Child of Fate

by Jason Halstead

  They met Tristam at the makeshift barricade. Karthor summoned the light into his holy symbol and lit the room beyond the tunnel. With the priest’s light, they could see where partitions had been built up out of wood and cloth to provide a measure of privacy for sleeping and cleaning. Many of the cloth sheets were ripped or slashed open. In other places, the wooden beams providing support were broken or knocked out of place.

  “Where are they?” William asked as he stared past Tristam into the room.

  “Or where is he,” Kar reminded them of the possibility only a single man remained.

  “In farther. Help me move this.” Tristam started to push at the broken pieces of wood blocking the passage. Central among them was a large wooden desk.

  William tossed some of the smaller pieces of wood aside, and then tried to help Tristam push the desk. It shifted but wouldn’t yield. They stopped, breathing hard and at a loss for how to remove it. Tristam reached for the hilt of his sword, intent on hacking it into pieces.

  “You can lead a horse to water,” Kar muttered, pushing both men aside. He ducked his head and climbed onto the desk, and then scampered across it and landed on the other side. “But you can’t make them climb over it.”

  Tristam muttered something regarding the wizard’s similarity to a trailing end of a horse before he crawled across the desk and drew his blade. The others followed and spread out, investigating the room. The desk had been secured with piles of rocks that were heaped around the legs, preventing it from moving.

  “Rocks,” William muttered.

  “For brains,” Kar finished with a smirk.

  “Be silent!” Tristam snapped. He turned slowly, looking until he saw the dark opening of a tunnel that led deeper into the mountain. He hurried over to it and stared down the length of it. At the other end, he could see light and, after a moment, something moving.

  The others joined him and they heard what had alerted him. The sound of steel on steel and then a moment later someone shouting. The echoing of the sounds in the cavern made the words indistinguishable but they could tell it was a man speaking, not a goblin.

  “Sounds like more than just one man,” Karthor observed.

  Kar shrugged. “Until we see it with our own eyes, it could be a goblin, an army of men, or a dragon laying in wait. Anything is possible; what matters most is what is probable.”

  “Be silent, wizard, unless you’ve a spell to cast,” Tristam snapped.

  The leader of the Blades of Leander started down the corridor, and then stopped when a female voice carried up the passage clearly. “You stupid farm boy!”

  “Farm boy?” William echoed.

  “Only one farm boy I know,” Karthor responded. Tristam had already started down the passage again. Karthor and William hurried to catch up.

  Tristam led them into the large room and saw Alto twisting and slashing at the goblins that pressed against him. A girl and another boy fought side by side against the goblins while half a dozen men watched and waited for an opening to join in the uneven battle. To Alto’s credit, there were a few goblins that already lay dead on the floor. The Kelgryn girl and her companion had slain some of the savage creatures on their own, but still they were outnumbered and hard pressed.

  Tristam bore down on the man with the whip hanging from his belt. He ran him through with his sword from behind and then wrapped his arm around his neck. Tristam yanked his blade free and pushed the doomed man aside.

  William and Karthor hurried to his side to protect him from the other men that had spun when their leader cried out as he’d been run through. William blocked the man’s attack at Tristam and Karthor felled him with a strike from his mace to the side of his coif.

  The humans cried out, alerting the goblins to the new threat. Distracted, they were no match for the fury that Trina unleashed on them. Alto saw her in the corner of his eye and took heart from her valor. He pressed the advantage the arrival of his friends gave him and laid out three of the short creatures before the goblins realized what was happening. The others threw down their weapons and fled, though only one escaped the reach of the three youngsters to run into a tunnel that took them deeper into the mines.

  Tristam, William, and Karthor kept the other four men busy, pressing them back in spite of their inferior numbers. Kar picked up some small rocks and bits of ore and began tossing them at the bandits, distracting them. It was only a matter of time until the Blades of Leander’s victory was complete.

  The first words out of Tristam’s mouth to Alto were, “Where’s Drefan?”

  Alto turned and ran over to the tunnel. He returned slowly, his arm wrapped around the wounded rogue. Drefan lifted his head and offered a weak smile, though his lips were flecked with blood.

  “What took you so long?” Drefan wheezed when Karthor and Tristam rushed over to help him.

  “Where’s Gerald?” Alto asked when he noticed the warrior was absent.

  “He’s lazing in the sun,” Kar said.

  “Wounded,” Tristam said. “After you two climbed away, a force of goblins rushed us. He was overrun before we could drive them back. He’ll be fine, thanks to Karthor.”

  “Our rope gave when we tried to escape the mines; Drefan fell and broke his ribs,” Alto said.

  Karthor nodded. “Aye, he’s not doing well. There’s nothing I can do for him without resting and praying, either.”

  Drefan coughed weakly.

  “There must be something!”

  “If there is, Karthor will do it,” Tristam said. “Now tell me, lad, who are they?”

  Patrina and Namitus were standing side by side, apart from the Blades. They stared at them, though their eyes kept going back to Alto. “This is, um, Trina, of the Kelgryn, and Namitus.”

  “And what are you doing here?” Kar inquired.

  Trina’s wide eyes went to Alto. He nodded and offered her an encouraging smile. “We were attacked by men wearing Kingdom garb. Imposters, I know, but they killed our kin and captured us, and then brought us here. Namitus slipped his ropes and stole a sword; he cut me free and we made our escape. It was short-lived—we were trapped in the mines until Alto and Drefan came in through a hole in the ceiling.”

  Alto nodded, corroborating her story. “We tried to go back up the rope but that’s when it slipped and dropped me and Drefan on our butts. That’s how Drefan got hurt.”

  “We traced our path back and had to fight goblins and these imposters. Alto fought valiantly,” she added, refusing to look at him as she offered praise. “A bit like a charging bull, but we’re here because of him.”

  Tristam regarded the blushing farm boy and nodded. “Well done, Alto.”

  “There’s something bigger going on here,” Alto blurted out. “Men wearing Kingdom tabards and Kelgryn weapons left at Highpeak? Someone wants war between our nations.”

  Kar grinned. “You continue to astound me, young man. I think the arts of war are wasted on you. I’ve never had need of an apprentice but for you I might make an exception.”

  Alto gaped at the offer, and then shook his head. “Thank you, but no, I’ve no interest in that.”

  Kar sighed. He waved his hand as though he was clearing a table. “For the best; I’ve no patience for having minions underfoot.”

  “Tristam,” Drefan wheezed. He coughed until Tristam knelt next to him.

  “Save your strength. We’ll get you better as soon as we can.”

  Drefan grabbed Tristam’s arm. “Alto. The boy did good. He’ll go far if you teach him how to fight.”

  “Be silent,” Tristam scolded.

  Drefan shook his head. He gasped for each breath. “I’m done,” he whispered, his words sounding wet. He turned his head and coughed again, blood running from his mouth.

  “Karthor!” Tristam snapped. “Come up with something! Anything!”

  Karthor stared at him, his eyes wide. He shook his head but Tristam’s steely gaze was unrelenting. The priest bowed his head and grabbed his holy symbol. He began
to pray to Leander, calling for some small spark of energy he hadn’t yet earned. He placed his other hand on Drefan’s chest, opening himself up as a conduit for the divine blessing he was asking for.

  If Leander intended to respond, Karthor never knew. Drefan stiffened under his hand and then relaxed. What little air he’d managed to hold in blew out and was followed with a trickle of blood that ran across his cheek and onto the ground.

  Tristam stared at the dead rogue and then lifted his eyes to Karthor’s. The priest shook his head slowly, his eyes red rimmed with disappointment. Tristam nodded and pursed his lips to bite back his frustration. He stood and turned to Alto.

  Alto stared at Drefan, his vision blurry at the realization that he’d just lost a companion. More than that, Drefan had been a friend. Alto didn’t have many friends. He started forward toward the man but Tristam stopped him with a hand to his chest.

  “You’ve done a great service to yourself, to Drefan, and to the Blades today, Alto. You’ve earned a right to take your place in this company, if you’ll join us. Drefan won’t be the last companion you’ll lose, but today at least I think we’re safe.”

  Alto pulled his eyes away from Drefan and blinked the tears out of them. He sniffed and nodded. “I’d, um, I’d like that. Thank you, Tristam.”

  Tristam turned. “Now what about you two?”

  “What about us?” Trina said, thrusting her chin out.

  “Feisty,” Kar muttered.

  “You have no idea,” Namitus quipped.

  Kar laughed, and then laughed again when Trina glared at the boy.

  “You’re free to go back to your people,” Tristam said with a shrug.

  Trina’s mouth fell open at the suggestion.

  “Tristam, they can’t just go back. We’re a long ways away from their land!” Alto said. “By the time we get back, what’s happened to Highpeak is bound to be discovered. They’ll be found by Kingdom men and taken as enemies!”

  Tristam frowned. He nodded at Alto’s words. He turned to glance at Kar and said, “Kar’s right; you do have a keen mind. I’m not sure I like it,” he admitted. The wizard chuckled. “All right, you’ll come with us until we can be safely back to Portland.”

  “What now?”

  “Now we collect bounties,” Tristam said. “The grisly part of the business.”

  “If someone’s plotting to put the Kingdom and the Kelgryn at war, isn’t there more at stake here?” Alto asked.

  “Perhaps, and that would give us more opportunities to make some gold,” Tristam said.

  “What if we can find something out that would stop it from happening?”

  Tristam shrugged.

  “Wouldn’t there be a reward for something like that?” Alto persisted.

  Tristam stopped moving. He turned to glance at Kar. The wizard nodded, grinning all the while. Tristam sighed. “All right, we’ll explore the mines then.”

  “Is there more to it? We just found passages that stretched out into the ground,” Namitus offered.

  “That’s the nature of a mine. The tunnels follow the ore. Where a large vein is found, a room or a junction of passages may develop,” Kar explained. “Here at the entrance is where the processing occurs.”

  “A room deeper down,” Alto blurted out, interrupting the wizard. “The goblins were digging through carts filled with rocks and dirt.”

  “They’d separated some of the rocks already,” Namitus added.

  “Goblins mining?” William said with a laugh. “Lazy gobs are good for stealing and not much else.”

  “Guess we’ll find out,” Tristam muttered. “Let’s go see it.”

  “What about Gerald?” Karthor reminded them.

  Tristam swore. “First we’ll get Gerald.” He swore again. “Stay together; bad things happen when we split up.”

  Alto’s eyes fell on Drefan’s body. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded. He didn’t want to lose any more friends for a long time, if ever!

  Tristam led them back up to the entrance. They paused long enough for Alto to work with Tristam and Karthor—both of them on the opposite end from the former farmer—to lift the desk and push it off to the side. Patrina and Namitus stayed together and watched as they worked, and then followed as soon as the way was cleared.

  The afternoon sun greeted them as they left the room that served as the entrance of the mine. Blinded by the sun, they walked onto the road and turned away, looking up and down the road. It was empty, with no sign of goblins or anyone else with dark intent. Also missing was Gerald.

  “Where’d that fool get off to?” Tristam muttered.

  “Our horses are gone!” Alto noticed next.

  “Hold!” Kar snapped, pushing ahead of them and looking around. He sniffed the air and reached into his pocket to take out his pipe. He put a pinch of his special blend of herbs into it and lit it with a gout of flame from his fingers.

  “Kar, there’d better be a point to this,” Tristam growled. “And is it wise to be lighting that thing with what’s happened?”

  “What’s happened?” Kar asked. “If someone—or something—comes, it’ll be seeing us and us it long before it smells my pipe.”

  Alto studied the scene and took care to keep his back to the sun. “William’s crossbow,” he said, pointing at the discarded weapon. It was laying several feet up the side of the steep wall, resting behind a spire of rock that thrust out from the wall.

  Kar nodded and pointed up the path to the south, toward Highpeak. “A bolt is up there.”

  “And the quiver is here.” Alto spotted the quiver, with many of the bolts falling out of it, tucked beside the entrance to the mine.

  “What happened to him?” Tristam asked again.

  “There’s no blood and no sign of a fight, aside from the scattered weapon and errant bolt,” Kar mused. “There are scratches on the ground, though.”

  “Scratches?” Tristam asked as his eyes dropped to the ground.

  “There!” Alto cried, pointing at a faint gouge in the dirt. There was scrape marks in the rocks next to the gouges.

  “You’re our tracker, Alto; tell us what you see,” Tristam ordered.

  Alto sucked in a breath. He looked at Kar and received a nod from the wizard. He moved forward and studied the ground. Aside from the scratches, he had no idea what had happened. He moved farther to the south along the road, finding spots where the shod hooves of horses had kicked up the dirt. “The horses ran away,” he said. “But I can’t find any other tracks to explain why.”

  “More goblins?” Karthor asked.

  Alto frowned. “Maybe? I don’t know. They’re small and light; on hard ground, they don’t leave much for tracks. And you said you fought some earlier—I can’t tell if there were more or not. There’s no blood that I can see.”

  Tristam swore and spun around to stare around him. “He can’t just have disappeared!”

  “No, something happened, you can be sure of it. Mayhaps he rode off himself and took the horses with him?” Kar suggested.

  Tristam scowled. “He was lazy and crude, but he wouldn’t leave us like that.”

  “He was in no condition to do that,” Karthor added. “A full gallop would kill him. Anything less would leave him exhausted, in pain, and sure to fall off the horse.”

  “They were galloping,” Alto confirmed.

  They turned and stared at each other. Drefan was dead, Gerald gone, and now their horses had been run off. “There’s more to this than just a bounty,” Tristam muttered.

  “We’re not meant to make it back,” Kar opined.

  “Back to the mines,” Tristam decided. “We can jaw about it there after we secure ourselves. If something’s after us, it’s best we meet it on our terms.”

  Alto stared to the south, worried about Gerald and Sebas. The others filed into the cave until only Trina and Namitus remained. “What’s going on?” Trina asked him.

  Alto shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But i
t’s not good.”

  Namitus let loose a single chuckle. “I was thinking of turning this adventure into a song to impress the Kelgryn,” he said. “The trick is making sure I get back to share it with them.”

  “Get in here,” William hissed at them from the entrance of the mine. “Tristam finds you missing and he’s likely to tear the mountain down himself.”

  Alto nodded and led his new companions back into the mines. Rather than offering the security Tristam suggested, it felt like he was entering his own tomb.

  Chapter 10

  “What’s going on?” Alto whispered to Kar while Tristam and Karthor went through the contents of the desk in the entry chamber of the mine.

  Kar took out his pipe and inspected it, and then glanced at the confined quarters of the mine. He sighed wistfully and put it away. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, boy?”

  Alto frowned. Trina and Namitus stood nearby. They were staying together out of familiarity but they were maintaining their proximity to him. They’d accepted him as one of their own. He wondered how that relationship would hold up if they were surrounded by her people instead of his.

  “Well? Spit it out and quit fawning over the princess,” Kar reprimanded.

  Trina and Alto shared a gasp. “How did you know she was a princess?” Alto managed.

  Kar smirked. “It’s why you need to learn to read, my boy. You must stay abreast of the happenings in the world. I know of a certain noble young lady named Patrina and why else would her guards and attendants be killed yet she was spared?”

  Alto’s eyes narrowed at the wizard’s shrewd reasoning. He nodded. “But who’s behind this? And why us?”

  Kar snickered. “We’re in the way, Alto, that’s all. I’d wager we stumbled onto things sooner than expected. Not Highpeak, certainly, but this mine and your young friends most assuredly.”

  “But you’ve no idea who?”

  “Who? Or what?”

  Alto’s brow furrowed. “What? What do you mean?”

  “Could a man run off our horses and abscond with our favorite gap-toothed scoundrel with almost no sign of it?” Kar asked. “What about a band of goblins? Even trolls and giants would leave some sign. A track or some spilled blood. Gerald’s a ruffian to be sure but even bedridden, he’d not go without a fight.”