And that last was purely for the benefit of the wizard himself, who had entered the inn with Simayen Jaxon a pace or two behind.
“Ah, Longsword, you would inflict frak upon your lady so soon?” Allazar chided, but his voice was filled with warmth.
“And upon you, wizard,” Gawain scowled half-heartedly, and then turned to Jaxon. “We will be leaving here tomorrow, Serre Jaxon, for the town of Jarn, which lies north along the road. We have few supplies here and such as there are will not last long.”
At this, Jaxon looked a little uncomfortable, clearly understanding the eighteen reasons why Callodonian supplies were dwindling.
“Sit, Simayen Jaxon of Goria,” Allazar said, indicating a lonely chair which those already seated were facing.
He did so, again rather nervously, and his gaze lingered a while on Elayeen’s eyes, noting the pinpoints of her pupils and the way she held her head.
“And tell us of your journey, and of the darkness you fled Armunland to escape.” Allazar added.
And with a sigh, and a mug of ale for the sake of his voice, Simayen Jaxon began.
“The darkness is everywhere,” he said, “It began ten years ago, though there are some who say it began much further in the past. We are all from the province of Armunland, as I have said. All of us slaves, and all of us farmers, that’s what Armunland is mostly, a province of farms. Wheat, corn, pigs, cows, chickens… the land is rich and verdant, good farmland.”
Jaxon took a sip of his ale.
“I should probably say,” Gawain interrupted before he could begin again, “We don’t have much knowledge of life in Goria. Only that in the time before Pellarn was lost, slavers from the empire would cross the Eramak in search of stock for their foul trade.”
“Then that is perhaps all the knowledge that is required, good Serres. All the work is done by slaves, the overseers and Tals living in luxury. But they too are bound to the Emperor, and must give to him a portion of the wealth they acquire, a portion fixed according to the size of the province and its produce, be it food or ore or other goods.
“I don’t remember Pellarn very well, I was a young boy, perhaps four, and my family were farmers then too, working on the land to the north of the castletown. The land in Goria reminded me of that. In truth, Serres, those of us who are here don’t have much memory of our lives before we found ourselves in the fields and farms of Armunland.
“Nor was it really much different, it was said, to the life and work before the Old Kingdom fell. Up with the sun, work ‘til sunset. Don’t break the laws, don’t upset the overseers, it wasn’t so bad if you forgot your roots and as the years went on, there were fewer and fewer who spoke of fleeing east. To Raheen, they said. Always to Raheen. We could see the great flat-topped mountain in the east, especially at sunrise…
“Eventually though there were fewer and fewer wanted to flee, because those who did never returned and now we know why. The Tals always guard what’s theirs with fierce jealousy, Serres, but ten years ago the darkness began.”
Again, Jaxon paused for drink, and he drew in a deep breath.
“At first we heard stories. Stories of strange people going about the land preaching of the coming of some ancient god named Ramoth. We laughed, we couldn’t believe it, who would?”
Gawain glowered darkly, and feeling his muscles tense, Elayeen squeezed his hand under the table. “Who indeed.”
“The overseers said that everyone laughed at them at first. And in one province, in the north, up by the mountains which can’t be crossed, not only did folk laugh, but the Tal of the province ordered his guard to butcher the Ramoths and put an end to it. So they did. Then they said about a month later, another group of them arrived, chanting and such. And so the Tal sent out his guard again. But this time, a great winged beast swept over the guards as they advanced, a dark creature upon its back showering black fire down upon them, destroying them utterly.
“They say that the beast and its rider then turned, and followed the road to the great house of the Tal, and it made pass after pass, raining down the black fire, until the house and all within were destroyed. Soon, these Ramoth were everywhere, they said, in all provinces. And any who opposed them suffered the same fate.
“Later, we heard that in one of the far western provinces, the Talguard brought down one of these winged creatures with a storm of arrows, and destroyed it, and though they suffered great losses, finally destroyed its rider. There was a great celebration, word spread that the winged death wasn’t immortal or invincible. More and more Tals ordered their guards to arms against these Ramoths, burning their towers, and with great bows fashioned to shoot mighty arrows high into the skies, began bringing down the beasts all over the empire when they came to defend the Ramoths or exact revenge.
“Even in our own province, we heard that a tower was fired, and that the Talguard destroyed the winged revenge sent by this so-called god.”
Gawain shared a look with Allazar, which did not go unnoticed by Tyrane.
“But then everything changed. In the north, guardstones appeared, encircling whole provinces. No-one knew what they were to begin with, until of course they were crossed. As soon as they were, the darkness came. Often, it was winged riders. But they were vulnerable. More and more, instead of dark riders it was strange creatures, dark wizard-made. The overseers said that they were made in the Ramoth towers still standing, and unleashed to patrol the guardstones, to destroy any that crossed between them.
“Sometimes, the guardstones failed, they said, you could tell because they turned to dust, or crumbled like stale cake. Then they could be crossed without alerting the darkness. Mostly though, to cross between them meant death.
“Swords and arrows were no use either, as they were no use today, though in truth none of us have ever seen such a creature as today, looking like a man, deceiving us all. Over the years the talk of Ramoth and strange gods ceased, but the towers stood and those within the towers commanded the darkness, made all manner of evil and with it began to hold all Goria in thrall.
“They say that the Emperor lives in a vast walled city of gold, called Zanatheum, as far to the southwest as anyone can travel. They say that when the darkness first came the Tals sent word to the Emperor begging for help from his legions, but none came. Later it was said that the Emperor closed all the city gates, and that no-one can leave or enter except by ship at the sea gate. I wouldn’t know about that, slaves of Armunland never travelled except within the province, we only know what was told to us.
“About three years ago the darkness spread. Copses, woodlands, marshes, even thickets and brambles might become home to it. A copse where once it was safe to roam or hunt or take shelter from the weather would suddenly become home to the darkness, and anyone foolish enough to venture near would be destroyed by whatever lurked in there.
“At night, first sheep and then shepherds would be snatched away by some flying shadow. Soon even the Talguard shared tales with us of what they had learned from merchants or seen with their own eyes. We all lived in fear, even the guard, and slowly all of us together began looking to the mountain in the east.
“But then we got word from the Talguard that guardstones had appeared along the banks of the Eramak which marked Armunland’s eastern border, and we knew our only hope of escape had been cut off. A few days later, a great winged beast, bigger than anything we thought could possibly fly, landed in the courtyard of the Tal-house, a rider on its back. We saw great streamers of lightning rise up from within the walls, though there were no clouds and no rain. Then, later, the great beast and its rider rose up from within the walls, and flew towards the wild forests in the southwest.
“The Talguard said this was the Salaman, one of the great makers of the darkness, come to command fealty from the Tal. To cross the Salaman’s guardstones would mean death. But there were fifty-six of us, Serres, who planned to flee, including our overseers and half a dozen of the Talguard. The Talguard brought weapons, slowly, stockpiling them in the sheds where we kept our tools, not far from the fields we worked. We could see the Eramak from there. We made our plans, deciding we would take a chance, all of us together. We knew the darkness, whatever it was, might get some of us, but the rest would make it across the river, and from there, to Raheen.”