by Steven Drake
They marched through the hills, and Nia’s odd behavior increased steadily throughout the morning. By midday, she was constantly looking out at the horizon, like a hunted animal. Darien had almost resolved to ask her what was wrong, when she unexpectedly stopped.
“Can we halt a moment?” she asked, a note of definite concern in her voice. She then shut her eyes, and appeared to be concentrating very hard on something. She turned first one direction, then another, finally furrowing her brow when she faced northeast. When she opened her eyes, she had a look of conviction. “I sense someone, a powerful mage. That way.” She pointed out in the direction she’d been facing.
“Are you certain?” Darien asked.
“Yes, I’m certain. I felt it as soon as I woke up, but I wasn’t sure. It’s gotten stronger since then.”
“Dragons, perhaps?” Tobin speculated out loud. “I’ve heard some of them have very pronounced auras.”
“No, I would know a dragon,” Niarie shook her head vigorously. “This is definitely a mage, incredibly strong, still quite far away.”
“I haven’t the skill in mysticism to confirm one way or the other,” Geoffray added. Rana and Oswald quickly nodded in agreement.
Darien shut his eyes and concentrated in the direction Niarie had indicated. First he felt nothing, as he lacked Niarie’s skill at sensing auras. He concentrated deeply, and extended his awareness as far as he could, and then he felt it. The vague dread he had felt the past day suddenly took a discernable shape, a familiar shape. Alistair the Abyss, it could be none other, still far away, just on the edge of his perception, but it had to be him. No one else would be strong enough for him to sense at such a distance. No one else brought out such fear in the Executioner. No one else had come so close to ending his life.
“What is it?” Jerris asked, knowing the expression on his teacher’s face did not indicate good news.
“Niarie is right,” Darien said. “I felt the presence also, faint, but present. I recognize that aura. It belongs to Alistair the Abyss.” Eyes fell around the party. All of them knew the name, and all of them knew what it meant. The dangers of the quest, so far avoided, were suddenly present and real. “Skarn, what do you know of the terrain northwest of hear. Will we be able to take a path that will prevent him intercepting us?”
“He most likely follows the Splitstone River. It is a narrow river, but deep and swift at this time of year. It runs at the bottom of a steep ravine, coming down from the Scoured Hills, and winding into the desert. He will come southeast, upriver. If he has knowledge of the terrain, he will make for the crossing, and attempt to cut us off there,” the half-dragon answered.
“We may assume he does, and it would be safe to say he knows more or less where we are,” Darien explained. “If I can sense his presence, he will almost certainly sense mine. Skarn, how far is it to the crossing?”
“At least ten leagues from here. No less than two days journey in this terrain.”
“Can we beat them to the crossing?”
“If they are far enough upriver, yes. Without knowing exactly how far away they are, I cannot say for certain.”
“At least sixty miles,” Nia interjected. “Possibly much more, any closer, and I would have noticed sooner. I’m the best mage tracker in the Order, aside from my Grandfather.”
Darien looked meaningfully at Skarn, and the half-dragon understood the question without having to be asked. “If we increase our pace, and continue on through the night, we stand a fair chance of making the crossing.”
“Can the crossing be blocked from the other side, or defended?”
“The crossing is a narrow path, no more than a ledge that runs along the side of the canyon, and crosses the river behind a waterfall.”
“If we make it there first, we can collapse the path,” Darien said
“Alistair will be able to remake the path with magic,” Geoffray added.
“Yes, but I can make that difficult. It will take time. He will not be alone. He will have a sizeable force with him, and it will take time to get them through a narrow crossing.”
“Then what are we waiting for. Let’s be going,” Tobin added.
They picked up their pace considerably. They abandoned any thought of sparing the horses and any hope of further rest before the crossing. The party rode sternly onward, not running, but moving quickly and steadily.
Darien kept Niarie and Jerris with him. Jerris’ survival occupied the highest priority in his mind. Niarie was also critical, and not only because Jerris had become attached to her. Her ability to sense the enemy’s direction and distance would be critical now. Whatever happened, those two had to survive.
Skarn led the party higher into the hills, keeping to the lower slopes as much as possible to avoid being visible from distance. They stopped only briefly to feed and water the horses. The Executioner watched the horizon carefully, and listened for any noise out of place, the rustle of a disturbed bush, a displaced bit of gravel, anything that might indicate danger. The sense of his enemy’s presence grew stronger as the day progressed, and as it did, his mind was forcibly drawn ever more painfully back to the memories of his dream, a defeat which now haunted him. Thoughts of the Demon Sword crept into his mind. He tried to push them aside, but then he would look over at Jerris. Not for his own life would he ever take such a risk, but for Jerris, he would pay any price.
As the sun sank low in the west, Skarn turned the party sharply eastward. Lumina rose in the western sky, and with Luna already high in the sky, the moons showered light upon the party, allowing them to keep the pace through the night. Within a few hours, the travelers struck an old trail marked by smooth, shiny black stones spaced every fifty feet or so. Aside from the stones, the trail differed little from the rest of the terrain. Whoever had made the trail, they seldom used it.
“How much further?” Darien asked Skarn.
“We should be near the crossing by morning,” the half-dragon replied.
“Niarie, how close are they now?” Darien asked.
“Maybe half as far away as they were this morning,” Niarie said. “Maybe less. Not more than thirty miles, not less than twenty.”
“It will be close,” Skarn said. “We must hurry.”
The travelers quickened their pace again, going as fast as they dared in the moonlight. They pushed onwards through the darkness, hoping to avoid a confrontation, not knowing exactly how far they were from their enemies. Niarie kept Darien informed of the position and distance of the enemy. Her reports worsened as the night progressed. Alistair’s group quickly drew closer. From Niarie’s reports, it became obvious that both groups were now headed towards the crossing, perhaps on a collision course.
When the first light of dawn crept into the eastern sky, lightening the black sky to a deep blue, Niarie reported that the distance to their enemies had closed to within a few miles, close enough that if they got too high up on a hillside, they could be seen. Skarn however, confirmed from the direction that they had managed to get ahead of their pursuit.[DJ4] The crossing was ahead, and their pursuers behind. As light filled the sky, they pushed the horses faster still, breaking into a run where the path was wide and flat enough, and walking briskly elsewhere.
Darien repositioned the group, placing Skarn with Jerris and Nia at the front, and positioning himself with the two Shield Knights at the rear. If there was to be a confrontation, the enemy would first face the strongest warriors. Darien felt Alistair’s presence acutely, a constant oppressive energy that pressed against his own. For the first time in many years, Darien was genuinely afraid. Of all the enemies he could have faced, this was the worst. The power of the Abyss was inhuman, utterly beyond him. It was a fight he could not hope to win. If this pursuit ended in battle, it could be the end of his journey entirely.
Chapter 35: Looking into the Abyss
As the sun crested over the eastern horizon, the situation worsened, and Darien truly understood the peril they were in. Darien looked out over
the hills to see large shapes silhouetted on the crest of a hill to the east. Long, lanky legs, and arms attached to thin, ropey torsos, a group of sand trolls watched the path ahead. The enemy had gotten in front of them, or perhaps they had been there all along. This trap was well laid. They were now caught in between the group ahead, and Alistair behind. The trolls would attempt to delay them at the crossing, while Alistair closed the trap from behind.
“Do you see them?” Skarn halted the group and bellowed from the front of the line. “Sand trolls, I saw a dozen, and likely there are more in hiding. What should we do?”
“I see them,” Darien responded. There was no choice but to keep going, and try to punch through the crossing quickly, before Alistair could catch up. If there were no more than a few dozen, and no Shades, there might be hope yet. “Keep moving. We’ll fight our way through if we must. The real threat is still behind.”
They had just started to move when Darien noticed it. He heard the sound a split second before he saw the arrow, barely time enough to notice, let alone react. Even so, he caught sight of the black streak with just an instant to discern its trajectory, and path. The arrow had undoubtedly been aimed at him, its path chosen precisely to bypass the other members of the party Had he seen it an instant later, it would have been too late. He called forth a gale wind to press the arrow to his left off the path, and then moved right. Just as he did so, however, Rana, who stood a few yards ahead of him, shifted to the right. It was just a shift of her horse’s feet, a random movement, but it placed her in the path of the incoming projectile. It was too late, there was nothing more he could do.
The black arrow tore through Rana’s mail armor just above her hip. An inch higher or lower would have sent the arrow bouncing off her shining plate. Instead it tore a gash in her flesh and sent a streamer of blood trailing in the arrow’s path as it continued on, burying itself in the sand a yard or so to Darien’s left. Rana fell from horseback. “Get down!” Darien yelled, even as he dismounted and hurried to the injured woman.
The party quickly dismounted and fell flat on the ground. Even so, the scuffling took several seconds. Just as Tobin, the slowest to dismount, managed to fall to the ground, a second arrow struck his horse in the right shoulder. The beast took a few steps and collapsed.
“Poisoned arrows!” Geoffray yelled. He and Oswald found their shields and raised them against further attacks, just in time, as another arrow bounced off the gleaming metal. The rest of the horses turned and ran back down the trail, except for Skarn’s supremely disciplined mount. It crouched down, as if understanding the danger. Skarn growled a wordless command, and the Mhoa rose and headed down the path out of danger.
“We’ve got to get to cover,” Traiz said.
Without hesitating, Darien began barking out commands. “Jerris, Nia, come here and help Rana! Geoffray, Oswald, cover the front. I’ll join you shortly. When we get far enough back down the trail, we’ll have the slope of this hill between us. Get moving!”
“I’m all right,” Rana said. “I can walk on my own, just go.”
The fact that she seemed to have avoided the poison that killed the horse so quickly was a puzzle that would have to wait. Darien retrieved the arrow, and joined Oswald and Geoffray. He quickly raised a wall of wind to deflect any further attacks.
“I’ll handle this. Get going.” The Shield Knights nodded their assent, and moved on. No more arrows followed, however. Whoever had done the shooting had evidently decided not to waste any more shots against an alerted and defensive target. The next attack would come somewhere further up the trail, and from a different direction. A good sniper would take a new position and regain the element of surprise before his next strike.
Once the party had backtracked far enough to be out of the presumed line of sight of their attacker, they crouched against the hill. Everyone was breathing hard, and recovering from the shock. They all looked to the Executioner for answers. He knew the questions without anyone having to ask aloud, and he had some answers, but his first thought was of the injured Rana.
“Rana, are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“The arrows were most likely poisoned. You saw the horse,” Darien said. “Are you sure you’re alright?” The arrow that he’d retrieved dripped with some dark bluish purple ooze, thinner and less pasty than most common poisons used with arrows. It seemed ill suited for the purpose. Perhaps it carried some other enchantment, a way to mark a particular target, but the shooter had already aimed for him. It made no sense.
“I said I’m fine,” Rana said. “I must not have gotten enough of it.” Darien found this difficult to believe, usually even a drop of the poisons used by Shades would be deadly. Still, she seemed fine, and there simply wasn’t time to worry about it.
“We need to get the horses together,” Darien said. “Geoffray, Oswald, Traiz, help me gather the horses, but be cautious.
The horses had bolted to various distances back down the hill they’d been climbing. It took several minutes to get the still nervous beasts collected. Fortunately, no more arrows came at them. When he had a chance, Darien retrieved a vial from his horse and stored some of the poison from the arrow tip, corked the vial, then slipped both the vial and the arrowhead into a pocket of his armor, something to examine later. With horses and riders gathered near the bottom of the hill, it was time for a plan.
“What do we do now?” Jerris asked. “Obviously they’re in front of us and not behind.”
“No, this is a trap. Alistair is still behind us. The force ahead may have been sent ahead, or they may have been waiting the entire time. They will simply delay us until Alistair can close the vice,” Darien said.
“That’s my assessment as well,” Geoffray said. “They’ll try to delay us long enough for their main force to catch up.”
“Where did those shots come from?” Rana asked. “I didn’t see anyone in range from where the shot came.”
“It had to be Kalien the Scorpion,” Niarie said. “He can hit targets from over three hundred yards. He supposedly uses an enchanted longbow twice as long as a man’s height. He uses enchantments to conceal his locations. This had to have been laid well in advance.” Several of the party looked curiously at Niarie. Geoffray seemed impressed, while Darien raised an eyebrow. Niarie flushed slightly and shrugged. “Well my Grandfather had me learn the names and abilities of all the Shades. I’m sure Sir Geoffray knew that.” The Shield Knight nodded in the affirmative.[DJ5]
“She’s right anyway,” Darien added. “That arrow was meant for me. Fortunately, I was paying attention, and saw it in time to deflect the shot.”
“Not well enough,” Rana said stiffly.
“How was I supposed to know you would move into the path of the shot? If I hadn’t deflected it, it would have caught you square in the chest, and you’d be dead from the poison. You saw the horse.” Rana gulped and nodded.
“So what now?” Geoffray asked. “He’ll choose a new spot, and try the same thing further up the road.”
“Agreed. I will take point,” Darien ordered. “I can deflect anything fired from in front of us. I’m probably the only one sharp enough to see it coming. Geoffray, you cover the rear. Jerris, I take it you can conjure enough wind around the rest of the group to disrupt any shots from the side.”
“I can help,” Nia said.
“Good,” Darien added. “Everyone stay close together within Jerris’ and Niarie’s wind. Tether the horses together. We’ll lead them behind us. We move on steadily but carefully on foot.” Darien shot a cursory glance at Geoffray, just to see if he had any additional recommendations or strategy. This was no time for hubris. With a stern expression and a slight nod, Geoffray agreed, and the party got to work tethering the horses. Skarn tethered his massive Mhoa at the front, to prevent the rest of the horses running off spooked again. Even if the other horses all pulled in the same direction, it was doubtful they could move the creature.
The sun blazed brightly on the eastern horizon, rising quickly and throwing long shadows from the hills that reared up ahead of them. The hill where he’d seen the silhouetted trolls now looked deserted. There was no sign of their enemies on any of the neighboring hills either. Even so, Darien kept his guard up. Behind him, Jerris and Niarie had formed an effective wall of wind that whirled around the party, save for himself. Geoffray and Oswald covered the rear of the party with their shields up.
Slowly, carefully, steadily, they continued along the trail. Darien’s magical sense warned him that Alistair was drawing closer by the minute, but there was nothing more to do but keep going. Jerris and Niarie would be able to hold the winds together for a few hours, but if the trek lasted beyond that, they’d be vulnerable again.
Within about another hour, the sound of whirring wind was joined by a noise of rushing water, somewhere ahead and to the left. The river was close now, and hopefully the crossing. The scorpion would have to strike soon. Darien whipped his head back and forth, searching for enemies. A moment later, a loud yell came from behind.
“We’ve got to hurry up,” Geoffray said. “I see the main enemy force, just a few hundred yards back down the trail. At least a dozen Shades, and perhaps fifty sand trolls. He’s with them.” Darien didn’t have to ask who ‘he’ was. Just at that moment, when he was distracted ever so slightly, he heard the whirring of an arrow again, but he wouldn’t be caught unprepared a second time. He whipped his head right and saw the arrow. An instant later, the burst into a cloud of fire. A scattering of burnt cinders and charred splinters bounced harmlessly off his cloak. From that direction, there was only one logical position Kalien could have taken.