The Arrowstone

Chapter 14 - Blizzaro

CHAPTER 14

 BLIZZARO

Gem looked down. He was standing on the Bridge of Dundrachand below him fell a sheer drop of over a thousand feet to the mountainous eastern base of the City. The Bridge was solid but narrow, and Gem marvelled at the design and craftsmanship that had gone into it. Surely here was the strongest, least penetrable fortress-city in all of Feliach. The Bridge spanned a hundred yards, which Gem covered quickly, before reaching the guards at its mountain end. They were under orders from the King to let him pass, and he did so, soon coming to the foot of the Clevestair which climbed before him into the very flanks of the Mountains of Banrak. It proved a wearying ascent, and halfway up Gem had to stop for breath, for the steps were more suited to the legs of Men or Embardow, and Gem's had begun to ache. He started off again, rising steadily. The Clevestair seemed never-ending, but Gem conquered it at last, stepping thankfully onto a rocky platform between two sheer mountain walls. He looked around. The platform stretched for some distance before him, lined by the rock faces, until it narrowed to a thin cleft. Sitting at the foot of the cleft he saw the small forms of two Embar guards.

'The Pass of Norclove,' thought Gem as he approached the figures. As he reached them, the two guards stood up.

'I have been sent by the King and Queen,' said Gem.

'Ah, you are the strange Gemrol person, are you not?' said one. 'We have been instructed to direct you to Blizzaro.'

'Yes, that is right. Do you know where I can find him?'

'Not exact1y,' said the second guard, eyeing Gem strangely. 'It is seldom that his advice be sought by the Embardow, or for that matter the men of Banrak, for he is mysterious, and often elusive. He has not been approached for some time, so we cannot  guarantee that he will even be there. But come!' he exclaimed, as if suddenly shaking off some inner suspicion and doubt. 'Follow us; it is not far.'

Gem followed them through the cleft, and over the brink of the Pass of Norclove that wound ahead between the mountains. Here the air was cold, and a thin layer of frost covered the ground. They soon reached a narrow ledge that Jutted from the right-hand rockface, creeping brokenly across it before reaching a raised level further up on the mountain, where tall pines grew in clumps of dark green. The first guard turned to Gem.

'You will have to find your own way from here,' said the guard. 'Climb this ledge, and when you reach the next level, you will see an old beaten track that runs between the trees. Follow this track, and it should lead you to Blizzaro  It is not an easy route, but you will get there eventually. You will find a cave, and a flight of steps. That is where Blizzaro lives, and the path ends there. If you do not meet him, he will be out picking herbs or gathering firewood, I expect. That is if he is still there at all. Good luck!' Here the two turned and departed, heading back towards the cleft.

Gem pulled himself up onto the ledge, and started to pick his way carefully around the mountainside, not daring to look down until he reached the level surface where trees grew. He heaved himself onto the flat ground and rolled over onto his back. For a few moments he lay staring at the sky. Then he got up again. He had come to a shelf that pushed back the mountain wall before it rose again, higher and higher until it reached the clouds, finally emerging above them in a snow-capped peak.

Gem found the path, which was old and crumbling. He followed it under the lofty strands of pine trees that occured more frequently the further he went. Soon the path became broken by falls of rocks and boulders, and often the way was blocked, forcing Gem on to alternative routes before he rejoined the track. He continued like this for some time, following the path with difficulty around the mountain shelf. Now low brakes of heather made his way harder still9 smothering the path in a sea of undergrowth.