Aram had witnessed the long, wickedly sharp claws that extended from a lasher’s fingers, so the observation did not surprise him. “And do they follow the fourth creature – the one they wounded?”
“No. Though I believe it to be mortally wounded, it nevertheless ran away quickly. In fact, it moves toward you. But the beasts seem content with three. They drag the bodies toward the mountain.”
“And the wounded shrinn – it comes toward us?”
“Yes, my lord, it runs to the south down the very river bed where you go north, but it moves erratically. I believe it is near death.”
Aram turned and looked back at Edwar. “You said that these creatures can be used for food?”
“Yes, they can…” the captain answered hesitantly; then, he grimaced. “Do our supplies run low?”
Aram laughed. “No, but the wolves have difficulty finding sustenance in this land.”
At that, Edwar brightened. “They may find its meat acceptable.”
They came upon the carcass of the dead shrinn before sunset. Kipwing assured Aram that the lashers had returned to their camp by the mountain with the others and showed no inclination to continue the hunt. Nonetheless, while the wolves ate their fill, Aram turned left out of the stream bed, going westward into the desert until he found a parallel valley where they could make camp with sheltering hills between them and the body of the shrinn – just in case.
After pitching camp, when the sun began to slide below the horizon, and Kipwing had gone south, he gathered dead stumps of the thorny trees and bushes and started a fire. The wolves had finished their meal, so Aram sent Leorg and Shingka out into the twilight to the north and east, keeping Durlrang close.
“Stay together,” he warned the pair of gray wolves.
He allowed the horses to go east to drink, and to graze on the sparse grass along the stream, for there was none in the vicinity of the camp, but he made them promise to return and spend the darkness of the night with him and the others.
The night passed quietly and Aram was up before dawn, while the others yet slept. He stood quietly in the gloom, gazing toward the northeast. It was yet too dark to resolve the bulk of the mountain. Feeling a wide nose brush his arm, he turned to find Thaniel standing near him.
“Are you troubled, Lord Aram?” the horse asked quietly.
Aram thought a moment. He hadn’t slept well, but –
“I am uneasy,” he finally admitted.
“What makes you uneasy, my lord? I assure you – we can easily handle six lashers, however adept they have grown at hunting.”
“There is the fellring wagon.”
“We will avoid it. We have experience on this matter. We will draw the lashers away from the wagon and destroy them at a safe distance.”
Aram frowned into the predawn darkness. “It will not be that easy, I’m afraid. I assure you; they exist to guard that piece of their master and they will not abandon it lightly.”
In the east, the ragged horizon began slowly to resolve itself against a soft pink glow. Aram drew in a deep breath of cool air and let it out slowly.
“There is one thing more.”
Thaniel shifted his massive bulk. Aram looked over at him, a huge, dark shadow against the gloom. Though he couldn’t see the horse’s eyes, he knew that Thaniel watched him.
“The Lady Ka’en?” The horse ventured.
“Yes.” Aram sighed; and it was nearly a groan. “I have brought my wife within the very reach of evil.”
Thaniel moved again; his hooves rang against rock. Aram thought that he swung his head away and gazed into the darkness. “This is a thing that does not fall within the context of our friendship, Aram,” Thaniel said after a moment, “but I had thought on it nonetheless. Would it not have been better if she had stayed in the city where we talked with the unusual young man? She would have been safe there until your return.”
Aram shook his head. “She is a proud, headstrong woman – I could not dissuade her. Believe me, I tried.”
Thaniel was quiet another moment. “Forgive me, my lord, but this is a thing beyond my understanding. Men and horses and wolves move or stay at your word – and a woman will not obey?”
“Marriage is not battle, Thaniel. A man does not order his wife.”
“I suppose not, my lord.”
Aram watched the teeth of the horizon appear against the strengthening glow and spread north and south as the sun felt its way toward the edge of the world. He reached over and placed his hand on Thaniel’s broad shoulder. “Ah, well,” he said, deliberately dropping the subject, “I wonder what this day will bring?”
Thaniel didn’t answer and together they waited out the dawn.
When the sun found the sky and the camp had awakened, Aram dressed into the armor from the mountain, except for the hood, and then put his traveling clothes on over everything, hiding the gleaming metal. The others noticed, but even Ka’en did not ask. Everyone, it seemed, knew that the day ahead would bring contact of some kind with the enemy. Kipwing sent word that he was in the sky, and they broke camp and made their way back to the east and to the river bed.
The eagle reported that the lashers had once again split their numbers. While four remained with the wagon at the mouth of the cavern, two others had gone west toward the river that flowed around the edge of the mountain.
“Do they hunt again?”
“I think not,” Kipwing answered. “They carry vessels in their hands. I believe they go to the river for water.”
“Do they carry weapons?”
“I cannot answer this with confidence, my lord, but I see none.”
“At what distance from their camp does the river lie?”
“More than a mile – less than two.”
Aram felt a sudden urgency rise in him. “When will these two that are separated from the others arrive at the stream?”
“They have covered half the distance already.”
Aram turned toward the big gray horse, Huram, who bore Ka’en. “You will remain here with Lady Ka’en,” he instructed. “Ruben and Varen will stay as well, with Ashal, Yvan, and Jerba.” He looked down at Durlrang. “You will stay, too.”
“Where are you going, Aram?’ Ka’en asked.
He gave her a quick glance, shaking his head. “There is no time for discussion,” he answered shortly, and he looked at Ruben. “Unpack Yvan and Jerba. If things go badly, leave. Go south to the road as quickly as you can and then west toward Lamont. Fly like the wind.”
Ka’en’s eyes widened. “Aram –”
He shook his head again and glanced down at Durlrang. “Protect her.”
Then he looked around. “The rest of you come with me.”
He led them rapidly up the stream bed toward the mountain that rose slightly to the east of their position until he came to a low, rocky mound on the right side of the stream, where a broken ridge extended into the level area. Here he stopped and dismounted, signaling the others to do so as well.
He walked to the top of the rocky mound and examined it quickly, finding it satisfactory to his purpose. Standing in the middle, at the edge of the mound’s northern slope, he motioned for Mallet to join him.
“Mallet, you will take the center, flanked by Edwar and Wamlak.” He glanced at the slim, dark-headed archer. “You will want to loose some arrows from your quiver. If they come, you can receive their assault here. If perchance all six come, and get past me and you find yourselves hopelessly outnumbered, mount the horses and flee.”
He looked toward the north, studying the rough ground over which the enemy would have to come in order to assault the position, and nodded. Then he gained Findaen’s attention and pointed out toward the stream. “Fin, you and Andaran will watch for my return. If I am chased, and give you the signal that things have gone badly, you will go to your sister and leave this land with the others.”
Findaen’s eyes narrowed. “And where are you going, my lord?”
Aram returned a sharp look.
“To kill the lashers that have gone for water.”
“Alone?”
“There are only two.”
Edwar stared at him aghast. “Have you seen these beasts? – for I have. Only two? One can slay us all.”
“And I can kill two of them easily enough.” Aram answered shortly. He looked around. “Does everyone understand what is required? Use your time wisely, prepare a defense – and stay alert.”
Findaen approached as he climbed into the saddle on Thaniel’s back. “My lord –”
Aram lifted a hand and presented his frowning brother-in-law with a quick, short smile. “Not now, Fin.”
He spoke to Thaniel and the horse surged northward along the near side of the stream. Aram pulled the hood over his head and then bent his thoughts skyward to Kipwing. “Warn me when I am coming close. Have the lashers arrived at the water?”
“No,” the eagle answered, “but they near it. There is a sharp bend in the river just to the south of their position, where it swings from the west toward the east below the mountain. There is high ground between them and this bend. You will be able to come very close before you are exposed.”
Aram looked to his front. “I see it,” he answered.
Just ahead of him, the river bed with its small, meandering stream made a wide, slow curve to the west, as it swung away to bend around the mountain. To the north, there was a high rocky ridge, spotted with prickly trees. In the moment it took for him to survey this ground, as Thaniel drove along the curve of the river, he was glad that all those years earlier, the lashers had chosen the easiest route to water rather than the most direct.
“You will see them momentarily,” Kipwing called down into his mind, “and they will see you.”
Aram placed his gauntleted hand on the hilt of the sword, and glanced down at Thaniel. “Once again, it’s just you and me,” he said. “Keep them to my right as you pass and then make a second pass as needed. I wish we had brought your armor,” he admitted.
Thaniel grunted as his great hooves tore at the sand and earth bordering the stream, and repeated Aram’s words back to him. “There are only two.”
They rounded the curve, passing close to edge of the rocks. The river stretched away before them, long and broad before curving once again toward the west a half-mile or so north. The lashers were together at the water’s edge, filling large earthen vessels.
“How will I keep them to your right?” Thaniel asked. “There is no room between them and the stream, and if I enter the stream, the sand and mud beneath the water will slow me.”
“Go to the right, then,” Aram answered. “If Jonwood can learn to use his left, then I can learn to use mine.”
“But your left arm is weaker.”
“Yes, but the sun is in the sky,” Aram answered, and he placed his left hand on the hilt. “Though not overhead, it is in the sky. The sword will weigh very little.”
The lashers resolved this issue as soon as they turned toward the sound of Thaniel’ pounding hooves.
Dropping their vessels, they drew short swords from their belts and charged. As they came on, each opened his mouth and roared – with fury and with warning. The sound crashed and echoed among the rocks. If the others were allowed to leave the vicinity of the wagon, they would even now be sprinting toward the scene of battle. Aram thought about the contents of that wagon and how much easier things would be if it was left unprotected.
Let them come, he thought.
There was room now. The lashers had opened a gap between the water and themselves as they charged toward Aram and Thaniel. Aram switched hands once again, and drew the sword – there was no further reason for an attempt at stealth. The lashers at the camp could not fail to hear the roars of warning that emanated from the slavering maws of those that bore down on him. The sunlight found the blade, fire flashed, and its song arose, keening through the morning.
Thaniel drove straight at the pair of lashers, who had no idea of their peril, having never encountered Aram before. And in this remote corner of the world, no doubt they had never heard of the man with the shining sword.
At the last moment, Thaniel drove to the left, barely avoiding the lasher’s thrusts. Aram swung the blade.
It passed through the body of the nearest lasher; and as it severed him, flame erupted, sizzling into and searing the flesh of the lasher beyond. That beast went down, its howl of fury changed to a shriek of pain. Thaniel spun quickly, Aram employed the sword again, and it was finished. As the horse came to a halt, snorting great blasts of air from his nostrils, Aram looked to the east, up the narrow valley that led along the southern slope of the mountain toward the lashers’ camp.
“Do they come?” He called up to Kipwing.
Astonished by that which he’d just witnessed, the eagle ignored Aram’s question. “I never thought to live and witness such a deed,” he said, and his deep voice was filled with amazement. “The wings of the wind speak truly, my lord – you are Hope, and you are Vengeance.”
“Do they come?”
There was silence for a moment. “No, my lord, the beasts do not come. They look to the west, and weapons have appeared in their hands, but they do not come.” There was another silence, while Aram and Thaniel stood still and gazed into the east. The eagle spoke again.
“Your friends come.”
“What?” Aram turned and gazed down the bed of the river to where it curved away to the east.
“They have mounted the horses and they come.”
Moments later, Findaen, Mallet, Wamlak, and Edwar rounded the rocky ridge and charged toward them, slowing when they saw the steaming, crumpled masses of the lashers’ bodies. Aram removed his hood and watched them come with narrowed eyes.
Andaran halted, facing Thaniel, and Findaen gazed beyond Aram at the bloody, steaming result of the fight. Edwar, sitting astride Florm, stared in open astonishment.
“I swore I’d never again allow you to face the enemy alone, Lord Aram,” Findaen explained, meeting Aram’s angry gaze.
“There were only two – as I said,” Aram answered shortly. “Now, as you can plainly see, there are none.”
Findaen shrugged helplessly. Aram glanced at the others. Except for Edwar who continued to stare at the ruin of the great beasts, they met his gaze cautiously.
Aram looked once more toward the east, and then nudged Thaniel. “Let’s get back to Ka’en and the others,” he said quietly.
They filed back down the river bed in silence. When they came within view, Ka’en spoke to Huram, and she came forward. She looked at Aram, and then glanced around, noting the subdued attitudes of his companions.
She frowned. “What happened? We heard such an awful noise, and then it ceased.”
Edwar could no longer restrain himself. “Your husband killed two lashers, my lady – by himself. It was an amazing thing.”
She acknowledged this with a slight smile, glanced at her brother’s face and looked at Aram. “What is wrong?”
Aram shook his head and forced a smile. “Nothing, my love. It was tricky for a moment – but all is well. Now – we wait to see what the others will do. If they don’t come out to us, then we will find a way to make them come.”
Findaen shook his head. “I am sorry, my lord.”
Aram looked at him but didn’t answer.
“For what is he sorry?” Ka’en asked.
When Aram remained silent, and Wamlak and Mallet did not speak; her brother shook his head again. “We went forward to help after Lord Aram told us to remain behind.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “As well you should,” she stated. “I am glad that you went to help him.”
She looked over to see Aram scowling at her – not the first time he had done so in their life together, but in this instance, there was real anger in his expression. She caught her breath and gazed back at him in silence.
Aram started to turn away from them all in an attempt to gain control of his anger, but Thaniel refused to move. “This
will not do, Lord Aram,” the horse said in a harsh tone. “Remember our conversation of the morning? We are not on this journey alone, this time. She is here and they are here, and they must be forgiven for wishing to render aid to you in difficult circumstances, even when it is not needed or desired. This is a time for speaking plainly.”
Aram sat quietly, considering Thaniel’s words, and then he looked around and drew a deep breath and let it out, expelling with it the worst of his anger.
“We are few in number,” he said, “and deep in strange lands – far from aid. I know that my decisions are often made hastily, and without counsel. But I have lived in the wilderness for most of my life, surrounded by dangers, and I know from experience when it is proper to fight, and when it is prudent to flee.”
His wrath fading, he met Findaen’s eyes. “I promised Ka’en that I will never go to war again without my strong and capable companions. I intend to keep that promise.” He pointed to the north, along the river. “But that was not war – it was merely a pair of lashers. If a day ever comes when Thaniel and I cannot easily handle two or three lashers, then I am finished.”
Still watching Findaen, Aram managed a slight smile. “Believe this, my brother, if you will – if I say that a thing can be dealt with by myself alone, I am speaking truly, without rashness.”
He looked at every member of the company, letting his gaze fall at the last on Ka’en’s anxious face, where it stayed. “I am glad,” he said,” that for once I am not making a journey through strange and unknown lands on my own. I am glad to be in the company of friends.”
Overhead, the sun was rising toward midday. “Let us go a ways south along the river,” he said, “and find a place to rest –” He looked significantly over at Findaen “– where we can wait on reports from Kipwing and discuss together what we will do on the morrow.”
33
Manon was at work in a deep, dark, and secret room far beneath the black mass of his tower, finishing the delicate business of creating a second self to go into the bleak mountains to the north and speak with the pair of dragons. Those beasts had become increasingly difficult of late, resistant to commands, thereby engendering caution in the god, and a reluctance to face them in person. He was nearing the completion of this work when his eyes opened in another dark place, far away across the surface of the world.
Kelven's Riddle Book Three Page 36
