Possessing the Grimstone (13 page)

The King exited the room through a door in the back, away from the eyes of his other subjects. Tolan simply shook his head. He’d never seen a king quite like this one. Thet forbid that war interfere with his sleep.

Sooth-Malesh slipped over to Tolan in a cloud of red mist. Pim strained to listen, as well. “Within the Graywing Mountains, there is an entrance to a cave. Start there.”

Tolan smelled the old mage’s stale breath, and the musty scent of his cloak.
When was the last time he bathed?
“Thank you, arch mage. I will remember that.”

“Good.” Sooth-Malesh grinned. “In the morn, I will meet you all in the courtyard by the fountain carved with water elementals. I will imbue you all.”

Tolan bowed; Pim and Drith followed the warrior’s lead.

The mage started for the back of the room, returning to the shadows in the corner. He looked back once more at Tolan. “I bathed last week.” Then he vanished, engulfed by the darkness.

Chapter Nine

They gathered in the courtyard in the morning, the sun barely a splinter through the dark clouds drifting across Cardoon’s skies.

Pim stood with Tolan and two Cardoon soldiers, drinking from the fountain beside them. The water was cool and refreshing.

Drith walked around the corner of one of the city buildings with a warrior. They were both painted azure and emerald green, and carried the sharpest swords. Every movement of theirs was hostile. Pim was glad they were on their side, at least for now. He had a feeling that if things were different, Drith wouldn’t tolerate his presence for more than a minute. The people of the desert were known to be very angry, and inhospitable. Their customs were strange. Their blood boiled; they were known to pick fights over the slightest things.

“Where is the mage?” Drith asked. “Where is our protection?”

Before Tolan could answer, a dust devil spun into the courtyard. Wind howled, and the devil spun into the middle of the group. The dust and sand subsided, and Sooth-Malesh stood in their wake.

“Impatience can get one killed,” the mage said. “In any event, you shall wait no longer.”

King Enrille stepped into the courtyard, stretching, and yawned. “Splendid, splendid. Such an exciting day! The saviors of Cardoon!”

“Of Athora,” Tolan corrected.

“Of course,” the King agreed.

“The protection?” Drith reminded.

Sooth-Malesh grumbled something under his breath, and then reached into his robes. He pulled out yet another crystal, but this one was black. He stepped to each of the volunteers, and placed it against their foreheads.

Drith flinched as the crystal touched his head. Pim wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

The crystal glowed with gold light each time it touched someone. After the mage recited some arcane words, a glittering light flickered over each of them, and then evaporated.

“It is done, but know this: it is not all powerful. No magic is forever. The further you are away from Cardoon, the weaker the spell, and some enemies will be immune to it.”

“Wonderful,” Drith said. “So we’re still on our own.”

“Belief, Southerner, belief. It will serve you well from time to time.”

Drith shook his head.

King Enrille opened his arms. “It is time. Go, and serve us well. Bring us back the other pieces of the stone.”

With the decree, stable boys led the group’s horses down the cobblestone roads, directly into the courtyard. Pim saw that he had his own horse this time. Excitement surged through him.

As they mounted their steeds, Pim looked over at Tolan. “Have you ever been to the Graywing Mountains?”

“No, no one in Cardoon has. It’s a sacred place. The remnants of our ancestors are there. Our people believed it best not to disturb them out of honor. The great Thet would want it that way.”

“So no one knows what may wait there?”

“We’ll be the first to find out.”

“You won’t be the first,” Drith said. “Many creatures have walked the mountains, even some of my people. Of course, some of them went mad after going there.”

Tolan rolled his eyes. Pim swallowed air. “Don’t let him scare you,” Tolan said.

“He didn’t.”

“Let us make our leave,” Tolan called, and the six riders headed for the gates.

“I will place a barrier around Cardoon to hold the Neshing at bay,” Sooth-Malesh called as they galloped. “If it still stands when you return, touch your foreheads where the black crystal imbued you, and a passage will open!”

Tolan waved as he approached the city gates. They opened with a great bellow.

“Thet be with you!” The King called as they rounded the corner.

They headed toward the rear of the city, through the farmlands, and to the Blackberry bogs. Pim turned to look behind him, and watched a red veil fall over the city. Sooth-Malesh’s magic was at work. He wondered how it would stand. He wondered how long they would last, as well.
Thet only knows what lies ahead.

###

The stark peaks of the Graywing Mountains came into view as Pim and the group crossed the covered bridges of the Low lands—a region of valleys connected and formed by dry stream beds. Many indigenous people lived in the valleys, having built the bridges to cross from one valley to the other, and circumvent the gaping stream beds, some of which collapsed into dark chasms.

The air smelled of cooking fires and roasting meat. Painted stones marked the territory between the different villages and tribes. The people were among the poorest in Athora. There were no cities or castles, no government, or money. There were wise men and women, superstitions, hunting and gathering, dancing, bonfires, and sacrifice.

The scent in the air made Pim hungry, but the bread, cheese, and water in his pack would have to suffice, especially in the wild.

“Do not stop for anyone,” Tolan told the group. “Beggars and the lame are not what they seem. They are thieves and swindlers.”

“The most uncivilized people in all of Athora,” Drith said.

Pim couldn’t believe the King of the South’s remarks. He’d seen him in action, had heard his harsh words to others. He was not the most regal of people.

Miles passed like a blur, and before Pim realized it, they were roaming about the slopes of the mountains. The air was cooler and the skies were brighter, but they remained layered with gray tones.

“Hark, a path,” Tolan pointed his sword at a rocky, dirt road that twisted up into the mountains to a notch circled with trees.

“That’s the only one?” Drith asked.

“I see no other.”

“It seems that a single path out in plain sight would be a dangerous one to take.”

“It’s either this, or we climb the mountains on foot,” Tolan said to him.

Drith thought about it for a moment. “Path, it is.”

Pim grinned at Tolan, who winked back at him.

The six riders drove their horses onto the path, and started up. The Cardoon warriors took the lead; then Tolan followed with Pim. Drith and his guardian brought up the rear.

It was not long before stone and brush swallowed them. The path twisted and climbed, getting steeper and steeper. In the dirt beneath them, Pim thought he recognized the mark of wagon wheels. It seemed that the mountains weren’t as desolate or unvisited as Tolan’s people believed. Someone had made the same trip into the mountains that they were making now.

The trees grew smaller and thinner the higher they went. Winged creatures fluttered from the trees at their approach. Something scuttled across the ground. Pim listened to everything intently.

At one point, the group had to dismount, and they led their horses by their reins as the path grew narrower. They crossed great ledges with steep drops.

From here, Pim could see a panorama of the lands. The black spires of Cardoon stood out in the distance. Further from them, dark clouds swirled in the sky, their insides crackling with dark green light. They were moving closer to Cardoon.

Pim saw the outer edges of the Salt Lands; they looked like they were in flames. Beyond that, a hint of the Fifling Sea winked at him.

The situation seemed so dire. The scourge now known as the Neshing was knocking at everyone’s doors. No one was safe. What if he and the others couldn’t find the other pieces of the stone? What if the Neshing destroyed every city in Athora? What if no one could stop them? What of Gonnish and his mother, his father, and Tal?

It was too much to think of. The questions never stopped entering his mind. Doubt, fear, guilt: they were there constantly, nagging at him, confusing him. Now was not the time to second guess. Now was not the time to give up.

He pulled himself from the view and continued to follow Tolan, who remained strong and silent. He listened to the rhythm of his horse’s hooves, and felt his breath on his arm. Pim realized then he was on this treacherous journey for this animal, too; for all animals. Every living thing in these lands was at risk of extinction. They had to succeed. They just had to.

They came to a notch in the mountains and decided to stop for a rest. Grass surrounded them on all sides; a deadfall stretched across their path. A cluster of boulders provided a hiding place.

Pim tore into his bread and ripped at his cheese. He gulped at his water.

“Pim,” Tolan said. “Slow down. Ration your food. Our journey has just begun, and we do not know how long it will last.”

Pim froze, pulling his water skin away from his lips. “Will we not come by more food and water through the lands?”

“We may or we may not. We cannot depend on the kindness of strangers.”

“We know that first hand,” Drith said after taking a small sip of water. “My people have learned to evolve through the centuries, and we store the water in our bodies for long trips. We have become one with our hot, dry desolation. A kingdom of sand passed down to me through my father, and his father, and his…”

“So you can go a long time with no water?” Pim dared to ask.

“Indeed, but were it not for the people in the port towns, and the ships that sail on the Baltha Sea, we would have starved. Not even all of the water in Athora could have prevented that.”

Pim didn’t know how to respond. Coming from a people that had always been farmers and knew nothing else, he didn’t know what it was like to be hungry. To have no food was unimaginable. Food grew in his backyard ever since he’d been alive. He didn’t know what life would have been like not knowing where or when they’d receive food. He was beginning to understand how important it was what his father did, what all of his people did. His father tried to instill this in him, but it was only now that Pim was finally beginning to realize this.

“Let us continue,” Tolan said, stowing his food and giving his horse an apple.

The soldiers climbed back onto their mounts. Drith and his man followed suit, and Pim climbed up last. A strange sound caught him, and he froze. He looked about the notch.

Barking sounded through the notch, echoing in the distance.

“Dogs?” Pim said. “There are dogs in the mountains?’

“That’s no dog,” Tolan yelled, unsheathing his sword.

Pim’s heart fluttered, but he followed Tolan’s lead. Suddenly a howl called through the notch, and a horde of creatures appeared on the rocks above them.

Seconds later, the creatures leaped down on the group. One barreled into Tolan, ripping him from his horse before he could even swing his blade.

Drith’s eys widened. “Ambush!” He, too, was pulled from his horse.

Pim saw dog-faced creatures all around them, with wild hair sprouting from their bodies, small tusks poking from beneath gray lips, and upturned noses sniffing at the air. They were clad in armor made of leather and horns.

A spear soared toward Pim, and he ducked. A scream exploded as one of Cardoon’s soldiers fell from his steed, the spear protruding from his chest. Horror gripped Pim, and one of the beasts tackled him from his horse, as well.

The wind was knocked out of the Wivering as his back hit the ground. The creature sniveled and snorted around Pim’s throat, bearing its tusks. It drew back and opened its saliva-filled jaws.

Pim screamed. A blade swung.

The creature’s throat ripped open. Drith kicked the beast, and pulled Pim up. “We’re under attack by a pack of Gnolls,” Drith said. “They must have followed us from the hollows.”

Pim turned to see Tolan struggling with one of the beasts, unable to get his sword from under his own body. Pim dashed form Drith’s side and used his fleet to race to the downed Tolan. In a flash, he pulled the Gnoll from the warrior’s chest.

Tolan jumped to his feet and swung his blade, gutting the Gnoll. Pim reappeared by his side. “Thank you, my friend.”

Pim nodded as two more Gnolls confronted them, swinging flails with multiple chains. Pim ducked, then dodged, as the flail whipped inches from his face. He lifted his sword and one of the flails caught the blade, pulling it from his grip.

Tolan stepped in front of Pim and parried the Gnolls and their flails. “Back Gnolls, back! There is nothing for you, here!”

Pim saw Drith and his guard rush to their aid out of the corner of his eye, but a net fell over them. More Gnolls drove the Southerners to the ground, and focused their attention on Tolan and Pim. They were now surrounded, spears and flails drawing closer and closer.

A fluttering sound filled the air. Pim’s gaze shot to the skies, which held a group of women descending on make-shift wings. They launched a volley of arrows at the Gnolls, taking half of them down.

The women landed on the ground, discarding their wings. The silver-armored women attacked the remaining Gnolls with blades in each of their hands: short, curved, double-edged, and serrated weapons that no one had ever seen before.

Pim couldn’t believe his eyes. He watched the women warriors slash and rip their way through the Gnolls until the creatures yelped and retreated into the trees.

The women ceased their chase and turned back to the group. They lifted the net from Drith and his guard, and then moved to Pim and Tolan.

Tolan bowed. “You are the D’Elkyrie from the M’Illium Fells, the mountains in the Northwest. We owe you our lives.”