The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory (3 page)

Several
council members turned to look at her, all wearing royal robes, the Duke seated
in the center with several knights around him. They all wore astonished expressions;
she had clearly interrupted some important business.

"Who
are you, woman?” one called out.

“Who
dares interrupt the Duke’s official business?" another yelled.

"I
recognize the woman," the Duke said, standing.

"As
do I," said Brandt, the one she recognized as Erec's friend.

"It
is Alistair, is it not?" he asked. “Erec's new wife?”

She
ran towards him, in tears, and clasped his hands.

"Please,
my lord, help me. It is Erec!”

"What
has happened?" the Duke asked, alarmed.

"He
lies in grave danger. Even now he faces a hostile army alone! He would not let
me stay behind. Please! He needs help!”

Without
a word, all the knights jumped to their feet and began to run from the hall,
not one of them hesitating; she turned and ran with them.

"Stay
here!" Brandt exhorted.

"Never!"
she said, running behind him. "I will lead you to him!”

They
all ran as one down the corridors, out the castle doors and to a large group of
waiting horses, each mounting theirs without a moment's hesitation. Alistair
jumped on Warkfin, kicked, and led the group, as anxious to go as the rest of
them.

As
they charged through the Duke’s court, soldiers all around them began to mount
horses and join them—and by the time they left the gates of Savaria, they were
accompanied by a large and growing contingent of at least a hundred men,
Alistair riding in front, beside Brandt and the Duke.

"If
Erec finds out that you ride with us, it will be my head," Brandt said, riding
beside her. "Please, just tell us where he is, my lady.”

But
Alistair shook her head doggedly, pushing back tears as she rode harder, the
great rumble of all these men around her.

"I
would rather go down to my grave than abandon Erec!”

Thor
rode warily on the forest trail, Reece, O'Connor, Elden and the twins on
horseback beside him, Krohn at his heels, as they all emerged from the forest
on the far side of the Canyon. Thor's heart beat faster in anticipation as they
finally reached the perimeter of the thick wood. He raised a hand, motioning for
the others to be silent, and they all froze beside him.

Thor
looked out and surveyed the great expanse of beach, of open sky, and beyond it,
the vast yellow sea that would take them to the distant lands of the Empire.
The Tartuvian. Thor hadn't seen its waters since their journey to The Hundred.
It felt odd to be back again—and this time, with a mission that held the fate
of the Ring at stake.

After
crossing the Canyon bridge, their short ride through the forest in the Wilds
had been uneventful. Thor had been instructed by Kolk and Brom to look for a small
boat moored on the shores of the Tartuvian, carefully hidden beneath the
branches of an immense tree which hung over the sea. Thor followed their
directions exactly, and as they reached the wood’s perimeter, he spotted the
boat, well-hidden, ready to take them where they needed to go. He was relieved.

But he
then spotted six Empire troops, standing on the sand before the boat, inspecting
it. Another troop had climbed up onto the boat, docked partly on the beach, rocking
in the gently lapping waves. There was supposed to be no one here. Somehow, the
boat had been discovered.

It was
a stroke of bad luck. As Thor looked farther out at the horizon, he saw the
distant outline of what appeared to be the entire Empire fleet, thousands of
blacks ships, sailing the black flags of the Empire. Luckily they did not sail
for Thor, but in a different direction, taking the long, circular course to
bring them around the Ring, to the McCloud side, where they had breached the
Canyon. Luckily, their fleet was preoccupied with a different route.

Except
for this one patrol. These six Empire soldiers, probably scouts on a routine
mission, somehow must have stumbled upon this Legion ship. It was bad timing. If
Thor and the others had just reached the ship a few minutes earlier, they
probably would have already boarded it and shoved off. Now, they had a
confrontation on their hands. There was no way around it.

Thor
looked up and down the beach and saw no other contingents of Empire troops. At
least that was in their favor. It was probably a lone patrol group.

"I
thought the boat was supposed to be well-hidden," O'Connor said.

"Apparently
not enough," Elden remarked.

The
six of them sat on their horses, staring at the boat and the group of soldiers.

"It
won't be long until they alert other Empire troops," Conven observed.

"And
then we’ll have an all-out war on our hands,” added Conval.

Thor
knew they were right. And that it was not a chance they could take.

"O'Connor,”
Thor said, “your aim is the best of the bunch. I've seen you hit from fifty
yards out. See that one on the bow? We’ve got one shot at this. Can you do it?”

O'Connor
nodded gravely, his eyes fixed on the Empire soldiers. He reached deliberately over
his shoulder, lifted his bow, placed an arrow, and held it at the ready.

They
all were looking to Thor, and he felt ready to lead.

"O'Connor,
on my signal, fire. Then we’ll charge for the ones below. Everyone else, use
your throwing weapons as we get close. Try to get as close as you can first.”

Thor
motioned with his hand, and suddenly, O'Connor released the string.

The
arrow sailed through the air with a whooshing noise, and it was a perfect shot,
its metal tip piercing the heart of the Empire soldier on the bow. The soldier
stood there, his eyes opening wide for a moment, as if he did not understand
what was happening, then he suddenly stretched his arms out wide and fell
forward, face-first, in a swan dive, landing with a splat on the beach at the
feet of his fellow soldiers, the sand staining red.

Thor
and the others charged, a well-oiled machine in sync with each other. The sound
of their horses’ galloping gave them away, and the six other soldiers turned
and faced them. The soldiers mounted their horses and charged back, preparing
to meet them in the middle.

Thor
and his men still had the advantage of surprise. Thor reached back and hurled a
stone with his sling and hit one of them in the temple from twenty yards away
as he was in the midst of mounting his horse. He fell back off of it, dead, the
reigns still in his hands.

As
they neared, Reece threw his axe, Elden his spear, and the twins each their
daggers. The sands were uneven and the horses slipped, making throwing the
weapons harder than usual. Reece's axe found its mark, killing one of them, but
the others missed.

That
left four of them. The lead one broke out from the group, charging right for Reece,
who was weaponless; he had cast his axe but not had time to draw his sword yet.
Reece braced himself, and at the last second Krohn leapt forward, bit the
soldier’s horse in the leg, and the horse collapsed, its rider falling down to
the ground and sparing Reece at the last moment.

Reece
drew his sword and stabbed the soldier, killing him before he could regain his
feet.

That
left three. One of them came for Elden with an axe, swinging for his head;
Elden blocked it with his shield, and in the same motion swung his sword and
chopped the axe handle in half. Elden then swung around with his shield and
smashed the attacker in the side of the head, knocking him from his horse.

Another
soldier pulled a flail from his waist and swung its long chain, the spiked end suddenly
coming down for O'Connor. It happened too fast, and there was no time for
O'Connor to react.

Thor saw
it coming and charged forward, to his friend’s side, raised his sword and
slashed the chain of the flail, before it hit O'Connor. There came the sound of
sword cutting through iron, Thor marveling at how sharp his new sword was. The
spiked ball went flying down harmlessly to the ground, lodging in the sand,
saving O’Connor’s life. Conval then rode up and stabbed the soldier with a
spear, killing him.

The
final Empire soldier saw he was badly outnumbered; fear in his eyes, he
suddenly turned and took off, racing down shore, his horse’s prints leaving
deep impressions in the sand.

They
all set their sights on the retreating soldier: Thor hurled a stone with his
sling, O’Connor raised his bow and fired, and Reece hurled a spear. But the
soldier rode too erratically, the horse dipping in the sand, and they all
missed.

Elden
drew his sword and Thor could see that he was about to charge after him. Thor held
out a hand and motioned for him to stay put.

"Don't!"
Thor screamed.

Elden
turned and looked at him.

"If
he lives, he will send others after us!" Elden protested.

Thor
turned and looked back at the boat, and knew it would take precious time to
hunt him down—time they could not afford.

"The
Empire will come after us no matter what,” Thor said. “We haven't time to lose.
What is most important now is that we get far from here. To the ship!”

They
dismounted as they reached the ship and Thor reached into his saddle and began
to empty it of all its provisions as the others did the same, loading up on
weapons and on sacks of food and water. Who knew how long the ship ride would
take, how long it would be until they saw land again—
if
they saw land again. Thor also loaded up on food for Krohn.

They threw
the sacks up high over the railing of the boat, landing on the deck above with
a thump.

Thor
grabbed the thick, knotted rope hanging over the side, the coarse rope cutting
into his hands, and tested it. He draped Krohn over his shoulder, the weight of
them both testing his muscles, and pulled up towards the deck. Krohn whined in
his ear, hugging his chest with his sharp claws, clinging to him.

Soon
Thor was over the railing, Krohn leaping off of him onto the deck—and the others
following close behind. Thor leaned over and looked down at the horses on the
beach, looking up as if awaiting a command.

"And
what of them?" Reece asked, coming up beside him.

Thor
turned and surveyed the boat: it was maybe twenty feet long and half as wide.
It was big enough for the seven of them—but not for their horses. If they tried
to take them, the horses might trample the wood, damage the boat. They had to
leave them behind.

"We
have no choice," Thor said, looking down longingly at them. “We'll have to
find new ones.”

O'Connor
leaned over the rail.

"They're
smart horses," O'Connor said. "I trained them well. They will return
home upon my command.”

O'Connor
whistled sharply.

As one,
the horses turned and bolted, racing across the sand and disappearing into the
forest, heading back towards the Ring.

Thor
turned and looked at his brothers, at the ship, at the sea before them. Now
they were stranded, with no horses, with no choice but to move forward. Reality
was sinking in. They were truly alone, with nothing but this boat, and about to
part from the shores of the Ring for good. Now there was no turning back.

"And
how are we supposed to get this boat into the water?" Conval asked, as they
all looked down, fifteen feet below, at the hull of the boat. A small portion
of it was in the lapping waves of the Tartuvian, but most of it was lodged
firmly in the sand.

"Over
here!" Conven said.

They
hurried to the other side of the boat and there was a thick iron chain dangling
over the edge, at the bottom of which was an immense iron ball, sitting on the
sand.

Conven
reached down and yanked on the chain. He groaned and struggled, but could not lift
it.

“It’s
too heavy,” he grunted.

Conval
and Thor hurried over and helped, and as the three of them grabbed the chain
and pulled, Thor was shocked by its weight: even with the three of them
pulling, they could only lift it a few feet. Finally, they all dropped it, and it
fell back down to the sand.

"Let
me help," Elden said, stepping forward.

With
his huge bulk, Elden towered over them, and he reached down by himself and
yanked on the chain, and managed to lift the ball into the air alone. Thor was
amazed. The others jumped in and they all pulled, as one, yanking the anchor up
one foot at a time, and finally over the railing and onto the deck.

The
boat started to move, rocking a little bit in the waves, but it was still lodged
in the sand.

"The
polls!" Reece said.

Thor
turned and saw two wooden poles, nearly twenty feet long, mounted along the
sides of the boat, and he realized what they were for. He ran over with Reece
and grabbed one, while Conval and Conven grabbed the other.