Conflict (46 page)

Komir looked at Hartz and Kayti briefly, then at the Noceans taking up their positions on the wall, and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Mirkos, our ways part here. Our destiny awaits us elsewhere and we must leave.”

Mirkos looked at him, stunned.

“You can’t be serious, Komir. You can’t leave now! Not when the situation is so critical!”

“I’m very sorry, Mirkos but Silanda is just a stop on my way. I must go on, my destiny awaits me beyond, towards the east.”

“By the Light! You’re needed here, defending Silanda from the invaders. Now more than ever” Mirkos was furious.

“This isn’t my city, Mirkos, this isn’t my war. There’s nothing in it for me.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” Mirkos burst out.

Kayti intervened at this point. “It’s time to leave, before the Noceans take this part of the city and make it impossible for us to sneak out.”

“Where’s your honor, your decency?” Mirkos cried in fury.

“We played our part. We said we’d fight until the first wall fell, and the first wall has fallen. We haven’t failed our duty or our honor. So now I’ll be on my way.”

“It saddens me that you’re leaving them to their fate.”

“Their fate doesn’t depend on us,” Hartz said. “We’re just three drops in a river. The fate of this city won’t turn on our participation, one way or the other.”

“There you’re wrong, Norriel. The acts of a single man might change the outcome of a battle. They might even cause the fall of an empire.”

“I’m not that man.”

“If I can’t make you change your mind then you’ll have to give me the Ilenian medallion. I can’t allow you to have it, it’s too powerful.”

They all tensed at once.

“The medallion is mine and it stays with me.” Komir said, half-closing his eyes.

“That medallion has powers which you could never even begin to understand, young Norriel. That medallion could save the city. It could sway this war.”

“The medallion is a part of my destiny. I feel it, I know it and that’s why wherever I go it will go with me,”

“You young fool,” Mirkos snapped out. He raised his staff and pointed it threateningly at Komir.

The three raised their weapons in reply.

“Don’t even try, Mirkos, if you don’t want to lose your head,” threatened Hartz, seeing his friend in danger.

“You don’t have enough energy for a spell powerful enough to finish the three of us, and you know it,” said Kayti.

Komir looked at Mirkos in the eye and with a glance from his cold emerald eyes let him know that he would not yield, he would die first.

“You disappoint me greatly, young Norriel,” said Mirkos in bitter reproach. He lowered his staff. “I won’t forget this.”

“Remember too that we’ve saved your life today,” Komir replied.

“Go!” Mirkos cried, hurt, and turned his back on them.

The three comrades ran towards the stables while the tide of Nocean enemies swarmed into the lower part of the city.

A bitter reproach sped them on their way:

“Foolish, blind youth!”

Evening was falling, the light was gradually fading and the need to find shelter for the night would soon become a priority. Aliana looked at Kendas and the Lancer smiled at her. They were completely exhausted after being on the run for three weeks, but Kendas never lost his smile no matter how challenging the situation. After him came Asti. The quiet Usik barely opened her mouth, remaining withdrawn and expectant, even though when she spoke her words were worth listening to.

“Quick, behind those rocks!” Kendas urged in a low voice.

The three of them ran to hide behind a group of enormous boulders which had fallen from the mountainside.

“What’s the matter, Kendas?” whispered Aliana.

“Shh,” was the reply.

The three remained crouching in silence, hidden behind the boulders.

After a few moments the sound of galloping horses became audible in the distance. Aliana, rigid, flattened herself against the rock. Kendas’ ability to tell those things amazed her. On several occasions the blond Lancer had predicted danger instants before it reached them, saving their lives. The sound of hooves gradually faded away.

Kendas and Asti risked a glance.

“They’re gone, there’s no danger,” said the Lancer.

“Who were they? Outlaws?” Aliana asked.

“Worse, much worse… scouts of the Nocean Army.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ve seen several groups of Nocean soldiers in the past few days. Their lands begin a little further south. I found it strange that they were wandering so far north, in no-man’s-land. We must be careful, two women and just one Lancer is too tempting a treasure for any group of outlaws or even Nocean soldiers…”

“Would they sell us as slaves?”

“That, or something much worse…” Kendas replied, looking down.

Aliana understood the Lancer’s fear. It was not his life he was worried about; it was the horrible things those men might inflict upon her and Asti. She swallowed. She would never understand the evil in the rotten hearts of some men. Still, she had to become aware of that evil and think more carefully, or she would never survive in the cruel environment they found themselves in. Aliana knew she would not be frightened in an adverse situation, but she must learn to identify such things beforehand. If those men should try to lay a hand on her, she would fight. She put her hand on the knife she carried at her waist and clutched the handle tightly.

She took a deep breath to try and relax. Seeing that the land around them was strange to her, she turned to the Lancer.

“I’ve no idea where we are, Kendas. I only know that the Usik forests are far behind by now, and you don’t know how that eases my heart!”

“I beg your pardon, Aliana. I’ve been dragging you along at a forced pace all this time. Let me show you.”

He crouched and drew a small map on the dry earth with a twig. The two girls crouched beside him and watched.

“Let’s see: for more than two weeks we’ve been going eastwards and a little to the north. We’ve left the Usik forests behind and crossed the great river Nerfir, which runs from the southern part of the Mountains of the Half Moon into Nocean territory. I’d say we’re about here.” He pointed with the twig towards the south, to the foot of the mountains.

“Crossing the river was a real nightmare,” Aliana said, smiling at the thought.

“Yes, it’s a good thing traveling with a Healer guarantees passage on the barges. I had my doubts as to how we were going to manage things with a river so wide it takes a whole day and night to cross.”

“That fishing village needed my services. It was a peaceful village, and they were having a hard time with the fevers. My heart rejoices at having been able to help them. Nothing makes me feel so good as healing people in need.”

The truth was that those people had indeed needed her help. They belonged to a race which Aliana had never seen before, with features similar to those of the Noceans but with lighter skin. They had fallen ill with a sickness Aliana knew well. It is the quality of illnesses that they do not respect races or borders. Aliana had worked hard making sure she had eradicated the last trace of the outbreak of infection in the village. If she did not heal everybody, if just a single carrier of the infection were left, they would all fall sick again and die within a few weeks. The village chief, a friendly old man, had been very grateful for their help and had guaranteed their passage across the great river Nerfir. From what Kendas had told her, a great many small communities of fishermen and merchants lived along the huge river which flowed into the Nocean deserts. Much further south rose the first Nocean cities, surrounded by immense deserts.

“I not like boat. Spirit of Water make vomit,” Asti said in her peculiar manner of speaking.

Aliana could not help laughing.

“It’s funny that you can live a hundred and twenty feet off the ground as if you were a monkey, then in a peaceful river with barely a ripple, you throw up as if you’d been poisoned.”

Kendas smiled and looked at the frail-looking Usik.

“It must be the first time she’d ever been on a boat. In the Usik forests the rivers didn’t look very wide. Am I right, Asti?”

“Yes, first time boat,” she said with a frown. “Not like, not go more. Asti not fish.”

Kendas and Aliana laughed at the idea. When they recovered their breath Aliana asked:

“How far are we from our destination?”

“We should soon reach Silanda, the closest Rogdonian city to the south,” Kendas said. “If we stick to the mountain range and go on westwards we’ll reach this beautiful borderland city. Really Rogdon is behind those mountains, but we can’t cross them here.” He pointed towards the impenetrable mountains which rose to the north.

“Then let’s go on,” Aliana said with a wink at Kendas. “At least here we’re not being chased by the Usik, and we can travel by day and rest at night.”

“Hiding all day up in the leafy trees and traveling by night was the best way to escape those giant eagles of the Usik” Kendas explained as he looked towards the mountains to the north. “If we’d moved by day we’d never have managed to get out of those Usik forests. They’d surely have caught us.”

“It was a nightmarish time. I still can’t believe those giant eagles didn’t follow us once we were out of the forests.”

“Great birds not leave forest,” explained Asti. “Ever.”

“Really fascinating, those majestic birds,” Kendas mused. “It also explains why nobody has any knowledge of their existence. If they never leave the great forest and nobody dares go into it…”

“Very true. I’d love to know more about those incredible birds and how the Usik have been able to tame them.”

“Great birds sacred. Better not come near.”

“Particularly with all those shamans around them,” Aliana said to herself.

Kendas nodded and slung his bow on his back. He looked south, towards the distant horizon.

“We’ll have to look for shelter…” Aliana said.

“Yes,” Kendas said, “we’d better hide from night predators, human as well as animal.”

“What’s on your mind, Kendas?”

“We’re in no-man’s-land, a transit zone that’s owned by nobody. There could be outlaws, bandits, slavers, deserters, caravans of merchants escorted by mercenaries and Nocean soldiers. I’d ask what
isn’t
on my mind.”

Aliana returned a smile, while Asti withdrew into herself again. She did not seem at all comfortable out of her forests, and was finding it very hard to acclimatize. The extreme demands the escape had made on them was not helping either.

“Follow me,” said Kendas, starting to walk. “Let’s find a cave to hide in and spend the night.”

They went on for a while until they arrived at a wide empty space in front of an enormous cave, whose entrance was half hidden by a rock fall.

“Here we should be safe; it’s not visible from below. Wait here a moment, I’ll check it isn’t the lair of a grey bear.”

Kendas went into the cave.

Aliana saw him make his way into the darkness.
Everything will go well, he’ll come back presently and we’ll be able to rest comfortably in the cave. We’ll light a fire and spend a quiet night resting and recovering our strength
. She had not finished that pleasant thought when she saw Kendas coming out of the cave…

Running for his life!

“Troll!!!!” cried Kendas at the top of his voice.

Aliana was petrified. Chasing Kendas, there appeared the most horrible monster she could ever have imagined in her worst nightmare. This huge hairy creature was vaguely humanoid, but its long muscular arms, powerful torso and style of running made it look more like a gorilla.

The beast, whose hair was long and brown, straightened and gave a deafening roar.

Aliana took a step back, tripped and fell from the shock. When she saw the monster’s huge jaws and sharp claws she knew she was in deadly danger.

Asti helped her get to her feet while Kendas struck the monster with an arrow.

The Troll roared again and launched itself in pursuit of Kendas, who was already running, trying to put a distance between himself and the beast. Given its size, Aliana thought, this beast must be used to tearing men to pieces as if they were made of straw. If it caught Kendas he would be lost.

With a leap Kendas reached the top of one of the boulders in front of the cave. From there he shot another arrow at the raging beast.

The Troll was clawing the air trying to reach the Lancer, but he was out of its reach. Furious, the monster turned and launched itself at the two women.

“Tree!” shouted Asti. She grabbed Aliana’s hand and ran to an enormous oak.

The Troll ran after them, its angry roars filling the air.

The sound of the beast’s heavy footsteps behind her prompted Asti, terrified, to climb the tree with the agility of a monkey. Aliana on the other hand tried to clamber onto the first branch, but instead remained hanging without managing to raise her body.

“Hand!” Asti shouted at her from a higher branch, offering her hand to grab.

The Troll was almost upon Aliana.

Seeing she was not going to manage it, Kendas jumped off the boulder and let another arrow fly at the beast’s back, trying to distract its attention.

The Troll stopped and roared.

Aliana managed to reach the second branch with Asti’s help, out of reach of the Troll. She let out her fear in a single long breath.

The Troll struck the oak tree with both claws and the whole strength of its massive upper body and arms. The tree shook violently.

Aliana lost her balance and fell off the tree on to her back, hitting her head on the ground.

The beast stood over her and raised a claw to strike her.

Aliana, disoriented and dizzy from the blow, saw the beast’s jaws. A terrible fear came over her.

“No!” shouted Kendas. Dagger in hand, he ran forward and jumped onto the Troll’s back, stabbing it repeatedly.

The beast roared with pain and rage, but nothing seemed enough to kill it. With a tremendous blow it shook Kendas off its back. The Lancer fell against one of the boulders and lost consciousness.

Aliana tried to stand, but she felt sick and everything had turned blurred. She remained lying there face down, with her hair covering her ashen face.

The enormous beast came towards her.

Asti yelled, trying to catch the Troll’s attention, but the beast ignored her.

Aliana was about to close her eyes before being torn to pieces when suddenly a rider came out of the woods at a full gallop. A long sword flashed in the sun before striking the beast. The Troll, badly wounded, lashed out at the horse with a roar, toppling both it and its rider. Everything turned hazy; her head was spinning and her eyes failed her. She was on the point of fainting, but she held out against it. She had to fight; the situation was desperate. The rider got to his feet and faced the beast. With cat-like agility he avoided the lethal blows of the claws, cutting both the Troll’s legs at the same time. With an angry growl the beast tried to catch the rider, but its maimed legs failed it and it fell with a thump. The rider lifted his sword and with two terrible strokes killed the bestial Troll.

Aliana saw him approaching, but her eyes could only make out a blurred shape.

The rider knelt beside her and turned her over gently.

“Are you all right?” said the stranger.

With the help of her Gift, Aliana tried to clear her vision, focus it. Enormous emerald eyes were looking at her, wide as saucers.

“You!” cried the stranger, raising his hand to the medallion around his neck.

“You!” cried Aliana, raising her hand to her own.

Two other riders appeared in the clearing at a gallop. Aliana, still lost in amazement, made out a huge warrior wrapped in a bearskin cloak and a red-headed woman in white armor.

“Is that beast what I think it is?” cried the huge warrior from his horse.

“Yes, Hartz, there’s your Troll,” said the red-headed warrior.