The Orb of Wrath (The Merchant's Destiny Book 1) (21 page)

Meanwhile, the fight continued between Thost, Erion and the two ants. Thost received two more wounds in his left arm and felt it unresponsive. His arm went limp, helpless, and he couldn't hold the shield. This left him more vulnerable. Besides being skilled, the ants had military training and knew how to find their opponent's weaknesses. The knight, enraged, threw two punches on his opponent and managed to disable one of its arms. Similar to what had happened to him, its arm hung motionless from the ant's body and failed to continue holding the sword. But the arm that had carried the spear before, and was free since then, picked up the weapon with a sigh. It still had two arms and two weapons with which to fight. This was becoming a nightmare.

Erion tried again to throw a couple of attacks on his rival. But he failed to cause any damage and, once again, could barely avoid getting hit by its counterattacks. The young man saw how the situation in the rear was even more desperate. This could be the end of them all.

Although this wouldn't happen if Mithir could do something about it. The magician prepared a new spell and the entire space of the cave, separating them from the group of ants in the rear, was covered by a kind of glossy fat. The ants began to slip and three of them fell. They got up again with great difficulty, but in every step they took they had a great risk of falling. The monsters were moving slowly.

With the injuries he was suffering, Ithelas could barely stand. He had no choice but to use a healing spell, that although didn't make him recover completely, if did manage to significantly improve his appearance. Samar understood that they had to seize the opportunity. The ants coming from the back would reach them at any moment and that would be the end for them.

“Follow me!” she screamed at the magician and the cleric. “We should reload and try to overtake the front ants; and then try to escape.”

She said it loudly so Thost and Erion could hear as well. In one of the movements they had rehearsed, Samar asked the knight and the young man to get down. Although for a while this would leave them unprotected, the elf would have a clear line of fire. As she walked, Samar placed another chalked arrow in her bow and, as the knight crouched, fired almost point-blank at the monster. Samar had tightened the bow with all her strength and managed to penetrate the shell in the lower abdomen. The body of the monster was a bit narrower there and Samar rightly held that the shell would also be less thick there. Still, a shot with less tension, or made at a greater distance, would have failed to penetrate. The wound itself did not pose a deadly situation for the ant, but those arrows were special.

With a new gesture from the magician, they all saw, suddenly, the arrowhead increasing enormously in size. It should be about six fingers wide. Probably the steel tip would weigh more than a half arrobe. It was more like a catapult projectile, of those used in a siege, than a conventional soldier one. Moreover, as the projectile had suddenly expanded from inside the monster's body, it should have caused enormous damage. The ant fell to the ground dying, but not dead.

Thost started screaming angrily and then raced forward passing between the two ants. They all followed. The monster that had fallen on the floor no longer had a chance to cause more problems. Its companion, however, was throwing punches and slashes in the air, on both sides, as it perceived that its enemies passed within its range. In the process, Ithelas and Erion received two wounds in the shoulder and abdomen respectively, but nothing that was severe enough so they could not keep running.

Finally, the group had managed to overcome their enemies and leave them behind. They ran with determination and anguish through the cavern that was beginning to ascend again. They prayed not to find more enemies in front, because the group was too battered to be able to survive something like that. Noises in the background, behind them, seemed to indicate that they were still pursuing them.

They ran and ran for a while. The violent rise in those dark and warm tunnels was leaving them breathless. They realized that the tunnel's structure changed again. It was wide again, but now the rock was uniform. They no longer saw the openings on the walls they had found in the cave inhabited by the monstrous ants.

They continued running with renewed resolve. Samar saw a slight flare at the bottom. The total darkness began to yield to become soft lighting. At the end of the cave they managed to see an opening where daylight came in. They were at the limit of their endurance but they had little to go; fifty steps later they had reached the exit.

The opening of the cave was to the side of a cliff over the valley, about ten or twelve steps high. They had to descend carefully, although the trek was short. Finally, they reached the valley. No trace of their pursuers could be seen. They were safe. Or so they hoped.

*******

Ro'khar was preparing his morning tea when someone knocked on the door of the warehouse. He went to see who it was. On opening the door he saw a carrier that delivered him a note, pointing to three carts that were located outside the door. Ro'khar couldn't believe his eyes. Another delivery! The three carts were loaded to the brim with merchandise. The young man did not know what he was going to do with all that. The warehouse was packed with goods.

Ro'khar ran a warehouse that was located just outside Gabolake at the Golsou Mark. He had recently had a lot of work. The warehouse was a part of the infrastructure of the company of his boss, who made weapons and armor. For some reason, during the last month, an enormous amount of product had entered; three or four times more than usual. However, the rate of output had not changed, so that the warehouse had quickly filled.

Ro'khar had made several changes in the organization of the shelves and had managed to optimize space but, at this point, he had run out of ideas. There was no space left. Well, he still had his small office. If he cleared his table, he could store more goods there. He opened the gate and instructed the carrier where to unload. The assistants who worked with him had not yet arrived. In theory, the warehouse opened a half hour later, so he'd have to wait for them to be able to store everything.

Earlier that week, Ro'khar's boss had visited the premises. The young man had used the visit to ask what was happening, but he hadn't gotten a clear answer. His boss urged him not to worry, that he knew what he was doing. Somewhat later he managed to pry some vague comments about a looming conflict that would completely change the structure of the weapons market, and that they'd be ready to benefit from this.

Ro'khar, who was really neat, punctual and organized, had enjoyed his work since he had been selected to lead that warehouse almost two years before. He really hoped that his boss was right, because he'd hate if the company would have problems. He'd hate to lose his job.

CHAPTER 4: THE VALLEY

They entered the valley, which ran as a relatively narrow gorge, guarded on both sides by steep slopes hundreds of steps high. It would have been very difficult and certainly dangerous to access the valley by the flanks given the rough terrain. A brief winding stream ran through the middle of the depression.

The terrain and late hour assured that the hollow was already in shadow. It was a narrow valley, quite cold, almost creepy. In any case, the temperature, even in the valley, was much higher than in Bor at that time of the year, although it was clearly lower here than all they had felt since they came to that island. The land was not totally barren but the vegetation was much more limited than they had seen in the surrounding territories.  The trees stood alone or in small groups, and most of the land was covered with ugly bushes. The scene showed a huge contrast with the exuberance, the lush and vibrant colors of the jungle that, according to what Samar had seen, occupied almost the entire island. It was as if life, or a good part of it, had been on the verge of that damn place.

At the bottom of the valley, crowning a huge bluff, was the castle where they were headed. It was very large and even at this distance of nearly half a league, they could distinguish it perfectly. The cliff was almost a totally vertical slope. The castle was situated at a considerable height above the valley. They would have to get much closer to see what would be the best way to access it.

They walked for a while in the bushes and trees scattered on the ground and when they had walked away a reasonable distance from the cave, they entered a more dense tree formation and stopped. The group's situation was nothing short of pitiful. Thost, Ithelas and Erion had multiple injuries, and some were serious. The magician and the cleric had almost exhausted their magic, having used most of the spells that were available on that day. Samar had had to use two of the six special arrows Mithir had made for her. They had no water and, at this point, they had almost finished their scarce food supply as well.

Ithelas began checking the injured one by one. He completed the basic cures, but some of the wounds were too significant. He consumed almost all his remaining spells in making correct magic cures and cured most but not all of the wounds. Then he made one last spell and a rock on the floor began to sprout water. He asked everyone to drink as much as they could and then they all filled their canteens. Shortly after, the outbreak of water stopped.

Erion distributed some corn bread with a piece of dried meat and they all ate hungrily. It was not more than a snack, but they couldn't risk to go hunting or make a fire in that damn place at that moment. Stealth was one of the few advantages they had. Although the food was very light, they all found it comforting. The evening was well advanced but they still had a couple of hours of light.

Thost's chain mail was broken in two places and his left shoulder and part of his side were no longer protected. Ithelas explained that he could do something to fix it in the morning with his magic but, for now, he'd have to wait. Magicians and clerics replenished their magical energy with resting at night, and what they could do throughout the day was always limited to their experience and power.

After re-arming themselves as best they could, they set off again. This time Samar was ahead, leading the way through the valley. Although they walked slowly and with caution, it took them less than an hour to reach the ridge of the castle. Seen from up close it was even more impressive. It was about forty or fifty steps high. The elevation was pure rock with hardly any vegetation or other ground. The slope was vertical and in a number of areas the rock was completely smooth, without protrusions or irregularities.

Erion asked them to wait there, hidden in the bushes, and went to have a look at the terrain. He tried to use his amulet again, but this time the magic did not work. The young man understood that the reason was that he had already used it earlier in the day and would have to wait until tomorrow to regenerate its magic. Erion walked stealthy and returned a while later on the opposite side of the promontory. He had walked all the way around.

The young man explained to the group that the ridge, which was located in the center of the valley, was equally steep all around, with almost perpendicular slopes. In addition, the entire upper half of the mountain had a very smooth rock which would be almost impossible to climb. The height of the promontory was similar all around and had no less than forty steps at any point.

Near the front of the castle there was a much narrower cliff. It was about fifteen or twenty steps from the cliff of the fortress. A double drawbridge was leaning on him to form a channel entry from outside the valley. One section of the bridge was driven from the castle; the other from the edge of the valley. They both descended from its position to lean on the rock. Erion said that there was a garrison of soldiers at the end of the valley guarding the first drawbridge. They should be about ten, at least. The young man was convinced that another guard had to protect the other drawbridge from the castle but couldn't verify it.

In short, it would be almost impossible and probably suicidal to attempt to enter through the front door. On the other hand, it was almost impossible to climb the elevation, given the height, but above all, the impregnable smooth wall on top.

“Perhaps we could tie two ropes together, to have a sufficient length and then throw the hook hoping it fixes on a rock on top of the cliff, near the base of the fortress,” proposed Ithelas.

“I had already thought of it. But the height is such that not even Thost, empowered with your magic, could get the hook of more than a half arrobe of weight at that height,” said Erion.

“It's true,” confirmed the knight. “It is too high to try.”

“What if we shoot the hook with a bow or crossbow?” Mithir said.

“It's too far away. Not even with an arched heavy crossbow we could reach such a height,” Samar said.

The group was thoughtful for a moment. They were running out of ideas.

“Erion, do you think you could transform into a dove and fly the hook to the top of the cliff?” asked the knight.

“I don't think so. First, I don't have any transformations left today, so we'd have to wait until tomorrow. And more importantly, I doubt that a dove would have enough strength to fly with all that weight. I could try, but I think it's almost impossible that I could make it,” said the young man.

They stopped again to think for a while about other options. Those who had built the castle in that place knew what they were doing. It was virtually impregnable.

“I have the solution. I'll take the hook up and fix it in place. Then you will be able to climb using the rope. But I can only do it tomorrow,” Mithir said with gestures.

“Wow! And how are you going to do that?” Thost asked, surprised. “No. Don't tell me. Surprise me.”

“I think we've exhausted all the other options. This means we have to spend the night in the valley,” said the elf.

Erion led the way this time, as they retraced their steps in silence. They didn't go far; basically to the first formation of trees they could find. They weren't many, but enough to safeguard them from prying eyes. When they reached the center of the clump of trees, they began to improvise a small camp. Thost demanded they didn't make a fire. They would become visible from a great distance. The lack of fire would leave them more exposed to possible nocturnal beasts that dwell in the valley, so they agreed that that night they would perform double guards; two lookouts overnight.

Before they set up camp, they discussed for a long time if that was the right place or whether they should move away from the castle more. In the end they felt that this place was as good as any. The whole valley was accessible to the vampire, with a short flight. And, perhaps, it was most likely to go unnoticed camping almost at the foot of the castle; it was certainly much bolder.

They rolled out their sleeping bags in a small circle, and then sat down to eat. They had very little food, and at that dinner they consumed everything they had left. At least they still had water. In addition, the cleric explained that he could supply them with more water the next day.

Samar separated from the rest of the group, promising not to go beyond fifty steps. It was night and the elf thought that she wouldn't be as visible hunting at that time, than if she tried it in the morning. She returned an hour later with two small squirrels. They couldn't make a fire, so they kept them for the next day.

They went to sleep. During the night they heard several animals such as parrots and similar birds and other sounds that they couldn't recognize. Fortunately, no beast bothered them that night. They were much more concerned about the vampire who lived so close. Nighttime was its greatest strength and, therefore, the group's weakness. If the vampire, or his henchmen, found out they were there, they would have no chance. For the same reason everyone agreed that it was more reasonable to wait for the arrival of daytime for the assault.

Nobody could sleep well that night. They all anxiously awaited the arrival of the morning. When they perceived the dawn peeking behind the hills surrounding the valley, they were relieved; but their peace wouldn't last long. That day they'd have to perform the most dangerous task of his adventure.

It had been four nights since their meeting with Phoroz. The deadline their client had given them required them to be back and deliver the box before midnight of that day. Fortunately, they had the scroll that would open a portal that would take them back. In any case, they had only that day to complete their mission.

After the rough night, everyone was a bit tired in the morning, but pleased to have survived without other incidents. They collected their things and left everything perfectly packed with their backpacks. After some discussion, they decided to leave their equipment there, ready to be easily collected. They all carried the objects they believed were absolutely indispensable: weapons, potions, scrolls, armor, shields, amulets and other useful or valuable objects. They also carried a good size empty bag on their backs, so they could save what they find of value.

As promised, Ithelas used magic to repair his father's chain mail with a couple of spells. Mithir handed Erion his dagger to replace the one he lost in the cave. Erion did not want to take it because it was almost the only weapon the magician had, but his brother told him that, however, he couldn't do much with it.

They discussed the strategy and, after a while, agreed where and when they'd try to open the portal to escape and what steps they'd follow once inside the castle. Then the magician and the cleric cast protection spells. Mithir repeated his magic armor spell, which he had used the day before. Ithelas recast his ogre power spell on his father, and Thost thanked him sincerely.

So they made their way to the base of the cliff, and didn't take long to get there.  Erion used his amulet and ascended to flight over the valley, while the rest of the group waited hidden behind some bushes. The young man returned after a while and after settling in the bushes, regained his usual form. Erion shared with the others what he had learned and then they moved thirty steps to the right to wait glued to the walls of the cliff.

Erion took his rope and his brother's and joined them with a knot. Each rope had a length of twenty steps. They also decided to attach a third rope, because they weren't completely sure that two would be enough. They set the hook to the free end of the first rope and handed it over to the magician.

“Well, now it's your turn, Mithir. Surprise us,” said the knight.

“Mithir placed the hook and a couple of turns of rope around his back through the side of his neck and below his shoulder on the opposite side. Then he began to cast a spell that he hadn't used in a while. When he finished, the cleric could not suppress a small laugh.”

“Interesting” Ithelas said. “An excellent solution, Mithir. Good luck.”

Mithir began climbing up the wall with his bare hands. Whenever he wanted to move, he simply supported the palm of his open hand on the rock, and then the tip of the corresponding foot. He was going up very easily. He occasionally stopped to take a breath, but it seemed like he was adhering to the wall. It was as if a spider was climbing up the rocks. Not even when he reached the top half of the ridge, where the structure was much smoother, he had difficulty. Actually, he went up that part even faster than he did at the bottom. By not having to dodge any ledge, his ascend was perfectly vertical, without deviating even once.