When he finished, no one spoke. All three simply stared at him. Looking from one to another Logan finally let his gaze settle on El.
“As you can see,” he finished. “I’ve never known exactly what I was.”
Logan let his gaze drift to Raeth.
“So, El, you’re right,” he said flatly. “Raeth is a much better example of the human race than I could ever be.”
Raeth met his gaze, her nod almost imperceptible. They understood each other. It was Raeth’s choice with whom and when she shared her secrets. She had nothing to fear from Logan.
“The reason I asked,” El began. “Well, I don’t know if it was just me, but there seemed to be a rather striking resemblance between you and that ogre we met in the swamp.”
“Thanks, El,” Logan responded in mock offence. “I know I’m not exactly pretty, but I didn’t think I was that ugly.”
Logan couldn’t hold his offended expression and broke out laughing, Lan’thor and Raeth sputtered along with him as El reddened in embarrassment.
“That’s … that’s not what I meant,” she stammered. “I meant your … your … body shape.”
“Sure, sure El’dreathia,” joked Lan. “It’s too late now.”
“No, really Logan,” she pleaded, ignoring the others and moving in front of Logan. “I meant your body shape. You know that right? I didn’t mean …”
“Don’t worry about it El,” Logan consoled. “We’re just teasing you. I know what you meant.”
El studied his eyes for a moment more before forcing herself to relax.
“You’re right,” Logan continued. “Except for the obvious size difference, the body structures were very much the same.”
“Not to mention some of the mannerisms,” commented El.
Logan arched his brow at her and Lan’thor and Raeth sputtered in laughter again. El breathed out heavily in frustration and glared at them.
“Don’t start with me again,” she said crossly. “All I meant is that the howling and chest pounding seemed mighty familiar to something I saw you doing, Logan.”
Now that she mentioned it, Logan realized she was right. Memories of his fight in the goblin camp came back to him. A feral smile spread across his lips as he remembered the primal feeling, the satisfaction at beating his foes and the final howl of pride and power as he beat his chest in glory.
Yeah, he thought. Very much like the ogre they’d met in the swamp. What was it that the ogre had called him?
“Little ogre,” he whispered to himself.
“What was that?” asked Lan’thor.
Logan looked up in surprise.
“What?”
“You just said something.”
“Oh, that, little ogre,” he clarified. “It’s what the ogre in the swamp called me.”
Raeth leaned forward conspiratorially.
“Don’t take this wrong Logan, but if you’re an ogre you seem to be lacking in some vital areas, lacking limbs the size of tree trunks for example. Not to mention you’re a touch to … um … intellectual. I guess that would be the right word.”
“Thank you, I think,” he replied. “Though brighter than your average ogre isn’t saying much from what I’ve heard,” he laughed. “No, I’m pretty certain that I’m not completely ogre, for much the same reasons you just mentioned. Perhaps, I’m just ogre mixed with something else like dwarf or something.”
Logan’s mind thought back to the dream he’d had that day in his parents yard. He remembered Hephaestus’ explanation of his origins. He looked down at his now healed hands.
Not pretty, he thought. But, still functional. Could the dream have been real? Could I really be a creation from the blacksmith’s forge?
Logan shook his head, the questions were pointless and the answers even more so. He had a task to finish and that was all that really mattered.
Lan’thor moved next to Logan and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Well, whatever you are,” Lan stated. “I’m with you, my friend.”
“So, am I,” added El.
El leaned in close on Logan’s other side. He placed his arm around her delicate shoulders. Raeth nodded her assent from across the fire.
“Thanks guys, that really means a lot to me,” Logan replied sincerely before standing and gathering his bedding. “Now, may I suggest we all get some sleep. We have an awfully long trip ahead of us.”
The others all muttered their agreement and soon the companions had settled themselves into their blankets. Sleep did not come easily for Logan, and he found himself lying awake.
What am I, he wondered? What if the dream really was true?
As he drifted off to sleep, he was sure he heard soft laughter in the distance.
Chapter Thirty-Three: On The Run
The trek west along the base of the Dragon’s Spine was long and exhausting. The desert to the south brought incredible heat during the day and cold in the nights. Food and water were quickly at a premium and the four friends found that they had to ration their reserves.
Thankfully, the proximity of the mountains meant that there was food to be had if they just knew where to look and over the weeks of traveling through this barren land, they had all gotten very good at learning where to look.
Even so, none of them were particularly disappointed when their path finally took them out of the desert and up into the mountains. Being away from the desolation of the desert did much to improve their spirits. The lower altitudes of the mountains were lush with life and the companions had a much easier time hunting for food and finding water.
Unfortunately, their good humour proved to be short-lived. As they climbed higher into the Dragon’s Spine, they quickly came to realize that the mountains were in fact their own special kind of Hades.
The air grew thinner the higher they climbed and they found it harder and harder to catch their breath. Water was plentiful thanks to the snow, but the game grew scarce the higher they went. At night, they all scavenged for anything they could burn for a campfire, wood becoming a greater and greater challenge to find. Many evenings, they were forced to huddle together to try to conserve body heat, as the cold of the day gave way to the deep freeze that was night in the mountains.
Lan’thor in particular found the cold incredibly troubling. His elfin constitution was ill suited to the climate and the cold seemed to chill him to his very bones. Unlike El, he couldn’t raise his own temperature magically, and El had no spells that could assist him without burning him to a cinder. Though, even that was beginning to appeal, joked the elf one particularly cold night.
Logan bundled his friend in his own tiger cloak and wrapped the elf’s hands and feet in blankets to fend off the cold and still Lan’thor suffered. Through it all, the Dragon’s Spine loomed above them, foreboding and unattainable, a solid barrier to the Northlands.
It was during one of these evenings, while Lan’thor lay bundled in blankets and El stoked the fire to tease more warmth from it, that Logan felt a hand on his shoulder. With a start, he looked back. Raeth stood behind him in silence, her gaze fixed at something far off in the distance. Rising to his feet, he turned to her.
“What …” he whispered, but Raeth held up a finger to stop him before he could finish his question.
She looked back at him and held the finger to her lips. She looked pointedly back into the distance. Logan followed her gaze. He saw nothing but rock and snow. Closing his eyes, he searched with his ears has he had done in the swamp.
At first, he heard nothing. Just, the ever present wind howling through the rock passes, then, in the distance, the sound of rocks tumbling underfoot. His eyes opened and he looked to Raeth. She was watching him intently. Gesturing to herself and then toward the sounds, her meaning was clear. Logan nodded and she silently disappeared into the night.
Logan returned to Lan’thor and El by the fire and began wrapping Lan’s feet and hands.
“Be ready,” he whispered. “We may be moving.”
El shot him a dark look.
“Logan, we can’t,” she countered icily. “We’re all exhausted as it is.”
Logan frowned and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, El,” he apologized. “But, we may have no choice. Something is out there and we don’t know if it’s friendly or not.”
El looked up in surprise and quickly scanned the rocks around the camp.
“Raeth has gone to check it out,” Logan continued. “But just in case, we have to be ready to move.”
“But, Lan’thor needs his rest,” El argued.
Lan, quiet to this point, pushed himself up to a sitting position and faced El.
“No,” he argued. “Logan’s right. We need to be ready to move.”
El nodded in resignation and went about breaking camp, while Logan continued to get Lan ready to travel.
Logan didn’t hear Raeth return until she was nearly beside him.
“Trolls,” she answered Logan’s unspoken question.
The word made all three go pale. They had all heard the stories of the savageness of the large carnivores that hunted the mountain plateaus of the Spine. Unlike ogres, that were generally solitary creatures, the slightly smaller trolls were known to hunt in packs. They were also known to be extremely hostile. Lan’thor rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Well,” he said. “That’s it then, what now?”
“I have an idea.”
They all looked toward Raeth as she continued.
“I found what looks like a large cave. Maybe, we could head for that.”
“Sure, then we just wait for the trolls to come and finish us off. Good plan Raeth.” El’s reply was sarcastic and Raeth whirled to face the elf.
“Hey, I’m just trying to help,” she snapped. “If you have anything better to suggest, I’d love to hear it.”
“No, wait,” said Lan’thor, stepping between the two women. “Raeth may have something. Who knows where a cave will lead, and if all else fails at least we’ll have rock at our back. We’d only have to fight on one front. What do you think Logan?”
Logan nodded, following Lan’s thinking. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the only one on the table.
“We don’t have much choice,” answered Logan. “Raeth, you lead. El, you help Lan. I’ll take the rear.”
“Raeth, I’m sorry,” began El. “I’m just so …”
Raeth waved off El’s apology.
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied sympathetically. “I understand.”
They gathered their gear and headed out into the night. Raeth led them straight and sure and they quickly came to the cave. Logan went ahead of the others and studied the cave as Raeth stood guard at the entrance with Lan and El. He reappeared a short time later.
“Well?” asked Lan.
“The cave goes back about thirty feet and then gets much smaller, only about seven feet high in places, after that I don’t know,” answered Logan. “It seems to go on for quite awhile.”
A roar pierced the night, and the four jumped in surprise.
“I think it’s our best chance,” finished Logan.
As the friends headed into the cave, Logan could hear the trolls clambering across the rocks of the trail leading up to the cave. Letting his friends pass, Logan took up the position of rear guard with Raeth.
Taking the lead, El cast a sphere of light to illuminate the way. Lan’thor hobbled along close behind her, favouring his near frozen feet. Raeth hung back where the cave narrowed and looked at Logan. He smiled back at her.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Guard the others, Lan’s in no condition to fight. I’ll see if I can’t slow our guests down a bit.”
Their eyes met briefly before Raeth nodded and disappeared down the passage.
With El’s light gone, his eyes adjusted quickly to the dark. He moved as quietly as he could into the narrow passage at the back of the cave and waited. His hammer hung loosely in his hands.
He didn’t have to wait very long. The powerful scent of rotted flesh and dirt made Logan’s head spin as the first of the beasts entered the cave. Logan could hear its rasping breath as it searched for its quarry. Could hear the shuffling of its feet as it moved towards the narrower passage at the back of the cave. In the darkness, he readied his hammer.
Silhouetted by the moonlight at the cave entrance, Logan saw the troll for the first time. Easily seven and a half feet tall, the beast was hunched forward, though how much of that was due to the low ceiling and how much was due to nature was impossible to tell. Strong powerful legs carried the troll deeper into the cave. It was draped in the pelts of a variety of different animals and its large feet were wrapped against the snow and ice of its mountain home. A large club was held at the beast’s shoulder while its other hand clawed at the surrounding rocks.
The troll stepped slowly into the passage, its large head searching in the darkness. The things odour was almost overwhelming, and Logan had to focus to keep from becoming nauseous. For the first time in his life, he regretted his sensitive nose. Logan tried to keep his mind on the task at hand.
A little closer, he thought. Just a little closer.
The troll’s fur clad foot lifted high as it took that one final step Logan needed to bring it within range.
That’s it, he willed. That’s it, you big, ugly ...
As the foot came down on the rock floor, Logan struck. He swung his hammer with all the strength in his powerful frame. The hammer’s head struck the troll’s knee and the vibration from the impact swept through Logan’s arms.
The knee shattered under the smith’s hammer, the sound of bone splintering under the impact, echoed off the cave walls. The troll screamed in agony as it collapsed forward, effectively blocking the passage. Logan quickly moved back away from the troll as the creature’s long arms clawed for him. It was all he could do to keep out of the troll’s way. Strips of rock tore from the cave floor as the beast pulled itself toward him.
Logan raised the hammer a second time and brought it down in an overhead strike against the injured trolls reaching hand. Again, the sickening sound of bone crushing under the impact of the hammer reached Logan’s sensitive ears. Again, the howl of agony tore from the troll’s throat.
The cavern rumbled as the beast’s brethren ran to its aid. Logan decided it was time to leave and he disappeared down the passage. He only hoped he’d bought his friends enough time.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Be Very, Very Quiet
Focused as he was on the distant sounds of pursuit, Logan didn’t notice the large chamber that opened up a short distance in front of him. His first realization came as he felt hands grabbing him, as he ran headlong into the large room. He was pulled to a halt with a slight spin.
“What?!?” he exclaimed in surprise.
A hand clamped firmly across his mouth and stopped him from speaking further.
I have got to start paying attention to where I’m going, he thought, as he slowly looked around himself.
A strange light seemed to illuminate the chamber. In its eerie luminance he could see that it was Lan’thor who held him quiet. El stood nearby looking extremely nervous. Nodding his understanding for quiet as best he could, Lan carefully released his mouth. As Logan turned slightly, he saw Raeth plastered tight against the wall. The look in her eyes was as near to panic as he’d seen on the young woman. She was staring beyond Logan and slowly he turned to see what had caused her such consternation.
The strange luminance that lit the chamber came from the creature that slept in the centre of it. Logan stared in wonder at the thing before him. The massive scaled head of the dragon couldn’t be more than twenty feet away, its eyes closed in sleep. A strange, warm wind whipped by them. Logan realized it was the steady breathing of the dragon.
The creature’s scales were an iridescent red in colour and seemed small and fine on a creature so large. The colour in the scales was so rich and pure that it seemed to glow. With a start, Logan realized that they didn’t
just seem to glow, they actually did glow. They were the source of the luminance that lit the chamber.
It must have a terrible time prowling at night, thought Logan, then shook his head at his own stupidity. Yeah, like it needs to prowl and hide.
As he watched the creature, Logan found himself entranced by the softly glowing scales. Unconsciously, he stepped forward, a primal part of his brain drawn to the sleeping lizard. El’s sharp tug on his arm and angry glare pulled him back to the wall. His sheepish look was all his response.
Logan knew that the trolls weren’t far behind. He had to strain to hear them over the breathing of the dragon, but he could tell they were moving down the passage behind them getting ever closer. That meant, they had to find another way out. Logan studied the room intently.
Around the perimeter of the chamber, stalactites and stalagmites touched, forming crude pillars. These pillars created a four-foot wide path around the outer edge of the chamber. It was along this path that he and his friends currently stood, using the wide stone base of one of the pillars for cover. The outer wall was rough stone and seemed to extend completely around the chamber. A thought occurred to Logan. The chamber was incredibly large and Logan guessed that the dragon would have little trouble moving should it wake, but there was no way the creature could have fit through the passage he and his companions had come through.
So, how, he wondered. Did the dragon get in here?
He intensified his study of the far walls.
He smiled to himself when he finally saw it, a portion of the far wall looked as though the stone itself had been melted and then allowed to harden. Logan guessed that had been the dragon’s entrance and probably its exit if and when it felt like leaving.
Unfortunately, he thought with his curiousity satisfied. That knowledge does us absolutely no good.
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