"Anything?" asked the Arin prince.
"I found some trails that climb further up the mountain," replied the archer, "but all of them are eventually dead ends. There is nothing as defendable as this place right here."
"We've got company!" Talot warned softly as he moved behind a boulder.
Prince Antion, Prince Umal, and Monte dropped to the ground. Talot tossed a pebble at Sandar and the soldier immediately responded. Sandar gathered the bows and quivers that the others had set down and crawled towards the string of boulders. He handed out the weapons and then crawled to a boulder of his own.
Prince Antion peeked around the boulder in front of him and watched the Borundans. The foreign soldiers were milling about looking to pick up the track they had been following before the ground had turned to stone and made their tracking impossible. The Arin prince focused his attention on the lone officer in the group. He watched Captain Xero closely and studied his movements as if that would give him insight into the man's mind.
Most of the Borundans started meandering towards the west as they looked for any signs of recent human activity, but the captain remained stationery. His head turned slowly as he surveyed the entire area and then his eyes rose and followed the contour of the mountainside. Captain Xero dismounted and walked to the base of the trail that the seven warriors had used to climb the side of the mountain. He studied the ground carefully and suddenly nodded with confirmation of his gut feeling. Captain Xero's eyes rose and his gaze paused on the line of boulders. Without speaking, the officer returned to his horse and mounted the animal. He rode a short distance away from the mountainside and then rallied his men with a hand signal. Within a few moments the thirty soldiers under his control had gathered around him, and Captain Xero's hands began moving as he issued orders.
"He suspects that we are up here," Prince Antion announced to the others. "We will each chose a man from among the first five riders to climb the path. Umal, you get the lead rider and Monte will get the last. Those of us in between will draw our riders in order of our position in the line between Umal and Monte. Nobody fires until Monte does. I want to make sure we fell all five of the first riders instead of all aiming at the same man."
"And try to do the same with each successive wave," added Prince Umal. "They may try to rush us or deplete our supply of arrows. If they succeed at doing either, we will have trouble on our hands."
The warriors did not have long to wait. Captain Xero's soldiers suddenly raced towards the mountainside and surged up the path. Monte held his fire as the Borundans raced up the slope. He wanted to wait until the Borundans were close enough so that even the least skilled of the warriors would be assured of a kill.
"Monte!" Prince Antion whispered nervously as he watched the charging horsemen getting closer. "Any time now."
The archer from Caroom waited a few more seconds before letting his arrow fly. The other four warriors fired only a second behind him, and five Borundans fell from their saddles. Shouted instructions and curses ripped through the Borundan soldiers, but not before another volley of arrows flew into them.
The Borundan soldiers towards the rear of the charge turned and retreated, but those in the front leaped off their horses and sought shelter behind the large boulders strewn over the mountainside. Monte scored another kill during the mayhem on the trail, but the battlefield soon fell into an eerie silence.
"That will whittle their numbers down a little," remarked Sandar.
"They will not present us with such an opportunity again," Prince Antion responded. "Captain Xero managed to get some of his men onto the mountainside. I suspect that is what he was after."
"What good will that do?" asked Monte. "As soon as one of them sticks their head out, it will be mine."
"Do not expect any of them to do so any time soon," replied the Arin prince. "If you watch closely, you will see Captain Xero send some men to the east and to the west. They will be searching for a way to come around behind us while the men on the slope keep us occupied."
A few minutes later, the prince's prophetic words were confirmed. Three Borundan riders headed to the east and three more headed to the west. Captain Xero sat patiently staring up at the mountainside.
"He wasted ten men just to get some of his soldiers close to us?" frowned Sandar.
"Eleven," corrected Monte.
"Not exactly," Price Antion replied to the Arin soldier. "There was a decent chance that we would not be prepared to defend our hiding spot. We could have been sleeping or there might have only been a sole sentry. If that had been the case, we would all be dead by now. Getting some men on the mountainside was a consolation prize for him. First off, he knows exactly where we are. Secondly, he hopes that he has us in a position where we can't retreat, and his men behind the boulders are his defense to stop us from attacking and fleeing."
"He would also sacrifice all of his men to complete his mission," added Prince Umal. "There are still more than enough Borundans to kill all of us."
"So what is his next move," asked Monte, "besides the men trying to get around us?"
"I am not sure," mused the Arin prince. "I would suspect that his closest men will send a few arrows our way to keep us awake while the rest of his men rest. He may decide to wait for nightfall and have his men scale the side of the mountain."
"The moon will be full," commented Talot, "but it will rise late in the night. The early evening should be plenty dark enough for us to have trouble spotting his men approaching."
"So nothing is going to happen until dark?" asked Monte. "It is just morning now. That is a long time to wait."
"Did you have an important appointment to keep today?" chuckled Talot.
Unexpectedly a bowstring snapped, and an arrow arced overhead. It fell harmlessly beyond the warriors, but it also brought the seriousness of their current situation back to mind.
"All right," sighed Talot, "this may end up being a long day after all."
"Their arrows are meant to keep us from sleeping here," declared Prince Antion. "The danger is that they well get closer to us with each shot, and we cannot afford to move away from the edge or they will rush us. Monte, I want you to observe their shooting closely. When one of them starts to get too close, move until you can get a clean shot at him. That will make them think twice before continuing to harass us."
"I will take care of it," promised the archer from Caroom as he crawled away from the boulder he had been hiding behind.
"The real danger will come after sunset," the Arin prince continued. "Captain Xero's men will be able to approach us over a broad front, and that will force us to retreat from the edge. This may end up being our last stand."
"Then it will be a good one," Prince Umal said with determination. "There are only twenty of them left, and they will find out that we do not die easily."
Another arrow arced overhead and landed a few paces behind Talot. The Lomite giant looked back, visually measured the distance, and shook his head.
"That was too close," he said softly, "but Prince Derri is returning."
Prince Antion turned and saw his friend crawling forward. He waved the Salacian to his side.
"What did you find?" asked the Arin prince.
"I am not sure," replied Prince Derri. "I found a manageable route around the mountain, but I am not positive that it leads anywhere. It heads westward and looks passable for horses, but I cannot tell if it ever returns to the forests. We could end up just wasting an entire day traveling through the mountains with no exit."
"That doesn't sound all that bad at this moment," shrugged Prince Antion. "Did you see any way for the Borundans to ride up here and flank us?"
"No," the Salacian prince shook his head. "Such a path would have made it possible for us to leave. Do you think that is what they intend to do?"
"They will be coming up here tonight, no matter what," nodded Prince Antion. "My question was whether or not they would be able to bring their horses with them."
"T
he only way that I could see to get horses up here," replied Prince Derri, "is the path before us."
"Can we ride on the path you found?" asked Prince Antion.
"I think so," nodded Prince Derri, "at least most of it, and the rest we can walk the horses through. My words only pertain to the section that I was able to see, though. I cannot guarantee what the other end looks like."
"Are there places along this trail that would be more defensible than this place?" asked the Arin prince.
"Most definitely," nodded the Salacian prince. "The path is very narrow in places. The Borundans would have to approach it single file."
"Then we must plan a retreat before dark," decided the Arin prince.
"And leave open this path for them to follow us?" questioned Prince Umal. "That is not a wise idea. We would be racing along this narrow path that Derri talks about. That is a rout, not a retreat. We must deny this path to the Borundans in some way."
"Tell me how we can do that," sighed Prince Antion.
A Borunda bowstring snapped again and everyone's eyes rose skyward. Talot rolled swiftly away from his position just in time to miss the sharp tip of an arrow as it bit into the rock. A cry from below caught the attention of Prince Antion, and he turned his gaze away from Talot in time to see a Borundan's body rolling down the mountainside. The prince's eyes swept far to the right and saw Monte perched precariously on a narrow ledge some distance away from the flat area.
"That takes some guts," Sandar remarked admiringly. "One misstep and he will fall a hundred feet and smash upon the stones below."
"Heck of a shot, too," grinned Prince Derri. "That should make a few of the other Borundans rather nervous right about now."
"I wonder just how nervous we can make them," smiled Prince Antion as he pulled an arrow from his quiver. "Signal my intent to Monte. I am going to try to make a Borundan jump away from his hiding spot."
Prince Antion crawled across the flat area as far to the left as he could go. He peered over the edge and could just see a Borundan leg sticking out from behind the boulder. He nocked an arrow and tried to gauge an arc that would bring the arrow close to the hidden man. He released his bowstring, and the arrow flew high into the air. The arrow missed its mark by several paces, but the leg suddenly disappeared as the Borundan realized the threat posed by the prince's new angle. The soldier backed away from Prince Antion, but that was exactly what the prince had hoped for.
Monte had already released his arrow, anticipating the soldier's move. The Borundan's scream rolled across the rock-strewn mountainside, and his body tumbled down the side of the mountain. The three other Borundans who had hidden behind boulders on the side of the mountain understood what was happening. They immediately turned and ran down the mountain as fast as they could. Monte tried to skewer one as they ran away, but it would have been only by luck if he had managed to hit the man.
"Are there any more on the mountainside?" Prince Antion signaled with his fingers.
Prince Umal replied negatively, and the Arin prince stood up and walked back to his spot behind the boulder. A few minutes later, Monte sauntered over and sat down next to him.
"That was a clever ploy," chuckled Monte.
"It could only have succeeded with someone of your skill," complimented the Arin prince. "You had to have shot before he was visible to you."
"It is no different than gauging where a deer will vault over a hedge," replied the archer. "All animals are somewhat predictable, and that includes men."
"Well, we need to be unpredictable," interjected Prince Umal. "Now that we can see all of the Borundans, why don't all of you leave on this path you mentioned? I will hold the path up the mountainside until nightfall and then catch up to you."
"No," Prince Antion shook his head. "I want to deny them the chance of bringing their horses up here and following us."
"And how are you going to accomplish that?" frowned Prince Derri. "Even if Prince Umal stays behind, he has to leave sooner or later, and when he does, they will bring their horses up here and follow us."
"I don't think so," Prince Antion replied as he rose and walked towards the horses.
The Arin prince walked across the large flat area and stopped in front of Jared.
"Have you practiced using the Talent today?" asked the prince.
"No," Jared shook his head, "and I will not use it to kill the Borundans. I am surprised that you would ask. You know how I feel about killing with it. I know that you do not share my feelings about this, but it is the way I am made. I cannot do it."
"Actually," smiled Prince Antion, "I don't want you to kill anyone. In fact, one could look at it as saving lives."
Jared frowned skeptically, but he accepted the prince's hand as Antion pulled him to his feet.
"I want you to collapse the path we rode up this morning," explained Prince Antion. "There are no Borundans left on it. We chased them all off, but they will ride up here tonight if they are able to, and you know what that means."
"That you will kill them," nodded Jared.
"Or they will kill us," replied Prince Antion. "All I want from you is to make the path break so that they cannot bring their horses up here."
"They will still climb up here," frowned Jared, "and you will still kill them."
"No, Jared," smiled the Arin prince. "We are leaving this place as soon as you are done. Without their horses, the Borundans will not be able to follow us through the mountains. That is why your actions will save lives."
Jared did not reply. He stood on the edge and gazed down the slope of the mountain. He saw the Borundans well away from the bottom of the slope and he nodded his acceptance.
"I will try to do it," declared Jared, "but I am not sure that I am capable."
"You are capable," smiled Prince Antion as he waved for the others to move back from the edge. "Draw on me if you need to."
"What do I do?" asked Jared.
"See the crack about a third of the way down?" asked the prince. "Try widening that crack the same way that you lifted the sea rocks. You said that you felt as if you were under the rock pushing up. Pretend that you are in the crack pushing outward."
"I can try that," nodded Jared as he focused on the crack.
Prince Antion put his arm around Jared to steady both of them. He knew that there might be some vibrations if Jared were successful.
Jared closed his eyes in concentration, and Prince Antion could feel Jared pulling the Talent out of him. Suddenly, a tremendous roar thundered across the land. Instead of the crack widening as Prince Antion had expected, the ground trembled violently, and a great cloud of dust shot skyward. The prince grabbed Jared tightly and pulled him back from the edge.
"Merciful Talent!" exclaimed the Arin prince.
"Did it work?" Prince Umal asked.
"Sort of," Prince Antion answered with amazement. "There is nothing left of the mountainside on the other side of that crack. It just disappeared. There is nothing but a sheer cliff for the Borundans to climb up now. They will not be bringing their horses up here. In fact, only the most skilled of them could even climb up here now."
Chapter 50 - Hunting the Hunters
Hunting the Hunters
Prince Derri could feel the sunset approaching, although he couldn't actually see it. Overhead the thick clouds hung on the peaks of the mountains like a heavy blanket, cutting off all sense of direction as well as the sunlight. The air had grown bitter cold as the Salacian prince led the group higher up the mountainside and around the mountain to a small trail that dipped between mountains before ascending again.
"It's going to snow," grumbled Monte. "We might have been better off fighting the Borundans than freezing to death."
"I think it will be safe to have a fire tonight," countered Prince Derri. "I have seen no sign of the Borundans following us."
"Perhaps they had better sense than to climb the mountains with winter coming," groused Prince Umal. "I do not see wood anywhere. Maybe you can conjure up a
nice warm yurt for the night?"
"There will be wood up ahead," promised the Salacian prince. "This trail goes through some woods. I saw it from the mountainside this morning."
"How much further is this forest?" asked Prince Antion.
"I am not sure," admitted Prince Derri. "At the time I was not looking for wood, but rather a path for escape."
"And we aren't even sure that this path leads to an escape," commented Talot. "Isn't that right, Prince Derri?"
"It has to lead somewhere," the Salacian prince sighed glumly.
The path was a narrow ledge that wound around the mountain and as they rounded a bend they were blasted by a fierce arctic headwind. Prince Derri shivered as the raw wind assaulted the exposed portions of his body. His eyes narrowed to slits as he gazed at the trail before him. He was pleased to see the trail drop slightly in altitude as it once again passed between mountains, but he shuddered at the distance they would have to go with the cold wind ripping through them.
As the Salacian prince led the group down the incline, he was thankful that the wind had brought a halt to the questions and comments. Everyone was tired and cranky, and the prince could not blame them. The trail was windy and narrow, and it required constant attention to keep the horses on it. In places they had to dismount and lead the horses past an outcrop or risk going over the edge. It was a tense time for all and no one had a great deal of sleep the night before.
The sky was getting darker by the minute, and he was not entirely sure that he had seen trees along the trail. He had seen something green, but not necessarily trees. It could have been low bushes, which would not make much of a fire. When the group reached the low point of the trail, the snow began falling from the gray sky. It started as sparse giant flakes, but it soon thickened and began to cover the ground. The strong winds whipped the flakes into the air and drove them in blinding clouds through the valley. The Salacian prince heard several members of the party grumbling behind him, and he was thankful that he could not hear their words over the roar of the wind. The snow grew thicker and thicker, and the narrow trail became harder to see. He slowed the pace, fearing that one of the animals would step off the narrow path, a misstep that could very well be fatal. The sky grew completely dark, and the snowflakes were no longer visible. The Salacian prince pressed on cautiously, trying to reach shelter from the wind where the trail curved around the new mountain.
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