The Archon's Apprentice (21 page)

Bayle set his bag down and readied his crossbow. Mikol also sat his bag down and drew Raythrael. He started to cough but was able to keep the sound to a barely audible rumble. Looking up, he saw Bayle scowling at him. The pendant had changed again and now showed three smaller arrows moving from the top of the pendant to the bottom. Mikol was not sure what to think until he heard soft footfalls near the front of the alley. He put the pendant away and held up three fingers to Bayle.

They waited long enough that Mikol felt another cough coming. He tried to hold back but it burst forth loud enough to bring the men running. Mikol was helpless as the first man rounded the boxes he hid behind. The man fell forward as Bayle shot his crossbow point blank at the man’s head. The second man was only a step behind and had turned to face Mikol as well. Raythrael glowed faintly and Mikol barely registered his arm moving. The second man fell backward from the blow and did not move. They could not see around the boxes but heard a gasp from a third man. Mikol stepped out of the shadows, making certain Raythrael was visible. Bayle rounded his boxes and fired his crossbow. The man had already started running, and Bayle’s bolt flew wide.

Enough light illuminated the alley to allow them to see the scars covering the two dead mean at their feet.

“Maybe we should have given Erash his year,” said Mikol.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have used their names at the gate. That’s probably why they were let in so fast. They were pursuing Erash’s killers. How lucky for them, they found someone gave his name to the council to enter the city.” Mikol tried to think of a retort but found none that were not childish.
 

Bayle dragged the first body behind the boxes into the shadows and had to help Mikol with the other dead body. The pendant had returned to the regular arrow Mikol was used to and it pointed north again. They picked up their gear and walked back to the street. It was still crowded but there were no disturbances. Mikol knew they had to move fast and get to the north gate. The man they had not killed would return with his partners. They soon passed out of the heavily trafficked thoroughfare to the long, quiet road leading to the northern gate. They made it to the entrance of the northern courtyard before they stopped short. Mikol had expected someone to be guarding the gate, but the men standing in front of the gate were clearly not guards.

Mikol looked over the men for a moment, but could not tell who they were. It was too dark to make out any scars or other signs of blood magic on them. Mikol and Bayle took a step forward as they heard horses coming up the road behind them. They slowly moved into the courtyard, aware they were being cornered. Mikol could not see anything they could get behind. Not that it would have made a difference, as both sets of men had seen them. They were now in the center of the courtyard. Bayle faced the horsemen and Mikol faced the men at the gate. Something felt familiar about the men blocking the gate, but he did not have long to wonder before they stepped forward. He did not remember re-drawing Raythrael, but it was in his hands. He stepped into a defensive stance, ready to act. To his surprise, the men separated and walked around him. They only drew swords when they were past Mikol and Bayle.

Mikol turned around, confused. He lowered Raythrael, looking from group to group. Mikol did not see where the first blast came from, but the explosion threw him off his feet. Bayle grabbed him by the shoulder and helped him to his feet. He looked toward the groups of men but could only see chaos. Magic was being used, but he could not tell what kind or by whom. He coughed hard as they made it to the gate. He was curious why there were no guards but did not question their luck. When they had made it through the gate Mikol saw evidence of a fight. The dark stains on the road gave them the encouragement to run.

Chapter 13

Escape

The sound of fighting brought other guards running towards the gate. The guards paid them no attention, as Mikol had sheathed Raythrael and Bayle had put away his crossbow. The guards were focusing more on the explosion inside the city than on two men running away from the fight. The captain of the guard did stop and yell at them to get out of the road. They quickly obliged and waited for the platoon of soldiers to run in to the city. Mikol was glad to stop moving, as he had another coughing fit. They were becoming worse and Mikol had to catch his breath afterward. They started north on the road. It followed the curve of the mountain itself. They passed a few areas that narrowed and had to have been carved from the rock face. Mikol tried to keep his eyes forward instead of looking down the rock wall. There was almost no vegetation along the road and it would be easy to see if they were being followed.

After an hour of walking, Mikol could take no more than a few steps before coughing violently. He was ready for anyone to find him and take him wherever, if only he could sleep. He began looking for a comfortable rock to lay his head on. Bayle stopped him and grabbed the pendant. Mikol growled. He tried to force Bayle away from him but was to weak to mount any real offense. Bayle dodged away easily and grabbed Mikol by the shoulders. He twirled Mikol around so quickly it was all he could do to stand upright.

“Calm down. I just wanted to see what the pendant was indicating. I think it was flashing at me.”

Mikol scowled at Bayle. Why did the pendant suddenly work for him? He thought Bayle must have done something to the pendant as he slept. He felt betrayed by Bayle and the pendant. Grabbing the pendant he saw it was indicating two directions again with a large and a small arrow. He wanted to throw the pendant away and never see it again. He closed his hand over it to rip it from his neck when he realized how exhausted he had become. He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly. Another cough forced him to hold on to Bayle for support. He was not thinking well. He shoved the pendant in his shirt and marched towards the direction of the large arrow.

The road led them continuously upward but had been worn down to a slope that could be carefully driven by carriages. They came to a large flat area with a few buildings on it. Mikol pulled out the pendant to check where it pointed before tucking it under his shirt again. The smaller arrow pointed up the road but the larger arrow pointed toward the buildings. The moon was the only light available, which made identifying the buildings difficult. He moved to the large building, guessing it was an inn. He did not really care what the building was as long as he could sleep. They made their way slowly to the building. They had to walk even slower as a passing cloud over the moon blotted out any light. They were almost to the building when Bayle stopped Mikol again. Mikol was beginning to be annoyed at him. Bayle put a finger to his lips and pointed to the pendant again.
 

The red glow of the pendant could be seen underneath Mikol’s shirt. He withdrew it to see the arrow pointing back the way they had come. They had passed what it had wanted them to do. There were two more buildings near them. Mikol moved the pendant around to see it was indicating the stable. Mikol kept the pendant out to be certain as they walked to the building. No one met them as they entered the stable. They heard horses inside. There was not enough light coming in to the building to see well. They slowly walked forward, hoping not to walk in to anything. Before they reached the end, the pendant grew brighter. Its two arrows pointed to two horses.

“I think it wants us to take these horses,” said Mikol.

“That’s a new one. I guess it did help us to ambush those scarmongers earlier.” Bayle scratched his head. “This is beyond me. How much do you know of that pendant? I thought you said this was going to lead us somewhere. Why is it giving us instructions like this?”

“I don’t know. I know as much as ... well, no one ... I guess. Maybe Voletain knew about it. But I didn’t ask him. He went to the Sanctuary before I got it, but I thought he would take it away from me, so I wouldn’t have asked.” Mikol stared at the pendant. “Besides, we’ve gone too far not to see it through. No matter what happens, I owe it to Perim at least.”

Bayle sighed.
 

“Yeah. I don’t see another option. Not sure where you got that cough, but it is getting worse. I would say we should see what’s in the building over there, or even stay in the stables here, but I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t gone down that alley.”
 

“Let’s get this over with. If we stand around any longer I won’t care what the pendant says.”

With the light of the pendant Bayle found two saddles stashed nearby. He saddled both of the horses and transferred their gear to the animals. Without his pack Mikol felt better but still weak. Bayle had to help him mount the horse. Before Bayle mounted up he placed ten Tarens on the rail. When they left the stable and went onto the road, it occurred to Mikol that he had not heard a sound from the horses. He gently patted the neck of his horse and it neighed softly.

When the sun began creeping up from between two peaks Mikol knew he had slept in his saddle. The road began to level out onto a large plateau. Mikol knew that this area had a name but could not remember it. There was more vegetation on the plateau than on the road leading up. He did not see any game, but he could see plenty of trails. The pendant kept them on the road for some time, but eventually it indicated one of the game trails. Mikol veered off onto the trail only to have another coughing attack. Bayle rode up next to him and grabbed the reins to calm the horse down.
 

“Did you mean to go down this trail? It’s not part of the road,” said Bayle.

“The pendant is pointing us this way.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Do you think I want to be gallivanting on a horse in the mountains while I’m sick?”

Bayle did not answer, instead pulling out the spyglass. He looked back the way they had come and inhaled quickly.

“We’re being followed again. I can’t tell who or how many. The road dips down to much, but there is a big dust cloud. They are riding fast. We need to keep moving and find some cover. Otherwise as soon as they get on this plateau they will spot us right away.”

Mikol grimaced but urged his horse forward along the trail toward the far side of the plateau and the mountainside. The ground had become rocky and they had to let the horse pick their way along the trail. It took them almost an hour to reach the far side of the plateau and the mountains. The game trail went over another overgrown road. Mikol pulled out the pendant to get their bearings and had another coughing attack that wracked his whole body. He covered his mouth to quiet the cough and saw he was now coughing blood. He wiped his hand on his pant leg. He felt sure Bayle had not seen the blood. He looked at the pendant again. It still pointed up the game trail, to his disappointment. The trail rose quickly with the ridge and disappeared into a cleft in the rock farther up.
 

They rode slowly up the trail and stopped at the cleft. It turned out to be a rockslide that went all the way up to the top of the ridge. At the base of this ridge sat what looked to be a popular resting area. There seemed to be a permanent fire pit. It did not appear to have been used recently. There were some small trees and shrubs around the area as well. They dismounted and tethered the horses to one of the trees.

“What is this place?”

“I don’t know exactly. I think there were a few mines around here but if this is the place that I think it is, the ore dried up awhile back.”

The pendant pointed through the cleft up the ridge. Mikol could see the arrow was not only pointing forward but also upward.
 

“We need to get up there. I don’t see another path to go on,” said Mikol.
 

“It doesn’t look like there is much up there, at least that I can see from down here. Should we bring the rest of our stuff?”

Mikol looked to the pendant for answers. It only pointed up. He sighed.
 

“I’m not going to be able to carry much up. Let’s leave it here.”

Bayle retrieved his crossbow and readied it before proceeding up through the cleft up the path. Mikol followed. The path started easily enough. It felt like climbing stairs. There had been a rockslide at some point, and soon the ease of the stairs was replaced with carefully finding footing to avoid falling. The top of the path turned towards the top of the ridge. They were almost climbing hand-over-hand from the steepness. This wore on Mikol fast and he felt his exhaustion more and more. He barely registered Bayle assisting him the last several yards to the top. He thought about admonishing Bayle for helping him but even thinking about it wore on him. When they reached the top of the ridge and came to another smaller plateau, the sun had begun to set.

Mikol flopped over onto his back and breathed deeply. He wanted to lie there and not move ever again. He began to cough yet again. He closed his eyes and rolled onto his stomach to avoid the pain. When he opened his eyes the amount of blood on the rocks in front of him surprised and concerned him. He had no idea what he had caught or how, but they were far away from help. He knew with that amount of blood being coughed up he would not make it back to Ternia. He tried to cover the blood with loose soil and dirt. He could not believe he had traveled across the world to find a cache of weapons to fight a force he had not even seen and he was going to die from a cough.

After Mikol caught his breath he looked over the plateau. It was a barren rock that dropped off on three sides. The fourth side was dominated by a large mountain peak that stretched upward for several hundred yards. The bottom part of the peak was covered in vines and vegetation that dipped over the side. There was nothing else on the plateau. Nothing to hide behind. No other way down besides the way they had come up, unless he could figure out how to fly. They both looked over the edge a few times, hoping to find something. Each time they found the same sheer rock face that promised a quick end if they fell. Mikol could not handle it anymore and burst out laughing. How could he have been so stupid to think he could find something that had been lost for over three thousand years?