The morning dawned on the latest day of their journey and Ydari could tell roughly where they were based on the geography around them. Far to the south a dark ribbon of trees indicated the tell-tale mass of the Melethynne Forest. Ydari recalled the hard slog it had been to traverse its slopes and secretly pondered why they had not chosen this particular means of travel. With a shrug he dismissed the thought from his mind as he turned his gaze northwards. On the horizon the southernmost peaks of the Belegraad were visible, the same mountains that could be seen on the road to Tirgaal.
As the barge toiled on Ydari saw that the river wound northwards in a huge arc and with each passing hour the mountains loomed ever closer. Ydari stared at the frosted summits while his companions milled about on the deck or chatted with each other and the members of the crew. He found himself almost drawn to the serene display and deep inside his consciousness the impossibly ancient voice reached out to him. This time it was different however. It was almost as if the voice had been carried on the southerly wind and the pull to disembark the vessel and head northwards became almost irresistible. Ydari ignored the imagined call to him and turned his back on the picturesque view as Raelynne sidled over to him and leant against the railing. They stood in silence for a few moments as Raelynne looked at him. Ydari squirmed under her gaze uncomfortably before finally his patience waned and he looked at the mage questioningly.
“You sensed it, didn’t you?” Raelynne asked cryptically.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t…” Ydari began hesitantly but as he spoke the same mysterious call tugged at him on the edge of his subconscious.
“That’s what I’m talking about. You forget Ydari that I’m a mage and I can sense magical power. Something is in those mountains and it’s calling out. I also wear a medallion that’s attuned to detect the touch of Dragon-Kind and it’s vibrating; telling me that something has been awoken.”
“Just how does that work precisely? And don’t give me the, ‘trust me it just does’ speech.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you,” Raelynne exasperated after a long pause. “My father made this medallion and he told me he found the ruins of an ancient forge. He didn’t know how the ancients used it but legend says Althanir crafted Dragons from the heart of the earth itself; that he poured molten rock into the veins and arteries of his first creations and they became Dragons. That is why they can breathe fire. Anyway, my father made this medallion from the solidified metal found there and it’s reacted this way to other artefacts,” the mage explained. “And certain people,” she added hesitantly, briefly glancing at Ydari before looking away.
“Well, I concede there is a strange logic to your explanation but I’m not going to go rambling through the countryside because I thought I could hear voices and had wild dreams.”
“So, something is calling out to you?” Raelynne asked matter-of-factly.
“What if it is? What would you have me do?”
“If it’s calling out to you then it’s related to that,” Raelynne said, indicating the gem shard. “If it is something truly important and related to the Heartstone would you want Trelech to get it first? Besides, what can we really do in Ythelia anyway? We have warned them that troops are coming and we may arrive too late to help. We can do more here, right now, if we heed the call and investigate.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Ydari conceded. He thought for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders in resignation. “You’ve convinced me. We’ll disembark and head to the mountains on foot.”
“What are you going to tell the others?”
“The truth. It’s all I can do. Besides, if it is as important as you suspect it is, I imagine the Draconis Legium won’t be too far behind.”
“Of that I have no doubt.”
Ydari called out to the rest of the Ythelian Watchmen and gathered them on the deck of the river barge. The Black Gull’s Captain looked at them with curiosity before shrugging in disinterest and turning away. Ydari hastily explained the conversation with Raelynne to the rest of his compatriots with Raelynne adding to the dialogue intermittently. After they had finished speaking Ydari was less than hopeful when the faces of his colleagues stared back at him blankly. Even the usually talkative Kael merely looked at him in silence as if he had gone slightly mad.
“I thought we were done chasing down hunches. We know that a potential enemy is marching on Ythelia. That’s where we should be headed,” Lothram surmised.
“We think we know,” Idrahil countered. “All we have is the word of a despot. Not exactly a reliable source.”
“And how much difference could the six of us make when they have an entire army? I say we head into the mountains,” added Kael. “I know my brother and he wouldn’t suggest this unless there wasn’t a reason behind it.”
“Fine, you’ve convinced me. But next time, I come up with the plan,” the Sergeant fired back sulkily.
Lothram skulked back to the edge of the boat and leant against the railings, staring off into the middle distance. Ydari nodded wordlessly to the vagabond, Kael, who understood immediately the meaning of the silent exchange. He walked over to the Captain of the Black Gull and immediately laid on the charm thickly whilst the rest of the company silently gathered up their provisions and belongings. Ydari meanwhile had headed below decks and began the chore of hauling their belongings out. As he reached Kael’s pack, he noticed that it was heavier than when they had boarded the barge. Ydari smiled to himself before resuming the task at hand.
In just a few short minutes the baggage had been hauled onto the Black Gull’s deck. In the intervening period the boat had just entered a wide bend in the river that curved its way steadily northwards. Ydari looked up to the snow-capped mountain tops and a lingering whisper on the wind called to him. Kael finished speaking with the Captain who didn’t seem all too perturbed about the early departure of her guests. Ydari reckoned that she was silently counting her fare while smiling to himself knowing that Kael’s theft had gone unnoticed. As if to confirm Ydari’s suspicions, his brother winked at him as he hauled his pack onto his shoulders. A few minutes later the Black Gull eased closer toward the Northward bank and oars were extended to combat the current that was pushing against them to hold the craft still.
Ydari leapt to the bank somewhat clumsily and he heard jeers coming from the crew. He ignored this as Raelynne followed suit. Her landing however was more graceful and she thumped onto the bank with barely a flick of her hair. A series of dull thuds followed as the rest of the party disembarked from the boat. As they backed away from the river the barge shunted away from the bank and continued its journey upstream with barely a backward glance from the Captain or crew, who simply went about their work. Teobrin however waved to them manically and called out his thanks after them. One of the crew turned and gave an uncertain wave in response which caused the young watchman to beam a huge smile that smacked of nothing but pure delight.
“Well that was exhilarating,” Lothram commented sardonically. “Who’s up for a little hike in the mountains?”
“I suppose nobody thought to pack winter clothing to keep the cold of the upper slopes at bay?” Idrahil asked almost absent-mindedly.
“No need. I have an idea that will help with that,” responded Raelynne.
“Pray tell?” Kael quipped. “If you have a way to stave off freezing to death, I would love to hear it.”
“It’s really rather simple actually,” Raelynne replied. “I can cast a ward around all of us that would trap your body heat in and make you impervious to the effects of the cold.”
“So, it’s a magic coat basically?”
“Well there’s a bit more to it than that, but essentially yes,” the mage responded in an injured tone.
“That’s good enough for me,” said Ydari. “Come on, we’re losing daylight.”
Ydari turned his back on his cohorts and began trudging through the wild grasslands that surrounded the river. In the distance the mountains waited and eac
h time the Ythelian Captain looked upon them the same ghostly voice echoed in his brain and the images from his dreams flashed before his eyes. Raelynne followed quickly after him, followed by the rest of the party. They travelled in silence at first and Ydari could practically feel the Sergeant scowling at his back. They continued over uneven terrain as they waded through knee-high drifts of yellowing grass. Their progress was slow at first, each step was almost experimental as they tried to anticipate the undulations in the ground underfoot but after an hour or so they became more sure-footed and their speed improved dramatically.
Ydari looked back at his friends for a moment and a stoic calm had fallen about the group, with the notable exception of Lothram who whispered his displeasure to himself. Ydari was only able to catch a couple of the choice phrases that he uttered but it was enough to tell him that the Sergeant’s mood was steadily darkening. Even Teobrin’s usually jovial nature seemed subdued. The only member of the group that remained aloof and unchanged was Kael who cracked jokes seemingly every step of the way. The wild grass about their feet clung desperately to their ankles and impeded their progress greatly. Ydari looked ahead and the foothills of the Belegraad Mountains beckoned but the distance appeared too great a challenge for him to complete. The choking grass sapped even Kael of his silly humour. At long last, after many hours toiling through the grasslands, they finally emerged on the other side and the grass shortened mercifully until they could at last walk normally. The land remained steady and constant and the pace of the group improved noticeably as they whittled away the rest of the day, mostly in silence.
Ydari called a halt as the sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows behind the Watch Captain and his companions. They set about the task of making a crude camp and setting up their sleeping rolls. After the busy work had been finished Ydari and his cohorts sat around the campfire and cheerlessly dined on strips of cold mutton and stale bread. Cold expressions were passed around the group and to Ydari’s fatigued mind they portrayed emotions of doubt, anxiety and quietly suppressed anger. As the silence dragged on the atmosphere became tense and moody. Similar thoughts ran through the minds of the Watch Captain’s associates except for the affable Teobrin who was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion where he sat. His shoulders sagged noticeably as he leant further and further to one side until he slowly dropped to the dirt, almost as if in slow motion, before curling into a tight ball and falling fast asleep.
A biting chill lingered in the air as the evening gave way to nightfall. The stars were sparkling magnificently overhead by the time the rest of the group fell into a short and fitful sleep. Ydari’s dreams were plagued with more nightmarish figures adorned in the robes of the Draconis Legium. Their faces were replaced with ghoulish expressions and they reached out toward Ydari with skeletal fingers as if they were seeking to ensnare his soul. The figures in the dream fell away as if they were smoke in a stiff breeze. The peaks of the Belegraad Mountains soared into view and Ydari found himself drifting closer to them while a tiny pinprick of light beckoned to him. As he floated onwards the light grew in intensity until it beamed a vast ray of light that was practically blinding.
The Ythelian Captain suddenly awoke in a daze and blinked blearily as the light of morning greeted his weary eyes. Ydari felt himself being shaken vigorously before the delicate features of Idrahil pierced through the haze. He raised a hand and waved her away as he stood up, his aching back causing jolts of pain to shoot up his spine as he got to his feet and stretched. The camp was in the process of being torn down. Even Lothram was fully dressed and munching thoughtfully on what passed for his breakfast by the time Ydari had begun his morning ablutions. The two men nodded at one another as the Captain passed. In just a few short minutes, Ydari had hastily prepared himself for the day’s march. Idrahil fussed around the remnants of the camp and, at her word, the ragged band set off once more.
“It’s getting stronger, isn’t it?” the mage asked as she fell into step beside Ydari who was eating as they walked.
“What are you talking about?” Ydari responded between mouthfuls.
“The visions, or dreams. Whatever you want to call them.” Ydari opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off quickly. “You were screaming as you slept,” added Raelynne pointedly.
“Was I?” the Captain asked bemusedly. “Yes, the dreams are getting more vivid. Something is hidden in the mountains and it’s calling to me but I don’t think we’re the only ones who know about it.”
“Oh, really? What makes you think so?”
Ydari spoke of the demonic shapes in painstaking detail that had plagued him during the night, Raelynne nodding all the while as she listened intently. The two of them continued to converse in hushed whispers for the rest of the morning and this simple act did much to distract the Captain from the incessant voices that called to him. As such, it took Ydari by surprise when the terrain ahead of them began to slope upwards, indicating that they had entered the Belegraad foothills. Trees dotted the landscape ahead of them and denser clumps could be seen rising in the distance. The going became much more difficult but, in spite of the new obstacles on the path, Ydari and his companions travelled many miles before they finally settled down after another long day’s march.
The mood was much the same as it had been the night before and it was with a feeling of growing unease that Ydari finally settled into his bedroll for the night. His dreams featured the same ogres and relentless summons but it became much more intense. So much so that Ydari awoke from slumber with a start, sweat dripping from his brow and unpleasantly moistening his body. His mouth was as dry as a bone and a pounding headache had reduced the Captain to a languishing shell of himself and, because of this, it was mid-morning before Ydari felt in any condition to continue the trek.
It was with great trepidation that Ydari hauled himself inch by inch up the ever-steepening incline with his companions clustered around him. Idrahil hovered close by as if he had suddenly turned frail and was in danger of falling at any moment. Even Lothram’s scowl had lessened as he took the lead with Kael while Teobrin looked at the scenery all around them with his usual whimsy. At times it looked as if the earnest young man was on the verge of chasing an errant butterfly through the trees but he followed closely behind Raelynne and the rest of the watchmen as they hiked mile after mile. Finally, by mid-afternoon the fading tendrils of Ydari’s headache finally subsided and he was at last able to think straight once more.
As they wound their way through a thick copse, voices from the other side of the small wood made the group freeze in their tracks. They listened in absolute silence and the sound of people speaking drifted over to their hiding spot. Ydari nodded at Raelynne and the two of them crept to the edge of the grove whilst the rest of the company slinked into its darkened confines. As the mage and Captain crawled closer, they suddenly noticed two individuals garbed in robes that, by this point, they were all too familiar with. Recognition dawned on them quickly and Ydari’s fears had proven to be correct. He clenched his fingers tightly but remained still as his hawkish eyes scanned the area ahead of them.
Movement just over a small ridge caught Ydari’s attention as yet more shapes shuffled about; all of them draped in the robes of the Draconis Legium. Directly behind them rose a vast structure that emitted a series of low booms every few seconds and it made the very ground shake beneath them. A stone arch formed a point in the middle while a number of cultists hauled more stone and material onto the strange construction. In its centre an eerie orange light glimmered like the eye of a watchful predator that merely looked out at the world and was waiting to strike. The two men that had initially caught the attention of Raelynne and the Captain moved on but soon more of them approached and milled about in idle conversation while their compatriots remained hard at work.
“What are they building over there?” Raelynne asked in a frustrated tone as she craned her neck to get a better view. A twig cracked sharply under her as she moved about.
“Quiet!” Ydari hissed. The two of them remained still but none of the cultists seemed to have heard them. “Whatever it is, it isn’t a coincidence that they are here as well. They’re after the same thing that drew us to this place,” the Captain finished matter-of-factly.
“I think you may be correct,” Raelynne responded with a sigh. “Whatever it is that they are building is being used to draw in a lot of magical energy. It could be some sort of ritual and it’s masking my ability to find out how many cultists are out there.”
“You can do that?” the Captain asked incredulously.
“Yes, every living thing gives off a magical signature, an aura if you will. It doesn’t take much to reach out and detect it.”
“Do it. We need to know how many there are.”
“I’ll try.” Raelynne closed her eyes and concentrated for a few moments. Ydari could almost subconsciously feel the mage reaching out with her mind and the sensation unsettled him. After a few more seconds, Raelynne opened her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. “Gods! It’s like throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire. I only detected around twenty of them but those ritual stones are drowning out the rest so there are likely to be a lot more.”
“Very well. At least it gives us an idea...” Ydari began but he suddenly stopped talking as something caught his attention. His jaw dropped open and a scowl adorned his features. Raelynne turned to look at what had elicited his reaction. “That treacherous dog!” he exclaimed finally.
“What are you looking at?” Raelynne enquired as she scanned the hooded figures. “Wait, it can’t be.”
“It is.” Ydari replied. “It’s your fellow mage, Feraal.”
The Fractured Heartstone Page 28