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Chapter 4
"What is it that's so important in the mountains anyway?" Kole asked as Elias finished paying for the supplies they needed for the next leg of their journey.
"My own business." Elias replied firmly, though perhaps not as coldly as he might have. "Suffice to say it may be the most important errand any of us will ever perform."
Kole rolled his eyes but held his tongue. Distinctly unlike him. Avi had disappeared almost as soon as they hit the market streets. Elias did not want to think about what the youth was getting up to. Kole however, assured him that Avi would find his way back eventually. Hopefully without half the city guard in tow.
It was obvious now that the Grand Tourney was on. The streets were packed. The vendor stalls were thronged. Between both Kole and Elias it had taken them almost the whole morning just to buy up their necessities.
"Can't we see jus' a bit o' the tourney?" Avi had begged that morning before they left the small pub.
"You certainly can." Elias had responded, irritated by a mild headache. "But don't expect us to be here when you're done. I am paying for a guide through the mountains, and I need that guide as soon as possible."
Avi had, as usually, met his remarks without complaint but just looked down at the floor and nodded his understanding. At the time, Elias had felt that maybe he was being a bit strict towards the youngster. Now, however, as he and Kole neared the northern gate of Brilling, Elias was wishing he had driven home to importance of their deadline even more.
Not that it mattered, Elias considered. If they left Avi here in Brilling it was of no concern to him. After all, he had protested bringing the boy in the first place.
Sure enough however, almost as they were passing through the gate, Avi came, knifing through the tight crowd like a bloodhound tracking a scent. Surprisingly, a cacophony of noise and a flurry of white feathers followed him.
"Welcome back." Kole greeted mildly, inspecting the boy. His face fell when he saw what he had brought along. "Avi, what the hell is that?"
"Kole ye shoulda seen em!" Avi was ecstatic. "They was on their orses and then they was runnin' at each otha'. Then BAM! The yella' one e got knocked off! Went down like e was dead. Only e weren't. Cuz e got up again!"
"Somebody snuck into the tourney." Kole translated for Elias from the boy's wild ramblings. "And some poor knight from Savajo got unhorsed in the first charge. I repeat though, Avi. What the hell is that?"
"Oh..." Avi seemed to notice for the first time that a small white, waterfowl had come to land on his shoulder. The little duck seemed quite content to rest there, despite Avi's exaggerated movements as he had described his adventures. Unconcerned, Avi held his hand up to the small creature, feeding it what looked like crusts of bread. The young duck pecked at his hand until his palm was empty.
"'e followed me so..." Avi wouldn't make eye contact with either of them. "So now I'mma look after `im."
Elias snorted a laugh and Kole held a hand to the bridge of his nose. "Avi. He followed you because you fed him." The big man explained with exaggerated patience.
Shaking his head adamantly and vigorously, Avi stroked the bird on his shoulder. "No! e followed me first an then I fed im."
To Elias it seemed a daunting task to try to explain to the boy that the animal had followed him because he had food, then stayed with him because he was a source of food. And furthermore, to try to describe to Avi that the obvious connection he had formed with the creature was entirely unidirectional and that the bird thought of him as no more than a meal ticket.
Kole summed up these complicated thoughts succinctly with a drawn-out groan and a single sentence. "Get rid of it or I'll eat it."
"You won't!" Avi declared angrily, turning his shoulder away to shield his new pet. "I'll feed `im yer bollocks first."
With a tired sigh, Kole looked back and forth between the boy and the little creature on his shoulder but said nothing.
"'is name's Tibbs." Avi informed them, still giving Kole a suspicious look and keeping the duck angled away from him.
"You named it already?" Kole grumbled. "Why?"
"Wewl... I was gonna name im after that knight we eard about, Sir Tidbit." Avi explained. "But tha's a bit long innit? So, it's Tibbs now."
After a moment of bewildered silence, Kole burst into uproarious laughter. Even Elias had to hide a smile at the absurdity of the comparison.
"You wanted to name your stray duck after one of the most well-known knights in the Five Kingdoms. But settled for "Tibbs" because you can't say "Tybalt"." Kole summarized, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
Avi shrugged, looking a bit hurt by the ridicule of his choice. He kicked at the ground.
Shaking his head with a final chuckle, Kole turned again towards the gate. "Well, come on then, we're wasting daylight."
Surprised, Elias frowned but nonetheless turned to follow his guide. He had expected further resistance. Apparently so had Avi because as the other two took up their stride toward the gate he hesitated a moment in confusion before trotting to catch up, Tibbs decrying his sudden jarring movements.
North of Brilling they began to traverse the hilled reaches of Eradal before the border with Falheim. On these roads their encounters were significantly fewer than before. Two days after leaving the city, they were nearing the ring of tall hills that marked the edge of Eradal territory. They had not seen a soul on the road for over a day, and what had been a broad thoroughfare had given way to little more than a woodland path with a steady upward incline.
It would have been quite the pleasant hike had they not been already on the march for days before. The trees were still full and lush as summer neared its end. Occasional scampering disturbed the austere silence as squirrels and other things scurried through the undergrowth. As it was though, their legs were tired, and their bodies were sore. The continued upward climb caused their muscles to burn and their breaths to turn more desperate.
Poor Avi could barely keep up and they had to take frequent stops as he had fallen behind almost out of sight. Several days before, Elias would have made the suggestion to go on without him but now he kept that to himself. He told himself it was only because he was grateful for the chance to rest his legs while they waited for the boy to catch up.
Avi would arrive sulkily, often muttering to Tibbs who alternated from riding on his shoulder to waddling in front of him, almost like the small bird was urging him onward.
"We're almost to the top." Kole informed. Even he was starting to show signs of fatigue. His usual quips and commentary were restrained, and he spoke only when necessary. "We'll stop there for the night and make the descent in the morning."
Avi whined as he pulled Tibbs gently off his shoulder and set him on the ground. The little duck quacked indignantly. Elias had to admit he was surprised that the creature had stuck with them for this long. It was obviously fairly young and had shown only limited ability at flight. Though Elias couldn't tell if it was lame or just lacked experience.
Finally, with his chest starting to feel like it was on fire, Elias spotted the light of a clearing ahead. Their path was starting to level off. Pushing himself with a reserve of energy, he kept to Kole's heels as they found their way out of the forest to the peak of the large hill. Avi came sauntering after, grumbling quietly.
It was like emerging into a new world. The tree line had broken off just before the top of the hill and as they reached the top Elias sucked in a long, surprised breath.
The world was on display before them, rolled out in front of them like a map. The range of hills diminished down into the valley that Elias knew contained the widely feared swamps. And beyond them, far in the distance, rising into the sky like great stone monoliths, were the Koval mountains. A half-smile crept across Elias's face at the untamed natural beauty of the scene before him. He shook his head in wonder. He had seen many amazing things in his young life. Wonderous magic performed by the greatest wizards the Five Kingdoms had to offer. This pristine landscape was a magic all its own.
"Are we almost there?" Avi complained as he caught up. Apparently even a majestic scene like this was not enough to lift his mood.
With a slight chuckle, Kole stretched out his hand to point to the mountains many miles in the distance. "That's where we're heading."
Avi's eyes went wide in disbelief as he took in the distance, then he groaned. "Pull the other one..." He flopped down on the ground.
"This is as good a place as any for the night." Kole idly picked a few scraps of wood off the ground. There was a strange note in his voice that made Elias look at him curiously. He noticed Kole scanning the tree line carefully.
"Something the matter?" Elias asked, following Kole's gaze.
Kole shook his head as he continued gathering wood. "It's nothing. These hills are not always the friendliest to travelers."
He gave no elaboration on this but continued about his business, leaving Elias staring into the trees, curious and somewhat unnerved. The day's exertion overcame his trepidation however and, after the fire was lit and enough fuel was gathered to keep it going, he dropped to the grass as well, grateful to finally be off his feet.
Knowing that tomorrow was going to be another difficult trek, he boiled some water and began to add a mixture of dried crushed herbs from his satchel as well as several other ingredients. Avi watched with bored curiosity. Alchemy and potion-making was a very difficult school of magic. Even a simple potion to give life and energy back to tired limbs required very precise measures. The herbs and ingredients themselves were generally mundane but combined in the proper way created something nearly supernatural.
Alchemy was also the most expensive school of magic of course; requiring the purchase of ingredients from herbalists or foragers. To make two small doses of a rejuvenating potion cost Elias nearly three crowns, more than twice what he had spent on the intricate maps he had purchased before leaving Erania.
When it was finished, he waited for it to cool before very carefully pouring it into two small vials. He would have one to keep him going tomorrow and one for a time down the road should he need it. Or, he reasoned, perhaps for one of his travelling companions if they were slowing the group down too much. His eyes flicked to where Avi lay.
They ate mostly in silence. None of them had much to talk about and they were all three of them too tired to bother trying to make conversation. So it was that as the light faded, they unceremoniously pulled out their bedrolls and one at a time drifted away to sleep.
Elias was the last to find his rest. He could tell because he heard the breathing of his two companions gradually even out. Kole began snoring softly. Sleep eluded him for a time though because he kept getting a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something. What that something could be however, Elias did not know, and his tired brain could not sus out the origin of this feeling.
Eventually, insisting to himself that he was just being paranoid, Elias forced his mind to quiet and finally found the sleep he so desperately needed.
Elias was awakened rudely by a shove to his shoulder. His eyes came open and he saw Kole leaning over him. He was about to object to being woken so boldly as well as to the invasion of personal space, but the serious look his guide wore told him that something was very wrong.
"Get up." Kole ordered quietly before moving away.
Elias sat up in his bedroll rubbing his eyes. The fire burned low, only a few embers. Avi sat with his back to it. Though it was dark, Elias could plainly see fear and confusion on his young face. Slowly standing up, Elias tried to get his bearings. No immediate danger met his cursory glance, but he saw that Kole held his sword in his off hand, still sheathed but ready to draw at any moment.
He was about to ask what the problem was when he heard a noise not far away in the brush of the woods around them. It was a scampering rustling sound of something moving very quickly through the shrubs and undergrowth. It was followed by more rustling from a different direction. This time accompanied by another sound that chilled Elias's bones. It sounded like quiet maniacal giggling and it was answered by a high-pitched hooting noise from the other side of the clearing along with more furtive movement just out of view.
"What... is that?" Elias tried not to let his fear overtake him.
Kole had swiveled his head to face the noises every time, but his body had not moved, save to reach his dominant hand to grasp the hilt of his sword. "Treggans." Kole responded quietly with the one word that Elias's mind had been too afraid to even conjure.
Shaking his head, Elias took an involuntary step backward toward the fire. "H-How do you know? Maybe someone is... making a joke..." Even as he said it, he knew how foolish it sounded. A horrible cackling noise came from the darkness as if whatever was out there had heard him. Though it was impossible since he had been practically whispering, this along with a deadly serious look from Kole told him that there was no other answer.
Elias had never seen a treggan. He had never met anyone that had seen one. He had seen illustrations of them though. Wicked hill and mountain-dwelling creatures that were mainly the stuff of stories and legends, due in large part to concentrated and conjoined efforts to exterminate them within the Five Kingdoms.
"They haven't entered the clearing yet." Kole informed him. "So, your wards must be working so far."
Elias's heart dropped down into his boots. The nagging feeling of forgetfulness crashed into him and he lifted both hands to his head, pushing them slowly through his hair as the magnitude of his carelessness washed through him.
"You did put up wards around the camp... right?" Kole's tense voice was half accusatory half pleading.
"I was exhausted..." Elias snapped back, anger overtaking his fear for a moment. Anger mostly at himself of course, but Kole was the nearest target.
Kole's shoulders sagged for a moment before he straightened them again. "So they're toying with us then. All the while I thought they were afraid of the magic but they've just been playing a game."
Elias remembered reading that treggans often enjoyed playing with their prey. They were semi-intelligent creatures, with all that intelligence seemingly devoted to malice. The hooting cackles and giggles around them grew louder, obviously there were more of them now. It sounded more and more to Elias like taunting.
"Well, we won't go down easy." Kole declared. "Avi, stoke the fire. It won't keep them away, but they're not fond of flame. It may give us an advantage."
"You've faced these things before." Elias stated as Avi scurried to do as he was told.
Kole nodded once. "Not an experience I had hoped to relive."
That brought Elias some encouragement. If Kole had lived to tell the tale once, then perhaps they could all be so lucky. Quickly he began digging through his satchel bag.
"Can you keep them off me if they attack?" Elias asked, pulling out one of the books he had brought along.
Looking over his shoulder, Kole nodded again. "How long do you need?"
Elias looked up at the sky. The moon had just gone behind a cloud. It was only about half-full, but it would have to do. "At least five minutes from when I begin."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kole asked curtly.
Ignoring the question, Elias continued to pull items out of his bag. He found a small bag of rune-stones he had made himself. Quickly digging out the symbols he was looking for, he handed one to Avi, one to Kole, and tucked one into his own pocket.
"Keep these on your person." He instructed. "They will keep you safe when the spell begins."
"Wot about Tibbs!?" Avi cried. "'e needs one too!" The white bird was still sleeping nearby, apparently oblivious to the imminent danger.
Elias sighed. "When I give the signal, you make sure you're holding on to him. Yours will protect him as well."
Avi nodded nervously.
"Here, take these as well." Elias told Avi, handing him a small jar of marble-sized beads. "How's your aim?"
"Good `nuff." Avi answered, taking hold of the jar gingerly.
"Throw these at them if they come near." Elias instructed. "Don't squeeze them. Aim for their legs."
Avi nodded, eyes wide with fear but also determination.
Finally, Elias turned back to his book, leafing to the limited section dealing with battle magic. Spells commonly reserved for warfare, and best performed by a concentrated group of skillful wizards. It was yet another spell he had never actually used before. It would take a combination of much of his collected knowledge, but he was confident it would work. It had to.
Another thought flashed across his mind and he dug into his pack one more time. "Here." He told Kole, handing him one of the vials he had made earlier that evening. "Drink that."
The tall swordsman gave him a suspicious look but nodded, removing the stopper with his teeth and downing the small potion in one gulp. He made a face at the bitter astringent flavor but shook it off. Almost immediately, his eyes widened in shock.
"I feel like I could lift a horse... how did...?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Get to work."
Elias offered a curt nod before diving back into his reading. It was difficult to read the words by firelight, but he knew he had to be precise with such a complex spell. As he arranged the runestones in the proper order and began the recitation, he put his thumb to his mouth and pierced it with one of his canines, causing a little bit of blood to well up. He smeared some of it across two of the runes he had laid out. Then he reached into his belt for a little pouch of crushed moonstone powder. Sprinkling a little of the powder onto the other runes he was careful not to mix any of the moonstone with any of his blood. Almost every school of magic he had studied needed to come together if they were going to survive.
The shrieking and squealing from the trees grew even louder and coalesced into a shrill taunting sing-song chant. Elias had heard before that treggans possessed the ability for basic speech, but to hear it aloud was nightmarish beyond compare.
"Master wants you dead.
Master knows you're coming.
Master keeps us fed.
Too late now for running."
Avi whimpered and picked up Tibbs to hold the animal close. The little duck made no complaint but allowed Avi to hold it tight to his chest. They began to see the reflection of inhuman eyes bobbing around just outside the light of the fire.
"Stay strong, Avi." Kole tried to sound reassuring as the maddening song repeated.
The words of the chant though made Elias's spine prickle with dread. They had been waiting for him. Somehow either the beast that he was destined to battle or the sorcerer that was its guardian knew of him and knew of his mission. These things had been sent to stop them.
Another part of his mind hardened in rebellion though as they continued to repeat the ominous message. Let them sing. He thought. Let them waste more time. He spared a glance up at the night sky with the moon still hidden behind the clouds. Crossing his fingers, he continued muttering a chant of his own as he read it from the book.
As if the creatures could sense his urgency, one by one, they began to emerge into the clearing. The illustrations Elias had seen scarcely did the treggans justice. They were diminutive little things, standing up to nearly four feet tall on short stocky legs with long arms hanging down almost to the ground ending in wicked claws.
They were largely hairless except for coarse bristling manes that ran down their backs. Mottled reddish skin was at points stretched taunt and in other places hung in flaps as though poorly fitted to their misshapen frames. Worse by far however were their faces. Their beady sunken eyes gleamed animal-like by the firelight, appearing to glow with hatred and hunger. Long flat snouts ended into a slight underbite with jagged yellow teeth exposed in evil grins.
Despite their small stature the treggans were everything that nightmares were made of. More and more entered the clearing, giving off tittering laughs as they surrounded their prey.
There were well over a dozen of them. Elias needed more time. If they swarmed now, Kole would be long dead before he finished his spell. Kole seemed to recognize this as well. He pulled his sword from its sheath and held it high. The nearest of the creatures slowed their approach, glaring at Kole and the weapon.
Elias realized suddenly that the treggans were afraid. Even outnumbering them so thoroughly, they were cowardly things. Only their numbers gave them confidence. Taking a calculated risk, Elias paused in his recitation. It would set him back precious seconds, but a show of force might be enough to hold them back for a time. Executing a quick gesture toward the fire and then directing the flow of magic towards Kole, he gave a slight grin of triumph when the sword Kole held aloft burst into blue flame.
Kole was so shocked by this he nearly dropped the weapon. He took a look behind him, but Elias had already returned to his complicated spell. Recovering his wits quickly, Kole swung the blazing sword around, lighting up the clearing further.
The treggans' mocking laughter died away, replaced by grunts of anger and uncertainty. The ones in the lead took a step backward.
"There is nothing but death for you here!" Kole shouted, voice strong and deep. "We carry no gold or treasures. If you continue, every one of you will die."
Again, the creatures hesitated. They had heard prey beg before, but they had never heard their prey threaten them.
"Master wants wizard's head!" one of them shrieked. And as if remembering suddenly the other treggans began hooting and laughing in agreement.
"Wants its head! Wants its head!" They chanted gleefully.
Kole spared another look of confusion in Elias's direction but soon raised his voice again. "Well he can't have it. If he wants it so bad, why doesn't he come get it himself? He fears us too."
"Master doesn't fear!" one of the monsters declared but did not sound certain. Clearly these simple creatures had trouble focusing on more than what was directly in front of them. And in front of them was a very large man with a flaming sword, who showed no fear of them.
"Human lies!" Another treggan shouted. "Master protects and feeds! We eat them and bring Master its head!"
With a garbling scream, one of the creatures rushed Kole from the side, slashing it's deadly claws wildly. Kole brought his weapon around at frightening speed and executed the treggan easily. This however proved to be all the signal the others needed. Shrieking horrifying battle cries, they surged forward.
Elias struggled to concentrate on his recitation. At this point he had the passage mostly committed to memory, but it was still difficult to keep up the repetition with the treggans coming at them. And once Kole sprang into action it was hard not to watch.
He met their charge fearlessly, evading a claw swipe here slashing down one the red monsters there. Not only did he use his now flaming sword, but also employed the hard leather sheath in his other hand to keep the dangerous claws at bay. Effortlessly he looped the strap of the sheath that usually held it to his back around one of the creature's arms, pinning the little thing against him and using it as a living shield while its own companions savaged it trying to get at Kole.
Avi proved better than his word with his aim. He launched the little beads at the oncoming horde with surprising accuracy. As soon as one of the small spheres connected, it stuck where it landed and began to expand, sticking to everything new it touched in the process until it was almost ten times its original size.
Elias had created the beads years ago, intending them originally to be used as a joke. They had proven to be a bit too dangerous though. Now however, as they stuck to the legs of the rushing treggans and then subsequently stuck them to the ground it seemed like he had been right to hold onto them. The little creatures that Avi struck howled in anger and tried to tear at the growing beads with their claws, only to eventually find their claws stuck in the goopy mess as well. They were largely harmless. They would harden after several minutes and turn brittle. But for the time being they kept Kole from being overwhelmed.
So close now... Elias looked up at the sky again. So close... Suddenly, Avi screamed from behind him. Elias whipped his head around, not pausing his incantation. One of the treggans had circled around and darted in behind them and was now slashing its claws at Avi, missing by only fractions of an inch as the nimble youth ducked and dodged, eyes bulging with terror.
"Kole!" Avi yelled, but Elias knew there was no way the big man would be able to reach him in time. But if Elias stopped his spell now to save Avi, all three of them would likely die. He was so close. The moon was just beginning to peak from behind the clouds.
Kole whirled and saw what was happening but before he could take the two strides to reach Avi, the creature lunged with a deadly rake of its claws aimed at Avi's throat.
A burst of noise and white feathers launched into the treggans face. Tibbs, honking furiously, beat his little wings against the creature's snout and eyes, halting it in its tracks momentarily. The angry duck pecked uselessly at the monster's skin and with a grunt of contempt the treggan swiped it away with a sharp claw. Avi cried out in dismay as Tibbs fell to the ground, just in time for Kole's sword to drop the rampaging treggan.
Elias lifted a hand to the sky as moonlight bathed the clearing, calling on all the energy he could muster. The runestones on the ground in front of him began to glow.
"Hurry!" Kole shouted, keeping both Elias and Avi behind him as the circle grew tighter. Avi had scooped up Tibbs and held him tightly. Dead or alive, Elias could not tell.
Two of the treggans rushed Elias from the side as if sensing that something was about to happen. With a shout and a sound like a stampede of wild horses, Kole plowed into them with his shoulders, sending them flying. Two more jumped onto his back as he did so, digging in with their claws.
Elias directed the flow of energy to the ground, ripples of light began to radiate outward from the runestones all through the clearing, like a pebble dropped into a pond. He could feel the power building. He hoped it was enough. It had to be. With a loud cry, he slammed his palm down onto the rune in the center. Immediately, all of the stones cracked and exploded. The rippling circles of light turned into crackling waves that sprung upward in geysers of powerful energy, emanating out from the center point.
This deafening explosion of noise brought a halt to the treggans' attack as they looked towards a new threat. Those closest to Elias were incinerated instantly as the waves crashed over them. The ones attacking Kole had a split second to recognize their doom before it was upon them, burning their flesh and hurtling them backwards at the same time. Those treggans farther away watched their companions fall and turned to flee. But the radiating circles of light and force were too fast for them to outrun. All the way out to the edge of the clearing the beautiful and deadly walls flowed until they crashed on the tree line like water on rock and gradually melted away to nothing.
Avi and Kole, protected by the runes Elias had given them, felt the magic wash over them harmlessly as they watched the treggans burned up in its path. The crackle of magical energy faded slowly, leaving behind it a deafening silence, save for the ringing in Elias's ears from the power of the explosion. He dropped to his knees in exhaustion.
He had never performed battle magic before. The toll it took on him was immense. A wave of nausea crashed into him and he fell forward to his hands and knees, dry heaving.
"Tibbs!" Avi's voice cut through the throbbing haze in Elias's head. "Tibbs is `urt!"
At that moment, Elias could not have cared much less about the damned duck. However, he reminded himself, it had basically saved Avi's life. Then he remembered Kole being viciously attacked by the treggans just before the moonstrike spell had been cast. He supposed it would all be for nothing if he allowed his companions to die after all that.
The grass around him turned brown and died as he sucked in its energy. It was not much, but it was enough to put him back on his feet. Kole was up as well, looking much the worse for wear.
"I can... heal..." Elias mumbled weakly, stumbling forward.
Kole shook his head adamantly. "I'm fine." He rumbled, though Elias could see he was bleeding from several wounds, including an obvious bite mark on the side of his neck. Kole pointed firmly. "Fix the bird."
Elias didn't have the strength to argue. He simply nodded and turned to where Ave knelt next to his pet, tears streaming down his face. Surprisingly, the little duck was still alive. The claw had slashed down its back and it looked like the force of the blow had broken one of its wings.
"Water." Elias croaked weakly. "Bring water."
Avi scrambled around in a mindless panic for a moment before remembering the skin of water he carried on his belt. He practically threw it at Elias, who with shaky fingers unstopped the cap. First, he took several deep mouthfuls, knowing that he needed it. Then, cupping the dying creature gently in one hand, he began to pour the contents of the waterskin across the wound, softly whispering energy into the trickling flow. The blood began to wash out of Tibbs' feathers, and no more blood welled up to replace it. In a matter of seconds, the wound was closed. The little duck squawked weakly as its wing popped into place.
Normally such a simple healing spell would have been but a trifle for Elias. Now though, exhausted to his core. Elias toppled over to one side, darkness claiming him before he hit the ground.