“Now settle down,” Jiron tells him. “They’ve known of our presence there for days and have done nothing so far.”
“So far,” he says, none too happy. He scans the woods around them as if expecting an imminent attack at any moment.
“As soon as we get to where you saw the design, you can leave,” James tells him.
“Just be careful about running into them on your way back,” suggests Fifer. “They may want to talk to you about us.”
Scowling, the miner looks at each in turn then stares at the fire, deep in thought.
To Jiron James says, “Better have two on watch at a time tonight, just in case.”
Nodding, Jiron replies, “Good idea.” He then sets up a watch schedule and those not pulling the first watch lay out their blankets as close to the fire as they can.
The night passes uneventfully and they are up and on their way with the rising of the sun. The miner turns them north and follows the shoreline of the lake. They don’t travel very far before coming to a medium sized river flowing from the north.
Before James has a chance to ask, the miner says, “This ain’t the one. We have to cross it and continue following the lake until we reach the next river. Then we can follow that one north to where you want to go.”
Turning upriver, he leads them to a ford a mile up. After crossing, he backtracks along the other side of the river and returns to the lake. Following its shoreline, he continues along as it curves to follow a more easterly direction.
The going here is slow, as they have to at times forge their way through tangled undergrowth. Several hours pass as they make slow headway. Finally the shoreline becomes inaccessible to them when the side of the mountain rises up against the water’s edge.
“We have to leave the lake now and work our way through the mountains,” the miner says. “If we’re lucky, we’ll reach the river before the sun goes down.”
“Why would that be lucky?” Uther asks.
“Just a figure of speech,” the miner says, annoyed he’s being taken too literally.
“Oh,” replies Uther.
Picking up another game trail, they leave the shore and move into the forest. The terrain becomes increasingly rugged and as they climb up the side of the mountain, the density of the trees diminishes proportionately.
As they climb, the wind hits them with more biting chill than it had when they were in the protection of the forest. Now that the trees are thinning, the wind is able to get to them more effectively. Pulling their jackets closer, they push on.
At one promontory the miner stops them for a short break. Off to the side they find snow on the ground among the trees. “Man that’s not a good sign,” Jorry states.
“At least it’s clear now,” Fifer says hopefully, looking to the sky. “If the clouds move in we can expect snow.”
“I agree,” says James. “We’re definitely above the snowline now.”
Qyrll has climbed up above them and is standing on an outcropping of rock. James notices him there peering out over the way they had come. “See anything?” he asks.
The others take note of what he’s doing as he looks down to James and shakes his head. “Nothing.”
“Maybe they didn’t follow us,” offers Miko hopefully.
“Oh you can bet they’re out there,” states Dave. Looking back through the trees, he adds, “I doubt if they’ll give up this easily.”
“You seem awfully sure of that,” Jiron says as he comes to stand before him.
Anger building, Dave replies, “If they followed us to Ironhold, you would think they would have kept an eye on us. Any fool should know that.”
“I don’t like the tone of your voice,” Jiron says, his own anger beginning to rise.
Stepping in between them, James holds a hand up to each and says, “Enough of that!” Staring them both down, he adds, “We have too much to worry about already, we don’t need your squabbling adding to it.”
Jiron gives Dave a glare then turns to James, “Sorry.” Turning his back on Dave, he stalks off.
“You two need to get along,” James tells his friend Dave.
“I ain’t the one not getting along,” he says. “Nothing I do or say will make any difference.” He turns aside and walks back to check on his horse.
James just stands there and stares at his two friends walking away. Saddened by how they don’t get along, he just shakes his head. Try as he might the rift between them continues to grow, neither of them seems even remotely interested in trying to mend it.
They get underway shortly thereafter and as they proceed, an awkward silence hangs over them. By the time they stop for lunch it hasn’t improved any. James sits eating his food and glances from one to the other. Dave has sunk into another depression with anger seeming to be boiling under the surface. Jiron on the other hand appears his regular self, that is until he glances toward Dave. Then James notices a slight tightening around the eyes and a grim expression comes to him.
After their lunch break they once again forge their way along the path through the mountains. Near the midafternoon an enormous mountain to the north comes into view. Snow capped and rising high into the sky, it dominates everything around it.
“Would you look at that!” Miko breathes as they crest a ridge and the mountain comes into view.
“Impressive,” agrees James. It easily rises a thousand foot or more over that of any other peak.
The miner glances back to see the reaction the sight of the mountain has brought forth. Giving them a grin he says, “That’s Kiliticus, the king of all mountains. They say no mountain is taller in the world.”
A shiver runs through James as he looks to the mountain in the distance. “Would where we are going be at the base of that mountain?” he asks, mouth suddenly dry.
“Yes, it would,” the miner replies. “A small lake sits at its base and along its shores are the ruins.”
His voice catching in his throat, he asks, “Does the lake have a name?”
Shrugging, the miner says, “If it does I never heard it. Why?”
James glances around him and he can see what he’s thinking reflecting back in the eyes of the others. At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup.
“Ellinwyrd must have been meaning the mountain, not Ironhold,” Jiron says.
Nodding, James says, “Yes! That’s got to be it.” To the miner he asks, “How long until we get there?”
The miner glances from James, to the others and then back again, he can see something is going on. “We’ll be there tomorrow,” he answers.
“Good,” says James, his spirits again high. Not even the tension between Dave and Jiron is able to dampen his mood now. His goal is about to be reached.
Evening finds them winding their way down to the bottom of a deep valley with a river cutting its way through. “That’s the river we’ll follow to those ruins,” the miner announces. “If we leave first thing in the morning, we should be able to get there by late afternoon.”
“It doesn’t look all that far,” Uther says as he gazes to Kiliticus in the distance.
“Don’t let its size fool you,” he says. “It’s further than it looks.”
“Damn,” mutters Jorry in awe.
Another hour finds them nearing the base of the valley and they hunt for a good place in which to make camp. Once found, they set up camp.
The valley acts like a funnel for the wind coming off the mountain. They build a large roaring fire to ward off the chill and spend a very cold and uncomfortable night. The person on watch never wanders far from the fire and makes sure to keep the blaze going well throughout the night.
As the morning brightens with dawn’s approach, they quickly get underway. Everyone is anxious to get there, find what they came here for and then get out. They definitely don’t want to be here should snow begin falling. The trip back, over the terrain they just navigated would be most treacherous indeed if covered in snow.
Two hours after dawn, the sun fin
ally rises over the peaks to the east. The sun does little to warm the riders as they make their way along the river. Throughout the day, Kiliticus continues to rise ever higher as they draw nearer.
The river, beside which they’re riding, is little more than a glorified stream. There are two places where they have to leave its banks in order to make it around boulders jutting out of the ground. The whole valley is a rugged wilderness, a place James feels sure few people have ever been.
After a brief stop for a bite to eat around noon, they head out again and ride another hour before the lake at the base of Kiliticus comes into view. Sitting as it does at the base of the mammoth mountain, it appears small by comparison. But as they approach, it’s revealed as being fairly large.
The miner brings them to a stop and when they’ve all gathered near says, “If you look on the far shore of the lake, you will see the ruins.”
Sure enough, when James looks he can make out several structures. Excited, he urges them onward and they move as quickly as they can. It takes a little over an hour before they reach the southern side of the lake, the area from which the river they’ve been following issues forth.
James takes the lead in his impatience and hurries around the lake. The ruins grow ever closer and his excitement and anticipation mounts. He glances back to the miner and asks, “Where exactly did you see the symbol?”
He points to the largest structure situated in the middle of the ruins. “It lies within that building.”
Kicking the sides of his horse, James bolts forward.
“James, wait!” Jiron hollers but he doesn’t pay attention in his excitement. Kicking his horse into a gallop, he and the others race after him.
The ruins are the size of a small village. There’s even evidence of a dock which had once extended out upon the water, small pilings protrude from the water. All the buildings are moss covered and overgrown with vegetation. Many of the buildings have plants growing within their interiors, as well as a few trees growing right through what used to be the roofs of two of them.
Jiron scans the area for any dangers, but doesn’t find any. The only danger he feels they’re likely to find would be some large predator that may have made one of these buildings its own.
James flies around the dilapidated buildings until finally arriving at the large structure in the middle. He brings his horse to a stop near the front entrance and dismounts just as Jiron arrives next to him.
“You shouldn’t run headlong into unknown territory like that,” chides Jiron as he gets down from his horse. The others arrive and begin dismounting shortly after.
“Sorry,” apologizes James. “I just got caught up in the moment.”
The building before them has to have been a temple at one time. No statues or other adornment are visible but the feel of the place brings them to that conclusion. The front doors are closed tight and blazoned upon each is the Star of Morcyth.
“This is it,” breathes James. Excitement rising like an irresistible tide, he steps forward toward the three steps leading up to the doors. Jiron moves to go around him but he lays a hand on his arm and says, “Not this time.”
Jiron nods and allows James to be the first to enter.
James takes the steps to the door with the others following close behind. Hand trembling in anticipation, he reaches out and takes hold of the door handle. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he turns the handle and opens the door.
The ravages of time have not spared this building either. The door opens several inches before stopping. Turning back to the others, he says, “Feels like there’s something blocking it.”
“Push harder,” Uther suggests just as Jorry asks, “Need any help?”
Turning back to the door, he shoves hard with his shoulder and the door suddenly bursts into the room. Something hits him in the leg, a little sapling is growing before the door and had snapped back after the door was pushed over it. “Just a tree,” he says to the others.
Inside the building, one of the large windows has been broken out and a pile of leaves as well as other dead vegetation lie beneath it from where the wind deposited them over the years. The room he walks into is a large central meeting area. It looks nothing like any church or temple he’s been in before. This may have served as more than just a meeting place to worship Morcyth.
Tables and chairs are situated about the room, many having fallen prey to insects and lie rotted upon the floor. Off to one side is what has to be the altar. It’s made of wood and shows the wear of time as everything else does.
Jiron makes his way toward it and asks, “Doesn’t this look familiar?”
James comes over and takes a closer look. It’s a roughly four foot high pedestal with a small platform atop it. Upon closer examination, the platform has the Star of Morcyth engraved within it. Glancing back to Jiron he shakes his head, “No, I can’t place it.”
“It’s the same as the one we found back in the City of Light when we first met,” he explains.
“Right, under your hideout,” he says. Now it comes to him. When he and Jiron first met, they ended up having to flee through an underground secret passage which the medallion had opened. There they found a room with a marble pedestal with a crystal platform on top similar to this one. Only that one, instead of having the Star of Morcyth engraved within it, had an open space within it in the shape of an inverted pyramid.
He reaches up and tries to remove the platform but it is an integral part of the altar and doesn’t budge. The one in the City of Light had revealed a secret door when removed. He tries putting the Star diagram of his medallion on the Star of the platform but that fails to yield any results.
The others have spread out to search the building, Fifer and Qyrll take the stairs to the upper level and return shortly. “Nothing up there but a couple rooms filled with moss covered furniture.”
“Let me see,” says James and he takes the stairs up. Two rooms sit across from each other at the top of the stairs and after a brief examination, turns up nothing.
As he comes back down, Jiron says, “I don’t think you’ll find anything in here.”
“Why not?” James asks.
“Remember the riddle from Saragon?” he replies. “It said ‘At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup.’ Seems to me the ‘cup’ would be the lake out there.” He then points out the open window to where they can see the lake a short ways away.
He contemplates that for a minute, and after another quick glance around the temple says, “You may be right.” He then turns to Fifer and says, “Take the others and see if you can find a building we can use as a headquarters while we search the area. Get the horses settled in and gather wood, we may be here a while.”
“You got it,” he says. Taking Qyrll, Jorry and Uther with him, he takes care of it.
Leaving the temple, James and the rest move toward the lake. Jiron turns to the miner and asks, “Is there another way out of here?”
“Why?” he asks.
“In the event the Empire’s forces show up, we may not have the option of returning the way we came,” he explains.
“I’m not sure,” he admits. “I only came here once and that was years ago.”
Glancing around at the area surrounding them, he hopes there may be another way out. The fact that the Empire’s soldiers had been camped around Ironhold makes him nervous. Despite not having seen any evidence of them being followed, he knows they’re out there somewhere.
At the water’s edge, James comes to a stop and looks around. He mumbles to himself, ‘At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup. Pull his beard to make him sit up.’ Gazing first one way and then the other, he doesn’t see anything which could remotely be considered a beard.
The water doesn’t even come to the edge of the mountain. Rather it ends several hundred feet before, most of the buildings sit between the water and where the mountain begins its rise.
“Maybe you have to get into the water,” suggests Jiron.
Turning to glance at him he exclaims, “Are you crazy? That water must be at or near freezing. I wouldn’t last more than a minute.”
“Yeah,” adds Dave. “Think next time.”
Jiron turns a cold stare toward him which is returned with equal intensity. His hand is flexing upon a hilt of one of his knifes and only the presence of James prevents him from killing Dave on the spot. Getting his anger under control, he returns his attention to James and says, “It did say ‘Bathe in his cup’.” Gesturing to the water he adds, “That seems to be the only thing around here which could be considered a cup.”
James brings his gaze to the water and a shiver runs through him as he contemplates the idea of entering its frigid depths. “Man I don’t want to do that,” he says. “If we can’t come up with another theory, I’ll do it tomorrow. Until then, let’s try to figure another way.”
“As you will,” he says.
The sound of someone approaching from the town causes him to turn and see Fifer walking toward them. “We found a building which will suffice,” he says. “It has all four walls still intact and most of the ceiling. It’s large enough for us as well as the horses, might’ve been an inn.”
“Good,” says James. Glancing to where the sun is reaching toward the peaks to the west, he turns to Jiron and says, “We better make sure to post a watch tonight. Don’t want the Empire getting the drop on us now, not with us being so close and all.”
“I figured as much already,” he says. “Two to a watch.”
They follow Fifer back to the building he’s staked out for their headquarters. It does look like an inn, there are several rooms off the ground floor but they’re all planning on staying together in the common room. Better to keep warm that way.
Once there, James tells the miner that he’ll no longer hold him should he wish to depart.
“If it’s all the same with you guys, I’d just as soon stay,” he says. “With all the talk of the Empire being out there, I wouldn’t want to head back alone.”
“You’re more than welcomed to stay,” James assures him.
James and Dave have the first watch. They figure Dave will be okay on watch as long as he’s with his friend. No one else would have him any way.
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 38