The Veredor Chronicles: Book 03 - The Gate and Beyond (8 page)

That evening they built a fire beside a crystal clear stream. The company sat around the fire and the aroma of Mostyn’s pipe filled the air.

‘Ah, Tobacco from Iarthar; nothing quite like it in all of Veredor,’ said Mostyn as he scratched his black shaggy beard.

Red was busy cooking them a delicious smelling stew over the fire.

‘Tomorrow we will enter the western forests of Irvaria,’ said Meara. ‘I expect the journey to the Great Mountains to take another two days. I hope you remember the way to the Star King’s cave.’

‘Indeed I do,’ said Mostyn. ‘The Fire Order has long kept a watch on the Star King. He was once our enemy in an age long gone. Long ago the Star King built a castle high in the Great Mountains. At the time he hoped to construct a machine to help him travel across the stars, and because the sprites are a crafty race he employed them to complete the task. Later, when it became apparent that they could not achieve his request, he grew angry and went to war with the mountain sprites. The Star King destroyed many of the remote mountain sprite sanctuaries.’

‘Yes, I know the story,’ said Meara. ‘The mountain sprites suffered many losses in the war.’

‘If it wasn’t for the Fire Order there would be no mountain sprites left. We saw what the Star King was doing, and we set out to stop him. Since those days the mountain sprites have been our friends; although they typically avoid the world of men. In recent times their numbers have greatly diminished. There are none remaining in the Old Guardian Mountains, and few sprites remain in the Great Mountains.’

They slept well beside the stream and the soft sound of flowing water soothed their minds. A little after sunrise the company set out again and made a blistering pace into the west. By midmorning they had entered the western forests. The tall trees of the forest provided a thick canopy that kept much of the light from the forest floor. All about them were moss covered stones and ferns. Toward the end of the day Meara took them from the main road along a track the wound on through the forest. They persevered throughout the day.

As the sun set they made a camp on top of a grassy hill where few trees grew. The base of the hill was surrounded by forest. Red and Stella set about building a small campfire and the company rested again after a hard day of riding. Later in the evening Eben lay back on the grass and looked up at the stars high above. His thoughts had been focused on Apherah since the company left Faircastle.

‘I sense the presence of something dangerous,’ said Mostyn, breaking the calm silence of the later evening. Eben instantly sat up.

‘What is it?’ Eben looked to the edges of the campsite.

Meara stood up and looked to the east. ‘Yes, I feel it,’ she said. ‘Quick, prepare yourselves.’

Mostyn closed his eyes and concentrated. ‘If I had the skills of Baftel I would be able to clearly see.’ Eben jumped up onto his unicorn.

‘Horses,’ said Quade. ‘Can you hear them galloping in the distance?’

‘Yes,’ said King Ignis as he drew his sword. Duke Egil also drew his broadsword, and the Desert Knights stood up.

‘They are not horses,’ said Mostyn.

As he spoke they could see dark shapes and flickering flames approaching through the trees below the hill and lighting up the forest with a red and orange glow. Quade loaded his crossbow as Red and Stella drew their swords.

‘Stone Horsemen!’ cried Mostyn.

Then they were in sight. Six mighty horses, which appeared to be made completely of a dark stone, appeared at the base of the hill. Atop each horse rode a stone rider. They all carried mighty flaming battle axes that lit up the surrounding forest. Flames burst from the eyes of the riders. A howling moan bellowed up the hillside as the Stone Horseman charged at the company. The riders lifted their flaming axes. Quade fired his crossbow as Meara and Cassiel stepped forward.

‘Be gone!’ cried Meara as she raised her hands. Swirling columns of blue flame burst through the night at the fast approaching riders. Five of the Stone Horseman managed to dodge the flames, but one fell; the stone horse and rider instantly disintegrated into ashes and sparks.

Eben charged forward at the five remaining Stone Horsemen. He drew the Sword of Light and in moments was among them. He cut out at one of the riders. The stone rider exploded into ash and fire. Eben then turned on another. Orange flames burst from the mouth of the stone horse, but the unicorn’s speed was unmatched. The mighty steed avoided the flames and brought Eben up beside another rider. Again he hewed down. The horseman raised its battle axe and parried. Sparks blasted out from the clash of steel. The stone rider then struck back. Eben whirled around, deflected the incoming axe, and thrust the Sword of Light forward. Instantly the rider burst into flames and ash; the stone horse and rider disintegrated. The three remaining Stone Horsemen then entered the campsite.

Fire blasted from the snarling mouths of the horses. Stella raised her shield and was knocked over by a heavy impact. Meanwhile King Ignis charged directly forward and boldly swung his sword up at a Stone Horseman. The rider exploded, and the King was thrown back several yards by the shockwave of fire and sparks. The two remaining Stone Horsemen then turned and charged from the campsite. Eben gave chase through the woods.

The pace was incredible. The trees flickered by as a trail of sparks was left by the stone horses. The horsemen split apart and turned in different directions. The unicorn chased after one, lighting up the forest with pure white light. The stone rider howled in fear, the sound was more like the roar of a bear than any sound a man could make. Eben hewed down and the stone creature disintegrated into ash, flame, and a trail of sparks. He then halted the unicorn and looked through the darkened woods for the other Stone Horseman, but the rider was gone from sight.

The whole company was still on guard and watching for the remaining Stone Horseman to return, but the evil creature had fled in fear of Eben and the unicorn.

‘I destroyed one of them, but the other escaped,’ said Eben as he returned to the camp.

‘The Prince of Shadows sent these Stone Horsemen,’ said Mostyn. ‘I think he has underestimated us.’

‘I doubt it. He knows our capabilities,’ said Meara sternly. ‘It is more likely that this was a warning. He wants us to know that we are not beyond his reach. Most of all he wants us to be afraid.’

‘We are not afraid of his monsters,’ said King Ignis.

‘Stone Horsemen served the Prince of Shadows in the Forgotten Age,’ said Mostyn. ‘They have not been seen in Veredor for thousands of years.’

‘Muckrons, draugs, wyverns, and Stone Horsemen; none of them scare me,’ said Duke Egil. ‘We have proven we can defeat all of these creatures of darkness, but the dragon that guards the tower where Princess Apherah is being held. I don’t know how we will match such a creature.’

‘Yes, the dragon may prove to be our greatest challenge,’ said Meara soberly. ‘Perhaps the dragon is even more powerful than the Prince of Shadows himself. Dragons are very rare; they are creatures that have endured in the cosmos since the dawn of time. Most of them are good natured, but the one that serves the Prince of Shadows is a beast with power far beyond any other creature in Veredor. It has a heart darker than the darkest night. We must destroy it.’

CHAPTER TEN

As the sun rose the company rode on through the forest. The land about became progressively hillier. They rode on and kept a great pace, and gradually the forest began to thin. They could see the mountains in the west. The Great Mountains were clearly the tallest and most imposing range that Eben had ever seen. Their snow-capped jagged peaks rose high into the clouds above.

‘The Great Mountains; long have they stood as the boundary to the Far Western Lands of Veredor. They are home to many mysterious and reclusive creatures,’ said Meara, her bright eyes staring with wonder at the mountains above.

Mostyn led them onward through the last part of the forest. They then entered the rocky foothills of the Great Mountains. Before long the track completely disappeared; although Mostyn seemed to know where he was going. They came upon what looked to be an old worn track that wound its way onward across the rocky hills toward the towering mountains.

‘Yes, here it is: the Path of Saidrin,’ said Mostyn. He raised his eyes and looked at the mountains above. ‘Many brave people have died trying to take this way across the mountains. In winter it is impassable; even in summer the way is treacherous. Few who attempt this pass ever make it across the mountains. Luckily we are not trying to cross the mountains. Our path will lead us south on a lesser known mountain track the crosses the Path of Saidrin. The way we will take has no name as it is only known to the mountain sprites, the Fire Order, and the Star King. The path will lead us onward to the cave.’

They persevered, but the going was slow as the path took them ever upward, traversing high ridges and deep valleys. Often they found themselves walking close to the edge of cliffs that descended into deep and dark valleys below. The warhorses, trained to endure hardship, managed the path without complaint. The unicorn had no trouble at all with the difficult terrain. Before long the old path had taken them high into the mountains. An icy breeze blew down from the snow-capped peaks above. Eben led the way onward, with Mostyn and Red following close behind.

‘This wind is piercing,’ said Red as he drew his cloak tightly around himself.

‘Ah, yes, the Great Mountains are the tallest and the coldest mountain range in all of Veredor. Their peaks are covered in ice even at the height of summer,’ said Mostyn.

‘Surely it can’t get much colder than this?’ asked Red, shaking his head in protest.

‘We still have a long way to go, and the wind will become much colder,’ said Mostyn flatly.

Suddenly they rounded a corner. Before them the track came to the edge of a cliff and only a small portion of an old stone bridge remained. Beyond them was a deep crevasse that descended a thousand yards into a craggy valley below. It was clearly evident that a bridge had once joined the opposing ridge which was about fifty yards across.

Mostyn rode forward to the edge and stared out across the deep chasm. His concerned eyes looked back at the company. ‘This indeed is very unfortunate.’

‘Is there another way around?’ asked King Ignis.

‘No,’ replied Mostyn. ‘We would have to scale the ridges and cliff faces if we took any other way.’

‘There must be another way,’ said Meara. Mostyn shook his head.

‘Can you make a bridge with your magic?’ asked Mostyn, looking to Meara.

Meara stared across the crevasse. ‘No, it is too far and beyond my ability.’

‘Perhaps we should return to Faircastle,’ said Mostyn.

‘We cannot return. We must find the Star King,’ said Eben.

‘I am afraid there is no way onward, Ecorian,’ said Mostyn.

Stella rode forward with a coiled rope and grappling hook in her hand. ‘There is a way. We will have to leave the horses behind.’

‘But can you secure the hook from such a distance?’ asked Dillon.

‘I can try,’ said Stella. ‘If we use two ropes we can make a basic rope bridge; one rope to walk on and another to hold. I can do it, but it would be far easier if there was someone on the other side.’

The unicorn suddenly burst forward. Eben held on as his steed launched itself across the wide chasm. For several moments the unicorn glided through the air and then landed with ease on the opposing ridge. Eben stared back at the company standing fifty yards back.

‘Eben, I’m going to throw you the first rope!’

Eben leapt down from the unicorn and walked to the edge of the cliff. ‘When you are ready!’ he shouted.

Stella swung the coiled rope in large circles and then sent it flying across the chasm with perfect precision. Eben caught the rope and drew it back to secure it around a jagged rock. Meanwhile Stella prepared her second rope. She cast the second rope across the deep abyss. Eben repeated the process and within minutes they had secured both ropes tightly about five feet apart.

The company unpacked their supplies from the horses and secured their packs to their backs. Stella was the first to attempt the rope bridge. She edged out with ease and within a minute she had crossed and stood with Eben on the far side. Red followed closely behind and the others started to edge out on the rope. Within a few minutes Red, King Ignis, Meara, Cassiel and Mostyn had crossed. Dillon, Arthur, Quade, and Duke Egil were still out on the rope. A scream howled out across the sky; the entire company looked up. Three dark shapes descended from the clouds above. Eben drew the Sword of Light.

‘Wyverns!’ cried Meara.

Quade edged as quickly as possible along the rope, and the others still out on the bridge realised how vulnerable they were to an attack. The wyverns descended at a frightening pace toward the rope bridge. Meara stepped forward and raised her glowing hands. Swirls of bright light blasted toward the three monsters. A wing of one of the wyverns was torn from its body; it spiralled out of control and smashed into the mountainside.

Molten plasma shot out from Mostyn’s hands and incinerated the wings of the second wyvern, sending it howling into the chasm below. The third wyvern nosedived and in moments whipped its tail and cut through both ropes. Quade leapt for the edge and managed to grab a hold of the cliff, but Arthur, Dillon, and the Duke Egil fell, all of them clutching to the severed rope. They swung down in an arch and crashed heavily into the mountainside. Dillon lost his grip and fell away from the cliff face. The remaining wyvern instantly swooped after him.

Eben watched, completely powerless, as Dillon descended quickly into the valley below. The red scales of the wyvern glimmered in the daylight as it dived after the Desert Knight. Dillon drew his curved Vastorian sword as he fell. In moments the beast was upon him. It snapped out with its large fangs and bit into Dillon’s chest. Dillon, with the last of his strength, swung his blade and cut through the wyvern’s right wing. Bright red blood sprayed from the wound. A moment later the wyvern spiralled out of control as it descended rapidly into the deep. Dillon and the wyvern crashed heavily into the rocky valley below.

‘Quick, pull the rope!’ cried Stella. The entire company heaved the rope and dragged both Arthur and Duke Egil to the top. Both of them were bruised and battered from the impact with the cliff face.

Arthur stood up and went to the edge. He looked into the deep. ‘Dillon is gone,’ he said in a low voice.

The company went to join Arthur at the edge. They all felt the shock at losing one of their own so suddenly. ‘He was brave until the end as a true Desert Knight should be.’

The company watched on in silence. Arthur then removed his mask and revealed his face for the first time. He was an older man with strong dark eyes and black hair. His complexion was weathered and like leather, and he had a short dark beard.

The company watched on in silence for some time and paid their respects to their fallen companion.

**

The path took them continuously upward into the Great Mountains. Without horses the going was much slower. The company had remained mostly silent since Dillon’s death. Arthur had not said a word. There was a feeling that the Prince of Shadows was one step ahead of them and that he may already know their plan.

‘The Prince of Shadows sent the three wyverns to follow us and watch us from afar,’ said Mostyn. ‘They took advantage of us at our most vulnerable moment.’

‘Do you think there are others?’ asked Eben, looking to the sky.

‘No, but the enemy has many monsters in his service. We must be vigilant. Soon we will take the path to the Star King. In two days we will arrive at his cave, and then we will see if all our efforts have been worthwhile.’

That evening they huddled on a high ledge of a mighty mountain. Nothing grew so high in the mountains. Mostyn created a fire with his magic that kept the entire campsite warm. Eben sat beside the fire with Red and Stella. Mostyn smoked his pipe; he was sitting on a rocky outcrop and looking out across the vista of majestic mountains.

‘We have come a long way from Ancora,’ said King Ignis as he warmed his hands by the fire.

‘It won’t be long before we are back there and celebrating our victory,’ said Red confidently.

‘I hope you are right, Red,’ replied the King. ‘I miss my home and my people.’

‘We must succeed,’ said Duke Egil. ‘There is simply no other way. The fate of mankind relies on us defeating the Prince of Shadows once and for all.’ Duke Egil looked across the fire at Eben. ‘We all saw you challenge the Prince of Shadows at Jeriel’s Field. He was afraid of you and the unicorn. He must know that you can defeat him. If the Star King can deliver us to him we can put an end to all this.’

Eben nodded and looked into the flickering flames of the fire. He remembered back to his childhood when he would explore the forests surrounding Clemensdale. He remembered Erako and the humble kind-hearted folk of his village. The world was so much smaller in those days. He lifted his eyes and looked to the glimmering stars in the night sky and wondered how much larger the cosmos was than he knew. He then thought of Apherah and hoped she could also see the stars.

‘There is also the other Astarian. He carries the Sword of Midlight. We must not underestimate his power,’ said Meara.

‘Callidus,’ said Eben. ‘He is a slave of the Prince of Shadows. I fought him on the headland at Crescent Bay.’

‘And you were beaten by Callidus?’ asked Arthur.

‘Yes,’ answered Eben solemnly; the images of the battle at Crescent Bay flashed through his mind, and the pain of seeing Chiara murdered surged in his heart. ‘I was overwhelmed by his skill and power.’

‘Can you defeat the Prince of Shadows when we assail Zarkanor?’ asked Duke Egil, his voice never lost its rough edge.

Eben glanced across at Red, Stella, and Cassiel. He then looked back to Arthur and Duke Egil. ‘I am fighting for something the Prince of Shadows does not understand, something that does not exist in his heart. This time I will not fail.’

‘You believe?’ asked Meara. Eben nodded across the flames at Meara.

‘If you don’t cross the bridge then you never know what is on the other side,’ he said, repeating the words that Meara had said to him long ago.

**

The fire burned brightly through the entire night. Shortly after sunrise they set out and trekked further into the mountains. Mostyn led them onward as the track grew progressively more perilous. By midmorning the path led them through a crevice and up a rocky slope to an icy ridge. At the height of the ridge they came upon a second track that led away toward the south along a thin ledge. The track was barely visible to the eye, and the company would have missed it entirely if Mostyn wasn’t there to point it out.

‘This is the path to the cave,’ said Mostyn as he turned toward the south.

Eben followed after Mostyn on foot. The unicorn led the way onward, and the company walked in single file as Mostyn guided them ever upward. The track took them south along a thin ledge and then over a jagged mountain top. They then continued on through snow and ice. The cold was biting, but no one complained. Dillon’s death had brought a sense of stoicism to the group. They all knew that they had been chosen and that their task was immensely important for the survival of men.

They persevered deeper into the icy mountains. The cold wind blew down on them from the peaks above. Eben drew his leather cloak tightly around himself. He looked back and saw that Red’s eyebrows were covered in frost and his red beard had grown icicles. The company trudged onward, and it was clear that they were all struggling with the exception of the unicorn. The mountain track was often covered entirely in ice. After several hours of continuing upward they came upon a chasm; the path led onward through the base of the icy chasm. Great frozen chunks of ice had fallen from the mountainsides above and blocked the way onward.

Mostyn raised his hands and columns of flame shot out. The ice steamed and hissed as it melted away. Several minutes later the path was cleared. Without a word Mostyn led them onward. As the day progressed the wind picked up and blew heavily across the mountain path. Snow blasted into their faces and the cold was bordering on unbearable. Mostyn looked back at the company; his dark tangled hair was covered in snow.

‘We will not survive long in this!’ he cried above the
howling wind. ‘There is a cave just up ahead where we can shelter until this blizzard has passed.’

Mostyn led them on a little further and they entered the cave that was about twenty feet deep with a wide entrance. It provided enough protection from the wind and snow. Mostyn instantly made a fire and shielded the entrance with an invisible barrier that kept the cold out. Within a few minutes the fire had warmed up the entire cave.