"He has been turned. He is your enemy." The dragon turned its back and spewed flame before spreading its wings and vanishing into the night sky.
The Athestow pass was the final leg of their journey. Crossing the Swion Mountains meant that they were only days away from Gritton and Amedon. At first the ground was level, but soon started to slope gently towards the mountains. Chihon walked the trail ahead of Lorit. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She needed to take a break from the normal routine and spend some time considering everything that had happened to them.
She took in the wild flowers that grew along the small brook they followed through the woods. All she really wanted was to settle down in Amedon with Lorit and to learn magic. Both were important to her, but she knew that the more magic they brought into their lives, the less likely they were to have a quiet, peaceful future together.
Was it worth it? Could she endure the constant troubles that seemed to plague every Wizard? Was her future going to be one long adventure, or could she look forward to settling down to a more normal life? She really didn't know, and she wasn't sure which she wanted more.
The brook they followed grew into a stream, and then into a small river that was too wide to ford. They reached an old rock bridge that had been built of foraged river stones fitted into one another without use of mortar. It arched up over the river, curving high, the stones covered with moss and dirt.
Chihon stopped where the path curved and headed across the bridge. She turned and called back to Lorit. "There's a bridge here. I think we should cross. I don't know how far it will be before another, and the river is getting wider. I don't think we'll have another chance to cross for a while."
"Fine," Lorit called to her from behind. He was just starting to catch up to her as she crossed the bridge. The stones were slippery. The dirt and moss was thick on them even as they arched up and over the running water. She was careful of them, holding onto the sidewall as she walked slowly across the bridge.
As she stepped onto the path beyond the river, she turned back and saw that Lorit was about half way across the bridge. Something looked out of place. Chihon thought the stones were shifting. Subtle cracks appeared in the side of the bridge, the stones took on the outline of a face, moving slightly as they did.
"Lorit. Run," she yelled.
The bridge broke apart, throwing dirt and moss everywhere as a troll broke free of the bridge. Lorit only just made it across before the entire center span rose up. The troll was thrice Lorit's height, and more than twice his width. It turned towards Lorit and roared. "Who dares cross my bridge without paying the toll?"
Its voice was loud and gravelly as it challenged Lorit and slammed a fist into the ground, cutting Lorit off from the path. Lorit raised his staff and shouted "Incendo ignio." A blazing bolt of lightning flared from it and struck the troll in the face.
The lightning bolt glanced off the troll, lighting up the sky behind him. Thunder clapped as the troll raised his hands to his face, but he quickly lowered them once again. It roared and swept Lorit aside, knocking him into the remnants of the bridge.
Chihon gasped. Lorit had not made it across before the troll attacked. She saw him fall from the bridge to land in the water, trying desperately to make it to shore before the troll could cut him off.
The troll swung at Lorit with an arm thicker around than Lorit's waist. Lorit crouched down, narrowly avoiding the fist as the troll struck the bridge where he'd stood. Rock and moss flew from the impact, showering Lorit with stone chips as he fell into the river below again.
Lorit stood in the waist deep water and raised his hand, creating a fireball. Chihon reached out to him, helping him infuse it with energy. She watched the fireball grow in intensity and ferocity, as Lorit dodged another swipe.
Finally, Lorit stepped aside and hurled the fireball. It struck the troll squarely in the face. Chihon felt her heart race, hoping that it had struck a sensitive area where it would do some damage, but the troll barely noticed.
Lorit had almost reached the river's edge when the troll cut him off once more. He scrambled out of the way, as the behemoth hammered the rocks along the river's edge sending dirt and rock chips flying.
Chihon was terrified that the troll was going to land a blow sooner or later. She looked around, frantically searching for a weapon.
She found nothing.
"The price to cross my bridge is your life," the troll bellowed. It struck at Lorit once again. Lorit was tiring, Chihon could plainly see that. She had to do something.
"Hey! Over here!" she screamed, waving her hands. If she could distract it long enough, Lorit might have a chance to escape. She waved her arms in the air and shouted at the lumbering troll. "Hey! Over here, you big oaf!"
The troll looked straight at her. It was the first time it had noticed her. She watched its eyes as its gaze locked on her. She waited until it raised its arms and charged.
She dodged it the first time, but only just; the lumbering troll was faster than she'd thought. She was almost crushed under its foot. She darted one way and immediately reversed her course, backing away from the troll. It stood there, searching for her around its legs, looking confused.
When he couldn't immediately locate Chihon, the troll latched onto Lorit once again, bellowing out its challenge. It turned to attack him as he leaned against the remnants of the bridge, panting from exhaustion. Chihon resolved herself for one more challenge.
"Lorit, get ready!" she called to him.
She waved her arms in the air and jumped up and down. "Over here!"
The troll spun back towards the sound of her voice. It seemed confused at first, but it finally figured out where she was. It came at her slowly, as if uncertain, and then picked up speed.
Chihon ran straight for the hulking monster, ducked under its flailing arms and slid between its legs. She flew between his thick rock legs and across the moss and grass, striking the bridge with her feet. She came to rest next to Lorit, panting.
"Lorit, help!" she shouted. She reached out with her magic and fastened on to a large boulder near the bridge. Combining her power with that of Lorit's magic, she lifted it and hurled it at the troll with all her might. The rock hurtled through the air and hit the troll square on its broad back. The troll stumbled under the impact, falling to one knee.
She reached out once more and found another suitable boulder. Again, she drew power from Lorit and hurtled the stone at the troll. This time the impact knocked it to the ground.
"Quick." Chihon grabbed Lorit's hand and helped him up the bank and onto the path.
The troll struggled to get up after the impact of the rock. It bellowed at them, but did not follow.
"I don't think it can leave the bridge," Chihon said. "It's spelled to be a part of the bridge and it can't follow us here."
"I thought I was dead," Lorit said, panting. "My magic didn't have any effect on it."
Chihon pulled Lorit along the path to put more distance between them and the troll. "I'm just glad you're alright. I thought he was going to smash you." She looked back to see the troll blending back into the bridge to wait for another unsuspecting traveler and wished there was something they could do about it.
"It takes pretty strong magic to defeat a troll," Lorit said. "They're made from earth and stone. Those things don't easily take on a spell. Whoever put the spell on it that bound it to the bridge must have been powerful indeed."
"Let's get as far away from that thing as we can," Chihon said as she pulled harder at Lorit's hand, leading them down the wooded path.
They climbed the pass without further event. The trail through the mountain was tight in spots, but passable. They had just started down the eastern side of the mountains when Chihon heard a rumbling from behind them. At first, it sounded like a far off thunderstorm. She looked up at the sky. It was clear, blue, and cool, yet sunny; not a cloud in the sky. She wondered why there was thunder on such a beautiful day when the sound of cracking wo
od added itself to the crescendoing noise.
"Lorit! Landslide!" was all she had time to shout before the rocks were upon them. She reached out with her magic and tried to raise a shield around them. Lorit did the same from his vantage point below her on the trail.
She felt their efforts combine to raise the shield that should hold the rocks off just as the first ones rolled overhead. It started small. Fist-sized rocks bounced and ricocheted off boulders and trees, cracking small branches off as they went. The rocks quickly gave way to boulders the size of large melons.
The trees cracked, shedding branches all around her, and Chihon ducked down instinctively, to keep away from the deadly rocks that bounded over her. She could feel the impact on her shields as the debris battered it. She was uphill from Lorit and knew that he was taking the worst of it.
A large tree next to her shattered with a resounding crack as it was struck by a boulder. The wood splinters penetrated her shields, gouging into her arm as she struggled to keep the rocks at bay.
She flinched as the wood slivers tore into her. It was enough to allow the next large boulder through her shields; it was headed straight for Lorit. She tried to cry out to him, to warn him, but it had come and gone too fast. She watched as it rolled along the ground leaving deep gouge marks where it touched down before taking to the air once more.
It passed over Lorit's head with no room to spare. His shields were weakening; she could feel that he was reaching his limit and knew that he would soon be unable to fend off any more boulders. She tried to reinforce his shield, but her own energy was waning, causing her shield to waver, too.
The boulders slowed in frequency and Chihon heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like the landslide was nearing an end, when the mud came. It was like being trapped in a rushing sea of black earth. The dirt and mud smelled heavily of rotten leaves and compost as it swirled around her, sucking her into its wake.
Chihon was disoriented. She held her breath as the mud pushed its way over her head, driving her into the blackness, burying her alive. It carried her along as it rushed over the forest shattering trees and pushing rocks and debris ahead of the crest of the earthen wave.
It felt like forever, but Chihon knew it was only moments before she came to a halt. She reached out with her magic and examined her surroundings. She was only a few hands below the surface of the dirt and debris that had carried her along. She pushed up with her arm until she was able to make an opening that let in light and clear air.
She rested there for a moment, gathering her strength and composing her thoughts. She could feel Lorit trapped in the mud near her. He was in pain, but he was alive. She reached out to comfort him, but got no response.
She struggled to get up to the surface of the dirt and debris. She was able to work herself free, but walking on the surface was nearly impossible. The dirt was loose and damp, clumping up and giving way beneath her feet, each step threatening to suck her back into that black mass of muck and dirt.
She wormed her way along the surface until she located Lorit. She found a loose branch and used it to help her dig a hole until she was close to where he lay. Then she used her hands until she felt his face. She brushed the dirt and mud away and lifted his head free of the muck.
He gasped for breath, spitting mud out of his mouth. He winced when she tried to help him sit up.
"My arm," Lorit said. "I think it's broken."
She examined it with her senses. She could feel the break of the bone. Thankfully, it had not penetrated the skin, or it would have been worse. She looked him firmly in the eye and said, "I have to straighten this out or it will cause more damage. It's going to hurt."
"I know." Lorit looked around for a small stick and placed it between his teeth with his good hand.
Chihon pulled on the broken limb, wrenching the break straight, then released it. Lorit screamed in pain. Once she was satisfied, she looked around for something to stabilize his arm. She quickly made splits from the debris she scavenged. She infused his arm with as much healing magic as she could raise, but it was insufficient to completely heal the break.
Their packs were nowhere to be found, so she had to use her own bandanna to bind the wound. She added Lorit's to it, to secure the break tightly in place. She looked around for the best path to get off the muck, fearing that any disturbance could set the landslide moving again.
"Do you think you can walk?" Chihon asked.
"My leg is hurt, too. I think it's twisted. It's not as bad as my arm, though."
Chihon helped Lorit to his knees. He could barely crawl along cradling his injured arm. It was slow going, but eventually they made their way to the edge of the mud field.
"My staff." Lorit looked around in panic. "Where's my staff?"
"Don't worry about your staff," Chihon said, tugging on his good arm to help him along. "Lorit, you're hurt and we have to get out of here. This whole area is unstable and could shift under us at any moment."
Chihon didn't let go of Lorit's hand until they'd reached solid ground, where she helped him to his feet. He'd twisted his ankle, so she took his arm and threw it over her shoulders to help him limp along. It was still a long way down the mountain, and now they had no packs, no food, and no water.
They limped along until Chihon heard the sound of running water. There was a large stream with a wide sandy bank where they could rest and get their fill to drink. Chihon searched for wood until she had gathered enough for a camp fire. She lit it with magic and roasted a few roots that the landslide had thrown to the surface.
She propped Lorit up against a tree near the stream and went to fetch him some water. She had made a small drinking cup by warping some bark into a cone and sealing it with sap. He drank thirstily between hungry bites of roasted roots. "How is your leg now?" she asked.
"It still hurts like it's on fire." He leaned back against the tree. "I don't think we can go on this way."
"Lorit, we have to get out of the mountains." She worried over his sense of defeat. He usually was the one to encourage her to carry on when things got tough. Now he was ready to give up.
"It's too far. We'll never make it."
Chihon cast around her, trying to think of a way out of the mountains. Lorit had taught her that, if she got lost, the best thing was to follow the river, but it would be too hard for Lorit to climb along its rocky banks.
She saw fallen trees along the river bank as the water had undercut them. "I have an idea," Chihon said. "We can float down the river on the logs. Do you think you have enough magic to help me drag one of them into the water? Maybe two or three? We can find something to bind them together and make a raft. Then we can ride the river a while. That will be better than trying to walk on that leg."
"I don't know." Lorit still sounded weak. Chihon knew he would never make it down the mountain without help. Without their packs, they would soon be relegated to eating only those roots and berries they could find in the woods.
"I saw some trees near here that have bark we can use to lash the logs together." Chihon explained. "We can make a raft."
Lorit was not much help, but he loaned her enough power to drag three logs over to a spot near the bank. She located some trees from which she could easily peel the bark free. She twisted and braided the bark into a thin but strong rope and lashed the logs together. By the time she was finished, the sun was setting.
"We'll leave in the morning." Chihon looked over at Lorit for confirmation, but he was already fast asleep.
Lorit lay on the raft as Chihon pushed it into the stream. She jumped on as it floated out into the water. Her added weight rocked the makeshift raft, almost pitching Lorit off it. He groaned in pain, but held on with his good arm.
The raft bobbed along as the river wound its way through the woods. Occasionally it took a wild turn and ran down a small rapid. The trees along the stream gradually changed from bristling pine trees to oaks and the forest grew thicker. The trip was almost lazy and Chihon enjoyed the relaxing vie
w when she was not tending to Lorit.
Lorit sat up more often as the day warmed up. He ate, drank and was alert and engaged. He was worried about getting to Amedon and about finding Zhimosom. His relentless pursuit on behalf of his friends was one of the things Chihon had come to appreciate about him.
The stream joined a wider river where the banks were far apart and the water moved slower than it had in the stream. Chihon tried to direct the raft towards shore so they could pull up on the bank and forage for food, but there was nothing to grab onto. She tried to find a suitable branch in the bits of flotsam that passed by so she could pole the raft. Eventually a long thin tree trunk floated close enough that she could grab it and use it to push against the bottom, guiding the raft towards the shore.
The water was muddy and dark as she worked the raft toward the banks of the river. She managed to shove it onto a sandy slope where the river curved, and dragged it out of the water enough to keep the occasional wave from lapping beneath it and floating it away.
"Lorit." Chihon tried to wake him, but he was fast asleep. "Lorit. I need to leave you for a while. I have to find us some food."
It was no use. She could not wake him. She dragged the raft further up onto the bank, wishing she could access his magic to bind the raft there, or lift it completely free of the water, but he was unresponsive. She shoved with all her might and placed a few rocks beneath the edge of the raft.
She made her way into the woods and soon found wild roots and vegetables. She collected them, carrying them in her shirt as she foraged, then rushed to get back to Lorit once she had enough for their meal. On the way, she spied a root that would help him with the pain. She pulled up a few, and thrust them into her pockets.
She rushed back to the river but when she reached it, the raft was gone. She was sure she hadn't gotten lost, but there was no sign of the raft.
It was gone, and Lorit with it!
She panicked. What happened? She had pulled it far enough up the bank to keep it safe. Had some swell come along and lifted it back into the water?
Wizard's Education (Book 2) Page 28
