Revelyn: 1st Chronicles - When the last arrow falls (62 page)

‘There is a sorcery here, which we are well away from.’

And with that they hastily mounted their nervous steeds and left the forest with relief that they had survived such an evil place.

Chapter 18

A soon as the massive rock door slammed shut, driven by some magical power beyond the understanding of those to whom it had just offered such protection, a dark so deep that none in the party could see anything at all, engulfed them. The horses whinnied in fear and one bucked so violently that it struck its head on the roof above. It fell heavily against the wall and then kicked out, narrowly missing Scion. He felt the wind of a hoof brush past his face, and knew immediately that had he been struck he would have been rendered senseless if not killed outright.

‘Calm the horses,’ Rema called desperately into the blackness. Pull in the reins and hold them firm, for if they break away we will be trampled!’ There followed the sounds of a mighty straining and soothing as the five companions struggled for a time to quieten their steeds.  Eventually calm was restored and they were able to think more clearly of their predicament; stuck in a black cave with no light and not the smallest idea as to where it might lead.

‘I still have the key Rema Bowman,’ Reigin’s confident voice resounded strongly from the rocks which entombed them, ‘We should be able to reopen the door.’

‘We have travelled far to get here, and who knows how many enemy have gathered outside. Our quest does not lie that way, we must follow the cave,’ Rema replied.

No one spoke for a time as his words sunk in.

‘Well I for one hope there is an end to such blackness for I do not easily handle such enclosed spaces and the dark.’ Scion spoke with a clear edge to his voice. ‘I have spent my life on the open seas.’

His simple statement summed up the feelings of them all.

‘I think there is an end Scion,’ Serenna spoke gently then. ‘Look all of you, the cave has more shape now; I believe I can see the walls and roof.’ Her eyes had become accustomed to the dark, and sure enough the vaguest definition of the limits of their confinement came to her. ‘Look, I believe there is a faint light a ways off down the tunnel.’

She squinted hard and turned her head back and forth so that her vision from the edges of her eyes which seemed more useful in the dark was able to pick up the source of the distant illumination.

‘I see nothing.’ Ofeigr’s first words bore no emotion.

‘Neither I,’ Scion said.

‘Serenna if you see it, then lead us all, and keep talking, we will follow your voice.’ Rema gave the group the direction which it so desperately needed.

And so Serenna led her nervous mount towards the merest smudge of light and the others followed. Within thirty paces Reigin confirmed that he too could see it, and then shortly after a relieved Scion muttered some thanks to the gods. Rema did not speak for he was thinking hard on things beyond their return to a place where vision was once more possible, and he had seen the light at the same time as Reigin. Ofeigr said nothing.

The light in the tunnel gradually increased until they could see each other and the rough-hewn walls which surrounded them.

‘Those who carved this tunnel were masters indeed,’ said Reigin when the light was sufficient for them to see the manner in which it had been chiselled out. ‘These patterns in the rock are so similar and almost beautiful in their fluency. Only the dwarves of old knew this art.’

All in the party were overcome then with a sense of the place in which they travelled, for it was ancient indeed.

As the light increased further it could be seen that the tunnel ended not far ahead, in fact they had only travelled  a hundred paces before they walked out into a large circular chamber some thirty paces across. They looked up and saw that it had no roof for far above them the source of the light was discovered. High above, so high that it was less than half a moon’s width in size, was the blue sky. It dawned on them all at once, but Serenna gave it voice.

‘This is a shaft which reaches right up to the land of the
Edenwhood
.’ She said in awe.

‘And around the side is the path which will take us there,’ Ofeigr had seen that a spiral path which sloped steeply up out of sight had been cut into the rock.

‘An easy place to defend,’ said Reigin.

‘Perhaps that is why no one is about to challenge us.’ Rema’s thoughts found a serious voice.

‘Which I am sure will be remedied in short order.’ Ofeigr had now spoken more words in the past span than he had since they had set out from
Waterman
.

They attended to their horses then and soothed them continually as they began on the path which would take them up to an unknown land, and a people who were only dreamed of or mentioned in ancient legends. The path was barely four cubits wide although high enough that Reigin could not reach the roof, but within a short time the great drop which had developed on their left side became like a fearful attraction which seemed to draw them ever closer to pull them to their death, and it required great concentration to lead their nervous steeds safely on.

They climbed steadily for as long as their energy allowed until Rema called a halt, fearing that as they tired they would stumble and fall. It was difficult to rest on the path for the animals were even more unsettled when not moving and they seemed to expend more energy calming them than when they had been moving forward..

‘Look above us, on the far side, there is a door,’ Serenna’s cry interrupted the others for her sharp eyes had once more seen something deeper in the gloom.

‘Let us move on then,’ said Rema hoping that there would be a better place to rest at hand.

They urged their steeds gently on and sure enough within two complete turns of the spiral path they gained a large door cut into the rock and upon entering found an enormous room hewn out to provide a resting point for a traveller.

‘There are torches here,’ said Reigin who reached up and took one from where it was sitting in an iron hoop high upon the wall.

‘Should we risk lighting those?’ Ofeigr spoke quickly. ‘This might give warning to any watching from above.’

‘A point well made,’ said Rema quietly as he thought on it, ‘but we are not approaching in secret,’ he continued, ‘and  I would rather tell of our coming well before we arrive so that it cannot be said we come in stealth.’

The torch light was welcomed by all, including the horses who seemed much calmed by more normal surroundings. There were several large tables and benches spread around the walls of the room which were far too tall for easy use of any except Reigin.

‘These
Edenwhood
are not wanting for stature,’ Scion remarked quietly as he sat upon one of the beaches and found that his feet were well over a cubit off the floor. ‘I trust that they will take pity on us for our smallness for I would not like to meet men of this size in battle.’ He did not see Reigin smile privately for he knew that he was of a similar size as those who used such furniture, and he knew too of his prowess in battle.

‘Fear not Scion, I will be by your side, and perhaps the two of us can best a few!’ His humour was well received by the others.

They rested for a span and then having extinguished the torches, continued their ceaseless circles up into the mountain and ever close to the sky.

Four times more as they climbed they found similar rooms in which to take rest, and in the third such one, they rested for a good  three spans by Rema’s judgement, for they were by now greatly wearied from their toil. The horses had by good fortune settled into a better rhythm and were no longer so nervous and this was aided by the gradual increase in light which resulted from their rising ever higher toward the top of the shaft, where every now and then a cloud was  seen to pass quickly by.

‘No sign of life thus far, ‘said Reigin who had watched carefully for such an indication.

‘No sign at all,’ Rema replied as he lay resting on the cold floor of the room, his eyes closed and his breathing gentle and peaceful. 

‘I misjudged you my friend,’ Reigin spoke quietly to Rema but within earshot of all, who knew immediately that he was talking about Rema’s great feat with his two arrows to delay the pursuing soldiers.

Rema did not open his eyes but replied without rancor.

‘You did indeed Reigin, but don’t we all do this at times. I am as guilty of this weakness as any, and besides, how were you to know how good a shot I am with the bow?’

Reigin nodded ruefully. ‘Indeed you speak truly.’ To which Rema opened one eye and looked over at him before continuing.

‘Besides, I seem to remember seeing you stop an arrow with your sword, and hadn’t I just given you a warning that you were vulnerable to such things?’ He paused a moment, then finished. ‘Perhaps we will surprise each other yet again my friend before all this is done.’

Reigin smiled and nodded, and a silence fell upon the resting company for a time. Good humour was restored and each knew that before the end of the day they would meet the
Edenwhood
, and this was a quite intoxicating if somewhat frightening expectation.

The five companions reached the top of the deep shaft sometime in the mid noon. They had climbed six thousand cubits travelling in endless small circles and their legs burnt with fatigue, but the now open sky above was a much welcomed sight. The land they entered was not greatly different from the lush forests and grasslands of the lowlands although the colours seemed more intense and the smell of the pure clear air reinvigorated them all.

There was none who came to challenge them, and as they gazed from where they stood at the top of the open shaft across to the forest about a league to the west, all seemed peaceful.  A cry from Ofeigr caused them all to turn and follow him back to the edge of the great escarpment whose base they had encountered earlier that day, for the shaft opening was no more than a hundred paces from the cliff edge. They walked over and stood before the drop in quiet awe. The world dropped sheer away for a thousand cubits to the clouds below, a thick carpet of white and softly undulating waves seemingly fit enough for any ship to sail upon. The clouds stretched east for some great distance before ending abruptly and way beyond, the land to the east of the Plenty Mountains could be seen running all the way to the sea, where just over the horizon the Faero Islands lay. The rich colours of the sun upon the clouds and the ever lengthening shadow of the escarpment upon them, spoke of their great height and of the total separation of the land below from where they stood.

Ofeigr took a rock and hurled it far out into the void. They watched it drop for a long time until it disappeared from view well before it reached the clouds, still many thousand cubits above the ground.

‘What a wonderful sight,’ Serenna whispered to Rema, and unconsciously she took his arm. The five companions stood transfixed, overcome with the beauty and the emotion it evoked in their weary bodies.

‘We are no longer alone,’ Reigin spoke after a time. His words were without fear or emotion; just a simple statement of fact, for he had sensed the approach of other creatures, indeed he more than the others had been expecting this. The five turned around as one, and there before them were the
Edenwhood.
Not thirty paces away stood a score of the tallest men they had ever seen, although Reigin was almost a match for the shorter of those in the group. They stood without moving, impressively arrayed. They stood with legs apart and held their huge war swords, point first upon the ground, their hands on the hilt before them. Their clothes were plain but close fitting, all tunics of similar cut which by tradition defines those who serve as soldiers bearing arms. They seemed strangely familiar, and it was Serenna who gave voice to their thoughts.

‘These are
Wolvers
,’ she said in a sudden and amazed recognition, ‘and yet they are different, taller I am sure.’ They stood stunned, for she spoke truly.

The tallest of the
Edenwhood
spoke then.

‘My name is Rhynos, keeper of the Eastern gate and a Protector of the
Edenwhood
. By what means do you bring these others with you?’ His voice was loud but gently lilting in phrase and resonance. It carried authority but yet did not confront as one might expect, in fact they all realised two things then, firstly that none could take offense at such words so  easily spoken, and secondly that it was to Reigin that they were directed, something which he understood in an instant. His reply took the other four by surprise.

‘I am Reigin, servant of the heir to the throne of Revelyn, Lady Sylvion Greyfeld.’ Reigin’s words cut the air with a grace and authority which impressed them all, and Rema was much moved by the way his short statement elevated the woman for whom he held so passionate a love, to such a position of respect and admiration. ‘But I do not bring these people,’ he continued, ‘for I am led by Rema Bowman, who leads us all. He is greatly loved by the heir of whom I speak and he has great need to deal with the
Edenwhood.
He it is who stands on my left.’

Rema felt a surge of respect for the
Wolver,
now companion; for he knew he could not have put such words together.

‘The
Edenwhood
have no need to deal with lowlanders for we have been enemies for time beyond memory.’ Rhynos the keeper or the Eastern Gate continued his address to Reigin, ignoring the others, ‘Perhaps you have betrayed us for you should know
Giron,
no
Edenwhood
is permitted to give entry to any but those whose blood is kindred to this land.’

These hard words hung in the air between them and they all wondered what the term
Giron
meant for it had been given to Reigin
,
as easily one might name a well known flower in a pot.

‘I know not who this
Giron
is sira,‘ Reigin replied once more, ‘but we are equals here my friends and I, and I ask you to speak with my leader for he will explain the cause of this peaceful intrusion into your land.’