by Duane Alston
Back home, the first slight bit of blood was when the party who drew blood was declared the winner, so Connel and Tom visibly relax expecting it to be all over. Disappointment was also on their faces since Jalaby had lost. But Jalaby sprang to his feet as Kent again slashed at Jalaby.
“Hey, foul. This is over!” Tom began to pull his sword but unnoticed by him, a dozen young men had previously positioned themselves near them and now pressed closer.
“Put that sword away. This will be honorably fought and we will see that it is.” A young man near Tom put his arm on Tom's stopping his sword from being pulled.
“If you do not want any of your party hurt, don't start anything for there are many of us.” Tom looked around his group and knew there were indeed too many. He could do nothing and nodded, relaxing his grip on his sword.
Jalaby realized for the first time, that this was not going his way. As he parried and dodged defensively, he could see for the first time, his party at the end of the room surrounded by men who were all in dark green shirts like the fellow he was fighting. In another brief instance, he caught a glimpse of Sarah being pushed by one of the individuals as she tried to break out from the circle they had around them. It was then that something exploded from within him and the stone around his neck began to burn with an intensity that he had never felt before. Again, Jalaby rolled on the floor to again avoid the blows of the demon that continued to try to kill him. This time as he sprang up there was an animal guttural noise that came from deep within him and his face, contorted with rage, seemed inhuman. He sprang at Kent and delivered a tremendous blow that sent Kent flying across the room, making all around the room gasp.
Kent immediately sprang back up, probably figuring that it was a lucky shot and moved to make a blow of his own, but Jalaby was on him in an instance and now Kent was the one being beat back. Every blow Jalaby made was forceful and each backed Kent up several feet. Jalaby nicked an arm and then a leg as he continued backing Kent up. There was no give in the pressure and his sword was perilously close to making a killing blow. Jalaby nicked Kent's left cheek steaming blood down his face and forcing him back several feet. But Kent as well did not give up and recovered to deliver a huge blow downward with as much strength as the first blow he had given when starting the fight. This time instead of merely blocking the blow, Jalaby slipped it and using the force of Kent's own blow, sent him spinning across the room. Catlike, Jalaby was on him in an instance and pounded mercilessly again and again until finally Kent went down on his back holding his sword in front of him to block further blows which still came relentlessly down until finally Kent's sword broke in several pieces and was strewn around him. It was at that moment, with a deep animal growl from a face masked in rage, Jalaby brought his sword up to make a final blow. Sarah screamed and Talisbon shouted.
“Prince Jalaby Langmaster, don't!” Talisbon's words brought a momentary start to all those in the room.
Jalaby stopped at the height of his blow and paused. With obvious great effort, everyone could see Jalaby gain control once more and in a minute his face regained the features of a young man once more. He looked down, as if not knowing where he was or what he was about to do. But then an expression of anger came to his face and he spoke.
“You over there, all of you, back away from my friends and if any of you ever lay a hand on Sarah again like you did a minute ago, I will slay the lot of you.” Jalaby finished by kicking Kent's feet aside and moving towards his group menacingly causing the dozen or so young men to scatter. Sarah, finally breaking free, ran to him and hugged him as he stood before them. Connel and Tom swords now pulled from their sheaths, stood around Jalaby eyeing the crowd. Talisbon just stood with little expression as the crowd began to murmur. Unexpectedly, it was Kent that spoke.
“Talisbon said you were Prince Langmaster?” Kent crawled to his feet with great effort and you could see his strength was gone as his tall muscular body drooped before them.
Talisbon just nodded and Kent faced Jalaby and his friends as the crowd was murmuring among themselves in the background. Tom commented to Connel that it sounded like the crowd was muttering something like “The Rising” and “The New King”, then Kent spoke again.
“Yes, The Rising. Ever since our time began, which, if you look around, you will notice that all but a few who live in our town are young.” Kent paused and Jalaby did look around and noticed what he had not noticed before. Except for Cleary, Margery, the Mayor and a few others, there were no mid-aged folks around. Kent continued.
“After people of the town reach an age of around thirty, Crieton's government cronies would descend on our town and take them away to work somewhere east of here. We don't have direct knowledge, but the word coming back is that they become virtual slaves and must work to stay alive. They have whole towns and villages made up of these folks. This has been going on for as long as I have lived.” Kent finished earnestly.
“And, The Rising?” Jalaby asked.
“Legend, myth or destiny, we do not know, but from as long as anyone here can remember, they know the story that Prince Langmaster would enter our land once again and lead us to overthrow the Fog Warriors and the Langmaster family that now rules over us.”
“We, that is, the ones you see dressed in the dark green and there are about one hundred of us, have grouped together and decided when the government or the Fog Warriors come to take anyone away, this time we will fight. We have also pledged our allegiance to Prince Langmaster and will serve him as best we can. Since you are Prince Langmaster, I wish to apologize and offer my service and the service of our militia to you for whatever purpose you have.” Kent then went down on one knee before Jalaby, as did the rest his militia around them.
Jalaby was taken aback. The fellow that had just tried to kill him was offering his help? To do what? And could he be trusted? Jalaby was struggling for an answer when the stone around his neck burned like fire, although afterward he knew it was not the same intensity as when he fought Kent, but it was enough to make him jump and grunt involuntarily.
“Danger, danger is approaching, we must leave!” Jalaby said quickly.
Just then a green shirted young man who was barely in his teens ran into the hall and yelled, “Fog Warriors are coming!” He then ran up to Kent and reported that perhaps five hundred Fog Warriors were only a few hours from entering the town from the east.
“Jalaby, we are at your command, I lead a force of one hundred who will fight the Fog Warriors. We have been waiting for some sign that the time is right.”
Jalaby's mind raced to a decision and voiced his unease with his ultimate purpose as he looked into Kent's earnest pleading eyes.
“We are on our way to Stoneburst Settlement and that is our destiny. I wish to thank you but must request that you not parish in a futile attempt by attacking such a large force. Instead, you must grow stronger in numbers before attempting such a deed. For me, I am ignorant of any legend or any purpose other than the one I am following.”
If Kent was disappointed he did not show it, and simply said, “We will do as you wish and for now we will scatter into the hills. We will meet you at Stoneburst Settlement; but how will you get past the Fog Warriors? They are on the eastern route that your group wishes to take.”
Before Jalaby could protest that he had not meant that Kent and his group should meet them at Stoneburst, the question of how they were going to get out of town, came forefront to his mind. Then Talisbon spoke up.
“There is only one way out. We can't go back toward the mill for we would be overtaken almost immediately. We must go the long way, through Woodland.” As Talisbon spoke the name, there was a collective gasp from the town-folk in the hall. Talisbon looked around and took Jalaby, Tom, Connel and Sarah aside and explained that they must first travel north on an old road that runs through the Woodland Forest. This road eventually turns east and that is where there is a place to cross the Neteos Mountains. From there we can Journey north up the Neteos River Val
ley to Stoneburst Settlement. Jalaby nodded his agreement but turned to the rest of the group to seek their opinion. Their nodding heads quickly put him in motion.
“OK, let's get our horses and kacks and get out of here.” Jalaby turned but before leaving he strode up to the dozen young men of the militia and spoke to Kent.
“We must be leaving. If you can delay the Fog Warriors without taking any risks, please do so.” Jalaby extended his hand and Kent, with a somewhat surprised look on his face, clasped Jalaby's hand and when their eyes locked, Jalaby knew he had a friend for life. No words were necessary but Kent spoke.
“May the truth be known!”
It was Jalaby's turn to look surprised and the memory of the only father and mother he had ever known drifted into his consciousness. He smiled and before turning to join the others, he uttered, “Indeed. May the truth be known.”
Chapter 17
Jalaby and his group moved as if they had practice long hours at it. Each one seemed to know what to do and did it with surprising speed. Cleary was a great help to them all, not only helping to get the horses and kacks loaded with the equipment and supplies that they already had, but adding to this as much additional food as possible. He urged them to not bother with water, since the woods were full of streams and it would be plentiful. Although hesitant, Jalaby agreed. In a quarter of an hour they were fully loaded. Outside the stable, Jalaby could hear the shouts of men, no doubt the militia, preparing to leave as well. He knew that this would just about empty the town and the town itself may or may not survive, but that was not his worry. His worry was Tom, Connel, Sarah and as a second thought, he guessed Talisbon as well. They were ready.
They had discarded the wagon for fear that the trails they were going to take would not allow the wagon’s width. It was a disappointment because they would have to leave behind some of the non-essentials. Sarah unhappily gave back the dress she had worn to the dance, but they all knew the situation they faced.
“Talisbon, do you know the way?” Jalaby asked as they all mounted.
“Actually, no.” Everyone was silently looking at him and he continued. “I have heard about a way through the forest but I have never traveled in that direction. I guess we'll have to trust that we can find the way.” Talisbon finished smiling weakly with what seemed like an embarrassed expression.
“I guess so. Well at least we have the map and a compass or two. Tom, we do have the compasses?” Jalaby had noticed Tom had not seemed as light-hearted as before the fight or was it that they had just been rushed.
“I've got at least a dozen I could sell you. Hey we better get going before we have Fog Warriors riding up our backsides. I know Connel and I can handle about two hundred a piece but I don't think you, Sarah and Talisbon are up to the other hundred. I would hate to see you embarrassed like that.” Jalaby smiled at his speech. That was more like the Tom he remembered.
“OK, now you’re bragging, let's go.” They all laughed somewhat awkwardly at the exchange but the atmosphere to Jalaby felt a bit more promising than it had moments before.
It was dark, but there was enough of a moon to keep them on the road heading north out-of-town. A half an hour on the trail and they began to ride along the edge of what Jalaby knew was a large lake. Although he could not see far, he could smell the moist air and the moon was in the right place on the distant horizon so that he could see it shimmer across the water from quite a distance away. Jalaby was in the lead with Connel in the rear. Connel was to give warning if anything or anyone approached. The stone around Jalaby's neck was tingling and burning slightly but not enough to indicate that danger was very near. He wondered if one would get desensitized to it after a while and perhaps it would become not as useful over time. They had purposely chose not to use lanterns to guide them, knowing that it might very well guide the Fog Warriors as well. Jalaby knew instinctively that the Guidance Man would be telling whatever he had overheard to the Fog Warriors, so at best, they only had a few hours head start. He hoped, but did not expect, that Kent would be able to delay the Warriors. It was a lot to ask of such a young group and Jalaby felt a little guilty for having done so.
Up ahead Jalaby began to discern from the sky a more decidedly dark area looming in front of them and then they seemed to suddenly be enveloped by it. Jalaby pulled his horse up and waited for the others to stop.
“This must be where the Woodland Forest Road begins. I did not glance at the map for very long in town since we needed every minute, but I have to take a look at it now. Connel, get a lantern and a large blanket and everyone will have to hold it around me while I take a look. We don't want to be going down the wrong path from the onset.” Connel did as requested and the others held the blanket around Jalaby to shield the light of the lantern. The thick wool blanket did the job and very little light escaped.
Jalaby studied the map intently. It looked like there was only one trail through the forest and he noted that after some distance, it would turn to the east, which happened to be their original direction. On the map, written across the area itself was the name Woodland Forest, which made Jalaby chuckled to himself since it was so obvious. Was this whole thing some elaborate joke? No, it was real enough. Yes, hours ago it was real enough, when he almost killed a man. He shook his thoughts away and went back to the map. The road they were on led toward a low mountain range that ran perpendicular to the Nateos Mountain Range. The road continued through a wide break in the range and into the Woodland Forest. Still further north was another mountain range that also ran perpendicular to the Nateos range but there was no break in this mountain range. So the Woodland Forest was boxed in between these two mountain ranges to the north and to the south and the Creiton River to the west and the Nateos Mountain Range to the east. He figured that it may take several weeks to travel through the Woodland Forest and more to actually cross the Neteos Mountains. He hoped it would be an easy crossing, but then thought that if it was that easy it would be a more traveled road and that wasn’t the case, based on what they had seen so far. After crossing the Neteos Mountains, they would go through the Neteos River Valley. That was enough for now; they needed to be on their way. He extinguished the lantern and tugged slightly down on the blanket, which gave the others the clue they needed and they dropped it away. Jalaby explained the route to the others, who made little comment, and they began to ride again. Talisbon spoke as they rode.
“I must tell you what I know of the trail we are on. That is, what I know is second hand, but it is the best information I have. Right or wrong, here it is. There is a great valley between two mountain ranges that will extend for many, many miles. This valley is not really unoccupied, wait, I am explaining this badly. You see, although technically it is a valley between two mountain ranges, this one is filled to the top with trees. There are live trees of course, but there are layer after layer of trees that have fallen down. There must have been some natural or unnatural disaster because each layer seemed to have fallen down about the same time, based on what people think, but this was centuries ago. What is unusual, is that these trees did not rot away, or at least the process is so slow that most of the felled trees are pretty much intact. The type of tree seems immune to moisture, insects and other things that might make them decay over time. The result is layer upon layer of trees that have fallen and the creation of miles and miles of tunnels that essentially go under the forest of live trees whose roots wind down through the dead trees below. This is the road we will take.” Talisbon paused his lecture and then continued. “Now this is the awkward part. I know I suggested this route, only because I saw no other choice, but no one seems to have gone this way through the Woodland Forest for many years and the forest now has such a reputation that it is known in some circles as the Eerie Forest.”
“Now come on Talli my man! You trying to scare us or something?” Tom said loudly but in good humor. “We used to tell better whoppers than that back home when out camping. You've got to add something about a hook-armed man o
r the walking dead to get a rise out of us.”
“Oh, I did not intend to alarm you folks. Just inform.” Talisbon said somewhat defensively.
“Well, true or not true, keep your eyes open.” Jalaby said seriously.
For about an hour they traveled along a fairly defined roadway at a pace a bit too slow for Jalaby's thinking. The roadway now came to an end in the form of a large pile of trees that blocked the direct path ahead. Jalaby had little choice, so he lit one of the lanterns and surveyed the blockage.
“Well there is not an easy way to go around this, the best I can tell. Looks like it has been this way for quite some time.” Jalaby held the lantern high and surveyed the area around the road.
“Hey, looks like the detour goes this way and there are even wagon tracks and horse tracks evident. This must be the way around.” Connel spoke excitedly and was indicating a barely perceptible path heading at a northeast angle of the road they were on.
“We have no choice, let's get moving. I don't think Fog Warriors stop even at night so I want as much distance between us and them as possible. I am hoping the woods will give us the cover that we need to lose them.” Jalaby answered.
The group mounted and Jalaby put the lantern out. To Jalaby's increasing concern, they moved even more slowly now because the path had narrowed and small trees and broken branches were scattered across the road causing them to stumble as they walked their horses and kacks in the dark. They had gone about another hour and the trail had continuously narrowed as they went until it ended against a canyon wall. A feeling of being trapped tore at Jalaby but he knew he must remain calm.
“OK, that's it for tonight. We don't want to be so far lost that we can't get back to the main road tomorrow, but we can't camp here at the end of this path. If the Fog Warriors take it as we did, they will be on us before we realize it. We are going directly north through the forest for another half hour and we will mark the trees to find our trail back to this point. That will allow us to find our way back to the main road in the morning.”