by Rory Surtain
“Andy, please join us for lunch,” I said. “I want to get a clear idea of the demonic threat to Bastian, and the threat to Raven posed by the shamans there and how determined they might be to track her down.”
“And there goes my happy moment,” he scoffed.
Lynda Snow and Captain Glenn also joined us for lunch. We explained to them the situation with the dark elves in Bastian and the threat of their shamans to Raven.
According to Andy, the situation in Bastian was becoming dire. The Order of the Vigil used every possible weapon at its disposal to counter the demons, and there should be no surprise that the dark elf shamans did the same.
I had decided that someone (me) would travel up to Bastian to work things out with the shamans and deal with their demon problem. Being already claimed by the Order should protect me from their schemes. Raven and Lynda disagreed with my idea, putting it mildly. Andy nodded his support, and Glenn looked wholly uncertain.
Addressing Glenn, “I would run this by Vigil Snow before departing, of course, and if I hurry, I should make it back in plenty of time for the Summer promotion ceremony.”
Looking at the ladies, “Raven would be safe here, with Andy and the Sentinel Scouts on alert until I returned. Andy can move into my room in the keep, so he’ll always be near Raven.”
Raven’s anxiety was through the roof.
“And where will you be?” she argued. “Camped out on some cold mountain trail trying to stay awake and warm for a week straight? You’ll recall that I’ve just done that journey myself. It was Hell, and I would have died an ugly death if you hadn’t come along when you did.”
She had a point. I would need some Sentinels to go along, and I knew just where to find them.
“Andy, you wouldn’t happen to have an extra Talisman that I could borrow for a fortnight?”
Vigil Snow gave his approval, with the explicit requirement that I returned in time for the Summer promotion ceremony. He would double the castle guard until I came back. He also allowed that I might pull from the Summer recruit class, with Sergeant Masterson’s final approval.
Masterson gave me the choice of his walking wounded. “Pick two,” he said, with the caveat that I return them whole for promotion.
“Hicks and Gunner,” I answered immediately. He nodded as if he already knew my answer and told me where to find them.
I finished up my afternoon at the recruits’ barracks with the Summer Company.
“How’s your head? Feel like taking a little trip with me?” I said to Brandon Hicks. “You’d miss the last week or two of training before promotion.”
Heads popped up all around the barracks hall. I spotted Gunner a couple of bunks away and waved him over.
“Is Gunner a first name or a last name?” I asked.
“My full name is Gunner Trew, but everyone just calls me Gunner.”
Gunner had a relaxed manner to offset his powerful frame and confident air. His sandy blonde hair and dimpled chin would have made him stand out with or without a heavy axe on his back. He was a good two inches and twenty pounds heavier than Hicks or me.
“How’s your Arm? Can you swing a light axe?”
“Sure, it’s just a sprain now. I’d even swing a heavy one if ordered.”
“We’re going light. I’d like you and Hicks to see me safely to the dark elf city of Bastian, about a hundred miles north of here, through the Everest range. Rough country, and we need to get there and back safely before promotion time. Before you ask, Masterson already signed off on the trip.”
“This have anything to do with the girl Raven that ran off this morning?” asked Hicks. “She is half dark elf, isn’t she?”
“Yes. This mission has much to do with Raven and the demons that are threatening the dark elves. As far as I can tell, if we don’t do something now, trouble will find us in spades later. We can talk more on the road. Bring your light kit, a warm cloak, canteens, plus dry food for a week. Meet me at the North Tower of the Castle tomorrow at dawn. We’ll head out from there with the first Scout patrol of the day.”
In a month, I had gone from an aimless orphan to someone that depended upon others to survive just as they depended on me. Rae still didn’t want me to go on the trip, but she also intended to do everything she could to help me get there and back. With Andy’s help, she had sketched out a map to Bastian. The landmarks they supplied should be easy to follow, and with three of us on the trip, we ought to be able to sit watches and get some rest along the way. Andy had offered up his talisman, and I figured that the recruits could take turns wearing it. One would be the hunter, and one would be the goat.
Raven made it a point that I was never to remove my talisman, and she promised that she would do the same. She felt that we had a connection through them now, which would serve us both. The added activity and anxiety of the day had completely worn her out, and we sent her to bed early. I was hoping that my time away would give her a chance to recover her strength fully. I would do everything in my power to fix things for her in Bastian.
I catnapped overnight and then got myself kitted out while it was still dark. Ducking my head into Raven’s room before heading out, I found her sleeping peacefully, with Andy snoring away in her bedside chair. I didn’t wake them.
The dawn broke clear. We all mounted up and rode out fast with the first Day Shift Patrol. Mott Duncan led the way. Hicks and Gunner were as eager as I to make good time while we had the use of horses. We’d lose them soon enough. We circled east of Adam’s peak as usual then headed northward.
We had gone about fifteen miles in the first few hours before the terrain became too rough to continue. We dismounted and handed off the horses to the patrol to be taken back to Berykholt. We still had almost a full day of travel on foot ahead of us, and my goal was to cover at least another twenty-five miles in the eight hours before dark. Being Summer, the game trails were easy to spot, and we made use of many.
I was keeping track of potential caves that would need exploring, tagging them on my hand-drawn map. The day passed without incident, but as the sun went down, I could feel the hills and cliffs around us change, become alive as the nocturnal beasts of the range awoke.
We found a suitable campsite tucked in near a partially collapsed cliff. Large boulders on two sides with the cliff at our backs gave us good protection. We rolled a few smaller rocks into place so that we could build a fire without being too easily seen and have some cover from the cool night wind. I took the first watch and leaned against the large boulder adjacent to the camp. Hicks and Gunner rested near the warmth of the fire. Hicks was still showing some signs of a concussion, so I had him wear our extra hunter’s amulet. Wolves howled in the distance, more than a mile away. I waited to see if they had picked up our trail.
Six hours later, maybe two hours from dawn, feeling stiff from sitting still for so long, I roused Gunner for the final watch until morning. We had made considerable progress on the first day, covering a good third or more of our journey, and I wanted to keep pushing—no telling what we’d run into in the future.
Trouble started at the end of our second day. We had just cleared a glacier that signaled the halfway mark of our journey. We were making steady progress. The mountain of snow and ice had funneled us along a well-worn game trail that ran to the east before turning back to the north and dropping us down into a long narrow valley. The valley before us was heavily forested and would guide our path for the next dozen miles. It had been carved from the mountain range by the nearby glacier and had ragged-looking cliffs on either side. It was a perfect choke-point for any predators, and I could sense a few roaming the valley floor ahead of us. We pressed on, not having a suitably safe spot to camp. I switched our spare amulet over to Gunner as night fell. I took point and had him trail Hicks.
A mile off to the right, a large, slow-moving predator skirted the edge of the valley and then disappeared from my senses. I presumed that there must be caves nearby and wondered where the King’s Realm Guar
d did the recruiting for their mounts. Behind us, I noticed a pack of six wolves had picked up our scent and was gaining on us steadily. Their yips and howls were coming closer with every mile that we traversed. We were about halfway across the valley when we finally had to stop and face them.
I helped Hicks climb up into a nearby tree after marking his territory at its base. The more the pack focused on Brandon, the better. Gunner and I hid in some brush off of the trail about thirty yards away. Our plan mapped out, we waited silently.
These were black wolves, the much more sizable cousins of the gray wolves that roamed the plains in the central regions of Colivar. They loped into view led by an alpha wolf the size of a small pony and circled Hicks’ tree, howling. I drew my axe and crept forward, coming up behind them. Ten yards out, I threw my axe into the hindquarter of the alpha. As the wolf spun in place, trying to get at the axe blade embedded in its back hip, Hicks threw his axe down into the back of another and howled at the pack, trying to keep their attention.
I charged in with my war knife and punched a fang-sized hole into the back of the Alpha’s neck, sending it thrashing to the ground. Grabbing my axe, I darted left, away from the large, downed wolf. I swung for the back legs of another nearby, clipping it soundly and drawing a harsh yelp as it stumbled away. The now leaderless pack turned to face me. I held my ground, and when one overly aggressive wolf darted in, I landed a chop into its skull, sending it into the dirt.
At that moment, Gunner came sneaking in behind them, hitting another across its spine, and adding to Hicks’ howling. The remaining few scattered, scampering away into the night. We quickly finished off the wounded wolves and hit the trail northward, hoping that the fresh carcasses would divert the attention of any predators in the area.
We finally climbed out of the valley just as dawn was breaking. Being back in rocky terrain, we were able to find a sheltered spot to eat and rest. By my map, I estimated that we had less than forty miles to go. I planned on covering half of that today before bedding down for the night. We had been pushing hard, and I kept wondering when we would sight our first demonkind.
“So far so good,” I said as we ate. “Our progress keeps up, and we should arrive by tomorrow night. I’m hoping we start to see some signs of civilization soon.”
“Any idea what we’ll do when we get there? Are we even sure that they’ll let us into their city?” Hicks asked.
“I have a message for the King and another for his shamans,” I answered.
“And you think that he’ll be open to seeing you? Do you even know him?” he countered.
“I don’t, but I know his exiled daughter. In fact, I happen to be betrothed to her. That sort of makes me his son-in-law doesn’t it?” I said.
Gunner chuckled, “Exiled son-in-law, maybe. Does that even count?”
“Well, we’ll just have to hope we didn’t waste our time,” I replied.
“All I can say is that this trip is a whole lot more interesting than recruit formation drills,” he said, earning an eager nod from Hicks.
“My best guess is that the King will agree to see me, especially if we offer to help sort out his demon problem. Everything I’ve heard says that they are desperate to find a solution. And addressing that should remove all sorts of potential threats for Raven and the Order.”
“So, it’s not really about who you know. It’s about what you can kill?” said Hicks.
“Exactly,” I replied.
Chapter 14
Royal blood
Malevolence polluted the northern horizon as we neared the end of our journey. We were ten miles from what my map claimed was the City of Bastian with plenty of early afternoon light left to guide us. The pass ahead of us would eventually open into a broad valley that held the elven city. The pass itself might seem like a decent track, that is, if one was a mountain goat. As for us, it was an opportunity to walk, shuffle, crawl, climb, and wend our way forward, and, by the looks of things, we were coming through the demon-filled backdoor to reach the valley of the dark elves.
What had me most worried was the demonic activity coming and going in the rocky hills before us. There had to be quite a few infested caves ringing the valley, and I was wondering if we shouldn’t just delve into one to see what trouble could be found. I kept my senses peeled for anything vile nearby. Gunner played the goat as we scrambled onward with the afternoon, and the picture became more challenging.
Our first demon was less than a mile ahead of us. It was loud, vibrating with its unbridled rage, and I planned to remove it before going any further—no sense in leaving any of the devils alive behind us if we could help it. I drew my war-blade and motioned both of my companions to follow more closely behind me. One, I signaled.
We reached a small gully in the mountainside with several tall boulders strewn all about. The demon was there somewhere; I could feel it but not yet see it. We completely circled the ravine and the rocks. Still, no visible sign, and I didn’t sense any movement either. The ditch must lead to a cave. I moved into the gully and spotted an opening on the upper end. Our demon had to be waiting within.
I walked slowly forward into the darkness of the cave, giving my eyes a chance to adjust, and there, just off to the right, was a friendly wolf-man from Hell shifting upright and turning to face me. It hesitated as I stepped forward, then it bowed in submission. Odd that. I planted my fang into the top of its head. It emitted a wretched howl as it writhed on the floor of the cave. Gunner and Hicks had come in behind me and were now covering their ears at the unholy sound. Removing the beast’s head to shut it up, I was unsure how far sound would carry in these hills or if the echoes would confuse our enemy. The cave was shallow and empty except for the fresh carcass, so we resumed our trek northward through the demon dotted hills.
Our eagerness to outrun the darkness and the anticipation of reaching our goal drove us forward. Dusk was approaching as I angled for the next fiend’s location. It had much the same vibe as the gully cave and was generally in line with our destination. The next demon was out, waiting for us, as we approached. I swapped from my knife to my axe and put our goat, Gunner, to the front with his shield and light axe. Hicks and I lagged a few yards behind and to either side of him, relying on our talismans to remain unnoticed.
The effect was immediate. The demon launched itself in Gunner’s direction. My anger boiled at the sight, but I held still, waiting for the violent impact as the wolf demon smashed into Gunner’s shield. Gunner staggered back a few steps trying to keep his balance, putting him directly between Hicks and me. The howling beast grasped Gunner’s shield, tearing it downward with one claw while attacking wildly with the other. I held still, watching. A split second later, Hicks’ axe took it in the side of the head, shearing most of it away. Gunner kicked at its falling carcass, sending it tumbling down the hillside to our right. I gave them both a nod and told them to hold.
Fast approaching from our left was a goat-faced demon, its size exceeding the first. It homed in on Gunner but had the misfortune of crossing directly in front of me, and I sheared off its right leg in passing with my axe. It crashed headfirst into Gunner’s shield, and he quickly dispatched it with a chop to the back of its neck.
Dusk had arrived, and we still had a few more miles to go. For the moment, our front was clear, though a mile to our right and downhill, something stirred. I held my war-blade in my left hand, axe in my right. Jogging across the slope and the scree, we were nearing the Valley of Bastian, and our path now led us mostly downhill.
Another mile further on, we found a large cave opening tucked in beside a wall of boulders. It was active, and I counted four demons waiting outside its mouth.
Do demons mill about?
I moved in low and fast, coming around onto the hill above the opening and then jumped into their midst. My axe bisected the head of the largest, an ant-beast with spiral horns instead of antennae, as I landed. I was livid at their presence. Before any of the others could react, I punched my fang
through a hairless dog-man’s ear, sending it toppling back into the dark cave.
The arm of the next Hellion fell to the ground as its mantis-like claws swung my way. Hicks landed at that moment, taking off its other arm before severing its head as it screeched and dove forward to bite him. The fourth, a crab-creature, was scrambling on all fours up the hill, trying to get Gunner, who was still standing above the cave mouth. Gunner leaped forward with a swing of his shield and shattered its carapace before it could rise to the attack. His axe ended the ugly beast, splitting its stunned alien face.
The cave was far deeper than the last, and I could feel several demons stirring from within. Unable to get a clear count, I signaled for us to move on, fast. We took off at a run, continuing down the slope toward our destination.
The cool summer night felt warm as we finally descended into the Valley of Bastian. I could see the lights of the walled city in the distance. We were drenched in sweat, struggling to keep ahead of the dozen or so demons in our wake. Raven and I would have similar stories to swap in our old age. The demons’ hunger was like a firebrand in my mind. I peeled off to the side and crouched, waving Gunner and Hicks to keep going. Brandishing the fang in my left hand, I roared back at the demons, throwing a sense of panic and hesitation into their midst. I charged back uphill into the nearest beast as dark hunters rose from the ground all around us.
Dozens of blades flashed in the moonlight, and the mountains were suddenly quiet for miles around. I yelled down the hill for Hicks and Gunner to wait up and jogged down to meet them. Soon we were surrounded by two dozen dark elves with long-bladed spears.
“Hello, Ara,” I heard, spoken off to my right.
“Hello, Lorna,” I said, turning. “What brings you out on such a lovely summer night?”
“Reports of someone stoking the demons in our southern hills. Why am I not surprised that it is you? How many did you kill?” she replied.
“We killed eight on our way in. A great welcome party you have here. Thank you for the help,” I said, nodding back up the hill.
