The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Twenty-Six





By dawn, everyone was awake and packing up the campsite in silence. Alric told Silas that he would show him a path in the foothills of the Reemlock Mountains that led to Mudavé. It was one, he said, that seemed the least likely to be watched from afar.

Alric instructed that they all fly low as to avoid being spotted from possible Stühoc scouts. The mountains towered above them. They were not pretty mountains like the ones Silas and his grandfather had traveled through in Colorado. Their immense, looming blackness seemed to look menacingly down on them, warning them that traveling further would only result in a painful end. As foreboding as the mountains seemed, Silas had found a new confidence with Inga flying near him. He was sure that she would be able to convince the others to join them, but even if they did not, he felt as though he could take on all of Mudavé because of her. The mountains were still dangerous, he knew, but most of his fear was gone.

The sky was as gray and depressing as the ground over which it hovered. It was as if the flight into the mountains had suddenly turned from a vibrant green of a lush and thriving environment to a land of dead waste and despair. Silas now realized why there seemed to be no motivation for any people group of Marenon to swiftly run into Mudavé and conquer the Stühocs to claim the land as their own. There was no reason for this land to be desired. There was nothing in this miserable wasteland. A new fear grew that they might not even have enough water to make it. Alric assured them, however, that Inga would be able to change any liquid substance into water if the skill was needed. She neither disputed nor confirmed this claim. The only spots of water they encountered seemed to boil with some crude oily substance that couldn’t possibly be useful to a Human. Perhaps it was safe for the Stühocs and perhaps that is why they were able to find solace in such a desolate environment. What was poisonous to Humans was probably the life source of the Stühocs. It made sense to Silas somehow. Either way, he hoped they wouldn’t have to rely on Inga to do her magic. She needed her strength for the journey ahead.

They flew low for a long while until midday. Silas was surprised that Alric had stuck with him this far. The path had been spotted hours before, and when Silas inquired, Alric simply said that there didn’t seem to be any Stühocs around and that it looked safe to fly as long as they stayed a few miles outside of Mudavé, much to Lorcan’s protest.

Silas felt relieved by the presence of his companions, hoping that their nearness to Mudavé would help convince them to aid him in rescuing Kaden.

They flew for another hour until Lorcan started asking when they would turn back. He was quite emphatic about stopping, but Alric ignored him. Silas watched the cowering Erellen for a moment as he clutched to Inga, white-faced and fearful. Part of him felt sorry for what the Erellen had gone through, but another part of him wanted to slap Lorcan and tell him to keep it together. He wondered what might have happened when the Stühocs captured him.

When Silas finally looked away, he glanced down and saw a figure moving below them. He slumped down for a better look when he noticed a tiny, thin object flying toward him at great speed. Before he could react, Skarret reared back in pain, nearly throwing Silas off its back. The earsplitting cry from the sarian pierced the sky for miles around. Silas’ stomach lurched as Skarret began a free-fall. He held tight to the sarian’s feathered back as they rushed toward the ground at a deadly speed.

He could hear the others scream out his name, but to no avail. Skarret attempted to flap his wings once or twice before hitting the ground, giving just enough of a lift to soften the landing. As the sarian smashed into the dirt, Silas went sailing over the animal’s head and onto the ground with a resounding thud. It took several seconds for the others to fly down to the crash site, all of them panicked and unsure about what had just happened.

Silas could barely lift his head. Dizziness had taken over and he felt as though he had broken his ribs. It didn’t take long for the others to realize that they were under fire by two Stühoc scouts on the ridge above and to the east. All of them took cover behind a large boulder leaving Silas and Skarret out in the open, hoping the Stühocs would think that the two were dead and would not waste arrows on them.

“Silas, can you hear me?” Alric yelled from behind the boulder.

Silas wasn’t sure if he should cry out or give a thumb’s up because he didn’t want the scouts to see him moving. He tried giving an answer, but nothing could come out of his dry throat. He could barely get enough air to breathe much less make significant noise.

He realized that if he didn’t get on his back soon then he wouldn’t get any air. He was suffocating. He raised his head slowly to see the two Stühoc scouts each fitting another arrow into their bows and taking aim at Alric and Coffman who had quickly left the cover of the rock in order to distract the Stühocs from Silas. They screamed and waved their arms wildly. With all his strength, Silas pushed up on his right arm and rolled onto his back. The towering mountains above him danced in a circular motion causing his stomach to churn, and he thought he might vomit. He blinked his eyes in confusion when he saw two sarians soaring overhead, spinning and maneuvering in such a way as to dodge any oncoming arrows. He followed the sight, unable to see the riders upon them. The sarians swooped low and grabbed both scouts with their sharp talons lifting them from the ground. Silas worked his way to his knees watching as his rescuers took off at full speed higher and higher into the air and then dropped the Stühoc scouts from a tremendous height with no chance for survival. Their gray blood splattered in all directions as they smacked the ground. The sarians that had rescued Silas fluttered down serenely until they were only feet in front of him. Inga was the first to rush from behind the rock to Silas’ aid. He assured Inga that he was okay, but when he saw who had just rescued him, he did not feel okay. His is stomach dropped at the site of Garland Ainsley and Julian Hobbes.

Both of them dashed to Silas’ side.

“Maybe a cracked rib or two,” Silas said. “We need to check Skarret.” At his order they moved to the sarian. Skarret lay on the ground as the other three sarians surrounded him. A long, black arrow protruded from the animal’s chest.

Garland was on his knees caressing the helpless beast.

“Is he going to make it?” Julian asked.

Garland sighed, not turning from Skarret. “I don’t know. The arrow missed the heart, but we are deep into Stühoc territory. It isn’t likely that we’ll be able to get him out.”

Silas felt nauseous at the thought of the critically injured sarian, wishing he knew of something to do to help the poor creature.

“Grandpa, I’m sorry.”

The group was silent as Garland worked to pull out the arrow. Inga sat next to Silas, helping him to his feet. “You are all foolish,” he said tugging gently. The animal cried out in pain with each pull. Finally the arrow came free and Garland held a cloth against the bleeding wound.

“I told you that there would not be a rescue attempt to help Kaden,” he continued. “But you wouldn’t listen to me. You had to do things your way didn’t you?”

“I’m doing what I have to do!” Silas said.

Garland had begun to instruct Lorcan to hold the cloth on the Skarret’s wound. He immediately thought better of it, noticing the Erellen’s shaking, and asked Coffman instead. Then he stood glaring at Silas.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said. “What is it within you that drives you to Mudavé? You don’t even know Kaden.”

“I know that he sacrificed himself to help me.”

“A sacrifice that will be in vain once you step inside Mudavé. You do not realize what you’re doing, Silas.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Kaden is a prisoner because he wanted to be a prisoner!”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s part of the operation,” Garland said pacing. The others watched as the argument unfolded.

“One of us was going to be captured by the Stühocs. It’s the only way that we can collect all of the medallions and defeat them once and for all.”

“And how do you think he’ll do that in captivity?” Silas said.

“By becoming one of them, by gaining their trust.” Garland said. “We’ve always known it to be a long shot, but we cannot send a full-scale attack to Mudavé. We don’t have the manpower. If we already had that, we wouldn’t need the medallions in the first place.”

“It is a long shot.” To everyone’s surprise the voice was from Inga. “To turn someone into one of them is what the Stühocs are known for. Possession of the soul. No man, not even Kaden can withstand such an evil magic. That is why Silas is risking everything to go after him.”

“It is folly to go in there,” Garland said.

“That may be,” she said. “But Silas is going in with or without you. I, for one, am not going to let the Meshulan go into Mudavé by himself just to be captured, turned and possessed by our enemy. I’m going with him.”

“What was that?” Alric said turning.

She looked at Alric. “I don’t care if you don’t owe him anymore.” She then turned to Garland. “I don’t care if you think it is reckless. I’m going with Silas. The rest of you can stay behind, but I believe that he is meant for great things that will benefit us all and I know that I want to be a part of it. Besides, neither Kaden nor any other Human stands a chance in resisting the Stühocs alone.”

Silas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The unwavering support he was receiving from Inga was unexpected. He knew that she had given it to him the night before, and he expected her to follow through, but this was something else. She spoke with a passion that he never knew could be meant for him. It was deeper than a sense of duty or pride in the Meshulan. The more she spoke, the harder his heart beat. In that moment she seemed more beautiful to him that she ever had before.

Alric put a hand on her shoulder. “Inga. Have you thought this through?”

She placed her hand on his. “You have been a wonderful friend. I want you to know that if you decide not to go into Mudavé with us then I understand. I will not think less of you.”

“Inga,” was all he could get out. Silas wasn’t sure, but he thought the man was trying to hold back tears.

Coffman stroked the feathers of the downed sarian with one of his large hands and held tight to the wound with the other. “Over the past few years, Inga, I’ve known you to wield great power, and you’ve become a good friend. Silas, I don’t know you very well, but if all this stuff about you is true and Inga believes in it, then I’m with you too.”

“So that’s it then?” Garland asked, looking at each individually. “You’re all going in regardless of the plans that Kaden and I have both made?”

Silas looked at his grandfather with hopeful eyes, sharing a moment together that the others may not have seen. It was a moment of understanding. It was Silas telling his grandfather that if this was going to be his path as a Meshulan then he needed to be supported. Silas wasn’t sure at first, but he thought that his grandfather might have given in.

“Will you come with us?” he asked.

Garland stood gripped for a moment, contemplating the future. With a sigh he nodded.

“If you will not listen to me then I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get in and out alive.”

Silas couldn’t believe his ears. He had gone from being a lone crusader to being a leader of an entire team.

“What about you Julian?” Silas asked.

Julian nodded. “Of course.”

Garland walked over to Kaden’s sarian. “Now I suppose you were just planning to go into Mudavé without any sort of disguise. That would have been foolish.” He opened the saddlebag and started throwing fabrics and what looked to be wooden masks to the ground. “These,” he said, “are the clothes and masks of the Nestorian people. I’ve brought enough for each of you.” Silas gave him a puzzled look. “I expected that I wouldn’t be able to convince you to turn back,” Garland said, a slight smile lighting his features.

One by one each person picked up a robe, sash and mask to cover their faces for later.

“The Nestorians come and go into Stühoc territory often to try and barter for Humans to be their slaves,” Garland continued. “Today their atrocities actually benefit us. With these disguises we will actually gain an audience with the Stühocs. We will be close to Kaden.”

“Where did you get these?” Alric asked.

Garland grimaced faintly. “I’ve had them stored away for a long time. Just put them on.” All of them did as they were told. “From here we will walk,” Garland said. “Flying will leave us exposed. Besides, Nestorians are not known to ride sarians.”

Coffman held up the garments he had been given. His massive hands were too large for even the armholes. “Anyone have anything bigger?”

No one answered.

Garland walked over to Coffman. “Do you think you can stay behind and try to figure out a way to set a harness for the other sarians to carry Skarret?”

Coffman looked back and forth from Alric to Garland. “But, but I want to go with you.”

“I know you do friend,” Alric said. “But you have to stay behind. If you don’t then you’ll give us all away and we’ll be killed for sure.”

“I’ll stay with him!” yelled Lorcan. “You could use some help making that harness anyway.” His eyes shifted to the others sheepishly. “He doesn’t need to be out here alone, you know.”

“That’ll be fine,” Garland said.

The rest of them donned their Nestorian cloaks and pulled up their hoods, holding their masks to the side until they would need to wear them. Weapons were hidden away easily under the disguise. Silas started to walk, but found it to be extremely difficult. It was as though a knife was digging away at his chest. The crash landing may have hurt him worse than he had previously thought.

“Will you be able to walk?” Garland asked him.

“I think so,” Silas answered.

Alric moved to Silas and held out an arm. “Here,” he said handing him the staff of Uriah. “Use it to help you walk. Just make sure I get it back when you’re done. It’s worth a lot of money.” Alric winked as he said this and Silas smiled, thanking him for the gesture.

Silas studied the polished staff and its intricate features. As he leaned on it, he felt a slight pulsation of energy, almost electric. It was as if the staff had begun humming or vibrating in his hands, but no one else seemed to notice. He knew the staff was magical, and he remembered what Alric had said it could do, but he was just happy to have the support. The feeling was strange, however.

Julian made sure to leave his wristband with Lorcan and Coffman in case the larger group needed to contact them. He told them how to use it and that all they had to do was think of Garland and his band would begin to glow. With Lorcan and Coffman left to tend to the fallen sarian, the others said their temporary farewells and continued down the path toward Mudavé.