by C L Carr
Artirius was on his feet before he was truly aware of the situation. Tressnou had heard the voice and was up and prepared at Artirius's side. Balic however was still asleep on the ground, snoring deeply. Artirius and Tressnou looked across the fire to see the drow possessed by Pyr standing, smiling at them. They were tensed ready for what may come.
“Well now. I see you in the flesh and not the dream world, Artirius. You are an impressive human. Tressnou the great elven wizard, I know of you as well. Artirius, I can give you one last chance to leave this all behind. It is my masters direct order to me. I can give you only one more chance, though. Will you take it?”
“No.”
“I imagined as much. Well then, let me tell you what I know. Thanks to your friend’s constant attempts to send word to you in that dream, I have had time to locate him. Now that I know the exact name of the one you seek, Atriel, of all elves, I know his importance. Things that I am sure you are not aware of, either of you. I am going to kill him.”
The comment was cold as ice and factual in delivery, it was said as though it were a given.
“I will stop you,” Artirius gave Pyr a look that would freeze mortal creatures.
“You amuse me still. Artirius, give up. You are a mortal man with a little magical blood in your veins. What are you, really? The hero, or better said, the cliché. My lord gives you a gift he grants none. And you throw it in his face. You insult him and me. Trust me. I will kill this Atriel and he will not be a nuisance in my master’s plans ever again. He has meddled enough in my master’s affairs.”
Tressnou spoke, “Meddled, you say? So Atriel has had business with your master in the past then, has he. It must infuriate you that a lesser being than yourself caused so much trouble.”
Pyr's face contorted in rage, “How dare you belittle me elf! I have lived longer than you can remember and will do so long after this day. I go to the north to possess a more powerful body, to kill Atriel, and you will not make it there to stop me, and as for those filthy dwarves you left in that hole, they will die. When I left the beasts had already made it in the door. You have failed in all that you have attempted. Goodbye.”
As the word crossed the lips of the drow the possession over him was gone. He was confused and surprised to see two others staring him down over a fire in the middle of the woods. He quickly cast a spell and, thrusting out his open palms in the direction of Artirius, he released it.
Tressnou had already begun to counter the spell. As soon as it left the drow's hands Tressnou stopped the greenish black mass and sent it back at the attacker. He screamed in anguish and fell to the ground dead. As he did, Tressnou became immediately alarmed and swirling his arms he conjured a translucent blue shield over the body of the dead necromancer. As the shield formed a gaseous green cloud exploded from the corpse consuming it in the process. The shield seemed to bulge and Tressnou struggled for a moment. He regained control and shrunk the shield down and down until it was hardly any larger then a marble. Then with a clap of his hands it was gone altogether. He fell to the ground, the spell work had taxed him.
“What was that? Are you alright?” Artirius asked the wizard.
Regaining his breath Tressnou stood once again, “I am fine. That was indeed a necromancer, very old and powerful. To possess that one Pyr is indeed strong in his own right. If he means to aquire a greater vessel, I fear his meaning.”
“Well at the least the necromancer is dead.”
“I am afraid it is not so Artirius. He is indeed alive. One of the darker magics they possess actually. They place a part of their soul in a vessel, a coffin often. As long as it is not destroyed they will reincarnate whereever their soul is stored. Most likely a week or so from now. One as powerful as that one could be nearly a hundred miles away and find their way back. He will be weakened but I assure you in time he will be back to strength. If I had the time I would search him out.”
They paused for a moment, Artirius looked to the south. “I wonder if they made it in the mines.”
“We cannot let that bother us for now friend. One way or the other we have our goals at hand. Give me a moment, I was too quick in sleeping this night,” Tressnou scryed the area using a spell to assure no other presence was about them. Afterward, he placed a protective spell over the camp to shield them from sight and warn of intrusion if it were to come. “Well then, that is done. We should be fine now.” As he spoke those words Balic snored loudly and scratched his buttocks in his sleep.
Artirius smiled, “That is if we are granted peace with that lying about.” They both laughed. Soon, the two companions were asleep. Artirius was pleased to dream again. He was in the mountains, in the grove. The voices were all about him and the stars were clear in the sky. As always the dream faded away. As it did he thought, “I will be here soon.”
The rest of the night was peaceful and the group woke well rested. Balic had no recollection of the events of the previous night, and did not believe the others.
“Are you sure you did not both just dream this up? No, no, no, I know what it is. As usual with jokers like you around, while serious business is at hand you insist on Tom foolery. Well, I will have no part in it.”
Artirius and Tressnou both laughed for it was indeed comical, “Now listen here...” Tressnou began.
“I will not,” Balic interjected, “we have business at hand and must get moving, now come along. Good day.”
“We are not lying,” Artirius insisted.
“I said good day! Now let’s go.” Balic smiled and winked at the pair. How he could have slept through all the commotion neither could figure out. They all laughed and were then again on their way. They kept off the main road on the eastern side and headed steadily to the north. The journey ahead was smooth for the most part. They traveled during the day along the road and slept at night shielded by Tressnou's magic. If you could call sleeping with the snoring dwarf sleep at all. From the night Pyr attacked they traveled four days in this fashion. They saw little on the trade road, which was somewhat odd as they grew closer to the mountain passes. Small towns dotted the area which they had to bypass. Trade was very common among them and the town of Valtenberg in the mountains. The fighting had not spread this far. Aside from the skirmish they had on the road, there was no evidence of the great force that was left behind at the mine. So the question still stood. This time of year, as winter was approaching, the time for harvest and trade was at hand. It made little sense to them; that trade was next to nonexistent.
They made camp then on the fourth night. “By my estimation we have about one solid day of travel left to reach the pass and from there, three days to Valtenberg.” Balic told Artirius and Tressnou.
“That sounds right by my recollection of things,” Artirius nodded in agreement.
“Well we should be in your homeland soon then, Artirius. Perhaps two weeks at most,” Balic looked at Artirius smiling.
“Yes....it seems that I will be home again.”Artirius paused pondering.
Tressnou questioned, “Not excited to be going back then. From the stories of your departure I can imagine why.”
He stared long and hard into the fire. He recalled the fight with Jorund. It seemed a painful scar in his heart and soul greater than all the wounds he had on his body in all his life. He left his people to find himself only to become more lost. Then to ironically return home just to only say goodbye as he left again to find himself. He felt ashamed. Artirius the great barbarian. Slayer of great beasts, slain himself by his own heart, “I regret much. As most do. I fear that I may never be at peace. That this will ultimately be a journey like all the others I have been on. I have killed nightmares and dragons. I most likely will help in the slaying of Galmatros, perhaps doing the deed myself. I am a hero not by choosing, but because it must be done. Duty to those around me. Oddly enough, I have only found peace next to someone on the field of battle. Am I no more a monster than those I kill.”
Looking soft and with compassion at his friend Tressnou again gav
e him a question, “Have you ever considered that perhaps the killing is not what gives you your peace? For I know many monsters, both beasts and intelligent beings, and I know you are not a monster.”
Artirius thought on it a moment, “You are right, it is not the killing. I just may have to accept what I am one day. For now, though, I cannot have my wishes. Perhaps the gods will grant me them. We will see.”
“What on earth are the two of you going on about?” Balic broke the silence.
“Things deeper than your snore good dwarf,” Tressnou said the right words to bring smiles to all their faces. It was not as though Balic could understand. He had spent far less time with Artirius then Tressnou had. He did not know the heart of the man. Artirius realized very young that the one thing he truly wanted he could never have. He would be in danger all the time. It would not be fair to burden others with that. He knew in his heart that he would wield the hammer his entire life. No family would be granted to him, no wife, no child. As he looked across the fire to his friends and thought of those he left behind, he began to realize he had more then he really thought. He gave a small smile to himself.
“Goodnight my friends,” he said, and laid down and fell asleep.
The group awoke early the next day. They took their time packing up. They had been rushing and running so much that a more leisurely pace would be nice. After a small breakfast they continued on their way. As the day went on, the brush became more thick and rocky. The trade path slowly narrowed and the slope became steeper and steeper as they neared the pass. There were still no trade carts or travelers. It became worrisome to the group.
Around midday the mountains became visible ahead as the trees thinned a bit. It was becoming less helpful to travel along the road with less cover so the group traveled on it now. The terrain leveled off for the time, so it was decided that they should stop for a brief meal. Afterwards they continued on their way. A few hours went by before they passed the last small crossroad before the mountains.
“No more towns between here and Valtenberg,” Balic nodded to his companions. “If the weather holds back then we should be fine.”
“Well then, let us pray for good fortunes,” Artirius smiled.
“And swift feet as we travel,” Tressnou added.
The meal consumed, they continued on their way. It was coming to the evening and chill winds came down from the mountain. Balic and Tressnou pulled their cloaks about themselves tighter, Artirius felt fine. The cool wind was nothing to his barbarian skin. They were near the mountain passes now. The trees were all but gone and now the brush began to thin. Artirius was the first to notice the oddity in the road ahead. The sun was lowering in the sky, not quite dusk, but low on the horizon. It seemed that it disappeared. At first they did not know what it was. But as they continued on closer and closer it became evident. Their hearts began to sink at the realization. Now the sun nearly set they saw the reason the trade was all but stopped just south of Valtenburg. This was the reason why no one was heading into the mountains. In front of them stood a mound of rock and rubble. The pass through the mountains was cut off by a massive rock slide. They would not be going to Valtenburg, or the north for that matter, not on this road. The pile of rocks pushed on their spirits.
Tressnou looked over the rubble, “Not passable in the least, by the look of things. And I don't think we have the time to dig it out it would take months with this extensive amount of collapse.”
The group let out a sigh in unison. Balic looked to the east then to the west. “No chance in heading to the east, mostly mountains I don't wish to find myself in. Ones not traveled and inhabited by many things evil by the rumors. To the west and around the mountain range is the only way I can see going from here. Through the Northern Wood.”
Tressnou looked to the west. It was a foreboding look. The wizard did not hesitate in much and this seemed such a simple thing, even silly, to see. But he stood looking nearly mortified. He broke the silence with the thoughts that troubled him, “This does not seem right. This rock slide not only is not common this time of year, but is far to large. It seems very unnatural indeed. Also to have our path blocked here of all places. This would cause us a great set back.”
Artirius nodded, “Pyr then, or another of Galmatros's minions are at fault here I'm sure. I agree Tressnou this is not good.”
“No, it is not. Those woods have had some political unrest of late as well. The river which divides the wood in half acts as the border between the two peoples that occupy the wood. This side of the wood are the humans. The other side a primitive elven tribe, hardly any relation to the elves of Alastrial. So we are now funneled into a volatile part of the world.”
Artirius added, “With the conflicts between the two groups it would be an excellent opportunity for Galmatros as well. How easy would it be for him to spark a fire in their hearts greater than the hatred they have for each other already. I am sure it would not be hard for them to go to war over the right actions.”
“Agreed,” Tressnou nodded. “They have been ready to fight for some time as it is. Over a particular patch of the river, no less. Each side argues the right to it exclusively. In actuality the area is not even really in either of their territories. It is part of a joint trade agreement with West Hall and the delta lands to the south. Because the quarrel has not affected either of the parties in the trade agreement, they have allowed the elves and human factions in the North Wood to continue the fighting.”
Balic summed up the talk, “So, we have been funneled into a land war by a demon bent on killing us. We travel with an elf on the territory of the humans so they will be really keen on killing him. And we have to get to the north before the demon kills Atriel, right?”
Artirius nodded.
“Well it could be worse, they could be at war with dwarves. Let's get moving. We'll set up camp after it gets a little darker.”
“Shouldn't we think on this a little more,” Tressnou pondered to the group.
Artirius smiled, “It looks like we already have.”
Balic winked at Artirius, “He is only concerned because he is an elf and for some reason is fond of his hide. Silly elf habit, I guess.” The pair chuckled and walked off to the west toward the forest. Tressnou sighed deeply, shaking his head. He followed after them into the darkening night.
Chapter 13
