The Woodland Tombs of Eliantar

by Gary Gaugler, Jr

  Chapter 3

  The crowd of Elites turned to chaos. People ran in all directions and screamed for their lives. Ara watched as the Prince and his advisor knelt down to examine the man. Glancing around quickly, he gazed up high at where the arrow could have come from. He scanned through the petrified crowd, trying to see a pinnacle high enough, that the assassin could have had a clear shot of the balcony, which wasn’t easy as the terrified people were everywhere.

  Weapons weren’t being allowed in the courtyard so how could someone have snuck something in? When he had entered, it appeared that the bridge was the only point of entry and it seemed highly unlikely someone could have snuck by four armed guards.

  All he saw, as he stayed leaning against the wall, was the giant wall itself, which wrapped around the castle, separating it from the rest of the village. It, like the castle, was painted a magnificent white and was six or seven stories high. Surely, the assassin couldn’t have been up on the top of the wall. It stood to reason that perches like that would only allow guards access and certainly one of the dozens of them would’ve spotted someone who didn’t belong a mile away, right?

  Ara’s questions were answered as the wall behind him launched him forward and to his knees. Turning back, he saw he had been against a heavy wooden door that had swung open. It must be a door that barred the staircase leading to the top of the wall, Ara thought as he could clearly see the staircase behind the man that rushed through.

  “What are you doing? You cannot launch into a frenzied mob like that. You could’ve killed someone with that door.”

  The man seemed disconcerted with Ara’s anger and spat on him before turning and running towards the village. Now Ara was furious. Without a second thought he had lifted himself to his feet and pushed hard, trying to make his way through the hundreds of people. In thirty years, he had never been subjected to such disrespect and he wasn’t about to start accepting that now. He would correct the man’s poor behavior.

  That man had definitely not been a member of the Royal Guard. He was a short man, for one thing and he looked completely emaciated even with his dark, baggy, shreds of clothing on. The man’s white hair and green tattered clothing blew behind him as he scurried away from the castle and through the village, turning down an alley and away from the masses. When Ara finally had made it through droves of people, he took off running as fast as he could to catch up to the man. It didn’t take long seeing as Ara was in phenomenal shape and this frail man looked like he’d have a better chance letting the wind pick him up and carry him than he would running. As Ara got closer he yelled to the man.

  “You there, stop!”

  The man stopped in his tracks and turned around quickly. Ara stopped as well. The man was terrifying to gaze upon. Up close Ara could see that the man’s eyes were the color of glass, making it look as though he had no eyes at all. And he wasn’t thin at all. Rather, he looked like a skeleton that had been given a thin layer of flesh to wear. His hair was white and terribly patchy. Whoever he was, he had clearly led a very rough life. He stood in place shaking all over in fear as Ara took a few steps closer.

  “Who are you? Have you no manners?” Ara yelled.

  The ghastly man didn’t respond save for a toothless smile. He took a few steps back under a shopkeeper’s veranda. Ara took several steps towards him. This man couldn’t be more than forty, he suddenly realized. Although his frame and face were that of a worn man, the way in which he moved wasn’t decrepit at all.

  “I am appalled by your behavior, but even more so by your lack of sympathy or regret. Is this what living in a city does to a person? I demand an apology for your rudeness.

  The man let out a low hiss in response and pulling his arms from within his rags, revealed he had crossbows strapped to each of his hands. He pointed them at Ara and balled his hands to fists, which released their arrows.

  Ara leapt backwards narrowly avoiding the sharp arrow that sailed right by him. Before he even had time to react, there was a gigantic bang and the veranda began to collapse around him. The second arrow must have been aimed at one of the rope supports.

  Ara curled himself up and tumbled out from the crumbling debris just as it completely crushed to the ground. He looked up to see the man running in the opposite direction, towards the exit of the village. He couldn’t think normally anymore. He was completely consumed by rage. Then it occurred to him and he wondered how he could be so stupid. This ragged-looking man who was frantically trying to get away must be the assassin. He was so filled with anger he hadn’t given the crossbows a second thought. Not that it mattered. Regardless of what he had done prior, this man had tried to kill him. It had quickly become a personal vendetta.

  Ara followed him out through the village. The drawbridge was now open due to the screaming hordes trying to escape the city. Hurrying along the shimmering perimeter to the village, Ara watched the assassin come across a wooden pen of horses. Grasping onto one of the horses manes, he easily hoisted his frail body atop and with a slight kick to the black horse’s side the assassin began to ride off through the grassy fields to the North and away from the sprawling castle village.

  Ara, still staying a safe distance behind, ran to the pen of horses and looked to see the killer off in the distance riding at an incredibly fast pace. Pulling himself onto another horse, Ara bent low towards the horse’s ear and stroked the chestnut-colored mane soothingly.

  “Follow your brother,” he whispered. And the horse immediately galloped off in the same direction as the assassin’s horse. This was no surprise as horses of Eliantar were much smarter than horses from other realms. Though not able to speak or be considered on the same intelligence level as humans, the horses of Eliantar were highly respected.

  “Don’t get too close,” Ara told his new companion. “We don’t want them to know we’re behind them.”

  Not even an hour later the sky was a burning orange and then quickly faded to a fiery red as the second sun set for the day. Ara began to worry. Though his horse clearly had great eyesight and a terrific sense of smell to keep up the trail of the other horse, he worried about if they became lost in the night.

  It turned out that Ara did not have to worry about this, for as soon as darkness found the fields of Eliantar he could see a small fire off in the distance and he pulled his handsome chestnut colored horse to a standstill. He stared hard for a moment before his heart leapt with relief in his chest.

  Realizing that he must be camping for the night, Ara smiled. The man was truly arrogant to assume no one would follow him. Then again, with their commander dead, it was likely he thought the rest of the Royal Guard were inept now, for a time.

  In fact this man had every right to be as confident as he was. No one was coming. In fact, it appeared he was the only one who had seen the assassin leave the scene of the crime. The Royal Guard, at this moment was probably interrogating every citizen that they caught up with that hadn’t already escaped the city. And now here he was having a small fire and basking in the freedom of the night that he surely didn’t deserve.

  Ara began to walk down the sloping hill towards the fire, eager to again confront the one who had tried to kill him. However, Ara didn’t get very far before he realized the error in his plan and came to a dead stop.

  He probably wasn’t working alone. It was rare indeed when an assassination attempt took place by a lone individual. And the fact that it was in such a public location could only imply that this was a well thought out plan, and not the work of one impassioned man. Ara was usually levelheaded and it annoyed him that he hadn’t come to this conclusion before. If he caught up to, not only this man, but more assassins, he could have several murderers put to justice. Though he was still furious over what had happened to him and wanted immediate justice, he knew his true duty was to be patient for now.

  Making his way back to his horse, Ara laid his head on a particularly thick patch of gr
ass. He was exhausted from the long, stressful day but didn’t dare sleep. He would wait for the man to move and continue his pursuit. He would follow the killer to the end of the planet. The gentle nudge of his horse’s nose against his arm finally eased his anger that he’d felt since he was attacked. As with so many other times in his life, he relaxed with the soft grass beneath him and the blazing stars above him.

  When Ara opened his eyes he swore it was only moments later. However, the first sun hung high in the sky and cursing loudly, Ara knew that hours and hours must’ve gone by. Running back to the top of the hill, he looked out to where the assassin’s fire had been the night before. There was no longer any trace of him.

  “How could I have fallen asleep?” he roared aloud. “He must’ve left hours ago!”

  Ara was sore from the previous day and of course the stressful night’s sleep. He staggered over to his friendly horse, which was wide-eyed and ready for what lie ahead. Ara mounted the horse once more and holding firmly to its mane, commanded it to follow the scent of its fellow stallion.

  The horse ran off as fast as lightning and Ara felt a little better knowing that they were at least back on the right track even if they were a bit behind. They rode for hours in the hot sunlight through endless fields of tall grass and colorful flowers. They occasionally came to a stream or brook and both stopped for a drink or to feverishly eat some fresh berries that grew along the water.

  At one point, Ara noticed a group of farmers working to harvest crops in the fields. He pulled the horse over in their direction.

  “Excuse me sirs,” he yelled from his steed. “Have you seen another rider come through these parts?”

  The suspicious men with their glistening, bare torsos looked from one to the other until the biggest, dirtiest looking of them stepped forward.

  “That all depends,” he said with a toothless smile. “What do you want with him?”

  Ara responded, “I have reason to believe that he attempted to assassinate the Queen’s son. He also tried to kill me when I followed him.”

  The men looked furious. The audacity that any Elite would try to kill the child of their beloved Queen was beyond words.

  “He headed north about an hour ago,” the dirty man bellowed. “He stopped to ask us if he was heading in the right direction of Fornar and we told him that he was. Don’t know why he’d want to go there anyway. It’s an invitation for death. It’s all ash and fire.”

  “Fornar?” Ara said astonished. “Thank you all so much for your help. You’ve done a wonderful thing.”

  Fornar? Why would he be heading there? Of all the realms in Eliantar, Fornar was the least hospitable and certainly the one with the least Elites living in it. It was terribly hot from what Ara had been told in his travels. Also, there was the threat of streams and lakes of lava that littered the realm.

  But then again, Ara thought, it couldn’t be a more perfect place for someone who was wanted by the law to hide. It was also a perfect place to meet with others, who had the same dark and tyrannical thoughts that this man did.

  Pushing on for miles and miles more, Ara saw no trace of the assassin but as night fell once more, he knew he couldn’t push the tired horse any longer. Under a cluster of fruit trees, the man and his horse had a light meal and rested as the stars began to sprinkle across the sky.

  The next morning, Ara woke early. It had now been two days since he had changed his clothes or had a proper washing and the affects were starting to show. Not that this was anything new to him. A life of constant movement meant not knowing when you could clean yourself or your clothing. He held a dirty hand to his face and felt the rough stubble from a lack of shaving. He crinkled his nose in revulsion.

  What was that smell? He hadn’t smelled that on himself last night before he lied down. And then he realized that the bitter smell wasn’t coming from him. It was the smell of brimstone and sulfur.

  “I’m almost there,” Ara breathed excitedly at the prospect that this chase may soon be over.

  He had raced as fast as he could and now he was finally getting close to Fornar. Jumping on his horse as quickly as he could, he raced onwards happier than he’d been in two days.

  As he dashed on Ara could not help but notice the drastically increasing temperature. As he looked around he saw less and less vegetation. There were far fewer bushes, trees, and flowers here and the grass was turning from a bright green, to a dried brown.

  It wasn’t long before the grass completely gave way to a hard black earth. Molten lava that had burst forth from Mount Pyrall, thousands of years ago, had helped form the harsh ground of this realm.

  Looking up Ara could see the great volcano in the background. Thick, gray smoke poured from its top. Although he knew the mountain hadn’t erupted since the world was born, Ara still felt uneasy in the presence of something so deadly. It was impossible not to stare at…breathtakingly deadly. When his horse suddenly came to a halt, Ara was nearly jolted right off it’s back.

  Glancing towards where the horse’s eyes were focused he saw the assassin’s steed tied to a large rock. He was here! After all this time, Ara had found his would-be killer. Dismounting quickly, he cautiously made his way to the large boulder. Pressing his back firmly against the rough surface, he began to inch around trying to catch a glimpse of where the man may have gone.

  Finally after what seemed like hours, Ara had a clear view of the other side of the stone and his eyes widened in surprise. He was on the edge of a drop off into a large molten lake. The fiery crimson and orange of the lake sharply contrasted with the black ground surrounding it. On the other side of the lake was a poorly built planked bridge, leading to a small chunk of molten rock that had dried in the middle of the lake. And there in the middle of the small island, stood the skeletal man.

  He was looking around frantically, along the entire perimeter of the lake and way off into the distance as well. Looking terribly upset, he fell to his knees and screamed up to the sky.

  “It makes no sense,” he hissed with rage. “She was supposed to meet me here. I know I didn’t misunderstand.”

  Ara inched a bit closer so he could be sure of every word that the thin man was saying.

  “I’ve been loyal to you, have I not? Show yourself!”

  A look of comprehension spread across his face, “The only reason that she would not have appeared before me is if I was followed!”

  Turning around quicker than Ara could react; the man fired one of his crossbows towards the large boulder. The arrow caught his shoulder and Ara, in his pain, fell down to the rock in the middle of the lava lake.

  Crawling to his hands and knees, he looked around the small island and saw…nothing. There was no trace of the man at all. Cringing in pain, he reached up and pulled the bloody arrow out of his shoulder. This blinding pain was forgotten as something hit his lower jaw and he was temporarily lifted into the air. He landed hard on his back.

  Feeling the blood trickle from his mouth he tried to rise once more but felt a hard kick connect with his abdomen. Yet, there was no one there to deliver the kick. Thus, before he could receive another phantom attack, he rolled in the opposite direction from where the barrage of attacks was coming from.

  He stood up and looked around. The world was swirling colors of ruby and the stench of ash. He began staggering around, trying to gain composure, not understanding where the gaunt man had gone. That was the moment he was knocked to the ground once more by the feel of a bony elbow to his forehead.

  “You couldn’t leave well enough alone!” he heard the man standing over him. When Ara opened his eyes, he saw nothing and that’s when he realized what was going on. The assassin had the power of invisibility. It all made sense! That was how he was able to gain access to a place only permitting Royal Guards and get such a clear shot at the castle balcony. And now here he was attacking Ara who had no way to know how to defend himself.

  Rollin
g to his hands and knees, Ara tried desperately to get away, crawling towards the bridge. He felt a hard foot crush down in the center of his back and he couldn’t help but just lay there against the steaming ground.

  “Why did you even care enough to follow me?” the man laughed aloud. “What was in it for you? You’re certainly not a member of the Royal Guard. So, why follow me all the way out here?”

  Ara didn’t answer even as the frail man’s body appeared once more from nothing. He sneered down at his victim and turned around laughing to himself.

  “Whatever your reasoning was, I can assure you that it wasn’t good enough to make such a foolish mistake. Even if you did have the power to stop me, I promise you this, the ones that I represent would have destroyed all in life that you hold dear.”

  At this the man turned, ready to deliver a final blow only to find that he’d stalled too long. He saw the fist coming, but it was too late and he crumbled to the ground howling in pain.

  “I may not be able to make myself invisible,” Ara spat. “But, I’m pretty quick and not going to stand here and let a cowardly murderer like you try to kill me.”

  The man cackled loudly, still clinging to his hurt face, “I’ve always found people like you to be so fascinating. You’ve gotten involved in dealings that had nothing to do with you. Your arrogance has destroyed you.”

  There was a whoosh of wind as the man fired from his deadly crossbow. The arrow blasted directly into Ara’s right leg and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up again. The pain he felt was unbearable. It was as if his leg was on fire but too dead to move. He knew he had reached the end and that this terrible man was about to kill him.

  Ara attempted to slide his body further from the terror that was rising to its feet to stand over him. His leg was in so much pain that to move any part of his body was sheer agony. He was able to move only a few inches back and then realized he was lying right at the edge of the lake of fire.

  “Nowhere left to go,” hissed the skeletal man. “And now that you’ve reached your end don’t you feel stupid for wasting your time to come after me?”

  Ara turned his head. He could see the lava flowing below him. Bursts of flame shot up from the lake coming so close to his face that he could feel the scalding heat. Above him, where he had fallen, along the edge of the lake he could make out several quilled creatures, leering down at him. Lexerros, the lizard-men of Fornar, he realized. He had never before seen one and now in his final moments, he wasn’t sorry about that.

  They all glared at the two men through their slit eyes, hissing angrily. A few had their sharp quills fanned out. Ara could tell without thinking too hard about it that the Lexerros wouldn’t be happy unless both men died on that island. Looking back up at the assassin, Ara could see that he was now also noticing the furious Lexerros.

  “Get away from here you vile creatures,” the man yelled. “You have no place here.”

  “No place here?!” one of the dark red creatures growled. “This is our home, warm blood. It is you that has no place here!”

  “As a being of subhuman intelligence, I tell you again, stand down!”

  Ara could see from the man’s glass-colored eyes that he was terrified. His snow-white forehead was drenched in sweat and he looked from Lexerro to Lexerro anxiously.

  “Subhuman intelligence?!” roared the Lexerro. “We have more knowledge of the world around us than you humans could ever imagine! We have been in this world and lived in this realm before gods ever decided to bring humans here! I’m afraid it’s you who have the lack of intelligence.”

  “I won’t ask again,” hissed the ghastly man. “Leave us, animals!”

  “I think not,” the Lexerro responded not fazed by the threats. “This is the final time you will invade our land Scurus Subo.”

  “Scurus,” choked Ara looking up at the man. So, that was his name.

  “Don’t be so surprised, Scurus, that we know your name,” the creature continued. “We’ve been observing you and that woman meeting here for some time. The woman you call, ‘Master.’”

  Scurus Subo looked terrified now. Ara didn’t need to be as close as he was to see it in the man’s face. He stood there, frozen on the spot, shaking like a leaf. His mouth hung open slightly as he continued to look from one Lexerro to another. Ara would have felt pity for the man, had he not repeatedly tried to kill him. It was as though he were searching for one of them to jump up and defend him, which of course wasn’t going to happen.

  “You call us unintelligent, feeble man,” the Lexerro continued mocking. “But, we do not take orders from each other like a common slave.”

  Scurus could take no more and raised both arms, pointing the crossbows at the reptilian creatures. The Lexerros all hissed angrily but did not back down. Scurus smiled and his glassy eyes shone triumphantly.

  “Say what you will about me,” he beamed. “But when my master hears about this, she will reward me greatly. You foul beings couldn’t even imagine what she would do to you if she found out. But, then again, she won’t have to do anything to you.”

  He took another step forward, directly over Ara’s legs, continuing to point his weapons at the Lexerro who had dared challenge him. His arms raised, Ara could see he had a dark brand on his bicep. A gloomy turret was shown outlined with black flames.

  Scurus shouted at the top of his lungs maniacally, “All of Eliantar will soon know the name of Scurus…”

  But, he never finished his sentence as Ara lifted his uninjured leg as quick as he could, and was thrilled to have been able to catch Scurus off guard.

  Scurus Subo screamed loudly with surprise as he flew face first over the edge of the black island and into the lake of lava.

  His screaming stopped the second he hit and his body quickly disappeared under the scalding molten rock. Ara turned over and stared long and hard at the spot where Scurus’s body vanished. After he had satisfied his skepticism on his enemy’s death he raised his head to look up at the edge of the lake. He scanned the perimeter from end to end. The Lexerros were gone.