by I. B. George
A bit earlier, before being saved, it had crossed his mind to cut the rope to make it easier for Vidar and the rest of the group. He had made one last try and that proved to be a lucky one.
He had done it for Robert as he felt responsible for the safety of the prince, now left alone in the world. He had been around those in the Eremon House for such a long time that he felt part of the family, even though his blood was nowhere near noble.
He was the youngest son of a blacksmith who had nine children. He had tried to better himself, knowing that he wasn’t fit to take over his father’s business when time came.
He liked weapons, but he didn’t like making them. He would admire a well-crafted sword, but he couldn’t bear the heat of the forge and the physical work he had to employ when holding the weapons.
He left home when he was thirteen with nothing but the clothes on his back, something to eat and a few coins in his pocket that he had saved with his toil. He became an apprentice to a master of arms and managed to learn how to fight so quickly that by the time he was fifteen, he became his master’s right hand. When the master died without an heir, he left his academy to him.
Azar managed to make a name for himself in a short time and thus he became appointed Master of Arms to the royal court of Sardar. He had been around those in the Eremon House for three decades and he became close to all the members of the family. Old King Neron and later on, Queen Neri supported him all this years by offering him the warmth of a home.
That’s why he now felt it was his duty to stand by Robert until the end, as a sort of compensation for the Eremons’ kindness.
Azar looked up at Rolan and understood they had to resume their climb. Because they were tied up together, they had to do everything at the same time. Rolan pushed himself onto his left leg while he held onto the rock above with his right hand. The master did the same and he climbed up, following closely behind Rolan.
In a short while, exhausted, they both climbed onto the steps they had fallen off half an hour before.
Azar thanked Captain Vidar and the latter answered simply that he hadn’t done much, although his arms, covered in blood, told differently.
It was already past midday and the heat had become unbearable as the sun blazed over the cliff. They advanced cautiously, more careful now than when they started, trying not to take any wrong steps which could delay them or worse, finish them completely.
They had climbed down more than half of Zathar’s Trail and the thick forest beneath them looked closer and closer. They couldn’t wait to place their feet on firm ground again and put an end to the uncertainty they felt each time they stepped onto those unpredictable notches.
Azar jumped onto a new step, followed by Rolan who leaped onto the previous one. One by one, the others did the same. Akura, who took up the rear, jumped too with agility and waited for the next step. It was much easier for him, his agility allowing him to advance effortlessly through this dangerous place.
The group moved on again, step by step, each time a bit closer to Elementis. Suddenly, a cry rang out.
Robert had jumped behind his friends, but his foot had slipped off the smooth edge of the step he was aiming for. Radius felt himself pulled back but he grabbed quickly onto the cracks in the rock. He was lucky that the prince’s weight wasn’t a problem and he managed to stay in his place.
Robert had a fright when his foot slipped off the step. He had forgotten for a moment that he was tied up to the Professor and his first thoughts were with his grandma Abigail who would never know what had become of him. Hanging over the precipice, his heart was pounding against his chest. At last, he managed to scramble up and grab a hold of the rope which held him up.
Radius let go of the rock and caught the rope with his right hand, trying to stop Robert from swaying. He saw him grabbing the rock and sighed in relief.
Robert felt relieved too as he felt his fingers firmly anchored onto the rough edges of the cliff. He glued his body against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to regain his strength and join his friends.
“Robert, don’t worry, I got you!” called Radius. “Be careful when you climb up… don’t rush.”
Robert heard the Professor, but didn’t answer. He opened his eyes and looked up at the step he had to reach. It wasn’t that far up. He started climbing up slowly, as far as the length of his arms allowed him. He realised he had only one chance of getting to that step and he couldn’t afford any wrong moves. The fatigue he felt in his arms would not have allowed him to try a second time to climb those few tens of paces he had to ascend.
He tried to stop himself from looking down into the abyss that lay beneath, as he remembered Aryana. He saw his friends looking down at him in encouragement. He had faced many dangers alongside his friends and he had to succeed for them and especially for Aryana.
He pushed with his legs again, holding onto a peak above. He was almost there. Two more goes and he would be safe. He searched for a crack or another peak to grab so he could climb again. He saw a crack a bit higher up, to the left and he realised he had to take a higher jump than before.
He kept his eyes on that spot and arched his knees just a fraction, as far as the wall in front of him allowed him. He then stretched his legs and reached for the crack with his left hand, grabbing tightly onto it.
With his right hand he felt the rock above him and found another crack to hold onto. He looked up and glimpsed the step above him, to the right. He placed his left foot on a cliff stump and pushed up whilst grabbing the step with his right hand.
He climbed up safely, to the joy of his friends who sighed in relief. Even if deep down they were cursing Zathar’s Trail for the dangers it had submitted them to and mostly for the loss of Queen Aryana, they all knew that they had made the best choice in order to escape Tyreas’s troops and reach the Boundary quicker.
The sun was setting as the seven friends continued in silence, more and more focused. They were convinced that Zathar expected an offering from those who tried to cross this wild place.
Aryana’s strategy of tying everybody together had spared them of any calamity that might have happened and kept them safe.
They no longer rushed as they got closer but took great care to reach Elementis safely. Radius kept a close eye on Robert, advising him on every step he took. After all, he was the reason they were there.
With each step they took, they were getting closer and closer to their goal. Once in Elementis, they assumed that the Khalari messenger would be waiting somewhere nearby.
Sadly, Aryana had perished before telling them more about the person they were going to meet. They didn’t know whether there was some password they had to use in case the soldier didn’t see the queen.
On the other hand, they had the same issue with trust as the Khalari messenger: they couldn’t know for sure that the person they were due to meet was indeed the Tanaris’ man.
With such thoughts crossing their minds, they reached the last steps of Zathar’s Trail. Azar was the first to set foot in Elementis, followed closely by the others who rushed to lie on the grass, exhausted.
Heading towards Robert, Radius said:
“Take out your father’s compass. Before we meet the queen’s messenger, we must make sure none of the Water Chosen are around.”
Robert opened his bag and placed his hand inside, looking for the compass among the other items he was carrying. Pleased, he took his hand out holding the required item.
He looked at the compass, watching the needle dancing in mad circles without stopping at any symbol.
“We’re safe, Professor. There are no Chosen around for a few thousand paces. If Aryana’s envoy is around, then he is surely not one of the Water Chosen.”
“Still, let’s be cautious, my friends. There could be soldiers around. The compass would be of no help then.”
A piercing cry interrupted the stillness of the forest and Khar dived towards the Professor’s stretched arm.
“Good evenin
g, Professor!”
“Good evening, Khar. Is there something you need to tell me?”
“I saw a group of soldiers leaving the Misty Passage a few hours ago.”
“How many?” asked Captain Vidar.
“Twenty six… and four Water Chosen.”
“That means…” thought Rolan out loud.
“That means they are one day behind us, my friends,” continued Khar.
Radius sighed thoughtfully.
“I knew they would find us. What I don’t understand is how did they do it so quickly?!”
“Maybe the rumour that Tyreas is hiding a sorcerer in Heldor is true after all,” said Akura. “We can only imagine the kind of spells and spirits he employs to keep an eye on us.”
Everybody watched him thoughtfully.
“Perhaps Akura is right,” Radius agreed with the royal counsellor of Sardar. “I had an inkling that the rumours might be true, ever since we came across the Shadows in the Demented Forest. Actually, if I remember correctly, I began wondering about that since the day he found out Robert was in Fantasmagoria, when he tried to sink the Sea Dragon.”
Voras felt shivers running down his spine. That’s how he always felt when hearing about things he couldn’t explain. Witchcraft or not, something was not quite right.
“What do we do now?” enquired Voras.
“We wait,” answered the Professor. “We can’t leave on foot… we don’t stand a chance. I trust that Aryana’s messenger will be here, unless he is already watching us to make sure we’re the people he’s been waiting for.”
“You’re right, Professor. I’m already here,” a voice called out from behind a nearby bush.
A man clad in a long robe similar to those worn by the priests in Konaar approached them, holding the reins of the horses promised by Aryana.
“I apologise Professor, I had to make sure you were the right people. I can’t see the queen though… did she change her mind about the trip?”
A cloud passed over the face of Radius and everyone else in the group.
“Sadly, my friend, the queen is no longer with us,” said Radius in a voice filled with grief.
He then told the soldier about Aryana’s battle with the terrifying beast and the tragic end they had witnessed.
The soldier watched them with tears in his eyes. Everyone in the kingdom loved Aryana Tanaris, the princess from Elementis who they all regarded with suspicion at first. He now had the horrible task of bringing the sad news to his master, King Volkar.
“She left this world like a true Khalari, my friend,” said Radius, placing a hand on the soldier’s shoulder. “In battle, like a warrior.”
“Yes,” repeated the Khalari soldier, “in battle, like a warrior.”
He lowered his eyes, thinking about his king’s reaction to this news. The whole kingdom was going to mourn the disappearance of their queen who had won so many battles for the glory of the Khalari people.
“May Zathar rest her soul and guide her through the other world,” uttered the soldier bitterly.
“May Zathar rest her soul,” they replied in unison.
The soldier faced Robert.
“Prince, I hope you shall fulfil your destiny. The queen used to say how proud she felt of Your Highness and she was convinced you would succeed. May Lokar keep you safe and guide you on the right path.”
“Thank you,” answered Robert with tears in his eyes. “I can assure you that I will not rest until the last moment and that I will do my best not to betray the trust shown in me by my aunt and everyone else.”
The soldier turned on his heels and addressed the others:
“These are the horses promised by the queen. They have been well fed, watered and had plenty of rest so all you need to do is set off towards the Boundary.”
“We’ll do that,” replied Radius in earnest. “Tyreas’s troops are right behind us so we must leave tonight. We should be at the border with the Kingdom of Water by tomorrow. We will try to keep away from Heldor and every other inhabited place in order to avoid coming across the king’s troops.”
“Let us go then!” called Rolan as he mounted.
Everybody mounted their horse and in a short while they all disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
Behind them, the Khalari soldier mounted, pulling behind him the horse he had got ready for the queen.
On the sky above, the night mourned the loss of Aryana with tears of stars.
Chapter 9
To Catch or Not to Catch?
The soldiers set up their camp by the edge of the road under a copse of trees where they could shelter from the heat of the afternoon.
Shortly before that, they’d come across a patch of grass on a plain at the foot of a hill, which had been trampled by horses’ hooves. Kolar, the commander in charge of the twenty-nine men in his platoon inspected the tracks carefully and decided they belonged to eight or maybe nine horses, judging by the way the grass had been flattened. He was certain it couldn’t have been wild horses because in some places there were clear traces of horseshoes imprinted in the soft soil.
He then surveyed the direction in which those they were looking for were heading, as he had no doubt they were the same people who had kept counsel in that place.
He noticed that the trail followed two directions, but on closer inspection he realised that one of the groups was smaller than the other. He informed his soldiers that they were going to take the road leading to the Kingdom of Water and follow the larger group.
The aide was amazed at the way Kolar was able to read footprints and he enquired again whether he was sure they were on the right track. Kolar smirked. He was the best bounty hunter in Elementis and highly skilled in reading tracks and finding clues that usually escaped the eyes of those less used to this trade.
He motioned to his aide to go nearer the path leading to the checkpoint at the Misty Passage which the other travellers had taken. He bent down to show his aide the horseshoe imprints.
“Judging by the prints in the mud, these tracks indicate that there were two horses. And I can tell there were two of them because one of them is missing a nail in the shoe of the right front leg, while the other one’s horseshoes are intact. I can also tell that even though there were two horses, only one person went this way.”
Pleased with the look of awe on his aide’s face, he continued:
“As you can see, one of the horses’ shoes sink deeper into the mud, which means it was heavier because of the rider on its back, while the other horse’s print is shallower because it wasn’t carrying anyone.”
He stood up and gazed at the cliff wall.
“Although it may sound impossible, I think our friends must have climbed down through here from Akros in order to avoid the checks at the Misty Passage. Whoever passed this way is clearly the same person who brought the horses for them… and if he’s taking one of the horses back with him, it can only mean that one of those we’re pursuing has perished in their mad attempt to climb down this sheer wall.”
Once again he inspected the cliff wall which was covered with stone notches placed along it like steps and he imagined how desperate they must have been to take this road from Akros. At length, he took a deep breath, exhaled noisily and started addressing the person next to him:
“I hope it wasn’t the Prince of Eremon who died here. The king wants him alive and he would be furious if we told him the boy has perished.”
Kolar was aware of the Oracle’s prophecy and he knew that the heir to the Kingdom of Fire was destined to put an end to the reign of his master.
He wasn’t serving King Tyreas wholeheartedly but for now, he was the one paying him and he tried to do his duty well.
He took another breath and thought about the journey he was about to start. It made sense that the Prince of Eremon would head to the Kingdom of Water since his enemy, King Tyreas, lived there. On the other hand, Kolar was curious as to how a handful of people would manage to overthrow a kingdom as
powerful as this and how they could get to the king in order to fulfil the prophecy.
There wasn’t much time left until the fourth phase of the moon and Kolar knew that things were going to take a turn for the worse in the near future. Among some of the nobility circles there was talk about the Eremons’ terrible weapon, which the oracle referred to as the ‘blue light’. He wasn’t exactly sure what the weapon did, but he had made some enquiries amongst the spies across Elementis about what this ‘light’ was and what its effects were. Even the oracle considered it the miracle which was going to bring down Tyreas and his oppression.
In the end he did learn some things about the blue dust, the ultimate weapon of Ga’al’s heirs which had the power to suppress the abilities of those within a distance of tens of thousands of paces. Nobody apart from those belonging to the Eremon family had the skill to produce this weapon and the secret had died down when Queen Neri passed away.
Kolar knew that the oracle had never been wrong before and now he was faced with a dilemma: to be on Tyreas’s side since that was his job, or to help the Prince of Eremon in the hope that he might be handsomely rewarded once peace was restored in Elementis.
With these thoughts in mind, Kolar went over to his horse, climbed on and started on his way behind the group they decided to follow. He raised his arm and signalled to the soldiers to start moving. They mounted obediently and urged their horses to follow behind him.
Twilight was beginning to glaze the branches of the trees in hues of rust. Black clouds started gathering again above their heads, while a distant thunder announced the coming of rain.
Kolar pulled his collar up, trying to keep the damp away and his men shivered in their saddles as the first raindrops started falling on them.
His aide followed him in silence, afraid to disturb him. They rode quietly along the muddy paths, watching the grey clouds drifting above them.