The Lord Son's Travels (58 page)

Their
clear path behind the front line collapsed.
 
Elenna and Adrien found themselves in the midst of the
battle.
 
Hiding was now futile;
both gave up trying to cover themselves with the cloaks and instead joined in
the fighting.
  
Arèal and
Midiral rose and fell with almost rhythmic timing and splatters of monster
blood.
 
Adrien yelled for her to
remain close to his side, once in a while risking a glance to see her utilizing
all of the fighting skills he had taught her as well as many of her own little
tricks.
 
If he would have had time
he would have felt proud of his student; now he only could focus on his own
situation.
 
He used the morning sun
star as a guide to slowly direct their advance through the thickest of the
battle towards the far side of the advancing army.
 
When they reached the bridge that crossed the deep moat
bordering the castle lands they found that the other side was mostly deserted,
the first small relief of the day.
 
They paused after crossing to turn back and solemnly regard the
battlefield they had just traversed.
 
Their men were falling quickly; the line of monsters were slowly but
steadily moving towards the castle and its helpless inhabitants.
 

“Now I think comes your contribution,”
Adrien tossed over his shoulder to his new wife.
 
He pointed to the towers behind him, where a soldier on a
balcony was desperately waving a flag as a signal.
 
From somewhere on their right side a horn blared, and a
battalion stormed out of the main doors of the castle and threw themselves into
position.
 
All were armed with the
weapons Elenna had designed.
 
They
fired in unison.
 
The monsters they
hit dropped with expressions of surprise at their sudden mysterious
wounds.
 
Their compatriots halted
in bewilderment at the sight of the shooters and the damage they were able to
inflict at some distance.
 
The fighters
took advantage of this pause and struck again with renewed vigor.
 

Adrien tapped Elenna’s shoulder to
bring back her attention.
 
“Now aim
for those woods,” he said, and pointed to the one place in the forest still
left unburned, where the vanguard monster army had encamped the night before.
“And be safe,” he added adamantly.
 
He locked his eyes on hers for a brief intense moment, then broke away
and wrapped the cloak around himself again.
 
She heaved in a deep breath and followed his lead.
 
They weaved in between the few people
and monsters out here on the outskirts of battle, trying to always maintain a
distance of at least a few feet, and keeping in constant motion to aid the
deceptive abilities of the cloak.

 
Their luck gave out as they blew by a couple of reptilian monsters.
 
Both flickered out their tongues to
analyze the vibration of movement of their passing.
 
The reptilians gave out squeaks of warning to the other
monsters that something odd was happening.
 
Another monster sniffed the air with its wolf-like nose and
immediately turned in their direction and growled.
 
As several of the monsters let out howls of recognition of
their true nature, Elenna and Adrien gave up their attempt at hiding, pushed
back the hoods of the magic cloaks and raced for their lives towards the woods
when they realized they were too outnumbered to fight.
 
Some of the monsters gave up the chase,
figuring they were deserters from the fight and not worth the bother.
 
Both of them reached the stand of trees
safely, with only a couple of monsters still in pursuit.
 
Adrien pushed off his cloak and turned
to stave off their assault.
 
One of
the monsters, a huge bear-shaped beast, shoved him roughly to the ground and
reared up to dispatch him with his jagged and already bloodied teeth.
 
Elenna shot him in the back with her
pistol.
 
The other monster eyed the
unfamiliar tool in her hand, whimpered slightly, and turned tail and ran back
to its companions.
 
She called it a
coward to its retreating back and helped her husband back to his feet.
 
She rapidly shoved the cloaks back into
his bag for later use as he kept watch for other monsters to approach.
 
They were already forgotten by the other
monsters who had returned to the heat of battle.
 
There was little doubt the woods themselves would take care
of anyone escaping from the battle; nearly every inch of the woods were
aflame.
 

Elenna
took deep rasping breaths as the smoke began to fill her lungs.
 
“What…” she gasped.

Adrien
pulled out a large glass bottle from his bag.
 
“One of the other talismans,” he reminded her as he dumped
half of the contents of the bottle on himself, and half all over her.
 
“Any liquid stored in this bottle will
heal all wounds.
 
I hope it shall
also prevent them.”
 

Chapter 55

He
grabbed her arm and pulled her with him directly into the flames.
 
Elenna moaned in terror at the nearly
unbearable flush of heat now enveloping her body and forced herself against
every instinct to continue stepping forward into the roaring flames.
 
When she saw Adrien’s face surrounded
by licks of fire all coherent thought left her, and she could only keep moving
her feet to keep up with his.
 
They
ran, unmindful of paths or any particular direction, leaping over the burning logs
or vegetation that sometimes blocked their way.
 
They had no idea if the sun rose and set and rose again, or
if their trip lasted just minutes.
 
All they could see was the burning light of the flames surrounding
them.
 
Adrien refused to let go of
her hand, the only real item left in his grasp.
 
They ran, expecting any moment for their potion to dry out
and their clothes and skin roast in the unbelievable heat.
 
But they kept running, breathing in the
smoke of the burning forest without damage like it was the finest mountain
air.
 
When they finally burst out of
the flames they had reached the banks of a river.
 
They tossed their possessions onto the shore and dived
immediately into the cold clear waters.
 

   
They tread water, watching
each other gasping for the sharp refreshing air.
 
Elenna’s hair was heavily damaged with the ends crisp and
black.
 
Only the roots near her
face that had been splashed when he had dumped on the potion were healthy,
though the remaining dye had dried up and could now be easily brushed off.
 

   
“We can rest for a short
time,” Adrien announced wearily.
 
He swum to the side of the river and climbed out to the side opposite the
flames.
 
His clothes were covered
with scorched marks and holes from the heat of the fire.
 
His boots were charred but still
serviceable.

   
“That potion worked,” Elenna
shook her head in disbelief as she climbed from the water.
 
Her clothes were scorched but her skin
undamaged, though her legs ached from the running.
 
Her first thoughts were about their luggage.
 
The bags had blackened from the heat,
but the contents inside had not been disturbed.

   
“Aye, thank the Lady,” He
collapsed on the riverbank.
 
She
joined him, resting her head on his shoulder.
 
He lay his arm around her, reveling in their success.

   
She leaned into his
chest.
 
“What now?” she asked.
 
He gently pulled himself out of her
embrace and rose again to a seated position.
 

“We
must go west,” he found his map stored safely in his pack and spread it out on
the ground between them.
 
“There is
a path through the woods we can use that will take us to the border of the
Forgotten Lands.”

“How
long till we get there?” Elenna asked.
 
“Time is…”

“A
great concern, I know,” he answered grimly.
 
“Are you ready to travel on?" After her reluctant
affirmative reply he rose to his feet, the effort apparent in his grimace.
 
She followed gamely, stretching her
overtaxed back and legs before setting out again.
 
Their frustrations rose as they wasted time searching the
densely vegetated forest floor, but finally they discovered the overgrown
remains of the path cutting through the woods.
 
They kept the fastest pace they could manage on the
abandoned overgrown trail.
 
They
kept their weapon hands ready in case not all of the monster troops had joined
in the battle behind them.
 
The
path expanded throughout their hours of ceaseless hiking, finally becoming a
road as they grew closer to the series of towns labeled on the map.
 
They were still in Roden, though this
section of the kingdom had always been sparsely populated.
 

They
passed through an abandoned village, moving quickly through its eerie silence.
 
They discussed settling in one of the
abandoned houses for the night, but this idea was quickly dismissed when they
visited one.
 
The kitchen was still
set for dinner; except for the thick layer of dust and neglect they would have
had the impression that the owner would return any moment upset by their
uninvited presence.
 
They camped in
the woods instead, taking turns at guard duty and catching as much sleep as
possible.

They
continued in a similar fashion for several days.
 
A couple of times each day, every time they were atop a
hill, Adrien would crane his neck to search the woods behind them for some kind
of sign of the besieged city.
 
On
the first day, the horizon was blocked by thick clouds of smoke rising from the
fires.
 
This began to dissipate by
the second day; now only a few thin columns rose into the air above the
trees.
  
Elenna knew what he
was thinking; the same ideas were in her head.
 
She said nothing about her fears and instead concentrated on
keeping up with the fast pace he set.
 
Every meal break was merely a short pause in their march; they stopped
at night only when they couldn’t ignore their exhaustion anymore, and they
started again as soon as they were physically able to force one foot in front
of the other.
 
They hoped they
would find horses still alive in one of the deserted barns, but they didn't
find any living creatures in any of the settlements they explored.
 
The woods themselves were empty of even
simple animal life.
 
Every day
their hopes fell further, but whether through remaining hope or sheer
stubbornness they continued.

Their
road had made a steady gain in elevation all of that morning; an added insult
to their aching legs.
 
Neither had
spoken for several hours; there was nothing important to say so no reason to
waste their breath.
 
Elenna was
trying to switch the positions of her backpack and other luggage bag while
maintaining her pace when she heard slight movement in the woods a few yards to
the left.
 
She halted and called
for Midiral.
 
As soon as he sensed
her change in mood to alertness,
 
Adrien called Aréal and crossed the road to her side.

He
followed her gaze into the woods.
 
The leaves rustled as something large pushed through the branches,
heading in the same direction they had been moving.
 
Whatever it was didn’t care about concealment; the ruckus
reminded Elenna of a tank in a war movie, crushing its way through the
woods.
 

Adrien
indicated for Elenna to fall behind him and as he slipped quietly into the
woods.
 
Whatever it was, he hoped
it would make a good meal for them.
 
Their rations were becoming alarmingly light.
 
He turned to approach from the front of the creature as she
slipped behind it for the hunt.
 
The creature either didn’t notice or didn’t care that they were in full
view and moving closer.
 
It kept
ambling at its slow pace, wandering to and fro, sometimes stopping to examine a
particularly interesting leaf or stone.
 
They both moved forward slowly to examine the creature with
interest.
 
It had the general shape
of a horse, though it was slightly more barrel-shaped in the chest.
 
Its tail was like a dog’s, though.
 
The creature would even wag it slightly
when it found a new curiosity in its examinations.
 
The hooves were wider then a horse’s, giving it a steady
footing on the forest ground.
 
It
turned its head to study Adrien.
 
Its eyes were bright blue and human.
 
As Adrien stumbled backwards in consternation, the oddity
studied him back with fearless curiosity.

“Hello,”
it said and turned to study a loose rock under its front right hoof.

Elenna
slipped around it at what she thought was a safe perimeter to join Adrien near
its head.
 
“Did I just hear that
thing say hello?” she muttered to him.
 
He assented with a nod.

“Hello,”
she offered hesitantly with Midiral still pointed blade up in her hands.
 
It regarded her with its inquisitive
expression.

“Hello,”
it said again.
 
It ambled a few
feet farther ahead to take a cautious nibble at some tufts of tall grass.
 
Elenna turned to her husband with an
expression torn between fascination and horror.
 
Evidently this wasn't anything he recognized either.
 
He still had Aréal raised out of
uncertainty more than a sense of danger from the odd creature.
 
She touched his arm in a gesture of
restraint.

She
whispered.
 
“Maybe we can talk with
it and learn something about the area.”
 
She tried.
 
She sent away
Midiral and stepped closer, holding out her hand in what she hoped was a
friendly gesture.
 
She tried
talking to it gently, but all of her ‘hellos' were returned in kind while any
other greetings were ignored.
 
She
bit her lip in frustration as Adrien drew her attention to the sinking
sun.
 
Then she tried a different
tack.
 
She tapped her chest as she
repeated her name.
 
It glanced her
way for the first time since they had met each other.
 
Excitedly she urged Adrien to follow her example.
 
The monster glanced at both, pawed the
ground, and said “Rufa”.
 
They
repeated this routine several times to be sure.

“Rufa!”
Elenna called its name as if she were calling a pet dog.
 
It turned her way again and waited for
her to continue.
 
“Friend?”

“Rufa
no friend,” it answered with regret and turned to walk away from the
scene.
 
She cursed softly and
followed.

“Elenna
friend!” she urged with a smile.
 
Rufa paused.
 
“Elenna
friend!” she repeated.
 
“Adrien!”
she whispered aside.
 
“Give me some
food to give to it!”

“We
must go on soon,” he reminded her as he handed her some bread.
 
Her tone of voice surprised him almost
as much as the sight of the beast.
 
She spoke to the large creature as if she were talking to a child
instead of an animal.
 
She crouched
down and stretched out a piece of the morsel in front of its watchful
eyes.
 
It glanced at her, snatched
the bread, and quickly drew back again.

“I
know.
 
But if we can make friends,
he can move us a lot faster than if we keep going on foot.”
 
She reached out to offer another corner
of bread.
 
“Though he sure isn’t
the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Rufa
examined her new offering, then took it gently from her fingers.
 
It gulped it down quickly, with enough
greediness for Elenna to recognize its hunger.
 
Adrien handed her more of their remaining stocks, hoping her
effort would soon pay off.
 
After a
few more hunks of bread, Rufa relaxed as if it just realized they had only good
intentions.
 
Soon enough it had
moved closer to the source of the food, close enough for Elenna to examine its
body more closely.
 
Now that she
was closer, the thick brownish hide looked less like fur.
 
She touched him gently, and realized
something surprising.
 

“Rufa,”
she said, standing back and raising her arms.
 
She waved them up and down.
 
“Rufa fly?”

Rufa
recoiled in terror at her movements.
 
“Rufa bad!
 
Rufa bad!”
 
it sobbed.
 
She shook her head vehemently.

“No!
 
Rufa good!
 
Rufa good!
 
Fly
good!” she soothed.
 
Adrien
listened but didn’t understand her growing excitement.
 

The
creature stopped and hung its head low.
 
“Rufa bad.
 
Rufa fly.
 
No friend.”

Elenna
stroked its neck softly.
 
“Rufa
good!
 
Elenna friend.
 
Adrien friend.”
 
She felt like she was talking to a slow
three year old, but it responded to her voice with something like
hopefulness.
 
Adrien still watched,
his puzzlement evident.
 
She
wondered why he didn’t understand.