“What is her hurry?” Mallick asked.
Codger thumbed toward the newcomers. “I think she is not used to ‘not’ being the shortest.”
From the vault came a screech that was undeniably Moona. Codger was blown backward by the force of a rather large ball of snow that fell from out of nowhere. Moona loved having her magic back.
“I do not envy you being left here alone with her,” Shuran said with a grin.
Codger just smiled back. “It will help that she found some frost moss growin’ on the East walls of the tower ruins!”
Moona made omelets out of eggs gathered previously from wild snowbirds. She added onions, reconstituted peppers, mushrooms, and meat.
Mallick fried up some sliced potatoes and apples.
Codger gathered plates, cups, utensils, and wine from within the racks inside the vault.
Shuran used his new ability to instantly bring it all out onto a setup table and chairs from the vault as well.
The dwarves were all amazed at seeing the power of the Shin’Ar. They ate well and talked until Utu was well into mid-morning. When they were finished Shuran and Mallick spelled the table clean and Shuran returned everything to its proper place.
The day was wasting and Shuran could not put off leaving any further. With glossy eyed farewells, the boys set off on their quest, lead by five fur covered dwarves.
Shuran thought back to his vision that started with furry things coming out of the woods.
Chapter Twelve
The seven travelers made their way through the forested lands along the path the dwarves had used to come to the ruins. They would be taking this route to the Eastern base of the Orenthal Mountains where they would make the trek up an age-old route toward the first of the dwarf clan settlements.
They were making decent time to the base since the heavy snows have not yet started in the Southern ranges. The depth of the snow was well over the heads of the dwarfs and it was lucky that the path they had used followed a frozen riverbed where the depth was manageable. They decided that due to their late start from Shuran’s Vault, they would travel as far as the mountain base, then camp for the night before starting the climb in the morning.
“Dvargan, you say that your people have been keeping vigil over the Vault for all this time; what was the castle that now lay in ruins on the site?” Shuran asked.
“There have been two castles built upon that spot according to our histories,” Grafdrik started.
“The ruins that currently remain are from an old monastery built by the followers of light before the Lalli Mah,” Dvargan finished.
Mallick’s smile at the dwarfs back and forth way of talking together was already faltering. He was thinking the Moona was correct in her prediction.
“Shuran, no matter how I plead, do not let me jump to my death once we begin our climb.”
Shuran just looked at him with a confused stare.
The dwarfs told the stories, as they knew them, on the history of the site they refer to as Durangug, Magic Stone Fortress. The first Shin’Ar lived in his underground fortress along with his Zidu’Si. There was only basic stables and a few housing and storage buildings on the site for visitors that were not allowed into the below ground dwelling.
Once the Shin’Ar left and the Durangug was sealed, the site was abandoned and long forgotten to all but the dwarfs. Over time hunters and travelers would use the unnatural clearing for breaking camp. The site soon became a hunter’s refuge of sorts, until a King of the North from Dravenport, built a hunting lodge and summer retreat upon the spot.
Dravenport was the old capital of the lands long before the Lalli Mah, and sat on the large bay on the Great Sea, South of the Orenthal. The King was killed under mysterious circumstances in that castle and after his eldest son took the throne, he also died in a strange accident while summering in the royal vacation home.
There was no male heir so the first King’s eldest daughter took the crown as Queen and fearing a curse, insisted the castle be destroyed and the site abandoned.
Many centuries later a ruling council replaced the monarchy. Once the lands began to shake and falter, religious cults began to form and worship various ancient deities, looking for hope in a world that was collapsing.
The two largest cults were the Cult of Creation and the Cult of Chaos. The Cult of Chaos later became what it is today, the Order of Chaos. The Cult of Creation built their monastery upon the site of Durangug. During the destruction before the Lalli Mah, the monastery was destroyed by earth shakes and the cult dispersed. They regrouped during the great balance to build the Altar of Creation in Britengate.
Throughout the time the dwarfs spent watching the site, its occupants and occasional plunderers never stumbled upon, or appeared to know of, the vault’s existence.
“We always suspected that the Creationists knew of the location’s significance but they never threatened the Vault. They harbored mixed bloods and practiced old magics. Some say that it was they, who were responsible for the balance falling apart after a failed experiment, but there is no real proof.”
“That might explain why Old Codger found a ABNU EMUQ and ancient plans for his…” Mallick started and stopped not wanting to reveal the Mellamu Nanna.
“You refer to the Magurmu that the old man built?” The twin dwarfs asked.
Mallick looked at Shuran who nodded.
“We watched him build it. It is of ancient dwarven design actually but the part that allows flight was not part of the original plans. The Creationists must have found some ancient knowledge and modified the design,” one of the other dwarfs, Avrank said.
Shuran knew of the ancient books Codger found as well, so the theory was sound.
“After the Lalli Mah was performed, the Creationists moved to Britengate, we have little knowledge of their practices since. They are Followers of the Light now and only send out their priests occasionally to trade in Tarangale and they do not speak much to others.”
The group trekked on through the deep snow toward the area where they would make camp for the night before heading up into the mountains. They arrived at the mountain base shortly after nightfall.
The dwarfs pointed out a crevice in the rock face that provided some shelter from the freezing winds that began blowing from the North. The dwarves all made fast work of collecting firewood and building a stone ring to create a fire.
Shuran noticed however that they did not light the wood.
“Shuran Shin’Ar, would you call forth the fire from the wood?” the twins asked. “We have not seen elemental fire used.” Shuran though it a small request but he could see the excitement in the eyes of his new friends. Calling forth the element of fire was easy enough for him but he feared the simple act would disappoint the dwarfs.
With an over exaggerated expression, Shuran pushed his hands out toward the pile of wood in the ring of stones. He extended his fingers and began to wiggle them slowly. Suddenly, Shuran lifted his hands above him while following the movement with his head. Shuran spared a quick moment to wink at Mallick before a large ball of flame burst into existence above his hands and began licking at his fingers. With an equally ostentatious movement he sent the flame to the fire and left it to feed on the wood a few moments before settling it into a steady warming burn.
The dwarfs stood in quiet awe for several moments as Mallick moved closer to Shuran.
“Seriously Sheesh! You are worse than a charlatan at the harvest fair,” Mallick joked.
“What? They wanted a show!” Shuran protested half-heartedly.
“Whatever! We need some food and unless you are going to pop it in here wastefully-”
“I’ll get my bow,” Shuran said as he smiled. “I agree, unless we are in absolute need, we not call things from the vault.”
Shuran and Mallick headed off into the nearby woods to look for game that the dwarfs said was in plentiful supply. They left the dwarves marveling around the fire and arguing about who had the best view of S
huran while he created it. Shuran just shrugged at the scene as Mallick elbowed him along.
Shuran and Mallick wandered the surrounding woods for nearly and hour without any signs of wildlife. They were about to give up and head back to camp before Mallick noticed something.
“What do you make of these tracks Shuran?”
Shuran approached and knelt before the large grouping of tracks left in the snow. “They look like no creature I have ever heard of.”
The prints were larger than a grown man with three toes.
“I do not like the feel of things out here Shuran. We should head back and ask your fan club what they think.”
The joke was not lost on Shuran, but in light of his current concern he chose to ignore it. He reached out with the Essence to locate the fastest route back to the dwarfs rather than back tracking their path. As he felt for their life forces he stumbled upon something else, something large and dark, several somethings actually.
“Mally, we need to move now and fast. We are not alone!” And then they ran.
The two ran for the camp at full speed without stopping. Behind them they could hear the cracking of branches and crunching of snow that sounded like a heard of cattle stampeding behind them.
“Shuran! Do something, whatever they are we cannot lead them back to camp!” Mallick yelled.
Shuran stopped dead and turned to face the oncoming threat.
Mallick came to a skidding stop next to him and could already see the glow of Shuran’s shi as he worked the Essence. The ground beneath them began to shudder, growing into a deep rumble.
As the two young men could see the shadows of several enormous creatures striding out of the shadows toward them, large boulders began breaking through the ground to form a wall of jagged stone between them and the oncoming heard.
“That will only slow them down, we need to get back to camp and ready a defense. There are creatures riding those beasts.” Shuran shouted over the rumble of Earth magic being worked.
They turned as one and ran for camp.
When they arrived at camp the dwarfs were already prepared for attack.
“We felt your working, Shin’ Ar!” The dwarfs cried out. “What has caused your alarm?”
“Riders on great tusked beasts chase us. I have slowed them but they will arrive soon,” Shuran told them.
The twin dwarfs turned and held council before turning back to the others. “Forest Trolls! They ride great boars and hunt the Northern woods. They do not usually travel this far south until deep winter.”
“As I see it we have but two choices, stand and fight or climb in earnest. They will not follow into the mountains,” the smallest of the dwarfs said, speaking for only the third time since meeting at Durangug. His name is Avrank and is small even by dwarven standards. He was sent along with the group as part of an initiation into the watchers and this was the first time he had ever been away from his mountain home.
“Avrank! You know it means certain death to attempt a climb in the dark of night!” the other dwarfs scolded.
“And to face down a Forest Troll hunting party means what?” The small dwarf said back in a calm and collected tone.
Shuran thought for a moment. “Why would these trolls be chasing us?” He asked.
“They are territorial but they normally would not waste time or energy chasing us unless they saw us as a threat,” the twins said.
“They are not the most intelligent of creatures and rather lazy. It is not likely they will continue after you thwarted their charge with Essence weaving,” Avrank said.
This did not hold true however, as the sounds of crunching snow under slowly approaching steps broke the relative silence of the camp.
“So much for normal behavior!” Mallick whispered.
“This makes no sense. Trolls fear Essence more than most creatures in all of Ersetu!” Avrank said.
“Then something has them frightened even more, but what?” Mallick asked.
“Chaos,” Shuran answered flatly, “they are working for the Order to find us.”
“How can you know this?” The twins asked.
“It is the only thing that makes sense. The Order will stop at nothing to find me. These trolls may not know who we are but they are likely out looking for anyone out of place. Now that I have used Essence against them, they will be certain to follow,” Shuran finished.
“Then we must stop them. They cannot be allowed to notify the Order of our movements.” Mallick said.
Shuran just nodded and headed toward the approaching trolls, glowing brightly to eyes that could see his shi.
Mallick and the dwarfs all shuddered and blinked back from the vision of Shuran surrounded by a brilliant red glow. He was angry.
“You come human! We take you… leave others alone!” the troll in the lead said.
“Why do you give us chase troll!” Shuran demanded.
The mounted trolls began to form a semi-circle around Shuran. They were hairy half human looking creatures about shoulder height to an average man. Their eyes were huge in relation to their wrinkle and wart covered faces.
The lead troll just stared back at Shuran with his row of pointed teeth showing behind his snarled lips. “YOU COME OR BE DEAD!”
Shuran just stood there waiting and watching with his senses extended to feel the other trolls around him. They were frightened beyond measure, but not just of Shuran. “Who has called upon you to give chase to humans?” Shuran asked again.
The troll did not answer with speech. He made a motion of his hands and the surrounding trolls began to dismount their boars and close in on Shuran’s position.
“I do not wish to harm you but I will defend myself!” Shuran shouted back.
And then the first rock flew.
Shuran extended his mind to stop the stone but nothing happened and it grazed his shoulder as he finally dodged to the side. He was confused by what had just happened but had no time to think, as more stones began to arc toward his position. He rolled, ducked, and dove out of the way trying to repel the falling rocks. He attempted to construct a shield around himself but the stones fell right through unimpeded.
Shuran was lying prone on the ground after one of the projectiles hit him in the head. As he tried to gather his wits the troll leader moved to stand over him.
The troll lifted his club above his head readying to pummel Shuran when the first arrow struck the troll deep in the back. His body fell limp onto Shuran with a great grunt.
Shuran looked out from where the arrow had come and saw Mallick and the dwarfs sending volleys of arrows into the troll gang. Then darkness took him.
Shuran woke several minutes later to a splash of water to the face. Once he realized it was Mallick standing over him he took a moment to gather his senses and look out at the carnage that lay before him.
Twenty trolls lay dead around him and his friends. The bodies were a horrid scene of charred remains and lifeless pincushions.
“What has happened?” Shuran managed as he rose to his unsteady feet.
“You were knocked unconscious Shuran Shin’Ar!” Avrank said holding a stone. “They used these against you.” Avrank handed the stone to Shuran who immediately felt the void of energy and dropped it.
“What is that?” He asked feeling repulsion for the rock.
“On the surface it is just gug, but it has been tainted,” the twins said. “We do not know how but it is obvious why,” they continued. “They were sent after you, or more likely pressed into service to help search the realms for a wielder. Someone gave them the altered lodestone.”
“These things will not be reporting our whereabouts,” Mallick said.
“They will eventually be missed,” Avrank said.
“We will pile the bodies then, and destroy them.” Shuran reached down and plucked another tainted gug stone from the ground and placed it into his satchel.
The seven travelers went about piling the dead trolls in an open area some distance from their c
amp. Shuran and Mallick worked Essence, rendering them to ash by calling forth elemental fire and spelled flame. Once there was nothing left but soot and bits of bone, the dwarfs finished the job by splitting open the earth below them and swallowing up the remains.
Avrank was visibly taxed by the effort as he wavered and nearly fell where he stood. They all slowly made their way back to the campsite.
“We must make for the mountains sooner than planned,” Shuran said.
The others did not relish the thought of climbing in the darkness of night but they did not argue. The trolls would be missed and sooner or later another band of the ugly creatures would come looking for their absent comrades.
“It will be light in a few hours. We will take it slowly and carefully until we can see better,” Shuran decided.
Shuran and the others broke camp and eliminated the evidence of their presence. Shuran called forth winds from the North to erase the path left from their approach to the mountain base. The snows were coming but they were not heavy yet and would have taken days to cover their tracks unaided.
The climb started slowly and awkwardly as Shuran and Mallick stumbled on unseen obstacles along the path. The dwarfs being familiar with the mountain trails were less hindered. The going was slow but before long the sun was brightening the skies enough to see better and they were able to quicken their pace.
The added advantage of climbing the western face of the mountain meant that they would be obscured in the shadows of the mountain until midday. The climbing gave Shuran time to think on his failure to face the trolls alone. He was deeply concerned and rather humbled by the events that rendered him useless and vulnerable.
If not for the actions of Mallick and his new dwarven friends, Shuran would have been beaten to death by the trolls. How could an attack by stones have had such an effect on his growing abilities with the Essence?
After the first couple hours of travel Avrank was showing signs of complete exhaustion. When questioned he shrugged it off and refused to stop.
Chronicles of Aurderia: The Balance Page 15
