‘Was it difficult to hunt?’ Mistral interrupted, growing bored. Listening to Xerxes trying to drag details out of Konrad was painful.
Konrad switched his cold unblinking gaze to her, ‘No,’ he said quietly. ‘They leave tracks similar to a mountain lion, only the spoors are larger. Arrows and bolts are a good way to kill them, swords too but it’s not advisable to get that close. Their claws are vicious and they have two extra rows of teeth and you’d do well to mind the tail. It has poisonous spines at the end.’
Mistral blinked. Had she actually learned something from her time in Nevelte that may become of some use?
‘They sound delightful,’ muttered Phantom into his tankard.
‘Don’t they just,’ agreed Mistral, her eyes shining with sudden excitement.
‘Right, everyone got their swords and crossbows? And are you all ready for the possibility of a night in the mountains?’ Xerxes asked, looking around questioningly and grinned in satisfaction at the enthusiastic nods he received. ‘Good! Let’s get going then!’
With a sudden uplift of spirits, the apprentices grabbed their saddlebags and surged out of the door, talking and laughing loudly they hurried across the village square and into the stableyard. Mistral listened to their shouted questions to one another and smiled; stealth was definitely not one of their strong points.
‘Have we got food for tonight?’ Brutus called out.
‘All sorted!’ Saul replied.
‘Not from the Refectory is it?’ Brutus asked anxiously.
‘No fear! Floris put us something together!’ Saul laughed.
‘Wine?’ Xerxes checked.
‘Yes!’ Cain called out, grinning and winking at Mistral. ‘With no extra ingredients this time!’
The apprentices hastily tacked their horses and left the yard in high-spirits, trotting out of the Valley under the baleful gaze of the guard high up in his lookout on the North Gate. It was midday and the sun was directly overhead in a cloudless azure sky; for once there was no sharp mountain breeze blowing, making the day pleasantly mild. They rode through the rolling foothills of the Western Range, enjoying being free of the confines of the Valley and the routine of training. Mistral rode next to the twins who were discussing in low voices how much to ask for the manticore pelt. Mistral listened to their conversation with half an ear but was content to gaze idly around at the other apprentices. Xerxes was arguing good-naturedly with Cain over the game of cards from the previous evening; Brutus was moaning to Saul about his brother; Saul was nodding seriously but when he caught Mistral watching them he winked at her and she laughed. Konrad was riding in silence next to Bali who had unusually elected to come with them on the hunt. Grendel was keeping pace with them by their side on foot as the Ri didn’t breed horses large enough to carry his bulk. The only apprentices missing were Columbine and Golden of course; but then Mistral reasoned that they probably hadn’t been asked.
‘Did Columbine get any sort of punishment for trying to kill me last night?’ she asked Phantom, interrupting their conversation.
‘Oh yes, didn’t we tell you?’ Phantom said with a grin. ‘Master Sphinx bawled her out and gave her a week’s punishment detail!’
‘That’s no punishment!’ Mistral exclaimed angrily. ‘She’ll be right at home in a pigsty!’
‘Oh no,’ said Phantom loftily. ‘It’s far worse than that.’
‘The Tannery?’ Mistral guessed.
‘No, worse than that too!’
‘The Infirmary then?’
‘No,’ said Phantom looking smug.
‘Well she already puts up with Golden, which was the next one on my list so … I give up!’ Mistral looked at him, frowning.
‘Sure you give up?’ Phantom teased.
‘Yes! Just tell me or I’ll beat it out of you!’
‘She’s working in the Laundry all week!’ Phantom announced happily.
Mistral burst out laughing, ‘I sincerely hope she falls into one of the vats of Grendel’s clothes and dies from asphyxiation!’
They climbed up into the higher pasture land, passing through a small mountain village where the locals greeted them politely. Ri warriors were respected rather than feared this close to the Valley. Mistral gazed at the low stone-walled pastures where the sheep were quietly grazing, scanning the steeper, rocky land higher above for any obvious signs of a large animal’s den.
‘You can see why the manticore moved in here,’ she said quietly to Phantom. ‘Look at all the natural caves in the rock up there.’
Phantom looked to where she was pointing and his face fell, ‘If we’ve got to go poking around in each one of those for the damned thing we’re definitely going to be up here all night!’
He was right, beyond the pasture land the mountain rose steeply in a series of rocky plateaus like huge steps rising up to the sheer-sided summit, offering a multitude of possibilities for any manticore seeking a den.
Bali and Konrad had dismounted and were walking ahead of the other apprentices, studying the ground intently.
‘See any tracks yet?’ Xerxes called impatiently.
‘See what I mean?’ Brutus muttered to Saul. ‘He’s so impatient! He wouldn’t even wait for me to go and get my armour this morning … just launched straight in and tried to kill me!’
Saul nodded absently, his eyes glazing over slightly.
‘Oh come on Brutus, it was only a scratch!’ Mistral said, rolling her eyes. ‘Phantom’s had worse shaving cuts!’
Saul laughed and Brutus looked offended, kicking his horse on to ride at the front.
‘Tracks!’ Bali’s called loudly and immediately everyone’s attention was fixed on the quiet apprentice.
He raised his hand to signal a halt and they all immediately dismounted and led their horses over to where Bali and Konrad were stood, staring down at a patch of damp earth in the shade of a low-growing gorse bush.
‘See here –’ Bali said, squatting down and pointing to a series of large indentations in the soft earth. Mistral stared and could just make out the shape of large paw print.
‘It’s a large adult, probably male … they tend to be bigger,’ murmured Konrad in his colourless voice.
The twins shared a significant look making Mistral smile; they were no doubt thinking of how much more they would be able to charge for such a pelt.
‘It headed up this way,’ said Bali, standing up and peering up into the mountainside above them. ‘I suggest we make a camp near here and go up on foot. We’ll split into two groups. One stays here and the other climbs. That way we’ll double our chances of finding it before nightfall.’
Turning suddenly to Konrad, Bali began to ask him questions in a low voice. The other apprentices drowned out the sound of their quiet conversation with a noisy debate about who would stay in the pasture land and who would climb.
‘There is no way I’ve risked being expelled from the Valley to camp the night in a field!’ Mistral said adamantly. ‘I’m going up the mountain and that’s final.’
‘Well Brutus can’t go since he’s too badly injured,’ said Xerxes sarcastically.
Brutus scowled and opened his mouth to argue but Phantasm cut in smoothly.
‘Actually, it would be useful to have one of you here. You two are the best with a bow.’
Brutus looked slightly mollified and consented to stay. It was true; the brothers were half-elves and had literally grown up using the traditional longbows.
As Bali and Konrad were the most experienced trackers it was agreed that one should go with each group. It was no surprise to any of them that Konrad quietly offered to remain in the pasture land with Brutus. Phantasm and Phantom made no bones about not being interested in risking their necks climbing up a mountainside which just left the delicate situation of what to do about Grendel.
‘It’s the stench!’ Saul whispered to Mistral while they tethered their horses next to the twins’ bay geldings. ‘I mean, he’s so strong he’d be a bonus to either group if the manticore attacked – but
let’s face it, the manticore is more likely to take one whiff of him and move out faster than a speeding arrow!’
Mistral had to agree, Grendel’s powerful troll odour was a serious down-side to taking him on a hunt, unless they were tracking something with no sense of smell.
‘Instead of looking at the negatives to Grendel, let’s look at the positives,’ said Phantasm gazing over at the massive apprentice thoughtfully. ‘If he stays here in the camp the manticore will definitely not come anywhere near us. In fact, if it’s got any sense it’ll take one whiff and realise that Grendel has troll-blood and head straight up to its den to hide out until the danger has passed. We could in effect, drive it up to you.’
Mistral nodded in agreement, ‘That could work … we just need to locate the den first.’
Saul relayed the plan to the other apprentices who listened in silence.
‘Sorry Grendel,’ said Saul, shrugging apologetically. ‘It’s just that you have a rather distinctive … aroma.’
Grendel grunted and swung his battle-axe up onto his shoulder, ‘I’ll take first watch,’ he growled and strode off.
‘You may have hurt his feelings,’ Phantom admonished.
‘He’ll get over it,’ muttered Saul.
The other apprentices agreed readily to their idea. In the end the twins, Brutus, Konrad and Grendel elected to stay in the pastures and a smaller group consisting of Mistral, Xerxes, Saul and Bali would go up into the mountain.
‘Did anyone bring any rope?’ Saul asked, rummaging through his own saddlebag.
‘Yes, I did,’ Bali confirmed quietly and untied a heavy coiled rope from his saddle and wound it around his chest and shoulder to carry it. He walked away from the group and stared up at the mountainside, studying it carefully.
‘I bet he brought a cloth to dry the dishes with as well,’ muttered Mistral sourly.
Bali was so efficient it irritated her but she made a mental note to herself never to travel into the mountains without rope again.
They quickly prepared themselves for the climb, taking food and waterskins as well as their cloaks. Mistral put her jerkin on and immediately felt too hot but she knew it would quickly get colder the higher they climbed.
‘Don’t make too much mess of my manticore pelt Mistral – in fact, leave your swords here. We won’t get half as much money if it’s full of holes.’
‘No chance, see you soon Phantom,’ said Mistral and quickly fell in step beside Saul to make their way up the steep grassy slope, following Xerxes and Bali who were already striding purposefully ahead.
The afternoon sun was warm and they were all soon sweating after clambering up to the rocky foot of the mountain. Climbing in single file behind Bali, they made rapid progress up the first steep incline to reach a grassy plateau. Signalling wordlessly for them to wait at the edge of the plateau, Bali immediately began to scour the ground for signs of tracks, suddenly squatting down and beckoning them over when he found some.
‘See here?’ he asked, pointing to a faint mark on the stony earth.
Xerxes, Mistral and Saul squatted down and peered intently at the earth, looking closely they could just make out the faint impression of a large paw print.
‘Is it fresh?’ Xerxes asked, running his finger over the soil lightly to feel how damp it was. ‘It hasn’t rained in a while.’
‘I can’t tell,’ said Bali cautiously. ‘It would help if we could find some scats ... spread out and look around. They’ll be quite distinctive and probably smell strongly of sheep as that’s what it has been feeding on recently.’
‘So now I’m hunting for manticore dung?’ Mistral muttered to Saul while they walked slowly across the plateau, raking the ground with their eyes.
Saul didn’t comment but dropped down onto his haunches, pointing to a long, narrow object with a distinctive twist in it.
‘I think that’s a scat,’ he muttered uncertainly. ‘Bali?’ he called out more loudly and the apprentice swiftly joined him, hunkering down beside him to study the scat.
Mistral pulled a face when Bali reached out and crumbled the scat between his fingers, breathing the smell in with a look of concentration on his face.
‘Definitely sheep. Well done, we’re on the right track.’
‘I’m not eating anything he cooks while we’re out here,’ said Mistral quietly to Saul.
They walked up to the base of the next wall of rock and looked up, studying the climb. It wouldn’t be easy. The mountainside veered away, straight-sided and dizzyingly high.
‘Wait here,’ Bali ordered.
‘Wait here,’ Mistral mimicked under her breath and watched with a mixture of jealousy and grudging admiration when Bali quickly scaled the sheer rockface and pulled himself up over the top.
‘Catch!’ he called and dropped the rope down.
‘I’ll go first,’ Saul said and grabbed hold of the swinging length of rope.
Bali kept a firm hold on one end while Saul climbed up rapidly and clambered over the edge to stand next to him. When Mistral followed him up Saul reached down and offered her his hand, which she ignored. He shrugged and offered the same help to a red-faced Xerxes when he appeared.
‘Thanks!’ Xerxes panted gratefully and heaved himself over the lip of rock and onto the plateau. ‘This is turning out to be more work than I expected! Do you think we’ve climbed high enough yet Bali?’ he asked hopefully.
Bali didn’t respond, he was looking over his shoulder at the rise of rock behind them while he coiled the rope back in. The three apprentices followed his gaze and instantly saw what had attracted his attention. The dismembered remains of a sheep were laid at the base of the next cliff face. There was no odour of rotting meat; the kill was fresh.
Wordlessly, the apprentices drew their swords and stared intently up at the mountainside above them, their eyes raking the grey rock for any signs of an opening that would provide a suitable den for the manticore.
‘There!’ Mistral pointed to a dark gash in the face of the mountain above them.
Saul studied the rocky crevice, focussing his sharp-sighted eyes on smaller details the others could not make out.
‘I see bones in the entrance,’ he murmured.
‘Can you see any movement?’ Xerxes asked quickly.
Saul was silent while he continued to stare at the cave mouth, finally giving a slight shake of his head, ‘No.’
‘Let’s climb up and find out!’ Mistral said eagerly and started to walk towards the base of the cliff housing the manticore’s den.
‘Not a good idea!’ Saul quickly grabbed her arm to hold her back.
‘Why not?’ Mistral demanded, spinning round to face him. ‘I didn’t come up here for the fresh air!’
‘Mistral, please try and be a bit patient!’ Saul hissed. ‘We need to work out a plan before barging up there and shoving our heads into a dark cave that may or may not have a large, carnivorous beast in it!’
‘Oh for crying out loud! Do I get sick of “details”!’ Mistral exclaimed and folded her arms sulkily.
Xerxes let out a low rumble of laughter but Bali remained impassive, gazing intently up at the rocky opening.
‘I think it’s empty. Apart from the noise you two are making our scent would have alerted it to our presence by now, which means it’s out hunting somewhere,’ he turned abruptly and looked out over the pastures spreading out in a patchwork of greens below them. ‘Konrad said he didn’t think that they were nocturnal, but he couldn’t be sure. The one they hunted was caught at twilight so it could either have been going out or returning to its den.’
‘They aren’t nocturnal,’ said Mistral quietly.
Xerxes and Saul turned to look inquisitively at her.
Ignoring their curious looks she shrugged, ‘I grew up listening to tales about them, the lion with the human face and poisonous tail. I thought it was just a story made up to frighten small children … anyway, in the stories I was told, the manticore hunted by day.’
&nb
sp; Bali nodded thoughtfully and continued to scour the pastures, ‘That’s useful. I think we should wait up here. We have a good vantage point and should be able to spot any movement quite clearly, for as long as the light holds anyway. Xerxes?’
Xerxes moved silently up to stand beside Bali.
‘Have your bow ready. A shot from this distance might not kill it but will definitely slow it down.’
Xerxes grinned and lifted his bow from his back, ‘Oh, I’ll kill it if I can! I’ve got money riding on that fact!’
‘Of course you have, Xerxes,’ Mistral muttered with a roll of her eyes.
They spaced themselves out along the edge of the plateau and sat down, looking out in different directions across the rolling grasslands. The late afternoon sun was warm on their backs, after the ride and the climb they were all hot and thirsty. Saul pulled a skin of water from his saddlebag and passed it around and Xerxes produced some of the dried meat that Floris had provided. They ate their meagre meal in silence, only speaking to exclaim quietly when they saw something move, but it was only ever one of the grazing sheep wandering lazily across the pasture.
Mistral looked down at the distant camp, wondering what the twins were doing. Away from their company for the first time since coming to the Valley she was surprised to find that she was missing the constant background noise of their chatter.
‘I bet there’s a game of knucklebones going on right now,’ said Xerxes bitterly and stared down at the camp below them.
‘I doubt it,’ said Bali. ‘If they’ve got any sense they’ll all be watching the land around them like hawks.’
Another hour crawled by and the sun began to drop beyond the mountains behind them, sending deep shadows creeping across the plateau and the pasture land below. It became harder to distinguish shapes in the depths of the shadows below them and Mistral found her eyes aching from the strain of staring so hard. She was also beginning to feel stiff from staying in the same position for so long and stood up to walk around the darkening plateau, stretching out her aching limbs gratefully and loosening off the tension in her shoulders. Glancing up briefly at the dark den, Mistral toyed with the idea of climbing up there again and turned to voice her idea the other three then suddenly froze.
The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) Page 14