Chapter Forty-eight
“Grogan must find a way to close that gate. The mountain Trolls alone cannot harm us badly if they cannot enter the city,” Baladar said to Filaree after she informed him of how close the marauding army was, based upon Parsifal’s recent observations.
“They ride hard and fast, Lord Baladar, and they are more directed and smarter than those of their race we have recently contended with. My people know them only too well. Their country is an efficiently organized one. They are properly trained and well armed. Toth has been independent for many hundreds of tiels. Its allegiance to Colton has always been known, but the Trolls of the mountains were always content to live separate and apart, and not to confront or challenge their neighbors. At least until now,” Thembak the woodsman said. “They are fearsome fighters. They also do not give up easily,” he continued.
“There is not much that the craftsmen can do in so short a time. The balance of the gate is essential to its movement. Its strength lies in its symmetry, and if that is not corrected, the seals will not set properly,” Elion remarked, knowing more about Elfin workmanship than anyone else on the council.
“Is it impossible then to fix it before we are attacked once again?” Thembak asked stern-faced.
Head bowed, “I am afraid so, woodsman,” Elion answered.
“We must do our best then to fortify the courtyard, and to make certain that the breach in our defense does not become a fatal one,” Baladar commented.
“I shall see to it with your permission, Lord. My knowledge of this enemy is more intimate than that of any other here in the city. I can help design our defense, if you will allow me too,” Thembak said.
“I would be most grateful, master Thembak, thank you,” Baladar responded.
The woodsman saluted and rushed out to begin his preparations.
“Sir Parsifal? How much time have we?” Baladar inquired.
Stepping forward, the knight bowed to the Lord of Pardatha before speaking in his deep, throaty voice,
“They travel on foot, but they move quickly. We overtook them on our journey here. In order for us to arrive in time to warn you, we had to avoid them by traveling eastward and then south. They were moving at a good pace directly toward the city. They should be here within two hours now, I suspect,” he reasoned.
“Our soldiers are weary and theirs are fresh. It will not be an easy fight with the gates askew. We have come away victorious from the last battle, thanks to Robyn dar Tamarand and our valiant friends. But, he lies asleep now and he is exhausted with his energy totally spent. He will not be rejuvenated for quite a while, and we cannot look to him for help this time. I hesitate to ask more of you and the Lady Filaree,” he said to Elion. “Let us all to our tasks, and may we each find the inner fortitude with which to continue. We will meet on the battlements when the horns sound the mountain Trolls’ approach,” Baladar said, and they all dispersed, each attending to his or her own preparations.
Chapter Forty-nine
Colton watched from the top of the hill as the travelers walked down to the gorge. He laughed to himself, knowing what they were about to encounter.
The older one seems quite worried. With a Moulant for company, he should be safe enough if he stays in the hills. Well, good riddance to them all. They will never reach their destination now anyway, even with the big cat to protect them. The Troll army will have them all for an appetizer, those unsuspecting fools.
He remembered that he had seen at least one other besides the teacher. It was a Dwarf, he assumed by the looks of him, although he was quite tall for the race. He wanted the satisfaction of watching the advent of the Trolls’ attack upon the city before he left, and as he looked out upon the plain below, he thought he saw another person accompanying them as well.
The Dark Lord, tired as he was, focused his vision upon the light haired youth and wondered why he had not noticed him before. He sent out a pulse of probing energy, hoping that they were not already too far away for him to successfully discover anything, and just before it reached the one he had not seen before, the accursed scholar stepped in front of him, shielding him from Colton’s scrutiny. A rush of information flooded his mind and he realized that this was not just an ordinary group of travelers. He learned nothing about the one young man, but he learned much about the purpose of the scholar’s visit to Pardatha.
So, he was summoned to train the heir! What a pity he will not get the chance to fulfill his chosen obligations. Let the Trolls have him. There is some justice after all.
He had been so preoccupied when they had encountered him in the hills before, that he barely paid attention to them. Now, he felt that perhaps he had missed an opportunity to learn more about the boy he sought so desperately to capture. He watched them walk further into the trap, revealing himself only slightly as they moved forth. His abilities were impaired by the previous day’s trying events, and he could still not clearly see the face of the young blonde haired boy, but something about him was familiar, though every time he tried to scrutinize him closely, his vision was oddly obstructed.
Colton was weary and ready to return to Sedahar by this time, and he was not overly concerned with these misguided wanderers. He watched only as long as it took for the evidence of the mountain Trolls’ presence to manifest itself to the small group, and for them to realize the fatal circumstances into which they had stumbled. Grinning to himself, he observed as the older man grabbed the hands of his little followers and, like a helpless mother trying to protect her children from an attacking pack of wolves, started to run for a shelter that he would never reach.
Ah, the irony of it all
, he thought and laughed out loud.
They will not live out the hour. That will mean one less chance for the heir, and one more chance for me. And now this day is beginning to bore me.
He turned and walked back up the mountain path, without giving these innocent and doomed pilgrims another thought.
Chapter Fifty
Tomas was the first to step upon the parched earth of the gorge, having descended from the foothills before the rest of his group. Preston ran to catch up with him, and he yelled with excitement all the way.
“Tomas! Wait for me! Can you see the city?”
He had never been to Pardatha, though his home was not far from it, but he had heard about it his entire life. The Dwarf was as enthralled as he had ever been, finally stumbling upon the adventure he so yearned for. Cairn and Calyx stepped from behind the final escarpment, having cautiously brought up the rear, happy to have allowed some distance to be created between the two boys and the old man they left behind. When Preston finally did reach Tomas’ side, he discovered him standing perfectly still with his eyes focused on the edge of the great forest that bordered the city to the north east. He appeared to be mesmerized, motionless and silent. Cairn and Calyx joined them, relieved to be so close to their destination at last.
The city loomed in the distance with its walls broad and imposing. They could see the towers of the castle and the surrounding buildings beyond. Cairn could vaguely make out the circle of great stones that comprised the Temple Mount high on a hill near the majestic rise of the Thorndar’s peaks. The plains before the gates were conspicuously empty and there was almost no activity outside the walls, which was not how Cairn remembered this engrossing place. He had been to Pardatha before, many years ago, but he vividly recalled being amazed by the tumult that went on within the city and beyond the gates as well.
Before he could finish his thought, he was struck by a delicious fragrance wafting across the ancient river bed, the identical odor he noticed previously as they traveled down the mountain pass. He could see that the Pardathans had cultivated a new area of dense greenery at the edge of the gorge, remembering clearly how barren it had been when he was last there. The youth of the city used to play sports on the broad flats of the ravine, and he recalled how open and spacious the expanse previously was.
Calyx had his snout in the air once again, trying to distinguish between the many and varied odors that blew his way, and something was still bothering the big Moulant. Cairn stroked his immense back, trying to settle him down. He had been on edge ever since they encountered the strange man in the hills, and Cairn imagined he was still unsettled by that. They overtook Preston who was standing next to Tomas, and Cairn was about to point to Pardatha and mention his concerns, when Tomas turned to him with a fearful look in his eyes, so uncharacteristic of the boy. Cairn was immediately struck by the young man’s distress, as he had so far been incredibly calm in the face of every adversity they had encountered since the day they had met, and now he was obviously greatly agitated.
“What do you see, Tomas?” Cairn asked shouted, looking toward the woods that the boy was focusing his gaze upon.
Preston also grew uneasy, as he had been standing with Tomas up until the others arrived, and the blonde haired boy had not spoken or stopped scrutinizing the far horizon since he had caught up to him.
“He has been acting this way as long as he has been standing here. As soon as we stepped foot upon this ground, he stopped speaking,” Preston reiterated, alarmed.
Cairn had become accustomed to the strange boy’s behavior, but he had yet to see fear disturb his ever calm demeanor.
“We must get into the city as fast as we can! One battle had already ended, but another will begin shortly. We are not safe here!” he said, still motionless.
The fur on Calyx’s back began to shimmer and shift rapidly from color to color, and the Moulant growled deeply, his eyes focused upon the trees beyond the hills to the northeast. Cairn looked as closely as he could and he thought he saw a line of dust rising on the crest beyond.
“It is too late!” Tomas whispered, his arms hanging limp by his side.
“What did you say?” Cairn asked him, not believing that he heard what he thought he did. “Too late for what?” he pressed.
“The Troll army is attacking now. We do not have time to reach the gates. And one gate is still open, while the other, though closed, is charred and damaged. It must have been a terrible clash and a fierce foe who could have damaged the Noban gates,” Tomas answered, staring now toward the opening to the city. His usual calm demeanor had returned, though the news he disseminated was far from comforting. “Colton left his fearsome mark before he retreated, and despite his loss, he still manipulates the game,” the boy mused, seemingly to himself.
He appeared once more to be deep in thought, speaking as if no others were present.
“Let us go back into the shelter of the hills then,” Cairn said with urgency in his voice, as he went to take Preston’s arm.
“We cannot. Our way is blocked,” Tomas replied, raising his arm without even looking and pointing toward the shadow of a horse and rider emerging from the pass at the top of the incline.
“We cannot stay here, Tomas. We must run or we’ll be trampled, at best,” Cairn encouraged. .
“It will do us no good to run, Cairn,” the boy said casually now, having surmounted whatever initial fear he may have experienced and now reconciled to their fate as he saw it.
“I will not stand here and let us be overcome. If the gate is still open, we should try to reach it,” Cairn said, pressing them to hurry, unwilling to just give up and be slaughtered after coming all this way.
They could feel the ground trembling as the huge army surged forward, out from the shelter of the trees and down the slope onto the plains. The bells in the city were sounding the attack and the horns were blowing the assembly. The noise was deafening as the mountain Trolls stampeded with their axes raised high in the air and yelling in their undulating tongue. They could not yet have seen the small group of travelers, but they were directly in the path of the onslaught and there was nothing they could do to escape it.
With a speed that defied belief, Calyx rose upon his hind legs and raised his mouth to the sky. A roar escaped from his throat that echoed across the valley, bouncing off of the rocks and hills all around. It was the plea of aid that he issued, the call for help that indicated the direst of circumstances; the signal that a Moulant or its charge was in grave danger. Calyx repeated the sound once again as Cairn gathered Tomas and Preston together, preparing to make a run for the city. By the looks of the situation, he did not believe that help could arrive soon enough to aid any of them now.
Cairn hurriedly glanced at the hill behind them and as he dreaded, he saw the silhouette of a man and horse, standing and looking in their direction. Something in the old man’s eyes seemed to reflect the light of the midday sun, and he thought he saw a red flare burst in their direction as he moved to urge the others on. Cairn felt a wave of nausea overtake him. He felt as if something vile and inhuman had hit him in the back, and he stumbled momentarily before regaining his balance. A terrible taste was in his mouth and he spit on the parched soil in order to rid himself of it. His entire body was tingling. He felt vulnerable and violated for just an instant, but he had no time to focus upon it, and he compelled himself forward despite the stultifying sensations.
He grabbed the hands of the two boys and ran with them as fast as he could toward the one open gate, pulling them behind him. He had not the time to see if Calyx followed too, but he had to let the Moulant do what he felt was best under the circumstances. They could all see the front lines of the Troll army maddeningly rushing toward them, and it was clear to them all that they were not going to make it. They would be cut off long before they could possibly reach the safety of the city.
Their legs were tired and their mouths were dry, but they kept running at full speed. Cairn saw a small group of the enemy detach itself from the main contingent and turn in their direction. He could see their sparkling eyes by now, as the distance between them was closing rapidly. The screams of the bloodthirsty Trolls were deafening, and he could smell their hot breath. The stench was overpowering. A few more moments and the enemy would be upon them. He ran to the right, turning away from the city and trying desperately to gain some more time, when he felt Preston’s hand pull away from his own.
The young Dwarf fell to the ground having caught his foot on an exposed tree root. Tomas and Cairn stopped running and went to assist Preston whose ankle had been twisted by the protuberance. They could not leave the boy there, and they both knew that there was no longer any chance of escape, so they turned and faced their destiny. Cairn stood in front of Tomas and Preston, hands raised to either side, weaponless save for a small dagger, as the fearsome Troll charged, its black face looming through the smog.
“Run, Tomas! Run! Save yourself. I will protect Preston,” he screamed, but the boy did not move.
Cairn raised his knife in defense of the two young men, when suddenly the dust rose in great gusts all around them, blinding them, burning their eyes and causing them to choke uncontrollably. He heard the sound of an axe slashing the air, and instantly he felt the blade skim his arm. Pain shot through him and he sensed something warm running down his limb. He lashed out with his knife, striking soft flesh, and he heard a guttural yelp.
In the murky light of the dust ridden air, Cairn thought he must be hallucinating as he saw Tomas rise into the heavens, glimpsing his boots dangling briefly over his head before he disappeared completely into the cloud of sand and debris that swirled all around them. Preston too lifted off of the ground before his eyes almost at the same moment, and then vanished into the obscurity of the swirling sky. The dirt was violently churning everywhere, whipping his clothing forcefully and causing his eyes to bite and sting incessantly.
He could hear the sounds of pounding feet encircling him, and from every direction now he felt the hot breath and smelled the stench of the rampaging Trolls. A weapon grazed his side and he cringed in pain, striking out widely in all directions with his small hunting knife, trying valiantly to keep the enemies at bay, but not knowing even from whence they came. He heard Calyx’s fearful roar somewhere in the distance, but he could not tell how close or far away he was. Warm, black blood splattered his face and he heard the frenzied yelps of the enemy as it lashed out at him through the obscurity of the clouded air. It was hard for him to focus upon his own peril, he was so distraught and worried at the absence of his friends.
Pain pierced him just behind his neck. His shoulders were pinched by something strong and sharp, trying to pull him upward. Cairn fought against it in vain, struggling to free himself from his attacker, believing that the end was finally upon him. He was unable to strike at this new enemy effectively, as his body was being pulled headfirst into the heavens. Dangling helpless and at the mercy of his captor, Cairn desperately tried to see clearly through the obscured and turbid air, but to no avail. His eyes were irritated and filled with tears and he was exhausted from his efforts, when in one split second, the sky cleared abruptly in a rush of fresh wind.
In front of him perhaps thirty feet away, he saw both Tomas and Preston suspended from the talons of two huge Selgays, whose wings beat heavily and thereby raised a blinding cover of spiraling dust in a path directly toward the city. He could see the dense feathers of the great bird-like beasts above himself as well, and on the ground below he saw a black sea of Trolls swarming toward the gates of Pardatha with their weapons drawn.
From this vantage point, he was able to watch as the massive flying mammals swooped over the walls of Pardatha and landed in the courtyard behind the battlements, depositing their passengers safely on the paved stones of the city with the gentle grace of protective mothers. The two beasts squawked loudly and then immediately ascended precariously into the sky after relieving themselves of their quarry, and then they turned toward the approaching enemy. They hesitated for a moment, hanging in the air circumspectly, and then they dove with an astonishing speed at the front lines of the attackers, shrieking in a terrifying manner as they plummeted through the sky. They looked like mighty, grey missiles streaking determinedly toward their targets.
Cairn felt his feet hit the ground and he tumbled once before righting himself. Tomas and Preston were already surrounded by townsfolk who had rushed to their aid by the time Cairn arrived at their sides. They looked upon one another in disbelief coupled with relief, and Preston limped immediately to Cairn’s side to try and assess the severity of his friend’s wounds. Cairn was covered in blood from the multiple gashes on his body, but he assured the other two that the wounds looked worse than they actually were and that he was fine. He was so grateful to be safely within the walls of the city and to be alive still that however severe his injures may have been, he knew that he could deal with them later.
Tomas lifted his head to peer over the masses of people encircling him at the one gate that remained open. He moved toward it, pushing through the lines of defenders until he stood directly behind the first row of them. Cairn and Preston were only a few feet behind him and the lines of soldiers, all of whom were armed and facing the open gate, standing in a u-shaped line of defense, with their shields forming a solid blockade against the impending onslaught. Tomas broke through the bulwark and stood there solitary and exposed, staring first at the broken gate and then out into the gorge below. Cairn assisted Preston as he walked, his arm under the Dwarfs own, and then he joined Tomas. Everyone else watched them, not knowing what the mysterious threesome who had arrived so precipitously among them, was about to do.
Baladar and Filaree had rushed down from the battlements when the Selgays swooped in carrying these three visitors, and they too made their way into the clearing between the row of shielded soldiers and the awry gate. Baladar greeted Cairn of Thermaye warmly, and looked with confused wonder upon the blonde haired youth before him. Filaree stood beside them all, uncomfortable with their vulnerability and eager to maneuver them behind the defenses.