The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (50 page)

Coughing and rasping, he and the two
remaining men decided to go out fighting. Kicking open the door,
Tinok raced out with knives in hand. Behind him the other two had
their swords drawn as they charged the soldiers to sell their lives
as best they could.

No sooner did the door slam open than six
crossbows released their deadly projectiles at the escaping men.
One went down with two bolts in him, the other gets hit in the leg
and continued on. None of the bolts hit Tinok and he saw the
crossbowmen twenty feet before him. With a cry, he sprinted for
them.

Regular soldiers quickly moved to protect
the crossbowmen and he was soon surrounded with armored men. He
managed to drop one of them with a lucky strike before he was
struck on the back of his head and knocked unconscious.

He and his man that was struck in the leg
with one of the crossbow bolts were tied and thrown across the
backs of two horses. For a week they were taken across the desert
until they arrived at what they learnt was the city of Cyst. All of
their belongings but their clothes were taken, including the
necklace he had given Cassie shortly before she was killed. That
more than anything else took the fight from him. His mind burned
for revenge, but his heart just felt like ashes.

He was sure slavery would not be his fate,
rather the hangman’s noose. After what he and his men did, there
could be no other fate for them. The first day he and Esix, the
sole remaining member of his band, waited in apprehension for
someone to come and tell them what was going to happen to them. But
no one did.

They remained in one of the slave pens in
Cyst for a week, maybe two. Time lost meaning after the first
several days as one merged into the next. Each day they waited for
the hammer to drop, yet their waiting was in vain for no one came
to them. Until one day a man in armor came and took them. No word
was given as they were escorted from the pen.

Neither one of them understood the
significance of the man in armor at the time, simply that everyone
including the slavers treated him with utmost respect. Tinok
thought that some of them held back barely controlled fear while in
his presence. He too could feel something about the man, whether
from the man himself or due to the reaction of the others, he
wasn’t sure.

As he waited for other slaves and prisoners
to be gathered, Tinok noticed an insignia on the man’s armor. Three
dots with lines running between them yet not touching them. Later
he was to come to know that the insignia marked the man as one of
the dreaded warrior priest’s of Dmon-Li. Terrible fighters who
wield the power of their god with terrible strength.

He, Esix, and fourteen others were loaded
onto two wagons and taken west. Before the end of the first day, a
wall of fog appeared from out of the distance ahead of them. It
grew larger the nearer they came to it and it didn’t take Tinok
long to realize the fog was to be their destination.

The other slaves in the wagon with him grew
nervous and fearful when they came to the realization as had Tinok
that they were heading for the fog. He heard one of them call the
fog the Mists of Sorrow, and from others he learned that it held a
fell reputation.

Tinok watched the fog grow ever closer. Then
all of a sudden it was all around them. One minute it was over a
hundred yards away, and the next it was encompassing them. A man
sitting next to him began having hysterics and was struck on the
back of the head. Knocked out, the man’s screams and pleas were
silenced as he fell against Tinok who was on the verge or losing it
himself. Not wanting to be struck like the man next to him had
been, Tinok kept a tight reign on the fear fighting to take
control.

The fog now surrounding them dampened all
sound. Even that of their horses’ hooves upon the ground was barely
heard. Cold and clammy, it felt like it was trying to suck the
warmth from you. It didn’t take long before the cold seeped its way
to his very core. Teeth chattering, he wrapped his arms around
himself in an attempt to keep warm. The others in the wagon with
him did the same.

He’s not sure when it happened, but at one
point the shadow of some beast passed through the mist not too far
away. It was the size of a horse yet ran along the ground like a
dog. There for a moment before disappearing back into the fog.

“What was that?” Esix asked him.

“I don’t know,” he replied. Glancing to the
warrior priest leading them, he’s at least somewhat comforted by
the knowledge that their captor isn’t reacting to the beast’s
presence. Which meant there was no immediate threat from it. “Could
be something like a watchdog,” he guessed.

“Maybe,” agreed Esix.

If it was a guard dog of some kind, the
possibility of escape from wherever they are going began to seem
unlikely. Tinok kept scanning the fog surrounding them while they
continued to roll through and saw the beast several more times. At
least he hoped it was the same beast. One they may be able to deal
with should they get away. More than that and it’s a fool’s hope of
ever getting out of here.

They rolled on through the night without
more than minimal breaks to feed and water the horses. Tinok dozed
on and off until he and the others in the wagons were taken out to
answer the call of nature. None strayed too far from the wagons,
the thought of facing what is out there kept them from even
thinking of trying to escape. Once done, they were reloaded back
onto the wagons and they resumed their progress through the
fog.

Through the night and most of the next
morning they were taken further into the fog. Finally, a dark
shadow began to form ahead of them in the fog until they drew close
enough and discovered the dark shadow was in actuality a large
stone building.

How large the building may be couldn’t be
seen due to the denseness of the fog. A large black wall was all
they saw before it disappeared into the fog. Made of massive stone
blocks, it looked very strong and impregnable. To the surprise of
Tinok and the others, the warrior priest led them directly to the
imposing stone wall.

The warrior priest stopped and dismounted
when he reached the wall. Coming forward, he stopped and stood
motionless before the black wall. With neither movement nor speech,
he stood there like a statue until a grinding noise came from
within the wall. Suddenly, a section began receding backward into
the wall and then slid to the side. It revealed an opening wide
enough for a wagon to pass comfortably and tall enough for a
mounted rider.

Returning to his horse, the warrior priest
mounted then began leading them into the dark edifice. One man in
the wagon behind Tinok’s began screaming incoherently and tried to
break free from his bonds. Yanking at the chain connecting his
manacles to the eye ring in the bed of the wagon, he tugged at it
furiously.

One of the riders escorting the wagons rode
to the side of the wagon and struck the man on the back of the head
with a club. The impact knocked him into the bed of the wagon and
stilled his cries. Tinok continued glancing to the wagon but didn’t
see the man get up. Fearing he may be dead, he looked to the other
prisoners. Fear was in the eyes of every man in the wagon.

“What is this place?” Esix asked.

Tinok just shook his head.

Then their wagon rolled into the opening. If
they thought it was cold out in the mist, within the opening it was
absolutely frigid. Dark and cold, the tunnel extended into
blackness. As they moved further away from the opening, the light
from outside began to fade. When the last rider was within the
tunnel, Tinok again heard the grinding noise of the block returning
to its place within the wall. The light completely faded away as it
moved once more into position.

They rode in complete darkness for several
minutes, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves and the creaking of
the wagon wheels were the only sound. Then the wagons came to a
halt and a light appeared to dispel the darkness. Not a bright
light, just enough to be able to see that they were in a large
room.

The warrior priest dismounts and disappeared
into one of the archways leading from the room. Tinok and the
others remained seated in the wagon, unsure what to do or what
their fate may be.

All of a sudden, a small creature appeared
in the air before Tinok. It’s scaly, somewhat man-like form was
bent over as if from carrying too much weight. Red eyes aglow with
an inner light stared from its gnarled head at Tinok as it hovered
there before him.

Tinok returned its gaze as others in the
wagon began taking note of the creature. Several men made the sign
to ward off evil which had little effect. Reaching up his hand to
touch it he almost grabbed the creature before it vanished, and
then it reappeared before another man at the other end of the
wagon.

More of the creatures began popping in and
staring at the men in the wagons. Then from the archway the warrior
priest exited through, footsteps could be heard. A moment later,
the warrior priest appeared and with a gesture to the guards that
had accompanied them, he had them begin unloading the
prisoners.

Their chains were unlocked from the wagon’s
eye rings, then were taken out of the wagons and lined up on the
cold stone. The iciness of the floor sent shivers up into Tinok.
Once all the men were gathered, they were made to follow the
warrior priest. Moving through the archway, he led them through
another dark tunnel.

The same faint light which was present in
the room behind them seemed to follow their progress. The light was
rather unnerving as there was no discernable source for it. It just
was. Dozens of the creatures that had appeared before them in the
wagons now began popping in and out. They took a look for a short
time then disappeared.

At the end of the tunnel, they came to a
room with four pens used to hold men and were divided among them.
Tinok and Esix were put together in the same one. All this time,
neither the warrior priest nor the guards accompanying him have
spoken a word.

Once all the men were within the pens, the
warrior priest gave them a final once over before he left. The
guards followed him out and soon Tinok and the others are left
alone in the pens.

How long ago that was, Tinok is no longer
sure. The small creatures have been a constant menace as they
continue popping in and out. Food is brought to them by hooded men,
who despite their attempts to engage in conversation, remain quiet.
Both Tinok and Esix have tried to get a good look within the hoods
but there isn’t sufficient light with which to see.

Thinking back on his life, he now regrets
his decision to leave Jiron and the others. Fate has led him awry
it seems. How he wishes to be able to see the face of his friend
one last time before the end. For he feels that his end is
approaching.

At the rendezvous near the western edge of
town, they find Miko and Brother Willim with the horses. The others
have yet to make it back from the Wallowing Swine. “They haven’t
returned yet?” asks James.

Shaking his head, Brother Willim says, “Not
yet.”

“Damn!” curses Jiron. “We don’t have time to
stand here and wait for them.”

“I know,” agrees Miko. When James looks to
him he adds, “We heard the explosions.”

“I think everyone in town heard them,”
comments Brother Willim.

“So what do we do?” Jiron asks James.

“We wait,” he replies. “That’s all we can
do.”

Brother Willim asks Jiron, “Did you find out
what you came here for?”

Nodding, Jiron says, “Buka said that he was
taken to some place called Ith-Zirul. Ever heard of it?”

Brother Willim’s face blanches slightly at
the name. Nodding his head, a grim expression comes over him. “If
that is where your friend has been taken, then all hope is lost,”
he says.

“Why?” Jiron asks.

“That’s what Buka said too,” says James at
the same time. “What does it mean?”

Taking a deep breath, Brother Willim
explains. “Ith-Zirul is the High Temple of Dmon-Li.”

“Dmon-Li!” exclaims James.

“It is said none other than those who
worship Dmon-Li ever leave Ith-Zirul,” he says. “And if your friend
is indeed within the walls of that cursed place, it would explain
some things.”

“Such as?” asks Jiron. The hope that he
experienced when he first heard of the location of his friend is
slowly dying the more he learns of where he is.

“For one thing, it would explain why you
can’t use magic to find him,” he explains. “The temple would be
warded against such things. Also, you said the image was fuzzy when
you saw him. That no matter how much magic you used, it never
became better.”

“That’s right,” states James.

“You see,” Brother Willim says, “the High
Temple of Dmon-Li is hidden within the Mists of Sorrow.”

James nods his head as more connections are
made. “During our journey to find Miko when he was captured by the
Empire,” he begins, “we passed by a wall of fog that one of our
number said was the Mists of Sorrow.” Turning to Jiron he asks,
“Remember?”

Nodding, Jiron says, “Yes, I remember.”

“When Delia and I went to examine it in the
morning, it was so close to our camp that we saw a shadow pass
through its fringe. At the time I didn’t know what it was, and
frankly hadn’t thought about it until now. It was one of those hell
hounds that have been set against us on several occasions.”

“You mean the Mists is guarded by those
things?” Jiron asks.

“It would seem so,” he says.

“The Mists is just the first hurdle,”
Brother Willim says. “After that there is trying to find the
entrance. From what my brethren have been able to gather over the
centuries, the temple is massive. We could be in the Mist for a
long time before ever coming to the door. All the while, you can
rest assured they will be throwing everything they have at us.”