The Land had gradually grown more fertile after Sasar and it was now far better than the Great Plain. She may not know much about farming, but she had noticed that grasslands had spread around them as they rode. The bare dusty ground alongside the road had disappeared beneath still, dry-looking grass some time ago. Now, occasional creeks and rivulets came down from the mountains and they could see small hamlets spreading around the Keep’s imposing bulk. From where she sat atop Esther she could see six of them, a full hand. It was here that the, still rare, caravans taking part in the new trade to the west, trade that her cousin’s marriage had signalled, formed up. Theodora hoped that there would be one to join as a guard as an excuse to head further west. At least that is what she had planned on.
She was in luck. A single merchant named Habib and his animal handler, Kraznik, had several packhorses very carefully laden with hugon pir and he told the pair that he wanted to travel out of the Empire to sell them. Theodora had seen soldiers work with it. The stuff was ready to use, sealed as always in bottles of fragile glass and packed in raw wool in wooden boxes. It should be safe that way until you threw a bottle and it broke. When it broke, it caught fire immediately if it was exposed to air, floated on water and clung to anything it touched.
She had seen the navy use it on one of the ships she had been on. They were special ships, copper sheathed and equipped with massive syphons. The army used smaller syphons to great effect, if nothing went wrong. It took a brave person to use liquid fire, but it was very effective and it probably sold well. She was willing to bet that Habib had a problem. No other merchants would allow him to travel with them due to the superstitious regard that liquid fire was held in by many. Likewise, no guards wanted to be near it. Although it should be safe to travel without guards, you never knew what would happen from the wild tribes of the mountains and Habib even admitted that he had been waiting for a couple of weeks. She let Basil handle their hiring to Evilhalt, but she noticed that the merchant asked few questions of him.
~~~
Their travel through the Gap proved to be uneventful. From the start of their trip the Great Peak dominated the pass to the north, towering into the sky and covered with snow. It stayed in view for almost the length of the Gap, providing a marker for their progress and dwarfing the lesser, but still imposingly tall ridge in front of it and the many lesser peaks, always covered in snow that lined up along the south. They took two days to climb up to the low pass in the Gap and then the road followed the course of the Methul River.
Theodora thought about the map in her saddlebag as her horse negotiated the rough road and related what she remembered to what she saw around her. So far, inside the Empire, it was fairly accurate. This river sprang from the ridge below the most easterly of the towers cresting the ridge to their north and ended up in the Northern Ocean. As they went, streams and roads joined those in the valley from both the north and the south. Sometimes these crossed flimsy bridges or forded the cold waters of the Methul which was still only a little stream—at least at this time of year.
Sometimes it was the main road that crossed the stream. The water seemed to be freezing. The side roads led to army outposts and patrol bases high on the ridges above the pass. Theodora felt sorry for the soldiers living high among the snows, keeping the wild tribes of goblins, hobgoblins and worse at bay. Despite the chill, to Theodora it was all a wonder of new experiences. She had noticed the streams gradually making the Methul grow so that it was soon trafficable by large canoes and how one guard post on this already deepening stream already had a hamlet around it. Basil explained to her that this would probably soon become a village that would live by the passing trade. He pointed out its new low dock and how several large canoes, suitable for carrying goods and army stores, were moored there.
Because it was all so new to her, Theodora had Basil point out the things he saw that she might miss. Despite being a mountain river, the Methul travelled down a low slope and it had not been a rough or fast stream before. Now it grew positively lazy. Basil showed her how, even in the Empire, The Burning had changed things. They passed one gang working on the rocky path, roughened by landslides that had covered it, gradually turning it back into a real road. The hooves of their horses clattered on the stony ground by day and they slept on hard rock most nights, as all they saw were the remains of old settlements and an occasional hut.
On their fifth day out of Nameless Keep they sighted Mouthguard Keep situated on an island in the middle of a narrowing of the Methul. The island had completely disappeared under the Keep, stone bridges crossed the river through the Keep and it appeared to live up to its name. A newly built hamlet of a few buildings stood clear of the bridge to the south of the river, the side that they were now approaching from. The pass narrowed at this point and, although Mouthguard was only a small keep, with adequate magical support it could easily control the whole area. In these new times it made a good customs post.
Habib went into the keep and applied for their passes to leave Darkreach and, appearing as a trader and his guards, was quickly given them. They were directed to stay at the new inn, ‘The Roving Insackharl’, which had just been constructed in the hamlet. Kraznik, the Alat-kharl animal handler, had been this way before and he told them that only a few years ago they would have had no choice but to have been jammed in with the garrison, sleeping where they could in the keep.
Habib had returned and told everyone not to mention their cargo, saying it would get them barred from the wooden structure. Theodora nodded in agreement—she had no wish to draw attention to herself. Basil just remained silent.
Kraznik elected to sleep in the stables with the cargo. He declared that this should prevent anyone trying to ‘inspect’ it. That night they retired early. Too many people were asking too many questions about what Habib was selling and even Theodora noticed that it was getting harder and harder for him to fend them off without upsetting them.
~~~
They set out through the keep to the other side of the river early the next day and found that, for the first time since setting out from Nameless, they had the road completely to themselves. It was also the first time that any of them had seen the forest west of the mountains. She thought back to the maps she had seen in Ardlark. According to them the forest supposedly ran in an unbroken sweep from the ocean to the south of The Land to the frozen north, changing as it went from jungle to endless pines. This forest was unlike any she had seen in Darkreach.
The trees were mostly deciduous; giant oaks and yews, and some broad-leafed conifers. There were also patches of occasional gums and a profusion of brambles and shrubs in the clearings. To her surprise Theodora even found the smells here to be different to anything she knew. The air was damp on her face even in the middle of the day and it was quite cool under the trees. Looking around, to her left ran the Methul River and to her right ran the ramparts of the mountains. The road snaked over the foothills, seeking the easiest path and running from ford to ford.
It wasn’t really a road, not as she knew them in Darkreach; merely a collection of hunting tracks travelling in the same direction as each traveller had chosen the path they thought best suited to them. It was all dirt and mud underfoot. The paths narrowed and came together to cross small rills and to ford larger creeks, none of them bridged as they flowed down to join the river. It was a different world to that which they were used to; much less orderly; much less safe. Basil rode well out to the front and he and Kraznik, who stayed at the rear, kept looking all around them. Theodora stayed near the pack animals and tried to look around as if she knew what she was doing, but all she was seeing were trees and birds—and she saw the birds only when they moved.
That night they camped on the far side of what her notes told her was the Duvel River. They had forded it in the gathering twilight as it had begun to rain. Theodora was a little worried she had the most knowledge of where they were going. Even Habib had only a very vague idea. Seeing that she knew the name of the river e
veryone looked at her for guidance but she just shrugged. How was she to know how high it might rise or if it would perhaps trap them on the wrong side in the morning?
Basil cooked for them all, lighting his fire under a huge expanse of oak, where it was at least partly dry. They set up their camp under the branches for it promised to be a dampish night. They set watches, exempting Habib, who admitted that he was not used to being outside a city and was useless with any weapons at all.
After extinguishing the fire Basil took first watch, then Theodora, then Kraznik. Before trying to sleep Theodora was careful to lay out her casting rug near to where she would sleep (and to leave her boots on, although she found this uncomfortable). That night, not only were there pebbles under her, but Theodora felt damp in her clothes. At least the night was quiet, except for the drip of water from leaves.
~~~
The next two days to the Yuggel River went the same way. Apart from some animals and endless birds, glimpsed through the trees and some of them very noisy, she and her people may as well have been all alone in the world. The drifting showers of early autumn gradually soaked through her clothes and trickled down her back. They kept her moist all of the time and Theodora, not used to such privation and not even being able to change her clothes, felt uncomfortable and dirty and even Basil, fussing around her, could do little to help.
In the middle of the next day Basil called out softly. There ahead was her first village outside of Darkreach. Despite the tales of trade opening up the world she was nervous. According to her map the name of this village didn’t help her apprehension. It was called Kharlsbane and was a Dwarven settlement.
Kraznik had already made it clear that he wanted to avoid it completely and strike west through the forest towards Evilhalt, itself not a propitious name, both names reflecting the ignorance of the outside barbarians. Habib, however, had been adamant that they follow the road. This was not Darkreach, it was a lawless place, and these woods were probably filled with outlaws and wild tribes, and were certainly filled with wild beasts. At least the Dwarves were supposed to be friendly at present. Theodora was nervous enough to think about going back and siding with Kraznik.
Nervously she and Basil passed through a few small hamlets and the surrounding fields, looking around as they went. The other two followed a hand of hands behind. Theodora could see that some of the farms were worked by Humans, but mostly they were tilled by Dwarves looking like strange distorted Kharl with bearded Human faces. They all seemed to have a weapon handy and no Dwarf females were visible. Theodora thought that maybe the rumours were true and they really didn’t have any women and just grew the next generation somehow. However at least they regarded the travellers more with curiosity than enmity.
As she drew closer Theodora could see that Kharlsbane itself tried to live up to its reputation, at least in appearance. The village existed within walls carved from the living rock of a hill, vast ramparts of granite with towers topped with ballistae. It was Nameless Keep but built to a different plan. Theodora could see a massive gatehouse adorned with grimacing faces carved out of the stone. Even more nervously than before, she crossed a dry moat on a wide drawbridge, passing through an ironclad gate and two portcullises. Between these the roof was fretted with murder holes for pouring boiling oil and water on unwanted guests. She was not a siege engineer, but she was sure that this fortified village could break an army.
Despite this war-like appearance they were greeted warmly at the next gate by a Dwarf clad in mail and an axe at his side. In a torrent of accented Darkspeech, he gave his name as Bjarni the Talker, asked their names, what they had to sell, how their journey had been and whether they needed a place to stay, all the while smiling broadly and seemingly without drawing breath.
Theodora stood back and let Habib talk. He only managed to introduce them and get to ‘liquid fire’ before Bjarni held up his hand, made his grin even wider and turned to call over a young Dwarf nearby. He said a few words in what had to be Dwarven to the youngling who ran off quickly. Bjarni turned back to them and gestured to Habib to continue.
By the time he had finished another Dwarf was moving down the street towards them. This one wore a houppelande of dark green velvet with a hat with a long liripipe wound around it to match. The mace at his side was almost invisible in the expanse of thick rich cloth. He approached speaking fluent, if accented, Darkspeech, and greeted a stunned Habib as if he were a long-lost brother. The Dwarf steered the trader further up the street and was already offering to buy his entire cargo while Theodora and Basil fell in behind. Habib may have been startled, but he had immediately fallen into negotiation. It was obvious that liquid fire was truly precious here and that Habib’s profit would be large. She was listening to how he did it and wondered if she would ever be able to bargain like that.
Looking up she saw that a sign in the trade tongue and Darkspeech, and with runes that probably said the same in Dwarven, proclaimed the inn to be ‘The Delver’. The building was, like all she could see of the village, carved direct out of stone and then ornamented.
Kraznik took Habib’s mount and gestured to Theodora and Basil as he led them off to house the horses. Once this was done they moved inside. Theodora could now see that the building had only a few narrow windows, almost arrow slits, and, even in the middle of the day, was lit by mirrors reflecting the sun from above and some enchanted lights. It seemed that, even when they lived above ground, Dwarves liked to feel that they were under it.
Habib came over to where the other three had been seated. “It seems I need go no further. Kraznik and I can return and get another cargo. I still owe you your accommodation here and this is yours.” He held out a pair of small purses.
It was not until Basil took them that Theodora realised they were being paid.
“I contracted you to go to Evilhalt, so it is also for another five days of travel. I like this place. They have paid me in these.” He opened a pouch and poured out a fortune in emeralds.
She knew these were a rare stone in Darkreach.
“They mine them here. I will be coming back to this village, so this means that I will need to have guards the whole time. Do you want to sign with me permanently? Most of the trip will be in Darkreach, so it will be easy work.”
Theodora pretended to give the offer some thought. Habib was right. If they were what they pretended to be, then it was a very good offer.
“We thank you for the offer, but no. We are now outside, and this has long been a dream of mine. The barbarians and their squabbles have long fascinated me. Now I have a chance to find out what they are really like.”
She saw Habib looking at Basil with an upraised eyebrow. Basil still said nothing and showed no emotion, he just glanced at her and gave a little shake of his head. Habib sighed and even she could see that he looked more than a little disappointed.
“Oh well, the young are always curious. I hope this curiosity does not kill you. We may yet meet again and you may wish for a nice easy job as a guard.”
The rest of the night they relaxed and, although she did not speak Dwarven, Theodora decided to entertain in what she had, with Basil again being pressed into service. It was soon obvious that the local talent was well below her skill level and the tavern quickly filled. From the amount he was taking out of his upturned second drum, so did Basil’s purse.
The night went on as the tavern filled with smoke and the smell of beer and spirits. Finally being outside Darkreach made her feel as if she were more alive somehow. She was free and, despite the incident with the undead, there was no sign of pursuit or even of the Granther’s intelligence people dogging her path and looking for her. Once they were free of Habib’s presence, it would be time to shed the protection of the amulet and the awful orange hair and let Basil in on her secret. Out here, in her new-found freedom, she could finally be herself and not one of all of those around her would know what the golden eyes meant.
Chapter VII
Thord smelt the richn
ess of the late autumn pasture and felt the coolness of the soft breeze play and ruffle his beard. With what he had, life should have been almost perfect, but he still sighed. He wasn’t bored. He was busy every day and he loved what he did, but he still wanted more and felt within himself that he was destined for something greater. As it was, he was a shepherd. Of all the work that did not involve mining or making, this was one of the most prestigious vocations for a Dwarf. Among Dwarves this meant that, not only did he look after sheep, goats and cattle, but also that he was one of the few Dwarven cavalry. Admittedly he rode a sheep, but it wasn’t small and brainless like the herd beasts. Hillclimber was the size of some ponies: agile, smart and fierce as well.
The smell of wool grease was on him always but Thord could ride Hillclimber using his knees only down a steep hillside while still firing his bow. In a charge he knew that he was deadly. But did he get to see any combat? No, the wild tribes were quiet. Did he get to travel? No, nowadays their town didn’t send out traders, traders now came to them. His family lived at Kharlsbane, a fortress of solid rock. It was a crossroads and yet all he saw were his herds and, from the high pastures of summer, over the forest of trees, visions of a distant and freer world; one where adventures happened to other people.
The legends said that once, well before The Burning, Dwarves had occupied all of the mountains. You could not travel for more than a day without finding his people and their works. In those days Dwarvenholme, now long lost, was the home of the Dwarven chief, the Mountain King. The legends told of its beauty and of its size and of its wealth. Surely one city could not hold more people than all of the Dwarves now alive, but some said that this is what it did.
Intimations of Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 1) Page 8