Children of the Sun and Moon (9 page)

“Yeses, youz
knows soonz.”

Eric did not
know what to say. He was very confused. “I was under the impression
we were going to try and fulfil the prophecy.”

“Wez is,
princez boyz,” was Nak’s answer. “Goings arounds evils onlyz
wayses.”

Eric rode on in
silence. This forest was making him feel very leery. Everything was
so quiet he could hear his own heart beating. He tried to keep his
mind off it by thinking of Koral, and what she was doing. Eric was
lost in a daydream when he heard a yell. Coming out of his reverie,
he saw it was only the scout, Mork, saying he had found a suitable
campsite for the evening. The sun was already beginning to set so
they had to make haste in setting up their camp. Eric’s
responsibility was to make the campfire. He loved being able to
show off his

abilities even
if it meant detection by the Magima.

“Firez kepts
smalls,” said Mork. “Manys weirds things outz thereses.”

“I will make
sure it is small and not too smoky,” replied Eric.

While the rest
of the troop was setting up the bedrolls, Eric set out to find some
wood which wouldn't burn too fast or cause much smoke. Stepping
just a few yards from the site, he could feel the wrongness in the
woods again. He spotted some branches, quickly grabbed them, and
went back to the campsite. The feeling subsided once he was back
with his friends, but was not quickly forgotten.

Eric began
setting up the campfire while the rest of the group organized the
night meal. It always amazed Eric at how well the band worked
together. They were not like the goblins he had been taught to
hate. They loved nature and were very in tune with it. Sometimes he
felt as if Mork actually talked to the trees and animals around
them. He knew goblins were very good trackers, but Mork appeared to
be a part of the forest. Eric looked around at the little band and
smiled. He was very glad to have made such companions. Their
journey was going to be a long one and Eric could not think of
anyone else he would like to be making it with him.

Their camp was
always an adventure in its own. The goblins always sang songs to
their god and asked for his blessing. The songs, even though he
could not understand the lyrics, always had a calming effect on
him. No matter how bad the day had been, the songs always made him
feel content. Tallmeken said it was their god, Nelvlick, giving
them his blessing and thanking them for the good they have done.
Eric did not know what to think, but it was a good enough
explanation for now.

Knowing they
had many long days ahead of them, Eric settled down for the night,
falling asleep to the sound of goblin voices singing.

The next
morning was quite gloomy. The sky showed signs it might rain. This
looked like it made Nak and Mork very happy.

“Noz onses
tracks rainses,” declared Mork to Eric as they were breaking
camp.

“Will it not be
difficult,” he asked.

“Noz,” Mork
answered. “Horseses goods throughs muds.” Then he rode off ahead to
see what the trail looked like.

Eric knew the
goblins understood more about this than he did so he just packed up
his things and decided to see what the day had in store for them.
The mist the morning dew was creating, amplified the eeriness from
the day before. The ride was slow going because of the conditions
of the trail. Eric had never felt such a strong sense of anxiety.
The forest was really starting to unsettle him and it was not
something he alone was feeling. All of the goblins were constantly
glancing about.

“Somethingses
watchings usses,” whispered Goulerick from behind Eric.

Eric just
nodded his agreement, too nervous to speak.

Nak had rode on
a bit ahead but Eric could see he had stopped. When they caught up,
he could see why. Lying on the ground was Mork, badly injured.
Apparently, the approaching band had scared off whatever had
attacked him. Even though there were only six of them the creature
had been intimidated. At least this is what they were hoping and it
really was not going for reinforcements.

“Weses getses
hims fixes,” stated Tallmeken. “Mights hunts bloodz smellses.”

“Then we need
to heal his wounds as best we can. He can ride with me until he is
strong enough to do it himself,” suggested Eric.

Nak agreed.
“Riverses closez. Twoz days mostes.”

“Thenz, twoz
weeks toz cittz,” finished Dilmek.

“I hope Mork
can last.”

They spent the
next hour cleaning up Mork. Eric knew some minor healing spells and
used them to seal his wounds. “That will help but I am not sure
what to do about his injuries inside.”

Nak placed his
hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Youz dids bestes. Weses needses goes
nowz.”

They were
getting ready to leave when Goulerick silenced everyone. “Whatevers
gots Mork backses.”

The group
scanned the forest around them and they could make out five forms
moving in the bushes. “Apparently it went for friends,” stated Eric
despondently.

Drawing their
weapons, they prepared themselves for a fight.

The fight
didn’t come instantaneously, in fact the figures paced in the bush
for quite some time without making any move to attack. The tactic
unnerved the small troupe. Goblins were used to full out attacks
not hesitation. The unrest of goblins appeared to be exactly what
they were waiting for because without warning they attacked.

Eric, on the
other hand, had been prepared. He was familiar with this tactic. It
was one of the attacks Payton had used on him many times in his
training. When they charged the small band, Eric charged them.
Running for the nearest form, he had survival on his mind. When the
creatures came into view, Eric regretted his bravery. The creatures
were nothing he had seen before.

They looked to
be part bear and part boar. The animals stood over seven feet tall
and had an intelligence in their eyes. Intimidated, Eric decided he
needed to change his strategy. The thing he was fighting had picked
up a piece of a broken tree and was using it as a club.

Eric dove
between the creature’s legs and drove his sword into it. Scrambling
to get up he could hear the creature howling in pain and decided to
go back to where the others were. Coming out from the bush, he saw
his companions were faring just as well. Dilmek was unconscious on
the ground and before Eric could reach him one of the creatures
scooped him up and went running away. Knowing there was no way he
could catch the creature he turned towards his companions to help
with the fight.

He ran over and
was about to take a swing at the nearest creature when he felt a
thud on his head and then everything went dark. Nak, seeing his
companion fall, attacked with more fury. He had to get to Eric
before these creatures killed him. Being the only goblin trained to
use a long sword helped him. The blade sliced right through the
skin with ease. The creature tried to fight back, but the goblin,
being smaller, avoided the hits with simplicity. Eric stabbed the
thing, then dove to the side and came up swinging at its ribs. The
being, realizing he could not survive the attack, ran off leaving
its companions behind. Nak, seizing the opportunity, went on to
attack the creature by Eric in the same manner. Fortunate for him
these creatures did not learn very quickly. The creature was
injured, and tried to swing its club at Nak but was unsuccessful.
Nak was a very experienced fighter and attacked with the fury known
to all who attack goblins. His hits were very precise and the
creature was no match. Wanting to finish this, Nak went for the
creature's neck. Anticipating a killing stroke, the creature
smashed Nak down and shuffled after its cohort who had run off. Not
wanting to leave the prince, Nak didn’t follow.

Tallmeken and
Goulerick, in peril of their own, were struggling with one of the
creatures. The beast’s strength was amazing. It picked up Tallmeken
and threw him into a tree without even trying. Goulerick heard
Tallmeken’s shoulder snap as he hit the tree and began stabbing the
beast with his short sword to no avail. The creature’s thick hide
was barely scratched, and its boar like face growled at Goulerick
and took a swing at his head. The goblin at least had size on its
side. Ducking and rolling away from the creature he almost fell
over a cliff hidden from view. This gave him an idea, but before he
could implement it, the creature picked up Tallmeken and threw the
injured goblin at his friend. Not expecting this kind of attack
Goulerick was hit full on.

The beast
howled in glory and charged on all fours towards the wounded pair.
Its claws ripped the poor goblin’s skin, but they continued to
fight back. Tallmeken took a few swings, but his broken shoulder
kept him from making any good hits. The pain was unbearable and as
he was coming around to attempt another hit, the blood loss caught
up with him and he fainted. This didn’t stop the creature from
attacking and it made another charge at Goulerick. Nak, after
seeing Eric was okay, ran to help.

Charging the
creature from behind, Nak raised his sword and attacked. Striking
downwards at the kneeling creature, Nak hit it right in its back.
The beast howled in pain, twisting its body to try and pull the
sword free. Nak did it for him and struck again, this time slicing
across the beasts hamstring. The creature, blinded by pain, was
swinging aimlessly. Unfortunately, for Nak, he was hit. It threw
him back a few feet and as he was trying to get up, he saw the
creature charging towards him. Nak threw himself down to try to
avoid the attack but it never came. He looked up to see the
creature burst into flames and disintegrate. Nak and Goulerick
looked around and saw Eric standing facing them. “I could not let
it harm you,” he said, then fainted.

After he was
certain the creatures were gone, Nak surveyed their situation. The
one creature hadn’t even attacked, it just grabbed Dilmek and left.
The rest of the group was in bad shape. Tallmeken’s shoulder was
broken, and he had lost a lot of blood. Goulerick had many
scratches on his back and legs. Eric had a large bump on his head
and some scratches, but he was going to be okay. That only left the
already injured Mork. It was lucky for them the creatures had left
him alone. Not long after, Eric woke up and was able to offer his
services.

“I have some
spells which can help heal,” he informed Nak, and was told to just
worry about healing the small scratches and gouges the goblins had.
“I may be able to do something about Tallmeken’s broken shoulder,”
he added.

Nak looked at
the boy and saw how drained he already was. “Wez bez fines,” he
said to Eric.

Eric smiled.
“If we wait a day before we ride again they all should be
okay.”

“Yeses. Needs
rests.”

Eric just
nodded. “I am going to lie down for a while. That is if it is okay
with you.”

Nak turned to
Eric. “Forz humans whoz nots fight youz dids goods.”

Eric smiled,
thinking about how proud Payton would’ve been to see him fight.
Exhausted, he walked over to where his horse stood, falling asleep
instantly.

Nak watched as
Eric drifted off. It was easy for Eric to fall asleep, having had
an eventful day. The creatures, and what it meant, bothered Nak. He
knew those creatures, but didn’t say anything to Eric. They were
bolamer and they belonged to Queen Malena. He had seen them before,
in her palace. They were no more than retrievers, usually sent to
bring those who would oppose the queen into the void. They were
also used if the queen wanted all traces of someone erased. Bolamer
were very efficient at killing and always did it quickly. It was
obvious the creatures were supposed to injure them, slow them down.
If their objective were to kill them, they would be dead. Nak
wasn’t sure why Malena would want to slow them down instead of
stopping them altogether. If magic were returned to Melarandra, she
would no longer have an advantage over those in her realm. Why was
she letting them live? It was also curious that they took Dilmek.
That didn’t happen often. Things were not what they appeared to be.
When they had started this journey, Nak was quite certain of what
needed to be done. Now, there were many questions arising.

When he was
certain the prince was asleep, Nak went about setting up the
warding spells, which he placed every night around their camp. It
amused him that Eric hadn't noticed he was never asked to be on
watch. With all the power he possessed, Nak just assumed the young
prince had more important things on his mind. When he was done, Nak
decided to get started on healing his fallen companions. Nak knew
he wouldn’t be able to heal them completely, but they would be able
to leave tomorrow. They had to get to Keenley and seek out a
healer. Dilmek just had to stay alive long enough for them to find
him. Nak wondered about how he was going to explain his companions,
somewhat miraculous recoveries to Eric. Deciding it was best to
heal first, he put the thought out of his mind.

Eric’s dreams
were of fighting unseen creatures, losing his companions and death.
The reality of the dreams woke him with a start. The dream had felt
so real, like it was a vision into the future. It was quite
unsettling, but the longer he was awake, the more the dream lost
its hold. Although the agitation he felt was diminishing, Eric knew
he would not fall back asleep so he decided to see if Nak needed
any help. He sat up and saw Nak by Goulerick. Eric was about to
call his name when he noticed something odd. It appeared that Nak
was chanting over the injured goblin. Then Eric felt it, the magic
in the air. The hairs on his body were electrified by it and he
realized he had felt it before. In fact, every night since he had
joined up with the band. Nak practised magic.