Ahren, inexperienced in this type of attack, didn’t join in with the others, but surprised by the sheer force of his comrades’ attack, remained behind in the undergrowth. From there he peppered the Dark Ones to the right with arrows, where there was least chance of hitting one of his friends by mistake.
Culhen remained by his side, growling uncertainly at the Low Fangs, ready to attack any that dared to come too close.
Uldini floated above the battle, from where he had an overview of what was unfolding and could anticipate possible dangers with lightning speed, calling out commands to his companions when necessary.
It took less than twenty heartbeats for the course of the battle to turn in their favour and the Low Fangs were wiped out between their two advancing fronts.
Ahren stopped shooting when he realised he might injure one of his own, and instead watched the final moments of the battle, relieved that he could see no sign of injury to any of his friends. Four of the mercenaries, however, were lying spread-eagled, motionless on the ground and with terrible injuries. Even from where he was standing Ahren could see that they were beyond help.
‘Ahren! To your left! A Moonrunner! Don’t let it escape - we need it alive if possible!’ The apprentice heard the voice of Uldini, whispering magically into his ear.
The young Forest Guardian looked to his left, but at first he could see nothing. He peered around a tree that was blocking his view and only saw a fox, crouched in the meagre greenery of a stunted bush.
Ahren was about to look further when the fox spun its head around towards him. Horrified, Ahren saw eight tiny red eyes, arranged in a broad semi-circle on its head. Unusually large ears pricked themselves up in alarm and pointed in his direction, and a peculiarly broad mouth revealed small pointy teeth which sparkled like razor-sharp knives.
Before the young Paladin had time to react, the Moonrunner had spun around and scampered away, faster than any fox Ahren had ever seen. He looked at the Dark One in shock, then reacted instinctively by mentally shouting at the wolf, Attack!
The wolf reacted with lightning speed, emitted a terrifying howl and raced after the fox-like creature.
Three heartbeats later and the two of them were out of sight. Ahren closed his eyes in order to concentrate entirely on his sensation of the wolf. Suddenly, a branch in the undergrowth snapped beside him. A Low Fang that must have been hiding there threw itself with a snarl at him. It clearly had every intention of using its quadripartite tooth-filled mouth, which took up half its face, to tear the apprentice’s throat to shreds. Ahren threw himself to the side and let out a scream of terror just as Trogadon’s hammer whizzed past him with an almighty whistling sound before smashing the attacker with full force into the nearest tree. The brittle crunching of bones echoed unmistakeably through the forest and the Low Fang landed in a broken heap on the forest floor.
Trogadon trotted past the stunned apprentice and winked at him. ‘Don’t try that until you’ve had plenty of practice’, he whispered conspiratorially. ‘If you miss your target, then you’ll have spectacularly disarmed yourself, and if you hit a friend by mistake it’ll be embarrassing or even a little dramatic.’
Ahren wasn’t sure if Trogadon was speaking from experience and considering how closely the hammer had whizzed by him, he really didn’t want to know the answer.
He gave the dwarf a nod in gratitude and closed his eyes again to concentrate fully on Culhen. He sensed the excitement of the hunt pounding through his friend’s veins, and the graceful interplay of muscles as Culhen followed the zigzag course of the Moonrunner as it tried vainly to shake off the big wolf.
The wolf’s joyful anticipation as he neared his pray was increasing with every heartbeat, and when Ahren felt the exhilaration of a hunt about to be successfully concluded, he hurriedly pushed his thoughts through to the triumphant wolf.
Don’t kill it! Bring it here! He commanded with all the power he could muster. The creature seemed to be important for some reason, and so he made every effort to follow Uldini’s wishes.
Culhen transmitted a mixture of incomprehension, disappointment and a deep sense of having being wronged, and Ahren was surprised at how deeply the wolf was affected by this demand for his booty.
The apprentice calmed him down. You really wouldn’t want to eat it anyway. It’s a Dark One. To underline his words, he transmitted an image of a particularly disgusting Dark One.
The wolf obeyed in a sulk and trotted towards Ahren with the badly injured Moonrunner in his mouth.
Relieved, the apprentice withdrew into his own thoughts and opened his eyes. The battle was over, all the Low Fangs were dead. The mercenaries were treating their wounded, with Ahren’s friends helping them as much as possible. Jelninolan was performing a little magic charm on one of the badly injured, and Uldini floated down from the sky to Ahren.
‘And? Do you have it?’ he asked breathlessly.
The apprentice nodded and pointed behind him into the dark. ‘Culhen caught him and is coming now. If I’m reading his thoughts correctly, there’s still a bit of life in the Moonrunner, but not much.’
Uldini rubbed his hands gleefully. ‘I’ll just need a few moments, but it might really be worth it.’
‘What’s so special about this Dark One?’ asked Ahren curiously. He’d never heard of Moonrunners before, and they didn’t seem particularly dangerous.
The little figure stared at him in astonishment before giving a disapproving shake of his head. ‘What’s that good-for-nothing master teaching you at all?’ he asked in a biting tone.
Ahren was about to protest, but Uldini cut him off with an imperious wave of his arm. ‘Save your breath, I can answer the question myself. There haven’t been any Moonrunners for over five hundred years. HE, WHO FORCES must have created new ones shortly before your Naming, using the strength he had sucked from you. If he was already awake enough to successfully force new Moonrunners into existence, then we have to be doubly thankful to Tlik. Who knows what else HE might have let loose in the world?’
Ahren cleared his throat, and Uldini understood the hint. ‘Moonrunners are the most effective scouts and harbingers of the dark god. They see and hear practically everything that’s going on around them. They can communicate with every Dark One they meet, and Doppelgangers like to use them as messengers. If this one had escaped, it would have informed the next Doppler it met of our presence.’
Ahren shivered at the thought of having one of those mighty opponents on their heels. The Doppelgangers were treacherous and very intelligent, and every time Ahren had been the focus of a Doppler’s attention, he had been in fear for his life. Their elaborate strategies were second to none.
Culhen stepped into the milky magical light emanating from Uldini’s crystal ball, which was now floating peacefully above the Arch Wizard’s shoulder. The limp body of the fox-like creature was hanging from the wolf’s mouth, and it was barely breathing.
‘We have to be quick now’, said Uldini and reached out for the little scout. Culhen twisted his head and growled at the childlike figure.
‘Culhen, behave yourself!’ ordered Ahren, sharply. The Ancient’s face looked thunderous, and the last thing the young Forest Guardian wanted was for the grumpy Arch Wizard to cast Culhen on top of the next tree in a fit of pique.
The wolf gave Ahren an offended look before carelessly dropping his booty onto the ground. Then he snorted, raised his nose in the air and stalked away to the mercenaries’ rucksacks, which he proceeded to sniff for titbits.
Uldini had meanwhile leaned over the half-dead Moonrunner, and now he placed his hands over the animal’s head and listened almost prayerfully. Then he turned around and looked at the others. ‘Jelninolan, I need you here. You’re far better at reading animals’ minds. I’ve broken through its defences but can’t make head or tail of what I see.’
The elf came towards them, accompanied by Trogadon and Khara, both of whom looked curiously down at the fox.
‘A harbinger of de
ath!’ hissed Khara in terror, and Wind Blade seemed to leap into her hand of its own volition before Uldini had the chance to push himself between girl and fox.
‘We have to find out what it knows’, he shouted commandingly, and Ahren placed his hand carefully on the girl’s sword-arm.
She gave him a furious look and shook him off, but made no further effort to attack the Dark One.
‘There must have still been Moonrunners all these years in the Eternal Empire, perhaps under a different name’, murmured Falk quietly in reaction to Khara, who had undoubtedly recognised the creature. Uldini nodded with a thoughtful look.
‘We really don’t know enough about what’s going on there’, said the little Arch Wizard in an uneasy voice.
Jelninolan was now bent over the badly scratched body of the harbinger and was listening to the creature’s memories. ‘It hasn’t received any clear orders since it’s been created. The Adversary seems to have been too weak to issue them.’
An audible sigh of relief could be heard among the group. This was tangible proof that the goblin Tlik’s magic had knocked their enemy back for six.
‘It met a Glower Bear on its travels, who informed it about us. It seems the monster is hunting us down.’ She looked into the concerned faces around her. ‘He’s the same one that attacked us in the ruins during the Naming ceremony. Maybe he hasn’t got over the fact that we slipped through his grasp. This Moonrunner was supposed to track us down and report where we are.’
Ahren gasped when he heard that. The almighty beast had been tormenting him in his dreams every night. ‘Are Glower Bears that intelligent?’ he asked fearfully.
Uldini shook his head. ‘Jelninolan is translating the animal’s impressions in all too human terms. It would be more correct to say that he has fixed us in his mind as his prey. But yes, they are clever enough to rope Moonrunners into their plans.’
Falk scratched his beard thoughtfully. ‘That’s not good. One of those monsters hunted me during the Dark Days. It was a she-bear. She hunted me for two years and she would keep reappearing whenever I was alone or vulnerable. I was constantly on the run until I finally lured her into an ambush.’ There was pain in the eyes of the old Forest Guardian. ‘I lost more than a dozen knights that day, veterans one and all, and all good friends.’
Uldini turned around uneasily and looked out into the darkness. Ahren half-expected the beast to rush in on top of them, but all was quiet except for the groans of the wounded. Ahren felt a tension building up between his shoulder-blades as he tensed up at the thought of their dangerous pursuer.
Jelninolan straightened up. ‘I can’t make out anymore. The Moonrunner is dead’, she said in a mournful voice. She bent down and closed the lifeless eyes of the fox-like creature before turning and heading back to the wounded mercenaries where she washed and bandaged their wounds.
Ahren looked over at the elf. He too yearned to save as many lives as possible from the grotesque deeds of the Adversary, but there was no doubt that she paid closer attention to the animals of the world than he did. Every Dark One that she had to kill in her quest for victory over the Adversary was a creature that could not be freed from his power. It was true that Ahren was more pragmatic in this respect, and had fewer scruples when it came to killing an onrushing Dark One, but he understood her pain nonetheless. The four dead mercenaries were weighing heavily on his conscience, and as the Loom came towards him, he could see the pain of loss in her eyes.
‘You really are a Paladin, aren’t you?’ she asked, coming straight to the point.
Ahren gave a tired nod. ‘Not only me. There’s my master over there, Dorian Falkenstein. Doubtless you’ve heard tales of his deeds.’
Falk gave a faint smile and slapped his powerful left hand down on the dumbstruck woman’s shoulder. ‘You fought well. Too bad that you’re wasting your talent’, he said grimly and gave her a severe look.
The mercenary turned away from the hard stare of the living legend, who only that morning had been the object of her ambush.
Ahren almost felt sorry for her, but now was the perfect opportunity for him to reveal his plan for the future of the mercenaries. ‘You will compensate us for our help, won’t you?’ he said in as confident a voice as he could muster.
The Red and White Loom stared at him in disbelief. ‘But of course. We don’t have much gold, but...’
‘It’s not gold I’m looking for’, interrupted Ahren, taking advantage of the mercenary’s irritation. ‘I want your fealty.’
Everyone within earshot gasped, and Ahren continued quickly. ‘The Dark Days are going to return, and more quickly than anyone wants. We need seasoned warriors and we can’t afford to be fighting amongst ourselves.’ His voice was becoming louder as he tried to make himself heard by all the mercenaries as well as to forestall any angry protest from his master. ‘I am Squire of the Falkenstein Barony in the Knight Marshes. As such I am entitled to small troop of soldiers. I choose you.’
There was immediate uproar as everyone talked loudly across each other. Falk planted himself squarely in front of his apprentice and drew himself up to his full height. ‘A word, Squire!’ he snarled in a low, threatening voice and pulled Ahren by his ear behind the nearest tree. ‘Have you completely lost your mind?’ he hissed quietly, and a vein on his forehead pulsed angrily.
Ahren made a soothing gesture with his hands. ‘They are good fighters, they stand up for each other, and they have the courage to take on Low Fangs. We need people like that’, he said quickly. ‘These people can surely think of something better to be doing than lying in wait in a damp forest for the next traveller, so that they can pilfer some money off him to keep the wolf from the door.’ And he pointed emphatically at the mercenaries who were standing there in shock and chattering loudly about his offer. Half of them were completely perplexed, the other half certainly seemed hopeful. ‘We can send them to Falkenstein. Captain Greycloth can knock some sense into them there. You said yourself that Falkenstein was completely undermanned with only four guards, and that we needed more armed men and women. These are veterans here. If we give them responsibility, a roof over their heads, something to eat and a decent wage, don’t you think they’ll be thankful and become good soldiers?’ Ahren held his breath. Falk was still looking daggers at him, but Ahren could see that he was thinking about what the apprentice had said. He took a step back and out of the corners of his eyes he could see the mercenaries gesticulating wildly as they argued and pointing repeatedly in the direction of the two Paladins.
‘Very well’, said Falk finally. ‘If they all agree, it’s fine by me. But every one of them has to swear fealty to Falkenstein and recognise Greycloth as captain-in-command, or not one of them will set foot on my land without fear of having it cut off.’ The old Forest Guardian’s voice was raw with disgust, but Ahren gave a thankful nod, nonetheless. He wanted to rush over to the potential recruits, but Falk grabbed his wrist in an iron grip.
‘That was the first and last time you will do anything like that again without having discussed it with me first. I am your master, your accursed liege, and as a Paladin I am more than eight hundred years your senior. Do we understand ourselves?’
Ahren nodded hurriedly. ‘Good’, growled the old man. ‘Because if we adopt every Johnny-come-lately that tries to kill us, my barony will be bursting at the seams before the year is out.’
Ahren released himself from his master’s grip, before the old man had a chance to change his mind. He trotted over to the mercenaries in order to lay down the conditions of their new way of life before their leader. Much to his surprise his offer unleashed another heated debate, and he withdrew perplexed to the edge of the squabbling group of men and women.
Uldini approached him with a grin. ‘Things not going according to plan?’ he asked sarcastically.
Ahren scratched the back of his head in bafflement. ‘I thought they’d be delighted’, he complained, baffled by their reaction.
‘You’re demanding that
they give up their freedom, something that mercenaries attach great importance to. And don’t forget: we’re riding towards a conflict that has only arisen because a troop of mercenaries, namely the Blue Cohorts have put their foot down and are defying an Emperor. It’s in their nature to contradict – otherwise they would have become good little soldiers’, said Uldini with a smile.
‘Are you telling me that the Blue Cohorts are going to be just as difficult to persuade?’ asked Ahren uneasily.
Uldini looked up at him in amusement. ‘An elite unit betrayed by their employer and led by a stubborn Paladin?’ He laughed uproariously. ‘I’ve no doubt at all they will follow you like brave little lambs’, he concluded sarcastically.
‘Gather this rabble together first. We have to move on and quickly, as long as that Glower Bear is breathing down our necks. It’s true that the creatures only travel at night and are not particularly quick, but on the other hand they are extremely durable’, he added quickly once he had noticed that Ahren was making no attempt to involve himself in the mercenaries’ dispute.
Ahren looked down at the childlike figure and could see a calculating glimmer in his eyes, as if the Arch Wizard was putting him to the test and was trying to find out if he was up to dealing with the situation he had brought about himself.
The apprentice squared his shoulders and marched energetically up to the Red and White Loom. ‘Have you reached a decision regarding our offer?’ he asked with as much authority as he could muster.
The woman with her blond hair shaved at both sides bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, a gesture which made her more human in Ahren’s eyes. ‘Personally, I am in favour of it. I believe both you and your master, but there are still a few among us who consider you to be nothing more than imposters who are good at fighting’, she said regretfully.
The Brazen City Page 14
