‘The Enemy is responsible for this,’ Arianne said softly. ‘He is drawing out these creatures from the deepest depths of the ancient world.’
‘Well we know at least what became of those towns,’ Keira sighed as she went to a shrub that had been treated to the wyrm’s deadly breath and crushed a branch in her hand. It broke as if it were a dry leaf, turning to powder in her hands. The lady of the Green dusted her palms of the fragments, clear disgust in her face as she did so.
‘I suppose,’ Arianne retorted before coming to Keira and giving her a hug. ‘I have you to thank for my life. If you had not intervened...’
‘We all saved each other,’ Keira said accepting her thanks and hugging her back. ‘I could not simply leave you all behind. The horses are safe so we will be able to leave this place.’
‘Let us move now,’ Celene suggested having no desire to remain here. ‘I do not know what else is out there but it certainly knows where
we
are.’
‘It is trying to stop us,’ Arianne announced.
‘Stop us?’ Keira looked at her puzzled. ‘Why would it do that? Does it not need you for this plan to resurrect it?’
Arianne took a deep breath and revealed the only thing Lylea had told her that she had not revealed to anyone in her company. Her mother had told her that secrecy was paramount and thought she trusted her friends who had proved time and time again, that they had only her best interest at heart, the knowledge might place them in jeopardy. However, now that they were in the final leg of their journey, it was important to tell them what came next.
‘There is something in the Frozen Mountains I alone can retrieve. It has been waiting for me since this quest began and if we are to defeat the Enemy, I must claim it first. My mother showed it to me when we were in Carleon. She ordered me not tell anyone of it because to do so would expose you to danger.’
‘What is it?’ Melia asked, wiping blood from one of the bolts and looking none too happy about it. She assumed that if the Queen was telling this to them now, she must be ready to confide in them.
‘Because the Enemy knows this thing is here in the Mountains and it know that only I can retrieve it. It places its guards around to keep us away from it because if I find it, I will be able to defeat him once and for all. I believe this is why the wyrms attacked tonight. They wish to keep this beyond my reach.’
‘Beyond
our
reach,’ Celene corrected her making sure Arianne knew she was going nowhere without them, particularly to retrieve this mysterious weapon that could save them all. ‘Do not tell us Arianne what this thing is. If Queen Lylea feels that it is necessary for silence then we will escort you to its location. Do you know how to get there?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘I do.’
‘Then we better get a move on,’ Keira smiled.
PART
FIFTEEN
THE LEGACY OF ANTION
For the first time since departing Carleon, they had a
plan
.
At first light they awoke and prepared their horses for travel with
Melia leading the way even though she was as new to the Torn Lands as the rest of them. She displayed an almost elven level of skill in being able to find the best path to the mountains even though she did not possess any special insight that allowed her to do so. What she knew had been taught to her by her father and she had honed her craft as a member of the Watch Guard.
The snowfall had ceased sometime in the middle of the night and the white glacial plains glared at them as
they approached the Frozen Mountains. As they reached the first rocky slopes leading up to the mountain side, they could see the black, igneous rock gleaming slickly under the melting snow. The elevation of the rocky foothills steepened abruptly the higher up its slopes they progressed and it became apparent that the rest of the journey would have to be made on foot. The terrain was simply too difficult to navigate with horses.
‘
Are you certain of this?’ Melia asked staring at the jagged terrain they would be required to cross and spotted at least a dozen places where wyrms or any other menace could lie in wait to ambush them. The mountain itself seemed imposing and they knew that once across it, more dangers awaited them when they descended into Mael's Pit where the Enemy awaited.
‘
It is on this mountain. We must find it before we go any further.’ Arianne stated firmly, dismounting her horse. They would release the horses and let them graze on what scant vegetation there was so. Elven magic would allow her to call them back later.
Her mother had told her that the weapon was in the Frozen Mountains and she had to retrieve it before she and the others entered the pit. Its importance could not be ignored since Arianne found it a tremendous coincidence that the wyrms should attack after they had been weeks in the Torn Lands. She no doubt that the Enemy had set these creatures against anyone who tried to claim the prize she sought.
Melia exchanged a glance with Celene who merely shrugged in response. The Lady of Gislaine trusted Arianne’s instincts because her warnings had saved their lives on more than one occasion during this journey and she was not about doubt it now. Keira had already climbed of her horse to join Arianne on the ground, appearing almost eager to forge ahead. If anything, this entire quest had proven without a doubt that Keira’s worries that she had lost her courage seem unwarranted.
If anything; it reminded everyone of how much of it she possessed.
However, while Celene was confident about Arianne's insistence on seeking out this mysterious weapon that could kill their enemy, she was less so about what might be laying in wait in the mountains to protect it. Last night they had been besieged by wyrms and had survived but those creatures were the offspring of something that was far older and infinitely powerful than any weapon they possessed to amongst them to fight it. Somewhere in the heart of these mountains, more than likely where Arianne's prize was, Celene knew they would find the wyvern that had sired this nest of wyrms.
And she would be happy to greet the murderers of her children.
‘We’ve managed to get this far through,’ Keira commented. ‘I didn’t think we’d survive half the things we have but we’ve seemed to manage. We can do this.’ She said confidently to the others.
Melia had no argument to make in opposition to this and as the newest member the group, did not feel she had standing to voice any objections. She reminded herself she was here to protect the Queen and no matter where Arianne would go, Melia would follow her to do just that but her heart ached at having to leave
her horse Serinda behind.
‘
I have told them to find shelter,’ Arianne revealed, aware that Melia's mare was a trusted companion and that the watch guard had difficulty leaving her to fend for herself.
‘
You can talk to horses?’ Melia stared at her with surprise. She knew elves had keen senses and better agility than men but that they could speak to animals she had not known.
‘
Not in the way that we speak but they can sense what we wish for them and likewise,’ the queen explained.
With a little smile, Melia leaned close to Serinda and whispered,
‘Tell her
nothing
.’
Arianne chuckled and then replied,
‘They will find some place to shelter until we have need of them. They will be safe I promise.’
Melia sighed and ran her fingers along the ridge of Serinda’s nose and hoped the mare understood that this abandonment was for
her own good. She wrapped the bridle around the pommel of the saddle and turned the animal’s head away from her gently, hoping Serinda would understand the reason for this action. The horse trotted away to join the small herd that were moving away from them at Arianne's instruction.
‘
She will find you again,’ Arianne said sympathetically, her hand brushing the watch guard’s shoulder in sympathy when Melia returned to them. ‘I am certain it.’
‘
I have no doubt that she will find me,’ Melia whispered. ‘I just hope that she does not wait too long if I am dead. She has been my faithful companion for many years, I would not rest easy even in death to know that she was languishing in wait for my return.’
As much as Celene wanted to say words of similar kindness to Melia, they could not afford to remain in one place too long. Perhaps the
wyrms preferred to move by night, explaining the lack of sighting throughout the day or perhaps they were being lead into a trap, whatever the explanation, Celene did not wish to find out the hard way.
The Mountain and the Enemy awaited them.
However, something in the pit of her stomach told her that the Enemy was close. Closer than they any of them imagined.
********
By the time the afternoon was in the sky, they had spent most of the day climbing the steep mountainside, sometimes on their hands and knees and other times helping each other over shelves of rock and across narrow ledges. Their limbs ached and their palms were cut and scratched from the craggy terrain in which they were force to find hand holds. Tempers began to shorten as their exhaustion started to set in and the only consolation they had was the cold did not allow them to swelter beneath their cloaks from physical exertions.
Meanwhile, Melia and Celene kept watch for danger whenever they reached level terrain that was wide enough for a wyrm of size to emerge. So far they had seen nothing of the creatures that had attacked the night before but it was possible that they did not emerge in the day and would reappear when the sun went down. Keira continued to maintain her good cheer and attempted to do the same for her companions. Her unwavering belief that they could succeed in their quest gave heart to all present and once again, Arianne was grateful she had chosen to join
them. While Keira was not a great warrior, her lightness of spirit particularly after what had been done to her by the Circle, was a boon to them all.
While she did not speak of it however, Arianne felt something tugging at her consciousness as they journey across the mountain. She could feel its reach pulling her forward and not just her but also the baby inside her.
My son feels it too
; she thought and that moment of communion between herself and her still forming child, almost brought tears to her eyes. Arianne wanted so much to meet the babe inside her before the Enemy had a chance to steal his life away.
No matter what course I must take
, she said caressing her stomach, I
will allow nothing to harm you little one
.
********
There was a time when all the dead places of Avalyne once teemed with life. Before the Winter Wife rolled the arctic tundra across the landscape to conceal the terrible scars left behind by Mael during the Primordial Wars, the Frozen Mountains was as green and teeming with life as the majestic Baffin. From peak to foothills, she hosted a lusty, green forest that was known to the elves of that time as the Palmiri, because of the magnificent view that wood afforded those who walked its paths.
It bore little resemblance to the place that Arianne, Celene, Keira and Melia now crossed.
Time and war had scarred the mountain and the wood was no more, lost to the ravages of Mael's Primordials. Their terrible power had scorched the mountain, killing every creature that lived in the forest, in the caves and burrowed beneath the dirt. The woods were transformed into a twisted version of itself.
No longer beautiful, the tall, majestic trees had grown wild and instead of standing like stately sentinel overlooking the forest. They became gnarled and twisted, the green leaves having fled sharp, thorny branches that snagged and scratched. Bushes and flowering plants were replaced by brambles and thickets of thorny briars that stretched across the mountain pass they had to cross to reach the other side of the mountain.
‘I suppose that is our path’ Melia sighed as she looked at the sharp, daunting path they had to pass to keep moving forward. Her hand went to her sword knowing the only way across was to hack away the sharp, twisted thicket before them.
‘
It is,’ Arianne nodded, sensing now that what she was seeking was on the other side of this dead wood. The nature of the terrain provided the perfect deterrent for someone trying to hide something precious. ‘What I need to find is on the other side of this.’
‘
Of course it is,’ Keira retorted, unable to raise any good humour in the face of this latest obstacle.
‘
I’ll take the lead,’ Celene stated after taking a deep breath to strengthen her resolve. Unsheathing her sword, she stepped up to the nearest part of the thicket and swung her sword, slashing away at the thorny barbs in her way, the ice and snow on its dead branches scattering as she did so. ‘Arianne and Keira, stay behind me and close. Melia you take the rear.’
I do not always need your protection Celene,
’ Arianne grumbled as she fell behind the Lady of Gislaine. It was useless of course. Dare had told her that when it came to the people she cared for, Celene would defend them to her dying breath. Because of their friendship, Arianne knew that Gislaine would do the same to protect not only her but her child. Still, the Queen hated that her condition required others to take up the burden that should have been hers to bear. ‘I can take the rear,’ she offered.
‘
You can,’ Melia retorted taking up position behind Keira, ‘but you’re not going to.’
‘
I thought I was the queen here,’ Arianne threw the watch guard a look.
‘
You are,’ Keira smiled sweetly, ‘and in all other matters you rule, except
this
one.’
‘
Exactly,’ Celene retorted as they began to make slow progress through the briars that lay ahead of them. ‘I have no wish to explain to your husband why I let you get cut to pieces trying to get through this place. So you will stay behind me.’
‘
And before me,’ Melia added her voice in. ‘Because your husband is my king and he can behead me if he so feels inclined.’ She was joking of course but they had travelled together for weeks now and had become comfortable enough with each other to take such liberties. Even if Arianne was Queen of Carleon.
‘
He would never do that!’ Arianne exclaimed almost laughing.
‘
So you say,’ Melia teased. ‘I prefer not to take my chances.’
‘
I am more than nine hundred years older than all three of you,’ the queen snorted, ‘what makes you think I cannot protect myself?’
‘
Nothing,’ Keira smiled because the tone about the conversation was one of jest, no doubt to add some brevity to the misery of their current endeavour. ‘We’re taught to honour our elders that are why you’re travelling in between us. As the
oldest
, we’ve got to protect you.’
Both Melia and Celene burst out laughing and Arianne made a face at Keira.
‘I suppose you think that is very funny.’
‘
Actually yes,’ Celene replied from the front. ‘Keira’s reply was far more diplomatic than what I would have elected to say.’
‘
Which is?’ Arianne raised a brow at her best friend.
‘
That the future King of Carleon is already plagued by too many threats to have to endure the stubbornness of his mother,’ she glanced over her shoulder and gave Arianne a look of pure sarcasm. ‘In other words, stop being a pain, Arianne.’
Melia bit her lip in an effort not to laugh especially when she saw the teasing smirk that stole across Celene's face as she winked at the queen.
‘With friends like you,’ Arianne grumbled. ‘I do not need enemies.’
‘
That is true,’ Celene replied casually taking no offense at her remark since this whole conversation was being carried tongue in cheek. ‘You are fortunate indeed.’
‘
How does Ronen put up with you?’ The queen asked with mock sarcasm.