His thoughts were cut short at that point. His master, accompanied by his escort, was just moving through the gate. The boy watch the six men set off into the darkness. There was only a crescent moon, and it was very dark. In a few moments, the group had faded into mere shadows in the darkness. He expected at any second to hear a cry as combat began, but silence remained as the group reached the treeline. They moved on immediately, as though they really were a patrol, to reinforce the illusion that they were only there to inspect the area around the temple. Then, the boy felt a tap on his shoulder. One of the men from his group, a man of about forty years, and with a face marked by combat, motioned that it was their turn to go. Without a sound, they passed through the gates. The adolescent waved one last time to his hosts, and in reply, Koeris murmured two simple words, as quietly as he could.
“Good luck.”
The boy followed the soldiers. None of them seemed nervous, though they looked about themselves vigilantly. Glaide felt his heart beating faster. Leaving like this, right under the noses of the enemy, seemed completely crazy.
Nonetheless, they reached the treeline without any problems. Their journey was only beginning, however. Kezthrem and his group were already long gone. He didn’t want to show any evidence that the two groups were planning to meet up. No one should think that they were together, so his group had moved toward the north, while his disciple’s group headed south. By dawn, they would have drawn far enough away from the temple to meet up again. They had made a plan to meet on a specific road a few miles away. The road was practically abandoned, because people so rarely travelled so far from civilization, but five hundred years earlier, the route had been very important, since it joined Ojilon and Vlatendire. Besides that, the path travelled close to the dwarfish and elven lands, and so those peoples had also used it often.
Glaide had no idea what route his master planned to take on the way back. He knew only that they were returning to the dojo; he knew nothing about the roads they might take, or the stops that they would make. In the eyes of the young man, however, all of that was unimportant. The only thing that mattered was that he would again have the opportunity to speak with the one who had taught him everything he knew. For the moment, he had other things to think about, anyway. Everyone in the group suddenly became aware that they were being followed, though they couldn’t tell by what. Whatever it was, it remained far behind and moved slowly, as if it wanted to remain hidden. One of the men approached Glaide to whisper in his ear.
“We should avoid combat at all cost if we don’t want you to be recognized. Whoever—or whatever—is following us could have allies nearby, and we may not be able to kill them all. And if even one escapes, your master’s plan will fail.” The adolescent nodded, then thought hard. Soon, he came up with a plan. The route the group was taking was a rugged one. There were stands of trees all around, and the terrain was hilly and dotted with rocks that could be used as cover for whatever creature followed them. If he remembered right, however, the road he and Kezthrem had taken to come here had been much more clear. In just a little while, they could reach that road and so lose their follower. At that point, their pursuer would have no choice but to show himself or abandon their trail. If it came down to it, they could still fight in the end. Glaide shared his idea with the leader of the group who, after a moment of reflection, decided to use it.
The small group slowly began to shift directions and, after a few moments, they were able to make out a wide plane in the pale light of the moon. The adolescent smiled inwardly and told himself that in just a little while the mysterious creature would be trapped. He looked at the men accompanying him, and saw their faces relax. Several of them glanced back furtively to see what their enemy would do. Soon, a soldier whispered, “There he is. He’s out in the open.”
“Do nothing for now,” replied their leader. “If we continue for a little while longer, as though nothing were happening, he’ll be too far from the treeline to hide, so we’ll be able to attack.” Everyone nodded. However, as time passed, the six discovered that their adversary was not alone. In a few minutes, he’d been joined by four more creatures, and the number continued to grow. Glaide began to feel nervous. He was no longer sure they were safe. What’s more, Kezthrem and his group were far away, so if a fight broke out, it would now be one on one.
The adolescent glanced behind and felt his heart beat faster. “Correction, make that two against one, with the monsters at an advantage.” The soldiers, too, had lost their smiles. One of them suggested that they put Glaide in the middle of the group. That way, he would be hidden by the other men, and more difficult to recognize, though for the moment, it was still impossible to distinguish much in the pale light.
Time passed incredibly slowly. The sun didn’t seem to want to rise. For the umpteenth time, Glaide glanced over his shoulder. The number of their enemies had grown even more. Now, there had to be at least fifteen. Then, suddenly, thanks to a ray of moonlight, the young man made out the face of one of the creatures—a noruk. He warned his companions, and soon you could cut the tension with a knife. They began to fiddle with their weapons. Stopping to fight wasn’t an option. Their only chance lay in hoping that the monsters weren’t truly giving chase, and that they were instead following them just to make sure they weren’t seeking reinforcements.
“Whatever the case,” thought Glaide, “they can’t intend to simply follow us like that for long. Either they’ll launch an assault, or they’ll turn back to rejoin their troops, as they’ll be needed soon...” It seemed that the noruks, despite the openness of the area, were trying to be inconspicuous. That reassured the boy, because if they meant to attack them, they wouldn’t go to the trouble. Perhaps they were waiting for the group to stop for a rest, so they could fall on them then? In that case, they must not have realized that they had long since been spotted. The leader of the soldiers seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
“Keep ignoring them, but keep moving, too. We’ll keep moving until dawn arrives and we reach the rendezvous point. With a little luck, they’ll leave to return to their camp, and abandon their tail on us.”
“Why would they do that?” asked one man. “They could easily attack us, then return to their base camp afterwards.”
“That’s true, but it’s also possible they think we’re leading them to a secret hiding place for some sort of special spell, or a cache of weapons... Who knows? Don’t forget that the imminent attack on the temple may not have Glaide as its goal, but rather Dzen’s katana, or the parchment of invocation, in which case, it would be in our adversaries’ best interest to leave us alone, since they probably believe we’ll lead them to one or the other.”
“That’s true,” the young man thought to himself. “It could be that this has nothing to do with me. In that case, the weapon is no longer there, so then the combat Koeris and Ralon are about to see would be for no reason at all. I hope everything goes well for them.” He was curious about one thing, though. Could the descendant of Novak have come to collect his sword because he knew the temple would be attacked? That would mean that Baras had managed to locate the legendary weapon after five centuries, and that the man had been warned of it, so that he’d been able to find a new hiding place for it. But in that case, he’d be in fear of his life, because if the God of Evil realized he’d been duped, he would seek out those responsible. Glaide realized then that he had to find the descendant of Novak before his enemy at any cost. He needed to start the search as soon as possible.
He had no more time to think on the matter, thought, because his companions had come up with an idea. If the noruks were following them because they hoped their prey would lead them to the katana, then as long as they believed that, the group would be in no danger. So, it was in their best interest to make the creatures believe they were on the right trail! With renewed enthusiasm, they all took care to glance around, as though they wanted to make sure no one saw them. Some amused themselves by making strange gestures, and
pointing to the moon and different stars, as if they were using them to find their way. Within a few minutes, they could tell their plan was working. Their enemies drew farther back, and began looking up at the sky where the men were pointing. More than once, the men had to hold back their laughter, because they could point at any old thing and watch the heads of the noruks turn that way. The noruks tried to be ever more discreet, and moved forward as carefully as they could all the while.
Chapter 20
TIME passed, and after about an hour, the number of creatures in the group had stabilized. There were about twenty of them, so in the eventual combat, it would be four against one. Glaide again let himself plunge into his own thoughts. It made sense that Kezthrem and his group might have been followed by a similar number of creatures. While he was certain that would pose no great problem for his master, he worried about the other soldiers. He hoped that they, too, had figured out what their adversaries wanted, and that they, too, had chosen to go for a ruse, rather than into battle. At any rate, everything would be decided soon enough. In the distance, he could make out the first rays of dawn, and their rendezvous point wasn’t much farther. The group's leader spoke again, his voice betraying a certain amount of nervousness.
“Listen, everyone. The sun will rise soon, and we will rejoin our compatriots. But if the noruks see us meet up and continue on our way, that will be an issue. If Baras isn’t actually attacking the temple to capture Glaide, that would mean he doesn’t know where he is.” The man looked at Glaide then, and continued in a light tone, “And it would be too bad if we were the ones who let him know. Besides that, our enemies have been following us for a while, and we’ve led them nowhere. Soon, they will have to head back to rejoin their allies, and if they haven’t found what they’re looking for, they won’t leave nicely. At four to one, it would be in their best interests to get rid of us. That way, they don’t have to run the risk of us getting reinforcements, and if they think we have what they’re looking for, they could simply seize it. And anyway, why leave us alive if we’re no use to them?”
The men laughed a bit and nodded, but despite the light tone their leader used, his words remained true. In just a little while, the noruks would have no choice but to return empty-handed, or take their chances and launch an assault on their prey. The adolescent remembered his battle with the satyrs, whose agility and speed still frightened him, and how his master had said that noruks were at the very least similarly talented.
“Do we stand any chance against them at all?” he asked.
“At four against one, not in the least. As a general rule, when we’re unlucky enough to meet these monsters, it’s in the form of a duel, and even then, you have to be quite the warrior...”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Glaide. “Would your training be enough?”
“Ours, yes, but in a major battle, when anyone cable of carrying a weapon is recruited, those fighters wouldn’t stand a ghost of a chance.”
“I see.” For a moment, the young man though back to Rackk. The orks those men and women had faced had been dangerous adversaries, just as they had been for him back then. “Our only chance then is to rejoin my master.”
“In any case, we can’t let any of the monsters escape,” added one man.
“But you forget,” added another, “that our compatriots have likely been followed, too. At the moment, if they’ve thought the same thing we have, they’ll be asking the same questions. And twenty against five or forty against ten is the same difference...”
“True,” said a third, “but all the same, I’d rather rejoin the others before we have to fight.”
The sun was peeking up over the horizon, and the shadows around them were quickly disappearing. It would only be minutes more before the noruks realized that it would be impossible to hide in broad daylight in the middle of the plain and, most likely, they would soon attack. Everyone sped up a bit despite their fatigue. In a few minutes, they could make out the road they’d chosen as a rendezvous point, but they saw no one. “Kezthrem must have traveled farther north than they planned,” thought Glaide. “Since they left first, though, they must be keeping an eye out for us.” And then they heard it. A loud battle cry, followed by a chorus of other cries. Two men drew immediately.
“Onward ho!” cried their leader. “We have to reach the road as quickly as possible. If Aras wills it, we’ll meet our companions there.”
“And hope that they haven’t brought more trouble with them,” thought Glaide taking off at a sprint. The plain was mainly covered in low grass, which helped them make progress. The men could easily distinguish any potholes or irregularities in the terrain, so they picked up speed quickly. Behind them, they could hear the resounding crash of twenty pairs of boots. Turning his head, the adolescent was relieved to note that he and his companions were managing to maintain the distance separating them from their enemies, who had apparently not expected such a rapid reaction from their prey. Unfortunately, the road, which was drawing ever closer, remained hopelessly empty. A hill a few dozen yards to the north blocked part of their view, however. “Please let them be there,” Glaide thought to himself. “Please, please, let them be there.” At any moment, he hoped to see six human forms rise up, swords at the ready.
Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He almost stopped running, he was so surprised, but a soldier pushed him forward. For a moment, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but the illusion persisted, because it wasn’t an illusion at all. Exactly where he’d fixed his gaze a few minutes before, six figures had suddenly loomed up. They moved forward slowly, visibly calm and relaxed. Then, suddenly, they stopped, their faces turned towards the fugitives. Glaide’s eyes widened as he saw them draw their weapons and launch themselves in their direction, then a few seconds later, a smile spread across his face as he recognized Kezthrem, a resolute look on his face, accompanied by five soldiers who yelled out as they came.
As the sound reached their ears, Glaide saw his companions turn their heads toward their compatriots. Little by little, the fugitives slowed their pace. They drew as one man, then stopped completely to turn and face their adversaries. As their allies drew even with them, their leader cried out, “Stay together! Don’t let them isolate you!” With that, he and his man launched themselves forward with cries of rage. “This battle is not yet won,” thought Glaide, “but at least now it’s only two against one. It’s still important to avoid locking ourselves into one-on-one fights. Our adversaries are too strong and too many for that!” With that, his voice rose to join the others.
The noruks were visibly surprised to find their prey suddenly more numerous, and the battle more difficult. However, they were good warriors, and they quickly conquered their astonishment and threw themselves into the fight. Glaide found himself facing an enemy with a perfectly blank expression, which frightened the young man more than anything else. “It’s almost as though he doesn’t care if he lives or dies. As if there is nothing inside him...”
As ordered, the men tried to stay as close to each other as possible. Soon battle surrounded them, but despite the deafening noise, the adolescent managed to concentrate and make use of everything he’d learned. He calmly took up a guard position as he faced his adversary. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of reflected light. He spun rapidly and at the same time blocked the blade of another adversary. Naturally, he knew the noruk he’d been about to face a few seconds ago would take advantage of the moment to attack him, so the young man drew back again suddenly. The sword missed its mark, and Glaide immediately counter-attacked. He struck nothing but the shield of his adversary, though. His blade slid downwards, taking him with it, but he took advantage of the momentum to crouch down, dodging an attack from behind at the same time. He struck the shield again, this time with his shoulder, and it was the noruk’s turn to lose his balance. A soldier noticed and, without any formality, passed his sword through the noruk’s body, while the adolescent moved on to face
another adversary.
The fight lasted for several minutes. The men struck down their adversaries with blows to the back when they weren’t looking. Only Kezthrem seemed able to directly face multiple adversaries. He even managed to strike down a few of the creatures after exchanging a few rapid and precise blows with them.
Glaide noticed that their enemies, due to their larger number, often let down their guards when they attacked a man who was already locked in combat. He decided to use that to his advantage and, using Tyv as his inspiration, he tried to visualize everything happening around him. He confronted one enemy while keeping track of the enemies on his periphery so that when one tried to sneak in a blow, the young man was faster. While the noruk expected him to strike a blow toward the enemy in front of him, he instead swung his sword behind him, easily piercing the noruk that tried to take him by surprise. The technique worked well, and soon the number of monsters had been reduced by half.
The adolescent dared a glance across the battlefield to see how the soldiers were doing, but as he turned his head, he found himself shoved forward. He stumbled but managed to stay on his feet, while behind him, he heard the clang of metal striking armor, followed by a groan of pain. He spun to find that a soldier had pushed him out of the trajectory of an enemy hatchet, but that the soldier had been struck in the arm, and his steel armor was dented inward. The man’s face was twisted with pain, and he was obviously no longer able to wield a weapon. With a bound, Glaide reached his side and threw himself into combat with the noruk that had caused the injury. Behind him, he could hear the soldier trying to remove his gauntlet. The young man conducted his duel brilliantly and, finally, he found victory by gripping the shield of the creature with one hand, tossing it aside with a sharp movement, and thus finding an opening, so that he could run his enemy through with one fast, neat movement. When he lifted his head, he could see that the soldier had managed to pull off his armor, but that his arm was covered in blood. Nonetheless, he smiled at something behind the boy’s shoulder. The boy turned to see that all of the creatures had been defeated.
Chronicles of Galadria III - Lessons Page 15
