“No telling how soon they will drop the shroud again,” Jed said, sounding suddenly nervous. “We won’t want to miss our opportunity and be trapped out here for even longer.”
“Plenty of time to go back and be cooped up again.” Amos glanced at the burned area. “I just wanted to see who had used sorcery over here. Let’s go home.”
“But where is your home?” Bannon asked. “This land has been wide open and empty during most of our travels. We haven’t seen anyone since we came over the mountains. Are you from a village in the hills?”
Brock and Jed laughed; Amos rolled his eyes. “Oh, there are plenty of towns, but do we look like hill villagers?”
“Where, then?” Nicci asked in a sharp voice.
“The city, obviously.”
Nathan perked up. “Yes, we saw the city! Can you tell us how to find it?”
The young men laughed again. “Of course. That’s our home.” They made it sound as if Nathan were impossibly stupid.
“And what is the name of your city?” Nicci pressed. If these youths didn’t start responding to questions, she would enjoy coercing answers out of them.
“Why, it’s Ildakar.” Amos treated her with scorn as well. “How can you not know the grand city of Ildakar?”
CHAPTER 5
Hearing the name of the almost-mythical city, Nathan felt a thrill of wonder and excitement. Ildakar! Gooseflesh prickled his skin, and he realized he was grinning like a young lad facing the prospect of more candy than he had ever imagined.
“Ildakar … from the legends of ages past?” He looked at the three young men with much greater interest than he had at first accorded them. “It’s said to be a wondrous metropolis.”
“Our fine and perfect society has endured for thousands of years,” Amos said with a sniff. “But Ildakar is not a legend—it is our home.”
“Then where is it?” Nicci asked with more skepticism than wonder. “We glimpsed a city from high in the mountains, but the plain is empty.”
“Except for all those statue warriors…” Bannon added.
Amos, Jed, and Brock laughed at a private joke that no one else understood. “Our city is right there at the edge of the uplift—protected behind the shroud. Don’t underestimate the wizards of Ildakar.”
Burning questions crowded in Nathan’s throat, and he followed the young men as they wandered out of the charred oak grove. Amos swung his iron-tipped stick as he walked along, bashing dead twigs out of his way. They emerged from the woods into the open chaparral, strolling down the grassy hills. Together, Jed and Brock made a game out of smacking the tops of the thistle trees, scattering feathery petals and sharp thorns. The youths seemed carefree and aimless, in no hurry to get back to Ildakar, despite Nathan’s obvious intensity.
The former wizard let his imagination run wild, and he looked at Nicci, exchanging silent questions. He couldn’t stop smiling, sure that he would find his answers after all. Ildakar was said to be a bastion of innovative magic from ages past, filled with powerfully gifted men and women. If the city had defeated—petrified?—the talented General Utros before disappearing into the fog of myth, surely they had the resources to restore his lost gift. Exactly as the witch woman had said.
He let his hopes soar, and he tried to sound avuncular. “I would love to hear more of an explanation, lads. I spent centuries in the Palace of the Prophets, up at the northern boundary of the Old World. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The palace was built thousands of years ago. No? Ah, well. The palace is gone now anyway. I studied all the histories, especially recountings of the Midwar.” He nodded sagely, then paused to see if they had any reaction. “Ildakar features prominently in that history, you know.”
The three young men did not seem overly interested. He couldn’t even tell if they were listening to him.
Bannon tried to keep up with the strangers, as if hoping to find kindred spirits in the young men his own age. “The wizard Nathan told us about Emperor Kurgan and his iron fang.” He spread his lips and tapped his left canine tooth with a fingertip. “And how General Utros tried to lay siege to Ildakar, and the silver dragon they captured to use as a weapon, but it broke free and attacked them … before the city vanished.” His words came out in a rush.
Nathan appreciated the enthusiasm, but he wished Bannon would contain himself until they knew more. He interjected, catching up to Amos, “Yes, lads—how did you three escape?”
“Escape? We came out of the city when the shroud flickered,” Amos answered. “As the wizards test their bloodworking, it’s due to disappear again soon. No need for us to hurry. We’ll have plenty of time to get back.”
Brock decapitated a dry thistle, sending puffs of feathery seeds into the air, while Jed thrashed through the grasses, chasing after a rustling sound that might have been a snake or a rabbit.
Nathan looked over his shoulder at the burned patch in the hills behind them, wondering if he would see Mrra following, but the sand panther had disappeared into the sparse chapparal. He wondered why she was more worried about these three aloof young men than the horrific bear monster or the raging forest fire. These youths did not seem to pose any threat.
Nicci plucked persistent burrs from her black skirt. “The city we glimpsed from the pass shimmered like a mirage. It seemed unnatural.”
“It’s magic,” Amos said. “Depending on the strength of the shroud, Ildakar winks in and out of existence, in and out of time. The shroud goes up and down as the wizards try to hold the ancient spells. My friends and I are out here exploring because we had the chance to do so.”
“It lets us get our revenge on the enemy soldiers,” Brock said, swinging his iron-tipped club viciously through the prickly stem of a thistle. “A few at a time.”
“I hope the city reappears soon,” Jed said. “We’ve been out here three days, camping and wandering. I could use a good bath and a decent meal. Pack food leaves much to be desired.”
Amos gave a sly grin. “I thought you’d be more anxious to visit the silk yaxen.”
His two companions laughed hungrily. Brock added, “Keeper’s crotch! I’d want to be clean and rested before expending all that energy.”
“As long as the girls are clean and rested. That’s what matters most to me,” Jed said.
“What’s a silk yaxen?” Bannon asked.
The youths gave him a withering glance. “Maybe we’ll show you someday.”
Together, they waded down the slopes through grasses and weeds. Not needing to hide from the enormous army, they made good time. Once they reached the plain filled with thousands of statue soldiers, Nathan stared at the motionless ranks. The stone figures were everywhere, flash-frozen in the midst of their normal activities while prosecuting a major war … a war that had never reached Ildakar.
They came upon a group of four cavalry riders, their massive destriers wearing full battle gear. Nathan recognized the ornate components of equine armor, the chanfron to protect the horse’s head and face, the crinet for the neck, the peytral for the sides and flanks. Worked into the metal and leather was the stylized-flame symbol of Emperor Kurgan. The right foreleg of one of the warhorses was upraised as if the mount bounded off in a gallop, but now the statue stood precariously balanced.
The soldiers astride the destriers wore exotic antique armor, which gave them a fearsome appearance: large padded helmets with a crest above the forehead, a nose guard and sweeping pointed chin guards, a smooth metal cuirass covering their chests, lapped leather thigh guards worked with metal disks for extra protection. They held curved swords upraised, ready for a charge. Their round shields were also emblazoned with Kurgan’s flame.