Aleena turned and looked to the north. She pointed up the trail towards the enemy that awaited them through the passes. "Will they give you the same honor? Will they put their back to yours and fight until their lungs will draw no more breath?"
She turned back and looked at the mercenaries. For the first time, she saw a different look in their eyes. Some of them stood a little taller, interested in what she said. A few had bright eyes and looked as though they were almost excited.
"Our cause is just and has the blessings of Saint Leander. That means you will have the blessings of Leander, no matter what the outcome. If you fall, Saint Leander will receive you with open arms and help you stand again in the afterlife. I was a barmaid trying to woo a mighty warrior into taking me away and making me his wife before I met Leander. Let His light shine on you and imagine what you can become."
The men looked around at one another, some of them visibly taken by her speech. Durak gave her a brief nod, filling her with courage. "Now will you fight for me, my brothers, as I will fight for you?"
She received nods and mumbled assents to her questions. She shook her head and spoke again in a voice that was loud and stern with conviction. "No, I can't hear you. Shout it to the heavens so Saint Leander can hear your conviction. Let Him know that we will be victorious this day, in His name! Will you fight?"
The chorus of cries on the second round made her heart thump in her chest and a smile split her face. She nodded to them and turned to see the other knights looking at her. Sir Amos was smiling and even Celos couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. She would show him; she would show them all.
"We're to take the lead so let us show the others how it's done. Grab your weapons on the way." Aleena pointed to where the weapons from the fallen had been tossed in piles on the ground. The men walked or ran to them and reclaimed what had been theirs or, in a few cases, upgraded. A few of the men grabbed extra equipment, outfitting themselves as best they could. Aleena urged them forward and took the lead, striding confidently to the north with Durak at her side.
"This will be glorious," Aleena assured him. She turned and saw him nod as he gazed at her. Something in Durak had changed too, she saw. She saw the same old excitement in his eyes when he was faced with a new challenge that he knew he would be good at. She grinned and quickened her pace.
Chapter 25
"So this is where the trolls are all at," Kar whispered.
Alto peered around the rocks at the inward facing mouth of the cave that led into the mountainside. There were mountain trolls moving about the large hall and performing whatever task they'd been given. Some carried equipment or weapons while a total of six stood guard at different tunnels that branched off from the main tunnel. Alto's eyes barely paused on the trolls; he was looking for a way up to the top of the mountain.
"Clumsy work," Mordrim muttered as he stared at the enlarged cavern. "Crude and barely even safe!"
"We've got Alto. Just tell him where to go and hit the mountain so it falls down on top of them," Namitus suggested.
"Enough," Alto growled. "Be serious. We don't have much time."
"The equinox?" Kar reminded him.
Alto spun to face the wizard. "There was no date in my vision. It was dark outside. I was there, Trina was there, and Sarya was there. No reason why this couldn't be that same day."
Kar frowned and then nodded at the possibility. "Well then, why are we waiting?"
"For you to shut your mouth," Garrick grumbled.
"You'd look good as a snow hare," Kar turned to him and said. He wiggled his fingers and caused the barbarian's eyes to widen. Garrick stepped back and reached for his sword.
"Stop it!" Alto hissed with his eyes on Kar. He turned to Garrick and reassured the man, "He's not going to turn you into a rabbit."
"Those trolls are all over the place. How do we keep an alarm from going out?" Karthor asked.
Alto frowned. He'd forgotten to bring a bow. Then again, the trolls had hide so tough an arrow had about as much chance of punching through as Garrick did of being invited to a royal ball. He looked at the wizard again. "What can you do?"
Kar sighed. "You probably don't want to see my juggling act. I could pull the light from the hall, but trolls can see in the dark. I could put up an invisible wall for a time as well, but only one and there are too many tunnels."
"What about the bird?" Namitus asked him.
"You want me to summon my familiar? Why?"
"No, not that bird, I mean the big one that scared the wasps away."
Kar scratched at his short beard. "Scarcely enough room in the hall for that, and why would it bother a troll?"
"Well, maybe a bird wouldn't, but would a dragon?"
"They serve a dragon," Alto pointed out. He turned and looked at the hallway again. "Is that cavern even tall enough for a dragon?"
"Is it tall enough for a giant?" Kar asked him.
"Yes, barely."
"Then it's tall enough for a dragon. They're longer, by far, but they don't walk on their hind legs," the wizard explained.
"Let's just go and kill them," Garrick growled.
Alto nodded. "I think we must. Remember the hide of a troll is too hard for most blades."
"Use your axe," Mordrim said to Garrick. "It came from a dwarven forge; it'll cut a troll."
Garrick reached down to his hip to the hand axe he seldom used. He untied it and held it up, studying it. "Kind of small."
"I heard that lass from the tavern saying that when she came out of your room," Mordrim said with a wink.
Namitus snorted and put his hand over his mouth.
Alto turned away from his crew and drew his spiritblade. "Namitus, you and Garrick are the quickest—you get the ones farthest down the hall. I'll take the two on the right and Karthor and Mordrim the two at the large tunnel on the left. Kar, do whatever it is you do."
"And it's such a fine place to be wenching," the wizard muttered.
Winter chuffed from where he'd sunk down to rest on his belly.
"You think you can help?" Alto asked the unicorn.
Winter opened his mouth wide and chomped his teeth together, making a loud noise that caused Alto to glance over the rock at the trolls again.
"Why not? Maybe you can at least keep them busy. Get those far ones before they can shout out an alarm." Alto looked at the others and nodded. "Ready? Go!"
Alto lurched to his feet and had barely taken two steps when the long-legged barbarian and the shorter but fleet-footed rogue burst past him. Winter passed them a moment later, his hooves pounding into the stone floor so hard that it seemed he was leaving depressions in the rock. Mordrim and Karthor couldn't overtake Alto but they ran down the hall and veered left towards the trolls that were stepping away from their posts to challenge the runners.
The trolls lumbered out to meet Garrick and Namitus, causing both men to stop. Alto was there in a moment and swung with all his might, remembering how hard it was to injure a mountain troll. His blade severed the troll’s arm and hewed halfway through the gray-skinned monster’s leg. His next strike killed it where it fell on the ground.
Garrick buried his hatchet in the troll's shoulder. He yanked it free as he broke away from the trolls and continued towards the two at the end. Namitus was slower, having to leap away from the troll that Alto killed a moment later and then lash out with his scimitar at the troll on his left that snagged his leather shirt. His cut opened a shallow gash on the troll's midsection but it got the creature's attention and secured his release.
When the troll that had waylaid Namitus looked up again, Mordrim's hammer swung up between its legs. It started to screech but Karthor's mace smashed into the side of its head, knocking the lumbering beast to the ground as it clutched its loincloth. Mordrim finished it with a second blow to its head.
Alto blocked the second troll's raking claws and then had the edge of his shield grabbed and yanked so hard he feared his shoulder would pop out of its socket. He hacked into
the troll’s side, earning its attention, and then stabbed it again in the chest on the opposite side. The stubborn creature snarled at him and came at him again, leaking blood from side, chest, and shoulder. Alto leapt forward and to its left, counting on Garrick's wound slowing its arm down. He spun as he passed the monster and buried his sword in a clumsy but powerful {XX} cut the severed its spine and ribs from behind.
Alto turned back and saw the dwarf and priest finishing off the second troll from their side of the passage. He spun back and saw that one troll lay on the ground with its back to a wall. Winter kicked it a final time and turned and ran down the open passage after the other troll that had escaped.
"Winter, wait!" Alto cried out. It was too late; the unicorn couldn't hear him. He cursed and started forward, nearly running into Kar as he stepped around the dead trolls at his feet.
"Alto!" Kar snapped at him, earning the man's attention.
Alto turned and looked in midstride. The smaller tunnel that was on the right side of the hall led to a path that curved up into the rock. Alto hesitated, and then nodded and ran on to where Garrick and Namitus stood at the body of the troll that Winter had impaled with his horn and then kicked repeatedly to ensure its death.
"He's dead," Garrick said when Alto slowed to look at him.
"I think he got the point," Namitus said with a grin.
Alto ignored the rogue and continued through the tunnel, only to see Winter running back towards him. "Did you get him?" Alto asked.
He had his answer before the unicorn had a chance to respond. He heard yelling and saw several trolls and ogres, as well as a few giants, stepping into the tunnel and turning to look down its length at them.
"Kar!" Alto said. "That invisible wall you mentioned—now would be a good time!"
Kar chuckled. "So it seems, but it won't last if they start to really go at it. A few minutes maybe."
"Do it!" Alto snapped.
Kar nodded and motioned the others to step back from where the passage narrowed before expanding again on the other side. He stretched out his arms and began to chant, pulling the arcane energies together and then setting them in place. A moment later, he finished and nodded. "It's done."
"I don't see anything," Garrick said.
"So that's why it's called an invisible wall!" Kar snapped his fingers. "Took me years to figure that out."
Garrick snarled and clenched his axe tighter.
"Back here, the passage leads up," Alto said as he started back down the cavern.
"The wall won't hold," Kar reminded him, stopping the warrior in midstride.
"So do the thing you did in the mines," Namitus told him. "You know, where you turned the floor into quicksand?"
Kar nodded. "I can do that." He began chanting again and then tossed out the crushed pebbles he'd picked up onto the ground. He turned to the others and said, "There, it's done. Not as long or deep because the tunnel's wider but it should prove a nasty surprise for them. At least until the spell wears off. Then the surprise will be even nastier for anyone caught in it!"
Alto shivered at the gleam in the wizard's eye. He resumed walking back down the passage and then stopped when he saw the large tunnel that Karthor and Mordrim had secured. He stepped closer to it and looked down the gently sloping passage. He could see the distant sparkle of campfires.
"Their camp is this way," he said. "Can you put up another wall?"
Kar shook his head. "One at a time, I'm afraid."
"Why?" Garrick asked. "I can build more than one wall in a day."
"Why indeed," Kar said. "I've been wondering that same thing. It has to do with metaphysical formulae and the structure of the connection to the aether that binds it in place. I could go on, if you like."
Garrick had already turned away from the wizard and moved to the entrance to the tunnel. "Won't be long and they'll come," he said.
Alto nodded.
"Won't be long and they'll be on us, too." Karthor gestured down the hall to where the first of Sarya's forces were trying to figure out why they'd slammed their noses into a wall they couldn't see.
"I'll stay and keep them off your back." Mordrim planted his hammer on the ground and rested his hands on the shaft.
"What?" Alto asked. He shook his head. "No, we'll all go and make a stand if we must up there."
"I can't let stumpy have all the fun. I still haven't killed a giant." Garrick ignored Alto and walked next to Mordrim. He reached out and patted the top of the dwarf's helm, knocking his visor down. Mordrim dropped his hammer on Garrick's toe in retaliation.
"Well, this is a terrible plan," Namitus muttered. He shook his head and added, "No, we can't rest Patrina's safety on just those two. They're more likely to take a swing at each other instead of the enemy. I'll have to stay with them."
"And they'll need Leander's blessing if they stand a chance. Not to mention all the time and energy I've put into keeping Namitus alive," Karthor said. "If I leave him alone, it's all for naught."
Winter stomped the ground, leaving an impression with his hoof in the solid rock.
"I think he's saying he'll make his stand here, too," Karthor interpreted. The unicorn bowed his head, dipping his horn down and then up in agreement.
"Kar, they'll need you, too," Alto said. "Will you help?"
"I'd think you'd want me helping you," the wizard said. When Alto didn't respond, he said, "Hello, dragon!"
"I know, but that's why I have this." Alto held up his sword.
Kar frowned and then began to chant. A moment passed before he finished and uncapped a skin of water. He splashed some water on Alto, causing the man to cry out and then fall silent when the water disappeared before it hit him.
"What was that?"
"Dragons breathe fire, or have you forgotten the stories you were told to frighten you as a child?" Kar snapped at him. "This won't save you, but it might help if you can keep yourself from being directly roasted."
Alto nodded. "My thanks. To all of you."
"Get going," Namitus said after he turned away from where he'd been peering down the passage. "There must be other caves into the mountain. We've got company coming up the passage and I saw somebody else running towards the camp."
Alto swallowed his words and stared at them as they turned away and made ready to defend the tunnel. He took a breath and let it go. Lady Patrina awaited, as did Sarya. The past months had all led up to this. The past year, really, or perhaps longer. Sarya might have had this in the works for three hundred years, for all he knew.
Alto turned from his friends and walked into the inclining passage. The light dimmed as he walked but he refused to activate his shield yet. He had no idea what awaited him but he didn't want to ruin whatever chance of surprise he might have.
Alto came to a small room decorated with tapestries that hung from the walls. There were two exits to the room, other than the one Alto came in. The one that led up was behind the armored man sitting in a large chair. Alto stared at the man, focusing on the emblem on his breastplate that marked him as another knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon. He dragged his eyes up and saw that this knight had red hair, including the mustache on his face.
"We've been waiting for you," the knight said with a grin when Alto entered the room. He used his arms to help push himself out of the chair and stepped in front of the passageway that led farther up into the mountain. "My apologies, but I'm assuming you're Alto?"
"I am."
"I am Sir Harad, of the Order of the Silver Dragon," the knight said while offering a limited bow. "I'd like to offer my apologies for Sir Beck. As I told your lady, he's always been a bit zealous in his approach."
"Where is she?" Alto clamped down on the memories the knight nearly brought up by mentioning the man who had ruined his family.
"Your lady? Up there." He nodded towards the passage behind him. "And soon to be given the greatest honor anyone could ever hope for. Her sacrifice will allow our mistress to live forever! She—"
> Sir Harad's monologue was cut short by Alto's sword. He lunged forward and slashed through the man's plate armor and flesh. Sir Harad fell, his own sword only partially out of its scabbard. He stared up at Alto and tried to speak. His lips moved but only a hissing and bubbling noise came from him, and most of that from his chest.
Alto stepped on his breastplate and wrenched his sword free, and then left the knight behind. He didn't care what the man had to say; he only cared about saving Trina.
* * * *
Splinters of rock rained down around the knights, a prelude to the larger rocks that bounced off the mountainside and swept away two of the armored warriors. Aleena heard the ping of the shrapnel against her helmet but didn't dare take her attention away from the forces that crashed against their line.
Aleena's small force of prisoners had met the first wave of goblins sent forward by the enemy. One man had fallen and another two were wounded, but they fought surprisingly well and cut through the horde of savage creatures. That was the easy part; what came next was the hired men and ogres, fighting side by side. Aleena lost four more of her troop and her line was about to collapse when Celos led the squires across the field and hit the flank of the enemie's main thrust.
They had little time to regroup before the enemy rallied and came again, shattering their plans and forcing the Knights of Leander to band together to fight as a single unit. Rocks began to rain down on them from above, tossed from the side of the ridges by goblins.
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