Read The Harp of Aleth for Free Online

flared and the fire roared for a moment before Virrinel began to speak.
    “In the name of Tyr, Lord of Honour and Fiörna, Lady of Warriors, I claim Lord Joran of Nor as my Brother. When we face battle, my skills shall guard him; when doubts assail him I shall speak only truth and when happiness is his, I will rejoice with him. No matter where he goes, he may call upon my aid until the end of time.”
    A whirlwind swept around them, pushing the two men closer together. A voice spoke out of the wind as it coalesced into a humanoid form.
    “As the duly appointed representative of Lady Keiliare, I sanctify and bind these men together as Blood Brothers.”
    The two men stared at the creature beside them.
    “Well? Get on with it, I have a message to deliver and I can’t hang around too long or Lord Fiör will notice,” it snapped at them.
    “Oh, right.” Joran shook himself. “Let the bind be sealed, the cuts be healed and we two forever joined in blood.” Virrinel echoed him, and then they embraced.
    When they parted, the door to Julissa’s room opened and the bard entered the sitting room. “Finally. I thought you were never going to finish that. Good Evening Sul.” She said to the Wind spirit.
    Joran looked from Virrinel to Julissa and frowned.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Part of Keiliare’s instructions only became clear once we met you,” Virrinel explained. “You see when—”
    The wind spirit giggled. “Yes, well, you can explain it later. My mistress wants you to enter the dungeon tonight. She was having a bubble bath when she summoned me, so I blew all the bubbles away! She looked so funny with bubbles in her hair.”
    “Sul, why do we have to go in tonight?” Julissa groaned. “We’re tired. Qin-Dar and Tavia went to check the tunnel out. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
    “My Mistress said that if you didn’t go tonight, your quest would be unsuccessful,” Sul said. “I don’t know what she saw, though. She doesn’t tell me anything.” And with that, she whooshed up the chimney, making the fire roar in the hearth.
    * * *
    As they slipped out of the tunnel behind a hinged bookcase, Qin-Dar felt a tingle in her forehead as the tiny horn formed. There is evil here. She nudged the cavalier’s arm. “Tavia, the dungeon is inhabited.”
    “It was purified years ago, there’s no one here.” Tavia looked around. Now, where would be the best place to get rid of them?
    Qin-Dar frowned.
    “As a Cleric, I can feel when evil is near and I am getting so many conflicting directions on those feelings that the dungeon has to be occupied; there could be no other reason.”
    Tavia rounded on her.
    “Qin-Dar, this is an abandoned library in a cleansed dungeon. We are alone and you are being paranoid. Now come on, we need to check out the route to the treasure vault; that’s the only place that Keiliare’s harp could be.”
    “All right, Ser Tavia,” Qin-Dar grumbled. She followed the cavalier into the library and they wove through the bookcases in silence.
    There’s no dust on the shelves. Qin-Dar noticed and put one hand out to run a finger along a nearby shelf.
    Tavia knocked her hand back.
    “Don’t touch anything. You don’t know if they’re trapped or not.”
    The cleric laughed.
    “There are no traps in this room at all.” Her eyes narrowed as the two of them stepped out into an area with tables and benches. Around one table sat three black robed mages with books in front of them. “Abandoned dungeon library in a cleansed dungeon, hmm?”
    Tavia rolled her eyes and slipped her rapier out again.
    “Can you hem them in with magic?”
    “I’m a cleric, not a mage.” Qin-Dar closed her eyes and her horn grew again, glowing. “ Gadael I y Duwiesau Beirdd arweiniad fy bŵer; selio’r y hud a lledrith yr hai sy’n dywyll ger fy mron i, gwneud yn mwy nameidrolion, agoredi’r llafnau .” She whispered.
    Tavia blinked as the three mages gasped and turned paler than a snow giant.