Our Little Gods 2: GOLDRAC, Of the Old Gods.

Chapter 24.

The blue monkeys had scattered, leaping in all directions from roofs to trees and from branches back to the tiled slopes of the roofs sending the weathered loose baked-clay tiles flying. They rained down in the streets where they exploded on the flagstones with loud bangs threatening to knock out the people running for their lives. 

Farenn leaped above some timber and landed neatly on a tall pile of rubble from a collapsed house. He turned back towards their pursuers and in one movement drew his bow and let an arrow fly, and he began to run again side to side with Terrey. There was no sign of Gerrek and he could hear Oneg pleading with T'tebera, asking her to keep running. The  Sars were behind dancing the deadly dance of the Thiriik warriors, bringing down remains of buildings to block the path and shooting arrows in the thick of their assailants. 

Leuven, hundreds of them, the beasts tall as two men had appeared as they came back in the ruined city from the temple of Mah. 

There was a ripping crackling sound and a three-level house that had already lost its roof fell to the ground creating a billowing cloud of dust that occulted everything. Building fragments rolled on the ground between Maasil's feet as he ran as fast as he could panting heavily. Twice already the enormous beasts had almost got to him and twice Sar Tanel had been there in the nick of time. The first one with arrows the second with her long spear. But the boy knew the spear shaft had broken and the quiver hanging from her belt was empty. Swords and daggers were the only weapons left and however formidable the Thiriik were Maasil was not very hopeful when he considered the many monsters behind them and the only two Thiriik running side to side with him. Where had it all gone so wrong?  

***

It had not felt like summer in the middle of the mountains, then again none of them had ever seen summer here. As soon as they had descended on the Evening side as Milinos, one of their guides,  called it, the full blast of the dry hot air of the Talini Hills' summer hit them like a Nagwar at full speed. 

Milinos was telling them of his city, Thalia, on the longest river in the world; when Terrey interrupted him saying: "I just can't wait to see the markets and the palaces of Mahagaretan, I mean no offense to Thalia, Milinos, but the people of Mahagaretan do have something to be proud of, don't they?"

Milinos and Baalbek turned towards Gerrek and Baalbek asked him: "You haven't told them, have you?"

Gerrek feigned naivety failed to impress them. "Oh, I might have forgotten that detail. But we are bound to replenish our stocks in the markets of Gillus  and I was planning on sailing upriver to Thalia, so the..." Gerrek pointed at the boys staring at him blankly. "The Rabateans will get to see some of the surviving wonders of the Eldesgara." 

"What's wrong?" Terrey asked suddenly suspicious.

Baalbek resumed gutting the fowl Farenn had taken down two days ago and said without looking at anybody: "Mahagaretan has been destroyed almost three hundred years ago."

"What!" Terrey shouted in dismay. "Another ruined city? I can't believe it. You people can't keep stuff nice and functional! I mean for once I would like to learn of a damn wonder that isn't wreaked, long gone or completely destroyed and when it's not that, it's knowledge that you guys keep forgetting about and then poor Maasil here has to spend days repairing the damage and deciphering stuff that should never have been forgotten in the first place!" The boy was standing up and walking to and fro venting his frustration. " We have been on the road for almost two years now, haven't we? What have we accomplished? Nothing! The wanderer failed, Nag was a dead end, Triad kept the map until we reached Raab and then the temple was a gateway but nobody knew and then this world and things are as screwed if not worse here than back home and I don't even have Limero around anymore to blame for anything." Terrey stormed off away from the campfire. They all looked at each other and Farenn said: "He is right you know, none of this is very well prepared in the end." Then he stood up and followed Terrey down the side of the hill.