Free Knights: Defenders of Ollanhar (Ollanhar Series Book 1) by Robert E. Keller Page B

involving the Deep Shadow. I gained
knowledge that will haunt me forever.”
    “You
better go first,” said Lannon, wanting to change the subject. “In
case I fall. And remember to beware of the dark sorcery here.”
    “You
won’t fall,” said Vorden. Nevertheless, he removed his heavy armor and
climbed swiftly up the rope—seemingly unaffected by the dark sorcery—until he
disappeared through the hole.
    Lannon
grabbed the rope and climbed up. It was unpleasant, but the Eye sustained
him—dulling his pain and driving away the menacing shadows that swarmed on
him. Charged with divine power, Lannon soon joined Vorden on the next
floor—the very peak of Ollanhar Tower.
    They
stood before the large Glaetherin safe, with its extraordinary wheel lock. The
safe dominated the room. Vorden had drawn his dagger and was making it glow
crimson with sorcery.
    “Careful,”
said Lannon, “don’t melt it.”
    Vorden
gave him a wry smile. “I’m not that inept, Lannon. I can produce fire
without losing a blade.”
    “Then
why can’t you fight like that?” asked Lannon.
    “You
wouldn’t like the answer,” said Vorden.
    “I
think I deserve to know,” said Lannon, “considering I came up here
once again to try to open this wretched safe.”
    “Very
well,” said Vorden. “In battle, I get consumed with energy and
passion. Consumed , Lannon. It’s impossible for me to hold back, and my
blade burns too hot. That’s really all there is to it.”
    “So
you lack control,” said Lannon.
    Vorden
nodded. “I’m not a Dark Watchman like you. I don’t have precise control of
my emotions in combat. I fight more like a Grey Dwarf, I suppose. There is a
lot of anger inside me, if you didn’t notice. Sometimes I also go berserk and
lose myself to it—just like an Olrog.”
    “Maybe
you could learn control,” said Lannon. “Ever thought of that?”
He truly had no desire to pit himself against the wheel lock again. He was
weary to the core of being defeated by it. And he felt Vorden was exaggerating
about his lack of control. Vorden had a strong, rational mind. He was not a
raging barbarian like Jerret Dragonsbane.
    “I’ve
tried,” said Vorden. “It just isn’t how I fight.”
    “I
don’t believe it,” said Lannon. “I think you just want a better sword
so you can wield more power. That’s what I think.”
    Vorden
scowled. “Are you calling me a liar?”
    “Of
course not,” said Lannon, backing away from a confrontation with his
friend. “But I think deep inside that’s what this is about.”
    Vorden
hesitated, then shrugged. “Believe what you want, Lannon. But even if that
were true, it is a perfectly valid reason considering the dangers we face as
Knights of Ollanhar. Now are you going to open it or not?”
    Lannon
seized the wheel lock in frustration. He steadied his mind, determined that he
would not fail again. He wanted desperately to prove Vorden right for believing
in him, but the wheel lock was a mighty barrier. It had been designed to
prevent anyone but an elite Dark Watchman from opening it, and Lannon wasn’t on
that level yet. He knew it in his heart, but that didn’t necessarily mean he
couldn’t succeed. How talented was he? There was no good way to measure it. The
Dark Watchmen were long dead, their strengths and weaknesses only revealed
vaguely in books.
    Using
the Eye of Divinity, Lannon peered into the safe. Six spectacular swords
greeted his vision—swords made of Glaetherin and charged with sorcery. These
were some of the mightiest blades ever forged. But the other items in there
caught his interest even more—a large silver chalice inscribed with the words The
Essence Cup, a scroll that showed the location of six hidden chambers in
the tower (only one of which Lannon had explored), a book about the affairs of
the Dark Watchmen and Silverland, a detailed map of the portals to Tharnin that
existed in Silverland, and another book that was very thick and titled Shadows
of Ollanhar.