Ederick gave the bard an awed look. He knew the knight was reading Zuhr's will into all of this. What other choice did they have?
"We'll want to be leaving now," said the dwarf looking high into the sky.
"Dragon!" said the bard, looking up at the dark object on the horizon as it blotted out the stars.
"Not a dragon," said the dwarf. "Worse, much worse."
"What could be worse than a dragon?" asked the knight.
"A High Elvish airship carrying a hundred of the Divine Kings warriors!" said the dwarf urgently. Then the dwarf turned and started up the hill. "Come on!"
"What would you have done in his place?" asked the bard.
"I'm really not sure."
"He did what needed doing, so he did. In the end nothing matters but our own quest. Come on!"
Ederick moved the bodies of the elves behind a large boulder and covered them with the loose gravel on the ground. Bart bounded up the hill after the fast moving dwarf and was relieved that Ederick followed after, leaving the elves behind.
"How do they get a ship to fly?" asked the knight as they clambered into the cave.
"It is the power of the Air Sigil, knight. The elves are very, very, skilled in its use. The Divine King is extraordinarily powerful, he claims to be God. He demands the worship of his subjects, and form time to time slaves are sacrificed in his name."
"You hope to free your people from slavery," said the knight. Bart knew that the knight's honor would not refuse the dwarf under such circumstances, and he knew the knight would forgive the dwarf for his treatment of the prisoners.
"I will free them from slavery, with your help."
"You have my help," returned the knight, Bart nodded his agreement.
The bard and the knight stood just inside the cave entrance and watched the airship drift closer; it was like nothing Bart had ever seen. He closed his eyes and let himself see through the eyes of the magic. The ship was like a massive triangle, its bottom was flatter than the belly of any sea faring vessel. Its decks were lined with elves, their silvery eyes glowing in his magical sight. One elf stood on the prow of the ship, his eyes looking this way and that, sending bubbles of magic out before him. One of those bubbles came dangerously close to the cave mouth and the bard released his hold on the Tides, they were looking for him with magic.
"We had better get deeper into the cave so they don't see us, so we had." The two men followed the dwarf deeper into the cave.
The dwarf led them to the rear of the cave and tapped his staff against the wall. Bart heard a rumbling sound, then a section of the wall slid back. Lights flared to life along the corridor of a long passageway that lead deeper into the mountain and downward.
They walked in silence for hours, finally reaching a large chamber. Bart had no idea how much time had passed since the two landed on Hastor, but he was beginning to feel very tired.
"We need to rest," said the bard. The dwarf eyed the two men then nodded. They rested for an hour and moved out again, deeper and deeper into the mountain.
"Why haven't we seen any more elves?" asked the knight.
"For all their boasting, the elves fear the deep parts of Hastor. There are terrible things that lurk in the deep places, let us hope we do not find any of them."
"They will not follow?"
"They will follow. But they will bring large numbers and they will move slowly. We must maintain our lead."
Bart did not relish the idea of a pitched battle in the tight confines of the passageways. They could not stand against the numbers that surely hunted them and there was nowhere to run. They continued on, stopping only for an hour here or an hour there, for what seemed like days to the bard. Finally, they reached their destination. They exited a large chamber and stood on a ledge overlooking a yawning chasm. On the far side of the chasm was an arch made of silveryl and fireore, its inscriptions twinkled in the magical light.
"I get the feeling that this chasm is the least of our worries," said the knight. He kept looking back the way they had come; Bart knew he was trying to figure out a way to defend against the horde of approaching elves.
"I can get us across the cavern, so I can."
Then an arrow sailed through the air and struck the shield strapped to the knight's back. "They're here!"
"An advance scouting party," said the dwarf. "There should be no more than four."
"For now," Bart said as he turned to face the oncoming elves, but the knight waved him off.
"I'll slow them down, Bart. You and the dwarf need to get to work!"
"Aye, Zuhr be with you!"
With his shield raised Ederick charged through the opening, a battle cry on his lips. Bart could hear the arrows striking the knight's shield and the shrill calls of the elves. He reached out to the Tides and drew in the power of the Air, and lifted the dwarf into the air. Then he lifted himself and propelled them both across the chasm. He was grateful for the knight's attack on the elves, for they made great arrow targets as they went. As they drifted farther across the great opening, a hailstorm of stones descended on them from above. The bard tried to create a shield of air to deflect the stones but he could not stop them. The pain from being struck by the rocks was incredible and the bard nearly lost control of the Tides.
The Tides were slipping from the bard's control and the two began to descend prematurely. Then he sensed the dwarf reaching out to the Tides, and mercifully the hailstorm ceased. He didn't know what the dwarf did, but he was sure it was something he could not have done with the Air Sigil. A blast of air from below propelled the pair up, and Bart had to force it back with his magic. But the blast pushed them off course and they were coming dangerously close to formation of deadly stalactites. Again he sensed the Tides gathering about the dwarf and suddenly the the stalactites exploded into a cloud of harmless dust. The bard steered them back on course and they neared the ledge on the far side of the cavern.
Just as the bard thought they might reach the safety of the other side, a rumbling from above told him that a number of the other great stalactites were coming loose from the ceiling. Then one fell, narrowly missing their bubble of air. Then another and another. One fragment of a stalactite dagger slashed his shoulder is it fell and the bard felt blood dripping down his shoulder. Then the dwarf leaped from the protection of the air bubble and dropped safely to the landing by the gleaming Pathway Arch.
He reached up and grabbed the weakening bard's leg and pulled him onto the landing. Bart let his spell drop and knelt down breathing heavily. After a moment, he tried to stand and leaned on the Pathway Arch for support. The moment his flesh touched the gleaming inscriptions he felt a surge of power fill his body and his mind was assaulted with visions of far off places and leering faces. He recoiled, pulling his hand away as though bitten by a viper; but his magic had been restored!
He looked at the dwarf in awe. "The Pathway Arch is a miraculous device."
"Do you know how to use it?" asked the bard hopefully.
"No, but the inscriptions are clear. We need the strength of man to break the crown free of is capstone."
The Pathway Arch was a thing of pure beauty. Its silveryl and fireore pillars gleamed silver and gold and its inscriptions twinkled like stars in the night sky. Bart looked up at the crown resting at the top of the arch and was awed. It was a steel crown inlaid with black onyx and dark sapphires, but there were no other decorations. It was ugly and cold and Bart sensed evil in its heart.
"You should not use this thing," he said with trepidation. "It is a thing of great evil, so it is."
"Evil it may be, bard, but its power is undeniable. It will help me lead my kin out of slavery from the elves."
Bart did not know how to answer the dwarf. It was clear that this was a thing of great power, and he instinctively knew that it would somehow give the dwarf the help he needed, but he wondered what the cost would be in the end. Were there any means that did not justify ending slavery? He shook his head, it was not his fight.
<
br /> "What do I need to do?"
"You must lend me your magic that I may shatter the spell. Use my staff as a focal point for your magic, for it is imbued with power already."
Bart nodded and filled himself with the power of the Tides and he sensed the dwarf doing the same. He grasped the shaft of the dwarf's staff and used the power of the Air Sigil to push the magic into the dwarf's staff. Finally, he sensed that the staff would take no more and he let go. The dwarf picked up the staff and swung it with all his might against the empty space in the center of the arch. A powerful whoosh of air from the arch nearly pushed the two over the ledge, but they held firm. The inscriptions that ran up and down the pillars, and across the top of the arch, flared to life and bathed the two men in light. When it was done, the center of the arch looked more like a window into a starry night sky.
"I do not have the power to lift you high enough to reach the crown."
"I could try it myself," offered the bard.
"You'll not be able to do this alone. The ancients crafted this arch so that it took the Air Sigil of the High Elves, the Earth Sigil of the dwarves, and the strength of humans, to operate it. You will not be able to do it alone."
Ederick! The bard had forgotten that his friend was fighting off a number of Elvish warriors. He looked anxiously across the chasm and saw with relief that the knight was ok. Ederick stood on the landing glancing back up the passageway where there were surely more elves coming. The bard used the power of the Tides to envelop the knight in a shroud of air and lifted him from the ground. The knight continued to watch the passage where the bodies of dead elves now lay, hoping there were not more coming. Bart brought the knight safely across the chasm and the three stood before the arch. "When the bard lifts you in the air, you should be able to pull the crown from its opening."
Bart used his magic to levitate the knight to the top of the Pathway Arch. Ederick reached out to touch the crown, but hesitated. He, too, sensed the dark power in the crown and was loath to touch it. "Please," urged the dwarf. "Take the crown!"
Just as the knight's fingers closed on the cold steel crown, a barrage of arrows soared through the air and struck all around them. The knight fell to the floor as the bard's spell came to an end, but he was back on his feet and behind his shield in an instant.
"It would seem the elves have arrived," said the knight wryly. Bart threw a shield of air before the trio and managed to deflect all of the enemy's arrows, but he would not be able to hold the shield forever.
"I'll need my strength to get through the Pathway Arch, so I will," said the bard tersely. The dwarf held his staff aloft and pointed it above the heads of the elves. Giant stalactites ripped free from the roof of the cavern and plummeted down upon the heads of the murderous elves. Then more stalactites fell and soon the opening was sealed.
Bart lowered his shield of air and rested, the muffled sounds of the elves drifted from across the cavern. He looked at the Pathway Arch and saw that a golden pathway now extended into the starry space beyond.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
"You give me the crown," said the dwarf. Ederick quickly handed the crown to the dwarf, he seemed happy to be rid of it. The dwarf held the crown in his hands for a long moment, staring into the dark jewels that adorned it. Then he looked up at the two Llarsians. "Thank you."
"I pray you are able to use it to free your people," said the bard. "And not to enslave them further."
"How do we travel to Llars, dwarf?" asked the knight.
"I'm afraid I don't know."
"You don't know?" demanded the knight.
"I only know what I have already told you, that this Pathway Arch was used by my ancestors to travel from Llars to Hastor. It was activated when the spell was broken and the crown was removed. Beyond that I can tell you nothing."
"You are trapped, dwarf. How will you return to the surface?"
Aethelryd said nothing in response. Instead he tapped his staff on the wall of the cavern and stepped into solid rock, then he was gone.
"I won't even ask how he did that." The knight shook his head. "Now what, Bart?"
A loud boom shook the cavern and the pile of rubble that protected them from the wrath of the High Elves had been blown apart. Dark forms began to scamper across the rubble and bows were being drawn.
"Now we go!" Bart grabbed the knight by the shoulder and dragged him to the opening of the Pathway Arch. As silver-shafted arrows descended, the men stepped into the starry opening and disappeared.
C H A P T E R
E I G H T
~
Carym and Genn thundered away from the Tower of the Hand and along the road that led north. They had learned that a guard force from Delfyd Rhi's men was on its way to the Tower to apprehend them. Carym did not want the bishop to be forced to defend him against the Rhi; Rohan needed time to recall his troops and arrange movement to Alfheym.
Since the moment the decision was made to flee, Genn's mood darkened significantly and she had barely spoken to Carym. It was clear that something was causing her to fiercely oppose continuing their quest for the Everpool. However, Carym could not afford to dwell on the matter, when the Rhi's men did not find him at the Tower they would inevitably send runners to every village looking for signs of Carym's passage. He glanced back at Genn who was trailing him to his right, but her face was a mask of concentration. He looked ahead, desperately hoping for any signs of his friends. Hala had gone home to Hitchyn Itsa but was supposed to be on her way back to the Tower. He worried for her, and he worried for Ed and Bart. The men's disappearance disturbed him and there was little hope in his mind of finding them. All he could do was continue north to the land of the Jaguar Tribes and pray that they found Hala in time. Umber's minions were closing in and they were desperate to reach the Tomb of the Dark Paladin before the companions.
The cold night wind cut deeply into the riders but Carym didn't want to risk stopping. Yet he knew that he soon must or risk destroying his mounts. There was a town ahead and he wanted to find a place to hide from the Rhi's troops for the night.
"We need to rest the horses and ourselves. But I hesitate to risk a confrontation with the Rhi's men, or worse," Carym's tone of voice betrayed his inner conflict.
"Why are you afraid to fight them, Carym?" demanded Genn. "You and I have handled worse than the pathetic soldiers working for Delfyd. And Delfyd wants to deliver us to Umber!"
"These men are under the influence of the Shadow, Genn. They don't know what they are about. I don't want to harm them."
"But they will harm you!"
"You are right, my dear," he said with a sigh of resignation as they reached the edge of the small town. "They will not relent. Yet we must stop here."
Two roads met in the center of Cannok, which consisted of a few small buildings that likely served the peoples of the larger surrounding area. The inn seemed lively with patrons while the small shops had long ago closed for the night. The faint sound of a flute drifted to them across the night air.
"What will we do when the Rhi's men find us?"
"If they find us we will--"
"When they find us," she interrupted.
"We will have to ambush them, there is little hope to minimize bloodshed otherwise."
Genn smiled at Carym's idea. It bothered him that she could be so callous about the cost of their journey in terms of the lives of innocent people. For a long time he thought he had understood her, thought he knew how she felt about him. Lately her personality had darkened, she seemed more eager to argue with him and more bitter about his decision not to settle down at the Tower of the Hand.
When it seemed the horses had enough time to recover from their hard run, they led them to the inn where they were hitched and allowed to drink water. Satisfied that the horses would be ok for the time being, Carym led Genn inside the inn.
"I'll get some food," Genn offered as the door closed behind them and she headed to the barkeep.
Carym scanned the ro
om and the people in it, he didn't see any of Delfyd's men here. A staircase in the corner near the hearth led up to the rooms; there weren't any other doors leading outside that he could see. He suspected there would be a way out through the kitchen as he watched a server disappear through a swinging door with an empty food tray. Most of the patrons appeared to be local men of varying ages. Though some had the look of hardened travelers, he did not think any of them were agents of the Shadow.
Before he turned back to the counter he caught the sight of the flickering fire reflecting on the golden hair of a woman seated near the hearth. As if sensing his scrutiny, the woman turned to face him. Familiar eyes met his. When their eyes met, he was speechless and his throat seemed to dry up. He wanted to shout in greeting, to say something, but the words would not come. Her eyes held his as she rose and walked boldly across the room, her regal bearing apparent to any who looked on. He felt giddy, amazed at the torrent of emotions roiling within him at the sight of this traveler.
Genn walked back to the table with a tray of warm chicken and ham in her hands, stopping short when she saw the other woman.
"Princess," she said stiffly. "We thought we wouldn't see you again."
Hala's impassive gaze silently shifted to Genn, then back to Carym again. On the inside Carym's emotions roiled and churned. He loved Genn, of that he was certain. Nevertheless, for some reason the warrior-princess from the north stirred something deep within him, and this wasn't the first time. He was profoundly glad to see her again, and not just because of her value to their company. Was he just imagining it? Was it a simply a matter of Genn's dark moods driving him away from the Keneerie woman?
Despite the stern countenance that each of them now wore, something much more significant had silently passed between them all.
"Well met, Hala!" Carym said, with a bit more enthusiasm than he planned to show. Hala embraced him warmly, yet all too briefly. Her scent lingered in his nose.
The Tomb of the Dark Paladin Page 13
