Prisoners of the Keep

by Susan Bianculli

  I watched him walk awkwardly over to me, and hoped that Jason would be too caught up in how sore he was to play Twenty Questions. I sent a quick prayer up to Caelestis about it, just in case she was listening.

  The Under-elf all of a sudden asked, “So, Paladin, for where are you bound? You said you were on a quest; where is it to begin?”

  “In the town of Meritzon Caelestis said I would find out more information about what I need to do,” I replied, grateful for the distraction.

  I wondered if Caelestis had heard my prayer and was answering it in this way. It seemed possible, at least. Maybe there was something to this worship thing after all.

  “So where is this place?” Jason wanted to know.

  I shrugged. “I’ve never been there before. All I know is that she told me to follow the trail north, and I would get there.”

  Arghen nodded his white-haired head. “Mysterious are the ways of the Gods, as always. So it is, was, and probably always shall be.”

  “Why is that, do you know?” I asked.

  He looked at me. “The Deities are not allowed to directly influence their Champions. If They did it would be like taking a hand Themselves, which would upset the divine order. So They can only work by indirection, such as making suggestions to where we would need to go to hear what we need to hear.”

  Jason snorted. “Great. What a weird way to run a world.”

  I chucked at Saffron, getting my horse to move. “‘Weird’ or not, it’s what’s done here. Let’s get going.”

  CHAPTER 10

  We rode silently for a time along the dirt track, which entered yet another large grassy field, this time with lime-green grass that had feathery purple grain stalks mixed in. We kept a lookout for something else beside the road that might indicate a direction towards some form of town.

  Arghen out of the blue asked, “It has just occurred to me that both of you might be unfamiliar with how to recognize hostile creatures and how you might defend yourselves against them. Am I correct?”

  “That’s true for Jason,” I said. To allay any suspicions from Jason, I quickly added, “And since no one person can know everything about every animal, I’m sure I can benefit from anything you have to teach.”

  The Under-elf became a fountain of information on creatures both intelligent and monstrous that we might at some point come across in this world, and he pointed out any that he saw. He even included his dranth, which we found out was named Stalker and had been his war-beast when he was part of his city-state’s military defense force underground. As we rode and learned, an abrupt, angry roar sounded off to the left where a tongue of a forest met up with the verge of the grassy field. We reined up.

  “That,” said Arghen conversationally, “sounds like something getting ready to attack us.”

  “No kidding!?” said Jason in a sarcastic tone, opening his mouth for the first time in quite a while.

  I scanned in the direction of the roar. “What is it?”

  Arghen looked at me with one white eyebrow cocked. “Without seeing it first, Paladin, I cannot tell you.”

  All of a sudden the creature making the noise erupted from the depths of the field. It looked familiar.

  “Hey! It’s that estupido green cat thing, or another just like it!” Jason yelled.

  We could see dark green fur appear and disappear in the grass as it bounded towards us, roaring. Anger crossed Jason’s face, and he slid off the back of my horse onto the dirt of the track. He drew his pair of dirks from his belt.

  “Jason! What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted at him.

  But Jason didn’t answer. He was too intent on the charging creature.

  Arghen pulled his war spear from its saddle holder and commanded, “Paladin! Flanking maneuvers! Take the right verge! Jason, stay where you are!”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, and I hesitated as Arghen kicked his dranth away towards the left. Jason must have picked up on whatever the Under-elf meant because he waved me away from him to the right. Keeping one eye on Arghen so I wouldn’t mess up, I wheeled Saffron into the tall grass. I hoped I would have a repeat of my accidental success from the last time we fought one of those things.

  As the monster neared the road, the separating targets confused it, but then the great cat focused on the unmoving one. Spittle slavered out of its mouth as it charged Jason. I looked back over my shoulder and copied Arghen as he veered back around, and then I realized that Arghen wanted us to come at it on either side like a nutcracker while Jason played the part of the nut. I raised my saber and prayed I wouldn’t hurt Saffron, or anyone else, by mistake. Jason planted himself firmly on the road and braced for the attack as Arghen and I swung back to come in at the creature before it reached Jason.

  But it was faster than we thought.

  I saw Jason realize that we wouldn’t get there before the monster did, and he changed his stance to the balls of his feet. The cat leaped to bowl him over just like last time, but Jason timed his dodge so that the cat just missed. He swung his arm backwards and scored a hit on the cat’s side. It roared in pain and skidded around to face him as Arghen and I reached them both. Finding two horses and riders bearing down on it, the cat disregarded Jason and leaped to attack the more dangerous targets. Luckily for me, it chose Arghen and his mount. The Under-elf judged the angle the cat was coming in at and speared it through the eye socket with a move that was either very precise, very fortunate, or both. The monster choked on a snarl and collapsed to the ground, mid-sound.

  I reined in hard to avoid trampling Jason while scanning around for danger from my vantage point. We were ready to deal with anything else coming up, like an angry mate; but minutes passed with nothing happening. I breathed more normally and sheathed my sword to slide off Saffron and go to Jason.

  “I’m fine. I’m fine,” he waved me off before I even reached him. “I thought you said that the path kept travelers from harm?”

  I reddened and stopped. “I think I said ‘casual’ harm. A beast like this is far from being casual. And maybe not all roads have the charm.”

  Fortunately Jason did not see the puzzled look Arghen sent me from atop Stalker. Jason went over to the cat and cleaned his one bloody dagger on its fur.

  “That was quite brave, to stand there and let the cat come at you like that,” I said in an annoyed, half admiring tone in an effort to change the subject.

  “Yeah, well, what Arghen said made sense. As soon as he started yelling, I figured out what he had planned and agreed with it. I know you’re a lone fighter and probably good and all that, but next time can you please follow directions a little faster?” he said, sounding irritated.

  My admiration evaporated, and I shrugged and came closer to look at the green feline. Arghen dismounted and joined us.

  “So, what was that? This wasn’t the first time something like this has attacked me, and I want to know what it is!” demanded Jason.

  “I think this is called a Field Catamount. I cannot think of anything else it might be,” replied Arghen.

  Jason kicked it on the side and muttered something below his breath that I couldn’t catch. The Under-elf quirked his face in amusement at whatever it was Jason said but made no reply.

  I asked, “So, what do we do with it now?”

  “We could leave it, skin it for the fur, or skin it for the fur and butcher it for edible meat,” Arghen suggested.

  “Eat a CAT?! Ewww!” I was revolted at the idea.

  Arghen raised both his eyebrows. “It would be justice, would it not, Paladin? After all, it was trying to eat us.”

  Jason swallowed noisily but said, “How? I, at least, dunno the first thing about skinning an animal.”

  Arghen looked at me with a question in his amber eyes, and I shook my head to indicate I had no idea, either.

  He said, “I can teach you both.”

  The rest of the afternoon was spent skinning, butchering and cooking the cat meat, and taking the corpse further a
way into the grass. It was a messy business made creepier by Jason’s insistence on getting the two needle sharp canines from the cat’s jaws as souvenirs. When the sun set, Arghen handed around skewer cooked pieces of Catamount. I was squeamish when I got my portion, but the others tucked into it with good appetite.

  “Man, I’m starved! I never would have guess that this would smell so good,” said Jason as he took a big bite off the stick, “or taste like this!”

  I gingerly followed their example. It was edible—I would give it that much. But still it was a cat, and I couldn’t get out of my head the pictures of the friendly barn cats that kept the mice and rats out of the horses’ stalls at the 4-H camp. Or of my own sweet tabby cat—how I missed her! I enjoyed eating the meat far less than my companions did. When we were done with eating and tidying up afterwards, we laid out our bedrolls around the fire. Arghen made sure that the meat was kept close to the banked, smoking fire to help disguise its scent.

  “Won’t the scented smoke let other predators know where we are?” I asked Arghen before turning in.

  “Our smoke will let them know where not to go for fear of fire,” was his reply.

  But as I settled myself for sleep, I could hear little scuffling and munching sounds coming in the direction we’d thrown the cat’s carcass. My hand crept to my saber, placed within easy reach of my bedroll, and rested there before I slept.

  CHAPTER 11

  As we got ready to leave the next morning, I reluctantly motioned to Jason that he should ride behind me. He mounted with more stiffness than he’d shown yesterday, but then, so did I. I prayed that he would focus on how he must be feeling and not break the silence between us, because I was pretty sure he was suspicious of me. It seemed my prayer was granted because Jason kept quiet—although Arghen might again have had something to do with that. As we rode north out of the grassy field and into more forest, the Under-elf re-started his recitation of possible dangers and how to counteract them.

  This forest was of smooth, light colored wood, but strangely shaped—the trees were all bowed in different directions, as if they’d been first made of ice cream which then had half-melted in the sun before hardening into what they looked like then. I checked around us for quite some time as we rode and listened to Arghen, half expecting something to leap out and attack us. Fortunately, everything we saw was non-aggressive. Or at least, not as willing to attack mounted, armed, and armored opponents as the green Field Catamount had been.

  Near noon we came to a dirt road that joined up with the forest lane we’d been following. We stopped there to lunch and stretch and do other necessary things one by one. When Jason took his turn to ‘check out’ the bushes, I walked across the road to look at a pretty multi-colored stone half buried at the side of the road. I caught something out of the corner of my eye, and would have sworn for a moment that there was a road that continued on from where the other road joined up. I turned to look directly at it, but all I saw was grassy field. I turned my head away again, and out of the corner of my eye the road appeared once more.

  Arghen noticed what I was doing. “Is everything all right, Paladin?”

  I scrunched up my face as I turned back and saw the grass again. Still no luck.

  “Arghen, I would swear there’s a road right there,” I said, pointing.

  “There is?” He looked surprised.

  “You can only see it when you look at it with the corner of your eye,” I explained.

  He tried it. “You are right, Paladin. There must be an obfuscation charm here.”

  “Why?”

  Arghen shrugged. “I do not know. Perhaps its creators wished this path to be hidden from casual travelers.”

  I went over to where I thought the road was, took a deep breath, and then stepped where it should be. The road flashed into view, continuing down the slope away from us.

  “Should we chance that it leads to a village or settlement?” Arghen asked.

  “Why not?” I asked. “We can travel it for a couple of hours, and if we don’t run across any signs we can come back.”

  “But I don’t want to!” protested Jason, coming back from his business.

  “Why not? You got somewhere to be?” I asked him.

  “Uh, no, but I don’t see why we can’t just keep going to this Meritzon.”

  “Because we’ll all be more comfortable if you have your own horse sooner,” I said firmly, shutting down the discussion.

  We remounted with Jason behind Arghen this time and followed the new track. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Jason looking at me with an unreadable expression on his bronzed face. I sweated a little as I wondered what he was thinking, but for whatever reason he seemed to not want to say anything. I was thankful for that. After we’d traveled for an hour we came across another trail that merged into the one we were riding on, making it broader.

  “A good sign,” observed Arghen.

  “Only one way to find out if it is,” I replied. I cast a look at Jason seated behind Arghen. “You all right, Jason?”

  Jason, who’d had a somewhat pained look on his face, smoothed it away with effort. “Me? Nah, I’m fine—no need to worry about me!”

  I turned my head away to hide a smile for his macho bravado, not wanting to antagonize Jason in what had to be his misery. I knew that the unfamiliar riding position must be uncomfortable for his leg muscles. I’d guessed earlier that he knew how to ride a motorcycle, but riding a living animal was a whole different experience. And he was finding that out. He had to be sore, because I knew I was—but I couldn’t admit that or I’d blow my cover.

  Our little party followed the merged track until it left the forest and turned onto a downhill terraced slope near a huge, normal looking apple orchard just coming into flower. Each terrace had been hoed recently by the looks of it, and young green-and-pink shoots now popped up from the softened earth. The air was filled with the rich brown smell of loam and young growing things. We reined in at the top of the hill because we saw about twenty Surface-elves dressed in work clothes below. They laughed and chatted as they turned over the earth of the terrace closest to the orchard line. I was excited.

  “Maybe we can get a horse from them and more supplies!” I exclaimed as I kicked Saffron into a gallop towards the Surface-elves.

  Arghen grabbed at my reins to stop me, making me wobble a little in the saddle. “Wait, Paladin! They do not know us. We do not want to frighten them into either running away or attacking us.”

  “Ah. Yes, of course,” I mumbled in embarrassment.

  We nudged our mounts into a slow walk down the road towards the workers. The Surface-elves were so absorbed in their work and conversation that they didn’t notice us until I called to them from about fifty feet away. Startled, as if they were one person, the work party stopped talking and picked up weapons that had been lying concealed close by. They stared at our oddly-assorted group.

  I reached for my courage with both hands. “Ho there! Can you please tell us the fastest way to reach the nearest habitation or settlement where we can buy supplies?”

  A black-haired female Surface-elf came forward from the group a little ways. Her shoulders were tense, though her long dagger was held in a relaxed guard position. She looked hard at us, and a combination of surprise and wariness warred on her face.

  The surprise won out. “You–you look like a Human. Are you one?” she asked with bluntness in her tone.

  I replied a little nervously, “Yes, I am a human, but I’m also working for Caelestis.” I pulled out the necklace again from under my armor. “As you can see, I’m also traveling with a Champion of Quiris, and a fellow companion. We mean no harm. Can you please help us?”

  The Surface-elf looked at it, then at the symbols on Arghen’s clothes, and I saw some of the wariness evaporate.

  “Are you looking to replace that beastly thing?” she asked, eyeing the dranth with obvious disfavor. “Just follow the road through the orchard until you come to Meritzon, whic
h is the closest settlement. Someone there should have something better.”

  Arghen frowned but remained silent.

  “We’re looking for a horse for our companion. You wouldn’t happen to have one you’re willing to sell?” I asked.

  “No, no–no horses. If you continue on, I am sure there must be someone in the settlement who would be willing to sell you one,” she answered a little too fast. She stepped backwards to rejoin her companions.

  “Thank you,” I said in as nice a tone as I could manage.

  I chucked Saffron forward, motioning Arghen to follow. I was unnerved at the pointed, silent regard we received as we rode past them down the road.

  As soon as we were out of Elven earshot Arghen spoke with a slight edge to his tone. “I think she was lying about not having a horse to sell.”

  Jason added, “Yeah, I think so too. Didja see the way they looked at us? And why’d she bring up the fact that you’re human?”

  I replied, “Well, I’m sure we present an odd picture: three riders, one of whom is working for Caelestis and another a Champion of Quiris with a second fighter doubled up behind him.”

  I didn’t reply to the second part of Jason’s question on purpose.

  “Not to mention that we are two Humans and an Under-elf traveling together in a party that includes a dranth,” interjected Arghen.

  I closed my eyes in annoyance that he’d brought that back up.

  “Why? What’s wrong with humans and Under-elves and dranths?” Jason wanted to know, eyeing both me and Arghen.

  Arghen looked back at him and raised a white eyebrow. “I thought you knew. Did Paladin not tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  I interrupted with a swift, “Arghen, now that we know Meritzon is nearby let’s push on a little faster, shall we? I’d like to eat something we didn’t cook, and I’m sure Stalker would like to stop carrying two people. The sooner we reach Meritzon the sooner he can rest, and then we can talk at our leisure.”

  The Under-elf looked at me with both eyebrows raised, but only said, “All right, Paladin, let us do so.”