As Cringle and Kuiran looked on, the ground under the Mage split apart and the ice encased body slid into the hole which had appeared. Once it had disappeared, the hole closed up and the surface of the alley reinstated as though it had never been opened. The three of them turned to walk back to their lodgings, led by Cringle.
“We’ll have to be constantly on our guard. These Mages could hit us anywhere, at any time. We’ll have to place wards around us when we sleep in case they try at night and also place wards around our mounts too.”
The others agreed and it was a somber group who arrived back at The Black Butt for their bath and supper.
They were well warded when the three of them rode out the next morning. Cringle included the pack horse within his protective spell while Shiri kept an eye on Duran. Krissi met up with them when they were a goodly distance from Crossroads. She needed no protection from magic as gryffons were resistant to it. Cringle felt a pang of regret as he set eyes on Krissi, the Escarion part of him had once had a gryffon as a companion. Fate only knew where it was now.
The miles passed by without incident and a week or so brought them to the loathsome town of Forbidden. They were doubly on their guard as both Shiri and Cringle remembered the attack on them here by Q’Herindam Mages when they were accompanying Arwhon. Not this time however, all was quiet as they rode toward the town until they were challenged by a guard from the Crossroad Militia garrisoned at Forbidden. They identified themselves and were passed through to ride on. They soon pulled up in front of the Lonesome Gryffon. Cringle noted the sky seemed brighter than before although the greasy feel was still in the air but it did not seem so thick.
The Captain of the Militia Company garrisoned in Forbidden had now adopted the Lonesome Gryffon as his headquarters, far preferable to a tent north of town. Surprisingly, the slatternly, irascible old lady still perched on her stool behind the bar there. Cringle greeted the Captain warmly and introduced Kuiran. The Officer bade them sit and ordered beer, specifying clean tankards, before turning to Shiri.
“You were here not long ago Shiri, when Arwhon ventured into The Forbidden Lands. Is there a problem?”
“We think so. Arwhon hasn’t returned yet and his gryffon turned up alone in Belvedere. We have reason to believe he may be trapped somehow.”
The Captain appeared doubtful.
“How do you know he’s even still alive? Sorry, but I had to ask.”
Cringle studied the Captain for a moment before replying to his question.
“Because I would know if he wasn’t and I assure you he is.” Cringle pointed slightly west of due north. “He can be found in that direction.”
The Captain had met magic before and unlike others, it didn’t unnerve him. He took Cringle at his word and addressed his next question.
“Would you like to take a detachment of troops with you into the Forbidden Lands? I have a goodly number of bored men here and a bit of action might perk them up a little.”
Kuiran looked serious as he answered the Commander’s generous offer.
“Sir. The Q’Herindam once made an agreement not to directly harm Man but we feel it’s become difficult for them to uphold and quite probable they will not keep to the agreement. They’re becoming more forward in their attacks. We had to deal with a Q’Herindam Mage in Crossroads on our way here. We thank you for your generous offer but we have no way of guaranteeing the safety of your men. One Q’Herindam Mage could kill them all before we had a chance to intervene. We can protect ourselves but not a detachment of troops.”
The Commander nodded and thanked Kuiran for his honesty. The conversation then turned to how long they expected to be away, what to watch out for and battle plans to combat Mages. Shiri spoke up.
“Your best defence against a Mage is a number of bowmen. Sometimes an arrow can get through where a charge by men at arms will not. The best advice is to spread the bowmen out so they present multiple targets and stay at a distance, although taking on a Mage will inevitably result in fallen men.”
Shiri’s advice was considered and she went one step further.
“If we don’t return within six weeks, every leader of every land needs to be made aware of the situation. That includes sending a message to the Darkwood. If we fail, Man is in danger of extinction.”
She was deadly serious and the Commander knew it. He gulped at the thought of having to take on Mages. He’d heard the stories, just like everyone else. Tales of Arwhon’s deeds during the third Dominion War had spread far and wide, including his incineration of an important Q’Herindam Mage. The fact he had not returned from The Forbidden Lands was a worrisome fact.
Kuiran, Shiri and Cringle rode out of Forbidden the following morning, refreshed and eager to find Arwhon. Cringle was the compass they followed and the direction he pointed was to the north, following the same road Arwhon had ridden into The Forbidden Lands too many weeks ago.
It was a dry country they rode through, unlike the lusher lands to the south and east and in Myseline over the other side of Mehgrin’s Wall. In fact, this was the driest country any of them had ever encountered. The word desert came to mind as Kuiran looked out over the stunted vegetation and low growing, scattered trees. They would have to fill their water skins whenever they got the chance and keep them filled wherever possible, for although Kuiran could draw water from thin air anytime he wanted, they may be separated.
The middle of the days proved to be quite hot but Cringle brought down a gentle breeze from higher up where the air was cooler and they rode comfortably during the heat of the day. Duran and the packhorse soon learned to stick close to the group to take advantage of the cool zephyrs. At night it was really cold, being the middle of winter so each evening they sought out groups of rocks, stands of trees or a depression in the earth and camped in concealment so they could risk a small fire for warmth.
The Darkwood cloaks they wore helped keep them warm at night when they wrapped themselves up and Cringle used the light blanket the Guilar had given him. Shiri’s amazing armour kept her body at a constant, comfortable temperature which was welcome as even with the extra blanket Cringle found the nights to be chilly in the Forbidden Lands. After an uncomfortable first night he used magic to surround his body with a blanket of warm air, locking the spell so the nights were more comfortable.
The days passed as they rode and although ever watchful they saw no one, the country was deserted. On the seventh day out from the town of Forbidden, they topped a rise and saw a village way off in the distance. The country they were in didn’t lend itself to concealment and the village lay at the bottom of a slope beside the road, where it started to climb up into hillier country. It was decided to ride in carefully.
As they neared the village, an old Luper limped out to meet them. Kuiran was amazed, having never seen a Luper before.
“Are these the ones you told me about? The race you found in Myseline.” Kuiran asked Shiri.
“Yes. They told us they came from the Forbidden Lands although they didn’t call it that in their own language.”
They drew to a halt, waiting until the old Luper reached them, whereupon Shiri greeted him in its own language, a faint derivative of Common speech. The Luper didn’t look surprised and indicated they should follow him. Soon, all three were sitting outside the old Luper’s hut with a small wooden bowl of local delicacies and a mug of herbal tea. Not at all what they would have expected. Lupers of all ages came to the front of the dwelling to goggle at Kuiran, having never seen someone so huge before. As he couldn’t communicate with the old Luper, Kuiran took up his staff and went off to amuse the Luper children. Before long they were hanging off both ends of his mighty staff as he lifted them up and swung them about. He left Shiri and Cringle to confer with the old Luper. Shiri had learned quite a few Luper words while she watched Arwhon and Joeeti communicating, during their previous dealings with the Luper over in Myseline and managed the introductions, discovering the old Luper’s name for himself was Old Karti.
Their conversation with him was very simple due to a lack of vocabulary but they did manage to discover Arwhon had passed through here nearly two months ago but had not yet returned.
“I warn him Q’Herindam Mages kills without question but he not worry. Same you. Worry about Mages. They kill for fun. Bad people, not kind to Luper.”
As the old Luper was finishing his fractured speech and giving warning, the sun sank toward the horizon. Kuiran, Shiri and Cringle were invited to stay the night in the Luper village. They looked questioningly, one to the other and eventually decided to accept the invitation.
Old Karti saw them off the next morning with a few words of advice and once again offered the magical artefact which bestowed concealment. He opened the little wooden box it was kept in and removed the object. His immediate disappearance would have amazed Shiri, Kuiran and Cringle if they hadn’t been warned beforehand.
Old Karti reappeared as the artefact was replaced in its small box and when he offered it to them Cringle stepped forward and gracefully accepted the offering with a small bow. The young man had been trained by necessity to be street smart and that part of him immediately saw the advantage in possessing such a useful artefact. He tucked the small box into one of the pockets in his tunic. After his time on the streets with Merdon, all of Cringle’s clothing had been modified by him to include many hidden pockets.
The three of them took their leave and wound on up the hill, one walking, two riding, to continue on with their quest. Krissi flew above, impatient with their pace but she was the only one with wings. At the top of the range, having made quicker time than Arwhon had on foot, they camped at a high spot which allowed a view over the next valley. Villages were dotted over the valley floor and all of a sudden they realised that none of them knew if they were Q’Herindam or more Luper settlements.
“We’ll have to be careful from here on. No knowing what we could be up against.” Kuiran voiced the concern shared by all of them.
Shiri considered their options as they thought it through.
“Krissi may be able to help if we could only communicate with her. I can get images through Duran and Rancid but conveying a complex idea may prove too difficult.”
Shiri tried but couldn’t manage to get across the idea of scouting to the gryffon. Concepts were too hard to convey without a direct mind to mind connection and Arwhon was the only one Krissi had that with. They discussed their predicament amongst themselves and eventually agreed with Cringle’s idea of scouting ahead using the concealment of the Q’Herindam artefact.
Next morning they descended to the floor of the valley from the heights of the range, and made temporary camp in a concealing defile. Cringle left immediately, mounted on the ever willing Vixen, the pair of them cloaked by the invisibility magic of the artefact. By the time Cringle had scouted the road leading across the valley and returned to camp it was late afternoon. Shiri had already prepared the meal for the evening so they ate as Cringle told of what he had seen.
“Lupers, only Lupers.” Cringle reported. “The villages we saw from the top of the range are Luper villages, not a Q’Herindam in sight. We’ll have to be careful approaching them but we won’t have to worry about magic attacks for now.”
Kuiran and Shiri were both relieved to hear Cringle’s report. Kuiran took the first watch that evening after they decided it was better to keep a look out. Shiri took the second and a rested Cringle took the third. It was another quiet night.
The first Luper village they came to the next day presented a slight problem. The alarm was raised when they were first seen and within a short time armed Luper formed up on the road and barred their way, waving an ugly assortment of weapons. Kuiran raised his arm, about to use his Watermagic but Shiri called out to him.
“No magic Kuiran. We’ll try diplomacy first.”
Shiri dismounted, looking entirely exotic in her close fitting green armour and walked toward the waiting mob of Luper, unarmed. She stopped a little way from them and spoke in broken Luper, mentioning Old Karti and Joeeti. The Luper were puzzled, looking from one to the other and talking rapidly amongst themselves before examining Kuiran and Cringle more closely. Krissi circled low out of curiosity and caused consternation among the Luper. More so when she actually landed near Shiri, shaking her huge wings to settle her feathers. It was too much for the assembled Luper who fell to their knees, bowing forward to place their foreheads on the ground in worship.
The three travellers were made welcome, although some of the Luper obviously had reservations, particularly about Kuiran. His size was something they had never encountered before and Luper, young and old, circled him, necks craned back, with amazed expressions on their faces. The three knew they couldn’t stay for long but sat and talked for a while with what appeared to be some Elders. Shiri told them of Joeeti and the Luper expeditionary force which had been granted land in the north of Myseline. The subject of freedom was an alien concept to those Luper present but eventually some of them grasped the idea. The conversation then swung around to the Q’Herindam. Kuiran, Shiri and Cringle learnt that they lived in a fortress, from which they rarely issued, about three full days travel ahead. As the three companions proved intent on continuing their journey, refusing all offers of feasting and a roof over their heads, the chief Luper sent one of his number to accompany them, thereby making introductions at the villages which lay ahead much easier.
The travelling from that point on proved to be peaceful and much quicker, the Luper accompanying them allaying fears and facilitating their progress through the Luper villages they came to. It seemed as though all the Luper considered themselves part of one community, even though they were spread right across the Forbidden Land. The word of an accompanying Luper was good enough to ensure a peaceful welcome at all the villages they encountered. However, they were slowed a little as the inhabitants of each village had to congregate around Kuiran and try to touch him for luck. Initially, Kuiran enjoyed the attention, although he was generally of a shy nature but soon it became restricting and he was constantly worrying about stepping on a child or falling over a slow adult. His fears were unfounded and as they passed through each village, Shiri and Cringle both learned more of the Luper language while Kuiran amazed the locals with both his size and skill with the staff. Although these minor delays chafed it was good diplomacy to deal with the Luper in a friendly manner and in spite of the extra time put into these relationships they slowly drew closer to their goal.
Late on the afternoon of the fourth day since meeting Old Karti, the three travellers toiled up a long slope of the road which led to a plateau covered by strange twisted trees. Away in the distance they saw reflected light sparkling from the black stone towers of the Q’Herindam fortress. This was their goal. Hopefully Arwhon was still alive in there somewhere.
They reined in as the Luper who was accompanying them pointed toward the Fortress off in the distance, nodding, before turning around and hurrying off back the way they had come. Cringle frowned.
“It seems our guide doesn’t want to be seen with us. There’s a lot of fear in the Luper.” There were nods of agreement as Cringle continued. “We need a plan. It’s probable the Q’Herindam already know we’re here but I’d like to think not. Especially if they weren’t expecting us. Still, we’d better assume the worst and take it from there.”
The other two agreed with Cringle but try as they might, not one of them could come up with a plan which got them to the gates unseen. It was Shiri who eventually had an idea which she offered to her companions.
“What if I took the artefact to render myself invisible and rode ahead of you two. Then I could ride almost to the gate while the Q’Herindam Mages were concentrating on you both. Shouldn’t take much Earthmagic to tear down the walls holding the gates up.”
“Not a bad idea Shiri.” Kuiran responded. “But what are you going to do with Rancid while we are all occupied?”
Shiri was taken by surprise. Kuiran wasn’t mounted as he walked eve
rywhere but still it was he who had thought about the horses. They could be quite fatally damaged by magic if one or other of the Q’Herindam Mages thought to do so and Shiri had experienced first hand the cruelty they were capable of. She considered for a moment before looking over to Cringle for help. He had Vixen to think of and there was also Duran wandering around loose as well.
“Let’s think about it as we ride through the trees. It’ll be interesting to see how close we can get to the fortress under cover. I’d hate to advertise our presence.”
With Kuiran in the lead the little party moved off carefully under the canopy of the wood. Immediately they were surrounded by the bent and twisted trees Shiri heard the voice. It came into her head like Ch’ron’s voice did in the Darkwood but this wasn’t Ch’ron. Rising and falling in cadence, the gibbering of the words twisted around inside her head causing discomfort. Not only did the wood look twisted and bent, it sounded twisted and bent.
“This must be the half of the Darkwood which ended up on the west of the Rift when it was formed,” she announced to the others. “Only this half is mad or nearly so. The evil of the Q’Herindam has poisoned its mind.”
Their faces set firmly and Shiri shut the noise of the insane wood out of her head. She didn’t want to but it was too difficult to concentrate with all that babbling going on. It took the rest of the afternoon for them to ride to where the timber eventually thinned out. There was a clear area of considerable size before the large gates of the citadel so the intrepid little group retreated a little to plan their approach.
“We’ll have to leave the horses here and proceed on foot. In fact, we may have to ground stake them to stop them following us.” Cringle said to Shiri.
She shook her head. “If we did that and anything happened to us, they would die of starvation. We’ll have to unsaddle them and trust Rancid and Duran to keep the other two here with them. I’ll try to get the idea through to Rancid and he can convey it to Duran. Vixen and the packhorse will just have to take their chances.”
The Q'Herindam Page 33