The Bane of Karrak_Ascension II of III

by Robert J Marsters

  “POOM! Let’s just see if we can find the water, shall we?”

  The Gerrowliens were largely ignored by the others whenever they travelled together and today proved to be no exception. They bounded ahead, ascending the rock face with ease. A few glances were cast their way as they climbed, but before any inquisition could be made by any one of their fellow climbers, they were too far ahead for the questions to be heard. Poom sniffed the air. “Definitely this way,” he said.

  “Indeed,” agreed Lawton. “But something doesn’t smell right. Not sure exactly what, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon.”

  They resumed their search, but soon slowed their pace as they caught a strange scent. Before either could comment, they heard the growling voices far ahead of them. They dropped to all fours and stalked forwards silently. Reaching a small ridge, they peered over the edge warily. The barren rock offered very little in the way of camouflage. Below, they spied three massive beasts. They were a species the Gerrowliens did not recognise, all similar in appearance except for the colour of their fur. The black one had the carcase of a glamoch clutched in its huge, clawed hand and was tearing lumps from it with its razor-sharp teeth. It seemed wary of the intentions of the others and guarded its meal as it leaned away from them.

  “So, you’re not the sharing kind then?” growled the blue.

  “Would you?” asked the black in reply. “If you want to eat, I suggest you speed up a bit. This one’s mine, I found it, I killed it and I’m eating it.”

  “Why did we believe him?” asked the brown. “He said if we guarded this place, he would provide enough meat to keep us fed forever. Instead, I’m having to tolerate you scum on my territory. What’s more, we haven’t seen him for three days. It’s obvious he lied, you two will have to go.”

  The black, the largest of the three, stood to its full height. “There’s nothing I’d like more than for us to part ways,” it snarled. “However, I’m not the one who’ll be leaving.”

  “Oh, trust me, you will be going. Like I said, this is my territory,” sneered the brown.

  The blue spoke gently, “And if we split up now what do you think he’ll do to us? Use your brains, if you’ve got any.”

  Poom nudged Lawton. “What are they?” he mouthed.

  Lawton shrugged his shoulders. Their appearance seemed familiar but he was adamant that he had never seen their like before. The reason for his partial recognition of the humongous beasts, he believed, could only be attributed to the description of them being related to him by another. His thought was fleeting and he returned his focus to the strangers.

  “He’d have to find us first, wouldn’t he?” snarled the black. “If he’s as powerful as we think, wouldn’t he have far more important things to contend with than the three of us?”

  “Not that one. He’d hunt us down for the fun of it. And what was that thing he had with him? It was like no wolf or dog that I’ve ever seen,” said the blue.

  “He must have made it himself. After all, who knows what these magical types are capable of. I found one of our kin in a cave not far from here. He’d been dead for a long time, his head smashed in by who knows what. I looked at his pelt, looked like he’d been burned, and no normal fire can damage our fur. It might have been him what did it!” said the black.

  “This is why our kind stay apart!” growled the brown. “You’ve been snooping around in my territory. You probably would have killed me in my sleep if you’d have found me that way.”

  “It was a cave, you idiot. They have more than one entrance, you know! Mind you, you’re right,” sneered the black. “I would have killed you in your sleep. There’s not that much meat on you, is there? You’d have only kept me going for a couple of days.”

  They circled one another as they growled and snarled.

  “This isn’t going to get us anywhere. I think we should wait for him to come back, and when he does, we kill him. There are three of us, he won’t see it coming until it’s too late. If we grab a part each and all pull at the same time he’ll be torn apart and we get fed,” suggested the blue.

  “So, defeating a magic man is that easy, is it?” asked the black. “I’ve got a better idea. You two try pulling him apart and I’ll watch. Then, when you’re both dead, whatever food he brings will be all mine, and so will this territory.”

  “So, there’s nothing we can do but guard these gulleys as we agreed. He’ll come back soon and bring the food that he promised and I suppose he’ll have his pet with him. All we can do is wait. If we are lucky enough to find anybody sneaking about, at least it’ll be a bit more for dinnertime.”

  “Providing you don’t get there first,” said the brown.

  The wary threesome moved away from one another. The black, having sated his hunger with the glamoch meat, lay down and covered his eyes from the light as he prepared for a snooze. Brown and blue, now a safe distance away from one another, turned their backs, each preferring to ignore the other’s presence.

  Sliding away from the ridge, Lawton pressed his finger to his lips before crooking it at Poom and beckoning him to follow. When they were safely out of earshot, Poom turned to face his friend “So, you have no idea what they are?” he asked.

  “I’ve heard a description of something similar, but I can’t remember what they were called,” he replied, feeling a little perturbed. “Whatever they are, they’re not friendly, that’s for sure.”

  “And they’re working for Karrak by the sounds of things,” suggested Poom.

  “What makes you think they’re working for Karrak?” asked Lawton.

  “Those things said they were working for some sort of magician, or magic man as they called him. A magic man who has a strange beast with him. ‘Not a wolf nor a dog’. That can only be one of those things he’s been turning the villagers into.”

  “Aren’t we getting clever in our old age?” mocked Lawton, causing Poom to curl his lip and wobble his head. “It doesn’t prove that it’s Karrak though, does it? We know he wasn’t alone when he attacked Reiggan, so it could merely be one of his followers.”

  “It doesn’t matter who it is,” said Poom, “Karrak or follower. If we find him, we kill him.”

  “Agreed, but only if we meet by accident. Our first priority is finding water for the group. Without that, they won’t survive much longer. What do you think is causing all that dust?”

  “Why do you keep asking stupid questions?” asked Poom. “As a matter of fact, why do I?” he added. “The answer is always the same. We dodge around answers all the time, but we always end up with the same one: it’s something to do with Karrak.”

  Lawton chuckled, “You’re right, of course. Now, noses at the ready. Let’s find this water.”

  Their search was not in vain. Despite both of them suffering slightly from not only the dust, but the stench of the strangers in the gulley, they soon discovered a shallow pool of water. Poom leaned over it but stopped well before he could lap at its surface. “Great, that’s all we need!” he exclaimed.

  “What’s wrong, old friend? I thought you’d be overjoyed with yourself, finding it this quickly.”

  “Ordinarily, I would be. I would, however, be more overjoyed if it wasn’t stagnant!”

  “Oh, come on!” exclaimed Lawton. “Can’t we have just a little luck for once?” He leaned down to the pool and sniffed. “Rotten as an old potato,” he mumbled.

  “So what do we do now?” asked Poom, dejectedly, “They’re all going to die if we don’t find fresh water.”

  “We’ll have to find the source of this pool. It hasn’t rained for days so it must be coming from higher on the mountain.”

  Poom rolled his eyes, “Shall I lead the way?”

  “Oh, go on then, just for a change.” Lawton glanced over his shoulder in the direction of their friends. The hour grew late and he had witnessed them beginning to set a camp as he and Poom had left. Yello was only a few hundred yards behind them and he was sure that the stubborn, old wizard could
cover the short distance unaided. His heart sank a little. If he and Poom were unsuccessful, would all be lost? Would the wizards have the strength that they needed to perform relocation spells? Dehydration was a side effect of such magic, and in their current dilemma, it could prove to be a fatal one. He turned and sprinted after his lifelong friend, determined to succeed.

  ***

  “Where do you think you’re going?” asked Jared.

  “Just erm, stretching my legs,” replied Emnor. “Feeling a bit stiff,” he added, stretching his arms and back. “I’ve obviously been neglecting to get enough exercise of late. If I don’t keep moving, I think I might seize up. We can’t have that, can we?”

  “Oh, in that case I suggest you limit your walk to one around the campfire,” suggested Hannock. “It’s important to keep the muscles warm, you know? Stops any cramps.”

  “Thank you, Captain, but I’ll be fine. I’m feeling a little warm actually, must be the dust.”

  “Emnor, just how stupid do you think we are?” asked Jared. “We’ve both known you for over twenty years and what a crafty git you can be. You’re not going for a walk. You’re going to use a relocation spell so that you can study the scroll, aren’t you?”

  “You see the thing is, Emnor, we can tell when you’re lying,” said Hannock.

  Emnor shook his head slightly, trying to look as innocent as possible. “Nonsense!” he blurted.

  “Do you know how we know when you’re lying, old friend?” Jared asked quietly.

  Emnor maintained his look of perplexity as Hannock leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. “Your lips move,” he hissed.

  “What is this?” snapped Emnor, feigning indignation. “Can an old man not go for a walk without being accosted and interrogated by royalty and military? I wonder why I fight these battles if this is the regime we are to adopt upon our victory!”

  “Oh, shut up, you silly old sod,” snapped Yello. “You know they’re onto you so shut your face and sit down. We don’t have enough water for you to be using relocation spells. You’ll die of thirst if you keep it up.”

  “So you’re in on the conspiracy too, Yello. I would have thought that you would protect my name against such outrageous allegations. I would not, under any circumstances, jeopardise our mission by putting myself or any other at such risk and you damn well know it. Why would I need…”

  “Stick a sock in it, you soppy old git! You’ve been caught. We care about you and we won’t allow you to risk it, alright?” Hannock said, addressing the head of the Administration as if he were a ten-year-old.

  “If you kick the bucket, how are we going to know what the scroll says should we desperately need it in a few days, or next week, or next month? You are our greatest hope of defeating Karrak and therefore, the one who must always be furthest from danger, do you understand?” snapped Jared. “From now on, I want to know where you’re going and why, before you attempt anything. We need every member of this group to survive in order to face Karrak. I am the closest thing Borell has to a king until we figure out a way to cure my father, and I have a feeling we’ll all be needed for that as well. You’ll bloody well do as you’re told for a change, Emnor, or I’ll have you arrested.”

  Emnor glanced across at Hannock who, despite looking a little dishevelled, tried his best to adopt an official stance. Turning his gaze to Jared, he bowed his head. It appeared his greatest pupil had, at last, become the man he was destined to be. “As you command, Your Highness,” he replied, smiling.

  “Now that’s out of the way, we must decide what we are to do,” said Jared. “This dust is not natural. Firstly, it’s far too thick and secondly, the mountain would have to be crumbling around our ears for there to be so much of it.”

  “And what’s more is the fact that it seems to hang like a mist. Look, you can see it drifting. If it were natural, it would eventually settle,” added Hannock. “Could it have been set here as some sort of barrier? A trap to hinder any who decided to attempt to travel along this path?”

  “I believe that is precisely what it is,” replied Emnor. “I also believe that whoever laid it here would be more than pleased with how effectively it works.”

  “What we all think is that Karrak or one of his cronies put it here. Is that not so?” asked Yello.

  “If that’s the case, why not bring down the side of the mountain and block the route completely?”

  Emnor glanced up at the sudden question from Drake, “What purpose would that serve, my dear boy? If you began to drain a river simply to catch one fish, the fish would surely follow the flow of water as it ebbed away. But place a net in the water and it is inevitable that, sooner or later, the fish will swim into it.”

  “So it is a trap then? Whoever laid it, wanted us to die of thirst?” asked Drake.

  “Not us, as such. Anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their trap. If they had brought down the side of the mountain, whoever looked upon it would simply head in another direction,” replied Yello, beating Emnor to the answer.

  “So, why not set the trap by the main entrance to Reiggan?” asked Drake. “Surely that would work?”

  “The entrance of Reiggan would be too obvious for a trap to be laid, and far too exposed,” replied Hannock.

  “Perhaps I should have thought about that question a bit longer before I asked it,” said Drake with a smile.

  “You’re a grown man, a young man admittedly, but in order to learn, one must question things. Just make sure there aren’t too many questions though, I’m still a bloody good shot with a crossbow, and a bolt in the backside really stings, I’ve been told.”

  Drake stuck his tongue out childishly at Hannock.

  Harley joined them, closely followed by Xarran and Alex. “Master Emnor, I was thinking, perhaps a relocation spell might not be as harmful to someone…” He stopped short of finishing his sentence, casting furtive glances at his former classmates.

  Emnor leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he had done so often in the past, “Go on then, spit it out, Harley. Someone what?”

  “Someone younger!” said Xarran. “I apologise, Master Emnor, it was my idea.” He placed his hand on Harley’s shoulder and steered him aside in order to face Emnor and the others. “Alex and I feel that we aren’t contributing to this mission at all, sir. We carry a few essentials and do our share of the work but are never asked our opinion. You called Drake a man, Hannock. Do you even realise that both Alex and I are actually older than he is? What’s more, do any of you care? We are treated as if we are children and we’re not. You think we need your protection, trust me, we don’t. If Alex and I were allowed to use a relocation spell or two, the likelihood of our finding water would be increased substantially. If we stay as we are, our supply of both food and water will be exhausted in no time and we shall all die anyway. Or hadn’t you realised how much our pace slowed as the day drew on? Not to mention the fact that, without the aid of the Gerrowliens, Master Yello would now be miles behind us, if not dead. Forgive me, Yello, I mean no offence.”

  Yello burst out laughing and looked across at Emnor, “Hah!” he exclaimed, “Remind you of anyone?”

  “Unfortunately… yes. Yes, it does,” replied Emnor, wiping his hand across his face.

  “You and I when we stormed into Stumfort’s office because he wouldn’t allow us…”

  “Alright, Yello!” Emnor said quickly. “I don’t need reminding, I’m not that old yet. And I’m sure our friends don’t need to know what we got up to as youngsters.”

  “Oh, how wrong someone can be,” uttered Hannock, trying to make his voice as deep and sinister as possible.

  “Xarran,” began Emnor, “I understand your frustration, and please forgive me when I say that your exclusion from any decision making is not deliberate. However, I will admit that, to a degree, I may have been a little over-protective. As head of Reiggan, it is my duty to provide a safe environment for anyone in my care and as such…”

  “We are no
longer in Reiggan!” bellowed Xarran. “We are on the mountainside many miles from Reiggan. Your great wizard fortress lies in ruins. The lives of both your friends and mine snatched away prematurely by an evil that has no equal. Yet you still believe that you can protect us? We helped to cremate hundreds! Not one or two, Emnor, hundreds! What will it take for you to realise that we want our revenge as much as any of you? Our minds are made up, Master. Our time has come, we are and will be involved in the endeavours of this party to put a stop to Karrak’s madness, from this day forward. Accept it or not, it is your choice,” Xarran stormed away.

  Alex turned slowly and began to follow him. Without looking, he paused momentarily, “Apologies, gentlemen. You may not like what he has to say, but you cannot deny that he is correct.”

  “That was unexpected,” mumbled Hannock as the two younger men exited. “They’re strange when they get to that age though. Not exactly a boy but a long way from being a man and unable to control one’s emotions.”

  Jared glared at him, his eyes wide, “You’re a fine one to be lecturing someone about controlling their emotions!” he exclaimed. “I’ve lost count of the times you’ve lost your temper and flown into a rage, and I mean recently, not when you were his age.”

  “I’m a soldier, Jared. The position sometimes requires a little more than harsh language,” replied Hannock, smugly.

  “Can we be serious for a moment?” asked Yello. Hannock’s childishness was becoming far more tedious than usual. The pain from his leg was increasing and his stock of Abigail’s Mercy was desperately low. “Are we going to allow them to do this?”

  “I don’t see that we have a choice. It seems their minds are made up. All we can do is come up with the closest and most likely area for them to search. If they find it on the first or second attempt with a relocation spell, they should be fine. However, beyond that, they’ll be risking their lives. It may sound a little dramatic but, I’m afraid it’s the truth, if they fail, we all die!” replied Emnor.