Chapter 4 Part 6

By the time they finished seeing all the animals as the zoo, it was deeply into twilight and rapidly getting dark. Gage decided that it was time to return to the guild for the evening meal and bed.

They walked slowly down the torch illuminated streets admiring the beauty of the city at night. As they rounded one corner, the echoes of music drifted up the street. They followed the music to its source and found themselves on the steps of the Temple of the Triumphant God.

“Do you wish to go in?” Gage asked after a moment. It was obvious that Cindy and Dylan were enchanted by the singing.

“Oh, can we? Just for a moment,” Cindy begged.

Gage ushered the children into the church and they stood just inside the door watching as six boys and girls about the same age as they were engaged in a ceremony where dozens of candles were lighted all the while the haunting, yet pleasant tune rang through the halls.

“It is very beautiful,” Cindy muttered quietly. “What are they doing?”

“This is called Vespers,” Gage told her. “It is similar to what you and Dylan do when you study. After all, the Academy is not the only place to go to become educated, but unlike the Academy, the children who come here are all bound to service in the clergy.”

“Gage, is that you?” A soft musical voice called from their left. All three of the visitors turned at the same time. Before them stood a young woman who by all appearance was just a little younger than Gage.

“Crystal?” Gage responded in astonishment. “I never expected to find you here,” he added excitedly and rushed over to the woman. The two embraced fondly. Apparently they were old friends.

Gage stepped back and looked the woman up and down. She stood about five and a half feet tall and was slim. Her skin was well tanned as if she spent a great deal of time out of doors. Her hair was dark brown and her eyes were the same. She was rather plain to look upon, but her manner indicated that she was a person of rare spirit. “You look great,” he complimented. “How are you doing?”

“Thank you,” she replied. “I’m well. I’m here with my mother. We came to visit father before he departs on another pilgrimage.”

“And your brother?” Gage asked.

“No, he stayed in High Branch,” Crystal told him. “But please come and see mother. She’ll be so happy that you’re here. We haven’t seen you in so long.”

“The last time I saw you was when I had just been promoted from apprentice to journeyman,” Gage recalled. “I went home to see my parents and you were visiting.”

Crystal motioned for them to follow her and Gage indicated his charges. “Crystal,” he introduced, “this is Dylan and Cindy. They are two of Master Tesron’s most promising initiates. Kids, this is Crystal, one of my oldest friends.”

Cindy and Dylan both bowed as they had been taught to do when meeting a stranger of unknown station. Crystal smiled and returned the gesture. “They’re very polite aren’t they?”

Gage beamed. “We try to teach them well.”

Crystal led them around the side of the main sanctuary, away from the religious ceremony and into the depths of the cathedral. “Crystal’s father is Samuel, the High Priest of the Creator,” Gage told his students. “Because of his awesome responsibility, he travels abroad often. So Crystal and her brother and her mother used to visit us a lot while we were all children.”

Crystal paused at a door and knocked softly. The response was that the door drifted open magically. “Enter and be welcome in the House of the Triumphant God,” a man’s voice sang.

Gage and Crystal ushered the two youths into the room. There in a pair of stuffed chairs sat woman and a man. The woman was unmistakably the mother of Crystal, whereas the man barely looked human. Dylan had often heard rumors that the prophet of the Creator was an angelic being, but he had always dismissed such tales as nonsense. The man before them, however, was clearly something more than human.

Before a word could be spoken, The woman seated in one of the chairs by the window stood and trotted across the floor. “Gage!” she called affectionately. She wrapped her arms about the journeyman and hugged him fiercely. “Oh, how good it is to see you again.”

Gage returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. “It is good to see you too, Calista.”

The man, though equally happy to see Gage waited patiently until his wife had finished with her greeting before he too embraced the elf. “I thank my Lord that He has brought you to us this day,” the priest declared.

Dylan and Cindy both were taken in by the man’s voice. It was alluring and pleasant, and when he fixed them with his eye, they had a sudden urge to run to him as if he were their own father. They felt as if they were wrapped in a warm blanket of joy and love on a cold morning.

“And who are these blessings that you have with you,” he asked Gage. The man offered his hand in friendship, and Dylan instinctively grasped it. There was a tingling in his head and immediately Dylan knew that he would do anything this man asked of him.

“I am very honored to meet you, Dylan,” the priest offered. He released the boy’s hand and moved to meet Cindy. For several seconds Dylan was stunned by what he had just experienced. His heart raced and his eyes were wet with joyful contentment. Though it occurred to him, he did not care how the man had known his name.

The man greeted Cindy in the same fashion and she responded by wrapping her small arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. The man stood up and laughed. The laugh was a sound like music.

“What charming children,” he added. “May the Lord our Creator bless you both.” He placed his hand briefly atop their heads. Dylan’s ears rang soundly for an instant and he felt a presence at once both frighteningly immense and wonderfully benign.

The priest put a hand on Gage’s shoulder. “Gage, my boy, we are truly blessed that you have turned aside from you path to visit us. Will you stay for a while and break bread with us as well?”

“We would be honored,” Gage answered.

“Sam,” Calista interrupted. “You can play host later. You have things to do and we wish to visit with Gage. Now begone.”

The man laughed. “Behold,” he said in astonishment, “I am the High Priest of the Creator and here in my own home I must bow to the whims of my wife.” He glanced upwards as if speaking to the sky. “Let no man sayeth that Thou hast no sense of humor O Lord.” With that said, he winked at Dylan and retreated from the room.

“Ignore him,” Crystal’s mother advised. She offered all of them seats around the large window. “Tell me,” the woman inquired, “how’s your family?”

“Coran is in Tycho. He is a guardsman in the city militia, but travels often to the Twin Cities and is helping Mr. Thundersledge with some of his business.”

“And your parents?”

“Mother is well,” Gage answered. “Father too is well when he is home. He took up wandering again once Coran and I left. That leaves mother alone, but she never complains.”

“And she never will,” Calista added. “It’s always been so with both of your parents. Your father will disappear for weeks on end, and your mother will carry on as if nothing has changed.”

“That is true,” Gage agreed, “but I think that she is now getting to the point where she would rather he not go away.”

“That’d be like telling a bird not to fly,” Calista chuckled. “Still, your mother knows that he’ll always return. And she always has the option of going with him when he starts to wander. I know your father too well. He’d like nothing more than for your mother to abandon her cottage and roam with him.”

“Mother loves her glade far too much to do that,” Gage reminded the older woman.

Calista sighed. “What a sweet tragedy those two are,” she said. Then she leaned back. “So tell me, have you heard from those two rogue uncles of yours?”

“I see them on occasion,” Gage answered. “They are no different than they were long ago.”

“Of course not,” Calista chuckled.

“Mother,” Crystal interrupted. “While you and Gage are talking, I’ll take the kids to the canteen and get them something to eat.”

“That is a good idea,” Calista agreed. “Do you mind, Gage?”

The journeyman nodded. “By all means,” he said. “I trust Crystal with them.” He fixed Cindy and Dylan with a serious stare. “Now you two behave and mind Crystal. Do not bring shame upon me, okay?”

Dylan nodded and Cindy answered, “Yes, sir.”

“I figured that the two of you would quickly get bored in there,” Crystal explained as they exited the room.

“Thank you,” Dylan agreed. Then after a moment he decided to satisfy a little curiosity. “I didn’t know that Gage had a brother. He doesn’t talk much about his family.”

Crystal led them into a stairwell leading downward. The air was very cool. “Well, try to understand that Gage isn’t very open with many people. If he tells you such things, it’s because you are a trusted friend.” She guided them into a room that housed many blocks of ice. At one corner was a grinding apparatus and several kegs.

“Please don’t take the fact that he hasn’t spoken of these things to you as a sign that he doesn’t wish your friendship,” Crystal explained. “After all, you’re only children, smart children, but children none the less.” She placed several chipped chunks of ice into the grinder and turned the handle. Near the bottom, fine dusting of ice fell into a bowl. “It may very well be that one day he will befriend you as he has me.”

Crystal placed three of the bowls before a keg and ladled a generous scoop of syrup onto the ice, and then she passed one each to Dylan and Cindy while she kept the third and led them back up the stairs. Then she took them into a kitchen and gave them each a spoon. The tree of them sat upon stools at a cutting table eating the flavored ice.

Cindy stopped eating and studied the older girl. “You like Gage, don’t you?”

Crystal froze and then put her spoon down. “Of course I like him. He’s my friend.”

Cindy smiled. “Of course,” she muttered.

Dylan continued eating oblivious to the unspoken conversation passing between the two young women. Finally Cindy and Crystal both began to giggle.

“What’s Gage’s brother like?” Dylan asked.

Crystal returned to her treat. “Coran’s a very nice person,” she told them. “He and Gage were twins.”

“Do they look alike?” Cindy asked.

“No they don’t,” Crystal told them. They’re both good men, but they are sort of opposite of each other.” She put her spoon down. “What I mean is, where Gage’s talented is with magic, Coran’s one of the best swordsmen I’ve ever met. He’s strong, brave and very handsome. He’s tall and has the most beautiful black hair and eyes that you’ve ever seen. They pierce your heart when he looks at you. It’s almost as if he knows what you’re thinking.”

“Does he scare you?” Cindy asked.

“Oh, no,” Crystal assured them. “He has an overpowering presence, and it’s fearful, but not in a bad way.”

“Do you have a brother or sister?” Dylan wondered.

“I have a brother,” she answered. “His name’s Kylor. He’s a cleric ministering to the remnants of the Doyr tribes in the central part of the Deep.”

“Your father and brother are both in the service of the church?” Cindy asked.

“Yes,” Crystal answered. “I’m proud of them both, too.” Crystal took the empty bowls and placed them in a wash basin. “But fair is fair,” she began. “Now you must tell me something about yourselves.”

Crystal entertained her guests for the better part of two hours before a pair of monks entered the kitchen and began to prepare the evening meal. They good naturedly shooed Crystal and the kids out and Crystal inquired if the children would like to visit the beach. Immediately both Dylan and Cindy accepted the invitation and in a matter of moments they were well on their way to the sea shore.

“What do you plan to do, Crystal?” Cindy asked at one point while they walked along in ankle deep water.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well Dylan and I have told you what we’ll do when we finish our studies. What is it that you do or what is it that you will do?”

Crystal picked up a shell and tossed it underhanded across the water. It skipped several times before sinking out of view. “I’m a huntress like my mother,” she told them. “Gage’s father taught my mother to hunt and track, and she taught me.”

“Wow,” Dylan cried. “That must be very exciting.”

“Not as much as you’d think,” Crystal told him. “But we can talk about it another time.” She stooped and picked up a shell. The crab within retreated into its protective reaches. She placed it in the palm of her hand and stood motionless for many long moments. Finally the shell began to move ever so slightly. Then the little animal extended its legs and tried to move its spiral home across her hand.

“Oh,” Cindy breathed in a barely audible whisper.

Immediately the crab retreated and Crystal placed the shell back on the water packed sand. “You see how exciting that was?” she told Dylan. “Many long moments of silence and patience only to be rewarded by a brief encounter with a wild creature.”

“It was still very exciting,” Dylan claimed. “Can I try it?”

Crystal sighed and selected another shell. Dylan held out his hand and she placed it on his palm.

“Be very still and very quiet,” she urged him.

Dylan stood motionless for several long moments, but the shell failed to move. He could not help it, without thinking, he used the finger of his free hand to nudge the shell. “Come on out,” he coaxed.

Cindy giggled as did Crystal. “You don’t have the patience,” she told the boy.
Dylan sighed.

Crystal sniffed the breezed and announced that dinner was almost ready, so she led them back to the temple.

Dylan and Cindy sat near the end of a long table with Gage and Crystal. At the head of the table, Crystal’s parents were seated and were flanked by various heads of state and officers of the church.

Sam, the high priest, broke the bread and blessed the meal then the food was passed out to the diners by servants. Crystal explained that these meals were used by men of power to lobby the church for support in the political arena.

“Your Holiness,” a skinny, tall man with a long flowing black beard and bald head addressed Sam. “High Branch is a military city and under martial law by design. So long as this remains so, we shall never be able to compete on the open market with the economic powers of Allentown, New Apberg, or Tycho.”

“I can see the truth of what thou sayest, my brother,” Sam replied. “What dost thou ask of the church?”

“We ask that you endorse our bid for autonomy. If we gain the right to enter the free market, then we can prosper and grow.”

Sam leaned back and clasped his hands. “Thy city is funded by the crown,” he reminded the lobbyist. “Dost thou intend to forfeit such aid?”

“Not at first,” the tall speaker answered. “It would be an unfair advantage for the other cities for High Branch to be cut from its source of capital until its economy has been successfully converted to the free market.”

The young high priest nodded. “Thy request shall be reviewed,” he announced. “But seek not to act upon the assumption of church support, for it is not yet decided as to thy motives. High Branch hath ever been as it is, and all her citizens are well aware of her status of law. It would seem that many who rally for autonomy stand to reap great profits by reason of establishing a monopoly in the newly formed market. Remember, greed is a motive most evil. The church will not support it.”

“Are you saying that you will not support us?” The bald man half stood.

“Nay, I have not committed to a decision. Why art thou so vexed? Can it be that mine words hath stung thee?”

“Beware, your Holiness. The day could come when you may wish the forces of High Branch to aid you.”

Sam fixed the angry man with a fiery stare. “I was not aware that the soldiers of High Branch took their orders from merchants.” There followed a long silence where the bald man stood trembling with rage. Then Sam’s voice soothingly continued.

“Be troubled not,” he urged. “For I have heard thy words. With the proper care, the merchants of High Branch can exist in symbiosis with the militia. Such would be the wish of the church. Rest assured that this is how our support will lean, lest the merchants of that fair city become parasites.”

The lobbyist relaxed visibly. “Thank you,” he finally said. It was obvious that he had not gotten what he wanted, but it was more than he had had when he had arrived.

“Holy one?” a novice of the priesthood interrupted from the door. Sam nodded and the novice continued. “A messenger has arrived from Vermouth and seeks an audience.”

“Show the traveler in and see to it that he is well fed and that accommodations are made for him,” Sam ordered.

A young man in his mid twenties entered the room and bowed before the table. “Your Holiness,” he began. “I bring disturbing news from the Cardinal, Alison Greymane of Vermouth.”

“Feel free in these halls,” Sam told him. “What is thy burden?”

“The cardinal wishes to alert the priesthood that over the last three months there have been increasing rumors coming from the lower lands of devils appearing. The cardinal investigated the rumors and found no evidence to support them at first, but within the last month that has changed. Three devils were banished by the power of the church. While the church is still able to hold the minions of Hell at bay, the fact that they are free to roam our world is a point of concern for the cardinal. She asks that the priesthood advise her.”

There was a mutter around the room. Sam stood and the room went silent. “I bid thee return to Vermouth with this word. The priesthood is grateful for the cardinal’s efforts. Rest assured that aid shall follow quickly. Know also that the church will bring this matter to the attention of the king.”

The messenger bowed and was led to a seat at the table.

“This is news indeed,” Gage whispered to Crystal. Similar mutterings were echoed around the room. Cindy and Dylan barely understood what was going on, but they did know that news of some consequence had been given and that it had the adults fairly upset.

“What exactly is a devil?” Cindy asked their mentor after the meal had concluded and they had returned to their lodgings at the guild.

Gage sat in a chair next to a desk and motioned for Cindy and Dylan to pull other chairs up. When the initiates were settled, Gage began to explain. “What I am about to tell you is usually not told to initiates who do not intend to study magic,” he said. “For most people it is simply knowledge that is of no use, unless you are actually dealing with the magic involved.”

“Devils are a race of creatures that populate the Nine Hells,” Gage told them.

“Do you mean the place where bad people go when they die?” Dylan asked. He had often heard from priests the price of wickedness.

“It is a little more complex than that,” Gage stated, “but essentially that is the case.” He rubbed his chin as he searched for the best way to explain. “The Nine Hells are a series of planes which neighbor ours. They are not actually places in our world, but places outside our world.”

One glance told the journeyman that he had lost his students. “Think of it like this,” he decided to try a different approach. “When you look in the mirror, you see another world in it, but when you look behind the mirror there is nothing there.”

“But Kayla told us that what we saw in the mirror was not really another world, but the reflection of ours,” Cindy stated.

“That is true, but I am trying to use the mirror as an example,” Gage answered. “Actually mirrors can be used to travel between planes, but that is another matter. These other planes are physically connected to our plane but only in special places. Also they are magically attached. So if you know the right magical spell or the location to the gate junction which joins the two planes you can travel between them.”

“Gate junction?” Dylan asked.

“The gate junction is a place where the two planes come together. It is always a place where some powerful form of magic exists naturally, but it can be very difficult to reach.”

“Such as?” Cindy asked.

Gage sighed. “Have you ever heard of the Fountain of Shadow?” Neither had. “Well how about the Pool of Flame?” Again, the students answered negatively. “The Well of Time?”

“I’ve heard of that one,” Dylan claimed.

“What is it?” Cindy asked.

“The Well of Time is said to be a place where time flows from future to present to past,” Gage answered. “In truth it is actually more complicated than that, but that explanation will serve as well as any.”

“In any event, the plane that we inhabit is called the primary plane. It is sometimes also called the prime material plane. That is because this is the largest and most central plane in our universe. A traveler can go from the primary plane to any other plane very easily using magic or a junction gate, but the reverse in not true. A person from one of the other planes can not easily travel to the primary plane.”

“Now traveling from one plane to another is a serious matter and is only attempted by very experienced mages or clerics. On the other hand, creatures like the devils would travel to the primary plane in an instant if they could. Devils are tyrannical and evil. They wish to enslave all living things and possess the primary plane for themselves.”

“Didn’t you say that there were nine planes of Hell?” Cindy asked.

“There are,” Gage answered.

“Then why do the devils want our plane if they already have nine?”

“Because of all the planes, only the primary plane touches the all the other ones. It is like a crossroad of the planes. That is why the devils desire to control it.”

“Have they never tried to take over before?” Dylan asked.

“Occasionally,” Gage answered. “When a witch or shaman attempts to summon a devil, he or she must conduct a battle of wills with the creature. If the magic user wins, then the devil is at their command. If the devil wins, then they can establish an artificial junction into the primary plane. As long as the gate can be held open, they can bring more and more devils from the planes of Hell.”

“Are devils very powerful?” Cindy asked.

“There are various types of devils,” Gage answered. “The minor devils are quite docile and can be easily defeated by non-magical means. The greater devils are far more difficult to deal with.”

“The greater devils are powerful?”

“Quite so,” Gage told them. “In their own plane they are very, very powerful. Their power is much less here, but even so they are more powerful than most master mages or high clerics.”

“I guess I can see why this is such an important issue,” Cindy announced. “Do you think it’s anything to worry about?”

“Not at the moment,” Gage said. “If a devil has managed to get control of a witch and has free access to the plane, it is only a temporary situation. The witch or shaman can only keep the gate open for so long, then it will close again. If that is so, then the appearance of these devils may cease altogether and never reoccur.”

“And if it doesn’t cease?” Dylan asked.

Gage nodded. “That would be very bad news indeed. If that were the case, then it would mean that a major devil had forced his way into our world and had seized a power source capable of holding a gate open indefinitely.”

“What kind of power source are you talking about?” Dylan asked.

“There are some old stories and warnings about the Dukes of Hell bragging that if they ever got certain magical items, that they would be able to conquer the prime material plane.”

“Dukes of Hell?” The very name made Cindy shudder.

“The Dukes of Hell are the nine most powerful devils. You see, Hell is actually nine miniature planes all connected to one another. Each plane of Hell is ruled by a very powerful devil. There is no king of Hell, because the different rulers distrust each other, so they are called the Dukes of Hell.”

“You would think that they might rally and select a leader from among their kind,” Dylan stated. “Then they could work together.”

“That has always been a fear of the priests,” Gage agreed. “There is an old legend or prophesy that tells of the coming of the King of Hell. The legend states that when a king reigns in Hell then mortal man will tremble with fear.”

That night, Dylan dreamed of devils and Hell. He woke several times and once even saw Cindy sitting in a chair near the window. He knew that she too was having bad dreams. Quietly so as not to disturb their guardian, Dylan got out of his bed and went over to join Cindy.

She smiled as he approached, but said nothing. Dylan responded by placing his hand on her arm to offer comfort. She responded by clasping his hand and holding it tightly.
“Devils and Hell and planes and spells,” she sighed. “I think that there’s a lot more to this world than I ever imagined.”

“Me too,” Dylan agreed.

“Are you scared?” she asked.

“Are you?”

“No,” she lied.

Dylan grinned, but gripped her tiny hand even more firmly. “Me too,” he admitted.

Cindy stood and went over to Dylan’s cot pulling him along behind her. Then she sat down on his cot cross legged with her back against the wall. Dylan sat next to her and they both leaned against each other for comfort as they sought reassurance in each other’s presence.

When Gage woke, the first sight he saw was his two charges huddled together on one cot wrapped in a blanket snoozing peacefully. He laughed inward at the frightened children. He made a mental note not to tell scary stories right before bedtime ever again.