The Arrowstone

Chapter 26 - Banu Culdra

CHAPTER 26

BANU CULDRA

Hobbling in near agony, Gem somehow managed to keep going that day, even if their pace was little more than a steady crawl. The pressure on his leg was tremendous, and his wound throbbed constantly. But the fever had left him, and for all his pain, his head felt clearer. Blizzaro's vital counsel had been valuable indeed. Now they approached the tallest of the Mountains of Ghosts, and as Blizzaro had mentioned, there ran a rising ledge that swept brokenly around the eastern face.

'There is our pass,' croaked Gem. 'It looks so close now,yet I can't quite believe we have reached it somehow. I will not stop until we are on it, or at least at its opening. I do not think I can stand the thought of spending another night under these infernal trees.'

'I understand,' replied Gorthlob, and raised his eyes to the great mountain. Little more than three miles separated them from its mighty base, and already the trees of the Whispering Wood had started to thin.

'It is not so far ahead, see?' grimaced Gem, wiping the sweat from his brow. 'Anyway we have no choice but to carry on. We must make haste, for there may be Krahls  on the lookout. If there are, I hope they are worried, as Blizzaro hinted they might be. After all, it is not every day someone comes along and lights up their forest like that!' He chuckled grimly. 'I suppose I shouldn't make a joke out of it, but really, Gorthlob, they didn't know what had hit them! That Krahl dropped you and ran so fast I thought his legs would leave his body behind!' He laughed weakly; a grim, tired, mirthless laugh. Gorthlob frowned, glaring at Gem. 'I know, I know,' mumbled Gem. 'I shouldn't have used the Arrowstone.' Now his face became solemn, and the strain showed in his pale, worn out eyes. 'I am scared too, so scared,' he mumbled. 'And the most frightening thought is - did He see it? Kondahlrod in his Tower - is He now aware of us? That idea freezes my blood.'

'Then Gem not think about it,' said Gorthlob. 'Come on, must go.'

They struggled on, often stopping to rebind the bandages around Gem's bloodied leg. The food was taken in frugal amounts; there was very little left. No enemy came across them before nightfall, and as the sun set they left the Whispering Wood, and began to climb the first grey slopes of the mountain.

'Well, I suppose I am relieved that that part of our journey is over, even if worse places lie ahead,' said Gem. 'I don't have to hold this shield above my head any more - my arms are glad indeed.' He surveyed the dismal looking regions before him. It stretched up hard, uninhabited flanks and joined the pass about two miles higher. From there the mountain towered, frowning down upon them, immense and wholly ominous. Gem shivered. 'It is getting dark, Gorthlob, and here we stand with a mountain between us and Harg-Tolun, the heart of Troch. Are you ready to find a place to camp?'

'Not safe place here,' hissed Gorthlob warily. 'Too open.'

'You are right,' replied Gem. 'There must be somewhere at the foot of the mountain where we can rest hidden. Go ahead and seek something out, Gorthlob. I cannot move any faster, and if you are not quick there won't be any light left. I shall continue in the same direction.'

'Keep straight ahead then,' said Gorthlob. 'I go look.' Into the semidarkness he sprang, with a sniffing nose and roving eyes. Gem toiled on, almost dragging his leg as he went. Beneath his feet the terrain had become stony and uneven, and scattered with fragments of rock. An uncanny stillness prevailed, and the sky was a mixture of murky hues; blue, black and purple. Gem felt a foreboding force around him. There was dark power that reigned here, a terrible might that stretched from the kingdom beyond the mountains of Banu Culdra. Whether it was aware of his presence yet, he did not know. But at least they had survived another treacherous day, and were a little closer to their destiny. Soon Gorthlob returned, guiding Gem to a small recess in the mountainside where they could stop for the night.