The Seekers

By David N. Pauly

Elven weapons master, Emedius, races against time to aid the Gracies and help revitalize their well of life, unknowingly stalked by a deadly foe.

Meanwhile in Eldora, Prince Alfrahil secures the aid of the Brotherhood of the Cold, an ancient think tank, in the form of Brother Caedrasp. Alfrahil, receiving the joyous but unexpected news that his lover Findalas is carrying his child, must enlist the help of Brother Caedrasp to prevent his cruel father, King Creon, from banishing Findalas to the farthest reaches of Nostraterra.

Brother Caedrasp must navigate the complicated politics of the Brotherhood while searching for the clues behind the assassination attempts on Alfrahil’s life. Plunging into the dark underbelly of Eldoran society, Caedrasp’s life hangs in the balance as he discovers the facts behind the plot to kill the prince.

At the same time, Bruno and Lithir, our unlikely Dwarf and Elf duo, continue their mission to have the all-important trade treaty signed by Elf King Albericus. Hunted by the deadly Nightowls, can the two avoid the traps set for them and complete their mission?

A riveting epic fantasy adventure, The Seekers is the second book in David N. Pauly's 'The Fourth Age Dark Shaman' series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: Jun 29, 2023

Book preview

Chapter 1

Completing The Mission

Emedius left the healer hall, walking briskly to speak with Lord Marcellus. Waiting in the audience room, he remembered when the two thrones were not empty but occupied by Aradia and her husband Justinus; now, only their son was left to provide wisdom and rule over the Elves.

Marcellus entered the room and saw where Emedius was looking and said, 'I miss them too, Emedius; perhaps they will return to us someday.’

'Aradia, perhaps, as she has gone overseas, but I have not heard any word of your father after his disappearance in the early battles with Magnar.’

'Neither have I, but there is little I can do now by remembering our sorrow and loss; how can I help you?’

'I need to depart Phoenicia to find out the fate of the Gracies and their mission; I will suspend my training of your guard in my martial arts indefinitely.’

'You do not need my permission as you are a lord of the realm and may go as you wish; there must be something else you desire.’

'Yes, I need twenty Elves to reinforce the guards I left in Platonia. Their magical protectors, the Bubblers, were being destroyed by the powers of the alchemist and his magic. Something I had never heard or seen before in my travels in Nostraterra.’

'The magic was quite puissant, unbelievably powerful, and seemingly designed to destroy all life it had contact with. Trust me when I say that if this alchemy is not found and destroyed, it could kill anyone or anything in Nostraterra. Once I have ensured that the Gracies survived and completed their mission, I will set out to track the origin of the alchemist.’

'Well, you can undoubtedly take twenty Elves with you, but you might overestimate the alchemist's danger. From what you have described, the attack was on a small portion of the river, not exactly a weapon of mass destruction.’

'True, but if the alchemical magic can be mass-produced, then the poison could be used against anyone.’

'Well, you must do as you think best; when do you plan on leaving, and where will you go?’

'The last that anyone heard of the Gracies was their journey back from Eldora into Kozak and presumably eventually to their homes. To answer your first question, I will leave tomorrow, but now I will go and seek twenty volunteers with horses and supplies. I will journey to Kozak first and hear the news, and then go on to the east shore of Platonia; from there, I will have to wait for further developments before I proceed in my investigation.’

'Make sure you take an experienced healer with the salves and herbs used to save your life here if you wind up facing the poison again.’

'A good point,' said Emedius. 'While not as good as having the healing chamber at my disposal if something dire were to happen to me, it would undoubtedly be helpful.’

With that, Emedius took his leave of Marcellus and proceeded back to the healer hall, passing Krandar, Bruno, Lithir, and the other Dwarves in the process, and spoke with Fabricius.

'Where are you headed now?' asked Emedius.

'Krandar, having surveyed the crystal tower defenses, will return to the barracks where they will dwell until Krandar is fully healed.' responded Fabricius. 'Bruno and Lithir are returning to speak with Lord Marcellus to propose an addition to the trade treaty that will help both Dwarves and Greater Elves. I will accompany them and help them prepare for their journey to the Great Forest. How about you?’

'I leave on the morrow to follow the Gracies back home to see how they fare. Well, take care of yourself until we meet again.’

'You as well,' said Fabricius.

Emedius returned to the healer's hall and asked the chief healer, 'I need a healer to accompany me on a long journey and will need the healer to bring the herbs and salves necessary to combat the poison I had in my body in case we reencounter them.’

'Certainly, we will send one of our senior healers equipped with wands and supplies in case you or others fall into danger.’

'Excellent, have him meet me outside of my quarters.’

'A female elf will accompany you; she is talented and intuitive. She was the one who formulated the herbs that combated your poison; without them, your chance of survival, even with using the chamber, would have been in doubt.’

'Excellent, then she will be quite welcome on our trip.’

Emedius then went to the guard's barracks and briefly told the watch officer of his needs; he was presented to the dining hall, where fifty Elves sat down to dinner. Joining them at their meal, he waited until they were finished to put out his request. All fifty Elves volunteered at once, and Emedius smiled as he was able to make choices based on his prior knowledge of their military skills.

'Besides warriors, two of you must be expert trackers, a skill I do not possess equivalent to my military skills.’

Two Elves then raised their hands and said, 'We are not arrogant, but we have the most experience tracking animals, Elves, and birds, so we would be best suited to aid you in your journey.’

'Well and good. Please meet me outside my quarters at dawn with enough horses to ride and pack food and drink for our journey.’

'How long will we be gone?’

'I do not know, but we should be able to replenish supplies in Kozak as this will be our first stop on our journey, and then we will go to Platonia to find out what happened to the Gracies that you have heard about from my last mission.’

'We will see you on the morrow,' said one of the Elves. 'We had better get busy to prepare for our mission.’

Emedius and his party rode out at first light, headed first to the great south road where they would ride north and cross into south Eldora. The weather was mild, sunny days with the occasional shower overnight. They used the great North-South Road after traveling out of Phoenicia on a secondary route. They encountered curious looks from most other travelers, as a troop of Greater Elves had not been seen outside Phoenicia in living memory—except those who escorted Marcellus on his recent journey.

Many days passed as they made their way north into Eldora. Paying the usual road tolls, they made good speed, crossing the river in the old, ruined City of Estellius before turning west to Kozak, camping when their horses were tired, not needing to rest much. Crossing the border from Eldora into Kozak, they encountered less traffic, with Emedius wanting to meet with the Kozaki, where the Gracies last reported.

A day after they arrived in Kozak, they were greeted by a Faris of Kozaki riders who gestured for them to halt.

'Who are you, and why do you ride into our lands, Elf?' demanded one of the riders.

'I am Emedius, a Greater Elf from Phoenicia. We seek knowledge of four Gracies who were traveling in your country.’

'What do you want from them? Do you wish them ill?’

'Hardly. I was the Elf that saved them from the brigands' attack on the shores of Platonia.’

The angry suspicion that had crossed the Kozaki leader's face instantly faded, and he spoke. 'We have heard of you from the Gracies; my apologies for my suspicious tone. But the Gracies have been in danger, even in our realm.’

'Can you tell me where they are and how they fared?’

'No, but if you ride to Mostyn, our capital city, you can learn more about them, I am sure.’

'Where is Mostyn these days? As I remember, it is a mobile city in different places every day.’

'You are correct; one of my riders will ride with you as an escort and take you there.’

With that, the leader gestured, and a middle-aged rider rode from his place in the cavalry line and said he would guide them to Mostyn.

Riding for four more days, they sighted the vast tent city of the Kozaki, and the rider introduced them to the outguards in the Kozaki tongue.

'Come, let us ride to Mostyn and take you before our King; as those concerned with the Gracies, he will be most interested in meeting you.’

For many Elves, this was their first real encounter with Men, as most Elves had taken shelter in the Great Forest, except those in charge of escorting Queen Aradia to Titania. The pungent smell of too many horses kept in too small of an area assaulted their nostrils, and they were unused to the thick pall of woodsmoke that hung over the tent city. Even less appealing were the odors of roasted meats, and Emedius whispered to the Elves in their language to accept what they encountered and avoid an adverse reaction.

They were escorted to the enormous tent in the City and dismounted their horses; the Elves stayed with their horses while Emedius entered the tent. Bernardus was there meeting with his council but immediately suspended his meeting and said, 'Well, met Emedius, it is only a month since we provided an escort to get you to your homeland. You were dying then, and all speed was given to you in hope of your recovery, but you were delirious from your wounds, and I do not know if you remember our aid.’

'No, I do not, my fever was great, but my companions told me you aided us, giving us spare horses when ours were spent. We owe you an outstanding debt for your aid.’

'You owe us nothing; we have heard the tales of the sacrifice of the Greater Elves and how your queen gave the location of the way into the land of shadows to the walkers. How can the people of Kozak and I assist you?’

'You can tell me of the Gracies and if their mission was successful.’

'I do not know if they were successful. The Gracies have been gone from this land only for a short while. They entered Kozak determined to get to the Vale of the Magi, and we escorted them there. Still, they were waylaid by a band of brigands. Our riders opened a breach into the brigand's line, and the Gracies could arrive safely at the Vale of the Magi.’

'They then returned to Kozak, where my riders met them again and escorted them to Eldora. After a few weeks, they came back asking for our aid again to cross Kozak as quickly as possible so they could get home. We heard of the attack upon them and yourself, and we dispatched five Faris of riders to remove the brigands from the shores of Platonia.’

'Brigands intercepted them here in Kozak? How was it possible for them to enter your lands in force without detection?’

Bernardus blushed red with embarrassment and said, 'We do not know. Somehow, several hundred of them could ride on our lands without detection, but we suspect they entered from the north, not a direction where we expect strangers to come. We slew them all, as they refused to surrender, and gathered their belongings in the hope of finding out more about them, but alas, we are at a standstill.’

'Can I see their belongings?’

'Certainly, I will have them brought here, but it will take an hour or so. Can I offer you and your guardsmen a seat at our table and a glass of mead while you wait?’

'Yes, that would be most agreeable.’

They told each other the latest news while the council looked on in interest, with an occasional member pointing out a few details here and there. Soon, a small troop of guards carrying wooden woven baskets entered the tent and placed them on the floor next to the council's table. Rudimentary clothing and several coats of ringed mail were also in a pile. Three pouches were there in a heap. Emedius rapidly went through them, finding what he expected to find at first: rude Hagarian swords and weapons from the North Vale.

Emedius asked, 'May I have a small plate?’

Turning the pouches upside down, he found glittering gold, mostly of small grains, but some with larger nuggets. Uncut gems were also found, small and perhaps not very valuable, but Emedius had little experience with gold and gems in this form, and he asked, 'Is there anyone in your City who could shed light on these treasures?’

'Yes,' replied Bernardus, gesturing at a man in his council. 'This is Aldonis; he has experience assessing the value of unrefined gold and uncut gems.’

'What can you tell me about them?' asked Emedius of Aldonis.

'These grains of gold are placer deposits, taken from a riverbed; the gems are sapphires and rubies of poor quality.’

'Is there anything unique about them that would tell me of their origin?’

'Yes, there was a fourth pouch originally, and we have refined the gold into an ingot, which we have in storage. The bar was approximately 20 percent silver with virtually no copper in it. Strangely, the gold had tiny quartz crystals attached to the larger nuggets, which we had not seen before.’

'Why is this strange?’

'Well, the gold of the Dwarves is hewn from their mines from quartz streamers so that it may be Dwarvish gold, but for the fact that the grains of gold were smooth, polished by river sands. Roughhewn gold from the Dwarf mines would be sharp on their sides where they were hacked from the walls of the mines. Even the tiny grains would have been rougher if they were naturally occurring, not smooth like these samples. The gold from Shardan is blended with copper, not silver, and placer deposits are mined there, which could give the same shape but not the same consistency. The gems could have come from anywhere; I am sorry to say there is nothing unique about them.’

'Do you have any idea where the gold could have come from?’

'My best guess, and that is all it is, is somewhere where modern mining does not exist. You can exclude the realms of the Dwarves and Shardan; I know no gold deposits exist in Hagar. The Lesser Elves in both domains trade with Men for their metals, as no deposits in their forests exist. The hermits of the west have no source of gold; their honey cakes and other goods are bartered rather than sold, as they have no use for metals.’

'Where in Nostraterra could this gold have come from?' persisted Emedius.

'I do not know any more than I have told you, but the only direction left is perhaps to the far north, in a country unexplored by Men, Elves, or Dwarves.’

'Thank you. These brigands may have come from the north and were paid in gold from the far north. That is a great help.’

'That is the answer that we came to,' said Bernardus. 'I am sorry that we do not have any more information to give you.’

'Your help is most appreciated. Now, can you tell me the last news you had from the Gracies?’

'They asked to be escorted back to the Vale of the Magi, and a few days later, they re-emerged and met with their escort, who rode north towards Platonia. They were turned over to a company of Men from Eldora, who said they would escort them to their homeland; that is all we know.’

'Well, our only hope is to follow hard on their heels and see where they are. When did your riders escort them?’

'They only returned this morning, and our riders rode hard and fast. You are, at worst, only a week behind them; you should spend the night here and then ride for the border of Platonia.’

'Thank you for your offer, but we will ride now. Can you lend us additional horses … for we will ride night and day so we do not tire quickly?’

'Certainly, just send them back when you are done with them. The track they took is well-trodden into the grasslands; if you do not stop, you should catch up with them before they reach Platonia.’

'Were they not in a hurry to get home?’

'They were to the extent that they would not take their ease with us, but they were riding miniature horses more akin to their stature and did not take any remounts with them. They would be riding at a much slower pace than you and your Elves can achieve.’

Emedius gathered his new remounts, and the Elves set off at a furious pace northwest across the plains of Kozak.

Two days saw them approaching the border of Kozak, and they were met by four riders of Eldora who were on patrol along the border. Emedius introduced himself and asked about the Gracies.

'Our commander is nearby, and he can tell you of them.’

Riding a few miles, they quickly went from open grasslands to scrublands to dense forest. They eventually came to an encampment of Eldoran cavalry and were met by their commander. \

Emedius asked, 'Do you have news of a small party of Gracies that may have passed through here recently?’

'Yes, I can tell you of them, but I am most concerned about their safety.’

'Why?’

'They were safely at an inn at the village when we were told that another larger band of brigands was approaching from the east. We asked them to stay at the inn until we returned to escort them to the eastern shores of the river, where they could cross back into Platonia. Unfortunately, they did not listen to our advice and proceeded by themselves. We have no other news about them.’

'Why are you afraid for their safety then?’

‘We were misled by the news of the brigands and returned to the inn yesterday and found that they had left, but riding north, our scouts found that on their path, they hung close to the Dark Forest.’

'What of it?’

'Well, there is a stone amphitheatre that the path goes through, and we found the bodies of several strange creatures that we could not identify, and the only tracks that we could find were hoofprints leading into the forest. If you wish to follow the Gracies, you must either go north and find our cavalry, or enter the woods yourself. The forest is lethal to those who enter there, and we did not go after them. Instead, we dispatched two more companies to check along the path to the river's shore; they still needed to return.’

'That is most exciting news; we will examine this amphitheatre and see if we can identify the creatures you found there. Is it far?’

'No, only a half days ride from here.’

'Very well, we will leave now, and perhaps we shall meet again.’

Riding for a few hours, Emedius and his escort came to the stone amphitheatre, where they saw several large creatures dead on the sandy bottom of the stadium. Dismounting, Emedius looked closely at the bodies, confused at first as he had never encountered anything like them in all his travels throughout Nostraterra. A closer examination by the healer with them gave him the first clue as to who they were.

The healer said, 'I believe that these were once ordinary Dark Elves. Look at their facial features.’

Emedius did and could see a vague resemblance of Dark Elven features underneath the raging grimace with which the creature had died—with rigor mortis freezing the features before decay had set in.

'I can see it, but they are nearly twice as tall as Dark Elves, and their faces are very different; what else can you tell me?’

'Look at their hands, gesturing to where the Dark Elven corpse held a club. See the fingers and the claws? More like a beast than an Elf. Somehow, they were changed into these shapes. If they had the usual Dark Elven coordination, they would have been formidable for the Gracies to withstand.’

'I will examine the ground from here to the edge of the forest, while the rest carefully review the earth back to the edge of the amphitheatre,' said Emedius.

Emedius saw a pile of ashes with charred bones in it and to his great relief, he saw that the bones were much too long to be those of a Gracie. He saw many charred piles, each approaching the forest's edge. Hoofprints filled much of the space, and Emedius was confused as to which belonged to the horses of Eldora and those of the Gracies.

He then approached the edge of the forest and saw that the hoofprints were slightly smaller than those of the other horses, and he saw that the words of the Eldoran commander were valid, and the Gracies had fled into the forest. There were also some purple-stained circles that he could not explain that appeared magical in origin as the rings shimmered in the bright sunlight. Wandering back, he examined the Dark Elves' tracks, noted their features of long toes and slightly crooked footprints, and knew he could track them without too much difficulty.

Approaching his other Elves, he asked, 'What have you found?'

'We have found that these creatures had lain in wait for someone to approach and were initially equally spread out in a semi-circle matching the shape of the amphitheatre.’

'Let us see where they had come from, shall we?’

With that, Emedius began looking northward but found nothing but hoofprints. Now, he could distinguish further hoofprints, but these were unshod and had churned up the track where there lay soft dirt, clearly the hoofprints of the Kozaki Faris that had ridden to the aid of the Gracies, dispatching the brigands that lay before them.

Pausing for a moment, he said, 'Here are the hoofprints of the Kozaki, yet they did not see the Dark Elves coming south on this trail, or they would have slain them and burned all the bodies. Moreover, there is no wood ash in the charred corpses, only remnants of flesh and bone.’

'Why is that important?' asked the healer.

'Because the Dark Elves must have been burned by magic, as there is also no oil residue around the soil. The Kozaki would have placed them in one pyre, not burned the bodies individually. These bodies that were not burned look like they fell where they stood. Also, the Kozaki are much more in tune with their surroundings than other Men and clearly would have noticed the Dark Elves if they were on the path. The Dark Elves must have come a different way.’

'Somehow, they must have been hidden from the Kozaki riders and were waiting here for the Gracies once the Kozaki passed through