by M J Webb
“Ha! What…? Where the flippin’ heck did they come from?” the plain talking youngster asked. Ben was relieved to be able to speak again after having been urged by Tien and Verastus to keep quiet while Jake performed his ‘feat of magic’. His eyebrows lifted a little as he realised who was responsible for this unexpected turn of events. “Oh yes! Jake me boy, you’re really beginning to seriously impress me now. And you know that I’m not that easily impressed.” He slapped his friend on his back to congratulate him.
“Raar! Yes. Well said, young Ben. He is beginning to seriously impress us too!”
Everyone turned around to find that the Heynai had appeared once more from out of nowhere.
“Sereq!” cried Jake. “What you all doing here? Zephany, can you…?”
“No!” interrupted Sereq, emphatically. “I am sorry. We can do nothing to help her now I am afraid. Do not dwell on it though, our time here is short, Jake. Tien was correct in all he said, she is alone for the present and she must fight her own battles. We will soon be gone, you have to listen. Finding and securing the second stone will be an extremely difficult task, maybe even impossible. You will need every ounce of your strength and all of your new skills. As I have informed you already, our time is short. You have a long way to travel, perhaps this will help you?”
All four spirits raised their right hands at the same time. They waved them slowly across their bodies in unison. Ben almost ‘jumped out of his skin’ as the three horses behind him suddenly let out a loud ‘neigh’ and each of them reared up violently, as if in tremendous pain. They settled down almost immediately and Ben’s jaw dropped with complete astonishment; a set of large, powerful wings had miraculously sprouted from within each of their backs!
“Oh for…! This ride we’re on just keeps getting better and better! Ha ha, it’s like we’re on a… Err… Hang on a minute! Does that mean that we’re actually gonna fly there? Oh no! No way. Wait. Let’s talk about this, eh? I can’t even ride the damn things!”
But Ben’s protests fell upon deaf ears. The Heynai had already disappeared. Verastus and Tien were already mounting a horse each and Jake wasn’t taking much notice of him either. He was far too busy roaring with laughter. His friend’s reaction had tickled him and he was laughing louder than he had ever done before, the ‘absurdity’ of what had just happened and what was about to happen only adding to his amusement.
Chapter 12
Evening 22nd August – Near the village of Yast - Nadjan
On the 21st August King Vantrax had been in a surprisingly good mood, an event so unusual for the foul and uneven tempered wizard that it had stunned into silence all those around him, including Sawdon. A close examination of the day’s events however, had soon revealed the true reasons behind his change in disposition. He had finally found the reolite stone he had been searching for and used it to create a weapon of unbelievable power, one which would surely seal the fate of all his enemies and ensure the conquest of Estia, as well as the achievement of all his ambitions. He had resurrected several terrifying creatures from the afterlife, assassins and hunters which were once the scourge of Estia and had the continent’s entire population cowering at the very mention of their names. Thanks to the reolite stone and the evil wizard’s knowledge and thirst for power, they were once again free to kill with impunity anyone or anything that stood in his way. They had been despatched immediately to eliminate his enemies, Princess Zephany, Jake, King Artrex and anyone who aided them. Finally, the wizard had also used the weapon he had created with the new stone to raise a vast army of dead warriors from the Estian soil, an unbeatable force of battle hardened, ferocious Thargws and Falorians, the likes of which had never been seen before. This awesome fighting machine was now converging on his location from all four corners of Rhuaddan and Nadjan. Soon, it would be ready to hunt the rebels down.
Yes, the 21st of August had been an excellent day and King Vantrax was now feeling very pleased with himself. Complete and final, decisive victory against his brother’s army, the capture or death of the cursed Keeper (the one person he thought could possibly possess the knowledge and power to thwart his plans), the retrieval of the fabled box of stones, and the completion of the conquest of the entire continent, now seemed like foregone conclusions which were surely only a matter of time.
However, time had passed slowly by. No news had arrived throughout the remainder of that day and all of the next. The King began to grow more and more frustrated, his mood deteriorated dramatically and, by the evening of the 22nd, though the numbers of his Northern Army had been swelled by huge columns of experienced warriors, Vantrax had reverted back to his old ways. He was moody, sullen and increasingly short tempered.
“Raaarrgghh!!!” he raged at his Thargw Gerada and the Sebantan Princess who stood next to him. “What is happening? Tell me, I must know! Why have we heard nothing? We should have news by now of some description? What does it mean?”
“Krmmnn... Forgive me sire, but was it not you who advised that I should be patient earlier?” answered Sawdon. “Did you not caution me against acting rashly, before I had thought it through? They were wise words. You were right then, and things have not changed. We are in a strong position; we continue to move in the right direction, heading towards achieving our goals. Will you not now heed your own advice?”
Melissa’s eyebrows rose immediately in response to the Thargw’s insolent reply. She was both surprised and shocked to hear someone talk to her King in such a manner. She fully expected the next words to be those of a furious and livid King Vantrax, launching into a scathing attack upon her commander. But to her amazement, he remained quiet and Sawdon who was allowed to continue.
“Your servants, your assassins, will need time to track down and kill their prey. They have only vague reports as to the whereabouts of the rebels and those who help them. The enemy will be found in the fullness of time. I am sure it will not take them long. They will succeed in their mission and you shall have your victory. Graxoth and Sraine have never failed to complete a kill before, they are relentless I am told. Once they are released there is no evading their pursuit and none has ever survived the hunt. All else is going well for us; our own army grows stronger by the day, its ranks replenished with the finest warriors ever known. With each hour that passes we improve our already superior strength. Time, which once conspired to work against us, is now our ally, it serves to help us ensure that we will be victorious.”
“Kah! I suppose you are right Sawdon, but I still do not like it! Something just does not feel right. It is as if... Well, as if I have missed something? I have this irritating feeling in the corner of my mind that just will not go away, it is gnawing at my brain constantly, as if trying to tell me that I have overlooked something, and I cannot think what it is.”
Melissa sidled her way over to her King and ushered him gently into his chair. She began stroking his head tenderly, rubbing her soft fingers through his hair as she talked, trying her best to relax him in her sensual way.
“There now, take this time you have now to unwind my lord, it has been an extremely strenuous few days. Sawdon speaks the truth; everything is going according to plan, you have nothing to worry about. The lords you have summoned are about to extinguish the Keeper’s light for good. No more will this so-called ‘legend’ be used to put fire into your enemy’s hearts. He will not be alive to inspire them. They will bring you the box you covet and the beasts from the underworld will kill that little Princess to ensure the Rhuaddan people remain conquered and subdued. Soon, there will be no one left in this land to oppose you. Now, let me soothe your brow for you, I will ease your...”
“Tah!” grunted Sawdon, loudly and deliberately. He stormed out of the tent, annoyed and disgusted by Melissa’s flirting.
King Vantrax chuckled at the Thargw’s predictable response. “Ha ha, do not mind him, Melissa,” he said, as he shuffled in his chair to make himself more comfortable, “please continue, a massage is perhaps just what I nee
d at this point in time. Thank you for your words of comfort, I believe you may be right. I am perhaps being too negative, just as you say. It is a part of my personality, I find it hard to be positive until the work is done, and this particular task is far from finished. Now, where were we?”
***
The Lords of Srenul had set out for the city of Ilin-Seatt not long after the graxoth and sraine had left on their mission to kill Princess Zephany. Their sturdy, muscular steeds were far faster than the Estian horses rode by their enemies, the incredible animals possessed phenomenal levels of strength and endurance. But, the distance they had to cover was immense, effectively the entire width of Nadjan, a journey of hundreds of miles and a fact which King Vantrax had overlooked.
Unlike mortal warriors however, the dark lords needed no rest or sleep and they did not need to stop for food or drink. By dawn on the 22nd August, as Jake and the others were launching their raid on the City Marshall’s palace in Ilin-Seatt, the fearsome knights of old had already reached the outskirts of Tregustliat, a vast walled city which lay in the heart of Nadjan. It was a phenomenal distance to have covered in such a short space of time, but it still left them well short of their adversary’s position, and the lords knew it. Frustrated and angry, they pushed their horses on even harder but by nightfall they had only reached the town of Tiscar. They were still some considerable distance from their destination.
As they passed through its narrow and deserted streets they were completely oblivious to the fact that in Ilin-Seatt, the Keeper and his accomplices had just mounted their winged horses ready to set off on the next leg of their journey in the quest to restore the stones. They were now heading for the forest of Readal which meant that for the remainder of the Lords of Srenul’s pursuit, until they received fresh news of the Keeper’s whereabouts and plans, the small group of rebels they were hunting down with the aim of exterminating would be travelling in entirely the opposite direction.
***
King Artrex’ ever expanding army of slaves and rebels had moved slowly through the Nadjan countryside throughout the 21st August. The long columns of footsoldiers, wagons, carts and horses meandered their way through open fields and plains, over hills and meadows, completely unmolested. By evening, after a relatively uneventful day for which they were extremely grateful, they had camped on a large, open expanse of land which lay several miles north of the city of Etriol. A long and arduous journey still lay ahead of them before they reached the Southern Army battlelines and neared the city of Dassilliak, but King Artrex was now gaining more and more confidence with each passing mile. He now dared to believe that they would make it there in one piece and he was finally allowing himself to make plans which assumed that they would be successful in getting through to their allies, that his only daughter could actually achieve the impossible and secure their much needed help.
Everyone in the rebel force rose at daybreak to continue their march and they pushed on hard throughout all of the next day. With no difficult terrain to speak of ahead of them, they made good progress and Artrex was delighted to find that there were no telltale signs of pursuit. As they neared the north western outskirts of the enormous Sekanin forest on the evening of 22nd August, the King was once again in extremely high spirits, despite the considerable problems he had yet to face and the prospect of a bloody battle his people were in no shape to fight.
“Chaa... This light is fading fast, we will have to camp in the open tonight. The forest is too far away and I do not wish to move in the dark unless we have to, it is too easy to lose sight of each other. This ground is as good as any, give the orders, Castrad.”
The Nadjan knight looked at his Queen for her permission, just as he had done for every order Artrex had given him throughout their long march. Only this time, Bressial spoke instead of nodding her permission.
“Castrad, my dearest cousin and most beloved friend, you are without doubt as loyal a knight and as good an ally, as ever there was. I know that now, I have always known it, and I always shall. Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you. I am incredibly proud to be your Queen, that is my honour, but I do not command here, Artrex does! So, you will please follow his orders as if they were my own. And I hereby decree that all of my warriors shall do the same, is that clear?”
Castrad sat up straight in his saddle and nodded a firm reply. “I will give that order to your soldiers now my Queen,” he snapped, before turning to face King Artrex. “Sire, I... Forgive me, I meant no offence, I...”
Artrex interrupted him with a slight raise of his right hand. “Carry on, good knight, do not apologise, I hope that in time I will earn such loyalty from you and your army. Rest assured that I do not seek to replace your Queen, I never have and I never could. She is a trusted friend and ally, and I hope to serve you and her subjects well.”
Castrad nodded again before kicking his horse and riding off down the columns to relay the King’s orders.
“Ahem... One more day’s ride, do you think?” enquired Queen Bressial.
“Srr... Yes, and a little more. We may be forced to march through the night tomorrow, we must be in position to attack their army of the south on the morning of the 24th! Zephany will be launching her own attack at dawn, if we are not there it will be a suicide mission for her. All of the enemy’s might will be ranged against her, for they will have spotted our dust from some distance,” he said, turning around to look at the dark cloud of dirt rising into the sky. “...Every available warrior for miles will stand ready to meet us. They have to stop us joining with our allies, divide us, or risk facing a united force which will fight all the harder for it. She is my daughter, I will not fail her, Bressial!”
“No, but forgive me, I must point out the obvious. What if she did not get through? In that case, will it not be us who will be walking into a ‘suicide mission’, as you call it? What if she has failed? What if no army is coming to our aid? Vantrax and Sawdon must be close behind us now, we have not exactly been swift on our march, and we will do well to survive an encounter with your brother’s Southern Army. We may defeat them, perhaps? But a fight with Sawdon as well? That is something that does not appeal to me in the slightest! And I dare say that every warrior in our army is thinking the same. What if Zephany has been captured, or...”
“No! Do not even think it! I am sorry, but you do not know my daughter like I. She is as stubborn as a filak and as cunning as an ucrethe. She will be there, trust me. She has to be!”
Chapter 13
Dusk – 22nd August – River Ugrath - Nadjan
In a phenomenally brave act of sheer desperation, Princess Zephany leapt from her horse, using her strong, muscular legs to propel herself over the side of the wooden bridge before the pursuing graxoth and sraine could catch her. She plunged deep into the river Ugrath and disappeared beneath the raging torrent. It was a fall from an almost unbelievable height. The odds of surviving were incredibly slim, and she knew it. It was the stuff of legend, the kind of deed only performed in fairy tales and used to inspire others to greatness. But, the fearless young warrior was completely alone at this point and no one would ever tell the tale.
She hit the icy cold, fast-flowing waters with incredible force. It both hurt and shocked her tired body. The impact almost caused her to expel the precious air she held within her lungs. Had it have done so, she would certainly have drowned.
She hurtled rapidly towards the river bed and hit the bottom hard, with another almighty jolt. Drawing upon all of the considerable experience she had crammed into her short life to date, she somehow managed to remain calm and refused to let the fall, or the bone crushing blow, affect her thinking. She fought frantically to swim back up to the surface. But the currents that were now ranged against her were incredibly fast and strong. They pushed her down, easily defeating all her attempts to rise, as if they were conspiring against her, deliberately shackling her and sapping her strength.
Having only just about managed to survive ‘the fight of her li
fe’ against the evil lord’s assassins, Princess Zephany now realised with increasing alarm and frustration that a far more deadly foe in mother nature had engaged her with real intent on sealing her doom. The incredible force of this new enemy terrified her more than any she had faced before for she knew it was not flesh and bone she was fighting, it had no heart, no weakness, and it would not give in unless she somehow found a way to tame it, to beat it. Now she was scared. Now she began to panic.
No matter how hard she struggled to break free of the undercurrents she could not free herself. Her lungs were now really beginning to hurt. Zephany was very close to breaking point, she needed desperately to breathe and quickly, or she was definitely going to die!
‘No, I must not fail in my task. They are all depending on me,’ she thought, as she continued her desperate struggle. ‘Father, Jake, all of my people are relying on me to succeed, I will not let them down. It cannot end here, not like this!’
In one final throw of the dice, she deliberately let her body sink to the riverbed one last time. Then she summoned up all the strength she could muster and kicked out hard against it, reaching up with her arms and pulling back handfuls of water for all she was worth, in a last ditch, valiant attempt to break free from her unyielding captor.
It almost did not work. For one horrible moment she actually began to think that she was done for, that escape was impossible. But then, just as she was reaching the absolute limit of her endurance, the incredible pressure ranged against her suddenly eased.
She began to make some headway immediately, the forces pulling her down ceased and she rose swiftly to the surface, not a moment too soon. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, as if they were about to burst at any moment. She broke through the surface and gasped violently several times to replenish the oxygen her body so urgently needed.