The Legends of Ithan Book 1: Ghosts & Fire

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Sandros warily surveyed the street before going out, looking for the demon lizard, but it seemed gone. He and Marion started towards the direction of the inn hoping they weren’t too late. They saw green men crawling like ants in and out of the buildings and heard screams of victims the men found inside. Sandros decided they needed to be more covert as they made their way to the inn keeper.

            They turned down several alleys before they finally reached Ocean’s Inn, but the sight of it left them both feeling cold. Marion clutched Sandros’ hand instinctively. A body was cut down on the threshold and Sandros was afraid it was the man they sought. They neared the inn quickly, keeping a wary eye out for any green men. Sandros realized that they had been lucky so far and hadn’t had to encounter too many of the invaders. They were obviously doing a very slow and detailed sweep of the city, killing everyone they found so none would be left alive to tell any tales. Just like Galdon, Sandros thought, except they hadn’t counted on him.

            Sandros made Marion stay behind as he turned the body at the entrance over and was relieved to find that it wasn’t Akin. He motioned for Marion to follow and they entered the inn together. Sandros despised the fact that he had no weapon in his hands but he knew his hands could be formidable weapons themselves. Sometimes they had been all that had kept him from the icy hand of death.

            Marion hurried to the back leaving Sandros hissing behind her. “Stay with me,” he said with a tinge of anxiousness and anger.

            She walked into the back kitchen area and stepped over the pot that someone had turned over. All the oat mash from the mornings’ meal had puddled and oozed on the floor. She moved toward the hearth and pulled a stone from the wall. The back of the hearth moved displaying darkened steps to a basement. “Hurry,” Marion urged as she began down the steps.

            Sandros hissed again in frustration, “Let me go first and see if it’s clear,” but Marion was already down the first few steps.

            Marion quickly made it to the bottom and saw Akin with a shield and a blade waiting on the unidentified people who had come down the stairs, but even in the dark he could tell it was Marion. He dropped his weapons and embraced her. “My girl! I thought you were gone for sure! I hid down here when I heard the screaming and saw all the fires. I heard barbarians upstairs and I was ready to fight, but I never thought I‘d see you in this life again.”

            Marion clung to Akin tightly. Sandros felt a little awkward and out of place. The wall that had served as a door was still open and a few lighter strands of darkness illuminated the little basement. Sandros could make out rum barrels and a smell of herbs and spices pervaded the air.

            “This is where we keep our best stock,” Marion said turning from Akin and seeing Sandros’ curiosity. “We also keep our most priced possessions here.”

            “Several years ago we were robbed by a band of ruffians so Marion and I decided to build this little place to help keep that from happening again,” Akin said with pride.

            Sandros suddenly saw something else that caught his eye. A suit of gold colored armor was piled near Akin and it arrested Sandros’ curiosity. He walked over to the pile and lifted the breastplate up to examine it more closely. The Ithan emblem was engraved on it, a boar in a lush forest pawing and getting ready to charge. It was a symbol of determination. Even Sandros knew the story of when the first king of Ithan had stumbled into the forest that was once Seliz and saw a boar off in the distance pawing at the ground as if to charge the man. The king had only been armed with a dagger but he stood his ground and when the boar had attacked he had slashed the beast badly but the boar simply turned around again for another attack. Again the king had slashed the great beast and the story goes that the boar’s blood flowed like a crimson river from his side but he still refused to give in. The boar charged again and again and each time the king gave the beast a blow that should have ended his life but each time the wild boar simply turned, pawed, and charged again. For nearly three hours the king and the boar fought until the king could see the fatigue in the boar as he labored for breath each time he turned to charge. The king himself felt tried and fatigued but he knew to give up now would only bring his death. The boar charged one last time and the king dealt a last final blow. The beast staggered to the edge of the forest, turned, and looked the king in the eyes. It was as if the beast was assessing the king to see if he was fit to take possession of the place the boar had once called home. The story even goes that the king saw a truth in the eyes of the boar as the boar decided to relinquish its rights of the land to the man who had outfought him, bested him, and gained his respect and honor. The boar’s eyes slowly closed and his huge body fell silently to the ground. The king had never forgotten the great wild boar that had taught him determination and strength and it had been the symbol of Ithan ever since. Some of the older Ithans even claimed that the boar had been one of the ancient gods of the land and the good King had helped send him on to the ancient rest when the boar knew the king was worthy to take care of this land. Sandros rubbed his hands over the engraving. It was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen.