Finding any information about the cave where the Helmet of Salvation was hidden proved to be much more difficult. While several trappers knew of the Valley of Caves, no one had any specific knowledge that would help them.
The only lead they were able to obtain was a story an old trapper was told when he was a child. The story was about a cave that was warm even during the winter; his grandfather had stumbled across it when lost in the mountains. He was nearly frozen to death when he found the cave, and the warmth of the cave thawed him out and saved his life. Besides the warmth, the cave was noteworthy for its walls which were covered with paintings of knights and ancient battles.
Unfortunately, the old man didn’t know where the cave was. His grandfather was never able to find the cave again after it saved his life. He just knew it was somewhere the Valley of Caves where they were already planning to search.
After visiting all the local taverns, Michael and Arajin returned to the inn with the information and maps they had gathered. While it wasn’t much, it was more than they had expected to learn. The mysterious cave story, even if it was close to a century old, was a good sign. The only thing they could do now was head into the mountains and start their search.
The following morning, they loaded up their gear and supplies. They were packing enough food to last them three months until the snow melted in the spring, but they hoped to find success long before then.
Chapter 27
After leaving Last Hope, the journey into the mountains went smoothly but slowly. Following the trails noted on the maps and using the suggested campsites, they steadily progressed deep into the mountains where the caves were to be found.
By the time they reached the Valley of Caves, two weeks had passed, and the group was weary from traveling. With the horses loaded up with supplies and food, they had to walk the entire way, and that had taken a lot of energy. The Valley of Caves offered a chance to make camp in a cave that would keep them warm and dry at night, and the entire group was in need of that.
They entered the Valley of Caves from the southern end and, after a quick search, found a cave that would be suitable for setting up camp. It was a large cave with two side chambers so they could keep the horses in one and sleep in the other, leaving the main chamber as a common area. It also had a natural chimney that would let out smoke so they could have a fire in the cave for added warmth and cooking.
As they sat around the fire the first night, the group enjoyed the general comfort of being in a warm cave instead of outside in the snow. Searching the valley for the specific cave from the trapper’s story would be a challenge, but most of the group was generally optimistic about finding the right cave.
Mat was not one of those feeling optimistic. He had worn the bracers non-stop since they entered the mountains, expecting a vision or dream to point the way. After two weeks of no visions, he was starting to question their likelihood of succeeding. Without help from visions, it could take months or even years to search all the caves.
That night, however, Mat had dreams of battles with barbarians. Unlike previous visions where he felt like he was seeing through another’s eyes, this time it was him fighting the battles. His friends were at his side as they fought battle after battle against Northern Kingdom armies. He was dressed in light weight yet seemingly indestructible armor, and every battle seemed to turn when he entered the fray.
As successful as each battle was, before full victory was reached in any battle, he was whisked away to another. There seemed to be a never-ending string of battles that he had to face. When he woke in the morning, he felt weary from all the dreamtime battles instead of refreshed.
During their breakfast of oatmeal and dried fruit, the group sat around the fire and went over their plan for searching the valley. Using the maps, they would work their way around the valley marking the location of each cave they searched. They would start with the caves closest to their current location and travel on foot. Once they got far enough into the valley that they were spending as much time traveling as searching, they would either travel on horseback or move their camp.
As they set out on their first day of searching, they traveled light. They brought trail rations so they could have a cold lunch while searching but planned to be back by nightfall, so they didn’t bring any other gear. This would allow them to travel farther and search more caves.
By midday, they had traveled less than a mile and had searched 12 small caves. Everyone was starting to realize how large the task ahead could be. They were following a well-used game trail and had just entered a small clearing when Persephonie quickly came to a stop.
“We’re not alone,” she said quietly to Mat who was walking next to her.
“I feel it too,” Mat said after a moment.
“There are a lot of people,” Persephonie added.
“Michael, can we stop for a minute?” Mat called out.
As Michael turned to see what Mat wanted, a battle cry erupted from the woods in front of them. As the sound was repeated from both sides, scores of men charged out of the trees. The group barely had time to draw their weapons before the attackers were on them.
The first wave crashed into Michael and Arajin who were leading the group. Arajin stepped forward to meet the charge, and his giant war hammer smashed into the first man, breaking bones and sending him flying before he could even swing. Using his shield, he smoothly blocked an ax swinging at his head, and Michael stepped in and stabbed that man in the chest. Arajin spun around and crushed the skull of an attacker trying to strike at Michael from behind while he was engaged. The two fought together with devastating effectiveness and quickly had five of the attackers down.
Mat and Dimitri stepped in front of Persephonie and Banji and met the charge to the right of Michael and Arajin. Dimitri dodged and deflected blows keeping several men back. This gave Persephonie a chance to draw her bow and start firing at attackers before they engaged in battle. It also allowed Banji to hurl throwing knives with deadly accuracy.
Mat stepped into the frey, slicing through the enemy with the Sword of Spirit. He seemed to be one step ahead of the action and was spinning away from blows before they even came close. Each time he slashed or thrust his sword, another man fell. Within moments, there were five more attackers out of the battle.
On the left, Lucas met the charge with his whirling blades. His swords moved faster than the enemy could block, and he quickly bloodied multiple attackers. He wasn’t able to strike with killing intent, but he did cut and slash and break the charge. As he fought, he worked his way closer to Michael and Arajin to form a unified defensive front.
As Lucas was working his way towards Michael and Arajin from the left, Mat disengaged from the initial attack and did the same from the right. Dimitri followed Mat while Persephonie and Banji worked their way into the protective pocket created by the defensive front.
Despite their early success, which had taken a dozen or more men out of the fight, they were still outnumbered at least four to one. Even with a good defensive front now formed, defeating the remaining 30 or more men was going to be a challenge. Fortunately, the enemy was determined to overcome them by brute force, and they repeatedly crashed into the defensive front the little group had formed. If the attackers had any archers or had decided to work around and outflank them, the battle would have been quickly over. By attacking head on, the enemy gave them a chance to defend themselves.
While they formed their defensive front and focused on repelling the attack, the attackers on the front line didn’t drop as quickly as they had in the initial surge. At this stage of the battle, Persephonie and Banji took control. Within minutes, Persephonie had emptied her quiver, and each of her arrows had taken down an enemy. At the same time, Banji launched throwing knives into the ranks of attackers. Between the two, they quickly cut down a dozen or more of the on-rushing enemy.
With the battle turning in their favor, the defensive line broke apart and went on the offensive. Michael and
Arajin advanced forward and worked together to cut down enemy soldiers. On the right side, Mat stepped forward and took out three men, which allowed Dimitri to disengage and spin back over to the left front to fight as a team with Lucas.
Before he got too far from the group where he could be isolated, Mat abandoned his single man attack and joined Persephonie and Banji to fight as a unit. He knew he was less explosive working with the other two, but he also realized this kept him from being overwhelmed from behind and helped to keep the other two safe.
As Mat blocked enemy attacks and countered with precise slashes and thrusts, Persephonie used her staff to block enemy blows and keep them back with quick jabs. Banji ducked under blows and slashed at legs, causing non-lethal but disabling wounds.
With the battle turning completely in their favor, Banji stepped out to slash at the hamstring of a man Mat was engaged with. As he darted out to get behind the man, a large warrior wielding a club disengaged from Michael and Arajin and swung towards Banji.
“Banji, behind you,” Persephonie screamed as she saw what was happening.
As Banji turned to the attacker, he was able to jump back and partially avoid the blow that would have crushed his chest if it had connected. The blow glanced off his shoulder absorbing some of the impact and connected with the left side of his head, sending him flying.
When Mat saw Banji go down, he went berserk. The controlled rage which fueled his fighting boiled to the surface, and he went on a righteous rampage delivering merciless justice to the enemy. His blows came quicker than any could defend. Their attacks were too slow to connect. He performed a deadly dance that left bodies in its wake. Within moments the battle was over, and Mat stood there splattered in enemy blood looking for an outlet for his rage.
As he stood there shaking with rage, his friends looked at him in awe and a little bit of fear. When his mind cleared, the details of the battle came back to him, and he looked around frantically for Banji. He saw his friend lying on the ground, motionless with blood running down the side of his face, and rushed to his side.
Persephonie reached Banji before Mat and was already entering a Druid healing trance. As he knelt there watching Persephonie attempt to heal Banji, Mat felt completely helpless. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Michael’s gaze on him.
“Let Persephonie work on Banji,” Michael said. “She will heal him if she can.”
“We need to check the enemy survivors and see if we can get any information,” Arajin added.
“You’re right,” Mat agreed and stood up to go with them.
Lucas approached Mat, Michael, and Arajin and flashed hand signals. Arajin flashed back at him, and he repeated the same hand signs.
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Arajin said. “They can’t all be dead.”
“What?” Michael asked.
“Lucas says they’re all dead,” Arajin replied. “Every one of them is dead.”
Dimitri came to them and confirmed that all the enemy was dead. “There should be survivors, but they may have taken poison to avoid capture. Anton’s soldiers have been known to do that,” he said.
Not willing to accept that there were no survivors, Michael went through and checked for himself. While searching the bodies for anything that might give them useful information, he also collected arrows and throwing knives. He didn’t find anything that tied the attackers directly to Anton and the Northern Kingdom, but that is where they had to come from.
When he finished searching the bodies, Michael found Mat sitting on a log, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. Arajin was sitting next to him with his arm around his shoulders comforting him. Michael sat down on the other side of Mat, put his hand on his arm, and told him everything was going to be ok.
After sitting in silence for several minutes, Mat looked up as Persephonie walked over. “I’ve stopped the bleeding and done everything I can do for now,” she said.
“Is he going to be ok?” Mat asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “As I said, I stopped the bleeding, but he still isn’t conscious. Head injuries are difficult to treat because there are no outward signs. We won’t know how he’s doing until he wakes up.”
“So what do we do now?” Mat asked.
“Let’s get him back to the cave,” Michael said. “We need to make a stretcher so we can carry him back without shaking him up too much.”
Using a couple of saplings and some of the enemy cloaks, they quickly fashioned a stretcher. After gently placing Banji in the stretcher, they started the solemn trek back to the cave.
As they walked, Mat reflected on the battle and the quest so far. After the second attempt to kill him and the rest of the group, with Banji on the verge of death, Mat wished nothing more than to go back to his boring days as a third son with no real responsibility in life.
Chapter 28
Back at the cave, they made Banji as comfortable as they could and let him rest. Around the fire, they discussed the day’s events and what they meant to their quest.
Those in the group with previous battle experience knew they had fought extremely well and looked at the day as an overwhelming success. They defeated an enemy force of almost 50 men with a group of seven, three of whom were teenagers with no real battle experience. That was simply unheard of. To do that with only one significant injury was nothing short of a miracle.
Mat didn’t see it that way. All he could think of was the injury to his friend, Banji. Michael could see he was sinking into a depression and knew he had to do something to bring him out of it.
“You were very impressive today,” Michael told Mat. “Without you, we would probably all be dead.”
“If it weren’t for me,” Mat said, “there wouldn’t have even been a battle.”
“That may be true,” Michael replied, “but you can’t change that now. I know you’re questioning our mission and the role you play. That is only natural. After watching you today, I have no doubt that you are the one chosen to wear the Armor of God. The question you have to answer is whether you believe what you are doing is right.”
“I think it needs to be done, but I don’t know if I can do it,” Mat said. “I am responsible for Banji’s injury, and I don’t know if I can live with myself if he dies.”
“You are not responsible for what happened to Banji,” Arajin said. “The men who attacked us are responsible for that, and we have delivered justice for their actions. Banji is young, but he knew the risks. He chose to go on this quest because he believed it was the right thing to do. We all believe it is the right thing to do. You did not choose for us, we each made our own choice.”
“And you need to make your own choice,” Michael said. “We cannot force you to continue this quest or take on the burden it will likely mean. God may have chosen you, but he will not force you to wear the armor and protect the people of Solandeus. You have to voluntarily choose to do that.”
“But what if I make mistakes and people die?” Mat asked.
“You will make mistakes,” Michael said, “and people will die. My hope is that by doing what we are doing, we will be able to save more people. Take this group of barbarians as an example. If we had not been here to stop them, how many people could they have killed? Our actions here may have saved hundreds of innocent lives. That is why we are here. To protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
“Don’t assume the worst,” Arajin added. “Banji is a strong boy. He will come out of this.”
“I promise I will do everything I can to heal him,” Persephonie said.
“I don’t want people to die because of me,” Mat said. “Even if they choose to follow me on this quest.”
“That is precisely why we follow you,” Michael said. “You put the welfare of others ahead of yourself. That is a trait of a good leader.”
“Ok,” Mat said, “I will try to move forward and complete the quest we have started.”
“Even if you still d
oubt yourself,” Michael said, “I believe in you, Mat.”
“As do I,” Arajin added.
“All right,” Mat said, “Tomorrow we resume the search. We just need to be more careful in case there are more men out there.”
“I will send Dimitri and Lucas out tomorrow morning to scout the area,” Arajin said. “If there are more men, they will find them.”
“I’m going to go tell Banji I am sorry, even if he can’t hear me right now,” Mat said. “Tonight I will pray for his recovery, and tomorrow I will focus on finding the Helmet of Salvation.”
Mat left the fire and went back to the chamber where Banji was sleeping. He sat next to him and put his hand on his shoulder as he told him how sorry he was that he got hurt. He told him that he had avenged him and that none of the men that had attacked them got away. Mat promised him he would do everything he could to help him get better and protect him in the future. He finally asked Banji to forgive him for getting him into this mess.
As he closed his eyes and asked God to heal Banji, he felt a peace come over him. He felt like Banji was there telling him everything was going to be ok. When he opened his eyes, he expected Banji to be sitting up looking at him, but instead he found Persephonie.
“So how are you doing with all of this?” Mat asked.
“Ok, I think.” She said. “I know Banji is hurt, but I believe everything is going to be ok. In fact, more than ever before, I believe we are doing the right thing, and I know we are going to succeed. Those men that attacked us needed to be stopped, and I think we were supposed to do that.”
“I know what you mean about stopping them,” Mat said. “In the past, I have always felt remorse after a fight when someone dies. Today, there was no regret. I know in my heart that they were evil men, and we did what was right in defeating them. I just wish Banji wasn’t hurt.”
Sword of Spirit (Salvation of Solandeus) Page 12
