by David Adams
“I’d take two autumns,” Silas said. He shook his water bottle, heard nothing, then put his eye to the opening. “Or another mouthful of water.”
“I’d offer to share mine,” Uesra told him, “but I ran out earlier.”
“Same here,” Adrianna said.
“Me, too,” said Darius.
Xanar raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said yesterday that you had enough for two days.”
Darius shrugged. “I said ‘maybe.’ And today was hotter than I thought it’d be.”
Xanar lifted his own water bottle and shook it. The slightest swish could be heard. “Might as well make it unanimous,” he said. He took a very short drink and then tipped the empty bottle upside down. He caught a final drop on a dusty finger, then rubbed it like a salve between finger and thumb. “My first drink of the day,” he told them. “And here I thought I’d be the first to run out.”
Silas looked to the horizon, straining to see any sign of their destination. The perpetual gloom and the whirling mists made it a futile effort. “Let’s take a brief rest and then move on. If we can’t find water, we need to get to Old Bern as swiftly as our strength allows.”
Darius tried to stop thinking about how cruel it would be if they fell to thirst or hunger before they could reach Kaelesh, or in what condition they would be if they survived to face him. He looked toward Adrianna, who was already trying to get comfortable in order to get a few hours of sleep. She had lost all interest, or so it seemed, in further weapons practice, and she had stopped moving off on her own to practice her fragile magic skills. He hoped she was just conserving her strength, and he couldn’t blame her if she was, but he thought there were other things at work, a path she saw that she wasn’t willing to share. Still, he’d offer to practice if she wanted when she woke, even though he was sure she would pass. He folded his cloak into a pillow and with a sigh tried to get some sleep.
* * *
“I guess we can be thankful for not having the sun beat down on our heads,” Darius said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He watched the sky as he had done so many times over the last few days, as always unable to tell exactly what it was that he was looking at. “It almost has to be clouds of a strange hue. We never see the sun, and the lightning leaps from here to there day and night.”
“If they’re clouds—and I think you’re right—they also cast off a light,” Xanar said, “or else reflect it from some source other than the sun. Otherwise night would still fall.”
The light from above had continued to become more diffuse, the vapors hanging ever more heavily in the air. A bitter smell hung all about as well, an odor of mingled fire and ash, death and decay. As hot and thirsty as they were, they would have been hard-pressed to choose between a drink and a deep breath of fresh air. Unfortunately neither was available.
The land continued its metamorphosis. Huge slabs of rock were thrust skyward like small mountains, and it seemed to the companions that they always went up or down to move forward—patches of flat land now few and far between. Some of the deeper areas were shrouded in shadow and mist, and several times they were frustrated at some point, forced to retrace their steps to try to find another way forward. Even the river’s course was altered here and there, moving around formations of stone that had not existed in the long ages of the world or slipping into deep crevices, creating waterfalls that frothed on the rocks and kicked up steam from the hidden depths.
“I wonder if this is what the world looked like when it was being made,” Adrianna said. “All fire and rock and fury.”
“I’m starting to wonder what we’ll find at Old Bern,” said Silas. “What if the earth has swallowed it up, or torn it to shreds?”
“Even if it has, my guess is that Kaelesh survived it,” Darius said.
Since they all believed the transformation to be the doing of the demon-lord, no one disagreed with Darius’ conclusion.
Adrianna noticed a troubled look on Uesra’s face. “What is it?” she asked.
“Other than the torn land, no food, no water, and the fact we’re preparing to assault a demon-lord?” Uesra replied.
“Right. There’s got to be more than that to bring a frown to your face.”
“A couple of things. One is the chance, though slim, that all of Corterra is going through a similar transformation, or that it will soon.”
“Oh, is that all.”
“The other is the possibility that Kaelesh is no longer at Old Bern, or what’s left of it. If we’re moving toward the middle of the blasted lands and do not find him…” She let her words trail off and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I do not mean to be so morose.”
“It’s hard not to be, here in the middle of this ruined place.”
“Odd that we grow more desperate to find him by the day,” Xanar said with a chuckle. “Particularly given the power that would be needed to rend the world itself. We know these beings to be strong, but we hardly had time to experience Praad or Orgoth’s power before they were beaten. This long, slow build-up…”
“Wears upon all of us,” Silas said. “Just as Kaelesh wishes.”
They started up another newborn hill, hoping as they always did with each new ascent that they might see some sign of Old Bern at the top. Again they were disappointed, and worked down the far side into the heavier fumes with sorrow filling their hearts.
* * *
They staggered on through what would have been night and into the next day with only a brief rest. With hunger and thirst grinding away at their will and such inhospitable country all around them, the thought of sleep seemed distant and foreign. And even if they could claim it they feared to let many hours pass without progressing toward their goal.
In their weariness frustration came easily, and the broken land now thwarted their desire for speed. Their path was of necessity a circuitous one as they picked their way through the devastation of the blasted lands, and at times they lost sight of the river, forcing them to pick their way westward instead of south to reclaim it. With no sun or stars to guide them they had only the river as a compass, and without it they feared they could wander in circles or become lost for days in the maze this part of the world had become. They knew that if that happened they would perish, and so had to cling to the river like a lifeline, but it slowed them even further.
Late in the day they began to despair. A particularly perplexing area had resisted three attempts at being crossed, and as they found themselves back on a spur of rock they had stood upon three times before, their hearts sank.
“I think it can be passed,” Uesra said as she tried again to mark a path with her eyes. “But the shadows are deep here. Only below can we tell for sure where we might make our way. Maybe we…no.”
“Go ahead,” Silas prompted.
“If we split up, leaving some here as guides while the others move…but I fear dividing us.”
“As would I,” Silas said. “Once sundered we may find ourselves unable to get back together again.”
“That would surely please our enemy,” said Darius.
“And this land as well, if it has a mind of its own,” added Adrianna. “It nearly seems to, drawing us in and now blocking our way. I think if I could sleep I would hear it laughing at us in my dreams.”
“I would hate to think of what dreams might come to haunt me in these lands,” Xanar said with a shiver.
“What of the river?” Darius asked after they had all studied the puzzle before them for a time. “Not nearly as cold as it was, I would suspect.”
They turned as one to regard the Vale, still wide and strong, but its waters frothing now where its passage was interrupted by upthrust rocks and hidden crevices. It was far below them now, a sheer cliff its new border on its eastern edge.
“Only at last need,” Silas said. “I do not think the water itself is safe, and now the river’s course has become treacherous. I fear we’d be pulled into some deep abyss or dashed against a wall of rock.”
“
I agree,” Darius said. “But I fear the time of last need swiftly approaches.”
“The only other option is to set off east to try to find a way. We’d have to backtrack to do so I would guess, and we probably would soon be lost beyond salvation. I would try the river first, dangerous as that might be.”
“Then it appears attempt number four is in order,” Xanar concluded. “Let’s move to the left this time. The way is more difficult, but the right has not proven lucky.”
“Lead on,” Darius said. “And let’s hope we never see this miserable rock again.”
The left proved no better a starting direction, at least as far as they were willing to pursue it, having already decided they could not let the river get far out of sight. Their path wound and twisted, and they were blocked by sheer faces of rock and chasms they could not cross. With great weariness they plodded on, knowing instinctively that they were being driven back. If a will opposed them in their attempt to pass through the blasted lands it was proving to be a will that might be stronger than their own. Darius stumbled on some loose stones, but managed to catch himself before falling. He looked up at the rock his hand had pressed against and let out a low groan. “It’s our old friend.”
They had circled back to where they had started, and for a time none had strength to ascend once more to the high point. Eventually Uesra started up, and one by one the others silently followed, their heads down as their spirits flagged. There was just enough space for them to sit on the high part of the rock, and they did so, none yet willing to gaze out over the broken terrain that had frustrated them so.
“The red sky is to our benefit,” Silas said, trying to finds a silver lining in their situation. “Darkness would only delay us further.”
“We might be better served to try again in darkness,” Xanar countered with a grim smile. “Our eyes don’t seem to be doing us much good.”
“Such an experiment would have the benefit of being brief,” Darius replied. “We’d fall into a deep pit soon enough if we tried it.”
“At least we wouldn’t be thirsty any more,” Adrianna said.
“Or hungry.”
“Aren’t we a cheerful little band,” Xanar said. “If we could—”
Something had caught his eye, and everyone froze at seeing the look on his face. He lifted his bow and readied it, and all turned slowly in the direction of his aim.
Some thirty yards away, perched on a rock just as the companions were, a great stag stood. It was the picture of vitality and health, and its head was lifted high as it surveyed the countryside. It stood perfectly still, silhouetted against they fiery sky.
Xanar had rarely been presented with such an easy target, but once he pulled the bowstring taut he paused. His limbs trembled with something more than physical weakness, and the sweat beading on his brow trickled into his eyes, forcing him to blink away the salty sting.
The deer turned its head and stared at them with knowing eyes, but still it did not move.
Xanar slowly released the tension on the bowstring and then dropped his arms. “I can’t,” he said. “I’m sorry. Such strength and beauty amongst all this ruin… I can’t do it.”
“I, for one, did not wish you to shoot,” Silas said. “I should have spoken, but the sight of it, standing so majestically… It took my voice away for a moment.”
They had all been moved in the same fashion, and hungry as they were, they were still glad Xanar had not fired at the great stag. For a long while they sat, watching it as it stared back at them, and then it finally looked away and made its way down from the rock upon which it stood. The companions felt a strange sort of sadness as it moved out of sight, not over an opportunity for food lost but at finding something whole and pure in this place of desolation, and then having it be gone so swiftly. They wondered if it might be the last beautiful thing their eyes would ever behold.
Their minds began to turn once more to the problem before them, the puzzle that had yet to yield to their best efforts to solve it. But before any new plan came to mind, Adrianna’s eyes lit up, and she said, “Look!”
The deer had reappeared, this time on a closer perch of rock. Again it stared at them, a long searching look.
“It strikes me,” said Silas, “that we have never made it as far as where that stag first appeared, but that we’ve been as far as where it is now.”
Darius nodded. “There is a way through, or at least a path further than we’ve been able to advance, and we’ve missed it.”
“Think we can get to where the deer is again?” Xanar asked.
“Let’s try it,” Uesra answered. “Even if the stag runs off, we can use it as a new starting point.”
Their path forced them to lose sight of the animal for a time, as they worked their way though a long ravine, having to climb over large boulders and the roots of several upturned trees. It was dirty and slow going, but they attacked the task with a renewed vigor. They neared the base of the rock where the stag had stood, and were surprised to find it still poised there. It looked down at them from an overhang of sorts, and showed no inclination to bound off at their approach.
They saw now why they had not yet stood where the stag was. The face of the rock on their side was nearly vertical, and it was perched atop the steep-sided wall of the ravine. Further on were easier ways to higher ground, but to come back to the rock above, not a goal in their earlier travels, required some back-tracking.
It took about twenty minutes for them to move out of the ravine and back to the rock. The stag watched their approach—they guessed it had watched them the whole time—and they slowed as they neared, not wanting to startle it. The rock upon which it stood could be ascended here over the course of a gentle slope, and as they closed the animal looked down upon them, seeming stronger and prouder and more awe-inspiring up close.
The final few paces they made almost reverently, and still the stag remained. It backed up a couple of steps to give the companions some room, and they in turn formed an arc around the creature, keeping what distance they could here upon the upper portion of the slab. The stag looked at each of them in turn, its deep brown eyes holding them in place while it read what it could in their faces.
Silas took a slow step forward, and then extended an open hand. The stag allowed him to touch the side of its head, and then it nuzzled him once, quickly Then it turned and took two quick steps, first onto a lower platform and then to the top of yet another ravine. It turned and looked back, as if inviting the travelers to follow.
The thought that the stag could be some device of the enemy was not lost on the companions, but none would say so aloud. Something in its bearing and its eyes told them this creature was not born of or meant for evil, and to question its motives now seemed almost blasphemous. Silas started off after it, and one by one the others followed.
The path they followed was a long and twisting one, but never did the stag get checked in its progress or need to double back and try a different route to overcome some obstacle. For the most part they traveled through gullies and ravines, but now and then by necessity they moved to higher ground, and there could try to mark their progress. The high rock they had visited so many times was soon far behind them, a change they welcomed, but the river receded as well, until crossing one high ledge they looked back in turn to find it gone from sight. The deer seemed confident of the direction it was taking, but the companions were quickly becoming lost beyond recall.
“If it means us ill,” Adrianna whispered, “it has us.”
“At least we’re getting somewhere,” Darius said. “We could have spent the rest of our lives back on that rock.”
“And if we had stayed there, that span of time would have been brief,” Xanar added.
For good or ill the stag led them well. Now and again it navigated more difficult sections of the terrain by leaping steaming cracks or scaling nearly sheer faces with a few deft bounds. Each time it did so it turned and waited patiently for its charges to follow. Only w
hen they had all cleared the latest obstacle did the deer look forward once more and proceed.
The exhilaration and adrenaline surge they had experienced upon first seeing the stag and then being led by it was now long gone, and a great weariness grew on them as the long hours passed and the blasted lands stretched on. If asked they would have guessed it was well past nightfall, but the stag showed no sign of slowing.
“Do you think it would wait for us if we decided to rest?” Darius wondered.
“I would guess it would, but we’d be betting our lives on it,” Silas replied. “If we all slept and it left us…”
Fear of being abandoned here drove them on, as did their endless hunger and thirst. The smokes and fumes, if anything, grew denser, and they worried over what it was they drew into their lungs with each breath. Along with the long hours of struggling against the terrain and the lack of sustenance, the suspect air they inhaled made their heads swim from time to time, and now and then each of them had to stop for a brief period to regain their balance so as to not fall into a swoon. They were moving now, as swiftly as they might, but one after another they realized time was running out.
The stag hopped from one small outcropping to another, then dropped into a deep ravine. The cut was long and sloped downward, such that it seemed to vanish into shadow in the distance. The stag proceeded a dozen yards and then turned, waiting for the travelers to follow.
Adrianna reached the edge of the outcropping and sat down on it. “I keep hoping every turn will be the last,” she said with some dismay.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Uesra said, eyeing the dark ravine. “I would not choose to go this way save that we are led there.” Even so, she was the first to move down from the outcropping to follow the deer.
Silas followed, then held out a hand to help Adrianna down, and to urge her on. “We’ve chosen our path. We must see where it leads.”
“Guess I’d rather do that than try to go back,” she replied, trying to sound positive. “Slim hope is better than none.”
