Entry #265039, added on 01-15-08 @ 4:15 pm EST
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The southern half of the wood seemed deeper and strangely livelier than the forest Rugo was used to. The grass and trees were more common, though some ash still remained on the ground. Fortunately, the fire to the north had little effect on the area here, which was somewhat of a comfort. However, it didn’t make the place any less threatening.
In fact, it was chillier than normal, which was odd because there was no breeze. The air, in fact, was rather still. Cerine coughed, clearing her lungs of the sulfurous odor still in the stagnant air.
A flock of ravens sat perched in the trees above, their heads leaned forward to hungrily stare at the three companions with piercing black eyes, appearing ready to soar down at them at any time. Rugo noticed Landon’s eyes staying on the ravens as they walked by.
Unseen critters chirped and howled and rustled through the brush around them. Cerine shivered. The animal life that inhabited this forest was not what they had expected. Rabbits, squirrels and deer would be easy prey for the deadly predators that lived here.
“How much further is the Forbidden Pass?” Landon asked, looking around cautiously and avoiding a log that had fallen across the path.
Rugo pulled out the map and looked at the patch of green that represented the forest. A small square, which he guessed was the shop, was situated in the center of the area. Judging by how far they had traveled from the shop, they weren’t too far from the edge of the forest. “We should be nearing the southern border, and should make it less than a day.”
“Where are we going to sleep?” Landon yawned.
Cerine scanned the rough grassy area around them. There were a few stray logs about, but not quite enough. “I have an idea. Go get us some food, and I’ll work on the sleeping arrangements.”
A glance and grin flashed between Rugo and Landon as they headed off to look for something to eat.
Landon stepped on a twig as he walked, snapping it in half. “What do you suppose Cerine has in mind?”
“I don’t know,” Rugo said, looking back toward the spot they had chosen for the camp, “but considering she’s already chosen the Path of the Leaf, I’m sure it will be good.”
“Rugo, I found something!” As Landon shouted, a small brown rabbit quickly darted across their path, from underneath one bush to another.
Landon sank to a crouch behind a tree, focused on the animal. Rugo watched from a distance as his friend slowly crept toward the bushes. Landon picked up a rock and waited. He took one step, silently, and then a second, and a third. He looked at Rugo like a predator on the hunt, stalking a hapless victim.
Finally, Landon threw the stone down at the rabbit, striking it on its head. He then drew the dagger in his belt and delivered the final blow.
Rugo smiled as Landon picked up their game by the ears and brought it over to him. Though it wasn’t a large rabbit, it would be enough to feed them for a while. Rugo patted Landon on the back. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
Landon blushed, but still was grinning ear to ear. “I watched some of the older boys do it, and practiced on my own.”
When they returned to the camp, Cerine was in the middle of putting together small platforms out of the wood. “Here, put this up in the tree,” she said to Rugo, handing him one of her constructions. Cerine had obviously done this before, as she knew exactly how to put the pieces of wood together to prevent them from falling out of the tree.
Cerine rolled over onto her side to face Rugo, who also couldn’t sleep. “Rugo, what are your plans after you return home?” she asked in a whisper, as to not wake Landon, who had drifted off quickly.
Letting out a small moan of discomfort, Rugo hummed as he sat up. “After all is said and done with Lamnos? I haven’t thought about it much since Father died.” He paused for a moment. “I still want to follow in his stead, though I haven’t completed my training.”
Cerine sighed.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I just wondered if you had ever thought about starting a family of your own someday.” Shrugging, she returned to lying on her back and looked up at the sky. “That’s what I’d love to do.”
Rugo lay back down as well, propping his legs up on a thick bough. Before he knew it he was dozing off. He didn’t realize that he had begun to dream.
He walked through the doorway to his house, which resembled his own back home. As Cerine greeted him with a kiss on his cheek, it didn’t occur to him that she was older than she was now. Strands of gray hair streaked through the blonde, and her body was much more developed. But she was just as beautiful as ever, he thought.
A small child played on the floor at her feet. The boy had the same red hair and face as he did. Rugo picked the boy up in his arms and spun around, kissing the boy’s forehead. “I missed you, my son.”
“He missed you too, Rugo. I told him you wouldn’t be long on the battlefield today.” Cerine smiled at the pair and came over to join them.
A clap of thunder boomed outside, and Lamnos appeared in the doorway. He gave Rugo an evil smirk as he waved his hands in the air over his head. Without saying a word, he vanished.
Rugo looked down at the child in his arms, realizing that he was no longer moving. His son’s face, a pale shade of white, showed no sign of life. Black eyes, like those on a toy, stared back at him. Rugo screamed and dropped his son, but awoke before he hit the ground. He sat up quickly, his heart racing from the nightmare. Looking over at Cerine, he noticed that she had also managed to fall asleep.
None of their sleep had been too comfortable, but at least they were safe through the night. Morning seemed to come quickly, and by midday they had reached the edge of the forest.
Seeing the landscape on the other side, Rugo began to regret wanting to see it. It was more desolate than what he had heard from his father about what battlefields looked like after a war. Of course, he couldn’t ever grasp the intensity of what one would actually look like, but the images in his mind had been clear enough to him: land strewn with wounded and dead bodies, and the sound of agonizing screams in the night. He was still grasping the concept of death, first his father and then finding the woman and her child in the burning store. He knew, however, that he would get used to it with choosing the Path of the Sword.
A long stretch of open, rolling hills, some as big as barrows, lay before them. In the distance stood a tall line of black crags along the horizon. The Spiny Belt, it was commonly known as, because of their signature jagged peaks. They served a border from the northern, more civilized areas of the continent, from the unknown lands to the south.
Looking closer, Rugo noticed that everything around them lacked color, except for the grays and browns that were normal for stone, wood and dirt. That was all one could see for miles, a bland, lifeless landscape that seemed to have no end. A patch of fog, as thick as Roddy’s porridge, had stretched across the land, making the scene even gloomier.
“They call this place the Mounds,” Rugo said, showing Landon and Cerine the area on the map. The entrance to the Forbidden Pass was located directly in the center of the region, marked in red. “It says that the entrance lies around a place called ‘Mausoleum Rock,’ but it doesn’t tell how to get inside.”
“How will we know Mausoleum Rock when we see it?” Cerine tried to look through the fog for any rocks that looked out of the ordinary, though it was too thick to see much of anything.
Rugo shrugged. “Perhaps we will just be able to know. As much as I don’t want to see the Mounds any closer, we should keep going. We’ll never make it if we stay around here.” He adjusted his backpack and started off. The others followed close behind.
The slight breeze that had been blowing since leaving the forest picked up to a cold wind. Rugo wrapped his cloak tighter around himself and pulled the hood over his head to keep his hair from rustling around. The fog seemed to shift around in the wind like a large ghost moving about.
Cerine and Landon huddled closer to Rugo as the fog wisped around the three of them. They stood with their backs to each other, to see in all directions. Nothing was about, until Cerine noticed a hint of movement toward the south. “What’s that?”
Rugo turned to look, straining his eyes to see through the fog.
A group of about twenty or so soldiers, walking in perfect time, paced along a long line together. All of them were dressed in armor. Rugo couldn’t see any faces. The figure in front carried a banner that rippled and flapped in the wind. The triangle-shaped flag was a deep purple color with a white border with the picture of a skull in the center, the only color on the otherwise gray field. It was an unfamiliar coat of arms, and Rugo wondered whom it could have belonged to.
“Do you think they are an army of Lamnos?” Landon asked, a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the design on the flag.
“I don’t know,” Rugo replied. “Lamnos is a wizard, and wizards don’t usually command an army. Besides, there’s only a score of them. Who knows what kingdom is around here? They could just be the border guard.”
“You there!” A scratchy, hollow voice shouted at them from behind. They all looked at each other in surprise.
They had been caught. But how?
Turning around, Rugo saw the form of a skeletal warrior, still dressed for battle and wielding a massive double-bladed axe. The soldier’s face, which was a sickly pale yellow color, clung to the skull like it was painted on. The eyes flared dark blood red, sending waves of fear through all three companions. The warrior’s cold, gripping gaze kept them frozen in place.
Rugo tried to jump and make an attack, but he couldn’t move. It was as though his entire body had been magically planted into the ground. He looked over at Cerine and Landon, who seemed to be in the same predicament he was, for they were unable to move as well.
Rugo gulped, wishing he could summon up the will to break the skeleton's power over him and attack the warrior. He struggled, trying to move despite the enchantment that gripped him tightly. He had come so far to let the spell stop him now.
A burning feeling flared and pulsed through Rugo’s hands and fingers. He was able to move his arm again. His instincts told him to draw his sword. The flash of his blade caught the undead warrior off guard. Somehow the binding spell over Rugo had been broken, and the warrior didn’t expect the young swordsman to suddenly be able to move.
The warrior drew back a few steps, clenching the shaft of his axe tighter. The blood red eyes under his helmet glowed again, trying to freeze Rugo in its gaze a second time. Swinging the axe high into the air, the skeleton let out a long, menacing screech.
Rugo’s sword met the slashing weapon. His legs buckled under the impact. It was nothing like the wooden practice swords and axes he had experienced in training. There was power behind this swing and a weight in this weapon he had never met before. His arms hurt, but his will was strong. Rugo and the skeleton circled around in defensive poses, he could see his friends past his opponent, and the nervous expressions on their faces as they watched him, unable to do anything.
The skeleton warrior attacked again, grazing Rugo’s arm with the thick blade of the axe. In response, Rugo swung with all the strength he could muster, the burning sensation from his wound swelling up into his body. His sword struck the undead soldier in the ribs, causing the skeleton’s body to break apart where the sword sliced through the bone. The helmet shattered upon the ground, and moments later, the armor crumbled to dust as well.
A loud, ear-piercing shriek filled the air, alerting the other warriors to their presence. The line of the remaining undead changed direction and broke from their march to run in their direction. Cerine screamed, and Landon shook. They both felt like they were able to move once again. It was a liberating feeling, like coming into a warm home after being out in the cold.
Rugo, on the other hand, stood ready to fight, like one of the warlords back home.
“Come on, Rugo, let’s get out of here!” Cerine called out to him, her voice pleading.
Rugo turned and cast a frown at her. The warrior’s passion still surged within him, as was the rage from his father’s death. If these were minions of Lamnos, he wanted to kill them all. However, twenty to one was not a good match.
Keeping his sword drawn, he ran after Cerine and Landon, who had already hurried down into the valley in the southerly direction they were already headed, but away from the charging soldiers. As he ran, Rugo recognized this valley somehow already. It was the same as the dream he had had the night before he left home. Strange, for he had never been here nor knew about this place before.
Tall obelisk-shaped stones stood in a row. They looked like a perfect spot to hide. Perhaps as long as they remained out of the line of sight of the undead searching eyes, Rugo figured, they’d be safe until the warriors were gone.
Landon collapsed up against a one of the rocks, his back slouching against the sheer surface of it. He peered around the side of the rock. The soldiers had disappeared. “What happened there?”
“I think that when Rugo slew the one guard, it signaled the others to attack us,” Cerine said, winded. “Nice going, Rugo.”
Rugo wasn’t paying attention to her or her sarcasm. Instead, he looked over the rock Landon was resting on. It appeared to be made of marble, smooth but crumbled in many places, and shaped like a large white brick. He backed up to get a better view, and the more he looked at it, the more the rock resembled a massive mausoleum in shape and size. They had found the entrance to the Forbidden Pass. |
© Copyright 2008 Mark C Bradley (UN: auric at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Mark C Bradley has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
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