Alto shook his head and waved the wizard silent. "Fine, but we can worry about that another time. For now
, we have to get in there. I vote for the smaller path; it might be a back door."
"Then that's where we'll go," Mordrim said.
"You're the boss," Karthor said with a grin and a glint in his eye.
Alto shook his head again and turned around. He hesitated, staring at both paths,
and then started up the smaller path that rose in the valley between the mountain they sought and another mountain that rose to the south. The path wound between rocks that had fallen from either mountain until it peaked and began to run back down. At the peak, they saw for the first time the smoke and campfires from a massive camp on a plateau in front of the mountain.
"That answers that question," Namitus quipped as they stared at the camp. "Shouldn't there be more people? I don't see many moving around."
"I don't see any," Mordrim grumbled.
"He's got elf blood," Kar explained.
Mordrim turned and looked at Namitus, his furry brows furrowed. He leaned towards him and sniffed. "Elf blood? Bah! I didn't even smell it in you."
"With that nose?" Garrick teased the dwarf.
"My grandmother," Namitus shrugged. "I've never met her."
Mordrim shook his head. "I'll try not to hold it against you. Not your fault, after all."
"That's big of you," Garrick added.
Mordrim turned on the barbarian with a raised hand. He opened his mouth to let the man have it when Alto spoke and delayed the outburst. "Winter, is
that the way?"
Winter followed
Alto's hand where it pointed up a narrow path that wound up the side of the mountain to an elliptical cave. Winter whinnied softly and bobbed his head up and down.
Alto turned to look at the camp below. The trail they were on eventually ran to
the camp but it took a circuitous route through a gulch and around several large boulders. He committed it to memory in case they needed to escape that way. "We must go, before we're seen."
"Namitus brings up a good point
. Why aren't there more people down there?" Kar asked. "Look at the tents and fires—far more than there are bodies moving about."
"Maybe they're inside the tents?" Alto suggested. He glanced to the east and saw the sun was near to setting. In his dreams
, it was always night when he came to Patrina. He never reached her before the dragon. "Go and ask them if you'd like; there's no time to waste!"
"The equinox is more than a week away," Kar reminded him. "Why the rush
?"
Alto glanced at the sun again. "Because Sarya comes for Patrina in my dream at night. I must get to her first."
"Yes, in a week. Rushing blindly into this makes your last decision seem wise."
Alto scowled. He felt it in his bones
; he had to get up there. He took a breath to try to relax. It didn't work. "I don't know why the camp's almost empty. Maybe they've already started marching. Yes! That must be it. Moving an army through the mountains will take time. It took us four days to get here and there's only a few of us. For them, it would take far longer."
Kar rubbed his chin and nodded. "You might be onto something there. But wouldn't they take them all? Why leave some behind?"
"Because of me," Alto said. "Sarya fears me. And because they need some people here to conduct the ritual."
"Into the dragon's lair," Kar said, satisfied with his answer.
"I need somebody to carry me," Namitus whined.
"What's wrong with you?" Karthor asked.
"It's my legs, they're so tired."
Karthor looked down at the rogue's legs. He frowned. "You haven't mentioned it before."
"I know, but I've really been dragon them up these mountains." Namitus couldn't help but grin as he looked around at the others.
"Dragon your feet," Karthor echoed, shaking his head. Kar groaned.
Mordrim spat onto the frozen ground and muttered, "Elf blood."
Chapter 24
The
knights emerged one at a time from the boulder that hid the entrance to the cave Sir Amos had led them through. His sword had lit the way, shining with the brilliance of the sun at the head of the column of Saint Leander's faithful. Other knights had carried torches, ensuring that everyone could see the occasional perils of the underground passage. It had taken them the promised two days to traverse the passage.
Sir Ethan returned from his scouting mission to join Amos, Celos, and Aleena. He was breathing hard but mastered it quickly to give his report. "There's a camp ahead
in a valley. I'd guess two hundred of them. Men and goblins mostly, with a few ogres to the north. The goblins are in the western part of the camp; the men take up the rest."
"Terrain?" Sir Amos asked.
"Some forest left but mostly it's been razed to make room for the camps and for firewood. There are a few piles of fallen timbers remaining but they're running low."
"They're getting ready to move out," Sir Amos mused. "The spring equinox is a little over a week away. They'll need to march soon if they want to move an army against us. The only way out of the mountains for a sizeable force for more than a week in either direction is Highpeak."
"Do we take them?" Celos asked, unable to contain the excitement in his voice.
"Fifty against two hundred, many of them goblins
." Sir Amos paused as he considered. He grinned. "Hardly seems fair. To them, that is. Sir Ethan, you will lead ten knights to the right. I will take ten and we will go down the middle. Sir Celos, take the recruits and squires with you and mop up the goblins on the left."
Both knights saluted and turned to gather their men. Sir Amos looked at Aleena before she followed her mentor and said, "Trust in Leander, squire, and he will see you through this."
Aleena moved her hand to give Leander's blessing and hurried after Celos. He had already gathered the squires and knights and was instructing them on what to do. When Aleena joined them, his brows furrowed for a moment then he said, "Aleena, you will stay to my right. We will advance in a wedge with me at the lead."
She nodded and drew her sword.
Celos led them over near where Sir Amos and Sir Ethan had assembled their knights. The priests gathered behind, ready to move forward to heal or reinforce as necessary.
Sir Amos held his sword high and chanted a prayer to Saint Leander
, asking that their swords be swift and their arms strong. His sword burst into light, signaling them all to cry out, "For Leander!" and begin their charge.
They ran up a shallow rise and then climbed a short ridge before they were in the enemy camp.
Camped deep in the mountains, Sarya's forces had posted no sentries. The mercenaries camped near the southern edge were rising and wondering where the light was coming from. A few had drawn their swords and fewer still reacted in time to rush forward and try to stop the knights as they climbed over the ridge. They were cut down first.
Celos waited for his recruits to climb the ledge before he charged forward with Aleena at his side. She'd trained with and against the knight, aiding her in guessing what it was he was going to do.
By the time they plowed into the unorganized ranks of goblins, there was little to do except continue the slaughter.
Their wedge broke up as they finished overwhelming the goblins. Aleena turned with Celos to see Sir Amos's group attacking the band of ogres at the northern end of the camp. To their right
, Sir Ethan's group was finishing up their attack by securing the mercenaries who had surrendered. Aleena frowned at the thought of having to deal with prisoners. How would they manage that?
"Durak, come with us. William, help Jermaine back to the priests to look at his leg," Sir Celos said. Durak fell in on Celos's left and walked with him and Aleena over to where Sir Amos was clapping his fellow knights on the back in congratulations
on their victory.
"Celos! Well done
! We've struck a blow that will ring through the mountains!" Amos said as he came over to the young knight. Sir Amos was breathing hard but grinning. "Bless me but that felt good! I haven't had my blood up like that in years. The desk is no substitute for the quest!"
"What will you do with the prisoners?" Aleena asked.
Sir Amos turned and saw the disarmed men gathered in a group. He frowned. "We can't spare the men to guard them or escort them back to Highpeak. We have little choice. I could try them here but again, speed and surprise is our advantage."
"I thought we wanted word to reach Sarya so she would send her army after us?"
"Fifty men against an army of thousands?" Sir Amos asked without expecting an answer.
"We have less than fifty now," Sir Ethan said on his way to join the conference. "I lost a man and I see you lost two. How fared your men, Celos?"
Celos raised his head and reported, "A recruit, Jermaine, got a spear in his thigh but the priests are tending to him."
Ethan nodded and turned back to the paladin. Sir Amos was moving his left arm in a circle and flexing his hand. "Got a pinch in my arm," he explained. He took a deep breath and let it go. "Phew, let this be a lesson. Stay active
, my friends!"
"What of the prisoners, my
lord?" Sir Ethan asked.
"We were just speaking of them. We're down to forty
-seven able bodies, and some of them priests. I don't like our odds if we stay buttoned up here waiting for Sarya to come after us. We do better on the attack."
"No quarter then?" Sir Ethan asked.
Sir Amos frowned. He took another breath and let it out, and then smiled. "There, whatever it was is gone; my arm's even stopped tingling. As for the mercenaries, can we tie them up in the cave until we return?"
"Sir Amos, I have an unusual idea," Aleena said.
Amos turned to look at Celos and then Aleena. "Speak on, squire."
"I'm not sure how I feel about it or how it would fit with Leander's teachings, but I wanted to offer it anyhow," she began. She took a breath and said in a rush, "They're mercenaries
; we could hire them and bolster our ranks."
Celos and Ethan gaped at her as though she'd grown a second head. Sir Amos frowned and opened his mouth,
and then he closed it and turned to face them. He looked back at her, his head tilted and eyes squinting.
"Tristam and Alto are, or were, mercenaries as well," Aleena reminded them.
Sir Amos laughed out loud. "Of a different color, to be sure! They would never have signed on to do such harm to good and lawful people."
"And these men can be used to do harm to those who would bring evil to our nation and our friends," Aleena said. "Offer them their lives as pay if they fight for us, perhaps a bonus for every man they kill."
"That encourages merciless butchery," Sir Amos said, shaking his head. "And for men like these, that's second nature."
"Sir, you can't be serious about letting them fight for us!"
Sir Amos turned to look at Aleena. "I am. I think the squire has a fetching idea. But I dare not spend many men to guard over them. They will slow us down and clutter our plans when the time comes. Some of them are skilled but they are no doubt lazy and disorganized."
"I'll lead them," Aleena offered. "It was my idea."
"Squire, be silent," Celos snapped.
"I think she might be onto something," Amos said with a crooked grin. He nodded. "Yes, I think you are. I applaud your creativity, squire. If you can tame that rabble and get them to fight for us
, then it proves again that we were right in choosing you."
"I'll need help," Aleena said.
Celos stiffened beside her. "I will not work with bandits!"
Aleena nodded and turned to where Durak stood quietly. "Durak, will you help me?"
He stared at her and let his gaze travel to the other knights. They all stared at him. He swallowed and nodded. Aleena beamed. "Come, let's go talk to them."
"Good luck, squire," Amos said. He turned to the other two knights and chuckled. "Let's clean this mess up and make ready to move on. The next camp should be up the road a ways, perhaps half a day's travel. We can be there in time to surprise them for supper!"
Aleena walked over to the captured mercenaries. A few looked up at her as she approached, and then more and more rose to stare at her. She caught a few lewd grins but none of them spoke out.
She walked up to one of them men who went so far as to wink at her. He let his eyes travel up and down her armor suggestively. Aleena's eyes narrowed at his indecency and her hand lashed out, backhanding him across the face with her gauntleted fist. He dropped like a
rock falling from a mountaintop and spat out blood where he lay on the ground.
"Anyone else think they'
ve got something a squire serving the Knights of Leander can't do without?" Aleena called out. She counted the men as she walked around them. There were fourteen of them, plus the man who'd bitten his tongue and lost a tooth from her painful lesson.