Defenders of the Faith

Calmany - Part 3

     "You are the ones who brought the warning of the Shadow to Fort Battleaxe," said Drake, speaking hesitantly as he wondered if he could still be mistaken.

     "Yes, that's right," said Diana, surprised, "but how did you know? Surely our names aren't known to everyone in the city."

     "No, but they are known to those of us who went into the Shadow to check your story."

     They stared at him in amazement. "You were one of the spies who were sent into the Shadow because of us?" asked Shaun. "That's incredible, that we should meet here, months later and hundreds of miles away."

     "That's not the only coincidence," added Drake as a serving maid arrived with their drinks, ales all round except for a glass of wine for the cleric. She then turned to the priest to ask if he wanted a drink, and he ordered another ale. "One of the others who went with us, a ranger, saw you before you got to Fort Battleaxe. A bunch of shologs and buglins from a place called Darmakarak were chasing you and would have caught you, except that he managed to divert them away. When he found out that you were the reason for our going on that mission, you could have knocked him over with a feather!"

     Diana turned pale at the news. Her brothers had spoken often about what shologs did to their prisoners. “I hope we get the chance to thank him one day,” she said. “But our meeting here cannot be a coincidence. It can only be the hand of the Gods. It seems likely that They meant for us to meet, which probably means that They have another task for us."

     "Why?" asked Matthew. "Our quest’s over, isn't it? We're just on our way home now, to get ready for the invasion, when it comes. We're needed at home, we can't go gallivanting off on another quest."

     "If the Gods have a task for us, then I, for one, will he honoured to attempt it," said Drake. "However, at the moment, I'm also just on my way home, and I expect that we will part company forever when we get there. In the meantime, I hope that you'll allow me to travel with you. I've been devoid of human company for over three months, and I'd very much enjoy having someone to talk to."

     "We'd love to have you with us, wouldn't we?" Diana glanced at each of the others in turn, and they all agreed cheerfully. "Good, that's decided. All right then, what shall we talk about first?"

     "If you don't think me rude," said Drake, "you mentioned that you've just completed a quest. I wonder if I could ask you what it was. It's just curiosity, you understand, and if you don't want to talk about it, I understand completely."

     "No, not at all," said Diana. "We were looking for the Sceptre of Samnos. With the war coming, we thought it would be needed."

     "Yes it will be," said Drake in amazement. Then he smiled. "You must have been disappointed to hear that someone else got to it before you, but it was probably for the best. By all accounts, the Maze of Samnos is terrible, and you almost certainly wouldn't have gotten through it."

     The others looked puzzled. "But we did find it," said Diana. "We're the ones who found it and took it to Samnia."

     Drake stared at them in outright disbelief and astonishment. "You?!" he exclaimed so loudly that everyone else in the room looked up in surprise. He looked around and glared at them until they lost interest and went back to their own businesses. "You found the Sceptre?" he continued in a quieter voice. "You wouldn't mock me, would you?"

     "Charming," said Jerry. "He thinks we're lying."

     Lirenna shushed him up. "It's true," she said, "and you're right, the Maze was terrible, but we won through with the help of a great wizard called Zebulon, a greater wizard than any of us is ever likely to be."