The castle of Baron Rikorsk was a wreck. The towers had been smashed and the gates hung crazily off their hinges, creaking in the whispering wind. As he went inside the North tower he took in the bodies sprawled around the courtyard, mostly Sendars and an occasional Murgo. A fire still burned in a small forge, nearby, but there was no other sign of life.
The inside of the tower had been gutted by fire, and all that remained were ashes, stirred into a thick paste by the rain. As he staggered out, trying to clear the stench from his nostrils, Dar realised what he must do. He remounted his horse and. with a final look over his shoulders, and a sinking feeling a what must have happened to the father of his cousin's child, galloped back home as fast as he could.
About six months later, a uniformed figure rode through the gates of the stronghold. He wore a red beard, and his uniform was black. Some of the Algars going about their business within the courtyard looked in disgust at the state of his horse as he passed, its breath heaving out of its toast rack chest, its back bearing the mark of many whippings. The man dismounted and left the horse where it was, unattended - it appeared too afraid to stray. He strode into the throne room of the
Algars without a word, interupting a clan chief giving his account of affairs in the North as the door clanged shut. He crossed his arms and leaned against the back wall waiting for the report to finish. As he stood there his eyes fell on a banner which stood on the Eastern wall of the throne room. It was red, and on it was a stone tower with two swords crossed over it. Cho Hag stared at the figure at the rear of the hall who was examining Baron Rikorsk?s banner, a present which had been given to his father. He had wished for a long time that he had not sent Korgor home - at least he would have been spared what had happened. This figure was reminding him, and he didn't like him as it was.
'What do you want stranger?' He asked, with difficulty disguising the anger and contempt in his voice. The figure turned his gaze from the banner and then laughed bitterly. Cho Hag looked at him more closely as he walked forwards. He tried to imagine what the man would look like without the beard...
'Korgor?' He asked in suprise.
'Your majesty,' Korgor bowed, and was about to continue but Cho Hag interupted him.
'Where have you been, I've had men searching the escarpment for you for months.'
'Your majesty,' Korgor said, his impatience growing.
'You know we gave you that land don't you?' Something snapped inside the Baron's
son.
'Your Majesty!' He shouted. The Algars around the walls put their hands to their steel. No one talked to the king like that. Korgor ignored them and continued on. It was as he did so that Cho Hag noticed the insignia on the sleeve of the uniform - it was a red bull's head on a black field.
'Your majesty,' The baron's son said, eyes downcast. 'I bear a message from his majesty, the king of the Murgos, Taur Urgas...'
'What?' Cho Hag interupted, almost unable to believe what he had just heard.
'Your Highness, his majesty King Taur Urgas sends a message. He says you have all the good looks of a pond leech, and that any further attempts to build castles in his lands will also result in failure. He says your use of Sendars to decieve him into thinking you were not behind the plot was a mistake. He also requests that you surrender your throne to him immediatly, for all know that a cripple is unfit to rule. I have been given instructions to return forthwith. I bid thee good day, my lord.' With this Korgor began to walk from the hall.
'I've not said you can go yet.' Cho Hag shouted as the Baron's Son walked away. He did not look back.
Korgor rode across the Algarian grasslands, alone this time. As he descended into a deep copse of trees, he thought about what he had just done. Of course he had no choice, after the Murgos had burned the castle and enslaved him and his father's people their will had been broken. The execution of his father and others who did not bend the knee had seen to that. Korgor thought about it occasionally, but for some reason no more tears came. He looked down at his chest and saw a small silver medal. It bore the head of the King of Sendaria, a bravery medal for saving the king from the attack of a ferocious lion which had somehow escaped a travelling fair. I don't deserve this, he thought, and suddenly tore it from the front of the uniform. As he was about to cast it away, he heard a scream. It was a woman's scream, and it was not far away. Instinctivley, he plunged through the trees, and a few seconds later only just managed to pull up his horse and the pack horse he had also brought with him before they both plunged down the slope of a steep gorge. Unable to help, all he could do was look down at the scene unfolding below...
The woman screamed again, before Murgo steel ended it once and for all. Now there were two Algars left at the base of the cliff, a middle aged man, sabre in hand, and a young boy, obviously his son. The father kept trying to send him to fetch his horse, to get away, but the boy stayed. The Murgos surrounding them, there were about twenty, laughed at them as they closed. The man struck out at the first, and the unexpected blow sheared through his conical helmet. The others looked at him, their laughter dying in their throats. Then they rushed him. His body disappeared beneath a scrum of Murgos, and there was little left when they had finished.
The boy did not appear to be in the mood for giving up. He had siezed the sabre from his mother's dead hands and stood with it, ready. It was much too big for him, and although he managed to hold off the Murgos for a while, the sabre was soon knocked spinning from his grasp. He jumped at the lead Murgo, but the man knocked him aside, dazing him. The leader gave some orders to his men...
A few moments later the boy had been bound and tied to one of the
Murgo's horses. They set off slowly, the boy staggering along behind. Then they accelerated into a trot and then a gallop. The boy lost his footing and was dragged along by the horses. Korgor cursed, jumping into his saddle and spurring his horse down the ravine and into the trees beside the track the Murgos had taken. He kept within a distance where he could not be seen, but could see what was happening. He did not know what he had been thinking - he would stand all the chance the Algars had against so many Murgos - but at least if he kept an eye on what was going on he might be able to do something...
A few miles later the Murgos drew their horses to a halt. The boy lay still, tied to the horses. One of the Murgos dismounted and strode over to the body. He gave it a kick. The boy did not move. The Murgo snorted and ordered his men back into the saddle. They remounted and galloped back to the East.
Korgor waited for them to get some distance away before he went and
made his own inspection. As he approached the boy stirred, and his eyes
opened. The eyes fixed him as he moved slowly closer. Korgor held out his hand.
'Come with me, boy.' The boy stared at him, unmoving. 'What are you going to do, lie out here all night?' The Baron's son demanded. He calmed himself. 'Look, I've got some water, do you want some?' The eyes still fixed him, but the head nodded slowly. 'Right, stay there.' Korgor ran back to his horse, wondering why he?d said that, as though the boy was going to go anywhere, and grabbed the waterskin he was carrying. He walked back and gave it to the boy. Then he went back
to the horses and brought them as well. He cleared some of the stuff off the pack horse and, after the boy seemed able to stand told him to get in the saddle. After that he roped both horses together and led the way to the only place he knew he could take him.
Korgor stared across the open grassland as the wooden Algar caravans bumping over the rutted ground and hoped he would not be spotted. It could be hard to explain what had happened after the performance he had made at the Stronghold. The Caravan looked like any other, except for the banner which waved from the leadteam - the white horse on burgandy, the royal banner. As the caravan slowly halted for the night, Korgor
turned to the boy who stood next to him.
'Right,' He said, kneeling so he was at the boy's level, 'you go over there and tell them what happened to you.'
'Aren't you going with me?' The boy asked. Korgor had been able to get little out of him during their ride, except that his name was Hettar and he was six. He seemed like a very quiet boy, and this experience would probably make him even quieter when it fully dawned on him what had happened.
'No, I can't. I have to get somewhere.' Korgor explained. The boy nodded, and turned to look at the caravans. As he began to walk off, Korgor called him back.
'Here, boy, take this,' He pulled from his pocket the silver medal, putting it in the boy's hand. 'You deserve it more than me.' The boy looked at it, then at the Baron's son. Totally unexpectably he smiled slightly. Then with a wave he ran to the caravans. He did not look back. Korgor watched him go, wondering if he knew fully yet what had happened this day, and then turned back to his horse. Cho Hag would
look after him...
Years passed, and the boy called Hettar grew up at the Court of King Cho Hag. As the truth of what had happened to his parents
dawed upon him, a raging anger against the people of Cthol Murgos rose within him, an urge to do something about what had been done to him. Almost every moment he spent was in arms training, or riding. He
was about twelve when he realised that no one else heard the thoughts of horses the way he did, which suprised him at the time. The horses themselves didn't seem unsuprised that he could - they assumed that humans just chose not to talk to them. He decided, after a while, it might be best to keep it quiet - he was a reserved sort of person, and had seen the sort of attention a Sha - Dar recieved when he had first met one at the age of 9, although at the time he hadn't seen what was so great about the man. As the years passed, he joined in the hunts for Murgos across the grasslands. A few weeks after he passed the age of seventeen he was chasing a Murgo who had been seperated from a raiding party. The man seemed to be desperate to escape, Twisting in his saddle almost constantly, his eyes widening as he saw the young Algar with the deadly intent in his hate filled eyes still following him, but a quick thought to the horse and the rider was pitched to the ground. He rolled to his feet, blade ready, and a desperate look running through his eyes. The fight was brief, shorter than Hettar had hoped, although, he thought later, he had the advantage of height. As the Murgo fell he caught his breath, then, giving the body a contemptuous
stare he grasped the reins of the man?s horse. The first thing that struck him was the fact that it wasn?t an Algar horse. Its mane was cut short, and it didn?t look quite as wild as an Algar mount. This puzzled him, but a quick thought to the creature revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and he led the horse away back to his family.
It was that evening when he started to realise that something was really wrong with this horse. He was picketing the horses that night, settling them down for the night. The horses were quiet as they got ready to sleep. One, however, still seemed alert. It was the horse he had captured from the Murgo that afternoon. Unsuprising, he thought, it probably was still a bit excited about the day?s events. But there was something else there as well. It almost seemed, he thought as he patted its neck, like it was listening to something. He concentrated, and his eyes widened.
'...damn its cold up here...' A voice said. He looked about quickly, his hand going to his sabre, but there was no one there. It was only when he felt the horse send a thought back that he realised what was going on.
'...what? Well, that stuck up idiot Varkash, I'm not suprised HE got killed. Where are you now?' The voice continued. There was a pause as the horse answered the voice. 'Algaria? You'll like it there, at least, you used to. See if you can find out how everyone is getting on, especially Taranis.' Another thought sending pause. 'Less of that, you. Maybe i just miss her, alright?' Hettar thought now would be agood time to intercede.
'Who's there?' He sent a thought to the horse's mind. Both the animal and the second voice seemed to pause with suprise. Then, with a curse the other voice was gone.
The horse gave him an injured look, as though he had scared its friend away. Hettar stood there, stroking its nose and trying to work out what was going on.
A couple of mionths passed. Hettar caught the voice in the horse's mind a few more times after that. He took to riding it quite a lot, mainly to keep an eye on its mind. It was a few days after a time when he had caught the voice in the horse's mind once again that Dar burst into the Stronghold's throne room with grave news.
'Your majesty, Taranis has been kidnapped. We were camping near the
escarpment last night, and when we awoke, she was gone. We would have
thought it was another of her jokes until we saw the blood, and then we found the body of the dead murgo...'
'WHAT?!' Cho Hag, in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, leaped up out of his chair. His son walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. Dar
regarded Hettar for a short time. The king's adopted son was a great soldier and an amazing horseman, someone he would look up to if he wasn't fifteen years older. Sometimes he suspected there was more to his excellent horsemanship....but he was sure they would know if that was the case. Cho Hag sat back down and then said 'Are you sure it's not another one of her tricks?'
'I'm certain your majesty, the Murgos have taken her, to where I do not
know,' He stopped for a moment. 'Her daughter has no idea what's happened, your majesty, and i think we can't lie to her for much longer until she realises there's something really wrong.
'How can we find them?' Cho Hag said, half to himself.
'My lord, if I may, I am noted among my clan as a tracker,' Cho Hag knew that already, he knew, but he did it for the sake of appearances. 'However, I'm not the greatest soldier, and I have no idea how many Murgos there are. It wouldn't take me long to find them, but when I did...'
'Father, I'll go with him.' Hettar spoke, one of the few times he did, Dar thought. He was unsuprised though, in fact this was what he had been hoping for. Hettar's hatred of the Murgos was legendary, and he was the best man that Dar would want at his side. Cho Hag looked at his adopted son, then sighed.
'Very Well, son, but no unessesary risks. If there's too many of them, I want you straight back. Dar, if he looks like rushing into the middle of a horde of Murgos, you've got my permission to bash him senseless. Better a bruised heir than a dead one.'
'Your majesty has my word.' Dar bowed, deeply to hide his grin.
Hettar walked into the enclosure where the horses were being kept that night and approached the black horse. He had found that there were certain times when the voice was there in the horse's mind, and one of them was drawing near.
'Evening,' He heard, and the horse answered. 'Is there anyone around?' The horse's eyes flicked to Hettar, and it sent a hasty reply back. 'I see. Get his attention.' The horse's thoughts and eyes showed its suprise, but it began to nod its head and stamp its hooves to attract Hettar's gaze.
'You already have my attention.' He thought into the horse's mind.
'You're a Sha - Dar?' The voice asked. The horse didn't seem to be happy about being used as a relay, but Hettar ignored it for now. It seemed to be a particularly bad tempered animal anyway.
'I might be,' Hettar thought, defensively, he realised. 'Are you?'
'Oh no, my friend,' There was a hint of amusement with that thought. 'Nothing like that. I don't have your talent. This horse, I think, is special,' The horse held its head erect, proudly at the attention ad compliments it was being paid. 'I found him tied to a tree out in the wilderness of Sendaria,' The voice continued. 'It took me quite a while to work out that some of the thoughts in my head weren't exactly my own. I've tried it with other horses though, and it bever worked. I think it was left there for me, by who i don't know.'
'He's in good shape.' Hettar said. 'The horse seemed even prouder.
'Yes, when I was captured the Murgos took him, but I think even they could tell there was something special about him. Anyway, that's not important. I think I should explain why I wanted to talk to you. I am a...' The voice paused, as though not wanting to admit it, or unsure of what it was. 'Slave, I suppose. I serve my masters in the jails of a certain prison. Recently a prisoner, an algarian, who I knew previously, has been brought here. I want her rescued.'
'Her naem wouldn't be Taranis, would it?' Hettar thought.
'How do you know?' The voice asked, almost definsively itself.
'Her cousin asked me to help him find her. Can you tell us where she is?'
'I think you'll need me. This cousin would be Dar?'
'Yes, that's him.'
'They covered their tracks pretty well. I don't think even he could find his way here now.'
'I can't just tell him the way!' Hettar felt a cold fear at being discovered.
'Why not?'
'No one actually knows I can do this. You wouldn't understand.' He told him, hoping this would be enough.
'You don't want all the noise and attention your people always lavish over any Sha - Dar.' The voice stated.
'Yes.' Hettar replied, suprised that the voice had got straight to the problem as though he could see inside his mind.
'Well,' The voice said. 'Make it look incidental. Let Dar find the trail, if he loses it or is going the wrong way, think of something, like telling them they should try in this direction.'
'I'll try.' Hettar replied, unsure.
'Be sure you do,' The thought came back. 'They're going to execute her, I don't know when, but it's coming.'
They rode out of the gates at noon the next day, and Dar soon picked up the trail. It led east...
Taranis pulled against her chains in the damp cell. She had no idea why the Murgos had brought her here, she did not even know where here was. All she knew about this new world she had been brought into was the small cell with its straw covered floor.
The door creaked, and Taranis sat up, waiting to see who would enter. It was not the Murgo she had expected however. It was a man of medium
height with a beard, a Sendar, wearing a black uniform shirt with rank
badges on the arms. His trousers covered his boot tops, a deep red robe, tattered and old, and bound at his throat, covered his broad shoulders, and his blue eyes looked at her from beneath the Tricor he wore on his head as though he recognised her. Taranis was beginning to get the same feeling. She wondered what he would look like without the red beard and mustache...finally it clicked.
'Korgor?' She said.
'Taranis,' He said as she wrapped her arms around his neck with a clinking of chains. In that moment, he almost let it all go, all the pain of those years alone, all the strain of being looked to as the leader, but he held it back.
'Oh, thank Belar you're here!' She said as he disengaged himself as best he could from her. 'Do you have the keys?' Korgor pulled a face, trying to make her be quiet, as a Murgo walked into the room.
'Corporal, do you know this woman?'
'No sir.' The Murgo looked at him for a minute as the baron's son stared at his boots.
'Very well, carry on.' The Murgo gave Taranis a hate filled stare and strode from the room. Korgor checked he had gone and then turned back to the woman.
'If I take those chains off, do you promise not to try to escape?' He said.
'Yes' The corporal unchained her and she stretched herself out. 'What are you doing here Korgor?' She asked. Korgor told her about his capture, about his visit to Cho Hag years ago, about the building of these dungeons they were in, which lay, he told her, in the foundations of the Baron's tower, and about the post he had been given.
'They made you jailer, then?' Korgor nodded. 'Can't you get me out?'
'I can't,' Korgor replied. 'But I'm trying to do something about it. You'll have to trust me.' Then he saw the look of fear in the woman's eyes. 'We'll get you out of here.' He promised, although he was not quite as certain as he tried to sound.
Dar knelt beside the tracks and then stared up at the escarpment. As
Hettar rode ovewr, he pointed along the base of the cliff.
'They lead over there.' He said. Hettar looked at him for amoment,a s though considering what he ahd said. Then a moment later, he respoded.
'I think we should try up there.' He said, pointing to the top of the escarpment. 'We'll be able to see better where the tracks lead from a higher vantage.' And we might run into some Murgos, Dar though, slightly irritated that Hettar mgith be stalling his cousin's rescue so he could enjoy himslef. He bit this back - he did have a point. They began to lead the Algars up the cliff.
It was night, Taranis realised, as the darkness became thicker in the
corners of her small cell. She tried to sleep, but she could not, fear gripped her about what might happen, why she was being held. Then later on Korgor unlocked the cell door.
'Are you alright?'
Taranis nodded. 'What will you do if we escape?' She asked. He considered this for a moment.
'There's a land my father told me about, to the West, beyond Riva. It's a hard land, so I hear, but its far enough away from the Murgos for me.' He smiled slightly. She felt the love for him she had almost lost when he went missing for so many years begin to return, and her fear receeded enough for her to remember something about her daughter.
'Korgor, there's something I have to tell you,' She began.
'Corporal? Where are you?' A voice bellowed from outside. Korgor made a sign saying she should tell him after, then hurried out.
Dar stood at the head of the rise overlooking the Baron's castle. He had been suprised as the others to find another set of tracks at the top of the cliff, leading this way. He wondered briefly how Hettar had known, but realised it was probably more luck than anything. The last
time he had been here it had been a ruin. Now someone had taken it upon
themselves to restore it. All that remained of the old castle was the North tower, spiralling higher than before. He looked at it, then looked at Hettar, who dismounted and led them cautiously forward, the look on his face betrayting his eagerness.
It was later that morning when the murgo guardsmen came to the cells.
Their leader shouted for Korgor, who rushed up.
'What's wrong?'
'We need the prisoner, immediatly. Some Algars have broken in on the
ground floor, and we might need her to hold them off.' Korgor reluctantly unlocked the cell., then unchained Tanaris and led her out.
'It would appear your people think much of you, my lady.' The Murgo
bowed. Taranis stared at him coldly. He grunted and led her away, ordering Korgor to take his men to the top of the shaft. She stared back at him briefly, realising she still hadn't told him. Maybe after, she would have time...
Dar stared upwards, and upwards, up the inside of the tower. A spiralling ramp led both up, to a great doorway leading to the tower's upper rooms, and down to a huge, broiling sea of green liquid. They began to make their way up the ramp.
Korgor stepped onto the upper balcony and looked down to where the
Algars were making their assent. He wanted to surrender to them, but he knew that if he did Taranis was surely dead. He ordered the crossbowmen
to load their weapons.
A shower of quarrels struck the algars as they rounded the first circuit of the tower, wounding a few and killing one. Dar stared up to the final balcony, where a number of black clad men were reloading their weapons...
'What do you think you're doing?!' Korgor shouted to his men. 'I said, miss!' The next lot of shot struck the wall above the Algar's heads, making them to duck but causing no injury. Korgor looked up as he heard a click. A trapdoor in the roof of the tower
had fallen open, and something was pushed through it. it was a body, he saw, and as it flew to the pit below, Korgor had a sick feeling that he recognised it...
Dar saw the body falling, saw who it was. A great sadness rose within him, blotted out by a massive rage a second later. He bellowed a war cry and shot up the ramp, the rest of the algars following.
Korgor stared dumbly down as the body hit the vile substance in the pit with a great splash.
'Sir.' one of his men said but he ignored them. He had nothing left now, nothing to live for.
'Sir!' the voice was more urgent. He looked round, and then realised all thought of surrender would be impossible. The Algars were only a few feet away and closing fast... He raised the broadsword he carried as their leader smashed through one of the crossbowmen and aimed a shot at his head. One of the Algars, screaming in rage, was driving one of the sendars back through the doorway. Korgor parried another of the leader's blows, and then swung at him. As the man jumped back, a silver medallion worked its way free of his clothes and landed on his chest. Korgor looked at it quickly.
It hung on a chain from the man's neck, and on it was a king's head. It was the head of the king of sendaria, and around the edge were the words 'For Bravery'. Korgor stared at it in disbelief, then looked at the man, who, noticing him staring at it, had stood there, waiting.
'Hettar?' he said. Before the man could answer one of the other Algars
barged into him, swiping at him with his sabre. Korgor was diven back, and just as he thought he recognised this man's face as well, he felt his foot step out into mid air. His arms windmilled as he tried desperatly to hold his balance, but the man, seeing his plight, gave him a shove. He shouted as he fell down the North Tower...
Hettar turned to Dar as he watched the body fly to the bottom of the well. He seemed about to say something, Dar thought, but then he stopped himself. Instead he tucked the silver medallion hanging from his neck into his armour and led the way into the upper rooms.
It was quiet now. The darkness had come, and all withuin the tower were either dead or fled. The Algars had exacted a large price for their loss. Silence reigned now.
The green waters stirred, they had claimed many a man this day. The
waters rippled, and something moved beneath them. With a roar, a mighty hand, covered in stone like skin, grabbed the lowest ledge of the tower. It sat there for a time, then a huge form pulled itself from beneath the waves. With a snarl the ten foot creature rubbed the
water from its eyes, and then threw back its horned head and roared rage and anger. Korgor was no more.
As Dar crouched beside the tower, he thought about what he had done. He had been badly wounded, and insisted that his friends leave him behind. Hettar's face had been sad as he left, wether it was at leaving him, or at something else, Dar did not know.
There was a crash from inside the tower. Dar stirred, the wound in his
stomach paining him as he did so. It could not be long now. A roar sounded, and then a form strode from the doorway. It was temn feet tall, covered in grey stony skin and two horns surmounted its muzzled head. It looked round and saw him.
'So, they left someone.' The creature's guttural thick accent nearly
disguised its words.
'Who...who are you?' Dar asked. The creature threw back its head and roared
'Do not ask who I am. You knew once, scum. Now you know not.' The
creature looked straight at him. 'I am the Gorgon, and Algaria did this to me. For that, I shall not rest till Algaria is crushed beneath my feet!' The creature turned and strode off into the darkness, heading for the land beyond the sea...
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