Nodding, she smiled, her gaze wandering slowly over the shadows of their camp-site. Part of the forest had been ruthlessly cut away, exposing the earth, and it seemed almost ghostlike, surrounded by an odd swirling haze. She yawned. ‘Sounds like good reasoning to me, I’m tired anyway and a good night’s sleep will do me a power of good.’
Rogan and Kira lay down by the side of each other, next to the bright fire. Facing each other, they lay talking about their strange encounters and adventures, finally falling asleep in each other’s arms.
*
In the faint light of pre-dawn just before sunrise the next morning, the first to wake was Silenus. He remembered nothing of the night before, of talking to Kira, but did wonder why he had such a bad headache. He drank again from the fountain, trying to rid his mouth of the unpleasant after-taste of the wine. Then a huge hunger overcame him, so he sat and ate his usual bland breakfast of cornmeal and cheese, and when he had finished he went in search of Lydas, even though he didn’t feel too well.
*
Meanwhile, Dopiaza was just waking. His face was pinched and deathly white. ‘Oh, my head,’ he said. ‘Has Ralder the Brave kicked it? Or has mighty Tor sat on it and Rogan’s arrow pricked it? I’m in pain and will never touch another goblet of wine.’
Ofash and Baltar awoke in the same moment. Stretching, they stood and buckled their sword belts around their waists and the clattering sound seemed a hundred times louder than it actually was. ‘Oh, I don’t feel well,’ said Ofash.
‘I neither,’ said Baltar, standing to face the shimmering giant suns light, clutching his aching head in his hands.
Vinn finally opened his eyes, smiling. ‘By the man-gods, what a wonderful day. The sun's shining, the sky’s clear and by my son’s beard I’m starving,’ he confessed rubbing his rumbling belly, looking positively cheerful.
‘How can anyone think of eating at a time like this?’ asked Baltar.
‘Vinn’s appetite never ceases to amaze me. I think he’s half bear. If he’s not, he eats like one,’ said Ofash, his hard but handsome face bathed in red light.
Rogan and Kira were the last to wake, and as they sat up smiling at each other Lydas’ voice rang in the air from a ledge above them as it had the day before. ‘Now that you’re all rested,’ he greeted, ‘it’s time for the moment of truth. A purse of Golden Starpieces for each of you if anyone can answer the riddle.’ He cleared his throat noisily, stroking the intricate braids of his long white beard and began reciting slowly. ‘If not to be born is best for blue-bloods, according to the man-gods – what is next best...?’
Kira stepped forward, about to speak.
Dopiaza called out from behind. ‘To die in childbirth is the answer to the riddle. I knew the start, dreamt the end and was caught somewhere in the middle,’ he rhymed.
Bitterly disappointed, she couldn’t believe that he‘d beaten her to the answer, especially as she had gotten it directly from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
Lydas' face coloured bright red, enraged, because the man-horse had assured him that no one could possibly know the answer. ‘A curse upon you Silenus for causing me to lose some of my Golden Starpieces,’ he whispered, staring icily at the dwarf. ‘And just how did you come by this answer?’
Dopiaza smiled; a twinkle in his eyes. He fixed Lydas’ gaze. ‘In a dream cast down by Loden, it entered into my head, last night while I was sleeping, told to me by the dead,’ he recited. It seemed to be a grim admission on his part.
Cold shivers ran up Lydas’ spine as the words rolled off the dwarf’s tongue. Have the dead really answered the riddle, he wondered? If nothing else it seemed to be an ill omen. So he decided to give up the Starpieces gracefully as promised. Clapping his hands, a purse fell at the feet of each warrior as if magically summoned from thin-air. And as they picked up their own purse the landscape began to change again as if by magic, and Lydas was heard to say, ‘Each purse contains no more than one thousand Starpieces and no less than five hundred. Good luck my friends on your quest and may the man-gods favour you all. I’m sure we’ll meet again one day, but for now I bid you farewell.’
Once again he vanished in a wisp of smoke and his voice echoed, fading into solemn silence as the red clay beneath their feet became an arid wasteland. The tranquil azure lake disappeared and was replaced by rocky terrain, covered in part by rotting blue-blood remains with bleached bones scattered everywhere. The crisp blue firmament vanished and a blood red sky hovered so close that they could almost touch it. And they couldn’t believe their eyes as they stared at the hellish landscape before them.
‘What...what is this place?’ asked Kira, her lungs tight, pressing up into her throat. She blinked hard wanting the terrifying landscape to return to normal. Instead there was a dreadful bone-chilling roar. Their blue blood froze.
'It’s the land of the Cyclopia,' whispered Rogan looking around fearfully. ‘I know because I’ve been here before, although not for many years.’
‘What’s a… a Cyclopia?’ asked Baltar, his voice a quiver.
‘You don’t want to know,’ said Ofash, his eyes reflecting a dark inner fear.
There was stillness in the air, and for a moment time itself had stopped, until the Oracle’s voice burst forth again shattering the silence. ‘The man-gods see your progress as more than promising, however, the Cyclopia awaits you and it will be more than willing to rip flesh from your bones and eat you, leaving no trace that you have ever existed, should you give it the slightest chance. Use your wits, skill, courage and most of all, remain united. For although there are other Cyclopia in this land, it's Phemus who has what you seek – control of the Mage Majiker. Phemus is but one, where you are six. Use your strength of numbers wisely and you will not only leave this place with your lives, but that which you seek.’
Rogan called to the invisible entity. ‘Oh Oracle, is there any other advice that may help our situation this day?’
‘Use your instincts! And control your fear, if you can!’ The Oracle’s voice echoed and faded. Grimly, thunder rolled in the heavens and a bolt of lightning screamed across the sky, crashing into a distant mountaintop, causing a plume of smoke to drift skyward.
‘We’d better take to heel,’ said Kira. ‘I don’t think we should stay in this hellish place a moment longer than we have to. This thing called Phemus shouldn’t be too hard to find.’
‘I’m more afraid that it will find us first,’ said Rogan, his words echoing with dread. ‘We may outnumber it six to one, but I’ve seen it and know what it’s capable of. It’s a monstrous thing of immense size. And even though it only has a single eye in the middle of his forehead, it serves it well.’
The heroes headed off in the direction of the distant smoke, rising from the base of the mountain where the lightning bolt had struck, and as they marched the heavens opened up an onslaught of torrential red rain pouring down upon them, the like of which they had never experienced before. Then, chilling their bones was a terrifying scream, and the dreadful roar of an unknown creature – not too far away.
Chapter 5
For over an hour they marched, following a meandering lava river that was cutting a swath through the rocky hillside. The red rain sheeted down relentlessly and a swirling haze hung in the air making it difficult to see clearly. All were hot, wet and miserable, but kept their spirits high by talking and making fun of each other. Then, while approaching a dark wood on the mountainside, all became aware of the distinctive smell of burning blue-blood flesh. Bodies that had been torn limb from limb littered the whole area. Bleached bones were scattered everywhere too.
‘The Cyclopia’ will kill us all,’ said Vinn. His strong face showed signs of fear.
‘Blue-blood sacrifices we are,’ said Baltar, an ill sickly feeling welling up within him from the pit of his stomach.
As the warriors pushed their way through spiny foliage, spreading bushes and tall trees, they all became aware that the ground beneath their feet was trembling with a rumbl
ing noise, and realised that something gigantic was moving around at a distance not too far away. Suddenly, there was another terrifying scream and an earth shattering roar. Rogan plucked an arrow from his quiver, notching it to the bowstring betwixt his fingers. As always he superstitiously turned the cock-feather away from the bow. Kira stood as close to him as possible, guarding his rear, holding a spear at the ready in her sweaty, trembling hands. All stayed tightly bunched together, trying to keep strength in numbers as the Oracle had guided them to do.
On approaching a small clearing in the woods the overpowering smell of burning flesh became even stronger. It definitely isn’t the meat of an animal that’s roasting, Rogan thought; it is of blue-blood origin. He led the others towards the clearing. ‘Keep close to me,’ he whispered, ‘and be ready to act quickly. For our speed maybe the only thing that saves our hides this day.’
The rain had finally stopped and the red-giant sun was clearing the peaks of the western mountains, bathing the dark forest in light when something dripped down onto Kira’s shoulder from the branches above. She thought it was raindrops at first and couldn’t believe her eyes as she slowly glanced upward. There before her, hung from a thick branch were seven bodies, all skinned showing muscle and bone. Someone or something had nailed them to the tree with large copper spikes; their wrists bound together, the bodies left hanging upside down. There were puddles of blood and splashes everywhere.
She gasped for air, feeling faint. ‘The man-gods help us, we’re all going to die a horrible violent death like that,' she said. She screamed as the hideous sight filtered into her brain. Rogan gagged her quickly, putting his hand over her mouth. And he sucked in a sobering breath of cold morning air.
All six battle hardened heroes stood dumbfounded, frozen in time, unable to take their eyes off the headless corpses. The undergrowth began to rustle hugely and something growled. The ground trembled. Then trembled again even more violently than before. Two trees directly behind them were uprooted and flung aside, leaving the gigantic shape of a Cyclopia casting a dark shadow over all of them.
Rogan spun around. ‘Oh the man-gods help us,’ he said. ‘It’s got us trapped!’ Staggered by what he saw he raised his bow, pointing an arrow at the Cyclopia. It was sniffing the air, licking its lips. Urgently he aimed at the creature's eye and loosed the arrow. It flew straight and true. And was just about to hit its mark when the creature leaned forward to pluck a tree from the ground. The deadly arrow fell to earth, missing the monster. Angrily it roared louder.
‘Run for your lives,’ Rogan shouted.
The tree stump came hurtling down, missing him by inches as he dived out of harm’s way. It thundered into the ground by the side of him. ‘Move! Now! Spread out and confuse the giant!’ he shouted, leaping out of its path.
The other warriors scattered in different directions, trying to escape the unrelenting rage of the Cyclopia. Small bloody sores flecked its skin, it had a horn on its forehead and a single eye glared with the terrible light of madness.
Rogan’s idea to spread out had the desired effect of confusing the Cyclopia, and it didn’t know where to look first. It stabbed at Kira with the stump. She glanced about swiftly. Then she dived for cover behind a nearby boulder. However, the hideous giant was so close that she could feel its hot breath burning the back of her neck. It spun around stabbing at Vinn. He dived out of harm’s way too, breathing heavily, gasping for air.
Terror in her eyes, Kira ran in and out of the trees, jabbing her spear into the hindquarters of the giant. Even more enraged it dropped the tree stump and turned, confronting her. Snatching the spear from her hand it snapped it effortlessly, roaring angrily, staring at her with murder in its heart.
Surprised by the giants quick movements she lurched backwards and tripped over a tree root, hitting the ground hard, punching the air from her lungs. She cowered beneath the giant, shielding her face with her arm and closed her eyes, trembling. Her lungs were tight, burning and a sob caught in her throat. Expecting to die, she began praying quietly. Her hands were steepled in front of her in the attitude of prayer.
Snarling and growling the giant made a grab for her. It was then that Baltar, yelling and screaming leapt from behind a tree, waving his hands in the air. ‘Get away from her you ugly brute,’ he shouted, grappling with a boulder ten men would struggle to lift. He plucked it from the ground effortlessly; raising it high above his head as if it weighed no more than an egg, then threw it at the Cyclopia’s cloven-hoofed foot. Its screams burst throughout the clearing, echoing around the trees.
Ofash and Dopiaza ran out from the rocks they had taken refuge behind. They too were cursing the beast and began stabbing it with their swords. But they couldn’t kill it. It was just too big. However, they served as a decoy while Vinn dashed over to Kira. Plucking her from the ground he carried her to safety.
In a heartbeat, Rogan notched another arrow to his bowstring, taking aim at the giant’s forehead. ‘Loden, guide me,’ he said as he loosed the arrow and it took flight. This time it hit its mark, the carbon steel point punching deep into the eye of the Cyclopia. It screamed in agony. Rogan notched another arrow to the bowstring and with great speed took aim and fired again. The second arrow hit its mark also. It punched deeper than the first, into the throat of the giant.
There was another shriek of pain and of anguish too. Rogan's heart was beating like a hammer in his chest. He plucked a third arrow from his quiver and fired. It flew into the mouth of the giant as it cried out in pain, the steel tip punching through its brain, killing it instantly. It toppled to earth with a mighty thud, shaking the ground all around, creating a flurry of dust and leaves. Rogan breathed a sigh of relief as the other warriors gathered around him, patting him on the back.
Kira was still trembling. ‘That was close. I can't thank you enough. I'm indebted to you all and will repay in kind when the time comes,’ she said, cupping Rogan's face in her hands, kissing him tenderly on the lips. She turned to Dopiaza, leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. His face coloured bright red and he smiled shyly, avoiding her gaze.
Now that their lives were no longer in any danger, all became aware of the putrid stench of roasting flesh again and wondered where it was coming from. They followed the awful smell past the tree where the seven bodies were hanging and came to a fire pit. It had a crudely built roaster above it. Tied to it were the badly charred remains of a blue-blood's corpse. The head and arms were missing. Probably torn off and eaten while the giant prepared his meal, Rogan thought.
‘That’s a grizzly sight,’ said Kira, unable to believe what her eyes were seeing. She covered her mouth with her hand but couldn’t stop herself bringing up her last meal.
Rogan looked traumatised. ‘I bet that poor soul was still alive when the Cyclopia started eating him. That’s not the way I favour meeting my end, this day or any other.’
‘Nor I,’ said Kira, ‘and there are more Cyclopia somewhere on this man-gods forsaken land.’
‘Search the whole area,’ ordered Rogan. ‘We must find a clue to Phemus’ identity.'
The warriors marched off in different directions, nervously switching their gaze from side to side as another terrifying scream filled the air. ‘Come with me Kira,’ said Rogan. ‘We’ll stay together.’
She nodded and they headed off in the direction of a cave, which had been clawed out of the mountainside by something of awesome power. Rogan wiped the sweat from his face and swallowed hard as they marched. The cave was a forbidding sight. On reaching it they entered, knowing that what lay in wait inside might be much worse than what lay in wait outside, and Kira’s first thought was of how brightly lit it was. Torches were hung everywhere in iron brackets, creating flaming shadows on the cold grey walls and ceiling. Maybe the Cyclopia fear the dark, she thought.
Cautiously, they made their way down the passageway towards a large chamber at a distance of about two hundred feet away. The most eerie haunting sounds echoed down towards them, grumblin
g and rumbling like a thunderstorm coming from a long way off. Taking an arrow from his quiver, Rogan notched it to the bowstring, superstitiously turning the cock feather as always. ‘Might as well be prepared for trouble,’ he whispered, winking at Kira as they inched their way down the tunnel.
Slowly, they crept forward on tiptoes until they reached the chamber. Not knowing what to expect he put his head around the corner and peered inside. Suddenly a hand grasped his shoulder. Horrified, he gasped and leapt backwards knocking Kira from her feet, losing his own footing in the process. He fell on top of her. A bloodied arm fell down by their side.
‘Oh my…’ she gasped, scrambling to her feet.
He rolled to his knees, hauling himself upright and the cave seemed to whisper, ‘you’re going to die… you’re going to die… you’re going to die…’ There was whispered laughter too. They both trembled and blinked. Now there was the faint rumble of distant thunder from outside and a sullen feel to the air. Rogan waited breathlessly. Then throwing caution to the wind he crept out into the open chamber. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. There before him, standing cold and silent was a veritable mountain of trinkets, looking like a giant haystack made of Golden Starpieces, Silverleaf and Firestars that would be hard for anyone to imagine, even in their wildest dreams.
Everyone seemed to know the magpie reputation of the Cyclopia for its love of treasure, but this was unbelievable. This was a collection of rare artefacts that must have spanned the centuries, all made from the most precious metals and encrusted in Firestars.
Entering the chamber a flare lit within his skull, dizzying him, blurring reason and greed overpoweringly reared its ugly head. The thought of becoming the wealthiest blue-blood male on their world intoxicated him. But Kira could only see the sorrow the treasure had brought to its previous owners – particularly the one suspended above the fire pit.
The Blackhawks Impossible Quest Page 5
