"What do you see that troubles you?" Tanya asked.
"I am worried about that bridge," Alex answered as he handed the scope to Tanya. "Who can say how old it is? I am hesitant to trust it to carry us over the abyss. The wood is surely rotted by now, and while the vine handholds look intact, can we really trust our lives to it?"
"Perhaps there is another way to get to the door," murmured Tanya as she peered through the scope.
"Not that I can see," Alex shook his head. "The only ledge on the other side is the narrow one just before the door. It is barely large enough for two people to squeeze onto, and there does not appear to be any ledges below it to climb up to it."
"I agree," sighed Tanya after a moment. "There are some of us that can fly across, but the king is not one of them."
"And he must be one of those to enter the door," frowned Alex. "And if he goes through that door, you are going with him."
"You worry for me?" Tanya asked.
"I worry for both of you," nodded Alex.
"I have said that I will protect the king with my life," asserted Tanya. "You have no need to question my resolve any furtheryyyyyy."
"I do not question your resolve," Alex smiled grimly. "I worry about losing you. Or King Arik."
"I will not let you down, Father," replied Tanya. "I think you are more concerned about not being able to go with us. We will be fine. You must have faith in me."
"There is no one I would have greater faith in than you for this assignment," smiled Alex. "It is hard for me to not want to be there beside the king as he opens that door, but your skills are better suited for the task. Your magic may be required."
"To open the door?" questioned Tanya. "I had wondered about that."
"To open the door and more," nodded Alex. "Who can say what lies beyond that door, but I fear that it will be a test of your mettle. The other holders of the gems have been creatures that are flesh and blood. If we could not reason with them, we could kill them, but the gods may be different."
"Do you believe in the gods?" asked Tanya.
"I would like to," shrugged Alex, "but I have little reason to believe in them. My life has been nothing but warfare in one guise or another. It is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I would wager that the rest of the Knights of Alcea feel the same as I do. So where have the gods done anything to help us? They haven't is the answer."
"Unless their help was in the gathering of this group in the first place," suggested Tanya. "That is the only help I could see that might have been given."
"So you do believe in the gods then?" asked Alex.
"No," Tanya replied. "The god of war did not join us in this group, nor did the goddess of water. The followers of Abuud caused us more harm than good, and I do not believe in luck. I find nothing of the gods to believe in."
"Then what do you expect to find beyond that black door?" asked Alex.
"I do not know what to expect," frowned Tanya, "but whatever it is, it will have met its match in King Arik and myself. I will bring him through this alive, Father."
"I believe in you," Alex smiled as Tanya returned the scope. "Just make sure that you bring yourself back as well."
"They are coming again," shouted Tedi. "They are trying to surround us."
"What about your sleep spell?" King Arik asked Prince Midge as the fairly landed on his shoulder.
"We have tried it," frowned the little fairy prince. "They do not appear to sleep. The spell has no effect on them."
"Alternating hot and cold should shatter them," offered Fredrik.
"True," nodded Jenneva, "but we do not have the time necessary to accomplish it. It is not like bringing a rock wall down. These rocks are moving towards us. They won't stand there and wait for our spells to take effect."
"Let's move out," decided King Arik. "We only need an hour or so to reach the bridge. Let's outrun them."
The Knights of Alcea had not gone more than a few hundred paces when Prince Garong called a halt. Blocking the trail before the Knights of Alcea were two large rock trolls.
"The way ahead is blocked," called the elf prince.
"Rock troll on the left," shouted Wylan.
"And two behind us," added Tedi. "We are surrounded."
Alex looked at the rock trolls and then his eyes strayed across the deep abyss. In the distance above him, he could see the old narrow bridge spanning the abyss.
"So close," Alex muttered to himself as he tried to think of a way out of the trap posed by the rock trolls.
"We are in trouble," fretted Wylan. "They do not look very friendly."
"Jenneva," Alex said with determination, "do something with the two rock trolls in front of us. We must remove them from the path of King Arik."
Jenneva nodded, but Alex had already turned his attention to Tanya.
"Tanya," he continued, "you get King Arik up to that bridge. Do not let anything get in your way. Get him through that door."
"I am not abandoning the Knights of Alcea," protested the king. "We are all in this together."
"You have a task to do," countered Alex. "The Knights of Alcea are capable of defending themselves. It will be easier for us if you are safely on your way. Go as soon as the way is clear."
Suddenly, the mountainside ahead of the Knights of Alcea rumbled loudly. The ground began to shake violently. As the Knights of Alcea fought to remain standing, the rock trolls wavered uncertainly. The two rock trolls blocking the path upward appeared to be affected the most as they tumbled to the ground in a loud crash.
"Now," shouted Tanya as she pushed the king forward. "Run, Arik. I will be right behind you."
Propelled towards the fallen rock trolls, King Arik swallowed his misgivings as his powerful legs charged up the trail. Tanya raced after him as the rest of the Knights of Alcea gathered in a group to resist the remaining rock trolls.
The rock trolls growled in a deep rumbling voice as they began to close in on the Knights of Alcea. The two fallen trolls slowly raised themselves from the path and converged on the small group. The Knights of Alcea backed into a small knot near the edge of the abyss. Arrows flew towards the rock trolls, but they bounced off with no apparent damage. The rock trolls continued to slowly advance.
"Our weapons are useless," remarked Sheri. "Maybe we should scatter and try to escape. They move awfully slow. Maybe Jenneva can shake the ground again, and we can run for it."
"Not this close to the abyss," Jenneva shook her head. "We could collapse the very ground that we stand on and be tossed into the abyss."
Tedi suddenly turned towards the edge of the abyss as he heard a sound behind him. He stood staring at the head of a rock troll that was scaling the vertical side of the abyss to attack the Knights from behind. The shock of seeing the rock troll at the edge of the abyss frightened Tedi. He reflexively swung his staff at the creature's head, and was amazed when the troll's head vaporized in a shower of pebbles.
"My staff!" shouted Tedi as the others turned to see what was happening. "I forgot what my staff can do to rocks."
"Of course," Bin-lu yelled in triumph. "If you can smash holes in rock walls, you should be able to defeat these rock trolls."
"Let's hope it works," worried Wylan as he pointed down the pathway. "There are six more of them coming up the trail."
Tedi pushed his way to the front of the group. He rushed up to the nearest rock troll and swung his staff viciously. The staff connected with the legs of the rock troll with a thundering clap. The creature's legs vanished is a shower of stone fragments. As the rest of the troll's body collapsed, Tedi swung his staff again. A pile of stone rubble marked where the rock troll had been. The other rock trolls shouted with low rumbling tones. They hesitated slightly in their advance towards the Knights of Alcea.
Tedi did not give the rock trolls any time to think about their actions. He raced towards the next nearest rock troll and swung his staff hard, striking the creature near its waist. The troll split in two and crumbled to the ground.
The other trolls backed away warily, but they did not leave the area. Instead they began to lift large boulders.
"Can you keep the boulders from striking us?" Alex asked Jenneva.
"For a while," Jenneva nodded as she hastily erected a physical shield around the group. "The problem is that we will tire while they will not."
"They may not tire," replied Alex, "but they will lose patience with an attack that is failing to achieve their objective. Just keep the shields up until we can plan a way out of this. Now that we have Tedi's staff as a weapon, we will get free of these creatures."
"Plus we buy time for the king to reach his destination," nodded Fredrik. "I can use my shields to provide Jenneva with a break when she begins to tire."
"And Niki can try once again to communicate with these creatures," added Alex, "but this time we will not command them to leave. Try to convince them that we do not wish to harm them, Niki. Tell them that we are visitors to the island and plan to leave it soon. We do not intend to stay here."
"I will try," agreed Niki. "They are afraid of us now. Maybe they will listen."
Chapter 24
The Ancient Bridge
"There is another rock troll off to the left," shouted King Arik as he raced up the trail towards the old bridge.
Tanya panted with exhaustion as she nodded and sent a magical wind towards the huge creature. She did not break her stride as she cast the spell and ran past the rock troll.
"We would never have made it this far without your magic," King Arik gasped as he ran along the trail.
"We are not there yet," responded Tanya as she raced behind the king. "Keep running."
Fifteen minutes later, the king and Tanya reached the edge of the abyss and the ancient bridge that spanned the deep chasm. Far on the other side of the gorge, the black door stood silently wedged between the two black statues of demons. The air was still, and the king bent over and placed his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes scanned the narrow old bridge, and he shook his head with concern.
"I am not sure this old bridge will hold our weight," exhaled the king.
Tanya swallowed silently as she looked at the bridge. She felt the exhaustion of the hour's run and the effort of casting spells during the jaunt. She grabbed for her water pouch and took a sip as she shook her head.
"We have little choice in the matter," Tanya finally responded as she turned and saw the rock trolls coming up the path in the distance. "We cannot turn back now, and the bridge is the only way for you to get to that door. Start going across. I will stay here and keep the rock trolls from pursuing you."
"If we must cross it," argued the king, "we should cross it together before the trolls get closer."
"I am not sure that it will hold the two of us," frowned Tanya as she looked at the decaying boards that made up the floor of the bridge. "Make sure that you have hold of the vine railing at all times. I do not trust the boards to hold you."
"But…," argued the king.
"No buts," Tanya countered sternly. "My task is to see you safely to that door. Now move onto the bridge before the trolls get here. Each minute that you delay lessens the chance of my getting across safely."
The king was about to continue arguing when one of the rock trolls let out a rumbling roar. King Arik shook his head and grabbed the vine handholds of the bridge. He tested the first board with his foot and then started to cross the bridge. Tanya looked behind her at the king crossing the bridge before returning her attention to the rock trolls. She decided to use Jenneva's trembling-ground spell before the creatures got too close to the bridge. She cast the spell and the rock trolls teetered on the path. She cast it again with a greater strength and watched the rock trolls tumble to the ground.
"Careful," shouted the king as the bridge began to sway.
Tanya turned and saw the king about a third of the way across the bridge. The vines and walkway were swinging gently as the king clung to the handholds. Tanya watched nervously as King Arik began walking again. A few paces later, one of the boards snapped as the king's foot landed on it. He stood frozen, one foot dangling in the air, as several pieces of wood fell into the bottomless void beneath the bridge. Tanya held her breath as she watched the king recover his balance and step gingerly over the hole in the bridge.
Tanya turned back to face the rock trolls that were slowly scrambling to their feet. She cast a physical shield across the path to stop the advance of the rock trolls. The trolls strode into the shield and rebounded off it. The shock waves reverberating through the shield pounded Tanya as each troll hit the shield.
"I cannot hold this up for long," Tanya murmured to herself as the first rock trolls to hit the shield hit it again. "I am almost spent."
The tremors sent through the shield threatened to weaken Tanya to the point that she would be useless. She dropped the physical shield and noticed the surprise evident on the faces of the rock trolls as they began to walk up the trail. Tanya backed up to the edge of the bridge and cast a powerful wind spell towards the rock trolls. Their advance appeared to stall momentarily, but Tanya realized that the magic would not keep the creatures away for long. She turned and gazed worryingly at the king.
King Arik was almost at the other end of the bridge, and Tanya knew that she only had to delay the rock trolls a little longer before the king would be safe. She had planned to transform herself into an osprey and fly across the abyss once the king was safe, but the rock trolls were now too close for her to attempt that spell. She would be extremely vulnerable during the transformation, and her death at the hands of the creatures would be almost certain. With a sigh of failure, Tanya turned and ran out onto the bridge.
"Run," she shouted loudly. "Get off the bridge. Get off it now."
King Arik leaped the last few paces of the bridge and landed in a ball on the narrow ledge before the black door. He turned to stare at Tanya as she ran across the bridge, heedless of the rotting boards that made up the walkway. One of the boards snapped, and Tanya's leg went through it. She fell to the walkway, clutching the boards before her.
"Get up!" yelled the king as he watched the first of the rock trolls approach the far end of the bridge. "Get up quickly. The trolls are going to cross the bridge to get to you."
Tanya looked in horror as a huge rock troll raised his foot to cross the bridge. She grabbed onto the vine handhold and yanked her leg out of the hole. King Arik looked on hopelessly as the rock troll's foot struck the bridge. The wooden boards shattered under the creature's weight, and the troll fell forward onto the bridge.
The king watched in slow motion as the troll's body slammed down onto the ancient bridge. Ten feet of boards shattered to splinters under the troll. The creature reached out and grasped the vine handhold as it fell. The vine snapped like a tautly strung bowstring sliced by a knife. The bridge rocked and twisted when the vine snapped, and Tanya held on tightly as she screamed. The king could only shake his head in disbelief as the falling creature grabbed the other handhold. It, too, snapped as the rock troll plummeted to his death. The ancient bridge fluttered slightly in the motionless air before collapsing into the abyss.
"NO!" shouted King Arik as he watched the bridge and Tanya fall into the abyss.
He crawled to the edge of the abyss and grabbed onto the vine handhold as he heard pieces of wood smashing against the sides of the gorge.
"Tanya?" he cried into the bottomless void as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "Tanya? Don't leave me."
The king remained prone at the edge of the abyss, holding the vine handhold. He made no attempt to halt his tears. After several long moments, the noise of falling boards ceased. The rock trolls on the other side of the chasm rumbled unhappily and turned to leave. The king just closed his eyes and cried as all movement of the vine ended.
King Arik was not sure how long he remained in despair at the edge of the abyss, but he suddenly became aware that the vine was moving again. He opened his eyes curiously and concentrated on t
he movements of the vine. A protrusion in the cliff wall blocked his view into the abyss. The air was still motionless, and yet he could surely feel the vine handhold moving purposely.
"Tanya?" he shouted. "Are you alive?"
The only response was a grunt, but the sound brought hope into the king's heart. He sat up and looked around for something to give him leverage to pull the vine up onto the ledge. The only objects on the narrow ledge were the two demon statues. He crawled to one of them to determine what held it in place. He frowned as he gazed upon the feet of the statue. The black stone was narrow at the ankles of the statue, and he wondered if the stone was strong enough to support the weight of the bridge and Tanya.
"Give me a hand," gasped Tanya as she neared the ledge. "I don't know if I can make it all the way up."
King Arik swiveled around and leaned over the edge of the abyss. He looked down to see Tanya's head appear alongside the protrusion, not twenty paces below him.
"Just hang on," King Arik shouted as he wiped away his tears. "I will pull the vine up."
"No," Tanya said weakly. "You will not be able to hold its weight. Do you have a rope?"
"No," the king answered sadly as he stretched his arm downward. "Grab my hand."
Tanya did not reply as she struggled to pull herself upward towards the king's extended arm. Finally, she was able to reach the king's hand. King Arik grasped her wrist tightly and tried to pull her upward, but he had nothing to gain leverage on.
"I can't raise you," King Arik sighed with frustration.
"Just hold me," Tanya replied. "Just a few minutes until I can use my hands again."
King Arik stretched his other arm downward and held Tanya's arm with both hands. After a few minutes, with his arms aching form the strain, the king saw the vine move.
"Alright," Tanya said calmly, "let go of my hand. I am ready to complete this climb."
The king bit worryingly on his lower lip as he slowly let go of Tanya. He rolled to one side to make room for her as she climbed the last few paces of the vine. As soon as Tanya's head appeared above the edge, King Arik grasped her under her arms and pulled her up. She collapsed on top of the king.
Amethyst of the Gods Page 29