ZIHAEN, The Shadow of the Revenaunt, Book 2

CHAPTER 6 - RABOGST (Part 2)

The second part of Ghyll's search for the murderers of his family began auspiciously. Bo had regained his balance, and with his old nonchalance he had brought their whole caravan to Mainal's temple in Rabogst-Village.

Ghyll didn't really understand how the young firemage managed to reach a portal he had never visited before. He felt out of his depth with magic, these days. It was all much more complicated than he had believed. Still, here they were in Rabogst, close to the castle where a stray arrow had slain his brother Ranolfe.

Suddenly it dawned on him how quiet it was in the temple. The only sound was the banging of an open door in the wind in the distance. He saw the look of dismay on Bo's face as he stared around.

'Nobody?' The firemage's voice echoed shrilly through the emptiness, as he walked further into the building. The temple wasn't very large and Bo needed only a few moments to find that the building stood abandoned.

'Impossible!' He spread his arms wide. 'The mana-tap is still live! There's no portal mage in attendance and yet they forgot to close down the tap. Mainal's Beard, someone will have to answer for this breach of the rules!' Grimly, the firemage turned around.

'Stay here!' Ghyll said, afraid his friend was going back to Rhidaun-Lorn, to take the Gods know who to task.

Bo snorted. 'Of course.' He grabbed his horse's reins and led the animal outside, into the sun.

Ghyll heard him curse and followed him hastily. As he stepped onto the porch, he saw what had provoked Bo's cry – all of Rabogst-Village was deserted. The little stone cottages along the main street stood empty, with their doors and shutters open to wind, rain and whatever else might seek shelter.

'A plague? Are they all dead?' Bo shivered visibly in the warmth of the morning sun.

Then a horse brushed past him and Olle rode slowly into the village. He looked inside a few of the houses and turned in the saddle. 'No plague; they're all empty, as if folks packed their things and left.'

The others joined him.

'Look at those roofs; they've been gone a long time.' Ghyll nodded to the holes in the rotting thatch.

On the outskirts of the village he halted and eyed the gloomy keep about a mile away. Castle Rabogst was the absolute opposite of Steeklenborn. This wasn't the sweetly colored fairy palace of a wealthy parvenu, but a triangular fortress out of a grim past. No elegant garden but mountains and heather marked the world of Rabogst. A primitive country, good for little else besides sheep and perhaps some honey from the white flowering bushes.

The castle seemed hewn from the rock on which it stood, with the wide rear leading down into the cold, deep lake and the narrow front facing the road, like the mouth of a huge fish trap.

Ghyll rode slowly toward the castle. The unrestrained beauty of the heath fascinated him and he could imagine why his overwrought parents had retreated here. The rolling hills of the Margautainen appealed through their peacefulness. The only sound the wind brought came from the seagulls, whose cries underlined the silence.

'The main gate is closed,' Olle said. 'Wait here.' He urged his horse forward, ahead of the rest.

Ghyll stared at the castle and it struck him how narrow the front really was. At most, thirty feet from tower to tower, he estimated.

A moment later, his foster brother returned. 'The side door is open. Follow me, but be careful. The path is narrow and it's a long way down.' In a row, they followed Olle along the castle wall to the only entrance, a stealth gate that was just wide enough for one rider at a time.