“Germanius might have the right idea on this one,” said Jon. “Tarragonius, the gray druid, tried to explain all that to me once but I got a little lost. I’m not sure anyone can figure it out.”
“Yeah,” said Mikus. “I guess there’s not much to be gained in thinking about things you’ll never understand, but, jeez, it sure doesn’t make much sense.”
“Get some sleep,” said Jon and rolled over onto his side. “Wake me up in a couple of hours, Sorus, and I’ll spell you. Let the old man sleep, he’ll be sore in the morning and I’d be surprised if you and Mikus weren’t a little worse for wear yourselves.”
Sorus gave Jon a short nod with his head and looked at the sky for a moment before he gazed out toward where the mountains loomed above them.
The mountains appeared huge to Jon, whose own lands of Tanelorn were plains with long low hills covered by grass. There were massive mountains further north of Tanelorn, in the frozen lands, but Jon never went that far in his travels. When he first came across these mountains he grew to know the cold nights in the heights and he slept comfortably under the heavy woolen blanket given to him by Rhia and Shia.
The night went by uneventfully. The four packed up their camp the next morning, headed along the mountains, and looked for the trail that led up the slopes. It took them all of the morning and part of the afternoon to find the trail and it was the sharp eyes of Mikus who spotted it. “That looks like a bit of trail,” said the boy as he pointed to a small bush that sat atop a rock, “behind that rock.”
“I think you’re right,” said Jon and nodded his head and walked over to the little gap in the rocky foothills. “It looks right and the time we took to get here is about what I remember. What do you say, Germanius, camp here for the night and start up in the morning, or cover some distance with the light we have left?”
“My back hurts like an old bear that fell out of a tree trying to get honey,” said the old warrior. “Damn that Odellius for giving me such a fine horse, I’da been better off on a donkey, they ride smoother and not so hard to climb in the morning.”
Mikus looked at Jon, “Did he answer your question?”
Jon laughed and shook his head, “I’m not really certain but I think he means we should get to where we’re going as quick as possible so he can get himself killed.”
“That’s about right,” said Sorus. “If we’re lucky that’ll be me and you someday, Mikus.”
Mikus nodded his head and dismounted to lead his fine horse up the path. “I’ll scout ahead and if I find something dangerous I’ll tell Germanius!”
The stone projectile caught him directly on the temple and he was dead before he hit the ground. His horse reared, wheeled around, and headed back towards town at a gallop.
“Where did it come from,” shouted Sorus as he gazed wide eyed in all directions.
Jon dove for cover behind a large rock just to his right when he heard Sorus’s words, “Get off your horse, get to cover!” he shouted and then looked around to find that Germanius not only already lay under cover, but had also pulled his horse along with him to provide protection from a second side.
Two more rocks sailed past Sorus’s head just as the boy leaned down to dismount and a third hit his steed in the foreleg which sent the beast skyward with a kick. The young brewer managed to dismount with a thump, fell to one knee, then pulled his horse down, and quickly hustled to the cover of the rocks near Jon. “Where is it coming from?” he said and looked around until his gaze came across Mikus dead on the ground his eyes open and sightless. “Is he dead?”
Jon nodded his head, “Killed outright, lucky shot. Bastards. We’ll kill them, don’t you worry,” he said as a trio of rocks skittered off the boulders just above their heads. “There,” said Jon and pointed off to his right. “Three of them at least, maybe five, slinging from just up there. If they’re smart they’ll have a couple of swordsmen protecting their flank if we try to get around them. Germanius, what do you see?”
The old knight was a good ten yards from them, behind a group of three large angular rocks and had his horse positioned to his left to cover any enfilading fire. “They’ll try to come around us to your side,” shouted the old warrior and pointed behind Jon. “I figure three slingers, maybe four. Either they’ve got no swordsman or they’re cowards; they should have attacked us right when the slingers fired. That’d been their best chance.”
“Sorus,” said Jon. “Grab the horse, run about ten yards out, when the slingers fire, dart back and take cover in those rocks between Germanius and me,” said the gray knight as he pointed to a clump of low rocks between the two. “I’m going to go to where the slingers are headed and beat them there.”
“Got it,” said the brewer, immediately following Jon’s commands and heading back into the open. “After five long strides two stones ricocheted on the ground, neither one coming with five feet of him, and he quickly turned and retraced his steps as another stone hit his horse in the flank, which caused the beast to jump, but he was able to control it and lead it to cover. When he looked back to where Jon was a moment ago he saw the trotter but no sign of the warrior. He then looked towards Germanius who had his long steel sword drawn and was in a low crouch.
“We charge the bushwhackers as soon as Jon hits them, we’ll catch ‘em as they run. Gut ‘em straight through and don’t think about it,” said Germanius in a low shout and with a clenched fist.
Sorus nodded and a moment later a huge bellow came from Jon followed by a terrible shriek. Germanius was up, he ran to the boulders, tried to leap the first one but his foot caught on vines from bush and sent the old man face first into the ground where he jammed his hand as he tried to catch himself. Sorus was up right after him and paused to help the old warrior, but Germanius spat out, “At ‘em you fool, I’ll get there!” so the brewer continued with a bound over the fallen knight.
Just beyond Germanius the trail led back and around to where Jon pointed earlier and suddenly two young goblin boys, not more than teens, each with a sling in their hands appeared around the corner looking over their shoulder and running at a full gait. Sorus jumped down from a rock into their path, and the first one ran himself onto the boys slim blade which pierced deeply into his belly. The creature opened his eyes wide in shock, looked up at Sorus, spat out something in a strange language before his gaze lost its focus, and fell to the ground.
The second goblin stood and stared for a moment as his mouth tried to say something but no words came out. It then pulled out a small dirk from its belt. Sorus tried to pull his sword out of the first goblin’s belly, but the creature had fallen sidewise, and the blade was twisted and wouldn’t easily slide out.
At that moment Jon came around the corner with a mammoth stone sword, somehow both thick and sharp, in his hand. The gray knight’s eyes were calm, his face bore a cool almost relaxed smile, and his movements seemed to be slowed somehow to the eyes of Sorus. Jon was a good fifteen feet away, yet he covered the distance in three apparently leisurely strides, and was on the goblin before Sorus could even open his mouth. The gray sword licked out and the goblin was in two pieces, cut in half at the waist.
“Come on,” said Jon his voice quiet and calm. “There might be more up in the hills,” and then leapt off.
Sorus tried to follow but, while the gray knight appeared to move long, sluggish strides, he leapt from rock to rock with a speed that belied belief and he was quickly up and out of Sorus’s sight.
“Never seen anyone move like that,” said Germanius’ voice from his right, and Sorus jumped from fright and raised his slim blade which had somehow loosed itself from the goblin boy.
“By The Mare, don’t startle me so,” said Sorus as he looked up to where Jon had vanished up into the hills.
“He moves like a ram, or a cougar, and that sword, looks heavy enough to cut iron but he wields it like a toy. If we had a brace of soldiers like that, by the Black Horse, the orcs would tremble!”