Knight Fire

by Brad Clark

  “Nothing surprises me anymore. Like I said, I have seen magic, but not like this. I have seen men who can cast balls of fire from their hands. And dragons who fly the skies, melting men with their breath. A pool that can heal? Well, that’s just not very exciting.”

  “It saved your life.”

  He looked up at her and locked his eyes on hers. “No, you saved my life. How can I ever repay you?”

  Their gaze held for a moment and then she shook her head. “No, you owe me nothing. You are a Karmon Knight. I owe you so much.”

  Marik leaned his head back and let the warm water embrace and relax him. He could stay in the water forever. It had been so long since he had felt so relaxed and focused.

  Ilasha sat down at the edge of the water and let her legs fall into its warm embrace. “The beast, dragon, whatever it is. Where did it come from?”

  “I do not know. But I hurt it, and I am going to hunt it down.”

  “It is long gone by now, don’t you think? If it can fly, it could be halfway across Thell by now.”

  Marik let out a long sigh. “I know. It is not like a bandit running through the forest. There is no trail in the sky for me to follow. If it is out of sight, then I have no way of following it. But it was heading north, so maybe its lair is in the White Mountains. It’s out hunting and won’t be hiding. I’ll just need to be patient and wait for it to show itself.”

  “Maybe it came from the Great Mountains past Thell. Few ever venture that far. It is possible that it has been living alone in those mountains hidden from view.”

  “It is not a coincidence that the dragon showed up at the same time as the Deceiver and his army.”

  “What?”

  Marik gave her a blank look and realized that Ilasha must have been living alone and apart from the rest of the world for a quite a while. He took the time to tell the story of the past few years of his life. He started with Conner and finished his story with chasing the dragon up the mountain. By the time he was done, his throat hurt, and he was weary of talking.

  With a long sigh, he leaned his head back against the edge of the pool.

  “So it is war,” Ilasha said softly. “The explains the Thellians, then.”

  Marik glanced over at her and asked, “Thellians? What do you mean?”

  “There is a trail that leads down from the mountains and into Thell. It is not a well-used trail, but Thellians have been known to use it from time to time to get up into the mountains. A few weeks ago a large number of them came up the trail and then headed west. Some of them were armed. Maybe they were soldiers, but mostly they were just regular people. I guess the war came to Thellia and they were escaping it.”

  Marik sat up and asked, “You said they headed west? What is west of here?”

  “There is a long valley and a path that leads into the lands once ruled by Neffenmark before he became king.”

  “You are referring to Neffenmark Castle, of course. It is virtually impenetrable. Even the Thellians know that. It is smart of them to head for the safety of the castle. You should head there, too. It is not safe out here anymore. The goblins will be marching this way, and if they have already taken Thell, then we will be pinched between two armies.”

  “I have survived more than you could know. I even have a crossbow, and I know how to use it.”

  Marik smiled at her and said, “I am sure you do! But there are not just a few hundred of these goblins. There are tens of thousands of them. When they come, they will swarm up the mountainside like hungry ants. Plus, if you are good with a crossbow, you can help defend the castle.”

  “And what of you? You can help defend the castle, too.”

  “The dragon needs to be slain. I already hurt it really bad, and if I can get close enough, I know I can kill it. This one dragon can destroy an entire city or an entire army. If we are to be able to fight back against the Deceiver’s army, we must be able to do so without the threat of a beast burning us alive. That is why I must chase it and kill it.”

  “It is futile for you to chase after it,” she said with a shake of her head. “Even if you knew where it was heading, it can fly faster than you can climb the mountains. If I am going to leave my village, then you must come with me, too.”

  “I saw your village,” Marik said dryly. “There is nothing left of it for you. You have no choice but to go to the castle.”

  “I have lived in these woods for almost fifty years. I know where to hide, and there are places where no army would find me. There are hidden caves all over here. I could easily survive.” Her strong demeanor seemed to waver as soon as the words came out of her mouth. He eyes fell to the cavern floor as she continued, “I had a home, but that beast destroyed it chasing after you. Since I have no place to stay, I might as well head to the castle. At least there would be a roof over my head.”

  Marik turned around in the water and put his hands on the edge of the pool and tried to push himself up to climb out of the water, but his arms failed him, and he slipped back into the water.

  Ilasha jumped at him and pulled him back to the edge. “Your body is healing, and it is still weak. It will take some time for you to regain your strength. You cannot go chasing after this dragon! You have to heal more.”

  “I will turn into a wrinkled prune if I stay in this water much longer.”

  Ilasha carefully helped him up and out of the water.

  The exertion seemed to affect him more than what he expected. He didn’t think about standing, he just stayed on the hard rocky floor. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “For a short time, at least. Once I recover fully, I am going after that dragon.”

  “You need food as much as you need rest, and I have some stashed in the inn. Hopefully, your dragon friend didn’t destroy the whole building so I can find the food. The heat of the water will keep this cave warm, but I will find you a blanket and some clothes, too. And it is still raining outside, so staying here will keep you dry. Tomorrow you should have enough strength to start heading for the castle, and hopefully, by then the rain will have stopped.”

  “You don’t have any horses, do you?” Marik asked with a smile.

  “If I did, the dragon would surely have scared them away. He made quite a racket chasing you down. Now you stay here and rest. I’ll be back shortly with some food.”

  Marik laid down on the hard ground and found it surprisingly comfortable. He closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep. Ilasha quietly slipped out of the cave.

  ***

  Myllia did not flinch when she saw the female Human come out of the rocks. Perched on a ledge high up in the mountains, Myllia was far enough away to not be seen even by the keenest of eyes. Plus, her scales blended perfectly with the mountain rocks. With her one good eye, she could clearly see down into the village, tracking the female as she ran from her hiding place and down towards the village. For a moment, she thought about flying down and scooping her up and devouring her. She was hungry, and a Human would satisfy her hunger for a day or so. But it was not the female that she wanted. She wanted the male. He was inside the rocks and eventually would have to come out. And when he did, she would be ready to finish off the job she started.

  Curled up on the ledge, she thought about her beloved Immerallis, who was chained up as a prisoner of the human form of the Deceiver. Soon she would return to that city and free her offspring, but there was much work to do first. With her one good eye still open, she fell into a light sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gregarious easily avoided the rear patrols of the Humans. His ability to blend into surroundings was more than just a skill. It was built into his body. Chameleons could change the color of their skin to blend and hide, but his skin did more than just change color. The texture morphed into that of nearby objects, allowing his body to truly mimic anything whether it was plant or animal. Several times to avoid detection, he stood next to a tree, and his body changed to look like the tree. A careful observer would have been able to see that he
was there, or something was out of place. But the soldiers that trailed the Human survivors were not looking carefully enough, so it was easy for him to remain undetected.

  He had given strict orders for the goblin army to march north at a slow pace, although the order was likely unnecessary. The goblin army would take several days to regroup from the battle, and they were not highly motivated to move quickly. He just needed to be sure that he wasn’t caught in the middle of another battle before he was ready. Once he had the information he needed, he wouldn’t care what the goblins did. Well, he would care what they did. He wanted the goblins to rip the Humans to shreds, preferably when they were still alive.

  Because the Humans moved so slowly, Gregarious spent some time wandering away to hunt on his own. He didn’t need to eat, but the act of hunting the creatures of earth satisfied some of his desires. Fleet-footed deer were the toughest for him to hunt, as they could run almost as fast as he could, and they seemed to have an instinct for running full speed through the trees. He was fast, but not very agile and bounced off too many trees. Eventually, when he caught up to a deer, he eviscerated its carcass and devoured its meat raw. There was no real hunger to satisfy, just an innate desire to kill.

  As he was walking away from the remains of the deer, he glanced around, realizing that he was farther away from the Humans than he expected. Having got caught up in the thrill of the chase, he let himself get taken miles away from the retreating survivors. Rather than retracing his steps, he headed north to intercept the Human’s path. However, after more than an hour of running, he realized that the Humans would not have been able to travel as far north as he had run. For a brief moment, he had a feeling of panic. If he somehow lost track of the Humans, the Deceiver would not be happy. He had seen the Deceiver in that state, and he did not want to be within a hundred miles of him. Or even in the same world.

  As he stood among the high hills of the mountains, he thought once more about returning along the path from which he had come. The sun was falling below high peaks to the west, which put him in the evening shadows. It wouldn’t be too much longer until the sun fell below the horizon and it would be completely dark. Although he could see in the darkness, he couldn’t see nearly as far or as well as he could when he was in daylight. It would not be impossible to pick up the Human’s trail, but it would be very difficult in the darkness. More than likely he would have to wait until the sun rose in the morning before he could continue after them. If he were lucky, the Humans were already making camp for the night, but it would not be out of the realm of possibilities that they would continue through the night, especially if they were close to their final destination.

  The sight of a tall cliff convinced him he had once last chance to find the Humans. If he were to get high enough, it might be possible for him to see them from a long distance. Even though nighttime was coming quickly, his superior eyesight would be able to pick them out from many miles away. After only a moment's consideration, he turned and sprinted towards the sheer cliff face. With ease, he sprang up high into the air, catching rocks with his hands and then springing up even farther. Two more times he sprang upwards until he landed softly at the top. He looked around, his eyes searching the growing darkness for any signs of the Humans. A flash of light in the distance caught his attention. Then another light lit up, following quickly by many more. It appeared that torches were being lit along what appeared to be a wall of some sort. It was far away, near the limit of his vision, but he was sure he knew what he was seeing. He also had no doubts where the Humans were heading. Even if he were wrong, what better place to gather information about the mountains than a mountain castle.

  With a single leap, Gregarious jumped down from the high cliff. He felt exhilaration as he dropped and saw the ground come rushing up at him. He braced his body as his feet struck the rocky ground. Every bone in his body shook as he landed, but he walked away unhurt. It would take much more than a two-hundred-foot drop to hurt him. Turning in the direction of the castle, he began sprinting through the darkness as fast as his inhuman limbs could take him.

  ***

  Sir Gossmire looked up into the dark skies thankful that the rains had stopped. Everyone was wet and cold, even those that were lucky enough to sleep under a roof. He actually was hoping that colder weather would come so that the ground would freeze and the village’s street would no longer be a sloppy, muddy mess. His stomach gurgled from hunger, but he didn't care. Everyone else had been fed, and that was all that mattered. Some of the merchants had put together a mess hall so that food could be prepared in bulk and distributed quickly and efficiently. Teams of men were out hunting for small game and deer, and so far they had been moderately successful.

  Food, however, wasn’t their problem. With winter coming, they would need warm and dry places for everyone to live. This high up in the mountains the snows fell long and hard, and the winds were bitterly cold. Whatever wood that had been cut by the village’s previous inhabitants was now behind the castle’s walls. There was nothing left for the refugees to use to heat their homes. Whoever wasn’t hunting was chopping wood to provide warm fires, but they would never be able to cut enough wood to last the winter. It took an entire summer of chopping to have enough wood to survive the cold winters of the mountains. Eventually, they would find themselves short of wood, which meant bitter cold nights that many would not survive.

  A flash of light caught Sir Gossmire’s eyes. He turned to see the men who manned the walls of the castle light torches along the top of the wall. The light from the torches extended down the wall and to the ground. They were taking no chances with their defenses. The light of the torches would give the defenders plenty of notice if they were attacked. Although the idea had crossed his mind, and he had spent some time trying to come up with an assault plan, Sir Gossmire knew that attacking Neffenmark Castle would be a futile and deadly endeavor. Even though getting into the castle was their only true chance of survival, attacking the castle would ensure that they wouldn’t survive the winter. Diplomacy had been tried and failed, but they had to keep trying. At some point, they would reach a point of desperation that they would not be able to come back from, and there was no telling what would happen then. When times became truly desperate, there would be no stopping human depravity.

  Sir Gossmire heard someone approaching from behind, but he didn’t turn to see who it was. He continued to watch the men atop the walls complete their task of lighting torches, hoping that whoever it was, came with some good news.

  “Sir Gossmire?”

  Reluctantly, he turned. Three men stood in front of him. One he knew, the other two he did not. The one he knew had been a Royal Guardsman back at South Karmon and now served on the village’s perimeter defenses. The other two wore wool cloaks that were muddy and drenched.

  Sir Gossmire could not remember the man’s name, although it was just at the edge of his memory. Maybe if he weren't exhausted, he would have remembered it. “Yes?” Sir Gossmire said.

  “These two rode in from Tyre.”

  “Tyre?” Fatigue quickly left Sir Gossmire. “What news do you have of Tyre?”

  One of the men let out a heavy sigh and said, “It has fallen. We were sent ahead to prepare the castle for the arrival of the survivors.”

  Sir Gossmire let out a long sigh. “How many?”

  “Many hundreds. Maybe even thousands. I do not know how many in all. We were sent ahead before the survivors had all left the city.”

  A sinking feeling of doom filled Sir Gossmire. They were already stretched to the limit. There was no way the village could handle many more, much less the entire contingent of refugees from Tyre. “We are not prepared for that many,” he said softly.

  “They are coming,” the other man said. “There are some on horses and pulling wagons. They will arrive in a day or so. Most others are walking, and they will come over the next few days, depending on how fast the goblins push them. Most of the soldiers are following behind to make sure t
he goblins don’t attack our rear.”

  “Goblins, you say?”

  “Yes, the goblins that attacked our city are following us here. You will need to prepare the castle’s defenses.” His eyes looked past Sir Gossmire to the wall that was manned by archers.

  Sir Gossmire followed the man’s gaze. “The castle is closed to us.”

  The man simply returned a blank look.

  “We arrived too late. Others have already claimed Neffenmark Castle for themselves.”

  “Who?”

  Sir Gossmire turned to face north. Directly in front of him were some of the higher peaks of the White Mountains, but the man understood where he was looking. Past the mountains was the land of the Thell, once their enemy, and more recently their ally. But now it appeared, they were once again their foe.

  “We will be slaughtered if we are left outside walls, but we can survive inside them. These creatures that chase do not have any catapults or anything that could knock down these walls. We could easily repel and defeat them if were allowed inside.”

  “Yes, of course. But we do not have siege engines, either. We have no way of assaulting the castle, much less conquering the soldiers inside. We will have to prepare a defense around the village.”

  “Lord Kirwal should be only a few hours behind us. Maybe he can convince them to let us inside.”

  “Well, Lord Kirwal is a much better diplomat than Lord Martin, so maybe he can. You both look tired and hungry.”

  The riders glanced at one another before quickly nodding their heads.

  “There is food down in the village. We will find a warm and dry place for you to rest.” Sir Gossmire turned to the man whose name he still couldn’t remember. “Take these two to my quarters. There is plenty of room, and there should be wood for a fire.”