“You shouldn't have come back here, you wretch,” his father spat, “You're nothing but trouble, and you'll bring a curse down on this town!”
“Oh don't worry, I'm leaving,” Pacian assured him, “I just wanted to drop in and say hello before you drink yourself to death.” Pace burst through the door and slammed it behind him. A small crowd of people had gathered around to find out what all the commotion was.
“That whole family was always trouble if you ask me,” he overheard a large woman say. “Pity about his wife though, she was a lovely lass, though I can't imagine what she ever saw in a man like Bryce.”
“Aye, and that son of theirs is a chip off the old block,” someone else replied sagely. Aiden was only just within earshot of these comments, and although he found their comments tasteless and invasive he wasn't about to take sides in this fight.
Nellise emerged from the crowd and beckoned Pacian to her side where they talked in whispers for a time. Aiden didn't feel the need to eavesdrop, so he decided to head over to the inn and drown his sorrows, and speak with his friend about this eventful evening later.
The Sleeping Bear was a creatively titled inn that mostly catered to merchants and the occasional passing traveller, however the roads had been practically deserted of late, leaving most of the rooms vacant. The fire in the hearth burned brightly and the food was good, which proved to be of some small comfort to Aiden as he headed inside for the evening.
Perhaps an hour later, after Aiden had morosely eaten half a roast chicken, Pacian slumped down in the chair next to him. The two friends exchanged a tired glance, saying nothing, for they didn't need to speak to convey what they were feeling at that moment. They were both emotionally exhausted and needed nothing more than quiet company for the evening. Nellise joined them at the fireplace a little while later, sitting next to Pacian in silence, while Sayana came over to sit on Aiden's lap, something that managed to distract him from his troubles quite effectively.
“I see you two have become quite friendly,” Nellise remarked softly, a faint smile on her lips.
“Yes, it came as something of a surprise to me,” Aiden replied dryly.
“Why is everyone acting so strangely tonight?” Sayana asked without warning, causing a number of exchanged glances to be passed around.
“Sy has many fine qualities,” Aiden drawled a moment later, “but I think it's her non-sequiturs that I find really attractive.”
“It would seem that both of these young gentlemen have family issues,” Nellise said in reply to Sayana's question, smiling briefly at Aiden's cunning remark.
“Yes, and if it wasn't for Nel's advice,” Pacian added accusingly, “we would have had a quiet evening by the fireplace instead of horrible confrontations with certain people.”
“I still stand by what I said,” Nellise said stubbornly, looking pointedly at each man. “In my experience, a lack of communication is the basis for all interpersonal conflict.”
“Maybe, but I'm never going to speak to my old man again after tonight, so I don't see the problem being fixed, ever,” Pacian said bitterly.
“Never is a long time, Pace,” Nellise counselled. “See how you feel in a few years, okay?” Pacian shrugged, then a few moments later, slowly stood up and stretched.
“This wasn't the best of days, and tomorrow isn't going to be any easier, so I'm going to bed,” he stated tiredly. “I'll see you all out front first thing.” Aiden mumbled a quick 'goodnight' as Pacian turned and sauntered off towards his room. After he'd gone, Sayana stood up and took Aiden by the hand, easing him out of the chair and slowly leading him towards their own room.
“I guess we're off to bed as well,” Aiden remarked, looking back over his shoulder to see Nellise, who seemed to be blushing as they walked away. Despite her apparent eagerness, Sayana had something else in mind when they climbed into bed that evening. She apparently sensed Aiden's dour mood, and offered nothing more than her company for the night.
Lying there in her arms, his mind dwelled on the events of the day for some time before he became sleepy. The last thing he remembered thinking, was that if the dragon appeared in his dreams that night, he was going to give it a swift kick in the head before it ate him.
Chapter Seventeen
It was a typical winter's morning in Coldstream when the five of them met outside, a strong wind assailing them from the southwest and a thick layer of snow upon the ground. It was just before sunrise, with the sky only beginning to lighten, and everyone who didn't need to be up and about was sensibly still in bed.
Their breath misted heavily in the frigid conditions, and Aiden smacked his gloved hands together, trying to generate some warmth. The heavy, white winter cloaks they wore protected them from the worst of the bitter wind, but the real test would come when they moved out of the foothills and over the High Plains, a large expanse of empty land in the southern region of the kingdom that gradually became the Highmarch Mountains.
Colt seemed remarkably alert considering the early start, and apparently able to avoid any drinking altogether for this mission. The big ranger was however, eyeing Pacian and Aiden suspiciously as they checked their gear one last time.
“I hear tell from the innkeeper that something happened last night,” he remarked to nobody in particular. “Bit of a local disturbance, as it were. I don't suppose either of you two heard about it?” Aiden shook his head after a moment of fake thought, and Pacian merely shrugged.
“I spoke with a drunken man in town last night,” Nellise casually mentioned. “He had been creating quite a scene, as it happens, so perhaps that's what the innkeeper meant?” Colt looked her straight in the eye for a long moment, as if trying to determine if she was lying or not.
“Yeah, that was probably it,” he grunted, hefting his greatsword over his shoulder. Aiden caught the young cleric's eye for a moment, and noticed a quick wink in his direction. He had to give credit where it was due, for Nellise hadn't actually lied about anything she'd said, and he silently thanked her for it.
“Alright, let's move out,” Colt ordered. “We're supposed to meet up with Duncan ten miles or so upstream, and he'll lead us into enemy territory from there. Sally is relaying word on their patrol movements and fortifications to him, so we'll have everything we need moving forward. The rest is up to us.”
“I know that's putting a lot on your shoulders Sayana, but that's the truth of the situation. If at any time you don't think you can help us get in there and take this bastard out, you let us know. We won't think any less of you for it, you understand me?”
The sorceress nodded, continuing the silence she had begun this morning after they'd woken up. Wordlessly, Colt turned and started trudging up the road, the snow crunching underfoot as the rest of them fell into line behind him. The two miserably cold militiamen still on duty at the south gate gave them a terse farewell and returned to their vigil.
Just outside of town, they crossed the bridge over the river Coldstream, which was iced over at this time of year. There was no trail visible beyond this point, for there had been almost no trade between the akoran tribal people and the town of Coldstream for months. Even before they closed their borders, the mountain folk weren't known for their open, sociable nature.
Much of their land had been taken from them over the past century, as Aielund slowly expanded its borders as far as it could without running afoul of another major power. There was little else of value in the mountains to the south however, so an uneasy truce was forged.
This left the akorans with the least valuable lands under their control and their continuing antipathy towards Aielund over the years came as no surprise. Aiden had met several akorans in his life and found them to be a hard, uncompromising people, accustomed to living in a place where life was short and brutal.
Aiden's thoughts dwelled on historical matters for an hour or so, but after stepping on a branch and causing Colt to whirl around, he decided to focus more on his surroundings.
The terr
ain was gradually ascending as they travelled, and signs of life such as trees, bushes and animals slowly disappeared into the thickening mist blanketing the landscape.
Presently, a huge, dead tree loomed ahead of them out of the fog. Its branches clawed at the sky, an ominous omen if ever there was one. It stood beside the frozen river, watching over the land like an ancient guardian. Colt signalled for them to stop beneath its empty boughs, then pursed his lips and whistled a lyrical bird call. They crouched in silence, expecting an answer from beyond the misty veil, yet there was only silence.
“This is where we were told to meet Duncan,” he whispered, glancing around cautiously. “He should have seen us coming and contacted us by now.”
“You sure you haven't been sipping a little of the 'holy water'?” Pacian asked spitefully.
“Remind me to punch you in the face when we get out of here,” Colt growled at him ominously.
“I'll make a note of it in my journal,” Pacian replied with a healthy dose of sarcasm. “'Dear diary, when we get back to town, Colt wants to express his manly affections for me through violence.’”
“Enough,” Aiden said gruffly, in no mood for their usual repartee. “Do we wait here, or find our own way forward?”
Everyone looked to Colt for an answer, but had to wait while the big ranger looked around for signs of any tracks, or indeed any indication that something unpleasant might have befallen Duncan.
“Something’s not right,” he muttered, glancing around in consternation. Aiden mimicked him, suddenly finding the cold, misty air oppressive. Their visibility was counted in yards, and anything could be hiding out there. Colt drew his bow and a moment later, an arrow whistled past him to thud into the trunk of the dead tree.
“Ambush!” he roared, nocking an arrow and kneeling in the snow to aim at something nobody could see. They drew their weapons as more arrows flew past, and Aiden’s heart raced as no less than a dozen hulking silhouettes appeared from the mists around them, weapons ready and the roar of their battle-cries echoing across the frigid landscape.
Colt loosed his arrow into their ranks before the charging akorans closed the distance. Aiden spoke the command word to summon his force shield and as it shimmered into existence his mind analysed the situation, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He didn't have time to think about it however, as three warriors bore down on him with spears poised to strike.
Sayana let out a stifled scream as her worst nightmare came to life, and she reflexively huddled towards the centre of the group, unable to face the oncoming storm of her people. Pacian threw a pair of knives at one large figure, striking true yet barely slowing his advance. Nellise began cranking out bolts from her crossbow. Shooting at close-quarters targets was precisely what it was designed to do and she struck down one after another in quick succession.
Colt threw aside his longbow and drew his greatsword as the front line of akorans closed in, managing to take a swing at his nearest enemy with his first swing. After their furious charge the akorans began working together to defend their flanks and take advantage of any mistakes. They closed in around the group, preventing any escape. Aiden was fighting on a purely defensive level as the relentless attack pushed him back towards Colt's position.
Colt swung his blade back and forth with all his strength, striking down first one warrior, then another but they were replaced as quickly as they fell, showing no fear at the sight of their fallen comrades.
Nellise was eventually forced to discard the crossbow and whirled her quarterstaff around, keeping the enemy at bay as best she could. Their situation was looking worse with every passing moment, but it could be turned around in a heartbeat if they could just break out of the surrounding warriors.
It was at that moment Sayana finally overcame her fear. She screamed the same war-cry the akoran's had and threw her shining mithral axe at the largest of their foes, almost splitting the man in half. She drew the weapon back to her hand with sorcery, and took her place in the defensive circle to hold back the rest.
Holding the axe in her left hand, she conjured flames from her extended right, enveloping the nearby warriors in fire. Sayana's flames abruptly died almost as soon as they began, however, at the shouted words of a venerable man wearing a black bearskin robe who stood beyond the ring of warriors. In one hand he held a staff etched with many runes and sigils that glowed with an eldritch light.
“A shaman,” Sayana breathed, fear evident in her voice. Although he appreciated her respect for the newcomer, Aiden had a different reaction to the scene before him. He realised the futility of their situation and understood there was no escape from the ambush. Nellise’s quarterstaff whirled and hit with precision, breaking limbs until she was struck with the butt of an axe and dropped to the ground, unconscious.
The last thing Aiden remembered was Sayana looking at him in despair, right before a thrown axe hurtled into his field of view it strike him right between the eyes. Then everything went black.
* * *
The darkness was replaced with the near-blinding light of midday, causing Aiden to squint against the sudden brilliance. His boots crunched over snow as he took a few tentative steps, looking down upon a scene from his worst nightmares.
He stood amidst a battle between armoured men wearing the gold dragon tabard of the Kingdom and others clad in hooded robes, with signs of steel armour hidden underneath their garb. The fallen from both sides of the battle littered the landscape, and the ringing of steel and the cries of the combatants were deafening.
One of the Kingdom soldiers suddenly bumped into him, giving him a dirty look as he yelled in Aiden's face to get back on the line, or be tried for cowardice. Aiden looked down at his body and saw he was wearing the armour and uniform of an Aielund soldier. His mind raced, trying to remember how he had come to be in the middle of this fight.
Aiden knew what was coming, but he didn't know how he knew, and he staggered around as if in a dream. The ground began to shake, and grew with intensity until the head of an armoured creature appeared over the rise, revealing more of its body as it closed the distance. He knew what was coming.
It was easily over twelve feet in height, with shoulders eight feet across and completely encased in ornate armour. It gleamed with the appearance of burnished steel, and the face etched onto the front of the helmet was forged into an expression of haughty superiority. More followed, marching across the snow-covered land.
“You can’t win this!” Aiden shouted, knowing the outcome of this fight. “Run, for the love of God run!” If the soldiers heard him, they paid him no heed.
Aiden watched the ongoing battle, but knew it was a futile effort – the outcome was inevitable. After long minutes of bloodshed, the black warrior stood alone against the last of the bizarre metal monsters. This one was different to the others though – shorter by several feet and wielding a huge sword in one hand, the edge of the blade rippling with light.
They came together in a savage dance. Aiden remembered where he had seen this, and he was right, it was a dream, yet he couldn't understand why it felt so real.
Then, a shadow grew over the battlefield as something immense obscured the sun. An immense gold dragon was descending onto the battlefield, its wingspan easily over a hundred feet across.
As expected, the dragon turned its great head to look directly at Aiden. It seemed as startled to see him as Aiden was to be witness to this entire scene. It spread its wings and the air around it crackled and sparked with a build-up of power. A flash of white light suddenly engulfed the battlefield and a blast of energy engulfed Aiden, who fully expected to die.
A stillness came over the field. Aiden slowly looked up to see a colossal hole carved out of the ground, easily a hundred feet across and just as deep. It was almost a perfect hemisphere, and even went inside the bailey of the castle itself. The outer gate and part of its walls cleanly sheared off where the hemisphere met them.
Aiden slowly stood, looking at the devastatio
n before him and felt at peace. It was an odd feeling, considering what he had just witnessed, but there it was, regardless. The scene around him began to fade and turn a curious shade of purple. Then it was all swept away in a swirling sea of blue and violet light, a vista that appeared flat and featureless, yet seemed to stretch on to infinity at the same time.
He could no longer see his body in the dimness, and felt as though he were floating in water. He simply drifted with the flow, pushed about by eddies and currents of the great ocean. After an interminable amount of time, a shape began to form from the surrounding formlessness, a piece of rocky ground beneath his booted feet.
Aiden touched down lightly upon the surface and watched as the fog of violet and blue slowly receded before him to reveal an immense creature. Its great head lifted slowly and Aiden saw it was the dragon from his nightmare, manifest before him in all its terrifying size. But it wasn’t quite the same.
Its great wings were wasted away to mere skeletal frames, covered in aged and worn skin. The golden scales adorning its hide were lacklustre, and the eye that was now looking down at Aiden from the great head was bleary, and dull. Aiden felt no fear of this creature and was instead filled with a sense of pity.
Welcome, Aiden, a powerful voice intoned, although the mouth of the dragon had not moved.
“Where...what is this place?” Aiden replied, his voice small in the vast emptiness around him.
You are standing on a small pocket of reality amidst the Aether, a dimension adjacent to what you know of as Aeos, your world. Do not be alarmed, you are quite safe.
“How can you talk without moving your mouth?”
My jaws are not capable of reproducing mortal speech patterns, the dragon replied patiently. I am communicating directly with your mind.
“I see,” Aiden said timidly, struggling to comprehend everything that was happening. He took a few steps, noting that the great eye of the dragon, only yards away, followed his every move. The dragon's bulk took up most of the space on the small pocket of land, but there was a structure of some sort behind it. Peering closer, Aiden could see that it was a castle gate and part of a stone wall, with crumbling edges that stopped just short of the edge of the ground. Chains were lashed across the front of the gate, which appeared to be locked tight.
Nature Abhors a Vacuum (The Aielund Saga Book 1) Page 27