by Jenna Payne
Arken, Tabor, and Prince Kirian warily followed Albertus as he led them along the path and deeper into the forest.
“Prince Kirian…” announced Albertus formally. “May I present to you Xenon d’Souza–an emissary from Castle Drakon.”
“Prince Kirian…” greeted Xenon, bowing respectfully. “It is a relief to finally find you safe and well.”
“You have been searching for me?” asked Kirian.
“Who are you? Who sent you?” demanded Arken.
“I am from Castle Drakon…” replied Xenon, “I have been sent by my Lord Sarkan. My Lord has sent me to find you and return you to the safety of his protection at Castle Drakon.”
“My grandfather? My grandfather sent you?” exclaimed Kirian excitedly. “You are from Castle Drakon?”
“How do we know that this isn’t some kind of trick?” growled Arken. “Prince Silas has his best hunters searching for the prince–how do we know that you are who you say you are?”
“My Lord foresaw that you may be cautious…” nodded Xenon, “He entrusted me with his dagger–it carries the same stones as the ring of power that the prince wears, the stones grow brighter when they are brought together.”
Xenon pulled the dagger out from the leather sheath that he wore on his belt. The dagger that Sarkan had entrusted him with was a small weapon, it looked almost inconsequential, perhaps decorative, but the stonework and engraving on it was exquisite. A small sigh of recognition escaped from between the lips of the prince as he gazed upon the blade. Kirian raised his left hand and all assembled could see the ring on his left hand. As he reached out towards the dagger that Xenon held, the stones began to glow brighter, both the stones inlaid on the ring that he wore and the stones inlaid on the hilt of the dagger.
“I recognize you as an emissary of Castle Drakon…” acknowledged Kirian, smiling at Xenon, “…I recognize you as an emissary of my grandfather, Lord Sarkan. Let me introduce my companions–my head-strong swordsman is Arken the Mercenary, and my fearless archer is Tabor.
“Master Tabor…” bowed Xenon, “it is good to see you again.”
“And you Xenon…” grinned Tabor. “I never thought I would be so happy to see your face as I am today.”
“I am pleased that you have been in good company my Prince…” acknowledged Xenon. “My Lord Sarkan will be keen to thank and honor each of you personally as soon as we reach the safety of Castle Drakon.”
“How easy will it be to reach Castle Drakon from here?” asked Arken, unsure really where in the forest that they were.
“Well, we may need some guidance from our friendly monk Albertus here…” replied Xenon, “but we’re not too far from the border between the Garnet Valley and the lands belonging to Castle Drakon, so we will just need to find a way to avoid the border patrols and we will back amidst the safety of our own people.”
“We will need to move quickly…” confirmed Arken, “We have hunters on our heels and Prince Silas’s soldiers scouring the roads for any sign of us. Lead the way Albertus–we will follow.”
“Thank you Arken” said Kirian quietly, walking up behind the mercenary and placing a hand gently on his shoulder.
“Why are you thanking me?” grumbled Arken, staring determinedly at the forest trail in front of them.
“Because I would never have survived without you…” he replied, “I wouldn’t have made it past that first night when Davidon smuggled me away from the castle and found you in that inn. Without you, I would have been captured by my uncle and who knows what would have happened to me–well, I guess it’s pretty obvious what would have happened to me, I would have been killed.”
“We have had some adventures, haven’t we!” smiled Arken.
“You know that my grandfather will reward you richly for delivering me safely…” he continued.
“I’m not here for the money…” grumbled Arken, “not any more. I think my mercenary days are behind me.”
“You could leave now if you want?” offered Kirian. “Xenon can take me to Drakon–if you leave now you will be able to avoid Prince Silas’s soldiers and make your way to safety.”
“I’m not leaving you now…” replied Arken firmly. “If anyone is going to deliver you to your grandfather then it will be me.”
“But you have risked so much for me…” protested Kirian. “You have given up everything… I owe my life to you…”
“Somehow you have already given me something more valuable than all the gold in the kingdom…” replied Arken. “You have given me hope… you have given me a reason to live… a reason to fight… a reason to believe that the future might be worth sticking around for.”
“Somehow I don’t feel as if my journey will end when we reach Castle Drakon…” mused Kirian quietly, staring off into the forest. “Somehow I feel that we’re not even at the end of the beginning, if that makes sense.”
“I think I know what you mean…” smiled Arken. “However I guess the next move depends on what sort of reception we get when we reach your grandfather.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kirian.
“Well, your grandfather has always been an ally of the kingdom of Garnet Valley, he may not want to risk upsetting Prince Silas by causing any sort of trouble…” suggested Arken. “He may counsel that you simply accept that you have lost the crown, but be thankful that you have escaped with your life.”
“I see your point…” nodded Kirian. “But Prince Silas’s treatment of my family is inexcusable. I have an obligation to the people of Garnet Valley to reclaim the throne–no matter what the cost is!”
“I thought you might say that…” smiled Arken. “Why don’t we ask Xenon what his understanding of the situation is?”
Arken and Kirian pushed their horses forward so that they were riding alongside Xenon.
“Is everything okay Prince Kirian?” asked Xenon as they approached.
“Yes, I’m fine thank you Xenon…” he nodded. “I was just wanting to ask you about my grandfather.”
“Lord Sarkan? Of course, what would you like to know?” replied Xenon.
“Do you know what his intentions are?”
“I’m not sure that I understand you Prince Kirian, what do you mean by ‘his intentions’?” replied Xenon.
“I think what the prince is interested in is whether you have any insight into what support Lord Sarkan might be willing to offer him in order to reclaim the throne of the kingdom of Garnet Valley…” added Arken.
“Oh I see…” nodded Xenon. “To be honest, I’m not really sure. When Lord Sarkan sent me on this mission to find you, his primary concern was your safety. At that stage I don’t think he’d thought beyond bringing you to Castle Drakon. I guess that doesn’t really help you much.”
“That’s okay, thanks Xenon…” smiled Kirian. “Getting to Castle Drakon is really all that I’ve been able to think of anyway. I’m not sure how I would go about raising an army or launching some sort of attack on Prince Silas.”
“My Lord Sarkan has a lot of experience in how to wield power…” added Xenon. “He has ruled the Castle Drakon for centuries now, since the death of his father. My Lord Sarkan has had to defend his people countless times over the years, he won’t be intimidated by any man let alone by Prince Silas.”
*****
“What secrets do you hold within you…” whispered Kirian, quietly addressing the small dagger that he held tightly, admiring the sun’s rays glinting off the stones inlaid on its hilt. He held out his left hand on which he wore the ring that also bore the same stonework–next to each other they seemed to dazzle even brighter.
“Xenon…” asked Kirian, “can I have the dagger that my grandfather gave to you?”
“Of course Prince Kirian, here it is.” Xenon gave a small bow as he handed over the decorative blade that matched the ring and the dagger already held by the prince. Prince Kirian carefully turned the knives over in his hands, studying the designs and engravings, comparing them, admiring th
em.
“Tabor…” beckoned Kirian “Look at the stones… see how they’re shining?”
“They’re beautiful…” acknowledged Tabor.
“In this light I can see more of the detail, more of the engravings on each piece…” he said, showing them to Tabor. “See how my ring and dagger have matching symbols? And look… the dagger that Xenon was carrying… the one that was sent by my grandfather, it has different symbols. What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know…” replied Tabor, studying the daggers that the prince held.
“Arken…” beckoned Kirian, “have you ever seen anything like them before? Why do you think that they seem to shine brighter when they are close to each other?”
“They are pretty special, aren’t they…” admired Arken, taking one of the daggers and turning it over carefully as it caught the light of the sun. They’re not stones that I’ve ever seen before, for some reason they seem very old.”
“Hopefully my grandfather will be able to shed some light on these mysteries when we get to Castle Drakon…” shrugged Prince Kirian, “Meanwhile, I guess we’d better keep moving. Lead on Xenon! Lead on!”
*****
“We are nearly there, Prince Kirian…” declared Xenon, after several hours of hard riding with Albertus guiding the way. “Beyond that border post lies the lands belonging to Castle Drakon!” They had been travelling along the narrow forest trails, concealed by the trees as they made their way steadily west to safety.
As they looked down on to the guard post, still within the safety of the trees, they could see that the border was being heavily patrolled by the soldiers of the Garnet Valley.
“How are we going to get past the guards?” asked Kirian, excited to be so close to the end of their long journey, but nervous also that there was still danger ahead.
“We could create a distraction?” offered Arken. “Create a skirmish to draw their attention and that would enable you to push through the border.”
“That’s too dangerous Arken–you wouldn’t stand a chance against numbers like this, I won’t lose you now after you have brought me safely this far…” protested Kirian. “There must be another way.”
“Xenon–is there not another way across the border?” asked Tabor. “What about those cliffs? Is there a way that we could bypass this border post?”
“I imagine that they will have patrols all along the border, but maybe you have a point…” nodded Xenon. “We’ve always thought of the cliffs as being too unstable for anyone to use them as a crossing point, but these are desperate times. There are occasionally reports of bandits living in some of the small caves that have formed in the cliffs, and the paths are notoriously prone to collapse and avalanche, so it’s just a question of which dangers we want to face.”
“We’d have to leave the horses, wouldn’t we?” asked Arken, “They’re not going to be able to take those cliff paths.”
“That is true…” nodded Xenon, “but there is a farming settlement near the base of the cliffs once we have made the crossing–we would be able to commandeer some horses there for the final leg of our journey to Castle Drakon.”
“What do you think Prince Kirian?” asked Arken.
Kirian scanned the blue skies that stretched as far as the eye could see. A lone eagle circled high overhead, occasionally calling out a lonesome cry as it searched for prey in the grassland below.
“Let’s tackle the cliffs…” he decided. “Lead on Xenon! If any bandits get in our way they had better watch out. The stones in my dagger are glowing brightly and I am in no mood for being messed around with!”
“He used to be such a sweet boy…” grumbled Arken to Tabor.
“I heard that Arken!” he shouted in mock-outrage. “For that I’m going to make you walk in front of us to test whether the cliff trails will take our weight!”
Arken took charge of removing the saddles from the horses and setting them loose. Xenon and Tabor repacked their rucksacks, leaving behind anything that was not essential, trying to make their load as light as possible for the climb into the cliffs.
“Are you ready for this Albertus?” asked Kirian, concerned that the strenuous climb might be too much for the old man.
“Don’t you worry about me…” winked Albertus. “I might be old but I can keep up with you.”
“We have a short distance from the edge of the tree-line through into that first rocky outcrop. We will be exposed, and it is possible that we will be spotted by their scouts, so we need to make sure that we move as fast as possible…” explained Xenon. “I will lead the way. Tabor–you protect the rear. If we are detected at all you have to try and keep moving forward. Arken–if you stay with Prince Kirian then you can keep him safe and keep moving forward with him if there is any trouble. If all goes well then we’ll stop and get our bearings once we reach the protection of the rocks. If there is trouble, then just keep moving and push as far up into the cliffs as possible. Any questions?”
“Sounds like a good plan…” nodded Arken approvingly.
“Right, on my lead, leave a count of two between each other so that we are not tripping over ourselves. Ready… Now!” Xenon suddenly leapt forward and was sprinting across the open ground, keeping low to try and avoid attracting any attention from the scouts of Garnet Valley. Then it was Arken and Kirian running together. Then it was Albertus's turn, and finally Tabor brought up the rear.
When they had been scoping out the route to be taken from the safety of the trees it hadn’t seemed so far, but now–with his heart pumping and his legs moving as fast as possible, Arken could feel his body straining. Beside him Kirian was moving smoothly, composed and calm as they quickly covered the open ground. The rocky outcrop was in sight now, and they could see that Xenon had nearly made it to safety.
“Quickly! Hurry now!” hissed Xenon. An arrow suddenly thwacked into the ground close to Arken’s foot.
“Damn it… they’ve seen us! We have to move faster!” urged Arken, trying to see which direction the archers might be shooting from so that he could try and protect the prince. The arrows began to fall increasingly thickly. Arken could see that Xenon had made it to the safety of the rocks. Eventually, Arken and Kirian also made it to the designated meeting point.
“Keep moving!” urged Xenon, “Don’t wait for us, push higher! Tabor can stay with me to try and provide some protection.”
“I can’t leave without making sure that everyone is safe!” protested Kirian.
“You have to go now Prince Kirian!” insisted Xenon. “Arken–keep moving, find a defensible position and wait for us if you can. We won’t be far behind. Go!”
Arken grabbed the prince by the arm and almost dragged him on to the trail that was heading higher into the cliffs. Behind them they could hear the arrows clattering on to the rocks that were sheltering Xenon.
“This path is going to get steep pretty quickly…” observed Arken, cautiously testing the loose rocks that were already feeling like they were shifting beneath his feet.
“Can we not wait for them here?” asked Kirian, looking back over his shoulder to see whether he could see any sign of his companions.
“Not yet, we’re too exposed here, we need to keep moving…” insisted Arken. “Come on, a bit further. We can rest in a moment.”
Back down at the rocky outcrop Xenon was becoming increasingly worried as the arrows continued to rain down on them.
Albertus had been wounded in the leg and Tabor was trying to carry him the rest of the way. Xenon knew that even if they got to the rock that Albertus wouldn’t be able to cope with the steep narrow cliff paths that lay ahead of them.
“Tabor!” shouted Xenon, “You must leave him!”
“No! I can’t!” shouted back Tabor.
“He is right my boy…” whispered Albertus. “Don’t worry about me, the forest will protect me…”
Tabor gasped as Albertus produced a small blade from within his cloak and stabbed himself in the stom
ach, making it impossible for Tabor to carry him any further. “Go now…” urged Albertus.
Roaring in anguish and despair, Tabor lay the body of Albertus on the ground and quickly sprinted to the rock where Xenon was waiting, the arrows continued to fall around them.
“We need to move quickly!” ordered Xenon. “They will be coming for us now!” Xenon began to bound up the steep slope of the cliff, picking his way between the loose rocks, Tabor followed behind. Up ahead, Arken had found a small ledge where the cliff path narrowed. Confident that he could overpower anyone who tried to approach they had decided to wait for the others. Arken had his trusty sword drawn, guarding the approach, while Kirian stood behind him with his blade at the ready–the stones in its hilt shining brightly.
“Arken! We are approaching!” shouted Xenon, seeing the light reflecting off Arken’s drawn blade.
“They made it!” gasped Kirian, immediately sheathing his blade. They gathered on the small ledge, quickly trying to catch their breath after the strenuous sprint to safety and steep ascent that they had had to make. It took a moment for them to realize that their numbers were fewer.
“Wait… where’s Albertus?” asked Kirian. However, he could see from Tabor’s ashen face that Albertus hadn’t made it to safety. He wrapped his arms around Tabor and tried to console him.
“We have to keep moving…” insisted Xenon “Their arrows won’t be much of a threat now but they will come after us on foot–they won’t be far behind.”
“Should we try and block this path in some way?” suggested Arken.
“We could create a landslide without too much difficulty…” agreed Xenon. “But I think it’s better if we just focus on moving as quickly as we can. We need to head up towards that peak and then work our way down to the valley floor. I’ll lead the way. Let’s move.”
Treading carefully but as quickly as they dared, the companions moved in single file along the narrow cliff path, frequently dislodging loose stones beneath their feet that tumbled far down beneath them.
