The Q'Herindam

by B Cameron Lee

  The foul stink of Q’Herindam magic was everywhere, dusting everything with its evil taint. Since leaving Forbidden, Arwhon had seen many piles of bleached bones near the road, lying where the animal or person had died and rotted from around them. Occasional scraps of fur or tattered clothes were sometimes visible in or under those piles. No carrion eaters had disturbed their rest, in itself unusual and there was no hint as to cause of death. After seeing the first few piles of bones, Arwhon had warded himself against magic using a spell from amongst the many which had flowed into him from the obelisk at Trugor. Once set, the ward remained until he removed it.

  Krissi alighted near him, small horse sized now, and leaned into him for a scratch. They touched minds and Arwhon sensed the question. There was no answer to it. They would know when they arrived but still Krissi was curious as to why the land wasn’t populated. They had not seen one sentient being in the last week and no evidence of farming or stock herding. Were the people here nomadic like the Barsoomi of the Plains? Away from this area at the moment following seasonal feed? Fate knew there was little enough feed for livestock around here.

  Time to move on. The sun’s heat had little effect on Arwhon, after all, he was a Fire Mage but he missed the dappling light clouds provided and the light and shade scudding across the landscape. He picked up his cloak and fastened it around his neck, the opening for his sword handle falling over the hilt of the sword he wore strapped to his back. One day he must visit Chalc and thank him again for suggesting this way of carrying his sword. Checking for Dagger, purse and pack, Arwhon moved out into the sun and continued along the road. Magic must keep it clear of grass and weeds as he was the only traffic on it and had seen no one else in the past week.

  Krissi leapt into the air and was soon no more than a dot, high above. Arwhon stole a look through her eyes and surveyed the territory all about as Krissi lazily circled in the thermals. Behind him, the country was mostly comprised of rolling hills which descended gradually to the south before reaching the Grand Valley where Forbidden lay, the starting point for this road. To both east and west the topography was similar to that which he was travelling through, hilly and broken, with scattered stands of stunted timber. It was up ahead that everything changed, the land gradually climbing to the base of a low mountain range, an impediment to the north which he needed to cross. His vision through Krissi’s eyes showed the mountain range disappearing into the haze of the west where it possibly met with Mehgrin’s Wall. To the east it also disappeared into the haze, most likely to the Rift, its whole length forming a low barrier across the northern parts of the Forbidden Lands. Arwhon remembered seeing low mountains in the distance across the Rift when he’d travelled there through the Darkwood with Sihron’del and her parents to view the worm attack on Ch’ron. He hoped the Tree was surviving.

  He noticed grass growing nearer to the mountains and eventually a smudge on the slopes to the north caught Arwhon’s attention so he requested Krissi fly in that direction. As Krissi moved further north, gliding from thermal to thermal, the darker area showed up as a village beside a stream. Krissi flew lower and Arwhon recognised those populating it, mostly women and children of the Luper, easily distinguishable by their elongated faces and the covering of hair over their bodies. By his calculations, the village was still at least a couple of hours walk ahead.

  There were no sentries posted and as Arwhon neared the village, a babble of voices began calling out in the Lupine tongue. Arwhon remembered most of what language he’d learned and as an older Luper came toward him with a drawn bow, Arwhon held up his hands in a gesture of peace, repeating the Lupine word for ‘friend’ over and over again. The old man appeared uncertain and lowered the bow but kept the arrow nocked.

  “How do you know our tongue?” he asked.

  Arwhon answered him brokenly, trying to recall the words he needed.

  “I met many Luper before. One moon.” He pointed to the east, hoping the old man would understand. “Fighting, then friends.”

  The disbelieving old Luper hung his tongue out as he thought about Arwhon’s words.

  “Who are you friend of?”

  “Joeeti,” Arwhon replied.

  The old Luper looked startled for a moment.

  “Joeeti fights on the other side of the mountains for the Masters. Against Man. You are Man.”

  Arwhon didn’t know how the old Luper knew Joeeti but it was an accidental bonus. The Ring he wore confirmed the Truth of the old Luper’s words. Maybe he could avoid having to harm any Lupers if he could gain this one’s acceptance.

  “Luper slave to Masters. Should be no slaves. We give land to Joeeti to farm. When Joeeti family with Joeeti, he free of Q’Herindam.”

  Arwhon interpreted the look on the old Luper’s face as scepticism. He would be sceptical too if the position were reversed. The Luper made a noise which passed as a laugh and spat.

  “The Q’Herindam are too powerful to fight. They would kill us all rather than give us freedom. My father was killed because he disobeyed a Mage. Who are you, alone, to say otherwise?”

  It was time for a demonstration. Arwhon called Krissi to come and join him and as the gryffon alighted near him and paced over, the old Luper backed up, eyes wide with fear. Arwhon glanced at the dead weeds beside the road and they burst into flame. The old Luper gasped and threw down his bow which had become too hot to hold and gazed more closely at Arwhon.

  “I am known as Old Karti, my son is also Karti but he is in the east with those the Masters sent there. You come and have food with us. Tell of your meeting with Joeeti. He is from another village. Son of my wife’s cousin.”

  Arwhon indicated the Luper’s bow and Old Karti bent and felt it. The bow was now cool again so he gingerly picked it up. At his gesture, Arwhon followed the Luper into the village with Krissi close behind them. Women and children, as well as grizzled old males, stopped what they were doing and came to gaze at Arwhon and Krissi. They stood in silence, watching, until Arwhon had passed by then broke into rapid conversation among themselves. Arwhon was led to an adobe hut with a reed grass roof and ushered through the doorway. Krissi settled herself outside, lying on the dirt, seemingly disinterested in everything but very aware of goings on.

  Inside the hut, as Arwhon’s eyes adjusted to the dimness, he made out an older female Luper. At a signal from Old Karti she bared her teeth in what Arwhon knew passed for a smile in the Luper.

  “Sit, have food with us. I am known as Ankarti, wife of Karti.”

  Arwhon nodded in response. “I am Arwhon, from Trugor, seeking Q’Herindam Mages.”

  Both Old Karti and Ankarti seemed surprised by this announcement and somewhat puzzled also. As Old Karti drew up another chair he asked why. Arwhon stumbled through his response.

  “Q’Herindam much evil. Try to wipe Man from the Lands. Bad for one race enslave or destroy another. Make peace between races, work out problems. Dominion now gone. Most of lands at peace now. Only Q’Herindam still make trouble.”

  Silence followed his statement and Arwhon wondered if his attempt at Luper language was too badly mangled to make it intelligible but eventually Old Karti replied.

  “Q’Herindam kill without thought. You go there, you die.”

  He signalled to Ankarti who went to the back of the hut and rummaged in a trunk, removing a small lidded box before returning to place it on the table. Arwhon watched as Old Karti opened the lid of the box and pointed out the object nestling in the bottom to Arwhon, who had actually sensed the taste of the thing before he saw it. The greasy feel of the magic identified a Q’Herindam artefact imbued with some spell or other. Old Karti lifted it from its resting place in the box and immediately disappeared, only to reappear when he returned the object to its resting place again.

  “This thing make hiding magic. You take it. May live a little longer.”

  Arwhon smiled and disappeared for a moment before reappearing. Both Old Karti and Ankarti threw themselves on the floor grovelling in fear but Ar
whon bent to gently help them back to their feet.

  “Please not be afraid. I not hurt you. Thank you for offer but I no need gift from you. Can do own magic.”

  Ankarti threw Arwhon a glance from under her grey haired brows and went to return the magical artefact back to its hiding place before serving him a warm drink from the kettle on the stove. Arwhon tasted the warm pale liquid and was pleased to find it was a herbal tea, clean and refreshing to his palate. After a while he was given a piece of thick dense bread, cheese and a few green plants to chew on. As he had been living on Power for a while, his shrunken stomach was soon full. When he pushed the empty plate away from himself, Old Karti started asking questions.

  For most of the rest of the afternoon, as Arwhon’s grasp of the language rapidly improved, he and Old Karti swapped information about their respective countries and cultures. The old Luper told of the comings and goings of the few Men who ventured into the Forbidden Land, always asking about magical artefacts. Many more came than returned. Occasionally Ankarti would chime in with a question or statement and off they would go again. The herbal tea was refreshed as needed and time passed quickly.

  Soon the shadows were lengthening and Krissi popped into Arwhon’s mind with a question. Arwhon stood and began going through the formalities of leaving but his Luper hosts would have none of it and he was invited to stay the night. In fact, Arwhon was grateful for the offer and thanked his hosts profusely before bedding down for a much desired comfortable sleep.

  The next morning his Luper hosts provided him with a package of food and warnings about the road ahead. There were more Luper villages, some larger than this one and there could be trouble if Arwhon wasn’t careful. He set off, following the road as it gradually rose into the hills. It initially followed a stream up a valley but by the end of the morning, Arwhon found himself climbing beside the last trickle of water and then out of the valley as the road took him even higher up the mountains. He ascended for the rest of the afternoon as Krissi glided high overhead and just before dark, in the dimness beside the road, he found a rough hut to shelter in. It was cool at this elevation, especially as it was the beginning of winter but Arwhon was warm enough wrapped in his cloak. He unstrapped his sword but kept it and the helm close by. Krissi slept lightly and it was doubtful anything could get past her without him knowing.

  Having eaten from the provisions given to him by the old Lupers, Arwhon settled to sleep, waking as the sun rose in the east, eager to be on his way. Outside, the day was clear and soon Arwhon stood at the highest point of the low mountains just before the road dipped down off the crest. He could see a long way from his vantage point. In the valley below, straddling the road, there were at least three Luper villages. He looked far across the valley and saw another line of hills, lower than the one he stood on. Sending an unvoiced question to Krissi, the big gryffon answered by landing beside him and bending forward. Arwhon secured his pack on his back and scrambled up between Krissi’s wings, careful to sit so he didn’t interfere with their beating. Krissi wriggled him into a more comfortable position and leapt into the air, gaining height with each powerful downbeat of her feathered wings.

  From his vantage point, Arwhon had an excellent view of the ground below and the hills off in the distance. As Krissi gained even more height, he could see yet another line of hills beyond those on the far side of the valley. It seemed as though the northern part of the Forbidden Land was made up of parallel lines of hills, one after another. Arwhon wondered how far north the hills progressed and where in fact the Q’Herindam actually dwelt. He was glad he had Krissi along with him, as it saved having to pass through Luper villages, which may have delayed him.

  Krissi flew much faster than Arwhon walked and during the day, by dint of flying and resting, they managed to pass over two large valleys and the range of hills separating them. No eyes from the ground spotted their high passage, a mere mote in the sky. Eventually they landed on a craggy bluff, not far from the road which wound on over the range, bearing even further north. Arwhon made camp in a hollow below it and risked a small fire while Krissi went off to hunt as dusk fell. She returned with a couple of scrawny hares and ate her morsels while Arwhon cooked the hindquarters of one over the small fire. After a drink from his water bottle, Arwhon turned in for the night, secure in the knowledge Krissi would keep watch.

  During the next day, flying and walking, they moved further north. Arwhon had been expecting resistance from the Q’Herindam long before now but it hadn’t eventuated. He took advantage of the relative peace to pay close attention to the land he flew over. It seemed sick, with large patches of bare ground between clumps of dried grasses and the odd misshapen tree. Eventually Arwhon saw a line of trees in the distance and shortly they were flying over a wood composed of darkly twisted trees. The road below had wound into it and disappeared under the canopy. It reminded Arwhon of the Darkwood and he wondered if he was drawing closer to the home of the Q’Herindam.

  Arwhon didn’t have long to wonder, for as he scanned ahead of their position he saw, in the distance, the upper sections of some substantial, tall towers. As they drew closer, just before dark, he realised the buildings were huge and well fortified, built from hewn stone blocks with small window slits. A thick stone curtain wall joining the towers created a formidable ring wall. Between two of the towers were a pair of huge wooden gates, firmly closed to block entry. The forest had been cleared a long way back from the wall, all around its circumference. This was surely the home of the Q’Herindam and it wouldn’t do to be spotted before he was ready, so Arwhon spoke to Krissi and she wheeled away before they approached too closely.

  Krissi’s eagle eyes found a deserted clearing in the forest where they landed. Arwhon climbed down from her back and stood on the scrappy grass. It was poor, thin and uncared for. In no manner this place bear a resemblance to the Darkwood. However, he felt a slight nudging at his consciousness, a jumble of incoherence trying to communicate with him, somewhat similar to the way Ch’ron communicated. He placed a hand gingerly on a nearby tree but all he could make out was an inane melody and the word ‘Dead’ repeated again and again, punctuated by what seemed to be crazy laughter. Arwhon slept very uneasily that night.

  The next morning was cloudy, a change from the clear days of late. Arwhon woke at dawn feeling unrefreshed. He ate sparingly from his supplies and sat for a while, communicating with Krissi. Although she was immune to magic, Krissi was not immune to physical injury and Arwhon was worried she may be harmed by archers if they both proceeded to the gates of the Q’Herindam fortress. It was time to move. When his few things were packed up, Arwhon instructed Krissi to stay away from the citadel of the Q’Herindam and to avoid physical injury at all cost. He attempted to show how he needed to concentrate against magic attacks and could not protect Krissi from physical harm should the situation arise. It wasn’t easy to get the concept across and Arwhon hoped the gryffon understood as he sent the next command to her. She was to fly high above him, out of range of arrows and not come down until summonsed. Krissi was agitated by Arwhon’s command, whipping her tail back and forth as she stalked around him but eventually accepted it and took to the air. Arwhon felt relieved and shouldered his pack before walking through the trees to the edge of the clearing.

  All was quiet in the fortress. There was no sign of any movement up on the walls. In fact, Arwhon was beginning to doubt if there were many Q’Herindam in the fortress. The large wooden front gates beckoned to him. Without having to worry about Krissi, Arwhon put all of his attention into protecting himself against harm, using various warding spells and set off for the entrance.

  It didn’t take long to cross the cleared space and Arwhon had plenty of time to study the large, stout entry to the home of the Q’Herindam. He stood looking at the solid wood and iron bound gates, much larger than those of Belvedere, while he considered his options. Someone should have opened the gates by now if they were going to respond to his approach but there was still no s
ign of life. One didn’t politely knock on a door and inform the enemy you were there to enjoin battle. The only solution was a forced entry. Arwhon checked the sky to see if Krissi was well clear and drew as much Power as he could handle from the rocky depths beneath him before gesturing at the huge gates. They disintegrated with a bright flash and a loud bang. Heavy thuds followed as the white-hot iron reinforcements hit the ground before the fine ash drifted down after them. Arwhon stepped through the gatehouse into the enemies’ lair.

  The huge courtyard was empty. It felt deserted as Arwhon moved to its centre. He looked up at the galleries running right around the huge square, level upon level of them, four at least. They all looked down upon this large yard. He saw doors ahead and began walking toward them to explore more of this huge building and see if he could find anyone.

  As Arwhon neared them, the doors opened inward to reveal a gnarled, wizened and flint-eyed old Q’Herindam standing there.

  “M’Herindar,” it snarled. “What do you want?”

  Arwhon paused. “Not M’Herindar but Man. Come to rid the world of your Evil and end your dabbling in the affairs of Man. Not to mention your malevolent attempts to kill us all off. The Q’Herindam must renounce their evil Mages and deliver them for trial or face the consequences.”

  The wizened old Q’Herindam chuckled heartily and wiped his face with his sleeve.

  “Did you truly think we weren’t aware of you? We’ve followed your progress since you first surfaced from your visit to Dwarfholme. We felt the magic, there were power fluctuations. We knew you would come here eventually and prepared a trap for you. How could you not know it? When you are dead and gone, there will be nothing to stop us wiping out Man from the world. After, we will take over the Darkwood and convert the M’Herindar to our ways and kill any who resist.”