by A. Giannetti
“This is the only cover for miles around,” said Ascilius, rousing himself from his gloomy thoughts. “We can stop here for the night under the willows and remain out of sight while we have a meal and the horses graze.”
“What about lions?” asked Elerian uneasily. “I thought they preferred this sort of cover.”
“They do,” said Ascilius whose low spirits appeared to have made him indifferent to his own personal safety. “We can check the grove before we set up camp.”
Elerian ended his invisibility spell, for it was growing dark. Then, he and Ascilius separated, the Dwarf riding to the right and Elerian to the left. As Enias trod warily around the perimeter of the small wood, Elerian examined the shadows under the trees with eyes that could see by the faintest of starlight, but there was no sign of any lions in the grove. If any had sheltered here during the day, they had already left to begin their nightly hunt for prey. There were trails of beaten grass all through the wood indicating that many beasts came to drink here, but Elerian was not worried.
“The grazers will not return to drink again until the sun rises,” he thought to himself. “Until then, we should be safe enough from the beasts of prey that follow them.”
When Elerian reached the far side of the grove, he found that Ascilius had arrived before him. The Dwarf had already stripped the saddle from his mare and was in the act of tethering her in the middle of a thick patch of ankle high grass that was well under the cover of the trees. His pack and the mare’s saddle lay on the ground under a nearby willow.
“Stay under the trees my friend,” Elerian cautioned Enias after he dismounted.
Signaling his assent with a toss of his head, Enias began to graze on the rich grass growing under the trees, staying under cover as Elerian had instructed him. Elerian dropped his own pack next to Ascilius’s. The Dwarf was now filling his water bottle and Elerian did the same. When he dipped his bottle into the pool, he found that it was surprisingly cold.
“The pool is fed by cold springs deep underground,” said Ascilius as he noted Elerian’s surprise at the temperature of the water.
After opening their packs, they sat beneath a willow tree which spread its branches over their resting place like a green canopy. The long, slender leaves overhead rustled softly in the evening breeze as they unpacked some of their food before sitting down cross-legged on the grass to share bread, cheese, and a wineskin. As he ate, Elerian leaned his back against the rough bark of the willow. He felt unusually tired, for his ring had drawn on his power for the whole day to maintain its invisibility spell. He found it pleasant to sit in the dark after enduring the heat of the sun all day.
“We will continue traveling north tomorrow,” said Ascilius abruptly. After a good meal and several healthy pulls from the wine skin he carried along with his water bottle, his mood had improved. “We should reach the banks of the Tanicus by nightfall. There, we can shelter under the willows that line its banks. If we bear to the northwest after we leave the Tanicus, we will cross the old Dwarf road that runs north to south across the plains before eventually reaching the banks of the Catalus. At that point, the odds of us staying alive will improve considerably; for we can then follow the river north, keeping out of sight under the trees which line its banks. It will add miles to our journey, for the river does not follow a straight course, but I am uneasy traveling in the open with just your ring to shield us from the dragon’s sight. I have heard that dragons, like some mages, can see the shades cast by living creatures.”
“I have no objection to the longer route,” replied Elerian. “It will be pleasant to travel under leaves and branches again instead of the open sky.”
Ascilius helped Elerian clean up. Then, knowing that his companion seldom slept, he promptly rolled himself into his blankets, depending on Elerian to keep watch. Positioning himself at the eastern edge of the trees where he could remain under cover and still watch their back trail, Elerian looked out over the shallow valley before him. With the setting of the sun, the color had drained out of the landscape, but the stars were bright overhead, providing more than enough light for his night wise eyes. No movement caught his alert eyes except for the gray grass which shifted restlessly under the constant night wind.
Although the countryside appeared empty, Elerian’s keen ears told him a different story. There was still life here at the edge of the dragon’s hunting grounds. He heard the long, lonely howl of wolves in the distance, and nearer at hand, the bass roar of a hunting lion echoed through the darkness. Not long after, he heard the thunderous bellow of a herd bull, followed by the distant rumble of hooves, but no threat appeared close at hand to menace him and Ascilius.
Eventually, Elerian sat down with his back resting against the thick, fissured trunk of a willow, drifting into that peculiar state which now passed as sleep for him. His eyes remained open, and he was aware of all that went on around him, but while his body rested, his mind walked the dream paths which had become almost as real to him as his waking moments.
As he relived the pleasant time that he and Anthea had spent together under the lone oak which grew near the Troll Wood, Elerian felt a shadow fall over him. Looking up, he saw a familiar, shimmering scarlet circle appear in the air above him. The space within the boundaries of the crimson ring suddenly cleared. In the opening framed by the line of red, Elerian saw a familiar, malevolent, pale face wearing an iron crown set with blood red rubies. Dark eyes, populated with fiery red sparks that floated randomly in their depths, gloated over him as a pale, slender hand slowly extended through the portal. At the end of each long finger, Elerian could see a strong, curved nail, painted black and ending in a needle-sharp point. As the Goblin’s hand reached for his exposed throat, Elerian tried desperately to move and put up some resistance, but he found that he no longer had command of his body. He sat helplessly as the Goblin's cruel claws closed over his throat.
THE KILL
Strangely enough, Elerian felt no pain when the Goblin king’s hand grasped his throat, only a wet, velvety softness against his face. Suddenly, he found that he could move again. Blinking his eyes, like one newly awakened from sleep, he saw that Enias was nuzzling him with his velvety gray muzzle.
With his heart pounding, Elerian looked around him in confusion, but the portal and Torquatus had both disappeared. Nothing moved under the trees except Ascilius’s mare and Enias, who nuzzled him again. Close by, Elerian saw Ascilius lying motionless under his blankets.
“I must have slipped into a true sleep brought on by weariness and dreamt the whole thing,” thought Elerian to himself, not having any other explanation for his alarming experience. Not wishing to endure another dream of that kind, he stood and paced lightly around the grove for the rest of the night, waiting for the sun to rise. When Ascilius rose from his blankets, Elerian made no mention of his dream.
“Ascilius has enough to worry about,” he thought to himself.
After a quick, cold breakfast during which neither of them spoke much, they packed their gear and mounted their horses once more. Before they left the cover of the trees surrounding the pool, Elerian called his silver ring to his hand again, and he, Ascilius, and their mounts vanished from sight once more. Under the bright light of the early morning sun, they rode out onto the empty plains.
They had ridden little more than a mile, when they crested one of the gentle slopes that were a common feature of the deceptively flat landscape of the plains. Spread out across the verdant pastures before them were numerous, small family groups of red deer and wild oxen.
“The cattle are likely the source of the bellows I heard during the night,” thought Elerian to himself.
He noted at once that instead of grazing on the lush grass which surrounded them, all of the beasts were standing or shifting restlessly about with their heads raised. Their ears stood erect, as if listening, and their damp nostrils were flared as if scenting for some danger. Suddenly, Elerian heard a rumble like an ominous roll of thunder to the north. Eni
as shifted nervously beneath him, and the mare snorted through flared nostrils. Abruptly, a small group of oxen appeared on the crest of a low rise of ground to the north, running flat out, tongues hanging out and eyes white with fear.
Instantly, the animals in the valley took flight, running toward the small rise of ground that Elerian and Ascilius were descending. The menacing rumble of thousands of cloven hoofs striking the ground filled the air as a wall of panicked animals raced toward Elerian and Ascilius. Against the dark mass of the herd, the oxens’ long, inward curving horns glinted white in the sunlight, and their labored breathing came clearly to Elerian’s ears. In between the larger forms of the oxen bounded red deer, appearing small next to the cattle, but the stags were the size of a well-grown horse.
“Ride for your life!” shouted Ascilius pulling his mare sharply around. He could not see Elerian but knew that he was nearby. Without any urging from the Dwarf, his mare sped away, so swiftly that Ascilius almost lost his seat. As he left the protection of Elerian’s invisibility spell, Ascilius and his mare instantly became visible.
Enias reared up and, pivoting on his hind legs, spun smoothly around before dashing off after Ascilius. Elerian saw at once that the Dwarf was already in serious trouble. He was clinging desperately to the saddle with both hands, and his right foot was out of the stirrup. Given the manner in which he was bouncing wildly about, it was only a matter of time before he fell off. Behind him, Elerian heard the rumble of hooves grow louder. The labored breathing and groans of the stampeding oxen came clearly to his ears. If Ascilius fell now, there was no way he could avoid being trampled to death.
Even as Elerian formed the thought in his mind, Ascilius's feet slipped out of his stirrups. He bounced wildly for a moment on his saddle and then flew off the mare, landing face down on the ground on her left side. The panicked mare shied away from him. Continuing to run, she left Ascilius lying motionless on the ground.
Clinging tightly to Enias's neck with his right arm, Elerian leaned far to his left and reached out his left hand. He knew that he would have only one chance to save Ascilius, for the lead oxen were right behind him. As Enias flashed by the Dwarf, Elerian slipped a sure, strong hand under Ascilius’s heavy leather belt and, with a single powerful heave, lifted him face down onto Enias’s withers. Ascilius instantly disappeared again as he came under the influence of Elerian’s ring.
As soon as Enias felt the weight of the Dwarf on his back, he put on a burst of speed that drew him even with the black mare and away from the panicked oxen. With his knees, Elerian guided Enias to the right, angling away from the panicked animals behind them. Ascilius’s mare followed along behind. Before long, they were out of the path of the stampeding herd which thundered by on their left.
When the last panicked animal had passed them by, Elerian stopped Enias with a silent command. After sending away his ring, he leaped to the ground and lowered Ascilius’s stocky form so that he lay on his back on the thick turf. Still breathless, for he had fallen heavily, Ascilius sat up and began feeling himself for broken bones.
“Are you all right?” asked Elerian, his concern evident in his voice.
“I am only shaken up, I think, no thanks to that four legged death trap,” said Ascilius angrily as he gingerly stood up.
“Come now, you cannot put all the blame on your mount,” said Elerian with a sudden, humorous gleam in his eyes. “Some of the fault must go to the rider.”
“I'll not dispute it,” grumbled Ascilius. “It is unnatural for Dwarves to ride on anything but wagons.” He stared thoughtfully after the retreating herds. “I wonder what could have set them off?” he wondered out loud. “Oxen are not prone to panic save during storms, for they do not care for thunder and lightning.”
The same thought suddenly occurred to both of them. Together, they cast worried glances at the sky, but no dragon appeared.
Ascilius shrugged. “Let us be on our way then. Perhaps it was just the scent of a lion or bear that set them off.” He glared for a moment at his mare, which was now standing quietly next to Enias, before reluctantly climbing back into the saddle. After mounting Enias, Elerian made them all invisible again by calling back his silver ring.
After an hour's ride across the now empty plains, Elerian spied carrion birds circling in the sky far ahead of them and pointed them out to Ascilius.
“Perhaps we will find the cause of the stampede beneath them,” said Ascilius, adjusting their course a little so that they rode toward the scavengers. Beneath the circling birds, in a hollow that appeared suddenly before them, they came upon a gruesome shape covered with a shifting, seething blanket of black vultures and the small gray foxes of the plains. The scavengers hastily took flight or scampered off as Elerian and Ascilius drew near, exposing the remains of a great bull ox.
“I should have guessed,” said Ascilius as he reined in his nervous mare next to the carcass. Enias stopped on Ascilius’s left side.
Enormous, bare bones gleamed white in the sun, for a large portion of the ox had already been eaten. The marks of enormous teeth and claws were still plainly visible on the flesh that remained, and the turf around the carcass was torn and gouged, bearing witness to the titanic struggle that must have taken place before the death of the bull. As he took in the enormous, dagger pointed horns and the gigantic size of the ox, Elerian comprehended for the first time the true might of the dragon which they must eventually confront. He wondered where it was now and involuntarily glanced up at the sky, but it remained empty except for the carrion birds wheeling about overhead.
“The dragon made this kill,” continued Ascilius. The sounds of the struggle no doubt panicked the beasts we saw this morning. She must have returned to Ennodius after feeding on the bull. It is bad news for Orianus if the beast is now hunting south of the Tanicus. His forces and herds will no longer be safe from the dragon’s predations.”
The longer he stared at the carcass, the more agitated Ascilius became. After muttering inaudibly to himself for a moment, he abruptly turned to his right where he thought Enias was standing and shouted in a harsh voice, “Follow me no more, Elerian! I will not have your blood on my hands.”
The outburst took Elerian by surprise and also annoyed him, for he had thought this matter already settled. Suddenly weary of the somber gloom that had shrouded their journey like a dark cloud; he decided that a bit of mischief was in order.
“I am behind you,” he said loudly, smiling in amusement when Ascilius started violently and almost fell out of his saddle again.
Elerian made himself and Ascilius visible once more, regarding the overwrought Dwarf with steady gray eyes as Ascilius turned to face him.
“Fool!” shouted Ascilius. “This is no time for levity. What must I say to convince you to leave me?”
“I thought I made it plain enough that there are no words you can speak which will drive me away,” said Elerian, suddenly serious once more. “I know you fear for my life, but riding away from you will not make me any safer. I may avoid the dragon if I leave your side, but Torquatus will continue to look for me. Imagine his pleasure when he finds that he only needs to deal with one of us at a time.”
“The one who first named the Dwarves a stubborn, stiff necked people almost certainly never had any dealings with Elves,” said Ascilius, gnawing his beard in frustration. Without another word, he urged his mare out of the hollow and resumed the journey north. Following behind the Dwarf, Elerian made them all invisible again.
After leaving the hollow, they now saw no game bigger than a hare, for all the larger animals had fled south and east. When they reached the banks of the Tanicus, the shadows were already lengthening toward the east. Elerian ended his invisibility spell lest its golden glow give them away in the gathering dark.
The thick groves of willows and alders that lined the banks of the small river, some of them substantial trees forty and fifty feet tall, were a welcome sight to the two companions. After making sure there were no lions nearby, t
hey camped for the night under the trees growing on the south bank of the river. Once more, they ate another cold meal, for they did not dare to risk a fire. Ascilius spoke little, staring moodily at the ground as he ate and seemed to take no pleasure in his meal. Elerian had not seen the Dwarf this withdrawn since their time in the Goblins' mines.
When Ascilius rolled himself into his blankets and cloak, Elerian rose and walked out from under the trees lining the riverbank. Maintaining the invisibility spell for a second day had tired him again, but he felt too restless to sit and rest. Above him, the black dome of the heavens seemed close enough to touch. Nets of diamond bright stars were scattered across the sky, too numerous to count. A short distance away, under the trees to his left, Enias was cropping grass along the edge of the trees, tearing the succulent stems with his strong teeth. Under the starlight, his gray coat had darkened so that he was just another shadow under the trees. Only his eyes gleamed silver when he raised his head to look questioningly at Elerian.
“Peace my friend,” said Elerian as he walked over and stroked the stallion's velvety muzzle. “It is not any danger that troubles me tonight, only a restlessness of spirit.”
Reassured by Elerian’s voice, Enias resumed cropping the rich grass near his feet, and Elerian walked back under the trees. The narrow green willow leaves overhead were soothing to his spirit after the openness of the plains. As he wandered with a light step through the wood, his senses remained aware of all that went on around him, but his thoughts were soon far away. The willow grove faded away as Elerian became lost in his memories, reliving the days that he had spent with Anthea.
A RISKY UNDERTAKING
As Elerian walked restlessly through the willow groves growing on the banks of the Tanicus, Anthea, far to the south, stirred restlessly in her bed. Suddenly, she started awake, her heart pounding. A grim dream of Ascilius and Elerian being consumed by dragon fire still fresh in her mind, she sat up trembling in her bed.