Hawkmoon (The Hawkmoon Chronicles)

by Unknown

  There was Slot. He had been with Gash from the beginning. A civilized Reiver from the South, he was deadly and as close to a friend as Gash had. Compared to most Reivers who pissed it away on drink and whores, Slot was rich. He could have retired but he had a taste for man flesh. On raids there was always a chance of picking off the odd farmer. What wasn’t eaten on the spot could be salted for sale, or his personal larder.. He claimed to have eaten part of an Elf.

  Odo and Tar were twins; top raiders who obeyed orders. In a fight they stayed with Gash. Gath was his nephew. His brother had paid to get him on the troop. Gash would have left him behind otherwise; he still might. If the runt failed to come back what can you do? He told them this mission was going to be worse than anything they had ever done.

  In a month they were at Blackwater Crossing. The wizard had turned out alight. He hid them from patrols. He drew animals so they could be slaughtered without commotion .When the pony died he kept up. Almost died of fatigue but he held on. Still he was a spy and that couldn’t be tolerated.

  The troop waited, hidden in a deadfall while darkness took hold. Just before the light went a troop rode from the woods to cross at the ford. Eight women, armed and armoured on Steppe raised ponies. The young slave got agitated but calmed down when a blade touched the side of his neck. The party crossed. One lingered on the opposite bank, looking up at the deadfall. Slot fitted an arrow. The rider turned away.

  The other slave had a bad feeling. Reivers never took slaves with them on raids, they slowed them down. They had been picked because they were fit and healthy. Despite that they had to be beaten when they started lagging. They waited until the second moon rose. At the far side, before the trees was a clearing . In the moonlight they could see a slab of black rock. Close behind were two standing stones. Nallan turned to Gash: “Bring them across”

  The sorcerer cleaned the slab with a cloth from his pack. He laid a brass goblet to one side ,a knife to the other. The slaves came up, the older one held by Tar , the other in Odo’s muscular grip. Seeing the knife the younger slave tried to pull away. Odo pushed him forward. The slave moaned in terror...

  “Shut him up”

  Clubbing the youth on the back of the neck; they laid him on the rock. Slot passed a rope; Odo caught and returned it until the slave was bound tight. Odo stuffed a rag in his mouth. The Sorcerer began to chant. Taking the knife he made a cut on the side of the slave’s neck . The slave thrashed against the ropes. Blood spurted. Pushing the goblet against the wound the sorcerer raised it to the stars, chanting. The air between the rocks started to glow. The standing stones began to fade. They disappeared and where stood was a blank darkness. The victim arched his back snapping the rope. He sat up blood gushing from his neck... Tar was distracted when the older slave struck backward with his elbow. He roared, hands coming to his nose. The slave ran. Tar grabbed for him but missed.

  “Get him”. Gash swore.

  “Leave him. There is no time ...”

  “I command here and no slave runs from me”

  “The sacrifice has begun, it must not stop. Tie this one down again and let me finish. If I don’t do this right no one will leave here alive.”

  They retied the slave. Odo and Tar held him at either side. They needn’t have bothered, he was all but gone . Tar’s nose was dripping on the rock.

  “I don’t need your blood. Unless you want to be part of the sacrifice, step back”

  Gash took his place, the mage continued. When the goblet was full he raised it to his mouth, chanting. He drank. Light blazed from where the stones had been .Odo jumped. A blast of frigid air swept from the space. It had a charnel house smell.

  “Stand fast. Whatever happens, whatever you see. Stand fast.”

  The chanting ceased. The slave was dead.

  The sorcerer wiped the goblet, replacing it in his pack. “It is done. Follow me. Put on everything warm, leave anything made of iron”

  The sorcerer passed a light chain to Gash. It gleamed in the star light.

  “Link this to your belt and pass it back…Listen to me. I know you don’t trust me but heed my words. The place you are about to enter is beyond anything you have ever known. If you do not follow my orders and do only what I say you will never see daylight. Do not touch anything, do not take anything. Do not accept any gifts no matter how enticing... When you are hungry you will see food beyond your dreams. Beautiful women will offer to satisfy every desire you have ever known. The food is poison, the women are demons. Drink only what you bring with you. Eat only the food you brought. If you succumb they will feed on you for a thousand years and your torment will not have begun. If you can hear no one or see no one, stand where you are. . If anything touches you, do not pull away, no matter what they do. Stand fast... The rope is enchanted, they cannot break it, but they will seek to get you to take yourself from it or make you think it is broken so that you panic. If you do you are lost. Down here there are no second chances. I can’t waste the torch I will make light at certain times.”

  Gathering their kit they passed through.

  The ground went to a downward slope. They walked for what could have been hours; it was hard to know. Without the slaves to slow them they made good distance until Nallan called a halt.

  “We will sleep now. I am going to make a light and that will bring them but there is nothing for it. Shield your eyes. ”A light blazed. Odo screamed covering his eyes .The trail was as wide as two walking side by side. To one side was a wall that ascended out of sight, to the other a plunging abyss out of which came titters of laughter. Odo shared with his brother who had no food and little water When they finished eating Nallan put the torch out.. Tar fell asleep, still hungry.

  The woods near Thost.. The scent of meat cooking came through the trees. He came to a glade with women cooking on open fires. Wild boar roasting. One of the women came to him with a glass A breeze lifted her dress to show long , smooth legs…. She sat on the grass, he sat beside her. She kissed him and stood again, reaching for his hand. He made to rise but there was something holding him. Something was snagged in his belt, holding him back. He bent to release it .A blow starred his vision.

  Odo’s voice came from nearby.

  “Try that again and I’ll let you go”

  Odo returned to sleep, this time with no dreams. Movement brought him awake. The sorcerer was using his staff. He didn’t know who he hated most, the sorcerer or Gash for getting them in to this. The food was gone, stolen. Gash swore at Tar whose job it was to look after it. Each of them had water and a pan of hard bread.. It would be maggoty but there was nothing else...

  Gash was having a conversation with the sorcerer. It looked like something they wanted no one else to hear. Odo wandered close but Gash glared at him.

  Those two are as thick as thieves.

  “Check you have everything, there is no coming back. Slot, you’re on the back”

  “Why”

  “Because I said so, Switch places with Odo. Turn and turn about, right , Odo,?”

  “Right chief”

  They were gone a few minutes when the whispering began once more. Odo had the impression that small animals, a lot of them, were dogging their footsteps. Like pups but not friendly. Something greasy touched him on the back of the neck. He yelped. Gash hissed at him .

  A voice came from below. “Who comes?”

  The sorcerer stopped, the others walking into him. “We have been sent”

  “By whom”

  “You know who and you have been paid”

  “A single slave? Hardly a morsel. If you had given the other... No matter . Leave one of your party and you may proceed”

  The sorcerer turned to the group. The light from his staff blazed until everyone was shading their eyes. He nodded to Gash who stepped across, and touched his nephew . As the youth blinked Gash broke the link that tied him to the chain and pushed him backward. The light went out. Screams filled the dark, howls of triumph, followed by cries of terror .
>
  ”You may go”

  “No, uncle, I beg you, don’t leave me. My father…. “

  A scream came from behind as they hurried after the magician. It lasted while they made the passage of a long tunnel, fading with distance.. They were a sombre bunch when they stopped hours later. Odo glanced at his chief.

  Gash surrendered his nephew like throwing back a small trout. Still, rather him than me.

  They ate in silence. The whispering was back. Gash sat, chewing a crust. A long time ago his father tried to have old Gash killed. What? Did he think he forgot? Gash forgot nothing. If it came to it he would say it was the sorcerer’s idea. No argument there. The sorcerer would not be around to say different..

  The wizard was losing it. Huddled in a corner, clasping the staff with frightened eyes. Gash had seen it before. Some had only so much, when it was gone, it was gone. Whatever nerve he had was used to get this far... This one was about to break and if he did they were done for. There was talk around the warrens that he had crossed one of the higher ups . Made no sense that a junior would be on something this big. They were running out of time. If he had to tie the sorcerer and have him carried he would. On the way back, they would have to make another payment.

  What would they give for a sorcerer?

  He ordered the troop on its feet. The sorcerer objected, whining that he needed rest.. Gash told them they were going on; there would be no rest until they came out. Anyone who fell behind would be left. There were no objections. Odo picked up the sorcerer , and tied him on with the harness the had made for the slave.. Fires blazed in the depths lighting scenes of cool streams, tables covered with food, beckoning women. Slot saw his mother and went to break the link to the chain. Gash hit him.

  It could have been days or weeks, there was no way of knowing. The sorcerer was delirious. The tunnel went on straight, then to a steep incline. They would have been encouraged if they were not so exhausted. Gash ordered a stop.

  A vague glow came from up ahead. Cold air touched him . There was s smell. Different. Not shit or rot… vegetation; wet vegetation. He jumped to his feet to run but the chain pulled at him. The others started awake,.

  “Smell, Take a lungful”

  They moved forward in a crouch, as if they expected arrows. The light grew stronger with the scent of living things. Gash warned them to stay together. No one to make a break.. There was an opening ahead. Light came from beyond.

  They passed an opening and looked up at the stars. Water ran from a slope. Before Gash could warn him Odo ran to it, plunging his face, sucking mouthfuls. Nothing happened. The others joined him. Movement in the bushes drew their attention. Two rabbits scurried for cover. One got away but Tar killed the other with a rock. They skinned it and ate it raw. Odo smelt the air. A musky scent from below, borne on the breeze; a large animal of some kind.. Leaving the sorcerer to chew on bones, the twins went to one side, Slot and Gash to the other A herd of deer grazed on the slope. Gash watched them, thinking how to bring one down. They had no weapons and were in no condition for a long hunt. He noticed the slope at the other side ended in a sharp line. Gravity would do what they could not. The twins could not come from that direction but neither could their smell. Gash whispered to Slot The reiver started down and around. He waited until Slot was in position and stood running up the slope, waving . The herd bolted. Most of them came back down ignoring both reivers. Two ran for the drop, one veering away in time but the last jumped into space and dropped with a bleating cry.

  What Dreams May Come.

  The line flew across the water . He tried to bring it down short of the bank but it stretched to a bush on the far side The flies were caught and not in a place where they could be recovered.. Four out of five times the line would come loose or he could wade across. Not today. The line was wrapped on a bush and neither gentle tugs nor strong pulls would dislodge it. The rod formed a U and still it held. Without warning it parted from the tree and flew across. Before he wound it back he knew they were gone. He had more at the apartment for all the good they were.He waded the rushing current, careful not to slip on the rocks beneath. It wouldn’t do to have an accident this far out.

  The sausages were greasy and delicious. He could have brought them cooked from the house but there was something about food cooked in the open…Pouring hot water from the saucepan he made coffee. The air was cool with the promise of rain. . He had a sleeping bag, bought in a yard sale. Putting the book aside he closed his eyes.

  Black wind across frozen fields. He wore a military greatcoat; soaked and muddy… A woman came out of the blizzard. She was thin, barefoot, her hair tied back. Standing close she grasped his hands in both of hers. His vision went in a burst of light. The same woman, well fleshed , in a city among people with faces like hers. He felt her thoughts…A child, left in the care of people with bright smiles and cold eyes. A liason with a man whose soul was corrupt, who served another who had no soul... He could smell her breath as she leant closer.“There is a tower in the centre of the city” She giggled, fading into darkness . .

  Outline of buildings. The wind had swept the roads clean of snow. Frozen to powder particles of snow rasped against his face.He stood at the edge of a frozen harbour A stone tower at the quay, a narrow door; inside a circular staircase winding up. He started climbing. After a time he heard . ..Looking back he saw a young girl, dark hair, dark eyes and a man that looked exactly like him. They were trying to get past but he wouldn’t let them. He climbed faster . He reached the top , emerging in a circular room with a polished wooden floor. Some people stood around looking out through narrow windows. He crossed the floor excited at the chance of seeing the city. Looking through the embrasure , there was nothing of the town below. He found himself looking into the room from a point outside .. Directly opposite he could see the back of his head as he looked out.

  Three girls came up from the river, dressed in filmy clothing, moulded to their breasts and thighs. Two sat on a low branch, singing. One knelt by him , lowered her mouth to his. Her lips were cold.

  He woke to commotion in the water. The surface was churning.. A salmon threw itself onto the bank.. It lay on the sand, gasping. For a moment he thought. Salmon don’t run on this river.. He lifted it back in the water. It slipped below the surface, remained still for a moment then flashed away in a burst of silver. Another fish jumped out, landing with a thud.. He returned it. A third launched itself from the depths. He was on the point of returning it when he realized he was hungry. Fashioning a griddle with sticks he placed it over the coals. Sunlight broke through the gloom. The riverbank was bright, where the sun came through. He reached for the salmon and burnt his fingers. He sucked at his thumb..

  A small face stared at him from the bushes; an old woman wearing a cap made of straw. He called to her but she hid. When he came to the place where she had been watching he heard running further back. He tried to follow but gave up after a while. He returned to the fire. The fish was gone eaten to the bone.. He doused the fire.

  The Desert Born.

  The sand was flat, calm and innocent. They hammered with the butts of spears. Rocks thrown, from its edge brought no response. Elves were lightfooted enough to cross snow with barely an imprint. Could the same happen on sand?.... Maleen ventured out on the dunes..Without warning the sand erupted. A sinuous form the reared its head from the depths.. Cut off from the company Maleen sprinted to a flat rock where he scrambled for safety. It turned waving its eyeless head.

  They stood in a group debating what to do. Encouraged by shouts from the others waiting by the trees Maleen stepped close to the edge and lifted an experimental foot. An explosion of dust threw him scrambling backwards... Ecker despatched an elf up the edge and another down. At a signal they stepped onto the sand. An explosion of dust blanketed the southernmost elf. The elves shouted for him until he emerged from the cloud spitting dust.

  Maleen sat on the sun warmed rock. He could see his friends staring at him, helpless. He blamed himself;
always the most daring. Now he would pay for it. He could see them with armfuls of dry wood for the nightcamp. They would stay there in the hours of darkness, waiting, watching for a chance for him to run twenty paces to safety. They would wait in vain.

  Maleen listened to their talk as they debated how to rescue him. They would spread out on the edge and make short runs onto the sand until the monster was confused. Ecker refused to consider it. It would put them all in jeopardy, not just one. How many of the smaller worms waited beneath the sand? A number of plans were proposed, debated and rejected. They fell into a sad quiet, contemplating the death of their friend. Finally they turned to the ranger who counselled them to have patience.

  Pipe music reached Hawkmoon and he woke. The Elves were standing in a group, faces gripped with awe. Following their eyes he turned to the dunes. In the sunrise giant worms arched from the sand in a row either side of a path that led from where Maleen had passed the night . Weird blue lights flickered and buzzed on the sides. The air smelt like it would after lightning. Maleen walked to them from his rock prison. Holding his hand a young girl skipped her way beside him. In her other hand she held a set of carved pipes. She stepped onto the hard pan. His friends gathered round Maleen laughing and cheering. Others looked back eyes riveted on the monsters. She curtsied when the Elves applauded. She moved to Hawkmoon, taking him by the hand. He turned to Ecker who bowed gravely.

  “Fair winds, Elf Friend. I’ll warrant the sights that await you have not been seen for time out of mind”

  She led him onto the sand. They made their way out to where Maleen had passed the night. Hawkmoon gazed at the blue flame that hissed and crackled on a midline around their massive bodies. The others retracted into the sand leaving the largest. She stopped in front of it. It rolled from the depths until its length was exposed in the morning light, its back was as wide as the deck of a galleon. Its flanks were indented with overlapping plates. It started to roll. He went to pull her away but she gripped his hand with surprising strength. The giant ceased its movement. She went to the side where a rope ladder came down. Hawkmoon turned calling to the Chattto.