Chapter XI
Arcadia Pyramid of the Mirkoid
The sun rose high above the Loch as they rode out of the city. They caught the early ferry and were across before their shadows had disappeared beneath their feet. After which with Andreas leading the way, they swung round to the far side of Grand Mountain and travelled in the direction of Ruin Mountain. They did not push their horses too hard as there was a difficult journey ahead.
“We’ll make for Arcadia,” said Andreas quietly. “It is a vast structure that was abandoned many years ago, long before even my people came to these lands or so it is thought. So great is its construction that some believe the Gods made it. Unfortunately it long ago fell to ruin, the only thing that inhabits that place now are the ghosts of its past. It was built in the forest this side of the Swamp of Osgaroth; after that, we’ll cross into the swamp and make our way to the open barren lands that lie desolate before Ruin Mountain.”
After their encounter with the Wraiths, and at the mention of ghosts, Nishga and Achil shot Andreas a questioning look.
“I don’t mean there are real ghosts there,” said Andreas a little mischievously.
Achil and Nishga smiled to themselves; perhaps their adventures together had made them overly jittery.
Even with the sun on their faces, Achil could feel the chill of mountain air sweeping down behind him, the city stood tall and proud against the mountain. The reflection of the City on the Loch, gave the impression that it was much larger in appearance, and more magnificent than it actually was.
“I have heard of Arcadia back east,” said Achil. “It is home to..., what was that name?”
Achil sat with a curious expression on his face trying to recall what he had once learnt as a child.
Nicholas watched him with a broad grin, took a swig from his water bottle and wiped his mouth dry. He eased himself forward in his saddle so as to lean closer to Achil, and decided to put him out of his misery.
“You're thinking of the Mirkoid," whispered Nicholas. “You know they say that forgetfulness is a sign of old age.”
“What’s a sign of old age?” asked Achil.
“Forgetfulness,” replied Nicholas.
“What's that?” queried Achil.
“I don't know, I simply can't remember,” said Nicholas dryly. “From what we've uncovered of the Mirkoid they were an unwholesome bunch. They were devourers of their own children or so we were taught. Legend has it that they angered the God of the underworld, Athrilla. That’s how Ruin Mountain got its name, spouting forth its rage, covering all the land in ash up to and including the land of the Mirkoid. Some believe the beast we seek lives up in the mountain because it made a pact with the God that destroyed the Mirkoid. And now it has come to destroy us.”
Achil gave Nicholas an incredulous glance, “Perhaps, or it's just a predator that's annoyed at having a rival for its territory closer than it thinks they ought to be, and is behaving in a manner that you'd expect, especially for a Dragon.”
Nicholas laughed grimly, “That's an explanation clear and true, and I suppose you could be right. You find our beliefs strange don‘t you?”
Achil shifted uncomfortably.
”It's not a case of your beliefs being strange or whether mine are,” replied Achil. “I accept what you say; and don’t misunderstand what I mean by that. I accept your beliefs, which is different from saying I believe they are right. As who am I to say that what you believe is right or wrong. My people have a simple doctrine: 'Do not do to others, what you would hate to be done to you, by others.' So when you say that I think your beliefs are strange, that’s not true. We‘re just people from different lands who have been taught differing views to life, that’s all. There's nothing strange about that. And the important thing is that whilst our Gods may not be the same, and we may find our teachings on subjects like alchemy and healing not to be the same also. Still I find it intriguing to that we do have common fundamental beliefs, in freedom, liberty and justice. And that both our peoples place the social well being of the community above that of the individual; so that in effect everyone works for the greater good of the people and that cannot be a bad thing. Rather the community succeed than the individual, as when the community succeeds then so does the individual, but when the individual alone succeeds, it does not follow that the community also will succeed.”
Andreas nodded thoughtfully, “I didn’t know we had a philosopher amongst us. Next you’ll tell us you’re a bard and start reciting poetry.”
“Let's see,” said Achil, thinking a moment. “There were four riders from Osgaroth, Who ate four bowls of Nishga’s broth, their stomachs did turn, and they did learn, how it made them splutter and cough.”
“I hope Nishga your broth is not as bad as his poetry otherwise this is going to be a really long journey,” replied Nicholas.
Nishga half smiled mischievously, “Hey, I have no problem with not cooking at all. Besides we‘ll take it in turns, first can be Achil, second, well Achil again, and third you‘ve guessed it.”
Andreas and Nicholas looked at each other, and then back at Nishga.
“Achil!”
Achil grinned wryly.
“Guess I've got that duty. So have you two lived in the lands of Osgaroth all your lives?” said Achil casually pulling on the reigns of his horse.
“Yes, Osgaroth has always been our home,” replied Andreas. “And a delightful place it was until the Dragon came, and laid waste to so much beauty. But homes can be rebuilt, orchards and fields grown again. We have dealt with creatures like this before, though none so belligerent. Usually they are like cattle but every so often you get one that behaves like a ravenous wolf. There are very few Dragons left nowadays. They are great and monstrous beasts, powerful and mighty but also enigmatic, difficult to understand and for the most part they want nothing to do with people.”
“It sounds to me like you've dealt with this type of problem before?” asked Achil with a little suspicion creeping into his tone.
"The Dragon People have had relationships in the past with such creatures, hence our name," replied Andreas who knew that dealing with such wild creatures had its own intrinsic dangers.
“Tell me,” continued Achil. “And please be honest, did your people try to capture this creature? To use it for your own ends and it turned on you.”
Both Andreas and Nicholas looked at Achil with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance at such a suggestion.
Andreas even considered it a slight on his people, “We respect such creatures. The Dragon People would never try to place a Dragon in captivity nor could we, a Dragon accepts you or not, that is the way of things. So the answer to your question is no! We did not try to capture this one. It came out of nowhere, and unfortunately it returns every so often striking at our farms, destroying our crops, our homes, our villages. This is why we are in this situation. Worse still is that of late its attacks have increased, and our attempts to fight it off, less successful, hence our need to seek it out. As you have seen during your brief stay in our city, it has much beauty. With natural barriers all around, we are a people that do not need to hide behind grand walls. But there is no defence against a creature that strikes like a hawk, when you least expect it.
Nicholas interjected at that point, "The land to the North was to become New Osgaroth, we were hoping to build settlements there, but have been prevented from doing so by the Beast. I have been as far as the great swamp myself, which borders our lands but never further than that. However if we are to make for Ruin Mountain we will have to pass through the swamp and travel well beyond it, which is possibly why we have been attacked by the creature. As you mentioned earlier we encroached on its territory and our movement into those lands beyond the swamp awoke something that should have remained undisturbed."
"I see, tell me more about life before the Dragon?" asked Nishga.
Andreas rubbed his bristled chin pensively, "Life went along I assume as the same as anywhere else. We are a c
ultured people, if you don’t mind me saying so. We love the Arts, and Artisans are held in high regard. We go down to the local amphitheatres, to see the latest plays and poetry, to hear the Bards sing. We love the Gymnasium, and Athletics. Healthy competition is encouraged among my people. We have built healing houses for the sick, and also we have established places of learning for all, and only recently our first Elder House of Understanding and Centre of Alchemy, for those that enjoy learning and philosophy. But as I have said things have proved more difficult recently as we have had to fend off the Dragon. I am the current champion with the sword and Nicholas is the current endurance and bow champion, at his level of course. This plus my tracking skills are the reasons why we were chosen for this task. So all things considered, life is good, though it could be better.”
They talked of their enjoyment of the games, their families and friends. Achil spoke of life in Findolin, of interest to Andreas was how he and Nishga had met, and how fate had brought them together. It was not the first time nor would it be the last when Achil or Nishga would have to explain how they encountered one another.