by Jon Bender
Jaxom looked back to where the trader had been sitting but he was gone. The bar maid returned with their meal while he had looked about for the man and Jaxom eventually put the worried thoughts from his mind. The food was surprisingly good, the pork having been well seasoned and the potatoes boiled just the right amount of time. Eventually Jerup started telling stories about some of his funnier experiences in the army which even had Cribble laughing. As the night wore down Jaxom told Cribble and Jerup to take one room while he and the younger men would take the other. Jaxom would sleep on the floor giving the beds to them, these men were here because of him and he felt obligated to make the journey as comfortable as possible for them. Da’san argued for a moment saying he did not mind the floor but acquiesced after Jaxom had insisted.
The next day found them awake with the sun and down to the stables to collect their mounts. The man who had taken their horses last night refused to go and get Jaxom’s horse now that he could better see it in the light of the day. Not wishing to delay any longer, Jaxom simply commanded the risen animal to come to him causing the stable hand to almost have a fit before he ran back to the Inn. As they were saddling the horses Brenin kept laughing and talking about the man’s reaction. They had all become used to Jaxom’s mount, but it amused Brenin to no end every time someone new saw it.
Once back on the road, the scattered farmland ended leaving them traveling in flat grass land. Small clumps of trees dotted the landscape but they were not densely positioned, and the road itself had narrowed down to no more the two ruts in the dirt made by wagon wheels. Last night’s storm had completely moved on not leaving a cloud for shade, and it wasn’t long before the heat had them all sweating. The Guardsmen had it the worst with their heavy chainmail, all having removed their travel cloaks. Right then Jaxom regretted wearing his customary black as the temperature continued to rise throughout the day.
At mid-day they came upon a small grove of trees surrounding a stream. Needing to take a break and water the horses, they dismounted and started a small fire for a warm meal. While Jerup was busy making soup from the dried meat in their supplies, Jaxom had gone to the stream to fill the water bladders.
Kneeling near the slow moving stream, Brenin walked up to him a worried look on his face. “I think we may have trouble coming our way,” he said leading Jaxom to the edge of the grove and telling him to look out on the horizon from where they had come. Straining his eyes he could just make out what looked like two men on horses. At that distance it was unlikely that the men could see them under the cover of the trees.
“How long have they been there?” Jaxom asked.
“I don’t know. I thought I saw them a couple of hours ago but I couldn’t be sure. If that was the case then they should have closed with us since we stopped,” the bowman replied.
“Unless they want to keep an eye on us without letting on they are there,” Jaxom said.
“Why?” Brenin asked.
That was a good question and Jaxom had no answer. He walked back with Brenin to where Jerup was now serving the soup out into the small metal bowls they had brought along. Once they had all gathered around the fire he told them what Brenin had seen.
“So what do you think they want?” Da’san asked to no one in particular.
Cribble spit into the fire in disgust. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever they want, it isn’t in our interests.”
“I agree, if they didn’t mean us harm they would not be trying to stay just out of sight,” Jerup said looking over his shoulder in the direction of the unknown men.
“It could just be bandits sizing us up,” Jaxom said, more thinking out loud then putting forth a possible answer.
“Could be, or it could be that whoever we are hunting has found us first,” Cribble said looking directly at Jaxom.
He knew exactly what the veteran guard was thinking. If the being had found him in the cells beneath the palace, how hard would it be for it to find him out in the open like this? He did not think it was another of the shadow creatures though, that being had flinched at the mere touch of torchlight. It was not likely that such a creature could stand in open sunlight but the shades were men or had been before their change. If the owner of the voice had used men to attack the castle, it was possible that he had sent more to find them out here.
“It doesn’t matter who they are,” Brenin said breaking his chain of thought. “There are only two, we can handle that without breaking a sweat.”
Jerup gave him a good swat on the back of the head. “Think boy, just because you only saw two doesn’t mean there aren’t more.
Da’san shook his head in amusement at Brenin as the archer rubbed the spot on his head. “He is right though, it does not matter who they are. What does matter is why they are waiting and what our next move is,” Da’san said.
“They are waiting to catch us asleep. They think we do not know about them, so why attack now when they can kill us while we are helpless in our bed rolls,” Cribble said.
“Well there is the why, but that still leaves us with what our next move is going to be,” Jerup said looking to Jaxom expectantly.
Jaxom had been considering that while they had been talking, and the way he saw it there were four options. The first being to turn back and face them now, at which point those following would see them coming and choose to fight or retreat. The next being the worse of the two as it would only slow their group down having to pursue and waste time they may not have. They could also wait here until night and see if the men came at them then, risking a fight in the dark against an unknown number, or they could try to stay ahead of the pursuers by traveling through the night, a strategy he had rejected out of hand. Those behind could still catch up or the five of them could become separated in the dark. That left him with one option only slightly better than the others.
“Pack up, we are moving now,” Jaxom said.
Leaving the cover of the trees they rode for a few hours more. Jaxom making it clear no one was to look over their shoulders, continuing on as if everything was normal. He had explained to his companions on the ride what he had planned. They would find a place where they could break the line of sight with the men following. Once a good a spot was found they would wait for the pursuers to catch up and discover what they were about. The road they were following had disappeared completely as they had traveled further north, their path taking them into an area with small rolling hills. It was not long before they found a perfect spot where a hill dipped sharply down out of sight of anyone behind them. Moving down into a small valley it was exactly what Jaxom had been looking for, leveling out at the bottom which would allow room for his party to move about unhindered. Being at the top of the hill the unknown pursuers would have the high ground but Jaxom saw no way around that.
A small outcropping of boulders offered a place for Brenin to stand in safety from a charge by horses. He said that he could shoot from horseback but would be far more affective on the ground. The rest would wait away from his position in the hope of drawing most of the men away, allowing him to fire his bow freely. There was little chance of this going exactly how they wanted, but all they could do was prepare as best they were able. It still worried Jaxom that he had no idea how many were coming and he hoped that it was not more than they could handle.
Jaxom had not been sure what role Da’san was to play with only a small knife to defend himself. When asked, the priest smiled saying he would find a way to fit into whatever happened. Jaxom envied the man’s confidence that his goddess would provide him protection.
It was a little over an hour when Jerup came down from the hill where he had positioned himself to wait on their guests. He had dismounted before the top and crawled the rest of the way, laying down so not to silhouette himself. Now back on his horse he was heading to where they had been sitting quietly atop their horses.
“At least thirteen,” Jerup said as he reached them. “They are in no hurry, so I don’t think they know what we are about.�
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Cribble let out a soft whistle. “More than two to one odds, not good for us if they aren’t friendly.”
“I doubt it. They all carry weapons and are wearing leather armor,” Jerup said.
Jaxom thought it was likely he could handle almost that many on his own, and that fact must be why they were waiting for the cover of night. If they were looking for him they knew what he was capable of and did not want to risk a straight fight. Still, if it had been Jaxom on watch when they attacked the result would have been the same. There was a four out of five chance that he wouldn’t have been, good odds that Jaxom would have taken if the situation had been reversed. Something about how few men there were still bothered him, taking on a mage in the open even at night was a risky affair. If a mage had help to keep them away while he cast like he did, it would make the task twice as difficult. Jaxom didn’t like the whole situation but it was too late to change the plan now.
“Mount up. Brenin get to your spot and find their leader,” Jaxom said. The young guard nodded his head, trotting off to where he had tied his horse near the boulders.
Jaxom and the two remaining Guardsmen spaced themselves evenly away from the base of the hill, with Da’san taking a position directly behind them where he seemed to be praying. Jaxom had never prayed for help in the face of danger, and did not feel hypocritical enough to do so now. Even though he wouldn’t pray, he did hope that Da’san was calling in a favor from Sarinsha.
It was not long before the first three men crested the hill, pulling their horses up short seeing the small group waiting for them. Quickly joined by the rest, all remained motionless as they looked down in surprise at their quarry. Jerup had been right in his assessment, they mostly wore leather armor and all but one carried a visible weapon. Jaxom had already decided that he would try talking first, it was still possible that this was just a misunderstanding though he did not hold much hope for that possibility.
“Good afternoon. We are sorry to surprise you like this but we noticed you were behind us, and thought to ask if you were headed to the same place we were?” Jaxom called out.
“And where is it you are headed my lord?” one man asked. The voice had come from the center but he could not make out which one had spoken.
“North,” Jaxom said smiling broadly.
“Then yes my lord, we are headed to the same place,” the same voice said.
Jaxom saw the speaker this time, the voice belonging to the man who did not carry a weapon. He had a long beard and wore the clothing of a merchant, it was the same man who had been at the Inn the previous night. The one who had put him on edge then disappeared.
“Let’s not play this game anymore my lord. If you surrender, I promise your deaths will be painless and quick,” the merchant said.
“I am afraid we do not have coin for you to steal, it would not be worth the effort. In fact, you may not realize who it is you intend to rob, we may be more trouble than you realize,” Jaxom said playing out his one last hope that the men were simple thieves.
“We know exactly who you are Magus, and I do not think you will be much trouble at all,” the bearded man said.
The man nodded his head and the others broke their horses into a run down the small hill. Jaxom heard the sound of Jerup and Cribble draw their swords and did the same. An arrow flew past Jaxom to slam into the chest of the first man who reached the bottom, quickly followed by another that hit the next in the shoulder. Jaxom raised his hand and released the blight at the two men that had aimed their horses for him. The grey and black tendrils ensnared both men and the horses as they rode into them. The combined sound of the men’s and horse’s screams was the worse he had ever heard, tying his stomach into knots. Stopping the flow of magic he cast again at another who was circling to Cribble’s right while the guard was busy exchanging blows with an attacker of his own. The two he had released had fallen to the ground, parts of their bodies rotted away but still screaming.
A loud shout that no normal human voice could produce shattered the air around them. The bone rattling yell caused Jaxom to flinch and look behind for the source, finding Da’san sitting calmly atop his mount, arms spread wide and mouth open. Tuning back to the fight, three of the men had dropped weapons to cover their ears, the horses underneath them shifting back and forth tossing their head as if trying to shake the horrid sound away. The affected men’s own mouths were open in imitation of Da’san as they screamed. The looks of their faces showing true terror as they grabbed the reins, riding hard away from the fight in fear.
The leader of the group who had held his place throughout the attack now began to make his way down the hill heading straight for Jaxom. Brenin let loose an arrow at the bearded man who raised his hand from which a gout of flame burst forth to consume the shaft midair. The bearded foe was a fire mage, and Jaxom now understood why the pursuers thought they could win. The mage looking at the source of the arrow shifted his arm and a ball of bright red flame flicked to life before his outstretched fingers. Growing to the size of a man heads it shot forth speeding towards the archer.
Brenin surrounded by the boulders, could not move fast enough to dive out of the way. Reacting without thought Jaxom channeled to one of the dead men laying prone on the ground in the fireball’s path. The corpse shot to its feet to take the full blast of the fire in the chest and was thrown fifteen feet to land on its back. Half of the risen’s face had been burned away, leaving a blackened skull where a face had been, its chest now a black hole of charred meat and bone. Feeling nothing, the risen stood again and began to approach the fire mage.
Half of the attackers still stood and were pressing in on Jerup and Cribble, soon they would overwhelm the Guardsmen. Jaxom cast again and again, the power of death flowing from his fingers. Everywhere a man had fallen they rose again to fight for him, even the men whose flesh he had rotted away stood. His newly risen fighters began to move to the mage who was forced to stop his advance to deal with them, the flame he threw about with abandon only slowing their advance. Realizing that his current tactic was not working he began to hold a column of flame on each of the risen. The sustained flame worked as it reduced the risen to ash, but it was taking too long as the others came closer with every second he wasted to stop one.
With the fire mage busy, Jaxom rushed his risen mount to aid Cribble and Jerup who were too entwined with the enemy to risk casting. Forced to use his sword, Jaxom came up behind the distracted men slashing at the back of one cutting deeply to his spine. Screaming, the man fell from his horse to be trampled by the shifting hooves and drawing the attention of one of his comrades as he did so. The momentary lapse in concentration allowed Cribble the opportunity to drive a sword through his ribs. The odds having shifted from their favor, the remaining two attackers took a defensive posture waiting for the fire mage to make it to the fight.
A fire ball roared towards them and Jaxom was forced to cast a shield of smoke to suffocate the flames. The fire mage had dealt with the risen and began resuming his attack on them. Jaxom had to pull the mages attention away from his friends or it would be much harder to face the caster while trying to shield the Guardsman. Charging towards the bearded mage his sword held to the side in readiness, Jaxom was met by a stream of flame forcing him to stop and block the magical cast with his sword. Even with the blade absorbing the energy the smell of singed hair and cloth filled his nose. When the flame finally stopped he could feel the contained power within the enchanted weapon pulsating, straining to be released from its confinement.
“That is an impressive enchantment. It’s almost a shame to kill the mage responsible for its creation,” the mage said.
“Don’t worry, I will be the one walking away from this,” Jaxom replied. That’s it? He thought to himself. That was the wittiest retort he could come up with and decided to work on his life and death banter if they made it out of this.
The mage smirked at him. “You do not have to die today. My master will accept you if you swear serv
ice to him.”
“Thank him for me but I have to decline,” Jaxom said.
“It’s just as well. I will be having that sword once we are done here,” he said. Raising his hand the mage released a stream of red flame, not aim for Jaxom himself but for his horse.
Jaxom smiled and commanded his horse forward into the fire, something no living horse would ever do. His mare moved through the flame feeling nothing, its neck and chest burning away with every step. Jaxom could feel the heat on his legs but he ignored the pain of the burns, the fire mage’s mocking smile turned to a look of surprise as Jaxom closed. Casting with his free hand Jaxom sent the smoke to wrap around the mage’s arm creeping up to his shoulder. The fire flowing from him stopped abruptly, replaced by screaming as flesh fell away from his arm. Jaxom released the smoke and thrust his sword forward into his chest ending the man’s howl of pain.
As the mage took his last breath Jaxom leaned into him. “You were right about having my sword,” he whispered.
It was then that the mage’s horse bolted, throwing the corpse to the ground in a careless heap. Seeing the mage fall, the remaining men turned their horses fleeing back up the hill. Cribble and Jerup sat on their horses panting, Jerup bleeding profusely from a long bloody gash down his leg which he was holding closed with a hand. Commanding the horse to move to them the animal attempted to obey but fell forward, its front legs collapsing beneath it. Jaxom was forced to kick free or be crushed by the risen mare. From his positon on the ground he found why the animal had fallen, the muscles had been burned away completely leaving the bones of its forelegs and chest exposed. Jaxom felt a pang of loss for the horse as he cut the flow of magic reanimating it.
His four companions moved to where he was laying on the ground, the pain from the burns on his legs making it impossible to stand. Da’san knelt next him placing his hands over the burns and began chanting quietly. A blue light bloomed from his palms and grew brighter as he continued to pray. Moving his hands up and down the length of Jaxom’s legs, the pain slowly eased until it was gone completely. Breathing heavily, Da’san leaned back to catch his breath and examine his work. With the pain gone Jaxom tested his legs finding them whole once more.
