Realms of Valor - James Lowder [88]
his broad shoulders. He had traded in his brown homespun robe for the worn leather jerkin and breeches he had worn before coming to the abbey. His swordbelt was slung low against his hip, the flat of the blade resting comfortably against his thigh. It felt almost as if he'd never taken the weapon off. He shouldn't have even bothered trying. The council of loremasters had not believed his tale. “I need no magic to explain these black deeds,” Lore-master Orven had pronounced angrily. 'Treachery is reason enough. You plotted with Kelshara to steal the Tear and brutally killed Patriarch Alamric to avoid discovery. But once Kelshara gained the relic, she needed you no longer. You are a fool as well as a murderer, Tyveris, for she left you to suffer punishment while she herself escaped to freedom.“ The others had agreed. Tyveris would never be anything but a man of violence. Only Mother Melisende's intervention saved him from a sentence of death. But the punishment finally handed down was almost as bad: he was to leave the abbey immediately. Tyveris gazed toward the far-off horizon. The world beyond the abbey's walls seemed empty, as though it held nothing for him. But there was no use in lingering. He started through the open gateway. The clip-clop of hooves behind him brought him up short. He turned around. What he saw made him smile, despite his dark mood. ”I thought you might prefer to ride rather than walk,“ Mother Melisende said in her brusque tone. Behind her followed the delicate palfrey that Kelshara had ridden into the abbey. ”I daresay no one else will ride her, though it seems foolish. She's a good horse and hardly responsible for her mistress's ill manners.“ She patted the palfrey's glossy neck affectionately. ”Thank you,“ Tyveris said, taking the reins. He stood absolutely still for a time, at a loss for anything else to say. The abbess regarded him wearily. ”I know you told the truth.“ Her expression seemed tired, her bright eyes dull. ”I'm sorry I couldn't have defended you more properly, Tyveris, but the others would have simply thought I was bewitched somehow.“ She sighed. ”People can be so terribly blind sometimes-even seekers after truth and knowledge.“ Tyveris shook his head in amazement. ”I really don't think there is anyone alive who sees as well as you do, Mother Melisende.“ She laughed aloud. ”Why, I suppose not.“ Her round face grew serious then. ”This is for you.“ She handed him a small bundle wrapped in dark cloth. Tyveris took it gingerly. ”What is it?“ ”It is a holy relic, a very old one. Once it belonged to the monk who founded the abbey. It will protect you in the dark days to come. And it will guide you.“ ”Guide me?“ The abbess nodded gravely. ”To Everard's Tear.“ She sighed wearily. ”I have just come from Loremaster Antira's chamber, Tyveris. There she cast an augury for me, to see what the signs portend for the future.“ She paused ominously. ”The abbey is in great peril. The Tear was the abbey's heart, and
Microsoft Word - Realms of Valor.rtf
without it we have no means to ward ourselves from the forces of darkness. The evil creatures you described as Kelshara's servants would never have been able to come within these walls had she not possessed the Tear. And now that it is gone, the auguries speak clearly. Within the year, the abbey will be destroyed.“ Tyveris stared at her in shock. ”Find the Tear of Everard. Prove to the others what I already know about you.“ Tyveris sighed gravely. ”But how can I defeat Kelshara? All my years as a warrior meant nothing against her magic.“ A mysterious expression touched Melisende's face. ”Yes, but you possess something else, Tyveris, something she does not.“ ”Aren't you going to tell me what it is?“ She considered him carefully for a moment. ”I think that's something you must discover for yourself.“ She pressed his fingers closed on the holy relic. ”Remember. This will protect you and guide the way." Without another word she turned and walked swiftly across the courtyard, disappearing into the abbey. Once again Tyveris was alone, though not so completely