Kara remained silent for the short distance that remained, and refused to talk to Theodore.
His jealousy is obvious, she fumed. I put aside my conflict with Lady Anne, it is his turn to do so now. We have far more important things before us.
The ride was even quicker than Drezel had promised, and as the dusk deepened into night and the air grew cold against her skin, they crested the final hillock on the King’s Road to face the enormity of Paterdomus.
The temple of Saradomin rose above them into the darkness, its upper reaches impossible to see. A black edifice of towering strength that had long provided the first line of defense against the horrors that lay across the river.
Kara shared a glance with Gar’rth, and she felt Theodore’s gaze upon her.
But Gar’rth shook his head near imperceptibly, and Kara loosened the grip on her reins.
“Can you prepare the blood mark tonight?” Despaard asked Reldo as they approached the great wooden doors.
“I can, my lord,” the archivist replied. “Though I would be grateful of something to eat first.”
“You shall have it my friends,” Martin said from the head of the column as he dismounted from his mule. “The monks have been working since they received news of your journey. There is fresh bread, cheese, soups, roasted poultry and even wine.” The young man approached the door and banged the heavy knocker several times.
“We must try to make contact with Morytania tonight,” Despaard said grimly. “We cannot waste a moment.”
Reldo nodded.
“We must test the blood mark, before the embassy proceeds,” he said as several monks appeared in response to Martin’s summons.
“Then I will cross the river first to see if it works,” Gar’rth said.
“No, Gar’rth,” Albertus stated as he was helped from his steed by the monks. “It must be a valid test. The recipient must be… human.” The werewolf peered at him for a moment, then nodded.
The remaining escort took care of the animals as the embassy advanced slowly and with aching legs up the steep flight of black stone steps, then through the enormous doors. Across the cavernous interior stood an altar to Saradomin, larger than any Kara had ever seen. Even Theodore seemed impressed.
To one side, under the great stone arches that bordered the nave, a long table with a white cloth had been set up, illuminated with silver candles and laden with the food Martin had promised.
“Many of our order are in Varrock,” Drezel told them as the group was invited to sit and eat. “They will arrive in a day or two with enough supplies to see us through the winter. When the snows come, Silvarea is impassable.”
“This must be a lonely vigil,” Doric muttered as he took his first drink from his goblet of wine.
“It has been known to drive men mad,” Drezel noted with a sigh. “There was a time, according to our records, when serving at Paterdomus was regarded as an honour among the youth of Misthalin. Boys would come here, too young to shave, and they would leave as men, having learned to face their fears and to serve their god with honour.”
Lord William raised a critical eyebrow before hiding his expression behind his wine goblet. Drezel shook his head sorrowfully.
“I fear Paterdomus has been long neglected by rulers and the people alike. For many, the danger from The Wilderness has surpassed the threat from Morytania. Yet that is a serious lapse of judgement. Few are we who guard the east now.”
Kara finished her first goblet of wine in silence, she was too tired to talk now. As she buttered her bread, she watched Reldo finish wolfing down his food, then stand and step to the altar. The young man read to himself from a leather-bound book, and then examined a silver knife intently, before turning his attention to a silver chalice the monks had provided that stood upon the altar.
She had only taken her first spoonful of soup when Reldo looked up excitedly.
“I think I’m ready,” he announced. “Who wishes to test it?”
“So quickly?” Ruthven asked sceptically. “You must be certain it is correct.”
“It is a simple enough ward, in truth,” Reldo explained. “A slight cut on your palm to draw blood, which is then washed in Salve water and blessed by a monk of Saradomin. It serves to demonstrate that the bearer is human, an outsider and that they are to be protected by Saradomin’s blessing.” He handed Drezel a piece of parchment.
“Are you certain it will work, Reldo?” Kara asked. “At the Parliament you had your doubts.”
Reldo smiled sheepishly.
“Usually it is the other way around Kara-Meir. I am often the one who is accused of believing in legends rather than fact, but Papelford gave me this book before we left Varrock. He keeps his own library, you see, one that I am not yet allowed to view.” The archivist shook his head irritably. “It is what he regards as my apprenticeship. I am only permitted to catalogue the works in the palace library, help ascertain their true origin, and build an index of subjects for quicker reference. It is tiresome work.”
“Which books does he keep in his own library?” Castimir asked with interest.
“Proper books,” Reldo replied. “Books that are known to be valuable in the war against Morytania. Not the waffle I am forced to wade through-”
“Enough!” Despaard commanded from the head of the table. “Papelford has toiled for more years than you have drawn breath Reldo. He can be abrasive at times, and highly defensive of his library, but you know how old he is. I doubt he will be with us for too much longer, and then a new archivist will be needed.” He fixed the young man with his dour stare. “Someone who understands the basics, Reldo, someone who knows the books and remembers what he reads.
“You would do well to prove yourself.”
Reldo turned away, embarrassed.
“So who will test the blood mark?” Ruthven asked.
There was a brief pause.
“I would not object,” Albertus said. “I am old, yet I am human. If it goes awry, then I have the least to lose.”
“That is noble indeed,” Ruthven said. “But I would rather send someone who has a decent chance of escape, someone younger. What I propose is this-”
“Just outside the temple there is a bridge to the other side of the river. The bridge is hallowed ground. Once upon it, the tester will be safe. Whoever chooses to test it will step onto the opposite bank… and wait.
“Then we shall see how Morytania responds. The bridge will only be a few steps away.”
“Wait for Morytania to respond? What if no one answers? You could be doing the same thing every night for months,” William observed.
“There is a gong upon the eastern terrace that overlooks the bridge from above,” Drezel replied. “We can sound that to draw their attention.” The monk shook his head. “I have to say that no one has sounded that gong for many a year. Here, we like the silence, for it cannot be wise to draw the attention of the dead to the living. Nonetheless, who will go to test the blood mark?”
An awkward silence fell as the party thought on Drezel’s words. Kara saw Theodore look to her briefly, his eyes calm, as if he was reaching the conclusion of a long thought. She saw him turn to Despaard, drain his goblet, and prepare to speak.
“I will go,” Kara announced, pre-empting Theodore’s words. “I am fast enough-probably more so than anyone else here.”
“And I shall be behind you, Kara,” Drezel said. “I have crossed before and know what to expect, and I am a fast runner, as well. But we must be cautious, for if the ravenous appear, then I doubt the blood mark will offer any protection.”
“The ravenous?” Arisha asked.
“They are vampires who have been driven mad by their hunger,” Drezel explained. “Often they are so old they have forgotten all language and identity, and have been abandoned by their masters to starve in the swamps. They are rarely seen this far north, yet we should still be cautious.”
“Then the rest of us will watch from the terrace above the bridge,” Despaard said. “The escort has bows and arrows and will cover you as best they can. You just be ready to run, Kara, not to fight. Remember that, no matter what you feel out there.”
Quickly, ignoring the desperate looks of Theodore and Gar’rth, she stepped to the altar and held her right hand out to Reldo. The archivist held it in his clammy grip, the silver knife hovering above her palm.
“This might hurt a little…” he said as he made a small cut. Kara watched unmoved as a tiny red line grew in strength. Reldo then washed her hand in water poured from the silver chalice.
“Now, Drezel, you must bless the mark. Call upon Saradomin to guard her.”
The monk took her hand and did as Reldo said. He spoke in a language unknown to Kara, and as she turned to her friends she saw that Theodore was speaking in a similar tongue, his eyes closed in concentration.
“It is the language of the priests of Entrana, Kara-Meir,” Reldo whispered. “Some believe it was the language that Saradomin himself spoke when he lived among us, and that he prefers to hear prayers made in his tongue. I know a little of it myself, as does Sir Theodore, as you would expect of a knight of Falador.”
After a bare minute, Drezel finished.
“Let us hope Saradomin heard my prayer,” he said as he led Kara eastward to where a double door was revealed, hidden behind a heavy tapestry.
…or else this might be a short embassy indeed, she added silently.
She could tell by the dust kicked up from the tapestry that the doors had not been opened for a long time. When they were opened inward, a cold blast of air raced through from the outside. Kara shivered as Drezel led her out onto a narrow bridge-so narrow that two people would struggle to pass each other. At waist height an iron railing ran along the bridge’s edge. The land beyond was hidden in gloom, even to her eyes, yet it was no more than twenty yards away. Below, in a deep ravine, the sound of rushing water could be heard.
“It’s a long drop,” Kara observed.
“This bridge is strengthened by more than stone, Kara-Meir. This is the narrowest stretch of the river. Have faith.”
I have chosen Guthix over Saradomin, Drezel. I just hope he’s listening.
With a deep breath, Kara stepped onto the bridge. Overhead the rattle of a bolt being drawn back told her that her friends watched from above.
“Don’t go far beyond the bridge, Kara,” Doric called down.
“I shall sound the gong five times, Kara,” Martin called.
BONG.
The eerie sound seemed slow to Kara’s ears, as if the air through which it travelled tried desperately to hush it.
BONG.
“Come Kara. Let us go,” Drezel said behind her.
BONG.
She was halfway across when the darkness of the opposite bank began to clear. The shadows were unnaturally deep, as if there was something there, rather than the simple interruption of light. At the bridge’s end lay a small clearing from which extended a narrow road running eastward. Beyond that, the land was covered in dense foliage which hid the road as it rounded a bend to the north.
BONG.
There is little room for error here, she observed. If there is an enemy in the undergrowth, then I will have only seconds to avoid it.
BONG.
Then there was only silence, for the pounding of her heart made her deaf to any other sound. There was no rushing of water from below, no encouragement from behind her. There was nothing.
Kara took a breath and waited for a moment more to allow her eyes to adjust. Finally, she took the last step that carried her onto the bank, into Morytania.
The air was different. It tasted stale to Kara, and reminded her of mouldy bread. She felt as though she was a different country, as if she had travelled very far very quickly, for it was cold here, whereas it had been summer in Misthalin.
“Speak, Kara. Declare you intention,” Drezel called from behind her. She knew he was barely an arm’s length away, on the bridge, yet the sound seemed to come from a great distance.
“My name is Kara-Meir.” She tried to shout but her voice was faint. She took a deep breath and started again.
“I am Kara-Meir. I am here at the behest of King Roald the Third of Misthalin. I wear the blood mark, which the inhabitants of your realm have in times past honoured. My companions and I seek an audience with Lord Drakan.”
The trees nearby swayed in response, but there was nothing more.
For a long moment Kara waited.
“Is that it then?” she asked. “Are we to be ignored?”
Still, only the trees swayed.
“Very well, then,” she said. “I shall return tomorrow.”
Kara turned her back on Morytania.
She saw Drezel’s face break into fear as something crashed through the foliage behind her, something man-sized and hungry.
Gods!
Her heart pounded and a cold icicle ran up her spine. Never had she felt such fear. Something whipped overhead, a noise like tearing fabric.
“Run, Kara, run! In the name of Saradomin, run!” Theodore’s voice carried over the river.
She ran, not daring to look back, toward the thin sliver of light that poured out from the open doors.
It’s too far away!
Whatever it was snarled behind her, and something brushed against the back of her neck, but then her foot landed on hard stone and even as her legs gave way beneath her, she knew she was safe. She clutched at the iron railing as Drezel’s hand grabbed her shoulder.
“You are safe, Kara-Meir,” he breathed. “You are safe. Look now, if you will, at what sought your blood.”
Kara looked back over her shoulder.
Undead eyes stared back from only two yards away, at the bridge’s end. It looked to be a pale-faced man, with shoulder-length hair, great clumps of which were missing. It was clothed only in a ragged knee-length shirt. An arrow pierced its shoulder. It was a shot that would have sent any mortal creature reeling. But its red eyes remained fixed on Kara, as if it had not even noticed the arrow.
“Is that…?”
“It is one of them, the vampires.” Drezel nodded as he helped Kara to her feet. “One of the ravenous. They exist only to drink blood-they have no other purpose. You must beware, for they are faster and stronger than any human. Such creatures will not respect the blood mark.”
“I have never felt such a fear as that,” she confided to Drezel. “Not even when I first saw Sulla. I have fought in battles, I have killed men and have been near death myself. But nothing was as frightening as that.”
I was so scared I didn’t even reach for a weapon! I’ve never done that. Never.
“There is nothing like fear of the undead,” Drezel explained. “It is something you never grow used to. But still… I have never seen one so close to the river before. We might very well have to destroy it, or else it will pose a risk to the embassy.”
Drezel guided her back over the bridge toward the doorway. Inside she saw Theodore and Gar’rth waiting, the knight armed with his sword, Gar’rth holding Lowe’s bow notched with an adamant-tipped arrow.
“Was that your shot, Gar’rth?” Kara asked him. But the werewolf shook his head grimly and nodded to Despaard.
“It was mine,” the nobleman said. “I have had long and painful cause to be good with a bow. Even so it was a risky shot, and one I would not care to make again. Besides, with the ravenous, such weapons are next to useless.”
Kara gripped him by the shoulder.
“It probably slowed it down though. Another second and-”
She shook her head, afraid to dwell on what might have been.
“Are you certain we are safe here Drezel?” Theodore asked as the monk closed the doors.
“I am surprised a knight of Saradomin questions his god’s power,” the monk replied. “Yes, we are safe here. The blessing has lasted for more than a millennia. It will not falter now.”
“Are you so sure?” Lord William said. “I saw him step onto the bridge, when you had your backs turned and everyone else had come down to meet you.”
Drezel shook his head. “You are mistaken, my lord. There is no way Saradomin would permit that.”
“I tell you I saw it!” Lord William snapped suddenly. “Maybe Saradomin isn’t as strong as you would like us to believe. Perhaps the prophecy is true, after all.”
“My lord,” Reldo responded immediately. “The prophecy is not true. I am certain it was composed by Papelford’s predecessors a century ago, for it does not appear in any texts save those of Varrock.”
“Never mind about the prophecy,” Despaard said. “Did the blood mark actually work? Can we tell if it did?”
Drezel shook his head.
“We cannot. We shall have to try again tomorrow.”
“Then I suggest we all get some sleep,” the nobleman said. “We have had a very long day, and it looks as if we might have another one tomorrow.”
“Very well,” Drezel agreed. “Rooms have been prepared upstairs. In previous centuries they were intended for the royal family, but none have visited Paterdomus for many years. The last time was when King Roald came as a young man.”
As the embassy and its escort dispersed to follow the monks to the sleeping cells, Lord William took Theodore by the arm, his face earnest.
“I know what I saw, Theodore,” he said urgently. “I tell you it was on the bridge!”
“We are safe here, William,” Theodore replied. “Drezel said so, and he has been here for several years without incident.”
“I hope you are right, Theodore,” William said stiffly, his eyes falling on Kara.
He is sincere, she realised. And afraid.
“Ah, you worry too much,” Doric said as he patted William on the back.
Unprepared, William jumped suddenly.
“Don’t touch me!” he said angrily. “Just don’t touch me…” The nobleman calmed himself, gave a sigh, and fingered his silver brooch.
“I am sorry, Doric,” he said. “I am. Please, forgive me, but I am very tired. I am not used to such long rides. I shall go and take a wash. Goodnight.”
At least I’m not the only one with fraught nerves, Kara thought as she followed Martin up the stairs. She was aware of Theodore behind her.
“Kara, we need to talk,” the knight said gently as she entered the room offered her by the monk. Gar’rth waited in the passageway, his escorts nearby.
Even now they don’t trust him, she observed. And neither does Theodore. I know him too well.
“What about?” she asked bluntly.
“About you and Gar’rth, Kara. I-”
“There is nothing to say, Theodore.” Kara cut him off. “And it is childish and stupid, this obsession of yours.” She nodded to Gar’rth in the passage. “And so is his.”
“It is not that, Kara!” Theodore protested angrily before stepping forward and lowering his voice. “I know you were planning to run today, both of you. I am surprised you didn’t after what Arisha did to the horses.”
“Arisha? What did she do?” Kara frowned at him. “She has nothing to do with this, Theodore. It was my decision-and Gar’rth’s. I will not leave a friend to face certain death. But he has made his choice, Gar’rth has decided to stay. He will not run, and nor will I, which is what you are really worried about.”
Theodore drew a sharp breath and his eyes grew cold.
I have hurt him, she knew. Yet I am glad of it. He thinks it his duty to watch me, as if I am a possession. He has always thought like that, ever since he found me. Always judging, always protecting.
“You think ill of me, Kara,” he said finally. “You are wrong.”
Theodore left the room, his hand across his face. Kara exhaled loudly, frustrated, her sudden elation turned to anger and guilt.
We are all tired. And afraid. It makes everyone ill-tempered. I need to sleep.
She reached into her satchel and pulled out two pieces of a broken golden ring with a diamond still whole at the break. It had been her father’s most precious gift to her, for it was his Ring of Life, that had spent its power sending her to Falador, even as her life ebbed away.
She knew she would sleep better with it by her side.