Sword of Kings
Chapter 25 – Questions

by Bill W

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Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. 
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.
Don’t read this story if:
**You’re not 18 or over,    
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don’t want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author’s permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with this chapter.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other ‘constructive’ comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

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Once the condor disappeared from sight, no one needed any encouragement to get up and prepare to start moving again.  Although they were all deeply disturbed by Doenilio’s death, they knew their own safety depended upon how quickly they could escape the valley.  The boys looked around at the others, trying to see if the warriors were as distraught as they were over what had just happened.  Not only were Kieren and the two young elves still suffering from mild shock, but they were also finding it difficult maintaining their composure.  It was taking every ounce of effort they had to keep from breaking down and bawling hysterically.  The warriors were doing much better at maintaining their stoic front, but the three young men could still clearly read the pain and anguish on each of their faces.  None of the boys, however, could maintain eye contact with any of them for long, for they feared they’d lose what little control they still had left and their emotions would get the best of them.

No matter how much each of them was suffering, no one became lax in their vigilance.  In fact, maybe just the opposite happened.  Everyone’s head continually spun back and forth, searching for signs of danger, but they were not just scanning the sky.  They were also looking for threats on the ground, as well.  Beraut was scanning the sky one final time, when Alaric signaled his feeling that they should leave this place as quickly as possible.  The wizard nodded his agreement and everyone fell into line, ready to follow him away from the area.  There was no doubt that they all wanted to get out of there as fast as their legs would safely allow. 

The entourage trudged on for the remainder of the day, but the visions of what had happened never left them.  Even though the warriors were able to put this behind them more easily than the boys, it didn’t mean they were unaffected.  No matter how often they had seen death or lost someone they knew, it didn’t eliminate their need to cope. 

The three teens were in a totally different situation, however, as they were still unsuccessfully fighting back tears, while they continued to watch the scene unfold over and over again in their minds.  They tried to be discreet as they wiped their eyes on their sleeves or with the back of their hand, because they didn’t want the others to know they were crying.  They kept their faces bent low, toward the ground, hoping the adults had too many other concerns, so they wouldn’t notice what they were doing.

The group was still on the move, even as the daylight began to fade from the sky.  The impending darkness had its benefits though.  They would no longer have to worry about the condor sneaking up on them.  However, it also made it much more difficult to pick their footing.  Occasionally, the same types of thorny plants that had caused Doenilio to fall earlier would snag their clothing.  Just as they were beginning to think they could not keep up this pace much longer, they reached the end of the valley.

As the party made their way closer to the threshold between the mountains, the weeds and briars began to thin and become less cumbersome.  They could still see the outline of the opening, even in the dim light, but the growing darkness seemed to make it appear more threatening, at least for Garreth and Romaric.  The boys thought they could see signs of danger on both slopes and were convinced there was an enemy warrior behind every boulder.  Every shadow was their foe and every turn of their head seemed to pick up the distant movement of a new opponent. 

When they actually entered the pass and began to move forward, they found the ground firm and the vegetation less encumbering, which made it much easier for them to walk.  There was some unevenness to the pathway, as it would rise slightly and then slope downward again, but their pace picked up dramatically as they moved between the two mountain chains.  Although they continued to scan the slopes for signs of threats, there was nothing to be seen.  They managed to keep up their pace and make good time, so they were through the gap in about thirty minutes.  Their hearts soared when they saw the open expanse in front of them, because they now knew they were finally free of the Valley of the Dead. 

As soon as they felt they were unencumbered by the threat the valley posed, Beraut signaled them to set up camp, using the final, dying rays of light to see by.  Rhys and Sedain each tried to get the wizard’s attention, as they sought his permission to remove their headgear and earplugs.  Once he acknowledged them, they were surprised that the enchanter shook his head vigorously, to let them know it was not yet time to remove their protective devices.  Although disappointed by this delay, everyone set about his duties.  They eagerly dug through their gear and established the campsite at breakneck speed.  Beraut arranged them as he had the previous evening, with the fighting men placed around the teens, but this time Beraut placed himself closer to the three youths.

Once they were all situated, the wizard finally indicated they could remove their bindings and earplugs.  This announcement was pleasantly received by each of them.  Although they didn’t know it, the wizard had made them wait until now to do this, because he knew it would take them time to adjust to the noise levels.  After being deprived of one of their senses for a considerable period of time, the mage understood their hearing would be acutely sensitive once it was restored.  Dealing with this would have slowed them down significantly, as they went about their business, so Beraut thought it best to take things one-step at a time.  He wanted to make sure the campsite was established first, before they had to deal with those other issues. 

Now that they finally had permission to remove their protective devices, it was with immense relief that they rid themselves of that cumbersome headgear.  Some even threw the various items on the ground and stomped them underfoot, almost as if they had just vanquished a foe.  For many minutes, they were extremely sensitive to every little sound of nature and even a cricket’s chirps seemed to them to be a deafening roar.  This simple noise also emphasized the fact that they were now out of the Valley of the Dead and everything around them had returned to normal.  It didn’t take them long, however, before they refocused their attention upon the wizard.  They had a hundred questions they wished to have answered, but they were unsure as to how they should begin.  Beraut didn’t have any problem sensing what they were thinking, so he expedited the process.

Speaking in a whisper, the enchanter began.  “I imagine you are all wondering about the bird,” he stated, and without realizing they were doing so, both Garreth and Romaric nodded their head in response.  “It is one of the Dark Lord’s pets,” Beraut continued, “and part of a line of similar creatures that he has bred to do his bidding.  If you think back upon my telling you about the death of King Orthilue and his family, you’ll remember that I mentioned the King was killed by such a creature.”

“You mean that was the giant condor that killed King Orthilue?” Romaric asked, slightly confused.  Even though he was puzzled, the elf had managed to state his question in a hushed tone.

“No,” Beraut responded simply.  “The condor that killed King Orthilue was a predecessor of the creature we encountered.”

“Do you think it was sent to find us?” Garreth followed.  The elf’s eyes were wide open, as he considered what that might mean to them.

“Again, my answer is no,” the mage said soothingly.  “I believe it has been mainly focusing its attention upon the mountain ranges, looking for intruders there.” 

“Qaim no like big bird,” their hairy little companion blurted out.  “Bird want to hurt Qaim.” 

Even though Qaim’s comment had been offered innocently, his words made everyone in the party go silent again.  They all began to have flashbacks of Doenilio’s final moments alive.  Furtively, each of them began to look around at the others.  They were trying to see how the rest of them were reacting to Qaim’s statement.  As they looked around, they also struggled to control their own emotions, which were plainly displayed on their faces. 

Kieren had been listening to the others’ prattle, but was already deeply lost in thoughts about what had happened to Doenilio, long before Qaim had made his comment.  The more he thought about it, the more it troubled him.  Finally, he found he could hold his tongue no longer.  “Why didn’t you save Doenilio?” he screamed at his mentor.  Not only did his outburst startle the others, but the volume also hurt their ears and made them flinch. 

“Why did you let him die like that?” the teen continued, at a lower volume, but his face showed a mixture of anger and sadness as he confronted the wizard.  “You should have done everything you could have to save him.”  While Kieren was clearly upset, Beraut tried to remain calm. 

“Kieren, I wish I could have.  I did consider several different options at the time, but I quickly concluded utilizing any of them would have doomed us all.”  The mage had told him this in a soothing manner, hoping to calm the teen’s anger.

“Oh, I bet,” Kieren spat back, venomously.  “What could have happened that would have been worse than what we saw?”

“My boy,” Beraut almost pleaded in response, “please realize I was unable to us my magic in that situation.  You see, the condor is a semi-magical creature and the use of supernatural powers in its vicinity would have drawn its attention, like a magnet attracting a piece of metal.  That would have exposed and endangered us all, not just Doenilio.  I did toy with the idea of stunning him.  I wanted to knock him unconscious, at least until the threat had passed, but that wasn’t feasible.  Using magic might have also alerted others, which would have posed an even greater risk to us than that bird did to Doenilio.” 

“But to let him get killed like that,” Kieren whined.  “It just wasn’t right.”

“He was lost the minute his earplug came loose,” the enchanter stated, calmly.  “The madness had already destroyed the Doenilio we knew and, at best, we could only have taken care of him until death finally relieved him of his affliction.”

Hearing his mentor talk about how using magic would have attracted the condor, Kieren sat speechless for a few seconds.  He was busy fighting with a thought that had suddenly popped into his mind.  He couldn’t help but conclude that his use of the medallion might have inadvertently brought about Doenilio’s death.  The young man replayed Beraut’s words over and over again in his head, repeatedly hearing the mage’s explanation about how magic would attract the condor.  Kieren continued to do this, until he could no longer deny the fact that his decision to use the medallion had cost one of his protectors his life. 

At first, Kieren just felt immense guilt because of his actions, but then a rage began to swell within him, as he began to second guess why he had done what he did.  The young man wanted to cry, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself that luxury.  He understood that he, alone, was responsible for what had happened to Doenilio, no matter how his conscience and various emotions tried to blur that realization.  The problem was, he wasn’t ready to accept total responsibility for his actions just yet.  Instead, he lashed out at the most convenient target at hand. 

“Why didn’t you just kill it then?” the teen screamed at Beraut, trying to transfer the blame somewhere other than upon himself.  “You have all kinds of powers.  Why didn’t you just use them?”

“I did consider attacking the bird and using my magical ability to destroy it,” the enchanter admitted, “but after weighing all the factors, I dismissed that option.” 

“Why?  You could have saved him,” Kieren responded, still bewildered by the enchanter’s reluctance to use his powers. 

“Possibly,” the magician conceded, “but it would have required my most powerful magic and that would have weakened me drastically.  Not only that, but the use of such powerful magic would most certainly have alerted Madumda to our presence in the valley, and that was something I dearly wished to avoid.  If my evil brother sensed me here, it would have jeopardized this entire mission, all of your lives and the future of Tarolia.” 

“But you could have prevented Doenilio’s death!” Kieren reiterated.  “Isn’t that what we’re here for, to protect each other?” 

“Not exactly,” Beraut responded, momentarily confusing Kieren.  “The rest of us are here to help you complete your mission and sometimes that involves making hard choices.  In the short time I had, I concluded it would be best to allow Doenilio to be sacrificed for the greater good.” 

Kieren’s eyes locked on to Beraut’s, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say that would make him feel better about the situation.  The wizard merely let his gaze meet with Kieren’s, as he tried to give the lad time to deal with everything on his own, but to the others it appeared to be a standoff.  Finally, Kieren could take it no more.  He had to get away from everyone.  He couldn’t stand to be around them any longer.  The guilt was just too much for him to bear.  Quietly, and without saying another word, Kieren got up and moved away from the group. 

“Kieren, where are you going?” Garreth gasped, distressed by his friend’s actions.  The elf got up to follow him, but as he passed the wizard, Beraut put his arm out and rested his hand against the teen’s chest.  Garreth knew this meant the mage didn’t feel he should get involved.  He looked at the wizard confused.

“Let him go,” Beraut stated simply, while the other’s stared at him, perplexed.  “He needs to deal with some things on his own.  Rhys, would you follow Kieren, just to keep an eye on him and make sure he’s safe.  Don’t try to bring him back or interfere with his actions, just make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.  I suspect he’ll return, once he’s worked things out for himself.” 

Acknowledging his duty, Rhys gave a nod of understanding, got up and moved off, in pursuit of the young man.  Fortunately, there was enough moonlight to make this task fairly easy.  As he followed Kieren farther onto the plain on which they made their camp, he tried to do so discretely, but there wasn’t much to cover his movements.  Kieren eventually spotted the warrior stalking him, so he began to walk faster, in a vain attempt to shake his shadow.  The limited amount of light was affecting their ability to get around and caused Kieren to stumble a few times, but that didn’t make him stop.  Although Rhys wanted to race forward and drag the young man back to where the others were waiting, he fought the urge to do so.  The Akiktite merely kept his distance and allowed the teen to do as he pleased.  Kieren continued on like this for several more minutes before he realized he wasn’t going to be able to lose Rhys, so he turned to confront the trooper. 

“Leave me alone!  You’re not taking me back!” he screamed, his face turning red and the muscles in his neck standing out distinctly.

“I didn’t come to take you back,” the warrior told him, reassuringly.  “I’m just here to make sure nothing happens to you.”  Surprised by this response, Kieren began to soften his stance slightly, when he realized the Akiktite was just looking out for his welfare.  Accepting this, his expression relaxed and his shoulders drooped, which helped Rhys realize how confused the boy truly was.  As the Akiktite took a few steps toward the teen, Kieren let his chin fall against his chest, in an effort to avoid eye contact with the warrior.  Rhys hesitated doing more, once he noticed the boy’s demeanor, and they both remained that way for several minutes. 

“I can’t go on,” Kieren finally stated, appearing completely broken now.  “I’m not strong enough to do this.”

Rhys could see the anguish on the boy’s face, even from that distance.  “Kieren, I understand how you feel,” the dark-skinned soldier told him.  “Doenilio is not the only friend I’ve lost on a mission and I still remember how difficult it was to deal with it, the first time it happened.” 

“But why did it happen?  Why did his helmet come off so easily?” Kieren asked, seeking clarification. 

“I can’t say for sure, but I did notice Doenilio had taken his helmet off during one of our earlier breaks,” Rhys informed him.

“I saw that too,” Kieren agreed, “and then he showed us where the skin on his neck had been rubbed raw.  Sedain gave him some salve to put on it.  Is that what caused his helmet to slip off his head?” 

“I’m not sure if it was the salve,” Rhys acknowledged, “or if he forgot to refasten his chinstrap.  He might have even tied it more loosely than he should have, trying to make it less painful for himself.”  Even though the Akiktite thought this news would make Kieren understand the situation better, he could see the teen was still deeply troubled about what had happened.  No matter what was said or done, Kieren couldn’t shake those nagging doubts that he was solely responsible for what had taken place and acted accordingly.  This only confused Rhys, as he wondered why the boy was still taking this so hard. 

“Kieren, you can’t keep brooding over this,” the Akiktite announced.  “Doenilio understood the risks and accepted them, just like the rest of us have.  It was just a freak accident and no one is to blame.” 

“What about what you did?” the teen asked, glaring at Rhys.  Kieren’s blood was beginning to boil again.  “Why did you stop me from going out to stop Doenilio?”  The warrior blanched when he saw Kieren turn on him this way. 

“Do you really need to ask me that question?” the warrior inquired, hoping his question would make Kieren work the answer out for himself.  However, when he saw that Kieren hadn’t calmed down and thought things through, Rhys decided it best to respond. 

“Kieren, my job is to protect you and that’s what I did.  I couldn’t let you risk your safety by rushing out in that fashion.”

“Then why didn’t YOU go after him?” the teen fired back.

“Because I was certain that would have drawn the attention of that damned bird,” the Akiktite offered.  “I was hoping it wouldn’t notice one person running about, but if more of us were darting about in the open, I knew it would definitely cause the condor to spot us.  It might have also caused it to investigate the area more completely, to see if there were others lurking about too.” 

“Well, maybe I could have stopped Doenilio and brought him back without getting spotted,” Kieren responded. 

“I highly doubt that,” Rhys informed him.  “If Turquinine couldn’t handle him, I didn’t think ANY of us could.”  Kieren’s mouth dropped open when he heard this news.

“Turquinine tried to stop him?” the teen asked.

“Yes, he did,” Rhys confirmed, hoping Kieren could appreciate all that had happened.  “I saw him throw his body over Doenilio’s, as he tried to pin him down, but somehow the dwarf managed to break free.  That’s when Doenilio bolted out of the trench and started running about.  From that point on, there wasn’t any doubt the condor had spotted him.  The thing is if Turquinine couldn’t contain him, then how did you expect to?” 

As Kieren stared into Rhys’ eyes, he finally understood there was nothing any of them could have done to save Doenilio.   He realized the warrior’s fate had been sealed the moment he decided to use the medallion, and the overwhelming bluntness of this moment caused him to finally lose control of his fragile emotions.  The young man broke eye contact with Rhys, put his head in his hands and began to weep, slightly at first, but within seconds he was sobbing.  The lingering guilt was just too much for him to deal with.  Seeing the boy fall apart like this, Rhys did not know what to say or do, so he stayed back and gave Kieren a few minutes to purge his grief.  When he felt Kieren had sufficient time to do so, Rhys decided to address their current situation.

 “Kieren we shouldn’t stay here like this much longer,” the Akiktite informed him.  “We must get back with the others.”

“Go back then,” the teen advised Rhys.

“Kieren, you know I can’t leave you here alone.  It’s too dangerous.” 

“Don’t worry,” the young man retorted, “none of Madumda’s troops are anywhere nearby.  I know, I did a scan of the area,” he added, sarcastically, almost as if he wanted the Akiktite to realize this entire mess was his doing.

“It isn’t the troops that concern me,” Rhys responded.  “It’s the animals that live in and around these mountains.  You remember the warnings we were given on the way to Thorold?  We’d be hard pressed to fend them off together, but neither one of us would stand much chance alone, even with our weapons.” 

As he digested the Akiktite’s words, Kieren just stared at his protector, without responding. 

“Kieren come back with me,” Rhys pleaded.  “Please!  Besides, you must be nearly as hungry as I am and there’s certainly nothing to eat out here.”

Kieren was exasperated by having to listen to all of this, but he knew the warrior was right.  Worse than that, he knew Rhys wasn’t going to leave without him.  Not wishing to argue this point all evening, Kieren finally decided to do as the Akiktite requested and he began to retrace his steps back toward camp.  This sudden action totally surprised his protector and left Rhys momentarily standing alone and dumbfounded.  By the time his bodyguard realized what the teen was up to, Kieren had moved several paces away, so the warrior had to hurry to catch up with him.  When the Akiktite finally strode up beside Kieren, he slipped an arm around the teen’s shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze, just before they reached the others.