The Dragons of Sara Sara (15 page)

Those of this group had left the perfect mark of their passing. Luan grinned for the first time that Antonin could recall. If it could be said that a wolf was capable of smiling. Luan climbed back to the platform and handed the arrow to Mei'An without a word. She closed her eyes and curled her fingers around the arrow shaft. Immediately sweat stood out on her brow, easily visible now in the bright light. She started to tremble. A low moan escaped her slightly parted lips. As she started to sway unsteadily Luan pressed open her fingers and snatched away the arrow.

“Enough!” he commanded. His face was a study of concern.
He caught Mei'An around the waist. She was about to fall. Unsteadily she pushed herself away from Luan.

“I am all right now my friend,” she said. “Truly that arrow is deeply stained with the spirit of the Dark One himself. That arrow comes directly from Sara Sara. They who have stolen the Key have passed this way very recently.”

“Then we are left with no choice it seems” said Luan. His face once again a mask. The only betrayal of concern were his quick glances at Mei'An.
The Guard Companions were bound to their Wind Readers by more than an oath of allegiance. They were all Master Swordsmen. They all belonged to an ancient guild said to have originated in the times before the last great struggle with the Dark Lord. It was said they were ageless. It was said they were immortal. They never commented themselves. It was well known though that no one had ever seen a young Guard Companion. Their Guild took no recruits. Indeed, no one even knew if a Guild House existed though everyone knew someone who had seen one. They were as mysterious as the Wind Readers whom they served. There were those who roamed the world alone and those who served. There were Wind Readers who had bonded more than one Guard Companion and some as many as three. They never married and in all cases the relationships were never personal, never beyond friendship. Each was free to seek companionship where they might with others, but always if bonded they remained together. Neither the Wind Readers nor the Guard Companions ever sought other companionship though, except very rarely. It had only been known of in ancient times. Never in this age. The rules and customs had been too long in place. They had few companions among ordinary mortals. The awe, or even plain fear of them was too strong. The Guard Companions were utterly without fear. There was nothing that they would not face. A few blazing lamps were certainly not enough to cause apprehension in one such as Luan. Nor was the black feathered arrow he now held casually in his hand. There was little doubt that the warriors of the Dark Lord had passed this way. The question that occupied Luan, was which way had they gone. How had they travelled? Had they been devoured by the beast that seemed to live in the tunnels? Or was the beast the key to the whole mystery? Many questions and no answers. Yet.

The small group stood together looking about the vast cavern, now even the remotest corner was shadowless. Nothing could hide here now. The strange bright lamps were a wonder. By what magic they worked not even Mei'An could fathom. There were many mysteries long buried with the ancients. This ancient city was one of five that Mei'An now knew of and Luan had found a number of others in his long travels. This was the first time that either of them had discovered a portal in one though. In all truth neither had ever sought the fabled portals in such cities anyway. In the end, all it had taken was the natural curiosity of a young farm boy. One who seemed to be linked in some strange way to the developing storm. It seemed that he and his companion Catharina were being drawn ever tighter into the threads of the new age lace being formed.

Mei'An had herself felt the pull on the threads. It had drawn her to the village in the first place. Perhaps they had never noticed that the lace swirled around them. Why would they. Growing up in the freedom of the wide plains. What had brought this movement of the threads of time to such a strong pulse? Was it the stirring of the Dark Lord deep beneath Sara Sara. Only the Creator knew, but whatever had caused it the pattern was being drawn ever tighter around these two young people. They would be bound up in events over which they had no control. Eventually the very fabric of the world would bend all around them forcing the changes as the life forces of the age was shaped for the last great battle with the darkness.

It was up to Mei'An to guide the young couple on the right path. She knew they were to be crucial in the coming battle. When this would take place she could not guess at, but take place it would. Mei'An looked at Antonin and Catharina, heads bent together in quiet conversation. The pull of the life force that had drawn her to their village had been too strong to ignore. Just standing here now Mei'An could feel the swirl about them like a vast whirlpool in a dark stream.

Rees walked over to Mei'An.

"Should we check more closely in these rooms, now that there is more light?” He said.

“Yes,” replied Mei'An without hesitation. They had to try and gain some knowledge of how this portal worked if they were to follow the Key Stone.

“This time we stay together and touch nothing.” She added with a sharp look at Edina.

“We should start with the room where Edina seems to have started the lamps burning. There is some strange power at work here and we must see if it controls the travel portal.”

All except Luan walked back to the room that stood out from the wall. Luan was now prowling about the tunnel entrance away down one end. Gaul was aware out of the corner of his eye that Luan was venturing into the tunnel entrance.

Mei'An and the others crowded into the small room. The low desks and tables were all glowing with strange shaped lights now. A steady clicking sound came from within. Very carefully Mei'An began to brush away the collected dust. Even so it clouded up into the still air instead of falling to the floor. It was very fine. Eventually all the desks were clear of dust. All were coughing and spluttering, with eyes streaming but slowly the dust clouds were drifting away through the door and into slits cut along the walls down near floor level. Mei'An noted that fact. Ventilation. The writing on the devices was very strange, so there was no clue there. Mei'An thought it looked something like the strangely formed characters of the distant and ancient land of Hua Guo, but she had seen documents from there and this writing differed to some great degree. It was totally unreadable. She doubted that it was even in use still.

The glowing symbols on one table were marked out in even lines, with small lights spaced evenly along the lines. There were small characters etched under each small light. Suddenly it became clear to Antonin what he was looking at.

"See there,” he pointed to a glowing symbol red where the others were white or green. "See the shape of the script? It is the same as the script on the walls near the great stairs. This is a map. This is where we are now.” He put his finger on the glowing red symbol. Instantly it changed to green. Antonin jumped back in alarm. What had he done? Everyone waited with drawn breath. Nothing happened. The vast cavern was a quiet as a tomb. Only the clicking coming from within the cabinets under the tables. There was no sound from Luan either. He had disappeared into one of the far tunnels and his calf hide boots made no sound on the hard surfaces.

Slowly breaths were released and an embarrassed cough escaped Antonin.

“Antonin,” said Mei'An. “I do wish you would be careful. We have no idea what we are dealing with here. This area is so old that even I can perceive no residue of past lives in it. This is a magical place from the far past. From the last great age. Perhaps even an age before that. I recognise nothing about this place. We must proceed with great caution. Obviously there is ancient machinery at work here, but I cannot fathom how it is driven. There is only a faint charged feeling coming from this area here,” Mei'An pointed to the desks. “But it feels to me like the residue from a lightning storm. I cannot understand it…” Mei'An's voice trailed off as she lapsed into deep thought.

“I think we should leave now,” said Antonin. “This place holds nothing for us. If we must follow the Key, then we should do it on the surface of the world where we belong.” He looked form Mei'An to the others. There were nods of agreement from all except Mei'An..

Luan stepped into the silence. Without so much as a word of question he calmly stated “There are man tracks in that far tunnel.” He pointed into the tunnel where some time before the great beast had disappeared. “They go some way along then just stop. There are no doors, no way out. No blood. It is as if those who made the tracks were simply scooped up and carried away.”

“I say we leave here now.” Said Antonin with some force in his voice.

“Yes, I say so as well.” Said Catharina.

“What do others say?” Said Mei'An.

Before others could answer, Edina said,

“Mei'An, you said yourself that these .. portals? Were unknown even to you and the other Wind Readers. Would it not be better to gather your fellow Wind Readers at a later time to fully explore this mystery? We can be of no help here surely. We can pick up the trail on the surface. These tunnels could lead to the pits of Sara Sara itself for all we know.”

Mei'An could see the concern on the faces of her companions. All except Luan. He would go where Mei'An went without question or fear.

There were no changes to the steady winking lights. There was only the very faintest movement of the air in the huge cavern where they stood. Slowly, as if not sure she was doing the right thing she nodded.

“You Catharina, and Antonin are those about whom the pattern swirls. If you feel so strongly that we should leave this place then I cannot go against such forces as those which bend about you both now.” She tapped her lips with a forefinger in the now familiar gesture indicating her thinking on decisions. “We go.” She said with finality.

“We go.” Added Catharina and Antonin in one voice.

Without further hesitation the party headed for the broad stairway and began to make their way to the surface. They were about half way up when suddenly all stopped dead in their tracks. They could all hear the swelling roar coming from the depths.

“Quickly, to the surface.” Called Mei'An. They needed no urging. Apart from Luan who stood for a moment as if about to say something, then thought better of it. He turned and plunged back into the depths taking many stairs at a time. Mei'An's calls would not stop him. Luan was determined to see what this monstrous beast was. He skidded to a halt in the brightly lit cavern. He couldn't believe his eyes. A row of gleaming wagons, coaches rather for they contained seats, rested in the pit where the iron rail ran. Three in all, and all identical and obviously joined together. So it was this machine – not a monster – that polished the rail and made such noise as to frighten the very rocks. Not a living thing stirred. There was no one to be seen or heard. The interior of the coaches could be clearly seen. Very strange they seemed, yet familiar enough that Luan could recognise that they were meant to carry people. They were all empty. It took a lot to startle Luan, but even he wasted no time in gaining the stairs again when there was as sudden rising whine from the coaches and the whole thing rose some hand spans from the track and with a roar and a huge rush of drawn air the whole thing disappeared into the tunnel where he had lost the tracks just minutes ago of the Key carriers. Within moments all was quiet and perfectly still again. Luan scratched his chin in thought. With a chuckle he said aloud, “I believe I have solved the mystery of portal travel.” He turned and climbed up the broad stairs to the surface where his companions waited.

“Well, what of the monster?” cried Elsa.

“What monster?” calmly replied Luan. “I saw no monster.” Was that a smile on his lips. No. Luan never smiled. No one in this group had ever seen him smile. Perhaps though. Elsa looked closely at him. If he was laughing at her she would see to him. Guard Companion or not, he didn't frighten her with all his glowering and stony looks. Elsa suddenly went as bright as a sunset as she noticed Mei'An looking at her and smiling just a little. Elsa frowned. The woman could read their thoughts. She kept forgetting. Was nothing private around a Wind Reader.

“I'm sorry Elsa. Forgive me for intruding.” Mei'An spoke softly to Elsa, her hand lightly on Elsa's arm.

“Many a woman has thought as you do Elsa, but none can reach into so deep a well as the heart of a Guard Companion, not even those bonded to him.”

Elsa looked wildly about her. Was the woman mad. She would never live it down among her companions.

Mei'An still had her hand on Elsa's arm. “Do not trouble over your privacy Elsa. None can hear my conversation save you yourself.”

Elsa stepped away sharply. She would see about that. Luan was the most amazing person she had ever met. She knew well it was hopeless, but she could still dream and if the times really were in turmoil then who knew what might change.

“We should go. We need to get back to the Great North Road. We can rest in the Inn of The Blind Man in Har Hu. If we go now we should be able to make it through the pass and into Har Hu shortly after sunset.”

Luan said no more. Simply unhitched his horse and swung into the saddle. He leant down and caught up the reigns of the spare horses.

The others mounted now in silence, after putting away the lamps and oil. Blankets were rolled and tied behind saddles and the party followed Luan northward along the wide central avenue. Crumbling buildings lined the way. Windows like sightless eyes seemed to watch their passing. Everyone was quiet as they rode. The sun was not yet high in the sky and long shadows fell across the streets. Luan was confident they would pick up the road easily. He had been this way before and rode confidently in the lead. He looked neither right nor left. He knew there was nothing to fear from these empty buildings. There had been no tracks. The Tharsians had not roamed this far, and there was no sign in the fine dust that anyone else had passed this way in a thousand years. Finally they reached the outskirts of the city and passed through a huge arch in the outer wall onto the wide plain. There was still a trace of the old road but it was mostly long gone. Just a few marker stones and remnants of cobbles.

None of the others were so sure about the empty buildings though. Gaul was sure he had seen movement out of the corner of his eye. As quick as he looked around though, there was nothing to be seen. The horses were restless though and his horse did not spook easily. There had been something watching them regardless of what Luan thought. As the last rider cleared the arched gate in the old city wall they all looked sharply around, even Luan as a low moan almost below human hearing arose from within the old city. Perhaps it was just the morning wind picking up. Perhaps not. One look at Mei'An's face was enough to bunch up the riders though.

Antonin was glad to be out of the ancient city. Back in the open. He gave a shout and spurred his horse into a gallop. His look at Catharina as he flew past was all challenge. Like a flash her horse was at full speed as she flew after Antonin. Getting the jump on her like that! She would catch him and pass him and wait for him at her leisure at the wooded oasis that was just visible away on the horizon.

This was the trailing ends of the Dragon Spine ranges, the last bastions of the almost impenetrable mountain ranges that stretched from far to the south of Sara Sara in a great curve like horns encircling the plains, to finally end in low hills of shale and rock as they approached the Great Sandy Blight far in the North East. The pass through the ranges, now just visible would be Kunlun Shan Kou. The names were ancient in this land. No one knew the origins of the names on this landscape. They just were. Some meanings were known and had been passed down the ages, like this mountain pass. The Mouth of the Kunlun Mountain. Aptly named thought Antonin as he galloped toward it. The oasis was now sharply defined in the morning light some way ahead. Antonin hoped there were no locals about. He had come across them from time to time on the plains. Small dark skinned people who had no written language and their spoken language seemingly made up of sharply defined words with lots of tongue clicking in between. None but the Traders understood them. Their music was discordant and a strain to the ears of others. From the youngest to the oldest all seemed ever on the move about their domain. Vast stretches of arid country along the base of the Dragon Spine ranges. They were nomads, and preferred to stay out of sight. Chance encounters usually ended in them fading away into the thin scrub that grew along the foot hills. They had been here in this land it was said since a time before mankind was born. They were called the Xlot. Their name was as hard to pronounce as their language was to understand. The only way to say it was with a tongue click at the start that drew in the rest of the name.

The only city in the region was on the far side of the pass. The city of Ha Hu. It was reputed to be as wild and lawless as a city could be, and none of the village youths had ever visited it, yet every person in the desolate land bore a hatred for the Dark Lord and his followers that bordered on the fanatical. For this reason if no other, strangers entered this part of the country with some caution. Certainly not at the breakneck speed with which Antonin and Catharina now approached the oasis across the stony ground.