The Demon's Blade (23 page)

“Alright… alright,” the woman finally conceded. “I’ll show you where I’m getting my information, but I can’t now. The summoning ritual takes time, and I don’t think we have any to spare. In exchange, I expect you to tell me everything about the sword, like how you got it, how you’ve managed to avoid being corrupted by it, and everything else I want to know as well.”

“Summoning ritual? What does that mean? What are we going to summon?” Jerris interjected.

Rana took a deep breath and answered. “It’s a faerie. That’s where I’ve been getting my information. I have an enchanted vial with me, an heirloom of my family passed down over the generations. A faerie lives in it. She is bound to my family by an oath of loyalty.”

“A faerie?” Jerris exclaimed. “You really can summon a faerie. What great luck Darien, now this means we can…”

“Not now, Jerris!” the older half-elf barked, “We’ve got more pressing concerns. We have to get moving, now. I don’t know whether Avirosa is with these goblins, but even if he isn’t there are probably some shades on horseback with them. Rana you may as well get your armor. Jerris, give her your sword. I think they’re behind us.”

“Yes, and more waiting ahead,” the golden haired woman added as she retrieved her armor from where it was secured to Cloud’s back. “My augmentation magic is better than yours apparently. I can hear an even larger group to the south and west.” Rana’s voice was calm and clear now. All traces of anger and disapproval were gone. This was not the time. Jerris tossed her the plain short sword he carried. “We’re trapped between them. We can turn back and try to break through the smaller group, or push ahead and try to break through the larger.”

“We go forward,” the Executioner decided. “We face the same danger either way, and if we go back, we’ll just be getting farther from where we want to…”

“We can’t go to Galad,” Rana interrupted. “Maya, that’s her name, she told me last night. I snuck away from camp again and spoke to her. There’s been an avalanche. That’s what the odd shaking was. The pass at Galad is blocked. She said we shouldn’t go back either, but wouldn’t say why.”

“Well did she tell you anything useful?” Darien asked.

“She said we should make our way south of Thordas, but wouldn’t say anything else. She doesn’t tell me everything, but she’s never wrong.”

“Forward it is then,” Darien shrugged as he spoke. “Most likely the crossroads are held against us. We’ll just have to try to push through somehow. Rana, stay with me, and watch the road ahead. You’ll be able to see them before I can. Jerris, stay close behind us. Horses will run together by instinct, so let her run with us and hang on. If you fall behind, yell.”

Jerris nodded, and they were off.

Just as the horses set off, a streak of lightning flashed above them, striking one of the peaks of the western ridge. Thunder sounded but a moment after, and the first drops of rain began to splash on the dusty stone of the city.

Darien cursed his luck as he charged into the darkness. Somehow, Avirosa knew I was here, and knew exactly when I would pass into the valley. The pursuing goblins had to have been hiding somewhere north of the valley, waiting for us to pass, yet I did not see them, nor did Rana. Goblins are not known for being farsighted, nor are they particularly stealthy. There must be members of the Order here, if not Avirosa himself.

The three travelers rode as quickly as they could manage, onward south along the road. The winds picked up, and the storm unleashed its full fury. The wind shrieked and screamed as it whipped through the narrow valley and between the buildings. Thunder sounded almost constantly overhead. The rain began in earnest, large heavy drops of water hurled down from the heavens, and accelerated by wind, to beat upon horses and riders. The howls of the warrogs were lost once again to the noise of the storm. Lightning flashed almost continuously, momentarily lighting up the valley and casting wicked grinning shadows of empty buildings upon the ground.

The flight continued for several minutes, until Rana raised a hand, bringing Squall to a walk. Darien pulled Cloud to a halt, and an exhausted Jerris followed a few paces behind, taking the opportunity for a much needed rest.

“What is it?” Darien asked of the young woman.

“Fires, and a barricade, some two miles ahead. There’s a large open area. It must be the crossroads,” Rana replied, her voice only barely cutting through the din of the storm.

“How many?”

“At least two dozen that I can see, all in formation. They’ve barricaded the road. Somehow they knew we would be coming from this direction.”

“Any besides the goblins? Any shades?”

“I didn’t see any.”

“Probably hiding,” Darien said. “But they must be there. If they show themselves, leave them to me. Focus on the goblins.”

“I can use the storm,” Rana confidently declared as the lightning flashed in her light blue eyes.

The Executioner led the charge, urging Cloud forward through the driving rain. A few moments later, the goblins came into view, red sunken eyes, pitted, leathery, dull yellow skin, long hooked noses, and spindly clawed limbs, unmistakable characteristics of the goblin species. At least two dozen, Rana had not been mistaken, of various sizes, some as large as young boys, but most of smaller varieties like gibbering monkeys. The warrogs that served as mounts milled about in the firelight, thicker bodied than wolves, with dull brown fur, and wide bear-like muzzles. Sharp dagger-like teeth gleamed white in the firelight ahead.

Onward the three travelers charged. Cries rang out from the goblins camped ahead as they caught sight of their enemies. They gathered behind their barricade, and at once a dozen more swarmed about from the hidden darkness outside the firelight. Darien readied himself for the strike. Already he had begun to gather the magical energy in his right hand while he held the reins in his left. Cloud’s nostrils flared as the horse reached full speed, charging blindly through the darkness, relying only upon instinct and the keen eyes of its rider. The distance closed rapidly, a hundred yards, fifty, twenty-five, ten. The goblins had drawn their weapons, blades which would be only long knives to a man but served as swords to the smaller creatures, but they never got the chance to use them.

As Darien drew within a few yards, he slowed, turned his horse hard to the right, and hurled a shadow void into the barricade. Goblins screamed and howled as they were thrown this way and that by the power of the magic, but more were already pouring from the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

The barricade lay in ruins, and the remaining goblins were regrouping. Some were mounting the warrogs. Darien rode cloud in a full circle and prepared to charge through the barricade, but Rana was already through. Lightning flashed from the sky to her raised sword and flashed again outward into the remaining goblins, chaining from one to the next, leaving a half dozen convulsing on the ground. The mage pulled up his horse, waiting for Jerris to ride through the chaos, then following close behind.

They fought through the goblins, keeping them away from Jerris as they passed through the crossroads. Darien saw no sign of any shades. Still, more goblins were swarming about, and beginning to get mounted up. Violent and almost feral creatures, possessing little intelligence, but extraordinary social instincts, the goblins moved and attacked together, almost as a flock of birds. The second group of goblins who had been chasing them rode into view, mounted upon their warrogs.

“Which way?” Rana shouted.
“East,” the Executioner shouted back without hesitation. Even in the chaos of battle, his keen mind realized that his enemies still expected him to make for Galad, so the eastward path was unlikely to hide further enemies.

The three travelers charged eastward. This time, both Rana and Darien let Jerris ride ahead, while they covered him. More of the lightning bolts and shadow voids decimated the goblins, but already both casters were tiring, and still the enemy came onward. Finally, they turned, and rode eastward into the darkness, the first of the warrogs less than a dozen yards behind them.

It was down to a chase. The two mages pulled up beside Jerris, and urged him forward. The inexperienced rider could barely control the horse at this breakneck pace, and still more speed was needed, for the warrogs were closing. Fortunately, Jerris’ horse, Terra, responded to her two younger compatriots as they quickened their pace. The warrogs ran faster, twice getting close enough to nip at the heels of the horses, but each time, the magic of Darien and Rana scattered them and pushed them back. Shards of ice and streaks of lightning tore through the nearer ranks of the enemy and left the nearest dead or gravely wounded. Though fast, the warrogs could not match the endurance of the galloping horses, and the mass of brown fur, yellow goblin hides, and blood red eyes fell gradually farther and farther behind.

Still, there was no sign of Avirosa or any of his lieutenants. Darien could not explain their absence, but was in no position to question it. As the chase continued, the horses continued to gain ground on the mass of goblins. Still, staying on the road was not an option. If they were to go south, they first needed to find a way to lose their immediate pursuit. High ridges still flanked either side of them, with no gap in sight. Finally, after perhaps a half hour of hard riding, a wide side street intersected the main road, running southeast and cutting through the high hills. Without hesitation, Darien made for it, and his companions followed. The goblins had dropped far behind them, and it was not at all certain that they had seen the fleeing travelers turn. Nonetheless, they kept the horses moving quickly, slowing only enough to allow the beasts to conserve what remained of their endurance.

The goblins were lost from sight behind them. Whether they had missed the travelers’ change of course, or whether they had given up the pursuit entirely, none of the three could tell. The rain slowed, while the lightning and thunder decreased in frequency, as the storm moved off east. After a few minutes’ travel, the road narrowed, and was joined by a drainage canal to the left side. Darien finally took a moment to stop.

Rana looked back up the street where they had passed. “Nothing, They’re not following.”

Each of the three breathed separately a sigh of relief. Even so, they could not afford to stop here, so they set off again, walking at a steady but no longer hurried pace.              Finally, perhaps an hour later, the travelers came to a gorge. The water in the canal tumbled down into murky darkness below. There was an old arched stone bridge across the river a few yards left of the canal opening. Beyond the bridge, there were only a few scattered ruined stone structures. They had finally reached the edge of the ruined city, and not a moment too soon. The rain, too, had relented somewhat.

Three weary, and thoroughly soaked, travelers crossed the bridge. Once they were safely across, Darien channeled an earth spell and collapsed the bridge behind them.

Chapter 20: The Faerie Guide

With the pursuit over, and a deep gorge separating the three travelers from their pursuers, one difficulty was left behind, but another lay ahead. Once the goblins realized their quarry had escaped, they would send out scouts. Lacking the keen night vision of orcs and trolls, goblins would have difficulty searching at night, but the night would not last forever. The difficulty now was finding shelter large enough to conceal all three travelers and their horses, or the chase would resume in the morning. Further, they had to put as much distance between themselves and the ruins as possible, and that meant venturing away from the road that continued on to the southeast past the now destroyed bridge.

Jerris looked expectantly at the older half-elf, awaiting some sort of instruction. Rana had dismounted, and was running her hands along Squall’s neck. The horses were still exhausted from the run, and needed several hours to properly recover before they were ridden again. The storm had passed, but a gentle rain continued to fall steadily.

“We have to find somewhere to hide before morning comes,” Darien finally broke the silence, stating what was already obvious to Rana, who nodded in agreement. “We can’t stay here. The roads and paths around the ruins will be the first places searched. We can assume they know these lands better than we do. Our best option is to look for a large cave, or failing that, a deep narrow ravine, somewhere we won’t be easily seen from far off. We go on foot, to keep the horses as fresh as possible if we are found.”

“We should look for a way south,” Rana added. “Maya said we should go that way, and in any case the ruins are back north, so south will be away.” Now it was Darien’s turn to nod in agreement, and they set off.

The trio walked down the road as it continued more or less to the east, looking for a path south that wouldn’t end in a dead end or send them wandering in circles in the darkness. Within a few minutes, they happened upon a small stream, swollen from the rains, which crossed the path and flowed southward. The watercourse would give them something to follow and prevent them from backtracking, so they turned off and walked alongside the rushing stream.

The travelers made slow progress along the stream, stepping over dormant bushes and clambering down slopes. The clouds blocked the moonlight and hindered visibility. Darien and Rana had little difficulty, using magically enhanced sight to guide their way, but Jerris, though half-elven, struggled mightily, tripping and falling often on the loose rocks. The darkness also confounded the horses, who were already tired, and now being led across difficult terrain in darkness. Several times, the travelers had to coax the horses down difficult slopes, as the stream tumbled down along the craggy terrain. More than once, they were forced to tromp straight through the hip-deep water, risking falling and being swept away by the current.

The night passed slowly in this fashion, with no suitable shelter to be found. The stream was joined by other streams, and became a river. Rock walls rose, a dozen feet high, on either side of them as they entered a canyon carved by the small river. Finally, just as dawn’s first light crept into the eastern sky, they sighted a dark opening in the rock before them.

The cave mouth was just large enough for the horses to pass through, and opened into a wide flat cave of dull gray brown stone. The floor was smooth and worn, and the cave sloped downward from the entrance to the rear wall, perhaps twenty feet away. The three travelers tied their horses to a man sized boulder that sat near the rear of the cave. Jerris collapsed on the floor against the back wall of the cave. Rana looked at Darien, a questioning look, to which he nodded, and the woman dropped to the ground. The Executioner moved near the cave mouth to keep watch while his companions rested.

Jerris slept immediately, while Rana sat quietly for a few minutes before finally summoning the strength to remove her heavy armor and retrieve her bedroll from the supplies. Then she too lay down to sleep. Darien took the opportunity to fill his belly, and passed the time watching the stream as it flowed past the cave entrance.

A dozen questions ran through his mind. How did those goblins know where I was? How did they know how to time their trap? When did all these goblins get across the Saldean, and perhaps foremost, where were the shades who undoubtedly commanded these creatures? Goblins would not go this far west on their own, nor would they be likely to lay such a careful trap with their own skill, but whatever mind commanded them, it seemed that he was not present. It certainly is a puzzle, but at the moment, a futile one. The weary shade turned to his sleeping companions. There was plenty of time to sleep now. He had already decided to delay further travel until nightfall.

Late in the afternoon, the young southerner woman stirred from her slumber. After a few moments, she rose and joined the half-elf in his vigil. They sat in silence for several minutes before she finally broke the silence.

“What now?”

“We ask your faerie what to do, what else. She said we should go south, and so we have. Now I want to know how she found me, how she knew we were going into a trap, and everything else she knows.”

“You have to promise you won’t hurt her, or use any of your spells on her.”

“I would be a fool to do so. I’m running blindly through a wasteland I know almost nothing about, and have no other source of information.”

“Fair enough. Should we wake Jerris?”

Darien nodded. Though it concerned him little at the moment, the question of the prophecy and the hidden city would have to be asked, and the lad would not be happy if he awakened to learn that he had missed the opportunity. He moved over and gently nudged the sleeping half-elf with his booted foot. Jerris grumbled something unintelligible, fighting wakefulness, but after a few moments of gentle encouragement, the boy rolled over and looked up at the older half-elf.

“Rana is preparing to summon her faerie friend. I thought you’d want to see that,” Jerris’ eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet.

“Of course I do. We can ask the faerie to translate the prophecy. What are we waiting for?”

“Prophecy?” Rana asked, puzzled.

“It’s a long story, which I’m sure Jerris will be happy to tell you, but right now, I’m more concerned with figuring out where to go from here,”

“Alright,” Rana agreed. “Come with me.” Rana searched around the cave, finally finding a small depression in the cave floor. First she poured a generous quantity of ordinary water from one of the flasks, then she took out an object from some hidden pocket in her shirt. The object appeared to be a small vial, on the end of a golden chain, about the length of a child’s finger. It had a rounded ball at the bottom, less than an inch wide, and filled with water. The neck was narrow, and the vial was capped with a tiny cork. It appeared to be made of glass or possibly some sort of crystal, and had a raised ridge which wrapped around the entirety of the vial, spiraling from the very top of the neck all the way to the bottom of the rounded ball.

“What is that?” Darien asked.

“It’s a treasure passed down by my family for countless generations,” Rana answered. “Supposedly, an ancestor of mine saved the life of a faerie, and the faeries were so grateful that they promised to aid our family anytime we were in need. This vial was a token of that promise, and also serves a more practical purpose. The vial possesses a special enchantment that allows a faerie to sleep in the water inside. It allows Maya to accompany me on journeys.”

“I don’t understand,” Jerris said in confusion, “Why does she need to travel inside that vial?”

“Faeries are creatures of the water. They are bound to it, and ordinarily can’t leave it,” Rana replied. “Only the great faeries, the strongest and oldest, are able to go far over land, but even they must return to the water often.”

“So why that vial?” Jerris questioned. “Couldn’t you just put some water in an ordinary flask or something like that?”

“I asked Maya that very question. Apparently, it isn’t just the water itself that’s important. Maya told me that faeries have to stay connected to the soul of the waters, whatever that means,” Rana explained. “The vial possesses a special enchantment that maintains that connection. I don’t really understand it, myself. Maya says the magic is very old, something from the ancient world.”

Interesting, Darien thought. Even so, this vial seems familiar. I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere before, but I can’t recall where. Ah well, maybe it will come to me later. “So this was a gift from the faeries? Do you know where it came from originally?”

“You can ask her,” Rana poured the water from the vial into the pool of water. The vial emptied slowly, in tiny drips of exceptionally clear and bright liquid. “She may or may not tell you. She only shares what she wants to. Talking to her can be frustrating, but you can see for yourself. Now be very quiet.” Darien waited quietly as Rana spoke. “O, Maya, spirit of the water, hear my call. By the blood of my family and the promise of our forefathers, I summon thee. Awaken, and speak.”

At first there was nothing, but slowly, over several minutes, the waters began to stir, and a greenish blue light formed in the pool. It grew in intensity and size as it rose slowly to the surface of the water. Then, in a flash, the light dispersed, scattering in all directions, and the form of a young woman appeared in its place. Her face and features appeared that of a grown woman or elf, but she stood no higher than Darien’s knee. Her whole body must have weighed no more than a small dog, as she was spindly, wispy, and ethereal. She possessed wings that were much larger than she, stretching out beyond her arms on either side, down nearly to her feet, and up several inches above her head, shaped like the wings of a butterfly. The broad wings were not feathered like a bird’s, but thin, papery, and translucent like the wings of an insect. A thin layer of dust, which glowed with the same green hue as the earlier ball of light, coated the wings, and bathed the faerie in light. Her hair, white as mountain snow, lay haphazardly about her body and stretched nearly down to her feet. The silvery white locks caught the light from her wings and served to further dispel the darkness about her. Her only clothing was a green garment which began just above her breast and stretched down to just above her knees. It clung so closely to her that it was difficult to tell whether it was, in fact, a garment at all, and not a part of her body.

Darien stood watching in amazement. He had never seen a faerie before, nor even read about them, and so had no notion of what to expect. He stared for several minutes, until he was interrupted. “So, do you intend to stare at me as though I were a pretty flower until the day passes, or did you plan to speak? You have something to ask me, do you not?” The faerie spoke straightaway to the Executioner, as though she had been expecting to see him.

“Maya,” Rana said. “This is Darien, the one who spared my life.”

“Yes I know who he is,” Maya interrupted. “All faeries know who he is.”

The half-elf continued to stare, shocked for a moment by the revelation, but quickly regaining his composure. “And who am I, that those whom I have never met should be so familiar with me?” he asked of the faerie.

The faerie giggled and smiled as a child would. “You are Darien the Executioner of course, the courageous thief, the noble betrayer, the shadow that heralds the light, the master of the Demon Sword. All the faeries know this.”

“And why didn’t you tell me he had the Demon Sword if you knew?” Rana interjected, frustrated.

“Why, because you did not ask, of course,” Maya laughed and smiled. “You must ask the right questions if you wish to be given the right answers.”

“That is not funny. If I’d killed him, do you know what could have happened?”

“I do, and I did not think you remotely capable of killing him so it didn’t seem important,” Maya said. Rana growled angrily at the faerie’s insinuations.

“Then why did you lead me to him?” Rana said. “You would have let me die? What would have happened to you? You’d have been stuck in that bottle for an age, and it would have served you right.”

“I led you to him because you asked me. I was chosen to be your guide by my sisters, so that we could honor our people’s old debt to your family. We do not forget our debts easily.” Maya floated a few inches above the water, yet her wings barely moved. She bobbed steadily up and down while she spoke, occasionally spinning merrily around, oblivious to the situation. “And I did not believe he would kill you anymore than I believed you were able to kill him. We faeries see more than you do. The waters speak to us. They speak to us of the past, of the future, and all that is between. They speak to us of things far away, and things near to our hearts. Through the waters, we feel the subtle vibrations that play upon the threads of fate, which weave the tapestry of life. We see the turns in the stream of history and we feel the ebbs and flows of time. My visions may seem a trick to you, but I perceive them as surely as you see with your eyes.”

“You manipulated her to get to me,” Darien pointedly interjected. “And to Jerris, did you not?”

“You make it sound so awful. Do you always see the worst in everything?” Maya said, turning again to the wily shade.

“Yes, he does,” Jerris interrupted. Darien shot the boy a glare, but he did not react.

“So how did you know those goblins were waiting for us?” Darien questioned.

“I did not know exactly what your enemy was planning,” Maya answered. “I only felt the avalanche he brought down to the west. We faeries are connected to the waters of this world, and through the waters, to each other. My sisters in the bubbling springs of the Silver Mountains felt the earth shake and heard the crashing of stones and ice and snow,” Maya explained, still speaking merrily as a child.