Clapping him on the shoulder, Rindu went about inspecting the rakkeben for wounds, cleaning and dressing those he found. Nalia cleaned Sam’s wounds, all shallow, and then helped with Shonyb. Soon, they gathered their supplies, packed most of them on Dr. Walt’s rakkeban along with the old man’s belongings, and began the last part of their journey to the heart of the villain’s lair.
49
The party traveled quickly that day, eating up the miles as only those in pursuit—or those fleeing—could. The rakkeben seemed to understand the urgency and mercilessly pushed the pace despite some of their wounds reopening and bleeding again. Sam patted Shonyb and explained that she should ease the pace so they would not injure themselves further and she, through some sharp barks and yips, brought the other rakkeben into line, slowing the pace to one that could be kept for longer periods of time. Sam marveled at how much the big wolf could understand.
Late into the night, Rindu finally brought them to a halt. “We should not risk blindly proceeding into more dangerous areas. Let us rest until daylight and then continue.”
He and Nalia agreed, as did Skitter, though only Sam could hear his assent. They set up camp, re-dressed the wounds that had opened again on the rakkeben and himself, ate quickly, and went to sleep. Rindu took first watch, waking Nalia halfway through so he could get some rest. They let Sam sleep, figuring he needed more rest than they.
He woke just before dawn, shocked into wakefulness by the others moving about and breaking camp. At first, he regretted them not allowing him to take a watch, but then he realized that he did really need the extra rest. He was not used to such intense battle and he alone among the humans had wounds, so he decided they had done the right thing. Smiling at Nalia, who had repaired her mask and donned it once again, he ate and then packed his things quickly, ready to leave.
Soon after leaving that morning, Sam was able to spot the end of the dead zone. At first, it looked only like a smudge on the horizon, but as they continued, it resolved itself into colors, primarily green. A forest. Sam would be happy to leave the barren land behind, but didn’t like the thought of being delayed by the thick vegetation.
Several times during the day, Sam spied what appeared to be people scuttling around off in the distance. That is, if people walked on two legs but ran on all fours. After seeing a particularly large group, seven he thought, Nalia commented.
“Those are the riati. They were perhaps human once, but no longer. They are scavengers, and cowardly. They eat anything, but rarely hunt live prey. If their number is sufficient, however, they will attack and kill to eat. They have a sense of power and would not attack such as us unless there were fifty or more of them, if even then.
“It is said that they arose from the effects of the weapons used in the Great War that ended the last age. I do not know if this is true. I have seen them before, on my trip to the Gray Fortress with my sisters. Ten of them surrounded me on my way out, sensing that I was wounded. They are very strong and fast, but once I killed two of their number, they lost interest and fled. We have nothing to fear from them. There are more dangerous things ahead.”
It was late afternoon before they got close enough to the forest to really see individual trees. Sam had never seen such trees before. Gnarled, twisted, and massive, they seemed to lock together to form an impenetrable wall. The treebark was ash gray and the foliage was a pale green, as if the entire forest was a watercolor painting that had been sitting out in the rain. Even the thick bushes looked to be nothing but pale green nettles and thorns. Sam didn’t like the look of the place.
Rindu pointed to the forest. “The Undead Forest. The effects of the Dead Zone taper off here, but are still evident. Though all life was not extinguished here as it was in the Dead Zone itself, it was changed. There are legends of the dangers of the Undead Forest, and Danaba Kemp spoke of some of the dangers added by the Gray Man. We must be on our guard. One slip could mean our deaths.
“We will camp here at the edge of the forest and enter at first light. Night is no time to be within that place.”
Sitting in the camp they had made, fireless for fear of being detected, Nalia explained what she knew of the Fortress. “There is but one road through the forest, a wide road to the East and South of us. That is the way the Gray Man and his minions travel. It is used often, crowded with the Gray Man’s forces. When it is not, it is patrolled by special guards who carry signal horns. We would never make it to the fortress alive were we to take the road. When I came before, we lost three of our sisters in the battles along the road, and we were many.”
She looked at the ground and then up to meet Sam’s eyes in the diminishing afternoon light. “I do not know what horrors the forest holds. I do know that inside the forest, which rings the fortress for miles in all directions, there is a barren ring of land. It is more than a mile wide all the way around the keep, meant to make it impossible to sneak a force up to the walls.
“The Gray Fortress itself sits upon cliffs that are perhaps two hundred feet high and surrounded by fifty foot walls on top of that. It will be difficult to enter the place.”
Sam laughed suddenly, a sharp outburst he quickly cut off. The others looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “It just struck me as funny that you used the word ‘difficult’ when I was thinking ‘impossible.’”
Rindu tsked. “Nothing is impossible, Sam. ‘Impossible’ things simply take more time and effort. It is said, ‘The impossible exists only for the lazy and dull of mind.’ Have you not learned this? How much of what we have done so far would you have thought impossible a few short months ago?”
“I see your point. I’m sorry. I think the tension is getting to me. What will we do?”
Rindu explained his plan. They would release the rakkeben to fend for themselves. They would not be able to ride them in the forest in any case and with the traps they were expecting, the big wolves would be at risk. They would carry only their weapons and a small amount of food because their quest would end the next day, one way or another. They would either make it into the fortress and engage in the final confrontation or they would be killed. Either way, there was no need for more than snacks and water.
Using the information given to them by Danaba Kemp, they would make their way through the forest, moving carefully to detect and avoid traps as they did so. There were also some beasts that were resident in the area, ones that had learned to avoid the traps. That meant that some of them must have an affinity to vibrational energy, since many of the traps the Gray Man would set would be of that sort. They might be forced to battle these creatures.
Once out of the forest, they would determine a way to get across the buffer zone to the cliffs. Rindu implied that he knew a way to get up the cliffs but didn’t go into detail, merely saying, “We will get up the cliffs and to the walls.” Once at the walls, they would have to find a way up, around, or through and into the fortress proper.
That wouldn’t be the end, though. The Gray Fortress was a massive place. They could search for weeks and still never find the Gray Man or Dr. Walt. This, too, they would have to figure out along the way. The entire thing made Sam even more uneasy.
With little else to do, the three remaining party members, along with Skitter who was keeping to himself, curled up early and went to sleep, with Rindu taking first watch.
Sam had insisted on middle watch, since he felt as if he had not done his share during their journey. When Rindu woke him, he rubbed his eyes, rose from his sleeping spot, and took a position at the edge of their camp area where he could watch the Dead Zone and the nearby forest.
A few minutes into his watch, Skitter sidled up to him. Are you not able to sleep? Sam sent to his friend.
No. I am anxious.
Anxious? Sam sent curiously. Myself, I’m scared to death and concerned that we’re unprepared for what we will face. And that’s even before we get into the fortress.
The hapaki didn’t respond for almost a
minute. Scared. Yes, I’m scared, too, he admitted. The lack of any humor in the hapaki’s mind was telling.
Sam scanned the area first and then, when he didn’t see anything, looked at his friend. Skitter, will you go with the rakkeben? What we will do is more dangerous than anything else we have faced. It’s likely that all of us will die. I don’t want that to happen to you.
I am your friend, Sam, and have said I would stay with you until the end. Who knows, maybe I can help in some way. I know that I’m small and cannot fight well, but maybe I can do something. I can scout. Maybe that will be my contribution.
Sam stroked the fur on Skitter’s head. I appreciate that. I didn’t mean to imply that you were unnecessary or unwelcome. I would have Rindu and Nalia stay behind, too, if I could. I welcome your company, though it saddens me to bring you into such danger. I have done nothing to deserve friends like you three. Well, four, including Dr. Walt.
Skitter tilted his head and his luminous eyes looked into Sam’s. It’s not something you do to deserve friends, Sam. It is something you are. You deserve better friends than me, even if you are only a human. Humor, though only a tiny bit of it, tinged the sending.
Together, the two friends kept watch over their sleeping companions, conversing little, just enjoying each other’s company. When it was time to wake Nalia for the last watch, Skitter settled down next to Sam’s sleeping spot and was asleep before Sam lay down. With a quick kiss for Nalia, a squeeze of the hand, and a smile, Sam settled into sleep, knowing that despite how much he wanted to stay up and talk with her, he needed rest.
The morning dawned gray and ominous. It didn’t look like it would rain, but it didn’t look like the sun would be making an appearance either. Sam supposed it didn’t matter because once they stepped into the gnarled trees, most of the sunlight would be blocked in any case.
He watched as Shonyb nudged Skitter with her nose. The hapaki nudged her back and patted her huge head with his tiny claws. Her tongue lashed out, once, twice, three times, and soaked the fur on his head and face, giving him the look of a drowned rat. Sam was surprised to feel humor and affection leaking into his mind from the hapaki.
After securing to the rakkeben the supplies they would not be taking and hoisting his pack onto his shoulders, Sam stood in front of Shonyb. The big wolf’s intelligent eyes looked at him, unblinking. A soft whine, almost a whimper, made its way to Sam’s ears from her throat. Sam threw his arms around the rakkeban hugging her shaggy head to him. “Thank you so much, Shonyb. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. I hope to see you again soon. Take care of yourself and if you don’t hear from us, make your way back home.”
He hugged her for a moment more and then released her. With another whine, she licked his face, turned, and headed out into the Dead Zone, the other rakkeben finishing their goodbyes and following her. With nothing left to be said or done, the three humans and the hapaki entered the tangle of the Undead Forest.
50
Entering the trees was like stepping through a portal to another world. Not only was the diffuse sunlight instantly cut off, but the air itself seemed to press in on them ominously. Sam looked at Rindu and found the expression on his face discomforting. If anything, the Zouy’s face was more neutral than normal, indicating to Sam that he was controlling his expression ruthlessly.
I don’t like this place either, Skitter sent to him, obviously feeling Sam’s own emotions about the place.
No one said a word. They just hitched their packs, scanned the area, and moved slowly toward where the fortress would be. After an interminable amount of time, Rindu called a halt to the procession. He was leading them, using his abilities to keep them heading directly toward the fortress.
“I am moving slowly to prevent us from tripping one of the traps the Gray Man has set. I do not know what form they will take, but because he uses the rohw, I assume he will use vibrational energy. It will mean that it will take us most of the day to traverse the forest, but if we make one mistake and set off a trap, we could all be killed. We have little information from Danaba Kemp, so we must be careful.”
The others nodded their assent and followed the Zouy. Not more than fifteen minutes later, Rindu stopped them again with a sharp “Stop.” Making sure the others didn’t move, he faced Sam. “Sam, I want you to carefully open your senses. Close your eyes if you must, but open your senses. Do not project your rohw. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Closing his eyes, automatically controlling his breath, and turning his mind inward, he allowed his third eye to open and become receptive to the vibrations in the area. As he mentally looked around him, not moving his physical body, he saw the familiar soft glows and vibrational pockets, along with the ley line they were following toward the fortress.
Looking just ahead of where they were traveling, he saw a bundle of energy pulsing, glowing a little more brightly and then waning, glowing more brightly and then waning again. Tilting his head, he looked at it more carefully. He didn’t know what it was. He had never seen anything like it.
“What is that?” he asked Rindu.
“Ah, so you see it. Good. That, Sam, is a trigger. I have only seen one such device before. It is constructed solely of rohw and is designed to constantly derive energy from the surrounding rohw. It simply waits until some vibration, such as those emitted by humans or animals, comes within range. When it does, the trigger ‘pops’ and sets off a trap.”
“What kind of trap?” Nalia interjected.
“That is the question, is it not Iba? I have an idea, but we will need to back up. I do not know how big the area of the trap is and do not want us to be inside the area when I set it off.”
Sam pondered this for a moment. “But, if we set it off, won’t the Gray Man know? Shouldn’t we just try to move around it?”
“No. And no. I know of no way to detect that a trap has been set off from such a distance, so I do not believe there is a risk of him knowing where we are. As for trying to slip around it, I do not think we should do that either. We do not want it behind us untriggered if we encounter enemies in further in and are forced to retreat. Better to set it off than to have to worry about it later.”
It was a reasonable decision, so the others agreed. After backing up several hundred yards, Rindu lifted his hand, moved it slightly back and forth, and then clenched his fist quickly as if grabbing something out of the air. Sam saw the telltale glow as his fist closed and there was a whooshing sound followed by several thunks that sounded like arrows hitting a wooden target. Rindu looked intently at the area where the trigger was for a moment and then led them forward to see what had made the sound.
There, embedded in several large trees surrounding where the trigger was, were dozens of short arrows, closer in appearance to crossbow bolts than arrows. One had been deflected by the main mass of the tree and had gone through the bark on the side of a tree. It was trapped there, with the point exposed from the other side. A dark stain on the tip made it look like the arrow was dipped in some liquid.
“Poison,” Rindu said. “No doubt deadly. The way this trap worked was very clever. The trigger fed a wall of rohw force holding back the mechanism to launch the missiles. When the trigger was affected by the slight bit of vibration I sent toward it, it popped, removing the wall and allowing the mechanism to shoot. There is one trap escaped. Let us move on.”
As they continued, Rindu found more triggers, some of them with projectiles, some with swinging branches or arms lined with spikes, and one that built to a chain reaction that emitted a strong rohw pulse that flattened the smaller trees and vegetation for a hundred yards on all sides of it. The force would have been sufficient to kill people close to the trigger.
“I have never heard of that type of trap before. Ingenious,” the Zouy said of the rohw pulse trap. “I hope there are no more of those. A strong pulse like that probably still isn’t enough to be felt in the fortress, but anyone in the forest who is sensitive to rohw could have felt it.”
Almost as if in response to what he said, they heard a high pitched screeching and rustling noises coming from deeper in the forest. When a dark shape suddenly hurtled toward Sam from the side, his reflexes swung his staff up just in time to deflect the flying creature from himself, causing it to crash into a bush.
Immediately, the creature was up and springing out of the bush, taking flight and fleeing toward where it had come, screeching an almost inaudible sound as it went.
“That looked like a giant bat!” Sam said, scanning the bushes and trees. “Did you see it?”
The three humans looked around nervously, ready for battle. Three more of the dark forms suddenly flew out of the foliage, all converging on Rindu. Two of them extended sharp claws, but the third opened its mouth and screeched at the Zouy. Sam saw Rindu raise his hands and a glow immediately engulfed him. Waiting until the last minute, the monk dove to the side while striking at the screecher with both hands. The glow Sam saw intensified and then flew toward the screeching beast, causing it to go careening off into the bushes. The other two flew by harmlessly.
Sam was astonished. These creatures were obviously related to bats, but with some important differences. They were almost man-sized, being most like the size of an adolescent male human. When they landed, they stood on two legs, but he watched the screecher bound out of the bushes and run on all fours toward them.
Their bodies were covered in fine dark brown fur and their ears and faces looked just like bats Sam had seen, only much bigger. Instead of having small fingers on the end of their wings, though, these creatures had separate arms ending in sharp claws. Their beady black eyes fixed on Rindu and they prepared to attack again.
“Defend yourself,” shouted Rindu, “I am going to try something.” As he spoke, another five of the beasts came out from amongst the trees, three running in their odd four-legged gait and two flying.
Vibrations: Harmonic Magic Book 1 Page 33
