by Steven Drake
“When a nobleman is attacked and a castle half destroyed, word spreads quickly,” Rana finally answered. “You must not have been as far ahead of it as you imagined.”
“Alright, fine, but why this sudden concern about the road? We’ve been on the road for days and you’ve raised no concern until now,” Darien said, pretending to accept her explanation. Instead of replying, the frustratingly vague woman simply turned around and resumed staring into the distance, while Darien continued in his firmest, most commanding tone. “If you know of some reason why we should leave the road, I’ll listen, but I am not going to change course based on your opinion alone.” The Executioner waited for a reply, but the golden haired woman did not react. “Fine then,” he waved his hands in frustration and sighed. “You’re obviously hiding something, but I have no idea what. I hope your persistence in keeping your secrets doesn’t get us all killed.”
The three travelers then prepared for another day. After the previous night’s march, they had slept well into the morning. It was just past mid-morning when they at last set out again. Rana’s manner changed markedly that day. She constantly searched the horizon to the west, looking for what, who could say. For the first time, the Executioner began to seriously question his decision to allow the woman to travel with them. While she was not an immediate threat, it was obvious that she knew much more than she had told him, and that made her dangerous. The danger of letting her go, however, might easily prove to be greater than the danger of keeping her close. If Avirosa found her, then he would get her information one way or the other. Though he rolled the matter over in his mind several times, he ended at the same conclusion. The most reasonable course was to simply watch and wait. He would not figure out what she knew either way, and at least this way, he could be reasonably certain his enemy would not know either.
With morning came a resumption of the chill wind, again out of the north and just as unpleasant as before. Clouds had gathered in the western sky, obscuring the Silver Mountains, and threatening rain, or worse, within the next day, perhaps sooner. The road turned southward again, and descended gradually.
The travelers began the day on the dusty flatland, but the terrain started to change after only a few miles of travel. Low ridges approached on either side of them, growing closer as the miles passed. The landscape was increasingly littered with more ruined structures like the ruined campsite of the night before, some smaller, some larger, all long abandoned. Many were overgrown with ivy-like vines, others were leaning precipitously, ready to fall at any moment. Some already had, leaving nothing but piles of rubble to mark where they once stood.
“Are we getting close to a town, or a city?” Jerris inquired as they passed a particularly large round building, the remains of some sort of watch tower.
“No, only the ruins of one,” Darien answered his companion. “We are approaching the ruins of Thordas, a long abandoned city. There may be vagrants, bandits, or worse dwelling in those ruins. Stay close and keep to the road.”
Darien expected any moment to pass into the ruins of the city proper, but he had been frustratingly out of his reckoning. Mid-day passed, then mid-afternoon, and though the travelers passed the remains of many small villages, the city was still out of sight.
Later on in the afternoon, the wall of clouds in the west grew larger and darker. Rolling thunder could be heard in the distance, when finally, at last, they came to Thordas. The two ridges on either side had risen higher and drawn close, and finally came nearly together in a narrow gap, less than fifty yards wide, and some ways ahead. Ruined gates lay broken and fallen upon the ground in front of the gap.
Once, this place must have been a great fortress. Steep cliffs on either side prevented an enemy approaching from the east or west. The only way into the city was the main road. The travelers rode on through the broken gates, and into the city beyond, the ruined city of Thordas, nestled between the two ridges.
Once in the city, the shadows drew close around them. The sun already had nearly gone behind the western ridge of the valley. The ruined buildings upon the hillside frowned darkly down at the travelers, their shadows quickly filling up the narrow valley. The sun shone full upon the eastern ridge and gave the hilltops a pale golden glow. The empty dwellings on that side showed the bright colors of the stone from which they were made, yellow, red, and orange, though everything else about them seemed sad and forgotten.
The wind howled even more shrilly here, as the hills funneled it through the narrow valley. The sun descended as the travelers made their way through the vacant city. The shadows lengthened, slowly gobbling up the lighted eastern hills. It became clear to the three travelers that they would not make it out of the city before nightfall.
“I don’t like this place at all,” Rana glumly commented as they passed a particularly gloomy abandoned inn. “I don’t want to be here at night.”
“We don’t have much choice in the matter I’m afraid,” Darien said in resignation. “It will be difficult to travel here at night. Torches would make us visible for miles, and I’d like to avoid that. It may be better to take shelter in one of the sturdier looking buildings.”
“We shouldn’t stay here,” Rana objected. “We can’t scale those hills on the east or the west, not with the horses. If we encounter anyone, we’ll have to fight our way out.”
Darien nodded silently. Rana was right, the valley was the perfect place to spring a trap. For a moment, he considered turning round, and trying to skirt round the city, but with no knowledge of the local geography, they could spend days wandering around looking for a way round when there might not even be one to begin with. No, for better or worse, they had chosen their course.
The hills continued to rise higher and steeper on either side. The sun soon disappeared behind the western ridge, and the travelers walked in deep shadows, which concealed everything beyond the edges of the road. The thunder drew near, heralding the oncoming storm. The dark shapes of the clouds began to creep across the sky over the western hills, charcoal shapes against the cobalt sky.
They proceeded for perhaps an hour into the darkness, when the wind went dead calm, the calm before the storm. Darien pulled his horse to a stop, but not because of the storm. Without the constant howl of the north wind, there should have been silence, but there was not. Indeed, howling could still be heard. The wind had only concealed the sound of the wolves. Worse yet, the sound seemed to come from both behind them, and ahead.
All three travelers stopped, but none spoke at first. Darien knew immediately that the howls belonged not to ordinary wolves, but warrogs, bred in the north to carry their goblin riders into battle. Finally, Jerris broke the silence.
“What, what’s going on?” Jerris asked. “It’s just some wolves… isn’t it?”
“No,” Rana broke in. “Those are the howls of warrogs, and where there are warrogs, you can bet there are goblins. The brilliant strategist, Darien the Executioner, has walked right into a trap.”
“Yes, and how did you know?” The Executioner growled as he turned a cold stare towards Rana. “Are you working with Avirosa?”
“Absolutely not! If I were, why would I warn you at all?”
Darien turned and furrowed his brow, considering what to say. The irritating woman was right. She had no reason to offer the warning unsolicited, but the question remained, how did she get that information? Whatever was to be done, it had to be done quickly. The goblins, or worse, could appear at any moment.
“Alright, Miss Rana,” The Executioner spoke sternly, his voice growing deeper and more threatening, “I’ve had enough of this game. You’re going to tell me what you’re hiding, now. How were you able to find me out here in the wilderness? Why did you suddenly decide to warn me about the road, and start searching the horizon constantly? Are you in contact with someone? Do you have a magic power that you have not revealed?”
“I won’t tell you, no matter what you do to me.”
Darien’s anger rose within him.
Part of him wanted to strangle her, or use his magic to rip her mind apart until it broke and yielded the information, or simply tie her up and leave her to die, but the practical fact of the matter was that an extra sword arm was too valuable now. Then, something clicked in his desperate mind. Perhaps she’ll tell her secret if I tell mine, he reasoned.
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation you’ve placed yourself in, Rana,” the mage warned, his voice returning to normal as he took the Demon Sword, still safely in its sheath, from his back. “Do you know what this is?” Darien asked as he showed Rana the sword. She shook her head no. “Don’t you find it interesting at all that the Demon King is sending assassins and goblins west of the river just to catch one errant shade?” Rana nodded yes. “In the Order of the Golden Shield, you are taught the Demon King is not a real demon, right? You are taught that he was a human sorcerer once.” Rana nodded yes again. “And didn’t you ever wonder how he got so powerful, and lived so long, if he was just a man?”
“Actually, yes. It’s a secret guarded by our order. He doesn’t realize we know about it, at least we don’t think he does, but all our members know his power comes from…,” Rana suddenly turned white. She staggered back a few steps. “Then that’s… How did you… Gods…,” Rana stammered and trailed off.
“Now you see what you are in?” the Executioner pointedly asked. “Wherever you’re getting information, you obviously didn’t get the whole truth.” The frightened woman quickly nodded yes. “So what’s it to be? There’s more at stake here than the three of us. I don’t have time to explain fully but if he gets this weapon back, it won’t be good. He’ll kill me, and then if he’s strong enough to resist the sword’s corruption, he’ll become even more powerful than he already is. If he succumbs to the corruption, then he’ll become something even worse, a demon in truth as well as in appearance. It will be as if the first Demon King returned, the real one who defeated the elves at the height of their power and ruled for a thousand years.”
“Alright… alright,” the woman finally conceded. “I’ll show you where I’m getting my information, but I can’t now. The summoning ritual takes time, and I don’t think we have any to spare. In exchange, I expect you to tell me everything about the sword, like how you got it, how you’ve managed to avoid being corrupted by it, and everything else I want to know as well.”
“Summoning ritual? What does that mean? What are we going to summon?” Jerris interjected.
Rana took a deep breath and answered. “It’s a faerie. That’s where I’ve been getting my information. I have an enchanted vial with me, an heirloom of my family passed down over the generations. A faerie lives in it. She is bound to my family by an oath of loyalty.”
“A faerie?” Jerris exclaimed. “You really can summon a faerie. What great luck Darien, now this means we can…”
“Not now, Jerris!” the older half-elf barked, “We’ve got more pressing concerns. We have to get moving, now. I don’t know whether Avirosa is with these goblins, but even if he isn’t there are probably some shades on horseback with them. Rana you may as well get your armor. Jerris, give her your sword. I think they’re behind us.”
“Yes, and more waiting ahead,” the golden haired woman added as she retrieved her armor from where it was secured to Cloud’s back. “My augmentation magic is better than yours apparently. I can hear an even larger group to the south and west.” Rana’s voice was calm and clear now. All traces of anger and disapproval were gone. This was not the time. Jerris tossed her the plain short sword he carried. “We’re trapped between them. We can turn back and try to break through the smaller group, or push ahead and try to break through the larger.”
“We go forward,” the Executioner decided. “We face the same danger either way, and if we go back, we’ll just be getting farther from where we want to…”
“We can’t go to Galad,” Rana interrupted. “Maya, that’s her name, she told me last night. I snuck away from camp again and spoke to her. There’s been an avalanche. That’s what the odd shaking was. The pass at Galad is blocked. She said we shouldn’t go back either, but wouldn’t say why.”
“Well did she tell you anything useful?” Darien asked.
“She said we should make our way south of Thordas, but wouldn’t say anything else. She doesn’t tell me everything, but she’s never wrong.”
“Forward it is then,” Darien shrugged as he spoke. “Most likely the crossroads are held against us. We’ll just have to try to push through somehow. Rana, stay with me, and watch the road ahead. You’ll be able to see them before I can. Jerris, stay close behind us. Horses will run together by instinct, so let her run with us and hang on. If you fall behind, yell.”
Jerris nodded, and they were off.
Just as the horses set off, a streak of lightning flashed above them, striking one of the peaks of the western ridge. Thunder sounded but a moment after, and the first drops of rain began to splash on the dusty stone of the city.
Darien cursed his luck as he charged into the darkness. Somehow, Avirosa knew I was here, and knew exactly when I would pass into the valley. The pursuing goblins had to have been hiding somewhere north of the valley, waiting for us to pass, yet I did not see them, nor did Rana. Goblins are not known for being farsighted, nor are they particularly stealthy. There must be members of the Order here, if not Avirosa himself.
The three travelers rode as quickly as they could manage, onward south along the road. The winds picked up, and the storm unleashed its full fury. The wind shrieked and screamed as it whipped through the narrow valley and between the buildings. Thunder sounded almost constantly overhead. The rain began in earnest, large heavy drops of water hurled down from the heavens, and accelerated by wind, to beat upon horses and riders. The howls of the warrogs were lost once again to the noise of the storm. Lightning flashed almost continuously, momentarily lighting up the valley and casting wicked grinning shadows of empty buildings upon the ground.
The flight continued for several minutes, until Rana raised a hand, bringing Squall to a walk. Darien pulled Cloud to a halt, and an exhausted Jerris followed a few paces behind, taking the opportunity for a much needed rest.
“What is it?” Darien asked of the young woman.
“Fires, and a barricade, some two miles ahead. There’s a large open area. It must be the crossroads,” Rana replied, her voice only barely cutting through the din of the storm.
“How many?”
“At least two dozen that I can see, all in formation. They’ve barricaded the road. Somehow they knew we would be coming from this direction.”
“Any besides the goblins? Any shades?”
“I didn’t see any.”
“Probably hiding,” Darien said. “But they must be there. If they show themselves, leave them to me. Focus on the goblins.”
“I can use the storm,” Rana confidently declared as the lightning flashed in her light blue eyes.
The Executioner led the charge, urging Cloud forward through the driving rain. A few moments later, the goblins came into view, red sunken eyes, pitted, leathery, dull yellow skin, long hooked noses, and spindly clawed limbs, unmistakable characteristics of the goblin species. At least two dozen, Rana had not been mistaken, of various sizes, some as large as young boys, but most of smaller varieties like gibbering monkeys. The warrogs that served as mounts milled about in the firelight, thicker bodied than wolves, with dull brown fur, and wide bear-like muzzles. Sharp dagger-like teeth gleamed white in the firelight ahead.
Onward the three travelers charged. Cries rang out from the goblins camped ahead as they caught sight of their enemies. They gathered behind their barricade, and at once a dozen more swarmed about from the hidden darkness outside the firelight. Darien readied himself for the strike. Already he had begun to gather the magical energy in his right hand while he held the reins in his left. Cloud’s nostrils flared as the horse reached full speed, charging blindly through the darkness, relying only upon
instinct and the keen eyes of its rider. The distance closed rapidly, a hundred yards, fifty, twenty-five, ten. The goblins had drawn their weapons, blades which would be only long knives to a man but served as swords to the smaller creatures, but they never got the chance to use them.
As Darien drew within a few yards, he slowed, turned his horse hard to the right, and hurled a shadow void into the barricade. Goblins screamed and howled as they were thrown this way and that by the power of the magic, but more were already pouring from the shadows of the surrounding buildings.
The barricade lay in ruins, and the remaining goblins were regrouping. Some were mounting the warrogs. Darien rode cloud in a full circle and prepared to charge through the barricade, but Rana was already through. Lightning flashed from the sky to her raised sword and flashed again outward into the remaining goblins, chaining from one to the next, leaving a half dozen convulsing on the ground. The mage pulled up his horse, waiting for Jerris to ride through the chaos, then following close behind.
They fought through the goblins, keeping them away from Jerris as they passed through the crossroads. Darien saw no sign of any shades. Still, more goblins were swarming about, and beginning to get mounted up. Violent and almost feral creatures, possessing little intelligence, but extraordinary social instincts, the goblins moved and attacked together, almost as a flock of birds. The second group of goblins who had been chasing them rode into view, mounted upon their warrogs.
“Which way?” Rana shouted.
“East,” the Executioner shouted back without hesitation. Even in the chaos of battle, his keen mind realized that his enemies still expected him to make for Galad, so the eastward path was unlikely to hide further enemies.
The three travelers charged eastward. This time, both Rana and Darien let Jerris ride ahead, while they covered him. More of the lightning bolts and shadow voids decimated the goblins, but already both casters were tiring, and still the enemy came onward. Finally, they turned, and rode eastward into the darkness, the first of the warrogs less than a dozen yards behind them.