The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Sixteen





It had taken a day and a half for the five riders to fly to the outskirts of Mudavé. Early on, Julian had spotted several patrols, much further out than they had expected. This forced them to land, and it took them the rest of the second day to find a spot where they could safely observe the Stühoc city.

The setting sun provided enough light for Julian to see through a small retractable scope. One thing was for sure: the Stühocs were not secretive about their intentions.

“What do you see?” Alric asked as he squatted beside the king.

“An army greater in number than the one that attacked Jekyll Rock.” He handed the scope to Alric. “If you focus on the western side of the city, you’ll see the Pyramid. Looks like they’ve been using the Sphere a lot.”

The camps of the mindless slaves stretched far and wide. The number of soldiers was so large that most couldn’t even fit within the confines of the city walls. The slaves had been pushed out, and most of the Nestorians had camped along the outer edge of the walls. The Stühocs, however, resided safely inside the city.

The large Pyramid stood tall near the main fortress, and would no doubt be used against enemy combatants in battle. Alric and Coffman had told Julian about how Anithistor had commanded the Sphere at the top of the Pyramid without the power of the medallion.

“So, in order for the Sphere to work, Anithistor will have to control it?” Julian asked.

Alric shrugged and shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you. For all we know, he could have just used the medallion to get the weapon up and running. It may not require any kind of power source now.”

Julian nodded, knowing Alric could be right.

They sat watching the city, and devised the best ways to attack such a large force while avoiding the Sphere’s deadly beams. The tides could easily change with such a weapon, even when the sides were initially equally matched.

“Numbers could be a problem,” a shaky Lorcan said. “When our armies meet, we have no idea how many we’ll have against the Stühocs and their allies. I don’t know if King Jiaros will join us.”

As the night fell and the stars shined, they made a fireless camp in a rocky alcove safely out of sight. The others assured Lorcan that a patrol would have to walk within ten feet of their camp in order to spot them.

The sarians rested their large heads on the ground while their riders found a spot against the rock to sit and rest. The five of them sat in a rough circle. Nalani sat across from Julian between Coffman and Alric.

“Lorcan, I brought something to calm your nerves,” Alric said as he reached into a sarian saddle. He pulled out a large animal skin filled with some liquid. “Viper’s mead!” he exclaimed with a laugh. He tossed it to Lorcan and the Erellen immediately unscrewed the cap and started to drink the strong liquid.

He winced when he swallowed and passed it on to Julian who protested at first. If a Stühoc patrol were to come by, it would do none of them any good to be drunk.

The mercenaries waved him off.

“I fight better when I’m drunk!” Coffman nearly yelled.

Despite his initial feelings, Julian shrugged and gulped a large quantity for himself. He passed it on to Alric who then gave it to Nalani, and before the hour had finished, none of them could even see straight. Alric had them all laughing with stories of some of the mercenaries’ more crazy operations, and even had Lorcan holding his belly.

Julian knew they were being too loud, but for some reason he felt no concern.

After another long, drawn-out story, the laughter died down. Alric looked at Julian with a solemn face then huffed. “King Julian Hobbes…What’s your story anyway? How’d you die?”

The others looked at Alric in surprise, but none of them objected to his question. Generally, such an inquiry would be considered bad form to most Humans in Marenon, but now it didn’t seem to matter.

Julian took another long draw from the animal skin and winced hard. The alcohol burned his throat, but it felt good.

“My brother murdered me.”

The only one who wasn’t shocked was Nalani who had heard the story before.

“We got new ice skates and he knew the ice on the pond wasn’t ready. I fell through and Morgan was content to leave me there. When my father saw what was happening, Morgan acted like he was helping me. Before the end, we were all drowning together.”

Each of them watched Julian intently.

“I guess when someone is chosen for Marenon, it doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you are,” Julian said.

The group was silent for a long time until Julian spoke out to Alric.

“How about you? How did you die?

Alric grunted then smiled. “Buried alive.”

Julian raised an eyebrow at this, expecting more, but Alric didn’t continue. The man just looked down at the ground and shook his head. Of course, Julian wasn’t going to ask for more. The obviously painful subject was easier for some to talk about than others.

“Plane crash,” Coffman said, answering a question that hadn’t been asked of him. “We all knew it was going down, and when the plane was low enough, people started taking parachutes. When it came to be my turn to strap one on, there were no more. I was the last one.”

“Why didn’t you try to jump with someone?” Nalani asked.

Coffman let out a deep laugh as Lorcan and Alric joined in. “Have you seen me lately? A parachute would hardly be able to hold me, much less with another person.”

Nalani smiled at this.

“What about you?” Alric asked Nalani.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Thankfully, I can’t remember.”

“Thankfully?” Lorcan asked.

“Well yeah. I can’t imagine the fear that went through your minds just before you died. Though I’m sure the same fear gripped me, I don’t remember it.”

“So, you remember nothing about your life on Earth?” Coffman asked next.

“No, nothing. I woke up in Marenon as child. People talk of life on Earth, but Marenon has been the only home I have ever known. It’s normal to me.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here,” Alric said as he placed a warm hand on Nalani’s.

Julian saw her grab it in acceptance, and rub his thumb affectionately. A mixture of anger, confusion, and jealousy rushed through him, and he was glad it was dark because he could feel his cheeks burn red. It could have been the alcohol, but Julian knew it wasn’t.

“I find it all baffling, to be honest with you,” Lorcan said. “The gates, Gatekeepers, Silas.” He shook his head. “From what Silas has said, it seems like the Gatekeeper knows a lot more about this world than even the Erellens do.”

“You ever wonder what’s on the other side of the Green Gate?” Coffman asked. “What world could be waiting for you just to slip into unnoticed?”

Lorcan shrugged. “I hope I never have to see. If I do, that means the Stühocs have taken over.”

“What if it was an absolute paradise, and no one has ever been bold enough to try?” Nalani said.

“Yeah, but what if it’s a lifeless void?” Alric countered. “What if you go there and your body isn’t able to survive the atmosphere?”

“Maybe that’s where you should go,” Julian said without thinking.

The smiles on the other’s faces disappeared one by one. Alric looked at Julian. “Excuse me, what?”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Nothing,” he said as he stood and climbed onto the rock above them. “I’ll take first watch. We’ll take off before sunrise. Stühocs won’t be looking for anything then.”

The others complied, and tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible. With the alcohol in their blood, they were soon fast asleep.

After an hour or so, Julian felt sober, though he probably wasn’t. Sleep couldn’t take him even if he wasn’t on watch. He had too much on his mind. He couldn’t shake the thought of Nalani and Alric together. He didn’t know where that mutual affection had come from. Maybe something had happened in Voelif.

Whatever the case, he didn’t understand it. What did Alric have that Julian didn’t? What could the man offer her that Julian hadn’t already given her?

He didn’t wake anyone for the next watch, but instead sat through the night. From here they would fly out to the edge of the Midland Pass, north of Timugo. There they would wait for several days for Julian to assemble his army. The hope was that the Erellens would also join them there.

Then they would wage the largest, most deadly battle ever seen in Marenon. They might all die. There was a chance that this would not succeed, but then again, this was the only chance they had.

If they didn’t win, all of Marenon would eventually come to be like the abhorrent city of Mudavé and then the Stühocs would have to find another world to destroy.

But Julian knew what he had to do. He knew he wouldn’t fight alongside his soldiers whenever the battle took place. He would be fighting a different kind of battle.

Anithistor and his Sleepers were planning something against Silas. But Julian knew about Hroth. Spencer had told Julian all he needed to know. The Possessor had done well in stealing the mind of seven individuals and letting them infiltrate all parts of Marenon.

Julian wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling that if he could kill Hroth, then perhaps the last two Sleepers would become powerless.

No. Julian wouldn’t be fighting in the battle to come. He would be in that fortress looking for the Possessor.