The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (32 page)

The next morning brought the cloudiest day Aric had ever seen in the desert. Clouds didn’t necessarily mean rain, in fact, the odds of it were pretty low, but it did make the day feel oddly less warm.

Hardly anyone said anything as they dressed up. The two teams formed two separate blobs around each other as if they were afraid to look the others in the eyes. Aric explained the brief in a low voice, but he didn’t really have enough information to come up with a strategy yet, so he simply told everyone to dress for a fight. And to prove that he meant it, instead of the usual, standard issue leather cuirass everyone else had, Aric put on his own Dragon scale armor. He didn’t like how the Glowstone shards made the cuirass shine like a lighthouse in a foggy night, but even he had to admit it made him look threatening, and right now that was useful.  

A senior hunter they hadn’t met yet showed up in the Company’s quarters and quietly escorted them through the thick gate that led to the lower levels. Dozens of hunters were waiting for them down stairs, with Saruk at the head.

“Twenty Third Company,” Saruk greeted them when both teams finished forming a double line. “Welcome to the Gauntlet.”

Aric looked around, but there wasn’t much to see. They were standing in some sort of lobby, with a very wide, grated door, like that of a disproportionally large prison cell. On the other side of the gate was a wide corridor from which dozens of other corridors fed.

“Five teams began this contest,” Saruk continued. “Only two remain. Which means that by the end of this challenge, your Company will have its Captain. One that has earned his position as is the Guild’s custom. You will enter this gate divided, but you will emerge united under a single leader. Aric, Ashur, are you ready?”

“Yes, instructor,” came the unison reply.

“To win this challenge, you must capture the other team’s banner and place it at this gate. You are not allowed to move your own team’s banner, only your adversary’s. The only weapons available to you are blind bombs.” He removed a sphere the size of an orange from his pocket. “One of the most useful tools of a Dragon Hunter.” Saruk threw the bomb a few inches into the air and caught it again. “Throw them against a wall or the floor and they shatter, releasing a cloud of white dust that will blind your opponents for a while. These things are capable of blinding a Dragon, so yes, they sting like heck, but they won’t cause you any permanent harm. To ensure the rules are kept, Senior Hunters will be placed on watch points above the Gauntlet. They will monitor the entire challenge. Good luck.”

With a nod from Saruk, the crowd of senior Hunters turned around and climbed the metallic ladders sticking out from the walls.

Aric looked to his left. Ashur was staring at the gate as if he wanted to tear it apart. That sort of grit was surely intimidating… it was exactly how Aric pictured the dozens of heroes in his family line. There was also the problem of numbers. Even with Trissa, Dothea, and Irenya, Aric’s team was still three people short of Ashur’s. But it was too late to do anything about that now.

The gate opened and Saruk waved them in. Silently, each team was guided towards one of the opposing corridors. Ashur’s to the left, Aric’s to the right. Inside, the Gauntlet felt like a mix between a maze and a cage. The stone walls were lit by occasional torches, just like everywhere else in the fortress, but instead of a ceiling, there was an iron grating on top of which the senior Hunters walked around, standing in watch. One of them directed Aric towards a room located on what seemed to be the edge of the Gauntlet.

“This is your base,” the Hunter told them. He had hair locks growing as far down as his waist. “And that is your banner.” He was talking about a blue banner hanging from a pole in the middle of the room. The banner had the number twenty three written in every language of the Empire. “You cannot move it, but you can protect it. The Blind bombs available to you are inside that wooden chest.” It was the only other thing inside the room besides the banner. “Now, get ready. At the sound of the horn, the challenge begins.”

That had to be the scariest thing Aric had ever heard, and Aric had heard a Dragon roar a few feet away from him. What was he supposed to do now? The whole team was staring at him, waiting for instructions. What should he say?

What would Maric Auron say?

He decided to inspect the wooden chest. It was packed full of spheres just like the one Saruk had shown them outside.

“Has anyone ever used one of these?” Aric asked.

Everyone told him that they hadn’t, but Aric already knew that.

Stop stalling, you idiot!

“Ok,” he said, clapping his hands together. “We are outnumbered, so we’ll have to be bold.” The reaction he got was far more enthusiastic than he would have expected. It felt good. “We need be on the offensive, grab the initiative.” He paused, his eyes dancing and his fingers twitching. “We can’t leave more than one person behind,” he concluded. “Yes, we’ll need everyone else on the attack.” He paused and studied the faces available to him. “Trissa, I need that to be you.”

“What do you mean?” Trissa asked.

“You’ll stay behind,” Aric explained. “I’m sorry. You’ll be our only defense, but for this to work, I can’t spare anyone else.”

The black girl glared and exhaled loudly, but ended up nodding in agreement. “Sure,” she said. “Whatever you need.”

“We’ll leave you with most of the bombs,” Aric continued. “If they come, or rather, when they do, give them the wrath of Ava. I don’t expect you to hold them forever, but every moment you delay them will be precious.”

“Understood.”

“What about the rest of us?” Leth asked. “Are we just going to attack them head on?”

“No,” Aric replied, moving to the crate and starting to hand out the bombs. “I have an idea, but we’ll need to scout them first.”

“What is that?” Clea asked, lunging towards the weapon’s crate.

From under the pile of bombs, Clea dug out a bow and a quiver. There were also five arrows inside the quiver, but they were very odd, with a bulbous head instead of the usual metal tip.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Aric said. “But if it involves a bow, you’re definitely keeping it.”

Everyone agreed. The only person that even came close to her in marksmanship was Orisius, but he was on Ashur’s team, and even he had never come close to scoring as well as Clea in archery training.

“Those are blind bombs too,” the Hunter above them said. “They’re mounted on an arrow, but they’re the same. Blind bombs are all you get in this challenge.”    

Aric nodded in understanding. Then, the wail of a horn echoed though the walls.

“That’s the signal,” the Hunter told them. “You can leave your base now. Have fun.”

Something about the way he said the last words made Aric shiver.

Moving his arms like lightening, Aric handed out the bombs. Trissa received ten while everyone else had to settle for two.

“Let’s go,” Aric called, dashing out. “Trissa, give them heck.”

“Don’t worry,” Trissa said, lobbing a bomb in the air. “This banner will cost them.”

They ran through corridors lined with flickering torches. At every turn, Aric expected to run into Ashur and his team. He decided to swerve and circle right, trying to avoid the most direct route. The strategy didn’t work.

“There!” they heard someone scream. It was Jullion. He had several people behind him, but the distance made it hard to tell exactly who and how many they were.

“Quick, this way!” Aric said, escaping through a narrow corridor.

“They’re chasing us,” Dothea grumbled. “Those idiots are chasing us instead of going for our banner…”

She was right. Aric could hear their footsteps and shouts. Boy, were they loud…

“Crap!” Aric let out. “We’re wasting time.” He stopped, raising his hand, ordering the others to do the same. He clenched his teeth, struggling with what he had to do. “Damn this!” he exploded. “Leth, I need you to lead them away.”

The Akhami boy stared back at Aric in silence, as if he needed to be sure Aric wasn’t joking.

“You’re serious…” Leth said eventually.

“I am.”

Leth’s head fell lifelessly on his chest. “I hate my life,” he muttered, then he quickly straightened up. “Alright, boss. Here I go.”

“Leth, wait,” Aric called. “Here, take these.” He handed Leth both of his blind bombs.

“Are you sure?” Leth asked.

“Of course I’m not sure. But take them anyway.”

Leth stowed both blind bombs on the leather satchel around his back, nodded, then darted away. Moments later they heard Jullion shriek and the footsteps moved away, followed by the shouting.

Silently, Aric signaled his remaining team to follow him and pressed on. They sprinted down a series of hallways, checking every door to make sure they didn’t miss the enemy base. Clearly, finding Ashur’s banner was going to be harder than he had anticipated. Occasional screams echoed every once in a while, and Aric pictured Leth torturing Jullion across the Gauntlet’s corridors. It made him smile.

He could do this, he thought. He
had
to.

A couple of turns later they ran into a dead end, so Aric backed away. His sense of direction must have gotten confused, because when he got to what he thought was the corridor he had come through, he saw an open door from which someone’s shadow stretched along the floor. Aric froze and shot both hands up, forcing his teammates to stop as well. Tiptoeing, they backtracked to hide behind a wall.

“That’s they’re base,” Aric whispered.

“How can you be sure?” Dothea asked, her voice just as low.

“Has to be,” Aric replied.

“Alright,” Clea said. “What’s your plan?”

Aric thought about it for a while, then: “I didn’t get to count how many people were with Jullion when we ran into him, but I’m pretty sure Ashur will have at least four people defending his banner.”

“Well, there’s four of us right here,” Irenya said. “Should we attack?”

“No,” Aric told her. “It’s too risky. What we need is a diversion.”

“What do you mean?” Irenya asked.

“Dothea, Irenya,” Aric said. “Could you two draw the defenders away?”

“Hmm.” Dothea didn’t look very pleased with that thought. “What happens if I say no?”

“I’ll ask you to do it anyway,” Aric replied.

“Then sure. We can do it.”

Aric looked at Irenya for confirmation. The girl sighed but nodded as well.

“Ok,” Aric said. “Go. Now.”

After taking a couple of deep breaths, the two girls rushed out and Aric waited. His heart was pounding so hard he feared the others would hear it.

There was a crash, like the sound of a plate falling to the ground, followed by shouts, curses, and heavy coughing. Dothea shouted something and Irenya replied, adding to the mess of sounds.

“Where are they?” a rough voice asked from somewhere around the corner.

“I can’t see squat!” another one complained.

“I see them!” That was clearly Prion. “Quick, after them!”

Aric peeked out from his hiding place and saw Nahir and Ergon chasing after a couple of fleeting shadows.

“Prion stayed behind,” Aric whispered to Clea. “But I think he’s alone.”

“What now?” she asked.

“Ready your bow.” Aric steeled himself. “I am going to run, and I am not going to stop, alright? Whatever happens, I will keep going until I am out of that gate. Do you understand me?”

Clea gave him a comforting nod. “You can do this,” she said.

Aric wanted to believe that as well. “I need you to stay close and keep them at bay as best as you can.”

“They won’t even see you,” she told him, then smiled. “Get it?” She motioned towards the blind bomb tip of one of her arrows. “They won’t even
see
you.”

Aric had to muffle his own laughter with a hand. Then, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them again.

I am not gonna let her down.

And off he went. He galloped down the hallway so fast that when Prion finally saw him come, Aric was already halfway there. The sight stunned Prion, but only for a brief moment. Aric saw him reach for his belt and grab a bomb.

This is going to hurt…
he thought.

But it didn’t. Prion never even had the time to swing it. One of Clea’s arrows flew past Aric and exploded on the wall next to Prion, swallowing him in a white cloud of dust. All that was left of the guardian was his desperate screams.

Closing his eyes and holding his breath, Aric sprinted through the white cloud. When he reopened his eyes, he was standing in front of a red banner. It felt like conquering an enemy castle. Aric grabbed the banner and ripped it from the pole in one swift tug.

“I was waiting for you, half-prince.”

That voice made every bone in Aric’s body turn to frost. He swung around and saw Ashur, standing in a corner, smiling like a bird of prey. He dove toward Aric, his hands reaching for the banner, but he never got to either of his targets.

Another one of Clea’s arrows exploded right between Ashur’s feet. This time, Aric was caught in the blinding haze as well.  The burning made it impossible to so much as open his eyes, but he didn’t care. He could still remember where the door was, so he ran towards it. His shoulders brushed against what was almost certainly Prion, then he turned right and kept going. With tears running down his face, Aric ran for a dozen paces until he inevitably slammed, headfirst, against a wall.