The Journey to the Southern Caves
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 11486
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When Jed, Valen and Rafael had left Allaria's capitol of Caemlyn, a group
of nobles and knights
accompanied them. These were the lords of the southern states of Allaria
and their route home lay along
the same road as that traveled by the Questors. It was a long journey to
the Shreken, about a month if
one was not in a hurry. And Quest Knights never hurried. Along the
road they stopped often to
receive the hospitality of local noblemen, lords and dukes. Sir Jed's
party was no exception. When Duke
Dredrik of Suffex, the father of the late and lamented Lord Fred, took his
leave of the company and
headed home down the Longspeer he first treated them all to a sumptuous
feast in the township of
Cambridge. Likewise, the cousins Bo and Luke, the Dukes of Upper and Lower
Hazzard, kept the Quest
Knights two days each when they reached the borders of their adjoining
Duchies.
When it came time for Duke Barnabas to bid them goodbye though, the parting had a special significance. After the feast, the Duke and Sir Jed stepped away and spoke to each other privately. It was a solemn moment, one of farewells, but neither Barnabas nor Jed were filled with sadness. The fact that the King had chosen Jed before all others to brave the dangers of the Dragon's lair was a mark of honor that both men cherished with pride. When they were done the Duke's son, Lord Quentin, handed his cousin a leather packet. Jed opened it and saw a silver buckler worked with the shape of the sea-hawk and engraved with Jed's name. He looked inquisitively at Quentin who smiled back at him. "Place it upon the spot where the dead dragon's body shall come to rest," Quentin told him. "Even after the beast's bones have turned to dust this shield shall immortalize your glorious victory." Jed said not a word, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. And then Duke Barnabas and the men of the Osprey left the King's Way and headed east down the Sea Road. In time they would reach Collinsport, the seat of Barnabas' domain, and take their posts upon the cliffs that overlooked the crashing waves of the sea. But Jed's path still lay south along the King's Way and toward the dark spires of the Shreken. Jed tarried awhile, watching the Knights of the Sea Hawk leave him behind on their long trip down to the far off sea, but soon enough he turned his mind back to the Quest ahead of him and the threesome continued on their journey. And finally, weeks after having left Caemlyn, Jed and his two companions reached the Nelon Forest. They spent one night at the inn with no name and then rode their horses up into the Shreken Mountains. It was by the light of the early dawn that Sir Jed first gazed upon the twin cave mouths that let into the Southern Caves. He stood upon a crumbling, treacherous cliff; a dark and black sky above him. From the left cave blew a cold breeze that chilled his bones and from the right came a warm breeze that did nothing to break the chill for it was rank and foetid. Jed's intention was to explore the Chamber of Graves and to discover if Fred's tomb was the only one to be empty of a body. And so he led the way into the cave on his right. The cavern tapered inward at its rear and became a passage. Strangely, it did not become darker although the light from the cave mouth had been left behind. Jed held his sword at the ready and Rafael clutched the now unneccessary torch he had lit at the cave's entrance. Valen seemed unconcerned about the dangers ahead. The passage soon began to widen until it was as large as the cavern they had left behind. And then Jed came to a fork. Down one direction went a trail of water which disappeared into darkness. Down the other direction the corridor seemed to get brighter still. And right in front of them were five bone white grave stones. This then was the Chamber of Graves. Jed's face hardened as he stared at the markers. Each grave stone bore the heraldry of a knightly order of Allaria and each had upon it a short inscription.
The first had the image of a griffon cut into it and it read, Here lies
Lord Fred. Fred is dead Jed had no idea who it was that had erected these stones but he found no humor in the rude and callous inscriptions left upon them. But what could he expect from the Dragon and his minions? He would make them pay for their irreverence and contempt. But first he needed to discover what lay within each of these graves, and so he and Rafael pulled out their spades and began to dig.
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WolfRun
7/26/2000 9:43:47 PM
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