by Sam Ferguson
“Can you point us to the Immortal Mystic?” Tatev asked.
“I can point you east. From there, you will have to make your own way. As I said before, I know not where the Immortal Mystic resides.”
Erik nodded and looked to the mountains. “Well then, show us the way out.”
Halberon resumed his dragon form and let out a mighty roar that shook the plateau as he launched into the sky.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dimwater trembled and moaned low as Marlin weaved his hands over her. Lepkin sat on the edge of a chair near the table, looking on and tapping his heel nervously. He couldn’t see the power flowing from Marlin to Dimwater. All he could see were the beads of sweat that coupled together to form rivulets of water that stained the sheets. He had no way of knowing whether she was getting better.
No one else was with them. The field surgeons had nothing to help her with. Lady Arkyn had made her herbal remedies, but Dimwater couldn’t hold the tea down, and her skin reacted badly to the poultices.
Marlin, however, never left the room except for the call of nature. He only ate when others brought food in, and he had forgone bathing altogether. Lepkin loved him for his dedication. He also hated that he could do nothing but watch. How was it that he could protect a monastery from three hundred Tarthun raiders, but he couldn’t help his wife prevail against an unseen disease?
“You shouldn’t give in to those kind of thoughts,” Marlin said with a casual glance back toward Lepkin.
“You can read minds now, Prelate?” Lepkin asked wearily.
Marlin shook his head. “I can see the doubt and guilt swirling in your energy. I don’t need to read your thoughts.”
Lepkin rubbed his thighs and rose to his feet. “Can I get you water, or food perhaps?”
Marlin stepped away from Dimwater and waved off the offer. “I need only a bit of rest.”
“When should the others arrive?” Lepkin asked.
Marlin shrugged. “We sent messengers shortly after the scouting party helped me find the herbs I needed. We have had no reply.”
Lepkin sighed. “Fort Drake uses messenger hawks, we should have heard from them by now.”
Marlin nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Haven’t heard anything from Fort Drake any of the times we have sent messengers. I doubt King Mathias would leave us without an answer.”
“Either orcs have crossed over and intercepted them, or we have a traitor in our midst.” Lepkin folded his arms. “I will go north then,” he said. “I will find the others who can help with your healing efforts, and bring reinforcements for the walls.”
Marlin shook his head. “The men will falter without you at their side,” he noted. “Perhaps we could send Lady Arkyn instead.
The door opened and in came Al. “I will go,” the dwarf said. “A cavedog can outrun a horse in long distances. It needs less water too.”
Lepkin spun around. “Eavesdropping is not the most kingly activity,” Lepkin said.
Al shrugged and looked to the bed. “I can leave my warriors here.”
Gorin, Peren, and Lady Arkyn entered the room then and fanned out behind Al.
“Send us,” Lady Arkyn said as she indicated with her thumb to Gorin and herself. “The king should stay, it is good for morale.”
“I will stay behind to help you as best I can,” Peren told Marlin. “I know my healing isn’t great by comparison, but I am happy to do what I can.”
Al huffed. “Master Gorin just wants to escape the fighting,” he spat sarcastically.
“I was not the first to volunteer to leave Ten Forts, oh mighty king,” Gorin shot back.
“Not sure why you like this blowhard,” Al commented to Lepkin.
Lepkin smiled. It was small and fleeting, but it was still a smile. The first he had shown in many days. “He grows on you,” Lepkin told Al.
Al nodded and turned around to size up the giant barbarian. “I should imagine he never stops growing,” he said derisively.
Lady Dimwater moaned out and turned over to her side then. The room fell silent and they all looked to her. Lepkin thought hard and then turned back to the others in the room.
“Master Gorin, the road north holds traps. I fear there are either orcs or traitors hunting our messengers.”
Gorin nodded solemnly. “We came to the same conclusion. Fort Drake would have sent a response long ago if this was not the case.”
“That is why I will go along,” Lady Arkyn said. “Gorin will go with the messengers, and I will trail them. I will be far enough away so as not to draw attention to myself, but close enough to plunge an arrow into the heart of any that tries to stop us this time.”
“I could go alone,” Al put in.
Lepkin shook his head. “Stay with me,” he pleaded. “I could use a friend at my back on the field.”
Al almost said something. He looked up to Lepkin’s eyes and then closed his mouth instead. He offered a short nod, then he bowed down. “I am, and always will be, at your service, my friend.” Lepkin stretched out a hand and Al raised himself up and took the proffered arm. They held each other at the wrist and exchanged silent gazes. No words were necessary between them.
“We will go down to the courtyard,” Lady Arkyn said. “Mercer is gathering two more runners to send north.” Gorin and Arkyn left the room. Peren moved in and stood beside Dimwater. He looked back to Marlin and then placed a hand out on Dimwater’s head. Al and Lepkin watched for a bit, and then the dwarf slapped Lepkin’s back and moved to exit.
Marlin let his eyes fall closed and he slept against the wall next to Dimwater’s bed.
Lepkin returned to sitting in the chair, watching Peren try to cast the few healing spells he knew.
Before long, a soldier stormed into the room. Lepkin didn’t actually hear the words he shouted, but he knew the message well enough. There was an attack, and he was needed on the field. Lepkin rose and the soldier helped him fasten his dragon-slayer armor. As he positioned the slender Telarian steel spears into the rings on the suit, Marlin came over and placed a hand on Lepkin’s forehead.
“What are you doing?” Lepkin asked.
“You haven’t slept,” Marlin said.
A wave of heat slammed into Lepkin’s head and in an instant his nostrils flared and his lungs took in a deep, rejuvenating breath. His muscles tightened and his back straightened. Marlin pulled away, but Lepkin could still feel the imprint on his forehead. He offered a thankful nod to Marlin, and then turned to rush out the door.
“Let’s go, beanpole,” Al shouted from somewhere down the hall.
Marlin closed the door and then turned back to Peren and Dimwater. “I might need another short nap before I can continue,” Marlin said.
Peren only half nodded, but Marlin wasn’t really asking for permission to sleep so much as announcing his intent. He slumped into the nearest chair and leaned over onto the table. He was snoring within seconds.
*****
Gorin’s chest burned. The two runners were maybe only twenty feet in front of him, but he knew they were slowing their pace for him. His big, thick legs tromped and stomped through the forest, easily scaring any animals nearby. The runners, on the other hand, leapt gracefully over rocks and old, mossy logs and barely made a sound in their thin-soled leather boots. Although he couldn’t see her, he knew that Arkyn was likely laughing to herself watching the spectacle from afar.
The mountain of a man kept his wits about him though. His eyes scanned the forest around them and occasionally he would turn to watch over his back. He never saw any sign of anything. If there were orcs in these woods, they were sneakier than a pair of gort-mice. The trio didn’t stop running until sundown.
They broke out their satchels and ate their bread. Gorin looked at the small loaf, not even enough to fill his hand, and wondered how someone could survive on such meager sustenance. He pulled his flask from his belt and took a shallow drink to wash the dry bread down his throat.
“You should slow down
,” one of the runners said. “That bread is supposed to last the entire trip to Fort Drake.”
Gorin looked down at the tiny remaining crumbs in his hand. “No stopping off to buy real food in any of the cities along the way?” he asked.
The runner shook his head. “Stopping costs time. We are faster if we run straight through. We can make it by nightfall tomorrow if we could push the pace a bit.”
Gorin grunted, taking the obvious implication about him slowing the group as an insult. He made a show of pinching the last crumb between his finger and thumb and then dropping it into his mouth. “Mmmm, such wonderful bread has never been had except by the gods,” he said sarcastically. Then he pushed up to his feet. “Come on then, let’s get back to running if you want to make better time.”
The runners turned their backs on him and tore off small bits from their own bread.
The large man thought about walloping both of the skinny, arrow-necked runners but decided against it. He moved off into the forest to find a decent bush behind which he could relieve himself. His thick feet snapped the twigs and small branches dropped by the large, ancient trees above. Soon he found a nice bush to afford himself some privacy. He stepped closer to it and a pair of flies buzzed up from the ground.
Gorin frowned and bent down to inspect where the flies had been. He lifted a rather large leaf to find a bone with bits of flesh still clinging to it. He pulled his warhammer from its harness and gently pressed it through the bush to move the foliage aside. The bush nearly toppled out as moving it to the side pulled the root ball free from freshly dug dirt. From there he saw the claw marks in the soil and saw that the bone was part of an arm that stuck out from the soft dirt.
Never one to be shy about battle, or its effects, he reached down and took hold of the arm bone and yanked up the body of a Ten Forts soldier. The scavengers had taken most of the flesh from the arm and shoulder area, but there was more than enough body and uniform left to identify him.
He dropped the corpse and ran back toward the other two runners.
Something caught his eye to the right. He wheeled around, bringing his hammer out wide in front of him. He caught a man in the ribs. The force of the blow took the man from his feet and knocked a bloody knife from his hands. Gorin recognized him as one of the runners who had been sent a few days before. He didn’t know the man’s name, but he clearly recognized his face.
“You are already dead,” the man wheezed.
Something tore through Gorin’s leg. Only then did he see a mini crossbow in the traitor’s left hand. The runner laughed and then succumbed to his wounds.
“Up men, we are under attack!” Gorin shouted.
The two runners stood up in the distance.
“Go, get on out of here!” Gorin urged them.
A dozen or so men appeared out from the bushes around them. A flurry of crossbow bolts tore through the air. One man was dangerously close to Gorin, but a large arrow sank into the enemy’s chest and dropped him to the ground.
“About time, Arkyn,” Gorin grumbled. He ran into the fray, jumping behind and around trees to avoid the bolts zinging by. He heard a gargled scream and peeked around a large oak to see one of the runners falling to the ground. The other sprinted to the north and managed to kill one of the attackers with his knife, but then a pair of crossbow bolts caught him in the back and he too fell to the ground.
Gorin closed in on another ambusher and brought his hammer down into the man’s skull. He then picked up the loaded crossbow and fired it at another. Another bolt struck Gorin, this one in the left arm at the base of the shoulder, but he didn’t slow. He charged the next nearest foe and knocked him into a tree. The man went up into the air, bounced off the tree, and caught the full weight of Gorin’s warhammer. The crumpled body flew out to the right.
An arrow dropped the next ambusher. A second arrow slew another, and a third arrow took a man in the back. Gorin leapt through the bushes and took two men with one swing. Their bones crunched and cracked under the force of the blow and then Arkyn’s arrows ended the fight taking down the last two men.
A moment later Lady Arkyn was next to Gorin. An arrow was strung and her eyes darted all about. Gorin dropped the head of his mighty hammer to the dirt and leaned upon it as he caught his breath.
“It burns,” he said as he motioned to his shoulder.
Arkyn pulled the bolt out and sniffed it. “They used tribenary slime,” she said. “It is treatable, I just have to find the right herbs.”
“How long do I have?” Gorin asked.
Arkyn shot him a wink. “You’re a big fella, I expect you will make it alright. Just try to remain calm.”
Gorin smirked. “Ha, I am always calm.” He winked. Suddenly his smirk twitched and his neck stiffened.
Lady Arkyn’s mouth fell open. The mountain of a man dropped to his knees and then collapsed to the side, revealing a short, stout man behind him. The man held a crossbow, but it was different from the others. Instead of one limb on either side, there were two. One set just a couple inches below the first, and it still held the shiny, x-headed bolt.
The short man sneered and squeezed with his finger. The crossbow clicked and then the limbs sprang into place. Arkyn tried to spin away, but the bolt caught her in the abdomen. The force of the strike doubled her over and she fell upon her bow, snapping the lower limb and throwing the arrow out haphazardly. Then came the sting from the poison.
“You did better than most, I’ll give you that,” the shout man jeered.
Lady Arkyn looked up to see him reloading his crossbow. She knew she had to act. She summoned all of her strength, pushing through the pain and jumping up to her feet. The short man’s eyes went wide and he hurried to cock the bolt into place. Lady Arkyn pulled the bolt from her body with her right hand, holding it like a dagger as she came down upon the man. Her left hand pushed the crossbow out to the side.
The short man fired and the two fell to the ground.
It took several moments, but Lady Arkyn eventually realized that the pain in her chest was from the crossbow limbs digging into her chest. The shot had gone wide. She then removed her hand to see the bolt she had wielded stuck deep into the short man’s left temple.
She pushed away from him and then moved to Gorin. She put her hand in front of the warrior’s face to feel for his breath, but there was none. She dropped her head and offered a short prayer of peace over her comrade. Then she rose up and looked to the south. It would be faster to return to Ten Forts, but then no reinforcements would come. Still, if she went north she would likely not be able to find the herbs to counteract the poison in time. She reached down and grabbed Gorin’s warhammer. She knew she would need something sturdy to lean upon once her legs grew weak from the poison. Besides that, she thought Peren might appreciate having the warhammer to remember Gorin by.
Arkyn walked with labored steps and found one of the runners. She pulled the message from the body and hooked the container to her own belt. She knew she had no choice but to go back. She could only hope that she would find the remedy she required along the way before the poison worked through her body.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Erik and Tatev finished their breakfast while overlooking the plains out to the east. A vast sea of green and yellow grasses rolled with the wind. A massive herd of hundreds of dark-furred aurochs roamed lazily through the plains.
“Would be nice to have one of them for dinner,” Erik said. “I am tired of fruit.”
“How would you bring one of them down?” Tatev asked. “The mere fact that we can see them from so far away means that they are fairly large creatures. Not to mention, I once read that eastern aurochs actually form protective circles around their young when the herd is threatened. Also, unlike many other herding animals, it isn’t uncommon for there to be several bulls among a herd of eastern aurochs. No, there will be no auroch for us tonight. I would rather find myself in a Tarthun camp than in the middle of a field with angry aurochs running me dow
n.” Tatev shuddered and then pointed off to the north. “Let’s stay along the hills and smaller mountains until we are north of the herd. The wind is blowing south, so once we get upwind of them, we should be fine.”
The two of them walked along the top of the hill they were on, which stretched for several hundred yards to the north before gently rolling down near a brook. They followed the water as it wound between a few hills and led them northward. Along the way they gathered berries. Then they came to a deep eddy in the brook and Erik stopped them so he could fashion a pole from a young branch that he cut from a nearby tree.
“What will you use for a hook?” Tatev asked.
“I don’t suppose you would lend me your glasses?” Erik teased.
“The Eyes of Dowr?” Tatev stiffened and the veins in his neck popped out. “You can’t be serious. Don’t you understand that these—”
Erik busted out laughing and went to work sharpening the end of the pole. “I wasn’t planning on using a hook,” he explained.
Tatev exhaled slowly. His hand went up to push the glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “Well, it’s a good thing, because Champion of Truth or not, I would have been forced to teach you a lesson.”
Erik removed his sword belt and all but his trousers. He then slowly slipped into the brook and made his way toward the eddy. He took in a breath and submerged himself in the brisk waters. He struggled to open his eyes beneath the surface for the temperature nearly forced his reflexes to close his eyes tightly. Still, with a little effort he was able to keep them open and look around. The water was beautifully clear, and easy to see into. Just as he had suspected, there were several fish swimming around. Most of them were far too small to provide any sort of meal, but there were a handful of fish that would work, if he could sneak up to them with his spear.
