Avalyne Series 01: The Queen of Carleon (16 page)

‘
And Keira? Do you think she might have escaped?’ Arianne asked hopefully. The other alternative was too terrible to imagine.

‘
Possibly,’ Celene replied. ‘However we have been unconscious for some time so I cannot say for certain. They probably have a lair here which they are going to take us to and keep us so they can extract what they need for their ransom.’

Arianne’s stomach hollowed at the thought, aware that Berserkers were not skilled interrogators.
Balfure left such cruel and precise work to his Disciples.  She had no doubt that in getting their information she and Celene would be made to suffer.

‘
Do you think they were responsible for the bodies we found?’ Arianne inquired, almost afraid to hear the answer.

‘
Yes I think so,’ Celene replied quietly, mindful that nothing she said was being overheard. ‘I think they kill the travellers that are no use to them after robbing them blind and the ones who might have value such as us, they keep alive a little longer. Although I cannot imagine they would honour any ransom debt paid.’

‘
Then we must escape,’ Arianne declared without hesitation. ‘Somehow, we
must
find a way.’

‘
I agree but that is easier said then done,’ Celene retorted even though she was slowly attempting to free herself of the ropes tied behind her back. It was not hard to do because the fingers of Berserkers were far from nimble and their ability to tie ropes even less so. With time, she would not doubt be able to untangle the unruly cluster of knots that kept her bound. However, it remained to be seen whether or not they would have the time to spare. The Berserkers before them were sharing a meal, no doubt the precursor to beginning their journey to the their lair. Celene would prefer it if freedom came to herself and Arianne before that.

Or before the Berserkers became hungry and decided a full stomach was more inviting than a ransom.

*******

The
watch guard observed the proceedings through the trees as one of the two women made a furtive attempt to free herself while under the watchful gaze of the Berserkers who had captured them. The warrior maiden was undoubtedly trying to loosen the ropes around her because the Watch guard could read the subtle movements of her body as she made the attempt.

Berserkers were blunt instruments. They were created by
Balfure to act with brute force and there was a little subtlety in anything they did. They did not have the intelligence to interpret body language of men to know what was transpiring before them but then there was little reason to fear the warrior woman’s freedom from her bonds. Why should they? There were many of them and one of her. Even if she should free herself, she was unarmed and her companion was still tied. It would be an exercise in futility that would no doubt get one or both of them killed.

The
guard considered deeply what was to be done. The Berserkers were preparing to leave with their captives, a happenstance that could not be good under any circumstances. There had been reports of travellers disappearing and the guard was sent here to learn why. The discovery of the women coincided with the answer to that riddle. This was not customary behaviour for Berserkers but since the fall of Balfure and Astaroth alike, the creatures  served no master and were renegades hiding from the King’s forces. Like any creature faced with extinction, they were doing what they could to survive.

Whatever the reason for their unusual behaviour, the
guard had little choice but to act.

The third member of their party who was knocked off her horse during  the Berserker trick lay at the
guard's  campsite, recovering from her fall. She had taken a nasty bump to her head when she'd fallen and only luck had seen her fall into a ditch and covered with snow when the Berserkers came to collect her two companions. The woman, who appeared to one of the folk of the Green, had surprised the guard by her presence. The folk of the Green were not prone to wandering and certainly  not in the company of two high born ladies.  These  were questions the guard would ask later. For now, there were more pressing concerns.

There were about a six Berserkers, not a great many but certainly enough to give one who was preparing a rescue pause for a moment. Stupid they might be but they were not to be taken lightly and while the warrior woman might be useful in the battle if it came to that, the other was still bound. No, the
guard thought quickly, confronting the Berserkers was out of the question, the best that could be hoped for was the safe retrieval of both followed by an extremely hasty flight. Hopefully with all their skins intact.

The
guard took a moment to grumble at the inconvenience of the situation. True, the women had to be helped but the guard had been on a mission too. A mission that was not as urgent as the quandary the noblewomen found themselves, but it still important. Still, being one of the watch guard meant ensuring the safety of travellers in the realm and the fate awaited the two women if something was not done would be worse than death.

Returning to the campsite because it appear the captives were going nowhere for now,  if this rescue was to take place, the
guard needed help.

It was time to see how resilient the folk of the Green
really
were.

*******

Celene appeared still as the night while her fingers worked deftly on the final knot behind her back. She had closed her eyes in concentration, focussing singularly on the purpose of freeing her hands. Arianne watched her surreptitiously, appearing anxious for the benefit of their captors and keeping their attention on her by asking questions that they were ignoring. Celene knew that she could not keep up the charade indefinitely because Berserkers were not known for their temperament. While they may not be prepared to kill either of them for fear of losing their ransom, the vile beasts were still capable of inflicting untold horror upon them.

Suddenly the Berserker leader who questioned them
earlier stared at Celene, his eyes narrowing  in malice when he realised that she was up to something. Celene felt her heart sink with disappointment as the knot came apart in her fingers but would do her little good because she had been discovered. He cried out to the rest of his comrades as he strode towards her and Celene was filled with dismay at the realisation that her hard work was for nothing. If they did not kill her for what she had done, they were certainly going to tie her up again and she would be right where she began.

‘
Do nothing,’ Celene commanded Arianne, forgetting for an instant who was Queen and who was not. ‘Do not interfere with them on my account.’

‘
Do not ask that of me!’ Arianne cried out desperately as Celene stood up to face the Berserker coming towards her while the two guarding her brandished their swords in preparation for the order to run her through.

‘
Escape,’ the Berserker sneered malevolently, his voice a throaty rumble. Upon reaching her, he gripped her arm to confirm his suspicions that she had been attempting to escape. ‘Escape is pointless.’

He raised his sword, readying himself to deliver a blow that while might not necessarily kill her, would disable her and ruin any chance she had of making another escape attempt. Celene wanted to run but she knew the weapons of the other two would end any flight before she even had a chance to take a step. She braced herself for the pain and felt anguish rise from the depths of her soul that she had failed her queen so utterly. However, she would not go down easily and not before making him sorry he had ever taken them prisoner.

However, there was little chance for the Berserker to do anything because at that moment, a horse burst through the bushes, carrying a rider on its back as it landed a hair’s breath beyond the reach of the fire. Once his eyes and that of his minions turned to face this new threat, Celene acted swiftly. The edge of the palm slammed into the creature’s face and forced him to drop his sword, which Celene liberated swiftly enough before she tore open his belly with one swipe of the weapon. When the others heard the death cry of their leader, they turned back to her. Celene slashed at one of them while the other was halted in his step by the bolt of a crossbow.

Suddenly jumping out from behind one of the snow covered bushes was Keira
, obviously working in concert with the rider gave her distraction she needed to steal into the camp. Carrying the same sword that Celene had given her, Keira burst into a smile of gratitude at their well-being before taking advantage of the chaos to reach Arianne. The approach of a Berserker prompted Celene into action and she ran forward, intercepting the foul creature before he could accost the lady of the Green. Swinging her blade with precision, she slashed at the Berserker’s chest, cutting through his leather tunic and spilling dark blood against the greyed snow.

‘
GET TO THE HORSES!’ The rider astride the mare ordered, raising the crossbow to take aim at the Berserkers again.

‘
Come on!’ Celene urged Keira who had resumed cutting the ropes that bound Arianne as she dispatched another Berserker.

‘
You don’t have to tell me twice!’ Keira declared, wincing as she saw Celene cut down the enemy before turning to help Arianne to her feet.

Arianne stood up, shaking the remnants of the cut ropes from her wrists as she turned around and hugged Keira in
relief. ‘We did not know what happened to you! We thought you were dead!’

‘
I was lucky, I was thrown from my horse and rolled into a little ditch that was just deep enough to hide me from the Berserkers.’ She explained as she took Arianne’s lead and sought out their horses.

Their mysterious rescuer was still holding the Berserkers at bay,
continuing to fire bolts from the crossbow and cutting down their numbers. Astride the mare, the watch guard did not remain in one place long enough to be unseated. Nevertheless, the Berserkers would start to regroup and even though only a few of them were left now, it was time for them to leave.

‘
You can talk later!’ Celene barked and hurried towards the horses. Keira and Arianne did not argue following her closely, reaching the horses in good time as Celene waited for them to mount, ensuring that they were not accosted by Berserkers as they climbed into the saddle. Once they were safely astride their horses, she did the same since the Berserkers were more interested into the watch guard who continued to be the centre of attention.

‘
Let’s go!’ Celene shouted as she dug her heels into her horse and the animal bolted forward.

Arianne did the same and the horse broke into a powerful gallop across the campsite. A Berserker attempted to pull her out of the saddle but Arianne kicked out, smashing the ball of her foot against its mouth and feeling its teeth crumble underneath. The Berserker staggered back and Arianne dug her heels into her horse with even more strength,
forcing the mare to move even more quickly. The horse thundered forward, following Celene’s mount as they crossed the camp towards the woods.

Looking over her shoulder, she made sure Keira was following and was relived to see the woman keeping pace with her horse. Upon seeing their escape, their mysterious rescuer broke off the engagement with the remaining Berserkers and joined them in flight. Leaving
them behind, the women rode into the forest with the swiftness of the wind. Arianne heard the swoosh of an arrow and leaned out of the way as it sailed past her ear and embedded itself into a tree.

Arianne did not know how long they rode through the night, aware only that they were putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the enemy while they were doing it. The forest with its thick trees had shielded them from the ravages of the snow storm that
was such an obstacle at the Splinter. However upon emerging into the open air, they were once again lashed by the strong winds and snowfall. Fortunately as the Berserkers did not ride, it was unlikely they were pursued and their rescuer took the lead, appearing to know the terrain with some familiarity.

Shortly before dawn
, they were led to one of the many watch guard stations that were built along the Baffin Road to provide travellers with shelter for them and their horses. 

Arianne was grateful when she finally dismounted her horse and led them exhausted animal out of the wind and biting snow. The elements had taken its toll on all of them and their silence
as they settled in for the night, revealed their exhaustion. Arianne did notice that their rescuer had the slightness of frame and figure that was distinctly
female
.

‘
We are in your debt, lady,’ Arianne said as she helped Keira bring in their bedding while Celene started a fire in the fireplace.

‘
Yes,’ Keira agreed. ‘You saved us all. Me first and then the rest of us. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come upon us.’

Keira had awoken to find herself in the company of this stranger who had apparently tended the wound on her head and taken her out of the snow
when the Berserkers had overcome Arianne and Celene. Spit only knew how she had managed to move Keira without being seen by those loathsome creatures but Keira was grateful that she had. After leaving her to recover, the stranger had tracked the Berserkers back to their campsite and determined that Arianne and Celene was alive. By the time she had returned, Keira was awake and anxious to find a way to help her companions.