by Dean Cadman
When Zedd reached the cave entrance he paused, taking a moment to check if his ruse had worked. It had. Behind him he saw Vintenar Yeroth and his men begin searching the corpses one by one for the fabled map and gemstones. ‘Now I just hope that girl is paying attention,’ Zedd thought to himself. He didn’t have to hope for long. Even before he entered the cave he heard the arrow thud into someone behind him, then felt the first death-pulse as the agent died. He turned just in time to see the look of complete shock on Vintenar Yeroth’s face as the second arrow struck him squarely in the chest. Vintenar Yeroth stared unbelievingly at the arrow now protruding from his chest, mouthing some unheard question.
Zedd stepped out of the cave entrance back into the light, grinning freely at the sight before him. Vintenar Yeroth fell to his knees, arrow gripped in both hands.
“Oh, I knew there was something else—I forgot to tell you, there’s a paladin on the mountainside above us with a bow, and she’s quite a good shot,” Zedd said light-heartedly. Vintenar Yeroth’s eyes widened briefly as he realised Zedd’s deception. Then he fell forward, driving the arrow clean through his back, and another, much larger death-pulse was felt by many on the mountainside.
Zedd turned to face Vintenar Yeroth’s two remaining men. Both were staring open-mouthed at their dead commander, unable or unwilling to accept the fact he had just been killed by an arrow.
“You,” Zedd said pointing to one of the men, “levitate their bodies over there.” Zedd pointed to an area outside the cave, a place where the female paladin would be unable to see from her vantage point. The man did as requested and brought the two dead bodies to where Zedd had indicated he wanted them. ‘He wouldn’t have if he knew what their ultimate fate would be,’ Zedd thought to himself.
“Bring those three over here too,” Zedd commanded, pointing at the three dead agents who had been shot the last time he was up here. Again the man complied without question. Once all five bodies were together, Zedd turned to the man who had reanimated the previous agents and instructed him to raise the five bodies. Both of the new men let out gasps of disbelief when they heard his command but neither man questioned Zedd’s orders. ‘Apparently, they are smart enough to realise that if I’ve killed a Vintenar, then their lives would mean nothing to me,’ Zedd thought.
Zedd removed the two arrows from the dead men and tossed them into the back of the cave. ‘That’s another two fewer arrows she has now,’ he thought. Adding them all up in his mind, he realised that she couldn’t have that many left, and with no way to make any more, it was a simple question of what would run out first, her arrows or his men. Smiling to himself, he entered the cave and made himself as comfortable as possible while he waited for the man to reanimate the dead agents outside.
Ten minutes later the man entered the cave and informed Zedd he had finished reanimating the dead agents. Zedd had been thinking about his next move. He knew the girl would still be watching from above, hoping they would try to levitate over the rockslide and give her an easy target. He had no intention of giving her that opportunity. If he couldn’t go over the rockslide and he couldn’t go around it—he would go through it instead.
“Order your minions to clear the rockslide away from the rock face. I want a gap making so we can pass through safely right next to the rock face,” Zedd commanded, not bothering to stand up. The man nodded and left the cave. Moments later Zedd could hear the sounds of rocks being moved around outside the cave entrance, and he smiled at the thought of Vintenar Yeroth being made to work for him.
Chapter Fifteen
Lying flat on his stomach, and with his aura completely hidden, Lusam watched from the edge of the path as the agents made their way towards the cave. Concern amongst Lusam’s party had grown rapidly several minutes earlier, as four more Empire agents were spotted in the distance heading towards the others in the camp below. At first they were afraid that even more Empire agents would soon arrive, but it turned out to be only those four in the end, thankfully. They could no longer hope to kill all of the Empire agents here, instead the plan had become one of containment. They planned to kill as many as they could in the ambush, then wait to see if they would attempt to cross the rockslide. If they did, there would be a further chance to reduce their numbers.
Lusam watched as the agents disappeared from view. For some reason they were walking very close to the rock face, which made it impossible to see them from his vantage point. For a while Lusam wondered if they had been spotted somehow, and that was the reason why they were hugging the rock face like they were. Alexia was behind him now, crouching down a little further back on the path. The plan was that Lusam would tell her when the agents were out in the open, then she would quickly stand up and take her shots while he shielded them both in case the agents returned fire.
“How far?” Alexia whispered from behind.
“I don’t know, I can’t see them. They’re staying too close to the rock face for me to be able to see them. Do you think they could have seen us here?”
“I don’t see how. I didn’t come onto the path until you told me to, and the Empire agents couldn’t possibly have seen me from where they were. Maybe they simply suspect a trap and are being cautious.”
“Maybe. I guess we’ll soon see,” Lusam whispered back. Time seemed to stand still as Lusam waited. Then suddenly an agent emerged from the cover of the rock face, then a second. He waited for more, but none came out into the open. He could see the two exposed agents checking the dead bodies for something, then he noticed something else: one of the two men had a very bright aura. He was one of the new Empire agents, and quite possibly their leader. Lusam would have preferred more available targets before giving the signal for Alexia to shoot, but killing one as powerful as him was probably better than killing two or three regular agents anyway.
Lusam gave Alexia the signal, and she quickly stood up and released her first arrow in one fluid motion. A heartbeat later, a second arrow was on its way. The first arrow killed its target almost instantly, confirmed by the death-pulse felt by Lusam and Renn. The second arrow also found its target, thudding into the chest of the agent with the brightest aura. Lusam watched as the man’s eyes widened with shock and disbelief. It also looked like he was trying to say something, his mouth working silently, as he fell to his knees. He gripped the arrow with both hands, then fell forward, driving the arrow right through him. The death-pulse was the largest Lusam had ever felt. He wasn’t sure how far away a regular death-pulse could be felt, but this one had him worried. ‘If there were any other Empire agents in the area, they would certainly have felt that,’ Lusam thought to himself, subconsciously scanning the horizon for signs of movement.
Lusam and Alexia stood like statues, waiting for any other agents to break cover and give them an opportunity to reduce their numbers further, but none did. After a few minutes Lusam detected the use of magic below and braced himself for an imminent attack—none came. Instead he saw one of the two dead agents begin to levitate and move towards the cover of the rock face. He understood the implications almost immediately; they intended to reanimate them.
“Alexia, shoot that corpse!” Lusam said, pointing at the moving body.
“No!” Renn said sharply from behind them, startling them both. Lusam hadn’t even noticed Renn’s approach, and by the reaction of Alexia, neither had she.
“But they intend to reanimate them all!” Lusam said exasperated. “We can’t let them…”
“I know, but shooting a dead body would do nothing to help. They would simply remove the arrow before reanimating it, and Alexia would have one less arrow. I’m afraid we will have to deal with them later,” Renn said.
“Alexia doesn’t have enough arrows to deal with them all later,” Lusam replied.
“Don’t worry, lad, they can’t reanimate them all. It only works once, so they can’t reanimate the ones you killed earlier again.”
“So what you’re saying is that we should have thrown the bodies of the on
es Alexia killed first over the edge so they couldn’t reanimate them. I wish you had told me that earlier,” Lusam said sarcastically.
“You’re right, I should have thought about that earlier. Sorry, lad,” Renn replied genuinely. Lusam instantly felt guilty for blaming Renn. He knew he should have thought about the possibility too, but he hadn’t.
“Don’t worry, Renn, it’s not your fault. I guess we all should have thought about the possibility they would use those bodies against us,” Lusam said apologetically.
Five minutes later they started to hear the sounds of rocks moving. At first Lusam thought there was a small rockslide nearby, but when he focused on where the sound was coming from, he suddenly realised what the Empire agents were doing below.
“Oh no!” Lusam whispered.
“What?” Neala asked stealing a glance over the edge of the path.
“They’re using those undead-agents to dig through the rockslide. We have to go, right now!” Lusam said frantically. Renn came to stand by Lusam’s side and looked over the edge of the path towards the cave.
“I think you’re right, lad, but even with those five undead-agents it’s going to take them a while to dig through all of that rock. If they intended to simply levitate up the mountain after us, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing now. I’m sure they know how deadly Alexia is with that bow by now, so I doubt they’ll give her any opportunities to use it, especially if they can avoid it. I also don’t think they’ll try another frontal attack either, and the undead are of little concern to us any longer, so long as we maintain a lookout at night. Having said all of that, I do agree with Lusam that we should move on now. There’s little advantage to be gained by staying here any longer, as I doubt they’ll give Alexia another chance at killing any of them,” Renn said.
***
It had been two hours since they left the narrow path above the cave. Lusam had been watching carefully for any signs of movement below them, but had seen nothing so far. The path became ever steeper as it climbed the mountainside, and now it also became enclosed on both sides, restricting their view of anything below or above. It took Lusam a few moments to realise that the walls on either side of them were not naturally formed, but instead had been cut into the rock of the mountainside to create a long uphill corridor. He marvelled at the amount of time it would have taken to perform such a task, calculating it in years, rather than months. The path was covered with lichen here, but here and there he could clearly see the cobbles underneath, more evidence of human construction.
When they reached the crest of the hill, they all stopped in mid-stride. Before them was the remains of a large stone archway. It was as tall as any house, and wide enough for two wagons to easily pass each other. The huge stones that used to form the top of the arch were lying on the ground, half-blocking the entrance. Two large columns remained, one either side of the path. The size of each of the stones was huge, twice the height of any man, and must have weighed more than a hundred.
“Coldmont…” Renn gasped.
“What’s Coldmont?” Neala asked, before the others were able.
“Coldmont was the legendary temple built by the Guardians when their order was first formed. It was used to train their men and some say dragons for battle. The history books have various conflicting stories about Coldmont, but one thing they all agree on was that it was supposed to have been completely destroyed by some natural disaster about a century after the Dragon-Mage Wars ended.
“One book I read described how Coldmont was built in a location inaccessible to Netherworld creatures. I always assumed that to be a type of magical protection, but it seems it was much simpler than that,” Renn said, sounding almost overawed.
“What do you mean?” Lusam asked, checking for magical force-fields and barriers but seeing none.
“It’s simple really. The Guardians built Coldmont on the top of a mountain of solid rock. Not even a Netherworld creature can rise through solid rock, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you that it wouldn’t be possible to reach here during a single night, even for the fleetest of Netherworld creatures,” Renn replied.
“The simplest plans are usually the best. Or at least that’s what my old guild leader used to tell me,” Neala said smiling. “But what makes you so sure this is Coldmont?”
Renn pointed to the huge keystone of the arch, now lying in the centre of the path and half-covered with moss. “That,” he said simply. Lusam hadn’t noticed it until Renn pointed it out, but carved into the huge stone was a picture of a dragon with what looked like a man on its back and several symbols below it, none of which Lusam recognised.
“I recognise that symbol from several of the history books in the High Temple’s library. It depicts the Guardians’ main seat of power: Coldmont. I should have realised if there was a Guardian book in these mountains, it would have to be in Coldmont. But I always believed, like everyone else, that Coldmont had been destroyed centuries ago,” Renn said, almost whispering his words, as if he were scared to voice them loudly in case the fabled temple vanished before his eyes.
Neala began walking towards the arch, eager to see what lay beyond. If this had truly been the main seat of power for the Guardians, who knew what treasures would lie within? When she passed through the twin columns of what had once had been a grand archway, she once again stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There, in front of her, was the largest single building she had ever seen in her life—or more accurately what was left of it. The destruction was almost complete. Several huge round stone pillars lay toppled on what once must have been the main stone stairs to the building, each gigantic pillar now nothing more than segments of its former glory. Two massive statues of dragons adorned the base of the stone stairs, each as big as a small house, and so intricately carved that they looked like they might take flight at any moment. If it hadn’t been for the fact that one was split in two by some great force, and the other had part of its head sheered away, she might even have believed them to be real.
There were the remains of what looked like four huge water basins in front of the building. Each one stretched two hundred paces or more on each side, and each one with a different statue at its centre—all long since dried out. The building itself was of a different scale from anything Neala had ever seen before in her life. The blocks of stone that made up the building were truly gigantic. She was still a long way from the building, but she guessed each stone would be several times her height at least. How anyone could even move such a stone was beyond her understanding, let alone how they could construct a building with them.
The longer she looked, the more she saw. The huge remains of a beautifully decorated dome perched on top of the building, now little more than half intact. And remnants of windows so colourful that it must have been like looking through precious gemstones to the world outside. Four huge stone towers once graced the corners of the immense building; now only part of one remained standing, the rest nothing more than rubble, in what must have once been a spectacular courtyard. Statues of unimaginable size and value lay scattered in pieces everywhere she looked. The greatest destruction, however, was reserved for the building itself. Three enormous cracks ran through the entire building, each one wide enough for several people to walk through at once. Various portions of the roof had collapsed, and many of the decorative carvings that had once graced the outside of the building now lay smashed on the floor below. How it was still standing, she had no idea.
Chapter Sixteen
Neala hadn’t even noticed the others now standing at her side. Each one slack-jawed at the sight before them.
“Gods! How can anyone build such a thing?” Alexia whispered to herself, completely overawed by what she was seeing.
“Magic,” Lusam replied, checking out the building with his mage-sight. He could clearly see how the magical protection of the building had failed all around the damaged areas. It was as if the walls themselves had contained t
he magical protections, but when those walls had been damaged, it had also left gaps in that protection. He had no proof, but he suspected that was why he was able to detect the existence of the Guardian book here. The shield in Helveel was still intact, that’s why he couldn’t detect the book there, but this one was discoverable by anyone with the ability and will to search for it—something that made him feel very uneasy indeed.
“It looks like that building could come crashing down any minute,” Alexia said.
“No, I don’t think so,” Lusam replied. “It still has many parts of it protected by magic. Only the damaged areas are vulnerable—I hope.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not the one going in there,” Alexia replied, shaking her head.
“You’re not?” Neala asked, amazed that Alexia would pass up the opportunity to explore such a potentially rich find.
“No, I think it would be best if I stayed here with Renn. That narrow path should be easy enough to defend whilst you two go poke around in there for that book,” Alexia replied. Renn looked totally devastated when he realised Alexia was right, and that he wasn’t going to be joining Lusam and Neala inside Coldmont, but he didn’t complain, instead, he simply nodded his acceptance.
“I knew it!” Lusam suddenly said excitedly.
“Knew what, lad?” Renn asked.
“I knew I had seen this building before. Neala, do you remember that painting on the ceiling in Helveel?” Neala looked again at Coldmont, this time trying to imagine it whole again.
“Yeah, you’re right, Lusam, it’s the same place. I remember those towers, and those large flat areas up there too,” Neala said, pointing to two large platforms halfway up the building. “In the picture that’s where the dragons were, and that huge dome on top of the building is the same too.”
“I wish I had seen that picture myself,” Renn said. “Coldmont must have been very special indeed when it was still in use.”