The Hollow: At The Edge (17 page)

“I’ll take your word
for it,” said Serrel. “Since you’re still alive, I guess they
didn’t cut your head off like I’d have expected. What did you
do?”

“What anyone in that
position does. We all got pissed.”

“Of course you
did.”

“Fulgari Valley,” said
Dhulrael thoughtfully. “Was that not the final battle during the
orcish uprisings?”

Dogbreath shrugged.
“Dunno. I slept through most of it. There’s nothing like a good
orcish mead. Puts hair on your chest hair, heheh.”

“So you got drunk, and
ended up taking the bronze. After your two years were up, why did
you stay?” Serrel asked.

“I left the first time,
but I re-enlisted pretty damn quick. Believe it or not, I wasn’t
always the fine specimen of a man you see before you. A long time
ago, I was an ugly, mean, thick as two short planks, long streak of
nothing slowly pissing his life away. Now look at me!” Dogbreath
beamed proudly, arms outstretched. “There’s nothing quite like the
life in the Legion, Fresh Meat.”

“I suppose you’re just
a short-termer, aren’t you, Fresh Meat?” said Holly. “Already
planning your escape in two years.”

“I haven’t really
thought about it,” said Serrel. “When I signed up, it wasn’t as if
I had anything else planned. I mean, yes, in hindsight I probably
could have found work somewhere as a carpenter. Maybe finished an
apprenticeship and then started my own business. Had I realised I
was going to end up in the Faelands, having every choice I’ve ever
made in life appraised by you judgemental buggers, then, hell,
maybe I would have. At the moment, two years is a long way away,
and to be perfectly honest, I’m more worried about just surviving
until tomorrow.”

“That’s the best way to
live, Fresh Meat,” said Caellix. “Just day by day.”

“So I take it you’re in
for life?” Serrel asked Holly.

“Of course,” replied
Holly firmly. “This was the only thing I ever wanted. The only real
choice I ever got to make for myself.”

“And despite everything
we’ve gone through, you still have no regrets?”

“You mean, would I have
preferred to spend the rest of my life married to some boorish
farmer, milking cows and feeding pigs? To hell with that, Fresh
Meat. The world is so damn big, why would I settle for being so
small?”

“What about you, Fresh
Meat?” Caellix asked him. “Do you have regrets?”

A lot
, was the
proper answer, but Serrel figured he knew what she meant. He
wondered, had he thought it through, and perhaps not joined the
Legion... It was hard to say where he would have ended up. Not
here, for one thing. But then he might never have discovered his
ability to weave. And as much as he had enjoyed the life of an
honest craftsman, weaving the ether, exerting control over the
world itself, no matter how tiny... He loved it. It was the only
time he honestly felt in control. He never wanted to give that
up.

“Funnily enough, no,”
he answered truthfully.

Caellix didn’t reply,
seemingly satisfied.

They travelled until
the light faded, then set up camp. Again, there was to be no fire,
and rotating watches, but at least all their clothes were dry
again.

Serrel was to take the
third watch, and decided to get some sleep beforehand. He had not
been this exhausted since his first few days of training at Fort
Amell. He wondered once more about the rest of Pond Scum. He
wondered if they were having an easier time than he was.

He had just stretched
out on the ground, when Holly unexpectedly sat next to him.

“So,” she asked slowly.
“You think... You think you’re ever going to go home again?”

Serrel shrugged. “I
don’t know. I’d like to see my family again, but I don’t know. It
might just cause them trouble.”

“But don’t you want to
see that girl again? The one that got you into trouble. Don’t you
want to show her, and her stupid father what you’ve become?”

He wondered where the
sudden interest had come from.

“Sure,” he replied.
“But... She wouldn’t have waited for me. There wouldn’t be any
point. Her father was clear about what would happen to me if he
ever saw me again. She’s living her own life, and I hope it’s a
good one. But it won’t involve me. As much as I would want them to,
things can never go back to the way they were.”

Holly was silent. Then
she nodded. He had the feeling that he had not given her the answer
she had wanted.

“I’ll wake you when
it’s your watch,” Holly said simply, and went off quickly.

Serrel was too tired to
be confused for long. He lay his head back and closed his
eyes...

And woke suddenly to
find Caellix kicking him roughly in the side.

“Get up, Fresh Meat!
Come on!”

Serrel groggily stood
up, clutching his staff. He started to speak, then he noticed the
sky.

The sky was lit with
green light from the Aurora Ethereal, just as it had been during
the passage over the Dividing Sea. But this time they could see
where the magical discharge causing the spectacular lights was
coming from. In distance, the horizon was unfortunately blocked by
the thick forest. But in the sky, through a small clearing in the
tree canopy, they could see a narrow beam of bright red light
shooting high into the starry heavens. At an impossibly high
altitude, the beam spread outwards into the rolling waves of the
aurora, which ebbed and flowed across the sky.

Serrel stared. “Call me
unnecessarily pessimistic, but that isn’t good.”

“You think?” said
Caellix darkly. “That beam of light, that’s where we were heading.
We were supposed to meet the rest of the Legion there.”

“You think the Legion
did this?” asked Brant.

“I doubt it. What
worries me is if... We were supposed to get there first, but since
we were delayed, and if Dillaini insisted on marching quickly...
Shit.”

“How long has it been
going?” asked Serrel.

“Maybe a few
minutes.”

“There’s no one on our
side that has that much energy to burn,” said Serrel. “Even if
everyone pooled their energy together, I doubt they could do
something like that.”

“Sergeant, there should
not be anyone on the planet who could do something like that,” said
Dhulrael. He paused in thought. “Unless...”

“Unless what?” asked
Serrel.

Dhulrael pursed his
lips. “This is just a theory you understa-”

“Just spit it out,
elf!” Caellix snapped.

“Well, it’s-”

The air was suddenly
filled with a low pitched
boom
, like a clap of thunder.
Except there were no storm clouds in the sky. A second and third
explosion went off, each one briefly lighting up the sky with red
light.

“What the hell is
that?” said Holly.

“Nothing good. We need
to get over there, now,” said Caellix.

“You want to run...
towards the explosions?” said Dhulrael slowly.

“You don’t want to
come, feel free to stay here.”

Dhulrael looked around
the dark forest. Considering the week he had been having, being
blown up seemed like a welcome change from the constant threat of
being eaten alive.

“Perhaps I will come
with you,” he said. “At least some of the way.”

“I am
so
glad to
hear it, Pointy. Come on, you lot, get your shit together. We are
leaving, NOW!”

They ran as fast as
possible towards the light, and the sounds of explosions. The
aurora overhead cast a green pall over the forest, but gave enough
illumination to see any obstacles by. Strangely, the few glimpses
of the wildlife Serrel had during their mad dash showed him several
different birds and animals, all standing rigidly and staring
straight into the night’s sky, as if the aurora held them
hypnotised. He swore he even saw a giant bear, even bigger than the
one that had nearly trampled them, standing completely frozen with
its mouth agape.

He wondered if they
were watching in awe, or in horror?

Up in front, Caellix
ran determinedly ahead in silence, her dogs following obediently
behind her. No one spoke, and no one wanted to voice any ideas
about what lay ahead.

Then without warning,
the beam of light switched off. The aurora flowed across the sky
for a while longer, then slowly faded away. The forest drifted back
into darkness, and any creatures previously caught in its thrall
continued on their way as though nothing had happened.

“Is that good or bad,
you reckon?” asked Brant.

“Bad,” said Caellix.
“Whoever was doing that, they’ve gotten what they wanted.”

“Which was?”

“Everyone dead,” Holly
suggested.

“We can talk or we can
run,” Caellix snapped. “Keep moving. It’ll be light soon.”

The Bridge of
Kaelthril, named for some famous elven builder, crossed over the
Sileril River where it was wide and relatively calm. It had stood
for centuries as the fastest way to Vollumir, weathering multiple
conflicts and natural disasters with steadfast resolve.

When Serrel saw it for
the first time, the sun had already risen to find the bridge in
pieces. Only one tall support of white stone stood upright.
Everything else was rubble either swept away or slowly eroding in
the Sileril.

Having taken their
impromptu swim the previous day, the Hounds were fortunately on the
correct side. The rest of the Legion had seemingly crossed it late
the previous evening, and set up a makeshift camp on the plain on
the other side. What was left of it now was wreckage. The ground
was blackened and still smouldered, the air still hazy with smoke
that obscured their vision. A few small fires still burnt on what
had once been tents. Most chilling were the strange craters that
dotted the ground, the earth freshly churned up and seared. They
were spread across the camp, all uniform in size.

There were no people
that the group could see. But there were bodies. Many of them were
burnt and unrecognisable. But a few were ripped apart in an all too
familiar fashion.

They walked across the
scorched earth in silence. It was almost too much to take in. The
smell of burning flesh made Serrel want to retch.

“Is... is everyone
gone?” Holly asked in a small voice.

“I don’t know,” replied
Caellix with incredible calm. “There are a lot of bodies, but...
Not enough.”

“What the hell could
have happened here?” asked Brant.

“Someone very powerful
attacked them,” said Serrel.

“With the Ferine,”
Caellix said. She kicked over a body, rolling it on its back to
reveal pointed ears and sharp fangs. “But the Legion didn’t go
quietly. Everyone’s in armour, or holding a weapon. We put up a
fight.”

Serrel forced back his
fear, and tried to focus on the details, not the bodies. He pointed
to the ground.

“The scorch marks are
shaped funny,” he noted. One blackened area of the ground did have
a large crescent shaped section missing. “I think they were
organised enough to deploy the support mages. They were
shielded.”

“For what good it
did.”

“Who knows how much
energy we would need to shield against something like this...”

Serrel trailed off, and
cocked his head. The others listened intently, and heard voices,
speaking in elvish.

Caellix waved everyone
to take cover. They piled into a large crater, and pressed
themselves flat on the ground. The earth was still warm to the
touch.

There came the sound of
light footsteps, and the voices became louder. Dhulrael listened
carefully to what they were saying. There were at least three
speakers, having something of a heated conversation.

Caellix waved a hand,
and made a gesture with her hands like she was pulling back a bow
string. She pointed at Brant and mouthed,
Left
. Then at
Holly,
Center
.

The two nodded, and
carefully strung arrows into their bows.

Caellix counted
soundlessly.
One... Two... Three!

Together the three
stood up over the edge of the crater, sighted the three Ferine
standing above them, and fired. With a crack of bowstrings, all
three Ferine went down. Two died quickly, but the third let out a
pained scream until Caellix finished it with a second shot.

Serrel glanced around
them for others, but no one came.

“You think there are
more?” whispered Holly.

Caellix nodded.
“Hunting for survivors.”

“Luck may be with us,”
said Dhulrael. “They were complaining about the smoke ruining their
sense of smell.”

“An advantage. That
makes a nice change,” said Holly.

“Unfortunately, they
also mentioned that there was something called a childer here, and
how it made them nervous.”

“What the hell’s a
childer?”

“No idea. But with my
luck, I would guess it is what they call those monsters from the
forest.”

“The wolf-bugs? Aw,
hell.”

“They die easily
enough,” said Caellix. “We just have to stay alert. Don’t let them
catch us unawares.”

“What are we going to
do?” asked Holly. “We can’t stay here if there are Ferine and gods
know what else lurking around.”

“There might be
survivors,” said Serrel.

“Maybe,” replied
Caellix. “But if there is anyone here, then they’d be lying low to
avoid the Ferine. We’d be hard pressed to find them. But anyone who
could walk would have moved on. They couldn’t have retreated with
the bridge gone, and the river curves north, blocking escape to the
west. We’d have seen anyone running into the forest, so... North to
Vollumir.”

“You think they went
there?”

“If there were enough
people left, hell, if there was even one person left, Dillaini
would have marched them on to Vollumir. I would have.”

“Well,” said Serrel.
“It isn’t as though we can go back.”