Aglanthol 1 - The Legend of Khaalindaan - 14. Chapter 14

Qildor and Magath were sitting at the table in Magath’s house.

"Did all this really happen?" Magath asked in a dismal voice.

"I am not sure. Perhaps this is all just a dream. At least it is the stuff that dreams are made of," Qildor replied.

"Or myths and legends," Magath said drily. "Folk tales. Nothing but lore."

"And yet it was all true," Qildor said seriously.

They looked at each other. Magath nodded. A shiver ran down his spine. It was over, wasn’t it? Or was he mistaken?

~~**~~

Dran awoke the following day in Magath’s house. Like Neldor had said, the man did not remember anything. Magath told him that he had found him in the forest, lying on the ground and unconscious. Dran was confused. He just remembered that he had left his house. He had climbed the hill and had entered the forest. Dran scratched his head.

"I don’t really remember, Magath. I think I wanted to go and see you because of the horses," he said.

Magath and Qildor exchanged a brief look.

"The horses?" Magath asked.

"The horses of the Khalindash," Dran said slowly. "I told you when you came to my house a couple of days ago. I told you about the Khalindash attack and about the horses."

"You said the horses of the Khalindash were well-fed," Magath said.

Dran nodded.

"I thought about it again for a day or two," he replied.

Magath and Qildor exchanged another look.

"I wanted to make myself clear," Dran said. "That’s why I wanted to see you. After thinking it over again, I found that only two of the horses were well-fed. The other four or five were rather skinny horses. I mean, your friend is a royal soldier. He will report to the king. I mean, I don’t want the king to send more soldiers and then find out that I told you a bunch of crap. The king might get mad at me. Who knows? I thought I better make myself clear before the royal man departs. I was enraged. I did not think and see clearly."

Dran looked between Qildor and Magath with a frown.

"Good you told us about the horses," Magath said.

"I won’t report anything incorrect to the king," Qildor said with a smile.

"Good to hear," Dran said grumpily.

He looked at Magath and gave him a nod.

"Thank you, Magath. You saved my life. I know this, Magath, and I will remember it," he said in a serious voice.

"It is all right, Dran," Magath replied. "Fate saved you life."

"I know damn well who saved it," Dran said.

He rose to his feet and then stumbled. Qildor and Magath exchanged a worried look. Magath rose to his feet as well.

"Come, Dran, I’ll go with you and then we have lunch at your place. Bean stew, perhaps. And then I’ll go back home again," he said.

Dran lowered his eyes for a second, and then he nodded.

"A stew. Sounds good. All right, let’s go," he said brusquely.

Dran looked at Qildor and bowed slightly.

"Never met a royal soldier before. Hope I did not make a bad impression," he said.

Qildor returned the nod.

"I got an overall good impression, Master Dran. Get well soon," he replied.

Dran nodded and then picked up his cloak. He walked to the door and Magath followed him. Qildor sat down in a chair and looked into the room. A short time later, the wizard Neldor entered the house.

"Gwyn awoke," Neldor said. "She wants to see you and Magath."

"Magath just went with Dran. He takes the man back to his house. Dran does not remember anything. He bought our story," Qildor said.

Neldor did not reply. Qildor stood and took his cloak. He followed Neldor who had already stepped out of the door. They entered Gwyn’s house. The old woman was sitting in a chair at her table. Qildor gave her a surprised look.

"You are already feeling better, Mistress Gwyn?" he asked.

The old woman nodded with a smile. She looked at Neldor briefly.

"I don’t know what he puts in my tea. It’s a magical cure. Well, he is a magician, isn’t he?" she said cheerfully. "Where is Magath?"

"He went with Dran. He takes Dran back to his house. Dran is weak. He does not remember anything," Qildor said.

Gwyn nodded.

"I will never tell him then. I, for my part, I do remember every bit," she said.

"What about your hands?" Qildor asked.

Gwyn raised her bandaged hands and then lowered them again.

"This will take a couple of days. But my hands don’t hurt. Neldor saw to them. He is a gifted healer," she said.

Qildor gave Neldor a sceptical look. The wizard ignored him.

"Come," Gwyn said cheerfully. "You two sit down. Neldor told me a lot already. But he has not yet told me about the map. I thought you were interested to hear about it, too," she said.

Qildor sat down on the wooden bench.

"He told me a bit already. His map and your map are not entirely identical," he said.

"Right," Neldor said. He took another chair and sat down as well. "The secret place is indicated in my map. It is not indicated in yours. I think the foreigners made these maps after they had entered our land. The maps fell in the hands of the Khalindash in later times. One of them might have drawn the spot in my map."

"The Khalindash must have found the maps many centuries later," Gwyn said. "The legend says that the foreigners came here a long time before the Khalindash and Aglanthol had even formed their clans."

Neldor nodded.

"I suppose Murdock saw one of these maps and he drew the correct conclusions," he said.

"He hoped to find the foreigner’s ship in the ancient seaport. He wanted to sail off to their land," Gwyn replied.

Neldor nodded.

"He was a lunatic. The ship and the ancient town had gone to ruin a long time ago. Anybody with a common sense would have known this," he said in almost disdain.

"We all make mistakes now and then," Gwyn said in a reproachful voice.

"Indeed, we do," Neldor said gravely. He looked Gwyn straight in the eyes.

"We better find out about our boundaries and limitations," Gwyn said in a sober voice.

"Indeed. We better do," Neldor said seriously. He studied Gwyn’s face. "You would have been a powerful wizard, Mistress Gwyn. What a pity no one taught you."

Gwyn raised an eyebrow.

"Good man," she said in almost disbelief. "Life taught me all I need to know. Life taught me how to deal with that evil spirit. I would have been able to put a stop to Khaalindaan. When the energy touched the blade, I felt that I was able to defeat him."

Neldor gave Gwyn a knowing look.

"You would have been able to defeat him, yes. You were willing to pay the price. But I’m happy to have you with us some time longer," the wizard said with a vague smile.

Gwyn gave a laugh.

"All right, Master Neldor. You had the final say. How about we have some tea now?" she asked.

~~**~~

Gwyn recovered quickly and the wizard Neldor finally departed.Qildor stood in the doorway. He watched Neldor leave. Something disturbed him about the man. He was still not sure if he could trust him or not. Magath joined Qildor in the doorway. They exchanged a look.

"I don’t know what it is about him," Qildor said. "My gut feeling tells me that something is wrong."

"I have an uneasy feeling also," Magath said. "I have a feeling that it is not yet over."

Qildor put his arm around Magath’s shoulders.

"I won’t be leaving before spring has come. Bad times are over for a while," he said with a smile.

~~**~~

Neldor left Tanmil and rode on until he reached the edge of a wood. He dismounted and let his horse run free. The wizard thought of the incident in the forest. He had arrived in time to stop the evil spirit of Khaalindaan. Neldor hid in the forest and there he focused his mind. He concentrated on the ancient symbols that showed him the way back to where he had come from. When Neldor opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting at a desk. The high magic had worked out and according to plan. Thus Neldor had arrived in the forest in time to put an end to Khaalindaan. The wizard Neldor was keeping a secret. Neither the peasant Dran nor the old woman Gwyn, neither the villager Magath nor the royal soldier Qildor had the faintest idea of what really had been going on. Neldor was keeping a secret and he swore to himself that no one should ever learn of it.

But who knows what lies ahead in time.

~~**~~

End of Aglanthol 1 - Part I

tbc Aglanthol 1- Part II – Neldor’s Quest