Wh isperersof Lore-Dack’s Way

Tate Publishing & Enterprises

D. R. Polsz

Whisperers of Lore — Dack’s WayCopyright © 2008 by D. R. Polsz. All rights reserved.

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Published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC 127 E. Trade Center Terrace | Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 USA1.888.361.9473 | www.tatepublishing.com

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Book design copyright © 2008 by Tate Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.Cover design by Isaiah McKeeInterior design by Steven Jeffrey

Published in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-60462-299-71. Fiction: Action & Adventure/Fantasy07.12.27

Chapter One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Chapter Six . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Chapter Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Chapter Eight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Chapter Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Chapter Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Chapter Eleven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Chapter Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Chapter Thirteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Chapter Fourteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Chapter Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

∂

Tableof Contents

1

∂Chapter One

Dack waited patiently in the grass . A small glimmer, a subtle signal to begin, was all he hoped to see . He had already spent many hours totally still, and the inaction was causing him to turn inward to his thoughts and motivations . During his entire life he had never wandered more than several miles from his tiny home . Today, in fact, was the farthest Dack had ever traveled for any reason . As the breeze gently moved the plant life around Dack’s hiding place, he began to recall everything Theterm had told him to survive his trip through the Shadow Cult forest .

Dack’s natural abilities to remember and to run were what made him a perfect candidate for delivering the Scarlet Brotherhood’s message . Theterm had told Dack all the turns, twists, and traps he would encounter, and Dack began reviewing them in his mind’s eye . It wasn’t enough to remember directions; he also learned how the Shadow Cult would react to his intrusion . It would be crucial to Dack’s

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survival that he be able to communicate, so Theterm taught him the words that could give him an audience with the most feared leader in all of Storality .

A message of hope and peace from the Scarlet Brotherhood to the Shadow Cult leader would be the first step in returning the island of Storality to its former way of government and life . Too much time had been wasted on selfish ambition by the current ruling kings, and the Brotherhood knew it was time to gather the people for change, both human and otherwise . Peace between all those who willingly and unintentionally inhabited Storality would be forged for the first time, or many would die trying to achieve that goal .

Stories, too incredible to be true, about exactly what and who the Shadow Cult were flooded through Dack’s mind . He had heard that they did horrible, unmentionable things to humans who had the misfortune of stumbling unknow-ingly into their forest . Here Dack lay just yards from pos-sible death, and he had to put it all out of his mind . His job was simple: deliver a message and come home . When put that way, Dack’s mind began to relax as his body tensed, ready for action .

At first the faint reflection had no effect on Dack because of his deep thinking, but as it grew, he was aware that the time had come to act . Between two ancient trees the sun caught the smallest glimmer of steel as a cloaked figure moved toward a pile of leaves . Dack was told that the only time the Shadow Cult was vulnerable was when the guards changed . For a very small time their forest was unprotected as the outgoing guard turned his back and blocked the view of the incoming replacement . Dack knew their weakness and launched himself at the task of getting through their defenses to the leader who ruled in the midst of a dense and dark forest .

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A guard, in a finely woven cloak made to blend with the pile of leaves in which he was hiding, stood with its back to Dack, a good sign that his timing was accurate . He knew that the guard couldn’t see him; by the time he heard him, he would be unable to react . Confusion was Dack’s advantage, for no human would be so foolish as to intentionally run at full speed into a heavily guarded territory full of highly trained warriors . Although his actions seemed insane to the two guards standing at the only entranceway to the Shadow Cult, Dack knew full well what to expect . His lips curled up slightly at the ends as the shadowed jaw of the incoming replacement dropped .

Come and get me, thought Dack as he barely dodged a steel blade, making it possible to begin this gauntlet .

Several seconds later, much longer than Dack expected, an alarm arose from the entranceway . A deep, bellowing sound echoed around Dack as the forest came alive with motion and sound . On the path straight ahead of Dack more guards emerged from huts and hidden places . Within feet of the guards, Dack dropped to his stomach and rolled into the thickets, barely missing thorns grown to stop intruders . While Dack, dressed in light summer clothes and a tight dark green cloak, was able to clear the thorns, unclear words of frustration were heard from the well-armored guards now entangled in their own trap .

Sliding down a small hill to another path, Dack found that not all the guards were stuck, but that was to be expected . Picking up his pace to a run enabled Dack to avoid limbs sweeping down to knock him over . The forest itself even gave him a few unplanned obstacles in the form of roots big enough to trip a large animal . Dack’s mind focused to ignore the sounds of numerous guards shouting at him in their own strange tongue .

Theterm had told him that allowing his body to run the

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course his mind knew perfectly, he would not have to worry if any small changes had occurred in the forest . Arrows whistled by Dack’s ears, but none came close, for he had memorized the method learned by every good Shadow Cult warrior on how to obtain a target . He only feared those who did not learn their lessons well, but he knew they would never be given the right to use weapons until they learned to fight as one in technique and ability .

Ahead, Dack saw the one thing he longed to see: an obsidian throne carved from a single large stone . Its dark features combined with the dim lighting gave the illusion of a hand rising from the forest floor . Finely detailed, the throne was the centerpiece for the Shadow Cult people, the place where their brand of justice was dispensed . Dack knew little except what Theterm had told him about the Shadow Cult, but he was impressed with what he saw of their crafts-manship and well-trained warriors . Something about their way of life appealed to him, called him to join them, but he had a task to do on behalf of the Brotherhood .

Circling the throne were hut-like houses made of wood and roofed with leaves . Impressive, Dack thought, but real-ized he didn’t have time to study their architecture; he was moving too quickly to see much more than blurred browns and greens . With guards closing in on him, many other Shadow Cult gathered their nerve to view the intruder who so callously invaded their part of the island . Dack knew that he had only moments until he would be surrounded entirely by an inescapable band of flashing metal .

Ducking under several outstretched weapons, Dack landed roughly on his knees in front of the throne . A strange sense flowed through his mind, like he had come home to a house filled with strangers . Many swords were trained at him, their points mere inches from his sweat-soaked skin .

“Minwa!” Dack shouted . “Minwa par Orex!” he called loudly while trying to catch his breath . Those surrounding

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him pulled back and looked at each other in astonishment . Strange words made Dack realize just how little of their language he really knew . “Minwa par Orex,” he said calmly but insistently . After some words, the guards moved back to allow a tall, thin individual closer to Dack . The official-looking figure was covered in a dull grey robe that hid all of his features .

“Minwa par Orex?” questioned the official calmly, his face completely obscured by the hood of his robe .

“Orex,” demanded Dack .The official moved forward to within inches of Dack’s

ear . “You may drop the false pretense, human; sanctuary is only given by Orex to our own kind . You are nothing but human .” The official laughed as he pulled back his hood to reveal his gaunt, pale face . His deep black eyes locked with Dack’s, who, for the first time, felt his confidence shake .

“You speak the human tongue?” asked Dack, honestly bewildered .

The official nodded and motioned to guards to have Dack pushed down to the ground .

“Will you kill me without an audience with your king, Orex?” Dack shouted as he struggled to gain his freedom without success .

“Yes, human . If we allowed humans free rein in our forests, then more would die than already do at your hands,” said the official coolly . “I promise you won’t feel a thing . We are quite skilled at removing heads . I am sure you have heard that before, have you not?”

Dack swallowed hard and determined that he would suffer in silence . The official motioned again, and Dack could feel strong hands pulling his hair . Suddenly, the hands loosened their grip as the official spoke to the guards; Dack was put back on his feet .

“The mark you bear on your neck, how did you come by it?” asked the official .