by Brad Clark
“So do the White Mountains in Karmon,” Conner said. “It’s just how they look from a distance. How can we be sure that it is these mountains?”
“I trust my father and his knowledge of our people’s ancient scrolls. These are the highest mountains in the region and would be the only ones that Hurai text would be referring to.”
“You trust your father’s knowledge enough to risk our lives?” Ryshak snapped angrily. “If you don’t know where we are going, we could wander these mountains for years, and we don’t have time for that! We could have spent the last few days trying to solve this ancient riddle. Mountains weeping? What does that mean? Whatever it is, we could have been on the lookout for something that looks like that. We’ve been traveling together for days, and you still hold back information from us?”
“We are all in this together,” Conner said, cutting Ryshak off before his angry rambling became completely incoherent. “I have to believe that we are more than just traveling companions. We are friends. If not, then I don’t know what friends are. Glaerion and I have known each other for only a couple of seasons, but I trust him with my life. Rysak, I have known for less time, but I know him to be an honorable warrior, even though his mouth can run too fast too often. You, I have known only for a few days, but in that time I have seen what a true Hurai is. You, me, we are honorable people that are devoted to serving the One God in whatever way he asks of us. We cannot go on without being completely trusting of one another. You say we are almost there, and we don’t know what it is that is in front of us. Whatever it is, it is going to require us to not only trust one another but to be willing to sacrifice ourselves for others so that we can find this Spear.”
“The patience of Elves is legendary,” Glaerion said. “Our long lives makes it easy for us to be patient and deliberate in our actions. But there is a limit. When we left your father’s palace, I thought we had this all worked out, and it is frustrating, to tell you the truth, that you have hidden more from us. This has to end here. No more secrets. No more hiding information from us.”
Nikki turned her head as she could not look at any of them in the eyes anymore. Her father’s words hung over her and weighed heavily on her heart. She believed him to be as wise and knowledgeable as anyone, but she was beginning to feel that maybe he was too untrusting of the Elves. They had done nothing since she had met them to earn any distrust. They had not lied or tried to deceive her. In fact, it had been only her that has been deceptive. She was not going to be naïve and trust these three over her father, but at some point, she needed to figure out how far she could trust them. Most importantly, though, she could never let on that she didn’t completely trust them.
“It is the nature of Hurai to be cautious,” Nikki said, choosing her words cautiously. The success of her true quest relied upon them trusting her. She would not lie, but that did not mean that she couldn’t intentionally mislead or hold back important information. She just had to be careful about what else she was going to hold back. If they ever realized her true intent, they would surely preemptively try and kill her. With a deep breath, she continued, “I feared that you would take the Spear and use it for your own purposes and not just to kill the Deceiver. The wielder of the Spear has more than just the power to kill the Deceiver, but he who holds it also has other powers as well.”
“Powers like what?” Conner asked.
“Legends speak of casting balls of fire and lightning from the spear.”
“Legends can warp the truth,” Glaerion said. “The legends you speak of might have come from Human mages who could already cast spells of power.”
“No,” Nikki said sharply. “The legends are of Hurai wielding the Spear using its other powers. Hurai are immune to the effects of magic which means we also cannot be spellcasters. But, with the Spear in hand, we can use the power of the Spear to cast spells.”
“Could such an artifact really exist?” Ryshak asked, looking at Glaerion.
Glaerion fell remain silent to ponder what Nikki had revealed to them.
Ryshak continued, “What she describes is not possible. There is no artifact that can allow a person who is unable to tap into the Web of Magic to do so. You are either born with the ability, or you are not. Even the power of the Ark of Life can only be used by spellcasters. Right, Glaerion?”
Glaerion let out a long sigh. To Nikki, he asked, “You believe that this Spear exists and has this power?”
“I do.”
“If I had known this information back at your father’s palace, I might have considered other options such as not even going after the Spear. Such an artifact in the wrong hands could be just as bad as the Deceiver. Those of us who have the power to cast spells learn it slowly and we figure out how to control it, else it would control us. Someone without that knowledge would be consumed by the power of the Web. When I mean consumed, I don’t mean destroyed or killed. I mean the power would corrupt them beyond recognition. Even the worst Human mage would look like a saint compared to such a person. Given time to think about what this Spear could truly do, I might have not agreed to find it.”
To hear him speak of the dangers of the Spear of Salvation just as her father had spoken surprised her. She thought Glaerion would be overjoyed to hear of the power of the Spear and be even more enthused about getting to the Spear. Confusion and indecision started to creep into her thoughts. There was no doubt that her father was doing what he thought was best, but her training as a Sak’Hurai was to be more than just a warrior who blindly marches into a fight. Kin San, the Hurai warriors who were not elite Sak’Hurai, were trained to follow orders of their leaders. Sak’Hurai, though, were supposed to use all their knowledge and wisdom to conquer their enemies. They were also trained to be decisive in thought and action, which frustrated her as she was confused and hesitant.
As much to herself as to her companions, she asked, “What do we do, now?” Nikki asked.
Conner looked from Nikki to Glaerion and asked, “What does this all mean?”
Glaerion asked Nikki, “Tell us all you know of the legend of the Spear.”
“It was forged from the Tree of Power and therefore has a direct connection to the Web of Magic, which allows it to slay those that are protected by the web and beings like the Deceiver. Once touched, the bearer can touch the Web directly and access its power. For Humans and Elves, the power that they can pull is limited, and if they pull too much, they will feel a backlash and be destroyed. Those that are already spellcasters will be able to access more power than those who do not have the ability. For Hurai, though, it would be the ultimate weapon. Hurai are immune to the direct effect of spells, and legend says that Hurai would not be limited in the power that we could tap into. There would be no backlash of power from the Web. A Hurai could wield this weapon and cast any spell he, or she, desired.”
“So I could cast spells?” Conner asked.
“Do not sound so eager!” Glaerion snapped.
Nikki glanced at Conner, surprised as much at his response as she was at Glaerion’s. She had expected the Elves to be eager to use the power of the Spear, but not Conner, who was not a Sak’Hurai, but he had been trained as one.
To Nikki, Glaerion said, “An artifact with that kind of power could certainly cause massive destruction.”
“Or save the world!” Conner exclaimed.
Glaerion cast him a cautious look. “One should always be wary of any single weapon that could save the world. Anything with that much power might be better off to be just left hidden.”
“Even if it meant keeping it hidden would allow for the destruction of the world?”
“Sometimes even the best of intentions can have the worse results.”
Nikki said, “The One God has a plan for all this and all of us. If he desires to have the world destroyed, there is nothing that you can do about it.”
Conner shook his head. “I do not believe that. Why would he allow the Spear to exist if he did not mean for it to be used? If we ca
n find it, then the Spear might be all that we have left to kill the Deceiver!”
“These are all philosophical questions best left for those much smarter than us,” Glaerion said. “We are all just soldiers.”
Conner made a show of looking around them. “We are all that there is. King Loshin had known the legend before he set us out after it. He knew the danger of it, and yet he told us to go find it. He had to have known that we would eventually find out what it truly was. And by holding back all the information, he was making the decision for us. He was telling us that it needed to be used and should be used regardless of the power that it held.”
Nikki wanted to tell Conner how wrong he was, but she couldn’t disagree with him. To do so would open herself up to scrutiny and possibly expose her plans. Her father did want them to find the Spear, but certainly not for it to be used by Elves. She looked at Conner, wondering if it was he that her father wanted to be the one to use the Spear. His eagerness, though, made her think that maybe he wasn’t worthy.
Rather than getting into a debate, Nikki brought up another part of the legend that she had not told them about. “There is one more thing. There is a legend that says the creature that protects the Spear is immortal. Not immortal like Elves, but immortal in the way it cannot be killed.”
“Only the gods are immortal,” Glaerion said. “And they have not walked the Earth since the One God created us all. Legends and myths are all rooted in truth or some warped version of truth. This creature that we face may be formidable, but the four of us represent the greatest warriors of our races. If we cannot find a way to kill this creature and get the Spear, then no one can.” He paused for a moment to look closely at Nikki before asking, “Any more secrets?”
Nikki shook her head. “I have told you all I know, or all that my father has told me.”
“Okay,” Conner said. “Are we ready to get moving, then?”
“One last thing,” Glaerion said. “When we fetch the Spear, only I can carry it and wield it. I am the most experienced with the casting of spells and if the Spear truly can do what your father says it can do, then under no circumstance can Conner or Nikki carry it. It is too powerful of a weapon, and in the hands of a Hurai, it could be devastating not just to the Deceiver, but the rest of the world.”
“I am Sak’Hurai,” Nikki countered. “I can handle it.”
Glaerion slowly shook his head. “You only think you can. The power of the Web of Magic can corrupt even the incorruptible. We cannot risk it.”
She glared back at him. This was exactly what she had feared. The Elves were going to try and take the Spear for themselves. Rather than try and argue the point and fight against the other three, she would go along with Glaerion. When it came time to retrieve the Spear, she would have her say.
Silence fell over the group for a short time while they finished eating their dried meat and filling their water skins. Once they were all ready, they started back up the mountain, following the course of the stream.
***
The stream meandered down from the mountain with many twists and turns, cutting its way through the soft soil of the mountain slope. Over the course of what was likely thousands of years, the gentle but persistent force of the water had moved stones and pebbles, depositing them at each bend. The water was not deep and flowed swiftly across the stones. At the flatter spots, the ground was matted or trampled as animals of the mountains drank their thirst from the cold water. The brush around the stream became impenetrable at times, so they occasionally had to walk through the water.
Their horses were left to graze in an open field that the stream cut through. There would be plenty of water to drink and grass to eat until they returned. Nikki had used some of the long rope that she had brought with them to keep the horses from running away. To tie them close to a tree would have meant certain death for them if a wolf or other predator came across them. They would have had no way to fight back. A single rope was strung from one end of the field to the other, and each horse was tied with another long strand to that rope. They would have enough rope to graze across the field, have access to water, and also allow them the freedom to move and fight back if confronted with a predator. Nikki assured the men that their horses would not be attacked as there were no natural predators that would risk attacking four horses together. There were too many other small game animals in the mountains for predators to hunt.
Conner was glad that they had not tried to bring the horses up farther into the mountain, as it would have been near impossible to get them to follow the stream with its sharp turns and steep drops. It was hard enough for them. Following directly behind Nikki, he stepped where she stepped and made sure he had solid footing before moving on. He had already slipped once on slimy rocks and fell backside first into the cold water. It was refreshing in the heat, but his clothes still had not dried and were starting to rub uncomfortably on his skin. When they made camp for the night, he would have to take his clothes off and let them dry. Glaerion followed behind him. Ryshak, as he always liked to do, took up the rear.
The vegetation had become so thick they could not see what was coming ahead of them. They slowed down to a snail’s pace as they had to push and cut their way through the underbrush. When Nikki came to a stop, Conner thought that she had finally reached vegetation so thick that she could not punch through. He was about to reach for one of his swords to cut through path when he saw why she had stopped.
Nikki was pushing vines and branches away from a vertical rock face. The rock and the vegetation were soaked with water.
Glaerion stepped up beside them and put a hand on the wet rock. “This is where it begins,” he said.
“It’s coming down the side of the cliff?” Conner asked.
“It’s coming out of the rocks,” Nikki said. She turned to him and pushed away vegetation above her head to expose dry rock. Below the dry rock, water streamed out of crevasses, down the rocks to the ground where it formed a small pool before heading away from them as the stream that they had followed up the mountain.
“The mountain weeps,” Conner said.
“Indeed it does,” Glaerion said
“Is this the beginning of the stream?” Conner asked, pushing aside more vegetation so that he could look up the cliff face. “Where is the Valley of Ghosts, then?”
Glaerion was looking up as well. “We go up.”
“It is a sheer cliff that goes up taller than the cliffs below the castle at South Karmon. And it continues on in either direction for as far as I can see.”
Ryshak had reached them and stepped up to the rock face. His fingers brushed over the rocky mountainside. It was uneven with many crags and crevasses for handholds. “I think I can climb this.”
“Do we have enough rope?” Glaerion asked, reading the other Elf’s mind.
“We used much of it for the horses, but I think we each still have a hundred feet or so. We can tie them together, and it should be long enough.”
Conner looked from one Elf to the other. “Long enough for what?”
Ryshak replied, “I’ll climb up the cliff with the rope and then when I reach the top, I’ll drop it down to you, and you can use it to climb up.”
“Don’t we have another choice?” Conner asked. The thought of climbing up the cliff made his head spin. “Maybe if we travel along the cliff, we’ll find a better way up. Something not quite so straight up?”
“We could,” Nikki said. “But how far would we go? An hour? Half a day? And which way do we go? Left? Right? If the Elf can climb up, we’d all be at the top well before dark.”
Conner continued to look up and replied, “It’s not the Elf I’m worried about.”
Nikki laughed and punched him in the arm. “Are you afraid?”
“I’d be a fool if I weren’t. It’s a long way down.”
Glaerion laughed as well. “Only if you fall.”
***
Ryshak climbed quickly and gracefully. The rocky mountainside above th
e canopy of vegetation was even more full of cracks to use for hand-holds and foot-holds than he had originally thought. To make the climb a little easier, he didn’t carry the full length of rope with him. The rope was tied around his waist, and he pulled it up as he climbed. Glaerion slowly fed the rope upwards to ensure it did not get tangled. Nikki secured the ends of the next length of rope while Conner stood and watched.
When Ryshak reached the top, he disappeared from view and continued to pull on the rope, presumably to find a tree to tie it to. After a few more minutes, he popped his head over the edge and waved at them.
Glaerion, holding the end of the rope, handed it to Nikki. “You first. Conner second. I’ll be last.”
Nikki glanced up and took the rope.
“I will hold the end down here tightly,” Glaerion explained. “Use your hands to pull you up, but let your legs do much of the work, too. There are plenty of places to put your feet to push you up.”
“I did not know Elves were expert mountain climbers. Do you not live in the jungle?”
Glaerion did not take the bait and replied with an even tone. “We have lived in many places and have learned to survive in each one. I am not the expert that Ryshak is, but I do know what I am talking about. Use your legs as they are stronger than your arms.”
“Because I am a woman, I am weak?” Nikki snapped angrily.
“No!” Glaerion snapped back. “Now get moving before I make you come up last.”
Nikki did not say another word and took the end of the rope and began climbing. At first, she used only her arms, and it did not take long for her to slow down and tire. Then, when she started to put her feet into cracks in the rocks and use them to push her up, it became easier for her.
“What was her problem?” Conner asked when Nikki was about halfway up and out of earshot.
Glaerion, holding onto the rope, looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“She hasn’t been this snappy for a while. Why so angry?”
“Princess Nikki is a trained warrior who is given a task for which she is not an expert. When she is older and wiser, she will learn that she cannot be great at everything. In the meantime, she will act like a petulant child at times.”