Derek stood to the side watching. He found himself hoping that they made it through, not just for their own sakes, but for the sakes of the poor people who did live in fear. Glancing at Odum, he silently wondered how many of these soldiers were going to their deaths.
“Mount up!” Keenan called out, and Derek, whose mind had been wandering, obediently headed to his well watered horse.
Chapter 26
Atock peered around the short stumpy tree. A small group of goblins were crouched about fifty feet away around the carcass of a large animal about the size of a horse. Whatever it was, it looked to have been dead for some time, but that wasn't stopping the goblins from ripping off chunks of meat. It turned his stomach to watch them eating the raw rancid flesh, but at least their attention was on dinner and not keeping guard.
It was the third bunch of goblins they had come across in the last two days. Atock thanked the gods above that the goblins were complacent and not keeping a good watch. The guardians had spotted them on all three occasions, and slipped by before the goblins could notice them.
There wasn't any reason for the goblin patrols to expect any trespassers here. No one came to Golt, and no one wanted to. It was a foreboding country, and countless stories told of the horrors of anyone who dared to travel its wastes.
Atock pulled back behind the tree and then slowly started crawling away. Crawling on his belly, the dust and the brambles trying their best to bother him, but he ignored them and just kept crawling.
It had been eight days since they had been chased from the valley by the fear of the dragon. The first few days they had traveled quickly enough. Coming away from the mountain, the terrain had leveled off into small hills and they had been able to ride between the hills without too much fear of being spotted. Short trees and bushes had also helped hide them. They traveled east and slightly north, following the mountain range, but not too closely, there could be spying eyes on the mountain side. Things had started getting worse about the fourth day. The hills that had been helping to hide them, had started flattening out and the trees were little more than knee high bushes. That had slowed them considerably, and yesterday morning they had been forced to lead their horses instead of riding them. The horses were too tall for the guardians to ride them in this flat terrain, as a mounted rider stood out way too easily.
Reaching a shallow gully, Atock climbed to his feet and looked backwards to make sure there wasn't any followers. Not that goblins were known for their stealth, if any of them had spotted him, they would have chased him down whooping and shouting. But there was nothing but grunts coming from the gorging goblins.
Staying low, Atock began moving quickly back the way he had come. After a couple of hundred yards, he paused again and listened for anything out of the norm, but there wasn't anything, so he picked up the pace.
It took Atock maybe twenty minutes to make his way back to Flare and Philip. They had stayed with the horses, while Atock had gone to scout the area.
Flare and Philip were waiting in the smallest of shelters, but it was the only thing they could find. A seven foot tree leaned over a small depression. It wasn't much, just barely enough to shelter the two men and the four horses. In fact, it actually wasn't enough to cover them, but it apparently had been good enough.
Glancing up at the clear blue sky, Atock squeezed down into the depression. A bead of sweat ran down his back. It was warmer here than they had expected, given the snow just on the other side of the mountain range. He flopped down and shook his head, “No good. There's another group of goblins out there, and there isn't anything to hide us.”
“Goblins! How many?” Philip said quickly, the concern showing on his face. “Did they see you?”
Looking disgusted, Atock shook his head. “What do you think? You don't actually think I would be lying on my back if the goblins had seen me. Do you?”
Flare stepped into the breach quickly. The last thing he wanted was for these two to start going at it again. Philip had been in a foul mood ever since their encounter with the dragon, and he and Atock had been arguing since that day. “How far away are they?”
Atock shrugged, “Maybe a mile or so, but their busy with dinner.”
Flare didn't even bother asking what their dinner was, he knew better. “Okay, how about the terrain? There has to be something to hide us.” He glanced northward as he spoke, wondering if the goblins were on the move yet. It was doubtful, as goblins were typically lazy, and too they had just eaten. The mountains were several miles away, but he could clearly see them. The range ran east-west, but this part of the range was bending southward towards them. It came to a point, just to the east of them, where the range jutted out, and then ran back north-eastward. Somewhere just beyond the mountain range point, lay the catacombs, and that made Flare's insides freeze. Several times over the past several days, he had found himself hoping that he wouldn't find the sword; hoping that this was all one big mistake.
Atock sighed again, “We might could get through, but I don't see how the horses will make it. They're too tall, and the goblins will probably smell them a mile away, but we can't leave them, so I don't know what we're going to do.”
Flare considered for a moment, “Who says we can't leave them?”
“That's foolish!” Philip interjected, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. “The only reason for coming here is so that we can take the sword back to Telur. Without the horses, we don't stand a chance of escaping.”
In his anger, Philip's voice had risen and seemed almost to echo in the wide open flatlands. “Be quiet!” Flare snapped. “Do you want every goblin within ten miles down on us?”
Philip didn't answer, but just glared back instead.
“Flare,” Atock said cautiously, “I hate to agree with Philip, I really do, but it does seem like a very bad idea.”
“It's either that, or we find a place to leave the horses and one of you will have to stay with them.”
“No way!” Philip snapped back quickly. “I'm not staying behind.”
Flare took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger from exploding. “You will do what I tell you, since I am in command.” He said in a quiet dangerous voice. Philip met Flare's gaze, and he seemed to be biting his tongue, but at least he didn't argue. Flare wondered what had gotten into Philip lately. Why this anger? Was it fear? Was the lack of decent food getting to him, after all they hadn't had a hot meal since leaving the valley. It was enough to frustrate anyone.
Atock looked from Flare to Philip, and then back to Flare. “If that's our only two options, then we have to turn the horses free. If we kept the horses in one place, then the smell would surely draw any patrolling goblins and that would be the end of one us.”
Flare thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. “Agreed, and besides I really don't want to split us up. We have to be getting close to the catacombs.” He nodded to the horses, sighing, “Take all the gear off and try to hide it. Let's take as many of the supplies as we can carry and let's get moving. We still have several hours of daylight left.” He glanced at the sky as he spoke, squinting, trying to judge exactly how much time they had. “Atock, you lead.”
Flare's back was throbbing. Traveling in these flat grasslands was not easy. They had to stay low, which meant a lot of creeping from meager cover to meager cover, and that meant a sore back. They were moving northeast, getting closer to the lone mountain that jutted out south of the range.
He looked up and froze. He was following Atock, but trying to not follow too closely, there was maybe twenty yards between him and Atock. He had let his mind wander a bit. His attention snapped back in a flash, as looking up, he realized that Atock had knelt down behind a scrub bush, and was watching something that Flare couldn't see. Dropping flat on the ground, and landing a little hard, he frantically looking around for something to hide him. There wasn't much. The terrain was flat grassland and the bushes and trees were almost no where to be seen. Spotting a patch of high, though thin grass, Flare c
rawled quickly over and tried to hide. It was poor protection as best, but it was better then nothing.
Breathing hard, he looked around. Philip was bringing up the rear, and he too had taken cover, although he had found what looked a shallow gully to hide in. He was the best hidden of any of them.
Craning his head around, Flare spotted Atock in the same spot as before. Whatever had caught his attention, it didn't appear to be an immediate threat. Atock was still kneeling behind the small scrub bush, but he was kneeling on one knee and didn't seem overly anxious. Perhaps a distant patrol?
Cupping his hands to his mouth, Flare made a sound that was passably close to a raven. Atock's glanced over and motioned for him to come over. Staying low, Flare practically crawled the whole way, his knees and elbows hurting the whole time. “What is it?”
Atock nodded to the north east. “See for yourself.”
Flare pulled himself up from his belly, but he stayed bent over. His jaw dropped as he peered out past the scrub bush. They were definitely close now. He hadn't realized how far eastward they had come, but they could now see the next mountain in the range. It had to be Mount Ogular. Ruins of a fort could be clearly seen, even from this distance. He stared in amazement at the ruins high up the mountain side.
Unlike the other mountains, Ogular seemed barren. Flare couldn't see any trees or shrubs from their vantage point. The ruins were a little more than a third of the way up the mountain, and they dominated the view. The ruins were perched on a plateau, and the mountain seemed to fall away from the fort's edges. The only road wound its way from the base of the mountain up to the gates of the fort. There were gaps in the road, where it had collapsed or washed away.
“My god!” Philip's voice said quietly from behind them. “I've never seen anything like it.”
Flare glanced backwards, a little annoyed that Philip hadn't waited until they had called him up, but instead had come up on his own. He pushed the annoyance away; this surely wasn't the time for an argument. He turned back to gaze once again at the ruins. “I've read about it before we left, but the books didn't even come close.”
“How was it taken?” Atock asked. “Surely no army could even reach it.”
“Actually, human armies have taken it at least twice.” Flare said, suddenly glad that he had bothered to read up on it before leaving Telur. “Both times, the armies simply camped at the base of the mountain and starved the people out. I believe that the siege lasted over a year, both times.”
Philip was looking confused, “What do you mean 'human' armies?”
“The last time it was taken, it fell in one day.” Flare said, grimacing.
“One day, that hardly seems possible.”
“Well, the army was entirely made up of demons. They were acting on the orders of King Osturlius.”
Atock made a sign with his hand, as if to ward off evil. Philip just stared at Flare, an undecipherable look on his face.
“Let's find a place to sleep.” He nodded at Mount Ogular, “I think we can reach it sometime tomorrow afternoon.” He looked around again, but this time he searched the area around them. It was flat and devoid of cover. “Then again, I don't see anywhere we could sleep safely.”
“You want to keep going?” Atock asked. “It will be dark soon, and there might be goblin patrols out there.”
Flare thought about it. He most certainly did not want to keep going in the dark, but then again, if there were goblin patrols around then the goblins would probably find them easily enough. “It'll be dark in what, an hour?”
Atock nodded, but Philip just watched the two of them.
“All right. I don't like it much, but we'll keep going, then.”
“Are you sure about this? We'll have to walk almost the whole night.”
It was strange that Atock could bring up a good point in a way that didn't bother him, but Philip seemed to take pleasure in asking a question in just such a way as to aggravate him. “No, I'm not sure about this, but I don't see any options. We can't sleep in the open. The goblins would surely see us.”
“Perhaps,” Philip chimed in, “but then again they might see us strolling towards the mountains.”
“Fine. Why don't you stay here?” Flare snapped. Normally, snapping at one of the guardians like that would have made him feel guilty, but he the frustration just bubbled over and he no longer cared. He popped up to his feet, not even caring that he had to stand out against the horizon. “I'm tired of your attitude. So stay here, or go home. I don't care!” He slapped at Atock's hand, which was frantically trying to pull him back down.
Philip's eyes bulged, and his cheeks flushed red.
“Flare, please get down and lower your voice.”
The fearful pitch to Atock's voice calmed Flare down a bit, and he knelt back down on one knee.
The red disappeared quickly from Philip's cheeks, and he looked to be trying to hide his anger. “I'm sorry,” he said, his voice calm and level. “I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just out of sorts. You know?”
The anger was fading now, and a little bit of embarrassment was starting to set in. “We all are, but that doesn't excuse your attitude.” Flare was pleased to hear the coldness in his voice. Apparently, he needed to re-establish his authority.
Philip nodded, “You're right, and I won't let it happen again.”
Flare watched him for a moment. Philip seemed to be sincere enough, so after a moment, he nodded.
Atock glanced quickly from one to the other, “Good. Let's get going.”
Several hours of hard walking later, Flare's feet were throbbing. They had walked from sunup to sundown, and then they had just kept walking. When the sun had been up, they had crept along, trying to stay hidden the best they could, and all the creeping around had made their backs and legs sore. Once the sun went down, there wasn't any reason to try and stay low, but with the sun already down, they couldn't see and they kept stumbling. Flare stumbled less than the others, thanks mainly due to his better sight, but it still seemed like he stubbed his toe every few minutes. The moon was full and bright in the night sky, and it was illuminating the surrounding plains, but the high grass caused shadows which hid the rocks and holes from their sight.
Even though it had been warm in the sunlight, it had gotten cold since sundown, even with their cloaks.
It was a clear night, and the stars were beautiful in the sky. Glancing up, Flare thought back to his childhood. The most enjoyable moments of his early years had been in the forest. Camping was one of his favorite things to do growing up, and he had spent many a night lying on his back and staring at the sky. He was still staring at the sky, when his foot caught a rather large rock, and he cursed and almost fell.
Atock reached out quickly and caught Flare under the arm, helping to steady him. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Flare answered, glancing back the way they had come. He froze, and whatever he had been about to say was forgotten. There was something out there that was moving in towards the guardians, and whatever it was, it was coming fast. “What is that?”
Atock and Philip both turned and looked. “Goblins?” They asked in unison.
Flare had the best sight of the three of them, and he couldn't make out what coming at them, so neither could they. “Could be, but their coming at us fast.” His voice had just a note of panic in it, and the other two picked up on it. Flare grabbed Philip with his left hand and Atock with his right, and started pulling them along. “Let's get moving.” He turned and started running to the mountain in the distance.
They ran, and ran, and then they ran some more. Flare wondered which would explode first, his lungs or his heart. They were slowed by their frequent stumbling. After a while, they started trying to run closer together, so they could help keep each other from falling, it didn't work too well though, because when one fell, he usually took out the others. It wasn't too long before they spread back out and ran on their own.
Ever so often, Flare looked over his shoulder to see th
eir pursuers. They were gaining and gaining fast. They were close enough now so that he could see them clearly. It was indeed goblins. It was hard to count them while they ran, but there had to be at least fifteen or so. He turned back toward the mountains, Ogular was getting closer, but would it be in time? Gulping air, he ran on.
They had been running for about an hour, when Flare heard the goblins' guttural voices for the first time. He risked another glance over his shoulder and was astonished to see how close the goblins were. It wasn't going to be long before they were caught.
Flare glanced ahead once again to see how close Ogular was. Relief flooded over him to see that they should reach the road ahead of the goblins. But then another fear raised its ugly head, would they be able to find a defendable place to hide in time.
Just then, Atock tripped and went down hard.
Philip and Flare both skidded to a halt. “Atock. You okay?” Flare asked between gulps of air. His spirits sank when Atock didn't answer.
Philip rushed over and reached Atock just ahead of Flare. “I think he hit his head when he fell.”
Sure enough, Philip was correct. Atock was moving, but it was a confused disjointed movement. Philip grabbed Atock by his left arm and pulled him to his feet. Atock would have fallen back over, if Philip hadn't kept a steadying hold on him.
Flare rushed over and took Atock's other arm and they started rushing him towards the mountain.
He had only thought that he had been hurting the first hour or so of the run. Now, he knew what it meant to be hurting. His arms and legs ached, his heart was beating so fast surely it must give way soon, and his lungs were straining for air, but it was like they couldn't find any.
Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series Page 45
