He has the qualities of a good king.”

Alric shook his head. “Not buying it. Every one of them knew he would find a way to get to the throne and then they would have the greatest ally of all. They couldn’t win this thing without Farlaweer’s support. Jekyll Rock is way too small.”

Alric had a point. There was no way they would be able to survive a full-scale war against the Stühocs and Nestorians without some help. In the past they had hoped for support from the Erellens, but no help had come.

“In fact,” Alric continued, “it wouldn’t surprise me if your dear Kaden sent Julian to kill his brother just to speed up the process. Word gets around, you know. Julian goes off to steal the medallion from the king, next thing we know, the king is dead and Julian is declared king. Sounds shady.”

This made Nalani flush with anger. Who did Alric think he was? He knew nothing of how the Dunarians dealt with things.

“What kind of men do you think Kaden and Julian are?” She said, raising her voice a bit too much.

“Two men that need to win a war,” Alric said.

“They might kill in battle, Alric, but they aren’t murderers. I saw the truth in Julian’s eyes when he told me what happened. It was an accident!”

Alric held up a hand. “Ok, ok, sorry. I’m just saying that it wasn’t too bad of a move on his part, accident or no accident. It put the Dunarians in a very good position.”

“What do you know of it, anyway?” Nalani fumed. “You’ve got no loyalties. Your whole life in Marenon has been focused on nothing but what could get you the most money!”

Alric turned his head away, shaking it in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re saying this to me right now. I’m not asking for payment to help you here!”

“Some help you’ve been,” she said. “Look where we are.”

“It was a bad plan from the beginning,” Alric countered. “The Dunarians don’t care about you, or anyone else that might suffer. They just want the medallions so they can have all the power. It’s greed. They just want to be the dominating force.”

“I don’t expect you to know what it means to believe in something,” Nalani said, turning her head away. “Unlike you, the Dunarians do believe in something. We believe in the possibility of a peaceful Marenon. You’re wrong about us.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” Alric said. “I hope it turns out as you expect, but I think you’re being naïve.”

“Why are you here?”

Alric sat for a moment, thinking. “Because my other three friends are infatuated with the idea of working for a greater cause. I don’t know how to tell them that it’s not possible. There’s no such thing as a greater cause. All you’re ever doing is feeding the greed of someone above you. That’s why I do what I do. I’m not going to feed someone else’s greed.”

“So you just feed your own?”

“That’s right. Better my own than another’s.” He let out a sigh. “Who’s greed are you feeding, Nalani? By getting this medallion, who are you helping to rise as the next absolute power?”

Nalani was done talking. Alric’s cynical nature was getting under her skin and he knew it. Perhaps Alric liked the rise it brought out of her.

“Will you two shut up?” It was the Erellen from the farthest cage, still curled up. “Can’t a person get some peaceful sleep around here?”

Alric had been startled by the voice, not having noticed he was awake. He got to his knees, peering over at the other prisoner.

“Who are you?” Alric asked.

“His name is Daewyn Florelle,” a voice nearly shouted from below them. Coffman stood with his hands on his belt, staring up at them in disbelief. “How did you two get caught?”

“Long story,” Alric answered, obviously happy to see his friend. “Did you just say Daewyn Florelle?” He looked at the waking prince. “Did he just say Daewyn Florelle?”

“I think so,” Deawyn said. “I don’t know, maybe you should ask him again.”

“What in the world is the Prince of Elysium doing in Voelif?”

Nalani was shocked as well. Erellens were hardly ever seen outside of their own lands, so what was the son of the Erellen king doing here?

“You’re not the only ones interested in what the Nestorians are up to,” Daewyn said.

“Coffman, you gotta get us out of here!” Alric said.

“He’s working on it,” Daewyn said. “Me and your little bandit friend got acquainted yesterday.”

“I still don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’ll figure out something.”

“First, you need to figure out what that weapon is,” Nalani said.

“No way,” Coffman answered. “You’re my top priority. I don’t care about that weapon until you guys are out.”

“Sounds good to m…” Alric began, but cut himself short. He looked over at Nalani, then back down to Coffman. “She’s the team leader, Coffman. Do what she tells you.” He looked back to her and gave a nod.

It wasn’t much, but it did show that he respected her enough to listen to what she had to say.

“I want you to figure out the weapon because the Dunarians need to know. The Nestorians took away my bag with the wristband when we were captured and there’s no way to get in touch with Kaden. He needs to know what the Dunarians are up against.”

“What about the medallion?” Coffman asked.

“Mintuk carries it,” she answered. “We never even got close.”

“We aren’t going to be much help to you from up here, so this is up to you,” Alric told him.

Coffman nodded, looking unsure of what to do.

“Just keep a low profile,” Nalani said. “Get the information as discretely as possible.”

“He’s not very used to discrete,” Alric told her in a whisper.

“When you find out what it is, don’t waste any time,” she said.

“She means, you can come back and tell us,” Alric said. Nalani gave him a warning look. “What, aren’t you curious?”

She rolled her eyes and turned back to Coffman. “Remember, we aren’t the priority. Getting information back to the Dunarians is more important.”

Coffman nodded, thinking to himself. He looked up at the others one at a time. “I’ll get this done. I won’t fail any of you.”

“We know, buddy,” Alric said.

“Ah, shut up and get to it already,” Daewyn said. “You people talk more than anyone I’ve ever heard.”

With that, Coffman turned and walked away.