Trials (29 page)

“It’s the medallions…” said Aliana, looking at her own, which was now dull brown again.

“It’s Ilenian magic,” said Komir. He took a step into the canyon. This has to be the place they wanted us to come to. For a moment I thought… I wished… it was the oasis which had saved us from death in the dunes, but this new event… I think it means they want us to go on. There’s nothing in this oasis that the medallions want us to see.”

“And we’re going to leave this paradise and go into that dead alley?” Hartz grunted. He crossed his arms over his chest. “No, no, no. We’re very well off in this unbelievable place. Why should we go into the wolf’s den? After what we went through on that infernal journey! No way! Besides, who can guarantee the mountain won’t close again when we’re half-way through and squash us like ants? I say we’d better stay where we are and enjoy it!”

There was a silence after the big Norriel’s words. Aliana knew they were all thinking the same thing. No one wished to leave that dream-land and venture into the unknown. But they could not stay there forever… or perhaps they could…

“I’m going in,” said Komir. “I have to know why we were led here. And this time I’m going alone. I almost led you all to your death. If you’re alive, it’s thanks to the three goddesses. I won’t let it happen again. If I must die in this quest, so be it. But you won’t die on my account. Wait here, I’ll go alone.”

Aliana felt a pang in her heart, knowing she could lose him. “You can’t go alone, Komir,” she said. “It’s too dangerous. Not only crossing that canyon, but what might be waiting beyond: Ilenian magic, mortal danger… you know very well you can’t just go alone.”

“I’m not making the same mistake again. I’m going by myself, and that’s the end of it.”

“I’m coming with you, my friend,” said Hartz taking a step into the canyon. “Aliana is right, it’s too dangerous for you to go without me.”

“I said I’m going in alone!” insisted Komir.

“Think twice, Komir, please,” begged the Healer.

“It’s my destiny, my responsibility!” He looked at each of his companions one by one. “No one is coming with me! Understood?”

Kendas and Kayti shifted uncomfortably.

Komir turned to them, looking like an angry tiger.

“Wait for me here. If I don’t come out in one day, head north. Don’t follow me,

Hartz began to move, but Aliana noticed and held him back.

“Let him go,” she whispered.

Hartz looked at her, worry in his eyes. Aliana made a calming gesture.

Without another word he turned on his heels and went into the canyon.

They all watched as he walked away, growing smaller as he went in deeper. He finally vanished at the end of the canyon.

“Time to move,” said Aliana.

They all looked at her with surprise.

“Are we going in after him?” asked Hartz, agitated and hopeful.

“Of course we are. You didn’t really believe we’d let him go on his own?” she replied cheerfully.

“But then… why didn’t you let me convince him before? Ah, woman, I don’t get you!”

Aliana and Kayti exchanged a look of understanding. Kayti went over to Hartz and put her hand on his shoulder.

“The experience in the desert has affected your friend,” she said. “Even more than he himself can imagine. He feels responsible for nearly causing our death, and that guilt is so overwhelming it’s affecting him. Confronting him or trying to reason with him would have pushed him over the edge, it’s best not to contradict him. You get it?”

Hartz looked lovingly at the warrior, smiled and kissed her cheek tenderly. “Thank you.”

Kayti smiled at his show of affection and kissed him back. “Let’s go, then,” she said, and they all went into the canyon following Komir’s way.

They advanced carefully, going deeper into the unnatural gorge with its red granite walls. The two halves the mountain had split into were fifteen feet tall, and the canyon a thousand paces long. Tension soon became palpable. As they walked, Aliana had a growing feeling of oppressive threat. Luckily, the sun was shining high in the sky, and that helped her master what she was feeling.

“By all the hairy cows in my village!” cried Hartz. “These walls look as if they’re going to close in on us any moment. And this canyon seems never-ending!”

“Don’t say that.” Kayti’s expression was graver than usual as she looked up at the walls. “Better not to tempt fate.”

“We’d better hurry,” said Kendas, looking warily at both walls. They were as smooth as if a river had run through them for thousands of years. “We don’t know what might happen. Although, as long as Aliana, the medallion bearer, is with us, I don’t think anything bad can happen. After all, the medallions opened the way with some purpose in mind. I doubt they’d close it on the bearer so that she died before she reached the end…”

“Better not stop” said Asti, quickening her pace and not waiting for anyone else.

They reached the end of the passage and came to an enormous wall with a door carved into the rock. The door was open, with only blackness visible beyond it. If that was odd, what was even more so was the fact that the whole wall was covered with Ilenian symbols. Thousands of them had been carved into the rock, forming unintelligible hieroglyphs. Aliana stared at the beauty and magnificence of the engravings. The wall must have been twenty-some feet tall and the same across. The door looked tiny in comparison with the massive size of the carvings.

“Truly impressive,” said Kayti. She was tracing the relief of one of the symbols with her finger.

Hartz shook his head. “There we go again with these drawings… it stinks of all that damned Ilenian magic.”

“We have to go on or else we’ll lose Komir’s trail,” said Kendas. He pointed at the door.

“Yes, let’s go in,” said Aliana, and went through and into the mountain. They all followed suit while Hartz grumbled audibly.

It took them a moment to adjust their eyes to the reigning darkness inside. A hall had been dug out from the bowels of the mountain, ending in a corridor. Along both walls, about half-way up, a line of symbols shone pale gold, allowing the group to more or less see where they were going. Aliana found herself wondering whether the symbols always shone that way, or if they somehow knew that someone had arrived. She guessed it was the latter, and it made her uneasy.

They went on following the lines of symbols on both sides, going deeper into the bowels of the mountain. There was no trace of Komir, so they had no choice but to continue their way into the depths. As they made their way along a narrow tunnel, Aliana felt the temperature begin to rise noticeably. Up till then, a certain coolness had pervaded that rocky landscape, but now the air on their faces was more than warm. They soon began to sweat under their Nocean tunics. Hartz’s hair was wet, his forehead was running with perspiration. Kendas, who was in the lead, raised his fist and at his signal they all stopped in silence. The Royal Lancer crouched and moved forward a couple of paces in absolute silence. Something was wrong.

Suddenly, a tremendous gust of smoke came out from where Kendas was. It hit them all with ash and sand which made its way into their mouths and lungs. Aliana began to cough, followed by Asti. Kayti seemed momentarily blinded, and Hartz assisted her as she tried to wipe her eyes. Kendas appeared surprisingly clean.

“Everybody all right?” he asked, looking at the group covered from head to toe in ashes and dust.

“What the heck was that?” barked Hartz. His enormous body was covered in fine grey dust.

“I’m afraid that was a blast of vapor or gas, or some other natural phenomenon,” replied the Lancer. “It was in the hall next to this one, and it was so strong it reached as far as this. It took me by surprise. I managed to avoid it by reflex, but I didn’t react fast enough to warn you. I’m sorry…”

“We’re all fine, Kendas, don’t worry,” said Aliana, looking at her friends.

“In that case let’s go on,” said Kendas urgently. “I’ve got the impression that another blast might be imminent and it could be dangerous.”

With the Lancer in the lead, they all crossed the place the blast had come from. The hall was huge, with a dome of red granite. On both sides of the floor were large holes, through which threatening smoke rose as far as the dome. A fetid smell filled the hall.

“Argh!” said Hartz, covering his nose with his hand.

“Better that we don’t stop under any circumstances,” said Kendas. “The smell can only mean gases, and from what I’ve heard they can be very dangerous.”

“Nobody’s to light a fire under any circumstances,” said Kayti sternly, Hartz looked at her, uncertain. “You do what I say, you bullhead,” she told him curtly. There was no time for explanations.

They were crossing hurriedly to the other hall when behind them, two columns of smoke and ashes blasted forth from two holes in the floor, nearly reaching the dome above them. The temperature in the cave turned infernal with the blast.

“They’re burning gasses!” said Kayti. She moved away from the vents, pushing Hartz in front of her.

“Let’s get out of here or else we’ll be boiled to death!” cried Kendas, running toward the exit.

Aliana looked behind her and met Asti’s frightened eyes. She grabbed her hand, and they both crossed the enormous opening in the rock Kendas had just disappeared through. Suddenly the light of day hit her eyes, blinding her. It took her a moment to recover and manage to open her eyes again, letting them adjust to the new clarity and light.

She looked around and saw the rest going through the same process, all except Kendas, who seemed already used to the bright light, which could only make sense if the dome of the cave had vanished… Aliana looked up uncertainly, and her suspicions were confirmed: the granite dome had disappeared completely, and in its place was the sky of the desert, forever clear, with that scorching sun now shining on them.

They all looked around, surprised. Aliana noticed they were standing on a colossal round platform. Around it —it must have been at least a hundred paces across — the walls rose to the sky. These were at least a hundred and twenty feet tall, and surrounded the entire platform. Staring at this strange place, Aliana was awed.

“Where are we?” said Kayti, voicing everybody’s thoughts.

“Bad place, I not like,” said Asti. The look of fear on her face made Aliana uneasy. The young Usik, was a lot more perceptive than the rest of the group, and she was aware of something.

“Nonsense,” said Hartz. “There’s light here, much better for fighting and defending ourselves.” He flexed the muscles in his chest and back.

“What do you think, Kendas?” asked Aliana.

The Royal Lancer took a couple of steps toward the center of the chamber, and looked up at the sun and the high walls.

“I’d say we’re in some kind of crater…”

Aliana tried to make sense of that statement, but before she could put her thoughts in order something caught her attention. On the other side of the platform, a figure had appeared.

“Komir…” she whispered, suddenly hopeful. They all followed her gaze to the spot where the figure had made its appearance.

“It’s not Komir,” said Kendas. Something in his voice suggested danger.

Aliana squinted, protecting her eyes from the sun with her hands, to determine who it was. Then she identified it. It was a figure dressed in a white robe, with a hood of the same color trimmed with gold. In one hand it carried a staff, in the other a golden book.

“Ilenian Guardian!” cried Kendas in warning.

Hartz and Kayti reached for their swords. Aliana thought of her bow and reached over her shoulder for it. But before she could nock it a sound both terrible and familiar, reached her ears. The Guardian was intoning a spell. Aliana hurried, fearing for her life and that of her companions.

The floor shook.

Aliana kept her balance with great effort.

The shaking became more violent.

They all fell to the floor.

“Cursed Guardian!” swore Hartz, trying to get back on his feet. But a new violent shock threw him to the ground again. Pieces of rock began to fall from the walls around them with a fierce new tremor which shook them where they lay.

“Earthquake!” shouted Aliana. An earthquake conjured by the Guardian to finish them off. She tried to stand with her bow in her hands, but it was impossible to keep their balance in the midst of those terrible shockwaves.

As the rocks fell from the walls, the floor began to crack. Great gashes opened all along the platform after a new, massive shock.

“The ground is breaking up!” cried Kayti. She was on her knees, trying vainly to stand up.

Another deafening blast followed hard on the heels of another violent tremor, and the floor broke into a thousand pieces. A huge block of red granite rose in front of Aliana and leaned at an unlikely angle, while another huge block plunged into the depths. The thundering noise went on while the granite floor broke and twisted on itself, with enormous blocks sinking into the abyss. The whole floor was unstable. They could sink with it at any moment, and staying on their feet was impossible.

“Hold tight!” warned Kendas.

“Afraid!” cried Asti.

Kendas, crawling on the ground, tried to reach her.