The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul

by Jon F. Merz

His eyes drooped, and he realized he was exhausted. A few minutes of sleep would be the best thing. At the very least, they were safe from the outside world. And there seemed no way for Kan-Gul or his minions to reach them right now.

  “Will he live?”

  Ran opened his eyes to see Jysal kneeling beside him. He smiled. “I don’t really know. Only time will tell if I was successful or not.”

  Jysal rested her head on his shoulder. “It would appear that I’m not the only one here capable of magic.”

  Ran smirked. “There’s no real magic in what I just did. All people have the skill to do it. It’s merely a matter of recalling it. Dusting it off and being able to learn to use it again. That’s all.”

  “What people don’t know they possess looks like magic to their untrained eyes. You have done more for Kancho than any of us could have done.”

  “Maybe,” said Ran. “Let’s just hope that it’s enough to stave off the infection.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Ran slept. When he awoke, Kancho was still unconscious. But that was to be expected. Properly healing him would mean that his body would be as inactive as possible while, hopefully, the energy cleaned his wounds. Only time would tell if Ran had been successful or not.

  When he awoke, he found Neviah and Jysal deep in whispered conversation on the far side of the cave. Clearly they were trying to avoid making much noise and Ran appreciated that. Both he and Kancho needed the rest.

  Ran stretched and felt some measure of strength returning to his body. He hadn’t eaten in nearly a day, and his reserves had been pretty much exhausted by the attempted healing of Kancho. Still, he at least felt as though he had been able to manage some rest, and he yawned in spite of himself. Getting to his feet, he wandered over to Neviah and Jysal.

  “Any sign of Malkyr?”

  Neviah shook her head. “Not a one. Knowing that opportunist, he’s probably found a way home and left the rest of us here to fend for ourselves. I swear if I ever lay eyes on that creature again, I won’t hesitate to kill him.”

  “We don’t know that he’s left us here,” said Ran. “For all we know, he could be finding out what is in the tunnel and possibly even bringing us back food and water. Or worse, he could’ve been killed or captured. I’m certainly not ready to say he’s left us on our own just yet.”

  Jysal smiled at him. “Do you truly believe that Malkyr is going to bring us back food and water?”

  “Probably not,” Ran admitted. “But we don’t have any proof he’s doing otherwise.”

  “He hasn’t returned yet,” said Neviah. “For me, that’s a fairly strong indication that we are going to be on our own. And without Kancho, we’re effectively down to three.”

  Jysal pointed at Kancho’s body. “How long will it take before you know if you were successful?”

  Ran shook his head. “As I said, I’ve never done this before on someone as severely wounded as Kancho. It might take a day; it might only take a few hours.”

  “It’s already been several hours,” said Neviah. “You slept for about four if I judged the time correctly.”

  Ran frowned. “I was asleep for that long?”

  “Yes.”

  He sighed. Clearly his strength had been taxed to the extreme in leading the party on its escape from Kan-Gul and then attempting a healing on top of that. Ordinarily, the best course for regaining his strength would have involved a huge meal, plenty to drink, and then about twelve hours of uninterrupted rest. Ran smirked. He wasn’t getting any of those today.

  “Jysal and I were discussing the possibility of discovery by Kan-Gul.” Neviah pointed at the cave entrance. “I’m guessing it won’t take him very long to track us down. Even with the rocks in front of the cave, those undead creatures of his could get through. And if they trap us inside, we’re all as good as dead.”

  “So, what you’re saying is . . .”

  “We can’t stay here,” finished Neviah. “It was fine for a few hours, but we’d be pushing our luck imagining we can hide out here indefinitely. Jysal has already sensed a roving presence outside of the cave.”

  “The dragons? If that’s what they were . . . ” Ran shrugged. “Maybe they’re keeping watch over the cave.”

  “I’m not sure what it is,” said Jysal. “But it’s getting stronger. That makes me think that Kan-Gul may well be close to arriving here. I have no idea what the limits of his power are, but it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility for him to be able to manifest himself inside the cave with a band of Chekhal.”

  “We’d have no chance if that happened,” said Neviah.

  Ran frowned. He didn’t want to leave the cave if at all possible. Not with Kancho’s body in such a vulnerable position. “He needs more time.”

  “We may not have that time,” said Neviah. “And since Malkyr hasn’t seen fit to return as yet, we have to assume he’s gone. One way or the other, we need to keep moving. It’s the only way to stay ahead of Kan-Gul and hopefully get out of here.”

  Ran moved over to Kancho’s body and laid a hand on his brow. He was still feverish, but less so. That was a good sign. Ran dearly wished the older warrior would wake up and show no ill effects from his injuries. But that seemed unlikely, at least right now.

  “How are we going to move him?”

  Neviah shrugged. “That’s what we were discussing when you woke up. There’s no easy way to do it. You and I can manage to some extent if Jysal wants to lead the way.”

  Ran cocked an eyebrow. “The tunnel isn’t all that big. I don’t know if it would even accommodate us trying to get Kancho’s body through the opening.”

  “Well, we certainly can’t leave him here,” said Neviah. “If Kan-Gul breaks in and finds Kancho’s body—”

  “I’m not suggesting we leave him,” said Ran. “If that were the case, we would have been better off letting him die.” He glanced around. “Ordinarily, if we had access to the outside, I could fashion a litter from some saplings to haul his body around on.”

  “We seem to be a bit short on saplings right now, Ran,” said Neviah. “And I don’t see anything we could use as a substitute. It’s down to you and me hauling him through. Jysal can spell us if either one of us gets too tired to continue. The important thing is we keep moving. I dislike the feeling of being trapped like a rabbit while the fox waits outside my den.”

  “Agreed,” said Ran. He glanced at Jysal. “Are you comfortable with this plan?”

  “I wish I was a bit stronger so I could help you,” said Jysal. “But I will help any way I can.”

  Ran nodded and looked at Neviah. “How long?”

  “The sooner the better. There’s no telling how quickly Kan-Gul can get here and penetrate the cave. It could only take him seconds if he’s as powerful as he’s tried to make us believe he is.”

  Ran pointed at Kancho. “We’ll need to move slowly with him. His body’s extremely vulnerable right now. If he takes any more injuries, it may be beyond my skill to help him.”

  Neviah frowned. “I’ve never seen healing like what you attempted there. My skill is in herbs and potions. But it’s obviously had some effect on Kancho. When you first fell asleep, his body twitched a number of times while the fever took hold. But he gradually seemed to relax and stayed still. Had I not checked on him regularly, I would have thought he was dead. As it is, he only breathes a few times each minute.”

  “That’s normal,” said Ran. “He’s in a relaxed state, so his body requires less breath. The energy I poured into him will hopefully deal with whatever toxin is inside him. I’m hopeful he will awaken soon.”

  “That would be convenient,” said Neviah. “But we cannot wait and hope it will happen.”

  Ran looked at the slowly dying fire and gathered up a few of the pieces of wood. He handed these to Jysal. “This is about as much as we have left for some sort of torch.”

  Jysal took the wood and smiled. “I’ll be able to see regardless of the torch. Just make sure nothing ha
ppens to Kancho.”

  Ran eyed Neviah, but she was already busy positioning herself behind Kancho. “I’ll get his arms if you can manage his legs.”

  Ran picked up Kancho’s sword and laid it across the man’s chest. There was nothing worse for a Murai than losing his sword. Undoubtedly, it would also prove a source of strength when Kancho reawakened. Its mere presence might infuse him with a bit of energy.

  Ran handed his sword to Jysal. “You’ll need to hold this for me. It will only get in my way while I carry Kancho.”

  “I will see no harm comes to it while it is in my care.” Jysal tucked Ran’s sword under her arm and moved toward the tunnel opening.

  Ran positioned himself at the front of Kancho’s body and then squatted down, his back to Kancho’s torso, hooking his arms under the older warrior’s legs. He glanced back at Neviah. “Ready?”

  “On three,” said Neviah. And then they lifted together.

  Ran grunted. Kancho was significantly heavier than he’d imagined. Behind him, he heard Neviah take a quick breath.

  “How much does he eat? I thought he would be lighter.”

  “I thought the same,” said Ran. “Let’s keep moving. We’ve got a ways to go before we can rest.”

  They moved toward the tunnel opening. Ran looked at it and turned to Neviah. “Let me go in first and then we’ll ease him through. Then you come in and we’ll resume our carry.”

  “Very well.”

  Jysal was already into the tunnel. The torch she held flickered and sent shadows sprawling across the tubelike cavern. Ran took a quick look around, trying to see how far it went on for. As far as he could tell, the tunnel snaked around and continued for some distance. Perhaps Malkyr hadn’t abandoned them after all. If the tunnel was truly as long as it seemed, it might go through the entire mountain. Malkyr could still be walking.

  Ran reached back into the cave and got a hold of Kancho’s feet. Neviah fed Kancho’s body through bit by bit until the older warrior was completely in the tunnel. He still showed no signs of waking up. Good, thought Ran. If he continues to rest, that will bode well for his healing.

  Neviah entered the tunnel and looked around. “It’s more roomy than I thought it would be.”

  “Lucky for us,” said Ran. “I didn’t fancy the notion of carrying Kancho in a cramped environment. We might be able to handle this, after all.”

  Jysal took the lead as they slowly worked their way through the tunnel. Ran’s eyes constantly roved over the ground, trying to pick out any holes or stray rocks that would cause him or Neviah to tumble and drop Kancho’s body. As they walked, he called out obstacles to Neviah, who maneuvered around them.

  The tunnel, hewn out of rock perhaps by some long-forgotten spring, seemed to meander forever. It reminded Ran of how the water in a stream would simply take the path of least resistance and flow over and around everything. Ran supposed that was good. If the tunnel itself was unpredictable, their eventual destination would also be unpredictable. And perhaps even the mighty Kan-Gul would not know where they would end up.

  Jysal led them around an outcropping of jagged rocks that looked able to tear open flesh with ease. Ran struggled to keep from dropping Kancho’s legs as they made their way past it. Neviah grunted once and managed to keep her end up as well.

  The deeper they got into the tunnel, the warmer it became. Ran was grateful it wasn’t as cold as it had been in the cave entrance. He felt a line of sweat break out along his brow and nodded to himself. He wasn’t dehydrated yet if he was able to sweat. But he also recognized the fact that it had been nearly a day without anything much to drink. If they kept up this pace and didn’t find a ready source of sustenance or drink, Kan-Gul and his undead minions would be the least of their worries. Best not mention it to Jysal and Neviah. It’d only make them more aware of their own thirst.

  Jysal stopped then. “I hear something.”

  Ran glanced at Neviah. “Let’s put him down. If it’s a threat, we need to be able to deal with it without being encumbered.”

  They lowered Kancho’s body to the ground, and Ran took his sword back from Jysal. “Where did you hear it?”

  “Somewhere up ahead,” said Jysal quietly. “I wasn’t sure if it was artificial or part of the tunnel itself.”

  “Stay here,” said Ran. He moved out from where he had been squatting and maneuvered his way deeper into the tunnel. He didn’t bother looking behind him, because he knew Neviah would be there to handle anything if Jysal had been mistaken and the noise was behind them. Ran had been in enough tight environments to know that sound could play with your senses.

  He kept his jaw slack as he moved, opening his ear canals for the slightest noise to be picked up. Could it be Malkyr farther up ahead? Had they managed to catch up with him already? That didn’t make any sense. Malkyr had been gone for hours. And they’d only been in the tunnel for perhaps twenty minutes.

  Unless it was Malkyr returning.

  Or someone else? Or something else?

  Ran eased the first inch of his sword free of its scabbard, ready to spring into action the moment he sensed danger. He carefully picked his feet up and put them down again without making any noise. There were plenty of loose rocks on the tunnel floor that would skitter and echo deeper into the tunnel if he wasn’t careful.

  Then, ahead of him, he saw a large boulder off to one side of the tunnel. The rock looked strange, as if it had been dropped there by some unseen hand ages ago. But Ran appreciated its presence: it made for a great bit of concealment.

  And now he heard the noise, too.

  Slowly, aware that fast movement often draws attention, Ran lowered himself to the floor and stuck his head around the side of the rock to see what was making the noise.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The sight surprised him. Ran could see a small rivulet of water dribbling down the side of the tunnel rock and dripping into a small pool below. That would not have been a strange sound in and of itself, but what made the entire scene odd was that the water dripped onto a flat metal plate that reminded Ran of a shield. Where had that come from?

  He crept ahead, scarcely able to believe their luck at finding a water source. He’d need to taste it and see if it was safe to drink, but if it had come through the rocks and mountain, then it certainly should be filtered by now. Ran slid out from behind the rock and crept down the tunnel. The dripping water was louder as he approached, and its rhythmic clanging sounded almost like someone beating their sword on a shield.

  Ran knelt and put his hand into the dripping water. It was ice cold and clear. His mouth went bone dry and Ran smirked at how his body reacted to the sudden appearance of water. He waited until his palm was full and put it to his lips. As soon as the water touched his mouth, he tasted its sweet purity and marveled at how much it renewed his strength. Water was exactly what he’d needed, and here he had a ready source.

  He checked the immediate vicinity and found nothing to suggest there was a threat. He dashed back up the tunnel and waved Jysal down. “There’s water down there you can drink. I tried it, and it’s fine. Slake your thirst, you’ll need it.”

  Jysal rushed past him, and Ran moved to where Neviah waited.

  “Are you sure it’s safe to drink?” she asked.

  He nodded. “As sure as I can be. It tastes amazing. Probably came through the entire mountain above us. As it traveled, the ground would have acted like a natural filter.”

  Neviah smiled. “I could do with a drink.”

  “We all could.”

  She pointed at Kancho’s body. “Even him?”

  “Especially him. Help me get him down there, and I’ll see if I can wake him up long enough to try some of the water.”

  Together, he and Neviah managed to get Kancho down the tunnel to where the water dripped out of the rocks. Jysal was lapping up as much as she could. Neviah joined her and after a few minutes, stepped back so Ran could drink his fill. As he did so, Ran marveled at the existence of the wate
r here in the tunnel. It had shown up just as they were becoming acutely aware of their lack of drink.

  Timing, he decided, was everything.

  He glanced over at Neviah. “Do you have a waterskin?”

  She drew out a small pouch from inside of her tunic. “This is all I have. Most of my gear went down aboard the Aqaria.”

  “It will do,” said Ran. He leaned back into the stream of water and waited for the small skin to fill up. Once he had it mostly full, he scooted over to Kancho’s body and dribbled a small bit of water across the older warrior’s lips. Then he leaned back and waited.

  “Will that waken him?”

  “I don’t know,” said Ran. “It’s but one way to try to bring him out of his slumber. He really needs this water. No doubt it will help his body stave off the infection and replenish his blood loss.”

  Kancho coughed suddenly, and Ran helped him to sit up. “You need to drink this water.”

  Kancho’s eyes barely opened, but he seemed to understand what Ran was saying, and his mouth dropped. Ran tilted his head back a bit and let the water slide down his throat. Kancho gulped several mouthfuls and then collapsed back down to the ground.

  Ran frowned. This was not what he was hoping to see. He’d been expecting some sort of good sign that Kancho was recovering. But he was still warm to the touch. His body certainly seemed to be in the grips of whatever toxin had poisoned him earlier.

  Neviah came alongside of him. “He still suffers.”

  Ran sighed. “I’ve done what I can. It is obviously beyond my skill to see him healed completely. Whatever happens next will depend on him. I hope his body is strong enough to fight off the poison. But there’s no guarantee, unfortunately.”

  Neviah laid a hand on his shoulder. “No one could ask any more of you, Ran. You’ve done all you could and more. Kancho is lucky to have you here with him. I was able to do nothing.”

  “You helped Malkyr back on the beach.”

  “Do not remind me. I almost wish I hadn’t helped him at all.”