‘
We believe so,’ Keira answered. ‘I've heard terrible stories about the place. Are they all true?’
Melia shrugged.
‘I have encountered some who had travelled that far north and the reports vary.’ She answered honestly. ‘However, the mountains are perhaps the oldest in Avalyne. I am told at one time they were the border of Mael's lands.’
‘
I know of that tale,’ Arianne looked up and rejoined the conversation. ‘We believe that Sanhael wasn't completely destroyed that it lies beneath Mael's Pit, intact. The enemy has been drawing the remnants of Balfure's army to him. Taking Balfure's place as their master.’
‘
That might explain some of the activity that the watch guard has witnessed of late. The Berserkers are travelling north for certain. Not just Berserkers, there is rumour of shifters on the move too though these cannot be confirmed.’
‘
Shifters?’ Keira turned to Celene and Arianne in question. ‘Like the Disciples?’
‘
No, not like the Disciples,’ Celene answered. ‘These are true shifters. They can assume the shape of any person or creature for as long as possible. Even
years
.’
The thought that a being could maintain the charade of becoming someone you knew for years chilled
Arianne to the bone.
‘
The Enemy is giving Mael an army worthy of him,’ Arianne replied, glancing at her belly and shuddering at the fate that might await her baby.
No
, she told herself resolutely,
I will save you little one. No matter what I am forced to do,
I will not allow you to be taken.
‘
Then it was fortunate, I happened along,’ Melia answered, noticing the subtle shift of Arianne's hand against her belly and felt for the queen facing such a terrible threat to her child. ‘Though how fortunate, I did not know until this moment.’
‘
It will get worse the closer to the mountains we get,’ Celene met Arianne’s gaze. ‘You know that.’
‘
I do,’ Arianne whispered softly. ‘But our hope lies in secret. He does not know I am coming. He may still think that I am in Sandrine and it is Dare who is riding out to face him.’
‘
The less he knows, the better,’ Celene added.
‘
In that case, we should not remain in one place long.’ Melia added. ‘We should make for Angarad at first light. The journey is four days away on horseback but if we stay off the roads and travel by night, we may maintain our anonymity.’
‘
And we need fresh supplies,’ Keira reminded. ‘We lost a bit thanks to those Berserkers and we're going to need winter gear if we're going into the Frozen Mountains.’
‘
That is as good a plan as any,’ Celene nodded her approval. ‘What say you Arianne?’
‘
I am disposed towards it,’ she smiled at Melia. ‘And I thank you for joining us in this quest. It cannot have been an easy choice for you to aid us. The risks are great.’
‘
The risks are even greater if your Enemy is allowed to do what he desires,’ Melia returned Arianne’s smile with one of similar warmth. ‘It was difficult enough vanquishing Balfure from Avalyne. I think preventing a similar darkness from falling across the world is the shared responsibility of all who live in it.’
Arianne had not thought of it quite that way but she was glad to hear Melia’s words nonetheless and felt herself considerably fortunate to have the companionship of such brave women. It gave her hope enough that there would be an end to this nightmare that would see her back with her beloved Dare.
The
Circle arrived at the foot of the Baffin Range four days after leaving Eden Halas.
Dare’s mood was dark after learning from his mother that Arianne, Keira and Celene had barely escaped with their lives from Caras Anara.
Ronen had even more reason for worry when told his wife was injured by the sting of one of the spiders infesting the small seaside village. Fortunately, the Lord of Gislaine was able to take comfort in knowing that like always, she was more than capable of extricating herself from such situations and anyone else who happened to be with her at the time.
Of course their stay did not pass without Hadros worsening Dare’s mood by rebuking him about keeping a better eye on his wife instead of letting her roam the countryside with an inadequate escort. It had taken Aeron to keep the King from physically expressing his displeasure upon Hadros’s face.
Ronen was none too happy either about hearing Celene described as ‘inadequate’ and told Hadros that he was exceedingly lucky that Celene was minding her manners in Halion’s court or else he would have learned what she thought of his prejudice.
In an effort to limit further quarrels between the King of Carleon and his oldest son, Halion saw them supplied and sent on their way as quickly as possible.
Provided with useful intelligence as to which route Arianne was taking to cross the Baffin from the Forest Guard, Dare realised they were approaching Angarad through the Splinter pass. Angarad was familiar territory for Celene and despite Syanne’s warning of the danger to travellers who crossing the pass, it was still the fastest way to reach Celene's homeland.
‘
This is intolerable,’ Aeron complained as they rode along the foothills of the mountain, towards the Splinter. ‘We were certain all of the great spiders had been driven out of Highland Woods when Balfure was destroyed.
The battle with the spiders had been an ongoing concern since
Balfure had first attacked Eden Halas and failed to breach the Veil and assail the city. In an effort to keep for the next three decades, the elves were in constant battle with the creatures who had laid waste to almost all the wildlife in the forest, to say nothing about the human inhabitants in the area.
After the destruction of
Balfure, Aeron had led him father’s men in a sustained effort to drive the foul creatures from of Eden Halas and believed he had been successful to that end. However, learning of Caras Anara’s fate meant that he was not as thorough as he thought and now an entire village was destroyed. He felt responsible for those deaths even though he knew that he had done all he could to eradicate them forever.
‘
It’s not your fault you know,’ Kyou remarked as he sat upon the pony that he had acquired from the Halas. Aeron’s silence for most of their journey told the dwarf that he was most likely still troubled by had transpired. Unlike his father, Kyou knew that Aeron had great affection for the race of men and thinking he might have been responsible for the deaths so many of them would weight heavily on him.
‘
You know me too well,’ Aeron returned quietly and yet Kyou’s words did nothing to assuage his guilt.
‘
I do,’ he nodded, ‘and I know that for an elf, you have a tendency towards self recrimination even when you are not at fault.’
‘
I was in charge of the party to drive the wretched beasts from Halas,’ he declared hotly. ‘I should have known that they were too easy to kill. Such creatures make it a habit of learning to finding new breeding grounds. I should have anticipated that they had merely found a new home, not that they were vanquished for good.’
‘
It is always easy to make such claims in hindsight however you had no reason to believe they weren't destroyed,’ Kyou countered. ‘I have fought with you in battle my friend and you seldom leave things to chance. You did all that could have been done to destroy the things. Now you should focus your attention on ridding Avalyne of them for good instead of moaning about how it could have been stopped.’
‘
As usual, you are too blunt for your own good,’ Aeron frowned but he could not find fault in Kyou's words. There was too much truth to it for that. He knew he would not shed his culpability at their deaths even if Kyou was right. He would avenge Caras Anara. Once this quest to save Arianne was done, he would return home to Halas and assemble a group of his father’s finest men. They would go to Caras Anara and end the threat of the syphi once and for all.
‘
But I am right,’ Kyou pointed out.
‘
You are,’ Aeron grumbled. ‘How is that possible? You dwarves aren’t known for your subtlety.’
Kyou laughed and Aeron would have joined him except a sudden gust of wind swept out of nowhere, dislodging rocks and dust from their place on the ground to be borne into the air. A great chill fell upon them and though it was bright and sunny not long ago, the sun had suddenly disappeared behind thick, heavy clouds. The change in weather was so swift that Aeron had barely
registered the change in the wind, a thing elves were always the first to notice.
As he stared up the sky, he watched the dark clouds hang pendulously over their heads and without warning
the snow started to fall. Slowly at first but as the wind intensified, the precipitation matched its ferocity. As they approached the Splinter, the snowfall continued with such speed that it was becoming difficult to see the pass ahead or the terrain they had just crossed. The tall trees of the alpine forest could only be seen as dark pointed silhouettes through the whirling gale of ice and sleet.
‘
There is something a foot here,’ Tamsyn cried out, making his voice heard over the wind as he rode to the front and nudged his steed next to Dare's.
‘
What do you mean?’ Dare demanded. While he did find it strange that the weather had come upon them so swiftly, it was entirely possible that it was a natural occurrence. He had seen a freak storm or two in his time.
‘
It feels as if someone has produced this storm for our benefit,’ the wizard replied gravely.
‘
Then we best cross the pass as soon as we can,’ Dare ordered. ‘Once we are on the other side, the mountains shall shield us from its might.’
Tamsyn was not so certain. The gale force winds were now bringing down the snow from the top of the mountain
and it was coming down on them in large, heavy balls. He wondered if an avalanche was eminent. The sudden snap of cold made everyone pull their cloaks and their coats to their bodies and even the horses were uneasy. Spirit, Tamsyn’s trusted steed, snorted his displeasure and the magii placed a hand across the stallion’s neck, trying to soothe its anxiety.
‘
Tamsyn can you sense it?’ Aeron asked him as they neared the pass.
‘
Yes I can.’ the magii nodded.
‘
I have a bad feeling about this,’ Tully stated. His livelihood depended on being able to read the weather and nothing about this seemed normal. ‘This doesn’t feel right.’
‘
Are you developing elven senses too?’ Kyou stared at him with a smile but it was a nervous one. There was something to all this. They could all feel it now.
‘
Let’s hurry,’ Ronen insisted, digging his heels into the side of his horse. ‘Maybe we can outrun it.’
His horse bolted forward,
breaking into a gallop towards the opening in the mountain.
‘
Ronen wait!’ Dare shouted but the howl of the wind swept his voice out of Ronen’s hearing.
The king swore loudly when he saw his friends disappearing into the sudden blizzard. However, he could do nothing but follow suit, hoping to save
Ronen from himself before he put too much distance between them. When there was magic afoot, it was best to be cautious even if the danger did not appear overt. The others followed his stead, keeping the Bân in their sights as they followed him into the breach.
Dare knew that it was
Ronen’s love for his wife that made him irrational. The king could well understand his fear but Dare had spent too many years rushing in where others feared to thread and learned the wisdom of caution and patience. Years of evading Balfure and his Disciples had taught him that much.
The walls of the canyon soon flanked them and the storm seemed to grow a thousand fold in its ferocity, until it became too hard to see through the blanket of snow. Dare could see
Ronen ahead and felt gratified that his old friend had come to his senses to slow down. Kyou and Tully had already brought their mounts to a halt, awaiting the arrival of the King.
‘
Fools!’ Dare snapped as he reached them. ‘We have no idea what lies ahead!’
‘
We were riding after him to stop him!’ Kyou retorted, somewhat offended that Dare would think them foolish enough to act so rashly.
‘
He can’t hear us!’ Tully broke into the conversation. ‘We tried to call him before he got too far ahead of us but he couldn’t hear us over the wind. We wanted to tell him.’
‘
Tell him what?’ Dare stared at them in confusion as the others caught up with the trio.
‘
About that!’ Kyou pointed at the ground.
Through the snow, Dare saw what it was that had brought them to such a complete standstill. The skull of a man, long dead stared at him with through empty eye sockets. The king searched the ground and made the same grisly discovery that Celene and Arianne had made days before. He saw the irregular formations of rock that travelled along their path and knew nothing he was seeing appeared to be caused by natural erosion.
Suddenly before he could think to utter another word, he heard burst of sound through the wail of the wind that made him jump. It was like a clap of thunder that echoed down the canyon despite the wind screaming about them. Dare’s heart began to pound as Tamsyn brought his mount to halt beside him. ‘We need to get out of here!’
‘
I won’t leave Ronen!’ Dare said defiantly. ‘Take the others from here and I will go find him.’
‘
No!’ Tamsyn grabbed his arm before he could gallop away. ‘You are the king! I will go!’
‘
I
am
the king and it is my choice!’
‘
LOOK OUT!’
Aeron’s sudden shout ensured that there was no choice to be made because the elf’s cry was imbued with such panic that both men stopped arguing immediately.
Dare and Tamsyn looked up and saw a huge boulder tumbling towards them. Dare dug his heels into his horse and sent it running but Tamsyn had not the speed for such a hasty departure. Instead, the magii raised his staff and dark gem embedded in its length seemed to glow before the boulder shattered in mid air, sending fragments in all directions. No sooner than its debris had crumbled across the ground, another crashing sound was heard. This time the deadly projectile from above landed near Tully’s pony, forcing the animal to bolt ahead. Kyou's’s mount had reared up on its hind legs as more rocks started to fall around them.
‘
Ride!’ Dare ordered, unable to think of anything else to save them from the deadly barrage.
He needed not give the order twice for the others were already surging ahead. Dare looked upward to see more boulders
tumbling off the top of the mountain into the pas. He pulled the reins of his horse as one of the large fragments covered him with its shadow and dug his heels deeper into the animal’s flank to escape it. The horse snorted angrily and bolted forward with enough speed to ensure that when the rock came crashing down, it would not be with the King under it.
Dare’s relief at escaping certain death was short lived however, when he saw Kyou’s horse, rear onto its hind legs in fright when a boulder
landed in front of it. The dwarf tried valiantly to remain in the saddle but he was unseated easily and Dare thought absurdly that this experience was not going to improve his opinion about riding very much.
Aeron who had been riding alongside the dwarf, immediately
pulled up the reins of his horse and forced it to turn around. Leaning down with one hand on the reins, Aeron reached for Kyou who was scrambling to his feet after his unceremonious dismount. Another large boulder landed behind them and began rolling forward, propelled by its momentum in pursuit of the duo. However, Aeron proved far too swift to be brought to an untimely end this way as he grabbed Kyou’s arm and swept him onto the back of his horse before riding out of danger’s way.
Dare continued his own efforts to escape the deadly onslaught of rocks that were raining down on them. He could see Tully struggling to escape the
rock fall while Aeron and Kyou seemed to be making good pace; the archer was weaving expertly through the crashing rocks around them. The king attempted to determine the source of this deadly storm but could see little through the blizzard of rock and snow. Despite the struggle to avoid the crashing rocks around them, Dare noticed the bombardment was isolated to where the Circle was attempting to cross.
‘
Tamsyn!’ Dare shouted for the magii, suspecting that perhaps the wizard might be able to discern what was happening and stop this before any of them were killed.