‘Where’s Carl?’ He asked. ‘He’s been gone ages.’
‘He’s gone to look for information about the Demon you asked about. Martin?’
‘Moloch.’ Corbett corrected.
‘That’s him.’ Kezra said.
‘Why’s it taking so long? Does he need an appointment or something?’
‘Oh I don’t know Jeremy!’ Kezra squealed with glee, as though everything was incredibly exciting. ‘I’m not very good at all of that kind of thing.’
Corbett sighed. ‘Right, fair enough.’
She wouldn’t be around long. Kezra didn’t seem to have the staying power of Carl. He thought that maybe her constant excitement drained her energy far faster than the Clurichuan demon.
‘She’s always so damn happy.’ He thought. ‘Happy just to be out of the void and inside the mind of a miserable bastard like me.’
Sure enough, after only a few minutes of her babbling on about how nice the party seemed, and that it was good that he was mixing with other boys and girls he felt her fade from his thoughts and shook his head.
‘Women.’ He said.
***
Dorian regained consciousness shortly after Donalt had secured the splint. Nothing was said. Donalt just got on with his task at hand, which was to affix a blade to the staff he had made to assist Dorian as they headed back to the party.
‘Let me show you this.’ He said, presenting the staff to Dorian. The ranger took it.
‘See here.’ Donalt pointed to a peg driven in near the top of the staff. ‘This holds this length of twine.’ He ran his finger down the taut length of twine until it reached an intricate bit of carpentry and engineering.
‘If you knock that peg out, it will release this blade.’ He indicated a very dangerous looking knife blade without a hilt.
‘Now, this will thrust forward and be held in place. It will do perfectly well for thrusting and slicing, but don’t try to block with the blade, use the staff. The blade will just fly off. Let me show you.’
Donalt plucked at the peg with dextrous fingers that belied the strength needed to work the thing free. Instantly the blade shot forwards and the staff was now equipped with a very effective bayonet.
‘That’s very good.’ Dorian said, genuinely impressed.
Donalt shrugged. ‘It will do. Best I could come up with from what we have.’
‘I suppose we should start now if we are to get back before it gets dark.’ Dorian said, he started to stand. Donalt offered his hand but the Ranger shook his head.
‘No. I have to do it myself. Get a feel for your staff.’
Donalt laughed. ‘You probably shouldn’t let the ladies hear you say that.’
Dorian looked puzzled, raised his eyebrows, then joined in the laughter.
‘Yes. I’ll be more careful how I talk about this thing I think.’
As the Ranger stood the pain in his face was obvious to Donalt. Dorian gritted his teeth and his eyes closed for a moment. Even after he was stood Dorian remained quite still for a minute.
‘You taking your medicine?’ Donalt asked.
‘I think I’d better. It should keep me good for at least a couple of hours.’ Dorian replied.
He took his flask with the compound inside it and took three long drafts. It burned his throat but he didn’t dare drink untreated water in case it diluted the effect of his elixir. Together they had travelled a good distance. They were both strong and had excellent stamina and now they would be lucky to cover even half the distance and it was his fault. He was embarrassed, and Donalt could be giving him a hard time, but he wasn’t. Dorian had heard many things about Rogues but never stories of bravery, kindness, pragmatism or camaraderie. Mostly just tales of theft and stabbings.
He felt the pain in his leg ease. The elixir was taking effect.
‘We’ll come back this way.’ Donalt said, ‘You really don’t have to travel. You could just rest up until we get here, that stuff will keep you free of pain while you wait.’
‘No. Even with me like this it’s safer for us to travel together.’ Dorian said, and he started to move forwards. His movement was stiff, but he was able to negotiate the rocky terrain well enough. He felt a little light headed though.
‘Fair enough.’ Donalt said as he watched Ranger handle his difficulties. ‘If the others haven’t stopped to camp, or my insane partner hasn’t got them into a fight I reckon we will meet up by nightfall.’
‘Yes. I agree.’ Dorian replied.
The pain had completely left him already, the Bazzle didn’t mess around, the upshot was that as the narcotic flooded into his system. He actually felt happy.
‘It’s quite beautiful here.’ He said, unable to keep his thoughts to himself.
‘No its not mate.’ Donalt corrected him. ‘It’s a barren landscape of rocks, dirt and evil things. That’s the twig talking.’
This was a problem with Bazzle, at least in circumstances where being quiet and close minded could be important as it encouraged you to see the good in things and to talk about them. A lot.
‘The snow line was only a few miles ahead of us. It looks like icing on a cake.’ Dorian continued, not hearing the Rogue’s negativity, or not recognising it.
‘It really didn’t mate.’ Donalt countered once again. ‘It looked like a line of cold death waiting to freeze us in our boots like little adventurer lollipops.’
Donalt knew full well that the Ranger wouldn’t be listening to him. For the next hour Dorian, at least, while conscious of his surroundings he would be lost in wonder at everything and anything about him.
‘So much… everything here. So much.’ Dorian said, smiling at a large grey piece of granite.
‘Nope. No theres not bud. There’s so much nothing here. Cept rocks. There’s a lot of rocks.’
Donalt smiled to himself. It was going to be fun talking to the Ranger.
By twilight they had not encountered the party, Donalt suggested they rest but Dorian disagreed. The euphoria had left him now and he was able to have a proper conversation at last.
‘We should have met with them by now, unless they have stopped for some reason, or moved on to a different course.’
The ground around them was relatively flat, with only fist sized rocks scattered about its surface. It was easy for him to read the tracks here.
‘If we keep going we should be close to where we left them.’ Donalt said, his concern evident.
‘And if they were attacked we will see the signs.’ Dorian added. ‘I can’t imagine any encounter with your friend ends cleanly.’
‘You’re not wrong.’ Donalt replied, like a man who had lived that truth a thousand times.
‘And the wizard... he’s not one for half measures.’
‘It’s like he’s tossing grenades around while standing in an elevator.’ Donalt said.
‘A what?’ Dorian asked.
‘It’s a mechanical lift. They use them in Khandish. Very small enclosed space. Doesn’t matter. The fact is my friend, you’re right.’
Dorian had taken another small dose of his Bazzle elixir, hoping they would have been reunited with the Cleric by now. It still calmed his pain but his outlook on life had become less enhanced.
‘We should keep going then.’
Donalt nodded. ‘Fair enough.’ He then thought for a moment. Considered the ramifications. Then decided.
‘Listen, I’m going to square with you.’
‘Square what?’ Dorian asked.
‘It’s a saying. For someone well-travelled your cultural knowledge is lacking. So, put plainly, I’m going to be honest and let you in on something I know you don’t know, and that I also don’t know, but you think I do.’
‘Are you mocking me?’ Dorian asked.
Dorian had been aware Donalt had been having fun at his expense the whole of the journey thanks to the effect of the Bazzle and so almost everything he said now seemed like a piss-take.
‘Not at all mate.’ Donalt slipped a han
d in to his jacket and withdrew a thin leather wallet. From it he plucked the map he had copied from Copsey. ‘Take a look at this.’
Dorian took the folded map and opened it up. He studied it carefully.
‘What do you think?’ Donalt asked.
‘Who drew this? The cow?’ Dorian asked.
‘Cheeky bastard. I copied that real careful.’
‘What’s that?’ Dorian pointed to a spot in the corner of the map.’
‘It’s a mountain.’ Donalt replied after taking a look.
‘It looks like a cat.’
Donalt looked again. ‘No it doesn’t. There’s the peak, and there’s the base. It’s a mountain.’
‘Well what are these, aren’t they whiskers?’ Dorian indicated little wavy lines across the illustration.
‘That’s clouds. I was showing that it’s a big one.’
‘And that’s not a tail?’
‘It’s a path. It’s a path leading up the mountain.’
‘Of course it is.’ Dorian replied.
Donalt, recognising a patronising tone when he heard one, narrowed his eyes at the Ranger. He began to wonder how well Dorian would fare without his staff.
‘But I see what this is. You have drawn the range of mountains here.’
‘You can see that then?’ Donalt said, now quite excited, because he hadn’t a clue if it did actually represent where they were.
‘Yes, obviously. There’s the large peak, your cat… here’s the stretch of forest far to the west. The smaller peaks…’ He pointed to a series of snow-capped hills far in the distance, they are here, on the extreme edge. And then, well… there’s this. What’s this?’
‘That’s the Gate.’ Donalt said.
‘The Gate?’ Dorian said, he frowned. ‘This area, from the details of your map is flat. Any Gate would have been sighted almost immediately by adventurers.’
‘Not this Gate fella.’ Donalt pointed at his map. ‘See this?’
‘The ocean?’ Dorian asked.
Donalt’s expression darkened. ‘It’s snowfall. It’s a large area of deep snow.’
‘Why have you drawn waves?’
‘They aren’t waves you twat. It’s a flurry of snow. A heavy flurry.’ Donalt said.
‘This is exactly how oceans are depicted on a map Donalt. Well, if a child was the cartographer.’
‘What does it matter? Donalt said, exasperated. ‘Look, that’s where the Gate is. It’s under the snow, I think, or at least my mate says it’s something to do with the snow. That’s why no one has found it.’
Dorian frowned again, then looked about him. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?’
‘Because… well…’ Donalt struggled to admit that he didn’t trust any of them as far as he could throw Francis. ‘Knowledge is power innit?’
‘Knowledge is power?’ Dorian repeated, incredulous. ‘Donalt, knowledge is only power if you know what the bloody knowledge means. We are going in the wrong direction. We have been since we left the group.’
‘Oh.’ Donalt said. ‘You sure?’
‘I’m sure.’ Dorian replied testily. ‘See your cat? That’s over there. The big mountain we are headed for is that one.’ He pointed at the map. ‘The one you represented with a turnip.’
‘A turnip? How the hell are you getting that!’
‘Look Donalt, we are going the wrong way. But here’s the thing. The party isn’t coming this way or hasn’t come this way.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying that they have gone a different way. Possibly the right way.’ Dorian leaned in towards the Rogue, his right eyebrow raised a little.
‘How would they… they don’t know which way…’ Donalt said, slowly, thinking about his words as he spoke them. ‘They have the map! One of them copied my fucking map!’
‘I wonder which one eh?’ Dorian said. Now both of his eyebrows rose.
Donalt opened his mouth, ‘That devious cow! The Sorceress!’
‘We’ve been had.’ Dorian said.
‘But, her vision… the Prophecy…’
‘Oh, come on man. Her vision. Her prophecy. She’s told us exactly what she wanted too, and we’ve all gone along with it. The only one who kicked up a fuss was the bloody wizard.’
Donalt took his map. Looked it over. His mountain really did look at bit like a cat.
‘I feel quite sheepish.’
‘Don’t worry, you’re not alone.’ Dorian replied. ‘Look, let’s keep at it. We’ll get back to where we can see obvious tracks and go from there.’
‘OK. Let’s do that. How’s the leg?’
‘Not great. I’ll take more Bazzle but with that and the darkness coming we’ll be crawling along. I can’t take much more. One of the downsides is when I sleep, I’ll sleep like the dead, and the more that’s inside me the longer I’ll be out.’
‘I won’t leave you behind if that’s what you’re thinking.’ Donalt said.
‘To be honest that thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Perhaps that’s why I ended up in this situation in the first place eh?’
Donalt nodded. The Ranger wasn’t a bad bloke at all. Perhaps a little too human.
‘Right, well, we can talk on the move. Probably as well as night falls, we can hear each other even if we can’t see.’
Dorian took another swing of the Bazzle elixir then they began to move on.
It was only an hour later that they came to the scene of the Troll attack and the light had not faded too much. The creature lay in the centre of the trail, its huge body now jet black as though the thing had been carved from coal.
‘I guess there was a fight.’ Donalt said.
‘Look at the floor. It’s almost glass here.’ Dorian pointed at the earth and drew a circle indicating the darkened patch.
‘No prizes for guessing who did that.’ Donalt said.
‘This is an Oculus Troll. It wouldn’t have even noticed it, they are immune to elemental magic.’ Dorian said. ‘But here, the Wizard used the Earth to trap its leg.’
‘Smart.’ Donalt said. ‘Who would have thought it?’
‘Heads almost off.’ Donalt said. ‘Andreton could do that.’
‘Perhaps, but look, scores of blade strokes across its head and eyes. Daisy most likely.’
‘Definitely not the Cleric.’ Donalt said.
‘Hmm.’ Dorian said. ‘An eye’s gouged out this side.’
‘Donalt came around to look. ‘Not gouged mate. That’s been carefully cut. It’s not Daisy’s mad swings and slices or Donalt, he’d take its face off. That’s the work of a delicate hand. Potent stuff Troll’s corneas.’
‘Felicity?’ Dorian asked.
‘Again, definitely not the Cleric.’ Donalt replied.
‘There’s no tracks from here.’ Dorian said, ‘even with this light I can tell that there’s nothing to follow.’
‘A spell?’
‘Probably. And of course, neither of us can remove it. Unless…?’
‘Not me mate. I’ve got literally zero ability in that department.’ Donalt said. ‘I suppose we just head to where the map takes us?’
‘I suppose we do.’ Dorian turned to Donalt. ‘Would she have been able to convince your friend to travel without you?’
‘Unless it has slipped past you, you probably noticed that he’s thick as fudge mate. Brave, strong, loyal and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, but there’s no escaping the fact that you probably have buttons smarter than he is.’
‘Well. Yes, he did appear to be… challenged in some ways.’ Dorian said, wanting to be diplomatic.
‘Challenged, yeah. He’s challenged all right.’ Donalt replied with words weighted with experience.’
Suddenly, two flaming yellow eyes appeared on Dorian’s shoulder.
‘Yearrrrrrrggghgh.’ Donalt screamed and staggered back as he reached for his throwing knife.
Dorian visibly shook with surprise and then went taut, grasping the hilt of his sword, uni
tl realised what had startled the Rogue.
‘It’s OK!’ He said, putting a hand out, palm up. ‘It’s just Spyra. It’s just the Blink Dog.’
‘Daive all fucking mighty.’ Donalt said, his hand flat to his chest. ‘It almost gave me a heart attack.’
‘Apologies Donalt. I have no control over him.’
Dorian said it with sincerity but Donalt was convinced there was a smile itching to work its way across the Ranger’s lips.
‘Well, what’s it say?’ Donalt asked.
‘Say? I can’t talk to him. I’m not sure what you think Rangers are capable of, but we definitely can’t speak to animals.’
‘Oh.’ Donalt said, a little disappointed. ‘Why do they stick around you then?’
‘Because we’re nice to them, and we respect them.’
‘But you eat em too!’ Donalt said.
‘They also eat each other. I’ll guarantee this fellow has eaten more animals than I ever will. Possibly a few people too.’’
‘Right.’ Donalt said, still not entirely sure the Ranger was telling the truth. Maybe it was a Tree Shagger thing. They probably kept it quiet.
‘He can follow their scent however. Felicity’s sorcery can’t mask that from a Blink Dog.
‘He can?’ Donalt said, secretly wondering if this is when Dorian and the animal would start talking.
‘He’s basically a dog. Or a wolf, possibly both, all of them can do it. The zipping around is what makes them special.’
‘Ah, right yeah, course.’ Donalt said, feeling stupid.
‘So, what about it Spyra? Can you take us to them?’ Dorian asked of the Blink Dog.
He took out the blue handkerchief the Sorceress had given him when they first met. He held it before the Blink Dog’s nose. The animal sniffed at it excitedly, then leapt from Dorians shoulder and scampered.
‘Soooo, you can’t talk to em eh?’ Donalt said.
Dorian smiled and shook his head. ‘You take the lead. I’ll follow as fast as my leg allows.’
‘It will be dark soon.’ Donalt said.
‘That will slow them down. Not us.’ The Ranger replied.
Donalt nodded.
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