The Bowl of Souls: Book 01.5 - Hilt's Pride (2 page)

BOOK: The Bowl of Souls: Book 01.5 - Hilt's Pride
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“I refuse,” he said firmly.

 

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you want then?”

 

“Your safety,” he replied. “No matter how mean tempered you are
,
I cannot in good conscience allow you to continue any farther. The way ahead would mean your certain death.”

 

“And what makes you so sure?” she asked as her forced smile faded.

 

“For one, the gorcs are still watching us from the boulders below. More will likely join them and the only reason they haven’t attacked us again already is the fact that I left six of them dead down there. Secondly, do you see these signs, my lady?” Hilt gestured to a small pile of stones next to her feet. They were white and irregularly shaped, but stacked evenly to form a small pyramid.

 

She nodded.
“Rocks.
What of it?”

 

“Look around you,” he said, pointing to his right. Another similar pile of stones stood several yards away and she could see another one even further away. They seemed to be spaced apart evenly. “We crossed over similar signs earlier when we entered the
gorc’s
territory.”

 

She looked down at the piles and back up at him. “So we walked past piles of stones.”

 

“You don’t understand. The first signs we passed were made of plain stones set in a circular pattern. They are used to tell goblinoids when they’re at the border of another tribe’s territory. The stones here, however, are stacked in a pyramid shape used by goblinoids to mark areas of danger. In other words, these stone represent a warning to their own tribe members to stay away.”

 

“Good,” she said. “That means they won’t follow me up there. I hope you will follow their example.”

 

Hilt grit his teeth in frustration. “Why are you so determined to die?”

 

“I won’t die. At least I don’t think so,” she admitted, still seeming quite unconcerned. She tried to continue past him, but Hilt grabbed her shoulders with both hands, stopping her. She twisted and tore free from his grasp, nearly stumbling yet again. “Don’t you touch
me!

 

“Then tell me.”

 

“I will tell you nothing,” she spat.

 

“I have half a mind to throw you over my shoulder and carry you down this mountain,” Hilt said, his eyebrows raised at her ferocity.

 

“I would fight you the whole way!”

 

“You could not stop me. I could knock you unconscious if I had to. I would make sure you did not wake until I could take you to the nearest village and drop you off at an inn.”

 

“I would have no choice in that case.” Rage simmered behind her eyes, but she swallowed and gathered herself, then replied with complete calm. “However, if you did so, sir, I would only wait until you were gone and come back anyway.”

 

“Be that as it may, I will do exactly as I threatened unless you tell me why you are so determined to ascend this mountain.”
Hilt said, jaw fixed in determination.
“Tell me, woman, and do it fast because the gorcs are gathering in number.”

 

Hilt pointed down the slope behind her. She turned to see that several more gorcs had joined the others and they were no longer bothering to hide. The one with the blinded eye was pointing up at them and snarling at the others. She looked back at Hilt and glared again.

 

“I can see that you are determined to continue, but do you really want to be caught and likely eaten by those creatures?” Hilt prodded. “I will make you this concession. Tell me the truth and if your answer is satisfactory, not only will I let you go on, I will go down and slay the beasts just to give you a better chance.”

 

She looked at Hilt’s unmoving stance and up at the long climb ahead, then down to the gorcs below. When she looked back at him her expression was resigned.
“Fine.
Since you must know . . . the prophet told me to come to this mountain and climb to the summit.”

 

Hilt blinked,
then
his eyes narrowed in intensity.
“The prophet?
Tell me, what did he look like?”

 

“Well, he was . . . his face . . .” Her brow wrinkled in confusion and she paused for a moment to search her memories, “I-I don’t know how to describe him, just his presence. He just . . . he just felt right. Like I was safe with him and that he would never lead me wrong.”

 

Hilt stared at her for a few seconds before placing his face in his hands, “Oh blast it all. How did he know I would be coming this way? Blast!”

 

“Excuse me?” she said, wide eyed at his reaction.

 

He put up a conciliatory hand. “Forgive my language. It’s just that he always does this. He makes people a promise and shoves them in my path.” The next time he saw the prophet he would be sure to tell him about it too. Hilt shook his head and sighed. “I suppose my mission will have to be placed on hold.”

 

Hilt reached for a leather strip that hung around his neck and pulled a slender tube made of a smooth gray wood out from under his
chainmail
vest. He lifted it to his lips and blew. There was no audible sound, but he felt it warm against his fingers and knew his message had been received. He nodded and tucked it back under his shirt.

 

“What are you doing?” she asked.

 

“I am telling my companion that I need his assistance.” Hilt said.  “He left Reneul before I did, but he has been taking his time. If I had not taken this detour I would have caught up to him by nightfall.”

 

“But how-?
Why . . .?” Her eyes widened in comprehension. “Wait.
No-no.
You’re not coming with me.”

 

“Oh, yes I am” Hilt said. He turned and strode parallel to the piles of rock that dotted the mountainside. “Come along. It would be best to stay out of the area the gorcs marked. They wouldn’t warn their own people away without good reason.”

 

“But-!”
She hesitated,
then
hurried after him. “You didn’t listen. I said ‘You’re
not
coming with me.’”

 

“And yet I am,” Hilt replied. He paused and looked back at her. “You know, since we are to be taking this little journey together, I really should ask your name.”

 

“Beth,” she said. “But I still haven’t agreed-.”

 

He gave her a deep bow.
“Beth, my lady, so nice to meet you.
My name is Hilt. And don’t worry, as soon as I get you to the top of this peak, I will take my leave and you will not have to see me again.” He turned and continued along the slope, glad that the first winter snows had not come yet. The slope was steep and footing was hard enough as it was.

 

She followed behind him in silence for a while, which suited him just fine. The line of white stone markers eventually curved and turned up the steep slope of the mountainside and Hilt followed it, skirting the edge of the line they marked. The ground was a bit rocky and
stubbled
with tufts of grass for easy footing, but it was a strenuous hike nonetheless. Hilt fumed that the prophet had stuck him with such an arduous task.

 

He kept looking back at the woman to make sure she was holding up. She trudged along right behind him with her skirts held up in bunched fists to keep from entangling herself. Her face was red and she was breathing quite heavily, but to her credit she wasn’t complaining. Luckily there was no sign that the gorcs had followed them.

 

They hiked to the top of the incline. The ground leveled off and the path was flat for a while before the next rise, so Hilt stopped so she could rest. He sat on a large rock and watched her stumble over and plop down on another rock a few feet away.  She slumped over and rested her forearms on her knees.

 

Hilt eyed her curiously. “So Beth, my lady, the prophet tells you to climb a mountain, and you come wearing that?”

 

She gave him an irritated glance. “It’s what I had on at the time.”

 

“But where did you come from? There are no villages anywhere nearby and you aren’t wearing a pack or anything. Do you have supplies?
Food?
Water?”

 

Her irritation turned into a glare. “He told me to go, and I went. What about you? You leave on an important mission from Reneul of all places going someplace urgently, and you throw it all away to climb a mountain with a woman that you obviously find quite crazy. All you have is that small pack on your back. Not exactly mountain climbing gear I would think.”

 

“I am a named warrior. I can take care of myself,” Hilt replied.

 

Beth snorted.

Pfft
! Named warrior.
Right!”

 

Hilt lifted his arm and showed her the rune on the back of his hand.

 

“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t-.”

 

“It’s usually the first thing people notice,” he remarked.

 

“Well, it’s not like I go around checking the back of people’s hands all the time just to make sure they’re not named.”

 

“It covers the whole back of my hand. It’s pretty hard to miss,” Hilt pointed out. “Didn’t you see me fighting?”

 

“I know a lot of good fighters and none of them are named,” she said. Hilt rolled his eyes. “What? I’m supposed to see your fighting skill and say, ‘
oooh
, he must be a named warrior’? Do I need to check your palms too just to make sure you’re not a named wizard as well?”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Hilt said. He shook his head and stood. “Let us start this over, shall we?” He cleared his throat. “Good morning, Madam. I am Sir Hilt, a named warrior come to take you down off this mountain before you get yourself killed.”

 

He looked at her expectantly. She just stared back at him.

 

“Well,” Hilt prompted.
“Your turn.
Come on.”

 

A slight smile touched the corner of her mouth and she replied, “Why hello, Sir Hilt. I am Beth and I am climbing this mountain because the prophet told me to. I might let you tag along if you ask nicely.”

 

Hilt smiled.
“Very good then.
Since we are to be travel companions, would you mind if I take stock of our situation?”

 

She laid back on the rock and stretched out her legs. “Sure, go ahead.”

 

“The good news is that as far as I can tell, the gorcs haven’t followed us,” he said.

 

“Good,” she yawned.

 

“The problem is that it is going to take us maybe two days to climb to the top if we can make good time. We haven’t had any snow yet, but it is going to get cold especially at night.” He paused and looked at her again. “Is that dress really all you brought?”

 

“Do I look like I’m hiding anything?” she said, resting back on her elbows.

 

Hilt frowned. “How did you get here?” She just stuck out her feet in response so he tried again. “Perhaps the better question is where did you come from? There are no villages for miles from here.”

 

“Pinewood,” she said.

 

“You walked all the way here from Pinewood? You would have had to travel all the way through the Tinny Woods!” He was impressed with the woman’s ability to survive. The place was crawling with
moonrats
and the foul creatures would eat anything alive or dead.

 

“I was in the woods when the prophet found me. He told me to go and I went.”

 

“But how did you survive?”

 

She sighed. “I don’t know. I just walked east. When I was thirsty, there was a stream. When I was hungry, there were berries. At night I dug under the leaves and slept. I never saw a single moonrat. I heard them of course, but never saw a single glowing eye. Since then I haven’t worried. The prophet said I could do it, so I know I can.”

 

“So what did he tell you?” he asked.

 

“I told you,” she said with a dull stare. “Climb the mountain.”

 

“What were his instructions?” Hit prodded, growing tired of her
obstinance
. “What exactly did he say to you?”

 

“He said, ‘Walk to the east. On the far side of the woods is a mountain. Climb to the top and you will find the answer you seek.’ I said, ‘When do I leave?’ He said, ‘Go now.’ I said, ‘Now? Wearing this?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Shouldn’t I prepare first? Pack supplies?’ He said, ‘If you go now, you will have everything you need.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I started walking.”

 

Hilt looked at her askance. “You’re fooling with me aren’t you?”

 

Beth threw up her hands.
“Fine.
Believe me or not. That’s what he said.”

BOOK: The Bowl of Souls: Book 01.5 - Hilt's Pride
9.36Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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