Dwarven Ruby (45 page)

“Tell me what you see,” ordered the officer.

Alex walked up to the crenel and gazed at the pass spread out before him. Hundreds of campfires dotted the pass, their smoke rising to join with the Darkness overhead. The distance was still great, but Alex could pick out the distinctive shapes of the goblins and herds of yaki. He was about to speak when he noticed something else. He squinted into the haze and slowly nodded.

“Those are ogres,” Alex reported. “They are slow creatures, but they have incredible strength. Their intelligence is less than that of a goblin. If told to storm this castle and tear apart the foundation blocks, they will obey. They could represent a considerable problem for you.”

“You have fought these things before?” asked Montbalm.

“I have,” nodded Alex. “Speed is an asset if you are fighting one-on-one, but the best method of defeating them is to use your intelligence. Confuse them if you can.”

“Interesting,” mused the officer. “You have seen enough of the Castle of Man to appreciate it. Do you really think that they pose a problem?”

Alex turned and gazed upward. The Castle of Man still towered overhead. Alex could not see how far up it extended.

“The castle is impressive,” nodded Alex, “but it also limits your options. Do the siege engines run around the entire castle, or do they exist only towards the pass?”

“Only towards the pass right now,” frowned the officer. “Do you suspect that there is a danger from the town side?”

“That depends on how bad Sarac wants to open this pass,” stated Alex. “If he wishes to destroy the Castle of Man, I would expect attacks from both sides.”

“Who is this Sarac you mentioned?” asked Montbalm. “Is he an ogre?”

“No,” frowned Alex. “He is an evil magician. He is the one responsible for moving your people to this Universe.”

“I do not understand what you are saying,” the officer shook his head. “The Castle of Man has not moved. It has always been here.”

“That depends on what you mean by here,” sighed Alex as he realized that the men of Tor had little knowledge about what had happened. “It is hard to explain, but your world changed almost twenty years ago. New people and races of creatures suddenly appeared. Am I correct?”

“Yes,” nodded the officer, “but that is well known. It does not explain what you are saying.”

“Have you ever wondered why these new creatures suddenly appeared?” inquired Alex. “Why for thousands of years there was no record of them existing? And why all of a sudden, everything around you was different and new?”

“Throughout history things change over time,” frowned the officer. “New creatures have finally found their way to Tor, but Tor itself has not changed.”

“Hasn’t it?” posed Alex. “When was the last time you saw the sun?” Or the moon and stars? Wasn’t it also almost twenty years ago?”

“It was,” frowned the officer. “Until recently that is. From the top level, the sky can be seen now, but only far to the north.”

“Don’t your people travel at all?” asked Alex. “Have you not talked to others who know about these changes?”

“Patrols beyond the city are no longer allowed in Tor,” stated the officer. “Nobody leaves the city, and strangers from outside are not tolerated.”

“As an officer, you should know the value of intelligence,” Alex shook his head. “Have you sent scouts north of the mountains to determine the size of the advancing army?”

“No,” admitted Montbalm. “It is forbidden.”

“Then there is much about the world that you do not know, my friend,” frowned Alex. “Had you tolerated visitors, you would know the reasons for these attacks.”

“You know why we are being attacked?” questioned the lieutenant.

“I do,” nodded Alex. “It is imperative that I speak with King Devon.”

“I am beginning to agree with that idea,” nodded Montbalm. “Come, we shall return to the lift.”

Montbalm turned and led the way back to the lift. He led the way across it to another lift where the other Rangers were already gathered. He pulled on the rope and the new lift began to rise. Alex lost track of the floors as he pondered the significance of the combined armies facing Tor. He knew that Sarac had to be behind the attack, and he knew the ultimate goal was Tagaret, but he could not understand why Sarac would not send his forces through the relatively undefended Lavinda Pass. The Dark One had to know that attacking Tor would destroy a great number of his pawns.

Alex moved mechanically from lift to lift as the group rose higher into the Castle of Man. Finally, there was no empty lift waiting for them to move to. The soldiers herded the rangers down a corridor, but Alex was left with Lieutenant Montbalm. Alex could see the Darkness through the shaft above him and knew that he was at the top of the Castle of Man. The officer led Alex to a narrow stairway and up the steps.

When he emerged from the stairway, Alex saw he was on a huge open platform. Soldiers immediately surrounded him, while the lieutenant marched away. Alex gazed at a row of immense trebuchets, which were larger than any siege engines he had ever seen. He glanced north over the tops of the mountains and saw a thin sliver of blue sky in the distance. He tried to follow the lieutenant with his eyes, but Montbalm disappeared behind a platform that was raised over the open castle top. It was situated over the shaft of the lift he had ridden in. Alex gazed up at the Darkness and shivered at its closeness. An unclean feeling rippled through his body.

After a few moments, Montbalm returned. He took Alex’s sheath and bow and handed them to one of the guards. He spoke softly to the guard, but Alex could not hear the words spoken.

“Come,” commanded Montbalm, “you shall speak with King Devon.”

Alex followed the officer. Alex saw the king well before he reached him. The king wore no crown and was dressed in a gray uniform like the other soldiers, but the deference paid to him by the others was unmistakable.

“This is the foreigner Alexander Tork,” introduced Lieutenant Montbalm.

“King Devon,” bowed Alex, “thank you for seeing me.”

“There is no need to grovel,” stated the king. “I understand that you know of these ogres. In fact, I am led to believe that you know much about why this battle is taking place. That is information that I need to know.”

“I am prepared to help our Tor brothers in any way that I can,” nodded Alex.

“Brothers?” echoed the king. “A strange term to use from one who is condemned.”

“Condemned?” questioned Alex. “Why in the world would you turn your anger on people who offer freely to help you?”

“You have broken our laws,” shrugged King Devon. “We do not tolerate outsiders in Tor. The penalty is death.”

“Then slay me,” retorted Alex. “It appears that ignorance of your enemies is not your only weakness. Turning allies into enemies is the surest path to destruction for any civilization. By keeping yourselves isolated, you have turned Tor into an island of ignorance.”

The king stiffened at Alex’s rebuke. Alex saw more than one soldier move his hand to the hilt of his sword.

“The Castle of Man is a magnificent structure,” Alex pressed on, “but anything made by man can be destroyed by man. Even the Darkness above you can be destroyed as we did to your north. As King of Tor, you may enforce your laws as you see fit, but I promise you this. If you destroy my party, you shall live under this Darkness for the rest of all time. It is time for you to decide what is more important to Tor, your laws or your survival.”

“And I suppose that you are the key to our survival?” scowled King Devon. “You certainly think rather highly of yourself.”

“Not myself,” retorted Alex. “The path to the defeat of the Dark One lies in cooperating with others who seek the same thing. My small group comes from all over the world. We have banded together with one sole purpose as our goal. That goal is the defeat of Sarac.”

“This Sarac that you speak of,” questioned the king, “or Dark One as you refer to him, he is responsible for the Darkness as well as this army who comes against us?”

“He is,” nodded Alex. “Tor is probably the only place in the world that does not understand what happened a generation ago. That is because you have shut yourself off from the truth. Your defense of the Castle of Man is small in comparison to the dangers that await you and the entire world.”

“What could be worse than losing the Castle of Man?” asked the king.

“Extinction of all life,” answered Alex. “What good will this castle do when your rivers run dry and your grain dies in the field? When the animals of the fields and forests die off, what will you eat to survive?”

The king stared at Alex through a long moment of silence. He paced to a crenel and gazed into the pass. Finally, he gazed northward over the mountaintops and spoke.

“Prepare a meal in my chambers,” ordered the king. “Bring this outsider there so that I may learn of what he believes the truth to be.”

* * *

“What is it?” Tedi asked as Natia halted her horse.

“This staff you made me bring,” complained Natia. “It keeps rubbing against my leg. I don’t understand why you wanted me to have one. I don’t know how to use it, and my knife throwing is the best among the gypsies.”

Tedi dismounted and walked back to Natia’s horse. He adjusted the staff so that it would not rub on Natia’s leg.

“Because you can use it to keep Caroom at a distance from you,” sighed Tedi. “You cannot throw a knife if he gets too close. He knows that as well as I do. He will charge at you if he gets the chance. That gives you only one shot with a throwing dagger.”

“One dagger is all it should take,” protested Natia.

“Caroom may be as big as a tree,’ frowned Tedi, “But he will not hold still like one.”

“You really don’t have faith in my ability,” pouted Natia, “do you?”

“I have faith in you,” Tedi smiled weakly, “but I would have preferred it if you had stayed in the camp. We give Caroom two targets by being together. If he gets either one of us, my life is over.”

“Your staff will make short work of Caroom,” grinned Natia. “You worry too much.”

“Perhaps,” frowned Tedi as he mounted his horse.

They rode in silence for over an hour before they stopped. Tedi dismounted and knelt to examine the tracks. “He has picked up a friend,” frowned Tedi as he gazed towards the nearby hills.

“Are you sure?” asked Natia. “Maybe someone just used the same trail recently.”

“I am positive,” replied Tedi. “Sometimes Caroom’s tracks are on top. Sometimes it is the other rider’s tracks. Whoever it is, they are traveling together.”

“Can you tell who it is?” questioned the gypsy princess.

“Just somebody who is much lighter than Caroom,” chuckled Tedi. “And who isn’t? These tracks are fairly recent. We should maintain silence until we find them.”

Natia merely nodded as Tedi mounted his horse. Tedi frowned as he started following the tracks. His eyes kept darting up at the nearby hills as he recalled the gypsy trick of leaving a trail that forces you to pass by the person you are tracking. He unsnapped his staff and held it in one hand as he followed the recent tracks.

The tracks started heading up into the hills and Tedi suddenly became wary. The ground turned rocky and the tracks became harder to read. Tedi slowed down to barely a walk. When he came to a horse dropping, Tedi dismounted and examined it. Light perspiration began to dampen his brow as he gazed at the trail ahead. The trail ran along the edge of a cliff. The upside of the trail was a maze of low shrubs and large boulders, probably left by an ancient slide. While he knelt gazing at the trail ahead, Natia rode by him.

“Stop,” Tedi warned softly. “Where are you going?”

“I saw something up ahead,” Natia whispered back. “I am not going far. I just want to see if I can see around the corner.”

“NO,” Tedi shouted, but he realized that the warning was too late even before he had completed it.

A Lanoirian soldier leaped from behind a boulder. He collided with Natia and dragged her from her horse. Tedi rose and charged up the path. He had not gone a dozen paces before Caroom jumped from behind the rocks and knocked him to the ground. Tedi’s staff fell from his hand.

Caroom grabbed Tedi by the throat, his meaty hands cutting off the air supply. Tedi heard Natia scream as he tried to force Caroom’s arms apart. He could not budge the giant’s arms, and he felt the burning need for oxygen. His hands fell away from Caroom’s arms as his hands blindly searched the rocky trail for his staff.

Tedi heard a yelp from the Lanoirian soldier as Tedi’s right hand closed around a large rock. As his vision started to darken, Tedi smashed the rock into the side of Caroom’s head. Caroom’s grip loosened, and Tedi greedily sucked air into his lungs. Tedi rolled back on his shoulders and shoved his feet into Caroom’s chest. He kicked out with his legs and pushed Caroom away. Swiftly, Tedi rolled towards Natia and leaped to his feet. He looked just in time to see Natia push the soldier off the cliff with her staff. The soldier’s scream ended in a sickening thud.

“Caroom has your staff!” Natia warned.

Tedi reached forward and pulled Natia’s staff from her hands. He pivoted to face the giant.

“Use your knives now,” ordered Tedi as he watched Caroom approach warily with Tedi’s magic staff in hand.

“They are all in the soldier’s body,” cried Natia. “I have no more left.”

“Get your horse and get out of here,” warned Tedi as Caroom took his first swing.

Tedi blocked Caroom’s swing to slow it down while he ducked under it. He shoved the point of his staff towards Caroom’s stomach and lunged forward as he rose. Caroom grunted, but Tedi’s hands ached under the impact. He felt like he had just purposely rammed a staff into a stone wall. Caroom staggered back a step and immediately swung his staff low to catch Tedi as he ducked. Caroom’s eyes betrayed his move and Tedi leaped into the air. He brought his staff down as hard as he could on Caroom’s shoulder, but the blow lacked force behind it.

Tedi’s balance was off when he landed and he tumbled to the ground. He heard the swish of Caroom’s staff through the air above him, as he scrambled backwards and regained his feet. Tedi held his staff high as Caroom charged up the trail after him. Caroom raised his staff over his head as if it were club. Tedi smiled inwardly as he swiftly knelt and lowered his staff. As Caroom started his downward swing, Tedi’s staff struck the giant between his legs. Caroom’s own charging motion worsened the impact.