The Olvion Reality (The Chronicles of Olvion Book 1)

by Larry Robbins

  Again Dwan saw movement behind one of the shelters. And then a flash of white. She checked to see the water bearer still engaged in conversation and looked back. A small face was peering around the structure. Her heart almost stopped as she realized what it was she was seeing. The stories were true. She had hoped for proof all of her life while not really expecting to see it. Now, on her last day, in the last seconds of her life she was actually looking at one. There was no doubt in her mind. It was a Child of the Mountain. And it was here to escort her to the afterlife.

  Another motion drew her attention. From behind a large rock in the same direction as the little animal stepped the largest man she’d ever seen. Dwan’s breath caught in her throat. He was a giant, with pale skin burned red by the sun. His hair was yellow and his eyes had an odd appearance. He strode forward without hesitation, his brows creased and his massive shoulders squared. The Greys were up now, noticing his presence, shouting and gathering weapons.

  Dwan felt her hopes of salvation rise and then fall heavily just as quickly. He was a large man, surely, but not really a giant as she first thought. He would certainly be a formidable fighter but there were a tenfold of Greys gathered here. Why did the man not run? Surely he could see the odds that were being marshaled against him.

  Dwan then realized something else. The clothing he wore, the armor and the weapons he carried. They were exactly like the stories and the drawings. It all made since now even though logic screamed against it. The Child of the Mountain, the armor, the huge sword and shield, heavier than any normal man could lift, much less use. It was him. And he was real.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Armored

  After making the decision to use the clothing I began the onerous task of undressing a cadaver. I was glad to see that all flesh had long since dried out and most had crumbled away with time. The leggings and vest were in remarkably good condition, probably owing to the dry and desert-like climate and the fact that this body had been placed carefully away from the vent holes and the damaging effects of the sun. The cavern had also helped shelter the material from rain and wind. But the job was still anything but pleasant. The trousers came away easily when the leg joints separated. The vest was more involved, the ribcage was not easily denuded. I finally wound up snapping the vertebrae, though such was not my intention. Once free of the bones I turned each article inside-out and shook them over and over until no dust or other more sickening particles clung to it. The boots almost fell off on their own. I banged them against the floor of the cavern until it appeared all of the particles within had been purged. The satchel that pillowed the skull was a treasure. Remarkably preserved inside was what appeared to be thick socks, (three pair) and a one-piece thing that had to be underwear. It was made from very light fabric and covered my male parts as well as a portion of my torso, kind of a combination undershirt and boxers. Like the socks the bag contained two extra sets. I donned the underwear and socks after a vigorous shaking then pulled on the pants. There was a laced portion running from crotch to waist. I cinched the leather thong up tight and did a deep knee bend. It was comfortable enough and seemed to fit me fairly well. The sleeveless shirt went on next. I noted that it, as well as the other parts of my new-found treasure, was remarkably free from odor. The vest looked heavy with the thick leather and protective metal embellishments but it really wasn’t. Again, this was probably due to this new world’s lower gravity.

  It felt good to be clothed again. Only now did it occur to me how depressing the state of being unclothed can be. I am not a small man but being naked had made me feel unprotected. I swung my arms back and forth then stretched them over my head. The outfit looked to be made for maximum freedom of movement. I welcomed the fact that the clothes would shield me from the constant sting of being exposed to the sun.

  When I was done with the clothing I went back to the skeleton and rearranged the bones in their original configuration. To do less seemed ungrateful. With my task completed I looked again at the skull. What had this man been through? Were the bones of the human-like creatures arrayed around him his friends or the reason for his demise? I yearned to know the story of this person who had so long ago perished. I felt a strange, strong kinship with him that I could not explain. There was a connection to him that my heart felt even though my head protested otherwise.

  Tinker, in the meantime, was sitting in a ray of sunshine within the cavern and seemed to be totally bored and unconcerned with my actions. She was spending her time in her unending effort to keep herself properly groomed. Her point of concern now appeared to be cleaning dirt from the spaces between her toes.

  I looked at the weapons. My first thought was to leave them. If and when I was able to find people on this world it seemed silly to have dangerous devices on my person. Certainly anyone seeing me so equipped would immediately see me as a threat.

  But was it wise to simply leave them behind? What about the other skeletons? Were they from other humans who just looked differently from myself and the honored human skeleton? Or were they a savage tribe of Neanderthals that would view an unarmed man as an easy target or even a bit of sport? I reminded myself that the remains of those ‘others’ all showed signs of a violent end. Had my deceased benefactor been involved in their death, I pondered once again? Maybe they had attacked him and he had to fight for his life.

  I finally decided to be pragmatic. If I encountered a situation that called for a weapon it would be stupid to have left them behind. If I discerned a situation in which it was prudent to prove my lack of evil intentions I could simply drop them.

  I hefted the sword. It was a bluish silver and still extremely sharp, showing no sign of rust. I pondered a convenient way to carry it before recalling that my leather vest had two holes crossing diagonally from my right shoulder to my left hip. The holes were reinforced with some hammered metal. I felt back with my left hand and could feel the top hole over my right shoulder. Experimentally I grasped the sword by the two-handed hilt and slid it over my back. The tip of the blade passed easily into the hole. I then slowly pushed the blade deeper across until the tip bottomed out near my left hip. The vest had been designed with a sheath sewn into the garment. I drew it out again and re-holstered it several times, impressed with how well made the entire arrangement was.

  The leg and arm guards were thin but sturdy and held in place by leather straps and silver buckles. They would take some getting used to but if a bear or wolf decided to make a meal of me it would be helpful to be able to shove an armored limb into its mouth while reaching for a weapon. Whether this world had any bears or wolves was another question entirely.

  The spear was about six feet long, the last foot being a wickedly sharp, double-edged blade. It was obviously intended for piercing an opponent’s armor and it looked more than capable of that purpose. Like the sword it was deceptively light in my hands. The other object in the pile was a mace. The moment I lifted it I knew I was handling a weapon capable of causing great bodily injury. It had a wooden handle that was wrapped in leather and a metal head studded with spikes. This weapon had some serious weight to it and also sported a leather wrist strap. I gave it a few experimental swings. I would not want to be on the receiving end of such a device.

  The mace slid into a loop on the wide and thick leather belt that I found in the satchel. I was about to turn to Tinker and suggest we get on our way when I saw the shield. It was leaning against the cavern wall nearby. It was round, about three feet across. It had only two features on it. One was a vicious four-sided point in the center. Anyone trying to push back the bearer of such a shield would find the exercise uncomfortable to say the least. The other was a thick knife blade which had been affixed to the rim. When I held the shield by slipping my left arm through the two leather straps on the inside, that knife blade pointed forward. This struck me as a particularly deadly feature that I’d never seen on any shield before. The purpose was obvious. If an opponent left a part of himself exposed while avoiding the sword hand,
he could be opened up by a short swing of the shield.

  With all of my new garments on and my weapons in their various holsters and loops I picked up my shield in one hand and took the spear in the other. I strode back and forth in the cavern feeling a little foolish. But I had to admit I felt safer. And the entire combination of clothing and weapons was surprisingly comfortable. The boots were a wonder, soft yet offering great support and padding to my feet.

  I picked up the satchel and the articles within, slinging it over my shoulder by the strap. Searching for Tinker I saw her by the passage leading back up to the top. She had evidently decided it was time to leave. I agreed. I had no desire to spend the night surrounded by the dead.

  Tinker led us out of the cavern and down the face of the hill. It was easy for her but I slid most of the way. The shield made it a little difficult but I managed. On level ground again she started off in a direction leading away from the forest and the cemetery hill. I just followed her. By then I had accepted the fact that Tinker was much more than a cute little animal. She definitely had some type of telepathic abilities. She communicated realizations to me. Not words of course but she was definitely telling me things in very general ways through emotions and feelings. At that point I was still only two days past waking up to find myself in a strange new world. I should be in a state of constant fear. Instead, this little animal was telepathically projecting a since of calmness and serenity to me. She was also reading my thoughts, knowing when I was thirsty, hungry and had other needs. I thought our recent visit to the cavern of skeletons was motivated by her intuiting my desire for clothing. My little friend was again leading me somewhere, a destination from which she thought I would benefit. And at this juncture I trusted her completely.

  I used the length of our journey to try out my weapons. Instead of simply walking along behind Tinker’s erect tail I put in a certain amount of time testing each one. The spear was way too much fun. I would pick out an object in the distance such as a tree or a mound of dirt and hurl the weapon with all of my might. Initially I overshot all of my targets as the low gravity made the missile travel much farther than I expected. But after a few hours I began to get used to it, figuring out the proper effort one needed to expend for better control. The spear was a devastating weapon and it pierced deeply into the unlucky trees we passed along our way. Eventually I tired of the spear and discovered I could hold both the spear and the shield with one hand, the shield being mainly supported by my left forearm. With my right hand free I drew my sword and chopped at small plants and saplings. Trees as thick as my wrist would give way to the blade with very little effort. The sword was wonderfully balanced, allowing one to perform many actions and maneuvers without becoming unduly fatigued.

  Finally done with the sword I hefted the mace. With the wrist lanyard wrapped around my hand I took experimental swings back and forth. Though the sword and spear were both deadly in their own right, this bludgeon was particularly daunting. I could imagine an opponent in full armor being bashed in the head by the weapon. I didn’t think any helmet could significantly reduce the transfer of energy that this thing was capable of. And the spikes would penetrate pretty much any armor.

  Tinker took good care of us along our journey. She led me to streams when I was thirsty and introduced me to a delicious fruit that grew on sparse little trees. They were the size of grapefruits but the flesh tasted very much like cherries. The high sugar content was much appreciated for the boost in energy it delivered. I gorged on them. Afterward she would always lead me to water so that she and I could wash ourselves. Cleanliness was an obvious priority to my little friend.

  The landscape was slowly changing. We’d come through a yellow grassy plain, then a thick forest and, eventually to the rocky, sandy desert. Now we appeared to be entering an area of softly rolling hills covered with short greenish-yellow grass. Small bushes and trees were becoming more plentiful. Besides the types of trees we’d seen dominating the forest through which we had passed we now saw tall palm-like sprouts which were a beautiful blue-green. Also abundant were magnificent large trees, big as some of the ancient oak trees I’d seen in my trips to Florida. Their branches reached out in every direction for impossible distances. I noticed monkey-like creatures living in them by the hundreds. There was a noticeable increase now in the number of birds spiraling in the air above our heads. There were numerous different types and colors displayed including one that was very much like a hummingbird only smaller. The beautiful little creature was almost as small as some of the insects which now swarmed around us. I wanted desperately to get close enough to one to get a better look at it but they were much too swift.

  After cresting one hill my heart stopped. Fifty feet away from us stood a creature that was very similar to a hyena. But hyenas on Earth never grew as large as this beast. He (it was obviously male) had a bright yellow pelt streaked with green. His ears were black and so were the orbits surrounding his eyes. He was dragging some poor beast in his jaws. The unfortunate animal was short and squat, looking much like a wild boar, even displaying huge tusks. They’d apparently done him no good because his enemy showed no signs of battle injuries. The hyena dropped his kill and watched us. I mimicked tinker who had stopped moving and was gazing silently at this new monster. I realized that my right hand had involuntarily tightened on the mace. After a few minutes the beast apparently decided we were not going to challenge him for his prey. I would actually have cut it up and fed it to him if that were the price of passage. He picked up his prize and resumed dragging it towards a stand of trees. Tinker watched for a few more minutes then continued on. I wiped the sweat from my brow and followed.

  Right about the time the sun was directly overhead Tinker suddenly stopped still. Her nose tested the air and her head swiveled left and right. She bent forward and sniffed the ground, then rose high on her legs and sniffed again. For the first time since I’d encountered her, she actually emitted a sound very much like a growl. It was so high-pitched that few would be threatened by the noise but it conveyed to me for the first time that she was either afraid or angry. Without as much as a glance at me she suddenly darted off across a set of low hills directly in our path. I ran as fast as I could but I was outpaced and she went out of sight over one of the more distant mounds. I almost dropped my shield and spear in order to keep up with her but her actions indicated they might be needed for this situation, whatever it may be.

  As I topped one of the larger heaps of grass and dirt I was greeted with a sight that stunned me into immobility. Spread out before me and slightly below my position was an incredible sight. Several people were milling about on the hillside. No, wait. It was not immediately clear if, in fact, they were people. They had numerous similarities to humans but there was no missing the deep greyish tint to their skin. Most were either unclothed or wearing animal skins wrapped around their lower torsos and each displayed a wild spray of black hair that ran from their brow all the way down their backs. There were two fires going and some were huddled around these.

  I eased my way lower on the hill, concealed by the leafy branches of a large tree which was between myself and them. I searched with my eyes for Tinker but she was not in sight. I chanced leaving the cover of the tree and ran the short distance over to large rock around which I could keep watch on these new arrivals. I saw that they communicated with each other through language and gestures though I had no knowledge of what they were saying to each other. From my closer point of observance I noted they moved more like apes than humans. I also detected their odor even though I was still a good distance away from them.

  My heart thumped. This was it then. Tinker had led me to others who were at least similar to humans no matter how unattractive they appeared. My next move was obvious: I had to make contact with them and, through my actions, assure them that I posed them no harm.

  I was about to lay my sword and spear aside when I happened to glance to the right of the main body of these beings and saw two obviously h
uman people. They had been stripped, tied and staked out. My fear level shot to the top of the scale. The situation was a very simple one to read. These shambling grey beasts, while looking something like humans had captured these two. I now noticed one was a woman. This was not good.

  I finally saw Tinker, hunched down inside the camp, behind some sort of tent or lean-to. She did not appear to be frightened. Rather her little features managed to express rage. She was staring directly at the two prisoners, unconcerned that she may be observed by their captors.

  Things then quickly deteriorated. One of the grey beasts had stopped conversing with another and was now walking toward the two captives. He held a bucket in one hand. In the other he grasped a large and deadly-looking meat cleaver.

  A flash of intense anger surged into me. I looked to Tinker and saw her gazing directly at me. I knew she was feeding me this emotion. But I was still unsure of the situation. Yes, the grey beast that was heading toward the two humans was holding a weapon but he was also holding a water bucket. Also, I was a newcomer to this world. What if I were misreading the situation as obvious as it seemed to be. There was only one way to be sure and it had to happen now.

  The man-things, ten of them by my count, saw me step out from behind the rock. They were slowly spreading out and arming themselves as they went. Two were coming directly at me while the others moved to encircle me. It looked as if they thought they were being clever about the maneuver even though it was painfully obvious to me what was happening. I was struck with a realization. The urge to fight was overpowering. I looked at Tinker and saw she was looking directly at me still. The anger that had engulfed my mind was now swelling into a state of rage. I had no doubt she was prompting me to action. But what could I do? I was no medieval soldier with sword-fighting skills. Plus, even with the anger I was feeling I was scared out of my mind. The man-like creatures that were advancing on me were hideous beings that deserved the term “monster”. They were showing signs of hostility and carrying deadly weapons.