Jerrid woke up an hour past sunrise. Rendel was already gone, roused earlier for another scouting party he assumed. He went to the commons for breakfast. As he finished, a woman came toward him carrying a small pack.
“Rhecca asked me to put some supplies together for you,” she said. “Just simple items, I’m afraid: jerked meat, cheese, hard bread, and some dried fruit. It should carry you through for a week, maybe a little longer.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “Tell Rhecca I was very grateful for the help.”
It didn’t take Jerrid long to round up his belongings. He found Feor anxious to be on the trail. The stallion pranced in agitation as Jerrid brought him from the paddock, cinched down the saddle and latched on the supplies. So agitated was the horse that he felt relieved no one was nearby. He was nearly finished when Kenyon arrived.
“I’m sorry to come alone to see you off,” the Captain began. “There are new reports of wolves to our east. Audain and Rendel went with a group of scouts to investigate.”
“I would like to have told them goodbye,” Jerrid replied. “I’m afraid I can’t wait for them to come back. My heart tells me that I need to be going.”
“I suspected as much. The road you spoke of taking begins above the cleft on the other side of the valley. It is well marked for about ten miles westward. Stay near the river and you’ll end up in Deluge. It’s a long trip though. Plan to be riding for five or six days. Your provisions should hold out that long.”
“Thanks, Captain. I don’t mean to impose, but there’s a favor I wanted to ask,” Jerrid reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “If anyone comes from Garth, I was hoping you’d give them this. I’d like you to read it first.”
Kenyon took the paper and began to read. When he finished he looked up at Jerrid. “We would be honored,” he said, his voice sounding choked. “I see in it the love you have for your mother. I think you’re right. The peace we have in this valley will help brighten her darkness. I will see that your message is delivered.”
Jerrid smiled and turned away. He pulled himself onto Feor’s back. A short time later, he was alone, looking at the long slope that ascended the south side of the valley. Far above he thought, beyond the grassy pasture and the escarpment wall, the grade leveled and the Forest rolled southward. A new adventure must be waiting there. He just needed the courage to look for it.
Without looking back, he started his mount upward. Feor moved quickly and soon reached the shelf above the escarpment. When Jerrid paused to look northward toward Gladeis, he thought that he heard something. He looked closer. Though a boulder obscured his view, he was certain that two riders were coming toward him. Feor seemed unusually relaxed, he thought. A moment later, he realized why.
“What are you doing here?” he called. “I didn’t recognize you at first.”
“We are your guides, of course,” Rendel laughed. “We’re a team, the three of us. Didn’t Rhecca tell you?”
“Rhecca!” Audain said, rebuking Rendel’s effort to make a joke. “She didn’t send us. It’s because of her we had to hide out and wait for you. She would never approve. It’s my father who wants someone to keep an eye on you.”
“What?” Jerrid said, still not believing the words he was hearing. “Your father wants you both to go with me?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” Audain replied. “Last night he told you what he wanted. He hasn’t changed his mind. Under the circumstances, he felt it was worth Rhecca’s scorn to send some guides. We were not only the first volunteers, but he trusted us to keep his secret long enough to get away.”
“I’m shocked,” Jerrid responded. “I only wish I knew where I was going.”
While they laughed, Rendel rode a few hundred feet farther up the main trail. He stopped at the point where it bent sharply to the southwest.
“If we’re going to Deluge,” he called, “all we need to do is head this way.”
Jerrid came up behind him. The trail leveled out somewhat. Feor pranced anxiously, eager to stretch his muscles.
“It seems that Feor needs to loosen up a bit,” Jerrid said. “This way looks like a good choice to me. You two can catch up.”
No sooner had the last word left Jerrid’s mouth, than Feor bolted along the trail. Rendel and Audain followed. Their horses trotted at a much slower pace as they weaved through some patches of scrubby pine trees. About twenty minutes passed before they spotted Feor again. The animal walked toward them. Jerrid sat upon his back, looking winded.
“That’s much better,” he laughed between breaths. “There was no holding him back, not after being cooped up last night.”
“So, Jerrid,” Rendel answered seriously. “You seem to forget that I’m your guide. For me to do my job we need to establish two things. First, you have to stay behind me. Second, where are we going?”
“Well,” Jerrid said, as if he was considering the question for the first time, “now that I have a guide, maybe you can tell me what the options are.”
“That’s easy,” Rendel answered. “This path runs parallel to the Neverth and traverses the ridge that separates the valley from the Highlands. Though I’ve never gone that far, there’s a major junction ahead. Deluge is due west, Rhindus is north, and even the Comburan city of Arnot can be reached from there, though it is far to the south.”
“I didn’t realize there’d be such a big decision right away,” Jerrid replied knowing that the junction was at least a four day ride. “Lead on, Mr. Guide. I promise not to wait too long to make up my mind.”
The valley’s upper slope was varied enough so that the heaviest growth of the Forest struggled to take hold. Groves of stately trees were interrupted by thorny brush and narrow bands of grass whose dry stalks stuck out in clumps that looked like the quills of a porcupine. Away to their right the river could occasionally be seen as it snaked along the valley floor. After several miles of riding they entered an area dominated by large pine trees. The ground beneath them was covered in a thick mat of long needles.
“I love places like this,” Jerrid exclaimed. “Don’t you think that’s crazy? I come from a family of stone cutters! White pine, like these, the really tall ones, if I hadn’t been born a stone cutter, I’d want to be one of them.”
“I’d like to be an arrow,” Audain laughed in response. “Especially one that I just loosed high into the sky from South Point. What about you, Rendel? What would you be if you weren’t you?”
“I don’t know,” he replied sullenly. “Did you forget? I’m just trying to figure what I am right now. Dreaming is a luxury.”
“One thing’s for certain,” Jerrid said, not realizing that his eyes had taken on a green tint, “none of us are going to find answers to our dreams unless we look in new places.”
“What’s up with your eyes?” Rendel said. “It almost looks like Emerald.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” Audain added. “I’m still having trouble grasping it.”
“Really?” Rendel said doubtfully, “How did you do that?”
“I listened to Audain and did what she said,” Jerrid answered. He smiled when Rendel’s face showed a look of alarm.
“Get me out of here, Tara,” the older man scoffed. He shook his reins to get the mare to start walking again.
Audain held back a moment. She looked to the east. Beyond the breadth of the valley she could just discern the upper slopes that lay above Gladeis. She wondered for a moment when she might return. When she turned forward again, she noticed Jerrid watching her. The look of understanding in his eyes told her that he knew of the difficult choice she had made.
“Have you ever wondered what you could be if people didn’t try to make you into what they wanted?” he asked. Not waiting for an answer, he prodded Feor to catch up to their guide.
The rest of the morning they concentrated on riding. Jerrid felt guilty about taking Audain from her home. He knew she was content in Gladeis. Rendel, on the other hand, liked to travel and was mo
re at ease on the move than locked up in a city.
Near midday they passed a large abutment of bedrock. It jutted about a hundred feet above the surrounding area.
“I’ve been here a few times,” Rendel said. He stopped Tara and pointed at the top of the abutment. “We should climb up there for our lunch break. The view gives a good perspective of the land around us.”
They left the horses to graze and scrambled upward. At the top, each of them chose a place to sit amid the rocks. To north, east, and west, the Neverth Valley dominated as it stretched out. Far to the south, waves of tall spruce and hardwood seemed to build upward, only to be dwarfed by the presence of the Highlands. Only the peaks of this broken and weather reduced mountain range stood out, barren and naked in the afternoon sun.
“I see what you mean, Rendel,” Jerrid said once settled. “Look at that one peak there. It really stands above all the others. It’s kind of odd the way it looks so flat at the top.”
As they studied the mountain, a bright light flashed from its summit.
“What was that?” Jerrid shouted. He jumped to his feet.
“Relax, the Summit is known for things like that,” Audain said. “I’ve never seen anything that bright though. Usually it’s more of a reflection, like sunlight hitting something polished.” As she spoke, she shivered, recalling the tendrils of light that came from there during the night of the last full moon.
“I don’t think that was a reflection,” Rendel replied.
“How far away is that place?” Jerrid asked.
“About ten miles,” Rendel answered.
“You’re not thinking about going there, are you?” Audain asked before laughing nervously.
Jerrid ripped off a chunk of bread from the loaf she passed his way. “You have to admit, it does catch your eye.”
“I thought the same thing the first time I rode this trail,” Rendel said. “No one goes there though. Not even the best scouts in Gladeis.”
He and Audain fell quiet, offering Jerrid no explanation. The stone cutter waited expectantly. Eventually, his curiosity got the best of him.
“So what’s the big secret?” he asked expectantly. “That Thomp I met seems like the sort of man who goes where ever he wants.”
“Not even he goes to the Summit,” Audain replied, looking uneasily toward Rendel. “There are many reasons.”
“For starters, there is no trail,” Rendel explained. “The land between here and the plateau at the base of the Highlands crosses a series of escarpments. You can see them from here, set up almost like huge stairs. Each one rises higher than the next. Some of them are separated by ravines, steep on both sides, and obstructed by thick briar. Even Thomp says that nothing bigger than a rat can find its way through that maze.”
“I’ve always heard stories,” Audain added. “They claim that the Summit is alive. Even if you find a way to its base, the stories say that it will turn you away. It’s been a long time since anyone from Gladeis has tried to go there.”
“I like stories,” Jerrid answered as he sat back down. “I’d like to learn more, if you don’t mind. We can afford a long break, can’t we?”
“Sure,” Rendel laughed. “Since you haven’t decided where we’re going, I imagine we could stay here until our food runs out. We’ll just need to ride back to Gladeis and get more.”
Jerrid scowled slightly, not amused by Rendel’s sense of humor.
Audain smiled, though she continued to be troubled by memories of strange events from the night of the last full moon.
“All right,” she said trying to sound cheerful, “but it is a long story. I don’t think it has ever been written down. But since it concerns all Foedan, you may have heard it.”
“Take your time,” Jerrid said. “We can send Rendel back for food if you drag on.”
“When I was young, an old man used to visit our city from time to time. I don’t remember his name. He arrived unannounced, mysteriously walking in from the Forest. A day or two later, he’d leave the same way. Some said he was from Rhindus though I don’t recall him ever mentioning that.
“He loved to talk about the early years, especially the time before Aradith fell. The story of the Summit begins there, with Arthis, the only King the Foedan have ever known.
“Arthis grew up in a small village, one of hundreds that lay scattered throughout the Foeland at that time. Typically these villages consisted of only a few families that linked together because they shared a common earth power. Though Arthis possessed the rare ability to command all four of the earth powers, his greatest gift was the charisma to unite others to help him. His life-long vision was a future where the Foedan lived together in a single community.
“With the help of a handful of Shapers, Arthis built a great palace. Part of the palace consisted of a tower atop which rested a garden. Within the garden was a spring. It flowed with water so pure that any drinking from it felt in touch with the earth powers. As the legend of the fountain spread, many Foedan came to the palace. Over a period of a few years, a city sprang up around the palace. Arthis named it Aradith. The city grew quickly. Out of respect, the people who came to live there began to call Arthis their King.
“Arthis found joy in children. Father of six, he loved to spend time teaching them about the beauty of the earth powers. His four daughters combined their outgoing personalities with a natural tendency each possessed toward one of the earth powers. Aided by their father’s lessons, they made great gains toward becoming Shapers.
“The King’s sons were more reclusive. They seemed disconnected from the Foedan enhancements. The younger son, Deneb, was inquisitive and persistent. Though he learned slowly, he spent many hours with each of his sisters. He gained bits of insight from them that later enabled him to develop a mild ability in all four earth powers.
“Deneb’s brother was named Toldor. Some said that Toldor was pampered and lazy. He achieved no connection with any of the earth powers. Instead of challenging him to work harder, Arthis told his oldest child not to worry because one day everyone always found their natural inclination.
“When Toldor grew to adulthood, he married and had two children, boys named Apollo and Mars. As they grew it became apparent that like their father, they were barren of earth power. Frustrated and feeling jealous of his sisters’ growing abilities, Toldor took his sons south and founded a new city called Toldoris. Toldoris was ill-conceived and without beauty. Though few of the Foedan would dwell there, the common people that lived in the area flocked to its harbors and helped develop it into a center of commerce. Realizing that the city was shunned by his people, the ‘Eldest’ as Toldor came to be called, was infuriated. After five years he abandoned Toldoris to its own fortunes and returned to Aradith with his sons.
“Mindful of Toldor’s hidden resentment toward them, the four sisters mistrusted him. They decided to leave the capital and establish their own cities. By now each woman had developed Foedan skills. Though limited to a single enhancement, within it they were unrivalled by any other Shaper. Arthis knew that they would succeed, but he wanted them to achieve the balance that he had long sought for all Foedan. Therefore, he sent Deneb out to travel between the capital and the four new cities. He hoped that Deneb’s balance as a Blender would help his daughters understand how the earth powers were interconnected and dependent upon one another.
“One day, a feeling of dread fell over each of the sisters. Knowing that something was wrong, they returned to Aradith to see their father. Along the road they passed refugees who had fled the capital in panic. The refugees spoke of a calamity that had destroyed the palace and caused much of the city to burn red with fire.
“When the sisters arrived they found only ruin where the city that was once the pride of their race had stood. There was no sign of the King or their brothers. They had come too late.
“Unable to explain what had happened, the four women left Aradith and never returned. To grieve their loss, they are rumored to have e
stablished a shrine dedicated to the memory of their lost family. Legend says that the place is protected by the earth powers. No one knows where it is though some people believe that a peak within the Highlands is its home.”
Audain paused, waiting as Jerrid and Rendel reflected upon her words. “I’ve never really believed the tale,” she continued. “I sort of thought that the old man who told it was lost or crazed. He had this wild look. Sometimes his eyes were completely white.”
“Did your father or any of the elders ever listen to him?” Jerrid asked.
“I don’t recall. Even now the Council never says anything.” Her voice sounded bitter. “They let Rhecca control them. She has always been closed and guarded. I think that my father believes the story but it puzzles me. If the account were true, why wouldn’t it be preserved in writing, stowed within every Foedan library?”
“Our people are proud,” Jerrid answered. “Maybe they wanted to hide the truth. Of course, if we tried to get a closer look at the Summit, we might find out for ourselves.”
Rendel glanced at Audain then shrugged his shoulders.
Jerrid waited but when no one spoke he stood up. “Since your father knew the old man was talking to the young people,” he began, “he either thought the stories were harmless or important. The way that light flashed at us tells me there’s something atop the Summit that needs to be investigated. I understand if you two don’t want to come. By the sound of it, I may never get up there, but I think I should try.”
“I’ll give it a go,” Rendel said after looking once again at Audain. “Of course, you will have to find a trail through that maze.” He pointed toward the bramble that blocked their southward passage.
Audain remained silent. Her arms were crossed and locked upon her chest. The memory of the full moon was enough to convince her that Jerrid was right. It also made her realize that the other stories of the Summit rejecting intruders might be true.
“Well?” Jerrid asked. “We’ve been up here long enough.”
When Audain still failed to acknowledge him, he started downward. Feor was waiting when he reached the base of the rock. As Rendel slowly crept down to join him, Jerrid mounted Feor and began to study the edge of the thickets. He was surprised how closely packed they looked and wondered how he had failed to notice them earlier.
Reluctantly, Audain got up and followed. Jerrid was already about one hundred feet down the path when she hoisted herself onto Arum’s back. With a quick tug on the reigns, she guided the horse to join up with her friends. No one said anything when she caught up but the smile and wink she got from Rendel confirmed that he was glad to have her with them.
With a burst of confidence Jerrid turned Feor into the brush. He hoped that somehow he could blaze a trail to the Highlands. After progressing just a few hundred yards, the dry stream bed that he followed disappeared beneath a hedge of young hawthorn trees. Their thorny branches made it impossible to proceed. Feor stopped. The horse realized that any additional progress would come at the cost of punctured and torn skin.
Jerrid glanced back at Audain. The look she returned said, “I told you so.” Yet without voicing her thoughts, she moved to the lead. Jerrid smiled sheepishly and watched as she began to concentrate on the bramble.
“Follow me, Gentlemen,” she said a minute later.
Amid what moments earlier appeared to be an impassible wall of thorns, Audain guided Arum. The animal entered a narrow crease in the foliage. Somewhat shocked, Jerrid rushed to follow. Rendel was close behind.
Audain continued to forge a path. Deep in concentration, her eyes flared with a vibrant green as she reached out to the plant growth and allowed its energy to flow through her.
As they advanced, Jerrid began to realize what was happening. In response, he relaxed and used the contact of the branches brushing against his thighs and shoulders to allow him to connect to the energy field Audain created. He remembered the lessons she gave him a few days earlier and used that experience to expand his connection. Carefully, he embraced a small area of brush and merged with the life force he felt there.
Audain pushed on oblivious to the Emerald glowing in Jerrid’s eyes. Only once did she tire. The trail started to close but she soon felt a surge of energy and used it to push her forward. She did not realize that Jerrid was its source. Regrouping, she continued for another hour before reaching a rocky clearing. She stopped and waved her hand to point at a massive sheet of sandstone that stretched out before them.
“You’ll have to take it from here, Jerrid,” she said. “I’ve gotten us through so far. That’s the thickest patch of prickers I’ve ever seen. And something kept pushing back at me. I don’t know what it was but it never let up.”
Though he was also tired, Jerrid felt invigorated by the proximity of the escarpment. Running perpendicular to their route, its steep and barren face rose upward about two hundred feet.
“That was amazing, Audain,” he said, stopping alongside her. “Thank you for joining us. We’d never have gotten anywhere without you. Can all the Emerald make a trail appear out of nowhere?”
“That’s the first I’ve seen of it,” Rendel said. “I’ve been visiting the Forest for three years now, sometimes with the best woodsmen Gladeis has. They’ve led me through some thick stuff, but nothing like that.”
“Truthfully, when we started out, I didn’t think we’d make it a hundred yards,” she answered. “Then something sort of kicked in and helped me push through. I don’t know what it was.”
“I think Jerrid might be able to explain.” Rendel said. He looked suspiciously at the stonecutter.
“What does that mean?” Audain asked.
Jerrid slipped off Feor’s back and slumped down on the ground against a broken slab of sandstone. “I’ve been trying to reach out to the Forest like you taught me. When I sensed you tiring, I looped into your energy flow. I thought it might help.”
“His eyes were glowing as brightly as any Shaper I’ve ever seen,” Rendel blurted. “I don’t know what he’s up to, talking of Amber and all. He’s more Emerald than anyone I know.”
“It’s okay, Rendel,” Audain said. “We weren’t kidding back there, you remember, when we stopped beneath the grove of white pine. He’s Amber all right. But he’s Emerald too. The day he tried to shoot my bow, do you recall what happened?”
“Yes,” Rendel said though he acted a little agitated. “He looked as much a fool as anyone else.”
“But after you left, Rendel, we kept at it. Then out of nowhere, he suddenly caught on.”
“What do you mean, caught on?” Rendel asked more loudly than was necessary.
“I mean he started to control it,” Audain answered. “I don’t know how or why, but he can shoot my bow.”
Rendel sat in disbelief. “Does anyone else know of this?”
“I told my father last night. I don’t know who he may have told but it didn’t take him long to decide that you and I should escort Jerrid.”
“Escort him where?” Rendel asked.
“Yeah,” Jerrid interjected. “I’d like to know that too.”
“It was more like him wanting us to keep an eye on you,” Audain admitted with a laugh. “Keep you from doing anything stupid.”
“That’s more like it,” Rendel responded a bit more easily. “But if that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, why in the world are we trying to get to the Summit? It seems to me that climbing that mountain is about the stupidest thing we could do.” As Rendel ended he burst out laughing.
“I suppose you’re right,” Jerrid answered though Rendel’s laughter made it difficult. “As crazy as it seems, I do think that I can get us up this next incline.”
“That will help,” Audain said, “just give us a few minutes to rest.”
It wasn’t long before they were ready to go. Jerrid realized the slope was too steep to traverse while mounted. With reins in hand, he led Feor along, following a fissure in the stone. It provided a shoulder-width pat
h upward. Audain was next, with Rendel last.
The fissure ended at a long shelf-like landing about midway up the slope. The rock above was less steep than the stretch they just scaled, but it was completely smooth and offered no passage.
“What is that?” Audain asked while looking toward the eastern end of the shelf. She left her horse behind and walked in that direction. “I can’t believe it! It’s a white ram, like the one that we saw in the Forest that night. I think it is dead.”
Jerrid and Rendel joined her. Rendel knelt down next to the creature. Its coat was stained with blood. When he touched the animal it stirred, and then struggled into a sitting position. Everyone took a step back.
“Its chest is all scratched up,” Rendel said, “like it just made its way through the thorns. There seem to be a few deeper wounds on its legs. They look like bite marks.”
The three travelers exchanged glances. They all wondered the same thing. Was this the ram that came to them in the Forest and distracted the wolves so they could escape?
“It looks like it ran out of energy trying to climb up this rock face,” Audain said. “Poor thing. A mountain goat like this is made to climb. It managed to get through the brush but found that its way up was blocked by something as familiar as a rock wall. Pretty ironic, I’d say. Jerrid, while you figure out our next move, I’m going to find some water and a little straw for the beast.”
As Audain walked back down the slope, Jerrid went to the western end of the landing and took the chisel and hammer from his belt. Rendel looked on skeptically. His expression soon changed as Jerrid’s work at chipping through the stone showed progress. By the time Audain returned, the stone cutter had already removed enough rock to continue the climb upward about a dozen feet.
There was about an hour of daylight remaining when they moved on, leaving the injured ram behind. Already it was standing on its own and seemed to be growing stronger. The three companions began to advance toward the top of the slope. When they cleared its crest, Audain’s heart dropped. About two hundred yards ahead, across a flat shelf of sandstone, was another wide patch of thorny brush. Beyond it, a second rocky incline rose up.
Rendel could not contain himself and began to chuckle. “I’m sorry. I was just remembering that we were here to make sure Jerrid didn’t do anything stupid.”
Jerrid was not amused. As he prepared to respond, the laughter suddenly stopped. Instead, Rendel pointed southwest toward the Highlands and its highest peak, the Summit, still five miles distant. The three stood side by side and looked on in wonder. As the sun began to set, the massive granite column that formed the mountain transitioned from its normal gray into a shade of red. Yet the feature that attracted their attention was located at the very pinnacle of the monolith. There, a natural beacon glowed with shifting colors. First was the harsh white Opal glare of Rhindus, city of wind. As the white faded, a soothing blue emerged, Sapphire, the enhancement that belonged in Deluge, city of water. After the Sapphire came the deep Emerald of Gladeis. Finally, with the last rays of sunlight slipping over the horizon, the golden Amber of Garth appeared.
Audain looked over at Jerrid. His eyes glowed with a matching gold. “I think you’re onto something,” she said absently. “There’s a power here and we need to know what it is.”
No one noticed that when the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, the Amber yielded briefly to crimson before fading into the night.
Jerrid turned toward the others. “We will have to make camp here. There’s really not much sense in tackling another swath of thorns today.” He walked away from the cliff’s edge to look for an area to unpack the horses. He selected a spot where a cluster of large boulders were surrounded by a few twisted pine trees.
It wasn’t long before they had settled in. Rendel busied himself with flint and a steel striker from his tinderbox. His efforts resulted in a small fire. They finished their meal as the stars sprouted out into the clear night. A warm breeze blew from the south. Occasionally, lightning flashed on the horizon.
“It looks like we might get wet tonight,” Rendel said with little concern.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Audain answered. “Usually storms don’t come from that direction. I like this breeze though. It helps clear my mind.”
“I feel that way too,” Rendel replied. “On a night like this I feel like I could suck up every bit of it and float away through the darkness.”
Like the others, Jerrid’s spirit was soaring. “Audain, do you remember when you showed me how to shoot your bow?” he began. “You told me to let its power course through me. That helped me realize I had been fighting the power within the wood instead of making it a part of my core. Once I accepted that, I was able to take control, almost like it was a part of my body. We should all try that now. Just relax and let our consciousness feel what is happening around us. You taught me something that I think everyone can use to become a part of the earth power we feel here.”
“But I have no enhancement,” Rendel replied sounding dejected.
“It doesn’t matter,” Audain said, getting excited by the idea. “Relax and focus on whatever you want, Rendel. Just a minute ago, you said you felt the energy in the wind. Draw it in and let it course through you just like you said. I think I will try to connect with this pine tree.”
“Audain is right,” Jerrid added. “This doesn’t take some special power. I’m going to try to draw upon both the tree and this sandstone at its base. What could be better than that for a rock cutter?”
He reached over and placed one hand on the tree trunk and the other against the ground. Nervously, Audain did the same. Rendel stood up, lifted his arms, closed his eyes and began to breathe in the breeze. At first, all of them were tense, but the lines on their clenched brows soon disappeared. With the evening stars slowly rotating above, they held their positions. Audain was first to return. She waited until her companions did the same.
“That was exhilarating,” she exclaimed, her voice calm but obviously touched by the experience.
“I feel like I’m a kid again,” Rendel replied. “I’m as light as the wind. I will surely sleep better tonight.”
“You look great, Rendel,” Jerrid laughed. “An Opal Shaper if ever I saw one.” His laughter stopped when he discerned a faint glimmer of white in his friend’s eyes. The stonecutter dismissed it to the reflection of a sickle moon that was rising.
“What about you, Jerrid?” Audain asked. “How did it work for you?”
“At first I felt the rock, old and strong,” he began. “The pine was a refreshing contrast. Even though a tree like this could be hundreds of years old, it created a sense of youth and vitality. Together they brought me a feeling of peacefulness that I’ve missed since I left… my home.” He wanted to say Yargis but caught himself.
“It sounds beautiful,” Audain said. “My experience was different. I don’t think I reached deep into the stone; but this pine tree! It was as if I could feel each year of its life, like I was walking back in time to before the Emerald Foedan came to the Neverth Valley. It was an odd feeling, eerie but wonderful at the same time.”
Rendel built the fire back up as Jerrid walked away from camp to check on the horses. He only had to go about a hundred feet before he found them. They seemed to have eaten their fill of the thin grass that grew in the area and were resting. He stroked Feor’s snout for a few minutes. As he headed back to the fire, he heard a noise. Looking toward the edge of the cliff where they had ascended earlier, he saw a white shape in the darkness.
“It looks like your nursing job worked,” Jerrid called toward their camp. “That ram has followed us up here.”
As the animal began to walk toward him, Jerrid noticed that the creature seemed to have undergone a miraculous recovery. It looked to be twice the size of what he expected and it walked with pride and power. Its long horns were pointed upward. They glittered with a faint light. When the ram turned its head directly at Jerrid, he grew suddenly a
larmed.
“Its eyes are glowing red,” he called to his friends. “What do you think that means?”
As if in answer, the ram lowered its head and began to charge. Its horns were poised to pierce and it moved quickly. Jerrid was about to dodge away when he saw Feor move into the charging animal’s path. The stallion reared and came down, its right hoof clubbing the smaller animal solidly. The creature stumbled but mountain goats have heavy skulls. In a moment its compact body rose to its feet. Though its eyes seemed more dazed, it lunged again.
Jerrid was relieved when the animal stumbled just a few steps later. He looked closer and could see why. One of Audain’s arrows was sticking from its chest. For a moment it struggled to get back to its feet but the arrow had pierced its heart. Jerrid and his friends watched as the red glow in the ram’s eye faded. For a moment a glimmer of yellow appeared, but it too dimmed. The animal was dead.
No one spoke as they settled back into camp. Tears ran from Audain’s eyes and Rendel looked pale. Still in shock, they went to sleep as the horses resumed grazing. Jerrid knew that they were the best lookout he could ask for.
The next morning the sky was overcast. Though everyone was still shaken, they packed up their damp sleeping rolls, saddled the horses and began looking for a way to continue. With Audain again in the lead, they plunged into the thorns. When the bramble thinned, the riders found themselves at the base of an upward slope. It was covered by larger trees, mostly hemlock and beech. Audain breathed more easily when she saw how open it was beneath the arched branches. They had not gone far when they reached the base of another bluff.
Jerrid looked at it. “What do you think Rendel? It’s too tall to scale, and the face is too steep and smooth to chisel a path.”
“If we wanted to leave the horses here, we’d be all set,” Rendel answered in jest. “We could climb the trees. They grow almost right up against the cliff. Audain could then make them lean over a little and we’d jump off on top.”
“What do you think, Audain?” Jerrid asked with a smile.
“I like Arum and don’t want to leave him,” she answered, patting her horse’s back. “Let’s go to the west and find an easier approach.”
Jerrid turned Feor and started tracing along the base of the cliff. After covering about a half mile, the light under the trees ahead brightened. His hopes rose. Perhaps the cliff opened up into an area where they could ascend. As they approached, the sound of rushing water began to fill the air.
Growing more cautious, Jerrid motioned for everyone to stop as he dismounted. Leaving Feor behind, he went on to explore. A few minutes later, he reappeared.
“What did you find?” Rendel called out as he approached.
“There’s a sheer drop into a canyon with a small waterfall. We’ll have to go back the way we came.”
It was late morning when they finally found a place where the cliff had fractured. Large pieces of sandstone were heaped below the opening. It only took Jerrid a few minutes to shape a narrow trail up through the rubble.
They led the horses to the top. The trail exited upon the plateau that acted as the base of the Highlands. This elevated feature of the woodlands covered a strip that extended two hundred miles from the northeast to the southwest corners of the Forest. Near the midpoint of this stretch was a series of granite peaks. The Summit was the tallest of them. Towering to a height of two thousand feet, it was nearly twice the height of any other. Along much of its base, piles of rock fragments sloped upward hundreds of feet before encountering the vertical face of the mountain.
“It looks really steep up there,” Rendel said, squinting into the bright sky. “The first few hundred feet might be manageable, but after that it looks straight up. How we’ll ever get to the top is beyond me.”
Jerrid slumped against a boulder and studied the form of the mountain’s base. “It looks like a section of the cliff broke off over there. Maybe we can find a way behind the pile that it left. We’re too far away to tell for sure.”
Rendel was unconvinced. “The wall goes straight up, Jerrid. I don’t see how any of us will have a chance against that. We might as well head back the way we came.”
“We can do some more scouting,” Audain added, also sounding doubtful. “I think Jerrid’s right though, we at least need a place to camp tonight.”
They mounted and began their approach. Rendel picked a trail through the boulders and spruce trees that dominated the Highlands. About forty minutes passed before they reached an open area where the creek Jerrid saw earlier plummeted into a canyon far below. A short distance upstream of this waterfall, they found a gentle pool. An abundance of fresh grass grew along its banks.
“This looks like a good place to camp,” Rendel said. “Not only is there water and grass for the horses, but the ground isn’t all rocky. I’m still feeling lumps in my back from where we slept last night.”
After unloading the horses, they turned them loose to graze. Jerrid took a length of rope from the back of his saddle and tossed it over his left shoulder. The others followed as he began tracing the creek upstream, walking carefully along its edge. It turned out to be an ideal path. Though their feet were soon wet, it led them up a series of small waterfalls and past many large boulders as it ascended the mountain. Jerrid was perplexed that a few areas they traversed seemed to have steps carved into the rock adjacent to the creek.
“This is certainly much easier than I thought it would be,” Rendel said after climbing one such staircase.
“I agree,” Jerrid answered. “It seems strange and a little unsettling.”
“What do you mean?” Audain asked.
“Just that it certainly was not easy to get to this point. It was as if the Forest and the land conspired to keep us away. Now we suddenly have a manicured trail? It strikes me as really odd.”
“Maybe your Amber forefathers conquered the mountain and left this trail for us,” Rendel joked.
Jerrid ignored him and continued walking. Several times he craned his neck to trace the outline of the creek as it ascended, finding that the stone ahead limited his vision to only a short distance. Looking back, he estimated that they had climbed about two hundred feet since leaving the horses. A short time later, they passed a tall block of granite that nearly closed off the creek’s channel. About a hundred feet beyond it, they found themselves forced into a narrow canyon, sheer on both sides and barely eight feet wide.
“Let’s take a break,” Jerrid called out. He stopped and tied a loop at one end of the rope he carried. When Audain approached, he slipped it over her shoulders and around her waist. “Something about this place is making me…”
At that moment, a torrent appeared at the upper end of the canyon. It rushed straight toward them. Jerrid yelled out and tossed the other end of the rope toward Rendel. He reached for it, but thrown slightly off balance, he slipped and fell. When the water arrived seconds later, its force began to push him downstream. Though he had succeeded in getting to the rope, as soon as it became taut, Audain fell too. Jerrid watched her begin to slide along while he struggled to maintain his own footing.
Rendel’s heart pounded as the water pushed him toward the large block of granite they had passed a few minutes earlier. A wave splashed over his face, blurring his vision. When he could see again, he noticed that a small eddy seemed to have formed behind the block. By thrusting his legs against the sidewall of the canyon, he managed to get into this eddy and stood up. He still held the rope in one hand.
A moment later, Audain shot into his view. She was moving rapidly, carried by the flow. Rendel clenched his grip tightly on the rope and started to pull. The other end was still around her waist. She realized what was happening and steadied herself.
“Where’s Jerrid?” Rendel yelled when she reached him.
“I think he’s still up there,” she answered, pointing.
The words had just left her mouth when Jerrid appeared. The water dragged him as it had the other two. His e
yes were wide, glowing with Amber. Rendel reacted quickly. He grabbed Audain and spun her around, then tossed the loose end of the rope he had been holding toward his friend. Jerrid noticed the splash as it hit the water. Somehow, he managed to reach out and grasp it. Together, Audain and Rendel pulled him in.
The three of them stood together, waist deep in the swirling pool. Their relief at being reunited was short-lived. The water was rising quickly, the current becoming stronger. They all knew that they could not remain there much longer. If they did not move soon they would be pulled back into the torrent.
“Get ready,” Jerrid yelled as he forced away a sense of panic and opened his mind. Reacting unconsciously, he allowed the earth powers surging around him to course through his body. With this extra force to draw upon, he anchored his legs against the hard granite beneath his feet and pushed against the large stone block that sheltered them from the main flow. It was tall and seemed a little top-heavy. At first it began to tip but just a few seconds later it swayed and then fell over into the channel. Most of the water’s flow was obstructed.
“Now,” Jerrid yelled. “We only have a few seconds!”
Reacting together, the three travelers ran, heading downstream, looking for a way to get to higher ground. They knew the water was going to surge over the temporary barrier. Jerrid waved for his friends to follow as he chose a place to begin climbing. There was a flat ledge about ten feet above the channel. He reached it first and then used the rope to pull Audain up. Rendel scrambled along beside her just as the water pushed the block aside and surged below them.
“I think we’ll be safe here,” Jerrid said, shouting above the roar. Audain looked back at him. His eyes were a bright gold she saw, though she was almost sure she had glimpsed a hint of sapphire in them moments before.
Rendel sat close to the water’s edge and watched the flood. “It looks like it’s going to subside,” he said a few minutes later. “It seems to have crested.”
They rested for about an hour before deciding that it was safe to climb back down. The sun was out of view behind the mountain when they reached camp. Fortunately, the streambed was much wider here. Though a few bags were damp on the bottom, nothing was lost.
“I don’t know if we should stay here,” Audain said. “This mountain is trying to get rid of us.”
“I think we’re safe,” Rendel replied. “Of course, we’re still stuck on these Highlands for tonight. There’s no time to climb down before dark.”
Jerrid was quiet. He was thinking about his friends, fearful that his insistence to come here had nearly killed them.
They decided to carry their bags to some slightly higher ground where they began to set up again. The horses stood together, grazing at times, but seeming to take turns keeping an eye on the creek.
An hour later the travelers sat beside a small fire. They ate the simple foods they brought with them from Gladeis. Unnoticed in the darkness, a mountain goat stared down upon their fire from a rocky cliff at the knees of the mountain.
“In the morning, I can help you both get down the first ledge,” Jerrid said suddenly, between bites. “From there, the incline to the next level isn’t difficult. Audain seems to have control of the thorns so you should be okay until you get to the last escarpment. You can lead your horses back down from there.”
“What are you talking about?” Rendel said. “You sound as though you’re deserting us.”
“I’m not deserting you,” Jerrid said with a wince. “I’m just not ready to leave yet. I don’t know if you should stay with me after what happened today.”
“That was not your fault,” Audain answered, a little hesitantly. “How were you supposed to know the creek would rise against us?”
“I didn’t know. That’s the point,” he replied. “Were it not for Rendel getting into that eddy and grabbing the rope, we probably all would have drowned.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “I’m convinced that reaching the top of this mountain is important, that something is hidden there. I left Garth to learn. But we all know it’s not safe here.”
Audain looked around uneasily. “I can’t speak for Rendel, but I’m staying with you. I’m just not sure I want to climb that thing.”
“I’m not afraid of a climb,” Rendel said, considering. “I’m just not sure that it’s possible. Everything I see seems to be too steep. Maybe we should scout some more, look for other approaches. Going back to that creek is certainly asking for trouble.”
“Yes, the more we know, the better,” Jerrid said. “I’m not ready to give up on the creek though. I was wondering if it’s a trap for people like us, or if it’s guarding something.”
“You can’t go through there again,” Audain said anxiously.
“Maybe not the way we went today,” Jerrid answered. “I was thinking of trying to scale the rocks around it. With my chisel I can carve enough hand holds to climb over.”
“Sounds crazy to me, Jerrid,” Rendel replied, getting comfortable. “I’m in.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Jerrid laughed. “The way you climbed up to that shelf today shows you’ve a strong grip, the kind we’ll need. And, Audain,” he paused, sensing she was about to interrupt, “I was hoping you could tour around the mountain, look for anything else that might help us find another way.”
“I see there’s no talking you out of this,” she said sounding slightly relieved. “I just hope that I’m not making the trip back to Gladeis alone.”
Chapter 9: When It All Went Wrong