We stepped out into the still deserted street. I could feel the eyes from the buildings watching us again, but I didn't have time to worry about them. We had an even bigger problem on our hands.
“We need to get going now, Hawke,” I said. I started jogging back to the inn. Hawke fell in next to me.
“What's the sudden rush for?” he asked.
“We need to get to the Ururu before Anonce,” I said angrily. “I can't believe you just told him how to get there, after what you saw him do to Fasketel.”
“I don't get the—” he gasped mid-sentence. “Oh Lord Ordained, what have I done?”
“We can talk about your stupidity later.” I stopped at the inn's door just long enough to glower at him. “Get the horses ready. We need to find Char before it's too late.”
Chapter 18: Demon Hunt
In the middle of the Old Kingdom, in the land of Astra west of the Madness, there is a lone mountain that stands monolith in the middle of an arid plain. The Ururu has stood the test of time since before the Pilgrimage, unchanging and unyielding. It was there that our friend, Char Nazval, had chosen to live in solitude, away from those that would persecute him for his half-grinel heritage.
And Hawke had pointed a murderer straight in his direction.
I couldn't let it go, as we rode as fast as we could to warn Char of the danger that was coming for him. A part of me felt bad for pushing Sir Brown Horse and Restless so much over the past several weeks. It was a wonder that they still had the strength to carry us, after they'd brought us over hundreds of miles in such a short time.
Most of my attention, though, wouldn't turn away from my anger with Hawke. At the least he had the humility to look properly ashamed of his thoughtless actions. He barely slept, tending to the horses and all our needs whenever we set up camp. Still, all I could think about was Fasketel's lifeless body and what we might find awaiting us atop the mountain if we didn't make haste.
Hawke had said it would take six days by horseback to reach the Ururu. By the fourth day of hard riding and only the scantest amount of sleep, the Ururu had crept into sight, a modest blemish on the otherwise unmarred horizon.
We slowed down once we caught sight of it. Even at a slower pace by horse, we would make it by the next day. I had feared that we might end up passing by Anonce in our haste, tipping him off to our plans. However, we'd yet to see any sign that he had come by this way. Perhaps he had decided to take his time in hunting his quarry? I wanted to believe it, but until I saw Char safe and sound, I expected the worst.
A longer night's rest than usual later, we were in much better shape to face whatever may come the next day. We set out early, pushing the horses only a bit, yet the mountain loomed over us and obscured the sun well before noon.
Unable to relax, my worries switched over to if we could still get up to the summit. The Ururu was sheer faced, impossible to climb without specialized gear or the ability to fly - and even if we had met two legends of Astra in just the last week, I wasn't hopeful on Callos the Winged swooping down to give us a hand.
Char had built a series of rickety-looking, yet sturdy, ramps that led directly to the summit. They had still been there the last time we visited, but that had been years ago. He might have pulled them down to secure his privacy, or they might have fallen into disrepair. Or maybe Anonce had already gotten here first and destroyed them to make sure nobody could interfere with his mission.
Before I could jump to conclusions, we had to try and find the walkway. There was only one set of them, and the Ururu could take days to circumnavigate. We had no other options other than riding around the base and hoping we'd come across it soon.
We spent most of that day just circling around it, hoping that we'd catch sight of it any minute. We had to stop to rest the horses twice, and eventually night descended on us, forcing us to light lanterns and slow our mounts lest they twist an ankle.
The crescent moon had risen well overhead before an unnatural shadow loomed against the velvet blue of the night sky, jutting out like a growth on the Ururu.
Hawke and I both let out a sigh of relief as our lamplight illuminated the walkway. It looked to be intact, though since it was mostly made from wooden planks and poles lashed together into a haphazard scaffold, I always feared that it would come down at the slightest disturbance.
Hawke, as if hearing my thoughts, dismounted from Restless and grabbed two of the thin support beams. He gave them a hearty shake, and my heart leapt into my throat as the entire construct creaked and shuddered. Somehow, it stood fast.
I knew what came next, and my heart dropped from my throat and into my stomach.
“You can stay down here if you want, Micasa,” said Hawke. He knew full well about my fear of heights, and normally I'd appreciate his show of concern. I was still rankled with him, though, and my worry for Char pushed aside my uncertainty. I dismounted and tied up Sir Brown Horse to one of the struts, giving him a bag of feed to keep him complacent.
“Let's just hurry,” I said, managing to keep my voice from shaking too much. Just to prove my resolve - to myself as much as to Hawke - I took the first steps onto the ramp. For how flimsy it looked, the boards didn't buckle in the slightest. They had to be sturdy, I knew, to support Char's mass.
I marched up about eight or nine ramps with no problems, keeping my eyes focused upwards. It would be a long trek, but I was certain that the rampway was as safe as ever.
Then the scaffold shifted a bit as Hawke stepped on. I glared down at him. That was a huge mistake.
I hadn't gone very far, only about twenty feet up; nothing, compared to how tall the Ururu was. At that moment, though, I felt like I was twenty-thousand feet up. My knees buckled, and I found myself clinging to the scaffold for dear life.
“Micasa, you can still head back and stay. I promise I won't be long,” Hawke assured me. I thought about the safety of the ground, the affirmation of solid earth under my feet.
I thought about Fasketel's lifeless corpse.
“Th-this is nothing,” I said, and with some effort I managed to rip my hands off the safety of the support poles. I fixed my eyes skyward once more, and one step at a time, continued the journey upward.
Every step felt like I was ascending a mile, and I knew that another glance down would paralyze me for sure. I kept my mind focused on Char, reminding myself I was doing this for his sake. Somehow, my feet kept moving, one after the other, and I continued to climb.
Hawke started to hum at one point. There was no particular tune to it, no song hidden in there. It was the same trick he had done when we first ascended, and in spite of my frustration with him, it wasn't long until I joined him. As the aimless notes came to my lips, my feet moved a little faster, a little surer.
Then, suddenly, we were at the top.
The moon had made quite a bit of progress during our climb. It must have taken us at least two hours to make the climb, yet it felt like we had only just started. I breathed a sigh of relief as I set foot on the hard, unyielding summit of the Ururu.
“You did better this time,” said Hawke, stepping beside me.
“Hmph.” I didn't want to let him know I was pleased with his praise. “Let's just find Char.”
Up so high, even a sliver of moon gave us ample light to search the mountain's surface. I was hoping to see a campfire lit against the cold, a beacon assuring me of Char's safety. There was no fire, but I could clearly see the darkened remnants of a camp towards the center.
I rushed over and turned the place inside out. Char was nowhere to be found, but his camp already had the look of being rummaged through. Pans and lamps and blankets had been strewn everywhere, and a cot big enough to hold an entire family had been upturned and ripped to shreds. The remnants of a campfire stood outside the tent, full of blackened coals. It looked like there hadn't been a fire there in days, if not weeks.
The wind picked up, sending a prickling sensation crawling over my skin. I belatedly wished I'd brought up a cloak
with me.
When the wind died, the sensation remained. It was a feeling I had just learned recently, and one that did not improve my mood.
“Anonce has been here,” I said. I'd felt his overwhelming essence in Hafwei and could tell this was the same feeling, albeit much fainter. “We might be too late,” My heart sank.
Hawke had been giving the camp his own inspection and was looking intently at a ceramic mug. “I think Char's alright,” he said.
“Really? Don't toy with me.”
“Well, there's no body here,” he pointed out. “I don't think Anonce would bother himself disposing of it, if Fasketel was any indication. I doubt he could even lift Char if he wanted.” He tossed me the mug. “Plus, Char has like twenty of these, but this is the only one I can find. His usual coffee kettle is missing, too. He's a coffee junkie, and even if he was running for his life, he would make sure he could still have his cup.”
“So, you think he ran off?” I asked.
“Probably. Anonce certainly has been here, but there's a chance Char felt his power, too, and got away. There's only one way to find out. We need to check his usual hidey-hole.”
“He has one?”
“Sure. He showed me it a long time ago. He goes there when someone finds his little home here. Kind of a getaway from his getaway. We need to hurry, though.” I looked at Hawke, and was surprised to see him shaking. He sounded composed, but it was plain from the look on his face that he was worried about Char as much as I was, if not more.
“We still have to get back down,” I said. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I thought of trying to run down over a mile of ramps. “Unless you have a faster way down.”
Hawke's eyes lit up. “Maybe I do.”
“I was only joking,” I said.
“Well, you definitely won't like it,” he added.
“If it'll skip a stroll down in the darkness, I'll give it a try,” I said. He appraised me for a second.
“Okay, then.” He walked up to me, and to my surprise, hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack.
“What in the world are you—” I started to argue. Then it hit me. “Oh, please, you're not going to do what I think you are, are you?”
He gave me a sad smile. “Sorry, but I really don't feel like using the ramps again, either. Just keep your eyes closed.”
My protest turned into a scream of raw terror as he bolted towards the scaffold. His feet hit the edge of the mountain, and without breaking pace he strode right off the edge.
My eyes clamped shut, more out of reflex than Hawke's suggestion. The air howled around us as we picked up speed. I could feel the ground rushing up to greet us, at a rate that would leave us little more than skidmarks on the dusty ground.
Hawke's essence welled up and surrounded us, and the wind lessened. I knew we were still plummeting, but my stomach didn't lurch as much as before. I could feel us slowing, slowing, and then all at once, we stopped. I was jolted a bit from the change, and it took me some time before I felt brave enough to open my eyes.
Peeking through my lids, I was met with the solid wall of the Ururu's side. I chanced a glimpse down to see Hawke's feet planted firmly on the ground. We'd made it. I wanted to sigh and scream and vomit all at once.
Hawke tried to set me down. It was a harder job than it should have been, considering I had his cloak locked in my fingers in a death grip. With a little gentle shaking, he coerced me to let go, and I fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap.
“I'm going to kill you for that, you know,” I managed to wheeze out when I stopped panting.
“There'll be time later. Let's get going.” Hawke untied the horses, gave them some water, and saddled up Restless again. I had some more I wanted to say, but he was right. Char's safety was more important, and we had no idea how close behind him Anonce might be.
Hawke led the way, shooting west as fast as his horse would carry him. I kicked Sir Brown Horse to a gallop and struggled to catch up. Our mounts' breath came out in great steaming heaves, and their coats were already starting to lather. I worried that this would be the straw that broke our horses' backs, but they still managed to keep the grueling pace.
After just an hour of riding, Hawke slowed his horse to a trot and conferred by lamplight with a map and compass to get his bearings. I pulled up beside him, grateful for the chance to give poor Sir Brown Horse even just a little rest.
“We shouldn't be too far,” Hawke muttered, looking off towards his left. “A bit more that way.” He nudged Restless to a canter, guiding him through a copse of trees we were just passing around, with me right behind him.
The wind had died some time earlier, and the small forest sat in dark and deathly quiet, the only noise the steady clop of hooves on the hard-packed earth. The trees started growing thick together, and the footing too treacherous to risk the horses. I forced Hawke to stop and tie up our mounts, taking the time to give them a bit of a brush down and unsaddle them. For all the work they'd done tonight, they deserved to rest while we carried on.
Once they were situated, we plunged onward again at a full run. There had been no sign of Anonce, thank goodness, but I still felt that lingering prickle of his essence, and all I could imagine was finding the Vagrant Knight standing over our fallen friend.
The trees opened up into a small clearing suddenly, a cluster of small boulders jutting from the ground and forming a sort of small cave. Hawke skidded to a halt, so quickly that I almost barreled right into him. The smell of smoke filled the air, and nestled within the mouth of that cave I could see the glowing coals of a dying fire.
I stepped forward to take a closer look when I heard a low rumble. I froze, thinking it the sound of some predator nearby, until I realized it was coming from behind the fire. I strained my eyes, and could just make out a shadow lurking behind that sullen glow. I might have mistaken it for another boulder, if it didn't start to shuffle and grow.
A giant of a man stepped into the dim light of the glowing coals, the sullen orange light making it look like he was burning. He had been tall when sitting in the darkness, but standing at his full height, he almost passed over the top of the rocks he had been hiding under. His beady eyes, too small for his head, glimmered as they stared at the two intruders that had disturbed him. His nose, like an overripe tomato squashed in the middle of his face, twitched like he was trying to catch our scent, and his swollen lips pursed in thought. I could hear the stitches of his threadbare poncho creaking as they strained to hold against his girth.
The giant stepped forward on two legs smaller than my own, so comically thin I marveled how they could support his weight. My breath caught in my throat as I waited. If I made a wrong move, there was no telling what he might do, and there was no guarantee I'd live through it.
He stopped when he caught sight of Hawke illuminated by the lantern he still held.
“Hawke?” said Char, his voice as coarse as a piece of sandpaper. “Wha' the 'ell are ya doing 'ere?”
Hawke stepped forward gingerly, his eyes scanning our surroundings. “Char, are you alright?” he asked when he looked sure the coast was clear.
“Aye, not really, truth be told,” said Char with a grunt. He looked back to me, his dirty bloodshot eyes narrowing. After a second, he broke out beaming. “Li'l Micasa, ya managed ta tack on a few more inches!”
“It's good to see you okay, Char,” I said. I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around him as far as they'd go, which didn't even reach his sides. He brought down his own arms for a hug, and even though they were as laughably small as his legs, even just a soft embrace felt like he was crushing the air out of me.
“Char, did anyone try to attack you recently?” asked Hawke. Char loosened his grip on me as he looked at Hawke.
“Naw, but ah had a bad feelin' earlier today,” said Char. “Felt sumtin' comin' muh way, di'nt wanna stick around ta see what it was. Ah'm guessin' ya know sumtin' about it?”
“We met a man in Hafwei who was looking for you. H
e headed off towards the Ururu, right after he killed Fasketel.”
“Fasketel?” said Char in the grinel tongue. “Heard o' tha bloke, but ne'er met 'em. One o' them grinel hunters, ah take it?”
“I'd wager so.” Hawke's voice dropped. “This makes no sense. I can still feel Anonce's essence, like he's just passed by recently.”
“Wait, did ya say Anonce?” Char started trembling and took a step back from me. “Ah thought that power felt familiar. Ah haven't seen 'im, though. Ah'd know if 'e was…” Char trailed off as the tingle of energy I'd been feeling the last several hours became sharper.
And I realized we'd been damn fools. Of course, we hadn't seen or overtaken Anonce. We were never on his trail in the first place.
“It saddens me that I was right to follow you,” came a soft voice from the trees. Hawke spun around, the light from his lamp casting over Anonce's placid face. His expression was sad, his cane tapping against the ground. Power began to radiate from him as his eyes fell on Char, his brows knitting together.
“Regardless, thanks for showing me the way, Scholar,” said Anonce. “I'll make this quick.” He lifted his cane, brandishing it like a blade at Char, and exploded forward with deadly force.
Chapter 19: Weak Point
I cried out as Char shoved me out of the way. I stumbled a few steps, expecting to fall. In a flash, Hawke appeared by my side and caught me, carrying me further away as I heard a terrible crashing sound like ringing steel. We retreated a dozen feet away or so before I tore myself from Hawke's grasp to see what was going on.
Anonce moved in a blur, swinging his cane in wide arcs towards his target so fast that I could barely catch the movement. Char moved just as quickly, though, his hands darting out to stop every attack. With each blow, there came that ringing sound, and the air vibrated with energy. I could feel their essence pouring from them as they clashed back and forth.
I focused my senses and could feel just what was going on. Anonce's cane was coated with his essence, just like Hawke did with Symphony, and likewise made his wooden cane sharper than any real sword. His energy flowed through the weapon and his body, connecting them like they were a part of each other. Anonce was powerful, possibly as much as the Goodmother, but Char's energy deflected his assault every time. I had never seen Char call upon the full might of his own essence, but I could tell at a 'glance' that his own power was just as immense as his stature.
Savants of Humanity (The Scholar's Legacy Book 2) Page 21
