Fate Rides Wicked: Volume I of the Lerilon Trilogy (40 page)

Corl gave him one immediately. “I don’t dislike you
coming to me, but it seems you already have a majority for
allowing her to go. Tych is an adult and as such by our
tradition, he has as much voting power as I do. Also, he
knows more about the world out there than any of us, since
he has traveled and conversed with humans for almost a
year. If Tych thinks he can keep her from serious harm, let
her go. I know she wants it.”

Greentree grudgingly said, “Bring her here.”

Corl reached up and pulled on a rope. In moments a
guard stood at the door. “Fetch Cert and bring her here.”

The guard bowed and vanished. Some time passed
while he looked for the often-wandering girl and Tych
related some of their adventures and the news from
Woodhaven. Corl asked numerous questions about
Blackdrad, and expressed worry that he still ran wild in the
land.

A knock announced the arrival of Cert, who stepped
into the room in a sheer white cloak and soft cloth boots.
Standing a couple inches shorter than Tych, her black hair
fell below her shoulders and her green eyes came from
Corl. She paused, then saw Tych and Lendril and hugged
them both, laughing with joy. Tych thought she looked
very much alive and happy.

Corl stood and walked over to the others. “Cert, would
you like to join Tych in his travels for the rest of the
expedition?”

At this her hands came up and she threw herself into
Corl’s arms in a bear hug. “Would I? I would love it!
When do we leave?”

Greentree and Morg hugged and kissed their daughter
goodbye. Tych said, “Go pack your things and join us in
the throne room. I’ll teleport Lendril back and then come
get you.”

A trail led out the northwestern side of Woodhaven and
immediately began a steep climb up into the Seftrel
mountain range. Smaller than the Efres, the Seftrels stuck
out in a bubble from the larger range. All the way around
the outside the mountains stood sheer against invaders and
only through the trails could one enter the kingdom nestled
in the peaks.

Tych hid Cert in the middle of the group, hoping she’d
be less obvious to attackers there. The expedition would
soon enter xadineft country and this race could be
extremely dangerous. It didn’t help that the horses had to
go slow as they struggled over the loose rocks and steep
terrain. Tych just thanked Lendela that the sun traveled
across the sky alone and the threat of snow disappeared.

At lunch they stopped, only a couple miles from the top
of the trail. They air had grown cold and the expedition
took the stop as an opportunity to bundle up against the
bite. By the time they started again the sun stood at half
past zenith and they decided to look for a place to stop as
soon as they crested the trail.

Just before dark they crossed a trail intersecting with
their own, and Tych sent Ofeldar scouting for a clearing.
They waited patiently and she returned with news of
success. The group turned down the second trail.

About one hundred feet down the trail, she turned off to
the left. Not very far from the road, a clearing sat against a
rock wall. Two more outcrops of rock seemed to hold it on
the left and the right. Tych dismounted and said, “This will
be perfect, Ofeldar. We have until dark before the xadineft
will be dangerous. As you all know, they won’t come out
in the sun.”

Tired and quiet, the group set about eating the dried
meat and fruit the mendar had replenished their supplies
with. Darkness fell and the neftir made a fire. Tych sent
Ofeldar out to scout to the west and Tendelbro went to the
south. Reichet jogged back to the crossroads. All three
knew the mountains very well, for they had grown up in
them and trained with the Seftrel army. Before the sound
of their footsteps had faded, many of the fighters and
magicians fell asleep.

A couple hours passed slowly for Ofeldar as she sat in
some bushes down the second trail from the clearing. To
her right she could see the point where the trail turned east,
but it would take five minutes for a group on foot to get
from where she sat to the bend and another five to get to
the clearing. On her own concept of direction, she could
get back to the camp in only a few minutes. A squad of xadineft
loped into view and she slipped off.

Quickly she went around the camp rousing all of the
expedition. As soon as Tych heard about the impending
danger, he told everybody but Nandel to fake sleep, but
keep weapons near. Once the camp looked asleep, he told
Nandel to cast an invisible shield on the edge of the
clearing.

Nandel lay down with the others just as the xadineft
came to the point where they could see the expedition’s
camp. With snarls of rage they charged, weapons raised
high. To their surprise, all ten slammed into the shield and
fell back, slightly dazed.

As the green apes tried to regain their feet, the
expedition stood, bows or hand-weapons ready. Tych
canceled the shield and yelled, “fire” as one of them moved
to attack again. The twang of ten bows and the whistle of
their missiles marked the end of the battle. Each xadineft
fell with an arrow in their neck or chest.

Cert let out a little yelp of shock at the green blood
spreading out from the monster’s bodies. Nandel stood
closest to her and he pulled her against his chest to comfort
her, out of instinct. Trying to be strong, the young
magician pushed away and scowled at him. He stared at
her dazed for a moment then turned away. Cert wondered
if his look came from the same warm feelings she felt
towards him in his embrace. She felt things inside she had
never known before.

The next morning came without further incident and
they returned to the main road. The horses still had to fight
rough terrain but they moved faster with the level ground.
The sun beat down but the air still held a chill. The wind
had died. Only the faint smells of pine and dust filled their
nostrils.

About zenith, only a few hours from the capital, the
dead silence of the mountains broke suddenly. The
expedition came to a stop and looked at the twenty or so
spears pointed at them by human soldiers on all sides. A
man stepped through the points wearing a silver, green and
blue band across his chest. “State your names and purpose
or die.”

Tendelbro dismounted and walked out of the horses that
hid him to stand before the Captain. “We could beat you
with our eyes closed, Captain Zif.”

The men drew back their spears and broke out into
joyous laughter as Tendelbro and Zif embraced. The
Captain looked back over his shoulder as he led Tendelbro
out of the circle of men. “Come, follow us back to our fort.
I want to welcome my old friends, Tendelbro and Reichet,
back to Seftrel.”

Findra crouched under some branches and looked down
for a trail. Reichet rode next to her and he said, “There
isn’t a trail. No offense, my friend, but in Zif’s backyard,
nobody is better at finding their way around. He may even
better you in other parts of Li.”

“We don’t travel north from home into the mountains
much. I guess I’ll have to trust him,” she said with wry
disbelief.

In a few minutes they reached a very large clearing. A
cliff face towered above the east side of the grassy area,
and wooden doors and footpaths dotted the bottom half of
it. Following Zif, they led their horses into a large door on
the bottom level and tied them up in a huge cavern. The
captain took them back outside and they joined the soldiers
walking up and down the paths to the heavy wooden doors.
They could see three archery holes in each closed door.

Tych had to gasp at all of this fortification. An assault
would be virtually impossible. He followed Zif up and into
an open door. Before him and the expedition a cavern
spread out. Unable to hold it in any longer, he said,
“Captain, tell me about this place.”

“This is our most successful fort design. There are
three or four caverns like this on each of the four levels
above the horses. They are intertwined on their backsides
through tunnels and doors. Come, I’ll show you...”
Suddenly the captain had no words.

“I’m sorry, Zif I forgot to introduce the rest of the
group to you.” Tendelbro began with Tych and gave Zif
the names of everybody he didn’t already know.

Zif let out a whistle and said, “Well, follow me, Prince
Tych di Corl.” He led them to the back of the torch-lit
cavern to a door. On the other side they walked up a sloped
tunnel that looped away from the door then back as they
reached the door at the top. “We are now in the cavern
above where we just were,” said Zif as they entered.
“Supplies are kept in the highest cavern and all of the fort is
laid out for progressive defense, if they get past the arrows
and spears.”

The tour continued throughout the fort until they
arrived in the dining cavern. Zif spent most of dinner in
amazement and laughter at the stories the expedition told.
By the time they went to their quarters, the expedition had
Zif’s promise to lead them to Seftrak himself and bring
them to the king.

They discovered in the morning that Vilmar’s horse
could no longer travel. The hiftnuvin thus had to ride on
the back of Ubilitare, the pemilon. Zif and a score of men
walked with them the three hours to the lip of the valley of
Seftrak.

Only three of the expedition members had ever seen the
valley. The rest of them just sat with mouths open. In the
mid-morning sun the whole valley seemed to sparkle with
green and blue. Sheer mountain walls surrounded it on all
sides and two rivers flowed down opposite sides, cutting
wide swaths through the trees. There seemed to be twice as
many trees than houses or buildings in the town, which
sprawled out from a crystal clear lake close to a mile
across.

Of all of this, one thing dazzled the expedition the most.
On top of a grassy, green hill on the opposite side of the
lake from them sat a castle. Huge spires and towers rose
from a catacomb of varying levels and walls. The chaos of
the structure gave it the appearance of a castle twice its
size, and its silver painted surfaces reflected the sun’s
intensity. Large emeralds encrusted the tops of the spires
and sapphires covered the tower abutments. A circle of
alternating emeralds and sapphires went all along the
outside wall. All of this combined to half hide the castle
from view in the dazzling colors and light.

After a few minutes of the silence, Zif broke into
laughter. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen somebody
so entranced by our capital. Shall we go see the king?”

Tych smiled and looked down at the captain. “It looks
magical. The village looks like a mendarian village and the
castle looks like an illusion. Let’s get a closer look at it.”

“You’ll soon see that it’s all real,” finished Zif as they
started down the trail into the valley.

The trail entered into the east side of the town,
intersecting with a main road going towards the lake to the
west and to the east back out of Seftrel to Vrefez. The
compact dirt road sloped gently down on each side to little
canals that drained into the lake. Trees lined the yards on
well-spaced houses along the side, and paths wide enough
for a carriage traveled from the road to the side of each
house. In these spots, metal pipes laid in the canal
supported a dirt bridge.

The green grass in front of most houses had been neatly
trimmed and in spots snow remained from the last storm.
In a few minutes they passed by an intersecting road that,
strangely for them, crossed at a ninety-degree angle. A
couple more similar crossings passed by and they all
sucked in their breath at the view of the castle from the
other side of the lake. In the wind of the valley the rough
waters made the colors and light dance.

They rode the road around the lake to the south. It had
been built up on a wide wall to be useful during spring
runoff. The surface of the lake grumbled some twelve feet
below them. They quickly reached the other side and
looked up a cobblestone road at the castle.

Before they could ride up to the gates, Zif stopped
them. “Hold it. See that structure over there,” he said,
pointing at a low wooden building. “That is our stable.”
As soon as he finished, a set of stable boys came out. The
expedition dismounted, removed their saddlebags and let
the horses be led away.

Zif led them between torches taller than any of them.
The cobblestone flashed with polish. The captain gained
them admittance into the castle and led them down a long,
narrow corridor in double file. Only the light from the
windows on their left and the torches on the right kept them
from feeling crushed.

On the other side of a door they stood in the throne
room. It stood two stories tall and the finest rarest colors
and materials of fabric covered every piece of furniture.
On the throne at the other end sat a lean, very tall, gray
haired man, wearing a fine green robe. His eyes sparkled
as he looked at Zif. “What can I do for you, My Son?”

At first the expedition thought son was used as an old
man might use it with any younger man. Then Zif said,
“Father, I have brought the multi-racial expedition the
neftir told us would be coming here. They request our
army to add to theirs.”

“Request approved.” The king stood up. “I am King
Ubel. You have already met my son, Prince Zif.” The
expedition looked at him, amazed. Ofeldar and the two
Efre neftir just smiled. They hadn’t bothered to let the rest
in on Zif’s rank, knowing he preferred it that way. “Come,
let us all get to know each other better.”

Tych and Lendril took places on either side of the king
as they left out the backside of the throne room. Tych’s
first words were, “That was the first throne room without
any nobles or other people in it that I’ve seen in the
kingdoms.”