Chapter 2 - 16: The Night of Ill Omens (IV)
Medieval illustration of a horse-drawn chariot, found on this blog.
Malaban, holding the reins of the horse that pulled the hay-filled wagon and as fast as he could, went down the road that led to the bridge of Ko-Or-Natu, as he followed the soldiers. He looked up at the sky: Dorian's rays, the sun rising first in the east and the less powerful of the two that shone in the sky during days, were beginning to show, but the three moons were still visible in the middle of the sky. He remembered, then, when he began to study astronomy after rejecting the use of magic. The largest of all, which was still clearly visible in the centre of the sky, was called Karida, because it gave the warmest light of all; the brightest and smallest, which was always furthest south, was called Nírimal and was still clearly visible. The third, however, which was hardly perceptible further north, was called Blaria.
The wagon jumped as it passed a stone, and Malaban realised that he should concentrate on what lay ahead. The morning was cool but pleasant, in contrast to the night they had spent. But he had a bad feeling, just below his stomach, that the unpleasant situation was not over.
He looked ahead and thought it was not a mere sensation, it was something much more... indescribable if he had to tell it but as clear to him as the moons he could see clearly in the sky. He knew that with those soldiers in front of him was a ‘life-stealer’ and a powerful one at that. In passing, he thought he had detected the mark of Strugar, the sinister Chief of Intelligence, but he was still a long way off and had not been able to distinguish him clearly. In any case, if they came to a confrontation, it was not going to be easy, even if he had done outstanding progress in recent years.
- Nragar,’ he said in a low voice, almost without moving his lips.
The tiger-man did not go outside the wagon, but his eye appeared between the cloth that covered the wagon and the wood at its base, where the hay lay.
- I am here, I hear you well. Something worries you, doesn’t it? said the tiger-man quietly. Or as quietly as he could with that deep voice of his.
- I can't speak louder. We are getting closer but there is still a considerable distance between us and the soldiers ahead,’ he stopped and looked around. “I think Strugar is going with those soldiers we're chasing, but we'll have to get closer to find out.
- I see... And where are they going this way?
- Ah, that's what we have to find out. We can't just jump in without thinking because we need to know who's going first and why they're here.
- I understand,’ Malaban heard him laugh quietly. “You don't want me to jump in and kill them all until we have a handle on who's going”.
It was Malaban who smiled.
- Exactly.
They followed the path in silence. Suddenly, they clearly saw the soldiers stop and hide just beyond a clearing in the grove. From where they were, they could clearly see a set of stones and an open gate in the hill. Malaban reined in the horse and said:
- They are waiting for someone. We have to hid the wagon and approach them without being seen.
Noiselessly, Nragar slid outside and, in a moment was at Malaban's side. Then Malaban left the cart between some bushes, while Nragar unhitched the horse and left it in a grazing clearing. Then they walked on without speaking and hid in some bushes beside one of the stones.
Immediately, Malaban saw the oily shadow looming over the entrance and looked at Nragar.
- You must be ready to strike when I tell you.
Nragar smiled.
- I've been ready for this since the beginning of time....
Malaban thought it was fortunate that he was on his side, as Nragar slipped away to another, closer spot from which he was miraculously unseen.
Grand Maester Desa Akrovia could already see the end of the tunnel. Before she had reached the entry, though, she had a premonition and forced the nuns behind her to stop with a sign. She knew both Prince Holingen and the Empress too well to think that, after what she had done, they would let her go unpunished, or at least unprosecuted. Besides, that exit was the perfect place to ambush them.
So she bent down and chose an almost flat but heavy stone. The she leaned forward and threw it out with all her might. That is when she clearly saw movement outside and could also distinguish an oily shadow approaching the entrance. But no sooner had that shadow approached the tunnel’s entry, there was a flash of light and muffled screams began to be heard.
Desa Akrovia did not hesitate for a moment: she unsheathed her sword and ran outside. Only then did she perceive the fight going on there. Virtually in front of where she had come out, Malaban stood, in pure trance, blocking the attack of the oily shadow that was taking shape and seemed to be drowning by the moment. But around Malaban, a much taller than normal man with tiger-like features wielded a tremendous double-edged sword that flashed in the early morning light. Although Desa Akrovia knew that this being was perfectly capable of killing all those around him, save perhaps that oily being, she continued to run towards them as he fought with those around him.
However, the fight reached its climax when the tiger-man's sword severed an arm of the oily presence, the severed arm falling to the ground and a terrible scream was heard as the rest of it first rose and then fell to the ground. But it did not give way for that either, and Desa Akrovia saw that Malaban continued to fight the presence, which was becoming more and more tangible.
However, her sword did nothing when she tried to cut through it, so she deduced that the tiger man's sword was special. Just as she was thinking this, he saw Malaban rise in the air, as he drew his sword, which was of a strange, almost transparent material. It seemed that the first rays of the sun Wromar, the Illuminator, penetrated the sword and from it a rainbow seemed to sing, gently expelling the rays it received from the suns.
The sword penetrated the oily body of the attacker and a ghastly scream was heard as a lifeless body fell to the ground. The soldiers who were still alive ran in fear, while only Malaban, Nragar and Desa Akrovia were left on the scene. She waited for that moment to beckon the rest of the Orantes out of the tunnel.
Malaban returned from his trance and sat sweating under a tree with his back against the trunk. He closed his eyes as he mumbled a prayer. Nragar had returned to his human state and simply looked at the scene with concern and then looked at Desa Akrovia.
- We have a ship waiting for us at Ko-Or-Natu. We must leave as soon as possible.
She nodded without another word and approached Malaban. She touched his forehead but surprisingly he did not seem to have a fever. Nragar then spoke:
- You have been ambushed to the fullest extent. If Malaban had not decided to follow this being, it is likely you would not have got very far. Who knew about this exit?
Desa Akrovia looked at him and folded her arms in thought:
- I have always believed that only a few very specific people knew about it. And only within our community. But I think there is someone else who knows something about this, even if it's just a hunch.
- Do you have a way to warn the rest of the Grand Masters? -Malaban said, still gasping for breath.
She seemed to relax.
- Yes, but first we must get out of here as quickly as possible.
Malaban nodded.
- You must go to within half a league of Ko-Or-Natu: do not enter the harbour or you will be detected. If they have ambushed you, I am sure they have people stationed in the harbour as well looking for you. We'll come up and take you in the hold.
She nodded and set off for some sort of boat that was attached to the shore a little further up. Both Interlocutors simply went to where they had left the wagon with their horse. Nragar said to Malaban:
- It was not Strugar.
Malaban shook his head:
- No, it wasn't. But he was powerful enough to send him to try to kill Desa Akrovia. It seems to me that a terrible persecution is about to be unleashed against the members of the Orders. That's why I want you to warn them.
Nragar looked at him and said:
Wait a minute, do you think Bardianen could warn them?
- Bardianen can’t, because he has to come with us to Naras,’ Malaban said, ’but I'm sure he knows who to talk to for that.
- I think I know why Eliandar told me I could speak through the mind to those I had already smelled... Let's test that ability.
Malaban smiled and winked, as he mounted in front of the wagon:
- Well, when you can...
- Yes, but make sure the wagon doesn't jump...’ he laughed.
Malaban laughed too and then started on the road to Ko-Or-Natu.
Nragar sat down on the hay with his hands folded, a posture he usually used when meditating, and closed his eyes. Then he looked for Bardianen and, without much effort, found him: the griffin-man was sitting quietly on the deck of a medium-sized ship, protected by a hood. His face, however, was exposed to the sun, basking in Wromar's rays: he was smiling in pleasure like a cat when it finds a sardine. But suddenly, he noticed Nragar in his head and opened his eyes, smiling and then said:
- I'll have to get in touch with others I know.
Then he pulled out a kind of flute from a pouch strapped to his waist and began to play a plaintive melody. The tones varied and seemed at other times to be a warning and a reminder. A few minutes later, three owls emerged from their lair in the centre of the city and flew towards the respective headquarters of the other military orders.
Foto de SlimMars 13.
Malaban and Nragar made their way quietly to the ship at Ko-Or-Natu. Immediately, Bardianen came out to greet them, informing them that Daval, annoyed by the sun's rays, had gone into the hold and was believed to have fallen asleep.
- Is he the last Interlocutor here?
- Yes, although you won't see him now because he's underwater at the moment. Sometimes he needs to swim for a while.
Malaban nodded.
- We need to go upstream, as we must pick up some people and then we need to get out of here as soon as possible.
Then, a burly man climbed up one of the boat's gangplanks and jumped in.
- No problem, but we have to hurry. The permit is to go downstream, not up, although I can explain that we have to turn back for any circumstances.
He leapt to the helm and two other men climbed up to set the sails. Within minutes, they were on their way to where Desa Akrovia was waiting with the other Orantes.
Malaban approached the helm and looked at the captain. Then the new acquaintance said, as he smiled, showing his teeth:
- My name is Trodurian and I believe I am the Interlocutor you are missing. And you,’ he said, pointing successively to the new arrivals on the ship, “are Malaban, and he is Nragar,” he smiled even wider and added, ’Bardianen and Daval have done their homework”.
In his office, Leovildo, Grand Abbot of the Order of Heavenly Mother's Hope, was writing a secret missive to the Grand Patriarch Askanides. He knew that orders had been given to find the one accompanying Desa Akrovia and that his hours were numbered. So he wrote to the Grand Patriarch to warn him of what they have found. But no sooner had he sent one of his messenger owls with that message, he heard a noise at the door and realised that his time had come. He picked up one of his prayer books and sat down at the table to wait....
Some music:
Originally published in Wordpress.
This is awesome. I feel like it would sound even better in Spanish. I enjoyed the rhythm.