His eyes swam with tears and a ringing voice echoed through the confines of his skull at a volume much too loud to be tolerable.
'Why do you dally on the roads, Anacletus? The Elf should be in captivity by now.'
It sounded like Sarvacts had been expecting him to return, that must mean that he didn't know about the rogue creation. 'I have been delayed by unforeseen circumstances, my lord.' How he hated calling him that. 'Fear not, the Elf still follows my trail, it will not be long until we are at the fortress.'
'Fool.' Sarvacts spat, causing Anacletus to wince. 'I know of your location, do not trifle me with such pointless remarks. Do you still hold the heirloom?'
'It is still within my possession my lord, it continues to draw the Elf and Eihblin unto me.'
'Good. Continue to the fortress, we have many preparations to make for our visitors.'
'As you wish, my lord.' he managed to reply, he wasn't looking forward to this but the pay he had been promised dwarfed his previous bounties.
Feeling the contact sunder, he shuddered and rose to his feet once more, hopefully that was the last time this dangerous fool of an Orc would contact him. He did not appreciate his mind being invaded, especially if it wasn't out of necessity. Sarvacts would receive that which he asked for but absolutely no further service until he was compensated accordingly. The Orc may be powerful but there was not a force on this earth that could withstand a dagger to their vitals.
He made no ceremony of the exhaustion he felt, instead setting a fast pace toward the fortress. It wouldn't be long until he was free once more to kill who he pleased. Sarvacts was looking increasingly tempting.
'How do we know that you are not in league with Sarvacts?' El-Vador asked.
Phaedra nodded, as if the question was the first she had been expecting. 'there are no assurances that I can give you, I do not expect trust. Rather, I feel that perhaps I shall earn it in due course.'
'If you turn on us, we will gut you.' Eihblin offered helpfully.
Phaedra smiled. 'Of that I have no doubt, it will not come to that though.'
'We shall see in time.' Eihblin warned.
El-Vador was beginning to grow weary of the companionship he had been laboured with. Nevertheless he needed Phaedra to lead them to the fortress and Eihblin would serve as a diversion should he require one. Although the woman had acted as if nothing had happened between them since letting Anacletus slip away, a companion that would draw arms against you in the wrong circumstances was as bad as a foe.
They came across small signs over the course of their journey indicating that Anacletus had passed this way. The assassin had completely abandoned stealth for speed and seemed confident that they wouldn't catch him. Judging from the age of the tracks he left, El-Vador felt that his target had reason to believe that.
By night he conceded that their progress had been slow. Phaedra's wound had slowed them considerably and he doubted that he'd catch Anacletus before the assassin reached the haven of Sarvacts' fortress. No matter, he would just have to find another way through.
He gathered pieces of wood for a fire but was stopped stiff by a strange hissing noise.
'What was that?' Eihblin asked uncertainly.
El-Vador shrugged, he knew not what manner of wild beast they were likely to encounter out here. Only that the building of a fire may help in preventing their being eaten at night. He suggested as much to Eihblin and caused the woman to shudder.
Once the fire was crackling merrily, El-Vador felt much better. They had not heard the strange beast of before and assumed that its initial curiosity had faded and it had passed them by. If they had been mistaken then at least he could trust in his sword and a flaming brand, the combination of which had kept him safe from harm on his journey down from the mountains.
They set a watch and the Elf finally found slumber.
He awoke in the dead of the night to Phaedra's tugging of his shoulder.
'El-Vador, something is out there.'
The Elf's eyes flicked open in instant readiness, the woman hadn't been exaggerating. Two red eyes gleamed in the shadows beyond the fire. The hissing noise they emitted didn't seem promising, apparently this was their friend from before.
It came into the light then, some form of giant lizard, half snake and half iguana, yet nearly the size of a wolf. Its skin flexed and grew, the colours rippling over it in response to the fire, its forked tongue hissed out at them again and El-Vador spotted a set of teeth behind that cold, feral grin.
El-Vador nudged Eihblin gently with his foot, stirring her from sleep. 'We have company,' he whispered. 'Pass me a brand slowly and quietly.'
The creature edged a bit nearer, drawn to the sound of El-Vador's voice.
He eased himself into a crouch and slipped his fingers over the grip of his sword. He didn't want to startle the beast into attacking, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere either. He felt the heat of the brand as it was slowly passed to him by Eihblin's trembling arm.
Raising the fire aloft, he made a move toward the thing, seeing if it would give ground at the sight of this flame. The creature rose up slightly, its elongated neck fluctuating wildly in colour as the light from the flames danced over it, yet it remained in place and seemed unperturbed by the advance.
Without taking his eyes off the beast lest it strike, El-Vador whispered to his companions behind him, 'Phaedra, have you any idea what this creature is?'
'No,' she replied. 'We never left the fortress and I did not encounter any beasts on my escape.'
'Eihblin, keep tending to the fire and don't let it burn low. I shall see what this thing makes of me as I draw closer.'
The lizard creature's hissing increased at El-Vador's approach, there was no mistaking the warning in that sound. It took a small step toward the Elf, as if testing the resolve of its opponent, the hypnotic pupils betrayed a myriad of colours that seemed to draw him in if he stared too long.
He raised his sword in defiance of the effect, trying to ward it off with the flaming brand in his outstretched arm. He swept it from side to side and watched as the eyes followed, entranced by the proximity of the blaze.
He banked to the right and the lizard turned to meet him, its haunches tensed upon the snowy ground. It gathered itself to spring at its prey and dim the light that blinded it so.
As it leapt forward he threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the neck of the beast as it shot out to stab at him with its fangs. He swung his sword down at it but the arc narrowly missed its scaly hide, this forced him into readjusting his position and waiting for the next assault.
It came at him once more, repeating the same feat and this time receiving a slash across the flank for its troubles. There was a strange croaking sound that it gave out then but this was soon silenced as it regarded its enemy with venomous intent.
Whatever damage El-Vador's glancing blow had caused, it seemed to effect the beast's movement. When its head darted closer to sink its teeth deep into El-Vador's thigh, it was much slower than it had been previously.
El-Vador's blade did not err this time, severing the elongated neck in twain.
As the beast slumped dead, a viscous fluid seeping from the wound and hardening over it, he watched for a bemused moment as if expecting a second head to come shooting forth from the neck. For good measure he shoved the brand down into the stump, causing the body to twitch several times and then finally still.
He cleaned his sword upon the snowy ground and sheathed it, then wordlessly returned to his bedding and fell into an uneasy slumber.
XIX
It was a torturous time, lying there in the cold nights pondering how Sarvacts could have survived the explosion that destroyed everything that was once his. Had he somehow escaped his fate before the detonation? Had the phial betrayed me in some way? Ultimately I blamed myself, I was the one who didn't put an arrow through him to be sure. It was a mistake I vowed I wasn't going to make twice. Vows are often broken.
'What do y
ou mean, missing?' Sarvacts demanded of the corpse.
The figure had no need for placating gestures, it stared onward at its master with unfeeling eyes. 'One of our number is missing, we know not how or why.'
'You are certain that this rogue automaton is not elsewhere in the fortress?'
The figure nodded. 'We have searched as one, she has escaped.'
This was poor news and a cause of great frustration to Sarvacts, how could a being under his will defy him so? Had he not taken the greatest of care to prevent such a thing occurring?
He scanned his memory for the remotest possibility of this happening, yet still he couldn't think of any way that he could have inadvertently freed one of those in thrall to him.
It was an irritating catch that the beings he used to view distant lands and people could not locate one of their own. It had never been a problem, until now. Where would this escapee flee to? All they had known was dead and gone and surely they would be shunned by society should they try to reintegrate.
Sarvacts stared out into space, mastering his own frustration and refusing to let it get the better of him. What difference did one creature outside of his control make? All the difference, this oversight was proof positive that his power was slipping away from him. The sooner Anacletus brought him the Elf to sacrifice the better.
Sarvacts turned and paced off deeper into his fortress, there was no way of determining for certain how it had escaped and there was less sense in dwelling on that which he could not control. The automaton was gone, for good or for ill, and there was no point in giving it further thought.
Unless those outside learned of her escape, which in turn would serve to undermine his perception of power and dominance in the region. No, he couldn't let this be, it would continue to nettle him long into the dark nights if he did not at least attempt to deal with it.
He motioned to one of his many thralls to come forth and heed his bidding.
'Find the missing automaton, do not cease your searching until you have uncovered their whereabouts. Then bring them to me once more.'
The creature grunted in acquiescence and limped off, it was a pitiful attempt to recapture her but it was all he could muster with his waning power right now.
He would have to content himself with the possibility that the automaton may find her and focus on other matters at hand.
Soon Anacletus would return with El-Vador in tow, and in short order his power would be restored if his guesswork about the vengeance was correct. With the things he had discovered from his last surge he felt confident that he would only need one more to stretch his dominion back into the Orcish lands. From then on he would have no trouble with sacrifices, he had many a score to settle.
He smiled his crooked smile, the burns stretching painfully across his skin. It wouldn't be long now.
Anacletus's feet were beginning to tire from the constant pursuit by his quarry as he approached the city of Caldalia, the last bastion of free humanity before reaching Sarvacts' fortress.
It was a place that many who had never ventured there spoke of in hushed whispers. It was a cursed city they said, something about the people inside was fundamentally wrong. They also claimed that those who choose to visit it become one with the people there. He had yet to meet anyone who had ventured into the city and survived, he always gave it a wide berth. Unfortunately his employer had given him the choice between taking the fastest route possible or arriving late and dying. So the direct route through the city was an unwanted necessity, he only hoped that it wasn't a fatal one too.
The city wall was constructed of the same vast grey stone as the mountains surrounding it. Anacletus found it hard to fathom that human hands in such remote parts had constructed it, there was an ancient air about it that looked nothing like the cities he had been to before, which could have been built many times over out of the stone used here. How had these people constructed such a giant barrier and what need had they for it?
He observed the huge wall for any signs of an entrance, finally spotting one a fair trudge away from where he stood. Sighing to himself he hobbled over on sore feet and hoped that someone was there to let him in.
As he reached the huge gates he began to wonder if the Caldalians wanted visitors at all, it must take an enormous amount of energy to open such a construct. Would they do so for a single traveller?
There appeared to be no way to scale the wall and even less chance of breaching the gates, he was beginning to run out of options should these people not wish to allow entrance.
Not seeing any other way to gain passage through to the city, Anacletus rapped on the gate in the hopes of gaining someone's attention.
'Is anybody in there?' he shouted, feeling a bit stupid for doing so.
The sound of a latch being removed led to a small section of the gate swinging open, a helmed face peered out of it with suspicion. 'What brings you to Caldalia, stranger?'
Anacletus tried to look as submissive as possible in the face of this authority. 'I am a humble traveller sir, I seek entrance so that I may pass through and into the mountains yonder.'
The guard squinted at him, suspicion in his eyes. 'Really now? What purpose have you with the mountains yonder?'
Anacletus was not a patient man, and dealing with lackeys such as this was quicker with a blade than a tongue. He knew that the only way into the city for most travellers was through speaking to this man rather than killing him. The gap in the gateway was deliberately made too small for a man to pass through at the expense of the guard, a normal man would have to use his wit and his words to convince the man to open up. Anacletus was not a normal man.
'Well, traveller? What reason have you for wanting to be beyond these gates?'
As he walked silently toward the hole in the gate, the guard's eyes began to widen in alarm.
'Stand back from there traveller, or I shall not let you in.' the guard warned, making to close the hatch.
'Too slow.' Anacletus said, taking a deep breath and leaping for the space the careless man had left in the defences.
His shadow was insubstantial as it shot through the air, its almost weightless form propelled at great speed by the power of his jump. The blade within was not, puncturing the sternum of the surprised guard and causing him to topple off his post and onto the ground below.
Anacletus relaxed into corporeality once more, a smile playing across his lips as he opened the smaller gate inside to allow his pursuit entrance. Let the cursed city await him, he would not fear those to come.
The shadows were lengthening when El-Vador and his companions finally made it to the city. It was an eye-opening time for the young Elf as the structure dwarfed even that of the keep he had seen before. Had Sarvacts constructed something like this on Elven soil he would still hold the mountains, he shuddered to think how large the fortress was that his nemesis currently dwelt in.
'You seem distracted,' Phaedra said to him. 'Is something the matter?'
She seemed genuine in her questioning so El-Vador offered her a response. 'I've never seen a building of this magnitude before, is Sarvacts' fortress much larger?'
Phaedra shrugged. 'All large buildings of stone seem the same to me, too pointlessly imposing for their own good. I measure them not.'
As they made their way to the gate the trepidation that El-Vador had felt on approaching such a thing was validated.
He had thought at first that perhaps this was an ordinary thing for such a huge city of men, a miniature gate within the gate so that many my pass through in times of peace without having to repeatedly open the larger doors. These thoughts were dispelled by the reactions of his companions, especially that of Phaedra.
She marched forward now, seemingly unconcerned that anything may lay in wait for such blind action. He then heard her breath exhale.
Inside the gate was a corpse hanging limply from a noose of what seemed to be blackened smoke, upon the wall next to him were ominous words painted in the man's own blood:
The first to close this door will be the next to hang. I will be watching.
El-Vador stared at the line of guards that were keeping horrified and curious bystanders at bay, wondering silently to himself whether they had picked a bad time to enter. The guard captain seemed too flustered by the scene to notice their arrival. 'Move along now citizens,' he said, his voice struggling to rise above the din. Consequently nobody paid any attention to Phaedra's odd complexion and they easily managed to blend in with the rest of the bustling crowd. There was a cry from the people as a body hit the floor, the smoky noose that had held the body had vanished.
The city's pungency hit him like a wave, a compression of everything he once considered civilisation into one small space. With it came a distinct cavalcade of sounds he was altogether unused to, alienating his senses and lending colour to the odd surroundings. He stayed on constant alert as he watched the crowds slowly part from the scene and join the rest of the bodies in their long traversing of the city streets. All minds seemed set at this hour on heading back to wherever they called home in this vast place.
Slowly they filtered off from the large main road into side streets and alleys, the numbers dwindling to manageable levels. In turn El-Vador's urge to lash out at the proximity of these odd people faded, having only had the throng of battle to compare this feeling to, the stress had mounted the longer they had remained in the throng.
Fortunately it was Phaedra who took the lead with a surety that neither El-Vador nor Eihblin understood given that she was supposedly confined to her former master's fortress. Had she some previous knowledge of the workings of these huge cities from life prior to Sarvacts' enslavement?
They were interrupted by a small figure who crossed their path and would not let them pass without engaging him.
'What are you?' the boy asked, fiddling with the torn rags that just barely covered his decency.
El-Vador's Travels Page 16