by Jon F. Merz
He hoped.
“We’re going to keep walking on the trail. Do you understand?”
“We don’t appear to have much choice in the matter.”
“Not unless we want to end up as dinner for these guys,” said Ran. “Otherwise, no, we don’t.”
He felt Jysal’s soft touch on his back. “I trust you, Ran. Remember that.”
He nodded. “All right then. Let’s keep moving.”
Ran might not have drawn his sword, but he kept his left hand on the scabbard as they walked. Ahead of him, the game trail climbed slowly through a copse of trees that shrouded the area ahead in deep shadow. Ran frowned. Not being able to see clearly made him wonder what might be waiting for them. He slowed down and glanced back again at Jysal. “Can’t see ahead. It’s dark under those trees.”
But even as he said it, Ran heard the unmistakable growl of beasts from all around them. Jysal’s eyes widened, and she looked at Ran. “I don’t think they like you slowing down. They’ve been keeping pace with us as we walked, and now you’re not moving.”
Ran frowned. “I don’t like walking into an area like this.”
“As you said before, we don’t seem to have a say.”
Around them, the growling continued. Ran saw the hungry eyes staring him down, daring him to try to make a move. Whatever they were, the beasts seemed supremely confident of their ability to kill Ran and Jysal without too much effort. Ran sighed and then motioned for Jysal. “All right then.” He turned and walked into the tunnel of trees.
Under here, it was significantly cooler. And the farther they traveled, the colder the air got. The thick humidity they’d experienced for the majority of their hike through the swamp and forest was now gone. In its place, Ran could see his breath as he exhaled. The shadows all around them made seeing clearly a difficult task. But Ran knew enough to use his peripheral vision instead of trying to look directly at something. As he did, he saw shapes and movement. But he resolved to keep his head down and keep moving ahead. The memory of the growling beasts still filled his head.
The ground continued to slope upward, forcing Ran to bend slightly forward and put the strain of exertion on to his thigh muscles. Behind him, he could hear Jysal breathing hard. She was clearly struggling to keep up. He looked back, but she only gave him a close-mouthed smile and pointed for him to keep going. One thing was certain: Jysal might have the appearance of a beautiful woman, but she was pretty tough as well. The hike would have taken a lot of sturdier warriors down. But Jysal was still gutting it out. Ran respected her for that.
The air lightened around them as they plodded up the hill. On either side, the trees still loomed close, their twisted, gnarled trunks a slate gray wall. But ahead, the shadows retreated. Ran could see things now.
He stopped.
Waited.
But no growls chased him.
Ran smiled and then turned as Jysal stumbled into him. “Why did you stop?”
“They’re gone.”
“What?”
“The beasts. They’ve left us.”
Jysal took a big gulp of air into her lungs and then turned, looking around, but then looked back at Ran. “When did they vanish? I could have sworn they were with us every step of the way.”
“I think that was their job,” said Ran. “To make sure we didn’t stray from the path and to make sure that we entered that tunnel of foliage.”
“But why? What was the point? And why did the first one attack us?”
Ran turned back and stepped forward. He waved Jysal closer to him. “Perhaps it thought we were easy prey, and once we killed the leader, the rest came to herd us.”
“Herd us where?”
“There,” Ran replied pointing to the west.
In front of them, the ground broke into an open plain devoid of any sort of cover for hundreds of yards in every direction. As Ran scanned the ground, he could see no place where they could hide and observe the massive stone fortress resting in the center of the plain.
It might have been built from giant stone bricks, but from the distance they stood it looked as if it had been vomited straight up out of the earth in some sort of molten geyser before cooling to a dull, lifeless gray appearance. Spires jutted toward the sky, which had grown as gray as the fortress. Arrow slits pockmarked the walls, and the ramparts looked more like rows of serrated teeth than they did proper fortifications.
“It’s terribly ugly,” said Jysal. “Who would have created such a terrible castle?”
“Kan-Gul,” said Ran simply. “I think we’ve arrived at his home.” He shivered unintentionally as a cold breeze blew over them.
“And what happened to the warm air?” asked Jysal. “It’s gone frightfully cold.”
Ran set his jaw. The answer was as obvious as everything else that had happened to them since they’d been cast ashore in this horrible place. “Sorcery.” He spat on the ground.
“You don’t like magic practitioners?”
Ran edged his sword an inch out of its scabbard. Just being in this place reminded him of another sorcerer he’d dealt with recently. “Their quest for power has a tendency to corrupt their souls. And they forget their place in the universe, seeking instead to dominate all those they consider beneath them.”
“Not all sorcerers are like that,” said Jysal quietly. “Some of them help people.”
Ran’s frown deepened. “I have yet to see any evidence of such things. The sorcerers I have known have all been cruel men, best put to the sword before their evil ways could fully manifest.”
“Would you see all sorcerers put to death so readily?”
Ran eyed her. “Until such time as I see proof that not all magic users are evil, yes.”
Jysal glared at Ran. “Well, perhaps you shouldn’t make such sweeping generalizations. You might be surprised to learn that there are good sorcerers in this world. And you might also be surprised to learn that the good sorcerers are just as disgusted with the evil ones as you are.” She pushed past Ran and stepped out onto the plain.
Ran grabbed at her arm, but she twisted away and walked on.
“Jysal, wait,” said Ran. “We don’t know what’s out there. They could have spotters looking at us right now.”
“I don’t really much care,” said Jysal. “The company I currently keep isn’t exactly up to my standards.”
Ran frowned. She’d obviously taken great offense at his opinion of sorcery. But that was his experience so far. He didn’t think it was entirely fair that she judge him on it, considering he didn’t know all there was to know about the field of magic.
Jysal strode on across the plain and then abruptly stopped. She raised her right hand and held it palm out toward the fortress. Ran heard her chanting something under her breath, a type of singsong series of words he could not understand. After a moment, Jysal’s body swayed slightly, and he thought she might fall to the ground. But she managed to stay upright and then finally turned to stare at Ran.
“Our friends are inside.”
Ran cocked an eyebrow. “And just how do you know that?”
Jysal sighed. “You know, for a warrior as adept as you are, you certainly seem to lack an ability to grasp the obvious.”
“Now you’re insulting me?”
Jysal lowered her hand and shook her head. “I am a sorceress.”
Ran felt like she’d punched him in the gut. He swallowed. “Oh. Sorry about what I said back there. It’s just that I’ve only known—”
Jysal’s hand came back up. “Forget about making excuses. You said what you said.” She took a breath. “And honestly, it wasn’t fair of me to act like that. In truth, I’m not a full-fledged sorceress yet. That’s what the temple is for. I’ll get my full training there. That’s why Neviah was accompanying me. It’s her job to make sure I make it to the Temple for my education.”
“I had no idea.”
Jysal smirked. “Obviously.”
“So . . . what can you do?”
“What can I do?”
“Yes, what sorts of spells or incantations are you able to do?”
“Didn’t you just hear me? I’m going to school at the temple to learn how to do that sort of thing. For now, my power is just raw and untempered. I don’t have any real control over it.”
Ran pointed at the castle. “But you just told me that you could somehow tell our friends are inside there.”
“They are.”
“Yes, but how do you know? Exactly, I mean.”
Jysal shrugged. “It’s a basic technique I’ve been able to do since I was a very young girl. I can close my eyes and see things. That’s really all it is.”
“And what about that spell you just muttered while you were doing it? What was that all about?”
Jysal smiled. “Oh, that.”
“Yes, that.”
“That was me making you feel bad while I stood there saying a bunch of nonsense.”
“That was nonsense?”
Jysal nodded. “Total gibberish. I don’t have any idea what those words meant.”
“And the upraised hand?”
Jysal laughed now. “Did you like that part? Was it effective?”
“Very.”
Jysal sighed. “Well, that was fun. But really, I can see our friends in my mind’s eye. I’m confident they’re in there.”
“You’re sure about that? I’ve often heard that desires and ego can sometimes interfere with what we think we see or feel.”
Jysal eyed him. “Have you really, now? That’s not the sort of thing I’d expect a warrior of common background to know much about.”
Ran said nothing.
Jysal grinned after a moment. “Still not going to share it with me, hmm? Very well.” She nodded. “But you’re correct about our personal whims sometimes impacting what we can sense. Those who are able to acknowledge and then subjugate their ego will find their vision is truer than it would be otherwise. That’s one of the hardest things to attain, mind you, but it can be done.”
“And you’ve done that, have you?”
“I have,” said Jysal. “Not that it was easy. It was, in some ways, the most difficult thing I’d ever attempted while I was growing up. But eventually, I found the clarity that I sought.”
Ran squatted by the ground and ran his hand over the dirt. Particles of hard, packed earth came away in his hand. He peered at the castle, and his eyes went to the walls themselves, trying to spot a weak point he could exploit to somehow gain entrance.
He saw nothing.
The single portcullis of thick, spiked iron barred their way. Otherwise, the shortest distance from the ground to an arrow slit was at least forty feet. He would be hard-pressed to find a way in. And from this distance, the walls themselves seemed almost marble smooth. He couldn’t free-climb that without risking injury, perhaps death if he fell from too great a height. If he died, what good would he be to his friends trapped inside?
“It looks quite impressive,” said Jysal.
“It is,” agreed Ran.
“Can you find a way inside it?”
He glanced at her. She only smiled at him.
Ran shook his head. “Not from this vantage point. As far as I can tell, it’s largely impenetrable.” His teachers had always stressed that even the most impregnable fortresses still had weaknesses. But he didn’t want to reveal that to Jysal. At least not yet.
“There’s got to be some way inside,” said Jysal. “But I suppose it’s a matter of getting up close and seeing for ourselves, eh?”
“We’ve already been seen,” said Ran. “There’s not much point in trying to hide and observe the structure in secret. They know all too well that we’re out here.”
“Who does?”
“Them,” said Ran, pointing ahead at the castle. And even as Jysal turned to look, he could see that if the beasts had seemed wholly unnatural, the warriors striding toward them across the plain seemed even more so. But one thing seemed certain: Ran and Jysal were going inside the castle.
CHAPTER TEN
“What are they?” Jysal’s voice was hushed and draped with fear.
Ran watched the warriors marching toward them with a mixture of revulsion and wonder. Each wore padded leather armor reminiscent of the type worn by Murai warriors in Nehon and strode with purpose toward Ran and Jysal. But if their armor was new and crisp looking, their faces were anything but. Gray skin covered their heads, and milky white opaque eyeballs rested in their sockets. Ran wondered if they were even able to see, but judging from how well they moved, he guessed that sight was not the issue. If these warriors were undead, how can they be killed?
“I can’t look at them,” whispered Jysal.
“Don’t turn away,” said Ran. “And don’t make any sudden movements. Let me handle this.”
Jysal nodded.
Ran smirked in spite of the situation. The warriors continued to approach. When they were but twenty feet away, the line of them suddenly stopped. Ran’s left hand rested on his scabbard. His right hand stayed at his side. He hoped his body language conveyed the fact that he was ready for a fight but not yet posing a direct threat. Still, if he suspected that he and Jysal were in immediate danger, he would act without hesitation.
One of the gray-skinned warriors stepped forward. Ran looked directly into what might have once been eyes full of life but were now blank milky white orbs. The warrior raised his right hand toward Ran and then uttered a single halting sentence tainted by an accent of some sort.
“You will come with us.”
Ran thought about replying, but then decided against it. What was the point? He doubted the warriors would be able to tell him anything useful. And if Kan-Gul was the man behind the state of these dreadful men, then Ran definitely wanted to meet him and see for himself what else he was capable of doing. Ran had seen the effects of sorcery before, and he didn’t relish the thought of battling another evil wizard so soon. But then again, he didn’t think he had much of a choice. If the universe had put him here, then Ran was determined to see it through to the end.
Whatever end that might be.
So instead of saying anything, Ran merely nodded once and then waited as the warriors all turned around in unison and started walking back toward the castle, their footfalls echoing in perfect time as they did so. Ran glanced at Jysal, and then they fell into step behind them.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Of course,” said Ran.
“And what is it?”
“My plan is to get inside and see what’s going on. Then I’ll come up with some type of a plan to free our friends and get us out of there.”
“That’s not much of a plan. There are dozens of these warriors here. And as good as you are, I don’t think you’re a match for all of them.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Ran frowned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I really appreciate that.” He shook his head. “Look, the fact is we have no information about Kan-Gul, so doesn’t it make sense to see what he has to say?”
“Only if that means he’s not going to kill us.”
“If he’d wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead,” said Ran. “He might only want to kill you. In which case, I’ll just leave him to it and be gone.”
Jysal looked horrified. “You wouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t,” said Ran with another grin, hoping he’d broken her growing panic. He nodded at the warriors. “We need to find out more about these creatures before I try anything. Otherwise, I’d be a damned fool. And I don’t like to think of myself as a fool.”
A stiff wind blew across the slate gray plain as they walked toward the castle. To Ran, the gray features of the landscape matched that of their escorts. He tried hard to remember what his teachers had told him about sorcery and its uses outside Gakur. But even then, their experience was somewhat limited. What his elders knew of magic, they had only been able to piece together from reports from their network of spies throughout the lands. Or at least
, that’s all they had taught him about it.
There were, of course, the rumors that high-level shadow warriors could employ a certain type of magic as well. But those claims came mostly from people who had never set foot into the training halls that Ran had. So what they thought they knew came from their own fertile imaginations. The leadership at his school had always been content to let such myths and legends propagate themselves. It helped add to their fearsome reputation.
Ran had also been exposed to enough of the school’s teachings to know that more often than not what others saw as magic was in reality simply a new perspective on something that no one else had yet thought to see. Skills that had gone dormant in other people were reawakened through the shadow-warrior training and honed to the point of becoming a tool for use instead of one that gathered only rust.
But then again, Ran had heard other whispers of levels far beyond his own that hinted at the potential for even more unusual skills. Whether they were magic or not, Ran didn’t know. But he wanted to live long enough to see if they were.
The warriors seemed to be headed for a wall that had no gate in it. Ran wondered whether or not they would be asked to walk right into the side of the castle. He hoped he was wrong and that a gate would suddenly appear. But so far, nothing had. When he’d first gazed at the castle, Ran’s keen eyes had seen only one way into the castle: through the portcullis. But the warriors showed no signs of heading for that entry point.
Where would they enter?
“They expect us to walk through stone?” Jysal’s voice was quieter still.
“I don’t think they will do that.”
“Funny way of showing it. How come we’re not heading for the main gate? Doesn’t that make the most sense?”
Ran shrugged. “Ours is not to question, just to obey.” He winked. “For now.”
Jysal shook her head.
“That’s all we have right now,” said Ran. “I suggest you simply relax and see where things take us.”
“Do you really believe that? Is that what all of your training has taught you?”