Three Kings (Book 3) Read online

  Here in the sweltering confines of heat-blasted stone, even the slavers who feared no men bowed before him as he passed. It was the same every day as he made his rounds through the hidden passages beneath the great city. With the clinging scents of putrid decay, sweat, feces, and sulfur, the caverns turned his stomach every time he forced himself to see to these duties. But see to them, he knew he must. To keep the city moving, there were many duties he was forced to undertake.

  As he passed the condemned, time and again, he would raise those who lay shackled upon the ground without life to swing their hammers. Those still living and with hope for their freedom all fell to their knees before him in a dark melody of mournful moans and clanking chains. Then with a crack of the whips the slavers would seemingly bring them back to life, as they climbed to their feet once more to resume their ceaseless punishment.

  Though he felt that he should have remorse for the treatment of those in the caverns, he reminded himself that they were the dregs of his society. They were unfitting of the life lived by those above the surface. They were all condemned by their own kind, not just him, and for their crimes he would see them punished until their very bones crumpled into piles of waste upon the cavern floors.

  He wondered who was worse, the criminals condemned to these caverns, or those slavers who drove them ceaselessly beyond their very deaths. Shaking his head, he began towards the intersections that would lead him back to the surface where he could breathe without bile rising into his mouth.

  With a blast of steam issuing out from a fissure in the cavern floor, Gnak covered his face to protect his sight, but when it relented he was not ready for what he saw.

  Standing before him was the goddess he served in all her dark and menacing glory. From the very shadows of the cavern she coalesced, her form gathering definition with each second. With tightly braided hair clinging to her scalp in rows, it cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. Her creamy, flawless skin, though covered in near entirety by armor, seemed to invite him closer as her lips curled upward into a wicked grin. Hers was a beauty that surpassed the racial barrier. Or was it her power that called to him?

  Like tidal waves of energy, he could feel her power washing over him whilst he remained in her presence. Hovering several feet off the cavern floor, it was as if ethereal wings held her aloft as she bobbed up and down in a slow steady rhythm. Gnak did not blame her for not wanting to touch the ground. He would not see her tainted by the soiled surface either, for she was perfection.

  Bowing low to the goddess he served, he let his crown sweep the stone of the floor for many long moments before daring to rise anew. From toe to head his gaze swept up every clinging curve of her wicked armor, until at last he gazed into the dark voids where her eyes should have been.

  “Time is of the essence, servant,” she said to him, her lips moving out of sync with the sounds that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

  “Gnak work hard. Make promises real, Ishanya,” he replied turning his gaze upon the floor once more.

  “You have months, not years, puny orc. See your oath fulfilled or I will strip her away from you, never to see the sun again.”

  Gnak did not question how she knew about Jen. She was a god. She knew everything and saw everything. There was no proper response to what she said.

  “Yes, goddess,” he replied hesitantly.

  “Use the power I have given you, fool. That which you need to see my will done is within your grasp. You need only reach out and take what is yours.”

  And then her form seemed to waver in the light as the shadows that bound her together released their hold, to return to the cavern around them. With the disappearance of the shadows, so too was the goddess gone. A shiver ran down Gnak’s spine as his vision clouded before turning black.

  * * * * *

  Gnak awoke with a start, and snatching up his blades he rose to his feet, twisting this way and that as hot air issued out from deeper within the cave. With no apparent enemy, he wiped the drool from his lower lip and chin with the back of his hand as a strange realization struck him.

  Pulling his hand away from his face, he looked upon the blood that was smeared across the back of his wrist and hand. Reaching up, he wiped globs of goo from his chin and even one of his tusks with his fingers, before holding his hand out to where he could see it with his good eye. He found that he had indeed been attacked.

  Though it was smashed and resembled little more than pieces of slimy goo, he recognized the large leech from the previous night. Looking down to his arms and chest the things clung to his body everywhere, their small circular mouths attached to his flesh. Almost in perfect rhythm, the things undulated as if pulsing with his heart as they fed from him. There were thousands.

  Working as fast as he was able, Gnak began to pluck the leeches from his body. Every removed parasite left a raised ring of swollen and bloody flesh where it had fed, but even so he continued on. One after another he plucked the things from his skin, twisting and tearing each one away forcefully. Even the bottom of his feet and armpits were host to the disgusting creatures, and without the ability to reach much of his back, Gnak was forced to smash into the cavern wall, and scrubbing his back against the moss and lichens that clung there he stripped away the blood-sucking, foul creatures.

  By the time he was finished, he was in such a mood that he wanted nothing more than to flee the cave and return to the mind-numbing and body-aching climb that awaited him. Gathering up his weapons and supplies he began to stride towards the exit of his temporary abode, when he remembered the strips of meat he had left in a shallow pool to soften. Turning, he took the few steps required before he knelt down to retrieve what would be his evening meal.

  Though both strips of meat were covered nearly entirely in both the leeches and the snails that inhabited the cave, Gnak wanted vengeance. Chewing vigorously he took a large bite of both strips, parasites and all, gnashing his teeth and tusks as he turned them to jelly within his mouth. If they had fed on him, then he would do the same in return.

  It was only moments later, when finishing his meal, that Gnak strode to the edge of the cave, and reaching out beside it he took his first grasp of the evening at the vines that would be his companions for the remainder of the night.

  Swinging out and away from the cave he began to climb, ignoring more than a thousand raised welts upon his flesh that stung in the cool night breeze as he climbed.

  Fourteen hours later, as he crested the cliff face he had spent two entire nights climbing, he could not help but wonder if it was the leeches that had saved him the pain of cramps this second day. Could it be that they had given something into his body to speed his climb, allowing his blood to flow more easily in his muscles? No matter what the case, he thanked Ishanya for any help she might have given him as he peered across the view ahead.

  Though he knew the trolls lived high up in the mountains, he had believed that he still had a long way to climb before he would find the large, thick-skinned men. With such a belief, he was surprised to see the obvious signs of people here upon the top of the cliff.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Across the platform atop the cliff lay a surreal landscape of the likes Gnak had never imagined. Nearly level, the surface of the cliff ran almost a hundred yards ahead with neither a living plant nor animal. Placed at regular intervals were monolithic stones carved into the likenesses of trolls, each facing the center of the clearing. Three separate rings of the giant stone statues stood in silent witness to his approach from over the lip of the cliff. But it was not the statues that grabbed and held his attention.

  From the center of the innermost circle, rainbow hues of light danced among the monoliths, covering their surfaces with light that seemed alive. Moving for a better view of the source of the spectacle, Gnak froze as the breath caught in his throat.

  Never before had he seen such beauty in nature as what he witnessed atop the cliff. It was no wonder the trolls had built stone guardians to protect
that which they cherished. Here, in the center of the rings of stone men, stood a stone of the likes Gnak could not recall. It thrust up from the stone of the mountains as if seeking escape.

  Nearly transparent, with flecks of gold and silver, the giant prism of stone stood perfectly vertical. With perfectly geometric sides, the crystal seemed as if it were carved and polished to perfection, but Gnak knew by instinct that no craftsman besides the gods themselves could have erected such a magnificent creation.

  As the stars winked in the heavens, so too did the prism wink in return, its myriad dancing light encompassing the faces of all the stone trolls protecting it, making them appear to alter their expressions as the light glimmered and changed.

  Though he had not meant to underestimate them, Gnak had inadvertently assumed that trolls were not overly intelligent. Their slow demeanor made him believe that they were slow of wit as well. Now he was beginning to think different. For if there was any proof of a man’s intelligence, it had to lie in the items he was able to create. Here, the trolls had created something majestic. Gnak was in awe.

  Moving closer to the prismatic gem at the center of the clearing, he looked into the faces of its stone guardians and was surprised to find each of them detailed and unique. Rounding the last one that stood between him and that which he wished to admire up close, he paused briefly to behold it once again as the light from its many facets washed across his skin.

  Though he believed the thing to be completely natural, it was only when he came close that he saw in detail the thing that sat atop the tall prism. It was almost like a spear tip, the way that it covered the pointed tip of the geometric stone, but beyond that comparison it was unlike anything he had seen before. He recognized the material it was made out of, as it was the same metal that the goblins sought, but he could tell it had value beyond that of its material.

  Carved upon every side of the golden cap that sat atop the gem, were small runes and symbols in a repeating pattern. He had never seen things such as this, but studied them closely, curious as to their meaning. As he leaned in closely he could feel heat washing off the stone and was forced to pull away slightly. He dared not touch it, lest it scald him. Instead he thought to commit the symbols upon it to memory, but hearing a sound in the distance, he realized that his curiosity would have to wait.

  Turning and sprinting away from the noise, he found there was nowhere to go if he had been discovered. Without any place to take cover, he turned and peered across the distance to the slopes beyond, just in time to witness the first of them approaching.

  Like nothing in the world could drive it into action, the troll moved towards him so slowly he was not certain at first that it moved at all. For a moment he even thought it might be another of the stone statues that he had not noticed before. But then as he watched it took another slow step, revealing another of its kind behind it.

  Looking around for a place to hide and observe, Gnak realized that there was only one place to go. Bending down, he grasped the vines that clung to the edge of the cliff and swinging over the side carefully he slid below the surface of the plateau. Then, both carefully and slowly, he raised himself up just enough to peer over the lip.

  In a single file procession the trolls came, and then another appeared from another direction and then yet another. Gnak watched as all three processions of trolls slowly converged on a single spot.

  They were odd creatures, tall with long thick limbs of wrinkled leathery hides that resembled the bark of trees. Their faces appeared to be little more than a lump atop their thick necks, and their feet were nearly round with only three wide toes that spread out when in contact with the ground. And on they came.

  When the first from each procession reached the gem, all three placed their hands upon it, and bowing from three different sides, they touched their heads together and each made odd rumbling and grunting sounds before uprighting themselves. Once completed, in a process that only took a few seconds, the trolls then walked away, making room for the next three behind them. Only they moved differently than before.

  After releasing the giant gemstone, the three trolls turned quickly and strode away from the thing, moving more quickly than Gnak had imagined possible for the creatures. With his eyes wide he watched as the process repeated with the next three, and then the three after them. Each instance was the same. The trolls came to the stone slow and lumbering, but strode away from it quick and nimble. Was it magic?

  Gnak could not help but wonder if the sounds each of them repeated was a prayer of some sort to whatever gods the trolls might worship. Were each of them blessed with power? If so, was it simply a blessing of speed that allowed them to keep up with the rest of the world? He had no way of knowing, but he swore himself to watch and learn all he could.

  Hour after hour the trolls came in three steady streams. The females were only apparent by their wider hips and lumpy chests, but even they came to the crystal protected by the statues. Trolls of all ages and sizes came by the thousands, and every last one of them left the stone much more invigorated than they had arrived. What raised yet more questions, was why they came in organized lines, yet left the scene seemingly at random. Try as he might, Gnak could not get his head around what he was seeing. There was nothing to do but wait.

  As the night deepened, the air up this high in the mountains grew colder and colder and Gnak actually watched as ice crystals began to form on those monolithic statues nearest him. As he breathed, so too did his breath freeze upon the air and he worried that one of the trolls might see his breath and come to investigate, but none ever did. Instead, they came and went as if he did not exist, and before the sun began to rise yet again, they had each left the clearing. But to what end, Gnak did not yet know. There was only one way he was going to find out.

  Heaving himself back up the short distance, he pulled his legs over the edge of the cliff and climbed to his feet. Knowing his swords would not serve him well against the bigger men, he pulled the spear from his back, and struck out towards the north at a steady but cautious jog.

  Carefully selecting every footfall, his eye scanned the ground and then ahead and so on as he continue forward. Beyond the cliff top, the natural mountain slopes took over once more, climbing uphill steeply. The terrain was rocky as it had been before the crater and the cliff, and here, like below, great evergreens thrust roots down into the rock and what little soil clung to the cold stone faces of the mountains. It was less than half an hour later when he spied the group of four trolls ahead of him and, careful to keep the large trees between himself and those he pursued, he stealthily moved ever closer.

  Closing the distance slowly, he watched as time and again one of the trolls would leave the others, to scout ahead and return again many minutes later. What impressed him more was the fact that he was able to witness them having a conversation. Though he could not understand their words, it was obvious that they communicated verbally as did all the other races of men Gnak was familiar with. The fact gave him hope. If they could talk, than perhaps they knew the common tongue as did the orcs, humans, and goblins. There might yet be a way to bring them to his cause without a war.

  As the morning broke, Gnak followed the trolls further up the mountains as the air grew thinner and colder by the minute. Here frost clung to everything, and a dusting of snow even covered much of the ground, but that was to be expected. What he witnessed the trolls doing ahead, was not.

  Rounding a bend in an obvious game trail, Gnak watched as ahead of him, the scout troll vanished into a cave in the side of the mountain. Even from here he could smell the scat of the animal and knew what it was inside the cave. With a thunderous roar, his thought was confirmed as the troll again emerged, waving a fist full of long dark hair. Even from his location fifty yards away, Gnak could feel the ground shake as the bear broke free of its den. Gnak’s jaw dropped open.

  The beast was immense, putting to shame even the great bear he had slain for Catunga what seemed like a lifetime ago. W
ith much of its fur having turned gray, it was obvious the animal was ancient, but its age did not show in its aggression.

  Rising up on its hind legs, the bear split its great maw before leaning forward to release a defiant roar, as Gnak watched on. Without warning the beast lunged forward, slashing out with its immense paws, and Gnak witnessed what he would not have believed if he had not seen it with his own two eyes.

  Like seasoned orc warriors, the two nearest trolls dove aside, avoiding the bear’s huge claws altogether. From the side, a third troll raced in, smashing into the bear’s ribs with its own body, taking both over in a heap of wrinkled flesh and fur. Rolling and kicking, both combatants roared at one another in defiance as fists and paws traded blows between cries of both fury and pain. Though it seemed both were becoming injured, eventually the troll uprighted himself, holding the bear beneath it for an instant as the other three trolls leapt back into the fray.

  Like they had performed the task hundreds of times, two of the trolls seized up the bear’s front paws and pinned them to the ground with their own body weight. Though the huge beast thrashed this way and that, so heavy were the combined trolls that it could not escape. As the fourth troll pinned the bear’s hind legs to the ground, the first troll rose up from atop the bear. Then, staring it in the eyes, the troll grasped either side of the beast’s head and smashed it full in the face with its own. The bear’s face crumpled before the blow, as blood and teeth sprayed out from the impact.

  Releasing the great beast, the trolls rose as it twitched and thrashed upon the ground for several minutes before finally becoming still. Gnak summoned its will to himself as it departed the beast. He had learned much about the race of trolls already.