Helsenbath

By I.M Wolf

Helsenbath. The last outpost of civilization. A secluded hegemony of peace and prosperity. No one disputed the family lineage who had brought Helsenbath its wealth and safety. Its rulers had always been good to their citizens and they were loved by all. Those who opposed would soon change their minds or leave the city. Or simply disappear. But the peaceful harmony came with a price. Inflation. And when an unnatural winter seized the city's industries and commerce, the day of reckoning was at hand. The treasuries were empty. At the same time, an unknown disease was spreading its deadly malice throughout the city, threatening it with total annihilation. The desperate solution was to break a holy treaty with a ruthless enemy of old. Trusting Helsenbath's entire fate into the hands of a simple jester and a hooded man without a name...

• Language: English
• Publisher: I.M Wolf
• Release date: May 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301336111

I.M Wolf

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HELSENBATH

By

I. M. WOLF

Smashwords Edition

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

I.M. Wolf at Smashwords

HELSENBATH

Copyright © Ulf Eliasson, 2013, all rights reserved

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Adult Reading Material

****

For Jenny and Rebecca

Chapter One

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The applause did not want to end when Wandereus walked off the stage behind the red curtain of the Thespian Lounge. It was rewarding to perform in front of a full audience and to engage them into the presentation. The salon was also very lavished and a joy to be a part of. He stumbled inside the small dressing room assigned to his kind, the actors and bards, the artists and eager fools who were thrilling the spectators' eyes and minds with their craft. While his forehead bathed in sweat, he opened the circular window and inhaled the tepid breeze entering the small room as the evening sun pressed her warm rays against his wrinkled face. He exhaled, feeling stronger from the day's experiences. It had been eight good months since he arrived to this city of peace. It wasn't easy to find safe haven in these dark times. Here, his art was much respected and his colleagues were as well. They were sought after. That had not always been the case, but in this sanctuary, his chosen profession and life's work had an allure for the onlookers who joined him and his fellow actors in a steady stream. The narrative traditions of telling tales were strong here. Legends and tales were always welcomed by the ample audience. His new acquaintance had joined the ensemble a mere month ago. His interactions with the crowd were already beautiful in sway and emotion and that rubbed off on him and on the rest of the cast that received praise and gifts to enjoy after the end of the evening. It spurred their performances further. He was happy to see a new generation carrying on the legacy of enthralling crowds and spectators that enjoyed the performances that were given. In fact, he felt his apt apprentice gave him a rejuvenation for the love of the stage. Albeit with a touch of jealousy from what he accomplished when he enthralled the auditorium night after night.

Greetings, what are you going to give the audience today? the ageing actor asked his friend. A hymn from bygone times?

The jester turned around with a smile and with a yearn to perform. He said with eager voice, I intend to recite an anecdote about how this world began. When the gods of deceit ruled and when wicked sins were handing out malevolent fates for those afflicted by their chagrin.

The young man heard his name being called out and rushed forward to embrace the audience's cheers. Full of eagerness, he almost stumbled onto the stage when his feet got caught in the ropes behind the curtain. But what did that matter? It was another full house that was offered to him, he thrived on the response from the audience when he took the stage and met their approval. Persistent and long-lived were the noble fables and tales of days gone by that had been told by himself and by other troubadours many times before. The hospitality and warmth he felt on the stage was wonderful and he appreciated it in every cell of his body.

As their creation evolved, the Custodians took great pride in visiting their new world, and witnessing it firsthand. They intended to guide it throughout its entire existence. Taking the shapes of animals and spirits wandering the plains, living as mere mortals, trying to experience life's gains and what it offered. Sometimes, they would even blend with the inhabitants while their presence was concealed in sorcery's mischievous veil. But taking the odd forms of these creatures and fauna they observed had consequences for them, and maybe they were rightfully deserved, because these ‘toys’ drew breath and were made of flesh and blood, which meant they could also die by illness or disease or from violent ambushes and hungry beasts. If their presence was not able to manage a quick and easy escape from their borrowed bodies, they were themselves trapped and died inside oblivion's eternal drape. And that was the dreaded fate the Custodians feared the most, since they sought for eternal immortality to be given them. Thus, they were both curious and very frightened whilst visiting their creation, using all their divine powers at will with sad bane and smear to all who stood in their way. They too wanted to feel and experience the beauty of this world and to learn for themselves the secrets and wonders it unfurled for those living in it. But they could never understand it, nor understand the passions of mankind. Eventually, they would grow envious of those less worth than their own superior kind. They were, after all, divine, yet could not embrace or understand the splendor that the inhabitants could. They wanted to punish those harboring skills outweighing their own. They even planted their own seed to try and grow their own heirs to populate the world. And that is how the Aurelian race amongst humans was born. But they would only inherit longevity, every other trait was forlorn to their race. This is what the legends say and the wisdoms of ancient folklore, the Aurelian men and women would live for centuries or more. They weren't many, but their blood spread across the continents and seas. Especially the females were revered by legions of men yearning for their stellar beauty and renowned virtue and grace. In fact, their beauty sometimes went beyond what most could even fathom. I know of a man whose sacred love was so strong in its awe for the one he cherished, that he defied the gods' wrath in order to find her heart's eternal law. Forever he searched the world to unearth his Aurelian queen and find the peace his lost soul craved for. She was indeed the fairest of all daughters any man had ever witnessed upon this earth of wonder. But perhaps that tragic chronicle is better fitted for another day and another time, for this is a day of joy and celebration, it's not suited for accounts of endless sorrow…

And that is when the drained jester, Timi Vál, ended his energetic speech about perilous ancient times and ageing legends for all ears to hear. While the next narrator took the podium, he wiped off his sweaty brow with his thumb. These festivals were very intense but he loved his chosen vow more than anything. To portray yarns of fabled tales to the attraction of the audience engaging them to every syllable that was shared, that was his calling in life. The words spread through the grass and trees up to the clouds in the sky in a gentle concert.

The great city of Helsenbath exhibited its annual summer feast, a tradition going back a long way. It was a melting pot of different personas, rich and poor, gathering throughout the enclave. It was an emergent city, with markets and theaters, industries and every other thinkable venue. Opportunities were found for everyone, from young merchant to ageing whore. Vibrant and seductive, she was ever-growing in burgeoning size. For those who lived there, Helsenbath was a magnet. The trouble was getting there unharmed, but once settled it was hard to find motivation to leave. It provided a good living. Offered was potent and safe environment for those willing. The soils were fertile and space was adequate. The streets were orderly and most of the time safe, it was part of the daily routine to have a few soldiers march in the streets on a regular basis with their weapons well shielded. It kept the city calmer than other regions. As long as everyone played along, things were smooth. Usurpers had a tendency to disappear when they got too violent, so no one really minded the friendly authority that kept the law in order. This was after all the outer fringes of the known frontier. One could call it the last outpost of civilization. On some old maps, the city wasn't even disclosed or mentioned at all. It had always been considered a secluded and obscure nook located far off inside the northern territories, and it was on hostile roads and in rough terrain one traveled upon if one wanted to get there. It was just one of those corners of the world that no one really cared much about, best left alone. Not worth the effort. Isolated from the outside world, the population welded together in their solitary community. However, the city had grown too big to be ignored anymore. It kept mostly to itself though. It had a strong populace growing organically from within. No one really left it. Sometimes, fortune seekers found their way there and word slowly spread. The influx of different people had increased in the last decade, without the usual selective control that used to be the silent trademark among those who was in charge of the city, the elite who ruled it. The thinking was that this would expand the economy further and spur the city's progress. Those who were able to get here were seen as highly ambitious with an inner drive, something that would be useful to enhance the society once they got settled. But the difficult terrain made it hard to travel safely. Desperate times always gave rise to desperate minds, and a small convoy with potential wealth was not difficult to ambush if one sired the desire to do so. Many stories lived that bore witness of that. And many skeleton remains.

The trading routes didn't see Helsenbath as a place to do business in on the way towards other places of interest and left it alone. It was too far off. Real commerce was found elsewhere. The rising taxes were much heavier in Helsenbath and that kept the larger trading houses and guilds away, but that was exactly how the ruling elite wanted it. No competition for power. The smaller scale of trade benefitted Helsenbath tremendously and kept its people busy. She was a temptress for those who lived there, with her promises and lies. The valleys had fertile surroundings and provisions were never short in supply, since the farmers using it were gifted and granted a soil full of nutrients that never seemed to lose its fertility. For those who had the city under its control, it was riches and grandeur to be exploited. The node of the commerce, and the markets booming with different trades, was a wide street that was pulsating equally when it was facing sunlight or when resting in shade. On each side of it businesses flourished, being both honest and foul. Legitimate deals were made and those with crooked hearts would also see the light of day. Quite often at times. But in the end, con men had a tendency to vanish or be caught. It was always a pleasure to see them humiliated at one of the squares while in irons, praying for forgiveness for their crimes and misdemeanor. Each and every soul with their steps on the street shared a common view amongst themselves, they all loved their city's pulse, its raw vibrancy and exotic flair. In an age of unlimited turmoil, where death always seemed to be close at hand, Helsenbath provided safety from outside evils, from their harms and woes.

There was no actual trade route leading to the city, and the northern reaches of the realm had been closed off completely after the wars had ended, as part of the treaty. That territory was impossible to live in anyway, too troubled with harsh topography and infertile soils. There were rumors of outlawed highlanders and thugs roaming those parts of the land, trying to agitate anyone that came near. The authority in charge was very adamant those lands remained undisturbed. It wasn't even an issue, the rest of Helsenbath had so much to offer anyway that the narrow corridors of the north were of no importance to the citizens when it came to exploiting opportunities.

But myths drifted about creatures, mad with flawed hunger and craving lusts beyond imagination, causing mayhem and havoc onto the souls facing death in front of them. Evil spirits that threatened to mutilate casualties being captured in their evil whims. Killing their victims mercilessly while breaths became choked and eventually ended, forlorn in the eternal mists of oblivion. It was rumored that wraiths and repugnant ghouls were stalking their victims with abhor and mischief and would do so with whomever they wanted. So many chilling stories of doom fed superstitious minds' failing wits.

But inside Helsenbath's old provinces the inhabitants felt protected and secure, their leaders had always offered safety and protection for those who lived there, thus increasing the praise awarded to them from their residents. And for all purposes, it was never wrong to feed the minds of the public's view that Helsenbath was their faithful savior from all that evils could do. Whatever troubles inside it, they were mastered with great care and efficiency. This led its citizens to willingly pay the taxes, even when they rose, without much complaint.

The ruling families had divided the city and the realm into separate enclaves to manage it more resourcefully and handling matters in more proficient ways. Using a simple and proven method that common decency had long shunned as depraved and immoral. Bribery. The crude, but compelling, practice of corruption. Without showing the slightest hesitation and without any conscience of immoral feelings of supposed guilt or shame. It worked well, and no one changes a winning formula once it is perfected. With a steady inflow of eager workers and women finding it worth the effort of nurturing many children, the economy was excelling, and it was always pleasing to do ‘business’ for the devoted authority in charge. There was no need to have a guilty conscience, was it? After all, they were revered for preserving the people's protection and welfare, and the supposed threats looming never yielded any lasting damage to the city's foundations and civil structures, albeit rumors of dangers were plentiful and common. However, that was something that didn't concern the youth that now approached his master.

The crops are expanding, and the meat markets are doing well too. Fortune appears to shine upon us all as far as the numbers reveal themselves to my feeble mind.

Most excellent, squire Jakob, I will let Orion's father know at once. I am heading over to his estate right now. He is proud of you already, of your work and dedication. You improve for each day. I see a bright future for you in our ward.

Thank you, my liege. I try to better myself every day. The squire nodded his head and left to continue his chores.

And with that, Aidan Belloc left his residence with the good news at hand. The air was warm and fresh, as was the city, bright and shining majestically. He took a deep breath and strolled out upon the market street. It was called the Appia, being so long its walk would burn both your feet if you marched its entire length without taking the time to rest. He loved the many smells and sounds that met him, the resonance of echoes that bounced against the tents and stalls and the colors that complemented the impressions that met him. The spices and foods roasting on the fires were soon sold to those who paid, that would always comfort him that all was well.

The backbone of Helsenbath was its people, and the people were active everywhere in every corner. Free space was taken up quickly by those who were eager and willing to do so. The markets were always filled with hectic sounds and commerce. Small stands and booths of trade were busy offering their merchandise, from meager utensils to precious ivory, beginning in the early sunrise light until the sun decided to lower its splendor behind the red horizon after a day of hard labor and profit.

A small mountain ridge stuck its low peaks above the ground at several locations around the city's infrastructure, in perfect symmetry with the streets, the corners and the jovial ranges of merchandise that flourished. Somehow, different items found their way into the city. No one really knew how. But everything had a price. And if it wasn't of use, no one had use for it and left it alone. Sharp minds invented tools needed. A most profitable way to earn a living in an isolated city. Ivy clad the mountain walls, adding to the vegetation in the form of various herbs and olives clinging from the wet holes and the cracks in the rock, merging with vines and other plants thereon. The small streets were woven like an aorta of cohesive communities and intersections, with water wells filled with liquids that flowed its purity from the womb of the mineral-rich bedrock's interior.

From out of the mountains' caves its nutrients arrived flowing in a steady stream with full access to the people who cherished its healthy streams. It was folklore that the limber waters inside Helsenbath's realm could cure sickness and ailments and overwhelm aching wounds and healing them much faster than other waters in adjacent places. Not that there were that many other cities around, but still, it was a blessing to receive the cold water whenever needed.

The travelers who had made the decision to journey to this faraway place, and survived the arduous trek to get there, found it to be one of the few regions left that offered peace and tranquility for its citizens. Serenity and harmony was scarce. Perhaps that is why superstition and fallacy were so common amongst the people, they were afraid to lose their sanctuary. Everyone inside it knew that the province holding soils like yeast that never dried had sheltered its society with stability since its time was born and wealth had been released inside its walls.

But Helsenbath alone was not the sole reason it saw a steady and secure environment compared to other places. Many times its size was the city in the south, Evalar, the old-aged monarchy with a just heart and with righteous souls who steered themselves driven by justice and virtue. At least on the surface. It had been founded long before Helsenbath saw its emerging dwellings rise from the dusts of its beginnings. It had always been an ally, whilst adding to Helsenbath's emerging flair via sporadic trade and diplomatic exchanges. But times change. It had always been their rulers who had stood for law and order in the southern winds beyond Helsenbath. They had had a lot to do throughout the ages that had now passed.

Fate had it that the challenging landscapes and harsh terrain in the realm isolated Helsenbath from any other city, regardless of geography, even from Evalar. Perhaps from a bird's perspective, the two cities were in somewhat proximity to each other, however, they were not so close that they would interfere much with each other's affairs. And those who ruled in Helsenbath knew well they should not offend their far off neighbor in any way. And they never did. Previous experiences made that something they did not want to do.

There were simply too many mountains and uncharted forests to pass for regular folks to get there unharmed, in territories no one seemed to have any real control over. Highwaymen, robbers and other unpleasant minions were found wherever there was no authority in charge. A barrage of perils waited everywhere to cut life short for those unwary. No real roads were built between them either, something both cities were fully aware of and in silent agreement to maintain that way. That complicated the contacts to and from the outside world. But it served their joint purposes well. So in reality, as confirmed by the official maps, it was indeed a long and hazardous journey before anyone arrived to Helsenbath's protective womb.

Some antique scrolls, now gone, were rumored to have mentioned a hidden path between the two cities that was once used, but it had supposedly been destroyed after the long border wars had ended. In any case, it was safe to say, no one now lived that might have traveled upon it and known about its existence. The only small road that led to and from Helsenbath had no direction towards its neighbor in the south. Thus, people found it better to use safer routes leading elsewhere, that everyone else traveled upon, to avoid the sudden impact of outlaws stealing your meager possessions and last breath of air. And Evalar was so far north itself, one would find it stupid to go even further. To an obscure city out in the wilderness where nothing was safe, what was the point of doing that? That was the general opinion that those in charge in Evalar let their citizens, and the regions they had influence in, know. It served everybody well to let that impression characterize the environment, and it had undoubtedly benefited both cities.

Thus, not many had the courage to venture all the way to the city at the edges of the known frontier, but some obviously dared, and if they survived the trip, they did not regret it. They were safe once inside Helsenbath's walls. Evalar had once been the protector, it had ensured both regions' stability in the past. But these days, they had their own agendas and other regions of interest to deal with. And their own problems to solve. Helsenbath was left to nurture its destiny on its own. Thus, superstitious myths would live on, and the fears of an insecure future would never silence. And the ruling elite in Helsenbath exploited those fears whenever they needed to. As long as the citizens were happy, every command was met with a smile on their faces. Rumors and bad omens had been building again these past years, but so far nothing evil had penetrated the city with callous tears or riots. Even the city's seasoned potentate and regent, Lord Eldwyn, had himself laid claim to once have seen an eerie swirling vortex, a demon, he claimed, that was stalking a grizzled man with a fury and contempt that only sorcery could have created. He said it had transformed itself into a mirage of a woman's full grace, whom had brought utmost sorrow and tears to the man facing the mirage confronting his eyes. But he had run away before Eldwyn had been able to approach him in his grief-stricken distress. Only echoes of lost love remained in the wind as he had vanished in a sudden whim from Eldwyn's sight. He often mentioned that he thought about the songs that still sang inside the trees if one listened carefully and focused one's hearing thoroughly on a quiet sunny day. As an echo of what once had been. They spoke of a lone king, whose tale whispered in the breeze wherever the wind would carry it. His love had been eternal, to the woman with the bluest eyes ever seen, she made him cry with grief and despair to the empty celestial canopy of heaven, but it did not answer his suffering torments. Eldwyn could often be heard humming the solemn hymns he had heard that day, they reminded him of his own late wife, and how he missed her.

"Thy beauty is everlasting, my bond unto thee undying as well.

Thine eyes glitter inside each star I gaze upon, wherever I dwell."

He liked the odes of eternal love, but he would never commit such emotions for any woman, but that didn't mean he didn't admire the man who apparently did.

A few reports had stated that peculiar creatures had appeared in not too distant areas close to the city, in the outskirts of Helsenbath, with fangs that all men feared who had laid claim to have seen them. They were called d'hoklas, a spited species never seen before in this realm. But for now, attacks had been sporadic and very far in between, and the threat soon fell into fallow and was forgotten. Yet these things fed the frightful minds living inside Helsenbath's womb, the inhabitants were safe but often afraid of meeting an unruly tomb one day, when something wicked would breach into the province and make all fears come true.

I smell wrath on the horizon. The gods seem restless and mad, I tell you. I wonder whose cursed soul they are stalking with malice and abhor tonight?

I do not know, Théon, the spirits of awe are certainly upset. Someone must have angered them, but we are safe, don't forget.

For now we are, but who knows when harms will come haunting our way? Plaguing all our naked souls with mischief's venomous deceit? It is coming, I know it. I feel it in every inch of my body. It is said that wild beings and sorcerers have walked on paths near us. I hope they do not come closer than that to invade our beloved homeland. I do not like these bad omens, they choke me. But perhaps these shadowy whispers will fade in time one day and with them our worries, Eric, and push them forever away.

Lord Eldwyn and his faithful guardians have never let us down, they have not let us down once that I know of. They have watched over us until this day, through all the years, day and night, and given us both lucrative business and professions we are proud of.

Eric paused for a while, he saw that Théon had locked his eyes firmly to the ground with his usual stern face of dismay when something befouled his soul. He found himself wearing a sarcastic little smile of his own as he continued, Do you remember the gold we found in El Aguila's shallow mines? Maybe there is more ore to find there if we chose to work our lazy spines back there ever again.

Have you lost your mind, Eric?! Do you wish to venture back? Théon bellowed out. The grimace on his face almost made Eric collapse with hysterical laughter. He loved to play pranks on his troubled friend.

Do you wish to travel back to that place of utter horror, where death waited to reap our souls of our last decency and breath?

"I know, Théon, I know. Yet I dream of those riches we saw lying there. Maybe more is left to fetch there, if its evils will ever release its grip around that cursed land.

They both remembered the many horrors of El Aguila's mines and what they had to endure when they escaped from their captors. The mazes and corridors outside the dungeons were an unpleasant memory, dread chilled their spines as they stood here all these years later. Like needles they stung. Théon could have sworn the air got ten degrees colder by the mere mentioning of those days, trapped in despair with no maps and no hope. The memories were forever etched in his heart.

We were so lucky to escape from it with our hearts still alive. Do you really wish to revisit the place where evilness and darkness thrive? No amount of gems or silver could force me back there. We have everything we need right here in Helsenbath. There is no need for adventure where Goro's minions roam and molest everything coming in their way. The hordes of creatures that held us captive were abominations from hell. Half of them were not even human, they could not even speak. Grunting like the animals they were.

I know, Théon, I know. Eric felt the tension throb his throat. It had been sliced open during his unfortunate stay in the dark catacombs were they were beaten and tortured. But it had not been deep enough for death's gloat to force its shadow upon him. It stung by the mere thought of going back. Both men tightened their posture as another group of people walked by them. They knew how to do it without causing curious eyes and ears staying behind to pry on what they said. They had discussed these things before. There was no need for a nosy eavesdropper to know of their past and they were not going to disclose their secrets. As they were soon left alone again, they continued their dismal memories.

That cobweb scared me senseless, and the ogres and goblins did too. Anator and Maelor sacrificed their sad lives for us, the scared young duo not worth more than a wart.

Don't forget about Regil, that poor soul. I wonder what horrors he had to face when we had to leave him in that ditch. His screams of sorrow still haunt me in my dreams. They won't end. They just won't end. I wonder if he was tortured, or if death had him embraced without suffering. What do you think, Théon?

Théon lowered his eyes to the ground again. He had known a long time that his friend was suffering from the memories of how their liberators met their fates, and he said with a weak voice, "I wish not to think of such horrible matters, Eric, my friend. I hope you can forgive me. For what it's worth, they were Eldwyn's elite guardsmen, they were warriors from birth until the end. They knew death better than anyone, it was their chosen faith. I find peace in that. A small peace, but it is the only comfort I can fetch from it. They never failed us. Their memory inside of us will live on. And maybe one day we are able to tell it to the afterworld. They are