The Saga of Sargoth

By James Myhre

The good and benevolent king is dying without an heir. In an attempt to save the king and his kingdom, Sargoth the wise sets off on a quest to find a long-lost artifact that is rumored to extend the life and health of its holder. Accompanying Sargoth is the king's head guardsman Fritzman and Sargoth's friend Narcissus the mage. They are soon joined by a female gnome named Gwenda, who had overheard a discussion about the quest and had been secretly following them. The small group struggles through swamps, forests, and mountains while following the trail of the artifact. Along the way, they must fend off attacks by various animals, people, and mythical creatures and find various clues as to where the artifact might be located now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781640039759

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The Saga of Sargoth

James W. Myhre

ISBN 978-1-64003-973-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64003-974-2 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64003-975-9 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 James W. Myhre

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

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Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Describing the World

The Plains of Greensward

Serpentile Swamp

The Fertile Forest

Babylonia

Port Babel

Journey to Ichor

Ichor

Loon Lake

Magical Mountains

Dungeons of Delusion

Mystic City

Pauper Palace

Coastal Road

Sanguinary Pass

Somber Swamp

The Baroque Bastille

Hunter’s Haven

The Road Home

About the Author

Chapter 1

Describing the World

In the far distant future, the lands and waters of this world will not be in the same alignment as we now know them. Many new mountains will have sprung up and many old mountains will have been laid down by the ever-flowing waters of Earth. The rivers and streams of the world will have changed their courses, cut new valleys, and filled new lakes and oceans.

Many of the species inhabiting this new world will have changed into creatures unknown in the present, acquiring abilities and powers only dreamed of now. In a corner of this new world, there exists the kingdom of Saladar. Upon the throne of this kingdom sits King Neurthesus the Sixth, a strong, iron-fisted ruler who has ruled for many years. Even though he is a hard, demanding ruler, he is also kind and understanding of his people’s needs and problems, and the kingdom has enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years.

King Neurthesus had married three times, but he had never been blessed with a son to inherit the throne. This greatly disturbed him, and finally on his sixtieth birthday, he summoned his wisest and most powerful advisers to him. When we had assembled before him, he greeted us and explained, I have called you here because I am deeply troubled. As you know, I am sixty years old today and will soon be too old to properly rule Saladar. As you also all know, I have no son to follow me. And with no heir to the throne, certain factions in the kingdom would soon start quarreling and fighting among themselves for my position. The patrolling of the borders would be neglected, letting our enemies from the north and east easily invade the kingdom. I beseech you, then, to help find a suitable man to rule after me.

Lakona, one of the magicians, spoke, Sire, we have already had many long discussions about your successor but have neither seen nor heard of anyone in this kingdom who could rule as justly or as wisely as you.

At that, King Neurthesus quietly sat down and in a sad voice asked, Does this mean the end of Saladar? Is there no hope to preserve it?

Hesitantly, Sargoth, the wisest of the wise, rose to his feet and replied, Sire, it has been rumored since the time of my grandfather’s grandfather that there exists an artifact from the old empire that has the magical power to keep its possessor young forever. Sargoth looked around the room at the nods of agreement from several of the other wise men, looked back at King Neurthesus, and then sat down.

King Neurthesus stood up and paced the floor for a moment. Then turning, he slowly said, Yes, I too have heard this rumor, but is there any truth in it?

Sargoth sat silently as the urgent whispering died down around the room, then quietly spoke, We have been searching for the answer for some time now, sire, and we have reason to believe that this artifact did indeed exist once. However, it has not been seen nor heard of for many centuries. We know that the rulers of the Nortamerian Empire lived for many years, longer than the average man. Some, it has been said, lived for over three hundred years. We believe their longevity was the result of their possessing the artifact, but it was either lost or destroyed during the earthquakes and floods that marked the end of their empire over a thousand years ago.

Expectantly, King Neurthesus asked, You said lost or destroyed. Does that mean there is still a chance it is still in existence?

Again, Sargoth sat quietly for a moment before answering. Then in a low voice, he said, Yes. There is a shop in a town in Babelonia that deals in old relics and other ancient items. I just received word this morning that the owner has recently acquired some very old books, maps, scrolls, and other writings. My colleague who informed me of this said that some of the items were written in an ancient language that he could not decipher but that he was able to recognize the name of Jonjo V, the last ruler of the Nortamerian Empire.

Excitedly, King Neurthesus jumped up and cried out, Sargoth, I want you to go to this shop and get these writings at once. I must find out if this artifact still exists. You will depart the day after tomorrow with an escort of twenty of my finest soldiers led by the captain of the guard himself. You may take anyone else with you whom you think may be needed. Go now and prepare yourself.

Sargoth held up his hand to calm the old king and replied, Thank you, sire, but if I am to go to Babelonia, I think it would be wise to be discreet about the journey and only take a companion or two. If word got out about the nature of this journey, there are those who would stop at nothing to acquire this relic for their own purposes.

King Neurthesus nodded slowly in agreement. Yes, as always you are right. It would be better if no one knew the purpose of your journey. I want all of you in this room to swear to secrecy what has been discussed here today, he commanded.

The council all stood and was sworn to secrecy. With that accomplished, King Neurthesus dismissed them. One by one, the sages and magicians wished Sargoth a safe and speedy journey, and left. After they had all departed save Sargoth, the king called in one of his trusted officers of the guard and said to Sargoth, This is Fritzman. He comes from a land called Margonia on the far side of Babelonia. He is the strongest and bravest man in my kingdom and is completely trustworthy and reliable. He has been in my service for many years since he first arrived in Saladar. He knows the ways of the wilderness like no one else. I recommend that you take him with you, as you may be in need of his special services before your quest is through.

Looking at this huge muscular man, Sargoth could easily see how he could be very useful in this dangerous trip and quickly agreed with King Neurthesus. Turning to Fritzman, Sargoth said, Greetings, Fritzman. I would be honored to have you accompany me. Let me explain the purpose of our journey. The three discussed the journey and the difficulties that may be encountered. As they departed the council room, Fritzman agreed to meet Sargoth at his house the next morning to make final preparations.

And so begins the saga as told by Sargoth.

That evening, I went to the house of Narcissus the magician and, after explaining the journey and quest, asked him if he would accompany us on the journey. Narcissus answered, My friend, I would be delighted to accompany you. There are many shops and stores in Port Babel where a person may find rare spices, herbs, and other exotic items from the far reaches of the world. I am in need of a few items that the caravans no longer bring, and this would provide a great opportunity to visit an old acquaintance of mine.

I rose and said, Thanks you for accepting my offer. We will be leaving in two days. It’s best if you do not mention this to anyone. Right now— I suddenly stopped speaking as Narcissus looked toward the window and quickly ran outside. In a moment, he was back. What’s the matter? I asked.

I thought I saw a shadow outside the window, Narcissus replied. But there was nobody there by the time I got outside. However, I did find this lying under the window. He held up a shiny jagged-toothed dagger. Somebody was listening to us and may have heard about our journey and its purpose.

Yes, I replied, we had better be more careful from now on. As of now, the reason for our journey is to obtain some rare spices for you. Then greatly disturbed by the incident, I said farewell and went to my home to prepare for the journey.

The next day went by quickly, with each of us making last minute preparation for our departure. There were many things to be done and many farewells to be said. Early the following day, I arrived at the house of Narcissus and we soon departed. As we rode our horses down the narrow street, Narcissus asked, Where are we to meet this soldier?

I called back over my shoulder, He assured me that he would be waiting for us at the south gate of the city. After winding our way through the usual heavy morning traffic of farmers and peasants heading into the city, we turned a corner and suddenly found ourselves at the south gate.

Where is he? asked Narcissus. Do you see him yet?

I peered through the throngs of people and animals passing in and out of the gate. After a moment, I said, Yes, there he is. He is the tall man talking to the guards on the right side of the gate.

Narcissus looked to where I was pointing and saw a tall man in shiny silver armor standing at least a head taller than the two guards. He wore a blue cape over his armor. Embroidered on the cape was an ornate design which shimmered and changed shape as the cape was stirred by the morning breeze.

Just then, Fritzman turned and saw us and waved for us to come over. When we reached him, he said, Morning! My horse is waiting just outside the gate. With that, he turned and strode through the crowded gate, the throngs parting before him as if he was wading through water. By the time we managed to steer our way through the rushing crowds, the warrior had already retrieved and mounted his horse. It was a magnificent white steed, standing at least three feet taller at the shoulder than our horses. It was wearing a shiny silver bridle and a blue blanket upon which was embroidered the same design as on the warrior’s cape.

As we pulled alongside him, he gently nudged his horse forward onto the crowded road. Silently, he rode ahead of us, his huge horse making a wide path through the flood of creatures and vehicles. Many eyes turned to stare in wonder at the towering silver knight and his two cloaked companions as we rode by. However, none of us noticed the slim furtive figure who slipped quietly down the road after us as short time later.

After riding through the mountains of Saladar all day, we finally came to a ridge where we could look down on the Plains of Greensward stretching southward below. Fritzman turned in his saddle and spoke for the first time since we had left the city. We will make camp on that ledge below. It will be safer than on the open plains below.

I agreed and soon we were settled down for the night, resting from our first day’s journey, little knowing that not far above, another person had also silently settled down for the night in a place with a full view of our camp.

Early the next morning, Fritzman woke us.

Why did you wake us so early? asked Narcissus as he stretched and yawned. It seems like I just got to sleep.

The sun has been up for more than an hour already, and we still have a long way to go, replied the warrior.

Yes, I said, we should have departed already.

Soon, everyone was ready to go, having eaten a quick breakfast and reloaded our gear. Fritzman again led the way down through the rocks and ledges and out onto the Plains of Greensward.

Chapter 2

The Plains of Greensward

As far as the eyes could see, there was a sea of green. The gentle morning breeze snaked silently through the tall grass, making green waves and rippling with an almost hypnotic effect. The sky was a brilliant blue with only a couple small white puffs of clouds lazily floating past above.

It looks like a fine day for an adventure, thought Narcissus as they rode along. When he spoke his thoughts aloud, Fritzman laughed a little and said, "Looks can be deceiving, my friend. This may