Jace lit up a pipe, took a puff, and blew a poorly constructed smoke ring. "Hmm…I've never quite mastered that skill. Anyway, looks like our young friend won't be getting any of Dremlock's rice pudding after all."
Lannon glared at Jace, thinking Jace didn't seem to care about anyone. But Jace merely smiled back at him. Lannon looked away.
They simply sat and waited for Cordus and the others to return.
Jace drummed his fingers on the table. "I do hope we can wrap this up soon. I'm getting rather hungry."
"I'm worried about my friend!" Vorden snarled. "Not food."
"Of course you are, Squire," said Jace, winking at Vorden. "But I, however, am not. I'm too old to worry about people the way you do. People do all kinds of bizarre things, you know. They have and they will, simply because they can."
"You don't look old at all," said Aldreya.
"But I am old," said Jace. "And when you get to be my age, something funny happens. You stop caring so much about what people do and merely accept it as part of life. You actually do care…but you don't take it so personally when people make bad choices. It's hard to explain. But age definitely has its benefits."
"Cordus cares," said Taris, lifting his head. "And quite deeply. He is a very emotional man. Right now he feels betrayed and hurt. In all his years, Cordus had never been presented with a red candle from a Squire. It is a shame that our Lord Knight had to witness a young hopeful turn against Dremlock."
"What will become of Timlin?" said Lannon.
"The Blood Legion may take him in," said Taris. "Timlin will then plot against Dremlock. If it comes to it, we will have to kill him."
"I won't kill him!" Vorden said, his eyes wide. "He's still my friend. And I can't believe that lighting a stupid candle matters so much."
"The red candle is an ancient ritual," said Taris. "Sometimes the red candle is left with a note. Sometimes it is presented to the Lord Knight by a messenger. Regardless, the red candle is symbolic of a Knight's intent to join the Blood Legion."
"But Timlin needs help," said Vorden. "We all agreed on that."
"It doesn't matter now," said Taris. "Timlin has chosen his fate."
"I just need to talk to him alone," said Vorden. "I know I can convince him to abandon this nonsense."
Taris shook his head. "No, Vorden. He is probably lost to us forever. He swore an oath that Dremlock takes very seriously. He must have planned for it…studied it. Rumors will soon spread across Silverland of Timlin's oath, and the Blood Legion may seek him out. Aside from being highly talented, he is also Lannon's friend and knows some of Lannon's secrets. The Blood Legion will at least be interested in questioning him-and they might even accept him as a member."
"Then why didn't we take him prisoner?" said Lannon.
"The Laws allow for him to leave the kingdom," said Taris. "He is granted that one chance to change his ways. But he won't likely change. He will find the Blood Legion, or their Soldiers will find him. I'm certain of it."
***
After the rest of the High Council had returned, Cordus said, "The issue with Timlin Woodmaster is done with. He has chosen his fate and we shall not speak of it again. Now we shall discuss the issue of the demon man."
"Of course," said Jace. "He is once again in the Deep Forge, bound to a table with Birlote rope. He is being administered a powerful sleep potion. At this point, he is quite harmless. But there is still a great danger. His gauntlet-this Hand of Tharnin-is very difficult to remove. If a mistake is made, it will release a blast of fire that can kill anyone who is near it. Also, the gauntlet chooses its master, and it favors men or women of great knowledge. That being the case, I suggest the attempt to remove it be made by someone younger, such as a Squire. But not Lannon. Lannon's power will greatly tempt the gauntlet. Regardless, it will be very dangerous."
"I will do it!" Aldreya said eagerly.
"Let me do it!" said Vorden.
Jerret said nothing, looking a bit sheepish.
Jace considered the requests. "While I admire your courage, Aldreya, you are quite talented in the use of sorcery. That too could draw the gauntlet to you. I would favor Vorden in this case, as his sorcery is probably much weaker."
"What about another Squire altogether?" said Taris. "There are plenty of highly ranked Squires we can choose from."
"But I want to do it," said Vorden.
"Vorden might be a fine choice," said Jace. "He's not old enough to bear much knowledge, yet he's quite large and strong for his age. It will take considerable strength and lock picking ability to remove the gauntlet."
Cordus nodded. "I suppose that makes him almost the perfect choice, then. But Vorden is a very talented fighter. Won't the gauntlet find that appealing?"
"I highly doubt it," Jace said. "I should think it would be far more interested in magical ability than simple combat skills. My guess is that it would find Vorden quite unappealing."
"But that's a mere guess, correct?" said Taris.
"Well, yes," said Jace, looking uncertain for a moment. Then he smiled reassuringly. "Look, my friends, no matter who we pick, there is a danger. If you know of a younger Squire that possesses Vorden's strength and lock picking ability, then we can use him. It matters not."
Cordus shrugged. "Vorden seems to meet the requirements, and he seems to have no fear of the task. I think he will do fine."
"He showed great heroism," said Krissana, "when he attacked the demon man and pierced his defenses. I think he's earned the chance to do this task."
"He doesn't seem to fear the demon man," said Trenton, "whereas most of the Squires I've chatted with seem terrified of him."
"I'm not afraid of him in the slightest," said Vorden.
"Yet some fear is a good thing," said Taris.
"I'll be very careful," said Vorden.
"Very good," said Cordus, sounding impatient. "So is the High Council satisfied that the three issues have been resolved? Vorden shall keep his sword and he shall attempt to remove the demon man's gauntlet. And Timlin Woodmaster is stripped of all rank and forever banished from Dremlock. Does anyone want to vote on these issues, or are we all in agreement?"
The High Council was in unanimous agreement on all three issues.
Chapter 9: The Hand of Tharnin
It was decided that Vorden would be accompanied by Jace, Taris, a highly skilled Olrog blacksmith named Hench Ironfingers, and Lannon, who was instructed to use his Eye of Divinity from a distance to alert Vorden to danger. No one else was allowed inside the stone chamber where the demon man was bound to an iron table. Jace showed Vorden and Hench drawings of the gauntlet's locking mechanism, and they discussed what needed to be done. Finally, Hench provided Vorden with some advanced tools that he'd forged just for the task. Vorden beamed with pride and confidence.
Lannon was still reeling from what had happened to Timlin, but he couldn't help but look with admiration upon Vorden. The lad from the city of Gravendar was becoming an important figure at Dremlock. Lannon was certain that Vorden was going to become one of the greatest Knights ever to serve Dremlock. While Vorden was a bit reckless and didn't mind breaking a few rules, he had a noble, courageous spirit. The Knights seemed to treat him almost as an equal-perhaps due to his size, which had increased significantly since he'd been training at Dremlock, but also because of his unmatched confidence.
The room was small, and Lannon stood in a corner as far away from the demon man as possible. Jace, Taris, and Hench also stood as far back as possible. Thanks to a smoldering furnace, the room was quite hot. The heat was for the demon man's benefit, as he seemed to weaken drastically-to the point of being near death-when deprived of fire. The Knights didn't want to kill him, if possible. Rather, they wanted him free of the gauntlet's possession so they could question him.