The Legend of Aireta -- Ascending Shades

Part I: Contract Chapter 9: Rescue

All set. Kinos gave the two ends of the wick one final twist, connecting them together. Now, all he had to do was wait. And with how long this took me, it's a miracle they haven't already passed.

Kinos had dragged the filled cart around the mountain, making sure no one was nearby. He'd then lugged the thing to the Wialari Road, the fastest and safest route to Attia. It cut through the Pangai Mountains, allowing Kinos plenty of cliffs on which to overlook and set up explosive traps.

One excellent cliff was not even half a mile from Laritum and only a mile from the mines, its summit about thirty feet above the road. Trees gave a little shade along the clifftop and up the mountain, which Kinos used to hide the tools. The wall was sheer with few handholds. Scaling it had been a pain, as had creating a pulley with the rope with which he hoisted the cart onto the cliff. He'd accomplished it with relative ease, however, thanks to the red mageia refueling him. In fact, the slight buzz in his head was gone by the time he'd measured the amount of wick Xulosus had given him.

Kinos nodded at his handiwork, then gazed at the edge of the cliff. On the road below, Callius and his entourage would cross by sometime today. When they did, Kinos would set off the explosives, forcing the wall to collapse in front and behind the group. The road was wide here, so Aula wouldn't be sent down the mountain if he'd miscalculated the timing.

Kinos scoffed. Yeah. Like he'd make a mistake.

A rumble stretched over the land. Kinos knelt, feeling the dirt beneath and pressing his ear to the tree. His old master had taught him how to judge so many things by feeling the land's vibrations: the amount of animals or monsters, where they were, and where they were going.

Kinos frowned. It had been years since he'd thought about those lessons. They hadn't been too important in the mines. All he could discern was that a large mass was moving, and it was getting closer.

This has to be it. Kinos kept listening, readying his flint. Soon, he'd light the wicks, which would simultaneously blow the wall. He'd leap down, save Aula, and lead her down the mountain. He'd already plotted the route they'd take, which would bring them into the densest patch of trees in sight. Time to show you all what I'm made of.

Which, sadly, still took some time. The rumble grew louder over the course of several minutes until the sounds of Callius' caravan came from below. He waited until it seemed the largest part was within his trap's reach. If he didn't act now, the front of the entourage could either escape Kinos' trap or be crushed by it. It wouldn't do to kill his fiancée while trying to save her.

Kinos lit the wick. It sizzled, then the little flame split and followed the two lines toward their destination. Should be about ten seconds.

Kinos counted down, rising to his feet. The cliff's edge neared as he walked forward, brushing his ear stud as his heart began to hammer. He reached the end of the trees, clenched the red mageia, dashed.

Boom!

He vaulted into the air, the percussion from the blasts hitting him from either side. The mountain ruptured from the blast. Waves of collapsing stone crashed before and onto the procession. Kinos only got snippets of the line: dozens of cavalry soldiers in the front, a few large carts and wagons behind them, and a host of foot soldiers made up the back – and likely beneath some of the rubble. After a second, Kinos dropped clean through the roof of one of the carts.

The vehicle rattled and Kinos' feet slammed through the tops of two barrels – both filled with wine. He extracted himself, yet couldn't get his feet to the floor. The whole cart was stuffed with these barrels. Would there be enough alcohol in the wine to blow? Not like he had another disp oil skin, anyway.