They entered the valley, which ran as a relatively narrow gorge, guarded on both sides by steep slopes hundreds of steps high. It would have been very difficult and certainly dangerous to access the valley by the flanks given the rough terrain. A brief winding stream ran through the middle of the depression.
The terrain and late hour assured that the hollow was already in shadow. It was a narrow valley, quite cold, almost creepy. In any case, the temperature, even in the valley, was much higher than in Bor at that time of the year, although it was clearly lower here than all they had felt since they came to that island. The land was not totally barren but the vegetation was much more limited than they had seen in the surrounding territories. The trees stood alone or in small groups, and most of the land was covered with ugly bushes. The scene showed a huge contrast with the exuberance, the lush and vibrant colors of the jungle that, according to what Samar had seen, occupied almost the entire island. It was as if life, or a good part of it, had been on the verge of that damn place.
At the bottom of the valley, crowning a huge bluff, was the castle where they were headed. It was very large and even at this distance of nearly half a league, they could distinguish it perfectly. The cliff was almost a totally vertical slope. The castle was situated at a considerable height above the valley. They would have to get much closer to see what would be the best way to access it.
They walked for a while in the bushes and trees scattered on the ground and when they had walked away a reasonable distance from the cave, they entered a more dense tree formation and stopped. The group's situation was nothing short of pitiful. Thost, Ithelas and Erion had multiple injuries, and some were serious. The magician and the cleric had almost exhausted their magic, having used most of the spells that were available on that day. Samar had had to use two of the six special arrows Mithir had made for her. They had no water and, at this point, they had almost finished their scarce food supply as well.
Ithelas began checking the injured one by one. He completed the basic cures, but some of the wounds were too significant. He consumed almost all his remaining spells in making correct magic cures and cured most but not all of the wounds. Then he made one last spell and a rock on the floor began to sprout water. He asked everyone to drink as much as they could and then they all filled their canteens. Shortly after, the outbreak of water stopped.
Erion distributed some corn bread with a piece of dried meat and they all ate hungrily. It was not more than a snack, but they couldn't risk to go hunting or make a fire in that damn place at that moment. Stealth was one of the few advantages they had. Although the food was very light, they all found it comforting. The evening was well advanced but they still had a couple of hours of light.
Thost's chain mail was broken in two places and his left shoulder and part of his side were no longer protected. Ithelas explained that he could do something to fix it in the morning with his magic but, for now, he'd have to wait. Magicians and clerics replenished their magical energy with resting at night, and what they could do throughout the day was always limited to their experience and power.
After re-arming themselves as best they could, they set off again. This time Samar was ahead, leading the way through the valley. Although they walked slowly and with caution, it took them less than an hour to reach the ridge of the castle. Seen from up close it was even more impressive. It was about forty or fifty steps high. The elevation was pure rock with hardly any vegetation or other ground. The slope was vertical and in a number of areas the rock was completely smooth, without protrusions or irregularities.
Erion asked them to wait there, hidden in the bushes, and went to have a look at the terrain. He tried to use his amulet again, but this time the magic did not work. The young man understood that the reason was that he had already used it earlier in the day and would have to wait until tomorrow to regenerate its magic. Erion walked stealthy and returned a while later on the opposite side of the promontory. He had walked all the way around.
The young man explained to the group that the ridge, which was located in the center of the valley, was equally steep all around, with almost perpendicular slopes. In addition, the entire upper half of the mountain had a very smooth rock which would be almost impossible to climb. The height of the promontory was similar all around and had no less than forty steps at any point.
Near the front of the castle there was a much narrower cliff. It was about fifteen or twenty steps from the cliff of the fortress. A double drawbridge was leaning on it to form a channel entry from outside the valley. One section of the bridge was driven from the castle, the other from the edge of the valley. They both descended from its position to lean on the rock. Erion said that there was a garrison of soldiers at the end of the valley guarding the first drawbridge. They should be about ten, at least. The young man was convinced that another guard had to protect the other drawbridge from the castle but couldn't verify it.
In short, it would be almost impossible and probably suicidal to attempt to enter through the front door. On the other hand, it was almost impossible to climb the elevation, given the height, but above all, the impregnable smooth wall on top.
“Perhaps we could tie two ropes together, to have a sufficient length and then throw the hook hoping it fixes on a rock on top of the cliff, near the base of the fortress,” proposed Ithelas.
“I had already thought of it. But the height is such that not even Thost, empowered with your magic, could get the hook of more than a half arrobe of weight at that height,” said Erion.
“It's true,” confirmed the knight. “It is too high to try.”
“What if we shoot the hook with a bow or crossbow?” Mithir said.
“It's too far away. Not even with an arched heavy crossbow could we reach such a height,” Samar said.
The group was thoughtful for a moment. They were running out of ideas.
“Erion, do you think you could transform into a dove and fly the hook to the top of the cliff?” asked the knight.
“I don't think so. First, I don't have any transformations left today, so we'd have to wait until tomorrow. And more importantly, I doubt that a dove would have enough strength to fly with all that weight. I could try, but I think it's almost impossible that I could make it,” said the young man.
They stopped again to think for a while about other options. Those who had built the castle in that place knew what they were doing. It was virtually impregnable.
“I have the solution. I'll take the hook up and fix it in place. Then you will be able to climb using the rope. But I can only do it tomorrow,” Mithir said with gestures.
“Wow! And how are you going to do that?” Thost asked, surprised. “No. Don't tell me. Surprise me.”
“I think we've exhausted all the other options. This means we have to spend the night in the valley,” said the elf.
Erion led the way this time, as they retraced their steps in silence. They didn't go far; basically to the first formation of trees they could find. They weren't many, but enough to safeguard them from prying eyes. When they reached the center of the clump of trees, they began to improvise a small camp. Thost demanded they didn't make a fire. They would become visible from a great distance. The lack of fire would leave them more exposed to possible nocturnal beasts that dwell in the valley, so they agreed that that night they would perform double guards: two lookouts overnight.
Before they set up camp, they discussed for a long time if that was the right place or whether they should move away from the castle more. In the end they felt that this place was as good as any. The whole valley was accessible to the vampire, with a short flight. And, perhaps, it was most likely to go unnoticed camping almost at the foot of the castle; it was certainly much bolder.
They rolled out their sleeping bags in a small circle, and then sat down to eat. They had very little food, and at that dinner they consumed everything they had left. At least they still had water. In addition, the cleric explained that he could supply them with more wate
r the next day.
Samar separated from the rest of the group, promising not to go beyond fifty steps. It was night and the elf thought that she wouldn't be as visible hunting at that time, than if she tried it in the morning. She returned an hour later with two small squirrels. They couldn't make a fire, so they kept them for the next day.
They went to sleep. During the night they heard several animals such as parrots and similar birds and other sounds that they couldn't recognize. Fortunately, no beast bothered them that night. They were much more concerned about the vampire who lived so close. Nighttime was its greatest strength and, therefore, the group's weakness. If the vampire, or his henchmen, found out they were there, they would have no chance. For the same reason everyone agreed that it was more reasonable to wait for the arrival of daytime for the assault.
Nobody could sleep well that night. They all anxiously awaited the arrival of the morning. When they perceived the dawn peeking behind the hills surrounding the valley, they were relieved, but their peace wouldn't last long. That day they'd have to perform the most dangerous task of this adventure.
It had been four nights since their meeting with Phoroz. The deadline their client had given them required them to be back and deliver the box before midnight of that day. Fortunately, they had the scroll that would open a portal that would take them back. In any case, they had only that day to complete their mission.
After the rough night, everyone was a bit tired in the morning, but pleased to have survived without other incidents. They collected their things and left everything perfectly packed with their backpacks. After some discussion, they decided to leave their equipment there, ready to be easily collected. They all carried the objects they believed were absolutely indispensable: weapons, potions, scrolls, armor, shields, amulets and other useful or valuable objects. They also carried a good-size empty bag on their backs, so they could save what they found of value.
As promised, Ithelas used magic to repair his father's chain mail with a couple of spells. Mithir handed Erion his dagger to replace the one he lost in the cave. Erion did not want to take it because it was almost the only weapon the magician had, but his brother told him that, however, he couldn't do much with it.
They discussed the strategy and, after a while, agreed where and when they'd try to open the portal to escape and what steps they'd follow once inside the castle. Then the magician and the cleric cast protection spells. Mithir repeated his magic armor spell, which he had used the day before. Ithelas recast his ogre power spell on his father, and Thost thanked him sincerely.
So they made their way to the base of the cliff, and didn't take long to get there. Erion used his amulet and ascended to flight over the valley, while the rest of the group waited hidden behind some bushes. The young man returned after a while and after settling in the bushes, regained his usual form. Erion shared with the others what he had learned and then they moved thirty steps to the right to wait glued to the walls of the cliff.
Erion took his rope and his brother's and joined them with a knot. Each rope had a length of twenty steps. They also decided to attach a third rope, because they weren't completely sure that two would be enough. They set the hook to the free end of the first rope and handed it over to the magician.
“Well, now it's your turn, Mithir. Surprise us,” said the knight.
Mithir placed the hook and a couple of turns of rope around his back through the side of his neck and below his shoulder on the opposite side. Then he began to cast a spell that he hadn't used in a while. When he finished, the cleric could not suppress a small laugh.
“Interesting,” Ithelas said. “An excellent solution, Mithir. Good luck.”
Mithir began climbing up the wall with his bare hands. Whenever he wanted to move, he simply supported the palm of his open hand on the rock, and then the tip of the corresponding foot. He was going up very easily. He occasionally stopped to take a breath, but it seemed like he was adhering to the wall. It was as if a spider was climbing up the rocks. Not even when he reached the top half of the ridge, where the structure was much smoother, he had difficulty. Actually, he went up that part even faster than he did at the bottom. By not having to dodge any ledge, his ascend was perfectly vertical, without deviating even once.
Shortly after the magician had reached the top. The young man disappeared from his line of vision when he arrived there. Soon Erion tightened the rope slightly at the base of the cliff and waited. After a moment he felt a couple of minor pulls. It was the sign that everything was set up for them to begin ascending.
Samar went first, with great agility and ease. She was followed by the cleric, with a lot more difficulties; not so much in the first part of the course as in the second. It was obvious that this exercise was a considerable effort for Ithelas. In the end, breathless but happy, he reached his goal. They were careful that no more than two people climb at once. They wanted to climb as fast as possible without risking a broken rope, or even one of the knots loosening.
Thost then rose and then Erion, closing the group. The knight also had to make a major effort because of all the weight he was carrying: chain mail, bastard sword and large shield. Still, he managed to climb faster than Ithelas. Thost was very strong and that counted for a lot in that exercise. Erion went up without major difficulties, with the same agility as the elf.
A while later they had all reached the top of the cliff. Erion quickly picked up the rope and they all approached the base of the castle wall. There was a large rock there, under which the group waited and squatted, glued to each other. They wanted to avoid being spotted by any guard who might be patrolling on the castle wall. On the perimeter they could see that that was the only place where they could hide, and thought they were lucky that the rock was there and that Erion had been able to identify the point where they had to climb. The castle wall was about twelve steps high, and next to what they had just climbed, it was no big deal. However, as they had already agreed in the valley, the strategy of directly addressing that wall was too risky.
Erion put on a gray cloak over his shoulders that had a similar tone to that of the castle walls, and covered his head with a hood of the same color. Then he began to slide with great caution with his back perfectly glued to the wall. His mission was to confirm what he had seemed to see from the air with his dove eyes, and return to the group.
The others waited impatiently in that uncomfortable position under the rock. There was barely room for the four of them, although they were crouched and pressed against each other. It was then when they heard voices that troubled them. Someone was coming from the left flank, the opposite path were Erion had gone. The young man had told them that there was a patrol guarding the base of the wall and, according to Erion's own estimate, they took a while to complete the rounds all around the castle: probably half an hour to an hour. They had tried to synchronize the ascent to have the greatest amount of time possible. But now that time was running out. The guard was almost upon them.
“We can't wait for Erion to return. We have to take risks and go now,” Thost said.
“I think you're right,” said the elf. “We run more risk waiting than moving.”
“Let’s cross our fingers that the skylight that Erion thought he saw was not an optical effect,” the cleric said.
They began to move quickly, trying not to make noise. Soon they had reached Erion, who was crouched pulling with all his strength a steel grid obstructing a skylight, which seemed to lead to the base of the castle.
“The patrol? So soon?” the young man asked, slightly surprised to see them.
“Yes,” confirmed Thost. “Leave this to me.”
The knight leaned over and placed his big hands on the small grid. The opening in the wall was circular and would, with difficulty, let the waist of any member pass through it, but before that they had to take out the grid. However, the steel did not want to give in and, after a few more attempts, the knight made one last energetic effort. They saw how his f
ace turned red with effort and how all his muscles were extremely tense. Finally, they heard a slight crack and the grid gave way. A new pull the knight was able to detach completely. Thost had reached the limit of his strength and, therefore, was sure he could not have opened that grid without the empowering magic had given him that morning.
Then they slipped inside, one by one. The cleric was the last to descend. With Erion and Thost's help, Ithelas put the grid in place again. Touching the bottom of the iron with his hands, he cast a new restorative spell like the one he had used in his father's chain mail that morning. He was careful not to completely repair the grid: only two points on the base to allow it to hold. Thus it would be much less effort to pull it back if for some reason they decided to try to escape from that place.
A while later they heard as the guard came to that area outside the castle. They waited hidden and impatient. The grid remained upright and only if they carefully examined it they could see that it had been tampered with. The guard passed. They had not seen them. They were inside the castle.
CHAPTER 5: THE ORB