The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

The words were not necessarily the choice of all the others with him, but he knew that was their intention by the time they had left the tiny village. Dante and Valenia led their soldiers out of the farming town in less than an hour as planned. Hardly anyone in the village watched as they left. There were no cheers to send them on their way. This was a mission of death, either theirs or the enemy's. The disposition of the troops echoed Shallowvale's. Both men and women were locked in their own thoughts as they rode swiftly westward in search of the enemy. The return of Misery to his shoulder did little to alleviate those thoughts.

  They found the leavings of the small army within half an hour and simply rode hard on their tails. It was easy enough to follow. They left a litter of food and wrappers and the occasional fallen goblin or orc that had died of blood loss. There were no hoof prints or offal like that of an animal, so Dante was hopeful that by being on foot, the army would be slow enough to find. The best hope would be that they would have settled down for a night's camp then they would waste time by setting and breaking camp as his troops had.

  They rode past midday and found the remains of a camp as he had hoped, but still they could not catch the marauders. The band also encountered several burnt out villages of no real size. The beasts had apparently hardly even slowed. As the afternoon sun beat down on them, the trail continued to get fresher. Excitement mixed with worry as they readied to catch the enemy and do battle.

  A surprise awaited them instead. As the band topped a rise, they spotted a single rider standing atop the next hill. The figure was hooded and seemed to be waiting for them. Dante led the others as he cautiously looked for a trap to be set, but they triggered nothing of the sort and soon Dante realized the truth about the rider. As they rode up the rise to the shadowy rider, Dante recognized Gannon.

  "Gannon," he questioned, "what are you doing here? Have you seen which way the enemy has gone?"

  "Look at the trail, Dante Betrice. Tell me what you see."

  The lieutenant did as he was told and realized what had happened.

  "Where is the trail?" Calla exclaimed as she voiced the question that those looking at the ground were thinking.

  Dante turned to the others. "They snuck back to their dimension through another portal, Calla. This enemy has the ability to invade our world and disappear again back to theirs." He turned back to Gannon and asked, "Is this what you wanted us to do then, Seer? Are you going to tell us how to find our enemy or even send us there if it is in your power?"

  A smile played at the man's lips and he shook his head. "I suspect that you will go to their world at least some of you, but that is not why I have come. Your quest lies to the north in the Dragon's Spine Mountains. There you will find..." the Seer stopped himself. "I can not reveal any more, I'm afraid."

  Valenia surged in front of the band and shouted, "Why? Why can't you tell us what we are looking for? How can we find whatever it is when you won't tell us?"

  "Because I will go with you and reveal more when it is time. Come. Follow me. We have a long ride ahead of us."

  With that, Gannon turned away and didn't bother to see if they were following. Dante spurred his horse to follow immediately and Lane and the men followed their leader faithfully. Valenia sat fuming a moment longer as her warriors waited for her decision. Gannon and Dante were already in the valley by the time Valenia charged after them followed by her women.

  Chapter 21-Darius

  The woods of Turas Forest were dark away from the expanse of the greatest river on Taltan. Darius often let his sight stray to its impenetrable darkness beneath the lofty trees. Such dark places sent a strange wariness into him, the same wariness that lent itself to create horror stories of what lay within. One day, he promised himself, he would search out the mysteries lying within these great forests and make them known.

  They witnessed the passage of several vessels on the wide and deep Divide of Taltan. No one paid the travelers more than the most casual of looks as they passed by from a distance. Darius thought of that and remembered the words that Tate had brought him in the night. He had included Electra's observation that their peoples were not that different in appearance.

  Darius looked at the elves on occasion to search for the differences. The almond eyes, though unusual and exotic, were said to be common to certain races of Alus. The humans lived on far off continents, but they were said to exist none the less, he remembered from his world studies. The colors of their hair seemed perhaps more lustrous and soft, the wizard thought. He wondered if that came from the soaps or water of their world. Some of the luster had worn away with travel, after all, Darius had noticed. The colors tended to be slightly different than the norm, but once again he got the sense of the exotic.

  Perhaps the greatest difference besides their pointed ears, was the shape of their bodies. All the elves in their band, as well as all those he could remember in their camp, were petite in their dimensions. Even Janus who was greater than Darius in height, seemed constructed of a bird's bones. Their chests were not broad, nor their waists. None seemed to be able to truly get fat. Even the eldest and frailest of their people, seemed to age without fat growing somewhere on those slender frames. If anything, the older elves seemed to get even thinner in appearance.

  Such thoughts played through his mind the entire first day of travel through Turas Forest. With the sun shining through the unobstructed air over the river, they traveled in near bliss. At midday when they ate, Electra shyly came over to Darius and started to talk to him. It was the first time the whole trip that the woman had said more than a word to him.

  The young man hoped that he did not smile too foolishly the rest of the day, but it was like a new magic reviving him as they talked for the rest of the afternoon as they rode. They talked of their worlds or the world around them in particular, or nothing of importance at all. The two people from different worlds were just trying to get to know each other once again without the games.

  The following morning, the party was harshly awoken by the first drops of a rain shower. There were groans from the men, but before they began their ride they ate a cold breakfast of travel bread, dried fruits and dried meat. It was far from the tastier fare they had been accustomed due to the help of their cook fires. The people took to the road again and, huddled within their travel cloaks, they spoke little as they rode northward.

  The rain shower continued to intensify as the day wore on adding to their misery. The river responded by becoming wilder as well. This day only the most desperate of captains would attempt to navigate such hazardous waters. Darius and the others moved deeper into the woods where the rain had to fight the canopy first to get to them and the fear of flooding seemed less likely. They always kept the river just within sight as they plodded ever closer to Willow’s Berg and the dry rooms of inns they dreamed that they would find there.

  Late in the afternoon, the rain became the least of their problems. They were still watching the rain as it beat down upon the raging river, when one of the elves shouted warning. Turning, Darius and the others witnessed a small army of trolls and orcs charging towards them.

  "Where did they come from?" Tate asked startled.

  Janus had drawn his sword which seemed to glow with an aura of the elf's magic. He watched the creatures charging and answered, "You were right, Darius. The Emperor has learned to send his minions through the dimensions. The portal is just closing now, if you look to the air behind them you can see it. How did they know to find us here though, I wonder?"

  "Can we hold them off?" Darius asked guessing the answer already. The wizards were not warriors. They carried only daggers and a couple of walking staves between the six of them. They would need distance to fight properly and the elves were not likely to last long against such a horde either to provide them that time. Then there was the fact that trolls were resistant to some magic to worry over as well, Darius remembered.

  "We retreat or die, Darius," Janus declared still watching the distance close between them. "
To the river!" he cried.

  The band turned together and rode for the shores of the Divide. The trolls were fast, Darius noted quickly. They would catch the horses soon. The forest which had sheltered them from the rains also slowed their retreat and, once into the rains, their mounts fought the slickness of the shore's mud. The trolls didn't even seem to notice these hindrances and plunged ever closer. The orcs faded behind their larger brethren and seemed ready to let the hulking beasts bring the riders down for them.

  Darius noted the problem and shouted to the others. "We're going to have to try the river. Janus, do these things swim well?"

  The elf answered, "I've never heard of one doing so, but then again my race tend to stay well away from their kind. I think that you are right though. Our mounts are strong. Perhaps they can help us across."

  They were still a fair distance ahead of the trolls when Darius decided to make a stand long enough to buy the others a chance to gain safety. Turning his mount, Darius dropped to the ground and drew upon his magic. Janus stayed with him as well as Electra and Palonius.

  "Go on," he ordered. "There is nothing you can do except try to get to safety. Go!"

  Janus nodded and pulled Electra after him. They would move further up the shore before plunging into the water. Being swept too close to the shore past the trolls would mean certain death as well since the creatures still had the strength to wade in after them into fairly deep water with their reach.

  Darius noted Palonius getting off his mount. "Go on, Palonius. I'll slow them down."

  His words went unheeded as the apprentice bent his head in concentration. From his hands, lanced the fires of their caste. A tree fell in a shower of flaming bark as the trunk was shattered. Palonius didn't stop until the entire tree was ablaze.

  "Palonius, trolls are resistant to flame," Darius reminded the man.

  "Yes, but perhaps the smoke will blind them long enough for us to escape?" the apprentice had remounted and turned north to follow the others.

  Darius shook his head and marveled at the simplicity of the magic and the thought behind it. They couldn't win against so many, so the apprentice had simply gone for a stall to escape. Remounting, Darius rode strongly towards the others. As he neared, the wizard noted the first of the brave elves being swept past him in the water. The horses strove against the rushing current and searched for the far shores. More of the band swept past him. Matalchus, Fioren, Tate, and Xarien were seen in the flow with the elves. Finally, even Palonius, Janus, and Electra came past and all but Darius were in the water. As he prepared to urge his frightened horse into the river, Darius spied the nearest of the trolls chasing after him.

  Taking from Palonius, the wizard sent a blast of magic into a nearby tree. This time it was a tree close enough to fall on several of the monsters. Howls of pain and anger could be heard even over the sounds of the wind driven rains. Taking a last strengthening breath, Darius sent his steed into the swiftly flowing river.

  The cold of the water made itself known immediately despite the fact that he was already drenched from the rain. It was an all encompassing cold now that never left as the current pushed at the two of them. He found that thanks to the width of the Divide the current stayed just weak enough for the horse to battle onward.

  A feral shout from the shore behind him drew Darius' head around long enough to see several of the trolls trying to swim towards him. The current quickly proved itself stronger than the beasts and one by one the few who had tried were drawn under the waves or pulled downstream.

  Seeing their failed attempts, Darius began to worry. The horse was strong, but the distant shore seemed so incredibly far away. He wondered, if the animal would have the strength to make it so far against the powerful current. He feared for those that he had already sent into this before him.

  They were still well away from the far shore when Darius heard a thunderous sound of rushing water over that which he was in already. It came from up river. The wizard turned north to see what could have caused such a sound. His face paled with fear.

  The water seemed to jump upwards of a dozen feet and continued in a murderous wall towards Darius and the horse. Some dam must have broken up river and released the flood. The wizard looked longingly at the opposite shore and found that they were just over halfway when the wall struck him and his mount.

  A roar of power took him and lifted the man away in a swirl of liquid. Darius fought for the surface even as the flood threw him up and down through its flow. A moment's breath was afforded before the tides drew him back under again. A half dozen times, Darius found the surface only to be sucked down again.

  Unconsciousness threatened to overcome him from a lack of air, but Darius drew upon whatever instincts he had to use his magic. Air found his lungs as the magic made him one with the water. It was a variation of his nature spell that sought to save him. He could breathe now and energy came back into his limbs long enough for Darius to struggle forward and finally find the far shore. The river seemed annoyed at having failed so even as he reached the bank of the shore, a final biting wave nearly drew him back into the flow once again.

  Luckily, he could still pull himself away from the rushing waters with a last surge. With the mud of the shore still beneath him, Darius collapsed into unconsciousness even as his mind wondered if the others still lived.

  The sound of contentedly flowing water was the first thing that Darius noticed as his mind awoke once more within his aching skull. The first light of dawn played at the tips of the treetops. The wizard turned onto his back and blinked at the faint light. As he did so, reality swiftly came back to the fore as he remembered his lost band.

  Darius sat up and looked up and down the shoreline in search of even one of his people. Finding no one, Darius took a moment to sweep the last of the cobwebs from his mind. Thus prepared, the wizard began to meditate. Serenity slowly drew itself into him and Darius began to send out feelers of his magic into the nature around him. He looked for traces of his comrades carefully. The elves were unique in this world and his magic could search for them as the Globe of Portalis could, if in a somewhat more limited fashion. The globe and the portable seekers just made it easier and took less time and energy.

  The tendrils searched both ways and on both shores in case a member had been forced to risk the troll side. Soon Darius found one to the south and then another. A few more still further down river appeared and he realized that nearly everyone must have been pushed further down than he had. Darius released the magic and took a breath before standing. He was hungry, but the horse had held what food he had in its satchel. The wizard would find nothing until he found the others or took the time to hunt. He had no tools or weapons anyway, so with a sad sigh, Darius trudged south to find the others.

  Only half an hour later, Darius found a pair of the elven hunters. They were worn, but still alive. One of their horses was still alive as well and tethered to a nearby tree. The elves looked up at him in surprise and relief.

  "Wizard Darius," the elf known as Tavarsh greeted with his hand extended. "We were just beginning to decide which way to search when you arrived."

  The wizard smiled and took the hand gladly, "It's good to see you and Seco again too. I noticed the fish by your fire. Could I have some?"

  "Of course, sir. It is all right that we ate before looking, isn't it?" the elf asked suddenly worried at the way it looked.

  "Don't worry yourself about that, after all, no one has eaten since lunch yesterday, after all. You will need your strength before you begin searching for the others," he replied tactfully. "In fact, I want you two to go back north for me. You have the horse. You can cover the distance much quicker to where we were forced to jump in yesterday. I'll keep moving south. I've searched with my magic and I know that there are others there.

  "When you reach where we went into the water, stay there and stay hidden. If you see any trolls or orcs, don't even try to fight them. Stay safe until I return for you. Everyone knew to follow
the river, so we might have a few others moving north already. If you catch them, have them wait as well."

  The elves saluted.

  "Good luck to you, wizard," Seco added as the two took a shared seat upon the horse and prepared to move north.

  "Stay safe," Darius offered in reply as he picked up the remains of the fish for himself.

  The hoof beats quickly faded away into the distance as Darius continued to walk on alone.

  Nearly another half an hour passed again before he caught up to Wizard Fioren and Xarien. They walked south with one of the elves. Darius had been walking hard and that was the only reason that he had caught up to them. They were headed away from him, but at his call, the men stopped to wait.

  "Why are you headed south Fioren?" Darius asked once he had caught up to the others.

  "I saw several of the others wash past me in the current yesterday before the flood waters hit. I hoped to find them there. I'm surprised to find anyone still north of me. I thought that I had done well at escaping so quickly. My horse unfortunately wasn't so lucky."

  Darius noted that one horse had survived of their three. The loss of the animals was sad, but that so many men were still alive kept him hoping.

  "Let me take the horse," he ordered. "I'll continue on ahead and find those that I can. I've sent a pair of elves north to where we went into the water. Go after them and wait for me. If I don't come back by tomorrow morning, Fioren, lead the men to Willow’s Berg. I'll meet you there."

  "All right, you were put in charge of this mission. Give anyone you find my best wishes."

  "I will. I'll see you again soon."

  With a horse under him, Darius picked up some needed speed. He found the last group he would find nearly a dozen miles down river. Janus, Tate and Matalchus were there with an elf hunter. They spied him and held up their walk which was also heading south. They were all atop horses.

  "Darius," Janus greeted looking worn. Tate shared his expression and he knew that something was wrong. "Electra and a few of the others have been captured."