Evil Within

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "Harangar is the legendary city in the clouds," answered Talot. "It is said to have existed for thousands of years in a magical valley where it can never be found. I thought that was just an old children's tale."

  "It is not a tale," assured Winona, "but it is a closely guarded secret. You will not be allowed to divulge its existence. I must have a vow from each of you before we proceed."

  "Does Orro live in Harangar?" asked Prince Antion. "Is he still alive? Will he agree to see us?"

  "Orro is timeless," nodded Winona. "Were he not already waiting for you, you would not be here today. Permission would have been denied when King Gharkin requested it."

  "But we still would have tracked him to this place," Prince Derri pointed out.

  "And you would have discovered an endless canyon," countered Winona. "If you think that you can find Harangar on your own say so, and I will be on my way."

  "You are not afraid of me tracking you?" inquired the Salacian prince. "I am fairly good at it."

  Winona chuckled. "You overrate your skills, Prince Derri. Many people have devoted their lives to finding Harangar. Their bones are scattered all over the Roof of the World. No one gets to Harangar if they have not been invited."

  "And we have been invited?" asked the Arin prince.

  "Oh, yes, Prince Antion," smiled Winona. "You have been expected for some time now."

  "Expected?" frowned the Arin prince. "I don't remember being introduced as a prince. Did King Gharkin reveal our identities?"

  "Of course," answered Winona, "but that is not what I meant by expected. Orro has been waiting for you for years. Let us not keep him waiting."

  "We only have seven horses," noted Prince Derri as the group began mounting their horses. "Do you have a horse nearby?."

  "It is shorter by foot," Winona frowned as if noticing the horses for the first time.

  "I will not abandon the horses," Prince Umal declared adamantly.

  Winona hesitated and finally sighed and nodded. "It will take us much longer on horseback, but it can be done."

  "Jared can ride double with me," offered Prince Antion. "You may use his horse."

  One of Prince Derri's eyebrows rose as Winona leaped onto the back of Jared's horse as if she did so everyday. Just a moment before she had disdained the thought of riding. He wondered just how much truth resided in the woman's words.

  With a look behind her to make sure everyone was ready, Winona led the group to the north. They spent the entire day traversing a series of canyons, ridges, and paths that wound around the peaks of the Roof of the World. As the sky darkened, Winona called a halt outside the mouth of a large cave.

  "We will rest here for the night," she declared.

  "You said it was shorter by foot," frowned Prince Antion. "I imagined that you were talking about a trip of only a few hours. How much further do we have to go?"

  "The trip is measured in days, not hours, Prince Antion," she replied. "I will not be more definite than that."

  Talot dismounted and entered the cave with his axe held before him. He reemerged moments later and nodded his satisfaction to the others.

  "We will set a fire outside," the Lomite said. "It is kind of stuffy inside."

  "Fine," agreed Prince Antion. "Umal, we tie the horses again tonight. I don't want them getting hurt. Monte, see if you can round us up some food."

  Winona had dismounted and stood beside the cave entrance studying the foreigners. She watched them set up a fire ring and secure the horses. Monte returned with a couple of hares, and Jared prepared the evening meal. Winona said nothing during the meal, and shortly after she was done eating, she rose and walked along the trail until she disappeared around the side of an outcropping.

  "She is a quiet one," remarked Sandar after she had been gone a while. "Do you think she really knows how to use that sword?"

  "There is much to wonder about concerning that woman," replied Prince Derri. "I definitely get the feeling that she does not care for us very much."

  "Or she does not think we deserve to be taken to Harangar," offered Talot.

  "But she knows who we all are." Sandar frowned. "How could she possibly think that royal princes of the Land of the Nine Kingdoms are not worthy of visiting some old city in the mountains?"

  "Maybe she doesn't know what a prince is," suggested Monte. "If her only knowledge of the world is based on these mountains, she may not understand much about the Land of the Nine Kingdoms."

  Without a word, the Arin prince rose and walked away from the campfire. He wandered back along the path they had ridden in on.

  "What is his problem?" asked Prince Derri.

  "He is worried about not being in control of his future," Prince Umal said. "King Gharkin easily manipulated us. It is true that he did so for our benefit, but it could have been otherwise. Now Winona is manipulating us, and soon Orro will be. He is not comfortable having his fate in the hands of others."

  "Prince Umal is correct," agreed Jared. "Prince Antion feels that time is hurrying us towards our destiny like a boat upon a swift river without a rudder."

  "And there are rocks in our way," nodded Talot. "There is a certain amount of wisdom to his concerns. What did Winona mean when she said that Orro has been waiting for years? How could this sage possibly know that we would be coming here?"

  "It doesn't make much sense, does it?" posed Sandar. "We are all accepting Winona as if she means us well, yet she is not trusting us very far. She might turn out to be as evil as the Borundans."

  "Audric said something that is troubling," offered Jared. "The tales of Orro speak of a great evil. It is said that the Great Peace was possible only because Orro left the Land of the Nine Kingdoms. Supposedly good can only exist where Orro is not."

  "The Great Peace?" Monte frowned heavily. "You can't be saying that this man we are looking for was living before the Great Peace."

  "There is much about our journey that is not believable," shrugged Prince Derri as he rose to his feet. "Either Winona is lying, or Orro is downright spooky. Maybe I will go ask her which it is."

  Prince Derri left the campfire and walked quite a ways along the path in the direction that Winona had gone. He rounded a bend in the trail and gazed at the distant mountains. He stopped and frowned when he did not see Winona anywhere, and he could see the trail for some distance in the moonlight. He knelt down and examined the path, trying to pick up her track, but he could find nothing to say that she had even come that way. He shook his head in confusion and turned around.

  The Salacian prince backtracked along the trail until he found evidence of her passing. The track ended along a sheer vertical wall of rock. The prince leaned back and stared up at the wall, but he could not fathom how anyone could climb such an impossibly smooth surface.

  Quite a distance above the Salacian prince, Winona sat cross-legged on top of the outcrop. She gazed down at the foreigners and wondered what made them so special. She was not thrilled at the prospect of guiding them to the forbidden city, but it had been demanded of her. She would obey her orders, but she would make sure that they were incapable of finding it again.

  The crude remarks of the foreigners drifted skyward and Winona frowned as she heard them talking about her. When the Arin prince rose and stormed away from the campfire, Winona's eyes narrowed in confusion. She continued listening to the others, and a slow rage began to build within her as she heard their comments about her and the great Orro. She was sure that bringing the foreigners to Harangar was a mistake, but she was duty bound to obey her orders. That didn't mean that she had to like the foreigners, or even associate with them. She suddenly decided to spend the night on top of the outcrop and leave the cave to the others.

  * * *

  Monte had slept closest to the entrance and woke early as the first light of the new day crept into the cave. He rolled over and peered out of the cave entrance to see that Winona had already started a fire. He grabbed his weapons and crawled out of the cave. Winona looked up and saw
Monte emerge from the cave. She set down her empty mug of tea and moved away from the fire.

  "Ah, you are safe," smiled Monte as he strapped on his weapons. "You had us worried last night when we couldn't find you."

  "My safety does not concern you," Winona retorted coldly.

  "Of course it concerns us," frowned the archer. "You would not expect seven men to ignore the safety of a female traveling companion, would you?"

  "I do not require your protection," snapped Winona. "Perhaps in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms it is fashionable to portray women as weaklings, but you are no longer in your homeland. I can take care of myself."

  "Whoa," Monte replied defensively. "Why are you so hostile? It is only proper for a man to protect the fairer sex, but I can see that such a thought troubles you. I hope you realize that wearing that sword on your back will not alone deter some men. You should choose one that is easier for you to handle for those who are not fooled by appearances."

  Winona drew her two-handed sword before Monte could react. "The fairer sex?" she scowled as she held the sword against the chest of the Caroomite archer. "You think men are the only capable beings who can defend themselves? Your attitude is demeaning. Draw your sword and defend yourself."

  Winona stepped back several paces and waited for Monte to draw his sword as the others began to file out of the cave in response to the commotion. Monte saw the others emerging and was embarrassed by his position. He drew his sword, determined to teach the woman a lesson in humility.

  As soon as Monte extended his sword towards the woman, Winona attacked. Her moves were lightning fast, and her stroke was powerful. All that Monte could accomplish was to meet her blows as she pressed him backwards towards the wall of the outcrop. The others watched as the woman expertly backed the archer into a corner. With a final swift lunge, Winona pushed aside Monte's sword and held the tip of her sword to his chest. Her face was red with rage, her eyes narrowed in anger, and her lips curled in disgust. She appeared quite willing to take the bout to an unseemly conclusion.

  "Enough," Prince Antion said loudly. "You have proved your fitness with a sword, Winona. Back off."

  "Why should I?" snapped the woman. "This dog insulted me."

  "That is no reason to kill him," retorted the Arin prince. "You have agreed to see us safely to Harangar. That cannot be accomplished by killing one of us."

  "I was ordered to see that you and Jared arrive in Harangar," corrected Winona. "Nothing was said of the others."

  Prince Antion moved swiftly and pushed her sword aside. He placed his body between Monte and the woman, daring her to strike at him.

  "If you harm any one of my party," warned Prince Antion, "you harm us all. You might as well start by killing me."

  Winona glared at the prince, but she did not strike out at him.

  "It takes more than the skill of handling a weapon to make a proper warrior," Prince Antion said softly. "A true warrior must learn to control his emotions. You need some practice in that area, Winona. Sheath your sword and let us begin the morning meal. The sooner we get to Harangar, the sooner you will be rid of us."

  Winona hesitated, but her anger was diminishing. She sheathed her sword, turned around, and stormed off. As she rounded the bend and disappeared, the others appeared ready to pounce on Monte's humiliation, but Prince Antion quickly squashed the chuckles.

  "There is nothing humorous about what just happened here," he said sternly. "I will not tolerate laughter and jokes about pushing a fellow traveler to the point of bloodshed. Winona may indeed hate us, but that is no reason to disrespect her while we travel together. Is that clear to everyone?"

  Silent nods answered the prince's question. The men gathered around the campfire and ate the morning meal in silence. After the meal they cleared the campsite and readied for another day's journey through the endless mountains. When the horses were untied and brought to the path in front of the cave, Winona suddenly appeared. She moved towards Jared's horse in silence.

  Winona mounted Jared's horse and started along the path before the others were ready. Prince Antion watched her closely, partly in fear that she might just take off and abandon them, but more so because he was concerned that her anger might make her careless. When the woman halted a few hundred paces along the trail, the prince sighed with relief.

  The journey was a quiet one. Several of the men attempted to start a conversation, but it was awkward. They talked about the weather, the terrain, and the animals that they saw. They tried talking about everything except what they truly wanted to talk about. Eventually the group lapsed into an eerie silence as Winona led them through a maze of trails.

  By sunset Winona had halted in front of another cave. She dismounted and let Prince Umal take the reins to Jared's horse. As the group set up the camp, Winona attempted to leave, but Prince Antion followed her. She stopped and turned around to glare at him once they were out of sight of the others.

  "I do not wish you to follow me," she declared. "I will find my own place to sleep."

  "I have no intention of following," replied Prince Antion, "but I did want to speak to you privately before you disappeared for the night."

  "About what?" frowned the woman. "I do not need another lecture from a foreigner about how I am not a fine warrior."

  "You have the makings of an excellent warrior," replied the prince, "but you need to understand people a little better. My men are not despicable people. Each of them has a heart of gold. They have left their homes and their families to travel with me to aid me in my protection of Jared. They ask for nothing in return but my friendship. If their words have offended you, I apologize for them. If I have offended you, I apologize for that as well."

  Winona's brow creased in confusion. The prince's words were not what she had expected to hear. She had heard how the royalty of the Land of the Nine Kingdoms placed the worth of their own lives above all else.

  "It may be impossible for us to ever be friends," Prince Antion continued, "but we can be civil to one another. I truly appreciate your guidance in getting us to Orro, and I do not expect you to suffer humiliation because of it. Rest assured that none of us wish ill upon you. If we do or say something that disturbs you, please say something about it, and I will address the issue immediately. Can we agree to that? It will make the journey easier for all of us."

  "The journey will be over tomorrow," Winona replied. "I promise not to best any more of your men before that."

  The woman turned and walked away. Prince Antion sighed heavily and shook his head as he watched her leave. He wondered if the evil of Orro had affected her and if all of the people in Harangar would treat them the same.

  Chapter 55 - Harangar

  Harangar

  On the third day of riding through the mountains the trail rose higher and higher until the slopes of the mountains turned into a treeless terrain of rock and snow. A raw, chilling wind whipped through the group, and Prince Antion called for a halt so that the men could don the fur garments that King Gharkin had provided. Around high sun the Arin prince called for another halt as the trail passed by the snow-capped summit of one of the peaks. The group ate the midday meal as they gazed across endless miles of mountain peaks in every direction.

  "I think I understand where the mountains got their name," Talot remarked in awe.

  "The Roof of the World," nodded Sandar as he rotated in a circle to admire the view. "It is an awesome sight. Such magnificent beauty is hard to describe."

  "There can be no land beyond this," Monte proclaimed. "It goes on forever."

  The sky was littered with thin wispy white clouds, and Winona frowned as she gazed up at them.

  "We must move onward," she announced. "We must reach Harangar before the snows come, or we will be stranded for days."

  The woman did not expect a response to her announcement, and she did not wait for one. She mounted Jared's horse and flipped her long black hair behind her before continuing along the trail. The men hurriedly mounted and
began following.

  "The air up here is nippy," commented Prince Derri. "It is almost as cold as our host."

  Prince Antion immediately raised his hand, his fingers moving rapidly in horse language as he ordered the Salacian prince to hold his tongue. Fortunately Winona was far enough ahead not to have heard the comment, and Prince Antion sighed with relief. He did not look forward to another confrontation with the fiery-tempered woman.

  The midday meal break turned out to be the high spot of the trail. As the sun declined in the sky, so too did the trail drop lower in altitude. Midway between high sun and sunset, trees started appearing alongside the trail. The wind diminished as the trail dipped into a mature spruce forest. Deer were in abundance, and Monte fought off the urge to take one for the evening meal.

  As the trail ran deeper into the forest, the air grew damp with moisture. A fine haze began to blur the distinct features of the forest and soon a visible mist hung in the air. The mist thickened into a dense fog, and it became difficult to see the rider in front of you. Winona called a halt.

  "Remove your furs," she ordered loudly. "Turn them inside out and roll them up to protect them from the moisture. We will walk the horses in from this point."

  The men dismounted and obeyed the instructions. Prince Antion glanced towards Winona, but he could only discern a black shape moving in the fog before him.

  "Close up the gaps in the line," called Winona. "It will get more difficult to see for a while."

  Prince Antion moved forward, leading his horse until he could see the female before him. She was dressed completely in black, which helped outline her in the dense fog. She waited until she sensed that everyone had moved forward before continuing the journey.

  The fog continued to thicken until the only thing Prince Antion could see was the rear of Winona's horse. He wondered how she knew where she was going. The fog grew uncomfortably warm and moist, and strange sounds drifted in a directionless manner. The Arin prince concentrated on the sounds, trying to identify them. Unseen things were hissing and bubbling.