The Lone Apprentice
Page 62
She turned and galloped up the slope and the three warriors followed, with Kyreial and Teya practically carrying the guardsman. The tremors grew in both size and number and they had to dodge falling rocks as they tried to keep up with her. The three comrades struggled up the shuddering slope through the trees and by the time they reached the cliffs, the fire had raced ahead of them and all the treetops were ablaze. Coughing from the heavy smoke, they followed the crumbling rock walls for a short distance before coming to a narrow cleft in the rock. Shayva stepped into the fissure and they could see it marked the beginning of a small cave. None were too eager to enter the dark underground world again but this time the choice was easy; there would be nothing left of the valley in moments. Even now they could see huge sections of the cliff tumbling down all along the rim, burying the once-beautiful basin.
They stepped inside the entrance and followed the bright form ahead, quickly recognizing they weren’t exactly safe yet. The ground shook furiously and rocks were falling everywhere. Just a few seconds after they had entered the cave, Anthen glanced back and saw the entrance completely filled with rubble.
The weary warriors followed Shayva through a maze of interconnected caves. Anthen wondered if they were back in the labyrinth but had no chance to ask; focused only on staying close to the glimmering figure ahead. They were all hit by falling rocks as they continued on but kept moving somehow.
Shayva halted abruptly and the others caught up. Anthen leaned heavily against the shuddering rock wall and felt his hope sag when he saw that they had reached a dead end.
"Are we lost?" Teya asked, despair clear in her in her voice.
Of course not, Shayva answered impatiently. Touch my coat. Quickly!
Anthen staggered forward and as he touched the magical creature, the rock wall of the dead end immediately dissolved away and was replaced by a wide opening that showed a tranquil, snow-covered valley, sparkling under a bright morning sun. Stunned to silence by the drastic change, the trio walked forward into the bright sunlight and when they took their hands away and looked back, saw nothing but a solid granite slab behind them.
The peaceful winter valley spread out before them seemed like a dream but the rumbling from the mountain behind reminded them that it was all too real. They quickly moved a safe distance from the rock wall behind and looked up in awe of the scale of destruction that was taking place. The sheer walls that marked the outside of the upper cliffs of Mount Baenkeep were crumbling inward, covering forever the secret, tranquil valley that had existed there for eons. The devastation continued for several minutes as they watched, then stopped as abruptly as it had started. When the dust cleared, they stared at the huge mound of rock that had once formed the entire top half of the mountain. Though the bottom half of the great peak appeared intact, Anthen prayed the colossal destruction meant the end of the draugen as well.
It was the elf who finally broke the stunned silence. "We thought you had left us to die. We owe you our lives."
"Yes, thank you," Anthen and Teya added.
Most were of the mind to close all loose ends but I argued that both your races were so lacking of worthy folk that you couldn't afford to lose three more.
Kyreial chuckled and Anthen knew it was the closest she would come to praising either of their kinds.
"But your home is gone. Where will you go?" Teya asked.
Do not be concerned. We have other safe havens. We will discuss this tragedy and may decide to leave this world. You humans are even more dangerous and capable of more evil than we had ever imagined. The ethereal voice was tinged with sadness.
No one argued and the guardsman nodded with resignation.
I must leave you now.
The gentle creature turned and started through the snow away from them.
"I must go now as well," Kyreial said quickly. "I must accompany Shayva."
The other two turned to their comrade in alarm, not expecting to separate so soon.
"Will we ever see you again?" Teya asked in a shocked but hopeful voice.
Anthen made the same plea with his eyes.
The elf laughed heartily. "I should guess you might. With one of you in Arnedon and the other in Isaencarl, I suspect one or the other of you will forever be disturbing my wood to visit each other. We will share a fire and you will meet some of my kind." Though Kyreial laughed, his eyes told them it was a promise and it softened the blow of his abrupt departure.
"We will look for you friend," Anthen replied and Teya nodded, smiling.
"Bring coffee," the sprite continued, starting after Shayva. After a few strides he turned back, his eyes twinkling. "And take this." He tossed the wounded guardsman one of the strange looking bottles from his satchel. "You look terrible."
There was nothing left to say and with a wink, Kyreial turned away to join Shayva. In the blink of an eye he was standing beside the shimmering unicorn, somehow whiter still than the bright sun glinting off the pristine snow cover. The two warriors watched as the pair moved away through the silent valley until they passed over a ridge and disappeared from view.
The guardsman raised his parting gift in salute, then took a long swallow of the Elven elixir. The potent liquid burned but he immediately felt much better. A moment later he heard a reproachful whinny and turned to see Rorc and another horse waiting in a nearby grove of young spruce, grazing on a pile of withered grass. He took Teya’s hand and together they walked to fetch the mounts.
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Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Lisa Spencer for helping me with editing and the cover design.
About the author: I. K. Spencer lives in New Hampshire with his wife and family pets. He is currently editing his sequel to The Lone Apprentice. When I. K. is not writing, he works as a software engineer.