With a smile, Aaron decided to return to the stable and finish tending to Bella. He finished brushing her and cleaned her hooves, which wasn’t really necessary at the moment but he chose to busy himself with the chore anyway. In addition, he gave the horse a small amount of grain that Roland kept on hand. He stepped back into the daylight and couldn’t help indulging in his habit of cracking his knuckles one at a time. It always made his mother wince, but it was a practice he’d gotten from his grandfather and had never been able to break.
Aaron enjoyed the warmth of the sun for only a moment before he heard Roland’s wife shouting at her husband again. Most likely she shouted from the tower they used as a makeshift home and storeroom. Aaron turned toward the archway just as four riders crossed the threshold into the courtyard. One was a plainly dressed boy that looked sixteen, only a year younger than Aaron. The other three, however, made his breath catch in his throat. They were Dragon Guards, all three of them. Two were women. One of the women had the armor of a scholar, while the other wore the clothing of a ranger. Their companion wore the heavy studded leather of a warden.
Aaron had never seen a ranger before, but his grandfather had been a scholar and still had the armor in a chest at his home. His grandfather would still have been at Vigil, but he had been injured and lost his sight during his time there and had decided it would be best to return to his family in Dalisia. Seeing a trio of Dragon Guards just over a dozen feet away, Aaron wasn’t sure how to react. He had never spoken to a Dragon Guard other than his grandfather before. He had seen one occasionally in the streets of Dalisia but only in passing glances. He wasn’t sure what to say to them or for that matter if he should say anything. Then again, he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to at least speak with them.
He was about to make his way over when the ranger and the boy took the reins of the four horses and started for the stables behind Aaron. He quickly stepped in and held the gate open to allow them easy access. They moved past him. The ranger cast a nearly blank expression his way while the boy gave a light smile and a nod of thanks. They led the four horses to the nearest stalls and tied them to the available hooks to begin tending to them. While they did so, Aaron suddenly felt awkward. He slowly stepped over to the ranger, smiled, and asked, “Would you like some help?”
She barely seemed to notice him.
He decided to try something else. “So, what are Dragon Guards doing way out here?”
Suddenly he felt he had made the wrong choice of topics. The ranger tensed and turned her head just enough to look at him out of the corner of an eye, partially obscured by her hood. “Does it matter?” she said.
Aaron took an involuntary step back. “Uh, no,” he said. “I was just wondering. I’ve never met another Dragon Guard aside from my grandfather.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Your grandfather was a Dragon Guard?” she asked.
“Yeah. He was a scholar.”
After several moments of her looking him over, she motioned with her head toward the third stall in the line just on the other side of the boy. “You can start on Ebon if you want to help.”
Aaron smiled and stepped around her and the boy to get to the stall that housed Ebon, a jet-black mare. He was a stranger, so he removed her saddle slowly so as not to frighten her, though she seemed calm enough and wholly unconcerned by the unknown hands.
“I’m Aaron, by the way,” he said to the boy, hoping he might be a bit warmer than the ranger.
Thankfully, he was. The boy smiled and extended a hand over the chest-high wall between them. “I’m Daniel,” he said. He pointed a thumb at the ranger: “And that’s Mila.”
The ranger said nothing and continued with her task.
Aaron noted her lack of interest and figured it would be best to speak with Daniel for the time being. At least he seemed happy to talk.
“I didn’t really expect to run into any Dragon Guards so far from a city. Are you traveling with them?” Aaron asked.
Daniel nodded. “Have been for about a week.”
“Where are you going, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Daniel glanced at Mila as if asking permission to answer. When she shrugged her indifference, he turned back to Aaron. “We’re on our way to Vigil.”
Aaron felt his heart leap. He was more than willing to make the trip on his own if he had to. But the possibility of having company of any kind was ideal.
He was silent for several moments without realizing how much time had passed and was snapped back to the present by Mila. “If you’re going to ask, then ask,” she said. “Don’t stare like an idiot.”
He was caught off guard by her statement and wasn’t really sure if she was addressing him or Daniel until he noticed they were both looking at him.
Aaron stuttered slightly in spite of himself: “Uh, ask what?”
Judging by the motion of her head, the ranger appeared to roll her eyes. “You’re going to Vigil and you would like to travel with us.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond until he noticed Daniel had a slight smile on his face as he spoke. “She does that,” Daniel said. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
With that they finished grooming and feeding the horses in what Aaron felt was an incredibly awkward silence. By the time they were done he was still slightly confused by the way he had been “invited” to join them. He wasn’t sure if he had been invited. He hoped so and was excited about the idea of not traveling alone anymore. He had never been on his own back in Dalisia, so when he’d started this adventure it had been a rather depressing first few days. He had gotten used to being alone but he certainly didn’t like it. Something as simple as being able to cross the courtyard and step into the inn with Daniel and Mila was a welcome change. A smile spread across his face.
The moment they were inside, Aaron saw the other two members of the troupe sitting at a table in the corner of the room. They strode over. It was the first time Aaron was able to get a look at the other two. The man was a giant. The woman looked like a child in comparison, though she seemed to hold herself with a rather intimidating level of confidence.
The woman smiled and spoke in a friendly though cautious tone: “Who’s your new friend?”
“This is Aaron,” Daniel said, “and Aaron, this is Claudia and Kenneth.”
Aaron smiled timidly as Daniel took a seat and Aaron chose the one next to him, which placed his back to the wall. The moment he was seated he felt Mila staring daggers at him.
“Move.” She didn’t say the word like a command, more like a warning.
He was slightly taken aback. “Excuse me?”
“Move. Sit somewhere else.”
Confused and embarrassed without knowing why, he stood and took the only other seat at the table, across from her. After they were all situated, Kenneth nudged him. “Don’t take it personally,” he said. “She outright refuses to have her back to a room.”
Claudia cocked her head to one side. “So, Aaron,” she said, “what brings you to this . . . lovely cross castle?”
“I’m actually going the same place you are. I’m on my way to Vigil.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, we’d be more than happy to have you along if you’d like some company on the road.”
He smiled. “I would appreciate that very much. Traveling alone gets, well, lonely.”
Kenneth sat between Aaron and Daniel and extended an arm around each to pull them in. “Wonderful! The more the merrier! We’ll be a regular caravan in no time!”
“Fantastic,” Mila said. “Maybe in Grey Gate we’ll pick up a tunnel rat.”
Claudia glared at her before speaking. “So, Aaron, where do you hail from?”
Aaron spoke through a light laugh as Kenneth still gripped him tightly. “Dalisia. My family owns a small shop on the riverfront.”
Kenneth sighed happily and releas
ed the two. “I do love Dalisia,” he said. “Nothing is more relaxing than sitting and watching the ferries travel down The Draw.”
Claudia took a sip from the mug she held in front of her. “What made you want to join the Dragon Guard,” she said. “Not something most people even consider nowadays when they have the option. Especially from someone as far out as Dalisia.”
“My grandfather,” Aaron answered. “He was a scholar.”
Her face softened as she obviously mistook his meaning, “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no, he’s still alive,” Aaron said. “He lives with my family now. He lost his vision during his time at Vigil and decided to move back to Dalisia to be with his family. He didn’t think he would be much help at Vigil without his sight.”
Kenneth nodded exaggeratedly. “Understandable. It would be a hard life at Vigil without one’s vision.”
Claudia nodded in agreement before asking, “When did he leave the order?”
Aaron thought back to when he was a boy. “Must have been about ten years ago, or near enough.”
“Ten years . . . ” Claudia paused a moment, as if remembering. “Is his name Nathaniel Cross?”
Aaron felt his heart leap into his throat and for a moment he had a hard time speaking. “Y-yes, it is.”
She narrowed her eyes. At the same time, a slight smile crossed her face. “I do believe I’ve met him. He was a wonderful man. I do hope he’s doing well back at home with your family at the uh, shop, did you say? On the river?”
Aaron felt his face turn red. It didn’t seem Claudia was going to press the matter further, so he decided to change the subject as quickly as he could. “So, uh,” he said, “where are you all coming from?”
Claudia thankfully let the conversation change course. “Sapella’s Crossing,” she said.
“What were you doing there?”
“Saving me, mostly,” Daniel said.
“Saving you?” Claudia said with a laugh. “Well, there was a bit more to it than that.”
His curiosity piqued, Aaron pressed for more. “What happened?”
Kenneth clapped his hands together dramatically and leaned forward. “I do hope you like a good story.”
Chapter Eight
22nd of Horace, 26th year of the Fourth Age.
Aaron sat hunched over in his saddle as he and the rest of his group made their way down a road that had turned south and now ran parallel to The Spines. It had been a week since he had joined with the Dragon Guards and during that time he’d become rather good friends with Daniel. He had learned much about what had happened to Daniel leading up to their meeting at the cross castle and had been astounded at his good fortune. Now they were nearing the city of Grey Gate. Knowing what little he did about the city, Aaron wasn’t looking forward to their visit. But at the moment, his thoughts were focused on the story Kenneth had been telling for the majority of the day.
“That’s not true,” Claudia said as she shook her head slowly.
Kenneth glared at her. “How do you know? You weren’t there! You were still on the bank down river trying to pry your sword from that tree.”
“But I was there.” Mila kept her eyes ahead as she spoke.
Kenneth mumbled to himself as they continued down the ragged dirt road.
Aaron leaned forward in his saddle to look at Mila, who rode beside him. “So what did happen then?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Kenneth had his back to the cliff wall with it bearing down on him. It started moving faster towards him and tried to ram him with its horns. Kenneth leaped out of the way and was about to start running.”
“I was not running! I was simply repositioning myself!” Kenneth protested.
“After that,” Mila continued, “the inadana was stunned for a moment, the cliff was unstable already and that hit was just enough to shake loose a rockslide. Buried it beneath the stones and barely avoided doing the same to Kenneth. He was nowhere near it when it actually died.”
“I’m telling you I knew the stones were unstable,” Kenneth said. “It was all part of my plan!”
Claudia rolled her eyes. “What a grand plan it was.”
Kenneth began mumbling to himself again.
Aaron smiled. “So how far past the Bulwark were you?”
Claudia looked up. “Not far,” she said. “You could still see the mountains from where we were.”
“How far outside of Edaren have you gone?” Daniel posed the question to Claudia.
She paused as if running through their list of assignments. “Furthest Ken and I have been was there, actually. Mila has been as far as Krida across the south sea.”
Mila nodded. “Not many venture into Wolves Wood,” she said. “Though I’d take it over the savage wilds of Krida any day.”
“How far does the forest stretch?” Daniel asked.
“We never saw the edge.”
“You said you had a guide. How did he know the area so well?”
“He makes his home in the forest,” Mila said simply.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “He lives in Wolves Wood? Isn’t it haunted?”
Claudia laughed lightly. “By Verhova, no,” she said. “But it can be very dangerous if you aren’t prepared.”
Kenneth sighed. “I’d rather be back at that river then stepping even a single foot inside Grey Gate.”
Daniel looked at the three of them curiously. “If you hate this place so much,” he said, “why are we even here? Couldn’t we have gone around?”
Claudia shook her head. “No, I’m sorry to say. The Spines is almost impassable and stretches from one coast to the other. Far too jagged and steep in most areas for horses or even people and the passes that are safe for travel are too far away. It would take us weeks to get across the mountains. Grey Gate is the only direct route through.”
Aaron looked ahead to the road that ran along the mountainside. Grey Gate was located in a pass just ahead of them, though it was still hidden from view. Kenneth had assured him they would arrive within the hour. Aaron had an idea of what the city would look like from stories he’d been told by his grandfather. It was built inside the mountain itself, a series of long tunnels in a grid pattern, stretching deep into the mountains on either side of the canyon which likewise was lined with buildings.
Briefly, he took his gaze away from the road and scanned the mountain range that housed the city. The peaks were steep and quickly disappeared from sight as they stretched into the clouds. According to Mila, the valgret they had encountered at the falls in Sapella’s Crossing had come from these mountains. The Dragon Guard had heard rumors of a pack roaming the west side of The Spines that had been attacking travelers on the road and killing the livestock of farmers. At first they’d thought nothing of it, believing the few rumors and reports were isolated incidents and the gossip was simply getting out of hand. But once the reports became more frequent and the details of each tale more consistent, the Dragon Guard had sent Claudia and the others to investigate.
Mila was able to track the valgrets from their most recent sighting to a grove high up on the west side of the peaks. Once they were found, the three Dragon Guards began to wipe out the pack to ensure they caused no more harm. But several of the creatures escaped their initial encounter. With their territory taken from them, they fled. The trio pursued the remnants of the pack and had been following them for just over a month, picking off the stragglers when they could.
Kenneth stopped ahead of them at the entrance to the wide pass. He shouted, snapping Aaron’s attention back to the present: “We’ve finally arrived!”
Aaron and Daniel spurred their horses faster and met Kenneth at the entrance to the canyon. The mouth of the pass was well over fifty feet wide. Its walls were sheer cliff faces rising nearly out of sight before turning into steep inclines. The pass itself narrowed as it went until it
came to a dark, grey stone wall. It took the group another few minutes of riding to reach it. The bricks there were four feet tall and wide, with the wall stretching forty feet high. A tower twice as tall was built partway into the cliff walls at each end, with wide open ledges near their peaks for archers or siege equipment.
In the middle of the wall was a gate covered with thick iron studs and bands. The section of wall around it was thicker and taller by several feet. Aaron recognized it as a gatehouse. It was where the inner workings of the gate were stored, as well as an area for guards to rest and relax, or in times of battle, to prepare and recover. Beyond the gate was a true sight. Carved into the cliff walls were narrow pathways, windows, and doorways that hinted at countless rooms hidden beneath the stone, as well as the vague shape of buildings and homes made of the cliff walls. It all seemed so foreign to Aaron compared to the standard city structures he was used to in Dalisia.
Standing atop the wall were two guards dressed in dull chainmail, a tabard embroidered with the crest of Grey Gate on each of their chests. Three coins, two silver and one gold on top, formed a triangle set before a plainly designed gate.
Claudia and Mila soon caught up. As they all approached, one of the guards raised a hand. “State your names and intentions!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the cliffs.
Kenneth raised his hand and removed his heavy leather gauntlet, revealing a steel band veined with orange around his wrist. “Kenneth Patch, warden of the Dragon Guard,” he said. “We seek rest for a night before moving on to Vigil.”
The guards leaned toward each other and conversed for a moment before disappearing from view for several minutes. Aaron looked to Kenneth, who kept his gaze on the wall ahead of them with a look he hadn’t seen before. The Dragon Guard was tense, nervous. There was a loud grinding sound, followed by the gate slowly swinging open toward them, revealing a grey stone slab that still blocked the way. As soon as the first gate settled in place, Kenneth spurred his horse forward and they all followed closely behind him. Without a word spoken between them, Claudia and Mila put themselves on either side of Daniel and Aaron so the two of them were between the three Dragon Guards.
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