Legend of the Swords: War (30 page)

Renek looked at Hesiod and raised his eyebrows.

“He kicked him,” Hesiod whispered. “Try to get to sleep before he starts snoring again.”

Renek snorted, but tried to get comfortable with his hands tied behind him. He watched the stars turn in the sky above him, but sleep didn’t come for a long time.

*   *   *

When he woke again, it was still dark. The Singer was snoring loudly.

This is a freakishly long night
, he thought to himself.
If I keep waking up, does that make the night longer, or is it just the whole ‘bound and lying in the cold night on a mountainside with a rock sticking in my side’ thing?
His brow furrowed as he realized that nobody was lying in front of him.

Where’s Hesiod?

A moment later, a knife was sawing at the rope holding his hands together. He twisted to look backwards, and saw the silhouette of a man bending over him.

“They’re all asleep. They didn’t set a watch,” Hesiod whispered with glee, his lips close to Renek’s ear. “I tensed up while they were tying me, so it was easy to slip out of the ropes.” He glanced towards the glowing coals where the others were sleeping. “Amateurs.”

“What time is it?” Renek was barely breathing, he was trying to be so quiet.

“About an hour before dawn. I figure we’ve got about a half an hour to get a decent head start.”

Renek felt the rope part, and blood started pounding in his hands again. Hesiod bent to Renek’s feet, and soon he was standing in the cold mountain air.

Renek felt Hesiod’s fingers on his lips, accentuating the need for silence. They tiptoed over to the horses. Renek was happy to feel his packs—James had obviously found his horses.

“We’re going to have to move quickly, but silence is important,” Hesiod whispered. Soon, both of them were mounted. “I’m going to lead their horses away, and then let them go. Hopefully, they’ll head back to camp. I’d kill them, but the horses didn’t do anything wrong, and it would make too much noise anyway.

“Hold on to this rope so we don’t get separated," he said, holding out the rope while he held his lips next to Renek’s ear. “And for the gods’ sake,
be quiet!
”

They walked quietly for about half an hour before the sky lightened in the east. Then they let go of the bridles to the other horses, and slapped them on the rump to get them going back towards the camp.

“I hope they go far,” Hesiod said, in a normal voice. “Let’s ride.”

They turned towards the peak and spurred their horses into a gallop.

*   *   *

Hesiod and Renek galloped up the hillside, which was growing steeper by the minute.

“We’ve been running for a long time! The horses are getting tired!” Renek yelled to Hesiod, who reined his horse in to a walk. He patted his horse’s shoulder, and grimaced. He then wiped his hand on his pants; it was soaking wet with his horse’s sweat.

Both of the horses were trembling from exertion. They had come at least four miles in ten minutes.

Renek looked accusingly at Hesiod. “Are you trying to kill the horses?” He asked, sarcasm—and concern—in his voice.

Hesiod raised his eyebrows. “Better the horses dead than us caught by that bastard James," he said, darkly. “If he catches us again he won’t hesitate to kill us.”

Renek was shocked. “You think he’d kill his own men?”

“Certainly.” Hesiod nodded. “Not only did we ‘desert,’ as he calls it, but we escaped him the same evening that we were caught. He won’t want that story told, it’s embarrassing.

“Not to mention that he believes that the legend is true,” he continued. “He wants those swords. He’ll be after us already, and out for blood.”

Renek looked around them, trying to get his bearings. “We headed pretty close to straight to the top of the mountain," he said, pointing towards the east. “But it’s getting steep.”

Hesiod nodded. “It seems a lot steeper, on this side. I was able to ride nearly to the top on the other side.”

They both stared into the dark shadow that covered this side of the mountain as their horses walked. The beasts had stopped wheezing. Renek absent-mindedly patted his mare on the neck.

“I think I see a path,” Renek said, gesturing wearily. “We can ride up to it and see how it climbs the mountain.” He looked down at his horse, which was beginning to shiver, its sweat steaming off its body in the cold morning. “We’d better get these horses warmed up, too…it’s amazing how fast they get cold.”

Hesiod grinned. “What, you mean it’s surprising that they get cold, when they’re in the shadow of a mountain, on a cold morning, and drenched with sweat?”

They trotted up to where the mountain truly started. There was a path, a narrow one, that went diagonally up to the left, then switched back and went up to the right before switching back again.

“So that’s how you make a path up a cliff,” Hesiod said, nodding. “Interesting. Still pretty steep, though.” He turned to Renek. “I don’t think it’s wide enough for us to ride the horses. Shall we bring them along, or tie them up here?”

Renek considered, squinting up at the path. “Let’s tie them here," he said. “We’ll be able to move more quickly without them, I think.”

He dismounted and put a small amount of feed into his nosebag, then strapped it on over his mare’s head. “Good girl," he said, petting her neck right behind her ear. Hesiod followed suit, but he repeatedly glanced back at the hillside below them.

“This is taking too long, Renek. We’ve got to hurry, they’re bound to be right behind us.”

“Well, let’s get climbing then.” Renek tied his lead to a bush nearby, straightened, and strode toward the narrow path, Hesiod following in his wake.

*   *   *

A half an hour later, they were four switchbacks higher and could see the prince and his men approaching on horseback.

Renek paused to stare down at them. “I wonder how they got their horses back,” he mused.

Hesiod pushed by him on the narrow path. “Who cares? Get going, we don’t want them to catch up.”

Renek lengthened his stride to keep pace with Hesiod. He pulled out a water skin and drank deeply while they walked up the steep mountain path.

It took nearly another hour to reach the top. As the path turned towards the mountain’s top instead of another switchback, Renek noticed that he was having trouble breathing. He took several deep breaths in a row. Hesiod noticed, and started breathing more deeply, too.

“Demon mountain,” he muttered. “It’s like there’s less air here.”

Renek ignored Hesiod. “It’s like this pathway was cut into the shoulder of the mountain itself," he said, reaching out and touching the wall. Weather had worn it smooth. “There’s no trace of a tool mark anywhere.”

“Maybe it’s natural.” Hesiod leaned over the side, trying to see the prince. “They’re not far below us, I think they’ve been catching up.” He straightened up and jogged past Renek. “Let’s get going.”

Renek sighed, but jogged to catch up. The passageway was probably wide enough for three people to stand abreast.

“This is what I saw from the other side,” Hesiod said between heavy breaths. He slowed to a walk. “And I’m not really a soldier, despite being in pretty good shape—I can’t keep this up.” He glanced behind them. “I hope we’ve got enough of a lead to find a place to hide, because I can’t run much further.”

Renek was looking forward. “What’s that?” he said, pointing.

The passageway had a few small stones and pebbles in it, making the appearance of clutter. As they turned a corner, more and more rocks were strewn about. Finally, the passageway revealed a pile of rocks about a foot deep across the passageway. Some were large, but most of them were small. It was as if several large rocks had been shattered.

“Looks like a rockslide,” Hesiod said, staring up at the top of the chasm’s vertical walls. “I don’t see where it came from, though.”

Renek shook his head as a cold shudder passed down his spine. “I don’t know…” He trailed off.

Hesiod grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. “Scramble over the rocks, man. There’s a fork in the chasm up ahead.”

“What?” Renek’s eyes snapped forward. He saw a passageway that went off to the right, just beyond the mass of debris. “Ah, ok.”

Their feet slipped and twisted as they tried to walk over the small pile of rocks, but soon they turned the corner. The peak of the mountain loomed over them as they stared into a dark entrance. There was a gleaming metal bar to one side.

They jogged up to the bar. Renek ran his fingers over it. “It’s embedded right into the rock!” He grabbed it and pulled on it, but it held firm. “It’s as smooth as the passage walls," he said, more quietly. Hesiod sighed, grabbed Renek’s arm again, and dragged them both into the dark passageway.

*   *   *

Hesiod rummaged around in his pack and produced two torches. “I hope these last. I only brought two," he said as he handed them to Renek. “Hold one of them out, would you?” A moment later, he struck some flint with his knife, and sparks showered onto the outstretched torch. Its pitch caught immediately. Renek held the second torch over the first to light it, and handed it back to Hesiod.

The torches’ light pierced the darkness. Renek looked at the walls, which were carved smooth. The occasional translucent crystal face formed part of the wall. He reached out touch the wall.

“The walls are smoother than the ones outside,” Renek said. “You’d think that the ones outside would have been worn smoother, but—”

“Yes, that’s wonderful.” Hesiod grabbed his arm. “Let’s get in there, maybe we can lose James if we find another fork.”

The corridor turned gently to the right, and started sloping down towards the heart of the mountain. After a few dozen feet, it straightened out again, but kept sloping down slightly. They walked forward, their steps echoing loudly.

Renek glanced at the floor. There wasn’t any dust to muffle their footsteps.

“Huh,” Hesiod grunted, gesturing at the wall a few feet in front of them. “Look at that burnt-out torch.” He walked up to it. “Someone used to live down here.”

There was a matching one on the other wall. Renek peered at it, nose less than an inch away. For some reason, he was reluctant touch it.

It was hanging in an ornate sconce, which seemed to be made of gold wires.

Hesiod shook himself. “What the heck am I doing?” He muttered aloud to himself. “Let’s get going!”

They turned forward, but there was a wall in front of them. An arch was on the right side, just beyond the torches. They slowly walked through, torches held high.

The room was too large; the light wasn’t enough to chase the darkness away. From what they could see of the room, it was round, and had a domed ceiling. Stalactites hung down from above, making it difficult to tell where the top of the chamber was. They stood at the edge of an underground lake. The water was very still, with only an occasional ripple from a droplet falling from one of the stalactites. The drips seemed to echo loudly, disproportionate to the size of the tiny drop of water that occasionally flashed in the torchlight.

There was a rocky island in the middle of the lake. Small, dark figures lay on the rock, still as the water.

“There seems to be another small shore, and maybe even a passageway—off to the right,” Renek said, gesturing with his torch. “Maybe we should—”

Voices carried down to them from the corridor behind, followed by several thumping boots. The two men looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

“They’re closer than I had thought,” Renek admitted, whispering.

Hesiod nodded. “They’re only a few minutes behind us now.” He kept his voice quiet, as well. He looked down at the water. “Nothing for it, I guess.” He slowly waded in. “It’s freezing!” He hissed.

Renek followed him, sliding his feet gingerly into the frigid water. He watched ripples flow outwards from his feet, but they were completely overcome by the splash that Hesiod made when he fell into the water.

“Hesiod!” he whispered, as he reached out to pull his companion from the cold water.

“There’s something down there.” Hesiod gestured at the water as he whispered through chattering teeth. “I tripped.”

Renek fumbled around in the water for a moment, and pulled up a strange, withered torso. It looked like it was part frog, part human, and might have been about three feet tall before it was cut into two. He tossed it to the side with a splash, and wiped the slime off of his hands by rubbing his pants.

“Disgusting.”

“At least it’s dead, Renek,” Hesiod said, hugging himself for warmth. “L-let’s get going, they’re right behind us.”

“Hang on a second.” He pushed his legs through the water, and grabbed the body of the creature again. He dragged it behind him until it was in the water, just below the surface, directly between the other shore and the arch that they had come through. They could hear the echoes of footsteps growing louder behind them.

“Maybe it’ll trip them up too,” he whispered, as they headed deeper into the black water.

The water rapidly got deeper. Renek unbuckled his sword and held it, along with the torch, up above his head. The water soon came up to their chests, then to their necks before they started climbing out. They were both shivering when they got to the other side, but Hesiod grabbed Renek’s arm and quickly pulled him into the corridor. He held a finger up to his lips.

Renek buckled his sword back on as quietly as he could. Faint light flickered on the passageway next to Hesiod, and they could hear voices.

“There wasn’t any way to go, your highness, they must have come this way,” one of the foot soldiers said.

“Perhaps … they went to that passageway across the lake, then?” The prince asked.

“I see no other path they could have taken, general,” the Singer said to him. “Unfortunately, this rock … clouds my senses. I cannot sense where they might have gone.”

“Well, I doubt they continued on past the entrance to this cave,” James said. “They must have gone into the lake. You two go check out the island, we’ll wait here.” His voice fell a bit, but the chamber seemed to carry echoes to Renek and Hesiod, and they could still hear him quite clearly. “We’ve nearly caught them, but this place is ancient—and it probably only has the one entrance. We’re between that entrance and them. We can afford to be careful.”