Victim of Fate (25 page)

"Who's this?" Tristam asked, craning his head
to look up at the northlander.

"This is Garrick, of the Snowbear
people."

"Clan," Garrick corrected. "Snowbear
clan."

"You're big," Tristam noted. "Bigger than
Alto. Looking for work?"

Garrick's grin grew. "If this is the kind of
work you do, perhaps! It's better than hunting bear and wrestling
wolves!"

"Wrestling wolves? Hey, Alto, another man who
likes to wrestle wolves! Alto? Where'd that fool boy get to?"
Tristam spun around, looking for his protégé.

"He's down the rope," Namitus said while
peering over the edge and watching Alto slide down hand over
hand.

"Damn him!" Tristam spat. He turned to the
others and stared at them. A severed hand landed on the ramp
between them and the fingers curled and twitched before lying
still. "Well, get after him then!"

"Long ways down," Kar muttered after he
peered over the edge. "Rope doesn't go all the way, either."

"Didn't have enough," Namitus explained. "The
cliff looks craggy enough to climb down without down there, though.
Even has a slope to it."

"Do I look like a spider to you?" the wizard
hissed.

"More like an old goat," Patrina answered.
She slipped over the edge and slid down the rope after Alto.

"Madness," Tristam muttered. He looked at the
others and motioned with his sword. He sheathed his weapon and
waited in line as the others slipped over the edge one at a time.
When he was the last, he cast a last glance at the Kelgryn warriors
battling behind him and saw that their line was on the verge of
collapse. He took the rope in hand and readied himself for the
plunge. "We've secured the lady, Jarl," Tristam called out. "Get
your men to safety!"

The leader of the Blades slipped over the
edge before Teorfyr could turn and find him.

* * * *

Alto twisted his head to look below him.
Namitus and even Patrina had already crawled down the rock wall
like spiders, finished their descent to the cavern floor ahead of
him. Now their swords were drawn and they were fighting off the
goblins and larger creatures that approached. Alto bit back a curse
and climbed down as fast as he could, even taking the chance of
injury and trusting his chain link armor to cushion a slide down
the last ten feet of sharply sloped wall.

"Hurry, to the building!" Alto called out to
his friends, picking himself up. He drew his sword and stepped in
to help Patrina and Namitus face off against another wave of enemy
creatures, both large and small.

Alto and Namitus teamed up to confuse and
overwhelm a troll while Patrina cut through the goblins that
followed in its wake. By the time they’d finished dispatching their
foes, they were breathing hard again. Everyone, save Tristam, stood
on the ground watching them.

Alto and Namitus rounded the corner of the
building and saw creatures milling about ahead of them. They were
agitated and confused, trying to figure out what they were supposed
to do. Namitus opened the door and ducked inside. Alto followed him
in when he heard a grunt and a crash.

Namitus stood over a man who was slumped over
a stone desk. Blood spread out across the desk in a widening pool.
Namitus shrugged, and then reached down to remove a set of keys
from the man’s belt.

Patrina and Garrick pushed into the room,
forcing Alto out of the way. Patrina’s eyes widened at the sight of
the fresh corpse.

"What is this place?" Garrick asked.

Namitus peered down a hallway behind the desk
before he turned and said, "Looks like a jail."

"You would know," Patrina muttered.

Garrick’s furry eyebrows met as his forehead
creased. Alto shook his head to tell the barbarian not to ask. "Is
there anyone in the cells?" Alto inquired.

Namitus pushed down the hall and waved from
the second cell. "Hello! What’s this?" he asked aloud.

"Let me out!" came a gruff voice from the
cell.

The others hurried down the hall to see what
Namitus had found, granting the others room to enter the building
and stand guard at the door. A short but stocky man stood in the
cell and stared up at them. His head came to Alto’s chest but his
shoulders were nearly as wide as the young warrior’s. A thick brown
beard fell to the prisoner’s waist, matching the color of his
hair.

"Dwarf!" Patrina hissed. She gasped a moment
later. "Mordrim?"

"Aye, Lady Patrina."

"What are you doing here?"

"Not telling those raiders a damned thing,
that’s what!" he growled.

Patrina turned to Alto and explained, "This
is Mordrim, the last dwarf that came to Holgasford in search of the
dwarven mines in the Northern Divide!"

"Do you know these tunnels?" Alto asked.

"Aye, as well as any man living."

"Can you get us out?"

"How’d you get in?" Mordrim asked.

"The ramp up. We need another way out."

Mordrim grunted. "There be tunnels that run
through the mountains. I can get you out, but you need to get me
out first."

"Let him out," Alto snapped.

Namitus put the key in the lock and twisted
it, unlocking the iron door. It slid open without a sound. "My
things still here?" Mordrim asked as he walked out of the room.

"There’s nothing here but a dead jailer,"
Patrina said.

Garrick growled and raised his sword up. Alto
pushed into his side, forcing him into the stone wall and
disrupting him. Garrick spun on him but Alto's hand grabbed his
forearm to arrest his sword from rising.

"Demon!" Garrick hissed, his eyes going to
Mordrim.

"You fool, he's a dwarf! Does he look like
something from the netherworld come to claim your soul?" Patrina
seethed.

Garrick glared at the scowling dwarf and then
slowly relaxed. Mordrim jerked his head toward him and raised his
hands so that his fingers were curved to look like claws.
"Boo!"

Garrick jumped back and slammed into the
wall. He stumbled and fell, earning a laugh from Patrina and
Namitus. Alto shook his head and glared at Mordrim. "Enough!" he
snapped.

Garrick rose up, his hands clenching his
sword so tightly his knuckles were white.

Mordrim grunted. "Best hurry up then. I know
of a few routes said to lead through the mountains."

Alto reached the jailer’s desk first. He
gestured behind him without slowing. "Tristam, this is Mordrim. He
says he can get us out."

"What about your forges?" Tristam said as he
turned.

"One thing at a time," Alto called before
stepping through the door back to the cavern. "Best hurry, we've
run out of time."

Another group of monsters had rallied against
them, but it wasn’t the monsters that gave Alto pause. Behind the
two ogres and half-dozen goblins, Beck strode forward with his
reduced force of men-at-arms. He held his sword at hand and
motioned forward with it, signaling a charge.

"Beck!" Alto hissed as the others joined him
outside the jail.

"Friend of yours?" Tristam asked.

"No! He’s a skilled fighter. Better than we
are."

"We’ll see about that!" Tristam scoffed.

"His armor and sword are magical," Patrina
warned. "Shrugged off a chop to his back from Garrick’s cleaver
while smacking Alto around."

Tristam turned to look at Garrick. His eyes
went to the thick bladed hand and a half sword the man clutched
easily in one hand. Alto glanced at Patrina and saw her holding her
sword in her right hand and the torn neckline of her dress with her
left. He glanced away when her eyes met his.

"If you're wanting to get away, your best
bet's across the river," Mordrim reminded them.

"To the bridge!" Alto said when he looked at
the stone ledge that crossed over the river at the downstream end
of the cavern. "We can hold them there while someone crosses
upstream and foils their forges."

They ran back around the jail, hoping to
confuse Beck's forces. Namitus darted to the wall and reached up
for his rope, dozens of feet above him. He circled his finger and
spoke a word. The rope fell to his feet, coiling up perfectly for
him. He slipped it into his pack and then ran towards the bridge.
He caught the others and passed them easily, taking the lead with
Patrina.

"You got any idea what it means to ruin a
forge?" Garrick asked him as they ran beside each other.

Alto slowed enough so the others would pass
him by. He looked at the distant forges and smelting furnaces
before he shrugged. "No, I guess not."

"Any forge built to hold a fire is built to
last," the barbarian said.

"I’ll find a way," Alto vowed.

"One more thing," Garrick said. "Don't ever
put your hand on me again if you want to keep it."

Alto glanced at the tall barbarian and
nodded. "I respect that. If it turns out I'm wrong about the dwarf,
you can tell me all about it."

Garrick belted out a laugh and crossed the
bridge in long, easy strides.

Namitus and Patrina cried out in alarm and
drew their weapons to crash against an advancing wall of trolls and
goblins on the far side of the river. Tristam joined them,
scattering goblins and taking care to stay out of the long-limbed
reach of the mountain trolls. Kar pulled back his sleeves and
chanted a spell that allowed him to blow a heavy green mist high
into the air above the hard-skinned monsters. It sank onto them,
clinging to their skin and causing them to roar in rage. The
goblins scattered, crying out as it touched them and ate holes in
their primitive clothing and skin.

"I see the tunnel up ahead!" Namitus cried
out after severing the muscles on the thigh of a troll that was
swatting at the acidic fog that ate away at his back. The troll
toppled off balance, giving the quick rogue a chance to dart in and
drop his magical scimitar onto its head like an executioner’s
axe.

Garrick slid to a stop on the rock, his eyes
widening as the green mist appeared and then faded. He turned to
stare at Kar while a sneer forced his lip to curl up.

"Alto!"

Alto spun and stopped from where he stood
halfway across the stone bridge. Beck was on the far side, leading
his men behind him. He gestured with his sword and stepped onto the
carved shelf of rock. "You’re surrounded again, this time without
hope of rescue. Throw down your sword and I will let your friends
live."

Alto narrowed his eyes. "Why? If you can beat
me so easily, why not do it? Why do you keep asking?"

"You and your friends are not without risk,"
Beck said. "Killing off my men unnecessarily does me no good. I
could summon archers, if you prefer?"

Alto turned and stared at his friends. They
had fallen back to the far edge of the bridge, save for Karthor who
stood nearest to him. Patrina reached up and grabbed up the torn
edges of her dress she’d let go of while fighting. "Half a moment,"
he called back to Beck.

Beck laughed at him. "Take all the time you
need; it only makes my position stronger."

Alto glanced at the monsters rushing to
reinforce Beck and frowned. The same was true of the far side of
the river, though the gathered creatures had not grown
insurmountable yet. He strode across the bridge, ignoring Karthor
as he passed him.

"You can’t give him what he wants!" the
priest hissed in spite of Alto's fixed stare.

Alto sheathed his blade and secured it in his
scabbard. He yanked his chain shirt off, pulling his cotton
undershirt with it. He thrust it out to Patrina, pushing it into
her chest. "Here, use this," he said gruffly.

"No! You can’t fight him without armor!"
Patrina insisted.

"I’m not going to," Alto said. He took a
breath and looked at the others. They were watching him with
curiosity and shock on their faces.

"Don’t be daft, boy!" Tristam said.

"I’m going to cause a distraction," Alto
hissed. "Use it to fight through and get to that tunnel! I’ll be
right behind you."

"No!" Patrina stamped her foot. "You won’t
leave me again!"

"I'm thinking he's got a fine idea," Mordrim
suggested. He was ignored.

Alto stared down at the beautiful lady with
her chin thrust up towards him. He saw a tremble in the corner of
her eye and felt his stomach twist in response. He reached up to
her favor that had slid to his wrist once he’d taken his armor off
and he slid it off. "It was a stupid boy who agreed to be your
champion, but my actions will keep you as safe as I can."

"How will you getting killed keep me safe?"
she spat.

"I’m not going to get killed," Alto said. It
wasn’t a lie; he knew Beck wanted him alive. What came after that
he wasn’t so sure about. "I did lie to you, though."

"What do you mean?

"There is a girl in Portland. Her name is
Aleena. She’s the daughter of an innkeeper and a good woman. I
expect she’ll make a fine wife—"

Alto was stopped from saying more by the
whip-fast motion of Patrina’s hand striking against his cheek. She
stared at him, her cheeks red and moisture brimming in her
eyes.

"Get home to your father and his castle,
Princess," Alto roughed his voice up to hide the pressure in his
throat and chest. "Grow up to be a fine woman, not a foolish girl
who fancies what she can’t have."

Patrina’s lips parted as she listened to his
hurtful words. Namitus stepped up beside her and met Alto’s gaze.
He nodded once, and then gently guided the stunned girl away from
him. With the rogue’s guidance, she slipped the over-sized chain
shirt about her neck and shoulders. The bottom links fell all the
way to her knees.

Alto glanced down at the favor he still held
in his hand. He started to relax his fingers to drop it, and then
changed his mind and clenched them tightly. He shoved it into the
waist of his pants and then turned back to the bridge.