Gherad strolled along the rough track which abutted the Aldur river, leading his horse. He had strayed from the herds, something his father would probably give him a berating for, but he wanted some time alone. A quiet young man, Gherad had always been a loner. He brushed at his black scalp lock as the wind caught in it and kicked at stone into the river's still waters. It landed there with a low plop, its entrance causing a ripple which Gherad watched spread across the pool. He had been born about a year after the Battle of Thull Mardu, and the Accords of Perivor had been signed only about four years ago now. He had only once heard the tale of the a massive stony skinned beast, a creature of dread for the superstitous Algars who saw its sighting as a bad omen.
Something made Gherad look up river. He saw a small ship there, it's sails unfurled. Probably one of those trading ships on its way to Aldurford, he thought. As the ship drew closer, the Algar noticed another behind it, and another and another...he had never seen a trading fleet this big before. He saw the sails, flappingin the wind. They were red, and on them was a Sabre and a Crown. His family had been herding along this river all his life, and he had never seen a trading house with that coat of arms. It was when he actually saw what was standing on the decks of the ship that he finally knew something was badly wrong.
Minotaurs, monster rarely seen in the mountains of Ulgoland, patrolled the deck, lashing down the sails, pulling on ropes and shouting to each other in a guttural language. Here and there, tall, dog faced creatures also worked the lines and one held the wheel. It spotted him and snarled, bearing its teeth. Gherad watched them pass, transfixed by the sights, sounds, and..his nose wrinkled, the smells.
All of a sudden, around a bend in the river, came a massive ship, so vast that there were only a few inches between its sides and the river banks. The same creatures patrolled the decks. However, on the foredeck stood a creature whose visage froze him to the marrow. It stood ten feet tall, stony skin covering its body. In one hand it carried a great sabre, the other hand cradled it like a child. Its eyes burned red with hatred from its horned and muzzled skull. It was a creature out of myth, a myth passed down from families of the far South, who reported seeing this beast many times, many years ago, before the victory of King Belgarion and the recapture of his son. The creature gave Gherad a very bad feeling, and as it turned and stared at him, he felt icy fear touch his spine. The creature snarled at him, then snarled an order. The ship immediatly turned and ran aground on the river bank, with a shudder that threw a great many of the creatures to the ground, all except the one on the foredeck, who steadied himself and then
strode towards the rail, hate burning in his eyes. Gherad wasted no time, he did not wish to find out what would happen if the creature caught him. He mounted and galloped away, with the screams and howls of the Gorgon in his ears...
Cho Hag sighed, and rested his face in his hands as he sat on the horsehide throne. Before him stood one of his clan chiefs, who had just told him grave news.
'So, we feared it would happen, and now it has. After all these years I
thought him dead.'
'My son saw him with his own eyes, my lord. He stands at the head of a
vast army, and the at this very moment advance slowly South, towards
Aldurford. It is obvious what he plans.' Cho Hag nodded.
'He is too slow to hunt us down, so he will burn Aldurford and then continue South. Very well, Call the clan chiefs to Aldurford as soon as you can. He cannot be allowed to carry out his plans.'
'Will you and your son be accompanying us, my Lord?' The clan chief asked.
'I am later, but my son is busy at the moment, with his wife. He has not long returned from Zandramas' defeat, and they have a lot of catching up to do.' The Clan chief bowed and left.
It was a week later. The Clan Chiefs had begun to get restless. No sight of the Gorgon's army in all this time, where he should have
arrived in three days had put them in a somewhat bad mood. Gherad rode across the surrounding fields, trying to pass the time. His father didn't need him at the moment, so he was pretty much left to his own devices. The light was fading from the sky, and so he decided to ride over this last hill before heading home. The long grass whipped around his legs as he urged his mount into a gallop. As he mounted the rise, he pulled up the horse so swiftly that it reared. It was only after it
had calmed him that he had chance to examine what was below the rise, what had made him stop.
Deep Red Banners, bearing the sabre and crown, towered over the shanties and tents of the officers and men of the Gorgon's Alliance. Gnolls diced while minotaur patrols clanked across the artificial streets, kicking out of the way those that barred their path. As he stared, he wondered how they could have missed something like this so easily. Could it have been sorcery? It did not matter, whatever it was they had been caught off guard. He sat there for some time longer nad then galloped back to Aldurford to bring news of the massing.
A tall, black furred minotaur lowered the telescope from his one good eye, adjusting the eye patch on the other as he did so. He turned to the towering form of the Gorgon behind him.
'Shall we persue?' He asked eagerly The Gorgon shook his horned head.
'Let him bring his friends. It will be more...efficient that way.' As he turned and strode off he shouted over his shoulder 'Ready the garrison. They will not catch me unawares this time.'
As Gherad rushed back into the small town, he heard a commotion coming
from the main square. As he turned into it, he saw two figures riding past on well bred horses. He recognised them almost instantly. The Lady Adara, rding the black horse with the short cropped mane her husband had given her last year and Lord Hettar himself on a proud looking Roan. Their children were back at court, and this appeared to be a social visit, for the train that followed behind them was not large enough to carry the food necessary for a long stay. He dismounted and tried to push through the crowd which barred the way, but it was too thick. The two of them dismounted and entered Aldurford's largest inn. At least here he would have more chance of talking to them.
As he pushed through the crowds into the low ceilinged inn, he realised that the two noted figures were nowhere to be seen. They must have taken a private room, he realised. While the majority of Algars entering made for the bar, Gherad made for the stairs which led to the upper floor.
All the doors to the private rooms stood open, apart from one. The doors of the furthest room where tightly shut. Gherad made his way quietly along the corridor and stood near the door, trying to find out what was going on within before he entered.
'...seen anything of them, my lord. They should have been here a few days ago.' Gherad recognised his father's voice instantly
'It's unlike him,' This voice was quieter, and Gherad realised it must be Lord Hettar. 'The Gorgon ahs been a thorn in our side for many a year, although I doubt you knew that.'
'No, my Lord, that was something I ahd not been told.'
'He usually raids down near the Stronghold, though. Becasue of the troops he uses he passes unmolested through the Ulgoland passes, and it's most likely he banks whatever ships he uses in the River of the Serpent.'
'Ships?' Gherad's father questioned.
'One of them came down the Aldur once before, although we dealt with it quickly.'
'Why has no one ever been told?'
'He only usually bothers the Royal family, so we deal with him. From what your son said this is an unusually large host he's brought with him. But he's not usually this secretive - tactics never seemed to be his strongpoint. He's up to something.' This was stated, not a question.
'Undoubtebly, my Lord, but the question is, what?'
Gherad knew this was his moment. He steeled himself to open the doors.
Then he felt a hand close on his shoulder. He jumped, and only just
managed to stop himself shouting out. He turned to see the face of a
woman. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail and she had bright blue eyes. It took him a second to realise this was the Lady Adara, and the colour drained from his face.
'It's not polite to stand outside people's doors, you know.' She said softly, so that those within would not hear. Their conversation continued as Gherad answered.
'I had something important to tell my father, my Lady, but I didn't want to interupt.' She nodded, with a look on her face that said she only half believed him.
'So you are Gherad. How old are you?'
'Seventeen, my lady.' He understood her question, he had always looked
older than his years.
'And what is this news, Gherad?' He hesitated, and then realised who he
was talking to.
'The Gorgon's army is camped only three hours from Aldurford, to the East, my lady.' She paused for a moment and then said
'Show me.'
'Pardon?'
'Show me. Take me there.' She strode along the corridor towards the stairs, and was halfway there before Gherad caught up with her.
'My lady, it will be dangerous, I'm not sure that...'
'I am sick of being treated like I'm made of porcelain' Anger flared
momentarily in her eyes, and then they softened again. 'And my name is
Adara, not 'My Lady''
'Of corse, My L...' He only just stopped himself, and then he led the way onto the stairs.
The inn was noisy, and no one noticed them as they made their way out of the inn's back door. A few minutes later they were on the rise overlooking the camp. Adara dismounted, and handing the reins to Gherad, walked a little closer to see what was happening.
The Gorgon grabbed the minotaur captain's telescope as he told him what he saw.
'Is that her, Kargath?' He asked.
'So our spies tell us, My lord.'
'Get her. Now. I don't care how you do it, but I want her alive,' He seemed to think for a moment, and his eyes went distant. 'And the horse as well. The boy is at your discretion, but do not let him escape.' Kargath nodded and ordered some of the gnolls to grab some nets which hung nearby.
'My Lady!' Gherad shouted, pointing to the camp enterance. Long legged
gnolls were bounding up the slope, hundreds of them. Adara stood stock
still for a moment, but it was a moment too long. As she turned to run The first gnoll caught up with her. She spun, whipping the sabre from her scabbard, and the Gnoll fell, but the rest wghere by now upon her. Gherad booted his horse forward as he saw one of them throw a net over her. Screaming in fury he drove straight into one of the gnolls, taking it down. But there were too many, and the last thing he saw was Adara being dragged away before all went black...
He awoke, and it was only when he tried to rub the lump on the back of his skull that he realised he was chained. Looking to his left and right, he saw Adara, chained also, with a look of fury covering her face, and a gnoll approaching. It put its hands on its knees, leaning closer to see if he was awake. When it realised he was it shouted something in its guttural language. A few moments later two large figures entered the shack where they werew being held. One was a minotaur, black fur covering his body and a crossbow attached to his belt. The other figure chilled him to the bone. It was ten feet tall, and its eyes appeared to glow even more redly when it looked at them. The Grey - Brown Stony skin covered rippling muscles as it hefted its sabre.
'So. This is the Queen to be?' He said. It was not a question, but the huge minotaur nodded silently. The Gorgon turned to Gherad. 'I thank thee, boy. You have saved me a lot of trouble. I had thought the best way to hurt Algaria was to raze Aldurford and the Stronghold to dust, but you have proved me wrong. Kargath,' He turned to the minotaur. 'Make the troops ready for the teleportation. We must return to the ships,' As the minotaur nodded and strode out, the Gorgon turned back to Adara. 'My Lady, you will soon be enjoying the Comforts of Gorgon's Crown. I hope your stay will be a pleasant one,' He laughed to himself, and the Gnolls, eager to please, joined in, their barking laughs rising to join his deep throaty one. The Gorgon turned his attention back to Gherad. 'As for you, you have served your purpose. I cannot release you, boy, but neither do I wish for your company. I hope you didn't like your family all that much.' He barked some orders to the Gnolls, who replied in their guttural language. As he strode from the room, one of the gnolls unchained Adara from the wall and dragged her, fighting her resistance, from the room. The other seemed to be doing something in the corner. As he sat there, a bright glow illuminated his dog -
like features, and as he turned, Gherad watched the flames he had laid
there begin to spiral up the hut's dry timbers. The Gnoll seemed to think for a second, and then dropped the keys a foot from the Algar's feet. Laughing at his evil joke, he left. Two minutes later, Gherad heard a rumble of thunder, and realised that the Gorgon had moved his army by the use of sorcery back to their ships. He stared at the slowly spreading fire, and then at the keys. He tried to grab them with the end of his boot, but he was just out of reach. The heat in the room grew, and the fire spread further, faster...
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