Chapter 35
Valley of Bones
Rejji felt the lump on his head and groaned. He opened his eyes and stared at the collapsed tent pressed up against his face. He placed his hands down to push himself up and cringed as he felt the sleeping body of a Jiadin soldier inside the tent. Slowly he rose to his feet and looked around for his staff. He located it under one of the legs of his horse that had been split in two. He shook his head to clear his vision and struggled to pull the staff free. He twitched as he heard the explosive burst of lightning strike the ground far behind him, but managed to slide the staff free. He turned and gazed at the battle his two friends were engaged in. Wyant was battling Grulak and neither looked seriously injured. Some distance behind Grulak was a hooded figure with his arms in the air. He reminded Rejji of the magician, Zygor, but he was taller. He watched as Mistake, much farther away than the magician, threw a dagger as she dove to her right. The mage’s lightening bolt blasted the ground where she had been moments earlier. Rejji immediately started running towards the mage whose back was towards him.
Sweat ran down Mistake’s forehead as she felt the closeness of the last blast. She knew the magician was starting to anticipate her moves and that he would eventually adjust sufficiently to strike her. She thought about circling to the left to confuse him and that is when she saw Rejji running towards the mage. She felt along her belt and frowned when she realized that she only had four daggers left. She had managed to spiral in closer to the magician, but the throw was still too far for any accuracy. Instead of trying to continue her move inward, Mistake began to dash left and right in a chaotic fashion. She smiled as she sensed the hesitation of the mage as he tried to predict where she would be next. If she could delay the magician a little longer, she knew that Rejji would be able to sneak up behind him.
Wyant heard the running footsteps, but did not dare remove his concentration from Grulak as the Jiadin leader swept his blade towards Wyant’s midsection. Wyant leaped back and brought his sword down on top of Grulak’s. The clash of the swords rang loud and Grulak moved backwards, freeing his sword. Wyant watched the Jiadin’s eyes trying to anticipate his move and saw them dart off to his left.
“The boy is coming,” shouted Grulak as he briefly turned towards the magician.
Wyant seized the opening and scored a hit to Grulak’s side. Grulak’s hand went immediately to his side, but his sword viciously stabbed towards Wyant as he returned his attention to the fight.
Veltar immediately turned around towards Rejji and raised his arms. Mistake hurled a dagger towards the magician. The mage was obliged to dodge the missile, but swiftly returned his attention to the charging Astor. His arms went up and Mistake threw another dagger to disrupt the mage’s attack on Rejji.
“Hurry,” shouted Mistake as she fisted her next to last dagger. “Try to dodge the bolts if you can.”
The magician’s arms rose again and Mistake knew she was going to run out of daggers before Rejji reached the mage. She threw the dagger as she started to charge directly towards the hooded figure. He growled as he dropped his arms and saw her charging. He successfully dodged the dagger and returned his attention to the Astor. Mistake grabbed her last dagger without breaking stride. As soon as the magician’s arms rose, she hurled it as hard as she could. The magician was tiring and he was slow to react, but he dodged sufficiently for the dagger to sail harmlessly past his face. Mistake continued to charge, knowing she had no more weapons left.
Rejji was still thirty paces away as Veltar’s arms rose one more time. Mistake slid to a halt wishing she had just one more dagger. In desperation, she swiftly formed an Air Tunnel to the far side of the mage and spoke into it.
“Guess you forgot about me,” she snarled.
Veltar whirled around as he sought the voice. The moment of confusion distracted Veltar longer than a dagger would have, but he still managed to turn in time to see Rejji swinging his staff. He swiftly raised his arms, but instead of issuing a spell, he grasped the staff as it descended towards his head. Rejji and Veltar struggled for control of the staff as smoke rose from the magician’s hands. Veltar cried out in pain as the stench of seared flesh permeated the air. With a desperate twist that threw Rejji off balance, Veltar relinquished his hold on the staff. Rejji tumbled to the ground, still clutching the staff, as Veltar stared at his blackened and smoking palms and screamed in agony. Rejji swung the staff hard and connected with Veltar’s legs. He rolled away from the falling body and leaped to his feet as Veltar slammed into the ground. Rejji forcefully jammed the end of the staff into Veltar’s throat and put all of his strength behind it. Veltar gurgled frantically as his charred hands gripped the staff again and he tried to force it away. Mistake raced to halt next to Rejji just as Veltar’s body dissipated in a puff of smoke.
Wyant fought hard to keep his eyes on Grulak and not the battle that was taking place behind the Jiadin leader. Veltar’s cry of agony caused a hesitation in Grulak’s defense as he involuntarily turned towards the scream. Wyant was ready for such a distraction and swung his sword hard into Grulak’s neck. Grulak’s eyes opened wide with surprise as his head tilted onto his shoulder and his sword dropped from numb fingers. Wyant stood poised to deliver another blow as Grulak’s body toppled to the ground and sprawled lifelessly.
Wyant rushed over to Rejji and Mistake and stared down and the cloak upon the ground.
“I am thankful for that special armor you provided. It has saved my life today. What happened to him?” inquired Wyant.
“He disappeared,” Rejji said softly. “I have seen it happen before, but not to anyone real. Who was he?”
“That was Veltar,” answered Wyant. “He was Grulak’s main advisor. Is he dead?”
“Yes, he is dead,” nodded Rejji.
“What did you mean you had seen this before?” questioned the Marshal.
Mistake wandered off to retrieve her daggers and Rejji stood shaking his head. His face pouted in thought as he turned to Wyant.
“I have seen it in Angragar,” declared Rejji. “Evil spirits infest the city and rise again after they are killed. One marched around with Mistake’s dagger in his throat. The staff seems to be able to send them to their final rest. I do not really understand it, but just touching the staff caused the magician’s hands to burn.”
“You have been to Angragar,” gasped Wyant. “I always thought it was a myth. Where is it?”
“My horse is dead,” lamented Rejji, “and we are falling behind schedule. I wonder why Winus failed to act here.”
“You can take my horse,” offered Wyant. “I will start slaying the elite before they wake up. Winus should have been here already, so I guess he is not coming. I fear I may have misjudged him.”
“Jiadin!” Mistake’s soft voice announced as if she was standing next to them. “I will take him out.”
Rejji and Wyant turned towards Mistake and saw the Jiadin soldier approaching, his sword drawn as his eyes darted back ad forth.
“No, Mistake,” shouted Wyant as he saw her cock her arm. “He is one of Winus’s men.”
The soldier looked around in confusion and then marched towards Wyant. He sheathed his sword as he approached.
“Sorry, Wyant,” the soldier stated. “Brakas ran our horses off in the night. The rest of the men are a few minutes behind me. Have they started to wake up yet?”
“Not yet,” nodded Wyant, “but I am glad you are here. The thought of trying to kill a thousand of them by myself before they woke up was not reassuring. I will catch up to you Rejji when the first of their horses awaken. You and Mistake should be on your way.”